EpaperKHI_21-02-11

Thursday, 11 February, 2021 I 28 Jamadi-ul-Sani, 1442 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XI No 224 I 12 Pages I Karachi Edition

Imran crItIcIses Opp fOr faIlure tO stOp hOrsetradIng In senate electIOns g

PM questions oPP's reluctance to change electoral systeM desPite knowing abbout undeMocratic Practices during senate Polls

RAWALPINDI STAFF REPORT

p

riMe Minister imran khan on wednesday censured Pakistan democratic Movement (PdM) parties for failing to take action against the practice of horse-trading in the senate elections “despite being in power for more than three decades.” addressing the media in rawalpindi after attending a ceremony for the second phase of the government’s flagship ehsaas kafalat initiative, the premier questioned the failure of the opposition parties in updating the electoral system despite

being in the know of the undemocratic practices during the senate polls. “because they themselves make money out of it [horse-trading] and seek to horse-trade their way to a majority,” he said. “these thieves […] call themselves politicians and have made a union in the form of PdM to protect their ill-gotten wealth.” his comments come days after the government promulgated an ordinance — elections (amendment) ordinance, 2021 — amending the elections act, 2017 for the use of an “open and identifiable ballot” in the elections for the upper house. in their response, the opposition parties termed the move “illegal” and “unconsti-

cOrOnavIrus In

pakIstan

CONFIRMED CASES:

557,591

LAST UPDATED AT 8:51 AM ON FEBRUARY 10, 2021

DAY'S DEATH TOLL:

62

RECOVERED:

NEW CASES:

1,072 DEATHS:

514,951 12,128 SINDH:

PUNJAB:

251,758

161,757

KP:

BALOCHISTAN:

AJK/GB:

ISLAMABAD:

68,786

18,891

9,291/4,920 42,188

Bilawal backs protesting employees after police shelling

tutional,” amounting to influence the supreme court (sc) which is hearing a case in this regard. on wednesday, the prime minister revealed he himself had been offered money many times for a senate seat “not just from one person but from many people.” according to him, members of his parliamentary board also received similar offers and the current alleged price for becoming a senator from balochistan ranged between rs500-700 million. when politicians come to the senate after spending such vast amounts, he said, they look to make back that amount instead of serving the position or province in any meaningful way. “do we want to hold [senate] elections according to this same system when we know there is a money market set with rates for politicians?” imran questioned. he also asked why the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim leaguenawaz (PMl-n) had backtracked from their stance on open balloting when it was stated clearly in their charter of democracy, a 2006 agreement between the PMln and PPP to jointly take on the government of then-president Pervez Musharraf. “it is easier for the government to gain more members [in the senate elections] than our seats” but despite that, the Pti was calling for an open vote, he said. imran also addressed the recent victory of Pakistan in the recent test series against south africa but admitted he didn’t have much time for cricket in his schedule. he said that the basic structure of cricket in Pakistan needed development before but it has now been fixed. “now they will build on it to polish our talent, it will take some time but then our [cricket] team will be a world-beating team.”

ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

a protest of government employees for increase in salaries and other demands near Pakistan secretariat, islamabad turned violent after police resorted to tear gas shelling to push back the demonstrators. the police arrested several protestors while those stuck in the secretariat block broke the door to escape. demonstrations were held at several points of the city, including constitution avenue, outside secretariat block, cabinet block and outside the national Press club. later, the protesters started a march towards the Parliament house to intercept which police placed containers on the roads, sealing off d-chowk. “action will be taken against the ones who took law in their hands,” a statement by a police spokesperson said. separately, addressing a press conference in islamabad, Minister for information and broadcasting senator shibli Faraz said that the prime minister was “very concerned” about the issues being faced by government staffers, radio Pakistan reported. the premier, he said, has di-

MARKET DAILY

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

more inside

PSX volume hits 16-year high; index closes flat KARACHI STAFF REPORT

the Pakistan stock exchange (PsX) endured a volatile session on wednesday, with the benchmark index failing to sustain gains despite a 52pc surge in volumes. global equity markets displayed a mixed trend, whereas crude oil prices continued with its northward journey; wti crude price rising 0.53pc to $58.68 while brent crude price increasing 0.47pc to $61.51 (as at 3:47pm Pst). "the market made another feat by achieving trading volume of 1 billion shares in the regular market, whereby worldcall contributed the most with 369 million shares. however, other stocks maintained the average trading volume of 600 million shares," a report issued by arif habib ltd read. "Profit booking continued unabated today, particularly in e&P sector, which regressed despite stable international crude oil prices. cement sector performed on the back of better results announced by chcc, with investors expecting similar results from other companies."

rected the concerned ministries to resolve the clerks’ issues immediately. “he is very serious about this and wants the issues to be resolved,” he said. a three-member government committee will address a press conference soon, he said and added: “i think that the protest will end today.” addressing a press conference later in the day, defence Minister Pervez khattak, who is part of the committee holding talks with the protesters, said that the government wanted to give the employees a special allowance for the months before June. a commission is also looking at the issue and will give a decision before the budget is announced and the problem will be solved, he added. khattak said the “government has limits” and it was ready to give increments according to what was suitable keeping in view the condition of the country and the treasury but “if they want it [on their own terms], it will be difficult”. the minister said the government was “still ready to talk” to the protesters if they brought their demands within limits.

In landmark ruling, SC commutes death penalty of two mentally ill prisoners STORY ON BACK PAGE

Justice isa questions PM imran’s position on uplift grants for legislators STORY ON PAGE 02

SUMMARY: reminiscent of the previous session, the benchmark kse-100 index swayed both ways on wednesday, registering its intraday high at 46,845.44 (+170.67 points) and low at 46,341.76 (-333.01 points). it finally settled lower by 30.48 points at 46,644.29. among other indices, the kMi30 index gained 158.68 points to end at 76,284.82, whereas the kse all share index lost 51.32 points, closing at 32,115.37.

the overall market volumes jumped from 663.96 million shares in the previous session to 1.01 billion shares (+52pc). average traded value, however, declined by 4pc, from $178.1 million to $171.3 million. worldcall telecom (wtl +38.89pc), k-electric ltd (kel +2.02pc) and telecard ltd (tele +16.98pc) led the volume chart, exchanging 369.80 million, 106.88 shares and 41.70 million shares, respectively.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

Rescue efforts for missing climbers suspended again due to bad weather STORY ON BACK PAGE

Vaccination of people aged 65 years and above to begin from March: asad STORY ON PAGE 03

02

Thursday, 11 February, 2021

KARACHI

NEWS

JuStICe ISa queStIonS PM IMran’S PoSItIon on uPLIft grantS for LegISLatorS SAYS RESPONSE SUBMITTED BY PM'S PRINCIPAL SECRETARY 'DID NOT CONTAIN THE ANSWERS TO THE COURT'S QUESTIONS' ISLAMABAD

J

STAFF REPORT

USTICE Qazi Faez Isa on Wednesday questioned Prime Minister Imran Khan’s stance on the grant of development funds to members of the national and provincial assemblies as the Supreme Court (SC) took up a suo motu case to determine the Constitutional status of the move.

On Tuesday, the apex court constituted a five-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmed, and served notices on the prime minister’s principal secretary, Cabinet Division secretary, finance secretary, federal and provincial advocate generals, and provincial chief secretaries.

However, Justice Isa on Wednesday noted that a letter submitted by the premier’s principal secretary to the top judicial forum “did not contain the answers to the court’s questions”.

“The letter does not have answers to the court’s questions. It seems the prime minister has not read the court’s order properly,” the judge said.

In January, Prime Minister Imran announced a grant of Rs500 million for each member of the national and provincial assemblies under sustainable development goals to enable them to carry out development schemes for their voters.

However, last week, Justice Isa took notice of the development, warning of legal proceedings if the move was found to be in contravention of the Constitution.

PM hails step of Sri Lankan premier about Muslims’ burial ISLAMABAD

On the occasion, he had asked Attorney General Khalid Jawed Khan to update the court on the issue based on the government’s response.

However, Khan responded he would update the court after receiving instructions from the government and further reassured that “whatever action is taken will be in the light of the law, Constitution and legal precedent.” Subsequently, Justice Isa referred the matter to the top judge for the formation of a bench.

On Wednesday, all provinces submitted written replies to the court except for Sindh.

When asked, the Sindh government’s counsel informed the court the provincial government had not given development funds to any lawmakers.

“Sindh government should have

Sustained democracy could avoid money politics: SC ASKS AGP TO COMPLETE ARGUMENTS BY THURSDAY

STAFF REPORT

ISLAMABAD

Prime Minister Imran Khan has welcomed his Sri Lankan counterpart Mahinda Rajapaksa's assurance given in Sri Lankan Parliament on Wednesday, allowing Muslims to bury those who died of Covid-19. In a tweet, the prime minister hailed the decision. Earlier, there was a restriction of incineration of the bodies due to fears of infectivity in the midst of a pandemic. It may be noted that Sri Lanka had restricted its population through an official decree to incinerate all those who die out of Covid-19 so the viral spread in the midst of the pandemic can be reduced. However, this caused an uproar globally across Muslim communities and people protested as this decree hurt their religious sentiments and forced them into violating religious customs and final rites.

TLTP

IHC slaps contempt notices on 29 lawyers for hooliganism ISLAMABAD TLTP

Contempt of court notices were sent to 12 more lawyers on Wednesday by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) after they barged into the court premises and vandalised it two days earlier. In total, 29 lawyers have been issued contempt of court notices so far for storming the IHC building and torturing police officials, staff and journalists. On Monday, lawyers in Islamabad violently protested the demolition of their chambers by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) at the Islamabad judicial complex. A mob of lawyers smashed windows in the chief justice block, chanting slogans outside the IHC Chief Justice's office. The CDA had on Sunday night demolished illegal chambers set up by lawyers in the premises of the district and sessions court in Islamabad. A case was later registered against the lawyers and raids were conducted to arrest the lawyers named in the FIR. The FIR was registered against 300 lawyers, but 22 lawyers were named in the FIR under terrorism provisions. The spokesperson said some lawyers attacked the chief justice’s block and vandalised it and contempt of court proceedings have been initiated against them. The IHC stated that it had sent a reference to the Islamabad Bar Council to suspend the licenses of the lawyers who were involved in the protest. The spokesperson also clarified that the IHC and district courts carried out their regular work, refuting media reports that the IHC and district courts had been closed indefinitely. It was clarified that the Islamabad Bar Council (IBA), Islamabad High Court Bar Association and District Bar Association had announced a strike and to avoid inconvenience to the general public and lawyers, the cause lists were cancelled for only one day.

On Tuesday, 70 legal practitioners issued a statement under their signatures condemning the vandalism at the offices of IHC CJ block. They said that the attack on the court building was actually an attack on the base of legal profession and demanded the Islamabad Bar Council take strict action against those involved in hooliganism.

submitted a written answer,” CJP Gulzdar replied.

Meanwhile, AG Khan told the court the grant of development funds was “linked to the Constitution”, adding that the prime minister knew that “government funds cannot be used wrongly”.

“No member of the National Assembly will be given money [directly],” he added.

According to the procedure, the funds do not get issued to the individual MP or MPA. They get assigned to a project through a robust mechanism.

Justice Isa questioned who had drafted the reply submitted by Principal Secretary Azam Khan. To this, Khan replied that it was “a matter between the lawyer and his client”.

“The letter does not have proper English, it does not answer the court’s questions. It

seems like the prime minister has tried to keep the door open for [granting] funds,” Justice Isa said.

He also remarked that there was a “storm of information” from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting every day.

“Either the prime minister should remain firm on what he said or admit he had made a mistake. Why is the prime minister hiding behind his secretary? The entire media published the news and the prime minister is silent,” the judge said.

Khan replied if the prime minister “started refuting every news himself, he would not be able to do any other work”.

The court ordered the Sindh government to submit its reply today.

The bench also ordered the finance secretary to submit a clear answer to the court, directing that the report should also have the premier’s signature on it.

The case was adjourned till Thursday.

Resuming the hearing of the presidential reference seeking guidelines of the Supreme Court (SC) for holding the upcoming Senate elections through an open ballot, the top court on Wednesday observed if democracy had persisted in the country, money would not have flowed in politics.

A five-member larger bench led by the Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed asked the Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Khalid Javed Khan whether people do vote for the party or its manifesto.

Responding to the chief justice’s query, the AGP ssaid that in principle both the party and the manifesto should get votes, but most people vote for the ‘charismatic' personality of the leader. He said that people had voted for the founder of Pakistan when inspired by his personality.

Chief Justice Gulzar asked the attorney general whether people voted for PTI for the best personality and good attire, whereas a member of the bench Justice Ijazul Ahsan remarked that voters cast their vote to a party and not to an individual.

Justice Ijazul Ahsan observed legally it was mandatory to publish the party manifesto, saying the people used to ask political parties during the elections how many pledges the party has fulfilled.

Another member of the bench Justice Umar Ata Bandial asked the AGP whether the procedure for election of speaker and deputy speaker is there in the rules, adding whether the election of speaker is conducted under rules instead of the Constitution.

Responding to the question, the AGP submitted that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) does not hold elections for the speaker and the deputy speaker.

He further submitted that the opposition parties have asked as to why the election of chairman of the Senate is not conducted through an open ballot, saying if there is a judicial opinion on the presidential reference, then in the light of it, the election of the chairman of the Senate could also be considered through open ballot.

The AGP said that no action could be taken against the party voter, adding falling in the eyes of the people is a great failure of a politician. Citing the recent release of a video of the Senate election a day ago, the AGP submitted that there was no way to distribute bags full of currency notes.

The chief Justice asked whether the framers of the Constitution knew about the Senate election. The AGP claimed that buying and selling of open votes was not as widespread as it is today, adding that when the Constitution was drafted in 1973, it would not be known that people would bring bags of currency notes.

To which addressing the AGP, the CJP said that the situation was not as simple as the AGP was describing whereas Justice Ijazul Hassan remarked if democracy had persisted in the country, perhaps money would not have flowed in politics.

Justice Ahsan asked the AGP whether a voter will become dishonest if votes against the party, to which the AGP said he will not be dishonest, adding, if anyone intended to vote against the party, he should do so openly. The AGP further said that the Constitution describes political parties which are regulated by law.

However, he pointed out that being mentioned in the Constitution does not mean that political parties should be formed under the Constitution saying Article 226 of the Constitution does not mention that all elections are held by secret ballot and according to this article only elections under the Constitution will be held by secret ballot.

Later, asking the AGP to conclude arguments on Thursday (today) the bench adjourned hearing of the matter till February 11.

Imran to address Sri Lankan parliament on February 24 ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Prime Minister Imran Khan will address the parliament of Sri Lanka on February 24, the third Pakistan leader to do so after former president Ayub Khan and former prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.

The address is part of a two-day maiden official visit starting February 22. The premier will hold talks with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, and Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, officials familiar with the situation said.

Former Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru

was the first foreign dignitary to address the House in 1962, followed by United Kingdom Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1985. In 2015, incumbent Indian premier Narendra Modi spoke to the Sri Lankan legislators. Imran will be the first head of government to visit the island country since the coronavirus pandemic struck last year. While Colombo refrains from commenting on tensions between India and Pakistan particularly Kashmir dispute, it has maintained close ties with Islamabad.

As Sri Lanka prepares to welcome the premier, several members of the country’s Muslim minority expressed hope for him to take up their concerns during

talks with government officials. Muslims make up nearly 10 per cent of the country’s population of 22 million, which is predominantly Buddhist. The Indian Ocean island was torn for decades by a civil war between separatists from the mostly Hindu Tamil minority and the Sinhala Buddhist-dominated government. The government stamped out the rebellion some 11 years ago.

However, in recent years, Buddhist hardliners, led by the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) or “Buddhist Power Force” — a Sinhalese Buddhist nationalist group — have stoked hostility against Muslims, saying influences from the Middle East had made Sri Lanka’s Muslims more conservative and isolated.

Senate polls: ECP to scrutinise candidates’ credentials virtually ISLAMABAD TLTP

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has decided to scrutinise the credentials of the candidates for upcoming Senate elections through an online process. The documents submitted by the candidates would be verified by the interior ministry, NADRA, Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), and National Accountability Bureau (NAB). The financial documents would also be verified by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

The ECP has already sent letters to the heads of these organizations to devise a mechanism for an online scrutiny process.

“Every institution will appoint a focal person

immediately and apprise the ECP,” said a spokesman of the election commission. “The returning officers will be equipped with modern online facilities,” he said.

The Election Commission Secretariat was also equipped with digital facilitation centres while similar centres are being established at the provincial offices of the ECP. “The returning officers will be provided with the information of the Senate candidates from these institutions,” the spokesman said.

It is pertinent to be mention here that the ECP has notified the appointment of returning officers and polling Officers for the Senate election on Tuesday. The electoral body has issued a notification for the appointment of the electoral staff for the upcoming election of the upper house.

The Election Commission has appointed special

secretary Zafar Iqbal as returning officer and Shamshad Khan, Shahid Iqbal, Asif Ali Yaseen, Waqas Ahmed, Atif Rahim, Kashif Abbas and Tabassum Javed as polling officers for Islamabad.

The Election Commission has also named provincial election commissioner Ijaz Anwar Chauhan as returning officer for the Senate election in Sindh. The ECP has also nominated provincial election commissioner Ghulam Israr Khan as returning officer for the Senate election in Punjab.

The electoral body has notified provincial election commissioner Sharifullah as returning officer for the Senate election in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. While provincial election commissioner Balochistan Muhammad Raziq has been named returning officer for Senate election in Balochistan.

Thursday, 11 February, 2021

karachi

newS

VacciNatioN of people aged 65 years aNd aboVe to begiN from march: asad

t

NEWS DESK

HE head of National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), Asad Umar, has announced that the registration of coronavirus vaccination for people aged 65 years and above will begin from next week.

Asad, who is also the minister for planning, development, reforms and special initiatives, took to Twitter on Wednesday and said that the vaccination of people, who register from next week for the coronavirus vaccination, will begin in March.

62 MORE DIE OF COVID-19 IN A DAY “Insha’Allah [we] will be opening up registration next week for Covid-19 vaccination for those 65 years and above.

The vaccination of those who register in this category will start in March,” he tweeted.

Separately, Asad, while chairing a session of the NCOC to review the pandemic situation and ongoing vaccination drive, said that the National Immunisation Management

System (NIMS) has spotted irregularities in the ongoing Covid-19 vaccination drive.

He added that the NCOC will ensure complete compliance of the vaccination guidelines and no tolerance will be made against those trying to bypass the NIMS and the Resource Management System.

“The provinces have completed the registration of frontline healthcare workers in order to maintain transparency and only

registered healthcare officials will be administered vaccines,” he said.

According to the NCOC, the vaccination of frontline healthcare workers is underway across the country. The officials observed that the procedures for Covid-19 vaccination drive devised by the health authorities are not being fully implemented.

The prescribed procedures had been shared with the stakeholders prior to the launching of the vaccination campaign, however, violations were spotted by the authorities, the officials said, adding that the provinces have been instructed once again to

Internet services in South Waziristan to improve in four weeks: PTA NEWS DESK Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has said that Jazz (2G & 3G) and Ufone (2G) services are currently available in South Waziristan and improvement in internet services is expected in the next four weeks.

In a statement on Wednesday, the PTA said that pursuant to the prime minister’s visit to South Waziristan, instructions for restoration of data services of cellular mobile operators (CMOs) in the district were issued on 20th January 2021. Subsequently, a

low-cost housing scheme to benefit the poor: president alvi ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi has said that Prime Minister's low-cost housing scheme will enormously benefit the underprivileged community of the country.

The president stated this at a briefing given by Akhuwat Chairman Dr Amjad Saqib on Wednesday. The president said that the scheme will not only generate economic activities but also provide houses to the low strata of the society at affordable cost. Dr Saqib briefed the meeting about the progress made by Akhuwat Islamic Microfinance with regard to construction of low-cost houses.

Separately, President Alvi has underlined the need for developing a national communication strategy to create awareness among people about drug abuse and mental health. The president made these remarks while chairing a meeting on drug abuse and mental health on Wednesday. STAFF REPORT

Nasir condemns baton-charging, tear gas shelling on govt employees KARACHI: Sindh Information Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah has condemned the incident of tear gas shelling and batoncharging by the police on government employees in Islamabad, terming it an inhumane act against the peaceful protesters, who were staging demonstration for their legitimate demands. In a statement on Wednesday, the minister said that such situation would not have arisen if the federal government had accepted the genuine demands of government employees. STAFF REPORT

joint Quality of Service (QoS) survey has been carried out by PTA along with CMOs, from 25th to 29th January 2021 in Wana, Azam Warsak, Kanni Kurram, Makin, Shakai, Srarogha, Tanaie and Tiarza areas of South Waziristan.

As per the survey results, data services of Jazz were found in compliance with minimum license threshold whereas few of the voice and SMS KPIs of both licensees were found below the license standards in some of the surveyed areas. The CMOs have been directed to rectify the identified deficiencies within 15 days. Survey has also

identified the requirement of expansion of telecom infrastructure in the area.

Accordingly, operators are being asked not only to upgrade their services (i.e. 2G sites to 3G and 3G sites to 4G) but to also consider addition of more sites so that better voice and data services can be extended to the subscribers in line with the directions of the PM. Furthermore, efforts are at hand to resume fixed line broadband services in the area. It is believed that provision of broadband services will facilitate the local community especially students in fulfilling their internet needs.

all sectors contributed in fight against covid-19: cJcSc RAWALPINDI STAFF REPORT

Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC) General Nadeem Raza on Wednesday addressed a seminar on the social, economic and global impact of coronavirus, said the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

According to the ISPR, the national seminar on “Global, Strategic and Socio-Economic Impacts of COVID-19 and Pakistan” was organised by the Institute of Strategic Studies, Research and Analysis (ISSRA) at National Defence University (NDU).

CJCSC General Raza in his keynote address dilated upon the need to formulate appropriate responses and strategies emerging from the issues other than the traditional security concerns.

He said that all segments of Pakistani society proactively took part in fighting the pandemic. “The

recommendations and suggestions given during the seminar will also help in improving national strategy against the pandemic,” he added.

The CJCSC further thanked president of NDU and ISSRA for organising the seminar that enabled them to study the intricate challenges of the present time and to come up with innovative solutions for the national effort.

It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan Army has played its role in fighting Covid-19 pandemic and in November 2020, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa chaired the 237th Corps Commanders Conference (CCC), where deliberations were made on the Covid-19 situation and measures required to confront the pandemic in the wake of 2nd wave. The ISPR said that COAS Bajwa specifically directed all commanders to ensure measures to support the national effort.

KP CM approves minister’s resignation over ‘horse trading’ video PESHAWAR STAFF REPORT

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Mahmood Khan on Wednesday accepted the resignation letter of provincial Law Minister Sultan Muhammad Khan, a day after he stepped down from the cabinet post over his appearance in a controversial video leaked on social media.

Kamran Bangash, special assistant to chief minister on information, said that the video will be investigated thoroughly and the “truth will make its way forth”.

A two-minute-long video featuring six former lawmakers of the KP Assembly who served from 2013 to

2018, including Khan, receiving money in exchange for votes ahead of the 2018 Senate elections had surfaced on Tuesday. Soon afterward, another 16 seconds-long video emerged, showcasing former Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) MP from Malakand, Muhammad Ali Shah Bacha, smoking while piles of currency notes are placed before him on a table.

The video reveals how the loyalty of around 20 lawmakers of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had been changed while the majority of lawmakers of Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) had also allegedly sold their votes due to horse-trading during the Senate elections.

03

fully implement the vaccination guidelines.

The statistics provided by the NCOC showed that around 27,228 healthcare workers, mostly in Sindh, have been administered Covid-19 vaccines across the country.

Meanwhile, the country has recorded 62 more coronavirus-related deaths in the past 24 hours, surging the overall death toll to 12,128, said the NCOC. According to the latest statistics, Covid19 caused 1,072 new infections in the past 24 hours, taking the national tally to 557,591. Some 1,797 patients were stated to be in critical condition.

In the past 24 hours, as many as 1,441 patients have recovered from the virus while 514,951 people have recovered from the deadly disease so far. The total count of active cases is 30,512.

A total of 31,713 tests were conducted across the country on Tuesday while 8,288,091 samples have been tested so far.

three killed in Karachi factory fire KARACHI INP

Three people were killed in a fire in a thread factory in Sector 5 of Karachi’s Baldia Town on Wednesday.

The deceased were later identified as Muhammad Kazim, Fayyaz, and Sher Ali. Police said teams of the fire brigade, fire tenders, and a snorkel lift rushed to the site immediately after the incident and started dousing the fire. However, it took them six hours to control the raging fire. During the rescue operation, a firefighter was also wounded. The cause of the fire could not be identified immediately. According to one rescue officer, there was no emergency gate in the multi-storey building, whereas, only one route was functional for both entrance and exit purposes. The firefighters, he said, faced extreme difficulty to carry out the rescue operation. Police said initially the fire erupted on the ground floor of the building and later engulfed the whole structure.

coas lauds equipment development, maintenance programme RAWALPINDI: Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa has lauded the development and maintenance programme of diverse equipment. The army chief said this during his visit to Logistics installations in Rawalpindi on Wednesday, said the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Wednesday. He appreciated the performance and commitment in provision of top-class facilities and services. The COAS appreciated indigenous development and maintenance programme of diverse equipment and concept of one window operation for enhanced operational efficiency. The army chief was briefed regarding various facilities being developed and up-gradation of existing infrastructure. Earlier on arrival, the COAS was received by Lieutenant General Azhar Saleh Abbasi, chief of logistics staff, and Lieutenant General Aamir Abbasi, quarter master general. STAFF REPORT

Multinational naval drill ‘to give Pakistan diplomatic push’ NEWS DESK Hosted by Pakistan, a week-long multination naval exercise is set to begin in the Arabian Sea from Thursday, a move that could set the tone for its enhanced bilateral relations with many countries, experts said.

Naval forces from 45 countries, including the United States, China, Russia and Turkey are participating in Aman-2021 from February 11-16.

Russia will join the military drill with NATO members for the first time in a decade, a development considered significant. The last time Russian and NATO

naval forces took part in a joint exercise was at the Bold Monarch 2011 off the coast of Spain. Organised under the slogan, ‘Together for Peace’, Pakistan Navy says the exercise is aimed at “fostering international cooperation to fight piracy, terrorism, and other crimes”, which pose a threat to maritime security and stability.

“In the given circumstances, bringing together 45 countries, including rivals, is noteworthy,“ retired Lt Gen Talat Masood, an Islamabad-based security analyst, told Anadolu Agency, referring to Washington’s escalating diplomatic tensions with Moscow and Beijing. The biannual exercise also gives

Russia and Nato members an opportunity to engage militarily, he added.

“The exercise will also serve as a diplomatic push for Islamabad,” said Masood, who served in the Pakistan Army from 1951 to 1990. “Pakistan has shown that it has expanded its diplomatic clout to the point where it can bring together the countries that otherwise are hostile to each other.” Munawar Hussain Panhwar, an assistant professor at the Quaid-i-Azam International University in Islamabad, said the rare military contact between Russia and the US is in accordance with US President Joe Biden’s policy of “engagement”.

The drill, he added, would also give a push to Islamabad’s efforts to boost defence and military ties with Russia — a longtime Indian ally.

“This could allow Islamabad to further underpin defense and military ties with its traditional allies, as well as look for new regional and international partners, at least in the defense sector,” he told Anadolu Agency. Referring to the participation of several South and East Asian nations, including Bangladesh, Masood said: “It will send a message to India that Pakistan is not an isolated country, but a willing partner with other nations.” Already frosty relations

between the two nuclear neighbours have further plummeted in recent years, particularly after New Delhi’s scrapping of the semi-autonomous status of the Indianoccupied Kashmir in August 2019.

Islamabad has also accused New Delhi of supporting militants based in Afghanistan and sabotaging infrastructure projects such as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Pahnwar, who teaches international relations, said the event is an opportunity for Islamabad to further consolidate its geographical importance.

Pakistan is bounded by Iran, Afghanistan, China and India.

Thursday, 11 February, 2021

04 NEWS

KARACHI

Murad urgeS NePra to reduce Power tariFF, StoP detectioN billS, load SheddiNg KARACHI

S

STAFF REPORT

INDH Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has urged NEPRA authorities to reduce power tariff, announce a comprehensive package for poor consumers, stop issuance of detection bills and bound the power distribution companies not to disconnect power connections of entire area for non-payment of few consumers.

He said this talking to a delegation of NEPRA led by its Chairman Tauseef Hussain. NEPRA Member Sindh Rafique Shaikh, Member Balochistan Rahmatullah Baluch and Member Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Bahadur Shah accompanied the chairman. The chief minister was assisted by Minister Energy Imtiaz Shaikh and PSCM Sajid Jamal Abro.

The chief minister that the NEPRA has further enhanced the tariff by Rs1.53 against fuel adjustment.

“The power tariff is already unaffordable for poor

consumers and further increase into it would not only put additional burden on the consumers but force them to resort to power stealing,” he said. He added that the power theft issue could be controlled by rationalizing power tariff.

The chairman agreed with the chief minister that the tariff should be affordable and said that the fresh increase of Rs1.53 in the tariff was only for one month.

Another issue the chief minister raised was issuance of detection bills by the HESCO and SEPCO. “We have seen people begging to pay detection bills,” he said and added this injustice was only in Sindh. The NEPRA chairman assured the chief minister that he would personally resolve the issue. He nominated Member Sindh Rafique Shaikh to present him a detailed report on the issue.

CM Murad also took up the issue of ever-increasing load-shedding in the province. “The increasing load-shedding some time causes law and order situation, therefore, necessary measures must be taken to

control load-shedding,” he said and added the summer was approaching, therefore, load-shedding controlling measures should be taken much in time.

The chief minister said that the KE and other DSCOs, HESCO and SEPCO disconnect power supply of the low-billing areas. “This policy turns out to be a punishment for the consumers who pay their bills in time and this must be stopped,” he said. The chairman assured the chief minister that he has already directed the DSCOs to stop the policy.

The chief minister, minister energy and NEPRA chairman also discussed tariff issues of renewable power projects being installed in Sindh and also discussed the tariff for waste to energy projects.

CM Murad presented shield, ajrak and Sindhi caps to the visiting delegation and lauded their policy of developing coordination with the provincial governments. The NEPRA chairman also presented NEPRA shield to the chief minister and thanked him for discussing the issues in a guiding way.

Punjab approves development schemes of Rs10.5 billion LAHORE SHAHAB OMER

The Punjab Provincial Development Working Party (PDWP) has approved three development schemes of various sectors with an estimated cost of Rs10,464.548 million.

According to details, the schemes were approved in the 22nd meeting of PDWP of current fiscal year 2020-21 presided over by Planning & Development (P&D) Board Chairman Abdullah Khan Sunbal.

P&D Provincial Secretary Imran Sikandar Baloch,

Faisal visits protesting health employees as strike from 15th announced in Sindh ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on National Health Services Dr Faisal Sultan has said that frontline healthcare workers are real heroes and the government will not oppose their genuine demands.

He gave the assurance during his visit to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) to convince its employees to end their protest. Dr Faisal said that all issues of employees of PIMS will be addressed on priority basis. He said that all available resources are being utilised to ensure provision of quality health services at public hospitals and the role of hospital staff is crucial in this regard. Meanwhile, the Grand Health Alliance Sindh chapter on Wednesday announced to go on strike from February 15 after raising demands for making health risk allowance permanent, recruitment of nurses and others. The Grand Health Alliance Sindh announced an observance of strike outside Karachi Press Club from February 15. The health professionals said that the strike will be continued till the fulfilment of their demands. The alliance placed demands for declaring the permanent health risk allowance, service structure and martyrs’ package, transfers of Covid-19 workers, recruitment of nurses and others. They also threatened to march towards the Chief Minister House if the government fails to fulfil their demands. Moreover, the workers of Down University have threatened to boycott Covid-19 vaccination drive over non-payment of health risk allowance by the Sindh health department. The workers announced to organise a protest against the Sindh government. They alleged that health risk allowance is being awarded to only blueeyed persons by the provincial health department instead of its disbursement to all frontline health workers. In June last year, the Sindh government had decided to provide risk allowance to all the employees of the health department. The government had decided to give Rs17,000 as risk allowance to the employees of the health department from grade 1 to 16, while grade 17 and above will be given Rs35,000, the sources added. The summary proposed disbursement of Rs5,000 to nursing students as risk allowance, Rs10,000 to house job doctors, Rs15,000 to postgraduate doctors.

all members of the P&D Board, provincial secretaries of concerned departments, senior chief (coordination) Javed Latif, assistant chief coordination Shahid Idrees and other senior representatives of the relevant provincial departments also attended the meeting.

An official of P&D Board informed that the approved development schemes included as establishment of 200-bed Mother & Child Hospital at Ghalla Godam Multan at the cost of Rs2,253.095 million, Remaining Land Acquisition for Greater Thal Canal (GTC) Project (Revised) at the cost of Rs8,181.453 million and Establishment of Public Financial Man-

agement Unit (PFMU) and Programme Support Unit (PSU) in Finance Department and P&D Board respectively under Punjab Resource Improvement and Digital Effectiveness (PRIDE) Programme.

Sumbal emphasised the effectiveness of health-related initiatives by the provincial government during the current fiscal year.

The chairman mentioned that there has been an urgent call for revitalizing primary health care in order to meet health challenges and the government of Punjab always prioritises health concerns of its people.

Govt prioritises to modernise agriculture sector: Firdous LAHORE STAFF REPORT

Special Assistant to Chief Minister on Information Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan has termed agriculture as the most important sector for the national economy, adding that this is why the modernisation of the agriculture sector is among the top priorities of the government.

These views were expressed by the Special Assistant to CM while addressing a press conference flanked by Provincial Minister for Agriculture Syed Hussain Jahanian Gardezi here on Wednesday.

Firdous said that the government is committed to increasing agricultural productivity by providing every possible incentive to farmers in the provision of fertilizers, electricity and water, etc. She said that Punjab used to provide food to 70 per cent of the country’s population but had regrettably fallen back due to destructive policies of the former governments which devastated the agriculture sector.

The special assistant said that the opposition has started using a section of government employees for its political agenda after rejection by the general public. She termed Prime Minister Imran Khan as the ‘giant’ among the pygmies and advised Maulana Fazlur Rehman not to challenge the PM in the political arena because everyone knows his political worth. PM Imran has knocked the PDM to the ground and now it is continuously screaming, she said.

Firdous said that the former rulers only benefited their kith and kin for a long period of forty years and continuously sucked the blood of the nation.

The PDM is taking its last breath while trying to reinvent its dead politics, she said.

The special assistant said that the pioneer of briefcase politics is hiding in London and both Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari are the founders of monetary politics, adding that the opponents of open balloting are in favour of giving respect to money instead of honouring the sanctity of vote. She said that those who used the money for making it to the Parliament are only interested in minting money but PM Imran wants to put an end to horse-trading once and for all.

Firdous said that Fazl could not make it to the parliament by using the elbows of political infants. PM Imran has put an end to the menace of NRO, now no corrupt will ever succeed in washing its dirty linen for resurfacing in politics with a new face, she emphasised.

eight children among 10 injured in stray dog attack FAISALABAD INP

As many as 10 people, including eight children, were injured after attacked by a stray dog in Faisalabad’s Ghulam Muhammadabad area on Wednesday. According to details, stray dog attacked the children and other people present outside their residences. 10 people, including eight children, aged between three to 10 years, a woman and an elderly citizen, were injured in the attack. The injured were shifted to hospital, where according to hospitals sources, they were discharged after being injected with anti-dog bite vaccine.

two transgender persons killed in gujranwala GUJRANWALA INP

Unidentified armed men gunned down two transgender persons inside their house in Ladhewala Warriach area of Gujranwala, police said on Wednesday. According to details, unknown culprits barged into residence of transgender persons identified as Shehzadi and Zeeni, killed them by shooting them in head and fled the scene. The transgender community protesting over murderer of two eunuchs has demanded of the authorities to trace and arrest the culprits. Meanwhile, a case was registered against unknown culprits and investigation was underway.

AJK has potential to become Pakistan’s Silicon Valley: Masood ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

With the highest literacy rate and the spirit of cooperation among ambitious educated youth, the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) could be transformed into a Silicon Valley and IT hub of Pakistan if the youth of the area are provided guidance and required training.

AJK President Sardar Masood Khan stated this on Wednesday during a meeting with a senior member of the Board of Directors of Akhuwwat Foundation Pakistan, Mohammad Salim Ahmed Ranjha.

He highly appreciated the Akhuwwat Foundation’s welfare projects that aim to alleviate poverty and improve health and education for the most vulnerable and

disadvantaged people in the country.

The president said that AJK will fully cooperate with the Akhuwat Foundation in its endeavour to combat hunger, alleviate poverty and improve the health and education sector. Speaking on the occasion Ranjaha said that Akhuwat Foundation is providing interest-free loans to the underprivileged youth of all the four provinces and Azad Jammu and Kashmir and response of AJK in repayment of the loans is a way better than all other provinces of the country.

Highlighting the details of the Foundation’s AJK specific projects, Ranjaha said that Akhuwat Foundation is considering expanding its interest-free loan scheme to the remote areas of Azad Kashmir to alleviate poverty besides providing medical facilities to the people in remote rural areas through telemedicine.

He said that besides the microfinance scheme, the Akhuwat Foundation is considering introducing Kashmiri handicrafts at home and abroad and establishing an educational institution in Muzaffarabad on the pattern of NJV School Karachi.

He maintained that the Akhuwwat Foundation under the Islamic concept of Quarz-e-Hasna has provided more than Rs130 billion through its 831 branches in the length and cranny of the country, while the Foundation has established 200 rest houses for the poor segments of society and 301 schools to provide quality education to more than 47,000 poor students.

The Foundation, he added, had provided 2.16 billion rupees to 60,000 families in AJK, and the state government has extended full cooperation to the Foundation in this regard.

Thursday, 11 February, 2021

KARACHI Bilawal backs protesting employees after police shelling continued from page 01 He added the recommendations of the Pay and Pension Commission would be incorporated in the next budget. It was earlier agreed that the salaries of the employees in grades between 1 to 16 will be enhanced but on Tuesday they [employees] demanded the increase for people employed by the provinces. The federal government could only do something if it was related to its own employees, he clarified. Khattak said that the government committee was ready to hold talks but clarified that any relief will be given keeping in view the fragile economic situation of the country. Speaking on the occasion, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan said that the resolution of the issues of the people is the responsibility of the state and the government is committed to this end.

Minister for Interior Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed who was also present said that the committee wants to move ahead with labourers’ problems and resolution of their issues is our foremost priority. Meanwhile, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz backed the government employees’ protest and blamed the incumbent government for inflation and price hikes in the country. “The unbearable increase in the prices of commodities and utility items have multiplied the sufferings of the people. The selected government has failed to control inflation because its own people are involved in illegal profiteering,” read the PPP chairman’s statement. Bilawal added that the country can get rid of the cruel inflation and price hikes only “through the ouster of incompetent, ineligible and illegitimate selected government of Imran Khan”. On the other hand, Maryam took to Twitter to criticise the government, asking it to stop the “merciless torture” on the government employees. “For God’s sake, stop this merciless torture. Do not make the innocent government employees suffer from tear gas, shelling and baton-charging. They are not enemies but poor Pakistanis who are asking for their rights,” she tweeted.

Recovery in global trade to stall again in first quarter: UN report geneVa AGENCIES

A recovery in global trade is expected to slow again in the first quarter of 2021 as the coronavirus pandemic keeps disrupting the travel industry after world trade contracted 9pc in 2020, a UN report said on Wednesday. After lockdowns caused trade to shrink 15pc in the first half of 2020, it rebounded in the second half, with global trade in goods up about 8pc in the fourth quarter compared with the third, the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said. That was largely due to developing countries, particularly those in East Asia, with trade in goods originating from the region up 12pc in the fourth quarter year-on-year. “East Asian economies have been leading the recovery process with strong export growth and gains in global market share,” UNCTAD said, adding that most manufacturing sectors rebounded in the fourth quarter, apart from energy and transport. However, trade in services stagnated at levels seen in the third quarter, the report said, adding that exports of services from China, and to a lesser degree India, had fared relatively better than other countries. For the first quarter of 2021, UNCTA projects a 1.5pc fall in trade in goods versus the previous quarter, and a 7pc drop in trade in services, although it said its forecasts were uncertain due to the pandemic and uncertainty about stimulus packages.

NEWS

05

IMF oPPoSeS govt’S PlaN oF INcReaSINg eMPloyeeS’ SalaRIeS iSLamaBad

t

SHAHZAD PARACHA

HE International Monetary Fund (IMF) has opposed the government’s plan of increasing the salaries of its employees. Sources told Pakistan Today that the officials of the finance ministry discussed the matter with representatives of IMF this week. IMF representatives voiced their opposition to the decision, saying that there is no need to go ahead with this move if the expenditures will be

met through loans, they added.

Sources also said that the international lending body suggested that the government should meet these expenditures through generated revenue. A 25 per cent increase in salaries of government employees of BPS-1 to BPS-16 results in an additional impact of Rs40 to Rs45 billion to the national exchequer, they added.

Government employees have demanded an increase in salaries of BPS-1 to BPS-22. A representative of government employees said that it is unfortunate that the

government is working on increasing salaries by 24 per cent instead of 40 per cent.

It is worth mentioning here that the government employees have been asking for an increase in their salaries owing to increasing inflation, and even staged a peaceful protest outside the finance ministry before the budget for the current fiscal year was announced.

Pakistan Today reached out to secretary finance as well as IMF Country Representative Teresa Sanches for comments on the matter, but no response was received till the filing of this story.

MCB Bank posts highest ever profit before tax of Rs48.25bn, 200pc cash dividend for 2020 The Board of Directors of MCB Bank Limited (MCB) met under the chairmanship of Mian Mohammad Mansha on Wednesday to review the bank’s performance and approve its financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2020.

The BOD declared a final cash dividend of Rs15.0 per share i.e. 150pc, bringing the total cash dividend for the year 2020 to 200pc.

During the year 2020, MCB achieved significant financial growth by focusing on its operational resilience and continuity planning to successfully navigate through the downside risks posed to operating and economic outlook by the Covid-19 outbreak while concurrently playing a central role in supporting governments’ key pandemic responses for credit extension and provision of essential banking services to the general public.

With strong build up in core earnings, MCB’s profit after tax (PAT) for the year ended December 31, 2020, posted a growth of 21pc to reach Rs29.04 billion; translating into earnings per share (EPS) of Rs24.5 against an EPS of Rs20.23 posted in 2019.

Sizeable growth in current deposits, timely shift in maturity profiling of investments and favorable re-pricing lag enabled the bank to increase its net interest income by 20pc to Rs71.3 billion.

Fee income for the year 2020 was reported less by 3pc over last year, prima-

rily due to lower transaction volumes and business activities induced by the lockdowns. However, with their lifting, fee income is normalizing. Amid evolving yield curve expectations, proactive duration management of the investments portfolio resulted in capital gains of Rs3.3 billion during the year under review. Hence, the total non-markup income posted growth of 9pc to reach Rs18.14 billion.

On the operating expenses side (excluding pension fund reversal), despite sustained inflationary pressures, expansion in branch outreach and continued investment in technological infrastructure together with regular performance and merit adjustments for the human capital, the bank’s strategic focus of balancing short term tactical cost reductions with long term cost initiatives has assisted in containing growth in administrative expenses; in turn registering a decline of Rs129 million during the year 2020.

Thus, the cost to income ratio of the bank significantly improved to 36.87pc from 43.4pc reported last year.

In anticipation that customers affected by the pandemic might require provisioning once SBP’s relaxations and waivers expire in 2021, the management has exercised prudence and booked a general provision of Rs4.0 billion during the year under review, hence providing insulation and loss absorption capacity

against anyrisks to asset quality.

On the financial position side, the total asset base of the bank on an unconsolidated basis was reported at Rs1.76 trillion depicting an increase of 16pc over December 2019. Analysis of the asset mix highlights that net investments increased by Rs. 267 billion (36pc) whereas due to subdued domestic demand gross advances decreased by Rs. 26.5 billion (-5pc) over December 2019.

However, gross advances increased by Rs 19.9 billion in last quarter of 2020.

The non-performing loan (NPLs) base of the bank recorded an increase of Rs1.77 billion and was reported at Rs51.19 billion. The increase was primarily on account of subjective classification by the bank on prudent basis. The bank has not taken FSV benefit in calculation of specific provision and has increased its un-encumbered general provision reserve to Rs. 4.57 billion. The coverage and infection ratios of the bank were reported at 98.87pc and 9.97pc, respectively.

On the liabilities side, the bank’s deposit base registered an unprecedented increase of Rs144.74 billion (+13pc) over December 2019, with 15pc growth contributed by current accounts, improving the current account mix to 38pc and CASA ratio to 92.96pc. Return on Assets and Return on Equity was reported at 1.77pc and 18.88pc, respectively, whereas book value per share was re-

Oil in longest rally in two years as vaccines boost demand hopes NEW YORK : Oil rose on Wednesday, extending its rally for a ninth day, its longest winning streak in two years, supported by producer supply cuts and hopes vaccine rollouts will drive a recovery in demand.

US crude inventories fell unexpectedly in the week, dropping 6.6 million barrels according to the Energy Information Administration, compared with an expected 985,000-barrel increase forecast in a Reuters poll.

Brent crude was up 30 cents, or 0.5pc, at $61.39 by 10:54 EST (1654 GMT) after touching a 13month high of $61.61 earlier in the session. US crude was up 22 cents, or 0.3pc, to $58.57, having touched $58.76, also a 13-month high.

“A combination of higher refining activity and lower imports resulted in a fourth consecutive draw to oil inventories, and a chunky one at that,” said Matt Smith, director of commodity research at ClipperData. He cautioned that a build to gasoline inventories offset the bullish draw.

Brent has now risen for nine sessions in a row, its longest sustained period of gains since December 2018 to January 2019. It is the eighth daily rise for US crude.

Some analysts say prices have moved too far ahead of the underlying fundamentals.

“The current price levels are healthier than the actual market and entirely reliant on supply cuts, as demand still needs to re-

cover,” said Bjornar Tonhaugen of Rystad Energy.

Crude has jumped since November as governments kicked off vaccination drives for Covid-19 while putting in place large stimulus packages to boost economic activity, and the world’s top producers kept a lid on supply.

Top exporter Saudi Arabia is unilaterally reducing supply in February and March, supplementing cuts agreed by other members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies, known as OPEC+.

Some analysts forecast supply will undershoot demand in 2021 as more people get vaccinated and start going away on trips and working in offices. AGENCIES

ported at Rs137.02.

While complying with the regulatory capital requirements, the bank’s total Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) is 20.98pc against the requirement of 11.50pc (including capital conservation buffer of 1.50pc as reduced under the BPRD Circular Letter No. 12 of 2020).

Quality of the capital is evident from the bank’s Common Equity Tier-1 (CET1) to total risk weighted assets ratio which comes to 17.03pc against the requirement of 6.00pc. Bank’s capitalization also resulted in a Leverage Ratio of 7.03pc which is well above the regulatory limit of 3.0pc. The bank reported Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) of 237.72pc and Net Stable Funding Ratio (NSFR) of 174.86pc against the requirement of 100pc.

MCB has been declared the ‘Overall Most Outstanding Company in Pakistan – 2020’ and ‘Most Outstanding Company – Financials Sector in Pakistan – 2020’

by Asiamoney, an associate of Euromoney. The annual report of MCB Bank has also been adjudged 1stby ICAP/ICMAP in the financial sector category. MCB has won this award 10 times in last 11 years with 8 consecutive wins.

The bank enjoys highest local credit ratings of AAA / A1+ categories for long term and short term respectively, based on PACRA notification dated June 26, 2020. NEWS DESK

PSX volume hits 16-year high; index closes flat continued from page 01 Sectors that dragged the benchmark index lower included oil & gas exploration (-62.49 points), banking (-38.70 points) and technology & communication (-23.19 points). Among the companies, Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd (OGDC -22.90 points), Mari Petroleum Company Ltd (MARI -15.61 points) and Systems Ltd (SYS 14.57 points) dented the index the most. Shedding 1.78pc from its cumulative market capitalization, the oil & gas exploration sector ended as the session’s worst performer, with Mari Petroleum Company Ltd (MARI -2.20pc), Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd (OGDC -1.98pc), Pakistan Oilfields Ltd (POL 1.23pc) and Pak Petroleum Ltd (PPL 1.29pc) closing in the negative.

On the financial side, MCB Bank Ltd (MCB 0.01pc) posted earnings per share (EPS) of Rs 24.50 in FY20 as against Rs20.23 last year; whereas Cherat Cement Company Ltd (CHCC +5.95pc) declared an EPS of Rs4.22 for the second quarter of FY20 as against Rs1.14 in 2QFY20.

Telenor awarded Rs1.37bn contract for broadband services in Chitral, Dir iSLamaBad TLTP

The Universal Service Fund (USF) has awarded a contract worth approximately Rs1.37 billion to Telenor for providing high-speed mobile broadband services in Chitral, Upper Dir and Lower Dir districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Federal IT and Telecommunication Minister Syed Aminul Haque and Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM)

on Overseas Pakistanis Syed Zulfiqar Abbas Bukhari witnessed the contract signing ceremony held at the USF Office on Wednesday.

The contracts were signed by USF CEO Haaris Mahmood Chaudhary and Telenor CEO Irfan Wahab Khan. Federal IT & Telecommunication Secretary and USF Board Chairman Shoaib Ahmad Siddiqui and PTA Chairman Maj Gen (r) Amir Azeem Bajwa were also present on the occasion.

cmYK

Addressing the ceremony, Syed Aminul Haque said with the help of information and communication technologies, districts of Chitral, Upper Dir and Lower Dir could achieve better integration into economic and tourism flows. He said high-speed mobile broadband services will enhance tourism and attract tourists, thus creating jobs. The Ministry of IT and Telecommunication will continue close cooperation to support the tourism industry of Pakistan and provide

the basis for achieving sustainable rural development, he added.

Syed Zulfiqar Abbas Bukhari, while congratulating USF and Telenor on the signing of the contract, said the use of ICT in tourism is a welcoming step for the residents of Chitral, Upper Dir and Lower Dir districts. High speed internet connectivity will expedite activity in the region and make the travel process efficient and pleasant, he added.

Thursday, 11 February, 2021

06 COMMENT

Iqbal Lands in Gulshan-e-Iqbal

PTI and Pak-US relations Tough tasks ahead

P

RiME Minister imran Khan’s several tweets offering cooperation to the newly elected US President Joe Biden on a number of issues, including going after dirty money and bringing transparency to the global financial system, have remained unanswered.

Meanwhile President Biden has spoken with indian PM Narebdra Modi, offering to fight against the covid-19 pandemic, renewing partnership on climate change, rebuilding the global economy to benefit the people of both countries and standing together against the scourge of global terrorism. the leaders also agreed to continue to work together to contain China in the indo-Pacific region. this indicates that despite the transformation of india into a totalitarian state where dissenting voices are suppressed, US-india relations continue to be of a strategic nature while the relationship with Pakistan remains transactional.

Pakistan’s direct interaction with top of the Biden Administration is confined so far to a single telephone call between Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. the two discussed how to ensure accountability for convicted terrorist Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and others responsible for the kidnapping and murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl. the Secretary reinforced US concern about the Pakistani Supreme Court ruling and potential release of these prisoners. in addition, the Secretary and the Foreign Minister discussed the importance of continued US-Pakistan cooperation on the Afghan peace process, support for regional stability, and the potential to expand trade and commercial ties.

James M. Lindsay, a senior vice president at the Council for Foreign Relations, has pointed out that the new US administration has concerns about human rights issues in Pakistan and wants to ensure whether Pakistan is working hard to prevent, contain and deter terrorists. it has also questions about the nature of the evolution of Pakistan’s relations with China.

President Biden is not willing to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan by May. Pakistan will be required to persuade the Afghan taliban to agree to a ceasefire, a delayed exit of foreign troops and a democratic government in Afghanistan respecting human rights including equal treatment for women.

China has invested billions of dollars in the development of Pakistan’s infrastructure when no other country was willing to do so. it is now helping Pakistan in boosting the country’s industrial and agricultural sectors. One expects Mr Khan to persuade the Biden Administration for similar cooperation. Mr Khan’s ability to cope with the foreign policy challenges would be under watch.

Strife over a statue

Dr FariD a Malik

L

ASt week turned out to be very disappointing for the much revered Allama Sir Dr Muhammad iqbal Lahori when his home built statue was unveiled at a park named after him in a town that also carries his name. the park is run by the Parks and horticulture Authority (PhA ) of Lahore, the city where iqbal was educated and lived.

Probably it was here that he the dreamt about creating a separate homeland for the Muslims of the indian-Subcontinent. Later he presented this idea in the All india Muslim League convention in Allahabad. After his health started to fail he traveled to London to convince Muhammad Ali Jinnah to return and lead the League. Jinnah with all his energy, forcefully with devotion and conviction spearheaded the movement for Pakistan.

Earlier in the decades of the sixties there was an attempt to resurrect Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib, the most important pillar of the Urdu language. though Sir Syed Ahmed Khan is credited for the laying the foundations of the Muslim homeland in india by bringing Muslims into the mainstream of education and advancement but Ghalib also played a major role in this mission. Sir Syed, after retiring from the East india Company at the age of 55, wanted to help his brothers in faith. he compiled a

Above the Law

Avoiding accountability The ECP shows it is not to be trifled with

t

hE Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on Pti stalwart and federal minister Faisal Vawda, besides ordering him to appear before it on February 24 should serve to show that is must be taken seriously. Mr Vawda is apparently trying to wriggle out of having to explain his position to the ECP of having dual nationality at the time of filing his nomination for the National Assembly, and giving up his foreign nationality only when he had actually won. there had been an attempt to indemnify him by an amendment act, but that law was not passed, but it seems that it could not be passed in any case. instead, Mr Vawda is trying to avoid the ECP, which wants to give him a personal hearing, so as to avoid a ruling which cannot go against the fact that he was a dual national at the time he contested, and only gave up membership when he won.

Mr Vawda has been one of the most trenchant critics of corruption, and has made it peculiarly his place to propose harsh, even vicious, punishments for corruption, but himself is exploiting every loophole possible, and using every technicality he can, to escape the consequences of his actions. At the same, it is worth noting that the Pti has not taken any action against him, instead continuing to keep him in the federal cabinet. if it does so on the principle of him being innocent until proved otherwise, that principle should be extended to those who have remained outside the Pti. the Pti is not very good at accountability when it comes to corruption within its own ranks. the example of the leak of the video of the KP MPAs selling votes for the 2018 Senate election presents an unedifying picture. there may have been a resignation forced on the Law Minister, but the claims of MPAs that they had been edited in, showed that there had been no real change of heart. that this video had existed before; did not prevent one of the vote sellers being given a Pti ticket and then inducted into the provincial Cabinet. the Pti must not help those in its own ranks who stymie investigations.

Even high courts are no longer safe

Mohsin saleeM Ullah

W

ith immense grief and sorrow, i questioned myself for pursuing law in the wake of the recent episode of lawyer’s hooliganism that you and i witnessed in islamabad high Court. i have empathy for the young lawyers and law graduates who might regret now choosing the noble profession of many past eminent personalities, including Pakistan’s founder, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. A few days ago, the violent mob of lawyers stormed the courtroom of the old, yet helpless, Chief Justice, Mr Justice Athar Minallah, who was kept hostage for hours. Since we (lawyers) don’t want courts to exercise their autonomy, enshrined in the Constitution and empowering them to pass judgment against the lawyers, as Chief Justice Minallah then had to face the frightening consequence. i feel pity for the Chief Justice, presumably he had only discussed the pending issue of the lawyer’s encroachment on the football ground, where they had illegally built their chambers in 2013, which led the Capital Development Authority to carry out an anti-encroachment operation in the surroundings of the district courts. therefore, the lawyers justified their attack in response to the conducted operation.

Perhaps, we are not anymore shocked to see violent lawyers attacking lower court judges, doctors,

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami Editor Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

Umar Aziz

Asher John

Joint Editor

Executive Editor

Deputy Editor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

history of the buildings built by the Muslims in Delhi. he was hoping to raise the spirits of the depressed Muslim population of the city after the failed War of independence of 1857 in which they had greatly suffered. Ghalib died in 1869, there was a brief time overlap of these two great personalities of the Subcontinent.

Sir Syed requested Ghalib to write the foreword of his book, but instead he was advised to look ahead, not back. Ghalib suggested opening of schools and colleges to educate the Muslim population. it was this suggestion that laid the foundations of the renaissance of the indian Muslims. Finally the Aligarh Muslim University created the critical mass of people who not only won freedom but also ensured the sustainability of the new nation.

Khawaja Moinuddin the brilliant playwright from Karachi wrote and then staged a play by the title of Mirza Ghalib Bandar Road Par. it was an instant hit. Later on it was also shown on PtV. Ghalib loved Urdu and played a major role in its development to replace Persian as the court language during the Mughal era. As Jinnah had declared Urdu the national language of Pakistan, Ghalib decided to visit Karachi the first capital of the new homeland of the Muslims. After spending a day in the city, and experiencing the plight of his beloved language, he decides to go back. thus his journey to the new land proves to be a great disappointment. For him it was the end of his dream to see the language flourish.

Perhaps he was quite concerned with the fact that no country has developed without its own language, with Pakistan being no exception. China, Japan, Germany, turkey, iran, Russia, italy, all use their own language while we do not.

After Ghalib, now it was iqbal’s turn to be humiliated in his dreamland, the city in which he lay buried. his grandson Walid iqbal is a sitting Senator of the ruling party. the moment his statue was unveiled, the hue and cry started at the gross desecration of the Poet of the East. though sculpture is taught at the National College of Arts (NCA), it is not very popular form of art in the country. Only the grey statue of Prof Alfred Cooper Woolner stands proudly outside the Old Campus on the Mall. he played a key role in developing the university as a major seat of learning in the Subcontinent. the statue of Queen Victoria was removed from the Charing Cross which was also called Malika Ka But (statue of the Queen ). it is not yet clear who authorized this project. As always the blame is passed

I

Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

I

and now the senior-most judge of the islamabad high Court over their grievances. Earlier last year, an ugly episode of lawyers versus doctors in Punjab institute of Cardiology (PiC) had kicked off a new debate about the sanctity and professional ethical code embodied in rules of professional ethics for lawyers, which obliges them to take an oath to maintain moral, and ethical conduct throughout their legal tenure, prior to commencing work in the professional setting.

With our participation and support for our fellow lawyers, we have instigated them against the guardians of the law, who have been the saviours of the constitution, and have administered justice even in the dark era of the dictatorship. Both the professions, judges and lawyers, share a unique and co-dependent relationship that is meant to improve the efficiency, and quality of the judicial proceeding, as well as work towards attaining justice for aggrieved parties. Attaining an elevated stature in society, the lawyers are the experts of law, who are the permanent feature of the daily talk shows for their analysis on shaping democracy and its governance. though the lawyers are the custodians of the law, in the wake of the incidents have had emerged, it made me conclude that we are the “violators.” the intermittent immunity lawyers have gained through a privileged status in society has been under sheer abuse for many years. Over the past years, it’s been a usual affair to see television screens flashing news of black hooligans burning tires to disrupt city roads, thrashing police sergeant, also intimidating the judges in a court of law on rendering a decision against their will is a usual affair now.

Storming the ihC, smashing its windows, chanting derogatory slogans, and laying siege to the courtroom, are heinous, and punishable acts. Soon after the attack, videos went viral that depicted the lack of sanity and concern by the professional controlling bodies– the Pakistan Bar and islamabad Bar Council- that should have enforced the code of conduct. the Pakistan Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils Rules, 1976, require an advocate to uphold the dignity and maintain the high standing of his profession, as well as his dignity and high standing as a member thereof─ Rule 134. Moreover, Section 11(b) of the Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils Act 1973 calls for disqualification from membership of the PBC; Section 11(c), cessation of membership of the PBC; Section 28(a), a person disqualified to be enrolled as

Islamabad – Ph: 051-2204545

I

Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

I

on to the lowest level, in this case the local gardeners of the park. it is unbelievable that the entire operation was carried out clandestinely without the knowledge of the Director or Director General of PhA who sits in the old Race Club premises on Jail Road surrounded by the flowers of Jillani Park.

With the prevailing gloom and doom in every state institution, i fail to understand the role of the officers at the helm. Clearly delegation is not abdication as has been the case in the last 40 years in the land of the pure. Almost every day while driving to work at the peak hours, i find water bowsers of PhA watering plants while blocking traffic. Occasionally if not in a hurry, i stop and ask them about their mistiming. Usually i never get a proper answer but my second question is always answered; “What role do your officer play in scheduling your visits?” invariably the answer is; “None.” it is a perfect example of blind leading the blind towards chaos and darkness. Please educate me about the job descriptions of the DG and directors of this Authority who remain totally disconnected and clueless about the ground realities in their parks and the green belts on important roads.

Under the prevalent conditions, i will request my friend Senator Walid iqbal to withdraw iqbal’s dream as a mark of respect for the Poet of the East so that he could rest in peace, as perhaps it was too wishful.

Jinnah’s tomb was also desecrated a few months back. i intend to write to his grandson Nusli Wadia who resides in Bombay to come and take over the security of his grandfather’s mausoleum. With Ghalib already disappointed after his Karachi visit, it only leaves Sir Syed Ahmed Khan whose museum on Atta turk Avenue in islamabad may be the next target of a very ungrateful nation that thrives on the humiliation of its founding fathers.

While the dream has turned into a nightmare, the reality has been painful for the majority of the population. Like a rudderless ship, the titanic is headed in the wrong direction and no one seems concerned. the glaciers are clearly visible, yet the course remains unchanged. i tendered an unconditional apology to the Father of the Nation last year, now it is being extended to the national poet as well. Please let them rest in peace, and if we cannot follow their path, at least we can stop desecrating them.

Dr Farid A Malik is ex-Chairman, Pakistan Science Foundation. He can be contacted at: fmaliks@hotmail.com.

an advocate; Section 41, the punishment of advocates for misconduct; Section 46, disciplinary powers of the PBC; and related sections about provincial bar councils authorize the regulatory bodies to take appropriate action for non-compliance. having these rules, we have sufficient legislation to punish the culprits, but someone escaping failed to punish the culprits. As the autonomous bodies must act, and stern action is the need of the hour, which shall not be limited to suspending the licenses of the “01Gullu Lawyers”, but a trial in the court of law following an FiR must be lodged make it obvious that no one is above the law, and may serve a lesson for others as well. the failure of the regulatory bodies to act in a timely fashion is the ramification of heavy politicizing, and has failed to assess the fundamentals of professional regulations and accountability. All the lawyers are under a professional oath and governed

by Article 5 of Pakistan’s Constitution, which mandates that obedience to the Constitution is inviolable for every individual in Pakistan. it’s high time for the legal fraternity to realize that its responsibility is not limited to a person, but towards the law itself. having said that, this responsibility cannot be abused to take personal gains from, and satisfy prejudices against, other professionals who are equally contributing in line with their duties.

Nevertheless, developing countries like Pakistan where most of the professions are exploited because of the monetary corruption, and a lack of fair opportunity available to prospective talented candidates. this tragedy explains the failure of our government and professional bodies to channelize the potential of our youth by engaging their practices constructively. hence, identifying and mitigating the circumstances with a timely governmental action may be an instant solution but not a permanent settlement, which requires that long-term reforms be implemented. in the end, bar councils have disregarded their duties towards maintaining and ensuring discipline within the legal fraternity due to the fear of losing precious votes. therefore, most of the hooliganism incidents are brushed under the carpet, and those that come to the surface are shunted to the darkness, after a monetary settlement. Bar councils should also regularly review their respective members’ licenses and make sure their professionals continue to adhere to ethical practices in compliance with the rules. Also, bringing culprits to the end should be a norm to serve as precedents to stop the notorious faction of lawyers vandalizing society beyond recognition.

The writer is a practicing lawyer and can be reached at mohsin.saleemullah@berkeley.edu or @MohsinSaleemu .”

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Thursday, 11 February, 2021

COMMENT 07 Editor’s mail Send your letters to: Letters to Editor, Pakistan today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan. e-mail: letters@pakistantoday.com.pk Letters should be addressed to Pakistan today exclusively

Role and responsibility of Kashmiri diaspora

Is brand Trump in a decline?

There are actually two brands: the commercial and the political abrahiM Zaka

T

hE trump brand is unique in many ways. Where Obama was a unifier, trump was a divider, where Michelle was a synergistic partner, Melania was a trophy wife on the sidelines, where Obama was predicted to win, trump was the underdog who beat the odds, where Obama was thought to be a pacifist it was trump who did not get involved in any new global conflict. however, in the aftermath of the January 6 insurrection trump has been banned from social networks, impeached a historic second time, facing threats of facing criminal action, boycotted by corporate America. is the end near for the trump brand?

Before we can discuss that question let me dissect the trump brand. in my opinion, there are two important components of the trump brand, the trump commercial brand and the trump political brand. the commercial trump brand is composed of trump’s business ventures, such as hotels, golf courses, reality television series, commercial real estate, residential real estate, a bankrupt airline, and a defunct university. the trump political brand is epitomized by the acronym MAGA (Make America Great Again). his political brand values were America first, transactional foreign policy agreements, military commitments based upon fair compensation expectations, and so on.

Let’s first look at the trump commercial brand. Any brand in essence is a market-based asset. it is a repository of goodwill that has accumulated over time and provides both the brand and customers with a series of tangible and intangible benefits. the trump commercial brand has suffered some setbacks with some organizations refusing to do business with him anymore. indeed, the PGA cancelling its tournament at his New Jersey golf club is a setback. But his hospitality business in recent times has been hit by the Covid-19 crisis more than by his own actions.

Likewise, his brand’s ability to acquire financing seems under threat, with Deutsche Bank seeming unlikely to extend a multimillion-dollar loan to him. For any good brand, the cost of capital via financing should be lower than a comparatively bad brand. in trump’s case, although Deutsche bank may not be interested in extending his financing, a number of Middle Eastern states where he has good relations might influence their banks to finance him. After all, the Saudis did buy his yacht in his previous time of need, as was tweeted by Prince Waleed bin talal.

Despite his troubles at home the trump Organization is expanding overseas. in addition, there is a huge audience that believes he won the election. therefore, the ban on his social media accounts has not gone down well with them. the trump Organization is also reportedly considering a media venture. the very fact the trump organization can still leverage his brand name overseas and announce innovative new ventures is a testament that the brand still is a valuable market-based asset. however, this is not to say all is rosy with

the trump commercial brand. One major issue is that the trump Brand substantially is invested in the hospitality industry. take the example of the trump international hotel in Washington D.C. it has an excellent location near the White house, but despite its location according to 0 it currently has a 57 percent occupancy rate as compared with the 75 percent of competitor hotels such as Four Seasons, the Ritz-Carlton and the hay-Adams. however, the rate is still higher than the average Washington DC rate, of 30 percent for the last 11 months of 2020.

Brand trump still has substantial commercial and political leverage that can be translated into an audience for a media enterprise. For instance, consider rightwing pundit Alex Jones who had revenue of $20 million in 2014 from media revenues and associated sales. in 2013 he made about 10 million mainly from advertising, subscriptions to his network and DVD and tshirt sales. Alex Jones had 900,000 followers on twitter which is way less than the 88 million trump had. Some estimates say 35 percent of Republicans on twitter followed trump. Assuming that this corresponds to 35 percent of trump’s 88 million twitter followers then about 31 million Republicans followed him on twitter. if he is able to generate even $12 dollars per Republican viewer ($1 a month) for his network, that translates into $372 million revenue. this isn’t bad if compared with NBC news’ $325 million dollars. it does dwarf Fox News’ $12 billion, but trump Media can be a reasonable-sized player in the USA over time. Another factor is the democratization of finance with apps such as Robinhood that charge zero commission on trades. trump has a readily available army of ideological supporters who would provide equity financing for any new media-related commercial venture.

Of course, not everything with the trump name is bound to succeed as can be seen from the now defunct ivanka trump fashion label. Although the label did do well for a time, with her perfume sales temporarily performing well on Amazon, once retailers boycotted her brand in 2017, things started to look dismal. Furthermore, her later strategy of focusing on cost-conscious customers may have not been the best for her brand. But the silver lining is that the trump commercial brand has value and can be extended to a number of industries, however, any brand name cannot save a brand from failure if it is not managed properly and hit by boycotts. the second component of the trump brand is the political brand. trump still has the support of his voter base, as in 2016 he had about 63 million votes and in 2020 he had 74 million votes. in both elections he had about 46 percent of the popular vote. trump’s popularity has not declined. Compare this with other one-term presidents. Jimmy Carter gained 50 percent of the popular vote when he won in 1976 compared with 41 percent in 1980 when he lost. Similarly, George Bush Senior won 53 percent of the popular vote in 1988 and about 37 percent when he lost in 1992. historically, trump seems to be unique in recent one-term presidents that his popularity actually increased in terms of votes received. Moreover, some of his supporters have

become more militant as can be seen from the mob that attacked the US Capitol. Furthermore, there seems to be a lack of will to convict him within the GOP and he is still assumed to be controlling the party despite the fact he has left office. trump still has an army of right-wing billionaires willing to aid his cause, notable amongst them the late Sheldon Adelson. trump also has his benefactors amongst many Middle Eastern states and his pushing many of them to normalize relations with israel shows his leverage with them.

But in terms of foreign policy, trump was a maverick. he changed the equation with his European allies asking for equitable compensation for the US military presence in Europe. he pushed iran to the brink, but backed down. he pushed stocks to an all-time high and so increased the value of the 401Ks of retired folks. he also increased the average hourly wage, although it is disputed to what degree he influenced this, as some sources claim the increasing trend was happening since 2014 under Obama.

A recent Washington Post analysis provides information about the Obama years versus the trump years. i have limited the results of that analysis to three-year periods, ignoring 2009 (recession) for Obama and 2020 (pandemic) for trump. hence, i only evaluate the normal three years during their first terms. in terms of GDP growth trump did slightly better, substantially better in terms of unemployment, better in improving the middle-class income, better in the overall stock market performance, better in manufacturing output, better in terms of improving US home prices, better in terms of managing public debt and so on. Not surprisingly, trump had the lowest number of Americans uninsured for health during recent years. Overall, trump did better than his predecessor during the normal three-year period. however, some argue that he inherited a better economy than Obama did and a lot of his achievements were caused by Obama’s policies of the previous eight years.

But any analysis of the trump political brand would be incomplete without considering the political turmoil he is facing. Although social media websites trend, such as twitter’s, may have you believe his ship is rapidly sinking, one should accept such trends with a grain of salt as there is evidence from PEW research to suggest that Democrats have a stronger presence on twitter than Republicans do. But even if we accept twitter as an unbiased social media source, websites such as the hedonometer.org that tracks American happiness via tweets do not show much change in the happiness of Americans on the day the Capitol was stormed, compared tothe day trump was inaugurated. the day trump was inaugurated Americans scored a 5.88 in terms of happiness on twitter on a scale of 1 to 9. On the day of the insurrection Americans scored a 5.73. Of course, happiness cannot be equated as an endorsement of trump, but does give a general perception of US sentiments on twitter. And the sentiment does not seem worse than when he was elected four years ago. hence, despite what some media outlets are stating, trump’s brand is not in imminent risk of sinking. Brand trump still has promise and any underestimating it would do so at their own peril.

The writer is a freelance columnist

“WhEN there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you.”

Winston S. Churchill. the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir stands apart as the most cantankerous of conflicts, with the catastrophic possibility of nuclear devastation. After all india and Pakistan have fought three wars and nearly began a fourth with the ever-present threat of nuclear exchange. hence, the world powers need to reaffirm their commitment to the inalienable Kashmiri right of self-determination and help in resolving this long stand conflict to the satisfaction of all parties concerned.

Amb. Yusuf Buch, former advisor, United Nations Secretary General, has described the agony of the people of Kashmir in these words, “have we heard a word, even a whisper, about gardens being turned into graveyards, about young women being raped and their mothers being forced to witness the atrocity, about young men being crippled and maimed for life, about the great numbers of fake disappearances which are continuing to this day in occupied Kashmir? it will glibly be said that it points only to the failure of the media. But have not the media been influenced and deterred from an aggressive, truth-revealing course by official policies sedulously maintained?” these facts have become well known in Kashmir. the grassroots leadership and the global Kashmiri diaspora leadership have acted frequently, as individual men and women, to these problems with calls to action, and the people have responded, as well they would, and have taken to the streets by the thousands, and on occasion by hundreds of thousands. it’s imperative at this stage in our history for the global Kashmir diaspora to recognize that real change is needed and cannot happen without a change in the way that we do business. Foremost, what is needed is a united front among Kashmiri diaspora that will inspire the people as well. A united leadership will demonstrate to them that we are Kashmiris first and foremost, and not simply members of some little political offshoot or an organization that has no real mandate. Only a united Kashmiri diaspora can unite the people on the ground. Only a united people can bring about the change that will help us achieve our ultimate objective – the right of selfdetermination. i agree with Dr. Syed Nazir Gilani, President, JKChR when he said “it is much more important that Kashmiri diaspora does not use their activities to advertise their personal or group interests in the Webinar or at any other time. if we start using anyone of these webinars in that manner, it will snowball into an abuse and there would be no end to it. A mischief by an individual or a group to seek an advertisement of any kind does not remain in the best interests of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. if there is a need for an appreciation, it should be general and in equity.”

Dr Fai LonDon

Positive steps it takes at least two hands to clap as a gesture of appreciation. But those two hands are not good enough to praise the Biden administration in the USA. As of today, American President Joe Biden and his team have been on the action spree, taking serious steps to reverse all those ill-conceived strategies from the previous trump regime. No doubt such good deeds need the media attention apart from deserving appreciation, the decision to reengage with the United Nations human Rights Council being the latest. here the Biden team’s penchant for a string of multilateral activities deserves special attention.

Globally, the good deeds and decisions should be met with welcome gestures. there is no need painting them all differently. Also, the teams concerned like the one led by Biden should always tread cautiously trying to use those good deeds to send strong yet positive messages at the world stage. in the process of envisioning good strategies, the Biden team should not be taken for granted. in fact the human rights abuses have been omnipresent, crying for serious attention. A good number of years down the road, i have been able to still see the homeless people around in open areas in my various workstations like hyderabad, Bangalore, Coimbatore and Mumbai. Yet again, those people are all highly skilled to showcase their art of handicrafts. i have been seeing those people selling their hand-made stuff as employment in my native areas like tiruchendur, tuticorin, tirunelveli and Kanyakumari in tamil Nadu. i am sure they if migrated and settled down properly will attain their social status.

Similarly, the Biden team’s attention to the social factors like equality, humanity and above all democracy is something worthy of appreciation and emulation by others. Way to go forward indeed! to conclude, the so-called charges of lackadaisical attitude and other accusations rampant on the Genevabased Council should be looked into sincerely.

P SenthiL Saravana Durai MuMbai

Scandalous video of KP MPAs thE emergence of a scandalous video, showing MPAs from KP receiving bundles of banknotes, allegedly for March 2018 Senate elections, just a month before the elections to the upper house, raises many questions about the timings of this leakage. While it casts aspersions about the morality of those receiving and giving the money, it also exposes the total lack of ethics of those who have for years been involved in manipulating elections in Pakistan and their role in bringing into disrepute the political process. We are reaping the harvest for betraying MAJ’s vision. For a country, created through a democratic political struggle, led by politicians of integrity and character like Quaid-e-Azam, it was a stab in the back of Founding Fathers and their vision of a modern democratic welfare state, to witness remnants of colonial occupation like the indian Political Service bureaucrat iskandar Mirza in collaboration with few uniformed officers ban all politicians. they put in place a concocted and perverted controlled system in the guise of basic democracy, which in essence was a dictatorship, with no checks and balances. this group embarked on a mission to reverse all that Jinnah Sahib had dreamed of. they had the audacity to even launch a malicious campaign against Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah. We have lost half the country; our economy is in a mess and the welfare state replaced by a country which faces scourge of extremism and terrorism, courtesy a tin-pot dictator who got us involved in a proxy war in Afghanistan. thousands of our valiant soldiers have embraced Shahadat, to eradicate this country from Zia’s legacy of terrorism and extremism, while millions were displaced. Even after decades, the seeds of extremism sown by the terrorists, whom Zia gave refuge on our soil, haunts this country.

MaLik tariq aLi Lahore

Thursday, 11 February, 2021

08 WORLD VIEW

How THe NeTHerLaNds is curbiNg THe civiL LiberTies of iTs MusLiM popuLaTioN

middle eaSt eye

a

MALIA BouATTIA

CRoSS Europe, political parties are demonstrating, once again, that election victories are most easily obtained on the backs of Muslim populations.

At the end of last year, all eyes were on France in the wake of President Emmanuel Macron’s so-called anti-separatist laws, which sought to further limit freedoms for Muslims in the country. His attempts to compete with the far-right National Rally, led by Marine Le Pen, and appeal to right-wing voters by whipping up racism has sparked outrage across Muslim-majority countries.

This was not the case when the Netherlands recently followed in France’s footsteps. Mosques will face further monitoring over “foreign influence”, and their finances will be under even heavier scrutiny, after a decision made by the Dutch parliament last week. The motion, put forward by MP Bente Becker from the leading VVD party, was overwhelmingly voted through. only one party, Denk, voted against the proposal.

Similar to the plans laid out by Macron, Muslim organisations and institutions in the Netherlands could now be shut down or have funding curbed if they are accused of “undesirable behaviour”. This follows the establishment of a parliamentary interrogation committee on “unwanted influence from unfree countries”, which last year issued a report describing how external (non-EU) forces were controlling Dutch mosques through often-unaccountable money streams.

Now Dutch authorities will have more power to block these “foreign influences” and reprimand institutions through penalties.

DUTCH PARLIAMENT HAS DECIDED THAT MOSQUES WILL FACE FURTHER MONITORING OVER ‘FOREIGN INFLUENCE’, AS POLITICAL PARTIES JOSTLE FOR THE FAR-RIGHT VOTE Muslims are once again being depicted as barbaric people who require discipline in order to espouse so-called Dutch values. The state muscles its way into their religious life, even when they have committed no wrong.

The mosque as a shadowy institution of undue political influence, at the beck and call of dangerous foreign powers, is a classic racist trope. Such tropes are used time and again to justify the repression and destruction of civil liberties.

This particular recipe, which governments across Europe are adopting, reduces problems - rooted in a variety of economic, political and societal factors - to Islam, and thus concludes that the religion must be “controlled” and monitored, with theological content shaped by the state to espouse the beliefs of the land. Those beliefs, however, always remain unclear. The Party for Freedom - one of the Netherlands’ largest farright parties - can speak, for example, about deporting and de-Islamifying Muslims, while also claiming to defend “Dutch cosiness”. The demands of Muslim institutions usually include avoiding any critique of the state and its foreign policy, imposing a depoliticised religious agenda, and sometimes even collaborating with state forces by accepting heavy surveillance and informationgathering among the faithful as a means of “protection”.

RESISTING RACIST PRACTICES: These developments, as political parties in the Netherlands rally for power in the leadup to national elections in March, were perhaps unsurprising to those who have long been calling out and resisting the racist practices of the Dutch state. Muslims and migrants are not only an easy target, but a

necessary one, given the recent political upheaval over the government’s poor handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The likes of the ruling VVD see growing competition on their right from nationalist figures such as Geert Wilders, the leader of the Party for Freedom. In response, they have long normalised Wilders’ views and policy proposals, including the burqa ban introduced in 2019. It seems to matter little, in this context, that the Dutch government was recently embroiled in a large-scale scandal concerning child benefits, which involved the institutionally sanctioned targeting of people of colour and migrants. The Netherlands’ tax authority falsely accused more than 20,000 families of fraud; of those, more than half were targeted on the basis of their dual nationality and ethnicity.

Names that appeared “foreign”, for example, were used as a key indicator and led to people being wrongfully asked to pay back thousands of euros. This left families bankrupt, with some even forced to sell their homes, and led to suicide attempts and divorces. An estimated one-third of the victims were Turkish-born, while many others were of Moroccan or Caribbean heritage. The news caused an uproar across the country, and the Dutch government was forced to resign.

Yet, this large-scale exercise in institutional racism and xenophobia, which rocked the Netherlands so considerably last month, clearly did not generate enough outrage to shame MPs into refraining from voting through even more discriminatory policies.

In fact, in the Dutch media, the issue of institutional racism and organised targeting of people of colour was barely mentioned in the coverage of the scandal.

GETTING ORGANISED: And God forbid that Muslims may respond or get organised.

When, a few months ago, 100,000 Dutch Muslims used their constitutional rights to force parliament to debate the possibility of forbidding insulting the Prophet (PBUH), by signing a petition launched by a local imam, they were denounced as dangerous, Islamists, and anti-Dutch. Wilders declared that those who signed the petition did not belong in the Netherlands. Similarly, when the Dutch Green party announced that it would stand a young climate activist in the upcoming elections, Kauthar Bouchallikht, who happens to be a woman of colour who wears a headscarf, she was immediately targeted and smeared as a dangerous Islamist by the far-right. Their accusations were uncritically relayed by the mainstream media.

It turns out that the democratic institutions of the kingdom are only meant for some. others - namely, Moroccans and Turks - are just here to do the jobs no one else wants, for little pay, and are expected to keep their mouths shut. Political leaders and their parties across the political spectrum, from the “far left” to the far right, have demonstrated that they are more than willing to throw people of colour, migrants and Muslims under the bus in order to maintain power. This has not only facilitated the growth of far-right electoral politics, but also hostility towards these communities from far-right street groups such as Pegida, who have been mobilising and taking advantage of a climate of hate being whipped up.

FAR-RIGHT RIOTS: Yet, if the recent weeks of riots in opposition to the Covid-19 restrictions and curfews enforced by the Dutch government have shown anything, it

Biden’s first Middle East moves

Geopolitical FutureS

L

GEorGE FrIEdMAN

AST week, U.S. President Joe Biden took two steps in the Middle East. The first was that he notified Congress of his intention to remove the Houthis fighting in Yemen from the government’s list of foreign terrorist organizations.

The second was that he said the U.S. would end its support for the Saudi-led campaign in Yemen and would review its relationship with Saudi Arabia over concerns about that country’s human rights record. In and of themselves, these two actions have little meaning.

Viewed together, they may represent a radical shift in U.S. Middle East policy. The question, of course, is how and even whether this shift will affect the reality of the region. As I have so often written, policy is the list of things we wish for. Geopolitical reality is what we get.

The Houthis are a major faction in what seems the eternal Yemeni civil war. They are aligned with Iran, facing off against Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The war in Yemen has to a great extent morphed from a civil war into a war between other countries’ proxies. Both Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been carrying out airstrikes and providing some support on the ground in the fight against the Houthis. Iran, on the other hand, has been providing missiles to the Houthis (or Houthiappearing Iranian forces), which have been fired into Saudi Arabia.

Yemen is a strategic country. It can project force into Saudi Arabia and oman, or allow more powerful allies to do so. More important, from Yemen’s location a hypothetical, stronger power could close the Bab el Mandeb strait, and in doing so close the Red Sea. Access to the Red Sea is vital: In 1967, Egypt closed the Tiran Straits, blocking Israel from the Red Sea and triggering the Six-Day War. Yemen is in no position to block the straits

itself, but an outside party seeking to sow regional chaos might be. And if it did, it could draw Egypt, Israel and Ethiopia into a conflict they don’t want, and threaten Saudi Arabia and oman, thereby weakening the Arab position in the Persian Gulf.

Iran is not in Yemen for its health. In the short term (which is maybe the only term there will be), Yemen is a base from which Iran can put pressure on Saudi Arabia, which it sees as its major rival, and also on the UAE, the major native Persian Gulf model, to expend resources on an operation that is not in its immediate national security interest but which it can’t avoid.

In the long run, were the Houthis to win the civil war under Iranian patronage, it could both destabilize the region and persuade some Sunni Arab powers to align with Iran, changing the balance of power in the region at the very least.

The agreement between Israel and the UAE, which is rapidly expanding to other powers is an anti-Iran coalition. The Sunni Arab states view Iran as their mortal threat, and they see Yemen not only as a test battlefield with Iran but also as a direct assault on core interests, ranging from Syria to Iraq to Yemen itself. The Sunni Arab countries’ fear of Iran is not primarily about nuclear weapons. They see that as one threat among many – as something that Iran doesn’t have and that, if that changes, will be dealt with by Israel. What they fear is Iran’s intrusion in places like Syria and Yemen and the possibility that, in the event of success, these and other countries would turn into Iranian satellites, giving Iran what it really wants, which is the dominant position in the Middle East.

The Trump administration’s position was to treat nuclear weapons in Iran as simply part of a broader threat. In other words, with or without nuclear weapons, Iranian covert operations and subversion could give it a dominant position in the area. Sanctions were designed to cripple Iran internally, while the Abraham Accords were an attempt to create a powerful coalition, not dependent on U.S. direct intervention, to block Iranian adventures.

The decisions to remove the Houthis from the terrorist list and to review the Saudis’ human rights record are not in themselves significant. But the Biden administration appears to be either gesturing toward a new policy or planning one. It has promised to revive the nuclear treaty with Iran. But that was signed in a different Middle East. In today’s Middle East, the solution to the Iranian problem has become

indigenous: a massive alliance from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf, including a significant nuclear power, Israel, and other powers prepared to challenge Iran, nuclear or not.

The administration is signaling a move toward a hostile relationship with the Saudis over Yemen and human rights. If it follows through on the former, it will also be moving against the UAE, where the U.S. has bases. And it will be moving against Israel, which sees the Saudis as a critical foundation of the alliance.

Saudi Arabia is less stable than it once was, and the ability of the regime to live up to the new administration’s conception of human rights is limited. The threat of an Iran-dominated Yemen is real.

It is difficult to imagine that the Biden administration wants to be forced to deal with an Iran-dominated Yemen or an unstable Saudi Arabia. Therefore, it is difficult to imagine that the two recent gestures by the administration are more than just gestures. There is, of course, another possibility, which is that Biden somehow believes he can coax Iran into some benign relationship with the Sunni Arabs. Doing that by returning to the nuclear treaty as it was originally written might open the door to Iranian interest, but it would panic the rest of the region. This is a region where memories go back centuries, and where alliances, like the current anti-Iran one, are based not on affection but on cold calculation.

Iran is in a box, the rest of the region is in an unprecedented alignment, and as many in the administration learned in Libya, things can get much worse. From where I sit, the most important thing the U.S. learned is to avoid largescale military involvement in the Middle East.

Let Israel, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the rest handle it, because they have no choice. It is their imperative and constraint. The key is to not rock the boat. The danger is that all new administrations want to make their mark. The good thing about this administration is that it remembers Libya, and its commitment to human rights there. The policy might seem virtuous, but the outcome may be far from the intention. These two gestures are not actions, and it is hard to see where they can lead.

George Friedman is an internationally recognized geopolitical forecaster and strategist on international affairs and the founder and chairman of Geopolitical Futures.

is that the current political moment is far from straightforward.

Far-right protesters were out in the hundreds across cities such as Rotterdam and Amsterdam, breaking curfew, smashing shops and restaurants, and opposing lockdown rules. While some were the same people calling for the deportation, criminalisation and even death of Muslims, racialised communities and migrants, they were also triggered by any hint that their own freedoms could be limited. So much, it seems, for Dutch cosiness.

The so-called “war on terror” agenda depends on Islamophobia to narrow civil liberties, target political dissent and introduce mass surveillance through policing and technology. In a country such as the Netherlands, so renowned for its defence of such rights, one might expect that the defence of Muslims’ rights should be obvious. Yet, it is clear that those in power are happy only to pay lip service to, rather than to apply, such “Dutch values”.

It is left to communities themselves to organise and fight back against the growth of racism, in both the streets and parliament. The left, the unions and social movements must join that struggle if they do not want their own organisations to be next in line, as the ongoing expansion of so-called anti-radicalisation policies in the UK demonstrates. They should do so for their own sake, as much as for that of the Muslims being scapegoated.

Malia Bouattia is an activist, the former president of the National Union of Students, co-founder of the Students not Suspects/Educators not Informants Network and presenter/panelist on British Muslim TV’s Women Like Us.

How India’s farmers’ protests went global

New StateSmaN

T

EMILY TAMKIN

o say it’s been quite the week for India and the internet would be an understatement. on Monday, amid protests over the government’s plan to change the agricultural sector in a way farmers argue would be devastating, Twitter followed the Indian government’s instructions and prevented people from being able to view more than 250 accounts, including the account of The Caravan, an independent, investigative magazine. Roughly six hours later, the accounts were back up; a Twitter lawyer had reportedly argued that the tweets had news value. The Indian government, in turn, threatened Twitter India’s employees with legal action.

But another move by the Indian government attracted even more international attention. At the start of the week, following a weekend of protests and clashes between police and farmers, internet access was still shut off in areas around Delhi’s borders (the internet had been turned off on Friday in some areas and the previous Tuesday in others).

The Indian government said it did this “in the interest of maintaining public safety and averting public emergency”. on Tuesday, Rihanna (yes, that singer Rihanna), on seeing a CNN article about the internet shutdown, tweeted: “Why aren’t we talking about this?! #FarmersProtest.” Climate activist Greta

Thunberg and Meena Harris, the niece of US Vice-President Kamala Harris, also tweeted about the protests.

The response was wildly out of proportion. Sachin Tendulkar, an Indian cricket player, tweeted that “India’s sovereignty cannot be compromised”, which implied a tweet from a pop star could undercut the country’s sovereignty. The right-wing Indian outlet Zee News accused Thunberg of having “motive to target India’s democracy”. Activists from the United Hindu Front burned portraits of Rihanna, Thunberg and Harris.

The issue, of course, is not Rihanna, or Thunberg or Harris. A tweet is not a violation of sovereignty. The protests were not orchestrated by Thunberg and her allegedly insatiable desire to hurt democracy, as the hashtag “GretaThunbergExposed”, which circulated on Twitter, implied. But that is, of course, the point: the protests are happening not outside of Indian sovereignty, but very much within it. The battle between the farmers and the government, which wants to implement reforms that farmers say would leave them at the mercy of large corporations, is being waged very much within the Indian political context. No burned portrait will change that.

There’s another problem for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, too: India started deploying its own Covid-19 vaccine, before the manufacturer had completed final trials, alongside the AstraZeneca vaccine, which did complete them. With many worried that they’ll get the former instead of the latter, as of this past week, little over half the targeted number of individuals have stepped up to receive their vaccinations. India has already vaccinated four million people, but not at the pace the government had hoped.

Emily Tamkin is Statesman’s US editor.

the

New

Thursday, 11 February, 2021

BUSINESS 09

KARACHI

GOT TO fINAlly lAuNCH ElECTRIC VEHIClE POlICy TOdAy

corporate corner

ISLAMABAD GHUlAM ABBAS

W

ISLAMABAD: Fauji F Fertilizer F Company (FFC) FF on Wednesday held its first corporate briefing for the year 2021, as a part of its best corporate governance practices. PR

LAHORE: Bank of Punjab (BOP) and Federal F Government Employees Housing Authority (FGEHA) F have signed a memorandum of understanding to provide affordable housing to the employees of the federal government. The ceremony was presided over by F Federal Housing & Works Secretary Dr Imran Zaib. PR

IMC honoured with four awards at 10th Annual Int’l CSR Summit KARACHI: Indus Motor Company (IMC) has been recognized by The Professionals Network (TPN) Pakistan for its exceptional contribution towards social development, bagging awards in four categories at the 10th Annual International Corporate Social Responsibility Summit and Awards 2021. The awards were presented

by Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Shariq Vohra. Sharing his thoughts on the occasion, IMC CEO Ali Asghar Jamali said, “It is an honour and a privilege to be conferred with these prestigious awards. I congratulate The Professionals Network’s management for its commendable effort and providing corporates the platform to showcase their CSR initiatives”. PRESS RElEASE

Wateen Pakistan to launch Huawei NetEngine 8000 Series to facilitate customers

HILE the government is yet to issue an ordinance or approve a money bill to implement the muchawaited Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy, the Ministry of Climate Change (MoCC) is scheduled to formally launch the policy on Thursday (today).

As per an invitation letter available with this scribe, a launching ceremony of Electric Motor Vehicle Policy would be held at the Ministry of Climate Change on Thursday, which would be attended by Advisor to PM on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam, Industries and Production Minister Hammad Azhar, Science & Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry and Planning Com-

mission Deputy Chairman Muhammad Jahanzeb Khan.

Interestingly, officials of the Ministry of Industries and Production (MoIP) and its attached department, Engineering Development Board, which completed the entire process of making EV policy, were found unaware of the event.

"As MoIP had taken the lead role in formulating the country's first-ever EV policy, the ministry should have organised this event," a ministry insider said, adding that the climate change ministry had no practical role in formulating or implementing the EV policy.

It may, however, be noted that the MoCC had initially introduced an EV policy in the federal cabinet in 2019, but the MoIP and other departments concerned had objected the policy.

In September 2019, MoIP had asked MoCC not to intervene in affairs of the auto sector, which came under the concern of the industries ministry.

Furthermore, the local automobile industry had also raised serious concerns over MoCC's policy.

But in the first week of November 2019, the federal cabinet had unanimously approved the MoCC's EV Policy and indicated that the policy would be implemented in its full spirit

by January 2020. The cabinet's decision came under harsh criticism from local auto assemblers, who termed it an "ad hoc decision".

The policy was later redrafted by MoIP. Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood, who also used to hold the portfolio of adviser on industries & production, had

SBP modernises forex regulations to facilitate startups, fintechs and exports The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has notified revisions in chapter 20 of the Foreign Exchange Manual to facilitate startups, fintechs and exports.

"The new policy for equity investment abroad will attract foreign direct investment through the establishment of holding companies

by Pakistani fintechs and startups; support exports by facilitating exporters to establish subsidiaries or branch offices outside Pakistan; and allow resident Pakistanis to acquire sweat equity, amongst other

changes to the Foreign Exchange (FX) regulations," a statement issued by the central bank read.

"Further, changes in the foreign exchange regulations will facilitate portfolio investment in the country including mutual funds, Exchange Traded Funds (ETF) and Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) Funds through Pak rupee-based Roshan Digital Account (RDA) and Special Convertible Rupee Account (SCRA)."

SBP, after approval of the federal government, has introduced

three new categories of investment abroad under its revised policy governing equity investment abroad and banks have been authorized to allow remittances under newly introduced categories.

The categories are for ‘establishment of holding company abroad by residents for raising capital from abroad’; ‘establishment of subsidiary/branch office abroad by export oriented companies/firms for promoting exports’; and ‘investment abroad by resident individuals’: NEWS DESK

CY20: PTCL Group sees 38pc increase in profit

LAHORE: Wateen Telecom Ltd has joined hands with Huawei to provide an all-service, intelligent router platform designed for the 5G and cloud era. The Huawei NetEngine 8000 Series offers the only E2E 400GE routers, redefining intelligent IP networks with ultrabroadband and committed SLA giving customers a unique edge. Wateen Telecom is the leading system integrator of the NetEngine 8000 router developed by Huawei in this collaboration between the two companies.

“As the world moves towards the 5G and cloud era, we have joined hands with Huawei to introduce this groundbreaking product bringing innovations in business and taking a step towards Wateen Telecom readiness in backhauling of 5G traffic,” said Farhan F Haider, Director Technical at Wateen Telecom. PRESS RElEASE

The Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) Board of Directors met on Wednesday to review the company's performance and announce its financial results for the calendar year 2020 (CY20).

The group announced its revenue at Rs129bn; however, if normalised for the impact of Covid-19 and certain regulatory changes, the revenue stands 5.2pc higher than 2019 on a like-for-like basis.

According to details, Ufone was able to successfully cross 10 million data customers by expanding its LTE footprint, while Ubank achieved a 50pc growth in revenue over the last year by increasing its customers' loan portfolio and deposits. The topline stability, coupled with cost optimisation initiatives and favourable interest and exchange rate movements, translated into 38pc improvement in the group's annual net profit.

Further, PTCL standalone revenue for the year is 0.4pc higher than last year; the topline witnessed a decline of 0.7pc until Q3CY20; however, it picked up in Q4CY20 to 3.7pc YoY growth on the back of healthy customer acquisition. Similarly, broadband revenue continued to grow in the last seven months, while various customer experience initiatives helped reduce churn by 23pc YoY. The wireless segment, which was on a declining trend for the past five years, was turned around, recording 8pc YoY increase in revenue, on the back of aggressive pricing and sales strategies without any major investments.

IPTV revenue improved by 3pc as compared to last year. FTTH footprint continues to expand with consistent growth in subscribers and revenues with a promising outlook for the future. NEWS DESK

NEPRA notifies Rs1.53 per unit hike in power tariff ISLAMABAD AHMAD AHMADANI

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has notified Rs1.53 per unit increase in power tariff for ex-Wapda Distribution Companies (DISCOs) to generate about Rs11 billion additional revenue.

The increase was allowed on account of monthly fuel cost adjustment (FCA) for electricity consumed in December 2020 and would be charged in the billing month of February 2021 from all consumers except lifeline consumers i.e. those with consumption of up to 50 units.

It may be noted that the Central Power Purchasing

Agency (CPPA) had requested NEPRA for an FCA of Rs1.8085/kWh to generate Rs13.6 billion revenue. A hearing in this regard was held on January 27, 2021, wherein an FCA of Rs1.5359/kWh approved.

As per details, the actual fuel charge component for December 2020 was Rs5.9961 per unit against the reference fuel charge component of Rs4.4602 per unit. The decision for tariff hike was made after taking into account fuel price variation for the month of December.

On the date fixed for hearing, representatives from CPPA, National Power Control Center (NPCC), National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC), media and general public were present; however, no representa-

tive from WAPDA Power Privatization Organization (WPPO), Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL), Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL), Ministry of Energy and Ministry of Finance attended the hearing despite service of notices.

Pursuant to the provisions of Section 31(7) of the Regulation of Generation, Transmission and Distribution of Electric Power Act 1997, read with the mechanism/formula determined by the authority in the tariff determinations for the DISCOs for the FY2017-18 and notified in the official gazette, NEPRA has to make adjustments in the approved tariff on account of any variations in the fuel charges on a monthly basis.

made it clear that MoIP would be the only authority to deal with the policy.

Despite the approval of the redrafted EV policy from cabinet on December 22, 2020, it was not implemented yet for some legal hindrances regarding exemption of taxes.

It is pertinent to mention that importers and those interested in investing in manufacturing/assembling of EVs are waiting for the implementation on the policy as the government has introduced a number of tax exemptions on Completely Knocked Down (CKD) and Completely Built Units (CBUs).

As per the EV policy for four wheelers, there will be 25pc customs duty and zero per cent additional customs duty or regulatory duty on CBU imports. Besides, any company could import 100 CBUs with 50pc customs duty.

Railways intends to handover e-services to NTC ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Railways (PR) has formally requested the Ministry of Information Technology (IT) to grant permission to National Telecommunication Corporation (NTC) to host PR's e-services. "Pakistan Railways intends to extend collaboration with the IT ministry by migrating all of its eservices to the National Data Center being managed by NTC," a letter written to the IT ministry by Pakistan Railways stated. On January 25th, PR had requested NTC to resolve issues pertaining to online booking applications and data breaches. "NTC provided the requested services on war footing basis and restored the entire collapsed system of Pakistan Railways by providing its own infrastructure through its National Data Centre in less than 24 hours," the letter noted. "The NTC team is still in close coordination with PR regarding restoration of all services." PR's advance reservation and e-ticketing application is currently being run through the National Data Center, the letter read. Last month, PR's electronic system of e-ticketing had suddenly collapsed, with 60 online reservation offices disconnected from the main servers. MIAN ABRAR

OGRA approves hike in gas prices The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has approved up to 2pc increase in gas prices for Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) consumers. According to media reports, OGRA on Wednesday proposed a hike in gas prices for FY21, which will be applied following the government's notification. As per OGRA, the gas price for the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) consumers has been increased by Rs13.42 per MMBTU. SNGPL had requested OGRA to increase Rs123 per MMBTU. The newly revised gas price for SNGPL would now be Rs644.59 per mmbtu. Earlier on January 28, the authority had increased gas price for consumers of Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGC) by 5.4pc, besides determining the prescribed gas price at Rs778.59 per mmbtu. The authority, as a matter of principle under legal domain, was of the view that all the classes of consumers should at least pay the average cost of service or the average prescribed price. NEWS DESK

Govt to set up subsidiary to lease PSM, SC told The government will most likely set up a subsidiary or a special purpose vehicle (SPV) of the Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) by the end of February in a bid to get rid of billions in debt and other liabilities.

In this regard, Federal Privatisation Minister Mohammad Mian Soomro said that this initiative would help attract capital through private investors, which would revive the bleeding mill.

He was presenting the plan before a three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmed, which had taken up a case relating to PSM’s fate.

“Private investment would revive the existing PSM plant to its production capacity of 1.1 million tonnes per year that will be enhanced gradually to 3m tonnes per year by bringing efficient modern technology besides creating job opportunities for professional and skilled manpower,” Soomro told the apex court.

Soomro explained that the SVP scheme had been designed in the absence of working whereas the government was negotiating with several interested parties from China, Korea and Russia etc.

In response to a question, Planning and

Development Minister Asad Umar said that the SPV was being created and PSM was being leased through competitive bidding in order to avoid violation of the apex court’s 2006 judgement against PSM’s privatisation.

The court was further informed that the mills require a sum of $500m to bounce back to its original production capacity of 1.1m tonnes per annum, $750m to enhance it to 2m tonnes and $900m to $1 billion to further increase the capacity to 3m tonnes per annum.

Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan, a member of the bench, questioned why PSM’s chairman was

CMYK

taking foreign trips and why the employees had been retained when the mill had not earned a penny for years, expressing concern over negotiations ending up in international arbitration like in many other cases.

Moreover, the Supreme Court appointed senior counsel Rashid A. Razvi as a conciliator to work out a workable arrangement for the settlement between the management and different workers’ unions of the PSM regarding layoff plans when the mill was shut.

The plan will be placed before the court in two weeks.

Earlier, Soomro and Minister for Indus-

tries and Production Muhammad Hammad Azhar co-chaired an important meeting to review the progress in the revival of PSM. Azhar was participating via a video link along with the PSM chairman.

Azhar was briefed about the current status of PSM. All pending issues including valuation of core operating assets and audit were discussed in detail.

The federal minister emphasised to achieve the target within the time frame and directed all concerned to expedite the process of reviving the national asset. NEWS DESK

Thursday, 11 February, 2021

10 FOREIGN NEWS

KARACHI

China spaCeCraft enters Mars orbit, 2nd in two days after Uae BEIJING

THE ORBITER-ROVER COMBO BECAME THE SECOND SPACECRAFT IN TWO DAYS TO REACH THE RED PLANET

AGENCIES

a

Chinese spacecraft entered Mars’ orbit on Wednesday on a mission to land a rover, collect data on underground water and possible signs of ancient life, state media said. “China’s probe Tianwen-1 successfully entered the orbit around Mars on Wednesday after a nearly seven-month voyage from Earth,” the Xinhua News Agency said in a brief report.

The orbiter-rover combo became the second spacecraft in two days to reach the red planet. An orbiter from the United Arab Emirates led the way on Tuesday.

A US rover called Perseverance is also aiming for a February 18 touchdown next week on Mars to search for signs of ancient microscopic life and to collect rocks for a return to Earth in the next decade.

All three Mars missions launched last July to take advantage of the planet’s close alignment with Earth that occurs only every two years.

The Chinese mission is its most ambitious yet. If all goes as planned, the rover will separate from the spacecraft in a few months and touch down safely on Mars, making China only the second nation to pull off such a feat. Only the US has successfully touched down on Mars — eight times beginning with the two Viking missions. A lander and rover are in operation today.

Tianwen, the title of an ancient poem, means “Quest for Heavenly Truth”.

Landing a spacecraft on Martian soil is notoriously difficult, and China’s attempt will involve a parachute, back-firing rockets and airbags. Its proposed landing site is inside the massive, rock-strewn, Utopia Planitia, where the US Viking 2 lander touched down in 1976.

The solar-powered rover — about the size of a golf cart — is expected to operate for about three months, and the orbiter for two years.

The UAE’s orbiter called Amal, Arabic for Hope, began circling the red planet on Tuesday to gather de-

tailed data on Mars’ atmosphere.

Six others were already operating around Mars: three US, two European and one Indian.

Many others haven’t made it. Smashed Russian and European spacecraft litter the Martian landscape along

with a failed US lander. About a dozen orbiters missed the mark. Tianwen-1 is China’s second attempt to send a spacecraft to Mars. In 2011, a Chinese orbiter that was part of a Russian mission didn’t make it out of Earth’s orbit. China’s secretive, military-linked space pro-

gramme has progressed considerably since then. In December, its Chang’e 5 mission was the first to bring lunar rocks to Earth since the 1970s. China was also the first country to land a spacecraft on the little-explored far side of the moon in 2019.

Crashed Sriwijaya Air jet had engine Elderly man arrested in US clinic thrust imbalance: preliminary report shooting that killed 1, wounded 4 JAKARTA AGENCIES

The Sriwijaya Air plane that crashed last month killing 62 people had an imbalance in engine thrust that eventually led the plane into a sharp roll and then a final dive into the sea, a preliminary report by investigators said on Wednesday.

When the 26-year-old Boeing Co 737-500 plane reached 8,150 feet (2,484 m) after take-off, the left engine throttle lever moved back while the right lever stayed in its original position, Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) said in its report.

“We don’t know if it’s broken or not, but it’s an anomaly because the left moved far back, the right did not as though it was stuck,” KNKT investigator Nurcayho Utomo told reporters of the levers.

At about 10,900 feet, the autopilot disengaged and the plane rolled to the left more than 45 degrees and started its dive, according to the report.

The Sriwijaya accident is Indonesia’s third major airline crash in just over six years and has shone a

spotlight on the country’s poor air safety record.

Starting with just one plane in 2003, Sriwijaya has become the country’s No.3 airline group, aided by its strategy of acquiring old planes at cheap prices and serving routes neglected by competitors.

There had been two prior problems reported with the autothrottle system that automatically controls engine power based on maintenance logs, but the issue was rectified on January 5, four days before the crash, KNKT said.

A working autothrottle is not required for a plane to be dispatched as pilots can control the thrust levers manually with their hands.

Divers are still searching for the plane’s cockpit voice recorder which could help investigators understand the actions taken by the pilots, both of whom were experienced with 17,900 hours for the captain and 5,100 hours for the first officer.

The report highlighted the importance of upset recovery training for pilots and the recognition of repetitive plane defects, just over six years after an AirAsia Indonesia crash where those were among the

issues raised.

KNKT said that following the crash Sriwijaya had taken safety actions including adding upset recovery training in its next pilot proficiency check and reminding engineers that repetitive defects must be handled in accordance with safety manuals.

The airline sent a memo to pilots reminding them to write detailed reports to help engineers troubleshoot problems.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation also discussed the handling of repetitive problems and upset prevention and recovery training with other Indonesian operators after the crash, KNKT said.

Boeing said it would continue to support the investigation.

The preliminary report, as is standard, laid out factual information obtained to date but did not list the contributing factors to the crash.

That will require further investigation. Safety experts say most air accidents are caused by a combination of factors that can take months to establish. Under international standards, the final report is due within a year of the crash.

BUFFALO AGENCIES

An elderly gunman shot one person to death and wounded four others inside a Minneapolis-area medical clinic in the United States on Tuesday before the suspect, believed to be a disgruntled former patient, was arrested at the scene, police said.

Gregory Paul Ulrich, 67, also described by authorities as an individual well known to law enforcement, was taken into custody shortly after late-morning gunfire erupted at the Allina Health Clinic in Buffalo, Minnesota, about 35 miles (55 kilometres) northwest of Minneapolis.

Local media reported an explosion accompanied the shooting, but officials said they could not immediately confirm those reports. The Minneapolis Star Tribune, citing an emergency dispatch audio, said a bomb exploded in the clinic about 30 minutes after the gunfire.

Buffalo Police Chief Pat Budke told reporters investigators believe the suspect, a longtime Buffalo resident, acted alone and singled out the clinic over a personal grudge against the facility or its staff.

“The history we have as a department with this individual makes it most likely that this incident was targeted at that facility or at someone in that facility,” Budke said.

The police chief referred to an unspecified past “conflict” the suspect had with local healthcare providers.

Ulrich was scheduled to appear for arraignment in

the case on Thursday, police said.

Five people wounded by gunfire were transported to area hospitals, Allina Health executive Kelly Spratt said at the news conference. Spratt declined to say whether the victims were clinic patients or staff.

One of the victims later died, according to Christine Hill, a spokeswoman for the Hennepin County Medical Centre in Minneapolis. Three others were listed in critical but stable condition at North Memorial Hospital in nearby Robbinsdale, Minneapolis television station KMSP reported.

Video footage of the clinic broadcast by KMSPTV showed several front windows shattered and an empty wheelchair on the sidewalk near the entrance after the shooting.

Bomb squad investigators called to the scene were examining a suspicious package found in the clinic’s lobby. Additional “suspicious devices” were found at a nearby motel where Ulrich was staying, said Wright County Sheriff Sean Deringer.

The sheriff said the motel was evacuated as a precaution, and nearby schools were also placed under security lockdown.

The sheriff said there were records of several “calls for service” to police about Ulrich dating back to 2003. “He’s no stranger to law enforcement,” he added.

Earlier, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz told a separate briefing he understood that “improvised explosive devices” were involved but did not say whether any had been detonated.

WHO's Wuhan probe ends, US-China bickering over Covid continues BEIJING AGENCIES

China called on the United States on Wednesday to invite the World Health Organization to investigate origins of the Covid-19 outbreak there, as sparring over the pandemic continued after the WHO wrapped up its field work in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

Hours after the WHO team revealed preliminary findings at a Wuhan news conference on Tuesday, Washington said it wants to scrutinize data used by the team, which concluded that the virus causing Covid-19 did not originate in a laboratory in Wuhan, and that bats remain a likely source.

“We wish that the US side can, like China, uphold an open and transparent attitude, and be able to invite WHO experts to the US to conduct origin tracing research and inspection,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a regular daily briefing, repeating a call it has been making recently.

The origins of the coronavirus pandemic, which first emerged in Wuhan in late 2019, are highly politicized, with China pushing the idea that the virus has roots outside its borders.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Tuesday that the Biden administration had not been involved in the “planning and implementation” of the WHO investigation and wants to take an independent review of

its findings and underlying data.

“The US independently examining the WHO’s data?

It’s the WHO, who should examine the US data,” said Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of the Global Times, a tabloid run by the ruling Communist Party’s official People’s Daily, on social media platform Weibo.

“Did we all mishear, or is this spokesperson really so shameless?”

Peter Ben Embarek, who heads the WHO-led team that spent four weeks in China - two of them in quarantine - said that the investigation had not dramatically changed its picture of the outbreak, although the virus could have crossed borders before arriving in Wuhan.

In addition to ruling out a lab leak, he said that

frozen food could possibly be a means of transmitting the virus, which would support a thesis backed

by Beijing, which has blamed some case clusters on imported food packaging. The WHO’s conclusion “completely refutes the conspiracy theory raised by some anti-China hawks, like former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo, who has been accusing the Wuhan Institute of Virology of leaking the virus,” the Global Times wrote.

Pompeo had said there was “a significant amount of evidence” that the new coronavirus emerged from a Chinese laboratory. Chinese officials have stressed in recent months that the virus could have emerged in multiple regions outside China.

Thursday, 11 February, 2021

KARACHI

Pakistan Look to correct Poor recent form in t20is LAHORE

P

AGENCIES

AKISTAN are hoping to turn their Twenty20 fortunes around when they take on a depleted South Africa in a three-match series starting in Lahore on Thursday (today).

The hosts have won just one of their last eight Twenty20 series, with victory coming against lowly Zimbabwe.

But they are seeking a return to the form that saw them win 11 series in a row from September 2016 to November 2018, lifting them to the top of the world rankings.

Pakistan’s spirits are riding high after beating South Africa by 95 runs in Rawalpindi on Monday to take the twomatch Test series 2-0 – their first win over South Africa since 2003.

South Africa will be without regular skipper Quinton de Kock, as well as established stars such as Faf du Plessis, Rassie van der Dussen, Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi. They returned home as scheduled after the second Test to prepare for a tour by Australia, but that has now been postponed because of the critical coronavirus situation in South Africa.

Still, Pakistan’s bowling coach Waqar

hBL PsL tickets to be sold online: PcB LAHORE APP

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has signed an agreement with an e-ticketing platform for the sale of tickets of the HBL Pakistan Super League’s (PSL) sixth edition, which is scheduled to start in Karachi from February 20.

The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) had last week permitted the PCB to allow a limited number of spectators in the stadiums during the HBL PSL with strict Covid-19 SOPs, including social distancing.

“With a socially distant seating plan, cricket fans can now be a part of the game again as both the HBL PSL venues, Karachi and Lahore, will have 20 per cent of the total seating capacity of the stadiums available for the spectators," the cricket board said in a statement. As announced by the PCB last week, around 7,500 spectators will be allowed inside the National stadium per match day, while around 5,500 will be able to attend each match day at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium. The PCB added that further details about the pricing and availability of tickets will be shared soon.

root moves up to third in test rankings DUBAI AGENCIES

England captain Joe Root's match-winning 218 in the first Test against India has taken him to No. 3 in the ICC Test batting rankings, while India captain Virat Kohli has slipped to No. 5.

Root, who came into the tour on the back of an incredible run in the two-Test series in Sri Lanka - where he scored 426 runs - made a doublecentury on the second day of the Test in Chennai and helped England pile up 578 runs. He followed it up with a quick 40 in the second innings to stretch England's lead, which eventually helped them go 1-0 up in the fourmatch series and kept them in contention for the World Test Championship (WTC) final. Kohli, who returned from paternity break having missed the last three Tests against Australia, dropped points after making scores of 11 and 72 - the highest in India's second innings - in Chennai. Australia's Marnus Labuschagne also slipped to No. 4 as a result of Root's gain. Kane Williamson at No. 1 and Steven Smith at No. 2, however, retained their positions in the table.

With 883 rating points, Root is ahead of Kohli for the first time since November 2017, and is currently 36 points behind Williamson and eight behind Smith. There were gains for England in the bowling department as well, with James Anderson rising to the third spot from sixth moving past Neil Wagner Josh Hazlewood and Tim Southee - following his match haul of 5 for 63 in the first Test. Stuart Broad, who was not in the playing XI in Chennai, is only four rating points ahead of him at No. 2 in the chart, which is led by Australia's Pat Cummins. England spinners Jack Leach and Dom Bess, who played major roles in the Chennai win, also reached their career-best rating points, moving up to the 37th and 41st positions respectively. Meanwhile Rishabh Pant, who made an 88-ball 91 in the first innings, became the first full-time wicketkeeper from India to reach 700 rating points among batsmen, retaining his 13th position. Following West Indies' historic win in the first Test against Bangladesh in Chattogram, Kyle Mayers, who made 210 not out on debut in the fourth-innings chase, recorded the highestever rating points - 448 - for a West Indies batter on debut and entered the table at 70th spot.

Younis refused to take the new-look South Africa side lightly.

“They are an international team and we need to play to our potential to finish a perfect season,” he said.

Pakistan have left out senior batsman Mohammad Hafeez because of his commitments to the T-10 league in Abu Dhabi.

He has been in supreme form recently, scoring 415 runs in 10 matches with an average of 83.00 and a strike rate of 152.57 – the most by any player last year.

South Africa will be led by wicketkeeper-batsman Heinrich Klaasen, who hopes his newcomers will grab their oppor-

tunity. “South Africa has got loads of talent, which people sometimes don’t see because we only have six franchises,” he said.

“We are by no means a second-string T20 squad, and we are looking to win.”

Klaasen knows the toll Covid-19 has taken on global cricket having recovered from the virus himself.

“I am fit and I am safe – and I can play cricket again,” he said.

“For the last three weeks, I have been able to train really hard in South Africa and now I am on course.” The second and third matches of the series are on Saturday and Sunday, also in Lahore.

SPORTS 11 Pakistan sQUaDs: Babar Azam (captain), Haider Ali, Khushdil Shah, Hussain Talat, Danish Aziz, Asif Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Zafar Gohar, Faheem Ashraf, Aamer Yamin, Amad Butt, Mohammad Rizwan, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Hasan Ali, Usman Qadir, Zahid Mahmood.

soUth africa sQUaDs: Heinrich Klaasen (captain), Nandre Burger, Okuhle Cele, Junior Dala, Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, George Linde, Janneman Malan, David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Ryan Rickelton, Tabraiz Shamsi, Lutho Sipamla, JonJon Smuts, Pite van Biljon, Glenton Stuurman, Jacques Snyman.

Novak Djokovic passes Tiafoe test, Serena sublime at Australian Open MELBOURNE AGENCIES

Eight-time champion Novak Djokovic was made to sweat at the Australian Open on Wednesday as Serena Williams made serene progress in her bid for a recordequalling 24th Grand Slam title.

Women's favourite Naomi Osaka also charged through but fellow major-winners Stan Wawrinka, Bianca Andreescu and Petra Kvitova were all second-round casualties.

Djokovic was given a stern examination by America's Frances Tiafoe and dropped his first set of the tournament before recovering to win 6-3, 6-7 (3/7), 7-6 (7/2), 6-3.

"I was fortunate to get through the third set today, it was anybody's game," said the defending champion, after his win in hot conditions on Rod Laver Arena.

The top seed looked in control after taking the first set, but lightning-quick Tiafoe, who reached the quarter-finals two years ago, refused to go quietly.

The American bounced back to take a close second set but imploded as tensions rose in the fourth, receiving a code violation for an audible obscenity as Djokovic took charge. "I thought we both played on a pretty high level. I mean, he pushed me to the very limit," said Djokovic.

The Serb is targeting a record-extending ninth title and his 18th Grand Slam trophy overall as he snaps at the heels of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, who top the all-time list with 20 each. He avoided the fate of 2014 winner Wawrinka, who blew three match points in the fifth-set tiebreaker in his four-hour epic with Marton Fucsovics, who won 7-5, 6-1, 4-6, 2-6, 7-6 (11/9). "I had some chance to finish the match, I didn't finish," said the 35-year-old Swiss, a three-time Grand Slam winner.

"I hesitated a little bit when I had the

match point and I lost it."

'HERE TO HAVE FUN': Osaka, whose three Grand Slam titles include the 2019 Australian crown, had no such trouble in her evening match against France's Caroline Garcia, winning 6-2, 6-3 in 61 minutes.

Earlier Williams, 39, continued her quest to equal Margaret Court's all-time mark of 24 Grand Slams with a 6-3, 6-0 romp past 99th-ranked Serbian Nina Stojanovic. Williams hit 27 winners in her 101st Australian Open match while again sporting her unique, one-legged cat suit inspired by track legend 'Flo-Jo'.

"I'm here to have fun and it's great to be playing in front of a crowd," said the American great. With Australia virtually virus-free, the tournament is welcoming the biggest Grand Slam crowds since the

pandemic, although attendances are well down on previous years.

Williams' elder sister Venus, 40, was a major casualty on day three when she painfully rolled her ankle in the first set against Sara Errani before hobbling through a 6-1, 6-0 defeat. And Andreescu, the 2019 US Open champion who missed the entire 2020 season with a knee injury, saw her comeback come to an abrupt end 6-3, 6-2 against Taiwan's Hsieh Su-wei.

"You need to find a way to get through and the crowd helped me fight," said Hsieh after beating the Canadian, who was coming off a draining three-setter against Mihaela Buzarnescu.

Elsewhere Kvitova, the former Wimbledon champion and Melbourne runnerup in 2019, committed 44 unforced errors

in her 6-4, 1-6, 6-1 defeat to Romania's Sorana Cirstea as the big names tumbled on day three. However, reigning US Open champion Dominic Thiem, runner-up to Djokovic last year, was all smiles as he beat Germany's Dominik Koepfer 6-4, 6-0, 6-2.

"It was great, to be honest," Thiem said of his performance on Margaret Court Arena. Eighth seed Diego Schwartzmann of Argentina also hurried into the last 32, brushing aside Frenchman Alexandre Muller 6-2, 6-0, 6-3 in an hour and 32 minutes on 1573 Arena. Germany's volatile US Open finalist Alexander Zverev will close out the night session against America's Maxime Cressy. The tantrum-prone Nick Kyrgios could also provide fireworks out on his favourite John Cain Arena against France's 29th seed Ugo Humbert.

FA Cup: Manchester United reach quarter-finals, Bournemouth knock out Burnley LONDON AGENCIES

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer warned “wasteful” Manchester United to be “more clinical” after they edged into the FA Cup quarterfinals with a hard-fought 1-0 win against West Ham on Tuesday.

Solskjaer’s side were well below their best in a scrappy fifth round tie at freezing, snow-dusted Old Trafford. But a fine finish from Scotland midfielder Scott McTominay ensured United advanced to the last eight for a seventh successive season.

United last won the FA Cup in 2016 and McTominay’s third goal in three games kept them in the hunt to lift the trophy for the 13th time.

After the frustration of the late Everton equaliser that dented their Premier League title challenge on Saturday, this was an essential result to lift the mood at United.

It was hardly an eye-catching performance however, with United labouring against defensive West Ham until McTom-

inay and Bruno Fernandes were introduced as second half substitutes.

“When it’s only 1-0 and we are wasteful, anything can happen to us. We knew that from the last game,” Solskjaer told BBC Sport. “I think we got about 15 to 17 shots in the end but we need to be more clinical. We should have finished the game off earlier.

“We needed to have a good result and a good feeling after today because we were low after Everton game. “We are in the hat and that’s what we wanted. We want to challenge and we want to go to the final.

That’s what we’re here at Man United for.”

Amad Diallo was named on the United bench for the first time since the 18-yearold’s January move from Atalanta as Solskjaer made six changes.

Lukasz Fabianski prevented United from taking the lead in the 27th minute when he brilliantly pushed Victor Lindelof’s header onto the post. There was a nasty clash of heads between West Ham’s Issa Diop and United’s Anthony Martial

CMYK

towards the end of the first half.

Both continued after treatment but Diop did not return in the second half due to concussion.

“To clarify, Issa Diop was replaced as a concussion substitute, meaning we can now make a total of six changes, as can Manchester United, if we see fit,” West Ham said in a statement. Fabianski saved well from Marcus Rashford before the game went into extra-time.

McTominay finally made the breakthrough in the 97th minute.

Martial’s cross was only half-cleared and Rashford’s deft touch teed up McTominay to steer a composed strike past Fabianski from just inside the area.

CHERRIES SHOCK BURNLEY: In Tuesday’s other fifth round tie, Burnley suffered a surprise exit as second tier Bournemouth won 2-0 at Turf Moor.

Sean Dyche’s side fell behind to Sam Surridge’s first half goal and Junior Stanislas finished them off with a late penalty.

While the loss was embarrassing, it

will be forgotten if Dyche ensures Burnley retain their Premier League status.

Burnley are currently 17th in the Premier League, sitting eight points clear of the relegation zone.

It could have been an even more chastening night for Burnley, who initially included the ineligible Erik Pieters in the team before being alerted to the issue by Bournemouth’s media chief.

Dutch defender Pieters was banned after collecting bookings in the previous two rounds of the competition.

Pieters was replaced just before kickoff by Anthony Driscoll-Glennon, saving Burnley from a potential FA investigation.

“The rules have changed this year with the booking situation and the number of games in the FA Cup. It was just a clear oversight,” Dyche said. “To be fair to Bournemouth, they flagged it and mentioned it, so credit to them for a bit of gentlemanly conduct. We jumped on it straight away and people at our club held their hands up in the right slots.”

Thursday, 11 February, 2021

PRAyER TImINGS

news

FAJR SUNRISE

ZUHR

ASR MAGHRIB ISHA

5:36

12:14

3:07

7:01

5:27

6:52

In landmark rulIng, SC CommuteS death penalty of two mentally Ill prISonerS ISLAMABAD

I

A FIVE-JUDGE BENCH ANNOUNCED ITS VERDICT RESERVED IN JANUARY AFTER DAILY HEARINGS, ON THREE APPEALS PERTAINING TO AS MANY MENTALLY ILL PRISONERS ON DEATH ROW

STAFF REPORT

N a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday commuted the execution of two prisoners, who have spent decades on death row, with mental disability to a life sentence.

A five-judge bench, headed by Justice Manzoor Ahmad Malik, announced its verdict reserved in January after daily hearings on three appeals pertaining to as many mentally ill prisoners on death row.

One of the two prisoners, Kanizan Bibi, has spent 30 years on death row. She was 16 when she was charged with murdering her employer’s wife and five children. The police said that she was having an affair with her employer, who was also arrested and later hanged. She was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2000.

The second prisoner on death row whose sentence was commuted, Imad Ali, 55, was convicted of murdering a religious scholar in 2001. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2008. In 2016, the apex court halted his execution, days before he was to be hanged.

The bench also directed prison officials to move Ghulam Abbas, another death-row prisoner with mental disabilities, to the Punjab Institute of Mental Health (PIMH) in Lahore “in accordance with provisions of Prison Rules for his treatment and rehabilitation”

until the disposal of a mercy petition he had filed.

Hearings in the case were resumed in September 2020 after a gap of nearly two years.

Pakistan in 2008 ratified an international convention that prohibits the execution of mentally ill prisoners. Since then, only one mentally ill prisoner was executed, Muneer Hussain. He was hanged in April 2015 despite having had a history of mental illnesses, according to Justice Project Pakistan, a rights group that has fought an extensive, years-long legal battle for the two inmates.

Last year, with the outbreak of the coronavirus and the steep rise in Covid19 cases in the country’s crowded jails, the SC agreed to release some mentally ill and disabled prisoners to ease conditions, but only those whose sentences were less than three years.

Responding to the development through a statement, Sarah Bilal, the head of JPP, called the court’s verdict a “landmark judgment.”

The ruling, she said, brought the country in line with its “international

obligations and treaties the country had signed, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention against Torture, and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities”.

The verdict also directed authorities to amend the Prison Rules to bring the jail manuals of all the provinces in harmony and directed the federal and provincial governments to establish high security forensic mental health facilities at teaching and training mental health institutions.

“The federal government [for Islamabad] and each provincial government, shall immediately constitute and notify a medical board comprising of three qualified and experienced psychiatrists and two psychologists from public sector hospitals for examination and evaluation of the condemned prisoners who are on death row and are suffering from mental illness to ensure that such mentally ill condemned prisoners […] are not executed,” the judgement read.

The federal and provincial governments were also directed to launch

training programmes and short certificate courses on forensic mental health assessment for psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, social workers, police, and prison personnel.

“The Federal Judicial Academy in Islamabad, and all the provincial judicial academies shall also arrange courses for trial court judges, prosecutors, lawyers and court staff on mental illness including forensic mental health assessment,” the judgement added.

The court also clarified that not every mental illness shall automatically qualify for an exemption from carrying out the death sentence.

“This exemption will be applicable only in that case where a medical board, consisting of mental health professionals, certifies after a thorough examination and evaluation that the condemned prisoner no longer has higher mental functions to appreciate the rationale behind the sentence of death awarded to them.”

The verdict observed that the terms “mental illness” or “mental disorder” are both used to refer to mental ailments and are defined by medical science.

“It is with the developing nature of medical science that [the] scope of these terms may also evolve. Therefore, we are of the view that a limited definition of the terms ‘mental disorder’ or ‘mental illness’ should be avoided, and the provincial legislatures may […] consider to appropriately amend the relevant provisions of mental health laws to

Rescue efforts for missing climbers suspended again due to bad weather GILGIT TLTP

The search operation for lost climbers was called off again on Wednesday due to bad weather conditions, informed missing climber Ali Sadpara’s son Sajid Sadpara in a tweet.

Sajid announced that the search for his father and other mountaineers had to be called off once again as he asked people to remember his father in their prayers.

Earlier, it was reported that a team of six local climbers had been formed to continue the search for missing climbers–Pakistan’s Ali Sadpara (45), Iceland’s John Snorri (47) and Chile’s Juan Pablo Mohr (34)–by land.

An aerial search operation for the three missing climbers was temporarily suspended a day ago due to strong winds and snowfall, and was to resume Wednesday with the army deploying a C-130 for the mission.

However, prevailing bad weather conditions appeared to have made it difficult to rely only on an

air operation. According to rescue sources, the area around the K2 and Baltoro Glacier remained covered by dark clouds even on Wednesday. The team of climbers was to attempt reaching the treacherous peak on foot with aerial guidance. Rescue efforts have been ongoing since the climbers went missing on February 5 while attempting to ascent the K2. The climbers were last seen on the day around noon at what is considered the most difficult part of the climb: the Bottleneck, a steep and narrow gully just 300 metres shy of the 8,611 metre (28,251 feet) high K2.

Sajid and his cousins, Imtiaz and Akbar, have also been assisting the rescue efforts. They are all experienced climbers; his cousins are also said to have summited the K2 before. Separately, Pakistan has assured the Chilean government that it would make all possible efforts to trace the missing heroes.

The assurance was given by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi during his telephonic conversation with Chilean counterpart Andrés Allamand regarding the missing Chilean mountaineer Mohr.

The foreign minister expressed his deep concern over the missing team of mountaineers and apprised his Chilean counterpart of efforts being made by Pakistan to locate them. He assured that Pakistan would make all possible efforts to trace the missing heroes.

Acknowledging the search and rescue operation, the Chilean foreign minister thanked the government of Pakistan on behalf of the people of Chile and the family of Mohr for assistance in the search operations.

FOREIGN CLIMBERS END K2 WINTER EXPEDITION: Meanwhile, all foreign climbers at the K2 base camp decided to end the K2 winter expedition, considering the harsh weather conditions.

The Alpine Club of Pakistan said that the winter expedition to climb the world’s second highest peak, K2, had officially been called off by foreign climbers due to bad weather. “All foreign climbers at the K2 base camp have decided to end the K2 winter expedition 2020- 2021 in view of weather conditions,” Karrar Haidri, the secretary of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, said in a text message.

four blasts hit kabul, district police chief among dead A SEPARATE BLAST LATER HIT A CAR NEAR THE UPMARKET INTERNATIONAL SERENA HOTEL, ALTHOUGH A POLICE SPOKESMAN SAID THERE WERE NO CASUALTIES KABUL AGENCIES

Four blasts rocked Afghanistan’s capital on Wednesday, killing two people, including a police chief who had been attempting to crack down on the city’s growing insecurity, marked by almost daily assassinations. “In the wake of three terrorist attacks in Kabul this morning, Mohammadzai Kochai, police chief of district five of Kabul was martyred along with his bodyguard,” interior ministry spokesman Tariq Arian said. Another three people were wounded, he added. A separate blast later hit a car near the upmarket international Serena Hotel, although a police spokesman said there were no casualties. District five, where Kochai was based, is a transport hub between the capital Kabul and Afghanistan’s southern provinces, many of which are dominated by the Taliban. Kochai had sought to crack down on the high levels of insecurity in the district in recent months.

The Taliban did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the attacks. The group has denied involvement in a recent wave of targeted assassinations which the government and many foreign powers have blamed on it. Almost daily deadly attacks with small, magnetic bombs attached to the undercarriages of vehicles, roadside explosive devices and shootings are unnerving Afghan officials, activists and journalists. The attacks are concentrated in urban centres and come as protracted peace talks take place in Doha between Taliban militants and the Afghan government. Officials say the talks have largely stalled as US President Joe Biden’s administration reviews how to handle the peace process, including a troop withdrawal agreement Washington signed with the Taliban under previous President Donald Trump.

House vote to proceed with Trump’s impeachment trial, but conviction may prove elusive WASHINGTON AGENCIES

A divided US Senate voted largely along party lines on Tuesday to move ahead with Donald Trump’s impeachment trial on a charge of inciting the deadly assault on the Capitol, but conviction appears unlikely barring a major shift among Republicans.

The Senate voted 56-44 to proceed to the first-ever trial of a former president, rejecting his defense lawyers’ argument that Trump was beyond the reach of the Senate after having left the White House on January 20.

Democrats hope to disqualify Trump from ever again holding public office, but Tuesday’s outcome suggested they face long odds. Only six Republican senators joined Democrats to vote in favor of allowing the trial to take place, far short of the 17 needed to secure a conviction.

Convicting Trump would require a twothirds majority in the 50-50 Senate.

The vote capped a dramatic day in the Senate chamber. Democratic lawmakers serving as prosecutors opened the trial with a graphic video interspersing images of the Jan. 6 Capitol violence with clips of Trump’s incendiary speech to a crowd of supporters moments earlier urging them to “fight like hell” to overturn his November 3 election defeat.

Senators, serving as jurors, watched as screens showed Trump’s followers throwing

down barriers and hitting police officers at the Capitol. The video included the moment when police guarding the House of Representatives chamber fatally shot protester Ashli Babbitt, one of five people including a police officer who died in the rampage.

The mob attacked police, sent lawmakers scrambling for safety and interrupted the formal congressional certification of President Joe Biden’s victory after Trump had spent two months challenging the election results based on false claims of widespread voting fraud.

“If that’s not an impeachment offense,

then there is no such thing,” Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin, who led a team of nine House members prosecuting the case, told the assembled senators after showing the video.

He wept as he recounted how relatives he brought to the Capitol that day to witness the election certification had to shelter in an office near the House floor, saying: “They thought they were going to die.”

In contrast to the Democrats’ emotional presentation, Trump’s lawyers attacked the process, arguing that the proceeding was an unconstitutional, partisan effort to close off

Trump’s political future even after he had already departed the White House.

“What they really want to accomplish here in the name of the Constitution is to bar Donald Trump from ever running for political office again, but this is an affront to the Constitution no matter who they target today,” David Schoen, one of Trump’s lawyers, told senators.

He denounced the “insatiable lust for impeachment” among Democrats before airing his own video, which stitched together clips of various Democratic lawmakers calling for Trump’s impeachment going back to 2017.

HOUSE MANAGERS’ CASE ‘COMPELLING, COGENT’: Trump, who was impeached by the Democratic-led House on January 13, is only the third president in US history to be impeached, and the only one to be impeached twice.

His defense argued he was exercising his right to free speech under the Constitution’s First Amendment when he addressed supporters before the Capitol attack.

Bruce Castor, one of Trump’s lawyers, said the storming of the Capitol by hundreds of people “should be denounced in the most vigorous terms,” but argued that “a small group of criminals,” not Trump, were responsible for the violence.

Most legal experts have said it is constitutional to have an impeachment trial after an official has left office.

“Presidents can’t inflame insurrection in their final weeks and then walk away like nothing happened. And yet that is the rule that President Trump asks you to adopt,” Democratic Representative Joe Neguse told the senators.

Most of the senators at the trial were present in the Capitol on January 6, when many lawmakers said they feared for their own safety.

Several Republican senators said they found Trump’s defense, particularly Castor’s argument, disjointed and unclear.

“The House managers made a compelling, cogent case. And the president’s team did not,” said Republican Senator Bill Cassidy, who voted to advance the trial.

Cassidy had voted to block the trial on constitutional grounds last month, a Republican effort that failed 55-45. He was the only Republican to switch sides on Tuesday, a move that prompted the Republican Party in his home state, Louisiana, to issue a statement repudiating his decision.

Watching the proceedings on TV at his Florida resort, Trump was unhappy with Castor’s performance, said a person familiar with the situation.

After the Senate adjourned for the day, Castor told reporters: “I thought we had a good day,” and said he did not anticipate making any adjustments to his planned defense in response to the criticism.

Published by Arif Nizami at Plot No 66-C, 1st Floor, 21st Commercial Street, Phase-II (Extension), DHA Karachi and printed at Ibn-e-Hassan Printing Press, Hockey Stadium, Karachi, for PT Print (Pvt) Limited. Ph: 021-35381208-9. Email: newsroom@pakistantoday.com.pk