01 FRONT PAGE (20-9-2021)_KHI

Monday, 20 September, 2021 I 12 Safar, 1443 I Rs 40.00 I Vol XII No 81 I 48 Pages I Karachi Edition

Government expresses commitment to hold next elections with reforms g

Fawad tElls CEC to distanCE himsElF From ControvErsial mattErs or quit his job

ISLAMABAD

f

staff report

EdEral minister for information and broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad hussain on sunday said the Pakistan tehreek-e-insaf (Pti) government was committed to move forward with its electoral reforms to hold free, fair, transparent and credible elections utilising modern technology. addressing a joint press conference with minister for science and technology shibli Faraz here, he said the chief election commissioner should distance himself from controversial matters as it was requirement of his post, otherwise he should quit and join politics. he said that Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and CEC were two different things and the government had strong reservations on the conduct of the CEC. similarly he said, the opposition should shun narrow minded approach and think in the larger national interest. he said that the government had

pakistan

CONFIRMED CASES:

1,223,841

LAST UPDATED AT 7:50 AM ON SEPTEMBER 19, 2021

DAY'S DEATH TOLL:

NEW CASES:

71

2,580 DEATHS:

1,132,726 27,206 SINDH:

PUNJAB:

450,126

421,800

KPK:

BALOCHISTAN:

171,072 AJK/GB:

32,757 ISLAMABAD:

33,732/10,240

Faraz says ECP nEEds to Play its Part in tEChnologiCal inCorPoration

given 49 proposals for reforms and the opposition was neither accepting them, nor bringing their own proposals. the CEC has seemingly decided against the Electronic voting machine (Evm) without even considering the report, he said adding, the CEC scrapped all the supporting arguments in favour of the Evms from the report to rob it of its substance. he said that the data of Philippines elections was removed from the record which showed that after introduction of electronic voting system, controversies in election results were reduced.

Fawad said that in 2007, elections in Philippines, which were held under old paper system, results was complied after several days whereas in 2010 and 2019 elections held through Evms and the results were declared within hours. “People’s trust on 2007 elections in the Philippines was 35 per cent, while they expressed 75 percent and 89 percent satisfaction over results of 2010 2019 respectively. with the introduction of Evm, the election day violence was controlled whereas in 2007 many polling

coronavirus in

RECOVERED:

g

104,114

officers lost their lives,” he added. he said that the debate for reformation of electoral system and introduction of electronic voting machines was not new, adding that ECP had raised few frivolous objections over the use of Evms in the next general elections. the minister opined that it appeared that the ECP was using the language of opposition parties. he said that the opposition had the right to openly express its viewpoint but the office bearers of a national institution like ECP could not behave like opposition.

Fawad urged the members of the ECP to review the decisions. he said presently the posts of Punjab and KP members were vacant and fundamental decisions could not be taken. he said that national database and regulation authority (nadra) has provided many facilities based on technology, and Pakistan was the first country which introduced machine readable passport. the minister said that if the ECP would create hurdles in the use of technology, it would result in a new crisis. Criticising the opposition’s attitude, he said that they rejected the Evms without bothering to attend any demonstration given by the ministry of science and technology. similarly, he said, the opposition parties participated in the media protest against proposed Pakistan media development authority (Pmda) without going through its details. he also said that they faced humiliation when the media organizations agreed to form a joint committee on Pmda.

Fawad said that the opposition parties were opposing the government for the sake of opposition and they would be ready to join hands with the devil to discredit the incumbent government. he said that the opposition’s attitude was against the spirit of parliamentary form of democracy in which one has to think above personal interest.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 03

NZC chief says they were satisfied with security but ‘everything changed on Friday’ new zealand was warned of a “specific, credible threat” against its team, the country’s cricket board said on sunday, elaborating on the rationale for abruptly abandoning the tour of Pakistan as the squad reached dubai. new zealand had pulled out of the limited-overs tour hours before the opening fixture in rawalpindi on Friday citing a new zealand government security alert. in a fresh statement issued by new zealand Cricket (nzC), white is quoted as reiterating that “while the general tenor of the threat was immediately shared with the PCb, specific details could not, and will not, be disclosed – privately or publicly.” “we had several conversations with new zealand government officials before making the decision … unfortunately, given the advice we’d received, there was no way we could stay in the country,” white shared. the advice to abandon tour was supported by nzC’s security consultants on the ground as well as other independent sources, nzC said. white, however, said he was “grateful” to the Pakistan Cricket

Govt introducing modern transport system in Karachi: Asad KARACHI tLtp

Federal minister for Planning and development asad umar has said that the government is, for the first time, introducing a modern transport system in Karachi. the minister said this while addressing a ceremony of arrival of the first batch of 40 buses for green line Project at Karachi Port on sunday. asad umer stated that the federal government has achieved another milestone as part of the Prime minister’s Karachi transformation Package (KtP). he further stated that green line brts is a modern technology-based transport system comprising a 22 km dedicated corridor aimed at providing easier mobility and facilitating daily ridership of 135,000 passengers per day. he informed that a comprehensive command and control centre had been established for the projects including green line, orange line, etc. the second consignment of 40 more buses is expected to reach in october, and the green line would be made operational by the end of november. he said that the green line

board (PCb) for helping organise the safe departure of the squad from the country. “we appreciate this has been a terribly difficult time for the PCb and wish to pass on our sincere thanks to Chief Executive wasim Khan and his team for their professionalism and care,” the statement quoted him as saying. the new zealand team “remained comfortable” with its initial decision to tour Pakistan, the nzC chief said, adding that this was based on comprehensive assessments of the security situation, and the risk mitigation measures promised. however, “everything changed on Friday,” he said. “the advice changed, the threat level changed and, as a consequence, we took the only responsible course of action possible,” he iterated. the squad, comprising 34 players and support staff, flew out of islamabad on a charter flight. they are now settling into their hotel in dubai and undergoing a period of self-isolation for 24 hours, according to the statement. News Desk

CONTINUED ON PAGE 03

more inside

Anti-polio drives starts in Sindh, Balochistan today STORY ON PAGE 02

Punjab reports 34 dengue cases in a day STORY ON PAGE 03

is the first state-of-the-art project, which was being introduced to the city with 20.5 kilometre long corridor. a bus depot has been built for 80 buses whereas 22 bus stations had been completed. addressing the ceremony, governor sindh imran ismail appreciated the efforts made by sindh infrastructure development Co ltd (sidCl) for ensuring completion of the green line project within its timelines. the dedicated corridor serves some of Karachi’s most populated areas, namely surjani town to gurumandir and numaish

Chowrangi (Phase 1), he said, adding while Phase 1 goes live in november 2021, Phase 2 (terminating at municipal Park) is scheduled for late 2022. sidCl CEo nadeem lodhi explained to the audience that the underlying fleet is low entry 18m articulated diesel-hybrid self-charging technology which benefits the environment. the fleet is equipped with modern intelligent transport systems (its) such as automatic location system, real time passenger information, surveillance cameras and auto-doors.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 03

Argentina intends to buy 12 JF-17 Thunder jets from Pakistan STORY ON BACK PAGE in today’s issue

attention Some readers have complained that they are not getting the magazine with their newspaper copy. Please call or WhatsApp us at the following number to register a complaint.

Contact: 0307-7338168 irfan.farooq@pakistantoday.com.pk

02

Monday, 20 September, 2021

KARACHI

NEWS

Anti-Polio drives stArts in sindh, bAlochistAn todAy

A

NewS DeSk

N anti-polio campaign of varied duration will begin in Sindh and Balochistan from Monday. In Sindh, 9.4 million children up to five years old will be administered anti-polio vaccine during a week-long drive.

The Sindh Task Force on Polio Eradication reviewed the arrangements of the campaign in a meeting held with the provincial health minister Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho in the chair in Karachi. It was informed in the meeting that training of 74,435 polio workers across the province has

been completed.

Addressing the meeting Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho said the significant reduction in poliovirus cases in the country is a great achievement.

Similarly, around 2.5 million children up to five years of age would be administered anti-polio drops in 34 districts of Balochistan during the five-day campaign. For this purpose, more than eleven thousand teams have been constituted to administer polio drops to the children during door to door drive.

Earlier on Thursday last, the federal government decided to initiate the nationwide anti-polio campaign. According

to details, the federal government has completed discussion with the provinces on the nationwide anti-polio campaign.

In the first phase, the campaign was launched in 34 districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from September 17 to 21, while the second nationwide phase will be initiated from September 20 to 24.

Moreover, in the third phase, the campaign in South Waziristan will be executed from September 27 to October 1.

There will be a three-day anti-polio campaign and two days of catch-up campaigns across the country. The target has been set for anti-polio vaccination of 20.42

million children in Punjab, 9.35 million children in Sindh and 6.9 million children in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Furthermore, in Balochistan 2.53 million children, in Azad Kashmir 0.25 million children, in Gilgit-Baltistan 0.35 million children will be vaccinated against the paralysing disease, while 335,387 front-line workers will take part in the national antipolio campaign.

Earlier on Friday last, Special Assistant to the PM on National Health Services Dr Faisal Sultan has said that no polio case has been detected in the country for the last seven months.

Addressing an event, he said this is an important milestone which will be taken forward. He said, “Our future campaigns will focus on high risk areas in order to completely rid the country of this disease.”

The special assistant clarified that polio drops are completely safe, appealing to the parents to get their children administered anti polio drops whilst giving no ears to propaganda.

Dr Faisal Sultan was appreciative of international organizations including Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for extending cooperation to Pakistan in antipolio campaigns.

Gunmen kill constAble ProtectinG Polio teAm in PeshAwAr

Shehbaz Sharif maintains all provinces need to work together to promote democracy

ISLAMABAD: Gunmen on a motorcycle Sunday shot dead a police constable guarding polio vaccination workers in a rural town of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, police said. Senior officer Khalid Suhail said the attack happened in the village of Dhal Behzadi about 75 kilometres south of Peshawar. Members of the vaccination team were unhurt, he said. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the assault. The attack came on the third day of a five-day polio vaccination drive across the province. It’s part of a nationwide program to eradicate the crippling disease by the end of 2021. So far this year, no new polio cases have been reported in Pakistan. Pakistan and neighbouring Afghanistan are the only two remaining countries in the world where polio is endemic, after Nigeria last year was declared free of the virus. Aimal Khan, a provincial spokesman for the anti-polio program, said the goal of the five-day drive is to vaccinate 6.24 million children up to age 5 across the province. Nearly 30,340 teams of trained workers were going home to home to administer the vaccines, he said. Khan said after the attack, security for the vaccination teams has been enhanced. Some 40,000 police and paramilitary troops are assigned to provide security during the vaccination campaign.

Radicals often target polio teams and police assigned to protect them claiming the vaccination campaigns are a Western conspiracy to sterilise children. the aSSocIated pReSS

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz President Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday said that all provinces of the country must be respected and stressed that everyone has to work together for promotion of democracy in the country.

His remarks came as he addressed the media in Karachi alongside Balochistan National Party-Mengal chief Akhtar Mengal, whom he met to offer condolences on the death of his father, Sardar Ataullah Mengal.

He was also expected to chair a meeting of party members during his visit. The PML-N president further stated that all stakeholders would have to move forward collectively for democracy to progress.

Talking to the media alongside BNPM chief, Shehbaz said: “We need to respect all provinces and deliver their resources to the locals and we need to work together to promote the democratic system.”

He mentioned problems faced by the people of Balochistan, saying: “Look at its deprivation […] the water and

sindh govt to arrest unvaccinated people following ncoc orders KARACHI: The Sindh government has decided to arrest unvaccinated people in the province after fresh directives being issued by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) for expediting Covid-19 vaccination in the country.

According to a notification issued by the Sindh home department in light of fresh directives issued by the NCOC, travelers on motorways would require to get vaccinated by September 20. It further said that buses and other equipment of the transport companies would be confiscated over the presence of unvaccinated staff. Hotels and restaurants would be sealed over unvaccinated staffers including those involved in home deliveries. Unvaccinated travelers would not be able to avail train services from now onwards. INp

ncoc daily report: 2,580 new cases, 71 deaths from covid-19 ISLAMABAD: Pakistan reported 2,580 new Covid19 cases over the last 24 hours, the National Command and Operation Centre said on Sunday.

The NCOC, a department leading the campaign against the pandemic, said that the country’s total cases have risen to 1,223,841, including 1,132,726 recoveries. According to the NCOC, the pandemic killed 71 people over the last 24 hours, increasing the overall death toll to 27,206. Sindh is the worstaffected province by the pandemic with 450,126 infections, followed by Punjab which has reported 421,800 cases. The NCOC said the country has administered 72,986,511 doses of vaccine and had fully vaccinated 23,966,026 people as of Saturday night. Staff RepoRt

NewS DeSk

electricity issue there. I won’t make many political statements but I will only say that if we want to adapt Quaid-iAzam’s dream then we will have to take all provinces [forward] together economically, socially, legally and politically.”

Shehbaz also paid tribute to the deceased veteran politician and BNP founder Sardar Ataullah, mentioning his “services for democracy and struggle for rule of law and the Constitution”.

The PML-N president also pointed out the late BNP leader’s role in convincing Baloch politicians to lend their support in abolishing Article 58-2B of the Constitution that had been used to dissolve many democratic governments.

Shehbaz said he had a “brotherly relation” with Sardar Akhtar Mengal and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif also greatly respected him.

The BNP-M chief thanked the PMLN president and party followers for visiting and extending their condolences over the death of his father and sharing the family’s grief.

Sardar Ataullah Mengal passed away in Karachi on September 2. He had been

TWO ARRESTED FOR INFLUENCING WITNESSES IN MONEY LAUNDERING CASE AGAINST SHEHBAZ LAHORE: The Federal Investigation Agency arrested on Sunday two senior officials of a leading private bank on charges of influencing witnesses in the money laundering case against Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz president Shehbaz Sharif and members of his family. The agency said they both were coercing prosecution witnesses, including bank officials, into changing their statements. Sharif and his son, Hamza Shehbaz, are facing charges of laundering dirty money worth Rs25 billion using the accounts of Ramazan and Al-Arabiya sugar mills. The duo is presently out on bail. An investigation into the money laundering charges against the suspects revealed that his assets ballooned from Rs14.86mn to Rs7328mn in the past 20 years. Sharif made properties worth Rs619.85 million which include three homes in Model Town, Defence Housing Authority and Dunga Gali in Galyat region. The assets declared by the family in 2018 had swelled to Rs584 million. INp

ill for a long time and was admitted to a private hospital in Karachi, according to the BNP. He was 92.

Earlier, Shehbaz Sharif visited Karachi in August when he attended the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s public gathering. He also visited the residences of former president Mamnoon Hussian and Pakistan Muslim League Functional

Explainer: The case for, and against, Covid-19 vaccine boosters ReuteRS The US government aims to begin offering Covid-19 vaccine booster shots next week to Americans aged 16 and up. A panel of outside advisers to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) voted against such broad coverage on Friday but backed a shot for people 65 and older, which the agency may or may not follow.

President Joe Biden’s administration faces criticism within the scientific community over whether the additional shots are needed for the general population.

WHAT DOES THE DATA SAY ABOUT THE NEED FOR BOOSTERS? Pfizer Inc and its German partner BioNTech SE have each presented analyses of clinical trial data showing that the effectiveness of their shots, initially estimated at over 90 per cent against symptomatic Covid-19 infection, wanes over time.

Doses of Cuba’s Abdala coronavirus vaccine are seen at a vaccination centre in Caracas, Venezuela, on July 1, 2021. As a result, they say, people who were vaccinated earlier on in the pandemic are now more vulnerable to socalled breakthrough infections, particularly in the face of the fast-spreading Delta variant of the coronavirus.

Booster doses help restore the waning levels of antibodies produced by the original inoculation, the drugmakers have said.

READ: BREAKTHROUgH INFECTIONS AND vACCINE EFFICACY: WHY ARE vACCINATED pEOpLE STILL gETTINg THE vIRUS? Data from Pfizer’s clinical trial of 30,000 people suggests that the vaccine’s efficacy diminished by around 6pc every two months after the second dose. In a second trial testing booster shots in 300 participants, a third dose generated a better immune response than the second, according to Pfizer.

Moderna this week said it found higher rates of breakthrough infection among participants in its clinical trial who received its two-dose vaccine roughly 13 months ago compared with those vaccinated roughly eight months ago. The study period was from July and August when the highly contagious Delta variant was the predominant strain.

US health regulators are also closely watching realworld data on vaccine effectiveness and boosters from Israel, where a majority of the population has received the

Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. Israel is offering booster shots to everyone age d12 and up.

Israel’s Health Ministry this week reported data showing that more than 1.1 million people aged 60 and older received a booster dose of Pfizer, resulting in a decline in overall infections as well as severe illness from Covid-19 in that group. The authors said their study suggests that a booster dose can restore vaccine efficacy among booster recipients to 95pc.

In addition to preventing severe illness, some health officials in the United States and Israel say booster doses may help reduce transmission of the coronavirus at a time of rising infection rates in many countries.

WHAT IS THE CRITIQUE? Many vaccine experts say the data so far only suggests a need for boosters in older adults and people with compromised immune systems. The critics include two FDA scientists who resigned as the United States government announced its booster shot plans.

For example, a report from Israel’s Health Ministry shows a much higher risk of severe breakthrough infection among vaccinated people over the age of 60 compared with people aged 50-59 and 40-49, even though the younger groups include people who were vaccinated more than six months ago.

Other studies in the United States show that vaccines remain highly protective against severe disease and death in adults under the age of 65.

Several other countries, including the UK, France and Germany, have so far limited booster plans to older adults and other high-risk groups.

The World Health Organisation has repeatedly implored the United States and other wealthy countries to hold off on offering booster shots and to use those doses to help inoculate the many people worldwide who have yet to receive their first doses.

Scientists also say that there are confounding factors in analysing waning vaccine effectiveness and the impact of boosters, including whether Delta may have a harsher impact on older adults and whether a return to maskwearing in some places, rather than booster shots, is helping contain the spread.

They also say that randomised trials provide the best estimates of effectiveness in the real world, but most of the data so far is from observational studies or from small clinical trials.

President Pir Pagara to extend his condolences.

On September 18, the opposition leader addressed a workers’ convention in Sialkot, demanding of the national institutions, judiciary and Election Commission of Pakistan to ensure implementation of the constitution and rule of law in the country.

Pakistan sends truckloads of aid to Afghanistan ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

Pakistan sent 13 truckloads of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, where poverty and hunger have spiralled since the Taliban took power, through the border crossing at Torkham authorities said on Sunday. The latest tranche consisted of edibles including flour, sugar, cooking oil, pulses and rice. Another four trucks would also be sent through the crossing soon, APP reported. Abid Ullah, Islamabad’s acting consul general in Jalalabad, received the assistance at Torkham.

The goods will be dispatched for distribution among the needy in various provinces. Last week, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said food could run out by the end of this month, and the World Food Programme said 14 million people were on the brink of starvation. In addition to the latest consignment, Pakistan has donated three planeloads of assistance, starting September 9 when a Pakistan Air Force aircraft, carrying tons of food and medical supplies, landed in Kabul. The next two flights were diverted to Kandahar and Khost days later. Pakistan is in the forefront of countries providing relief assistance to its war-ravaged neighbour to help it meet the challenges. Starting Sunday, the government has started supplies through land routes.

These supplies that also include items such as blankets and tents to help people meet the demands of coming winter season will be continued in the weeks to come. Last week, international donors pledged more than $1.1 billion to help Afghanistan fearing that the dried up foreign aid would raise the spectre of a mass exodus. Guterres, speaking halfway through a UN conference seeking $606 million to meet Afghanistan’s most pressing needs, said it was too early to say how much had been promised in response to the appeal.

Monday, 20 September, 2021

KARACHI

PunjAb rePorts 34 denGue cAses in A dAy

P

neWs desK

UNJAB reported 34 new dengue fever cases in the last 24 hours, raising alarms among health professionals. Lahore was the most affected city from the dengue virus where 29 cases emerged in the last 24 hours, as per data from the Punjab health department.

Meanwhile, two cases of the virus were reported in

Rawalpindi and one each in Pakpattan, Jhang and Gujrat. Health officials said that they are facing difficulties in controlling dengue mainly due to the abundance of mosquitoes and the presence of stagnant water at various areas across the province, that serves as a breeding ground for the insects.

Earlier on August 8, the Secretary Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department of Punjab Sarah Aslam had issued a notification, directing the

department to intensify dengue prevention across Punjab as two cases were detected in the provincial capital.

As per the notification, two confirmed cases of dengue were then reported in Lahore.

“During this year, a total of 70 confirmed dengue cases were reported from all over the province, of which 33 patients have been reported from Lahore,” the notification had stated.

Imran to address UN as body gears to discuss Covid-19, climate neW YorK CitY StAff RepoRt

Prime Minister Imran Khan will deliver a virtual address to the General Assembly on September 24 (Friday) as world leaders return to the United Nations from Monday (tomorrow) with a focus on boosting efforts to fight both climate change and coronavirus which last year forced them to send video statements for the annual gathering.

As the coronavirus still rages amid an inequitable vaccine rollout, about a third of the 193 UN states are planning to again send videos, but presidents, prime ministers and foreign ministers for the remainder are due to travel to the United States.

“We will participate actively in the General Assembly session,” Pakistan’s ambassador to the UN, Munir Akram, said in an interview with the Associated Press of Pakistan. Observing that the world confronts multiple challenges — the pandemic, its devastating impact on the developing economies and growing threat of climate change — Akram said these challenges coincide with rising tensions between the great powers, particularly the US and China, a new arms race and persisting and proliferating conflicts in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia.

“It is expected that the focus of the discussions will be on these global issues and on certain conflict situations,” the ambassador said.

Akram said member states were also expected to respond to a report — Our Common Agenda — submitted last week by Secretary General Antonio Guterres that proposes several new initiatives for enabling the UN to deal with the world’s current and future problems.

He said Pakistan’s policy statement, which will be delivered by Prime Minister Khan, is expected to convey Islamabad’s views on the major global economic and political issues, as well as on the grave

rights situation in India-occupied Kashmir and on the evolving security situation in Afghanistan.

Throughout the session, Pakistan will draw global attention to the rights violations in held Kashmir, the imperative to stabilise Afghanistan, the need to combat Islamophobia and counter disinformation as well as to address the economic challenges confronting developing countries, he said.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi will also participate in person in several events being held during the body’s high-level week including a meeting of the OIC Working Group on Jammu and Kashmir, and a ministerial meeting of the Uniting for Consensus group on Security Council reforms.

Qureshi will also hold a number of bilateral meetings with his counterparts, meet the UN boss, address think tanks and meet members of the Pakistan community and businessmen in New York besides the local and international media.

The United States tried to dissuade leaders from coming to New York in a bid to stop the UN General Assembly from becoming a “super-spreader event,” although President Joe Biden will address the assembly in person, his first UN visit since taking office.

A so-called UN honour system means that anyone entering the assembly hall effectively declares they are vaccinated, but they do not have to show proof.

This system will be broken when the first country speaks — Brazil. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is a vaccine skeptic, who last week declared that he does not need the shot because he is already immune after being infected with Covid-19.

Should he change his mind, New York City has set up a van outside the United Nations for the week to supply free testing and free shots of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told Reuters that the discussions around how many

traveling diplomats might have been immunized illustrated “how dramatic the inequality is today in relation to vaccination.” He is pushing for a global plan to vaccinate 70% of the world by the first half of next year. Out of 5.7 billion doses of coronavirus vaccines administered around the world, only 2% have been in Africa. Biden will host a virtual meeting from Washington with leaders and chief executives on Wednesday that aims to boost the distribution of vaccines globally.

Demonstrating US Covid-19 concerns about the UN gathering, Biden will be in New York only for about 24 hours, meeting with Guterres on Monday and making his first UN address on Tuesday, directly after Bolsonaro.

His UN envoy, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said Biden would “speak to our top priorities: ending the Covid-19 pandemic; combating climate change … and defending human rights, democracy, and the international rules-based order.”

Due to the pandemic, UN delegations are restricted to much smaller numbers and most events on the sidelines will be virtual or a hybrid of virtual and in-person. Among other topics that ministers are expected to discuss during the week are Afghanistan and Iran.

But before the annual speeches begin, Guterres and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will start the week with a summit on Monday to try and save a UN summit — that kicks off in Glasgow, Scotland, on October 31 — from failure.

As scientists warn that global warming is dangerously close to spiraling out of control, the UN COP26 conference aims to wring much more ambitious climate action and the money to go with it from participants around the globe.

“It’s time to read the alarm bell,” Guterres told Reuters last week. “We are on the verge of the abyss.”

— With additional input from Reuters

Government expresses commitment to hold next elections with reforms Continued from page 01 The minister said that everyone believed that there was need of reforming the current electoral system. He said that if the opposition had objections over the government proposals, it should present its own proposals for discussion. He also said that present opposition in Pakistan was one of the worst as its leadership lacked experience and they were not seemed interested to contribute for any improvement in the system.

Fawad said that since 2016 Imran Khan was on record supporting use of EVMs in general elections. He said that the opposition’s obstinacy was resulting in lack of people’s confidence in democracy, adding, in past opposition used to demand reforms in the electoral system and it was for the first time that the sitting government was striving to introduce electoral reforms.

The minister maintained that it was the responsibility of the parliament to decide the process of conducting elections in the country and the ECP should respect the decision. Parliament would decide whether next elections would be held under the traditional voting system or through EVMs, he added.

Govt introducing modern transport system in Karachi: Asad Continued from page 01 He said the fleet is designed to offer comfortable modular seats, air-conditioning, digital screens and space for advertisement. The fleet is designed to cater to people with special needs, will also benefit the environment by reducing the use of fossil fuels, limiting emissions & reduced journey time.

He said that post-port clearance, the fleet will be transported under the supervision of a Chinese technical team to its new home at the dedicated Bus Depot located in Surjani Town. Following an intense period of technical reviews, inspection, classroom driver training, etc, the fleet will commence training sorties on the corridor by midOctober. Subsequent to full-fledged user acceptance testing (UAT), Green Line commercial operations will commence by end November 2021, he further said.

He said that a joint session of the parliament would be summoned, adding, its decision would be final and binding. He also said that the Supreme Court had issued directives to EVP to use technology in senate elections held in March this year but, its order was neglected.

Fawad said no action was taken by ECP on the video footage related to the proof of sale and purchase of votes in Senate elections for the seat of Yousuf Raza Gillani. Stating that Pakistan was not a banana republic, he said that the government had shown restraints regarding the remarks of CEC and even tolerated personal attacks on its leadership.

The minister said that few opposition leaders met with National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, who tried to clarify their misconceptions as the government wanted to take opposition along in decision making process.

Fawad said that the government wanted that the speaker’s committee should become functional and opposition should play its positive role to bring about reforms in the election process. However, he made it clear that 2023 elections wouldbe held after electoral reforms and there was no other option available.

Adding to the information minister’s criticism, Faraz said when the 37 objections were analysed, “it was clear that 27 points were a charge-sheet against the ECP itself and highlighted its incapacity. The 10 points on the technical side relating to EVMs had no link to the machine because they did not even bother to look at the machine and see whether the present prototype resolves the points they are mentioning.”

Challenging the objections, the science and technology minister said that the prototype had 100 per cent ballot secrecy, guaranteed voter anonymity and complete transparency, among other security features.

He emphasised that the government’s purpose was not to use that specific machine and that the ECP could choose to use it or not. The broader concept, Faraz said, was the use of technology to resolve problems of political crises as had been witnessed in previous elections.

Faraz alleged that the ECP was not interested or had the intention to carry out electoral reforms which was “very concerning”. He said the ECP would have to show its seriousness in working, increasing its capacity and playing its part in technological incorporation.

NEWS

03

nZc chief says they were satisfied with security but ‘everything changed on Friday’ Continued from page 01 NZC said 24 people from the squad would fly back to New Zealand over the next week as flights and MIQ (managed isolation and quarantine) rooms became available, adding that the rest of the contingent would remain in Dubai and join the T20 World Cup squad for the tournament that is due to start on Oct 17. Stung by the shock withdrawal, the PCB has threatened to take up the matter with the governing International Cricket Council.

Even Prime Minister Imran Khan’s telephone discussion with New Zealand counterpart Jacinda Ardern could not save the tour and prevent a major blow to Pakistan’s hopes of hosting top international teams. Prime Minister Ardern said NZC “made the right decision” to pull out of the tour. “You will understand why we are not in a position to give further information as to the nature of the intelligence, other than to say, it was a direct threat, and it was a credible threat,” she told reporters on Sunday. The advice was also supported by NZC’s security consultants and other independent sources, the cricket board said.

While the general tenor of the threat was immediately shared with the PCB, White said specific details could not, and will not, be disclosed. White also addressed a report on Stuff, a New Zealand-based news website, that claimed a member of the team had received death threats before embarking on the tour of Pakistan. He said the email threats were “forwarded to our security provider,” and “were proved to be a hoax and not credible”. nZ goVt tHreatened BY fiVe eYes: According to the PCB chief executive Wasim Khan, the New Zealand government received an alert from the “Five Eyes” intelligence group about a “direct and imminent” threat to its team. Speaking to reporters on a virtual call, Khan maintained that the foreign cricket team and government had set a “very wrong example” by unilaterally ending the tour. Stating that he wished to spread light on the issue, he said that at 3 am on Friday, he received a call from ESI head of security Reg Dickinson, who said that “a report had landed on the New Zealand government’s desk through their government security agencies stating that there was a threat on the New Zealand team, and that threat was direct and imminent on that particular day”. Khan revealed that he then arrived in Lahore and met Dickinson to seek more clarification. “He stated that information had emanated from that circle (Five Eyes) and reached the deputy prime minister’s office of New Zealand, and that it was serious and it was something that we needed to try and address immediately,” the PCB chief executive added. The Five Eyes is an intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Khan said New Zealand refused to provide any details or inform the Pakistani security agencies about the threat, despite being asked for the same. “When we contacted our security agencies, they clarified that there was no security threat to the visiting team,” he added. Regretting the Kiwis’ decision, the PCB CEO said “you have to trust the security agencies of the country that you are touring.”

“While harming the relations between the two boards, the decision will have far-reaching consequences,” he said, noting that New Zealand’s players and security officials had expressed confidence over Pakistan’s security arrangements. “Our players spent the most difficult 14 days in quarantine in New Zealand [and] travelled there despite the [Christchurch] mosque attack. But it is clear to everyone that decisions are not being taken on the basis of equality.” Khan said Pakistani authorities had made immense efforts to restore international cricket in the country during the last five years, announcing that he and the PCB chairman would raise the matter of New Zealand abandoning the tour in the International Cricket Council. He revealed that the PCB had contacted the Bangladesh and Sri Lankan cricket boards in the last 24 hours, offering them to arrive in Pakistan to play a bilateral series utilising the arrangements made for the New Zealand series. While both boards were willing to undertake the visit, Khan said, it was not possible to accomplish due to “a lack of time and logistical issues”.

Perspective: Regional forums facilitate reconciliation in Afghanistan London AnAdolu Agency

At their recent summits, the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation and China-led Shanghai Cooperation Organisation have indicated to coordinate steps to bring regional stability and peace in Afghanistan.

A notable development on the sidelines of the SCO summit on September 17 was Tajikistan’s offer to mediate between the Taliban and the Tajik factions holding up around Panjshir intending to bring peace in Afghanistan.

Pakistan, as well as China, supported these mediation efforts. The SCO is thus serving as a forum to allow Tajikistan and Pakistan, to adjust their positions in line with an overall strategic paradigm for addressing the common challenges to the region.

These initiatives will help the two countries coordinate their respective efforts to facilitate a setup in Afghanistan that does not exclude any ethnic group in power-sharing. Such steps may enable the concerned parties to advance bilateral understanding for the sake of regional progress and stability and capitalize on much greater opportunities for cooperation.

After the SCO summit, Chinese experts have highlighted that the Taliban taking power in Afghanistan, has given rise to many uncertainties that could pose challenges for regional stability. At a time when due to the pandemic some of the SCO member states are experiencing economic difficulties, the risks of social disquiet could add to the problems.

According to Ding Xiaoxing, China’s leading Eurasian Affairs expert, if countries take unfavourable measures in the geo-competitive realm, they could affect regional stability, thereby disturbing the regional order.

He complained that America’s chaotic withdrawal of troops has “imposed a disorder in Afghanistan having direct repercussion for Central Asia”.

He further stated that with members of the SCO in the neighbourhood of Afghanistan, the organization can serve as an ideal platform for dialogue to help resolve the challenges facing Afghanistan. There is ample opportunity for the SCO to play a coordinating role, to bring closer the positions of its different members to promote peace and stability in Afghanistan.

Moscow and Beijing coordinating efforts: At the summit, the SCO member states emphasized the inclusive government in Afghanistan

with the participation of representatives of all ethnic, religious, and political groups of Afghan society.

Moscow and Beijing have both shown their mutual understanding for coordinated efforts to ensure stability in Afghanistan, a matter, which attracted much attention at the SCO summit.

Under the present circumstances, Russia will strive for optimum cooperation with China on a wide range of issues. By encouraging key stakeholders to talk to each other, they both strive to lower chances for the return of NATO to Afghanistan on the pretext of deteriorating security conditions.

Among the Central Asian leaders Kazakhstan’s President, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev declared that his country will expand interaction with its regional partners to prevent the flow of harmful ideology, drugs, and unregulated migration from Afghanistan.

The Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union and SCO signed a memorandum of cooperation in Dushanbe to serve as the basis for the formation of a large Eurasian partnership. It will facilitate to simplify issues, streamline documentation protocol for the clearance of cargo movement, said Mikhail Myasnikovich, chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission.

Monday, 20 September, 2021

04 NEWS

KARACHI

RUPee fAlls by 0.1PC AGAInst Us dollAR on weekly bAsIs P NEWS DESK

AKISTAN rupee continued its losing streak against the US dollar in the interbank and shed Rs0.17 (0.10 percent) during the last week, mainly due to high import bill and volatile situation in neighbouring Afghanistan.

According to the State Bank of Pakistan, the US dollar opened at Rs168.02 on Monday last in the interbank and closed at Rs168.19 on Friday, the last working day of the week. Overall, Pakistani rupee shed Rs0.17 during this week against the US dollar, while depreciation during the fiscal year

2021-22 has been Rs10.75. The local unit has shed Rs7.92 against the US dollar in the current year 2021. The local currency has maintained a downtrend after it touched 22month high of Rs152.27 in May 2021, losing a cumulative Rs15.88 in the past four months to date.

During the last week, the rupee weakened by 8 paisas (-0.05 percent) against the US dollar on Monday and closed at Rs168.10. The local united continued its losing streak for the next two days on Tuesday and Wednesday and weakened by 84 paisas (-0.50 percent) and by 18 paisas (-0.50 percent), respectively. On Tuesday and Wednes-

day, Pakistani rupee set all-time low levels against the greenback of Rs168.94 and Rs169.12, respectively.

However, the rupee turned around on Thursday and recovered 94 paisas (+0.58 percent) against the US dollar. This was the highest recovery against the greenback the Pakistani rupee in recent past. The local unit remained almost flat against the US dollar on Friday and shed only one paisa (-0.01 percent) to close the week at Rs168.19.

Within the open market, the rupee was traded at Rs168.30/169.50 per dollar in the last trading session of the week.

The rupee has been witnessing sharp de-

cline due to dismal trade data during the last two months, situation in Afghanistan and higher import bill. The country faced a trade deficit of $4.229 billion in the second month of the fiscal year 2021-22, which surged by 144.17 percent on a year-on-year (YoY) basis in August 2021 as compared to a deficit of $1.732 billion recorded in August 2020.

According to the data released by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the trade deficit on a month-on-month basis surged by 29.68 percent in August 2021 against a deficit of $3.261 billion recorded in July 2021.

The currency experts are divided over the fate of the rupee in the coming week. Some

think that the rupee/dollar parity is likely to face further pressure on ballooning current account deficit next week. They said that the rise in the import payments may be attributed to acceleration in the economic activities, following the ease in coronavirus cases. The government has relaxed the restrictions and trade and commercial activities are going back to normal, they added. Talking about the Afghanistan factor, they said the burden Pakistan would have to shoulder due to this development is to the tune of $500-700 million per month. However, other experts expect that Pakistani rupee will stay steady against the greenback during this week.

Gold likely to extend bearish mood ISLAMABAD TLTP

LAHORE: An eye-catching view of sunset. ZUBAIR MEHFOOZ

CJP inaugurates Pakistan Corner, Iqbal Room in Al Azhar University NEW DESK Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmed has inaugurated Pakistan Corner and national poet Allama Muhammad Iqbal Room in library of Al Azhar University, Indonesia.

Spokesperson of the Supreme Court informed on Sunday that the chief justice has inaugurated the Allama Muhammad Iqbal Room and Pakistan Corner in the library of Al Azhar University Jakarta on September 18, 2021.

Currently Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Ejazul Ahsan are on a four-day visit to Indonesia to participate in the 2nd Judicial Conference of Constitutional and Supreme Courts/Council of OIC Member/Observer States.

According to a statement, the inauguration event was held at Al Azhar University, Jakarta, which is one of the prestigious universities of Indonesia. Rector of Al Azhar University, faculty members and a few students attended the event.

In his opening remarks, Rector Al Alzar University Asep Syaifuddin welcomed the guests, expressed gratitude to Pakistan for the initiative expressing hope it would bring the youth of both countries closer to each other.

Ambassador for Pakistan Muhammad Hassan underscored historic nature of brotherly relations between Pakistan and Indonesia saying the Embassy was exploring more innovate ways to raise the level of bilateral relations, especially through educational cooperation.

On the occasion, Justice Ejazul Ahsan expressed thanks to the government of Indonesia over warm hospitality during the course of the visit and lauded the efforts of the Embassy of Pakistan and Al Azhar University in enhancing the educational collaboration.

Justice Ejazul Ahsan said that establishment of Pakistan Corner and Sir Allama Muhammad Iqbal Room at the University would provide an opportunity to Indonesian students to explore history and rich literary heritage of Pakistan and the thoughts and philosophy of Allama Muhammad Iqbal.

Soon after the inauguration of the Corner the Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed and dignitaries paid visit to Pakistan Corner and Sir Allama Muhammad Iqbal Room in the University.

PSX likely to witness range-bound trading this week KARACHI TLTP

After ending the last week on a negative trajectory, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) is likely to remain range-bound in the week starting today (Monday) due to significant challenges haunting the market for the last many weeks.

The PSX has been trading in a range of 46,600 to 47,200 points for the last many weeks where the level of 46,600 has been providing strong support amid challenges of rising import bill, Afghan situation, inflationary concerns, rupee-dollar parity, lack of clarity on the macro-economic front, foreign selling, and others.

Announcement of monetary policy by the State Bank of Pakistan for the next two months on Monday (today) will keep the market under pressure as different reports are circulating in the media.

Though the majority of investors are of the view that the central bank will continue with the status quo and maintain the interest rate at 7 percent, some think that it might be increased by 25bps due to rising inflationary data and massive increase in import bill. Any increase in policy rate may affect the market negatively for at least a couple of sessions.

The decision of the British authorities to remove Pakistan from the travel red list and decreasing number of coronavirus cases in the country are positive indicators for the market; however, cancellation of a cricket series by New Zealand and leaving Pakistan abruptly due to a “security alert” may keep foreign investors at bay. The decision of the New Zealand authorities also caused panic during the second session of trading on Friday last.

On the other hand, Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin is expected to visit the United States in near future and have a meeting with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) authorities about the lender’s next review of the loan programme. The government has paved the way to conclude talks positively and some market sources hint at rupee’s depreciation, increase in tax rates for non-filer commercial and industrial electricity consumers, and massive increase in oil prices as the steps taken by the government to ensure revival of the IMF loan programme.

The benchmark KSE-100 Index shed 562.21 points (-1.19 percent) during the last week to close at 46,636.08 points. Average volumes declined 7 percent to clock-in at 400 million shares per day, while the average value of traded securities surged 3 percent to settle at $90 million.

After closing the second straight week in negative by shedding 1.85 percent on a week-on-week basis to reach $1,754.80 per ounce against the preceding week closure price of $1,787.80, gold’s near-term technical outlook seems to be bearish.

Overall, the gold price has shed over 4 percent during the last two weeks. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) indicator on the daily chart has dropped below 40 and moved sideways on Friday last, suggesting that gold has more room on the downside before it becomes technically oversold.

From a technical view, the support levels at present are at $1,745, $1,723.50 and $1,714.95 while gold is likely to face resistance at $1,768.50, $1,779.45 and $1,795. A daily close below $1,750 (static level) could open the door for additional losses toward $1,730 (static level) and $1,720 (static level).

However, in case the RSI breaks below 30 with such a move, there could be a technical correction before the next leg down. The last time the RSI dropped into the oversold territory on a Monday on August 9, gold gained nearly 3 percent in the remainder of the week.

Meanwhile, the price of gold decreased by 1.86 percent in Pakistan during the last week. The price of 10 grams of yellow metal in Pakistan was Rs96,600 at the opening of the last week and it decreased to Rs94,800 to close the week. The depreciation in gold price in international and local markets remained almost the same as the local currency depreciated by only 0.10 percent against the US dollar during the week, with the dollar opening at Rs168.02 on Monday last and closing at Rs168.19 on Friday last.

Gold started the last week in a relatively calm manner and continued to fluctuate in the previous week’s horizontal channel on Monday. Although the precious metal managed to rise above $1,800 on Tuesday, it came under strong bearish pressure in the second half of the week and fell to its lowest level in a month at $1,745 on Thursday. The gold price struggled to stage a convincing rebound ahead of the weekend and closed the second straight week in the negative territory, losing nearly 2 percent.

In the week starting Monday (today), the US Federal Reserve will announce monetary policy decisions alongside the updated Summary of Projections On Wednesday. In case, the Federal Reserve unveils that the Fed will start reducing asset purchases before the end of the year, the US dollar is likely to gather strength and force gold to turn south. On the other hand, if the Fed refrains from delivering a tapering timeline, it could trigger a heavy dollar selloff and fuel a gold rally.

It is pertinent to mention that TLTP Research Wing predicted on September 12 that gold’s near-term outlook had turned neutral with bearish bias.

ABAD seeks permission for asset declarers under amnesty scheme to pay tax NEWS DESK Terming a recent circular issued by Federal Board of Revenue (BFR) regarding the Asset Declaration Ordinance-2019 (amnesty scheme) an appreciable step, the Association of Builders and Developers of Pakistan (ABAD) has urged to the top revenue authorities to allow those people to pay tax who have declared their assets under this scheme but could not pay taxes in stipulated time frame.

Chairman ABAD Fayyaz Ilyas, in a statement issued on Sunday, appealed to Prime Minister Imran Khan, Federal Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin and Chairman Federal Board of Revenue Dr Ashfaq Ahmed to allow the declarers of assets under the

CMYK

scheme to pay taxes. He said that the Assets Declaration Ordinance, 2019 was promulgated on May 14, 2019, for payment of tax and declaration of corresponding assets by June 30, 2019 and later on the due date was extended till July 3, 2019. However, many of the people, who had declared their assets either could not pay tax against their declared assets or paid their due tax but could not submit their declarations, he said, adding that the government should give one more chance to all taxpayers in this direction.

He said that the prime minister’s vision for granting amnesty was to bring all undeclared wealth into book and raise the tax collection but the announcement of FBR to allow those people who had paid taxes under the said amnesty scheme to file their declaration is also

a good step but with that all persons who had filed their declaration of assets also should be allowed to pay taxes so that FBR itself can get benefit to get its target of tax collection for this year.

He said, “I hope the government will ask the FBR to allow them to pay taxes to those people who had filed declarations of their assets and give relief to them.” It is to mention that the FBR has decided to allow filing of declarations for all those citizen taxpayers/persons who deposited tax under the Ordinance within the due date i.e. July 3, 2019 but could not file their declarations due to any reason. The system has been enabled for the purpose and all taxpayers can now file their declarations between September 10, 2021 till September 25, 2021.

Monday, 20 September, 2021

KARACHI

Bitcoin to conSuMe 95.68 tW/H in 2021, 80Pc of PaKiStan’S conSuMPtion

t

HE world’s top cryptocurrency, bitcoin, is set to consume some 95.68 TWh (terawatt-hours, or one trillion watts per hour) by the end of the year, according to the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index.

That’s about the same as the power consumption of the Philippines. Annual energy consumption of Pakistan is a bit over 120 terawatt per hour.

According to a Bloomberg report, the bitcoin network will have consumed 91 TW/h by the end of the year, and it has already consumed more than the 67 TW/h estimated for all of 2020.

A separate study by Science Direct found that bitcoin miners “cycle through a growing amount of short-lived hardware that could exacerbate the growth in global electronic waste.”

The Science Direct report also suggested that “bitcoin could produce up to 64.4 metric kilotons [64,400 tons] of ewaste at peak bitcoin price levels seen in early 2021.” E-waste generally refers to discarded computer equipment and electronics.

Bitcoin accounts for about 0.11% of the estimated global total for e-waste in 2021, which is 57.4 million metric tons, according to Statista. As a percentage of the total global electricity consumption,

bitcoin mining accounts for just 0.43%.

That is less than the estimated 104 TW/h used by refrigerators in the US alone, according to Cambridge University.

Electricity is a primary input of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The coins are mined by computers that process complex algorithms in halls that span the area of several football pitches.

As the market for cryptocurrency grows,

so does Bitcoin's demand on energy grids.

Bitcoin mining now uses 66 times more electricity than in 2015 and carbon emissions from the process may face increasing regulation. The enormous amounts of energy needed to mine bitcoin have been blamed for causing power cuts in Tehran as recently as January, and led to increasing competition

in so-called green mining, which uses renewable energy sources to mine cryptos.

The researchers at Cambridge, who have endeavoured to provide a real-time estimate of the total electricity load and consumption of the Bitcoin network, say the model is based on an estimate, given that the exact electricity consumption cannot be determined. NEWS DESK

Bitcoin slips to $47,3oo as cryptos turn to profit-taking The cryptocurrency market turned to profit-taking activity on Sunday, with the market capitalisation shedding 2.2 percent to reach $2.21 trillion as of 1330 hours GMT. The price of bitcoin (BTC), the largest cryptocurrency, shed 2.41 percent to reach $47,300. With this decrease in price, the market capitalisation of the biggest cryptocurrency has reached $890.1 billion.

Likewise, ether (ETH) price went down by 4.48 percent to reach $3,344. With this decrease in price, the market capitalisation of ETH has reached $392.1 billion. Similarly, XRP price shed 2.05 percent to reach $1.06. The market capitalisation of XRP stands at $106.4 billion after this decrease. Following suit, cardano (ADA) price shed 2.45 percent to reach $2.34. Its market capitalisation has fallen to $75.7 billion after this decrease. In the same way dogecoin (Doge) price lost 2.75 percent to reach $0.237. With this decrease in price, the market capitalisation of doge has reached $31 billion. Meanwhile, the US Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler last week assured lawmakers that Wall Street’s top regulator is working overtime to create a set of rules to oversee the volatile cryptocurrency markets while balancing the interests of American innovators. Gensler told the Senate Banking Committee that he and his team are trying to protect investors through better regulation of the thousands of new digital assets and coins, as well as oversight of the more-familiar bitcoin and ether markets.

The SEC chief noted the enormity of the task, telling Senator Catherine Cortez Masto that the regulator could use “a lot more people” to evaluate the 6,000 novel digital “projects” and determine whether they all qualify as securities under the US law.

“Currently, we just don’t have enough investor protection in crypto finance, issuance, trading, or lending,” Gensler said in prepared remarks. “Frankly, at this time, it’s more like the Wild West or the old world of ‘buyer beware’ that existed before the securities laws were enacted.” Still, some lawmakers pressured Gensler to pick up the pace, arguing the opaque definitions and an uncertain marketplace not only lead to unchecked speculation but could also stifle innovation. NEWS DESK

NEWS

05

Professor seeks PM’s intervention for service regularisation ISLAMABAD TLTP

A PhD scholar has sought the prime minister’s intervention for protection of fundamental rights, saying the people at the helm of Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) have deprived him of regularisation of service as associate professor illegally. Dr Saeed Ahmed was appointed as assistant professor and joined one of the model colleges of Islamabad during February 2011. Later on, as a result of the Pakistan Peoples Party-led government regularisation policy of February 16, 2012, Cabinet Sub Committee and Islamabad High Court took decision and regularised twelve assistant professors and one associate professor.

Dr Saeed has prayed to the Prime Minister Imran Khan to intervene in the issue and direct the concerned authorities to send his file to the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) for regularisation of his service as associate professor with the FDE setup.

Suzuki Pakistan celebrates success of My Suzuki My Story Season 2 lahore: My Suzuki My Story Season 2 by Suzuki Pakistan comes to its conclusion at a closing ceremony in Lahore on September 17.

Renowned artist Shafaat Ali hosted the event which proceeded with speeches from Aamir Shaffi, Functional Head Marketing and Sales & Pak Suzuki Motor Company Ltd. MD Masafumi Harano. Later on, there was a Q & A session with the winning participants, host and Ghulam Hussain Agha, General Manager Marketing followed by revealing the grand prizes. Suzuki Pakistan’s management announced the winners of MSMS Season 2, a surprising tie for the first place Suzuki Pakistan management decided to announce two winners. With the success of season 2, Suzuki Pakistan became the first automobile brand in Pakistan to have created a sustainable digital platform which is completely based on user-generated content. PR

Ice floats in front of the Eqi glacier in the north of Ilulissat, Greenland, September 15. REUTERS

China plans gradual cross-border use of yuan China is planning to “steadily and prudently” promote internationalisation of its currency, the yuan, the country’s central bank said, pledging to strengthen the monitoring of cross-border capital flows and prevent systemic risks.

According to the regulator, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement is expected to further boost trade ties between the nations in the Asia-Pacific region, thus promoting more opportunities for the use of the yuan in mutual settlements and investment activities, reported RT.

CiTy NoTES M A NiAzi

i

T seemed that everything was going right for Ramiz Raja. Not only had he become PCB chairman, but everyone seemed to remember that other commentators had named him ‘Rambo’, perhaps in retaliation for the frequency with which he called fellow commentator and ex-captain of England Nassser Hussain ‘Nas’.

Then Misbahul Haq resigned as team head coach, and Waqar Younas as bowling coach, so that Rambo could name Matthew Hayden of Australia and Vernon Philander of South Africa coaches instead. That way, Rambo could say he scored First Blood, which was the first movie of the series. The second movie was not named Second Blood, as logic demanded, but First Blood Part II. Continuing to play fast and loose with the numeric system, the

The pact was clinched in late 2020 at a virtual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations hosted by Vietnam.Based on rapidly developing yuan-denominated commodity trade settlements, the Chinese government is reportedly seeking to increase the use of the currency in cross-border e-commerce.

The People’s Bank of China added that it is planning to explore more options for yuan-denominated investment and financing. The regulator will also step up currency settlement cooperation with other countries, and improve the infrastructure for settlement and clearing.

International payments made in the local currency amounted to 28.39 trillion yuan ($4.39 trillion) in 2020, surging 44.3% compared to the previous year, the regulator said. Meanwhile, cross-border settlements made in yuan reportedly accounted for 46.2% of overall international payments, hitting an all-time high.

Beijing has been trying to expand the influence of the yuan across the globe since 2009 to eliminate the reliance on the US dollar in trade and investment settlements, as well as to challenge the greenback’s status as the world’s major reserve currency. NEWS DESK

RaMBo to tHe ReScue third was named Rambo III; then came Rambo. Those were all movies Rambo must have watched in his salad days, but recently came Rambo: Last Blood, though the prospect of Sylvester Stallone making a sixth film, in which Rambo somehow becomes ICC President, has suddenly come up. True, Stallone is 75, but that’s no age, as Raja’s mentor, Imran Khan, can testify.

He still lays claim to the youth vote at 68.

Ramiz is a mere 59, having been born in 1962. That would mean he was only 18 when he graduated, back in 1980.But is Rambo happy with Sly Stallone playing him? Stallone, after all, broke through in another sport, with Rocky. Maybe now that he has the gravitas of a PCB chairman, Rambo would prefer to be called Rocky?

That would put him in the same company as Sanjay Dutt, whose entry into Bollywood

was in a film also called Rocky. The movie is about as bad as its title sounds, but Sanjay Dutt was launched, because the movie was a hit. And Rambo was in college then.

However, Rambo would have his bubble pricked, when his inaugural series as chairman was taken away from him by New Zealand oiling out of the one-day series.New Zealand intelligence had detected a security threat? Or had the security consultants New Zealand Cricket had hired (and they’re the same guys England has hired)? It turns out the supersleuths of New Zealand don’t have any reliance on the anti-terrorist skills of the greatest agency of the world.

An Australian once said, “New Zealand has a population of 32 million sheep, of which two million think they are people.”

There’s been an increase in the population thinking it’s human to 4.2 million, and a de-

CMYK

cline in the population comfortable in their identity as sheep to 26.2 million, but the situation remains tilted towards the sheep.

Is it a coincidence that the New Zealanders bailed at the time there’s all that fuss about the Taliban in Kabul? There was a Rambo movie about Afghanistan, and now we could have a Rambo movie where the ICC president chases terrorists, thereby winning in reel life what was lost in real life. Wait, make Rocky the ICC President,and you’ve combined the Rocky and Rambo franchises. If an Indian general could put a photo of Shan and others on his website and try to pass them off as Pakistani soldiers fighting in Panjshir for the Taliban, why shouldn’t Shan play Rambo?

Unless Imran can inveigh Sanjay Dutt to do the role?

And remember, Imran has a lot of say-

Haleem expresses gratitude to PM for better transport facilities for Karachiites karachi: The Central Vice President PTI and Leader of Opposition in Sindh Assembly Haleem Adil Sheikh, Sunday, expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Imran Khan for providing better transport facilities to citizens of Karachi. Haleem Adil Sheikh, to expose the 13 year performance of PPP Sindh government in transport sector, reached Ahsanabad- the starting point of a local transport bus route- and traveled in “W-11” along with citizens. PTI workers also staged a token protest by holding pictures of worn out crumbling buses run by Sindh government in Karachi. Speaking at the occasion Haleem Adil Sheikh said that 40 buses have reached at Karachi and PTI’s promise of Green Line Bus Service is turning into realty.

People of Karachi would get rid of crumbling shaky buses thanks to federal government. PR

so in Bollywood, with a whole generation of stars having raised funds for his cancer hospital. Rambo, then plain Ramiz Raja, was part of his World Cup win, and Bollywood of his hospital, the two prongs of his public appeal. So the two can claim to have made him PM. So won’t Sanjay Dutt do the needful? Of the writers of his first film, Bharat B. Bhalla,who did the story, is still around, though the dialogue-writer, Rahi Masoom, passed away back in 1992.

But surely the dialogues can be done by the same people who did the dialogues for Imran, or Shan’s film on Kashmir. Then there are the writers of Rambo II, apart from Sly himself, David Morrell and Sheldon Lettich. They’re both a bit long in tooth,and would not come cheap, but it’s an idea.

Maybe the movie could also find a place for President Arif Alvi, whose desire for a peaceful Speech from the Throne extended to having the reporters locked out of the Press Gallery. Not having a Rambo to rescue them, they fumed in silence.

Monday, 20 September, 2021

06 COMMENT

The Pashtun context

Covid-19 pandemic rages on The positives should not hide the negatives

Ethnic Composition of Afghanistan becomes important after the Taliban takeover

W

HIlE the covid-19 pandemic rages on, it should not be ignored that Pakistan has experienced some positives. Perhaps the most heartening sign has been the decline in the positivity rate, with the rate of daily infections down by 50 percent in the last month. That means that the health authorities seem to have got right the method of taking measures that bring the coronavirus under some sort of control, without having to shut down the country entirely. It not only means that the country has avoided the worst effects of the dreaded delta variant, but will probably avoid it in future. This control has led in no small degree to travellers being allowed into the UK, with Pakistan’s alert status being revised to amber from the previous red. While the most overjoyed will be those members of the large Pakistani Diaspora who intend travelling between the two countries, any remaining doubts about the figures officially supplied by Pakistan stand dispelled. This contrasts with India, whose pandemic-related figures have been challenged to the point that no one really accepts them, at home or abroad.

Along with those positives, there are some negatives, mainly centred on vaccines. Vaccines have proved central to the fight against the pandemic, and supply problems seem to have been overcome. One problem that has emerged is that because vaccines are only for those who possess CNICs, all those who do not have a CNIC now need one to carry out a myriad functions of daily life, because it is not even possible even to travel to another city without a vaccine. The result has been a rush at NADRA offices. Not only are there long queues in the heat of september, but NADRA is on the verge of collapse. While not as serious as the healthcare system collapse that loomed, it could still jeopardize the entire exercise. This of course does not take account of the risk of infection among those queuing and flagrantly violating social distancing rules.

The Interior Minister needs to look at this aspect of the operation, and arrange necessary measures, up to and including temporary NADRA offices. It does seem hard lines to make people suffer when they try to comply with the government’s conditions. Those conditions may work, but they must also be practical.

Dr rajkumar Singh

T

HE Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is a mountainous landlocked country of Central and south Asia bordered by Pakistan to the east and south, Iran to the west, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan to the north and China to the northeast. In modern times, after the Third Anglo-Afghan War of 1919 the country became free and adopted monarchy under Amanullah Khan, but in 1973 King Zahir shah was overthrown and a short-lived republic was born which followed the establishment of a socialist state after a second coup in 1978. As of today, in 2021, the population of Afghanistan is around 37,466,414 which includes roughly 3 million Afghan citizens living as refugees in both Pakistan and Iran. It’s a multiethnic society which includes Pashtun 38.5 percent, Tajik 21.3 percent, Hazara 24.5 percent, Uzbek 6 percent, Aimak 3.2 percent, Turkmen 1.2 percent, Baloch 0.5 percent and others such as Pashai, Nuristani, Arab, Brahui, Pamiri and Gujjar, 4.9 percent. Of all the populations approximately 46 percent is under 15 years of age, and 74 percent of all Afghans live in rural areas while about 26 percent of the population is urban. There are two important languages, Pashto and Dari, popularly known and widely spoken in most parts of the country but Uzbek and Turkmen are smaller languages used in some parts of the north and as a result multilingualism is common throughout the country, especially in major cities. Islam is the single

Can image damage be retrieved?

England tour decision now crucial

We’ve gone beyond cartoons Dj kamal muStafa

A

few years ago, there was no trend of making animated films in Pakistan, and there was not much awareness among people about animated films. In the last few years, Pakistan has come a long way. And has shown some of the best-animated movies to the world. Pakistan. Here is a look at its five best animated films.

Sitara: Let Girls Dream An iconic figure in Pakistan, Let Girls Dream was released in 2020 on NetFlix, directed and written

by Oscar award-winning filmmaker sharmeen Obaid Chinoy and produced by Gloria steinem. The story revolves around the girl Pari, a 14-year old Pakistani, who dreams of becoming a pilot and wants to become like Amelia Earhart. she and her sister Mehr used to fly paper planes on the roof. she was unaware of the tension between her parents, and she was unaware that her father plans to marry her to a much older man. Film credit reels show that the father learned the lesson and sent her daughter Mehr to school, and she graduated and became a pilot.

The length is 15 minutes, and it is silent but with a heavy message. The film shows the issues of child marriage, a girl’s dream, and the ray of hope. The film has won three awards at the 2019 los Angeles Animation film festival. The film received a 7.3 rating out of 10 on IMDB. Operation Swift Retort You may have heard about 27 February 2019, when the Pakistan Air Force conducted a total of six airstrikes at multiple locations in Indian Occupied Kashmir. Pakistan shot down two Indian jets, a MiG21 and an su30, and captured Indian pilot Abhinandan Varthaman. Pakistani filmmaker DJ Kamal Mustafa has produced, written, animated, and directed a short animated film based on this event. If you’re into dogfights, aerial fights and would love to watch military films, then you would like this movie for sure. The film is official for the Pakistan Air Force, a non-profit animated film of 23 minutes, and

Dedicated to the legacy of late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami (Late) Founding Editor

Yousaf Nizami M. A. Niazi

Umar Aziz

Joint Editor

Joint Editor

Executive Editor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

With the soviet intervention in Afghanistan, millions of Pashtuns decided to flee from the country and settled in the Afghan diaspora in Pakistan and Iran, but some of them proceeded to North America, the European Union, the Middle East, Australia and other parts of the world. The new developments altered the balance of power in Afghanistan where Pashtuns were historically dominant but emergence of new well-organised armed groups comprising Tajiks, Uzbeks and Hazaras combined with fragmented Pashtuns reduced the influence of earlier Pashtun and, thus, in both groups- Taliban and the Northern Alliance, Pashtuns were part and parcel who were fighting against each other in the country. The two main Pashtuns- Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and Haqqani were considered as top leadership of Taliban while Abdullah Abdullah and Abdul Qadir were sided with Northern Alliance and fighting against Taliban.

The Northern Alliance was a partner of the previous Afghan government, taking all help from the UsA. When the Taliban regime was ousted in 2001 with the help of America-led war in Afghanistan, it was replaced by the Karzai administration, followed by Ghani reign in succession. Even today Pashtuns are in a dominant position in both groups and they are not only playing an important role in south Asia but also in Central Asia and Middle East. In addition, there are so many noted Pashtun personalities of India and Pakistan who have adopted non-Pashtun cultures and learned the languages such as Urdu, Punjabi and Hindko.

At large, the Pashtuns across the region and globe adhere to Pashtunwali codes and are recognised by the culture, not by religion. They are not homogenous strictly in religious terms, although the overwhelming majority of them belong to the sunni sect, with a tiny shia community. As with religion, speaking Pashto is not an essential criterion of being a Pashtun, but only patrilineal definition applied everywhere equally according to which only those who have a Pashtun father are Pashtun. There are so many other groups who claim to be Pashtun but do not speak Pashto language and are considered overlapping groups, having different geographical locations and mother tongues. likewise, the Pathans of India have lost both-language and ways of their ancestors but trace out Pashtun origin and ethnic heritage.

The writer is head of the political science department and dean of the Social Sciences faculty of the B.N.Mandal University, Madhepura, Bihar, India.

He can be reached at rajkumarsinghpg@gmail.com

Pakistan getting momentum in animated films

A

s the 33-member New Zealand squad winged its way from Pakistan, it left behind a country which had still not recovered its confidence.

While there are many reasons to condemn New Zealand’s action, the fact remains that Pakistan has been unable to convince the world that it is a safe place. On the receipt of a threat warning, it was perhaps too much to expect from any cricket board not to cancel, especially in a country where a team had been attacked. No matter that attack took place in 2009, and no matter that there were no deaths, the fact of the matter is that the attackers overcame all the hurdles placed in their way by those vaunted agencies. No board can be expected to take a risk at all even if there is even a tiny risk.

The information came from the Five Eyes, which is a pooling of intelligence collected by five countries, which include some of Pakistan’s supposed friends, such as the UK, the UsA and Canada, along with Australia and New Zealand. Pakistan is not part of this group, and to expect any member to share information about how it reached its conclusions was probably hoping for too much.

There is something of a problem, for two more of the Five Eyes members, were due to tour Pakistan this winter.

England was sending both men’s and women’s teams next month. Then Australia was to tour Pakistan next February-March, its first of Pakistan since 2008, has now been thrown into doubt. If either does balk at coming here, it would again prove that the attempt to improve Pakistan’s ‘soft image’ has come a cropper. Much thus depends on the English and Australian decisions. However, while the England Cricket Board is near a decision, it is expected not to proceed, as it shares security consultants with New Zealand Cricket. The only real solution is for the government to take the sort of steps, and crack down on the sort of persons, that indulge in such militancy.

There are reasons for such an image, after all.

Editor Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

dominant religion followed by more than 99 percent of Afghan citizens with 89.7 percent of the population practising sunni Islam and belong to the Hanafi school of Islamic law, while 10 to 15 percent belong to shia Islam and follow the Jari school and the Twelver branch. A very thin population of about 0.3 percent also practice sikhism and Hinduism. Recently, like other nations of the world, a nationwide e-ID programme was launched to know the exact figures about the size and composition of ethnicity in the country, although Article 4 of the present constitution of the country mentions 14 ethnic groups by name.

Although no official census has been done in the country since 1979, the total number of Pashtuns is estimated to be around 63 million in Afghanistan, historically known as Iranian ethnic group, native to Central and south Asia speaking the group’s language Pashto, but this group of Afghanistan also uses Dari, a dialect of Persian, as a second language while those in the Indian subcontinent use Hindi-Urdu as a second language and most of whom reside in southern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. Their area is mostly located south of the Amu Darya in Afghanistan and west of the Indus River in Pakistan, comprising the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and northern Baluchistan. The history of modern Afghans is related back to the regime of Delhi sultanate, particularly the Hotak dynasty and Durrani Empire. In fact, Ahmad shah Durrani was a military commander under Nader shah who created the last Afghan empire that covered most of today’s Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kashmir and Indian Punjab as well as the Kohistan and Khorasan provinces of Iran. The decline of the Durrani dynasty led to its being succeeded by the Barakzai dynasty which ruled from 1826 to !973 when Zahir shah took the reign of administration. The end of monarchy and the rule of President Daoud Khan, who was assassinated in 1978, and the soviet intervention in December 1979, paved the way for proxy war in the region.

At that time Pakistan became active and began recruiting Mujahideen guerrillas for a warfare against the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. The Mujahideen were pro-Islamic guerrillas engaged in jihad to fight on behalf of Islam. Although the soviet intervention was justified as being in order to defeat a rising insurgency in the country, the Mujahideen fought on, being mainly funded by the UsA, saudi Arabia, China and others, and also comprised of some Pashtun commanders like Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and Jalaluddin Haqqani.

I

Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

I

is available to watch on the digital platform. It was he sole animated film of Pakistan in 2019.

To complete this film, lots of high-end engines and software were brought into actionThe realistic scene of an aerial combat fight will keep the audience entertained. It shows Pakistan’s air force headquarter with the systems, satellites, and the operation command and control center with the military equipment and jets. The films received a 7.9 rating out of 10 on IMDB. Allahyar and the Legend of Markhord This film is about a young boy who loves animals, and his relationship with those animals. This 2018 Pakistani animated film written and directed by Uzair Zaheer Khan and produced by Usman Iqbal. It will take you to the northern regions of Pakistan. The film is about animal rights, and the film shows the aspect of illegal hunting of wildlife. The main character of the film is Allahyar, a young boy who lives with his father. Allahyar’s father is a forest guard, and that’s how Allahyar became attached to animals from childhood. One night he goes out in a forest and hears some noise and finds Mehru (an animal known as) Markhor. The life of both Allahyar and Markhor were in danger as the hunter who tried to kill Allahyar’s father was coming for him. The film is engaging and manages to hold your attention for all of 90 minutes.

Ali Noor, Anum Zaidi, Azfar Jafri, Ali Rehman, and others did a good job and won’t make you bored.

Was Allahyar able to save the Markhor? If you want to know, then you must watch this beautiful film. The film won the prestigious Monolith Award for Content at the Infinity Film Festival in Hollywood. Allahyar screened At the south Asian International Film Festival in Newyork. The film received a 7.7 rating out of 10 on IMDB. 3 Bahadur An animated film directed by sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, an Oscar-winning filmmaker who never disappoints her audience, it was the first-ever animated film of Pakistan released in 2015. The story of the film is about a fictional village, “Roshan Basti” in Pakistan. In Roshan Basti, three children named Aman, saadi, and Kamil are working hard to save the people of the village from the evils that have spread like an epidemic. The three children, who fight against the devil in the film, have superpowers . The three heroes come together through friendship, and their teamwork

Islamabad – Ph: 051-2204545

I

Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

I

defeats a dangerous enemy. The story is interesting and connected to the real world, and presented in such a beautiful way that the characters, atmosphere, and places look real and unique. The atmospherics are good enough to make this film perfect.

This film has two more sequels, 3 Bahadur: The Revenge of Baba Balaam and 3 Bahadur: Rise of the Warriors. The film received a 7.4 rating out of 10 on IMDB. Cyber Awareness In the era of cybercrimes, when a female uses social media, she has to face lots of trouble, from harassment to unwanted inbox messages and cyberbullying. some women fall victim to cybercriminals, and then there comes a time when they don’t even daPakistan is also making a name for itself in the film industry without having support from higher officials. The government of Pakistan should support the filmmaker, and a time will surely come when Pakistan will be at the forefront in this field. There is no shortage of talent in Pakistan. Not getting opportunities despite having expertise is a frustrating processre to confront anyone. An animated film was released to defeat cyber criminals and give women a safe place on social media. The Federal Investigation Agency of Pakistan (NR3C), in association with DJ Kamal Mustafa made the latest animated film of Pakistan, which was released in 2021 by filmmaker DJ Kamal Mustafa Animated, directed, produced, and written by DJ Kamal Mustafa, it is a film especially for the females who faces harassment on social media. The film shows how people can protect themselves from ATM skimming devices. The film has a separate scene for females on how they can protect themselves from being victims of harassment, cyberbullying, and blackmailing. The 12-minute long film has received a rating of 10 out of 10 on IMDB. There are a lot more animated films to be released this year in Pakistan.

Pakistan is also making a name for itself in the film industry without having support from higher officials. The government of Pakistan should support the filmmaker, and a time will surely come when Pakistan will be at the forefront in this field. There is no shortage of talent in Pakistan. Not getting opportunities despite having expertise is a frustrating process.

The writer is a freelance columnist

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Monday, 20 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

Beauty standards THE obession over the white complexion in our society exists from a long period of time. It is really disheartening to hear that someone got rejected due to his/her skin color, not being white enough or being too dark. The craze for having a white skin is so much that there are specific injections to convert the skin whiter. Many use home remedies for glowing skin. We can see the advertisements for promoting fairness creams which show that a girl or boy with fair skin can easily achieve anything without any judgment. The concept of white being beautiful has its root in history, and till today, we calling ourselves educated still believes the same old senseless ethic. Despite being Muslims, we easily discriminate others due to dark skin tone when our religion clears that everyone is equal. People are more than their skin colors. Hazrat Ali (R.A) said,“ Your souls are precious, and can only be equal to the price of paradise, so do not sell them for anything else”. These words by Imam Ali (R.A) clearly shows that actual beauty lies in our soul that is worth paradise.

Fiza NaSir TurbaT

Gender problems

Power sector planning: going beyond least-cost There has been a revolution in the power sector

Dr ShahiD rahim

“P

EOPlE and their managers are working so hard to be sure things are done right that they hardly have time to decide if they are doing the right things.” stephen Covey’s above statement aptly fits the back-and-forth shuttling that is currently going among the NTDC, NEPRA, and the government on the draft Indicative Generation Capacity Expansion Plan (IGCEP). In the midst of heated arguments as to whose projects should be included in the Plan, our decision-makers have completely missed the fact that the very foundation, “least-cost centralized planning”, on which this Plan is based, has been rendered obsolete.

The days of strategic planning in the power sector are long over. As the sector undergoes an unprecedented transformation,unleashed by technology-driven disruptive forces during the past decade, almost all aspects of this centuryand-a-half old and most stable of businesses have come under criticism —the physical infrastructure, institutional setup, business model, regulatory framework, pricing approaches, performance control, you name it. A new approach seems to be sinking in the boardrooms of power utilities that, in contrast to this industry’s history, their focus must now shift to the extreme end of its value chain, the consumers, if they want their businesses to remain profitable Infrastructure industries, thought to be the exclusive domain of the state for their natural monopoly and public-service character, couldn’t remain immune to the market forces that were unleashed in the 1980s. First to fall was public transport, then the airline industry, and later the telephone industry. Power utilities, considered the last bastion of such industries, resisted any major change, except for a guided competition here and some choice there. But, with the advent of smaller generators with cost and performance features beating those of their large-sized competitors, these utilities also couldn’t survive the market’s onslaught. The final death blow to this behemoth, however,was dealtby the advent of small, modular, and competitive renewable power generation technologies.

The industry is arguably at a crossroads. some other developments, including the growing popularity of electric vehicles (EVs), EVs-driven demand for compact and affordable battery storage, and smart grid technologies, have shaken up the very foundation of this industry. The question isn’t whether to change or not, as there are no two opinions among utility executives about it. The real issue is how to manage the change and to what extent, as some of them, due to comfort of old routines, are still reluctant to make any radical change even though the world around their industry has gone topsy-turvy.

But change they must because it’s unavoidable, and the sooner they do, the better it would be. Planning and planners hold a pivotal role in easing out the requisite transformation. From its traditional role of providing business solutions to executive management that are robust against a set of predictable future scenarios, planners are now being called upon to aid top leaderships in thinking strategically and devising strategies to redefine and realign their position in a market that continues to be ruled by unpredictable surprises. In this new world, agility and flexibility for adapting to changing markets are the new rules of the game.

The traditional approaches to power sector planning, including “least-cost planning”, “integrated resource planning”, “portfolio planning”, and more recently, “value-based planning” are all remnants from an era when electric utilities were considered among the most stable and least risky of industries for investment since economies of scale existed in generation and transmission, competition was non-existent, consumers had no choice in suppliers, and a handsome return on investment was guaranteed by regulators.

Traditional planning in its various forms essentially consisted of aggregating consumers’ forecast demand within the utility’s control area and meeting it through a least-cost sequence of generation and transmission and distribution (T&D) capacity additions. These approaches have lost their rationale. A businessas-usual approach essentially is tantamount to locking the country into capital-intensive, long-lived, import-dependent, and environmentally-hostile infrastructure which, if in place, will be difficult to change, let alone rollback.

In the above backdrop, issuing IGCEP-type plans by our government is, therefore, baffling, to put it mildly. It clearly shows that our government and power sector entities are still stuck with the traditional approach to managing this sector via large central-station generation facilities. In this writer’s view, a major part of the future investment should instead go to augmenting and strengthening the T&D systems and building institutional capabilities instead of expanding central-station generation and allied transmission systems.

The government and NEPRA will have to seriously revisit their present approach to power sector planning and development. The central focus of the government in the next five to ten years should be the distribution systems because it will be the front where most of the action will take place.

Enabling regulations, visionary leadership,dynamic and savvy management, intelligent and smart networks, and imaginative, creative, and innovative service packages will all be

required to offer electricity to customers (yes, you are reading it right, no more captive and helpless “consumers”) to win them back and keep them tied with the grid. system planners have a special role in the future, as further discussed below.

Planning will need to start at the consumer’s end, by identifying his energy service needs, like space conditioning, lighting, cooking, food preservation, mobility, etc. After identifying these at the individual as well as community levels, planners should consider the scope of electricity in serving these requirements, at source, through a nearby distributed plant, or from the utility’s main grid whichever proves to be the most feasible solution.

Reaping the huge potential that shifting the planning and development focus at the distribution level, however, will not be easy. It will require strong political will and commitment by the government and some systemic overhaul in the existing institutional structure. Most planning tools, institutional capacity, and financing arrangements have evolved around large and central-station supply-oriented schemes based on conventional technologies.

As such, these deeplyentrenched practices will be difficult to unravel and replace with a new thinking and approach.

A major part of the system planning function will also need to move from its current central location— under the NTDC— to DIsCOs as these entities are much closer to customers, and thus can better plan for the demand and required supplies within their jurisdictions. In a sense, DIsCOs will be planning for mini-grids that will be designed to function as autonomous systems largely, but will be tied with the NTDC’s national grid to mutually assist each other to enhance operation of the national grid.

The existing planning capacity within DIsCOs will require considerable strengthening and re-equipping to enable them to perform their new and enhanced roles. The planning function at NTDC will still be required but its aim and role will have to change. Instead of being the sole planner for the power sector, it will need to act as a coordinator and facilitator in linking together mini-grids under DIsCOs. As the old saying goes: “There is no right way to do the wrong thing.” Our leaders must make the suggested transformation because it is inevitable and the nation cannot afford to delay it any longer.

The suggested changes will be difficult as well as time- and resource-consuming, but their payoffs to the nation would be huge in terms of avoiding unnecessary, capital-intensive, and largely importdependent generation and T&D assets.

As the old saying goes: “There is no right way to do the wrong thing.” Our leaders must make the suggested transformation because it is inevitable and the nation cannot afford to delay it any longer. The suggested changes will be difficult as well as time- and resource-consuming, but their payoffs to the nation would be huge in terms of avoiding unnecessary, capital-intensive, and largely import-dependent generation and T&D assets

The writer is a freelance consultant, specializing in sustainable energy and power system planning and development. He can be reached via email at msrahim@hotmail.com.

PROBlEMs surrounding gender have always been present in our society.

From Pakistan ranking the third last country on the Human Rights index, to the failure of exercising gender based laws. However as most of us think gender inequality is not just limited to men and women, but transgenders too; a large portion of our population which is largely stigmatised, and mostly ignored.

This was further highlighted when a transgender woman Julie, who happens to be an activist, was imprisoned based on a false allegation, and unlawfully kept in men’s jail despite her identifying as a woman. Her suspicious arrest took the social media by storm, since Julie had earned her self quite a rapport with social media activists for her ardour to blatantly state the truths about our society. Which were otherwise shunned into silence; issues like sectarian unrest, sexual exploitation of transgenders, and the prevalent class culture. The rage of her supporters resulted in her release after 7 days. However in the past even when she was not a social media sensation Julie had faught for injustices against her gender, which are far too many to state. The question is how long will we, as a nation, continue to opress the voices of truth and justice into silence, rather than addressing the issue at hand. It is high time that the order of law should be implemented and hold accountable even the keepers of law (police), if they’re caught missusing. There needs to be further revision in law which cater to minorities whether gender based, race based or religion based.

SakiNa rizvi karachi

Digital currency THROUGH the platform of your newspaper, I want to focus on an emerging social change in the world which is cash currency is going away. It can have positive as well as negative impact on our societies. Plus point is that it can cause a noticeable decrease in street crimes like snatching money from people at gunpoint. A lot of people today are afraid of carrying cash, particularly large amounts due to the fear of being robbed. But if paper currency is replaced by digital currency or debit card system it’ll cause ease to people. like if someone steals your debit card, it can be canceled and replaced easily.

While in case of cash if it is stolen then it is gone forever. In Pakistan street crimes are increasing rapidly while digital currency use is less. Converting to digital currency will be technological as well as economic revolution. If you see the other side of the picture then, converting to digital currency must be accompanied by high cyber security as chances of hacking will increase.

Laiba FaTima bahawaLpur

Learning from Trudeau INDEED, among non-Muslim leaders Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has given a very balanced reaction to the ballooning crisis.

Observing that while he defended freedom of expression, it is “not without limits” and should not “arbitrarily and needlessly hurt” certain communities. Certainly, Emmanuel Macron can learn a thing or two about how to compassionately handle delicate matters from Mr Trudeau.

Once more the fires of Islamophobia have been lit, setting off an ugly series of events that have put the Muslim and Western worlds on a collision course. This time again the trigger was blasphemous images of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), published in France. Following the republication and display of these in a French classroom by a teacher, the educator was murdered while three people were killed in a separate attack on a Nice church. Unfortunately, French President Macron’s combative rhetoric in the aftermath of the controversy has not helped matters. Instead of addressing the issue in a statesmanlike fashion, Mr Macron has held forth in a neocolonial fashion about the ‘crisis’ Islam faces. This has led to certain questionable reactions from some in the Muslim world; former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad in a blog post wrote that Muslims had a right to be “angry and kill millions of French people for the massacres of the past”. such a response from a senior statesman is bound to raise eyebrows. muhammad haSSaN karachi

Concerning situation HE challenge for India and Pakistan is how to make certain that they manage their relation in a way that annihilate all points of contention, the convergence between the two countries remain dominant and the pessimistic aspects are manageable. The gap between the two is also expanding. There is growing distrust on the terms between the two countries and the challenge for Pakistan is how it manages that distrust and begins to shrink that distrust. As far as the Us is concerned, Us is aspiring super power but its aspirational ambitions are built on great deal of insecurity, the way it perceives Pakistan’s relations with the China it is being hemmed in by close understanding cordiality between Pakistan and China so lets not discount the insecurity on the Us side.

ShaFi ahmEd khowaja jaTi SujawaL

Monday, 20 September, 2021

08 WORLD VIEW

Qatar’s Investment In the talIban: hOw much Influence dOes It buy?

DOHA HAS MADE ITSELF INDISPENSABLE TO AFGHAN NEGOTIATIONS, BUT ITS INFLUENCE DEPENDS ON MODERATE TALIBAN MEMBERS, WHO ARE NOW STRUGGLING TO MAINTAIN POWER

miDDle east eye

w

ANDrEAS KrIEG

HILE the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban in recent weeks sent a shock down the spine of the Us-led coalition, for Qatar, the swift victory of the military movement created unprecedented opportunities.

In the aftermath of the hectic western withdrawal from Afghanistan, the small Gulf emirate has proven the most important interlocutor in the country, with access not just to international stakeholders, but the Taliban themselves.

The investment Doha has made into hosting the group upon Washington’s request for nearly a decade seems to have paid off. Dollar for dollar, hosting the Taliban and facilitating both Us-Taliban and intra-Afghan talks, must have been the best investment Qatar has made since putting its money behind the production of

liquefied natural gas (LNG).

And although opponents and competitors alike - first and foremost, regional rivals in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh - have used Qatar’s relationship with the Taliban to attack its reputation, nothing appears to move in Kabul at the moment without Qatar being involved.

The question that most analysts and policymakers are currently asking, however, is to what extent Qatar’s strategic positioning in Afghanistan will translate into influence, or even control, over the new men in charge in Kabul. The answer to that question is complex, as the Taliban is far from being a unitary actor.

COMMON ENEMY: Decades of insurgency have merged a variety of different groups, interests and ideologies into a movement that has so far been held together by negative integration, as they faced a common enemy. With that enemy now gone and the old government in exile, the process of transiting from insurgency to governance reveals some of the fault lines within the Taliban organisation.

The process of government formation pitted the more conservative and militant Taliban against those who believe in a more pragmatic approach to both internal governance and foreign engagement. The choice of Mullah Akhund as the new acting prime minister appears to be a compromise in favour of the more fundamentalist

and militant parts of the organisation.

Qatar has been predominately engaging with the more pragmatic and moderate members of the Taliban grouped around co-founder Mullah Baradar, who himself has lived in Qatar for several years. Over the years, Doha has been able to build good personal relations with those Taliban representatives who had been running the office in Doha and shown a willingness to progress from a loose insurgent network into a political movement in Afghanistan.

In particular, Baradar has proven to be a reliable partner for the Qataris, buying into Doha’s narratives of more inclusive governance, respect for women’s rights and an amnesty for former government employees - even if just out of pure pragmatism. The reason is that a return to the 90s, when the Taliban mostly reigned through the power of the sword, does not appear to be feasible, considering that 80,000 fighters might find it hard to repress more than 35 million Afghans through sheer force alone.

This sentiment is shared by Amir Khan Muttaqi, the acting foreign minister of the Taliban government, and Zabihullah Mujahid, the movement’s spokesperson, who both not only trust the Qataris, but see Doha as an indispensable lifeline to the outside world.

SHUTTLE DIPLOMACY: On the other side of the divide in the Taliban are the militants of the Haqqani net-

Suicides in Indian Occupied Kashmir

couNtercurreNts

“O

NAYEEMA AHMAD MAHjOOr

FTEN, I think of taking my own life. I go to orchards and choose the place where I had made the gallows. My mother knows that I am going through a lot of stress, so she has become my shadow. The day I saw the helplessness in my brother’s eyes when he was being arrested by Indian security forces for some unknown crime, the helplessness in his eyes had made a hole in my heart. We were not even told where he was taken or the prison he was put in for three months. My mother is a brave woman, she endured gracefully, but I pity my helplessness and insecurity. Better to have a dignified death rather than to bend on knees. But, my mother keeps telling me that she has no shoulder to lean on if I finish my life. Her tears pierce my heart. What is there left in my life except for tears, suffocation, and oppression”.

My heart was missing a beat on every word Raashida of Pulwama was uttering amid sobs and sighs. I had run out of words to comfort her. Comprehending her vulnerable state of mind, I had to try hard to counsel Raashida by citing stories of brave Kashmiri girls who despite so many odds have excelled and stood their ground. I introduced her mother to a psychologist who visited her every week. After a few months of intensive counselling, I noticed a slight change in her attitude. she was now talking of finding ways to get her brother released from prison. Raashida belongs to the youth of Indian Occupied Kashmir that makes up seventy percent of the 13 million population.

They have been brought up in violent turmoil, thus, robbing their childhood and adolescence. All they have inherited are the raids, arrests, crackdowns, protests, killing, and hounding. Not a moment of peace and tranquillity has become their fate. That is the reason why there is an alarming number of youth suicides reported in Indian Occupied Kashmir.

On september 14, the news went viral on social media that a Kashmiri youth studying in a college in the Indian state of Punjab had committed suicide by strangling himself. When the picture of this incident reached Indian Occupied Kashmir, many fears and apprehensions arose among the frightened population. Parents, in particular, are mired in anxiety over their children’s mental state of health. According to sakina, whose son is also studying in a college in Punjab, “Our youth are not safe at home or in the outside world. Like death is chasing them everywhere. Who knows what happened to this boy that made him finish his life. I have called my son back.

I want him to stay home. I can’t bear such devastation.”

There have been occasional reports from some Indian states that a Kashmiri youth or labourer or employee has been beaten or lynched to death without any trace. No investigation is expected in such cases that have become new normal in India. Against this backdrop, it is not difficult to conclude that the space is not only being made to shrink for Kashmiris inside

the valley but it is also being made hostile for them outside the territory.

You may recall that on August 19, Tariq Butt, a Kashmiri youth who had been working for a financial company for two years, was beaten severely in Gurgaon, Delhi. In the initial report of the incident, the police had said that there was no need to give it a religious colour. such incidents have made Kashmiris reluctant to go abroad, but employment opportunities within the Valley have almost disappeared.

Most of the young people in the valley are desperate to escape the intimidation and arrests by the security forces. second, when all employment opportunities are being made scarce, they have become extremely depressed.

Either they prefer suicide or become gunmen. Many agree to die at the hands of the security forces by falsely declaring to be militant. This suits government to create a false narrative of ‘facing terrorism’ in Indian Occupied Kashmir.

In May, shoib, a 23-year-old resident of Damhal Hanjipura, made a video before committing suicide in which he wrote about his father, who was a teacher by profession, that his salary had been withheld for two years due to an adverse police report.

The financial situation of the house had deteriorated to such an extent that immediately after consuming the poison, shoaib had asked his mother, “Mom, why are we so poor?”

A 2016 survey by the international non-governmental organization MsF found that 45% of Indian occupied Kashmir’s population suffers from severe mental illness and some young people have developed a tendency to end their lives rather than survive.

The main Hospital in srinagar has registered about 500 cases during the last year in which people tried to kill themselves by consuming poisonous substances or by other means.

According to police records, 3,024 suicide cases were registered in Indian Occupied Kashmir between 2010 and 2020, while in 2020 alone, 457 people attempted suicide.

London-based Kashmiri-born psychiatrist, Dr. Mudasir Firdossi recently wrote in his article that “the violent situation in Indian Occupied Kashmir has indeed left young people in a state of mental distress and they are beginning to feel helpless. But, media is playing a very negative role that portrays the suicidal person as a superhero in reporting suicide incidents. Many videos in Indian Occupied Kashmir encourage other young people to end their lives like heroes”. some human rights groups say the rising tide of suicides is due to the chaotic economic situation, which has worsened since August 5, 2019, when the Indian government decided to end the internal autonomy of the erstwhile state of Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. strict restrictions were imposed on the movement of the people with a total ban on the internet and other communication, which has deprived millions of people of their jobs or trade. The covid19 lockdown has reduced the population to beggary.

Human rights activist Raja Hanif says, “The Indian government wanted to punish the people collectively for demanding freedom. Thus, revoked Art 370 and 35A, banned all the means of communication, closed all connections with the state, and turned it into a big concentration camp, weakening it economically and politically. The tragedy is that the Kashmiris are being crushed in every possible way and people are forced to keep their mouth shut or face draconian laws”.

The situation within the territory is far from normal as emphasized by former minister, Yashwant sinha but no matter how bad the situation goes, Kashmiri youth have to get a hold of their lives, survive with dignity and chase their dream with courage and determination.

Nayeema Ahmad Mahjoor is a senior journalist and penguin author of ‘lost in terror.’

work, who have borne much of the burden of conflict in recent years. Designated a terrorist organisation due to its ties to al-Qaeda, the network now controls the streets of Kabul. It is therefore not surprising that sirajuddin Haqqani is now the acting interior minister.

More religiously fundamentalist and less pragmatic, the Haqqani network long opposed any outreach to the West or negotiations with the previous Afghan government, pitting it against the moderates around Baradar. It is therefore not surprising that Qatar’s inroads to the network and its protagonists are fairly limited. For the most part, Doha relies here on its partner in Islamabad to rein in the Haqqanis.

Qatar’s shuttle diplomacy in recent days has seen its foreign minister meeting counterparts in Islamabad, Tehran and Ankara before meeting the important members of the newly formed Taliban government in Kabul.

While Qatar again called upon the Taliban to build a new state based on inclusion and social justice, much of Doha’s power of persuasion rests on the Taliban’s dependency on the Gulf state as its gateway to the world.

The more Qatar becomes indispensable for the movement, the more even its fundamentalist members might come around to Doha’s engagement. For the time being, however, Qatar’s influence is tied to the moderates around Baradar and their survival, in what appears to be a compromise government that favours the militants.

Dr. Andreas Krieg is an assistant professor at the Defence Studies Department of King’s College London and a strategic risk consultant working for governmental and commercial clients in the Middle East. He recently published a book called ‘Socio-political order and security in the Arab World’.

The big spy in your little phone

Democracy Now!

I

AMY GOODMAN AND DENIS MOYNIHAN

s the phone in your pocket spying on you?

As cell phones have become ubiquitous, government intelligence agencies have poured vast resources into hacking them, remotely stripping people of their privacy in the name of national security. Now, a burgeoning industry has emerged, generating huge profits for shadowy corporations that specialize in developing ever-more innovative ways to secretly infect digital devices with spyware. Activists, journalists, human rights defenders and dissidents the world over have been surveilled and in a number of cases arrested, tortured or killed. This week, Citizen Lab, a cybersecurity research organization based at the University of Toronto, revealed the existence of a “zero-click” exploit that exposed 1.65 billion Apple iPhone and other Apple devices to a complete and almost undetectable takeover by the spyware known as Pegasus, produced by NsO Group, a private company.

Pegasus spyware grants unlimited access to all of an infected device’s content, from chat messages to emails to phone calls, allows control of the phone’s microphone and camera, and shares the phone’s location in real time.

“NsO Group is a mercenary surveillance company based in Israel,” Ronald Deibert, director of Citizen Lab, said on the Democracy Now! news hour. “NsO Group first came on our radar back in 2016, when we discovered it was being used by the United Arab Emirates to target a human rights defender named Ahmed Mansoor. since then, we and others have documented extensive abuses of this company’s technology.”

If you believe NsO Group’s founders, the software is only legally deployed to catch criminals, terrorists, pedophiles and the like. Not convinced, Amnesty International and 155 other civil society organizations and technology experts issued a joint letter calling for an immediate moratorium on the sale, transfer and use of surveillance technology: “NsO Group’s spyware has been used to facilitate human rights violations around the world on a massive scale,” the letter states. “It has become clear that its technology facilitates systemic abuse…if the recent allegations about the use of Pegasus are even partly true, then that red line has been crossed again and again with total impunity.”

Among the cases cited by Amnesty is that of Cecilio Pineda Birto, a Mexican journalist shot dead on March 2nd, 2017. He had been receiving death threats, and just that morning announced a forthcoming report on corrupt local officials colluding with organized crime figures. In 2021, Pineda’s phone number appeared on a leaked list of about 50,000 cell phone numbers from all over the world, said to be targets of the Pegasus software. scores of journalists from the Forbidden stories collaboration and Citizen Lab reported on the leaked list, which included hundreds of journalists and activists as well as many world leaders.

“If you don’t do anything to stop the sale of this technology, it’s not just going to be 50,000 targets. It’s going to be 50 million targets,” NsA whistleblower Edward snowden told the Guardian last month. “And it’s going to happen much more quickly than any of us expect. The way we do that is to halt the trade of this technology.”

Pegasus was used to target phones owned by family members of Jamal Kashoggi, the saudi dissident and Washington Post journalist, both before and after his brutal murder by a saudi kill team inside the saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2nd, 2018.

Another victim of the NsO Group’s spyware is Omar Radi, an independent journalist in Morocco who has long reported on corruption, land expropriation and human rights abuses by the Moroccan government. In 2020, Amnesty International issued a report with proof that Radi’s iPhone had been infected by Pegasus spyware.

“Pegasus is a silent program. You don’t feel it,” Omar Radi told us on Democracy Now! in July, 2020, just two weeks before he was arrested

by Moroccan police. “It can use your microphone, it can use your keyboard, it can use your screen, and get any information that is stored in your phone. I don’t know the amount of information they’ve stolen from my phone.” Omar Radi was recently sentenced to six years in prison.

“NsO Group is merely one among many mercenary spyware companies that exist globally,” Citizen Lab’s Ron Deibert said. “Governments that have deep pockets can simply go and purchase this type of despotism as a service off the shelf. We’ve never seen anything like that historically, the privatization of this type of digital espionage.”

Apple issued a software update that supposedly fixed this problem. But hackers will certainly find more holes in these digital device operating systems. Without a ban on Pegasus and spyware like it, human rights defenders, journalists and others will continue to be targeted, spied on, beaten, arrested and killed.

Amy Goodman is the host and executive producer of Democracy Now!, a national, daily, independent, award-winning news program airing on over 1,400 public television and radio stations worldwide.

Denis Moynihan is a writer and radio producer who writes a weekly column with Democracy Now’s Amy Goodman.

Monday, 20 September, 2021

BuSIneSS 09

KARACHI corporate corner BOP, PSPA launch Masawaat Programme for transgenders

COrPOrATE TAxPAyErS TO AdOPT diGiTAl PAyMEnT SySTEM frOM nOv 1 ISLAMABAD

T

LAHORE: The Bank of Punjab (BOP) and Punjab Social Protection Authority (PSPA) jointly launched Masawaat Program for transgenders who face a range of personal, social, cultural, and economic headwinds, which often exposes them to a high risk of isolation, social and financial exclusion. This program will provide unconditional cash transfer for elderly transgender persons with a benefit amount of Rs3,000 per month and Rs2,000 per month for disabled ones. All payments will be transferred electronically by the Bank of Punjab which will open new vistas of banking including financing for this particular segment in line with the overall agenda of promoting financial inclusion in the Country. The projects include Khidmat Card PWD for differently abled persons, Zewar-eTaleem program for girls enrolled in public sector schools, Ba-Himmat Bazurg program for elderly persons above the age of 65, Sila-e-Fun for elderly artists who have served in related field for more than 25 years, Punjab Human Capital Investment Project - Health & Nutrition CCT for underprivileged women to utilise the health and nutrition services during first 1000 days lifecycle of the child which include pre/post-natal care, skilled birth attendant, growth monitoring, vaccination and immunization. In all these mentioned programs, BOP is facilitating PSPA for the registration of these beneficiaries, their digital payments disbursement and cash-outs. Speaking at the occasion, BOP President & CEO Zafar Masud appreciated PSPA’s role in the social uplifting of underprivileged segment of the society especially the Transgender community through their social grants projects and ensured full support from BOP. PREss RElEasE

Shell Tameer rewards young Pakistani innovators

KARACHI: The finale of the Shell Tameer Awards 2021, a nationwide contest was held at Shell House to recognise the best and brightest young entrepreneurs in Pakistan. The event was attended by prominent business leaders and professionals from the industry and existing and aspiring entrepreneurs. The event was live streamed for audiences across the country. The grand winners of the Shell Tameer Awards 2021 announced were: Circular Economy – TrashIt – Anusha Fatima, Clean Energy Solutions – Enent – Osama Shakeel, Empowering Women – Civixa – Alveena Sohail, Technology Innovation – Asani.io – Ansab Naqvi, Transport & Mobility – Elixis – Mohammed Ahmed, and Bright Idea – Boltay Huroof – Hafiz Sheikh Umer Farooq.The runners-up are: International Services Pak from Circular Economy, Renew Power Projects from Clean Energy Solutions, Beetee for Empowering Women, CricFlex for Technology Innovation, vCarpool for Transport & Mobility and Eco Stabilizer for Bright Idea.

Moderated by Sidra Iqbal, the panel of experts comprised Shell Pakistan Limited Haroon Rashid, Unilever Pakistan Limited Chairman & CEO Amir Paracha, Dawood Hercules Group CEO Inam ur Rahman and NCCPL Chairman Humayun Bashir. PREss RElEasE

sTaFF REPORT

HE Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is mulling over allowing corporate taxpayers a grace period of 40 days to switch over to the digital mode of payments with effect from November 1.

According to details, FBR has introduced significant changes to the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, with a view to documentation of the economy, capture supply chains, and broaden the tax base.

The new ordinance has restricted the scope of payments via traditional banking channels on account of expenditures exceeding Rs250, 000/- to tax-

payers other than companies. However, it is now mandatory for companies to make payments on expenditures exceeding Rs250, 000/- through digital mode only.

Expenditures on account of utility bills, freight charges, travel fair, and payment of taxes and fines, on the other hand, would continue to be admissible either paid in cash or traditional banking instruments.

The purpose behind this legislative enactment is to encourage digital payments and discourage traditional mode of transactions by the corporate sector in the first phase.

It is pertinent to mention that currently grey transactions, hiding and/or suppressing sales invoices and unreconciled payments through

open and revolving cheque or cash, are highly prevalent in business value chains while almost 99 per cent of all business transactions are on cash.

Moreover, third party payments are highly prevalent in the organised and informal sector whereby businesses do not use their own bank accounts when making payment for supplies and tell their customers and informal-investors to make direct payments to the principal supplier.

Likewise, cross cheques create financial inefficiency due to a clearing period of 1-3 days.

Similarly, cross cheques do not carry the purpose of payment or its relationship with the invoice.

Despite many attempts to increase

documentation of supply chains such as WHT and Further tax, the number of unregistered distributors and retailers remains high whereby sales are suppressed and due income tax is completely avoided.

However, owing to lack of digital readiness by some corporate taxpayers immediately, FBR is considering to allow the corporate taxpayers a grace period of 40 days to switch over to the digital mode of payments w.e.f. November 1, 2021.

In the meantime, FBR is also engaging SBP to issue necessary instructions to operationalise this provision of law and encourage the banking sector to facilitate corporate businesses to accomplish digitisation within the stipulated time frame.

Govt, ADB differ over changing scope of AMI project ISLAMABAD sHaHZaD PaRaCHa

The government and Asain Development Bank (ADB) have reportedly failed to reach consensus over changing the scope of the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) project.

Sources revealed that ADB representatives held a meeting with the special assistant to prime minister (SAPM) on Power with regard to reviewing the reasons causing delay in the implementation of the project here on Sunday.

The power division explored the possibility of changing the scope of the project from one circle each in two DISCOs to the entire DISCOs and not installing meters for each consumer but only on Pole Mounted Transformers (PMTs).

"The ADB mission indicated that such a change at this stage would not be acceptable to their board and given the little time available, financing for the project would have to be dropped," sources added.

Sources said that the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) had approved the scope of installing AMI meters to the consumer’s level but later on suggested that the project would be more feasible if the meters were installed only up to the PMTs. However, the SAPM on power said that a restructured AMI system with lower cost may be considered to be set up only on the substation level in the LESCOs and IESCOs circle because both these DISCOs have very high revenue collection and may not be immediate candidates for automated matters.

He also suggested that the automated meters with prepaid device option should be considered for installation for high loss-making DISCOs. "In addition, meter replacement cost and other required system costs should be recovered from the

consumers over a four year period in line with the proposed project implementation schedule and the project in all DISCOs may be implemented under the PPP mode to achieve the advantages of the project," the SAPM suggested.

The ADB AMI loan programme needs to be changed in scope to accommodate the proposed changes as the feasibility study prepared in 2014.

According to technical experts, the government has to emphasise on new technologies rather than to invest in an 8-year old technology. Nowadays, the world is considering high data rate, almost zero latency, high computing power, AIs and block chain technologies.

It is pertinent to note that the $500M IESCO/LESCO AMI Project initiated in 2013-14 backed by ADB remains unsure by the government due to not agreeing on its technical fundamentals such as outdated PLC technology use Vs. the emergence of 5G in Pakistan, outdated 2014 project feasibility, controversial bidding process in the IESCO project and limited participation of international bidders in LESCO project are the core reasons in which government is not keen to give go-ahead on this project.

The power division has suggested that re-scoping the project to restrict it to AMI installation at PMT level and industrial and commercial consumers has several possible implications such as the current procurement process would have to be scrapped as the bidding documents were based on the present scope.

Moreover, this would imply that the project cannot be completed within the timeframe of the ADB loan whereas ADB has indicated that the loan period cannot be further extended.

The power division has a point of view that the commitment charges of $2.2 million would be wasted unless ADB agrees to rescope the project. It has suggested conducting a new technical, financial and economic feasibility of the ADB funded AMI project.

Punjab issues 22 NOCs for setting up cement factories The Punjab government has regulated the cement sector and issued 22 no-objection certificates (NOCs) for the setting up of new cement factories while ensuring that no more unit is established in the areas declared “negative”, according to a report by Dawn. A study earlier conducted declared areas around Kallar Kahar as “negative” for the setting up of cement factories as the underground water had fast depleted. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Usman Buzdar says the new cement factories will generate jobs for millions of people and result in uplifting and ensure economic development in the backward areas. Buzdar stated that the steps taken by the government for the development of salt and coal industries were also yielding positive results.

He said the Punjab Mineral Development Corporation had collected Rs1.64bn. He said as many as 21 rock salt exploration licences had been issued for the promotion of the salt industry. The department’s production capacity has been increased with the launch of four coal and eight salt mines. MONITORING REPORT

Cabinet seeks AGP’s report, forensic audit of loss making SOEs ISLAMABAD: The government while taking notice of loss making state owned enterprises (SOEs) has directed the finance division to submit a forensic audit and Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) report of 10 such enterprises.

As per details, the finance division briefs the cabinet on an annual report on SOEs being published since FY14 titled 'Federal Footprint: Annual SOEs Report'. However, reports for FY18 and FY19 had been published after some delay whereas the it was submitted that the report for FY20 is still being finalised and cannot be presented on time either. “These reports primarily present financial performance of SOEs portfolio during a year under review and also cover other important aspects such as stock of SOEs, assets and liabilities as well as government support provided to SOEs in the form of equity injection, guarantees and cash development loans,” said sources. They added that these reports assist the government and international partners in analysing and understanding the nature and performance of commercial activities of government owned entities. Sources said that financial performance of 85 commercial SOEs excluding the National Highway Authority (NHA) during the first two years (FY17 and FY18) of the present government had disclosed a net loss of Rs286 billion. However, financial performance of SOEs during FY18 and FY19 had shown improvements as they earned Rs31 billion worth profit. The finance division has informed the Cabinet that the government’s broad based reform process including, timely completion of SOEs' Board of Directors (BoDs) and appointments at managerial positions together with fiscal discipline had helped improvements in the performance. sTaFF REPORT

‘Quad’ countries to agree on secure Chinese companies to invest $15bn in petrochemicals sector microchip supply chains ISLAMABAD aPP

TOKYO aGENCIEs

Leaders of the United States, Japan, India and Australia will agree to take steps to build secure semiconductor supply chains when they meet in Washington next week, the Nikkei business daily said on Saturday, citing a draft of the joint statement.

US President Joe Biden will host a first in-person summit of leaders of the “Quad” countries, which have sought to boost co-operation to push

back against China’s growing assertiveness.

The draft says that in order to create robust supply chains, the four countries will ascertain their semiconductor supply capacities and identify vulnerability, the Nikkei said, without unveiling how it had obtained the document.

The statement also says the use of advanced technologies should be based on the rule of respecting human rights, the newspaper said on its web site.

The draft does not name China, but the move is aimed at

preventing China’s way of utilising technologies for maintaining an authoritarian regime from spreading to the rest of the world, the Nikkei said.

The United States and China are at odds over issues across the board, including trade and technology, while Biden said in April his country and Japan, a US ally, will invest together in areas such as 5G and semiconductor supply chains.

No officials were immediately available for comment at the Japanese foreign ministry.

Chinese companies are ready to invest $15 billion in Pakistan's petrochemicals sector in Gwadar, including the project of energy pipeline from Gwadar to China.

In this regard, Board of Investment (BOI) Federal Secretary Fareena Mazhar on Sunday said bilateral talks were underway for investment in various projects related to Chinese investment in Pakistan.

It was hoped that in the future, Chinese companies would bring investment in Pakistan in the fields of energy, agriculture, tourism and others.

She said the government wanted to promote Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) culture in the country

for bringing foreign investment and to create employment opportunities in the country and that it was introducing a new SMEs policy as well as initiating regulatory reforms for better business regulations.

Replying to a question, she informed that the ‘7th Reform Action Plan’ was mainly focusing on improvements in firm entry regulations, reliability of electricity, tax regulations, trade regulations, creditors’ rights, better property rights, and court efficiency etc. and reforms in these areas play a major role in the process of economic development.

The secretary said Pakistan Regulatory Modernisation Initiatives (PRMI) was a key initiative of the government for the modernisation and regulation of local business to provide

a conducive business environment in the country. "These reforms are part of the broader strategy of the government aimed at improving productivity and enhancing exports to achieve the objective of sustainable economic growth in the country."

She said main objective of PRMI reforms strategy was to improve the entry and operational environment for business, focusing on the simplification and automation of the regulatory framework at all three government levels including federal, provincial and district level.

She said the vital success indicator of the initiative would be increased in the overall private sector and foreign direct investment level without compromising the effectiveness of the various regulatory regimes.

Monday, 20 September, 2021

10 FOREIGN NEWS

KARACHI

Why is China developing a game-Changing thorium-fuelled nuClear reaCtor?

C

AGENCIES

HINA is poised to test a thoriumpowered nuclear reactor in September, the world’s first since 1969. The theory is that this new molten-salt technology will be “safer” and “greener” than regular uranium reactors, and so could help Beijing meet its climate goals. Yet is the country's investment in this also geostrategic?

A new page in the history of nuclear energy could be written this September, in the middle of the Gobi Desert, in the north of China. At the end of August, Beijing announced that it had completed the construction of its first thorium-fuelled molten-salt nuclear reactor, with plans to begin the first tests of this alternative technology to current nuclear reactors within the next two weeks.

Built not far from the northern city of Wuwei, the low-powered prototype can as yet only produce energy for around 1,000 homes, according to the scientific journal Nature.

But if the upcoming tests succeed, Chinese authorities will start a programme to build another reactor capable of generating electricity for over 100,000 homes. Beijing could then become an exporter of a reactor technology that has been the subject of much

discussion for over 40 years, according to French financial newspaper Les Echos.

LOWER ACCIDENT RISKS?: The Chinese reactor could be the first molten-salt reactor operating in the world since 1969, when the US abandoned its Oak Ridge National Laboratory facility in Tennessee.

“Almost all current reactors use uranium as fuel and water, instead of molten salt and thorium," which will be used in China’s new plant, Jean-Claude Garnier, head of France’s Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), told FRANCE 24.

These two "new" ingredients were not chosen by accident by Beijing: molten-salt reactors are among the most promising technologies for power plants, according to the Generation IV forum – a US initiative to push for international cooperation on civil nuclear power.

With molten-salt technology, "it is the salt itself that becomes the fuel", Sylvain David, research director at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and nuclear reactors specialist, explained in a FRANCE 24 interview. The crystals are mixed with nuclear material – either uranium or thorium – heated to over 500°C to become liquid, and are then be able to transport the heat and energy produced.

Theoretically, this process would make the installations safer. "Some accident risks are supposedly eliminated because liquid burning avoids situations where the nuclear reaction can get out of control and damage the reactor structures," Jean-Claude Garnier added.

There's another advantage for China: this type of reactor does not need to be built near watercourses, since the molten salts themselves "serve as a coolant, unlike conventional uranium power plants that need huge amounts of

water to cool their reactors", French newspaper Les Echos noted. As a result, the reactors can be installed in isolated and arid regions… like the Gobi Desert.

CHINA'S PLENTIFUL SUPPLY: Beijing has also opted to use thorium rather than uranium in its new molten-salt reactor, a combination that has drawn attention from experts for years. This is mostly because “there is much more thorium than uranium in nature”, Francesco D’Auria, nuclear reactor technol-

ogy specialist at the University of Pisa, told FRANCE 24. In addition, thorium belongs to a famous family of rare-earth metals that are much more abundant in China than elsewhere; this is the icing on the cake for Chinese authorities, who could increase its energy independence from major uranium exporting countries, such as Canada and Australia, two countries whose diplomatic relations with China have collapsed in recent years. Beijing’s investment is also a long-term one. “For now, there is enough uranium to fuel all operating reactors.

But if the number of reactors increases, we could reach a situation where supply would no longer keep up, and using thorium can drastically reduce the need for uranium. That makes it a potentially more sustainable option," Sylvain David explained.

A 'GREENER' NUCLEAR ENERGY? According to supporters of thorium, it would also a "greener" solution. Unlike the uranium currently used in nuclear power plants, burning thorium does not create plutonium, a highly toxic chemical element, Nature pointed out.

With so many positives on their side, why are molten salts and thorium only being used now? “Essentially because uranium 235 was the natural candidate for nuclear reactors and the market did not look much further," Francesco D'Auria added.

French minister decries ‘duplicity’ in US-Australia sub deal PARIS AP

France’s foreign minister on Saturday denounced what he called the “duplicity, disdain and lies” surrounding the sudden rupture of France’s lucrative contract to make submarines for Australia in favor of a US deal and declared that a crisis is at hand among the Western allies.

A day after France recalled its ambassadors to the United States and Australia, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian pummeled what he suggested was a backroom deal that betrayed France.

The recalling of its ambassadors “signifies the force of the crisis today” between the French government and Washington and Canberra, he said in an interview on France 2 television. He said it was the first time ever that France, the United States’ oldest ally, has recalled its ambassador to the US. The announcement by President Joe Biden of the deal, alongside the leaders of Australia and Britain, for at least eight nuclear-powered submarines, has set France in a fury. The French had signed a contract in 2016 for a dozen conventional diesel-electric submarines and the work to make them was already underway. The deal with French majority state-owned Naval Group was worth at least $66 billion.

Diplomatic niceties have gone out the window as French authorities seek to make their anger known.

Le Drian denied reports that there had been advance consultations with France ahead of the announcement, saying “this isn’t true.”

Allies “don’t treat each other with such brutality, such unpredictability, a major partner like France [...] So there really is a crisis,” Le Drian said.

“There are reasons for us to question the strength of

our alliance,” Le Drian said.

Earlier, France’s ambassador to Australia also strayed from diplomatic language when describing what has been widely billed in France as the “contract of the century.”

“This has been a huge mistake, a very, very bad handling of the partnership,” French ambassador Jean-Pierre Thebault said before flying home to France.

The arms agreement between France and Australia, signed in 2016, was supposed to be based “on trust, mutual understanding and sincerity,” a fuming Thebault said.

“I would like to be able to run into a time machine and be in a situation where we don’t end up in such an incredible, clumsy, inadequate, un-Australian situation.”

He said he found out about the canceled contract in the Australian press.

Le Drian said in a written statement Friday that the French decision to recall its ambassadors — at the request of President Emmanuel Macron — “is justified by the exceptional seriousness of the announcements” made by Australia and the United States.

What French officials have called a complex, multilayered contract was about more than submarines. It was the underpinning for France’s vision of the critical IndoPacific region, where France has a presence and China is looking to bolster its influence.

The Naval Group said in a statement that consequences of the contract cancelation would be analyzed with Australia “in the coming days.” It noted that teams in France and Australia have been at work on the project for the past five years.

Australian employees working with Naval Group and their families have set up home in the Normandy port of Cherbourg. A union official, David Robin, told BFM TV that employees were informed there may be an option to keep them on.

An Afghan man sells bananas on a street in Kabul, u Afghanistan. WAnA

Protesters call to 'kick out' Thai PM on coup anniversary BANGKOK AFP

Hundreds of protesters drove through Bangkok's streets on Sunday to mark the 15th anniversary of a military coup that ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra. The billionaire ex-premier -- now living in self-exile -- has remained a prominent figure in the country's politics since the military deposed his government on September 19, 2006.

Unloading a massive cardboard model of a tank for their "cars against tanks" protest, rallygoers honked car horns to call for the resignation of Premier Prayut Chan-O-Cha, a former army chief who came to power in a 2014 coup.

"Fifteen years have passed, we are still here to

fight," shouted Nattawut Saikuar, a politician long associated with Thaksin, to a sea of supporters waving "Kick out Prayut" flags.

"No matter how many coups there are, it cannot stop us... No matter how good capacity their tanks are, it cannot stop the fighting hearts of the people." Thailand has seen more than a dozen coups since the end of absolute monarchy in 1932 by its putsch-happy military -- often staged in the name of protecting the powerful royal family.

Thaksin's juggernaut rise to power was boosted by the so-called "Red Shirts", mostly working-class supporters who revere him for populist contributions such as instating a universal healthcare system. But he was hated by Bangkok elites and the powerful military, and has faced a raft of corruption accusations.

French break-up a blow to Biden's China-focused alliance rebuilding WASHINGTON REUTERs

AnAlysis

European capitals celebrated a visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in June, as President Joe Biden's top diplomat cracked jokes in French in Paris, posed for selfies with youth and spoke at length about revitalising the transatlantic relationship.

It was a breath of fresh air after four years of former President Donald Trump's brash "America First" administration, during which US ties with Europe lurched from one crisis to another amid policy decisions that often blindsided European countries.

But less than three months after Blinken's repair tour, Washington finds itself in an unprecedented diplomatic crisis with France over a trilateral deal with Britain to supply Australia with nuclear-powered submarines that sank a $40 billion contract for French-designed vessels.

France reacted with fury, saying the new deal had been hatched behind its back and resorting to language almost unheard of in public pronouncements between allies, calling it "brutal" and a "stab in the back".

On Friday it went further, taking the extraordinary step of recalling its ambassadors to Washington and Australia and accusing the Biden administration of acting like Trump in pushing Paris aside.

Analysts say the crisis is more than commercial, and one of trust, and even if US officials hope it will blow over quickly, it has the potential to do lasting damage to the alliance with France and Europe and throws into doubt the united front Washington has been seeking to forge against China's growing power.

French diplomats said they first learned of the deal when news leaked in Australian media hours before the official announcement on Wednesday, although Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison insisted he had made clear to French President Emmanuel Macron in June that he might scrap the agreement with France.

Either way, from the French perspective, the US move flies in the face of what Biden's

administration has pledged since the end of the Trump era: a return to multilateralism and close cooperation with partners and allies, with Europe an important element of that.

"This makes Europeans realise that maybe some of Trump's policies, beyond the scandals and the tweets, were not an aberration but signalled a deeper shift away from Europe," said Benjamin Haddad, director of the Atlantic Council's Europe Center.

"At a time when the Biden administration wants to rally Europeans in a common transatlantic front to push back against Chinese assertiveness, why not bring in the key EU actor in the region?"

Some see further clumsy policy-making

by Biden's administration hard on the heels of his chaotic end to America's two decade-long intervention in Afghanistan, about which European nations complained they had not been properly consulted.

"Just like Afghanistan, this new 'America First' opus is poorly conceived and even more poorly executed," a French diplomat said.

ATTEMPTS TO SOOTH FRENCH ANGER: Blinken has attempted to soothe French anger, calling France a vital and long-

standing ally in the Indo-Pacific and beyond, and the White House and State Department quickly issued placatory statements after Paris recalled its ambassadors.

The State Department said Washington hopes to continue discussions on the issue at a senior level in coming days, including during next week's United Nations General Assembly. David Bell, a history professor at Princeton University, said precedent indicated the crisis would blow over, eventually.

The French were clearly "very annoyed" and showed that in a "fairly dramatic" way, he said, while recalling previous moments of high tension, including France's withdrawal from NATO command in the 1960s and refusal in 2003 to join the US-led invasion of Iraq.

But diplomatic relations have not been suspended, and at some point the ambassadors will be sent back, Bell forecast, noting that Macron's gesture comes ahead of a potentially tight re-election race next year.

"Macron is trying to reawaken that Gaullist tradition of French independence" in foreign policy, he said.

WEAKENING INDO-PACIFIC FRONT:

While the NATO allies might well find ways to recover from what some see as the worst diplomatic crisis in their history, experts warn of serious harm to Biden's broader China strategy. The trilateral submarine deal should strengthen the hand of the United States and its allies in the face of growing Chinese power, but the damage caused by the alienation of France could outweigh this.

"China must be laughing all the way to the bank," said Francois Heisbourg, senior advisor for Europe at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. "They have the prospect of removing Europe's potential presence alongside the US in the Indo-Pacific area."

Though stronger US-Australia ties would concern the Chinese government, France, the EU's leading military power, has taken a strong stance in urging a tough line on China when other EU countries such as Germany have seemed more concerned about not upsetting commercial ties with Beijing.

"There is a downside for China, but the upside I think is greater -- the notion that Europe is essentially going to stay in the wings and not play an active role in the Indo-Pacific as a whole," Heisbourg said.

He said France might narrow its focus to concentrate on its specific Indo-Pacific interests, rather than working to push back against China more broadly.

Monday, 20 September, 2021

SPORTS 11

KARACHI

Psg Rubbish L'equiPe RePoRt oF Messi's 'giant 110M' saLaRy

P

REUTERS

ARIS Saint-Germain's sporting director Leonardo angrily dismissed as "very far from reality" a story in L'Equipe on Saturday claiming the Qatar-owned club were paying Lionel Messi a "giant" salary of 110 million euros" over the next three seasons.

Leonardo's forceful denial of the veracity of the French sports daily's front page revelation came on the eve of Messi's first home match at the Parc des Princes since his stunning arrival from Barcelona.

As another PSG galactico, Kylian Mbappe, faced a fitness battle for Sunday's Ligue 1 clash with Lyon, Leonardo was not pulling any punches as he sought to knock back details of a contract all parties would prefer to keep out of the public domain.

"We didn't like it, it's very far from the reality in terms of the length and the figures," said Leonardo.

"There are confidentiality clauses, but I

can tell you it's not the truth."

L'Equipe devoted its front page Saturday to the Argentine superstar's "giant salary" a minimum of 110 million euros spread over three years.

"The length of the contract is two years and not three," stated Leonardo.

He accused L'Equipe of "a lack of respect" given the timing of the story the day before Messi stars in front of PSG's fans at home. "I don't understand it, but that's your problem," he told journalists.

"But the facts, we can't let that go."

Since being welcomed like royalty in August six-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi has played just two games for his new club, both away fixtures.

The second of those came when coach Mauricio Pochettino lined up his three stars Messi, Mbappe and Neymar for the first time in the disappointing 1-1 draw at Club Brugge.

While Messi, 34, is due to turn out in the Ligue 1 meeting with Lyon, Mbappe is far

from certain with the French World Cup winner nursing a foot injury from the Champions League opener.

"He trained with the squad taking a couple of precautions (on Saturday morning)," Pochettino said.

"We're satisfied with (the injury's) progress. We'll see tomorrow if he's in the list or not."

Mbappe missed France's last two World Cup qualifiers with a right calf problem.

Whether the 22-year-old makes it or not Pochettino is definitely facing Lyon without defender Sergio Ramos (calf) and Juan Bernat, and midfielder Marco Verratti (knee).

PSG, who saw their domestic dominance checked last season when Lille emerged as Ligue 1 champions, have won their first five outings to top the table.

Meanwhile despite unleashing three of the game's finest talents against Brugge, the scoreline was far from the result anyone at PSG would have been happy with as

they start out on a journey they desperately hope will bring them their first ever continental crown.

"We must improve, we know that," said

Klopp hails Mane's 100th Liverpool goal as 'massive achievement'

FoRMeR engLanD gReat JiMMy gReaves Dies ageD 81

LIVERPOOL

LONDON

AFP

Jurgen Klopp saluted Sadio Mane after the Senegal star's 100th Liverpool goal inspired a 3-0 win against Crystal Palace that sent his side top of the Premier League on Saturday. Mane's milestone strike came in his 224th appearance for the Reds, breaking Palace's rearguard action late in the first half at Anfield. Egypt forward Mohamed Salah and Guinea midfielder Naby Keita netted in the second half to move Klopp's team three points clear of second-placed Manchester City. It was fitting that Mane should make it to his century against Palace as he set a new Premier League record for the most consecutive games a player has scored against one opponent. It was the ninth successive match that Mane had netted against Palace. More importantly for Klopp, Mane already has four goals this term, suggesting he is ready to put last season's disappointing personal campaign behind him. "People forget around these 100 goals he worked incredibly hard, defended for us, pressed high, counterpressed, created goals, set up chances, so the 100 goals are just one, there are so many numbers that are important," Klopp said. "I am really happy for him he could reach it, a massive achievement in the glorious history of this club that only 18 players scored 100 goals. "Nowadays players are not normally as long at clubs so I am really happy I could work so long with him." After Liverpool's lacklustre, injury-hit defence of the Premier League title, they are back in the groove in the chase to regain the trophy from Manchester City.

Klopp's men have opened the season with an unbeaten run of four wins from five games, with just one goal conceded and 12 scored. "We are not here today for sending any kind of sign for the outside world, we were here to fight against a really strong Crystal Palace team," Klopp said.

Four-time world champion Martin to retire from cycling PARIS AFP

Germany's Tony Martin will hang up his bike after the World Road Cycling Championships this week in Flanders, his Jumbo team announced on Sunday. Martin, 36, won four world titles in the individual time trial, in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2016. "The world time trial (Sunday) and mixed relay (Wednesday) championships will be the last races of my career," said Martin, who has been racing for the Dutch team Jumbo since 2019.

Competing at the top level since 2008, Martin also won five stages of the Tour de France between 2011 and 2015 and two on the Vuelta a Espana. This year he exited the Tour de France in an ambulance early on stage 11 after suffering face and leg injuries when tumbling into a deep roadside ditch, having been at the centre of a crash-marred opening day that saw a fan knock half the peloton down. “The bad falls this year also made me wonder if I am ready to continue to face the risks of our sport," said Martin. "I decided I didn't want to, especially since the race safety has not improved despite the many discussions on the routes and barriers."

Pochettino.

"We have a magnificent squad, but we need balance, to be creative going forward but solid at the back. We need time for that."

AFP

Locals play soccer on a dusty pitch in Soweto, South Africa. REUTERS

Philippines' Manny Pacquiao to run for president in 2022 MANILA AFP

Philippine boxer-turned-politician Manny Pacquiao declared Sunday he will run for president in 2022, ending months of speculation about whether the legendary fighter would seek the country's top job.

"The time is now -- we are ready to rise to the challenge of leadership," said Pacquiao, as he accepted the nomination of a rival faction in President Rodrigo Duterte's ruling party. The eight-division world champion and beloved national hero made the announcement weeks after losing what could be his last professional fight against Cuban Yordenis Ugas in Las Vegas. Pacquiao, who entered politics in 2010 as a congressman before being elected to the Senate, has long been expected to make a tilt for the country's highest office.

The 42-year-old is deeply admired in the archipelago nation for his gen-

erosity and hauling himself out of poverty to become one of the world's greatest and wealthiest boxers.

His boxing credentials along with fighting poverty and corruption are likely to be the key themes of his campaign. "For those asking what are my qualifications, have you ever experienced hunger?" Pacquiao asked the national assembly held by the anti-Duterte faction of PDP-Laban.

"Have you ever experienced having nothing to eat, to borrow money from your neighbours or to wait for leftovers at a food stall? The Manny Pacquiao that is in front of you was moulded by poverty." Pacquiao's star power in a country famed for its celebrity-obsessed politics will put him in a strong position in the presidential race.

But it will not guarantee victory.

A public skirmish between Pacquiao and Duterte over the latter's handling of the South China Sea dispute with Beijing and official graft could erode support for the boxer.

Duterte -- who is allowed to serve only one term as president under the constitution -- rivals Pacquiao for the affections of many Filipinos and declared last month he will run for the vice presidency.

Pacquiao, who entered politics in 2010 as a congressman before being elected to the Senate, has long been expected to run for president Pacquiao, who entered politics in 2010 as a congressman before being elected to the Senate, has long been expected to run for president Ted ALJIBE AFP A party faction loyal to Duterte also endorsed the president's close aide, Senator Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go, for the top job -- but he hasn't yet accepted.

Pacquiao would face a formidable opponent if Duterte's daughter, Sara, were to run for president, which she is tipped to do.

A recent poll showed the Davao city mayor -- who belongs to a different party than her father -- with the most voter support, well ahead of Pacquiao and other potential contenders.

The deadline for registering as a candidate for next year's elections is October 8.

'I've been through hell and back' - Man Utd's Jones opens up on injury issues MANCHESTER REUTERS

Manchester United defender Phil Jones had been "through hell and back" as he struggled with a long-term knee problem but the 29-year-old is relieved to see "light at the end of the tunnel now", he said. Jones has not played for United since an FA Cup tie in January 2020 because of a serious knee issue, for which he underwent an operation last summer.

The England international, who has spent an injury-hit decade at the club, recently returned to the first team training as he continues to work towards full recovery.

"I've been through hell and back over the last couple of years. I struggled with my knee a little bit and (there) came a point after lockdown where I thought enough was enough,"

Jones told the club website.

"Unfortunately, there was going to be time off the pitch, which I knew was going to be difficult for me, but it was something that I had to do.

"Thankfully, I see the light at the end of the tunnel now, and I've been back training, played a few behind-closeddoors games and I'm feeling really good at the minute."

Jones, who has played more than 200 games in all competitions for United, said his 20-month injury layoff has been challenging. "I think as a footballer, as a person, as a human being, that's the lowest I probably ever felt in my life," he added.

"You try and get a balance between football and family life but it was so difficult going home and trying to look after the kids. You're there, but you're not there, you're not present.

"It's nice to get that balance back."

The former England striker Jimmy Greaves, one of the game's greatest goalscorers and characters, has died aged 81, his former club Tottenham Hotspur announced on Sunday. "We are extremely saddened to learn of the passing of the great Jimmy Greaves, not just Tottenham Hotspur’s record goalscorer but the finest marksman this country has ever seen," the club said. "Jimmy passed away at home in the early hours of this morning (Sunday 19 September), aged 81." A member of England’s 1966 World Cup-winning squad, Greaves scored 44 goals in his 57 appearances for England. His strike rate was phenomenal as he scored 356 goals in England's top flight, a record which still stands. For Tottenham, he returned 266 goals in 379 appearances between 1961 and 1970. The 37 league goals that he netted in the 1962/63 season has yet to be bettered by a Spurs player in a single season. Greaves began his career with Chelsea, scoring on debut in 1957 against Spurs -- his 41goal haul in the First Division in 1960/61 still stands as Chelsea’s record for a single season. A brief spell at AC Milan followed -- where he netted nine time in 14 games -- before he returned to England to join Spurs. He later played for West Ham before retiring from the game and going into television analysis.

Rooney vows to stick with Derby despite looming administration LONDON AFP

Derby County manager Wayne Rooney said Saturday he was committed to the English second-tier club despite the financiallystricken side's impending administration. The 35-year-old former Manchester United and England striker, in his first managerial role, insisted he wanted to help rebuild Midlands club Derby after a 2-1 win over Stoke in the English Championship on Saturday. Derby led when Max Bird celebrated his 21st birthday with a 25-yard strike in the 32nd minute and Curtis Davies headed the Rams into a 2-0 lead two minutes later. Rooney's side could have gone even further ahead before Stoke pulled a goal back in the 58th minute through former Derby winger Tom Ince. But Derby held out to give their fans something to celebrate amid the looming threat of a points deduction.

Derby announced late Friday the club's directors "had no choice but to make the tough decision" to file notice to appoint administrators following a failure to secure new owners and because of the impact of Covid-19 on their finances. "I've said a few times I'm committed to this club and to the group of players and the staff, I care about them, so I'll keep doing everything I can to help us get through this," said Rooney. He added: "My job is to bring some pride and dignity back to the club, it's got a big fan base and those fans deserve my full attention and the players' full attention."

Monday, 20 September, 2021

prayer tImINgs

NEWS

ArgentinA intends to buy 12 JF-17 thunder Jets From PAkistAn

BUENOS AIRES INp

A

RgeNTINA plans to buy 12 JF-17 Thunder fighter jets from Pakistan, as per international media reports. One report states that Argentina has officially included $664 million in funding for the purchase of 12 PAC JF-17A Block III fighters from Pakistan in a draft budget for 2022.

The budget has been presented in the country’s par-

liament, said the news report. However, this does not mean that the deal has been finalised as Argentina has not signed on the sale accord yet but it shows the country’s intention to buy the fighter aircraft from Pakistan.

Argentina has tried to buy jets from a few other countries in the world over the past couple of years but has always fallen short due to a lack of funds or British objections.

Most recently last year, Britain blocked the sale of South Korean fighter jets to Argentina.

The Argentine Defence Minister described the move as British “imperial pride” before posting “Malvinas Argentinas” on Twitter.

According to the UK Defence Journal, the JF-17 Thunder is a single-engine multi-role combat aircraft developed jointly by the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex and the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation of China. The builders say that the JF-17 can be used for multiple roles, including interception, ground attack, anti-ship, and aerial reconnaissance.

More than half of the JF-17 airframe, including its front fuselage, wings, and vertical stabiliser, is produced in Pakistan, whereas 42 percent is produced in China, with the final assembly taking place in Pakistan.

Fajr SunriSe

Zuhr

aSr Maghrib iSha

4:58

12:30

3:59

6:14

6:46

8:03

Claims of Pakistan’s involvement in Panjshir fight uncorroborated: NYT ISLAMABAD staff report

The claims of Pakistan’s involvement in the fight between the Taliban and the resistance forces of Ahmad Massoud — the son of Ahmad Shah Massoud, a veteran warlord who successfully resisted Taliban rule from 1996 to 2001 before his assassination two days before the 9/11 attacks — in Panjshir Valley, propagated mainly by Indian news outlets, were incorrect, the New York Times said.

Defeating the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan of Massoud, the Taliban captured on September 6 the last part of Afghanistan still holding out against their rule, declaring that the victory completed their takeover of the country ravaged by decades of war and insurgency.

Pictures on social media showed Taliban fighters standing in front of the gate of the Panjshir provincial governor’s compound days before the 20th anniversary of the 2001 attacks that saw the US-led alliance invading Afghanistan and toppling the Taliban government.

“Panjshir, which was the last hideout of the escapee enemy, is captured,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told a news conference. But Massoud did not concede defeat, saying his force, drawn from the remnants of the regular Afghanistan army as well as local militia fighters, was still fighting.

However, two Times correspondents who travelled to the picturesque valley observed that “combat had largely ceased, at least for now, and what resistance remained seemed confined to mountainous areas practically inaccessible by

foot or by vehicle.”

“Most of the residents had fled before the fighting. Those who stayed behind were struggling with spiking market prices and a lack of food,” the report said.

Alluding to a widely shared video claiming Pakistan drones were operating over the valley, it said the footage was, in fact, graphics from a military tactical shooter video game, ARMA 3.

The footage was extensively shared by Republic TV and Zee Hindustan, two of India’s mostwatched television channels.

SpaceX capsule with world’s first allcivilian orbital crew returns safely TEXAS reuters

The quartet of newly minted citizen astronauts comprising the SpaceX Inspiration4 mission safely splashed down in the Atlantic off Florida’s coast on Saturday, completing a three-day flight of the first all-civilian crew ever sent into earth orbit.

The successful launch and return of the mission, the latest in a recent string of rocket-powered expeditions bankrolled by their billionaire passengers, marked another milestone in the fledgling industry of commercial astro-tourism, 60 years after the dawn of human spaceflight.

“Welcome to the second space age,” Todd “Leif” ericson, mission director for the Inspiration4 venture, told reporters on a conference call after the crew returned.

SpaceX, the private rocketry

company founded by Tesla Inc. electric automaker CeO elon Musk, supplied the spacecraft, launched it, controlled its flight and handled the splashdown recovery operation.

The three-day mission ended as the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, dubbed Resilience, parachuted into calm seas around 7:00 pm, shortly before sunset, following an automated reentry descent, as shown during a live SpaceX webcast on its YouTube channel.

Within an hour the four smiling crew members were seen emerging one by one from the capsule’s side hatch after the vehicle, visibly scorched on its exterior, was hoisted from the ocean to the deck of a SpaceX recovery vessel. each of the four stood on the deck for a few moments in front of the capsule to wave and give thumbs-up before being escorted to a medical station on board for checkups at sea. Afterwards they

were flown by helicopter back to Cape Canaveral for reunions with loved ones.

SEARING REENTRY: The return from orbit followed a plunge through earth’s atmosphere generating frictional heat that sent temperatures surrounding the outside of the capsule soaring to 3,500 degrees Fahrenheit (1,900 degrees Celsius).

The astronauts’ flight suits, fitted to special ventilation systems, were designed to keep them cool if the cabin heated up.

The applause was heard from the SpaceX flight control centre in suburban Los Angeles as the first parachutes were seen deploying, slowing the capsule’s descent to about 15 miles per hour (25 kph) before splashdown, with another round of cheers as the craft hit the water.

The astronauts were cheered again as they stepped onto the deck of the recovery ship.

What will happen to girls’ education in Afghanistan under Taliban rule?

LONDON reuters

Afghan schools opened for boys on Saturday, the new Taliban ministry of education said but gave no indication of when girls might be able to go back to their classes.

At some of the schools that have managed to operate, girls up to the sixth grade have attended, and women students have gone to university classes. But high schools for girls have been closed.

Afghanistan’s new Taliban rulers have previously said girls will be allowed to go to school as they seek to show they have changed since last in power 20 years ago when girls were barred from education.

But many Afghans do not believe them, among them the founder of a girls’ school in Kabul, who has burnt all her students’ records to protect them from possible reprisals. even if the Taliban keep their word on schooling, many people are concerned that girls’ education and future opportunities will be restricted under the militant group’s rule.

How HAS GIRlS’ EducATIoN cHANGEd SINcE 2001? The Taliban banned almost all education for girls during their 1996-2001 rule.

After the group was ousted, school attendance rose rapidly, with more than 3.6 million girls enrolled by 2018 — more than 2.5 million in primary school and over 1 million in secondary.

The increase in girls in secondary education was

particularly marked, with nearly 40 percent enrolled in 2018 compared with 6 percent in 2003, according to the UN children’s agency, UNICeF. The number going to university, now in the tens of thousands, has also jumped. Some are studying to become doctors, lawyers, scientists and journalists, and Kabul University has even launched a master’s degree in gender and women’s studies.

Nonetheless, the country has one of the biggest education gender gaps, with UNICeF saying girls account for 60 percent of the 3.7 million Afghan children out of school.

Only 37 percent of teenage girls can read and write, compared to 66 percent of boys, according to Human Rights Watch. government data suggests a third of girls are married by the age of 18 and nearly 9 percent by 15. wHAT HAvE THE TAlIbAN SAId? The Taliban have said girls will be able to go to school in line with their law — without clarifying exactly what that means — and have shared video clips on social media showing girls returning to class.

They have said education must be single-sex and that girls can only have female teachers.

UNICeF has expressed cautious optimism about working with Taliban officials.

In December, it struck a deal with the Taliban to establish informal schools for up to 140,000 children, including girls, in areas controlled by the group. wHY ARE pEoplE woRRIEd? Some fear girls’ schooling will be restricted to religious education.

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