Issuu

Sunday, 5 December, 2021 I 29 Rabi-us-Sani, 1443 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XII No 157 I 12 Pages I Islamabad Edition

Pakistan to host key global moot on afghanistan on December 19 g

Pakistan invites Un P5 to attend the crUcial meeting

ISLAMABAD

staff Correspondent

akistan is all set to host an extraordinary meeting of foreign ministers from the organisation of islamic cooperation (oic) likely on december 19 in order to develop a joint strategy to prevent humanitarian crisis and economic collapse in afghanistan. representatives from the powerful countries are also expected to attend the moot. invitation is being sent to the taliban interim government while permanent members of Un security council, representatives of european Union, World Bank as well as other international financial institutions would also be requested to join the council of foreign ministers of oic on

december 19 in islamabad. Foreign minister shah mehmood Qureshi told reporters in lahore on saturday that representatives of countries including germany, Japan and others would also be invited. the december 19 meeting in islamabad would be the largest international gathering on afghanistan since kabul fell to the afghan taliban on august 15. he said Pakistan has also invited Un P5 members to attend the oic meeting on afghanistan. Pakistan has been spearheading efforts to garner support for the taliban government in view of the worsening humanitarian and economic crises. despite concerns by the west and others, islamabad has been advocating that it is not the time to abandon afghanistan but to stay en-

gaged with the taliban government. it’s efforts to keep the international community abreast of the afghan situation seem to have made headway as reflected in the planned oic foreign ministers meeting. Qureshi said the purpose of the extraordinary meeting of oic foreign ministers, which is taking place after the gap of 20-year war in afghanistan, was to discuss the current humanitarian and economic situation in the country. as many as 23 million afghans are facing acute food shortages, according to the foreign minister. he said that Pakistan was inviting a high level delegation from the taliban to attend the meeting, adding that the idea behind this was to give the taliban a chance to present their perspective to the international community while the world could also ask and share their concerns. “We believe that abandoning afghanistan is not an option. We must not repeat the mistakes of the past,” Qureshi warned. he went on to add that if urgent steps were not taken to help afghanistan then it would lead to renewed instability not just in the wartorn country but beyond. elaborating further, the foreign minister said renewed instability would trigger a new wave of afghan refugees. “this would put enormous pressure on the neighbouring countries of afghanistan which are already hosting millions of afghan refugees,” he said. the initiative to call the extraordinary meeting of the oic foreign minister was taken by saudi arabia, the current chair of the oic summit.

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Sialkot lynching: Police books key suspect, 800 others under ATA as per the initial investigation, the police said that the sri lanka citizen was killed over allegations of blasphemy. they the police have arrested a prime suspect added that they were investigating the and booked at least 800 people under matter from all angles. the anti-terrorism act (ata) a day after a meanwhile, an initial report of the inmob tortured a sri cident has been lankan man, emsubmitted to ployed as a manPrime minister ager in a factory imran khan by the on Wazirabad Punjab Police. as road, sialkot, to per the report, at death and set his least 112 suspects body on fire. have been dethe police said ISLAMABAD: Prime minister imran khan tained who were Farhan idrees, the saturday spoke to sri lankan President identified with the key suspect, has gotabaya rajapaksa and conveyed the help of the factory been detained. nation’s ‘anger and shame’ to the vigilante managers. the they said hun- killing of Priyantha diyawadana in sialkot. provocateurs dreds of people “spoke to sri lankan President gotabaya have been ararmed with sticks rajapaksa today in Uae to convey our rested as well. and batons were nation’s anger & shame to people of sri the detained present inside the lanka at vigilante killing of Priyantha suspects have factory at the time diyawadana in sialkot,” the premier wrote been moved to of the murder of at his official twitter handle. staff report unknown locathe foreign naCONTINUED ON PAGE 05 tions, they said, tional, Priyantha adding that inveskumara. tigation was still underway. after the murder, the mob dragged separately, the body of the deceased his body on the streets, the police said, has been handed over to the police after adding that it failed to stop the crowd post-mortem for legal formalities. due to a lack of strength.

SIALKOT

news desk

PM Khan assures Sri Lankan President of justice

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

Sunday, 5 December, 2021 | ISLAMABAD

NEWS

Turkish singer pays tribute to late Kashmiri hurriyat leader syed ali Geelani ISLAMABAD

Teen climber confronTs morTaliTy and hisTory on K2 summiT LAHORE

StAFF RePoRt

AFP

youngest person to climb K2 and the youngest to climb both the world’s two highest mountains. Kashif summited everest, which at 8,849 metres (29,032 feet) is earth’s tallest peak, in May. But the 8,611-metre K2 — known as the “Savage Mountain” and located near the border with China — is the more brutal summit. They are “poles apart”, Kashif said, calling K2 a “beast”. In winter, winds can blow at more than 200 kilometres (124 miles) per hour and temperatures can drop to minus 60 degrees Celsius (minus 76 degrees Fahrenheit). Kashif suffered snow blindness and frostbite — and said he was lucky his big toe was not amputated. “My energy was too low, it was a difficult time [… ] One wrong step and you are history,” he told AFP from his home in Lahore where he was born. ‘BleSSingS of god’: Kashif was first entranced by the mountains at 11 years old when he spotted the scenic 3,885-metre Himalayan peak Makra while on holiday with his father in northern Pakistan. “It all started there,” he said. While standing on top of the world he felt “chosen” — a feeling that he described leaving on the peak, “so others coming behind you can also feel it”. now, he said, everest and K2 are not enough. He plans to become the youngest person to climb the world’s 14 highest mountains, the only peaks on the planet that are above 8,000 metres. All lie in Asia, in the Himalayas or the Karakoram range, and five are in Pakistan. Only around 40 people in history are believed to have climbed all 14. But it can be difficult to verify summit claims and some experts said there could be

To pay tribute to the great services rendered by the late Kashmiri Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Gilani, the unveiling ceremony of the song of renowned Turkish singer and songwriter Turgay evren was held at the national Press Club (nPC). A large number of people from all walks of life including Turkish singer and his wife, nPC President Shakeel Anjum, Secretary Anwar Raza, former Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) President Afzal Butt and Abdul Rashid Turabi were present on the occasion. Turgay evren said he was grateful to all the friends who helped him in composing this song. The deeds of our heroes need to be appreciated and passed on to the younger generation, he added. He said, “I have tried to contribute to the struggle of Kashmir through my songs. The Kashmiri people are suffering and rendering sacrifices in Occupied Kashmir. The international community should pay attention to the plight of Kashmiris. The story of Kashmir is very painful. As a human being, you cannot remain indifferent to the Indian atrocities in Kashmir. Through this song, I have tried to highlight the tragedy of Kashmir. The story of Kashmir has to be brought before the world through articles.” he maintained. Jammu Kashmir Salvation Movement Chairman Altaf Ahmed Bhatt said the nPC was the base camp of the Occupied Kashmir which strives to bring the problems of Kashmiris before the world. Abdul Rashid Turabi praised Turgay evren who is spreading the voice of Kashmiris all over the world. Former PFUJ president Afzal Butt said it would be an exaggeration to mention those who had sacrificed their lives for Kashmir. Today’s event was another living example of Pak-Turkish friendship.

Gcu students work magic to transform campus into harry Potter’s hogwarts

Court approves two-day remand of Sindh Assembly speaker

LAHORE

een mountaineer Shehroze Kashif faced many dangers climbing the planet’s tallest peaks, but his toughest moment came when he passed the corpse of his hero on the savage slopes of K2. Kashif was 19 years and 138 days old when in July he became the youngest person to summit both Mount everest, the world’s highest peak, and K2, the secondhighest. It was on K2, just below the infamous stretch known as the Bottleneck, that he passed the bodies of Iceland’s John Snorri, Chile’s Juan Pablo Mohr and climbing legend Ali Sadpara. “The most emotional moment for me was going on past those climbers, the dead body of Pakistan’s national hero,” Kashif told AFP in an interview. Many Pakistanis have crucial roles as high-altitude porters, but Sadpara was one of the few to break into the elite ranks of mostly Western climbers who have long dominated headlines in mountaineering. He was declared missing along with Snorri and Mohr on February 5. It was more than five months before their bodies were found, on July 26, and Kashif made his summit push as dawn broke the next morning. “I got emotional, thinking that they had come with the same passion I had,” Kashif said. “But then I thought, why not fulfil their unfulfilled dream? And I took their dream with me.” Savage Mountain: This month, the Guinness Book of World Records officially declared him the

ISLAMABAD

AFP

It took more than a wave of a wand, but students of Government College University (GCU) in Lahore transformed their 150-year-old campus into Hogwarts this week as they kicked off a festival celebrating the fictional young wizard Harry Potter. With its vast halls and soaring archways, GCU has long reminded students of the magical school created by British author J.K. Rowling, several students told AFP. “I can’t believe I’m in Hogwarts while being in Lahore of all places,” said an excited Raziah Alam, taking part in the festival. “This has been such a fun experience.” Dressed in costumes from the “Potterverse” including wands and pointed witch and wizard hats, students welcomed visitors to their version of the Hogwarts “Great Hall”, decorated with broomsticks, bats, and even an area to brew potions. The theme music from the Harry Potter films played in the background as students tried out spells, took photos wearing the famous “Sorting Hat”, and dressed up in Hogwarts uniforms. This picture shows Asghar Zaidi, the vice chancellor of the Government College University (GCU), speaking during a Harry Potter festival at the campus in Lahore. “Most of these youngsters grew up at the time when JK Rowling’s work was being presented in the novels and then later on in the films,” Dr Asghar Zaidi, the university’s vice chancellor and a “Potterhead” himself told AFP. He added that when students come to the campus “they see the architecture, it reminds them of Hogwarts.” “I think the magic is coming through the inspiration it is bringing about to our other students,” he added proudly. The festival is also screening what is believed to be Pakistan’s first fan-made Harry Potter film. Titled “The Last Follower and the Resurrection of Voldemort”, the film was made and acted by students and comes with special effects, spells and a gripping storyline. “We really thought it would be a crazy idea to change the building, put some mountains around it, create some characters that can go with it,” the film’s director and cinematographer Waleed Akram told AFP. He said he was pleased with the film’s reception among students. Since the release of the first Harry Potter novel in 1997, the books have found immense popularity, including in Pakistan.

StAFF RePoRt

An accountability court in Islamabad on Saturday approved a two-day transit remand of Sindh Assembly Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani in a case pertaining to assets beyond declared income. The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) MP was produced before the national Accountability Bureau (nAB) court a day after the dirty money watchdog arrested him from the premises of the Supreme Court and shifted to its Rawalpindi office where he underwent medical checkup. A three-member bench headed by Justice Umar Ata Bandial heard the case and directed the speaker to surrender before the agency and face the proceedings. Durrani’s counsel requested the court to grant his

even fewer. The youngest is Mingma Gyabu “David” Sherpa, of nepal, who the Guinness Book of World Records said summited them all by age 30. Kashif still has 10 to go. He has also climbed Manaslu in nepal and Broad Peak in Pakistan, the eighth and 12th highest mountains respectively — and has given himself until 2024 to summit the rest. He is well aware of the dangers. Pakistan mourned the loss of Sadpara but Kashif also lost a friend, Pakistani-Swiss climber Abdul Waraich, on everest in May. Still, he refuses to contemplate an urban life at sea level. “I think mountains are blessings of God,” he said. “I feel tired looking at all these concrete buildings, garbage and pollution. I just go where I feel most alive, and I feel mountains are the most suitable place for me.”

client bail so that he can surrender before the relevant trial court. SC rejected the plea and directed him to first comply with the order of the Sindh High Court (SHC) and surrender before nAB, after which his case would be heard next week “We have to proceed with the case as per the law,” Justice Bandial stated. The court later adjourned the case till next week. It is pertinent to mention the nAB in July 2018 approved an inquiry against Durrani and others over claims of corruption. The speaker has been alleged of accumulating assets worth Rs1.6 billion through illegal sources. nAB said the assets of Durrani were valued at Rs479.4 million but he showed them to be worth Rs151.6 million.

IMF chief says Omicron could dent global economic growth AgEncIES The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is likely to lower its global economic growth estimates due to the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus, the global lender’s chief said at the Reuters next conference on Friday in another sign of the turmoil unleashed by the ever-changing pandemic. Omicron has spread rapidly to at least 40 countries since it was first reported in South Africa last week, officials say, and many governments have tightened travel rules to try to keep it out. “A new variant that may spread very rapidly can dent confidence, and in that sense, we are likely to see some downgrades of our October projections for global growth,” IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told the conference. Much remains unknown about Omicron. Researchers said it could have picked up genetic material from another virus, perhaps one that causes the common cold, which would allow it to more easily evade human immune system defences. Parts of europe and the US are grappling with a wave of infections of the more familiar Delta variant. The new strain could further destabilise economies that are still emerging from Covid-19 related lockdowns and disruptions. A corporate Christmas party in the norwegian capital Oslo resulted in at least 13 infections, making it the biggest outbreak outside of South Africa, officials said. The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan told Reuters next that the fast-spreading variant would have to become more transmissible to out-compete Delta, which accounts for 99 per cent of current transmissions. “We need to be prepared and cautious, not panic, because we’re in a different situation to a year ago,” she said. WHO emergencies Director Mike Ryan said there

was no evidence that existing vaccines needed to be modified to fight Omicron. He said officials should work on getting more people inoculated with vaccines currently on the market. “We need to focus on getting people most at risk vaccinated,” Ryan said at a social media event. However, WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier

told a Un briefing in Geneva that vaccine makers should prepare for the likelihood of adjusting their products. Ugur Sahin, chief executive officer of Germany’s BionTech, which makes a Covid-19 vaccine with Pfizer, told Reuters next that the company should be able to adapt the shots relatively quickly.

Sunday, 5 December, 2021 | ISLAMABAD

NEWS

BesT possIBLe arraNGemeNTs IN pLaCe for Na-133 By-eLeCTIoN, says eCp ChIef

NewS DeSk

HIEF Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja has said that the best possible arrangements in NA-133 have been made in cooperation with the government and Punjab Rangers for the by-election scheduled to be held on Sunday, according to Geo News. The chief election commissioner said that mobile apps have been downloaded on the mobile phones of presiding officers to keep a tight watch on activities. Three committees have been constituted to review the use of

electronic voting machines, with professional and technical personnel included in the committees, said the Chief Election Commissioner. “The decision on EVMs will be made in light of the committees’ recommendations,” he stated. During the elections, he said, police will be deployed at all polling stations and Rangers will patrol. According to the Chief Election Commissioner, there has been no incident of the presiding officer going missing in any election since the Daska election. Those who were guilty of the violations in the Daska elections would pay a price, he assured.

ECP to use EVMs in LG polls under pilot project ISLAMABAD Agencies

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has decided to carry out a pilot project of using electronic voting machines (EVMs) during the local bodies elections. According to sources within the election commission, the commission would experimentally use the EVM during the local bodies elections and the result of the pilot project would determine the feasibility of its use in the next general elections. “The ECP has sought 70 EVMs for the pilot project,” they said adding that the commission now awaits a response from the ministry of science and technology in this regard. The availability of the machines would decide in which province they would be used under a pilot project for holding the local government elections. On November 25, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) asked the government to release funds for the use of modern technology in the upcoming elections. The election commission has written a letter to the government for funds, sources at the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs said. “The ECP will procure over 8,00,000 electronic voting machines,” sources at the ministry said. The election commission in its letter said that the next general elections will likely be held in October 2023. “Essential steps will be taken for use of modern technology in elections,” the letter read. “A warehouse will be required to keep over eight Lac electronic voting machines,” according to the letter. “A premises will also be needed for data centre, control centre, modern lab, printing and training,” the

Good News: Light rain set to bring an end to smog ISLAMABAD stAff coRRespondent

After a long spell of smog, Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) on Saturday said foggy conditions may come to an end as rain is likely to lash different parts of the country. According to the prediction, light rain/wind-thunderstorm followed by snowfall over hills is expected in Kashmir, Gilgit Baltistan, Upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Potohar Region and North East Punjab. In the federal capital, partly cloudy weather with light rain is expected on Sunday. The rain will lessen smog/fog in plain areas of Punjab during morning/night hours. Cold and dry weather is expected in other parts the country. According to the synoptic situation, a weak westerly wave entering western parts of the country on Saturday is likely to persist in upper parts of the country till Sunday. During the last 24 hours, cold and dry weather prevailed over most parts of the country, while very cold in hilly areas. However, light rain occurred in Saidu Sharif. The rainfall recorded during the last 24 hours was Saidu Sharif 01 mm. The lowest minimum temperatures recorded during the period were Leh -07 C, Skardu -06, Gupis -05, Astor, Babusar top -04, Gilgit -03, Kalam, Rawalakot -02 and Kalat, Dir -01 C.

ICT directs cancellation of all public gatherings from Dec 14 to 17 ISLAMABAD stAff coRRespondent

ministry sources said. “A year has passed but the Planning Commission didn’t release funds for the building,” the ECP said. “Precious time has lost due to delay in the release of funds for the necessary infrastructure,” according to the letter. “The Planning Commission should release funds promptly for construction of the premises in Sector H11,” the ECP demands. “The Housing and Works Ministry should also take

measures on priority for construction of the building,” the ECP said. The ECP has also urged the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs to bring the matter to the concerned authorities. The election commission has suggested to the government to provide two floors in Kohsar block for storage of EVMs. “In case of delay in construction of the warehouse a government building should also be allocated in its place,” according to the ECP.

Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration has withdrawn its No Objection Certificates (NOCs) for public gatherings inside the limits of the city being held from December 14 to December 17 with immediate effect. “All No Objection Certificates (NOCs) of Public Gatherings, Concerts, Musical Events, Festivals that are going to be held from 14th to 17th December 2021 in Federal Capital are hereby withdrawn/cancelled with immediate effect,” reads a notification issued by District Magistrate, ICT, Islamabad. No official word was available for reason of the decision. However, an official source informed Pakistan Today that the direction had been made by Ministry of Interior with a likelihood of a march by some opposition parties.

Iran holds unannounced air defence drill over nuclear town DUBAI Agencies

Iranian air defences fired a missile as part of an exercise on Saturday over the central town of Natanz, which houses nuclear installations, state TV reported, after local residents reported hearing a large blast. The TV said air defence units fired the missile to test a rapid reaction force over Natanz.

“Such exercises are carried out in a completely secure environment … and there is no cause for concern,” Army spokesperson Shahin Taqikhani told the TV. Iranian news agencies earlier reported a large explosion in the sky above Natanz, but said there was no official explanation of the incident. The semi-official Fars news agency quoted its reporter in nearby Badroud as saying a short blast was heard which was

accompanied by an intense light in the sky. The Islamic Republic says its nuclear ambitions are peaceful. Israel opposed the original 2015 Iran nuclear accord with world powers, which aimed to curb Iran’s nuclear programme in return for lifting sanctions against Tehran, as too limited in scope and duration. Israeli leaders have long threatened military action against Iran if they deem diplomacy a dead end for denying it nuclear weaponry.

Fawad stresses need to defuse ‘ticking time bomb’ of religious fanaticism ISLAMABAD stAff RepoRt

A day after a Sri Lanka factory manager was beaten to death and set ablaze by a mob who accused him of blasphemy, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry Saturday said “time bombs [of religious fanaticism] planted in society will continue to explode if [they are] not defused”. Few issues are as galvanising in Pakistan as blasphemy, and even the slightest suggestion of a perceived insult to Islam can supercharge protests. The vigilante attack has caused nationwide outrage, with Prime Minister Imran Khan calling it a “day of shame for Pakistan”, however. In a series of tweets, Chaudhry

condemned the incident and slammed the apathy towards such deadly expressions of religious intolerance, warning it possessed the potential to lead to an “even bigger tragedy”. “I’ve been thinking since yesterday [as to] what to say to condemn the Sialkot incident. [The gravity of the situation] has rendered the words useless. “Such incidents affect us only for 48 hours, after which things return to normal, and until a next incident occurs, our conscience remains buried. This apathy is an indication of a bigger storm. Blood has been spilt in [many] countries due to the dead conscience of the nations.” “What should I say about the #Sialkot incident other than the fact that we as a nation must stand together & dismantle

such ticking time-bombs before they detonate. The sands of time are slipping from our fingers, we must act & act now,” PTV News quoted him as saying. Also on Saturday, Khurram Shehzad, a police spokesman said, up to 120 people had been arrested, included one of the main accused. Tahir Ashrafi, a religious scholar and special representative of the prime minister on religious harmony, confirmed the arrest and said workers had complained of the manager being “very strict”. “Police experts are investigating this case from various angles, including that some factory workers played a religious card to take revenge on the manager,” Ashrafi said. Shehzad said raids are continuing.

Sunday, 5 December, 2021 | ISLAMABAD

04 NEWS

SHC FOR DeMOlISHINg ANOtHeR IllegAl CONStRuCtION IN KARACHI kARACHI

Illegal SIMs registration: FIA arrests NADRA employees, six others kARACHI INP

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Cyber Crime Circle has arrested eight accused including two employees of the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) for their alleged involvement in the illegal registration of SIM cards. The intelligence agency’s cybercrime wing has launched its Operation Cyber Storm and arrested eight accused of illegal registration of SIM cards. The head of FIA Cyber Crime Circle Sindh, Imran Riaz said in a statement that raids were conducted in Sukkur and Ghotki. Two franchises have been sealed over illegally registering SIM cards. He disclosed that the illegally registered SIM cards were being provided to the dacoits in Kacha areas besides being used for child pornography. The agency also seized the data of nearly 10,000 thumb expressions. He further revealed that some NADRA employees were found involved in the illegal registration of SIM cards.

Pay-hike: WSSP seeks additional Rs500 million PesHAwAR AzIz BuNerI

The increase in salaries and allowances of the employees has increased the burden on Water and Sanitation Services Company Peshawar by an additional Rs530 million due to which the company has sought additional grant of Rs500 million from the provincial government. The Water and Sanitation Company Peshawar’s (WSSP) letter to the provincial government states that the company has increased the salaries and allowances of its employees for the financial year 2021-22 in the light of the government announcement. The letter said that it has incurred a burden of Rs537 million. According to the company, the provincial government has approved an additional grant of Rs1 billion for all sanitation companies, including Peshawar, but for the WSSP will now need more grants. The company has requested the provincial government to release an additional grant of Rs500 million to the company so that it can meet its expenses for the current financial year.

INP

HE Sindh High Court (SHC) on Saturday directed to demolish another illegal building in Karachi’s Azam Basti and asked to get assistance from Rangers for maintaining law and order. The Sindh High Court (SHC) ordered to demolish an illegal building constructed at plot number H-299 in street 4 of Azam Basti. Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) has been directed to get assistance from Rangers for maintaining the law and order during the demolition process. The court also directed the concerned Deputy Commissioner, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) to assist the SBCA. Moreover, the high court directed to disconnect utility services to the occupants of the illegal building including gas, electricity and water supply. The plaintiff named Pervaiz Mehmood Hashmi had filed a petition against the illegal building in 2013. The SHC judge remarked that there is no other way than demolishing such buildings. He remarked that no approval was taken from the concerned authority nor any construction was permitted there.

40 Jamiat students booked over ransacking PU offices LAHORe StAff rePort

A first information report (FIR) was registered Saturday against 40 students of the University of the Punjab on charges of ransacking the offices of the vice chancellor, registrar, and public relations officer (PRO). A spokesperson of the institute said two groups of student unions — Jamaat-i-Islami-affiliated Islami Jamiat-i-Talaba and Punjabi Council — clashed near the main cafeteria Friday afternoon. As the chaos ensued, members of the Jamiat attacked the staff before breaking into the administrative block. “They [attackers] were carrying sticks, stones, and glass bottles in their hands,” the registrar said. “They attacked the administration officers, harassed them, and chanted slogans against the university.” Registrar Dr Muhammad Khalid Khan complained the attackers instilled a sense of fear on the campus which is against the law and the sanctity of an educational institution. “All these men will be expelled and strict action will be taken

against them as per the law,” he added. Zia Khan, a student leader at the canal campus of the university, said the clash began when students of the Jamiat “tore off and burnt” posters of a musical event at the university before replacing them with banners of their religious event. A statement issued by the Jamiat, however, stated their mem-

bers were “attacked by members of a nationalist council by sticks after Friday prayers”. On Saturday, a complaint by the administration named 13 suspects. The police said they are still in the process of identifying the other suspects. A case under various sections of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) has been registered against them.

Pakistan re-elected to executive council of OPCW News Desk Pakistan has been re-elected to the Executive Council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) for the term 2022-2024, Radio Pakistan reported on Saturday. The elections were held during the recently concluded 26th Session of the Conference of States Parties held in The Hague from 29 November to 2 December 2021. The Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and stockpiling of Chemical Weapons and their Destruction (CWC) – with 193 states as members– is the most successful disarmament treaty eliminating an entire class of weapons of mass destruction. The Executive Council is the principal policy-making organ of the OPCW, which is responsible for supervising the effective implementation of and compliance with the Convention. It also supports the scientific and economic development of its member states in the peaceful uses of chemistry. Pakistan is an active member of the OPCW and has been serving on the Executive Council since its ratification of the CWC in 1997. Pakistan has been contributing constructively towards the fulfilment of the objectives of the CWC and regularly hosts OPCW routine inspections at its relevant facilities. The re-election of Pakistan to the 41 member Executive Council of the OPCW is a testament to Pakistan’s positive role at the OPCW. It reaffirms the confidence of the member states in Pakistan’s ability to provide effective leadership and impetus to the work of the OPCW.

Road to peace in region goes through Islamabad, says Mushahid IsLAMABAD ANAdolu AgeNcy

The international system is undergoing the most profound transformations after the socalled war on terror but Pakistan has always been a pivotal player, an international law expert said Friday. “Pakistan is one country (in the region) which is willing to communicate (with the US) on the basis of equality and reciprocity,” said Mushahid Hussain, the chair of the Senate Defense Committee. “If you (US) want to really build peace, security and stability in the region. The road lies through Islamabad,” Hussain said at the seminar, “Examining Pakistanis role in the current US-China rivalry,” at the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA) in Istanbul. “There is a resilience and lot of clarity in Pakistan’s overall role.” The Joe Biden administration in Washington “is a holdover of the Obama administration. It is a continuation of that worldview,” he said. “After messing up the Muslim world,” he said, regarding the US, “they say now (we) will now take on China.” But he said the situation for Pakistan “has been clear.” Hussain said: “The Pakistan-US relationship is seen as ‘tactical’ while PakistanChina relations has been strategic and more resilient.” Referring to the 1963 March boundary agreement between China and Pakistan,

Hussain called Pakistan’s bilateral relations with China “a model relationship that has withstood changes in the region, world, within China and within Pakistan.” With the US, he said, Pakistan saw “phases in the bilateral relations.” “They needed us against the Soviet Union during the Cold War, were partners in the Afghan jihad, the so-called war on terror, thus this relationship was linked with a specific situation,” he said. The lawmaker said the US has now

taken two strategic decisions: “Promote and prop up India militarily, politically and strategically and this is a decision which the (Barack) Obama regime started.” “They have made one fundamental choice, i.e. India, that is seen as the main enemy of Pakistan, is their best friend in the region. That is the US choice,” he said. With China, he said, “it is a work in progress.” “The Cold War II has not begun but there are contours of that: first you demonise a country and then you try to damage their reputation and then you try to destabilise them,” he said. “That is what they did with Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Libya,” calling it US’ “classical operations.” China in no mood to Compromise: Hussain said the Chinese will “never compromise” on two things. “One is historically they see that they have overcome a century of humiliation which started in 1840 — the opium war imposed by the British which ended in 1949, i.e. sanctity of their borders, their sovereignty is a red line for China,” he said. “Second one is the experience of the Soviet Union: they will not allow China to become corrupt, fat, just a bureaucratic state,” he said and suggested that Washington is having second thoughts about China. “There is a perhaps a review taking place in the US that China is not the Soviet Union and cannot be pushed in the current situation,” he said.

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The lawmaker, however, said the US Congress was passing a $300 million fund which will be spent every year on “countering Chinese influence.” And the US has launched a copycat of China’s Belt and Road Initiative — Build Back Better World while the UK has launched Golden Gateway, he said. “Pakistan’s relationship with China is not directed against anyone. We want to have relations with other countries and have an outreach,” he said. Hussain said Pakistan attained “strategic space, the world has changed and Pakistan is now a nuclear power while China is not poor and now there is multi-polarity in international politics.” “Pakistan says don’t see the world in bloc politics and the world is seeing a transformation in the balance of economic and political power from West to Asia. It is a century of Asia,” he added. ‘US problem has become regional problem’ On Afghanistan, Hussain said, it was for the first time, an “American problem has been handed over and has now become a regional problem.” “Pakistan is trying to handle this regional problem with regional countries including with China, Russia and central Asian nations,” he said, adding that Islamabad rejects “any notion of a new Cold War. We are not taking sides.” The US’ longest war ended in Afghanistan in August when all of the for-

eign coalition forces exited the country after 20 years. The war-torn country is struggling with a weak economy and a looming humanitarian crisis as the Taliban have vowed to secure the country from terrorism. “We have our own role to play and we welcome investments from any country,” he said. Regarding the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), he said: “When China started its investments in Pakistan, no one wanted to invest in Pakistan. It was a vote of confidence and future of its people.” China invested more than $25 billion in Pakistan in less than a decade. “Pakistan is emerging as a hub of regional connectivity,” he said. “Investment in India (by US) is a high cost and low return investment because Mr (Narendra) Modi has an ideological foreign policy based on classical European 1930s fascism which is bigotry and hatred for Islam. India has become a strategic partner because they want to change the demographic balance whether in Palestine or occupied Kashmir. They have also this policy bashing up resistance and violating UN resolutions. Kashmir is our core interest and if India has a different policy, so be it,” he said. He said the failure of the US in Afghanistan was “because of flawed policies.” “Each country defends its core interests and our core interest are not compatible with the US core interests,” he added.

Sunday, 5 December, 2021 | ISLAMABAD

NEWS

In InDIAn CITIeS, MuSLIM PrAyerS AnD MeATy SnACKS SqueezeD ouT

RIDAy afternoons are a time for communal prayer for Muslims in the northern Indian city of Gurugram, who over the years had negotiated with local authorities to pray in parks and empty plots of land as they outgrew their mosques. But recent protests by Hindu groups, sometimes preventing prayers as banner-carrying members shouted slogans, have disrupted the arrangement – prompting city officials to withdraw permission for some of the sites used by Muslim worshippers. The protests, and orders to remove street vendors selling meat-based snacks in several cities in Gujarat state, reflect a broader fight for shared spaces as religious minorities are increasingly denied equal access, urban experts said. India’s religious divisions have deepened under the Hindu nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with civil society groups accusing authorities in several states of favouring Hindu groups over minority communities. “Space is limited, so there is always a question of how it can be made available for different activities, and different groups,” said Prerna Mehta, an associate director of urban development at World Resources Institute India, a think-tank. “But there is a certain hierarchy in how public spaces are distributed and accessed in the city: often, poorer sections and minority communities have fewer spaces and more limited access,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Muslims account for about 14% of India’s population of 1.3 billion, with Hindus making up about 80%. Across the country, public spaces are often taken over by informal settlers, street vendors, for children’s games, festival celebrations, wedding processions and political rallies. In Gurugram, near the Indian capital Delhi, designated public areas for namaz, the Persian word for

prayer, have halved to about 20 as Hindu groups claimed the spaces for games and other activities, saying religion should not be practised there. “The Friday prayer takes hardly 30 minutes, and it is the only time – apart from festivals – when we need a large space because there aren’t enough mosques to hold us,” said Shehzad Khan, chairman of Muslim Ekta Manch, a charity group. “Public spaces are for everyone, and we have been praying like this for more than a decade without inconveniencing anyone. If religious activities are not allowed, then authorities should not allow any Hindu festivities, either,” he said. A senior official in Gurugram said authorities were not being partial to Hindu groups. “Muslim prayers are still being offered in many places – there have been protests in only two or three places,” said yash Garg, deputy commissioner of Gurugram district. “The community and the administration are committed to finding a peaceful resolution, and we are looking at all possible options,” he said, without giving further details. Under pressUre: Across Asia, public spaces have become battlegrounds pitting informal settlers, street vendors and other marginalised communities against elite residents and authorities who say they are removing vendors and settlements to beautify the city. In Gujarat, Modi’s home state, authorities in at least four cities have ordered the removal of street vendors selling non-vegetarian food. Some officials have said the food stalls offended Hindus, but state Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said last month the orders were not discriminatory, aiming instead to unclutter crowded streets and boost food hygiene standards. “People are free to eat whatever they want. But the food being sold at stalls should not be harmful, and the

stalls should not obstruct traffic flow,” he told reporters. Across the country, human rights activists have reported a rise in mob lynchings and hate crimes against Muslims and low-caste Dalits during Modi’s tenure – a charge the government has denied. Events marking Hindu festivals have become more belligerent, too, the campaigners say. Such incidents reflect “a clear disregard to any restraint on religious manifestations in public spaces when it comes to Hindus”, said Neha Dabhade, a deputy director at the Centre for Study of Society and Secularism. “Everyone should have equal access to public spaces in a way that does not cause inconvenience, but increasingly there is a competitive contestation that is communal in nature, and a feeling that Muslims should not be in public spaces,” she said. In reducing the number of designated spaces for namaz, Muslims’ citizenship rights and their freedom to worship are being curbed, she said. “It is part of a larger eco-system of marginalising minorities in the country,” she added. These actions come even as federal and city officials have pledged to increase the amount of public space and make communal areas more accessible to improve residents’ health and quality of life. Prolonged lockdowns during the coronavirus pandemic have highlighted the importance of outdoor public space in cities around the world. In Gurugram, some Hindu residents have offered their homes and shops for namaz, and several Sikh groups have said Muslims can also pray in the gurduwara, the Sikh place of worship. “This gives us hope,” said Khan, adding that they still hoped to resolve the matter amicably. “The act of praying in the open should not be one that causes anxiety and concern. These spaces are for everyone – whether for prayer or a game of cricket, and should remain that way.” agencies

Law Ministry to vet National Sports Policy 2021 iSLamaBad

Sialkot lynching: Police books key suspect, 800 others under ATA continued from page 01 In a statement, cleric Mufti Taqi Usmani condemned the killing of the foreign national over blasphemy allegations. He said blasphemy was a “grave crime” but the evidence to prove the blasphemy charges must be beyond doubt. The Sialkot incident has tarnished the image of Pakistan and Muslims across the world, he added. He expressed concerns over the violent state of affairs in Pakistan, saying instead of using force, the government should table the matter before parliament to resolve such issues. He also urged the protesters to use peaceful means instead of destroying national properties and violence.

PM Khan assures Sri Lankan President of justice continued from page 01 PM Imran said that he informed the Sri Lankan president that over a hundred people have been arrested so far in connection with the heinous murder, assuring him that they would be prosecuted with full severity of the law. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, taking to Twitter, has said that he also spoke to his Sri Lankan counterpart Gamini Lakshman Peiris and expressed deep grief and condolences over the tragic incident. “The Pakistan leadership will ensure all perpetrators will be brought to justice swiftly,” he added. Earlier today, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapaksa said that he was shocked to see the brutal and fatal attack on Priyantha by extremist mob in Pakistan. “My heart goes out to his wife and family. SriLanka and her people are confident that PM Imran Khan will keep to his commitment to bring all those involved to justice,” he aconcluded.

staff report

Federal Government has decided to send its proposed National Sports Policy 2021 to the Law Ministry for vetting to avoid any legal hitches in future. Official sources have told Pakistan Today requesting not being identified that the decision was taken at a high-level meeting held on Friday with Prime Minister Imran Khan in the chair. During the meeting, the sources said, the Premier was briefed on the plans of the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) to implement the new sports policy to get the desired results and to bring the working of the sports federations and related departments under the direct control of the ministry and Pakistan Sports Board (PSB). The PM was also briefed on the salient features of the new PSB constitution that has been given a goahead by the Cabinet Committee for

Disposal of Legislative Cases, the sources said. The provincial governments’ role in sports promotion following the devolution of powers in 2012 also came under discussion, the sources added. Proposals for the establishment of an Election Commission to conduct federations’ elections and Dispute Resolution Commission were

also discussed, the sources said. The meeting that was attended by representatives of all the provincial governments (minister or secretaries) was meant to brief the prime minister on the sports development plans. The plans by the ministry and the PSB to put the working of all sports federations under the direct control of the government were also discussed.

Grand event organized at ACPKHI to mark Sindh Culture Day KaracHi staff report

A grand event was organized at Arts Council of Pakistan Karachi (ACPKHI) on Saturday to observe the Sindh Culture Day. The event was jointly hosted by the Arts Council Karachi and Sindh Journalists Council. Speaking on the occasion, Sindh Information Minister Saeed Ghani said that the Sindh Culture Day has become an international day and it is a good tradition. He said that the day is celebrated in various countries across the globe including Sindh with an aim to unite people. A large number of people including President Arts Council Mohammad Ahmed Shah, President Pakistan People Party (PPP) Sindh Nisar Khoro, SSP South Zubair Nazeer Sheikh, DC South Irshad Sodhar, Additional Commissioner Karachi Jawad Muzaffar, Leader PPP Barrister Halar Wasan, President Press Club Karachi Fazil Jamili, doctors, lawyers, students, journalists, and a large number of women participated in the Sindhi cultural event. Ahmed Mughal, Jagar Jalal, Fahim Alin Faqir, Waqar Mallah, Marvel Group, and other artists performed songs reflecting Sindhi culture and received compliments from the audience. On the occasion, the organizers also presented Sindhi Ajrak and topi to the distinguished guests.

Pakistan to host key global moot on Afghanistan on December 19 continued from page 01 Qureshi said the proposal was discussed during the visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to Riyadh in late October. During the visit, the Saudi and Pakistani leadership discussed options on how to help Afghanistan at this critical juncture. “That’s when the idea of convening the extraordinary meeting of OIC council of foreign ministers emerged,” Qureshi told reporters. He further said engagement with the current Afghan dispensation was the only way forward. Qureshi said the instability in Afghanistan would engulf not just the region but also the west. “So, it is time to avert the imminent crisis,” he concluded.

Grievances of media outlets against ads allocation to be redressed LaHore press release

through prescribed format which will be available online. During the deliberations, it was reiter-

First meeting of Advertisements Complaints Redressal Committee (ACRC) was held here with Director General PID Lahore Shafqat Abbas in the chair. Others who attended the meeting included Deputy General Advertisements Islamabad who was in person whereas the Directors General PID Karachi and Peshawer as well as Director Home Publicity Islamabad attended the meeting through Zoom. While speaking to the participants, the Chairman said that every possible effort would be made to address the grievances of the complainants from national and regional newspapers. Terms of the Reference (TORs) were also drafted and it was decided that complaints will be lodged

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ated that the committee will work with the media representative bodies and regular publications will be treated on priority.

The committee expressed its resolve to evolve mechanism to identify the dummy publication and their consequent removal from the central media list. It was also observed that few dummy publications have started their propaganda through social media by casting doubts even before the committee has started its work. The committee finalised the first draft and shared with its members for further deliberations before making it public. The meeting ended after expressing gratitude to All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS), Council of Pakistan Newspapers Editors (CPNE), Pakistan Federation of Union of Journalists (PFUJ), Columnists, veteran journalists and other journalists Organisations who have assured full support to these efforts of Press Information Department.

Sunday, 5 December, 2021

06 COMMENT

A Girl in the River: Price of Forgiveness

Stop the rise of the extreme right

Change can only take place from within

It will create chaos in the country

NIVERSItIES being the highest forum of learning, these are required to promote a climate of free debate and discussion where students can challenge outdated theories and concepts and evolve new answers to old questions. For this the students are required to widen their cultural horizon by taking part in debates, plays and musical concerts. the student union elections help them understand how democracy works. With Pakistan’s long history of direct and indirect military rule, college unions have been stopped from functioning and their elections banned. It helps the establishment if students stop questioning. But this is bound to produce narrow-minded bigots who can be manipulated by mobsters to do things that create problems for the country. With organisations like the Islami Jamiat-e-talaba (IJt) given license to control thinking, the universities have become infertile. the pre-Partition Punjab University produced two Nobel laureates while the same university today stands extremely low in world ranking. Dr Abdus Salam and Dr Hargobind Khorana were nurtured in an era when the quest for new ideas was encouraged. the universities are being turned into hotspots of extremism. the task in Punjab has been assigned to the IJt which has been allowed to use force to stop all types of debate, discussion and cultural activities. In 2019 the IJt clashed with a Baloch students organization at the campus. Last year it scuffled with the Pushtun Student Organization. this year its activists attacked members of the Punjabi Council who wanted to hold a cultural programme at the campus. the extreme right enjoys the government’s support particularly in provinces ruled by the PtI. this is understandable because PM Imran Khan holds western culture responsible for the degradation of the nation. the IJt is in the forefront of opposing the musical function announced by the Abbottabad campus of the COMSAtS University. Propaganda has been launched against the programme from the pulpits also. With little support from the government, COMSAtS is unlikely to hold the function Meanwhile outstanding scholars, researchers and writers like Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy, Ammar Ali Jan and Mohammad Hanif have been removed from the universities where they had been teaching for their views not liked by those in power.

Sarmad Sattar

N patriarchal cultures, women’s lives are structured through a strict maintenance of an honour code. No denying the fact that the women, particularly in Pakistan, are vulnerable to arbitral cultural values and traditional mindset. A documentary film A Girl in the River, directed by Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, about honour killings in Pakistan released in 2015, was well received by critics and earned widespread critical acclaim. Unfortunately, the violence against women is often characterized as a symbol of masculine dominance. the cultural changes integrated with enlightened religious interpretations, defining status of women as incompatible with the customary laws, are now being professed with thrust and mobilized awareness of perverted traditional outlook to inflict terrible physical and mental torture. Unluckily, the criminal jurisprudence of our country has developed on the popular maxim leaning in favour of the accused such as “Accused is the favorite and pampered child of law”. We have frequently heard that every important public figure of the executive and the judiciary often visits jails of our country to inquire about the welfare of detained prisoners. But we have never heard that any important figure of the executive and the court are ever concerned about the plight or well-being of the victims of such condemnable remorseless acts. In this regard, a report of the United Nation unveils that the customary laws, rather than national or international laws, had contributed to the statistical increase in the number of honour killings across the Asian region. to quote a ferocious incident of Saima Sarwar who was shot dead by her own parents in ther Attorney’s office of a well-known human rights activists Asma Jahengir and Hina Jillani in April 1999, for seeking divorce on account of abusive behaviour of her husband, is a manifestation of the wrath unfolding out of our cultural matrix. Similarly, the brutish incident of Mukhtaran Mai, ruthless killing of five women by tribesman in Balochistan on 14 July 2008, the incident of Farzana

PSX bloodbath Macroeconomic indicators go from bad to worse

AKIStAN’S Stock Exchange finally gave in to the mounting pressure that had built up over the past months, with the KSE-100 index plunging by a whopping 2100 points on thursday, losing close to 4.7 percent of its value. the stock market took such a spectacular intraday dive back in March of 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic had hit the country and restrictions were put in place. the latest bloodbath has nothing to do with the discovery and spread of the Omicron variant around the world as it has not arrived in Pakistan yet, and is rather attributable to another virus: an economy in tatters, going from bad to worse. the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reporting a sharp year-on-year increase of 163% in the trade imbalance in November is a concerning addition to an already long list of deteriorating macroeconomic indicators. there has so far been no let-up in inflation with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) coming in at 9.2 percent with a realistic expectation of it crossing the dreaded double-digit barrier of 10 percent when November’s numbers are reported. to counter this, the SBP has hiked its policy rate by a substantial 150 basis points to 8.75% to soak up excess liquidity in the market. t-bills yields jumping to 12 percent indicates that a further increase of at least 100 basis points is imminent in the next monetary policy statement. Additionally, the rupee continues to slide, closing at around 176.65 to the dollar in the interbank on Friday with no end in sight as the central bank is unable or simply unwilling to intervene in the market. Owing to better returns on government debt and a falling rupee, stock market investors have clearly done some profit taking by liquidating their positions and have moved their capital to greener pastures. However, market sentiment has an equally important role to encourage that switch and the perception there is that the economy will not miraculously recover from the multiple shocks it has already received, at least not anytime soon. Uncertainty over the resumption of the IMF programme and tough inflationary conditions attached to that, coupled with a government that is having a hard time defending its mishandling of the economy, are realities that have no simple solutions or answers. Until there is improvement in major economic indicators, the stock market will continue to be volatile and remain bearish.

Tejas struggling against JF-17 Bilal ahmad Sheikh

t was an amazing experience to watch the Indian Air Force(IAF) tejas flying at the Dubai Air show a few days last month. I was amazed to watch an Indian pilot of tejas, flying this “machine” very carefully without any maneuverability, which was clearly reflecting limitations and flaws in its basic design. Although Indians were proudly presenting their tejas fighter jet, they forgot that even after its design finalization in the 1990s, India was still not able to induct this aircraft into its own air force. tejas is the first warplane in the world whose 38 prototypes produced are rejected and not inducted into IAF. But ironically Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is now working on tejas MK-1/MK-1A to induct into IAF in 20232024. On the other hand PAF didn’t only produce and induct the JF-17 fighter jet, but also successfully used them against Indian attack on 27 February 2019. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) was successful in developing HAL HF-24 Marut fighterbomber aircraft, designed by a German engineer hired by HAL in 1950s. IAF MiG-2 variants, had been the mainstay of the IAF since 1963 and it didn’t only celebrate and praise their most precious fighter jet but were gratified by overhauling and manufacturing facilities provided by Russians, since 1964. Russia, the UK and France, delivered advanced fighter jets and their generous technological help enabled India to develop advanced and modern facilities at HAL during the 1960s and 1980s. Many world renewed companies such as Mikoyan-Gurevich, Airbus, Boeing, DassaultBreguet Aviation and Honeywell begin working with HAL to manufacture aircraft spare parts, but Indians fail to establish their own independent aircraft building and manufacturing industry from these facilities. In 1983, the Government of India established the

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Arif Nizami (Late) Founding Editor

Yousaf Nizami M. A. Niazi

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Umar Aziz

Joint Editor

Executive Editor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

Iqbal; a pregnant woman stoned to death by her women. Article 25 of the Constitution also guarantees family in 2014, and many more, speaks volumes of equal protection of law and states that there shall be our despicable and sluggish attitude towards such a no discrimination on the basis of sex. the time has cause. How many lives would it take, before it’s too come to bring a radical change in the dominant idelate? How much would it take to jolt ourselves, the ology of patriarchy. to bring equality, it is essential to establish equal State (so-called Riyaasat-e-Madina), the investigation agencies and our prosecution wing to treat such rights between men and women in all respects of life. cases with genuine transparency and sincerity of the mother of Supreme Court Justice’s Ruth Bader purpose as an imminent challenge for structural re- Ginsburg, fought tirelessly for gender equality forms to reduce the sense of insecurity and risk of throughout her legal and political career spanning over six decades. Ginsburg such violence against them. instilled a strong work ethic How many…? However, in her daughter, encouraging there is no cavil to the premher to strive for independise that unless there is an egalitarian State which emThis can be an auspicious time ence in patriarchal society. “My mother told me powers women, honour for careful review, for the two things constantly. One killings would continue to to be a lady, and the prevail. adoption and implementation of was other was to be IndependIn juxtaposition, it is also ent,” Ginsburg Once said. the cardinal duty of the honupdated codes of judicial Achieving equality for orable Courts of Islamic Reconduct, and for training women judges, in terms of public of Pakistan, at all levels pertinently the trial courts, to judges according to norms that representation of the judiciary and on polensure proper scrutiny of the icy-making judicial counincriminating evidence in are clearly stated. The cils, should be our goal, not such cases, in order to ensure only because it is right for that no culprit of such barpresence of new faces, with women, but also because it baric acts goes scot-free. Unnew voices, is often the most is right for the achievement fortunately, mostly the of a more just rule of law. investigation agencies tend compelling spur to look at Changing the long-esto collude with the culprits in tablished demographics of a consideration of bribes or things afresh and make court can make the institupolitical pressures. changes long overdue. Only tion more amenable to conIn view of the foregoing, itself in a new light, it is the paramount responsiwith the realization that this is sider and potentially lead to furbility of the welfare State to take appropriate measures to an endemic cultural problem, ther modernization and reform. As a court’s do away with such a violaprevalent in virtually all groups composition becomes more tion of basic human rights. its customary pracOtherwise, like it has always within Pakistani society (and diverse, tices become less enbeen, the justice system will consequently, the continue to discriminate other Western societies), can trenched; old methods, often based on against women and their unstated codes of behaviour, compromising position as a we truly address the serious or simply inertia, are no result of the State failure to problems of violence against longer adequate. protect their right to life this can be an auspiguaranteed under the Constiwomen and femicide cious time for careful retution of Islamic Republic of view, for the adoption and Pakistan. Primarily, the room implementation of updated for systematic honour codes of judicial conduct, killings becomes available on account of rampant beliefs in public that they can and for training judges according to norms that are get away with their nefarious actions because of an clearly stated. the presence of new faces, with new absence of an effective implementing mechanism of voices, is often the most compelling spur to look at law. the religion of Islam has given human rights to things afresh and make changes long overdue. Only women and depriving her life was regarded as a with the realization that this is an endemic cultural problem, prevalent in virtually all groups within Pakmajor sin of highest degree. It is patriarchal ideology which makes us femi- istani society (and other Western societies), can we nine and masculine, which assigns different role, truly address the serious problems of violence against rights and responsibilities to women and men. But women and femicide. those so-called ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ qualities The writer is freelance columnis are human qualities and not specific either to men or

Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

Light Combat Aircraft project (tejas) with the initial goal to develop a new light combat aircraft to replace the ageing IAF fighters, especially the MiG-21 variants, which had been the mainstay of the IAF since 1963. IAF also struggled to replace the huge fleet of MIG-23s, MIG-25s and MIG-27s which were almost grounded in the early and late 1990s. Due to delays in the tejas project IAF decided to procure Su-30MK-1 and signed a contract with Russia. IAF inducted a total 272 Su-30MK-1 from 1996 to 2020 under license production at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). the tejas first prototype flew its first flight in 2003 exactly 20 years after the programme was initiated in 1983, but due to many technical shortcomings and flaws IAF rejected this aircraft in 2005. In-fact this project basic design was developed by DassaultBreguet Aviation France which was based on a Mirage delta wing configuration based on Mirage-5 and due to delays, and the technology of this system became outdated before it ever become part of IAF. After many years of evaluation and testing of tejas it proved to be an ultimate failure and the IAF lost all its aircrafts due to the terrible quality standard of HAL. According to reports IAF lost more than triple aircrafts in accidents than in all wars combined that were fought since independence. Although HAL blamed IAF for the low standard of pilot training and IAF blamed HAL for low service standard, in this situation IAF procured the Dassault Rafale from France and initiated upgrading of its Mirage-2000s, MIG29s and SEPECAt Jaguars. In May 2015, Government of India allowed HAL to upgrade tejas to the standard of MK-1, by improving more than 40 shortcomings. Later on HAL announced its final version as tejas MK-1A to be delivered by 2024. PAF with less than half of IAF strength, crossed many milestones in a shorter period of time as Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) started operating in 1971, and were able to rollout and locally rebuild

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F-6 (MIG-19) and Mirages in 1980s. Pakistan successfully co-produced K-8 with China in 1994 with 40 percent of parts manufacturing locally. Pakistan very successfully upgraded F-6, A-5 , F-7 and Mirage aircraft locally. PAF F-16 fighter jets, C-130 transport aircraft and Cobra Helicopters remained operational even during US embargos. In June 1999, Pakistan and China signed the contract to jointly develop and produce the Chengdu FC1/Super 7. Prototype production began in September 2002; a full-size mock-up of the FC-1/Super 7 was displayed at Airshow China in November 2002. the maiden flight was made in late August 2003; an official maiden flight of the prototype took place in early September. On 2 March 2007, the first consignment of two small-batch-production (SBP) aircraft arrived in a dismantled state in Pakistan. they flew for the first time on 10 March 2007 and took part in a public aerial demonstration during a Pakistan Day parade on 23 March 2007. the JF-17 is a real success for Pakistan Air Force, which took active part in war against terrorism and also shot down two IAF fighters (MIG- 21 Bison and Su-30 MKII) on February 27, 2019. PAF inducted nearly 138 fighter jets and more than 50 newer versions, JF-17 MK-3 are on order which will be delivered from 2022. All production lined up at Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) Kamra. till to date, the Myanmar Air Force has taken delivery of 7 JF-17M Block 2s - 5 JF-17As and 2 JF-17Bs and, the Nigerian Air Force inducted 3 JF-17 MK-2. Many countries evaluating JF-17 fighter jets including Azerbaijan, Malaysia, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Peru, South Africa, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, and Venezuela. there is no comparison between JF-17 and tejas in terms of ground success. tejas fighter is still in the phase of preparation even after 40 years of planning and development processes, whereas the JF-17 is a proven machine in warfare and also in the export market. Pakistan took a long-wide lead in this field and India has been left far behind. The writer is a freelance columnist

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Sunday, 5 December, 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

Can women be equal to men in Pakistan?

Evil merchants of religion Pakistan can no longer languish in the dungeons of darkness. It must not.

Candid Corner raoof haSan “The further the spiritual evolution of mankind advances, the more certain it seems to me that the path to genuine religiosity does not lie through the fear of life, and the fear of death, and blind faith, but through striving after rational knowledge.” – Albert Einstein

HE lynching and burning of a Sri Lankan employee, Priyantha Diyawardana, at a factory in Sialkot after being accused of having committed blasphemy is heinous and barbarous beyond description. the heads of the entire nation should be bowed in shame that, in this age and time, we resort to such shameful display of religious bigotry and intolerance, not even shying away from taking human life, and in such a savage manner. What is even more disturbing is the rabid sloganeering that preceded and followed the wicked and monstrous murder. there was one who proudly claimed that he had done it and he would do it again if the occasion would arise. Understandably, the matter concerned the Sri Lankan man having tried to remove the posters of tehrik-e-Labaik, Pakistan (tLP) from the walls of the factory. this infuriated the workers and they, without a shred of logic, pounced upon the person, lynched him and put his dead body to fire. Detestable and gruesome that the act is, it has its roots in the way the state has behaved in the face of mounting provocations by these monstrous merchants of religion, most of whom don’t even understand what they are talking about and whether such acts are even allowed in the religion they are killing in the name of. the state’s espousal of religiosity dates back many seasons. But, unfortunately, with the passage of time, and under regressive influences of those, both democrats and dictators, who were anointed to rule, it has continued to worsen so much so that it is virtually uncontrollable now. It is a scary moment for the state when it cannot exercise its writ and authority to curb violent agitation in the name of religion and is, instead,

forced to concede on strategic points which, one realises, would come home to roost. Violent agitation is a favourite mode of protest by tLP. It is because of this that the state had proscribed it and arrested its top leadership. Only recently, its workers came out on the streets and resorted to violence demanding that their leadership should be released. After prolonged negotiations, the state wilted under pressure and, in exchange for tLP renouncing violence, its leadership was released and it was allowed to operate as a political party. this is not the first time the state showed signs of weakness in dealing with violent protests inspired by religiosity, and would possibly not be the last time either. But the impact it is likely to generate for the flow of political activity in the country will be monumental. the Sialkot incident is just a small example of the kind of violence which these ignoble merchants of religion are ever ready to unleash at random. the state has dithered for too long in dealing effectively with these violent organisations. In the meanwhile, outfits like the tLP have continued to flourish through generating traction with uneducated, unenlightened and indoctrinated people, most of whom are the product of the regressive seminaries which abound in the country and which, in spite of countless vociferous proclamations, the state has still not been able to regulate properly. they operate with wild abandon, disseminating their coarse and inhuman brand of religion which is neither found in the Quran, nor in the teachings of Islam. And there is no check on them from anywhere within the state apparatus, thus spurring them on to further augment the causticity of their messages as well as the violence in their preaching. Dealing with this mindset is the most grievous and the most daunting of all the challenges that Pakistan is beset with. It is also a challenge that must be addressed urgently. the state cannot be forfeited to the degenerate fangs of hate mongers. they have done enough damage. they have sucked enough blood. they have to be dealt with immediately. there may be no easy way to do so, but states come of age when they take on the tough challenges with strength of will and reservoirs of determination. there should be no ceding of legitimacy to these violence-seeking organisations. they don’t deserve it. they will not get it in any civilised society and any democratic order. the criminal use of religion as a means for gaining political relevance is not confined to the tLP alone. there are many other similar outfits which have exploited religion as a conduit for escaping the clutches of law and accountability. they ignite violence and disorder. I have always taken a position against religious parties gaining political credentials. Religion and politics are separate, and they should remain separate. If the state is to free itself of the clutches of regression, it will have to take that course. there are no shortcuts here. A firm belief coupled with courage makes the right combination to get on

course. the task is not easy. It is difficult, and may get more difficult when it is initiated. But, if left undone, we shall continue sinking deeper into this morass. We have delayed it far too long which is why it has become so gruesome. these monsters cannot be convinced through logic and rationale. the state, having shown weakness in dealing with them, has emboldened them further. they now believe they can continue using the product of religion to scare the state into submission. their lifeline is the gross misuse of religion to hoodwink people into following them. this lifeline should be terminated. Among the key responsibilities of the state, a major one is to educate and enlighten its people so that they can distinguish between right and wrong. Unfortunately, through decades of ill-governance, there was virtually nothing invested in this sector, and there was a crooked reason for that. the leaders thought that if people would be educated, they would be able to decipher their reality and see how wicked they were and how remorselessly they had plundered the state resources which were meant to be invested in people’s welfare. that is why people were kept uneducated so that they would be easily exploited and controlled. time has come for that to change, and this must begin by denying these vile merchants the opportunity of using religion to spread their regressive message. they must be accountable before law just like other citizens of the state are. they must be denied the license to spread violence and hatred. they must be regulated just like other institutions and organisations are. they should not be an exception. they should not be allowed to operate within a violent space they have created which is where the germs of violence are bred. that space should be denied to them. the Prime Minister has come out strongly against the horrific attack and called it a “day of shame for Pakistan”. He has also vowed that “all those responsible will be punished with full severity of the law”. I must add that there is no option. the state has been cornered by these merchants of religion. It has to step out to assert itself – and do so strongly. Cosmetic procedures will not do any longer. the evil has to be plucked from its roots and buried deep under. Pakistan deserves to breathe. Islam cannot remain entangled in the vile tentacles of decrepit and fossilised mindsets, forever wedded to antiquity. It should, instead, be led by enlightened and progressive scholars with their sights on the future. Pakistan deserves to find its moorings in the annals of the civilised societies. It can no longer afford to languish in the dungeons of darkness. It must not. The writer is a political and security strategist, and heads the Regional Peace Institute – an Islamabad-based think tank. Email: raoofhasan@hotmail.com. Twitter: @RaoofHasan

WOMEN in Pakistan can certainly be equals in the socio-economic and political domains. But the road to this equality has certain formidable challenges. However, these challenges can be addressed through strong and bold measures. Although it was a woman who laid the foundation of modern civilization and modern agriculture which ultimately gave birth to industrialization, as says Will Durant in his book, ‘the Greatest Mind And Ideas’, yet her socio-economic and political status is far below that of men in Pakistan. While women started domesticating sheep and various other animals when she was moving towards agriculture and ploughing seeds and over the period of time, she became important for agriculture and man realized that the control of agriculture by women may be a setback to a maledominating authority. this was the beginning that man started taking an interest in agriculture. their roles and duties changed and women became subordinate to men over the period of time. this continued subordination of women has drastically altered their lives. As she started domesticating animals, she also began domesticating men. thus, Will Durant has rightly said, “Sheep was the first animal to be domesticated by woman and man will be the last animal domesticated by a woman.” Women of Pakistan have also been domesticating Pakistani men due to their inequality. Gruesome domestic violence against women has become rampant in Pakistan today, which is a very startling situation for society as a whole. Recently, a mother of four kids, Qurat-ul-Ain, was murdered by her husband, Umer Khalid in Hyderabad. A few days back, a girl was assaulted at gunpoint by Usman Mirza in Rawalpindi. these facts conclude that the lives of women in Pakistan are at stake because of their inferior and unrecognized roles and duties in our society. though there are numerous positive indicators of women’s equality to men in Pakistan, the road to this destiny is quite rough and tough because it poses myriad formidable challenges such as gruesome domestic violence, disconnects between gender-related laws and their implementation. Similarly, retrogressive interpretation of religion has sanctified gender inequality in Pakistan. Primitive gender norms are systematically conspiring against women empowerment. the socio-economic and political modernization of men has paved the way for the gender equality deficit in the country. the absence of a unified feminist movement and gender as a social construct has hampered women to attain their equality to men in our society. Nonetheless, the balance can be struck between the status of women and men in Pakistan by introducing strong and revolutionary measures; for instance, primitive cultural biases must be dispelled with rationality and inclusiveness in order to achieve equality. the provision of equal health and education facilities for women must be introduced, the transition from economic marginalization to the economic emancipation of women be ensured. Political emancipation can go a long way in ensuring gender egalitarianism in Pakistan. A rational, moderate and humanitarian religious discourse can shatter the chains of women subordination. Moreover, the disconnect between laws and their implementation regarding women be bridged to address pervasive gender inequality in the country. thus, there is no denying the fact that women can be equal to men in Pakistan in sociopolitico-economic spheres, but this equality has some stringent hurdles in its ways. Notwithstanding, these irritants can be removed with a solid roadmap and the strong will of both women and men of Pakistan equally. SAJJAD ALI SHAH, SInDH

Medical as a field, interest or obsession? tHE medical field is considered to be one of the charming fields in the world and is desired much. In today’s generation, becoming a medico has been a trend. Every single student wants to be a doctor by hook or by crook; particularly, in Pakistan. Every year, thousands of students go for entry tests in different medical colleges of Pakistan and many of them fail. It is not a big deal that they attempt the test but after failing the entry test, they again give it a try. they do not leave trying unless they pass it. In this period of trial, they lose their many precious years. the same was the case with one of my friends. He had attempted an entry test for Bolan Medical College, Quetta (BMC); he failed four times but still, he was setting up his mind for medical. He wasted his time as well as money by taking coaching classes in Quetta. In this large period of time, one could complete his graduation but his love for medicine harmed him a lot. there are many other students like him who have attempted entry tests twice and even thrice and have failed consecutively. Moreover, in Balochistan, one can find no other career than medical. Half of Balochistan chooses medicine as a career. Secondly, in District Awaran, a newly born boy will plan to select medicine as a career in his future while he does not know what medicine is? It is not his fault; as, the word medical is echoed in his ears when he opens his eyes for the first time in the world. His parents and relatives will want him to be a doctor. It is not wrong to go for medicine; but, it is wrong to only think and make mind for medicine for it is the wish of others. It is not wrong to study medicine; but, it is wrong to waste your four to five years just for your friends who want you to be in a white coat. It is not wrong to have dreams but it is wrong to be addicted to something for which you are not made for. Now, the real and painful scene starts, which is depression. Eighty to ninety percent of medical students suffer from depression. they regret selecting the medical field but they have selected it and now they have to go with it. Maybe fate wanted this for them. there are many reasons for their depression. Firstly, medicine is time-consuming. Secondly, it needs much efforts and hard work. Many of medical students have committed suicide due to depression. Recently, a young boy from Karachi committed suicide due to depression and he was supposed to be a student of medicine. Moreover, many students, after the completion of their graduation in medical feild, quit it. they either opt CSS or do something different which is totally opposite to medical. If you had not to go for medical then why did you waste your time and money of your parents here? I do not mean to write that students should not opt medical as a career but to tell that do not be addicted. Do not select medicine if you do not know what is to come next and what to be suffered from? Be the painter of your life yourself, do not give the paint brush to someone else. Whatever! Do what you like but do not harm yourself. Value your time. WASEEM AHMED, Hub cIty

08 WORLD VIEW 5th December 21_Layout 1 12/4/2021 9:30 PM Page 1

Sunday, 5 December, 2021

08 WORLD VIEW

Israel PrePares fOr POssIble War agaInsT Iran, HezbOllaH

Al-monITor

BEN CASpit

eVeR, to the best of our knowledge, has an incumbent Mossad chief publicly issued such a pronouncement, but on Nov. 2, the spy agency’s director David Barnea pledged that Iran would never have nuclear weapons. “It’s clear that there’s no need for uranium enriched to 60% for civilian purposes,” he said at a ceremony honoring outstanding Mossad agents. “There’s no need for three enrichment sites. There’s no need for thousands of active centrifuges — unless, that is, there is an intention to develop nuclear weapons. … Iran will not have nuclear weapons — not in the coming years, not ever. That is my promise, that is Mossad’s promise.” Barnea leaves next week for talks in the United States against the backdrop of growing US-Israeli tensions over the Iranian nuclear issue. The Americans, according to a front-page Nov. 3 headline in the mass circulation Yedioth Ahronoth, are demanding that Israel freeze all clandestine and intelligence activity designed to sabotage Iran’s nuclear program during the ongoing Vienna negotiations so as to avoid undermining the talks with Tehran. Israel, claims the report, is refusing to commit itself. Meanwhile, Barnea’s declaration is drawing quite a bit of criticism, in Israel, too. “The only one who can make such a commitment is the United States,” a senior Israeli source told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. “Only a world power of the stature of the United States has the ability to make such a promise.” however, the United States has already issued such pledges publicly many times, and no one in Israel be-

WORKING IN ALL DIRECTIONS AGAINST A NUCLEARIZED IRAN, THE ISRAELI AIR FORCE PREPARES ITSELF FOR DIFFERENT SCENARIOS lieves them any longer. Barnea’s statement came on the heels of dramatic pronouncements by Israel’s top leaders — Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman and President Isaac herzog — on the Nov. 29 opening day of the Vienna talks. Defense Minister Benny Gantz also addressed the issue this week, saying, “The military option must always be on the table. It is, of course, the last thing we want to use but we do not have the right to not prepare that option for ourselves.” Bennett, for his part, spoke Dec. 1 with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, urging the powers yet again not to surrender to Iran’s “nuclear blackmail.” While talk on the Iran issue has been plentiful in recent weeks, the Israelis, Iranians, Americans and the entire world are wondering whether the verbal assault could be translated into action. In fact, what is the “military option” Israel keeps raising? has Israel preserved or developed the capacity to destroy Iran’s nuclear infrastructure? Is it capable of doing so? history is the only dimension that will provide the answer at some point. In real time, Israel is on an extensive multibilliondollar shopping spree to expand its arsenal of “smart” bunker buster bombs (JDam precision munitions and others) and is beefing up its stock of Tamir Iron Dome missile defense interceptors. The shopping list indicates clearly that Israel is preparing for war, not only vis-a-vis Iran but also with hezbollah. Israel has been guided by two approaches on Iran over the years. The first is to block Iran’s nuclear option by any and every means, a goal it has

achieved with dizzying success. While Iran’s nuclear ambitions were first detected in 1991, Israel has stopped it from reaching its target for over 30 years, a tremendous achievement of historic proportions. According to the second approach, a power of Iran’s dimensions will achieve nuclear capacity one way or another if it is sufficiently determined to do so. Iran, according to almost all assessments, is not only sufficiently determined, it is overly determined. Nonetheless, it prefers reaching its goal “in one piece,” meaning with slow and cunning steps rather than with fast and furious ones. This is the point at which Israel now finds itself. Israel destroyed the nuclear reactors of Iraq and Syria in two single daring air force strikes. Iran is a different case altogether. There are no reactors. There is a uranium enrichment infrastructure and facilities spread throughout the huge country, at least one of them, in Fordo, heavily fortified under a massive mountain. It is considered indestructible barring a prolonged, pounding with bunker busting munitions that only the United States owns. Israel has been trying for years to come up with creative ideas to overcome these and other physical obstacles. The distance, which is supposed to greatly hamper its air force in reaching Iranian skies appears less of a problem now that Israel has stable relations and cooperation with quite a few Gulf countries and with Azerbaijan. “even if we are unable to destroy Iran’s nuclear infrastructure in one fell swoop,” a former senior Israeli intelligence official told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, “I have no doubt we could cause it great dam-

age and delay the whole thing for a year or two, perhaps for even longer.” Asked whether Israel would risk a “world war” with Iran and hezbollah to achieve a limited delay of a year or two, the source answered, “Perhaps. If and when the sword is on our neck, we will do everything possible, take all the risks and not let them get there. It is an existential question.” The conclusion one can derive from the above-described developments is not necessarily that Israel is readying for a slam-bang operation to destroy the Iranian nuclear infrastructure, but rather that it is considering a “war of attrition.” In other words, every time the Iranians restore what has been destroyed and move ahead, Israel might strike again. Are these hollow or serious threats? As already mentioned, only time will tell. One thing is certain, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Israeli air force (IAF) are preparing speedily. IAF Commander Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin, who leaves office next summer, granted an extensive interview on Nov. 2 to Channel 13 News, which included several minutes of flight footage showing jet fighters in every conceivable position and implicit talk of the option shaping up to bomb in Iran. IDF Chief Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi instructed Norkin several months ago to dust off longdormant plans and prepare the military option. “Iran has been prioritized and the chief of staff has directed us to improve our readiness as far as the third circle is concerned and our in-depth plans,” Norkin admitted. The “third circle” and the “depth” are Israeli euphemisms for Iran. The IDF has even appointed a general in charge of the

“depth command.” Norkin told his interviewer, Alon Ben David, that the IAF would exercise in the coming years for “different situations related to long flights, indepth flight, a flight with only a partial picture of the threats involved, with the squadron leader very far in terms of communications. With all these elements, we will improve our readiness.” Asked whether the IAF is capable of removing the Iranian threat, Norkin would not react to it directly. Instead, he said that if it comes to it, the IDF will explain what it is capable of doing and carrying out. The military and political leaderships would then have to decide whether the expected achievements are sufficient. “Regardless of the different scenarios, and I hope it does not come to any fighting at any arena, we must always be ready with a military option. And this is why the issue has been placed high on the agenda.” Norkin then added, “The IAF is the insurance policy of the State of Israel. I cannot say that we don’t do any mistakes, but I can say that we constantly keep learning [from our mistakes], and that we keep becoming better, preparing ourselves to the scenarios Israel might be facing. When the time comes, we will do whatever is needed.” The only question left is the cost. If hezbollah enters into an all-out war with Israel the minute the IAF strikes in Iran, Israel would be vulnerable to the greatest destruction and damage it has ever known (and at the same time restore Lebanon to the Stone Age, as it has threatened). Interestingly, some in Israel now believe that hezbollah would not necessarily or automatically choose to take on Israel. “Under certain circumstances,” a senior security source told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, “[hezbollah Secretary-General hassan] Nasrallah could decide to stay out of it or to join only in limited and symbolic fashion.”

Why COP26 failed to address the climate crisis WESTERN OBSERVERS WANT TO BLAME INDIA FOR THE FAILURE OF THE UN CLIMATE TALKS. NOT SO FAST

In These TImes

BASAV SEN

he UN climate talks (Conference of the Parties, or COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, concluded in mid-November with deeply disappointing results. In spite of what the global scientific community has termed a dire climate emergency, countries made weak commitments that condemn the world’s most vulnerable people to what Ugandan youth climate activist Vanessa Nakate has called ”a death sentence for communities like mine.” There were a handful of bright spots. One of them was the launch of the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance,” an international coalition of governments and stakeholders working together to facilitate the managed phase-out of oil and gas production,” by Costa Rica, Denmark, and several other national and subnational governments (including California). The United States, the world’s largest oil and gas producer, was conspicuously absent. With continuing hypocrisy and obstructionism by governments of major countries at global climate talks, humanity’s best hope lies in the social movements of the most marginalized. But the disappointments far outweighed the successes. Wealthy countries failed to deliver on their promise of $100 billion in annual climate finance for poor countries, and refused to launch a loss and damage funding facility for poor countries to help them rebuild and recover after climate disasters. One disappointing outcome, however, stands out for lifting hopes for a fleeting moment before cruelly deflating them again. For the first time in the nearly-three-decade history of UN climate talks, the Glasgow Climate Pact mentioned fossil fuels. The language merely mentioned ”accelerating efforts towards the phase-out” of coal and fossil fuel subsidies, leaving the door open to unsubsidized oil and gas. But it was at least a beginning. Then, a last-minute push led by India—reportedly with support from China, Saudi Arabia, Australia and other countries—led to further dilution of the language. The change added the qualifier ”unabated” to coal

power, a nod to controversial technologies to ”abate” carbon emissions from coal. And now it refers only to ”inefficient” fossil fuel subsidies instead of all fossil fuel subsidies, implying that any ”efficient” fossil fuel subsidies, whatever those may be, can go on. This was a disastrous outcome, where even a baby step toward a global fossil fuel phase-out was obstructed. The Indian government’s stance is hypocritical given its posturing as a climate leader. But are Western, and particularly U.S., observers right to blame India and other less wealthy countries for the failure to address fossil fuels for the first time in the UN climate talks? Not so fast. INEQUALITY AND CLIMATE: If we want a livable future, there’s no future for any fossil fuels, not merely coal. Oil and gas are also major contributors to climate change. Greenhouse gas emissions from natural gas could equal emissions from coal if there are significant leaks of methane (a shorter-lived but more powerful climate pollutant than carbon dioxide) from the production and transportation of natural gas. And methane leaks from fracking are underreported—they could be a more serious problem than official data show. Seen in that light, it’s unfortunate but understandable that major coal-producing countries (especially ones that don’t have significant oil reserves, such as India and China), would feel singled out by a COP26 declaration that called for phasing out coal while remaining silent about oil and gas. The Indian government’s actions must also be viewed against the backdrop of global inequalities in income, energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. These inequalities point to vast differences in who is more responsible for climate change in the first place—and who can afford an energy transition most easily now. India’s per capita gross domestic product (GDP) is less than one-thirtieth of the United States, its per capita energy consumption is about one-eleventh of the United States, and its most recent per capita greenhouse gas emissions are less than one-eighth. The inequality is also clear from cumulative greenhouse gas emissions since the start of the industrial era— a relevant measure because of the very long lifespan of atmospheric carbon dioxide. India’s cumulative emissions are about a sixth of those of the United States, which is alone responsible for a fifth of cumulative global emissions. Before pointing fingers at India, observers in the

United States should consider a fundamental question of fairness. It’s an ethical imperative for the countries most responsible for the climate crisis—and who have built fabulous wealth from more than a century of fossil-fueled industrialization—to pay their fair share for a just transition away from fossil fuels in poorer countries. hundreds of civil society organizations worldwide have articulated this demand. And they should pause to think about their own government’s responsibility for wrecking the UN climate talks. BACK HOME IN THE USA: Who benefits from a global climate agreement that calls for phasing out coal but gives oil and gas a free pass? Literally no one other than the oil and gas industry—and major oil and gas producing countries such as the United States. While the United States also produces coal, our coal production is in terminal decline because of competition from cheap natural gas. Meanwhile, our oil and gas production are growing rapidly. Since coming into office in January 2021, the Biden administration has for the most part continued the prior U.S. policy of boosting the domestic oil and gas industry, with only a few exceptions, such as the cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline. The president has extensive executive powers to stop issuing permits for new fossil fuel projects—and to revoke questionable permits for projects currently under construction. Far from using these powers, the Biden administration has allowed controversial projects such as the Line 3 tar sands pipeline to proceed. Following the announcement of a moratorium on oil and gas leases on public lands and waters, the administration reversed course after an adverse U.S. District Court ruling, opening up the Gulf of Mexico to the largest U.S. offshore oil and gas leasing auction ever just days after COP26 concluded. Legal experts argue that the administration did not have to proceed with this lease sale regardless of the court order and that the environmental analysis the administration used to justify the sale is outdated and illegal. These are just two examples of the Biden administration’s pattern of enabling the oil and gas industry through government action and inaction. Clearly, pushing to exclude oil and gas from the Glasgow agreement language—and thereby setting up a dispute with countries such as India—would be consistent with U.S. domestic energy policy.

WHAT ABOUT INDIA? There are no good guys in this story. Unfortunately, the government of India is using legitimate questions of international fairness as political cover for delaying India’s energy transition. The Narendra Modi government has close political ties with large corporations, including the Adani conglomerate, which has interests in coal and other fossil fuels. And as in many other countries, India’s coal industry has serious environmental justice impacts. The Indian government is planning a massive expansion of coal mining, a backwards step during a climate emergency. eighty percent of the proposed new mines are on Adivasi (Indigenous) lands. Adivasi movements against coal mining have denounced Prime Minister Modi for greenwashing India’s image at COP26, even as his government expropriated Adivasi lands for politically connected corporations. Burning this coal has serious air quality impacts and consequent public health effects. Ironically, the week after COP26, the government temporarily closed five coal power plants in the proximity of Delhi, the national capital, because of an air quality emergency. The government of India would have more international credibility if its position on a coal phase-out at COP26 was backed by serious action for a just transition at home that was inhibited solely by resource constraints, instead of crony capitalist support for a polluting domestic coal industry. THE POWER OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS: With continuing hypocrisy and obstructionism by governments of major countries at global climate talks, humanity’s best hope lies in the social movements of the most marginalized. In the United States and neighboring Canada (another major oil and gas producer), the greenhouse gas emissions stopped by Indigenous peoples’ successful resistance to the industry, and the greenhouse gas emissions that would be stopped if ongoing struggles against oil and gas infrastructure are successful, add up to a quarter of the two countries’ combined annual emissions Meanwhile, the Indian farmers’ movement, one of the largest social movements in world history, has compelled the government to repeal farm procurement laws that placed famers at the mercy of corporations. While the farmers’ victory may not have immediate relevance to struggles against coal, it has connections with climate justice, and is an example of the power of grassroots social movements. It’s movements like these that will save humanity from the climate crisis. Basav Sen is the climate justice project director at the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) and writes on the intersections of climate change and social and economic justice.

Sunday, 5 December, 2021 | ISLAMABAD

NEWS

corporate corner HANDS Pakistan Observes International Day for the Persons with Disabilities

NCHR DeMANDS SPeeDY, IMPARTIAl eNqUIRY Of SIAlKOT INCIDeNT ISLAMABAD pr

N KARACHI: HANDS Pakistan – Independent Living Centers ILC Celebrated International Day for the Persons with Disabilities on December 02, 2021, at the Port Grand Karachi. The event was organized under the annual observance of the International Day of Person with Disabilities (IDPD) proclaimed in 1992 by the United Nations General Assembly resolution 47/3. The event was graced by the Chief Executive HANDS Pakistan, Dr. Tanveer Ahmad Shaikh, Minister for IT - Mr. Amin Ul Haq, Minister for Local Government Sindh, Mr. Sadiq Memon MPA, and Ms. Kishwar Zehra. HANDS DWA ILC team presented a video in honor of Dr. Tanveer Ahmed Shaikh, CE HANDS Pakistan, appreciating his effort for humanity. CE thanked the designator at the event and the HANDS ILC team and appreciated organizing the event. HANDS ILC is working in Hyderabad, Karachi, Islamabad, and Multan. The HANDS ILC is a vast network and has been working in uplifting the disabled communities in Pakistan. HANDS ILC has been independent since the day it started and has been working as the voice for the rights of persons with disabilities. Dr. Tanveer appreciated the efforts of Mr. Javed Rais and the team's efforts for organizing such a successful event entirely on his own. Ms. Kishwer Zehra, MNA - MQM Pakistan, also graced the event and shared her thoughts about how HANDS Pakistan is playing a vital role in the life of many PWDs. Mr. Sadiq Memon, Minister for Persons with Disabilities, Sindh Government, thanked HANDS and appreciated the efforts in setting up the massive event on the occasion of International Day for Persons with Disabilities. Mr. Amin ul Haq, Federal Minister for IT, GOP, applauds the team members of the HANDS ILC, who are working day and night for the rights of persons with disabilities. Also announced a grant for persons with disabilities at the HANDS ILC. HANDS Pakistan - ILC is also achieving its rights by working on the employment quota of persons with disabilities, Sindh Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities act 2018. HANDS-Pakistan played an active and worthy role in the disability movement in Pakistan. pr

Standard Chartered expands its SCKU Youth league to Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: After the success of the SC KU Youth league in Karachi, Standard Chartered announced the launch of “Standard Chartered Karachi United Youth League” in Islamabad. The league is scheduled over three months, from December 2021 to March 2022. This is the first time Standard Chartered is taking this league to a different city. The objective of taking the “Standard Chartered - Karachi United Youth League” to the twincities, is to provide a new platform and opportunities for young football enthusiasts in and around Pakistan’s Capital city, to perform well, prove their competence and win recognition and rewards, sponsored by a globally leading bank. More than 350 talented boys and girls, living in diverse communities of the region will come together to play more than 70 matches while nurturing their competitive spirits. Over the past four years, the Standard Chartered Karachi United Youth League has successfully engaged over 2800 participants – boys and girls, from Karachi. It has helped develop talent and there are multiple case studies and examples which highlight the teamwork, leadership and volunteerism nurtured among the diverse communities. The Islamabad league will feature two competitions for Boys; in the Under-14 and Under-16 categories. The format has a group system to qualify for the semi-finals. The Girls’ tournament will be played on a single league basis, with seven girls in each team. These girls are selected from Standard Chartered Bank’s flagship education programme, Goal, which focuses on enhancing girl empowerment, as well as other football clubs and academies. Official Referees and Match-Commissioners have been appointed to elevate the League’s standard. A total of 73 matches will be played in different locations of Islamabad/Rawalpindi. pr

ATIOnAL Commission on Human Rights (nCHR) has expressed its deep concerns and strong condemnation of the sad incident of beating to death and burning of the Sri Lankan factory Manager Mr. nanadasi Priyanth Kumara in Sialkot on December 3, 2021. “We, at the Commission, are deeply perturbed by the brutal mob violence and blatant violation of human rights, especially against a guest in our country. It is unfortunate that the Commission is issuing its very first introduction statement over such a horrific incident that has shaken the whole nation. We believe that no civilized country can allow such an act, and the state should take the strictest possible measures to ensure speedy justice”.

“At this time of grief, we would like to ensure that the Commission stands with the aggrieved family of Mr. nanadasi Priyanth Kumara and demands an impartial, in-depth and speedy probe of the incident, the late response of the police and lack of security”. nCHR is following the progress being made in investigating the case with all concerned departments. In a letter written to Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar, the nCHR has demanded a high power investigation committee and exemplary punishment to the perpetrators to prevent any such incident from occurring in the future. The Commission also calls for strategic measures to address increasing extremism and systemic rise of mob violence and urges religious leaders and scholars, social activists, community leaders and political parties to play their role in tackling any kind of extremism in the society.

Islamabad Police committed to resolve public issues on priority: IGP ISLAMABAD pr

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Islamabad Qazi Jamil ur Rehman has directed police officials to hold Òpen Courts’ across the city to ensure the early redressal of public complaints and adopt effective poling to resolve public issues, curb crime and bridge the gap between police and public. The task to hold òpen courts’ have been given to all Zonal SPs and it has been directed to provide maximum relief to the people. Following directions of IGP Islamabad, SP (Rural) and SP (Saddar) would hold òpen court’ at Lehtrar road on December 5 at 12 pm and Karachi Company market on December 5 at 10:30 am, respectively. As per vision of Prime Minister of Pakistan, IGP Islamabad directed police officials to provide justice to people at their door step and enhance coordination with public. SP (City) Rana Abdul Wahab held òpen court’ at Sitarar Market on Saturday which was attended by SDPOs, SHOs of the areas, members of civil society organizations and conciliatory committees, traders and nota-

bles of the area. The SP (City) said that people should identify the elements in the police or in their surroundings supporting the anti-social activities so that action could be initiated against them. He urged people to cooperate with police in curbing crime and identifying criminal elements. People ensured their cooperation with Police and the Public didn't make any complaint of inappropriate police behavior. The SP (City) said that police have the responsibility to take care of the people and police officials should be informed in case any personnel demand bribe for or delay registration of cases. He said that policy of free registration of crime has been adopted by Islamabad police

while effective action is underway against land mafia, drug pushers and other antisocial elements. The SP (City) said that police succeeded to ensure effective policing in the area through public cooperation. He said that disciplinary action would be taken against those policemen involved in sluggish policing. He also directed the police officials to ensure interaction with respected people in their respective areas and resolve public grievances through prompt action. On the occasion, he listened to the problems of the people and issued directions to immediately resolve them. The people of the area lauded this step of Islamabad Police and hoped that their problems would be resolved on priority basis.

Manufacturers of Bituminous products granted due exemption after FTO intervention M/s. Roofline (Pvt.) Limited being manufacturers of Bituminous for the past seven years had been facing difficulty in issuance of exemption certificate U/s 148 of Income Tax Ordinance 2001, despite discharging their projected tax liability in full. Therefore M/s Roofline (Pvt) Limited approached of Dr. Asif Mahmood Jah, FTO for redressal of their grievance. The afore-mentioned product was previously imported, but the unit was established to produce the product locally and save much needed foreign exchange in the country. Since the value added product has been widely accepted by the consumers and has successfully replaced the imported raw materials. The high quality membrance is commonly used for

water proofing. Despite the utility of the product and investment by the manufacturers, the business was stuck-up due to nonpayment exemption certificate and refund by the FBR due to procedural requirements. With the intervention of the Office of FTO and instructions thereon to the department the requisite exemption certificate was issued in the case of M/s Roofline Pvt Ltd. The complainant has expressed gratitude for the quick proceedings by the Office of FTO as this would help a lot in stuck-up cash flows of the unit. The Office of FTO has initiated the process of prompt redressal under the FTO Ordinance for ease of doing business in the country and to facilitate the aggrieved taxpayers. pr

Police to take stern action against motorists using LEDs, high beam lights ISLAMABAD: As per direction of IGP Islamabad Qazi Jamil ul Rehman Islamabad Traffic Police (ITP) has decided to take strict action against those involved in using high beam lights and Light-Emitting Diodes (LED) during drive. Senior Superintendent of Police (Traffic) Muhammad Omar Khan said that as per direction of IGP Islamabad Qazi Jamil ul Rehman decision has been made to ensure safe road environment in the city and avoid accidents. A total of 4,552 vehicles had to face action during the ongoing year having HID/LED lights while such lights were also impounded. Special squads have been constituted to check use of LED/HID by motorists while police pickets would be erected at important boulevards of the city including Expressway. pr

Chairperson nCHR Rabiya Javeri Agha said that; “At the onset my heart goes out to the family of Mr. nanadasi Priyanth Kumara. In one’s worst nightmare, one cannot possibly imagine what it must feel like to see the person you love tortured, violated and killed in the most inhuman way possible.” She said the Sialkot incident should be a wakeup call to reassess the direction that the youth of Pakistan are heading towards. “It is not about religion but the growth of violent extremism, defiance of law and ignorance. We have suffocated the soft power of art, music and culture. Social and cultural norms that celebrate power and resolutions of conflicts through violence will find release through child abuse, gender violence and mob madness such as this.” nCHR is a statuary body set up to monitor, create awareness and protect the universal value of human rights, promote humanitarian culture and curb violations of human rights without discrimination.

Installation of 250MVA Transformer at 500 kV Grid Station Rawat NTDC HEADQUARTERS, WAPDA HOUSE, LAHORE: The spokesman of National Transmission and Despatch Company Ltd (NTDC) has said that to reduce the system constraints, installation work of 250MVA Transformer and replacement of 132 KV single Bus Bar with double Bus bar at 500kV Grid Station NTDC Rawat will be carried out on Sunday 05 Dec 2021. Resultantly, load management will be observed from 0700 hours to 1600 hours on 05 Dec 2021 if required on IESCO`s 132 kV Grid stations and 11 kV feeders. 11 kV Feeders include Reliance Mill, Jarrar Camp, Industrial, Emmar, Lab-I, Lab-II, Bhal, Islamabad Feed Mill, Jatha Hathial from 500kV Grid Station NTDC Rawat will be affected. The spokesman further said that Load management in Rawalpindi, Gujar Khan and Chakwal and its suburbs, if required, will also be observed on 11kV Feeders emanating from 132kV Old Rawat, Dina, Gujjar Khan, Jatli, Padshan, Chakwal, Chakri, Bhagwal, Adyala, Danda Shah Bilawal, Shoa Syedan Shah, MES, Kallar Syeddan, Kahuta, Bahria Town, Al-Ghurrair, F-16, I-16, KTM, Ranyal, Bakra Mandi Sawan, Chaklala, Cantt. Augmentation of Transformer & replacement of Bus Bar will enhance the capacity of 500 kV Grid Station Rawat and will result in uninterrupted supply to consumer. pr

Webinar stresses to engage private sector to ensure skilled workforce ISLAMABAD: Acknowledging the significant role of private sector in the country’s sustainable economic development, experts at a webinar have emphasized on the importance of private sector’s inclusion in the TVET sector to ensure productive as well as skilled workforce. The webinar was organized by the TVET Sector Support Programme (SSP) titled “Private Sector Engagement: A Way-forward to Decent Economic Opportunities for Skilled Graduates and a Sustainable TVET Eco-System” in Islamabad. The TVET SSP has been commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and is being implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in close collaboration with the National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC), provincial Technical Education and Vocational Training Authorities (TEVTAs) and other private sector organizations. Purpose of the webinar was to aware masses on the private sector’s participation in technical and vocational education & training (TVET) as an essential for the success of technical and vocational education and training as well as labour market growth. Omair Abubaker, Private Sector Engagement Expert and National Coordinator, GIZ-Pakistan, moderated the webinar. He discussed about the importance of PublicPrivate Partnership in TVET sector and technical and vocational trainings for creating opportunities for youth of Pakistan with the panelists. The speakers highlighted how collaboration of public & private sectors in TVET from designing of curriculum to TVET delivery and workplacebased trainings is indispensable to create economic opportunities for trainees, TVET graduates and to create sustainable socio-economic environment. Giving expert opinion in the webinar, Chief People Officer, KIA Lucky Motors Corporation, Ashaar Saeed, said that the SSP’s engagement of private sector is the need of the time for ensuring the country’s sustainable development and achieving sustainable eco-system. He also said the TVET SSP is committed to empower youth of the country, however, it can’t be achieved until industry is involved in the programme and share its role for development. While speaking about the empowerment that could be attained through skills enhancement, Arshia Ahmed Saqib remarked that seeing rapid entrance of youth in labour market and not getting jobs was very stressful, however, TVET emerged as a turnaround for youth. “When private industry engages with the TVET SSP, this enhances and creates the best career opportunities for the youth,” she asserted. pr

10 Foreign News 5th December 21_Layout 1 12/4/2021 10:52 PM Page 1

Sunday, 5 December, 2021 | ISLAMABAD

10 FOREIGN NEWS

US vowS to pRevent any RUSSian invaSion of UKRaine WASHINGTON

ing Kiev in the east of the country. The conflict has left more than 13,000 dead. “The most likely time to reach readiness for escalation will be the end of January,” Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov told parliament in Kiev on Friday. The minister said a “winter training period” had started in Russia and that Moscow had already launched exercises near Ukrainian territory. He estimated that Russia had around 100,000 troops near Ukraine’s border. ‘This is our land’ On the frontline in eastern Ukraine, government troops said they were ready to repel any Russian assault. “Our task is simple: not to let the enemy enter our country,” a soldier named Andriy, 29, told AFP, smoking in a trench near the frontline town of Svitlodarsk. “All our guys are ready to hold them back. This is our land, we will protect it until the end,” another soldier, Yevgen, 24, added. Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri

AFP

S President Joe Biden said Friday he would make it “very, very difficult” for Russia to launch any invasion of Ukraine, which warned that a large-scale attack could be planned for next month. Washington and Kiev say Moscow has massed troops near Ukraine’s borders and accuse Russia of planning an invasion. The Kremlin denies the allegations, and on Friday said that a video call would take place next week between President Vladimir Putin and Biden. Biden told reporters he was putting together “the most comprehensive and meaningful set of initiatives to make it very, very difficult for Mr. Putin to go ahead and do what people are worried he may do.” Moscow seized Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and has since backed separatists fight-

Ushakov told reporters a date had been agreed for the Putin-Biden video summit but would not be announced until final details of the talks have also been set. The United States has said the call is planned, but has not confirmed any date. Asked if he had spoken to Putin on Friday morning, Biden shouted “no” as he left the press conference on employment data in Washington. Despite increased contacts between the two rivals since Putin and Biden met for the first time at a summit in Geneva in June, tensions remain high. As well as the Ukraine conflict, Russia and the United States continue to argue over cyberattacks and the staffing of their embassies, after several waves of diplomatic expulsions. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told AFP on Friday that it rejects any efforts to get it to scrap its plans to join NATO. Moscow wants to see an end to NATO’s eastward expansion, after much of

Eastern Europe joined the alliance following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Agreeing to abandon its plans to join the alliance “is not an option,” Kuleba said on the sidelines of an OSCE meeting in Stockholm. “I reject this idea that we have to guar-

Macron to talk regional ‘stability’ with Saudi crown prince RIYADH AFP

French President Emmanuel Macron is to meet Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler in Jeddah Saturday to address regional stability, in particular Lebanon’s political and economic crises, insisting he has not ignored Riyadh’s rights record. Macron arrived Saturday in the kingdom’s Red Sea city after visits to the United Arab Emirates and Qatar as part of a short Gulf regional tour. He will become one of the first Western leaders to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the kingdom since Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed and dismembered inside Riyadh’s consulate in Istanbul in 2018. The killing by Saudi agents severely tarnished Prince Mohammed’s international image. Dialogue with Saudi Arabia, “the leading Gulf country in terms of size”, is necessary to “work for stability in the region”, Macron said on Friday. However, he added in a reference to the Khashoggi murder that “it doesn’t mean that I endorse anything”. “I note that Saudi Arabia had organised the G20 summit… not many powers boycotted the G20,” despite the Khashoggi affair, said Macron. “We have always been clear on the issue of human rights or this case”. Riyadh has described the murder as a “rogue” operation, but both the US Central

Intelligence Agency (CIA) and a United Nations special rapporteur have directly linked Prince Mohammed to the killing, a charge the kingdom vehemently denies. During his discussions with Prince Mohammed, Macron is expected to plead the case of Lebanon, where an economic crisis has been exasperated by a diplomatic row sparked in October between Beirut and some Gulf states — in particular Saudi Arabia which had blocked imports. His efforts are likely to receive a

5th phase of Khalistan Referendum to be held in UK on Sunday LONDON: The 5th phase of the referendum for Khalistan, an independent Sikh homeland in India, will be held in the United Kingdom today (Sunday). According to Kashmir Media Service, thousands of members of Sikh community residing in the UK have participated in earlier four phases of the Referendum, which kick started with voting in London on 31 October, this year. The massive participation of Sikhs in the referendum for their homeland has unnerved the Narendra Modi-led fascist Indian government, which tried hard to stop the exercise in the UK but failed. However, the British government allowed the Sikh referendum despite New Delhi’s concerns. The ongoing referendum has sent a strong message to the Indian government that it has no option but to give the Sikhs their right to selfdetermination. Sikh referendum will also be held in future in Belgium, the US, Canada, Australia, and the Indian region of Punjab. INP

boost by the resignation of Lebanese minister Georges Kordahi whose remarks on the Saudi intervention in Yemen’s war sparked the row. ‘ROLe TO pLAy’ Macron on Friday welcomed Kordahi’s departure, saying he hopes to “re-engage all Gulf countries in relations with Lebanon”. The French president has spearheaded international efforts to help Lebanon out of its worst-ever economic downturn. The country’s fragile government has

been struggling to secure international aid, particularly from wealthy Arab powers. Kordahi said Friday his resignation, which he had initially ruled out, became inevitable earlier this week when he met Prime Minister Najib Mikati. “I understood from Prime Minister Najib Mikati… that the French want my resignation before Macron’s visit to Riyadh because it could maybe help them start a dialogue with Saudi officials over Lebanon and the future of bilateral ties,” Kordahi told reporters. Lebanon’s ties with Gulf states have also grown increasingly strained in recent years due to the growing influence of the Iran-backed Lebanese movement Hezbollah. Macron said that France has a role to play in the region. “But how can we work for regional stability and on Lebanon and many other issues while ignoring the first Gulf state in terms of geography and size?” he said. On Friday, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed a record 14-billion-euro ($15.8 billion) contract for 80 French Rafale warplanes and committed billions of euros in other deals during Macron’s stopover. Human Rights Watch criticised the sale, saying the Emirates have played “a prominent role in the Saudi and UAEled coalition’s atrocity-ridden military operations in Yemen.” It said Riyadh was in 2020 the largest buyer of French weapons.

Xi Jinping stresses developing religions in Chinese context BEIJING AgeNcIes

Chinese President Xi Jinping has stressed upholding the principle of developing religions in the Chinese context and providing active guidance for the adaptation of religions to a socialist society. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks at a two-day national conference on religious affairs, which concluded on Saturday here in Beijing. He said China should fully, accurately and comprehensively implement the Party’s policy on freedom of religious belief, to respect its citizens’ religious beliefs, manage religious affairs in accordance with laws, uphold the principle of independence and self-management, and provide active guidance to religions so that they can adapt themselves to the socialist society. Xi stressed that the country’s religions should be developed in the Chinese context and called for efforts to guide and support the faiths to be led by the core socialist values. Efforts should also be made to improve the religious circle’s and their followers’ approval of the motherland, the Chinese nation, the Chinese culture, the CPC, and socialism with

CMYK

Chinese characteristics, said Xi. He said the religious circle should also be guided to improve their self-education, selfmanagement and self-discipline. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang presided over the meeting, which was also attended by other top leaders, including Li Zhanshu, Wang Yang, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji and Han Zheng. The major religions practiced in China are Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism and Protestantism, which had nearly 200 million believers and more than 380,000 clerical personnel, according to a white paper issued in April 2018.

antee anything to Russia. I insist that it’s Russia who has to guarantee that it will not continue its aggression against any country,” he said. NATO officially opened the door to Ukraine membership in 2008, though no progress has been made since.

US school shooter’s parents charged with manslaughter, wanted by police WASHINGTON: The parents of a 15-year-old who shot dead four students at a United States high school with a gun bought by his father were preparing Friday to turn themselves in to authorities after being charged with involuntary manslaughter, their lawyers said. The whereabouts of James and Jennifer Crumbley, the parents of shooting suspect Ethan Crumbley, remained unknown Friday, prompting authorities in Oakland County, Michigan to consider them fugitives. But the Crumbley’s lawyers Shannon Smith and Mariell Lehman told AFP that after leaving town on the night of the shooting “for their own safety,” the parents “are returning to the area to be arraigned.” Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald, in a rare move by law enforcement, had announced that each of the parents face four counts of involuntary manslaughter. “These charges are intended to hold the individuals who contributed to this tragedy accountable and also send the message that gun owners have a responsibility,” McDonald said at a press conference. “While the shooter was the one who entered the high school and pulled the trigger, there are other individuals who contributed to the events on November 30 and it’s my intention to hold them accountable as well,” she said. A law enforcement official told CNN that the parents withdrew $4,000 from a money machine near Oxford on Friday, heightening the mystery over their disappearance. But County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said he expected them in custody soon. “They cannot run from their part in this tragedy.” Four students, aged 14 to 17, were killed in the shooting at Oxford High School north of Detroit and six more were wounded, along with a teacher. Ethan Crumbley has been charged as an adult with state murder and terror charges. While school shootings carried out by teens occur frequently in the United States, it is unusual for parents to face charges. Four days before the shooting, James Crumbley bought the 9mm Sig Sauer semiautomatic handgun used by his son. Ethan was with his father at the time of the purchase at a local firearms store and the teen posted a picture of the gun on his Instagram account, writing “just got my new beauty today” along with a heart emoji. According to police, Ethan Crumbley recorded a video on his cell phone the night before the attack saying he was planning a shooting at the school the next day, but it was not posted online. That same day, a teacher at the school had observed Ethan Crumbley searching for ammunition on his cell phone during class and reported it to school officials. His mother was contacted by the school but did not respond to voicemail or email messages. McDonald said Jennifer Crumbley did exchange a text message about the incident with her son that day, writing: “lol I’m not mad at you. You have to learn not to get caught.” ‘Don’t do it’ The parents were summoned to the school on the day of the shooting itself after a teacher was “alarmed” by a note she found on Ethan Crumbley’s desk, McDonald said. AFP

11 Sports 5 DECEMBER 21_Layout 1 12/4/2021 10:44 PM Page 1

Sunday, 5 December, 2021 | ISLAMABAD

SPORTS 11

DHAKA: PAKIStAN 161/2 AS bAD LIgHt forCeS eArLy StuMPS oN DAy oNe DHAKA

agencieS

ATTING first, Pakistan looked comfortably placed at 161 for two wickets on day one of the second Test match against Bangladesh. Registering a comprehensive win in the first Test match, Pakistan looked to continue the winning streak as they took on Bangladesh in the second and final Test match of the series at Shere Bangla National Stadium. Babar Azam won the toss and elected to bat first as Abdullah Shafique and Abid Ali once again opened the innings for Pakistan. Left-arm spinner Taijul Islam claimed two wickets for 28 runs to reduce Pakistan to 78-2 at lunch on the opening day of the second Test on Saturday.

After winning the toss, Pakistan made a good start and appeared to be heading towards a big total when Abid Ali and Abdullah Shafique brought up a 50-run partnership in the first hour. But Taijul broke the 59-run partnership, denying the pair’s third century-opening stand as his straight delivery rattled the stump of Shafique on 25. After his 133 and 91 in the first Test, Abid also appeared set for another big score but fell for 39 before Taijul again struck with a straight delivery that didn’t turn as much as he expected. Following lunch break, both premier batsmen dug deep and put on and put on a 91-run partnership stand till the tea session was called. Babar Azam raced to his 19th half-century while Azhar Ali supported him from the other end. At tea, Captain Babar Azam was batting on 60 with Azahar Ali on 36 after surviving several

tricky moments early in the day. Bangladesh earlier made three changes, including a debut cap to Mahmudul

Hasan. Pakistan, which won the first Test by eight wickets, named an unchanged side.

Djokovic still coy about playing in Australian Open MADRID reuterS

Novak Djokovic is still uncertain whether he will take part in the 2022 Australian Open but will soon make a decision, the world number one said after Serbia’s 2-1 defeat by Croatia in the Davis Cup semifinals on Friday. Djokovic, 34, has repeatedly declined to reveal whether he has been vaccinated against Covid-19, with his father Srdjan telling Serbia’s Prva television last week that the world’s top-ranked player would probably pull out of the tournament. “I know what you want to ask but I am not going to give you an answer tonight,” Djokovic told a virtual news conference after a question about when he might be expected on the court again. “Obviously, Australia is just around the corner so you’ll know very soon. “I will use the next days to recover and forget about tennis. I am really tired from this season and this whole year. I need some family time now and we’ll see what

the future holds,” he added. Organisers of the season’s first Grand Slam at Melbourne Park have said all players have to be vaccinated to take part, which Srdjan Djokovic called “blackmail”. The state of Victoria sports minister Martin

Pakula dismissed the criticism. Should Djokovic miss the Jan. 17-30 event he has won a record nine times, he will pass up an opportunity to top the men’s all-time list of major winners as he is tied on 20 Grand Slams each with peers

Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer. Djokovic looked grim-faced after his valiant effort to propel 2010 champions Serbia into the Davis Cup final fell short against traditional rivals and twice former winners Croatia, who won the decisive doubles to claim a 2-1 overall victory. Djokovic hauled Serbia into the tie with a straight-sets win over Marin Cilic after Croatia’s Borna Gojo overpowered Dusan Lajovic, but Djokovic and Filip Krajinovic could not stop world number ones Mate Pavic and Nikola Mektic in the crunch rubber. “We always knew this was going to be the toughest match of the tie,” said Djokovic. “In order to win the Davis Cup (again), we need to have more doubles players, we need a doubles team. “These guys are the best in the world. They always know exactly where the ball is going to land and if you don’t hit a perfect shot, you’re in trouble.” Croatia will clash in Sunday’s showpiece with Germany or the Russian Tennis Federation, who meet in the other semifinal on Saturday.

Knockout matches in full swing at DHA Lahore Elite National Boxing Championship LAHORE preSS releaSe

DHA Lahore 38th Men & 2nd Women Elite National Boxing Championship witnessed another breathtaking and absorbing day at Captain Fasih Babar Amin (Shaheed) Sports Complex, Phase 6, DHA Lahore where 19 semifinals in men categories and 7 semifinals bouts in women categories were held. Administrator DHA Lahore, Brigadier Waheed Gul Satti was also present amongst the charged crowd cheering the participants. He also presented a souvenir to President of Pakistan Boxing Federation Mr. Muhammad Khalid Mahmood on behalf of DHA Lahore. Earlier in the day, Begum Administrator DHA Lahore Mrs. Sadia Waheed met with all the budding female pugilists at Defence Revelations club in K block, Phase 6, DHA Lahore. There, as an incentive she distributed prizes amongst the female contenders to boost their morale and to further promote women boxing in Pakistan. Final matches and the closing ceremony will be held on 5th Dec 2021, Sunday at the same venue. The winners will be conferred with the newly designed championship belt and other prizes.

Administrator DHA Lahore Brig. Waheed Gul Satti presenting a souvenir to president Pakistan Boxing Federation Mr. Muhammad Khalid Waleed at DHA 38th men & 2nd women national boxing championship 2021.

Begum Administrator DHA Lahore Mrs. Sadia Waheed with contenders of 2nd women elite national boxing championship at DHA Lahore.

Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal demoted for PSL-7 ISLAMABAD: According to an updated list of local players’ categories for season seven of the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL-7), wicketkeeper-batter Kamran Akmal, who represents Peshawar Zalmi, has been demoted to the Gold category from Platinum. The PCB announced HBL PSL 7’s schedule on Friday, draft details and renewed local players’ categories. The 39-year-old has urged the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) management to reconsider his placement as he is the secondhighest run-scorer of PSL. Only Karachi Kings’ Babar Azam is ahead of him. But Kamran Akmal is not the only victim of the PCB decision. Few others who have also been demoted to the Diamond category from Platinum include Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez, Sohail Tanvir and Mohammad Amir. Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter and Multan Sultans’ captain Mohammad Rizwan (previously Silver), Asif Ali of Islamabad United (previously Gold) and Lahore Qalandars’ Haris Rauf (previously Diamond) have been placed in the Platinum Category. Multan Sultans’ Sohaib Maqsood, who was Player of HBL PSL 6, and Haider Ali of Peshawar Zalmi have moved up from Silver and Gold Categories to Diamond Category, respectively. Staff report

Ind vs NZ: Calamitous Kiwi collapse takes shine off Ajaz Patel’s ‘Perfect 10’ MUMBAI: New Zealand’s batsmen collapsed to 62 all out in the second Test on Saturday after their Mumbai-born spinner Ajaz Patel claimed a record 10 wickets in India’s 325. Indian offspinner Ravichandran Ashwin claimed four wickets and fast bowler Mohammed Siraj three, leaving New Zealand trailing the hosts by 263 runs on the second day at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium. India did not enforce the follow-on. Earlier Ajaz emulated England’s Jim Laker (1956 v Australia) and Indian spin legend Anil Kumble (1999 v Pakistan) to complete his perfect 10 in the second session. He returned figures of 10-119 with his left-arm spin but Mayank Agarwal’s 150 and a 52 by Axar Patel helped India to a challenging total on a turning track. In the New Zealand innings Siraj, who replaced injured Ishant Sharma in the team, struck early to send back Will Young for four. He then got two wickets including stand-inskipper Tom Latham for 10, and Ross Taylor, for one, on either side of overs to be on a hattrick that was avoided by Henry Nicholls. Axar then got Daryl Mitchell out for eight and soon fellow spinner Ashwin joined in to claim Nicholls as the Kiwis slipped further. Kyle Jamieson top-scored with 17 but none of the Kiwi batsmen survived the bowling onslaught as they went down to the lowest-ever Test score against India by any side. The previous lowest Test score in India was the home side’s 75 against West Indies at Delhi in 1987. Patel’s Perfect 10: Patel became only the third bowler to pick up all 10 wickets in an innings in international cricket. “Welcome to the club #AjazPatel #Perfect10. Well bowled! A special effort to achieve it on day one and two of a test match,” spin bowling great Kumble, who took 619 test wickets for India, said on Twitter. reuterS

Sunday, 5 December, 2021

prayer timings

NEWS

FAJR SUNRISE

ZUHR

ASR MAGHRIB ISHA

5:26

11:57

2:41

6:52

5:00

6:28

ShAuKAt tArIn ConfIrmS SBP’S reCeIPt of $3Bn dePoSIt from SAudI ArABIA ISLAMABAD

staff report

DVISER to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin announced on Saturday that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) had received Saudi Arabia’s $3 billion deposit and thanked the kingdom and its crown prince for the ‘kind gesture’. “Good news, $3bn Saudi deposit received by SBP. I want to thank His Excellency Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and [the] kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the kind gesture,” the adviser tweeted. The agreement was reached during Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to the kingdom in October. Apart from the support package, Saudi Arabia had also agreed to provide $1.2bn worth of oil supplies on deferred payments. The deal cleared its last legal hurdle last month when its summaries were approved by the prime minister and the cabinet. On Monday, the SBP signed the agreement with the Saudi Fund for Development to receive the amount, which would be placed in the SBP’s account with an aim to improve its foreign exchange reserves. When the SBP was officially contacted to know the agreed rate of return on the Saudi fund as there were massive speculations in the financial market about the rates being given on $3bn, it had stated: “As per agree-

Courts are autonomous and will make decisions freely: CJP LAHORE: Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed has stated that the country’s courts are and will remain autonomous, and will make decisions freely. Speaking at a ceremony in Lahore on Saturday, the chief justice said that the court judgments should not be a source of resentment and strife. Justice Ahmed remarked that a lawyer is considered the custodian of the law and must know the proper decorum for when they appear in court. He said that it appears lawyers have stopped studying. The chief justice said it is the job of the lawyer to assist the judge and the lawyer must know how to conduct himself with the judge, the petitioner, and other lawyers. Justice Ahmed said that attorneys and judges cannot and should not be rivals. Lawyers have done the real work of protecting the legal environment; they should not be enraged with one another, he said. “Tensions between judges and lawyers are baffling,” he remarked. In addition, Justice Ahmed stated that it is incorrect to refer to any of the judiciary’s rulings as a “trend,” as the judiciary has no leanings. He said that courts make choices based on facts. “We will encourage criticism of court rulings,” he added. Parliament has adopted legislation governing the appointment of judges, whereby a fivemember bench oversees the process, the chief justice noted. The process involves the input of lawyers and also considers the opinion of other stakeholders, he added. news desk

ment all terms are confidential and cannot be revealed without the consent of both the parties.” The issued press release had further stated the fund would help support Pakistan’s foreign currency reserves and contribute towards resolving the adverse effects of

the Covid-19 pandemic. The SBP said the deposit agreement reflected the strong and special relationship between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan and would further augment the economic ties between the two brotherly countries.

Three ex-military officers, civilian sentenced by FGCM on espionage charges: report Three retired military officers and a civilian have been convicted of espionage and handed different jail terms by the Field General Court Martial, according to a media report. The four – three former military officials and a civilian – were tried under the Pakistan Army Act and Official Secret Act 1923 by separate Field General Court Martial (FGCM) on the charges of espionage prejudice to the national security, the report said. The convicts include Lt Col (retd) Faiz Rasool, who was awarded 14-year rigorous imprisonment; Lt Col (retd) Akmal, who was sentenced to 10-year rigorous imprisonment; Major (retd) Saifullah Babar, who was handed 12-year rigorous imprisonment; and Idris Khattak, who was sentenced to 14-year rigorous imprisonment.

The report said Idris Khattak, who claims to be a social activist, was tried by the FGCM in Jhelum, while the retired military officers stood trial in Rawalpindi. The main charge Khattak faced was that he provided ground intelligence for US drone strikes in Pakistan. According to BBC, Owais Khattak, brother of Idris Khattak, said they received a phone call from Jhelum on Friday in which he was informed that his brother has been shifted to the district jail in Jhelum. Asked if a civilian could stand trial in a military court, the sources said a civilian could be tried in the FGCM under “specific circumstances”. Earlier in February, a twojudge bench of the Peshawar High Court – headed by Chief Justice Qaiser Rasheed – had dismissed a plea against Khattak’s trial in a military court. The petition was filed by Khattak’s brother. news desk

Afghanistan welcomes Pakistani gesture of allowing Indian wheat to Kabul Afghanistan Saturday welcomed a decision by Pakistan to allow the use of Afghan trucks for transporting Indian wheat to the crisis-hit country after crossing into Pakistan via Wagah border in Punjab and travelling to Torkham in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which borders the Afghan province of Nangarhar. Pakistan on Friday announced its decision to allow Indian wheat to travel through Pakistan into Afghanistan despite Pakistani ban on trade with India. Pakistan’s Ambassador to Afghanistan Mansoor Ahmad Khan informed Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi of the decision during a meeting with him on Saturday. Later, Afghan foreign ministry spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi tweeted that on enhancing “trade and facilitating [the transport] of Indian-assisted wheat to … Afghanistan”. He said Muttaqi had thanked Pakistan for allowing the use of Afghan-owned vehicles for transporting the wheat. Earlier in October this year, an Indian delegation had met leaders from the Taliban government in Afghanistan on the sidelines of Moscow-format consultations in Russia and asked them to request Islamabad to allow the passage of Indian wheat to Afghanistan through the land route in Pakistan. Muttaqqi had then raised the issue during his visit to Islamabad in November and Prime Minister Imran Khan had assured him that Islamabad would favourably consider the request. According to a statement by the Foreign Office here in Islamabad, the decision was conveyed to the Indian charge d’ affairs on Friday by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Indian government was also urged to proceed quickly towards taking necessary steps for expeditiously undertaking the delivery of the humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, according to the statement. “This demonstrates the commitment and seriousness of the Government of Pakistan to facilitate the proposed humanitarian assistance,” the statement further said. news desk

Shahbaz vows march against inflation, Hammad regrets ‘politicisation’ of issue ISLAMABAD news desk

While leader of the Opposition Shahbaz Sharif Saturday vowed carrying out a long march against inflation, Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar addressed criticism of the Opposition, saying that it is “not right to politicise inflation”. The video statement by Azhar was released after PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif announced that the final decision regarding the long march against the government will be taken during the meeting of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) on December 6. Terming Shahbaz’s take on the economy “wrong”, Azhar said that the Opposition leader was incorrect regarding the economy earlier and his views are “still wrong”. “The incumbent government has saved the economy by doing away with the policies practised during PML-N’s tenure,” he said, adding that if those policies from 2018 would have been carried forward, the country would have been “on the

brink of a disaster” by October-November 2018 as Pakistan would

have been a defaulter. The minister said that inflation

in the country is soaring due to rising global prices and not because of the

policies adopted by the government. “As soon as prices will reduce in the international markets, inflation in Pakistan will spiral downwards,” he reiterated. It is pertinent to mention here that November saw a double-digit increase in prices of consumer items as inflation edged up to 11.5% from 9.2% in October, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. Citing a World Bank report, the minister said that poverty has decreased in Pakistan. Pakistan’s economy is projected to grow at a rate of 5%, he said, adding that when a country is expected to grow at rate of 5% it shows that unemployment is in the country is “reducing”. PDM tO finALisE LOng MARcH DAtE On DEc 6: Earlier in the day, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif had addressed a press conference on the economic situation of Pakistan, saying that the date for the Opposition’s long march against inflation and unemployment

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

will be finalised soon. He said that a final decision in this regard will be taken during a meeting of the Pakistan Democratic Movement on December 6. Shahbaz said that the Opposition is geared to give the incumbent government a hard time as “Pakistan and PTI cannot continue alongside each other any longer”. Speaking about the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM), the PML-N leader said: “The government’s ill-intent on EVMs is plain for all to see.” “It was an important issue, the government should have taken the Parliament into confidence and should have consulted the Opposition,” he said. He added that the government wants to “use the votes of overseas Pakistanis through rigging”. Recalling his earlier statement regarding the economy, he said that he had already predicted that a minibudget will be unveiled. “If PML-N would have been in power the Diamer Bhasha dam would have been under construction,” he concluded.