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Thursday, 16 December, 2021 I 11 Jamadi-al-Awwal, 1443 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XII No 168 I 12 Pages I Karachi Edition

Disengaging with afghanistan woulD be DisaDvantageous for the worlD: PM Khan

ISLAMABAD

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MiaN abrar

riMe Minister imran Khan said that disengaging with afghanistan would be disadvantageous for the world. he expressed these views while chairing the second meeting of the apex Committee on afghanistan on wednesday. the meeting was attended by Foreign Minister shah Mehmood Qureshi, information Minister Chaudhry Fawad hussain,

interior Minister sheikh rashid, planning Minister asad umer, advisor on Finance Mr. shaukat tarin, advisor Commerce abdul razzak dawood, Chief of army staff general Qamar Javed Bajwa, national security adviser dr. Moeed Yousaf and senior civil and military officers. the prime Minister expressed the hope that the world would not repeat the mistake of disengaging with afghanistan. he urged the international community to support the vulnerable people of afghanistan. the prime Minister stated that pakistan

will support afghan people in every possible way to avert humanitarian crisis. the prime Minister highlighted that pakistan has already committed to immediate relief of in-kind humanitarian assistance worth rs. 5 billion, which comprises of food commodities including 50,000 Mt of wheat, emergency medical supplies, winter shelters and other supplies. the apex Committee was briefed that as per directions of the prime Minister, the facility of free Covid vaccination for all afghans entering pakistan from land borders is being continued. the process of obtaining pakistani visa has been simplified for afghans. the prime Minister also instructed that humanitarian organizations wishing to work from pakistan to support efforts in afghanistan should be facilitated as pakistan has already committed to being the air and land bridge for humanitarian support to afghanistan. participants of the apex Committee again expressed concerns about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in afghanistan and emphasized that pakistan will not abandon afghans in their time of need. on sunday, pakistan is hosting an extraordinary session of oiC Foreign Ministers in islamabad to highlight the plight of vulnerable afghan people in these testing times and to discuss ways for helping them.

Govt slashes petrol, HSD prices by Rs5 per litre g

Crude oil priCes have registered a worldwide deCline

the federal government has reduced the prices of petroleum products by up to rs7.01 per litre on the proposal of the oil and gas regulatory authority (ogra). according to a notification released in this regard on wednesday, the Finance division has lowered the price of petrol by rs5 to rs140.82 per litre, while the price of diesel has been brought down by rs5 to rs137.62 per litre, light diesel by rs7.01 to rs107.06 per litre and the rate of kerosene by rs7 to rs109.53 per litre. the development comes as the price of crude oil registered a worldwide decline recently.

adviser to the prime Minister on Finance and revenue shaukat tarin, while commenting on the situation earlier in the week, had said that following the drop in prices in the global market, petrol prices in pakistan would also undergo a reduction. on tuesday, it was reported that ogra had proposed a reduction in prices of pol products by rs8 to rs10 per litre. it may be recalled that in november, the government announced of maintaining prices of petroleum products for the december 1 to december 15 period. News Desk

‘Never gave a penny’: Tareen refutes claim he ran Imran’s residence ISLAMABAD staff report

Former pakistan tehreek-i-insaf (pti) secretary general Jahangir tareen wednesday refuted the claim of a former party colleague he paid millions in household expenses every month to then-party chairman imran Khan prior to the 2018 general elections. “[…] the truth must be told […] i

never gave a penny for the household expenses of Bani gala [Khan’s residence in islamabad],” he tweeted. “Just want to set the record straight.” he was responding to a claim made on television by wajih ud-din ahmad, a retired supreme Court judge and former chief election commissioner of the ruling party, that the sugar baron provided “up to rs5 million every month” to Khan. “this belief is entirely false that imran

Khan is a [financially] honest man,” ahmad declared. “his condition is such that he has not been running his household himself for years.” ahmad resigned from the party in 2016 after falling out with tareen and then-Khyber pakhtunkhwa chief minister pervez Khattak who he had accused of influencing the outcome of intra-party elections of 2013. tareen, a longtime confidant of

Khan, fell out with the prime minister following an inquiry into the last year’s sugar scandal that accused several sugar producers — including him — of “underreported sales and fraud”. at the time, special assistant to prime Minister on accountability Mirza shahzad akbar declared sugar-producing units of tareen’s Jdw-group were found guilty of “double billing” and “over-invoicing” as well as “corporate fraud”. tareen re-

jected the findings of the sugar inquiry commission and went to the united Kingdom before ending his self-exile seven months later in november 2020. a seasoned politician, tareen has repeatedly been credited with ensuring the pti wins the throne in the 2018 elections. in wednesday’s tweet, he conceded he had done “whatever was in my capacity to help pti in the quest to build a new pakistan”.

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Thursday, 16 December, 2021 | KARACHI

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BRI To BRING pRospeRITy foR woRLd

By GeNeRaTING GLoBaL INTeGRaTIoN: fM ISLAMABAD

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Monitoring rePort

HE Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) will bring prosperity for people across the world through generating global integration, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said.

Addressing the Margalla Dialogue 2021 organised by the Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI) on Tuesday, an Islamabad-based think tank, Qureshi said the BRI, with the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as a flagship project, utilises the economic geography and enhances the connectivity of Asia,

SINGAPORE

Europe and Africa.

Highlighting Pakistan’s strategic pivot from geopolitics to geo-economics, the foreign minister said a country like Pakistan situated on the crossroad of South, Central and West Asia will remain accessible to all and reach out to all.

He said diplomacy needs a multifaceted outlook to go beyond the traditional way in the 21st century and a post-Covid-19 world.

Talking about the situation in Afghanistan, Qureshi said there is a dire humanitarian crisis looming which has consequences not only for the people of Afghanistan but also the region and beyond.

Agencies

Brent oil may fall to $70.25 per barrel, as suggested by a confirmed double-top. The neckline of the pattern is around $73.60. The support at $72.69 triggered a pullback towards this line. A rise above $73.60 could temporarily make this pattern invalid.

Strategically, the target of $70.25 will be confirmed when oil breaks $72.69. The rise from Dec. 2 low of $65.72 consists of five waves, which look corrective in nature. They will be reconsidered as impulsive waves if oil could rise above $75.20. This wave mode would suggest an extension of the uptrend towards $83. On the daily chart, oil fell below a pivotal level of $73.50. It is expected to drop more towards $54.62, as pointed by the lower channel. A realistic target will be $70.75. Each reader should consult his or her own professional or other advisers for business, financial or legal advice regarding the products mentioned in the analyses.

Govt unveils SME policy to promote inclusive growth ISLAMABAD APP

Federal Minister for Industries and Production, Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar on Wednesday unveiled the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Policy.

The minister announced the policy during a press conference wherein he was flanked by Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Fawad Ahmed Chaudhry. Bakhtiar said that this was for the first time that the policy, which focuses on promoting around five million businesses through facilitation in registration, streamlining of taxes, access to credit and provision of land, comes with a proper implementation mechanism under the supervision of a National Coordination Committee (NCC) with proper deadlines of tasks. “The policy was made in 2007 but only in papers,” he added.

The minister said that there were around five million SME businesses in the country, including one million in the manufacturing sector in the shape of various enterprises.

Article continues after this advertisement He said that the SME sector was playing a crucial role in promoting inclusive economic growth in addition to providing 78 per cent of employment, excluding agriculture, as well as promoting exports.

Bakhtiar said that many of its initiatives had already been implemented. He said that the policy has relieved businessmen of regulatory burden by either excluding the condition of obtaining a No Objection Certificate (NOC) or minimising its requirements.

“Anyone interested in starting a new business will not have to go from pillar to post for obtaining the NOC or involve an inspector,” he added.

Elaborating further, he said that the condition of obtaining an NOC had been abolished for low risk businesses including the services sector and wholesale transport whereas medium risk businesses such as light engineering, leather, auto-parts, sports goods and cutlery can get NOCs approved within 30 days of applying for the document. However, he added, SMEs working in explosive, fire, boiler, and chemicals have been put in the high risk category and will require an NOC. Further, the policy also introduces a selfdeclaration scheme under which businessmen would follow relevant laws voluntarily. Only 2pc of the selfdeclared businesses would be inspected physically. For this purpose, the government has developed a web portal through which businesses that would be inspected would be given a date of inspection, reducing human intervention and promoting transparency, besides checking corruption.

Govt undecided on payment of Rs230b to Chinese power plants ISLAMABAD Web Desk

The federal government has again failed to make a decision on making around payments to the tune of Rs230 billion to Chinese power plants operating under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project and opening a bank account to save their investors from the vicious cycle of circular debt in the future.

According to a media report, the officials from the finance and energy ministries and CPEC Authority held a meeting recently, chaired by Finance Adviser Shaukat Tarin, but did not make a decision on the timing of clearing the outstanding dues and opening a revolving account. Under the 2015 energy framework agreement, Pakistan is contractually bound to make timely payments to the Chinese power plants that were set up under the CPEC framework.

However, the Pakistani government has been violating this agreement since 2018 when the Chinese power plants started producing electricity.

Until the problems faced by the existing [Chinese] investors are solved, no new Chinese investment is expected in Pakistan,” a senior government official said on the condition of anonymity.

So far, 10 energy projects worth $10 billion have been completed and four schemes costing $4.7 billion are under implementation. Three months ago, Pakistan had again assured China to disburse $1.4 billion or Rs230 billion dues to the Chinese power plants. It had also

committed to open a revolving fund that would have deposits equal to 21% of the power generation cost. The latest assurance had been given from the platform of the 10th Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) of the CPEC that met in September.

China has hoped that the Pakistani side would get the article related to the revolving account on the ground soon.

On an average, about Rs5 billion to Rs6 billion every month is paid less to Chinese power producers against the billed amount, said a finance ministry official. Khalid Mansoor, the special assistant to the prime minister on CPEC Affairs, while commenting on the outcome of the meeting, said the issue had been discussed with all stakeholders and it was moving in the right direction.

Mansoor has been looking after the CPEC affairs after the ouster of former chairman of the CPEC Authority, Lt Gen (retd) Asim Saleem Bajwa.

Since then, there has been no new chairman of the authority. On November 30, the government advertised to hire a new chairperson on a management pay scale-I for a period of four years.

In September this year, Planning Minister Asad Umar had said that about $1.4 billion or Rs230 billion were payable to the Chinese power plants, hoping to find a solution “soon”.

The sources said that the latest meeting had been held on the instructions of Prime Minister Imran Khan, who had asked the authorities to fulfill the contractual obligations by opening a revolving fund.

Brent oil may fall to $70.25; fierce bear market looms

The federal minister said that that another initiative taken under the scheme included streamlining taxes for SMEs. “Under the policy, turnover tax of 1.25pc has been reduced to 0.25pc for businesses having a turn over of less than Rs100 million and 0.5pc for those having a turn over between Rs100 million to Rs250 million,” he said.

However, if anyone is not interested in turnover tax and wants to claim withholding tax then they would have to opt for the income tax mode, which would be 7.5pc for businesses with a turnover less than Rs1 million and 15pc for those having a turnover from over Rs100 million to Rs250 million. Likewise, womenowned enterprises have been given a 25pc rebate in tax.

In addition of giving people access to finances, the minister said that the government had launched the SME Asaan Scheme under which the federal government and commercial banks would give guarantee interest-free loans of up to Rs10 million to 30,000 new businesses. In case a business which has borrowed money fails, 40pc to 60pc of the loss would be borne by the government and commercial banks.

“The government has already earmarked Rs23.5 billion for this purpose,” Khusro Bakhtiar said, adding that there were several other schemes that would be introduced to promote the SME sector.

Govt to install virtual LNG terminals to provide consumers with gas MONItORING REPORt Energy Minister Hamad Azhar has claimed that gas shortage has nothing to do with liquefied natural gas (LNG) import, saying that gas companies will go bankrupt if the government starts providing imported gas to consumers. While addressing the OGDCL Annual Technical Conference on Tuesday, the federal minister said that there had been a shortage of gas during winter season for the last 10 to 15 years. The energy minister said, “In the past, this issue was not properly addressed due to which we are running out of gas at the rate of 9 per cent per year. Local gas flow has dropped from 2,000 MMCFD to 800 MMCFD.” Azhar added that legislation is being enacted to determine the average price of domestic and imported gas whereas the government would soon install virtual LNG terminals. “These terminals will be able to supply gas to consumers through pipelines.” Moreover, the energy minister added that the government was bringing a tight gas policy. “Some global companies want to invest in tight gas. We have to go for smart grids in remote areas.”

Pakistan’s on-demand delivery startup Krave Mart raises $6m in pre-seed funding LAHORE tAiMoor HAssAn

Karachi-based startup and recent entrant in the heated on-demand delivery space, Krave Mart, has announced $6 million in pre-seed funding to compete for a share in a market which has well-funded startups like Pandamart and Airlift.

The new delivery service is coming in the market with a 10-minute delivery promise to stay ahead of the competitors.

Investors in Krave Mart’s recent round include MSA Capital and ru-Net which as leads, Zayn Capital and Global Founder Capital (GFC) which co-led the round, Saison Capital, +92Ventures, Indian venture capital (VC) firms 2AM VC and Mehta Ventures, Jeddar Capital and Pakistan’s Lakson Investments. Names like Saad Saeed who is the co-founder of Flink, SWVL leadership like Youssef Salem, Omar Salim and Aly Hesham, Homzmart CEO Mahmood Ibrahim, Fubo TV co-founder Sung Choi and Sajid Rehman of My Asia participated as angel investors in Krave’s pre-seed round.

Krave Mart shared internal documents with Profit confirming that the amount raised by the startup was $6 million.

Founded by Kassim Shroff, Hammad Bawany, Haziq Ahmed, and Ahsan Kidwai, Krave commercially launched this month and is currently active in Karachi with four dark stores. The startup plans to set up 20 more dark stores within a period of one month, scaling their presence in multiple geographies locally, followed by setting up operations in South Asian countries Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh as the

startup chases the unicorn status. Quick commerce is on the rise ever since the pandemic started with Europe’s Gorilas and Flink, US-based JOKR, and Turkey’s Q-commerce startup Getir raising big rounds in very short durations and vaulting into the unicorn club.

In Pakistan, quick commerce picked up as soon as the pandemic started with startups like Airlift claiming to bag record funding in 2021, the year which has seen Pakistan’s startups rake in a record $313 million so far.

Delivery Hero-backed Foodpanda also moved into grocery deliveries and so did food delivery startup Cheetay, making it a space with serious competition for Krave in quick commerce.

All these startups promise quick deliveries for grocery products through a network of dark stores; they earn income from the difference in purchase price and sale price, however, the margins are restricted due to high costs of deliveries.

How does Krave plan to compete in such a space? Kasim Shroff, the company’s cofounder and CEO claims that it is the team at Krave, with people from Foodpanda, Cheetay, Careem and Swvl, who know the space and the logistics operations which gives them an edge over others.

It is the team that is going to help them establish the dark stores infrastructure with speed and ensure more delivery orders. The startup claims that they have been growing phenomenally, but refused to disclose the number of delivery orders they were doing.

It further promises to deliver orders in 10 minutes, faster than all of its competitors, and

says that it is committed to ensuring that orders are delivered within the promised time. “Our aim is to give people back some of their valuable time that they would otherwise spend by going to neighbourhood grocery stores. We will do that by ensuring a 10-minute delivery of quality products,” Shroff said.

Haziq Ahmed, co-founder and COO, claimed that Pakistan has the potential for over 500 dark stores with high population density areas. “We aspire to build a sustainable business model starting with groceries and eventually incorporating fashion, beauty, electronics and other categories super customised as per locality and consumer. The 10-minute delivery model is going to be the game-changer for this industry and will set a bar for all the players to come in the Q-Commerce landscape.”

Commenting on the investment, MSA Capital said: “Quick commerce will redefine how users shop for groceries in Pakistan, which today is a hyper-fragmented and inefficient experience. We’ve benchmarked and invested in similar models globally and believe Pakistan is a market ripe for disruption. Given their relevant backgrounds, Kassim, Haziq, Ahsan and Hammad are best suited to execute this model and build Pakistan’s leader.”

Faisal Aftab, co-founder and managing partner of Zayn Frontier Fund said: “The Krave team consists of people from Daraz, FoodPanda and SWVL. We feel that the collective experience of this team will allow them to scale rapidly as they have no learning curve in the quick commerce vertical”.

Thursday, 16 December, 2021 | KARACHI

pM IMRaN KhaN To INauGuRaTe INT’L aIRpoRT, 146KM hIGhway IN sKaRdu PML-N GB LEADERS INAUGURATE GILGIT-SKARDU ROAD DAY BEFORE PM IMRAN'S VISIT; PREMIER EXPECTED TO ANNOUNCE UPDATE ON GRANTING PROVISIONAL PROVINCIAL STATUS TO GB ISLAMABAD

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gHuLAM AbbAs

RIME Minister (PM) Imran Khan on Thursday will visit Skardu to inaugurate the Skardu International Airport, the 164kilometers Juglot-Skardu highway, and a few other projects in the area.

Both the mega projects, initiated during the previous government’s tenure, have been

completed by the incumbent government.

Similar to asserting that the Karachi Green Line Bus was completed due to the PTI government’s work, while inaugurating the project on Wednesday, the party is also maintaining that the projects in Skardu are the fruit of the incumbent government’s efforts. On the other hand, in a bid to remind the public about PML-N’s initiation of the projects, former GB chief minister Hafeezur Rehman along with dozens of

other party leaders held a symbolic inauguration of the road at Alambridge near Gilgit on Wednesday.

They had visited the road site for a symbolic inauguration — a day before Prime Minister Imran Khan is scheduled to inaugurate the strategically important road.

The PML-N had awarded a tender of over Rs32 billion for the improvement, upgradation and widening of Juglot-Skardu Road in 2017.

According to PTI leaders in GB, work on the mag project was commenced on June 29, 2017. They said that although PC-I of the project was approved on December 9, 2010, its revised PC-I was later approved on October 7, 2017 with at revised cost of Rs32.325 billion.

Apart from the road project, the premier will also inaugurate the recently completed Skardu International Airport. Two airlines including an international one have already been given licenses for operating flights from and to this airport.

During his visit to the city, the premier will also address a public gathering at the Municipal Stadium Skardu for which, insiders said, every lawmaker of the party

PSX jumps 1,120 points on balanced policy rate hike PSX, DBAG SIGN DATA LICENSING AGREEMENT kARACHI tLtP

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) turned bullish on Wednesday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining 1,120.15 points or 2.59 per cent, to close at 44,366.86 points. The market opened on a bullish note, gaining over 700 points at the start of the session, and continued this momentum throughout the session.

It may b recalled that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Tuesday raised the policy rate by 100 basis points, deciding to keep monetary policy broadly unchanged in the near term. This gave a positive trigger to the market, as investors were expecting up to 150 basis points increase. Moreover, KIBOR rates are also expected to come down as the SBP taking note of the recent increase in secondary market yields termed it unwarranted.

The KSE-100 Index moved in a range of 1,260.76 points, showing an intraday high of 44,507.47 points and a low of 43,246.71 points, the last day closing point.

A total of 383 companies traded shares in the stock

exchange, out of them shares of 304 closed up, shares of 70 closed down while shares of 9 companies remained unchanged. Out of 96 traded companies in the KSE-100 Index, 81 closed up, 14 closed down and one remained unchanged.

The overall market volumes increased by 185.74 million to 398.09 million shares. Total volumes traded for the KSE-100 Index increased by 85.77 million shares to 178.35 million shares. The number of total trades increased by 44,220 to 137,959, while the value traded increased by Rs4.88 billion to Rs11.65 billion. Overall market capitalisation increased by Rs190.33 billion.

The major sectors taking the index toward north were cement with 263 points, technology & communication with 196 points, oil & gas exploration companies with 110 points, oil & gas marketing companies with 74 points and chemicals with 62 points.

The most points added to the index were by LUCK which contributed 124 points followed by SYS with 91 points, TRG with 81 points, PPL with 60 points and PSO with 50 points.

The major sectors taking the index toward south

were commercial banks with 2 points and modarabas with one point. The most points taken off the index were

by BAHL which stripped the index of 30 points followed by HUBC with 8 points, HBL with 8 points, MUREB with 5 points and MARI with 3 points.

In a separate development, the PSX signed an exclusive data licensing agreement with the leading exchange operator Deutsche Börse AG for enhancing the depth and coverage of its market data product offerings globally. According to a statement issued on Wednesday, DBAG – a German company offering marketplace organising for the trading of shares and other securities – would be the exclusive licensor of the PSX market data to all current and prospective international PSX data consumers for an initial term spanning five years. Starting January 1, 2022, Deutsche Börse will be the sole licensor of the PSX market data for international customers. This data cooperation agreement is a significant step ahead for the PSX, which will allow the Pakistan Stock Exchange to extend its market data reach globally.

With this agreement, the Pakistan bourse will increase its global footprint, with the aim of leveraging Deutsche Börse’s international reach to significantly expand its market data client base and attract foreign investors to participate in the PSX markets.

PSMA demands to stop sale, purchase of sugarcane by unauthorized middlemen LAHORE sHAHAb oMer

Rupee closes in on 178 mark against us dollar NEwS DESk The rupee on Wednesday set another fresh low of 177.98 against the US dollar, closing in on the 178 mark.

According to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the dollar opened at Rs177.88 in the interbank market and closed at Rs177.98, shedding 10 paisas or -0.06 per cent.

Within the open market, the rupee was traded at 180/181 per dollar. Earlier on Tuesday, the rupee had closed at 177.88 against the US dollar in the interbank market. This is the eighth alltime low of Pakistani rupee against the greenback during the current month.

The dollar hit then highest ever levels of Rs177.89 on December 13, Rs177.71 on December 10, Rs177.61 on December 9, Rs177.43 on December 8, Rs176.79 on December 7, Rs176.77 on December 3 and Rs176.42 on December 02. The rupee’s depreciation during the ongoing fiscal year 2021-22 (FY22) has been Rs20.56 and Rs17.83 in the current year 2021.

In order to alleviate the shortage of sugarcane in Punjab and to curb the rise in prices, the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) Punjab Zone has requested the Punjab Cane Commissioner to identify and stop the sale and purchase through unauthorized agents and middlemen, Profit learnt here on Wednesday.

However, a letter was also written by the PSMA to the Cane Commissioner on December 15 in this regard, in which it was explained that despite the repeated identification to high officials by the association, middlemen and unauthorized agents were not refraining from buying and selling sugarcane.

“Pakistan Sugar Mills Association has been pointing out time and again unauthorized purchasing of sugarcane from different areas of Punjab by unauthorized purchase agents and middlemen. We have also been requesting the higher authorities in Punjab Government, including you to take action against illegal purchase by unauthorized agents/middlemen”.

“In this context the letters sent to Chief Secretary, Punjab No. PSMA/2021/CS/PZ, dated November 18, 2021 and December 04, 2021, are attached as ready reference. We have also been taking up this issue in various meetings from time to time with Chief Secretary and Secretary Food from time to time. Every time we were promised, but a little attention has been given to this important aspect,” letter stated.

The letter further stated that the Chairman PSMA (Punjab Zone) had

recently met the Secretary Food Punjab to resolve this issue and all these efforts were being made by PSMA because Sugar Mills wanted to eliminate unauthorized agents and middlemen.

The PSMA also objected in the letter that despite the efforts of the association, the letter written by the cane commissioner blamed the staff of the sugar mills and stated that the middlemen and unauthorized agents were responsible for all these activities because the buying and selling was done with the connivance of the staff of Sugar Mills.

However, the association clarified that the sugar mills of Punjab did not buy sugarcane from unauthorized purchasing agents and middlemen while the sugarcane purchased through these agents was being taken to other provinces.

“It is essential to point out that Punjab sugar mills in do not purchase sugarcane from the unauthorized purchasing agents/ middlemen. Sugarcane purchased by unauthorized purchasing agents/middlemen is being transported to other provinces and being heavily utilized,” letter added.

The association revealed that all this activity has created a shortage of sugarcane for the mills in Punjab and this has led to increase in sugarcane prices.

“This has created a shortage of sugarcane for Punjab mills, thus giving rise to sugarcane prices. This is what we have been pointing out to the Government, higher authorities and to yourself from time to time but unfortunately no effective measures could be taken at your end to stop this illegal practice. The same is now being attributed to Punjab mills without any evidence or any justification.

In view of the foregoing, we would like to once again request you to please identify unauthorized purchasing agents/ middlemen and take effective measures in order to stop this illegal practice and instead of pressurizing the Punjab sugar mills, save the growers and sugar mills both from suffering colossal losses. We have already indicated that higher prices of sugarcane by any reason result in high price of sugar. We hope to have positive and practical steps from your side,” letter concluded.

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and ministers have been tasked to gather party workers, supporters and the general public. In this regard, the GB chief minister, governor and other ministers, who are already in the city, are holding corner meetings to invite people to the stadium to welcome the premier.

According to senior minister Raja Zakariya, the premier may announce tabling a constitutional amendment bill in the national assembly (NA) for granting provisional provincial status to GB during his address to the residents of Baltistan, a long standing demand of GB. However the ruling needs a two-third majority to pass in parliament as a constitutional amendment.

sC to rule on Govt’s proposals for restoring sacked workers today ISLAMABAD Web Desk

The federal government on Wednesday submitted its proposal to the Supreme Court on the reinstatement of employees who were sacked through its Aug 17 verdict that struck down the Sacked Employees (Reinstatement) Ordinance Act, 2010, rendering thousands of workers jobless. Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Khalid Jawed Khan submitted the proposals before the larger bench hearing review petitions against the SC judgment. The court noted that it would examine the proposals and present its opinion on the matter on Thursday (today). A fivejudge larger bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Umar Ata Bandial, was hearing the review petitions filed against its verdict, which had declared as illegal and unconstitutional a PPP-era law called the Sacked Employees (Reinstatement) Ordinance Act, 2010, (SERA) under which a number of people were employed or promoted in 1989-90. The verdict had rendered around 16,000 government employees jobless. The proposals included that employees who had received their pension as soon as they were reinstated would no longer be eligible for it. It further proposed that the amount paid to the employees would not be recovered. The AGP informed the court that the sacked employees belonged to 38 different federal agencies. “Of those fired, 3,789 were not even called civil servants,” he added. Justice Sajjad Ali Shah noted that the bench would consider the suggestions of the government.

“It will be seen the court verdict is not be affected by the proposals,” he added. Justice Bandial noted that the court would consider the proposals and give its opinion on Thursday (today) The AGP replied that employees were worried and the court should at least decide the matter of workers from grades 1 to 7 today. Justice Qazi Amin told him not to hurry and let the court review the proposals. The proposals include employees from BS-1 to BS-7 or equivalent may be allowed to continue their services in the light of the SC judgement in the case of “Muhammad Akram vs Registrar, Islamabad High Court and Dr Naveeda Tufail and others vs Government of Punjab and others”. For the employees from BS-8 to BS-17 or above, the government suggested that these workers would have to undergo “appropriate process/test to be conducted by the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) for the purpose of determining as to whether they are fit to hold the post to which they were appointed. This exercise may be completed within three months. ‘Their past service will be treated as ad hoc and would not count for the purpose of seniority which would be based on the date of regular appointment after recommendation of the FPSC”.

Thursday, 16 December, 2021 | KARACHI

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PAkiStAn to booSt ShiPPinG flEEt to tACklE GlobAl loGiStiCS CriSiS KARACHI

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reuters

AKISTAN is working to boost the capacity of its shipping fleet to draw on its strategic geographical position and help tackle the effects of a global supply chain crisis, the maritime minister told Reuters.

Pakistan has a coastline of over 1,000 kilometres (621 miles) and three major ports, including Karachi. It is two days of sailing time from destinations in Africa and the Middle East and its western shoreline is close to the Strait of Hormuz oil chokepoint.

A surge in demand for retail goods from people stuck at home under pandemic-related lockdowns and

logjams impacting the supply of container ships and boxes to transport cargo have led to bottlenecks around the globe, which are set to continue into 2022.

Minister of Maritime Affairs Ali Haider Zaidi said the country is in negotiations “through a public-private mechanism to create joint ventures to expand into container shipping”.

“The supply chain problems are faced by everyone and Pakistan is also affected. There are issues everywhere and this is one of the ways we are trying to deal with this longer-term,” he said on a visit to London.

The state-controlled Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC) has a fleet of 11 ships including oil tankers and dry bulkers and has issued a tender for another four ships, Zaidi said.

Pakistan would initially charter space on container ships “and test the market before we start a discussion on how many (container ships) we acquire,” he added.

Pakistan was also seeking to develop as a port hub for landlocked central Asian countries, Zaidi said, and that it was vital critical supplies reached neighbouring Afghanistan after the Taliban’s victory in August.

“The world and the financial superpowers cannot and should not abandon Afghanistan. If they do, it will be a catastrophic humanitarian (crisis),” he said. “It is our moral obligation to help them.”

UN agency UNCTAD said in November smaller countries are expected to feel the most impact from the higher costs of importing goods.

Economic recovery from Covid-19, achieving SDGs priority: Akram ISLAMABAD app

SAPM promises to provide jobs to 30 students of LCWU in Rehmatullil Alameen Authority LAHORE shahab omer

The Lahore College for Women University (LCWU) held 16th Convocation of the University whereas two sessions were also held here on Wednesday on the second day of the convocation.

Punjab Finance Minister Makhdoom Hashim Jawan Bakht was chief guest in the first session, while Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Shahbaz Gill was the chief guest in the following session.

During the session, Vice Chancellor LCWU, Prof. Dr. Bushra Mirza informed that 2563 students of the year 2019 and 2943 students of the year 2020 have been awarded degrees in the convocation.

She added that the LCWU has so far awarded 204 PhD degrees, of which 96 degrees were awarded at the current convocation. A total of 3724 degrees of BS, Doctor of Pharmacy and Electrical Engineering were awarded.

Similarly, out of the three affiliated colleges, degrees were awarded to 548 female students of Government Samanabad College for Women in the year 2019

and 521 students in the year 2020.

VC further added that during the convocation degrees were awarded to 654 female students of Government Cooper Road College for Women in the year 2019 and 583 students in the year 2020.

Furthermore, degrees were also awarded to 419 female students of Government Gulberg College for the year 2019 and 391 female students of the year 2020.

A total of 1,080 female students were awarded medals and various honors at the convocation. Two female students were awarded Vice Chancellor Gold Medals, 140 female students were awarded Academic Gold Medals, 123 female students were awarded Silver Medals, 762 female students were awarded Academic Rules of Honor, 27 female students were awarded Special Gold Medals and 26 female students were awarded Role of Honor in extra-curricular activities.

During her speech the VC said, “We believe that these young women will be able to meet the modern challenges facing the country with determination by pursuing higher education. Lahore College for Women University is about to

Special-needs kids need inclusive environment: first lady ISLAMABAD

complete its centenary journey in 2022 and I am proud to be a part of these centenary celebrations”.

“My organization has shown significant improvement in national and international ranking positions in 2020 and 2021. Lahore College for Women University is going to start construction of its Kala Shah Kaku campus soon. The new campus will provide access to higher education to 20,000 female students from Sheikhupura, Muridke, Kamonki, Gujranwala, Narowal and other surrounding areas,” she said.

Punjab finance minister said in his speech that LCWU was playing a vital role in the development of women and graduates here were contributing to the development of the country.

“Graduating students will embark on a journey of success in their professional lives. Our educational institutions have the potential to be on par with the institutions of any developed country,” he said.

In his address, Shahbaz Gil said that he had taught in universities in the United States for two decades and when he compares American and Pakistani students,

he sees more talent and abilities in his homeland.

“In the West, educational institutions and their systems is stable, which makes them more productive. Prime Minister Imran Khan believes in developing institutions and in the name of Smart Business City and RUDA, modern requirements are emerging in Lahore which will create millions of jobs. I promise to give jobs to 30 female students of Lahore College in these institutions. In this regard, the Election Committee will soon start interviewing female students of Lahore College. Our government has created the Rehmat-ulAalaamin Authority and some projects of this authority will be established in GC University and LCWU,” Gill announced.

Meanwhile, during the convocation, Associate Professor and Doctor of Philosophy Dr. Fauzia Imran refused to receive her PhD degree from Gill. However, Dr. Fauzia also tweeted in this regard that she did not receive her degree because she did not think that Gill should have been a special guest at the convocation of a prestigious university like LCWU.

Occupied state land retrieved on ombudsman’s order LAHORE

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First Lady Samina Alvi on Wednesday said children with neuromuscular problems required utmost care of the society, in addition to an inclusive environment providing them opportunities in all walks of life.

Addressing an event at the presidency, Alvi said children are the future of the world and stressed the need to ensure their rights. As a collaboration of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA), the fund-raising event highlighted the activities of Al-Shifa Trust catering to the needs of children facing neuromuscular disorders through rehabilitative care and special schooling. Alvi pointed out the ascending trends in society with regard to the lack of facilities for special children. She said the government was committed to serving the public, including the people with disabilities, through various initiatives. She mentioned that according to the United Nations, 15 percent of the global population was facing some sort of disability, with 80 percent of them living in developing nations.

She urged supporting the initiatives aimed at facilitating the children with physical and mental challenges. Alvi lauded the efforts of Trust for rehabilitating the children suffering from neuromuscular disorders. She expressed satisfaction over the work underway on the up-gradation of the complex of Al-Shifa Trust in Karachi and expressed hope it would turn out to be one of the finest rehabilitation centres built across the country. PIA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Arshad Malik and AlShifa Trust chairman said the rehabilitation centre was contributing to society by supporting families from modest backgrounds with children suffering from mental and physical difficulties. Malik mentioned the instructors at Al-Shifa considered such children as “angels and butterflies” and treated them with utmost care and love. He paid tribute to Alvi for supporting the noble cause of charity. Poland Ambassador Maciej Pisarski, who termed children the “hope of life”, said the encouragement of special children was important for their inclusive participation in the society.

On the orders of Punjab Ombudsman retired Major Azam Suleman Khan, the district administration vacated from illegal occupants the government quarters of Jinnah Colony spread over 147,015 square feet (27 kanals) in Wan Bhachran town of Mianwali.

In another operation, a 4,083.76 square feet (15 marlas) state land, having a market value of Rs430,000, has also been reclaimed in Piplan tehsil of Mianwali.

As a result of the district administration’s action on the directive of the office of provincial ombudsman given on a separate application, a 19,602 square feet (72 marlas) government land has been regained in Toba Tek Singh. Its market value is estimated at a staggering Rs14.4 million.

As a result of the response of the ombudsman’s office on an application submitted by Rana Pervez Iqbal of Toba Tek Singh, two widows of the deceased em-

ployee of the Communication & Works (C&W) Department have been disbursed Rs3,430,143 while one widow is also hired as naib qasid by the department.

Meanwhile, the pick and drop service of differently-abled students of Workers Welfare School in Bahawalpur has been restarted on the own motion notice taken in the public interest by Khan.

Parents and students have thanked him for restoring the vital facility to continue studies.

Ambassador Munir Akram, Pakistan’s permanent representative to the United Nations, said the priority for developing countries was to recover from the negative impact of coronavirus and achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs). While delivering a statement at the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) briefing on the Outcomes of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), he said: “For the developing countries to recover from the effects of the pandemic and achieve the SDGs, we will require a growth rate of at least 8- 9% over the next several decades, and that goal has to be kept in mind as a priority goal for the developing countries.” He said: “the goals of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) comprised three elements economic, social, and environment.” In this regard, Akram appreciated “the adoption of a wide-ranging set of decisions related to mitigation, adaptation, and finance including the ‘Glasgow Climate Pact’” at the Glasgow conference. He insisted, however, that these small steps were not enough to stop climate change and to avert the looming existential threat that was heading our way.

He drew the attention of the participants to the concerns where the Glasgow conference fell short of the developing countries’ expectations. He expressed his concern that “the mitigation decisions were focused on future emissions without addressing the historical and past emissions of the developed countries, which are responsible for the climate crisis”. He suggested in this regard that “the aim for the additional integration commitments — to be submitted in the more ambitious NDCs in 2025 — should be on the developed countries”. At the conference, although “we were also able to keep alive the goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees by calling for more ambitious mitigation commitments for 2025, it is our expectation that those mitigation actions will come mostly from the developed countries, and they will not impede the development path of the developing countries,” he said. “We are glad that adaptation financing will be doubled. We hope that this will form a part of the annual ministerial review.” On financing, Akram mentioned that “more than 100 billion will be needed”. He hoped that these commitments will be translated into projects in actual, in developing countries and actual commitments to developing countries to implement the projects. Akram called it “the only way in which we will be able to make the green transition”. Regarding the principles of Equity, Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC), the ambassador insisted that “should be properly reflected in the operational parts such as mitigation, integration, and adaptation”. He said the “concrete decisions are needed on the level, modalities, and implementation of the developed countries’ climate finance commitments, without which there can be no constructive progress on climate action”. While speaking at the General Assembly (UNGA), the ambassador said the oppressed people of occupied Kashmir and Palestine wanted to see hope from the United Nations on the issue of self-determination. He said peace settlement of disputes was the way forward for the world.

Winter holidays postponed to January: report ISLAMABAD staff report

A meeting of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) Wednesday decided to shift the annual winter holidays in educational institutions to January from December, Geo News reported, citing sources.

The winter break is aimed to fall on the coldest days of the year but since 2017, the colder period has started to come much later — starting late December — as the weather grows more unpredictable across Pakistan as a result of climate change.

The meeting was held primarily because the government had sought to defer the holidays to complete the vaccination drive.

A meeting of the federal body was also held Tuesday wherein federal and provincial education secretaries dis-

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cussed, among other matters, the shifting of winter vacations to January.

The Sindh government Monday announced the winter holidays in educational institutions from December 20 to January 3. But a handout from the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training said “a final decision will be taken at tomorrow’s [Wednesday’s] NCOC meeting”.

Today’s decision was “backed by all provinces”, the report said.

“The decision was taken in line with the recommendations forwarded during the inter-provincial education ministers conference,” it added.

The NCOC also decided to continue the vaccination drive in educational institutions, and added that institutions will remain closed beyond the date in snowfall-hit towns.

Participants of the said meeting also discussed full enforcement of political map in provincial educational setup.

Educational institutions have already been using the latest map which was introduced by the federal government in July last year.

“But, the [meeting] will discuss if the political map is completely enforced in all provincial educational setups,” an official from the ministry told the media earlier this week.

Prime Minister Imran Khan who introduced the map at a ceremony pointed out it reflected the national aspiration and supported a principled stance on the Kashmir dispute.

The new map was made public a day before Pakistan observed the first anniversary of the annexation of India-occupied Kashmir.

Thursday, 16 December, 2021 | KARACHI

PakistaN reMeMbers aPs attack as a NatioNaL tragedy ISLAMABAD

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HE Army Public School (APS) attack was a great national tragedy, the losses of the parents and kins of martyred kids and teachers were irreparable but the nation stood with the affected and Pakistan never lost sight of its national resolve to wipe out foreign sponsored terrorism to prevent and guard against such heinous crime against its citizens.

Army Public School (APS) – Peshawar massacre was carried out in a terrorist attack in which seven heavily armed TTP fighters assaulted an Armyrun Secondary school in Peshawar on December 16, 2014.

During the attack 134 students within the age bracket of 12 – 18 years were brutally martyred. Martyred also included few teachers, the Principal of the school. It was a Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) executed attack but investigation revealed it as planned and

financed by Indian Intelligence Agency, RAW and Afghan Intelligence, NDS. World was experiencing global spread of terrorism and Pakistan had been one of the worst affected countries. Major cities of Pakistan were affected due to terrorism but Peshawar, the capital city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and home to a huge majority of Afghan refugees witnessed some of the very brutal attacks.

Pakistani citizens had faced huge losses in terms of lives and material due to foreign assisted/ funded terrorist’s activities executed through political, secessionist, sectarian, ethnic and religious fundamentalists sponsored by hostile states.

Terrorist attacks staged in Pakistan had killed over 80000 people and inflicted massive damage to the Pakistani economy totaling greater than $67 billion.

Pakistan issued a number of dossiers exposing Indian sponsored terrorism in Pakistan which included very specific information such as bank accounts and Indian nationals involved. It also included information about places of training

PML-N workers attack residence of PPP candidate, accusing him of ‘buying votes’ Residence and camp office of a PPP candidate in the PP-206 constituency in Khanewal was attacked on Wednesday by PML-N workers, on the grounds that the latter was allegedly buying votes from underprivileged women for Rs2,000 PML-N leader Ata Tarar and other workers arrived at the residence of PPP candidate Mir Wasiq in constituency PP-206 Khanewal yesterday, where a large number of women had gathered in and around the vicinity of the house. The PML-N leader reportedly accused the PPP candidate of buying votes by inviting underprivileged women to their houses and giving each of them Rs2,000. PPP candidate Mir Wasiq Serjis Haider told the police that a corner meeting was taking place at his residence when PML-N leaders and workers attacked him. According to Haider, the PML-N leaders were “bewildered” by the massive crowd. According to sources, the PMLN and PPP workers were about to start a brawl when the police intervened and halted both parties’ workers. Later, at the request of the PPP candidate, a case was registered against more than 50 workers of the PML-N, including Ata Tarar for attacking the PPP camp office and breaking into the residence of PPP candidate Mir Wasiq Serjis Haider. Earlier, the war for votes between PML-N and PPP in Lahore’s NA-133 had gone beyond the constituency to social media, where a viral video appeared to show voters being bribed by party members. Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry in this regard, accused PML-N of contesting elections with the lure of money. In reaction to a viral video of voters being allegedly bribed ahead of Lahore’s NA-133 by-election, Minister for Information had asked whether “buying votes for Rs2,000” is how respect is accorded to the vote. His remarks, during a rally in Pind Dadan Khan, Jhelum, were in reference to the PML-N mantra “vote ko izzat do”, meaning “respect the vote”. news desk

camps for TTP, Baloch anarchist and others groups.

It was also revealed that Indian intelligence (RAW) spent $1 million for the merger of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) with four other militant groups for terrorism in Pakistan.

India had also been funneling money to Baloch anarchists through think tanks in Afghanistan and other means.

Indian RAW had also invested heavily to disrupt the progress of CPEC by attacking its projects through different groups.

The mastermind of the APS attack was Mullah Fazal Ullah (killed), other collaborators were Gul Zaman Orakzai, Omar Narai (killed) and Muhammad Khurassani (Afghan custody), they were in touch with RAW and NDS handlers in Afghanistan.

The attack was considered as Pakistan’s 9/11. After this incident Pak Army decided to launch major operations against terrorists and eliminate them.

APS attack was one of its kind highly brutal terrorist activity which targeted in-

nocent children and teachers.

The attack was aimed to damage Pakistan’s armed forces sacrifices and successes in war on terror operations.

Further the attack was planned and executed by Indian RAW and Afghan NDS to break the Pakistani nation’s resolve against terrorism.

Contrary to this Pakistan Army and nation emerged as more strong and resilient in its commitment to eliminate the menace of terrorism from its soil.

Pakistan Army and government extended all possible assistance to the affected families to contribute in sharing their unbearable loss.

Unfortunately the great tragedy was being used by anti-Pakistan forces for self-serving purposes, negative propaganda targeting armed forces and other institutions.

Pakistan Army and government had extended all possible assistance for the affected families and all major culprits part of the terrorist attack had already been brought to justice.

SC gives directive to HEC, ordering to shut down illegal campuses of private universities

The Supreme Court on Wednesday gave directive to the Higher Education Commission (HEC), ordering to close all illegal campuses of private universities, across the country.

It is pertinent to note that Al Khair University and Preston University had set up illegal campuses in Karachi and Lahore and students had approached the court about the HEC not issuing degrees.

The court directed the HEC to award degrees to the students who had passed out from illegal campuses through some special arrangement. It said that uniform implementation of the HEC’s policies should be ensured throughout the country.

The SC noted that the issue before it was whether private universities could set up sub-campuses outside their territorial limits or not, adding that the HEC had already clarified that they could not do so and issued many alerts in this regard.

The bench remarked that no compromise could be made on the provision of higher education to the young generation and the federal and provincial governments should fully cooperate to maintain HEC’s standards.

Ali Zafar, counsel for the students, said the court had ordered the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to pursue action against private universities. At this, Justice Bandial responded: “The HEC has the powers.

There is no need for NAB to investigate the matter.”

The judge said if the HEC was “weak” then the federal government would be ordered to amend the laws.

“The students had approached the Lahore High Court (LHC) for their degrees. The LHC declared the [sub-]campuses of private universities illegal,” the counsel said.

As a response, HEC’s stated that cooperation of the federal and provincial governments was essential in this regard, to end illegal activities and yet they had not cooperated. news desk

NEWS

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corporate corner

Lahore: Dr Shehbaz Gill addresses a Press Conference in Ravi Urban Development Authority.

He is flanked by members of Saudi Arabian delegation, CEO Ruda Mr Imran and others. pr

aioU ranked in top 500 world greenest campuses iSLaMaBaD: Allama Iqbal Open University has been ranked 485th amongst the world's greenest universities by UI’s GreenMetric world university rankings released on December 14, 2021. A total of 912 universities from 84 countries participated in the competition. As compared to previous year’s ranking, AIOU has significantly improved its position worldwide by taking practical measures on greening the main campus as well as its 55 regional campuses across the country. Furthermore, AIOU has also taken tangible measures to reduce carbon emissions through efficient energy use, climate change, alternative forms of transport, and waste recycling.

As per the new rankings of UI’s GreenMetric, AIOU jumped to 16th position amongst the greenest universities of Pakistan. It is pertinent to mention here that AIOU has gained this position by strictly following the policies of Government regarding Sustainable Development Goals. The university is also vigorously pursuing the clean and green Pakistan initiative of PM of Pakistan. pr

HbL collaborates on agritech with bakhabar kissan

karachi: HBL entered into a strategic alliance with BaKhabar Kissan, a leading agriculture technology company engaged in building the capacity of farmers, operative in Pakistan. Through this agreement, BaKhabar Kissan will provide customized actionable information through remote sensing techniques to HBL’s beneficiary farmers based on their crop type, location, and livestock. The agreement was signed by Adnan Pasha Siddiqui, Chief of Staff to the President & CEO – HBL and Fuad Imran Khan, Chief Strategy Officer – BaKhabar Kissan. Through this collaboration, farmers registered with HBL Development Finance will have access to a multitude of services offered by BaKhabar Kissan, including agro-met and livestock advisory, weather forecasts, disaster alerts, crop health monitoring through satellite imagery, and an automatic weather station. Moreover, HBL shall also evaluate and may adopt, the remote sensing technology of BaKhabar Kissan for crop monitoring to ensure better and efficient agronomic advisory to the participating farmers. pr

India sowing seeds of discord between Pakistan, Bangladesh The history is replete with literature on India’s role in dismemberment of Pakistan, and its recent engagements with Bangladesh showed that it was using every opportunity to divide people of Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Indian media has widely reported that India was using golden jubilee celebrations in Bangladesh to create chasm between the two Muslim countries Pakistan and Bangladesh.

For the first time a tri-service contingent of 122 members from Indian Armed Forces will participate at the Victory Day Parade in Dhaka.

Indian President Ram Nath Kovind will also be participating in the grand celebrations of victory day.

The one year long celebrations kicked off in 2020 after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended India and Bangladesh virtual leaders’ summit on December 17, 2020 where he announced that India would be celebrating a “Golden Victory Year” in the run-up to Bangladesh’s 50th Victory Day “during which many

events will be organized across India.”

Narendra Modi visited Dhaka to celebrate the 50th Independence Day as well as the birth centenary of the country’s founding father killed by Mukti Bahini on 15 August 1975 just after three years of independence.

Modi also met the country’s Mukti Bahini Force, the brainchild of RAW, and sent a strong message of Indian involvement in a sustained plan to dismember erstwhile East Pakistan.

Indian involvement in creation of Bangladesh can also confirmed with admission of Modi who while addressing Bangladesh’s 50th Independence anniversary at the National Parade Square recalled the role played by Indian Army in the war.

Non-acceptance of Pakistan as a separate state can be traced back to Indian founding fathers that grudgingly agreed to the partition in 1947, believing that Pakistan would not survive after independence and projected its economic collapse.

No one epitomized the contradictions in the Congress more strikingly than its leader Mahatma Gandhi. He agreed that the partition of India was ‘inevitable’, but declared, ‘So long as I am alive, I will never agree to the partition of India’.

This ideology followed by Jawaharlal Nehru and her daughter Indira Gandhi was suffice to prove India’s full-scale involvement in separation of East Pakistan in 1971.

A few days after the turmoil that began with the declaration of Independence by the Mukti Bahini, Indian PM Indira Gandhi moved a resolution in Parliament against Pakistan.

On 3rd April 1971, she met with Tajuddin Ahmed, Mujib’s nominee for PM of the provisional government, and promised support, including an office in Calcutta that belonged to the RAW intelligence agency.

Indian government issued a memo of support that led to dismemberment of Pakistan.

Indira Gandhi openly made concerted efforts to get international support against Pak-

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istan. She was quite successful in her efforts.

Soviet Union extended all out military and diplomatic assistance to India and on the other hand US despite Pakistan’s closest ally remained complacent.

Indira Gandhi used complete state machinery and resources to manifest her plan and facts stated in the different accounts of the events in the books, inquiry reports and witnesses substantiate that Indian state initiated an all-out covert and overt operations to dismember East Pakistan.

Her open support also found in the statement she made after the East Pakistan debacle with these arrogant words, “We have taken the revenge of a thousand years” and “we have drowned the Two-Nation theory in the Bay of Bengal”.

Likewise, Rahul Gandhi in his election campaign of 2007 proudly remarked, “You know, when Nehru family commits to a task, it also completes it. In the past too, members of the Gandhi family have achieved the goals

they have initiated like the freedom of the country, dividing Pakistan into two.”

It is a known fact that Indians were instrumental in the dismemberment of Pakistan and these remarks are only a glimpse of the confessions made by the Indian leadership.

The role of RAW- the Research and Analysis Wing which was formed in 1968 to initiate a covert operation for Pakistan’s dismemberment cannot be denied.

Two priority tasks given to the RAW included strengthening its capability for the collection of intelligence about Pakistan and China and for covert actions in East Pakistan.

According to B. Raman, former head of the RAW, operations of the wing included provision of intelligence to the policy makers and the armed forces and train anti Pakistan elements in clandestine training camps.

The blunt confession made by B. Raman clearly demonstrates the level of involvement of India in the dismemberment of Pakistan. app

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Thursday, 16 December, 2021

06 COMMENT

PML-N’s pound of flesh

Federal cabinet meeting Incompetence continues to be the hallmark

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OMe of the decisions by the federal cabinet on Tuesday, announced through the Information Minister, again highlight the PTI government’s incompetence.

The govern0ent’s policy is simple. When it fails to resolve a problem, it denies its existence. When it cannot deal with another issue, it advises people to stop talking about it as it thinks it has no solution. When Imran khan’s tweet fails to produce the desired effect, the government puts the issue on the backburner. Instead of getting a serious charge against the PM cleared through court, it simply calls the accuser rude names and proceeds ahead.

The World Bank says Pakistan has been hard hit by rising food prices with double-digit year-on-year food inflation numbers. The State Bank maintains that “on a sequential basis, inflation rose three percent (month-onmonth) to a 21-month high at 11.5 percent in november and is likely to remain within the revised forecast range (911 percent) for the remaining part of fiscal year 2021-22”.

Briefing the media Fawad Ch4dhry claimed that weekly inflation rate had come down by as much as 0.07 percent and apart from the prices of banaspati ghee and tea leaves, rates of all other essential items were lower in Pakistan as compared to the region.

The country was told that the natural gas resource was depleting fast and Pakistan will have no gas in years to come. People getting gas at cheaper rates in big cities should now change their habits. What they should use as alternative was left to them to figure out. As far as the government is concerned it has thrown up its hands in despair.

As PM khan’s tweet promising ‘strong action’ to resolve the problems of the Gwadar protestors turned out to be a damp squib, their sit-in has continued. The cabinet has now nominated two federal ministers to do what the PM failed to.

Retired Justice Wajihuddin Ahmed, a former leading light of the PTI and its Presidential candidate in 2013, claimed in a recent TV show that Imran khan used to get Rs 5 million from his political aides to run his palatial Banigala residence. Instead of taking Ahmad to court if he was making a false allegation the Information Minister called him a buffoon, thinking this was enough to vindicate the PM.

The recent by-election showed that the PML(N) has no future

Dr FariD a Malik

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Ike all ‘ Sarkari Leagues ‘ it seems reckoning time has arrived for the PML(n). Mian Muhammad nawaz Sharif of Gawalmandi, the ‘Political Launch’ of the usurper Zia-ulhaq, is absconding while court cases are ongoing at home. The choices are clear, either return the money or forever keep running for cover, it is flesh or blood time. On the other hand, kid brother Shahbaz Sharif is trying to strike a deal and survive politically to fight in the future.

For its economic sustainability, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan needs all its looted money back in the kitty. Those who have been in authority and power have to provide money trails to hold on to their ill-gotten wealth otherwise face banishment forever. Asif Ali Zardari is willing to part with his loot in order to create space for his children (Bilawal, Asifa) but nawaz is unwilling, he desires to fight back relying on his ‘Arsenal of Corruption’ which includes audio and visual recordings as well. The Sharifs and their gang firmly believe that financial success in the land of the pure can only be achieved through corrupt practices, for them it’s a way of life. In the words of Mian Muhammad Sharif of Jatti Umra, the founder of the ‘Sharif Dynasty’, “everyone has a price, pay and get your job done”.

The PML(n) was launched to contain Bhutto’s PPP at all costs. As there were no charges of financial

Sad state of women in Punjab Statistics paint a bleak picture

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he Punjab Gender Parity Report makes sad reading. It shows an increase in horrendous crimes against women that include kidnapping, harassment, domestic violence, honour killings, acid attacks and rape. The statistical picture presented underlines in most cases a rise in the crimes compared to last year.

Alarmingly, the provincial capital also reported the highest number of sex crimes in 2020 with 614 cases out of a total 4,056 in the entire province. It is ironic that this is happening despite the religiosity displayed by the PTI’s top leadership and the party’s claims that Prime Minister Imran khan is a “symbol of women empowerment.”

The report contradicts Chief Minister Usman Buzdar’s assurance that Mr khan is determined to take women into the mainstream. According to the report the literacy rate of women remained consistent at 57 percent from 2017-18 to 2018-19, while that of men over the period increased one per cent from 72 percent to 73 percent. This shows that no credible move has been made in the direction of increasing literacy among women during the PTI’s tenure. Mr Buzdar’s claim of providing equal opportunities to women in practical life remains questionable with the prevailing differential in literacy rates.

The report indicates a big comedown for Punjab which is the land of Waris Shah who highlighted the plight of women forced to marry against their wishes in immortal poetry that is sung all over the province. It is also the land of mystics and Sufi poets who stressed spiritual values like peace, compassion, devotion and humility. Punjab has also produced world famous writers, poets, scientists and human rights activists .

The Punjab Commission on the Status of Women (PCSW) is a statutory body created by the Punjab Assembly through the Punjab Commission on the Status of Women Act 2014. It is an oversight body to ensure that laws, policies and program0es of the Government of Punjab promote women’s empowerment, efforts are made for expansion of opportunities for the socio-economic development of women, and discrimination against women in all forms is eliminated.

There is a need on the part of political parties in general and the ruling party in particular to pay attention to the plight of women instead of cursing the movements for women’s rights.

Washington Watch

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Founding Editor

Yousaf Nizami Umar Aziz

Joint Editor

Joint Editor

Executive Editor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

Dr JaMes Zogby

hen news of Covid-19’s Omicron variant broke a few weeks back, my daughter sighed and said, “I give up.

Just when I think we’ve turned a corner, we’re back in it all over again. I guess we have to be resigned to the fact that this will never end.” She expressed the dread felt by many that if this variant does, in fact, result in a fifth wave of the virus, it may be the one that finally breaks our spirit.

For the past 21 months, since the first covid-19 lockdown, we’ve been through a number of ups and downs. each time we got our hopes up that the pandemic was receding, we became deflated when it came roaring back. I recall how we believed that the first lockdown in March 2020 would last only a month or so, after which we assumed that life would return to “normal.” Many of us did as we were told by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We quarantined, avoided crowds, wore masks, and socially distanced. The problem was that too many of our fellow citizens didn’t take any of these precautions. Some were just lazy or, pardon me for saying so, dumb, and couldn’t understand the gravity of the menace we were facing. Worse still, many were influenced by then-President Donald Trump, who fearing the impact that pandemic precautions would have on the economy and his presidency, downplayed the danger and scoffed at the impact of the disease despite the advice of his own covid-19 Task Force.

As Trump assaulted those in the medical com-

Arif Nizami (Late)

M. A. Niazi

In order to remain in the arena the PML(N) has to part with its extra pound of flesh which grew while the party was enjoying power and the associated perks.

Overeating can be deadly which should be avoided for long term survival.

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

There will be no return to normal

Dedicated to the legacy of late Hameed Nizami

Editor Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

corruption against Bhutto, he had to be physically eliminated through the legal process, creating space for the anti-Bhutto forces while extending the misrule of the dictator. In connivance, they neutralized all the democratic gains of the ‘Awami era’ together with bringing about the collapse of the civilian institutions.

The partyless elections of 1985 started the ‘ Degenerative Process ‘ of the society that continues unabated. The decline has to be reversed together with institutional rebuilding. The old players have to be booted out for the nation to move forward. A massive clean-up operation is required to remove the dead wood in most government departments to make them functional. even the appointments in the higher judiciary have to be reviewed.

In the recently held byelection in Lahore nA 133, a resurgent PPP emerged while there was a sharp decline in the PML(n) vote bank. There was a huge anti PML(n) vote in its home ground which must have wrung emergency bells. The continued absence of the leader is also hurting the party. Zardari is playing his cards well by asking nawaz to return and lead the anti-government movement. Fearing conviction, the PML(n) leadership continues to rely on adjournments; there have been bails but no exoneration.

Being a party of interests with no ideology, it seriously lacks street power. There can be desertions if the leadership is convicted before the next elections scheduled for 2023. In the decade of the eighties and nineties all political forces were aligned against PPP being the genuine voice of the people. Benazir fought gallantly but eventually fell. Zardari, the smart ‘Political entrepreneur’, encashed the ‘Bhutto Legacy’ by building his own empire, but in the process the party lost its progressive spirit.

Imran khan’s crusade against corruption has been

exemplary despite the sluggish legal system. Those who made hay while in power have finally been made accountable. The accountability process will now continue. The era of ‘Politics for Business’ has to end. In the current scenario, the political forces are now being aligned against ‘corrupt politicians’ which may finally bring the ‘Zia Degenerative Process’ to a close. Business and politics has been a deadly combination which should have been checked much earlier to contain the losses but it was allowed to continue despite the available information gathered by the agencies. Mainly due to blatant kickbacks, Pakistan faces today the worst energy crisis with unaffordable power and gas prices. even the CPeC (China Pakistan economic Corridor) has not been spared.

If Imran khan is able to complete his term, he stands a good chance of forming governments in the provinces and the centre with the PPP as the major opposition. The PML(n) has already reduced itself to being a provincial party, it may be able to sit in the opposition benches in Punjab together with the PPP. To take the establishment headon for a Sarkari party whose entire leadership faces serious cases of corruption is not easy. Despite the best efforts of Shahbaz for a negotiated way forward, the party stands divided. The fissures unless addressed will only widen over time.

Real politics requires genuine players which parties like the PML(n) and the PML(Q) do not possess. The future holds promise for the PTI and the PPP. In order to remain in the arena the PML(n) has to part with its extra pound of flesh which grew while the party was enjoying power and the associated perks.

Overeating can be deadly which should be avoided for long term survival. These bulging bellies carry the wealth of the nation, which has to be recovered.

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munity who advised caution or the government officials who instituted precautionary lockdowns, he spawned a culture of conspiracy theorists who grew his rejection into an expansive and angry belief system. In their minds, the dangers of the pandemic were a fiction, the lockdowns a conspiracy that posed an existential threat to our freedoms, and the vaccines (that Trump had once boasted that he had helped to create) more dangerous than the disease they were supposed to cure.

By the winter of 2020-21, cases surged again and the hoped-for “return to normal” was delayed.

This time, the sharpest rise in Covid-19 cases weren’t in the cities and states run by Democrats— as Trump had once cynically observed— they were in the very Republican states whose leadership had rejected lockdowns and precautionary measures.

Beginning in January 2021, vaccines were being rolled out for most Americans. Once again, many of us listened to the recommendations of CDC and received our first and second shots. And once again, too many of our fellow citizens didn’t. In some cases, it may have been due to lack of access or a historical distrust of the medical community. But all too often, the failure to get the vaccine had become a political statement of resistance. Overall, only 60 percent of eligible Americans have been vaccinated (a percentage lower than Vietnam, Cuba, and Cambodia). And nine of the top 10 states (with vaccination rates over 65 percent) are headed by Democrats, while the bottom 10 states (with vaccine rates under 50 percent) are all headed by Republicans.

After the first wave of vaccines, there was a downturn in reported cases and once again we let down our guard. Some states and cities prematurely ended their requirements on indoor masking and social distancing, and people began acting as if “we were back to normal.” It is in this context, that reports of yet a new and potentially more contagious covid-19 variant is such a cause for despair.

An honest look at where we are leads me to conclude that the hoped-for return to normal is, at best, wishful thinking. After 21 months of covid19, it appears more likely that we will find ourselves in a “new normal” because so much has already changed that life will not easily revert to its pre-pandemic state.

Many government agencies and large corporate entities have continued to permit staff to work remotely— with many choosing not to return to their offices. Many lower-paid service workers, after initially being laid off, have joined the “gig economy.”

They are earning more and enjoying the freedom and flexibility it provides. As their former work-

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places have reopened, employers, finding it difficult to find replacement staff, have been forced to increase wages. In major cities, office spaces are empty and some businesses that serviced them have closed. To accommodate customers concerned with disease, restaurants have expanded outdoor seating and cut off street parking. Public transit has scaled back due to reductions in ridership. As a result, the face of city centres has changed.

But the most serious changes aren’t physical, they are political and psychological. In our new normal, we have become a dangerously divided polity in which we not only disagree on such fundamental issues as race and gender equality, but also have now politicized and become deeply divided over the health of ourselves, our children, and our communities.

School board and city council meetings have erupted in shouting matches over proposed mask and vaccine mandates. And some public officials who have imposed them have received death threats. It’s particularly worrisome that the angry debates on these matters of life and death aren’t even rational. Covid-19 infection rates among the unvaccinated are five times greater than those among the vaccinated, while the hospitalization and death rates are 10 times greater among the unvaccinated.

I fear that this deep and abiding division will carry over into a new normal. It will be a long time before some of us feel comfortable going maskless, and we will eye with suspicion and some fear or resentment those who refuse to mask or keep their distance. The maskless, in turn, will see those in masks not as individuals concerned with the health of themselves and their families, but as haughty liberals making a political statement.

This is where I fear we are. Our cities are changing, our workplaces are as well. We have become so deeply and angrily divided that even deadly disease has become partisan. even if this new Omicron variant or the ones that follow are contained, I think it best that we shed the illusion that we will awaken one morning to find the pandemic over and life returned to the way it was. The normal that was is no longer. The covid-19 pandemic is transforming the lives of this generation the way the Great Depression, the World Wars, and the Cold War shaped the lives of our grandparents and parents. They adapted and survived. And I still have hope that we will too.

The writer is President of the Arab American Institute

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

06-07 Comments - 16th December 2021_Layout 1 12/16/2021 12:07 AM Page 2

Thursday, 16 December, 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

Uncontrollable price hike

Bitter facts about the 1971 East Pakistan debacle Today is the Golden Jubilee of Bangladesh

aMJeD JaaveD

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nDIA is busy celebrating Swarni Vijay Parv (golden-victory festival) to commemorate its “victory” against Pakistan in the 1971 Indo-Pak War. India’s defence minister Rajnath Singh thinks that this victory is even greater than the two world wars fought. It was “the most decisive” as the “Indian Armed Forces in the 1971 War changed the history and geography of South Asia. The Tribune reported “India rightly claims credit for her ‘politico-military midwife’ role in the creation of an independent Bengali-speaking state in 1971.”

Like India’s prime minister narendra Modi, RSS’s the Mohan Bhagwat , too declared “India’s partition on religious grounds a ‘historic mistake’’ (The 1971 Indo-Pak war that led to the creation of Bangladesh tells us that the partition of India on the basis of religion was a historic mistake, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, India Today, December 12, 2021). Rajnath Singh added “India has never invaded any country, nor has it ever captured an inch of the land of any other country.” he lies. India did invade east Pakistan.

In a published letter, RAW officer R.k.Yadav made a startling revelation that India’s prime minister Indira Gandhi, parliament, RAW and armed forces acted in tandem to dismember Pakistan’s eastern wing. The confessions in his letter are corroborated by B. Raman’s book The Kaoboys of R&AW. he reminds `Indian parliament passed resolution on March 31, 1971 to support insurgency. Indira Gandhi had then confided with kao that in case Mujib was prevented from ruling Pakistan, she would liberate east Pakistan from the clutches of the military junta. ‘not only intelligence officers but also officers of armed forces are employed to carry out subversion and sabotage inside Pakistan.’

There are several other myths and bitter truths (exposed by Sarmila Bose and others) about the 1971 War. True, in a war the truth is the first casualty.

The truth about the casualties, strength of the Pak forces, and several other aspects is well exposed

by Sarmila Bose in his book DEAD RECKONING — Memories of the 1971 Bangladesh War. Bose says, ‘Many facts had been exaggerated, fabricated, distorted or concealed. Many people in responsible positions had repeated unsupported assertions without a thought; some people seemed to know that the nationalist mythologies were false and yet had done nothing to inform the public. I had thought I would be chronicling the details of the story of 1971 with which I had been brought up, but I found instead that there was a different story to be told’.

She points out that Mujeebur Rehman’s land-

slide electoral victory did not certify people’s desire to secede from Pakistan. She suggests that the people voted for Mujeeb as they were alienated by neglect of their welfare by the then government. In any case, a huge chunk of the population, over 40 percent, did not vote. They certainly were not enamoured of Mujeeb’s tactics.

Bose examines specific incidents of violence across east Pakistan from about January 1971 until March 1972. She gives eyewitness accounts of the survivors of the incidents as well as the accounts of the kin of those killed, and of the Pakistan Army officers who had served in east Pakistan at that time. She approaches the subject with the élan of a journalist and the seriousness of an academic.

She discredits the Indian and Bangladeshi claim that the Pakistani Army committed genocide of three million Bengalis. She calls it the “ultimate word-number combination” and a “gigantic rumour”. She deflates the figure to between 50,000 and 100,000. It is not unusual to play with numbers of vested interests. For instance, there is a lot of confusion about the numbers of Jews killed in the holocaust.

Bose questions the figures like 300,000 deaths of Bengalis and 200,000 rapes of Bengali women. She says that there were more villains and one cannot single out the Pakistan Army in the whole episode of violence which resulted in the creation of Bangladesh. Indian involvement, Bengali forces and Sheikh Mujibur Rehman were equally responsible. She has questioned the figure of 93,000 prisoners of war in Indian custody, when the total Army was not 93,000 in east Pakistan. She highlights individual acts of kindness of Pakistani soldiers, narrating them with poignancy. She shrugs off generalisations about or “demonisation” of rivals epitomized by “Shaala Panjabi” or “khan sena”.

Forty-five minutes before 12.00 pm on 14 December 1971, IAF pilots bombed the Government house, Dacca. At that time, east Pakistan’s Cabinet had begun an emergency meeting to discuss the political measures to avoid the looming surrender of their army at Dacca. A.M. Malik, head of the then east Pakistan government, survived the bombing along with his Cabinet , but resigned .

India’s Chief of Army Staff issued a secret order to the General Officer Commanding, eastern Command, initiating the campaign that would end with the dismemberment of Pakistan.

The eastern Command was to ensure that the guerrilla forces were to work towards “tying down the Pak [Pakistan] Military forces in protective tasks in east Bengal,” “sap and corrode the morale of the Pak forces in the eastern theatre and simultaneously to impair their logistic capability for undertaking any offensive against Assam and West Bengal,” and, finally, be used along with the regular Indian troops “in the event of Pakistan initiating hostilities against us” (Praveen Swami India’s secret war in Bangladesh, The Frontline, December 26, 2011).

In July 1971, the first Bangladesh irregulars, trained in India, were infiltrated at Madaripur.

This first group of 110 guerrillas destroyed tea gardens, riverboats and railway tracks. These acts tied down troops, undermined east Pakistan’s economy and destroyed “communications between Dhaka, Comilla and Chittagong.”

The Indian forces initially set up six camps with some 3000 volunteers each, for training.

By September 1971, recruitment went up to 20,000 each month. eight Indian soldiers were committed to every 100 trainees at 10 camps. On the eve of the war, at the end of november 1971, over 83,000 Gano Bahini fighters had been

trained, 51,000 of whom were operating in east Pakistan— a guerrilla operation perhaps unrivalled in scale until then. In the Chittagong hill Tracts, Brigadier Uban sent in Indian soldiers or, to be more exact, CIA-trained, Indian-funded Tibetans using hastily-imported Bulgarian assault rifles and US-manufactured carbines to obscure their links to India. Fighting under the direct command of RAW’s legendary spymaster Rameshwar kao, Brig. Uban’s forces engaged in a series of low-grade border skirmishes..

Rejecting an offer for conditional surrender in the east, the Indian forces entered Dacca on December 15.

Swami writes, ‘The role of irregular forces, though, needs a more nuanced assessment. ...

They were also, however, responsible for largescale human rights abuses targeting Pakistani sympathisers and the ethnic Bihari population.

There is no moral equivalence between these crimes and those of the Pakistani armed forces in 1971, but the fact also is that the irregular forces bequeathed to Bangladesh a militarised political culture that would have deadly consequences of its own’.

Sarmila Bose writes, ‘Many Bengalis, supposed to be fighting for freedom and dignity, committed appalling atrocities; many Pakistani Army officers, carrying out a military action against a political rebellion, turned out to be fine men doing their best to fight an unconventional war within the conventions of warfare’.

Mukti bahini’s brutality According to Archer Blood, an American career diplomat, “Indian soil was made available for training camps, hospitals and supply depots for the Mukti Bahini” (freedom fighters) and the Mukti Bahini had a “safe haven to which it could retire for rest, food, medical supplies and weapons”. According to Yasmin Saikia , thousands of Bihari women were raped and tortured by the Mukti Bahini (Women, War and the Making of Bangladesh, page 41).

The pro liberation Bangladeshis deny, minimise or justify the brutalities committed by Bengali nationalists against non-Bengalis and non-nationalists during 1971. however, the post1971 events testify how the Bangladeshi culture had become brutal.

Within months of the creation of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rehman’s Awami League, turned the country into a personal autocracy formalised later as a one party state. In August 1975 Bengali Army officers who had supported the liberation movement assassinated Sheikh Mujibur Rehman and massacred his entire family except for two daughters who were away at the time. Several former freedom fighters and Mujib’s cabinet colleagues were imprisoned and then murdered in jail. So called “international tribunals were set up to execute Awami League opponents, even elderly and doddering old men.

India’ role in stoking insurgency is obvious.

To tarnish Pakistan’s image India has propagated many myths. Some of these myths have been exploded by Sarmila Bose and Praveen Swami. India officially authorised invasion of east Pakistan. Yet it was not declared an aggressor by the United nations. The situation in occupied kashmir is worse than it was in east Pakistan (custodial deaths, fake encounters, rapes, arson, and so on). even children and women are rounded up and held incognito during cordon-and-search operations. Doesn’t his situation warrant Pakistan’s intervention?

The writer is a freelance journalist, has served in the Pakistan government for 39 years and holds degrees in economics, business administration, and law. He can be reached at amjedjaaved@gmail.com

IT is through your esteemed newspaper that I would like to draw attention to the concerned authorities towards the unprecedented hike in prices of essential commodities. When Prime Minister Imran khan had taken over the reins of the country, he was adamant on “zero tolerance for corruption in the country”. During the last few months, prices of every product have shot up drastically.

It is unbearable to afford basic commodities as Prices of each and everything have risen and it has been very difficult for the poor and middle-class to survive and feed their families. It is understood that inflation has stricken the world all over, but it is unbearable in Pakistan for a poor man whose daily wage is below 5$. The price of petrol has risen twice in just a month and electricity bills are tearing us apart. Despite several efforts and assurances, the government has failed to control the prices. The inflation rate has almost tripled as compared to 2018. The main causes of inflation have been the increase in the dollar’s value, high prices of raw materials, high taxes and incompetence of the government for not holding accountable the corrupt leaders.

As a result, the poor become poorer day by day. The government has changed a lot of ministers so far and blamed them for putting our country in such dire straits but that doesn’t absolve them from responsibility. The government must act immediately and check on blackmarketing, hoarding and profiteering. It should strictly deal with those who are found guilty.

It is high time the government must own its responsibility and keep a stern check on rising inflation, unemployment, incidents of crimes, particularly rapes and murder, manufacturing sectors and above all the overall GDP has declined to near 1 per cent. The government must review its performance based on these indicators.

ADNAN ALI MUGHAL ISLAMAbAD

Mental health of men in Pakistan ACCORDInG to the Pakistan Medical Association, 34% of people in Pakistan suffer from mental illnesses. There are only 500 psychiatrists for 220 million people due to which mental illnesses are either not treated in time or not treated at all. Statistics have revealed that 90% of mental illness cases are not treated at all. These illnesses include depression, schizophrenia, multiple personality disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, etc. According to a survey, 36% of people in Pakistan suffer from anxiety and depression.

The main reason for this is not being able to tell family or friends about their condition because of the shame and judgment. In addition, they worry about being isolated from society if they disclose their inner state.

Unstable economic conditions, unemployment and poverty further add to the suppression. Globally, men are stereotyped as tough and resilient, which is why men are often reluctant to reveal or confront mental health issues. The stigma against mental health in our society further adds to the predicament and puts men suffering from mental illnesses at a greater risk.

Instead of seeking help, most men resort to extreme measures such as substance abuse, which further harms them.

A study conducted in Pakistan revealed that suicide is more common among men than women. According to WhO, 13,000 to 14,000 people commit suicide in Pakistan every year, while the number of unsuccessful suicide attempts is in the millions. From 2002 to 2019, the suicide rate among men was 13%. Among women, the rate fell to 4.3% from 4.9%.

Men should be encouraged to share their mental illnesses and offered therapy and rehabilitation. As a society, we need to break down stereotypical barriers and offer help to those who are vulnerable.

BABAR ALI ISLAMABAD

Humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan In Afghanistan, 23 million people are reeling from famine. A slight shock can kick them away from life, and it would be a great humanitarian crisis.

Before the fall of kabul in August, more than half of the population was below the poverty line and was earning something less than $1.9.

According to a report of Word Food Programme, some more than 23 million Afghans are facing acute hunger, and around 8.3m are in a state of emergency. The decade’s long war, drought, and famines have shocked Afghanistan to its core. Before the current surrender of the Ashraf Ghani government, the situation was not as satisfactory, but this Talibanization added fuel to the miseries of poor people.

After the fall of kabul, more than half a million soldiers and police have lost their jobs. People are dying of hunger. There are many pieces of evidence that children and whole families are starving to death because they have nothing to eat. The miserable are selling their properties, and some are selling their daughters to get food (as mentioned in The economist).

Foreign aid, which was the primary driving force of Mr. Ghani, has come to a halt. Foreign reserves of almost 9$ billion have been frozen.

Cutting the long misery, in short, the people of Afghanistan are dying with hunger. The man-made catastrophe in the region is forcing innocent citizens to suffer and suffer until they are no more. But then, the Taliban took over, and Ghani’s flee made the situation worsen.

According to Un-WFP reckons, more than 220 million dollars per month is required to avert the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. But, firstly, it is impossible to collect this considerable money every month.

Secondly, if it is collected, who will ensure its proper allocation because no humanitarian organization can replace an economy of a country.

The economy of Afghanistan gave out. The banking system of Afghanistan is completely crashed. The dollar’s support is plunged, and domestic currency has fallen steeply and drastically.

If the US resumes foreign aid or at least assets are unfrozen, it will ease the pressure on the long war-led people. But how can the US give billions of dollars in the hands of butchers of humanity and the most wanted terrorists such as Sirajudin haqqani?

The world should do something before it’s too late because millions of lives will perish away due to drought, hunger, famine, and other natural and man-led disasters. It would not be rational to stop all the foreign aids to bow the Taliban to their knees. The reason is the world should not let women, children, and most vulnerable people face their destiny in such dreadful ways.

ASHAR AWAN ISLAMAbAD

08 WORLD VIEW 16th December 21_Layout 1 12/15/2021 9:46 PM Page 1

Thursday, 16 December, 2021

08 WORLD VIEW

UNprecedeNTed ArresTs Of MiliTAry ANd pOlice sUrveillANce Officers iN deNMArk SHE ADDED THAT DENMARK’S INTELLIGENCE SERVICES ARE CONNECTED TO AND DEPENDENT UPON FOREIGN POWERS [I.E. U.S. AND NOT EUROPE].

DENMARK COULD BE COMPROMISED IF SECRETS WERE REVEALED CounteRPunCh ron ridenoUr

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OUR former and current secret surveillance officers for Denmark’s Military Intelligence service (Forsvars efterretningstjeneste Fe) and the Police secret service (Politiets efterretningstjeneste PeT) were arrested for leaking “deeply confidential information”. Three appeared before Copenhagen’s City Court on December 10.

The court forbade media coverage. The nine-hour indictment hearing was held behind double-locked doors. Denmarks Radio (DR), the public service radio-television-online medium, learned only that three of the four were heard in court, one was released and two remanded in custody. There is no information about the fourth person arrested.

Fe is the equivalent to the U.s. Central Intelligence Agency. While the Fe jurisdiction also covers military intelligence, they must not

spy on Danish people—only foreigners and those in other countries. The Police Intelligence service (PeT) surveils Danes, as the FBI surveils people within the U.s. The constitution forbids blanket spying on any Danish resident without court approval.

Trine Maria Ilsoee, DR legal reporter, wrote that there is “nearly no precedence” of an internal investigation into PeT and Fe.” If found guilty they could end up in prison for 12 years. As of now, the public does not know what the leaking is about. Ilsoee mentions two possibilities. One of those is Denmark’s biggest spying scandal to date.

Last May, Denmarks Radio (DR) published information provided by at least one Fe whistleblower exposing how Danish governments (right and so-called left) have been violating its own constitution by spying upon all its inhabitants and upon its closest neighbor leaders. Ironically, it may be that the state prosecutor in the current case is contending that those charged have violated Denmark’s constitution by revealing secrets. This case can well be associated with the Us’s espionage Act, and Britain’s Official secrets Act. Fe has been illegally and systematically spying upon its own citizens for United states economic profit and political interests.

This has nothing to do with spying upon their “enemies” (Russia, China, Iran, et. al.).

Operation Dunhammer is the codename for a Fe internal investigation of how the Us’s national security Agency (nsA) was sucking all surveillance out of its spy network with the Danish military secret service, sanctioned by top Danish leaders.

For several months DR worked with journalists from sweden (sVT), norway, Germany (süddeutsche Zeitung, nDR, WDR) and France (Le Monde) on these new developments. Their work forced some of 35 national leaders known to be spied upon by the U.s. to come forth. “We demand to be fully informed about matters concerning swedish citizens, companies, and interests.

And then we have to see how the answer sounds from the political side in Denmark,” swedish Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist told national broadcaster sVT. PM emmanuel Macron said such behavior is “unacceptable among allies”.

Danish Defense Minister Trine Bramsen said the government “cannot and will not enter into speculation about intelligence matters”, yet she emphasized that she views the systematic wiretapping of close allies as “unacceptable”.

The information of long-standing illegalities, which the understaffed and weak Danish Intelligence Oversight Committee (TeT) presented to the public last August, includes: 1. Withholding “key and crucial information to government authorities” and the oversight committee between 2014 and today; 2. Illegal activities even before 2014; 3. Telling “lies” to policymakers; 4. Illegal surveillance on Danish citizens, including a member of the oversight committee. (some of this illegal spying had been shared with unnamed sources [perhaps the U.s.?]); 5. Unauthorized activities have been shelved and; 6. The Fe failed to follow up on indications of espionage within areas of the Ministry of Defense.

When DR first exposed some of this spying, Defense Minister Bramsen suspended five Fe leaders responsible. Under pressure from several political parties, and most likely the U.s., the social Democrat female war minister reinstated them in different “defense” jobs.

Bramsen said that a secret internal investigation into the reports by TeT would begin

in December and last one year. Results are to be shown only to a select few in government and to only five parliamentarians, who must not share information with anyone else.

What is to be and not be investigated will not be revealed either. That was made clear by the government to DR when it first published the whistleblower’s revelations.

Reporter Trine Marie Ilsøee wrote: “We cannot expect that most of the possible illegalities committed will be made public.” she added that Denmark’s intelligence services are connected to and dependent upon foreign powers [i.e. U.s. and not europe]. Denmark could be compromised if secrets were revealed. “After all, intelligence services operate in secrecy.” edward snowden first revealed some of this spying, XKeysCORe, in 2013, which also involves spying within the “international community”. Denmark is one of the Us’s closest eyes, part of “9 eyes”: UK, Canada, Australia, new Zealand—5 eyes— plus the netherlands, norway and France.

There is also “14 eyes”, which includes Germany and sweden, Belgium, Italy, and spain).

What is unraveling seems to show that Denmark is Us’s lead eye into spying on other european allies. The nordic countries share the same original language and cultural roots, including having been the warring slave-trading Vikings. sweden and especially norway were also under Danish colonial control for centuries.

Ron Ridenour can be reached through his website: www.ronridenour.com

Next NATO secretary general?

What is behind the resurgence of the Marcos dynasty?

RCD

A DISASTROUS DICTATORSHIP: Upon launching his bid for the presidency this year, Bongbong touted a “unifying leadership”, which would supposedly make the Philippines great again. Though not openly advocating for a return to dictatorship, the former senator has claimed that “if my father was allowed to pursue his plans, I believe that we would be like singapore now.” This is rather ironic, as the leader who made singapore what it is today, Lee Kuan yew, once described Marcos sr as “a self-indulgent ageing ruler who allowed his wife and cronies to clean out the country through ingenious monopolies and put the government heavily in debt”. Indeed, by every objective indicator, the Marcos dictatorship has been disastrous for the Philippines.

In the early 1960s, before Marcos became president, the Philippines possessed one of the most dynamic economies in the world. This is why in 1965 Manila was chosen as the headquarters for the Asian Development Bank (ADB), a leading international financial institution, over the likes of seoul, Tehran and Tokyo. But everything started to change after Marcos assumed the Philippine presidency shortly after the establishment of the ADB in Manila. By the time Marcos stepped down from power amid nationwide protests 21 years later in 1986, the southeast Asian country was economically bankrupt and institutionally broken.

The dictatorship years were at once marked by extreme brutality and endemic corruption.

Following Marcos’s declaration of Martial Law in 1972, thousands of Filipino activists, journalists and suspected dissidents were tortured. some disappeared forever. Independent media outlets were shuttered, while the Philippines’ Americanstyle two-party system was abolished. notwithstanding a few years of rapid economic growth, the former Filipino strongmen oversaw a kleptocratic regime that crashed into insolvency in the early 1980s. Regime cronies became billionaires while the vast majority of the population was driven into destitution.

By some estimates, the Philippines is expected to pay the inherited debt from the Marcos era until 2025. During his 20 years in power, Marcos miserably failed to replicate the economic miracles and global industries, which emerged in neighbouring south Korea, Taiwan, and singapore.

But in the three decades since the downfall of the Marcos regime, bar a few exceptions, democratically-elected Philippine leaders have also failed to deliver on their promises of freedom and prosperity.

Stefano GrazioSi & JameS Jay Carafano

J

ens stoltenberg’s term as nATO secretary General expires next september. Who will replace him? With back-to-back crises on nATO’s frontier in Belarus and Ukraine, that question looms especially large now.

And the challenges won’t get any easier.

China is becoming a much bigger issue for the alliance. For instance, Beijing is trying to drum up a european boycott to punish nATO-member Lithuania for policies the Chinese Communist Party doesn’t like. so, who wants to step into stoltenberg’s shoes? Lots of folks. And the smart bet is that anyone soft on either Russia or China won’t get the nod.

It’s no secret that the U.K. wants the top nATO job. According to The Times, London would love to see former Foreign secretary William Hague take the post (though sources say Hague is not interested). Another candidate mentioned is former Prime Minister Theresa May. Both have been tough on Russia but not so tough on China.

For example, earlier this year, May wrote, “It would be a mistake to allow this [China] to become a fault line in international relations…. The U.K. will always have a special relationship with the U.s. But that has never stopped us from having diplomatic and trading relationships with others….” That view seems so out of touch with where the alliance needs to go.

Aside from needing better candidates, the U.K. has another problem: Paris will likely oppose British ambitions. still smarting over the AUKUs submarine deal and wanting to prop up its own inflated status in european affairs, French support for a new secretary General may be wielded with the express purpose of frustrating London’s goals.

What about Italy? Rome and Paris have recently strengthened relations, signing the Quirinale Treaty. Italy has only had one nATO secretary General (Manlio Brosio, from 1964 to 1971), while the United Kingdom has had three.

Two names circulating in Italy are Federica Mogherini, the former High Representative of the european Union for Foreign Affairs, and Lorenzo Guerini, the current Italian Minister of Defense. Last July, Politico also mentioned the name of the current secretary of the Italian Democratic Party, enrico Letta.

Mogherini looks like a non-starter. she is too soft on China. For example, speaking in Beijing in 2017, she declared, “The european Union and China share the view of a global order based on multilateralism and on the Un system: our cooperation has never been so important….” Comments like that make it doubtful the current government would raise a finger to press her candidacy. enrico Letta’s prospects aren’t much better. He is a staunch supporter of a political alliance between his party and the pro-Chinese 5 star Movement. In contrast, Guerini is one of the most pro-U.s. members of the current Italian government. In recent months, he has expressed a healthy wariness of both Russia and China. southern europe constantly complains nATO doesn’t give enough attention to the southern Flank. An Italian pick would help address that. estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid has also been floated as one of the potential successors. she is tough on Russia, realistic on China, and pro-U.s. A few months ago, some fretted that having a nATO secretary general from the Baltics would be too in-your-face for Putin at a time when Biden was trying to better relations with Moscow. But after the dust-up on Ukraine and Belarus, there might be more consensus for sending this kind of signal. The names of former Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic and former Lithuania President Dalia Grybauskaite have also been thrown into the mix.

In the coming months, what might really shake up this race is the geo-political ramifications of the current crises on nATO’s borders and an increasingly aggressive and intrusive China. As tensions continue to mount, the likelihood increases that the candidate who gets the white smoke for nATO’s top job will have a record of taking seriously the threats posed by both Moscow and Beijing.

Stefano Graziosi is an essayist and a political analyst who writes for the Italian newspaper La Verità and the weekly magazine Panorama. A Heritage Foundation vice president, James Jay Carafano directs the think tank’s research on matters of national security and foreign relations.

Al JAzeeRA riChard Javad heydarian

“O

nLy in the Philippines could a leader like Ferdinand Marcos, who pillaged his country for over 20 years, still be considered for a national burial,” singapore’s founding father Lee Kwan yew wrote in his 2000 legacy book, From Third World to First. “Insignificant amounts of the loot have been recovered, yet his wife and children were allowed to return and engage in politics.”

Today, more than 20 years after Lee publicly questioned the Philippines’ unfathomably forgiving attitude towards the Marcoses, the infamous political dynasty is within striking distance of reclaiming the Malacanang Palace. The sole son and namesake of the late Filipino dictator, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr, has now emerged as the clear frontrunner to replace the incumbent populist President Rodrigo Duterte.

A recent survey has shown that the former dictator’s son can count on the support of close to half of all Filipino voters in the May 9, 2022 presidential election. His closest rival, Vice President Leonor “Leni” Robredo, has struggled to secure the support of even just a quarter of prospective voters. Having already convinced presidential daughter sara Duterte to become his running mate, Marcos Jr currently enjoys a large lead just months removed from the election day. since the Philippines has a single-round, first-past-the-post electoral system, where there are no runoff elections, Marcos Jr just needs to win more votes than all other candidates to clinch the presidency.

Former First Lady Imelda Marcos, notorious for her extravagance and rhetorical flourish, is now preparing to reclaim her place of pride in the presidential palace. While it is true that Philippine elections are widely unpredictable, the meteoric resurgence of the Marcoses is itself a stinging judgement on the profound failures of the country’s democratic institutions. Decades of judicial impunity, historical whitewashing, corruption-infested politics and exclusionary economic growth has driven a growing number of Filipinos into the Marcoses’ embrace.

THE FACADE OF DEMOCRACY: While restoring basic political freedoms, the Philippines’ 1987 constitution, which was promulgated after the fall of the Marcos dictatorship, largely protected the interest of political dynasties’ as well as major monopolies by deliber-

ately shunning radical reforms.

As a result, the Philippines is still largely controlled by a scandalously narrow elite – more than 70 percent of elected positions in the country are controlled by political dynasties.

In the Philippine Congress, the proportion has reached more than 80 percent in recent years.

Amid rapid economic growth in the early 2010s, the World Bank reported that 40 richest business families, which tend to also control political parties and major media outlets, swallowed three-quarters of newly-created prosperity.

Government agencies, meanwhile, remained woefully underfunded, packed with political appointees and infested with corruption. The most notorious case is the Philippine judiciary, where many overworked judges and clerks have confronted the twin evils of intimidation and bribery. no wonder then, the Marcoses, despite being convicted of various criminal charges, never served any sentence. Back in 2018, the Philippine supreme Court convicted Imelda Marcos of corruption, yet the former first lady is still out and about. Her son, Bongbong, was convicted of a violation of the tax code, and yet he has been allowed to run for and occupy multiple offices throughout the decades. systemic impunity has gone hand in hand with historical whitewashing in the country’s educational institutions as well as the seamless online proliferation of pro-Marcos propaganda.

The pitiful deficiencies of Philippine democracy explain why the majority of Filipinos repeatedly say in surveys that they would support “a strong leader”, who does not have to bother with either elections or legislative scrutiny.

In a 2020 Pew Research Centre survey, almost half (47 percent) of Filipino respondents said “most elected officials do not care” about the interests and thoughts of common voters.

An earlier Pew survey in 2017 showed that just about 15 percent of Filipinos were fully committed to a liberal democratic system, while more than 80 percent expressed openness to a potentially authoritarian leader. Astonishingly, new members of the burgeoning Filipino middle class, who regularly visit neighbouring countries such as singapore, tend to be among the most enthusiastic supporters of authoritarian leadership in the Philippines.

A century ago, spanish novelist George santayana warned that “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”. In the Philippines, this warning has proved prescient. The memories of the pain Marcos inflicted on the country have been replaced by nostalgia for an imaginary “golden age” under the late dictator. And this nostalgia, coupled with many failures of democratic politics, paved the way for the resurgence of the Marcoses.

Richard Javad Heydarian is a specialist in Asian geopolitical and economic affairs.

Thursday, 16 December, 2021 | KARACHI

NEWS

corporate corner Silkbank Limited, with its substantial market share in the credit cards segment, has partnered with STARZPLAY by Cinepax

ZONG 4G SeTS uP DiGiTAL LAb fOR GiRL STuDeNTS ISLAMABAD Pr

A

KARACHI: Silkbank Limited, with its substantial market share in the credit cards segment, has partnered with STARZPLAY by Cinepax, Pakistan’s fastest growing streaming service. Pr

Careem to bring back bonuses and guarantees for Captains KARACHI: With the mission of simplifying and improving the lives of people in the region, Careem, the Super App for the greater Middle East and Pakistan, brings back the Captain bonuses and guarantees in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. The initiative was taken to increase Captains earnings and improve their economics by supporting them with additional incentives to work with the platform. The new bonuses will allow Captains to earn up to 25% in addition to their basic income. Numerically, Captains can now earn up to PKR 150,000/- with the introduction of the new bonuses. These bonuses have been introduced in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, starting with the ‘GO Category’ with plans to expand them across the country and other car types. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Captains earnings took a massive hit as the country saw multiple lockdowns to prevent the virus. With the conditions improving in the country, the demand for the service has also increased, giving the 800,000 registered Captains a chance to earn additional income, improving their lives while strengthening the network, making Careem the largest ride-hailing company in the region.

Careem also recently announced to reduce its commissions from 25% to 15% on the Bike category to help them improve their earnings. Amongst these initiatives, Careem also recognized the efforts Captains have made to ensure the service quality remains at the top and introduced Sitara-E-Careem awards last year to praise their hard work and dedication towards the Customers and Community at large. These awards are given to the best performing Captains who went above and beyond and made lives simpler for Customers. Pr

2000 H2O Water Wheels Distributed in Rural Areas of Sindh and Punjab Bayer Pakistan and Tayaba Organization have distributed 2,000 H2O Water Wheels in communities in rural Sindh and Punjab which face acute water shortages as well as water transportation challenges. Under the banner of this project, 1,000 Water Wheels were distributed in Sindh (Umerkot and Tharparkar) and 1,000 in Punjab (Hasilpur) and will directly benefit 14,000 people. Endorsed by Pakistan’s Water Ministry, the project initiated by Tayaba Organization offers not only a convenient and hygienic transportation method for water in the form of H2O wheels (40-liter drum-shaped containers with specially designed handles to enable rolling on the ground), but also hygienic storage. It thus will help reduce the incidence of waterborne disease, as well as medical conditions in women and children caused by carrying heavy containers of water over long distances on their heads. The project also aims to redefine gender roles by reframing the perception that water fetching is “women’s work”. Water Wheels are gender neutral, and by engaging more men at the community level to make water collection a shared activity.

“This project is well-aligned with Bayer’s global vision “Health for All, Hunger for None.” At Bayer, we believe in sustainable development and making a difference where our efforts are needed the most. Pakistan is facing grave and wide-spread water availability challenges. Affordable, sustainable interventions such as the H2O Water Wheels are an effective, immediate solution that improves the daily lives of people, and I am pleased to be here today to take part in the community roll-out,” said Dr. Imran Ahmad Khan, CEO and MD, Bayer Pakistan on the occasion. He added that by reducing the time and effort expended on tasks such as water-collection, initiatives such as the H2O Water Wheels project can offer rural communities the chance to focus on their economic well being. It is pertinent to mention here that globally, 2.2 billion people currently do not have access to safely managed drinking water, while 1 million neonatal and maternal deaths are associated with waterborne diseases annually. Pr

09

S part of its 'Let's Get Digital' mission, Pakistan's cellular and digital services giant, Zong 4G, has partnered with Molvi Abdul Haq School, Karachi to construct a digital lab there.

The digital lab was inaugurated by the Honorable Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication Syed Amin Ul Haque on Saturday, 11th December 2021 in the presence of the top management of Zong 4G. Leading the digital transformation in the country, Zong has set up a computer lab at the school for digital and curriculum learning. There is presently a computer curriculum and teachers at the school, but no computers through which students can prac-

tice and gain experience. Zong's digital lab will bridge the digital divide, enabling young children and their teachers to access digital education and letting them keep up with the rest of the world in terms of modern education.

Speaking at the occasion, Honorable Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication Syed Amin Ul Haque said, “Pakistan is moving towards its mission of digital and social inclusion. Even more encouraging and promising is how the country’s ICT sector is serving as the primary vehicle in that uphill journey. By establishing this digital lab, we are deepening digital inclusion and I am thankful to Zong 4G for working hand-in-hand with the Government of Pakistan to accelerate the journey towards Digital Pakistan, a goal that is finally starting to take shape.

Commenting on the partnership, Spokesperson of

President hails One Window Ehsaas Center in Islamabad Congratulates Ehsaas team on safeguarding transparency across Ehsaas operations nationwide Dec 15, 2021 – Islamabad: President Dr. Arif Alvi visited the One Window Ehsaas Center in Sitara Market today. Senator Dr. Sania Nishtar, SAPM welcomed the President and briefed him on the One Stop Shop operations of Ehsaas which integrate all benefits and services for 14 different target groups in one space.

Secretary Ismat Tahira, DG Khalid Siddique, DG Naveed Akbar, DG Meer Anwar and other senior officials of Ehsaas were also present on the occasion.

At the Center, President took stock of the wide ranging One Window Ehsaas services and met with beneficiaries. He was also informed that with all Ehsaas benefits and services in one space, One Window Ehsaas Center resourcefully facilitates Ehsaas recipients who previously had to go to many offices to get their problems fixed.

“It is heartening to see that all Ehsaas services can be accessed at this facility in a wellcoordinated manner, and this is the real demonstration of a welfare state”, said President. He highly commended the integration of all Ehsaas services and facilities under one roof and lauded that for the first time in Pakistan, a single window service has been developed to serve those in need. He also congratulated Dr. Sania and Ehsaas team for running a multitude

of Ehsaas programmes with utmost integrity and transparency.

“To assist Ehsaas beneficiaries nationwide, One Window Ehsaas operations are being upscaled in all districts of the country while miniaturized version centers will be set up at Tehsil level”, said Dr. Sania.

The one window center offers wide ranging services including Ehsaas Kafaalat, ATM machines of partnering banks for Ehsaas cash payment, NADRA office for biometric verification, and desks for Ehsaas School Stipends, Ehsaas Nashonuma, Ehsaas Undergraduate Scholarship, Ehsaas Amdan and Ehsaas Interest Free Loan, Ehsaas Digital internet café, Ehsaas Langar, Ehsaas Tahafuz along with a desk to serve differently abled, shuttle service to take people to Panagahs, Ehsaas Utility Store for the Ehsaas Rashan Riayat, fully equipped training room, survey registration desk, retiring room for women, information and complaint desks and several others.

One Window of Ehsaas is articulated in six pillars: firstly, a one stop shop, the Ehsaas Center; secondly, back office digital interface; thirdly, a public facing digital information and services platform; the fourth component is a mobile app; the fifth component is cognitive API architecture— the integrated database; and finally, the Ehsaas One-Window Beneficiary Selection and Targeting Policy.

Frontiers of Information Technology concludes ISLAMABAD Pr

The 18th International Conference on Frontiers of Information Technology 2021 concluded in a graceful ceremony organized by COMSATS University Islamabad at COMSTECH Secretariat, Islamabad.

Dr. Muhammad Sohail Rajput, Federal Secretary, Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, Chief Guest of the ceremony, while addressing the gathering informed that the present Government is promoting innovations in information technology and IT education in the country.

Prof. Dr. Muhammad Tabasum Afzal, Rector,

COMSATS University Islamabad, in his remarks thanked the speakers, researchers and participants of the conference for wonderful contribution for holding a successful conference. He called on young researchers to focus on impactful product-oriented research and appreciated a large participation of females in the scientific program of FIT 2021. He called on the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication to designate a special fund aimed at enabling women to realize the commercial potential of ICTs in Pakistan.

Prof. Dr. Muhammad Abid, Director CUI Wah Campus and Chair of the Conference in his closing remarks thanked the partici-

pants, speakers and sponsors of the conference for bringing a rich program for the benefit of IT students, experts and entrepreneurs in Islamabad. He lauded the support rendered by the Higher Education Commission, Pakistan, National Testing Service, Bank of Punjab, Askari Bank and technical co-sponsors IEEE Islamabad Chapter.

Dr. Shoaib A Khan, Member Prime Minister’s National Task force on Science and Technology, Dr. Zia ul Qayyum, Vice Chancellor, Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad and Syed Junaid Imam, Digital Transformation lead, Ministry of Telecommunications participated as discussants in the panel discussion session on How to make Digital Pakistan a reality.

Dr. Usama Ijaz Bajwa, Program Chair of FIT, presented a conference summary and informed that 18 invited talks from distinguished experts in the cutting-edge fields took place during 17 technical sessions of the conference.

Furthermore, several renowned industry and academia experts chaired the technical sessions and rendered useful feedback for earlystage researchers and experts.

Zong 4G said, "The digital lab at Molvi Abdul Haq School strive to bridge the digital divide that still exists in Pakistani society, particularly among the country's neglected sections. The program is in line with Pakistan's Digital Pakistan agenda, in which Zong plays a key role. This is just one of the many efforts we've made and will continue to make to digitally empower Pakistanis and create opportunities for them."

In Pakistan, Zong has recently boosted its efforts to promote digital education. The company recently teamed up with the Punjab Skills Development Fund (PSDF) to create "How to E-lance," an online course.

Through these efforts, Zong aims to expand the scope of digital learning and aid even more young people, both men and women, in becoming digitally connected and capable of tapping into the immense opportunities that exist in the digital world.

Minister Privatisation Chairs Weekly Review Meeting

Federal Minister for Privatisation, Mohammedmian Soomro chaired a Privatisation progress review meeting in the Ministry. Federal Secretary Privatisation and other senior officials of the Ministry and Privatisation Commission attended the meeting. Federal Minister was briefed about the progress regarding ongoing privatization program including Jinnah Convention Center (JCC), House Building Finance Corporation Limited (HBFCL), First Women Bank, Pakistan Steel Mills, Pak Re-insurance Corporation, NPPMCL and others. The entities that were discussed in the meeting are included in the active privatisation list, and most of them are at advanced stages of privatisation. Federal Minister was also briefed about the matters relating to Pakistan Steel Mills Corporation (PSMC), out of eight, six interested parties/ investors have submitted statement of qualification and after the approval of SoA with SECP the bidding is expected in March-April next year. It was briefed that the minutes of CDA board meeting regarding the status of JCC are awaited to move forward. For the sale of remaining Federal Government Properties, the FASA terms are being discussed with top-ranked IP. The issues related to the divestment of up to 20% shares of Pak Reinsurance (PRCL) are being taken up with the Ministry of Commerce and PRCL and Federal Minister for Privatisation will hold a meeting with Advisor to PM on Commerce, to discuss the matters related to the aforementioned divestment. Federal Minister was briefed about the current status of House Building Finance Corporation (HBFCL), Ministry of Privatisation will issue expression of interest (EOI) for investor after approval of summary regarding HBFCL Board of Directors (BoD) from PM and Cabinet; the summary has already been forwarded to PM office in this regard by Finance Division. Moreover, the board meeting of First Women Bank was held and auditing firm has been appointed to complete the audit of three preceding years to complete the privatization. It was also briefed in the review meeting that the refence price options for Heavy Electrical Complex will be placed before Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCoP), as the bidding/ transaction for HEC is to be completed in the upcoming month. The RFP, regarding initiation of the process for the replacement of GoP excess equity and loan through commercial borrowing has been finalized in consultation with stakeholders, to be initiated by NPPMCL. The Federal Minister was also briefed about the transaction status of other entities including Pakistan Engineering Co. (PECO) State Life Insurance Corporation (SLIC), Sindh Engineering Limited (SEL), Guddu and Nandipur Powerplants. In the end, Federal Minister stated that privatisation is a major part of current government’s economic reforms agenda, and urged all concerned to expedite the resolution of issues which might hinder the timely completion of these transactions. Pr

Decision to suspend gas supply to Captive Power Sector: SNGPL Due to severe cold weather, the gas demand in the domestic sector has increased significantly, therefore, gas supply to Captive Power Sector will be suspended from 9 pm today. The decision has been taken as per the approved load management program. This decision has been taken to continue uninterrupted gas supply to domestic consumers. Domestic consumers are requested to use gas only when required. Consumers are requested to use electric heaters and geysers. Using a compressor deprives other users of their rights. Consumers should avoid using Compressor. Pr

Thursday, 16 December, 2021 | KARACHI

10 FOREIGN NEWS

China, RUSSia vow to ‘mUtUally SUppoRt eaCh otheR amid RiSing US thReatS’

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AGeNcIeS

HeN Chinese President Xi Jinping met Russian President Vladimir Putin virtually on Wednesday via video link in Beijing, they pledged to meet each other in February in Beijing for the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics 2022.

Xi told Putin that he expects to have deeper exchanges with Putin on bilateral ties and international issues, and to reach more consensuses. Xi also highlighted sports as a bridge to enhance mutual understanding and friendship between the peoples of the two countries.

TASS quoted Putin as telling Xi that “I expect that we will finally be able to meet in person…We will hold talks before attending the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympic Games.” The Russian president also thanked Xi for having invited him to the grand event.

“I would like to point out that we always support each other when it comes to interna-

VIRTUAL MEETING FURTHER BOOST CHINA-RUSSIA TIES AMID RISING PRESSURE FROM WEST tional sports cooperation, including our position against attempts to politicize sports and the Olympic Movement,” Putin said, according to Tass. He said that he was confident that the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games would be organized in the best possible way.

Xi said that he very much looks forward to this “get-together for the Winter Olympics” and stands ready to work with President Putin “for a shared future” to jointly open a new chapter in China-Russia relations in the post-COVID era.

Putin stressed that Moscow and Beijing would celebrate 2022 and 2023 as the Russian and Chinese Years of Cooperation in Physical education and Sports, TASS reported.

The warm and friendly conversation between the Chinese and Russian top leaders took place as the US and a few of its followers have used “human rights” as an excuse

to politicize the Olympic Games and launched a nonsense “diplomatic boycott” while their athletes will still come to compete. experts said China and Russia will stand closer to deal with rising pressures and threats from the West, stressing that the US and its followers will find themselves isolated in the international community.

Solid friendShip: Xi attended the opening ceremony of the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014. This showed China’s firm support to Russia while the West had boycotted it. In return, Russia is the first major country to confirm its top leader’s attendance to Beijing 2022, Yang Jin, an associate research fellow at the Institute of Russian, eastern european and Central Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Putin’s early decision to attend will also have an impact on countries that have close ties with Russia, including other members of

the Commonwealth of Independent States, Yang said.

Cui Heng, an expert at the Center for Russian Studies of east China Normal University in Shanghai, told the Global Times on Wednesday that Russia also has great expectations for Putin’s visit to China next year as Moscow wants to upgrade cooperation with China to further boost its trade with China for a better external environment for its economic development in the post-pandemic period.

As the Ukraine issue becomes more intense, and the G7 members have sent a tough signal to Russia, Putin also stressed Russia’s red line to oppose NATO expansion in his previous talks with US President Joe Biden.

So the friendly ties with China will be increasingly important for Russia, Cui noted.

“China will develop its ties with Russia pragmatically, especially as China and Russia both have difficult ties with the US and

Europe sees spike in omicron cases, weighs new restrictions ISTANBUL Agencies

With more cases of the omicron coronavirus variant are being reported across europe, countries are bracing for a new wave and weighing additional measures.

“There is a tidal wave of omicron coming,” UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Sunday warned, urging citizens to receive COVID-19 booster shots.

Only a day after this warning, Johnson confirmed the first death in the UK due to the omicron variant.

“Sadly, yes, omicron is producing hospitalizations, and sadly at least one patient has been confirmed to have died with omicron,” Johnson said Monday, speaking at a vaccine center in Paddington, west London. Meanwhile, in Northern Ireland, Health Minister Robin Swann said they expect “significantly increased” levels of infection, encouraging booster vaccines.

The UK Monday reported 54,661 more coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours, with 38 deaths, and Health Secretary Sajid Javid said omicron now makes up 20% of cases in the country.

Since it was first reported to the WHO from southern Africa on Nov. 24, the new omicron variant has been spreading around the world, causing a rise in the number of coronavirus cases on the european

continent, with some of the countries imposing restrictions to curb the spread of the virus.

Omicron is the fifth SARS-CoV-2 variant designated as a “variant of concern” by WHO, following the alpha, beta, gamma, and delta variants.

According to the european Center for Disease Prevention and Control (eCDC), 6,430 omicron cases were reported by 70 countries globally, with 1,686 of them in the eU. norway: According to the eCDC, Norway tops the list across the eU in the number of omicron cases, with 958 confirmed infections as of Dec. 13, causing tightening of restrictions.

The country announced new curbs as Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store warned Monday during a news conference that omicron and delta variants together would create “a total saturation of the health system.”

Norway encourages the speeding of the vaccination campaign, reducing the gap between the second and third doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to four-anda-half months for people aged over 45 and health workers, offering booster shots by mid-January.

The serving of alcohol in bars and restaurants will also be banned in addition to stricter rules for swimming pools and gyms.

some other Western countries,” Cui noted.

Xi stressed during the virtual meeting that changes in the world and the COVID19 pandemic, both unseen in a century, have taken the world into a phase of fluidity and transformation. China-Russia relations have emerged from all kinds of tests to demonstrate new vitality.

Xi pointed out the enormous political advantage and great opportunities in the allround practical cooperation between China and Russia. Trade in the first three quarters of 2021 exceeded $100 billion for the first time, and the year-round volume is expected to hit a new record.

Having described Russia-China relations as an example of genuine inter-state cooperation in the 21st century, Putin said Russia is willing to keep strengthening cooperation with China in the fields of trade, oil and gas, finance, aviation and the aerospace industry to further connect the eurasian economic Union with the Chinaproposed Belt and Road Initiative, and to strengthen cooperation to fight the ravaging pandemic.

US surpasses 800,000 coronavirus deaths as fifth wave takes hold WASHINGTON AFP

The United States, the country hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic, crossed 800,000 Covid-19 deaths on Tuesday, a tracker maintained by Johns Hopkins University showed. The figure is greater than the entire population of several states, including North Dakota and Alaska. Around 450,000 of the deaths occurred in 2021, despite highly effective vaccines that were first authorized in December 2020 and widely available by springtime. The vast majority of the deaths have been among the unvaccinated. “As we mark the tragic milestone of 800,000 American deaths due to Covid-19, we remember each person and the lives they lived, and we pray for the loved ones left behind,” President Joe Biden said in a statement. “To heal, we must remember.

We must also act,” he said. “As we head into the winter and confront a new variant, we must resolve to keep fighting this virus together.” According to official data, the risk of dying from Covid-19 was 14 times higher among people who had not been fully vaccinated, compared to those who had, in September, the latest month analyzed. Vaccinations picked up during the fourth wave of the disease, driven by the Delta variant, and more than 60 percent of the country’s 332 million people are now fully vaccinated – though the United States still lags behind other wealthy nations.

PID (I) 4018/21

Thursday, 16 December, 2021 | KARACHI

SPORTS 11

INdIA’S KohLI SAyS gIveN 90 mINuteS NotICe oF SACKINg New DeLHI

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AFP

IRAT Kohli said Wednesday that he was told only 90 minutes before the official announcement that he had been sacked as India’s one-day captain. Kohli quit as T20 skipper after the recent World Cup and last week was removed as ODI captain, with India’s cricket board saying it wanted Rohit Sharma to lead in both white-ball formats.

The surprise announcement came in one line at the bottom of a press release by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) about the Test squad for the upcoming tour of South Africa.

“I was contacted one and a half hours before the selection meeting on the 8th for the Test series and there was no prior communication to me at all,” Kohli told reporters Wednesday ahead of the team’s departure for South Africa, where they will play three Tests and three ODIs.

“Before ending the call I was told that the five selectors had decided that I would not be the ODI captain, to which I replied, ‘ok fine’,” the 33-year-old said. Kohli will still captain India in the Tests in South Africa but press reports suggested that he had decided to skip the subsequent ODI series in a huff.

But Kohli denied this, telling reporters Wednesday that he “was and am available for selection” and hitting out at sections of the media for “writing lies”.

“I was always keen to play,” he said.

Japan’s ‘Monster’ Inoue retains titles TOkYO AFP

Japan’s unbeaten “Monster” Naoya Inoue defended his WBA and IBF bantamweight titles on Tuesday with an eighth-round technical knockout win over unheralded Thai challenger Aran Dipaen in Tokyo.

Fighting at Ryogoku Kokugikan — the home of sumo — Inoue wore Dipaen

down with a series of punishing shots before dispatching him with a vicious left hand. The bout, Inoue’s first in Japan for around two years, was widely seen as a stepping-stone towards an attempt at unifying all four bantamweight belts next year.

But the 28-year-old was made to work hard for his win over Dipaen, who absorbed a series of heavy body blows with little visible impact.

“He used to be a Muay Thai fighter and he brought that toughness,” Inoue said of Dipaen, who went into the fight with a 12-2 record.

“I started to wonder whether my punches were having an effect — that’s how tough he was.”

Inoue took his unbeaten record to 220, with 19 wins by knockout.

After hammering away on Dipaen’s body, Inoue finally put the challenger

away with a big left that sent him down to the canvas.

“The fight didn’t go as everyone was expecting, but it was good to fight in Japan again after two years,” Inoue said.

Inoue has set his sights on unifying the bantamweight belts next year, with WBA champion Nonito Donaire and WBO title-holder John Riel Casimero standing in his way.

But he warned that he could turn his attention elsewhere if no agreement could be reached with either fighter next year.

“I’ve been placing a lot of importance on unifying the four belts, but if the individual fights don’t happen, I’ll start thinking about the super-bantamweight title,” Inoue said.

Inoue beat Donaire in the final of the World Boxing Super Series in 2019, claiming a unanimous points win over the veteran Filipino after an epic contest.

But Donaire went on to win the WBC belt earlier this year, and defended it in style at the age of 39 against countryman Reymart Gaballo on Saturday.

Casimero, meanwhile, pulled out of his WBO title fight against Britain’s Paul Butler in Dubai on Saturday after missing the weigh-in.

Reports said the Filipino was admitted to hospital with viral gastritis, and the WBO has ordered him to present his medical documents before December 20 or face being stripped of his title.a

Gnabry hat-trick sees Bayern go nine points clear BeRLIN AFP

Bayern Munich opened a nine-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga on Tuesday as Serge Gnabry claimed a hat-trick and Robert Lewandowski scored twice in a 50 rout at strugglers Stuttgart.

Gnabry scored either side of halftime before the floodgates opened with three goals in a devastating five-minute spell including two by Lewandowski in quick succession.

Bayern head coach Julian Nagelsmann promised to supply beers for the ride home – “we always have a crate on the bus” – then poured praise on Gnabry – “an outstanding player” – who had a role in all five goals, including two assists for Lewandowski.

The Poland striker took his tally to 18 goals in 16 league games this season as Bayern earned a 10th straight Bundesliga win at Stuttgart dating back to 2009.

“Bayern can dismantle teams. Not only in Germany, but also internationally,” said Stuttgart sports director Sven Mislintat. “We were taught a lesson after they went 3-0 up – they’ve incredible quality.” The Bavarian giants remain on course to win a 10th consecutive Bundesliga title, but second-placed Borussia Dortmund can trim the lead when they host bottom side Greuther Fuerth.

Injuries and illness meant Bayern again fielded Jamal Musiala, 18, out of position in the defensive midfield alongside Marc Roca. They then lost winger Kingsley Coman to a leg knock in the opening half hour.

Coman’s replacement Leroy Sane set

up Gnabry’s opening goal by charging through a gaping hole, which grew wider when Stuttgart centre-back Waldemar Anton lost his footing.

Sane squared to Stuttgart-born Gnabry who curled his shot around home goalkeeper Florian Mueller to make it 10 at the break.

Stuttgart raised the tempo at the start of the second half as strikers Philipp Foerster and Omar Marmoush both had chances, but it was virtually one-way traffic from Bayern thereafter.

The visitors doubled their lead when

Marmoush yielded possession and the ball was moved to Gnabry who again curled his shot around the diving Mueller.

Stuttgart’s defence capitulated as Bayern scored three goals in five devastating minutes.

It started when Gnabry’s long-range pass picked out Lewandowski who chipped Mueller.

Moments later, Gnabry dribbled into the box and set up Lewandowski who tapped home with a well-timed slide.

Gnabry claimed the second Bundesliga hat-trick of his career when he

slotted home after Thomas Mueller’s shot had been parried by Stuttgart’s luckless goalkeeper.

Later, South Korean forward Lee Jaesung scored the opening goal as Mainz climbed to sixth and into the European places with a 4-0 romp at home to Hertha Berlin, who remain just two points from the bottom three.

Wolfsburg twice threw away the lead in crashing to a sixth straight defeat in all competitions as French veteran striker Anthony Modeste headed in a late winner to seal Cologne’s 3-2 away victory.

Namibia captain desires to play in PSL News Desk Namibia cricket team captain Gerhard Simpson has shown his interest to play in the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) for free. His views came after Peshawar Zalmi’s Kamran Akmal decided to leave the tournament. “Pick me. I’ll be there for free,” Simpson wrote in reply to a tweet shared by ESPNcricinfo. Earlier, Kamran had said: “Perhaps the team has no use for me anymore.” He had said that the PSL would do better to give a chance to younger players “rather than pick me in the Silver category”. “I do not think I should play in the seventh edition of the PSL.”

Former Australia batsman Slater charged with breaching restraining order: ABC sYDNeY ReuteRs

Former Australia batsman Michael Slater was charged with breaching a restraining order on Wednesday, two months after being taken into police custody over allegations of domestic violence, Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported. A statement released by the New South Wales police said that a man had been arrested at about 7:45 am local time after allegedly breaching a restraining order. The 51-year-old was taken to Manly police station and was denied police bail after being charged. The ABC‘s website reported that Slater then appeared at Manly Local Court via video link as details of the alleged breach were revealed. Slater was granted bail by the magistrate on strict conditions, including house arrest, the report said. Slater was taken into custody and charged with a similar offence in October, and admitted himself into care for “health and mental issues” after the incident. He caused controversy in May after a furious tirade against Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on social media. Slater said Morrison had “blood on (his) hands” after the government temporarily banned Australians from returning home from India as the Asian nation battled a Covid-19 outbreak. The former opening batter played 74 tests from 19932001 and 42 one-day internationals before becoming a cricket commentator but was axed from the Seven Network‘s team earlier this year after three years with the Australian broadcaster.

Thursday, 16 December, 2021

prayer timings

NEWS

FAJR SUNRISE

ZUHR

ASR MAGHRIB ISHA

5:45

12:25

3:24

7:05

5:44

7:05

US-ChiNa teNSioN: PakiStaN doeS Not waNt to joiN aNy CamP, SayS QUreShi

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MID rising tensions between the United States and China, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has made it clear that Pakistan does not want to join any camp, according to a news outlet.

Talking to Voice of America (VoA) Urdu, he said it is not in the best interests of Pakistan to become part of any confrontation.

He urged the US not to push the world towards another cold war through its actions against China.

His views came days after Islamabad skipped a UShosted summit on democracy, where China and Russia were not invited. The foreign minister said that it will not be easy for Pakistan to maintain a balanced relation-

Fresh batch of 15m Sinovac doses arrives from China BEIJING news desk

The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has transported fresh consignments of 15 million doses of Sinovac Covid-19 vaccines by five special flights from the Capital International Airport Beijing to Islamabad. The national flag carrier launched special flights PAK-6852, PAK-6853, PK-6856, PK-6857 and PK-6858 respectively and airlifted fresh consignments of Sinovac vaccine from December 10 to December 15, PIA Country Manager Qadir Bux Sangi said on Wednesday. He added that a PIA special flight PK-6858 carrying 3 million doses of Sinovac Covid-19 vaccines left the Chinese capital for Islamabad. Last week, Pakistan Ambassador to China Moinul Haque had thanked China for standing by Pakistan during testing times, including the fight against Covid-19. “The vaccine campaign which is going [on] in Pakistan, the 90 per cent of it is being done through vaccines provided by China,” he said. In a recent statement, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson remarked that the ChinaPakistan joint fight against the Covid-19 pandemic had achieved positive progress and set a good example for the world. “Since the outbreak of Covid-19, our two countries have stood together in mutual assistance,” he said in response to a question asked by APP. He said that the Chinese side always attached high importance to Pakistan’s needs on vaccines and “we have engaged in close cooperation”.

The spokesperson said that China had provided strong support to Pakistan. Just a few days ago, he said, 200,000 doses of vaccines from China Red Cross Society were transported to Islamabad. Chinese were already engaging in joint production of vaccines in Pakistan and it would stand together with Pakistan to help it defeat the virus, he added. In an earlier statement, the spokesperson remarked that since the outbreak, China and Pakistan had been supporting each other. “When China was in the middle of the anti-epidemic war, Pakistan was among the first to help China,” he added.

In the same way, he said, the Chinese side had been helping and assisting Pakistan with testing agents, masks protective suits and vaccines. “These were concrete steps illustrating iron brother relationship between the two countries.” As per the latest figures, Pakistan had vaccinated 25 per cent of its total population and 37 per cent of its eligible population against the novel coronavirus.

ship with US and China due to the Washington’s policy of going after Beijing.

“The United States is [also] ignoring India’s missteps to keep China in check,” he added.

“The world needs to save itself from the cold war mentality,” he said.

Talking about US-Pakistan relations, he said that Pakistan wants good relations with the US, adding that the Pakistani government has shifted its policy from geo-politics to geo-economics and the US can help Pakistan in this respect through trade, investment, and technology transfer.

He said that Washington wants to deepen relations with Islamabad, which shows that there is a positive

change in the thinking of the US. He said that Washington has recognised the role of Islamabad for stability in Afghanistan and during the negotiations with the Taliban, and evacuation of people from Kabul.

Talking about the upcoming Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) moot in Pakistan, he said the moot is also focused on humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

He said the OIC conference will be an opportunity for the Afghan interim government to remove apprehensions of the world.

He said an inclusive government, protection of women’s rights and not giving space to terrorists is in the interest of Afghanistan. news desk

Shehbaz Sharif says Gwadar protests are ‘watershed event’ in struggle for basic rights Leader of the Opposition Shehbaz Sharif stated on Wednesday that the ongoing Gwadar protests are a “watershed event” in the struggle for basic rights which have been guaranteed by the Constitution of Pakistan.

Shehbaz took to his Twitter and stated that the protests represented “a new chapter in our country”.

He went on to urge the incumbent government to listen to “the people’s voice” and “address their problems immediately”. He further added that “owned and led by the people it is a watershed event in the

struggle for the basic rights guaranteed by the Constitution of Pakistan.”

Earlier on Sunday, Prime Minister Imran Khan announced on Sunday that the government would take “strong action” against illegal fishing by trawlers off the Gwadar coast.

The PM took to his Twitter and stated that he had taken notice of the “very legitimate demands” of the hardworking fisherfolk of Gwadar, a linchpin of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.

Maulana Hidayatur Rehman, who is leading the protests said that

it is really a welcome development that the Prime Minister has taken notice of the protest and decided to accept the demands of the people including the illegal fishing in Balochistan’s territorial waters after their 28-day sit-in.

It is pertinent to note that thousands of protestors are staging a sitin against unnecessary check posts and fishing trawlers in the Gwadar district of Balochistan and are demanding civic amenities and employment opportunities for the local people. news desk

Afghanistan’s economic collapse will affect whole region: FM Qureshi ISLAMABAD staff Correspondent

Foreign Minister (FM) Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Wednesday called for taking immediate decisions to avert the increasing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

In a statement, Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Pakistan is hosting the extraordinary session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers on Sunday to apprise the world of the Afghan situation.

The FM said apart from the OIC members, permanent members of the UN Security Council and representatives of the UN Agencies and important European countries have also been invited to this moot.

He warned if seriousness was not demonstrated, the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan could assume serious proportions. He said the economic collapse of Afghanistan is quite visible and the dire situation there will impact not only Pakistan but the whole region.

The foreign minister said the inter-

national agencies are also warning if immediate attention was not paid, 97 percent of Afghan people will be below the poverty line by mid of next year.

Earlier, Foreign Minister (FM) Shah Mahmood Qureshi had urged the international community to extend continuous support to the

Afghan people.

He had pointed out that the extraordinary session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers being hosted

by Pakistan will provide an opportunity to dilate upon concrete steps to meet the humanitarian needs of the Afghan people.

New twist as forensic of ‘leaked audio’ of Nisar finds clip doctored ISLAMABAD app

The controversy surrounding the purported audio of former chief justice Saqib Nisar took a new turn after a channel conducted a forensic analysis of the clip through a foreign company.

The findings of the US-based Primeau Forensics suggested the clip was doctored and made up of numerous clips.

The audio had surfaced last month wherein Nisar purportedly told another person that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz should be kept behind bars to make way for then-Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan in politics.

Nisar, however, refused to accept that it was his voice and termed it fabricated. “The audio clip is being falsely associated with me,” he had stated.

The forensic report issued by the company said changes in the tone of the person speaking in the audio in question were observed at multiple stages.

According to the report, the person can be heard speaking from a distance in the first 25 seconds of the clip, while in the last 20 seconds, he is speaking from near the recording device, which shows that some of the 45-second clip was recorded in one place and the other at a different place.

The report further stated the company holds 30 years of experience in forensic analyses of audio clips and videos and has conducted forensic investigations of 5,000 videos, audio clips, and pictures.

It has provided expert opinion to local, governmental, and federal courts in more than 500 cases and counted US television channels, Associated Press, and other news agencies among its clients.

When asked about senior journalist Ahmed Noorani’s news report, which claimed the audio clip is not fabricated, the forensics company said the clip comprises bits taken from more than a single source, recorded in two different environments.

Speaking about the development to a television channel, Nisar said: “Thanks to the Almighty, the truth has been revealed today.”

Meanwhile, Noorani, in a tweet, said: “Propaganda in Pakistan continues. My story on Saqib Nisar audio was based on a forensic analysis conducted by a credible US firm. The forensic firm was threatened by thousands of people from Pakistan to change the report but they always confirmed that they worked with Fact Focus.”

He further said that he is ready to issue the Pakistani news channels a legal notice for “spreading lies” if they run a news story against him or his story in the United Kingdom or the US. On the other hand, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Accountability and Interior Mirza Shahzad Akbar told a news agency that a reputed forensic audit company has confirmed that the audio leak of former CJP Justice Saqib Nisar was made up of multiple audio clips, which is a continuity of forgery by the PML-N and its attack on different institutions.

New US ambassador advocates ‘strong trade ties’ WASHINGTON staff report

Ambassador-designate to Pakistan Donald Blome said Washington sought to build strong economic and trade ties with Islamabad which would be in the United States’ interest Briefing the US Senate Committee during the confirmation hearing late Tuesday, Blome said under its geoeconomic policy, the US wanted to enhance economic and commercial relations with Pakistan.

The envoy expressed his conviction to work for Pakistan’s digital economy and intellectual property protection, besides promoting transparent and vast investment in the country.

The diplomat said the US wanted to build a “better, mutual and bilateral” relationship between Pakistan and India, adding: “The region cannot afford another conflict,” he added.

“Being an ambassador in Pakistan, safe evacuation of American citizens from

Afghanistan will be my priority,” he said.

The US diplomatic mission in Pakistan would strive for a stable and all-inclusive government in Afghanistan. “I will make sure that Afghanistan does not turn into a safe haven for extremists,” he said.

About the US assistance to Pakistan to overcome the Covid-19 crisis, Blome said the US has donated 100,000 masks and 25,000 personal protection equipment (PPE) kits to Pakistan, in addition to 27 million vaccination doses and 200 ventilators.

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