01 FRONT PAGE (16-9-2021)_KHI

Thursday, 16 September, 2021 I 8 Safar, 1443 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XII No 77 I 12 Pages I Karachi Edition

PM IMran asserts world should IncentIvIse talIban, not atteMPt to control theM

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rime minister imran Khan on Wednesday warned that Afghanistan could not be controlled from the outside and instead insisted that the global community should make efforts to incentivise the Taliban administration so that the current crisis could come to a close. in an interview with CNN’s Connect the World, the premier said that Afghanistan’s current government clearly feels that without international aid and help, they will not be able to end the currently brewing economic crisis.

When asked by the host, Becky Anderson, about the interim government of Afghanistan not being inclusive, he said: “Afghanistan’s current government clearly feels that without international aid and help, they will not be able to end the crisis… we should push them in the right direction.”

“Where Afghanistan goes from here, i am afraid none of us can predict,” the

premier responded. “We can hope and pray that there is peace after 40 years.”

“Taliban have said that they want an inclusive government, they want women rights in their own context, they want human rights, they’ve given amnesty… so far what they’ve said clearly [indicates] they want international acceptability,” he added.

The premier said that it is a “fallacy” to think that Afghanistan can be controlled from the outside. “They have a history… no puppet government in Afghanistan is supported by its people, it gets discredit amongst the people.” “But if it goes wrong, and which is what we are really worried about, it could go to chaos, the biggest humanitarian crisis, a huge refugee problem, unstable Afghanistan and […] the possibility of again terrorism from Afghanistan’s soil,” he added.

When pressed about concerns regarding women’s rights, imran said it was a “mistake” to think someone from outside would give Afghan women their rights.

COAS praises operational preparedness of PAF

The women in the neighbouring country are strong and the international community should give them time and they will get their rights themselves, he maintained, adding that the women should have the ability in society to fulfil their potential. “in Pakistan, what we have done is we have actually paid stipends to poor families to get the girls to study in school because we feel that if the girls, if the girl child studies, if they have education, they will get their own rights,” he added. it is pertinent here to mention that women have been omitted from the Taliban’s hard-line interim government, have been ordered to stay at home in some areas, and their education restricted.

Protests against Taliban rule and for civil rights have been violently suppressed, with reports of journalists being arrested and severely beaten. moreover, many in the international community are not hopeful the Taliban will make any progress on upholding women’s rights. The Taliban, who ruled over Afghanistan from 1996 until 2001 but were forced from power after the US-led invasion, have historically treated women as secondclass citizens, subjecting them to violence, To critics who say the Taliban will destabilize the country, Pm imran pointed to the withdrawal of the Soviets in 1989, which resulted in a “bloodbath.” Khan said he was expecting a similar bloodbath to happen after the US forces left.

“Our intelligence agencies told us that the Taliban would not be able to take over all of Afghanistan, and if they tried to take Afghanistan militarily, there would be a protracted civil war, which is what we were scared of because we are the ones who would suffer the most,” Khan said. Now, he said, the world should “give them time” to form a legitimate government and make good on their promises. news desk

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

more inside

UK concerned over low Covid testing rate, lack of genomic surveillance in Pakistan STORY ON PAGE 02

Covid restrictions: Sindh relaxes business hours, indoor dining guidelines STORY ON PAGE 03

Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa visited Air Headquarters in islamabad on Wednesday, where he was given detailed briefing on operational matters of the Pakistan Air Force.

During the meeting with Air Chief marshal Air marshal Zaheer Ahmad Babar Sidhu, matters of mutual professional interest were discussed.

The Air Chief highlighted various ongoing projects being carried out by the

PAF. General Bajwa hailed PAF sacrifices for the country and their all-out support to the Law enforcement Agencies. He also appreciated PAF’s role in provision of humanitarian assistance and facilitating recent evacuation operations from Afghanistan.

The Army Chief praised the operational preparedness of PAF, while appreciating the motivation level of all ranks. news desk

Punjab imposes lockdown in five districts owing to high Covid positivity rate STORY ON PAGE 03

US top general secretly called China over fears Trump could spark war: report STORY ON BACK PAGE

South Waziristan operation: 7 soldiers martyred, 5 terrorists killed Seven soldiers of the Pakistan Army embraced martyrdom and five terrorists were killed during an intelligence-based operation in the Asman manza area of South Waziristan, the inter-Services Public relations (iSPr) said on Wednesday.

The military’s media wing, in a statement, said the operation was launched on intelligence about the presence of terrorists in the area.

“During intense exchange of fire, 5 terrorists were killed and 7 soldiers embraced shahadat,” said the iSPr. The security forces cordoned off the area and began a search operation “to eliminate any other terrorists” found in the area, the statement added.

There has been an uptick in attacks on security forces in recent months. earlier this month, at least four Frontier Corps officials were martyred and 18 others injured in a suicide attack near a check post on Quetta’s mastung road.

Last week, two Pakistan Army soldiers were martyred in an improvised explosive device (ieD) attack in North Waziristan.

The iSPr had said that security forces were conducting a clearance operation in the district’s Dosalli area when the ieD exploded. in August, three Levies personnel were martyred and as many injured when their vehicle hit a landmine in Balochistan’s Ziarat district. news desk

Rupee touches new alltime low within hours The Pakistani rupee on Wednesday continued its slide against the greenback, touching a new all-time low for the second straight day at 169.5 in the interbank market at the onset of trading session.

The local currency had closed at an all-time low value of rs168.94 a day earlier, on Tuesday.

The rupee depreciated by 45 paisa against the greenback and was being quoted at 169.10 to 169.50 while trades were reported at 169.50.

The rupee, which has been termed the worst-performing currency in Asia, seems to have opened the field for the bullish US dollar to move forward unchecked and erode the remaining value of the local currency, maintaining downturn since it touched a 22-month high of rs152.27 in may 2021, losing a cumulative rs17.36 in the past four months.

The rupee has been losing purchasing power fast in the domestic market as well, causing inflation that has badly hit the general public.

it may be recalled that import payments soared to a historic high of around $6.4 billion in August whereas export earnings remained sluggish at around $2.2 billion a month. meanwhile, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) pumped $1.2 billion into the inter-bank market in three months to defend the weakening rupee but could not stop the local currency from falling to a historic low, highlighting the cost of expansionary policies without fixing the structural economic flaws.

A report by The express Tribune pointed out that the

$1.2 billion injection into the forex market is contrary to the stated policies of the central bank, international monetary Fund (imF) and finance ministry, as all the three institutions claim that the rupee value is determined by market forces.

With the fresh injection, at least $5.8 billion has been thrown in the inter-bank market during the tenure of Pakistan Tehreek-e-insaf (PTi) government to maintain an artificial value of the rupee.

The official record showed that from July 2012 to July 2013, the central bank pumped $3.43 billion into the interbank market. news desk

02

Thursday, 16 September, 2021

KARACHI

NEWS

UK CoNCErNEd ovEr Low CovId TESTINg rATE, LACK oF gENoMIC SUrvEILLANCE IN PAKISTAN

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NEWS DESK

HEAD of reviewing the names of countries on its red list, the UK government has said that the lack of genomic surveillance and the low testing rate in Pakistan is a cause of concern.

Geo News reported that both Pakistan and UK shared full details of the Red List review and therein the progress made and the continuing issues around the Covid-19 response of the Pakistani authorities were explained.

The UK’s action of putting Pakistan on the Red List continuously has caused friction between the two countries to the extent that Pakistan refused to allow permission to a chartered flight on September 7, which was set to take off from London for Islamabad.

25 Pakistani national deportees were on

the flight. The report cited diplomatic sources as confirming that Pakistan told the Home Office that it will not accept the flight as a token of protest over its action to keep the country continuously on the Red List.

The Pakistan High Commission denied the flight cancellation was linked with the Red Listing. However, a source in the UK government linked the flight cancellation – which cost the UK govt over £100,000 – with the Red Listing.

The report also cited diplomatic sources as confirming that since the last review three weeks ago during which the UK decided to keep Pakistan on the Red List, SAPM Dr Faisal Sultan had held meetings with UK scientists at the Joint Biosecurity Centre.

Scientists at the JC make the final decision on the UK’s traffic light system of Red, Green and Amber countries.

Reportedly, Dr Sultan explained to the UK

Covid-19 contagion rate hits two-month low ISLAMABAD staff rePort

Covid-19 positivity rate fell to 4.78 percent as the nation reported 2,714 new cases over the last 24 hours, the National Command and Operation Centre said on Wednesday. The last time the positivity rate was less than 5 percent was on July 24. The number of overall confirmed cases has risen to 1,212,809, including 1,108,339 recoveries, the NCOC said. According to the NCOC, the pandemic killed 73 people over the last 24 hours in the country, increasing the total death toll to 26,938. Sindh is the most affected province of the country in terms of the number of cases with 446,840 infections followed by Punjab which has reported 416,901 cases so far. The NCOC said on its website that the country has administered a total of 70,402,987 doses of vaccine and had fully vaccinated 22,873,298 persons as of Tuesday night. On Tuesday, the NCOC chief, Asad Umar, said that people who have still not been completely vaccinated against the virus will be barred from shopping, dining and travel, both domestic and international, after September 30.

ECP reserves verdict in foreign funding case against PML-N, PPP ISLAMABAD inP

The Election Commission of Pakistan has reserved its verdict on a petition seeking foreign funding details of the Pakistan Peoples Party and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz. The commission will announce the judgement on October 11, it said Wednesday. During the proceedings, PML-N counsel Jahangir Jadoon argued the petitioner has failed to provide any evidence of foreign funding it claimed the party received during the years in question. Whereas, an ECP member from Balochistan, Nisar Durrani, said he had also allowed the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf to probe the record.Meanwhile, the counsel for Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib sought more time to go through the records submitted by the two parties. While talking to the media after the hearing, Habib said holding fair and transparent elections in the country was the commission’s chief responsibility. The minister asked why the concerned authorities were not taking action against the statements of PTI’s political opponents. He further said that there was a need to ensure transparency in the funding of all the parties.

Top court bins petition challenging chief election commissioner’s appointment ISLAMABAD staff rePort

The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected a petition challenging the appointment of Sikandar Sultan Raja, a retired Pakistan Administrative Service civil servant, as chief election commissioner. Raja took the oath of office in January last year, days after the government and opposition agreed to appoint him to head the Election Commission of Pakistan. Last week, an Islamabad-based lawyer, Ali Azim Afridi, had moved the petition against Raja’s appointment, contending that the Constitution (22nd Amendment) Act, 2016 was in conflict with the Constitution. He, thereby, requested the court to declare the appointment unconstitutional

technical team on the measures taken to control the Covid-19 spread by Pakistan. However, the UK scientists told him that Pakistan’s genomic sequencing response lacked.

The report stated that Pakistan was told that the overall testing rates were also low and the lack of genomic surveillance posed serious problems. Dr Faisal Sultan was also told that the UK couldn’t afford to take risks as it would pose a whole new threat to public health if an unknown variant enters the UK. Quoting sources privy to the high-level meeting, the media outlet reported that JBC experts informed the Pakistani health official that the UK was concerned about the beta variant which was first found in South Africa. Dr Faisal Sultan, according to the report, told the UK govt that Pakistan was doing everything it can but the UK should focus only on those who will be travelling and not on the country as a whole.

Diplomatic and government sources who spoke to this reporter said there was also hope that Pakistan, Turkey and nearly 15 other countries will be moved to the amber list as positive cases have registered a decline in Pakistan in the last week.

However, in the end, these will be scientists who will make the final decision.

In another development on Tuesday, Robert Courts MP, UK’s Minister for Aviation, Maritime and Security, defended the UK’s decision to keep Pakistan on the Red List while lifting the ban from India.

In a letter to Afzal Khan MP, Robert Courts said safeguarding public health is the UK’s priority and the “combination of a deteriorating epidemiological situation, combined with low testing rates and lack of genomic surveillance in Pakistan is a concern”.

The minister wrote that the traffic light system categorises all countries based on

risk to protect public health and the vaccine rollout from variants of Covid-19.

The minister said: “The situation in India has stabilized and we are no longer seeing a large growth in cases.” The report stated that the UK government sources have said that the number of countries on the Red List is set to be significantly reduced under new travel rules as the Red List designation policy is expected to be reserved for countries where there are concerns over specific, dangerous variants of concern, specifically the prevalence of the beta variant first found in South Africa.

Pakistan’s prime minister and foreign minister have called on the UK to remove Pakistan from the Red List and the UK foreign secretary has said he wants Pakistan to come off the Red List but added that the final decision will be made by the scientists.

NA body discusses PMDA, info minister says no plan to impose bill through ordinance ISLAMABAD Mian abrar

Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib Wednesday said that the federal government had no plan to promulgate an ordinance for the Pakistan Media Development Authority bill.

“It is also fake news that an ordinance is being brought on PMDA or a draft is ready. The PMDA framework is still in the process of consultation. The government has held wide-ranging consultations with stakeholders on the proposed PDMA bill to move forward,” said Farrukh Habib while briefing a subcommittee meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting on PMDA framework.

The minister said all stakeholders including PBA, APNS, CPNE, major press clubs of the country and PFUJ have been consulted on the PMDA framework.

The meeting was chaired by the convener of the sub-committee Maryam Aurangzeb. Farrukh said that while Ms Maryam Aurangzeb went to a protest camp of the journalists and termed the PMDA as black law which was uncalled for.

He added that it would have been better if the convener of the subcommittee had remained neutral and

PMDA FRAMEWORK IS STILL IN THE PROCESS OF CONSULTATION, SAYS FARRUKH HABIB to the legal procedure. Responding to JOURNALIST REPRESENTATIVES TOE GOVT'S LINE ON PMDA points raised regarding PMDA in the PPP, PTI LAWMAKERS URGE MARRIYUM AURANGZEB TO KEEP NEUTRALITY INTACT ON PMDA presented her position at this forum.

Farrukh Habib said presently there were seven laws and seven organizations including Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority, Audit Bureau of Circulation, Press Registrar, Press Council of Pakistan regulating the media and the government has planned to unite them under the PMDA umbrella.

“This would not only reduce the budget but also facilitate the process. The Media Complaints Commission would take the decision on the applications of journalists and media workers connected with electronic, print and digital media in 21 days,” Farrukh Habib said. He added that the decisions of the Media Complaints Commission could be challenged in the Media Tribunal which would also have 21 days to take decisions whereas its decision could only be challenged in the Supreme Court.

He said that the Media Complaints Commission would be an independent body which would not be under the influence of Pakistan Media Development

Authority. Habib also informed that commission offices would be set up in Lahore, Multan, Sukkur, Karachi, Quetta, Peshawar and Islamabad. Habib said that the government has taken guidance from the UK’s Ofcom, Singapore and Malaysia’s models for the PMDA. He added that there was a need for any such authority as journalists and media workers demanded to resolve their major issues including delay in salaries and wage board.

The minister said there was no final draft of PMDA and no ordinance was being promulgated in this regard.

MNA Kanwal Shozab said that the sub-committee convener Maryam Aurangzeb rejected PMDA before consultations due to impartiality. There was a question mark on the role of Maryam Aurangzeb, Kanwal Shozab commented.

Nafeesa Shah MNA said Kanwal Shozab’s protest was right, as if a subcommittee has been formed on this issue, the discussion should be taken according

Pakistan, Afghanistan trade soars following Taliban takeover PESHAWAR anadolu agency

Exporters from Pakistan have resumed supplying goods to Afghanistan after more than three weeks of uncertainty in Kabul. After the Taliban seized control of the Afghan capital on August 15, business was halted in major cities.

“For the last 20 days, I didn’t place any order in Pakistan because of fear that the situation could be worse when the Taliban began capturing major cities,” Afghan businessman Abdul Rahim Qazizai told Anadolu Agency. “Now, I meet with my Pakistan counterparts and place orders for sugar and cooking oil,” he said while going to Kabul via the Torkham border after spending three days in Peshawar.

Hundreds of trucks lined the Khyber Pass, the main road connecting Pakistan and Afghanistan via the Torkham border, on Wednesday. They were full of food products waiting to cross the border toward eastern Jalalabad in Afghanistan. Most drivers were waiting for three or four days near the border because of a lack of parking on the Afghanistan side. But the long queues provide a clear picture of economic activity resuming between the two countries. “I am waiting here for the last three days and don’t know when my turn will come to cross the border,” said Nadir Shah, who was resting near his vehicle.

Shah’s vehicle was loaded with cement and was headed from Peshawar to Jalalabad.

Trucks were carrying cement, sugar, flour, cooking

oil, salt, bananas, and other food items to Afghanistan.

Afghanistan is rich in resources like copper, gold, oil, natural gas, uranium, bauxite, coal, iron ore, rare earth, lithium, chromium, lead, zinc, gemstones, talc, sulfur, travertine, gypsum and marble which remain unexplored due to the 20-year war after the US invaded in 2001.

PAKISTAN FACILITATES TRADE: A Pakistan customs official at the Torkham border, who asked not to be named because he was not authorised to speak to the media, said trade has increased in the last few days.

“Since earlier August, we observed that most trucks were going back to Afghanistan empty to bring vegetables, fruits, and minerals but now they are taking goods from Pakistan as well,” he said. “We are facilitating these trucks and want to clear as soon as possible but due to lack of parking facilities on the other side of the border, these trucks are waiting here,” he said. The number of trucks crossing increased from 100 to 150 [daily] to 300 to 400, he said.

Minister for Interior Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed said on August 19 that the situation along the border is “normal,” and trade activities have been increased.

Figures from Pakistan’s customs showed the number of trucks moving across all border points reached 1,123 on August 17 from 475 on August 15.

The trade volume between Pakistan and Afghanistan dropped during the last decade from $1.5 to $2 billion to $754 million in 2020, due to tense relations between former Kabul governments and Islamabad, trading accusations of providing a haven to terrorists.

sub-committee meeting, the minister of state for information said it was also fake news that an ordinance was being promulgated on PDMA or its final draft was ready. He said the sub-committee discussed how to strengthen the existing media-related laws. ”We want to bring digital media into the tax net, we want to give legal cover to OTT platform,” Farrukh Habib said, adding that digital media would not be licenced but have to be registered.

He maintained that constructive discussion on fake news had become the need of the hour to counter this menace. The minister said in the next meeting of the sub-committee, he would also listen to other organizations. Marriyum Aurangzeb expressed the hope that the Journalists and Media Professionals Protection Bill would be passed by the Standing Committee on Human Rights soon. She directed all stakeholders to send their suggestions in writing to the Secretariat

by September 21.

Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists Professionals President Pervez Shaukat said in Pakistani media, there was no law for hiring and firing of media workers.

Prices of petroleum products increased NEWS DESK The Government has decided to revise the prices of petroleum products. The new price of petrol will be 123.30 rupees per litre which indicate an increase of Rs5 per litre High-speed diesel (HSD), which is majorly used by the agriculture and transport sectors, will be sold at Rs120.04 per litre after an increase of Rs05.01. The prices of kerosene oil and light diesel oil (LDO) have surged by Re05.46 and Rs05.92 respectively. According to a notification by the Finance Division, the revised prices will be effective from midnight.

SBP Awards Finja EMI License The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) recently granted Finja commercial approval for the EMI (Electronic Money Institution) License. Finja had earlier become the first fintech to receive in-principle approval for this license on April 9, 2020, from SBP. With the approval of its EMI license, Finja became the only fintech in the country to hold multiple regulatory licenses, allowing it to scale its consumer-facing brand, the Finja App. Finja is committed to its vision of growing technology ecosystems in Pakistan by providing access to digital payments and EMoney Wallet-based solutions through open APIs, hence contributing to the accelerating start-up sector. Press release

Thursday, 16 September, 2021

KARACHI

NEWS

03

COVID RESTRICTIONS

SINdh rELAxES BUSINESS hoUrS, INdoor dININg gUIdELINES

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NEWS DESK

HE Sindh government has allowed the relaxation of certain Covid-19 restrictions, namely where they will allow business and markets to operate until 10 pm and will allow vaccinated citizens to avail themselves indoor dining until midnight.

The new guidelines will be effective from September 16 to September 30, according to an official notification from the Home Department.

Along with allowing businesses/markets to operate till 10 pm, it was stated that Sundays would be a closed day for the Karachi Division, while Friday would be closed for the rest of the province.

However, essential services — including pharmacies, vaccination centres, petrol pumps, grocery stores, bakeries, and milk and vegetable shops — will be allowed to operate 24/7. The indoor dining would be allowed only for vaccinated citizens at 50 percent occupancy, while takeaway and drive-thru facilities and home delivery will be allowed around the clock.

Indoor gatherings are allowed for vaccinated individuals with a maximum capacity of 200 guests. Normal working

PUNjAB IMPoSES LoCKdowN IN FIvE dISTrICTS owINg To hIgh CovId PoSITIvITy rATE LAHORE inP

LoCKDowN-PAKISTAN The Punjab government on Wednesday imposed lockdown in five districts of the province till 22 September.

Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department Secretary Imran Sikandar Baloch has announced lockdown restrictions in five districts of Punjab, including Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan, Sargodha and Gujrat, owing to high Covid-19 positivity rate.

“Business centres in these district will by closed by 8:00 in night, while Friday and Saturday will be two weekly off days in these districts”, secretary health said. hours are allowed at offices with 100 percent attendance.

“All management/staff/customers shall follow Covid related SOPs,” the notification said.

During the week, closing day for businesses and commercial activities has been notified as Sunday for Karachi Division and Friday for the rest of the province.

Qureshi, UAE counterpart discuss Afghanistan, Expo 2020 ISLAMABAD staff rePort

While the security situation in Afghanistan is unfolding, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates Wednesday agreed to strengthen their cooperation and remain engaged on regional issues, including the crisis in the warravaged country, the Foreign Office said.

During a telephonic conversation, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and his Emirates counterpart, Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, expressed their resolve to continue “close collaboration” at various multilateral forums. The UAE is one of a number of Gulf states that have been instrumental in staging posts for evacuation flights for foreigners and Afghans — along with Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain — after the Taliban takeover. More than two-thirds of the 120,000 locals and foreigners who fled Afghanistan on these flights landed in the UAE, and Qatar, before going on to their final destinations. It was one of the only three countries in the world — others being Pakistan and Saudi Arabia — to recognise the Taliban during its previous rule between 1996 and 2001.

“Indoor dining will be banned under the Covid-19 SOPs, while outdoor dining will be allowed upto 11:59 in night” health secretary said.

Moreover, indoor gatherings will be prohibited, while maximum 400 persons will be allowed in outdoor gatherings, Imran Sikandar said.

“Shrines will remain closed for visitors during the lockdown restrictions,” the official further said.

“All private and government offices will be allowed to work with 50 percent staff capacity,” he said.

“Educational institutions will also be bound to follow 50 percent attendance,” secretary added.

Indoor dining will be allowed till 11:59 pm at 50 percent occupancy for vaccinated individuals only. “Carrying vaccination cards … shall be mandatory for the purpose of inspection by law enforcement agencies,” the order states.

Takeaway, drive-through and home delivery are allowed 24/7, on the condition that staff are following SOPs and delivery

personnel have been vaccinated.

Meanwhile, indoor weddings and ceremonies have been allowed for vaccinated individuals with a maximum capacity of 200 guests.

“Outdoor weddings and related ceremonies are allowed with a maximum of 400 guests under strict Covid protocols,” the order states.

Imran to visit Tajikistan today to attend SCO summit ISLAMABAD staff rePort

Prime Minister Imran Khan will leave for Dushanbe city of Tajikistan on Thursday (today) to lead Pakistan’s delegation at the 20th edition of the Council of Heads of State Summit — a flagship event of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

The two-day visit is taking take place at the invitation of host President Emomali Rahmon and will end on September 17 (Friday), the Prime Minister’s Office said. A highlevel ministerial delegation will also accompany the prime minister, it added. The Eurasian security bloc will have its attention centred on the fallout from the U.S.-led international military withdrawal from Afghanistan in August and the Taliban’s return to power when it convenes in Dushanbe.

Beijing has established working ties with the Taliban, recognising its hold on power and agreeing to provide aid and vaccines to Afghanistan. Meanwhile, the group has also offered goodwill to China with support for its Belt and Road Initiative and vowing that it won’t let the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement — which China views as an internal threat — operate on its soil. In addition to China, Russia has also shown a willingness to engage with the Taliban, but several key differences among SCO members that share a border with Afghanistan will need to be reconciled.

How exactly officials from disparate member countries will reach a common consensus, however, is unknown, with several of them — like India — holding differing views on how to deal with a Talibangoverned Afghanistan. This will be Imran’s third visit to a central Asian

state, underlining Islamabad’s enhanced engagement with the region.

Previously, he has participated in similar conferences in Bishkek in 2019 and Moscow in 2020 via video link.

During his visit, the prime minister will also hold meetings with participating leaders on the sidelines of the summit. Imran’s meeting with Rahmon will “cover the entire gamut of bilateral relations, especially enhancing trade, economic and investment ties with a particular focus on regional connectivity,” the Foreign Office said.

The two nations have also expressed a strong commitment to enter into a formal strategic partnership. The prime minister will also inaugurate the first meeting of the Pakistan-Tajikistan Business Forum for which purpose, a group of businessmen is also accompanying him.

Shrines have been allowed to open at the discretion of the divisional/district administration concerned, while normal working hours have been allowed at offices with 100pc attendance.

However, cinemas will continue to remain closed throughout the province and there shall be a complete ban on contact sports, which includes karate, boxing, martial arts, wrestling and rugby.

Only vaccinated individuals will be allowed to visit indoor gyms.

“Public transport may ply on sanctioned routes with 50pc occupancy, subject to following of all SOPs [and] with staff duly vaccinated. A ban is imposed on all types of snacks served to passengers during the journey by transport services,” the order said. Railway services will continue to operate with 70 percent occupancy under strict Covid-19 protocols subject to the following of all SOPs with staff and passengers fully vaccinated.

All amusement parks, swimming pools to continue activities at 50 percent capacity.

Public parks may remain open under strict Covid-19 protocols, the order said.

Wearing a mask will be compulsory at all public places, while tourism will be allowed for vaccinated individuals under strict Covid-19 protocols. The notification added that the district administration can decide to impose broader lockdowns for specified areas within their jurisdiction.

On Wednesday, 2,714 coronavirus cases and 73 deaths during the last 24 hours. The total number of cases is 1,212,809 and the death toll is 26,938.

The number of cases reported daily has fallen, with the country reporting less than 3,000 cases for the past three days.

Cleric flees after raping, impregnating minor LAHORE inP

A cleric fled with his family after an initial probe confirmed he had raped and impregnated a minor girl student at the seminary in Burewala city, police said Wednesday. The police report suggested the cleric, whose identity has been withheld, had been raping the 13-year-old girl for a month who after falling sick underwent a medical checkup. The police have booked the cleric who is currently on the run.

Imran directs to resolve tourismrelated issues on priority ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan Wednesday directed the authorities to resolve tourismrelated issues on top priority to further boost the sector.

Chairing a meeting of the National Coordination Committee on Tourism, he directed to immediately finalise and furnish suggestions aimed at extending facilitation including tax exemptions to those interested in developing tourist resorts and world-class hotels.

Alluding to the rest houses and other historic places in Jhelum and adjoining towns, the prime minister said the public-private partnership model should be used for the rehabilitation of these buildings. inP

Big crowd seeking return to Afghanistan with thousands rushing to leave KARACHI anadolu agency

Thousands of Afghans, especially those who remained attached to foreign forces, are rushing to leave Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover after a 20year bloody conflict.

Last month’s grim scenes aired live on national and international broadcasters showing Afghans making desperate attempts to even climb aboard the wings of military planes at Kabul airport left viewers speechless.

Fearing revenge from the Taliban, hundreds of them have already crossed into northwest and southwest Pakistan, which already hosts nearly 3 million Afghan refugees in total.

But there are many who plan to return to their homeland following what they describe as the “end of foreign occupation.”

Zahir Pashtun, who was born at the Saranan refugee camp located some 90 kilometres (56 miles) from the Chaman-Spin Boldak border — one of the two key crossings between the two neighbours — is one of them. Hailing from the Sari Pul province in northern Afghanistan, Pashtun, 33, visited his homeland only once in 1998 during the first Taliban government.

“My family had decided to return to Afghanistan, and our visit was part of that plan. However, the US invasion of Afghanistan and subsequent seizure of our

family and tribal lands by the Northern Alliance people fizzled out our plans,” said Pashtun, who belongs to the Pashtun Ishaqzai tribe, which has a sizable presence in Sari Pul. Currently serving as the caretaker of the Saranan refugee camp, Pashtun hopes the Taliban will help him reclaim the seized property.

“The mafia people have fled after the Taliban takeover, but lands are still not in our (tribe’s) possession. I have written to the Taliban to help us get back our lands and return to our homeland,” he said.

“I am waiting for their reply. If the reply is positive, our whole tribe will return to Afghanistan,” he said.

Saranan is home to 50,000 refugees from three provinces of northern Afghanistan — Sari Pul, Jawzjan, and Faryab — and the majority of them are Ishaqzai.

It is one of the 54 operational camps in Pakistan which have provided refuge for over 1 million Afghans.

There are around 2.8 million documented and undocumented Afghan refugees living in Pakistan, making it the second-largest refugee population in the world after the Syrians in Turkey. Only around half of the refugees are registered, with the rest living without documents, mostly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan which border war-infested Afghanistan.

Sindh also hosts 500,000 refugees.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, more than 4 million refugees have been repatriated to Afghanistan since

2002, but many returned to Pakistan due to ongoing violence, unemployment and a lack of education and medical facilities.

NEwS FRoM AFGHANISTA ‘ENCoURAGING’: Mohammad Agha, who came to Pakistan from Jawzjan, northern Afghanistan, as a child during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s, says news coming from the war-ravaged country are “encouraging”.

“News from Afghanistan, particularly the northern region, are encouraging. The foreign invaders and their local helpers have fled, and things are improving gradually,” Agha, donned in a dark grey shalwar kameez and sporting a traditional black turban, told Anadolu Agency.

He, nonetheless, said he would wait until things “completely” settle, mainly law and order.

“We do not have any economic issues back home.

In fact, we have more opportunities there as we have our own lands to cultivate. We only want peace. If peace is fully restored, we will not wait to return to our homeland,” he added. Echoing Agha’s views, Malik Nauroz Khan from the northern Faryab province said his family also wants to return. “Pakistan is our second home. We are thankful to the government and people of Pakistan for hosting us for decades,” he said. “But a refugee is a refugee. There is no alternative to your homeland if your life is safe there,” he told Anadolu Agency. “I feel the time has come when we should return to our homeland.”

Bushra Bibi stresses special care for patients with mental disorders LAHORE aPP

Bushra Bibi, wife of Prime Minister Imran Khan, on Wednesday visited the Punjab Institute of Mental Health and reviewed the facilities available for the patients with mental health disorders. She toured various sections of the health facility, including the emergency block and medical treatment section and instructed the staff to extend as much care to the patients. Bushra Bibi urged giving special attention to rehabilitation of drug addicts and the elderly people with mental illnesses. She also visited the affiliated kitchen and examined the quality of hygiene and the food for the patients. Bushra Bibi has a special interest in social work and has been frequently undertaking visits to shelter homes and orphanages to focus on the uplift of the underprivileged sections of the society.

Thursday, 16 September, 2021

04 NEWS

KARACHI

PSX ShedS 174 More PoinTS aMid rUPee dePreCiaTion KARACHI

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TLTP

HE Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) remained bearish for the second consecutive day on Wednesday amid Pakistani rupee’s depreciation to a record low against the US dollar, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index shedding 174.62 points (0.37 percent) to close at 46,716.72 points.

The market opened on a positive note but remained positive for a few minutes only and then switched towards the red zone following the rupee’s depreciation that hit an all-time low against the greenback. The KSE-100 Index moved in a range of 447.2 points, showing an intraday high of 46,952.3 points and a low of 46,505.1 points.

Among other indices, the KSE All Share Index shed 92.57 points (-0.29 percent) to close at 32,058.99 points, while All Share Islamic Index shed 159.48 points (0.69 percent) to close at 22,949.11 points.

A total of 387 companies traded shares in the stock exchange, out of them shares of 132 closed up, shares of 228 closed down while shares of 27 companies remained unchanged. Out of 96 traded companies in the KSE-100 Index, 27 closed up, 63 closed down, while six remained unchanged.

The overall market volumes decreased by 147.01 million to 332.79 million shares.

Total volume traded for the KSE-100 Index was 118.28 million shares. The number of total trades decreased by 36,441 to 115,927, while the value traded decreased

by Rs3.60 billion to Rs11.44 billion. The

UMT holds seminar on rule of law & democracy LAHORE: University of Management and Technology (UMT) held a seminar on “Rule of Law and Democracy” here at UMT. The esteemed guest speaker of the seminar was Senior Advocate Supreme Court of Pakistan Mr. Aitzaz Ahsan. Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan met President UMT Ibrahim Hasan Murad and endorsed the way UMT is producing quality graduates of all fields. He also appreciated the young leadership skills of Ibrahim Murad and said that he is upholding the legacy of his father Dr. Hasan Sohaib Murad (Shaheed) very well. Ibrahim Murad expressed that scholars and lawyers like Aitzaz Ahsan are the real intellectual asset of Pakistan. President UMT Ibrahim Murad presented a souvenir to Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan.

Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan addressed the seminar while saying that democracy is a legal right of us all and our responsibility is not just to declare ourselves obliged to serve it by only voting. He explained that democracy will come when every segment of society pay respect to others. He elaborated the meaning of democracy which means discussion and debate of ideas, having the right to freedom of expression, and involves tolerating everything with faith and positivity. Aitzaz Ahsan discouraged a democracy in which the lower class is not treated equally. Where there is no patience, there is no democracy, said Aitzaz Ahsan. He further said that the Rule of Law written in books has no power until it is reflected in the way we think, in our attitudes as well as personality. He also accepted the fact that we need to provide a better Pakistan to our future generations. Seminar was attended by Head OCM Saqib Akhtar, faculty of UMT School of Law and Policy, students and PhD scholars from other departments. PRESS RELEASE

market capitalisation decreased by Rs24.09 billion.

Among scrips, TPL led the volumes table with 29.62 million shares, followed

by TELE (28.26 million) and BYCO (23.29 million). Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include TPL, TELE, BYCO, SERFR and WTL, which around 36 percent of total volumes.

Sector wise, the index was let down by cement with 83 points, textile composite with 22 points, pharmaceuticals with 21 points, oil & gas exploration companies with 20 points and investment banks/ investment companies/ securities companies with 18 points. The most points taken off the index were by MLCF which stripped the index of 21 points followed by HMB with 18 points, SYS with 17 points, AGP with 17 points and MEBL with 16 points.

Meeting with PM improves Chinese investors’ confidence: GT NEWS DESK

The sectors propping up the index were commercial banks with 45 points, fertilizer with 17 points, technology & communication with 6 points, insurance with 4 points and leather & tanneries with 2 points. The most points added to the index was by UBL which contributed 30 points followed by TRG with 22 points, FFBL with 16 points, BAHL with 15 points and FABL with 12 points.

According to experts, following a collapse of Pakistani rupee against the US dollar that closed at new low of Rs169.12 in the interbank market, the capital market witnessed the selling pressure throughout the trading session. Unabated foreign selling coincided with local mutual funds disposing positions on the pretext of redemptions, as per the market closing note by Arif Habib Limited.

SBP devises framework for online account opening NEWS DESK The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has devised Customers’ Digital Onboarding Framework, which will facilitate banks to conveniently and remotely open bank accounts of resident Pakistanis by using digital channels.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the central bank said that with the rapid growth in adoption of electronic banking channels, especially amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, the demand from bank and customers for digital financial transactions has increased manifold.

Under this new framework, account opening process has become swift and simplified while ensuring compliance with the applicable regulatory requirements and international standards.

The framework in general provides a convenient way for all segments of society for opening bank accounts, it specifically enables freelancers, self-employed or unemployed women, and recipient of remittances from abroad to open bank account digitally with minimum documentation requirements.

This initiative would also help in achieving SBP’s financial inclusion objectives by bringing the excluded segments of the society in the formal banking sector.

The framework has been finalized after carrying out an extensive consultation with stakeholders, to obtain opinion from industry experts and to proactively address the challenges, which banks/ MFBs might face during the implementation of this framework.

While typically accounts can be opened as either Savings or Current Account, the framework identifies four categories on the basis of functional limits such as deposit or withdrawal limits, fund transfer limits etc and

the documents required for opening an account.

These categories include ‘Asaan Digital Account’; ‘Asaan Digital Remittance Account’; ‘Freelancer Digital Account’; and the ‘Digital Account.’ The first category is the easiest to open requiring very basic information and the least number of documents albeit with some limits on functionality.

The last category, i.e. Digital Account is without any functional restriction but needs more information for account opening. A customer can start with the basic account and can upgrade over time to higher level of account type when needed.

The SBP has instructed banks under this framework to ensure that decision to open or decline these accounts do not take more than two working days from the day of completion of all the requirements while ensuring availability of customer support services 24/7 for customer facilitation.

Moreover, banks/ MFBs will also be required to provide a tracking number to the applicant for following up on the status updates.

SBP has advised the banking industry to implement this framework by December 31, 2021. The SBP is confident that this initiative will help promote digitization of banking services in the country apart from achieving the financial inclusion objectives.

The framework would also provide a tool to the industry and an impetus to SBP’s initiative of banking on equality by bringing women into the financial system. It is expected that the move will result in increased convenience for the customers to fulfil their financial needs through swift and secure digital financial infrastructure in Pakistan.

Several Chinese business leaders have expressed increased confidence in their operations in Pakistan after attending a meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan that was aimed at addressing Chinese firms’ concerns regarding policy support and security after recent terrorist attacks.

During the meeting with a delegation of Chinese business leaders, Khan vowed to chair a monthly self-review meeting to address their concerns sending a strong signal that the Pakistani government attaches great importance to Chinese companies, reported Global Times.

Zhang Shilu, general manager of Zhengbang Agriculture Pakistan (Pvt) Limited, who attended the meeting, told the Global Times that the meeting was held in response to concerns that have gripped Chinese investors.

“Chinese enterprises encountered some difficulties in doing business in Pakistan and we expressed our expectations to the Pakistani Prime Minister, who showed that Pakistan attaches great importance to the development of Chinese enterprises in Pakistan. It greatly increases the confidence of Chinese enterprises,” Zhang said.

He added that at the investment meeting, representatives of Chinese enterprises voiced their hopes that Pakistan could introduce an industrial park management committee – a common practice in China – to simplify approval processes.

Zhengbang Agriculture currently produces pesticides, including insecticides, fungicides, and herbicides and fertilizers in Pakistan, which are used on all types of crops in the country, including cotton, rice, wheat, citrus and mangoes.

According to the Prime Minister’s Office Twitter account, Chinese enterprises that attended the meeting included OPPO, Shanghai Challenge Textile Co, and Easy Prefabricated Homes Pvt, a subsidiary of Henan D.R. Construction Group Co. George Long, CEO of OPPO Pakistan, told the Global Times that the company was hoping for some form of preferential tax treatment and land policies from the Pakistani government to support its R&D and high-tech production. This would boost local employment and local tech supply chains would also be steadied, Long said.

The Chinese phone vendor’s foray into the Pakistan market began in 2014 and it has built 17 aftersales services centers and more than 5,000 retail outlets across the country.

“We’re confident about expanding investment in Pakistan and bringing quality smart gadgets to the people of Pakistan,” Long said. A manager surnamed Jin with Henan D.R. Construction Group who participated in the meeting said that the agenda of the meeting included difficulties for Chinese-funded firms in the local industrial park that include land purchases and natural gas and power supplies.

‘Understanding of culture to help Pakistani handicrafts grab Chinese market’

NANNING TLTP

The localisation is a key to success for the high-end Pakistani handicrafts such as a variety of minerals, marbles, wooden and leather products.

“This design is specially made for the Chinese customers; they like it a lot,” Muhammad Kamil Khan, CEO of Pak Link Enterprises, said, while showcasing the high-end Pakistani handicrafts in the 18th ChinaAsean Expo (CAEXPO), adding that understanding China’s culture and traditions helps his products make its way into the Chinese market, the China Economic Net reported.

Khan said that Pakistan is one of the few countries in the world with a vast variety of minerals and mar-

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bles. Of these precious marbles, the most famous and exclusive one is onyx.

“Onyx is a very popular decorative stone that is used to create any number of indoor and outdoor carvings and shapes,” he told China Economic Net. Khan, who has been in the industry since 2012, got his own key to success. “This is a business rule that if you want to do business in this country, you have to learn about their culture, like what kind of things they like.” For instance, “Peach symbolises longevity in Chinese culture, so we made this onyx handicraft in the shape of peaches,” he said at a stunning onyx product.

Also, in traditional Chinese culture, bamboo has profound cultural meanings beyond its biological existence. It represents the character of moral integrity, resistance, modesty, and loyalty.

“I’m pretty sure bamboo will be less popular in other countries than in China. So, you need to figure out what they are in, and to localise and customise your products,” Khan said.

When the situation was good, they were exporting to another country, too, he said, adding: “But now we focus on China because China is a big hub, and its purchasing power is of great potential here.”

The 18th CAEXPO, held in Nanning, capital of South China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, concluded with 179 international and domestic deals, involving over 300 billion yuan ($46.47 billion). The value of the deals were 13.7 per cent higher, compared with the last year, and was the expo’s highest on record.

Like the previous year, Pakistan was participating in the expo as a special partner country.

Thursday, 16 September, 2021

KARACHI

Why ArE ChInEsE vACCInEs WElCoMEd by nEIghbourIng sTATEs?

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N August 28, Sinopharm vaccine landed in Singapore. Vaccination appointments of the Chinese vaccine in many clinics were fully booked on the very first day. Some clinics even received more than 400 registrations of interest while they still had half a month to wait until receiving the vaccines. Earlier, Thailand’s Chulabhorn Royal Academy opened online registration for the first batch of Sinopharm vaccines. The number of people booking vaccination crashed the website in just 3 minutes.

“Sinopharm Vaccine” went viral as it even topped Thailand’s Twitter trending list that day.

Why are Chinese vaccines so welcomed by Asian countries? It can be summarized as follows: First, quick and sufficient supply addresses the urgent needs. Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed that “committed to building a global community of health for all, China is providing vaccines to the world, particularly fellow developing countries”. Chinese vaccines were the first batches of vaccines available to many neighboring countries. In early spring, when fellow neighboring countries were hit hard by the pandemic, the timely supply of Chinese vaccines provided hope and power to the fight against the pandemic. That’s why Presidents of the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Prime Ministers of Cambodia, Thailand and Laos went to the airport to receive vaccines from China.

They expressed gratitudes to China on various occasions.

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya said

that at the critical juncture of Sri Lanka’s immunization program, certain countries cut off, delayed the vaccine supply to Sri Lanka, some offered little which could not solve the major problem. Only China and its vaccines could be trusted. Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said, “The best vaccine is the earliest one that can be administered.” Anutin Charnvirakul, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health of Thailand, repeated that China provided vaccines to Thailand in spite of limited production and huge demand within China, which greatly alleviated Thailand’s urgent situation at that time.

Second, Chinese vaccines are Safe and effective. The safety and efficacy indicators of the Chinese vaccines exceed the standards set by the World Health Organization. Chinese vaccines have been proved providing effective protection in a wide range of people, even against the more infectious Delta variant.

China’s inactivated vaccines have few side effects, with the rate of adverse reactions being only 0.006%. Accidents related to Chinese vaccines rarely occur.

Heads of states or governments from Indonesia, the Philippines, Laos, Pakistan and other Asian countries received Chinese vaccine innoculations publicly, fully demonstrating their confidence in Chinese vaccines.

In the face of certain rumors against Sinovac vaccine, Health ministries of Malaysia and Thailand have confirmed with data that sinovac vaccines are as safe and effective as other brands’ in preventing serious illness and death caused by the Delta Variant. Mainstream medias

corporate corner hbl and Indus Motor Company enter strategic alliance

KARACHI: HBL signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indus Motor Company Ltd. The MoU was signed by Muhammad Asad Khan, Head – Secured Assets, Consumer, Rural and SME Banking and Abdul Rab, Senior General Manager, Marketing and Sales - Indus Motors.

Through this agreement, HBL will facilitate its customers by providing them with exclusive financing and insurance rates on all Toyota variants. With this initiative, customers can avail preferential rates and priority delivery of their financing facility. The combined expertise of the companies will help save time, reduce hassle, and create a seamless purchase and financing. In addition, 50 authorized Dealerships and 35 TSURE (used certified vehicles) outlets will be utilized to offer leasing facilities. This alliance will also facilitate Islamic Banking customers and highlight the distribution channel of windows and Islamic Banking branches that are catering to customer needs. Collaboration between conventional and Islamic Auto loans provides customers with various options to choose from. Aamir Kureshi, Head – Consumer, Rural and SME Banking stated, “The importance of forging such strategic partnerships enables HBL to put the customer first, giving them options to choose between conventional and Islamic auto loans so we can facilitate our customers in every way possible.” Abdul Rab, Senior General Manager, Marketing and Sales Indus Motor, commented, “When two established giants, such as Toyota & HBL, in the auto finance industry join hands to form an alliance to provide an attractive offer, it creates an excitement amongst the consumers in the market. This was a long-awaited alliance, and we are very excited for the outcome of this alliance.”. PreSS releaSe

in neighboring countries have also defended the name of Chinese vaccines.

The Bangkok Post pointed out that certain figures discreditted Sinovac vaccine out of political reasons and commercial interests. Vietnam Plus applauded Sinopharm vaccine as being used on a large scale in many countries, including China, and proved to be effective, especially against the Delta Variant.

Third, Chinese vaccines are accessible and affordable. President Xi Jinping has pointed out, China must step up research and development of vaccines and related exchanges, and work harder to make the vaccines a global public good to improve their accessibility and affordability in developing countries. China and partner countries jointly launch the Initiative for Belt and Road Partnership on Covid-19 Vaccines Cooperation to promote fair international distribution of vaccines and build a global shield against the virus.

Since the introduction of Chinese vaccines, China has been taking concrete actions to fulfill the agreement and commitment. Affordable prices and few requirements for storage and transportation are outstanding merits of Chinese vaccines. Significant reduction of the economic burden enables countries to vaccinate more people at the same cost, thus achieving greater immunization coverage. Up to now, China has been donating vaccines to 105 countries, and exporting vaccines to over 60 countries. The total number has exceeded 990 million doses. China has also decided to donate 100 million USD to COVAX for distributing vaccines to

developing countries.

China always promotes vaccine R&D, production and distribution with an open and cooperative attitude, and is willing to help developing countries to enhance their vaccine production capacity. Only in Asia, China has already conducted R&D and production cooperation with Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan and other neighbouring countries. Chinese vaccines companies are supported to collaborate with foreign partners and help enhance their production capacity.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, President Xi Jinping has actively advanced international vaccine cooperation at international arena and has shared Chinese wisdom and solution for winning the victory over the pandemic and building a community with a shared future for mankind. Chinese vaccines are safe, effective, accessible and affordable. They truly serve as people’s vaccines.

Although faced with the sudden and severe challenges posed by Covid-19, China and neighbouring countries have demonstrated even more solidarity through vaccine cooperation. Over day and night, across mountains and seas, the arrival of Chinese vaccines brought confidence and strength to neighboring countries in support of the anti-pandemic cooperation. China always pays attention to the needs of its neighbors, devotes to build a global community of health for all and honors its commitment by making vaccines a global public good, strengthening vaccine cooperation with neighbouring countries, helping each other and fighting together to win the victory over the pandemic. Mian aBrar

Accountability, free media necessary for strong democracy: Asad Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar has said that across the board accountability, independent judiciary, rule of law, free media, and a vibrant parliament are necessary for a strong and robust democracy.

Addressing a ceremony in Islamabad on the occasion of International Democracy Day, Asad said democracy in Pakistan is becoming stronger as political parties are fully active in the country.

He said media is also enjoying full freedom in Pakistan as it is free to criticise the government but there should be a difference between fake news and truth.

Speaking on the occasion, National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaisar said the government is taking measures to strengthen democracy and democratic insti-

tutions in the country.

He said legislation is the focus of the government and the prime responsibility of the parliament. He said government tabled 145 bills, while 266 bills were moved by the private members in the National Assembly in last three years, which is a record in the parliamentary history of Pakistan.

The speaker said parliament played an active role in facilitating farmers, enhancing trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan, introducing braille style of writing to help blind people.

Speaking at the ceremony, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain urged media to play its due role in promoting quality democracy in Pakistan.

ECC approves $130 million cash support for PIAC Islamabad: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet on Wednesday approved US$130 million cash support for Pakistan International Airlines (PIAC). The Minister for Finance and Revenue chaired the meeting of ECC which approved Aviation Division summary requesting cash support as required by PIAC. The ECC was informed that the airline has experienced a significant decline in revenues and cash flows due to pandemic and unprecedented travel bans/lockdowns imposed by various countries. Moreover, the ECC also approved the enhancement of the existing approved guarantee enabling PIAC to overcome its financial challenges. The meeting also approved the Ministry of Industries and Production summary for provision of RLNG to SNGPL based plants (Agritech and Fatima Fertilizer) for Rabi season 2021-22. The ECC approved the provision of 70 MMG RLNG with the direction to hold a consultative session with the representatives of fertilizer manufacturers to work out the overall demand for urea in the country. The ECC was further directed to consider the possibility to import urea (if needed) to maintain buffer stocks. The Ministry of Commerce presented a summary regarding revocation of the conditions of minimum export price (MEP) on the export of surgical instruments except for “single-use” surgical instruments. After deliberation, the ECC approved that the necessary amendments be made in Export Policy Order, 2020 to revoke the condition of MEP to make our exports competitive in the global market. Shahzad Paracha

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He said only Prime Minister Imran Khan is striving for making his party, the Pakistan Tehreek-iInsaf, a modern democratic party.

He said all institutions should perform their duties as per law as no one is above the law.

Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen Mazari said democracy in Pakistan has taken roots and gone are the days when it was derailed in the country. She said the people of Pakistan have rendered numerous sacrifices for the cause of democracy.

She said the government has taken unprecedented steps to protect human rights in Pakistan and legislation to check enforced disappearances in the country is a step forward in this regard. She said the bill for the protection of journalists is also ready. PPi

NEWS

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PM Imran asserts world should incentivise Taliban, not attempt to control them continued from page 01 Speaking on Pakistan-US ties, PM Imran said that at one point there were 50 militant groups attacking the government just because Pakistan supported the US. “In the 80s, Pakistan joined the US against the Soviets. We trained the Mujahideen to do Jihad in Afghanistan. Amongst them were al Qaeda… the Taliban were part of the Mujahideen groups. We trained them that fighting against foreign occupation is a sacred duty. Fast forward to 9/11, the US needed us in Afghanistan. “[Former US president] George Bush asks Pakistan for help and he famously said we will not abandon Afghanistan again. Pakistan joined the US war in Afghanistan. Was I the prime minister at that time I would’ve never ever done that,” he added. He said that after the US invaded Afghanistan, we told the same Mujahideen that what they were doing was terrorism, which he added turned them against Pakistan. “The Pashtun nationalism kicked in on our side of the border in the tribal belt. They had all sympathies with the Taliban not because of religious ideology … you have to understand what happened and I really want people to know… they turned against the Pakistan Army as collaborators so the Jihadis turned against us, the Pashtuns turned against us and the more we tried the military operations in civilian areas, we had more collateral damage… we had 50 militant groups attacking us and on top of it … they must also know… there were 480 drone attacks in Pakistan by the US… that’s the only time a country has been attacked by its own ally.” The premier said there were three million people living in Afghan refugee camps and “we were supposed to check which one of them were Taliban and which were not.” On a question about the alleged involvement of Pakistan intelligence agencies with the matter of Taliban, the premier said that Pakistan simply does not have a budget to fund another war.

“You know the total budget of Pakistan? It is $50 billion for 220 million people… Americans were spending $300 million a day… they spent $2 trillion [in total]… did we had the capacity to fund another war? We can barely meet our own expenses,” he added. Moreover, it is noteworthy that the premier has previously criticized the US’ exit from Afghanistan and said he has not spoken with President Joe Biden since the Taliban takeover, despite Pakistan being a major non-NATO ally. “I would imagine he’s very busy, but our relationship with the US is not just dependent on a phone call, it needs to be a multidimensional relationship,” said Imran Khan during the interview. That’s something Khan doesn’t feel Pakistan enjoyed during the US’ 20-year war in Afghanistan. “We (Pakistan) were like a hired gun,” Khan said. “We were supposed to make them (the US) win the war in Afghanistan, which we never could.”

The premier said that he repeatedly warned US officials that America could not achieve its objectives militarily, and would “be stuck there.” He said the US should have attempted a political settlement with the Taliban from a “position of strength,” at the height of its presence in Afghanistan, not as it was withdrawing.

Pakistan has had deep ties with the Taliban and has been accused of supporting the group as it battled the US-backed government — charges denied by Islamabad. In 2018, Pakistani authorities released top Taliban official Mullah Baradar from jail with the express purpose of negotiating with the US. Last week he was named deputy prime minister in the Taliban’s all-male cabinet.

Factory owners warn KP govt of protests against 'illegal' actions peSHaWar aziz Buneri

Factory owners in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) have announced to launch an agitation campaign along with employees and workers if the provincial government does not stop "illegal" actions against businesses and meet their demands till September 28.

In this regard, Industrialist Association Peshawar (IAP) President Malik Imran Ishaq, during a press conference here on Wednesday, said that said that the businessmen are ready to support the government to ensure enforcement of policies and laws, however, he expressed resentment over the provincial government's apathy towards the resolution of industrialists' issues.

He was glanked by IAP Vice

president Mohiyauddin, office bearers from Peshawar, Gadoon, Hattar and Nowshera Industrial Estates.

The IAP chief termed the making of industrialists as withholding agents by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Revenue Authority (KPRA) as completely unjust and unacceptable.

He lamented over harassment and arrests during a crackdown carried out by the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) over alleged floating environmental rules, which would trigger massive unemployment as industries will be closed down.

"The provincial government needs to stop unwarranted and illegal crackdowns, harassment of employees and workers, and imposition to double taxation in Peshawar industrial estate, all of which are an attack on the dig-

nity of taxpayers who play a pivotal role in the country's economic development," he said.

"Industrialists are not against the laws, but they are concerned over procedures of implementing those rules," the IAP chief said.

He said stern policies and unlawful actions have made it difficult for manufacturers to run their factories smoothly and regretted that despite writing a number of letters to the KP chief minister, he had not met with the business community to acknowledge their grievances even once.

Replying to different queries of the reporters, he informed that a total of 500 industrial units have been established in Peshawar industrial estate, of which 250 were fully functional whereas production has been minimised by 50 per cent in the rest.

Thursday, 16 September, 2021

06 COMMENT

Understanding ground realities

PTI’s politics of confrontation After legal community and media comes the ECP’s turn

Results count

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HeRe is a perception that the PTi leadership tends to act like a spoilt child who curses, kicks and tries to break any object that doesn’t work according to his or her wishes. The way federal ministers Azam Swati and Fawad choudhry reacted to the election commission of Pakistan’s stand on electronic Voting Machines was highly objectionable, leading ecP officials to leave a parliamentary committee’s meeting in protest. Mr Swati accused the ecP of taking bribes to “always” rig polls and said such institutions should be “set on fire”. Later in the day Mr choudhry hinted at the cec having sympathies for former PM nawaz Sharif and the ecP of acting as a mouthpiece for the opposition.

The PTi has all along desired that the ecP support whatever it wants. it angered Prime Minister imran Khan when the cec opposed the use of open ballots in the Senate elections. The PTi leadership was unhappy when the ecP enquiry exposed manipulation by officials to get the PTi candidate in Daska elected fraudulently. Hell broke loose however when the ecP raised 37 solid objections to the introduction of eVMs that the PTi thinks can alone bring it success in the next elections.

What has led the PTi leadership to confront a constitutional institution with the type of ammunition that it used against its political opponents when it was in opposition? Why does it think that it can browbeat the ecP by recourse to innuendo, false allegations and threats of violence? The PTi was however badly mistaken if it thought it could turn the ecP into a docile body through these methods.

The ecP has rejected the allegations against itself and its chief. it has also decided to seek record from PeMRA as well as all the material regarding the standing committee remarks and the press conference to be presented before it.

The ecP is authorized like a High court to take cognizance of contempt and take action against the contemners. The best way for both the ministers would be to unconditionally apologise to the ecP and learn to behave with constitutional bodies. The PM has to realise that those who have persuaded the government to confront the legal community, the media persons and now the ecP, are creating problems instead of facilitating the government.

Dr FariD a Malik

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nDeRSTAnDing ground realities without having plans to improve them is a futile exercise. Unfortunately in the land of the pure, most people in positions of authority seem clueless, cover-ups and blame games continue, while the masses continue to suffer. The situation continues to be grim. in addition to control of the ‘Mafia’, there are serious capacity issues as well.

Unless the situation on the ground improves, the party in power will have to face serious reelection challenges.

Hiding behind ground realities is a short-term fix.

For change to take place, the status quo has to be challenged with effective short- and long-term plans. As chairman Science Foundation (PSF), i sat through several presentations to appraise me of the ground realities but almost no one had any plans to move forward. A time frame was given to come up with a future road map, failing which they would have to follow mine. To ensure implementation, daily ‘Operations Review’ and weekly ‘Progress Monitoring’ meetings were held. Those who were unable to perform were facilitated through training workshops. in every organization there are ‘Filibusters’ who have no interest in delivering. Such individuals have to be taken out of the mainstream and dealt with under the rules of employment. it is the responsibility of the Head of the Department (HOD) to formulate delivery mechanisms to provide relief to the public, which is currently lacking .i remember my first visit to the children’s complex in Lahore which was headed by the famous writer and poet, the one and only Amjad islam Amjad. The Pakistan Museum of natural History

PTI’s politics of confrontation After legal community and media comes the ECP’s turn

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MuhaMMaD ali alvi

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ince its launch, the Single national curriculum has been marred by several objections and allegations. The focus has shifted from the significance and importance of the Snc to allegations and reservations of different stakeholders.

While the idea behind the Snc is laudable, the way the PTi government has handled the development and the dissemination of information related to the Snc has led to the imbroglio. What looked like a revolutionary step, is at the receiving end and has raised eyebrows of many from different walks of life.

Reforming an already embedded system is a gradual process. it cannot happen overnight. Reforms cannot be imposed. They have to be adopted systematically. First up, the foundation is laid and then the structure is gradually built on it. The incumbent government is trying to impose the change rather than creating among the masses the need for the change.

The PTi government, despite involving 400 stakeholders, making curriculum per the international standards, and spending three years on its development, could not prevent a controversy.

PTi began its government in 2018 intending to reform education in Pakistan. The first concrete step in this regard came to public attention in August 2021 when the first phase of the Snc was launched.

Since then, it has been debated a lot. it has been discussed in talk shows, webinars and social media while scores of opinion pieces from highly capable persons belonging to different fields of life have been published.

Diverse opinions, perspectives and narratives are pouring in on the subject matter. Some are in favour while some are raising fingers on it. However, the government is committed to implementing it all over Pakistan.

Arif Nizami (Late) Founding Editor

Yousaf Nizami Umar Aziz

Joint Editor

Joint Editor

Executive Editor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

Hopefully the present regi, after three years in power, has now fully understood the ground realities. It is time to change them.

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

The SNC was not prepared properly

Dedicated to the legacy of late Hameed Nizami

M. A. Niazi

ment procedures. The PM fully understood the ground realities and approved the request as a result the impact of the blockade was minimised.

Years later another elected PM Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, in order to facilitate and expedite the nuclear Programme, allowed the same exemption from audit. now that the device has been delivered, it is prudent to bring it back into the audit regime as the nation can no longer afford the massive unaccountable expenditure. ground realities now demand focus on education and health to build the nation.

The Prime Minister is correct in saying that change cannot come by flip of a switch. Unless the ground realities are improved through change of approach, the situation will continue to be grim.

Man-made rules should be followed, but upgraded and amended if the situation demands. Focus should be on the results, which in the case of the Underpass was the timely completion before the final of the World cup.

As a nation, it seems we are all being held hostage to the colonial era, corrupt to the core system which no one is willing to challenge and then change through an effective road map. Unfortunately in the land of the pure, there have been brief periods (1947 to 1958, 1971 to 1977) when serious efforts were made to improve the grim ground realities.

Both the democratic constitutions (1956, 1973) were formulated to empower the masses, but the forces of the status quo thwarted all the genuine efforts.

The period between 1977 to 2018 has been disastrous. With no relief to the public, it has caused total collapse of most civilian institutions. instead of introducing reforms, the Sharifs of gawalmandi relied on SROs (Statutory Regulatory Orders) for personal gains. A list of these SROs should be tabulated and reviewed for possible reformation of the system.

Hopefully the present regime, after three years in power, has now fully understood the ground realities. it is time to change them. Those who have either benefited from this turmoil or are hostage to it, and have to be weeded out of the system for the masses to move forward leaving the privileged class behind.

Controversial curriculum

HeRe is a perception that the PTi leadership tends to act like a spoilt child who curses, kicks and tries to break any object that doesn’t work according to his or her wishes. The way federal ministers Azam Swati and Fawad choudhry reacted to the election commission of Pakistan’s stand on electronic Voting Machines was highly objectionable, leading ecP officials to leave a parliamentary committee’s meeting in protest. Mr Swati accused the ecP of taking bribes to “always” rig polls and said such institutions should be “set on fire”. Later in the day Mr choudhry hinted at the cec having sympathies for former PM nawaz Sharif and the ecP of acting as a mouthpiece for the opposition.

The PTi has all along desired that the ecP support whatever it wants. it angered Prime Minister imran Khan when the cec opposed the use of open ballots in the Senate elections. The PTi leadership was unhappy when the ecP enquiry exposed manipulation by officials to get the PTi candidate in Daska elected fraudulently. Hell broke loose however when the ecP raised 37 solid objections to the introduction of eVMs that the PTi thinks can alone bring it success in the next elections.

What has led the PTi leadership to confront a constitutional institution with the type of ammunition that it used against its political opponents when it was in opposition? Why does it think that it can browbeat the ecP by recourse to innuendo, false allegations and threats of violence? The PTi was however badly mistaken if it thought it could turn the ecP into a docile body through these methods.

The ecP has rejected the allegations against itself and its chief. it has also decided to seek record from PeMRA as well as all the material regarding the standing committee remarks and the press conference to be presented before it.

The ecP is authorized like a High court to take cognizance of contempt and take action against the contemners. The best way for both the ministers would be to unconditionally apologise to the ecP and learn to behave with constitutional bodies. The PM has to realise that those who have persuaded the government to confront the legal community, the media persons and now the ecP, are creating problems instead of facilitating the government.

Editor Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

(PMnH), a subsidiary organization of the PSF, was assigned the task of building a Science corner at the complex which was delayed. Amjad Sahib requested early completion of the project. i went back and called a meeting of the concerned wing. A completion date was mutually agreed to and conveyed to Amjad Sahib. A gantt chart was prepared with the start and end date of each activity which i personally monitored. When the team started to fall behind schedule, i reshuffled the players. The project was delivered on time. Amjad Sahib could not believe the changed ground realities and personally thanked me for the effort.

The cricket World cup was planned for the Qaddafi Stadium in 1996. The city of Lahore was being prepared for the mega event. Several projects were launched by LDA under the leadership of its Vice chairman, while chief Minister Manzur Wattoo was the chairman. i was asked to assist in the timely completion of the projects. After a meeting with the LDA team, i was asked to submit a proposal which i did. During the sitting i asked a simple question, “ What do you do if the project schedule is not being met?”

The straight answer was, “ We stop the payment of the contractor “. Surprised by the answer i asked, “ What happens to the project “? now the ground realities kicked in, “You don’t understand our rules “. The Ferozepur Underpass on the canal Road was to be finished by August 1995 well ahead of the finals in March 1996 but it was delayed by over a year. The ground realities prevailed. Due to my line of approach, i was denied the consultancy though i offered to work on an honorary basis when my plan was approved on the condition of renegotiation of fee, but i was deliberately kept out for questioning the ground realities to which everyone seemed hostage.

The year was 1956, due to the Suez crisis, the canal was blocked creating a serious shortage of industrial raw materials. The brilliant Hussain Shaheed Suharwardy was the PM while the able bureaucrat ghulam Faroouqe was chairman PiDc (Pakistan industrial Development corporation). in order to keep the wheels of industry turning, a summary was moved to allow import of materials on an emergency basis with exemption of audit and laid-down procure-

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Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

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The main objections raised are: a) its legitimacy and need after the 18th Amendment, b) its islamic content, c) its implementation capacity, d) its capability to end education apartheid, e) its integration strategy.

While those who are in favour of the Snc are considering it as a revolutionary step forward that will end the class-based education system and deal with the difficult task of Madrassa reforms and their inclusion in the educational setup.

However, here the question arises whether the current state of confusion and chaos over the Snc after the launch of the first phase was unavoidable or it could have been avoided? it could have been avoided if the incumbent government had taken a more inclusive route. Assuming power in 2018, the traces of information started to appear in 2020. And, the debate on the Snc reached its peak after its launch in 2021.

Had these three years been utilized to lay the foundation of the Snc, resolve the issues, and involve all stakeholders the things could have been different to what they are today. it is said so because despite the initial draft of the Snc being signed by all federating units and the private sector after a four-day national conference on the Snc held in February 2020 the Snc is facing resistance from federating units and the private sector.

The launch should have been built upon scores of events, webinars, workshops, talk shows, audio, video advertisements, more official media talks, and so on, so as to reach people, involve them in the process, provide awareness about the current problems and create in them a need for a uniform curriculum.

However, having said that, the dearth of information in the following years led to various misconceptions. For example, the Snc was perceived as the adoption of a unified syllabus and books all over Pakistan. Similarly, some assumed it as a unified educa-

Islamabad – Ph: 051-2204545

tion system.

Furthermore, the timing of its launch is also a cause for concern. The PTi government is into its 4th year now. The 2nd and 3rd phases of the Snc will be launched in 2022 and 2023 respectively.

With just two years remaining for the general elections, it will be a difficult task ahead for the government to fully implement and consolidate the Snc across Pakistan and lay a solid foundation. it is such a pity that scores of projects initiated by the previous government remain unimplemented because the new governments do not deem it necessary to continue the initiatives of previous governments.

There is every possibility that the Snc could very quickly become a thing of the past and could be lost in history if the government fails to implement it in its truest form or if it does not make it to the corridors of power in 2023.

Therefore, it is imperative for the current government to take into confidence the opposition so that whoever comes in power next can take the initiative forward by considering it as an issue of national interest rather than discouraging it.

However, in the next two years, the PTi government has to deal with two problems: a) implementation of the Snc, b) criticism of, and objections to, the Snc. How it deals with these two problems will be of immense importance because the Snc is a step in the right direction (provided that it is acceptable to all) that will have a great impact on the future generations.

As the government officials have marked that there are deficiencies in it and it will improve with a diversity of opinions. Therefore, it should be ensured that Pakistan moves in the right direction from here rather than moving back.

In the next two years, the PTI government has to deal with two problems: a) implementation of the SNC, b) criticism of, and objections to, the SNC. How it deals with these two problems will be of immense importance because the SNC is a step in the right direction

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Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

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The writer is a freelance columnist

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Thursday, 16 September, 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

My City AFTeR all the struggle and voices, the Tharushah to nusharo Froze link road is now under construction. The long-standing dilapidated condition of the road claimed many lives, caused several injuries and procrastinated emergency cases from addressing them. The shabby road would also impede speedy traveling taking more than half an hour for an 8-minute drive. Discussing delay in construction or other things which had occurred in the past would be nothing but a never-ending debate that, of course, is a waste of time. The best way forward is to appreciate the speedy construction of the road.

This is the fruitful result of those who raised their voices, held protests or made a bulk of complaints for its immediate construction and more praises to those who lead them.

Sarfraz ali Soomro Tharu Shah

Full-time Culture Minister needed

The Taliban’s diplomatic future Goodwill towards all, except Israel

MuhaMMaD EbtEsaM

S

ince the Taliban took over Afghanistan, it has become a hot topic of discussion how many countries would recognize the Taliban regime. it has been known for two decades that the Taliban’s Afghanistan was the only country in the world facing the strictest sanctions on aid, travel, diplomacy business, militarily, weapons proliferation and various resources. After bringing the superpower, the USA, and its allies to their knees and conquering Afghanistan in 11 days without firing a single shot, and without throwing the entire country into turmoil, the world began to look at them from a different perspective.

These people, who had long been neglected, are now having a table talk with world-class diplomats and the various media outlets that are writing the headlines around the globe.

The Taliban recently announced the formation of their government in the name of the islamic emirate of Afghanistan. immediately after this declaration, they have started formulating their foreign policy, though they are termed terrorists. However, it seems that they are not neglected by the leading countries that are willing to look forward. instead, countries like china, Russia, Pakistan and Turkey have proved to be big supporters for them since the last few months in spite of a huge dismissal of Afghanistan’s assets in the shape of frozen accounts by the USA. Amid the entangled reactions of the international community over not considering the current Taliban government in Afghanistan, ZabihullahMujahid, the Taliban Spokesperson, has called on the international community to reopen its embassies in Kabul on the other hand,Maulvi Shahabuddin Delawar, head of the Taliban’s political office in Qatar thanked countries that have not closed their embassies in Afghanistan. Likewise it seems from their press conferences that The Taliban are ready to work with the USA after toppling the 20-year-old Western-backed government last month, just as US President Joe Biden was finalizing a withdrawal to end the longest US war, as the Taliban stated “Yes, of course, in a new chapter, if America wants to have a relation with us, which could be in the interest of both countries and both peoples, and if they want to participate in the reconstruction of Afghanistan, they are welcome.”

The recent declaration largely echoed a statement made by Taliban spokesman Sohail Shaheen who, speaking to Russian news channel Sputnik, said, “We want diplomatic relations with all countries in the world except israel.”

if we take a look, we can easily see that Pakistan was the only country that denied the existence of israel. Since the inception of Pakistan, the Quaide Azam stood up for Palestine in the Arab-israeli conflict and played a central role in fighting for the voice of Palestinians in the Subcontinent.

A day before the proclamation of the new Afghan government, Pakistan’s Dg iSi Lt gen Faiz Hameed paid a successful visit to Afghanistan, which has created a stir everywhere; as it is clear that the new government could not be formed without Pakistan’s input.

Moreover, india and other spoilers have declared the Afghan government as a pro-Pakistan government. it is a fact that conspiracies and rumours are hitting the ground that Pakistan alone is responsible for this. it is only because of Pakistan’s pressure that the new Afghan government has decided not to recognize israel. The Afghan government has already stated that neither Pakistan helped in conquering the whole of Afghanistan in 11 days, nor did Pakistan relent in forming the Afghan government.

At this moment in time, the most important question being asked all over the media is why the world, including the USA, needs to recognize the new Afghan government.

Yes, it is necessary for various countries to restore their relations with the Taliban government, because there are tons of natural resources there that the world needs, and the dependence of advanced countries will be the last of those resources.

One of the most important resources already declared by the US report is lithium. cnn Business stated that Afghanistan has most of the lithium in the whole world. it stated that the USA only knows trillions of dollars of lithium, and can predict trillions of more lithium, which is unofficially announced. The specialty of lithium is that it is used in rechargeable batteries like Mobile Phone, laptops, cameras and all other products. in the coming years, it will be all about the rechargeable batteries as Joe-Biden recently announced that all cars in the USA will be converted to electric cars. So, no more excessive oil, petrol and diesel and such stuff is going to be bought and consumed in the future and most of the Arab countries whose economy is solely dependent on oil will suffer, which is an alarming situation for them. This was just one of the major examples of Afghanistan’s natural resources, but the country has countless other resources such as copper, gold, coal, rubies and many other precious stones, steel and much more.

This is one of the reasons why china has been committed to Afghanistan. Another im-

portant reason is that Afghanistan is located in a geostrategic position where it is easy for china to conduct its trade with the world at low cost and time. Beijing remains willing to provide resources commensurate with its significant stake in provincial stability and its efforts to make the Shanghai cooperation Organization an important tool.

Likewise, Russia is also proving to be a big supporter of the Taliban government. Recently, Russia, along with china, has directly asked the USA to release and unfreeze the Afghan assets.

The most important question to ask is why Russia, which as the USSR was fighting with these people two decades ago, is now turning out to be a big supporter of them? This is because Moscow now hopes to increase its tactical presence in this central Asian region.

Since Russia is an ally of china, it also wanted to support them because of the new bloc against the USA. Russia focused mainly on Afghanistan’s three neighbors in central Asia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. These countries will be forced to varying degrees to recognize Moscow’s help, which is possible only if peace prevails in the region.

Pakistan has been a key player in this process. Without Pakistan’s help, none of this would have been possible. This was recognized by all international strategists.

Pakistan’s policy was already clear before the world after the “Absolutely not” statement about US bases on Pakistani soil was remarked by Prime Minister imran Khan. Pakistan played a crucial role in the peace agreement between the USA and the Taliban by getting the two countries to sit together in Doha where the entire talks took place and the Doha Agreement was signed. it is very important for Afghanistan to be peaceful as the spoilers are desperate to destabilize the region. india has lost its mind in its talk shows and is forging illegal strategies to destabilize Afghanistan once again in order to create chaos in Panjshir by facilitating them with weapons and money. Their defense strategist Major gouravArya, is helping to shape indian minds by linking this islamic group with the Kashmir issue. Addressing the media, he warned everyone in india that the Taliban may attack Kashmir next, which is not possible without Pakistan’s will.

Peace is very important because groups like the TTP, iSiS, BLA and Black Water operatives may conjure up a new event like 9/11 which will plunge the world into a new war and Pakistan in particular would again face the same terrible consequences as faced in the past.

Pakistan has been a key player in this process.

Without Pakistan’s help, none of this would have been possible. This was recognized by all international strategists.

Pakistan’s policy was already clear before the world after the “Absolutely Not” statement about US bases on Pakistani soil was remarked by Prime Minister Imran Khan.

The writer is a freelance columnist

BeSiDeS economic sector revival and development of other priority sectors, there is also dire need for promotion of art and culture in the country in furtherance of projection of soft, positive and progressive image of Pakistan and its peace loving people within the country and also in foreign countries.

This is to request Prime Minister imran Khan to induct a whole time culture Minister in his cabinet with immediate effect to ensure promotion of art and culture of Pakistan within the country and abroad.

Pakistan national council of the Arts (PncA) and other public sector art and culture related bodies are currently being looked after by the Federal education Minister who is holding additional charge of the national History and Literary Heritage Division under whose control PncA falls.

Because of his heavy commitments as the education Minister,he is not finding enough time to visit the PncA regularly to set its house in order and also ensure promotion of art and culture. it is also submitted for the kind information of the Prime Minister that the interest of the minister holding additional charge can very well be judged by the bitter fact that on his express directions the organizers of first-ever international islamabad Art Festival held last month had paid money to PncA for use of its space while all other facilities and places were provided free .

This just one instance in the larger interest to ensure promotion of art and culture should be enough to convince the worthy prime minister that the country direly needs a full time culture minister at the earliest possible lest the PncA and other public sector cultural bodies start crumbling due to lack of interest at the appropriate higher levels.

Thanks. muhammaD murTaza lahorE

Urban flooding in Karachi HAVing ruled for twelve years in Sindh,Karachi’s serious problems are not fixed yet by PPP.Provincial and local governments are at conflict with each other.Deliverable municipality in Karachi seems to be far cry.The current monsoon spell ‘Sagaar’ has brought heavy rains in Karachi.Lowlying areas have turned into rivers.

Additionally,main roads and highways are terribly flooded.Three to four feet accumulated-water can be seen most parts of metropolian city,Karachi. Residents face difficulty in reaching their destination.Heavy rains are multiplying their worries and in some areas rain-water has entered residential areas which carried away their utensils and other things which were kept at their homes.government has disappeared from the scene and seems unwilling to pay heed to people’s grievances.Declaring rain emergency is not the solution to deep-rooted problems but fixing the problems is.

QaSim Jan TurbaT

Beggars on road AS traffic increases by the day, it is necessary to manage it safely. One important task to achieving this is to curb the presence of beggars at every signal. They create major traffic hazards, endangering their lives and those of others. in Pakistan, begging has become a profession. Almost at every traffic stop, one is greeted by beggars. They gather around a car as soon as it stops at a signal. The most awful thing is that they encourage their children to also beg and most of them are physically fit to work. They can do manual labour if they so desire. instead, women carry their babies and beg while making emotionally blackmailing statements as if they are well trained in the art. Healthy beggars should be made to work and the disabled should be maintained at state expense. The authorities should take steps and save the people from this nuisance, not to mention the hazards at traffic signals. aaShir SalEEm Karachi

Senseless education system A trend has begin that the private sectors demanded for the fees after reopening the institutions. As there were lockdown due to covid-19 it took about 7 months to take off everything. So, isn’t it a foolish question that parents should submit the fees of the off-days, as there wasn’t anything to learn? Then why demanding the fees? Don’t you know that Balochistan, being the poor province, that there people can’t even afford three times fOod well, but the greedy principals demand what their need is, they are blind to see the parents who were not able to pay the fees before as being in their workshops then how they can submit even through there wasn’t any job or work during covid-19. it’s not only my request, it’s the humble request of all the parents who seriously want PSA JAR KecH to take an action to the greedy institutions that they shOuld stop the new trend of taking fees. zahra baiG hoTh TurbaT

Thursday, 16 September, 2021

08 WORLD VIEW

Where did the $5tn spent on AfghAnistAn And irAq go?

guardian

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linda J BilmEs

hiLe Washington bickers about what, if anything, has been achieved after 20 years and nearly $5tn spent on “forever wars”, there is one clear winner: the US defense industry. in iraq and Afghanistan, the American military relied to an unprecedented degree on private contractors for support in virtually all areas of war operations. Contractors supplied trucks, planes, fuel, helicopters, ships, drones, weapons and munitions as well as support services from catering and construction to it and logistics. the number of contractors on the ground outnumbered US troops most years of the conflicts. By the summer of 2020, the US had 22,562 contractor personnel in Afghanistan – roughly twice the number of American troops. the gravy train for the defense industry was also fueled by the way the wars were budgeted and paid for. Congress used “emergency” and “contingency” funding that circumvented the normal budget process. For the first decade of the conflict, the US used

PRIVATE MILITARY CONTRACTORS OUTNUMBERED US TROOPS ON THE GROUND DURING MOST OF BOTH CONFLICTS. AND DEFENCE INDUSTRY STOCKS SOARED emergency appropriations, which are typically reserved for one-off crises such as floods and hurricanes. Detailed spending oversight was minimal. And because this type of spending is excluded from budget projections and deficit estimates, it enabled everyone to sustain the pretense that the wars would be over shortly. the result was what former defense secretary Robert Gates termed a “culture of endless money” inside the Pentagon. the defense department made the operational decisions; managed the bidding process for contractors; awarded the contracts (largely using non-competitive bids); and kept at least 10% of the wartime funding in classified accounts.

Not even the financial crisis of 2008 could interrupt the spending spree. While Congress imposed across-the-board spending caps on government programs, war spending was specifically excluded. the Pentagon was able to use the special “contingency” war budget to buy upgrades, services and new

equipment that were barely related to iraq or Afghanistan. Consequently, the Pentagon budget kept growing – and was able to double its size between 2001 and 2020.

Defense stocks outperformed the stock market overall by nearly 60% during the Afghanistan war, as the war spending surge enabled a wave of consolidation in the industry. the big five – Lockheed Martin, Boeing, General Dynamics, Raytheon and Northrop Grumman – and a handful of others acquired the next tier of manufacturers such as hughes Aircraft and McDonnell Douglas. in the year to June 2020 the big five accounted for nearly a third of the $480bn obligated by the Pentagon to defense contractors.

While only a fraction of these sales went specifically for iraq and Afghanistan, the conflict was highly lucrative for all the major defense contractors. For example, Lockheed Martin manufactured the Black hawk helicopters used extensively in Afghanistan; Boeing sold the aircraft and land combat vehicles; Raytheon won the major contract training the

Afghan air force; and Northrup Grumman and General Dynamics supplied electronic and communications equipment. thousands of subcontractors around the world earned money from selling night-vision goggles, engines, sandbags, communications equipment and all manner of stuff to the war effort. And global oil companies were key war beneficiaries, since the Pentagon is the world’s single largest purchaser of fuel.

Meanwhile, the defense sector spent over $2.4bn lobbying Congress since 2001, and made direct campaign contributions to most members.

Not surprisingly, much of the wartime expenditures were highly wasteful. the inspectors Generals for Afghanistan and iraq, the Wartime Contracting Commission, and the Pentagon’s own inspector general all documented waste, profiteering, corruption and “ghost spending” (money spent on activities that turned out not to exist at all).

According to government analysts, the net result of the large-scale private sector in-

volvement in iraq and Afghanistan was to increase materially the cost of war operations.

Much of the $145bn reconstruction money was spent on questionable projects with budgets that seemed excessive, or simply could not be accounted for. Many such projects, now destroyed and dilapidated, have littered the front pages over the past week. the US presence on the ground may now be over. But America will still have to digest the huge price tag. the wars were paid for entirely with borrowed money rather than raising taxes – a first in US military history – and the US still owes $2tn in future veterans’ benefits. this financial hangover will be compounded by the need to replace what has been destroyed or simply left behind, and to pay for the weapons and equipment purchased during the last 20 years of go-go defense spending. the legacy of the post-9/11 defense spending binge will continue to gobble up the US budget for years to come.

Professor Linda J Bilmes is the Daniel Patrick Moynihan chair in public policy and public finance at Harvard University, and a former US assistant secretary of commerce.

She is co-author (with Joseph E Stiglitz) of The Three Trillion Dollar War: The True Cost of the Iraq Conflict.

europe’s military presence highlights Asia’s importance

CheCKing stuBBle Burning

RECENT EVENTS IN THE REGION THREATEN THE VERY FIBRE OF THE GLOBAL ORDER

CURB THE MENACE TO REDUCE POLLUTION

Japan TiMes

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Editorial Board

UROPeAN military forces have an expanding presence in this part of the world, a recognition of the ever-larger role the indo-Pacific has assumed in those governments’ strategic calculations and of emerging threats to regional stability. european attention is welcome but we shouldn’t have outsize expectations of the role it can play. the hMS Queen elizabeth, a 65,000-ton aircraft carrier and the largest surface vessel ever built in the U.K., is making its maiden voyage through the indo-Pacific, engaging with 40 countries on its journey. its strike group includes two destroyers, two frigates and a submarine. Prior to the port call, the strike group held a drill with MSDF forces, as well as exercises with U.S. and Dutch forces. earlier in the journey, in July, the vessels participated in drills with the indian Navy in the indian Ocean. A few weeks later, the U.K. ships joined the U.S.-Australia talisman Sabre exercises, in which Japan, Canada, South Korea and New Zealand also participated, while india, indonesia, Germany and France were observers. the U.K. will reportedly deploy two patrol vessels to the region on a permanent basis later this year.

London isn’t the only european government showing the flag in the region. A French nuclear-powered attack submarine transited the South China Sea early this year. in April, the French led exercises in the Bay of Bengal included for the first time all the “Quad” navies — Japan, Australia, india and the U.S. in May, Japanese, Australian, U.S. and French forces participated in a drill in the east China Sea, the first time France had joined such exercises.

Finally, Germany dispatched a warship last month on a six-month deployment that will include a transit of the South

China Sea, the first by a German naval vessel in two decades, and which was the result of urging by Japan last year. those warships are here because of the inescapable significance of this region to their national interests. Governments across europe have produced strategic documents that make that point. For example, Britain’s recently released integrated Review of Security, Defense, Development and Foreign Policy has been called “a tilt to the indo-Pacific,” a region that is “the crucible for many of the most pressing global challenges.” France, Germany and the Netherlands have also written indo-Pacific strategies and the european Union is developing its own.

British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace explained that the region’s importance obliges London to work with partners “to defend democratic values, tackle shared threats and keep our nations safe.” that view was echoed by German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, who noted that “important decisions on peace, security and prosperity will be made” in the indo-Pacific region. her colleague, Foreign Minister heiko Maas added that “We aim to be involved and to take responsibility for maintaining the rule-based international order.” european governments voiced growing interest in and concern about the region in June meetings with U.S. President Joe Biden. At the U.S.-eU and U.S.-NAtO summits, U.S. and european leaders pledged to closely consult and cooperate on the full range of issues as they deal with China. that list includes developments in Xinjiang, tibet and hong Kong, the situation in the east and South China Seas, and specifically mentioned — and opposed — unilateral attempts to change the status quo. they also noted the importance of peace and stability across the taiwan Strait, and encouraged the peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues. the NAtO summit was notable for highlighting that China’s growing influence and international policies can pres-

ent challenges that need to be addressed “together as an Alliance.” the leaders warned that China presents “systemic challenges to the rules-based international order and to areas relevant to Alliance security,” and they endorsed a broadbased response that would “protect critical infrastructure, strengthen resilience, maintain our technological edge and address these challenges to the rules-based international order.” that doesn’t mean that those governments are hostile to China or see it as the enemy. they also pledged to engage in constructive dialogue with Beijing and find areas to cooperate, a view that mirrors that of Japan. they would prefer a forward-looking relationship with Beijing, one that benefits both sides. But those preferences are no substitute for a clear-eyed assessment of Chinese actions and intentions.

While we welcome that engagement, caution is in order. europe remains a world away. if those governments decide to maintain a permanent presence, it will inevitably be small and unable to tip the balance in a crisis. if european governments want to make a truly substantive contribution to indo-Pacific security, then they should do more to prepare for their own defense, a move that would free up resources that the U.S. could then devote to this region. that should not diminish our readiness to engage european partners. their presence is another sign of the centrality of this region to global affairs. efforts, even if symbolic, are valuable and statements of support are a reminder of the larger stakes that regional crises have. Recent events in this part of the world have the potential to do far more damage than shift a few borders; they threaten the very fibre of the global order. in this, europe has a unique interest. the eU is a different kind of world power. its standing and influence much depends on its support for norms and principles, and especially the rule of law. the dispatch of warships, no matter how big, doesn’t change that.

Biden administration must answer questions about Kabul drone strike dallas Morning news ediTorial the suicide bombings that ripped through Kabul’s airport in late August and killed 13 U.S. troops and more than 160 Afghans upped the ante for the U.S. to thwart more terrorist attacks in the final days of its withdrawal. the Biden administration said it prevented another suicide bombing a few days later with a drone strike that officials said killed a suspected islamic State group driver and an associate near the airport. U.S. officials told reporters that the target had been under surveillance for hours and that people were seen loading explosives into the trunk of his car.

But two separate investigations by the New York times and the Washington Post cast doubt on that narrative. these news reports must elicit a fuller explanation than what the Biden administration has offered so far.

Relatives and co-workers of the target, engineer Zemari

THE US GOVERNMENT SHOULD PUT INVESTIGATORS ON THE GROUND TO DETERMINE THE TRUTH Ahmadi, told journalists that he was an aid worker with a California-based nonprofit in Afghanistan. Video obtained by the times shows Ahmadi and a colleague loading canisters of water into his trunk to bring to his family on the day he was killed.

Ahmadi’s family members said 10 people were killed, including seven children. the relatives showed reporters photos of burned bodies belonging to children, and

neighbors confirmed that children’s bodies were removed from the site. the Biden administration must conduct a thorough investigation.

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Monday that the administration is looking at the matter “very, very, very carefully.” however, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters that while officials are investigating, he’s not aware of a plan to put investigators on the ground in Kabul. if two American newspapers can check out information on the ground, why can’t the U.S. government?

We hope the Biden administration follows through on its word to be transparent about its findings. Without troops in Afghanistan, the U.S. will have to rely even more on drone technology to hit terrorists. A strike on the family of an aid worker who may not have done anything wrong should prompt our military to seriously examine its drone policies and decisions.

Tribune, india

W

ith the paddy harvesting season slated to begin shortly, it is time for states like Punjab, haryana and Uttar Pradesh to take stock of the measures taken to prevent the burning of crop stubble, the main reason behind the rising air pollution in the National Capital Region (NCR) during the winter months.

While the states have taken steps to deal with the problem, including punitive measures, dealing with violations will be a challenge, especially for Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, in view of the ensuing Assembly elections and the importance of farmers as an electoral constituency.

Chief ministers of Punjab, haryana and Delhi should meet at the earliest to chalk out a strategy to avoid stubble burning and address farmers’ concerns. that the problem is acute in the region has been pointed out by several studies conducted over the years in the region which confirm the impact of burning crop residue and solid biomass on air quality.

Checking air pollution should also be a priority because stubble burning leads to a host of respiratory ailments, a fatal combination in times of Covid-19, when many patients have died because of a crippling shortage of oxygen.

Using technology to harness agricultural waste can be a good start.

Punjab has taken to the direct seeding of rice (DSR) method that yields less residue, utilises less water and makes do with labour shortage. A staggered sowing of paddy also gives the farmers more time to manage the crop residue.

Delhi has installed smog towers and is pitching for the use of electric vehicles, considering that construction activities and vehicular emissions are a major factor behind pollution there. in himachal Pradesh, Dr YS Parmar University of horticulture & Forestry has come up with a technique to convert pine needles, a prime reason behind forest fires, into ethanol, a biofuel. the Commission for Air Quality has asked Delhi and neighbouring states to adopt satellite data from iSRO to chalk out an action plan in this regard.

More such application of technology should be undertaken to reduce pollution and achieve the aim of clean air for blue skies.

Thursday, 16 September, 2021

BUSINESS 09

KARACHI

PRovIncIAl GovTs Asked To Announce wheAT ReleAse PolIcy

corporate corner

ISLAMABAD

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KARACHI: Photo shows Mobilink Microfinance Bank President & CEO Ghazanfar Azzam inaugurating an MMBL branch at Gulistan-e-Johar, Karachi, in presence of veteran Olympic hockey player, Sami Ullah Khan, and Advisor, Banking & Insurance Sub-Committee, Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Ateeq-Ur-Rehman.

The branch, the first of its kind in the area, will extend convenient and customized digital banking and finance facilities to residents and the local business community at one of the busiest trade centres of the metropolitan. PR

Faysal Bank wins the “Best Islamic Bank for Transformation and Innovation 2021” Award

KARACHI: Faysal Bank, a leading Islamic bank of Pakistan, has won the Best Islamic Bank for Transformation and Innovation 2021 Award at the Global Islamic Finance Awards (GIFA). The Global Islamic Finance Awards (GIFA) is one of the most coveted and respectable market-led awards in Islamic banking and finance in the world. Faysal Bank was also the recipient of the Best Emerging Islamic Bank Award last year at GIFA. President and Chief Executive Officer Faysal Bank Yousaf Hussain said, “Alhamdolillah, we at Faysal Bank are honoured to be recognized as the Best Islamic Bank for Transformation and Innovation by the GIFA 2021. We are glad to see that our conversion model is being recognized for its comprehensiveness based on our success in possibly one of the largest conversions of a conventional bank to an Islamic Bank, on a global basis.

Our transformation and execution strategy that encompassed all facets of the bank has been a journey of belief, commitment, planning and dedication, supported by our sponsors, Board, SBP, our employees and customers. We are thankful to Allah for this historic Islamic Banking transformation and this coveted award. ”Faysal Islami is on track to one of the largest conversions of a conventional bank to an Islamic Bank on a global basis. Currently, the Bank has over 520 Islamic banking branches out of a branch network of 576 branches that spans more than 200 cities across the country. PRESS RElEASE

Afghan govt seeks permission to schedule flights to Pakistan The Afghan Ministry of Civil Aviation wrote a letter to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Pakistan seeking permission for operating flights to Pakistan from Afghanistan Airlines Ariana and Kam Air. The Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) has been signed between Pakistan and Afghanistan therefore the permission for flights was sought. The letter also stated that US troops had destroyed the facilities at Kabul International airport during the evacuation process. MONITORING REPORT

APP

HE Ministry of National Food Security and Research has asked provincial governments to announce their wheat release policy in a bid to bring down and maintain prices of wheat and flour in local markets by ensuring smooth supply of grains to millers.

The announcement made on Wednesday is expected to help remove obstacles in demand and supply of grains, besides discouraging the malpractices of artificial price hikes and hoarding in local markets.

Talking to APP here on Wednesday, a senior official in the Ministry of National Food Security and Research said that currently the local markets were operating on the routine mechanism and prices of the commodities including wheat and flour were determined on their demand and supply position.

He added that hoarding of grains to influence the market was the main reason behind price fluctuation.

"As soon as the public sector intervenes in local markets, the demand and supply would be normalised and it would also bring stability in local

prices of wheat and flour," he said, adding that it would also discourage the elements involved in hoarding and profiteering of the commodity.

"So far, the public sector had not been intervening in markets and the local flour mills were purchasing wheat from open markets and prices of the commodity determined by the demand and supply," he said.

The official said when the provincial governments announce their wheat release policy, the prices of the commodity and its preparations would bring down as well.

He assured that there are abundant wheat stocks of around 7 million tonnes available in the official stocks excluding the imported grains and these reserves were more than sufficient to meet with the local consumption demand for 7 months while bumper wheat crops had also been harvested during last season.

Besides the existing local strategic reserves, he said the Trading Corporation of Pakistan had also been asked to accelerate the pace of imports as it was assigned a task to import 3 million tonnes of wheat to further improve the local reserves and ensure smooth supply to maintain wheat and flour prices at

a sustainable level.

Meanwhile, giving details of local wheat stocks, he said that by September 15, there were about 6,162,156 metric tonnes (MT) of wheat available for local consumption.

Punjab has over 3.690 million tonnes of wheat with its carry forward stocks of 457,000 tonnes and Sindh has 1.259 million tonnes with carrying forward stocks of 50,000 tonnes.

Meanwhile, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan have 135,476 tonnes and 85,925 MT of grains, respectively.

Furthermore, the Pakistan Agriculture Storage and Supplies Corporation (PASSC) has 538,263 metric tonnes of wheat in its stocks, besides carrying forward 201,234 metric tonnes by the period under review.

It is worth mentioning here that the Punjab government had also established 337 Sahulat Bazaars and has so far, supplied 4,859,715 bags of wheat flour at the subsidised rate of Rs430 per 10kg bag.

Additionally, the private sector has so far procured 2.709 MMT of wheat and after grinding, a quantity of 0.860 million metric tonnes is still in the balance.

PSX bags best Islamic stock exchange award Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) has been awarded the best Islamic stock exchange award by Global Islamic Finance Awards (GIFA) for the year 2021, a significant development both on a global level and the Islamic business world.

PSX has a robust platform for providing Shariahcompliant products including dedicated Islamic indices, equities and debt instruments.

GIFA is an internationally respected platform recognising excellence in banking and finance in the Islamic world. Since 2011, the awards have been presented to individuals, institutions and government departments globally who have shown outstanding performance in promoting Islamic banking and finance and in terms of commitment to social responsibility.

GIFA is the only global Islamic finance awards programme covering all parts of the world and includes all institutions and individuals who have contributed to growth and expansion of Islamic banking and finance with Sharia authenticity.

Speaking at the occasion, PSX Chairperson Dr Shamshad Akhtar stated it was definitely an immense achievement for PSX to have won the award. “Islamic equity and debt products form a large portion of the demand in international capital markets. PSX winning this accolade shows that it is a premium platform for listing and investing of Islamic capital

market products,” she remarked.

She added that the winning of this award endorses that PSX is heading in the right direction in terms of facilitating and providing Islamic capital market products and offerings. “We intend to build on Islamic finance business at PSX, and ensure furthering PSX’s regulatory, operational, technological standards and products in providing diversified Islamic products and facilitating shariah-compliant equity and debt listings”. NEWS DESK

Industrial output grows by 2.25pc in July The Large-Scale Manufacturing Industries’ (LSMI) production grew up by 2.25 per cent during the first month of the current fiscal year (July) as compared to the corresponding month of last year, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported.

The LSMI Quantum Index Number (QIM) was recorded at 138.01 points during July 2021 against 134.97 points during July 2020, showing a growth of 2.25pc, according to the latest PBS data.

The highest increase of 1.57pc was witnessed in the indices monitored by the Provincial Boards of Statistics (PBoS), followed by a 0.89pc increase in indices monitored by the Ministry of Industries.

However, the indices monitored by Oil Companies Advisory Committee (OCAC) witnessed negative growth of 0.22pc.

The major sectors that showed positive growth during July 2021 included textile (0.35pc), food, beverages and tobacco (0.09), pharmaceuticals (0.84pc), chemicals (0.36pc), automobiles (2.10pc), iron and steel products (0.42pc). fertilizers (0.22pc), electronics (0.05pc), leather products (0.10pc) and engineering products (0.01pc).

On the other hand, the LSM industries that witnessed negative growth in July 2021 included electronics coke and petroleum products (0.22pc), non-metallic mineral products (1.56pc), paper and board (0.32pc) and rubber products (0.18pc).

On a month-on-month basis, the industrial production declined by 5.03 pc during July compared to the growth of 145.32 points during June 2020, the data revealed. APP

Govt okays Rs1.625bn to finance 13 petroleum projects Under the Public Sector Development Programme, the government has released Rs1.625 billion for the completion of seven ongoing and six new petroleum-related projects to improve the energy sector.

Rs1,473.683 million are to be distributed among the seven ongoing schemes, out of which Rs263m were meant for the establishment of National Minerals Data Centre (NMDC), Rs345.321 for Expansion and up-gradation of Pakistan Petroleum Core House (PETCORE), Rs30m for Geological Mapping on 50 Toposheets, out of 354 unmapped Toposheets of Outcrop Area of Balochistan province, Rs385.336m for strengthening and up-gradation of Karachi Laboratories Complex (KLC) at HDIP Operations Office, Karachi, Rs76.580m for the supply of 13.5 MMCFD gas at Doorstep (Zero Point) of Dhabeji Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Sindh, Rs 230m for the supply of 30MMCFD gas at Doorstep (Zero Point) of Rashakai Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and Rs143.446m for up-gradation of POL testing facilities of HDIP at Islamabad, Lahore, Multan, Peshawar, Quetta and ISO Certification of Petroleum Testing Laboratory at Islamabad.

While, Rs1,775.857m have been allocated to fund the new schemes, out of which Rs40m were kept for development of Strategic Underground Gas Storage (SUGS), Rs30m for Legal Consultancy Services for drafting of Model Mineral Agreement and updating of Regulatory Framework (Federal and Provincial Minerals/Coal Departments) prepared by Mineral Wing, Petroleum Division, Rs40m for Pakistan National Research Programme on Geological Hazards (Earthquakes and Landslides) – Data Acquisition along Active Faults and Identification of Potential Landslides Hotspot Zones, Rs73.447m for the supply of 10 MMCFD RLNG to Bostan Special Economic Zone, Rs149.410m for the supply of 13 MMCFD RLNG to Bin Qasim Industrial Park and Rs785m for the supply of 40 MMCFD gas/RLNG to Allama Iqbal Industrial City Special Economic Zone (SEZ), Faisalabad. MONITORING REPORT

Apple unveils new iPhone SAN FRANCISCO AGENCIES

Apple CEO Tim Cook strode through a slickly produced video Tuesday to launch a new iPhone, with few hints of the exceptional string of troubles facing his company including policy reversals, a spyware attack, and legal fights.

Cook -- from an empty, darkened auditorium -- raved over upgraded cameras, brighter screens and new features for some of the Silicon Valley giant's other devices like the iPad. "These are the best iPhones we've ever created," Cook said, noting Apple's work to

design the "very best products and services to enrich people's lives." Yet a head-spinning series of problems have occupied the recent public discussion of one the world's most valuable companies.

Due to a long and loud fight over its online app marketplace, a judge ordered Apple last week to allow developers to sidestep its hefty commission on purchases.

It has also delayed a plan to scan its customers' devices as part of a child abuse prevention move, after privacy advocates howled over the risk of opening a backdoor for government surveillance.

And then Monday it was forced to roll out an urgent fix after cybersecurity researchers

found a weakness that allowed Pegasus spyware to infect Apple devices without users so much as clicking a malicious message.

That said, Apple still possesses massive reach in the digital world and beyond and manages to be worth over $2 trillion.

Its fans cheered the release of the updated products Tuesday, including analyst Daniel Ives who noted "the supercycle for Cupertino," referring to the California city that is home to Apple's headquarters.

"Apple remains in the midst of its strongest overall product cycle in roughly a decade," he added.

The iPhone 13 range includes four models, from the Mini version to the Pro

Max, with prices similar to iPhone 12 at last year's release.

Their cameras and batteries are more powerful, and 5G capability is to be extended to more than 200 mobile operators in 60 countries and regions by the end of the year.

It is true the company has racked up massive profits driven by the demand for its devices as much of the world hunkered down at home due to the pandemic.

At the same time legal battles, new laws and the scrutiny of regulators around the world has added up to a series of challenges for the company.

As Cook expounded on iPhone develop-

ments, a group fighting to loosen Apple's control over its App Store tweeted its verdict on the new handset.

"Today's rollout of the iPhone 13 only tells us one thing: new iPhone, same bad App Store," wrote Coalition for App Fairness.

"It's time for @Apple to #OpenTheAppStore and level the playing field for app developers and innovators."Apple has started to cede ground on its App Store dominance, including in an agreement with Japanese regulators.

It also faces the legislation adopted by South Korean lawmakers, which banned Apple and Google from forcing app developers to use the tech giants' payment systems.

Thursday, 16 September, 2021

10 foreign newS

karaChi

Former US IntellIgence operAtIveS AdmIt hAckIng AmerIcAn networkS For UAe WASHINGTON

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ReuteRs

HREE former US intelligence operatives who worked as cyber spies for the United Arab Emirates admitted to violating US hacking laws and prohibitions on selling sensitive military technology, under a deal to avoid prosecution announced on Tuesday.

The operatives — Marc Baier, Ryan Adams and Daniel Gericke — were part of a clandestine unit named Project Raven, first reported by Reuters, that helped the UAE spy on its enemies.

At the behest of the UAE’s monarchy, the Project Raven team hacked into the accounts of human rights activists, journalists

and rival governments, Reuters reported.

The three men admitted to hacking into computer networks in the United States and exporting sophisticated cyber intrusions tools without gaining required permission from the US government, according to court papers released in US federal court in Washington on Tuesday.

The operatives and their attorneys did not respond to requests for comment. The UAE embassy in Washington also did not immediately respond to a request for comment. As part of the deal with federal authorities to avoid prosecution, the three former intelligence officials agreed to pay a combined $1.69 million and never again seek a US security clearance, a requirement for jobs that entail access to national security secrets.

“Hackers-for-hire and those who otherwise support such activities in violation of US law should fully expect to be prosecuted for their criminal conduct,” Acting Assistant Attorney General Mark J. Lesko for the Justice Department’s National Security Division said in a statement.

Revelations of Project Raven in 2019 by Reuters highlighted the growing practice of former intelligence operatives selling their spycraft overseas with little oversight or accountability.

“This is a clear message to anybody, including former US government employees, who had considered using cyberspace to leverage export-controlled information for the benefit of a foreign government or a foreign commercial company,” Assistant Direc-

tor Bryan Vorndran of the FBI’s Cyber Division said in a statement. “There is a risk, and there will be consequences.”

Lori Stroud, a former US National Security Agency analyst who worked on Project Raven and then acted as a whistleblower, said she was pleased to see the charges.

“The most significant catalyst to bringing this issue to light was investigative journalism – the timely, technical information reported created the awareness and momentum to ensure justice,” she said.

The Reuters investigation found that Project Raven spied on numerous human rights activists, some of whom were later tortured by UAE security forces.

Former program operatives said they believed they were following the law because

superiors promised them the US government had approved the work.

Baier, Adams and Gericke admitted to deploying a sophisticated cyberweapon called “Karma” that allowed the UAE to hack into Apple iPhones without requiring a target to click on malicious links, according to court papers.

Karma allowed users to access tens of millions of devices and qualified as an intelligence-gathering system under federal export control rules. But the operatives did not obtain the required US government permission to sell the tool to the UAE, authorities said.

Project Raven used Karma to hack into thousands of targets including a Nobel Prizewinning Yemeni human rights activist and a BBC television show host, Reuters reported.

Biden denies China’s Xi turned down meeting offer

WASHINGTON ReuteRs

US President Joe Biden denied on Tuesday a media report that his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, last week turned down an offer from Biden for a face-to-face meeting.

The Financial Times cited multiple people briefed on a 90-minute call between the two leaders last week as saying Xi did not take Biden up on the offer and in-

stead insisted that Washington adopt a less strident tone toward Beijing.

“It’s not true,” Biden said when asked by reporters if he was disappointed that Xi did not want to meet with him.

Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said in a statement earlier on Tuesday that the report was “not an accurate portrayal of the call. Period.”

A source who was among those briefed on the call confirmed the report was accurate.

“Xi apparently intimated that the tone and atmosphere of the relationship needed to be improved first,” the source told Reuters.

China’s embassy in Washington did not immediately respond when asked to comment.

The Financial Times quoted one of its sources as saying Biden had floated the summit as one of several possibilities for follow-on engagement with Xi, and he had not expected an immediate response. It cited one US official as saying that while Xi did not engage with the idea of a summit, the White House believed that was partly due to concerns about Covid-19.

The G20 summit in Italy in October has been talked about as a possible venue for a face-to-face meeting, but Xi has not left China since the outbreak of the pandemic early last year.

In his statement, Sullivan added: “As we’ve said, the Presidents discussed the importance of being able to have private discussions between the two leaders, and we’re going to respect that.”

The call between Biden and Xi was their first in seven months and they discussed the need to ensure that competition between the world’s two largest economies does not veer into conflict.

A US official briefing before the conversation called it a test of whether direct top-level engagement could end what had become a stalemate in ties, which are at the worst level in decades.

The White House said afterwards it was intended to keep channels of communication open, but it has announced no plans for follow-on engagements.

Chinese state media said Xi had told Biden that US policy on China imposed “serious difficulties” on relations but added that both sides agreed to maintain frequent contact and ask working-level teams to step up communications.

Iran restarts commercial flights to Afghanistan TEHRAN AFP

Iran on Wednesday resumed commercial flights to neighbouring Afghanistan, where the Taliban took control last month. "Today Mahan Air carried passengers between Mashhad and Kabul airport," Fars news agency reported, referring to Iran's second-largest city, in the northeast, and the Afghan capital. "At present, this airliner is returning to Mashhad with passengers." It was the first such flight between the two countries since the return of the Taliban to power on August 15. The Iranian civil aviation agency had announced the interruption of flights to Kabul on August 16 for security reasons.

Previously, Mahan Air had operated two flights per week between Mashhad and Kabul. Mahan Air, the second largest Iranian airline after the state-owned Iran Air, has been on the blacklist of entities targeted by US sanctions against Iran since 2011. According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the Islamic republic hosts more than 3.46 million Afghans, most of them refugees or illegal immigrants, representing more than four percent of Iran's population.

Military junta opens talks on Guinea’s future, vows to avoid past ‘mistakes’ CONAKRY AP

Guinea's long-time opposition leaders voiced support Tuesday for the country's new military rulers as a four-day summit got under way that is aimed at charting the West African nation's future following a coup just over a week ago.

Pressure, though, is expected to mount this week for Col Mamady Doumbouya to set a timeframe for holding new elections.

Regional mediators and the international community are calling for the junta to hand over power to a civilian-led transitional government.

Opposition party leaders who came to the heavily guarded People's Palace for the Tuesday meeting, however, publicly backed the coup and laid more criticism on ousted President Alpha Conde. The 83-year-old leader was detained by the junta during the September 5 coup and his exact whereabouts have not been disclosed.

Conde sparked violent street protests last year after he pushed forth a constitutional referendum he said allowed him to extend his rule to a third term.

Ousmane Kaba, leader of the opposition Party of Democrats for Hope, called that bid

by Conde to stay in power beyond his mandate a coup as well.

“That was not legal, you know, so that’s why we had a military coup to stop the insti-

tutional, constitutional coup," he told reporters Tuesday. "And I think the international community should help us, should help Guinea to have a good transition.”

Guinea’s most prominent opposition figure, Cellou Dalein Diallo, already has spoken out against Conde, calling him a dictator who had brought on his own

downfall. Diallo, who had lost to the ousted leader in the last three presidential elections, has signalled that he intends to run whenever a vote is next held.

But the opposition's request for support and not punishment may not sway the West African regional bloc known as ECOWAS. It already has threatened Guinea with eco-

nomic sanctions unless the junta releases the deposed president immediately.

The bloc took a similar move in August 2020 when it imposed sanctions on neighbouring Mali after mutinous soldiers there overthrew a long-time president who had become increasingly unpopular. Regional mediators called for a one-year deadline for

new elections in Mali but later acquiesced to the junta leaders and accepted an 18-month timeframe instead.

Even that now appears in doubt as February 2022 approaches, since Col Assimi Goita effectively staged a second coup in Mali nine months after the first by firing the civilian president and prime minister and later declaring himself president of the transition.

In Mali's case, the junta had overthrown a president who came to power through a democratic election supported by the international community and who had not sought to change the country's term limits.

Guinea's ex-leader, though, had lost credibility with many in Conakry after he won his third term in October. That appears to have muted the public backlash against the junta so far in Guinea's capital, where opposition figures said Tuesday they were optimistic about what the coming days would bring.

Sidya Toure, leader of the Union of Republican Forces party, said conditions already appear to have improved since the military takeover. He recalled how security forces had “tried to kidnap me in my home” during Conde's regime. “We can see it all around the town in Conakry, absolutely the change amongst the military and policemen," he said. "I think we are going in the right way for the moment.”

Thursday, 16 September, 2021

SPORTS 11

KARACHI

LeWANDoWski DoubLe heLps bAYeRN thump bARceLoNA, YouNg boYs stuN mAN uNiteD BERN

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AFP

ANCHESTER United slumped to a shock 2-1 loss at Young Boys despite a goal from Cristiano Ronaldo in their Champions League opener on Tuesday, while Chelsea kicked off their title defence by beating Zenit.

Robert Lewandowski struck twice for Bayern Munich as the German heavyweights inflicted a 3-0 defeat on Barcelona at Camp Nou in their first European game since the departure of Lionel Messi.

Ronaldo, the leading scorer in Champions League history, bagged his 135th goal in the competition after 13 minutes in Bern, but Swiss champions Young Boys hit back after the sending-off of Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

The United defender saw red for a dangerous tackle on Christopher Martins before half-time. Nicolas Moumi Ngamaleu equalised in the second half before Jordan Siebatcheu snatched the winner with the final kick.

“It’s the first game in the group. We’ve got many games to bounce back and we must do,” said United captain Harry Maguire.

“We’ll try and pick up three points in our next game and build momentum from there.”

United host Villarreal in two weeks. The Spaniards, who beat Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men in last season’s Europa League final, drew 2-2 at home to Atalanta in the other Group F match.

Remo Freuler gave Atalanta the lead but Villarreal responded with goals from Manu Trigueros and Arnaut Danjuma. Robin Gosens popped up with a late equaliser.

Romelu Lukaku broke the deadlock for Chelsea after 69 minutes at Stamford Bridge to earn the holders a 1-0 victory over Zenit, whose Krestovsky Stadium in Saint Petersburg is the venue for next May’s final.

Lukaku headed in Cesar Azpilicueta’s cross to give Thomas Tuchel’s team a winning start in Group H. “The guys who are there to score regularly for their teams are so important because one goal changes the whole

momentum of the match,” Tuchel said of Lukaku.

Juventus top the section after the opening round following their 3-0 win away to Malmo of Sweden.

BAYERN ROLL BARCA ASIDE: Alex Sandro headed Juve ahead and Paulo Dybala converted a penalty before Alvaro Morata notched a third for a side that has picked up just one point from three games in Serie A. Bayern stretched their record unbeaten away run in the Champions League to 19 games by sweeping aside Barca in the first meeting between the clubs since the Germans triumphed 8-2 in a one-off quarter-final last year. Thomas Mueller put Bayern on top on 34 minutes and Lewandowski netted twice in the second half to send Julian Nagelsmann’s side top of Group E. “We came to win this game and we knew that we had to show respect to Barcelona,” said Lewandowski.

“When you play at the Camp Nou against them they are always dangerous. But we had this game under control and we showed we were here for the three points.”

Dynamo Kiev had to settle for a 0-0 draw at home to Benfica after Ukraine international Mykola Shaparenko’s injurytime effort was ruled out for offside.

Sevilla rode their luck in an eventful 11 draw against Salzburg.

The Austrians missed two of three firsthalf penalties, with Karim Adeyemi firing wide from the spot and Luka Sucic hitting the post having earlier converted Salzburg’s second penalty.

Ivan Rakitic levelled for Sevilla with another spot-kick before the interval.

Youssef En-Nesyri was sent off early in the second period for the home side. “It was a very strange game. When you have three penalties against you, a red card, I think you have to be happy with a draw,” said Rakitic.

“I think it’s a record, three penalties (conceded) in 36 minutes, I don’t think it’s ever happened to me.”

French champions Lille and Bundesliga leaders Wolfsburg drew 0-0 to leave all Group G teams level on one point.

Niyonsaba smashes women's 2,000m world record ZAGREB REUTERS

Burundi's Francine Niyonsaba capped off her season by breaking the 2,000 metres world record on Tuesday, finishing with a time of 5 minutes and 21.56 seconds at a Continental Tour event in Zagreb. The 28-year-old, who won the 5,000 metres Diamond League title in Zurich last week, shaved nearly four seconds off the outdoor record and over two off the indoor mark. The previous indoor record was set by Genzebe Dibaba of Ethiopia in 2017, while Ireland's Sonia O'Sullivan had held the outdoor record since 1994. Niyonsaba, an 800 metres silver medallist at the 2016 Olympics, is banned from her preferred distance because of naturally high levels of testosterone. She moved up to 5,000 metres at the Tokyo Games but was disqualified for a lane infringement in her heat, while she finished fifth in the 10,000 metre event.

PCB names squad for 1st ODI against New Zealand NEWS DESK The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Wednesday announced the 12-player squad for the first One-Day International against New Zealand, scheduled to be played at the Pindi Cricket Stadium on Friday.

Earlier this month, the team selectors had named the 20-player squad for the three-match series. Uncapped wicketkeeper Mohammad Haris, fast bowlers Mohammad Wasim and Shahnawaz Dahani, spinner Zahid Mahmood, and middle-order

Rossi explains why he switched to Yamaha ‘I COULDN’T STAND TO HEAR THE COMMENTS THAT I WON BECAUSE I RIDE A HONDA,’ SAYS VETERAN MOTOGP RIDER

batsmen Iftikhar Ahmed and Khushdil Shah were included in the squad.

The second and third ODIs will be played at the Pindi Cricket Stadium on September 19 and 21 respectively while Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium will host the T20Is from September 25 to October 3.

SQUAD: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hassan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakil, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Qadir, Zahid Mahmood.

WADA to review cannabis ban for athletes MONTREAL REUTERS

An advisory group to the World Anti-Doping Agency will review whether cannabis should remain a banned substance, a move that comes after American track and field star Sha’Carri Richardson missed the Tokyo Games after testing positive for it. The scientific review will be initiated next year, WADA said on Tuesday. Cannabis is currently prohibited in competition and will continue to be in 2022, it added. Richardson tested positive for a chemical found in cannabis during the US Olympic Track & Field trials in June, which wiped out her trial results. She was also hit with a one-month suspension. The 21-year-old, who had been seen as a top contender in the 100 metres, has said she used cannabis to help cope with the death of her mother. The suspension sparked an outpouring of sympathy and calls for a review of anti-doping rules, including by the US Anti-Doping Agency.

US Open victory yet to sink in, says Raducanu WASHINGTON

AGENCIES

REUTERS

Valentino Rossi arrived in the world championship in 1996, and in 2000 he made the leap to 500cc – the class that would later give way to MotoGP – on a Honda machine.

In the four years he has been with the Japanese manufacturer (half in the satellite team and the other half in the factory team), Rossi has won three championship titles and a second place in his debut championship. In an interview with DAZN, the #46 clarified that one of the reasons he left Honda consisted of comments that devalued his achievements; this eventually motivated the rider to take a chance on a change that would later have historic consequences. ‘Actually, now when I look back I think, “I was loco”. I had a lot of confidence in myself and I also couldn’t stand having to hear the comments that I won by driving a Honda, because when I was on the track I felt I was the fastest driver. So I was able to claim and say, “Look, now I’ve won with another bike,”‘ he said in an interview with DAZN. The nine-time champion also admitted that he did not expect to win his first race on a Yamaha: “Honestly, I didn’t expect to win the first race; it was unexpected. I think when you make decisions like this you get a strength from somewhere that you didn’t realize you had.

US Open champion Emma Raducanu said on Wednesday that her sensational win at Flushing Meadows had yet to sink in and that the 18 months she took off from the sport provided her with the "hunger" to prevail in New York.

The 18-year-old Briton stunned the tennis world by defeating Canada's Leylah Fernandez in straight sets on Saturday to become the first qualifier to capture a Grand Slam title.

"I feel great. Everything that's happened in the last 72 hours has been so much fun... it still hasn't really sunk in, but occasionally I'll remember that I won the U.S. Open. So yeah, a really funny feeling," she told the

WTA website.

Raducanu took a break from tennis last year due to the pandemic and also because her parents insisted that she should complete her high school exams.

"Having 18 months away... coming out you play every match like you don't know when your last match will be. That was how I was approaching the whole summer... But the biggest thing is that I never once got ahead of myself," she said.

"For three weeks I just played the opponent in front of me, I took care of what I wanted to try and achieve on that day against that opponent, and just repeated it for three weeks."

Raducanu has made a string of public appearances since her win last weekend, the

most high-profile being at the Met Gala in New York on Monday.

The teenager called her red-carpet experience "eye-opening", adding: "At the Met Gala everyone is so experienced and so accomplished in their own way and it was really cool to hear how they are and their perspective on things."

For now, Raducanu said that she planned to switch off from tennis following an intense few weeks and was not entirely sure when her next tournament would be.

"I think for me, still, I cherish the most the moments with the team after the win... that was probably the most special night ever, when we were reflecting... I know I'll get back to work probably Monday or early next week... schedule-wise, I'm not sure," she added.

Thursday, 16 September, 2021

PRayeR timings

NEWS Coronavirus in

Pakistan

CONFIRMED CASES:

1,212,809

LAST UPDATED AT 9:09 AM ON SEPTEMBER 15, 2021

DAY'S DEATH TOLL:

NEW CASES:

73

2,714

RECOVERED:

DEATHS:

1,108,339 26,938 SINDH:

PUNJAB:

446,840

416,901

KPK:

BALOCHISTAN:

169,429

32,658

AJK/GB:

ISLAMABAD:

33,490/10,198

103,293

FM says govt would be ‘oPen to giving’ Pardon to ttP under right Conditions

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HE federal government would be “open to giving” a pardon to members of the banned Tehreek-ie-Taliban Pakistan under the condition that the proscribed organisation promise not to indulge in terrorist activities and submit to the country’s Constitution, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said.

Qureshi made the remarks during an interview with Britain’s online newspaper The Independent and the video of the interview was posted on social media by the staterun Associated Press of Pakistan on Wednesday, Dawn reported.

Voicing concern about the reports of TTP figures being released from prisons in the wake of the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, Qureshi said, “If those guys come and start creating problems for us over here, it will affect innocent lives and we don’t want that.”

Pakistan is fighting a major

domestic insurgency in the form of local Taliban offshoot the Tehrike-Taliban Pakistan as well as alQaeda and ISIS. Qureshi said if the new Afghan setup could use its influence and talk to the TTP, and “if [the TTP] are willing to mend fences and not take the law into their hands and not get involved in terrorist activities and they submit and surrender to the writ of the government and the Constitution of Pakistan, we are even open to giving them a pardon.”

“But as long as they do not come and start undertaking terrorist activities [in Pakistan]. That is our concern,” the minister emphasised.

Qureshi termed as “positive” the Afghan Taliban administration’s announcement that they would not allow any terrorist groups to use their soil against any country, including Pakistan.

He said Pakistan had been “continuously” pointing out TTP

sanctuaries to the previous Ashraf Ghani-led government, “but they wouldn’t move”. It remains to be seen whether the Afghan Taliban act on their assurances, Qureshi added. His comments come days after President Arif Alvi suggested during an interview with Dawn News that the government could consider giving an amnesty to those TTP members who had not remained involved in “criminal activities” and who laid down their weapons and agreed to adhere to the Pakistani Constitution.

For years, the TTP unleashed deadly attacks on urban centres across Pakistan from their bases along the Afghan border, where they provided shelter to an array of global jihadist groups including Al Qaeda.

But a massive military offensive launched in 2014 largely destroyed the group’s command and control structure, dramatically reducing insurgent violence throughout Pakistan. news desk

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three stranded mountaineers rescued ISLAMABAD: Two Czech and one Pakistan climbers, who were stranded due to bad weather at Rakaposhi mountain in Gilgit-Baltistan, were rescued on Wednesday, an official said. “Wajidullah Nagri and two fellow climbers Peter Macek and Jakub Vicek from the Czech Republic, who were stranded due to bad weather at a height of 6900m (22,638 feet) at Rakaposhi, [have been] finally rescued by Pakistan Army aviation,” Karrar Haidri, secretary-general of Alpine Club of Pakistan, Pakistan’s official mountaineering organisation, told Anadolu Agency. The climbers were stranded last week while descending after summiting 7,788meter (25,551-foot) high Rakaposhi, located in the scenic mountainous region, which borders neighbouring China. The rescue operation took several days due to inclement weather as the climbers descended nearly 1,000 meters (3,281 feet) down to be airlifted by the army helicopters. anadoLu agency

Fleeing Taliban, Afghanistan women’s soccer team arrives in Pakistan ISLAMABAD: Members of Afghanistan’s national girls’ football team have fled across the border into Pakistan dressed in veils, a month after the Taliban swept back into power, officials said Wednesday. The group of junior players and their coaches and families had tried to escape the country last month but a devastating bomb attack at Kabul airport left them stranded, someone close to the team told AFP. “I received a request for their rescue from another Englandbased NGO, so I wrote to Prime Minister Imran Khan who issued clearance for them to land in Pakistan,” said Sardar Naveed Haider, an ambassador of global development NGO Football for Peace, based in London. afP

Fear, uncertainty driving people out of Afghanistan, into Pakistan and beyond LAHORE anadoLu agency

Najiya Saleemi is relieved over reports that international flights to Pakistan have resumed as she packs her belongings to say adieu to Afghanistan, the land of beautiful orchards and rough mountain landscape that is suffering from severe economic hardships.

“We have done the packing, and just waiting for some official proce-

dure to take an onward trip to the US from Pakistan,” Saleemi, 63, told Anadolu Agency while arranging food, with the great hospitality they offer to guests, regardless of their economic circumstances.

Saleemi said that her son had worked for the Ghani government and now feels frightened, avoiding expressing the invisible fear.

She used a pseudonym to prevent backlash and claimed that her son had worked for the Ghani gov-

Facebook needs bias review over israelPalestine posts CALIFORNIA: Facebook’s oversight board has recommended an independent reviewer conduct a “thorough examination” into its content moderation of posts relating to Israel and Palestinians. The recommendation came after a review of a case in which a user’s post sharing an Arabic-language post from a news outlet about a militant group was removed by Facebook.

It later reversed the decision, The National reported.

Facebook originally removed the content under the Dangerous Individuals and Organisations Community Standard Policy, and restored it after the Oversight board selected the case for review. Facebook was unable to explain why two human reviewers originally judged the content to breach the policy, noting that moderators are not required to record their reasoning for individual content decisions. The online platform has been criticised for allegedly acting against Palestinian activists during and after an outbreak of violence in April and May this year. The board said Facebook declined to provide answers to all its questions about whether the social media platform had been asked to censor Palestinian content because of Israeli government demands. tLtP

ernment and now felt insecure. Her one married son is already in the US, while her other married son is in Canada, and she plans to travel with her husband and third son and his family this time. Tears streamed down her cheeks when she spoke about her married daughter, who will remain in Kabul with her husband and four children. Saleemi said: “This is how this nation’s people have been enduring the situation for a long time […] divided families.”

US top general secretly called China over fears Trump could spark war: report WASHINGTON: The top U.S. general secretly called his Chinese counterpart twice over concerns then-President Donald Trump could spark a war with China as his potential election loss loomed and in its aftermath, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday.

U.S. General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, called General Li Zuocheng of the People’s Liberation Army on Oct. 30, 2020 – four days before the election – and again on Jan. 8, two days after Trump supporters led a deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol, the newspaper reported. In the calls, Milley sought to assure Li the United States was stable and not going to attack and, if there were to be an attack, he would alert his counterpart ahead of time, the report said. The report was based on “Peril,” a new book by journalists Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, which they said relied on interviews with 200 sources and is due to be released next week. Trump, in a statement, cast doubt in the story, calling it “fabricated.” He said if the story was true Milley should be tried for treason. “For the record, I never even thought of attacking China,” Trump said. ReuteRs

Situationer: One month after fall of Kabul, economic crisis stalks Taliban KABUL ReuteRs

A month after seizing Kabul, the Taliban face daunting problems as they seek to convert their lightning military victory into a durable peacetime government.

After four decades of war and the deaths of tens of thousands of people, security has largely improved, but Afghanistan’s economy is in ruins despite hundreds of billions of dollars in development spending over the past 20 years.

Drought and famine are driving thousands from the country to the cities, and the World Food Programme

fears food could run out by the end of the month, pushing up to 14 million people to the brink of starvation.

While much attention in the West has focused on whether the new Taliban government will keep its promises to protect women’s rights or offer shelter to militant groups like al Qaeda, for many Afghans the main priority is simple survival.

“Every Afghan, kids, they are hungry, they don’t have a single bag of flour or cooking oil,” said Kabul resident Abdullah.

Long lines still form outside banks, where weekly withdrawal limits of $200 or 20,000 Afghani have been imposed to protect the country’s dwindling reserves.

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