EpaperISB_21-09-9

Thursday, 9 September, 2021 I 1 Safar, 1443 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XII No 70 I 12 Pages I Islamabad Edition

‘Destabilising’ arms builD-up in region alarms national CommanD authority Pakistan suggests inviting Afghanistan to regional forum ISLAMABAD staff report

t

he National Command Authority has expressed full confidence in the command and control systems as well as security measures in place to ensure comprehensive security of strategic assets of Pakistan.

The NCA, that met in Islamabad on Wednesday with Prime Minister Imran Khan in the chair, re-affirmed that Pakistan as a responsible nuclear state would continue to contribute meaningfully towards the global efforts to improve nuclear security and nuclear non-proliferation measures.

A detailed briefing was given to

NCA on evolving conflict dynamics in the region.

The forum noted with concern the destabilising massive arms build-up in the conventional and strategic domains.

The NCA viewed these developments as detrimental to peace and security and asserted that Pakistan will take all measures to ensure the strategic stability in the region without entering into an arms race.

It reiterated maintaining Full Spectrum Deterrence in line with the policy of Credible Minimum Deterrence and expressed satisfaction on the development of strate-

Coronavirus in

pakistan

CONFIRMED CASES:

1,190,136

LAST UPDATED AT 9:29 AM ON SEPTEMBER 8, 2021

DAY'S DEATH TOLL:

NEW CASES:

83

3,902

RECOVERED:

DEATHS:

1,071,976 26,413 SINDH:

PUNJAB:

440,164

406,960

KPK:

BALOCHISTAN:

165,980 AJK/GB:

32,456 ISLAMABAD:

32,942/10,084

101,550

gic capabilities.

The NCA appreciated high standards of training and operational readiness of the strategic forces, and appreciated the scientists and engineers whose dedicated contributions have enabled Pakistan to successfully pursue the desired objectives.

All member of the NCA, including Federal Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Defence, Finance and Interior and Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, Chiefs of Army, Navy and Air Force as well as Director General Inter-Services Intelligence attended the meeting. News Desk

Pakistan on Wednesday suggested inviting Taliban-run Afghanistan to a regional forum of six countries to help avert a humanitarian and economic crisis in the country.

The Taliban on Tuesday announced a new government and named Mullah hasan Akhund, an associate of the movement’s late founder Mullah Omar, as the head of the interim set-up, with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, head of the movement’s political office, as one of the two deputies.

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood, speaking at a virtual conference that brought together neighbours Pakistan, China, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran and Turkmenistan to discuss Afghan strategy, floated the idea of inviting the new rulers in Kabul to future gatherings.

“I also suggest that we may give consideration to the idea to invite Afghanistan in future,” Qureshi said.

“Participation of Afghanistan will augment this forum’s effectiveness in pursuing our shared objectives for lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan.”

According to a Foreign Office

Govt fully determined to use EVMs, says ECP’s concerns addressed Minister for Science and Technology Shibli Faraz on Wednesday said his ministry has submitted a report to a technical committee of the election Commission of Pakistan (eCP) regarding electronic voting machines (eVMs) which “addressed all the problems” pointed out by the eCP. The minister made the comment during a press conference in Islamabad a day after the eCP raised 37 objections to the introduction of eVMs in a document submitted to the Senate Standing Committee on Parliamentary Affairs.

Faraz said that 27 of the objections raised by the eCP were related to the election commission’s current capabilities while 10 were related to eVMs. The eVM developed by the Ministry of Science and Technology addressed all 10 of those objections, he said, while emphasising that the 27 other concerns were “not the ministry’s work”. he shared that the eCP had formed a technical committee to analyse the eVMs at the end of July. A technical team of the Ministry of Science and Technology participated in the first meeting of the committee which was held today.

handout, the meeting aimed “to work together for the shared objective of a peaceful and stable Afghanistan, which is essential to forge strong economic links”.

“The neighbours of Afghanistan have a vital stake in the stability of the country. A peaceful, stable, united, sovereign and prosperous Afghanistan will contribute towards transit trade, people-to-people exchanges and security in the region,” it said.

It followed a similar virtual meeting of the special representatives of the five countries for Afghanistan held on Monday.

An opening statement at the conference said the neighbours agreed on closer cooperation to avert a looming humanitarian disaster in Afghanistan.

The United Nations has said basic services are unravelling in Afghanistan, with food and other aid about to run out. More than half a million people have been displaced internally this year.

“In the wake of recent developments, the key priorities are to prevent a humanitarian crisis that can exacerbate the suffering of the Afghans,” Qureshi said in a live telecast, reading from a statement.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

more inside

Land digitisation to overcome land grabbing, ensure transparency: PM STORY ON BACK PAGE

Maryam warns against ‘imposing decisions’ on Afghanistan STORY ON PAGE 02 It submitted “most of the reports” that the eCP had asked for, the minister said, adding that additional documents would be provided to the eCP in the next meeting which is due to be held on Sept 15.

The minister denied that the eCP’s objections were related to the technical aspects of the eVM as it was being analysed technically by the eCP for the first time today, insisting that “we have solved all the problems in this (report submitted to the election Commission).”

The government was “fully determined” to do the legislation needed and use eVMs in the 2023 general elections, the

minister stressed.

In response to a question, Faraz said he was “not interested” in what international experts had to say about the eVM. The PTI-government had offered political parties to bring in their own experts, including from abroad, to analyse the machine, he said. he said that a politician had questioned how the machine would work in case there was no electricity at the polling station. “The machine is battery operated. You can also operate it on K2. The battery life is 24 hours so it is not dependent on electricity.” News Desk

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

Court holds govt agencies accountable in Korangi factory fire incident STORY ON PAGE 03

Taliban govt not ‘inclusive and representative’, warns eU STORY ON BACK PAGE

02

Thursday, 9 September, 2021

ISLAMABAD

NEWS

MaryaM warns against ‘iMposing DeCisions’ on afghanistan IsLAMABAD

p

Staff RepoRt

AKISTAN “must accept” the will of the people of Afghanistan and refrain from “imposing its decisions” on them, declared Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz vice president Wednesday, a day after the Taliban announced the formation of an interim setup to govern the country ravaged by decades of wars and insurgency.

While Maryam Nawaz did not elaborate further, many believe she took the cue from her father, deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who landed himself in hot waters in July following a meeting with former

Afghanistan National Security Adviser Hamdullah Mohib at the latter’s residence in London. In May, Islamabad stopped conducting official business with Mohib after his “abusive outburst” against Islamabad wherein he had referred to Pakistan as Heera Mandi, a notorious red light district in Lahore.

Denouncing the meeting, the government had said sending Sharif abroad was “dangerous because such people become a part of international plots”, noting that his meeting “RAW’s [Research and Analysis Wing] biggest ally in Afghanistan” was a case in point.

Former president Ashraf Ghani and members of his cabinet, including Mohib,

fled the country after Kabul, the last remaining Afghanistan city, fell to the Taliban on August 16.

Afghanistan’s new rulers Tuesday announced key posts for their new interim government on Tuesday, appointing Mohammad Hassan Akhund as the prime minister while group co-founder Abdul Ghani Baradar will be his deputy.

While Pakistan is yet to comment on the formation of the government, Islamabad is hosting today a key virtual meeting of Afghanistan’s neighbouring countries to discuss the situation in the country ravaged by decades of war and internal rifts.

Nawaz, when asked whether Islamabad should recognise the new government, said

Afghanistan was a sovereign country, insisting Pakistan “must not interfere” in her internal affairs. Interestingly, the group itself rejected the rumours Pakistan was interfering in the internal affairs of Afghanistan, saying it “acted with complete freedom”. “This is a rumour that has been spread about for 20 years […] we don’t allow [foreign] interference,” Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid told a news conference Tuesday.

Nawaz, however, urged the government to collaborate with the international community for rehabilitating people and rebuilding infrastructure in that country.

On the domestic political front, she accused the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf

EU envoy pledges to play role for improvement in diplomatic cooperation with Pakistan kARACHI app

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has decided to devolve the collection of property tax to the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation and District Municipal Corporations in the city and constituted a ministerial committee to work out the devolution mechanism.

The above was said while presiding over a meeting to discuss and approve the World Bank sponsored Modernization of Urban Property Tax Administration and System here at the CM House, said a statement on Tuesday.

The meeting was attended by Minister Excise & Taxation Mukesh Kumar Chawla, Minister Local Government Nasir Shah, Chief Secretary Mumtaz Shah, PSCM Sajid Jamal Abro, Secretary investment Zahid Abbasi,

Secretary Local Government Najam Shah and other concerned officers.

Under the World Bank project, Competitive and Livable City of Karachi Project, there is a component of Modernizing Urban Property Tax Administration and System to be executed for $0.4 million for identifying and digitization of under-assessed and un-assessed property records so as to increase the tax base coverage, consequently, Improved revenue collection of the Property Tax in the city.

The project includes procurement/development of a robust Urban Immovable Property Tax system to effectively identify and tax urban properties in Karachi and to strengthen the capacity of the Excise and Taxation department on modernization UIPT collection, including HR strengthening through the training and provision of infrastructure keeping in view long-term

sustainability.

Under the project, the UIPT survey will be conducted for an estimated two million properties of Karachi and collect quality data.

The chief minister said that the Urban Immovable property survey would improve the tax base and the GIS component would help urban planning authorities to plan and execute sustainable infrastructure.

He added that it would automate the property tax assessment and printing of challans.

It would also help in providing a GIS mapping framework for the identification of all parcels and buildings.

Syed Murad Ali Shah said that in 2021 only 800,000 property units were being taxed for property and then its number increased to 947,424 and after a fresh survey the number of the units increased by 111 percent to 2,000,000.

Syed Murad Ali Shah said that presently Rs1.72 billion were being collected as property tax from Karachi and after the survey its collection would increase to Rs3.63 billion.

He directed the local government minister and excise minister to sit with the chief secretary and evolve a mechanism to devolve the property tax to the KMC and DMCs. “Let them collect themselves and utilize the development of the city,” he stated categorically.

The CM Sindh approved to carry out an All-Karachi properties survey to update the property tax database and also approved development and the upgradation of Information Technology System to house the property tax database and provide related training.

He ordered for the strengthening of the local bodies and E&T staff capacity on property administration.

EU envoy pledges to play role for investment in diplomatic cooperation with Pakistan NEws DEsk

Mian abRaR

In a smart political move, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz President Shehbaz Sharif has silently sidelined Maryam Nawaz’s group in the party’s canvassing for the elections in Cantonment Boards and has pursued a new slogan of ‘vote for development works’ while keeping the sensitivity of the canvassing in the military cantonments in mind.

An informed source told Pakistan Today that Shehbaz Sharif has convinced party leader Nawaz Sharif to allow him to win the election being held in Cantonment Boards where voters have a strong love for military leadership and they dislike the PML-N’s anti-establishment narrative.

The source said that Shehbaz Sharif has

directed the party leadership not to pursue the narrative of ‘respect the vote’ adopted

by Maryam Nawaz and also has directed the Maryam Nawaz group not to attend party meetings being held in the Cantonment Boards elections. According to the source, those who have been sidelined for the Cantonment board elections included Maryam Nawaz, Shahid Khaqan, Khurram Dastgir, Maryam Aurangzeb, Talal Chaudhry, Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, Uzma Bukhari, and others who have been raising the slogan of ‘respect the vote’.

“For the time being, Shehbaz Sharif group which includes Khwaja Asif, Khwaja Saad Rafique, Malik Ahmed Khan, and Rana Mashood are leading the party,” the source said.

The source said that Senator Pervez Rashid has distanced himself from party

NEws DEsk The victim in the Chingchi harassment case on Wednesday identified at least four suspects among the men paraded before her in the presence of the judicial magistrate, saying these men followed, catcalled and harassed her repeatedly. The suspects were produced before a judicial magistrate, Kamran Zafar, in Lahore for an identification parade, during which the woman identified four; namely, Usman, Irfan, Abdur Rehman and Sajid. They made indecent remarks and Sajid climbed onto the back of the three-wheeler and kissed her, the woman said. As per the new development today, four new suspects have been identified by the victim commuter in Lahore’s Chingchi harassment case on the Independence Day whose video went viral in the wake of the Greater Iqbal Park incident wherein the female TikToker was mobbed and mauled. The woman pointed at Usman, Irfan, Abdul Rehman, and Sajid to be among the crowd of motorcyclists following chingchi rickshaw and harassing women commuting in it. On Saturday, police said it arrested the prime suspect in the Lahore Rickshaw harassment case. The arrest was made by the city’s Gulshan-eRavi police. Tariq Khan was caught on camera committing obscene activity with the women traveling in a rickshaw around Minar-e-Pakistan on the occasion of Independence Day. Earlier, the sketch was prepared by the concerned authorities and had been sent to police stations in the city to arrest the suspect in the rickshaw harassment case.

LAHORE Staff RepoRt

PML-N changes tune for elections in Cantonment Boards IsLAMABAD

Victim of Lahore rickshaw harassment case identifies 4 suspects

Metrobus back on track after three-week hiatus

Ambassador of European Union Androulla Kaminara called on Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa in Rawalpindi on Wednesday.

During the meeting, matters of mutual interest, regional security situation including current situation of Afghanistan and enhanced bilateral cooperation with European Union were discussed.

The army chief said that Pakistan values its relations with EU countries and we earnestly look forward to enhance mutually beneficial multidomain relations based on common interests.

The visiting dignitary appreciated Pakistan’s role in Afghanistan situation, including successful evacuation operations and efforts for regional stability. The EU ambassador pledged to play their role for further improvements in diplomatic cooperation with Pakistan at all levels.

SHEHBAZ SHARIF GROUP GETS LEAD ROLE FOR CANVASSING IN CANTONMENT BOARDS

government of suppressing its rival parties and said “the game of targeting your [political] opponents” has to stop at some point in time. Nawaz also hinted at filing a new petition in connection with the Avenfield reference, which she claimed will expose “actual grounds” of the case.

In 2018, Maryam was given seven years for abetment after she was found “instrumental in concealment of the properties [Avenfield House apartments in London] of her father” and one year for noncooperation with the National Accountability Bureau. Refusing to divulge details of the prospective petition, she said her counsel was preparing the request which would be substantial in proceeding with the case.

PML-N DISCARDS ‘RESPECT TO VOTE’ AND ADOPTS ‘RESPECT TO DEVELOPMENT WORKS’ affairs due to the increasing clout of Shehbaz Sharif who is not comfortable with those who are considered close to Maryam Nawaz and have been pushing an anti-army narrative. Rather, the source said, Shehbaz Sharif has given a special mandate to Malik Ahmad Khan to lead the canvassing in the cantonment boards.

The source said that the cantonment board’s election campaign is missing the slogan of ‘respect the vote’. The source said that the Maryam Nawaz group has also been sidelined in the process of preparation of PML-N’s ‘White Paper’ against the Punjab government’s three years in power. “Shehbaz Sharif has empowered his close aide Rana Mashhood to finalise and release the white paper while Uzma Bukhari has been sidelined in issuing of the white

paper,” the source said.

The source added that due to which the PML-N Punjab spokesperson Uzma Bukhari has got angry and she left the official group of PML-N in protest to this decision. The source said that it has now been decided that PML-N leader Rana Mashood along with Malik Ahmed Khan will be releasing the white paper on September 9 on the three-year performance of the Punjab government.

The source said that Uzma Bukhari was furious as she had released the white paper against the Punjab government last year.

The source said that Shehbaz Sharif has directed his team to issue a white paper on the performance of the Punjab government and a comparison would be drawn between PML-N and PTI’s tenures on public issues like education, health, and economy.

The Metrobus service resumed operations on Wednesday with a fleet of 60 vehicles after an 11day hiatus caused by the strike of the drivers and other staffers over non-payment of arrears, bonuses and other benefits by the outgoing contractor. The protestors ended the strike Tuesday night after a new contractor — VEDA Transit Solutions Private Limited — took the charge from Albayrak Holding, a Turkish company. They had announced to move the court for getting their issues redressed and demanded the government should not return the security amount to the previous contractor till their demands were met. Last year, the Punjab government has signed an agreement with VEDA Solutions and a group of banks to replace the existing fleet of buses.

Per the agreement, the new contractor will operate the service until 2029.

Vaccination, simple preventive tools may help counter lethal Delta strain of Covid-19 APP It was difficult for Mrs. Azra Rizvi to believe that she or her husband could be the reason for their eight year old son Arham’s Delta positivity, that too because they could not convince themselves of getting vaccinated against coronavirus. Realizing that they did not ever care for use of masks, hand hygiene and social distance to help protect themselves as well as all those around, immunized or not but vulnerable to the viral infection with its varied strains was definitely all the more painful for her. Rizvis are just a name for a sizable group of people still to realize severity and sensitivity of the situation enhancing their own risks and also those around them to Delta variant, the most infectious and dominant strain of Covid presently registered in most parts of the world including Pakistan, largely due to community spread.

Thursday, 9 September, 2021

ISLAMABAD

NEWS

03

Court hoLDs goVt agenCies aCCountabLe in Korangi faCtory fire inCiDent

a

AkIf RAsHID

district and sessions court has issued its written orders wherein it has cancelled the bail a day earlier and police have arrested all three suspects in the Korangi fire case and has moreover stated that it would include the concerned government agencies.

The court’s written decision said that not including the concerned government agencies in the case would be an injustice to the deceased, reported Geo News.

A day earlier, the court had cancelled the interim bail granted to landowner Faisal

Tariq, factory owner Hassan Ali Mehta, and factory manager Imran Zaidi and ordered their arrest in the Korangi factory fire incident — which killed 16 people.

The court said the factory in Mehran Town was built on a residential plot without the permission of the concerned agencies.

In its written decision issued on Wednesday, the court said there were no fire protection arrangements in the building, causing the deaths of 16 people as the doors were closed.

The Karachi court said that the fire brigade arrived late and the civil defence personnel were untrained.

When the police had questioned the Sindh Building Control Authority and the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation authorities, it turned out that according to the property documents, a residential building had been constructed in place of the factory.

SBCA said that a construction map comprising five bedrooms, a kitchen, and a restroom had been approved because the place where the factory building was constructed is a residential area. The map did not include a fire exit, which is mandatory for factories.

SBCA authorities added that when the factory building was being constructed in a

residential area, everyone remained quiet, adding that even the police silently watched but did not take action.

Police added that the factory owner, Hassan Ali Mehta, used a single identity card number to register the names of two people.

He first got an identity card issued against the name of Murtaza Hassan in Pakistan, while he changed his name to Hassan Ali Mehta in the United Kingdom without publicly announcing a change of name.

The police added that Mehta signed a contract with the factory owner in 2019.

On August 27, 16 labourers lost their

Kashmir Committee welcomes new APHC chief, hopes he will continue Syed Ali Geelani’s mission SHEHRYAR AFRIDI URGES WORLD TO TAKE COGNIZANCE OF INDIAN PERSECUTION OF KASHMIRI JOURNALISTS, POLITICAL PRISONERS IsLAMABAD Mian abRaR

Parliamentary Committee Chairman on Kashmir Shehryar Khan Afridi Wednesday asked the world community to take cognizance of the Indian oppressive tactics against Kashmiri journalists to gag Kashmiri media and persecution of Kashmiri political prisoners languishing in Indian jails.

He expressed these views while chairing the 23rd meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on Kashmir.

Federal Secretary of Defence Lt Gen (r) Hilal Hussain, National Security Secretary Amir Hassan, MoFA Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar, KPL President Arif Malik, KPL CEO Shehzad Chaudhry and others attended the meeting. Azad Jammu & Kashmir Prime Minister Sardar Abdul Qayyum Niazi specially joined the sitting.

The Committee offered Fateha for the solace of Syed Ali Geelani, the father of the Kashmiri freedom struggle. On the occasion, Afridi paid glowing tributes to late Syed Ali Geelani.

Taking exception to the Indian persecution of the Indian journalists, Shehryar Afridi said that the Indian Illegal Occupational regime in Jammu and Kashmir wanted to stop imagery coming out of IIOJK. He added that Indian forces were committing war crimes against Kashmiris and they wanted to stop imagery coming out of Jammu and Kashmir. He emphasized that the Indian occupational regime in Jammu and Kashmir was involved in the illegal persecution of the Kashmiri politicians in jails. He said it was a pity that the world’s human rights organisations were not taking action over the Indian genocide of Kashmiris. Shehryar Afridi tabled a resolution to pay glowing tributes to Syed Ali Gilani and other Kashmiri martyrs which was passed unanimously.

“This parliament which is the voice of the nation and every household, every Pakistani offers fateha and tributes to Syed Ali Geelani as well as all those who laid down their lives for the freedom struggle of Kashmir,” said the resolution.

Another resolution passed by the committee was to

welcome Massarat Alam Bhat as the new chairman of All Parties Hurriyat Conference, wherein, Vice Chairman Syed Shabbir Shah, Ghulam Ahmed Gulzar and other office bearers and prayed for their success.

Afridi said during the meeting that the Kashmir Committee has started new traditions of engaging stakeholders to the Committee meetings.

MoFA spokesperson Asim Iftikhar briefed the committee on the measures being taken by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to raise Kashmir on international platforms. He said that Kashmir is a national agenda and MoFA has been pursuing the case related to the illegal custody and desecration of the body of Syed Ali Geelani from the bereaved family and the forceful burial. He said that Pakistan was also monitoring the registration of a false case against the family of Syed Ali Geelani under the black law of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and would raise it at all global forums. He said that Pakistan is alive to the situation and measures are being taken in this regard. He said that the foreign missions have been fully activated.

Briefing on the successful holding of the Kashmir Premier League, Shehryar Khan Afridi said that the KPL has brought about a revolution in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and people have benefitted in all dimensions – from economic activities, tourism to the social fabric of Kashmir.

President for higher education promotion through online, skill learning IsLAMABAD inp

President Dr Arif Alvi Wednesday said that higher education could effectively be promoted in the country by widening scope of online education as well as skill learning to cope with the growing market needs.

The president, addressing the “Best University Teacher Award 2020” ceremony, said the access to higher education could be enhanced by enhancing the proportion of online education as had been experimented during the COVID pandemic.

The ceremony was attended by Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mahmood, Parliamentary Secretary Education Wajiha Qamar and Executive Director Higher Education Dr Shaista Sohail

besides vice chancellors and rectors of different universities. The president, who earlier also conferred awards among three Best University Teachers, said the online education was also a cost-effective method which could facilitate more students without increasing the expenditures. Dr Tasnim Akhtar of Aga Khan University, Dr Muhammad Wasif of NED University and Dr Muhamad Zulfiqar Ali of Agriculture University of Multan received Best University Teachers Awards in their respective categories.

The president exemplified the role of Virtual University imparting online education successfully, though there was always room for quality improvement.

He said in order to address the issues of financing for higher education, the government was providing scholarships and had also allocated funds for education

scholarships under Ehsaas Program. President Alvi said Pakistan was not producing graduates as per the market needs which led to the export of talent. He said in Pakistan only nine percent students went to higher education while Bangladesh stood at 16% and India 19%, which also necessitated the increase in number of students.

He said the country was in need of around 0.9 million nurses but producing just around 150,000, therefore anymore export of the talent was beyond affordability. The president repeatedly urged the teachers to improve communication skills in order to effectively convey their messages to students which also enhanced the worthiness of the content. He said faltering in communication could beget misunderstanding not only among the families but also the nations.

Tazia: A reminder of righteousness’ victory over evil LAHORE app

In the Holy Quran, Allah assures human kind in the Surah Al-Isra that the truth has arrived and falsehood has vanished; indeed falsehood had to vanish.

The Holy Quran is the sole resource of humanity that calls and leads people to the correct knowledge of Allah, the values of Islam, how to live in a way that pleases Allah, and a concise criterion that distinguishes right from wrong.

For this reason, one of the Holy Quran’s names is “Furqan”- one that distinguishes right from the wrong.

The golden saying of Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib (AS) reads “a society can survive with disbelief (kufr), but not with injustice”.

With the arrival of Muharram, Shia Muslims across the world mourn the martyrdom of the Holy Prophet’s (Peace Be Upon Him) grandson, Imam Hussain (AS), his family members and the companions by taking out tazia (model of Imam’s Hussain’s (AS) shrine), Zuljinah and Alam processions.

Imam Hussain (AS) was martyred in the year 680 (AD), in a brutal massacre on the plains of Karbala by

the then-ruler Yazid’s forces. To save the spirit of Islam, Imam Hussain (AS) had refused to pledge allegiance to Yazid, which resulted in the tragedy of Karbala.

Since then, to commemorate the great sacrifices of Imam Hussain (AS), his family and his companions, mourning processions are taken out in many parts of the world, during the first 10 days (Ashra Ashur) of the holy month of Muharram.

The Tazia is a replica of the shrine of Imam Hussain (AS). The takht (base of tazia) is the first artifact (piece) to be carried out on day one, followed by the palanquin and finally, the jhoola.

Then it is reconstructed on the 10th day called Yume-Ashur. Pakistan is not only a very large country in terms of area, but it is remarkable for the diversity of cultures, languages and multi-religiosity that flourishes here. It is also a country with a rich aesthetic tradition as evinced by our local crafts.

Tazias are displayed in the mourning processions, and are mostly manufactured in Chiniot, Multan, Faisalabad, Lahore and Rawalpindi.

Among these, the famous tazias are of Chiniot and Multan.‘Taziyadari’ is a central part of the Muharram mourning tradition in all parts of the country, to show

respect and to mark Imam Hussain’s (AS) martyrdom every year on the 10th of Muharram.

As the manufacturing market of the art, Multan and Chiniot are the most famous and the most ancient and historical cities of Pakistan. In Chiniot people are adept in wood-craft and architectural marvels.

With the oldest tazia tradition in the subcontinent, Multan leads among Lahore, Rawalpindi Chiniot and Faisalabad. The tazias constructed in Multan are considered to be the beautiful, tallest and masterpiece handcrafts in the entire sub-continent.

Talking to APP, Shahzeb Hassan, the licence holder of the famous Ustaad Wala Tazia in Multan said that more than 112 tazia processions were taken out on the 10th of Muharram in Multan every year. ‘Ustaad Wala Tazia’ was crafted by Ustaad Pir Bukhsh, who started work on it in 1810 and completed its structure in 15 years, in 1825.

Hassan said that Teak wood was used in the structure and it was built without the use of even a single nail anywhere. It takes at least seven hours to reach its final destination on Shah Risal Road on the 10th of Muharram after travelling a distance of 2.5 kilometres,” Hassan said.

lives in a fire that broke out at a chemical factory in Mehran Town, Korangi. A day later, a case had been registered against the owner, manager, supervisors and watchman of the chemical factory.

Mehta, Zaidi, two supervisors Zafar and Rehan, and watchman Syed Zarin had been named in the FIR registered at the Korangi Industrial Area police station. The case had been registered under Sections 34 and Section 322 for the deaths of the workers.

According to the FIR, there was no emergency exit in case of an unfortunate incident and there was only one way out of the facility.

five killed as passenger van plunges into ditch IsLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

At least five passengers, including women and children, were killed when a passenger van plunged into a seasonal ditch in Punjab on Wednesday, police and rescue officials said. The van carrying 10 passengers was on its way to a village near the Head Jaggu area of Gujrat when the driver lost control of the vehicle which then fell into the roadside ditch, Muhammad Faisal, an official of emergency rescue service Rescue 1122 in Gujrat said. Five dead bodies have been recovered by the rescue personnel so far, said the official, adding that the rest of those onboard were rescued, and have been shifted to a nearby hospital for medical assistance. Police said the accident happened due to the negligence of the driver as he was driving fast despite heavy rains.

govt will ensure provision of transport facilities to residents of Karachi: pM NEws DEsk Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that the Federal Government will ensure provision of transport facilities to the residents of Karachi.

Talking to Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar in Islamabad on Tuesday, he said that previous governments have been ignoring Karachi, which is the economic hub of the country. He also said that ensuring easy access of labourers and manpower to industries for employment in Karachi is one of the top priorities of the government. The planning minister apprised the Prime Minister of progress on various development projects in Karachi. He told the PM that the process of getting approval to start New Karachi Circular Railway project will soon be completed.

fo hopes taliban will work for peace, security NEws DEsk The Foreign Office on Wednesday expressed the hope that the new political dispensation will work for peace and security in Afghanistan and address its people’s humanitarian needs. This was its first official comment on the government announced by the Taliban, “We have noted the latest announcement about formation of [an] interim political set-up in Kabul, which would address the requirement of a governance structure to meet the urgent needs of the people of Afghanistan,” a statement issued by the FO said. It said Pakistan continued to closely follow the evolving situation in the neighbouring country. “We hope that the new political dispensation will ensure coordinated efforts for peace, security and stability in Afghanistan as well as work towards taking care of humanitarian and development needs of the Afghan people,” the press release added. It further said: “Pakistan reaffirms its abiding commitment to a peaceful, stable, sovereign and prosperous Afghanistan.” On Tuesday, the Taliban announced their much-awaited interim government, with a UNblacklisted veteran of the hardline movement in the top role, weeks after they swept to power and toppled the US-backed president.

Thursday, 9 September, 2021

04 NEWS KPP SCalEd baCKEd duE to imf objECtion MonItorIng report The International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised objections over the limit of guarantees for doling out a small loans’ scheme under the Kamyab Pakistan Programme (KPP) therefore the federal government has decided to scale back the programme. The government has decided to phase out the loan programme even though the IMF had suggested softening the launch. Federal Minister for Finance Shaukat Tarin mentioned that in the third week of September, the first phase of the KPP will be launched in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan while it will be launched in January 2022 in the other provinces.

According to the top officials, “Pakistan and the IMF are scheduled to hold virtual talks for the sixth review from September 29, 2021, and then Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin will conclude policy level talks in Washington, DC, as he will be attending the annual spring meeting of Breton Wood Institutions (BWIs) such as the IMF and World Bank by the mid of next month”

Khusro directs Petroleum division to ensure gas supply to fertilizer plants ISLAMABAD APP

Federal Minister for Industries and Production Makhdum Khusro Bakhtyar on Wednesday directed the officials of the Petroleum division to ensure the supply of RLNG/gas to fertilizer plants in order to meet the target of local production of urea fertilizer.

In the wake of plans to fulfil the demand for urea fertilizer during the coming “rabi” sowing season, the consultative meeting was held here under the chairmanship of Khusro Bakhtyar, said a press release issued here.

The chair was told that the projected requirement of urea fertilizer is estimated at around 3.2 MMT for rabi season 2021-22.

However, urea demand would be met by domestic production, officials apprised the minister. He said that this would ensure the timely availability of fertilizer to farmers and enhance the agricultural output to meet the requirement of food crops in the country. The minister also noted that domestic production of urea fertilizers would slash the urea imports thus having huge relief on import bills and balance of payments, moreover, it would ensure availability of fertilizer for farmers at affordable prices. The meeting was attended by representatives of the fertilizer industry, senior officials of the Petroleum Division, Finance Division and Ministry of National Food Security and Research.

ISLAMABAD

CrEation of SoftwarE tEChnoloGy zonES to inCrEaSE ExPortS and EmPloymEnt LAHore

P

ShAhAB OMER

UNJAB Finance Minister Makhdoom Hashim Jawan Bakht has announced that the Punjab government will set up a software technology zone in Lahore to increase exports and create employment opportunities.

An inaugural function was held at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) here on Wednesday with Bakht as the chief guest. LCCI President Mian Tariq Misbah, Senior Vice President Muhammad Nasir Hameed Khan, Vice President Tahir Manzoor Chaudhry, Former President Mian Misbah-ur-Rehman

and Bank of Punjab President Zafar Masood were also present on the occasion.

Bakht believed that Lahore was going to be a major hub for business activities in the future and all kinds of resources would be utilized for business development here.

“The government has received Rs26 billion from the auction of the Central Business District in Lahore. The LCCI proposals will be included in the annual development plan and RS 10 billion has been allocated for this purpose. The role of LCCI has always been positive. The government has adopted a strategy for the development of the industrial sector so that it can create employment opportunities for a wide range of people,” he said.

Minister further added that the private

sector has an important role to play in the development of the economy while the job of the government is to provide business facilities. “Both the public and private sectors have to work hard, and economic prosperity is not possible without industrial development,” he added.

On the occasion, the President of the Bank of Punjab said that the business community is the backbone of the economy and BoP is providing them with the best banking facilities on a priority basis.

However, the LCCI President suggested that Pakistan’s position in the global ranking of countries with ease of doing business could be further enhanced through public-private partnerships.

“This will require the government to

Audit of OMCs & refineries for FY 2021-22 likely to start next week ISLAMABAD AhMAd AhMAdANI

The Ministry of Energy has asked the Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) and refineries to keep the relevant record available for audit purposes and extend full cooperation with the audit team in this regard.

In a bid to perform audit activity for the financial year 2021-22 (audit year 2020-21), Ministry of Energy Petroleum Division-Policy Wing), Directorate General (Oil) in a letter dated 7th September 2021 to 25 MDs and CEOs of OMCs and refineries, informed that audit team will visit ARL, PARCO refineries’ offices situated at Rawalpindi and Multan and all OMCs offices/depots at Machike, district Sheikhupura in next week. “ It is, therefore, requested that the concerned officers under your regime be informed for the above visits and also be directed to keep the record (copies of In Bond GD/ExBond, Treasury Challans, quantity registers and any other relevant record) readily available for audit purpose and extend full cooperation in this regard,” said the letter.

It is relevant to note that the Ministry of Energy has sent this letter to PARCO, Karachi, SPL, Karachi, Puma Energy,

Karachi, BPPL, Karachi (OMC), Zoom Pet., Lahore, Quality 1 Pet., Islamabad, Hi-Tech Lubricants, Lahore, Jinn Pet., Islamabad, ARL, Rawalpindi, APL, Rawalpindi, Askar Oil, Lahore, BE Energy, Karachi, Zoom Mkt. Oils, Lahore, Oilco Pet., Lahore, Euro Oil, Lahore, Flow Petroleum, Lahore, PSO, Karachi, TPPL, Lahore, Hascol, Karachi, Gas & Oil, Lahore, Fuelers, Lahore, Horizon Oil, Lahore, My Petroleum, Lahore, Exceed Pet., Islamabad, and Allied Pet., Lahore.

Earlier, the Cabinet Committee on Transport and Logistics (CCoTL), in a decision dated 01-09-2021, had directed the petroleum division to place the matter of deemed duty before the CCoE (Cabinet Committee on Energy) in its next meeting with the yearly breakup of duty collected by each refinery and its utilization since its inception.

And, Directorate General of Oil, Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division), in a letter dated 6th September 2021 to the managing directors (MDs) of six refineries (Pak-Arab Refinery Limited, Byco Petroleum Ltd., Attock Refinery Limited, National Refinery Limited, Pakistan Refinery

Limited, ENAR Petroleum Refining Facility Ltd.) has asked to provide a yearly breakup of deemed duty collected by each refinery and its utilization since its inception. Also, reports of audits of deemed duty conducted by 3rd party or government auditors from its inception.

“Above information/reply should be furnished within two (2) days, enabling this division to onward submission to CCoE of the Cabinet. Further, the soft copy of the requisite information in MS-Excel format may also be e-mailed at “ dirfpoil@gmail.com”, in addition to the hard copy,” said the petroleum division’s letter.

According to sources, collection of the deemed duty has so far remained a controversial subject for the refineries.

And, many believed that the refineries had received billions of rupees but they did not invest in plant upgrades.

It is pertinent to mention that the Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCOE) had earlier raised several questions over the proposed Refinery Policy 2021 and the major question was how much deemed duty the oil refineries had collected and what was the total investment in upgrading the projects out of the total receipts.

EU to provide 10 million euros to Pakistan for promotion of SMEs sectors: EU ambassador to Pakistan ISLAMABAD ShAhzAd PARAchA

Ambassador of the European Union to Pakistan Androulla Kaminara has said that the EU will provide 10 million euros to Pakistan for the promotion of four Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) sectors included Gems Jewellery and mining, Information Technology, handicrafts & fashion wearing and travel as well as tourism.

She announced this while talking to the media after launching the EU-Pakistan Business Forum 2021. Androulla Kaminara said that the EU has launched the first Pakistan-EU Business Forum to promote Pakistan’s SME sector. “We have included four sectors (Gems Jewellery and mining, Information Technology, handicrafts & fashion wearing and travel as well as tourism) in the first phase and more sectors will be added with the passage of time.” She also announced that the EU will also provide a 10 million euros grant for the promotion of the above-mentioned sectors.

The EU ambassador said that the European Union, as well as European Commission, will decide on extending the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) plus status keeping in view the progress made by Pakistan. Pakistan has GSP Plus status till December 2023, Androulla

CMYK

Kaminara further said that the EU reviews the legal and other issues of each member country and if Pakistan meets the required standards, the GSP Plus will be extended.

The ambassador said that GSP plus has very positive effects on Pakistan as due to GSP Plus status, Pakistan exports to EU countries increased by 7.5 billion dollars and she does not see any difficulty in extending the Pakistan GSP Plus category.

She also said that the EU has reservations about issues related to freedom of expression, enforced disappearances and human rights in Pakistan. Pakistan is included in the list of human rights as per the last report of the European Union, she added. Responding to one question, she said that she had a meeting with Pakistan’s Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry.

“We discussed freedom of expression, but I have not yet received any written draft regarding media which is under discussion nowadays in Pakistan.” The EU Ambassador said that Pakistan has implemented 26 of the 27 points of the FATF Action Plan and will also fulfil the last points, responding to another question. Earlier, the representatives of the EU shared with the above mentioned SME sector people about the benefits of GSP plus as well as availing the zero duty provided by EU on two-thirds of commodities.

ensure that the business community is consulted on trade and industry-related decisions. The main purpose of LCCI is to protect the interests of the business community, and we are committed to the development of the country. Many issues are facing the business community that need to be addressed on a priority basis and the government should help the business community to meet all the challenges. Accelerating trade and economic activity is not only necessary but also to build trust between the government and the private sector,” Misbah said.

Misbah informed the audience that LCCI has also set up facility desks of various government departments for the convenience of its members.

German delegation to visit Pakistan for exploring investment opportunities ISLAMABAD: Secretary Board of Investment (BOI), Ms Fareena Mazhar termed the forthcoming visit of the German delegation to Pakistan as a positive sign for Pakistan’s economy. German Ambassador to Pakistan Mr Bernhard Stephan Schlagheck called on Mazhar here on Wednesday, September 8, 2021. During the meeting, the ambassador mentioned that a delegation of German businessmen is set to visit Pakistan in the following week to explore investment opportunities. He added that Lufthansa is also a part of the delegation and is keen on starting operations in Pakistan. He further shared that the business delegation would be visiting Karachi and Islamabad and would be interacting with investors from the private sector and high-level government representatives. Mazhar shared that she is looking forward to hosting the delegation at BOI and is eager to facilitate them in every possible way. She also added that senior-level meetings with Siemens Global CFO to discuss their plans will pave the way for Siemens establishing itself further in Pakistan. The secretary while highlighting the various opportunities in Pakistan said that regulatory reform is a priority area for the incumbent government and investor facilitation is being paid special attention. She apprised the ambassador of the ten-year tax exemption introduced in the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and the landmark one window operation that is set to be launched at the end of November this year. “I’m confident with the way things are going and I’m positive that the numbers will increase,” the secretary said while talking about Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Pakistan. She also added that a jump of 15-20 positions is expected in Pakistan’s Ease of Doing Business (EODB) ranking in the State Bank’s next DB report. STAFF REPORT

SECP warns companies to disclose their beneficial owners MonItorIng report The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) issued a final warning to registered companies to disclose their beneficial owners or a penalty of up to Rs10 million will be imposed on them. SECP would be concluding the ongoing adjudication proceedings that are aligned with international practices to improve transparency in the system. “Every company is required by law to obtain information of its ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs) and file a declaration to this effect with SECP,” mentioned the company regulator. SECP has reminded companies, periodically, to submit the Beneficial Ownership Declaration (BOD) on Form 45 online. The reminder stated, “It is important to note that failure to file the requisite Form 45 may result in the imposition of penalty up to Rs10 million, and therefore, SECP has issued a final announcement to companies to comply with this requirement, before the conclusion of the adjudication proceedings,”

Thursday, 9 September, 2021

ISLAMABAD

NEWS

05

Lungs of earth: PM’s forests initiative to heLP create biggest carbon sinks LaHore

g

App

LOBAL Joint efforts to restore the ecosystem through sustainable climate change measures are essential to protect the planet earth and improve the livelihood of its inhabitants directly dependent on its green resources.

Unfortunately, as a result of widespread and intensifying eco-degradation phenomena, during the present time frame, some trends, and impacts of climate changes have become irreversible and have prevailed globally.

Biologists and Scientists through their various research-based findings have expressed concerns on global irreversible climate changes, happening at a fast pace in every region impacting global climate and ecosystems, reveals the report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), released last month.

Many changes being observed in climate change are unprecedented even in a span of thousands of years, such as continued sea-level rise are irreversible over hundreds to thousands of years, it said.

However, strong and considerable reductions in emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases (CFCs)would limit climate change while stabilizing temperatures during the next 20 to 30 years, further reveals IPCC Working Group-I report, Climate Change 2021, the report observed. This Physical-Science Based report was approved by the 195 member governments of the IPCC, through a virtual session that was held over two weeks, starting on July 26, 2021.It may be mentioned here that the current Working Group-I report is the first accomplishment of the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report (AR-6) which would be completed in 2022.

In response to the released IPCC report, António Guterres, the SecretaryGeneral of the United Nations (UN) in his tweet recently said that the report’s evidence was irrefutable: greenhouse gas emissions were choking the planet Earth and placing billions of people in danger.

Global heating was affecting every region on Earth, with many of the changes becoming irreversible. We must now act decisively to avert a climate catastrophe, he added.

Renowned American software devel-

oper, business magnate, author, investor, and philanthropist Bill Gates, an ardent supporter of initiatives to tackle climate change writes in his new book titled ‘How to Avoid a Climate Disaster,’ that to prevent the worst effects of climate change, we need to get to zero net greenhouse gas emissions in every sector of the economy within 50 years. Various global survey reports reveal that the top five hazards, which the world is facing, were all related to the environment.

Those events included the failure of climate change mitigation and adaptation, human-made environmental damage and global ecosystem collapse, irregular weather events, major natural disasters, biodiversity loss, and related disasters.

The global forums and bodies including the UN and World Economic Forum (WEF) had acknowledged the great efforts of Prime Minister Imran Khan for practically implementing the most ambitious forestation plans to expand and restore the country’s ecosystems, biodiversity, wetlands, and forests through his ‘10 Billion Tree Tsunami” initiative, which would be accomplished during a period of five years.

Meanwhile, Pakistan in partnership with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), had recently hosted the main event of the World Environment Day 2021.Prime Minister Imran Khan, being the host of the event, had pointed out the global and local climate and environmental degradation issues and showcased the country’s rapid initiatives before the world that his government was contributing to the global cause.

Noted forest expert Dr. Mehmood Khalid Qamar told APP that the ‘10 Billion Tree Tsunami’ initiative was the world’s largest afforestation-struggle by a single country for restoring mangroves and forests, as well as planting trees in both rural and urban areas of the country, including schools, colleges, universities, public parks, barren areas, and green belts.

He appreciated the government efforts for launching the Ecosystem Restoration Fund (ERF) to support nature-based solutions to mitigate climate change and eco-degradation issues and facilitate the transition towards environmentally resilient, ecologically targeted initiatives while covering afforestation, wildlife, and biodiversity conservation.

Pakistan suggests inviting Afghanistan to regional forum continued from page 01 “Equally important is to take steps to prevent an economic meltdown in the country.”

Afghanistan’s neighbours would require a coordinated approach to cope with challenges stemming from the regime change in Kabul after U.S. and NATO forces left, the statement said.

It said those challenges included border security, preventing Afghan soil from being used as a base for

terrorism and a possible influx of refugees.

INTERIM GOVERNMENT: The interim government is stacked with veterans from their hard-line rule in the 1990s and the 20-year battle against the US-led coalition.

Mohammad Hasan Akhund will head the government while the group’s co-founder Abdul Ghani Baradar will be the deputy leader, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid announced.

Taliban’s deputy leader Sirajuddin Haqqani will be the acting interior minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi will be the

acting foreign minister, political chief Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai will be the acting deputy foreign minister and Mullah Yaqoob will be the acting defence minister, he announced during a press conference in Kabul.

The heads of various other ministries will be appointed soon, Mujahid added. “All groups have been represented in the cabinet,” he said.

So far, Pakistan has not commented on the formation of the government.

— With additional input from Reuters

Developed countries to raise $100bn annually in climate finance to support developing countries iSLamaBad GHULAM ABBAS

As Pakistan is the 8th most vulnerable country in the world in terms of climate change, Pakistan contributed only 1 percent to the worldwide greenhouse gas emission but it was 8th in the world in terms of climate vulnerability, the country needed to adopt nature-based approaches to be a part of the solution to climate change.

Keeping the rising climate issue, especially in the developing countries like Pakistan, the developed countries were supposed to raise at least $100 billion every year in climate finance.

These views were expressed by climate experts and practitioners during an event, ‘Pre-COP26 Dialogue’ organized by the Institute of Regional Studies (IRS) in collaboration with the Civil Society Coalition for Climate Change (CSCCC), the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), and the Embassy of France here on Wednesday. The aim of the dialogue was sharing ideas on climate change in the run up to the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) to be held in Glasgow from 31 October to 12 November.

They termed climate change a shared responsibility and urged the need for global partnership on the subject.

While addressing the event Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Climate Chain Mr Malik Amin Aslam, said that for Pakistan, it is important to give the message at COP26 that despite being affected by climate change in an unjust manner, the country will adopt nature-based approaches to be a part of the solution to climate change.

Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs Ms An-

EXPERTS URGE GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP ON CLIMATE CHANGE dleeb Abbas stated that climate was a priority of the Government of Pakistan and a personal focus of Prime Minister Imran Khan. She listed the ten billion tree tsunami, the switch to cleaner fuel, and introduction of an electric vehicle policy as some of the achievements of the government.

The British High Commissioner to Pakistan Dr Christian Turner shared that COP26 had four major goals: more national commitments on emission reduction by 2030; further support for vulnerable countries like Pakistan in terms of climate adaptation; climate finance mobilization to the tune of $100 billion annually; and developing partnerships not only between governments but also with the private sector and the civil society. He further stated that Pakistan was in a great position to assume global leadership on climate change owing to its climate vulnerability and its prioritization of climate in national policy making.

Italian Ambassador to Pakistan Mr Andreas Ferrarese stated that Pakistan contributed only 1 percent to the worldwide greenhouse gas emission but it was 8th in the world in terms of climate vulnerability. He shared that Italy and Pakistan will be co-hosting a side-initiative of COP26 on mountain climate in which Pakistan will play a central role in addressing challenges related to conservation of the central Karakoram ecosystem, meant to be a model for the world.

The Charge D’ Affaires of France in Pakistan Mr

Yves Manville shared that the French government was supporting Pakistan in providing small grants to civil society organizations for projects on climate change and awarding climate scholarships to Pakistani students. He added that the French government was also assisting the Government of Pakistan directly through the French Development Agency.

Urging the need for collaboration, Chief Executive of CSCCC Aisha Khan said that Climate Diplomacy would be the most important aspect of bilateral and multilateral engagements in future. This will require careful diplomacy and inspired leadership to leverage cooperation at the regional and international level.

Quoting an Asian Development Bank (ADB) study, President of IRS Ambassador Nadeem Riyaz stated that Pakistan was facing a $3.8 billion annual economic loss due to climate change. He added that COP26 was expected to play a crucial role in paving the way for sustainable recovery and setting ambitious but achievable targets for climate adaptation and mitigation.

Executive Director of the SDPI Dr Abid Suleri appreciated the government’s initiatives to tackle climate change, especially its commitment to phase out coalbased power generation. He said that the government had adopted an inclusive approach toward climate.

Other speakers at the event included the World Bank Country Director Mr Najy Benhassine, Development Director for Pakistan at the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Ms Annabel Gerry, Director General of Environment and Climate Change at the Ministry of Climate Change Mr Muhammad Irfan Tariq, and Chairman of the Board of Governors of SDPI Mr Shafqat Kakakhel.

KARACHI/SUKKUR: DG FIA Sanaullah Abbasi visits venue of recruitment process of physical/entrance test at Sukkur Centre, The DG/FIA was briefed by Muhammad Younis Chandio, Director, FIA Sindh ZoneII regarding the whole process of recruitment. pr

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

Yutong Master new 3rd generation intercity bus Master Motor Corp. (Pvt.) Ltd have launched the 3rd Generation CKD Intercity “NOVA” Bus of YutongMaster, the market leader in Inter-city luxury bus segment of Pakistan. The ceremony was held on 6th September 2021 at Master Motors Bus Assembly Plant, Port Qasim, Karachi. Distinguished guests from Government, private sector, transport officials and transporters attended the event. Mr. Nadeem Malik, the Managing Director of Master Motor, stated that MMCL has a vision to serve the transport industry of Pakistan with world class products that not only meets the international safety standards but also caters for the environment. The launching of this bus is another step ahead towards achieving our goal of providing a safe transportation and better life style to passengers, and a better opportunity for transporters to enhance their business. Our main focus is passenger safety and that is why we introduced international standard buses to meet the safe transportation needs of the society along with reliable and responsive after sales services for the transporters. Mr. Faisal Meraj, Senior General Manager Marketing & Sales of Master Motor, stated that this is the same international model that is running in different countries of Europe and it has been adopted with the improvements keeping in mind of Pakistani road infrastructure to maintain the durability and operational efficiency. MMCL is the first company to introduce and started the assembling of Euro 3 buses in Pakistan. Currently, Yutong Master has been serving Pakistan market with 3 locally assembled CKD models and more than 6 CBU models and has been a benchmark for other Bus assemblers in Pakistan. MMCL in technical collaboration with Yutong (the largest manufacturer of buses in the world), is assembling different models of Yutong buses, commonly known as Yutong-Master, in its assembling plant in Karachi. Since 2018, YutongMaster has been a market leader in inter-city bus segment in Pakistan. Master Group is operating since 1963 contributing in various sectors including Power, Textile, and Automotive sector. Master Motor Corp.

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

Govt fully determined to use EVMs, says ECP’s concerns addressed continued from page 01 He pointed out that the ECP had not accepted the machine but had not rejected it either since the technical process was yet to be completed.

“Our work is making the law and fulfilling the ECP’s requirements for the machine,” Faraz said, adding that it was the ECP’s duty to figure out the mechanism to utilise it.

Faraz assured that the country had the capacity to produce the number of electronic voting machines that would be required for elections.

“You can do training, manufacturing and

deployment in two years but that is not our work, it is the ECP’s,” he added.

In response to another question about the government’s plans in case both the ECP and the opposition rejected the EVM, the minister said, “It is the government’s job to create a law. When it is done, all state institutions will have to follow it and there cannot be a question of opposition.”

He disclosed that the ministry was holding a hackathon to establish the security of the machine.

In its document submitted to the Senate Standing Committee on Parliamentary Af-

fairs on Tuesday, the ECP said time was too short for the large-scale procurement and deployment of EVMs and imparting training to a massive number of operators, adding that it was not advisable to introduce EVM nationwide in one go. It said the polls on one day as required under the law would be nearly impossible.

The ECP also referred to various other issues linked with the use of EVM, including lack of ballot secrecy, lack of capacity at all levels and lack of ensuring security and chain of custody for the machines at rest and during transportation. It also pointed out that

cmYK

there would be no evidence available in case of election dispute. The ECP noted that data integration and configuration issues may crop up due to court orders at the eleventh hour regarding a change in ballot paper.

The ECP said EVMs could not prevent low voters’ turnout, low women’s turnout, misuse of state authority, election fraud, electronic ballot stuffing, vote buying, the law and order situation, dishonest polling staff, widespread political and electoral violence and abuse of state resources.

It went on to say that in case of introduction of the technology in haste, the conduct

of free, fair, credible and transparent elections as per the Constitution was not possible. It was pointed out that Germany, Holland, Ireland, Italy and Finland had abandoned the use of EVMs due to lack of security.

About prerequisites for introduction of EVMs, the ECP said these included availability of a secure and reliable solution, political consensus among the parties represented in parliament and amendments to the Constitution, acts and rules, infrastructure deployment for staggered elections, threat models and risks assessment and disaster recovery plan.

Thursday, 9 September, 2021

06 COMMENT

Best Army worst Police?

The unpopularity of EVMs Rejected by the opposition, ECP and civil society organizations

Policirical interference has destroyed one

T

HE government is relying on underhand methods to sanctify voting through EVMs and I-voting in the 2023 elections. It got election-related laws passed in the National Assembly without discussion and in the absence of the opposition from the House. A pliable Senate Chairman barred the Senate Standing Committee on Parliamentary Affairs from summoning government officials or civil society representatives for briefing the Committee on the feasibility of the government’s plan without his prior approval. He also moved a vocal PPP lawmaker to another committee without his consent. Chairman Sanjrani had to cancel the moves however under unrelenting pressure from the opposition.

Undeterred, the Senate Chairman has now tipped the balance in the governments’ favour by adding a ruling alliance Senator to the Committee.

The briefing provided to the Senate Committee by four independent bodies and persons on Tuesday underlined serious flaws in the use of EVMs and I-voting in the next elections.

The Election Commission of Pakistan placed a document before the committee that raised as many as 37 objections. It warned that the machines were tampering-prone and their software could easily be altered. It raised damaging questions about ensuring the security and chain of custody for the machines at rest and during transportation. It was maintained that the time was too short for a large-scale procurement and deployment of EVMs and providing training to a massive number of operators required to handle them. Another serious weakness in the system was that there would be no evidence available in case of election disputes. PILDAT President Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) Representative as well as former ECP Secretary Kanwar Dilshad supported the objections while adding more to them.

The only sensible way for the government would be to abandon the idea of relying on the new technology in the 2023 elections. It can however test it in by-elections or local body elections, after consultations with the opposition, to familiarize the voters with the new system and to remove any possible glitches.

An insistence by the government on EVMs and i-voting despite serious objections by independent and knowledgeable persons would convince the opposition that the government is bent upon stealing the elections. This will lead to a prolonged confrontation lasting till 2023 which the country can ill afford

Dr FariD a malik

I

N his speech at GHQ on the celebration of the September ‘65 War exploits of the armed forces, Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa claimed that Pakistan has one of the best Armiesy of the world. Unfortunately in the land of the pure, internal security is being handled by the worst police force, which clearly indicates that all is not well.

There are two extremes in the men in uniform, the best and the worst on the same soil. It calls for serious analysis and soul searching.

The Sharifs of Gawalmandi and the Chaudhrys of Gujrat are mainly responsible for this mess. As Prime Minister, Mian Nawaz Sharif repeatedly tried to extend his influence in the armed forces as well but all his attempts have been foiled thus far. The entire police force, all the way upto the rank of the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), has been recruited against merit. While the senior positions are filled through the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC), the rest come through the proverbial ‘ Via Bhatinda ‘. In order to come upto the mark, massive retrenchment of the force is needed. Recently the Supreme Court sent home 16000 employees hired by the Benazir government. Such a massive purge is needed here as well to erase the Zia era.

As an institution, the armed forces have maintained their institutional strength. Recruitment and promotions are all done on merit. The Chief of Army Staff (COAS) cannot recruit his own relative or pass on the baton to his son. Unfortunately on the civil side the Khaki dictatorships have caused immeasurable

Dizzying turnover Six IGPs and five chief secretaries removed in three years

Remembering 9/11

F

OR most, if not all, governments of the past, civilian or military, Punjab typically became the crown jewel of any composition. Being the most densely populated province in the country, it is a must-win for any major party looking to form a government at the centre. The PTI understood this very well going into the 2018 general elections and was able to win there, albeit with a razor thin majority, after collecting a plethora of independent electables that helped make up the required numbers. However, merely gaining control in Punjab is not enough, and governing this behemoth of a province well, with tangible results to show for it, is crucial for survival and unfortunately the PTI has failed to deliver on this latter part during its three years in power. Perhaps the most contentious and persistent issue is the fact that the political leadership in Punjab and the center is unable to find a way to work with the bureaucracy. With a seventh Police IG and sixth chief secretary being brought in with their predecessors spending 12 months and 17 months on the job respectively, it does not seem that the important matters of law and order and governance will be seeing any improvement any time soon. The new appointees might be expected to hit the ground running but the pace of work will be determined by how fast the bureaucracy in Punjab moves, which at the moment, is quite sluggish, riddled with excessive red tape and a general fear to sign off on anything too quickly owing to NAB’s overbearing and uncontrolled propensity to hound bureaucrats.

There is also an increasingly obvious arrangement where Punjab is run as an extension of the centre rather than being allowed to govern itself independently as a federating unit.

This has somewhat diluted the powers and effectiveness as an administrator of Chief Minister Usman Buzdar whose appointment in 2018 was a source of much confusion and controversy as he was nowhere in the running for the top job in the province. Prime Minister Imran Khan continues to defend his choice of CM, arguing that it is a complicated and tough job and time is required to learn the ropes. Maybe the same allotment of time should be made for the IGP and chief secretary, the senior-most police officer and bureaucrat in Punjab, to achieve the results that are expected of them.

A testimony 20 years down the line

Washington Watch Dr James J Zogby

I

will never forget the flood of emotions that I experienced on September 11, 2001, and the days that followed. If I’ve learned anything in my seven decades, it’s that remembering is important. Especially so, in this case, both because the trauma of that period irrevocably shaped the USA and its foreign and domestic policies and because of the way the horrors of that day impacted my community. As almost a third of Americans today either weren’t alive or old enough to remember or were not yet here (because they’ve come as immigrants since then) when 9/11 happened, recalling that period and considering its lessons are important.

For me and millions of other Americans, September 11 began as just another Tuesday morning. I was stuck in traffic, stopped at a light when I noticed a woman in the car next to me signaling for me to roll down my window. As I did, she shouted, “Did you hear what happened to the World Trade Center?”

“No,” I said, “my car radio isn’t working.”

“A plane just crashed into the building!” She yelled. “My father works there, and I don’t know what’s happened to him.”

Then the light changed, and she moved on. I never saw her again and don’t know what happened to her father, but I will never forget the look of sheer terror on her face.

By the time I got to my office, everyone was watching television. That was when the second plane hit. Like my colleagues, I was stunned and transfixed

Dedicated to the legacy of late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami (Late) Founding Editor

Yousaf Nizami M. A. Niazi

Editor Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

Umar Aziz

Joint Editor

Joint Editor

Executive Editor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

damage to the civilian institutions. Ayub Khan used the Thana to get elected, so did Zia and Musharraf through their proxies like the Sharifs and Chaudhrys.

On the other hand the Pakistan People’s Party till today has been an anti-establishment political outfit.

The party under the Bhuttos relied on People, not Police, power unlike the Sarkari Muslim Leagues.

In KP, the government of Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf ( PTI ) succeeded in reforming the police force under the leadership of the legendary officer, the late Inspector General Nasir Durrani. He was then sent to Punjab but was unable to repeat his miracle in the Toadyland of the five rivers. Dejected, he resigned and went home. Finally his brilliant innings came to an end this year due to the prevalent pandemic.

In Punjab, the entire police force is in total disarray. It is a private enterprise that does not control crime, rather it capitalizes on it. In the end it acts as a go-between the between aggrieved and the aggressor and acting on the principle of Muk Muka ( Wheelingdealing ) of Sharifs or the Mitti Pau’ (Cover-up) of the Chaudhrys followed by imposition of heavy gratification from both parties. The approach being: ‘No payment no service’. There is no chain of command.

Every police station is an island of authority run by the SHO (Station House Officer). Even private prisons exist. Till 1985 the force indulged only in corruption but today it is infested with criminals as well.

While the external security is in good hands the internal leaves a lot to be desired. In the provinces of Punjab and Sindh, the average tenure of an IG is less than a year. Political interference combined with lack of performance has rendered the force non-functional. While the PM and CM desire that the force meets the people’s expectations, its performance remains disappointing. Last year I had to spend a few hours at one of the police stations in the city. It was totally mismanaged and overcrowded.

Then I heard the views from the other side also.

There were complaints of meagre resources and lack of facilities so everyone was let loose to fend for themself. Hardly anyone lived on the premises. My memory of stations was totally different. Civil Lines, Old Anarkali, New Anarkali, Lahori Gate, Qila Gujjar Singh, Lyton Road etc all had custom-built stations which had complete boarding, lodging and transport facilities. It was more like an Army unit under command of a Commanding Office (CO). The Police Workshop on Ferozepur Road provided maintenance facilities. Transport was limited but well kept. It

I

Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

I

by the images of planes slicing through the walls of the World Trade Center, people jumping from the buildings, and finally of the two towers collapsing into a pile and disappearing forever. It was a horror, never to be forgotten.

Soon, the nightmare became personal. My daughter worked near the Pentagon, which had also been a target. She called, frightened and also concerned for me because the White House, just two blocks away from my office, appeared to be another likely target.

Building security, on orders from the local police, came to evacuate us around noon. We refused to leave because there was too much work to do. Although no one knew yet for certain the identity of the hijackers, speculation was rife that Arabs were involved, and Arab American community leaders were already phoning us for advice and support. They wanted to know how to respond to the inevitable media requests and the threats that were sure to come.

From early calls and emails, we could see signs of a brewing backlash. During this time, my office came under police protection because of the flood of hate mail and death threats. Some were personal: “Jim, you towelhead. Death to every Arab. We’ll slit your throat and kill your children.” Others were more general.

One month later, I was asked by the chair of the US Civil Rights Commission to report on the extent of hate crimes and violence that occurred in the weeks after 9/11. In my testimony, I cataloged hundreds of documented hate crimes against Arab Americans, American Muslims, and those thought to be Arabs or Muslims. I noted that there had been seven murders as well as other acts of violence and threats of violence.

This backlash was frightening and profoundly unsettling to Arab Americans. As Americans, we too had been pained by the enormous tragedy that had been inflicted on our country. We too needed to mourn, but we were pulled away from our grieving and forced instead to look over our shoulders in fear because some struck out against us with hate, telling my community that, in effect, “You are not part of

Islamabad – Ph: 051-2204545

seems that system no longer exists. Compared to the COAS, the IGs are no longer as well connected with their stations or men spread all over the province.

This gap between the men in khaki and green or grey has to be bridged in the best interests of the people. The elections in 2018 were conducted under the overall control of the Army. The police force was not allowed to enter the polling stations. Without discussing the allegations of pre- or post-poll rigging, they were the most orderly and peaceful elections ever.

For most national emergencies, the Armed Forces come to help. Occasionally the two have clashed. their mode of operation is poles apartas well. I remember a few years back the traffic was stopped right at the time of Iftar for passage of the convoy of Shahbaz Sharif, the CM, at one of the Cantonment entry points manned by the Army on the other side. I got frustrated and enquired from the police on duty as to who had ordered them for this insanity at this critical time, on not getting a satisfactory reply, I decided to defy the unreasonable verbal orders. On seeing the ensuing brawl the ‘’khakis ‘decided to intervene, ND after assessing the situation they decided to let the traffic move.

Most police vehicles defy traffic rules and behave in the most Obnoxious manner both on the road and in their offices. Extra judicial killings or ‘ Fake Police Encounters ‘ is another blot on the force. Lt. Gen (R) Ghulam Jillani Khan as Governor personally called and inquired from the SHO after every such encounter as their credibility as an armed entity is very low.

During our days of student activism, there were encounters with several police officers. IG Mian Bashir Ahmad was brilliant and bold and personally led the force from the front. His son Major (retd) Mian Zaheer Ahmad served as IG Islamabad. While General Agha Muhammad Yayha Khan rose to be the Army Chief, his brother Agha Muhammad Ali led the Police. The former IG Islamabad Aamir Zulfiqar inherited both traditions of men in uniform. His father and paternal grandfather were Army men while his maternal grandfather was a very well respected police officer of his time. Till the fateful decline of the decade of the 1980s, both the forces commanded respect, but then the police was used for political purposes for stuffing the ballot boxes and harassing the opponents.

The Police Act 2002 did bring autonomy to the force but with no accountability. For internal peace and well being of the masses, a major re-evaluation of the entire reform package is needed. While people of the Islamic Republic can sleep in peace due to the functional armed forces, it is the police force that inflicts sleeplessness on the innocent while protecting the corrupt and the unscrupulous who fill their coffers.

The writer is ex-Chairman, Pakistan Science Foundation. He can be contacted at: fmaliks@hotmail.com. us.” This produced a double hurt.

I was angry, of course, at the threats and prejudice. But more than that, I was angry at the terrorists who had violated the openness and freedom of my country. They killed thousands of my fellow citizens.

And in doing so, they also caused incalculable damage to the millions of Arab Americans and Muslims.

Each day, after the attack, as I read new reports detailing the activity of the hijackers leading up to 9/11, I was struck by how sinister it was that these men, armed with such insidious intent, were able to take advantage of the opportunities and almost naïve goodwill of so many Americans. The hijackers had found homes in which to live, schools that trained them, and they moved about without question, all the while planning their deadly mission.

How was it, I wondered, that as these hijackers were preparing to kill thousands, they weren’t moved to question their intended evil by the good they saw around them every day?

In the days and weeks that followed, the trauma never left. People remained in shock. The interviews with survivors and family members of those who had perished were both painful to watch and unforgettable.

It was hard to think of anything else.

What was also striking and deeply moving were the acts of kindness. As our fellow citizens learned about the hate to which we had been subjected, many expressed sorrow and turned to us with offers of support.

This too, I will never forget. Members of Congress called my office, and both the Senate and House passed resolutions of support, as did church groups and most major ethnic organizations. In the face of this, I came to realize that however great the backlash, we would be protected.

But here too, I felt pained. As undeserved as the hate had been, the kindness also seemed undeserved.

I didn’t want to feel “other.” Nevertheless, the support was welcomed.

The final chapter of 9/11 was yet to be written.

That, unfortunately, would be initiated by the Bush Administration and the disastrous domestic and foreign policies they would implement in the years that followed, which also should never be forgotten; the consequences of these misguided policies continue to haunt us two decades later.

One month later, I was asked by the chair of the US Civil Rights Commission to report on the extent of hate crimes and violence that occurred in the weeks after 9/11.

I

Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

I

The writer is President of the Arab American Institute

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Thursday, 9 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

My City AFTER all the struggle and voices, the Tharushah to Nusharo Froze link road is now under construction. The long-standing dilapidated condition of the road claimed many lives, caused several injuries and procrastinated emergency cases from addressing them. The shabby road would also impede speedy traveling taking more than half an hour for an 8-minute drive. Discussing delay in construction or other things which had occurred in the past would be nothing but a never-ending debate that, of course, is a waste of time. The best way forward is to appreciate the speedy construction of the road.

This is the fruitful result of those who raised their voices, held protests or made a bulk of complaints for its immediate construction and more praises to those who lead them.

Sarfraz ali Soomro Tharu Shah

Full-time Culture Minister needed

Drawbacks of the Taliban regime for Pakistan The consequences of the Taliban win need to be thought through

JunaiD aFriDi

T

HE Taliban are exactly where they were two decades ago. On the 15 August, Taliban fighters entered Kabul.

President Ashraf Ghani escaped the country with his ministers. The USA’s nation-building project seems to have fizzled out. The Taliban have taken control of Afghanistan’s capital, completing their lightning assault throughout the country either via violence or fear. The Taliban gained steady military successes especially after US forces left Bagram base. The Taliban have taken over Afghanistan so fast that even US intelligence didn’t expect it.

According to The Guardian “Press accounts of White House decision-making in recent days have suggested that POTUS was led to believe that it might take 18 months for Kabul and Ghani’s government to fall. Last week, unnamed C.I.A officials were widely quoted as saying it could be 70 to 90 days.”

What was predicted to take 90 days instead occurred within weeks. On Wednesday, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen Mark Milley, told reporters: “There was nothing that I or anyone else saw that indicated a collapse of this army or this government in 11 days.”

After the Taliban seized control of Kabul, Pakistan was very jubilant about it, particularly the conservatives, because most of them sympathized with the Taliban’s sharia religious ideology, whereas others considered it a vital asset to counter India in the region.

According to Western media, this is a victory for Pakistan’s military establishment, and Pakistan has gotten exactly what it wanted. However, I believe Pakistani authorities did not want the Taliban to have total control of Kabul. Islamabad wanted to topple the pro-India Ghani government, but they were concerned around the Taliban seizing control of Kabul and setting up an Islamic emirate, In order to moderate the Taliban’s dominance, Islamabad wanted to thrust them toward a power sharing arrangement with the political powers of Afghanistan.

The Taliban’s victory will have an equal negative effect on Pakistan’s domestic peace and security. Some of these worst nightmares of Taliban regime for Pakistan can be devastating RegRouping of TTp: The Taliban in Afghanistan helped inspire the deadly Tehrik Taliban Pakistan. The Taliban regime in

Afghanistan is certainly going to strengthen the TTP in Pakistan.

Moments after taking charge in Kabul, the Afghan Taliban released around 2300 fighters and leaders of the TTP from Afghanistan detentio facilities, despite Taliban Political office spokesperson Sohail Shaheen’s assurance of not allowing Afghan soil to be used against any country. The TTP is still targeting Pakistani forces even after the Afghan Taliban’s takeover of Kabul. The militant group claimed that it targeted Pakistani troops with a “bomb attack” in South Waziristan on Monday.

MoveMenTs foR islaMic shaRia law: The majority of Pakistan’s population is conservative. And there are a number of groups that desire an Islamic emirate in Pakistan; TTP is one of them. With the Taliban’s triumph, they all will receive a major ideological boost. Now that the Islamic emirate’s next door will serve as a model for those groups, they will be able to benefit from it and get support. For Pakistan’s policymakers, this is indeed a concerning scenario. At least they do not wish for an Islamic emirate in Pakistan.

There are several groups in Pakistan that aim to implement Islamic sharia law. They were hidden for many years, but now after the Taliban has taken power in Afghanistan, these groups will be going on the forefront and they could get support, as more and more people could join them as their ideological organization wins the battle in Afghanistan. Also, they can support the TTP, whose objective is the same Sharia rule in Pakistan. sancTions on pakisTan: US President Joe Biden is already facing a lot of criticism for the collapse of the US-backed government and army. In the coming days, this frustration will undoubtedly be directed towards Pakistan, Pakistan’s military establishment, which many in the USA see as the main reason for Washington’s failures in Afghanistan. “Former CIA Director General David Petraeus told NPR earlier this month that a resurgence of the Taliban wouldn’t have been possible without the militant group’s main benefactor Pakistan”.

There is a chance that the Biden Administration may impose sanctions on Pakistan to divert severe criticism as a result of their own failings in Afghanistan.

The pRessuRe of us To Do MoRe: The Taliban of the past were infamous for basic human rights violations such as denying women access to school, carrying out public executions of opponents, persecuting minorities

and so on. Pakistan’s worst nightmare situation would be to be trapped between an uncontrolled Taliban and international pressure. Because Islamabad has good relations with Taliban leaders, Pakistan may act as a bridge between the international community and Kabul’s Taliban regime.

The international community is going to put pressure on Pakistan to force the Taliban to modernize their laws. us Bases: The CIA’s dependence on Pakistan’s security apparatus for surveillance and intelligence through its embassy in Islamabad, is likely to rise. To prevent Afghanistan from becoming a hub for transnational terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda, the Biden Administration is keen on using Pakistani air bases to maintain regional counterterrorism capabilities.

The Pakistani PM said in Parliament that the country would not give any base to the USA. But if things get worse and the Taliban refuse to moderate themselves and begin to allow other extremist movements to take root on Afghan soil again, the pressure will again be on Pakistan from the West, especially from the USA, for bases in Pakistan. Pakistan cannot go completely against the USA due to the IMF, and Pakistan being already on the FATF’s grey list, from which it might be moved to the black list. influx of R e f u g e e s : Afghanistan is a country in which each region has its own warlords. The Taliban are in discussions with all warlords, but the difficulty for the Taliban is in Panjshir province, where the anti-Taliban movement Northern Alliance, which is primarily Tajik, Uzbek, and Hazara ethnicity.

The Taliban were largely of Pashtun ethnicity. In May, Northern alliance leader Ahmad Massoud told reporters that over 100,000 militia leaders, fighters, and other stakeholders in northern Afghanistan have pledged support to his antiTaliban movement.

Both groups were in discussions, but the talks failed, and now the Taliban is now attacking the Northern Alliance. Pakistan must intervene between the Northern Alliance and the Taliban, or any other rebel factions, because if they fight, Afghanistan would be thrown into a new civil war. Continued instability and greater bloodshed in Afghanistan might have major consequences for Pakistan including a significant influx of refugees about which Pakistan already said that they do not have further space to accommodate more refugees from Afghanistan.

The Pakistani PM said in Parliament that the country would not give any base to the USA. But if things get worse and the Taliban refuse to moderate themselves and begin to allow other extremist movements to take root on Afghan soil again, the pressure will again be on Pakistan from the West, especially from the USA, for bases in Pakistan.

The writer tweets @ijunaidafridi

BESIDES economic sector revival and development of other priority sectors, there is also dire need for promotion of art and culture in the country in furtherance of projection of soft, positive and progressive image of Pakistan and its peace loving people within the country and also in foreign countries.

This is to request Prime Minister Imran Khan to induct a whole time Culture Minister in his cabinet with immediate effect to ensure promotion of art and culture of Pakistan within the country and abroad.

Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) and other public sector art and culture related bodies are currently being looked after by the Federal Education Minister who is holding additional charge of the National History and Literary Heritage Division under whose control PNCA falls.

Because of his heavy commitments as the Education Minister,he is not finding enough time to visit the PNCA regularly to set its house in order and also ensure promotion of art and culture.

It is also submitted for the kind information of the Prime Minister that the interest of the minister holding additional charge can very well be judged by the bitter fact that on his express directions the organizers of first-ever international Islamabad Art Festival held last month had paid money to PNCA for use of its space while all other facilities and places were provided free .

This just one instance in the larger interest to ensure promotion of art and culture should be enough to convince the worthy prime minister that the country direly needs a full time culture minister at the earliest possible lest the PNCA and other public sector cultural bodies start crumbling due to lack of interest at the appropriate higher levels.

Thanks. muhammaD murTaza lahorE

Urban flooding in Karachi HAVING ruled for twelve years in Sindh,Karachi’s serious problems are not fixed yet by PPP.Provincial and local governments are at conflict with each other.Deliverable municipality in Karachi seems to be far cry.The current monsoon spell ‘Sagaar’ has brought heavy rains in Karachi.Lowlying areas have turned into rivers.

Additionally,main roads and highways are terribly flooded.Three to four feet accumulated-water can be seen most parts of metropolian city,Karachi. Residents face difficulty in reaching their destination.Heavy rains are multiplying their worries and in some areas rain-water has entered residential areas which carried away their utensils and other things which were kept at their homes.Government has disappeared from the scene and seems unwilling to pay heed to people’s grievances.Declaring rain emergency is not the solution to deep-rooted problems but fixing the problems is.

QaSim Jan TurbaT

Beggars on road AS traffic increases by the day, it is necessary to manage it safely. One important task to achieving this is to curb the presence of beggars at every signal. They create major traffic hazards, endangering their lives and those of others.

In Pakistan, begging has become a profession. Almost at every traffic stop, one is greeted by beggars. They gather around a car as soon as it stops at a signal. The most awful thing is that they encourage their children to also beg and most of them are physically fit to work. They can do manual labour if they so desire. Instead, women carry their babies and beg while making emotionally blackmailing statements as if they are well trained in the art. Healthy beggars should be made to work and the disabled should be maintained at state expense. The authorities should take steps and save the people from this nuisance, not to mention the hazards at traffic signals. aaShir SalEEm Karachi

Senseless education system A trend has begin that the private sectors demanded for the fees after reopening the institutions. As there were lockdown due to Covid-19 it took about 7 months to take off everything. So, isn’t it a foolish question that parents should submit the fees of the off-days, as there wasn’t anything to learn? Then why demanding the fees? Don’t you know that Balochistan, being the poor province, that there people can’t even afford three times fOod well, but the greedy principals demand what their need is, they are blind to see the parents who were not able to pay the fees before as being in their workshops then how they can submit even through there wasn’t any job or work during Covid-19. It’s not only my request, it’s the humble request of all the parents who seriously want PSA JAR KECH to take an action to the greedy institutions that they shOuld stop the new trend of taking fees. zahra baiG hoTh TurbaT

Thursday, 9 September, 2021

08 WORLD VIEW

CourT judgMEnT on soCial MEdia posTs is a bloW To frEE spEECh THE LAW SHOULD BE CHANGED ALONG THESE LINES TO PROTECT ORGANISATIONS WHICH USE SOCIAL MEDIA RESPONSIBLY AND TAKE REASONABLE STEPS TO TAKE DOWN DEFAMATORY POSTS. OTHERWISE PUBLIC DEBATE WILL SUFFER Sydney MornIng Herald

T

EDITORIAL

hrOUghOUT its 190-year history the herald has faced having to defend in court articles we publish in our newspapers and on our websites but a judgment by the high Court on Tuesday has made clear we can also be liable for things we had no role in writing.

The court found that several news outlets, including the herald, should be considered the publishers of allegedly defamatory comments added by third parties to Facebook posts about former Northern Territory youth detainee Dylan Voller.

At the time the comments were made, Facebook did not enable operators of public pages to switch off comments on posts, so there was no way to stop the comments being made. That was rectified before the high Court decision was delivered and media outlets can now opt to switch off comments on individual posts.

The high Court said the herald and other outlets were publishers because they had “encouraged” and “facilitated” the comments by setting up public “electronic bulletin boards”.

The judgment places a significant new burden on the news media in its role of informing the public, encouraging fair discussion and countering increasingly intense misinformation.

The herald can now be sued for the hun-

dreds, and sometimes thousands, of comments by readers under each of the 50 articles it publishes on its Facebook page every day. in fact, the judgment’s impact extends much wider than the media. Any community organisation, company or individual risks being sued for comments by third parties posted on their Facebook pages or other interactive social media.

Despite the heightened risk, the herald has made only modest changes to its social media policies because it wants to maintain the vital connection with readers through social media and considers its role in making accurate information widely available more important than ever.

Some other organisations, which lack the herald’s resources, may decide they have to turn off comments on their Facebook pages because of the risk they will be sued for comments made by random users. in many cases, it may be possible to mount a defence, for example, on the grounds of “innocent dissemination”. The publisher of the Facebook post would have to show they could not reasonably have been aware of the comment and took appropriate steps to take it down when they found out.

The media outlets could use this argument in the next stage of the Voller case which is due to return to the NSW Supreme Court to decide the remaining issues.

But the costs of defending the case will be significant for Nine, publisher of the her-

ald, and they would be well beyond the means of many smaller organisations if they faced similar suits.

Federal and state governments should clarify these issues in the current review of Australia’s defamation laws. The first stage of changes, which were implemented in most states in July this year, has addressed some of the issues by requiring a plaintiff to serve a notice of concern on the publisher before starting any court proceedings – a step that was not taken by Mr Voller in 2017 when the comments were made. good publishers will take bad posts down. The herald did. So, too, did the other media outlets that are being sued.

The second stage of law reform, now under discussion, will address digital platforms specifically, including whether forum administrators should be liable for defamation by a third party. Mr Voller’s litigation is mentioned 17 times in the discussion paper.

Australia should look at formulas used in other jurisdictions, such as the US, which does not treat providers or users of an interactive computer service as publishers at all. in Britain, forum administrators are publishers but they have a full defence to a defamation suit if they did not post the comment and they responded to any complaints promptly.

The law should be changed along these lines to protect organisations which use social media responsibly and take reasonable steps to take down defamatory posts. Otherwise public debate will suffer.

Cruise missiles in the Middle East CRUISE MISSILES ARE AN OFTEN-OVERLOOKED AND OPAQUE REGIONAL PROLIFERATION CHALLENGE IN THE MIDDLE EAST

W

IISS

hile both the proliferation and combat use of ballistic missiles in the Middle east have attracted a lot of attention, cruise missiles remain an often-overlooked regional proliferation challenge. Once the exclusive realm of the Middle east’s sole nuclear power, israel, the proliferation of cruise-missile systems has steadily picked up pace in the last two decades. iran and Turkey have joined israel in the club of nations developing and producing their own cruise missiles, with the United Arab emirates (UAe) appearing to take first steps in this direction. Other countries, such as Algeria, egypt, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, have already purchased cruise missiles from abroad or appear intent on doing so in the near future. This trend is not limited to state actors, however. With strong technical and material support from iran, Yemen’s houthi rebels have employed cruise missiles in their ongoing missile and uninhabited aerial vehicle (UAV) campaign against the Saudi-led coalition.

The drivers of cruise-missile proliferation in the region are as diverse as the systems themselves. Their ability to evade or overcome defensive systems makes them an attractive option in a region experiencing a proliferation of increasingly advanced surface-to-air missiles as well as ballistic-missile-defence systems. Cruise missiles also give actors that lack modern air forces the ability to strike targets deep inside the territory of better-equipped adversaries.

They are therefore well suited to serve as tools of asymmetric warfare as well as asymmetric deterrence. At the same time, however, they have also become an essential piece of weaponry for advanced modern fighter jets and therefore

a logical choice for countries already operating highly capable air forces. Navalbased cruise missiles offer a long-range strike capability for expeditionary warfare and serve as a tool for regional power projection. in the case of israel, submarine-launched cruise missiles also serve as the primary pillar of the country’s nuclear second-strike capability. however, the drivers of cruise-missile proliferation go beyond narrow military needs and considerations. Several Middle eastern states are engaged in ambitious efforts to develop local arms industries, with precision-guided munitions, aerial stand-off weaponry and UAVs being a particular focus. Benefiting from the existing technological overlap with these systems, cruise missiles represent both an attractive and realistic option for ambitious military-development projects. They are also an advanced weapons system whose production and development was for a long time limited to a small number of highly developed countries, thus lending their producers considerable prestige.

There is little doubt that cruise missiles have an impact on regional stability.

As with other uninhabited systems, cruise missiles do not entail the risk of human losses for their users, and this factor potentially lowers the threshold for their use. Cruise missiles’ ability to evade detection and interception, and their effectiveness in conducting longrange precision strikes, might also provide incentives for the adoption of pre-emptive strategies, thus lending another element of instability to local crises. Most importantly, however, cruise missiles – like ballistic missiles and, to some extent, UAVs – defy traditional air superiority and by extension the military hierarchies associated with it. They can therefore serve as powerful tools for actors seeking to upend existing military balances, and they incentivise attempts to so.

The forever nonsense of forever warriors A WORLD WITHOUT UBIQUITOUS US MILITARY PRESENCE? HORRORS!

aMerIcan ProSPect

W

ERIC ALTERMAN

hAT remains of the U.S. foreign policy establishment—also known as “The Blob”—is a group of people and institutions so dedicated to their attachment to America’s costly and counterproductive military empire, i.e. “forever wars,” that its avatars are now abandoning all logic to attack President Joe Biden’s welcome decision to minimize the damage to the nation’s reputation, economy, and loss of life that war necessarily entails. Following Biden’s excellent speech on Afghan withdrawal on Tuesday evening, Council on Foreign relations President richard haass tweeted that the “most debatable claim” in Biden’s speech was that “US choice in Afghanistan was to leave or ‘commit tens of thousands of more troops going back to war.’ There was a 3rd choice: to stay as we were as costs of mil presence had gone down b/c of previous troop reductions & end of combat ops.”

This is transparently false, and haass surely knows it. Donald Trump agreed in February 2020 to a ceasefire with the Taliban. Under the terms of the “Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan,” the U.S. promised to withdraw all of its troops, and the Taliban agreed not to attack them in the interim. Biden extended the deadline of that withdrawal by three months and then, despite the chaos, oversaw the largest airlift in history. haass pretends that the U.S. could have continued its relatively peaceful presence while at the same time breaking its word to the Taliban, thereby inviting more attacks and therefore an expanded war, demanding more troops, more death, and more billions wasted on something that does virtually nothing to enhance U.S. security. his longer argument, published on the website of the Council of Foreign relations, “America’s Withdrawal of

Choice,” is no better. Yet it is exactly such incoherent arguments that have dominated our discourse. haass is not even among the worst of these withdrawal critics, as this Media Matters round-up demonstrates. As Matthew Dowd, the former chief strategist for the Bush/Cheney 2004 presidential campaign, rightly tweeted. “if the media covered the assault on democracy here and the rise of white supremacist terrorism in America like they have Afghanistan, we might actually have a voting rights bill and we could be holding domestic terrorists and their instigators accountable.”

The editorial staff of rupert Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal complains that Biden’s speech was “defiant, accusatory … dishonest, and so lacking in self-reflection or accountability.” A better description of the editorial page’s take on just about everything would be hard to find. This was their Pavlovian reaction to a Democrat refusing to opt for more war, but the Journal’s page is often no more reliable when its authors take their time and attempt a more historical viewpoint. here, for instance, is former Bush official Tevi Troy’s attempt to contrast Biden’s alleged failure in Afghanistan with John Kennedy’s success in the Cuban Missile Crisis. The problem is that Troy’s understanding of said crisis is almost half a century out of date. For instance, he praises Kennedy for creating the “exComm,” which “deliberately included people outside the National Security Council to get external opinions,” and then praises them because “The Kennedy team successfully used the exComm for deliberations during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, which was resolved without nuclear confrontation.” had Troy been even remotely familiar with the literature of the crisis, say, by 1978, when Arthur Schlesinger Jr. published robert Kennedy and his Times—building on the partial story in Kennedy’s own posthumously published Thirteen Days in 1969—he’d know that Kennedy solved the crisis without the exComm. instead, JFK sent his brother to work out a last-minute deal with the russians to deliver his promise to exchange U.S. missiles in Turkey for the russian missiles in Cuba—and did not even tell the members of the exComm he had done so.

The president even let them debate the possibility of a strike against the missiles in Cuba after he had made the offer that settled the crisis. Kennedy lied about this and that lie spawned countless other lies, and helped pave the way for lyndon Johnson’s folly in Vietnam. i explain this

in great detail in my long-ago book When Presidents Lie. The main reason for the exComm was to keep hawks “pissing inside the tent” rather than going public with their attacks, giving them the mistaken impression that Kennedy cared what they thought. in fact, he was always going to settle the crisis without war.

OK, so Troy is out of league as a historian, but what i find funniest about his sage advice is the fact that he writes, “Another problem is that Biden seems particularly sensitive to stories about internal disagreements,” because “Mr. Biden dislikes ‘process stories,’ by which he means news articles about ‘palace intrigue.’ if aides know the president doesn’t want to read about infighting, they will strive to make him happy by minimizing behaviors that signal disagreement.” got that? Biden does not like reading stories in which people leak their internal disagreements to the media after he has made a decision on policy. Jeepers, Mr. Troy. i agree this is really weird. After all, virtually every president other than Biden has relished seeing himself second-guessed by anonymous “sources” inside his administration in the media. What can possibly be the matter with Joe Biden? if you want to convince yourself that our country’s future is hopeless, all you need to know is that “Fox News, bolstered by viewers’ rapt attention to Afghanistan, beat the broadcast networks in last week’s ratings, AP writes from Nielsen figures,” with something like 75 percent more viewers than CNN and MSNBC put together. The Pew research Center notes that dishonest, anti-science, pro-insurrectionist, racist, sexist sources like Fox—whose Afghanistan “experts” are often war profiteers themselves—and their even more evil spawn are increasingly becoming the only news source for republicans, who apparently cannot abide even the minimal amount of truth that makes it into the mainstream institutions that desperately court them with intellectually indefensible both-sidesism. here are some especially worthwhile pieces i’ve read recently about the end of the war: David rothkopf in The Atlantic, James Dobbins in Foreign Affairs and Andrew Bacevich in The Nation and somewhat incredibly, ross Douthat in the Times. i also want to strongly recommend the piece on U.S. foreign policy more generally by Ben rhodes, also in Foreign Affairs. he explains: “The kinds of attacks that

the country spent trillions of dollars to prevent would have caused only a fraction of the deaths that could have been prevented by a more competent response to COViD-19, by the minimal gun safety measures that have been blocked by Congress, or by better preparation for deadly weather events intensified by climate change—all of which were neglected or stymied in part because of Washington’s fixation on terrorism. The scale of the costs—and opportunity costs—of the post-9/11 wars suggests that the country needs a structural correction, not simply a change of course.”

Oh and by the way, new Wall Street Journal reporting now appears to be embracing the arguments i made regarding the relationship between job seeking and unemployment insurance in the “Altercation” newsletter, which was critical of the Journal’s misleading reporting on the same topic. Don’t expect laura ingraham to stop calling for starvation as a response, however. last week saw the observance of the 101st anniversary of Charlie Parker’s birth. i don’t think anyone changed the way jazz was played more than Parker did, at least since its invention, and what’s remarkable about his compositions is how fresh they sound today, and how many musicians are still inspired by them. Whenever i have the bad fortune of being stuck in the city for the last week of August, i am at least able to enjoy the consolation prize of being able to attend the annual Charlie Parker Jazz Festival up in harlem, sponsored by the City Parks Foundation. This year, it featured three nights of music. i missed the first one, which apparently went on despite flash flood warnings, but i was happy to join a wonderfully diverse audience of New Yorkers to hear Donald harrison Quartet and the harlem Symphony Orchestra perform on Saturday evening. harrison did a set with his quartet of Parker songs and songs harrison wrote to sound like Parker, (which inspired some impressive jitterbugging on the part of audience members). But the highlight was the joint performance of the two of Parker’s seminal “Charlie Parker with Strings,” a rare treat given its demands (for strings, etc.). Sunday night featured a pickup band of local jazz players supporting four separate alto sax players and, even at a free concert in a park, the “ballads” part of the night hypnotized the audience into perfect, rapturous quiet.

Eric Alterman is a CUNY Distinguished Professor of English at Brooklyn College, an award-winning journalist, and the author of 11 books, most recently ‘Lying in State: Why Presidents Lie—and Why Trump Is Worse.’

Thursday, 9 September, 2021

BUSINESS 09

ISLAMABAD

TOyOTA AnnOUnceS OveR $100m InveSTmenT TO pRODUce HybRID veHIcleS In pAkISTAn ISLAMABAD

RDA inflows clock in at $2.114bn Cumulative deposit inflow under the Roshan Digital Account (RDA) has amounted to $2.11 billion in its first year, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has said. As per the SBP data, the inflow amounted to $2,114 million during 12 months with $245 million recorded in August alone, showing that RDA inflows have significantly gone up since June this year, which puts the government in a better position to face a much bigger current account deficit expected in FY22. The RDA was introduced in September 2020 and initially it attracted deposits of just $7m. Inflows picked up momentum reaching $250m during Sept to Dec 2020. However, in first 8 months of calendar year 2021, the inflows grew rapidly by $1.864bn taking the total to $2.114bn by end of August, which alone witnessed an inflow of $245m. Out of the total inflows Naya Pakistan Certi¬ficates attracted $1,475m so far. The State Bank’s data shows that the country received $307m in July compared to $310m in June reflecting the higher trend with inflow of over $300m per month. Additionally, in order to continue the positive trajectory of remittances, the SBP has also introduced the National Remittance Loyalty Programme (NRLP) of around Rs14 billion for the current fiscal year (FY22), which will offer incentives and rewards to overseas Pakistanis against each remittance transaction in accordance with a set criterion. The programme will be formally launched towards the end of October. MONITORING REPORT

Rupee recovers 38 paisas against US dollar ISLAMABAD APP

The exchange rate of the Pakistan rupee depreciated by 38 paisas on Wednesday against the US dollar in interbank trading and closed at Rs167.25 as compared to the previous day’s closing of Rs167.63. According to the Forex Association of Pakistan (FAP), the buying and selling rates of the dollar in the open market were recorded at Rs167.5 and Rs168.6 respectively. The price of the euro was depreciated by Rs1.12 and closed at Rs197.80 against the last day’s trading of Rs198.92, the State Bank of Pakistan reported. The Japanese Yen lost one paisa to close at Rs1.51, whereas a decrease of Rs1.48 was witnessed in the exchange rate of the British Pound, which was traded at Rs230.09 as compared to its last closing of Rs231.57. The exchange rates of Emirates Dirham and Saudi Riyal decreased by 10 paisas each to close at Rs45.53 and Rs44.59 respectively.

Govt to slash export cargo charges by 50pc The government is set to reduce port charges for export cargoes by 50 per cent in a bid to boost exports whereas the Port Qasim Authority (PQA) board has already approved a reduction of 50pc in port charges for export cargoes for the same purpose. According to The Express Tribune, that the maritime affairs ministry had tabled a proposal in this regard before the Cabinet Committee on Transport and Logistics (CCoTL). The cabinet body has approved the proposal of reducing port charges (wet/dry, ie wharfage, port dues and pilotage) for export cargoes for a period of one year. It was stated that the PQA board may examine the possibility of giving a similar benefit to the importers as well so that prices in the country are reduced. While supporting the proposal, Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood stated that it was a commendable initiative for the promotion of exports and added that logistics and transportation should be viewed in a holistic manner in order to develop linkages to make the whole process beneficial for increase in trade with other countries, especially the Central Asian states. Moreover, it was decided that KPT should examine the possibility of reduction in port charges as was done by the PQA and put a proposal before the CCoTL through the Ministry of Maritime Affairs for consideration. MONITORING REPORT

F

STAFF REPORT

OLLOWING the government’s move to facilitate hybrid and electric vehicles through the new auto policy, Toyota has announced to invest over $100 million for the local production of Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs) in Pakistan.

The announced investment shall go towards localisation of components, plant expansion and production preparation for the first HEV to be manufactured at Indus Motor Company Limited (IMC) plant located at Port Qasim, Karachi.

According to officials, a delegation from Indus Motor Company led by Vice Chairman Shinji Yanagi and Chief Executive Ali Asghar Jamali, met with the prime minister on Wednesday at the Prime Minister’s Office to announce the new investment.

The meeting was attended by Toyota Asia CEO Yoichi Miyazaki via video message. Members of the Cabinet including the Federal Minister for Industries Khusro Bakhtiar, Federal Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar and Finance Minister Shaukat Tareen also attended the meeting whereas Ambassador of Japan

AMBASSADOR MATSUDA PLEDGES TO CONTINUE EFFORTS FOR CREATING SUPPORTIVE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT FOR JAPANESE BUSINESSES IN PAKISTAN to Pakistan, Kuninori Matsuda, was also present on the occasion.

“We are excited to announce this new investment for bringing Toyota’s latest generation hybrid electric technology to our customers in Pakistan. The announcement is testament to our commitment to Pakistan and trust in the government. We appreciate the government’s policies to encourage low carbon mobility solutions. This choice will allow us to move towards carbon neutrality and electrification at scale.

We believe that each kind of electrified vehicle has its role and based on our global experience we are certain that HEVs have the greatest potential to achieve mass electrification and effectively reduce

CO2 emissions at the earliest time frame, contributing to the prime minister’s vision of a clean and green Pakistan,” the Toyota Asia CEO said.

On the occasion, Prime Minister Imran Khan whilst appreciating the car maker’s investment announcement appreciated the Japanese automobile company’s trust in Pakistan’s economy, adding that “Indus Motor Company is a wonderful example of how global companies can grow successfully here in Pakistan.

Ambassador Matsuda said that the Embassy of Japan was confident that the new investment would take economic ties between the two countries to the next level. terming it a “symbolic milestone as we approach the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations”.

He pledged to continue to make maximum effort to create a supportive business environment for Japanese businesses in Pakistan.

It may be recalled here that the government has announced many incentives for manufacturing and assembly of electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles in the country in the budget 2021-22 (FY22) while a whole new policy for the auto sector is also expected to be announced soon.

PSX sheds 333 points due to MSCI's decision The Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) announced on Wednesday to notch down Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) among lesser advanced economies into Frontier Markets (FM) index with effect from December 1, 2021.

“MSCI Inc. (NYSE: MSCI) announced that it will reclassify the MSCI Pakistan Indexes from Emerging Markets to Frontier Markets,” it said in a press release.

“This conclusion follows feedback received from market participants from its recent consultation. MSCI will reclassify the MSCI Pakistan Indexes from Emerging Markets to Frontier Markets in one step, coinciding with the November 2021 SemiAnnual Index Review (SAIR),” the release added.

“Based on a simulation using pro forma data as of August 31, 2021, this would lead to the inclusion of four securities in the MSCI Frontier Markets Index with an estimated index weight of 1.90 per cent.”

The statement further added that although the Pakistani equity

market met the requirements for the market accessibility under the classification framework for Emerging Markets, “it no longer meets the standards for size and liquidity.”

“Starting with the November 2021 SAIR, the MSCI Pakistan Indexes will be rebalanced using size and liquidity requirements for smaller, average liquidity Frontier Markets,” it read.

The small cap of simulated MSCI Pak FM will include Pakistan Petroleum, Mari Petroleum, Engro Corporation, UBL, Fauji Fertiliser Company, Pakistan Oilfields, Pakistan State Oil, Hub Power Company, Indus Motor Company, Engro Fertiliser, TRG Pakistan, BankAl Habib, Abbott Laboratories, National Bank of Pakistan, Systems Limited, Millat Tractors, Searle, Bank AlFalah and Packages Limited.

Meanwhile, the MSCI Pak FM standard cap will most probably include Lucky Cement, Muslim Commercial Bank, Habib Bank and Oil and Gas Development Company.

Earlier in June, the MSCI — a leading provider of critical de-

cision support tools and services for the global investment community — proposed that it will downgrade the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) from EMI to FMI. The proposal came on the back of a continuous drop in share price of its listed firms for quite a long time.

Citing market experts, local media reports stated that the size of PSX might grow in FM as the domestic economy is on expansion mode for over a year now. It is expected to grow by 4.8pc in the current fiscal year 2021-22 compared to 4pc in FY21. It had contracted 0.5pc in FY20.

Pakistan registered GDP growth of nearly 4pc in the fiscal year 2020-21 (FY21), beating earlier estimates of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

On the other hand, it followed an economic contraction – the first in over seven decades – in the previous year as policymakers battled to control a widening current account deficit whereas the country is targeting 5pc growth in FY22. NEWS DESK

‘Pakistan in great position to build cross-border e-commerce platform’ BEIJING APP

Pakistan holds great potential to build a sound crossborder e-commerce platform with China and other neighbouring countries under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), it was stated Tuesday at the China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS).

Speaking on the occasion with China Economic Net (CEN), Xinjiang Brothers Union Network Technology General Manager Chen Longren said that with 14 years of experience in building cross-border e-commerce platforms along the BRI countries, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Pakistan and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states to build a cross-border e-commerce platform will be a booster for Pakistan.

“Pakistan boasts a wealth of IT talents, and this

can be an aid in the development of a cross-border e-commerce platform in Pakistan as the process requires a concerted effort from countries involved,” Chen said.

“With so many tech-savvy people, Pakistan can maintain the operations of the servers stored locally and form a professional marketing team to promote the platform when such a platform is enacted.”

He added that Pakistan should beef up its digital payment system to facilitate cross-border e-commerce because digital payment is an integral part of cross-border transactions. He emphasised that more favourable policies and political stability are also needed to engage more investors and boost investors’ confidence.

Established in 2007, Xinjiang Brothers Union Network Technology is dedicated to building crossborder cooperation platforms along the BRI countries in areas of trade, medicine, and culture.

Oil climbs on slow return of US supply after Hurricane Ida MELBOURNE/SINGAPORE AGENCIES

Oil prices climbed on Wednesday, recouping some overnight losses from a stronger dollar and demand concerns, with a slow production restart in the US Gulf of Mexico and resumption of refining activities providing support.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 43 cents, or 0.6%, to $68.78 a barrel at 0643 GMT, after sliding 1.4% on Tuesday following the Labor Day holiday.

Brent crude futures gained 34 cents, or 0.5%, at $72.03 a barrel after falling 0.7% on Tuesday.

“The market is weighing up the impact of ongoing delays to the resumption of operations in the Gulf of Mexico,” ANZ Research analysts said in a note.

Producers in the Gulf are still struggling to restart operations nine days after Hurricane Ida swept through the region with powerful winds and drenching rain.

About 79% of US Gulf production remained offline on Tuesday, with 79 production platforms still unoccupied. About 17.5 million barrels of oil has been lost to the market so far.

The Gulf’s offshore wells make up about 17% of US output.

“Refinery operations appear to be making a quicker recovery,” ING analysts said in a note.

Only about 1 million barrels per day of capacity was temporarily closed, down from a peak of more than 2 million bpd, ING said, citing the latest situation report from the Department of Energy.

“However, those refiners that have restarted are unlikely to be operating at full capacity at the moment,” the note added.

Traders will be closely watching inventory data from the American Petroleum Institute industry group due on Wednesday and the US Energy Information Administration on Thursday for a clearer picture of the storm’s impact on crude production and refinery output.

Analysts polled by Reuters expect, on average, that crude stocks fell by 3.8 million barrels in the week to Sept. 3, and see gasoline stocks down by 3.6 million barrels and distillates down by 3 million barrels.

Oil prices fell on Tuesday in a widespread commodity selloff as the US dollar jumped on worries that rising COVID-19 cases in the United States and Asia will potentially lead to slower growth.

Bitcoin bruised after chaotic debut as legal tender in El Salvador TOKYO AGENCIES

Bitcoin licked its wounds on Wednesday, a day after its heaviest losses in 2-1/2 months as El Salvador’s historic adoption of the crypto asset as legal tender caused chaos online and on the street.

The coin last traded at $46,560, having endured wild trade the day before in which

it hit a near four-month high of $52,956 before plunging 11.1%, its largest fall since June 2.

Analysts said the sharp retreat was partly due to investors who had bought the rumour of El Salvador’s move now selling the fact.

“I think there was some anticipation building ahead of that event (El Salvador), similar to what we saw ahead of Coinbase listing on Nasdaq,” said Henrik Andersson,

chief investment officer at Apollo Capital, a crypto asset fund in Melbourne, Australia.

At one point on Tuesday, the digital currency fell as much as 18.6%, wiping out more than $180 billion from the market.

It was a historical day for bitcoin as El Salvador’s experiment of making it legal tender got off to a bumpy start.

Technological glitches hampered its use while street protests by mistrustful citizens

broke out in the Central American country.

As bitcoin wobbled, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele said his government purchased an additional 150 bitcoins on Tuesday, worth around $7 million.

“That has underscored the difficulty in trying to protect the value of bitcoin as its own currency,” said Nana Otsuki, chief economist at Monex Securities. “The buying didn’t seem to be effective in halting its fall.”

Amid the trading frenzy, major US cryptocurrency exchanges Coinbase Global Inc, Kraken and Gemini struggled with delays in some transactions. All of them said their systems have since been restored.

Separately, the US securities regulator has threatened to sue Coinbase Global if the crypto exchange proceeds with plans to launch a programme allowing users to earn interest by lending crypto assets.

Thursday, 9 September, 2021

10 FOREIGN NEWS

ISLAMABAD

Fire At overCrowDeD inDoneSiA priSon killS At leASt 40: oFFiCiAl JAKARTA

A

REUTERS

fire tore through an overcrowded block in a jail in Indonesia's Banten province in the early hours of Wednesday, killing at least 40 people and injuring dozens, a government spokeswoman and media reports said.

The fire, which broke out at 1:00 to 2:00 am at the Tangerang Prison Block C, had been extinguished and authorities were still evacuating

the facility, said Rika Aprianti, a spokeswoman of the prison department of the law and human rights ministry.

"The cause is under investigation," she said.

The block housed inmates being held for drug-related offences and had a capacity for 122 people, she said.

She did not say how many people were present when the fire broke out but confirmed the jail was overcrowded.

The prison in Tangerang, an industrial and manufacturing hub near Jakarta, housed more

than 2,000 inmates, far more than its 600 people capacity, according to government data as of September.

Kompas TV showed footage of firefighters trying to put out huge flames from the top of a building. The broadcaster reported 41 people had died and 8 had been seriously injured.

"The initial suspicion is this was because of an electrical short circuit," police spokesman Yusri Yunus told Metro TV, which cited a police report saying that 73 people also had light injuries.

Proposals for an EU army re-emerge after Afghan pullout – but many remain ‘hard to convince’ AGENCIES European dismay over President Joe Biden’s precipitous withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan has renewed calls for an EU military force. But while proponents of “strategic autonomy” say the fall of Kabul should serve as a wake-up call, others do not see an existential threat and are content to remain as junior partners to US military might.

European countries had no option but to pull out of Afghanistan along with the US – despite their desire for Western troops to stay and stop the country falling into the Taliban’s hands. Washington’s NATO allies depended on US logistics and aerial support for their military engagement in Afghanistan – and then for the safe evacuation of their citizens.

For some, this state of affairs revived the old idea of a European military – with the EU’s chief diplomat himself urging the bloc to create a collective armed force.

“The need for more European defence has never been as much evident as today after the events in Afghanistan,” EU foreign affairs representative Josep Borrell told journalists as the bloc’s foreign and defence ministers gathered for a meeting in Slovenia on Thursday, where discussion of the Afghanistan debacle featured prominently. The EU needs to create a “rapid response force” of 5,000 soldiers, Borrell said.

EU military committee chairman Claudio Graziano agreed, telling reporters that “now is the time to act” by creating “a rapid reaction force” with a genuine “will to act”.

‘STRATEGIC AUTONOMY’: A more surprising dec-

Syria regime forces enter Daraa under truce: monitor

Jacques Chirac and British prime minister Tony Blair declared that the EU “must have the capacity for autonomous action, backed up by credible military forces”, an assertion that sounds like it could have been made by Emmanuel Macron today.

The EU agreed in 1999 to develop a contingent of 50,000-60,000 soldiers that could be deployed within 60 days. In 2007, the bloc created a network of two “battlegroups” of 1,500 troops from each country. They have since languished.

“There wasn’t the political will to use these battlegroups,” said Shashank Joshi, The Economist’s defence editor. “At the same time, those units were lacking in key capabilities.” “Europeans need to improve the readiness of their armed forces pretty much across the board,” said Rafael Loss, a defence expert at the European Council on Foreign Relations’ Berlin office. “Particularly for crisis management, Europeans are lacking key enablers like strategic airlift to move large forces and their equipment quickly, and satellite capabilities to ensure persistent intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance prior to and during deployments.”

‘THEY DON’T FEEL EXISTENTIALLY THREATENED’: Low defence spending among European countries is another major obstacle to the continent’s “strategic autonomy”.

All NATO countries except the US have increased defence spending as a share of GDP since Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea had a galvanising effect – nevertheless, the organisation estimates that this year only nine of its 28 European members met the organisation’s spending target of 2 percent of GDP.

This year’s figure for Europe’s biggest economy, Germany, is 1.53 percent – an addition of less than 0.5 percent of GDP since 2015, when its military was so under-funded it used broomsticks in place of guns during a NATO training exercise.

“Germany has increased its defence spending since the Russian annexation of Crimea – but it’s not enough,” noted Claudia Major, a defence specialist at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. “Germany is unlikely to reach the NATO objective to spend 2 percent of GDP on defence by 2024.”

Ultimately, it all comes down to threat perception, Major said: “Countries like Germany don’t spend as much because they don’t feel existentially threatened.”

AFGHANISTAN UNLIKELY TO ‘MOVE THE NEEDLE’: The three Baltic states and Poland are among the nine European NATO members to meet the target – with proximity to and a historical awareness of the Russian threat informing their defence and security policies. Experts say it makes all the difference that the fall of Kabul does not represent that kind of existential threat for European countries.

“I’m not sure if Afghanistan is a wake-up call for many in Europe,” Major said. “It reveals to us in Europe how limited our capacity to act independently is – but that’s a lesson we could have learned for years.”

“Afghanistan will probably not move the needle much in terms of public support for raising defence spending; most Europeans haven’t cared much about Afghanistan for the past decade or so,” as Loss put it.

“European policymakers will have to win over their electorates with other arguments.”

No milk or water: Shoppers face shortages at UK grocery stores

some products as well because they're just not available," Patel said. At a supermarket near his store, the soft drinks aisle was a little short of bottles and cans but other shelves were full. But 22-year-old sales assistant Toma said the situation was grim. "We don't have stock, we have nothing in our warehouse," said Toma, who declined to give her last name. "We have gaps everywhere," she said. "Sometimes we receive only a certain amount (of some products). We don't even have water."

The shortages began when the pandemic hit and got worse after Brexit came into force on January 1, Toma said. Some customers complain to supermarket staff and "say it's us to blame", she added.

At another major supermarket in southeast London, water bottles were sparse and milk was missing from shelves. Frozen-food group Iceland and retail giant Tesco have warned of Christmas shortages.

Iceland head Richard Walker said the company has reduced deliveries as it has 100 fewer drivers than it needs. "Every day we are missing around 10 percent of the stock we have ordered into our depots," he wrote in a blog, adding that "when things were at their worst" its sole bread supplier was unable to deliver to as many as 130 stores per day.

laration came from German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, who proposed in a tweet later on Thursday that “coalitions of the willing could act after a joint decision of all” EU members. AKK, as she is known, had written an opinion piece for Politico in November arguing that “illusions of European strategic autonomy must come to an end”, observing that “Europeans will not be able to replace America’s crucial role as a security provider”.

This provoked a furious response from French President Emmanuel Macron, who said he disagreed “profoundly” with AKK’s comments.

“Strategic autonomy” is the quintessence of Macron’s vision for Europe – military, economic and technological independence from a mercurial US. This phrase appeared once again on Tuesday, when Macron talked about Afghanistan with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte at the Élysée Palace. The two leaders gave a joint statement urging the EU to develop “strategic autonomy” so it can take “more responsibility for its security and defence”.

‘LACKING IN KEY CAPABILITIES’: But beneath all this rhetoric, the question remains whether the Afghanistan debacle will shift the dial enough to take the EU from ideas to implementation.

Stillborn proposals for an EU “rapid response force” stretch back nearly a quarter of a century. Senior European politicians were saying in the late 1990s that the old continent’s failure to prevent years of bloodletting on its doorstep in the Yugoslav Wars (until the US got involved) highlighted the need for an armed EU force.

A joint 1998 statement by France’s then president

LONDON

BEIRUT

AFP

AFP

The supply chain troubles caused by Brexit and the pandemic have been so bad for Satyan Patel that the shelves at his convenience store in central London are seriously lacking water and soft drinks.

"Last week I ran out of Coca-Cola. I haven't had large bottles of Evian for three weeks," said Patel.

"Without products, there's no business. With empty shelves like this, no one is going to come in the shop anyway," he added. A wide range of businesses have suffered through shortages for several months in the UK -- from milkshakes at McDonald's to beer at a pub chain to mattresses at Ikea. But shoppers are also facing empty shelves for things as basic as water and milk at UK supermarkets and grocery stores.

The coronavirus crisis has severely disrupted the

Syrian regime forces Wednesday entered part of a southern city retaken from holdout rebels under a ceasefire deal brokered by government ally Russia, official media and a war monitor said. Daraa province and its capital of the same name, the cradle of Syria's uprising, returned to government control in 2018 under a previous Moscow-backed ceasefire. But rebels remained in some areas, including the southern part of the city called Daraa al-Balad. Regime forces have stepped up their shelling of that area since late July and imposed a crippling siege on its residents, sparking retaliation from fighters inside. Russian mediation efforts throughout August led to the evacuation of dozens of opposition fighters to Syria's rebel-held north, and a final ceasefire deal on Wednesday last week. State news agency SANA said army units on Wednesday entered Daraa al-Balad.They "hoisted the national flag and started setting up positions and combing the area towards announcing it free of terrorism", it said, using its usual term for rebels.

China says US and allies have duty to aid Afghanistan BEIJING REUTERS

China's foreign minister Wang Yi said the United States and its allies have more of a duty to supply economic and humanitarian aid to Afghanistan than any other country, according to a statement from the foreign ministry. They should help Afghanistan's positive development while respecting its sovereignty and independence, he said. Wang made the comments via video to a meeting of diplomats from Afghanistan's neighbouring countries on Wednesday, according to the statement.

global supply chain, but Britain's divorce from the European Union late last year has exacerbated the problem in the UK. Shops are not getting products delivered to them as rules making it harder to hire EU citizens has left haulage companies with a drastic shortage of lorry drivers. Many people who returned to their home countries from Britain during the lockdown have not returned. Co-op, a cooperative supermarket group, said it was "impacted by some patchy distribution" to its deliveries but it was working with suppliers to re-stock quickly. The group said it was recruiting 3,000 temporary workers "to keep depots working to capacity and stores stocked as quickly as possible".

WHERE'S THE MILK? According to recent estimates, the UK currently faces a shortage of about 100,000 lorry drivers.

"We had already decided to reduce our stock because of Covid... but now we're finding it hard to get

ANALYSIS

The West owes Qatar a favour over Afghanistan. That was the point DUBAI REUTERS

Since the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, the world's top diplomats have been beating a path to Qatar, long the gateway to the Taliban and now the essential go-between as the West tries to deal with the new Kabul government.

This is no accident.

Analysts describe Qatar's emergence as a broker in Afghanistan as a part of a carefully nurtured strategy by the tiny but rich state to bolster its own security, by becoming indispensable as a venue for international mediation.

The world's biggest liquefied natural

gas producer, the small desert peninsula country is one of the wealthiest nations per capita. It is home to barely 3 million people, 85 percent of them foreigners with guest worker visas.

Yet it has long held outsized ambitions, hosting both the Middle East's biggest U.S. air base and its most influential TV channel.

It squandered much of its regional clout over the past decade by overreaching in the wake of the 2011 Arab Spring revolts, when it backed pro-democracy movements and rebels across the region.

Furious neighbours led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, with their ally Egypt, punished it with trade sanc-

tions and diplomatic isolation.

Now, Qatar is back. Its dispute with the Arab powers was finally resolved this year, and next year it will host the soccer world cup. But few moves appear to have paid quite as large a diplomatic dividend as its role over Afghanistan, cultivated since it let the Taliban open the group's main international office in 2013 and provided the venue for peace talks that led to last year's U.S. agreement to withdraw.

That "patient diplomatic facilitation" was a classic means for a small state to elevate its international relevance, said Kristin Diwan, senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. "Given its pop-

ulation size, substantial military projection is a tough proposition. But Qatar can bring real value through the relationships it maintains, especially across both Western and Islamic parties - and especially those the U.S. is loath to approach directly."

In the weeks since the militants swept into power, more than 58,000 of the 124,000 Western citizens and at-risk Afghans who were airlifted out of Afghanistan flew through Qatar.

And now, as temporary home to the evacuated Afghanistan embassies of the United States and several European allies, it is serving as the main mediator for Western efforts to engage.

Thursday, 9 September, 2021

SPORTS 11

ISLAMABAD

DjokoviC aimS To TamE 'hammEr' BErrETTini, nail DoWn SEmi-final SpoT NEW YORK

n

REUTERS

OVAK Djokovic has likened his US Open quarter-final opponent Matteo Berrettini to a “hammer” however the topranked Serb heads into Wednesday’s conflict with all of the instruments to dismantle the big-serving Italian and keep on the right track for a twenty first Grand Slam title.

The two gamers face off in a rematch of the Wimbledon remaining which Djokovic received to go stage with Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal on 20 majors however not earlier than enduring a scare from his 25-year-old rival who possesses a blockbuster serve and forehand.

“Next to Juan Martin del Potro, he’s probably the hardest hitter of serve and

Despite struggling to click on into forehand. He’s got the lethal-serve-plusone game,” Djokovic, who additionally gear early in a few of his matches, the beat Berrettini within the Roland Garros relentless 34-year-old has scrapped his quarter-finals and within the 2019 ATP well past difficult opponents this 12 months and would be the agency faFinals, stated. vorite to advance however “He’s already established as Djokovic is just not taking a top player. Without a Berrettini flippantly. doubt, he played… the THE TWO GAMERS “Look, if he serves semi-finals here couple well, which is his years ago, finals in FACE OFF IN A REMATCH biggest weapon, he’s Wimbledon.

That OF THE WIMBLEDON AS THE tough. He’s tough on was a tough four-setter.” A New York triSERB STAR HUNTS FOR THE any surface to play against. I’ve had umph will imply HISTORIC 21ST GRAND some really close Djokovic will turn SLAM TITLE matches with him in into solely the third the French Open and man, and the primary Wimbledon recently,” since Rod Laver in 1969, to Djokovic stated. “We’re going maintain all 4 majors in the to play the third slam in a row against identical 12 months having received the Australian Open, French Open and each other. Hopefully the result will be the same as the previous two.”

Wimbledon titles in 2021.

Fourth seed Alexander Zverev has hardly been troubled at Flushing Meadows this 12 months and the German shall be in motion towards South African Lloyd Harris within the day’s different males’s quarter-final.

Among the ladies, fourth seed and former world primary Karolina Pliskova, who like Zverev can also be chasing a primary main title, meets darkish horse Maria Sakkari in a extremely anticipated match through the night session on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

British 18-year-old Emma Raducanu, who’s amongst a handful of youngsters making their breakthrough at this 12 months’s match, will look to proceed her dream run however faces a doubtlessly daunting problem towards Olympic champion Belinda Bencic.

Stokes to miss T20 World Cup, says England coach Silverwood LONDON REUTERS

England coach Chris Silverwood said he will make a late decision on all-rounder Ben Stokes' involvement in the T20 World Cup, which begins next month. Stokes, 30, withdrew from England's Test squad for the series against India after saying he would take an "indefinite break" from cricket to prioritise his mental wellbeing. Having struggled with a finger injury, Stokes missed England's home Test series against New Zealand in June but briefly returned to competitive action ahead of schedule later that month to captain a second-string one-day side. Silverwood said he did not want to rush Stokes back into action before he was ready. "I haven't spoken to him just yet because I want to give him as much space as possible," Silverwood said. "But I will not be putting pressure on him or rushing him, and whatever support he needs he will get. First and foremost, my only concern is for him and making sure he is okay."

Bale not in favour of biennial World Cup LONDON REUTERS

Wales captain Gareth Bale said he is not in favour of a FIFA proposal to hold the World Cup every two years.

The 2022 World Cup in Qatar could be the 32-year-old's last opportunity to play in the tournament but the winger said making the competition a biennial event would diminish its appeal. "I like the tradition of every four years. It has that prestige, like the Olympics where it comes around every four years. It feels that little bit more special because it's not happening too often," Bale said. "It does make it that bit more prestigious ... I don't really like that every two years because it loses that bit of history." Manchester City's chief executive Ferran Soriano said the football calendar was already overwhelmed. "There is no space for anything," he said. "No room at all. The players cannot play more games."

Nasser al-Khelaifi, the European Club Association (ECA) president and Paris St Germain chief executive, and Leeds United owner Andrea Radrizzani urged FIFA to engage with clubs on the matter. "I would like every four years but perhaps there could be a discussion around every three," Radrizzani added. A joint statement signed by Football Supporters Europe (FSE) and fans' groups from across the six confederations called on FIFA to abandon their proposals. "Such a move threatens to destroy the already fragile balance between local, domestic, continental, and international competitions and calendars," the statement read.

PESHAWAR: A youngster juggles a football at Charsadda Road. INP

Russell joins rise of the young guns to top of F1 LONDON REUTERS

George Russell's move to Mercedes as Lewis Hamilton's team mate next year, announced on Tuesday, means every one of Formula One's top teams will have a bright young star in its driver lineup.

Russell is only 23, the same age as Red Bull's championship leader Max Verstappen and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, and with a similar talent that ultimately Mercedes could put on hold no longer.

In 50 races for Williams, he has outqualified his team mate 50 times. He has put the eighth-ranked team on the front row of the grid and onto the podium, albeit with second place in a "race" with-

out overtaking in Belgium.

"The past three seasons with Williams have given us a taste of what the future could hold for him in F1," said Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff of a driver 13 years younger than seventimes world champion Hamilton.

Fellow Briton Lando Norris, pushing hard in his third full season at McLaren, is 21 while Alpine's French driver Esteban Ocon is 24.

Verstappen, Leclerc and Ocon are grand prix winners - 17 times in the case of the Red Bull driver's meteoric rise and it surely will not be long before Russell steps up to join them.

"It's certainly very positive," said Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto of what looks like a golden period ahead as the sport enters a new era with rule changes

aimed at making racing closer. "There are a lot of young drivers who are doing really very, very well...this may be the best time now for young drivers that we've had in F1." McLaren Racing's chief executive Zak Brown, speaking at last weekend's Dutch Grand Prix, said the sport was in a "mega exciting" place.

"All the big teams are going to have their young driver and I'm very bullish on Formula One's future, I'm excited for the new car, I think the cost cap is working," he added. "Led by these superstar drivers with the big teams I think it's going to be massively exciting, the next decade of Formula One." Formula One still has three multiple world champions in Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel but the future is here and hungry.

"It's so important to get yourself in a top team as a young driver early on, so you can show what you can do," said Britain's 1996 world champion Damon Hill on Sky Sports television.

The rise has been long-awaited, with Russell and Norris rivals in Formula Two in 2018 after Leclerc won the title in 2017, while Verstappen and Ocon competed against each other in European Formula Three.

"I remember meeting him when he was young, dreaming of one day being a Formula One driver," said Hamilton of Russell after the announcement.

"He is a great example to all the kids out there that dreams do come true when you chase them wholeheartedly.

Through hard work he has rightly earned his spot on our team."

Depay treble sends Dutch top of World Cup qualifying group AMSTERDAM REUTERS

Memphis Depay scored a hat-trick as the Netherlands ran out 6-1 winners over 10-man Turkey at the Amsterdam Arena on Tuesday to go top of World Cup qualifying Group G. It was the first international treble for the 27-year-old striker as the Dutch posted an emphatic victory for the second time in four days to reach 13 points from six games and take over from Turkey at the head of the section. Davy Klaassen scored in the opening minute in a dream start for the home side, who had lost 4-2 to Turkey in Istanbul in March at the start of the qualifiers for the Qatar 2022 finals, before Depay added three more, including a penalty. Guus Til scored the fifth 10 minutes from time and Donyell Malen added a sixth in stoppage time before a consolation goal for Cengiz Under. Turkey slipped from top to third in the group as they stayed on 11 points with Norway moving second, behind the Dutch on goal difference, after beating Gibraltar 5-1 on Tuesday.

France end winless run and Scotland revive World Cup hopes PARIS AFP

Reigning champions France beat Finland 20 in a World Cup qualifier on Tuesday thanks to Antoine Griezmann's double strike to snap a five-game winless streak while Scotland kept their hopes alive with a 1-0 win in Austria.

In other action, Portugal and the Netherlands stayed on track to reach the finals in Qatar next year, with Memphis Depay grabbing a hat-trick for the Dutch in a 6-1 demolition of Turkey.

France were roared on by 57,000 passionate spectators in Lyon where Griezmann -- who ended an unhappy spell at Barcelona with a loan move back to Atletico Madrid in

GRIEZMANN'S DOUBLE AGAINST FINLAND HELPED THEM WIN 2-0 AS THE SCOTS KEPT THEIR HOPES ALIVE WITH A 1-0 WIN IN AUSTRIA the transfer window -- combined well with Karim Benzema as their side overcame a disjointed start. Benzema's delightful backheel released Griezmann inside the box and he supplied a smooth finish after 25 minutes.

Griezmann made it 41 goals for his country when he beat Finnish 'keeper Lukas Hradecky at the near post to make it 2-0 in the 54th minute. After a frustrating 1-1 draw with Ukraine in their last game, the victory was a welcome boost for the French who are still smarting after crashing out of Euro 2020 at the last 16 stage this summer.

"We did not do everything well but we have rediscovered our confidence," said France coach Didier Deschamps. "This puts our fate in our hands and we must finish the job in November."

Scotland grabbed a valuable three points in their bid to qualify for Qatar with a 1-0 win against the Austrians in Vienna as Australian-born Lyndon Dykes' VAR-awarded penalty proved the difference.

The victory moved the Scots up to second in Group F, seven points behind Euro 2020 semi-finalists Denmark who are cruis-

ing with a 100 percent record after thrashing Israel 5-0. "Some people in (Scotland) don't believe in this group of players, but I do," Scotland manager Steve Clarke told Sky Sports. "I love my players. We're a good team." The Netherlands were ruthless against Turkey as Depay's hat-trick took the Barcelona forward's international goal tally to 33 goals. The Dutch led 3-0 by half-time and any remaining chance for the Turks vanished when Leicester defender Caglar Soyuncu was sent off for a second bookable offence shortly before the break.

Louis van Gaal's side moved into top spot in Group G by virtue of goal difference above Norway who outclassed minnows Gibraltar 5-1, with Erling Braut Haaland notching a hat-trick.

Serbia's bid to qualify for a second successive World Cup finals suffered a setback as Nikola Milenkovic's late own goal and a superb display from teenage goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu gave the Republic of Ireland a battling 1-1 draw in Dublin.

Lazio midfielder Sergej MilinkovicSavic had put Serbia ahead in the first half.

The Serbs trail Portugal -- who were 3-0 winners in Azerbaijan -- by two points in Group A. The Portuguese did not miss the suspended Cristiano Ronaldo as Bernardo Silva scored a sparkling opener on 26 minutes before Andre Silva added a second five minutes later in Baku.

Liverpool forward Diogo Jota completed the job with a second-half header to continue his bright early season form.

Thursday, 9 September, 2021

pRayeR timings

NEWS

FAJR SUNRISE

ZUHR

ASR MAGHRIB ISHA

4:21

12:07

3:41

5:45

6:27

7:52

TAliBAn govT noT ‘inClusive And rePresenTATive’, wArns eu

T

HE European Union on Wednesday said the “caretaker” government unveiled by the Taliban in Afghanistan failed to honour vows from the new rulers to include different groups.

“Upon initial analysis of the names announced, it does not look like the inclusive and representative formation in terms of the rich ethnic and religious diversity of Afghanistan we hoped to see and that the Taliban were promising over the past weeks,” an EU spokesperson said.

The EU’s 27 nations have set out five conditions for increasing their engagement with the Taliban — including the formation of an “inclusive and representative” transitional government.

The spokesperson for the bloc said that “such inclusivity and representation is expected in the composition of a future transitional government, and as result of negotiations”.

The Taliban on Tuesday announced a caretaker government which has no women or non-Taliban members and includes key figures who are under United Nations sanctions or wanted by the United States on terrorism accusations.

Foreign ministers from 20 nations are to hold talks on Wednesday led by the top diplomats from the US and

Germany that could deal with how to approach the new administration.

The West has been scrambling to work out a way forward on Afghanistan after the Taliban seized power in the wake of the US-led withdrawal of foreign troops from the country.

GUARDED RECEPTION: Meanwhile, Germany, China and Japan offered a lukewarm reception to the Taliban’s provisional government.

Voicing concern about the government’s composition, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said he saw little reason for optimism about conditions in Afghanistan.

PCB says reports of Azam’s unhappiness over team selection ‘factually incorrect’

“The announcement of a transitional government without the participation of other groups, and yesterday’s violence against demonstrators and journalists in Kabul, are not signals that give cause for optimism,” he said.

Maas said, however, that Germany was willing to keep talking to the Taliban in a bid to ensure more people were able to leave the country, hit by food shortages and a halt in international payments.

China, which shares a border with Afghanistan, had urged the establishment of an “open and inclusive” government after the Taliban seized power,

amid the chaos following the withdrawal of US troops.

A foreign ministry spokesperson said in Beijing that China viewed the establishment of the new government as a necessary step towards reconstruction in Afghanistan.

“We hope the new Afghanistan authorities will listen broadly to people of all races and factions, so as to meet the aspirations of its own peoples and the expectations of the international community,” Wang Wenbin told a daily briefing.China was ready to maintain communication with the leaders of the new government, Wang added, in comments prompted by a query about whether Beijing would recognise the new government.

In Tokyo, a top official said Japan was monitoring the actions of the Taliban and would keep up co-operation with the United States and other countries, while expressing concern over the safety of citizens in Afghanistan.

“Through various efforts, including practical dialogue with the Taliban, we are doing the utmost to ensure safety of Japanese nationals and for local staff who remain,” said Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato.

He also promised support for Japanese who wanted to leave the South Asian nation. afp

Land digitisation to overcome land grabbing, ensure transparency: PM ISLAMABAD

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has reacted to reports of skipper Babar Azam being unhappy with the team selected for the ICC T20 World Cup and the upcoming series against New Zealand and England, terming them “factually incorrect”. “It has come to our notice that factually incorrect reports are circulating about the Pakistan national squad environment,” PCB CEO Wasim Khan said in a statement Wednesday. The PCB CEO said that the team for the upcoming international series against New Zealand, England and the T20 World Cup assignment has been announced.

“Babar Azam is fully behind the direction that is being taken,” reads the statement. Wasim Khan also spoke about Ramiz Raja’s meeting with some of the players, describing it as “a healthy and positive” one. He said that during the meeting, a consensus was formed on the brand of cricket that needs to be played in the upcoming series and beyond. The PCB CEO urged people to back the cricket team ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup next month. “It is important that collectively we get firmly behind the squad so that they have the stability, backing and focus they need prior to going into the ICC T20 World Cup next month,” reads the statement. A day earlier, it was reported that skipper Babar Azam was unhappy over the T20 team selection for the upcoming international assignments. news desk

app

Prime Minister Imran Khan Wednesday said that digitisation and cadastral mapping of lands would ensure transparency in the land record and transactions besides, eliminating the besetting issue of land grabbing.

The prime minister was addressing the launching ceremony of the digitisation of land record and cadastral mapping of the Federal Capital Territory.

The prime minister said that under the two-phase process, the digitisation of lands and cadastral mapping was completed in Islamabad and would commence in Lahore and Karachi.

Whereas in the second phase, it would be broadened to other urban areas of the country, he added.

The prime minister referring to the complexities of the past land record system observed that the common men had faced huge issues while their lands were grabbed by the powerful clique who had no regard for the land of law.

“I will commend the efforts of Capital Development Authority

and Survey of Pakistan for the completion of the survey of lands in Islamabad. Under the digital data system, lands worth Rs400 billions were retrieved from the land grabbing mafia including Rs300 billion lands of CDA and the other Rs100 billion forest land,” he added.

The ceremony was attended by the ministers, parliamentarians, authorities concerned and media persons.

Terming the process as ‘transformative’ the prime minister said, the land record would now be available online, facilitating the people through use of latest technology.

He said with the use of this technology in Islamabad, 45 acres of green areas along the Srinagar Highway alone had now been stretched over to 113 acres. About, 1,000 acres of forest land was under the illegal occupation, he added.

The prime minister further said that poor people had always suffered at the hands of land grabbers, but now with the use of such technology, the state lands could be protected.

He also opined that overseas Pakistanis had been the biggest assets of the country and they could

be wooed to invest in the country by creating suitable environment and these technological gadgets could be conduits to facilitate them.

The prime minister mentioned that rule of law was vital for economic gains as it was the criteria which also ensured justice.

He also regretted that chunks of lands belonging to overseas Pakistanis had often been under the illegal occupation by ‘qabza group’, adding that about fifty per cent cases in the courts pertained to land issues.

The prime minister also maintained that his government was making strenuous efforts for afforestation of the country to tackle the looming issues of global warming and pollution by enhancing the forest cover. Naya Pakistan Housing and Development Authority Chairman Lt General (r) Anwar Ali Haider gave an overview of the digitisation and cadastral mapping of lands in Islamabad.

He said with the use of Geographic Information System (GIS) and under two phases process, land record in the country would be secured, starting from the Capital.

Premature to comment on Afghanistan caretaker government: minister ISLAMABAD staff RepoRt

A day after the Taliban announced the formation of an interim setup to rule Afghanistan, Pakistan Wednesday said it was “not appropriate” to comment at this stage on the government that also featured individuals on United Nations sanctions and terror lists. “We should wait a while, it is not appropriate to comment [on the development] at this time,” Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry told BBC. The Taliban announced key posts for their new government on Tuesday, appointing Mohammad Hassan Akhund as the prime minister while group co-founder Abdul Ghani Baradar will be his deputy. While Pakistan is yet to comment on the formation of the government, Islamabad is hosting today a key virtual meeting of Afghanistan’s neighbouring countries to discuss the situation in the country ravaged by decades of war and internal rifts. Responding to a question pertaining to the recent visit to Kabul of intelligence chief Lt Gen Faiz Hameed, a development discussed by the Western press to the extent of blowing it out of proportion, Chaudhry recalled the secret April visit to Afghanistan of Central Intelligence Agency chief, William J. Burns, and his meeting with Baradar. The minister said he learned of the meeting through the media, observing that in the recent past, Turkey and Qatar spy chiefs also visited Kabul. In the absence of a formal government machinery [in Kabul], a framework was needed where both Pakistan and Afghanistan could discuss bilateral issues, he said. “We have been facing serious problems with Afghanistan, including the expansion of ISIS, the refugee problem and the TTP’s [Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan] migration from Afghanistan. “We have been in talks with the Taliban and Pakistan also facilitated their talks with the United States,” he recalled. Chaudhry said Pakistan also assisted in the evacuations following the fall of Kabul in August and safely evacuated through special Pakistan International Airlines flights thousands of foreign nationals — a gesture that was appreciated by the global community. The minister asserted there was no military solution to the Afghanistan question and recalled Pakistan had been trying, however unsuccessfully, to convince the world [to quit Afghanistan] as early as 2007. “Had Pakistan’s advice been paid heed, the situation in Afghanistan today would have been [totally] different,” he said. Pakistan lost 80,000 people in the socalled war on terror and suffered $150 billion in economic losses — all the while India consistently attempting to defame it through propaganda, the minister said. He said fabricated reporting of the Indian press accusing Pakistan of participation in the Panjshir fighting was ludicrous.

Profile: Hibatullah Akhundzada: Shadowy Taliban chief whose son was suicide bomber KABUL ReuteRs

In one of the only known photographs of Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, he stares directly at the camera — an expressionless face between a white turban and a long, grey beard.

As the group unveiled its new government on Tuesday after it swept to power as US-led forces withdrew last month, the mysterious Akhundzada retained the role of the supreme leader, the ultimate authority over the group’s political, religious, and military affairs he has held since 2016.

“We will rebuild our war-torn country,” Akhundzada said in a written statement released by the Taliban after Tuesday’s appointments, his first comments since the group retook Afghanistan.

Akhundzada said the Taliban were committed to all international laws, treaties and commitments not in conflict with their law,

which would henceforth regulate all governance in Afghanistan.

A hardline cleric whose son was reportedly a suicide bomber, Akhundzada has spent most of his leadership in the shadows, letting others take the lead in negotiations that ultimately saw the United States and their allies leave Afghanistan after 20 years of grinding counter-insurgency war.

Even basic details such as his age are hard to verify. He is thought to be around 60.

Yet some analysts who have studied the Taliban say he was a guiding hand, healing divisions within the movement and managing the handling over international allies and foes ahead of military victory.

“Through guile, through deception, through manipulation and through patience, he was able to bring the Taliban back to power,” said Rohan Gunaratna, professor of security studies at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University.

Others, however, say he is more of a figurehead, picked as a compromise candidate during a time of flux in the movement, while the real power is held by the Taliban’s military factions.

“There is very little information available about him. You don’t see him saying anything in person in public. And combined with the circumstances of his appointment, that feeds into the placeholder argument,” said Rajeshwari Krishnamurthy, a South Asia security expert at the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, a think-tank based in New Delhi.

A LOT OF FORCE: Born into a strict religious family in Afghanistan’s second-largest city Kandahar, Akhundzada was an early member of the Taliban — a movement that emerged in the surrounding southern province of Helmand from the ashes of the Afghan civil war.

When the Taliban ruled between 19962001 with strict laws that banned women

from working and imposed punishments such as stonings, Akhundzada served as the chief of its justice system, according to the United Nations.

Akhundzada was not the obvious selection when senior members of the Taliban met in 2016 to appoint a new head after the death of leader Mullah Akhtar Mansoor in a US drone strike.

While Akhundzada hailed from the large and powerful Noorzai tribe, his stock within the regime was seen as more scholarly than soldierly, unlike previous leaders.

But he was a compromise between the young and inexperienced son of late Taliban founder Mullah Mohammad Omar, and Sirajuddin Haqqani, who was wanted by the US in connection with a deadly 2008 attack on a Kabul hotel, sources told Reuters at the time.

Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri pledged allegiance to Akhundzada in an online audio message soon after the Taliban

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

leader took over, Reuters has reported.

Unlike other Taliban leaders, Akhundzada is not on the UN sanctions list.

However, his son Abdur Rahman died in carrying out a suicide bombing at a military base in Helmand in July 2017, according to a spokesman for the Taliban.

Early in his leadership, Akhundzada instituted reforms that consolidated his influence over an insurgency weakened by division and defection.

But he kept a low public profile. The only photo Reuters has been able to verify of him was an undated image posted on a Taliban Twitter feed in May 2016. It was identified separately by several Taliban officials, who declined to be named.

This shadowy existence has led to constant speculation about his whereabouts and health. So secretive are the Taliban about their leaders that the death of the movement’s founder Mullah Omar in 2013 was only confirmed two years later by his son.