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Thursday, 21 October, 2021 I 14 Rabi-ul-Awwal, 1443 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XII No 112 I 12 Pages I Islamabad Edition

Motion to table no-confidence against cM KaMal passed in balochistan asseMbly

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ISgrUNTlED members of the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) and the opposition supported a motion to table a no-confidence motion against Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan Alyani in the provincial assembly on Wednesday.

Food Minister Abdul rehman Khetran presented the no-confidence motion before the assembly. Out of 65 lawmakers present in the assembly, 33 backed the motion.

Khetran demanded the release of five “missing” parliamentarians and advised the chief minister to step down.

He said that the performance of government institutions has been negatively affected during the Kamal’s

three-year tenure while unemployment has also spread.

He alleged that Alyani has taken care of important provincial matters without consultation which has caused “irreparable damage”. He said that lawmakers have tried to inform the CM about the damage being caused, but he paid no heed.

He noted that many people in the province, including bureaucrats, doctors, students and landowners, have taken to the streets in protest of the government’s “bad governance”. leader of the Opposition in Balochistan Assembly Malik Sikandar Advocate, while expressing his views, said that people are facing a shortage of gas in certain areas during the winter months.

“When the chief executive will not pay attention to this or the people dying due to the cold, then how will the people trust the leadership?”

He said that the people’s lives and property are not safe and citizens have to protest with the dead bodies of their loved ones outside the CM House in order to urge Alyani to take action.

He said that the parents in the province pray for their children’s safe return when they leave their homes, as the government is not protecting the people. He concluded by saying that Alyani does not have the right to be the province’s chief executive.

Prior to the assembly session, Kamal spoke to the media and said that he is confident of the outcome of the no-trust motion, adding that the

Targeted subsidy programme to protect poor from price hike: PM

He was speaking during the meeting of the core committee of Pakistan Tehreek I Insaf (PTI) here.

The targeted subsidy programme would be started with the financial resources of the federal and provincial governments and Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had expressed interest in becoming part of it.

While talks were continuing with Sindh and Balochistan governments to include them in the subsidy programme, he added.

The PM said he was aware of the effects of price hikes and the government was expanding the scope of Sehat card, Kissan card and Ehsaas programme. He expressed concern over the rising price of flour in Sindh.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister for Poverty Alleviation Dr Sania Nishtar briefed the prime minister on the Ehsaas targeted subsidy.

Minister for Information Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, Finance Minister Punjab Makhdoom Hashim Jawan Bakht, Finance Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Taimur Aslam Jhagra, President National Bank Arif Usmani, Chief Secretaries Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and senior officers attended the meeting.

Adviser for Finance Shaukat Tareen participated in the meeting through video link. Ehsaas Subsidy Programme would be started in the current year to save poor people from price hikes.

Mobile Point of Sale programme was ready for Ehsaas Subsidy in cooperation with National Bank.

The households under Ehsaas Programme would get concession on specific items from the general stores under the subsidy programme.

The PM directed that the targeted subsidy programme should be finalized as soon as possible. app

Power price likely to go further up by Rs2.65 per unit ISLAMABAD ahmad ahmadani

The Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) has asked the National Electric Power regulatory Authority (NEPrA) to approve rs2.65 per unit power tariff hike under the head of monthly fuel price adjustment.

As per details, the CPPA on behalf of power distribution companies (DISCOs), has submitted an application to NEPrA seeking an increase of rs2.6587 Kilowhatt per hour (kWh) in the power tariff over the reference fuel charges i.e. rs5.0229 per unit for the month of September.

NEPrA will hold a public hearing over CPPA’s application on October 27 whereas it has invited all affected parties to raise written and oral objections as permissible by law at the hearing.

In its plea, the CPPA has said that 36.24 per cent of electricity was produced from hydropower, 17.05pc from coal, 8.90pc from gas

and 18.90pc from imported lNg, 9.13pc from nuclear, 7.11pc from rFO (furnace oil), 1.64pc from wind, 0.12pc from baggasse, and 0.43pc from solar during September.

Pursuant to NEPrA laws and the mechanism for monthly fuel price adjustment prescribed in the tariff determinations of ex-WAPDA distribution companies, the authority may make adjustments on monthly basis on account of any variation in fuel charges and policy guidelines which the federal government may issue and notify in the official gazette.

Earlier on September 15, the government increased the power tariff by rs1.39 per unit, which will be applicable from November 2021.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad along with the State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib, Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar had said that the hike was due to mounting circular debt and the costly power houses installed by the last government.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 03

opposition wants to create discord among government members.

Praising his rule as the chief minister of the province, Kamal said that he has “worked hard to establish peace and harmony in the province,” therefore, he would not let the opposition spoil the accomplishment.

He said that the disgruntled members will present their arguments against me today [Wednesday], while the speaker of the assembly will decide a date for the actual voting to take place.

“We are confident that the reality will be revealed on the polling day,” Kamal said.

“We have come here to serve and shall till the last day. Kindly carry on your games,” he added. news desk

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Thursday, 21 October, 2021 | ISLAMABAD

NEWS

T20 World Cup: SouTh AfriCA BeATS pAKiSTAn in A Thriller ABU DhABI

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Staff RepoRt

OUTH AFRICA’S impressive batting helped them defeat Pakistan by six wickets in a thrilling warm-up match for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup on Wednesday. The Pakistani bowlers were able to dismiss Proteas’ openers quickly, but later, they failed to restrict the South African team as Rassie van

der Dussen took charge and smashed 101 runs.

Temba Bavuma also played a good knock as he hit 46 off 42 balls.

All-rounder Hassan Ali, who was sent to bowl the last over, failed to restrict boundaries, as he conceded 22 runs, which helped pave way for Proteas’ victory.

Right-arm pacer Haris Rauf gave away 33 runs from his three overs and failed to pick up a wicket, while Shaheen Afridi

Khushhali Microfinance Bank skills-training programme for rural women kArAchI pR

Khushhali Microfinance Bank Limited (KMBL) recently organized another Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative, to celebrate the "International Day of Rural Women". The bank salutes the resilience and contribution of rural women and believes that women in rural areas can increase their productivity and earnings by learning and developing new skills. Therefore, a "Stitching Training Programme" for women was organized at Chak 367 Jalianwala, in Tehseel Gojra of Punjab. It was held in collaboration with a prestigious NGO - "Society for HumanDevelopment". The theme for this year's International Day for Rural Women was: 'Rural women - Cultivating good food for all'. Through this initiative, KMBL will recognize the hard-work and heroic achievements of these rural women, who are making valuable contributions in the society. Another exemplary social initiative by KMBL is “Apna Makaan” – an affordable home-loan that provides the low-income consumers’ segment with an opportunity to own a house and improve their quality of life. For more details, please contact the helpline 051-111 047 047 or visit the website: https://www.khushhalibank.com.pk/khushhaliapna-makaan

managed to take two scalps but gave away 30 runs from his four overs.

Afridi took the wickets of Bavuma and Heinrich Klaasen (14).

Left-arm bowler Imad Wasim gave away 19 runs from his three overs. He also managed to take two early scalps of Quinton de Kock (6) and Reeza Hendricks (7) in the same over.

By the end of the first innings, Pakistan handed a 187-run target

to South Africa. Skipper Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan had failed to impress with the bat as they scored 15 and 19.

Fakhar Zaman had played an impressive inning with the bat as he scored 52 off 28 balls, while Asif Ali added 32 runs and Shoaib Malik 28 to the total.

Pakistan had thrashed West Indies earlier this week with a seven-wicket victory in a warmup match. The Men In Green will face India on October 24.

Pak Army soldier martyred in Hangu terror attack NewS DeSk A soldier of the Pakistan Army was martyred when terrorists fired at a

military post in Hangu’s Thall area, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) stated on Wednesday.

The military’s media wing added

that the troops initiated a “prompt response and effectively engaged” the terrorists’ location.

“During the exchange of fire, Sepoy Waqas (age 26 years, resident of Mansehra) embraced shahadat (martydom),” the communique added.

The ISPR further said that an area clearance operation was being carried out to eliminate any terrorists found in the area. Earlier on October 18, a soldier of the Pakistan Army was martyred when terrorists fired on a security forces’ post in Spinwam, North Waziristan district of K-P, the military said.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that the troops initiated a prompt response and effectively engaged the terrorists’ location. “During intense

exchange of fire, Sepoy Saifullah (age 25 years, resident of Karak) embraced shahadat (martydom),” it added.

The ISPR further said that an area clearance operation was being carried out to eliminate any terrorists found in the area.

In a similar incident earlier this month, a soldier embraced martyrdom after terrorists targeted a security forces post in Ghariuom, North Waziristan.

The military launched a clearance operation in the area after the attack.

On October 2, four soldiers of Frontier Corps (FC) and a Levies subinspector embraced martyrdom while thwarting a terrorists attack on a security forces vehicle in the Spinwam area of North Waziristan.

SC orders probe of seven-month hiatus in restoration of Punjab LG institutions ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

Days after the Punjab government restored, albeit reluctantly, the local government apparatus to comply with a March Supreme Court order, the top court Wednesday ordered a probe to find out what took the province seven months to implement the verdict.

The government of Chief Minister Usman Buzdar had dissolved the local bodies — constituted under the Punjab Local Government Act, 2013 — in May 2019.

In March last, however, the Supreme Court declared the dissolution of the institutions as unconstitutional and ordered the government to restore them.After delaying implementation of the court order on the pretext that it was waiting for the detailed

judgement, the Punjab government later said it had filed a review petition after the detailed verdict was issued in July. During the hearing on Wednesday, a counsel for the Punjab government presented the notification announcing the restoration of local government institutions to the bench headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed. “The province says it has restored the institutions when, in fact, it has not even drafted the notification correctly,” the chief justice observed.

The counsel for the petitioner contended the Punjab government had maintained in the Lahore High Court (LHC) that it cannot implement the top court’s order on restoring local government regime.

At this, the Supreme Court sought all the records of the proceedings in the high court of the matter, saying it will get to the bottom of the matter through an inquiry.

Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel said the written response by the Punjab law secretary speaks of a summary sent to the chief minister on the restoration of LG institutions.

The chief justice said that whoever is responsible for the delay will be held accountable for it.

Adjourning the hearing, the court sought certified copies of the LHC ruling on the matter.

CASE HISTORY: The case came up for a hearing when on March 15, Justice Qazi Faez Isa, while hearing a case of local government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, ordered the court registrar to immediately solicit the order of the chief justice to have it fixed for hearing either before the bench headed by Justice Mushir Alam, which heard the matter earlier, or as directed by the chief justice.

Evaluating Karamat Bukhari SyeD AfSAr SAjID Karamat Bukhari is a well-known Urdu poet and critic. He has to his credit at least nine poetic works in Urdu besides a translated version of his poetry in English viz. ‘Discovering Self’ plus three collections of critical and miscellaneous essays titled ‘Tanqeedi Nazariyaat’, ‘Tanqeedi Ta’assuraat’, and ‘Harf-e-Saad’.

Mus’haf-e-Gham is a collection of Karamat’s devotional-cum-elegiac verse comprising Hamd, Na’at, Salam, Nauha, Manqabat, Ruba’i, and Qat’a. Noted poet and scholar Hassan Askari Kazmi has penned an illuminating preface to the work. He has discussed various aspects of Karamat Bukhari’s art as a versifier in relation to the theme and content of the book. Karbala is a symbol of Truth, Martyrdom, and Eternity. The poet has soulfully highlighted the events of Karbala leading to the supreme sacrifice of Hazrat Imam Hussain (RA) and his devoted companions. His diction and style match the sublimity and grandeur of the theme.

Khwab Raizay is a collection of Karamat Bukhari’s ghazal (128 in number). Ghazal is a romantic expression of one’s feelings and yearnings. It has a stupendous scope of

artistic growth and expansion. The modern poet of ghazal is overly conscious of the grim existentialistic actualities and their incompatibility with his longings and dreams and vice versa.

The title of the book itself symbolises this phenomenon.

In their flaps, renowned litterateurs Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi, Iftikhar Arif, Dr. Sajjad Baqar Rizvi, and Dr. Agha Sohail have unanimously acclaimed

Karamat Bukhari’s poetics and place him among the vanguard of the generation of poets succeeding Meer Taqi Meer, Mirza Ghalib, Hasrat Mohani, Saifuddin Saif, Abdul Hamid Adam, Nasir Kazmi, John Elia, Anwar Sha’oor et al. Karamat Bukhari’s themes are palpably modernistic. He upholds human values and denigrates hypocrisy, malice, obscurantism, and the like. Generally he uses the short metre in ghazal with great felicity. A few verses from the collection would enable the reader to gauge the calibre and quality of Karamat’s ghazal: Maira wujud bhi tau Karamat say kum nahiN/Darya-e zindagi hai jo koozay say kum nahiN Zindagi shauq-e khud shanasi meiN/Khud say bhi nashanas rahti hai Aksar larta rahta huN/LafzoN ki hurmat kay liye Har ek armaN ko ban jana hai hasrat/Tau phir yeh zeest kis ummeed par hai Jab arsa-e shuhood hai shahid pay munhasir/Phir kis liye kisi ki tamanna karuN ga maeN Karamat Bukhari (Mushaheer-oMu’asreen ki Nazar Mein) is an anthology of commendatory essays on Karamat Bukhari and his art as a poet.

The contributors are Saifuddin Saif,

Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi, Dr. Sajjad Baqar Rizvi, Mohsin Naqvi, Iftikhar Arif, Dr. Agha Sohail, Dr. Anwqr Sadeed, Dr. Tauseef Tabassum, Mashkoor Hussain Yad, Dr. Ajmal Niazi, Prof. Jafar Baloch, Shahid Wasti, Dr. Kanwal Feroze, Akbar Hamidi, Begum Sarfaraz Iqbal, Saeed Badar, Aleem Saba Navidi (India), Nahid Anjum, Najma Yasmin Yusuf, Aasnath Kanwal, Shahid Bukhari, Hassan Askari Kazmi, Dr. Muhammad Amin, Iqbal Arshad, Syed Riaz Hussain Zaidi, Dr. Shahida Dilawar Shah, and Riaz Nadeem Niazi.

Tulu-e-Farda is a collection of Karamat Bukhari’s nazm (122) including Hamd, Na’at and Manqabat.

He has re-annexed the laudatory flaps of Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi, Iftikhar Arif, Dr. Agha Sohail, and Dr. Sajjad Baqar Rizvi to this book too. However, Tariq Wasifi’s introduction to the poet’s art as a nazm writer is the cream of the piece. It is a scholarly but illuminating review (though verbose at places) of Karamat’s poetics in the context of the present work.

The titles of the poems abound in eponyms which characteristically explicate their themes contoured to the intent of the poet. The contrast between illusion and reality leads the poet to pin his hopes in a future aglow with light, love and luxuriance. But hope, as implied in the title of the book, is elusive like a mirage.

Nostalgia of the bygones forms the baseline of many a poem in the collection.

Thursday, 21 October, 2021 | ISLAMABAD

NEWS

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peACe iMpoSSiBle if pAleSTine, KAShMir diSpuTeS reMAin unreSolved: pAKiSTAn UNIteD NAtIoNS

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Staff RepoRt

AKISTAN warned the United Nations Middle East and adjacent regions will not witness durable peace so long as the people of Palestine and Kashmir continue to suffer under foreign occupation, advocating for a two-state solution to resolve the Palestine dispute.

“This oppression of the Palestinians, Kashmiris and other Muslim populations are a major underlying cause of the rise of extremism and terrorism in recent decades,” Pakistan’s Ambassador to the UN, Munir Akram, said in a statement submitted to the UN Security Council Tuesday.

“Just solutions to such oppression and injustice is essential to defeat and eliminate the terrorism which has spread across and beyond the Middle East,” the

power price likely to go further up by rs2.65 per unit coNtINUeD froM pAge 01 Azhar said that NEPRA had recommended an increase of Rs3.5 per unit in March; however, he clarified that this increase will not be applicable to lifeline and domestic consumers who use less than 200 units of electricity in a month. “In this way, the power tariff hike is not applicable on 46pc of the consumer base,” Azhar had added. He further added that the tariff hike will also not affect the seasonal electricity package or industrial package. According to sources, for the period Jul-Oct 2021, net subsidy amounting to Rs102 billion and for the period effective from November till June, subject to implementation of the proposal, the net subsidy shall amount to Rs67 billion. In aggregate, the subsidy requirement will be reduced from Rs240 billion to Rs168 billion. Sources also said that based on consolidated revenue requirements of DISCOs as well as the economic and financial policy, the tariff differential subsidy (TDS) was proposed to be modified and reduced through the circulation summary.

envoy said as the 15-member Council debated the situation in the Middle East.

He said the two-state formula, involving the establishment of a sovereign, contiguous and viable Palestine state, with East Jerusalem as its capital, living side-by-side with Israel within recognised boundaries, offered the only solution to the conflict.

“The alternative to a two-State solution is an Israeli apartheid State or, even worse, a genocide of the Palestinian people,” Akram said, adding that “even a world as morally compromised as ours will not tolerate either outcome.”

“The peoples of the Arab and Muslim

world, and other civilised nations, will not contemplate such outcomes. Nor, I believe, would the people of Israel, with their enduring memories of the Holocaust.”

Akram said Israel’s actions in the occupied Palestine lands were grave violations of Security Council resolutions and international law, citing its seizure of land and properties for Israeli settlements; the violence against unarmed Palestinian children, women and men; the blockade of Gaza; the desecration of Holy Al-Aqsa.

Also, he said, there was no moral, legal or political equivalence between Israel, the occupying state, and the occupied and oppressed Palestinian people.

Pakistan, Russia, China willing to provide Afghanistan with aid: Moscow MoScow ReuteRS

Pakistan, Russia and China are willing to provide aid to Afghanistan, the Russian foreign ministry said on Tuesday, but Moscow said it was not yet ready to recognise the Taliban government.

The promise of humanitarian aid and economic support came after talks between officials from Russia, China and Pakistan who were joined by representatives of Afghanistan’s new rulers at a meeting in Moscow on Wednesday.

But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia was withholding recognition from the Taliban while waiting for them to fulfil promises they made when they took power, including on the political and ethnic inclusivity of the new government.

Critics say the former rebel movement is backtracking on pledges not to sideline women and minorities, or persecute foes.

“Official recognition of the Taliban is not under discussion for now,” Lavrov told reporters.

“Like most of the other influential countries in the region, we are in contact with them. We are prodding

them to fulfil the promises they made when they came to power.”

RUSSIA SEEKS LEADERSHIP: In mid-August, the Afghan government collapsed as the United States and allies withdrew troops after 20 years on the ground, leading the Taliban to seize power in a lightning offensive.

Russia, which fought its own disastrous war in Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989, is trying to seize the diplomatic initiative to avoid instability in the wider region that could damage its interests. In particular, it is worried by the possibility of the militants seeping into the former Soviet republics of Central Asia, a region Moscow views as a defensive buffer.

Other Russian officials have tempered expectations for Wednesday’s talks. The United States said it would not join this round but planned to do so in the future.

Zamir Kabulov, President Vladimir Putin’s special representative on Afghanistan, said last week he did not expect any major breakthrough at the talks. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov described them as “an attempt to know what will happen in Afghanistan going forward.”

Fawad says prices of basic commodities declining despite surge in PoL prices NewS DeSk Despite an unprecedented surge in price hike and inflation in the country, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry Wednesday looked optimistic and said that while the prices of petroleum products had increased, the prices of other essentials, such as pulses, vegetables, sugar and wheat have decreased.

Briefing media following a meeting of the core committee of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the minister said that party leaders from Sindh, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa attended the meeting. He said that prior to chairing the core committee meeting, Prime Minister Imran Khan also chaired a meeting of the Ehsaas programme to get a better picture of the impact of price hike on the poor.

The meeting was attended by Advser to the Prime Minister on and Revenue Shaukat Tarin, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection Dr Sania Nishtar and senior bureaucrats.

PM Imran Khan, during the meeting said that immediate steps should be taken to alleviate the burden on the people and that the

subsidy scheme under the Ehsaas programme should be expanded.

“KP and Punjab are ready to become a part of the subsidy scheme. We want that Sindh and Balochistan also become a part of this scheme,” he said, adding that Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir had also expressed an interest.

The minister said that the real issue was being caused by the Sindh government which was delaying the release of wheat.

“Because of this, a 20kg bag of flour is being sold for Rs400 more in Sindh as compared to Punjab and KP.” “According to our estimates, this year our wheat crop will be historic,” he said, noting that the cotton output was 60pc more than the previous year. The information minister said that sugar prices were coming down and would reduce further once the crushing season begins.

The minister said that while petrol prices had increased, the prices of pulses, vegetables, sugar and flour were on the downward trend. If this trend continues, the public will get some relief on this side considering the increase in petrol prices, he said.

During the PTI core committee meeting held in Islamabad, the government decided to start a direct

subsidy programme for the poor.

Speaking on the occasion, PM Imran said he is aware of the difficulties being faced by the poor due to inflation. He said the government is expanding the scope of the Sehat Card, the Kisan Card and the Ehsaas programme.

Contrary to Fawad’s claims, Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar had on Monday said that no “immediate relief” can be seen in rising commodity prices, saying it could take at least five months for the “abnormal increase” in global prices to head towards normalcy.

“We hope people get relief soon, but — according to experts — the relief may not be visible immediately and actual improvement may be seen from March,” Umar told a press conference in Islamabad.

Umar said once international commodity prices stabilised and the trend headed towards normalisation, “the government will then be responsible to pass on that relief to the masses.” While stressing that the world is going through an “extraordinary” situation in terms of commodity prices, he said the rates of basic commodities were still lower in Pakistan compared to the rest of the world.

“The Palestinian struggle for self-determination and implementation of the UN Security Council resolutions is legitimate; the Israeli repression of the occupied Palestinian people is illegitimate,” the envoy said.

“Nor can any equivalence be drawn between Israel’s military and occupation forces — one of the most powerful in the world — and Palestinians armed with little more than stones and defiant courage.”

The perpetuation of Israel occupation, he said, will not bring peace to the holy land, even if the Palestinians were dispossessed and disempowered by Israel and its patrons, every succeeding generation of Palestinians will persist in seeking their freedoms and fundamental rights, including their right to self-determination.

“Israel cannot rule indefinitely over a defiant Palestinian majority indefinitely. The peoples of the Arab and Muslim world, and other civilised nations, will not contemplate such outcomes,” Akram added.

friesland Campina engro pakistan ltd. financial results for 9MfY21 kArAchI pR

Friesland Campina Engro Pakistan Limited announced its financial results for the nine months ended September 30th, 2021. The Company reported net revenue of PkR 38.7 billion, representing 19% growth versus last year. This milestone was attained by developing new channels, increasing market penetration, improving route to market, and enhancing investment across brands. These initiatives reflect Friesland Campina Engro Pakistan Limited’s unwavering commitment to provide allpurpose nutrition across Pakistan. The business environment faced unprecedented economic challenges due to currency devaluation and all-time high commodity prices. However, the Company has effectively navigated through these challenges to grow sales volumes, and simultaneously improve Gross Margin by 403bps versus last year through continued focus on mix management and saving initiatives throughout the value chain. Furthermore, effective controlling of other costs, reduced rate of borrowing and effective working capital management has led to an improvement in profit after tax by 407bps versus last year.

DAIRY AND BEVERAGES SEGMENT: With COVID-19 related restrictions easing, the segment reported net revenue of PkR 33.8 billion registering 16.8% growth compared to the same period last year.

The improvement was achieved by adding 6000 stores to the retail network during the year, coupled with 14X growth in e-commerce volumes. Olper’s and its value-added products (Cream and Flavored Milk) led this growth with strong brand and trade investments.

ICE CREAM AND FROZEN DESSERTS SEGMENT: The Easing of COVID restrictions and an early start of the summer have led to highest-ever volumes in the nine months, with reported growth of 41.7% and revenue of PkR 4.9 billion versus last year. The business segment created excitement by launching 4 new products, and its buzz-generating “summer blockbuster” and “wow bhara bite” campaigns. Increased usage of e-commerce continues to improve the breadth and depth of its customer base.

FUTURE OUTLOOK: Inflation is likely to continue increasing due to higher domestic energy price, international oil price and global commodity prices, which in turn puts pressure on the exchange rate. In addition to its existing plans, the Company will continue to remain agile and drive efficiencies to off-set external impacts.

04 NEWS 21st October 2021 (ISB)_Layout 1 10/21/2021 12:54 AM Page 1

Thursday, 21 October, 2021 | ISLAMABAD

04 NEWS

pdM launcheS anti govt drive with rally in rawalpindi ISLAMABAD

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staff report

HE Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) Wednesday staged countrywide anti-government protests starting the movement from Rawalpindi as the masses are suffering due to rising inflation and hike in prices of essential commodities.

PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb was leading a lackluster PDM rally near Liaquat Bagh.

“People are exasperated due to inflation and unemployment, and they have no left hope from this government,” the PMLN spokesperson said as she addressed the protest.

Rawalpindi Mayor Sardar Naseem Ahmed, including the PDM’s local leadership and women, were also present. Due to the protest near Liaquat Bagh, the flow of traffic had been disrupted on Muree Road.

The PML-N spokesperson said people were “forced to commit suicide” during the incumbent regime’s rule, as she sought the nation’s support to make the Opposition alliance’s country-wide protests successful.

“The people talking about Riasat e Madina will have to go home,” she said and added that the PDM would not allow Prime Minister Imran Khan to become a

“political martyr” and that the people were well-aware of the country’s political developments. “Imran Khan has to put Shahbaz Sharif and Nawaz Sharif behind bars to run his government,” she added.

Meanwhile, Minister for Interior Sheikh Rasheed said he was happy to know that the Opposition alliance had decided to kick-off their anti-government campaign from his home city.

The interior minister said the govern-

Shireen Mazari SlaMS daughter iMaan online for Making ‘perSonal attackS’ on pM islamabad: Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir, a prominent young lawyer and daughter of Pakistan’s Minister of Human Rights Shireen Mazari had insinuated on her official Twitter handle that the country is being ruled by witchcraft. Reacting to that, mother and Minister of Human Rights Shireen Mazari slammed the “personal attack”, describing it as “shameful”. Shireen stated that ” I am ashamed you would resort to such low, personalised, unsubstantiated attacks — especially since as a lawyer you should know [that] without any proof hurling such accusations is defamation.” “When all substantive issue-based criticism fails, this level of personal attack is plain shameful,” she added. Earlier today, Imaan had tweeted that if the country was to be run by witchcraft, why was a huge amount of taxpayer money being wasted on the PM’s oversized cabinet? She was repeating an allegation that has recently been pushed frequently by the government’s critics, the unsubstantiated claim that PM Imran Khan relies on witchcraft and divination to make key decisions regarding the affairs of the state. “The country has been made a mockery of with [the use of] witchcraft — how can it be that we do not talk about those who practice it,” Imaan added in her tweet. staf report

ment would not allow the Opposition to take law into its hand, as he mentioned that Prime Minister Imran Khan was personally dealing with the issue of inflation.

“If Shahbaz Sharif held a meeting with someone, then it is a positive development,” he added.

A day earlier, PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif held a high-level meeting of the party to finalise the schedule for protests and rallies against the PTI-led government.

Local PDM leaders have convened a meeting of the party at 2pm in Islamabad, where the dates and venues for the Islamabad protests will be finalised. Lashing out at the PDM, Rasheed had earlier said that the prime minister was lucky as he had such a “worthless” Opposition to deal with.

The interior minister had said that the government does not feel threatened by the Opposition at all because “it is spineless”.

“In fact, Prime Minister Imran Khan is lucky that he got such a worthless Opposition,” the interior minister had said while speaking to the media in Islamabad.

Rasheed had also reacted to the Opposition’s criticism of the PTI-led government due to the rising inflation in the country and said that the situation arose due to the policies of the previous governments as well as the coronavirus situation in the country. Speaking about the PDM, Rasheed had said that the movement has turned into a “dead entity”.

“This worthless Opposition has not been able to make any decision so far,” he had said, adding that the PDM had set out to oust the government last December but almost one year on, it is still planning to oust it without taking any concrete actions.

“This is how politics work in this country.

Every Opposition claims that the government will be ousted soon,” he had said.

Balochistan govt forms body to resolve Chaman border issues ISLAMABAD staff report

A committee comprising senior civil and military officials in Balochistan has been formed to address key issues related to cross-border movement at the Chaman-Spin Boldak gate along the frontier with Afghanistan, according to a notification issued by the Balochistan Home and Tribal Affairs Department.

Taliban authorities had closed crossing for trade and pedestrians earlier this month over claims that traders, patients and passengers were facing difficulties but Pakistan was “unwilling to resolve problems” despite their efforts.

On October 18, the Balochistan Home and Tribal Affairs Department issued a notification, announcing the constitution of the committee to “resolve issues pertaining to cross-border movement” at the Chaman-Spin Boldak crossing.

The committee will be headed by

the additional chief secretary of the Balochistan home department, said the notification, which is available with Dawn.com. Its members include the commander of 20 brigade at Chaman, the director of the Federal Investigation Agency in Quetta, representatives of the Inter-Services Intelligence, Quetta, National Logistics Cell, Quetta, Customs Collectorate and the National Database and Regulatory Authority, the Chaman deputy commissioner and co-opted members(s), the notification added.

According to the notification, the committee will make efforts for resolving issues pertaining to the closure of the Pak-Afghan border at Chaman and crossborder movements.

It will also work on devising a proper mechanism for pedestrian movement across the border, discuss matters related to the impact on Afghan Transit Trade and review other issues.

zahir irks court with attempt to interrupt proceedings in noor Mukadam case islamabad: A district and sessions court in Islamabad scolded the main accused in the Noor Mukadam murder case, Zahir Jaffer, for violating the court’s decorum on Wednesday. Zahir earned the court’s ire after he attempted to speak again and again to interrupt the court proceedings.

However, the district and sessions judge ordered the police to silence the accused and the police complied with the orders.

Earlier, the police produced Zahir Jaffer, his father Zakir Jaffer and mother Asmat Adamjee before the court. The counsel of the accused apprised the court that his clients have challenged their indictment in the case at the Islamabad High Court and notices have been issued in this regard. The public prosecutor told the court that the witnesses have been called for fingerprinting. Later, the court adjourned the hearing till afternoon and sent the accused to ‘bakhshi khana’. Earlier on October 18, the Supreme Court had accepted the bail plea of Zahir’s mother, Asmat Adamjee, who is one of the accused persons, and rejected the bail plea of Zakir Jaffer. staf report

govt to elect Shaukat tarin as Senator from kp islamabad: As per the sources, the government has decided to move to elect Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin as a senator from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. As per sources, the decision was taken after PTI’s Ayub Afridi resigned as a senator, adding that the lawmaker will be appointed as Prime Minister Imran Khan’s aide of SAFRON (State and Frontier Regions). It is pertinent to note that the government appointed Tarin as an adviser after his six-month stint as finance minister ended last week on Friday. An official notification issued on the appointment read that Tarin’s new status will be equivalent to that of a federal minister.

The finance minister was supposed to get elected as a senator — a prerequisite to continue as finance minister — as the sixmonth time limit to elect him as a member of Parliament expired on Friday. PM Imran Khan had appointed Tarin as the finance minister in a federal cabinet reshuffle, replacing Hammad Azhar — only a few weeks after he was given the portfolio. With the finance minister’s six-month term having come to an end, as per law, Tarin will not be able to chair the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) and other cabinet committees. As per sources, once Tarin has been elected as a senator, he will get his finance ministry portfolio back. staff report

Ahsan Iqbal calls delay in appointing ISI chief a ‘joke’ NewS DeSk PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal on Wednesday said the two-week-long “drama” concerning the country’s defence institution, pertaining to the appointment of the new Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief had become a “joke” in front of the world.

Iqbal said: “Today the whole administrative machine of Pakistan has been rendered dysfunctional. The one remaining [effective] institution of ours — the defence institution (Pakistan Army) — the drama that has been made of it for the past two weeks is a joke in front of the world.” “Sometimes the prime minister threatens that the [military] commander can be removed like [famous Muslim military commander] Khalid bin Waleed and sometimes he says the promotion of army commanders in Riyasat-i-Madina was on the basis of merit — which is perhaps not happening today on merit which is stinging him,” he said. “This is the drama happening in Pakistan,” he remarked, adding that the country was an atomic power and yet “the world is looking at us and laughing.”

Iqbal said the country had been thrust into an economic crisis and alleged that the government had done nothing the past three years except for “pursuing fake cases” against its opponents. According to the PML-N leader, no decision-making process was left nor was “any institution spared from their ignorance”.

In a presser, Iqbal said the economic situation had forced the common man to scream

CMYK

out in distress. He termed the recent hike in petrol prices by the government an “atomic bomb of inflation” dropped on the people. He said a further increase was expected in a few weeks in the prices of petrol and electricity.

“If you look at the gas situation, the worst gas crisis in the country’s history is coming in December because these incompetents did not do gas deals in time,” he claimed, referring to the government. “They are unsuccessful in energy management even after three years.” He alleged that the government was only concerned with pursuing fake cases against its opponents and “looting with both hands while hiding behind the garb of honesty”.

Iqbal said the current setup was actually “Riyasat-i-Mehngayee” (state of inflation) as opposed to Riyasat-i-Madina.

“Imran Khan plays the religious card only to pull a curtain on his incompetency and failures. Religion’s name is taken so he can hide behind religious sentiments and remain safe from criticism.

“Can leaders swallow foreign gifts in the state of Madina? The question doesn’t even arise,” the PML-N leader said, criticising the government over its reluctance to divulge details of gifts given to the prime minister. Iqbal cautioned that the country stood on the edge of a crisis, saying if the current administration was not sent packing then “the country’s problems will become insoluble.”

“That is why the parties of the PDM (Pakistan Democratic Movement) have decided that we will run a decisive movement and send

these fake rulers home.” The PML-N leader further said his political party was united and standing like a “strong cliff”, rubbishing reports of a “war of stances” within the party.

“Parties aren’t weakened by [different] stances but rejuvenated by the war of stances.

[Political] parties are weakened by battles of leadership. There is no war of leadership in the PML-N,” Iqbal claimed. “There is only one leader whose name is Nawaz Sharif and from Shehbaz Sharif all the way down to the worker, everyone accepts his leadership so these ridiculous debates which are stirred have no link to the PML-N’s unity and strength,” Iqbal said. He alleged that the PTI’s media cell was responsible for these efforts and no heed should be paid to them. Iqbal said PML-N had served the country and now the National Highway Authority’s reports were “singing praises” of the PML-N’s projects.

Thursday, 21 October, 2021 | ISLAMABAD

PM to attEnD MIDDlE EaSt GrEEn InItIatIvE SuMMIt In rIyaDH on oCt 25

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RIME Minister Imran Khan would attend the Middle East Green Initiative Summit in Riyadh on October 25, a news outlet reported.

According to the report, the premier has accepted Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s invitation, which was extended in July.

During his visit, the prime minister is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with the Saudi leadership.

Earlier in March, the Saudi leadership had launched the Saudi Green and Middle East Green schemes aimed at cut-

corporate corner Shell Eco-Marathon Student Event 2021 Pakistan – innovating for sustainability & energyoptimisation

KARACHI: Shell Pakistan organized the Shell Eco-Marathon (SEM) 2021 Student event on Wednesday at Rawalpindi, where engineering students from leading Pakistani universities demonstrated the performance of their self-built vehicles across 2 categories –'Prototype' (Battery powered) or 'Urban Concept' (Gasoline run) in line with Shell's mission to power progress with innovative and cleaner energy solutions. The vehicles were evaluated by a panel of experts; Suneel Sarfraz Munj, CoFounder of PakWheels.com, Aamir Attaa, Founder & CEO at ProPakistani.pk, and Nadia Haseeb, Country Marketing Head for Lubricants from Shell Pakistan on three main areas – Technical and safety features of their car, Innovation in design and Social Media communication strategy. Team NUSTAG from NUST EME was recognized as the winner of ‘Gasoline Urban’ category, for ‘Battery Electric Prototype’ category Team Hammerhead from GIKI secured the top spot in the SEM Student Event 2021. The panel of expert judges also declared Team Urban from GIKI – as the runners-up in the ‘Gasoline Urban’ category, while the Team Envision from PNEC NUST Karachi – became the runners-up in the ‘Battery Electric Prototype’ category. Another team from the NED University Karachi, NED Racers was also invited to exhibit their fuel-efficient car in the student event. press release

telenor Microfinance Bank Goes live on temenos with ndctech to Drive Digital Growth KARACHI: Temenos Transact core banking will enable fast product innovation and massive scalability and efficiency for Pakistan’s leading digital payments platform Easypaisa. Telenor Microfinance Bank, operator of Pakistan’s leading digital payments platform Easypaisa, has gone live on Temenos’ modern core banking platform with NdcTech to power its digital banking services. By employing Temenos best-in-class solution and NdcTech’s implementation expertise, Telenor Microfinance Bank will be able to innovate faster and provide customers with much-needed access to digital savings accounts and micro-loans.

Additionally, this solution will enhance controls, increasing the bank’s ability to comply and achieve operational excellence. NdcTech collaborated with Telenor Microfinance Bank as the system integrator and implementation partner to successfully lead the banking platform implementation and modernization project. It adopted a hybrid agile implementation approach to complete the project delivery successfully within the stipulated time amidst the COVID-19 crisis. NdcTech’s expertise in Pakistani market practices and such migrations has enabled the Bank to comply with local regulatory and market requirements and best practices. press release

ting carbon emissions by 60 percent through employing clean hydrocarbon technologies and planting about 50 billion trees, including 10 billion in Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi Green initiative has more domestic focus while the Middle East Green initiative is meant to lead regional efforts for attaining global targets to combat climate change.

Pakistan was among the first countries to have welcomed the initiatives. The PM, in a letter to the Saudi crown prince, had offered Pakistan’s help in the massive tree plantation project. news desk

Liver Cancer: Prevention is the Best Protection

By DR MuHAMMAD ZEESHAn SiDDiquE the writer is a Consultant gastroenterologist at skMCh&rC, lahore

Liver is no doubt one of the integral organs in our body and performs vital functions including breaking down of toxins and drugs, while helping in absorption of the nutrients. We simply cannot live without it. Cancer of the liver not only impairs its functions but it also means that our body will not be able to tolerate certain medicines, making treatment challenging in advanced stages. There are different types of liver cancers—some start in the liver (primary liver cancer), while others originate in a different site and spread to the liver (secondary liver cancer). In the first world countries, secondary liver cancer is more common while the opposite is true for middle and low-income countries, in Asia and Africa. The Global Cancer Observatory Report for 2020 noted 5,331 new cases of liver cancer in Pakistan, with 5,109 deaths.

Liver cancer is common in Pakistan, linked to the high rates of hepatitis B and C infections. According to a study at the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, 61% of liver cancer patients had prior infection with hepatitis B or C and most patients presented at advanced stages with large tumours and poor liver function. In this situation, prevention and early detection becomes the key in saving lives.

The most common risk factor for liver cancer in the world is viral hepatitis. People infected with both Hepatitis B and C have a higher risk of developing chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis and liver cancer. In Pakistan, the challenge against fighting hepatitis includes lack of awareness compounded with lack of screening programmes and treatment facilities. The majority of the people remain unaware of their condition, leading to an ongoing cycle of infection caused by unsafe injection practices, transfusion of un-screened blood, unsafe surgical and dental practices and mother-tochild transmission.

A vaccine is available for hepatitis B, which makes it an important tool in the prevention strategy against liver cancer. Screening of pregnant women for hepatitis B and ensuring that birth dose of vaccination is available for those who test positive can avoid mother to child transmission of the virus. Vaccination of children

against hepatitis B, as part of national immunisation programmes, can effectively prevent future infection.

Since no such vaccine against hepatitis C exists currently, the best strategy is to avoid the high-risk behaviours described above and by ensuring access to treatment in a timely manner for those infected, since hepatitis C is now a curable infection.

There are certain other risk factors that you should consider avoiding to lower your risk of developing liver cancer. Smoking increases your risk for many different types of cancers, including liver cancer, and hence should be avoided. You should maintain a healthy weight because obesity may lead to a condition known as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), which may cause cirrhosis and ultimately liver cancer.

Another challenge with liver cancer is establishing an early and timely diagnosis. This is because symptoms often do not appear until the disease has already reached advanced stages. Moreover, there are no widely recommended screening tests for liver cancer for people at average risk. For people at high risk of liver cancer, with cirrhosis or chronic hepatitis B infection, experts recommend screening with alphafetoprotein (AFP) blood tests and ultrasound every six months.

Treatment of liver cancer depends on the stage of cancer and may include surgery, liver transplant, ablation, embolization, radiation therapy and chemotherapy. If diagnosed at stage 0, the five-year survival rate is estimated between 70-90%, at stage 1 this becomes 50-70%, and in late stages, it drops drastically to only a few months. Therefore, prevention and early detection can play a critical role in saving lives.

At the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centres in Lahore and Peshawar, every new patient is evaluated by a multi-disciplinary team of doctors for an optimal treatment plan. The team includes surgical oncologists, radiation oncologists, medical oncologists, gastroenterologists and interventional radiologists. As committed in our mission statement, we also offer palliative care to manage symptoms and pain in our cancer patients, which is especially beneficial for liver cancer patients who are, unfortunately, in advanced stages of the disease.

This October, let us commit to avoid high-risk behaviour and play our role in preventing liver cancer. If we act together, we can avoid suffering and save lives.

NATO lauds Pakistan for evacuation operation in Afghanistan The Foreign Secretary of Pakistan, Sohail Mahmood, on Wednesday received a delegation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), led by Senior Civilian Representative to Afghanistan, Ambassador Stefano Pontecorvo.

Per a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), the foreign secretary shared Pakistan’s perspective on the latest developments in the region and stressed the importance of a peaceful and stable Afghanistan.

The foreign secretary also highlighted Pakistan’s facilitative role in the evacuation of the diplomatic personnel and staff of the embassies and international organisations from Afghanistan.

He also underlined that the international community must remain positively engaged with

Afghanistan to avoid humanitarian crises and preclude mass exodus from Afghanistan.

Ambassador Pontecorvo thanked the Government of Pakistan for the assistance extended to the NATO allies in their evacuation endeavours.

The visit of the NATO delegation is part of the outreach to Pakistan. Pakistan values its relations with NATO, which are based on shared interests of peace and stability in the region, the statement said. news desk

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NEWS

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SHC constitutes committee to oversee crypto regulation The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Wednesday heard the cryptocurrency ban case and constituted a high power committee to furnish a report on possible regulation of blockchain-protected transactions. According to a local media channel, the provincial court summoned the deputy governor of the central bank, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) head, finance secretary and federal investigation agency director and put together a team to chart recommendations within three months. The committee will have to furnish its report on the legal framework of the cryptocurrencies according to the court order. Moreover, the bench also ordered to present before the court a report on companies carrying out transactions and trade in illegal currencies. Monitoring report

Four martyred in IED blast at Bajaur

PESHAWAR staff report

At least four soldiers, two each from Frontier Corps (FC) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police embraced martyrdom on Wednesday when their convoy was targeted with an Improvised Explosives Device (IED) blast in Mamund area of Bajaur district. According to SHO Mamund, the security forces were reaching the site of an earlier IED explosion when they were targeted with a similar device planted by the terrorists.

The deceased were identified as police driver Samad Khan, constable Noor Rehman and FC soldiers Jamshed and Mudasir.

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Thursday, 21 October, 2021

06 COMMENT

Needed a new Baba-e-Siasat

Imran Khan and the ‘dead elephant’ As jointly-read page goes missing

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he Interior Minister has called PdM a “dead elephant”. On Tuesday the PdM chief announced the beginning of countrywide protests against the backbreaking rise in prices. he had in fact been overtaken by events as protests had already broken out in a number of cities across the country. The participants not only comprised common people but also members of the legal community. lawyers boycotted courts all over KP while they took out rallies in numerous cities of the province, including Peshawar. lawyers took to streets all over sindh also while the PMl(n) workers protested outside the Karachi Press Club. The issue was highlighted by leader of the Opposition in the national assembly after which the PMl(n) set up an anti-inflation camp outside the assembly While Prime Minister Imran Khan had earlier promised to bring down prices and claimed that the rupee too would strengthen soon, PTI spokesmen subsequently expressed helplessness, calling inflation a worldwide phenomenon.

Planning Minister asad Umar has meanwhile promised to extend targeted subsidies on essential commodities which he hopes would bring down inflation from March next year. how big a difference this would make was not spelt out. suddenly the Tehrik labbaik Pakistan, which had been dormant for months, has sprung into action. What is responsible is government’s reluctance to take effective legal measures to sentence its leadership whom the government itself had accused of arson, murder and the kidnapping of government personnel. There is a rebellion within the BaP in Balochistan, reminding many of the ominous developments of the sort in the province that had served as a precursor to the end of PMl(n) rule.

In a situation marked by institutional disharmony, one is not sure of the PTI getting out-of-the-way support from those who matter. The otherwise accident-prone PTI government will be on its own while it deals with the serious challenges that lie ahead in months to come. The election Commission of Pakistan is scheduled to deliver verdict on the foreign funding case, cases of defamation against two federal ministers are going to be decided and the daska election verdict or open trial too would cause a fallout. The government would face strong reaction to the Pakistan Media development authority Ordinance from journalists and civil society at large. It remains to be seen if formidable earthly issues of the sort can be resolved though spiritual means alone.

The plan for continuation is in place

Dr FariD a Malik

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n a recent TV programme Chaudhry shujaat hussain, the son of Chaudhry Zahoor elahi, the founder of the ‘Chaudhry Political dynasty of gujrat’ was addressed as ‘Baba-e-siasat’ (Father of Politics). I had heard of several revered ‘Babas’ before, which included Baba-eQaum Muhammad ali Jinnah, Baba-e-sahafat Maulana Zafar ali Khan, Baba-e-socialism sheikh Rashid (sr), Baba-e-ghazal Mehdi hasan, ‘Baba-eZarafat’ Umer sharif, among others.

Knowing the exploits of the ‘Chaudhry dynasty’, I was able to understand the mess and deplorable state of our politics when its ‘Baba’ belongs to this family.

In my entire years of political activism, I was most perturbed when Chaudhry Pervaiz elahi as Punjab Chief Minister offered to elect the dictator Pervaiz Musharraf as President in uniform not once but seven times. so blatant was this statement that I decided to personally contest against the usurper or leave the country in protest as the thought was unbearable to absorb. such a blatant abuse of the people’s mandate is not even perpetrated in the sham democracies of the world. In order to hold an elected office, egypt’s Field Marshal abdel Fatah al-sissi had to shun his uniform and so did his predecessor hosni Mubarak. even our first dictator ayub Khan promoted himself to the rank of Field Marshal before taking oath as President. In the 1965 Presidential contest against Madar-e-Millat Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah he withdrew his title as the opposition was planning to file a writ petition against his own elevation.

Some reprieve in otherwise testing times But no room for complacency

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aKIsTan reported its lowest daily number of new Covid-19 cases since October 2020 yesterday, signalling the settling down of the country’s fourth wave of the pandemic. It goes to the credit of the PTI government that it was able to identify the uptick in cases of the delta variant back in July in a timely manner and through the nCOC began taking necessary measures to control its spread. decisions to restrict large indoor gatherings, rolling back in-person teaching at schools and reducing office attendance to 50 percent were just some protocols that evidently helped keep the positivity rate contained and eventually drop to its current acceptable level of 1.3 percent.

The careful and conservative easing off of these restrictions that corresponded with the diminishing virulence of the virus is also commendable. however, now that the country has largely opened up, no amount of complacency on part of either the federal or provincial governments should be acceptable as the virus is always on the prowl to mutate, often into a more dangerous version of itself and brings another wave of illness and death. Mandatory mask wearing and social distancing protocols are therefore still necessary and while it is the responsibility of the authorities to ensure compliance with government guidelines, it is as much the duty of the citizenry to cooperate with and contribute to the safety of the public at large. This not only requires keeping oneself safe but respectfully reminding those who aren’t of the importance of following these new rules of social engagement. Pakistan has fared well compared to regional countries, especially India, with over 450,000 deaths and 34 million cases. That there is no apparent scientific rationale to explain why it is so, makes it all the more imperative to be wary of a situation that has so far not been witnessed and would therefore not be easy to deal with.

Vaccination against covid-19 is perhaps the only dependable and demonstrably fastest way towards reaching an end to the pandemic. according to the nCOC, 16 percent of the population is fully vaccinated while 29.5 percent has received one dose. These numbers need to be much higher to achieve the required ‘population immunity’ that would significantly reduce the possibility of a dangerous resurgence of covid-19. eliminating misconceptions and misinformation about vaccines and encouraging people to get them while ensuring their ample supply is critical in this endeavour. With dengue spreading like wildfire, the easing off of covid-19 is some much-needed relief. One hopes the government sustains this advantage for the foreseeable future.

Pathik hasan

‘B

angladesh Finalizes agreement to Build Buddhist Monastery in lumbini, nepal’ was the headline of hong Kong-based Global Buddhist Door headline on October 11.

Can anyone imagine a Muslim country building a Buddhist monastery in nepal, a religiously hindu country? Recently it established a clear-cut example amongst all countries in the world that Bangladesh is the role model of communal harmony in the world.

The Bangladesh government has the interest and intention of holding Bangladesh as a non-communal Bangladesh. But some barbaric culprits and stupid criminals are trying to damage the national prestige of Bangladesh in the international arena by committing heinous misdeeds.

It is Bangladesh which can be considered a champion and role model of communal harmony in the whole world. People have been living here with lasting intercommunal peace and confidence.

Bangladesh’s Inter-communal harmony is well known to and praised by the world.

The people of Bangladesh believe in the policy “Religion is everyone’s festival; everyone has equal respect for all religions.” now a question arises. But why? Because uncivilized, barbaric perpetrators and propagandists don’t want it to be implemented. People who have anti-Bangladeshi sentiment in their mindset always seek the time and place to oppose this. They waited for the golden time for committing this and have tried to take advantage of this opportunity. Recent events surrounding the durga Puja celebration in Bangladesh proved it again.

But what’s going on in Bangladesh now? some miscreants spread rumours through using social media to destabilize the peace and stability of communal harmony in Bangladesh. The people of Bangladesh have been enjoying the god-given blessings in the case of inter-communal ties. But miscreants who don’t want the development of the country might be behind this.

Bangladesh as a secular country always tries to ensure the rights of all ethnic and religious groups.

Bengali culture is synonymous with inter-communal harmonies. It is one of the countries in the world where Muslims, hindus, Christians, Buddhists, and various ethnic tribes have been living together with

Arif Nizami (Late) Founding Editor

Yousaf Nizami M. A. Niazi

Umar Aziz

Joint Editor

Joint Editor

Executive Editor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

revered and respected for his struggle and sacrifice.

The inning of Baba-e-sahafat was also exemplary. he played a key role through his newspaper in building public support for Pakistan. Baba-e-socialism as health minister under Bhutto, introduced the system of generic medicine. In India the same approach has been adopted after four decades as it cuts through the exploitative manipulation of the big Pharma Companies. The other Baba’s also left their positive mark, leaving Baba-e-siasat behind to be moaned by several generations.

For our siasat’(politics) to move forward, we need to change our ‘Babas’.

In the words of donald Trump, bad experience is no experience and should be looked down upon. like the sharifs the Chaudhrys have outlived their utility and have become a national burden to be dealt with.

While their empires have grown the country has been sunk into debt. a fresh start has to be made. In his later years, the legendary writer ashfaq ahmed went looking for ‘Real Babas’. he did share some of his search experiences but did not leave behind any guide to find them and then revere them. While we honour all the other ‘Babas’ who served the nation. we reject those who continue to exploit us with their third-generation induction into the federal cabinet. a new term should be used for such Babas resembling the ‘amil Baba’ who operated on Ferozepur Road at shama Chowk. They should be called; Baba-eSiasi Talism ( Father of Political spells). after the death of the ‘ Bengali Baba’, his centre, ‘Talisim Kada’, was shut down as he had no heir apparent for his evil work. but the ‘siasi Talisim Kada’ of the Chaudrys on Zahoor elahi Road remains alive and vibrant through a well-defined succession plan for their political spells to continue .

A new term should be used for such Babas resembling the ‘Amil Baba’ who operated on Ferozepur Road at Shama Chowk. They should be called; Baba-e-Siasi Talism ( Father of Political Spells).

After the death of the ‘ Bengali Baba’, his centre, ‘Talisim Kada’, was shut down as he had no heir apparent for his evil work.

The writer is ex-Chairman, Pakistan Science Foundation. He can be contacted at: fmaliks@hotmail.com.

Don’t accuse Bangladesh

Dedicated to the legacy of late Hameed Nizami

Editor Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

Chaudhry Zahoor elahi, a dismissed Police subinspector, was introduced to politics by the first usurper. he was given the charge of the Progressive Papers limited (PPl) owned by Mian Ifthikaruddin of Mughalpura. The first ‘sarkari Muslim league’ was also launched through him from the Muslim league house on davis Road which is now controlled by the PMl(Q) of the Chaudhry clan. somehow, they have always managed to retain power and influence in the largest province of the country despite several inquiries and cases against them for alleged corruption. It did not end here; Ch Zahoor played a very negative role in the trial of Bhutto and celebrated his conviction by his friend, the then Chief Justice of lahore high Court ( lhC ) Maulvi Mushtaq hussain. Finally, when the judge was ambushed in revenge, he was unfortunate to be riding in his car. While his friend barely survived, he lost his life.The judge too died a few months later. as Interior Minister, Baba-e-siasat used his old connections within the Police force and ensured induction of criminals to create a constituency for their electability. When the fourth usurper took control of the country, the Cha4dhrys abandoned their old partners in crime the sharif brothers and together with Mian azhar carved their own brand of ‘sarkari league’ called PMl (Quaid). In the 2002 electoral contest they outmanoeuvred Mian azhar and took complete control of the party. While Pervaiz elahi took charge of Punjab, Baba-e-siasat kept in close proximity to the dictator in Islamabad. In order to dominate the politics of the largest province of the federation, they ensured that no one else gained prominence from Punjab. First, he managed to get the important post of Prime Minister for Mir Zafarullah Jamali and then himself as a stopgap PM, paving the way for shaukat aziz who had no political background or following and had to become the Chaudhrys’ political lackey.

Baba-e-Qaum struggled hard and delivered a free homeland for the Muslims of India. Till today he is

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Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

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eternal peace.

But recent incidents regarding vandalism of durga idols in Bangladesh created tensions. It was an incident. The people who allegedly committed the crime must be brought to justice. no one has the right to bother or disturb anyone.

Bd PM sheikh hasina Wazed leads a government that believes in inter-communal harmony. she always tries her level best to join any religious and cultural programme. anyone can understand that she is committed to ensure the rights of all groups. The regime under sheikh hasina is committed to ensure that.

Bangladesh is committed to protect the rights of all groups because the inception and journey of Bangladesh was started through participation from all walks and quarters in the society in the great 1971 liberation war. The country’s constitution has obliged Bangladesh to do it.

Bangladesh knows it and practices it. no one can deny that. The Bengali nation consists of multiple religions.

Bengali people hold the spirit of the great 1971 liberation war. 1971 liberation war sentiment is more related to inter-communal harmonies.

Bangladesh is a responsible country in the world. It is known to shelter the human beings (Rohingyas from Myanmar) and take back its own people to its own land (Chakma people in 1994). Bangladesh wants to ensure perpetual regional peace in the region (on the lines of the 1997 Chittagong hill Tracts Peace accord) however, in Comilla, those who have insulted the Qur’an, attacked and vandalized the puja mandapa, don’t symbolize the mindset of the whole Bangladeshi people. Basically, that was mockery, misconception, terrorism in the name of serving one’s own religion. It is true that each and every religion in the world teaches us tolerance towards others, nonviolence and to be respectful to others. every and each human being is safe under the shelter of the umbrella of god. Recent Comilla, Chandpur, Chittagong and Rangpur incidents in Bangladesh are not representative of Bangladesh. Bangladesh has more districts and regions. But the incidents in the above-mentioned places are pathetic.

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But the perpetrators must be brought obliviously under exemplary punishment. When the Bangladesh government is paving the way for ensuring inter-communal harmony, this could harm the image of Bangladesh as a role model of inter-communal harmony worldwide. I am sure that the Bangladesh government will do that because it is the national policy of the Bangladesh government.

People should be seen as human beings, not religious identities. Bangladesh is a country of communal harmony. Those who want to destroy this harmony must be under tribunal. The Prime Minister has already assured this. her prompt reaction was seen during her meeting hindu community.

It is Bangladesh where there is Mangal shobhajatra or Mangal Jatra at dawn on the first day of the Bengali new Year in Bangladesh, Various religious festivals such as eid of Muslim community, Pujas of hindu community, easter sunday, Christmas day of Christian community, Buddha Purnima are taken place simultaneously. Muslim festivals of eid ul-Fitr, eid ul-azha, Milad un nabi, Muharram, Chand raat, shab-e-Baraat, Bishwa Ijtema; hindu festivals of durga Puja and Janmashtami; Buddhist festival of Buddha Purnima; Christian festival of Christmas and secular festivals like Pohela Boishakh, nabanna, language Movement day, Independence day, Rabindra Jayanti, nazrul Jayanti, witness widespread celebrations and usually are national holidays in Bangladesh. Bengalis and non-Bengalis in Chittagong hill Tracts region celebrate together the tribal festivals such as Biju, sangrai, Baisabi among others.

Basically, there are no religious or ethnic boundaries in Bangladesh. everyone is for everyone. People from all religions and ethnicities are united in Bangladesh. The recent incident is just a separate incident in Bangladesh. Please, don’t blame Bangladesh for those separate incidents. Bangladesh is a country of all religious groups.

Basically, there are no religious or ethnic boundaries in Bangladesh.

Everyone is for everyone.

People from all religions and ethnicities are united in Bangladesh.

I

Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

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The writer can be pathikhasan1141@gmail.com

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

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06-07 Comments - 21st October 2021_Layout 1 10/20/2021 10:09 PM Page 2

Thursday, 21 October, 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

Khaki killers in occupied Kashmir An encouter shows how military men can get away with murder in Indian-Held Kashmir

aMjeD jaaveD

A

year has gone by but the Indian army has not yet punished Captain Bhoopender singh and his aides who killed three Kashmiri porters in shopian (Rajori district) on18 July 2020. Those killed by the army captain at amshipora were 25-year-old Mohammed Ibrar of Tarkasi village, 20-year-old Imtiyaz ahmad of dharsakri village, and teenager Mohammad Ibrar, also from dharsakri.

The Captain tried his best to destroy all traces of the stage-managed evidence. But, the dna tests exposed his crime. In his report filed with his adjutant, the Captain claimed to have killed three “unidentified hardcore terrorists” in a gunfight in amshipora village of Kashmir’s shopian district.

The captain dumped their bodies in a nameless grave near the border. But, public outcry compelled the army to exhume the dead bodies and match their dna samples with family members’. The armed Forces special Powers act barred the police from taking cognisance of the case. however, mounting protests forced the army to allow the investigation.

The police investigation concluded that the three victims were ordinary labourers and had no links with militancy. The chargesheet identified three men as the accused including Captain Bhoopendra singh alias Major Basheer Khan of 62 Rashtriya Rifles.

Upon investigation, it was proved that weapons and arms were planted on their bodies to portray them as Pakistani militants. The Captain and his aides were however never arrested. a 200-page chargesheet was filed in the court which skewed important aspects of circumstantial evidence so as to let the accused persons go scot-free.

In October, Jammu and Kashmir lieutenant governor Manoj sinha visited the three families and assured them that justice would be done.

The chargesheet was an eyewash. The aggrieved family was kept in the dark about the court proceedings, still lingering. haji Mohammad Yousuf, the father of Mohammed Ibrar, one of the three young workers killed in the amshipora encounter, lamented, “I don’t even know the government lawyer who is fighting my case.You won’t believe it but I am not even aware of the dates when our case was taken up.”

The police statement claimed the army personnel led the 62 Rashtriya Rifles, which is a counter-insurgency force of the Indian army, reported to them that before they could be joined by their counterparts from the Jammu and Kashmir police and the Central Reserve Police Force, they came under gunfire from militants. as they retaliated, three militants were killed on 18 July 2020.

The bodies of the three men were taken to Baramulla district, 125 km away, where they were re-buried after medico-legal formalities including collection of their dna. a case with FIR no. 42/2020 was registered by the shopian police detailing the army’s version of the gunfight. no photographs were released by the police at the time, nor were the three slain men identified.

There were two other accused, both civilians: Tabish nazir Malik of Chowgam village in shopian, and Bilal ahmad lone of arabal nikas village in Pulwama district. Both were detained by police on september 28, but let go with a slap on the wrist. lone turned an approver in the case. according to the army’s report to the police, two pistols with two magazines, four empty pistol cartridges, and 15 live cartridges and 15 empty cartridges of the aK series weapon and “other objectionable items were recovered from the encounter site”. subsequently, however, an investigation by the police revealed that the weapons seized during the encounter had been planted on the bodies of the three youths. While the chargesheet said that the weapons were “illegally arranged” by the three accused, the police investigation could not trace the source of these weapons. despite lone turning approver, the chargesheet leaves many vital questions unanswered.

Major Kush, the adjutant whose written report to the police became the basis for the registration of a case on the day of the encounter, has not been interrogated. Major Kush, the adjutant of the 62 Rashtriya Rifles, with its headquarters in Kathuhallen, shopian, provided information to the police. after receiving a written report about the encounter from the army, shopian police filed a First Information Report at heerpora police station. But the adjutant’s role was not investigated. similarly, Major amit Kumar Rai, who was part of the operation, remained inaccessible.

The police story about yhe source of illegal weapons is based on the testimony of a special Police Officer of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, Fayaz ahmad Rather, a resident of Poonch district who was posted in srinagar.

Unlike regular policemen who are recruited through a well-laid out process and paid hefty salaries, special Police Officers are appointed by deputy commissioners under a temporary arrangement with meagre salaries. Jammu and Kashmir has more than 30,000 special Police

Officers, who aid the regular police in maintaining law and order, gathering intelligence and anti-militancy operations.

Where’s the prize money? The prime motivation behind the killing of the three innocent civilians in a fake encounter, according to the police investigation, was “prize money” of Rs 20 lakhs.

But the police investigation was unable to recover this money or establish any financial trail. The charge sheet said that none of the three accused revealed “anything fruitful regarding the prize money of Rs 20 lakhs”.

This is one of the biggest lacunae in the police investigation. If the investigation is not able to show the evidence about the prime motivation behind the conspiracy, the case will collapse. no additional evidence has been produced by the police after the filing of the chargesheet.

There is no money trail, nor is there any additional information about the source of illegal weapons planted on the slain. establishing the sequence of events leading up to the fake encounter in amshipora, the police chargesheet said that Captain singh along with Malik and lone drove out from the army camp in Reshinagri on July 17 in a private car bearing registration number dl8CU 0649.

They drove to Chowgam village where they abducted the three workers from their rented accommodation, took them to amshipora, where they were gunned down. according to the police chargesheet, the private car, which had been arranged by Captain singh, belonged to a civilian named aijaz ahmad lone of Reshinagri village. In his statement, lone deposed that “some soldiers” from the army camp came to his home on17 July 2020 and asked for his car. he handed over the keys of his car to the soldiers. They told him that they would call him the next day after which he could collect his car from the camp. “subsequently, the other day on 18.07.2020 army had informed him that the said vehicle a-star bearing registration no. dl8CU 0649 was lying at amshipora in faulty condition...” the chargesheet noted. lone went to the spot and towed his car home with the help of another vehicle.

The police investigation did not establish the identity of the soldiers who had asked lone to hand over his car to them.

Wajahat hussain, the investigating officer in the case at the time the chargesheet was filed, has been transferred since. as the case shows, getting justice in Kashmir is well-nigh impossible.

If the investigation is not able to show the evidence about the prime motivation behind the conspiracy, the case will collapse. No additional evidence has been produced by the police after the filing of the chargesheet.

The writer is a freelance journalist, has served in the Pakistan government for 39 years and holds degrees in economics, business administration, and law. He can be reached at amjedjaaved@gmail.com

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

Legal aid in Pakistan a system which provides free advice about law and helping to the people who are poor or unable to afford it. Majority in Pakistan do not get proper guidance regarding justice, people are not aware of such channels which are working tirelessly to make ease on the path of justice. The legal aid is the substantive right of people under the constitution which makes it obligatory on the state to provide inexpensive justice to eliminate all forms of exploitation, people does not have firm faith in our judicial system so they avoid to go in courts instead they prefer to solve their problems on their own because judicial process is lengthy and takes plenty of time , there are many legal aid provider associations in all over Pakistan for women, children, prisoners, and this concept of legal aid can be traced back in 1944 when in Britain lord chancellor Viscount simon formed Rushcliffe committee to give legal assistance to people. Pakistan Bar Council free legal aid rules 1999 were framed to provide free legal support to suppressed masses, in pursuance of these rules free legal aid committees were constituted at federal provincial district levels. Under these rules any person desirous of legal aid submits an application to the appropriate committee. One can get legal support while suffering from financial issues.

In a country like Pakistan you have to knock on the door of the court to get justice because “law aids the vigilant, not the sleeping ones”.

SarFraz aLi Soomro Tharu Shah

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

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Thursday, 21 October, 2021

08 WORLD VIEW

The Iran nuclear deal Is noT dead. here Is hoW IT can be revIved

Middle eAst eye

T

Seyed hoSSein mouSAviAn

HIS week, the new Iranian administration is set to resume the nuclear negotiations with world powers that were suspended in June. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian reiterated recently that Iran would soon return to the nuclear talks with world powers while continuing to verify whether the Western powers provide the necessary guarantees to honour their commitments.

Back in May 2018, former US President Donald Trump withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and imposed the most stringent regime of economic sanctions ever imposed on any country, even though Iran was at that time in full compliance with the JCPOA. By strengthening its regional alliances and increasing its uranium stockpile, as well as upping the level of uranium enrichment (from five percent to 60 percent), Iran embarked on a “resistance strategy” in order to impose its own version of a maximum pressure policy on the US. Trump’s actions prompted Tehran to breach some of the accord’s nuclear restrictions, heading towards a point of no return on its nuclear programme, meaning that the US would not see any benefit in returning to a deal.

The Biden administration has insisted that it is committed to diplomacy but would also be prepared to pursue “other avenues” to ensure that Tehran does not acquire a nuclear weapon.

“We’re realistic. We know that there is every possibility that Iran will choose a different path. And we need to coordinate with Israel and other partners in the region,” said Robert Malley, the US special representative for Iran at an event hosted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

MAJOR OBSTACLES: A total collapse of the nuclear deal would be a disaster, but it is possible when you consider the major obsta-

A TOTAL COLLAPSE OF THE JCPOA, AS LOOKS LIKELY, WOULD BE A DISASTER. BUT AS IRAN RETURNS TO THE NEGOTIATIONS, THERE ARE WAYS A RESOLUTION CAN BE REACHED TO SATISFY ALL PARTIES cles that stand in the way of reviving it. First, the US is now demanding “JCPOA plus” through engaging with Iran in follow-up negotiations. The US is trying to get concessions from Iran on a whole range of regional issues that could potentially curb its regional power projection.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei blamed the United States for tying its return to the deal to “future” negotiations over Iran’s missile programme and regional issues. Khamenei clearly stated that Iran would not accept foreign interference in its affairs relating to national security and its regional activities.

Second, Tehran is looking for assurances that the next US president (potentially a Republican) would not withdraw again from the deal. In the event of that happening, Iran is demanding that the remaining parties to the JCPOA provide guarantees that it would continue to enjoy the economic benefits it is entitled to under the agreement. Moreover, the US Congress can - as it often does - justify the reimposition of sanctions related to non-nuclear issues such as human rights or regional activities, among others. In reality, neither the Biden administration nor P4+1 could provide such assurances to Iran.

Third, the arms embargo on Iran has created a substantial impediment to reviving the nuclear agreement. Based on JCPOA and Un resolution 2231, the Un conventional arms embargo on Iran expired in October 2020. The Biden administration is likely to face serious domestic pressures if it decides

to rescind the executive order imposing secondary sanctions on conventional arms transactions with Iran. It is possible that the Biden administration would also follow Trump’s lead by preventing other countries from having a normal arms trade with Iran.

UNEVENNESS OF POWER: One should also not lose sight of the fact that there is a blatant unevenness of power when it comes to noncompliance with the nuclear deal. If Iran does not abide by the JCPOA, it faces severe economic sanctions, whereas if the US or other signatories to JCPOA do not abide by it, they face zero consequences.

Based on Un resolution 2231, the best option would be to revive the “JCPOA as is”, whereby all signatories fully comply. To enhance mutual trust, the world powers and Iran can agree on a “step by step” implementation mechanism. For example, as a first step, Iran would halt enriching uranium at 60 percent and the world powers would lift sanctions on the Iranian finance and banking sectors. As a second step, Iran would stop enrichment at 20 percent in return for sanction relief on Iranian oil. And so on.

The other alternative scenario could be a plan to begin with “JCPOA minus” (less for less) and to end with “JCPOA plus”.

JCPOA - as it stands - has two main pillars: first, a robust regime of “transparency measures”. Under JCPOA, as an objective guarantee toward no weaponisation, Iran has permanently committed to the highest level of transparency measures that have ever existed at an international level, including, the

IF IRAN DOES NOT ABIDE BY THE JCPOA, IT FACES SEVERE ECONOMIC SANCTIONS, WHEREAS IF THE US OR OTHER SIGNATORIES DO NOT ABIDE BY IT, THEY FACE ZERO CONSEQUENCES “additional protocol” and “subsidiary arrangement code 3.1 to the safeguard agreement”. As former US president Barack Obama noted, “this deal is not based on trust, it’s based on unprecedented verification”.

Second, multiple limitations have been imposed on Iran’s nuclear programme for specific periods as confidence-building measures, such as caps on the level, capacity and stockpile of the uranium enrichment programme.

The JCPOA includes significant limitations on Iran’s nuclear programme, but those limitations have expiration dates. For example, the 10- and 15-year restrictions on the number of centrifuges and the amount of low-enriched uranium Iran can possess will be lifted.

SANCTIONS RELIEF: Under the possible “JCPOA minus” scenario, and as an objective guarantee to maintain a “non-nuclear-weapon state”, Iran remains committed to all transparency measures. In exchange, the P5+1 would ensure some specific sanctions relief in critical sectors such as banking and oil.

In this scenario, Iran would not remain committed to the limitations defined in the JCPOA that stand against the rights of signatories to the non-Proliferation Treaty (nPT) anyway - it could potentially become a nuclear threshold state but would not possess a nuclear bomb.

As a practical way for the verification of sanctions relief, President Ebrahim Raisi can provide a list of major infrastructural projects that he intends to execute, and the Biden administration can provide an Office of Foreign Assets Control licence for them. US ap-

proval enables other countries to sign contracts with Iran without being anxious about US retaliation. To move from “JCPOA minus” to “JCPOA plus”, both Iran and the world powers would need to agree on a venue to negotiate the regional issues. If they opt for “JCPOA plus”, the best avenue would be to incorporate the framework of resolution 598, which was promulgated in 1987 during the Iran-Iraq war.

Resolution 598 requests the Un secretary-general to examine, in consultation with the countries in the Gulf region, measures in order to enhance the security and stability of the region. Under the supervision of the Un Security Council, countries around the Gulf can negotiate on a variety of regional issues such as terrorism, wars and the crises in Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

In this scenario, Gulf countries would be able to negotiate and agree on a new “regional JCPOA plus” - a Gulf region free from nuclear and all weapons of mass destruction, coupled with a regional arrangement for conventional arms. This might serve as a positive step forward towards negotiating other outstanding issues, including those that relate to the Middle East region. The prospects of negotiating other regional issues hinge upon the success of the nuclear negotiations.

Seyed Hossein Mousavian is Middle East Security and Nuclear Policy Specialist at Princeton University, and a former Chief of Iran’s National Security Foreign Relations Committee.

Will policymakers put Pandora’s Papers back in the box?

Al JAzeerA

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Alex CobhAm

n early October, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, along with a number of media partners, published the Pandora Papers, which revealed a slice of the trillions stashed away in tax havens by politicians, officials and celebrities, in particular.

These leaks tell us, once again, that financial secrecy is at the heart of the global economy and runs like poison through the veins of our political systems. This institutional corruption does not make progress impossible, but it does mean that responses to the growing public anger about the revelations in the leaks will only be successful if they are precise and forensic. Policymakers must deliver measures that ensure ongoing accountability for the leading actors in these abuses – including themselves.

The hidden assets and secret incomes now being disclosed represent only a small part of what is in the near-3 terabyte cache of documents from 14 different professional services firms around the world. And the documents in total touch on just a tiny fraction of the estimated $11 trillion in undeclared assets held offshore globally, generating annual tax losses of $182bn.

The individual names and the specific cases may do more to grab public attention than these unthinkably large numbers: 35 world leaders, past and present; more than

300 public officials from nearly 100 countries; more than 100 billionaires, plus a scattering of celebrities.

The Pandora Papers have returned public and media focus to the shameful issue of financial secrecy. Each previous leak (including LuxLeaks, the Panama Papers and Paradise Papers) created a similar spike of interest. And, while that spike then passes, the underlying level of public engagement and policymaker concern has remained higher each time.

The challenge is to convert that engagement and concern into comprehensive action. As researcher and writer Zuhumnan Dapel put it, what can we do “when those in charge of the tools – the policies and the willpower of government with which to thwart the network of dirty money – seem to be among the primary beneficiaries of the status quo?”

FINANCIAL SECRECY – THE CENTRAL CHALLENGE: The last two decades have seen substantial shifts in the international policy context. When the Tax Justice network was established in 2003, we began to lay out the policy platform known as the ABC of tax transparency.

A is for automatic exchange of financial information – so that each tax authority will be informed of the foreign bank accounts of their own taxpayers, making simple tax evasion much less pervasive.

B is for beneficial ownership transparency, requiring public registers of the warm-blooded human beings behind companies, trusts and foundations, to end the damage done by anonymous ownership.

And C is for country-by-country reporting, a simple measure to ensure that multinational companies publish data that can reveal the extent of profit-shifting.

Each element was originally dismissed as utopian and unrealistic. But changes in attitude started with the efforts of the global tax justice movement and the impetus for progress following the 2008 financial meltdown. The summit of the G8 group of countries in 2013 gave broad support to the three elements in principle, and practical steps

were taken towards the introduction of each.

Since 2012, the High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows out of Africa, backed by the African Union and the Economic Commission for Africa, has worked to build political support to end these abuses across the continent and beyond. The panel’s final report established the scale of illicit flows and the damage to governance that they can do. It also confirmed the centrality of the ABC measures and laid the grounds for the adoption of a global target to curb illicit flows as part of the Un Sustainable Development Goals.

The panel also provided an important definitional statement, recognising that the common feature of illicit financial flows is that of being hidden. This is true whether we are concerned with tax-related illicit flows (hiding the tax abuses of multinational companies or of individuals with offshore interests); with other commercial flows (hiding market dominance, for example, or the true origin of investments); or with laundering the proceeds of crime – from the trafficking of drugs and people to the bribery of public officials and the theft of public assets.

Financial secrecy is therefore the crucial facilitating element for illicit flows.

Consistent progress in dismantling is key to ensuring accountability and a managed reduction in tax abuses and other criminal and corrupt activity.

WOLVES GUARDING CHICKENS? Change has been painfully slow, however.

Lobbying by multinational companies and professional enablers – bankers, lawyers and accountants – has undoubtedly undermined efforts to bring transparency to the global financial system. On top of that, the decisions on key policy reforms are largely taken at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) or related organisations. Our research shows this is highly problematic.

The Financial Secrecy Index, which we first published in 2009 and update biennially, assesses jurisdictions across a wide range of objectively verifiable criteria (including the ABC). The 2020 index saw the United States

climb above Switzerland into second place, with Cayman the top-ranked secrecy threat.

The UK and its network of Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies would rank a clear first if it were treated as a single entity.

In total, OECD countries and their dependencies together are responsible for about half of all financial secrecy risks, according to the index. The State of Tax Justice 2020 meanwhile assesses that the same group is responsible for 59 percent of the $182bn the world loses to private offshore tax evasion every year. Dr Dereje Alemayehu of the Global Alliance for Tax Justice summed up the concerns: “Trusting the OECD to set global [tax] rules… is like trusting a pack of wolves to build a fence around your chicken coop.”

Compounding the role of OECD members are the domestic dynamics laid bare by the Pandora Papers. Within many countries, elites including policymakers are among the main users, or abusers, of financial secrecy.

As Professor Brooke Harrington, the leading sociologist studying the wealth-hiding industry, has written, financial secrecy offers “something even more appealing and dangerous [than tax avoidance], which is law avoidance in general. To the already rich and powerful, offshore offers a kind of superpower: impunity.” So who guards the wolves?

ENSURING ACCOUNTABILITY: Happily, we have the answers we need. We know the leading actors and jurisdictions responsible for financial secrecy. We know the mechanisms that can ensure consistent accountability, rather than relying on sporadic leaks. And earlier this year, a new high-level panel – the Un Financial Accountability, Transparency and Integrity Panel (FACTI) – laid out recommendations for precisely the comprehensive changes that are needed.

It recommends the full implementation of the ABC of tax transparency, recognising the failures so far and how lower-income countries are particularly excluded from the benefits. The arrangements for beneficial ownership transparency are fundamental.

Public registers of the natural person (the

warm-blooded human being) behind every legal entity would end the need for leaks – and make markets work better, as well as taxes and other regulations. A powerful step would be to hold professional enablers accountable by requiring the disclosure of beneficial owners of all structures that lawyers and others help to establish and imposing criminal penalties for non-compliance.

The FACTI Panel also sets out the global architectural reforms to deliver an end to impunity for illicit financial flows.

In addition to a global asset register, to join up national beneficial ownership registers, three elements are key. A centre for monitoring taxing rights – originally proposed in my book The Uncounted – would collate and publish country-level data to provide annual accountability for the jurisdictions providing secrecy and promoting its abuse. A Un framework convention on tax would provide the basis for full delivery of the ABC, including holding states to account for meeting these commitments. It could also establish the space for globally inclusive negotiations in the future through an intergovernmental tax body. At a technical level, the solutions are within grasp. Only the political obstructions remain – those of elites and of jurisdictions that profit from abuse.

In the 1995 film The Quick and the Dead, the villain John Herod controls a small town and its fearful citizens. The character sums up the threat: “Like I always say – put a fox in the henhouse and you’ll have chicken for dinner every time.”

If we, citizens of the world, don’t want this everytime – more leaks, more outrage, and continuing impunity – then the agenda is clear. It is time for global tax justice.

Alex Cobham is an economist and chief executive of the Tax Justice Network. He is also a commissioner for the Scottish Government’s Poverty and Inequality Commission, and a founding member of the steering group of the Independent Commission for the Reform of International Corporate Taxation and of the technical advisory group for the Fair Tax Mark.

Thursday, 21 October, 2021 | ISLAMABAD

NEWS

corporate corner Union Complex appoints Focus Estates as sales partner

AlIBABA SHARES SOAR AFTER JACk MA REPORTEd ON EUROPE TRIP HONG KONG

A

LAHORE: Union Complex, one of the largest residential apartment projects in Lahore, has appointed Focus Estates as its sales partner in a simple yet impressive ceremony attended by the management of both organisations along with a large number of real estate dealers from Lahore. Speaking to the guests, the chief guest, Azmat Tarin, Chairman My Address, termed Union Complex as a modern and state-of-the-art project which a common man can easily afford. He termed the partnership as a step towards success. At the occasion, AYQ Developers CEO Ayub Qadri, Silkbank RBG Director Shahram Raza, and Focus Estate CEO Rana Iftikhar also expressed their thoughts. pr

Celebration of Eid-i-Milad un Nabi (PBUH) at OGRA’s Head Office ISLAMABAD: The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) organised special talk on the ‘Seerat-ul-Nabi’ (PBUH) at its head office. The event was held in light of the desire of Prime Minister of Pakistan seeking whole nation to celebrate Eid Milad to enlighten everyone on the life and teachings of Holy Prophet (PBUH). The Chairman-Mr. Masroor Khan, Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority and Member (Gas), Member (Oil) and senior officers including the OGRA staff attended the event. Allama Sheikh Muhammd Qasim (Director Idara Taleemat-e-Quran, Rawalpindi) delivered speech on the life and teachings of Holy Prophet (peace be up on him) and also highlighted other social aspects, including tolerance, kindness, patience in light of the character of Holy prophet (PBUH). pr

Cement export to Afghanistan reduces to zero AFGHANS UNABLE TO MAKE PAYMENTS AS BANKS REMAIN CLOSED, REFUSE TO PAY ACCOUNT HOLDERS

Agencies

LIBABA shares surged more than six percent on Wednesday after billionaire founder Jack Ma was reported to be in Europe, fuelling investor hopes that the worst of China’s regulatory crackdown for the internet giant might be over.

Ma has kept a low profile ever since mainland officials spiked what would have been a world record $37 billion initial public for Alibaba’s financial group Ant last November.

That shock decision kicked off what became a cascading series of crackdowns by Chinese authorities on a host of tech and other industries deemed to have become too powerful, unregulated or monopolistic.

Ma’s presence in Spain — for a “study tour of the agricultural industry and technology related to the environment” — was reported by the South China Morning Post, which is owned

by Alibaba.

The paper said the 57-year-old, who retired from the role of Alibaba’s chairman in 2019, was attending a series of business meetings in Europe.

It said he had also stayed in Hong Kong for “private time” with his family before his trip abroad, citing an anonymous source familiar with Ma’s itinerary.

An Alibaba spokesperson declined to comment.

But the news sent Alibaba’s shares

soaring, closing 6.67 percent higher in Hong Kong on Wednesday. So far this month the firm’s share price has surged 23 percent as hopes rise the company is now out of the dog house with authorities in Beijing.

That sentiment has also helped buoy Hong Kong’s stock exchange, which has been hammered by China’s regulatory crackdown in recent months.

The Hang Seng Index, one of the

Oil dips as China considers intervention to ease coal crunch SINGAPORE Agencies

Oil prices slipped on Wednesday after the Chinese government stepped up efforts to tame record high coal prices and ensure coal mines operate at full capacity as Beijing moved to ease a power shortage.

Chinese coal prices and other commodity prices slumped in early trade, which in turn pulled oil prices down from an uptick earlier in the day.

“With coal and gas prices easing and with the relative strength index (RSI) technical indicators still in overbought territory, the odds of a sharp, but material fall in oil prices are rising,” said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at OANDA. China’s National Development and Reform Commission said late on Tuesday that it would bring coal prices back to a reasonable range and crack down on any irregularities that disturb market order or malicious speculation on thermal coal futures.

Brent crude futures dropped 43 cents, or 0.5%, to $84.65 a barrel at 0506 GMT, paring a 75-cent rise in the previous session, but still

lingering close to multi-year highs.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for November, which expires on Wednesday, fell 37 cents to $82.59 a barrel. The more active WTI contract for December was down 45 cents, or 0.6%, to $81.99 a barrel.

“Brent crude could fall to $82 and WTI to $78.50 a barrel, and still comfortably remain in a strong bull market… Even if oil was to stage a $5 pullback, I continue to believe that it will be short in duration,” analyst Halley said.

Oil markets in general remain supported on the back of a global coal and gas crunch, which has driven a switch to diesel and fuel oil for power generation.

But the market on Wednesday was also pressured by data from the American Petroleum Institute industry group which showed US crude stocks rose by 3.3 million barrels for the week ended Oct. 15, according to market sources.

That was well above nine analysts’ forecasts for a rise of 1.9 million barrels in crude stocks, in a Reuters poll.

However US gasoline and distillate inventories, which include diesel, heating oil and jet fuel, fell much more than analysts had expected, pointing to strong demand.

PESHAWAR Aziz Buneri

Pakistan’s exports to Afghanistan have come to a stand still after the takeover by Taliban with all orders being cancelled due to the closure of the neighbouring country’s construction sector. Traders said that cement makes up to 40 per cent of Pakistan’s total export to Afghanistan but now, because of strict border management and other hurdles, imports have reduced to zero, which is causing heavy losses not only to traders but also the national exchequer. PakAfghan Joint Chamber of Commerce (PAJCC) Board of Directors (BoD) member, Shahid Hussain, said that construction materials, especially cement, make a large portion of Pakistan’s exports to Afghanistan. Hussain added that Pakistan’s exports have fallen from 70pc to 20pc since on August 15 due to closure of banks in Afghanistan when the Taliban took over. However, in the past week, he said, cement exports reduced to zero as Afghans are now completely unable to make payments. According to Hussain, traders had requested the government to ease restriction on the Pak-Afghan trade which has been severely affected due to the current FATF sanctions due to which cash counters have been closed. He further said that earlier traders used to deposit US dollars at cash counters and in return they used to get Form (E) and Form (I) from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) which is now closed, forcing traders to work on booked orders. According to sources, Afghan banks are only providing money to the public for running their daily expenditures. Steel business owner Zarak Khan said that Pakistan’s exports to Afghanistan were already low due to the availability of cheap steel from central Asian countries for the last ten years. He lamented that no attention was paid to boost exports in the past few years either. “If attention was paid to Pak-Afghan trade and hurdles were removed, it would have benefited the entire Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).” He further said that the banks’ reluctance to provide letters of credit (LCs) for exports to Central Asian Republics (CARs) and the refusal of insurance companies to insure goods being transported to Afghanistan is also affecting trade.

09

Pak-Vietnam talks on PTA to be held in November: envoy ISLAMABAD App

Vietnam’s Ambassador to Pakistan Nguyen Tien Phong on Wednesday said that talks on further progress on the proposed Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) between Pakistan and Vietnam are likely to take place in mid-November.

“The bilateral talks on the proposed PTA are expected to be held under the framework of the upcoming 5th Vietnam – Pakistan Subcommittee on Trade,” he said.

In the meeting, both sides will discuss two top agendas of bilateral trade and investment; the PTA and the agreement on investment promotion protection. The ambassador said that the fifth round of talks under the trade subcommittee will also discuss other issues of bilateral trade and investment cooperation between the two countries.

He said that after signing the PTA, talks are expected on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA)

to increase the trade volume between the two countries.

At present, bilateral trade between the two countries stands at US $700 million, which is far below its potential; the trade volume can be enhanced to US $1 billion in the coming 1 to 2 years.

Responding to a question, he said that the main reason for the decline in bilateral trade volume between the two countries, apart from the impact of the pandemic, was a lack of mutual awareness.

Regarding multilateral trade in the Association of SouthEast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Pakistan’s trade interests with this trading bloc, the Vietnamese ambassador said that Vietnam, being an active important member of ASEAN, would play its full role in paving the way for trade to Pakistan.

He added that ASEAN is a very effective trading bloc of the world and has signed FTAs with China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand from

which all regional countries are benefiting. Ambasador Phong stressed that trade, economic, cultural and people-topeople contacts between the two countries would have to be further enhanced. According to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade, Pakistan exports to Vietnam stood at US $136.67 million during 2020.

Pakistan exports cotton, plastic, raw hides and skins (other than furskins), leather, residues, wastes of food industry, animal fodder, cereals, fish, crustaceans, molluscs, aquatics, invertebrates, pharmaceutical products, meat and edible meat offal,tanning, dyeing extracts, tannins, derivatives, pigments and products of animal origin to Vietnam.

Its imports from the country include electronic equipment, man-made filaments, coffee, tea, spices, edible vegetables, roots and tubers, iron and steel, rubbers, miscellaneous chemical products, fish, crustaceans, molluscs, and invertebrates.

worst performers this year, is now up 10 percent since closing at a five-year low on 6 October.

“It’s getting clearer and clearer that the worst of Beijing’s crackdowns are behind us, in particular in the technology sector as they were the first to suffer,” Jackson Wong, asset management director at Amber Hill Capital, told Bloomberg News.

Alibaba fell out of favour soon after Ma gave a speech criticising China’s financial regulators.

Authorities pulled Ant’s IPO and followed up with an antitrust probe of Alibaba, eventually fining the company $2.75 billion.

Chinese authorities have also ordered Ant to undergo restructuring as a condition for reviving its IPO. Ma disappeared towards the end of the last year but briefly resurfaced in January after a video clip showed him giving a speech to rural teachers as part of an event organised by his charity.

His trip to Spain is believed to be the first time he has travelled overseas since regulators went for Alibaba.

Bitcoin sits below all-time high after US ETF debut WASHINGTON: Bitcoin hovered below record levels on Wednesday, the day after the first US bitcoin futures-based exchange-traded fund (ETF) began trading, a development that market participants say is likely to drive investment into the digital asset. The world’s leading cryptocurrency was last at $63,998, off 0.4 per cent, but still within a short jump of its record of $64,895.22, hit on April 14 this year.

It reached as high as $64,499 on Tuesday, late in the US day. Earlier on Tuesday, the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF closed up 2.59pc at $41.94 after its first day of trading, with around $1 billion worth of shares trading hands on Intercontinental Exchange Inc’s Arca exchange. Trading appeared to be dominated by smaller investors and highfrequency trading firms, analysts said, noting the absence of large block trades indicated that institutions were likely staying on the sidelines. James Quinn, managing partner at Q9 Capital, a Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency private wealth manager, said the launch of the new product was “meaningful” for bitcoin. “Theoretically, any licensed brokerage firm in the US who wants to take on this ETF can do so as easily as any other ETF, which should make it available to a lot of folks,” said Quinn. While the ETF is based on bitcoin futures, Quinn said the trades and hedges underpinning the ETF means activity will flow into the spot market and the bitcoin price. Crypto ETFs have launched this year in Canada and Europe amid surging interest in digital assets. Agencies

NHA arranges 3-day Eid Milad-un-Nabi Mehfils Following Seerat-I-Tayyaba we may embrace success here and hereafter – Murad Saeed ISLAMABAD: On sacred occasion of Eid Melad-unNabi, following directions of Federal Minister for Communications and Postal Services Mr. Murad Saeed, National Highway Authority arranged 3-day Eid Meladun-Nabi Mehfils, participated by Chairman NHA Capt (R) Muhammad Khurram Agha and officials of NHA at large at NHA head office. Such Mehfils were also held at NHA regional offices throughout the country. The buildings of NHA headquarters and Zonal offices across the country and toll plazas were also decorated with lights. On Eid Melad-un-Nabi Mehfil, Federal Minister for Communications and Postal Services Mr. Murad Saeed in a message, said, that Seerat-i-Pak is guiding light for us and we way embrace success in this world and world to come. We are to forget our mutual differences and create harmony among us and this will ultimately take us to achieve peace and brotherhood. He said, concept of Riyasat-e-Madina of Prime Minister of Pakistan Mr. Imran Khan is reflection of his love for Holy Prophet (S.A.W) and he is endeavoring hard for making Pakistan a corruption free state. On this occasion, Chairman NHA Capt (R) Muhammad Khurram Agha said, expression of love for the Holy Prophet (S.A.W) is also a form of adulation. We are to mould our lives as per teachings of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W) for attaining success in this world and hereafter. Honesty, patriotism, loves for humanity and high moral character should be our identity. Mr. Naveed Iqbal Anjum, Syed Riaz Hussain Kazmi, Mr. Gohar Zaman Babar, Mr. Javed Iqbal, Ghulam Shabbir, Muhammad Ibrahim and Muhammad Usman Usmani presented Naat Sharif. pr

Thursday, 21 October, 2021 | ISLAMABAD

10 FOREIGN NEWS

Facebook plans to change Its name: report

s

REUtERS

OCIAL media giant Facebook Inc is planning to rebrand itself with a new name next week, the Verge reported on Tuesday, citing

a source with direct knowledge of the matter.

Facebook Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg plans to talk about the name change at the company’s annual Connect conference on October 28, but it could be unveiled sooner, the Verge reported.

In response, Facebook said it does not comment on “rumour or speculation”.

The news comes at a time when the company is facing increasing US government scrutiny over its business practices. Lawmakers from both parties have excoriated the

company, illustrating the rising anger in Congress with Facebook.

The rebranding would position Facebook’s social media app as one of many products under a parent company, which will also oversee groups like Instagram, WhatsApp, Oculus and more, the Verge report added. It’s not uncommon in Silicon Valley for companies to change their names as they bid to expand their services.

Google established Alphabet Inc as a holding company in 2015 to expand beyond its search and advertising businesses, to oversee various other ventures ranging from its autonomous vehicle unit and health technology to providing internet services in remote areas. The move to rebrand will also reflect Facebook’s focus on building the so-called metaverse, an online world where people can use different devices to move and communicate in a virtual environment, according to the report. Facebook has invested heavily in virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality

(AR) and intends to connect its nearly three billion users through several devices and apps.

On Tuesday, it announced plans to create 10,000 jobs in the European Union over the next five years to help

build this metaverse. Zuckerberg has been talking up metaverse since July and the buzzy word, first coined in a dystopian novel three decades earlier, has been referenced by other tech firms such as Microsoft. The Verge

report said a possible name for the company could have something to do with Horizon. Recently, Facebook renamed its in-development VR gaming platform named “Horizon” to “Horizon Worlds”.

Russia says Taliban must meet expectations on rights AFP The Taliban must live up to international “expectations” on human rights if they want to be recognised by governments around the world, the Kremlin’s representative on Afghanistan said on Wednesday.

During Moscow talks on Afghanistan that included representatives of the Taliban, Kremlin envoy Zamir Kabulov said the militants would be recognised when they “start fulfilling the expectations of the international community on human rights and inclusion”, Kabulov said.

The Kremlin’s envoy to Afghanistan said the Taliban gave participants of the negotiations in Moscow, including China and Pakistan, assurances the group was making headway on rights and gover-

nance issues.

Taliban representatives told Kabulov they “are working on improving governance and improving human rights”, he

told reporters. “We’ll see,” Kabulov said.

He also called on the international community to abandon its “bias” and unite to help the Afghan people.

Bus bombs kill 14 in Syria capital, shells elsewhere kill 10 DAMASCUS The AssociATed Press

Two bombs attached to a bus carrying Syrian troops exploded in Damascus during the morning rush hour Wednesday, a military official said. Fourteen people were killed in the attack, one of the deadliest in the capital in years.

While the Syrian government’s decade-long conflict with insurgents continues in parts of the country including the rebel-held northwest, bombings in Damascus have become exceedingly rare since President Bashar Assad’s troops pushed opposition fighters from the capital’s suburbs in 2018.

The explosions, which also left several wounded,

happened at a busy intersection, near a main bus transfer point where commuters and schoolchildren typically converge. After the blasts, Syrian state TV showed footage of smoke rising from a charred bus as soldiers hosed down the vehicle and onlookers flocked to a nearby bridge to watch.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but several insurgent and jihadist groups that seek to overthrow Assad are active in Syria.

Separately, rescue workers reported 10 people were killed, including four children and a woman, in government shelling of a town in the last rebel enclave in the country’s northwest. The

UN Deputy Regional Humanitarian Coordinator Mark Cutts described as “shocking” the reports of the shelling that hit a market and roads near schools as students were heading to classes. That was one of the most violent attacks in the area since a March 2020 truce in the northwest negotiated by Turkey and Russia — allies of the opposition and Syrian government, respectively.

The truce has been repeatedly violated, and government forces often vow to take territories still out of their control.

While fighting still rages in the northwest, Assad’s forces now control much of Syria after military support from his allies

Russia and Iran helped tip the balance of power in his favour. US and Turkish troops, meanwhile, are deployed in parts of the country’s north.

In recent years, attacks such as Wednesday’s have been rare in Damascus.

One of the last major explosions to take place there was in 2017 — when suicide bombers hit a judicial office building and a restaurant, killing nearly 60 people. The attacks were claimed by Islamic State group militants. The extremist organization has not held territory in Syria since 2019, but it continues to represent a threat with sleeper cells, mostly hiding in Syria’s expansive desert.

“Not everyone likes the new government in Afghanistan, but by punishing the government, we punish the whole people,” he said.

He said that a joint statement from all 10 participating countries concluding the talks would call on the United Nations to convene a donor conference to raise funds for Afghanistan.

Taliban representatives did not immediately address reporters following Kabulov’s comments to journalists.

Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Salam Hanafi, a senior figure in the new Afghan leadership, however, said earlier on Wednesday that Afghanistan’s new leadership was “already inclusive”.

“We don’t need foreign military aid, we need support for peace in Afghanistan, we need reconstruction and resettlement,” Hanafi said.

46 dead as India floods block roads, sweep away bridges NEW DELHI reuTers

Floods unleashed by days of unseasonal heavy rain have wrecked crops, blocked roads and washed away bridges in northern India, killing at least 46 people, officials said on Wednesday, as they mounted rescue efforts for those stranded. Aerial images gave glimpses of engorged rivers and partially submerged villages in affected areas in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, which is especially prone to flooding, although other areas have also suffered in this week’s downpours. “There is huge loss due to the floods […] the crops have been destroyed,” Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami told Reuters partner ANI after surveying the damage late on Tuesday. “The locals are facing a lot of problems, the roads are waterlogged, bridges have been washed away.” The death toll could rise further, state disaster management official S. A. Murugesan told Reuters.

Russia hosts Taliban for talks amid IS group threat concerns MOSCOW AFP

PID (I) 2451/21

Russia hosts the Taliban for talks in Moscow on Wednesday, seeking to assert its influence on Central Asia and push for action against Islamic State group fighters which it says have massed in perennially volatile Afghanistan.

The talks, which draw officials from 10 countries including China and Pakistan, are one of the Taliban’s most sig-

nificant international meetings since seizing power in mid-August.

They come after Russian President Vladimir Putin warned last week that IS group fighters were gathering in Afghanistan to spread discord in former Soviet republics flanking Russia.

Russia’s veteran foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, is set to address the gathering. The Taliban delegation is headed

by Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Salam Hanafi, a senior figure in the new Afghan

leadership who led talks with the European Union and the United States last week. Those followed talks in Ankara between the Taliban and Turkish officials.

Brussels has pledged one billion euros ($1.2 billion) to avert a humanitarian crisis after the hardline group’s takeover.

Russia’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday that one of the aims of the Moscow meeting was to consolidate the

“efforts of the international community to prevent a humanitarian crisis”.

Moscow also said the formation of an “inclusive government” would be on the agenda, and that parties to the talks were expected to release a joint statement afterwards.

Moscow has reached out to the Taliban and hosted its representatives in Moscow several times in recent years, even though the Taliban is a designated terrorist organisation in Russia.

Thursday, 21 October, 2021 | ISLAMABAD

IndIA beAtS AuStrALIA by 8 wIcketS In t20 worLd cup’S wArm-up mAtch I NEwS DESk

NDIA beat Australia by eight wickets in their final T20 World Cup warm-up match against Australia at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. India were able to complete the 152-run target with 13 balls remaining as Rohit Sharma hit an impressive 60, KL Rahul 39, and Suryakumar Yadav added 38 runs to the total.

Ravichandran Ashwin picked up two wickets, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ravindra Jadeja, and Rahul Chahar were able to get a wicket each.

For Australia, Steven Smith was able to hit 57 runs, Marcus Stoinis 41, and Glenn Maxwell 37, as their top-order batsman — David Warner, Aaron Finch, and Mitchell Marsh — failed to perform.

The bowlers did not perform up to the mark as only Ashton Agar picked up a wicket.

India had beaten England in their last warmup match and are set to take on Pakistan in a high-octane clash on October 24, with all eyes on the match.

Sania Mirza joins Shoaib Malik as she enters Pakistan’s bio-secure bubble NEwS DESk Indian tennis star and wife of Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik has entered the national team’s bio-secure bubble on Wednesday.

The six-time Grand Slam winner, 34, completed her quarantine period along with her son Izhaan in Dubai and joined her husband ahead of Pakistan kicking off their T20 World Cup journey on October 24, with their first clash against India.

According to the protocols issued by the International Cricket Council (ICC), Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had permitted families of the players to stay in the bio-secure bubble with them.

Apart from Malik, families of Imad Wasim, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Rizwan, Muhammad Hafeez and Hasan Ali are also accompanying them.

Moreover, coach Saqlain Mushtaq’s family is also with him in the bio-secure bubble.

Pakistan will face arch-rivals India in their first match in the T20 World Cup on October 24, in Dubai.

Australian ex-cricket star Michael Slater arrested SYDNEY AFP

Australian cricket great Michael Slater was arrested in Sydney on Wednesday over domestic violence allegations.

Local media reported the 51-yearold, now a well-known television pundit, was arrested in connection with an alleged incident that occurred last week. New South Wales police confirmed they had taken a 51-year-old man into custody in Sydney’s northern beaches.

“Officers attached to the

Eastern Suburbs Police Area Command commenced an investigation yesterday, after receiving reports of a domestic violence incident alleged to have occurred on Tuesday 12 October 2021,” police said in a statement.

“Following inquiries, detectives attended a home at Manly about 9:20 am today and spoke with a 51year-old man.

“He has since been arrested and taken to Manly Police Station.”

Slater occupied a position at the top of the Australian Test batting order for close to a decade, hitting 5,312 runs before his 2004 retirement.

SPORTS 11 Liverpool defeat 10-man Atletico in five-goal thriller as Salah delivers again MADRID AFP

Mohamed Salah continued his blistering run of form on Tuesday by scoring twice in a 3-2 victory over 10-man Atletico Madrid as Liverpool took charge of Group B in the Champions League. Salah gave Liverpool the lead with another splendid goal at the Wanda Metropolitano after dancing past three Atletico defenders and firing in to make it nine consecutive games the Egyptian has scored in.

But a wild contest in Madrid had several twists and turns still to come as Naby Keita doubled the advantage only for Atletico to strike twice before half-time, Antoine Griezmann pulling his team back into the match and leaving Liverpool looking temporarily dishevelled. Yet Griezmann was sent off in the 52nd minute for a high foot into the face of Roberto Firmino and Liverpool made Atleti pay, a clumsy challenge by Mario Hermoso on Diogo Jota giving Salah the chance to win the game from the spot. “The dirty three points are often the most important and they were dirty tonight,” said Jurgen Klopp. “That wasn’t our best football but it was an important step.” Klopp had previously been critical of Atletico’s attritional style when they met last year. “I am not the Pope of football. It’s not important what I say,” said Klopp. “Some things I like, some things I don’t. I have huge respect. It’s been what 10 years? They are incredibly successful.” Salah becomes Liverpool’s top goalscorer in the Champions League with 31 in 48 games, usurping Steven Gerrard’s previous record of 30. Even with 10 men, Atletico thought they might have snatched a draw late on as Luis Suarez, on off the bench, prepared to take a penalty against his former club with his first touch. Instead, referee Daniel Siebert infuriated the home crowd by cancelling his decision after consulting the replay. Liverpool move five points clear at the top of the group, with Atletico seemingly left to scrap it out with Porto for second place. They have four points each. Between his two goals, Salah was often on the fringes yet the 29-year-old proved the difference again, adding his 11th and 12 goals of the season and showing why many now have him as favourite for the Ballon d’Or. Simeone’s plan seemed to be to have Thomas Lemar doubling up with Yannick Carrasco when Salah moved into threatening positions but in the eighth minute, Salah just nipped past both of them. He collected the ball far out on the right towards the corner flag, danced inside Carrasco, Lemar and then finally Koke before unleashing from the edge of the box, his shot deflecting off James Milner. Atleti had barely paused for breath when Liverpool made it two, this time Felipe with some uncharacteristically limp defending, his wild clearance plopping up to Keita, who whacked it first time on the volley into the net. Liverpool were faster, stronger and cutting through Atletico almost at will but little by little the home side resisted and found their way back. Lemar wriggled round the back of Keita and his cross bypassed everyone in the area before landing with Koke, who did well to shoot low into the crowd, where Griezmann diverted in.

Australia quick Pattinson retires from Test cricket ahead of Ashes SYDNEY AFP

James Pattinson, who has notched 81 career Test wickets, has struggled with injury in the lead-up to the highly anticipated series.

“I really wanted to give the Ashes a crack,” the 31-yearold right-arm quick said in a statement, lamenting injury had made adequate preparation impossible.

“If I was to be part of the Ashes, I would need to do myself and my team-mates justice,” he added.

“I didn’t want to be in a position of battling with my body when you need to be 100 percent fit and ready to go at any time.

“That would not be fair to myself or the team.”

Pattinson has struggled with back injuries in recent years and gradually been eclipsed by the likes of Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood.

The native Melburnian said he hoped to now help “the young guys develop, perhaps some cricket in England and spend more time with my family”.

Pattinson played 21 Tests and 15 One-Day Internationals for Australia over a decade.

Thursday, 21 October, 2021

pRayeR timings

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FAJR SUNRISE

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4:54

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Gen Bajwa UrGes GloBal efforTs To sToP hUmaniTarian crisis in afGhanisTan RAWALPINDI

n

staff RepoRt

ATO Senior Civil Representative Stefano Pontecorvo on Wednesday called on Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa to discuss issues related to mutual concerns, particularly the situation in Afghanistan.

The meeting took place at GHQ, Rawalpindi, said a statement by the InterServices Public Relations (ISPR).

During the meeting, matters related to mutual interest, peace, and stability in the

region and Afghanistan were discussed.

The COAS said that there was a need for global convergence on the Afghan issue to avoid a humanitarian crisis in the country after the takeover of Kabul by the Taliban.

The visiting NATO dignitary appreciated Pakistan’s role in the Afghan situation, including the successful evacuation operations and efforts for regional stability.

He also assured to enhance cooperation with Pakistan on Afghanistan and regular engagement by NATO countries on all bilateral issues.

Tareen says trip to UK not political LONDON staff RepoRt

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Jahangir Tareen, who arrived in the United Kingdom Monday afternoon, dispelled rumours suggesting he was in the country to meet leaders from the Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz or the Pakistan Peoples Party to discuss options for his political future. Speaking to Geo News, Tareen, a former confidante of the prime minister, said he undertook the visit for “private reasons”. “I am in London for two weeks for a medical checkup and other engagements. No political engagements have been planned […] and there is no political scheme [that] I have in mind,” he told the publication. “I will see my doctors, friends, and associates but in a private capacity.”

Tareen has been facing cases of corporate fraud and money laundering filed against him by the Federal Investigation Agency in March this year. In March, months after he returned from the United Kingdom on the reported assurance of a “fair trial” in the sugar scandal, two first information reports (FIRs) were registered under sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating of public shareholders), and 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) — with sections 3 and 4 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2010. One of the cases claims Tareen transferred Rs3.14 billion from the accounts of his JDW-Group to Faruki Pulp Mills Limited (FPML), a company said to be owned by his son and a relative. The money was then transferred to the accounts of his family members. He, however, rejected the charges and denied any wrongdoing. Tareen had returned to Pakistan in November after ending his seven-month-long self-imposed exile after falling out with Prime Minister Imran Khan following an inquiry into the last year’s sugar scandal that accused several sugar producers — including him — of “underreported sales and fraud”. At the time, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Accountability Mirza Shahzad Akbar had declared sugar-producing units under the JDW-Group were found guilty of “double billing” and “over-invoicing” as well as “corporate fraud”. Tareen had rejected the findings of the Sugar Inquiry Commission. “I am shocked at the kind of false allegations levelled against me. I have always run a clean business. All Pakistan knows I always pay full price to my growers,” he had said in a tweet.

Qureshi, iran counterpart call for close coordination on afghanistan

Rupee continues to take beating, closes at 173.47 against US dollar The Pakistani rupee’s slide continued against the United States (US) dollar in the inter-bank currency market on the third day of the trading week, depreciating by an additional 0.4 per cent or Rs0.69 against the US dollar and closing at an alltime low of Rs173.47.

With a fresh decline of 0.4pc, the rupee has depreciated 10.11pc or Rs15.93 since the start of the current fiscal year on July 1, 2021, data released by the central bank revealed.

Moreover, it has cumulatively dropped 13.92pc or Rs21.2 since its recent high of Rs152.27 against the greenback recorded on May 14, 2021.

Earlier on Monday, the rupee fell to 172.78 against the US dollar, breaching Thursday’s low of 171.13, amid uncertainty regarding resumption of the International Mone-

tary Fund’s (IMF) $6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF).

According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the rupee shed Rs1.60 (-0.93 percent) as the US dollar opened at Rs171.18 and closed at Rs172.78.

The local currency had closed at Rs171.18 on Friday, according to the data from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

Currency experts state that clarity on the talks will stabilise rupee.

However, the mentioned that another reason for rupee depreciation was that the market opened after two weekly holidays and Tuesday is also a public holiday on account of Eid Milad-un-Nabi. Last week, speaking at the launch of the Kisan Portal, Prime Minister Imran Khan had said that the pressure on the Pakistani rupee is temporary and will be over soon. news desk

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi emphasised “close coordination” among Afghanistan’s neighbouring nations to ensure greater peace and stability in the region. During a phone call with his Iran counterpart, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, on Tuesday, Qureshi discussed the overall regional security situation. Abdollahian said Tehran fully supported Pakistan’s initiative for a regional approach to Afghanistan. “Foreign Minister Qureshi thanked his Iranian counterpart for the invitation and expressed the hope that the meeting would impart further impetus to the regional approach on the situation in Afghanistan,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.

“He emphasized that close coordination was essential to help Afghanistan on the path to peace, stability and development.” Qureshi emphasised that sustained international engagement was essential in view of the evolving economic situation in Afghanistan. “He expressed the hope that the international community would ramp up the provision of humanitarian assistance on an urgent basis, in view of the upcoming winter season, and take steps to ensure economic stability in the country,” the statement added. The first ministerial meeting of Afghanistan’s neighbouring countries was held in September after Pakistan urged China, Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to come together and discuss the situation in Afghanistan. The ministerial meeting was also preceded by a virtual meeting of the special representatives and envoys of the six neighbouring states for Afghanistan. Abdollahian also invited Pakistan to participate in the second ministerial meeting of the neighbouring countries of Afghanistan which is scheduled to be held in Tehran next week.

Biden picks career diplomat for top posting in Pakistan WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden has decided to nominate Donald Blome, currently ambassador to Tunisia, as his top diplomat in Pakistan as Washington works to manage the situation in Afghanistan following the withdrawal of American troops. Biden will announce plans to nominate Blome to the job in Pakistan later this week, the White House said. Blome is a career Foreign Service diplomat with long experience in the region who once worked in the Kabul embassy, shuttered earlier this year during the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan. According to his profile, Blome possesses over 20 years of experience working in the Middle East with postings in Jerusalem, Kabul and Cairo. The last US ambassador to Pakistan, David Hale, left Islamabad in August 2018, shortly after the formation of the incumbent Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led government.

After his exit, Paul W. Jones took charge of the American mission in Islamabad as charge d’affaires. He left Pakistan in August 2020, with incumbent Angela Aggeler serving as charge d’affaires in Islamabad since then. Pakistan is playing a major role in diplomacy with its Taliban-ruled neighbour. International agencies have warned that Afghanistan is on the verge of humanitarian collapse without access to aid or foreign reserves, which remain frozen in the United States. Pakistan’s relationship with neighbouring China has also been of interest to the Biden administration, which regards Beijing as its chief international rival. Tunisia, where Blome has worked as ambassador since 2019, is an important diplomatic outpost for the United States in North Africa, representing interests beyond the country’s borders, including in neighbouring Libya. ReuteRs

Imran vows to turn Pakistan into state of Medina ISLAMABAD app

Prime Minister Imran Khan Tuesday vowed to continue the struggle of turning Pakistan into a welfare state on the model of the state of Medina to take care of the poor, uphold justice, raise moral standards, stop corruption and preserve the family system.

Speaking on the second day of the twoday National Rehmatul-lil-Aalameen Conference held to celebrate the festival of Eid Milad un-Nabi, he said: “We can rise as a nation by following the guiding principles of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).”

The prime minister said Pakistan had everything but people needed to change their path to achieve success and change Pakistan according to the model of Riyasat e Madina.

25 years ago, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) was founded to struggle for a welfare state, he recalled.

He said Rehmatul-lil-Aalameen Authority

was formed to make youth familiar about the life and teachings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

The authority will be headed by an experienced scholar well versed in Islamic thinking and the life of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), he informed.

Courses on Seerat-e-Nabi were started in schools and the authority would monitor the curriculum, he added. “We will produce cartoons according to our culture.”

Scholars in the authority will monitor the media and an international cell would be formed to stop Islamophobia and convey to the world the feelings of Muslims and their love for Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), he told.

Research would be done in universities on the rise of Muslim society while through special projects, citizens would be taught about eminent Muslim personalities who emphasized love for humanity and peace, he explained.

The PM said Rehmatul-lil-Aalameen scholarships would be given to students who

would be doing the research on the life of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

The prime minister said in the year 622 A.D., Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) arrived in Medina and in ten years, he changed the map of Arabia, tens of thousands of people converted to Islam and prevailed upon the empires of Byzantine and Persia.

He said the Holy Quran stressed Muslims to learn from the life and teachings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

Our youth would be made aware of the life and teachings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) through the new authority, he added.

He said Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) raised the level of morality in society and created the distinction between good and evil.

Muslims of Riyasat-i-Medina had high moral standards and were endowed with values of justice, equity and rule of law.

The countries which moved ahead in the world had high moral standards, justice and equality, he maintained.

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