EpaperKHI_2020-09-10

Thursday, 10 September, 2020 I 21 Muharram, 1442 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XI No 71 I 12 Pages I Karachi Edition

Court indiCts Zardari, Gillani in toshakhana referenCe g

NAWAZ SHARIF DecLAReD PRocLAIMeD oFFeNDeR FoR PRoLoNGeD ABSeNce FRoM PRoceeDINGS ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

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N accountability court in Islamabad on Wednesday indicted former president and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Zardari and former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gillani in the Toshakhana reference.

The court also declared in absentia former prime minister Nawaz Sharif a proclaimed offender for his prolonged absence from the proceedings. Sharif has been residing in London since November last year on the pretext of medical treatment. According to the reference, filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in March this year, Gillani, in order to extend the illegal benefit to the accused [Zardari and Nawaz], allowed the retention of vehicles gifted to them by different foreign states and dignitaries by relaxing

procedures relating to the submission of gifts in the Toshakhana.

The accused “through dishonest and illegal means for their personal benefit and interest” retained the vehicles in question “against a nominal payment of 15 per cent of the total value”, the reference stated. The reference also named omni Group chief Khawaja Anwar Majid and his son Khawaja Abdul Ghani Majid.

It added that Zardari made the payments for the vehicles through the Majid and his son “for which he has no plausible justification.” “It was established during investigation that these amounts are in the context of illegitimate laundered proceeds for the benefit of the accused,” the reference reads.

TOSHAKHANA REFERENCE: The bureau alleged that Gillani facilitated Zardari and Nawaz during the process. He dishonestly and illegally relaxed the pro-

cedure for the acceptance and disposal of gifts, issued by the government of Pakistan vide cabinet Division’s Memorandum No.9/8/2004-TK dated June 25, 2007, which expressly stipulates that vehicles shall not be allowed to be purchased by the recipients and

be given to the central pool of care of the cabinet Division.

Reference further states that Zardari accepted and received the armoured vehicles as gift from the United Arab emirates (BMW750 Li model 2005, Lexus Jeep model 2007) and from Libya (BMW

760 Li model 2008) in September-october 2008. It was obligated to immediately report and deposit the vehicles with Toshakhana of cabinet Division but he neither reported the gifted vehicles nor despoiled the same.

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ZARDARI’S INDICTMENT IN MONEY LAUNDERING, PARK LANE CASES DEFERRED YET AGAIN ISLAMABAD: An accountability court in Islamabad on Wednesday announced to indict former president Asif Ali Zardari in the money laundering and the Park Lane estate references on September 17, after the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) cochairperson filed a new petition, seeking acquittal in the supplementary reference. At the outset of the hearing, Zardari’s counsel, Farooq Naik, filed the petition requesting the court to dismiss the money-laundering reference filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) against his client. The prosecutor for the anti-graft agency, Sardar Muzaffar Abbasi, objected to the fresh application before the indictment, saying they were asking for time to prepare their own petition. “I am ready to present arguments on it, why aren’t they? We have not filed any supplementary reference in the money laundering case,” Abbasi questioned. “The case was transferred from Karachi so that he [Zardari] can file a reference after his interrogation,” he maintained. After hearing arguments from both sides, accountability judge Azam Khan adjourned the hearing till Sept 17.

PARK LANE REFERENCE: Later, a hearing of the supplementary Park Lane reference began in which the former president and other accused were present. Following a brief hearing, the court adjourned further proceedings, as well as Zardari’s indictment, until September 17.

PM seeks roadmap to steer country out of gas crisis ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Prime Minister Imran Khan, while underscoring the need for consensus among provinces and the federal government on the issue of gas, has ordered the preparation of a comprehensive roadmap to steer the country out of the gas crisis.

Addressing a seminar on 'Sustainability, Security and Affordability of Natural Gas Supply in Pakistan,' organised by Petroleum Division on Wednesday,

Coronavirus in

Pakistan

CONFIRMED CASES:

299,659

LAST UPDATED AT 7:39 AM ON SEPTEMBER 9, 2020

DAY'S DEATH TOLL:

9

RECOVERED:

NEW CASES:

349

DEATHS:

286,506 6,359 SINDH:

130,969

PUNJAB:

97,389

KP:

BALOCHISTAN:

AJK/GB:

ISLAMABAD:

36,711

13,402

2,340/3,068 15,780

the prime minister pointed out that indigenous gas reserves were depleting and the country was now importing gas to plug shortfall.

"But there is a big difference in the price of domestic gas and imported gas. With imported gas costing Rs17 a unit, its sale at Rs14 per unit creates a gap worth Rs3 a unit, which leads to the crisis.

Dependence on import increases the circular debt of the energy sector,” the PM explained.

He noted that only 27pc households have access to piped gas while the remaining rely on LPG

Bilawal asks Centre to declare agricultural emergency amid recent rains KARACHI STAFF REPORT

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Wednesday asked the federal government to declare an agricultural emergency after recent record-breaking rains wreaked havoc in several parts of the country, displacing hundreds of thousands of people only in Sindh.

While visiting the floodstricken Mirpurkhas, Bilawal recalled the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) manifesto also mentions declaring an agricultural emergency “which has not been done so far”.

“After this historic rainfall and locust attacks, now is the time to declare an agricultural emergency to provide relief to farmers,” he said.

The PPP chief said that the provincial government was utilising all of its resources to address the problems being faced by the people. “We have exhausted our stock of tents.

We are ordering more, but we know that the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) will have some,” he added.

cylinders, which were four times more expensive than the piped gas. He said the subsidy on gas should be such that it facilitates the poor lot.

"To date, we were relying on indigenous gas, the reserves of which are depleted now. We really need to think about it, especially when winter is around the corner and there is usually a shortage of gas supply," he said. "First of all, we need to debate on the issue while keeping a close eye on the development of the country.

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more inside

Nawaz asks cour t to waive surrender requirement in graft case STORY ON PAGE 02

Soldier martyred while responding to unprovoked Indian firing across Loc STORY ON PAGE 03 “All of us will have to become one to provide help to those affected,” he said, adding, “The Sindh government will stand by its people in need, but we will not be able to fulfil their requirements on our own.

For that, all of Pakistan will need to become one.”

The statement comes days after Prime Minister Imran Khan visited Karachi and, in the presence of Sindh chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, unveiled an Rs1.1 trillion package for Karachi’s chronic issues, including the provision of clean drinking water, cleaning of drains and sewage and solid waste

disposal within three years.

During Wednesday’s address, Bilawal urged the federal government and the prime minister to “come and sit” with the people of the province who have been affected by the recent flooding and torrential rainfall instead of making “fivehour trips”.

Bilawal said, “The prime minister should be seen standing with those citizens affected by the rains.”

He urged the premier to take charge as kaptaan by fulfilling the need for reconstruction, rehabilitation and relief.

Pakistan's vital interests must be safeguarded in 5th gen warfare: Gen Bajwa

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

STORY ON BACK PAGE

STORY ON BACK PAGE

Afghanistan VP wounded in deadly Kabul blast

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Thursday, 10 September, 2020

NEWS

Nawaz aSKS COurt tO waive SurreNder requireMeNt iN graFt CaSe ISLAMABAD

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STAFF REPORT

WEEK after Islamabad High Court (IHC) ordered him to surrender to the authorities by Sept 10 in the Al-Azizia reference, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday filed a review petition, stating that it was not possible for him to do so and urged the court to forgo the requirement.

Attached to the petition, filed by Nawaz’s counsel Khawaja Haris Ahmed, were the former premier’s latest medical reports signed by Dr David Lawrence, a London-based consultant cardiothoracic surgeon.

The high court last week directed Nawaz, who has been residing in London since November last year on the pretext of medical treatment, to appear before the court or face legal proceedings for abscondment.

The directives were issued during the hearing of appeals filed by Nawaz, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law retired captain Mohammad Safdar against their convictions in graft references filed

by National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

The former prime minister, his daughter and son-in-law were convicted in the Avenfield House properties reference on July 6, 2018. Nawaz was also convicted in the Al-Azizia reference on Dec 24, 2018.

In the petition, Barrister Haris said that

Putin welcomes FMs of SCO member states MOSCOW TLTP

Russian President Vladimir Putin held a video link meeting with ministers of member countries who have come to attend the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Moscow. The meeting was attended by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and foreign ministers of all SCO member states. Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed the foreign ministers to Moscow. The SCO has become a very important forum for the promotion of regional ties and cooperation between member countries in various fields.

No place for hate, extremism in country: Faraz ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz has said the government has been successful in creating peace and harmony in the society by pursuing dialogue and inclusiveness. The information minister was speaking at an international conference titled ‘An Inclusive and Peaceful Society in Pakistan: Challenges and Opportunities’ on Wednesday. The information minister said that the government has achieved this under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan and with the help of religious leaders.

He said that Pakistan has almost been successful in overcoming its financial, social and strategic challenges through promotion of inclusiveness. Faraz said, “We have to make Pakistan a great country of great people where there is no place for hate, violence and extremism.” The information minister expressed his pleasure that the International Islamic University in collaboration with the Higher Education Commission (HEC) has prepared an action plan for promotion of peace and peaceful coexistence in Pakistan which will be implemented in next five years. Appreciating the Paigham-e-Pakistan initiative of International Islamic University, Faraz said that this consensus document provides us guidance to promote patriotism and manage difficult issues in a peaceful manner. STAFF REPORT

Karachi administrator leaves first presser midway KARACHI TLTP

Newly-appointed administrator of Karachi, Iftikhar Shallwani, held his first press conference at the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) office on Wednesday after assuming office, however, he walked out in the middle of the presser when journalists put some questions to him.

Speaking earlier, the administrator vowed to make Karachi a city of lights again. He said that he is a professional civil servant and has nothing to do with politics, asking the media personnel present there to not pose any political question. He said he will fulfil the responsibility he has been entrusted with. “My duty is to make our city beautiful,” he maintained. He called for the media to highlight positive work to be undertaken by the civil authorities in the metropolis. On September 7, Shallwani had called on Governor Imran Ismail at the Governor’s House. Speaking on the occasion, the governor had said the Karachi administrator was appointed with a consensus of all stakeholders.

the former premier was still unwell.

“The fact of the matter is that [Nawaz] is still suffering from multiple co-morbidities [and] his treatment in London has been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“As a result, [Nawaz] has not been able to regain his health and all the doctors that have treated him in the past, as well as those who have been treating him since his arrival in London, have strongly advised him not to travel to Pakistan without getting his treatment done.”

The petition added that the PML-N supremo’s return to Pakistan at this current time may even prove “fatal”.

It added that Nawaz’s inability to return to Pakistan was evident from all the medical reports that had been submitted

with the application.

The petition stated that the purpose of hearing an appeal under Section 423 of the Code of Criminal Procedure was to decide the guilt or innocence of the appellant.

“But by no stretch of the imagination does the said provision of the law insist upon the presence of the appellant before the court, even if such a presence would expose him to the risk of losing his life.”

Nawaz has repeatedly submitted that he is “ready and willing” to return to Pakistan and face the due process of the law and justice, the petition said, adding that it was only due to the advice of his doctors that he has been forced to delay his return.

The petition urged the court to forgo the requirement of Nawaz’s surrender.

FM hopes of progress on NSGP during Moscow visit ISLAMABAD TLTP

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said that he would discuss with his Russian counterpart the construction of a gas pipeline due to be built by Russia and stretching 1,100 km from Lahore to Karachi.

The foreign minister said this on Wednesday before leaving for Moscow on a two-day visit to attend a meeting of Council of Foreign Ministers of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). The invitation to the foreign minister to attend the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers was extended by his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, who will also chair the meeting.

“North-South Gas Pipeline is a project that can greatly benefit Pakistan,” Qureshi said in a video message before leaving for Moscow. “I am hopeful that we will discuss it and there is a possibility of progress.”

He said that a meeting has been set up with the foreign minister of Russia, adding, “I believe that in the coming days there is a bright possibility that our ties with Russia will grow. I see the possibility of a long term, multidimensional partnership.”

FM Qureshi said that the 1,100-kilometre-long pipeline will be laid between Karachi and Lahore, and this project has been delayed since 2015. He said that the project will be discussed and some progress may also take

place during the visit.

He also said that Pakistan would also hold discussions with the heads of Central Asian nations to see how “volume of trade” could be increased and the economic prosperity of the region promoted through Pakistan’s southwestern Gwadar port, which Pakistan plans, with China’s help, to turn into a transshipment hub and megaport to be built alongside special economic zones from which export-focused industries will ship goods worldwide.

Qureshi also said that the SCO meetings in Moscow would bring together countries with a “deep interest” in peace and stability in Afghanistan where talks between the Taliban and the Kabul government are about to start to find a solution to a 19-year-long civil war.

The foreign minister said that SCO is an important platform that provides numerous opportunities for progress, prosperity and regional connectivity.

It is pertinent to mention here that the US sanctions against Russian state conglomerate Rostec, as well as a dispute over North-South pipeline transport fees, have held up the $2 billion project since it was signed in 2015.

The North-South pipeline would be the biggest infrastructure deal by Russia since the early 1970s, when Soviet engineers constructed the Pakistan Steel Mills industrial complex. The SCO Council of Foreign Ministers will go on from September 9-10.

Asad stresses speedy work on Karachi development projects ISLAMABAD APP

Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar on Wednesday emphasised the need for the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) to focus on groundwork of the projects in Karachi and as it had committed to during the agreement between the federal government and the Sindh government.

The minister expressed disappointment over insane debate going on for the last four days regarding who was contributing more in the projects. He added that this was not a matter of political point-scoring.

He said, “The people of Karachi will hurl shoes at both PPP and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) if they continue press conferences against each other instead of initiating practical work.”

Referring to PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s press conference, the minister said that if the Sindh government claimed that it was contributing Rs750 billion of the Rs1,100 billion for Karachi Transformation Plan (KTP), the Centre was not concerned.

He added that the PPP did not have the will to initiate work for the development of the city. “If you do not have the will to work, it will not be done through just press conferences,” Asad added said.

The minister felt the federal government had already initiated the process for implementation of the KTP. Replying to a reporter’s question, the minister said that the K-IV, Karachi Circular Railways (KCR), Greenline and S3 were old projects but groundwork on those projects was never started.

He did not call them failed projects as the work itself never began.

Murderer of minor rape victim Marwah arrested: police KARACHI TLTP

Police on Wednesday claimed to have apprehended the alleged perpetrator behind the rape and murder of five-year-old Marwah in Essa Nagri neighbourhood. It is pertinent to mention here that police officials found the dead body of a five-year-old girl stuffed inside a gunny bag in the port city’s Essa Nagri neighbourhood on late Saturday night. She was identified as Marwah. According to police, the accused, identified as Nawaz, was arrested after evidence collected by the police matched with his belongings. “A piece of cloth from the accused’s home was found from the garbage heap where Marwa was found dead last week,” police said. They said that the accused lives nearby Marwa’s home and during a raid at his home, the police found his home washed properly raising concerns among the investigating team. He is shifted to an undisclosed location as investigators announce to lead the probe on the basis of forensic evidence. Earlier in the day, it was reported that police investigators have started using geofencing technology in Marwah rape and murder case for ascertaining the location of suspects detained by the security officials over suspicion of their involvement in the cold-blooded incident in Karachi.

Human development top priority of government: PM ISLAMABAD PPI

Prime Minister Imran Khan has said human development, especially facilitating weaker segments of society and bringing them out of poverty, is top priority of his government. He was talking to a delegation of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), led by their representative in Pakistan, Aliona Niculita, on Wednesday. The prime minister said it is top priority of the incumbent government that state resources should be utilised for the welfare of the people and country's development. He said that his government and the UNDP share the objectives, hence, the government will provide all possible cooperation to UNDP to ensure accomplishment of common goals. Appreciating PM Imran’s special interest in human development, Niculita said that his personal interest is helping UNDP achieve its goals.

Centre committed to fix civic issues in Karachi: Murad ISLAMABAD: Communication Minister Murad Saeed has expressed the federal government's commitment to resolve civic issues of Karachi and put the metropolis on the path of development. Talking to media persons on Wednesday, the minister said that Prime Minister Imran Khan has directed National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) for the assessment of losses inflicted by recent rains and floods in Karachi and rest of Sindh. He said that the federal government will provide all possible assistance for resolution of civic and infrastructural problems of the city.

He also said that the premier has directed to bring the development process in Sindh at par with other parts of the country. TLTP

Altaf in trouble: MQM-P starts legal claims for 7 London properties NEWS DESK The Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) has surprisingly initiated legal claims regarding ownership of seven expensive London properties against the party founder Altaf Hussain, his brother Iqbal Hussain and five other associates at the London High Court, reported a local news outlet on Wednesday.

Since the party broke up after the Altaf’s August 16 speech, this is the first time MQM-P has taken any action against the founder or his associates. The claim has been launched in the MQM-P’s capacity as the beneficiary of the trust that holds the seven London properties.

Reportedly, the legal claim for the

possession of seven prime location properties – which are valued at over £10 million – was initiated through a London law firm Legis Chambers this week.

Reportedly, the properties which are being claimed are Abbey View house, High View Gardens first house, Whitchurch Lane first house, Brookfield Avenue house, High View Gardens second house, Whitchurch Lane second house, and the MQM 1st Floor Elizabeth House office.

Altaf of Abbey View, Iqbal Hussain of Exchange Boulevard, Glendale Heights, Illinois, Tariq Mir of West London, Muhammad Anwar of Edgware, Iftikhar Hussain of High View, Gardens Edgware, Qasim Raza of Cowper Gardens, and Euro Property

Developments of Highview Gardens, Edgware were listed as defendants in the claim document.

Speaking on this case, Barrister Nazar Mohammad of Legis Chambers said, “The purpose of the claim is to obtain declaratory relief from the high court as to trust assets which are held by the defendants as trustees for the benefit of the MQM-P. In addition to the declarations of trusts, there are other sworn court documents which affirm and attest that the trust assets belong to the MQM. There are specific trust documents disclosed within the court file lodged at court and served on the individual defendants.”

According to the document, the court claim informs the defendants “the

MQM-P is an unincorporated association registered as a political party in Pakistan”, and it maintains that MQM Pakistan is “the beneficiary of bare trusts and/or resulting trusts”.

The MQM-P has asked Altaf and others to account for “use and occupation rent against all defendants” and “the defendants to be made jointly and severally liable for costs”.

The claimant further asserts that the Iftikhar Hussain and Qasim Raza (fifth and sixth defendants) are dishonest assisters.

MQM’s former senior leaders Muhammad Anwar and Tariq Mir have already told Altaf that they will not hand over the control of the two Whitchurch Lane properties.

Thursday, 10 September, 2020

NEWS

PMl-N MOveS lHC agaiNSt PuNjab ig'S reMOval LAHORE

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STAFF REPORT

HE Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) on Wednesday moved a writ petition in the Lahore High Court (LHC) to challenge the Punjab government’s decision to remove Shoaib Dastagir from the post of inspector general of police (IGP).

The petition, moved by a local party leader, named the Cabinet Division Secretary Ahmad Nawaz Sukhera, Punjab Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Momin Agha, Dastagir, newly appointed police chief Inam Ghani, Additional IG (Operations) Zulfiqar Hameed and Lahore Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Muhammad Umar Sheikh as respondents.

The petition has been fixed for hearing for Thursday at 9:00 am. LHC Chief Justice Muhammad Qasim Khan will preside over the hearing.

The Punjab government on Tuesday, while appointing Ghani in his place, transferred Dastagir to Islamabad as Narcotics Control secretary, making him the fifth police chief to be removed during the two years of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) rule in the province.

Reports suggest Dastagir had stopped working after Sheikh, who was posted as Lahore police chief earlier this month reportedly over his head, allegedly spoke against the provincial police chief (PPO) during a meeting with senior police officers.

Dastagir, sources claim, later met Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chief Minister Usman Buzdar and sought a

uplift work of allama iqbal industrial City to be accelerated: CM

probe into the alleged misconduct of Sheikh and appropriate action, asking to otherwise be transferred to another position.

According to the petition, pre-mature transfers in the police force violate the Police Order (2002) and the Punjab government’s rules of business.

It maintains that the Punjab government, instead of implementing the Police Order (2002) has “further politicised the police force and shown the door to recalcitrant and independent-minded officers without any regard for their independence and tenure protected by the law”.

“The Punjab government has changed six IGs in two years and the average tenure is four months,” it states.

“The frequent and arbitrary transfers of senior-most officials send a wave of resentment among the police community.”

PM Imran approves 88 new posts to accommodate PAS group

LAHORE

ISLAMABAD

STAFF REPORT

MIAN ABRAR

Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar has said that development work of Allama Iqbal Industrial City will be accelerated and companies will be provided one-window facility. The chief minister said this on Wednesday during a meeting with Faisalabad Industrial Estate Development and Management Company (FIEDMC) Chairman Mian Kashif Ashfaq who called on him at his office. MNA Ch Asim Nazir, MPA Saeed Ahmad Saeedi and PTI Central Vice President Ch Muhammad Ashfaq were also present. The chief minister said that the government will solve investors' problems on a priority basis as Punjab has been developed as the role model province with regard to investment and it is leading in ease of doing business.

Meanwhile, more development work will be done in Toba Tek Singh and special funds will be provided for public welfare, he added. Mian Kashif apprised the CM of development work and investment of foreign companies in AIIC. 40 big companies have purchased around 1,500 acres of land for setting up industries, he added.

As part of the ongoing bureaucratic reforms, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday approved 88 new posts for Secretariat Group (SG) to bring about parity between the District Management Group (DMG) and other groups of the civilian bureaucracy.

The decision has been taken to boost the promotion prospects of SG, as the policy decision would mean an addition of 15 posts for BS-21, 29 posts for BS-20 and 44 posts for BS-19.

It is pertinent to mention here that the promotions of Secretariat Group had come to a standstill since 2015 after DMG group had total control over the promotions during Nawaz Sharif’s tenure as the prime minister.

Now, the premier has ordered bureaucratic reforms to overhaul the system and ensuring parity among various

transgender person shot dead in Peshawar PESHAWAR TLTP

One transgender person was killed and another got injured when unidentified men opened fire at them here in the provincial capital's Palosi neighbourhood, police said on Wednesday. The wounded person was transferred to the Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH), police said, adding that the deceased transgender was identified as Gul Panra. Shortly after the news surfaced, people demanded action be taken against the perpetrators and the hashtag #JusticeforGulPanra shot to the top trend in Pakistan. An investigation into the incident is under way, police stated. The president of Peshawar-based transgender rights group, TransAction Alliance Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Farzana Ilyas, demanded the killers of transgender individuals be arrested. "I condemn last night's incident and I demand justice," she said, referring to the shooting of Gul Panra and her friend in Peshawar.

Punjab confirms 45th dengue fever case LAHORE TLTP

Punjab health department on Wednesday reported another confirmed case of dengue fever within 24 hours taking the number of total cases to 45 in the province. According to the spokesperson of the Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department Punjab, the dengue patient was reported in Rawalpindi. In the province, 45 cases of dengue fever have been confirmed since January 2020, the spokesperson said. Out of total 45 cases 42 have been recovered, while three patients have been under treatment at hospitals. No death has been reported in the ongoing year due to dengue virus, the health department spokesperson said.

The petition also notes that three CCPOs have been posted and transferred in the last two years.

The petition urges the court to declare notifications regarding the appointment of the provincial police officer and the CCPO as “unconstitutional”.

It also urges the court to declare that the provincial government should appoint a CCPO only on the recommendation of the provincial police officer.

It also asks the court to declare that a “PPO and CCPO enjoy the security of tenure for three years and that a premature transfer can only take place if premature transfer proceedings are initiated on the grounds of ‘unsatisfactory performance’ after providing an opportunity of hearing before the relevant Public Safety Commission”.

It adds that the commission and the government has to agree to transfer the officer.

The petition also asks the court to direct the constitution of a broad-based independent commission to supervise the effective implementation of the Police Order, 2002 and direct this commission to give recommendations regarding police reforms in the province.

groups of the bureaucracy. PM Imran has directed that the said rules may be placed before the federal cabinet for its approval. This amendment in the rules will enhance the promotion prospects of SG significantly.

The said amendment will provide an opportunity for eligible officers to be inducted in Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS) on the same lines as is being done in Police Service of Pakistan (PSP) and Office Management Group (OMG).

The PM has also approved the appointments of technically qualified and experienced persons from the open market based on the needs of various Divisions in BS-19 and BS-20 on a contract basis in the federal secretariat against the share of PAS. The proposal will not affect the cadre strength of any occupational group and will bring in much-needed technical resources and experts in policy-making from the private sector.

Billion Tree Tsunami project, Buzdar come under NAB radar ISLAMABAD TLTP

National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Justice (r) Javed Iqbal on Wednesday green-lighted 12 new investigations, while quashing several others.

The accountability watchdog head authorized six different inquiries into the Billion Tree Tsunami project in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) alone as he chaired a meeting in the NAB head office.

An inquiry into sugar mills was approved by the accountability bureau as well, following the sugar subsidy scandal report. The watchdog will now investigate officers and administration of Bannu Sugar Mills (Pvt) Limited. While an inquiry into KP Textbook Board officers also approved.

The ongoing investigations in the case of an ex-MPA Qaiser Wali Khan were closed in the meeting. Another inquiry to be closed was in the case of D I Khan revenue department officers.

Other inquiries to wind up in the latest development are one against Dilawar Hussain Memon, CEO of MEPCO, Sukkur.

NAB closed inquiries into Pakistan Public Works Department (PWD) officers also, while one in The Local Government, Elections and Rural Development Depart-

ment (LGE&RDD) too was benched.

Due to the lack of evidence, an ongoing inquiry into CTO Sukkur Nazeer Soomro was stopped as well.

Investigations in the cases of Gomal University DI Khan officers and employees, one in former District Nazim of Peshawar, and that in Local Government Department officers were also quashed.

The NAB has opened another corruption case against Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar and the provincial government over alleged irregularities in allotting land allocated to families of martyrs of Pakistan Army.

The anti-corruption watchdog has launched an investigation into illegal allotment of land to government officers in South Punjab by the provincial authorities after getting approval from the chief minister.

The NAB investigators have summoned complete records of land allotment from the provincial chief secretary.

The anti-corruption watchdog’s Islamabad chapter wrote a letter to the Punjab chief secretary to seek details of allotment procedure and records.

It emerged that hundreds of acres of land worth Rs4 billion in South Punjab had been allotted to government officers which belong to the families of martyred personnel of Pakistan Army.

03

SOldier Martyred wHile reSPONdiNg tO uNPrOvOKed iNdiaN FiriNg aCrOSS lOC RAWALPINDI STAF REPORT

A Pakistan Army soldier embraced martyrdom on Wednesday while responding to Indian Army unprovoked firing in Bedori Sector along the Line of Control (LoC), which was meant ot targeting the army posts and civil population. According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistan Army responded effectively and there were reports of heavy losses on enemy in terms of men and material. During exchange of intense fire, 39-year-old Havaldar Liaqat, a resident of District Chakwal, embraced shahadat, ISPR added.

employees’ future uncertain as PeMra shuts down sizing 24NewsHd channel ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Media workers from Pakistan’s 24NewsHD are facing the possibility of job losses after the channel was suspended by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) and ceased operation on August 31. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its Pakistan affiliate, the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), condemned the suspension order and urged the PEMRA to bring 24NewsHD back on the air. PEMRA suspended the 24NewsHD’s license following a complaint about the broadcasting of “hate material” during its special 10th of Muharram transmission. PEMRA saw the broadcast as a violation of its policies and suspended the licence under section 30(3) of the PEMRA Ordinance. The regulatory body has issued a show-cause notice to the channel, asking it to reply within 14 days. The channel’s licence will be suspended until the completion of the inquiry.

Following the suspension, the future of around 700 journalists and media workers affiliated with the television is uncertain. The issue comes as an intense blow to media workers already challenged by downsizing, pay cuts, leave without pay, and the shutdown of media houses during the Covid-19 pandemic. This is not the first time PEMRA has targeted the channel. On July 2 this year, the regulatory body suspended its license for airing a current affairs program because its license only permits the broadcasting of entertainment. Similarly, in June 2019, the regulatory authority issued a notice to analyst Najam Sethi for his comments about Prime Minister Imran Khan in a 24NewsHD talk show. The authorities took 24NewsHD and its sister channels offline following a report about the premier in April 2019. Suspension of broadcast licenses and unnecessary interference with broadcast news content are some of the frequent actions by PEMRA, which has already been threatened by the Lahore High Court (LHC) in July for not restoring the programme. The PFUJ Secretary General Rana Muhammad Azeem said, “The PFUJ is alarmed that the PEMRA’s politically motivated shutdown of 24NewsHD may lead to unemployment of hundreds of media workers of the Channel during the Covid-19. If somebody does unlawful activities, he/she should be held accountable. Booking the CEO of the channel and suspending license is not the appropriate action.”

Reza Baqir urges businessmen to exploit SBP’s Covid-related incentive schemes FAISALABAD STAFF REPORT

As Faisalabad was contributing 20pc to the national economy, the city's businessmen must fully exploit the coronarelated incentive schemes offered by the State Bank of Pakistan to further expedite the process of industrialisation.

This was stated by SBP Governor Dr Reza Baqir during his visit to the Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FCCI), where he briefed the business community about the SBP incentive schemes.

Baqir noted that despite having a huge share in the national economy, the business community belonging to Faisalabad was not benefiting from the SBP schemes.

He said that commercial banks avoid out-of-the-box solutions of the problems but in the corona-like situation, these had become imperative. "We are encouraging the banks to expedite dispute resolution mechanisms so that the negative impact of corona could be controlled and compensated."

While introducing SBP Deputy Governor Sima Kamil

Cheema, he said that the newly appointed official had vast experience in commercial banking and was working on various schemes, including agriculture finance, female entrepreneurship and digitalisation.

"These schemes will give a jump start to the economy, particularly to the SME sector," he maintained. "The SBP has adopted a holistic approach, which, apart from facilitating the borrowers, intends to discourage the misuse of incentive-based schemes."

He recalled that when corona started, the policy rate was 13.25pc which was brought down to 7pc within the shortest possible time only to facilitate the business community. Private credit was around Rs6 trillion but due to a cut in the policy rate, borrowers will enjoy a saving of Rs470 billion per annum in terms of cash flow and output."

Similarly, he said, the banks also deferred the instalments of Rs640 billion, adding that 90pc of the SME sector benefitted from this scheme.

Regarding non-performing loans, he said the loan limit of sick units had been doubled which would give them a benefit of Rs170 billion in markup.

On the Rozgar Scheme, the SBP governor said that it was a foremost duty of the central bank to save the jobs of the private sector employees. Hence, the SBP had launched a refinance scheme to provide loans at 3pc to the employers who would retain their employees during corona lockdown.

"Initially, this scheme was for three months which was later extended to six months. A sum of Rs180 billion had been released under the scheme."

He also appreciated the efforts of the government to contain the Covid-19, saying that the Temporary Economic Refinance Scheme was launched on the pattern of long-term finance.

The scheme was initially for five export-oriented sectors but later it was opened for all sectors so that they could also contribute their role in the revival of the national economy, he said, adding that this scheme was available from March 30 and hence people must avail it.

The SBP governor said that loans worth Rs5 billion were disbursed through the help desk established at FCCI, which helped secure jobs of more than 50,000 workers.

04

Thursday, 10 September, 2020

NEWS

Kp inCreases CoMpensation aMount for Mine Collapse viCtiMs PESHAWAR

K

STAFF REPORT

HyBER Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Mahmood Khan has increased compensation amount from Rs500,000 to Rs900,000 for the bereaved families of the labourers who lost their lives in marble mine incident in Ziarat area of Mohmand district.

The CM added that payment of Rs100,000 will also be made to those who have suffered injuries in the Mohmand incident. The heirs of the victims will not be left alone as they grieve

CM SAYS GOVT TO PROVIDE RESEARCH-BASED EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES TO YOUTH their loss, the KP chief minister said, stressing that the best medical facilities will be ensured to those who have been injured. On Tuesday, KP Labour Minister Shaukat yousafzai had confirmed at least 21 people died in the mine incident following a rockslide.

During his visit to the site, yousafzai had said that around 35 people were working at the Mohmand’s marble mine

fast-track courts for overseas pakistanis in the offing: bukhari

at the time of the incident. “We have recovered 21 bodies from the debris of the caved-in mine as seven people are still missing,” he said.

He had said that the rescue teams reached the site of the incident soon after the rockslide. “It was a difficult rescue operation carried out by rescue workers and Pakistan Army teams,” he said while lauding their efforts.

Quotas for minorities in colleges, jobs allocated: Wazirzada PESHAWAR

ISLAMABAD

TLTP

TLTP

Special Assistant to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister for Minority Affairs Wazirzada on Wednesday said during a meeting with the National Lobbying Delegation for Minority Rights that a 2 per cent quota has been allocated for minority community students in all colleges of the province while 5 per cent quota has been allocated for recruitment in government departments.

The delegation included Haroon Sarfadial, a social activist for minority rights from Peshawar, Khalid Shehzad and Asif Aqeel from Lahore, Romana Bashir from Islamabad, and others.

The special assistant informed the delegation that the provincial government has already passed a resolution from the Assembly for a 2 per cent quota for minority students for admission in colleges of the province.

“In the light of the resolution, minority students are being admitted in all the colleges of the province under the 2 per cent quota” he added.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Overseas Pakistanis Zulfiqar Bukhari said on Wednesday that the federal government has entered into the final phase for the establishment of fast-track courts to facilitate nationals residing in foreign countries. Bukhari made the statement while chairing a high-level meeting to discuss strategies regarding facilities for overseas Pakistanis via Pakistan Citizen Portal (PCP). The meeting was attended by inspector generals (IGs) of all provinces, secretary labour and others via video link. The participants were briefed by PCP officials regarding the complaints of Pakistani nationals in foreign countries. The provincial police chiefs said that many complaints have been registered for pending cases in different courts, however, the police department has no power to intervene in judicial matters. Bukhari said that the establishment of fast-track courts has entered into its final phase as a summary has been sent to the Ministry of Law and Justice for approval. He added that the federal government is working on different plans for facilitating overseas nationals who are sending remittances to the country.

The SAPM said that Punjab Overseas Commission is a successful model and it will be established in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) as well. Earlier in August, for the first time in the history of the country, the federal government had decided to provide digital banking facilities to the overseas Pakistanis.

Meanwhile, CM Khan said the government is committed to providing research-based educational facilities to the youth of the province.

Chairing a meeting in the federal capital, the chief minister said huge resources have been set aside for up-gradation and reforms at the elementary and secondary education level, which aim to provide a better future to the young generation. Mahmood added that the government has decided to amend the University Act which will help in recruiting vice chancellor besides improving administrative and financial matters in educational institutions.

He said that soon all the universities and other institutions of higher learning in the province would also allocate a quota for minorities. Wazirzada added that an integrated strategy has been formulated under the leadership of KP CM Mahmood Khan to ensure the rights of minorities in the province.

The special assistant added that work on housing schemes for the minority community would soon be started in the headquarters of all the newly merged tribal districts and in four other settled districts of the province.

Wazirzada told the delegation that the provincial government has also allocated livelihood funds and marriage grants for minorities. He said that an annual stipend of Rs30,000 has also been given to minority religious scholars to encourage them.

The SACM said that KP is at the forefront of minority development compared to other provinces. He added that apart from the minority lawmakers of the provincial government, other members of the provincial assembly are also taking steps for the rights of minorities.

basha dam Ceo dr tahir M hayat awarded civil award LAHORE: Diamer Basha Dam Project Chief Executive and former executive vice president of NESPAK, Dr Tahir Mahmood Hayat, has been awarded the President’s Award for Pride of Performance by the Punjab governor in the category of science here at the Governor House, Lahore. Dr Hayat is an outstanding professional by any standard. In his career spanning over 30 years, he has made significant contributions to diverse projects of vital importance to Pakistan. He has made these contributions in the field of dam engineering, landslide mitigation and disaster risk reduction. Currently, he is serving as chief executive of 4,500 MW Diamer Basha Dam Project on behalf of NESPAK. His commitment and service to Pakistan could be best gauged from his contribution and management of projects in North and South Waziristan Agencies and Swat area, which he and his team are undertaking for the last couple of years at great personal risk. Dr Hayat has a distinguished academic and professional career. He has more than 15 publications in international and national journals and conferences and his work has been referenced in foreign text books. PRESS RELEASE

Mother of two raped, robbed of valuables in lahore LAHORE APP

A mother of two children was looted and raped at gunpoint in Gujjar Pura area of the Punjab metropolis, a private news channel citing the police reported on Wednesday. The woman was reportedly travelling in a car along with her two children when it developed some fault in Gujjar Pura, and an unknown assailant overpowered her when she came out of the vehicle. After molesting and robbing her of valuables, they escaped. Upon receiving this information, the police reached the spot and shifted the woman to a hospital. The police said the process to identify the accused through the Safe City cameras was underway.

ihC rejects plea against hike in toll tax ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday turned down a petition against the increase in toll tax, raising the tax for cars to Rs830 from Rs750, and the new tax for buses Rs2,770 according to the notification. The plea was taken by IHC Chief Justice Athar Minhallah. At the outset of the hearing, the legal counsel of the applicant, in his arguments, said that a minister had directed to jack up the toll tax rates and added that the minister is only supposed to issue the policy. The IHC CJ remarked that the matter should be forwarded to the elected representatives as the court believes in the devolution of powers. “The court has more important matters to take up,” the IHC CJ remarked and dismissed the petition. On August 31, the government had increased the toll tax on Lahore-Islamabad Motorway. According to Motorway Police, the tax is increased by 10 per cent. TLTP

ihC maintains the club's sealing order ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday maintained its order for sealing of the Naval Sailing Club near Rawal Lake. Chief Justice Athar Minallah, who heard the case against the construction of navy club, asked that what was the procedure for allotment of the land and who was its owner.

He also questioned whether the IHC could construct such clubs on the pretext to promote sports activities.

The chief justice asked the Pakistan Navy’s counsel about the latter’s role under the constitution. The Capital Development Authority’s (CDA) lawyer apprised the court that the land was owned by the CDA his department. APP

pakistanis support Kashmiris' right to selfdetermination: faraz ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz said on Wednesday that entire Pakistani nation stood with their Kashmiri brethren in their struggle for liberation from the Indian yoke. Addressing oath-taking ceremony of newly-elected office-bearers of All Kashmir Newspapers Society (AKNS), he said the Kashmiri people were not alone in their just struggle for freedom from the illegal Indian occupation.

Faraz said for the last over one year, the people of Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) had been under the Indian military siege. The held state had virtually been turned into prison but the world silence over gross human rights abuses by the Indian occupation forces was unfortunate. The apathy of the international community, however, should not create despondency or frustration among the Kashmiris and the people of Pakistan, but it should raise their morale and spirits and they should not depend on others. Senator Shibli assured the AKNS office-bearers that the government believed in freedom of expression and it was taking all possible steps for the resolution of problems being faced by the media persons. The minister administered the oath to the newly-elected officebearers of AKNS. INP

Thursday, 10 September, 2020

NEWS

Due PSX ProjeCTion To aTTraCT More inveSTMenT: alvi KARAcHI APP

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RESIDENT Dr Arif Alvi on Wednesday expressed satisfaction over the performance of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) and emphasised on its due projection as the best performing capital market in Asia and number four in the world, along with its potential for further growth, would attract more investments even by local small investors.

“This is my message, tell the world about our stock exchange. Small investors should also be encouraged to invest here,” he said while talking to the media after holding an interactive session with the PSX management at the PSX building.

The president was accompanied by Sindh Governor Imran Ismail. The PSX team involved in the session included its Chairman Suleman Mehdi, Managing Director Farrukh H Khan and Director Shahzad Chamdia.

On the occasion, the president was given a detailed

briefing on the PSX’s working, role in the country’s economy and the initiatives/products in the pipeline to further strengthen its position in the world.

President Alvi said it was his longing desire to visit the PSX, which had materialized today. It was very encouraging to listen that the stock exchange had now matured and consolidated, he said.

Emerging of the PSX as the world-class capital market, he observed, showed that Pakistan was at the pickup point. The exchange’s each indicator was very positive and it offered a very good return in terms of Pakistani rupee and US dollar. However, more public limited companies should be listed on it, he added.

He said the PSX was moving up with clarity and certainty with a prosperous future. Many products had been introduced to raise capital.

“There are different analysis in the market. But the fact is, Pakistan's capital market is the best and Pakistan's economy is the best,” he remarked.

Farrukh H Khan said that the PSX had not been

closed, even for a single minute, despite the tough situation arisen due to the Covid-19 pandemic. “We managed to keep the exchange running in a very difficult situation, though the economic activities remained almost suspended across the world,” he added.

He said that in the aftermath of the coronavirus, the world was still faced with a serious economic crisis, but Pakistan’s economy had started recovering.

The PSX, he said, was offering the best long-term return and stressed on investing in the stock market for a long term to reap its real benefits. There was a need to focus more on the market to capitalize on its huge potential and prospects. He said the visit of President Alvi and Governor Imran Ismail to the PSX was very encouraging for the management.

During the interactive meeting, many issues relating to the capital market were discussed and both the dignitaries assured their support in resolution of certain issues to encourage investment in the capital market and listing of companies on the PSX.

KCCI demands dissolution of KE's MoFA violates foreign policy, places 'blue-eyed monopoly in power distribution officers' in important destinations ISLAMABAD

NEWS DESK Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has requested the government to dissolve K-Electric (KE)’s monopoly in power distribution after the company’s late abysmal performance by issuing power distribution licences to the private sector.

KCCI President Agha Sahab issued a statement saying that “Exclusivity granted to a single company to undertake sale and distribution of electric power is tantamount to [the] creation of monopoly on a vital source of energy.”

“Cost of electricity for industrial, commercial and residential consumers has sharply increased and the cost of production for industries has gone extremely high. [The] increased cost of electricity has also added to the chronic problem of circular debt,” he added.

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has recently

sought comments from all the stakeholders on the authority's proposed modification in the existing distribution licence of K-Electric.

The KCCI also expressed the intention to become a party to the proceedings of suo moto case in the Supreme Court on load shedding and electrocution in the city.

During a hearing of a case pertaining to load shedding and electrocution in Karachi, the Supreme Court last week ordered the government to ensure onewindow operation to solve KE’s issues and ensure uninterrupted power supply to the consumers.

Shahab alleged that the city’s sole power distributor has used various unfair means and tactics to make windfall profits by arbitrary increases in tariff rates, change of electric meters, replacement of copper cables with aluminium cables and lack of investment in infrastructure which was obligatory under the terms of the licence granted to the company.

SHAHZAD PARACHA

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) has posted a number of “blue-eyed officers” on important destinations, violating the foreign posting policy.

According to sources, a senior officer of Foreign Services of Pakistan has written a letter to MoFA in respect of the policy on foreign posting of its officers.

The officer highlighted that around 25 presumed violations were observed in the implementation of the criterion set in the policy.

He mentioned that there were 12 violations of clause 2(f) of the policy under the change from category A station to another category A station such as Hassan Mohammad Rabbani posted to Washington from London, Saima Salem to UN (New York) from Geneva, Zaman Mehdi to Geneva from Washington, Syed Mustafa Rabbani to Birmingham from London, Aizaz Khan to Brussels from Hague, Zain ul Abidin to Canberra from Denmark, Imtiaz Feroz Ghondal to Abu Dhabi from Madrid, Dr Fareha Bugti to London from Geneva, Ammar Amin to Canberra from Paris, Gul Qaisar to UN (New York)

from Tokyo, and Dr Faisal Aziz to London from Abu Dhabi.

Similarly, Umer Siddique was posted to Ankara despite the fact that he had already completed his four years of service at the station.

In addition, MoFA also posted Tanveer Ahmad, Irfan Mahmood and Saifullah Khan to Nepal, Paris and Kabul in violation of clause 2(i) as officers cannot get a third consecutive posting.

According to the document, Main Atif Sharif and Shoaib Sarwar were serving in Kuala Lumpur and Los Angeles despite completion of tenure which stands in violation of clauses 2(k) and 2(j) of the policy.

Besides, the letter stated that Sarfaraz Ahmad Khan posted to Kabul from Mazar Sharif stands in violation of clause 2(h) of the policy.

Document stated that junior officers Ehsan Kareem and Umair Khalid were posted to Paris when most of their batch was still waiting for the language course. This stands in violation of established principle of seniority and clause 2(b) and 3(i) of policy.

The letter further states that A category station officers such as Dr Najam Saher, Zainul Abidin, Gul Qaisar, Naila Israr and Kamran

Dhangai also recommended for new positions to Toronto, Canberra, UN New York, Bangkok and Berlin despite the fact they did not meet the initial cut-off date of joining headquarters for consideration in the posting plan.

He mentioned in the letter that the policy on foreign postings of officers dated May 22, 2015, is still in vogue and MoFA claims to have prepared the year 2020 posting plan of officers under the provision of the said law.

The 2015 policy calls for the establishment of a panel comprising of AS (A), DG (P), Director (P1) and two officers of BS20 or above nominated by foreign secretary seeking options from the officers and conducting interviews to establish the suitability of officers as per the criteria mentioned in the policy against the available stations.

The officer revealed in its letter that the implementation mechanism as enshrined in the policy has been completely done away with and the selection committee was not formulated, interviews were not conducted, and choice from officers was sought but valued only in certain cases.

The scribe also approached the spokesman of MoFA but he did not reply till filing of the story.

Steel Mills, Pakistan Petroleum among 19 entities to be privatised: Soomro LAHORE: Privatisation Minister Muhammad Mian Soomro has said that Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM), Mari Petroleum Company Limited (MPCL), Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) and Convention Centre Islamabad are among the 19 state-owned entities that will be privatised. While talking to the media on Wednesday, Soomro said that the government is implementing the privatization of state-owned entities according to a plan negating any uncertainties surrounding the issue.

The privatisation of these government entities will be held according to the relevant ordinance while keeping transparency, the minister added.

“The government has set a target of Rs100 billion revenue from the privatisation of these entities this year,” he said.

According to the minister, Pakistan International Airlines’ Roosevelt hotel in New York will be given on lease.

Two power distribution companies have also been included in the privatization list, he said. TLTP

05

Court indicts Zardari, Gillani in Toshakhana reference coNtINuED oN pAgE 01 The NAB reference alleges that Sharif did not hold any public office in 2008. However, from April to December 2008, without giving any application or request to then prime minister Gillani, dishonestly and illegally obtained relaxation for his benefits of the procedure for the vide Cabinet Division’s above said Memorandum which expressly stipulates that vehicles shall not be allowed to be purchased by the recipients and be given to the Central Pool of cars of the Cabinet Division. “Nawaz Sharif knowingly and with dishonest intention obtained illegal favour in connivance with the then prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani by obtaining the relaxation of said procedure for the acceptance and disposal of gifts,” reference states.

PM seeks roadmap to steer country out of gas crisis coNtINuED oN pAgE 01 It is also not possible that a province progresses and the country’s economy fails. We are assuming that there are gas reserves and we can extract gas but we are still not sure about it." The premier warned that the country was heading towards a gas crisis. "I am alarmed because there will be a problem this winter but an even bigger problem next winter," he said. However, he expressed hope that the participants of the seminar, led by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Petroleum Nadeem Babar, would reach a consensus. "We know that it’s quite an expensive process but I am expecting that we can build a national consensus while bringing all provinces on board." Imran Khan regretted that no long-term planning was done in the past to cope with the energy crisis, adding that there was no effort to exploit the hydro potential of the country to produce cheap electricity. “We are grateful to the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) for renegotiating the contracts with the government,” the PM said. “We will apprise the nation next week of the savings to be accrued from these renewal of contracts that will help reduce burden on the people.”

Bilawal asks Centre to declare agricultural emergency amid recent rains coNtINuED oN pAgE 01 “We cannot leave our farmers and those affected by the rains helpless like this,” he said. Bilawal observed that recent rains have wreaked havoc in several parts of the country. “In Sindh, rainfall and floods have affected 2.25 million citizens. All of Pakistan will need to unite to deal with this national disaster so that we can provide relief to the people.”

He added that the recent rains and subsequent floods was not the only crises the nation has had to deal with. “The poor people of the province and of the country have been struggling under the mounting burden on their backs,” he said, citing the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic and locusts. He added that because of these “historic rains”, extra support needed to be given to the people. “Agriculture is the backbone of the economy. When agriculture is affected, so is the country’s economy. Bilawal also commented on cases filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) against his father and former president Asif Ali Zardari. “Not only are these cases politically motivated, but they are a joke.” He added that the country’s laws applied differently to those in the ruling PTI and those in the opposition.

Engro Fertilizers, MCB introduce ‘electronic bank guarantee solution’ in Pakistan NEWS DESK Engro Fertilizers Ltd and MCB Bank Ltd have partnered to accelerate the digitisation of financial products by developing Pakistan’s first-ever solution to electronically manage bank guarantees.

"With businesses adopting virtual operations and enforcing minimal physical interaction in the wake of Covid-19, Engro Fertilizers Ltd engaged MCB Bank Ltd to develop an electronic bank guarantee management solution that will promote digitalization

CMYK

and enhanced corporate service delivery," said a statement issued on Wednesday.

The bank, in consultation with Mohsin Tayebaly & Co, managed legal and regulatory concerns to provide a SWIFT-based mechanism to Engro Fertilizers Ltd at nominal cost and minimal impact to business operations.

Additionally, the designed process will also facilitate to mitigate the risk of counterfeit bank guarantees, identified as a recurring cause of concern in Pakistan’s banking Industry.

This system, currently operational only for Engro Fertilizers, is expected to be rolled

out for all other clients of MCB Bank. Given the existing credit sales model offered by most corporations, the product would assist the wider industry in facilitating their customers and stakeholders in the near future.

In a joint statement, Engro Fertilizers CEO Nadir S Qureshi and MCB Bank President/CEO Imran Maqbool shared pride in the abilities of the combined team responsible for identifying and developing this much needed financial solution. They were confident that this solution would transform the way bank guarantees could now be managed in the country.

Thursday, 10 September, 2020

06 COMMENT

Can the problem be fixed?

Under PTI rule No end to vindictiveness in politics

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aWaz Sharif broke no jail, nor did he leave the country on the Q.T. he was bailed out because doctors close to the PM, whose integrity was unquestionable in his eyes, advised the government that Mr Sharif’s manifold and complicated ailments could not be treated in Pakistan and his precarious condition required immediate treatment abroad. Mian Shahbaz Sharif gave an undertaking in the court that he would himself bring elder brother back when doctors allowed him to return. The ihc told the government that if it opposed the request for bail, the plea for release on medical grounds would be dismissed. however the onus would be on NaB and the government in case something happened to the former PM. Thus, fear of legal consequences and negative political fallout, rather than humanitarian considerations, led the cabinet to remove Mr Sharif’s name from the Exit control List (EcL), allowing him to proceed to London. as long as the former PM kept silent, the government didn’t try to bring him back. The moment he started telephoning opposition leaders, alarm bells started ringing in the corridors of power. it was decided to make hectic efforts to get the former PM declared an absconder.

Mr Nawaz Sharif left for London in the third week of November. By the time his medical check-up ended, the covid-19 pandemic had entered the UK. This led to the suspension of Mr Sharif’s ongoing medical procedures because the nature of his ailments made him highly susceptible to covid-19.

The ihc has directed the former PM to appear in court today. according to medical reports Mr Sharif’s surgery is due this month. his last medical report was avowedly submitted to the Lahore high court over a month ago. it explains that the patient will be scheduled for an invasive cardiac procedure once the hospital starts planning elective procedures amidst covid-19 pandemic and given that he, being in the high-risk category, is stable enough to go through the intervention.

Sharif’s travel back home is thus predicated on the permission of his medical team. he is liable to be held responsible only in case the doctors allowed him to leave but he avoided returning to Pakistan.

Is it even possible to fix Karachi?

Younus sandeela

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arachi is a city with numerous complicated and interlinked problems – some so delicate in nature that it is difficult to debate them even in private discussions.

From extreme ethnic polarization to unplanned expansion of the city and systematic destruction of institutions for political gains by both the MQM and the PPP, everything contributed to Karachi’s devastation. But that is a known– what is unknown is how to fix Karachi’s problems. Or rather, is it even possible to fix Karachi’s problems now? is it really the apathy of every successive government that Karachi keeps sliding into a bigger mess with the passage of time or could there also be some internal factors responsible for this unstoppable downslide? The recent disaster that has descended on Karachi after the unprecedented heavy monsoon rains has once again brought the issue of Karachi’s ineffective and outdated infrastructure into the centre of the debate. it also exposed Karachi’s vulnerability to climate change and the impossibility of reversing some wrong (and invariably greed-driven) actions taken over the last 40-odd years, sometimes discretely and sometimes in broad daylight, under the guise of development.

What Karachiites, and for that matter everyone who wishes to understand the cause of urban flooding in Karachi, need to understand is that it is not so much an issue of poor management and bad governance, as it is an issue of deliberately blocking the natural and manmade channels that used to drain the rainwater into the sea for centuries. Unless these channels are reopened the situation will not change, no matter how good and efficient the provincial government. instead of venting anger on the Sindh Government for failing to efficiently drain water, or on Federal Government for not taking over Karachi’s administration, the Karachiites should demand severe punishment for those who deliberately blocked drains through a systematic encroachment process.

There is very little that the Sindh Government

IGP changed

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hE sudden transfer of the iGP Punjab, Mr Shoaib Dastagir, means that he is the fifth iGP transferred by the present PTi government, after only 10 months on the job. That he was the longest serving officer in this post is an indication of the quick turnover in the job. The reason is not a sudden crime wave, though there has been a rise in the number of crimes in the last two years, but Mr Dastagir having lost out in a struggle over the posting of the ccPO Lahore. That officer’s posting to a crucial post was done even though he had only been recently superseded for promotion and he aroused Mr Dasatagir’s ire by ordering his own subordinates to obey his orders, not the iGP’s. Wasn’t the PTi elected precisely to avoid this sort of interference for political reasons? The new iGP is presumably agreeable to the ccPO remaining in his post, where he can play a key role in the local body elections which have not been announced, but which are going to take place soon.

The PTi may be showing itself as following the very practices it accused its predecessors of, but it has also shown that it does not know what it wants from an iGP, or if it does, how to find the right man for the job.

Meanwhile, the consequences of the effect upon the police are negative and plentiful. One effect which has affected the citizenry the most is the rise in crime. The PTi has grappled with this problem, and has come up short, with the much-vaunted appointment of Nasir Durrani, a former KP iGP, ending in his resignation.

One way of ending political interference is to guarantee security of tenure, with any premature transfer deemed a minor penalty. Deeming it such means that the person doing the transfer has to record reasons, while the transferred official can appeal or even sue, to have the blot on his record removed. at present, nothing appears on the service record except a bare mention of the needs of the service. The government needs to deliver on the crime situation, and appointing loyalists is not going to get it far, no matter how many iGPs it allows the cM, whom the PM claims he discovered, fires.

Why September 8 is Navy Day damiYa saghir

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T was almost midnight, a few minutes before the fire commencement, a lieutenant was found banging his head on a heavy metal door of the ship. he was not scared; he was just too prepared for the fight. as we know that while heroic M.M. alam was busy bringing down the enemy fighter planes and the spirited Pakistan army was sharp headedly defeating the enemy at land, compact yet coherent Pakistan Navy marking its first use in the war was preparing to head towards its first action, Operation Somnath, a strategic victory heard by many.

With less number of ships in working condition compared to the enemy’s aircraft carrier and double the amount of ships, it was a deranged battle depending on the abilities of the naval persons. The indian threat to attack wherever and whenever possible had escalated the vigilance of Pakistan Navy which it had been exercising from March. The PNS/M Ghazi (Ex-US submarine) was the only submarine, which had served in World War ii, on either side. it was one of the strongest submarines deployed off Bombay, days before the war started to target ships of indian Navy. The Naval headquarters ordered Pakistan Navy to patrol the sea to counter the threat of the indian Naval forces. The patrolling began under the supervision of commander Pakistan Fleet cdre S M anwer on board PNS Babur along with other PN ships; PNS Alamgir, Jehangir, Khaibar, Badr, Shahjahan and Tipu Sultan. The indian aircraft carrier as well as the ships were all besieged at Bombay. Even after the war was declared, the enemy remained unseen for any action expected to take place.

The possible reasons for Dwarka bombardment were to lure out indian ships from Bombay harbor to fall prey to the Pakistani Submarine to attack, to destroy the radar installation at Dwarka and to lower the indian morale.

The Pakistani naval commanders prepared the strategic plan to attack the indian radar station in the coastal town of Dwarka. accordingly the naval fleet proceeded towards Dwarka to attack the radar station. it was a situation of immense complexity for the indian Navy could detect Pakistan Navy movement any time before the attack. To create a situation of perplexity, the Pakistan Navy fleet headed towards Bombay, giving a false indication to the in-

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croached upon during last 40-odd years. This simply exposed their lack of understanding of Karachi issues in general. rampant growth of uncontrolled and unregulated construction industry also played havoc with the city’s infrastructure. anybody who has lived in Karachi from the 1980s onwards would know how well-planned residential colonies were destroyed by converting them into a maze of high-rise buildings.

The formula was simple. Buy a house, bribe the relevant authority to get permission for constructing a high-rise building on the plot, bring down the house and construct a 10- to 12- (or sometimes even higher) story apartment building─ in most cases with shops on the ground floor. Within a period of two years a plot that was meant to accommodate one family was now housing around thirty families. There was huge money to be made in this kind of construction business. Prices for these single- or double-story houses skyrocketed, encouraging more people to sell their houses and shift to less commercial areas of the city.

Many people sold their houses because they wanted to escape the rapid commercialization of their previously peaceful localities. The infrastructure of these residential colonies was suddenly expected to support a population hundreds of times bigger than intended.

The result was obviously a complete breakdown of infrastructure. This happened all across the city, which gradually paralyzed the infrastructure, particularly the drainage system, everywhere. rising sea level means many low-lying areas of Karachi particularly near the coast stand exposed to the risk of getting submerged in next 30 to 40 years.

Would it be possible to contain this phenomenon? if so, at what cost? in this background, the real question is “does it make sense to even attempt to fix Karachi’s problems. is it practically even possible to fix them? Or does it make more sense to build a new city? Maybe around Dha city and Bahria Town. Or maybe just allow Gwadar to be the future commercial hub of Pakistan. however, for the time being the best bet for Karachiites is to hope that this kind of rain does not happen too frequently– but with climate change setting in firmly, this might be too naïve to expect!

Younus Sandeela is a freelance columnist

Unforgettable action in 1965 war

The appointment of a sixth IGP in two years shows the old ways persist

Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

and Federal Government can do to improve the drainage system in Karachi when high-rise buildings have been constructed on and around the nullahs that were meant to drain the rainwater. it is now practically impossible to bring the drains back to their original form. highrise residential buildings constructed on and around encroached stormwater drains cannot be pulled down even if the occupants were made to vacate them as that would cause damage to nearby construction, because these buildings were not built keeping in mind the possibility of ever pulling them down. Similarly, actions such as encroachment of natural stormwater drains at Boat Basin by KPT and reclamation of land by Dha along the coastline to develop Phase 8, and in the process allegedly narrowing the mouth of the Malir river, are irreversible. New stormwater drains cannot be constructed wherever there is space available as these need to be strategically located according to the natural topography of the city.

Logical analysis of the whole situation is required to understand the root cause for the present disaster. Unfortunately, people most affected by the crisis seem to be only interested in venting their anger on whoever they do not like. The Sindh Government is invariably being targeted for its inefficiency and incompetence and is being squarely blamed for the disaster. Whereas, the performance of Sindh government does seriously fall short of the desired level, degradation of Karachi’s infrastructure is one thing which cannot be solely blamed on the PPP or on its Sindh Government because they did not control Karachi during the time its infrastructure was being systematically ruined. The PPP and Sindh Government can be blamed for many other things like bad governance, corruption, nepotism and incompetence, but one thing it is unfairly being blamed for is failing to efficiently drain the rainwater after the recent unprecedentedly heavy monsoon rains, as drains have been choked through encroachments which mostly happened when the MQM was the sole power in Karachi.

The PTi’s lack of understanding of the whole issue was also exposed when it exuberantly started cleaning the big nullahs without realizing that the real problem was with the internal smaller drains which had been completely choked not because they had not been cleaned but because they had been en-

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courageous expeditions in defeating indian Navy dian naval forces.

The misconception of the sailors in white had in that war and national commitment of defending made them face huge destruction at Dwarka as the sea-frontiers of Pakistan by its heroes the naval india’s Vice admiral Mihir roy, a former com- personnel, remain alive today. Drawing inspiration mander of the Vikrant and commander-in-chief of from the unparalleled conducts of the 1965 War, india’s Eastern Naval command, in his 1995 book, Pakistan Navy is fully prepared to meet any chalWar in the Indian Ocean writes, “But the Bom- lenge of the enemy”.

With the publication of the Maritime Doctrine of bayites failed to understand the lack of success by the indian fleet especially with sirens wailing, Jam- Pakistan and Navy’s constant efforts, the future seems nagar attacked and Dwarka shelled with the indian bright and more prosperous. Pakistan Navy is a potent force in defence of fleet still preparing to Maritime frontiers of sail was an affront to the Pakistan. Pakistan Navy sailors in white who is dedicated to protecting could not understand The world we live in today is and securing the marwhat was holding the itime and naval interests fleet back”. expanding its spheres rapidly, of the country which reThe raw courage main a national priority. and bravery of the Pakwith the Indian Ocean becoming The representation of istan Navy lowered inPakistan Navy in the indian morale as the act of the centre of attention for dian Ocean is the show valour was achieved by regional and extra regional of audacity which one the daring mission ungets to witness in many dertaken only seven powers. It is not just about Naval exercises such as miles away from the SEaSParK, aMaN coast. in an interview protecting national borders and and many more. with Vice admiral (reinterests along with sea lines of The world we live in tired) ahmad Tasnim, a today is expanding its war veteran, said, “We communication but also spheres rapidly, with the were already prepared”. indian Ocean becoming he added that it was the protecting the economy and the the centre of attention for best of the coordination sovereignty of the state in the regional and extra rethat he had witnessed powers. it is not among the Navy and the international waters. The concept gional just about protecting nagovernment during the borders and inter1965 war. of war has now become more and tional ests along with sea lines The valour, confidence and sound judgmore modernized and nuclearized of communication but also protecting the econment of the Pakistan due to which vigilance and a omy and the sovereignty Navy inspired the modof the state in the internaern fleet. The Navy had strong foothold are essential tional waters. The conset standards of percept of war has now forming with quality become more and more and sound planning modernized and nurather than having an enormous fleet. as the Nation celebrated Navy clearized due to which vigilance and a strong Day on September 8, it needs to be reminded of the foothold are essential.

Pakistan Navy with its very first use in 1965 lessons of coordination which helped a smaller navy win greater battles. The lesson of dedication proved its efficacy and strength. With more demandand commitment to what remain unseen. The vig- ing times to unveil themselves in the future, the alertilance of our sailors who delivered the highest spir- ness of the Pakistan Navy is what we look up to. We its of patriotism. Sajjad Shaukat in his article salute our heroes in the water. writes “On this very occasion, one is reminded by Damiya Saghir is a Political Science graduate the soul-stirring memories of the 1965 war against india, when naval officers and sailors instilled with from Kinnaird College for Women Lahore. She can the highest spirit of patriotism. Pakistan Navy’s be contacted at damiya.saghir.ds@gmail.com

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Thursday, 10 September, 2020

COMMENT 07 Editor’s mail Send your letters to: Letters to Editor, Pakistan Today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan.

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Intra-Afghan talks rEcENTLY, Mansoor ahmad Khan, a veteran diplomat nominated as new ambassador to afghanistan as direct negotiations between Taliban and Kabul aiming to end nearly two decades of war are set to begin. Following the completion of prisoners exchange release of 5,000 Taliban in return of 1,000 captive security forces intra-afghan dialogue is likely to be held in Doha, Qatar, this week. The delayed negotiations are the second, critical part to a peace deal the U.S. signed with the Taliban in February in Doha.

The Taliban delegation’s arrival in Qatar, where the group keeps its political office, came as a top afghan government body blamed the militants for delays in starting talks. No doubt, Pakistan, which has played a central role in brokering these talks, is seen as crucial for any peace deal in afghanistan. The two countries had covered considerable ground in restoring trust in their relationship.

AfiA AmbrEEn rAwAlpindi

Crisis of government

Bureaucracy the custodian of status quo?

The bureaucracy cannot be reformed without proper SOPs

dr Farid a malik

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Or the first time in 73 years, all institutions are on the same page except the colonial bureaucracy that continues to be the custodian of the dreadful status quo.

Due to delay in constitution making in the formative years, perhaps the opportunity to restructure and re-engineer the administrative set-up was lost. abrogation of the 1956 constitution and promulgation of the 1962 repressive version was a conspiracy against our freedom. We, the first freeborn generation of Pakistan, have lived through this ordeal of bureaucratic abuse, yet it continues to survive and thwart our march forward. Strict adherence to the consensual 1973 constitution remains our only hope for an equitable existence under the much revered rule of law.

There is a long history of attempts at the much-needed bureaucratic reforms that were unable to dent the non-preforming system. currently the evergreen Dr ishrat hussain, ex-Governor of the State Bank and former bureaucrat, has been entrusted with the task of reforming the choked system of governance left behind by our colonial masters. after two years at work, now finally some recommendations are being implemented but the mindset remains unchanged. as the ‘baboos’ control the files and the paperwork, they always have the last laugh, as through them the status-quo lives on. as a desperate measure to deliver, a lot of important positions are now being handed over to the men in uniform, both serving and retired. if the trend continues, very soon the entire colonial non-performing bureaucracy may be declared obsolete and replaced by an alternate structure of administration that can deliver. in iran after the revolution of 1979, the revolutionary Guards took control of the country.

Most senior members of the Shah’s administration were hanged after summary trails in special tribunals while the rest were gradually phased out to be replaced by a fresh cadre of young, educated and untainted professionals. There was a massive clean-up operation. all the negative energy was removed from the system of governance while the new entrants took some time to understand and deliver. in the USa, after winning their freedom from the British rule they dismantled the entire colonial set-up. all files were burnt and uniforms taken off. The right to bear arms and free travel was guaranteed. in 1787 the first constitution was enacted, George Washington was elected the first

President who went home after the expiry of his purchase agreements of the 1990s and 2000s term, allowing the system to take over. a fresh were disastrous. The cost of power and energy start was made, no acts of the British Parliament is prohibitive and out of reach of the common were followed. it was indeed an end of an era. man, and combined with the collapse of public Freedom is taken very seriously in the land of the sector entities due to bureaucratic control, has free, at the Statue of Liberty important sayings are seriously dented the economy. Debt has spiraled inscribed; one of them reads; “For what avail the due to corruption and incompetence. There are plough or sail, Or land or life if freedom fail”. Our not enough resources to cover the pensions of freedom has been repeatedly derailed despite our the retirees. The people of Pakistan have to carry courageous struggle and resistance to preserve it a heavy burden of a non-performing system.

The government of Pervez Musharraf for our coming generations. in the land of the pure the first serious attempt through the National reconstruction Bureau at reforms were carried out in the early 1960s (NrB) tried to dismantle the colonial structure of under the famous ‘ cornelius commission’. Jus- governance to be replaced with an elected Local tice a.r. cornelius started his career as a civil Bodies System, which was called the Devolution Servant to enter the ranks of judiciary. he rose to Plan 2000. i was invited by the chairman, Lt.Gen be the chief Justice of Pakistan (cJP) in very tur- Tanveer Naqvi. after briefly describing his apbulent times when both democracy and individual proach he sought my input. My first question was, freedom were under threat but he did not waver, where is the implementation plan and who will rendering strong dissenting decisions in very cru- implement it? he replied the bureaucracy. i then cial cases. Public inputs were sought, members of asked him if he had taken them on board, he said, the commission held open sessions at the YMca “No need, we will give them clear instructions and they will folhall on The Mall. low.” The entire plan after lengthy delibfell on its face and erations the recomwas rolled back in mendations were most places. The finalized followed The status quo is on its way out, commissioners and by implementation, the two members of but the bureaucracy has a chance their Deputies returned to rule over us the bureaucracy preto save itself for which it must through the Governempted and leaked ment of india act out the reform open its eyes to the realities and 1930 instead of the agenda to develop resistance in the challenges of our times otherwise 1973 constitution that calls for devoluranks of the civil they may perish like the tion of power all the servants. Some of way down to Union these recommendadinosaurs to be found in Jurassic councils. tions were later inThe ishrat hustroduced in the Park movies only sain report, the most United Kingdom but recent effort to bring the fruits of this efthe bureaucrats on fort were denied to the same page, has the people of Pakistan. Till today the report remains relevant and recommended a performance review for all civil servants before promotion to Grade 21. This is a can be implemented after upgradation.

The elected government of zulfiqar ali good move to contain and remove incompetence.

Bhutto, after the promulgation of the 1973 con- More needs to be done. To make the system restitution, introduced major reforms in the bu- sponsive, Standard Operating Procedures have to reaucracy. The present Grade 1 to 22 structure be developed and then followed to bring in acwas a part of this effort. The cornerstone of this countability and to eliminate discretion. Public policy was induction of technocrats through lat- records are in total disarray which needs major ateral entry, with all promotions to Grades 21 and tention. Before digitization there must be audit of 22 to be done by the Prime Minister himself records to ensure their sanctity and to secure after due scrutiny. having vast experience of file them, otherwise it will be dirt in and dirt out. For work, zaB kept them moving for expeditious over seven decades the colonial bureaucracy has decision making, thus the nu-sense of bureau- championed the status quo, and now that other incracy was contained. People’s Government, as stitutions are moving towards change it faces anit was called, delivered good governance. how- nihilation unless it becomes a part of this new ever the bureaucrats felt insecure as they lost direction. it has to serve not rule, the bureaucrats protection of their tenure. after the change of who served in colonial india were sent home as regime, lateral entry was discontinued. zia sur- they had ruled over subjects, not free people. The rounded himself with senior bureaucrats and dis- status quo is on its way out, but the bureaucracy credited politicians to reverse the democratic has a chance to save itself for which it must open gains of the ‘70s. Till mid-1980s most founding its eyes to the realities and challenges of our times senior bureaucrats, who were both honest and otherwise they may perish like the dinosaurs to able, retired to be replaced by incompetent or be found in Jurassic Park movies only. dishonest civil servants. Since then the slide Dr Farid A Malik is ex-Chairman, Pakistan down has continued unabated.

The governments that followed allowed the Science Foundation. He can be contacted at: system to collapse for personal gains. The power fmaliks@hotmail.com.

criSiS of Governance always pushes the constitutional institutions towards an everlasting chaos while the political agenda of the ruling party in connection to the public services lags behind in larger spectrum which finally turns into administrative devastation . Punjab is currently running on the same track. incumbent Govt of PTi has been transferred six Provincial police chiefs of Punjab since its last two years tenure is resemblance of echoing upcoming catastrophic crisis of governance in Police department. current incidences of forcibly disappearance of citizens are evidence of bad governance in the law enforcement institutions and another trauma of police chief reshuffling is boiling the public distrust against political stakeholders.

Dastagir, outgoing iGP had been raised his reservations before central and Provincial govts on appointment of ccPO being bypassing him, and refusal of working under new iGP by others seniors PSP officers in capital are pushing the largest province towards administrative anarchy. is police order 2002 is being followed in making transfers and appointments of high profile PSP officers? Why govts are making Police institution a “ Political institution “ ? When an already working iGP has been conveyed his straight forward message to Provincial and Federal Govts about his refusal to continue as iGP if ccPO is appointed,then why did Govts insist on imposing him in capital without prior acknowledgement of concerned Provincial police cheif? centre should appoint the high profile officers with the recommendations of concerned chief minister. and in same, cM must take in confidence to concerned dpt head before suggesting the names to centre for issuance of Notification. When Provincial chief Police officer is appointed by consultation of concerned chief Minister then why do centre and Provincial Govt depict the impunity of lapse ignoring the consultation of concerned police chief?

Junior is always a junior and appointment of new police chief of 21 Grade has been creating distrust among the different PSP officers already working in capital city since last 2 days.in a nutshell how law and enforcement order can be established under this dramatic scene? This unresolved question is paving the way towards administrative instability and bad governance in police department. Police Department in province has been never remained in frustration ever before as is today found .PM Khan vowed to bring police reforms in his last election’s manifesto in front of nation but the fact is more far than this claim. Either the issue of DPO or iGP , Provincial Government has been remained under fire. if transferring practice of iGPs continues in this same way then none incumbent iGP can fulfill the agenda of Govt. Officer has to be required 1 year at least to understand the Provincial mechanism and identifying faults then he can perform his duty in enthusiasm way to bring desired outcomes. mAhtAb Ali KhAn bAhAwAlnAgAr

Target killing Sir, recently a journalist of PTV (Pakistan Television)Bolan namely Shaheena Shaheen was gunned down by unknown people in Turbat. She was hospitalized where she passed way . her murderers are still wondering freely, police is failed to arrest them .This is not the first journalist, who was killed in Pakistan, she was the second woman journalist killed in Pakistan in last ten months. according to the committee to protect journalists, since 1992,at least 61 Pakistani journalists have been killed in connection with their works. By this Pakistan is considered to be one of the most dangerous countries for journalists. i request to the concerned authorities should ensure to save the lives of journalists who are working for the betterment of the nation. imAm bAKhSh turbAt

Remembering humanity hUMaNiTY is an important part of life which tells us to help others,try to understand and realize the people problems with our own eyes and try to help them.it’s not necessary for humanitarians to be rich since humanity is never depended upon money,even a poor person can sow humanity by helping someone or sharing his or her food etc.Last week,i went to get some medicines for my mother from a medical store. a very young and bearded man was sitting on the counter. i handed him over the list of my medicines and he stood up to grab the desired medicines. i was aware with the prices so i just took desired amount for those medicines. The salesmen returned after a while with the medicines in his hand. he came to the counter and handed me the bill. i was stunned when i saw the bill. it was doubled from actual price. i argued with him for the prices but he was not ready to listen to any of my arguments. and as they say need makes the naked man run, i went back to home to get the extra amount. and when i reached back to the so called “Pharmacy” , a boy was sitting at the counter and when i asked about the person who was there earlier, he said “ he went to offer prayer”. i was amazed to hear about the person who earlier was slaughtering me with his high rates is now pleasing allah. This over ride humanity is i think one of the major causes to put Pakistan in the list of third world countries. humanity is taking its last breathes in the hands people like us and in the people like these so called “pharmacists”. We must think about others before thinking for ourselves.

KAlEEm ullAh nASAr lAhorE

Thursday, 10 September, 2020

08 WORLD VIEW

I­ s­AmerIcA­A­myth?

THE UNITED STATES WAS “AN ACCIDENT OF HISTORY,” LARGELY BECAUSE DISTINCT CULTURES SHARED AN EXTERNAL THREAT FROM THE BRITISH

new Yorker

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robiN Wright

HE United States feels like it is unravelling. It’s not just because of a toxic election season, a national crisis over race, unemployment and hunger in the land of opportunity, or a pandemic that’s killing tens of thousands every month. The foundation of our nation has deepening cracks—possibly too many to repair anytime soon, or, perhaps, at all. The ideas and imagery of America face existential challenges—some with reason, some without—that no longer come only from the fringes. Rage consumes many in America.

And it may only get worse after the election, and for the next four years, no matter who wins. Our political and cultural fissures have generated growing doubt about the stability of a country that long considered itself an anchor, a model, and an exception to the rest of the world. Scholars, political scientists, and historians even posit that trying to unite disparate states, cultures, ethnic groups, and religions was always illusory.

“The idea that America has a shared past going back into the colonial period is a myth,” Colin Woodard, the author of “Union: The Struggle to forge the Story of United States nationhood,” told me. “We are very different Americas, each with different origin stories and value sets, many of which are incompatible. They led to a Civil War in the past and are a potentially incendiary force in the future.”

The crisis today reflects the nation’s history. not much, it turns out, has changed.

The country was settled by diverse cultures—the Puritans in new England, the Dutch around new York City, the Scots-Irish dominating Appalachia, and English slave lords from Barbados and the West Indies in the Deep South. They were often rivals, Woodard noted: “They were by no means thinking of themselves belonging to a protean American country-in-waiting.” The United States was “an accident of history,” he said, largely because distinct cultures

shared an external threat from the British.

They formed the Continental Army to stage a revolution and form the Continental Congress, with delegates from thirteen colonies.

Almost two hundred and fifty years later, a country six times its original size claims to be a melting pot that has produced an “American” culture and a political system that vows to provide “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Too often, it hasn’t.

Centuries later, the cultural divide and cleavages are still deep. Three hundred and thirty million people may identify as Americans, but they define what that means—and what rights and responsibilities are involved—in vastly different ways. The American promise has not delivered for many Blacks, Jews, Latinos, Asian-Americans, myriad immigrant groups, and even some whites as well. Hate crimes—acts of violence against people or property based on race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or gender identity—are a growing problem. A bipartisan group in the House warned in August that, “as uncertainty rises, we have seen hatred unleashed.”

When Athens and Sparta went to war, in the fifth century B.C., the Greek general and historian Thucydides observed, “The Greeks did not understand each other any longer, though they spoke the same language.” In the twenty-first century, the same thing is happening among Americans. Our political discourse has become “civil war by other means—we sound as if we do not really want to continue to be members of one country,” Richard Kreitner wrote, in the recently released book “Break It Up: Secession, Division and the Secret History of America’s Imperfect Union.” At different times in America’s history, the Union’s survival was produced as much by “chance and contingency” as by flag-waving and political will.

“At nearly every step it required morally indefensible compromises that only pushed problems further into the future.”

The attempt to reckon with our unjust past has produced more questions—and new divisions—about our future. In Washington, D.C., last week, a group commissioned by

the city’s mayor, Muriel Bowser, recommended, in a report, that her office ask the federal government to “remove, relocate, or contextualize” the Washington Monument, the Jefferson Memorial, and statues to Benjamin franklin and Christopher Columbus, among others. The committee compiled a list of people who should not have public works named after them, including Presidents James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, and Woodrow Wilson, the inventor Alexander Graham Bell, and francis Scott Key, who wrote the national anthem. After a deluge of criticism, Bowser said on friday that the report was being misinterpreted and that the city would not do anything about the monuments and memorials. But a question remains, not just because we live in the era of Black Lives Matter: What is America about today? And is it any different from its deeply flawed past?

There was always an ambiguity about what the United States was supposed to be, Woodard said. Was it supposed to be an alliance of states (as the European Union, with twenty-seven distinct governments, is today), or a confederation (like Switzerland, with its three languages and twenty-six cantons), or a nation-state (like post-revolutionary france), or even a treaty mechanism, to prevent intra-state conflict? After the American Revolution, the “ad-hoc solution” was to celebrate the shared victory against the British; core differences were not addressed.

Today, America is still conflicted about its values, whether over the social contract, the means of educating its children, the right to bear or ban arms, the protection of its vast lands, lakes, and air, or the relationship between the states and the federal government.

Last week, President Donald Trump threatened to withhold federal funds to four major cities—new York, Washington, D.C., Seattle, and Portland—because of “anarchist” activities during weeks of protests.

“My Administration will not allow federal tax dollars to fund cities that allow themselves to deteriorate into lawless zones,” the President’s five-page memo said. It was the latest of many acts by Trump that have fur-

ther divided the nation, although the trend did not start with him.

Since the eighteen-thirties, the United States has gone through cycles of crises that threatened its cohesion. The idea of a revolutionary republic committed to equality (at the time, only for white men) started to erode as regional differences surfaced and the first generation of revolutionaries died out. States or territories have repeatedly pushed for independence—Vermont formally joined the Union in 1791, after spending fourteen years as an independent republic. The State of Muskogee, a multicultural republic of native Americans, escaped slaves, and white settlers around Tallahassee, lasted from 1799 until 1803. In 1810, a small group of settlers captured a Spanish fort in Baton Rouge and declared the creation of an independent Republic of West florida; their capital was St. francisville, Louisiana. They elected a president, wrote a constitution, and designed a flag (a white star on blue); the movement died after President Monroe annexed the region. There were others, including the Republic of fredonia, in Texas, the California Republic, and the Indian Stream Republic, in new England. The biggest rupture, of course, was in the eighteen-sixties, when eleven states—Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, florida, South Carolina, north Carolina, and Virginia—seceded to form the Confederacy.

Wide divisions again threatened to cause a breakup of the nation in the nineteen-thirties, the nineteen-sixties, “and now again?” the Yale historian David Blight told me. Today, America is littered with prideful secessionist movements.

Mirroring Brexit—Britain’s exit from the European Union—they advocate for Texit (Texas), Calexit (California), and Verexit (Vermont).

In 2017, a Vermont poll found that more than twenty per cent of Vermonters believed that the state should consider “peaceably leaving the United States and becoming an independent republic, as it was from 1777 to 1791.” The Texas nationalist Movement, which claims hundreds of thousands of members, is demanding a state referendum on secession. Then there’s the more fanciful proposal for Cascadia, a progressive bio-republic carved out of northern California, Oregon, Washington, and the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Alberta. The trend is bipartisan and transregional; secessionist sentiment has even emerged in the last two states to join the union—Alaska and Hawaii.

The need for internal trade and the dangers of external threats have helped hold

How the US government put Julian Assange’s personality on trial

BY DRAWING ATTENTION AWAY FROM THE PRINCIPLES OF THE CASE, THE OBSESSION WITH HIS CHARACTER PUSHES OUT THE SIGNIFICANCE OF WIKILEAKS’ REVELATIONS

Independent

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Noam Chomsky aNd aliCe Walker

n Monday Julian Assange was driven to the Old Bailey to continue his fight against extradition to the United States, where the Trump administration has launched the most dangerous attack on press freedom in at least a generation by indicting him for publishing US government documents.

Amid coverage of the proceedings, Assange’s critics have inevitably commented on his appearance, rumours of his behaviour while isolated in the Ecuadorian embassy, and other salacious details.

These predictable distractions are emblematic of the sorry state of our political and cultural discourse. If Assange is extradited to face charges for practising journalism and exposing government misconduct, the consequences for press freedom and the public’s right to know will be catastrophic. Still, rather than seriously addressing the important principles at stake in Assange’s unprecedented indictment and the 175 years in prison he faces, many would rather focus on inconsequential personality profiles.

Assange is not on trial for skateboarding in the Ecuadorian embassy, for tweeting, for calling Hillary Clinton a war hawk, or for having an unkempt beard as he was dragged into detention by British police. Assange faces extradition to the United States because he published incontrovertible proof of war crimes and abuses in Iraq and Afghanistan, embarrassing the most powerful nation on Earth. Assange published hard evidence of “the ways in which the first world exploits the third”, according to whistleblower Chelsea Manning, the source of that evidence. Assange is on trial for his journalism, for his principles, not his personality.

You’ve probably heard the refrain from well-meaning pundits: “You don’t have to like him, but you should oppose threats to silence him.” But that refrain misses the point by reinforcing the manipulative tropes deployed against Assange.

When setting a gravely dangerous precedent, governments don’t

typically persecute the most beloved individuals in the world. They target those who can be portrayed as subversive, unpatriotic – or simply weird. Then they actively distort public debate by emphasizing those traits.

These techniques are not new. After Daniel Ellsberg leaked the Pentagon Papers to journalists to expose the US government’s lies about Vietnam, the nixon administration’s “White House Plumbers” broke into Ellsberg’s psychiatrist’s office in search of material that could be used to discredit him. nSA whistleblower Edward Snowden was falsely portrayed as collaborating with the Chinese, then the Russians. Obsession with military intelligence analyst Manning’s mental health and gender identity was ubiquitous. By demonizing the messenger, governments seek to poison the message.

The prosecution will be all too happy when coverage of Assange’s extradition hearing devolves into irrelevant tangents and smears. It matters little that Assange’s beard was the result of his shaving kit having been confiscated, or that reports of Paul Manafort visiting him in the embassy were proven to be fabricated.

By the time these petty claims are refuted, the damage will be done. At best, public debate over the real issues will be derailed; at worst, public opinion will be manipulated in favour of the establishment.

By drawing attention away from the principles of the case, the obsession with personality pushes out the significance of WikiLeaks’ revelations and the extent to which governments have concealed misconduct from their own citizens. It pushes out how Assange’s 2010 publications exposed 15,000 previously uncounted civilian casualties in Iraq, casualties that the US Army would have buried. It pushes out the fact that the United States is attempting to accomplish what repressive regimes can only dream of: deciding what journalists around the globe can and cannot write. It pushes out the fact that all whistleblowers and journalism itself, not just Assange, is on trial here.

Noam Chomsky and Alice Walker are co-chairs of AssangeDefense.org.

America together. Disparate factions throughout the country rallied to counter British aggression in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries; the Germans and the Japanese, in the twentieth; and Al Qaeda, after the 9/11 attacks, in the twenty-first. But, now, without outside threats, the nation is increasingly turning on itself. “We are definitely not united,” Blight said. “Are we on the brink of secession of some kind? no, not in a sectional sense. But, in the interior of our minds and our communities, we are already in a period of slow-evolving secession” in ways that are deeper than ideology and political beliefs. “We are tribes with at least two or more sources of information, facts, narratives, and stories we live in.” The United States today, Blight said, is a “house divided about what holds the house up.”

In his new book, Kreitner argues that, with its politics irrevocably broken, America is running out of time. The potential for physical and political separation is now real, even though the polarization of America does not have neat geographic borders. no red state is entirely red; no blue state is entirely blue. “The twenty-first century has seen an unmistakable resurgence of the idea of leaving or breaking up the United States—a kaleidoscopic array of separatist movements shaped by the conflicts and divisions of the past but manifested in new and potentially destabilizing ways,” he writes.

Unlike in the past, the current separatist impulses have emerged in multiple places at the same time. “Often dismissed as unserious or quixotic, a throwback to the Confederacy, the new secessionism reveals divisions in American life possibly no less intractable than the ones that led to the first Civil War,” Kreitner warns.

In the years to come, the appeal of pulling the plug on the American experiment is likely to grow, even among faithful adherents to the idea of federal power. And, if the Union dissolves again, Kreitner writes, it will not be along a clean line but “everywhere and all at once.” In some ways, the election, now only eight weeks away, will be a temporary relief, at least in ending the current agonizing uncertainty. But it will play only one part in deciding what ultimately will happen to our nation. “Are we a myth?

Well, yes, in the deep sense. Always have been,” Blight said. To survive, America must move beyond the myth.

Robin Wright has been a contributing writer to The New Yorker since 1988. She is the author of “Rock the Casbah: Rage and Rebellion Across the Islamic World.”

Dissent and detention: On Dr Kafeel Khan THE CASE IS POOR ADVERTISEMENT FOR INDIA’S DEMOCRATIC CREDENTIALS, FOR IT BRINGS TO LIGHT ITS PROPENSITY TO CRIMINALISE DISSENT

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HIndu

f ever any evidence was needed that Dr Kafeel Khan, a government doctor from Gorakhpur, has been a victim of state persecution, the Allahabad High Court has provided that. Its 42-page order has laid bare the malefic manner in which the doctor was detained under the national Security Act (nSA) on february 13, 2020, shortly after he was granted bail in an earlier case. Dr. Khan, suspended in 2017 after a severe shortage of oxygen cylinders took a deadly toll among children admitted to the encephalitis ward in the Baba RaghavDas Medical College Hospital, Gorakhpur, was arrested on January 29, 2020, for an address to students of Aligarh Muslim University last December.

His speech, which contained scathing criticism of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, and its discriminatory nature, was deemed inflammatory weeks after he had made it. The High Court has now found that far from inciting Muslims, the speech, taken in its entirety, does not disclose any effort to promote hatred or violence; and nowhere does it threaten peace in Aligarh. The DM, Aligarh, the court says, used selective reading of some phrases and ignored its true intent while passing the detention order. no reasonable man, it says, would have come to the conclusion about the speech that the DM did.

The grounds for detention under nSA provided nothing that indicated any attempt by Dr. Khan to disturb peace and

tranquillity between the speech in December and his detention in february.

The inevitable inference is that the nSA was invoked only to avoid releasing him following the Chief Judicial Magistrate court’s order granting him bail. The process to invoke the nSA itself began only after the bail order, the Bench comprising Chief Justice GovindMathur and SaumitraDayal Singh noted.

The use of stringent national security laws against political dissenters, in the absence of any appeal to violence, is something to be condemned in all cases. However, there is something perverse about the resort to preventive detention just to frustrate bail orders. In particular, the authorities have shown excessive zeal in dealing with Dr. Khan. In 2017, he was arrested on charges of negligence and corruption even though circumstances indicated his strenuous efforts to ensure continuous oxygen supply. He spent months in prison before an inquiry absolved him of the charges of negligence and corruption, but was found to have been engaging in private practice. The paediatrician’s suspension is yet to be revoked. Even though the verdict gives him relief, it comes after he spent seven months in jail. And his case will some day go to trial. The case of Dr. Khan is poor advertisement for India’s democratic credentials, for it brings to light its propensity to criminalise dissent, single out individuals for persecution and display a general disregard for basic rights.

Thursday, 10 September, 2020

BUSINESS 09

corporate corner

AdVISORy COMMITTee fORMed fOR ReLeASe Of uNSOLd NGMS SPeCTRuM ISLAMABAD

KARACHI: A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been signed between National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) and Pakistan Stone Development Company (PASDEC) for collaboration on development and promotion of the marble and granite sector of the country. PRESS RElEASE

ISLAMABAD: The Bank of Azad Jammu & Kashmir (BAJK) and Jubilee Life Insurance Company Limited have recently entered into a distribution alliance for Jubilee Life’s insurance products in order to augment the accessibility of insurance products and capitalize on the significance of financial inclusion. PRESS RElEASE

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STAFF REPORT

N order to improve mobile broadband services in the country, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) has approved the formation of an advisory committee for the release of unsold Next Generation Mobile Services (NGMS) spectrum.

Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh chaired the meeting of the ECC meeting at the Cabinet Division on Wednesday.

As per details, the said advisory committee on NGMG would comprise Adviser to PM on Finance Dr Hafeez Shaikh

ISLAMABAD: Easypaisa has joined hands with NADRA Technologies Limited (NTL) to provide cross-platform services on NADRA e-sahulat networks enabling convenient access to digital financial solutions. The agreement was signed by Khurram Malik, Head of Easypaisa, and Ali Javed, Director General, Public Service Directorate, NTL. PRESS RElEASE

Omar Ayub briefed on energy audits of gas-based CPPs NEWS DESK: Energy Minister Omar Ayub Khan was apprised by the managing director of the National Energy Efficiency and Conservation (NEECA) on the mandate of NEECA to conduct energy audits of gas-based captive power plants (CPPs) in light of the CCoE decision. The NEECA MD presented the major findings of the baseline assessment of 1,141 gas-based captive power plants. The analysis based on GIS mapping of the active CPPs presented coupled with different industrial setups like food processing, cement, chemicals, pulp and paper, glass and textile and several others with spatial distribution at district level.

(chairman), Information Technology Minister Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Adviser to PM on Commerce Razak Dawood, Industries and Production Minister Hammad Azhar and Planning & Development Minister Asad Umar.

According to a statement issued by the Finance Division, "The Terms of Reference (ToRs) of the committee would be i) to examine and evaluate the market assessment report and recommendations of PTA for release of maximum NGMS

spectrum in Pakistan, ii) to examine and finalise policy directives for the federal government for the release of NGMS spectrum and iii) to oversee the release process to be conducted by PTA." Meanwhile, the ECC approved an amendment in the minutes of an earlier decision (based on the directives given in 22nd July meeting) related to a subsidy of the Naya Pakistan Housing and Development Authority. The amended states "approval of allocation of

Business community urged to explore investment opportunities in Gwadar ISLAMABAD INP

KARACHI: EFU Life Assurance Limited, the leading private life insurance provider in the country, has been conferred with ‘Brands of the Year Award 2019’ for the Best Life Insurance Company by The Brands Foundation. PRESS RElEASE

THE COMMITTEE WILL EXAMINE AND EVALUATE PTA'S RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MAXIMUM RELEASE OF NEXT-GEN MOBILE SERVICES IN PAKISTAN

Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani has said that Gwadar was emerging as a new port city of Pakistan which was destined to become the hub of industrial and investment activities.

"Therefore, the business community should gear up itself to fully capitalise on the emerging opportunities for business and investment in Gwadar and Balochistan," he added while talking to a delegation of Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI), led by its President Muhammad Ahmed Waheed, on Wednesday. MNA and former FPCCI vice president Sajida Zulfiqar, ICCI Vice President Saifur Rehman Khan and former senior vice resident Malik Sohail Hussain were also present on the occasion.

Sanjrani said the business community was the backbone of the economy and its problems should be addressed on a priority basis. "The way the local business community has fought back against the impact of Covid-19 is appreciable... it shows its resilience to survive tough conditions."

Meanwhile, Sajida Zulfiqar briefed the ICCI delegation about the investment potential in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's tourism sector, saying that KP has a huge potential for tourism, but lack of resources was a constraint in promoting tourism infrastructure.

She emphasised that the business community should partner with the provincial government to promote tourism industry, as it could boost local and foreign tourism in the country.

Speaking on the occasion,

ICCI President Muhammad Ahmed Waheed said that the government has offered an attractive package to the construction industry due to which the construction activity has picked up momentum.

He said a similar kind of package should be offered to other major industries, especially for investing in industrial zones. "This can start a new phase of rapid industrialization in Pakistan and put it on the path of fast economic growth."

He suggested that an investment conference on tourism should be organised in KP to unlock the tourism potential of the province.

He urged the government to finalise the free trade agreement (FTA) with Turkey at the earliest in order to remove trade barriers and give a boost to bilateral trade.

Sept 30 last date to file income tax returns, says FBR BUSINESS DESK The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has announced that the last date of filing income tax returns for the year 2020-21 will be September 30.

FBR Spokesperson Nadeem Hussain on Wednesday announced the launch of a tax filing mobile phone application which would make the entire process simple for filers.

"Tax filers will be able to submit their returns using its newly launched user-friendly mobile application," he said.

The app also features a new and simplified tax return form to facilitate filers to file their returns with ease. "You will feel it very easy to use it and file income tax returns," said FBR Inland Revenue Member Ch Muhammad Tarique.

He said the board also intends to launch an awareness campaign to educate people as well as its own staff on how to use the application, adding that it would also consider attaching a help guide with the application to help consumers

resolve issues on their own.

To a question, he said that there was a minimal possibility of data theft from the FBR system.

He said that the FBR could allow a third party to make applications through which consumers could file tax returns, adding that around three consultants have approached the bureau to develop the application through which the tax returns could be filed in the IRIs system of FBR.

Stocks inch up 37 points in volatile trade KARACHI The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a volatile session on Wednesday, with the indices swaying in both directions before closing marginally positive.

Global equity markets also displayed a mixed performance; whereas crude oil prices changed its course and moved north on Wednesday; WTI crude oil price inching up 0.84pc to $37.06 while Brent crude price appreciating 0.23pc to $39.87.

"The PSX started the day on a negative note, shedding over 350 points in early trade mainly due to a sell-off observed overnight in US markets," said a report issued by AHL Ltd. "Although

the market managed to recover all losses, selling pressure in exploration & production, oil & gas marketing and cement sectors kept the index in check."

MARKET SUMMARY: The benchmark KSE-100 Index searched for a clear direction throughout the day, registering its intraday low at 41,610.73 (-374.46 points) and intraday high at 42,196.17 (+210.98 points). It finally settled higher by 37.06 points at 42,022.25. Among other indices, the KMI-30 Index lost 312.86 points to end at 67,416.27, while the KSE All Share Index gathered 66.26 points, closing at 29,862.56.

The overall market volumes contracted from 884.36 million shares in the previous session to 707.01 million shares (-20pc). Average traded value also de-

clined by 24pc, from $167.7 million to $128.0 million. Hascol Petroleum Ltd (HASCOL -1.21pc), Pakistan Telecom Company Ltd (PTC +9.21pc) and Pakistan International Bulk Terminal Ltd (PIBTL +1.15pc) led the volume chart, exchanging 75.62 million, 63.04 million and 57.24 million shares, respectively.

Sectors that helped the benchmark index recover its losses included banking (+48.40pts), technology and communication (+39.53pts) and insurance (+26.33pts). Among the companies, Habib Bank Ltd (HBL +36.72pts), TRG Pak Ltd (TRG +23.52pts) and National Foods Ltd (NATF +20.89pts) remained the top contributors.

Adding 6.70pc to its total market capitalisation, the refinery sector closed

CMYK

Pakistan Army to procure pulses from PARC ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Army Supply Corps recently held discussions with the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) for procurement of pulses from PATCO-PARC. During the meeting, chaired by PARC Chairman Dr Azeem Khan, army delegates showed interest in signing an MoU with PARC regarding pulses’ procurement. According to a statement issued y PARC, Dr Muhammad Azeem Khan briefed the delegates on the ongoing mega PSDP project on pulses. While referring to the recent travelling seminars on pulses to KP and Punjab provinces, Dr. Azeem also informed about the progress made by PARC in productivity enhancement of pulses. Chairman PARC, Dr. Muhammad Azeem Khan also informed the visitors that pulses program is aimed at providing certified advanced variety seeds of pulses that could ensure food security amid climate change issues. Dr. Muhammad Mansoor Joyia, National Coordinator (Pulses) PARC also highlighted the delegation with regard to pulses research activities carried out under the Pulses Project.

Mastercard, Silkbank join hands to drive digital payments in Pakistan KARACHI: Mastercard has announced a partnership with Silkbank to expand credit card issuance in Pakistan, which will help increase the purchasing power and accelerate digital payment adoption in the market. The collaboration will see Silkbank rolling out innovative new credit card programs for consumers in Pakistan. Silkbank will be able to reach more customers through Mastercard’s network, technology and insights, improving digital access and ultimately delivering safer, simpler, and smarter payment solutions to more people across the country. “As digitization positively transforms the payments landscape in Pakistan, the need for safe, seamless, diversified banking products is increasing. Our partnership with Silkbank will encourage growth in card usage and electronic payments, making transactions more convenient, secure and efficient for people in the country,” said Mastercard Country Manager Atyab Tahir. PRESS RElEASE

JS Bank, IVS partner to promote expression of creativity through art

maRket daily

STAFF REPORT

Rs33,095 million on account of 10-year markup subsidy on loans with tenor up to 20 years, along with a supplementary grant of Rs4,774 million on account of markup payment during the current financial year (FY21).

The committee also approved the continuation of concessionary rates of electricity and RLNG for export-oriented sectors (erstwhile zero-rated sectors).

For July-August 2020, electricity to export-oriented sectors may be provided at US cents 7.5/kWh and thereafter at US Cents 9/kWh for the rest of FY21.

Moreover, it was decided that the Finance Division would continue with the existing guarantee of Rs31 billion for the power sector through the Power Holding Company (PHL).

the session as its top gainer, with Byco Petroleum Ltd (BYCO +10.01pc), Pakistan Refinery Ltd (PRL +3.37pc), National Refinery Ltd (NRL +4.60pc) and Attock Refinery Ltd (ATRL +1.70pc) posting decent gains.

In a notification to the exchange, Pakistan Refinery Ltd informed that after completing the necessary repair work, crude oil connectivity between Keamari terminal and the refinery has been restored through a temporary arrangement.

Meanwhile, Sazgar Engineering Works Ltd (SAZEW -0.25pc) announced its production and sales figures for August 2020. The company produced 1,349 units during the month, of which 1,222 units were sold.

KARACHI: Launched with a vision to provide upcoming artists with a platform to express their skills and abilities, JS Bank and the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture partnered for “Sitaron se aage jahan aur bhi hain” – a theme based competition inspired by the work of Allama Iqbal. While the competition opened on February 18th, 2020, it was put on hold due to the lockdown and has now resumed. IVS Alumni Qurat-ulain Qamar Chaudhry and Sadia Safder have been announced as winners of the cash prize while the cost of making the art pieces is also covered. This competition has provided the art fraternity with a creative outlet, and the winning works will be showcased at the JS Bank Headquarters. PRESS RElEASE

TPL Trakker to provide AVN systems in new Hyundai Tucson KARACHI: Hyundai Nishat Motor (Private) Limited is the sole authorized manufacturer and distributor of Hyundai brand passenger and light commercial vehicles in Pakistan. Equipped with a state of the art manufacturing facility, located near Faisalabad, the company has launched Hyundai Porter and Hyundai Tucson as CKD, as it aims to become the most valued automobile brand in the country and recreate the global success of Hyundai in Pakistan. Hyundai Nishat Motor (Pvt.) Limited also offers Hyundai Santa Fe (7 seat SUV), Hyundai IONIQ (1.6L hybrid sedan) and Hyundai Grand Starex (12 seat MPV) in Pakistan. The Tucson’s In-Car AVN System is powered by TPL Trakker, Pakistan’s leading IoT company providing telematics, tracking and location-based services. PRESS RElEASE

Thursday, 10 September, 2020

10 FOREIGN NEWS Wildfires engulf agricultural lands in Syria DAMASCUS: Agricultural lands have been engulfed by wildfires in the countryside of the Hama province, a Syrian official said on Wednesday. Cited by the progovernment Sham FM radio, Muhammad al-Hazouri, governor of Hama, said between 7,000 dunam (7 square km) to 8,000 dunam have been burnt by the wildfires that have intensified over the past few days in the countryside of Masyaf area in Hama. The governor said no civilian got physically hurt by the fire as they have escaped. He stressed that the main goal was to put down the fire, acknowledging that there has been a failure in some areas due to the tough geographic location. The governor said 95 percent of the fire was contained but new fires have emerged in the same region. A day earlier, helicopters of the Syrian army took part in extinguishing the fire in the towns in Masyaf. On Wednesday, state news agency SANA said that an Iranian aircraft carrying 40 tons of water joined the Syrian helicopters in fighting the fire. It was not immediately clear what had caused the fire but it comes as very high temperatures are sweeping the country. AGENCIES

Norwegian lawmaker nominates Trump for Nobel Peace Prize OSLO: A Norwegian lawmaker has nominated Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize for 2021 for helping broker a deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, the second time he has put forward the U.S. president for the honor. Thousands of people are eligible to nominate candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize, including members of parliaments and governments, university professors and past laureates. The Norwegian Nobel Committee, which decides on the award, declined to comment. “It is for his contribution for peace between Israel and the UAE. It is a unique deal,” Christian Tybring-Gjedde, a member of parliament for the right-wing Progress Party, told Reuters. TybringGjedde, who nominated Trump for the 2019 award for his diplomatic efforts with North Korea, said he also nominated him this year because of the U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq. Last year Trump said he deserved to be awarded the Peace Prize for his work on North Korea and Syria, but he complained he probably would never get the honor. Former President Barack Obama, a nemesis of Trump, won the prize in 2009 just months into his first term in office. Nominations for this year’s award closed on Jan. 31 and the winner will be announced on Oct. 9 in Oslo. AGENCIES

ISRaElI SoldIER’S PlEa dEal IN FaTal ShooTINg FaCES SCRUTINy

a

HMAD Manasra was traveling home from a wedding when he spotted a family in distress on the side of a West Bank road.

Moments later, the 22-year-old Palestinian was fatally shot while another Palestinian driver was seriously wounded — both by an Israeli soldier in a nearby watchtower.

The shootings are now the focus of a plea bargain offering the soldier three months of community service — a deal that has come under fierce criticism from the victims and their families.

It also revived accusations by Palestinians and human rights workers that Israel’s military justice system is hopelessly biased and creates an atmosphere of impunity for soldiers suspected of violent crimes against Palestinians.

While the soldier has claimed he mistook the victims for attackers, and any indictment of a soldier is extremely rare, the proposed deal is now being reviewed by the Israeli Supreme Court.

“When it comes to clashes with the army or the police, it is very very rare that you will find a fair trial,” said Shlomo Lecker, an Israeli lawyer who filed the appeal to the high court on behalf of the Palestinian families. Even by what Lecker considers the military’s lenient standards, “it will be hard to justify the sentence that the army is interested in,” he said.

The shootings took place on March 20, 2019 near the West Bank town of Bethlehem. At the time, Manasra and three others were in a car, heading home from a wedding. They spotted a parked

car and a woman screaming for help on the side of the road.

The woman’s husband, Alaa Ghayadah, had pulled off the road after a traffic dispute with another driver. When Ghayadah got out of his car, a soldier in a nearby guard tower shot him in the stomach, according to witness testimony gathered by the Israeli rights group B’Tselem.

Manasra’s co-travelers took Ghayadah in their car to a hospital, while Manasra offered to drive Ghayadah’s wife and two young daughters behind them. When their car wouldn’t start, he got out of the vehicle and was shot himself, according to B’Tselem. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.

In a statement, the army, quoting from the indictment, said the soldier had opened fire after assuming Ghayadah was throwing stones at Israeli motorists.

It said the soldier “wrongly assumed” Manasra was the same stone thrower and fired again. It also said forces had received a report about “the possibility of a terror attack in the area” shortly before the incident.

It said that in the Aug. 17 plea bargain, the soldier was indicted for “causing death by negligence.” It said victims were represented in legal proceedings and the various parties “jointly petitioned” for a sentence of “three months imprisonment served through military work,” probation and a demotion to the rank of private.

“Complex evidentiary and legal considerations, significant operational circumstances of the incident and the soldier’s willingness to take responsibil-

ity were all considered,” the army said.

“In addition, the rights of the victims of the offense were preserved throughout the proceedings.”

The victims strongly disputed the military account and said they never accepted the plea bargain. The military did not explain what appears to be a sharp discrepancy between its claims and the families’ view of the plea deal.

Wafa Manasra, Ahmad’s mother, called the deal “unjust.”

“The soldier killed my son in cold blood,” she said. “My son wasn’t going to carry out any attack. He was going to help others when he was killed.”

Ghadayeh, a former tile layer, said he can no longer work because of the severe damage to his stomach. He said he tried to work as a taxi driver but that also was too grueling on his body.

“If the soldier was sentenced to life in prison, that won’t be enough for me,” he said. Critics say potentially criminal shootings of Palestinians rarely result in convictions or even indictments.

B’Tselem, Israel’s leading human rights group, grew so frustrated with the military justice system that in 2016 it halted its decades-long practice of assisting military investigations.

According to the group, the plea bargain results from the first indictment in the death of a Palestinian in the West Bank since a landmark 2016 case in which a soldier was caught on video shooting and killing a badly wounded Palestinian attacker in the head who was lying on the ground. The soldier, Elor Azaria, served nine months in prison for

EU urged to implement recovery plan to build economies

Nobel laureate Alexievich denounces Belarus 'terror' as another activist is detained

BRUSSELS: The post-pandemic top priority for the European Union (EU) is implementing the recovery package agreed by EU leaders and ensuring that the aid reaches the people, the European Commission's top echelons told the Brussels Economic Forum.

Addressing the annual economic event, executive Vice President of the European Commission Valdis Dombrovskis and European Commissioner for Economy Paolo Gentiloni both stressed the importance of building economies for future generations. What Europe needs now is a strong and inclusive recovery and it is the objective of the EU's recovery package "to be a ship that keeps afloat in rough seas and gets us through the storm," said Dombrovskis, referring to the 1.85-trillion-euro recovery plan designed to finance measures to make European economies more resilient.

He added that Europe is at the brink of change and the challenge is to make sure that "our ship of recovery sets sail as soon as possible. This is a time for looking forward, not back." Gentiloni spoke about how Europe took the leading role to counter the effect of the Covid19 pandemic. The task is very difficult, but the European leadership is absolutely necessary, said Gentiloni, who also warned against tightening the rules too fast in 2021, adding that EU member states were expected to come up with recovery plans which must be aligned with the EU's common social and green goals.

He noted that 37 percent of each member state's recovery plan is dedicated to environmental and climate initiatives. The opinions were echoed by European Council President Charles Michel, who addressed the forum in the closing speech. Despite admitting that EU leaders held divergent views about the health measures and the EU was criticized for acting too slow in the initial stage of the pandemic, Michel emphasized that compared with the 2008/2009 financial crisis, Europe took decisions decisively and quickly. AGENCIES

Nobel prize-winning author Svetlana Alexievich accused the Belarus authorities of terrorising their own people on Wednesday as another opposition politician was detained by masked men in plain clothes.

Maxim Znak was the latest figure to be seized in a systematic campaign by the government of President Alexander Lukashenko to round up the leaders of a monthlong mass protest movement.

“What is happening is terror against the people,” said Alexievich, who summoned supporters to her home after being harassed by repeated phone calls from unknown numbers and constant ringing by strangers at her door.

“We have to unite and not give up our intentions. There is a danger we will lose the country,” she said.

Znak was detained two days after another opposition leader, Maria Kolesnikova, was snatched in the street by masked men. Both are prominent leaders of protests demanding the resignation of Lukashenko following an Aug. 9 presidential election that the opposition says was rigged. Lukashenko denies vote-rigging.

Znak was the last member of the opposition’s Coordination Council still active inside Belarus apart from Alexievich, who has served as a figurehead for the movement.

All the rest have fled, been forced abroad or been detained in a crackdown by Lukashenko’s security forces as he seeks to maintain his 26-year grip on power in the former Soviet republic.

“First, the country was kidnapped from us, (now) the best of us are being kidnapped. But instead of those torn from our ranks, hundreds of others will come,” Alexievich, winner of the 2015 Nobel Prize for Literature, said in a separate statement.

“We were not preparing a coup.

We wanted to prevent a split in our country. We wanted a dialogue to begin in society. Lukashenko says he will not speak to the street, but the street is hundreds of thousands of people who go out every Sunday and every day. This is not the street.

This is the people.”

‘STRONG LEADER’: Lukashenko was quoted by the official news agency Belta as saying Belarus, Russia and Ukraine were “Slav states that need a strong leader with defined powers”. He has rejected dialogue with the opposition, which he says is bent on wrecking the country.

The 66-year-old leader retains the backing of Russian President Vladimir Putin, an important ally, but faces the likelihood of European Union sanctions against Belarusian

officials involved in the election and its violent aftermath.

For Russia, Belarus is strategically important as a buffer state against NATO and a transit country for its exports of oil and gas. Russian news agency RIA said Lukashenko would visit Moscow for talks on Monday.

The detention of Znak on Wednesday was part of a criminal case against the opposition’s Coordination Council “for inciting actions aimed at harming the national security of the Republic of Belarus”, his lawyer Dmitry Laevsky said.

Fellow opposition leader Kolesnikova was seized in similar circumstances on Monday. On Tuesday she thwarted an attempt to deport her by tearing up her passport to avoid being forced to cross the border into Ukraine, two of her allies said.

“It’s clear Lukashenko is afraid of negotiations and is trying in this way to paralyse the work of the Coordination Council and intimidate its members. But there is no alternative to negotiations, and Lukashenko will have to accept this,” said Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who ran against Lukashenko in the August election and fled soon afterwards to Lithuania. AGENCIES

Baidu plans artificial intelligence-powered biotech business BEIJING TLTP

Chinese tech giant Baidu is in talks with investors to raise up to $2 billion over three years for a biotech startup, which will use artificial intelligence (AI) technology to discover new drugs and diagnose diseases.

Baidu is unlikely to be the controlling investor, one source said. More details on the investment were not available as talks were still under way.

Baidu's plans come at a time of in-

creased investment in the healthcare sector since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, with many companies expanding into online diagnosis options to fill the gaps left by overstretched, overcrowded hospitals.

WeDoctor, backed by Tencent, Alibaba's healthcare arm and Ping An Good Doctor have joined the fray to develop apps that offer diagnosis, prescriptions, appointment bookings, one-hour drug delivery and insurance.

But the startup under discussion plans to focus more on such areas as drug dis-

covery and development, and early tumour diagnosis, by mobilising Baidu's powerful artificial intelligence (AI) technology that can perform complex computing to produce biological innovations, sources said.

The name of the startup has not been decided, but Baidu came up with the idea as early as six months ago, one source said, adding that Baidu founder and chairman Robin Li has been personally involved in the project, however, Baidu declined to comment. Baidu open-sourced its Ribonucleic acid (RNA) prediction algorithm LinearFold

this year. The tool aims to accelerate the prediction time of a virus's RNA secondary structure, which is crucial to understanding it and developing vaccines.

The healthcare industry, especially biotechnology, has seen a flood of money flow amid the scramble for a Covid-19 vaccine and governments seeking to fix their health systems. The Hang Seng Healthcare Index has surged about 40 per cent over the past five months, outstripping the Hang Seng Index that edged up more than 6 per cent over the same time.

manslaughter. B’Tselem says there have been at least 11 cases over the past two years in which Palestinians who did not pose a threat were killed while fleeing security forces.

The plea bargain is “not an aberration,” said Amit Galutz, a spokesman for the group. “It is a policy of whitewashing and of protecting perpetrators instead of their victims.”

In Israel, military service is compulsory for most Jewish males, and there is widespread sympathy for young soldiers.

Azaria’s trial bitterly divided the country, with top generals saying he should be punished for violating a military code of ethics. But large segments of Israel’s nationalist right, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, pushed for leniency.

Emmanuel Gross, a professor emeritus at the University of Haifa’s law school and a former military judge, said military cases are different than civilian cases.

“A soldier finds himself on a battlefield. Therefore he is under constant threat to his life and must be aware to defend himself and his colleagues,” he said.

“You must take those circumstances under consideration.”

Gross said that on the surface, the sentence in the Manasra case appeared to be “lenient and inappropriate.” But he said the High Court could determine there were special circumstances that make the plea bargain reasonable.

Lecker, the Palestinians’ lawyer, said the families have few expectations that the plea bargain will be altered. “Just the fact that it will be reviewed by the court is an achievement,” he said. AGENCIES

Saudi king briefs cabinet on calls with world leaders NEOM: Saudi King Salman has briefed the government about his conversations with world leaders this week. The king, who chaired the virtual meeting from Neom, had phone discussions with the leaders of the US, France, Britain and Russia. The king also briefed ministers on his message to Kuwaiti Deputy Emir and Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, in which he emphasized ways of strengthening relations between the two nations. As the holder of the presidency of the G20, the Kingdom reaffirmed its commitment to support the group in confronting the impacts of the Covid19 pandemic as well as achieving stability and balance of the oil market. The Saudi monarch also affirmed the country’s keenness to reach a permanent and just solution to the Palestinian cause to bring about peace. The cabinet also reviewed various reports related to the pandemic, including the continuing decline of infections and the increased rate of recoveries in the Kingdom. AGENCIES

China International Fair opens to boost investment, BRI cooperation XIAMEN: The 2020 China International Fair for Investment & Trade (CIFIT) and the Belt and Road Investment Congress opened in Xiamen, east China's Fujian province, offering opportunities to promote investment and economic cooperation worldwide. The fair, which has attracted merchants and delegates from 42 countries and regions including Germany, Britain and Japan, is one of the first major international economic and trade events held by China since the Covid19 outbreak. The four-day event includes the 2020 Global Investment Forum and nine sideline forums and seminars, and delegates participating in this year's fair will focus on the trend of global investment and the world economy amid the pandemic. Covering an area of 110,000 square meters, two exhibition pavilions promoting investment and industry are also expected to facilitate investment cooperation among countries and regions along the Belt and Road. The participants are mainly from international organizations, domestic government agencies, business associations and enterprises, as well as foreign government offices, foreign embassies and consulates in China. TLTP

Thursday, 10 September, 2020

MiSBAh REvEAlS SARfARAz hAD RESERvATionS plAying lAST T20 AfTER BEing ovERlookED foR EnTiRE TouR

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ARFARAZ Ahmed was picked in the 29-member Pakistan squad for their three Tests and three T20Is in England, that concluded last month. He made his comeback into the side after being sidelined for around 8 months. Sarfaraz did not get a chance to play much in England as he was overlooked for the majority of the matches with Mohammed Rizwan getting the nod. But he was picked for the last T20 international against England.

However, Pakistan’s former captain wasn’t keen on playing the last match after being overlooked for almost the entire tour of England. Sarfaraz was reluctant to play when he was finally offered a chance in the third T20 International. Sarfaraz had told head coach and chief selector, Misbah-ulHaq, before the match that he didn’t wish to play.

“He didn’t refuse to play, but yes, he had reservations and apprehensions over being asked to play in the last match of the tour,” Misbah told a local television channel.

Ronaldo targets Ali Daei's record after netting 100th international goal

“If I had been in his position I would have felt the same way. A player does feel apprehensive and uncertain if he is told to play in the last match of the tour after not playing in earlier matches,” he added.

Misbah said the team management, comprising batting coach Younis Khan, T20 captain Babar Azam and himself, assured Sarfaraz that he was in their scheme of things for the future and that one match is not going to make much of a difference.

“After we had a candid discussion with him over his reservations, he played without apprehensions.” Sarfaraz didn’t get to bat but in the final overs, in a pressure situation, he was seen advising Azam.

According to reports, Sarfaraz became apprehensive the moment he was told he was in the playing XI for the final T20, which Pakistan won, as he had trained for three hours in the nets without knowing he was to play and had gotten tired.

Sarfaraz, who was unceremoniously removed as captain and player last year after Misbah had taken over as head coach and chief selector, was picked for the long England tour as the second wicketkeeper, after Muhammad Rizwan.

Batting legend Zaheer wants Pakistan to learn batting from India

Cristiano Ronaldo has set his sights on Ali Daei's record of 109 international goals following a double in Portugal's 2-1 Nations League win away to Sweden that saw him reach 101 goals for his country since his debut in 2004. Having missed Portugal's Nations League opener against Croatia on Saturday with a toe injury, Ronaldo wasted no time on his return, scoring a first-half free kick and adding a second from open play in the 72nd minute to close in on Iranian Daei's record. "I managed to beat this milestone of 100 goals and now (I'll go) for the record. It's step-by-step. I am not obsessed because I believe the records come in a natural way," Ronaldo said. "When I had this problem in my toe I always knew that I could recover for this second game. I like to be here, with this group of players, coach, staff and knew that they would play well in the first game as our squad is too good and no one is irreplaceable," added the 35-year-old.

Having netted five times in his previous encounters against the Swedes, only a fool would have bet against him writing more history in the Swedish capital. "Yesterday he scored six or seven (free kicks) like that in training and today it went exactly the same way. It's so good to have Cristiano on the team," Portugal midfielder Bruno Fernandes said. Ronaldo forced another fine save from keeper Robin Olsen before leaving the fray in the 81st minute to be replaced by Diogo Jota, his thoughts moving quickly on to his next task. AGENCIES

AGENCIES Legendary batsman Zaheer Abbas, who was recently inducted in the ICC Hall of Fame for his outstanding achievements on the cricket field, said Pakistan batsmen should learn from their Indian counterparts.

Abbas said someone from India’s batting unit always puts his hand up when the team is in trouble and bails them out of precarious situations.

“You look at how their (India’s) batsmen perform nowadays. Whenever the team is in trouble, somebody comes and scores. This is what I want Pakistan to learn,” Abbas said in a Youtube show called Cricket Baaz.

Abbas, who was widely renowned as the ‘Asian Bradman’ for scoring 108 First-class centuries during his illustrious career, said it’s time Pakistan cricketers learned from their opposition.

“They (India) have learned this from us. What we taught everyone has been picked up very well but now it’s time we have to learn something from them. Gavaskar used to say that ‘you should always learn from the opposition too’,” he added. Abbas, who scored 5062 runs in 78 Tests at an average of 44.79, cited the example of India limited-overs vice-captain Rohit Sharma.

“If you say that Rohit Sharma is good. Then you should learn from him.

SPORTS 11

England's Malan displaces Azam to top T20 batting rankings

England's Dawid Malan has replaced Pakistan's Babar Azam as the world's top-ranked Twenty20 batsman after a fine series against Australia, the International Cricket Council announced on Wednesday. The 33-year-old left-hander is not a high-profile figure in the world game but has burnished his record after scores of 66, 42 and 21 against Australia saw him jump four places in the ICC standings.

Malan now has eight scores of fifty or more in just 16 career T20 internationals, with an average of 48.71 and an equally impressive strike rate of 146.66. Pakistan captain Babar dropped down to number two, while Australia captain Aaron Finch remained third in the batting standings. “Obviously his form in T20 as it stands is phenomenal and it seems to keep getting better the more he bats,” said England coach Chris Silverwood of Malan. “It's good to watch him. He's worked hard to get into the team and when he's got his opportunity he's taken it, which is superb. His record is brilliant at the moment, good on him.” There was more good news for Malan on Wednesday when he was added as a reserve for the three-match one-day international series against Australia in Manchester starting on Friday. Malan replaces Joe Denly in the 50-over world champions' three-man standby list. But with opener Jason Roy passed fit after a side strain and the promising Phil Salt also selected as a batting reserve, Malan will do well to force his way into England's ODI team. England leg-spinner Adil Rashid has climbed two places to seventh in the global T20 rankings. Rashid took an impressive 3-21 against Australia at Southampton on Tuesday but could not prevent England losing by five wickets, although they still won the series 2-1. The victory saw Australia regain their status as the number one ranked side in the format after England briefly claimed top spot, with left-arm spinner Ashton Agar remaining third in the bowling standings and paceman Kane Richardson breaking into the top 10. AGENCIES

Salman Butt refuses to play for second division squad: report

Watch him, see how plays, observe his technique. I used to watch and learn from Hanif Mohammad, Rohan Kanhai.

I didn’t go and train with them, I just learned after observing their batting.

“There were no coaches during our time.

There was only a manager, who used to travel with us. We’ve broken many records like this only,” Abbas added.

The legendary former Pakistan captain also highlighted the need of a play-

ers’ association in Pakistan cricket to act as a bridge between the cricketers and the board.

“There should always be a players’ association, which is strong. People generally listen to it. Other countries have it, the players’ association decides on a lot of things. The security of the players rest with the association, they help in coordination between the players and the board,” Abbas said.

Former captain Salman Butt has refused to play in the upcoming National T20 Championship after being told he had been demoted to the division two Central Punjab squad. The player, tainted by the 2010 spot-fixing scandal, lost his cool when the newly appointed Central Punjab head coach, Shahid Anwar, told Butt he should lead the division two side in the national T20 championship as there was no place for him in the division one team. “Salman asked Shahid Anwar the logic behind this, especially when the top three batsmen of Central Punjab division one team, Umar Akmal, Ahmed Shehzad and Babar Azam, were not available due to various reasons. “Salman also reminded Anwar that he had been the top three scorers of the national T20 tournament for the last three seasons and his team had twice appeared in the final while once also winning it,” a source, aware of the developments, said. Umar, Salman, Ahmed Shehzad, Kamran Akmal, Babar and the uncapped Imran Butt were the leading run-scorers for Central Punjab last season in domestic cricket with the team also winning the Quaid-eAzam Trophy. AGENCIES

Rhodes opens up on racism and chaos in SA cricket administration AGNECIES Jonty Rhodes strongly believes that the longstanding administrative crisis in South African cricket is responsible for the national team’s inconsistency and acknowledged that “racial inequality” remains a part of the country’s ecosystem.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) is facing financial troubles and allegations of racial discrimination from its players. President Chris Nenzani resigned last month after a sevenyear reign marred by corruption allegations.

Amid the dark times, there is hope in the form of South Africa’s most successful captain Graeme Smith, who is currently the director of cricket at CSA. “Graeme Smith has got a lot of criticism of late but he was the captain of the team that had the first ever team culture camp and came up with the ‘Protea Fire’,” Rhodes told PTI, referring to the 2014 campaign which focussed on humility, resilience, adaptability, unity and respect in the team as an ambassador of the nation. In the wake of racism allegations by 30 former South Africa players including Ashwell Prince and Makhaya

Ntini, an extended national squad of 32 had a “culture camp” last month.

Rhodes, who is in Dubai as fielding coach of Kings XI Punjab ahead of the IPL, feels not much will change in South African cricket till the administrative chaos ends.

“The sad thing for me is that even though top 30 players in the country want to work together for the game, the administration is in such chaos that unfortunately it does have an impact on things (on the field),” Rhodes said. CSA has had interim CEOs and coaches in the recent past and that can’t help, feels Rhodes. “Someone like me who is not part of the system, we are reading about issues in South Africa cricket week in and week out and it has not been resolved.

“The same mistakes are being made and there is not much accountability. It saddens me...it does impact on field performance.

Even though we have some great players, we have been lacking consistency in performance because of inconsistency off the field.”

Such is the state of affairs that Smith received “death threats” for supporting the global Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. Current pacer Lungi Ngidi was criti-

cised by former players like Pat Symcox and Boeta Dippenaar for supporting BLM. They argued that “all lives matter”.

Rhodes prefers the term “racial inequality” to racism and said it is rampant even 26 years after South Africa became a democracy. “It is interesting because that is what a democracy is all about. You are entitled to your opinion and interesting thing is your opinion is different to somebody else but you are still part of the same system,” he said when asked about black and white players criticising each other.

“In India, there is such real difference from state to state but it is considered as one race but in South Africa even though we all are South Africans, because of the apartheid regime, there is social and economic inequality. “This white privilege still extends and carries on generation after generation, it is difficult for young black children coming up in a disadvantaged community to have a better life than their parents just because of lack of facilities. There is so much corruption,” he explained. Rhodes said the Covid19 pandemic has deepened the fault lines.

“Covid-19 has highlighted all these dif-

CMYK

ferences but they have been there for the last 26 years.” Quota system has been institutionalised in South Africa, including cricket, which requires the national team to field an average of six players of colour over the course of a season.

Is Rhodes for the quota system? He conceded that the issue is a complicated one

even for those, who have benefitted from the system. “That (quota) has been the bone contention for a lot of ex-players...no matter how good they were, it was always considered as a quota selection. That affected them emotionally and mentally in playing for a team in which they felt nobody else trusted them or supported them.

Thursday, 10 September, 2020

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AfghAnIStAn VP woUnded In deAdly kABUl BlASt KABUL

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FGHANISTAN’S vice president Amrullah Saleh sustained minor injuries on Wednesday when an explosion targeted his convoy and killed at least 10 people as government-backed negotiators and the Taliban prepared to meet in Doha for long-delayed peace talks.

The attack in the capital city was quickly condemned as an attempt to disturb the peace process, with top Afghan and foreign officials calling for an end to the violence so negotiations between the two warring sides can proceed.

In a video posted on Facebook soon after the explosion, VP Saleh said he had been travelling to his office when his convoy was attacked. “I am fine but some of

my guards have been wounded. My son, who was in the car with me, and I are both fine,” Saleh said, with bandages on his left hand. “I have some burns on my face and hand. The blast was strong.”

Saleh, the senior of Afghanistan’s two vice presidents, survived an assassination attempt last year ahead of presidential elections. “Today, once again the enemy of Afghanistan tried to harm Saleh, but they failed to get to their evil aim, and Saleh escaped the attack unharmed,” Razwan Murad, a spokesman for Saleh’s office, wrote on Facebook. President Ashraf Ghani, who met Saleh soon after Wednesday’s blast, condemned what he said was a “terrorist attack” on his first deputy. “The terrorists and their foreign backers cannot undermine the people’s strong faith in peace, democracy and the bright future of our country,” Ghani said in a statement.

Prisoner release issue continues to impede intra-Afghan talks DOHA: The Afghan government has deliberately delayed the release of Taliban prisoners to impede the so-called intra-Afghan talks, Taliban officials have told Qatari stateowned television, as at least 100 inmates remain in jail. "Approximately 100 Taliban inmates are still in jail. Some have been released in the last 24 hours and we have been assured that those remaining will be released soon," Mohammad Naeem Wardak, the spokesperson for Taliban's political office in the Qatari capital, Doha said. "Our agreement is with the Americans and we have asked them to ensure that their side of the agreement is implemented. They keep giving us various reasons for the delay. We are ready to talk as soon as the prisoner release is complete," Wardak said, referring to the agreement signed in February. Talks between the Afghan warring sides aimed at lasting peace are expected to begin in the Qatari capital following the completion of the prisoner swap agreed as part of the United States-Taliban deal signed in Doha. The West-backed Afghan government has reluctantly released most of the 5,000 Taliban prisoners under pressure from the Trump administration, but is still holding some Taliban fighters who have serious charges against them. On Wednesday, foreign media reported that the Trump administration will pull out more US troops from Afghanistan "in the coming days". The US president has promised to bring back US troops as part of his election campaign promise. "The delay in talks is due to non-compliance by the President Ashraf Ghani government," a Taliban official told the television, on condition of anonymity, referring to the Doha talks initially scheduled to be held in March. The Taliban also said that it has had contact from within prisons which house their inmates. On Monday, the head of the Taliban's political office, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, and the newly appointed head of the Taliban's negotiating team, Abdul Hakim Haqqani, met with the US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and Qatar's deputy prime minister in Doha, according to Wardak. "Issues related to the prisoners' release and immediate start of the intra-Afghan talks were discussed," he said in a statement. The Afghan government, however, insists that all Taliban prisoners have been released. "We have released all prisoners on the Taliban list. The Taliban should stop making excuses and start direct talks immediately," Javid Faisal, spokesperson for the Afghan National Security Council, told the television. "They should stop the bloodshed of the Afghan people with their excuses. The process of the prisoner release has been completed." AGENCIES

The head of the Afghan negotiating team, Mohammad Masoom Stanekzai, called for violence to stop if the peace process was to succeed. “The time for making excuses has passed. The killing of the people must end,” he said in a statement.

The EU in Afghanistan said Wednesday’s attack was a “desperate act by spoilers of peace efforts”, while NATO’s mission in the country said in a statement that “enemies of peace” were ignoring the will of the Afghan people for peace talks to begin. Even as preparations for negotiations continue, violence on the ground has carried on unabated with the Taliban unleashing daily attacks. “There are some elements within the Taliban who don’t care if the talks fail,” said Kabul-based political analyst Atta Noori. “They know that the Afghan government is wearing out, with the international community losing interest

in them and paying more attention to the Taliban,” Noori added.

Earlier on Sunday, Saleh said Kabul’s negotiating team would push early in peace talks for a permanent truce. “The first test for the Taliban is (a) ceasefire,” Saleh told Tolo News. “If they accept the ceasefire, they are committed to peace. If not, they are not.” Peace talks were supposed to begin in March but were repeatedly delayed over the prisoner swap, which included the release of hundreds of battle-hardened insurgents. “Unfortunately, 10 civilians, mostly people who were working in the area, were killed, and 15, including a number of the first VP’s bodyguards, were wounded,” Interior Ministry Spokesperson Tareq Arian told reporters at the scene, adding that the bomb was placed on a nearby hand cart. Some of Saleh’s bodyguards were also injured. The Taliban, who have pledged not to launch attacks in urban areas under a deal with the United States, denied responsibility.

Abdullah, a shopkeeper in the area, said the blast had blown out windows of his shop. “A shop that sold gas cylinders also caught fire, causing the cylinders to blow up,” he added. Health ministry officials said two bodies and seven injured have been transported to the hospital so far.

Pakistan's vital interests must be safeguarded in 5th gen warfare: Gen Bajwa

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BrItISh PAkIStAnI ‘PInned down By PolIce’ on SUSPIcIon LONDON: A British-Pakistani man says he was pinned down by police during a stop and search after leaving a cafe without buying anything. Kashif Baig, 26, went into a London branch of Pret A Manger, but left when he saw the queue was too long. Police said they questioned him after he was then seen going into the London Underground and coming back out again. Officers say Baig was acting “evasive” when he did not give his address, despite London Metropolitan Police’s website saying: “You don’t have to give (information such as name and address) if you don’t want to; unless the police officer says they’re reporting you for an offence.” Baig said he was then handcuffed and wrestled to the ground “for no reason.” He added: “I was pinned to the floor by another two officers and one of them grabbed my phone off me when I tried to call for help.” He said the incident left him feeling “very traumatized.” He has had to speak to his workplace about it, “and I have been to the doctors as my back has been aching. I have very bad anxiety leaving the house now too.” This was the second time that Baig has been stopped by the police, but he said the first time they were friendly and respectful. “It was very polite (the first time). I was taken to the side away from the public, the officer was so friendly and I wasn’t stopped by six officers at the same time,” he added. Baig shared his latest experience and the stop-andsearch report provided by the police on Twitter. He has submitted a formal complaint to the Metropolitan Police, which confirmed that they will investigate the incident. AGENCIES

US to further withdraw troops from Iraq, Afghanistan

RAWALPINDI STAFF REPORT

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa said that Pakistan’s vital interests must be safeguarded in synchronisation with government policies in the ongoing fifth generation and hybrid warfare being waged by anti-Pakistan elements.

Gen Bajwa passed the remarks while chairing the 235th Corps Commanders’ Conference at the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi, said a press release issued by the military’s media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

During the meeting, the army chief also “stressed upon the need to enhance

combat readiness levels in the wake of evolving strategic and regional milieu”.

According to the ISPR, the conference was briefed on the evolving regional environment and operational developments especially the situation along the Line of Control. The commanders were also briefed on Pakistan’s positive role and contributions in the Afghanistan Peace Process, the situation along the western border including fencing progress and Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad. The ISPR said that Covid-19, locust control measures and support to national polio campaign were also discussed during the meeting.

“Forum expressed satisfaction over positive developments/indicators

in all domains and improved security situation across the country,” said the ISPR. Referring to the increased ceasefire violations along the Line of Control (LoC) by the Indian military, the conference noted that the human rights abuses by Indian forces were becoming a major cause of concern for regional peace and stability. The corps commanders also “extensively deliberated” upon the current situation in IoK and the “evolving situation in Afghanistan with its impact on Pakistan’s security dynamics”.

The ISPR said that General Bajwa also lauded formations’ operational readiness and sustained efforts. He also appreciated the high state of morale of the armed forces.

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump is expected to announce plans of a further troop withdrawal from Iraq on Wednesday, affirming his commitment to reduce the number of forces in the war-torn country, a senior US official said. It comes as Trump is attempting to secure a second term by fulfilling a pledge that he made four years ago when he came to power. The decision follows a meeting between Trump and Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi in August, in which the two sides discussed the status of the remaining forces in Iraq. A timeline was not issued for the actual pullout.

American troops have come under several attacks in Iraq during the past year by suspected pro-Iranian militias. Tensions between Tehran and Washington heightened after a US strike that killed top Iranian general Qassem Suleimani and Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi Al Muhandis in early January. Since then, the Iraqi government has also faced pressure domestically to ask foreign troops to leave the country.

Parliament voted in January for the departure of forces, it was followed by a slow withdrawal of US and other coalition troops.

Washington has repeatedly said that it did not seek permanent bases or a permanent military presence in Iraq. AGENCIES

Indian and Chinese troops man remote Himalayan outposts just hundreds of meters apart AGENCIES Indian and Chinese troops were facing off on Wednesday, barely a few hundred meters apart, in a remote Himalayan region where shots were fired for the first time in decades, Indian officials said.

The nuclear-armed neighbors have accused each other of firing in the air during a fresh flare-up in the Ladakh region on Monday, violating long-standing protocols to avoid using firearms along their undemarcated borders.

“The situation is tense,” an official in New Delhi said, adding that Indian and Chinese troops were squaring off in close proximity in at least four locations south of the

Pangong Tso lake that both lay claim to.

“Both are on their own sides of the LAC,” the official said, referring to the Line of Actual Control, the de facto border. At a forward position near the Rezang La mountain pass, Indian and Chinese troops were only around 200 meters apart, another official in New Delhi said. Both officials declined to be named. On Monday, the Indian military said Chinese troops fired in the air after attempting to close in on a forward Indian position. But the China military said it was Indian troops who fired the shots, threatening Chinese border guards during a patrol.

In photographs provided by sources in New Delhi from an area south of Pangong Tso taken on Monday,

around two dozen Chinese troops with assault rifles hanging off their backs can be seen holding long poles with a curved blade. Reuters could not independently verify the photographs. A 70-km long patch of desolate snow desert south of Pangong Tso has emerged as the latest flash-point between the Asian giants, with some 3,000 Indian troops strung along strategic ridges and hilltops, the first Indian official said. The confrontation erupted after New Delhi mobilized soldiers late last month to occupy key heights to deter Chinese troops, whose movements suggested they aimed to occupy a hilltop that falls within territory that India considers its own, according to Indian officials.

UNGA president asks for respect for international law NEW YORK AGENCIES

The outgoing president of the UN General Assembly, Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, on Tuesday called on member states to respect international law.

Asked at an end-of-tenure press conference to comment on disdain for multilater-

alism and violation of international law, Muhammad-Bande said the United Nations has been very clear about the necessity to respect international law. "The United Nations is a member state-based organization and it operates on the basis of what they are able to do together. This constitutes some of the difficulties," he said.

Difficulties appear especially when

countries that are extremely important to international peace and security behave more nationalistically, he said. "However, this is not to put us to the point to say that we have abandoned the (UN) forum. We have not abandoned the forum."

If the forum had been abandoned, the amount of chaos that the world is seeing today would have been far worse, he said. "I

think what we have to do is to continue to work even harder to insist on what is right and to have coalitions that continue to push together so that no country, big or small, will think there are no consequences to defy the rest of the membership."

Asked about the emergence on Twitter of a hashtag for defunding the United Nations, Muhammad-Bande said he was not

aware of a concerted effort to defund the world body. People are raising valid questions of getting the United Nations to focus on value for money and to be more transparent and to reform. These are legitimate demands of the global community that the United Nations serves, he said. There have been ongoing efforts to reform within the United Nations, he noted.

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