EpaperKHI_21-02-25

Thursday, 25 February, 2021 I 12 Rajab, 1442 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XI No 238 I 12 Pages I Karachi Edition

Efforts afoot to arrEst Ehsanullah Ehsan, says DG IsPr RaWalPiNdi

P

staff report

AKISTAn Army on Wednesday said that efforts afoot to arrest Ehsanullah Ehsan who escaped once he was taken along during an Intelligence Based Operation (IBO).

Ehsan, a former TTP spokesman, who had claimed responsibility on behalf of the group for scores of terrorist incidents including the 2014 attack on Peshawar Army Public School (APS), had proclaimed his

escape after three years in custody in a Twitter post in February last and then in an audio message sent to Pakistani journalists.

While the army had remained tightlipped about the militant’s reported escape or his whereabouts, then Minister for Interior Brigadier (r) Ijaz Shah, when asked, had confirmed the news in February.

Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General (DG) Major General Babar Iftikhar during a talk with Pakistan correspondents of foreign publications on Wednesday said that action was taken against army officers who

were found responsible for the escape of the militant. Ehsan – who had claimed responsibility of shooting Malala Yousafzai in 2012 – recently made the news after he allegedly threatened the nobel laureate with a second attempt on her life.

Asked about the alleged threat, the director-general of the military’s media wing told journalists that, according to his information, “the Twitter account which was used to threaten Malala was a fake account”.

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Parliament to decide whether voting be open or secret: CJP islamabad staff report

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmed on Wednesday announced that it would be the prerogative of parliamentarians to decide where the voting in the Senate elections should be through an open or secret ballot method, it emerged.

“We are not the parliament and neither can we reduce its authority,” the CJP said during the hearing on the presidential reference regarding open ballots for the upcoming Senate elections,

which was overseen by a fivemember larger bench comprising Justice Mushir Alam, Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan and Justice Yahya Afridi.

The chief justice’s announcement comes one day after Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Khalid Jawed Khan told the Supreme Court bench that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) would not be able to hold the elections in time if the case on the open ballot presidential ordinance is not wrapped up by Wednesday.

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Thursday, 25 February, 2021

KARACHI

NEWS

HAmzA SECurES bAil in monEy lAundEring CASE LaHore

T

STAFF REPORT

HE Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday granted bail to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President and Punjab Assembly Opposition Leader Hamza Shehbaz in a case pertaining to money laundering to the tune of Rs7 billion. A two-judge bench of the LHC also directed the prison authorities to release the politician after the submission of surety bonds.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had arrested Hamza in June 2019 from the LHC premise after the high court rejected his request for an extension in pre-arrest bail in the Ramzan Sugar Mills and the money laundering cases.

The Ramzan Sugar Mills reference claims that Sharif, in his capacity as Punjab chief minister, used

public funds for the construction of a bridge to facilitate his family-owned sugar mills.

On February 2, he had filed his second petition before the LHC for bail on merit in the case which involves charges of assets beyond means.

The bail had also been sought on an additional ground of hardship and inordinate delay in the trial proceedings as the Supreme Court (SC) in January denied relief to him with a direction to approach the LHC with fresh grounds for bail.

The petition, filed through advocates Azam Nazir Tarar and Amjad Pervaiz, adopted the stance that the reference was filed 14 months after his arrest in June 2019. Keeping an accused in jail for this long is equivalent to sentencing them before the trial, it had stated.

It further argued that the petitioner was entitled to bail on this ground of delay alone without touching the

merits of the case.

During the hearing on Wednesday, Faisal Bukhari, the counsel for NAB, argued against granting bail.

In his arguments, he said the opposition leader's assets in 2003 amounted only to a few hundred thousand which ballooned to Rs523 million in 2018.

"Millions [of rupees] have come in Hamza Shehbaz's personal accounts illegally. An inquiry into money laundering and assets beyond means was started during the tenure of the PML-N government. Notices were issued to Hamza Shehbaz but he did not provide answers [on where he got] any amount," he said.

NAB filed the reference in 2020 after the investigation was completed, he said, adding that of the 20 people who were named in the reference, six had become absconders while four turned approvers in the case. The accused were indicted in November 2020 and the trial was ongoing, Bukhari further said. He reminded

PDM's success in by-elections is victory of democracy: Gillani LaHore INP

Former prime minister and Pakistan People's Party (PPP) senior leader Yousaf Raza Gillani on Wednesday termed the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) success in the by-elections as the victory of democracy.

PDM’s joint candidate for Senate election from Islamabad and former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani met Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)

President and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif at Lahore’s accountability court.

Gillani held a meeting with Shehbaz at courtroom number 5 of AC-II. Gilani hugged Shehbaz and enquired about his and Hamza Shehbaz’s health.

Both the leaders discussed in detail the upcoming Senate elections. Gillani informed the PML-N president about the strategy for the coming days and also delivered a message from PPP Cochairman Asif Ali Zardari and Chairman

Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.

Both the leaders also discussed the inconclusive outcome of the NA-75 Daska by-election in their meeting, which was also attended by PML-N leaders Ayaz Sadiq, Amir Muqam, Marriyum Aurangzeb, Atta Tarar and PPP leader Makhdoom Ahmad Mahmood.

Talking to media persons outside the court, Gillani said that he was grateful to the PDM and PML-N for nominating him as their joint candidate for the Senate election from Islamabad.

Parliament to decide whether voting be open or secret: CJP Continued From Page 01 At the outset of the hearing, advocate Kamran Murtaza, counsel for the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI), said that the Attorney General might have misunderstood and he would argue the case before the court.

The chief justice responded that the court would hear his arguments.

“We will only respond to the questions that have been asked in regards to the reference; the court only has to determine whether Article 226 of the Constitution applies to the Senate elections,” Justice Gulzar remarked today.

“Nobody can enforce their decisions.

Party decisions should be taken in a democratic manner. The Constitution mentions parties, not their leaders.”

He further observed that “if the Constitution allows for secret voting, the matter will be concluded [forthwith].”

On the occasion, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) counsel Senator Raza Rabbani said: “A vote is the secret of the voter which he can share with another voter but not the state. The Constitution mandates that no pressure of any kind be brought on the voter. If the vote is made identifiable, then it will no longer be [only] the voter’s secret.”

“Keeping it secret is the voter’s right and making the ballot identifiable amounts to reducing their independence,” he argued.

He further argued that should the elections be held under an open ballot, it would qualify as “temporary law”, which already existed in the form of the presidential ordinance, and that the Constitution states that “Senate elections cannot be held under a temporary law”.

To this, the CJP responded that the court was not hearing the matter of ordinance.

Raza Rabbani said that he was not arguing about an ordinance but a constitutional point. According to the Constitution. The chief justice said that the court had noted his point.

Rabbani maintained if the Supreme Court (SC) stated the Senate elections

were not held under the Constitution, then the presidential ordinance would come into force, which was applicable only for 120 days. Moving his argument to the apex court’s oft-raised concern on proportional representation within the electoral process, the PPP lawyer stated that parties have proportional representation within the National Assembly (NA) while provinces have proportional representation in the Senate.

To this, Justice Ijazul Ahsan observed that Rabbani’s arguments were applicable to elections for NA seats which had a system of “free votes” that ensured the voters’ independence whereas the term “free has not been used for Senate polls so it is not necessary to have secret ballots” in its election.

He added that if the concept of proportional representation was kept in mind, then there was no need to keep the votes secret. He also inquired whether Rabbani would consider it correct if the parliament passed legislation on holding Senate elections through an open ballot.

Advocate Farooq H Naek, counsel for the PPP, said that there was an individual vote for Senate elections and not a party vote. To this, the CJP asked the counsel whether he was saying that there was a free vote in Senate like the NA. Justice Yahya Afridi asked if the PPP chief had told his members that they were free to cast their votes for whomever they want. Naek replied that this was the job of the party chief.

Chief Justice Gulzar therein said that political parties were more important than party heads in the democracy. He asked the counsel to argue on this point of law.

Justice Ijaz remarked that there was a selection in the political parties, instead of elections.

Naek replied that the Senate voter was free to cast his vote against the party policy. If a voter deviated from party policy, he or she would not be disqualified, he maintained.

The CJP remarked that if the party and the voter decided in prior planning about the direction of the vote, then there was no secrecy. He asked how political parties

took the decisions.

Naek responded that the decisions were taken in the Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting.

Justice Bandial asked what would happen if someone violated party discipline, to which Naek responded that there was freedom for the Senate elections and there would be no disqualification under Article 63A. He maintained that the Senate elections were held under the Constitution, instead of the law. He stressed that the question was whether a vote could be identified after its casting.

The vote could never be identified, he stated. He said that the proportional representation was divided into three parts. Many times, the opposition voted for the government and the people on the government bench voted for the opposition, he added.

He said that the Constitution declared the vote completely secret. Secrecy was essential for constitutional democracy, he stressed. Naek said that the voters were protected to make their own decisions.

The chief justice said that this protection was not applicable in the Senate elections. Farooq Naek replied that the Senate elections were also held through secret balloting. The Senate elections were also kept secret in the Election Act, he added.

He said that the Election Act could only be changed by the Parliament. The court should distance itself from the matter, he advised.

Justice Ijaz asked what would happen if parliament stated that Senate elections would be held through an open ballot.

Farooq Naek responded that the SC had the power to annul the unconstitutional legislation. He said that arguments like bribery, horse-trading were political, and not based on a constitutional foundation.

He said that the apex court decision should be in accordance with the Constitution. The counsel for the JUI said that the secrecy of the entire election process could not be finished in four or five votes. He argued that a political question had been asked in the reference.

“I will also meet PML-N Vice-President Maryam Nawaz and Akhtar Mengal,” the former prime minister added.

Gillani declared that the PDM's success is a ground reality as it had given excellent performance in the byelections. Recalling his days in the prime minister's office, Gilani said that he had an admirable relation with Shehbaz when he was the premier and the PML-N president was the Punjab chief minister.

They (PTI) want to bring changes in the Constitution, said Gillani referring to a presidential ordinance seeking open ballot in the Senate polls. "We must follow the constitution and any unconstitutional step would be dangerous to the democracy," the former minister said, adding that the electoral process for the senate has been explained in it.

The court should refer the matter to parliament to answer the political question, he stated.

Barrister Zaffar Ullah said that the apex court should interpret the matter for the Senate elections, keeping in view the historical evolution. There were international resolutions to protect the secrecy of the vote, he added.

Addressing the lawyer, the CJP said that the court was not considering the question he was discussing.

The counsel for the Islamabad Bar Association said that the SC should decide whether the question raised in the presidential reference was worth answering or not.

The CJP, to this, said that the court was not considering anyone’s goodwill here. The counsel pleaded with the court to annul the reference as the question raised in the presidential reference was purely political.

Advocate Salahuddin, counsel for Sindh High Court Bar Association, said that his constitutional responsibility was to assist the judiciary. This was a serious political crisis and the court had to decide wisely, he added.

He said that the issue of whether or not to recognize Bangladesh came before the apex court, but the court distanced itself from it. The SC had shown judicial wisdom by not giving any constitutional answer on the issue of Bangladesh, he said and added that the court may also stay away from it in the current case.

He maintained that the current government had not apparently fulfilled its political responsibilities. In 1992, the Indian Supreme Court refused to take up the government’s burden in the Babri Masjid case, he added. He said that the reference on the Senate election was illegal. All parties except the ruling party were against it, he pointed out.

The CJP said that there were three options before the court. He asked whether Article 226 applied to Senate elections or not.

He asked could there be proportional representation through a single transferable vote, and whether elections held under the Constitution were secret.

Salahuddin said that an amendment to this issue was already pending in Parliament. The chief justice said that the court was not a parliament, nor it could limit its jurisdiction. Salahuddin pointed out that the advice of the court had been sought through a reference.

the court that the LHC had previously rejected Hamza's bail.

"Hamza Shehbaz received more than Rs81m telegraphic transfers (TTs) from abroad. He has not disclosed the source of his money till today."

The NAB counsel also presented a chart from the anti-graft watchdog on money laundering. "A money laundering network was operated in Model Town (Lahore). TTs were sent in the name of Nusrat Shehbaz, Hamza Shehbaz, Rabiya Imran, Javeria Ali, and Suleman Shehbaz. After receiving the TTs, Hamza and Suleman Shehbaz invested [the money] in different ventures."

Giving further details, Bukhari said Mushtaq Cheeni deposited a "fake loan" of several hundred thousands in Hamza's account. "Some papad wala and some doodh wala (milkman) kept sending money into his account.

The poor papad wala did not even know how his identity card and bank account were being used."

He claimed that Hamza was a beneficiary of money laundering.

"Merit is also seen in a case and not just hardship.

Hamza's lawyer has taken three [adjournments] in the trial and it will be delayed as a result. NAB has not asked for even one adjournment till today," Bukhari added.

THE CASE: The reference mainly accused Shehbaz of being a beneficiary of assets held in the name of his family members and frontmen, who had no sources to acquire such assets.

dutch seize largestever heroin haul in container of Himalaya salt from Pakistan tHe Hague AGENCIES

Dutch customs officers seized the largest heroin haul ever found in one bust in the Netherlands this month when they discovered more than 1,500 kg of heroin in the port city of Rotterdam, officials said on Tuesday. “The narcotics were found by customs officers in a container filled with Himalaya salt from Pakistan,” the Rotterdam prosecutor’s office said in a statement. It added that it had worked together closely with the British National Crime Agency on the seizure.

According to the Dutch, the seized drugs have a street value of some 45 million euros ($55 million). Based on information shared by their UK counterparts, the Dutch arrested five suspects, three of whom had been remanded in custody. No further information was given, but prosecutors say the investigation is ongoing.

Abro, Siddiqui move SHC against ECP rejection of Senate nomination KaraCHi STAFF REPORT/INP

Saifullah Abro of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and Rauf Siddiqui of Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) on Wednesday approached the Sindh High Court (SHC) against the rejection of their nomination papers for the Senate elections. On Monday, an election tribunal of the SHC disqualified Abro for contesting the March 3 election, declaring that he did not meet the criteria to contest the Senate election on a technocrat seat that required minimum 16 years of education and 20 years of experience. Earlier on February 18, Siddiqui's papers were rejected on similar grounds as well. In their respective petitions, the Senate hopefuls adopted the stance that the tribunal ignored the facts of the case, seeking permission to contest the elections. During the proceedings, the counsels for Abro and Siddiqui insisted that the politicians possessed the required criteria and therefore be granted permission to run for the House. The PTI has faced several challenges to its proposed candidates for the Senate elections. Last week, disgruntled PTI leaders from rural Sindh had approached Governor Imran Ismail, also a PTI stalwart, to express their reservations. In a letter, the PTI officials had said they were “extremely disappointed with the entire process” of the selection of candidates for the polls and demanded the party’s high command cancel the nomination of Abro and Minister for Water Resources Faisal Vawda and award tickets to "party loyalists". Seperately, eight appeals were filed against the decisions of the returning officers over acceptance and rejection of the Senate hopefuls from Sindh. Two appeals were filed against Abro, while an appeal was filed against the acceptance of Vawda’s nomination papers on a general seat.

Thursday, 25 February, 2021

KARACHI

PUnJAb'S dAily Covid-19 dEAthS At rECord high 31: nCoC ISLAmABAD STAFF REPORT

Punjab's daily coronavirus deaths rose to a record 31 in the last 24 hours, data from National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) showed on Wednesday, bringing the country’s total death toll to 5,269.

Cases have come down in recent months. The government portal keeping track of the outbreak in Pakistan on Wednesday reported 1,196 new infections of the coronavirus after conducting 38,453 tests, receiving back a transmission rate of 3.11 per cent.

The NCOC data showed the total number of active cases at 23,665.

Despite passing through two waves of the pandemic, Pakistan has yet to fully utilise its testing capacity of 59,981, with daily testing significantly below numbers proposed by global health experts.

Pakistan began its Covid-19 vaccine drive on February 2, with more than 400,000 doctors and frontline healthcare workers, teachers, and social workers receiving the shots in the first phase because they run the highest risk of

exposure to the contagious disease.

In the second phase, starting March 1, the shots will be provided to citizens over the age of 65, who generally face a higher mortality risk from the virus.

PUNJAB ANNOUNCES VACCINE COMMITTEE: Meanwhile, the Punjab government announced the establishment of a committee to monitor the vaccination drive. Last week, Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department Secretary Captain (r) Muhammad Usman said that the committee will work under the supervision of concerned deputy commissioners.

“The [district] vaccine management committees will strictly monitor the vaccination drive,” he had said.

VACCINATION DRIVE LAUNCHED IN BAJAUR: An anti-coronavirus vaccination drive for the frontline workers was launched in the district on Wednesday.

For this purpose, Deputy Commissioner (DC) Muhammad Fiyaz Sherpao inaugurated an anti-corona vaccination counter in the District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ) Khaar.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, he said that 500 vaccines had been provided for the district to vaccinate frontline healthcare workers in the first phase. He urged people to strictly observe prescribed precautionary measures to stop the spread of the pandemic. Several officials of relevant departments including DHO Dr Adnan, DMS, DHQ Dr Naseeb Gul, paramedics and nurses were present in the ceremony where several healthcare workers received the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.

UNICEF SAYS POOR COUNTRIES NEED $410M: United Nations International Fund for Children (UNICEF) has called for $410 million in assistance to help low-income countries with the logistics and procurement of Covid-19 vaccines, as well as therapeutic and diagnostic tools in 2021.

UNICEF has estimated a funding gap of US$133 million to cover incountry vaccine logistics and the required cold chain equipment for the poorest 92 countries. The coronavirus antidote requires an ultracold chain facility to survive varying temperatures

Pakistan seeking growthfocused ties, says Qureshi CoLomBo/ISLAmABAD STAFF REPORT

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Wednesday said that Pakistan has shifted its "geopolitical priorities into geo-economic priorities," Radio Pakistan reported on Wednesday.

Part of Prime Minister Imran Khan's delegation, Qureshi is in Sri Lanka on the former's maiden two-day official visit to the island country.

Speaking about Prime Minister Imran's visit, the foreign minister said that Pakistan has offered a credit line of $15 million to Sri Lanka for defence and security cooperation to "end the menace of terrorism [which is] of equal importance to both" nations.

Furthermore, Islamabad has also decided to also offer scholarships to 100 Sri Lankan students in the top medical institutes in Pakistan, he said.

Qureshi assured that Pakistan stood by Sri Lanka in the fight against terrorism especially when the latter was "in trouble and terrorism [there] was at its peak" between 1980s and early 2000s. "They share credit [of defeating terrorism] with Pakistan," he said.

He also said that the prime minister's visit will help in strengthening bilateral ties and increase cooperation

between the two countries. The two sides also discussed ways to enhance bilateral trade and investment during the visit, Qureshi said, adding that trade between the two countries was below potential even though a free trade agreement existed.

SRI LANKAN MUSLIMS SEEK BURIAL RIGHTS: As Prime Minister Imran arrived in Colombo on a day earlier, about 2,000 Muslims protested near the president’s office demanding that the government allow people, who die of Covid-19, to be buried instead of cremated. Sri Lankan Muslims hope Imran will take up the burial issue when he meets his counterparts during the visit. “He knows the situation and we think he will take up the issue with the Sri Lanka president and prime minister,” opposition lawmaker Mujibur Rahman told The Associated Press by telephone. He said that the government continues to defy calls for burials despite a pledge two weeks ago by Mahinda Rajapaksa to permit them. So far, the government has not allowed them.

Imran earlier welcomed Rajapaksa’s assurance in a tweet. Sri Lanka is a predominantly Buddhist country where it is customary for Buddhists and Hindus, the second-largest religious group, to cremate the dead.

Muslims make up about 7 per cent of the country’s 22 million people.

Efforts afoot to arrest Ehsanullah Ehsan, says DG ISPR CoNtINueD FRom PAge 01 The alleged threat prompted Malala to tweet herself, asking both the military and Prime Minister Imran Khan to explain how her alleged shooter, Ehsan, had escaped from government custody.

“This is the ex-spokesperson of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan who claims the attack on me and many innocent people. He is now threatening people on social media,” she had tweeted. “How did he escape?”

The escape, the ISPR DG said, was a “very serious” matter that had been investigated thoroughly. He also said that “efforts are afoot to arrest the militant again” but that he was not aware of his current whereabouts.

Unverified reports, including those of Reuters, claim the militant has since taken refuge in Turkey.

After Ehsan’s surrender in 2017, a local channel aired an interview he gave in custody in which he asserted that the intelligence services of India had been funding and arming TTP

militants. Maj Gen Ifthikhar also accused India of supplying arms, money, and new technology to the terrorists in an attempt to instigate unrest in Pakistan and disturb regional stability. He added that these terrorist cells operate with assistance from groups in Afghanistan. “It won’t be a stretch to say that the Afghan intelligence is well aware of such developments,” he said. “Pakistan wants peace in Afghanistan at all costs and to that end, it has taken all possible measures.”

He said that Pakistan has asserted its influence and power to the best of its ability to rid Afghanistan of the Taliban. “The country is not living in the 1990s anymore and its state structure cannot collapse like the past,” he said.

Speaking on the recent attack on the car of a non-governmental organisation in North Waziristan which led to the death of four female social workers, he said that terrorists are retaliating to the operation the Pakistan Army is carrying out in the region.

He added that the attack on the women’s car was also a part of the retaliation tactics.

“At present, there are no organised [terrorist] groups in Waziristan, the Army’s spokesperson said, adding that some “small groups from the region are resorting to petty terrorist activities there.” “These petty extremists will be eliminated from Waziristan soon, the DG ISPR said.

The ISPR DG also shed light on the matter of missing persons and said that the committee formed to investigate the matter has shown great strides.

“Out of more than 6,000 cases receiving by the commission, 4,000 cases have been resolved, while the remaining cases will also be resolved soon,” said the ISPR DG. Answering a question about the murder of ten Hazara colliers in Mach, Balochistan back in January 2021, Maj Gen Iftikhar said that some “important arrests have been made in connection to the killings.”

He, however, refused to provide further details.

during its transportation and to maintain its efficacy till administration to the targeted population, said a document of UNICEF. “With the imminent arrival of globally approved Covid-19 vaccines, we can begin to see signs of hope. But hope will not be restored by the vaccine alone,” said an official of the UNICEF. The countries needed urgent technical and financial support to strengthen their capacities for cold supply chains, train healthcare workers, and work with communities in combating misinformation and building trust in vaccines, he added.

The official worried that without urgent funding and support, many of the poorest countries still at risk of being left behind in a time where the world is working together to overcome the contagion outbreak.

The Covid-19 vaccine availability, logistics and safe administration have become an uphill task in the prevailing environment of misinformation, propaganda, crumbling economies due to lockdown and public indifference to get vaccinated, he added.

NEWS

03

Pakistan, UAE discuss bilateral cooperation during CJCSC’s visit RAWALPINDI STAFF REPORT

Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates have discussed various areas of interest, bilateral cooperation including security, counter-terrorism, and the prevailing regional environment particularly with reference to Kashmir and Afghanistan, a statement by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Wednesday. According to the statement, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Nadeem Raza, who is on a twoday official visit to the UAE, called on the Chief of Staff UAE Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Hammad Mohammed Thani Al Rumaithy. “The dignitaries also dilated upon measures to enhance the level and scope of military engagements between both countries and reaffirmed their commitment to continue forging deeper strategic ties,” read the ISPR statement. Read more: Pakistan, Qatar agree to bolster military ties during official visit by CJCSC Gen Raza Gen Raza visited International Defence Exhibition & Conference (IDEX) and Naval Defence & Maritime Security Exhibition (NAVDEX) in Abu Dhabi. He also visited the stalls established by different organisations from Pakistan as well as the participating Pak Naval Ships. Gen Raza lauded the efforts of the participating organisations in showcasing Pakistan’s indigenously-manufactured, defence-related equipment at a global level. On the sidelines of the exhibition, the CJCSC also called on General Enzo Vecchiarelli, Italy’s Chief of Defence (CHOD).

Thursday, 25 February, 2021

04 NEWS

KARACHI

Afridi urges youth to become voices of gagged Kashmiris LAHORE STAFF REPORT

Parliamentary Committee on Kashmir Chairman Shehryar Khan Afridi has urged the Pakistani youth to become the voices of the unheard people of Indian-occupied Kashmir (IOK).

Addressing the participants of a seminar, held here at the Lahore College for Women University (LCWU) with regard to the Kashmir Solidarity Day, Afridi said that the prosperous world needs to build pressure on India and compel it to end its genocide policy against the Kashmiri people.

He said laws, including the UAPA, are being used to suppress freedom of expression and freedom of speech, adding that the Pakistani youngsters need to become voices and storytellers of the Kashmiri people as the world needs to be informed about the true stories of Kashmir.

He further said that Kashmir is a

human issue and it is wrongly being portrayed as a political and geographical conflict in South Asia.

"The world needs to see Kashmir as a humanitarian issue and the Kashmiris should be given their right of self-determination," he added.

Afridi stressed that the reports of United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and other institutions have pointed out that the Indian occupational forces are committing war crimes in IOK. However, practical action is missing in the world’s reaction towards India. The Kashmiri mothers are standing like rock and encouraging their sons to offer sacrifices for the freedom struggle. The Indian atrocities being committed against the fearless and brave people of IOK have failed to break resistance of Kashmiris.

He urged the academia to help generate new content on Kashmir so a new and strong narrative building process on Kashmir could be started.a

Bahria Town Karachi wins 21 positions in 70th Pakistan Annual Flower Show KARACH PR

Bahria Town Karachi, which is known for its beautiful landscaping and outstanding parks, has bagged 21 positions in different categories of the 70th Pakistan Annual Flower Show, which was organised by the Horticulture Society of Pakistan.

Talking about the achievement, Bahria Town Karachi’s General Manager Horticulture Ayesha Waqar said, “Being a conscientious organisation, Bahria Town Karachi is not only providing the best of scenic locations but also ensuring eco-friendly measures to safeguard the environment. We have introduced the techniques of harvesting rain water and treating grey water at a sewerage treatment plant to conserve our resources and fresh drinking water, and meet our construction and horticulture needs.”

This is not the first time that the Bahria Town’s horticulture department grabbed

many positions in the annual flower show but it had also won 5, 13 and 17 positions in the last three years. However, it raised the bar this year by winning 21 positions in various categories.

Ali Block Park and Ancient Park won the second and third positions in the small park category, D-Park and Golf City stood second in the category of medium size parks, the en-

trance park stood second in large parks category while Danzoo, Carnival and Bahria Paradise Gate Park came first, second and third respectively in the category of extra-large parks. Bahria Adventure Land Theme Park won the second position in the category of best theme garden, Bahria Town International Hospital stood first in the best hospital garden category while Masjid-e- Sarwar and Masjid-e-Shuhada came first and second in the best mosque garden category respectively.

Corporate Office and Camp Office earned second and third positions respectively in the category of best small office garden while Head Office stood first in the large office category.

Rayhan Hill Golf Club stood second in the category of best golf club garden. Tauheed Square, Malik Square and Main Gate Park won the first, second and third positions respectively. Jinnah Avenue came first while Avenue 04-05 and Avenue 1 came second and third in the category of 60-feet wide roads.

One Pakistani injured in firing by Iranian officials QUETTA: At least one Pakistani was wounded after Iranian forces opened fire on smugglers on Monday in an area on the border of Iran and Pakistan, an official said on Wednesday. Panjgur Deputy Commissioner Abdul Razzaq Saloli said that no Pakistani was died as only one person from Kharan was injured after receiving a bullet in his leg, adding that the injured is stable now. Saloli said a body and the injured Pakistani were handed over to border authorities by Iranian officials. He informed that the injured, identified as Shams Baloch, had reported that more than 10 people were killed and many were injured during the shooting. Member Provincial Assembly Sanaullah Baloch, who is also the leader of Balochistan National Party (BNP), visited the injured in a private hospital of Quetta and urged the federal government to formulate a policy for the jobless people of Kharan. He said that the people of the area have been left with no option but to opt for smuggling of oil as the backward area lacks job opportunities. “We have reports that several dead and injured have been brought to Panjgur and other districts of Balochistan,” Baloch said. “I demand a trilateral commission, comprising representatives of the Iranian and Pakistani foreign departments, and Baloch community, to probe this unfortunate incident and trace out its reasons.” Baloch also urged Iran to investigate the incident and punish those found guilty. TLTP

PESHAWAR: Members of civil society hold protest for women right near Peshawar Press Club. PPI

LAHORE: LDA Director General Ahmed Aziz Tarar and Bank of Punjab President Zafar Masood share documents after signing an agreement with reference to Naya Pakistan Apartments. PR

K-Electric launches ‘KHI Awards’ to motivate organisations in Karachi KARACHI: In an exciting development, the K-Electric (KE), one of Pakistan’s largest power companies, has launched “KHI Awards”, an award programme that seeks to incentivize those organisations who have embraced and owned the city in the name of hope, peace and development. The awards commemorate the rich history of the city by paying tributes to organisations from all walks of life, especially to those social-entrepreneurs and innovative business ventures whose work benefits Karachi through social, infrastructural and cultural contexts. Announcing about the awards, KE CEO Moonis Alvi said, “Our connection with Karachi is over 107-year-old and extends beyond power supply. As an integral part of this vital and resilient city, we are committed to serve and uplift it. While the KE has an extremely robust sustainability programme aimed at economic empowerment via health, education and community upgradation, through the awards, we envision partnering with other entities who are equally committed to the city. By collaborating and synergizing our efforts, we will collectively be able to achieve greater progress. As a part of a company whose existence depends on the city and as a resident of the city, I anticipate that the awards will inspire upcoming social enterprises to focus on resolving community issues and enable infrastructure development in Karachi.” The KHI Awards platform was formulated in line with the United Nation’s Agenda 2030 for sustainable development guidelines and it will award the winners in the form of electricity rebates for 12 months, enabling social investors to focus on uplifting the city and its residents. The awards will prioritise projects and proposals that directly benefit the people of the city via community improvement initiatives and infrastructure development in the 13 categories; education, public health, uplifting communities, inclusion, livelihood & vocational training, heritage & culture, digital accessibility & financial inclusion, sports, safety, sustainability & environment, empowering women, social service and new organisation. Interested participants are being invited to download the application forms from KE’s website and submit applications till March 15. KE encouraged organisations to carefully read entry instructions when preparing applications as each participant is able to apply for a maximum of three award categories. The documents required for participation include Memorandum of Association, Article of Association, budget sheets, financial statements and audit reports. PR

UK’s FlEmIng FUnd to provIdE FInAncIAl AssIstAncE, nEw EqUIpmEnt to pl&dd lAbs LAHORE SHAHAB OMER

The United Kingdom’s (UK) Fleming Fund has decided to provide financial assistance and new equipment to the Punjab Livestock and Dairy Development's (PL&DD) laboratories, Pakistan Today learnt on Wednesday.

According to details, the teams of Fleming Fund, which is a research and aid agency, met with Provincial Livestock

Minister Sardar Hasnain Bahadur Dreshak and Livestock Secretary Capt (r) Saqib Zafar separately.

During the meetings, Fleming Fund Country Director Dr Ayesha Rashid, while briefing about the activities of the organisation in Pakistan, said that antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an emerging challenge and it is very important to fight this at the national level.

She said that her organisation has been

supporting the Pakistan government in the field of health and livestock since 2019, when joint research was initiated with the National Veterinary Laboratory, Poultry Research Institute and Provincial Diagnostic Laboratory.

The Livestock secretary appreciated the surveillance carried out by the British agency in the first phase of the investigation against AMR. However, the provincial minister said

that research is of special importance in the development and promotion of livestock sector and the government is making serious efforts to finance it.

The minister thanked the Fleming Fund for funding infrastructure during research, welcomed the efforts of the organisation and reiterated the commitment of the PL&DD for full cooperation.

PL&DD Director Communications Asif Rafique said, “The Fleming Fund is an aid

programme by UK's Department of Health and Social Care that seeks to gather and share AMR data.

The organisation has been working in the health and livestock sector of Pakistan since 2019. It has identified two laboratories of the PL&DD for providing new equipment and financial assistance.

There will be no cost to us on this whole project and the Fund will bear all the expenses itself.”

Thursday, 25 February, 2021

The life of a legend h

ameed Nizami was an eminent journalist, literary figure, Pakistan movement activist, and the founder as well as the editor-in-chief of the Urdulanguage newspaper, the Nawa-i-Waqt (lit. ‘The Voice of the Time’). He earned national prominence for penning several political articles and opinionated columns in support of successful Pakistan movement while he played a crucial role in the growing influence of the print journalism in Pakistan.

Hameed Nizami was born in the remote railway junction town of Sangla Hill, a few miles from the vintage city Lyallpur (now Faisalabad), Punjab, British Indian empire, on 3 October 1915. He hailed from a Punjabi family and initially studied at the local school in Faisalabad at his own expense. He attended the Islamia College where he gained a Ba degree in Journalism. Later, he attended the Punjab University where he attained the ma degree in english Literature. during his years in college, he was politically

SAJID ABBAS F my nation has sensible young men like Hameed Nizami, my nation’s future is very bright,” said Quaid-e-azam while addressing the participants of the annual session of the all-India muslim Students Federation in Jalandhar. That was when the struggle for Pakistan was gathering momentum.

The late Hameed Nizami commenced his professional life as owner of a newspaper, technically on march 23, 1940, the very day on which the Lahore Resolution was tabled in a public meeting held at the then minto Park.

The future doyen of Urdu journalism of this land founded, literally from scratch, his fortnight publication Nawa-i-Waqt, with the help of a couple of his friends on that momentous day, when the muslims of the subcontinent had gathered to voice their resolve to have a homeland of their own.

Hameed Nizami was not new to journalism; he had learnt the ropes the hard but the right way. a master of arts from the University of the Punjab in english Literature he had acquired the knack of gathering and reporting news while he was employed as a young reporter with the associated Press of India. He had spent some time as coeditor of ‘Saarbaan’, a political journal, before becoming the manager of the Orient News of India owned by the muslims.

Hameed Nizami’s approach towards handling contemporary issues, whether political, social or economic, was invariably appreciated for being correct and lucid. He dared to take exception to outmoded concepts and succeeded in advancing correct and rational ideas.

That was what developed further as his style of writing till his last days. When Quaid-i-azam visited Lahore in 1944 after expelling malik Khizar Hayat Tiwana from the muslim League he sent for Hameed Nizami and said to the budding journalist that he wished him to publish a daily newspaper from Lahore to 100 per cent represent the views of the muslim League and the Pakistan movement and asked to get going right away.

That was the day when Hameed Nizami and his Nawa-i-Waqt joined the front lines of the struggle for Pakistan.

Both Hameed Nizami and his paper had to face the wrath of the government day.

Financial squeeze was a favourite weapon to keep newspapers in line and

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active. He founded and served as president of the ‘Punjab muslim Students Federation’ wing of the muslim League. His role as student leader and journalist led him to become closer to muhammad ali Jinnah. after attaining master’s degree in journalism, he joined the press directorate of the Punjab government for a short time before joining the literary staff of the Orient Press.

In 1940, Nizami left the Orient Press to establish the Nawa-i-Waqt newspaper.

He became the newspaper’s first editor-in-chief from Lahore on 23 march 1940. The Nawa-i-Waqt was a monthly newspaper but he quickly converted the newspaper into weekly on 15 december 1942. after hiring more staff and gaining more credibility, the Nawa-i-Waqt began publishing its articles and news headlines on daily purposes on 19 July 1944. The first edition of the Nawa-i-Waqt came out on 22 July 1944 with a muslim prayer and a message of muhammad ali Jinnah in it.

Nizami’s efforts made Nawa-i-Waqt, with all its resources limitations, a powerful voice of the people for the cause of muslim League and he penned

several articles for the support of Pakistan movement. He was noted as a strong spokesman for democracy in the country, and wrote a harsh column against the first martial law imposed by President Iskander mirza. Through his newspaper, he took hard stance on communism and supported capitalism during the 1950s.

He began to raise his voice against the martial law despite hardship imposed by the government. He once described the martial law as a “dark night”.

Hameed Nizami died on 25 February 1962 in Lahore. His death was mourned throughout the country. after his death, the newspaper founded the “Hameed Nizami memorial Society” (HNmS) dedicated to his style of journalism, and held memorial sessions in remembrance of his name every year. His journalism style was influenced by the renowned philosopher, Iqbal, and he had conveyed Iqbal’s words in articles he wrote. To many politicians, Nizami is noted as a crucial figure in shaping the print media in Pakistan. The government of Pakistan issued a postage stamp in the honour of Hameed Nizami.

THE MAN’S CONTRIBUTIONS TO PAKISTAN MOVEMENT

for close to three years, till the Unionist Government of Khizar Hayat Tiwana

fell no government advertisement was placed for publication with the ‘Nawa-i-

CMYK

Honouring the services of the late Hameed Nizami for the Pakistan Movement and freedom of media, both before and after Indo-Pak Partition in 1947, Pakistan Post issued a stamp after him in its ‘Pioneers of Freedom’ series in 1990.

Waqt’. That was despite the fact that the ‘Nawa-i-Waqt’ was neither a party paper nor an official mouthpiece of the muslim League Party which was in opposition to the Unionist party and the Zamindara league.

The same squeeze was applied after independence, too. mian mumtaz daultana, just five days after becoming the Punjab Chief minister tried to coerce the Nawa-i-Waqt to toe the official line. as Hameed Nizami refused to bow down, the government revoked the paper’s declaration Not only that, somebody else was surreptitiously encouraged to publish a propped-up Nawa-i-Waqt. That was open war.

Hameed Nizami, to the charging of the government, shot his first volley in reply, by launching his Jihad. When the government tried to throttle Jihad, he responded by catapulting his ‘Nawa-iWaqt’. at last in June 1952 the government gave up and ‘Nawa-i-Waqt’ made its proud re-appearance. This entire affair never dampened the spirit of Hameed Nizami who, a staunch believer in the freedom of the press, brooked no curbs on its independence or censorship of its contents.

Hameed Nizami truly believed that the power of the pen was more lethal than of the gun while dealing with adversaries especially in those days when every muslim worth his salt was involved, one way or the other, in the Pakistan movement. Hameed Nizam used his pen with undeviating resolution and undiminished devotion. He was straightforward, to the point, with a clear idea of what he was saying or writing about and was fearless in expressing his opinions. That is a trait considered essential for an upright journalist. Ho belonged to that crop of journalists who were born in a period when journalism was taken very seriously and as a profession was held sacrosanct, one in which there could be no middle ground or compromises with principles.

So, when Hameed Nizami took up the cause, he already had some idea what needed to be done; he seemed to have known what Quaid-i-azam desired, for he had been an active member of the Punjab muslim Students Federation and had done a lot to propagate and popularise the programme of the muslim League amongst the muslim masses of Punjab and neighbouring areas. The leading role Hameed Nizami and Nawa-i-Waqt played in the struggle for Pakistan

cannot be underestimated. He rejected all ideas that were at cross-purposes to the concept of Pakistan. and those who advanced such mischievous ideas were countered by Hameed Nizami’s power of the pen. No critic of the need for Pakistan to become a reality was spared and the argument for establishing an independent homeland for muslim was advanced with full force and vigour.

Hameed Nizami never reconciled with the politics of opponent of the idea Pakistan. according to him, a subservient press was of no service either to the country or the government.

The flatterer kept the leadership unaware of the mind of the people and the real happenings in the country, creating a false sense of security in the rulers who then, unwittingly, could start thinking that the masses were satisfied and happy with their policies.

The present management of Nawa media, which publishes Pakistan Today, one of the most widely read english language dailies, Paperazzi, a lifestyle and fashion magazine, Profit, country’s best business magazine, The Dependent, a satirical publication, and ABC (Arts, Books and Culture), that focuses on country’s arts, books and culture, is carrying on the principles and standards the late Hameed Nizami had prescribed and determined while laying the foundations of the paper. They are, with care and diligence, keeping the torch alight, which Hameed Nizami lit more than half a century ago.

Hameed Nizami believed in Pakistan as a modern muslim State, a Republic, democratic in polity, following the teachings of Iqbal and the guidelines given by Quaid-i-azam. He was totally opposed to obscurantist ideas. One of the cardinal points of the policy he set for Nawa-i-Waqt was to completely reject those who had opposed the concept and creation of Pakistan, whether they be socalled old politicians or the newer ones of varying hues or the self-appointed custodians of the faith of contrasting creeds and their followers. In his (Hameed Nizami’s) opinion, nothing good could be expected from people who opposed the Quaid and the creation of Pakistan. He never agreed with their ideas, and neither did he reconcile with anybody putting the rank and file of the common people in straightjacket and directing their politics.

The writer is a freelance columnist. He is a close observer of Hameed Nizami’s life and struggle for Pakistan.

Thursday, 25 February, 2021

06 COMMENT

No umpire no game

Another wave of terrorism Forewarned is forearmed

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review of the last few weeks would indicate that the number of terrorist attacks in Pakistan is steadily on the increase.

In January, 11 coal miners in Machh were kidnapped and slaughtered. early this month terrorists tried to infiltrate into Lower Dir but the attempt was foiled by the security forces. The Saturday clash between security forces and TTP militants left a security official and two militants dead. On Sunday night, the Tehrik Taliban Pakistan (TTP) killed one person and abducted at least eight in Swabi district. On Monday, gunmen killed four women aid workers in North Waziristan A report presented to UN Security Council early this month took note of the reunification of five TTP splinter groups inside Afghanistan last year. This had brought an estimated 2,500 to 6,000 motivated terrorists under a single command. The result: the TTP launched 100 crossborder attacks inside Pakistan within three months last year. ehsanulah ehsan’s chilling tweet to Malala Yousafzai, “This time there will be no mistake,” leads one to believe that terrorists are on the rampage again.

The country paid a heavy price to restore peace in Pakistan: Over 52,000 dead including civilians, personnel of law enforcement agencies and the Army between 2002 and 2013 alone. The war against the terrorist entities exacted a high cost on the economy, both in terms of the direct cost of the fight and the knock-on effect on investment inflows and market sentiment.

The fight against terrorism lacked the essential component of the eradication of extremist thinking from society. extremist institutions and networks continue to provide a steady supply of recruits to the terrorist networks. The extremists want to impose their views regarding religion, sect, gender and domestic and international politics on others. They preach use of coercion and militancy when realising that they cannot achieve their aims through the ballot. Pursuit of shortterm goals by the establishment and parties in power has led them to make use of politico-religious parties, seminaries and even militant networks. Unless this ends, Pakistan is likely to be in for another bloodbath. educational institutions and media houses are first in the line of defence against extremism. For this, the universities and colleges have to be provided academic freedom and a climate that promotes free debate and discussion. Similarly attempts to regulate the media have to abandoned so that it can help the readers form balanced views.

The PTI’s by-election losses make it seem there is no umpire regulating the game

dr Farid a Malik

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T is for the first time in the checkered political history of Pakistan that a party in power is losing by-elections and yet being blamed for rigging. It clearly shows that the game is being played without an umpire, and no one seems to be in control. The situation in Sindh is clear, the PPP prevails, but in Punjab and now even KPK, the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) is losing its seats.

In the game of cricket, Imran Khan is known for introducing neutral umpires but that has not happened in the larger arena called the government. It now seems that the free and fair elections in 1970 were more of a fluke than a deliberate effort, but it did take place in the land of the pure. Since then there has been a slide down in every electoral contest. I have had the opportunity of interacting with all the provincial and the federal governments. While Azad Jammu and Kashmir stands out, Punjab is at the bottom when it comes to good governance and relief to the public.

Chaos prevails in most departments, with no focus on the people.

Over the years the umpiring has been systematically weakened. There is no one to control the game.

Despite being declared illegal aerial firing continues unabated. Roads, functions, celebrations, elections, no event can escape this menace. In the recently held

Circular debt The government needs to stop the increase

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Modi is riding a wave of Hindu chauvinism

Sajjad Shaukat

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he fanatical Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi,-the leader of the extremist ruling party BJP, won by a landslide in the 2014 general elections. During the election campaign, the hindu majority was mobilized on ‘hate-Muslim’ slogans and ‘anti-Pakistan’ jargon.

Again, on the basis of anti-Muslims slogans, the BJP won huge majority in the Lok Sabha in the 2019 elections, with 21 seats more than it won in 2014.

The Muslim community in India felt alienated, frightened and perturbed, as most of them were also effectively disenfranchised. Implementing the hindutva ideology against the religious minorities, Modiled regime particularly targeted the Muslims.

In this regard, various developments like the unprecedented rise of hindu extremism, persecution of the Muslims, assaults on them, including their places of worships and property by the extremist hindu mobs, ban on beef and cow slaughter, application of the CAA and NRC laws on Muslims, abrogation of the special status of the disputed territory of IndianOccupied Kashmir, revocation of articles 35A and 370 of the Constitution and bifurcation of Indian-Occupied Kashmir into two union territories, continued

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami Editor Managing Editor

Joint Editor

Umar Aziz Executive Editor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

sonal intervention of Javed hashmi that the march was allowed a safe passage otherwise it would have ended there. At that time, Nawaz Sharif was the Prime Minister and his younger brother the Chief Minister. even till today these unscrupulous elements have not been disarmed.

The police force in Punjab should be either reformed or declared a corporate entity called ‘Police Incorporated’ as it is no longer a custodian of the people. Most other departments are infested with political hirees whose loyalty is not to the state. Interestingly while the area of Governor’s house Lahore is around 700 Acres, so is that of Jati Umra.

My friend Chaudhry Sarwar accepts applications and complaints to be forwarded to the respective departments with no ultimate outcome, but by contrast, the Sharifs issue verbal orders on the spot, which are still carried out. When Maryam Safdar was called by NAB (National Accountability Bureau) for a hearing, she did not come with papers to defend her case, instead party workers were armed with appropriately sized stones to intimidate the Bureau, and since then there has been complete silence in the case. When her entourage departed from the Jati Umra estate, there was no one to stop or check the lethal load they were carrying.

There has been significant improvement in the record-burning infernos. either most public record has already been destroyed or the security has been enhanced. The firefighters of the city must be relaxed as they are not called upon to put out fires to cover up evidence of the wrongdoings of the last 40 years.

As an institution, only the Armed Forces remain intact which has now come under attack by their own political creations. Most civilian institutions have to be rebuilt to restore the writ of the state.

First umpires have to take the field followed by the neutral ones which now have become a rare entity. The message should be loud and clear, the umpires will be taken to task if the rules of the games are not followed. For the game to continue let us focus on effective umpiring instead of arming the players with lethal automatic weapons. For the game to continue, it is time to replace the Gullu Butts with Aleem Dars, a much better sample of our Kashmiri population.

The writer is ex-Chairman, Pakistan Science Foundation. He can be contacted at: fmaliks@hotmail.com.

Modi Masterminded the Muslims’ Genocide in Gujrat

he National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Finance was told by an Additional Secretary of the Power that the even after the circular debt of the power sector would still go up by Rs 436 billion this fiscal year, even after the hike of 15 percent in the consumer tariff, to end at Rs 2.6 trillion. The government should realise that while the tariff hike might have met one of the conditions of the IMF for the resumption of its interrupted International extended Financing Facility (eFF), its purpose was to help solve the circular debt problem. That the problem has not been solved is an indication that the step may not have been particularly serious.

The government is probably past the point where eliminating circular debt is a possibility. What seems a more realistic target would be to get the circular debt to stop rising any further. Considerations of the effect on the consumer would perhaps not matter so much, more important would perhaps be stopping it from rising any further. The problem that emerged from the Committee hearing seems to be that the much needed reforms of the power sector have not been carried out, such as revamping the distribution network, or reducing line losses, which have been left above levels well above those which the sector’s regulator, NePRA, has found permissible.

The PTI government has invested much manpower into the sector, and not only the Finance and Power Ministers, Dr hafeez Sheikh and Umar Ayub, are involved, but two SAPMs, Nadeem Babar and Tabish Gohar, are also. however, now is the time that the government must go right to the top, and find out who is responsible for a situation where the government is obliged to take a step which has got the consumer screaming, but which does not solve the problem it was meant to. It is time the government realized that the reliance of the country on imported fuel for power generation is not something that can be wafted away, or swept under the carpet, but something which will have to be taken seriously. Apart from raising the tariff, the government also needs to address those administrative issues which have led to the current problem.

Yousaf Nizami Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

elections in NA 75 constituency of Daska, automatic weapons were used for hours to scare away the voters despite high security alert. The Punjab Police was in charge, while the Rangers were there as a back-up.

Bullet and ballot cannot coexist. When the first shot was fired, the election should have been cancelled. The gunmen kept roaming the streets, shots were fired, two political workers lost their lives, while several were injured. Movies were being made as if film-making was the intent of the exercise. There was no one to stop the madness. The umpires had abandoned the game.

A few years back during a cricket test match at Lords, the Pakistan team in protest did not take the field after the tea break. Umpire Darrell hair of Australia, followed the rules of ICC (International Cricket Council). he waited for the stipulated time and then declared the match forfeited. The Pakistan team protested as they were close to victory. First it was declared abandoned by the ICC and then awarded to the english team. It was extreme high-handedness but never the less, Pakistan team was the net loser. Rules must be understood and then followed, otherwise the game suffers. There are several such examples, in one of the World Soccer game finals played between traditional rivals France and Italy, French captain Zinedine Zidane lost his cool and head butted the taunting Italian forward. Foul was called by the referee, as a result Zidane had to leave the field. Without him the side lost and the Italians became the world champions. In high-stake contests, personal emotions have to be kept in control in order to carry the day.

The elections in 1970 were free and fair as the umpires were neutral. When the brief democratic era ended in July 1977, both the players and the umpires were corrupted. Without an iota doubt, the establishment created parties like the PML(N) and the MQM, which were allowed to manipulate the electoral process to contain the genuine political support of Bhutto’s People’s Party ably led by his daughter Benazir. While the MQM badmashi (gangsterism) in Sindh has been contained, the PML(N) influence runs deep in Punjab. Unfortunately despite the passage of over two years the umpiring has not been restored.

When there is a conflict, the umpires are the first to abandon the field as if working in connivance with the badmashes (goons). In the August 2014 Long March, followed by the PTI dharna, the marchers came under attack at Gujranwala, the stronghold of the PML(N)’s Gullu Butts. It was through the per-

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Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

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lockdown there, deployment of more than 900,000 military troops there, who have martyred thousands of innocent Kashmiris through brutal tactics, amendment of the law allowing Indian citizens to buy land in Indian-Occupied Kashmir and issuance of domicile certificates to more than 60,0000 non-Kashmiris clearly show that, encouraged by the hindu fundamentalist groups such as BJP, RSS VhP, Bajrang Dal and Shiv Sena, the Modi-led government has been promoting religious and ethnic chauvinism in India against the Muslims.

In fact, Modi was already following biased policies against the Muslim community. In this regard, the 2002 Gujarat riots were a three-day period of communal violence in the BJP-ruled Indian state of Gujarat by extremist hindus under the command of the Prime Minister Modi who was then chief minister of the state.

Regarding that massive genocide, both human Rights Watch in 2002 and Amnesty International in 2003 charged the “Gujarat state administration” for involvement in “a massive cover-up of the state’s role in that massacres” and pointed out numerous officials— specifically ministers, high officials and leaders of the fundamentalist outfits such as RSS, VhP, BJP and Bajrang Dal— as participants.

In this respect, Rana Ayub in her book, Gujarat Files-Anatomy of A Cover-up, Manoj Mitha in his The Fiction of Fact Finding, and Sreekumar in his Gujarat behind the Curtain have proved Modi’s involvement in the genocide of the Muslims in Gujarat.

In this context, in an open letter published in The Guardian on 10 April 2014, pointed out that even most well-respected international intellectuals of India held Modi as the main culprit behind the massacre of Muslims in Gujarat.

According to Ashish Nandy, “The Gujarat pogroms were not just about the number of helpless victims killed (over 3000) and rendered homeless (several hundred thousands). It was about the sheer planning, the brutality, the maniacal genocide that was perpetrated over a population for days on end…

Narendra Modi did not only shamelessly preside over the riots and act as the chief patron of rioting gangs, the vulgarities of his utterances have been a slur on civilised public life… If Modi’s behavior till now is not a crime against humanity, what is?”

The US Commission for International Religious

Islamabad – Ph: 051-2204545

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Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

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Freedom established that the then Gujarat Chief Minister, Modi, was linked to communal riots. It also pointed to Modi’s ministerial colleague Maya Kodnani’s full involvement in the massacre of Muslims.

Notably, a report of the British high Commission in India had said that the programmes in Gujarat “had all the hallmarks of ethnic cleansing… This massacre was planned, possibly months in advance, carried out by extremist hindu organisations with the support of the state government headed by Modi.”

Meanwhile, various investigations failed to show the real criminals of hindu terrorism in Gujarat, as they were top officials of the Indian government. hence, the Supreme Court of India had ordered a fresh probe on 25 March 2008, but the same remains inconclusive due to concealment of evidence against the culprits who are members of the dominating political parties of the country. Since the Modi became Indian prime minister, covert interference of his regime and of the extremis parties, the BJP and RSS, the investigations of Gujarat riots have been kept the case under carpet.

Despite eyewitness testimony, implicating the highest elected political officials, justice continues to evade the victims. In this connection, 70 accused persons of the Gujrat pogroms were set free by the court.

On 28 January 2020, the Indian Supreme Court granted bail to 14 convicts of the 2002 Gujarat riots.

Thus, it gave a clean chit to Modi.

While, the USA had earlier denied a visa to Modi owing to his participation in Gujarat genocide; however, after he became Indian prime minister, the US stance changed to his favour. It shows US double standard.

Meanwhile, Modi has reportedly destroyed all the documents related to the 2002 genocide of the Muslims.

As hindu nationalism grows in India, the Modiled BJP’s policies and practices in Gujarat state have served as a model for systemic, nationwide discrimination against the minorities, especially Muslims.

So, keeping Modi’s past and present record, it can be forecast easily that Indian minorities will face further persecution and barbarity at the hands of hindu extremists and more incidents of Gujarat-like riots will take place, if Modi remains in power.

The writes on international affairs and is author of the book: US vs Islamic Militants, Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International Relations Email: sajjad_logic@yahoo.com

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Thursday, 25 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

Sports facilities I am not wrong to say that after education, sport is the best activity which makes the youths healthy enough and emphasize them for the prevention of bad habits such as drug addiction and so on. But in spite of being largest province in the country, Balochistan lacks sports facilities.

There is no ground for players to play. They used to play in a rockey ground where they face multiple problems. I really appreciate the chief minister of Balochistan Jam Kamal, who understands the importance of sports and emphasized for promotion of giveing more facilities for sports. he is willing to see the players of Balochistan in the national cricket team. however, Gwader and Ayub statiums are examples if the government’s efforts for promotion of cricket and others sports in the province. But still these are not enough for tbe province since it needs more facilities for sports.

SamEEr aSlam awaran

Plant more trees

Tainted chalice of innocence Children are having their childhood snatched away in the Valley

Sadia N Qazi “And when all the wars are over, a butterfly will still be beautiful.” ― Ruskin Bond, Scenes from a Writer’s Life

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hAT’S more beautiful than the innocence of childhood? Laced with dreams of wonderland and stories of utopian fantasy, it is a time in life laden with perfection and prettiness of the creative little minds. everything seems beautiful in the haven of childhood innocence– far away from the brutal realities of life. But this innocence of the children of Kashmir is being snatched at a tender age by the tyrant atrocious cycle of violence whipping the Kashmiris in Indian-Occupied Kashmir, for the last seven decades.

Children who grow in active conflict zone like Indian-Occupied Kashmir are deprived of a normal childhood as they are shoved into the harsh realities of life too soon. As they open their eyes, they are exposed to violence and become aware of the struggle of the Kashmiris for their freedom. There are countless tales of the sufferings of these children. It’s unfathomable to fully comprehend the horror these children experience every day. every trip to the market comes with uncertainty whether all family members will be back safe and sound. Their homes are barged into by the occupation forces and they witness their elders, fathers and brothers being dragged, beaten, arrested and women of the house disrespected. Going out on the streets, they are unsure of what quandaries await them. Young boys can be questioned and beaten for no reason at all.

Young girls can be harassed and be subjected to inappropriate behaviour.

Last year, a viral photo of a toddler posed on the slain body of his grandfather shocked the world. Shooting an elderly man in front of a three-year-old wasn’t enough; adding insult to the injury, he was made to sit on dead body of his grandfather as the photos were taken and shared. The photo was received with anger and disgust around the world. That child will grow up but would be traumatized for the rest of his life and that viral photo on the internet will haunt him incessantly.

The human rights violations by the Indian forces include use of pellet guns. Thousands have been critically injured and dozens killed by this noxious weapon. hundreds, including chil-

dren, are blinded. Some even got injured at home by stray pellets. Dozens losing their lives and hundreds losing their sight, Amnesty International compiled a 109-page book displaying the ill-fated victims of pellet guns to draw the attention of the international community. Asrar Ahmed, an avid student and zealous cricketer, was returning home from playing cricket when he was hit as the ISF opened fire at a crowd. hiba Jan, only 18 months old,was playing at home when hit by a pellet damaging her eye.

This happens every day and children become victim of violence.

Violence is not new for Kashmiris. Striving hard, enduring brutalities, they have lost thousands of precious lives. The number of children enduring physical injuries and traumas are in the thousands. In August 2019 New Delhi revoked the special status of Indian-Occupied Kashmr, ripping off whatever little autonomous identity Kashmiris had. Indian PM Narendra Modi’s oppressive action instigated a strong reaction.

As a result, the Valley was caged in a lockdown and curfew was imposed converting Indian-Occupied Kashmr into a prison. To contain the repercussion, the road connectivity was broken, the Internet jammed and all media and news agencies barred from the Valley. During the lockdown, a fact-finding commission stated, around 13,000 boys were picked up from their homes. Girls and women were reported sexually molested during these raids.

Amid the lockdown, covid-19 hit badly. The lockdown of one and half years, where the Kashmiris suffered isolation and disconnection, has affected the economy, society and mental health.

The shortage of basic necessities and means to buy bread ominously condensed. Schools are closed since the onslaught of curfew. Partially curfew has been lifted in certain areas, but parents are reluctant to send their kids to school in the time of uncertainty as violent street clashes are frequent.

During the pandemic, the world adapted to the new normal and schools all around the world switched to online studies and virtual school.

Continuing education amid the pandemic was essential not only to retain children’s engagement with their curriculum but also to keep kids occupied in depressive environment taking care of their mental health as online studies warranted them to develop routine and exert capabilities in constructive and learning activities.

When the pandemic hit, it was already six months in lockdown. The UN declared access to the Internet a basic human right. Blocking the Internet to suppress the freedom of speech is a declaration of human rights violation by the Indian government.

The right of education is also denied to the children living in Indian-Occupied Kashmr as the Internet hasn’t yet been restored. In a few places, broadband services have opened but the speed is kept so sluggish that the student can neither engage in online classes, nor can access any study materials online. J&K region has more than 2.5 million students and around 10,000 schools.

Recently, a report compiled by a Delhibased group of human rights activists and psychiatrists published in November 2020 cites that the commotion which began in the August lockdowns had an intense effect on children’s lives and their mental health. Quoting health professionals’ assessments that anxiety, panic attacks, suicidal tendencies, and symptoms of post-traumatic stress were growing among children: “There is no school, no routine or structure, no healthy recreation, and no sense of safety or predictability, which are essential for normal growth and emotional development.” A research conducted in 2006 found high levels of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a group of 100 children ranging between the ages of 3 and 16. A 2016 study by the Institute of Mental health and Neuroscience and ActionAid projected that more than one in 10 people, including adults, had a mental disorder, ranging from anxiety or depression to PTSD. Many children suffer anxiety and panic.

They cannot go out to playgrounds anymore as it is perilous. They do not have friends any longer as they do not go to school or mingle freely with other children in the neighbourhood. They are having their childhood snatched. even if the educators or schools attempt to produce online content, it is impossible to access online. As the world moves forward stepping into pioneering interactive virtual platforms, Kashmiri children are left behind.

The entire conception of childhood has suffered a methodical transfiguration in the lives of children in Indian-Occupied Kashmr. From these children the right for a normal happy childhood has been cruelly taken away.

They do not enjoy kindergarten or learn happy nursery rhymes while playing with toys.

They are not nurtured under the adoring warm care of their parents in a setting where they sense freedom and safety. Relatively their memories of childhood are filled with horrors inconceivable entailing an environment fraught with fear, endless gory violence, insecurity and chaos.

They no longer have fantasy-filled imaginings of butterflies and pirates or big dreams for a buoyant tomorrow; they just dream of freedom, safety and the security of their loved ones by their side. The chalice of innocence of the children in Indian-Occupied Kashmr is contaminated with the poison of blood, violence, death and pain.

They do not enjoy kindergarten or learn happy nursery rhymes while playing with toys. They are not nurtured under the adoring warm care of their parents in a setting where they sense freedom and safety. Relatively their memories of childhood are filled with horrors inconceivable entailing an environment fraught with fear, endless gory violence, insecurity and chaos

The writer is freelance columnist

IT is a fact that climate change is one of the serious issues in Pakistan.

Since it is extremely destroying the environment. Deforestation is one of the reasons. Planting trees play a great role for the refreshment of the environment. But it hurts to say that Pakistan is failed in such regards.

Planting trees is extremely essential. Since it provides many benefits to the masses of a country. So I request the Govt and people that plant so many trees as possible in order to make Pakistan clean and green. aSifa rahim TurbaT

Peace talks IT is true! The end product of war is peace. Us and Afghanistan are eagerly awaiting to change the battlefield into the peace table. however, the lies of two countries sponsored the catastrophe of entire region as here the Asian region and their American region are regularly involved. The battle of two decades took an huge price by putting thousands of innocent beings into lifeless bed rest. The 9/4 was the initiative of this distastes which ends into the table a vital role bringing the Afghan Taliban and Us at upfront to solve the issue just to get rid of the little for sponsoring the terrorism in the region on 27th of February 2020 became the state of the transformation for the withdraw of American troops on the land of Afghanis . Meanwhile, Us agreed within 14 months, they will take out the complete forces from Afghanistan. A major twist began after the change of US government from Donald Trump to Joe Biden which put peace process on hold for two months. Thus change of government means change of ideas where the situation is unpredictable weather the new ruling party support the previous ideas or not.

Durbibi hayaT KEch

Imran in Sri Lanka PAKISTAN and Sri Lanka on Tuesday agreed to further strengthen bilateral relations in diverse areas, including trade, investment, science and technology, and culture through enhanced connectivity. “My visit is aimed at strengthening bilateral relationship [with Sri Lanka], especially trade and economic ties through enhanced connectivity…,” Prime Minister Imran Khan said while addressing a joint press conference with his Sri Lankan counterpart Mahinda Rajapaksa here after holding one-on-one and delegation talks. Imran Khan said since Pakistan was part of the Chinese president’s Belt and Road Initiative through its flagship China Pakistan economic Corridor (CPeC) project, Sri Lanka could benefit from it through enhanced connectivity up to the Central Asian states. The prime minister, who is in Sri Lanka on a two-day visit, said he had asked his delegation to find ways and means to enhance trade and economic relations between the two countries through increased connectivity.

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa told the media-persons that they discussed regional and international issues of mutual interest, besides ways and means to strengthen bilateral ties. he said during the meeting, the two sides agreed to enhance cooperation between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in diverse areas, including trade, investment, science and technology, education and culture. Imran Khan and his Sri Lankan counterpart on the occasion also witnessed the signing of five memorandums of understanding (MOUs) for enhanced bilateral cooperation in the fields of investment, science and technology, and industrial technology. Prime Minister Imran Khan is the first head of government to visit Sri Lanka after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa assumed office last year, which was reflective of the importance both the countries attach to their important relationship. Imran Khan is visiting Sri Lanka on the invitation of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Sohail ali Khan iSlamabaD

Son of the mountains ALI Sadpara, a mountain climber from Pakistan went to climb K2 with other his fellows is known to be dead. he wanted to set a name for his nation but slept in the arms of K2. The whole nation can never forget his devotion, patriotism and courage. even today many have gotten inspired by his courage and dedication to his work. Ali Sadpara, a mountain climber from Pakistan went to climb K2 with other his fellows is known to be dead. he wanted to set a name for his nation but slept in the arms of K2.

The whole nation can never forget his devotion, patriotism and courage. even today many have gotten inspired by his courage and dedication to his work. he will ever remain in the heroes of the nation due to whom we can introduce our country proudly. hope his death will not weaken the nation but makes it stronger than before. he will ever remain in the heroes of the nation due to whom we can introduce our country proudly. hope his death will not weaken the nation but makes it stronger than before. farahnaz TurbaT

Thursday, 25 February, 2021

08 WORLD VIEW

Leave now, extension, or indefinite stay: Biden’s 3 Bad afghanistan options IT’S CLEAR A FULL WITHDRAWAL

BY MAY 1 IS “OFF THE TABLE”

Vox

p

alEx Ward

ReSIDeNT Joe Biden has been presented with three broad options for how to prolong or end America’s involvement in the 20-year Afghanistan War — and all three have significant drawbacks for the administration and the Afghan people.

Here’s what Biden’s military and intelligence advisers offered up in recent days, as reported by the New York Times and the Washington Post’s David Ignatius, details of which I later confirmed.

The first option is to adhere to former President Donald Trump’s deal with the Taliban, which would require Biden to withdraw all remaining 2,500 US troops in Afghanistan

by May 1. The second is to negotiate an extension with the insurgent group, allowing American forces to remain in the country beyond early May. And third is to defy the Trump-Taliban pact altogether and keep fighting in Afghanistan with no stated end date. each plan has serious pitfalls, experts and US officials say. If the US leaves in the next three months, it’s likely the Taliban will overrun the US-backed Afghan government and once again make life worse for millions of Afghans, especially women and children.

Staying in Afghanistan just a little bit longer would likely delay that takeover, but would also expend any diplomatic capital the US has left with the Taliban and keep US troops in harm’s way.

Finally, violating the terms of the agreement and remaining indefinitely will almost certainly lead the Taliban to restart its campaign, put on hold ahead of the May 1 deadline, to kill American service members in the country. “These are all bad options,” said Asfandyar Mir, a Stanford University expert on the Afghanistan War. Multiple US officials told me in recent days that the administration’s Afghanistan policy review is nearing its end, with one telling me they expect Biden to make a decision “very soon.” “I don’t know which way the president will go,” said this official, who like others spoke with me on the condition of anonymity to talk freely about a sensitive national security deliberation. Another person familiar with the Afghanistan discussions told me it’s clear a full withdrawal

by May 1 is “off the table.” Public statements from the Biden team offer additional clues as to which way Biden will lean.

Biden promised during the presidential campaign to bring home US combat troops from Afghanistan, but gave himself until the end of his first term to do so (though, importantly, this statement came before the TrumpTaliban deal). He also said he would still potentially keep a small US military presence in the country to continue counterterrorism operations against ISIS and al-Qaeda. That meant it was always possible Biden wouldn’t abide by the terms of the Trump-era deal.

Recent statements by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also suggest a full withdrawal may not be on the immediate horizon. A Pentagon summary of his comments during a NATO ministerial last Thursday said Austin

had “reassured Allies that the U.S. would not undertake a hasty or disorderly withdrawal from Afghanistan.”

In comments to reporters the following day, Austin added, “[W]e are committed to a responsible and sustainable end to this war, while preventing Afghanistan from becoming a safe haven for terrorist groups ... that threaten the interests of the United States and our allies, and ensuring a just and durable end to the long-running conflict.”

The signal many are getting from Austin and others is that Biden will be the fourth president to prolong America’s engagement in Afghanistan, most likely by pushing for an extension to the deadline.

Biden still hasn’t made a decision, though, so it’s worth taking a look at the three options he has in front of him — and why each is fraught with risk and danger.

OPTION 1: WITHDRAW ALL 2,500 US TROOPS BY MAY 1: Few experts or US officials I spoke to believe Biden will adhere to the timeline laid out in the Trump-Taliban peace deal — either because Biden wants to seek a more lasting diplomatic solution to the war in Afghanistan or because his team fears an intensified civil war on the heels of a US withdrawal would make the administration look bad.

In January, Secretary of State Tony Blinken told Afghan President Ashraf Ghani that the US supports diplomatic negotiations between the government and the Taliban.

America’s hope is to help “achieve a durable and just political settlement and permanent and comprehensive ceasefire that benefits all Afghans.”

But those talks are barely underway and have little to no chance of ending by the May 1 deadline. Both parties hold opposite positions on key questions — among them, how much power can the Taliban have in Afghanistan’s government? — that likely won’t be reconciled in a few months. What’s more, the Taliban hasn’t stopped killing Afghans or curbed it’s relationship with alQaeda. To ensure those talks proceed instead of stalling out, many experts believe a small American troop presence must remain in the country. Still, there is a vocal contingent advocating for the US to finally withdraw from Afghanistan after 20 years of war. “I support leaving by May,” said Adam Weinstein, who served as a Marine in Afghanistan and is now a research fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft in Washington, DC. “The Afghanistan talks may fall apart if we leave, but they also will fall apart if we stay.”

Weinstein acknowledges that the Taliban will surely intensify its civil war with the Afghan government once the US departs, further destabilizing an already bad situation.

But that’s likely to happen whenever America withdraws its forces, whether in May or later.

“Leaving by May frontloads these risks while not risking American lives,” he told me.

Which leads to the second reason observers doubt Biden will stick to the May withdrawal timeline: Images of a renewed, bloody war after America’s withdrawal plastered on the front pages of newspapers

THE AFGHAN GOVERNMENT AND THE TALIBAN WON’T STRIKE A DEAL

BY APRIL, BUT THEY MIGHT IF GIVEN ENOUGH TIME

would embarrass the Biden administration.

Pressure would mount on the president and his team to reenter the fray to quell the violence, just like many pushed Obama to send US forces back into Iraq to defeat ISIS. It’s therefore possible that leaving prematurely might lead the US to reenter the conflict again — perhaps with an even larger troop presence. Weinstein told me he knows that’s a risk and hopes Biden would resist such pressure. There will be problems, but all this comes down to the fact that America hasn’t proven its ability to win the war against the Taliban, even with tens of thousands more troops in the country.

Today, the insurgents control more territory in Afghanistan than they did in 2001 when the US invaded, making it even harder to push for a military victory. “You could kick the can down the road, or you could accept the limits of US control of ground realities in Afghanistan,” he said. In other words, leave now and don’t look back.

OPTION 2: NEGOTIATE AN EXTENSION WITH THE TALIBAN, THEN LEAVE: This is the option most people I spoke with favor and believe Biden will choose. They argue that withdrawing by May is simply too soon, but that staying indefinitely is also politically and militarily infeasible. Delaying America’s full withdrawal for a few months or even years, then, allows the peace process to play out and for an unhurried US exit from Afghanistan. “It’s unquestionable that an extension should be negotiated,” said Laurel Miller, who was the acting special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan in the Obama administration.

Simply put, the Afghan government and the Taliban won’t strike a deal by April, but they might if given enough time. Penning an agreement would allow officials in Kabul to lead their country without the major threat of violence, while also giving the Taliban some governing power and global legitimacy.

“There’s reason to believe the Taliban would genuinely negotiate and accept some kind of political settlement [that] satisfies their interests,” said Miller, who’s now at the International Crisis Group. With such a deal in place, the US and its NATO allies could extricate themselves from Afghanistan without fear their absence would lead to more bloodshed. This is what Ghani, Afghanistan’s president, and others close to him have been pushing for. After NATO last week said its 5,000 troops wouldn’t leave the country imminently, Ghani said their presence would help provide a “window of opportunity to accelerate the peace process.”

An extension was also the key recommendation in a congressionally mandated report earlier this month from the Afghanistan Study Group, an independent, bipartisan commission of experts co-chaired by retired Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, former Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte, and US Institute of Peace President Nancy Lindborg. But this Goldilocks option has flaws, too.

For example, it’s unclear whether the Taliban would even agree to an extension.

Their messaging for America to date, Stanford’s Mir said, is “leave by May 1 or we

fight you.” Biden therefore risks adding to the 2,400 dead Americans in Afghanistan if the US overstays its welcome.

And even if it does, staying beyond May 1 would mean Biden chose to prolong America’s engagement despite having a ready-made excuse for withdrawal. That would no doubt anger a lot of people, namely progressives and some on the right, who hoped the Democrat would finally bring the US war effort there to a close. “What’s worse: Being accused of being too status quo, or being accused of taking risks and having ugly eventualities happen on your watch?” Miller asked, describing the question the Biden team is wrestling with.

There’s also a glaring weakness with this plan: There’s just no guarantee that the Afghan government and the Taliban will actually make a deal. After months or even years of talking, it’s possible neither side will make concessions to the other to hash out a comprehensive peace pact. If that’s the case, US troops will have remained in danger for little to no progress.

Still, experts believe there are ways the US can get the Taliban to agree to an extension and perhaps pave the path toward a negotiated deal. That could include lifting UN and other sanctions on the Taliban, working with Kabul to release some or all of the group’s 7,000 prisoners, and removing the group from the State Department’s terrorist list. each of those moves would be politically costly and may end up strengthening the Taliban without eventually striking an agreement. But for some, taking bold steps to improve the chance of peace after so many years of fighting is worth the risk.

OPTION 3: STAY IN AFGHANISTAN INDEFINITELY: everyone I spoke with said this is by far the worst option. Continuing the war with no clear end date would keep US troops in harm’s way and further doom any prospects of a negotiated peace, since one of the key reasons the parties are talking is because America said it was leaving soon.

Plus, there’s little popular support in the US for continuing the mission in Afghanistan, as most polling shows Ameri-

cans prefer a withdrawal sooner rather than later. More than that, there’s just no clear path to victory in the war.

As mentioned above, the Taliban today controls more territory than it did when the US invaded in 2001. After 20 years of war, trillions of dollars spent, and tens of thousands of deaths, the US has only managed to achieve what Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, humbly described as “a modicum of success” in Afghanistan. At this point, there’s little reason to expect that the US staying in Afghanistan indefinitely, spending billions more and risking more US lives, will magically improve that outcome. And doing so is just not desirable considering the coronavirus pandemic has killed 500,000 Americans, Iran nears the acquisition of a nuclear bomb, China grows in strength, domestic terrorism threatens the homeland, and more. So why even discuss this option? It’s not that Biden would pick it, but that he might be forced into it if the limited extension (option 2) fails to actually produce a peace agreement.

Again, few think Biden will withdraw all US troops by May 1, which means he will be keeping US service members in the country with or without the Taliban’s approval. If he does it without their approval, that could lead the insurgents to attack and kill American personnel as they overtake major Afghan cities, perhaps even Kabul.

At that point, withdrawing from Afghanistan would be harder, experts say, because the administration won’t want to look like it’s running away from the fight. A return to a larger war, then, would likely ensue, leading to more death and woes for the millions of Afghans who’ve already suffered tremendously. “If a negotiated extension fails, there’s not going to be a withdrawal,” said the Quincy Institute’s Weinstein. If there were a perfect option, the US would have found it by now. It hasn’t, and that’s left Biden with three paths to take, each full of obstacles and risk. It’s a tough spot to be in, but sometimes the options a president has range from horrible to bad. The hope is he picks the least bad one.

COVID-19 VACCINES FOR THE PALESTINIANS PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU PREFERS TO BUY DIPLOMATIC SUPPORT WITH LEFTOVER VACCINE RATHER THAN TO MEET ISRAEL’S LEGAL AND MORAL OBLIGATION TO THE PALESTINIANS Haaretz Editorial

U

S Secretary of State Antony Blinken was right to remind Israel’s government of its obligation to the Palestinians. Blinken spoke with Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi Monday and asked that Israel help in delivering coronavirus vaccines from abroad to the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

President Donald Trump’s biased attitude in the past four years provided backing to deniers of the occupation and to those seeing to shirk responsibility for the Palestinians. The Biden administration is in effect joining human rights organizations around the world that have been trying to apply pressure and that recently called on

the Israeli government to see to it that the Palestinians are vaccinated, as required by Article 56 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which states that the occupying power “has the duty of ensuring and maintaining ... prophylactic and preventive measures necessary to combat the spread of contagious diseases and epidemics.”

But not in the foreseeable future, presumably: What was Israel’s response? The Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement Tuesday that Israel will provide a symbolic quantity of vaccines to Palestinian Authority medical teams and to a few countries, including Guatemala (the second country, after the U.S., to move its embassy to Jerusalem), Honduras (which said it plans to relocate its embassy to Jerusalem), the Czech Republic (which announced plans to open a diplomatic

office in the capital) and Hungary. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prefers to buy diplomatic support with leftover vaccine rather than to meet Israel’s legal and moral obligation to the Palestinians.

Needless to say, this is not only a legal and humanitarian duty but a medical necessity: Not only are the fates of our two nations entwined, so are the people themselves. The Israelis and Palestinians live within a single territorial unit, such that the road to eradicating the pandemic within Israel’s sovereign borders also runs through the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

The Health Ministry has recognized that “the spread of coronavirus in the Palestinian Authority could also affect the infection situation among the Israeli population.” Last week, Health Ministry Director General

Prof. Chezy Levy, coronavirus czar Prof. Nachman Ash and Head of Public Health Services Dr. Sharon AlroyPreis, held a work meeting with their Palestinian counterparts at the Palestinian Health Ministry in Ramallah.

According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, Israel agreed to vaccinate 100,000 Palestinians who work in Israel, but that has not yet been confirmed at the political level in Israel.

In his conversation with Blinken, Ashkenazi noted that the possibility is being considered, and one would hope that the conversation would encourage Israel’s political leadership to consent to the request.

But that is not sufficient. Seeing to the vaccination of the entire Palestinian population needs to be a top priority for Israel.

Thursday, 25 February, 2021

BUSINESS 09

KARACHI corporate corner

WaSTage of fLare gaS cauSIng MaSSIve LoSSeS To naTIonaL excHequer ISLAMABAD

KARACHI: The National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) was recently honoured with 10 awards at 10th Annual Corporate Social Responsibility Summit and Awards-2021 for its service to the people of Pakistan, irrespective of their caste, creed and religion, totally free of cost. PR

Dubai Islamic Bank joins SBP’s roshan Digital account initiative KARACHI: Dubai Islamic Bank has joined the Roshan Digital Account (RDA) initiative of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in a ceremony with SBP Governor Dr Reza Baqir as the Chief Guest. Headquartered in Dubai, DIB has the distinction of being the largest Islamic bank in the UAE market and the second largest in the world by assets, which reflects its global strength. Addressing the ceremony through video, the SBP governor congratulated the DIB management on becoming the 10th bank to partner with the SBP in offering RDA for the Pakistani diaspora. He also lauded the many contributions of Non-Resident Pakistanis (NRP) for the country and added that the RDA is a manifestation of the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan. PRESS RElEASE

Telenor Pakistan partners with Spotify LAHORE: Telenor Pakistan has become one of the first telcos to launch Spotify Premium in Pakistan. Through this collaboration, Telenor Pakistan customers will be able to subscribe to Spotify Premium through their Telenor mobile balance and enjoy unlimited #MoreSeZyadaEntertainment. Commenting on the development, Khurrum Ashfaque, COO Telenor Pakistan, said, “The launch of Spotify Premium is a much-awaited news for music enthusiasts around the country. With masses having limited online payment options, we are enabling ease of access to 47 million Telenor Pakistan customers to subscribe to Spotify using their mobile airtime. Collaborating with Spotify to enable premium access has also furthered our ambition of bringing new and quality content to our local audiences and will also enable our local artists to tap into Spotify’s over 345 million listeners worldwide.” PRESS RElEASE

Wallet at your fingertips: Huawei Pay launched in Pakistan LAHORE: Huawei Technologies introduced its secure online transaction service – HUAWEI Pay in Pakistan in 2020. It is a safe, secure, easy, and efficient way to make payment via your Huawei devices, supporting card payments. As a mobile payment service by Huawei in partnership with Union Pay and National Bank of Pakistan, the service leverages bank payments, QR payment options and its phones capabilities of Near Field Communication (NFC) to provide a contactless payment option. HUAWEI Pay facility can be used by installing the HUAWEI Wallet app from HUAWEI AppGallery and adding a payment option. These include bank cards (currently supports NBP virtual cards), loyalty cards, gift cards, coupons. PRESS RElEASE

Improved farm economics boosting sectoral earnings LAHORE: With the result season in full swing at the Pakistan Stock Exchange, different businesses linked to the agricultural economy have shown strong financial performance, depicting improved farm economics and robust agricultural growth. Despite the Covid-19 and locust attack challenges, the total industry sales of urea were around 5.95 million tonnes in 2020. This offtake was in line with the fiveyear average consumption trend of between 5.8 million to 6 million tonnes, reflecting improved farm economics on the back of lower input costs and better support prices offered by the government. Meanwhile, total DAP sales for the year has grown by around 7pc to 2.17 million tonnes compared to last year. Both, Fauji Fertilizer Company and Fauji Fertilizer Bin Qasim have recorded a surge in profitability due to persistent annual sales demand and one-off gain on extinguishment of GIDC liability. Even Engro Fertilizers managed to offset the significant adverse impact of price reduction earlier last year with improved volumes and lower one off tax charge for the year. The analyst briefing of Engro Fertilizers noted that the pro-farmer policies of the government — implementation of the agri-support package worth Rs50 billion, improved crop support prices and materialization of DAP subsidy worth Rs5.4 billion — are expected to boost agronomic demand in 2021. According to the Ministry of Finance, “The prospect for growth in agriculture are encouraging on the basis of major Kharif crops. Rice, sugarcane and maize have surpassed the production targets of 2020-21.” STAFF REPORT

f

AHMAD AHMADANI

LARE gas is currently being burnt in the air at various field sites of the country as the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has so far not allowed its utilisation for commercial purposes, it was learnt on Wednesday.

According to sources, as many as 18 applications seeking licence for use of flare gas are pending with the OGRA for the last four years. But hindrances created by different functionaries of OGRA in this regard has so far caused around Rs40 billion loss to the national exchequer.

"Unfortunately, wastage of flare gas is going unnoticed despite the fact that daily production of flare gas from different fields is approximately 100 Million Cubic Feet," an insider said. "Flare gas could not be injected into gas pipelines due to delay in OGRA decisions in this regard."

As per the sources, CNG stations are among the main consumers of flare gas, as identified by the applicants seek-

OGRA YET TO ALLOW COMMERCIAL UTILISATION OF FLARE GAS DESPITE RECEIVING 18 LICENCE APPLICATIONS IN THE LAST FOUR YEARS

ing licence from OGRA for sale of flare gas at CNG stations. Similarly, Utilization of Flare Gas Guidelines, 2013, do not restrict utilization of flare gas in CNG sector. In addition, according to clause F (I) and G, flare gas can be sold to third party at a negotiated price mutually agreed specifications.

However, different OGRA functionaries have so far raised serious reservations with respect to flare gas specifications, works related to compression at well-head/oil & gas field/site, transportation procedures, decanting of flare gas at CNG stations, specific design of equipment at CNG

stations, and use of flare gas in CNG converted automobiles.

According to documents, the total potential of flare gas conservation in the country is over 100MMCFD, while use of only 20MMCFD of flare gas for commercial purposes could help the exchequer earn around $300,000 per day or $109.5 million per year.

It is pertinent to mention that OGRA Member (Gas) Muhamamd Arif, in a letter dated 11th February 2021, had requested the acting OGRA chairman to take necessary measures to control the damages caused to the institutional reputation, integrity and obligations of OGRA as regulator. He said that confusion created by different functionaries of OGRA over the issuance of flare gas licence has become big problem in spite of his best efforts.

"There is no bar or restriction on use of flare gas, inert alia, in the CNG stations as long as flare gas meets pipeline specifications; compression system is certified by CIE and TPI, and travasi system/bower is certified by CIE etc.," he noted.

Spotify launches music streaming service in Pakistan Spotify, the world's most popular audio streaming subscription service, has been officially launched in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, a statement issued by the company read.

With a worldwide community of more than 345 million monthly active listeners, including 155 million Premium subscribers, Spotify will offer a personalized listening experience for local and international music of over 70 million tracks. The Spotify service is available for free or with an upgrade to Spotify Premium, a subscription service that allows users to enjoy music without ad interruptions. Users can upgrade to Spotify Premium for the ultimate Spotify experience for Rs299 per month. The Premium Family subscription plan is available for Rs479 per month for up to six family members living under one roof.

The new Spotify Premium DUO (Rs390 per

month) is a subscription plan for two people living at the same home address, which includes Duo Mix, a regularly updated playlist made just for the two subscribers to discover audio they both love and enjoy together.

Spotify Premium for students subscription plans will cost Rs149 per month. Direct carrier billing payment options are also available through Telenor and Zong.

Spotify comes to Pakistan with an unrivalled mix of features and the freedom to play across a wide range of devices and app integrations. Music fans will also enjoy Spotify’s personalized music recommendations, which will help them to enjoy, discover and share new music from both local and international artists.

“We are incredibly excited about the opportunity to bring together creators and listeners around the world. As we’ve expanded our international reach over the years, we’ve connected over 8 million artists

NEPRA announces tariff relief for nuclear power plants ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has reduced the Return on Equity (RoE) of three nuclear power generation plants from 15pc to 14.5pc for the remaining life of these projects.

NEPRA, in a landmark decision on Wednesday, reduced RoE component of three nuclear power generation plants, namely the Chashma Nuclear Power Plant Unit-2 (C-2), C-3 and C-4, having a cumulative net capacity of 931MW. As per the authority, the reduction in tariff will result in savings of Rs2.05 billion per year (average Rs0.2515/unit) for the remaining life of the nuclear power plants i.e. 25-37 years approximately.

Earlier, the said nuclear power generation plants, in line with Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCOE) decision of 27th August 2020, had filed petitions with NEPRA for reduction in their RoE components on account of reduced RoE rate, besides freezing of exchange rate at Rs148 per dollar.

NEPRA, under the prevailing rules and regulations, had accordingly admitted the same and conducted a hearing in this regard on 13th January, 2021. Subsequently, the authority decided to freeze the exchange rate at Rs148 per dollar and reduce the ROE from 15pc to 14.5pc for the remaining life of these projects. AHMAD AHMADANI

mARkEt dAily

Bearish spell continues as benchmark index sheds another 366 points KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) continued with its bearish trend on Wednesday with the benchmark KSE-100 Index shedding 366.17 points (-0.8pc) to close at 45,362.58 points.

The benchmark index traded in a range of 682.3 points, posting its intraday high at 45,887.7 and low of 45,205.4.

Among other indices, the KSE All Share Index lost 298.94 points (-0.95pc) to close at 31,327.25 points, while the All Share Islamic Index dropped 209.33 points (-0.91pc) to close at 22,696.05 points.

A total of 420 companies traded shares in the stock exchange, of which shares of 80

closed up, 322 closed down while that of 18 companies remained unchanged. All share volume decreased by 160.72 million to 557.50 million shares, while market capitalisation decreased by Rs78.04 billion. Total trades decreased by 21,217 to 177,837, while value traded increased by Rs0.95 billion to Rs26.25 billion. Among scrips, BYCO realized trading volume of 84.3 million shares, followed by TRG (47.3 million) and WTL (27.2 million).

As per sector-wise performance, the index was let down by oil & gas exploration companies with 48 points, fertilizer with 46 points, textile composite with 41 points, power generation & distribution

CMYK

with 38 points and oil & gas marketing companies with 36 points.

OGDC stripped the index of 32 points, followed by ENGRO with 26 points, PSO with 24 points, NBP with 23 points and HUBC with 22 points. Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market saw continuation of selling pressure in conventional top tier stocks and in addition bore pressure in rollover heavy scrips (TRG & NETSOL) as well. The benchmark index was further influenced by oil prices, which fell on Wednesday after industry data showed a surprise build in US crude stocks last week as a deep freeze in the southern states curbed demand from refineries that were forced to shut. STAFF REPORT

with listeners across nearly every continent, putting Spotify firmly at the heart of the global audio economy,” said Alex Norström, Chief Freemium Business Officer of Spotify. “Launching in these new markets is a key next step to fulfilling our ongoing commitment to building a truly borderless audio ecosystem.”

“We want to share the gift of music with as many people as possible to enrich the lives of not only our listeners, but the local artists who will now have access to a global audience,” said Claudius Boller, Spotify Managing Director Middle East and Africa, who will lead a team of music and audio experts for the newly launched South Asian markets. “We always want to be where our fans are, and with this expansion we are furthering our mission of sharing the sounds of Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka with the rest of the world.” NEWS DESK

Hinopak Motors launches new Hino 500 Series ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s largest commercial automobile manufacturing company, Hinopak Motors, has recently launched its New Hino 500 Series, based on its exclusive research and expertise, keeping in view Pakistan’s environment and the customers’ requirements. Equipped with unique and state-of-the-art features, such as safety, a powerful and fuel efficient engine, durable and reliable chassis help overcome the most arduous terrains, contributing to the economy, in a secure and protected manner. PRESS RElEASE

TPL Trakker to power Mr. Mahir’s handyman marketplace KARACHI: TPL Trakker has partnered with Mr. Mahir, an online marketplace allowing skilled and experienced local professionals, to connect with customers looking for maintenance and handyman services. Following the partnership, TPL Trakker’s Location Based Service (LBS) APIs will power Mr. Mahir’s handyman services platform.

Speaking on the collaboration, Sarwar Ali Khan, CEO, TPL Trakker said, “Partnering with Mr. Mahir is part of TPL’s vision to propagate innovative solutions in the tech industry and ensure that the growing needs of all customer segments in Pakistan are met. We look forward to our strategic collaboration with the Company and take deep pride in supporting a homegrown startup using our strength in location data.” PRESS RElEASE

TcL launches qLeD c815 and c716 as Zalmi Tv LAHORE: TCL, Pakistan’s highest selling TV brand, has launched a special edition of Zalmi TV to celebrate their partnership with Peshawar Zalmi for the 6th Edition of the HBL PSL Cricket Tournament. TCL’s Flagship QLED TV range including the C815 and C716 Models will be rebranded as Zalmi TV Models and will give consumers additional benefits including an Extended 3 (2+1) Year Warranty on the TV as well a VIP Gift Box with every purchase. Sunny Yang, GM TCL Pakistan, expressed, “Cricket has always been close to the people of Pakistan. By launching the new Zalmi edition QLED TVs, we wish to enable the consumers to watch PSL with a cinematic experience in the comfort of their homes.

This strategic partnership is a step forward to promote sports in the country by tapping into the enthusiasm for cricket. PRESS RElEASE

Thursday, 25 February, 2021

10 FOREIGN NEWS

KARACHI

MyanMar faceS renewed proteStS aS IndoneSIa pUrSUeS dIploMatIc effortS naypyitaW

M

Agencies

yANMAR was set for more street protests on Wednesday against military rule as regional power Indonesia tries to use mediation to move the country out of its post-coup impasse.

This week saw huge rallies and a general strike on Monday to denounce the military's February 1 coup and demand the release of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, despite a warning from authorities that confrontation could get people killed.

On Tuesday, gatherings were smaller overall but a rally by members of different ethnic minorities was taking place in the commercial capital yangon, with civil servants from the energy ministry joining in.

"We ethnic minority people haven't had the chance to demand our rights but now we do," one demonstrator, San Aung Li, a 26year-old member of the Kachin minority, told Reuters. "So I'm supporting the protest as all ethnic people are, with one voice."

With the protest and a civil disobedience movement paralysing life in Myanmar, Indonesia has been trying to find a way out.

Jakarta said on Wednesday that it was in talks with both sides in Myanmar's political crisis and its foreign minister may visit to help find a solution, but she had no plans for an immediate trip.

The statement came after a leaked Myanmar government document showed Indonesia's foreign minister Retno Marsudi was to visit the coup-hit nation on Thursday.

Indonesia said on Wednesday that no

visit had been scheduled. But it left open the possibility of a later trip by Marsudi, who was still expected to visit Myanmar for a special meeting of foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the timing of which has not yet been announced.

Marsudi has been rallying support in Southeast Asia for a special meeting on Myanmar and sources told Reuters that Jakarta proposed the region sends monitors to ensure the generals hold “fair and inclusive elections”.

The prospect of her visit went down badly with many protesters, who are concerned any agreement with the junta could undermine their demands for the recognition of the November polls won by Suu Kyi's party.

Hundreds gathered outside Indonesia's embassy in yangon on Tuesday to voice their opposition to the election proposal, while members of Myanmar's Muslim community were due to hold another protest on Wednesday.

The Future Nation Alliance, a Myanmarbased activist group, said in a statement a visit by Marsudi would be “tantamount to recognising the military junta”.

The group demanded foreign officials meet with Htin Lin Aung, a representative of the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), formed by ousted lawmakers, who has been appointed the “sole responsible official for foreign relations”.

'Breathtaking' turnout: Myanmar's political crisis raises the prospect of isolation and investor jitters just as the Covid-19 pandemic has undermined

consumption and choked off tourism.

Military chief General Min Aung Hlaing, in a meeting with his ruling council on Monday, called for state spending and imports to be cut and exports increased.

"The council needs to put its energy into reviving the country's ailing economy. Economic remedy measures must be taken," state media quoted him a saying.

Min Aung Hlaing did not link the protests directly to economic problems but said the authorities were following a demo-

cratic path in dealing with them and police were using minimal force, such as rubber bullets, state media reported.

Security forces have shown more restraint compared with earlier crackdowns against people who had pushed for democracy during almost half a century of direct military rule.

Even so, three protesters have been shot and killed. The army has said one policeman died of injuries sustained during the protests.

The military has accused protesters of

German court issues guilty verdict in first Syria torture trial KoBLEnZ Agencies

A German court sentenced a former member of President Bashar al-Assad’s security services to 4-1/2 years in prison on Wednesday for facilitating the torture of civilians, the first such verdict for crimes against humanity in the 10-year-old Syrian civil war.

The higher regional court in the western city of Koblenz said Eyad A. had arrested at least 30 anti-government protesters at the start of the conflict in 2011 and sent them to an intelligence facility where he knew detainees were tortured.

The verdict gives hope to the 800,000 Syrians in

Germany who say they were tortured in government facilities after attempts to establish an international tribunal for Syria failed.

“This is an important step forward in the process of securing accountability for the Syrian government’s systematic use of torture against civilians,” said Steve Kostas, a lawyer with the Open Society Foundation’s Justice Initiative, which is representing Syrian plaintiffs.

The Assad government denies it tortures prisoners.

Eyad A.’s lawyers had asked for an acquittal, saying he had carried out the arrests in and around Damascus under duress by his superiors. He had asked the court to consider him a witness in broader legal efforts against the Syrian government.

The same court will continue hearings in the case of a second suspect identified as Anwar R., a former intelligence officer charged with 58 murders in a Damascus prison where prosecutors say at least 4,000 opposition activists were tortured in 2011 and 2012.

Syrian human rights lawyer Anwar al-Bunni said the unprecedented verdict would speed up efforts to bring charges against former members of the Syrian government suspected of war crimes who have fled to Europe. “History has been made,” said al-Bunni. “The first verdict against a member of the Syrian regime’s torture and murder machine is a verdict against the whole regime, not just against one individual. It gives hope that justice is possible.”

US seeks to return to UN human rights body BLINKEN SAYS US WOULD SEEK A THREE-YEAR TERM STARTING NEXT YEAR AT THE HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Washington Agencies

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that the United States will vie for a seat at the UN’s human rights body, which would cement a US return to the Geneva-based body that was shunned by the Trump administration.

The top US diplomat said the US would seek a three-year term starting next year at the Human Rights Council, and acknowledged it needed reform, particularly to end its “disproportionate” focus on Israel — the only country whose rights record comes up for scrutiny at every one of its thrice-yearly meetings.

In a video message, Blinken raised concerns about countries including Myanmar, which has faced international criticism over a military coup last month, China over its Xinjiang region, and Russia after the jailing of opposition leader Alexei Navalny and demonstrators during protests against President Vladimir

Putin’s government.

“The United States is placing democracy and human rights at the centre of our foreign policy because they’re essential for peace and stability,” Blinken said, adding that, “the United States will seek election to the Human Rights Council for the 2022 to 2024 term.”

The UN General Assembly makes the final choice in a vote that generally takes place in October every year to fill vacant seats at the 47-member-state council. The US, which currently has “observer status,” will seek one of three full-member seats left vacant when the current terms of Austria, Denmark and Italy — from the “western Europe and other states group” — expire at the end of this year.

In mid-2018, then President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the council over its excessive focus on Israel, which has received the largest number of critical council resolutions against any country by far, and because it failed to meet an

extensive list of reforms demanded by Nikki Haley, the then-US ambassador to the UN. The Trump administration also took issue with the body’s membership, which currently includes China, Cuba, Eritrea, Russia and Venezuela, all of which have been allegedly accused of human rights abuses.

Echoing such concerns, Blinken said countries “with the worst human rights record should not be members of this

council”. He also repeated US calls for an end to the council’s regular agenda item, known as Item 7, that focuses on Israel and the Palestinian territories.

He added that Washington would “continue to call out abuses in places like Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba and Iran” and reiterated US calls for the Russian government to “immediately and unconditionally release” Alexei Navalny and other critics of President Vladimir Putin who have been “wrongly detained”.

provoking violence but UN Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews said the millions who marched on Monday in a "breathtaking" turnout showed they were prepared to face up to military threats.

Western nations sought to increase pressure on the junta this week with the EU warning it was considering sanctions that would target businesses owned by the army.

The US imposed sanctions on two more members of the junta and warned it could take more action.

Iran says up to US to move first on saving nuclear deal ViEnna Agencies

It is up to the United States to make the first move in saving the Iran nuclear deal, Iran’s ambassador in Geneva told the UN-sponsored Conference on Disarmament on Wednesday. “The onus is on the offending party to return, restart and compensate for the damages as well as to reassure that they would not renege again,” Ambassador Esmaeil Baghaei Hamaneh said.

“There is a path forward with a logical sequence as (Iranian Foreign) Minister (Mohammad Javad) Zarif recently outlined.”

German court sentences IS recruiter CELLE Agencies

A German court on Wednesday sentenced an Iraqi preacher to more than 10 years in prison after finding him guilty of taking part in planning an attack in Germany and collecting funds and fighters for the Islamic State group. Prosecutors had accused the 40year-old preacher, identified as Ahmad Abdulaziz Abdullah A. in court documents, of recruiting at least seven individuals who ended up travelling to the Middle East where they fought alongside IS. Two of the men he had recruited are believed to have killed more than 150 Iraqi soldiers in suicide bombings. The Higher Regional Court in the northern city of Celle sentenced him to 10-and-a-half years in prison. Three members of the network he had set up were handed prison terms ranging from four to eight years. The main suspect, known by the nickname Abu Walaa, which in Arabic means Father of Loyalty, and the three others were arrested in November 2016 in raids in the states of Lower Saxony and North-Rhine Westphalia. Abu Walaa sat quietly on the stand in court wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, a white T-Shirt and a face mask as he waited for the verdict and sentencing behind a glass cubicle.

The defendants had chosen to remain silent during the trial and did not enter pleas. Originally an offshoot of al Qaeda, Islamic State took large parts of Iraq and Syria from 2014. It was defeated by a USled military coalition which in 2019 captured the group’s last territory in Syria. The men had held lessons during which potential recruits were handed material, prosecutors said.

Thursday, 25 February, 2021

SPORTS 11

KARACHI

HBL PSL 2021: ISLamaBad UnIted down KaracHI KIngS In 6tH matcH KarachI

c

Agencies

HASING 197 in the final over might suggest this game was something of a humdinger. In truth, it was an error-strewn, sloppy contest that few on either side deserved to win. As is often the case with games like these, Islamabad United so often find a way to get over the line, as they did on Wednesday, withstanding an astonishing 59-ball 105 from Sharjeel Khan.

The Karachi Kings opener looked destined to have cost his side the game as he struggled, almost woefully, for fluency in the Powerplay, but 94 off his final 35 balls helped power his side to the highest firstinnings total of the tournament. It was his opening partner Babar Azam whose 54-ball 62 ended up as the notable match-losing innings. He might have been the one keeping the run rate afloat while Sharjeel stuttered, but fell away badly at the death when a power-hitter’s presence might have propelled Karachi more than the 196 they ended up with.

Islamabad responded by attacking from the outset, spearheaded by Alex Hales and Faheem Ashraf in the Powerplay, and even as the wickets fell, they continued to go after their shots, refusing to allow the asking rate get out of hand. An invaluable 94-run stand between Iftikhar Ahmed and Hussain Talat held things together through the middle overs, and while Karachi were never out of the game until the penultimate over, they never quite found an effective way of building any sort of pressure on the chasing side.

It was a contest defined by, at times, shocking bowling and fielding, especially

by Islamabad, who took no fewer than three wickets off what ended up being no-balls, and dropped three further catches, not taking a wicket until the 19th over. By that time, Karachi’s opening partnership had put on 176, the highest stand in PSL history.

But Karachi would be equally profligate with the ball, leaking 14 extras. Mohammad Amir’s inaccuracy at the death would prove to be the final nail. Asif Ali smacked a knee-high full toss he bowled for six to level up the scores, and Iftikhar did the honours with five balls to spare.

him such success in the Big Star oF thE DaY: This Bash League, racing along to man was almost nailed on to ISLAMABAD 46 off 21 before Waqas wind up in the column Maqsood finally got rid of below - with the multiple UNITED 197 FOR 5 him. But it wasn’t before dropped catches in the (IFTHIKAR 49 NOT OUT, HALES he’d helped Islamabad field - but by far the most significant reason 46, TALAT 42, NABI 1-26) BEAT plunder 77 off the Powerplay; Karachi, by comIslamabad even got KARACHI KINGS 196 FOR 3 parison, had managed close in this game was a (SHARJEEL 105, AZAM 62) just 33. What might have whirlwind of a cameo been a rout would end up as from Hales. Imad Wasim

BY FIVE WICKETS a sensationally dramatic vicand Amir had helped tory, and Hales was at its heart.

Karachi put Islamabad against MiSS oF thE DaY: Sharjeel the wall before the chase had truly begun with the wickets of Phil Salt and had struggled for any rhythm until Shadab Shadab Khan. But Hales’ approach to brought himself in for his second over. He Aamer Yamin’s first - and, inevitably, only might have been unlucky that Sharjeel’s first - over produced the first incipient signs swipe off him didn’t end up down long-on’s that a remarkable chase was on. Aided by throat, but that was just the beginning of a a no-ball, almost inevitably, Hales would contest that was less match, more fever go on to produce the most expensive over dream for the Islamabad captain. He would in the history of the PSL. Five fours and a follow that up with three abysmal balls that six would help Islamabad get 29 off it, and Sharjeel would put away for sixes much suddenly, the asking rate was in control, more decisively. Shadab lost any confidence and much of the Powerplay still remained. he might have had after that, never to even The opener was off and away, and consider bringing himself back on for another played with the sort of abandon that fetched over even as the pacers offered full tosses and

free hits like they were going out of fashion.

When he came out to bat, he was beaten all ends up by an Amir inswinger at pace his bat was nowhere near - and sent on his way for a golden duck. It was just the second time the allrounder has been dismissed off his first delivery, and he’d sent down his most expensive spell on the same day. His side might have sneaked home, but the memories from the day are more likely bitter than sweet for the Islamabad captain. honourablE MEntion: After an explosive start to his PSL career in the first game where Mohammad Waseem took three wickets, the 19-year-old backed it up with an equally stellar second outing. There might not be anything in the wickets column, but forced to come on and bowl his final two overs when Sharjeel was at his destructive best, Wasim allowed just six runs off his last over. The two overs either side of his, bowled by Faheem and Hasan Ali, leaked 17 and 13 respectively. In that context, four overs for 30 runs seems little less than heroic. Islamabad have some superstars in their line-up, but this emerging player truly appears to be living up to the name.

Champions League: Giroud Tiger Woods in surgery after scores sensational goal to give roll-over car crash Chelsea edge over Atletico New yorK Agencies

Bucharest Agencies

Olivier Giroud’s magnificent bicycle kick broke Atletico Madrid’s resistance and earned Chelsea a crucial away goal on Tuesday, a 1-0 victory giving Thomas Tuchel’s side a slender advantage in the Champions League last 16.

Giroud’s acrobatic strike was initially ruled out for offside but stood after VAR showed Mario Hermoso had got the final touch, delivering a huge blow to Atletico’s hopes of reaching the quarter-finals.

“I didn’t know what to think about the goal, I just focused on hitting the ball,” said Giroud. “I love an overhead kick and I was just pleased to see the ball hit the back of the net. I had no clue about being offside or not.” Diego Simeone’s side had put on a typically disciplined defensive performance until that point but Giroud’s moment of genius means they will have to score in London on March 17 if they are to avoid an early exit. It also continues a worrying dip for Atletico, whose lead in La Liga is also under threat after one win in four matches.

“If you’d said to me in September we’d lose this first leg 1-0 and be top of the league, I’d have signed for that for sure,” said Simeone. “The results aren’t going for us so we have to work, work, work and work.” Chelsea, meanwhile, passed their biggest test since Tuchel was appointed at the end of January, backing up a strong run against lesser lights in the Premier League with a polished display against one of Europe’s elite.

“We knew their strengths and dealt with them,” said Giroud. “We need to stay focused now and finish the job.” Giroud’s goal in the 68th minute was only the third Atletico have conceded in 14 home legs of the Champions League knockout stages under Simeone, even if this fixture was at home only in name.

Restrictions imposed by the Spanish government meant the game had to be played in Bucharest instead of Madrid, despite the return match remaining at Stamford Bridge in three weeks’ time.

Tuchel admitted the switch gave his side an advantage but Simeone refused to complain on Monday, insisting he felt fortunate to play during the pandemic,

“however and wherever that might be”.

SpaniSh clubS Struggling in EuropE: Their defeat makes it three home losses out of three for Spain’s teams in the Champions League last 16 so far, after Barcelona were thrashed by Paris SaintGermain and Sevilla were beaten by Borussia Dortmund last week.

Callum Hudson-Odoi started for Chelsea, despite Tuchel criticising the 20-year-old’s attitude against Southampton on Saturday.

Atletico started with Luis Suarez, Joao Felix and Angel Correa but an attacking line-up took up a typically defensive shape, a six-man wall quickly forming in front of Chelsea in the opening stages.

The first half was tight, each side able only to create openings but failing to find the pass to make a chance. Edouard Mendy’s heavy touch in the opening minutes almost gave the chasing Saul Niguez a tap-in while Timo Werner’s angled shot was saved by Jan Oblak and Suarez miskicked at the near post.

Chelsea looked most dangerous down the flanks, where Marcos Alonso and Hudson-Odoi pushed Atletico back. Atletico had space on the break but lacked the precision to capitalise.

Felix sprung into life early in the second half, feeding Thomas Lemar and then meeting the Frenchman’s cross with an acrobatic volley that flew over.

The game looked destined to finish goalless only for Atletico to briefly lose shape, allowing the instinctive Giroud to take advantage.

Alonso had raced away from Marcos Llorente down the left and his cross was diverted backwards to Giroud, who brilliantly bicycle-kicked into the corner, but looked offside, only for the replay to show it was Atletico’s Hermoso who had given him the assist.

The goal stood and Chelsea’s players celebrated, seemingly as surprised as anyone and delighted with a precious advantage. On the other hand, Bayern Munich brushed off their recent poor domestic form with an emphatic 4-1 win at Lazio to take a “huge step” towards the quarter-finals. Robert Lewandowski gave Bayern an early lead before 17-year-old Jamal Musiala scored his first Champions League goal on only his fourth appearance in Europe.

CMYK

Tiger Woods suffered serious injuries to both legs as his car flew off the road Tuesday near Los Angeles in a crash he was “very fortunate” to survive, law enforcement officials who found the US golf legend said.

Woods did not appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol during the early-morning incident, and underwent surgery after the roll-over collision, said Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva.

No other vehicles or passengers were involved in the crash which occurred on a steep stretch of road known as a “hotspot” for high-speed accidents in recent years.

“I will say that it’s very fortunate that Mr. Woods was able to come out of this alive,” said deputy Carlos Gonzalez, the first law enforcement official to arrive on scene.

Gonzalez found Woods trapped in his vehicle but conscious, appearing “calm and lucid” and able to identify himself. “It is my understanding that he had serious injuries to both legs,” said Los Angeles County fire chief Daryl Osby. Firefighters and paramedics extricated Woods from the wreckage of his SUV and transported him with a neck collar and backboard to a local hospital via road, where he underwent surgery.

There was “no evidence of impairment at this time” including any influence of narcotics, medication or alcohol, said Villanueva, adding that the crash remained “subject to investigation.” He added that no blood was drawn at the scene of the crash because the sheriff’s office does not have that capability. Woods, one of the most successful golfers of all time, has won 15 major golf championships. He recently underwent his fifth back surgery, and said he was uncertain if he will be able to play at the upcoming Masters, which he last won in 2019.

Woods, 45, was in the area for his annual Genesis Invitational golf tournament at the Riviera Country Club, and was driving a courtesy car on the morning of the crash. “We are awaiting further information when he comes out of surgery. On behalf of the PGA Tour and our players, Tiger is in our prayers and will have our full support as he recovers,” PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said in a statement. ‘truE chaMpion’: The crash occurred near the hilly Palos Verdes peninsula, at the bottom of a steep stretch of road which has runaway truck ramps for vehicles that lose control going downhill, and which has become notorious for fatal accidents over the years.

Apparently the first contact was with the center median, and from there (the car) crossed into the opposing lane of traffic, hit the curb, hit a tree, and there were several rollovers during that process,” said Villanueva, who did not provide a cause of the crash. The car ended up on its side on a patch of grass some distance off the road, with its hood badly damaged. News of the crash spread rapidly around the sport world and beyond, with figures inside and outside golfing swift to send their prayers and best wishes to Woods. Skier Lindsey Vonn, Woods’ former girlfriend, tweeted: “Praying for TW right now.” “Get well soon, Tiger. You are a true champion!” said former US president Donald Trump in a statement via spokesman Jason Miller.

‘DEEplY concErnED’: Woods was one of the most revered athletes in the world when he became engulfed in scandal in late 2009.

He smashed his car into a tree and a fire hydrant outside his luxury Florida home, sparking a series of scandalous revelations that doomed his marriage and put his game in freefall. He later divorced from his Swedish wife Elin Nordegren, with whom he has two children, after a cascade of women came forward to say they had affairs with the golfer, making him fodder for tabloids around the world. Woods underwent four back surgeries between 2014 and 2017. In May 2017, Woods was arrested near his Jupiter Island home in Florida for being asleep at the wheel of his car in a traffic lane.

He said he had taken a mixture of prescription drugs and did not realize they would cause him to fall asleep.

Woods pleaded guilty to reckless driving and was hit with a fine and community service. But he made an astonishing comeback to sensationally win the Masters in 2019, his first major title since the 2008 US Open.

He is the winner of 82 US PGA titles, level with Sam Snead for the all-time record. In 2000-2001, while aged just 25, Woods became the first man to hold the US Open, British Open, the USPGA and the Masters titles at the same time. Woods remains three major victories shy of the all-time record 18 won by Jack Nicklaus, but only four winners in major history have taken a title at an older age than Woods is now.

“Barbara and I just heard about Tiger’s accident, and like everyone else, we are deeply concerned,” tweeted Nicklaus. “We want to offer him our heartfelt support and prayers at this difficult time. Please join us in wishing Tiger a successful surgery and all the best for a full recovery.”

Thursday, 25 February, 2021

prayer timings

NEWS

imran says dialogue only way to resolve ConfliCts COlOmbO/islamabad

P

staff report

RIME Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday said that dialogue to resolve longstanding disputes is the only way forward for the South Asian region, Radio Pakistan reported.

Addressing the Pakistan-Sri Lanka Trade and Investment Conference in Colombo, the premier recalled: “Immediately when I came into power [in 2018], I approached our neighbour India and explained to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the way forward for the subcontinent is to resolve our differences through dialogue.”

“I didn’t succeed [in doing so] but I am optimistic that eventually, sense will prevail,” he added.

“The only way the subcontinent can tackle poverty is by improving trade relations. Let us live like civilised neighbours as the Europeans live.

Germany and France have fought multiple times [between 16th and 20th century], but today it is unthinkable for them to have a conflict because they are so interlinked due to trade. Similarly, my dream for the subcon-

tinent is that we resolve our differences.”

“Kashmir issue,” he said, “was the only conflict in the region.” “All we want is for the Kashmir dispute to be resolved according to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions and this can only be achieved through dialogue.”

Imran said that a conflict between two nations only breeds more conflict. “We need to resolve our differences through dialogue and not through conflict. Imagine the potential for trade within the subcontinent,” he said.

The only thing stopping the region from realising this potential was the inability to resolve differences through dialogue.

He expressed confidence that Pakistan could also play its part in reducing rising tensions between the United States and China.

The Trade and Investment Conference was organised in a bid to explore avenues of collaboration in diverse fields between the two counties. Regarding their relations, the premier said: “Terrorism has affected both Pakistan and Sri Lanka and counties in the region can end poverty by establishing trade relations.”

“We would much rather be a country that brings other nations and humanity to-

gether,” he said.

PM Imran urged the Sri Lankan businessmen to explore the immense opportunities offered by the government of Pakistan in the form of ease-of-doing-business. imran, raJaPaKsa disCUss bilaTEral TiEs: Earlier in the day, PM Imran and Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa held a one-on-one meeting at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo, APP reported.

During the talks held in a warm and cordial atmosphere, the premier underlined the exceptional quality of Pakistan-Sri Lanka ties marked by trust, understanding and mutual support.

HE emphasised the importance of building a robust economic partnership characterised by enhanced bilateral trade, investments, and commercial cooperation.

He also laid emphasis on deeper collaboration in diverse fields — particularly agriculture, tourism, science and technology, sports, education and culture.

The importance of sharing experiences in poverty alleviation was stressed.

Imran recalled that Pakistan and Sri Lanka have always stood by each other in testing times and reaffirmed Islamabad’s steadfast support to Colombo in future.

FAJR SUNRISE

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LG minister for increasing rent of KMC’s Hawks Bay huts KaRaCHi staff report

Sindh Local Government (LG) Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah has directed the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) administrator to revise the rent of 71 markets and 274 huts of KMC located at Hawks Hay. The minister also directed to identify the land in the city for establishing new petrol stations and expression of interest should be flouted for petroleum marketing companies to run these petrol stations.

Syed Nasir Hussain Shah gave these instructions while presiding over the first meeting of a committee formed to explore the new avenues for revenue generation for Karachi Metropolitan Corporation on Wednesday.

LG Secretary Najam Ahmed Shah, KMC Administrator Laeq Ahmed, PPP Director-General (DG) Khalid Khan, Municipal Commissioner Syed M. Afzal Zaidi, KMC Senior

Director Masood Alam, Sindh Building Authority DG Shamsuddin Soomro and others attended the meeting.

Syed Nasir Hussain Shah added that no new tax would be levied nor any increase would be made in existing taxes. He was of the view that the tax collection system should be made transparent and it must be ensured that all the revenue should go to the government exchequer instead of any one’s pocket.

The minister said that KMC and District Munic-

ipal Corporation (DMC) could resolve the issues of pension and dues of employees by increasing the revenue generation and proper utilization of their assets.

During the meeting, the minister spoke with the Senior Member Board of Revenue Qazi Shahid Pervaiz and directed him to make the transfer of properties in the city conditional to the clearance of Municipal Utility charges and no property should be transferred without clearance certificate of KMC.

Gillani’s win will be a ‘new chapter of democracy’, asserts Bilawal islamabad: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Wednesday expressed his confidence that the 11party anti-government alliance, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), would come out triumphant in the Senate elections, adding that the victory of the alliance’s joint candidate would usher in a new age of democracy.

“Insha’Allah, Senate elections will be a victory for democracy and for democratic candidates. And Yousuf Raza Gillani’s win will usher in a new chapter of democracy,” the PPP chairman said while addressing a press conference in Lahore alongside the aforementioned joint candidate, Gillani.

He thanked the other parties of the alliance for placing their faith in

the senior PPP leader, adding that the PDM’s Inflation March would take place at the end of next month.

“Yousuf Raza Gillani (when he was premier) would respond to questions from the government and opposition, come to the parliament, give everyone respect […] because you are the leader of the entire House, not your own political party,” he said, adding that the opus was now on the voters to decide upon a candidate that would assure the betterment of the country.

“This is a test for the members of our assembly. Will you vote according to the people’s expectations or out of fear of Imran Khan?” Bilawal asked. He asserted that the PDM was as united as it had ever been, and explained that the antigovernment coalition was focused

Coronavirus in

Pakistan

CONFIRMED CASES:

574,580

LAST UPDATED AT 7:55 AM ON FEBRUARY 24, 2021

DAY'S DEATH TOLL:

50

RECOVERED:

NEW CASES:

1,196 DEATHS:

538,207 12,708 SINDH:

PUNJAB:

256,741

168,891

KP:

BALOCHISTAN:

AJK/GB:

ISLAMABAD:

71,282

19,004

9,955/4,954 43,753

on the Senate elections for now, but it would soon revisit the idea of the no-confidence motion.

The PPP chairman said PDM has been “working against the illegitimate, incompetent and unqualified government from day one”.

“We know we are descending down on the battlefield with fewer votes. We know it seems our numbers are low. But even with these small numbers, we are giving the government a tough time,” he maintained.

Responding to a question about the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf’s (PTI) strongman Jahangir Khan Tareen’s return to the party fold, Bilawal said that the PDM might not be able to compete with the “airplane poses” but they would do so on the basis of “our character and democracy.” staff report

Maryam accuses PTI of being involved in ‘very disciplined rigging’ islamabad staff report

Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz has continued to carry the baton over the alleged claims of interference in the NA-75 Daska by-polls, and how now accused the ruling party and agencies of being involved in the socalled conspiracy.

“Agencies, which come under Imran Khan, the vote thief, were involved [in the rigging],” she claimed while speaking to media persons in Lahore on Wednesday.

The PML-N VP warned that she would “expose the names” if the government does not come clean.

A day earlier, she took to Twitter and claimed that she had the names of two people, adding that the staff of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had been abducted

and kept in one place all night. The results were changed in the presence of leading members of the ruling Pakistan Tehreeke-Insaf (PTI).

Since the elections occurred, Maryam Nawaz has been untiring in her pursuit of a recount, and during today’s presser, recalled the videos that she had shared on Twitter which purportedly showed the closure of polling stations “by design”. She claims that some stations were purposefully closed for nearly six hours.

“When [they saw] that despite this historic, blatant and naked rigging, PML-N was still in the lead, they kidnapped 20 officials in the garb of fog,” she said. “This is not me saying this, Election Commission’s press release is also saying it. It said that when they returned, results were altered.”

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