EpaperKHI_21-05-26

Wednesday, 26 May, 2021 I 14 Shawwal, 1442 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XI No 325 I 12 Pages I Karachi Edition

Shehbaz left iSolated aS fazl, MaryaM put preconditionS to ppp’S return to pdM fold g

ABBASI SAYS He'LL ReSIGN FROM PDM IF PPP JOINS OPP ALLIANCe AGAIN ISLAMABAD MIaN abrar

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AKISTAN Muslim League-Nawaz senior leadership Tuesday set preconditions for the return of Pakistan People’s Party to the fold of the opposition alliance of Pakistan Democratic Movement.

It merits mention here that the PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif had urged the PPP to return to the PDM fold at a dinner he hosted for the opposition parliamentary leaders on Sunday.

In this regard, Shehbaz visited the residence of PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and urged him to get the PPP back in the PDM fold.

However, Fazl told the media following the meeting that the PPP leadership would have to submit an apology for return to the PDM and explain its position on Senate opposition leader’s election.

The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl said that the PDM had convened the leadership meeting of the alliance on May 29 and the PPP should explain its stance at the meeting.

Moreover, taking a tough stance against PPP’s return of the PDM, three PML-N senior leaders Maryam Nawaz, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Marriyum Aurangzeb said that the PPP had to meet some preconditions to rejoin the PDM. Interestingly, former prime minister and PML-N senior leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has clearly said that he would resign as secretary-general of the PDM steering committee if the PPP joins the PDM again.

Abbasi said that the PDM had not extended an invitation to the PPP to rejoin the alliance.

“There are serious concerns on the return of the PPP to the PDM fold. But if the PPP becomes part of the opposition alliance again, the PDM should find a new secretary-general.

I will not compromise,” Abbasi told media here responding to the possibility of the PPPs return to the PDM. “If anyone wants to rejoin the PDM, then trust must be restored. The doors of PDM are closed for the PPP for now. First, the PPP must restore trust, then come and read the show cause notice they had torn and explain,” remarked Shahid Khaqan Abbasi referring to the show cause notice of the PDM which had

been torn by PPP Chairman Bilawal BhuttoZardari at a presser. PML-N Vice President Maryam also echoed what Abbasi told the media the same on the day.

Talking to reporters outside the Islamabad High Court, she said that former premier Ab-

basi, PML-N and she had the same position on the return of the PPP to the PDM fold.

She said that PDM is not a new alliance and it had decided that its top leadership would meet soon after the holy month of Ramadan.

When asked about her absence from Shehbaz’s dinner, Maryam replied that she had a separate role from Shehbaz and that she has to fulfil her responsibilities.

“Since it was a dinner of parliamentarians, I didn’t attend as I have my own personal engagements. Shahbaz Sharif was there to represent the PML-N there. We all are the PML-N but have different responsibilities,” she concluded.

PML-N Spokesperson Marriyum also denied any invitation extended to the PPP to rejoin the PDM. She said that issues related to PDM were not discussed at the dinner hosted

by Shahbaz Sharif and no offer was made in this regard. She said that the proposal Shehbaz made at the dinner was that the opposition parties should unite within the parliament and formulate a budget strategy.

It may be recalled that Shehbaz had given a dinner to the opposition parties in which PPP and Awami National Party leaders also participated. Sources had claimed that Shahbaz Sharif had invited the PPP and Awami National Party to rejoin the PDM. According to sources, the delegations present at the dinner of PPP and ANP have sought time from Shehbaz in this regard so that they can think and consult the party in this regard.

Opp needs unity to expose PTI's 'incompetence': Shehbaz LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz President and National Assembly Opposition Leader Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday claimed the government presented incorrect financial statistics before the nation. In a statement, he said unity among opposition parties is inevitable to save the people from what he said was the government’s fraud. All the opposition parties need to adopt a joint strategy on this matter, he suggested. Sharif further urged the opposition parties to come together to expose the historical incompetency and ineligibility of the government. Sharif hosted a dinner reception for all the opposition parties on Monday night in an attempt to again include Pakistan Peoples Party in the dysfunctional Pakistan Democratic Movement. PPP chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari skipped the event but sent a three-member delegation comprising Yousuf Raza Gillani, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and Sherry Rehman. Awami National Party that had left the PDM earlier this year was also represented

by Ameer Haider Khan Hoti. However, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman did not attend the event. INp

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BVI court releases PIA hotels, assets in Reko Diq case verdict reversal ISLAMABAD staff report

A British Virgin Islands high court has saved Pakistan International Airlines from a $6 billion payout to Tethyan Copper Company by voiding the verdict in the Reko Diq case, wherein PIA hotels in Paris and Manhattan were frozen, it emerged on Tuesday.

BVI High Court Justice Gerhard Wallbank, while passing the order on December 10, 2020, had attached certain assets belonging to Pakistan International Airlines Investment Limited, including the company’s interests in two hotels — Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan, New York, and Scribe Hotel in central Paris – as well as the erstwhile frozen 40 percent interest of PIA in a third entity, Minhal Incorporated.

Following the historic legal victory, Pakistan International Airlines has again received ownership of its hotels located in the US and France and other properties.

The court had issued the order after the TCC approached it for enforcement of the $5.97 billion award

Army's top brass takes serious notice of cross-border firing from Afghanistan

CONFIRMED CASES:

905,852

against Pakistan by the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes in Reko Diq litigation on July 12, 2019.

The BVI High Court of Justice has ruled in favour of Pakistan after a review appeal the country submitted on the Nov 2020 verdict in which TCC had won an award of US$6 billion, about the size of IMF’s bailout package to Pakistan, to be paid

by Pakistan and in turn asked the court to freeze its assets registered in BVS remits.

Moreover, the high court has further ruled the litigation expenses incurred by the country in the review appeal will also be recompensed by TCC. Attorney General of Pakistan office said judgment is a “Great legal victory for PIA and Pakistan”.

“A short while ago judgment was announced by British Virgin Island High Court.

Great legal victory for PIA and Pakistan. The order was passed earlier on the request of TCC which was seeking enforcement of the Reko Diq award.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

more inside

No more military bases for US Afghan mission: FO STORY ON BACK PAGE

Covid-19 vaccination rate hits record daily high

LAST UPDATED AT 10:03 AM ON MAY 25, 2021

DAY'S DEATH TOLL:

NEW CASES:

92

2,253

RECOVERED:

DEATHS:

823,157 20,400 SINDH:

PUNJAB:

310,557

335,577

KP:

BALOCHISTAN:

130,187 AJK/GB: 18,852/5,512

24,638 ISLAMABAD:

80,529

RAWALPINDI staff report

The Pakistan Army's top brass on Tuesday took serious notice of the recent cross-border firing incidents from Afghanistan, asking Kabul to take effective border control measures, the military's media wing said.

The concern was expressed during the 241st Corps Commanders Conference chaired

by Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa at the GHQ. The commanders undertook a comprehensive review of the global, regional and domestic security environment with particular focus on the situation along the borders especially the Line of Control/Working

Boundary and Pak-Afghan border, an Inter-Services Public Relations statement said.

While reviewing recent developments in the Afghan peace process and its attendant effects on the security situation, especially along the Pak-Afghan border, the forum "reaffirmed Pakistan’s support for regional peace and stability".

Taking serious note of the recent cross-border firing incidents emanating from Afghanistan and regrouping of terrorist leadership and outfits across the border, the meeting expressed the hope that Afghanistan's soil "will not be used against Pakistan".

"In light of emerging regional security situation, Pakistan has

taken effective border management measures and the same is expected from Afghanistan to deny any space to spoilers of peace," the forum stressed.

The meeting was apprised of the evolving operational imperatives and corresponding strategy to meet upcoming challenges. Gen Bajwa "expressed satisfaction over Army’s operational readiness in view of the emerging security threats," the ISPR said.

The commanders' review comes three days after a Pakistani soldier was martyred in an exchange of fire with Afghanistan-based terrorists in North Waziristan tribal district.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

STORY ON PAGE 03

Pakistan expects UN to resolve Palestine dispute: Qureshi

STORY ON PAGE 02

Imran urges youth to exploit skill education, employment initiatives STORY ON PAGE 02

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wednesday, 26 May, 2021

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Imran urGes youTh To exploIT skIll eDucaTIon, employmenT InITIaTIves ISLAMABAD

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Staff RepoRt

RIME Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday urged the young people to take full advantage of skill-based education and job programmes launched by his government for the creation of employment opportunities.

In a video message, the prime minister said this will benefit the youth of the country.

He further said 170,000 scholarships are

being given under the skill development programme.

He said 50,000 scholarships will be given for hi-tech skills including artificial intelligence and big data. He said this will enable the youth to get job opportunities as the world is heading towards a revolution in technology.

He said the skill education programme also envisages training in several other fields as well.

Imran pointed out that the government

has made a record allocation of Rs100 billion under the Kamyab Jawan Programme to enable the youth to start businesses. He said any young individual with a business plan can get a loan under the programme.

He said this programme will be further expanded in order to reach out to more people. He said the youth mainly want jobs in the public sector but it is, in fact, the private sector and the small and medium enterprises that provide job opportunities in good numbers.

Pakistan expects UN to resolve Palestine dispute: Qureshi ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said the United Nations Security Council will no longer be in a position to “fudge” the Palestine dispute and the body would have to act over it.

In an interview with TRT World, state-owned Turkish channel, the foreign minister said: “People who believe in the fundamental rights, must speak up. They cannot sit on the fence anymore because enough is enough.”

About the recent Israeli attacks on Palestine, Qureshi said the people who had been silent, who had been sitting on the fence were jolted to react after witnessing a grim situation in the region.

“Nobody expected that from the 27th day of Ramadan, things would take such a shape that the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation would be galvanised into action […] the Arab League would be galvanised and the NAM would be mobilised. Nobody saw such a reaction,” he recalled.

The foreign minister said that such a reaction resulted in the convening of an unprecedented emergency session of the UN General Assembly to discuss the grave human rights situation in Palestine.

A ceasefire agreement was reached between Israel and Hamas and other Gaza-based fighter groups in the Strip on Friday, but there have been tensions in occupied East Jerusalem where Israel’s police stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and fired tear gas at

Govt to deseat Dar, replace him with Tarin: minister NewS DeSk The federal government wants to deseat Senator Ishaq Dar and replace him with Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin, Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed revealed on a private TV channel programme. If Ishaq Dar does not come back to the country then he would be deseated from his Senate seat after the government would bring legislation in this regard, he said, adding that Shaukat Tareen would become a senator in this case. He claimed that Ishaq Dar will not come back and he would be deseated once President promulgates the ordinance. He dubbed Shehbaz Sharif as a mild person. Imran Khan already felt that Nawaz Sharif went abroad and if Shehbaz Sharif goes abroad then it was meant as some sort of understanding and dealing, Rashid claimed. Imran Khan does not want any kind of understanding at any cost, he maintained.

worshippers the same day after prayers.

The Egyptian-brokered ceasefire came into effect after 11 days of relentless Israel’s bombing of the besieged enclave and thousands of rockets launched into Israel by Hamas, which governs the Strip.

Responding to a question regarding the diplomatic efforts of Pakistan in securing the development, Qureshi replied the first thing Islamabad wanted to secure was a ceasefire to restrict civilian casualties.

The foreign minister who spent much of the last week on a diplomatic mission to secure a ceasefire had a “one-point agenda: cessation of hostilities. Once that [goal] was achieved, the rest would flow from it”. About the proposal of deployment of a protective force under

the UN, the foreign minister said Pakistan would discuss the idea with the UNGA president.

Commenting on the United States’ role in ending the conflict, Qureshi said the US exercises influence over Israel. “They should play a more active role in convincing them [Israel] that what are they doing [in occupying Palestinian land] is unacceptable to the world,” he said.

Responding to a question involving the Afghan peace process, he said Pakistan and Turkey want to see the peace process move ahead […] “and Washington, the Afghan people and the whole world wanted this”. Drawing similarities between the situation in Indian-occupied Kashmir and Palestine, the foreign minister said in both regions had been demanding their “right to self-determination, both were crying about democratic restructuring, and both were witnessing threats of ethnic cleansing”. Both issues had been the oldest items on the unresolved agenda of the UN, he added.

SC serves notice on Shehbaz over govt petition against UK travel ISLAMABAD INp

The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notice to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz President Shehbaz Sharif on a request of the federal government, challenging the Lahore High Court decision to allow him to travel abroad on medical grounds.

The court while hearing the plea directed the Lahore High Court to submit the entire record of the proceedings in the original petition filed by Sharif.

In his remarks on Tuesday, Justice Ijazul Ahsan asked if there was a medical emergency that led to an immediate hearing into the case. At this, Attorney General Khalid Jawed Khan said that previously

Sharif bail plea on medical grounds was turned down and there is no such record that he needed immediate medical treatment. “Even the high court did not hear the government’s argument and gave a one-sided decision besides also directing to implement it,” Khan said.

When the judge asked if a person on bail is barred from traveling abroad, the attorney general wondered if a person could go directly from jail to the airport.

Khan said Sharif conveyed to the LHC that his name is on the blacklist, however, if the government’s reply was considered during the proceeding then the high court would be able to share the facts.

“His name is currently on ECL,” he said.

Qureshi for continuous efforts to awaken world conscience on Palestine issue ISLAMABAD app

Minister for Foreign Affairs Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Tuesday stressed the need for continuous efforts to awaken the world conscience, both on humanitarian and ideological grounds, for resolving the Palestine issue on permanent basis.

He was winding up debate in the Senate on a motion regarding systematic Israeli assault on the Palestinian worshippers at Al-Aqsa Mosque and Gaza during the holy month of Ramadan, and the apartheid state’s terrorism and mass murder in Palestine, as well as the ongoing violent and illegal occupation of Palestinian lands in the world’s worst example of settler colonialism.

The foreign minister said that durable peace in the Middle East was not possible without resolving the Palestine issue, and stressed the need for evolving international consensus to formulate a comprehensive strategy for the purpose.

He said that Pakistan played a vital

role in achieving a ceasefire in Gaza to protect the precious human lives of Palestinian people.

Palestine was the oldest item on the agenda of United Nations Security Council, he added.

The minister highlighted the efforts of Pakistan during the UNSC meeting for an end to Israeli violence and barbarism against the innocent Palestinians in Gaza.

He said that the current crisis emerged on 27th Ramadan-ul-Mubarak after attack on the faithful, who were going to offer prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque. The crisis triggered as the Israeli police forcefully evicted the Palestinian families from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood.

Prime Minister Imran Khan on 28th Ramadan-ul-Mubarak, during his visit to Saudi Arabia, urged the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to act over the rising incidents of Islamophobia, he added.

The OIC's Committee of Permanent Representatives, he said, held its virtual meeting and discussed the Israeli

aggression in Palestine, particularly in Al-Quds Al-Shareef. A communique was issued, which fully focused to end Israeli aggression against Palestinians.

The foreign minister said that the federal cabinet headed by Prime Minister Imran Khan had approved sending humanitarian assistance for the Palestinian brethren. They would contact the Egyptian foreign minister for the purpose as Egypt was the only route to send any kind of support to the besieged Palestinians, he added.

Regarding withdrawal of United States troops from Afghanistan, he said that Pakistan had consistently been saying that there should be a responsible and orderly withdrawal to avoid any security vacuum.

He said that Pakistan was part of solution and not that of the problem, and the world had acknowledged it now.

Pakistan would continue to play its positive role in facilitating the Afghan peace process.

"Our sole objective is to see peace, stability and progress in Afghanistan, as

the peace in the neighbouring country is directly linked with the progress and development of Pakistan," he added.

The projects like TAPI gas pipeline and CASA-100, he said, could only be materialised if there were peace in Afghanistan. Both the projects would help end the energy crisis in Pakistan, he added.

Qureshi said that US Special Envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad had also accepted the positive role of Pakistan towards resolving the issues and stability in Afghanistan. It was a paradigm shift due to sacrifices of the people and armed forces as stability in Afghanistan was always preferred for stability in the region, he added.

Qureshi termed the news regarding presence of US military and air base inside Pakistan baseless and speculative.

No US base could exist in Pakistan during the government of Prime Minister Imran, he added.

Today, Pakistan is in safe hands, the minister concluded.

court awards 10 years jail term to raisani in mega corruption case QUeTTA INp

An accountability court on Tuesday awarded a jail term of 10 years to Balochistan’s former secretary finance Mushtaq Raisani in a mega-corruption case.

The court also ordered the confiscation of the properties of former secretary finance Mushtaq Raisani. The court handed 26 months sentence to coaccused and former provincial adviser of finance Mir Khalid Langove in the corruption case. The court acquitted former secretaries of local government Faisal Jamal and Hafiz Abdul Basit, who had been nominated in the case. The National Accountability Bureau had filed a reference against the accused in the year 2016. Balochistan’s former secretary of finance was charged with committing corruption of a staggering Rs2.24 billion in the national exchequer.

protesters at lahore expo centre demand vaccine recommended by saudi aviation NewS DeSk Those people planning on travelling to Saudi Arabia arrived at the Lahore Expo Centre to protest the lack of availability of the AztraZenc vaccine, which has been recommended by the Saudi Aviation Authority.

Protesters demanded to be inoculated with the vaccine recommended by the Saudi Arabian government. Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna, and Johnson and Johnson’s coronavirus vaccines have been approved by the kingdom. They complained that AstraZeneca is not being given to people between the ages of 30 and 40 years. The Punjab government has requested the National Command and Operation Centre to resolve the issue. Saudi Arabia’s new conditions related to the coronavirus vaccine have made life difficult for a lot of Pakistanis aspiring to travel to the country as the kingdom has not included in its list of recommended vaccines that have been manufactured in China. Read more: Saudi Arabia’s new coronavirus vaccine conditions leave Pakistani travelers in a fix Most people in Pakistan are being vaccinated with the coronavirus vaccines manufactured by China, due to which a lot of Pakistanis are figuring out how to travel to the kingdom. According to foreign media, passengers who do not receive the shots from the recommended vaccines will have to undergo a mandatory quarantine period in Saudi Arabia. The cost of the quarantine will have to be paid by the passengers themselves.

ecp submits response in murad disqualification petition kARACHI INp

The Sindh High Court on Tuesday took up a petition seeking disqualification of Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah as a member of the provincial legislative assembly. A two-member bench resumed hearing in the case and the Election Commission of Pakistan furnished its response to the petition in pursuance of court notice. The commission said in its reply that a similar case is pending in the Supreme Court, suggesting that the high court should wait for the apex court’s decision on the matter. Adjourning the matter until June 22, the bench directed the petitioner to file a rejoinder to the ECP’s response. During a previous hearing, Sindh Advocate General Salman Talibuddin argued that the Supreme Court has already handed a verdict on the point raised in the petition which, he said, is not maintainable.

Wednesday, 26 May, 2021

KARACHI

NEWS

Covid-19 vaCCinaTion raTe HiTS reCord daily HigH ISLAMABAD

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sTAff RePoRT

INISTER for Planning and Development Asad Umar on Tuesday said that 0.25 million people were administered coronavirus vaccine shots the previous day, a daily record according to government figures.

The minister, who also heads the

National Command and Operation Centre, put the number of inoculations at 267,953.

In a tweet, he also urged all those who have signed up for the vaccination drive to visit their nearest point to receive the jabs.

Those who are awaiting the second dose should ensure timely visits, he said.

Pakistan registered 2,253 new infections of Covid-19 after testing 46,726 samples, receiving back a positivity rate of 4.82 percent. With the new cases, confirmed

infections climbed to 905,852.

Meanwhile, deaths increased by 92 to 20,400. Recoveries increased by 2,783 to 823,157, or 90.9 percent of total infections.

The health department has so far tested 12,884,544 samples for coronavirus, with 46,726 in the last 24 hours.

There are currently 62,295 active cases of Covid-19 nationwide, with 4,723 of them in critical care units.

Punjab has reported 335,577 confirmed

cases, the highest in the country, followed by Sindh which has 310,557 positive cases, an NCOC statement said.

Sindh government has imposed restrictions on different sections of life, including limited business hours and a ban on unnecessary movement after 8:00 pm starting Tuesday (today) after a rise in the active cases.

The government on Monday announced not to promote students to the next grades

AgeNcies

Minister of State for Health Dr Faisal Sultan said the Covid-19 variant that devastated India, causing record infections and deaths, has not yet been found in Pakistan.

Sultan said Pakistan was still in the middle of a third wave of infections that began earlier this year, flooding hospitals with Covid patients. But he said he hoped the tide of new cases would subside in the coming weeks.

“I don’t foresee an India-like situation in Pakistan,” he told The Associated Press.

Pakistan recently offered medical aid to India to help handle the Covid-19 crisis there, but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said New Delhi did not respond.

Pakistan and India have a history of bitter relations and they have fought two of their wars over Kashmir

since gaining independence from Britain in 1947.

Sultan said Pakistan avoided a similar scenario to India because thousands of beds were added to hospitals and the production of oxygen was increased as part of a contingency plan.

However, Sultan said that “we are not out of the woods yet” and people should get vaccinated if they want to return to a normal life.

His comments came hours after Pakistan reported one of the lowest single-day death tolls from Covid-19 in recent months, with 57 fatalities Pakistan has repeatedly expressed grief over the Covid-19 situation in India, where authorities reported 4,454 new deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing India’s total fatalities from the virus to 303,720 out of 27 million cases. Pakistan has registered about 903,600 cases and 20,308 confirmed deaths since the pandemic began in early 2020.

ISLAMABAD TlTP

Sultan said Pakistan would try to vaccinate a third of the country’s population by the end of this year.

“Pakistan is offering free vaccinations to all, there is no discrimination between rich and poor,” Sultan said.

The government offers Pakistanis the Chinese-made Sinovac, Sinopharm and CanSino vaccines as well as AstraZeneca doses.

Sultan said the Pakistani government has so far vaccinated more than 5 million people, compared to only 35,000 who were vaccinated with doses imported commercially.

He said Pakistan after months of wait received its first supply of Covid-19 vaccines through the UNbacked COVAX initiative, over 1.2 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, earlier this month.

However, he said Pakistan is relying on vaccines purchased from China and enough funds were available for such purchases.

Ehsaas wallets initiative to empower women: SAPM ISLAMABAD APP

Minister of State on Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Dr Sania Nishtar on Tuesday said the government’s first-ever Ehsaas saving wallets project would play a vital role in eliminating poverty alleviation and empowering women economically.

The programme will prove to be an important

milestone for the economic empowerment of the marginalised segments of the society, she said while speaking to Radio Pakistan.

She said the government is making efforts to uplift the marginalised segments of the society, adding: “We are trying our level best to empower the neglected segments and give them financial freedom.”

Financial freedom is an effective way to provide an opportunity to the poor segments of the society and

without exams as they did last year. A meeting also decided to start examinations in educational institutes from June 20 under strict measures.

PUNJAB TO VACCINATE MEDICAL STUDENTS: Meanwhile, the Punjab government decided to vaccinate students of medical colleges and universities against coronavirus to ensure frontline individuals at risk of getting infected have protection against it.

The decision was taken during a meeting chaired by Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid. The meeting also discussed a possible move to vaccinate people employed in some 30 professions where the danger of contracting the virus is high.

Dr Yasmin said the provincial government was increasing vaccinations throughout the province, adding that data was being collected to enhance the scope of the vaccinations.

Sun to align directly over Holy Kaaba this Thursday

Minister doesn’t foresee India Covid-19 scenario in Pakistan ISLAMABAD

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include them in the process of development, she added.

The social safety net will be further expanded and one window facility will be opened at the district level to integrate all Ehsaas projects under one roof, she mentioned.

Nishtar further said the programme has been framed in accordance with the best international practices which would be fully transparent and merit-based.

Astronomers say that the sun will align with the Holy Kaaba at the Grand Mosque on Thursday at 1418 hours PST. The disc of the sun will be positioned immediately over the Holy Kaaba and it will lose its shadow for a brief time, said Majed Abu Zahra, head of the Jeddah Astronomical Society. Astronomers said the celestial phenomenon called “zero shadow” occurs twice every year at the Grand Mosque because of its location between the Equator and the Tropic of Cancer. Due to the tilt of the earth’s axis, the sun travels at 23.5 degrees north and south of the celestial equator. The sun falls directly overhead on places lying over the equator during equinox. Abu Zahra said people can determine the exact direction of the Holy Kaaba by placing a wooden stick vertically in the ground; the direction of the Qibla will be the exact opposite to the stick’s shadow.

Shafqat Mahmood tests positive for coronavirus ISLAMABAD: Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood said on Tuesday that he has contracted coronavirus. In a tweet, the minister said he is experiencing “mild symptoms”. “I feel fine with mild symptoms. Insh’Allah will get well soon,” he added. A number of high-profile politicians, including Prime Minister Imran Khan and President Dr Arif Alvi, have tested positive for the contagious disease since it was first detected in the country in February last. Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar, Minister for Industries and Production Hammad Azhar, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz President Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan People’s Party Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari are among the politicians who contracted the disease so far. sTAff RePoRT

‘Don’t stop protesting’ – The story of Palestinians studying in Lahore LAHORE AbdullAh NiAzi

As protesters began to gather at Lahore’s Liberty Chowk on the 17th of May, there was one group that stood out. Draped in Palestinian flags standing huddled under the shade of a tree, they spoke rapidly in Arabic as people continued to filter in.

The first protest at Liberty Chowk was not organized by any collectives. It was the response of the general public to calls for a demonstration made on social media, so when the crowds began to swell despite the punishing May heat, they looked for someone to lead them. It was then that this group of young Palestinian students, with great skill and fervor, stepped up and rallied the protesters, raising slogans and leading them in a march around Liberty Chowk.

“We start protesting the day that we are born. Our entire lives are spent struggling and fighting against the oppressive regime that is trying to commit genocide against us,” said one of the Palestinians leading the protest. “Generations of ours have spent lifetimes resisting, and we will continue to do so no matter where in the world we are.”

They requested not to be named.

At the next protest two days later, organized in front of the American Consulate in Lahore by the Insaf Student Federation, they were there again, and this time the crowds recognised them. When Zubair Niazi, the PTI MNA candidate from NA 125, climbed a container and attempted to give a speech to the crowd, he was heckled off.

“Let our Palestinian brothers speak, this is

not a political rally” came the voices from the crowd. And at every subsequent protest, whether they have been arranged by a political party, leftist organizations, or progressive collectives, these Palestinians have been there. They have shown up and galvanized the crowds.

“We have been in Pakistan for many years now, some of us for decades,” Rashad Ayaydah tells Pakistan Today. “People are turning out to protest, and we are grateful for this support and happy to be heard. But this cannot stop any time soon, you must keep

showing up to protests, you must keep raising your voice on social media. This is critical.”

Rashad is from the Palestinian city of Hebron in the West Bank, and he is in Pakistan to study medicine. “We have found a second home in Pakistan, and the people here always express great love for Palestine and the Palestinian people. But now we need that love transformed into actions. We need boycotts and as much noise on social media as possible. These are our most important tools in this fight.”

Rashad’s story is similar to thousands of Palestinian students that over the decades have come to Pakistan for higher education on scholarships given by the Pakistan government. Earlier this year in March, Science and Technology minister Fawad Chaudhry, in a meeting with Palestinian Ambassador to Pakistan, Ahmed Rabei, offered 50 scholarships for Palestinian students to study in Pakistani universities within the ministry’s remit. Rabei thanked the minister for the offer, pledged five million Palestinian olive saplings to Pakistan in support of the country’s tree plantation campaign, and noted that some 50,000 Palestinian students have already graduated from educational institutions in Pakistan and used the skills to contribute to the development of Palestine.

A large number of these Palestinian students come to study medicine because there is a dire need for more doctors in Palestine, particularly in the Gaza strip where Israeli attacks on civilian areas are the most deadly because of a a 14-year-long blockade that prevents freedom of movement, causes dire supply and equipment shortages and hinders medical advancement.

“There are very few doctors in Palestine as it is, but then every time the Israeli government carpet bombs our homes and our cities, they target hospitals and medical centers and kill the doctors that we do have” another Palestinian medical student at the protest told us. The wounds were fresh when we spoke to this student, as only a day before in an early morning missile attack in the alWehda district of Gaza, Dr Ayman Abu

al-Ouf, head of internal medicine at Al-Shifa hospital and one of Palestine’s most senior and well respected doctors, was killed along with members of his family on Sunday, the day before the protest. The same attack also killed Dr Mooein Ahmad al-Aloul, a 66year-old psychiatric neurologist. The day after the protest, another targeted Israeli airstrike severely damaged the only coronavirus testing center in Gaza.

Most of the Palestinians studying medicine in Pakistan will go back to Palestine and serve their people on the front lines as doctors. If the Israeli government’s continued attacks do not end, they may very well end up in the line of fire trying to defend their people and heal the injured. But it is not just doctors that come to Pakistan for training, there are others that come to learn computer science, engineering, as well as English – all so that one day they can return to Palestine and in some way contribute to the resistance against Israel’s apartheid regime.

“Some of us have been here for as long as a decade. Palestinian students have been coming to Pakistan for much, much, longer.

And we want this consistent support to continue,” says Tareq Ibrahim from Gaza.

“There can be no talk of normalization of relations between Pakistan and Israel until there is normalization for us. It is out of the question,” he says.

“What we need is people to boycott Israeli products. We need them to show up.

We need them to promote our social media so that our voices can be heard all around the world. This is what we need. This is what you can do to help our cause,” he ended.

wednesday, 26 May, 2021

04 newS

karaCHi

MaryaM distances herself froM nisar's return to political field ISLAMABAD

a

MIAN ABRAR

MID reports of contacts between Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) estranged leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and party president Shehbaz Sharif, party leader Maryam Nawaz has distanced

herself from the separated member, saying Nisar has nothing to do with the PML-N affairs.

Speaking to reporters, Maryam said that Nisar is no more in the party and there is no truth in reports of his secret meetings with the party leaders.

Former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi also told media that Nisar has left the

PML-N and the party will not take him back.

"When you leave your party, the party also leaves you. If Nisar wants to return to the PML-N, he should contact [PML-N supremo] Nawaz Sharif," said Abbasi.

He said that no one expelled Nisar from the party and he himself left it.

Abbasi said Nisar should contact Nawaz Sharif if it is his decision to come back.

“However, it is a bigger question that whether the party will take him back or not?

I do not think the party will take him back. I do not see a place for Nisar in the PML-N," he said. Commenting on the reports of meetings between Nisar and Shehbaz, Abbasi said that Nisar has no contact with anyone. "We are all his friends for decades. If he could not keep in touch with us and Nawaz, then it

Health and education top priorities for next budget: Buzdar LAHORE TLTP

Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar has said that health and education sectors will be given importance in the upcoming annual development programme.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Buzdar directed to further curtail the unnecessary expenditures in the next financial year and stressed upon the public sector departments to follow strict financial discipline to promote austerity. Work on public-private partnership based projects will have to be accelerated, he stressed.

The CM disclosed that a comprehensive programme is being devised to provide substantial relief to citizens. The general public will hear good news in the upcoming budget and industrialists as well as farmers will be provided with the necessary support, he said.

The common man will be the pivot of focus in the next year’s budget and the welfare of the impecunious stratum will be ensured despite difficult circumstances, said the chief minister.

Meanwhile, the chief minister stressed that Sindh’s objection over provision of more water to Punjab is inaccurate, saying that water was continuously supplied to Sindh at the time of sowing of crops there and when crops are being sown in Punjab, the hue and cry by Sindh is preposterous.

He said this while chairing a meeting about water reserves and the availability of water in the province.

Provincial ministers Mohsin Khan Leghari, Hussain Jehanian Gardezi, secretaries of irrigation and agriculture departments and others attended the meeting.

The chief minister said that Punjab can divert its water share to any canal according to the need, adding that tested gauges have also been placed in Punjab to compile water data.

The meeting regretted point-scoring by Sindh and expressed its concern over water shortage in Punjab.

The CM pointed out that there is no verified record of the collection of water data in Sindh. Making water a political issue is contrary to the national interest as water shortage is a technical issue that can be resolved through the constitution of joint teams of IRSA, Punjab and Sindh, the CM suggested.

He pointed out that Sindh earlier agreed to install

the telemetry system but refused afterwards. He asserted that the Sindh government is quoting wrong data on the issue of water and due to the mismanagement of the Sindh government, water is still being released from Kotri downstream.

He added that the Punjab government has sent a letter to the IRSA to depute inspectors for ensuring correct reporting about water. How can the issue of water shortage in Karachi be linked with Punjab as it has always taken care of every other province as an elder brother, the CM questioned and suggested that politics over water issue is improper for everybody.

Sindh notifies additional restrictions amid surge in Covid-19 cases PROVINCE BANS GATHERINGS OF MORE THAN 10 PEOPLE KARACHI INP

The Sindh government on Tuesday imposed additional restrictions due to surge in Covid-19 cases in the province. Sindh's Home Department issued a notification, restricting unnecessary movement of people after 8pm from Tuesday to stem the spread of coronavirus.

According to the notification, movement of vehicles will remain restricted after 8pm as only people having valid reasons will be allowed to venture out.

However, vehicles deployed for emergency, official duties and delivery of goods will remain exempted from

the restriction. All kinds of private parties, functions and marriages at home or private places with more than ten participants will be restricted.

Restaurants will remain closed with no indoor or outdoor dinning as only home delivery, takeaway and drive through services will be allowed till midnight.

Moreover, all parks, including walking and jogging tracks, shall also remain closed.

Earlier on Saturday, the Sindh government had decided to extend the coronavirus restrictions for another two weeks. A meeting of the provincial coronavirus body was held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and it was attended by ministers,

health experts, and police officials.

The health secretary, while briefing the meeting, had said that 13.97 percent of cases in Sindh were reported from Karachi between May 15 and 21, 10.83 percent from Hyderabad, and 5.40 percent from other districts. The meeting was further informed that some 213 people had died from the disease in the last 30 days, out of which 164 were on ventilators.

The meeting had decided that tourist attractions, beaches and amusement parks will remain closed for another two weeks.

“The educational institutions in the province would be opened when the Covid-19 situation would improve,” the chief minister had said, and directed the education minister to take the necessary measures to vaccinate teachers at all educational institutions.

would be difficult for him to return," he said.

Abbasi further said that Shehbaz and Maryam have the same stance over issues.

"Everyone has own way of speaking.

Maryam plays her role where she is needed.

Shehbaz can become prime minister. She will lead the party. Every office is a trust that the party decides," he added.

Meanwhile, sources said that the matters have been settled for Nisar to take oath as a member of the Punjab Assembly. The former interior minister will take oath as a member of the Punjab Assembly. He will leave Islamabad for Lahore to take oath.

Nisar could not take oath on Monday due to other issues, including the absence of the speaker and deputy speaker in the Punjab Assembly.

ntdc initiates process for construction of grid station in Mansehra Lahore: The National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC) has initiated the land acquisition process for the construction of 765/220 kV grid station in Mansehra. In this regard, a team of NTDC team along with surveyor and local revenue officials visited the site of the grid station for demarcation of land on revenue record. The spokesman of NTDC said that coordinates for demarcation were successfully reflected by the revenue team of Mansehra and a corrigendum is being prepared by the department under Section-IV of Land Acquisition Act, 1894. The 765/220 kV grid station is part of 765 kV Dasu Transmission Line Project for evacuation of power from 2160 MW Dasu Hydro Power Project Stage-I. The plan for evacuation of power from Dasu Hydro Project includes construction of 255-km long 765 kV double circuit six bundle transmission line from Dasu to Islamabad via Mansehra along with 765/220 kV grid station in Mansehra and 765/500/220/132 kV grid station in Islamabad. PR

uK can deport nawaz sharif through executive order: shahzad ISLaMaBaD: Adviser to Prime Minister on Accountability and Interior Shahzad Akbar has said that the United Kingdom (UK) can deport Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif to Pakistan with an executive order. Talking to media persons, Shahzad Akbar said that it is the law of the United Kingdom that a convicted person cannot be granted a visit visa and Pakistan has told Britain that the PML-N supremo is a convicted person, who has not received any medical treatment since arriving in the London. We have asked the UK to look into the matter and decide according to the law, he added. The PM's aide further revealed that the government has asked the UK to first see whether its law allows Nawaz Sharif to stay on visit visa because extradition is a long and lengthy process and the government will look into it later. INP

president pays tribute to martyrs of north Waziristan iBo ISLaMaBaD: President Dr Arif Alvi on Tuesday telephoned the families of the security personnel, who were martyred in an intelligence-based operation in North Waziristan, and paid tribute to their sacrifices. The president talked to the families of Captain Faheem Abbas, Sepoy Naeem Shah and Sepoy Shafiullah, and prayed for the souls of the martyrs for their elevated ranks in heaven. He also prayed to Allah Almighty to grant patience to the families of the martyrs. INP

BOOK REVIEW

Politics and Governance: Domestic and Foreign Overview DR SAEED SHAfqAt Professor Sajjad Naseer is an eminent academic, who has taught and headed the Political Science Department of the Punjab University. He has also been associated with the Department of Social Sciences of the Lahore School of Economics. His academic and research career spans over four decades, in which he has participated in several national and international conferences. He has been vigorous and dynamic in articulating his views and commentaries in the Pakistani electronic media. In that sense, Naseer is a well-known educationist, who does not need

any introduction.

Recently, Naseer has put together a book comprising of his published and unpublished writings titled: “Politics and Governance: Domestic and Foreign Overview”.

The book contains perceptive and insightful essays, research and conference papers presented in different academic settings over the past two decades. Most of the book revolves around two enduring themes/issues in Pakistani context–politics and governance.

The book covers fourteen chapters and is neatly divided into two parts.

The first part, which is longer, focuses on the domestic context. In this part, Naseer

touches on almost all issues ranging from migration to urbanisation and disaster management to judicial crisis, and then tries to weave these issues in the context of governance under Pakistani federalism. Thus, he analyses this web of complexity and in the process, leaves the reader still hunkering for the possible solution to these developmental problems. The second part is shorter but wider ranging, as it covers the contemporary sensitivities from US withdrawal from Afghanistan to issues of regional security, including war, peace and the decline of American hegemony in the world order.

On regional security, his discussion on

Pakistan’s relations with India and Pakistan’s role in Afghanistan provides informative historical overview and insights.

The overall conclusion Naseer draws is gloomy and prospects of peace, cooperation and development remain marginal. He cautions that peace will continue to be a delusion for India and Pakistan unless their respective leaders change their mind sets and make a conscious effort towards ‘trust building’ and rationalising defence expenditures.

On American global dominance, Naseer asserts that ‘nativist and protectionist interests’ are holding back its potential now. As long as America was able to curb these forces internally, its great power status was secure. He conjectures the end of American global dominance by 2030. Overall essays and articles in the book are well written, coherent, analytical and highly readable.

The academic community, policy mak-

ers, journalists and students will definitely benefit by reading the book.

Wednesday, 26 May, 2021

KARACHI

NEWS

US TReASURy DePUTy ChIef SeeS G7 BACkInG foR 15PC-PlUS GloBAl mInImUm TAx WaSHingTOn

U

AGENCIES

S Treasury Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo said he expects strong backing from G7 peers for Washington’s proposed 15 per cent-plus global minimum corporate tax, which should help solidify support in the US Congress for domestic corporate tax legislation.

“My sense is that you’re going to see a lot of unified support amongst the G7 moving forward,” Adeyemo told Reuters on Monday after France, Germany, Italy and Japan made positive comments about the Treasury’s proposal.

That support may be voiced at an inperson meeting of G7 finance ministers in London on June 4-5, Adeyemo said.

Optimism about a long-sought comprehensive deal for how to tax the largest multinationals and digital services companies has increased since the Treasury last week said it would accept a global minimum tax rate of

15% or higher.

The rate is well below the Biden administration’s proposed 21% minimum rate for U.S. companies’ overseas income and its 28% proposed domestic corporate tax rate.

The Financial Times on Thursday reported that G7 countries are close to agreement on the corporate taxation of multinational firms. While the talks are taking place among nearly 140 countries through the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), G7 countries — the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Canada — have a strong influence over multilateral decisions.

The reaction from G7 chair Britain, which currently has a 19% corporate tax rate, has been more guarded. Asked if Britain would support Washington’s 15% minimum proposal, Prime Minister Boris Johnson shifted the focus to taxation of large tech companies such as such as Alphabet Inc and Facebook Inc. “Reaching an international agree-

ment on how large digital companies are taxed is a priority, and we welcome the U.S.’s renewed commitment to reaching a solution,” Johnson said.

The U.S. global minimum tax proposal is expected to be a key topic of discussion at a preliminary virtual G7 finance leaders meeting on Friday.

DOMESTIC TAX LINKAGE: Adeyemo, who is involved in the OECD tax talks, said he expects a broad international commitment of 15% or more to build support in Congress for a U.S. corporate tax increase by narrowing the gap between U.S. and overseas rates.

In 2017, the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress cut the U.S. corporate tax rate to 21% and instituted a minimum tax rate on overseas income from intangible sources of 10.5%. Business groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have opposed any increases in U.S. tax rates, arguing they would put U.S. firms at a disadvantage.

Adeyemo said a higher U.S. minimum tax would provide incentives for

other countries to move toward the U.S. rate.

“If we can get the world to say that they’re willing to do at least 15%, it gives us the ability to come back to the international conversation once we’ve finished the domestic piece.”

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden said he was encouraged by Treasury’s progress in the negotiations.

“A global agreement could support necessary reforms to U.S. tax laws, ensuring our multinational corporations are incentivized to invest in the United States and pay their fair share,” Wyden said.

Negotiators in the OECD tax talks have been aiming for an agreement in principal this summer.

By the time of a G20 finance leaders meeting in Venice in July, there should be a good sense of unity around a global minimum tax structure, Adeyemo said.

He added that there would be many technical details to work out, so a final agreement may have to wait until G20 leaders meet in Rome at the end of October.

Army's top brass takes serious notice of cross-border firing from Afghanistan cOnTinUEd fROm pagE 01 Pakistan has consistently asked Afghanistan to ensure effective management and control on its side of the Pakistan-Afghan border.

Such attacks are common as earlier in the second week of May, a soldier was injured after militants opened fire from across the Afghan border on a military check-post in the Bajaur district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The top military brass also reviewed the situation in newly merged districts of KP and Balochistan and stressed upon "fast-paced socio-economic development of these areas to capitalise on the hard-earned peace to bring an enduring stability", according to the statement.

During the meeting, the army chief appreciated the formations for all-out support to the civil administration during the ongoing third wave of Covid-19 which he said had "contributed in bringing significant reduction in spread of the pandemic and controlling its adverse effects".

Meanwhile, US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin called Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa for the second time in three weeks.

“I reiterated my appreciation for the US-Pakistan relationship and my desire to continue to work together to further regional security and stability,” Austin tweeted on Tuesday.

Current account posts $200m deficit The country’s current account balance (CAB) posted a deficit of $200 million in April 2021 – 61 per cent lower than in April 2020, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Tuesday.

“Through the first 10 months of FY21, CAB remains in surplus of $800mn, a significant turnaround from the $4.7bn deficit during the same period last year,” a statement by the central bank said. “With the economy rebounding strongly in the current fiscal year, imports are picking up but are offset by unprecedented growth in remittances and recovery in exports,” it added.

“With the CAB contained and foreign exchange (FX) reserves at a 4 year high, the economic revival is on a sound and sustainable footing,” the statement said. NEWS DESK

A Pentagon statement echoed Austin’s words, saying “Secretary Austin reiterated his appreciation for Pakistan’s support for Afghanistan Peace Negotiations and expressed his desire to continue to build on the US – Pakistan bilateral relationship.”

The two leaders also discussed “regional dynamics and our shared interest in security and stability in the region.”

Meanwhile, the US Central Command said on Tuesday that the withdrawal from Afghanistan is going according to schedule and that the military has completed up to 20 percent of its pullout from America’s longest war.

The Biden administration has set September 11 as the deadline to complete its troop withdrawal from Afghanistan and is increasing security coordination with Islamabad as it plans its post-withdrawal posture in the region.

The US is intensifying outreach to Pakistan as it moves to complete its troop withdrawal from Afghanistan by September. The White House announced on Monday last that National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan had met his Pakistani counterpart, Moeed Yusuf, at the weekend.

The Sullivan-Yusuf meeting is the most senior inperson encounter between Washington and Islamabad since US President Joe Biden came into office in January. The two met in Geneva and “discussed a range of bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest

and discussed ways to advance practical co-operation.

Both sides agreed to continue the conversation,” the White House said.

Last week, David Helvey, assistant secretary of defence for Indo-Pacific affairs, told Congress that Pakistan continues to allow US overflight in its airspace. “Pakistan has played an important role in Afghanistan. They supported the Afghan peace process. Pakistan also has allowed us to have overflight and access to be able to support our military presence in Afghanistan,” Mr Helvey told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Asked about post-withdrawal plans, Helvey said the process is ongoing. “We’re working to reposition our counter-terrorism capabilities, including by retaining assets in the region,” he said While Biden’s plan to withdraw from Afghanistan has been criticised for increasing the risk of an Al-Qaeda resurgence and a Taliban takeover in the country, it’s also being met with praise from progressive members of Congress looking to keep the focus on domestic issues.

A total of 23 members of Congress sent a letter to Biden on Friday commending the withdrawal, saying it could save US taxpayers $50 billion dollars. The group is urging the White House to cut this amount from the US defence budget and spend it to “fund the American people's needs”.

EU to finalise huge farm policy overhaul BRUSSELS AGENCIES

EU negotiators begin two days of talks on Tuesday on a plan designed to make the bloc’s huge farming subsidies greener and fairer, although campaigners question its environmental impact.

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) will spend 387 billion euros ($473 billion), around a third of the EU’s 2021-2027 budget, on payments to farmers and support for rural development, with new rules kicking in from 2023.

The revamp aims to align agriculture with the EU’s target of zero net emissions by 2050, by tackling the 10% of EU greenhouse gases emitted by farming.

“We aim to close the deal this week,” an EU official said of talks between negotiators from the European

Parliament and the EU member states.

Article continues after this advertisement The proposed changes have come under fire from environmental campaigners, who say they lack firm targets and would allow the bulk of subsidies to be spent on polluting forms of industrial farming.

The latest proposal would set aside 23% of payments to farmers from 2023 for schemes that safeguard the environment, and 25% from 2025 onwards.

That could include organic farming or the use of feed additives to reduce methane emissions from cows.

Negotiators are also tussling over how to ensure the CAP supports small farmers.

One option is to use a stricter definition of “active farmer” recipients.

Parliament has said this should halt payments to large-scale processors of

agricultural products.

The European Commission and Parliament have sought a 100,000 euros per year cap per beneficiary, with the excess redirected to smaller farmers.

EU countries and farming groups say redistributions should be voluntary.

Pekka Pesonen, secretary-general of European farmers and agri-cooperatives group Copa Cogeca, warned against a “one-size-fits-all” approach and said farmers were being asked to make green investments despite lower subsidies.

The European Environmental Bureau says the CAP plans have no targets for reducing agricultural emissions and says firm rules are needed to keep EU countries in line.

Agriculture is the most frequently reported pressure on Europe’s habitats and species, from intensified farming practices including pesticide use and irrigation.

Oil steady near one week high as prospect of Iran glut wanes TOKYO AGENCIES

Oil prices were steady on Tuesday, holding around one-week highs after jumping more than 3% the previous session as investors tempered expectations of an early return of oil exporter Iran to international crude markets.

Brent crude futures were down 1 cent at $68.45 a barrel by 0701 GMT, having jumped 3% on Monday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were off 8 cents at $65.97 a barrel, after gaining 3.9% the previous session.

Indirect negotiations between the United States and Iran are due to resume in Vienna

this week. Talks were given another life after Tehran and the U.N. nuclear agency extended a monitoring agreement on the Middle Eastern country’s atomic programme.

Worries that Iran was soon going to start selling oil if an agreement resulted in the lifting of U.N. and other sanctions on crude exports had previously pulled down prices, but talks have not been conclusive.

“U.S. Secretary of State (Antony) Blinken poured cold water over the prospect of a revival, stating that there was no indication that Iran is willing to comply with nuclear commitments,” Sophie Griffiths, market analyst at OANDA, said in a client note.

Blinken had on Sunday told CNN: “We’ve actually made progress.”

Still, the global recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic is patchy, indicating a mixed outlook for oil demand.

Parts of Europe and the United States are recording fewer infections and deaths, prompting governments to ease restrictions, but in other areas such as India – the world’s third-biggest oil importer – rates are still high.

New coronavirus infections in India rose by 222,315, government data showed on Monday, the world’s biggest 24-hour increase, though numbers have fallen off highs of over 400,000 earlier this month.

cmYK

05

BVI court releases PIA hotels, assets in Reko Diq case verdict reversal cOnTinUEd fROm pagE 01 All orders passed against PIA earlier are now recalled by the Court. Receiver removed from Roosevelt hotel, NY and Scribe Hotel, Paris. Cost of litigation also awarded,” said a statement issued by the AGP office on Tuesday. Additional Attorney General for Pakistan and International Disputes Unit head Ahmed Irfan represented Pakistan before the BVI court. The PIA engaged its own legal team in the case. Similarly, all offshore companies, two registered PIA hotels hired their separate counsels.

Prime Minister Imran Khan has appreciated the efforts of the international disputes unit and the office of the attorney general. Earlier this year, the legal team of Tethyan Copper, a gold and copper exploration company involved in Balochistan to develop the Reko Diq mine, visited Islamabad to settle the billion-dollar dispute with the government.

According to Civil Aviation Authority, the office of the attorney general had requested a travel permit for the team from February 9 to 15. Following the AG office’s request, the team was allowed to visit the country. In 2013, the Supreme Court, in a longrunning dispute between the Balochistan government and TCC — a joint venture between Chile’s Antofagasta and Canada’s Barrick Gold — over the right to develop a $3.3 billion copper-gold deposit, ruled against the latter, citing imbalanced stakes. According to the original agreement signed in 1993, Balochistan holds a 25 percent stake in the project, with Tethyan holding the remaining 75 percent. Subsequently, in July 2019, a World Bank arbitration court ordered the government to pay damages of $5.8 billion to Tethyan. Since then, the government is in talks with Tethyan to settle the dispute. “We have been engaged in negotiations with parties involved in the Reko Diq dispute,” said an official who is part of the team handling negotiations, without providing further details. The parties have been in talks for an extended period since Tethyan in 2018 expressed willingness to explore a negotiated settlement, Reuters quoted a second official as saying in 2019. A spokesman of CCA said that Covid-19 protocols would be strictly followed keeping in view the health of the foreigners. Reko Diq, located in Pakistan’s southwestern province of Balochistan, is one of the world’s biggest untapped copper and gold deposits.

Development of the asset has been stalled for nearly a decade by the long-running dispute. Following the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes order, Tethyan board chair William Hayes had said in a statement the company was still “willing to strike a deal with Pakistan,” but “it would continue protecting its commercial and legal interests until the dispute was over.”

PTA issues mobile device manufacturing licenses to 19 companies iSLamaBad STAFF REPORT

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has issued mobile device manufacturing authorisations to 19 foreign and local companies for the production of 2G, 3G and 4G mobile devices locally. According to PTA, initially valid for next 10 years, the manufacturers may also establish their own new brand under the authorisation, helping promote a ‘Manufactured in Pakistan’ culture. Mobile devices produced by these manufacturers shall not only be sold in the country but can also be exported to other competitive markets of the region and beyond. The device manufacturing plants shall be instrumental in providing new job opportunities and low priced handsets for the Pakistani users. It may be mentioned here that the government has introduced a comprehensive and supportive Mobile Manufacturing Policy aimed at encouraging manufacturers to set up their plants in Pakistan, subsequent to which PTA issued Mobile Device Manufacturing (MDM) Regulations in 2021.

Wednesday, 26 May, 2021

06 COMMENT

Pakistan’s economy needs sustainable growth

Shahbaz Sharif’s dinner Is the Ice breaking?

M

anY in the media had declared the Pakistan Democratic alliance (PDM) dead when after whipping up a political storm midway into Prime Minister imran khan’s tenure the alliance ran aground. the bitter exchange of accusations that followed led many to believe that any effort to revive the PDM amounted to flogging a dead horse. it was forgotten that the factors that had fueled the PDM’s rise still existed, particularly the determination on the part of the powers-that-be to hog politics. thus there are objective compulsions overriding personal likes and dislikes that are bound to lead to the revival of the opposition alliance, irrespective of whether it is called PDM or is given any other name.

PML(n) President shahbaz sharif has decided to divert his energies to bringing together the estranged opposition parties. at the dinner hosted by him for the purpose all the major parties and most of the smaller parties were duly represented. those in the forefront of the PDM infighting excused themselves but sent important leaders of their parties to represent them at the dinner. in his brief chat Mr sharif asked the participating opposition leaders to jointly expose the upcoming budget 2021-2022. He was quoted as saying that it was a responsibility of opposition parties to resist all antipeople decisions being taken for the budget. the mere fact that all the major parties and most of the smaller ones were duly represented was indicative of a desire on the part of the opposition to work together. there was no presser after the meeting, indicating the informality of the gathering, Mr sharif reportedly called upon the PPP and anP representatives to resume their seats in the PDM. He was told they would consult their parties first. in spite of the opposition remaining disunited in the senate, Mr Yousuf Raza Gilani’s presence at the dinner shows there is a desire to improve relations. the PPP delegation assured Mr sharif that the party would support all moves on the part of the joint opposition to block the way of “antipeople decisions” when the budget is presented. it was agreed that the joint opposition would not allow the government to present an anti-people budget. there is a likelihood of the opposition giving the government a run for its money during the Budget session.

Progress has been made, but careful handling still needed

Kashif Mirza

P

akistan’s economy performed beyond expectations with all major macroeconomic indicators showing a positive trend amid the covid-19 pandemic, resulting in a 3.94 percent economic growth rate this fiscal year, compared to a revised negative 0.47pc in 2019-2020. the growth figures came as a surprise as the state Bank of Pakistan (sBP) had estimated GDP growth at 3pc, while the Finance Ministry’s projection was slightly on the lower side. the growth projection of multilateral donors— the international Monetary Fund and the World Bank— was between 1.3percent and 1.5 percent for the fiscal year 20202021. now the 2021-2022 budget will be a major opportunity for Pakistan’s economy to accelerate out of the covid-19 pandemic by encouraging homegrown enterprise at the same time as attracting foreign investment. Foreign Direct investment (FDi) has always been a constant priority for successive governments. total FDi in 2019 rose by 30 percent compared with the year before to $2.2 billion, which is good news as investment creates jobs and increases prosperity for the country. the coming budget is the time to act and to strengthen the fabric of Pakistan’s economy.

We need two million jobs every year. the economy needs to expand by 7 percent next year. the federal government will earmark as much as $6 billion for development expenditure in the upcoming year.

Pakistan plans to boost spending on large infrastructure projects by as much as 40 percent to create jobs and foster productivity in an economy crippled by the coronavirus pandemic. First we have to get more revenues, targeting about Rs 6 trillion next year in tax authority revenue, compared with this year’s Rs 4.75 trillion target. Unless we get more revenues, forget about any incentives to boost the economy.

Keeping the balance Both the USA and China need to be kept satisfied

i

Progress may be slow, but it’s happening

Washington Watch Dr JaMes J zogby

I

n the 45 years since launching the Palestine Human Rights Campaign, i’ve witnessed more tragic wars than i can care to count and defended Palestinians against more heinous crimes than i can bear to list. During all this time, we’ve had american supporters who have embraced the cause of Palestinian rights and supported our calls for justice. But never have i witnessed the sea change in opinion and its impact on the policy debate that is now taking place.

Five decades ago, there were a handful of Members of Congress who would courageously speak out and there were some Christian churches, peace and civil rights leaders, and small progressive Jewish groups who would endorse our appeals for Palestinian human rights. For their efforts, they, like us, were subjected to intimidation seeking to silence their voices or punish their advocacy.

Change began with the first intifada, as national television broadcast israeli troops firing on stonethrowing Palestinian youth, and the horror that greeted Yitzhak Rabin’s orders to his soldiers to break

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

deficit‒ the gap between expenditures and revenues‒ will be 6.7 percent of GDP in the current fiscal year and 4 percent for fiscal year 2022-2023, which will be the last year of the Pti government. Revenues have been calculated at 16.1 percent of GDP for the current fiscal year, slightly higher than the government’s budgetary target.

Pakistan needs annual economic growth of around 7 percent to create jobs sufficient to absorb the youth bulge. any economic growth below this adds to unemployment and poverty. Debts have soared to a level where it is impossible for any new government to govern efficiently. they borrow to retire past loans and some more to run their affairs. there must be more attention on industrial growth and projects that add to the economy by creating jobs and boosting exports. Hence, this vicious cycle of debt has crippled our economy and resulted in excruciating inflation. the people of Pakistan struggle day in and day out, facing the worst of the inflation and unemployment. We need long term plans that ensure debt retirement and steps to strengthen the economy by boasting industrial, agricultural, and service sectors.

Moreover, there is an urgent need of fiscal forms, as economic privileges accorded to Pakistan’s elite groups, including the corporate sector, feudal landlords and the political class, add up to an estimated $17.4 billion, or roughly 6 percent of the country’s economy, a new United nations report has found.

Over time, once the recovery has taken a strong hold, policies should shift gradually to facilitating reallocation of workers from sectors likely to shrink on a long-term basis to growing sectors. the path ahead will require skillful domestic policies that manage trade-offs between lifting nearterm activity and addressing medium-term challenges, while sustaining the recovery will also require strong international cooperation on health and financial support for countries facing liquidity shortfalls. Moreover, investments in health and education including remedying losses incurred during the pandemic can help achieve participatory and inclusive growth.

The writer is an economist, anchor, analyst and the President of All Pakistan Private Schools Federation. President@pakistanprivateschools.com

The US debate on Israel/Palestine is changing

t might seem that Pakistan had launched a diplomatic blitz to win over the Usa, though this was only a coincidence of timing. as Foreign Minister shah Mehmood Qureshi called for a broad-based strategic partnership with the Usa in new York, where he had gone to attend the Un General assembly session that had met to stop the israel-Palestine conflict, newlyappointed national security adviser Moeed Yusuf was meeting Us counterpart Jake sullivan in Geneva to discuss bilateral matters. this comes in the backdrop of the Foreign Office’s denial of any Us bases on Pakistani soil, and the Pentagon’s saying that Pakistan afforded access and overflight. the first caveat necessary is that all this Us interest maybe because of Pakistan’s importance to peace in afghanistan. the Usa wants that peace so as to be able to withdraw from that war-torn country, while Pakistan will be more concerned about what will happen after the withdrawal. Pakistan does not want to be left in the lurch, as it was after the soviet withdrawal from afghanistan, with no political settlement in place to manage the peace. the second caveat is the more sinister one that the Usa is preparing for its impending clash with China, and would like to break off one of its closest allies, Pakistan, on the basis of its old ties with Pakistan.

However, Pakistan should not forget that the Usa has grown closer to india in the recent past, and hopes to prop it up against China in the region. Pakistan has faced this situation half a century ago, before the sino-Us rapprochement that followed Us President nixon’s visit to Beijing, and it must resist all efforts, from whichever quarter, to choose between two countries which are both of great importance to it, and must give both the importance they have in its foreign policy framework.

Both have their individual importance to Pakistan, and thus neither can be allowed to dictate to Pakistan how it is to interact with the third.

Yousaf Nizami Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

Pakistan’s economy, in nominal terms, has ballooned by Rs 6.1 trillion or 14.8 percent in the outgoing fiscal year 2020-21 compared to the last fiscal year mainly because of higher inflation figures. On other hand, in dollar terms, Pakistan’s GDP size increased from $263 billion in 2019-2020 to $296 billion whereas it went up by $33 billion in the current fiscal. the exchange rate appreciation helped the government to jack up the size of the economy in dollar terms by $33 billion in either financial year. the exchange rate improved so it decreased the public debt as well as improved the GDP size in dollar terms. the per capita income in dollar terms has jumped by 13.4pc to $1,543 during this fiscal year from $1,361 last year. the per capita income had posted a growth due to a combination of GDP growth and strengthening of the rupee against the dollar. the central bank, which has cut interest rates to a three-year low to support the economy, has been on pause mode for a while and has left some of the heavy lifting to the government. For a number of years, the services sector was a major reason for economic growth in the country and it has witnessed a growth of 4.43 percent this year. the services sector has been impacted this year too, partially by the covid-19-related shrinkage in service delivery in major sectors. However, the agriculture sector posted a —paltry 2.77 percent growth, while industrial output grew 3.57 percent. Our V-shaped recovery is balanced between the three major sectors— agriculture, industry and services. the concept is proving true in Pakistan’s case given the burgeoning remittances, current account surpluses, ameliorating foreign exchange, and an orderly market-based rupee. the current positive situation will only be short-lived if there isn’t an upturn in exports on robust fundamentals. Hence the government must ensure that it devises a strategy with fiscal reforms focused on perennially increasing exports.

Pakistan’s fortunes are linked to China’s growth, and the Mainline Project in Pakistan is a railway line that runs all the way from karachi in south to Peshawar in north. it is the largest Chinese initiative in Pakistan. More than 2600 kilometres of railway track is being built at a cost of $6.8 billion. it will not be an easy task for the government to revive the stalled $6 billion iMF loan programme. Pakistan’s budget

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the bones of the young protesters. Building on this shifting opinion, Jesse Jackson elevated the issue of justice for Palestinians during his 1988 presidential campaign. that year, we succeeded in having the issue debated, for the first time, from the podium of the Democratic convention. after the Madrid Peace Conference and the Oslo accords, there was another observable shift in Us opinion. On closer examination, however, the change was largely on the Democratic side. President Bill Clinton and the Democrats backed the “Oslo process,” while Republicans, whose party had increasingly come under the influence of the right-wing Christians and Reagan-era neo-conservatives, embraced a hardline pro-israel stance. since then, this partisan divide has continued to widen. as a review of current polling makes clear, this partisan split increasingly masks america’s very real demographic divide on a range of domestic and foreign policy concerns. On the Democratic side, the largest component group of voters are Blacks, Latinos, asianamerican, millennials, and college-educated women.

While on the Republican side, over 40% of their voters are White, older, less than college-educated, or “born again” Christians. their respective views on israel/Palestine are mirror images of one another.

Polls now show that the majority of Democratic voters hold deeply unfavorable views of Benjamin netanyahu, oppose many israeli policies, and favor conditioning Us aid to israel based on their treatment of Palestinians. not only have attitudes changed, but progressive Jewish groups and organized arab americans have been empowered by this new political en-

Islamabad – Ph: 051-2204545

vironment and have been engaging their elected officials. this has emboldened Members of Congress to speak out. in response to both israel’s recent policies in Jerusalem and the bombardment of Gaza, this split is having an impact in Congress. the result: for the first time in 30 years, a dozen Members took to floor of Congress to denounce israeli efforts to evict Palestinians from their Jerusalem homes and the killings of civilians in Gaza; more than one-half of the Democratic senate caucus has called for an immediate israel-Hamas ceasefire; and progressives in the House are calling on the President to stop a proposed Us arms’ sale to israel. also noteworthy has been the muted responses of normally pro-israel Democratic senators and Representatives. they know where their base voters are on this issue and they, therefore, are treading carefully. the Us press has given extensive coverage to this development. i was so proud to see a New York Times front page story open with the sentence “in 1988, when James Zogby...pushed Democrats to include mention of Palestinian sovereignty in their platform they responded with a clear warning... ‘if the P-word is even in the platform, all hell will break loose.” the article goes on to note how the issue we raised and lost back then, is now centrestage in the policy debate. that’s the good news. More sobering is the fact, as i noted in the same story, “the base of the party is in a very different place than where the party establishment is.” We haven’t won this policy debate, not by a long shot. But what’s new and important is that we’re forcing a debate. and that’s the first step on the road to change.

As I noted in the same story, “The base of the party is in a very different place than where the party establishment is.” We haven’t won this policy debate, not by a long shot.

But what’s new and important is that we’re forcing a debate. And that’s the first step on the road to change

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Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

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The writer is President, Arab American Institute.

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Wednesday, 26 May, 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

Martyred policemen of Shikarpur

Humanity: a casualty of global politics The world powers must exert themselves to end the repression of both Palestine and Kashmir

MaliK MuhaMMaD ashraf

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ike the people of Palestine, the people of kashmir have also been subjected to unending persecution by the indian security Forces over the 73 years, especially since the launch of the freedom struggle in 1989. the history of oppression on them is replete with incidents of horrendous nature where the indian security forces, like the israeli military, have exhibited extreme brutality. in this regard the killing of 55 kashmiris on 21 January 1990 in srinagar, who were protesting against rape of kashmiri women by personnel of the indian security forces, constitutes an act of ultimate bestiality. international human rights organizations, including amnesty international, have been regularly compiling reports about these killings and human rights abuses by the indian security forces. according to these reports the indian security forces from January 1989 to 31st December 2020 have killed 95,723 kashmiris, arrested 161,330 civilians, demolished 110,383 houses, widowed 22,922 women and gangraped 11,226 women. the recent discovery of mass and unnamed graves of 2043 kashmiris in different parts of the indian Occupied Jummu and kashmir also indicates how ruthlessly and inhumanly the people of kashmir are being treated. it has been a story of unparalleled persecution, perpetrated with impunity by the indian security forces enjoying immunity from prosecution under ‘the armed Forces (Jammu & kashmir) special Powers Ordinance 1990. the nature and extent of brutality of the indian security forces has taken a new turn after the repeal of articles 370 and 35a of the indian Constitution by the BJP regime on 5 august 2019 followed by bifurcation of the territory into two; its annexation to the indian Union and the promulgation of laws to change the demographic realities of the state in contravention of the security Council resolutions, international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention. the entire population is under siege, coupled with a communications blockade. extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture, harassment of civilians, arbitrary arrests of youth, persecution of political leaders, ban on human rights organizations and a witch-hunt against dissenters, media houses and journalists are being employed to kill the freedom movement and the likelihood of any resistance. according to a report compiled by the kashmir

institute of international Relations 325 kashmiri youth have been killed since 5 august 2019 during cordon-and-search operations and fake encounters staged by the indian security forces. the siege and suspension of economic activities since 5 august has also led to severe economic meltdown, which is being widely perceived as a deliberate attempt on the part of the BJP government to render kashmiris economically crippled and dependent on the indian state. india has been striving to sell its narrative that what it has done in indian-Held kashmir is its internal matter. nevertheless the redeeming fact in this regard has been that the international community has not accepted that narrative. two Un reports also corroborate the abuse of human rights in the state. a number of world leaders and persons heading important Un organizations have expressed grave concern in regards to violation of human rights in indian-Held kashmir. the Un secretary General also expressed concern on the abuse of human rights in indianHeld kashmir and emphasized the solution of the kashmir dispute in conformity with the Un resolutions. the UnsC in its three informal meetings held in the backdrop of the indian action of 5 august 2019 has also reiterated that a solution to the kashmir dispute should be found in accordance with the principles of the Un Charter and the relevant resolutions.

Regrettably, while the settlement of kashmir dispute in accordance with the UnsC resolutions is acknowledged as a way forward and concern is shown on the abuse of human rights in indian-Held kashmir, no initiative has come forth either from the Un– which has the obligation to resolve the dispute in consonance with security Council resolutions– or the world leaders to use their influence on india to rescind her actions in the state, stop persecution of the kashmiris through inhuman actions and fulfilling her obligations under the Un resolutions. a report in The Los Angeles Times claimed that the Modi government had taken the Us administration into confidence before taking action in indian-Held kashmir. the issue of kashmir, like Palestine, is hostage to global politics. india’s strategic partners are looking the other way while the Modi regime continues to persecute the kashmiris. it is a reward to india for her role in furthering the objectives of the their ‘contain-China’ policy, which badly reflects on their humanitarian credentials and the much

trumpeted respect for the Un Charter, international Law and Un resolutions. they fail to realize that their indifference to the plight of kashmiris and indian hegemonic designs spurred by the supremacist Rss ideology of ‘Hindutva’ is pushing the region towards perennial instability and a possible military confrontation between the two nuclear neighbours. such an eventuality would not only undermine their strategic interests in the region but would also prove destructive for the south asian region and beyond. non-resolution of the kashmir dispute, even after 72 years, is an affront to the conscience of the world community as well as the Un as a peacemaking body. india needs to be stopped in her tracks before it is too late. indian leaders must also understand that they cannot get away with their machinations in regards to keeping the people of indian-Held kashmir under subjugation, denying them their right to self-determination and maintaining a hostile posture towards Pakistan which is a party to the dispute. acting as a war-like state could ultimately also prove self-destructive for her. the world powers, especially the Usa, which more or less is responsible for the nonresolution of the Palestine and kashmir issue notwithstanding UnsC resolutions, need to revisit their strategy of giving priority to their own perceived strategic interests over humanitarian causes. it would not only undermine those interests in the long run but would also impart perennial instability to both the regions, leading to repeated recurrence of incidents of death and destruction which we witnessed during the israeli bombardment of Gaza. the situation is more precarious in the south asian region where two nuclear powers are party to the kashmir dispute. indian hostility and continued aggressive posture towards Pakistan is fraught with grave danger to the peace and security of the region. the indian indiscretion of sending its planes to bomb an imaginary terrorist camp at Balakot in February 2019 almost brought the two countries to the brink of war.

But Pakistan showed remarkable restraint and commitment to peace and managed to defuse the situation with the help of the friendly countries. any future adventure by india may not end the same way.

The situation is more precarious in the South Asian region where two nuclear powers are party to the Kashmir dispute. Indian hostility and continued aggressive posture towards Pakistan is fraught with grave danger to the peace and security of the region.

The Indian indiscretion of sending its planes to bomb an imaginary terrorist camp at Balakot in February 2019 almost brought the two countries to the brink of war.

Malik Muhammad Ashraf is an academic.

He can be contacted at: ashpak10@gmail.com.

ReCentLY the 4 policemen were martyred at shikarpur and it was the first time that the aPC one of the most solid and strongest weapon of police was captured by the terrorist due to having latest weapons to the terrorist and the policemen were wounded and get testimony due to having no latest weapons that must be given to them, as this was the highest mistake and brutal corruption that become the question mark in the history of police. the bullets crossed into the aPC and wounded to the policemen, how shameful it is that the corruption has been involved in the sensitive materials of security forces, these weak aPCs became the cause of loss and make stronger to the terrorist that they were dancing and celebrating their brutal action on the aPC. as the social media is criticizing that their should be the military operation as it is happening in Waziristan and Fata but i think the police is brave as they proved it with their testimony so they should be given the latest weapons as these facilities are with other countries like they should be given latest anticraft Gun, Gun ship helicopter and Gunship Drone’s because they extremely need such weapon to show their boldness. if these weapon will be given to the police then they don’t need any other forces to offend the terrorist. the weapon of police should be update and the inquiry should be done against those corrupt officers who corrupted the fund of aPCs. Siraj ahmEd abbaSi KaShmorE

What is life tHeRe are a lot of meanings of life, life is activity, being, breath, enthusiasm, entity, esprit, essence, excitement, get-up and go, growth, heart, impulse, live, soul, sparkle, verve, zest, elan vital, existence, career, expectancy, extant, time, animateness, creature, endurance, behavior, development, enjoyment, happiness, journey, like this, there would be thousand of meanings of life, but, what actually life is? , What is the purpose of life?, Well, why, what and how such questions perpetually come in every individuals lives. the life is when you go out and you seek for people who need your help. and you make their lives better so that is the actual life . the life is when you courage someone to his or her destiny, the life is when you love to yourself and you spread the same love to people, life is when you give your time to others, life is when you take care of everyone, life is when you complicit to others sorrow and happiness, life is that, which shows how people took at their individual lives. as well as, the life of others around them so as to make a sense of what they do with their existence on earth.

Furthermore, life is a meaning and purpose, we say it’s difficult to live but in reality it’s not. apart from this, in life, the experiences are major part, in fact it guides an individual through his life till his death, as the words of Marice Curie, “Life is not easy for any of us. But what of life?, We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves, we must believe that we are gifted for something and that thing must be attained”.

Faraway, every year on the earth in different places the people do suicides and finished their lives because they don’t know yet what life is?, the reason is , they do live one routine of a day for 60 years. therefore, they don’t see new things in their lives. because complete life they are working hard to make money. additionally, life is when every morning you listen a good thing, see good and think the best so that makes the life to live. and to me life is when you invite everyday and live the best.

Moreover, if you want a purpose in your life then , ask your heart that, am i not having a purposeful life? see around the things, i surely know you will get your answer from your heart, that what life is? alia aSadullah TurbaT

Heat stroke and Karachi WitH the mercury in karachi escalating, heatstroke remains the most familiar condition. Heatstroke is the severe heat injury that can at utmost kill or cause damage to the brain, heart, kidneys, and other internal organs. it often results from prolonged exposure to high temperatures, which, when combined with dehydration, causes the body’s temperature control system to malfunction. a core body temperature of over 104 degrees Fahrenheit is the cardinal symptom of heatstroke. However, fainting may be the first symptom. Other symptoms may include throbbing headache, dizziness, lack of sweating despite the heat, red and dry skin, muscle weakness or cramps, nausea, and rapid heartbeat, shallow breathing, behavioral changes such as confusion, disorientation, or staggering, seizures, unconsciousness. the damage worsens the longer treatment is delayed, increasing your risk of serious complications or death. thus, if you suspect that someone is having a heat stroke, immediately call a helpline or take the person to the nearest hospital or initiate first aid while you wait for the paramedics to arrive. Move the person to an air-conditioned environment, or at least a cool, shady area. if possible, take the person’s core body temperature and initiate first aid to cool it down to 101 to 102 degrees Fahrenheit.

For reducing the temperature, following cooling strategies could be attempted: Remove any unnecessary clothes, fan air over the patient while wetting their skin with water from a sponge or wet towel, apply ice packs to the patient’s armpits, groin, neck, and back. it will help in reducing the body temperature as these areas are rich with blood vessels close to the skin, immerse the patient in a shower or tub of cool water. if the person is young and healthy and suffered heatstroke while vigorously exercising – a condition known as exertional heat stroke – an ice bath can be used to help cool the body. However, it should not be applied to elderly people or children, patients with chronic illnesses, or anyone who experienced heatstroke without engaging in vigorous exercise. this can be hazardous.

Samrah imran Karachi

Wednesday, 26 May, 2021

08 WORLD VIEW

The IsraelI army’s propaganDa war WHILE BOMBING MERCILESSLY GAZA AND KILLING CHILDREN, THE ISRAELI ARMY KEPT TWEETING THAT ISRAEL IS A VICTIM

al Jazeera

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Belen Fernandez

N May 14, the official Twitter account of the Israeli military tweeted a “pop quiz” video, inviting viewers to “imagine” that they themselves were the Israeli armed forces deciding what to do in response to rocket fire from the Gaza Strip. The answer options were: “A. Nothing[.] Allow terrorists to destroy Israeli cities,” or “B. Target the terrorists who fire the rockets.”

According to the military, there was “only one right answer”: option B. In reality, a more accurate answer would have been something like: “C. Bomb Gaza to smithereens and massacre entire Palestinian families in ‘response’ to rockets that are not even capable of destroying Israeli cities – and that are only being fired at Israel because Israel has spent the past 73 years massacring and otherwise tormenting Palestinians.”

Nearly 250 Palestinians have thus far been killed, including 66 children, in the Israeli assault that began on May 10. As usual, the Israeli military Twitter account has served as a valuable weapon for conducting a parallel propaganda war to bolster the

physical one.

The account, which currently boasts 1.5 million followers, is largely dedicated to inverting the roles of victimiser and victim to portray Israel as the latter – in theory a formidable task, given that “victims” do not usually violently erect their country on other people’s land and subject the rightful inhabitants to ethnic cleansing and slaughter.

The completely disproportionate destruction in Israel and Gaza means that the Israeli military is often reduced to tweeting about air raid sirens, with helpful colourful maps: “Every red dot marks sirens in Israel over the last 30 minutes: Israel is under attack.”

If the red dots were not traumatising enough, a tweet on May 11 encouraged Twitter users to listen to an audio clip of “SIRENS IN TEL AVIV” and to “imagine hearing this sound and having seconds to run for your life.” On May 12, another tweet announced: “It’s 3 AM and more rockets are being fired at Tel Aviv. Families are being woken up & rushed to bomb shelters.”

Never mind the lack of air raid sirens or bomb shelters in Gaza. Imagine being, say, six-year-old Suzy Eshkuntana, pulled from the rubble of her Gaza City home seven hours after an Israeli air attack killed her mother and four siblings. Or imagine being Eman Basher, a teacher with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, who on May 13 tweeted: “Tonight, I put the kids to sleep in our bedroom. So that when we die, we die together and no one would live to mourn the loss of one another.”

The Israeli army is all about “imagin-

ing”, but only from Israel’s invented perspective. Another epically sensational video tweet, titled “Imagine This Was Your Reality”, purports to show how “ALL OF ISRAEL IS UNDER FIRE” via a montage of rockets, flames, and people running. The video incites viewers to “imagine if it was Washington”; “Imagine if it was Paris”; “Imagine if it was London”.

Meanwhile, this same army continues to inflict an apocalypse of cinematic proportions upon the Gaza Strip. Imagining Israel as the victim requires a good deal of imagination, indeed.

Occasionally, the army urges the Twittersphere to imagine events through an alleged Palestinian perspective. Its May 18 video tweet, “Hamas’ Use of Human Shields, Explained,” begins: “Imagine your home surrounded by terrorism” – something that presumably does not require a stretch of the imagination for Gaza residents, watching as Israel flattens high-rise buildings around them.

According to the beyond-tiresome Israeli narrative, Palestinian “terrorists” embed in civilian areas and are, therefore, to blame when Israel wipes out civilians. To be sure, the army regularly provides rigorous evidence in support of this narrative – as would be expected of any entity with such technological prowess.

For example, a now-deleted version of the “Hamas’ Use of Human Shields, Explained” video included footage of what Israel claimed were Hamas rockets embedded in civilian neighbourhoods in Gaza. But as Reuters journalist Raphael Satter pointed

out, the footage was actually of a “2018 Israeli training exercise” in – guess where – Israel! (Satter went on to remark that the fact that the Israeli military has “trouble distinguishing Hamas rockets from Israeli rockets does not inspire confidence in the quality of their intelligence”.)

A similar digital snafu befell the state of Israel in May 2010 when the army killed eight Turkish activists and one TurkishAmerican on board the Mavi Marmara, the flagship of a flotilla seeking to deliver aid to Gaza. As per the official Israeli line, the Israeli commandos who had descended from helicopters shooting people were the real victims of the episode, and the Israeli Foreign Ministry went about uploading photographs of the “weapons” allegedly found on board, including marbles, keffiyehs, kitchen knives, and slingshots.

This slingshot photo was initially specified as having been taken in February of 2006, ie more than four years before the airborne commandos were brutally assaulted in the middle of the sea by people delivering baby incubators and medicine to a besieged coastal enclave. Granted, when your whole victimhood narrative is a lie in the first place, what need is there to be meticulous about the particulars?

In the end, if you are the Israeli army and you have got an internet connection, there is pretty much nothing you cannot argue. Were the army in charge of tweeting about other varieties of current events, we would likely hear of deer assaulting hunting rifles, snorkelers’ legs attacking sharks, chainsaws being victimised by tree trunks, mice being

Nobody wants rules in space AS SPACE BECOMES MORE CROWDED, THERE’S LITTLE HOPE FOR NEW INTERNATIONAL RULES TO MAKE IT SAFER defence One

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Patrick tucker

EBRIS from a crashing Chinese rocket hurtling toward Earth and a Russian projectile-shooting spy satellite are the two examples of a big problem: too few rules governing how nations behave in space. Capitol Hill, lawmakers pressed Biden administration officials on what the United States can do to set some hard boundaries. The answer: The United States wants norms in space, but don’t expect anything legally binding anytime soon.

There are some internationally agreed upon rules for how nations can use space.

The 1967 Outer Space Treaty says countries can’t place weapons of mass destruction in space. But the treaty doesn’t prohibit putting other weapons in space, shooting at satellites with anti-satellite rockets, or launching large objects that will come crashing back down to Earth in lots of pieces with unpredictable trajectories.

Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Tenn, opened the hearing by lamenting a lack of U.S. leadership in establishing rules to curb such behavior. “It seems we’ve given up on the idea of ropes or any punishment. But we’re just going for spider webs instead. Is that the best we can do?” Answered the State Department’s Bruce Turner, “I think we’re trying to make the best out of what is possible at this given moment in time.” That does not “exclude the possibility of legally binding treaties down the road, but that’s not where we are, given the kinds of competition posed by Russia and China.”

The United States instead will reach out to like-minded countries to establish nonlegally binding norms, said Turner, who leads the department’s Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance. That in turn could “create peer pressure” on countries like China and Russia to align with what other countries are doing. “And maybe over time develop more far-reaching measures,” he said.

All of that suggests the United States and other nations are far away from establishing a new treaty on space behavior.

During his testimony, Turner brought up the downsides of such agreements.

“The advantage of a treaty is that it’s a legal obligation...so you could argue a violation is more straightforward. Except if you’ve ever worked with a lawyer, you know one of the things you get into is these very difficult and complicated interpretations of what the treaty actually says.” He said the lack of a legally binding mechanism to punish bad behavior in space “does not mean you can’t call someone out for violating that norm and you can’t take potential action if an actor is not complying.” He argued that when countries like China and Russia take unsafe actions in space, they could face diplomatic and public pressure through social media. Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., took exception to Turner’s reasoning. “Hoping one of our adversaries will be shamed on social media does not seem like an effective strategy here,” he said. But Russia and China aren’t the only barriers to new treaties or other international rules covering space. The United States isn’t interested either, even if certain lawmakers would like it to be, said Brian Weeden, technical advisor for the Secure World Foundation. U.S. agencies aren’t pushing for new legally binding space rules because they don’t want to be bound by them. “There’s also the issue that a new treaty has to be based on some sort of common concern between the parties, and right now the U.S., Russia, and China don’t agree on much at all.”

The current discussion on norms can serve as a good foundation for a broader discussion, he said. “But ultimately, I think the [United States] needs to step up and put something firmer on the table, particularly with regard to anti-satellite testing.”

The United States instead has focused on safety issues and sharing information between countries about what’s in space. It’s one area where the U.S. military releases information publicly that would be kept secret if it were about Chinese or Russian movements on Earth, “We actually publish all of our information out there so that the Russians and Chinese can get it. We have the

best network out there to determine what’s in orbit, and for flight safety purposes we publish that to everyone,” Brig. Gen. Richard Zellmann, the deputy director of United States Space Command, told Defense One during a visit to Space Command headquarters in March. “In fact, if we see Russian objects that are going to collide with Russian objects or Chinese objects with Chinese objects, we let them know. They don’t always respond to us. We would like them to. But we let them know that this is an unsafe situation, much in the same way the FAA would help regulate the safety of flight.”

The United States has a lot more objects in space than any other nation: 1,897 as of the end of last year, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists, versus China’s 412 and Russia’s 176. So the United States has a big interest in limiting the amount of space debris that could affect those assets. A major accident in space would also hurt the global economy, as large economic and market entities rely on satellites not only for communication but also the timing signals that guide stock trades and even ATM transactions. But China is rapidly fielding more satellites and even other countries’ microsatellite constellations will make the job of U.S. Space Command more difficult, said Zellman. “You have to catalogue all of those things. You have to maintain custody of all of those. One of the difficulties and one of the reasons the [United States] in general is pushing more toward a policy of responsible behavior, as opposed to any kind of treaty arrangement, is that there are some problems when it comes to verification from a space perspective. Very difficult and we don’t have a lot of people up there.”

It will also become much harder to characterize satellites as benign or hostile, he said. ‘’It used to be, in the past, that we would know where an object was and that was all we cared about. Because if we knew where an object was then we could predict if something would collide with it.

Now I need to know where it is… What’s it doing? Why is it so close to me? Can it harm me? If so, how? And all of these things take a lot more assets to determine.

That’s where the challenge will be.”

Discussions on space norms are contin-

uing. The United Nations last year passed a resolution encouraging countries to look at security threats in space to find areas of common interest. This week, it published responses from a wide number of countries including the United States, China, and Russia. But there’s a big difference between the position of the three countries on what space safety means. The latter two have been pushing for a ban on weapons in space, through a draft Treaty on the Prevention of the Placement of Weapons in Outer Space, the Threat or Use of Force against Outer Space Objects, or the PPWT, since 2008. But the United States looks at weapons in space — one possibility is antiICBM defenses — as a fundamentally different issue than shooting rockets into space to cause space debris or launch satellites that can attack other satellites.

The PPWT “doesn’t say anything about ground-based [anti-satellite] weapons, nor does it have any verification mechanisms,” said Weeden. “Most of us believe that the PPWT is really aimed at preventing the [United States] from deploying space-based missile defense interceptors, which the Russians are concerned would undermine their nuclear deterrent.”

The United States has also been reaching out to other nations to establish bilateral agreements on information sharing and norms. U.S. Space Command works with the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and other countries through a program called Olympic Defender, to share tactics and procedures for space monitoring and come to agreements about what constitutes unsafe behavior. “What you would like to do is build a relationship today so you don’t become adversaries tomorrow,” said Zellman. “So from a responsible behavior perspective we encourage nations to share their data so that we have even better information than we would have otherwise… Like-minded nations have discussed how we would like to operate in a safe and professional manner in the space domain. There’s reasons you want to do that.

If you have an understanding of what safe and professional is and you have a misunderstanding, hopefully that misunderstanding doesn’t lead to a miscalculation and that miscalculation doesn’t lead to escalation.”

eaten by cheese, and so on.

As for the role of journalists in the transmission of the Israeli propaganda – something the Western corporate media has long been willfully guilty of – it has been widely claimed that Israel’s military duped the foreign press into reporting a ground invasion of Gaza on May 13 in order to propel Hamas fighters into tunnels targeted for massive attacks.

Of course, there are also other options for dealing with the media – like obliterating their offices in Gaza, as it happened on May 15. (Imagine if it was Washington, Paris, or London.)

The Israeli army’s Twitter explanation for the attack on the 11-storey building, which destroyed the offices of Al Jazeera and The Associated Press as well as numerous civilian residences, was that it was “an important base of operations for Hamas’ military intel”.

More on point was the prominent satirical outlet The Onion, which called on Israel to reduce The Onion’s own international offices “to charred rubble as soon as possible,” lest there were “any Hamas agents hiding out there”. The article urged Israel “not to give any advance warning to the tenants located in these buildings”, concluding that “if carpet bombing the entire city block in which our offices are located will finally put an end to this cycle of violence, it will have been well worth any inconvenience”.

Now, as the Israeli army continues to wage physical and digital war – annihilating the truth in the process – it is time to reduce its narrative to rubble.

Belen Fernandez is a contributing editor at Jacobin Magazine, and has written for the New York Times, the London Review of Books blog, Current Affairs, and Middle East Eye, among numerous other publications.

BaBa Black sheep Ramdev should stop mocking science and peddling cures Tribune, india Baba Ramdev, promoter of Patanjali Ayurved, has once again been accused of flouting the medical code of conduct and business ethics over the management of the pandemic in the past year. Earlier too, he had to retract his exaggerated and unfounded claims regarding various issues related to Covid-19 that reek of unjustifiably promoting his company. The latest case of eating humble pie concerns his mocking and vilifying the allopathic line of managing Covid-19, even as healthcare workers and scientists are saving lakhs of patients, risking their own lives. The Baba was forced to withdraw his pompous statement that questioned the efficacy of allopathic medicines following Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan’s rap as the Indian Medical Association took umbrage to Ramdev’s comments that have the potential of misleading the public that is struggling to get proper treatment during the current deadly second surge.

His long litany of overreach notoriously includes advertising his hollow herbal ‘corona kit’ to ‘cure’ Covid last June. An FIR was filed against him for conspiring to sell a fake ayurveda medicine with the misleading claim. That he had to take back his words on this score too proves his culpability. Significantly, such irresponsible behaviour gives a bad name to the ancient practice of ayurveda and its honest practitioners.

Even as Vardhan referred to Ramdev’s baseless claims as ‘unfortunate’, what is more unfortunate is that the businessman has been getting away lightly for his actions. His immunity derives from the state patronage that he enjoys for the perceived garb of nationalism wrapped around his ‘swadeshi’ products, with ministers endorsing their promotional events. It is time action is taken against unscientific, fake claims under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, and the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897. The outbreak of the pandemic has been identified by scientific methods. It is being followed up by deep research for treatment as well as prevention through vaccines. Even as a cure remains elusive, the suffering of millions of victims has been mitigated.

Mocking such efforts is criminal.

Wednesday, 26 May, 2021

BUSINESS 09

KARACHI

GovT To annoUnce new LPG PoLicY soon

corporate corner

KARACHI: UBL has signed an agreement with Akhuwat Islamic Microfinance (AIM) to provide housing finance solutions on low cost housing variants under the Islamic financing mode and will offer exclusive arrangements to customers of Akhuwat. PR

Mobilink Microfinance Bank recognised for driving growth of microfinance industry during Q1FY21 ISLAMABAD: Mobilink Microfinance Bank Limited (MMBL) has been recognised as Pakistan’s largest microfinance bank in terms of growth in borrowers and savers during the first quarter of the financial year 2021.

The latest issue of MicroWatch, a quarterly report on the country’s microfinance industry released by Pakistan Microfinance Network (PMN), reported that MMBL successfully increased its clients’ market share by over 18pc besides taking over a staggering 47.7pc of the market share in terms of depositors as a key industry player. The MicroWatch report indicates that Pakistan’s microfinance sector is making steady growth. As per the report, MMBL not only sustained its continued growth amidst the raging pandemic but also grew its market share by leveraging its robust digital financial ecosystem. With the help of its digital credit facility, the bank led a healthy net increase of 73.7pc in active borrowers, the largest in the microfinance industry against the previous quarter. Similarly, MMBL also reported an overall 12pc increase in the number of net active savers against Q4, 2020. During Q1, 2021, the overall number of active savers in the microfinance industry stood at 64.7 million, registering an increase of 5pc compared to Q4 previous year and 37pc compared to Q1 last year on the micro-savings front. The growth in the number of savers was driven by M-wallets, whereby MMBL added 3.5 million wallets. PRESS RElEASE

FBR takes action against biscuit manufacturer over Rs4bn tax evasion charges ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

The Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) directorate of Intelligence and Investigation (IR), Lahore has carried out action against M/s Innovative Biscuits Pvt. Ltd. after receiving information related to sales tax fraud.

Officials privy to the matter said that an amount of Rs4.27 billion as sales tax, along with default surcharge and 100 per cent penalty for tax fraud was imposed on the person, Sheikh Munir Hussain, under whom the company is registered.

Hussain, one of the directors of Innovative Biscuits was arrested whereas two bail applications filed by him were rejected by a special judge as the directorate presented evidence supporting their claim.

Subsequently, the accused filed another application for bail before Lahore High Court (LHC) after which LHC Rawalpindi Bench granted post arrest bail to the petitioner on the deposit of Rs300 million and submission of a postdated cheque of Rs100 million.

The legal process against the accused is currently underway.

It may be noted that during the current financial year (FY21), the directorate general has forwarded 653 Investigation reports involving revenue of Rs197,714 million to field formations, besides conducting 40 raids where an estimated revenue amounting to Rs761 million is involved, and also filed 67 complaints against 75 accused persons involving Rs55.385 million under the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2010.

PARCO MD ASKS FOR IMPOSITION OF IMPORT PARITY PRICE, RD ON IMPORTED LPG ISLAMABAD

T

AHMAD AHMADANI

HE liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) Production and Distribution Policy, 2021 is being finalised by the Ministry of Energy (MoE) after concerned stakeholders, including PARCO, forwarded their recommendations to the petroleum division.

Sources said that the petroleum division will present the policy before the federal cabinet’s economic coordination committee (ECC) in the next few days.

They said almost all the stakeholders have forwarded their proposals to the petroleum division.

According to details, PARCO Managing Director (MD) Shahid Mahmood Khan, in a letter to the MoE, suggested that the domestic producer price of LPG should be based on true import parity price while regulatory duty (RD) should be imposed on LPG imported through sea and land to ensure consistent pricing and providing a level playing field.

The letter states that the prerogative to select partners must rest with the producers whereby they will

technically pre-qualify partners based on a transparent criteria and subsequently enter into sales purchases.e agreements for smooth and sustainable operations of their production facilities.

“This would encourage LPG marketing companies to make long term investment and business plans,” the letter states.

It has been suggested that the producer be allowed to sell any portion of their production directly, or through its subsidiary and offer the remaining quantities to other OGRA licensed LPG marketing companies, subject to technical pre-qualification.

The letter said that the government must apply an identical sales tax on local and imported LPG, while prevailing advance income tax on imported LPG should remain in place as this is adjustable against the

GB airports become country's busiest NEW AIRLINE, NORTH AIR, LAUNCHED TO BOOST TOURISM ISLAMABAD GHUlAM ABBAS

Skardu and Gilgit airports on Tuesday saw a massive rise in flight operations, at par with major cities of Pakistan, when nearly 16 PIA flights operated to and from both the cities.

The airports saw a hustle bustle with flights continuously arriving and departing at the same time. A video released by an official spokesperson of PIA showed flights arriving and departing in the background, making northern areas skies look unusually crowded.

According to details, PIA operated eight flights each to Gilgit and Islamabad airports in a day, the highest number of flights ever operated in a day in the country's history.

PIA's spokesperson said that to fulfill the vision and in the greater national interest, PIA is making all out efforts to provide convenient travel services to the people of the region and to promote domestic tourism in Pakistan.

"PIA's role is instrumental in the development of these areas which rely heavily on air connection due to difficult surface networks," he said, adding that Covid-19 SOPs were strictly followed.

The spokesperson said

that PIA has offered really affordable fares considering the socio economic considerations of this route and said that the response so far has been really encouraging with flights operating to capacity.

The spike in temperatures in other parts of the country and the fact that you can get to an extremely pleasant weather and breathtaking views with a convenient air travel lasting minutes, is enticing people all across the country, especially Karachi to take these flights.

Previously this journey lasted days and required extensive planning and finances.

The PIA Airbus A320 carries 178 passengers and eight crew members on board. The airline will operate two weekly flights from Karachi to Skardu.

Earlier on April 7, the national airline had launched direct flight operation from Lahore to Skardu.

Meanwhile, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has issued Tourism Promotion and Regional Integration (TPRI) license to a newly launched private airline, North Air, amid country-level efforts to boost tourism.

The private carrier is planned to operate flights for Gilgit, Skardu, Chitral and Gwadar from different cities

of Pakistan.

Initially, the airline will operate flights between Islamabad-Gilgit, IslamabadSkardu, Islamabad-Chitral and Islamabad-Gwadar.

Back in March, it emerged that three new air operators are in the final stages of certification by CAA and will start operations in the regional airline's space soon.

According to the sources, the scrutiny of two airlines, QAirlines and Fly Jinnah, has been completed while the third airline Jet Green Airlines is still going through the inspection process.

The applications will be sent to Aviation Division and later to the federal cabinet for final approvals.

With the addition of three new airlines, the number of private carriers operating will increase to six. Airblue, SereneAir, and AirSial are the three existing airlines operating in the country of approximately 217 million whereas PIA is still the largest and oldest carrier in the country.

According to the aviation law, the new airlines must operate domestic flights for at least one year before launching international flight operations.

With the launch of three new airlines, a good number of jobs are supposed to be created as the aviation industry is still facing the worst financial crisis since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

final tax liability of the importer.

Similarly, the PARCO MD also wrote to OGRA Chairman Mansoor Ahmed Khan, suggesting certain points for consideration while formulating the LPG Marketing Licensing criteria for compliance through the upcoming policy.

He suggested a minimum investment of Rs500 million in infrastructure i-e storages and cylinders, periodic reporting to OGRA by GMCs for current investments in infrastructure and future plans, re-qualification of their owned cylinders, cylinder purchases, stocks, and circulation in their distribution network, monthly LPG purchases from local producers and or importers.

“Similarly, all GMCs engaged in direct import of LPG must declare their respective volumes with party wise details to OGRA for their own requirement as well as on behalf of other GMCs, in addition to be mandated to hire adequate number of technical staff to manage operations and maintain safety.”

It is pertinent to mention that established and leading GMCs such as PARCO, PEARL GAS (PPGL), POL Gas, SSGC, etc. have already made huge capital investments to cater to their distribution networks on a sustainable basis and meet the growing demand of LPG. As a result, they are incurring significantly higher operating costs and becoming uncompetitive compared to GMCs operating on a bare minimum infrastructure.

Upcoming budget based on pro-people, sustainable economic growth: Tarin ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin on Monday said the government will announce a growth-oriented and businessfriendly budget for the next fiscal year (FY22), provide relief to the common man and encourage self-assessment and incentivise businessmen and traders to pay taxes in line with best international practices. “The government firmly believes in a pro-people budget,” Tarin added. He stated this while chairing a consultative meeting with senior representatives of the Pakistan Business Council (PBC), Pak-US Business Council (PUBC), Overseas Investment Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI) held at the Finance Division. Commerce Adviser Abdul Razak Dawood, SAPM on Finance and Revenue Dr Waqar Masood Khan, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Asim Ahmed and his team were present in the meeting. He said that Pakistan has witnessed V-shape recovery amid pandemic due to prudent economic policies. The government has identified 12 sectors, under the banner of Economic Advisory Council (EAC), to formulate short, medium and long-term strategies to achieve an inclusive sustainable economic growth and social development with special focus on agriculture, housing, exports and revenue mobilisation. Commenting on the federal budget, Tarin said the upcoming budget envisaged maximum relief to the common man and will come up with innovative out-of-the-box alternatives to achieve the revenue targets, by providing incentives and facilities, besides broadening the tax base rather than new taxes. “There will be no regressive taxation and stern action will be taken against tax evaders,” he added. Speaking on the occasion, business delegations demanded reforms in the taxation regime that lead to sustainable growth of both the country and its tax revenues;however, they agreed that these changes were dependent on political will and the FBR’s capability and capacity to implement. “The impact of taxes on manufacturing vs commercial importers should be reviewed”, it said, adding the FBR and the formal sector should work in partnership to broaden the tax base and the earlier tax credit to encourage taxpayers to transact with the formal sector should be revived. The big businesses also called for mining the vast amount of information on non-taxpayers provided by withholding agents and higher advance taxes should be levied on utility bills of non-tax filers.

Goldman’s new director makes board almost half female NEW YORK AGENCIES

Goldman Sachs Group Inc said on Tuesday that media lawyer Kimberley Harris would become its newest board member, a move that makes the Wall Street bank’s board of directors nearly half-female.

Harris is NBCUniversal Media’s general

counsel and an executive vice president at the Comcast Corporation.

Her appointment comes as banks face growing calls to add diverse and women candidates to their top rungs of leadership.

The financial industry is almost entirely run by men, although a handful of women have broken through to executive ranks in recent years. Last September, Jane Frasier

became the first woman to lead a major Wall Street bank when she was named chief executive of Citigroup Inc. Goldman has publicly set specific internal targets aimed at hiring and promoting more women into its senior ranks.

Last August, bank management said that, by 2025, they want 40% of Goldman vice presidents to be female. That followed

CMYK

a goal set in 2019 that half of new analysts and entry-level associates hired at the bank in the United States be women.

In 2020, Goldman said it would only help take a company public if that company’s board had at least one diverse board member, such as a woman.

On Goldman’s own board, Harris’ appointment means that six out of 13 directors

are women.

Prior to her work at NBCUniversal and Comcast, Harris was a partner at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP. She also worked as senior counsel to the assistant attorney general in the U.S. Department of Justice, and during President Barack Obama’s administration, she was principal deputy counsel and deputy assistant to the president.

Wednesday, 26 May, 2021

10 foreIgn neWs

KarachI

Iran approves hardlIner for presIdenTIal polls, bars several hopefuls TEHRAN

I

Agencies

RAN'S election watchdog has approved the candidacy of hardline judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi in next month's presidential election, state television reported on Tuesday, while disqualifying some of his main rivals including former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The move is likely to boost the prospects of Raisi, a close ally of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

But it may further dent the clerical rulers' hopes of a high turnout in the June 18 vote, amid rising discontent over an economy crippled by US sanctions.

As well as Ahmadinejad, the hardline-led Guardian Council barred former parliament speaker Ali Larijani, a moderate conservative, and pragmatist First Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri, an ally of outgoing president Hassan Rouhani.

Rouhani and his moderate allies have blamed most of Iran's economic woes on US sanctions and given top priority to talks aimed at reviving Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, which former US president

Indian police visit Twitter office to serve notice about inquiry NEW DELHI Agencies

Indian police said late on Monday they visited a Twitter office to serve notice to its country managing director about an investigation into the social media giant’s tagging of a post by a ruling party spokesman as “manipulated media”. Leaders of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s hardline Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party last week shared portions of a document on Twitter they said was created by the main opposition Congress and highlighted government failures in handling the Covid-19 pandemic. Congress complained to Twitter saying the document was fake, after which the U.S. company marked some of the posts — including one by BJP spokesman Sambit Patra — as “manipulated media”. Delhi police on Monday said they had received a complaint about the classification of Patra’s tweet, which it was investigating, adding that a team of officials visited a Twitter office to serve notice of the inquiry. “This was necessary as we wanted to ascertain who is the right person to serve a notice (to), as replies by Twitter India MD have been very ambiguous,” a police statement said, referring to the company’s managing director. Twitter says it applies its “manipulated media” tag to posts “that include media (videos, audio, and images) that have been deceptively altered or fabricated”. Twitter declined to comment on the matter.

Tensions between Twitter India’s branch and Modi’s administration have been brewing for months, with the government asking the social media platform on multiple occasions to take down posts critical of its record. The government last month asked Twitter to remove dozens of tweets, including some by local lawmakers, that attacked its handling of the coronavirus outbreak, and in February criticised the company for not complying with one of its takedown orders. India has recorded a total of 26.75 million Covid-19 infections, second only to the United States, with more than 300,000 deaths, prompting criticism of the Modi administration’s approach to curbing the pandemic.

Donald Trump quit. But conservative and hardline allies of Khamenei have placed the responsibility squarely on

the government, and insisted that Washington cannot be trusted to fulfill any accord.

The Council approved just seven candidates out of 40 who met its basic criteria - in turn a small fraction of the 600 who had registered.

They included former chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, a conservative; former Revolutionary Guards chief Mohsen Rezaei, a frequent presidential candidate; and current Central Bank governor Abdolnaser Hemmati, a low-profile moderate.

Even Raisi appeared to object to the large number of disqualifications. "Since yesterday evening, when I was informed of the results, ... I have made contacts and I am holding consultations to make the election scene more competitive and participatory," Raisi said on Twitter.

Larijani, who had voiced support for the nuclear deal and talks to revive it, said he accepted the Council's ruling. "Now that the election process has been conducted in this way, I have done my duty before God and my dear nation," he tweeted.

In a speech in parliament carried by local media, lawmaker Ahmad Alirezabeigi, blasted Ahmadinejad's disqualification and said security forces had surrounded the populist hardliner's home, even though he had urged his supporters to remain calm.

UK prime minister offers qualified apology for remarks on Islam LONDON Agencies

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson issued a qualified apology for offence caused by his past remarks about Islam, speaking in a critical report into his Conservative Party which looked at discrimination including complaints of Islamophobia.

Johnson was interviewed for the report, commissioned by the ruling Conservatives in response to criticism of how it handled discrimination and complaints. The report was conducted independently by Professor Swaran Singh who has served as

a Commissioner for the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

It cited several examples relating to Johnson, including a 2018 newspaper column in which he referred to women wearing burqas as “going around looking like letterboxes” and likened their appearance to bank robbers.

Johnson defended the article as a liberal defence of a Muslim woman's right to choose what she wore.

“I do know that offence has been taken at things I've said, that people expect a person in my position to get things right, but in journalism, you need to use language freely. I am obviously sorry for any offence taken,” the report quoted Johnson as saying.

“Would I use some of the offending language from my past writings today? Now that I am Prime Minister, I would not.”

Singh found that the party had not been active enough in challenging discrimination, its complaints procedure needed to be overhauled and its sanctions system for those who breached the rules was unclear.

“Judging by the extent of complaints and findings of misconduct by the Party itself that relate to antiMuslim words and conduct, anti-Muslim sentiment remains a problem within the Party,” the report's conclusions said.

The Conservative Party said it was considering the report's recommendations.

India's coronavirus infections ebb but states struggle for vaccines NEW DELHI Agencies

India's official tally of daily infections of coronavirus fell to the lowest in nearly six weeks in the past 24 hours, offering hope that a devastating second wave is ebbing, but government leaders said shortages of vaccines were a big concern.

Barely 3 per cent of the country's 1.3 billion people have been vaccinated, the lowest rate among the 10 countries with the most Covid-19 cases, leaving India and its ill-equipped healthcare system vulnerable to a potential third wave, experts say.

The Serum Institute of India, which is supplying the AstraZeneca vaccine, and local firm Bharat Biotech which is providing Covaxin, have both said they are ramping up production but the supply remains way short of the millions of doses India needs.

On Tuesday, the country posted 196,427 new coronavirus cases over the last 24 hours, its lowest daily rise in infections since April 14, and less than half the 414,188 peak reported on May 7. The country's overall officially recorded case load since the start of the pandemic now stands at 26.95 million.

There are serious concerns that many new infections are not being reported, due to a dearth of testing in the countryside, where the virus has spread to from the cities. Deaths due to Covid-19 amounted to 3,511 in the last 24 hours, bringing the total since the pandemic first stuck over a year ago to 307,231, according to health ministry data.

Experts believe that grossly underestimates the actual toll as only people who have tested positive are counted, whereas many victims were never tested.

The Economist magazine’s excess-deaths model estimates that around a million people have died of

Covid-19 in India so far, way above the 590,240 in the United States, which is the worst hit country based on official counts.

DRUGMAKERS REBUFF STATES: In desperation, several Indian state governments and even cities such as Mumbai have launched global tenders or sought expressions of interest from firms such as Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson and Johnson for urgent supplies. But Delhi's deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said the three firms told them they were in touch with the federal Indian government and that they will not be dealing with state level authorities. Sisodia blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government for mishandling vaccine procurement and not moving fast enough to secure supplies for the country.

"It is a global blunder," said Sisodia, whose Aam Aadmi Party is bitterly opposed to Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Australia to close embassy in Afghanistan over security fears SYDNEY Agencies

Australia on Tuesday abruptly announced it will shutter its embassy in Afghanistan this week, expressing fears over the "increasingly uncertain security environment" in Kabul as foreign troops withdraw.

The Taliban, who have ramped up violence across the country in recent weeks, reacted by saying they would provide a "safe environment" to diplomats and humanitarian organisations.

The United States and allied forces are in the final stages of pulling out their remaining troops from Afghanistan, ending America's longest-ever war, but heralding an uncertain future for a nation in the tightening grip of Taliban.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the embassy would close in just three days.

Around 80 Australian troops are leaving as part of the wider military pull-out, and without that small contingent -- and the larger US force as back-up -Morrison said there was an "increasingly uncertain

security environment". "The government has been advised that security arrangements could not be provided to support our ongoing diplomatic presence," he said in a statement.

It was not clear whether there was a specific threat against the Australian embassy, which is in the heavily fortified Green Zone, not far from the US mission.

Afghanistan's foreign ministry said it hoped Australia would review its decision, while an Afghan employee at the embassy expressed fear for his future.

"I put my life in danger protecting the embassy... and now they are leaving us. The Taliban have our names.

We are scared," the employee told AFP. The elected government in Kabul and Afghan security services remain fragile despite two decades of foreign capacity building, and their success is far from assured without continued US military support.

The Taliban said Tuesday that foreign diplomats can "continue their operations as usual". "(We) will not pose any threats to them," spokesman Mohammad Naeem told AFP. When the hardliners seized control of Kabul in 1996,

they entered the United Nations compound and abducted the country's former leader Najibullah Ahmadzai, who they murdered.

Two years later, the Taliban oversaw the killing of 10 Iranian diplomats at their consulate in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif.

'THERE IS NO POINT': Western diplomats and military officials have been scrambling to work out how to provide security for their future civilian presence in Afghanistan with fears growing of a Taliban comeback.

"The only incentive for foreign embassies to remain is the humanitarian work that they are involved in, but if their personnel are endangered then there is no point in remaining here," a foreign defence official based in Kabul told AFP. Violence continued to rage in much of the country Tuesday, including just 120 kilometres (75 miles) from Kabul in Laghman province where Afghan forces carried out air strikes. Taliban fighters have been encircling major Afghan urban centres, spurring speculation they are waiting for the American withdrawal before launching all-out attacks.

Nishank Motwani, an Afghanistan specialist based in Australia, said the Taliban would interpret the Australian announcement as a victory.

"The Taliban will see it as... a clear sign that other NATO and non-NATO partner countries are likely to shutter their diplomatic missions because of the US's decision to exit Afghanistan and the security vacuum its departure will inevitably create," he told AFP. President Joe Biden has said all American troops will leave by September 11, the 20th anniversary of the AlQaeda attacks that sparked the US-led invasion of Afghanistan that toppled the Taliban.

The sudden closure of the Australian embassy surprised some experts.

"It is not set in stone that this is going to be a Taliban roll-up in the next few weeks," said John Blaxland, Professor of International Security at the Australian National University.

"This is not Saigon 1975," he added, a reference to the dramatic helicopter evacuation from the roof of the US embassy in South Vietnam as the Viet Cong and regular communist military forces seized the city.

Wednesday, 26 May, 2021

SPORTS 11

KARACHI

RAhim stARs in BAnGlAdesh's mAiden seRies win oveR sRi lAnkA DHAKA

o

AGENCIES

N their way to the top of the ICC's World Cup Super League points table, Bangladesh struck off Sri Lanka from their list of teams against whom they haven't won an ODI series. Only Australia and England remain in this list. Mushfiqur Rahim's masterly 125 got them to 246 runs on a two-paced pitch, before the bowlers packed up the visitors to 141 for 9 in a truncated 40-overs second innings to win by 103 runs courtesy the DLS method.

Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Mustafizur Rahman took three wickets each while Shakib Al Hasan's two wickets got him level on wickets with Mashrafe Mortaza's 269, at the summit of Bangladesh's ODI wicket-takers' chart. His 122 wickets in Mirpur are the joint-most wickets at a single venue, alongside Wasim Akram's 122 wickets in Sharjah.

But Bangladesh's win was set up by Rahim. He was the glue that kept Bangladesh's batting together after they lost Tamim Iqbal and Shakib in the second over. The match got off to a frenetic start when Isuru Udana conceded 14 runs off the first two legal deliveries of the match. But after he went for 15 in the first over, Dushmantha Chameera removed both Iqbal and Shakib in the following over to set the game up for the visitors.

Rahim found little support from Liton Das, whose opening position was questioned by BCB president Nazmul Hassan

during the previous game. Mosaddek Hossain, who was making an ODI comeback after two years, was also under considerable pressure, but couldn't impress.

Mahmudullah added 87 runs for the fifth wicket with Rahim after they slipped to 74 for four in the 16th over.

The recovery was akin to their 109-run fifth wicket stand, from a similar position, in the first game.

The pair focused on milking runs in

Bangladesh needed early wickets while defending 246 runs, and it came from debutant Shoriful Islam who removed Kusal Perera in the sixth over, with Iqbal timing his jump perfectly at mid-on to get rid of his opposite number.

The other Sri Lankan opener, Danushka Gunathilaka, holed out to deep point off Rahman, having made the innings' top score of 24.

Bangladesh's spinners took over from this point. Shakib had Pathum Nissanka caught at midwicket by Iqbal. Mehidy had Kusal Mendis lbw, playing back to a fullish delivery. Dhananjaya de Silva suffered the same fate against Shakib shortly afterwards as Sri Lanka were tottering on 89 for 5.

Mehidy added Dasun Shanaka and Wanindu Hasaranga to his tally, finishing with three wickets, before Rahman added two more to his kitty - Ashen Bandara BANGLADESH 246 and Lakshan Sandakan (RAHIM 125, both caught trying to hit down the ground.

MAHMUDULLAH 41, Lanka only had CHAMEERA 3-44) BEAT SRI theirSribowling to be about.

LANKA 141-9 (RAHMAN 3- cheerful Chameera and San16, MIRAZ 3-28) BY dakan took three wickets singles and twos, Rahim 103 RUNS each. But the visitors couldhitting just one four ben't take advantage of tween the 19th and 38th over.

Chameera's first over double-wicket Mahmudullah, after striking two sixes and a four in his 41 off 58 balls, fell maiden, nor Sandakan's luck after he to a smart catch down the leg-side by had one wicket with a half-tracked and Kusal Perera. Meanwhile, Rahim struck two others down the leg-side. Udana eight of his 10 fours in the last 10 overs, took two wickets while Wanindu scoring 47 out of the 58 runs as there Hasaranga's only wicket - the googly was little support after Mahmudullah's that spun between Miraz's defenses was the best ball of the match. dismissal.

Italian MotoGP: Rossi seeking Andreescu returns with to confirm test improvements win, Venus extends losing AGENCIES

Valentino Rossi arrives at his home Italian MotoGP at Mugello just 19th in the world championship, having scored nine points from his five races as a Petronas Yamaha rider.

The Doctor at least took his best finish so far with eleventh in the hectic Le Mans flag-to-flag race, but believes the mixed weather conditions during the French weekend prevented him from confirming improvements found at the previous Jerez Test. That quest will now continue at Mugello, where Rossi delighted the local fans by winning seven races in a row from 2002-2008 and last stood on the podium in 2018.

"I was able to fight for better positions and be within the top-ten at Le Mans, but we suffered in the mixed

conditions on Sunday. I felt better with the bike as well, so it was a shame it was a confusing race like that," Rossi said. "Hopefully the weather will be more consistent this weekend at Mugello and we will be able to confirm the improvements from the Jerez Test. "It is a fantastic track and fortunately I have many good memories there. It is always special so I’m really looking forward to being there next, although it is a shame that there will be no fans at the circuit because they are always great there and give us a lot of support. "It is always nice to see them in the grandstands. It is a great track, the Italian Grand Prix so we just look forward to being there." As is now traditional for the Italian rounds, Rossi is expected to unveil a special helmet design on Saturday morning.

streak in Strasbourg STRASBOURG AGENCIES

With the French Open a week away, world No 7 Bianca Andreescu produced a slick 6-1, 6-2 victory over Spain’s Andrea Lazaro on the Strasbourg clay courts Monday despite a six-week injury lay off.

Sidelined by a foot injury that saw the 2019 US Open winner abandon the Miami final against Ashleigh Barty on April 3, Andreescu cut a confident figure Monday having also recovered from Covid-19.

“I would definitely put that match in my top five cleanest matches,” the 20-

year-old Canadian said after the 61minute match.

“I focused on getting 100 percent and try my best, and that’s what I did,” added the top seed. Andreescu spoke about her experience with Covid-19 in less positive terms.

“It was a little bit tough, my lungs...

I felt out of breath a lot. I just kept practising, and it kept getting better,” said Andreescu, who added she was hoping to be vaccinated against Covid soon.

Venus Williams, still playing at the age of 40, extended her losing streak to five matches with a three set loss to Sorana Cirstea, 6-1, 2-6, 6-1.

Quetta Gladiators’ Anwar Ali tests positive for coronavirus NEWS DESK Quetta Gladiators’ fast bowler Anwar Ali has tested positive for coronavirus, the franchise confirmed on Tuesday. Anwar will now miss the remainder of Pakistan Super League sixth edition. Ali became the third player to be ruled out of the tournament after former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi suffered a back injury and pacer Naseem Shah was ruled out of the league for violating the coronavirus safety protocols.

The Quetta Gladiators manager said that Ali has been sent into isolation after testing positive for the infection. According to a news outlet, the players of all six franchises are scheduled to fly out to Abu Dhabi on Wednesday (today), and all individuals are required to quarantine in their hotel rooms for seven days after that before being allowed to enter the biosecure environment, if they return negative tests. The Pakistan Cricket Board has created three separate bubbles in Abu Dhabi: one for players, support staff, match officials, hotel staff and PCB officials; the second, in a different hotel, for the TV production crew and key event management personnel; and the third is an accommodation dedicated to the groundstaff. Players and support staff from Sri Lanka have reached Pakistan and will fly out to Abu Dhabi along with the Pakistanis as all flights will reach on Wednesday (today).

Ronaldo says achieved his goal at Juventus LONDON AGENCIES

Cristiano Ronaldo said he has realised one of the goals he set for himself when he joined Juventus in 2018 and valued everything the club had achieved this season despite their run of nine straight Serie A title coming to an end. Ronaldo, 36, has one year remaining on his contract at Juventus but there has been a flurry of media speculation that the Portuguese forward could be leaving in the summer. Juventus were deposed as champions by Inter Milan and only climbed into the top four on the final day of the campaign on Sunday to secure Champions League qualification. “This year we couldn’t win Serie A, congratulations to Inter for the well-deserved title. However, I have to value everything that we achieved this season at Juventus, both in collective and individual terms,” Ronaldo wrote in an Instagram post. “The Italian Super Cup, Italian Cup and Serie A top scorer trophy fill me with happiness, mainly due to the difficulty they carry with them, in a country where nothing is easy to win. “With these achievements, I reached a goal I had set myself since the first day I arrived in Italy: to win the championship, the Cup and the Super Cup, and also to be Best Player and Top Scorer in this great football country filled with tremendous players, giant clubs and a very own football culture.” The 36-year-old former Manchester United and Real Madrid player said he was delighted to have won major individual and team honours with clubs in three different countries. “This is what I work for, this is what moves me and this is what I’ll always keep chasing for until the last day,” added Ronaldo, who did not play in their 4-1 win over Bologna on the final day. “Thanks to everyone who took part in this journey. We stand together.” The club declined to comment on the post.

Man City and Chelsea: From outsiders to European elite LONDON AGENCIES

Champions League finalists Manchester City and Chelsea were once the brash newcomers who upset the established European powers but they are now part of the continental elite.

Pep Guardiola's City are seeking their first Champions League title on Saturday while Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea are aiming to become European champions for the second time in their history.

MOMENTS THAT TRANSFORMED FORTUNES OF BOTH CLUBS: Chelsea had won just one English top-flight title -way back in 1955 -- before Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich bought the London club in 2003. The Stamford Bridge outfit were already heading in the right direction from the late 1990s, winning a handful of domestic cups, but did not mount a serious challenge in the Premier League.

The Russian oligarch's billions were put to immediate effect as Chelsea brought in a clutch of top-class players including Claude Makelele and Hernan Crespo.

Italian manager Claudio Ranieri and his new acquisitions finished second in the Pre-

mier League in 2003/04 but that was not enough to keep him in a job, with Abramovich hungry for more.

Jose Mourinho swept into Stamford Bridge in 2004 fresh from winning the Champions League with Porto, styling himself the "Special One".

The Portuguese proved a perfect fit, winning the Premier League in his first season in charge and retaining it the following year as the Manchester United-Arsenal duopoly was smashed. Manchester City sparkled briefly in the late 1960s but were in the shadow of neighbours Manchester United for decades, even plummeting down to the third tier of English football in the late 1990s.

Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra bought the club in 2007 but the following year Sheikh Mansour's Abu Dhabi United Group acquired City and changed the face of the English game. Mansour bankrolled a revolution on and off the pitch, bringing in superstar players -- with Brazil's Robinho the first to arrive -- but also consciously building for the long-term.

The huge amounts of money poured into City did not reap immediate dividends but they slowly but surely muscled their way to the top of English football, ending a 35-year

silverware drought by winning the 2011 FA Cup. The following season they pipped Manchester United to the title in the most thrilling of climaxes to the season, with Sergio Aguero's last-gasp goal now embedded in City folklore.

They have only twice finished out of the top two places since then, becoming the kings of Manchester in the process. Mourinho was unable to deliver the Champions League for Chelsea despite going close in his first spell at Stamford Bridge.

They were a John Terry slip away from beating Manchester United on penalties in the 2008 final in Moscow under Avram Grant. But Abramovich finally realised his dream in the 2011/2012 season, when they were crowned European champions after beating Bayern Munich on penalties, with Roberto Di Matteo at the helm.

Since then they have twice won the Europa League. Roberto Mancini was in charge when City won their first Premier League title in 2012 and Manuel Pellegrini repeated the trick two years later.

But it was not until the arrival of former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola that City slipped into gear and became the dominant force in English football.

CMYK

The Catalan finished third in the league in his first season in charge but has won it three times in the four subsequent seasons among a glut of other trophies.

Guardiola won the Champions League twice when coaching Barcelona but has had to wait a decade to conquer Europe since.

If City become European champions this year, they will look back on July 13, 2020 as one of the key dates.

That is when they found out the Court of Arbitration for Sport had lifted a two-season ban from European competitions imposed by governing body UEFA. City had been punished earlier in the year over "serious breaches" of financial fair play regulations but immediately contested the ban.

Less than a year later they are on the brink of winning the biggest prize in European football.

Wednesday, 26 May, 2021

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CabIneT approves speCIal CpeC vIsa for ChInese InvesTors ISLAMABAD

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HE federal cabinet has given approval for a special China-Pakistan Economic Corridor business visa to facilitate Chinese investors in the country.

Briefing the media persons along with Federal Minister for Planning Asad Umar about the decisions taken in the cabinet meeting held with Prime Minister Imran Khan in the chair on Tuesday, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhary said that “this will enable Chinese investors to get their visas within 48 hours and get the security clearance in 30 days”.

He said that the cabinet appreciated the economic team for steering the country towards stability despite the challenge posed

by Covid-19 and the flawed policies of previous regimes.

Fawad said that overseas voters are an important agenda of the government’s electoral reforms. The Election Commission, he said, should take immediate steps to bring them into the electoral process.

He also said that the electronic voting machine (EVM) is being appreciated by different segments of society, including bar

associations. He added that Rawalpindi Bar Council has demanded EVM for their upcoming elections.

The minister said that the cabinet also appreciated improvement in the relations between Turkey and Saudi Arabia as it will be beneficial for Muslim Ummah. The prime minister appreciated Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi for successfully raising the Palestine issue at international forums, he added.

The minister said that the cabinet accorded approval to cantonment board elec-

Thousands evacuated in India as strong cyclone inches closer NEW DELHI agencies

Tens of thousands of people were evacuated Tuesday in low-lying areas of two Indian states and moved to cyclone shelters to escape a powerful storm barreling toward the eastern coast.

Cyclone Yaas is set to turn into a “very severe cyclonic storm” with sustained wind speeds of up to 177 kilometers per hour (110 miles per hour), the India Meteorological Department said. The cyclone is expected to make landfall early Wednesday in Odisha and West Bengal states. The cyclone coming amid a devastating coronavirus surge complicates India’s efforts to deal with both just 10 days after Cyclone Tauktae hit India’s west coast and killed more than 140 people. Thousands of emergency personnel have been deployed in coastal regions of the two states for evacuation and any possible rescue operations, said S.N. Pradhan, director of India’s National Disaster Response Force. India’s air force and navy were also on standby to carry out relief work.

tions and directed the Ministry of Defence to make all arrangements in this regard.

He said that the forum approved the formation of a committee to review the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan’s application for lifting the ban on it. After reviewing the application, the committee will present its recommendations to the cabinet.

The cabinet also gave approval to a new Board of Directors of PTV. The secretary information will be the chairperson of the PTV’s new board while directorgeneral Radio Pakistan has also been in-

cluded in its members.

While giving details of positive economic indicators, Minister for Planning Asad Umar said that the prime minister’s policy of protecting lives and livelihood during Covid-19 has saved the economy from an expected loss contrary to the neighbouring economies. He said, according to the figures provided by the National Accounts Committee, “We are expecting more than 3.5 per cent growth rate”.

Counting on factors that contributed positively to the country’s economy, Asad said that the prime minister’s Ehsas Programme and incentivised policies for the construction sector played a major role in putting the country’s economy on the right track.

This year, he said, the country witnessed record production of wheat, sugar, rice and maize that helped increase wholesale trade, which is directly linked to positive growth of the economy.

The minister said that loans received by private sectors for direct investment have increased by 126 percent that boosted small enterprises while large scale manufacturing recorded 9 per cent growth. He expressed hope that with “all these indicators the country’s economy will move from stability to development”.

No more military bases for US Afghan mission: FO ISLAMABAD sTaff reporT

The government denied the presence of any US military or air base in Pakistan for counterterrorism operations, saying media reports suggesting otherwise are “baseless and irresponsible” and should be avoided.

The statement from the Foreign Office came in response to a Pentagon claim last week suggesting Islamabad has allowed overflights and ground access to Washington to facilitate its military presence in Afghanistan “There is no US military or air base in Pakistan, nor was any such proposal envisaged. Any speculation on this account is baseless and irresponsible and should be avoided,” Foreign Office Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudri said late Monday night.

Chaudri said Pakistan and the US have a framework of cooperation in terms of Air Lines of Communication and Ground Lines of Communication (GLOC) in place since 2001.

“No new agreement has been made in this regard,” he said.

American troops and more than 15 US military aircraft were deployed in Pakistan for the first time in October

2001 after the government of thenchief executive Gen Pervez Musharraf agreed to let Washington use at least two isolated airbases — in Jacobabad, Sindh and Pasni, Balochistan — but demanded that an offensive wouldn’t be launched from Pakistan soil.

Both airports are a few minutes’ flying time from southern Afghanistan.

The US personnel that arrived on the stations were not fighter troops but were used for refuelling and logistics once an attack was underway.

The bases and ground and air lines of communication played a vital role in facilitating and sustaining the USled military invasion of Afghanistan that was undertaken to oust the Taliban from power.

Shortly after the September 11 attacks, Gen Musharraf promised “unstinted cooperation” to Washington.

US officials also asked to see Pakistan’s extensive intelligence files on Osama bin Laden and to use airspace.

In return, Washington and London promised rescheduling of Islamabad’s colossal foreign debt and new loans.

However, the government has long retaken control of its bases, though its airspace and land routes are still being used to ferry nonlethal mil-

itary supplies for international forces across the Afghan border and facilitating the ongoing US troop drawdown process.

In recent days, President Joe Biden’s administration has acknowledged it is in talks with several Central Asian neighbours of Afghanistan to examine where it can reposition troops to prevent the landlocked country from once again becoming a terrorist base for groups.

But US officials have not named Pakistan nor have they commented on media speculation that the subject of bases might be under bilateral discussions.

ATTENTION NOTICE: Meanwhile, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed submitted a notice to the Senate, calling attention to the reports.

“Such a decision would be contrary to the national interest of Pakistan as the Pakistani people experienced the worst blowback from our previous entanglement after the 9/11,” the notice read. “[…] people of Pakistan would resolutely resist the encroachment of their sovereignty under any pretext,” it added.

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48m face lack of clean water in pakistan, 8 other countries: UnICef ISLAMABAD TLTp

Some 48 million people are estimated to need safe water and sanitation services in Pakistan and eight other countries including Central African Republic, Iraq, Libya, Palestine, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, and Yemen. In its report ‘Water Under Fire’ released on Tuesday, the UNICEF said that attacks on water and sanitation facilities in conflict zones around the world are putting the lives of millions of children around the world in danger, and are a much greater threat than violence itself. Water Under Fire Volume 3, highlights that children’s access to water has been threatened in nearly every conflict-related emergency where UNICEF is responding. The protection of secure, reliable water and sanitation services is shown to be a critical factor in ensuring the survival of millions of children. The study notes that, in fragile countries, children under the age of five are 20 times more likely to die due to diarrhoeal diseases than to violence. “Access to water is a means of survival that must never be used as a tactic of war,” said Manuel Fontaine, UNICEF Director of Emergency Programmes.

“Attacks on water and sanitation infrastructure are attacks on children.”

“When the flow of water stops, diseases like cholera and diarrhoea can spread like wildfire, often with fatal consequences”, added Fontaine. “Hospitals cannot function, and rates of malnutrition and wasting increase. Children and families are often forced out in search of water, exposing them, particularly girls, to an increased risk of harm and violence.” The report catalogues the devastating nature of attacks on water infrastructure: in Eastern Ukraine, for example, where some 3.2 million people need water and sanitation services, 380 attacks have been recorded since 2017. In the State of Palestine, there have been 95 attacks against 142 water and sanitation infrastructures since 2019, leaving more than 1.6 million people without access to these basic services. And Yemen has seen 122 airstrikes on water infrastructure during the six-year-war. A cholera epidemic continues to make thousands of children ill every week, and around 15.4 million people urgently need safe water and sanitation. UNICEF outlines a number of steps that should be urgently taken, to ensure that children are protected in conflict zones, and are guaranteed access to safe and sufficient water. Parties to conflict, says the agency, must immediately end attacks on water and sanitation services and personnel, and fulfill their obligations to protect children in conflict. The report also calls for UN Member States, including Security Council members, to take firmer action to hold the perpetrators of these attacks to account; for donors to invest in water and sanitation in conflict situations; and for the public to add their voice to protect infrastructure, and water workers.

Blinken announces US aid to Gaza, pledges to reopen Jerusalem consulate United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken pledged on a Middle East mission on Tuesday that Washington would provide new aid to help rebuild Gaza as part of efforts to bolster a ceasefire between its Hamas rulers and Israel.

Hoping to reverse a move taken by former president Donald Trump that angered Palestinians, Blinken said the United States would advance the process of re-opening the Jerusalem consulate that had served as its diplomatic channel to the Palestinians.

Speaking alongside Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Blinken said the US would provide an additional $75 million in development and economic aid to the Palestinians in 2021, $5.5m in immediate disaster relief for Gaza and $32m to UN Palestinian aid agency.

But Blinken reiterated that Washington intended to ensure that Hamas, which it regards as a terrorist organisation, did not benefit from the humanitarian aid — a potentially difficult task in an enclave over which it has a strong grip.

Blinken began his regional visit in Jerusalem, where he held talks with Israeli

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Israeli leader, speaking to reporters with the top US diplomat at his side, threatened a “very powerful response” if Hamas renewed cross-border rocket strikes.

The truce, brokered by Egypt and coordinated with the US, began on Friday after 11 days of the worst fighting between Palestinian fighters and Israel in years. Now in its fifth day, it has been holding.

“We know that to prevent a return to violence we have to use the space created to address a larger set of underlying issues and challenges,” Blinken said.

“And that begins with tackling the grave humanitarian situation in Gaza and starting to rebuild.”

Blinken will be in the region through Thursday, and will also travel to Egypt and Jordan. In tandem with his visit, Israeli authorities allowed fuel, medicine and food earmarked for Gaza's private sector to enter the territory for the first time since the hostilities began on May 10.

Blinken said re-opening the US Consulate General in Jerusalem would be “an important way for our country to engage with and pro-

vide support to the Palestinian people”.

The Trump administration merged the consulate with the US Embassy in Israel in 2019, two years after recognising Jerusalem as Israel's capital and later moving the embassy there from Tel Aviv.

Those moves broke with long-standing US policy and infuriated Palestinians, who seek East Jerusalem as capital of a future state.

Israel deems all of Jerusalem, including the eastern sector it captured in the 1967 Middle East War and annexed in a move not recognised internationally, as its undivided capital.

Biden has no plans to reverse the embassy relocation but has moved in the early months of his term to repair relations with Palestinians.

In April, Biden restored hundreds of millions of dollars in Palestinian aid cut by Trump.

Speaking alongside Blinken, Abbas thanked the US “for its commitment to the two-state solution [and maintaining] the status quo on the Haram al-Sharif,” a Jerusalem compound holy to Muslims and Jews that contains Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam's third-holiest site.

Abbas also thanked Blinken for what he called American support “for the preservation

of [Palestinian] residents of ... Sheikh Jarrah,” an East Jerusalem neighbourhood where the potential evictions of Palestinian families helped spark the Israel-Gaza fighting.

TWO STATES: Negotiations between Israel and Abbas's Palestinian Authority, which has limited self-rule in the West Bank, collapsed in 2014.

While Biden has said a two-state solution was the only answer to resolving the IsraelPalestinian conflict, US officials have suggested it was too early for wider peace talks.

Israel is in political flux after four inconclusive elections in two years, and the Palestinians are divided by enmity between Hamas and Abbas, who holds sway in the West Bank.

Blinken said he and Netanyahu discussed “other steps” that need to be taken by leaders on both sides to set “a better course” for Israelis and Palestinians.

“As President Biden said, we believe that Palestinians and Israelis equally deserve to live safely and securely, to enjoy equal measures of freedom, opportunity and democracy, to be treated with dignity,” Blinken said.

At least 254 people were killed in Gaza and more than 1,900 wounded, Palestinian health authorities said, during the fighting that saw hundreds of Israeli airstrikes.

The Israeli military put the death toll in Israel at 13, with hundreds treated for injuries after rocket salvoes caused panic and sent people as far away as Tel Aviv rushing into shelters.

Commercial buildings, residential towers and private houses across the Gaza Strip, where 2m people live, were damaged or destroyed by the time the ceasefire was announced.

In Gaza, Palestinian officials estimated reconstruction costs at tens of millions of dollars. Israel has blockaded the territory since 2007, in what Palestinians condemn as collective punishment. Egypt also maintains restrictions on its border with Gaza. Both countries cite security concerns for the measures.

Israel says airstrikes hit legitimate military targets and that it did its utmost to avoid civilian casualties, including giving prior warnings when it was about to strike residential buildings that it said also had a military use. agencies

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