CMYK
Saturday, 30 May, 2020 I 7 Shawwal-ul-Mubarak, 1441 I Rs 15.00 I Vol X No 330 I 12 Pages I Karachi Edition
Govt warns of surGe in Covid-19 Cases, deaths in CominG days g
sAPm Dr mirzA AsKs PeoPle not to let their GuArD Down As 57 PeoPle succumb to DeADly Virus in one DAy
ISLAMABAD staff report
P
rime minister’s special Assistant on national health services Dr zafar mirza on friday warned the masses not to let their guard down against covid-19, saying the number of positive cases and deaths could increase in the country in the coming days. the warning came as Pakistan witnessed 57 deaths in the last 24 hours, the highest recorded figure in a day so far. Addressing the media in the federal capital, Dr mirza said that 157 patients were on ventilators. he said that 64,000 confirmed cases were reported throughout the country till date while during last 24 hours, 2,636 new cases were reported. he added that 35 per cent patients had recovered completely while over 520,000 corona tests had been conducted so far. Dr mirza said that testing during eid holidays was slow but “is again gaining momentum”. he said the situation regarding avail-
Pakistan
CONFIRMED CASES:
65,216
DAY'S DEATH TOLL:
57
RECOVERED:
DEATHS:
SINDH:
PUNJAB:
22,306 1,364 22,964
KP:
BALOCHISTAN:
AJK/GB:
ISLAMABAD:
9,067 227/658
sAys testinG ‘AGAin GAininG momentum’ After slowinG Down DurinG eiD holiDAys
ability of ventilators and beds across the country is under control. “only 18 to 20 per cent out of total number of ventilators are in use at the moment,” he added. Dr mirza said the people could not grasp the situation regarding the lockdown, adding that the national command and operation centre (ncoc) is closely watching the situation and will adopt strategy accordingly in consultation with various stakeholders. the Pm’s aide went on to say that there has been no evidence so far of transmission of coronavirus from a dead body. however, he added, that the handlers of the body should adopt all precautionary measures, including use of personal protective equipment (PPe). “A new instruction guide has been issued for the people who die of coronavirus,” he said. he said the government has developed a health information system to keep the status of available facilities at public sector hospitals updated in the wake of growing covid-19 cases. he added that
Coronavirus in
26,113
g
4,087 2,100
due to the information system, the government would be able to know the occupancy of beds and ventilators, and their availability at the intensive care units and allocated wards of hospitals. he said with the help of the system, the authorities concerned could easily manage the situation in hospitals to properly treat the corona patients. moreover, the shortage of any necessary equipment could also be addressed. PROVINCES ASKED TO SHARE UPDATES ON REM: earlier in the day, minister for Planning, Development and special initiatives Asad umar directed the provinces to share their latest covid-19 combating efforts and information about the pandemic in their respective areas on the resource management (rms) to facilitate people. chairing a meeting at ncoc to review the situation, he said that the rms was effectively providing latest information about the availability of beds, ventilators and other facilities available in hospitals across the country. the representatives of provinces, AJK, Gb and islamabad capital territory (ict) expressed satisfaction over the workings of the rms. special Assistant to the Prime minister on national security Dr moeed yusuf briefed the national command and operation centre (ncoc) about the latest plan of bringing back stranded Pakistanis and testing plans of the suspected patients.
twin cities’ covid-19 wards reach full capacity STORY ON PAGE 03
Pakistan begins Afghan transit trade via Gwadar port ISLAMABAD GHULaM aBBas
Pakistan on friday operationalised the Gwadar port for Afghan transit trade, with the first-ever cargo ship berthing at the seaport to mark the beginning of a new era of trade via sea route from Gwadar to Afghanistan. in a series of tweets, Adviser to Prime minister on commerce and investment Abdul razak Dawood shared that a ship carrying 16,000 metric tonnes of urea and fertiliser for Afghanistan has arrived in Gwadar. "the cargo ship sibulk tradition has berthed at Gwadar, carrying 16,000 tonnes of urea for transit to Afghanistan. this is a first and marks the beginning of a new era in Pakistan’s trade by sea," Dawood tweeted. According to ministry officials, imported urea that arrived at Gwadar would be bagged at the port and later would be sent to Afghanistan in trucks under the Afghanistan-Pakistan transit trade Agreement-2010 (APttA). the commerce adviser further stated that it was for the first time that fertiliser would be packed locally, adding that directives had also been issued to offer jobs and livelihoods to local labourers only. the labourers would be utilized for packing, loading and offloading of items in trucks. Apart from fertilizers, Afghanistan would also be granted permission
Pakistan resumes int’l flight operations g
Domestic fliGht oPerAtions to be enhAnceD from June 1 ISLAMABAD staff report
the civil Aviation Authority (cAA) on friday announced that Pakistan will resume international flight operations from may 30 (saturday). “As per decision of the federal government, the outbound international flights (scheduled, non scheduled and charter flights) operation has been allowed with effect from 2359 hours tonight,” said spokesperson Aviation Division Abdul sattar Khokhar. in a statement, the spokesperson added that both national and foreign airlines will be allowed to operate from all international airports of Pakistan except Gwadar and turbat. “soPs for outbound international flights have already been issued according to which airlines will be required to follow the soPs of the destination country.” Keeping in view the current situation, the statement said that congestion at airports will not be allowed and planes will be disinfected. in march, the Pakistan international Airlines (PiA) suspended all international flights in the wake of the novel coronavirus. A month later, the government extended the suspension of inter-
for the transit trade of sugar and wheat from Gwadar, whereas only those trucks carrying fully sealed consignments would be allowed to go to the neighbouring country. earlier, the government had given a special permission to resume the handling of Afghan cargo at Gwadar port under the APttA2010 to help the early clearance and quicker transportation of sugar, wheat, and fertilizer to Afghanistan. however, Gwadar port can be utilized more optimally for trade and transit for Afghan side for other goods as well. Afghanistan relies heavily on Pakistan for transit as well as bilateral trade necessary for the livelihood of its people as well as its business community. when the flow from Pakistan in both cases gets halted, it not only causes inflation inside Afghanistan due to shortage of commodities, but also a lot of difficulty for the people. it is pertinent to mention that the Pakistan Afghanistan Joint chamber of commerce and industry (PAJcci) had also requested Pm imran Khan to support Afghanistan, especially during challenging times of covid-19 pandemic, by ensuring the continuation of both bilateral and transit trade, and to serve the cause on humanitarian ground to extend all possible basic necessities and healthcare facilities to the citizens of Afghanistan.
more inside
PFMA increases flour price by Rs120 per 20kg bag STORY ON PAGE 02
Pakistan to import remdesivir from bangladesh STORY ON PAGE 03 national and domestic flight operations till April 30 in line with the national strategy to stem the spread of novel coronavirus. however, during that period, PiA resumed its relief flights to repatriate stranded Pakistani nationals. DOMESTIC FLIGHTS: the government has also decided to enhance the domestic flights operation from June 1, which was partially restored on may 16, after almost 56-day suspension due to the covid-19 pandemic. “it has been decided to further enhance domestic flights operation from previous 20-22% to 40-45% of the pre-coViD19 operations,” a spokesman for
CMYK
the Aviation Division said. he said the decision had been taken due to growing business and public demand for air travel and effective smart lockdown being observed by the federal and provincial governments to contain the virus spread. “the decision is also the outcome of peoples’ confidence due to best possible health precautions being adopted both at airports and by the airlines during flights,” he said. the spokesman said the enhanced flights operation would start from June 1, and cover islamabad, Karachi, lahore, Peshawar and Quetta.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 05
PM stresses financial discipline for economic stability STORY ON PAGE 09
Pakistan shoots down second indian quadcopter in a week STORY ON BACK PAGE
02
saturday, 30 May, 2020
news
CouRt issues NoN-BAiLABLe ARRest wARRANts FoR NAwAz shARiF ISLAMABAD
A
STAFF REPORT
N accountability court on Friday issued non-bailable arrest warrants for former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in the Toshakhana (national depository) case. Earlier on May 15, the court had summoned former prime ministers Nawaz Sharif and Yousaf Raza Gilani and former president Asif Zardari for the hearing regarding the national depository case. Gilani and accused Abid Ghani appeared before the court whereas Nawaz and Zardari did not. An application for exemption from appearance was filed by the former president which was granted by the accountability court. However, no one appeared on behalf of deposed prime minister. During the hearing, Deputy Prosecutor General of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Sardar Muzaffar pleaded before the court to send Gilani and Ghani on judicial
remand. He also pleaded that non-bailable warrants should be issued against the accused Nawaz and he should be arrested and produced in court. Issuing non-bailable arrest warrants for the former prime minister, the court ordered Zardari to ensure his attendance in the next hearing on June 11.
PFmA increases flour price by Rs120 per 20kg bag LAHORE SHAHAB OMER
Earlier in January, NAB had approved filing of references against the former heads of state for inflicting losses to the national exchequer by taking gifts from the national treasury and not depositing them in the Toshakhana. The Executive Board Meeting (EBM) presided over by NAB Chairman (r) Justice Javed Iqbal had approved filing cases against former premiers Nawaz Sharif and Yousaf Raza Gilani and ex-president President Asif Ali Zardari for keeping the government-owned valuables and vehicles in their possession. Gifts are routinely exchanged between heads of states or officers holding constitutional positions on the eve of a state visit. According to the gift depository (Toshakhana) rules, these gifts remain the property of the state unless sold at an open auction. Rules allow officials to retain gifts with a market value of less than Rs10,000 without paying anything. Former president Asif Zardari is alleged
sive gifts presented to all former presidents and prime ministers.
Prime suspect confesses to killing journalist Aziz memon over ‘enmity’
APP
NAUSHERO FEROZE
Lawyers body questions arbitrariness in judges’ elevation to sC
Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) chief Nausheen Javed Amjad on Friday excused herself from meeting the Senate chairman, Sadiq Sanjrani, at the eleventh hour. The Senate chairman expressed outrage over the cancellation of the meeting by the FBR chairperson and sought a reply from her.
The Sindh Bar Council (SBC) has written a letter to the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), questioning the elevation of judges to the Supreme Court in complete disregard of the seniority list. In its threepage letter, the SBC wrote that of the last five judges elevated to SC, four were not on top of the seniority list even in their own high courts. The judges who were promoted out-of-turn included Justice Munib Akhtar of the Sindh High Court, Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed of the Lahore High Court, who was 26th on the LHC seniority list; Justice Aminuddin Khan of the LHC and Justice Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi. The letter also referred to the judgment of the Malik Asad Ali case wherein it was held that seniormost judge of the court had legitimate expectancy to become chief justice even though the Constitution was silent. It is also a consensus in the bar that the principle of seniority should be followed when elevating judges to the SC, and reminding the body of the top court verdict wherein it had nullified the out-of-turn promotion of thousands of civil servants while exercising suo motu jurisdiction. The bar council wondered if the chief justice of a high court was not suitable to be elevated to the SC, then how could lawyers and litigants retain faith in them. “Such practice [out-of-turn elevation] will open the prospect of judges lobbying for appointment to the Supreme Court,” the letter read. The lawyers’ body further said out-of-turn elevation created arbitrariness in the appointments. “If the JCP wants to appoint judges on the basis of competence then why names of lawyers are not being considered for the post of judges?” it added.
to have set a record within a year of assuming office by taking one-third of all expen-
ISLAMABAD Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday said the masses have lost their confidence in the current justice system and were looking towards the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government for provision of speedy justice. Addressing a meeting on legal reforms here, PM Imran said that removing flaws in the current justice system and ensuring easy, affordable and immediate access to justice for the people was the basic element of PTI’s manifesto. The meeting was attended by Minister for Law Barrister Farogh Naseem, Minister for Foreign Affairs Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Advisor on Parliamentary Affairs Dr. Zaheer-ud-Din Babar Awan, Attorney General Khalid Javed Khan, Parliamentary Secretary for Law Malaika Ali Bukhari and senior officers. Farogh Naseem briefed the prime
ISLAMABAD
LAHORE: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has summoned Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif on June 2 in his individual capacity to take the ongoing investigations/ inquiries against him in the assets beyond means and alleged money laundering cases to a logical conclusion. According to a press release, the National Assembly opposition leader had already been handed over a comprehensive questionnaire as per NAB’s standard operating procedures (SOPs) in his last hearing. NAB has given ample time to the PML-N chief to enable him to ensure bringing relevant documents with him. Owing to the pandemic, the Combined Investigation Team (CIT) would ensure maintaining social distance, wearing masks, availability of sanitisers and fixation of glass walls on the table during the question-answer session. Further, the disinfectant spray of the interview room was being ensured, it added. On Thursday, NAB reviewed progress in investigations into corruption allegedly committed by former prime ministers Nawaz Sharif and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, former president Asif Zardari and Shehbaz Sharif, his sons and “cronies”. The matter was discussed at a meeting chaired by NAB chairman retired Justice Javed Iqbal at the bureau’s headquarters. “The meeting reviewed progress on the ongoing inquiries/investigations of mega corruption… of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, former chief minister Shahbaz Sharif, Hamza Shahbaz, Salman Shahbaz, Hassan Nawaz, Hussain Nawaz, Ahad Cheema, Fawad Hassan Fawad, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Ahsan Iqbal, Miftah Ismael, Imran ul Haq Sheikh and others,” said a press release issued by the anti-graft watchdog. APP
PM Imran says provision of justice govt’s top priority
The Pakistan Flour Mills Association (PFMA) on Friday increased the price of 20kg flour bag by Rs120, from Rs805 to Rs925. In addition, PFMA has also increased the ex-mill price of 20kg flour bag to Rs900. Talking to this scribe, PFMA Chairman Abdul Rauf Mukhtar said, "We have taken the decision in wake of an increase in wheat price. The price of 40kg wheat in the open market has been increased from Rs1,600… how can we sell the commodity at government rates when we are purchasing it at high prices?" He said the recent ban on the transportation of newly cropped wheat had worsened the situation, adding that the provincial food department had also detained the wheat stock of mills, causing further problems. He claimed that at present, the flour mills don't even have wheat stocks for 72 hours “and if the food department wants to stabilise the wheat price, it should issue stocks to flour mills”. Mukhtar maintained it was the responsibility of the food department to maintain the supply chain of wheat and flour. On the other hand, senior Punjab minister Abdul Aleem Khan said the government would hold a session with the PFMA to discuss the matter in detail. "We hope that flour millers will cooperate with the government…otherwise the latter will deal with the former in its own way.” "We have enough wheat stock and there will be no shortage. The supply of wheat and flour to the public is our first and foremost priority," the minister stated.
STAFF REPORT
NAB summoNs shehBAz oN JuNe 2
STAFF REPORT
minister in detail about the important reform measures taken by the government in the justice system like early completion of civil cases, transfer of inheritance, ensuring rights of women in inherited properties, provision of legal assistance from the state to the weaker and poorer segments, and reforms in the criminal justice system. The prime minister was told that as a result of reforms in civil proce-
dures, timelines had been set for the completion of cases pending for years. He was further told that the reforms process in relevant laws and the use of technology would not only bring in improvement in the system but would also enable the people in getting easy and immediate justice. During the meeting, a decision was taken for the establishment of a forensic laboratory in the federal capital.
FBR chief snubs Senate chairman, skips meeting NEWS DESK
A letter was sent to the FBR chief which sought response from Nausheen Javed over repeating “irresponsible behaviour”. The scheduled meetings between FBR chief and Senate chairman in April and May had also canceled due to Nausheen Javed Amjad. The letter also read that the matter would be sent to the Senate Committee on Rules of Procedure and Privileges if the FBR chief fails to give a satisfactory reply.
A local court on Friday recorded a confessional statement of main suspect Nazir Sahto in the high-profile murder case of journalist Aziz Memon. The court recorded the statement of the accused under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code and then sent him to prison on judicial remand. It handed over the custody of two other suspects to police on physical remand for questioning for one day. Speaking at a press conference, Additional Inspector General (AIG) Ghulam Nabi Memon revealed that Nazir Sahto confessed to killing the journalist and disclosed the names of his accomplices in the crime. Three suspects Nazir, Farhan and Amir have been arrested while five more people involved in the murder are yet to be apprehended, he said, adding Mushtaq Sahito, one of the suspects still at large, was the mastermind of the journalist Aziz murder. Mushtaq smothered the journalist by covering his face with a piece of cloth, resulting in his death, the AIG disclosed, adding that Aziz Memon was murdered because of “personal enmity”. Earlier in February, he was found dead in an irrigation canal in Naushahro Feroze.
61 districts under locusts attack, NDMA says ISLAMABAD APP
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said on Friday that 61 districts across the country are under attack from locusts, which have caused serious damage to crops. Providing a breakdown of the districts, the NDMA spokesman said that a majority of the attacks were reported in Balochistan where 31 districts witnessed crop damage from locusts. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 11 districts faced locust attacks while 12 districts of Punjab were also attacked by the insects. The NDMA spokesman said that crops in seven districts of Sindh were also damaged. The NDMA spokesman said that the survey and operations in locust-hit areas are underway, adding that 1,150 locust-control teams are a part of the operation. The authority further said that in the past 24 hours, around 313,000 hectares of land were surveyed for the evaluation of damage. The spokesman apprised that 4,400 hectares were treated across Pakistan, while in Balochistan 1,700 hectares of land were sprayed with insecticides. In Punjab, 1,000 hectares of land were sprayed while in KP, 900 hectares of land were treated. In Sindh, 800 hectares of land were treated, added the NDMA spokesman. In a bid to facilitate complaints related to locusts, NDMA has activated a hotline 051-111-222-999 for registering and resolving issues pertaining to their attacks.
“The aggrieved farmers can register their complaints about the existence of locusts in their respective areas or need of spray on the hotline for 24 hours,” the NDMA spokesperson had said in a statement released this week. Separately, NDMA Chairman Lt Gen Muhammad Afzal has said that efforts are underway to acquire 15 planes for spray on locust-hit areas to avoid further loss of crops in the country. He said that all possible measures have been taken to revive the plant protection institution in a proper manner. He was talking to a private television channel. He
CMYK
said approval for purchasing planes has been given by the concerned authorities so that the process of spray could be started in a befitting manner in locust-hit areas of the country. The NDMA chairman appreciated the steps taken by Punjab, Balochistan and Sindh governments for the protection of crops from the locust threat. He said in July and August, Pakistan can face another spell of locusts attack from Africa. However, he said all necessary arrangements have been made to combat any untoward situation in this connection.
saturday, 30 May, 2020
twiN Cities’ Covid-19 wARds ReACh FuLL CAPACity MEDICS SAY CASES SAW EXPONENTIAL INCREASE AFTER EASE IN RESTRICTIONS, FEAR HEALTHCARE SYSTEM MAY CRASH ISLAMABAD
t
MIAN ABRAR
HE hospitals in the federal capital and its twin city, Rawalpindi, are refusing to admit new Covid-19 patients in isolation wards after they reached capacity owing to a drastic spike in Covid-19 cases over the Eid break. According to the official figures shared by National Command and Operations Center (NCOC), registered cases of the infection in the country were 64,028 by Friday morning, out of which 2,636 people have been recovered while 40,406 are in isolation. Out of 40,406 patients, 496 patients are critical.
There are 726 hospitals across the country to treat coronavirus patients while 4,615 patients are under treatment. Medics dealing with coronavirus outbreak said that the cases drastically increased after the lockdown was relaxed and added that the healthcare system would crash if such an increased continued. “For instance, we have 46 ventilators in the federal capital hospitals and all have reached their capacity. We have 36 vents in PIMS out of which five are dedicated to coronavirus, whereas the total number of virus patients is 32. Same is the case with other hospitals in the federal capital and Rawalpindi,” said an official dealing with the pandemic cases.
Peshawar's hayatabad hospital forced to turn Covid-19 patients away over shortage of beds As Covid-19 cases surge across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the country, the Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC) has stopped admitting new coronavirus patients owing to a shortage of beds and equipment for treatment. According to a media report, the spokesperson for the complex said that the hospital administration has started referring Covid-19 patients to other hospitals as wards dedicated to treating the infection had filled to their maximum capacity. "We are not accepting new or referred patients at the moment as we are facing a shortage of beds and other facilities," HMC spokesperson Toueed Zulfiqar was quoted as saying. The HMC has seen a rise in Covid-19 patients admitting themselves for treatment as the complex is the only one offering plasma therapy for the infection. "For the past two weeks our patient inflow has increased almost three to four times," he said, adding that patients were seeking out the hospital as it was the only one in the province offering plasma therapy. As per Zulfiqar, the isolation ward for coronavirus patients has a total of 90 beds out of which 85 have been occupied. However, the HMC spokesperson said that the hospital was trying to increase beds in its facility. "Beds are not a big issue, but we have to provide other facilities such as ventilators, oxygen etc.," he said. NEWS DESK
Railways to operate 10 more passenger trains from June 1 Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed said on Friday that from June 1, around 10 additional passenger trains will begin operations. Talking to a private news channel, the minister said that a total of 40 out of 142 passenger trains will become operational from the start of the next month. The minister said that the trains will follow the already-decided Standard Operating Procedures for the course of their journey. Rasheed said that to facilitate the passengers, booking offices will remain open, besides the online booking option. The federal minister showed gratitude towards Prime Minister Imran Khan for allowing 40 trains to operate. “Due to the closure of train service, the railways ministry was facing a loss of Rs5 billion per month,” said the minister. The train services resumed operations partially from May 20 across the country. The Ministry of Railways had also issued the SOPs for passengers. According to the SOPs, only 60 per cent passengers will fill a train, while 40pc will remain empty. NEWS DESK
He said that there was not a single bed available in isolation wards, dedicated solely to the residents, in the federal capital. “We only admit those patients who are residents of the federal capital, but still we have run out of beds,” said the official.Another issue is the shortage of ventilators in the country, he said, adding it is not about just buying the machines, the government also has to train the medics to use it. “The purchase is not a big deal, the main issue is capacity building of our doctors and paramedics to handle the exact quantity of oxygen flow to the patients.” Asked to comment on the number of infections in the country, the official said that the number of infections may far greater than the reported infections as most of the people are not going for tests. “The actual infected patients may be far greater as only those are taking tests who have shown symptoms.”
When contacted, Dr Mumtaz Ali Khan, National Focal Person for Infection Prevention & Control Program, confirmed that there was an unprecedented hike in infections during Eidul Fitr break. He said it was also true that the government doesn’t have beds for new coronavirus patients in Rawalpindi and Islamabad. He also agreed about the shortage of experts to operate ventilators and added that the government was training medics to handle the life-saving machines. Asked whether another lockdown is likely in the country, Dr Mumtaz said that it would be a collective decision. Col Shafique Awan, the spokesperson of NCOC, said in spite of the increase in Covid-19, the government is not thinking about reimposing the lockdown. “Nothing is on cards,” he responded when asked if the federal government was planning to put in place another lockdown in a few days.
Covid-19 claims another doctor’s life in Lahore LAHORE STAFF REPORT
A doctor in her 20s, who had tested positive for Covid19 over 10 days ago, lost her life at a private hospital in Lahore after battling the infection for days. According to the health department, Dr Sana Fatima was treating Covid-19 patients at Fatima Memorial Hospital. She was admitted to Doctors Hospital and Medical Centre on May 20 after testing positive for the virus and developing symptoms of its related disease. She died early morning today after her condition deteriorated, the department said. Fatima was also a resident at Chughtai Lab, Lahore, and leaves behind a husband and a daughter. Punjab has reported 29 deaths today, its highest single-day death toll so far, the health department said, adding that a majority of the cases were being reported in the provincial capital, Lahore. The province has reported a total of 22,964 cases since the virus first emerged in Pakistan on February 26. 17 MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS DEAD SO FAR: Data from the health ministry — dated May 28 — shows that 17 medical professionals have died of Covid-19 in Pakistan out of a total 1,904 who tested positive; this figure included 299 nurses, 570 others healthcare staff and 1,035 doctors.
ISLAMABAD The United Kingdom has provided additional £4.39 million to Pakistan in the fight to stop the spread of the coronavirus and mitigate its impacts. According to a press statement issued by the British High Commission on Friday, the UK will provide aid for the most vulnerable and to boost wider public health communications. Lord Ahmad, UK Minister of State for South Asia and the Commonwealth said, “By supporting the poorest and most vulnerable people, especially those facing discrimination and by spreading information on how to protect against coronavirus, we can save lives.” He said that the UK is proud to support Pakistan. “Through our investment in international vaccine research and the Global Vaccine Alliance, we will help end this pandemic sooner and prevent future waves of infection. The UK stands with you in these difficult times,” he added. British High Commissioner Dr Christian Turner CMG said that Pakistan has shown international leadership in its response, balancing the need to keep healthy, with growing the economy and protecting the poorest.
03
‘schools struggling to pay teachers’: Govt urged to open educational institutes LAHORE STAFF REPORT
The All Pakistan Private Schools Association urged the government to reopen educational institutes in the country from June 1, as the schools were “struggling to pay teachers”`. “We are unable to pay the teachers,” APPSA President Kashif Mirza said in a press conference in Lahore. “We must be allowed to open schools from June 1.” Mirza said if they were not allowed to reopen schools, then they would stage protest demonstrations. He described the concept of online education as a “flopped project”. “We have formulated SOPs in accordance with international standards,” he said, urging the government to hold talks with them. Educational institutes in Pakistan have been closed till mid-July due to a surge in Covid-19 cases. The government had also decided to promote students to the next grades as “the board examinations for the ninth grade to intermediate (12th grade)” could not be held due to the contagion. The private schools body had opposed the decision at that time as well. Mirza had said that they would not accept the government’s decision to keep the educational institutes closed till July 15. Terming it “economic murder” of private institutes, Mirza had said that 90 per cent private school buildings are rented while teachers are to be paid their salaries too. “Around 50% schools would be shut down permanently and one million people would lose their jobs if educational institutes remained closed until July 15,” Mirza had said. “It is impossible to recover educational losses due to the coronavirus lockdown.” He had demanded the government formulate SOPs and announce the reopening of schools across Pakistan from June 1.
Pakistan to import remdesivir from Bangladesh KARACHI AGENCIES
Of these, 1,037 were self-isolating and 171 were hospitalised; 167 were in stable condition while four were on ventilators. Further, 679 had recovered from the virus or were discharged from the hospital. Sindh has reported the deaths of eight healthcare workers, the highest among provinces, with a total of 538 cases among medics. On the other hand, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has 552 cases among healthcare workers, the highest out of all the provinces, which include 249 doctors, 97 nurses and 205 other health workers.
UK provides £4.39m to Pakistan to fight coronavirus STAFF REPORT
news
Friends must stand together at difficult times, he added. “Although we are socially distancing, we are not apart,” he further said. Head of Office for the UK’s Department for International Development in Pakistan, Annabel Gerry, said, “It is increasingly important that we work together to help those who are the most vulnerable. This is why I am proud that UK aid will be there for the women and children who face increased threats of violence and stigma in their own home and need access to these support services.” The UK is playing a leading role in the global effort to tackle coronavirus, including on vaccine development, strengthening health systems and support for the global economy. On 4 June the UK will host the Global Vaccine Summit, to raise money to ensure Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, can vaccinate 300 million more children against infectious diseases including in Pakistan. “By working together as international partners to defeat this pandemic, we are all safer,” he added. This latest £4.39m package of support includes being the first donor to contribute to Pakistan’s Humanitarian Pooled Fund (PHPF). The UK aid support for PHPF will help provide comprehensive support to fight the coronavirus and help those impacted indirectly by the crisis.
A pharmaceutical company in Pakistan plans to import the antiviral drug remdesivir, which has shown promise in treating coronavirus patients, from Bangladesh, it said in a stock exchange filing on Friday. The announcement by Searle Company Limited came a day after 56 virus deaths recorded by the country, its highest toll in a single day. The firm said it had entered into an exclusive licensing and marketing agreement with Bangladesh’s Beximco Pharmaceuticals, the first company in the world to introduce the generic variant of the drug. “Searle Pharma is planning to import remdesivir in finished form (ready to use) to meet the country’s urgent requirements,” the company told the Pakistan Stock Exchange. Remdesivir, a drug developed by Gilead Sciences, has grabbed attention as one of the most promising treatments for COVID19, the respiratory disease caused by the virus, which has killed more than 350,000 people globally. This month, Ferozson’s Pharma said it would make the drug in Pakistan after signing a non-exclusive licensing pact with Gilead to make and sell the drug to 127 nations, but it warned that production could take “weeks”. Searle said the Bangladesh imports would ensure an immediate supply of the drug at an affordable price, helping to eliminate treatment delays by Pakistan’s healthcare providers. Gilead’s patent gives the US company exclusive rights to make the antiviral. But global trade rules allow nations defined by the United Nations as least-developed countries (LDCs) to ignore the patent and make such drugs more affordable in their markets. Bangladesh is one of 47 countries that fall in this category.
04 KARACHI
Saturday, 30 May, 2020
WEATHER UPDATES SATURDAY
350C
280C
SUNDAY
350C
280C
MONDAY
350C
280C
SinDH reportS reCorD SingLe-DAy viruS DeAtH toLL KARACHI
S
STAFF REPORT
INDH reported on Friday the highest number of Covid-19 deaths recorded in a province in the country within a single day thus far. According to a statement issued by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, 31 more coronavirus-related deaths were recorded in the province on Friday, raising its death toll to 427. This was in addition to the emergence of 804 new coronavirus cases on the day, following which Sindh’s virus tally climbed to 26,113, he revealed. Mourning the loss of lives to the virus, the CM termed the situation in the province “disappointing,” with the people failing to cooperate with the government to contain the spread of Covid-19. “We cannot control it from spreading further if we do not adopt precautionary measures,” he stressed. Providing details about the newly-re-
Decision regarding lockdown to be taken after May 31: Shah KARACHI APP
Sindh Minister for Information Syed Nasir Hussain Shah on Friday said that the decision to extend or not to extend the lockdown in the province will be taken after May 31 and business hours will be fixed with it. In a statement, he said the Sindh government has always taken decisions in the larger public interest, and human lives will never be compromised. The minister said the provincial government continued to co-operate with the federal government following the orders of the Supreme Court (SC). According to Shah, in the wider interest of the people of the province, the Sindh government made some tough decisions, the aim of which was nothing but to save human lives. He clarified that instead of relying on any kind of rumors and false news, government announcements should be followed and daily activities should be continued by ensuring social distance and precautionary measures. ported cases, the CM said that of the 804 new patients, 597 belonged to Karachi, with 140 from Korangi, 132 from East district, 117 from South district, 79 from
Central district, 68 from Malir and 61 from West district. He further stated that 37 more cases were detected in Hyderabad, 24 in Ghotki,
23 in Larkana, 10 in Jacobabad and as many in Jamshoro, seven each in Shikarpur and Badin, four in Dadu, three in Umerkot, two in Sanghar and one each in Kashmore, Khairpur, Matiari, Shaheed Benazirabad and Tando Allahyar. On a positive note, he added that among those under treatment, 1,563 had recovered. “This is the highest number of recovered patients in a day, which means that, now, 12,750 patients have been cured in the province,” the CM said. “The recovery ratio in Sindh is encouraging and hopefully it will improve further.” This left 12,936 patients under treatment, the CM claimed, adding among them 11,902 were home-isolated, 126 were accommodated in isolation centres and 908 were in hospitals. Of them, 305 were critically ill, including 52 on ventilators, he said. The CM urged people to be careful, adopt standard operating procedures and avoid crowding.
Four Karachiites killed, one injured as car overturns near Sukkur SUKKUR PPI
Four people belonging to Karachi were killed and one other injured as their car overturned near Sukkur on Friday. A fast-moving car went out of driver's control on Babarloi Bypass near Sukkur while negotiating a turn and overturned. As a result, four people belonging to Karachi were killed on the spot and one other injured. Those killed were identified as Sarfarz, Awais, Asad, however, one deceased person and an injured woman could not be identified immediately. The bodies and injured were shifted to Civil Hospital Sukkur for medico-legal formalities and injuries. Police said that the passengers of the ill-fated car were on their way to Punjab from Karachi when they met a fatal accident. Further investigation into the incident was underway, they said.
Acute irrigation water shortage hits Sindh's Lar Belt SUJAWAL: Acute irrigation water shortage has hit Lar Belt of Sindh, drying thousands of acres of standing crops and causing losses to farmers, PPI learnt on Friday. The affected areas of the belt include Sajawal, Malikani Sharif, Garho and Kaloi. Matla Minor of Sujawal Taluka is without water since the last five months. Landowners have made repeated protests against the irrigation department for water provision but no heed has yet been paid in this regard. Hundreds of acres of fertile land have become barren in the area as no sowing could be made in Khazano and Sakpur Dehs, causing huge losses to landowners and farmers. In sub-division Khairpur Gamboh, Jarks, Khoski, Bangaar, Aailpur, and Bago Minors are facing acute water shortage as water is being provided to the growers on rotation basis. The Maleriri Minor of Ghorabari at its tail-end could not get water for the last six months. PPI
KARACHI: Relatives and residents attend funeral prayers of plane crash victims Zain Polani and his wife on Friday. PPI
Agriculture emergency declared in Sindh to protect crops from rains KARACHI APP
The Sindh government on Friday declared emergency in the Agriculture Department to save crops from rains predicted by the National Disaster Management Authority (MDNA) in Sindh. The leaves of the officers and employees of the department had been cancelled, according to a communique. Sindh Minister for Agriculture, Ismail Raho, had said that the emergency had been declared in the Agriculture Department in view of the predicted rains. He said, however, that 98 field teams had been formed to eliminate locusts from the province. He further said that due to the expected rains locusts
could extremely damage crops in the deserted areas of the province. The minister said that the swarms of locusts on crops spread over 8,448 hectares in 12 districts of the province had been eliminated in 24 hours. He said that the districts included Ghotki, Badin, Khairpur, Sukkur, Sanghar, Kashmore, Tando Allahyar, Matiari, Dadu, Jamshoro and Shaheed Benazirabad. He also said that the locusts grow fast owing to heavy rains in deserted areas. He further said that the teams of the agriculture department were working day and night to destroy the locusts. Survey teams had also been put on alert in deserted areas and the situation was also being monitored, he added.
Woman jumps into canal with son; boy saved KHAIRPUR PPI
A woman jumped into a canal in Khairpur along with her son, however, the people saved the boy while the woman could not be recovered by the time of filing of this report.
After being dejected over extreme poverty, woman Mehnaz, wife of Manthar Shaikh, jumped into Abul Wah in Khairpur. The people present there saved her son Shaukat, aged boy 15. while the woman drowned. They were searching for her in the canal water.
Ali Zaidi files contempt plea against Sindh govt for not making JIT reports public KARACHI APP
Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Haider Zaidi on Friday filed a contempt of court petition against the Sindh government for not making public joint investigation team (JIT) reports of Uzair Baloch, Nisar Morai and Baldia Factory fire tragedy as per January 28, 2020 verdict of the Singh High Court (SHC). Talking to the media here outside the SHC building, he said he had to approach the high court again as the provincial government had defied its order by not releasing the JIT reports for public.
The families of those who had been killed in Karachi, he said, demanded justice, while the JIT reports disclosed the names of those who were behind the killings and were still doing politics and sitting in assemblies. Some versions of the JIT reports were circulating on the social media and it became necessary to make the actual JITs public so that the people could know the facts, the minister stressed. Ali Zaidi recalled that he had filed the petition in the Sindh High Court in October 2017, which was disposed on January 28, 2020, with the judgement ordering the Sindh government to make the three JIT
report public. He said he had written a letter to the Sindh Chief Secretary with a copy of the SHC order, but he did not receive any from him. He said he had faith in Allah Almighty and had nothing to worry. He had no personal interest involved in making the JIT reports public. In fact he wanted that the atrocities that had been borne by the people of Karachi should not happen again in future and for that the names of those, who were behind the criminals letting loose a reign of crimes, should be exposed, he added. Ali Zaidi said that the Baldia Factory
fire was not an accident but an incident of terrorism and the heirs of those who lost their lives in the incident, had the right to know the facts. He said Karachi is the economic hub of Pakistan, which faced many atrocities and criminal activities over the years, which could not be told openly. "However, we all have to stand together at all costs" for exposing the real culprits, he added. Replying to a question, the minister said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf had been in government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for seven years, and it was its credit it had brought improvement in the health sectors there. He said the Federal Government has transparently distributed Rs 144 billion among 12 million families under the Ehsas programme, and the people of Sindh province also received a large share of it.
PRAyER TImIngS FAJR SUNRISE
ZUHR
ASR MAGHRIB ISHA
4:16
12:30
3:40
5:42
7:01
8:37
Sindh allows business activities to remain operational throughout the week KARACHI: Government of Sindh and Karachi’s traders and business community have mutually agreed upon running operations throughout the week. According to details, Sindh government on Friday agreed to the demands of traders, businessmen and shop owners in Karachi allowing them to open markets from Monday to Sunday for a limited amount of time in a day. Shops could open from 8 am till 5 pm on Saturday and Sunday as life continues to slowly return to normal in the country. Provincial minister for Information, Nasir Hussain Shah confirmed the news saying that major shopping centres and malls will open according to standard operating procedures (SOPs) decided beforehand by the government. STAFF REPORT
Schools in Sindh not to reopen from June 1 KARACHI: Schools in Sindh will not reopen on June 1, according to a notification from the provincial education department on Friday. The official notification said that the decision to close schools until June was taken earlier during the session of the Sindh Education Steering Committee on May 12. "The steering committee decided to extend the closure of schools until June 1 [...] due to coronavirus," it said. On May 12, Sindh education minister Saeed Ghani had said that schools may not reopen for another six months and a new online curriculum will soon be introduced. He said that schools in Sindh will not reopen on June 1 and that a new date will be notified later. Earlier, the minister also said that the board examinations for matriculation and intermediate students will not be held this year due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. The provincial minister said that all the students will get an additional 3% marks at the time of promotion to the next grade. “Our entire system of holding examinations and issuing results have been disturbed,” he said, adding that the new system has been introduced in the time of crisis. Meanwhile, the federal government announced to close educational institutes until July 15, while cancelling board exams until the end of this year. STAFF REPORT
High winds cause rise in sea level, 2,000 boats at stake THATTA: The sea level along coastal belt of Sindh is rising due to speeding winds, posing flood threat to hundreds of villages in Sujawal, Chuhar Jamali, Seerani and other areas. As a result, 400 fishing boats could not sail into the sea while more than 2,000 boats in the sea have not returned, causing concern to the heirs of fishermen. Thousands of fishermen are upset about the loss of livelihood. The coastal belt has been experiencing strong winds for the past five days. The heirs of the fishermen at sea are worried after the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) predicted rainfall in Sindh. Villagers said 150 villages along the coastal belt of Sujawal come under water every year due to the sea level rise and thousands of people are forced to migrate. According to PMD, during the next 24 hours, rain wind-thunderstorm (with few hailstorm) is expected in Sindh. The Sindh coastal region is located in the southeastern part of the country between the Indus border along the Sir Creek on the east, and the Hub River along the Balochistan coast on the west. This coastal region is about 350 km long and can be divided into the Indus Delta/Creek and Karachi coast. PPI
SHC orders Sindh govt to submit report of its action to control locusts HYDERABAD: The Sindh High Court (SHC) has ordered the Sindh government to submit report of its action to control locusts which are ravaging crops in the province. The Hyderabad Circuit Bench here Friday put the Sindh Chief Secretary, Secretary Agriculture, Director General Agriculture and Secretary Sindh Public Health Engineering on notice for May 23. The petitioner advocate Peeral Majeedano informed the court that the tens of millions of locusts were cutting a swathe through the agricultural fields in Sindh. He maintained that the province’s agricultural economy was confronted with huge financial losses besides emergence of the food security problem. The petitioner claimed that the government had failed to take the measures which were necessary for the locust control. APP
Saturday, 30 May, 2020
NEWS
05
PM forMs coMMittee to Probe issues facing feMale inMates ISLAMABAD
P
APP
rime Minister Imran Khan on Friday constituted a committee to investigate the plight of female prisoners. The committee has been constituted taking into account the problems of female prisoners, whether convicted or awaiting trial, in overall context of gender bias prevalent in the society at large and issues associated therewith. The committee shall submit its report in the matter within a period of four months. The committee will suggest a comprehensive and workable system of governance of prisons in Pakistan to ameliorate the plight of women prisoners. It will review prison rules and other relevant laws with a view to suggest gender specific changes in order to bring improvements for women inmates. The committee will also review situation of children accompanying women in jails
and work to help mainstream such children, especially with regard to their education and social integration. The committee will ensure availability of gender-specific services for women prisoners addressing their physical, psychological, emotional, and sociological needs. The committee will also review the overall governance, legal aid and management systems/processes in prison administration, especially with regard to women prisoners and to suggest improvements. It will review individual cases of human rights violations and victimization of women inmates and suggest measures for institutional accountability. Situation of children, accompanying women in jails and work to help mainstream such children, especially with regard to their education and social integration, will also be assessed. It will review post-release programmes to ensure that women prisoners are able to adjust in society after they leave the prison. The committee will sug-
gest comprehensive and workable system of governance of prisons in Pakistan with a view to ameliorating the plight of women in prison. The step has been taken in view of the need to put in place institutional arrangements to address the issue in a comprehensive manner. The committee will assess if Prison Rules, Code of Criminal Procedure-1898 and international best practices are being adhered to with respect to women prisoners, especially their protection, rights, health, security and well being. The committee comprises Federal Minister of Human Rights Dr Shireen Mazari (chairperson), secretary Ministry of Human Rights (secretary), secretary Ministry of Interior, home secretaries of four provinces and GilgitBaltistan, Inspector General Prisons (provinces and GB), founder and executive director of Justice Project Pakistan Sarah Belal and lawyer Haya Zahid. The chairperson may co-opt any person as member of the committee.
Pakistan proud of contributions to Thar coal emissions to claim UN peacekeeping missions, says FO 29,000 lives in 30 years: study ISLAMABAD APP
As a consistent leading troop contributing country, Pakistan is cognizant of the important role played by UN peacekeepers in maintaining security and stability in so many of the world’s conflict zones. This was said by Foreign Office spokesperson on the occasion of International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers on Friday, said a press statement. The spokesperson while saluting the services and sacrifices rendered by peacekeepers from around the world reiterated Pakistan’s solemn commitment to continue working with the United Nations for the ideals of peace, stability and cooperation espoused by the ‘blue helmets’. The statement said Pakistan is proud of its longstanding contributions to UN peacekeeping spanning over six decades. “Our peacekeepers have earned well deserved respect and goodwill for their professionalism and devotion to duty in every mission they have participated in.” The FO spokesperson further said that since 1960, over 200,000 of Pakistani servicemen have served with honor and distinction in 46 UN missions in 26 countries in almost all
continents of the world. One hundred and fiftyseven of our gallant peacekeepers have made the ultimate sacrifice for the cause of international peace and security, she added. The statement said that Pakistan had also led the way in deputing female peacekeepers in a record time. In 2019, Pakistan met the 15 percent benchmark set by the UN Secretariat in the staff/ officers category. Pakistani lady police officer Shahzadi Gulfam was the first ever recipient of International Female Police Peacekeeper Award in 2011. The FO spokesperson further said, “Our contribution to peacekeeping on ground has been complemented by our sustained engagement in policy development in peacekeeping. We bring a unique perspective to peacekeeping as a leading troop contributing country as well as a host country to one of the oldest peacekeeping missions, UNMOGIP.” Meanwhile, in a series of tweets, PTI leader and Chairman Standing Committee on Information, Broadcasting & Heritage, Senator Faisal Javed said the entire nation is proud of the contributions made by its armed forces for world peace. He said Pakistani women peacekeepers have also made invaluable contributions towards peace. He said passion and commitment of brave and patriotic Pakistanis is strong.
Pakistan resumes int’l flight operations CoNtINueD fRoM PAge 01 On May 15, Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan had formally announced to restore the limited flights operation from the next day at five major airports of the country including Lahore, Islamabad, Karachi, Quetta and Peshawar. Initially, almost 20 per cent of the total pre-coronavirus flights were allowed to operate under certain standard operating procedures (SOPs) including screening of every passenger with thermal guns, ensuring wearing of face masks and gloves. On May 20, the government had allowed to operate one additional flight daily on Karachi-Islamabad-Karachi route till end of the current month, keeping in view the increased passenger load.
KARACHI PPI
The air pollutant emissions from a massive cluster of coal mines and power plants in Thar would cause alarming levels of toxic depositions in the region and expose local population to serious health risks, reveals a study launched on Friday. Over an operating period of 30 years, the emissions would be responsible for 29,000 air pollution-related deaths, 40,000 asthma emergency room visits, 19,906 new cases of asthma in children, 32,000 preterm births, 20 million days of work absence (sick leaves) and 57,000 years lived with disability related to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes and stroke. The study titled ‘Air quality, health and Toxics Impacts of the Proposed Coal Mining and Power Cluster in Thar, Pakistan’ has been conducted by Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). The launching of the report was held at online video conferencing software Zoom. “Since Pakistan is already suffering from air pollution levels that are among
Pakistani peacekeeper posthumously awarded UN medal RAWALPINDI STAFF REPORT
Pakistani peacekeeper, Sepoy Amir Aslam who served the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was posthumously awarded the Dag Hammarskjold medal by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in a virtual ceremony held on Friday at UN headquarters in New York. “As @UN commemorates #PKDay, services of Sepoy Amir Aslam from Kotli, Azad Jammu & Kashmir, Pakistan acknowledged with posthumous award of Dag Hammarskjold medal by @antonioguterres in virtual ceremony being held @UNHQ today. Soldier was serving in #MONUSCO,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a tweet on Friday. May 29 marks the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers. Over the years, Pakistan has contributed to the UN’s peacekeeping operations with over 200,000 troops in 46 missions across 28 countries. At least 157 Pakistani service members have lost their lives during these operations but Islamabad remains committed to helping the UN in building peace and restoring stability in tur-
bulent regions. Globally, at least 3,900 peacekeepers from different UN member nations have been killed while serving in different conflict zones across the world since 1948. The International Day of UN Peacekeepers is commemorated to pay tribute to the peacekeepers who include both uniformed and civilian personnel. This year, the UN has chosen to highlight its female peacekeepers with the theme, ‘Women in peacekeeping: a key to peace’. The theme has been chosen in light of the 20th anniversary of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.
the highest in the world, the emissions induced by coal mines and power plants of Thar will further reduce life expectancy in the country and increase the vulnerability of its citizens to the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Lauri Myllyvirta, Lead Analyst of CREA, while speaking at an online launching ceremony of the study organized by Alliance for Climate Justice and Clean Energy (ACJCE). The Thar emissions would constitute one of the largest hotspots of mercury and carbon dioxide in South Asia, he said. The coal power plants would emit an estimated 1,400 kg of mercury per year, of which one fifth would be deposited into land ecosystems in the region, he added. Most of the deposition would take place onto cropland and increase the mercury concentrations in crops, said the lead analyst while terming the levels of mercury deposition as potentially dangerous in an area with 100,000 inhabitants. The study also points out errors and omissions in the data used in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA ) reports of two coal power projects in Block-II and one in Block-VI as well as violations of Sindh Ambient Air Quality Standards
and guidelines of World Health Organization (WHO) and IFC. “Given the actual incidences of legal non-compliance and misreporting involved in social and environmental impact assessments, land surveys, land acquisition and compensation and the monitoring processes, what the study reveals is just a proverbial iceberg of the misleading public through data maneuvering, said Advocate Zubair Ahmad Abro of Alternative Law Collective. Muhammad Ali Shah, chairman of Pakistan Fisher-folk Form (PFF), said that the plants will have an adverse impact on the indigenous people’s health and safety, livelihoods, homes, food production systems, water, environment and ecology. The local communities of Thar were already suffering from forced displacement, encroachment on common grazing land, livelihood losses, water stress and air pollution, induced by coal power project, in Thar. To end the sufferings of Thari people, he demanded the government to adopt renewable energy projects and stop mining and import of coal for power generation.
Saturday, 30 May, 2020
06 COMMENT
Food security and sustainability during the pandemic
Violating democratic traditions PTI administration’s crusade against Opposition
The virus provides an opportunity. But will we take it?
A
ddRESSiNG a virtual international event Prime minister imran Khan underlined the importance of international relief for developing countries facing the scourge of the coronavirus. As he put it, the low-income developing countries not only face financial challenges while providing relief to the most vulnerable sections of their populations, but also lack the fiscal space to revive their economies. What he highlighted was just one of the several challenges Pakistan is currently facing. Other challenges include the locust attack which has already damaged crops in parts of three provinces while the major attack is yet to come. Then there are the anticipated floods in major rivers for which the NdmA is yet to prepare plans. Attacks from the other side of the LoC had taken toll of 59 civil and military personnel last year. while there has been no respite to casualties during the last five months. despite the multiple challenges faced by the country there is no end to the mud fest between the government and the opposition which has continued to aggravate month after month since 18 August 2018. in democracies, it is for the ruling party to initiate moves to develop working relations with the opposition. One finds instead a resolve to demolish the opposition by pulling out all the stops. When even the most low-keyed of the government’s several spokesmen calls PmL(N) and PPP leaders “scavengers”, this indicates the knives are out for the opposition, The signals emanating from NAB indicate that it is willing to pitch in and play the heavy. On Thursday the accountability body reviewed progress in investigations into alleged corruption cases against a comprehensive list of PmL(N) and PPP leaders, their relatives, business partners and “cronies”. The anti-graft watchdog also decided to appeal against bails given to opposition leaders and decided to re-open cases where relief was obtained from the courts on the basis of the now lapsed NAB Amendment Ordinance. The PTi government needs to realize that the way it is targeting the opposition could harm its credentials as a genuinely democratic administration. The Pm’s voice will have less impact at international forums if this this was to happen. mr Khan would do well to avoid sailing close to the wind.
Hammad Gilani
A
mid rising deaths from the coronavirus worldwide, the World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that the world could face a "global hunger pandemic" as the number of people suffering from malnutrition could double this year. According to its report, at the end of 2019, approximately 130 million people globally were facing "severe hunger". Currently, most countries around the world are facing lockdown and the number has risen to 265 million. Even before the coronavirus pandemic, more than two billion people were malnourished. The infant mortality rate was said to be unacceptably high. Against this background, there was an emphasis on global research efforts for controlling the escalating level food insecurity. After World War ii, 2020 could be considered the worst for human crisis, say international think tanks. in addition to war-torn, ecologically and economically disadvantaged countries, there are many other poor and semi-mediocre countries that will be immensely affected by the spread of the coronavirus. The problem will be exacerbated by various economic pressures. in such countries, the graph of remittances will also fall. The charity Oxfam has warned that the economic effects of the coronavirus could add up to half a billion people worldwide slipping into poverty. Citing research from the Australian National University and King's College London, Oxfam said it would be the first time in 30 years that global poverty has increased. According to the report, due to the unwanted conditions created by the novel virus, the economic crisis will be more severe than the medical crisis and global poverty will increase significantly. The United Nations' sustainable development goals include the eradication of hunger. To feed 10 billion persons in 2050, we need to get the trade-offs right between sustainability, food security, and food safety, and make better use of food already produced. The hierarchy of strategies for reducing food losses and waste are in descending order source reduction, reusing or reprocessing surplus foods, recycle food as feed for animals, recover the energy as biofu-
The moment of truth The first ‘coronabudget’ is about to be unveiled
T
dr asim Farooq
S
OmE tragedies and incidents change the interests of man. History shows that a few incidents in the last century changed the priorities of nations and policymakers. For instance, World War One cautioned humanity that the world could not afford absolute anarchy and we had to go for such institutions which discourage time and again misadventures like the world witnessed in World War One. The idea of the League of Nations was floated and global debates on it were started. it did not get permanent shape but the idea remained alive for decades. As World War Two broke out and the world again confronted massive aggression and human losses, eventually, that idea of the League of Nations transformed into the United Nations. For the first time, a legitimate international institution came into being with the endorsement and consent of the world’s nations. Before that, the priorities and interests of people were changed, but these two wars awoke the world’s nations but after paying a big price. As the race of nuclear weapons commenced World War Two, again statesmen and policymakers cautioned about it. That worry of nations concluded in the form of the NonProliferation Treaty. if that had not happened, the majority of states would now have nuclear weapons. So some things and actions are required before they happen but the priorities of people keep them unaware of possible mishaps ahead. The forms of negative ambitions changed if we deeply think about it in the international scenario; like the last century witnessed the end of many colonial occupations but nobody can deny now that we still confront the exploitation of human resources and raw materials in the shape of globalization. The shape of war too is changing from conventional war to non-conventional, and from kinetic military warfare to proxies. These all owe to the belief that man is still not learning from the past, but merely changing the style of actions. Some states’ heads, for the sake of limited political motives ignore repercussions which the whole humanity would bear for their actions. You have multiple examples like the climate change challenge and its combating. Some people keep their limited motives ahead of the broad interests of humanity. Some rulers come up with slogans like “America First" and ignore the effects of their actions under the cover of that slogan.
Arif Nizami Editor Umar Aziz
Asher John
Executive Editor
Deputy Editor
Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965
Bread, Clothing and Shelter (Roti, Kapra and makan). The country’s decision-makers, and those who control the power, need to understand that until now their in the near past of a decade or two, the Kyoto policies are worthless and have not worked; the people Protocol and Paris Climate Agreement faced the are still fighting for basic needs such as health, quality same challenges. US President donald Trump, who education, job opportunities and so on. is currently leading a major economy and nation, forNow starting from here, are we ready for any posgot the importance of the Paris Climate Agreement itive change? Are world wars, disasters, pandemics which his predecessor Barak Obama signed. These and crises yet not enough? if not now, a day will all are basically showing the limited vision of these come when all nations will reach a deal that would world leaders and ignorance of the dangers which be broad and acceptable for all, but for how long huhumanity at large will bear. Hence it seems that conmanity and nations are stick to their ambitions? That tinuity of blunders is still here, one after the other, on much time will confront humanity with more and the part of human beings but in the end, all have to more massive losses. So it is now the best time for all bear the consequences. Rather than put all these to concede that humanity is tired of all blunders that it things in order, still, their has committed. People at ways of accomplishing limlarge will accept that terrorited goals are to continue to ism, poverty, gender inequalact as before in other shapes ity and pandemics are not and manifestations. So it is now the best time for all issues of any particular nation. So this is now a big quesHumanity should be first, then to concede that humanity is tion before statesmen, comimperialist, hostile and blind mon people, media and civil initiatives. The world’s natired of all blunders that it has society that whether these all tions should develop a conare ready to learn anything committed. People at large will sensus that the world is not from history or they can only our global village now, but it accept that terrorism, poverty, plan for a limited circle in a is our genuine and true villimited time, ignoring the gender inequality and lage, where we all have the greater number, over the long same macro-interests against pandemics are not issues of term. Covid-19 is a continumicro-goals. Allthese chality of the challenges man has lenges demand from all that any particular nation. Humanity been confronting for a long is enough, let all time. it is a caution for the should be first, then imperialist, enough spend on health, education correction of actions. and quality of life rather than hostile and blind initiatives The highly infectious wars and misadventures. No viral disease has spread nation is first ahead of others, worldwide since its appearand if an issue struck the ance in december 2019, whole globe, no one’s borders causing an unprecedented pandemic. The number of would save them. Pakistan’s history too asks from all confirmed cases worldwide continues to grow at a policymakers and its ruling elite that the nation should rapid rate, but, currently, there are no specific drugs have justice in the system and distribution of reor vaccines available to control the symptoms or the sources. After a decade or two, at least the same vulspread of this disease, leaving as an effective option nerability of health should not be a reason for such only social distancing.The outbreak has forced napandemic where hospitals are poor in the numbers of tions under lockdowns, restricting or putting a halt on ventilators and other needs. it is too possible that chaltransportation, as well as both agricultural and induslenges change its face in future but nations should be trial activities across the globe. These measures are prepared rather than again ignoring this casually. taken to contain the pandemic and save lives. Besides the general picture of challenges and panThe writer holds a PhD degree in Transportation demic, Pakistan too is unaware of history. it is a counPlanning Engineering from the University of Beijing, try with limited resources, where only 4.5 percent of and works as an assistant professor at CECOS Unithe total budget is allocated for health. Since the last versity, Peshawar 73 years, the people are still striving and fighting for
The covid-19 pandemic is a warning to the world
Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami
Joint Editor
Institute of Space Technology Space Science
A glimpse of this century and our ignorance
HE PTi might well feel hard done by. it will not be able to lead the country into a land of milk and honey because it finds that its first independent budget, that for 2020-2021, will be presented on June 12, about a fortnight from now, in a time of the coronavirus. As if that was not enough, the backbone of the national economy, the agriculture sector, is under attack from a plague of locusts that has already struck. The main challenge of budget-making will be revenue-raising in a time of what seems to be an economic depression. it must also be remembered that the government does not have a free hand in this, because it was already on an imF programme, and was unable to fulfill its agreements. As a matter of fact, the imF had held back the third tranche of the budget, because Pakistan had failed to meet even the revised revenue target. Pakistan was about to ask for another downward revision of the target when the pandemic blew up in the face of both the government and the imF. However, the question cannot be avoided any longer, not with the Budget round the corner. There is still time for the government to be realistic, and go for the revenue it can raise, rather than set unrealistic targets everyone knows are destined to fail. The government should set rates and make conditions which make it possible to collect some revenue, than to set rates and make conditions which satisfy lenders, but which fail to raise revenue. Pakistan has always had the problem of failing to expand its tax base. Now, with the virus, what tax base it has, will shrink, as taxpayers refuse to pay taxes not because they have joined some taxpayers’ revolt, but because the pandemic has made their business go belly-up. A major issue is not so much the revenue side, as the expenditure side. much of the lack of preparedness for the pandemic was because of past misplaced priorities. However, the Budget coincides with the ratcheting up of tensions with india along the Line of Control, and of our ally China with india over Ladakh. Adequate provision must be made for defence, as for pandemic-related relief. The nation awaits the government’s answer with eagerness.
Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad
els, nutrients as compost, or raw materials for industry, while as last resorts one may consider recovering the energy by incineration or dumping it as garbage in landfills. Food safety and security are two complementing elements of our sustainable future. Hence, we need novel solutions for our future food security and sustainability without compromising food safety to achieve the United Nations sustainable development goals (SdG) including the eradication of hunger and poverty, clean water, sustainable land use, responsible production and consumption, mitigating climate change, and sustainable life on land and water. The coronavirus has brought many bitter truths together in countries like Pakistan. There are less equipped hospitals, fewer resources, less capacity, impractical policy approach, and lack of awareness in a country. in the presence of the aforementioned huge challenges, if we deal with this epidemic successfully, it will not be considered less than a miracle. At the international level, experts believe that the coronavirus will change the world. By several reports of international organizations, it is observed that there exists a risk of intense waves of hunger and poverty ranging from highly developed countries to underdeveloped countries. Economic mismanagement is at the root of all the world's problems. From psychological problems to the decline of social values, the root of the problem is economic misery. About 60 million people in Pakistan are living below the poverty line. The poor are growing, the resources are shrinking. From the coronavirus, those bitter realities have come to the fore again, which are somehow covered up. The problem is everyone has to stay home if they want to avoid the virus. Those whose pockets are full are filling their homes with groceries. People who are free from stomach worries are showing their new hobbies on social media and encouraging people to stay at home. Some people share a list of books and movies on social media and say that they stay away from the virus at home. Read the best books in the world and watch super hit movies. A few realists-are adding romantic colours to such suggestions. They say to give the family time. Avoid doing things that you have never been able to do with your family because of your busy schedule, and take advantage of the opportunity to do so. However, the poorest section of Pakistan is deprived of
the luxury of such thinking. Along with corona, poverty is spreading in front of them. Everything will stop. The voices are also holding their breath. if they don't go to work, will the family eat? And if they go out, they and their families may be at risk of contracting the virus. What advice do you give to these poor people? the middle class of Pakistan will try to follow somehow The awareness campaign for hygiene and precautionary measures that is going on at the moment, , but the millions of people who barely eat two meals a day, who live in dirty houses and rubbish bins; how will they take care of all this hygiene? Crying poses a serious threat to the world economy. Pakistan's economic wrestling is still hesitant in the middle of the whirlpool under normal circumstances. So far the world has very few solutions to fight the coronavirus. One of the most effective solutions is to minimize social interactions. in Pakistan too, efforts are being made to prepare people for this. But the question bothering everyone at the moment is whether Pakistan's economic situation is capable of bearing the burden of any kind of partial or complete lockdown. Under no circumstances can the answer be yes. Even under normal circumstances, Pakistan has failed to fight inflation and poverty. The biggest challenge is the economic situation of the average Pakistani which does not allow him to be limited to the extent that saves him from the virus. There is an urgent need to invest in research infrastructure for reliable data on population health, nutrition, agricultural practices, climate change, ecosystems, sustainability, and human behaviour. The government must increase funding for agricultural and nutrition research. Although institutes on nutrition and hunger already exist, increased international cooperation is needed to close the knowledge gap. it also includes social science issues, such as how to change the behavior of consumers and farmers and how to introduce previously neglected agricultural crops. The implementation of the Sustainable development Goals (SdGs) also requires coordinated consideration of research findings. The coronavirus has given us an opportunity to think about how to balance nutrition and environmental goals in Pakistan, from analysis to how to motivate consumers to eat healthy and sustainable food.
I
Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9
I
Islamabad – Ph: 051-2204545
I
Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk
I
Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk
Saturday, 30 May, 2020
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
Our priorities as a nation i want to take your attention to an important issue which Pakistan’s people are facing.And that issue is public transport and public transport mafia.As we know that nowadays curing lockdown public transport is also shut down but it will be like before lockdown i in the coming weeks when its get open.People rushed on ht roads of buses vans and even hang when a metal rod in many vehicles which is beyond any safety.And they carry rides as well as goods in their vehicle which is not allowed.The vehicle they used is not in the condition to take people but still,they use.i want all relevant authorities to consider this issue and should curb them and make a check and balance on this mafia. USaMa SarFraz rawalpindi
Nuclear defense deterrence
Prospects of globalisation and Covid-19 Covid-19 has derailed many things, one being the globalization project dr. rajkumar sinGH
T
HE outbreak of the new coronavirus, covid-19, that began in Wuhan, China, has had a far-reaching historically significant global change. more than 200 countries have confirmed cases of the virus, with the wide nature of the transmission mechanism remaining unclear. Pandemics are not just passing tragedies of sickness and death. The omnipresence of such mass-scale threats, and the uncertainty and fear that accompany them, lead to new behaviour and beliefs. People become both more suspicious and more credulous. Above all, they become less willing to engage with anything that seems foreign or strange. Nobody knows how long the covid-19 epidemic will last. if it does not become less contagious with the arrival of summer in the northern hemisphere, nervous populations around the world may have to wait until a vaccine is developed and rolled out. Another major variable is the effectiveness of public-health authorities, which are significantly less competent in many countries than in China. What is missing from globalisation is political globalisation and human globalisation. We need to recognise that the world is as strong as its weakest links. We have countries turning their backs on the United Nations. This is not fit for the 21st century. Global agencies are doing their best, but their shareholders, the governments, are not reforming and empowering them. That is the challenge. The current pandemic has made people aware of this. Hopefully, we can use this as an opportunity to learn, so that we do not have another pandemic and also are better able to manage other systemic risks such as climate change. History offers intriguing precedents for what might come next. Consider the famous financial crisis following the “tulip mania” in the Netherlands between 1635 and 1637. This episode is particularly well known because its lessons were popularized by the Scottish journalist Charles mackay in his 1841 book, memoirs of Extraordinary Popular delusions and the madness of Crowds. To mackay, the tulip crisis seemed to prefigure the speculative surges of capital into railroads and other industrial developments in North and South America during his own time. Throughout the book, he milks the episode for all its humour, recounting stories of ignorant sailors literally swallowing a fortune by mistaking tulip bulbs for onions. The tulip mania coincided with the exceptionally high mortality of the plague, which was spread by the armies fighting the Thirty Years’ War. The plague hit the Netherlands in 1635, and reached its peak in the city of Haarlem between August and November 1636, which is precisely when the tulip mania took off. Like today, early modern Europe’s plague epidemics spawned vast conspiracy theories. The less obvious the origin of the disease, the more likely it was to be attributed to some malign influence. Stories circulated about sinister hooded figures going door to door “anointing” surfaces with contagious substances. Outsiders– foreign merchants and soldiers– as well as the marginalized poor were fingered as the culprits.
Again, a nineteenth-century source offers pow- countries which defines the beneficial part of erful lessons for today. in Alessandro manzoni’s globalisation. But it also very dangerous and can 1827 novel, The Betrothed, the plot reaches its be very ugly. i always think globalisation as the high point during the plague outbreak in milan good, the bad and the ugly. in order to harvest in the 1630s, which was considered a scourge in- the benefits, one has to manage the risks. But troduced by foreigners, not least the foreign what we are seeing is that people are not manSpanish Habsburg monarchy that ruled milan. aging the risks, and this is making globalisation The novel became a potent catalyst for italian dangerous. dangers like pandemics are the spillovers of globalisation. integration of China nationalism during the Risorgimento. Likewise, the current pandemic, covid-19, with the world economy, 1.4 billion tourists and has resulted in factory closures and production business travellers around the world every year suspensions and disrupting global supply chains. are not only spreading good things, but also Producers are taking steps to reduce their expo- spreading bad things. Take the case of pandemics like that of the sure to long-distance vulnerabilities. So far, at covid-19. The rapid least, financial comgrowth of cities like mentators have focused mumbai and Wuhan, on cost calculations for which have airports, particular sectors: aumeans that anything tomakers worried about We are not entering dethat happens in these shortages of parts; texcan go across the tile makers deprived of globalisation, but only entering cities world in just a few fabric; luxury-goods redays. And this is what tailers starved of cusglobalisation of a different we are seeing in this tomers; and the tourism nature. We are more likely to pandemic. This spread sector, where cruise not only in panships, in particular, see less of manufacturing trade, isdemics, we saw this have become hotbeds spread in the financial of contagion. But there but more services trade. Asian crisis in 2008 too, has been relatively little cyber viruses which are reflection on what the countries recognise that they spread around the new climate of uncerneed the benefits of world are another extainty means for the ample, and there are global economy more globalisation. Of course, we also existential uningenerally. in thinking tended consequences of through the long-term also need policies to manage rapid growth coming consequences of the the risks of globalisation. It from globalisation, like covid-19 crisis, individclimate change. There uals, companies, and also requires investment in is no wall high enough perhaps even governeven for mighty counments will try to shield improving hygiene and tries like india, China themselves through sanitation, upgrading of slums and the USA to keep complex contingent out the great threats in contracts. it is easy to and informal settlements, the future. These are imagine new financial the threats such as cliproducts being strucinvesting in health research, mate change, pantured to pay out to audemics and financial tomobile producers in investment in regulation and crises. These high walls the event that the virus enforcement keep out ideas, techreaches a certain level nologies, vaccines and of lethality. The definance. mand for novel conif we are talking tracts may even fuel about Asia, my sense is new bubbles, as the money-making possibilities multiply. already that we would continue to see a rapid growth of playing into today’s nationalist narratives. To Asian economies like india, China and indonesome Americans, the Chinese origins of the dis- sia. They will also recover when the pandemic is ease will simply reaffirm the belief that China over. We will see growth in other places too, but poses a danger to the world and cannot be at a slower pace. We are not entering de-globalitrusted to behave responsibly. At the same time, sation, but only entering globalisation of a differmany Chinese will likely see some US measures ent nature. We are more likely to see less of to combat the virus as being racially motivated manufacturing trade, but more services trade. and intended to block China’s rise. Conspiracy Asian countries recognise that they need the bentheories about the US Central intelligence efits of globalisation. Of course, we also need Agency creating the virus are already circulat- policies to manage the risks of globalisation. it ing. in a world flooded with disinformation, also requires investment in improving hygiene and sanitation, upgrading of slums and informal covid-19 promises to bring even more. As we know globalisation is very good as it settlements, investing in health research, investlifts people out of poverty, creates opportunities, ment in regulation and enforcement. spreads vaccines and medicines, jobs and fiThe writer is head of the political science nance. That is one of the reasons india, like many other developing countries, has seen rapid department, B.N. Mandal Unversity, Madhepprogress. it is sharing of ideas, technologies, ura, Bihar, India. He can be reached at: rajkuskills, good and services, and finance with other marsinghpg@gmail.com
iT was on 28 may that Pakistan faced with challenge of indian belligerent designs was forced to test and publicly announce its nuclear defense deterrence to counter india’s threatening posture and nuclear explosions and threats. Earlier it was a civilian Pm ZAB, who having witnessed our humiliating surrender in 1971 took bold initiative to acquire nuclear capability, despite American threats, that they will make an example out of him. it also goes to his credit that he arranged finances from Libyan leader Qadaffi and Saudi Shah Feisal and gathered a team of Pakistani scientists, engineers, working in various nuclear facilities and research centers. There is no doubt that Pm Nawaz Shariff was a relatively weaker man, both in intellect and vision compared to ZAB, yet he knew that public opinion in Pakistan would never forgive him, if he does not respond in kind. Pakistan’s Father of Nation mAJ had clearly laid down his vision that survival and destiny of Pakistan lies in adoption of a democratic welfare state concept, where power lies with people and state is answerable to them. There is no concept of either a monarchy nor dictatorship in islam and according to renowned islamic scholar muhammad Asad, the closest concept to islamic system of governance is democracy. We must remember that on two phone calls from USA and UK, the powerful military dictator Ayub Khan chose not to avail perhaps sole golden opportunity to liberate iOK in 1962 despite Chinese advice and indian army having suffered a humiliating defeat. it was again Zia who got this country involved in a proxy war to please USA. As if this was not enough musharraf succumbed to threatening phone call of Under Secretary in Bush administration and offered bases including facility for drone attacks on our citizens. MaLIk TarIq Lahore
Unjust loadshedding AT the moment we are faced with the problem of overcapacity in the power production , a rare phenomena , when the available generating capacity exceeds the power demand . A sizeable generation capacity thus remains unutilized resulting in financial loss to the economy in many ways . it is pity that even having surplus power , the power authourities are resorting to load sheding in some areas on the plea of high loss feeders ( having thefts ) four times a day for a duration of half an hour each time . This is only one example of an 11 kV feeder passing through my residentional colony where people are law abiding and paying their uitility bills honestly but have to brace the load shedding in this scorching heat , because somebody far off is a power thief . does a couple of hours of load shedding deter the power thieves for not stealing during remaining hours of the day when the power is not shed ? The department logic of load shedding is highly unscientific and crude by any standard and must be done away with . instead of catching the power thieves , the power division finds it easy to switch off the entire 11 kV feeders across the country punishing the honest consumers as well alongwith the power thieves . in addition , the mindless and illogical load shedding being carried out also results in loss of revenue to the government especially when power is plentiful . in nutshell , the concerned authorities need to apply their minds to find out a better working methedology to tackle the problem of power theft . ENgr rIaz BHUTTa Lahore
Turkish drama THE Turkish drama, Ertugrul Ghazi was aired on Pakistan Television(PTV) from ramzan. it was dubbed in urdu on the special request of our Pm imran Khan. The drama is based on the muslim warrior, Ertugrul Ghazi, the founder of Ottoman empire. Within weeks, it got a great amount of fans. But, there are also many people, who are against this drama, including celebrities. One of the main point is that, a Turkish drama must not be aired on Pakistan's official channel. Well, Somehow one can criticize on this point but Turkey and Pakistan are brotherly countries. So, this must not be a big issue. Besides, in the era where we were inspired by fictional characters like iron man, our youth really needed a true muslim inspiration like ertugrul. Undoubtedly, muslim history is filled with heroes but unfortunately we are not aware of them. But this drama has confronted us with our history. Our history which is exemplary. aFrOz MJ Turbat,kech
National priorities i want to take your attention to an important issue which Pakistan's people are facing.And that issue is public transport and public transport mafia.As we know that nowadays curing lockdown public transport is also shut down but it will be like before lockdown i in the coming weeks when its get open.People rushed on ht roads of buses vans and even hang when a metal rod in many vehicles which is beyond any safety.And they carry rides as well as goods in their vehicle which is not allowed.The vehicle they used is not in the condition to take people but still,they use.i want all relevant authorities to consider this issue and should curb them and make a check and balance on this mafia. USaMa SarFraz rawalpindi
Saturday, 30 May, 2020
08 WORLD VIEW
Trump's wiThdrawal of Troops from afghanisTan marks a huge failure AMERICA'S STATUS AS A SUPERPOWER HAS BEEN DAMAGED BY ITS INABILITY TO BEAT THE TALIBAN IN NEARLY 20 YEARS OF WAR
Independent
i
Patrick cockburn
n October 2001 I was standing on a hilltop 40 miles north of Kabul watching US aircraft bomb the Taliban front line. The night sky was lit up with the flash of explosions and the sparkle of ineffectual anti-aircraft fire. It was fairly obvious who was going to come out the winner. A few weeks later the US-backed antiTaliban forces advanced south and captured Kabul without the Taliban putting up any resistance. It looked as if they had suffered a decisive military defeat which had ended forever their rule over Afghanistan. As their armies broke up, I drove to the southern city of Kandahar past ragged groups of Taliban fighters on their way home. Except that they had not really been defeated and 19 years later the Taliban are closer than ever to regaining power in
Afghanistan as the US withdraws the last of its troops. Under an agreement between the Taliban and the US signed on 29 February this year, the number of US soldiers in the country, who once numbered over 100,000, dropped to 8,600 this week and the remainder should be out of the country before the middle of next year. The final withdrawal of US troops may come even earlier than that because President Trump would like to declare that he has brought back all American troops in Afghanistan before the US presidential election on 3 november. He tweeted on Wednesday: “Bring our soldiers back home but closely watch what is going on and strike with a thunder like never before, if necessary.” The Pentagon is none too happy about this, but keeping US troops in the country for a few more months, after almost two decades of failure, is not going to make much difference. The return of the Taliban should not have come as quite such a surprise. When I got to Kandahar on my journey south from Kabul in 2001, I asked a local man if I could meet some of the surviving Taliban commanders. He said this would be no problem. We drove to his village not far from the city where we met half a dozen tough confident-
looking Taliban who said that they would go back to war if they were marginalised and not treated right. By 2006, they had done just that and three years later their motor-cycle patrols had cut the road between Kabul and Kandahar. The US increased the number of its troops and deluged the country with bombs and missiles. The US generals were always claiming that victory was just over the horizon, if only they had more forces and more time. They got both, but were unable to do more than hold the line against the Taliban, despite losing 2,400 US servicemen dead and 21,000 wounded. The Americans were not the only ones to miscalculate. Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, the British ambassador in Kabul at the time, wrote in his memoirs that the worst mistake made by the Foreign Office in the previous 30 years was the invasion of Iraq, and the second worst was “its enthusiastic endorsement of Britain’s half-baked effort to occupy Helmand [in southern Afghanistan] in 2006”. Most of the 400 British soldiers killed in Afghanistan died in Helmand province in one of the most disastrous and ineffectual campaigns in British military history. President Trump is trying to portray the
An $826 billion battle is brewing in Europe
US withdrawal as a peace agreement, but the peace he has agreed, such as it is, is between the US forces and the Taliban. Afghan government forces allied to the US have come under repeated attack. The crux of the peace agreement is the US withdrawal in return for Taliban assurances about their future actions. There have been a few conciliatory signs such as an exchange of Taliban-government prisoners in the last few days. But elsewhere the war has gone on with the Taliban assaulting the northern city of Kunduz and making guerrilla attacks elsewhere. Earlier this month, Kabul witnessed one of the worst atrocities in decades of conflict when three gunmen, probably belonging to the local chapter of Isis, burst into the maternity ward of a hospital in the capital and shot to death at least 15 mothers, babies and medical staff. Most of the dead are reported to be Shia Muslims belonging to Hazara ethnic minority who have long been a target of the fundamentalist Sunni Isis. The Taliban denied involvement in the slaughter of the mothers and children, but they too have a history of anti-Shia bigotry and of persecuting the Hazara. In 2001, the Taliban famously blew up the 165-foot tall 1,700-year-old Buddhist statues in the Hazara heartlands in central Afghanistan. There is a clue here to the future of Afghanistan and it is a grim one. Afghanistan is deeply divided by ethnicity, sect and tribe. Most Afghans I have spoken to over the years dislike the Taliban, though
New online education is death sentence for teaching profession
A BOLD EUROPEAN RECOVERY PLAN HAS UNITED FRANCE AND GERMANY. CONVINCING THE HOLDOUTS MAY NOT BE SO EASY
BlOOmBerg LioneL Laurent
The European Union’s pandemic recovery plan has all the hallmarks of a historic leap in the dark for the 27-member bloc. It aims to unleash as much as 750 billion euros ($826 billion) of fiscal stimulus, fueled by joint borrowing on financial markets — a big deal for member states that have always jealously guarded the power to tax and spend. The fact that the plan unveiled by Commission boss Ursula von der Leyen is so clearly aligned with the proposal from France’s Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s Angela Merkel is especially positive: Paris’s desire for continental assertiveness and foreign-policy grandeur hasn’t always matched Berlin’s focus on balanced budgets. Still, unlike the days of Charles de Gaulle and Konrad Adenauer, or Francois Mitterrand and Helmut Kohl, the greater sprawl and complexity of Europe mean such breakthroughs need more than just France and Germany’s blessing to secure buy-in across the continent. A bust-up is looming over what should be spent and how, and it will be a bitter one. At the center of the battle are the so-called “frugal four” — the netherlands, Sweden, Austria and Denmark — taking up a combative role similar to that of the British when they were members. As wealthy net contributors to the bloc’s budget, they’ve already been pushing back against what they see as unfair increases to the share they’re expected to chip in after Brexit; February negotiations on the next seven-year budget went nowhere after 28 hours of talks. The Covid-19 crisis has redoubled efforts by the frugal four to
push back against perceived profligacy, as the EU considers a bigger budget outlay than before, at 1.1 trillion euros (still only about 1% of gross national income), adds on pandemic stimulus tools and proposes aid in the form of grants rather than loans to be paid back — a package worth 2.4 trillion euros. The budget hard-liners may lack the diplomatic heft of Germany, but they can’t be ignored, as the plan needs unanimous support across national parliaments. Their counter-proposal has yet to be fleshed out, but their public preference for loans over grants is unlikely to be an all-or-nothing fight. Pushing loans onto highly indebted countries such as Italy would likely make it harder for them to borrow and spend the kind of funds needed to kick-start the recovery. (The government in Rome is due to receive 82 billion euros in emergency grants.) It also doesn’t make sense to assume that money sent to virusscarred countries is wasted unless it’s directly repaid. The cash will help to rebuild a single market that was brought to its knees by the pandemic — an obvious boon to trade-focused countries like the netherlands, ranked as the no. 2 source of exports between EU members. Few countries will be spared recession — the frugal four’s economies are set to shrink between 3% and 6% this year. The EU looked like a sinking ship during the crisis; this new plan is trying to plug the leak, repair the hull and navigate choppy economic waters over the next decade through investment priorities such as the Green Deal, according to Charles de Marcilly, former adviser to the EPSC think tank. This will benefit all member states. Assuming pragmatism wins out here, which is no sure thing, there might be some compromise to be found by tweaking the current split of grants versus loans, proposed at 500 billion euros and 250 billion euros respectively. The Commission also seems to have
already backed down from getting rid of prized budget rebates, which give money back to countries footing outsized EU bills. But the potential depth of voter disgruntlement in a country like the netherlands — where Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s coalition partners appear sceptical of the EU plan — will lead to talk of more conditionality. The EU budget itself might offer some potential for tweaks: Agricultural subsidies and cohesion funds for poorer areas of Europe account for about 71% of the budget, according to Bruegel, a think tank that has called for a “structural rethink” of how they’re paid. There might be ways to improve oversight of this cash while maintaining its intended benefits. What could make this particular fight so toxic is the internal distrust that has flared up as a result of the virus, from anger in Italy over a lack of support from EU partners to threats to the rule of law in Eastern European member states. The bloc’s members went their own way during the crisis, closing borders and hoarding equipment; they now have to go back to trusting each other, and also trusting that Brussels will fairly enforce the single market’s rules as it crosses the Rubicon of large-scale borrowing. It’s encouraging that Germany, historically a frugal northern state, realizes geopolitical pressure on the EU from the U.S. and China requires radical steps. “(The plan is) about making Europe stronger and working on better sovereignty of our European Union,” German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz told Politico. Talk of grand visions tends to leave the frugal camp cold, though. “When you have visions, go see a doctor,” Rutte once said. If budget divides can’t be bridged, there’ll be some dark sights ahead. Lionel Laurent is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Brussels. He previously worked at Reuters and Forbes.
they may not like the spectacularly corrupt government and its forces any better. An attempt at a complete Taliban takeover will be resisted to the death by many just as it was twenty years ago - which was why I was able to stay in an anti-Taliban enclave north of Kabul at the start of the bombing in 2001. Could the outcome of the US-Taliban war, with Britain playing a bit part, have been any different? Militarily, the Taliban could never be put permanently out of business so long as they had the not-very covert support of Pakistan and could use Pakistani territory as their rear base and refuge. Trying to occupy Afghanistan has never proved a good idea for any foreign power. Reliance on a foreign sponsor like the US might prop up the central government, but this dependency robbed it of legitimacy and fuelled corruption. Billions of dollars in US aid and day-to-day expenditure meant that there was always plenty to steal. Does anybody care about this in the US today when the 100,000 fatalities from coronavirus this year dwarfs the figure for American casualties in all its wars since Vietnam. Yet Trump’s gut political instincts are seldom wrong about what motivates the American voter and, if he thinks that he will benefit from bringing back the troops, he is probably correct. The American failure in Afghanistan is very real and it will be noticed in the rest of the world, preoccupied though people are by the pandemic. If the US is to retain the status of superpower, it needs to be seen as reasonably successful and competent in achieve it ends. On a much smaller scale the same is true of Britain. nobody who witnessed the British state in action in the Iraq and Afghan wars will have been too surprised by its stumbling poorly judged efforts to cope with the Covid-19 epidemic.
OutlOOk, IndIa bhabani Shankar nayak
In search of profit, the growth of managerialism and marketisation of education crippled the abilities of teachers and destroyed institutions of learning all over the world. The managerial revolution in education is designed to transform education as a commodity for sale by privatisation. The processes of commodification and privatisation of education are central to the principles of the market when it comes to education for profit. Educational institutions are becoming certificate selling supermarkets, which treat students as cash cows and teachers as salesperson. The introduction of league tables and rankings based on metric-driven ‘evaluation of teaching, learning, student satisfaction, and research impact’ promotes the culture of Taylorism, to implement values of efficiency, productivity, and output, which destroys the critical and creative space within teaching and learning. Management-led teaching and learning give a false sense of democratic space along with the idea of peer review culture, where control is exercised in such a way that it looks as if it is a means of professional growth and development for one’s own good. It degrades the moral foundations of teaching and learning as a profession for the public good. The educational environment is further destroyed by the managerial culture of command, communication, and control system in which teaching is managed by people who never taught in their life and research is managed by people without any form of exposure to research. Such a system creates an incompetent, unethical, unprofessional managerial class in the educational sector that eats away the soul of learning itself. These incompetent tick-box managers are given the power to mismanage the place by which they can create their own workload by organising constant useless meetings. This managerial class pretends with confidence as if they know the issues of teaching and research. The manager’s Shakespearean acting skills in the meetings can seriously put professional actors in doubt. Their rhetoric, diction and language sound as if they care about the students and staff. But in reality, they only care about their salary seeking positions and promotions. They run public funded educational institutions like their own family firms. The growth of managerial parasites in education destroys the collective culture of pedagogy, where teaching is a learning process and learning is a process to produce knowledge and skills. Teachers and students learn from each other without thinking about essentialist and functional approach of the managers, their workload model for staff, and contact hours for students. Such a profound negative transition in the sector is not only a challenge for students and employees but also a threat to education itself. It has enormous negative
impacts on women, working classes, LGBTQ, and ethnic minorities. It is also becoming an alienating experience for students and staff working within the market model of the education sector. The pestilence of coronavirus spread gives breathing space to managers by shifting the focus from the perils of managerialism and failures of marketisation of education to the question of sustainability of market-led educational institutions. Instead of addressing the long-standing issues within the education sector, the managerial elites find an instant solution by offering massive online courses. It changes the very foundation of teaching and learning in a classroom environment. Online classes in the Zoom, Microsoft Team, BlueBotton and other web conferencing applications can never replace classroom teaching. It only further accelerates the existing problems of the education sector. The classroom challenges shape teachers and teaching as a profession. The distinctive pleasure of the profession comes from the students in the classrooms who shape the art of teaching. It takes long time to internalise teaching skills and develop as a teacher in the laboratory of classrooms. Every class adds new experiences both for the students and teachers. The online platforms can never recreate the teaching and learning environment that a classroom offers. The interactive and participatory pedagogy of teaching and learning dies its natural death in online platforms where teachers look at students as dots in the computer screen. The classroom offers limitless possibilities to engage with students, their excitements and their boredoms. So, online teaching and learning is not only short-sighted but also reductionist; it destroys the organic space between teachers and their students. In this way, COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a severe crisis within the traditional pedagogy of teaching and learning. Teachers and students are not zombies. The zooming online is a medium of interaction, and not a teaching and learning method. Any attempt to replace classrooms with online platforms destroy the very idea of teaching and learning. Technology and virtual learning environment enhance the abilities of a teacher and student. It cannot replace a teacher. The etiquettes of classroom teaching instil qualities like determination, focus, peer interactions, intercultural communication skills, debating abilities, public speaking and engagement skills via eye gaze. These are invaluable skills for students and teachers. These set of important skills are more valuable in life than curriculum-driven skills and certificates. The managerial class is drunk with the bad cocktail of ignorance and arrogance so much, that they failed to understand the importance of these skills. The managerial stubbornness of market logic in education and its failures are under the carpet of the pestilence infused crisis management. It is disempowering for both students, teachers and few academic leaders. On one hand, this crisis is an opportunity for the managerial class to hide their failures. On the other hand, the COVID-19 pandemic is also exposing the limits of marketisation of education. It is revealing the thoughtless and distorted managerial response to a crisis. It is an opportunity for students and teachers to refuse the culture of business as usual in the post-pandemic education sector. It is not the individualised, selfish and brutish managerialism but the struggle for alternatives that comes from collective experiences and understandings. The survival of teachers and teaching as a profession depends on how we steer the struggle for alternatives within and outside the education sector. The author is a Senior Lecturer of Business Strategy at Coventry University, UK.
Saturday, 30 May, 2020
BUSINESS 09
MARKET DAILY
bulls return to bourse, index gains 235 points
PM’s aide terMs Covid-19 ‘an oPPortunity to reshaPe business Models’ ISLAMABAD
KARACHI STAFF REPORT
The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) changed its path on Friday, with the indices ending the last trading session of the month in the green. Global markets, on the other hand, displayed a lacklustre performance following a dip in crude oil prices; WTI crude oil price was down 2.94pc at $32.72, while Brent crude price slipped 2.33pc at $35.19. The benchmark KSE-100 Index remained in the green zone throughout the session, registering its intraday high at 34,048.56 after gaining 353.14 points. It closed higher by 235.81 points at 33,931.23. Among other indices, the KMI-30 Index accumulated 386.48 points to settle at 55,171.67, while the KSE All Share Index gathered 128.38 points, ending at 24,435.18. Of the total traded shares, 171 advanced and 118 declined. The overall market volumes improved from 14.8 million shares in the previous session to 233.02 million shares (+20pc). Average traded value also surged by 39pc, from $45.1 million to $62.4 million. Unity Foods Limited (UNITY), Hascol Petroleum Limited (HASCOL) and TRG Pakistan Limited (TRG) led the volume chart, exchanging 25.85 million, 19.55 million and 16.48 million shares, respectively. Sectors that brought positivity to the KSE100 Index included oil & gas exploration (67.93 points), cement (43.28 points) and power generation & distribution (38.98 points). Among the companies, Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDC 52.79 points), Hub Power Company Limited (HUBC 32.15 points) and Lucky Cement Limited (LUCK 31.18 points) remained the top contributors to the index. The technology sector gained 2.55pc in its cumulative market cap, with Systems Limited (SYS 6.27pc), NetSol Technologies Limited (NETSOL 4.41pc), Avanceon Limited (AVN 2.29pc) and TRG Pakistan Limited (TRG 3.14pc) closing with decent gains. In a notification to the exchange, The Searle Company Limited (SEARL 1.35pc) announced that it has entered into a licensing and marketing agreement with Beximco Pharmaceuticals, Bangladesh. Beximco is the world’s first company to develop and introduce the generic of Remdesivir for treatment of Covid-19. Meanwhile, Abbot Laboratories (Pakistan) Limited (ABOT +7.50pc) declared its financial performance for the first quarter of FY20. The company’s sales rose by 11.7pc YoY, which pushed its gross profit margin from 30pc to 36pc. The company reported a net profit of Rs862.51 million for the period under review. Its earnings per share surged from Rs3.35 last year to Rs8.81.
PM stresses financial discipline for economic stability ISLAMABAD APP
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday emphasised upon the need to ensure financial discipline and continuation of institutional reforms in order to consolidate the process of economic stabilisation while simultaneously providing relief to the masses. He was chairing a meeting to review the state of the country's economy. The meeting was attended by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Finance Adviser Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, Commerce Adviser Abdul Razak Dawood, and Institutional Reform Adviser Dr Ishrat Hussain. Industries and Production Minister Muhammad Hammad Azhar also attended the meeting via video link. During the meeting, preliminary discussion on the upcoming budget was held with a special focus on the need to deal with the emergent situation caused by coronavirus keeping in view the government's core priorities. Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh presented an overview of the economy and highlighted stabilisation and improvement witnessed during the first nine months of the current financial year in macroeconomic indicators. He said that during this period, significant improvement was made in reducing trade and fiscal deficit, current account deficit; increasing foreign direct investments, tax revenue; improving debt management, and ensuring financial discipline. He also gave a detailed briefing on the impact of coronavirus and the efforts made by the government to provide relief to the people as well as businesses, including an unprecedented incentive package offered to the construction sector.
TLTP
a
DVISER to Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood said on Friday that the Covid-19 pandemic has certainly brought a change in the world, but the situation also presents an opportunity for the local businesses to reshape their models. Dawood said this while chairing a meeting of the Ministry of Commerce's Think Tank on Covid-19, which met to explore strategies to mitigate the effects of the virus on exports. "There is a need to be innovative, both domestically and internationally, to explore the opportunities. This is imperative to not only sustain our share in traditional markets and products but also to explore new avenues, especially in services sectors," the adviser stated. He highlighted that the present government was focused on taking care of the core export sectors, besides facilitating the emerging sectors. He said that diversification, economies of scales, competitiveness, technology up-gradation, tariff rationalization and in-
RAZAK DAWOOD SAYS INDUSTRY WILL SEE MAJOR POLICY INITIATIVES IN UPCOMING BUDGET flux domestic and international investment were among the main priorities of the government, adding that the industry would see major policy initiatives in the upcoming budget. The industry representatives acknowledged the steps taken by the government in the last year and a half, saying that prudent measures had started paying the dividends before the disruption created by the Covid-19 crisis. They proposed that the facilitative measures to decrease the cost of doing business should be accompanied with steps that could address the liquidity issues faced by the industry, especially the export sector. They also lauded the briefing given by Dawood on steps taken by the government to encourage local production, as these would not only arrest deindustri-
alization but also bring new investments, especially from the local players. The businessmen shared innovative ideas to encourage domestic manufacturing and highlighted various tariff anomalies in different sectors. The credit availability schemes to further facilitate the export sectors and the non-traditional sectors were also discussed. The industry representatives recognized the central role played by Abdul Razak Dawood in the formulation of Pakistan’s first-ever Mobile Phone Manufacturing Policy and requested that similar measures may be taken for other sectors as well. Appreciating the ideas put forth by the members of the think tank, the adviser said that Pakistan needs innovative approaches for rapid growth by increasing its share in international as well as domestic markets. The industry representatives vowed to come up more proposals within a week after consulting stakeholders in different sectors. The think tank comprises commerce secretary, additional secretary (trade diplomacy), director general (textiles) and leading industrialists from various sectors.
Syed Masoud Naqvi appointed SECP Policy Board chairman
ISLAMABAD GHULAM ABBAS
The finance ministry has finally appointed Syed Masoud Naqvi as chairman of the SECP Policy Board, while the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan is expected to place the information on its website on Monday, June 1. The notification regarding the appointment of the new SECP Board chairman has ultimately ended the nine-monthlong conflict between the finance ministry and former policy board
chairman Khalid Mirza. Earlier in August 2019, the government had ordered the removal of Khalid Mirza and appointed Masoud Naqvi for the same position, but the matter became subjudiced as Mr Mirza had approached the Islamabad High Court against the government's decision. Since the finance ministry had already issued a joint notification for Mr Naqvi's appointment as member and chairman of the SECP Policy Board, it had to withdraw the notification after the court decision in favour
of Mr Mirza. Mr Naqvi was later appointed "only as a member of the policy board" in October 2019. Meanwhile, the notification issued on Thursday revealed that Khalid Mirza would continue to serve as a member of the policy board. He had resigned earlier this month after the finance ministry agreed to withdraw a notification regarding his removal as the member of the policy board. He was appointed as SECP Policy Board chairman in November 2018, when Asad Umar was the finance minister. Syed Masoud Ali Naqvi is currently serving at the board of Central Depository Company of Pakistan (CDCP) and Pakistan Stock Exchange. He is also a member of Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan. According to documents, Mr Naqvi had previously served as the president of Management Association of Pakistan and as a senior partner at KPMG Taseer Hadi & Co.
OGRA recommends Rs7 per litre cut in petrol price ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT
The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has recommended the Petroleum Division to reduce the price of petrol by Rs7.06 per litre for the month of June 2020. In addition, OGRA has also suggested the government to lower the per litre price of kerosene oil and light diesel oil (LDO). However, a nominal increase in the price of high-speed diesel (HSD) has been recommended by the authority. According to sources, the oil and gas sector regulator has worked out Rs7.06 per litre decrease in petrol price; Rs11.88 per litre cut in the price of kerosene oil, and Rs9.37 reduction in the price of LDO. The price of HSD has been hiked five paisas. If the government approves the recommended POL prices, then the new petrol price would stand at Rs74.52 per litre, LDO would be available at
Rs38.14 per litre, kerosene oil would be sold at Rs35.56/litre, whereas HSD would be available at Rs80.10 per litre in June. Sources said upon receiving the summary from OGRA, the Petroleum Division has forwarded the same to the Finance Division for necessary approvals in this regard. They said the finance ministry, after getting the consent of Prime Minister Imran Khan, would announce future oil prices, which would be effective from 1st June 2020. The government has been striving hard to extend maximum relief to the public by giving relief in the per litre prices of POL products, ministry officials said. According to sources, despite OGRA's recommended cut in POL prices, the government can award more relief to the public by approving a decrease in the ratio of taxes, levy, and margins etc. that are already imposed on POL prices.
Weekly inflation up 0.13pc ISLAMABAD APP
The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI)-based weekly inflation, for the week ended on May 28, witnessed a nominal increase of 0.13 per cent, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported on Friday. The SPI for the week under review in the combined consumption group was recorded at 128.32 points as against 128.15 points registered in the previous week. The weekly SPI with base year 2015-16=100 covers 17 urban centres and 51 essential items for all expenditure groups. The SPI for the lowest consumption group, up to Rs17,732, also witnessed an increase of 0.57pc, from 134.06 points in the last week to 134.20 points during the week under review. As compared to the corresponding week of last year, the SPI for the combined consumption group during the week under review witnessed an increase of 9.63pc, while for the lowest consumption group, it surged by 11.07pc. Weekly inflation for consumption groups from Rs17,733Rs22,888; Rs22,889-Rs29,517; Rs29,518-Rs44,175 and above Rs44,175 per month increased by 0.12pc, 0.14pc, 0.14pc and 0.12pc, respectively. During the week, prices of nine items decreased, 12 items increased while that of 30 items remained unchanged. The items that recorded a decrease in their average prices included tomatoes, garlic, onions, bananas, pulse (gram, masoor, mash), LPG cylinder and eggs. The commodities which recorded an increase in their average prices included chicken, potatoes, wheat flour, washing soap, gur, pulse (moong), sugar, rice (basmati broken), mutton, curd, milk (fresh) and beef. Similarly, the prices of the commodities that observed no change in their prices during the week under review included rice (Irri-6/9), bread, beef, milk (powdered), mustard oil, cooking oil (loose), vegetable ghee (tin), vegetable ghee (loose), salt, chillies, tea (packet), cooked beef, cooked daal, tea (prepared), cigarettes, long cloth, shirting, lawn, georgette, gents sandal, gents chappal, ladies sandal, electricity charges, gas charges, firewood, energy saver, matchbox, petrol, diesel, telephone call and toilet soap. According to PBS analysis, the increase was mainly due to a rise in prices of food items i.e. chicken (2.45pc), potatoes (1.85pc) and wheat flour (1.18pc).
Razak Dawood expects Pakistan’s EODB ranking to improve by 20 positions ISLAMABAD APP
Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood said on Friday the government was striving hard to ensure the country’s Ease of Doing Business (EODB) ranking among the top 100 counties by providing a conducive business environment to the small and medium enterprises (SMEs). “We are expecting an improvement of around 20 positions this year, 108 to 88, in the overall score of the World Bank’s EODB
World Annual Index Report,” Dawood told APP. The adviser informed that Pakistan had witnessed an unprecedented improvement in its EODB ranking last year and “we want to continue the momentum and build on our previous successes.” He said Pakistan had improved its position from 136 to 108 in EODB rank last year, which shows the government’s commitment to improving the business environment. To a question, he said this year the government was focusing on all 10 indicators measured for the World Bank Index annual report.
“In this context, 74 reform actions related to these business indicators have been completed and being taken up with the DB team for their consideration.” Talking on these reforms, Dawood said the company registration with all provincial authorities has become easy and online, without involving human handling. He claimed that any company could now be registered in a day with the Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). Replying to another question about EODB
process with the provincial governments, the adviser said the data is transferred to the labour depts, the Punjab Employees Social Security Institute (PESSI), the Sindh Employees Social Security Institute (SESSI) and Employees’ Old-Age Benefits Institute (EOBI) in realtime, while only SECP portal is used. “End-to-end integration of nine departments has been made and waiving off fee by the labour department of Sindh will also reduce the cost for businesses to be operated in Sindh as well,” he said. He said Punjab had already waived off
labour fee last year and similarly omission of provisions regarding company’s common seal will lead to a reduction in one procedure and associated time. “The SECP has notified the rules for Corporate Rehabilitation Act 2018. Now companies can get full benefits of resolution of insolvency.” He said the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) amended their by-laws to facilitate the applicants and had outsourced the inspections regime for the first time in Punjab.
Saturday, 30 May, 2020
10 FOREIGN NEWS
TwiTTer ConCeAlS TrUmp TweeT for ‘glorifying violenCe’ WASHINGTON
T
AGENCIES
WITTER concealed one of Donald Trump’s tweets on Friday for “glorifying violence”, ramping up a dispute with the US president who says social media companies censor conservative voices like his. In a move bound to infuriate one of the platform’s most followed users, Twitter said it was placing a “public interest notice” on a Trump message about protests in Minneapolis over the death of an unarmed black man at the hands of the police. In a late night tweet, Trump wrote: “These THUGS are dishonouring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all
the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!” Hours later, the micro-messaging platform hid the tweet behind a message that said it “violates our policies regarding the glorification of violence based on the historical context of the last line, its connection to violence, and the risk it could inspire similar actions today”. “As is standard with this notice, engagements with the Tweet will be limited. People will be able to Retweet with Comment, but will not be able to Like, Reply or Retweet it.” Users could still click through and view the full unedited tweet. Trump, who has more than 80 million followers on Twitter, lashed out at the platform on Thursday, signing an executive order seeking to strip social media giants of legal immunity for content they carry. The
Thirty countries launch alliance to share Covid-19 tools ZURICH
order calls on government regulators to evaluate if they should be eligible for liability protection for content posted by their millions of users. The move, which was slammed by critics as a legally dubious act of political revenge, came after Twitter labelled two earlier Trump tweets — on the increasingly contentious topic of mail-in voting — as misleading. If enforced, the action would upend decades of precedent and treat internet platforms as “publishers” potentially liable for user-generated content. Trump told reporters at the White House he acted because big tech firms “have had unchecked power to censor, restrict, edit, shape, hide, alter any form of communication between private citizens or large public audiences”. “We can’t let this continue to happen,” Trump said.
China slams ‘senseless’ US move at UN over Hong Kong BEIJING
AGENCIES
AGENCIES
Thirty countries led by Costa Rica and the World Health Organization launched an initiative on Friday aimed at sharing vaccines, medicines and diagnostic tools to tackle the global coronavirus pandemic. While the developing nations’ push, called the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool, was welcomed by groups including Doctors Without Borders, a drug industry alliance questioned if it would really boost collaboration or broaden access to COVID-19 medicines. The WHO effort comes amid concerns rich countries pumping resources into finding vaccines - more than 100 are in development will muscle their way to the front of the queue, once a candidate succeeds. Switzerland, home of big drugmakers Roche and Novartis, has also raised fears of “vaccine nationalism”, saying it wants to ensure fair access. While the developing nations’ push, called the COVID19 Technology Access Pool, was welcomed by groups including Doctors Without Borders, a drug industry alliance questioned if it would really boost collaboration or broaden access to COVID-19 medicines. The WHO effort comes amid concerns rich countries pumping resources into finding vaccines - more than 100 are in development - will muscle their way to the front of the queue, once a candidate succeeds. Switzerland, home of big drugmakers Roche and Novartis, has also raised fears of “vaccine nationalism”, saying it wants to ensure fair access. “By urging licences or non-enforcement declarations for COVID-19 treatments and vaccines to be granted on a non-exclusive global basis, the ‘Solidarity Call to Action’ promotes a one-size-fits all model that disregards the specific circumstances of each situation, each product and each country,” the federation said. Countries to sign up are Argentina, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Brazil, Chile, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Indonesia, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Maldives, Mexico, Mozambique, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Peru, Portugal, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, South Africa, Sudan, the Netherlands, East Timor and Uruguay, the WHO said.
China accused the US of taking the UN hostage on Friday over a controversial security law for Hong Kong and warned Western nations to stay out of its internal affairs. The US, Britain, Canada and Australia led criticism of the planned law, which would punish secession, subversion of state power, terrorism and acts that endanger national security, as well as allow Chinese security agencies to operate openly in Hong Kong. China's rubber-stamp parliament on Thursday approved the plans for the law, which followed seven months of huge and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong last year. After China fended off initial American efforts this week to have the controversy put on the agenda of the United Nations Security Council, the US and Britain succeeded in securing an informal discussion about it for Friday, diplomatic sources told AFP. Beijing's proposed security law "lies in direct conflict" with China's international obligations to guarantee certain freedoms in Hong Kong, the four countries said in a joint statement. "The proposed law would undermine
US consumption dove 13.6pc in April amid virus lockdowns WASHINGTON AGENCIES
US personal consumption plunged a record 13.6 percent in April, the first full month where businesses closed their doors and shoppers stayed home to stop the coronavirus, the Commerce Department said Friday. Prices also dropped by 0.5 percent, the biggest drop in more than five years, according to the PCE price index, as slowing consumption was worsened by mass layoffs that have now put some 40 million Americans out of work, at least temporarily. The data were better than analysts' expected but nonetheless the latest sign of the damage inflicted on the world's largest economy, where key sectors have seen their operations snarled by measures aimed at stopping the pandemic that has killed more than 100,000 people. "Household spending will likely continue to be impacted going forward by a more cautious attitude by consumers as job losses continue to mount," Rubeela Farooqi of High Frequency Economics said. "However, we think April likely marked the bottom and activity could be less weak in May and June." Fueling the $1.89 trillion drop in consumption were decreases in spending on food and accommodation as people stopped traveling and going out. Income took an incongruent turn, shooting up by 10.5 percent in April, a spike caused by the government's massive $2.2 trillion CARES Act which boosted unemployment benefits and included direct payments to all Americans.
‘PRESIDENT’S SPEECH POLICE’: Critics said, however, that Trump has no authority to regulate private internet operators or change the law, known as Section 230, which backers say has allowed online platforms like Facebook and Twitter to flourish. The American Civil Liberties Union called Trump’s order “a blatant and unconstitutional threat to punish social media companies that displease the president”. Eric Goldman, director of the High-Tech Law Institute at Santa Clara University, said the order was “more about political theatre than about changing the law”. The order “is not legally supportable — it flies in the face of more than 900 court decisions,” Goldman said. The White House seeks to sidestep the provisions giving internet firms immunity by treating them as publishers operating in part
of a “public square”. “Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube wield immense, if not unprecedented, power to shape the interpretation of public events; to censor, delete, or disappear information; and to control what people see or do not see,” the executive order said. While the Trump order would not prevent platforms from moderating content, it could open them up to a flood of lawsuits from anyone who claims to be harmed by content posted online. Critics said the action represents a dangerous effort by the government to regulate online speech. “Social media can be frustrating. But an Executive Order that would turn the FCC into the President’s speech police is not the answer,” said Jessica Rosenworcel, a Democratic member of Federal Communications Commission, one of the agencies tasked with enforcing the executive order. Matt Schruers, president of the Computer & Communications Industry Association, a trade group, warned that “retaliation against the private sector for fact-checking leadership is what we expect from foreign autocracies, not the United States.”
the One Country, Two Systems framework," they added, referring to Hong Kong's special status within China under the terms of its handover from Britain in 1997. Beijing said Friday it had lodged official protests to the four countries. "We urge the related countries to respect China's sovereignty (and) stop interfering in Hong Kong's and China's internal affairs," foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said at a regular press briefing. He also slammed the US approach as "totally unreasonable" and said China would not allow the US to "kidnap the Council for its own purposes."
"We urge the US to immediately stop this senseless political manipulation," Zhao said. British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab also said London would widen its rules around the rights of British National (Overseas) passport holders -- a status offered to many Hong Kongers at the time of handover -- if China went ahead with the new law. Zhao warned that Beijing reserves the right to take "corresponding countermeasures". The Chinese parliament's vote came just hours after Washington revoked the special status conferred on Hong Kong, paving the way for the territory to be
stripped of trading and economic privileges. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the status had been withdrawn because China was no longer honouring its handover agreement with Britain to allow Hong Kong a high level of autonomy. President Donald Trump also announced he would hold a press conference on Friday about China, with Hong Kong and other flashpoint issues -- including the coronavirus, espionage and trade -- almost certain to be brought up. "We're not happy with China," Trump told reporters on Thursday. 'SAFE ENVIRONMENT': China has remained defiant in the face of Western criticism on Hong Kong, insisting "foreign forces" are to blame for fuelling the pro-democracy movement and creating turmoil in the city of 7.5 million people. Li Zhanshu -- chairman of the NPC Standing Committee which will now draft the law -- said Thursday the move was "in line with the fundamental interests of all Chinese people, including Hong Kong compatriots". Under the "one country, two systems" model agreed before the city's return from Britain to China, Hong Kong is supposed to be guaranteed certain liberties until 2047 that are denied to those on the mainland. The mini-constitution that has governed Hong Kong's affairs since the handover obliges the territory's authorities to enact national security laws. But huge protests blocked an effort to do so in 2003, and Hong Kong's government then shelved it while watching the pro-democracy movement grow.
Foreign powers in Libya risk ever bloodier stalemate TUNIS/ANKARA/CAIRO AGENCIES
As Turkish drones helped drive eastern Libyan forces back from Tripoli this month, Russia was said to be reinforcing them with warplanes, raising the stakes in a stalemated civil war that has partitioned the country. Recent weeks have marked a turning point in a complex conflict between two uneasy coalitions that are each backed by an array of foreign states whose competing regional agendas make them unwilling to countenance defeat. Eastern commander Khalifa Haftar and his Libyan National Army (LNA) now face the likely failure of their yearlong effort to capture Tripoli, seat of the internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA). Backed by the United Arab Emirates, Russia and Egypt with arms, mercenaries and air strikes, according to U.N. experts, Haftar had last summer advanced into Tripoli’s southern suburbs before his offensive stalled. However, aid from Turkey helped turn the tide with air defences and drone strikes that neutralised LNA air power before hammering its ground troops and long supply lines this month. “In the last few weeks, there has been a significant change in balance in Libya,” said a senior Turkish official, crediting Turkish drones and “untrained soldiers” operating LNA air defences.
It led, over the past month, to the LNA’s sudden loss of a string of towns near the Tunisian border, a crucial air base, a dozen of its own air defence systems and most of its foothold in Tripoli. With them went Haftar’s hopes of victory. Over the same period, Russian military personnel have delivered some 14 MiG 29 and Su-24 fighter jets to the LNA’s Jufra air base in central Libya, the U.S. military said this week. They are aircraft that could again turn the tide of war. A Russian member of parliament and the LNA have denied the aircraft arrived. Libya is once more on the brink after years of chaos that followed the uprising
CMYK
against Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, leading to rival administrations in Tripoli, in the west, and Benghazi in the east. With more arms and fighters flowing to local proxies, Libyans fear an unending conflict in which outside powers keep fuelling warfare to protect their interests, while suffering little pain themselves. One Western diplomat working on Libya warned of a “stagnating conflict in which escalation is met with escalation, increasingly violent and with no resolution or way out”. France, which has also been broadly supportive of Haftar, warned this week that the situation in Libya risked replicating
Syria’s descent into an endless war driven by outside forces. Russian and Turkish officials spoke last week and issued a statement agreeing on the need for a ceasefire, a possible sign they have hashed out a backroom deal to avert a direct confrontation after the arrival of the Russian jets. “They put the gun on the table to signal to Turkey that there are limits to where its forces can advance towards the east,” said a second Western diplomat working on Libya. FIGHTER JETS: The jets at Jufra could now act as a deterrent to a new offensive by the GNA once it has consolidated its gains in the west said Wolfram Lacher of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. “It appears the purpose of these fighter jets and the redeployment to central and southern Libya now is to stabilise and freeze the military situation,” he said. With Haftar’s offensive collapsing, and with it his wider project of uniting Libya by force and replacing the GNA, his role as the lynchpin of the eastern bloc is also in question. “So much of Haftar’s campaign and his narrative over many years has been built on success and momentum,” said one of the diplomats. In late April as his war stuttered, Haftar suddenly declared that his military would seize power nationally, a move that would sideline the civilian administration in east Libya that had recognised him as head of the army there.
Saturday, 30 May, 2020
SPORTS 11
Fans could return For 20-21 season: PreMier league chieF LONDON
P
and it is right to have contingency plans in place, but there is optimism at the Premier League and at clubs that we will see fans back in the stadiums next season and it may happen on a phased basis," Masters told Sky Sports News. "Hopefully it will be a huge morale boost and that is what we've been working towards. "We've got some incredible fans in this country and we all know the Premier League as we know and love it won't be fully back until we have fans back through the turnstiles." The biggest concern for 'Project Restart' is another wave of the virus, which could lead to the competition being suspended again. With that in mind, Masters said it was crucial clubs agreed on a plan for what would happen if the season had to end early before games resume. But he would not be drawn on whether
AGENCIES
REMIER League chief executive Richard Masters said on Friday that fans could be allowed to attend top-flight matches in the 2020-21 season on a "phased basis". The Premier League plans to resume the 2019-20 campaign on June 17 following the coronavirus lockdown. But the remaining 92 fixtures will be played behind closed doors to minimise the health risks of football's return in a country badly hit by the pandemic. The prospect of playing the next season with no fans is unappetising for the Premier League and Masters suggested it could be possible to being back supporters at some stage. "No one knows when matches will move away from the behind-closed-doors model
an unweighted points-per-game model would be used in decide the final table in the event of the season being abandoned. "We need to have plans in place so that we go into the start of the season knowing that if it can't be completed, what then happens," Masters said. "(But) I'm not going to give away any of the details of the private discussions we are having with our clubs." 'LEGITIMATE CONCERNS': The video assistant referee (VAR) system is set to be used in the remaining matches, but Masters said it would be done remotely rather than from the officials' usual base at Stockley Park. "VAR has its own social distancing issues but we think there is a way of completing the season with VAR, so absolutely our intention is to complete the season with VAR in place," he said. "The hub itself could be a problem, so if you can't do the hub you have to do it re-
motely, and that's what we're looking at." Liverpool are two wins away from clinching their first English title for 30 years, but they could be forced to play at a neutral venue when the trophy is within
reach on police advice. Police chiefs are concerned about the safety risks of Liverpool fans gathering outside Anfield or any other stadium their team are playing at.
FA Cup final set for August 1 after virus delay LONDON AGENCIES
The FA Cup final is set to take place on August 1 after the English Football Association announced provisional dates to finish the competition on Friday. After the Premier League revealed they plan to resume the season on June 17, the FA Cup has now returned to an English fixture list thrown into chaos by the coronavirus. The FA Cup was halted before the quarter-finals because of the pandemic, but tournament organisers hope to complete it alongside the Premier League. The four matches in the last eight will be played over the weekend of June 27 and 28, with no decision reached yet on whether these will be played on a home-and-away basis as normal or at neutral venues. Leicester take on Chelsea, Newcastle face holders Manchester City,
Sheffield United play Arsenal and Norwich meet Manchester United.
The semi-finals will be played on July 11 and 12, with the intention being for
No place for Hales or Plunkett as England name 55-man training group LONDON AGENCIES
Williams considers selling F1 team after £13m loss LONDON AGENCIES
Williams revealed on Friday that they are considering selling the Formula One team after a multi-million pound drop in the company's financial results. The William Grand Prix Holdings group reported an adjusted loss of £13 million ($15.9 million) for the year ending 2019. After posting a £12.9 million profit in 2018, Williams have responded to the blow by seeking new investment. A minority or majority stake will be offered to investors, along with the option for an outright buy-out. "The WGPH board believes that the strategic review and formal sale process is the right and prudent thing to do in order to take time to consider a full range of options and put the Formula One team in the best possible position for the future," a Williams statement said. "As part of this new strategic direction, the WGPH board is undertaking a review of all the various strategic options available to the company." The British-based team are yet to receive any formal approaches but confirmed "preliminary discussions" have taken place with possible investors. Despite the change of approach, the company said it has both the funds and the intent to reclaim its place on the grid when Formula One returns after the coronavirus crisis. "Any interested party participating in the formal sale process will be required to enter into a non-disclosure agreement with WGPH on terms satisfactory to the WGPH board," the statement said.
Alex Hales and World Cup-winner Liam Plunkett were both left out of a mammoth 55-man England training group announced Friday. But 14 uncapped players were selected as England look to stage a full Test and limited-overs programme against West Indies, Pakistan, Ireland and Australia, despite the coronavirus delaying the start of their home season
until at least July. Among those recalled was David Willey, who lost his place in the one-day squad to Jofra Archer shortly before England won the World Cup for the first time last year. Official squads will be named at a later date, with three Tests against the West Indies, set to be played behind closed doors at bio-secure venues such as Old Trafford in Manchester and Southampton's Ageas Bowl, first up for England this season. The group will not train in one
those matches and the final to be played at Wembley as usual. All the ties will be behind closed doors. The news will be a boost to the FA from a financial perspective, with its chief executive Mark Bullingham warning in April of the governing body suffering losses of up to £150 million ($184 million) as a result of the disruption caused by the health crisis. "The competition has been an integral part of the English football calendar for nearly 150 years, and we'd like to thank the Premier League executive and clubs for their support in scheduling the remaining matches during this unprecedented time," Bullingham said on Friday. "This has been a difficult period for many people and while this is a positive step, the restart date is dependent on all safety measures being met. The health and well-being of players, staff and supporters remains our priority." place, but with individual sessions across several county venues, that started with bowlers back in the nets last week, the only form of training allowed at present. "It's really pleasing to be in a position to have players returning to training and a huge amount of work has been done by many to get us this far," said England and Wales Cricket Board performance director Mo Bobat, who helped England coach Chris Silverwood and the selectors compile the list. "The pool of players will give selectors strong options when it comes to selecting squads across formats further down the line, as we move closer to our aim of playing international cricket this summer."
Murray to return to action in June LONDON AGENCIES
Andy Murray will return from his latest injury problem on June 23 in a tournament organised by his brother Jamie to raise money for a UK National Health Service charity. Jamie Murray has helped create the behind-closed-doors tournament called 'Schroders Battle of the Brits'.The event, which runs from June 23-28, will see the Murray brothers and fellow British players Kyle Edmund and Dan Evans go head to head at the Lawn Tennis Association's Roehampton base in London. It will be screened live on Amazon Prime and aims to raise at least £100,000 ($122,000) for the state-run NHS. With the ATP and WTA seasons postponed due to the coronavirus, Murray's first appearance since November's Davis Cup Finals will be a welcome tonic for tennis fans. "The last few months have been incredibly challenging times for everyone and we see this event as our way of giving back," Jamie Murray said. "A lot of work has gone in to make sure this could happen and we are very excited to be able to bring an action-packed week of tennis, while raising valuable funds for NHS heroes to say thank you for the amazing work they have done."
League-by-league guide to the return of football around Europe PARIS AGENCIES
With Switzerland on Friday following Italy's Serie A in setting a date for its return from the coronavirus shutdown, and the English Premier League also now agreed on when to resume, AFP Sport casts a glance at the situation for football leagues across Europe: LEAGUES RESTARTING: The German Bundesliga was the first major European league to return on May 16, but the Faroe Islands came back before that. Football is also being played again in Estonia, the Czech Republic and Hungary, while Belarus was the one country on the continent where it never went away during the coronavirus crisis. On Thursday, Italy's sports minister confirmed that Serie A will return on June 20, while La Liga in Spain will resume its season in the week beginning June 8. Italy's announcement was followed on Friday by neighbours Switzerland, whose league will resume on June 19. The Swiss season was the first in Europe to be suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the last matches played on February 23. Clubs will play two games a week in order to complete the remaining third of the season by August 2. Here are all confirmed restart dates in Europe:
CMYK
Denmark -- May 28 Poland -- May 29 Serbia, Ukraine -- May 30 Austria -- June 2 Portugal -- June 3 Slovenia -- June 5 Croatia, Greece -- June 6 Spain -- week beginning June 8 Turkey -- June 12 Norway -- June 16 Switzerland -- June 19 Italy -- June 20 Russia -- June 21 Finland -- July 1 ENGLAND AWAITS GREEN LIGHT: The Premier League on Thursday announced the date
of June 17 for its return, although that remains "provisional" for now, according to chief executive Richard Masters. He admitted the date "cannot be confirmed until we have met all the safety requirements needed, as the health and welfare of all participants and supporters is our priority." SEASON OVER: The Netherlands was the first European country to bring an early end to the season on April 24 as the Eredivisie was cancelled without a champion being crowned. France then followed suit on April 30, ending the season with 10 rounds of matches unplayed. The season was not voided, though, with Paris Saint-Germain confirmed as champions, European places dished out and relegation and promotion between the top two divisions maintained on a two-up, two-down basis. Belgium also ended its season, with Club Brugge champions, after the Belgian government announced it was suspending all sporting competitions until July 31. In Scotland the season had already been called early in the three divisions below the top flight and the Premiership followed suit on May 18, with Celtic being crowned champions for the ninth year running. Luxembourg and Cyprus also called an end to their seasons but without naming a champion.
Saturday, 30 May, 2020
NEWS
Hundreds of trooPs dePloyed as angry us antI-racIsM Protests sPread MINNEAPOLIS
H
AGENCIES
UNDREDS of troops deployed to the streets of Minneapolis and St. Paul early Friday after a third night of rioting over police brutality against African Americans left hundreds of shops damaged and a police station on fire. After the angry demonstrations spread overnight to multiple US cities, from New York to Phoenix, President Donald Trump blasted local officials and labelled the protestors "thugs" and threatened a harsh crackdown. Black leaders continued to express outrage over the videotaped death of George Floyd, 46, while handcuffed on the ground and in custody of Minneapolis police on Monday. He died after one officer kneeled on his neck for more than five minutes. "People are angry they are frustrated because this is not the first police killing they have seen around the country," Al Sharpton, a prominent black rights activist, told MSNBC. Trump indicated he would counter more street violence with more troops on the streets. "These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won't let that happen," Trump tweeted. "Just spoke to (Minnesota) Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the
looting starts, the shooting starts." Twitter concealed that tweet, saying it violated its policy on glorifying violence. POLICE STATION SET ABLAZE: Overnight demonstrators broke through law enforcement barriers to overtake the Minneapolis police station where the four officers blamed for Floyd's death were based. A fire broke out and soon became an inferno that engulfed the structure. The state's national guard announced the 500 troops were being deployed Friday morning for peacekeeping amid signs that the anger was nowhere near dissipating. "Our troops are trained to protect life, preserve property and ensure people's right to peacefully demonstrate," said
Pakistan shoots down second Indian quadcopter in a week RAWALPINDI STAFF REPORT
Pakistan Army shot down an Indian spy quadcopter that violated Pakistani airspace from Kanzalwan Sector along the Line of Control (LoC), InterServices Public Relations (ISPR) said on Friday. ISPR, in a tweet, said: “#PakistanArmy troops shot down an Indian spying #quadcopter which came from Kanzalwan Sector, intruded 700 Meters on Pakistan side of #LOC in Nekrun Sector.” The incident marks the second time this week that a spy drone has intruded into Pakistani territory. On May 27, the army downed an Indian surveillance drone that had crossed over the LoC into the Rakh Chakri sector. According to a statement then by Director General ISPR Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar, the quadcopter had intruded 650 metres into Pakistani territory. At the turn of the new year, on January 1, the army shot down a spy Indian quadcopter in Bagh sector along the LoC. Within 24 hours, a second was shot down in Satwal Sector along the LoC. “Not even a quadcopter will be allowed to cross LoC, InshaAllah,” then DG ISPR Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor had vowed.
PM terms sugar probe a feather in govt’s cap NEWS DESK Prime Minister Imran Khan has termed the conclusive investigation into the sugar scandal and making public its report as “historical moves” of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government. PM Imran Khan praised the high-level investigation and publication of the probe report of the sugar scandal while chairing a meeting of the ruling PTI and government spokespersons on Friday. PM Imran Khan said that the federal government made ‘historical moves’ by conducting an investigation into the sugar scandal and publicising its report. He added that ‘mafias’ have turned the politics into business and ‘corrupt’ politicians always helped ‘mafias’ while remaining into politics. He further said that nobody has paid attention to the wrongdoings for looting the national treasury for a long time. Commenting on the pandemic situation, the premier said that the spread of Covid-19 created economic instability in the country. He said that the present government took the best decisions to fight coronavirus. On Wednesday, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) demanded that the sugar inquiry commission summon Prime Minister Imran Khan and called for resignation of Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar for their role in giving subsidy worth billions of rupees to mills despite the shortage of the sweetener in the country.
Major General Jon Jensen of the Minnesota National Guard. 'PLEASE CHOOSE PEACE': Protests broke out in several cities across the country, including New York, where dozens of protestors were arrested; Phoenix, Memphis, and Denver. In Louisville, Kentucky, seven people were hit by gunfire at a protest on Thursday over the death of Breonna Taylor -- a black woman who was shot after police entered her home in March. One of those wounded was in critical condition, according to the Louisville Metro Police Department. It is not yet clear who fired the shots. Police urged protestors to "please
choose peace," posting a video message from a member of Taylor's family asking those in the streets to "go home and be safe and be ready to keep fighting." But more protests were expected Friday, including in Washington and Houston, where Floyd's family is. VIDEO EVIDENCE: Pressure mounted on Minnesota officials to arrest the four officers blamed for Floyd's death. A video shows that after being detained on a minor, non-violent charge of using a counterfeit banknote, he was handcuffed, pinned to the ground and one officer held his knee tightly to Floyd’s neck for more than five minutes until he went limp. Floyd's family demanded the officer be arrested for murder, but local and federal law enforcement officials said Thursday they still needed to investigate the case thoroughly. "The Department of Justice has made the investigation in this case a top priority," said Erica MacDonald, the US federal attorney for Minnesota. "To be clear, President (Donald) Trump, as well as Attorney General William Barr, are directly and actively monitoring the investigation in this case." But Sharpton said Friday that video of Floyd's death was strong enough to support arresting the officers, who have been fired from the Minneapolis police. "The tape is more than enough to establish probable cause .. to make an arrest. There is no reason these four policemen have not been arrested by now."
Gen Bajwa reiterates commitment to global peace RAWALPINDI STAFF REPORT
Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Friday said the sense of purpose and commitment of Pakistan towards the global peace under the United Nations Charter remained unflinching. “Pakistan commemorates ‘Spirit of Sacrifice’ of our valiant peacekeepers, who continue serving humanity in challenging and restive regions of the world,” the army chief said in his message in connection with the International Day of UN Peacekeepers. The Day was observed to pay tribute to the uniformed and civilian personnel’s invaluable contribution to maintaining peace across the world. The theme for this year’s Day is “Women in Peacekeeping: A Key to Peace”. UN Secretary General António Guterres said, “As we commemorate the 20th anniversary of Security
Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security, we must do more to achieve women’s equal representation in all areas of peace and security.” “Together let us continue to wage peace, defeat the pandemic and build a better future,” he added. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in statement
that “Pakistan joins the international community in celebrating ‘International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers’. As a consistent leading troop-contributing country, Pakistan is cognisant of the important role played by UN peacekeepers in maintaining security and stability in so many of the world’s conflict zones”. FO Spokesperson Aisha Farooqui saluted the services and sacrifices rendered by peacekeepers from around the world and reiterated the country’s solemn commitment to continue working with the United Nations for the ideals of peace, stability and cooperation espoused by the ‘blue helmets’. Pakistan is proud of its longstanding contributions to UN peacekeeping spanning over six decades, she said. “Our peacekeepers have earned well-deserved respect and goodwill for their professionalism and devotion to duty in every mission they have participated in.”
no call between trump and Modi on china border tension, says Indian official NEW DELHI AGENCIES
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not spoken with US President Donald Trump about the South Asian nation’s military standoff with China, a government source said on Friday, after Trump suggested Modi was upset about border tension. The neighbours’ troops have been facing off along the disputed border in the western Himalayas since early May, after Chinese troops intruded into Indian territory, according to Indian military officials. “They have a big conflict going with India and China. Two countries with 1.4 billion people. Two countries with very powerful militaries,” Trump told reporters, according to a White House transcript. “And India is not happy, and probably China is not happy. But I can tell you, I did speak to Prime Minister Modi. He’s not — he’s not in a good mood about what’s going on with China,” Trump added. The comments followed a Twitter post the previous day in which Trump said the United States had told India and China that it was ready to arbitrate their “raging border dispute”, the first time he has thrown himself into India-China diplomacy. But Indian officials expressed surprise at Trump’s latest remarks. “There has been no recent contact between PM Modi and President Trump,” a government source said. “The last conversation between them was on April 4, on the subject of hydroxychloroquine.” The source spoke on condition of anonymity, citing diplomatic sensitivities. On Trump’s offer to mediate between the two nuclear-armed nations, the source said, the “Indian foreign ministry had also made it clear that we are directly in touch with the Chinese through established mechanisms and diplomatic contacts.” On Friday, China’s foreign ministry said there was no need for a third party to mediate. Both countries lay claim to thousands of kilometres of territory in each other’s possession along a vast stretch of the Himalayas. They went to war in 1962 and have not been able to settle the border since, prompting occasional flare-ups between troops. Military observers say one likely reason for the renewed border tension in the Ladakh sector is India’s effort to build new airstrips and roads near the de-facto border to try to narrow the gap with China’s superior infrastructure. During talks to resolve the crisis, the Chinese side have demanded that India stop all construction activity in the area, saying the whole area is disputed, one of the sources said.
Virus tolls surge in Russia, Americas as Europe speeds reopening MOSCOW/PARIS AGENCIES
The death toll from the coronavirus pandemic spiked again in Russia and the Americas on Friday, even as Europe’s experiment with reopening from lockdown grew bolder by the day. Fresh restrictions in Asia also signalled that there will be a long road back to normality from the pandemic that has killed more than 360,000 people and hammered the global economy. However signs of pre-COVID 19 life’s return continue to grow, with English and Italian football unveiling plans to join Germany in resuming to play the world’s most popular game. Populations are learning to adjust to life with the long-term threat of infection as the virus continues its march around the globe — with more than 5.8 million cases — and a vaccine remains elusive. Russia reported a record increase of 232 coronavirus deaths on Friday, taking it to a total of 4,374 deaths and 387,623 cases, the third-highest number of infec-
tions in the world after the United States and Brazil. Moscow authorities meanwhile released mortality figures to dispel allegations they were under-reporting deaths to play down the scale of the crisis. Russian authorities said numbers of deaths in the capital were far lower than those in New York and London, attributing the difference to mass testing.
Moscow is due to ease its lockdown on Monday, and the Kremlin is in talks with world leaders to attend a World War II parade in late June. The urgency was underlined by ballooning death tolls in South America, increasingly the new focus of the pandemic that first emerged in China late last year before spreading around the world.
Brazil recorded more than 1,000 fatalities and a national one-day record for infections, while Chile also logged a record daily death toll Thursday and total fatalities topped 4,000 in Peru. “With confinement everything has changed for most of us. We find ourselves without any work,” Oscar Gonzalez, a 43-year-old welder in the deprived Brisas del Sol area of Santiago, told AFP. ‘SENSE OF FREEDOM’: The United States recorded 1,297 new coronavirus deaths on Thursday, and has now seen more than 101,000 fatalities from the disease, the worst toll in the world. The economic carnage continues, with eurozone inflation slumping in May as Europe is predicted to enter its sharpest ever recession, the number of people filing unemployment claims in the US reaching 40 million, and Brazil shedding five million jobs. The toll on workers around the world was illustrated further with news that French car giant Renault plans to cut 15,000 jobs as part of a two billion euro ($2.2 billion) cost-cutting drive.
Published by Arif Nizami at Plot No 66-C, 1st Floor, 21st Commercial Street, Phase-II (Extension), DHA Karachi and printed at Ibn-e-Hassan Printing Press, Hockey Stadium, Karachi. Ph: 021-35381208-9. Email: newsroom@pakistantoday.com.pk