EpaperKHI_20-12-12

Saturday, 12 December, 2020 I 25 Rabi al-Akhir, 1442 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XI No 163 I 12 Pages I Karachi Edition

Hafeez, RasHeed get new Roles in yet anotHeR cabinet ResHuffle g

Imran appoInts rasheed as InterIor mInIster, Ijaz shah as narcotIcs control mInIster, hafeez shaIkh as fInance mInIster and azam swatI as raIlways mInIster

FM Qureshi calls on int’l bodies to investigate fake Indian NGOs ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

ISLAMABAD MiAN AbRAR

y

et another reshuffle of the federal cabinet has occurred, wherein former adviser on finance abdul hafeez shaikh is now the minister of finance, former interior minister Ijaz shah is now the minister of narcotics control, and former railways minister sheikh rasheed is now the minister of interior. meanwhile, azam khan swati has been made federal minister for railways. this the fourth federal cabinet reshuffle since the pakistan tehreek-e-Insaf (ptI) government came into power three years ago. rasheed met prime minister Imran khan and thanked for believing in him.

Both leaders also discussed matters related to the new portfolio. reportedly, there were three potential candidates who were after the slot of interior minister, including pervez khattak, fawad chaudhry and rasheed. according to details, pm Imran had decided to remove minister for Interior

Brigadier (r) Ijaz shah after his poor performance and reports of his deteriorating health condition. fawad had lobbied for the slot but could not convince the prime minister. the prime minister’s close aides advised him to appoint either khattak or rasheed as both the senior politicians could better handle the upcoming long march and protests. this reshuffling comes shortly after the ruling of the Islamabad high court (Ihc) on december 7, the Ihc had ruled that special assistants and advisers to the prime minister were not members of the cabinet and therefore, cannot be part of cabinet proceedings. the judgment, from a division bench comprising justice aamir farooq and justice Ghulam azam Qambrani, noted that article 93 of the constitution allows the prime minister to appoint up to five advisors and conferring of a federal minister status on an advisor is “only for the purpose of perks and privileges” and “does not make the advisor a federal minister as such”. while hafeez has been appointed as

coRonaviRus in

Pakistan

CONFIRMED CASES:

432,327

LAST UPDATED AT 7:36 AM ON DECEMBER 11, 2020

DAY'S DEATH TOLL:

50

RECOVERED:

NEW CASES:

3,047 DEATHS:

379,092 8,653 SINDH:

PUNJAB:

191,246

125,897

KP:

BALOCHISTAN:

AJK/GB:

ISLAMABAD:

51,172

17,650

7,578/4,770 34,014

federal minister for finance, more appointments are likely to be made soon. abdur razzak dawood, syed zulfiqar Bukhari, dr faisal sultan, dr shehbaz Gill, Usman dar, nadeem Babar and others would also be appointed as federal or state ministers. furthermore, some other advisers may also be sent packing as the federal government has decided to comply with the court decision.

It is pertinent to mention here that hafeez, who was sworn in for a period of six months by president dr arif alvi, is not a member of the parliament. however, according to article 91 (9) of the constitution, any individual who is not part of the parliament can be a minister for six months. In order to become a minister again, the unelected member should be elected to the national assembly (na). following the appointment, the premier discussed opposition’s resignations, long march and the upcoming pakistan democratic movement (pdm) jalsa in lahore being hosted by pml-n on december 13.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 03

after the release of the report by europe-based disinfolab on India’s misinformation warfare, foreign minister shah mehmood Qureshi called on the european Union and the United nations to initiate an investigation and delist fake nGos “run by India” to malign pakistan. the above was said while addressing a press conference on friday alongside special assistant to the prime minister (sapm) on national security division and strategic policy planning moeed yusuf.

Qureshi said that the report by the Brussels-based lab confirmed that pakistan’s oft-stated apprehensions of India’s hybrid smear campaign. according to the report, India has been running a 15 year-long operation to spread lies about pakistan with the help of more than 750 fake media outlets, reporting in 119 states. aside from that, more than 550 domain names were registered under the operation to create a web of platforms that propagated fake news. Indian news platform anI played a key role in spreading the fake news created through this operation in

Imran urges following eco-friendly measures for protection of tourist areas prime minister Imran khan, while appreciating the boom in the tourism sector of pakistan, emphasised the need to “safeguard these sites” in order to prevent them “from turning into concrete jungles”. he said this while addressing a ceremony in Islamabad after witnessing an agreement signing between khyber pakhtunkhwa (kp) government and world Bank for ecotourism. the country is seeing a boost in tourism for the first time in history, the premier said, adding that this unplanned tourism has had the adverse effect of badly affecting tourism spots. the premier stressed the need to follow eco-friendly measures in order protect the areas and the tourism industry. the prime minister emphasised that the model of development of tourist resorts should benefit the local population and provides livelihood opportunities to them. "It will make our tourism sector sustainable and help in preserving the tourist spots," he added. while lamenting the mismanagement of areas such as murree, naraan and nathia Gali, pm Imran appreciated the steps taken by kp in waste col-

lection and management and recycling. “the initiative taken by khyber pakhtunkhwa government today which involves waste collection, management and recycling activities will go a long way in protecting our picturesque sites,” he said. speaking on the occasion, the world Bank country director najy Benhassine said that the world Bank Group is "keen to continue supporting khyber pakhtunkhwa and punjab in their efforts to provide employment opportunities to the youth

in the tourism sector." the pm agreed, adding that these measures would both preserve the sites as well as create employment. pm Imran also said that pakistan's northern areas also hold potential for skiing, which is still untapped, adding that just like switzerland earns about $80 billion through their skiing resorts per year, pakistan can also achieve great success if such resorts are established here. earlier on august 20, the premier had expressed commitment to transform kp into a tourism hub. earlier, talking to kp chief minister mahmood khan, who called on him at his office in Islamabad, pm Imran had lauded the steps taken by the provincial government to boost tourism. he had felicitated the chief minister over launching sehat sahulat programme for entire kp residents. pakistan tourism development corp (ptdc) statistics revealed that at least 3.2 million foreigners visited pakistan in 2019, out of which 17,000 were on tourist visas.

In january, forbes listed pakistan among best 'under-theradar trips of 2020'. NEWS DESK

India and around the world. “pakistan has been informing the world about India’s activities for a long time. the country also launched a full-fledged campaign against pakistan with regards to the financial action task force [fatf],” he said.

“Indian network is working to consolidate more power and improve the image of India and damage the reputation of rival countries so that it can ultimately garner more support for itself from the international community,” fm Qureshi said. “we urge the Un human rights machinery […], the Un high commissioner for human rights […] as well as human rights experts to take a serious look as to how a prestigious platform such as the human rights council was thus misused,” he said. the minister stressed the need for the Un to look into the government-owned organisations being used for “spreading fake news and hate”. he also urged the eU to look in the matter, asking them not to “let their legal institutions and frameworks be abused in such a blatant manner”.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 03

more inside

Govt will not come under any pressure, asserts Faraz STORY ON PAGE 02

Buzdar announces multi-billion uplift projects for provincial capital STORY ON PAGE 02

Pakistan considered abandoning New Zealand tour while in quarantine, says Misbah STORY ON PAGE 03

adB launches $9 billion covid-19 vaccine facility for developing members STORY ON BACK PAGE

02

Saturday, 12 December, 2020

NEWS

GOvt wIll nOt COme under any Pressure, asserts Faraz ISLAMABAD

a

STAFF REPORT

MID the ongoing debate pertaining to the possibility of the opposition resigning from the legislative assemblies, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shibli Faraz said on Friday that the government will not come under any pressure because of the “drama” staged by the opposition parties.

Addressing a press conference in the federal capital along with Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Ali

Amin Gandapur, Faraz said that the opposition parties will never send their resignations to the speaker of the House.

He said that the government was not in contact with opposition leaders. However, he added that the incumbent government is democratically elected, and it will remain open to the option of dialogue.

The information minister said that several MNAs and MPAs of the opposition parties had contacted the government to inform that they were unwilling to submit their resignations.

Faraz said that the opposition will fail in their designs, and they would not have any

People belonging to all faiths enjoy equal rights in Pakistan, says Imran ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan stressed on Friday that citizens of Pakistan, regardless of their religion and faith, enjoy equal rights in Pakistan. The prime minister said this while talking to Special Representative on Interfaith Harmony Maulana Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi, who called on him. He said that highlighting Islamophobia and the sensitivity about the respect and sanctity of Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) at the international level is the real service to Islamic faith. During the meeting, they also talked about the awareness campaign, through religious scholars, for protection from the coronavirus pandemic. STAFF REPORT

political future either. “Their state of mind and bewilderment demonstrated that their politics stands buried,” he said, adding that Prime Minister Imran Khan will not give any NRO to the corrupt.

The information minister said that opposition leaders plundered the nation’s wealth and transferred it abroad. He said that the same parties had previously polluted national politics with their hypocrisy and it was regretful that they are now endangering the lives of the people by holding rallies amid rising coronavirus cases.

He further said that the government is not afraid of their gatherings, as it is their

democratic right, but they are concerned about the second wave of the pandemic, which is proving to be more lethal. He

Buzdar announces multi-billion uplift projects for provincial capital

FO registers protest with Indian diplomat over ceasefire violation ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office (FO) on Friday summoned a senior Indian diplomat to register Pakistan’s strong protest over ceasefire violations by the Indian occupation forces along the Line of Control (LoC). In a statement, FO Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said that one innocent civilian sustained serious injuries in the indiscriminate and unprovoked firing by the Indian occupation forces in Tatta Pani Sector. He said that the Indian occupation forces along the LoC and the Working Boundary have been continuously targeting civilian populated areas with artillery fire, heavy-calibre mortars and automatic weapons. India has committed 2940 ceasefire violations to date in this year alone, resulting in 27 people embracing martyrdom and 247 innocent civilians sustaining serious injuries, he added.

Condemning the deplorable targeting of innocent civilians by the Indian occupation forces, it was underscored that such senseless acts are in clear violation of the 2003 Ceasefire Understanding, and are also against all established humanitarian norms and professional military conduct. The spokesperson said that these egregious violations of international law reflect consistent Indian attempts to escalate the situation along the LoC and are a threat to regional peace and security. STAFF REPORT

Cambridge will run two exam series in 2021 Recognising the problems faced by Pakistan and other countries in the world, Cambridge Assessment International Education (CAIE) issued a statement wherein it said that it will be running its two-exam series in June and November next year. “We are planning to run our exam series in June and November next year as we believe exams remain the fairest and most reliable way to assess student achievement and the majority of our schools have told us that they want to run exams,” said Pakistan Country Directory at Cambridge International Uzma Yousuf. It has also published details of a range of measures it is putting in place to help schools and students make a success of the June 2021 exam series.

According to the statement, the two main goals of the CAIE are keeping students safe and enabling them to obtain their qualifications so they can continue their next steps in education. NEWS DESK

advised the opposition leadership to defer their gatherings for two to three months for the protection of people’s lives.

LAHORE STAFF REPORT

Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar announced mega projects for Lahore on Friday, saying that the multi-billion projects would help give the city its due rights.

Sharing the details of the projects with the media in the provincial capital, the chief minister said that the government will establish a 1,000-bed general hospital with a cost of Rs9 billion at Ferozepur Road near Arfa Karim Technology Park on Lahore Development Authority’s (LDA) land.

He added that the hospital would consist of 400

beds in the general and cardiology wards and will also have a 200-bed blood-disease centre.

Buzdar informed the media that a mother and child hospital is in the phase of completion in Sir Ganga Ram Hospital with a cost of Rs4 billion. “We are also establishing a radiology department in Services Hospital with Rs2.5 billion,” he said, adding that the radiology department would have 225 beds.

Speaking about regular traffic jams in the provincial capital, the chief minister said that they have planned two flyovers at Shahkam Chowk and Karim Block Market Chowk with a cost of Rs6 billion.

“An underpass at Ferozepur Road will also be constructed with a cost of Rs1 billion while overhead bridges would be constructed from Railway Station to Sheranwala Gate with a cost of Rs4 billion,” he said.

Responding to a question about the meeting with opposition lawmakers, Buzdar said that such meetings are a routine in politics, however, he refused to divulge any information about the number of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) who had met him.

It is worth mentioning here that according to reports, as many as 25 disgruntled PML-N MPAs, who oppose the party leadership’s narrative against state institutions are in contact with the Punjab CM.

Integry raises $1 million pre-seed KARACHI BABAR KHAN JAVED

Integry has closed a $1 million pre-seed round from technology leaders at WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Google, Cisco, Lyft, and AppDirect.

Founded in 2017 by Muhammad Nasrullah, Integry is part of both Class 2018 at the Alchemist Accelerator and second cohort of the National Incubation Center in Islamabad.

Jim Green, the former chief technology officer for Internet of Things at Cisco Systems, is an advisor to the company. With the pre-seed round, Integry welcomes Microsoft chief architect Fahd Rafi and Google global head of strategy, devices, and services partnerships Sarim Bukhari as advisors.

“Software isn’t designed to be automatable,” said Nasrullah. “Every app has its own UI and custom APIs. Engineering teams have to spend significant calories just to get a few integrations up and running. With Integry, SaaS companies can add a layer on top of their software that allows anyone to create integrations with it.”

Given the drastic shift towards remote work brought about by Covid-

THE NEWS COMES JUST AS THE SOFTWARE INTEGRATION MARKET HAS HEATED UP DUE TO COVID-19 19 and in part to the explosion of apps with no-code or low-code, the software integration market is heating up. With players like Zapier, Workato, and Mulesoft among others, this is a hotly contested space. Integry plans to use the funding for expanding its talent pool across the globe. Currently, they have offices in San Francisco, Berlin, and Pakistan.

“Because we’ve always been a distributed company, our culture and systems already support distribution in time and space — employees can work from anywhere at any time of their choosing,” said Nasrullah. “With Covid-19, the distributed future came much earlier.”

Speaking to Profit, Nasrullah said that customers of Integry include fastgrowing SaaS companies like ClickFunnels, Sendinblue, and Tatango. He said that businesses have been buying more business apps online and the average worker is dealing with 8-10 apps in their average workday. By

making software automatable, Integry hopes to free the average worker from mundane tasks and focus on more creative pursuits of their job.

Companies around the world have new apps on their devices, particularly those with strong integrations. With Integry’s platform, SaaS companies can spin up their own directory of integrations à la Slack’s app directory.

With hundreds of supported apps, users can pick and choose what they can integrate with.

2020 SNAPSHOT: In May this year, Census raised a $4.3 million seed round from Andreessen Horowitz and a number of angel investors.

Essentially a middleware layer, Census helps organizations sync data between dozens of apps, setting a new standard for how product-led SaaS companies can operationalize data.

In September this year, Cube Dev raised a $6.2 million seed round led by Bain Capital Ventures. Essentially a

middleware layer, Cube Dev solves a lot of performance issues for developers by sitting between the databases and the frontend.

“Middleware and data co-ops markets are very often winner-takemost,” said Auren Hoffman, former CEO of LiveRamp. “One of the reasons I love middleware companies (integration hubs) and data cooperatives is it usually makes sense that there is one clear leader in the market.”

He said that the most valuable business to business companies are the middleware companies because they can own a market as a super-sticky business to business marketplace, adding that owning a market means your sales and marketing costs go down dramatically.

In light of the death of third party cookies scheduled for 2022, including data privacy legislations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), Profit believes that middleware companies should consider using neuro-linguistic programming techniques to anonymize and manage access to personally identifiable information. Offered as a service, this could help businesses avoid fines and lawsuits.

Saturday, 12 December, 2020

NEWS

03

'We Will not backtRack fRom ouR demand,' bilaWal says afteR meeting maRyam NO RESTRICTION ON PDM FOR HOLDING LAHORE RALLY, SAYS RASHEED

P

neWS deSK

AKISTAN People’s Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said on Friday that the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) would not “backtrack from our demand that establishment’s meddling into political affairs must be stopped” while boosting that the incumbent government must have received words of the large numbers preparing to attend the Lahore rally.

These comments came shortly after the PPP chairman met with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz on Friday afternoon the Jati Umra to discuss the strategy of the PDM ahead of the opposition alliance’s December 13 rally in Lahore.

“Be it establishment or this ‘dummy government’, the time for dialogue has long gone,” Bilawal remarked while speaking to the media in Lahore outside the Jati Umra residence.

In response to a question about the PPP not aligning with the PDM’s plan to resign from assemblies, he said: “PPP stands by the decision of resignations from assemblies and

I am receiving resignations of my lawmakers in large numbers”.

At time same time, he added that the opposition would not allow “undemocratic forces” to take advantage of the situation.”

He also reiterated the PDM narrative of removing the incumbent government, adding that there was no reason to hold a dialogue.

“Be it establishment or this ‘dummy government’, the time for dialogue has long gone,” Bilawal remarked.

Maryam, on the occasion, said that sitting ministers were approaching them for talks, but that she was not interested. “Now the one who would say that he won’t give NRO is now asking the one for himself,” she added.

She also warned the government that if it continued to “intimidate and illegally detain” her party workers then the government will be overthrown much earlier.

Bilawal had reached Lahore on Thursday and met with party workers to strategise for the rally at Lahore’s Minar-ePakistan. Meanwhile, Maryam had spent several hours on Thursday mustering support for the PDM’s jalsa.

PML-N leaders have said that “big decisions” are expected to take place at the

Hafeez, Rasheed get new roles in yet another cabinet reshuffle

jalsa with many political analysts predicting the PDM lawmakers will announce resigning from the provincial and national assemblies. In this regard, Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that if the opposition lawmakers resign from parliament, the government will hold by-elections on their seats “and come back with more strength”.

Bilawal also offered his condolences to Maryam for the death of her grandmother, Begum Shamim Akhtar.

Meanwhile, Punjab Law Minister Raja Basharat reiterated on Friday that the government will not grant permission for PDM’s December 13 jalsa in Lahore.

Basharat said action will be taken against the organisers and facilitators of jalsas and rallies. However, newly-appointed Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed announced permission for the opposition alliance to hold a public gathering at Minar-e-Pakistan in Lahore on December 13.

“There is no restriction from the government on PDM to hold a public gathering in Lahore,” he said.

Speaking to the media in the federal capital, the interior minister said that efforts were afoot to create anarchy in the country

and foreign funding is being funneled in the country for it. “The country is facing threat from inside,” he said.

Rasheed blamed the opposition leaders for looting the national wealth and said that their public gatherings would not hurt Prime Minister Imran Khan and he is not going anywhere.

“Not only that he would complete his incumbent tenure but will be elected for the next term also,” the minister said.

He said that practices to loot national wealth and money laundering would be

British airlines take maiden voyage to Pakistan neWS deSK

Continued from page 01 Reportedly, PM Imran has tasked the newlyappointed interior ministry to deal with the PDM. This is the fourth reshuffle of the cabinet since the PTI came into power in 2018. The first reshuffle took place in April 2019, wherein Hafeez was appointed as the adviser on finance after Asad Umar’s resignation. In November 2019, Asad was brought back to the federal cabinet as planning minister while Khusro Bakhtiar was appointed as minister for economic affairs. Finally, earlier this year, the premier removed Awan as special assistant and appointed Lt Gen (r) Asim Saleem Bajwa instead.

Senator Shibli Faraz was appointed as the information minister. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court (SC) will take up the contempt petition against newly-appointed Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed on December 15. The chairperson of the Pakistan Girl Guides Association has filed the case against Rasheed and his nephew MNA Sheikh Rashid Shafiq over the demolition of the boundary wall of the association’s headquarters in Rawalpindi on April 15, 2019. They have been accused of chopping down trees for a make-shift helipad for Prime Minister Imran Khan. A three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmed, will hear the case.

The British airlines Virgin Atlantic have begun their operations in Pakistan with their first flight from Manchester to Islamabad took place on Friday.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Overseas Pakistanis Zulfikar Bukhari and British High Commissioner Christian Turner were present at the tarmac to receive the flight. As operations have commenced, it is planned that the airline will have eight flights per week to Pakistan.

Another flight from the federal capital will take off for London’s Heathrow airport on December 13 and a third will head from Lahore to London on December 14, according to a statement from the British High Commission.

Bukhari expressed his hope that that with Virgin Airlines – the secondlargest airline in the United Kingdom – starting flights to the country, trade and tourism between Pakistan and the UK would be boosted.

Referring to this as a “historic moment”, Turner also said this “will improve people to people links and boost trade.” He added that merely a year and a half ago, there have been no

flights between the two countries, and now there are 20 direct flights weekly.

“Our 1.6 million strong Pakistani diaspora in the UK is at the heart of our ties,” he was quoted as saying by the press release.

The airline will operate the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft on all routes from Pakistan, the press statement said, adding that the passengers will be provided with in-flight entertainment including movies and shows in Urdu.

Halal food options will also be available.

Earlier in December, the airline was granted permission to operate to and from Pakistan. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) approved the airlines’ cargo and passenger flight operations and granted permission for passenger flights. Virgin Atlantic had announced three routes to Pakistan from the UK i.e. LondonLahore, London-Islamabad and Manchester-Islamabad. Moreover, the airline will also provide “fast, efficient” cargo services which will “enable growing trade volumes between exporters and importers in both the UK and Pakistan”. Virgin Atlantic had announced three routes to Pakistan from the UK i.e. London-Lahore, LondonIslamabad and Manchester-Islamabad.

addressed on a priority basis during his tenure. “Since now I am the interior minister, NAB [National Accountability Bureau] and FIA [Federal Investigation Agency] will perform their responsibilities to a full extent,” he said.

Rasheed further said that the government was taking all-out measures to bring back Nawaz Sharif.

He extended his support for the newlyappointed Railways Minister Azam Swati and said that he would run the affairs in his place in a far better way.

FM Qureshi calls on int’l bodies to investigate fake Indian NGOs Continued from page 01 He called for an investigation by the EU into its own parliament for any manipulation by these fake NGOs. Qureshi also called upon the Reuters news agency to disassociate itself from India’s ANI and “reconsider their existing partnership” since the latter was identified in the report as being complicit in the mass propaganda network and dissemination of fake news.

On the occasion, SAPM Yusuf added that India had broken international laws by using the names of

the UN and EU to defame Pakistan.

“International laws were broken with the use of UN and EU letterheads and identity theft is punishable by 20 years,” he said, but did not elaborate on which law he was referring to.

“Pakistan will pursue a proactive policy against India’s propaganda and we will convey our narrative and stance to every possible forum,” he said. “Our paradigm is based on economic security and peace while India is pursuing the agenda to hinder Pakistan’s development,” Qureshi said, referring to India as a mafia.

PML-N leaders booked over rallies across Lahore LaHore INP

Cases were registered on Friday against Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) leadership for violating coronavirus standard operating procedures (SOPs) during minor rallies in Lahore ahead of December 13 public gathering. According to details, dozens of party workers and leaders have been nominated in separate cases at Ichhra, Gawalmandi, and Lohari

police stations. The provisions regarding violation of SOPs and holding provocative speeches have been included in the cases.

Earlier, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz led a rally from Gajju Matta to Data Darbar on December 10.

While addressing the participants, Maryam said that PML-N assembly members have rushed to submit their resignations even though the party is yet to formally ask them to do so.

Pakistan's remittances crossed $2bn for record 6 months: PM

Pakistan considered abandoning New Zealand tour while in quarantine, says Misbah agenCieS Pakistan considered abandoning its cricket tour of New Zealand while in 14-day quarantine and coach Misbahul Haq says they opted to stay for their fans.

Pakistan made a rocky start to managed isolation when eight of the 53-strong tour party tested positive for the coronavirus upon arrival and, on the first day, players breached the strict health protocols by mingling in corridors and sharing food.

The team was stripped of its allowance to train, issued with a final warning by the New Zealand government and risked being expelled from the country. But there were no more breaches. "We did discuss [pulling out of the tour] but then finally decided to say no to this option because when you invest this much time on this, then you have got to give it a shot," Misbah said in an online news conference on Friday.

"Coping in the [Covid-19] situation isn't easy for anyone, but if we want to keep the

game alive and keep it going we have to make this sacrifice for fans sitting at home who want to watch the game and get entertained in this difficult time."

Pakistan came out of quarantine on Tuesday and players moved from Christchurch to the resort town of Queenstown to begin preparing for the first of three Twenty20s against New Zealand next Friday.

Misbah said the time in isolation will not "be an excuse" if results don't go their way in the T20s and the two Test matches.

"As professionals we are not looking for excuses, because at the end of the day, no matter whatever excuse you make, people consider end results," he said.

"Whatever happened, we can't do much about it. What we can control is catching up with every minute and every moment we couldn't get in those 14 days.

"You think about how many days we need to prepare, how we are going to prepare, how to lift your team. Obviously these aren't normal circumstances, what happens here isn't

ideal. But then for the sake of international cricket you want cricket to go on, and being a big stakeholder, we will give our full effort to help cricket overall."

Misbah believed Pakistan has the pace to match the likes of New Zealand seamers Lockie Ferguson and Trent Boult.

"Shaheen (Afridi) and Wahab (Riaz) are quite experienced now. Haris Rauf and Mohammad Hasnain are also progressing with every series so they all are getting into the groove,” Misbah said.

“They have the skills, potential, pace and swing — this package can surprise anyone.

"If New Zealand have Ferguson as their main pacer who clocked around 150 kph, then we have three to four fast bowlers with a similar knack.

"If they think they can challenge us with pace then they also have to face the same challenge as well. New Zealand are a tough side at home and playing well against West Indies, but they will be challenged and you will get to see good cricket," he said.

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday said that Pakistan's economy witnessed good times as remittances crossed US$2 billion for consecutive six months. "More good news as workers’ remittances continued to grow in November - remaining above US$2 billion for a record 6th consecutive month," the prime minister said in a tweet. The premier mentioned that according to State Bank of Pakistan, the remittances rose to US$2.34 billion, which was 2.4 per cent up of the previous month and 28.4 per cent over November last year. STAFF REPORT

Saturday, 12 December, 2020

04 NEWS

STATue oF MAHArAjA rAnjeeT SingH AT LAHore ForT vAnDALiSeD AgAin LAHORE

T

SHAHAB OMER

HE statue of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh, placed outside the Haveli of Rani Jindan at Lahore fort, has been once again vandalised by a person named Zaheer Ishaq, Pakistan Today learnt on Friday.

It was learnt that Zaheer broke the arm with the attempt to damage the statue. He was caught by the security guards on the spot after inquiring about the incident.

Zaheer said that he is a staunch follower of late Maulana Khadim Hussain Rizvi. He is against the placing of Ranjeet Singh’s statue at Lahore fort, because Ranjeet had converted Badshahi Mosque into a horse stable.

He further said that Ranjeet Singh had killed several Muslims and harmed the sentiments of Muslim community. This was the reason behind his attempt to damage the statue.

While talking to Pakistan Today on this incident, a tourist at Lahore Fort, Shahid Hussain, expressed his distress over the situation and said: “People should be tolerant and this is what our religion

teaches us as well. I do not understand that why this man came to damage the statue.

The management of Lahore Fort should be more vigilant, as such incidents will affect our image all over the world.”

Khalid Raza, another tourist at Lahore Fort, said: “There was no need of placing a controversial statue at Lahore Fort. I think the person did right, as Ranjeet Singh is not in our good books. Knowing the fact that Ranjeet had damaged the sanctity and dignity of many mosques, including Badshahi Mosque, why we have placed his statue at this eminent site to make him a hero?”

“We need to teach people about tolerance and discouraged such acts. As people did not spare the statue of Sir Ganga Ram, why would they spare the statue of Ranjeet Singh? People in our society are turning into furious mobs and damaging the country’s image. Tolerance needs to be taught at all levels. I would request the management of Lahore Fort to be more active and vigilant, though they caught the person on spot,” a visitor at Lahore Fort said.

Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) spokesperson Tania Qureshi commented that it was no doubt a disgrace-

ful incident. “The person broke the arm of the statue of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh. He was trying to damage the entire statue but I think our guards on duty managed to save it. An FIR has been lodged against Zaheer and he has been handed over to the police at Tibbi Police Station. Strict action will be

taken against the accused. The statue would soon be repaired by the WCLA,” the spokesperson said.

This was the second incident of this nature at Lahore Fort. Previously, a mob attacked the statue just after a few days of its placing at Lahore Fort.

Punjab PDWP approves five development schemes LAHORE: The Punjab Provincial Development Working Party (PDWP) on Friday approved five development schemes of various sectors with an estimated cost of Rs6341.654 million. The approval was granted in the PDWP’s 17th meeting of the current fiscal year. P&D Board Chairman Hamed Yaqoob Sheikh chaired the meeting while P&D Provincial Secretary Imran Sikandar Baloch, P&D Members, concerned department’s provincial secretaries, Senior Chief Coordination Javed Latif, Assistant Chief Coordination Shahid Idrees and senior representatives of relevant departments attended the meeting.

The approved development schemes include establishment of University of Chakwal with the cost of Rs1,457.113 million, establishment of Mother & Child Block at Teaching Hospital, DG Khan with the cost of Rs3,849.108 million, capacity building of Punjab Environment Protection Agency with Combined Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) and Industrial Estates (IEs) under J&C Program (Revised PCII) with the cost of Rs226.133 million, study regarding capacity building of the Punjab DGPR to Counter Emerging Challenges of Electronic & Digital Media (PC-II) with the cost of Rs9.300 million and establishment of High Dependency Isolation Units across the province with cost of Rs800.00 million. INP

LHC directs FPSC to announce result of civil servant LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday set aside an order of Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) and directed the commission to announce the result of Ahmad Naveed Fazal, who is an officer of Inland Revenue, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). The petitioner Fazal, through his counsel Hafiz Tariq Nasim, challenged the order of the FPSC chairman regarding his disqualification from all examinations. The counsel submitted before the court that the petitioner is governed by the occupational group rules of the federal government, which do not authorize the FPSC to pass such like orders against the rules. After hearing detailed arguments, Justice Aqil Mahmud accepted the contentions of the petitioner, set aside the order and directed the FPSC to notify the results. INP

ATC orders police to file complete challan in motorway gang-rape case

QUETTA: A view of dark clouds hovering over sky. INP

PPP directs its Sindh MPAs to submit resignations till Dec 14 KARACHI INP

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Friday directed its members of Sindh Assembly to handover their resignations to the party leadership till December 14.

This development was part of the anti-government campaign underway from the forum of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).

Earlier, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Rabia Nusrat, Zaibun Nisa Awan, Tahir Jamil, Irfan

Aqeel, Muneeb-ul-Haq, Hina Pervez Butt, Bilal Akbar, Sania Ashiq, Chaudhry Bashir Virk, Chaudhry Azhar Qayyum Nahra, Kheal Das Kohistani, Saiful Muluk Khokhar, Afzal Khokhar, Iftikhar Hussain Chachar, Hamid Hameed and Sohaib Bherth, Raheela Khadim Hussain, Uzma Bukhari, Aniza Fatima, Samiullah Khan, Farooq Tarar, Chaudhry Bilal Akbar, Chaudhry Adil Bakhsh Chatha, Jahangir Khanzada, Akhtar Hussain Badshah and Akhtar Memon had submitted their resignations.

They had expressed complete trust in their leadership and maintained that the assembly seats belong to

the party.

PPP’s Members of Punjab Assembly (MPAs) Hassan Murtaza and Ali Haider Gillani, son of former Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani, had also submitted their resignations to the party’s chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

According to sources, the series of resignations from the parliamentarians of opposition parties will continue till December 31. The PDM leadership will tender resignations to the speakers of the national and provincial assemblies in due course of time.

LAHORE: An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) of Lahore on Friday ordered the police to present a complete challan of the motorway gang rape case in the court. The prime suspects in the case Abid Malhi and Shafqat Bagga were presented in the court by the police, as their judicial remand was ended. The hearing was presided over by the ATC Judge Arshad Hussain Bhutta. The court directed the police to present a complete challan of the case and adjourned the hearing until December 24. On September 9, the victim of the case along with her children was waiting for help on the Lahore-Sialkot motorway after her car ran out of fuel. She was brought out of the car at gunpoint and gang-raped forcefully in Gujjarpura area. After the incident, the Punjab police arrested prime suspect Abid Malhi during a raid at Manga Mandi, some 111 kilometers away from Faisalabad. Sources had said that the police initially conducted a raid at Tandlianwala Tehsil of Faisalabad to arrest the suspect, but he managed to escape moments before the police party reached there. INP

Depriving Kashmiris of basic rights is violation of int’l law: speakers ISLAMABAD INP

At a webinar hosted by Kashmir Institute of International Relations (KIIR) here on Friday, the speakers said that depriving Kashmiris of their inalienable right to self-determination constitutes a serious violation of the international law and United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolutions.

The webinar titled “World Human Rights Day: Agony of Kashmiris” was attended and addressed by international

human rights activists, legal experts, political analysts and journalists.

Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies’ Danielle Khan, American human rights activist Carin Jodha Fisher, author and columnist from Srinagar Nayeema Ahmed Mahjoor, Kashmir-based journalist Irshad Hussain Mir, Scottish human rights activist Clair Bidwell, human rights activist Marina Zucca, Irish American social worker Todd Shea, AJK’s University of Kotli professer Shugufta Ashraf, and some others were speakers at the webinar.

The event was moderated by Kashmir Insti-

tute of International Relations (KIIR) Chairman Altaf Hussain Wani.

While pointing to the fast deteriorating political and human rights situation in the Indian-held Kashmir (IHK), the KIIR chairman said: “India's illegal and forcible occupation of Kashmir has led to widespread deaths and human rights violations in the territory. Despite signing Universal Declaration of Human Rights, India has miserably failed to uphold its solemn commitments made at international level.”

Irshad Hussain said: “IHK has virtually been under double lockdown for the past

one and half years. In Kashmir, fundamental freedoms, including right to freedom of speech and expression, right to protest and assembly, right to health and education, have remained restricted.”

Terming Indian tactics of subjugating Kashmiris as flagrant violations of basic human rights, Danielle Khan said: “Virtually, every article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is being flagrantly and brutally disregarded by Indian government and its forces that operate in Kashmir under the cover of black laws.”

While narrating the appalling human

rights situation in the IHK, Nayeema Ahmed said: “India has enforced notorious laws, which facilitated human rights abuses in the territory. Indian government has brazenly ignored the recommendations of the Office of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, which calls for the establishment of a commission of inquiry to investigate human rights violations in the territory.”

She also gave a detailed account of the sufferings of Kashmiri women, who have been subjected to rape, torture and other inhuman and degrading treatments.

Saturday, 12 December, 2020

Debt servicing Of external public lOans cOst $10.4bn in fY20: repOrt ISLAMABAD

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STAFF REPORT

AKISTAN paid $10.4 billion on account of debt servicing of external public loans during FY20, according to an annual report on foreign economic assistance released by the Economic Affairs Division (EAD) on Friday.

The report states that the PTI government paid an amount of $10.4 billion during FY20 on account of debt servicing of external public loans, consisting of a principal payment of $8.5 billion and interest payment of $1.9 billion.

According to the details, Pakistan paid $704 million to China, $228 million Japan, $1,005 million ADB and $4,900 million commercial banks apart from other countries as well as lending organisations.

On the other hand, multilateral and bilateral development partners disbursed $6.5 billion in 2019-20 as compared to $4.1 billion last year, registering 59pc growth.

In addition, the government also raised $3.4 billion from foreign commercial sources to meet its external debt obligations and support the balance of payments. Out of the total disbursement of $10.7 billion, 97pc were loans and 3pc were grants.

The report mentioned that disbursements of $10.7 billion during 2019-20 were mainly under the projects and programs loans/grants from multilateral, bilateral development partners and financial institutions. The disbursement included $5,645m or 53pc of total disbursements were from the multilateral development partners mainly from Asian Development Bank (ADB), Islamic Development Bank (IDB), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the World Bank (WB).

In addition, $3,373m or 32pc of total disbursements were from foreign commercial banks mainly to refinance maturing commercial debt of past periods.

An amount of $1,644m or 15pc of the disbursements were from bilateral development partners particularly Saudi Arabia,

China and the UK. During the period under review, 74pc of the total disbursements were programme budgetary support, 19pc project financing while remaining 7pc commodity financing mainly from Islamic Development Bank for purchase of crude oil, the report mentioned.

Out of this total budgetary support component, $4.6 billion was the programme support and the remaining $3.3 billion was arranged as re-financing by the Finance Division from various foreign commercial banks.

The largest sector in terms of disbursements is transport and communication at 32pc followed by rural development & poverty reduction sector 11pc, education 11pc, energy and power sector 10pc and health sector 9pc, the report stated.

The report also revealed that Pakistan’s total external public debt stands at $77.9 billion as of June 30, 2020. The external public debt was $73.4 billion last year so it grew at the rate of 6pc.

Pakistan’s external public debt is derived from multilateral debt (comprising 51pc inclusive IMF), followed by bilateral 31pc (inclusive of China’s SAFE deposits) while remaining 18pc from foreign commercial banks and institutions (inclusive of Eurobonds and Sukuk).

The report also states that Pakistan also signed new agreements worth $10,447m with various development partners and foreign commercial banks during 2019-20.

Around $3,463 million worth of agreements, which constituted 33pc of the total new commitments, were by the commercial banks, the report revealed that this high level of commercial financing was arranged to refinance maturing commercial debt during the year.

It is pertinent to mention here that an amount of $7.5 billion has been committed as budgetary support; of which $4.0 billion was committed by multilateral development partners as program financing and remaining was obtained from foreign commercial banks.

Big tech firms to face 6pc fines if breach new EU content rules BRUSSELS AGENCIES

Big tech firms such as Google and Facebook will face fines of up to 6% of turnover if they do not do more to tackle illegal content and reveal more about advertising on their platforms under draft European Union rules.

The EU’s tough line, which is due to be announced next week, comes amid growing regulatory scrutiny worldwide of tech giants and their control of data and access to their platforms.

EU digital chief Thierry Breton, who has stressed that large companies should bear more responsibility, will

present the draft rules known as the Digital Services Act (DSA) on Dec. 15.

The Commission document on the DSA seen by Reuters defines very large online platforms as those with more than 45 million users, equivalent to 10% of the EU population.

Additional obligations imposed on very large platforms are necessary to address public policy concerns and the systemic risks posed by their services, the document said.

The tech giants will have to do more to tackle illegal content such as hate speech and child sexual abuse material, misuse of their platforms that impinges on fundamental rights and intentional manipulation of platforms, such

as using bots to influence elections and public health.

The companies will be required to publish details of their online advertisers and show the parameters used by their algorithms to suggest and rank information. Independent auditors will monitor compliance, with EU countries enforcing the rules.

Facebook declined to comment ahead of publication of the EU document. Google said it had nothing to add at this stage.

The draft rules could take a year or more to come into force as they have to take into account feedback from EU countries and the European Parliament, both of whom are expected to face intense lobbying.

NEWS

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Oil set for weekly gain amid coronavirus vaccine progress LONDON AGENCIES

Oil prices steadied on Friday, and were set for a sixth week of gains as progress towards novel coronavirus vaccination programmes fed hopes that demand for fuel would rebound next year. Brent was down 7 cents, or 0.1%, at $50.18 a barrel at 1418 GMT, after rising above $51 a barrel on Thursday to an early-March high. U.S. oil was up 4 cents, or 0.1%, at $46.82 a barrel, having risen almost 3% in the previous session. Promising vaccine trials have helped lift some gloom over record increases in the number of new coronavirus infections and deaths around the world.

Britain began inoculations this week and the United States could start vaccinations as early as the coming weekend, while Canada on Wednesday approved its first vaccine with initial shots due from next week.

Outside advisers for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have voted to endorse emergency use of Pfizer’s vaccine, paving the way for the agency to authorise its use to inoculate a nation that has lost more than 285,000 lives to COVID-19. “The vaccine optimism … seems to continue unscathed due to the back-to-back approvals vaccines are getting and the quicker-than-previouslythought rollout of the first campaigns in key markets,” Rystad Energy analyst Paola Rodriguez-Masiu said. A big jump in U.S. crude stockpiles last week served as a reminder that there is still plenty of supply available, but it was all but ignored as bulls ran through the market this week. “The long-awaited rollout of vaccination programmes provided ample bullish fodder in the face of rising US oil inventories,” brokerage PVM’s Stephen Brennock said. A fall in world shares as markets confronted the risk of Britain leaving the European Union without a trade deal weighed on sentiment. On Friday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said a trade deal was unlikely.

China’s AI company eyeing smart control of Covid in Pakistan BEIJING INP

An artificial intelligence (AI) company in China’s is interested in smart control of Covid-19 in Pakistan, China Economic Net (CEN) reported on Friday.

The company will launch an AI Outbound Calling System for Epidemic Prevention and Control in Pakistan next month as the second wave of coronavirus grips Pakistan, according to iFLYTEK, a Chinese company well-known for its AI products and their sector-based applications.

As per iFLYTEK, they are now collaborating with Pakistan’s National Center of Artificial Intelligence (NCAI) and National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) to work on the AI Outbound Calling System for Epidemic Prevention and Control, which had revealed rapid and efficient actions of COVID-19 control during the pandemic period in Wuhan, China and South Korea.

Pakistani Embassy in China Commercial Counselor Badar U Zaman while lauding iFLYTEK’s effort to explore the Pakistani market said that Pakistan is a

big market and iFLYTEK’s products are doing very well. He said he visited the iFLYTEK before and in addition to translation machines, he was introduced with different technologies they are offering.

“They are very active in education, healthcare and translation, he added. “iFLYTEK is bringing China and the world together and it is going to get a great success in Pakistan,” said Badar U Zaman, adding that Pakistan is very quick at adapting new technologies.

“Our Voice Chatbot from the AI Outbound Calling System will telephone users

to quickly learn their physical conditions and provide healthcare suggestions.

The system can quickly discover people at high risk of Covid-19 and the health center could immediately response if any to reduce the risk of infection and prevent coronavirus. People in close contact with confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Pakistan would receive phone calls.

“And patients who have been treated and healed from Covid-19 will also receive follow-up calls and get registered,” said iFLYTEK South Asia District DGM Mao Ning said.

Investors swap China holdings from Wall Street to Hong Kong as delisting threat brews SHANGHAI AGENCIES

Global fund managers are reducing their holdings in U.S-listed Chinese companies such as Alibaba, Netease and JD.com as risks grow they will be forced off American exchanges, switching instead into shares of the companies listed in Hong Kong.

Delisting risks surfaced last September, when U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration explored moves to kick Chinese companies off Wall Street unless they abide by U.S. accounting standards, part of an escalating standoff between the world’s top two economies.

The threat is now real. The Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act has been passed by both Chambers of the U.S. Congress and should soon be signed into law by Trump. Once law, foreign issuers in the United States which decline a review of their audits for three years can be delisted.

Since most Chinese companies are prohibited by mainland laws from disclosing information that might be considered state secrets, they are often unable to comply with such audit reviews, making them vulnerable to delisting.

“It’s always something you’re aware of as a potential risk. Now that risk is really becoming a reality,” said Brian Bandsma, a New York-based portfolio manager at Vontobel Asset Management.

CMYK

Bandsma said he has started moving positions in American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) of Chinese companies toward Hong Kong. There are two paths, he says, and he’s taking a slower, but less costly route. But “if we see the risk becoming more immediate, we can convert very quickly,” he said. Nicholas Yeo, head of China equities at Aberdeen Standard Investments, said his fund, too, is making adjustments.

“Listing venue doesn’t really matter. For the sake of prudence, we just buy the same companies in the Hong Kong market. The shift is quite easy.”

An increasing number of Chinese companies have secondary listings in Hong Kong, giving investors an alternative.

U.S.-listed firms including Alibaba, JD.com, NetEase, Yum China and New Oriental have already floated in Hong Kong.

More than 20 other ADRs, including Pinduoduo, Vipshop and Bilibili, are also eligible for a Hong Kong secondary listing, according to Morgan Stanley.

EARLY MOVERS: Brendan Ahern, chief investment officer at New York-based Krane Funds Advisors, believes most conversions so far have come from Asian and European investors who want to align themselves with their investor base.

Temasek, the investment vehicle owned by the Singapore government, said in September it had swapped half its stake in Alibaba – worth about $3 billion – from

the United States to Hong Kong.

Matthews Asia told investors in July it owned Chinese firms such as Alibaba through both U.S. and Hong Kong listings.

For U.S. investors, there is also the option of trading Chinese firms such as Tencent in the less liquid over-thecounter (OTC) market.

Ahern believes China and the United States will eventually come up with a plan to avoid wholesale delistings that could affect over $2 trillion in American savings invested in U.S.-listed Chinese companies. “(We) will not stand idle as we have fiduciary obligation to protect our investors,” Ahern said, adding the firm had done a test conversion of Alibaba’s U.S. shares to Hong Kong shares, proving the process is “exceptionally easy.”

Fund managers say U.S. and Hong Kong-listed shares are completely fungible, with little price difference or cost.

Still, in a worst-case scenario, a large exodus of Chinese companies would affect investors and reduce competitiveness of the U.S. capital markets, a lawyer who works with an ADR depositary said on condition of anonymity.

“If you take away prominent successful companies from U.S. exchanges, it will make London or Hong Kong or both stronger and will create a perception that now there are possibly better choices than U.S. exchanges.”

Saturday, 12 December, 2020

06 COMMENT

An impending revolution

The cabinet reshuffle Amidst political and constitutional constraints

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More is at stake than the fate of ‘Europe’s last dictator’

HE cabinet reshuffle was caused by two compulsions, political and constitutional. Interior Minister Ijaz Shah was seen to lack the capacity to deal with the PDM’s rallies. In December last year he had predicted that Maulana Fazlur Rehman would never march on Islamabad, which turned out to be a gross miscalculation. More recently he had failed to persuade the PDM to call off its agitation. Prime Minister Imran Khan concluded that there was a need to appoint an experienced politician as a minister for Interior. Sheikh Rashid too is fond of making predictions which hardly ever come true, being no more than wishful thinking.

Pakistan Railways saw some the worst accidents in its history while under his charge. It remains to be seen if the new appointee is fit for the new job allotted to him. As Mr Khan cannot afford to lose the support of anyone belonging to the ruling alliance, Syed Ijaz Shah was given the portfolio of Anti-narcotics while its incumbent was handed over Railways.

Mr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, earlier working as PM’s Adviser on Finance was upgraded by being made Federal Minister for Finance. This was required after the Islamabad High Court ruled that an adviser had no role either in policy matters of a division or ministry, or running the business of the federal government. An adviser is also not a part of the federal cabinet nor entitled to attend its meetings, except when the prime minister requires their attendance and, that too, by special invitation. The ruling has affected Dr Sheikh, Razak Dawood and Dr Ishrat Hussain as well as recently appointed SAPM for national Health Services Dr Faisal Sultan.

There is a possibility of Mr Dawood and Dr Sultan too being made federal ministers so that they can continue to head the ministries of Commerce and Health and chair the committees assigned to them. They can however continue to hold the portfolios only for six months unless elected to either of the two houses of Parliament. The PTI hopes to get a majority in the Senate in March and then have Dr Sheikh and others elected Senators. Till then Dr Sheikh and any other advisor made Federal Minster will remain ad hoc office holders.

Syed Zain abbaS RiZvi

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VEn on the end note, the year has contained surprises enough for anyone to deem it a year of instability and chaos, given that every nook and cranny around the globe is riddled with a new crisis every day. Latest down in the tally is the country of Belarus that has hardly streamlined over at least half a decade but now is hosting up as a venue to rippling protests in almost all the districts of its capital, Minsk. The outrage has resulted from the massive rigging imputed on the Communist party in ruling for almost three decades since the break-up of the USSR in 1994.

With Europe and Russia divided on this front as the protests and violence continue to rage, a revolution is emerging as a possibility.

The historical map of Belarus is nearly as complex as the geographical landscape which might only stand next to Afghanistan in terms of the intricacies faced by a landlocked country as such. Belarus is located in the Eastern European region bordered by Russia to the north-eastern perimeter. Poland borderlines the country to the West while Ukraine shares a border in the South.

The nATO members, Lithuania and Latvia, outskirt the borders of Belarus in the northwest, thus making the region a prime buffer between the Russian regime and the Western world. As Belarus stands as a junction between the European Union (EU) and Russia, the proximal nature brings about the interest of both parties in the internal affairs of Minsk. However, the nature of the bond shared among the trio is by no means a triangle since, unlike other former Soviet nations, Belarus has cast its absolute loyalty to Russia since the break-up of the USSR and ultimate accession to power of President Alexander Lukashenko, the leader of the Communist Party of Belarus. Along with the alliance, however, came the unwanted dependency since over the 26-year rule of Lukashenko, he crippled the economy and the political writ of Belarus, using every last ounce of authority to subdue the opposition and the democratic mechanism of the country, earning him the nefarious title ‘Europe’s last dictator’.

The outburst of protests today stems from this very problem that is more deep-rooted than what comes across as apparent. The excessive and dra-

Prison reform needed The pandemic shouldn’t be the only reason

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joint report by Amnesty International and the Justice Project Pakistan, Prisoners of the Pandemic─ The Right To Health, notes that the reduction of overcrowding in prisons during the first wave of the coronavirus epidemic was not undertaken, even the second wave was now upon us, and there was a risk of a massive outbreak because of the overcrowding, which saw as many as 15 prisoners into a cell meant for three, and when prisoners were sometimes forced to sleep in shifts, as there was not enough floor-space for all to lie down at the same time. The report noted that judicial and administrative authorities, instead of reducing the prison population during the pandemic, acted to increase the overcrowding.

Though the pandemic requires emergency measures, its absence would not justify the overcrowding. That must be brought to an end anyhow. That requires a closer look at the justice system. One of the issues involved is the high proportion of under-trial prisoners. Put on top political workers arrested to prevent them from doing their thing, and who will never come to trial, and the jails are bursting at the seams. The report recommends early, temporary or conditional release of as many prisoners as possible, especially women and children.

Instead, it seems, the jail authorities have been using the pandemic as an excuse to tighten the screws: all visits were banned, and while family visits have been restored, lawyers’ visits have still not been permitted. The report also deplored the lack of nutritious food, clean water or sanitation. These are not as irrelevant as they seem, for they are relevant to the prisoners’ ability to combat the coronavirus if they catch it, as they are likely to. The report recommends that those with predisposing conditions should be prioritized for early release, while there should be a reduction in the arrests for petty crimes.

That would be particularly effective, for it would mean quicker trials all around, as courts faced less pressure. The possibility of increasing the space available may be considered, by building more jails, but the real solution lies in reforming the justice system.

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n December 8, unidentified attackers killed journalist Qais Javed in Dera Ismail Khan. According to the police, the attackers were tailing the journalist. Qais was a former employee of Geo News, where he had worked as a cameraman. no group or individual have taken the responsibility of the attack. Earlier in September, state-run channel PTV’s broadcaster, Shaheena Shaheen, was shot dead in her house in Turbat, Balochistan. Although, police claimed that she was killed after a ‘domestic issue’ journalist bodies have rejected the claim.

In the same month of September, the Un Human Rights Office expressed its concerns over the killing of media personnel in Pakistan. In its statement, the office said it was watching the whole situation, “with increasing concern” numerous cases of incitement to violence— online and offline— against journalists in the country, particularly against women.”

Reacting to the news, Digital Rights Foundation head nighat Dad said, “The second woman journalist killed in Pakistan in last 10 months.

Strongly condemned this cold-blooded murder of Shaheena in a place where we already have dearth of women journalists.”

According to UnESCO data, four journalists have been killed in Pakistan in 2020 alone. The data shows over 60 individuals belonged to the media industry have been killed in the country since 1997.

Meanwhile, the data of Global Impunity Index of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) shows that at least 15 journalists have been killed in Pakistan in the

Editor Umar Aziz

Asher John

Executive Editor

Deputy Editor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

Syed Zain Abbas Rizvi is a freelance columnist

Journalism has become a fatal profession

Arif Nizami

Joint Editor

As the situation continues to unfold, economic reforms, as promised by Lukashenko, appear to be the only option that both the EU and Russia could encourage as a bipartisan plan. Despite that, with six months of protests erupting as an outrage over a tyranny of 26 years, the reform-offering might be a bit late an offer since it’s no more about the country anymore, it’s about a struggle between a liberal or a communist Belarus

Pakistani journalists continue to be targeted

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

conian use of power and autonomy has invalidated the independence of Belarusians and turned them haplessly at the mercy of Russian aid and support while blocking out any western support in the name of guarding national sovereignty. The ongoing surge of dissent was triggered earlier in August when the elections turned about to be absurdly rigged in favour of Alexander Lukashenko, granting him an indelible majority of 80 percent of the total vote count along with a lifetime of rule over the country despite his blatant unpopularity across the country. The accusations were further solidified when one of the popular opposing candidates, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, lodged a complaint with the authorities regarding the falsification of election results.

Instead of being appeased, she was detained for seven straight hours and was even forced to go into exile in the neighbouring country of Lithuania. This resulted in major tide of riots and protests erupting all across Minsk, preceding over 3000 arrests on election night.

On the official front, however, an aggressive stance was upheld along with a constant refusal of Lukashenko from stepping down from the long-held office or even considering a review of the polls counted despite exorbitant reports of unfair results. Heavy use of rubber bullets and tear gas was an eccentric protocol adopted by the local police force which, instead of qurlling the rioters, further ignited the protests in more districts of the capital city. The anti-government rallies, also entitled ‘March of neighbours’ transitioned into a large-scale protest with many

state employees resigning from their positions to stand upright against the corrupt regime, which had long overstayed its mandate. With the protests raging over months and the Lukashenko government getting more and more aggressive with its policies, the fear that once sparkled in the eyes of the natives is dwindling exceedingly and is turning into a cry for an outright revolution, which would be a ground-breaking one ever since the revolution of Iran back in 1979.

European countries have taken a conventional passive position in the crisis, since the EU is well aware of the Russian influence in Belarus and does not want to do anything with the probability of leading to a direct conflict with Russia. However, they did call out their protest over the rigged elections, slapping sanctions over Belarus, yet they have not accused Lukashenko directly but instead have proposed a thorough international dialogue. Russia, on the other hand, faces a complex position since the dependence of Belarus bought Moscow a base against the West, along with against regional rogues like Ukraine. However, large-scale protests and the rising chances of a full-blown revolution is hardly the choice Russian intends to opt for.

As the situation continues to unfold, economic reforms, as promised by Lukashenko, appear to be the only option that both the EU and Russia could encourage as a bipartisan plan. Despite that, with six months of protests erupting as an outrage over a tyranny of 26 years, the reform-offering might be a bit late an offer since it’s no more about the country anymore, it’s about a struggle between a liberal or a communist Belarus.

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Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

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last 10 years; and in all cases, no killer has been brought to justice.

The CPJ has ranked Pakistan among the top 12 most dangerous countries for journalists. According to it, three countries, including Pakistan, are where, “corruption, weak institutions, and lack of political will to pursue robust investigations into the killings of journalists are all factors behind impunity.” Furthermore, Pakistan has stayed in the list of the CPJ, along with Philippines, since its start in 2008; however, Philippines has improved its ranking.

This does not end here. Another organization Rapporteurs Sans Frontieres (Journalists Without Borders) has ranked Pakistan 145th out of 180 countries in its World Press Freedom Index.

The media boost came in Pakistan, intriguingly according to observers, during military dictator Gen Pervez Musharraf’s regime, and it created a space for journalistic voices, political debates on TV and opinions. During the last decade, the media did enjoy relative freedom as a number of new channels started, which both praised and criticised the government. However, with time the situation started to transform.

Experts say a media gag started to be imposed and the matter got nationwide attention when social media activists and journalists went ‘missing’ in 2017. The activists, including Salman Haider, were reportedly taken by agencies, mainly over ‘criticism of state institutions’ and ‘blasphemy charges’. However, these charges were dropped later, as they remained unproven.

If you go back further, the censorship on media and journalists is dated back to General Ayub’s era, when he blocked the election campaign of Fatimah Jinnah. Then came Zulfiqar Bhutto, who vowed to abolish the national Press Trust (nPT) but never did and imposed media bans. General Zia’s era is considered the worst for media freedom, while Musharraf’s era is deemed a mix of both as he once said that he became victim of his own creation.

Islamabad – Ph: 051-2204545

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Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

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Observers maintain that the issue in Pakistan has remained that when politicians are out of power, they fight for ‘free media’, but after coming to power, they cannot tolerate the criticism, and hence implement gags and censorship.

The current government under Prime Minister Imran Khan has also tried to control the media through different steps, including the idea of merging PEMRA and the Press Council, and of controlling the social media through the FIA. Recently, the reports emerged that PTI government is trying to bring a law to ‘limit the role of TV anchors as moderators and restricting their opinions and analysis on different matters’. However, after criticism from politicians, media, journalist bodies, and channels, the government retracted the plan.

Analysts maintain that the present time is among the most difficult for media persons, as the industry is facing economic difficulties, job losses and continuous censorship. Most of the top journalists have established their own YouTube channels, and PEMRA has been trying to control them as well.

Commenting on the censorship under the current government, Muhammad Hanif, a renowned novelist, said: “When you see a blank space in a newspaper where your article should have been, it’s slightly terrifying,.” He further said: “It reminds you of old-fashioned censorship that we had during military dictatorships. Currently, censorship… is the worst we have seen”.

Observers suggest that the ground for debate is restricting, permissions are scarce, while some topics are completely off the table. And in some cases, these restrictions are not only by the government or establishment, it is even from the media houses, because they don’t want to go against their favourite politicians, have close affiliation with some political parties or there is issue of cash flow.

Sulman Ali is a staff member. https://twitter.com/sulman_85

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Saturday, 12 December, 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

Combined Competitive Examinations 2020

India’s farmers’ protests on global radar The farmers’ protests are of a piece with the anti-CAA and anti-NRC protests Sajjad Shaukat

I

nDIAn extremist Prime Minister narendra Modi’s government, led by the fanatic ruling party BJP, has bulldozed major liberal and pro-minorities’ movements in the recent past.

Last year, Modi’s government ended special status of the Jammu and Kashmir state by abrogation of articles 35A and 370 of the Constitution to turn Muslim majority into minority, apart from splitting it into two union territories.

Similarly, the Indian Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 (CAA), passed by the Indian Parliament further exposed the discriminatory policies of the Modi-led regime. The CAA, coupled with the national Register of Citizens (nRC), is mainly against Muslim immigrants, especially from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

Despite criticism of the rights groups, foreign leaders, the UnO and moderate Hindus in wake of violent protests which killed and injured hundreds of persons— mostly Muslims— by the police and fanatic Hindus, Modi has not withdrawn the CAA or the nRC. Recently, farmers’ unions in India launched a nationwide shutdown and strike amid largescale protests and clashes over new agricultural laws passed by the Indian rulers. Since last months, over 12 million farmers from the northern states of Punjab and Haryana, and neighbouring new Delhi have been at the forefront of the protests and have set up protest camps in and around the Indian capital to force the government to repeal the new laws.

The strike, called Bharat Bandh, saw tens of thousands of farmers blocking key roads and rail lines across the country, affecting transport services and offices. They received support from railway workers, truck drivers, and other unions, who joined them.

In September, India’s parliament passed three controversial agriculture bills aimed at liberalizing the country’s farm sector, sparking farmers’ protests across the country. The government argued that the new laws will give freedom to farmers to sell their produce outside regulated markets and enter into contracts with buyers at a pre-agreed price.

Farmers’ associations say that the legislation does not guarantee the acquisition of farm produce through state-run organizations which guarantee a minimum support price, thus leaving them at the mercy of corporations which are now expected to enter the country’s troubled farming sector. The opposition parties, including many non-BJP-ruled state governments, backed the demonstrations and have called the laws antifarmer and pro-corporation, while insisting that the central government accept the farmers’ demand to roll the impugned laws back. notably, the Shaheen Bagh protest by Muslim women was dealt by incentives of talks and coercion through state machinery, taking help

from Indian courts, which are already compro- protested in support of the farmers outside the Indian embassy in London and some other counmised by the extremist outfit RSS. In this regard, India Today wrote: “Protest tries.

Several US lawmakers have voiced their over the three farm bills at Delhi borders has brought back the memory of the Shaheen Bagh support for the ongoing protests. In this respect, agitation over the Citizenship Amendment Act Congressman Doug LaMalfa said: “I stand in (CAA The protesters squatting at Shaheen Bagh solidarity with the Punjabi farmers in India in Delhi demanding repeal of the CAA alleged protesting for their livelihoods and protection that the government passed the law showing from misguided, manipulative government regacute high-handedness… In case of the farmers’ ulations.”

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reprotest over the farm bills, the protesters accuse iterated his support of the government of the Indian farmers, “calling same high-handedthe police crackdown ness”. on the farmers protests Some so-called top A group of 36 cross-party concerning”, elaboratanalysts and opinion “they should be almakers like Shekhar parliamentarians in UK have ing: lowed to stage peaceful Gupta are calling Modi protests…Indian minnot to budge from his written to British foreign istry of external affairs reformist policies, for secretary, asking him to shamelessly reacted to a after all what can very basic question of Sikhs, who are two make representations with human rights.” percent of the populahis Indian counterpart about A group of 36 tion in a 1300-million cross-party parliamenstrong India do to the impact on British tarians in UK have writModi? They actually Punjabis, affected by the ten to British foreign projected Modi’s secretary, asking him to macho image by pointdemonstrations of farmers make representations ing out how he had with his Indian counterconfronted China and against new agriculture part about the impact on Pakistan in Ladakh and reforms. Australian British Punjabis, afBalakot respectively. fected by the demonThe Indian media, parliamentarians Rob strations of farmers which projects the Mitchell and Russell Wortley against new agriculture stance of Modi’s reforms. flawed policies by the have joined several world Australian parliastalwarts of such bileaders to urge the Indian mentarians Rob ased parties as RSS Mitchell and Russell and BJP, tried to link government to show Wortley have joined Pakistan and China with Sikh farmers with restraint and compassion to several world leaders to urge the Indian governa view to dent the protesting farmers. ment to show restraint cause of the farmers’ and compassion to movement.

Nonetheless, Modi’s protesting farmers.

A former assistant inflexibility to revoke the nonetheless, director of the Finance Modi’s inflexibility to Commission of India, new agricultural laws has revoke the new agriculRitesh Kumaar, wrote brought India’s farmers’ tural laws has brought in an article, “narendar India’s farmers’ protests Modi has left India’s protests on global radar on global radar. economy a shattered It should not be formess… Managing the gotten that the Khalistan economy hasn’t been movement, which was Modi’s only fumble…

Modi approved a disastrous banknote demoneti- so powerful in the late 20th century, now survives zation scheme aimed at eradicating the black mar- mostly in the large Sikh diaspora. The Khalistan ket economy and clamping down on tax evasion. movement had links to the farmers’ movement In addition to the chaos it created, the scheme ru- of that time. The combination of a farmers’ ined the prospects of hundreds of thousands of movement and the diaspora has meant that the farmers and small to medium enterprise owners”. once moribund Khalistan Movement is once A number of Indian celebrities, including again gaining traction.

Bollywood stars, have also been showing support for the protesting farmers. The farmers’ Sajjad Shaukat writes on international movement has found resonance on social media, affairs and is author of the book: US vs Islamic and among the influential Sikh community in Militants, Invisible Balance of Power: DangerPunjab and overseas. ous Shift in International Relations Email: sajThousands of people, mostly Sikhs, jad¬_logic@yahoo.com

SInDH High Court’s remarkable decision regarding Combined Competitive Exams 2020 of Sindh Public Service Commission under the supervision of Sindh High Court officials and Additional Registrars of Higher Education Commission is much appreciated. This decision is made to ensure the transparency and merit. In past, Sindh Public Service Commission has remained controversial due to irregularities, nepotism and malpractices in the recruitment process and failed to ensure merit and transparency. The decision has brought some hope of merit for the candidates who are being appeared in CCE 2020. But there is still need of improvements at many stages of recruitment process in SPSC. It cannot be expected that conducting test of CCE under the officials of SHC guarantees 100% merit and this decision should not be limited only for Competitive exams only but is essential for all types of tests conducted by SPSC. At first, after the advertisement, the test should be conducted within 3 months. All the tests of BPS 16 and above may be conducted strictly in accordance with the relevant law, rules and regulations under the supervision of Sindh High Court and HEC officials. The list of all candidates who appeared in the test from top to bottom may be displayed on website whether they have qualified or failed the test without any delay. By doing this, candidates will be able to know his/her level of performance in the test and will help him/her for upcoming tests. After written test under supervision of SHC and HEC, qualified candidates may be called through call, message, sending letter on his/her postal address and via email to ensure that candidate has been informed for further requirements. In interview process, a panel of SPSC including SHC and HEC officials may be formed for transparency and final list may be uploaded on SPSC website within two weeks. Delay at any stage brings disappointment and anxiety among the candidates.

Ali Gul lEGhAri huSSAinAbAd

Missing public-oriented approach PAKISTAn is facing a second wave of coronavirus after miraculously containing the first one. Public is looking towards their representatives for effective answers to their miseries inflicted by the covid-19. However, political power struggle has deviated public representatives from their core duties of coming up timely to solve the public issues. Resultantly, helplessness and disillusionment against the system is gaining ground in the public because of its ineffectiveness of giving a helping. Both the Government and the opposition have heated the political discourse to an extent that real issues have been put on back burner. The maximalist approaches adopted by the both sides are leading the country to blind alley.

On the one hand, the government is not willing to set a table of talk and on the other hand, opposition parties under the banner of PDM are resorting to large public gathering in order to oust the current regime. These public meetings could be the super spreader of virus and consequently general masses who are already facing the scourge of high inflation and mass unemployment will bear the brunt. Thus, these dire circumstances require unprecedented measures on the both sides of political divide. The most important one is to dial down the current political tensions that are exposing common men to many vulnerabilities. It might sound cliché but a grand national dialogue is need of the hour to rewrite the rules of game and to have consensus on the issues that directly relate to the public. It is time to stand for collective good, not for narrow personal interests. And decisions must be based on sanity, not on stubbornness.

SArdAr FAiSAl hAyAt OkArA

Health department retorts THE Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department (P&SHD), on Friday, has strongly rejected a story published in a local daily, dated 11-Dec-20 titled as “Vital medicine for heart patients short in market”.

In reference to the published news story, spokesperson of Health on behalf of Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department & Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education stated that shortage of the Glyceryl Trinitrate (Sublingual) 0.5mg tablet has not been observed during the current year. The said matter was highlighted earlier on november 21 on the basis of public complaints and subsequently an internal inquiry was conducted. It was found in the inquiry report that there was no acute shortage of said tablet in the market or any public sector hospitals across Punjab, running under the administrative control of P&SHD, contrary to a news story published in “The Dawn”. The task was assigned to Chief Drug Controller, Punjab for determining the status of the Glyceryl Trinitrate (Sublingual) 0.5mg Tablet at distributors and point of sales from all over Punjab. Chief Drug Controller Punjab in his report revealed that there was a disruption in the supply/import of the raw material of the said drug during July due to COVID-19 pandemic but it never resulted in shortage of medicine as enough supply was available. “Currently, there is a sufficient quantity of Tab Angised (0.5mg) stocked at the main warehouses of manufacturing company’, CDC reported. Spokesperson P&SHD has further said that all districts administrators of both health departments were given instructions on December 11 to ensure presence of sufficient supplies of Glyceryl Trinitrate (0.5MG) tablet throughout the province. In reply to instruction, health facilities reported 70,367 tablets in the stock.

Spokesperson shared the details of available stock of Glyceryl Trinitrate tablet in 36 districts of Punjab. According to the detail Attock has 475 packs, Bahawalnagar 977, Bahawalpur 272, Bhakkar 440, Chakwal 2664, Chiniot 195, DG Khan 330, Faisalabad 1114, Gujranwala 230, Gujarat 1505, Hafizabad 180, Jhang 3665, Jhelum 2295, Kasur 3950, Khanewal 3187, Khushab 4060, Lahore 500, Layyah 576, Lodhran 3464, Mandi Bahuddin 515, Mianwali 6020, Multan 310, Muzaffargarh 4330, nankana 300, narowal 2410, Okara 2090, Pakpattan 6608, Rahim Yar Khan 1700, Rajanpur 250, Rawalpindi 2105, Sahiwal 130, Toba Tak Singh 1248, Vehari 1606, Sheikhupura 26, Sialkot 490 and Sargodha 10150.

Spokesperson further said that the story in question suggested that there was a shortage of Glyceryl Trinitrate in the six government cardiac institutions of Punjab which are under the administrative control of SHC&ME Department. The authorities of the Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education Department revealed that there was no shortage of this tablet reported in these hospitals, as implied in the story. hAFiz QAiSEr AbbAS lAhOrE

Saturday, 12 December, 2020

08 WORLD VIEW

ChinA And PAkisTAn ConduCT joinT Air drills – WiTh eye on indiA ALLIES SEEK CLOSER 'INTEROPERABILITY' AMID TENSIONS SURROUNDING COMMON FOE

Nikkei AsiA

C

WAJAHAT KHAN

Hina and Pakistan are conducting joint air force exercises in the southern desert of the islamic republic near the border with india in a not-so-subtle message to a country with which both have had long tense relations.

The drills come just a week after chinese Defense minister Gen. Wei Fenghe visited Pakistan and signed a memorandum of understanding for deepening military cooperation. The exercises, dubbed shaheen -- or Falcon -- iX, are underway at the newly operational Bholari air base in the arid region of sindh in the country's south, less than 200 km from the indian border.

The Pakistan air Force released a video showing the wide range of military aircraft on display in the exercise, which will last until late December. china has sent its fourth-generation shenyang J-11 air superiority fighters and chengdu J-10 multirole jets. Pakistan, meanwhile, is flying a mix of third-generation chinese-made chengdu F7 interceptors, French Dassault mirage 5 at-

tack planes and the new multirole JF-17 Thunder -- jointly produced by china and Pakistan. no american equipment, such as the F-16, has been deployed, the Pakistanis said.china's Defense ministry said the drills will "deepen practical cooperation between the two air forces."

Pakistan's air force, which comprises a mix of U.s., French and chinese hardware, has become increasingly reliant on Beijing. islamabad's economic and political proximity to china and decades of simmering tensions with archrival india have created what it sees as a need for closer tactical cooperation with its larger neighbor and stronger ally. at the opening ceremony on Wednesday, air Vice marshal ahmed sulehri, the deputy chief of Pakistan's air staff, said the exercises "will further enhance interoperability of both air forces, thereby fortifying brotherly relations between the two countries." major Gen. sun Hong, the assistant chief of staff of the People's Liberation army air Force, said they "will improve actual level of combat training and strengthen cooperation."india has recently featured as a common perceived threat for both the chinese and Pakistani militaries.

Pakistan and india, both nuclear-armed, have been rivals since independence from Britain more than 70 years ago, fighting wars and engaging in frequent border skirmishes, with tensions especially high in the disputed region of Kashmir. india and china, meanwhile, have also long been at odds and fought a brief war in 1962. Last summer, the PLa and the indian army clashed in a secluded but disputed part of the Himalayas, which saw 20 indian army personnel killed in the bloodiest fighting between the world's two most populous

countries in more than 40 years. The chinese side has not disclosed its casualties.

While the chinese military has been modernizing for years, the recent violence has triggered a series of reactions in new Delhi, including a rethink about india's security arrangements and military exercises. india recently hosted the massive malabar 2020 naval exercise with the U.s., Japan and australia. new Delhi's inclusion of canberra as a participant helped revitalize the "Quad," or Quadrilateral security Dialogue -- a loose body consisting of the four countries but now being viewed as a democratic bulwark against china's growing assertiveness in the asia-Pacific and beyond.india has also signed a series of security agreements -- ranging from intelligence sharing to logistical support -with its Quad partners.

Beijing and islamabad, meanwhile, have been strengthening their relationship which they have glowingly described as an "allweather friendship" and "iron brotherhood" since the 1950s, with decades of steady economic, military and even nuclear support from china for Pakistan. a hallmark of their closeness is the china Pakistan economic corridor, or cPec, a $60 billion communications, energy and infrastructure project to connect western china to the arabian sea and the Persian Gulf through ports and pipelines. cPec, considered a flagship project of chinese President Xi Jinping's Belt and road initiative, is protected and led by elements of the Pakistani military. as for the ongoing drills, while they are not the first joint air exercise between the chinese and the Pakistanis -- the maneuvers are called Xiongying, or eagle, when held in china -- the timing, location and size are significant.

across the border, the indian military has been cautious about a "two-front war" with china and Pakistan for decades.

Though india's current chief of defense staff, Gen. Bipinrawat, has been prolific in warning about such a scenario while insisting that india is ready for such a challenge, think tanks such as the new Delhi-based Observer research Foundation have expressed caution. "it is clear to many in positions of authority that the indian military remains fundamentally unprepared for such a challenge," it said in a 2018 report.analysts like retired rear adm. sudarshanshrikhande, india's former chief of naval intelligence, think that the exercise is reflective of china and Pakistan's larger strategic posture toward india."The issues of growing coherence and collusion between china and Pakistan have become concerns for india," shrikhande told nikkei asia. at no stage during the war with china in 1962 and the wars with Pakistan in 1965 or 1971 "could concerns of multifront problems be dismissed by new Delhi," he said. "in recent years, the threat is increasing and the scope of sino-Pak security cooperation deepening and widening."

The Pakistanis, meanwhile, have their own concerns about the increasing closeness of Washington and new Delhi, which they insist is shifting the balance of power in the region as well as triggering an arms race."considering the recently signed intelligence agreements between the indians and the americans, and also the recent clashes between the chinese and indian armies in the Himalayas, this is an important time and space for the exercise," a senior Pakistani military officer told nikkei, requesting anonymity.

What really saved the republic from Trump?

New York Times

A

Tim Wu

mericans are taught that the main function of the U.s. constitution is the control of executive power: curtailing presidents who might seek to become tyrants.

Other republics have lapsed into dictatorships (the roman republic, the Weimar republic, the republic of china and so on), but our elaborate constitutional system of checks and balances, engineered largely by James madison, protects us from despotism.

Or so we think. The presidency of Donald Trump, aggressive in its autocratic impulses but mostly thwarted from realizing them, should prompt a re-examination of that idea. For our system of checks and balances, in which the three branches of government are empowered to control or influence the actions of the others, played a disappointingly small role in stopping mr.

Trump from assuming the unlimited powers he seemed to want.

What really saved the republic from mr.

Trump was a different set of limits on the executive: an informal and unofficial set of institutional norms upheld by federal prosecutors, military officers and state elections officials. You might call these values our “unwritten constitution.” Whatever you call them, they were the decisive factor. it’s true that the courts at times provided a check on mr. Trump’s tyrannical tendencies, as with their dismissal of his frivolous attacks on the election and their striking

down of his effort to overturn the Deferred action for childhood arrivals program without appropriate process. But in other cases, such as his anti-muslim travel ban, the courts have been too unwilling to look beyond form to ferret out unconstitutional motive. more generally, mr. Trump has tended to move fast, while the courts are slow, and to operate by threat, which the courts cannot adjudicate.

The bigger and more important failure was congress. madison intended congress to be the primary check on the president.

Unfortunately, that design has a key flaw (as madison himself realized). The flaw is vulnerability to party politics. it turns out that if a majority of members of at least one body of congress exhibits a higher loyalty to its party than to congress, congress will not function as a reliable check on a president of that same party. This was what happened with mr. Trump and the republican-controlled senate.

The problem is chronic, but over the last four years it became virulent. confronted with a president who was heedless of rules, senate republicans, in ways large and small, let him do what he wanted. They allowed acting appointees to run the federal government.

They allowed him to claim a right to attack iran without congressional approval. The impeachment process was reduced to nothing but a party-line vote. The senate became a rubber stamp for executive overreach. instead, the president’s worst impulses were neutralized by three pillars of the unwritten constitution. The first is the customary separation between the president and federal criminal prosecution (even though the Department of Justice is part of the executive branch). The second is the traditional political neutrality of the military (even though the president is the commander in chief of the armed forces). The third is the personal integrity of state elections officials. if any of these informal “firewalls” had failed, President Trump might be on his way to a second and more autocratic term. But they held firm, for which the republic should be grateful. consider the first firewall: prosecutorial independence. The prosecution function of the executive branch is not mentioned in the constitution, and based on the text alone —

“the executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United states” — some might think (and some have even insisted) that the president has the power to order federal prosecutors to do his bidding. mr.

Trump claimed that power in 2017, saying “i have absolute right to do what i want to do with the Justice Department.”

But an unwritten norm has long held that the president should not dictate law enforcement decisions in general, and criminal prosecutions in particular. That is why, throughout this fall, even as mr. Trump urged his appointees in the Justice Department to openly announce a criminal investigation into the Biden family, they did not comply. none of mr. Trump’s appointees was willing to openly investigate Joe Biden or his family members, let alone issue an indictment or civil complaint. imagine if the Justice Department had followed mr. Trump’s lead. imagine if in response to the provocations of mr.

Trump’s lawyer rudolph Giuliani, a U.s. attorney had charged mr. Biden with criminal fraud. even if mr. Biden ultimately prevailed in court, publicly fighting such charges during an election would be a political and logistical nightmare. The unwritten constitution blocked this line of attack on the electoral process.

Prosecutorial independence was not limited to refusing to indict mr. Trump’s political adversaries; it also extended to indicting his allies. Over the past four years, six of mr.

Trump’s close associates have been convicted and seven were indicted, including his adviser stephen Bannon, his campaign chairman Paul manafort and his lawyer michael cohen. such prosecutions would be unimaginable in a dictatorship. none of this is to suggest that William Barr, mr. Trump’s attorney general, has served as a model of nonpartisan behavior, or that the Justice Department has been scrupulously fair. What it does show is how powerful unwritten norms can be, even in a department run by a loyalist.

The second firewall of the unwritten constitution was the U.s. military’s longstanding custom against getting involved in domestic politics. it was invaluable in checking mr. Trump’s militaristic instincts.

On June 1, as protests and counter-

protests occasioned by the killing of George Floyd became violent and destructive of property, mr. Trump appeared in the rose Garden of the White House and denounced what he called “acts of domestic terror.” He said he would “deploy the United states military” if necessary to “defend the life and property” of U.s. citizens. in a subsequent photo op, he was flanked by mr. Barr, Defense secretary mark esper and Gen. mark milley, the chairman of the Joint chiefs of staff, who was clad in military fatigues. soon, active duty forces from the 82nd airborne Division were positioned outside of Washington. mr. Trump’s plan had the written law on its side. neither the constitution nor any congressional statute would have prevented the president from directly ordering active duty military to suppress the protests. The constitution makes the president the commander in chief of the armed forces and the insurrection act of 1807 allows the president to use the military or national Guard to suppress civil disorder, providing a broad exception to the general rule barring domestic use of the military. it was an extraordinarily dangerous moment for the country. as the history of lapsed republics suggests, when the military becomes involved in domestic politics, it tends to stay involved. But two days after mr. Trump’s speech, mr. esper publicly broke with the president, stressing that active duty forces should be used domestically only “as a matter of last resort, and only in the most urgent and dire of situations.” He concluded that “i do not support invoking the insurrection act.”

General milley later issued a public apology for participating in mr. Trump’s photo op. “my presence in that moment,” he said, “created a perception of the military involved in domestic politics.” He added, “i should not have been there.” mr. Trump’s plans ran afoul not of the law, but of an unwritten rule. in a few days, the active duty troops gathered around Washington were sent home. Though briefly tested, the norm had held.

The final firewall of the unwritten constitution has been the integrity of state elections officials. corruption of the people and institutions that set election rules

The Basic exchange and cooperation agreement on Geospatial cooperation signed in October between the U.s. and india allows new Delhi access to american satellite intelligence for better weapon accuracy.referring to that agreement, the Pakistani officer was clear about how islamabad felt endangered by india's new capacity."The satellite-intelligence-sharing agreement is going to give india clear insight about what we are doing and how we are positioned," the officer said. "The indians are never going to attack china. They're going to attack Pakistan. With this exercise, we send a clear message to india. We have friends too." in a similar vein, the Global Times newspaper, a chinese communist Partybacked publication, in an analysis published this week declared that "although the timing of the joint air force training this year is later than previous years, the fact that it was held as usual shows the deep friendship between china and Pakistan and the importance the two countries attach to military exchanges," citing a chinese military expert.

Pakistan's military, which prides itself as a British-patterned force with colonial-era roots and Western traditions, finds itself in a difficult balancing act between the U.s. and china, given current trade and political tensions between Washington and Beijing. even as it continues to draw closer to china, Pakistan's military still wants to maintain cordial ties with the U.s., with which it has often partnered since joining the U.s.-led alliance against the soviet Union during the cold War, an arrangement which helped it both gain Washington's favor and provide benefits in return for decades."When we granted the americans an air force base to spy on the soviets in the 1950s, we received american hardware to fight the indians in the 1960s," the Pakistani officer said. "When Pakistani intelligence supported the afghan mujahedeen in the 1980s, and defeated the soviets in afghanistan without one american boot on the ground, we got F-16s in return. The same happened again, when the americans invaded afghanistan."Yes, we've been transactional allies, but dependable allies. now, the americans have found a new friend in the indians. But they should know better," the officer said.

Wajahat Khan is a staff writer at Nikkei Asia.

and count votes is an obvious threat to the democratic process.

The story of Brad raffensperger, the secretary of state in Georgia and its top elections official, testifies to the potential threats to an election’s integrity during a heated campaign. mr. raffensperger, a republican, was loosely in charge of the vote in a state that went narrowly for mr. Biden. in that capacity, mr. raffensperger was attacked and disparaged by higher-ranking members of his own party. This included such prominent political figures as Georgia’s two senators, David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler. Both demanded mr. raffensperger resign for no apparent reason other than his failure to prevent mr. Biden from winning the state.

Despite the pressure, mr. raffensperger and the state’s governor, Brian Kemp, held steady, along with an overwhelming majority of state elections officials around the country. They have refused to “discover” voting fraud without good evidence of it. Party loyalty — at this point — seems not to have fatally corrupted the vote-counting process. might this welcome result be credited to constitutional design? not really. The states are an important part of the constitutional design, and the document does give them a central role to play in federal elections. But what seems to have mattered most, in terms of ensuring the integrity of the voting process, was less the constitutional structure and more the personal integrity of the state elections officials. Their professional commitment to a fair vote may have spared the republic an existential crisis. madison famously wrote, “if men were angels, no government would be necessary.” cynical minds have read this line to mean that we should never trust people and should rely only on structural controls on government power.

The last four years suggest something different: structural checks can be overrated.

The survival of our republic depends as much, if not more, on the virtue of those in government, particularly the upholding of norms by civil servants, prosecutors and military officials. We have grown too jaded about things like professionalism and institutions, and the idea of men and women who take their duties seriously. But as every major moral tradition teaches, no external constraint can fully substitute for the personal compulsion to do what is right.

Tim Wu is a law professor at Columbia.

Saturday, 12 December, 2020

BUSINESS 09 corporate corner

EU to PRovIDE RS11.1Bn foR wAtER SECURIty, EDUCAtIon In BAloCHIStAn ISLAMABAD

KARACHI: Malaysian car manufacturer company Proton is all set to launch in Pakistan. Proton will introduce its first line of intelligent automobiles in partnership with Al-Haj Automotive. Al-Haj Group was incorporated as a Private Limited Company in 2006 and has been awarded with Green Field Status to assemble Proton in Pakistan. PR

KARACHI: Famous Italian Chef Marco Saracino poses for a group photo with participants of 'culinary training workshop' at Beach Luxury Hotel. The event was part of Italian Cuisine Week being celebrated in Karachi from 9th to 16th December. PR

Master Changan Motors unveils Changan Alsvin – Pakistan’s 1st Euro-5 KARACHI: Master Changan Motors Limited has proudly unveiled the latest generation, Pakistan’s first Euro-5 Smart sedan car, the Changan Alsvin, at a press conference held in Karachi on 11th December, 2020 at the Marriott Hotel. The Changan Alsvin is one of the most anxiously awaited sedans by not only car fanatics but mass-market consumers. The design language of the Changan Alsvin expresses it as a ‘smart sedan’ due to its unmatched technology, comfort, and luxury all while providing the nimbleness of a hatchback, and that too at an accessible price – truly standing by its motto – “Drive Your Dreams”.

Master Changan Motors Limited acquired Greenfield status under the Auto policy 2016-2021 and entered into a joint venture with Changan automobile with an initial investment of $100 million - the largest investment of its kind by an OEM in Pakistan's history. The company established a plant in Karachi with an annual production capacity of 30,000 units.

The JV further invested $36 million to introduce the Alsvin in Pakistan and aims to bring in a couple of more exciting models by June 2021. Press release

Coca-Cola donates essentially required ventilators amid second wave surge in Covid-19 cases LAHORE: Amidst the rapid recent surge in second wave of Covid-19 reported cases in Punjab, The Coca-Cola Export Corporation (TCCEC) stepped forward to donate 37 essentially required portable ventilators to the Government of Punjab to help save critical human lives.

The donation was received by the Honorable Chief Minister of Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar during a special ceremony held at the Chief Minister’s Camp Office at 90 Shahrah-e-Quaid-e-Azam Lahore on Friday, December 11. These portable ventilators were sourced locally from the National Radio & Telecommunication Corporation (NRTC), a state-owned organization and the first in Pakistan who has indigenously developed and locally manufactured these ventilators. A total of 37 ventilators worth Rs19.0 million were procured from NRTC with Coca-Cola channeling complete support for the locally produced ventilators and becoming the first customer of the NRTC to source this lifesaving equipment and donating them back to the Government for common welfare. Press release

JS Bank secures certificate of merit at Best Corporate Report Award 2019 KARACHI: JS Bank has won the prestigious Certificate of Merit - Banking Sector at the Best Corporate Report Award Ceremony jointly hosted by ICAP and ICMAP. Held annually since 2000, the Best Corporate Report Awards has been instrumental in encouraging entities to follow transparency in preparing their annual reports according to international best practices. The Award recognizes commitment to promoting corporate accountability and transparency through the publication of timely, informative, factual and reader friendly annual reports. “This award reflects our passion for open and investor friendly communication.

This is another step in our efforts to ensure that our stakeholders receive useful and accurate information in a timely manner.” JS Bank CEO & President Basir Shamsie said. Press release

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INP

HE European Union (EU) will provide Rs11.1 billion to support the government of Balochistan address water scarcity and improve access and quality of primary and middle-level education in the province.

The announcement follows the signing of two new financing agreements here on Friday

by Ministry of Economic Affairs Secretary Noor Ahmad and EU Ambassador to Pakistan Androulla Kaminara.

The five-year programme on water governance – to be implemented from 2021 – will contribute to the transition in the arid regions of Balochistan towards sustainable, low water intensive agricultural and livestock farming systems.

The support will include incentives for farmers to use water more efficiently and unleash the potential of livestock by supporting sustainable rangelands management, with a

special focus on the most vulnerable groups. This will not only contribute to improved productivity by making better use of scarce water resources, but also help improve groundwater recharge in the medium to long-term. The programme will also focus on strengthening public extension services to ensure farmers receive appropriate support on water for agriculture and livestock.

The programme will be implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) in collaboration with local partners.

Further, the European Union will also provide Rs3.4 million to strengthen the education systems in the province.

The ‘Balochistan Education Support Programme II’, will work towards ensuring that all children have access to basic education and improving the quality of education.

The four-year programme will be implemented by the United Nations Children’s Fund – UNICEF. It will involve local communities in school develop-

ment planning, help enhance the training of teachers, and support stronger education institutions.

In the Covid-19 context, the programme will also focus on SOPs for safe school reopening and operation, as well as on enrolment and retention drives in targeted districts to avoid massive dropouts due to the pandemic.

The programme will also introduce innovative elements, such as work on inclusion of parallel education systems in mainstream education policy.

It may be mentioned here that Balochistan is one of the regions of Pakistan at greater risk from climate change, which threatens livelihoods.

Also considering the socioeconomic impact of Covid-19, it is crucial to invest in low water agriculture to reduce poverty and malnutrition.

In the education sector the EU is renewing its commitment to helping children, especially the most vulnerable, to receive an education and be able to follow their dreams, contributing to a better future for Pakistan.”

Car sales up by 63pc YoY in November LAHORE HassaN NaQVI

Car sales increased by 48pc YoY in November this year to 14,454 units, the Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (PAMA) reported on Friday.

Indus Motor Company Limited (INDU), Honda Atlas Cars (Pakistan) Limited (HCAR) and Pak Suzuki Motor Company (PSMC) registered sales increases of 87pc YoY, 72pc YoY and 16pc YoY, respectively.

The same, including Lucky Motor Corporation (KIA, a non-member of PAMA, is up by 63pc YoY. Syed Fawad Basir, a senior research analyst at Topline Securities Limited said this is the first YoY increase in FY21 for PSMC as some of the production issues have been resolved.

He added that car sales also increased by 3pc MoM in November. The increase was driven by PSMC's increase of 12pc MoM as Cultus sales grew by 86pc MoM followed by Ravi sales improving by 255pc MoM. He maintained that HCAR's sales were the

Stocks extend rally with 166point gain

same as last month. INDU's volumes declined by 10pc MoM. The senior research analyst added that new entrants into Pakistan’s autospace Hyundai Nishat Motor (Private) Limited sold 472 units (+63pc MoM) in November, while Lucky Motor sold around 1,500 units, as per our channel checks.

Basir said that Atlas Honda (ATLH) recorded motorbike sales of 108,005 units in November, up 14pc YoY. In 5MFY21, sales have increased by 19pc YoY. Tractor sales in November are up 77pc YoY, while decreasing by 28pc MoM. He added that Millat Tractors (MTL) recorded increase of 67pc YoY (-22pc MoM) while Al Ghazi Tractors (AGTL) sales increased by 116pc YoY (-39pc MoM), respectively.

We expect demand for cars to grow stronger owing to the low interest rates environment and pickup in economic activity, he said.

Basir said topline securities are overweight on Pak automobiles with buy ratings on INDU, HCAR and MTL.

Invisi Smart presents innovative line of reusable masks

LAHORE: HUAWEI Y6p, people can get a guaranteed surprise gift*. Consumers purchasing Huawei’s top selling smartphones will get delightful surprises and valuable gifts including; high-quality headphones, water-bottles, speakers and table-lamps, etc. during this “Huawei Giving December” campaign. The December festivities are upon us and while everyone is heading into the winter holidays spirit, Huawei has something exciting in store for its fans.

For all their beloved phones such as; HUAWEI Nova 7i, HUAWEI Y9a, HUAWEI Y7a, HUAWEI Y8p and This campaign includes some of Huawei’s most feature rich devices that are easy on the pocket. Inheriting blistering performance, trendy designs and handy functions are characteristics of the Y series. Press release

Karachi SKMCH&RC to be complete in less than three years: Dr Muhammed Aasim

LAUSANNE: Construction work for the new Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, Karachi is underway at full pace and the project is expected to be commissioned in less than three years, at a total cost of Rs13 billion. In a press-briefing organised in this regard, Dr Muhammed Aasim Yusuf, the Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centres (SKMCH&RC) in Pakistan, shared details on this project. The new Hospital will be located in DHA City on twenty acres of land. It will open as a fully-functional cancer hospital, with all clinical disciplines in place, and equipped with the latest technology, including state-of-the-art diagnostic facilities as well as the latest in treatment planning and delivery systems. SKMCH&RC in Karachi, at one million square feet of constructed area, will be twice the size of the hospital in Lahore, and will have forty-seven outpatient examination rooms, a sixty-nine bed chemotherapy facility, around three-hundred inpatient beds, sixteen operation theatres, and twenty-four intensive care beds. Press release

Philip Morris International announces planned leadership succession

KARACHI sTaFF rePOrT

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) continued with the positive momentum on Friday, recording gains for the third consecutive session amid improved market sentiments mainly due to positive economic data and vaccine hopes.

According to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan, workers’ remittances remained above $2billion mark for the 6th consecutive month, recoding a 28pc year-on-year growth in November 2020. Meanwhile, the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI)based weekly inflation was also seen in the negative zone for the third consecutive week. SPI recorded a decrease of 0.26pc over last week. Out of 51 monitored items, prices of 16 (31.37pc) increased, 13 (25.49pc) decreased, while that of 22 (43.14pc) remained unchanged.

Huawei giving December brings gifts with every Huawei purchase

LAHORE: Invisi Smart proudly presents its innovative line of reusable masks, proven to protect against Covid-19! “It actually kills Corona!” Tested at the prestigious University of Cambridge by one of Times Magazine’s most influential people of 2020, Dr. Ravi Gupta, the engineered coating on the masks is the ONLY technology that has been tested and proven to kill Covid-19 virus. Invisi Smart has been mentioned in the British Medical Journal and is already creating waves globally and is now all set to make its mark in Pakistan. Usable for up to 30 days, not only is it cost effective but practical - even after washing with water, the protection shield remains intact. Adjustable ear straps offer optimal comfort that don’t take pressure to the ears, and the Invisi Smart protection coating is proven to kill the virus that comes into contact with it. Safety and comfort have never been seen like this before! Now available to order in Pakistan via their Instagram @invisismart.pakistan, the safety and well-being of you and your loved ones is just a click away. Press release

CMYK

LAUSANNE: Philip Morris International Inc. on Friday announced a long-planned leadership succession, which will be completed in May 2021. PMI’s current Chief Executive Officer, André Calantzopoulos, was appointed Executive Chairman of the Board, to take effect immediately prior to the Annual Meeting of Shareholders in May 2021. For personal reasons, the current Chairman, Louis Camilleri, expressed his desire to retire as of the day of this announcement. Consequently, Lucio Noto, PMI’s independent Presiding Director, will serve as interim Chairman until the succession of Calantzopoulos in May. PMI’s current COO, Jacek Olczak, will succeed Calantzopoulos as Chief Executive Officer immediately after the May meeting. It is anticipated that Olczak will also be nominated for election to the Board of Directors at the meeting. Mr. Olczak has served as PMI’s Chief Operating Officer since January 2018 and served as Chief Financial Officer from August 2012 through December 2018. This planned succession promises a seamless transition and continuity of leadership. Messrs. Camilleri, Calantzopoulos, and Olczak have worked closely together since PMI became an independent company. They share a single strategic vision, and under their combined leadership, PMI has marked significant achievements, including its business transformation and indisputable leadership in the smokefree product category. Press release

Saturday, 12 December, 2020

10 FOREIGN NEWS US returns 12 military sites to South Korea after years of haggling SEOUL AGENCIES

The US military agreed on Friday to return 12 sites to South Korea, including some in central Seoul, clearing the way for civilian construction projects after years of squabbling over the hand-back. US forces have been stationed in South Korea since the 1950-53 Korean War. In recent years, the allies have disputed the cost of maintaining the 28,500 US personnel at various bases despite what many see as a growing North Korean threat. The 12 sites are among 80 that US Forces Korea (USFK) agreed in 2002 to hand over to South Korea for redevelopment but the plans have been delayed by haggling over clean-up costs. The two sides finalised the handover plan for the 12 sites on the condition that the discussion of clean-up costs continued, South Korean government agencies said in a statement. “We reached the decision comprehensively considering social and economic issues in the communities caused by the delays and their requests for the swift return,” Choi Chang-won, a vice minister of government policy coordination, told a briefing. Residents in some areas have protested for years to get the sites returned to civilian use saying the US facilities stifled development plans and undermined property prices.

Among the 12 sites are six in the capital, Seoul, including two at the Yongsan Garrison in the city centre, which housed the USFK headquarters until it was moved to the new, sprawling Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, in 2018. The government plans to refurbish the sites and build residential and commercial facilities to help curb spiralling apartment prices, the government agencies said.

The health ministry and Seoul authorities are considering a plan for a public hospital specialising in infectious diseases at one of the sites in the capital.

Students in London to be tested for Covid-19 as cases soar LONDON AGENCIES

Thousands of school pupils across Britain will be tested for coronavirus as the number of new cases soar, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has announced. Every student in the Covid-hit hotspots of Kent, Essex and London aged between 11 and 18 will undergo a test under the new scheme. Hancock said the campaign was being rolled out to stop coronavirus spreading to the wider community and stressed "targeted action" was required immediately. "Cases are rising and in many areas, already high," Hancock said at a news conference in Downing Street. "We've decided to put in place an immediate plan for testing all secondary school aged children in the seven worst affected boroughs of London, in parts of Essex that border London and parts of Kent." He said: “We know from experience that a sharp rise in cases in younger people can lead to a rise among more vulnerable age groups later. We need to do everything we can to stop the spread among school age children in London right now – we must not wait until the review, which will take place on December 16." The Office for National Statistics said the infection rate in Greater London is measuring 191.8 per 100,000 people, the highest rate in England. London is at risk of being put into the highest category of coronavirus restrictions next week, meaning pubs and restaurants would be forced to shut. London Mayor Sadiq Khan said the harshest Tier 3 coronavirus restrictions would be “catastrophic” for the capital. Hancock said he had spoken to the leaders of London’s councils and the London Mayor. He added: “We want to keep schools open because that is both right for education and for public health. We are therefore surging mobile testing units and will be working with schools and local authorities to encourage these children and their families to get tested over the coming days.” He said everyone in these groups should get tested irrespective of whether they have symptoms, adding that one in three Covid-19 cases are asymptomatic. The weekly rate of new Covid-19 cases in the London borough of Havering has risen above 400 cases per 100,000 people. Havering now has the eighth highest rate of any local authority area in England. England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty told the briefing a third wave was “not inevitable” and said people must be “very, very sensible” over Christmas.

US tO SANCtiON tURKey OveR RUSSiAN defeNCe SyStem: RepORt WASHINGTON

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AGENCIES

HE United States will impose sanctions on Turkey for acquiring Russian S-400 air defence systems. The move, according to sources, will likely worsen the already problematic ties between the two NATO allies. The long-anticipated step, which is likely to infuriate Ankara and severely complicate relations with the administration of President-elect Joe Biden, could be announced any day, sources said.

The sanctions would be placed on

Turkey's Presidency of Defence Industries and its head, Ismail Demir, sources have said, and added the announcement was expected on Friday but could come any day.

The Turkish lira weakened following the news. US sanctions could harm a Turkish economy already struggling with a coronavirus-induced slowdown, double-digit inflation and badly depleted foreign reserves.

A senior Turkish official said any sanctions would backfire and hurt ties between the two NATO members.

"Sanctions would not achieve a result but be counterproductive. They would harm relations," the official said.

"Turkey is in favour of solving these problems with diplomacy and negotiations. We won't accept one-sided impositions," he said.

The US State Department could alter its plans and widen or narrow the scope of planned sanctions against Turkey, which has been a NATO ally for decades.

However, sources said the announcement of the sanctions in their current form was imminent and suggested that the United States was out of patience and finally ready to act. The US has warned Turkey in the past about sanctions requirements under the law.

No Brexit deal likely as EU making things ‘more difficult’: Johnson

The Pentagon referred questions on any potential sanctions to the State Department. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Russia delivered the ground-to-air S-400s last year and Turkey tested them as recently as October. Ankara said they would not be integrated into NATO systems and pose no threat, and called for a joint working group on the issue.

But the United States has stated that the S-400s do pose a threat and went so far as to announce the past year that it was removing Turkey from the F-35 fighter jet programme over the issue.

Six hurt in bomb attack in Russia's North Caucasus

LONDON

MOSCOW

AGENCIES

AGENCIES

There’s a high chance the UK will be exiting the EU without a trade deal, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said, telling his cabinet to prepare for such, and blaming Brussels for complicating the negotiating process.

“I do think that we need to be very, very clear there’s now a strong possibility that we will have a solution that’s much more like an Australian relationship with the EU than a Canadian relationship with the EU,” Johnson pointed out. “It doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing.”

The EU and Canada currently have a free trade deal, while Australia does business with the bloc without such an agreement.

“We'll go the extra mile” in an attempt to find common ground with the EU, the PM promised, expressing readiness to go to Brussels, Paris or Berlin to finally strike a deal. Johnson’s first comments since his meeting with the EU chief, Ursula von der Leyen, on Wednesday failed to break the deadlock on the outstanding issues of a level playing field, governance and fisheries.

After Wednesday’s talks, von der Leyen said her meeting with Johnson allowed the two to gain a “clear understanding” of each other’s positions. “They remain far apart,” she noted.

Six law enforcement officers were wounded on Friday when a man they were trying to arrest blew himself up in a village in Russia’s North Caucasus region, counter-terrorism authorities said. Officers moved to stop the bomber as he tried to force his way into an area where they were conducting a search operation, the National Counter-terrorism Committee said in a statement. The attack took place in the village of Uchkeken. No civilians were hurt and authorities were trying to establish the identity of the assailant, it said. Russia has been hit by bomb attacks carried out by rebels from the North Caucasus in the past, although Moscow has largely crushed their insurgency.

The time to reach an agreement between London and Brussels is running out, as Britain is scheduled to exit the European Single Market and European Customs Union on January 1.

“The UK has been incredibly flexible … [and] tried very hard to make progress on all sorts of things,” Johnson insisted, claiming the push by Brussels to keep the UK “locked” in the EU’s legal system has “made things much more difficult."

London will continue to do “everything possible” to achieve the deal, but “the treaty is not there yet,” he stressed.

The UK has itself been accused of acting in bad faith in the Brexit negotiations, over London’s threats to breach the Withdrawal Agreement with its own legislation. The EU launched legal action against London over its reluctance to drop the offending clauses from its Internal Market Bill, which would have allowed MPs to override specific areas of the Withdrawal Agreement with regard to Northern Ireland, including border arrangements and financial support. The sides only settled the disagreement “in principle” earlier this week.

Bird flu outbreak spreads to 20 per cent of Japan's prefectures TOKYO: Japan’s worst-ever bird flu outbreak has spread to a new area and now affects almost 20 per cent of the country’s 47 prefectures, with officials ordering mass cullings after poultry deaths on two farms. More than 370,000 head of poultry will be slaughtered and buried after avian influenza was discovered at two breeding farms in Mimasaka city in Okayama prefecture in southwestern Japan, the agriculture ministry said on Friday. Highly pathogenic bird flu, a H5 subtype most likely brought by migrating birds from the Asia or Europe, has spread to nine of Japan’s 47 prefectures, with nearly 3 million birds culled to date, a record number. All farms in Japan have been ordered to disinfect facilities and check hygiene regimes, and ensure that nets to keep out wild birds are installed properly, agriculture ministry officials said this week. The government is calling for extra vigilance because of the growing number of infections in Japan and in Europe, which is in the grip of an outbreak. Japan has suspended poultry imports from seven countries, including Germany. Japan’s worst outbreak since at least 2016 started last month in Kagawa prefecture on Shikoku island. Japan had a broiler chicken population of 138 million head last year, according to the US. Department of Agriculture. AGENCIES

Any vaccine adverse effects up to national agencies to review: WHO GENEVA AGENCIES

Any adverse effects from Covid-19 vaccines are for national authorities to review, the World Health Organization said on Friday in response to questions about Britain warning people with a history of anaphylaxis to avoid the PfizerBioNTech shot. “But people should not be too anxious. Remember there are a number of vaccine candidates coming online at the same time,” WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris told a UN briefing in Geneva. “One vaccine may not be suitable for particular individuals, but you may well find another vaccine is.” On Tuesday, Britain became the first country to roll out the Pfizer-BioNTech shot. Its medicine regulator subsequently said anyone with a history of anaphylaxis to a medicine or food should not get the shot, after two reported incidents of the reaction. A panel of outside advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration on Thursday voted overwhelmingly to endorse emergency use of the vaccine, paving the way for the agency to authorize the shot for a nation that has lost more than 285,000 lives to Covid-19. The WHO is reviewing data from phase 3 trials of many Covid-19 vaccine candidates, Harris said. The agency has not yet issued emergency use authorisation for any vaccines, but “the primary thing we look at is safety”, she added.

EU leaders clinch deal on tougher 2030 climate goal BRUSSELS AGENCIES

European Union countries agreed a new climate change target for the bloc on Friday after haggling through the night in Brussels, pulling the political trigger on a policy revamp to make every sector greener.

Leaders of the 27 member states agreed to cut their net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 per cent from 1990 levels by 2030, substantially toughening an existing 40 per cent target.

The EU wants to reach “net zero” emissions by 2050, a deadline that scientists say the world must meet to avert the most cata-

strophic impacts of climate change.

European Council President Charles Michel, who chaired the talks, called the EU the leader in the fight against climate change, and said the target had been hard-fought, but was “credible”.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said it would put the bloc “on a clear path towards climate neutrality in 2050”.

The EU will present its target at a United Nations global virtual summit on Saturday (today). The EU emissions trading market already seeks to put a price on the carbon emissions that drive climate change.

The price of permits rose to an all-time

high above 31 euros a tonne on Friday, on expectations that the supply of permits would be cut, to force deeper emissions cuts.

The target is a compromise between wealthier, mostly western and Nordic EU countries that want more ambitious action and eastern states with coal-dependent power sectors and energy-intensive industries, which wanted specific conditions attached to emissions cuts.

Poland held out alone until dawn for a guarantee that promised funding from the EU carbon market for poorer countries would not be reduced.

It also sought assurances that future national emissions-cutting targets, set by Brussels

for certain sectors, would be based on gross domestic product - meaning that less prosperous states would be required to cut less.

A majority of countries had opposed these demands on grounds that they would pre-empt detailed proposals that the EU’s executive Commission will make next year.

The final deal gives a commitment to address “imbalances” in carbon market funding that could leave poorer countries worse off. The leaders agreed to meet again next year to tackle the question of GDP-based emissions targets.

The Commission’s proposals will speed a shift to electric vehicles and aim to mobilise investments in the huge low-carbon

infrastructure that will now be needed - including a requirement for extra energy sector investments of 350 billion euros a year this decade.

The “at least 55 per cent” target is as good as final, but will need approval from the European Parliament, which supports a more ambitious 60 per cent cut. “They are setting us up for a tough negotiation,” said Jytte Guteland, parliament’s lead lawmaker on the issue.

Some campaigners also said the target was too weak. “It won’t transform how we get around and how we produce our food fast enough to beat the climate emergency,” said Greenpeace policy adviser Sebastian Mang.

Saturday, 12 December, 2020

SPORTS 11

NicHoLLS’ cHArmED cENtury HELpS NZ riDE SHAky StArt AgAiNSt Wi WELLINGTON

Zealand out of a hole.

“You just try and move on from them same as when your hitting a boundary or EW Zealand’s Henry Nicholls anything else,” Nicholls said, describing rode his luck to post a crucial cen- how he shut his near-misses out of his mind. tury as the hosts, weakened by the “It’s just batting, it’s cricket, it’s pretty fickle loss of Kane Williamson, survived so I just keep focusing on what I’m doing and bringing their bowlers back for a shaky start to reach 294more spells. It was nice in the 6 on day one of the second Test initial bit to get through to against the West Indies on FriNEW ZEALAND 294 lunch. Just little milestones day. on this surface.”

Nicholls, 29, survived FOR 6 (NICHOLLS 117 Everything went the multiple dropped catches NOT OUT, YOUNG 43, West Indies’ way at the at Wellington’s Basin Reserve as he snapped a 21- MITCHELL 42, GABRIEL 3-57, start of the day when Jason Holder won the toss month string of low scores CHEMAR HOLDER 2-65) and made New Zealand bat with his sixth Test century.

VS WEST INDIES on an emerald surface with At stumps, Nicholls was cloud cover and a howling 117 not out with Kyle northerly wind. After a couple of Jamieson on one. From being on expensive early overs, Shannon the ropes at 78-3, Nicholls said New Zealand now considered 400 would be “a Gabriel and Chemar Holder led an attack good result”. New Zealand won the first Test that had New Zealand pinned down with inside four days on the back of Williamson’s three wickets in the first 90 minutes.

The pitch offered pace, bounce and seam towering 252, but they are now playing without their talismanic captain who is on pater- movement and when the bowlers found a nity leave awaiting the birth of his first child. good length and moved the ball, they were It was left to Nicholls to prop up the innings, almost unplayable. But when it seemed the but he had to survive dropped catches and odds were against the Black Caps, an out-ofeven a technical malfunction, when a broken form Nicholls stepped up. When he joined stump mic prevented a review, to bat New Will Young in the middle, the sun emerged,

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Verstappen edges Bottas in Abu Dhabi practice as Hamilton makes quiet return

the wind faded and the momentum swung New Zealand’s way.

As the total grew, so did the number of spectators with more than 3,500 in the ground by late afternoon with no crowd restrictions in the largely coronavirus-free country. Nicholls played his way through a short-ball barrage, passing 50 for the first time in 14 innings but riding his luck as chances were spilled and nicks fell in no-man’s land.

He was dropped once on 21 and twice on 47, while on 29 a top edge for six sailed just out of the reach of Jermaine Blackwood, who had moved several metres in from the boundary.

A shout for Nicholls to be given caught behind on 70 was turned down after an earlier throw at the wickets had broken the stump microphone, leaving no way for the ball tracker to detect if there had been a faint edge. “He capitalised on his chances,” an exasperated West Indies wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva said. “It’s frustrating when you drop catches, but we can’t do anything about it now so we have to move on to the next day.”

When Nicholls passed his century, it typified his risky innings as he shaped to turn the ball through midwicket but top-edged it for two on the off side.

Gabriel, in his 50th Test, was clearly frustrated when Darren Bravo dropped Nicholls on 47, but he had reason to smile in

his next over when he had Young caught at second slip by Jason Holder for 43.

Nicholls had partnerships of 70 with Young, 55 with BJ Watling, and 83 with Daryl Mitchell. Watling authored his own demise on 30 when he chopped a wide Alzarri Joseph delivery on to his stumps, while Mitchell was trapped in front by

De Kock to captain SA Test team without strike bowler Rabada

ABU DHABI

CAPE TOWN

Agencies

Agencies

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen pipped Valtteri Bottas to top the timesheets in Friday’s opening Formula One practice session for the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton made a quiet return to action.

The Dutchman set a time of one minute, 37.378 seconds to go 0.034 seconds quicker than Bottas with Hamilton 1.3 seconds slower in fifth. The 35-year-old Hamilton, who missed last week’s Sakhir Grand Prix after testing positive for Covid-19, suffered brake problems that sent him back to the garage just three laps after he hit the track. The Briton was back out with half the 90-minute session still to run. Yet Hamilton, who has already wrapped up a record-equalling seventh world title, set his best time on the slowest hard tyres compared to the quickest softs used by Verstappen and Bottas. Frenchman Esteban Ocon, fresh from having secured his maiden Formula One podium last week in Sakhir, was third for Renault. Red Bull’s Alexander Albon, who spun on what would have been his quickest lap, was fourth. Lance Stroll was sixth for Racing Point ahead of team mate Sergio Perez.

Quinton de Kock has been named South Africa Test captain for the 2020-21 season and will lead an inexperienced squad without leading fast bowler Kagiso Rabada at the start of the twomatch series against Sri Lanka in Pretoria on December 26.

South Africa’s director of cricket, Graeme Smith, had previously said the workload of captaining the Test side would be too much for white-ball skipper de Kock, but the selectors have had a change of heart.

“Quinton is happy to continue in the role for the next season, and is comfortable with the balance of the workload and we back him fully as a captain,” Convenor of Selectors Victor Mpitsang said in a statement released by Cricket South Africa. “We are also pleased with the leadership group in the team and are cultivating a strong individual leadership culture at the same time, so that the team produces a sustainable stream of potential captains for the future.”

Left-handed batsman Sarel Erwee, seamer Glenton Stuurman and wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne have all received first call-ups in what is a new-look squad with a return also for all-rounder Wiaan Mulder after a lengthy absence though injury. Uncapped batsman Keegan Petersen is also included, and there is a recall for opener Aiden Markram.

Strike bowler Rabada is not fit enough for the first Test, but will be considered for the second that begins in Johannesburg on January 3 if he recovers from a hip injury. Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje and Beuran Hendricks are the senior

LONDON

seam bowlers in the squad.

Sri Lanka stunned South Africa in February 2019 when they became the first Asian team to win a Test series in the country. Then came a home series defeat to England followed by plenty of soul-searching within the camp. souTh africa squad: Quinton de Kock (captain), Temba Bavuma, Aiden Markram, Faf du Plessis, Beuran Hendricks, Dean Elgar, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Rassie van der Dussen, Sarel Erwee, Anrich Nortje, Glenton Stuurman, Wiaan Mulder, Keegan Petersen, Kyle Verreynne.

MELBOURNE Agencies

hard, but look, I think it’s an exciting series coming up.” If there were fears Smith might struggle to return to his best cricket after his suspension, the former captain crushed them during last year’s Ashes where his 774 runs topped the batting by a mile. Defying jeering crowds, the career-defining series ensured Australia would retain the urn on

English soil for the first time since 2001.

A fired-up Smith determined to make amends for missing out two years ago could have a similar impact against India.

Smith has been the South Asians’ nemesis since first setting eyes on them in Test whites seven years ago. Batting at number five, he scored 92 in his first in-

CMYK

Stokes, Archer rested for England's tour of Sri Lanka Agencies

Smith looks to make up for lost time against India Of all the players that file onto the lush turf at Adelaide Oval on the first day of the Test series between Australia and India, Steve Smith may have the biggest spring in his step at the end of a pandemic-blighted year.

Along with opener David Warner, Smith missed India’s last tour in 2018-19 while serving a 12-month suspension for his part in the Newlands ball-tampering scandal. Australia lost the series 2-1, their first defeat to a touring Asian side, as their batting crumbled repeatedly in the face of Jasprit Bumrah and an outstanding Indian pace attack. Smith, who amassed 687 runs the previous Ashes summer against England at a Bradman-esque average of 137.40, was a reluctant armchair viewer.

“I watched bits and pieces. It was difficult to obviously be sitting on the sideline and not be able to go out there and make a difference,” the 31-year-old said on Thursday. “That was the toughest thing for me, knowing that I probably could have made a difference if I was out there. So that was

Chemar Holder for 42.

Gabriel was the pick of the bowlers, finishing with three for 57 after removing Tom Blundell (14) and Ross Taylor (nine) before lunch before Young became his 150th Test dismissal. Chemar Holder, on debut, dismissed Tom Latham (27) in the first session and ended the day with two for 65.

nings against India in Mohali in 2013, and might have had a century but for a line-ball stumping decision. In his nine Tests against India since, Smith has racked up seven hundreds and averages 84.05.

Only West Indies have felt a greater wrath from his bat, with the fidgety genius averaging 165.66 in five Tests against the Caribbeans. Smith has already forewarned of a big summer ahead, smashing back-toback 62-ball centuries off India’s bowlers to ensure Australia won the one-day series in the leadup. Smith’s two-year leadership ban expired in March but Tim Paine remains Australia’s Test captain, a popular choice for guiding the Test side with dignity through the dark days that followed ‘Sandpaper-gate’. Yet there is growing pressure on Australia’s cricket chiefs to lay out a succession plan that involves Smith regaining the captaincy when the time is ripe.

Until then, Smith is content just to call the shots against the world’s best bowlers.

“I go out there and do my job and that’s to try to score as many runs as I can, no matter who’s playing or what the circumstances are,” he said.

All-rounder Ben Stokes and fast bowler Jofra Archer have been rested for England’s twoTest tour of Sri Lanka in January, but both will return for the series in India the following month. The duo were omitted from the 16player squad and seven travelling reserves named by the England selectors on Friday.

All-rounder Moeen Ali, 33, was included in the Test squad for the first time since 2019 while wicketkeeper-batsman Jonny Bairstow is recalled after being dropped a year ago.

Essex batsman Dan Lawrence has received a first call-up. England’s selectors are acutely aware of the impact on players of bio-secure bubbles and with a demanding year ahead, are making sure they protect their key performers.

“There must be room for sensible rotation in and out of the squad,” chief selector Ed Smith told reporters. “Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer and those who are multi-format players will have blocks of rest. It’s impossible for people to go straight through six Tests.”

Stokes is mourning the death of his father Ged who died of brain cancer this week.

Smith said it was an opportunity for other players such as Bairstow who is keen to reestablish himself in the Test squad. “Jonny has missed out on selection over the last year but this felt like the right moment with his pedigree playing spin in Asia, it’s the perfect moment for him.”

As well as Stokes and Archer, Surrey batsman Rory Burns will miss the Sri Lanka tour as his wife is expecting their first child in January.

Ollie Pope will join the squad and continue his rehab from a shoulder injury in readiness for the four-match Test series against India starting in February.

England depart for Sri Lanka on January 2 and will play both Tests at the Galle International Cricket Stadium, the first starting on January 14 and the second on January 22. Both Tests will be behind closed doors. England will be subject to quarantine in Hambantota on arrival in Sri Lanka.

During that period, the players will be able to train for five days from January 5-9 at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium. The series was called off in March because of the Covid-19 pandemic with England already in Sri Lanka.

England squad for TEsTs: Joe Root (captain), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Ben Foakes, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Dom Sibley, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.

Saturday, 12 December, 2020

PrAyEr TImINGS

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WOrld reaCts as MOrOCCO NOrMalises ties With israel RABAT

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AGENCIES

OROCCO’S decision to normalise relations with Israel in a United States-brokered deal has elicited mixed global reactions.

On Thursday, Morocco became the fourth Arab country since August to strike a deal aimed at normalising relations with Israel. The others were the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan.

As part of the agreement, US President Donald Trump agreed to recognise Morocco’s sovereignty over the Western Sahara, where there has been a decades-old territorial dispute with Morocco pitted against the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, a breakaway movement that seeks to establish an independent state in the territory.

Palestinians have been critical of the normalisation deals, saying Arab countries have set back the cause of peace by abandoning a long-standing demand that Israel gives up land for a Palestinian state before

it can receive recognition.

Bassam al-Salhi, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s Executive Committee, condemned the deal.

“Any Arab retreat from the [2002] Arab Peace Initiative, which stipulates that normalisation comes only after Israel ends its occupation of Palestinian and Arab lands, is unacceptable and increases Israel’s belligerence and its denial of the Palestinian people’s rights,” al-Salhi said.

In Gaza, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said: “This is a sin and it doesn’t serve the Palestinian people. The Israeli occupation uses every new normalisation to increase its aggression against the Palestinian people and increase its settlement expansion.” The Polisario, which is made up of the local Sahrawi people and fought a war for independence from 1975 to 1991, condemned “in the strongest terms” Trump’s attempt to give to Morocco “that which does not belong to him”.

“Trump’s decision does not change the legal nature of the Sahara issue because the international community does not recog-

ONe MilliON iNdiaN dOCtOrs ON strike tO prOtest sUrGeries by traditiONal praCtitiONers MUMBAI: Around a million doctors in India went on a daylong strike on Friday amid the coronavirus pandemic to protest against a new federal government rule that allows practitioners of the traditional science of Ayurveda to perform minor surgeries. Thousands of non-critical medical operations and routine consultations across the country were set to be disrupted as the Indian Medical Association (IMA), the umbrella body for all conventional doctors and surgeons, declared a decision to suspend work for 12 hours. “All nonessential consultations and surgeries from morning until evening on Friday were suspended,” said Rajan Sharma, the head of IMA, adding that the strike would not affect treatment to Covid-19 patients. “The government’s decision to bring in a rule that allows practitioners in specified streams of Ayurveda to be trained to perform surgical procedures trivializes the medical profession,” said Sharma. Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government introduced a rule that allowed post-graduate practitioners of Ayurveda, the ancient Indian science of medicine, to perform certain surgeries. The notification listed 39 general surgery procedures and around 19 procedures involving the eye, ear, nose and throat. Sharma said the IMA had written to the government against the new rules but was yet to secure a response. India’s AYUSH ministry, which promotes Ayurveda and passed the rule, did not respond to a request for comment. AGENCIES

nise Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara,” the statement read.

The Polisario, which seeks a referendum on self-determination, enjoys support from neighbouring Algeria, which has also welcomed thousands of Sahrawi refugees.

Morocco controls 80 percent of the disputed land, including phosphate deposits and the fishing waters.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah elSisi, whose country has been linked since 1979 by a peace treaty with Israel, welcomed the announcement. El-Sisi hailed the deal as an “important step towards more stability and regional cooperation” in the Middle East.

Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya welcomed the announcement but rejected Trump’s recognition of Western Sahara as part of Moroccan territory. “Regarding the normalisation of relations between Morocco and Israel, we welcome that normalisation, as we have welcomed each and every one of the normalisations that have taken place in recent weeks,” said Laya.

“Regarding peace between Israelis and Palestinians, that remains an issue to be resolved. And the question of Western Sahara remains to be resolved. And in both cases, Spain’s position is very clear regarding that the United Nations resolutions need to be sought as a way to resolve those two questions,” he added.

Spain was the occupying power in Western Sahara until 1975 when the country relinquished administrative control to a joint administration by Morocco and Mauritania. The country maintains close ties with the Sahrawi people and many activists have studied in Spain over the years.

Following the announcement, the UN said its position was “unchanged” on the disputed Western Sahara region.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres believes “the solution to the question can still be found based on Security Council resolutions”, his spokesperson said.

The UN chief’s message to the two parties “is to avoid any action that could further aggravate a tense situation”, the spokesperson added.

ADB launches $9bn Covid-19 vaccine facility for developing members MANILA AGENCIES

The ability of developing countries in Asia to fight the coronavirus pandemic got a much-needed boost after the Asian Development Bank said on Friday it has launched a $9 billion facility to help nations access and deliver Covid-19 vaccines.

“As ADB’s developing members prepare to vaccinate their people as soon as possible, they need financing to procure vaccines as well as appropriate plans and knowledge...to manage the vaccination process,” ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa said.

Called the Asia Pacific Vaccine Access Facility (APVAX), it will provide support for procurement and transporting of vaccines from place of purchase to ADB’s developing members, as well as investments in distribution systems, like coldchain storage and processing facilities.

The ADB financing, which will be provided in close coordination with other development partners, including the World Health Organization,

may also be tapped to develop or expand vaccine manufacturing capacity in developing members, the ADB said in a statement. The ADB said it was also making available a $500 million Vaccine Import Facility to mitigate payment risks and facilitate imports of vaccines.

Asian countries are racing to lock in millions of vaccine shots so they will be able to start inoculating their citizens and begin the long road back to normality and help their economies recover from the damage of the pandemic.

Developing Asia is on course to post an economic contraction this year, but probably less than previously thought as China recovers faster than expected, although the prolonged pandemic remains a risk to the outlook, the ADB said on Thursday. This year’s expected contraction would be the region’s first in nearly six decades.

For 2021, the region is still forecast to recover and grow 6.8 per cent, the ADB said, as Asian economies gradually revive from the Covid-19 pandemic that has infected more than 14.3 million killed more than 200,000 in Asia and the Pacific.

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Green pandemic recovery could slash CO2 emissions by a quarter by 2030: UN NEW YORK AGENCIES

A sustainable global pandemic recovery could slash predicted greenhouse gas emissions by up to a quarter by 2030 and accelerate the momentum towards meeting the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming by 2 degrees Celsius, a United Nations study has found. The coronavirus led to flights being grounded and a fall in road traffic as movement restrictions were imposed to stop its spread, causing a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. However, despite this year’s dip, the world is on course for a rise in temperature “in excess of 3 degrees Celsius this century,” the UN Environment Programme warned in a new report. “As the world deals with the ongoing impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, the climate crisis has not gone away. Greenhouse gas emissions hit a new high in 2019,” Inger Andersen, executive director of UNEP, said. “The year 2020 is on course to be the warmest on record. Wildfires, storms and droughts continue to wreak havoc while glaciers melt at unprecedented rates,” she added. Global policymakers have pushed for a more sustainable post-pandemic recovery, using the flatlining of emissions this year as a base case scenario for future planning. European Central Bank president and former International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde sounded a warning note to investors last month to deal with the risks stemming from climate change.

Lagarde said companies that fail to prioritise climate goals could face possible exclusion from the bank’s bond-buying programme.

Former Bank of England governor Mark Carney, who is now a UN special envoy for climate change, said reducing emissions represented “the greatest commercial opportunity of our time” and asked investors to step in to help companies meet their net zero emissions targets. Several fossil fuel companies such as Shell and BP have written off billions worth of hydrocarbon assets in 2020, as they pivot towards a net zero future.

Japan and South Korea became two of the latest major economies this year to aim for net zero emission targets by 2050. The UNEP report recommended prioritising “green fiscal recovery” including direct support for zeroemissions technologies and infrastructure, reducing fossil fuel subsidies, no new coal plants and promoting nature-based solutions – including large-scale landscape restoration and reforestation. “The pandemic is a warning that we must urgently shift from our destructive development path, which is driving the three planetary crises of climate change, nature loss and pollution,” said Ms Andersen.

Explainer: Why Mount Everest keeps changing its height AN ANCIENT GEOLOGIC SMASHUP RAISED THE MIGHTY HIMALAYA MOUNTAINS—AND THE COLLISION CONTINUES TODAY NEWS DESK Climbers who make it to the top of Mount Everest may not know it, but under the snowpack sits an expanse of mottled gray rocks that once lay on the ocean floor.

The rocks arrived at this surprising spot, nearly 30,000 feet above sea level, due to the slow march of tectonic plates, slabs of solid rock that make up our planet’s fractured outer shell. These plates continually jockey for position, shaping the array of features visible at the surface. In some places, the plates pull apart, creating valleys in the land.

In others, they collide, shoving mountains into the sky.

Rising at the border of Tibet and Nepal, Mount Everest formed from a tectonic smashup between the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates tens of millions of years ago.

The collision crumpled the landscape, raising mountains along some 1,5000 miles, a range we know as the Himalaya. While mysteries remain about the precise steps happening in this continental crash, the collision continues to this day, which is, in part, why Everest’s altitude is always changing.

THE BIRTH OF A MOUNTAIN RANGE: The story of the Himalaya begins some 200 million years ago, as the supercontinent of Pangea began to split into pieces.

The Indian plate eventually broke free, trekking northward toward the landmass we now know as Asia. The Indian plate zipped along at surprisingly fast speeds, geologically speaking, shifting nearly 30 feet or more each century.

At the time, the vast Tethys ocean filled the gap between India and Eurasia, but as India moved northward, the ocean began to close. The plate under the water, made of dense oceanic crust, plunged beneath the southern edge of the more buoyant rocks that make up the Eurasian continental plate, creating a feature known as a subduction zone. The slow slip of the oceanic slab into the mantle scraped a thick layer of seafloor sediments into a pile at the edge of the Eurasian plate—and this sandy layer would later be squeezed into rock and end up on the mountainous peaks.

Around 50 million years ago, India’s speed precipitously declined, a shift many scientists interpreted as the early stages of the plate’s collision with Eurasia. Further evidence from marine sediments suggests the final swath of the Tethys ocean closed between 50 and 60 million years ago.

Unlike an oceanic plate, which is cold and dense, the Indian continental plate is thick and buoyant. So, as the continents compressed and India shoved its way under Asia, the surface buckled and the crust thickened to form what would eventually become

the mighty Himalaya mountain range. Or, at least, that’s long been the accepted version of the story.

But as scientists continue to pore over every bend, crack, and rock in this system, many mysteries have arisen. Study of ancient magnetic patterns in the rock allows researchers to chart a continent’s position over time, and recent work using this method revealed that when the mountain-forming collision supposedly took place, some 55 million years ago, India would have been strikingly far south from Eurasia. That would leave a mysterious yawning gap between the two continents.

Did the Indian plate initially collide with a now long-gone landmass that sat between the two larger continental blocks? Could the Indian plate’s northern edge have extended much farther than previously thought? Why was the Indian plate moving so fast before impact? These are among the many questions scientists are still working out.

EVER GROWING AND SHRINKING: No matter when it started, though, the collision that formed Everest still continues today. India creeps northward a couple inches each year, and scientists estimate that the ongoing impact with Eurasia might force the mountains to ever greater heights, with an estimated average uplift of roughly 10 millimeters a year in the northwestern sections of the range, and around a millimeter a year at Everest. (Learn why it’s so difficult to measure Everest.)

The growth can happen in fits and starts, brought on by more violent shifts in the land-

scape. As India rams underneath Eurasia, it doesn’t always slide smoothly by. When the land compresses, pressure builds until it hits a breaking point. The blocks of earth can then suddenly shift, rattling the ground in the jolt of an earthquake.

Yet the mountain doesn’t necessarily get taller during earthquakes. Depending on exactly how and where the ground shifts, temblors can cause the mountain to either grow or shrink small amounts. This may have been the case during the 2015 Nepal earthquake, according to satellite data.

At the same time, as the rocks continue to rise toward the skies, erosion works

against their upward progression. Wind and water scour away the surface, washing sediment into streams that race down the mountain’s flanks. In the Himalaya, much of the sediment flushes through the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers. Sand drops out of the water as the slope diminishes at the mountains’ base in what is the largest river delta in the world, making up the land that sits under most of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal.

Even as erosion and gravity keep the mighty mountains in check, tectonic plates maintain their geologic dance, and Everest will continue to follow their lead.

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, for PT Print (Pvt) Limited. Ph: 021-35381208-9. Email: newsroom@pakistantoday.com.pk