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Wednesday, 19 January, 2022 I 15 Jamadi-al-Sani, 1443 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XII No 202 I 12 Pages I Islamabad Edition

Fawad says govt ‘bound to implement court orders’ on navy golF course

ISLAMABAD

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staff report

NfoRmAtioN and Broadcasting minister fawad Chaudhry stated on tuesday that the federal government is bound to follow the court’s directives regarding the sealing and demolition of the sprawling naval golf course located in islamabad’s margalla Hills National Park area unless the court suspended its orders. it is pertinent to note that Chaudhry’s statement comes a day after the islamabad High Court (iHC) directed the Additional Attorney General (AAG) to ensure that its directives for the demolition of the Navy Sailing Club and the initiation of criminal proceedings against former Naval Chief Admiral (retd) Zafar mahmood Abbasi are placed before the prime minister and the federal cabinet. A two-member division bench of the high court comprising Justice Amir farooq and Justice mian Gul Hassan Aurangzeb directed the former naval chief

to appear before the cabinet secretary on January 19 if the cabinet does not take a decision until then. the directives were issued during the hearing on an inter-court appeal filed by Advocate Ashtar osaf, challenging the court’s order to demolish sailing club and the initiation of criminal proceedings against the ex-naval chief. the appeal stated that the former naval chief had been an officer in Pakistan Navy for 45 years, commanding it from 2017 to 2020. it added that the appeal on which the decision was announced was not admissible. it also noted that the original petition did not call for criminal proceedings, therefore the single-bench verdict of January 7 should be declared null and void. the appellant said the court wrote in its verdict that the former naval chief violated his oath by inaugurating an illegal building, while the executive, in a notification issued on August 23, 1991, appointed naval chief as the patron-in-chief of water sports throughout Pakistan. He added that the

Navy Sailing Club building was given to it in 1994 and the land for naval farms was also purchased. During today’s press briefing, the ministers also spoke about the State Bank of Pakistan (Amendment) Bill 2021 — one of the two contentious legislations that are necessary to ensure that Pakistan’s sixth review of the $6 billion Extended fund facility gets cleared by the international monetary fund’s (imf) executive board. it was passed by the National Assembly during an hours-long session amid fierce objection from the opposition benches last week. Speaking on the matter, Energy minister Azhar said the opposition had made attempts to make the bill controversial. He said the legislation was aimed at granting autonomy to the SBP, as he drew parallels between Pakistan and developed countries. the minister said developed nations had taken measures to ensure the autonomy of their central banks because data proved that this led to a consistent decline in inflation and persistent economic growth. Discussing the clauses of the legislation, he assured that the federal government retained the authority to appoint the SBP’s governor, deputy governors and board of directors. And the bank’s board, he added, could remove the governor. He said the government retaining the authority to appoint the board was a “concession” that was gained after “hard negotiations” with the imf. turning his attention to the opposition’s criticism over the bill, the minister alleged that opposition parties played politics on the matter. He specifically spoke about the PmL-N, recalling that when it was in the government in 2015, it too had passed a bill regarding the SBP. He then read out an excerpt from the bill passed by the PmL-N.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

ECP turns down request to keep funding case report secret ISLAMABAD inp

Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on tuesday rejected an appeal to keep the contents of a scrutiny committee’s report in the foreign funding case against the ruling Pakistan tehreek-i-insaf (Pti) secret. the report suggested the party received funding from foreign donors and companies, under-reported sums it received and concealed dozens of its bank accounts. Later, it emerged that the report did not include eight volumes of the documents and bank statements requisitioned through the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). the crucial pieces of evidence were kept confidential at the com-

mittee’s own request. “the committee is of the considered opinion that the portions of the report which have been prepared on the basis of [Pti] bank statements obtained through the SBP may be kept confidential and classified and may not be released in the public domain,” it said. But, during the proceedings, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikander Sultan Raja directed expressed shock over such a request and observed the report has already become a public document. He further ordered the scrutiny committee formed for investigating foreign funding cases of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan muslim League-Nawaz (PmL-N) to submit its findings in 10 days.

more inside

IMF Board to meet on 28th for Pakistan’s sixth review STORY ON PAGE 02

NEPRA set to raise power tariff by 95 paisas for household consumers STORY ON PAGE 03

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Wednesday, 19 January, 2022 | ISLAMABAD

NEWS

OppOsitiOn senatOrs renew demand fOr details Of retired military OffiCials in nadra

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NewS DeSK

HE Senate on Tuesday again saw an intense debate over retired military officers holding key positions in the National Database Registration Authority (Nadra) and other state organisations, with opposition senators demanding details of such appointments but state minister Ali Muhammad

Cpne, apns, pBa dismiss media revenue quoted by information minister KARACHI pR

Media associations CPNE, APNS and PBA have issued a statement taking serious notice of Information Minister FawadChaudhary’s tweet about media revenues and dismissed figures quoted by him as baseless and completely incorrect. Subsequently the original source also clarified that the figures were printed erroneously due to a technical error. The joint statement called the information minister’s tweet a classic example of fake news and an attempt to create a divide between media houses and workers. The statement went on to specifically point out how the minister himself is spreading false news. He has only exposed his own ignorance about the matter and also how ill-informed his ministry is. The statement also demanded that the minister withdraw his tweet immediately.

rupee slips to 176.18 against Usd with 26 paisas fall KARACHI Staff RepoRt

Pakistani rupee shed 26 paisas (-0.15 percent) against the US dollar on Tuesday, ending the two-day winning streak. The State Bank of Pakistan said in a statement that the dollar opened at Rs175.92 in the interbank market and closed at Rs176.18. The rupee witnessed a trading range of 36 paisas during the session, showing the intraday high bid of 176.26 and low offer of 175.90. Within the open market, the rupee was traded at 177/178 per dollar. Overall Pakistan rupee shed 11 paisas against the US dollar during the two sessions of this week, while it has appreciated by 33 paisas during the current year 2022. The local unit has depreciated by Rs18.75 during the ongoing fiscal year 2021-22. The experts were of the view that trade and current account deficits due to rising import bill and depletion in the foreign exchange reserves are major threats to the rupee’s stability. The trade deficit ballooned by 106 percent to $25.48 billion in the first half of the current fiscal year 2021-22 due to a massive surge in imports, which touched $40.50 billion.

Khan equating the query to “hatred for the armed forces”. It is pertinent to note the matter was previously discussed on December 29, and saw Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) Senator Mushtaq Ahmed complain that he had specifically asked for the number of ex-military men rehired in Nadra but was instead given a general figure saying that the Authority has 13,997 employees in total. “I asked this question because unemployment in

“A strange tradition has been set here that apart from one or two federal ministers no one else comes to the parliament to answer questions. This is a matter of the Senate’s honour,” he said. Rabbani requested the Senate chairman to compel ministers concerned to answer the questions raised in the parliament regarding their departments. Responding to Senator Ahmed’s question, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan repeated the answer he provided in the previous session, suggesting that a fresh query be submitted over the specific issue of rehiring retired armed forces personnel. At this, the JI senator insisted that the question he submitted was specifically regarding military hiring but the minister also maintained that the question he received was only about deputations in general.

Pakistan has surged, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. The youth are not getting employment and on the other hand, we are specifically recruiting retired personnel of the armed forces in good positions,” the senator stated. At this, PPP Senator Raza Rabbani remarked that Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid was “probably the minister in charge of answering this question”.

Moody’s assigns B3 rating to Pakistan’s Sukuk offering KARACHI Staff RepoRt

Moody’s has assigned a B3 rating to the proposed US dollar-denominated trust certificates (Sukuk) issuance by the government of Pakistan, a statement said on Tuesday. The Sukuk will be issued through the Pakistan Global Sukuk Programme Company Limited, a special purpose vehicle, which is wholly-owned by the government and whose debt and trust certificate issuance are, in Moody’s view, ultimately the obligation of the government, it added. The assigned rating to the Sukuk mirrors Pakistan’s current issuer rating. According to the terms and conditions the trust certificates will constitute direct, unconditional and unsubordinated obligations of the government. The payment obligations represented by the securities to be issued by the company rank pari passu with all of the government’s current and future senior unsecured external debt. Proceeds from the Sukuk issuance will be used by the Pakistan Global Sukuk Programme Company to purchase assets from the National Highway Authority. The amounts subsequently received by the government in consideration for the transaction will be used for general budgetary purposes. However, Moody’s noted that its Sukuk ratings do not express an opinion on the structure’s compliance with Shariah law. Pakistan’s B3 issuer rating is underpinned by its relatively large economy and robust long-term growth potential, as well as ongoing reforms that may strengthen

policy effectiveness over time. The credit challenges to the economy of the country include structural constraints to export competitiveness, the government’s high debt burden and a narrow revenue base that reduces fiscal flexibility and weakens debt affordability, as well as political risks that can influence the reform trajectory. “Pakistan’s ESG Credit Impact Score is Highly Negative (CIS-4), reflecting its high exposure to environmental and social risks, as well as its weak governance profile,” the rating agency stated. “Relatively weak institutions constrain the government’s capacity to address ESG risks. The exposure to environmental risk is Highly Negative (E-4 issuer profile score), because of Pakistan’s vulnerability to climate change and the limited supply of clean, fresh and safe water. With varied climates across the nation, the country is significantly exposed to extreme weather events, including tropical cyclones, drought, floods and

PSX sheds 104 points in low-volume, range-bound session KARACHI Staff RepoRt

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) continued with bearish trend in another low-volume session on Tuesday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index shedding 104.79 points (-0.23 percent) to close at 45,507.41 points. The market opened on a positive note but remained volatile due to the rising number of Omicron cases and surging crude oil prices. The market switched between the green and red territories and remained positive for most part of the session except for the last one hour trading, which eroded all the gains of the day. The KSE-100 Index moved in a range of 288.64 points, showing an intraday low of 45,469.46 points and a high of 45,758.10 points. Among other indices, the KSE All Share Index shed 75.07 points (-0.24 percent) to close at 31,159.16 points, while KMI All Share Islamic Index shed 0.26 points (-0 percent) to close at 22,439.33 points. A total of 357 companies traded shares in the stock exchange, out of them shares of 135 closed up, shares of 200 closed down while shares of 22 companies remained unchanged. Out of 95 traded companies in the KSE-100 Index, 33 closed up, 58 closed down and four remained unchanged. The overall market volumes decreased by 8.36 million to 165.14 million shares. Total volumes traded for the KSE-100 Index increased by 6.97 million to 78.60 million shares. The number of total trades increased by 7,697 to 92,640, while the value traded

increased by Rs1.46 billion to Rs7.56 billion. Overall, market capitalisation decreased by Rs18.80 billion. Among scrips, TRG topped the volumes with 20.69 million shares, followed by WTL (17.67 million) and HUBC (8.15 million). Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes included TRG, WTL, HUBC, TELE, and CNERGY, which formed over 37 percent of total volumes. In terms of rupee, UPFL remained the top gainer and witnessed an increase of Rs409 per share, closing at Rs20,899 whereas the runner-up was NESTLE, the share price of which climbed up by Rs90 to Rs5,500. BATA remained the top loser in terms of rupee and witnessed a decrease of Rs99.9 per share, closing at Rs2,000, followed by ISIL, the share price of which declined by Rs39 to close at Rs486 per share. The sectors taking the index towards south were cement with 55 points, commercial banks (39 points), power generation & distribution (27 points), technology & communication (24 points) and textile composite (11 points). The most points taken off the index were by HUBC which stripped the index of 26 points followed by LUCK (22 points), BAHL (19 points), CHCC (13 points) and SCBPL (12 points). The sectors taking the index towards north were oil & gas exploration companies with 50 points, fertilizer (15 points), refinery (6 points), oil & gas marketing companies (4 points) and glass & ceramics (3 points). The most points added to the index were by POL which contributed 30 points followed by ENGRO (23 points), PPL (11 points), MCB (9 points) and OGDC (6 points).

extreme temperatures.” “In particular, the magnitude and dispersion of seasonal monsoon rainfall influence the agricultural sector growth and rural household consumption. The agricultural sector accounts for around 20 percent of GDP and exports, and nearly 40 per cent of total employment,” it added. Overall, around 70 per cent of the entire population live in rural areas. As a result, both droughts and floods can create economic, fiscal and social costs for the sovereign. The exposure to social risk is Highly Negative (S-4 issuer profile score), driven primarily by safety concerns that have limited investment and diversification opportunities. The government is focused on reducing poverty and inequality, strengthening social safety nets, and promoting human capital as key priorities through its expansive “Ehsaas” programme, although effects will take time to materialise and are limited by still weak institutions and governance. The influence of governance is Highly Negative (G-4 issuer profile score). Upward pressure on Pakistan’s rating would develop, if ongoing fiscal reforms were to expand the government’s revenue base, raise debt affordability, and lower its debt burden beyond our current expectations, Moody’s noted. A structural reduction in external vulnerability risks, including though higher levels of foreign exchange reserve adequacy that were sustainable and/or increased economic competitiveness that were to lift export prospects, would also put upward pressure on the rating.

Crude oil prices hit seven-year highs on supply concerns ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

Crude oil’s bull run is showing no signs of slowing, as prices surged around 2 percent on Tuesday to their highest levels since October 2014. As of 1320 hours GMT, Brent, the international benchmark for two-thirds of the world’s oil, gained $1.13 (+1.27 percent) to reach $87.58 a barrel. The benchmark hit $87.85 a barrel during the session. On the other hand, the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) price reached $85.38 a barrel, up by $1.56 (+1.86 percent). WTI crude futures rose to $85.53 during the early trading. The price for Opec Basket was recorded at $85.46 a barrel with a gain of 0.87 percent, Arab Light was available at $87.62 a barrel with an increase of 1.55 percent and the price of Russian Sokol jumped to $89.66 a barrel with an increase of 1.54 percent. The supply concerns are giving the market a solid boost. Frantic oil buying, driven by supply outages and signs the Omicron variant will not be as disruptive as feared for fuel demand, has pushed some crude grades to multi-year highs, suggesting the rally could be sustained a while longer. The Opec+ is still nowhere near pumping to its overall quota, and this narrowing cushion could turn out to be the most bullish factor for oil prices over the coming months. Crude oil prices have posted four consecutive weeks of gains, which has been the longest winning streak since October 2021, in evidence that the demand recovery remains robust as fears about the effect of Omicron die down. Several banks have forecast oil prices of $100 a barrel this year, with demand expected to outstrip supply, thanks in large part to OPEC’s limited capacity. Morgan Stanley predicts that Brent crude will hit $90 a barrel in the third quarter of this year, while JPMorgan has forecast oil to hit $125 a barrel this year and $150 in 2023.

IT services’ exports grow by 37.55pc in five months ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

Pakistan has earned US $1,051.050 million by providing different information technology (IT) services to various countries during the first five months of financial year 2021-22 Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported that this shows growth of 37.55 percent as compared to the corresponding period of fiscal year 2020-21, Among these services, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics said, the export of computer services grew by 39.39 percent as these surged from US

$593.170 million last fiscal year to US $826.800 million this year. Among the computer services, the exports of software consultancy services witnessed increase of 47.92 percent, from US $200.272 million to US $296.246 million while the exports of hardware consultancy services also roInforse by 256.52 percent from, US $0.276 million to US $0.984 million, it added. In addition, the exports of other computer services increased by 26.88 percent going up from US$ 249.881 million to US $317.056 million. The country’s exports have witnessed a considerable surge of 29.48

per cent in the first half (July-December) of the current fiscal year, as compared to the corresponding period of last year, PBS said. The exports during July-December (2021-22) were recorded at Rs2,562,063 million as against the exports of Rs1,978,753 million during JulyDecember 2020-21. Meanwhile, on a year-on-year basis, the exports from the country increased by 29.34% in December 2021 as compared to the exports of December, 2020. The exports during December, 2021 amounted to Rs489,918 million against the exports of Rs378,776 million during

December 2020. On a month-on-month basis, the exports however declined by 2.41 percent as compared to the exports of Rs502,009 million in November 2021. Main commodities of exports during December 2021 were knitwear (Rs77,961 million), readymade garments (Rs61,411 million), bedwear (Rs44,905 million), rice others (Rs33,868 million), cotton cloth (Rs33,502 million), cotton yarn (Rs18,874 million), towels (Rs16,867 million), fruits (Rs12,376 million), made-up articles (excl. towels & bedwear) (Rs12,272 million) and fish & fish Preparations (Rs9,050 million).

Wednesday, 19 January, 2022 | ISLAMABAD

nepra set tO raise pOwer tariff By 95 paisas fOr hOUsehOld COnsUmers ISLAMABAD

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Staff RepoRt

HE National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) is preparing to increase power tariff by Rs0.95 per unit for household consumers. According to details, the suggestion for increase in power tariff has been made from Rs0.08 per unit to Rs0.95 per unit for separate slabs of household consumers.

The tariff would be raised by Rs0.08 per unit using over 100 units of electricity, followed by Rs0.18 per unit hike for over 200 units, Rs0.48 per unit for 201 to 300 units, and Rs0.95 per unit for 301 to 700 units. The increase in basic tariff will abolish an Rs20 billion annual subsidy from the government and the recommendations would be mulled over during the NEPRA hearing on January 24. In a bombshell for Karachiites, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has

approved an increase in electricity tariff for Karachi in terms of fuel adjustment charges in early January. According to a notification issued by the NEPRA, the electricity tariff will be hiked by Rs1.07 per unit in terms of fuel adjustment for the month of October. The amount will be received in the bills of January, it said, adding that the Karachiites will have to bear an additional burden of Rs1.91 billion. The hearing for fuel adjustment was held by NEPRA on November 03.

Pakistan, Qatar vow to cement energy cooperation ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

Pakistan and Qatar have vowed to further promote cooperation in the energy sector. Federal Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar and Minister for Energy and Chief Executive of Qatar Energy, Saad Sherida al-Kaabi in a virtual meeting on Tuesday discussed further promoting bilateral ties, particularly in the sector of energy. Hammad Azhar thanked Qatar for ensuring timely supplies of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to Pakistan despite its shortage globally. Welcoming the decision of Qatar Energy to invest in setting up the LNG

arrest warrants for top punjab civil servant issued LAHORe Staff RepoRt

A civil court in Lahore on Tuesday issued nonbailable arrest warrants for Punjab Chief Secretary Kamran Ali Afzal on charges of noncompliance with its orders. The court also issued warrants for two chief inspectors from the Punjab Energy Department. Judge Muhammad Tariq Rasheed issued the directives in a case pertaining to officials refusing to write down the new address of a local business after its shifting to another location. His court also ordered the provincial Finance Department to withhold the salaries of the said officials. The petition was filed by the owner of Iqbal and Sons, a factory located in Kasur. He said his business was shifted to another location and requested the court to issue an order for the correction of its new address. The court had ordered the chief secretary and the energy department to change the address but they could not do so.

terminal in partnership with a consortium of leading Pakistani companies, the Minister assured all possible support from the public sector. He underscored that this project will be another milestone in the energy security of Pakistan and hoped that the Financial Investment Decision (FID) will be concluded soon. It may be recalled that Pakistan signed a ten-year LNG agreement with Qatar in February last year. As per the agreement, Pakistan will get 3 million tonnes of LNG per year from Qatar Energy under the deal from January 2022. However, on Pakistan’s request, Qatar started early supplies from November 2021.

IPO remains headless for past seven months ISLAMABAD Ghulam abbaS

The Intellectual Property Organization (IPO) Pakistan remains headless for past seven months as Ministry of Commerce (MoC) is yet to finalize recruitment of a new chairman of the organization. Effective protection of IPR consisting of Copyrights, Patents and Trademark is critical for attracting and retaining Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the country. While the overseas investors term the lack of government focus on protection of the Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) as a major cause of revenue loss, the top bureaucrats are least bothered about the IPO functioning. As per Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Survey conducted by Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI), the investors were facing multiple impediments regarding registration and resolution of the IPR-related cases in the country. As per the survey overall, 37 percent of the respondents indicated that it takes one to three years to resolve a standard IPR dispute while 22 percent said that it takes more than five years’ time to get the dispute resolved. Respondents also expressed concern regarding the penalty on IPR violation being insignificant and not sufficient to act as a deterrent. Moreover, the IP

Tribunals were not fully functional in all three major cities of Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. The OICCI IPR Survey 2021 conducted in late 2021 reflects the assessment of the foreign investors on the state of intellectual property protection in Pakistan. The foreign investors participating in the survey showed higher satisfaction (from 17 percent in 2020 to 37 percent in 2021) on IPOP, the IPR regulator in Pakistan, and have urged the IPOP for taking a leading role in ensuring the effective IPR regime in the country. OICCI members have also asked the IPOP for support in strengthening IPR regime by automating and fast-tracking the process of registering an IP, massively promoting awareness on the importance of IPR and its impact for business/investment, and in improving the skills of Law Enforcement Authorities (LEAs) to proactively stop the abuse of IPR. Currently, all the OICCI members rely on their own resources for monitoring the threat of IPR violations. However, there is a great desire for all the IP owners to work in partnership with the government authorities for a better IPR regime in Pakistan. Serious lack of awareness and appreciation about IPR, lengthy timelines for granting IP rights, long drawn judicial proceedings, inadequately trained staff at LEAs and low penalties prescribed under IPR laws for IPR violations, were some of the key concerns highlighted in the survey.

Minister says Islamabad killing of policeman ‘act of terrorism’ ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

A police officer was killed and two others injured in a rare shootout in Islamabad late Monday which Minister for Interior Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed called “an act of terrorism”. The late-night gun battle started when two gunmen riding a motorcycle opened fire on a police checkpoint in Islamabad. “A policeman was martyred while two others were wounded,” the police said in a statement, adding both attackers were killed. Ahmed has ordered an inquiry into the incident, a rare security breach in the heavily guarded capital, which is home to dozens of embassies. Hours later, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack, raising fears insurgents had a presence in one of the nation’s safest cities. Mohammad Khurasani, the spokesman for the TTP, took to Twitter to claim responsibility for the gun attack. He said the TTP also targeted police in two separate attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa a day earlier. Pakistan is battling a resurgence of TTP following the Afghan Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan last year. Based in Afghanistan, the TTP is a separate movement that shares common roots with the Afghanistan group. Head Constable Munawar, the deceased, “was on duty and terrorists shot a burst [of fire] on him,” Ahmed said while speaking to the press on Tuesday after attending the official’s funeral. “This was not an incident of theft or robber,” said

the minister who also disclosed the government “have received a kind of signal that terrorist incidents have started happening” in the capital. “This is the first incident of the year and we need to be very alert,” he warned, adding that both of the slain militants involved in the attack had been identified. Seperately, Shahid Zaman, a senior Islamabad Police official, told AFP the incident was “an act of terror”. The government announced late last year it had entered a month-long truce with the TTP, facilitated by Afghanistan’s Taliban, but that expired on December 9 after peace talks failed to make

progress. The TTP has been blamed for hundreds of suicide bomb attacks and attacks across the country. But after the 2014 massacre of nearly 150 children at Army Public School in Peshawar, the military sent huge numbers of troops into TTP strongholds and crushed the movement, forcing its fighters to retreat to Afghanistan. Earlier this month, a senior leader of the TTP was killed in eastern Afghanistan. Khalid Balti, also known by the nom de guerre Muhammad Khorasani when he served as the spokesperson of the proscribed group, was killed in Nangarhar province.

NEWS

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pm lauds monetary assistance to priyantha’s widow ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

Prime Minister Imran Khan has lauded Sialkot business community and Rajco industries for providing monetary assistance to the widow of Sri Lankan National Priyantha Kumara who was killed by a violent mob in Sialkot last year. In a tweet on Tuesday, he pointed out that the business community of Sialkot has transferred $ 100,000 to the account of the widow. He said Rajco industries is transferring a monthly salary of $2,000 to her account and it will continue to do so for ten years. Earlier, it was reported that Rajco Industries has sent Rs17.6 million ($100,000) in monetary assistance and the salary for the month of December 2021 to the family of its deceased former general manager. Rajco Industries has transferred the money from the National Bank’s Sialkot District Court branch to a bank account held by Kumara’s widow. According to media reports from last month, the Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry raised $100,000 to support Kumara’s family. SCCI President Mian Imran Akbar stated that the organisation is taking appropriate measures to prevent future incidents similar to the one that resulted in Kumara’s lynching. He stated that foreign employees and businessmen will be protected. “It is our responsibility to provide financial assistance to the affected family of the Sri Lankan citizen,” he added.

ppp tables bill seeking regulation of sC suo motu powers NewS DeSK Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Senator Farooq H Naek has tabled a bill in the Senate, seeking a constitutional amendment to the regulation of Supreme Court’s discretionary suo motu powers under Article 184(3) to provide a right of appeal to the aggrieved party in such cases. The bill suggests that a three-member bench shall be constituted to take the suo moto order and in the event an appeal has been made, filed within thirty days, it should be heard by a five-member bench of the apex court, adding that no decision shall be taken during this period. The bill, which has been referred to the relevant Senate Standing Committee for consideration, proposes that the exercise of the suo motu cases should be determined in such a manner that it provides a procedure for an appeal against the order, and on how the bench be constituted and what should be the composition of the bench which takes up cases under Article 184(3) of the Constitution. It is pertinent to note that earlier, former chief justice Asif Saeed Khosa had also suggested proposals to amend Supreme Court Rules 1980 for giving right of appeal against the decisions which would be given under Article 184 (3) of the Constitution. A full court meeting was also held to discuss the same but consensus could not be evolved.

Wednesday, 19 January, 2022 | ISLAMABAD

04 NEWS

TAPI PIPeLINe PRoSPecTS fINALLy GeT A ShoT IN The ARM IsLAMABAD

T Security forces neutralise two terrorists in North Waziristan RAwALPINDI staff RepoRt

Security Forces have neutralised two terrorists in an Intelligence Based Operation (IBO) in Thal, North Waziristan District. According to the ISPR, the security forces conducted an IBO on reported presence of terrorists in Thal, North Waziristan District. “During intense exchange of fire, two terrorists – Ghayoor and Bahauddin – got killed. Large quantity of weapons and ammunition was also recovered from the killed terrorists,” the statement said. Per the ISPR, the killed terrorists were involved in terrorist activities against security forces, target killing and kidnapping for ransom.

News Desk

HE Turkmenistan– Afghanistan–Pakistan–India (TAPI) natural gas pipeline has been long aborning, but its prospects recently got a shot in the arm. The 1100-mile and $10 billion project, which has seen numerous delays since the pipeline consortium, was announced in late 2014, though the project was first mooted in 1991, Oilprice.com reported. Construction started in early 2018 with a projected in-service date of 2021, but halted later that year after workers clearing the route were killed by unknown assailants. Also, the project’s $10 billion cost estimate is a decade old, and an update may cause further delay to the Asian Development Bank-funded effort that is now slated to resume work in September 2022. Turkmenistan will loan Afghanistan the funds for its share of the project, to be repaid from gas transit revenues. Representatives of the government of Tajikistan recently met officials in Afghanistan, and the Taliban announcement that it will dedicate 30,000 troops to pipeline security may motivate the parties to start construction. The completed pipeline will allow Turkmenistan to reduce its reliance on its

biggest gas customer, China, which has recently taken most of Turkmenistan’s gas exports, though in 2021 the country doubled its gas exports to Russia, which used to be the biggest importer of Turkmen gas until it was displaced by China in 2010. The pipeline will generate additional income that Ashgabat can use to improve services to citizens, a priority after the recent unrest in neighboring Kazakhstan. For Afghanistan, the project would provide transit fees of about $500 million per year, along with an annual share of 500 million cubic meters of gas for the first ten years, ultimately increasing to 1.5 bcm per year.

For Pakistan, the pipeline would help solve the country’s persistent energy shortfalls, such as the deficit between current gas production of 4 billion cubic feet per day (BCFD) against demand of 6 BCFD. By 2025, gas production is expected to fall to less than 1 BCFD due to depletion of gas reserves while demand increases to 8 BCFD. In late 2020, Pakistan and Russia signed a deal to complete the 700-mile Pakistan Stream Gas Pipeline, to move LNG from Port Qasim (Karachi) to Kasur. Pakistan may be dealing with Russia to balance against China, or maybe the deal was decided on strictly dollarsand-cents terms. Regardless, this project

may crowd out attention and funding for Pakistan’s phase of TAPI. A richer energy mix and pipeline transit revenues would strengthen Pakistan as it negotiates new efforts with China under the umbrella of the China– Pakistan Economic Corridor. Pakistan’s leaders will need to strengthen their position vis-à-vis China while demonstrating to Beijing they are a reliable partner that will develop energy resources that can accommodate China’s projects. But first, those leaders must and take on entrenched business and national security interests to successfully support TAPI, despite the economic benefits to its neighbours.

Economic ties with Russia on positive trajectory: Qureshi IsLAMABAD tLtp

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said that relations between Pakistan and Russia are on a positive trajectory. Pakistan and Russia are developing an understanding on the North-South Gas Pipeline project, which is a significant step for bilateral cooperation in economy and energy, the foreign minister said in a statement on Tuesday. Furthermore, the foreign minister stated that Russian President Putin’s recent statement against Islamophobia vindicates the stance of Pakistan and Prime Minister Imran Khan on the issue. “This indicates that the two countries are moving ahead at regional and global levels with

identical approaches,” he said. “Pakistan has been part of the Moscow Format and a Russian representative attended the Troika Plus meeting in Islamabad,” the foreign minister said. He added that Russian Representative for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov also participated in the recently held extraordinary session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers in Islamabad. Qureshi said that both countries held mutual consultations on the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and that Pakistan’s efforts have resulted in drawing the world’s attention to the situation in Afghanistan; however, further attention is required. “The humanitarian situation is further deteriorating in Afghanistan with the severity of cold weather,” he added.

Murad Raas proposes to add dupattas, caps to school uniforms across Punjab

News Desk Punjab Education Minister Murad Raas has given directive to private schools to make dupattas or scarves a compulsory part of the school uniform for female students and caps for male students. While speaking at a press conference in Lahore, the Punjab education minister said that the Punjab Assembly has passed a bill making the teaching of the Holy Quran with translation compulsory for primary students as well as students of classes six to 12. He stated that the bill to teach Holy Quran with translation has been passed for the first time in Pakistan and will be implemented soon. For this, the minister said that private schools’ uniforms should be revised. The provincial education minister directed schools to provide male students with caps and female students with dupattas or scarves with their uniform. Additionally, he stated that there are over 30,000 vacancies for teachers in Punjab schools and would

be filled soon. According to Murad Raas, no decision has been made to close educational institutions as a result of COVID-19 as yet. Educational institutions will also remain open until other departments are closed. However, Punjab Chief Minister’s Focal Person on Digital Media Azhar Mashwani has refuted reports of the provincial government making caps and headscarves mandatory for schoolchildren in the province. Punjab Education Minister Murad Raas had announced earlier in the day that the Punjab Assembly has passed an act, “the Punjab Compulsory Teaching of Holy Quran Act, 2021,” to teach Nazra Quran (recitation) to primary students and recitation with translation to the students from 6th to 12th grades for the first time in history. For this, the minister said that private schools’ uniforms should be revised. However, Punjab CM’s focal person clarified Raas’s statement, saying that the directive for adding caps and headscarves to the uniforms was only for the periods reserved for Quran recitation, and not a permanent and mandatory part of the uniforms. Taking to Twitter, Mashwani said that the students will be required to wear caps and dupattas while reading the Quran but they will not have to cover their heads during any other period. Raas, while addressing the press conference, said that the act for compulsory Quran teaching will finally be implemented. He directed schools to provide male students with caps and female students with dupattas or scarves with their uniforms. Raas further stated that there were more than 30,000 vacancies for teachers in Punjab schools, which would be filled soon. He said that no decision has been taken for the closure of educational institutions in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. The educational institutions will also remain open until other departments are not closed.

Lt-Gen Waseem Alamgir to assume charge as Rector, NUMS RAwALPINDI News Desk

Major General Waseem Alamgir of Army Medical Corps has been promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General. According to the ISPR, Waseem Alamgir will be assuming charge as Rector National University of Medical Sciences (NUMS).

PM directs to improve performance of PIA, to provide best aviation services IsLAMABAD staff RepoRt

Prime Minister Imran Khan Tuesday directed the authorities concerned to improve the performance of the national flag carrier Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). Chairing a high-level meeting held here to discuss the matters pertaining to aviation, the prime minister called for ensuring the provision of the best aviation services to the people. PM Khan also emphasized the launch of a competitive process in the country to ensure better service delivery to the passengers. Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan, Finance Minister Shaukat Fayaz Tarin and relevant senior officers attended the meeting.

Wednesday, 19 January, 2022 | ISLAMABAD

NEWS

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FAwAd SAyS govT ‘bound To imPLemenT CouRT oRdeRS’ on nAvy goLF CouRSe cOntinuEd fROm pAgE 01

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TCS trail blazing new Routes and Trade Corridors ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s logistics giant TCS Private Limited recently transported another pharmaceutical shipment by road to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, following TIR (Transports Internationaux Routiers) protocols, administered by the United Nations International Road Transport Union (IRU). TCS Private Limited is the first Pakistani Company to have qualified for international operations with Pakistani trucks and drivers. Amongst the requirements for this qualification are an Electronic Customs User Interface and an international guarantee in favor of the ‘World Customs Organization’. More Pakistani Companies are now lining up for this qualification as a direct result. TCS Private Limited’s vehicle entered Uzbekistan on January 12, 2022, after navigating through days of heavy snowfall across Afghanistan’s mountains. In a historic first, the TCS Private Limited crew, in freezing cold but enthused with a sense of purpose, spent a night inside their truck on the famous Friendship Bridge, which constitutes the border between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan because the gates of both countries closed for the night just as the TCS Private Limited TIR truck was crossing the bridge. Incidents such as these and its earlier piloting of TIR protocols pertaining to Land, Customs and Border procedures have given TCS Private Limited invaluable experience for operating future trade routes between Pakistan and the Central Asian Republics. This landmark mission was achieved by TCS Private Limited in close coordination with the Ministry of Commerce, and the Pakistan National Committee of the International Chamber of Commerce (PNC-ICC), and the Uzbek International Forwarders Association (UIFA). In a statement on the occasion, TCS Private Limited’s Co-Founder and Chairman Khalid Nawaz Awan, said, “We are proud to be trail-blazing new routes and trade corridors that will rejuvenate the economies of this region. As Pakistan’s logistics backbone, TCS Private Limited will extend its physical footprint by opening its Sales and Customer Support Offices in countries across the region”. Earlier in 2021, the TCS Private Limited pilot was supported by Pakistan Regional Economic Integration Activity (PREIA) and USAID (United States Agency for International Development). The entire project was widely lauded by the Uzbek and Pakistani governments in July 2021, during Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to Tashkent. pr

TPL Trakker Partners with Jiye Technologies to Supercharge Key Logistics for Pakistan’s Agriculture Sector KARACHI: TPL Trakker, Pakistan’s leading digital mapping, tracking and IoT services provider has partnered with Pakistan's fastest growing Agri-tech platform Jiye Technologies to provide location-based services. The collaboration between two revolutionary solution providers in their respective categories is designed to enhance Jiye Tech’s ability to support farmers and other businesses associated with Pakistan’s agriculture sector in bolstering a digital transformation of the existing ecosystem. Agriculture is one of the biggest contributors to Pakistan’s economy employing 42.3% of the work force in the country and offers 18.9% share in the GDP. Jiye Technologies is a rapidly growing Agri-tech platform that connects farmers and businesses through a lean supply chain model. This collaboration by TPL Trakker is the first step in providing a robust infrastructure for growth to Jiye’s platform for creating a modern as well as sustainable landscape for progress in the agri-tech sector. This segment has for long operated through traditional methods but with transformation of global ecosystems, digitization has become imperative for sowing the seeds for brighter prospects in the industry and TPL Trakker is honored to provide appropriate foundations for it. Commenting on the partnership, Sarwar Ali Khan, CEO, TPL Trakker stated; “TPL Trakker is always at the forefront for partnering with established as well as emerging organizations that share the same values as our organization. As a forward thinking organization we firmly believe in progressive facilitation of evolving digital ecosystems. Our collaboration with Jiye Technologies is a personification of our objectives to support startups especially in the Agri-tech sector where they can make a lasting impact for all stakeholders.” pr

HE role of of the State Bank of Pakistan has been strengthened by substituting the federal government’s approval wherever required with the board’s approval,” the minister read, adding that the-then federal government had surrendered its powers in favour of the board. “We, on the other hand, have said in the legislation that the board will be appointed by the federal government,” he said. “Now decide yourself which government tried to place curbs on the [SBP’s] independence and which government protected it.” Azhar further said the legislation passed by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government was in line with the demands of the country’s economists who had been calling for reforms to ensure the SBP’s autonomy, subject to checks and balances. He also assured that the SBP’s assets would remain the federal government’s property. After Azhar, Chaudhry said cabinet members in today’s meeting were briefed on the pandemic situation in

the country. He said daily cases had reached 5,000, which translated to a 2.5-time increase in infections. Moreover, he said, admissions to intensive care units had increased by 30 per cent. Giving the situation, the government and the National Command and Control Centre had been stressing the importance of vaccination, he said, adding that the effect of Omicron among inoculated groups was negligible. He claimed that Sindh was lagging behind other regions in the country in terms of vaccination. “And we see that most Omicron cases are being detected in Karachi,” the minister said, adding that the strain’s prevalence was particularly high among school going children in the city. “I will also like to mention here that the government has imported vaccines worth two billion dollars [so far, spending] a major chunk of our current account expenditure on it,” Chaudhry said. Sharing other details from the cabinet meeting, he said it had been recommended to the Senate to not include

IHC reinstates Banuri as HEC chairman The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday issued orders to reinstate Dr Tariq Banuri as the chairman of the Higher Education Commission (HEC), according to Geo News. Through a short order issued by the bench, comprising Chief Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Umar Farooq, the court held that the notifications of March 26, 2021 and April 5, 2021 were issued without lawful authority and contrary to the amended provisions of the HEC Ordinance, 2002. “Respondent No 6 Dr Tariq Javed Banuri, therefore, stands restored as the chairman of the

Higher Education Commission,” the order said. In March last year, Banuri was removed from his office unceremoniously by the PTI government when his tenure was shortened from four to three years through an amendment to the HEC ordinance. Later, he had approached the IHC against his premature removal and the court had barred the government from appointing a new chairman till the decision of the case. Banuri was appointed in May 2018 by former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi for a fouryear term and his tenure was due to end in May, 2022. news desk

SAF-GCT charitable alliance gets massive support of Lahore’s business community to further its education drive for needy children

LAHORE pr

The alliance between two leading non-profits of Pakistan to educate children of underprivileged communities was able to get massive support of leading businessmen and industrialists from Lahore for the schooling of at least 10,000 out-of-school children. The third joint fundraiser of Shahid Shahid Afridi Foundation (SAF) and Green Crescent Trust (GCT) was held here at a hotel as it was the first time the charitable joint venture between the two charities stepped outside Sindh to expand their drive to educate children of the backward areas of Pakistan. The most appealing feature of the fundraiser was the participation by leading Pakistani sports and show business celebrities including Anwar Maqasood, Adnan

Siddiqui, Shahid Afridi, Jahangir Khan, Ahmad Shahzad, and Shahbaz Senior. The memorabilia belonging to the sports celebrities were also auctioned on the occasion to raise money for the charitable cause. Leading names of Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry, Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry, and other trade bodies of Lahore and the rest of Punjab attended the event. Total over 400 businessmen, industrialists, philanthropists of Lahore attended the fundraiser and announced donations for the joint SAF-GCT charitable drive. Akhuwat Founder, Dr Amjad Saqib, was one of the prominent guests of the event who personally announced Rs 2.5 million donations for the charitable school education campaign of the two non-profits.

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those members in standing committees who had a “conflict of interest”. “This means that a member associated with a certain industry should not be included in standing committee pertaining to that particular industry,” he explained. The minister said the cabinet was also briefed on urea production, adding that the price of urea in the international market was six times higher than the price in Pakistan. When there was such a big gap in prices, he said, there was always a possibility of the misuse of a commodity. “But now, urea is available in most parts of the country,” he said, expressing the hope that wheat would be a bumper crop this year. Chaudhry said the cabinet had also discussed in detail the system for the distribution on electricity and the energy minister had told the meetings’ participants that this year, for the first time, the country’s circular debt would begin to reduce substantially. Moreover, he said, the National Electronic Power Regulatory Authority’s (Nepra) annual report was presented in the meeting. “It is for the first time in 24 years

that the report has been presented on time and according to it, our installed capacity is 39.774 megawatts and the circular debt currently stands at 2,280 megawatts,” he added. Near the press conference’s end, a reporter asked a question regarding media workers’ salaries and Chaudhry’s tweet about media house owners denying that media revenue had increased 600 times. The minister had tweeted: “Media owners are saying that media revenue has not increased 600 times. They may be right and Aurora’s figures may be wrong but to prove these figure wrong, it is necessary for media groups to share details of their accounts so that media workers get information about the revenue and expenditure of their organisations.” Replying to the question, Chaudhry said, “I tried to bring a law in this regard (workers’ salaries) but I faced protest … It is difficult to fight mafias.” He added that he had asked media owners in his tweet to share the details of their accounts so that their employees had knowledge of their organisations’ incomes expenditures.

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Wednesday, 19 January, 2022

06 COMMENT

Anti-Muslim Bigotry and GOP

Imran Khan in KP Failure to learn from debacle

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eOPLe vote for a party which is out of power on the basis of its promises. A ruling party is however judged by its performance. Those who voted for the PTI want it to provide jobs, houses, reduction in gas and power rates, social justice and an end to corruption. PM Imran Khan believes that he lost the LB elections in KP because of a wrong selection of candidates. Many think the party was humiliated on account of its failure to fulfill the promises it had made to its voters. While in KP the PM gave inadequate explanations for failure to control prices. Inflation he said had increased due to the rising global prices of commodities. Counting the steps avowedly taken to mitigate its effect on public, he said the government introduced health cards and ration cards. But will it satisfy a famished person if instead of food he is offered a pair of new shoes? The unemployed would not feel reassured by Mr Khan’s argument that a growing population poses a big challenge to jobs. Why did the PTI promise in its manifesto that it “will create 10 million jobs over 5 years in key sectors.” Didn’t Mr Khan and his “well-prepared team” know that Pakistan had a huge population when they made the promise? Imran Khan maintains that the challenge of unemployment can be met by producing skilled manpower. But this can happen only if supported by population control in the sixth most populous country of the world with a population of 219m which, given the current rate of population growth, is estimated to reach 280m by 2030. The PM’s fear of annoying the extremist religious lobby stands in the way of recognizing the need for population control. Instead of highlighting what his government had managed to achieve so far, Mr Khan made more promises during his visit to Peshawar and haripur. There was a rs20 billion plan to improve power supply in the province. Small micro-hydel projects were being initiated in areas far from transmission lines. In haripur, PM Khan said his government was investing in quality education which is more of a dream rather than reality. With increase in population out of control, and few facilities to train manpower, the country’s youth could become a liability instead of its biggest resource.

How pro-Israel has become anti-Muslim

Washington Watch Dr JAMes J Zogby

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here was a flurry of news reporting last month after a newly elected republican member of Congress was captured on video telling a crowd of supporters about her nervous elevator ride with a Muslim member of Congress. As her audience giggled in delight, she noted that there was no worry because her Muslim colleague didn’t have a backpack— in other words, no bomb. The story wasn’t true— it never happened. But what was true was that she was playing to an audience that was primed to believe her. The news coverage lasted a few days and then drifted off into the ether. The congresswoman in question is part of a new breed of republican members cut from the same cloth as Donald Trump. They are confrontational, creating outrage to generate attention and money, and bigots who, because they pay no price for their bigotry, continue on their merry way. A toxic disease of bigotry has taken hold in the GOP polity. It didn’t start with this congresswoman or with the former president. The anti-Muslim remarks and policies they serve up are merely the fruit of a poisonous tree that was planted and carefully cultivated by some in the GOP for decades. This wasn’t always the case. During the administrations of ronald reagan and George hW Bush, the White house was respectful in its outreach to the still-new American Muslim community. It wasn’t the terror attacks of September 11, 2001 that brought on the change; it was the way anti-Muslim ideologues used 9/11 to foment fear and hatred that made the difference. Specifically, it was the ascendancy of neoconservatives and the Christian right

Much needed inflows Rise in exports and remittances provides some reprieve

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healthy growth in both exports and remittances in the first half of the ongoing fiscal year has provided some much-needed reprieve during a time when the economy is in bad shape, especially with regards to the external account. While exports rose 26.05pc to $9.38 billion, remittances surged by 11.3pc to an all-time high of $15.8 billion on a year-on-year basis. These higher inflows are necessary as they can contribute towards financing a soaring trade deficit that rose over 106pc to $25.5 billion in the same period under consideration, rather than the government having to use foreign loans. exports have benefited from a drastic reduction in duty and taxed in federal budget 2021-22 resulting in lower input costs while their liquidity issues were also resolved to quite an extent with timely release of refunds and payment of cash subsidies. The remittance figure is a surprise for most as it defies projections of most analysts and experts who were expecting the number to fall. According to the SBP, “Proactive policy measures by the government and SBP to incentivise the use of formal channels and altruistic transfers to Pakistan amid pandemic have positively contributed towards sustained inflows of remittances since 2020”. Additionally, measures taken by the central bank to crack down on informal channels of transferring money such as hawala and hundi to meet FATF’s conditions, easier and more efficient procedure for consumers to use official banking channels for sending and receiving money and hefty devaluation of the rupee have all contributed to this significant hike in remittances. Both sources of inflows are however susceptible to stagnation or reduction in the coming months. With an inflationary mini-budget passed and energy prices on the rise couple with a crippling gas shortage that is likely to persist throughout the wintes, exports will again start becoming uncompetitive due to the higher cost of production. Much of the rise in remittances is attributable to Pakistanis living in the US and UK rather than from Saudi Arabia and the UAe where the majority of remittances originate, which means they are stagnating. Considering these risks to growth, the government must look at options and take measures to ensure that the momentum is not broken. Otherwise it will have to start dipping much deeper into its foreign exchange reserves and increase its dependency on foreign loans.

Questions still are being asked MUHAMMAD ALI ALVI

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food vendor sells expired food in between its regular food. This goes on for years. People consume expired food but they somehow get away with it. This continues for years but one day the expired food results in an illness among people. And, as a result, which was bound to happen sooner or later, a couple of consumers died while few suffered extreme illness. Some blamed people for eating expired food while some blamed the food vendor. A few blamed those responsible for food security. As winter vacations started, news started to make rounds that thousands of tourists had reached Murree to enjoy the snowfall. For example, a newspaper reported on December 28 that 50,000 vehicles had already entered Murree. The large influx of tourists continued to build up as more than 150,000 vehicles reached Murree in the next couple of days. Tourists flocked to Murree in large numbers to enjoy the predicted snowfall. This was not the first time tourists reached Murree in such large numbers. Similarly, Murree is not the only destination to be thronged by a large influx of tourists. On eid-ul-Adha 2021, more than 145,000 vehicles travelled to Murree hill station. It is pertinent to mention here that the parking capacity in Murree is only for 4000 vehicles. Similarly, 0.7 million vehicles entered Kaghan valley this eid-ul-Azha. This resulted in massive traffic jams, road blockades, overpriced goods and hotel rooms, and an increase in the time required to reach the destination, hence creating problems for the tourists. In an unfortunate incident this winter, 23 tourists died trapped in their cars as a result of a massive snowfall. The tourists who lost their lives were among those stranded on the road due to heavy snow. The opposition criticised and blamed the government for criminal negligence. It demanded the for-

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Democrats must acknowledge their responsibility for this “othering” and end their fear of engaging with Arabs or Muslims who raise legitimate criticism of Israel.

The writer is President, Arab American Institute.

What went wrong in Murree?

Dedicated to the legacy of late Hameed Nizami

Editor Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

in the republican party that was largely responsible for the change. recall how after 9/11 while President George W. Bush was warning Americans not to target Arabs and Muslims, both his attorney general and neocon ideologues were doing just that. even some of the networks, not just Fox News, were complicit. When Americans were asking the question “Why did they attack us?” the networks too often gave a platform to well established anti-Arab, anti-Muslim bigots to provide the answers— some were even paid commentators. At first the impact was limited. Throughout the 1990s, and as late as mid-2003, polling showed that American attitudes toward Arabs and Muslims were still favorable— among both Democrats and republicans. There was a steady erosion during the next few years. It was the ascent of Barack Obama that decisively turned the tide. racism and anti-Muslim bigoty came together in an all-out campaign to “other” Obama. “he wasn’t born here.” “he’s not like us.” “he’s a secret Muslim who hates America.” All were propagated by a wellfunded, well-organized campaign. Many will remember how Senator John McCain, who ran for president against Obama, was forced to confront a supporter who challenged him at a 2008 rally by saying that she couldn’t support Obama because “he’s an Arab.” Attacking America’s first Black president with conventional racism was less desirable then, so it was more acceptable to focus on his fabricated Muslim identity or Arab heritage. It continued. In 2009, republican Congresswoman Sue Myrick wrote the introduction to the Muslim Mafia, a bigoted assault on American Muslim staffers on the hill. Then, in 2010, former GOP Speaker of the house Newt Gingrich preyed on the growing anti-Muslim sentiment, charging that plans to build an Islamic Community Center blocks away from the site of the World Trade Center was a thinly disguised Muslim effort to build a “Victory Mosque” celebrating “their conquest of America.” The National republican Congressional Committee ran TV ads opposing this so-called “Victory Mosque in NYC” in 17 congressional races. By 2012 the hysteria within the GOP had grown to such an extent that during a republican presidential primary debate almost every candidate on stage

pledged either never to appoint a Muslim or to make Muslims take a special loyalty oath before appointing them. Only the eventual nominee, Mitt romney, disagreed. The campaign continued. In 2012 representative Michele Bachmann drew headlines charging that then-Secretary of State hillary Clinton’s aide huma Abedin was a Muslim Brotherhood supporter. And then with the ascent of Donald Trump, the campaign reached its peak with his pledge to ban immigration of Muslims, warning that “there’s something going on with them.” So, when, a month ago, the republican congresswoman was telling her fictional elevator story, she knew she was playing to an audience who had been primed to understand it. recent polling shows a deep partisan divide on attitudes toward Arabs and Muslims. republicans have overwhelmingly unfavorable views of both, while Democrats, possibly in reaction to the policies of Trump, have far more favorable views. Considering this background, it’s important to recognize that the problem is deeper than one congresswoman or one president. It has become organic to the GOP. They created this bigotry and weaponized it for electoral advantage. It’s their cancer, and they must root it out. It’s also important to note the extent to which Democrats have been timid in response. They haven’t attacked it and stigmatized it with the same vigor they use to combat bigotry against Blacks, Jews, Latinos, Asians, or the gay community. And Democratic leaders, including former President Obama, have played into this “othering” of Muslims by securitizing their relationship with that community— too often viewing them through the lens of national security, instead of dealing with Muslims as simply citizens, neighbours, and friends. Finally, Democrats must acknowledge their responsibility for this “othering” and end their fear of engaging with Arabs or Muslims who raise legitimate criticism of Israel. When Democratic leaders demonize these voices as anti-Semitic or accept the GOP’s effort to challenge their fitness to serve in government to avoid the fallout of engagement, Democrats allow the bigotry to continue. This is a battle that can be won. But it will only be won if it is confronted head on in both parties.

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mation of a Judicial Commission to investigate the incident and identify those responsible for the incident. Also, it called for the resignation of the Prime Minister and the Punjab chief minister. The administration was considered responsible for the mishandling of the situation and blamed for negligence. Around 1,000 cars remained stuck on the road the night of the incident and it was expected of the administration to be more responsive, vigilant and ready for any unexpected situation. The initial findings of the five-member Investigative Committee set up as a response to the incident also revealed administrative flaws in dealing with the situation. People who were stuck in snow blamed the hotels for overcharging at the time when they were hapless and in need of help. Some hotels ripped off the tourists taking advantage of the situation and charged around rs 50,000 to rs 70,000 for a night’s stay. But, here it is important to mention the contribution and efforts of those local people and hotels who did their bit and provided food, shelter and help at the time of need. Now, when we consider the other side of the picture it was different. The tourists were enjoying their time in the snow. Social media was flooded with videos and pictures of tourists enjoying the atmosphere. Let us imagine a tourist-to-be sitting in his home somewhere in the world who plans to visit Pakistan and enjoy the picturesque valleys, hill stations and destinations. he watched both types of videos and also heard about the news of administrative negligence and hotels overcharging the tourists. Will he continue with his plan? Or will his reservations overcome his decision? The Murree incident not only resulted in the loss of 23 precious lives but also exposed loopholes in the current tourism promotion strategy. having said that, what went wrong in Murree? Is it the administration’s flaw? Are tourists responsible? Are the hotels that overcharged and forced the tourists to stay in their cars responsible? Other than all factors involved the most important aspect that led to this incident is the lack of

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proper planning. The understanding that prevails in different policies and decisions is “wait and watch until something happens”. Let us consider an example of a village or a town in a city. People will carry on building their homes above the common pathway. No one would stop them. And when the rain would fall, the pathway would sink under the water resulting in road cracks over time. Who should be considered responsible? had there been an effective policy, had that first-person stopped from building the house above the defined permission, the situation would have been different. The inconsistent policy and administrative weakness created the problem. Coming back to the Murree incident, the tourists were travelling there in large numbers, traffic jams were normal, there were usual incidents of hotels overcharging or harassing the tourists, and lack of health and infrastructure facilities were reported in many areas. But, the attention is diverted to Murree only after the incident. We often hear about adverse facilities at various scenic spots where any incident could take place at any time. But will it take another incident to divert the attention of the policymakers? Where promotion of tourism is important, management of tourism is equally important. There is a lack of a Sustainable Tourism policy that would encompass all areas covering the promotion of tourism in the country for both local and international travellers. Pakistan has immense tourism potential but this potential is yet to be utilised. The PTI government and the Prime Minister consider tourism a great source of revenue for the country. But, if the government plans to utilize this potential it has to find the loopholes and try to fix them. Lastly, with all the sympathies with the deceased and their families, it is important to mention that it is the duty of a responsible citizen to adhere to the advice of the administration and the government. It was observed that despite the incident many people were still travelling to Murree. The writer is freelance columnist

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

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Wednesday, 19 January, 2022

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

Why China needs Pakistan

The Dilemma of Democracy in Pakistan The basic prerequisite is education MoHsIn sALeeM ULLAH

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eMOCrACY has proven the best form of government, prevailing in the developed nations, whose smooth functioning is conditioned on certain factors. Its two-prong approach of direct elections and representative government makes it viable developing nations, as well. It’s a tried and tested governing system, ensuring the political participation of all stakeholders regardless of literacy status, socio-economic know-how, and level of political consciousness. People exercise their right of electing a leader of their choice through a transparent election process. A government constituted by the people’s choice not only comes up with solutions for public issues, but also elevates a country’s trajectory in the political, economic, and foreign affairs realm. rousseau in The Social Contract advocated a direct democracy, where the ultimate source of sovereign power is the people, who have a right to elect a legitimate government for the execution of laws. And if it fails to deliver, it can be ousted and replaced. Later, through Second Treatise another political philosopher, Locke, supplemented rousseau’s views. These fundamental views laid down the foundation of democracy for scholars, and state leaders, who advocated for the adoption of this governing system to run a country. Most notably, US ex-President Abraham Lincoln defined democracy as “it is the government of the people, by the people, for the people” and further believed that “ballot is stronger than the bullet.” Because it equips an individual with a fundamental right to vote through which one can exercise his or her freedom and can make a difference by electing a government of his or her choice. Allama Iqbal endorsed democracy as equipping an individual with ultimate freedom and further ensuring a conducive environment to grow according to their capabilities. Paradoxically, he was also a strong critic of western democracy. Because of its quantitative approach, it overlooks important differences such as mental calibre, educational background, and other aspects of an individual which he necessitated for perfect democracy. Around the globe, western democracies have educated their people to raise socio-political awareness and empowered them to choose the best leadership for governing a country. education plays an integral part in strengthening democracy because it enlightens citizens about their constitutional rights, frees them from mental poverty, and enhances the ability to differentiate between right and wrong. Pakistan has recorded the lowest literacy rate in 2021, which translates into 60 million people in Pakistan having no education. Lack of educational institutions in underprivileged provinces such as Baluchistan, and the Waziristan area saw a sharp rise of militancy, eventually posing threats to Pakistan national security, as in the APS Peshawar attack. Despite the commitment under Article 25-A to provide free education until 16, over half the population remains uneducated. Until the masses are educated, a true democracy cannot be established. Unfortunately, feudal culture has tainted the country’s history. In pursuit of personal gains and thirst for political power, feudals joined politics to grow their unchecked influence on underprivileged residents, who mainly consisted of poor peasants and their families living and working on their lands. They were prone to physical and men-

tal abuse and had no autonomy to exercise their constitutional freedom, including the right to vote. Despite land reforms in 1959 to break the massive land holdings into smaller ones among poor peasants. And small farmers were a step to shatter the feudal mindset, and politically strengthen underprivileged landless peasants in Pakistan. however, later in the 1980s, under military rule, the land reforms were declared repugnant to Islam. Since then, political clout has been enjoyed by landlords, who easily sweep elections, owing to a plethora of votes cast by their peasants, workers, and others under their influence. The Quaid-e-Azam wanted to hoist a flag of democracy in the country. Sadly,his untimely demise within a year of independence left the country in shambles and chaos. Despite a tumultuous journey, the Constituent Assembly managed to give Pakistan its first constitution in 1956. It provided a constitutional commitment of a parliamentary form of government, and its most important feature was the separation of powers. It ensured conflict-free functioning of the provincial and federal institutions, which was an initial step towards sustainable democracy. Owing to a series of political events that caused instability, institutional mismanagement was evident, economic crisis, and external threats were sufficient reasons to pave the way for the first coup in 1958. In between infamous military rules, democratic regimes, though inconsistent, continued their effort to bring the country on a democratic track by providing it with another constitution in 1962 based on the presidential model. however, that was abrogated too in 1969. Pakistan’s history is tainted by dictatorial rules, massive corruption, and leaders’ myopic attitude towards national interest, and strengthening state institutions was never on their agenda. In 1973, Pakistan got its last constitution that is still in force with a few major amendments. It was suspended in 1977 til 1985, and later in 1999 until 2003, when the country was handed back to a democratic regime through transparent elections. Throughout the tumultuous journey of being under totalitarian regimes. Pakistan was run in absence of legislatures for years, thus without any effective policy formulation needed in the crucial years of the country. Since 2008, every single general election has been a point of contention between the winning political party and its opposition, followed by long marches, creating a law and order situation, and slurring against the military establishment for involvement in compromising the transparency of elections. This has become a norm. After being expelled from the country’s political scene, the establishment tried to manipulate election results to achieve favourable outcomes that could strengthen its hold on the country. A country with a strong judiciary maintains rule of law, ensures freedom of speech, and deters any unconstitutional activities by other state institutions. however, Pakistan’s apex court platforms were used by military rulers to justify their tenure and unconstitutional activities. During Pakistan’s last military rule, the NrO was introduced to write off debts, and cancel criminal and political charges against politicians in exile. The ordinance was annulled by ex-chief justice of the Supreme Court, who was unconstitutionally ousted from his office but later his successor ratified the Ordinance. This gross violation of the Constitution by the judiciary proved detrimental. In Pakistan, the civil institutions are scapegoated for misgovernance issues and poor institutional management. hence, the public has begun losing trust in the state institutions which, if unaddressed, creates a democratic crisis.

Courts are already struggling to clear the huge backlog of cases. Their failure to dispense timely justice, owing to political interference in judicial proceedings as witnessed by granting bails and acquitting senior members of the political mafia. From time immemorial, the judiciary has held a strong foothold in societies, committed to rule of law. however, Pakistan’s judicial history is tainted with political appointments of senior judges in the apex court, and in return, favorable verdicts are rendered. Democracy Index’s global ranking in 2020, landed Pakistan at 105th position among165 independent nations, and it remained classed a “hybrid regime”, out of the four types of regimes: “full democracy”, “flawed democracy”, “hybrid regime” or “authoritarian regime.” Countries falling in the hybrid category are those where transparent elections reportedly have substantial irregularities, like us. Oppressed civil society, a feature of Third World countries, is coerced not to speak against state-sponsored violence. In Pakistan, the establishment makes repeated attempts to knock down members of civil society, who raise the issue of enforced disappearances across the country. Media in the modern world plays an important role in creating public awareness and educating the masses about issues faced by a country, is subjected to censorship in Pakistan through stringent laws, which has become a norm for the government to clamp down on dissenting voices. Other factors of the hybrid regime, include misgovernance, including unchecked corruption and massive looting in government institutions is the key factor why our institutions haven’t surpassed the developmental stage to achieve sustainability. For Pakistan to become a sustainable democracy, there are several steps for it. The prevalence of education should be the government’s foremost priority to help elevate thevoters’ mental stature and raise their political consciousness. To break feudal-based political clout, there is a dire need to reinstate land reforms. Frequent, free, and transparent elections are mandatory to hand over power to those who can efficiently and smoothly run a country. Also, political participation of all stakeholders, and creating an environment of inclusiveness, is required. This promotes a sense of participation among the minorities, religious and inclusion of marginalized groups often ignored in the country’s decision-making process. Military and civil institutions should have a good working relationship based on cooperation and harmony, and most importantly the concept of separation of power must be understood and implemented. Institution building is yet another feature of a viable democracy in developed nations, ensuring a corruption-free society by checks and balances, and formulating robust policies in favour of rule of law to remove key impediments causing governance crisis. Pakistan has struggled hard since its earlier days to achieve political stability to withstand internal and external threats. however, it’s still a long way to go for a country marred by massive corruption, misgovernance issues, unending political warring, and civil-military rifts until the country’s leadership comes forward to work towards a common goal of achieving a viable democracy. however, the situation is not so gloomy. There is always a way to move forward to achieve goals for the betterment of a country and its forthcoming generations. The writer reports for Fox News Digital and also a freelance columnist. He is currently pursuing an LLM at UC Berkeley and can be reached at mohsin.saleemullah@berkeley.edu

rISING superpower China is the biggest manufacturing industry in the world. China’s influence due to its strong economy has spread far and wide. In order to maintain its veto status and grandness all around the globe, it needs allies to support her. Pakistan is that alley that has encouraged China in every tough condition, whether it was the 1962 conflict against India or participation in the Vietnam war. China has always found Pakistan beside her. Geographically, Pakistan is also pivotal to China. There are many reasons that China needs Pakistan. The main source of energy for any country is its oil, and the oil supply further increases its might. 80% of China’s oil is conveyed through the Strait of Malacca and the South China Sea. This voyage is about 10,000 miles and dangerous too. There are countries like Japan, Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia with whom China every time remains in conflict over different dilemmas. If in future, the USA begins a war with China, these countries on the pronounce of America will block the sea route for China and easily in a short period of time, China will be appalled with oil shortage and will lose the war. But transporting oil through Pakistani seaport Gwadar is a blessing for China. It provides a safe and healthy route and it also condenses distance too which is just 2000 miles. CPeC was launched in 2015 with the mutual cooperation of both China and Pakistan. This project adjoins sundered China with gulf countries that are the hub of oil and natural gas. With an investment of China, Pakistan will progress too that will provide local jobs and foreign earnings. This foreign earning will be quite helpful in reducing poverty and unemployment issues. There is a famous colloquial saying that Pak-Sino friendship is deeper than the Pacific Ocean and taller than Mount everest. This friendship has blessed both countries where one is the next leading country and the other is a hardworking and struggling nation. China’s support will surely contribute to weakening poverty cycle and extending economy of the Pakistan which has been circulating in a viscous quagmire. SAJID ALI NAICH KHAIrpur

Women under Taliban rule AFGhANISTAN, a war-torn country, had been a ground of historic enmity that started in 1979 and continues till today. The inimical relations between the Taliban and the US resulted in the decimation of the people of Afghanistan. however, the departure of the forces has resulted in adverse consequences for the people of Afghanistan. every individual especially women is terrified of the atrocious Taliban forces who are governing the country with might. In this particular situation, the future of women seems bleak under the callous rule of the Taliban that neglects their fundamental rights. Moreover, Afghani women believe that the Taliban regime of 1996 has been revived which would act as an obstruction for women in terms of their stability, liberation, freedom of marriage, higher education, employment and political career. While articulating to The Guardian News, a young Kabul resident, who requested to be anonymous, depicted the chaotic scenario of the very first day of Taliban rule. Besides, she induced an alarming situation for the women in Afghanistan. One of the spokeswomen told her to wear a chador (burqa) since the Taliban forces had captured Kabul. She breathlessly started running towards the vehicle that dropped her several minutes earlier. however, the driver of the transport prohibited her from getting inside the vehicle as he did not want to jeopardize his life by transporting a woman. This reveals the extreme level of their biased behaviour with women which needs not to be practised any longer since women are actively taking part in every walk of life around the globe; in some cases, they are outdoing men also. The collapse of the Afghan government has wreaked havoc in the country. especially, Afghan women feel abandoned and sceptical of Taliban concerning their behaviour with women and consider Taliban governance as a red flag to their prosperity. In this regard, I staunchly believe that the Taliban rule will not allow women to lead a genial life as it can be observed that there is a significant mismatch between the practices and commitments applied by the Taliban. It is high time the Taliban realized the significance of women and the need for their contribution in various fields for the uplift of the war-torn country. MEHAK JAMALI HyDErAbAD.

Importance of ambulances INCreASeD population has led to an increase in traffic on roads as most people use vehicles of their own. People often avoid following traffic rules because everyone is in a rush to reach their destination in time. Amid all this chaos, ambulances boarded with patients are stuck in traffic for hours. every now and then, we hear patients losing their lives in the ambulance due to severe traffic jams. Despite, ambulances having a distinct siren to alarm people to clear the route, most vehicles remain stagnant or refuse to clear the way for the ambulance. The patients inside ambulances require immediate medical support and assistance, which ambulances alone cannot offer. The government should implement policies to facilitate ambulance services. For instance, there should be separate lanes on roads, and a warden must be present to clear the roads and allow red signal lanes to move. Ambulances should be treated with grave importance, unlike other vehicles that often disrupt traffic with VIP movements. hotlines and GPS should be used to alert traffic wardens a few minutes before so that they keep at least one lane free for emergency vehicles. As citizens, we also have a responsibility to fulfil. Whenever an ambulance is behind your car, clear the way for them to pass. We must recognise that every second counts during a medical emergency, which is why it is important to give way to any approaching ambulance. It can mean the difference between life and death. Also, the relevant authorities must implement steps to equip ambulances with the latest specialised technology to assist the patients on their way to the hospital. AHMED KHAN LAHorE

Wednesday, 19 January, 2022

08 WORLD VIEW

Will Jeremy Hunt be tHe next prime minister? NOW THAT PARTYGATE LOOKS INCREASINGLY LIKELY TO LEAD TO A CHANGE OF LEADER, HUNT HAS TOLD THE HOUSE MAGAZINE THAT: ‘I WON'T SAY MY AMBITION HAS COMPLETELY VANISHED, BUT IT WOULD TAKE A LOT TO PERSUADE ME TO PUT MY HAT INTO THE RING’ SPeCtator

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AlexANdeR lARmAN

InCE he was defeated by Boris Johnson in the 2019 Conservative leadership contest, Jeremy Hunt has had a quieter life as a backbench MP. He has campaigned for the release of nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe from custody in Iran and has been an effective and interventionist chairman of the Health Select Committee, often calling out his own party over inadequacies in their response to the Covid crisis and nHS funding. But could he now be preparing for another

shot at the top job? now that partygate looks increasingly likely to lead to a change of leader, Hunt has told the House magazine that: ‘I won't say my ambition has completely vanished, but it would take a lot to persuade me to put my hat into the ring.’ As the Prime Minister’s nemesis Dominic Cummings tweeted: ‘[This] is SW1 code for: leadership contest is imminent, sign up early if you want a seat in Cabinet, am on phone to donors and getting office set up, there has to be one non-Brexit nutter in last two’. Hunt is one of the few high-profile members of the Tory party who could be said to have had ‘a good pandemic’. As a result, Hunt has largely dispelled the nega-

tive image he engendered when he was health secretary in the Cameron and May administrations. He is regarded as one of the few grown-up figures in the party and, crucially, has reassured traditional shire Conservatives that there is at least one ‘big beast’ on the backbenches who represents a form of One national Toryism – as opposed to the more Brexity variety espoused by Johnson and his cabinet. In his interview with House, Hunt offered the Prime Minister some qualified support for his Brexit achievements and the vaccine roll-out (‘we have to give Boris great credit’), but nonetheless stated that ‘I think the issues around 'partygate' are substantive issues. They are important issues

Workers have the right to say ‘no’ to unsafe work

and we're now waiting for the results of the independent inquiry to get to the bottom of what happened.’ So how would Hunt fare in a postJohnson contest? His likely rivals would be Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss, and he faces the dual disadvantage of being a ‘traditional’ white, upper-middle class public schoolboy and Oxford graduate (compared to Sunak and Truss’s more unorthodox backgrounds). He was also a committed Remainer. By comparison, Truss’s previous support for the Remain side has now been erased from history; she is now one of the government’s most enthusiastic born-again Brexiteers. And yet, it's not all bad news for Hunt.

Sydney Morning herald

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ANThONy FORsyTh

TAFFIng shortages caused by this summer’s Omicron surge have led to the relaxation of COVID restrictions by federal and state governments. As a result, Australian workers are being exposed to health risks at work on a scale like never before. Since coronavirus cases began to increase rapidly, several steps have been taken to get people back to work. Since coronavirus cases began multiplying exponentially a few weeks ago, and supply chains ground to a halt from chronic staff shortages, several steps have been taken to get people back to work. The definition of who constitutes a “close contact” was narrowed, and the isolation period for close contacts was reduced from 14 to seven days. Rules were also changed to allow an everexpanding group of key or essential workers, including those in food production, emergency services, utilities and transportation, to return to work even if they are a close contact – with no isolation period – subject to certain conditions. Many workers are therefore being pressured to resume work in circumstances that, previously, were considered highly likely to lead to transmission of the virus. Union leaders are now rightly stating: if governments won’t protect workers (including as a result of the Coalition government’s failure to ensure sufficient supply of rapid antigen tests), then the collective voice and power of workers will be deployed. So, are we likely to see widespread strikes, which employers argue would be irresponsible in the current dire situation facing many businesses? The answer is: probably not, but the exercise by workers of their legal rights to refuse to perform unsafe work is legitimate and has already been a feature of this twoyear long pandemic. Labour laws protect workers in taking a strong stand to defend a healthy and safe workplace. For example, the model Work Health and Safety legislation in place in most jurisdictions and equivalent provisions in Victorian OHS

Anthony Forsyth is a Distinguished Professor in the Graduate School of Business and Law, RMIT University. He blogs on workplace issues at labourlawdownunder.com.au

Alexander Larman is an author and books editor of the Spectator’s World edition.

From aerial strikes to starvation, Afghanistan’s people bear the brunt of the West’s failed Taliban tactics EVEN IF MASS STARVATION IS AVOIDED THIS TIME ROUND, AFGHANISTAN WILL REMAIN A PARIAH STATE, AND THIS IS BAD NEWS FOR EVERYBODY

BUT EVEN IN A HEALTH AND SUPPLY CHAIN CRISIS LIKE THE ONE WE ARE CURRENTLY FACING, BUSINESSES HAVE A LEGAL DUTY TO ENSURE THE HEALTH AND SAFETY OF THEIR WORKERS law: provide that “a worker may cease, or refuse to carry out, work if the worker has a reasonable concern that [it] would expose the worker to a serious risk to [their] health or safety, emanating from an immediate or imminent exposure to a hazard”; empower work health and safety representatives to direct the cessation of unsafe work based on “a reasonable concern that to carry out the work would expose [a worker] to a serious risk to the worker’s health or safety, emanating from an immediate or imminent exposure to a hazard”; enable the above action to be taken without consultation with management or without the parties attempting to resolve the issue under the legislation where “the risk is so serious and immediate or imminent that it is not reasonable to consult before giving the direction” to stop work. In addition, under the Fair Work Act, work stoppages or bans on the performance of work are not considered to be “industrial action” – and therefore are not susceptible to court or tribunal orders sought by employers to end such action – where: the action by employees “was based on a reasonable concern … about an imminent risk to his or her health and safety” (and employees have not unreasonably failed to comply with a direction to perform other safe and appropriate work). Since the pandemic began, unions have stepped in to resist failures by businesses to ensure safe working conditions at workplaces like industrial laundries, warehouses/distribution centres, wharves, call centres, aircraft/airports and in many other settings. They have done this by successfully utilising some or a combination of the above legal provisions. Last week, the ACTU co-ordinated action by unions to counter an attempt by meat manufacturer, Teys Australia, to direct employees in South Australia to attend work even if they had tested positive to COVID unless they felt unwell (under a SA government approval). Woolworths subsequently suspended supply of meat products from the Teys abattoir while all parties worked to resolve the issues, ensuring adherence to COVID-safe protocols. Stop-works are not usually an automatic response to workplace safety risks: consultation, dispute resolution and the involvement of agencies like WorkSafe Victoria are also effective methods. But even in a health and supply chain crisis like the one we are currently facing, businesses have a legal duty to ensure the health and safety of their workers (so far as is reasonably practicable). And our laws enable workers to say “no” if they are required to work in situations that endanger their health.

The former health secretary has an obvious appeal in constituencies such as Chesham and Amersham – lost to the Lib Dems last year – in that he can present himself as a professional, experienced politician who is ready to take the Conservative party out of its current reputational mire. Hunt is the type of politician who can re-establish something of the combination of economic sense and social liberalism of the Cameron era, if that is what the Tory party is interested in. There are more twists ahead in the current administration’s travails, and Hunt would be foolish to set himself up as a Portillo figure, measuring up the curtains in 10 Downing Street before Johnson has been ousted from office. It remains unclear, too, whether there is much appetite for managerial party leaders after the departure of the flamboyant incumbent. But if the public are sick of endless drama and revelation, an unexciting but competent ‘safe pair of hands’ like Hunt may well become the next prime minister.

CounterPunCh

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PATRICK COCKBURN

n 26 August last year a former engineering student named Abdul Rahman al-Logari, wearing a vest containing 25lb of explosives, was about to be searched by American soldiers guarding Kabul airport. At the last moment, this Isis suicide bomber detonated his device, killing 13 American soldiers and between 170 and 200 Afghans who were desperately trying to get a flight out of the country. Three days later the US fired its last missile in its 20-year-war in Afghanistan at what it said was a car near the airport into which it believed Isis members had loaded a bomb. Both these stories turned out to be incorrect. Credible evidence soon emerged that, while the Isis bomber had killed the American troops, many of the Afghan civilians who died were shot by American soldiers who imagined they were being targeted by Isis gunmen. “Many we spoke to, including eyewitnesses, said significant numbers of those killed were shot dead by US forces in the panic after the blast,” wrote Secunder Kermani, the BBC correspondent in Kabul. Investigation revealed that the 10 civilians, seven of them children, who were killed by the US drone strike on the car were equally innocent. The supposed bomb was most probably canisters of drinking water. These two examples of “collateral damage” are no different from thousands of others in the country – and in Iraq and Syria – except that they occurred at a time and a place where journalists could investigate what had really happened. But it is important to understand that there is more to the accidental killings of innocent Afghans at Kabul airport than the ravages inevitable in any armed conflict at any time. They are rather the inevitable outcome of a supposedly new kind of warfare, which pretends to avoid civilian casualties, but only conceals them. As a military and political strategy, it grew out of a recognition by Washington and London that foreign military intervention no longer enjoys sufficient public support in the wake of the debacle of the Iraq war.

The drip-drip of dead and wounded soldiers coming home from military conflicts in far-away places is no longer acceptable. The response of the US and allied governments was to turn to two fresh strategies, one military and one economic, that seemed to solve their problem. They would allow them to wage war on the cheap, so to speak, reducing their own military casualties, avoiding civilian loss of life, but still inflicting war-winning losses on an enemy. This new approach had the further advantage that it could be sold as low-key and even humane – devastating though its real outcome on the ground has been. Air forces have always oversold the accuracy and effectiveness of their bombardments. In the 1920s, the RAF was already claiming that it could suppress Kurdish rebels in Iraq by bombing their villages. But over the last decade in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, air forces have made much more ambitious claims that they can hit targets with pinpoint accuracy, while such is the quality of the detailed information they can now receive from drones that they can distinguish armed enemies from the civilian population. In 2016, for instance, the Pentagon claimed to have killed 25,000 Isis fighters and only 21 civilians in 18 months. Many suspected that this was not true, but the contrary was difficult to prove because those targeted lived in dangerous, difficult to access places. It was only when a hidden Pentagon archive of 1,300 documents about its air war in the Middle East since 2014 was handed over to researchers under the Freedom of Information Act and published in The new York Times that the true facts emerged. When investigators on the ground spoke to surviving civilians, they discovered a catalogue of bloody errors: sacks of cotton were mistaken for bags of ammonium nitrate destined for a bomb-making factory; a man identified and targeted by aerial surveillance turned out to be an elderly female; males on five motorcycles driving quickly “in formation”, as if they were about to launch an attack, turned out to have been just men on motorcycles; a suspicious object being taken into a house, which was then attacked, turned out to be a small child. Civilian loss of life stemming from misidentification of targets could be very high: in 2016, the US bombed a hamlet called Tokhar in northern Syria and claimed to have killed 85 Isis fighters, but eyewitnesses said that in reality they had killed 120 farmers and their families. In other words, this new type of air war was just as bad as anything seen in Vietnam and was in the nature of a collec-

tive punishment of the civilian population as a whole. Missiles and bombs might also kill many Taliban, but anger at civilian loss of life meant that they acted as its recruiting sergeant. In the event, reliance on supposedly super-accurate and well-informed air power failed and the level of destruction in cities like Mosul in Iraq, Raqqa in Syria and countless villages in Afghanistan was not much different from the Second World War. But the air war was only one element in a two-prong strategy, the second of which was to impose tight economic sanctions, much like a medieval siege, on countries like Syria, Iran and Afghanistan. Again targets were supposed to be the governments of those countries, but leaders were the last to be affected by scarce and expensive supplies. Instead ordinary Syrians for and against Bashar al-Assad have been brought close to starvation. Iraqi society has never really recovered from stringent Un sanctions against Saddam Hussein. Despite these ominous precedents, Afghanistan, already one of the poorest countries in the world, has been punished by a tight economic embargo imposed after the Taliban overthrew the American-supported government in August. Less than five months after the fall of Kabul, three-quarters of the 40 million Afghans have been plunged into acute poverty, with many already suffering from malnutrition. On top of war, the Covid-19 epidemic, and drought, came the collapse of the foreign-funded state machinery and aid programmes. And, if this was not enough, what remains of the economy has been strangled by economic sanctions with the freezing of more than $9bn in central bank reserves and cutting off of the country from the international financial system. The consequent social and economic collapse has led to the Un looking for $4.4bn in humanitarian relief last Tuesday, the largest appeal it has ever made for any single country. Even if mass starvation is avoided this time round, Afghanistan will remain a pariah state, and this is bad news for everybody. Like it or not, the Taliban won the war, and aiding a destitute population while ignoring them is impossible. The Biden administration is in its usual muddle after allowing the Taliban to win, now imagining that it can punish them, or modify their behaviour for the better, by economic pressure. But starving them out is not going to work and, if there is any starving to be done, it will be by millions of ordinary Afghans. Patrick Cockburn is the author of War in the Age of Trump (Verso).

Wednesday, 19 January, 2022 | ISLAMABAD

NEWS

corporate corner NA body expresses dismay on word of “alien” card issued to Bengalis, proposes to change its name ISLAMABAD: Coordination Committee (NADRA), under the Conveniership of Deputy Speaker National Assembly Qasim Khan Suri, took notice of non-functionality of District Level Committees (DLCs) regarding the issue of blocked Identity cards. The committee proposed for altering the formation of DLCs as of NADRA briefed the participants about non-functionality of these committees. The committee observed that being Public Representatives it is their prime obligation to ensure easy access to fundamental right of “Identity” for its citizens. The committee also observed that smaller provinces need special attention of NADRA as Balochistan is the only province which did not have NADRA mega centre to facilitate the common people. The committee also proposed that the number of female centre be increased especially in KPK and Balochistan to facilitate women of these areas. The committee appreciated the performance of Chairman NADRA regarding recruitment of local people to facilitate the local and it also appreciated the inclusive policy of NADRA on latest technology analyst. The committee agreed to the proposition f Chairman NADRA about the word “Alien” and proposed to change its name immediately as the word “Alien” is disrespect to its holders as observed by Chairman NADRA. The meeting of Coordination Committee (NADRA) was held under the Chairmanship of Deputy Speaker National Assembly Qasim Khan Suri in the Parliament House today. While observing the sensitivity attached with the issuance of Computerized National Identity Card (CNIC), Deputy Speaker National Assembly Qasim Khan Suri said that identity is a fundamental right to each Pakistani. He said that there must not be any discrimination on the basis of nationality and language in the provision of CNIC. He expressed his dissatisfaction over non-establishment of Mega centre of NADRA in Balochistan. He instructed NADRA to immediately complete the establishment of NADRA mega centre in Quetta. He also took notice of the fact that the 95 percent of NADRA centers are being functioned in rented buildings. He stressed on the need to review this trend as NADRA deals with sensitive data. He also stressed to develop a proper payment mechanism for overseas Pakistanis so that they can easily pay NADRA for its services. Chairman NADRA Muhammad Tariq Malik briefed the participants initiatives of NADRA for inclusive identity. He also briefed the participants of the meeting regarding its initiatives of issuance of Succession certificates and Armed license procedure. He also said that total 157 districts of the country and 510 Tehsils out of 543 Tehsils in the country has NADRA centre and he said that till June 2022 the target of establishment of NADRA centre in each Tehsil of the country would be fulfilled. There are 13 Embassies where NADRA has its office and soon the number of office would be Increased. Chairman NADRA also presented NADRA’s performance during his first 150 days. He apprised the committee about new initiatives so far taken for general public and overseas Pakistanis. The committee members appreciated Chairman NADRA’s performance. The meeting was attended by MNAs Mr. Gul Dad Khan, Muahmmad Alamgir Khan, Sardar Muhammad Israr Tareen and Senior officers of NADRA and National Assembly Secretariat. pr

TALIBAN GOVT GIVES APPROVAL FOR PAKISTAN-AFGhANISTAN RAIL LINK

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HE Taliban government on Tuesday gave approval for a railway link between Afghanistan and Pakistan, greenlighting rail links between the cities of Peshawar and Kabul and Peshawar and Jalalabad. Approval for a rail link with Uzbekistan was also given. The cabinet of the new government, during the meeting, also approved a rail link between Jalalabad and the capital Kabul. The cabinet meeting was presided by Afghan Prime Minister Mullah Muhammad Hassan Akhund. It is pertinent to note that during the first phase, fea-

sibility studies and surveys would be conducted and the findings of the first phase would be shared with higher officials during the second phase of the project. A change in police and armed forces uniforms was also approved during the cabinet meeting. With the funds raised under the joint appeal, a 573-km long railway link will be constructed. The shortest economic track would run from Peshawar to Kabul and from Kabul to Uzbekistan via Mazare-Sharif and the route will have “27 stations, 912 artificial constructions and 7 tunnels” to facilitate cargo movement.

Chairman Rehmatulil Alameen Authority, IIUI President discuss role of varsities in promotion of Seerah

In December last year, Prime Minister Imran Khan signed a “Joint Appeal Letter” seeking $4.8 billion loan from various International Financial Institutions (IFIs) for a railway line project connecting Pakistan with Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and the Central Asian Republics. The official statement noted that PM Imran “supported Uzbek efforts to secure financing for the project by signing Joint Appeal Letter addressed to the Heads of various International Financial Institutions (IFIs) by Heads of State/Government of Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan.” News Desk

AIOU provides free matriculation education to the people of Balochistan, former FATA and GB ISLAMABAD: Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) as a prestigious national educational institution is striving hard to provide quality educational facilities to Pakistani population and particularly its underprivileged and marginalized strata located in the far flung areas of the country. In this regard, Prof Dr Zia Ul -Qayyum, VC, AIOU has directed all regional directors to initiate massive awareness campaigns throughout the country about university’s scholarships, fee concession and financial assistance schemes so that no one is deprived of education owing to lack of financial resources. It is pertinent to mention here that university is playing its due role in the process of national progress and development byproviding free matriculation education to the people of Baluchistan, former FATA and GB. Moreover, scholarships and fee concession schemes have been launched to provide financial assistance to the poor and the needy. pr

ISLAMABAD pr

Chairman of the National Rehmatulil Alameen Authority, Ejaz Akram and President, International Islamic University (IIU), Dr. Hathal Homoud Alotaibi had a meeting on Tuesday here at the new campus of the university. During the meeting, the role of educational institutions in promoting teachings of the Prophet (PBUH) and the importance of research in the light of Seerah were discussed. IIU President apprised the Chairman of the National Rehmatulil Alameen Authority about the uni-

versity's role in promotion of Islamic research and values in the form of collaborations, research and training. He also briefed him about the research and training projects at constituent units of the university as well as he also told about the service of the scholars of the university. Mr. Ejaz Akram said that universities are vital institutions to promote the teachings of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) in society. He emphasized that universities must conduct research regarding the true message of Islam in light of the teachings of the Holy Prophet (PBUH). He also appreciated the efforts and vision of IIUI.

LUMS observes Convocation 2020 and 2021 LAHoRe: LUMS' first in-person Convocation ceremonies since 2019 were held on two days. Pro Chancellor LUMS, Mr. Abdul Razak Dawood, officiated the convocation for the Class of 2020 on Saturday, January 15, 2022, and the ceremony for the Class of 2021 on Sunday, January 16, 2022, at the LUMS campus in Lahore. Founding Pro Chancellor, Syed Babar Ali and member, LUMS Board of Trustees, Dr. Pervez Hassan were also present on both commencement ceremonies. Students felt overwhelmed and involved in rejoicing the celebration together as a community, noticing and marking its various aspects that they missed since the start of the pandemic two years ago. A warm address by the Registrar, Ms. Zara Fateh Qizilbash, welcomed students and their families on both days followed by exclusive talks by the Vice Chancellor, Dr. Arshad Ahmad, and the keynote speakers. During his address, the Vice Chancellor, Dr. Arshad Ahmad, recalled notable moments from LUMS’ journey through 2020-21, calling them as the years of strength and resilience. While we are still emerging from the grip of this pandemic, the Vice Chancellor paid exemplary homage to all members of the LUMS community including the students, staff, faculty members, and parents who stayed connected through these challenging times and maintained uninterrupted learning through technology and innovation. He inspired the students to embrace the idea of quality and apply it in every aspect of their life. To propel growth, he advised the students to adopt the values of merit, integrity, and empathy. He also urged the students to serve the society through research and purpose and recognise the power of change that has been vested within them through their academic endeavours at LUMS. Dr. Arfa Sayeda Zehra, educationist, public intellectual, culture expert, gender specialist and human rights activist, addressed the Class of 2020 as a keynote speaker. pr

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Managing Director PBM, Malik Zaheer Abbas Khokhar and CEO Roots International Schools and Colleges, Waleed Mushtaq showing the document of MoU for the joint collaboration in Social Services, in Islamabad on January 18, 2022. pr

METRO PAKISTAN JOINS GERMAN CONSULATE FOR PARKS CLEANING DRIVE KARACHI: METRO, the leading international wholesale company, joins the consulate of the Federal Republic of Germany in Karachi for the launch of an environmental project at Clifton’s Aunty Park. As part of Corporate Social Responsibility, METRO Pakistan provided the cleaning equipment, gloves, garbage bags and bins, and extended its support for the initiative. The DG Parks Karachi, Mr. Junaidullah Khan, was the chief guest for the occasion. Speaking at the occasion, Mrs Birgit Nicole Kuhlmann, the Deputy Head of Mission at the German Consulate General in Karachi, said “We are here to inaugurate the Aunty Park environmental project 2022, together with our Pakistani partners METRO and TrashIt. We will be refurbishing and cleaning up the park, and will be placing garbage bins, and at the same time we will be running awareness drive for cleanliness of the premises and protection of the nature” Representing METRO, Mr. Imran Shamim, Senior Manager Corporate Affairs, said “METRO being the biggest wholesale company always supports the constructive initiatives to protect environment and nature, and today we have sponsored this activity by the German Consulate Karachi. pr

Police martyrs pride of force; says IGP ISLAMABAD pr

The funeral prayer of head constable Munawar Hussain was offered here on Tuesday who was martyred in the shootout on Monday night. Federal Minister for Interior, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, Inspector General of Police, Muhammad Ahsan Younus, senior officers from Pakistan Army and police Jawans attended the funeral. A guard of honor was presented by a well-armed contingent of Islamabad Police to the martyred policeman. The capital police chief met with the family of martyr personnel and expressed condolences on behalf of the police force and prayed for the departed soul. Speaking on the occasion, IG Islamabad said the

police force stood with the family of the martyr, adding that they would be taken care of in every possible way. All privileges would be ensured to them

under police shuhda package. According to police a shootout took place in Karachi Company police precincts in Sector G-8. Two other policemen were

injured in the exchange of fire. The personnel were on a routine patrol and had set up a checkpoint at Jillani Chowk when two terrorists mororbike opened fire at the police party. The officials retaliated and three suffered bullet wounds. The terrorists were killed on the spot, while the policemen were shifted to hospital, where the head constable Munawar Hussain embraced martyrdom. IGP Islamabad along with senior officers had visited PIMS Hospital last night to review the arrangements and directed the hospital management to provide the best medical facilities to the injured personnel. Shaheed Munawar Hussain joined the police force on February 23, 1984. He served in different divisions of capital police during his stay at service.

Wednesday, 19 January, 2022 | ISLAMABAD

10 FOREIGN NEWS

Kashmir independent press club shut down in media cracKdown

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News desk

HE future of press freedom in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir has been thrown into question after pro-government journalists and police officers forcibly took over its independent press club, which the authorities later shut down. The incident, which follows the harassment and detention of dozens of journalists in Kashmir in recent months, is the latest attack on independent journalism in the region, which is disputed between India and Pakistan. A small group of journalists supportive of the Indian government stormed the Kashmir Press Club with the assistance of armed police over the weekend, allegedly threatening its ruling body, and locked up the build-

ing, preventing journalists from entering. The club, which has irked the government by defending media freedoms and its critical reporting, had been about to hold new elections. The overthrow was widely condemned. The Editors Guild of India said it was “aghast at the manner in which the office and the management of Kashmir Press Club … was forcibly taken over” and accused the state of being “brazenly complicit in this coup”. The former chief minister of Indian-administered Kashmir, Omar Abdulllah, also called it a “state-sponsored coup”. The worst fears of the independent journalist community in Kashmir were confirmed on Monday when the regional administration declared the press club had been deregistered as a society and “ceased to exist”, and that the land on which it stands was being taken

back into government hands. “It seems the ultimate goal was to shut down the Kashmir Press Club,” its general secretary, Ishfaq Tantray, said. “By this action, they wanted to stifle the voice of journalists that resonated through the forum … the only democratic and independent journalist body” in the region. The government defended its actions as protecting press freedom and ensuring the “safety of bona-fide journalists”. There has been a growing crackdown on independent journalism in Kashmir since the national government led by Narendra Modi unilaterally revoked the region’s autonomy in August 2019, stripped it of statehood, dissolved its government and brought it under Delhi’s control. Journalists reporting critically in the region have faced intimidation, harassment

and lengthy and exhausting interrogations and investigations. More than 40 have been subjected to raids or police questioning in the past two years or placed on no-fly lists, preventing them from leaving the country. The government also introduced a draconian new media policy for Kashmir in June 2020, which introduced mandatory background checks for journalists and gave the administration power to prosecute those whom officials decide are spreading misinformation or fake news. The press club is the latest independent civil society group, following the Kashmir High Court Bar Association and the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce, to be forcibly prevented from holding elections since August 2019. “Journalism has been choked in the region, especially in last two years, with con-

tinuous summons and detentions of journalists,” said Fahad Shah, the editor of the local newspaper the Kashmir Walla. “Multiple raids have been conducted at journalists’ houses and offices too. It is just unfortunate how brazenly power is being used and laws are being scuttled to force people to toe a line that the government is comfortable with.” Sajad Gul, an independent journalist from Kashmir who has reported on alleged “fake encounters”, in which the military stages the death of civilians as militants, was detained on Monday under the Public Safety Act, a law that allows people to be arrested to prevent them acting against the security of the state.

The Centennial Journey of Communist Party of China: Great achievements, historical experience AmbAssAdor NoNg roNg The Communist Party of China (CPC) has become the world’s largest ruling party with global influence. Imagine how it develops from a party of 50 members to more than 95 million today. For anyone who wants to know the secrets, one should study carefully on the Sixth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee, at which the “Resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Major Achievements and Historical Experience of the Party’s Centenary Struggle” was passed. Some of the keys to the success of the CPC are hereunder: The first is to uphold the party’s leadership and ensure the party’s unity and centralization. The CPC is the core force of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics. China has 56 ethnic groups and a population of 1.4 billion. If the Central Committee of the CPC does not have a core and the whole party does not have a core, it will be easy to break up and nothing can be done.

At this plenary session, the CPC established Comrade Xi Jinping as the core of the Party Central Committee and the core position of the whole Party, and established guiding position of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. The CPC as well as the Chinese people will be more united towards the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. The second is to stick to a correct development path that suits the national conditions of the country. The direction determines the future, and the road determines the destiny. Through a century of struggle, the CPC has united and led the people of the whole country based on China’s national conditions and embarked on a path of socialism with Chinese characteristics that is in line with China’s economic and social development. Although there are challenges and ups and downs in the process, it has always been firm for us to move forward in the right direction on the whole. The third is to adhere to people-centered path and let the people be the masters of the

country. In last December, China released the “Democracy in China” white paper, introducing the concept of people’s democracy throughout the process. In all areas of the democratic process, such as consultation, decision-making, management, and supervision, there is a set of systems and procedures to ensure that the final decision is of people’s will and to people’s benefits. “If the shoes fit or not, only you know.” Whether a country is demo-

cratic or not, it has to be judged by the people. And I am proud to say that ours suits China’s condition and really works. The fourth is to maintain a global vision and strive to build a community of shared future for mankind. A party should always motivate itself with high targets that provide constant driving force. The CPC not only seeks happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation, but also seeks progress for mankind and great unity for the world. To this end, President Xi Jinping put forward the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind. As shown in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic, China initiated the largest global emergency humanitarian operation, and provided material aid, medical support, vaccine aid and cooperation to many countries, developing countries in particular, including Pakistan. As President Xi Jinping said during the telephone call with Prime Minister Imran Khan last October, facing the fundamental changes unseen in a century in the world,

China and Pakistan should stand more firmly together and incessantly strengthen strategic mutual trust. China supports Pakistan in exploring a development path that suits its own national conditions, and is willing to share with Pakistan the experience of the CPC in governance. Early next month, Prime Minister Imran Khan will go to China to attend the opening ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Olympics and hold discussions on bilateral ties. The leaders of both countries will meet face to face to set the course of future development of China Pakistan relations for the new year and beyond. I have full confidence on the success of this visit, and firmly believe that China’s development, as well as the CPC’s experience, will bring new opportunities for high-quality development of our iron friend. Let’s work hand in hand to this aim, and enrich the connotation of our all-weather strategic cooperative partnership for the new era. The writer of the article is Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan.

More than a dozen dead in coalition strikes on Yemen’s Sanaa YemeN ReuteRs

An airstrike killed about 14 people in a building in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, residents said on Tuesday, during strikes across the city launched by the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthi group. The alliance strikes on Houthi-held Sanaa followed an attack claimed by the Iranaligned Houthis on Monday on coalition partner the United Arab Emirates, in Abu Dhabi, in which three people were killed. The coalition also said it intercepted eight drones launched toward Saudi Arabia on Monday.

Early on Tuesday, the coalition said it had begun air strikes against strongholds and camps in Sanaa belonging to the Houthi group, Saudi state media said. The strikes appeared to be the deadliest since 2019 on Sanaa. The strike that killed about 14 people, according to initial estimates, was on the home of a former military official. It killed him, his wife, his 25-yearold son, other family members and some unidentified people, a medical source and residents told Reuters. Coalition strikes around the city had killed a total of about 20 people, the deputy foreign minister for the Houthi administration, which holds much of northern

Yemen, said on Twitter. Houthi-run Al Masirah TV said strikes had damaged houses, killed at least a dozen people and wounded about a dozen. The UAE has armed and trained Yemeni forces that recently joined fighting against the Houthis in Yemen’s energy-producing regions of Shabwa and Marib. Monday’s Houthi-claimed attack on two sites in the UAE set off explosions in fuel trucks, killed three people and ignited a blaze near Abu Dhabi airport. In response, the UAE said it reserved the right to respond to “terrorist attacks and criminal escalation”.

Before pullout, US watchdog warned of Afghan air force collapse AgeNcies Months before US President Joe Biden announced the United State’s complete withdrawal from Afghanistan last year, Washington’s watchdog warned that the Afghan air force would collapse without critical American aid, training and maintenance. The report was declassified on Tuesday. The report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (Sigar) John Sopko, submitted to the Department of Defence in January last year, underscores that American authorities had been alerted that Afghanistan’s air force did not have the capabilities to survive after a US withdrawal. In particular, the report points to US failure to train Afghan support staff, leaving the air force unable to maintain its

aircraft without American contractors. US air support to government forces was key in the 20year-war against Taliban insurgents. Its removal — along with the inability of the Afghan air force to fill the void — was one factor that contributed to the Taliban’s sweeping victory as the Americans withdrew. The inspector general’s office told The Associated Press on Monday that it is rare for Sigar reports to be classified but when they are, a declassified version is issued by the Pentagon in under two months. The office said it did not know why it took the Defence Department more than a year before declassifying this particular report, or why it did so now, five months after the Taliban took power. Sigar has tracked and documented Wash-

China calls on Taliban to fulfil international community’s expectations BEIJING: With the Taliban at the helm in Afghanistan for the past five months now, China on Tuesday called on the interim government to respond to the “international community’s expectations.” “Afghanistan should respond to international community’s expectations, build an open and inclusive political structure, make mild domestic and foreign policies, fight terrorism, be friendly with other countries and integrate into the international community,” Lijian Zhao, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, told a news con-

ington’s spending and progress in Afghanistan since the office was established in 2008. It has released successive reports that documented corruption, Afghan and US leadership failings and weaknesses within the Afghan army, offering recommendations on where to improve. Since the 2001 US-led invasion that ousted the Taliban and during the long war that ensued, Washington spent more than $145 billion on reconstruction in Afghanistan and nearly $1 trillion on its military engagement. Billions went to building up the Afghan military forces. Biden announced in April that the last 2,500-3,500 US troops would leave along with Nato’s 7,500 troops, following a deal reached with the Taliban by the Trump administration. The announcement started a rapid collapse of the Afghan defence forces.

Wednesday, 19 January, 2022 | ISLAMABAD

SPORTS 11

Lewandowski and PuteLLas win FiFa ‘Best’ awaRds PARIs

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AFP

AYERN Munich’s record-setting striker Robert Lewandowski retained FIFA’s top men’s player title Monday at “The Best” of 2021 ceremony as Barcelona captain Alexia Putellas collected the award for best women’s player. The 33-year-old Lewandowski set a Bundesliga goal record last season, and edged Argentine Lionel Messi of Paris SaintGermain and Egyptian Mohamed Salah of Liverpool for the award. “I’m happy and honoured to win this award, and I feel very proud,” said Lewandowski who scored a total of 48 goals for club and country in 2020-2021. Lewandowski scored three times for Bayern at the weekend taking his 2021-2022 season tally to 39 goals in 33 matches.

The trophy was some consolation for the Polish striker who lost out to Messi for the older and rival award the Ballon d’Or in November. For Putellas, it marked an awards double as the Spaniard triumphed over Barcelona team-mate Jennifer Hermoso and Chelsea’s Australian striker Sam Kerr, just as she did for the Ballon d’Or. The 27-year-old midfielder enjoyed an exceptional 2020-2021 season with Barcelona, leading the Catalans to the Spanish league and cup double as well as the Champions League. “This trophy is for everyone in the team,” Putellas said. “The trophy will be an inspiration for us all.” The best starting women’s 11 however featured no Barcelona player. Cristiano Ronaldo won the Special Award in recognition of setting a record of most international goals scored for his coun-

try, beating Ali Daei’s long-standing mark of 109 for Iran. The 36-year-old Ronaldo now has 115 goals from 184 games with Portugal after making his debut aged 18 back in 2003. “I never expected to beat this record, and I thank my teammates from these past 20 years,” said Ronaldo, who also holds the record for 140 Champions League goals. Chelsea’s Senegalese stopper Edouard Mendy and Christiane Endler of Lyon won the goalkeeping awards. Chelsea picked up both coaching awards through Thomas Tuchel and Emma Hayes. “Ultimately, the coach is only as good as the people they have around them,” said Hayes, whose charges were beaten in the Woman’s Champions League final but won the Super League and the League Cup. German coach Tuchel arrived at Chelsea half-way through the season, and transformed an under-achieving side into a ruth-

less unit to win the prestige Champions League title. “I’m overwhelmed,” said Tuchel. “I enjoy being here, it’s a good fit. “I’m grateful to have such supportive people around me, to feel so good in such a competitive club.”

Erik Lamela, now of Sevilla, won the best goal award for his trick rabona shot for Spurs in the North London derby. The medical staff and players of Denmark, who had to deal with Christian Eriksen’s collapse on the field at the Euro won the “fair-play” award.

Mohammad Hasnain to undergo test on bowling action after being reported by umpires in Big Bash League NEws DEsk

Rublev dispels Covid concerns with easy win

Young Pakistan pace bowler Mohammad Hasnain will undergo a test on his bowling action on Tuesday after it was reported by umpires in the Big Bash League (BBL) The development comes after the the 21-year-old — who played for Sydney Thunder — was accused of chucking during a match against Sydney Sixers The Hyderabad-born pacer, who made his debut over at the BBL with a triple-wicket maiden, will undergo the test at the International Cricket Council accredited bio-mechanics laboratory in Lahore, the report said. According to a details, the incident occurred during the first innings of the match as Sixers’ captain Moises Henriques failed to connect when Hasnain bowled a bouncer. Words were exchanged between the duo, with Henriques telling Hasnain: “Nice throw, mate”. According to the ICC website, an illegal bowling action is where a player is throwing rather than bowling the ball. “This is defined by the ICC as being where the player’s elbow extends by an amount of more than 15 degrees between their arm reaching the horizontal and the ball being released,” the rules state. If the player is found to be using an illegal bowling action, then they will be suspended from bowling until they have modified their bowling action and undertaken another test successfully, the rules add.

MELBOURNE AFP

Russia’s world number six Andrey Rublev brushed aside any concerns over a recent Covid-19 virus scare to power into the second round of the Australian Open on Tuesday. Rublev, having his first hit-out of the new season, blasted past Italian Gianluca Mager 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 in 1hr 24min on Margaret Court Arena. Rublev, who withdrew from the Russian team for the ATP Cup in Sydney late last month after testing positive for the virus, was in total command. He broke Mager’s serve seven times, hit 31 winners with just 13 unforced errors. “I was a bit tired before my first match because I was positive to Covid, but now everything is fine,” Rublev said. “I didn’t know how I would play in my first match, it’s not easy when you go into one of the best tournaments without playing for a few weeks. “But I am really happy with how it all went.” The Russian will next face either Lithuania’s Ricardas Berankis or Spaniard Roberto Carbelles Baena in the second round.

Spezia stop AC Milan topping Serie A AFP Emmanuel Gyasi coolly finished a 96th-minute counterattack to give Spezia their first Serie A victory away to AC Milan, 2-1, on Monday night. Milan gave up a 1-0 lead as they missed a chance to overtake neighbours Inter at the top of Serie A, while third-place Napoli closed to within two points with a 2-0 win in Bologna. In the late game, Fiorentina crushed dispirited Genoa 6-0 to jump sixth. Milan dominated much of the game but spurned a host of chances. In the 44th minute, Rafael Leao escaped behind the Spezia defence but was flattened by goalie Ivan Provedel kicking wildly at the bouncing ball. Theo Hernandez fired the penalty wide. A minute later Leao escaped again and this time reached the ball first and lobbed Provedel to give Milan the lead. Spezia hit back when Kevin Agudelo, finding a huge hole in the home defence, tapped in a low Daniele Verde cross at the near post after 64 minutes. As the game entered five minutes of added time, Jun-

ior Messias put the ball in the net for Milan, but the referee had already whistled for a foul rather than allow the home team the advantage. Milan coach Stefano Pioli blamed that decision for what happened next. “We lost our lucidity after having suffered an injustice, it’s a shame,” Pioli told Italian broadcaster DAZN. “The responsibility is ours but it must be shared tonight with the referee. It’s all the more strange that he didn’t whistle for half-fouls during the whole game and now he whistles when the ball is on our player’s foot.” Milan applied frenzied pressure and Provedel made three saves from Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The first was from a close-range shot, the second from a curling free kick and the third, and best, to claw away a looping header dropping just under the bar. Spezia sprung one last counter-attack. Victor Kovalenko rolled the ball across the penalty area to Gyasi, who, with the game on the line, carefully controlled then coolly placed the ball inside the far post. “Anyone can have a bad night,” said Pioli. “We will try to react, the team has always known how to do it.”

Milan host Juventus on Sunday. It was Spezia’s third straight away victory and lifted them to 14th in the table, six points clear of the relegation places. In Bologna, Mexican Hirving Lozano scored from close range in the 20th and 47th minutes. Striker Victor Osimhen came on for the last 20 minutes wearing a protective mask, a little less than two months after suffering facial fractures. Osimhen had travelled to Nigeria to join the national squad for the Africa Cup of Nations but returned to Italy after contracting Covid-19. In Florence, rising star Dusan Vlahovic squandered an 11th-minute penalty for the home team with a lazy Panenka that Salvatore Sirigu, reaching up, pawed away. It hardly mattered, as the home team tore apart Genoa, who have won once in the league all season and on Saturday fired Andriy Shevchenko after just two months as coach. Four minutes later, Sirigu dived at Vlahovic’s feet for a brave save but the ball ran to Alvaro Odriozola who scored to start the rout. Cristiano Biraghi struck with two long-range free kicks. Giacomo Bonaventura scored from close range. Vlahovic hit the target with another cute lob. Diminutive Lucas Torreira ended the scoring with a header.

‘She chopped her hair off’: Women’s struggle to play cricket in Pakistan NEws DEsk Bisma Amjad plays cricket. She aspires to play internationally and was picked for the national under-19 World Cup squad. But when the pandemic came, because she was a woman, there was nowhere for her to practise, so she dressed as a man to play alongside male cricketers at “gully cricket” — the street game. “Boys used to play gully-cricket even during the pandemic,” she says. “But the movement of girls was restricted, so we couldn’t play at all. I had no option but to dress like a man and practise with them,” says Amjad, 19, who has bowled at first-class and regional matches. In traditional circles in Karachi, Amjad hears constant comments such as “your skin will turn darker” or “it is a boys’ game and you are wasting your time. Do a course that will help you after marriage.” She says that many girls from conservative families or rural areas dress like boys so they can play cricket without being noticed.

“A friend of mine has chopped her hair off so she

could go and play without being known as she is a girl,” says Amjad. “Women who play sport have to struggle a lot in our society.” Amjad’s father supported her and drove her to matches but when he became ill she had to stop playing for a few months. “After my father recovered and I got his permission, I learned to ride a bike so I could commute on my own,” she says. Cycling brought its own problems. “Men would say ‘look, look, she is riding a bike. She used to wear a headscarf, what happened to her?’” she says. Fiddling with a cricket ball, she says: “I give my savings to my parents to show that I earn some money. I keep telling them, give me a few months more, I will prove it.” They have now given her one year to break into the national team or else drop cricket. Amjad was chosen for the under-19 squad to play the World Cup in 2021, but it was cancelled due to the pandemic, and now she has to keep playing first-class cricket to have any hope of making the national team.

Cricket is the most widely played and watched sport in Pakistan. But not women’s cricket. Excitement is building for the start of the seventh season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) on 27 January. The league hosts six teams from different parts of Pakistan and promotes cricket, helps male players earn a living and a place in the national team. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has yet to propose a time frame for the women’s league it had promised three years ago. The chairman, Ramiz Raja, has confirmed that there will be one. The news has delighted the Pakistan women’s cricket captain, Javeria Khan. “That is very welcoming since it would encourage more women to play cricket,” she says, adding: “Men have a lot of such tournaments where they can show their talents but women do not have such opportunities. “Here, a woman has to work twice as hard as a man to prove her talent,” she says. “Gender discrimination exists all over the world, but in Asia, the issue is more rampant.”

Wednesday, 19 January, 2022

prAyer timings

NEWS

CaBInet aPProveS one-tIMe waIver to IMPorted vehICleS oF overSeaS PakIStanIS ISLAMABAD

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shAhzAd pArAchA

EDERAL Cabinet Tuesday approved a one-time waiver to clear vehicles of Overseas Pakistanis stuck at ports since January 2021. Sources said that the Ministry of Commerce had requested the cabinet to give a one-time waiver for clearing five imported vehicles (Honda Civic 2017, Suzuki Jimny 2015, Nissan NV100 clipper 2015, Toyota Tundra 2015, Daihatsu Mira 2017) stuck up at ports for the last one year due to Covid-19 related restrictions. The MoC informed the cabinet that the above-mentioned vehicles cannot be cleared because they have exceeded the

permissible age limit by a few days (maximum 10 days) and that is caused mainly by delay in shipment and disruption in logistics resulting from Covid19 related restrictions. It is pertinent to mention that these vehicles could have been cleared had they been imported by December 31, 2020. The Commerce Ministry also informed the cabinet that the FBR supported their plea that voyages of cargo vessels have been badly affected due to the prevailing Covid-19 situation globally. Therefore, in order to facilitate overseas Pakistanis whose vehicles have been stuck at ports, it is proposed that general relaxation of 10 days may be allowed up to January 10, 2021, for the clearance of imported vehicles that might have exceeded their permissible

SC moved for recovery of ex-GB chief judge’s pension ISLAMABAD

age-limited up to 10 days and are pending customs clearance. A handout issued by the PM secretariat states that the cabinet approved a one-time waiver of delay due to Covid19 in importing vehicles of Overseas Pakistanis on the recommendation of the MoC. The five vehicles will be cleared by paying customs duty within ten days which have been parked at the port for the last one and a half years after the approval. Meanwhile, the Cabinet on the recommendation of the Ministry of Finance has granted an exemption to First Women Bank Limited for six months’ audit of 2019-20 and an approved audit of 2021 for the sixth year by KPMG. Sources said that the Privatization Commission has requested the Finance

Maryam, Bilawal make conflicting statements on PTI govt’s ouster ISLAMABAD

news desk

miAn AbrAr

A lawyer belonging to Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) has approached the top court for halting the monthly pension of former chief judge of the region, Rana Shamim. Rashid Minhas Umar, through his counsel Muhammad Nawaz Kharal, has filed petition under Article 184 (3) of the Constitution. The petition stated that after the promulgation of the Empowerment and Self-Governance Order, 2009, the then government had appointed retired SC judge Muhammad Nawaz Abbasi as the first chief judge of the G-B Supreme Appellate Court for three years. It added that there was no provision for pension benefits. Instead on the completion of three years, the judge had “illegally and improperly” fixed his pension and benefits, which were drawn by him. The petition further stated that the pension and benefits were also availed by other judges who were appointed with him. It also stated that later, the then federal Kashmir Affairs minister Manzoor Ahmed Watto had appointed his “blue-eyed worker” and an advocate of his hometown, Rana Muhammd Arshad, a resident of Okara, who was practicing as an advocate in Lahore, the second GB chief judge for three years under the Empowerment and Self-Governance Order, 2009. “In the period of three years, no judgment has been passed by him … and on [the] completion period of three years he had illegally, improperly drawn the pension and benefits,” read the petition. “After this, one Dr Rana Muhammad Shamim who was elevated in 2007-08 as an additional judge in the Sindh High Court, after the period of 7/8 months was shunted out from the Sindh judiciary as he was corrupt and incompetent, [and] has also forged his date of birth.” The plea maintained that Shamim was a worker of the PML-N and was one of the lawyers in the “Musharraf plane hijacking case”. When the PML-N came into power, it first appointed him (Shamim) as the chairman of the Press Council of Pakistan, it added. The petition further claimed that as soon as the post of the GB chief judge fell vacant, Shamim was appointed to the post for three years on August 30, 2015. The petition contended that chief judge and the judges with them were appointed under the GB Empowerment and SelfGovernance Order, 2009 and no pension and benefits were admissible. It is also stated that on October 5, 2018, the GB Bar Association in its meeting which was chaired by the petitioner, being its president, had passed a unanimous resolution demanding that the GB Council Secretariat and its secretary, who was the secretary of the ministry of Kashmir Affairs and GB as well and the GB AGPR in the connivance with each other, had released an amount of Rs640,00,000 and monthly Rs750,000 as pension for Shamim be withdrawn.

division to complete the pending audit of FWBL for the financial year 2018 by June 30, 2022, as the government has a plan to privatize the bank till December 31, 2022. The Board of Directors of FWBL had also approved M/s KPMG as auditor to finalize the audit from 2018 to 2020 in a meeting held in November 2021. Besides, the BoD had also requested SECP to grant exemptions in order to call the AGP for 2018 and an appointment of auditors for the subsequent year can be made. Sources said that the SECP has recommended the bank to get approval from the cabinet if it wants to conduct an audit from KPMG as every public sector company in the financial sector shall change its external auditors every five years.

Top opposition leaders of the opposition – Maryam Nawaz and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari – Tuesday made headlines by making conflicting statements on the ouster of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government. While PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz said that the ouster of PTI government is just a matter of days, Bilawal said that his party would not support any unconstitutional step to remove the government. Talking to media persons, Maryam said that the performance of the government is very poor. “Inflation, unemployment, the Murree tragedy, what more issues does one talk about,” she added. Maryam said that Prime Minister Imran Khan is in power and yet, his own members do not respect him. She said that several people lost their lives due to government’s incompetence in Murree and now people can no longer tolerate this government even for a day. Talking about claims of PTI that four leaders of PML-N had talked about removing Nawaz Sharif from leadership of the party, Maryam said that the PML-N is still intact despite repeated trials and hardships. On the contrary, Bilawal trashed any undemocratic move to dislodge PTI-led government, Chairman of PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that

no-confidence motion is the only option the opposition parties have to dislodge the government. “If the PDM reconsiders it stance on resignations [from assemblies] and adopt our viewpoint in this regard, we can certainly work together for the cause,” said the PPP chief in a statement issued here. Bilawal said that all opposition parties will have to play role. “We have to dislodge the government, no matter the number of marches,” he said and added that PPP’s reservations regarding the prices of essential commodities being multiplied due to the minibudget has been proved correct. “Pakistan had already been facing an economic crisis before the mini-budget, which has now led to historic price hike, unemployment and poverty. The people are being crushed under this burden,” he said. The PPP leader that his party has already decided that it will take to the streets against this incapable government and will start the long march from Karachi on 27 February. “However, we can never resort to undemocratic practices. My demand from the first day was to bring a no-confidence motion against this government. The government should be dislodged through democratic means. We will pass through the constituencies of their MNAs and allies and show them the demand of the people, which is to be liberated from the tyranny of this

new Pakistan,” he added. “Whenever the PPP has launched a long march against the government, the latter has been harmed. The bill regarding the State Bank of Pakistan was bulldozed at around midnight, counting was not done, our amendments were not heard. This was the biggest economic attack on the country in its history,” he said. He further stated that after this legislation, the State Bank is not answerable to the government, parliament, judiciary and the people. Rather, he asserted, it will be run on the dictation of international financial institutions. “The account of our defence budget will be in the State Bank and the government, parliament or the judiciary will have no control over it,” he said, adding that the country’s defence expenditure would be for the world to see and the nuclear programme will be threatened. “This government has attacked our economic sovereignty and democratic liberties,” he maintained. Regarding the presidential system, Bilawal said that history is witness to the fact that our country has been dismembered under this system. The Chairman PPP said that the constitution of the Quaid-e-Awam has given a federal, democratic and parliamentary Islamic republic to the nation.

Pakistan, UK agree to finalise agreement for repatriation of convicted criminals United Kingdom High Commissioner to Pakistan Christian Turner on Tuesday called on Minister for Interior Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed. According to a press release, issues of mutual and bilateral relations came under discussion during the meeting. The two sides agreed to finalise and sign at the earliest agreements for repatriation of convicted citi-

zens and criminals. They were of the view that bilateral agreements would further strengthen cooperation between the two countries. They realised that the agreements are in the interest of both countries and there is a need to accelerate progress on these. Speaking on the occasion, the interior minister said Pakistan and the United Kingdom have long-

standing ties and “we attach immense importance to our relations”. He said that Pakistanis residing in the United Kingdom are also helpful in promotion of bilateral ties. The high commissioner said Pakistan and the United Kingdom have friendly relationship. He also appreciated Pakistan’s assistance in evacuation of foreigners and Afghan citizens from Kabul. news desk

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IMF Board to meet on 28th for Pakistan’s sixth review KARACHI stAff report

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has scheduled a meeting on January 28 for Pakistan’s sixth review under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF). The discussion, ‘2021 Article IV Consultation, Sixth Review under the Extended Arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility, and Requests for Waivers of Nonobservance of Performance Criteria and Rephasing of Access’, comes after Pakistan requested the IMF to move the meeting to the end of January. Earlier, the finance ministry of Pakistan had announced that the sixth review of the $6-billion EFF would be held on January 12. Pakistan’s National Assembly on Thursday last week, passed the Finance (Supplementary) Bill and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Amendment Bill, 2021. The country will receive around $1 billion after the completion of the review, bringing the total disbursements under the EFF to around $3 billion. Pakistan and the IMF reached a staff-level agreement in November last year, on policies and reforms needed to complete the sixth review under the $6 billion EFF. The news of the executive board meeting comes as the country looks to issue US dollardenominated Sukuk bonds and the successful completion of the review will make it easier for other international lenders to give funds to Pakistan.

Covid positivity ratio hits 8-month high with 5,034 fresh cases ISLAMABAD stAff report

The coronavirus positivity ratio in the country has surged to 9.45 percent, the highest since May 8, 2021. According to the data released by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Tuesday, as many as 5,034 new cases were reported in the last 24 hours after 53,253 tests were conducted across the country. The country has reported the highest number of cases in a day since August 5, 2021 when the daily infections were registered at 4,745. The country also registered 10 more deaths, bumping the death toll to 29,029, official figures showed, with overall cases reaching 1.33 million after the detection of fresh infections. More than 60 percent of total cases were reported from Sindh as the province reported 3,283 new coronavirus cases during the past 24 hours, bringing the total of confirmed cases in the province to 507,476. According to Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, as many as 215 patients also recovered overnight, lifting the tally to 472,739. He added that six more patients succumbed to the virus during the period. So far 7,709 patients have succumbed to the deadly virus. Parliamentary Secretary on Health Dr Nausheen Hamid said Tuesday that the federal government is mulling over schools’ closure for children under the age of 12 years, as they are yet to be vaccinated. Dr Hamid said the government does not plan on closing schools where children above 12 years, staff, and teachers have been vaccinated. She said the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) — the forum leading the country’s pandemic response — is devising a strategy to keep checks and balances on public gatherings, which are a major reason for the spread of the virus. It will be formulated in a day or two, she said. The parliamentary secretary said there is no need to impose blanket restrictions across the country and curbs will only be enforced where the positivity ratio is high — with Karachi at the top. “Public gatherings will definitely be suspended in these cities and criteria are being set for it […] the NCOC will have a strategy formulated in two to three days,” Dr Hamid said. Meanwhile, Pakistan has seen a 30% spike in mental illnesses caused by the coronavirus in recent months, recent surveys and health specialists said. The latest survey conducted by the Sindh Mental Health Authority, a state-run government organization that provides mental health services in southern Sindh province, showed that depression and suicidal thoughts are the major problems developed among coronavirus patients or even those who have recovered. Senator Karim Khawaja said that around 40% of the 1,500 survey respondents have reported suffering from low to high depression after being infected with the coronavirus.

Govt increases tax on mobile phone recharge ISLAMABAD AhmAd AhmAdAni

The government has increased the tax on each mobile balance recharge and telecom companies have been informing their users about charging a 15 per cent withholding tax on recharge of the mobile balance. According to sources, the government has increased withholding tax (WHT) from 10 percent to 15pc and the

telecom companies through text messages have been informing their respective users about an increase in WHT of Rs 13.04 on recharge/reload of every card costing Rs100. Announcing to levy additional tax, telecom companies have made it clear in their text messages to their users that from now, on a recharge of balance Rs100, the consumers will get a balance of Rs86.95, sources told Pakistan Today.

Sources in the telecom industry said that the government by increasing WHT from 10pc to 15pc will earn a revenue of approximately Rs 43 billion a year. The Cellular Mobile Operators (CMOs) are deducting only Withholding tax and General Sales Tax on the pre-paid recharge/reload. As per details, total government taxes on recharge of Rs 100 is Rs 27.23 as GST @ 19.5pc is Rs 14.19 and WHT @ 15% is

Rs 13.04. On the recharge of Rs. 100, balance provided to the user is Rs. 86.95 after deduction of Rs. 13.04 against withholding tax @ 15% while balance with customer for usage (excluding WHT, GST@ 19.5pc) will be Rs 72.76. GST @19.5% is applied on per call, SMS, and data usage basis. When a user consumes its remaining balance of Rs. 86.95, a total of Rs. 14.19 as GST is charged.

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

Furthermore, PTA had already fixed a ceiling on call setup charges @ Rs. 0.15 per call. An official of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) when contacted said that PTA is vigilant about the rates and tariffs being charged by Cellular Mobile Operators (CMOs) and action will be initiated on any reported incidence of charging above the published tariffs and applicable taxes in accordance with the law.