EpaperKH_2020-06-26

CMYK

Friday, 26 June, 2020 I 4 Dhū al-Qa‘dah, 1441 I Rs 15.00 I Vol X No 357 I 12 Pages I Karachi Edition

Response to Covid-19 neitheR ‘Confused’ noR ‘lethaRgiC’, imRan insists in na g

PM SAyS HE rEFuSEd TO IMPOSE STrICT nATIOnAL quArAnTInE kEEPIng In vIEW ECOnOMIC FALLOuT OF SuCH A dECISIOn

ISLAMABAD StAff rEport

R

EjECTIng the notion that the federal government was following a “confused” and “lethargic” approach to the coronavirus crisis, Prime Minister Imran khan on Thursday said if there was any government in the world “that was not confused as to how to tackle the pandemic, it was Pakistan’s”.

Main opposition parties including Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-nawaz (PML-n) have time and again accused the prime minister of sending “mixed signals” which, in their opinion, deteriorated the situation in the country.

Addressing the national Assembly, Prime Minister Imran said that there was “a lot of pressure” on him to impose a strict quarantine. “Even in my own cabinet, people wanted a more severe lockdown to be imposed […] We put up with a lot of criticism,” he told the House.

However, the premier said, there was no confusion. “We’ve had daily meetings and taken decisions,” he said, adding that

pakistan

CONFIRMED CASES:

194,613

NEW CASES:

148

4,004

RECOVERED:

DEATHS:

81,307 3,931 SINDH:

75,168 KP:

24,303 AJK/GB:

SAyS PAkISTAn HAd TO FACE A LOT OF ‘HuMILIATIOn’ dESPITE SuPPOrTIng WASHIngTOn In ‘WAr On TErrOr’

his team considered all the people in the country and how the lockdown would impact them.

The prime minister, despite being pressed to impose a strict national quarantine, had refused to oblige, citing economic fallout of such a decision. “A lockdown will result in people dying of hunger,” he had said in one of his many post-pandemic public appearances.

Imran, who in his pandemic-related addresses has always painted a rosy picture despite the fact that the crisis has hit the country hard, once again sought to calm the nation, saying “if we can get past this month without numbers escalating, the worse could be over”.

“I want to tell my nation that we’re facing a difficult situation. We need to follow standard operating procedures (SOPs) properly to defeat coronavirus.

“This next step is critical because we have two paths before us; if we take precautions, then god willing our facilities are enough to cope with it [the outbreak],” Imran said, warning that negligence could make matters worse.

CoRonaviRus in

DAY'S DEATH TOLL:

g

PUNJAB:

71,191

BALOCHISTAN:

9,946

ISLAMABAD:

930/1,365 11,710

He said that it is the government’s duty to make people realise how important it is to save the elderly and those with comorbidities. “We have people sitting here [in the House] who have recovered, but for those with weakness and illnesses, it can be life-threatening,” he said.

Addressing the opposition benches, he challenged their lawmakers to “point out one statement that had inconsistency” since the lockdown was first announced on March 13.

“I constantly talked about two things: if you have the population of Singapore, if you have $50,000 per capita income [and] if you have natural social distancing, then curfew is the way to go.

“But i also talked about how the restrictions would impact the poor people based on our conditions,” he added. recalling that the government did not have any data on available ventilators and intensive care staff initially, Imran lauded the national Command and Operation Centre for collecting all the information on a daily basis and looking at trends with expert help due to which “our decision making was free of inconsistencies”.

‘NEXT PHASE IS DIFFICULT’: reiterating the “destruction” a sweeping lockdown could cause to a country, Prime Minister Imran said: “India’s reports are in front of the world … figures show that 34 per cent people have been steeped into poverty.

Their hospitals are facing difficulties; they are full.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 02

Bilawal slams govt’s ‘failed policies’, challenges Imran to a public debate STORY ON PAGE 03

Covid cut: SBP slashes interest rate to 7pc g

THIS IS THE FIFTH rATE CuT SInCE COrOnAvIruS PAndEMIC HIT gLOBAL ECOnOMy, WITH TOTAL rEduCTIOn BEIng 625BPS In LAST 100 dAyS KARACHI MEIryuM AlI

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), in a meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on Thursday, slashed the country’s policy rate by 100 basis points from 8 per cent to 7pc.

The surprise move was taken in light of the SBP’s view that the inflation has improved further, but that domestic economic slowdown has continued, proving a risk to growth.

This is the fifth time in the space of four months in which the SBP has slashed the policy rate. In the space between March 17 and june 25, the SBP has now cut the policy rate by a whopping 625 basis points, from the relatively high 13.25pc to 7pc.

More specifically, it cut the policy rate by 75 basis points from 13.25pc to 12.5pc on March 17, by a further 150 basis points to 11pc on March 24, by 200 basis points to 9pc on April 16, and by 100 basis points to 8pc on May 15.

Central banks around the world have slashed interest rates, though perhaps none as aggressively as Pakistan’s SBP. According to a

Over 3,000 Covid-19 patients critically ill in Pakistan g

148 dIE In rECOrd SIngLE-dAy SPIkE In 24 HOurS ISLAMABAD AGENCIES

Over 3,000 Covid-19 patients in Pakistan are in critical condition, authorities said on Thursday, as new cases in the country also increased after days of decline.

With 4,044 additions, Pakistan’s tally of coronavirus infections reached 191,970, putting the country at number 13 worldwide in terms of cases, according to the health ministry data.

The figure is slightly higher than Wednesday’s count of 3,892, which was the fifth day of declining infections in the country.

A total of 3,003 patients are in critical condition in hospitals across Pakistan, while recoveries increased by 3,553 to 81,307, the ministry said.

The daily fatality count also shot up on Thursday, more than doubling to 148 just a day after hitting a comparative low of 60.

The country’s death toll now stands at 3,903, the ministry said.

Some 1.17 million people have so far been tested in the country of over 200 million people, with 21,835 tests conducted over the past 24 hours.

Health experts believe the

Bloomberg report in May, Pakistan has cut its interest rates the most this year, out of a survey of nine countries, including the uS, Peru, South Africa, Turkey and ukraine.

After the latest cut, Pakistan’s interest rate is now the same as countries such as Azerbaijan, Ethiopia, kenya, Maldives, Tanzania, and uganda.

TIMING OF CUT: In explaining its rationale for cutting the policy rate, the SBP said that from a risk management point of view, a prompt response to downside risks to growth was called for given the improved inflation outlook.

The timing of this surprise announcement was also partially explained: the SBP explicitly pointed out that approximately rs3.3 trillion worth of loans were due to be repriced by early july 2020.

“This was an opportune moment to take action from a monetary policy transmission perspective. In this way, the benefits of interest rate reductions would be passed on in a timely manner to households and businesses,” the statement read.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 02

more inside

Pakistan signs $2.4bn agreement for 1,124MW Kohala Hydro Power Project STORY ON BACK PAGE

falling numbers are due to the locality-based lockdowns — termed “smart lockdowns” by the government — recently enforced in high-risk areas in 20 big cities.

However, local media reports suggest it could be because of reduced testing, with daily test numbers falling to less than 25,000 from over 32,000.

Earlier this month, the World Health Organisation advised Pakistan to impose a two-week strict lockdown, declaring the country the second-most vulnerable to the pandemic after neighboring Afghanistan.

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The recommendation came as infections skyrocketed when the government lifted its lockdown restrictions of varying strictness in late May, ahead of the Muslim festival of Eid al Fitr.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 02

SC tells NDMA to explain how it is spending Covid-19 funds STORY ON PAGE 03

PM Imran draws Opp’s ire for calling Osama Bin Laden a ‘martyr’ STORY ON BACK PAGE

SC takes notice of Pakistani pilots without licences STORY ON PAGE 02

SBP reserves fall below $10bn STORY ON BACK PAGE

02

Friday, 26 June, 2020

NEWS

FOrmer Pm ASHrAF, TAreen ACqUITTed In renTAl POWer CASe ACCOUNTABILITY JUDGE SAYS REFERENCE COULD NOT BE MADE AGAINST ACCUSED PERSONS AS NO LOSS HAD BEEN INCURRED TO NATIONAL EXCHEQUER iSLAmABAd

A

STAFF REPORT

N accountability court on Thursday acquitted former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, former finance minister Shaukat Tareen as well as all eight other accused nominated in one of the 11 references related to the Rs22 billion Rental Power Projects (RPPs) cases.

Announcing the verdict in the ‘Sahiwal Rental Power Reference’ on Thursday, Accountability Judge Muhammad Bashir re-

marked that there had been no loss incurred to the national exchequer, therefore a reference could not be made against the accused.

The verdict came in an acquittal plea submitted by the former premier and PPP leader, Ashraf, as well as all the other accused in the case. They had sought acquittal under an ordinance promulgated by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government to amend the NAB law which redefined the offence “misuse of authority” and also defined NAB’s jurisdiction. The former premier had contended in the pe-

250 stranded Indian nationals return home via Wagah border LAHORE

tition that there was no evidence with NAB regarding taking any financial benefits or kickbacks for these Rental Power Projects (RPPs) therefore as per the presidential ordinance, the procedural loopholes could not be called corruption and corrupt practice.

Ashraf, who served as premier between June 22, 2012 and March 25, 2013, was accused of receiving kickbacks and commissions from nine rental power project firms for awarding contracts for setting up their projects in 2008 to overcome the electricity crisis in the country. At the time, he was

SC takes notice of Pakistani pilots without licences iSLAmABAd/KARAcHi

STAFF REPORT

At least 250 Indian nationals, who were stranded in the country due to the Covid-19 lockdown, returned to their country on Thursday. In total, 748 Indian citizens were stranded in Pakistan of which the first group left on Thursday while the remaining persons will return in two groups in the coming days. The Indian nationals had come to Pakistan to meet their relatives and perform religious rites, but could not return due to lockdown and the subsequent closure of the international border. The Indian nationals returning from Pakistan will be kept in quarantine for 14 days. Around 408 of these citizens hail from Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

serving as the minister for water and power and was accused of misusing his authority to obtain approval from the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) and the cabinet for an increase in the down payment to the rental power companies from 7 per cent to 14 per cent, amounting to about Rs22bn.

He authorised on April 13, 2009, the submission of a summary to the ECC which allegedly contained misleading facts, stating that the terms and conditions of the bidding envisaging 7 per cent advance could not be met and should be raised to 14 per cent.

NAB has investigated and filed 11 references against nine firms reportedly received more than Rs22bn as mobilisation advance from the government to commission the projects, but most of them were accused of failing to set up plants.

STAFF REPORT

The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday took notice of reports of pilots flying planes in Pakistan without licences.

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmed has summoned a reply from the director-general of civil aviation within two weeks, directing him to explain how and why these fake licences are issued and what action is being taken against the people who issue them.

Putting passengers’ lives at risk is a major crime, the CJP said.

He also summoned the heads of PIA, Air Blue and Serene Air at next hearing, directing them to submit re-

He informed that the government has decided that all such pilots would be issued show cause notices and charge sheets so that they could not fly any plane.

Sarwar said criminal proceedings would also be initiated against pilots with fake licences as the government could not allow anyone to put the lives of its citizens at risk.

The decision comes at a time when an initial inquiry into a PIA plane crash was presented before the parliament by the o also highlighted irregularities at the national carrier. A PIA Airbus A320 crashed on May 22 in Karachi, killing all but two of those aboard.

ports verifying the licences of the pilots in their employ.

In a related development, the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) announced on Thursday that it will be grounding nearly 150 out of its 426 pilots amid an inquiry that they hold “dubious” licences.

A day earlier, Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan said 262 pilots, out of total 860 in the country, have suspicious flying licences and would be grounded immediately. Talking to media in Islamabad, he said licences of these pilots are dubious.

The minister stated that there are some pilots, who did not appear in any paper but managed to get the licences.

Response to Covid-19 neither ‘confused’ nor ‘lethargic’, Imran insists in NA cOntinuEd fROm pAgE 01 He said the government had opened the construction sector first and now the whole world was saying that “there are more negative effects of lockdown as compared to its impact on controlling the virus.”

At the same time, the premier told the nation that they have a “very difficult situation” in front of them.

“The next phase is difficult because we are trying to make people understand why following standard operating procedures is so important,” he said, adding that the virus spreads when there are clusters.

EDUCATION SYSTEM: Imran also said that his government is going to implement a uniform education system from March 2021.

He said the 2.5 million students at religious seminaries would be brought into the mainstream. “These students would be imparted world education as well,” PM Imran said. The prime minister urged the provinces to contribute to the devel-

opment of merged tribal districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He said his government was making all efforts for developing the country.

“FATA and Balochistan are being paid their complete share from the budget despite the government having less money,” PM Imran said.

He reminded the provinces of their commitment to provide funds for the development of KP’s merged tribal districts from the National Finance Commission award.

KASHMIR ISSUE: The prime minister said he had already mentioned that the measures taken by the Indian government would have serious consequences.

He said New Delhi was trying to destabilise Pakistan. “We are up against a Hindu supremacist, fascist and Nazi-inspired ideology,” he said. PM Khan said they want the Kashmir issue to be resolved through dialogue, but India’s mindset is something else.

Narendra Modi’s arrogance increased

manifold after he won the election in India, he said.

PM Khan said the way his government highlighted the Kashmir issue after August 2019 that has never happened before.

FOREIGN POLICY: Prime Minister Imran also spoke about his government’s foreign policy, starting with the country’s relations with the United States.

He said Pakistan had to face a lot of “humiliation” despite supporting Washington in the ‘war on terror’ and was then blamed for the US’s failures in Afghanistan.

Recalling the two incidents that caused “embarrassment” to Pakistan while supporting the US, he said: “The Americans came to Abbottabad and killed, martyred [al Qaeda leader] Osama bin Laden. When happened after that? The entire world cursed at us and spoke ill of us.

“So our ally comes to our own country to kill someone and doesn’t inform us?

And 70,000 Pakistanis have died in their war. Look at the humiliation that caused to

all the Pakistanis who were abroad.”

He said the US was carrying out drone strikes inside Pakistan, which the Pakistani government at the time said it opposed. But when an American senator asked former US military chief Admiral Mike Mullen at a Senate hearing why drone attacks were being carried out despite the Pakistani government’s objection, Mullen replied that “we are carrying out the drone attacks with the permission of the Pakistani government”, Prime Minister Imran added.

He said Pakistan did not know whether it was an ally or a foe of the US in the war on terror and such incidents caused immense embarrassment to overseas Pakistanis.

Prime Minister Imran said it was his party’s “consistent” foreign policy that its government would not participate in the American war and only take part in peace talks. Today, the country’s is not fighting somebody else’s war and the relationship with the US is based on trust, he added.

Covid cut: SBP slashes interest rate to 7pc cOntinuEd fROm pAgE 01 Additionally, the SBP said that despite SBP reserves declining to $9.96 billion as of June 19, since then, the SBP has received fresh disbursements from multilateral agencies.

This includes around $725 million from the World Bank and $500 million from ADB, while another $500 million is expected shortly from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

It could be argued that the SBP waited in order to make sure it had some reserves before cutting the interest rate again. That way, the extra reserves could act as a buffer to offset any outflows due to the reduced policy rate.

INFLATION EXPECTATIONS: According to the SBP, average inflation could fall below the previously announced range of 7-9pc for next fiscal year, given the absence of demand-side pressures.

In January 2020, the inflation rate had hit a record 14.56pc, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

However, it has been declining since, slow-

ing to 12.4pc in February, 10.24pc in March, 8.5pc in April and finally 8.2pc in May. According to the SBP, headline inflation has decreased on the back of a recent cut in diesel and petrol prices. Recent SPI data has also shown continued moderation in overall price pressures in June, despite price increases in some food items like wheat.

Inflation is also likely to remain neutral in the upcoming fiscal year “as the freeze on government salaries, absence of new taxes, and lower production cost from reduced import duties should offset the decline in subsidies in some sectors” As part of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) loan agreement, Pakistan has been given strict instructions to maintain positive real interest rates (nominal interest rate minus inflation rate).

The rapidly decreasing inflation rate has given the SBP wiggle room to decrease the policy rate, something which the MPC acknowledged in today’s statement.

“The MPC felt that real rates on a forward-looking basis would be kept close to

zero, which is appropriate under the current circumstances,” according to the statement.

PAKISTAN OUTLOOK: The MPC was somewhat concerned about Pakistan’s economic and fiscal future, in light of the Covid19 pandemic, but did say that the outlook for the external sector remains stable.

As the statement pointed out, the IMF yesterday downgraded its 2020 global growth forecast further to -4.9pc, 1.9 percentage points lower than in April, and projected a more gradual recovery than previously anticipated.

Though Pakistan’s economy is expected to recover gradually in FY21, the SBP said there are several risks, and that recovery will depend critically on the evolution of the pandemic both in Pakistan and abroad.

Large-scale manufacturing had declined by 41.9pc year-on-year in April, while cement dispatches, automobile sales, food and textile exports have also contracted in May. However, on the bright side, the SBP noted that the current account recorded a surplus in May on the back of a reduction in the

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trade deficit, and a pick-up in remittances compared to the previous month.

Additionally, portfolio outflows slowed considerably compared to the previous two months and FDI has been resilient, nearly doubling to $2.4 billion so far in fiscal year 220 compared to the same period last year.

The MPC also noted that “the flexible exchange rate has played its valuable shock absorber role, helping cushion the economy from the tightening of financial conditions associated with capital outflows from emerging markets and deteriorating global sentiment.” The MPC also noted that the depreciation in the rupee has been lower than in many other emerging markets, reflecting the increased reserve buffers accumulated over the last year.

‘RATE CUT WAS EXPECTED’: After the previous interest rate cuts of April and May were announced, many analysts felt that SBP would reduce the policy cut even further in light of the global pandemic, and falling inflation. Many called the move surprising, but also welcome.

According to Saad Hashmi, Executive Director at BMA Capital, such a cut was expected in the July monetary announcement,

Justice Isa’s father-inlaw passes away NEWS DESK: Abdul Haq Khoso, the fatherin-law of Supreme Court (SC) judge, Justice Qazi Faez Isa, passed away on Thursday at the age of 85. The senior judge’s wife was looking after her father as he was battling cancer. Justice Isa had mentioned his father-in-law’s illness in the court during the hearing of his petition against the presidential reference against him, which was later quashed by the apex court.

IHC moved for deportation of US blogger ISLAMABAD: A petition was filed in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday against US blogger Cynthia Ritchie seeking her deportation. Petitioner Iftikhar Ahmed has maintained that Ritchie’s visa expired in March 2020, and that her current stay in Pakistan is illegal. The petitioner prayed that the court issue directives to deport Ritchie, and to restrict her movement in the country till then or till the renewal of her visa. Questions were also raised by the petitioner on Ritchie’s source of income. STAFF REPORT

Over 3,000 Covid-19 patients critically ill in Pakistan cOntinuEd fROm pAgE 01 Prime Minister Imran Khan, however, rejected the UN body’s suggestion, saying “smart lockdowns” were the only possible option for Pakistan because it “is a poor country … [with] no choice but to reopen.” PUNJAB SEES ‘DROP’ IN COVID-19 CASES, FATALITIES: Punjab Chief Secretary Jawad Rafiq Malik was informed in a meeting on Thursday that the number of coronavirus cases and associated deaths saw a drop after a smart lockdown was enforced in Covid-19 hotspots across the province. The attendees of the meeting held to take stock of the ongoing coronavirus crisis mulled over extending the scope of smart lockdown to protect previous lives from the highly-contagious disease. The officials who attended the meeting presented a report, stating that smart lockdown helped bring down Covid-19 cases and death rate in the province. The chief secretary directed the participants to identify more areas affected by the infection and sent their report to him. Besides, the meeting decided to completely seal markets found violating the government-defined standard operating procedures (SOPs).

OVER 5,000 HEALTHCARE WORKERS INFECTED: Over 5,000 doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers have been infected by the deadly coronavirus to date in Pakistan, official data revealed on Thursday. According to the daily tally of the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination, in Islamabad, a total of 5,164 healthcare providers had been infected as of June 24. 1,694 health workers were infected in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 1,392 in Sindh, 1,099 in Punjab, 419 in Islamabad, 391 in Balochistan, 95 in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), and 74 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). Of the 5,164 professionals who have tested positive, over 3,000 are doctors. To date, 56 healthcare workers have also died after being infected, with 21 in Sindh, 13 in Punjab, 10 in KP, five in Balochistan, four in Islamabad and three GB. but has happened earlier than expected.

“This step should bode well for the country’s growth prospects and stock market sentiments,” he said.

Syed Noman Ahmed, Deputy Head Research at Insight Securities, also called the decision ‘totally unexpected’.“The key objective of 100bps reductions in interest rate is to passon the impact on loan borrowers. Approximately Rs3.3 trillion worth of loans due to be repriced by early July 2020,” he noted, echoing the SBP statement. “We had highlighted this in our report published on Tuesday that inflation trajectory for next 6 months provides a cushion for a further interest rate cut,” noted Sateesh Balani, Director of Research at Ismail Iqbal Securities. This view was also supported by Yasin Muhammad Hanif, Analyst at Darson Securities, who said the rate cut is needed to provide immediate liquidity to homes and business so to avoid defaults and contain unemployment.

“SBP moving in the right direction as govt focus was to revive the economy along with consumer demand,” said Tahir Abbas, head of Research at Arif Habib. “Also, the decision will also support local businesses in terms of lower financial charges.”

Friday, 26 June, 2020

NEWS

BIlAWAl SlAmS gOvT’S ‘FAIled POlICIeS’, CHAllengeS ImrAn TO A PUBlIC deBATe LASHES OUT AT GOVT FOR NOT TAKING CARE OF DOCTORS AND MEDICS, SAYS SITUATION REMINISCENT TO KARGIL WAR

PPP CHIEF SAYS IMRAN IS HIDING BEHIND COVID-19, WARNS ABOUT THREAT TO FOOD SECURITY iSLAmABAd

P

STAFF REPORT

AKISTAN People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Thursday lashed out at the federal government’s coronavirus response and challenged Prime Minister Imran Khan to have a debate on his policies either in the House or on any television channel.

Speaking after the prime minister in the National Assembly (NA), the PPP chief said that the prime minister’s speech was the speech of a “puppet and selected, for the selectors”. It was not a speech for the people of Pakistan, he added.

He said that PM Imran had no plan to deal with Covid-19 and only opposed lockdown. He added that “the lockdown was the time to increase the health capacity of the country, lockdown was the time to equip

your hospitals, lockdown was the time to increase ICU beds in the hospitals, it was the time to plan to protect the lives and the health of the people”. “Sindh is still doing the most tests according to its population and the patients’ recovery rate is the highest in Sindh,” Bilawal said and warned that if the situation persists due to the “failed policies” of the prime minister, no province in the country would be able to take the burden of the number of patients. “If you want to return the amount to IMF [International Monetary Fund] then do not implement lockdown but it is your responsibility to save people from diseases and save their lives,” he said, lamenting that that prime minister is not ready to listen to any doctor or health expert.

“It is like the time when there was war in Kargil but we kept saying that there is no war and our soldiers were being martyred, and similarly, now the doctors and paramedics are getting infected with the disease and un-

fortunately succumbing to the disease but our prime minister refuses to accept the situation,” he said. “No risk or any kind of allowance was announced in the budget for our doctors and paramedics who are fighting this

pandemic putting their own lives at risk.”

Bilawal said that the foreign policy of the country is in shambles as everyone knows what has happened to the occupied Kashmir. “The prime minister’s attitude has

SOP violations will further increase burden on healthcare, warns Imran iSLAmABAd STAFF REPORT

Prime Minister Imran Khan has warned that the burden on health facilities will further increase if the citizens do not adhere to the standard operating procedures (SOPs) devised to contain the spread of the coronavirus which has so far affected 192,970 people, leaving some 3,905 dead.

Speaking to the volunteers of Tiger Force, coronavirus relief force, here on Thursday, the prime minister said it is essential to make the people understand the importance of precautionary measures.

“Spread of the virus can be curtailed if people follow the SOPs in letter and spirit,” he stated.

The prime minister reiterated that the virus is yet to peak and said that July will be crucial for the country and the health infrastructure. “If we are able to convince people to adopt precautions, the peak of the disease could pass without causing much trouble,” he said.

The prime minister asserted that the administration was already stretched to its limits and could not bear additional pressure.

Commending the volunteer work of the relief force, Imran said: “The force is very important [with regard to the execution of government’s Covid-19 policies],” observing that volunteer forces across the globe were playing an important role in stemming the tide of the pandemic.

iSLAmABAd As global travel has started to open up, the government on Thursday announced to start extensive screening of outgoing passengers at the airports as it does for incoming passengers.

The development comes a day after Emirates suspended its Pakistan operations till July 3 after 30 nationals on board a Hong Kong-bound flight tested positive for coronavirus.

Addressing a press conference, Dr Moeed Yusuf, special assistant to the prime minister on national security, clarified that contrary to media reports, “not all people who travelled outside Pakistan have tested positive”. “It has been reported that a big percentage of outbound passengers from Pakistan have tested positive in other countries. I want to clarify that is not the case.”

He further said that while outbound

been one of a coward and puppet. He is the prime minister who had said that the Kashmir problem will be resolved when Narendra Modi wins the elections,” he said.

“India has been elected as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council securing 184 votes out of 192 and prime minister calls it a good foreign policy?

Our relations with China were established by Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. He said that during this PTI [Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf] government China complained about irresponsible statements about CPEC [ChinaPakistan Economic Corridor],” he added.

The PPP chief said that prime minister is very fond of giving lectures but does not apply the things he preaches on himself.

“He had said that he would answer the opposition’s questions in the House every Wednesday but in the last two years he has never been ready to have a debate on any subject,” he said. Challenging the prime minister, Bilawal said that “instead of lecturing us I offer him to debate whether in the House or any television channel”.

He said that in history this PTI government has taken more loans than any government and it is also a fact that we achieved the lowest growth rate during this government.

“Imran Khan is trying to hide behind the Covid-19 pandemic but he cannot. The economy was already sagging before the pandemic as has been claimed by government documents. We could have let him hide behind the pandemic if he had taken care of our doctors and paramedics and had looked after the people of Pakistan,” he said.

CJP takes notice of threats to Justice Isa in viral video iSLAmABAd STAFF REPORT

Pakistan has seventh-highest daily positivity rate of Covid-19: report nEWS dESK Pakistan has the seventh-highest average daily positivity rate compared to other impacted countries, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The US-based university, which has been keeping a tally of coronavirus cases and deaths from 188 countries, ranked Brazil the highest in terms of positivity rate at 36.68 per cent on June 23. Next was Peru at 30.56pc, Qatar at 22.56pc, Chile at 20.40pc, Mexico at 19.35pc, Nigeria at 18.66pc and then Pakistan at 14.68pc. A positivity rate is the total number of tests conducted in a day and the number which came back positive for Covid-19. Experts consider this percentage one of the most reliable way to determine if a country is testing enough. “A high rate of positive tests indicates a government is only testing the sickest patients who seek out medical attention and is not casting a wide enough net,” noted the Johns Hopkins University.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) advises that governments should witness positivity rates below 5% for at least 14 days before easing any restrictive measures or to ease a lockdown. In terms of daily positivity and daily tests conducted per capita in the South and Central Asia region on Tuesday, Pakistan ranked the highest, followed by Bangladesh and India.

All three countries are much above the WHO recommendation.

Outgoing passengers to undergo SC tells NDMA to explain how it is spending Covid-19 funds extensive screening at airports STAFF REPORT

03

passengers would not be tested for the pandemic, their temperatures and symptoms would be checked. “If there is any suspicion, the health staff will question [travellers] and if they are suspected to have corona, they will not be allowed to travel.” Yusuf urged people, even those who have booked their tickets, to only come to the airport if they are “satisfied that they are completely fit”. He cautioned that if people had symptoms or had been in contact with a corona patient, they should not come to the airport.

He also advised people to study the policy of the country they were headed to and make sure they fulfilled all conditions.

Several countries have made it compulsory for all passengers to quarantine themselves for 14 days while others have mandated that incoming passengers should have their tests done, he said, adding that people flying to those countries should make sure to fulfill the conditions.

iSLAmABAd STAFF REPORT

The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday summoned a report from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to explain how it has been spending the funds allocated for the coronavirus pandemic.

The court has asked for details on the purchase of N-95 masks, imported medicines and the machinery brought in for a private company Al-Hafeez.

A five-member larger bench heard the suo motu hearing on the pandemic.

The attorney general appeared in court too. Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmed said that the court doesn’t know how the NDMA is working and managing its expenditures. “They are importing medicines, we don’t know why those medicines are being imported.” Justice Ijazul Ahsan asked if those medicines will be provided to the

public hospitals.

The auditor general conducts the audit of the NDMA, said the attorney general, adding that the medicines are approved by DRAP. The chief justice said that an NDMA plane was used to bring some machinery for a private company. Al-Hafeez company brought the machinery to make N-95 masks, he remarked. “Did the company pay any duty on this?”

The attorney general said that the company paid the duty, while the NDMA just provided its plane to it because all flights are closed. “We want transparency in everything,” said the top judge. “Did the NDMA publish any advertisement for this?” An NDMA member said that this company is not going to produce N-95 masks.

“We hope favours aren’t being granted to people of choice,” said Justice Ahmed. “There is no transparency in the NDMA’s work.”

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Gulzar Ahmed has taken notice of a video clip containing derogatory and scandalous language against Justice Qazi Faez Isa case. In the viral video, a man identified as Agha Iftikhar-ud-Din Mirza can be seen giving threats to the Supreme Court judge. According to a statement issued by the apex court, the CJP has fixed the hearing of the case on Friday before Bench-1 in Islamabad. The video contained derogatory, contemptuous and scandalous language against the institution of the judiciary and the honourable judges, read the statement. On Wednesday, Justice Isa’s wife informed police that the life of her family was in danger as they were receiving threats of dire consequences. She requested the police to register a case against those who were threatening and harassing her family. “I am the wife of Mr Justice Qazi Faez Isa, who is a judge of the Supreme Court, and to whom a death threat has been extended,” she said in her complaint, adding that a person in a video had said that her husband should be shot publicly. She also submitted a USB containing the threatening video message. A search on the internet revealed the name of the person painting a target mark on her husband’s picture to be Agha Iftikhar-ud-Din Mirza, she said, adding that she had enclosed printouts of two documents which she had obtained from links appearing in the video, but she did not know if this was his real name. “As you must know many powerful people are not happy with my husband and I suspect that this death threat to my husband is in continuation of what we have been facing,” Justice Isa’s wife said, adding that her father was seriously ill and today was the first day she had stepped out of the house after a long time. “I do not want to lose my husband,” the complainant said. Threatening to murder a judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan was the worst kind of terrorism, the complaint stated, adding that many powerful people wanted to get rid of Justice Isa and it was the duty of the police to find out who they were and to arrest them.

Friday, 26 June, 2020

04 NEWS

Prayer TImINgs

punjAb Assembly pAsses 47 demAnds for grAnts worth rs1.84tr LAHORE

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aPP

ROVINCIAL Minister Law and Parliamentary Affairs Raja Basharat on Thursday said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was responsible for destroying police culture in the province and it used police for its vested interests.

Responding to the police criticism by the opposition members during the Punjab Assembly session at a local hotel, he said during its decade-long regime in Punjab, PML-N used police for duty at their residences, adding that it did not give funds to the police stations.

Earlier, the session started one hour 23 minutes behind its scheduled time of 2 pm.

Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi chaired the session which marked the first phase of the approval of budget 2020-21. Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar was also present in the House. The first phase of passing the Punjab budget was completed as 47 Demands for Grants worth Rs1.84 trillion were passed in Punjab Assembly while all cut motions moved by the opposition members were rejected courtesy the guillotine.

The law minister said the Punjab government under Usman Buzdar had decided to provide new vehicles to Punjab Police – while it was former chief minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi who had sanctioned vehicles to the police during his tenure, adding that the government would make 5.000 new recruitments in Punjab.

About the arrest of Opposition Leader in Punjab Assembly Hamza Shehbaz Sharif, he said it was not Punjab police but the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) which arrested Hamza, adding that it was not justified to put every blame on the po-

coronAvirus pAndemic did not Affect opposition's behAvior: buzdAr LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar Thursday said that Pakistan, along with entire world, has entered a new era due to novel coronavirus but the pandemic did not affect Pakistan’s opposition which is still living in the past. The CM said that the opposition leaders are following their old behaviour of ‘criticism for the sake of criticism’ but 220 million people of Pakistan have identified these doublefaced politicians. Those who are creating ruckus today badly neglected the health sector during their tenure, Buzdar said while adding that they could not even make a single hospital in the country where they could get themselves treated. “Our government gave top priority to the health department. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government allocated record budget for this sector. It is condemnable that the opposition is doing point-scoring on Covid-19. PTI is standing with people in this tough time and will continue to do so,” he said. INP

lice force. “Police is not to blame for killing innocent women and youth in point-blank range in Model Town tragedy but it is PML-N government which ordered the killing”, he said.

He regretted the fact that critics did not think about police which always put itself in the line of fire, adding that the policemen were fighting coronavirus pandemic even the doctors. Addressing the chair, the law minister said the opposition must think before it hurled criticism at others, adding that the policemen presented themselves for duty two hours before the start of the Punjab Assembly sessions.

The law minister said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government had controlled the crime rate in mere two years, adding that government’s two-year performance was better than PML-N’s 10year rule. “Getting an FIR [First Information Report] registered with the police was an uphill task during the PML-N regime but, today, FIR is registered instantly in the police stations,” adding that the PTI gov-

ernment had raised investigation budget for the police so that the public could get justice easily. Basharat said the government had released funds for renovation of police stations besides the establishment of model police stations in the province.

Provincial Education Minister Dr Murad Raas said that PML-N government played havoc with the education system during its 10-year rule in the province, adding that the PML-N government turned schools in the province English medium unwisely which promoted rote-learning among children.

PML-N government set up the last primary school in the province in 2015 while the PTI government was all set to establish 100 new primary schools in Lahore, he added. He said the government had decided to start 100 new IT labs, 110 model schools and 400 new libraries, adding that 1227 schools had been upgraded in the province so far. “The PTI government has introduced free mobile app for teacher transfers in the province which would help eliminate

KARACHI INP

Amid the rising number of coronavirus cases in the metropolis, Karachi Mayor Waseem Akhtar has announced free Covid-19 testing service at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.

Karachi Mayor inaugurated the Covid-19 testing service at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital today. He appealed the citizens to undergo coronavirus tests without any charges.

He added that the hospital’s laboratory staff comprises experienced doctors and paramedics.

The launching of free coronavirus testing facility was followed by the establishment of the country’s biggest high dependency unit (HDU) in Expo Centre of Karachi within 68 hours.

The newly-established 140-bed HDU was equipped with modern medical machinery to treat Covid-19 patients in order to reduce the burden of other hospitals after a spike in patients infected with the coronavirus.

The high dependency unit established with the collaborative efforts of Sindh government and Pakistan Army for the Covid-19 patients in Hall Number 5 of the Expo Centre within less than three days.

SINDH FACES SHORTAGE OF COVID-19 TESTING STAFF IN HOSPITALS, MEDICAL CENTRES: The capacity of holding coronavirus tests have reduced by 50 per cent in Sindh as staffers responsible for conducting these tests in hospitals, laboratories and medical centres have drastically reduced after being infected from the Covid-19. Due to less staff members available for coron-

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Quetta sp removed from post for arresting student protesters

corruption of 2.5 billion rupees in the name of teacher transfer”, he told the House.

Murad said student drop-out rate after primary was 70 per cent during the PMLN regime, adding that 22,000 students were brought back to schools under the Afternoon Pilot Programme by the School Education Department.

Health Minister Punjab Dr Yasmin Rashid, while speaking at the floor of the House, said the Punjab government had conducted 450,000 tests of the coronavirus suspected patients besides screening of 350,000 person in the province. Yasmin said 50 per cent of the posts were lying vacant in the Health department when the PTI government took over from the Shehbaz Sharif, adding that the government had made more than 28,000 recruitments on merit during the past two years.

Responding to PML-N MPA Khawaja Salman Rafique’s remarks in the House, the minister said, “Did PML-N government of Shehbaz, during its 10-year rule, complete the previous projects of the PML-Q government”. She added that the blame of ignoring PML-N projects was unjustified.

Earlier, PPP parliamentary leader Syed Hassan Murtaza, PML-N MPAs Khawaja Salman Rafique, Mehwish Sultana and Hina Pervaiz Butt criticized the law and order situation in the province while they also rejected allocation for health and educations sectors. The opposition lawmakers moved cut motions on education, health and police departments while criticising the treasury benches over either curtailing or non-provision of sufficient funds to different sectors. On completion of day’s agenda at the end of second day fixed for discussion on Demands for Grants, the chair adjourned the session till June 26 (Friday) at 2 pm.

Free coronavirus testing service launched in Karachi SINDH FACES SHORTAGE OF COVID-19 TESTING STAFF IN HOSPITALS, MEDICAL CENTRES

FAJR SUNRISE 4:15

avirus testing, the staffers available are facing difficulties in completing the backlog as the number of Covid-19 patients continue to surge across Sindh.

About 13,890 tests were conducted on June 21, 9,841 tests were carried out on June 22 and the number was further reduced to only 6,597 tests on June 23.

The Sindh Health Department did not release the data on June 23, however, according to the Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, about 7,400 tests were conducted in the province on June 24. As per the health department, thousands of test results were on hold in other laboratories including Civil, Jinnah, Ojha and Karachi University due to the shortage of medical staff.

In addition, the home-based testing facility has been shut down since last week.

The number of coronavirus cases are increasing day by day in Sindh. So far, the total number of patients in the province total to 74,070, whereas 1,161 patients have succumbed to the virus in Sindh.

QUETTA: The Quetta SP has been removed from his post for arresting over two dozen student protesters demanding access to the internet on Wednesday. Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan confirmed the news in a tweet and said “appropriate action” will also be taken against a female constable for mishandling the protest. “No students’ arrest was ordered by the government,” he claimed. According to the CM, the students were arrested following a “quarrel” with the police. The students were immediately released. Students in Quetta have been staging demonstrations for the past few weeks under the banner of the Baloch Students Committee. They are protesting against online classes at universities across the province. On Wednesday, videos of students being arrested during a protest started circulating on social media. The police said that they were taken into custody for staging a demonstration in the Red Zone. The Balochistan government closed all educational institutions in the province in March to control the spread of the novel coronavirus. During this period, many institutes resumed classes online.

The protesters, however, said that there are some areas in Balochistan where students don’t have access to the internet. INP

shc reprimands cAA over not submitting piA plane crash report KARACHI: Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday has expressed resentment over Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for not submitting investigation report on Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane crash. During the hearing of a case pertaining to transparent investigation of the crash incident, the court has issued new notices to the aviation authority. Justice Omar Sial asked the department why they have not submitted the report in the court.

Earlier, Federal Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan had presented initial investigation report on the PIA plane crash in the National Assembly (NA). Speaking on the floor of the House, the minister blamed plane’s captain, crew members and the air traffic controller (ATC) for the crash, while PIA and the CAA have also been declared responsible because of their inaccuracies in preventing such accidents. CCTV footage showed that the illfated plane hit the runway after which, the pilot chose to go around (re-take off). Evidence of damages caused to both engines of the plane due to failed landing was also found, he told. Sarwar said that pilot neglected instruction given by ATC and opened landing gears of the plane at 10 nautical miles while they were turned off at five nautical miles. Airport administration had told that the aircraft was flying at high altitude at the time of landing. The controller did not give any guidance after the plane hit the runway, he went on to say. He told that pilot and co-pilot were not focused and discussing coronavirus throughout their flight time. Action against the responsible people will be taken as per the law, he pledged. INP

Sindh Assembly continues debate on budget amid power outage KARACHI aPP

The Sindh Assembly Thursday continued its general discussion on budget for the next financial year 2020-21 amid power outage in the provincial assembly's building.

Besides the physical presence of assembly members, some members also joined the session through video link.

Earlier, the session started with recitation from Holy Quran and Naat Sharif.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah was also present on the occasion. Opposition Leader in Sindh Assembly, Shamim Naqvi, while speaking on the floor of the House, said that there were many matters were pend-

ing pertaining to the public importance. He said that the audit reports of the financial matters were not uploaded on the website of the provincial finance department.

He took to task the government benches for not paying heed towards public matters.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) parliamentary party leader in Sindh Assembly Haleem Adil Sheikh said that the provincial government of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) had turned Karachi into ruins and the constituencies of the opposition MPAs were being targeted. He said that his constituency was being specially targeted. He added that rulers should take revenge from him but not from the people of his constituency. Adil said that the people of his constituency

Anger And loAthing As power outAges disrupt people's lives in KArAchi KARACHI: With the mercury consecutively touching almost 40 degrees Celsius in Karachi since the past few days, the city’s residents found themselves in added misery as over 12-hours long unannounced power outages continued unabated. Among areas most affected in the port city were Baldia Town, Lyari, Aurangzeb Town, Korangi, Landhi, Surjani Town, PIB Colony, Malir and Shah Faisal Colony. The city’s power utility, Karachi Electric (KE), admitted to carrying out power outages in all areas, regardless of whether they’re exempted from the load shedding schedule. Citing reasons for power outages, KE observed that shortage of furnace oil resulted in a shortfall in electricity production, and has compelled the company to rely on cheap electricity. Owing to an increased demand of electricity in the city, systems have been badly affected, the power utility maintained.

Technical faults including tripping of electricity feeders have become regular occurrences. The power utility, late on Wednesday night, wrote on twitter that violent mobs had damaged their grid station and offices. “This endangers our teams and makes our job more difficult,” the tweet read, calling for citizens to bear with them. INP

were poor and they should be not deprived of civic facilities. He said that his relatives were being harassed.

There was a huge corruption in superhighway sabzi mandi and this big vegetable market was facing unhygienic conditions and becoming cause of spreading diseases, he added.

Adil said that Larkana was in the constituency of Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and the Bilawal House was in the constituency of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

“We do not believe in personal revenge to our political opponents,” he said adding that the PPP rulers were taking revenge from Saifullah Abro in Larkana. He said that to become a Bhutto, one should have a father and a grandfather who belongs to the Bhutto tribe. Adil said that even before coronavirus disease, Sindh was given more than 35 per cent of its share. He said that the PPP had been committing robberies in Sindh for last 13 years. He said that Karachi fed whole the country, but the PPP rulers had made mega city a Katchra Kundi.

He said that Karachi was not given funds because the PPP did not get votes from the mega city.

Adil said that the federal government paid loans of Rs1200 billion and it had to repay loans of Rs2.700 billion but still now new tax was levied.

He said that bicycle was made cheaper and Vigo vehicles costlier. He said that the Sindh rulers had purchased the Vigo vehicles and now Syed Murad Ali Shah would hunt locusts in these costly vehicles.

He said that cigars and electronic cigarettes were made costlier, while milk, cream, cooking oil, butter oil, pluses, vegetables, rice, fruit, dry fruits, spices,

sugar, soybean, power supply of LED lights and shoes were made cheaper. He added withholding tax on marriage halls was lifted. Leather, wooden products, carpets, textile flooring, film and cinema equipments and motorcycles were made cheaper. He further said “our captain” [Prime Minister Imran Khan] had given a package of Rs1,200 billion to the poor people and every family was being given Rs12,000.

Friday, 26 June, 2020

Govt deviSeS StRateGy to ReStRict/pRohiBit uSe oF FoReiGn Satellite SyStemS ISLAMABAd

t

AHMAD AHMADAni

HE Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has decided to restrict/prohibit use of foreign satellite systems and devised a strategy to promote use of local satellite systems, which has the potential to raise $600-700 million till 2030 for the National Space Pragramme.

According to sources, the National Command Authority (NCA) headed by Prime Minister Imran Khan has already approved the National Space Programme.

They said that total satellite capacity usage at present in Pakistan was approximately 2200 MHz, out of which 21 per cent was on Pakistani satellites and rest on foreign satellites. And, in financial terms, a minimum of $35-40 million per year is going out of the country and default of users of Pakistani satellites, in the absence of regulations, has piled up to $22.48 million (Rs3.5 billion). Countries around the

world, like India, China, and Bangladesh restrict/prohibit the use of foreign satellite systems, and in this way grant regulatory and financial protection to their own space programme, sources added.

Sources said that the prime minister earlier constituted an inter-ministerial committee under the chair of federal minister for information technology and telecommunication, to come up with an agreed framework and furnish recommendations. After detailed deliberations, the committee has recommended adoption of policy measures to maximise use of national space assets deployed by Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO)/Paksat International for satellite services in Pakistan in national and financial interest, they added.

They also said that the premier, after perusing the recommendations of the committee, has directed that Ministry of Information Technology & Telecommunication, in consultation

Boycott of Chinese goods may not be feasible, Indian exporters say NEW dELHI Agencies

A boycott of goods from China may not be feasible as India is dependent on such imports, although New Delhi should try to cut its dependence on them, India’s top export promotion grouping said on Thursday.

As calls have grown in India for Chinese products to be shunned after a border clash between the neighbours killed 20 Indian soldiers, customs officials at the key port of Chennai have held shipments originating from China for extra checks.

“We extend our support to the government to make India self-reliant in the face of the recent tiff with China, but we should also keep in mind that we depend on China for a lot of key raw materials,” said Sharad Kumar Saraf, president of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO).

The government should ask Indians to stop buying Chinese items that are also made by Indian companies, but a ban or boycott of all Chinese products would hurt

Indian manufacturers, Saraf told reporters.

Greater scrutiny of shipments from China at the southern port of Chennai, one of India’s biggest, handling cargo ranging from automobiles and auto components to fertiliser and petroleum products, could disrupt supply chains.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been vocal about promoting domestic manufacturing and protecting small firms. Last month Modi launched “Atmanirbhar Bharat”, a campaign for a self-reliant India, in addition to his “Make in India” programme.

“Our companies import a lot of raw materials that are critical for making the goods that we export,” said Ajay Sahai, director general of FIEO. “We should avoid a knee-jerk reaction.”

Two-way trade was worth $88 billion in the fiscal year to March 2019, with a deficit of $53.5 billion in China’s favour, India’s widest with any country.

The most recent data shows India’s trade deficit with China was $46.8 billion between April 2019 and February 2020.

Oil slips towards $40 on record US inventories, Covid-19 fears LoNdoN Agencies

Oil slipped towards $40 a barrel on Thursday after a more than 5pc fall the previous session, as record-high US crude inventories and a resurgence in coronavirus cases cast doubt on a recovery in fuel demand.

US crude stocks rose 1.4 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. This hit crude prices, although other details the EIA reported, such as a fall in gasoline stocks as demand rose, lent limited support.

“The report was another nail in the bulls’ coffin although it was not as depressing as the price fall suggests,” said Tamas Varga of oil broker PVM. “On the positive side, oil consumption is healthy.”

Brent crude fell 11 cents, or 0.3pc, to $40.20 at 1323 GMT, and traded as low as $39.47. The global benchmark dropped 5.4pc on Wednesday. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude declined 25 cents, or 0.7pc, to $37.76.

Oil and equities were also pressured by a rise in coronavirus cases. New infections have surged in some US states and Australia posted its biggest daily rise in cases in two months.

“Demand, which was expected to rise as COVID-19 subsides, is again under threat with infections rising in key markets,” said Bjornar Tonhaugen of Rystad Energy. “All eyes are on how governments will react to the new surge of the pandemic.”

The International Monetary Fund’s prediction on Wednesday of a deeper global recession than previously thought added to market concerns of weakened oil demand.

A record supply cut by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies has supported the oil market, which is much stronger compared to April, when Brent hit a 21-year low below $16 a barrel and US crude went negative.

Investors are waiting to see if the producers, known as OPEC+, extend their record cut beyond July.

with Strategic Plans Division (SPD), Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and other stakeholders, to develop policy options with clear recommendations and present the same before federal cabinet along with an analysis of some key points.

Based on the recommendations of the committee, draft policy directive for provision of satellite services in Pakistan has been developed and this policy directive would then enable the concerned ministries/divisions to process actions related to them in accordance with relevant government enactments, said sources.

According to sources, the SPD had earlier initiated a summary for the prime minister in March 2019 to address voids, regulatory and financial issues related to sustainability for National Space Programme (NSP), which is an all-encompassing space programme envisaging developments in the field of space, having direct linkages with strategic programme. They said that the National

KP Assembly passes Rs923bn budget 2020-21

BERLIN Lufthansa Chief Executive Carsten Spohr said on Thursday he wants to avoid job losses at the German airline by persuading unions to agree to cutting working time

and salaries for all employees.

“One idea is rather than a fifth of employees having to leave, that everyone works a fifth less, for example, and earns a fifth less. For me, that would be a much more social responsible way than forced layoffs,” he told Bild newspaper.

FBR directs officers to return reward money ISLAMABAd sHAHZAD PARAcHA

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has directed 42 of its officers to return the stipends, incentives and awards granted to them by the former Inland Revenue Corporate Regional Tax Office (CRTO) Karachi chief commissioner.

According to documents, the additional commissioner headquarter has written a letter to 42 officials of CRTO including IR Additional Commissioner Imran Ali Sheikh, to deposit the sanctioned amount in the government’s treasury through the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), within two days. According to the letter, IR CRTO Karachi former chief commissioner had sanctioned stipends, incentives and awards to IR CRTO Karachi officers without consultation of the FBR. Earlier, it was reported that CRTO former chief commissioner disbursed Rs21.2 million as favors to selected officers. A grade-19 additional commissioner was given a Rs2.6 million performance reward, which was equal to 36 times his basic monthly salary. Similarly, a deputy commissioner-level officer was given Rs2.8 million, which also equals to 36 times or three years worth of his basic salary. Earlier on June 8, after receiving information about the alleged irregularity, the FBR sought explanation from the former chief commissioner. Meanwhile, during the last week, FBR has also asked a number of customs officers to deposit the reward money granted to them. The Economic Coordination Commission (ECC) of the cabinet last week also dropped its agenda pertaining to cash rewards or honorarium. According to official sources, the government has asked the FBR to get money back from its officials as it will not be giving any cash rewards to officials of the Finance Ministry and other departments. It is pertinent to mention here that the FBR gives more than Rs500 million in cash rewards to its employees every year.

ISLAMABAd APP

PESHAWAR APP

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Wednesday passed Rs923 billion budget for fiscal year 2020-21.

Deputy Speaker Mahmood Jan while using his constitutional powers approved 60 demands for grants regarding different government departments.

The House also approved the Finance Bill presented by Finance Minister Taimour Salim Jhagra.

PML-N MPA Sobia Shahid while referring to demands for grants of the education department said that students up to matriculation have been promoted due to lockdown but what was the plan about onward students and strategy adopted for teachers who did not get salaries.

ANP parliamentary leader Sardar Hussain Babak called for review of the curriculum by including KP history and establish a college in every tehsil on merit.

MMA MPA Inayatullah claimed that universities were facing financial problems but there was no workable plan to address it.

Naeema Kishwar of MMA said universities have increased fee manifold

due to financial problems and government should provide them financial assistance and double the budget of higher education.

ANP’s Bahadar Khan pointed towards shortage of schools in Dir district and urged for reply in this regard.

Advisor for Higher Education Khaleequr Rehman said higher education department has started BS programme in 2017 that continued in more than 100 colleges till to date.

He said shortage of staff in these colleges were being fulfilled and feasibility studies would be prepared for construction of colleges in the deprived districts. He said since 2013, over 100 colleges were constructed by the PTI government and 900 new vacancies were created in the budget 2020-21 besides efforts was underway to establish new universities.

He said financial problems were created due excessive recruitment in universities in the past, adding that public sector universities have demanded Rs3.50 billion till June and additional Rs5 billion would be required by September and HEC would be requested for grant to fulfill the demands. He said Rs one billion were earmarked in the budget for universities.

Minister of Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Fazaz on Thursday said that smart lockdown strategy had started paying dividends as sealing of multiple areas did help in curbing the spread of coronavirus. The minister said, “Implementation of SOPs [standard operating procedures] in letter and spirit is sole option to curtail the infection rate in the country.” Talking to media after visiting Sector G-7/2, sealed by ICT Administration to stem virus spread and ensure public safety, Shibli said he had specially come to the locality to assess the ground situation, following Prime Minister Imran Khan’s instruction in this regard. He said smart lockdown had been imposed in specific localities, that had been declared hot-spot on the basis of statistics by Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Administration.

He said special arrangements had been made by the Local Administration in sealed areas to facilitate the residents with regard to provision of medicines and other grocery items. He said the local administration had effectively been monitoring the situation in these areas and added Additional Deputy Commissioner-General Omer Randawa gave a detailed briefing on the smart lockdown strategy. Shibli said he was informed that the situation in sector G-9 had markedly improved with a significant decline in the number of new COVID cases. He appealed to the masses to strictly follow the SOPs and adopt key principles - social-distancing and mask-wearing to ensure their themselves and others from the virus. “So far, no specific medicine is available in the market for treatment of the coronavirus, thus social distancing is the only effective way to combat the pandemic.”

Revenue Division asked to clarify corruption allegations on FBR ISLAMABAd

Agencies

05

Smart lockdown strategy, in hot-spot areas, paying dividends: Shibli

sHAHZAD PARAcHA

Lufthansa CEO suggests all staff work less instead of job cuts

Command Authority (NCA) headed by the prime minister has already approved the NSP, and the entire edifice of the space programme is based on reducing reliance on foreign and domestic funding. They said that revenue earning satellite services being provided by the SUPARCO needed to be fully utilized, however, this is not happening at present, primarily due to unregulated satellite domestic market.

It is pertinent to mention here that in 2004, “Paksat Programme –The Way Forward” was issued by the Prime Minister’s Secretariat, enshrining parameters and contours for implementation, including administrative, financial and regulatory aspects (P.M. Sectt’s U.O. No. 52DM/DSIA2/04 dated 04-03-2004), which has not been implemented in policy frameworks as there are voids especially with reference to regulatory and financial aspects. Besides, national space assets utilisation could have generated around $544 million (Rs85 billion) to date.

NEWS

The Senate on Thursday asked the Revenue Division secretary as well as the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to submit details regarding the alleged corruption of Rs1 trillion per annum in the revenue board.

According to documents, the Senate on Thursday wrote a letter to Revenue Division Secretary Naveed Kamran Baloch as well as FBR Chairperson

Nausheen Javaid Amjad with regard to "Senator Bahramand Khan Tangi's budget speech in which he had urged the chairman to refer FBR's alleged corruption case to the National Accountability Bureau".

During the Senate's budget debate on Monday, Senator Tangi had alleged that the FBR officials were embezzling Rs1,000 billion per annum, asserting that the incompetence of FBR officers was a heavy burden on the national exchequer.

He recalled that members from both opposition and treasury benches have in the past voiced their concerns on the FBR’s performance and therefore, the matter “should not be overlooked, rather it should be examined properly in order to save the nation from such huge losses”.

He concluded his speech by urging the Senate chairman to refer the case to NAB so that thorough inquiry into the matter could be conducted and the culprits were held accountable.

After considering the matter, the Senate chairman was of the view that before taking any decision on referring the matter to NAB or otherwise, basic information/views/comments may be sought from the Revenue Division and FBR. "It is requested that views/comment on the issue may be furnished to this office within a week's time for consideration of the Senate chairman," he stated.

The FBR chairperson remained unavailable for comments.

Friday, 26 June, 2020

06 COMMENT

Expert opinions

A loss of focus Dealing with the pandemic and the locust

A

PTI MnA has tried to kill two birds with one stone. He has advised the nation to eat the locust which he says can cure Covid-19 patients. On Sunday, Climate Change Minister of State Zartaj Gul told people that Covid-19 meant that the coronavirus has 19 points that can be applied to any country based on its respective immunity levels. A proposal prepared by the PTI’s Ministry of national Food Security and Research (nFS&R) is no less dumb. Coming as they do from government circles, the suggestions raise serious questions about the capacity in the PTI leadership to understand, let alone tackle, two highly serious issues with existential consequences for the people of the country.

The nCOC had evolved a test, trace, quarantine strategy (TTQ) to deal with the coronavirus. The government seems to have changed the strategy without explanation. Tests were reduced without explanation from 30,000 last week to 21,835 on Wednesday. It is being suggested now that despite a rise in deaths, the number of positive cases is coming down due to smart lockdowns or Pakistanis developing herd immunity. It is also being said that tests have been reduced because we have been getting fewer numbers of suspects in hospitals. The government wants people to look after themselves by observing SOPs instead of depending on government for support.

Quarantine centres across Punjab have been closed down, including six in Lahore, following a change in the policy which required the suspected and even confirmed Covid-19 patients to isolate themselves in their homes. The majority of people in the lowincome groups rarely have two bedrooms where children live with parents and grandparents. Quarantining suspected patients in such accommodations means consigning entire families to the pandemic.

The government was unprepared to meet the locust threat and whatever arrangements it made belatedly, failed miserably to stop the locust attack. Consequently the locusts have already destroyed crops in Balochistan and parts of Sindh. It is a cruel joke to call upon people to kill, collect and sell the locust to factories manufacturing chickenfeed or make plans to prepare compost from a mix of locust and other bio-waste material for sale in the market. The government has left people to fend for themselves.

Choosing between lives and livelihoods At Penpoint M A NIAZI

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ne of the unforeseen consequences of the covid-19 pandemic may well have been the breaking of the link between experts and political leaders which has been so essential to the enlightenment project. This disdain for expert opinion has been visible in the refusal of government leaders to follow the recommendations of scientists in measures to deal with the pandemic.

These leaders, who include both the USA’s Donald Trump and Pakistan’s own Imran Khan, are apparently caught in a crossfire between two sets of experts; doctors saying that social distancing measures must be followed to preserve life, and economists who feel that the recommended measures will lead to economic collapse, and the loss of livelihoods. experts have come in many shapes throughout human history, but never before have they been experts, not until the 18th century enlightenment. Before, they had been priests, or mullahs, or gurus, because the happening of this world were only explicable by the intervention of the Divine. Another factor was that much knowledge was secular, but taught in religious curricula. even now, hikmat is taught in madrassas, because students may need to use it to earn a living as a tabib, while they await a position as a prayer leader. Thus, while they may have been good at treating illness, building fortresses or selling cloth, they would primarily be men of God. experts have always been useful in courts, but it was only after the enlightenment that they became crucial to rulers, initially as a counterweight to priests, and then in their own right. Just as men of the cloth became a priesthood, so did experts become a separate caste, and scientists have become the priests of modernity, used automatically to being heard with respect, and obeyed, by the rulers.

In the modern democratic age, rulers are not experts (Plato’s ideal of philosopher-kings was never realized). They are elected from among the ruled. Those who favour some other form of rule, usually favour some form of expertise, of allowing the chief executive a free choice of ministers, as in the presidential system.

Supporters of the parliamentary system promote the rule of generalists, who are as comfortable at the Textiles Ministry as at the Livestock Department.

Though the present government is of parliamentary provenance, the large number of PM’s Special Assistants and Advisers, including a number who head ministries, indicates Prime Minister Imran Khan’s liking for experts. As a matter of fact, the SAPM on Health is a public-health expert, being an old WHO hand.

Opposed to the medical experts are the econo-

Managing the economy Energies must not be fittered away

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HAT the covid-19 pandemic has caused the world’s economy to go into a tailspin needs no confirmation, but the International Monetary Fund (IMF) provided it anyway, in its latest World Outlook report, released on Wednesday. If anything, the report showed the IMF, through its downgrades of its growth estimates for all countries, as seeing the crisis grow worse for all countries. Pakistan is among those countries, which is particularly noteworthy because the IMF has got an ongoing extended Funding Facility programme with Pakistan. It was positive that it revised its April forecast of -1.5 percent for the 2019-2020 to 0.4 percent, but it also revised its estimate for the fiscal year just begun (2020-2021) from 2.0 percent down to 1.0 percent.

The picture is hardly edifying, as if the population growth of 2 percent (itself unbearably high) is adjusted for, instead of being positive, per capita incomes will actually shrink. The high hopes that the PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf) held out, that its excellent management and anti-corruption campaign would create jobs, have been sacrificed at the altar of the pandemic; for the IMF estimates are of growth anemic even by the standards of a developed economy, let alone a developing economy with a burgeoning population. True, Pakistan is no exception, and the problems it faces are common to all economies, but what is more of a problem is that Pakistan has only obtained a deferral of its foreign debt repayments, which will fall due by the next fiscal year. With the world economy stuttering, major economies may take refuge behind protectionist walls, which will bode ill for economies like Pakistan, which will face a foreignexchange crisis like never before.

It is not that Prime Minister Imran Khan pays no attention to the economy, but the kind of attention he pays reveals a worrying lack of ability to prioritise. He had a meeting with the gemstone industry, in which he expressed the hope that this industry could generate both jobs and export earnings. This industry has been around since at least the times of Alexander the Great, but has never developed into an economic powerhouse. It is as if the PM grants a meeting to any lobby that has his ear (witness the re-opening of the construction industry), rather than because of any economic potential.

Better knowledge for better care AIshA Yousuf

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veRy year 26 June is observed as the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking as an expression of the purpose of strengthening action and cooperation to achieve the goal of an international society free of drug abuse. Supported each year by individuals, communities, and various organizations all over the world, this global observance aims to raise awareness of the major problem that illicit drugs represent to our society.

The theme for the 2020, “Better Knowledge for Better Care”, emphasizes the need to improve the understanding of the world drug problem and better knowledge will promote greater international cooperation for countering its impact on health, power and security.

Drug addiction has become the serious problem around the world. It has been adopted as a lifestyle in both rich and poor countries. The use of drugs and alcohol not only brings negative impact on moral values but it also damage nation economy as well. Drugs roduce short periods of feelings of well being and pleasure, but after that it always drags the user towards permanent psychological and personal abnormalities.

In Pakistan, the covid-19 pandemic has compounded critical economic challenges, as well as issues related to governance and internal security. The outbreak has also brought about a series of changes related to organized crime as illicit trafficking, and there is a need for greater attention in monitoring these trends.

In Pakistan more than 800,000 people between the age of 15 and 64 are addicted to the use of heroin on a regular basis, as indicated by United nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UnODC) and the most common drug of choice is cannabis. There are two types of drugs that are very common and easily accessible; cannabis and heroin. America is considered as a country where the maximum volume of heroin is consumed but estimates show that around 44 tons

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use, the time period of feeling pleasure gradually decreases and the pleasure itself diminishes. The brain and body become dependent on drug. When drug addicts use drugs, they don’t do so for pleasure, they do so to feel normal. Consequences always been very painful and difficult to get away from, including withdrawal symptoms, paranoid and psychotic thoughts, of heroin is consumed every year in Pakistan. This stress, anxiety, depression, restlessness, psychological problems and cardiovascular diseases. ratio is two to three times higher than the USA. In April, the Anti-narcotics Force (AnF) and the In Pakistan, the total number of drug addicts as per a Un report is 7.6 million, 78 percent of whom are Pakistan navy confiscated significant amounts of male, while the remaining 22 percent are female. The heroin, opium, hashish, crystal meth and a quantity number of these addicts is increasing at the rate of of morphine as a result of illicit trafficking. These 40,000 per year, making Pakistan one of the most drug- large drug busts, along with many smaller confiscaaffected countries in the world. This is the reason why tions and arrests in other parts of the country, point to an increased supply of Pakistan is considered as a narcotics in Pakistan. home for the use of heroin This could be the result and is known as one of the of efforts to meet heightbiggest market for heroin ened demand during the smugglers and dealers.

The implications of the covid-19 pandemic or opporWhat is most disturbing is pandemic still have to unfold fully, tunism on the part of the fact that most of these drug producers and trafheroin addicts are under but it is clear that it has already fickers. These groups the age of 24. The reports be looking to exand figures presented by presented many new challenges for may ploit decreased law-enthe Un about the drug abusers to government enPakistan. The apparent increase in forcement capacity for drug control, as attention tities are in fact a third of drug trafficking and other threats is is diverted towards conthe actual number of adtaining COvID-19. dicted people. undermining the state’s ability to However, the hazard The question is, why do people start doing focus efforts on citizens’ health and of drugs can be battled. education is the primary drugs? People start doing safety while simultaneously trying fight. everyone should be drugs because of socioeducated about the harm psychological factors; to stabilize Pakistan’s economy. and effects of drugs so economical issues, lack of that they may know the interest in education, high consequences of its use stress and anxiety and due and can avoid it. Governto peer pressure. People start from smoking tobacco and ruin their life by ment should take strict steps against the drug dealers jumping on hard drugs. If children who grow up in a and should emower the law by increasing the police family where smoking is common, then there is a high manower. The implications of the covid-19 pandemic chance that children will start smoking tobacco very still have to unfold fully, but it is clear that it has alearly, will try hard drugs and will get involved in ready presented many new challenges for Pakistan. wrong practices. There are also some other factors, in- The apparent increase in drug trafficking and other cluding; the feeling of alienation, a life trauma, and threats is undermining the state’s ability to focus efforts the lacking of family support and relations problems. on citizens’ health and safety while simultaneously tryBiologically, drugs affect neurotransmitters and re- ing to stabilize Pakistan’s economy. lease some chemicals that give pleasure and a sense Aisha Yousuf is a freelance columnist of wellbeing for a short period of time. After repeated

Today is the International Day against drug abuse and illicit trafficking

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

This is actually anti-enlightenment, for it violates the basis of expertise, which is the scientific method.

The expert is merely someone who has applied the scientific method in his area for enough time to be trusted. Thus, it can be seen, the expert deals in facts.

Pakistanis experience the results of expertise recently, during the solar eclipse, which took place at the time experts (in this case astronomers) predicted, and unmists, who provide a big picture that coincides with folded as they said it would. These experts endorsed what people are generally experiencing: the economy and propagated what another set of experts said, ophtanking. economists have the figures and are the ex- thalmologists who warned that observing the eclipse perts saying what everyone feels but cannot express with the naked eye would lead to the eyes being damaged, and even to blindness. A third group of experts for fear of contradicting the medical experts.

Therefore, there is the sight of political leaders disclosed what optional prayers were to be offered, exhibiting an expertise they do not really possess. and how. The first two confirmed each other, and left Thus US President Donald Trump has promoted hy- the third alone. All other experts remained silent droxychloroquine as a cure and for covid-18, even within their own respective fields of expertise.

One of the salient features of the scientific method though the evidence does not exist. That piece of medicine can only be matched by Imran Khan’s di- is that it deals with facts, with specific occurrences, not agnosis of nawaz Sharif’s condition based on the with imaginings or theory. People are dying. Both Imran and Trump would glimpse afforded of the like that they do not die, back of his head in a phothat the method of stoptograph. ping this did not involve Coincidentally, neiThe scientific method is not economic collapse, but ther has much of a medscientists are not working ical background, though permanent or intrinsically infallible, for the wish fulfillment of Imran can claim that his politicians, but to observe father’s brother and his but it must be replaced by natural phenomena, and mother’s brother-in-law something more than a desire to be at most to solve prob(the Surgeon General, Lt lems. Further, there is a Gen W.A. Burki) were one-up on the experts for the first choice offered between both doctors. Both have a saving lives but still havmore formal training in time in a lifetime of being mocked ing the economy tank, or economics, though neither for being intellectually inferior to losing lives and still have can rightfully claim any the economy go belly-up. expertise. Trump attended them.

Unless Trump or Imran The choice, it seems, is the University of Pennsylbetween people dying or vania’s Wharton School, succeed in explaining the world not, with the economy earning a degree in ecobetter than the experts, using as tanking in either case. nomics. Imran read PPe Or so the experts say. at Oxford─ not Physical method better than theirs, no one Both Imran and Trump Protective equipment, but distrust experts. In PakPhilosophy, Politics and will accept what they are saying istan, corruption is not economics. neither have possible without experts, either ever had any preusually engineers, signtensions of being an econing off on deals disadomist. Trump had gone into the family real estate business, which might have vantageous to the government. Trump, having been had some use for his academic background, but apart in the real estate business, would have also known a from joining the Packer rebellion in the 1970s, Imran lot of engineers. Imran would be anti-expert automatwas never deeply involved in negotiating players’ ically, because they were active partners in the corpays, which was the only application of economics that ruption that brought him to power.

The problem with Trump or Imran is that they arose during his many years in cricket. Raising money for the Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital may have in- bring no replacing idea. The prohibition on Galileo by volved economic decision-making, but this was more the Church at least had behind it the sanction of Chrisabout Imran working his Indian showbiz contacts than tianity. It only disappeared because, in Galileo’s famous words, “[the earth] still moves”. The scientific method deep economic thinking.

Still, the distrust they are showing for experts re- is not permanent or intrinsically infallible, but it must flects that their message is acceptable to their bases. be replaced by something more than a desire to be oneIt is something of a paradox that Imran’s base in- up on the experts for the first time in a lifetime of being cludes a number of experts, including a goodly pro- mocked for being intellectually inferior to them. Unless portion of doctors. However, the base of both men Trump or Imran succeed in explaining the world better consists of those who suspect experts strongly. than the experts, using as method better than theirs, no Trump’s support consists of Americans brought up to one will accept what they are saying. believe that ‘they are as good as anybody’ and nobody can claim to know anything they don’t.

The writer is a member of staff.

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Friday, 26 June, 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

Marrying young THe culture of Marrying young is deep-rooted in Pakistan especially in rural areas and our society as well as media didn’t debate on it. But recently we started a debate on the culture of early marriages and spreading awareness continuously.

Child marriage according to global standard is marriage below the age of 18 years. All child marriages are illegal because of the violation of the minimum age of marriage. The law requires the nikah Registrar to confirm the age of marriage but lack of documents because half of the women will not have school certificate to ascertain their age and also social norms prevent the nikah registrar, from checking the bride’s document and even make a visual guess.

Unfortunately, despite national laws and international commitments, child marriage remains a real threat for many in Pakistan. We have to aware the people that early marriage spread harmful impact on the physical and mental growth of girls. A young couple cannot become a responsible parent than an older couple.

Because older females are better prepared to take on the responsibilities of wifehood and motherhood.

ANDLEEB BASHARAT ABBASI Rawalpindi

The fox is set to guard the chickens flict” but it made no dent in the Indian detestable actions. The deplorable situation of Muslim women being targeted by Indian military and India does not wish to see the BRI flourish de- paramilitary forces in Indian Occupied Kashmir spite the fact that it can bring prosperity to it too. (IOK) continues to draw the ire of human rights India’s main area of concern is the China Pak- activists but Indian generals and politicians, istan economic Corridor (CPeC), which is the blinded by the hate-mongering Hindutva ideolflagship project of the BRI. ogy, prescribe the use of rape as a weapon to Pakistan’s deep sea port of Gwadar, one end suppress the Muslims. of CPeC, located in Balochistan, is causing nightIndia is also deeply entrenched in mares to India. Its administration is being handled Afghanistan. The Taliban as well as the US adby China. Thirty-five percent of the world’s oil ministration see no place for India in supply flows from the Gulf to the rest of the Afghanistan, but its proximity to Pakistan and esworld, in the sea lanes adjacent to Gwadar. India pecially the areas of Balochistan and Khyber fears that if China were to block the sea lanes of Pakhtunkhwa (KP) present a lucrative target. Incommunication near Gwadar, it would be choked. dian spy agency RAW has created a nexus with northern India is already threatened because of the Afghan secret service the nDS, as well as the Indian adventurism in the Ladakh region, which abhorrent Islamic State or Daesh, to launch terror resulted in a sound beating of its troops at the attacks in Balochistan and KP to make Pakistan hands of the Chinese reel under acts of vimilitary. The possiolence and terrorble presence of Chiism. nese naval ships at India prides itSimultaneously, Indian Gwadar will squeeze self to be close to the India from both ends Arab world but in the mishandling of the pandemic and is adding to its near past, the Arab sense of insecurity. media has picked up COVID-19 has resulted in a Attempts have the cudgel on behalf been made by India in massive death toll and the collapse of Indian Muslims to the past to deploy expose the Indian of its already archaic health senior operatives of government’s antiits infamous spy Muslim stance. nusystem. Concurrently, the Indian agency RAW in merous articles have Balochistan.

In economy is badly shattered and is appeared in Arab March 2016, Comdailies while the sofacing the peril of bankruptcy. mander Kulbhushan cial media is abuzz Sudhir Jadhav, a servwith tweets warning Under these nightmarish ing Indian navy Offithe Indian governcer and senior RAW ment to desist from scenarios, the proponents of the agent, was arrested by Islamophobia. Interextremist ideology of Hindutva are estingly, members of Pakistan’s security agencies. In a confesRoyal Family in indulging in hate crimes as well as the sion before a magisOman and UAe trate, Commander have taken to sendendangering world peace by Jadhav admitted to ing messages via the hatching plots to resocial media that if instigating border disputes with cruit Baloch Sub-naIndia does not refrain China and Pakistan only to divert tionals, train them in from sending hate sabotage and guerilla messages, especially the attention of the masses from warfare, and then arm through its Diaspora and launch them to working in the Midits own mis-governance. In the wreak havoc in dle east, they will current milieu, India being elected face the danger of Balochistan. Their aim was to instill inbeing deported. to the coveted seat of United surgency so that the Simultaneously, Chinese engineers Indian mishandling Nations Security Council, albeit for and workers on of the pandemic a period of two years, spells CPeC projects were COvID-19 has retraumatized and sulted in a massive trouble for the rest of the world abandoned their tasks. death toll and the Commander collapse of its alJadhav was tried in ready archaic health a Field General system.

ConcurCourt Martial since he was on trhe active list of rently, the Indian economy is badly shattered and the Indian navy and was awarded the death sen- is facing the peril of bankruptcy. Under these tence. He has not been sent to the gallows yet nightmarish scenarios, the proponents of the exsince the International Court of Justice has tremist ideology of Hindutva are indulging in hate stayed his death sentence. crimes as well as endangering world peace by inIndia was not deterred by the incarceration stigating border disputes with China and Pakistan and admission of guilt by Commander Jadhav. only to divert the attention of the masses from its It continues to launch secret agents who indulge own mis-governance. In the current milieu, India in sedition, sabotage and terror activities to being elected to the coveted seat of United nadestabilize Pakistan. tions Security Council, albeit for a period of two Confessions of a retired Indian Army major years, spells trouble for the rest of the world. have exposed Indian involvement in exporting state terrorism to Balochistan and other areas of Sultan M Hali is a retired Group Captain Pakistan to create chaos and mayhem. and author of the book Defence & Diplomacy.

19 June was observed as the “International Currently he is a columnist, analyst and TV talk Day for elimination of Sexual violence in Con- show host.

India has too many problems to be effective on the UNSC

sultAN M hAlI

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exICO, India, Ireland and norway were elected as non-permanent members of the United nations Security Council last week. Mexico and India were elected unopposed. The new members will start their two-year term on the 15-member council on 1stJanuary 2021. The Security Council is the only Un body that can make legally binding decisions like imposing sanctions and authorizing the use of force. It has five permanent vetowielding members - the USA, Britain, France, China and Russia.

The surprise element is that despite being a bully on the block and posing a threat to all its neighbours, India has been entrusted with this responsibility.

The Muslims of India and other minorities are being trampled under the jackboot of Indian state terrorism. Draconian laws have been imposed to deny Muslims the citizenship of India.

Abrogating Articles 370 and 35A of its own Constitution, India deprived Kashmir of its autonomy, slapped a lockdown which lasted more than six months, only for the state to be locked down again due to COvID-19 and killing, maiming and raping Kashmiri women.

India is the only country in this entire universe, whose leaders justify the rape of Muslim women. Despite this gross misdemeanor, if India is appointed as a non-permanent member of the UnSC, then God preserve the rest of the world since the Indian appointment is tantamount to appointing the fox to guard the chickens.

Currently India is embroiled in conflicts with China and nepal, because it chose to construct an illegal highway in Chinese and nepali territory.

With neighbouring Pakistan, India is in constant violation of the ceasefire and is killing innocent civilians on the Pakistani side of the Line of Control (LoC) with incessant bombardment. neighbouring Bangladesh and Myanmar are upset because of India’s unjust citizenship laws. nepal, Bhutan, Maldives and Sri Lanka are being brutalized through constant interference in their internal affairs. Afghanistan continues to suffer under Indian intransigence.

The Indian grouse with China and Pakistan is because of Chinese President xi Jinping’s mega-project, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The majority of the world’s countries, including europe have joined the BRI with zeal but India, Japan, Australia and the USA remain outside its fold because of their blinkered vision.

From crisis to opportunity An encouraging and relatively Unique decision has been made by the federal government to block and tackle the locust plague. The initiative of converting the locust swarms into fertilizer has been proposed by ministry national Food Security and Research. Local communities would be encouraged and engaged to assist the government for this drive so as to deracinate the plague. The process of conversion is going to be carried out according to the recommendations of agricultural experts and chemists and in consultation with the concerned ministry. With the blend of locusts and other Bio- waste materials compost would be manufactured and used as fertilizer across the country. The federal government is also in contact with the agencies which will shoulder the task of marketing this project. Since decades growers across the country are bearing huge losses on account of locusts invasion. Different Governments had time and again taken steps to overpower treacherous swarms but all those steps were of no avail. economists view it as a grave threat to the grim economy of this country if the erosion of standing crops and vegetations continued like that. In the wake of the ongoing state of affairs, the Federal Government’s step of recasting the crisis into opportunity is meritorious.

KAMRAN KHAMISo KHowAJA Sujawal

Frontline fighters THe health care workers are on the frontline in the battle of this pandemic and endangering their own lives and safety by treating the patients effected by coronavirus. Many doctors have lost their own life while saving others from it. They are working day in and day out, with limited sources to stop this pandemic. Our doctors, nurses and other health workers are sacrificing their sleep and comforts for us. They can’t meet their family because they are busy in saving our families. They are the one due to whom, you and I are less afraid of this virus. We salute them for their efforts of becoming saviors and urge the government to provide them every facility, so they can be safe and be able to work perfectly.

AFRoz MJ Turbat, Kech

BNP coalition with PTI government eveRy politician plays his/her views based on policies and way of hopes from the people who are ranked position in the country. The chief of BMP Mengal Sardar Akhtar Mengal announcing officially that he is going to withdraw with the current government of Pakistan since there we won’t got a single benefit from the Imran’s government.

He has been failed to implement what he said and promised before the election of 2018 to the people of Baluchistan and Pakistan. Meanwhile, according to the BnP, PTI had signed few agreements with party at the formation of a government 2018 election in Pakistan but unfortunately, he didn’t implement any of them neither he worked for the issues of Baluchistan where thousands problems remains same as before.

Is it a good decision of BnP or just a publicity?

Is Baloch getting the fundamental needs from the formed government or they need many more. They are waiting for the multiple years for their rights, at the government of PTI Imran agreed to be the helping hands of Baluchistan by spending its two years of his government , Baluchistan didn’t receive any of the said demand, and nothing were presented to the rich province neither the missing persons nor the others. People are still bringing tears on their faces because of the uncertain situation of the province. Moreover, the six points of Memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the BnP and PTI in August 2018 were undiscovered like the recovery of missing persons, implementation of national action plan, afghan refugees and so on were said to be solved by this government of Pakistan. At this government the situation are getting worse day by day as in Baluchistan we have got some of tragic accidents by losing our beloved ones, the name of ehsaas program known to be an earning process, BISP is out of the reach to the needy in many regards, the inflation once again toping at the country by new taxes with high prices of materials are questioned marks in people faces.

Are these the names of a development in the country or just a name of a changed government (PTI)?

Can missing persons be recover or sisters keep crying like Haseeba Qambarani? neither we are relaxed in nourishment in home nor at peace in the country. Day in day out Baluchistan bleeds without any reasons, makes living beings live sorrowfully. The right decision is at the front of coalition to PTI, though all party members would have join BnP-M in this case rather waiting for the hopes of PTI. JuNAID BAKHT BALoCH Kech

Friday, 26 June, 2020

08 WORLD VIEW

How to live, How to die THE LONGER OUR LIVES EXTEND, THE GREATER THE CHANCES THAT OUR DECLINE WILL BE LONGER, MORE PAINFUL AND EMPTIER THAN PAST GENERATIONS

Jerusalem Post

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RICHARD SHAVEI-TZION

rowing up in the 1960s and 1970s, one of the songs that we will remember as long as we remember our own names, is the Beatles classic, “when i’m 64,” which appeared on the 1967 Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album. Paul McCartney actually wrote it in 1958 when he was 16 years old, two years after his mother, Mary, died. we may assume that McCartney chose the number 64 for its neat measured fit and because it rhymes with “door” and “more.”

Seventy-seven would just not have cut it, but 54 and 84 would have done the trick as well.

So why 64? well it is clear from the lyrics that the song is about old age and that is why 64 was the perfect match. After all, life expectancy in Britain at the time of his writing was 68. How ironic it is that two of the Fab Four never reached that age. growing up, the thought of being in our 60s was as imaginable as say, mobile phones and the internet. Yet here some of us are, 64year-olds, enjoying the use of both of the above. nowadays, for the large majority who have survived to this age, we can look forward to many more years of meaningful, productive life. But therein lies the catch.

The good fortune of living long and well creates the risk of dying long and without any semblance of quality, placing onerous burdens in the hands of those who we love and cherish. The longer our lives extend, the

greater the chances that our decline will be longer, more painful and emptier than past generations.

A few months ago, i had the privilege of attending a 100th birthday party. remarkably, the birthday girl participated in a singa-long of her favorite tunes, which she had personally picked for the occasion. it was truly inspiring. However, this case represents a rare exception to the stark reality that most who reach longevity will suffer lengthy cognitive and/or physical disability. Many of our shiva visits these days consist of listening respectfully as a contemporary describes the painful slide of a parent into blessed demise, often through years of suffering, with that person becoming a hollow shell of cells far removed from the vibrancy of his or her productive years. notwithstanding external events beyond our control (don’t we know!), as long as we

Africa is more resilient than you think THE SHORT-TERM SHOCK OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND ITS ECONOMIC FALLOUT WILL HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ACROSS AFRICA. BUT THE CONTINENT HAS A NEWFOUND RESILIENCE AND WILL COME BACK STRONGER, ESPECIALLY IF AFRICAN GOVERNMENTS SEIZE THE CURRENT OPPORTUNITY FOR EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP ProJect syndicate

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LANDRY SIGNÉ

ESPiTE apocalyptic predictions, Africa may be better positioned than many think to weather the combined shock of the CoViD-19 pandemic, collapsing commodity prices, and global economic recession, assuming its leaders act wisely. while African economies’ performance has varied, overall progress during the last two decades has made the continent more resilient than ever before. in my book Unlocking Africa’s Business Potential, i analyze the continent’s ongoing transformations and new economic opportunities. Applying that analysis today, six trends in particular will help to reduce the impact of the current crisis.

First, African economies are becoming increasingly competitive. Although the majority of African countries rank toward the bottom of the world Economic Forum’s 2019 global Competitiveness index 4.0, Mauritius, South Africa, Morocco, the Seychelles, Tunisia, Algeria, Botswana, Egypt, namibia, Kenya, and rwanda are all in the top 100. in addition, improved macroeconomic policies have enabled countries such as Ethiopia, Côte d’ivoire, and ghana to achieve significant gDP growth rates in recent years.

Second, Africans support the ongoing trend toward better and more accountable governance resulting from democratic elections, term limits, and increased civic participation. over the last five years, Afrobarometer surveys have indicated that 68% of Africans prefer democracy, 75% support two-term limits for leaders, and 62% think that citizens must hold governments accountable, even if it slows down decision-making. recent political leadership changes and overall governance improvements reflect not only the vertical accountability that citizens exercise through elections.

African countries have also made progress on horizontal accountability, involving government checks and balances, as well as what might be called diagonal accountability, or the effect of personal responsibility on institutions.

The third positive trend is demographic. Sub-Saharan Africa’s population is expected to increase from 1.1 billion to 1.4 billion by 2030, 2.1 billion by 2050, and about 3.8 billion by the end of the century. in 2030, over half of the continent’s population will be concentrated in

seven countries: nigeria, Ethiopia, the Democratic republic of the Congo (DrC), Egypt, Tanzania, Kenya, and South Africa. The first four will each be home to more than 100 million people.

The share of Africans with available discretionary income will also grow, and is expected to surpass 43% by 2030. To support this trend, leaders should pursue policies that ensure that economic growth outpaces population growth, and that support the creation of quality jobs. Effective pro-poor interventions are also essential.

Moreover, Africa is currently the fastest-urbanizing region in the world. By 2035, over half its population will live in cities, and by 2050, nearly 60% will.

These cities’ concentrated skilled workforces and relatively wealthy consumer bases will offer attractive opportunities for investors.

And, in recent years, child mortality in Africa has declined while fertility rates have remained unchanged, thus creating a demographic dividend. Today, the continent has one of the highest dependency ratios in the world, owing to the large number of children under the age of 15.

But by 2030, they will be Africa’s workers and consumers.

Fourth, Africa’s innovative and productive potential has already attracted substantial foreign investment and finance. in the agriculture sector, for example, European, Chinese, Saudi Arabian, South Korean, and indian companies are investing billions of dollars to buy or lease large areas of farmland. And countries such as Cameroon, the DrC, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, and Senegal are growing a variety of exportable produce, including flowers, lentils, palm oil, rice, sugar cane, bananas, and corn. Though the CoViD-19 crisis may weaken investment in the short run, the continent will attract higher investment inflows in the longer run.

Fifth, Africa continues to diversify its trade patterns. Although trade with China, the United States, and the European Union still accounts for more than 30% of the continent’s total imports and exports, emerging trade partners are taking ever larger shares. For example, Africa’s trade with Brazil, india, indonesia, russia, and Turkey more than doubled between 2006 and 2016.

Furthermore, the African Continental Free Trade Area – a single continentwide market for goods and services, with free movement of capital and people – entered into force last year, with 54 countries on board. The AfCFTA’s operational launch, however, has been de-

layed, due to CoViD-19. once fully operational, the AfCFTA will likely transform the structure of African economies by moving them away from low-productivity, labor-intensive sectors and toward higher-productivity, skills-intensive industrial and service activities. And by promoting intra-African trade, the agreement will foster a more competitive manufacturing sector, promote economic diversification, and encourage firms to benefit from continent-wide economies of scale. in short, the AfCFTA will enable countries to reduce poverty and accelerate their development by unlocking business potential and creating desperately needed and better-paid jobs.

Last but not least, African firms and countries are well placed to benefit from the Fourth industrial revolution (4ir), which is being driven by new digital technologies such as the internet of Things, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and 3D printing. By integrating 4ir technology into their current operations, companies will be able to leapfrog legacy infrastructure, strengthen Africa’s healthcare systems and response to infectious disease, revitalize public-sector support, and establish mutually beneficial publicprivate partnerships.

Africa is also benefiting from the rapid expansion of its mobile broadband networks, which can attract investors to the information and communications technology sector. Kenya and rwanda, for example, are implementing national strategies aimed at fostering technology adoption and innovation, while countries such as South Africa, nigeria, and Egypt host a significant number of tech hubs.

And creative entrepreneurs are launching a broad range of services to meet the needs of Africa’s citizens, with technology ranging from mobile applications for health care and agricultural finance to 3D printing of titanium metal parts.

The short-term shock of the pandemic and its economic fallout will have a significant impact across Africa. But the continent has a newfound resilience and will come back stronger, especially if African governments seize the current opportunity for effective leadership.

Landry Signé, a professor and co-director at Arizona State University’s Thunderbird School of global Management, is a senior fellow at the Brookings institution, a distinguished fellow at Stanford University, a world Economic Forum young global leader, and the author, most recently, of Unlocking Africa’s Business Potential.

have full faculty, we have the ability to charter our course in the sea of our earthly experience in pursuit of fulfillment. There is an impressive array of “how-to-live-life,” manuals, books, lectures and coaching techniques out there. They instruct us on how take control of our happiness and serenity.

Yet how many “how-to-die” manuals are there? we are so aware of living every day to the full, knowing that their number is finite. But how do we go about dealing with the waning days in the fog of pain and disorientation when nothing is possible? where is the value in living like that at all?

How often do we see cases where children devote huge amounts of energy and effort into sustaining the husk of a parent’s life when the parent would happily relinquish life in favor of blessed oblivion? in our energetic living years, would we ever lay such obligation on our children and others around us? is there a course of action we can take or a proactive measure to be performed to prevent this two-sided misery?

As an involved Jew, the precept of sanctity of life is a core value that guides me.

However, we are living in an age where medicine and science have developed ways of sustaining physical existence without making parallel progress in maintaining the quality of that life. Until that happens, we must ask how we define life. it is telling that

according to Midrash, the first humans did not suffer disease. They simply fell asleep and died! That made Sanctity of Life an easy principle to uphold, given that every day had the potential for vitality and meaning. The Torah tells us that on the day of his death, Moses walked, “Veyeilech Moshe” and delivered a long, coherent and stirring speech for the ages to the nation. He then had the strength to climb to the summit of a mountain where he died at the age of 120. it is that 120 that informs us when we wish each other long life. Should we not rather have the intent of wishing, vibrant, joyous life until our last day, whenever it may be? we all hope to live long and die quickly. But just in case that does not happen, i personally have prepared instructions for my dear ones urging them to do whatever they can, within the law and their sense of morality and conviction, not to prolong my life and even to advance my death if it is clear that living has become hell. Having had personal experience with this phenomenon, my dear ones know with clarity my understanding as to when that tipping point would occur, physically or cognitively. And perhaps the time is ripe for a discussion on a societal level amongst our peers as to how best to prepare ourselves and make provision for the day when it really is time to go.

May we all live well to a right old age.

Indians who made Covid ‘Muslim virus’ after Tablighi Jamaat are cheering Odisha’s Rath Yatra JUST ONE LOOK AT THE CROWDS AT PURI’S JAGANNATH TEMPLE WILL TELL YOU NO SOCIAL-DISTANCING NORMS WERE MAINTAINED. THAT TOO AT THE HEIGHT OF INDIA’S COVID SPIKE Print

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TINA DAS

n 23 June, visuals of devotees swirling around odisha’s famous Jagannath Puri temple flooded social media, causing one to momentarily forget that india is still in the thick of the coronavirus pandemic. A day earlier, the Supreme Court, the highest court of the land, gave permission for the annual rath Yatra in odisha to be held, but with certain restrictions. in an earlier decision, the SC had barred the 10-day festival stating that “Lord Jagannath will forgive us” for the decision. But five days later, the SC bench led by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde clearly did not have faith in its earlier pragmatic stance of holding off on the religious congregation at a time when india’s Covid-19 cases are spiking.

The petition against the rath Yatra taking place this year, filed by odisha-based ngo odisha Vikas Parishad (oVP), had cited the example of the Tablighi Jamaat event in Delhi, which made the news for becoming Delhi’s Covid hotspot and adding to the spurt of cases in the country. interestingly, a servitor of the Jagannath Temple has already tested positive for coronavirus. From the looks of footage from odisha’s Jagannath rath Yatra, we are probably looking at ‘Tablighi Jamaat 2.0’.

But clearly, the media and those who spewed hate against all Muslims oddly don’t care much about the health of those at the temple.

TABLIGHI JAMAAT FIASCO: on 30 March this year, at least 200 people from southeast Delhi’s nizamuddin area were taken for Covid-19 testing after seven people in the area tested positive.

Former indian held Kashmir chief minister omar Abdullah predicted the impending backlash Muslims would face, and he was, proven right soon after.

The Tablighi Jamaat Markaz was soon called the biggest Covid hotspot, not just in india, but in South Asia. Accusations against the non-political global Sunni islamic missionary organisation flew thick and fast, with abuses targeted directly at the Muslim community. Muslims in india are a highly fragmented community, made up of various sects and sub-sects, and Tablighi Jamaat represented one small fraction. Yet, Muslims as a whole were vilified for their “irresponsibility” and “dangerous” actions for weeks to come. From being maligned by both Hindi and English news anchors on a daily basis, to propaganda and false rumours about Muslim vegetable vendors spitting on vegetables to intentionally spread Covid-19 — the coronavirus had suddenly become a ‘Muslim virus’.

The most vitriolic statements came

from some of the BJP’s top-most spokespersons such as Amit Malviya and Sambit Patra. it wasn’t much of a surprise that Tablighi Jamaat came under the scanner more because it is associated with islam. in fact, it even managed to eclipse the fact that the day after the nationwide lockdown was announced, UP CM Yogi Adityanath violated the lockdown to attend a ram navami event in Ayodhya. But the right-wing was quick to defend Adityanath’s actions.

BJP SUPPORT FOR JAGANNATH YATRA: The BJP-led Centre took the initiative to restore the festivities at odisha.

Home Minister Amit Shah took to Twitter to express his delight over the Supreme Court’s decision to reverse its earlier order, and allow for odisha’s festivities to continue. Calling the decision about the rath Yatra a matter of great “urgency”, he wrote that it was put urgently before a bench of the Supreme Court.

The same Supreme Court, which couldn’t do much for india’s migrant workers during the lockdown, showed utmost swiftness in this decision. ironically, guidelines issued by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs on 30 May forbade such large gatherings.

But touting it as a victory for the people of odisha, not an impending disaster during a pandemic, other top BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Modi, joined in with hearty congratulations.

WHAT RESTRICTIONS? GOD WILL SAVE US ALL: one wonders what kind of ‘restrictions’ the Supreme Court imposed in its order, because one look at the celebrations was evidence enough that no social distancing or safety guidelines were followed.

People have gathered in large numbers for the start of the festivities, including BJP’s Sambit Patra. Yes, the same Sambit Patra who cried foul almost every day while the members of Delhi’s Tablighi Jamaat were being looked for, landed in Puri to seek blessings from Lord Jagannath. it is worthy to note that he is a doctor, but did not bother to follow any social-distancing norms. our outrage at the Tablighi Jamaat gathering has now been eclipsed by the total lack of criticism of the rath Yatra at Puri and the threat it poses to india’s Covid cases. The BJP’s visible and vocal support for the Hindu festival in odisha almost seems as political as its denouncement of the Tablighi Jamaat. while the nizamuddin gathering was by no means justified, it took place when the cases were still trickling — india currently has more than 4 lakh cases. if the rath Yatra ends up being a hotspot, will the Supreme Court take responsibility for it? no divine intervention can help it then.

Friday, 26 June, 2020

BUSINESS 09

Govt ReLeASeS RS6.2Bn to ADDReSS textILe InDuStRy’S woeS LAHORE STAFF REPORT

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DVISER to the Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood on Thursday announced the release of an additional grant of Rs6.2 billion for the textile sector under the Drawback of Local Taxes and Levy (DLTL) scheme.

According to a press release, during the current fiscal year, a cumulative amount of Rs51.2 billion has been released under the DLTL scheme for the textile sector.

Razak Dawood said that he hopes that the additional grant will resolve liquidity issues of exporters and enable them to further enhance their exports.

The adviser to the prime minister on commerce and investment informed that work is also being done on a DLTL scheme for the non textile sector.

LCCI demands extension in FBR's Asset Declaration Scheme till Aug 31 LAHORE APP

The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry LCCI has urged the Federal Board of Revenue to extend the last date for the Asset Declaration Scheme to August 31. The FBR had earlier clarified that the due date for payment of outstanding taxes under the Asset Declaration Scheme 2019 will not be extended beyond June 30. LCCI President Irfan Iqbal Sheikh in a letter to the FBR pointed out that businesses across all segments in the country are facing huge financial losses and disruptions in business activities due to the Covid-19 pandemic. He requested the FBR to extend the deadline to August 31 keeping in view the liquidity crunch currently faced by businesses. The LCCI president said that the extension in the scheme will help generate additional revenue for the government. “An extension in Asset Declaration Scheme 2019 can help the highest number of businessmen avail full benefits of this initiative”, he said adding that the scheme is beneficial for both the government and the business community as it would help promote documentation of the economy. "We have always demanded that the tax net should be broadened and the tax rate should be decreased. We expect that this scheme will go a long way in achieving the desired results,”, he said.

Motorbike, threewheeler sales drop 25.7pc in 11 months ISLAMABAD APP

The sale of motorbikes and three-wheelers plunged by 25.72pc during the first 11 months of the financial year 2019-20, as compared to the corresponding period of last year. According to data released by the Pakistan Automobile Manufacturing Association (PAMA), as many as 1,221,943 motorbikes and three-wheelers were sold during July-May FY20, as against the sale of 1,645,229 units during July-May FY19. The sale of Honda motorcycles went down by 23.81pc, from 1,028,945 units last year to 783,863 units during the period under review, while that of Suzuki motorcycles plunged by 25.07pc, from 21,549 units to 16,145 units.

Likewise, the sale of Yamaha motorbikes witnessed a drop of 17.21pc (from 21,973 units in 11MFY19 to 18,191 units); Ravi motorbikes saw a sharp decline of 56.55pc (from 24,220 units to 10,522 units); United Auto motorcycles' sales fell by 23.42pc (from 339,311 units to 259,828 units), whereas the sale of Road Prince motorcycles decreased by 34.99pc (from 149,036 units to 96,883 units). Meanwhile, the sale of Road Prince threewheelers witnessed a decline of 20.30pc under the period under review (from 10,784 units to 8,594 units); Sazgar three-wheelers saw a 30.50pc decrease in sales (from 14,425 units to 10,025 units); the sale of Qingqi threewheelers fell by 43.09pc (from 20,405 units to 11,611 units), while that of United Auto three-wheelers dropped by 51.76pc (from 11,104 units to 5,356 units).

THE ADDITIONAL GRANT HAS BEEN RELEASED UNDER THE DRAWBACK OF LOCAL TAXES AND LEVY SCHEME Earlier on Tuesday, the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA), in a letter to Abdul Razak Dawood, urged the government to help the textile industry boost its exports by extending competitively priced energy in the region, lowering sales tax and reducing turnover tax from 1.5 per cent to 0.5 per cent.

APTMA had also stated in its letter that the textile industry will try to achieve $17.5 billion exports for the next fiscal year, to help the country narrow down its widening trade deficit.

Similarly, on June 8, All Pakistan Textile Mills

BOI launches e-portals to facilitate local, foreign investors

Association (APTMA) Sindh-Balochistan Chairman Zahid Mazhar had demanded the government to reduce the tariff of indigenous gas for five export-oriented sectors. “The reduction should be announced in line with the major cut in international oil prices so that the negative impact of Covid-19 on the economy and exports could be managed effectively,” he had said in a statement issued on June 8.

Furthermore, on May 4, textile industry owners had informed the Sindh High Court (SHC) that they would not be able to pay their employees due to a liquidity crunch because of the suspension of economic activities caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

As many as 12 major textile industries had filed a petition in the court against the Sindh government’s order against laying off employees during the lockdown and the obligation on industry owners to pay their employees in full.

MARKET DAILY Stocks fall 325 points as selling pressure persists

ISLAMABAD

KARACHI

APP

ARIBA SHAHID

The Board of Investment (BOI) on Thursday launched three online portals including Electronic Joint Venture (EJV), Branch Liaison Management Information System (BLMIS) and Special Economic Zones (SEZs) Information Portal to digitise all services for the benefit of investors.

The three portals were launched by the BOI Chairman Atif Riaz Bokhari during an online event which was attended by the BOI Secretary Omer Rasul, senior officers and other stakeholders including representatives from the World Bank, Department for International Development (DFID), Pakistan Business Council (PBC), Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), National Technology Council (NTC) and Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB), said a press release.

The BOI chairman highlighted that BOI was one of the leading organisations in the federal government, which had been effectively introducing technology-driven innovative solutions in terms of service delivery, with the ultimate objectives of bringing transparency, improving ease of doing business and facilitating, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Pakistan.

The BOI chairman also acknowledged the role of all stakeholders in providing support to

BOI for the development of the online modules.

BOI Secretary Omer Rasul explained that the objective behind the launch of the new portals is to help reduce human interaction and facilitate investors to access BOI’s services.

He added that, following the policy of the federal government, BOI not only aimed to facilitate the investors through digitisation of services but also by reducing the timelines for seeking necessary approvals.

The Electronic Joint Venture (EJV) portal is Pakistan's first public sector online free business match-making service, which allows businesses to create partnerships worldwide.

The portal allows enterprises to enlist their profiles on the website and provide useful information regarding new opportunities for investment.

Similarly, Branch Liaison Management Information System (BLMIS) is an online application to aid the opening of branch offices and liaison offices in Pakistan.

The application is a continuation of BOI’s Online Work Visa module which has enabled companies to apply for work visas online including payment of fee and grant of final visa documents, he added.

Moreover, the Special Economic Zones Information Portal will help BOI to collect information from the enterprises and developers based in SEZs.

Gold price plunges by Rs2,300 to Rs102,800 per tola ISLAMABAD: The per tola price of 24-karat gold stood at Rs102,800 after falling by Rs2,300 on Thursday, compared to its price of Rs105,100 on Wednesday, the Karachi Sarafa Association reported. Similarly, the price of 10-gram gold also witnessed a decrease of Rs1,972 and was traded at Rs88,134 on Thursday.

The per tola price of silver remained stable on Thursday at Rs1,050. Price of 10 gram silver was recorded at Rs900.20. In the international market, the price of per ounce gold decreased by $15 on Thursday, and stood at $1,762, Karachi Sarafa association reported. APP

In line with the downtrend witnessed in global stock markets, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) remained in the negative territory throughout the session on Thursday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index shedding over 350 points intraday. "Exploration & production, oil & gas marketing and refinery sectors sustained price losses owing to the decline in international crude prices, which fell by $3 per barrel overnight. On the other hand, cement stocks showed better performance on the back of an anticipated increase in cement dispatches in the ongoing month," said a report issued by Arif Habib Ltd. "Overall, selling activity was observed across the board."

According to the report, SBP's announcement of another 100bps rate cut after the session justified the more than usual negativity in the banking scrips. "As has been the practice during the past few sessions, institutional investors seemed more interested in the closure to FY20 and therefore executed trades of marked-to-market nature than even driven trades."

The KSE-100 Index remained in the red zone throughout the day, registering its intraday low at 33,657.78 after dropping 376.87 points. It closed lower by 325.02 points at 33,709.63. Among other indices, the KMI-30 Index plunged 534.65 points to close at 54,064.47, while the KSE All Share Index lost 218.08 points, settling at 24,173.16. Of the total traded shares, 89 advanced and 207 declined.The overall market volumes fell from 195.64 million shares in the last session to 168.42 million shares. Average traded value also declined by 9pc, from $34.5 million to $31.5 million. Worldcall Telecom (WTL +8.75pc), Hum Network Limited (HUMNL +7.35pc) and TRG Pakistan Limited (TRG +0.25pc) led the volume chart, exchanging 19.55 million, 13.41 million and 12.54 million shares, respectively. Sectors which painted the benchmark index red included oil & gas exploration (-85.67 points), banking (-55.20 points) and power generation (-39.43 points). Among the companies, Hub Power Company Ltd (HUBC -37.05 points), Nestle Pakistan Ltd (NESTLE -35.35 points) and Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd (OGDC -34.34 points) dented the index the most. Shedding 2pc of its cumulative market capitalization, the oil and gas exploration sector turned out to be the biggest loser the day, with Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC -2.12pc), Mari Petroleum (MARI 2.37pc), Pakistan Oilfields (POL -0.61pc) and Pak Petroleum (PPL -2.08pc) closing in the red.

Business community welcomes 100bps cut in policy rate LAHORE HASSAN NAQVI

Leading businessmen and industrialists have welcomed the State Bank of Pakistan's decision to reduce the country's policy rate by 100 basis points to 7pc.

Talking to Profit on Thursday, All Pakistan Textile Mills Association Patron-inChief Gohar Ejaz lauded the prime minister and his economic team for bringing down the rate of inflation in the country, which helped reduce the interest rate from 13.25pc to 7pc in the last 90 days.

"The biggest beneficiary is the government with 75pc of the money or Rs15 trillion in the banking sector being invested in government securities. The domestic commerce and production industry, which has borrowed Rs4 trillion, would be next, followed by exports with Rs1 trillion borrowing," Ejaz said.

BUSINESSMEN LAUD GOVT’S ECONOMIC POLICIES, SEEK FURTHER REDUCTION IN POLICY RATE TO SPUR GROWTH He, however, stressed the need for Pakistan to become regionally competitive in all aspects to exports. Ejaz maintained that controlled energy prices, interest rates and the reimposition of the zero-rating regime for export sectors were necessary steps to ensure exports’ enhancement. "Regional interest rate [on average] is 4pc and we have to bring it down to the same levels by next quarter."

Meanwhile, Chainstore Association of Pakistan (CAP) Vice Chairman Wasif Butt said that continuous reduction in policy rate over the past few months was a "positive and necessary step" taken by the SBP to facilitate businesses suffering from the Covid-led crisis.

"With the demand-led inflation a mem-

ory of the distant past and retail sales plunging across all sectors except for essential goods, inflation will fall further in the coming days, which will provide more room for the SBP to reduce the policy rate to below 5pc."

He claimed that SBP was the only government entity that was providing support to businesses during the Covid-19 crisis.

"However, as 90pc of the retail sector does not have any access to formal financing, the entire sector is looking towards the government for support through fiscal, taxation and policy measures, which have all been grossly lacking," he stated. "Unless there is equally aggressive progress on these fronts in the near future, the retail sector,

which has already started facing defaults and bankruptcies, may collapse completely."

Butt stated that although the retail sector was the second-largest employer in the country after agriculture, it has very little access to formal financing. "The sector sees SBP's rate cut decision as positive, but it is insufficient for the retail sector's revival," he remarked.

Among other business leaders, Pakistan Association of Large Steel Producers (PALSP) Secretary General Syed Wajid Iqbal Bukhari said that the move was in the right direction "but ideally it should have been reduced to 5pc".

Shahjahan Malik, Chairman of the Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP), said that the policy cut was expected as the GDP growth was negative. "The central bank's decision to cut the policy rate by 1pc is good for everyone (all sectors) as it reduces the cost of doing business. It will also

encourage businessmen to take risks and initiate new projects," he added.

Maple Leaf Cement Factory Limited Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sayeed Tariq Saigol said the industry "greatly welcomes this timely reduction in the interest rate", adding that it was a much-needed initiative to spur demand and give businesses some breathing space in the wake of Covid-19.

"I’m personally impressed by the datadriven approach of the central bank and I am optimistic that they will continue to take prudent measures in the face of the current economic challenges," Saigol said.

Moreover, Pak Suzuki Motor Company Limited (PSMCL) spokesperson Shafiq Ahmed Shaikh said the decision would help the country’s economy and businesses to sustain the virus-led slowdown. “It would have been better if they (govt) had locked the interest rate at 4pc for at least the next 12 months.”

Friday, 26 June, 2020

10 FOREIGN NEWS

US warnS rUSSIa, ChIna of Un ISolatIon If Iran armS ban extenSIon bloCked

Germany and france shore up support for who, seek 'global answer' to Covid-19 GENEVA/BERLIN

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON AGENCIES

AGENCIES

USSIA and China will be isolated at the United Nations if they continue down the “road to dystopia” by blocking a US bid to extend a weapons ban on Iran, Washington’s Iran envoy Brian Hook told Reuters ahead of his formal pitch of the embargo to the UN Security Council on Wednesday.

The 13-year-old arms restrictions on Iran are due to expire in October under the terms of Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Russia and China have signaled they oppose extending the embargo.

While Washington has long argued that the embargo should not be lifted, the international community has been waiting for it to formally push the measure. Hook and US Ambassador to the UN Kelly Craft made the case for why the 15-member council should support a draft resolution extending the embargo behind closed doors on Wednesday.

“We see a widening gap between Russia and China and the international community,” Hook said in an interview with Reuters on Tuesday evening.

“Russia and China were isolated at the [International Atomic Energy Agency] last week and they will be isolated in the Security Council if they continue down this road to dystopia,” Hook said.

The IAEA’s 35-nation board of governors on Friday called on Iran to allow the UN nuclear watchdog access to two sites suspected of nuclear weapons activities and to cooperate fully. Iranian allies Russia and China opposed that

France and Germany expressed political and financial backing for the World Health Organization in its fight against the coronavirus on Thursday, with Berlin saying it would give a record half billion euros in funding and equipment this year. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the agency, criticised by the United States for being slow off the mark in tackling the pandemic, was getting the support it needed and that the talks had been “very productive”.

“We are getting today all the support we need, politically and financially. Both Germany and France are long-standing friends of WHO and global health,” Tedros told a news conference at WHO headquarters. U.S. President Donald Trump said last month that the United States was cutting ties with the “China-centric” WHO, but he has still not formally notified the U.N. agency. The United States is the biggest overall donor to the Geneva-based WHO, contributing more than $400 million in 2019, roughly 15% of its budget. “Isolated national answers to international problems are doomed to fail,” German Health Minister Jens Spahn said. He announced additional donations of funds and medical equipment to WHO that would bring Germany’s total support to 500 million euros ($561 million) this year, the “highest amount ever”, as it assumes the EU presidency. “We need a strong, efficient, transparent and accountable WHO today more than ever,” Spahn said. “Germany will do its part to give the WHO the political, financial and technical backing that is needed. This comes with the expectation that remaining challenges are adequately addressed and needed reforms are pushed forward.”

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India says China amassed troops along border in violation of agreements NEW DELHI: China has deployed large numbers of troops and weapons along a disputed Himalayan border in violation of bilateral agreements, India’s foreign ministry said on Thursday, accusing Beijing of escalating tensions and triggering a deadly clash last week. “At the heart of the matter is that since early May the Chinese side had been amassing a large contingent of troops and armaments along the LAC,” ministry spokesman Anurag Srivastava said in a briefing in New Delhi, referring to the Line of Actual Control, the de facto border. “This is not in accordance with the provisions of our various bilateral agreements,” he said, including a 1993 treaty that dictates that both sides will maintain limited border deployments. China has blamed India for the clash – the deadliest between the two nuclear armed neighbours for at least five decades – and said Indian troops attacked Chinese officers and soldiers. Responding to the heightened Chinese presence last month, India also deployed a large number of troops along the LAC, Srivastava said, leading to face-offs in the Ladakh region of the Western Himalayas. On June 15, Indian and Chinese troops brawled for several hours in the Galwan Valley, using stones and sticks with nails embedded in them to beat each other, killing 20 Indian soldiers and injuring at least 76 more. China has not disclosed how many casualties its troops suffered. After senior military commanders held parleys this week, both sides have since agreed to disengage their troops on the disputed border. But in satellite images reviewed by Reuters, China appears to have added new structures near the site of the Galwan Valley clash that India says is on its side of the LAC. These include camouflaged tents or covered structures and a potential new camp under construction with walls or barricades. AG E N C I E S

move but could not block it, whereas at the Security Council they have veto powers.

A council resolution needs nine votes in favor and no vetoes by the United States, China, Russia, Britain or France to pass.

“There is no possibility for its adoption,” said a Chinese diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, after Hook

and Craft briefed council envoys. “The US draft resolution is in essence a continuation of the US maximum pressure policy [on Iran] and it has no value or basis for discussion.”

Earlier this month, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called on Russia and China to resist Washington’s push, pledging to “increase our defense capabilities as we have been doing so even under sanctions.”

India to survey 29 million New Delhi residents NEW DELHI

turkey says bolton's book 'misleading' on erdogan-trump conversations

AGENCIES

India says it will carry out a massive survey for the coronavirus targeting the entire population in New Delhi of 29 million.

Officials will go to each household to record each resident’s health details and administer a test for the virus to those who show or report symptoms.

The exercise will be completed by July 6, according to a plan issued by the government of New Delhi, the worst-hit city in the country with 70,390 confirmed cases.

Police will be deployed to enforce physical distancing and prevent the mixing of the population inside more than 200 containment zones in the capital, where large clusters of cases have been confirmed. CCTV or drone monitoring will also be used.

Police will have to ensure strict perimeter control and “absolute restriction of outward and inward movement of the population,” the city government said.

India on Thursday registered another record high of 16,922 cases, taking the total to 473,105. The Health Ministry also reported 418 more deaths, taking fatalities to 14,894. The ministry said the recovery rate was continuing to improve at 56 percent.

New Delhi’s government has projected that cases in the capital area alone could expand to more than half a million by late July and is considering taking over luxury hotels and stadiums to convert into field hospitals.

Armed forces personnel are providing medical care and attention to coronavirus patients kept in railroad coaches that have been turned into medical wards at nine locations in the capital.

ISTANBUL AGENCIES

The Health Ministry said it has ramped up testing to more than 200,000 per day across the country, raising the total number of samples tested so far to nearly 7.3 million.

In other developments around the Asia-Pacific region: — China reported 19 newly confirmed cases of the coronavirus on Thursday amid mass testing in Beijing, where a recent outbreak appears to have been brought under control. Of the new cases, 13 were reported in Beijing and one in the neighboring province of Hebei. Five others were brought by Chinese travelers from overseas.

No new deaths were reported and 382 people remained in treatment for COVID-19, with another 110 in isolation. Case numbers both nationally and in Beijing were up by single digits from Wednesday but there was no sign of any further spread.

This month’s outbreak in Beijing saw 249 people infected, most of them with

links to the city’s biggest wholesale market, leading authorities to lock down some communities and cancel classes.

Since then, 3 million test samples have been taken from 2.43 million people in the city.

— South Korea has reported 28 additional cases of the coronavirus, as the country is struggling to suppress a resurgence of the virus, mostly around the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area. The figures bring the country’s total to 12,563 cases with 282 deaths.

Nearly 11,000 people have recovered while 1,307 are still quarantined. South Korea has seen an uptick in new infections since it eased strict social distancing rules. But the daily increases haven’t reached a level of hundreds of cases that were reported between late February and early March.

Most of the recent cases have been associated with nightlife establishments, church gatherings, a huge e-commerce warehouse and door-to-door sellers.

Turkey said on Wednesday that a book by former US national security adviser John Bolton had “misleading” and “manipulative presentations” of the conversations between Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and US President Donald Trump. Fahrettin Altun, the Turkish presidency’s communications director, said on Twitter that Erdogan and Trump had made great efforts to mend ties between the two countries and that Trump “has done a lot more listening to a key NATO ally than some of the previous administrations.” These issues between the US and Turkey have been lingering since the Obama administration. In fact, President Trump has done a lot more listening to a key NATO ally than some of the previous administrations. We have seen it only natural for him to do so. — Fahrettin Altun (@fahrettinaltun) June 24, 2020 In his book, Bolton wrote that Erdogan gave Trump a memo saying Turkish state lender Halkbank, under investigation by the office of the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York for violating Iranian sanctions, was innocent.

“Trump then told Erdogan he would take care of things, explaining that the Southern District prosecutors were not his people, but were Obama people, a problem that would be fixed when they were replaced by his people,” Bolton wrote.

After violent clash with China, Indian e-tailers consider listing of 'country of origin' label on products NEW DELHI AGENCIES

E-commerce players in India such as Amazon’s local unit and Walmart’s Flipkart will consider asking sellers on their platforms to list the country of origin on products, three sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

The discussion was part of a meeting of online retailers held via video-conferencing, hosted by the federal commerce ministry’s Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), two of the sources said.

The move comes amid India’s efforts to single out Chinese-made products and cut down on their import following a clash between the two neighbors at a disputed Himalayan border site that left at least 20

Indian soldiers dead.

The definition of “country of origin”, however, remains vague with some products assembled in countries including India but with their components or raw material sourced from another nation, and companies have asked the government to clarify its stand, the sources said.

All three sources declined to be identified because the meeting was not public.

“This is optics. It won’t really change anything,” one of the sources aware of the discussion said. “But in principle, all the company representatives in attendance agreed that we could do it, but we need time. And we suggested that a better way would be for the government to talk to sellers directly.”

Amazon and Flipkart have agreed to

compel their seller to display country of origin for all products, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.

Amazon, Flipkart and DPIIT did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Anti-China sentiments have simmered in India for years, with accusations of cheap imported products undercutting locally-manufactured goods. But the tensions have heightened since the border clash.

The Confederation of All India Traders, a group representing roughly 70 million brick-and-mortar retailers, has sought the support of tycoon businessmen, including India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani, to boycott Chinese goods.

An Indian state-run e-commerce portal has already begun displaying country of origin besides products sold on it.

CMYK

Friday, 26 June, 2020

SPORTS 11

LivErpooL WAit for MAN City sLip-up As prEMiEr LEAguE gLory LooMs LIVERPOOL

L

AGENCIES

IvERPOOL will be crowned English champions for the first time in 30 years without kicking a ball if Manchester City fail to beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Thursday.

Jurgen Klopp’s men moved to the brink of a long-awaited Premier League title in style by thumping Crystal Palace 4-0 on their return to Anfield on Wednesday.

Liverpool hold a 23-point lead over defending champions City with just seven games to play, meaning their 19th English title, and first Premier League crown, is just a matter of time.

The European champions’ long wait to return to the summit of English football has been extended by three months due to the

unprecedented coronavirus shutdown.

There were fears at one stage the season could have been declared null and void, before the Premier League agreed to restart.

City can delay Liverpool’s celebrations by beating Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and then winning the battle of the top two next week at the Etihad Stadium.

Klopp said he would be watching Thursday’s game in London, not to will on Frank Lampard’s side but to prepare for the game against City. “I watch the game not to prepare a celebration but we play City a week later and also Chelsea,” said the German boss. “This game is a really important game to watch for plenty of reasons. Whatever happens... we have no influence on it so I have no interest.

“It will happen when it happens.”

Liverpool returned to top form against

Crystal Palace at an empty Anfield on Wednesday, brushing aside the London club 4-0 after a drab goalless draw against neighbours Everton at the weekend.

Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah, Fabinho and Sadio Mane were all on the scoresheet as Klopp’s men showed the combination of flair and steel that has made them so irresistible this season.

If City manage to keep the title race alive at Chelsea, a point would be good enough for Liverpool to win the league when they travel to Manchester on July 2.

City boss Pep Guardiola said on Wednesday his priority is Sunday’s FA Cup quarter-final rather than prolonging Liverpool’s wait and he could rest players ahead of the trip to Newcastle at the weekend.

England international Alexander-Arnold admitted many of his teammates would be

tuning into events in London on Thursday but wants Liverpool to go on and rewrite the record books no matter when they clinch the title. City set the Premier League points record of 100 two seasons ago, but Klopp’s side could still reach 107.

“A lot of us will watch it tomorrow but not get too excited,” said Alexander-Arnold.

“We’ve still got to prepare for the game next week regardless. We’ve still got seven games left and we’re going to try and get all 21 points from those games.”

Liverpool dominated English football in the 1970s and 1980s before ceding their position to Manchester United, who have won

20 titles in total. Seven different clubs have won the English top-flight since Liverpool last tasted success under Kenny Dalglish in 1990 — two years before the launch of the Premier League.

Klopp took his side to within a whisker of glory last year, only to finish a single point behind City, but the wait is nearly over.

Salah, who has formed a devastating forward partnership with Roberto Firmino and Mane, said it was Liverpool’s “time”.

“Since I came here I said I want to win the Premier League with the team,” he told Sky Sports. “The city didn’t win it for a long time, so it was the right time.

Formula 1 to launch diversity foundation

ENGLEWOOD AGENCIES

Formula 1 is setting up a foundation to fund apprenticeships and scholarships to

increase diversity in the sport.

The foundation has a start-up fund of $1m (£804,000), which has been provided personally by F1 chairman and chief executive Chase Carey.

The fund will grow with contributions from others, both within and outside the sport. F1 and world governing body the FIA are to instigate a plan to promote drivers from diverse backgrounds.

This will, according to a statement, “identify and systematically eliminate barriers to entry from grass roots karting to Formula 1”. World champion Lewis Hamilton is so far the only driver of AfroCaribbean descent to make it into F1.

The 35-year-old has in recent weeks been outspoken on the subject of race and diversity, in the wake of the global Black Lives Matter protests that followed Carey said: “We fully recognise that Formula 1 needs to be more inclusive and diverse. “While we set out our strategy last year to improve the position of our sport, we need, and want, to do more.

“That is why we will establish a task force to listen and ensure the right initiatives are identified to increase diversity in Formula 1.

“We want to ensure we give people from all backgrounds the best chances to work in Formula 1 regardless of their gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or physical abilities.

“We are therefore also taking the initial step of creating a foundation to support key educational and employment opportunities across Formula 1 that will give under-represented talent the chance to work in this incredible sport and build an exciting career.”

Match-fixing law will be a game-changer in India MUMBAI AGENCIES

Making match-fixing a criminal offence will be a “gamechanger” and the “single-most-effective thing” for sport in India. That is the strong belief of Steve Richardson, the coordinator of investigations at the ICC’s anti-corruption unit (ACU). Ajit Singh, the head of the BCCI’s ACU, concurs with that viewpoint, adding that India also needs a “very strong law” against betting, which is believes is the source of corruption in cricket in India.

With India scheduled to host two global marquee men’s events in the next three years - the 2021 T20 World Cup followed by the ODI World Cup in 2023 - Richardson urged the Indian government to consider creating a matchfixing law for sport like its neighbour Sri Lanka.

In 2019 Sri Lanka became the first major cricket-playing country in South Asia to with punishments including a 10-year prison sentence. The ICC ACU had helped the then Sri Lanka government to draft the legislation in the wake of extensive investigations that found several Lankan cricketers including former captain Sanath Jayasuriya guilty of breaching the corruption code.

“India has got two ICC global events coming up: the T20 World Cup [in 2021] and the World Cup in 2023,” Richardson said. “At the moment with no legislation in place, we’ll have good relations with Indian police, but they are operating with one hand tied behind their back. We will do everything we can to disrupt the corruptors. And we do, we make life very, very difficult for them as far and as much as we can to stop them from operating freely.

“But the legislation would be a game-changer in India.

We have currently just under 50 investigations. The majority of those have links back to corruptors in India. So it would be the single-most-effective thing to happen in terms of protecting sport if India introduces match-fixing

legislation.” Both Richardson and Singh were participating in a panel discussion on the subject of ‘Does India need a match-fixing legislation?’ as part of the Sports Law & Policy Symposium held on June 20. The rest of the panel comprised Supreme Court lawyer Rebecca John, who represented Sreesanth in the IPL spot-fixing case, senior journalist Pradeep Magazine, and Suhrith Parthasarthy, a lawyer in the Madras High Court.

More than the players, Richardson stressed the law would deter the corruptors, who he said were right now freely moving around. “I could actually deliver to the Indian police or the Indian government now at least eight names of people who are what I would term serial offenders, constantly approaching players to try and get them to fix matches,” Richardson said. “At the moment with the lack of legislative framework in India it is very limited what the police can do, and to that extent they have my

CMYK

great sympathy because they try as professionally and hard as they can to make the existing legislation work, but the reality is it wasn’t framed with sports corruption in mind.

“So the reason that there is an imperative for legislation specific to match-fixing - yes, it is about the players, but more importantly it is about those outside the sport who actually corrupt the players and are organising and pulling the strings of these networks. Those are the people I would like to see dealt with under match-fixing law.”

To support his stance, Richardson provided the example of the Bribery Act in the UK, which was used to prosecute former Pakistan batsman Nasir Jamshed, who to charges of bribery in the PSL. Jamshed was handed a 17-month sentence in February by a Manchester court. In 2010, the Pakistan trio of Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were prosecuted under the 1906 Prevention of Corruption Act which was repealed by the Bribery Act.

Jofra Archer joins England training camp after negative coronavirus test LONDON: Bowler Jofra Archer will join England’s training group in Southampton later on Thursday after testing negative for coronavirus. The 25-year-old was delayed in joining the camp after a member of his household felt unwell over the weekend.

Archer, and the rest of his household, tested negative earlier this week for the virus and after a second negative test he will now travel to Southampton. is preparing for the Test series against West Indies. The three-match series, originally due to start on 4 June, begins on 8 July behind closed doors in bio-secure environments at Hampshire’s Ageas Bowl and Emirates Old Trafford. England’s training group - based at the Ageas Bowl - will play a three-day practice game from 1 July, after which a squad will be chosen for the first Test.

Archer revealed last week that the elbow injury which kept him out of the final three Tests of England’s series against Southampton last winter had fully healed. AGENCIES

Ngakia among three West Ham departures LONDON: West Ham have confirmed Pablo Zabaleta and Carlos Sanchez will leave the club at the end of the month. Young defender Jeremy Ngakia, 19, will also depart after rejecting what the club describe as a “significant” offer. Ngakia’s exit will be a huge disappointment for manager David Moyes, who named him in his starting line-up for the defeat by Wolves on 20 June. However, amid strong links with Watford, Ngakia was not involved in Tuesday’s defeat at Tottenham.

“In line with our structure and policy, Ngakia was offered significantly improved terms to reward his breakthrough into the first-team squad this year, along with further contractual enhancements linked to his future progress and success,” said West Ham in a statement.

“However, the player and his representatives declined to accept any of the offers, and also turned down a short-term extension until the end of the current season.” Zabaleta, 35, was offered an extension to the end of the season but injury has prevented him from accepting it, while Sanchez, 34, started only one Premier League game this season. AGENCIES

Friday, 26 June, 2020

NEWS

Pakistan signs $2.4bn agreement For 1,124mw kohaLa hydro Power ProjeCt ISLAMABAD

a

APP

tripartite agreement was signed on Thursday between a Chinese company and the governments of Pakistan and China for the construction of the 1,124 megawatt (MW) Kohala Hydro Power Project costing $2.4 billion.

The signing ceremony was held at the

PM IMRAN TERMS THE $2.4BN AGREEMENT AS PAKISTAN’S BIGGEST EVER INVESTMENT ON A SINGLE IPP PROJECT Prime Minister (PM) Office in Islamabad and was witnessed by PM Imran Khan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider, federal cabinet members, Chinese Ambassador in Pakistan Yao

woman injured in unprovoked indian firing along LoC RAWALPINDI: A woman was injured after Indian troops resorted to unprovoked firing in Karela Sector along the Line of Control (LoC) on Thursday. According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Indian Army once again violated international law by firing on the civilian population along the LoC, injuring a woman in Batla Mathrani village. “Indian Army troops unprovoked ceasefire violation in Karela Sector along #LOC targeting civil population. Due to indiscriminate fire of Indian troops in Batla Mathrani village, an innocent woman sustained serious injuries. Pak Army troops responded effectively to Indian firing,” the ISPR statement said. Earlier on June 21, a 13-year-old girl had been martyred while her mother and a 12-year-old boy got injured when Indian army troops had resorted to unprovoked ceasefire violation along the LoC. The ISPR said: “Indian Army troops [resorted to] unprovoked CFV [ceasefire violation] in Hajipir & Bedori Sectors along #LOC last night targeting civil population.” “A 13 yrs old girl, village Mehnsar, Bedori Sector, embraced shahadat, her mother & 12 yrs old boy got injured,” the military’s media wing had said, adding the Pakistan Army troops had responded effectively to Indian firing. STAFF REPORT

gen bajwa says army will continue making efforts for socioeconomic progress RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Thursday reiterated that the Pakistan Army will continue to make all-out efforts “for provision of secure environment for sustained socio-economic progress”. He made these remarks during a visit to the National Defence University (NDU) where he addressed participants of the National Security and War Course, a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.

Gen Bajwa shared his thoughts on security environment of the region and his vision of enduring peace in Pakistan, the military’s media wing said. Highlighting internal and external challenges to the national security, the army chief said that full spectrum of these challenges demands comprehensive national response and strengthening of all state institutions. “Army will keep doing all that is required of us for provision of secure environment for sustained socio-economic progress,” the ISPR quoted the COAS as saying. Gen Bajwa was received by Lt Gen Muhammad Saeed, the NDU president, upon his arrival at the varsity. STAFF REPORT

Jing, China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority Chairman Asim Saleem Bajwa and representatives of the concerned Chinese company.

The $2.4 billion Kohala Hydro Power

Project is Pakistan’s largest power sector investment in a single Independent Power Producer (IPP) till date.

The project is being built on River Jhelum in Azad Kashmir under CPEC and has been awarded to Kohala Hydropower Company Ltd (KHCL), which is a subsidiary of China Three Gorges Corporation (CTGC). Addressing the signing ceremony, Prime Minister Imran Khan said that the Kohala Hydro Power Power Project was the

sbP reserves fall below $10bn

PM Imran draws Opp's ire for calling Osama Bin Laden a 'martyr'

KARACHI MEIRYUM ALI

PPP’S SENATOR KHOKHAR CALLS PM A ‘NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT’ ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Opposition parties on Thursday slammed Prime Minister Imran Khan over his speech in the National Assembly in which he referred to slain al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden as “martyred”.

“Imran Khan called Osama bin Laden shaheed. Bin Laden brought terrorism to our lands, he was a terrorist through and through and he [premier] calls him shaheed?”

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senior leader Khawaja Asif said while addressing the NA session.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Imran, while speaking about the country’s relations with the US, said that Pakistan had to face a lot of “humiliation” despite supporting Washington in the ‘war on terror’ and was then blamed for the US’s failures in Afghanistan.

Recalling an incident that he said caused “embarrassment” to Pakistan, the premier said: “The Americans came to Abbottabad and killed, martyred Osama bin Laden. When happened after that? The entire world cursed at us and spoke ill of us.” Following the prime minister’s speech, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar in a statement called Imran a “national security threat”.

“By labelling Osama bin Laden a martyr, Imran Khan has become a national security threat. If he is a martyr, then what is the status of those civilians and members of our armed forces who embraced martyrdom in the attacks by al Qaeda? “Thousands of civilians and youth were martyred in attacks by al Qaeda,” he said.

biggest ever investment in Pakistan on a single project.

He added that the project can potentially initiate a move towards clean energy and Pakistan’s dependence on imported fuel.

He said that the country was progressing well when it had been producing hydro power until it started banking on imported fuel which not only made the local industry uncompetitive but also put additional burden on foreign reserves.

The prime minister said that power generation through imported fuel also adversely impacted the environment as Pakistan was among the top nine countries worst hit by climate change which necessitated the promotion of clean energy.

The prime minister informed that the project would also create much-needed jobs through its construction and later through its operation.

Khokhar also questioned the lesson the prime minister was trying to teach the younger generation.

“Today Imran Khan has proven himself to be ‘Taliban Khan’ in parliament. The Imran Khan-Taliban nexus was evident from the meetings between the two.” This is the same person who had called for the Taliban to open their offices in Pakistan, he said. Separately, PPP Senator Sherry Rehman said that Pakistan was still a victim of terrorist attacks due to Osama Bin Laden.

“Because of him the country is in such a state and you are presenting him as a hero on the assembly floor?” She added that Imran’s words will go down in history. “Remember that Osama Bin Laden can be the PM’s hero but not the nation’s. He was and will remain a criminal of the state and the people.” Osama bin Laden was killed by US special forces who raided his compound in Pakistan in 2011.

Bin Laden was killed by US special forces who raided his compound in Pakistan in 2011. Prime Minister Imran during his trip to the United States last year had said that Pakistan’s main spy agency provided the US with a lead that helped them find and take out Osama bin Laden.

The prime minister also said that he never felt more humiliated than he did on May 2, 2011 when American commandos took him out without informing Pakistan.

The net foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) decreased by $146 million to $9.961 billion during the week ending June 19, 2020, according to data released by the central bank on Thursday. This marginal decrease represents the first time reserves have dipped below the $10 billion-mark since in November 2019. Net reserves have steadily risen since, reaching $12.2 billion in early May, before falling again, mostly on account of external debt repayments. Importantly, the statement noted that during the current week, the SBP received $1.725 billion, including $725 million from the World Bank, $500 million from Asian Development Bank and $500 million from Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. These funds will be part of SBP weekly reserves data as of June 26, which will be released on July 2. These funds are critical for the SBP, as they act as an important buffer. Analysts have said that the surprise decision to cut the interest rate by 100 basis points on Thursday to 7pc took into account the incoming inflows, among other factors. The logic is that the SBP waited in order to make sure it had some reserves before cutting the interest rate again. That way, the extra reserves could act as a buffer to offset any outflows due to the reduced policy rate. As for the recent marginal drop, the SBP said the decline is attributed to government external debt payments of $244.5 million. Net foreign reserves held by commercial banks increased very slightly, from $6.66 billion to $6.76 billion. The total liquid foreign reserves held by the country fell marginally from $16.77 billion in the week ending June 19, to $16.73 billion during the week under review.

Asad Umar, Qureshi ask PM Imran to send Fawad packing: report NEWS DESK Federal ministers Asad Umar and Shah Mahmood Qureshi have asked Prime Minister Imran Khan to remove Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry from the federal cabinet after the latter made startling revelations regarding internal rifts within the ruling party in a media interview, a private news channel reported on Thursday.

According to the channel, the two top Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders met with the premier on Wednesday and pushed him to seek resignation from Chaudhry. “From Fawad Chaudhry’s interview it seemed as if we are behind the failures,” the reported quoted the two leaders as saying before the prime minister. They said that they did not conspire against Jahangir Tareen, cautioning the premier that if no action is taken against Fawad Chaudhry then it will give an impression of weakness, the report claimed.

Meanwhile, Fawad Chaudhry said politics is not for the “faint-hearted”, vowing to perform as a minister till he has the confidence of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

He was responding to Punjab Information Minister Fayyazul Hassan Chohan, who had asked him to quit. “I will stay on as a minister till I have the trust of Prime Minister Imran Khan. There is no question of resigning on someone else’s wish,” tweeted Chaudhry on Thursday after calls for his resignation gained momentum.

On Sunday, Chaudhry said that infighting between Foreign Minister Qureshi, Planning Minister Umar and PTI leader Jahangir Tareen has had an adverse impact on the party and has been one of the main reasons behind Prime Minister Imran’s vision not going according to plan. “There were a lot of expectations from PTI and Imran Khan,” Chaudhry said in an interview with Voice of America. “The public had not elected us or the prime minister to fix nuts and bolts but to reform the system.”

ever said anything about Fawad’s resignation; Fake news be withdrawn: Qureshi ISLAMABAD: Minister for Foreign Affairs Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Thursday clarified that he never said anything about resignation of Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry and the media outlets reporting fake news must either prove or withdraw the report. In a statement, the foreign minister said that there were no differences within the PTI and there would never be so in future as well. “Those who have attributed a statement to me would have to prove. I never spoke such words. Prove if I ever said so else withdraw it and confess the gaffe. My point of view is very clear. I never talk equivocal,” the foreign minister remarked. APP

US report fails to acknowledge Pakistan's role in countering terrorism, says FO SPOKESPERSON SAYS PAKISTAN WILL NOT ALLOW ANY GROUP OR ENTITY TO USE ITS TERRITORY AGAINST ANY COUNTRY ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

The Foreign Office (FO) on Thursday said it was “disappointed” with Pakistan-related observations in the US State Department’s Annual Country Report on Terrorism for 2019, calling them “self-contradictory and selective” in characterising efforts to counter terrorism and terrorist financing.

In a statement, FO Spokesperson Aisha Farooqui said that while the report recognises that al Qaeda has been seriously degraded in

the region, it neglects to mention Pakistan’s crucial role in decimating the group.

“Similarly, the report acknowledges the sharp decrease in terrorist attacks in Pakistan. However, it neglects to explain that this was only possible because Pakistan’s resolute counter-terrorism operations have targeted proscribed groups and outfits without discrimination.” The annual report — released on June 24 — looked at global counter-terrorism trends during the past year and reviewed progress made by the US and other countries in dealing with the threat.

In the section on Pakistan, the report stated that the country continued to serve as a “safe haven for certain regionally focused terrorist groups” and allowed groups targeting Afghanistan and India to operate from its territory. It alleged that Pakistan has yet to take decisive action against Indian and Afghanistan-focused militants, adding that no effort has been made to prosecute terrorist leaders such as Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) leader Masood Azhar and Sajid Mir, the mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, “both of whom are widely believed to reside in Pakistan under the protection of the state, despite government denials”. In her statement, Farooqui said that Pakistan was fully aware of its responsibilities as a sovereign state.

“We reject any insinuation about any safe haven. Pakistan will not allow any group or

entity to use its territory against any country.

“On the contrary, it is Pakistan that faces the threat of terrorism from externally-based and foreign sponsored groups, like the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), ISIS-K and others. The report is again either silent or vague on the origins and locations of these terrorist groups.” The FO spokesperson also went on to highlight the different steps that have been taken to combat terrorism and terror financing. “In recent months, Pakistan has prosecuted and convicted the leadership of several proscribed groups, which has been acknowledged by the United States elsewhere but only merit a passing mention in the report.

“Pakistan also continues to implement the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) action plan, and has undertaken wide ranging and systemic reforms to that end.

“While it notes the progress made by Pakistan under the action plan, the report did not capture the political commitment, revamping of Pakistan’s AML/CFT [anti-money laundering and countering financing of terrorism] regime, and our consistent and sustainable actions which have also been recognised by FATF.” It added that the report had also failed to acknowledge the full extent of Pakistan’s support for the Afghan peace process. “Pakistan’s positive contribution and facilitation of US-Taliban direct talks culminating in the peace agreement of February 29 are widely acknowledged, including by the US and its leadership. “Pakistan hopes that future US reports will fully acknowledge the entire spectrum of Pakistan’s counter-terrorism efforts and present a fair and correct perspective of this global threat,” the statement concluded.

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