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Sunday, 1 May, 2022 I 29 Ramzan, 1443 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XII No 303 I 12 Pages I Karachi Edition

Hamza sworn in as Punjab cHief minister PM Shehbaz arrives in Abu Dhabi after wrapping up 3-day Saudi visit ISLAMABAD staff report

LAHORE

staff report

unjab Chief Minister-elect Hamza Shehbaz on Saturday took the oath of his office at a ceremony at the Governor House. national assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz ashraf administered the oath to Hamza, just hours after Governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema rejected usman buzdar’s resignation, deeming it “not constitutionally valid”. While the oath-taking ceremony was underway, Governor Cheema urged the chief justice to take notice of the “ghunda gardi” at the Governor House. He also said the “drama of a fake chief minister’s oath” is being performed in an “unconstitutional” manner. Later, the Punjab chief secretary notified that Hamza has assumed the charge of the chief minister’s office. The notification stated: “Consequent upon the judgement of the Lahore High Court under writ petition no. 27186 of 2022, Mr Muhammad Hamza Shahbaz Sharif has taken the oath of the office of the chief ministry of Punjab before speaker, national assembly on 30th day

of april, 2022.” In a separate notification, the chief secretary notified that buzdar has ceased to hold the CM office. “Consequent upon assumption of office of chief minister of Punjab by Mr Muhammad Hamza Shahbaz Sharif on 30th april, 2022, Mr usman ahmed Khan buzdar, chief minister of Punjab under provision of article 133 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973, has ceased to hold office with immediate effect,” the notification read. However, Cheema termed the notification for Hamza’s assumption of the CM office “fake”. “as the governor, I am not allowing the notification for the appointment of any unconstitutional and fake chief minister. The way they forcibly and deceitfully put up a drama of the oath-taking, they have now attempted to prepare a fake notification for it,” he tweeted. Following the ceremony, Hamza told reporters that “today a month-long political crisis in Punjab has come to an end. I will seek guidance from the prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, and will take coalition partners into confidence.” He also rapped the previous government, vowing to move forward for

the welfare of the people as opposed to “examples of destruction, corruption and bad governance set by the PTI government. In response to a question, Hamza said he “cannot compete with Shehbaz speed, but will take assistance from him and will try to match him”. OATH FIASCO: The Pakistan Muslim League-nawaz (PML-n) vice president was elected as Punjab’s new chief minister on april 16, after a chaotic session of the Punjab assembly where legislators of the PTI and PML-Q scuffled with one another. Hamza polled 197 votes — including from 24 PTI dissidents, two independents and the lone Rah-i-Haq Party lawmaker — while his opponent, Pervaiz Elahi, failed to secure a single vote from the assembly. PTI and PML-Q lawmakers had boycotted the voting process after the ruckus. Hamza’s oath-taking, however, faced delays after Governor Cheema refused to administer the oath to him, questioning the validity of his election. Subsequently, Hamza had approached the Lahore High Court on april 21, which instructed President alvi to appoint a representative to administer the oath in the absence of the governor.

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Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday arrived in abu Dhabi for a day-long visit to the united arab Emirates (uaE). uaE Minister for justice abdullah bin Sultan al-nuaimi received the premier and members of his delegation at the airport. Shehbaz will also meet Deputy Supreme Commander of uaE armed Forces and Crown Prince of abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed bin Sultan al nahyan. Earlier on Saturday, Shehbaz called on Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in jeddah in order to advance “economic, trade and investment ties” and create “greater opportunities for the Pakistani workforce in Saudi arabia.” Shehbaz had begun his maiden foreign trip to Saudi arabia along with a delegation, including bilawal bhutto-Zardari, Miftah Ismail, nawabzada Shahzain bugti, Marriyum aurangzeb, Khawaja asif, Chaudhry Salik Hussain, Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Mohsin Dawar and Maulana Tahir ashrafi, on Thursday to seek financial support from the Kingdom. “Today I am embarking on a visit to Saudi arabia to renew & reaffirm our bonds of brotherhood & friendship,” he had said on Twitter prior to

Imran announces long march towards Islamabad in last week of May ISLAMABAD staff report

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Saturday asked his party workers and supporters to march towards Islamabad in the last week of May to protest against what he termed a “corrupt and imported government”. The PTI chief, in a video message on social media, said that Pakistan and its people have been insulted as a corrupt government has been imposed in the country through a foreign-sponsored conspiracy. He urged every Pakistani, whether a PTI supporter or not, to march towards Islamabad in the last week of May to stage his protest against the blatant insult of his country. Imran lashed out at Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his cabinet, saying that the former is being referred to as “crime minister” and he has corruption cases against him while 60 per cent of the cabinet’s members are also out on bail. “I want to give a message to all of Pakistan to start preparing from

now. The start of our preparation will be chaand raat (eve of Eid) and I want to say specifically to the youth that you have to come out with flags and tell the whole world that the Pakistani nation is alive.” He predicted that the march to Islamabad would be the “biggest” in Pakistan’s history and a “sea of

people” would flood into the city and give the message that “never after this will any foreign country be able to place a corrupt group over us and Pakistan’s nation will make its own decisions.” Earlier on Tuesday, he had elaborated that the march’s purpose would be to give the uS the mes-

leaving Pakistan, adding that the country “has a special place in all our hearts”. During the meeting with crown prince on Saturday, the two leaders discussed issues of mutual interest including global and regional issues, a statement from Shehbaz’s office said. PM Shehbaz thanked the Saudi prince for “a warm welcome and for always standing with Pakistan” promising to take the Pak-Saudi ties to a new and higher level. a report in the official Saudi Press agency (SPa) said the “Pakistani Prime Minister expressed his happiness to visit the Kingdom and to meet with HRH the Crown Prince”. according to SPa, the two leaders reviewed the fraternal and historical relations between the Kingdom of Saudi arabia and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. They also discussed the prospects of bilateral cooperation and promising opportunities as well as the ways of developing them in various fields. The two sides also reviewed all regional and international issues and discussed a number of issues of common interest. The premier also performed umrah with his delegation and prayed for the security of the country, nation and Muslim ummah and for the development and prosperity of Pakistan.

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more inside

sage that Pakistan is a “free country” and urged his supporters to gather people from every village, street and locality and prepare them for the movement for “true freedom”. On Wednesday, he had said that “I want two million people to come to Islamabad when I give the call. I want all of you to go to the people and preach to them about our movement for true freedom.” The PTI chairman claims that his government was sent packing and PM Shehbaz’s regime was subsequently “imposed” on the country as part of a “conspiracy ” hatched by the uS against his insistence of having an independent foreign policy. “This conspiracy started when the uS decided to remove Imran Khan,” the PTI chairman had said on Tuesday. “Their secretary Donald Lu came to our uS ambassador and threatened him that if Imran Khan wasn’t removed Pakistan would have to face difficulties. He also said that if Imran Khan was removed by the no-confidence vote, Pakistan would be forgiven.”

Govt decides to keep prices of petroleum products unchanged STORY ON PAGE 02

Imran asks alvi, top judge to investigate Lettergate STORY ON BACK PAGE

President Alvi visits Chinese embassy, expresses condolences over KU attack STORY ON PAGE 03

Sunday, 1 May, 2022 | KARACHI

NEWS

Govt decIdes to KeeP PrIces of PetroleuM Products uNchaNGed

NEws DEsk

RIME Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday rejected the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority’s (OGRA) proposal for a hike in prices of petroleum products, according to a notification issued by the finance division. “Prime Minister Shehbaz directed to maintain the prices of petroleum products at the current level so as not to burden the consumers with the hike in prices,” read the notification. Earlier this week, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb had said that the prices of petroleum

products will not be increased for the first half of the next month [May]. Aurangzeb had said the “incompetence and serious mistakes” of the former government are the reasons for people’s suffering. “Former prime minister Imran Khan’s government had accepted harsh conditions set by the International Monitory Fund related to increase in prices of petroleum products to secure a loan,” Aurangzeb had said. The information minister had said the government is making “every possible effort” not to put any further burden on the people, who are already facing the brunt of high inflation.

Imran Khan reacts to Masjid-e-Nabwi incident NEws DEsk

PTI moves intra-court appeal in LHC against oath of oﬃce to Hamza LAHORE Staff RepoRt

Lawmakers from Pakistan Tehreek-iInsaf (PTI) on Saturday filed an intracourt appeal in the Lahore High Court (LHC) against the court’s Friday’s decision directing the National Assembly speaker to administer the oath of the chief minister to Hamza Shehbaz. In the appeal, filed by 17 MPAs, through Azhar Siddique, federal and provincial governments and Shehbaz were nominated as respondents. In their petition, the petitioners said that police had entered the Punjab Assembly building on the election day on Shehbaz’s order; that the PTI MPAs were encouraged to go against the party lines, and the LHC

was not authorised to interfere in the parliamentary proceedings. The petitioners went on to say that the decision given by a single bench of the high court was unconstitutional, and that harsh words were used in it against both President Arif Alvi and Punjab Governor Omar Sarfaraz Cheema. “Hamza’s petition for the oath-taking should have been heard by at least a seven-member bench rather than a single bench of the LHC,” read the appeal. It was argued that both the president and the governor were not answerable to any court. “Therefore, it is prayed to the larger bench of the LHC to declare single bench’s verdict null and void,” the petition added.

Aid group reports surging numbers in child abuse in Pakistan IsLAMABAD the aSSociated pReSS

An aid group dedicated to child protection said its data shows assaults and sexual abuse of children have surged by nearly a third in the country last year. The organisation’s director said she fears an increase in “dark web” gangs trading in child pornography and buying and selling children are to blame for the increase, along with lockdowns imposed during the coronavirus pandemic. The Sahil organisation said the number of cases increased 30 percent in 2021, compared to the year before.

The group has been tracking child sexual abuse and working on child protection programs for more than 25 years. In its annual report entitled “Cruel Numbers,” the group says there were 3,852 cases of child sexual abuse in 2021 in Pakistan, including child marriages — or over 10 assaults per day. Sahil records cases reported daily in more than 80 national and regional publications across Pakistan. Roughly 80 percent of those cases result in charges, the report said, noting that the vast majority of abuse cases rarely get reported. According to the data, 54 percent of the victims

were girls and 46 percent were boys. The sexual abuse of boys mostly took place between the ages of 6 and 16, girls were abused at an even younger age. Munizae Bano, the organization’s executive director, expressed surprise at the dramatic surge and while she blamed pandemic lockdowns for some of the increase in child abuse, she said criminal activity perpetrated by gangs trading in children are on the rise. “Absolutely, it is more is active here,” she told The Associated Press, speaking over the phone from Islamabad. During pandemic measures such as lockdowns and school closures, child abuse rose in many places, in part because with children being out of school, there was less supervision, increasing their vulnerability. The majority of those committing the assaults were family acquaintances or otherwise known to the children, said the report. “Acquaintances are still the most involved in child sexual abuse, as well as service providers, family members, strangers, and women abettors,” it noted. In 2020, an investigation by The Associated Press found dozens of police reports, known as First Information Reports, alleging sexual harassment, rape and physical abuse by clerics teaching in seminaries throughout Pakistan, where many of the country’s poorest study.

PTI Chairman Imran Khan has distanced himself from the Pakistani pilgrims, who had chanted slogans against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his delegation during their visit to Masjid-eNabwi (PBUH) on Thursday. In an interview, the full recording of which will be aired on the first day of Eidul Fitr, Imran said he cannot even imagine of asking anyone to carry out sloganeering at the sacred place. “I have spoken about Islamophobia at every forum,” Imran is seen as saying in a snippet of the interview. “The reason for doing so is my belief that until you do not love Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), your faith is not complete. I cannot think of asking anyone to do sloganeering at that sacred place.” PM Shehbaz is in Saudi Arabia on a three-day visit, along with a delegation including members of his cabinet Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Miftah Ismail, Nawabzada Shahzain Bugti, Marriyum Aurangzeb, Khawaja Asif, Chaudhry Salik Hussain, Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Mohsin Dawar and Maulana Tahir Ashrafi, among others. Video clips which went viral on social media on Thursday showed some of the pilgrims chanting slogans of chor (thieves) as soon as members of the official delegation arrived at the holy mosque.

Punjab bureaucracy reshuffle on the cards LAHORE MonitoRing RepoRt

Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz Saturday summoned a meeting of the members of the civil service posted in Punjab after taking oath at Governor’s House. A reshuffle in the bureaucracy is expected after Shahbaz took charge of the province. Advocate General Ahmed Awais is likely to be replaced. Following Lahore High Court (LHC) orders, Shahbaz was sworn in as the 21st chief minister of Punjab on Saturday. Shahbaz was administered the oath by National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervez Asharaf on LHC orders after Governor Omar Cheema turned down the court suggestion and refused to do the same.

Sunday, 1 May, 2022 | KARACHI

NEWS

PresIdeNt alvI vIsIts chINese eMbassy, exPresses coNdoleNces over Ku attacK IsLAMABAD

app

N order to express solidarity with the people and the government of China, President Dr Arif Alvi Saturday visited the Chinese embassy and offered his heartfelt condolences over the loss of precious lives of Chinese nationals in terrorist attack that took place in Karachi on Tuesday. Three Chinese teachers and their Pakistani driver were killed in the attack at Karachi University, while four others were injured. Talking to Charge d’ Affaires Pang Chunxue and officers of the Chinese embassy, the president said that the entire Pakistani nation is in deep pain and shock over the unfortunate incident and shared the grief of Chinese brothers and sisters, according to a statement issued by the President’s Secretariat. The president reiterated the resolve that

Pakistan would leave no stone unturned to ensure the safety of Chinese nationals and bring to justice the elements involved in this heinous incident. Condemning the incident, the president said that some hostile countries were behind it who wanted to harm Pak-China friendship and China-Pakistan Economic Corridor but they would not succeed in their designs as both countries enjoy deep friendship and are strongly committed to further strengthen the all-weather friendship. He asked Chunxue to convey his heartfelt condolences to the Chinese people, Communist Party and President Xi Jinping. Chunxue thanked the president for visiting the embassy and expressing solidarity with the people and the government of China. She said that both countries have shared future and a long history of friendship and close cooperation. She condemned the attack and hoped that the culprits behind this incident would be apprehended and punished.

Gunmen steal hundreds of holiday outfits from Islamabad tailor

IsLAMABAD afp

Gunmen have robbed a tailor in Islamabad of more than 200 outfits made for customers ahead of the Eid al-Fitr holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, tying

up and beating his staff. Muhammad Razzaq told AFP that two armed men barged into his store before making off with 240 completed or near-finished shalwar kameez outfits. “The police have not been able to find any clue to the ruthless guys who turned this

Eid for me into a nightmare,” said Razzaq. The haul was worth more than Rs720,000, he added. Pakistanis, and Muslims around the world, usually celebrate the Eid al-Fitr holiday with new outfits and jewellery — with the rich splashing out thousands on glitzy ensembles. But even poor people try to buy something new for the holiday, and tailor-made outfits are frequently cheaper than storebought clothes. The Eid festival is expected to begin either Monday or Tuesday, depending on the sighting of the new moon. Most of the shelves in Razzaq’s shop were empty Friday and he sat disconsolately behind a sewing machine. “I have been working in the area for the last 20 years and have customers who come to me from posh areas of Islamabad and Rawalpindi with branded and expensive fabrics,” he said. Salman Ashraf, one of the tailors tied up during the raid, said the robbers were very aggressive. “The gunmen thrashed us, tied us with ropes and asked us to remain silent,” he said. Police confirmed the incident and said they were investigating.

Transport services exports fetch $508m in 8 months IsLAMABAD tLtp

Pakistan earned $508.015 million by providing different transport services in various countries during the first eight months (July-February) of the current financial year 2021-22. According to the data released by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), this shows a growth of 26.71 percent as compared to $400.940 million earned through provision of services during the corresponding period of the last fiscal year 2020-21. During the period under review, the exports of sea transport services witnessed an increase of 51.18 percent, by going up from $56.130 million last year to $84.860 million during the period under review. Among the sea transport services, the exports of freight services increased by 99.46 percent from $22.390 million last year to $44.660 million whereas the exports of other sea transport services also grew by 19.15 percent from $33.740 million to $40.200 million current year, the PBS data revealed. The exports of air transport rose by 25.45 percent by going up from $325.030 million last year to $407.735 million during July-February (2021-22). Among the air transport services,

the exports of passenger services increased by 23.55 percent, from $213.970 million to $264.350 million, whereas the exports of freight services also rose by 2.55 percent, from $20.400 million to $20.920 million, in addition the export of other air transport services increased by 35.08 percent from $90.660 million to $122.465 million. Meanwhile, the exports of road transport services during the period under review witnessed a decline of 20.37 percent by going down from $12.960 million to $10.320 million during this year, it added. Among the road transport services, the exports of freight services decreased by 75.44 percent, from $9.610 million to $2.360 million during the fiscal year under review, while the export of postal and courier services also decreased by 25.22 percent, from $6.820 million to $5.100 million, the data revealed. In July-March, exports jumped 25pc to reach $23.3bn. In March, exports grew 16pc to $2.74bn from $2.36bn in the same month last year. On a month-on-month basis, exports increased by 4.7pc in March. Export proceeds went up by 18pc to $25.3bn in 2020-21 from $21.4bn over the last year. The government has projected the annual export target for commodities at $31.2bn and services at $7.5 billion.

Murtaza for facilitating mobile phone sector IsLAMABAD tLtp

Minister for Industries and Production Makhdoom Syed Murtaza Mahmud has appreciated the Mobile Device Manufacturing Policy and stressed for facilitating the sector to start motherboard assembly in Pakistan by next year. The minister said this while chairing a briefing session on Mobile Device Manufacturing Policy 2020 on Friday. The minister emphasised the need for establishing a research and development centre for transfer of technology and skill development pertaining to the mobile manufacturing sector. He said this would enhance the footprint of the mobile manufacturing industry in a competitive export market. Earlier, the minister was given a briefing that the policy aims at encouraging and attracting mobile manufacturers to establish their units in Pakistan. He was told that the policy attracted more than $76 million investments along with direct employment generation for thousands of people.

Pakistan reports 65 new Covid-19 cases IsLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

Pakistan confirmed 65 new Covid-19 cases over the past 24 hours, the ministry of health said on Saturday. The overall tally of the infected people climbed to 1,528,412 across the country after adding the fresh cases, according to the data released

by the ministry. A total of 30,371 people died of Covid-19 in Pakistan, with no more death over the last 24 hours, according to the ministry’s statistics. On Friday, 18,715 tests were conducted throughout Pakistan while the positivity ratio stood at 0.35 percent. There are 131 patients who are in critical condition.

Sunday, 1 May, 2022 | karachi

neWS

Rasheed says he wIll contInue to suppoRt ImRan Khan

NEWS DESK

WAMI Muslim League chief Sheikh Rasheed on Saturday said that former prime minister Imran Khan is currently facing a difficult time and leaving him alone would be a betrayal. Talking to the media in Islamabad, the former interior minister said that he is meeting Imran Khan soon and the former would not do anything that would harm the country. Imran Khan would not take any step against the country, he added. Rasheed said that he is going to retire from politics, adding that Imran Khan is having a hard time at the moment and leaving him alone would be a betrayal.

He clarified that there is no fight with any of the institutions but the way Imran Khan is being

pressed to the wall is also wrong. Everyone thinks that the former prime minister is being abused,

he added. He said that the political situation in the country is in grave danger and he cannot become a silent spectator. Lashing out at the incumbent government, Rasheed said you people [the ruling coalition parties] used to call us selected but you are ‘imported’. Talking about the recent incident at Masjid-e-Nabwi (PBUH), he said that the incident should not have happened. He, however, added that the people hate the members of the incumbent government. He predicted that people will throw eggs at the cabinet members wherever they go. "I predict that wherever these five people [PM's delegation] go, rotten eggs and tomatoes will be thrown at them," he said.

Govt has ‘strategy’ to boost shrinking forex reserves: Ismail KARACHI TLTP

Finance Minister Miftah Ismail has said that despite fast-shrinking foreign exchange reserves, Pakistan will not be in dire straits like neighbouring Sri Lanka and has a strategy to boost its reserves. “No chance of default, none,” said Ismail in an interview with Al Jazeera. “Yes, we have a strategy to increase our reserves and you will see that they will start to increase,” he added. The finance minister acknowledges that being heavily dependent on imports is a problem. “Pakistan has an economy that is not geared towards exports,” Ismail said. “And so, every growth cycle leads to an increase in imports but the exports don’t increase much, resulting in a forex shortage that forces a boom-bust cycle,” he added. Ismail told a private news channel that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has asked him not to burden common people. With that goal, the government will make a policy to raise fuel prices in a way that rich people with cars would not be given subsidies while motorcyclists would get fuel at cheaper rates, he said. Foreign exchange reserves have dropped to a 28-month low in Pakistan to below $11bn, barely enough to cover imports for the next two months. The last time forex reserves were below this level was in December 2019. But economists are not too alarmed as the country has dealt with such near crises several times in the past years. “It is not just two events, it has happened at least 13 times during the last 50 years,” said Atif Mian, economics professor at Princeton University, in a talk earlier this month on Pakistan’s economy which was broadcast online.

ICCI seeks urgent steps to end power outages ISLAMABAD TLTP

Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI) has expressed concerns over the rising power crisis in the country as the power shortage has reportedly shot up to 6,000 to 7,000 MW and called upon the government to take urgent measures to overcome the worsening energy shortage. ICCI President Muhammad Shakeel Munir said that rising power crisis would badly affect the economic activities, besides making life of the common man more miserable in this sweltering heat. He said this while addressing the ICCI Executive Committee meeting, said a statement issued on Friday. Munir said that the menace of loadshedding has swept across the country leaving the businesses and the homes in the dark at a time when the temperatures were on the rise. He said that the urban areas were reportedly experiencing 6 to 10 hours load-shedding and rural areas 8 to 16 hours load-shedding, which showed that the energy crisis has worsened in the country. He said that the Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has assured to end the load-shedding soon, which was encouraging, but the situation demanded war footing measures to tackle this serious crisis. The ICCI president said that energy was the key requirement for trade and

industrial activities while the uninterrupted and affordable power supply was essential for accelerated economic growth of the country. He said that the electricity was an important economic indicator as its availability or shortage encouraged or discouraged the local and foreign investors. He said that the main reason for the gap between demand and supply was the country’s dependence on fossil fuel for power generation. He stressed that the government should focus on increasing the hydropower and renewable energy share in the energy mix of the country, which was more cost effective and would bring down the cost of doing business significantly. ICCI Senior Vice President Jamshaid Akhtar Sheikh and ICCI Vice President Muhammad Faheem said that the government should take all possible measures to reduce its dependence on costly imported oil for energy generation and should focus on exploiting the cheap energy resources for power generation that would drastically reduce the oil import bill and reduce production cost. They also called for energy efficiency measures that would save huge capital, improve the economy and the environment. They further said that the energy-intensive industries should be encouraged to adopt energy efficiency measures that would give huge financial benefits.

Weekly inflation increases by 0.43pc

ISLAMABAD news desk

The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) based inflation increased by 0.43 percent for the week ended on April 28 after dipping 1.28 percent and 0.68 percent in the previous two weeks. According to the data released by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Friday, inflation on a year-on-year basis increased to 15.86 percent from 15.42 percent recorded a week earlier. The weekly inflation for the lowest income group (Q1) witnessed an increase of 0.46 percent, while it went up 13.29 percent on a year-on-year (YoY) basis for the same group. For the other four income groups, the weekly inflation increased from 0.38 percent (Q3 and Q4) to 0.45 percent (Q5), while it went up from 14.09 percent (Q2) to 17.02 percent (Q5) on a year-on-year (YoY) basis. According to the PBS, the combined index was at 171.78 on April 28, 2022 as com-

CMYK

pared to 171.05 on April 21, 2022 while the index was recorded at 148.27 a year ago on April 29, 2021. The SPI is computed on a weekly basis to assess the price movements of essential commodities at a shorter interval of time so as to review the price situation in the country. The SPI with base 2015-16=100 comprises 51 essential items and the prices are being collected from 50 markets in 17 cities of the country for all expenditure groups/quintiles and combined. During the week under review, out of 51 items, prices of 25 (49.02%) items increased, prices of 04 (7.84%) items decreased, and prices of 22 (43.14%) items remained stable. The SPI for the current week recorded an increase in the prices of food items, including tomatoes (42.85%), onions (13.11%), eggs (3.67%), chicken (2.02%), pulse Masoor (1.46%), vegetable ghee 1-kg (1.26%), cooked Daal (1.18%), vegetable ghee 2.5-kg (1.15%) and rice Irri-6/9 (1.08%) and non-

food items, including toilet soap (2.06%) and cigarettes (2.03%), with joint impact of (0.80%) into the Overall SPI for combined group of (0.43%). On the other hand, a decrease was observed in the prices of wheat flour (9.96%), gur (1.27%), sugar (1.04%) and pulse gram (0.34%). According to the PBS data, the year-onyear trend depicts an increase of 15.86 percent, including tomatoes (154.16%), onions (137.52%), LPG (86.92%), garlic (82.58%), cooking oil 5-litre (59.70%), vegetable ghee 2.5-kg (59.55%), vegetable ghee 1-kg (58.43%), mustard oil (57.54%), pulse Masoor (44.59%), washing soap (39.33%), petrol (37.42%) and diesel (29.63%). On a year-on-year basis, major decrease was observed in the prices of chillies powdered (39.50%), potatoes (26.88%), pulse Moong (26.31%), sugar (10.94%), wheat flour (10.59%), eggs (6.93%), electricity charges for Q1 (4.37%) and bananas (1.42%).

Sunday, 1 May, 2022 | KARACHI

NEWS

InDIA teSt-fIreS AntI-SHIP SuPerSonIc cruISe MISSIle neW deLHi

Hamza sworn in as Punjab chief minister continued from page 01 However, after a delay by the president in following the court’s directive, Hamza had approached the court again on April 25. This time, he had asked the LHC to instruct Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani to administer oath to him. In his ruling, LHC Chief Justice Ameer Bhatti had directed Governor Cheema to complete Hamza’s oath-taking process by April 28. When the president and governor still failed to follow the court’s instructions, Hamza sought the LHC’s intervention for a third time on Friday. In his third petition, Hamza requested the court to “kindly direct the administration of oath to the chief minister-elect by a person nominated by this honourable court at the Governor House at a specified time and the coercive arm of the state be set in motion for implementation of the orders of this honourable court”. The LHC then directed the NA speaker to administer the oath to Hamza. Meanwhile, Punjab Assembly Speaker and PML-Q leader Chaudhry Parvez Elahi said he would challenge the LHC’s decision on Hamza’s third plea.

PM Shehbaz arrives in Abu Dhabi after wrapping up 3day Saudi visit continued from page 01 Separately, PM Shehbaz also met the secretary general of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Hissein Brahim Taha, in Makkah. During the meeting, the premier affirmed his government’s commitment to promote the interests of Muslim Ummah as a corner-stone of Pakistan’s foreign policy, a statement by the PM Office said. As the chair of the OIC Council of Foreign Minister, Shehbaz added, Pakistan looked forward to playing a proactive role with regard to the matters of interest and concern to the OIC Member States. He also thanked Taha for OIC’s consistent and unequivocal support to the Kashmir cause urging him to lead the diplomatic endeavors towards “facilitating a peaceful and lasting solution to Jammu and Kashmir dispute” in accordance with the United Nations Security Council Resolutions and aspirations of Kashmiris.

AnAdolu Agency

NDIA successfully test-fired an anti-ship version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile on Wednesday, said an official. The Andaman and Nicobar Command said in a tweet on Thursday: “IndianNavy & ANC (Andaman and Nicobar Command) yet again demonstrate combat readiness by successfully destroying target at sea through antiship version of BrahMos at Andaman & Nicobar Islands on 27 Apr.” The Andaman and Nicobar Command is the only tri-services command of the Indian armed forces. A video was also shared by the command showing the BrahMos missile destroying a target at sea. Last month, India successfully tested the accuracy of an extended-range BrahMos supersonic cruise missile launched from the stealth destroyer Indian Navy Ship (INS) Chennai. Later on April 19, the Indian Air Force (IAF) test-fired the BrahMos missile from a Sukhoi fighter jet on the Eastern seaboard. The BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft, or land.

The missile was developed as part of a joint venture between Indian Defence Research and Devel-

opment Organisation (DRDO) and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyeniya initiated in 1998.

Temperatures break monthly records in India as heat wave scorches region mumBai ReuteRs

Parts of India recorded their highest average temperatures on record in April, and the scorching weather is expected to stretch into May, authorities said on Saturday. India and neighbouring Pakistan have been suffering from extreme heatwaves this year, melting pavements, forcing school closures and triggering health and fire alerts. Northwest and central India recorded average maximum temperatures of 35.9 and 37.78 Celsius (96.6 and 100 Fahrenheit) respectively in April, the Director-General of the Indian Meteorological Department told reporters. Those were the highest since it began keeping records 122 years ago, Mrutyunjay Mohapatra added. More than a billion people are at risk of heat-related impacts in the region, scientists have warned, linking the early onset of an intense summer

to climate change. For the first time in decades, Pak-

istan went from winter to summer without the spring season, Pakistan's

Federal Minister for Climate Change, Sherry Rehman, said on Saturday.

Ukraine spars with Russia over talks, says Moscow not succeeding in east Ukraine and Russia traded accusations over shaky talks to end a war now in its third month as Russia pounded areas in the east of the country and US lawmakers vowed a massive new weapons package for Kyiv. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in remarks published early on Saturday, said lifting Western sanctions on Russia was part of the peace negotiations, which he said were "difficult" but continue daily by video link. Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, told Polish journalists that chances were "high" that the talks, which have not been held in person for a month, would end because of Russia's "playbook on murdering people," the Interfax news agency said. Ukraine accuses Russian troops of atrocities in areas near the capital, Kyiv, that they had occupied. Moscow denies the claims. After failing to capture the capital in the nine-week assault that has turned cities to rubble, killed thousands and forced 5 million Ukrainians to flee abroad, Moscow is now focusing on the east and south. Russian forces captured Ukraine's southern city of Kherson and mostly occupied the southeastern port city of Mariupol, where the United Nations is making efforts to evacuate civilians and fighters holed up in a large steel plant. Lavrov told China's official Xinhua news agency that 1.02 million people had been evacuated to Russia from Ukraine since the invasion began on February 24 Ukraine says thousands have been taken to Russia against their will. Reuters could not independently verify

the claims of either side. Lavrov said the evacuees included 120,000 foreigners and people from Russian-backed breakaway regions of Ukraine — the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics that Russia recognised as independent just before President Vladimir Putin announced the invasion. Moscow calls the war a "special military operation" to disarm and "denazify" Ukraine, defend Russian-speaking people from persecution and prevent the United States from using the country to threaten Russia.

Ukraine dismisses Putin's claims of persecution and says it is fighting an unprovoked land grab to fully capture Donetsk and Luhansk, which form the Donbas region. Britain and the United States have voiced support for Ukraine in the peace talks but say it is vital to keep arming Kyiv. On Thursday, President Joe Biden asked the US Congress for $33 billion in new aid, more than $20 billion of it in weapons. The funding has received bipartisan congressional support. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she hoped to pass

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the package "as soon as possible". Ukraine acknowledges losing control of some eastern towns and villages but says Moscow's gains have come at a heavy cost to a force already worn down from its defeat near the capital. "We have serious losses but the Russians' losses are much, much bigger," Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said, without elaborating. "They have colossal losses." Russia was pounding the entire Donetsk front line with rockets, artillery, mortar bombs and aircraft in part to stop Ukrainian troops from regrouping, Ukrainian officials said. Ukraine's military said Russia was preparing for offensives in the areas of Lyman in Donetsk and Sievierodonetsk and Popasna in Luhansk. In the south, it said, Russia was "continuing to regroup, increase fire effectiveness and improve position". Russia's defence ministry said its forces had struck Ukrainian weapons storage sites, platoon strongholds, artillery positions and drones. Russia said a diesel submarine in the Black Sea had struck military targets with Kalibr cruise missiles, the first report of such strikes from a submarine. Russia said its high precision long-range missiles had destroyed the production facilities of a rocket plant in Kyiv. Ukraine says that attack Thursday struck a residential building, injuring civilians and killing a producer with US-backed Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. The body of the producer, Vira Hyrych,

was found in the building's rubble, the broadcaster said. Western officials said Russia had suffered fewer casualties after narrowing the scale of its invasion but numbers were still "quite high". On Saturday, Britain's defence ministry said, "Shortcomings in Russian tactical coordination remain." Russia had been forced to merge and redeploy depleted and disparate units from failed advances in northeastern Ukraine, it said in a daily bulletin. The bloodiest fighting and worst humanitarian catastrophe have been in Mariupol, reduced to a wasteland by two months of Russian bombardment and siege. Ukraine says 100,000 civilians remain in the city. In parts of Mariupol now held by Russian troops, emergency workers were retrieving bodies from the streets. Those left among the blasted ruins recalled their fear. "We were hungry, the child was crying, when the Grad (multiple rocket launcher) shells were striking near the house," a weeping Viktoria Nikolayeva, 54, who survived the battle with her family in a basement, told Reuters. "We were thinking, this is it, the end." One Ukrainian fighter expressed optimism over the rescue of the injured and other soldiers at the plant, though previous evacuation efforts have failed. "I really believe that all the defenders of Mariupol - the troops that remained here, the wounded and those alive - that we will be able to save the lives of these heroes," Captain Sviatoslav Palamar said. ReuteRs

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06 COMMENT

The questionable role of the President

New government in Punjab Despite hindrances in transfer of power

There are several instances of Dr Arif Alvi violating his oath

he eleventh-hour drama staged by PTI Punjab governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema flopped. hamza Shehbaz was finally sworn in as Punjab CM. hours before the swearing in ceremony, governor Cheema had suddenly decided to reject former CM usman Buzdar’s resignation and ask him to immediately assume the office of Punjab CM and hold the cabinet meetings. Mr Buzdar’s resignation had been accepted on April 1 and the PTI government had made it known that it wanted Ch Pervez elahi to replace Mr Buzdar. The PTI however met an upset when hamza was elected CM by the Punjab Assembly on April 16. With the help of President Arif Alvi and the Punjab governor, the PTI succeeded in delaying the assumption of the CM’s office by hamza, hoping meanwhile that Ch Pevez elahi would somehow or other get the decision reversed in another meeting of the Provincial Assembly that he had convened. But as the PML(Q) leader developed cold feet and canceled the meeting, while the Lahore high Court directed the National Assembly Speaker to administer oath to hamza on Saturday, governor Cheema decided to reject Mr Buzdar’s resignation even hough it had been already accepted when he took office. The provincial bureaucracy, was meanwhile ordered by LhC to make all arrangements required for administering oath to hamza. The powerless governor sought the help of President Alvi, asking him to send rangers to stop the oath taking ceremony at governor’s house. While this revealed the governor’s desperation, it also showed his ignorance about the working of the system The PTI’s despondency is understandable. With the PML(N)-led allied government ruling the largest province, PTI chief Imran Khan will find it difficult to take hundreds of buses full of people to Islamabad protest. he will not be able to utilize Punjab government resources in forthcoming local body polls as well as in general elections. Knowing that he cannot order early elections, Imran Khan will find it difficult to ask the PTI’s Punjab Iegislators to resign. The hamza government too faces tough problems ahead like inflation, diesel shortages and power shutdowns. Adjusting allies in the cabinet to their satisfaction would not be easy either. Several PML(N) leaders including hamza have suffered under PTI rule. There is a need on the part of the new government not to be vengeful and act strictly in accordance with law.

ZAeeM MUMtAZ BHAttI “It was the best of the times, It was the worst of times, It was the age of wisdom, It was the age of foolishness, It was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness”.— Charles Dicken, A Tale of Two Cities

hrOughOuT his presidency, Arif Alvi lurched from one controversy to another, each more embarrassing than the last. Let’s revisit his stint as the President and see whether or not he fulfilled the obligations arising from his constitutional oath. Pursuant to Article 41 of the Constitution, the head of the state is the President, who is to represent the unity of the republic. The definitions of “the state” and “the republic” find mention in Articles 7 & 1. read conjointly, he is to be the representative of not only the federal government, provincial governments, and local governments, but also all territorial parts of Pakistan. he is not to give the impression that he represents a sole political party or he comes from a certain city or a town. A delicate duty indeed! he is the fountainhead of power on paper. Constitutionally, the Prime Minister is to draw powers from him and to act in his name. The moment a President takes an oath, he is to move past his interests and prejudices, and shed his formal political affiliation(s), thus not causing disunity, discontent and alienation among people. Above all, in carrying out his duty, his con-

Shouting at Madina A halt must come before worse happens

The Dua Zehra case showed an ugly face of society

MUHAMMAD ALI ALVI

he terrifying news of a 14-year-old girl who went missing on 16th April after she went out of her house to throw garbage sparked a massive outcry in the country. Be it electronic, print or on social media, everyone in their domain tried to raise the issue and help Dua’s parents in this difficult time. It was because of these efforts the incident got the attention of the LeAs. For almost 10 days, till the news broke out that the girl had left the home of her own will and married a boy from Lahore, everyone on social media showed sympathy for the girl and her parents, prayed for them and hoped for her safe recovery. But since then, the opinion of social media users started to divide. And, the very next day when the video statement of Dua emerged, it quickly garnered negative criticism from a number of social media users. Many social media users were quick to find loopholes in Dua’s character, shortcomings in her upbringing and the fault of her parents. They started to share the news with their own twist as if they were waiting for this to happen. Numerous names were shared, jokes were made and stories were developed. On the contrary, many kind-hearted users just focused on the fact that the child is safe and alive and prayed that everything goes well for the family. In the space of only two days, the missing child, her parents and all those who interviewed them or helped them through their social media platforms turned from “heroes” to “villains”. In the last couple of days, many supported Dua and her parents, some pointed fingers at her character and her upbringing by her parents, and a few remained silent, but the story is still incomplete and many questions are still to be answered.

Dedicated to the legacy of late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami (Late) Founding Editor

Yousaf Nizami M. A. Niazi

Umar Aziz

Joint Editor

Executive Editor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

The writer is a practising lawyer based in Lahore. He tweets @zaeem8825. He can be contacted at zaeem.bhatti89@gmail.com

Support rather than poke fun

he incident at Madina, where PTI supporters ran after the entourage of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, was not just condemnable, but frightening, because it seemed that one side of the political divide was willing to take the discourse beyond words, rallies and assembly resolutions into the streets of the country. This was not the first incident of the kind, what with protests by PTI workers outside the houses of Nawaz Sharif and his children in London, or by PML(N) workers outside Imran Khan’s children’s house there, the incident involving former Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri in Islamabad. however, this is the first incident where the host country’s law enforcing agencies have gotten involved. Saudi Arabia has taken a serious view of the incident, not just because it involves a country which has a large number of workers there, but because of the example it sets for so many other expatriate countries. The PTI’s involvement cannot be denied, first because of the presence of PTI activists Chicoo Jahangir and Anil Mussarat during the incident, and the damning statement of Imran’s former Interior Minister Sh rashid, who had earlier predicted that the PM would be chased with slogans of ‘chor chor’. however, despite his tweet of mild condemnation and dissociation, Imran Khan himself has been calling for .the present government’s ministers to be called out in public, and for dissident MNAs to be hounded in public, and for crowds to gather outside their houses and raise slogans against them. Mr Khan realized a little late that he will have to pour oil over troubled waters, and end his silence over the incident. his reaction, that PTI workers were busy in Shabi-Dua, and his holding the PM and his supporters responsible for the incident, is, however, not going to stop such incidents. he must address the issue in a public statement, and make clear that such behaviour is an unacceptable to him as the alleged crimes anyone is supposed to have committed. he must also dial down some of the rhetoric he uses, because it inflames his supporters to such protests. Such protests then lead to responses, counterresponses and finally violence. Is that where the PTI wants to go? If matters are to be settled by hair pulling (and later sticks, daggers and guns), why bother with a constitution?

Editor Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

duct is to be beyond reproach. Since Imran Khan was averse to attend National Assembly and the PTI was loathe to table the drafts of laws in the Parliament, the President’s power to issue ordinances under Article 89 of the Constitution was stretched to its limits, thereby short-circuiting the normal lawmaking process envisaged by the Constitution. The President issued one ordinance after another. A two-member bench headed by Mr Justice Qazi Faez Isa disapproved of this practice and held that the presidential ordinances could only be promulgated in “emergent matters” and when Parliament was not in session. The false, frivolous and vexatious reference against Mr Justice Qazi Faez Isa was conceived and cooked up by the former Law Minister, Farogh Naseem, with the connivance of the head of Asset recovery unit (Aru), Mirza Shahzad Akbar at the instance of the powers that be. under Article 209 of the Constitution, the President is to first satisfy himself about the authenticity of the allegation(s) levelled at a judge and then to arrive at an informed opinion, before sending the reference to the Supreme Judicial Council. Alas, this wasn’t to be. Without the application of an independent mind and without realizing that it would open a can of worms for a fearlessly independent judge, Arif Alvi rubber-stamped the presidential reference, sending it to the Supreme Judicial Council. however, Justice Qazi didn’t take things lying down. he petitioned the Supreme Court under Article 184(3), bringing the presidential reference under challenge. After months of hearing, the reference was ultimately quashed by the Supreme Court. however, the judgement left the sword of Damocles hanging over his family’s head. The Federal Board of revenue was directed to initiate proceedings against his family under tax laws. Feeling dissatisfied, he and his wife filed review petitions before the Supreme Court , seeking to revisit the directions issued to the FBr ultimately, the review was accepted by the full bench of the Supreme Court, declaring the directions illegal and per incuriam. Now that Imran Khan was voted out of power and there was no love lost between him and the deep state, he made a clean breast of things, admitting that it was a mistake to file the reference and it was done upon the insistence of former Law Minister Farogh Naseem, who refused to share the blame and shifted it back on to Imran Khan. This begs the question, if it was a mere mistake on the part of Imran Khan, with whom the buck stops for putting Mr Justice Qazi and

his family through the ordeal, leaving their reputation seriously undermined? In November 2021, Dr. Awab Alvi, the President’s son, while acting at the behest of his family firm, Alvi Dental, entered into an agreement with an American dentist firm, Bringing Smiles, for a hefty sum of rs. 4.4 billion. The signing ceremony took place in Sindh governor house, while the President was in attendance. Later, the President was all praise for his son on his Twitter handle, setting tongues wagging about the blatant conflict of interest. At this juncture, suffice it to quote the relevant portion of the Presidential oath given in the Third Schedule to the Constitution: “I will not allow my personal interest to influence my official conduct or my official decisions.” Arif Alvi as the President dissolved the National Assembly and to declare general elections at the advice of deposed Prime Minister, Imran Khan, knowing full well that going by Article 58 of the Constitution, it was not within the latter’s authority and power to do so, as he was facing a vote of noconfidence. Needless to emphasize, he wasn’t bound to follow the advice of the Prime Minister stemming from mala fides in fact and law. under the first proviso to Article 48, he could at least ask the Prime Minister to reconsider such advice. Yet another time, the President had to face humiliation for blindly following Imran Khan’s dictates when the Supreme Court declared null and void the ruling of the Deputy Speaker, as also the action of dissolution of the National Assembly and holding of general elections. As if this were not disgraceful enough, Arif Alvi circumvented his presidential duties imposed upon him by the Constitution by feigning illness when he was to administer the oath to Shabaz Sharif and then to the new cabinet members. It was then Sadiq Sanjarani, the Senate Chairman who did the needful. Last but not least, Arif Alvi honoured his constitutional oath more in the breach than the observance. As if at Imran Khan’s beck and call, he spared no effort to bend the Constitution to Khan’s will. Lord Acton was right when he said, “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. It is high time that Arif Alvi tendered his resignation and rejoined his firm as a dentist again. Whoever steps into his shoes as the President is to be wary of repeating the same mistakes, lest he should be condemned to repeat history.

Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

Currently, the case has three aspects to look at. Dua’s parents’ point of view, her point of view, and the findings of the investigative agencies. Dua’s parents claim that the child is under influence and not speaking the truth. They claim that the child is below 18 years of age and is only 14 years old. They have presented all legal documents including B-form and passport etc to strengthen their claim. On the other hand, Dua claims that she is 18 years of age and her parents are sharing false information. These are two different views and only a free and fair investigation can reveal the truth. Amid the confusion, how Lahore Model Town Court allowed the girl to go with her husband must have further derailed the hopes of her parents to get her back. having said that, one very clear thing is that the parents of the girl are facing a tough situation. They are going through a terrible time. That their daughter is not near them for the last 12-13 days, they must be in grief and pain on one hand and facing questions from friends, relatives and society on the other hand. No one wants to be in the situation they are in right now. And anyone with a kind heart can feel their pain. But, there are few ill-minded people who make fun of other problems. They call it freedom of speech. Making fun of someone else’s miseries and problems in the name of freedom of speech is a shame, a disgrace and an expression of an apathetic and ill mindset. It might be easy for someone sitting comfortably in his home to open his social media account and pass a derogatory remark on her character, judge her character or blame her parents but the pain this act gives is not imaginable. Many people are trying to comfort Dua’s parents and opposing the ill-minded users on social media but one such insane person can spoil the efforts of all others. The final outcome of the case is still to come but still, people are passing judgements and creating sto-

Islamabad – Ph: 051-2204545

ries of their own. This inhuman and disgusting attitude reveals the ill-minded people in our society that are a source of shame for the whole country. In situations like these everyone should try to heal the ones with problems in every possible way. Instead of creating further problems for them. For a moment, if it is believed to be true that she has married of her own will the situation becomes even more difficult for her family. here we should keep in mind that there are several criminal mafias active in Pakistan which are involved in human smuggling. It might be possible that due to the pressure of social media and a successful joint venture of all Law enforcing Agencies, the Court Marriage drama had been staged for face-saving. It is a very critical time for a kidnapped girl and her family. Any mishap can happen during this time. So, instead of the blame game, we should struggle to unearth those mafias and criminals who might be behind these activities. The grieved family needs more love and support because no parent would ever want this fate for a child, especially a daughter, or their family. Instead of pointing fingers at them, everyone should try to find out who is responsible for this? Are they only responsible? Is our whole society not responsible? Online games have resulted in many destructive events in the past. For example, most recently a boy killed his family members thinking that it was a game. had these types of games been banned in time the situation might have been different. People should learn from this incident instead of blaming the girl or her parents and take measures to prevent any such incident in future. With the truth still to be found, the judgements passed on the girl’s character must have hurt her parents severely.

Had these types of games been banned in time the situation might have been different. People should learn from this incident instead of blaming the girl or her parents and take measures to prevent any such incident in future.

Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

The writer is a freelance columnist

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

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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

The language, art and culture of Brushos

Stains on the trichotomy of power The pro-PTI protests are motivated by the feeling that rights have been violated

ADersH HAMZA MALgHAnI

he political sphere of Pakistan has witnessed some unprecedented changes in the last month or so. The seemingly stable government of Imran Khan in almost its last year of tenure faced a no-confidence motion by about 17 political parties from in and out of Parliament. Never before in Pakistan had such a large number of political parties united against one political rival. Interestingly, MPs from Imran Khan’s own political party switched loyalties overnight, his allies began to flee and all the ideological differences of his opponents started to disappear in the mist of that no-confidence motion. So much so that the far right Tehreek Labaik Pakistan (TLP), notorious for supporting the killing of Punjab governor Punjab Salman Taseer to the far-left National Democratic Movement (NDM), an offspring of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), united on the same page against Imran Khan, among others. Surely, there would have been something behind this sudden squall? Former Prime Minister Imran Khan alleges a uS regime change operation was at work in Pakistan. To back his argument, he shared a cipher with different institutes of the state,which has been validated by the country’s National Security Committee (NSC). The NSC also condemned the “blatant intervention” of the united States in Pakistan’s internal affairs by issuing a demarche in reaction. On the 3rd of April, the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan gave a ruling, stating that the no-confidence motion against the then Prime Minister was ill-intended and had clear nexus with foreign interference, and therefore he dismissed it. rule 28 of the rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly rules2007, empowers the Speaker of the National Assembly to give ruling on any matter on the floor of the house; “Whenever the Speaker decides or gives his ruling on any matter on the floor of the house or in his office on the file, as the case may be, it shall not be called in question and shall be final except on a motion for rescinding it.” The Constitution of Pakistan is also quite clear in its Article 69 which bars all the courts from interfering in Parliamentary proceedings on any ground; “The validity of any proceedings in [Majlise-Shoora (Parliament)] shall not be called in question on the ground of any irregularity of

procedure.” It further elaborates that; “No officer or member of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) in whom powers are vested by or under the Constitution for regulating procedure or the conduct of business, or for maintaining order in Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament), shall be subject to the jurisdiction of any court in respect of the exercise by him of those powers.” however, disregarding Article 69 of the Constitution, the Supreme Court of Pakistan took a suo motu notice of the Deputy Speaker’s ruling without even waiting for a petition to be filed against it. The Court opened up on Sunday and issued a judgement in a mere four days. In its short judgement the Supreme Court of Pakistan stated that the ruling of the deputy speaker is “contrary to the Constitution and the law” but interestingly, nowhere in its short judgement has the Supreme Court of Pakistan mentioned any article which was violated by the Deputy Speaker while giving his ruling. The proponents of the no-confidence motion argue that the Speaker cannot give any ruling until the vote on no confidence motion is decided upon. however, the rule 29 of the assembly rules, clarifies that in case of any ambiguity on the assembly rules, the assembly“shall be regulated in such a manner as the Speaker may, from time to time, direct.”So, even in that case, that matter would have still been decided within the house, instead of going to the courts, as per the rules. The 1973 Constitution of the Islamic republic of Pakistan, draws clear lines among the three pillars of the state; the Legislature, executive and Judiciary. The constitution bars these three pillars from interference in each other’s domains, hence, the trichotomy of power exists in Pakistan (at least on paper). however, that trichotomy of power envisaged by the Constitution stands bruised and violated today as a result of the Supreme Court judgement of April 7. The former President of the united States, James Madison, who is also hailed as the father of itsconstitution once said; “The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.” The situation here in Pakistan is not so different either, and the spontaneous outpouring of the masses in protests across the country is a testimony to that. however, some of the seasoned politicians who used to fight the case of Parliamentary supremacy and trichotomy of power have either gone silent or have taken a u-turn in support of this judicial assault on the Parliament of Pakistan, their statements from yesteryears and today contradict to a shocking extent. Parliamentarians from the Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf however, have shown serious concerns over the judicial interference in the Parliamentary affairs. Dr. Shireen Mazari, former cabinet member, has called the Supreme Court judgement a judicial coup.Questioning the judicial interference in the parliamentary proceedings, she asked, how can Supreme Court dictate the Parliament on why and when it should conduct a session? She lamented that the short order of the Supreme Court even dictated the timings of the Assembly session. Former Law Minister Fawad Chaudhry, in one of his statements questioned, “how can the Supreme Court dismiss a ruling

of the Deputy Speaker without even seeing the cipher on which the ruling was based?” Another former minister, Asad umar, while addressing the assembly said: “For once let’s assume that the judges didn’t like the ruling of the Deputy Speaker, but then are all decisions taken in Supreme Court liked by everyone? In the past, decisions from the same Supreme Court have also been called judicial murders. Would it be fair if the Parliament then starts dictating to the judiciary on the basis of those bad precedents set in the past? If Parliament cannot dictate to the judiciary, then the judiciary cannot dictate to the Parliament either.” Furthermore, on the day of the voting, the Supreme Court of Pakistan refused to process the review petition filed by PTI at mid-day, saying that the courts’ time was over. however, the same court opened up at midnight on the same day for no apparent reason other than putting pressure on the Speaker of the house,which forced him to resign in protest. The Islamabad high Court also opened up around 10:00 at night to hear a petition which was based on mere assumptions, challenging the powers of the Prime Minister. All this midnight judicial activism was a clear disregard of Article 248 of the constitution, which states that; “The President, a Governor, the Prime Minister, a Federal Minister, a Minister of State, the Chief Minister and a Provincial Minister shall not be answerable to any court for the exercise of powers and performance of functions of their respective offices or for any act done or purported to be done in the exercise of those powers and performance of those functions.” The judicial proceedings throughout the process of regime change appeared to be far from a fair trial. The heavily politicized Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) and some other institutions, like the election Commission of Pakistan, tried to influence the proceedings of the court by untimely interference and warnings. It is quite unfortunate that such apparent onesided proceedings of the courts have only increased the mistrust of institutions and polarization among the masses. People have come out in protests in massive numbers and in almost every city of the country, saying that they do not accept the “imported government” and “judicial coup”. Families and women were seen crying and singing in a mix of hope and despair while registering their protest against what they consider the violation of their basic rights and an attack on their mandate. Today, it is feared that as a nation, we stand at a point where any further misadventure of banning a political party through the judiciary or eCP, both controversial today, would backfire. Therefore, a careful path must be trodden before any other hasty decision escalates the situation beyond repair.The present situation of mistrust is above any person, party or institution. even if any of them is taken out of the equation, the level of betrayal the masses feel would not end. The pillar of the state which carries people’s mandate stands meaningless today after the resignation of the largest party. It is only advisable that the confidence of people should be restored in the system by reviving their stake and ensuring the trichotomy of power in its true letter and spirit. The writer is a freelance columnist

gureN Osay is an organisation that was established to promote the culture and art of Brushos of gilgit-Baltistan. The core objective of organizing this is to instil in the young generation the importance of their dwindling native cultural values. This would help in the preservation of their indigenous culture and language. under guren Osay, events are held to encourage youth in participating in activities like career counselling, book reviews, admissions guidance, thematic hikes and much more—this apart from annual cultural events. Burushaski language is spoken in Yasin, Nagar and hunza in gB, around 150,000 speakers are said to be speaking this language. having said so, this language is considered as an endangered by various linguistic research institutions. guren Osay team has initiated a vital effort to reunite the speakers and encourage the research and development of this language amidst the sad demise of the great Burushaski poet and researcher Basharat Shafi(late) who had put in his indefatigable effort to enrich and revive this vulnerable language. In fact, the phrase “guren Osay” is taken from one of the verses of his poetry which literally means “to take care”. The core aim of this organisation is to preserve the language in various linguistic dimensions and promote the indigenous culture and art. This organisation has already accomplished many projects in current past in collaboration with Lok Virsa to engage the Burushaski speakers across the country. Also, it has successfully organized three seasons of the annual event along with various thematic activities promoting this language. The purpose of guren Osay’s third season was to arrange a cultural event for the people of gB and Chitral. recently, in the third mega event held in Lok Virsa heritage Museum, youth proactively participated and performed Burushaski theatre, Burushaski Mushaira, Musical performances, documentaries, comics etc. At the end of the event, token and appreciation awards were also distributed among the participants. Among award holders was a Burushaski poet named Sher Nadir Shahi. The “Basharat Shafi” Award was given to Sher Nadir Shahi. This third mega event was appreciable and such events must continue to preserve our languages that are on the verge of extinction. NEELAM WALI GILGIT-BALTISTAN

Food security in Sri Lanka eVeN in this technological world in the 21st century, humans cannot eat money and gadgets to quench their thirst and hunger. This statement is not just self-explanatory or not just an inference. This has been the fact and in other words, physical activities, agriculture and other farming operations should always be encouraged. In the east or the West, countries like the uS, Australia and continents like Asia cannot brush aside agriculture anymore because people out there have been getting their food and eatables only from agricultural activities. This is also true of russia which has been ruthlessly involved in the war against ukraine, destroying the latter’s ecosystem, humans and economy mindlessly – thereby disturbing the global economy unnecessarily. here comes a big sad story of the economic crisis Sri Lanka has been facing now. First off, the people in Sri Lanka have been reeling from severe economic shocks caused by various factors including a failed regime. unable to bear the brunt of the current economic crisis, people in Sri Lanka have been shunning their meals at least once or twice a day – even avoiding tea and coffee to save money. On the other hand, this current poor situation may lead to numerous humanitarian crises from violence to hunger deaths to suicidal attempts to child crises to threats to women’s safety – if allowed to continue. The Sri Lankan government apart, the international community, neighbouring Asian countries and the uN should send their assistance to Sri Lanka in the form of food items immediately. As a matter of fact, backed by water sources and rigorous agricultural activities, my native areas like Korkai, Tiruchendur, Tuticorin, Nagercoil, Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu have been home to bananas, paddy, betels and other food crops. Only such rigorous agricultural activities and people’s hard work will pave the way for strong food security and economic growth. In this context, the uN, some other Asian representatives and global farm experts should visit Sri Lanka now to take stock of the situation and share their ideas and strategies with the island nation regarding how to strengthen the local agriculture in the next few months. SENTHIL SARAVANA DURAI MUMBAI

Coke Studio Season 14 PAKISTAN has a rich history of music. We have so many talented singers but very few of them got international recognition. Coke Studio Season 14 is breaking the norms for Pakistani music. Coke Studio was established in 2008 and onwards it has produced many hit songs. The best thing about Coke Studio is that it promotes multiculturalism by inviting artists from all regions of Pakistan and it also creates magic from the fusion of different music genres. Coke Studio 14 is produced by Zulfiqar Jabbar Khan also known as Xulfi. Xulfi has made great contributions to music. he has introduced many bands in Pakistan and he is the one that helped in the formation of The All girl Band (TAg), the first ever-all-girl band in Pakistan on the set of Nescafe Basement Season 4. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that so far Coke Studio Season 14 is one of the best things that has happened so far in 2022. The season has featured many new faces along with our senior and renowned singers. Another best thing about this season is that so much effort has been put into the set for each song. each song got its own set representing the theme of the song. Apart from lyrics and music, the video of the songs itself is a treat to watch. There are many reaction videos coming up on YouTube from across the world this season. Some of its songs are in the top ranking on Spotify which is one of the largest music streaming service providers. Kudos to Xulfi and his team for introducing Pakistan’s rich music to the world. HUMA NAWAZ RAWALPINDI

08 WORLD VIEW 1st May 22_Layout 1 4/30/2022 9:39 PM Page 1

Sunday, 1 May, 2022

08 WORLD VIEW

MusliM woMen and the politics of the headscarf FOR MANY WOMEN, WEARING THE HIJAB WAS—AND IS— AN ELEMENT OF PIETY, BUT IT’S BEEN COOPTED INTO A POLITICAL SYMBOL

JSTOR Daily anna piela

S the hijab—the headscarf worn by many Muslim women—has become increasingly visible in global metropolises, it has also become increasingly politicized. Many people are surprised to learn that the hijab, in the sense of a head-covering appears nowhere in the Qur’an. Where it is used, it is as a “curtain” or “barrier” intended to separate the wives of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUh) from visitors. More generally, hijab is used to describe modest behavior and the Qur’an does indeed prescribe modesty in clothing for both men and women. The socalled “hijab verses” (24:30-31) use the Arabic words “khimar” and “jilbab,” translated variously as “covering” or “headscarf” and “outer garment” or “cloak,” respectively. This range of definitions leads to varied understandings of the need for head-covering; some say it is required, others deem it optional. Primarily associated with Islam, the headscarf has been popular in different parts of the world for a spectrum of cultural, religious, and pragmatic reasons. The practice of head covering has been common in Jewish, Christian, and hindu communities, but it never attracted as much attention—and engendered so much controversy—in relation to those faiths as it has done in the Muslim context since the 19th century, when the veil was established as a symbol of Muslim societies by colonial rulers of the Middle east. historically, political actors who banned or imposed partial prohibitions upon it did so to signal their “modern,” secular orientation. There was, for instance, Reza Shah Pahlavi in 1936 in Iran, and Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in Turkey about a decade earlier. Afghanistan’s King Amanullah strongly discouraged its use in the 1920s and 1930s. By contrast, the Islamic Republic of Iran has, since it came to power in 1979, enforced its use as a symbol of its fundamentalist approach and a reproach of what it sees as the Shah’s permissiveness. In egypt, during the British colonial period, the hijab was controversial; Lord Cromer, the British consul in the second half of the 19th century, advocated Muslim women’s unveiling which he saw as improvement of their lives (while fiercely opposing suffrage at home). Leila Ahmed explains in her Women and Gender in Islam that egyptian women had much more varied and nuanced views on the hijab: while some, like huda Sha’rawi, the founder of the egyptian Feminist Union, rejected the hijab and staged public unveilings, others, such as Malak hifni Nasif, took a much more moderate position that women should be able to decide themselves whether to cover their heads. There were also those like Zainab al-Ghazali,

their contemporary and one of the leaders of the Islamist movement in egypt, who believed that the hijab should be mandatory. The Pahlavi dynasty in Iran survived into the 1970s, but the shahs’ rule was widely opposed. The Pahlavis were corrupt, politically repressive, and lavish in their spending and lifestyle. As a sign of civil protest, Iranian women adopted the hijab. It is one of many moments in history when the hijab was employed as a symbol of resistance. As homa hoodfar writes, “veiling is a lived experience full of contradictions and multiple meanings.” In the now classic feminist title The Veil and the Male elite Fatima Mernissi argues that the preoccupation with the hijab in the 80s was ignited by conservative Muslim scholars and movement leaders in Arab countries who advocated limiting women’s mobility and public visibility. Mernissi concluded that powerful male elites were simply threatened by women’s presence and freedom. Another scholar, Fadwa el Guindi, pointed out that at that time, adoption of the hijab helped egyptian women protect the opportunities that modernization had brought, such as access to education and ability to work outside the home. It was then that stereotypes of “modernized women” as socially irresponsible or even sexually promiscuous were used to limit these very opportunities. The hijab, however, as well as other traditional modest garments, including the abaya and the jilbab—cloaks that envelop the body from the neck down—and facecovering niqab played a much more complex role for women who wore them than helping them gain social approval. For many women, wearing the hijab was—and is—an element of piety. As the Islamic Revolution unfolded in Iran in 1979, the hijab became a lens through which external observers interpreted—or misapprehended—developments there. Western media saw the head-covering chador (“tent” in Farsi) as proof that Iranian society considered women inferior, even while it was women themselves who first spontaneously and voluntarily started to wear them as a sign of protest the year before. When Ayatollah Khomeini ruled that women must wear the chador, those who objected were portrayed simply as Iranian-style second wave feminists who make similar demands to those of Western feminists. The anti-colonial aspect of their protests—in particular the criticism of Western powers’ involvement in Iran’s oil industry—was erased. This was the inception, argues Sylvia Chan-Malik, of a new binary: “Islam” versus “feminism.” Moreover, it signaled the moment when feminism as an ideology began to collude with the state, paving the way for future justifications for war as a means to liberate women from male oppression. Gender equality was poised to be an “American:” value that had to be introduced in a military way. The attacks of September 11 introduced a new era: Muslims were collectively punished for terror committed by 19 men, most of them from Saudi Arabia, a longtime US ally. Anti-Muslim hate crimes rose 17-fold in 2001

HISTORICALLY, POLITICAL ACTORS WHO BANNED OR IMPOSED PARTIAL PROHIBITIONS UPON IT DID SO TO SIGNAL THEIR “MODERN,” SECULAR ORIENTATION. THERE WAS, FOR INSTANCE, REZA SHAH PAHLAVI IN 1936 IN IRAN, AND MUSTAFA KEMAL ATATÜRK IN TURKEY ABOUT A DECADE EARLIER. AFGHANISTAN’S KING AMANULLAH STRONGLY DISCOURAGED ITS USE IN THE 1920S AND 1930S compared to 2000. Women who wore the hijab were conspicuous targets. They frequently experienced discrimination at work and racial profiling at airports. American propaganda for the “War on Terrorism” blamed Islam for acts of terror, and American Muslims had to choose Islam or the United States order in order to survive. American Muslim women overwhelmingly decided to step outside of this manufactured binary; thousands took up the hijab, simultaneously claiming the right to be Americans. In reference to her newly adopted hijab, one interview subject said: “Islam is beautiful! Deal with it!” A woman I interviewed for a project about niqab-wearing in America recalled the remarks of a co-worker after she adopted hijab: “halima, what you need to do you need to just wrap a big ol’ American flag around the head and then you can be covered but then nobody will worry about where your loyalties are.” Yet framing Islam as inherently un-American erases the experiences and voices of African-American Muslim women. Their legacy dates back over 400 years, to the ships bound for North America carrying slaves, approximately 30% of whom were Muslim. Their stories indicate that for them, discrimination involved intersecting racist, sexist, and anti-Muslim prejudice, sometimes simultaneously. While there are racial and religious tensions between “transnational”/immigrant and African-American Muslim identities, how these groups practice Islam affect each other. For example, some African-American Muslim women adopt the “Arabstyle” wrapped hijab instead of turbans that are popular among this group. Meanwhile, having observed much more free gender-mixing in African American mosques, many immigrant Muslim women often speak out against strict gender segregation in their mosques. After 9/11, the search for Osama bin Laden, its architect, and his terrorist networks in Afghanistan was reframed as a noble war to liberate Afghan women who had to wear the burka, the all-enveloping garment which covers even the eyes. With echoes of the notoriety that attended the chador in the eyes of the West in 1979, the burka in 2001 became the symbol of women’s oppression at the hands of the patriarchal Taliban. It figured prominently in cynical justifications for the “War on Terror” offered by both right- and left-wing political actors on both sides of the Atlantic. First Lady Laura Bush made this explicit in a radio address in November, 2001 when she asserted that the “fight against terrorism is also a fight for the rights and dignity of women.” Yet the Taliban’s harsh reign became noteworthy to the West only after 9/11. The fact that by 2001, the Taliban had been brutalizing the people of Afghanistan for four years during which activists unsuccessfully campaigned for Western support failed to register. The impact of those initial portrayals of women in burka reverberated beyond the theater of war. In 2004, the French “hijab ban” initiated a wave of legislation that took aim at Muslim women who wore the more concealing form of Muslim dress, the niqab. That ban

was followed in France by a country-wide ban on niqab. Politicians who were in favor of it argued that the niqab is forced on women by male relatives. They compared niqab wearing to Taliban-enforced burka wearing in Afghanistan. Counterarguments presented by French Muslim women who insisted they wore the niqab by choice were largely ignored. Legal challenges to this legislation in the european Court of human Rights were unsuccessful, but the rulings were widely criticized by legal scholars who viewed the Court’s interpretation of “religious practice” as rooted in Christian theology. They argued that the Court could instead accept the position taken by the women who wear the niqab that it is their choice. Otherwise, such laws criminalize the niqab, which eventually results in the erasure of niqab-wearing women from the public space. Several countries, including seven in europe, have instituted a similar ban on the niqab, most recently Switzerland in 2021. elsewhere regional or partial bans are in effect, notably as in the Francophone province of Quebec, where government employees are forbidden from wearing “religious symbols” on the job. These bans remained intact over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, when countries introduced mask mandates, creating a paradoxical situation whereby a Muslim woman could be fined about 150 euros (ca. $160) wearing a niqab, and 135 euros (ca. $147) for going without a mask. Despite—or perhaps because—of these strictures, many Muslim women are challenging negative associations with Islamic dress. Some have actively promoted it as central to “modest fashion,” a global movement spearheaded by religious women selecting stylish fashion choices that allow them to avoid the sexualized designs that are characteristic of mainstream fashion. While at first glance, modest fashion styled by hijabistas appears simply to challenge the stereotype of religious women as dowdy, it is also a space allowing women to negotiate tensions that underpin their interpretations of Islam, personal politics, and demands of capitalism that shape their online content (in which they often recommend a brand or a halal product). The identities that emerge as their result are often seen as conflicting with religious orthodoxy. The hijab and the niqab have become controversial because they have been coopted into political symbols, stripped of any religious import, and exploited by geopolitical actors and movements which use their purported attitude toward Islamic dress as form of political posturing. “It has become impossible to talk about Islam without reference to women,” assert scholars Gholam Khiabany and Milly Williamson, “and impossible to talk of Muslim women without reference to the veil.” Thus, the “discourse of the veil” created by everyone but Muslim women has largely and regrettably overshadowed the insights that Muslim women themselves have made about it.

us should rejoin Jcpoa if it really fears a nuclear iran OVER 40 FORMER TOP EUROPEAN OFFICIALS, INCLUDING FORMER FOREIGN AND DEFENSE MINISTERS FROM OVER HALF A DOZEN COUNTRIES, PUBLISHED AN OPEN LETTER URGING THE US AND IRAN TO CONCLUDE THEIR NEGOTIATIONS ON RETURNING TO THE 2015 JCPOA

RT Bradley Blankenship

he White house on April 26 expressed concern that Iran is allegedly accelerating its nuclear program, saying Tehran could obtain sufficient fissile material for one nuclear bomb within weeks. The remarks echoed those previously coming from the Department of State, underscoring a potential new theater in an already deteriorating global security landscape – even if this assessment may not to be accurate. According to reports in the Israeli media, Washington and Tel Aviv are discussing alternative methods to deal with the potential for a nuclear Iran. This is because, per these reports, the US has essentially abandoned the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, also called the “Iran nuclear deal”) framework, i.e. a diplomatic

route to address the issue. It raises the question of whether a military response would be on the table in the absence of any viable diplomatic solution. On the other hand, over 40 former top european officials, including former foreign and defense ministers from over half a dozen countries, published an open letter urging the US and Iran to conclude their negotiations on returning to the 2015 JCPOA. The letter noted the most contentious issue in the negotiations, the designation of Iran’s Islamic Republican Guard Corps as a “Foreign Terrorist Organization,” has obvious compromises – even if those would be politically complicated on the American domestic scene. It also bashed the last two years of US Iran policy as a bad legacy of former President Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran, which not only failed but made the world an objectively less safe place. These european leaders presented an astute assessment of the situation and really couldn’t have said it better when it comes to Biden’s policies. The fact is that Biden’s unwillingness to negotiate political differences with Tehran, either adopting a compromise or presenting an alternative, is not a viable policy. It is dangerous and

irresponsible. First of all, the United States might not be as wellequipped to engage in a hot war with Iran as it pretends to be, given the current global security situation. The US is already involved in the ongoing Ukraine conflict, mobilizing a significant amount of its military production for weapon supplies to that theater. It is also actively involved in stoking tensions in the Asia-Pacific region. Already a major concern of US military strategists has been avoiding a “two-front war” involving Russia and China, never mind a three-front war now involving Iran. The conflict in Ukraine actually serves as a case in point for why the US should de-escalate with Iran. Prior to Russia’s “special military operation,” the US promised a powerful, unrelenting response to any incursion into Ukraine by Moscow. Those words were hollow – and it has sent a clear message, as have other events around the world, that the US is a fundamentally unreliable partner on security issues. The fact is that the US is simply not prepared for the consequences of its dangerous escalations. Second of all, the US is politically isolated on this matter with only Israel truly on its side. europe clearly

understands that a nuclear arms race in the Middle east is a direct threat to its security and has the potential for serious spillover. This is why europe has been leading on the JCPOA issue ever since the US withdrew and has been hosting negotiations. european leaders have routinely urged the US to rejoin under Biden – calls which have regrettably been ignored. The rest of the world, i.e the actual international community, is very clearly on the side of de-escalation and against nuclear proliferation. Anything which could further these preferences would be seen as desirable, meaning Washington’s unwillingness to come to the table is clearly resented by the international community. White house officials must come to their senses on the JCPOA, get to the negotiating table and come to an agreeable solution with Tehran. The timeframe of a few weeks presented by White house press secretary Jen Psaki may serve as a suitable deadline to get this done as quickly as possible. Doing so would not only help improve a destabilized global security situation that arguably makes nuclear proliferation a legitimate national defense strategy for countries under “maximum pressure” but would also serve to improve America’s reputation around the world. Failure to do so would mean further deterioration of global security and more resentment against Washington for understandable reasons. Bradley Blankenship is an American journalist, columnist and political commentator. He has a syndicated column at CGTN and is a freelance reporter for international news agencies including Xinhua News Agency.

Sunday, 1 May, 2022 | KARACHI

NEWS

corporate corner nhMP, wildlife department sign agreement

work on barter trade between Pakistan, afghanistan started islamabad

ISLAMABAD: On the directions of Inspector General, National Highways and Motorways Police, Inam Ghani, the National Highways and Motorways Police and the Wildlife Department entered into an agreement to ensure protection of wildlife from illegal hunting. National Highways and Motorways Police and the Wildlife Department will jointly patrol across the areas surrounding the motorways to restrict hunters from illegal hunting. National Highways and Motorways Police will not ignore illegal pick-and-drop of hunter on the motorways and take stern action against the violators. Wildlife department officials shall also take action against prohibited hunting in accordance with approval laws. It has also been agreed by both organizations that focal persons shall be nominated for enhancement of interaction to ensure protection of wildlife. IG, NHMP Inam Ghani apprised that protection of wildlife is our common responsibility. Different animals are becoming extinct due to illegal hunting. Core objective of National Highways and Motorways Police is road safety, prompt assistance and impartial enforcement of the law on National Highways and Motorways. Moreover, National Highways and Motorways Police is authorized to issue tickets to pedestrians and drivers for unlawful pick and drop on Motorways in compliance with provisions of National Highways Safety Ordinance (NHSO)-2000. pr

eid prayer in faisal Mosque at 7:30 am Eid-ul-Fitr Prayer will be offered at Faisal Masjid at 7:30 a.m. As per details provided by Dawah Academy of International Islamic University, Islamabad (IIUI), Professor Dr. Muhammad Ilyas, Director General, Dawah Academy, International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI) will deliver sermon and lead the Eid prayer. A large number of faithful shall participate in the Eid prayer. pr

aziz buneri

HERE has been some progress on the proposal of barter trade between Afghanistan and Pakistan as both the countries have setup special committees to formulate recommendations. According to sources in the Pakistan Ministry of Commerce, work has been initiated to kick-start barter trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Because of dollars shortage, it has been decided to start barter trade under which essential items would be provided to Afghanistan in return of its commodities. Sources said that committees comprising the representatives of Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), Pak-Afghan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Sarhad Chamber of Commerce, Quetta Chamber of Commerce, All Pakistan Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Chamber, Rice Export Association, Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association, Cement Manufacturers Association, Poultry Association, Carpet Manufacturers and Exporters Association and Meat Export and Processor Association has been constituted. The committee will arrange online meetings to formulate their recommendations for trade under the barter system and present them to both

the governments. The Vice President Pak-Afghan Joint Chamber of Commerce Zia-ul-Haq Sarhadi welcomed the

decision, saying that it is a positive step forward for the revival and promotion of trade between the two countries.

Customs seizes banned ‘boostin’ injections worth Rs60mn

Pharmaceutical goods’ export decreases 3.25pc in 3 quarters

islamabad Shahzad paracha

The Pakistan Customs has seized banned Boostin injection worth approximately Rs60 million at Islamabad International Airport. Sources said that two passengers of Pakistan origin who have US and South African passport carrying the banned Boostin injection in a flight coming from Qatar to Islamabad. In addition sources said that Islamabad customs also detained

600 luxury mobile phones from the baggage of a person. According to sources customs did not make the seizure report of Boostin injection incident, customs under the law are bound to register FIR if they seize smuggled goods worth Rs5 million. The customs officials in north zone are trying to improve its performance under the supervision of Chief Collector Asghar Khan and recently they transferred a number of officials on bad performance. Additional Collector Rizwan

Salabat told that this item does not come in the smuggling list so that’s why we did take any action. Boostin is an injectable longacting bovine somatotropin used to increase milk production in well-nourished and properly managed dairy cows from the time of peak lactation to drying off. The Supreme Court of Pakistan in 2018 not only imposed a ban but also said boostin’s usage leads to diseases like cancer in children and adults consuming the milk.

scholar defends Phd thesis It is notified for the information of all that Mr. Shafqat Hussain a PhD Scholar of Mechanical Engineering Department of HITEC University Taxila, will defend his research dissertation on Monday, 09 May 2022 at 12:00 PM in IQBAL Auditorium of the University. The topic of his research is “Numerical and Experimental Modeling on Mono-Conque and Multi Layered Armoured Configuration” The research has been supervised by Prof. Dr. Syed Kamran Afaq. Defence is open to all interested individuals can attend the open defence and be seated by 11:45 AM. pr

Task force to ensure import of Palm oil: ministry islamabad Ghulam abbaS

Keeping in view the short supply of palm oil from Indonesia and expected shortage of edible oil in the country, a task force constituted by Ministry of Commerce has started analyzing options for avoiding shortage of the largely consumed commodity. According to officials, a meeting of the recently constituted task force on supply of palm oil was held on Saturday. While chairing the meeting Syed Naveed Qamar, Federal Minister for Commerce, informed that the Prime Minister of Pakistan had constituted the task force to ensure there are no disruptions to the supply of palm oil in local market. He further informed that the supply of palm oil from Indonesia had been temporarily halted owing to their domestic issues. However, he was reassured by his Indonesian counterpart that the supply will be resumed by third week of May. During the meeting, as official statement issued by the ministry, informed the participants that the matter is being taken up at the

highest level and Ministry of Industries and Production and Ministry of Foreign Affairs are also on board to resolve the issue. Diplomatic and commercial channels are being used to reverse the unilateral decision of the Indonesian side. Senior Vice Chairman of the Pakistan Vanaspati Manufacturers Association informed the Federal Minister for Commerce that at the current stock levels, the market demand could be met for another two months. He further informed that more oil will be imported from Malaysia and other options will also be explored, and hoarding and smuggling of edible oil will not be allowed among members. Federal Minister for Commerce invited the participants to work together to avert a hike in price of edible oil and reassured that the government is working towards finding a short as well as a long-term solution to the problem posed by dependency on Indonesian palm oil imports. The meeting was also attended by the Minister of Ministry of Industries and Production, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Investment

Officers posted in Indonesia and Malaysia as well as leading business persons. Earlier, the Federal Minister for Commerce was also briefed regarding the activities and working of the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP). He was informed that TDAP, as a premier trade promotion organization, has twofold tasks of trade promotion and trade facilitation. He was informed that trade promotion activities of TDAP include local exhibitions, participation in international exhibitions, delegations, and promotion of Pakistan’s goods and services abroad through various other media, including digital and online tools and product promotion campaigns. He was further informed that TDAP carries out various activities under the ambit of trade facilitation which include GI registration of indigenous products, GSP and REX registration of exporters, training of new exporters and management of expo centre at Karachi and Hyderabad. The Minister appreciated the efforts of TDAP in promotion of Pakistan’s goods and services around the world.

The export of pharmaceuticals goods from the country has witnessed a decrease of 3.25 per cent during the first three quarters of financial year (2021-22) as compared to the corresponding period of last year. Pakistan exported pharmaceutical products worth $200.529 million during July-March (2021-22) as compared to the export of $207.269 million during July- March (202021), showing negative growth of 3.25 per cent, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). In term of quantity, the pharmaceutical goods export however rose by 7.60 per cent from 18,930 metric ton to 20,262 metric ton, the data revealed. Meanwhile, year-on-year basis the pharmaceutical goods export decreased by 3.61 per cent during the month of March 2022 as compared to the same month of last year. app

Sunday, 1 May, 2022 | KARACHI

10 FORIGEN NEWS

Germany takes Italy to Un coUrt aGaIn over nazI compensatIon claIms

REuTERS

ERMANY has filed a case against Italy at the highest United Nations court because Rome continues to allow victims of Nazi war crimes to claim compensation from the German state even after an earlier ruling that such claims violated international law. Germany’s application to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), published on the court website late on Friday, says Italy continues to allow compensation claims to be brought in domestic courts despite the ICJ’s

2012 ruling that this violated Berlin’s right to immunity under international law. Berlin says that since the 2012 ruling, there have been more than 25 new compensation claims filed in Italy against the German state for damages arising from Nazi crimes during World War II. In many of these cases, courts have ordered Germany to pay compensation. To satisfy the claims in two such cases, Italian courts are trying to seize properties in Rome owned by the German state. Germany says it has filed the case at the ICJ now because an Italian

court has said it will decide by May 25 whether to force a sale of the buildings, some of which house German cultural, archeological, historical and educational institutions. Berlin has asked the court to take so-called provisional measures to ensure Italy does not publicly auction off the property while its wider case over compensation claims is being considered. No date has yet been set for a provisional measures hearing but one is expected within the next few weeks. It generally takes years for the ICJ, also known as the World Court, to issue a final decision in cases.

The dispute over World War II compensation claims started in 2008 when Italy’s highest court ruled that Germany should pay around 1 million euros to families of nine people who were among 203 killed by the German army in Civitella, Tuscany in 1944. A number of similar compensation claims followed. Germany has argued it has already compensated for World War II injustices in extensive peace and reparations treaties with affected countries, paying out billions of euros since the war ended with the Nazi regime’s defeat in 1945.a

IS ‘Beatle’ Kotey sentenced to Iran-Saudi tensions life in jail by US court near end, Iraq PM says WASHINGTON

BAGHDAD

AFP

Alexanda Kotey, part of the so-called Islamic State kidnapand-murder cell known as the “Beatles,” was sentenced to life in prison Friday, with relatives of victims addressing him and another member directly in the US court. Kotey, a 38-year-old former British national, pleaded guilty in September, admitting his role in the deaths of four American hostages in Syria as well as the kidnapping and torture of other journalists and relief workers. He was captured along with another former “Beatle,” El Shafee Elsheikh, by a Kurdish militia in Syria in January 2018 and handed over to US forces in Iraq before being flown to the United States in 2020 to face trial. Elsheikh was found guilty of all charges earlier this month, and will be sentenced on August 19. Both men on Friday appeared in the court in Alexandria, near Washington, where the relatives of their victims were given an opportunity to speak. “You abducted, tortured, and even participated in the murder of good and innocent people and now you have to live with that for the rest of your lives,” Bethany Haines, daughter of one of the victims, told the men. “You both have lost,” added the young British woman, whose father David Haines, a relief worker, was beheaded by the third “Beatle,” Mohammed Emwazi, who was killed in a 2015 drone strike. The nickname was given to the hostagetakers — who grew up and were radicalized in London — by their captives because of their British accents. Active in Syria from 2012 to 2015, the “Beatles” are accused of abducting at least 27 other journalists and relief workers from the United States, Britain, Europe, New Zealand, Russia and Japan. Some were executed, their deaths filmed for IS propaganda videos that shocked the world, while others were released for ransoms. ‘The loss of a child’ Among the victims was American journalist Steven Sotloff, whose mother Shirley on Friday repeatedly urged the two

men to “open your eyes please and look at me.” “How do you begin to describe the unimaginable impact of the loss of a child, taken in the prime of his young adult life, and how it affects you as a parent, sibling, nephew, cousin, friend, lover?” she said. “Steven’s death was like a global worldwide horror movie that was witnessed live and continues to be replayed with the click of a button for millions to see.” The mother of aid worker Kayla Mueller, who was initially held by the “Beatles” but was later turned over to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who reportedly raped her repeatedly, also spoke in court. “We have learned some things, and while they are stories of rape, beatings, terror and horror, I am thankful for each shred of truth no matter how painful it is to hear,” she said. “I am not seeking revenge. I simply want the truth. I believe that is the best way forward for us and our family.” IS announced Mueller’s death in February 2015, saying she was killed in a Jordanian airstrike, a claim disputed by US authorities. Kotey did not speak or show any emotion as Judge TS Ellis handed down the sentence, but his lawyers said that he was remorseful and had agreed to meet the families of his victims. The judge said that as part of the plea bargain, prosecutors had pledged to facilitate his transfer to Britain within 15 years.

An end to years of tension between regional rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia is near, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi said in an interview published on Saturday. Iraq, a neighbour to both countries, has hosted five rounds of talks over the past year aimed at restoring ties between Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia, and Shi’ite-majority Iran. Following the latest round in Baghdad, Iraqi officials have sounded increasingly optimistic, talking of an imminent sixth session and even going so far as to raise the prospect of a resumption of diplomatic relations severed in 2016. Iran and the Saudi kingdom support rival sides in several conflict zones across the region, including in Yemen where the Huthi rebels are backed by Tehran, and Riyadh leads a military coalition supporting the government. In 2016, Iranian protesters attacked Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran after the kingdom executed Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr. Riyadh responded by cutting ties with Tehran. “Our brothers in Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran approach the dialogue with a big responsibility as demanded by the current regional situation,” Kadhemi said in his interview with the state-owned Al-Sabah newspaper. “We are convinced that reconciliation is near,” which would benefit regional stability, said Kadhemi, who Iraqi diplomats say attended the most recent meeting. On Tuesday, the spokesman for Iraq’s Foreign Ministry, Ahmed al-Sahaf, said the talks “are continuing… and could perhaps lead to a restoration of diplomatic representation between Iran and

Saudi Arabia”, state news agency INA reported. In March, Iranian media said that Tehran had suspended participation in the talks after Saudi Arabia announced it had executed a record 81 people in just one day. They had been convicted of various crimes related to “terrorism”, and included men linked to Yemen’s Huthi rebels. But in early March, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said his country and Iran were “neighbours forever”, and that it was “better for both of us to work it out and to look for ways in which we can coexist”. Talks resumed on April 2021 between senior security officials from the two countries.

Virus might be behind mystery child hepatitis cases: US agency NEW YORK AFP

Nine young children from Alabama affected by a mysterious hepatitis (inflammation of the liver) all tested positive for a common pathogen called adenovirus 41, a study by the US health agency said Friday. The children, who ranged in age from about one to six years old and were all previously healthy, are among around 170 cases across 11 countries in recent weeks, according to the World Health Organization. Another state, Wisconsin, is investigating a death. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s new paper is specifically about the cluster in Alabama, even as investigations continue nationwide. “At this time, we believe adenovirus may be the cause for these reported cases, but other potential environmental and situational factors are still being investigated,” the CDC said in a statement that accompanied the study. Adenovirus 41 is known to cause gastroenteritis in children, but “it is not usually known as a cause of hepatitis in otherwise healthy children,” the agency said. However, an investigation had ruled out other common exposures, including Covid; hepatitis viruses A, B, and C (the most common causes of hepatitis in the US); autoimmune hepatitis and Wil-

son disease. The nine Alabama cases occurred be-

tween October 2021 and February 2022. Three experienced acute liver failure, two of

whom required liver transplants. “All patients have recovered or are re-

covering, including the two transplant recipients,” the paper said. Six tested positive for Epstein-Barr Virus but did not have antibodies, which implies an earlier infection, not active. Before hospitalisation, most of the children experienced vomiting and diarrhoea, while some experienced upper respiratory symptoms. During hospitalization, most had yellowing eyes and yellowing skin (jaundice), and enlarged livers. Last week, the CDC issued a health alert to notify doctors and public health authorities to be on the lookout for similar cases. Wisconsin is investigating four cases, including two children who had severe outcomes, one who needed a liver transplant and one fatality. Cases have also been reported in Illinois and elsewhere. CDC recommends children stay up to date on their vaccinations and that parents and caregivers practice preventive actions such as hand hygiene, avoiding people who are sick, covering coughs and sneezes, and avoiding touching the eyes, nose or mouth. Adenoviruses are commonly spread by close personal contact, respiratory droplets and surfaces. There are more than 50 types of adenoviruses, which most commonly cause the cold, but also many other diseases.

Sunday, 1 May, 2022 | KARACHI

SPORTS 11

Real MadRid win 35th SpaniSh la liga title MADrID AFP

EAL Madrid secured a 35th La Liga title on Saturday with four games to spare after a 4-0 home win over Espanyol fuelled by two goals from Rodrygo. Needing just one point to clinch the trophy, Madrid struck twice through the Brazilian in the first half at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium before goals from Marco Asensio and Karim Benzema. Madrid moved 17 points clear of secondplaced Sevilla with four matches to play. Barcelona have a game in hand but are 18 points adrift. Given they have been top since November, there was no surprise about Madrid winning a league they have dominated for months, but dips in form from Barcelona and Sevilla offered the chance for an earlier coronation than expected. With La Liga wrapped up, Madrid can now turn their full attention to the second leg of their semi-final at home to Manchester City on Wednesday, when they will need to overturn a 4-

3 loss from the opening game last week to advance to another European final. Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti rested Benzema and Vinicius Junior from the start for the visit of Espanyol, and Rodrygo seized his chance with two goals late in the first half. He combined with compatriot Marcelo to put Madrid ahead on 33 minutes as he steered into the far corner for only his second league goal this campaign. Mariano Diaz, handed a rare start in attack, then won the ball back deep in Espanyol territory and Rodrygo rolled in a second with a clinical finish past goalkeeper Diego Lopez. Eduardo Camavinga played in Asensio to slam in a third for Madrid on the counter on 55 minutes, with Luka Modric then making way for Toni Kroos and Benzema replacing Casemiro on the hour. Benzema notched his 42nd goal in as many games this season across all competitions to seal a runaway triumph for Madrid, as Ancelotti became the first coach to win all five major European league titles.

Virat Kohli hits laborious 58 to overcome alarming ipl batting slump

Second-ranked Rahm takes two-shot lead at Mexico Open

AFP

MEXICO CITY

Indian superstar cricketer Virat Kohli struck form with his first half-century of this Indian Premier League season for Royal Challengers Bangalore on Saturday. Kohli hit 58 off 53 deliveries against Gujarat Titans at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium after a string of low scores, including two golden ducks in the ongoing Twenty20 tournament. The former captain opened Bangalore’s innings for the second time and got going with two boundaries off fast bowler Mohammed Shami after skipper Faf du Plessis elected to bat due to intense heat. Du Plessis got out for nought but Kohli then got going with Rajat Patidar, who made 52, to put on 99 runs for the second wicket and take the attack to the opposition. He hit a six and four before reaching his fifty as he raised his bat amid a standing ovation from the crowd that included his wife, Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma. “Everybody likes it. See what it means to India, see what it means to IPL,” former England batter Kevin Pietersen said on commentary. “It means hell of a lot to Virat who has been down in the dumps. He has practised hard and tried to keep things simple.” Kohli, who had scores of 41 not out, 12, 5, 48, 1, 12, 0, 0, 9, looked assured in his shot-making as he hit six fours and one six before being bowled by a yorker from Shami. Patidar scored his maiden IPL fifty in 29 balls but Kohli’s innings — his 43rd IPL half-century — remained the flavour of the Bangalore innings which finished on 170 for six. Pundits including former India coach Ravi Shastri had said Kohli, who has failed to score a century in over 100 matches in all formats, is “overcooked” because of too much cricket and should be given a break.

AFP

World number two Jon Rahm opened a two-stroke lead at the Mexico Open on Friday, firing eight birdies in five-under-par 66 for a 36-hole total of 12-under 130 at Vidanta Vallarta. The Spanish star, the highest-ranked player in the field of the long-established event that is part of the US PGA Tour for the first time this year, steered a steady course in more difficult conditions to break free atop the leaderboard after sharing the overnight lead with five others. “Today was a bit more of a grind, but still a really good round of golf,” said Rahm, who had a two-shot lead over American Alex Smalley. Smalley had an eagle and five birdies in his five-under-par 66 for 132. He was one stroke in front of Americans Adam Long, Andrew Novak, Cameron Champ, Patrick Reed, Trey Mullinax and Brandon Hagy. Former Masters champion Reed, Long and Champ all carded five-under-par 66s. Novak and Hagy signed for 67s and Mullinax shot 69. Rahm rolled in a 28-foot birdie putt at the first hole, but promptly gave a shot back with a bogey at the second. After birdies at the third and sixth his “perfect” six-iron at the ninth left him a three and a half-foot birdie putt that saw him make the turn at 10-under. “I think my iron game was really, really good today,” Rahm said. “It was really under control and in those windy conditions I was hitting it really, really solid so, I was never really too surprised where my ball was ending up and I was always in a good position. “That’s probably why I had so many birdie looks out there today.” After a bogey at the 10th, Rahm rolled in a 14-

foot birdie at the 12th, a three-footer at 14 and an eight-foot birdie at the 15th. He followed his third bogey of the day at 16 with a par save from a greenside bunker at the par-three 17th and a sixfoot birdie at the 18th. “I can’t really complain about anything I’m doing right now, so hopefully I can keep that good ball-striking going and keep rolling it the way I have,” said Rahm, who is seeking his first title since he won his maiden major at the US Open at Torrey Pines last year.

Smalley, a 25-year-old in search of his first US PGA Tour title, eagled the par-four third and picked up three birdies on the front nine to make the turn five-under. He had two bogeys and two birdies on the back nine, played in increasingly challenging wind. “It was hard, it certainly was,” Smalley said. “I was able to keep the ball in play and was able to get out of those holes that were playing really long, and happy I’m done with them.”

Boehly consortium to be named as preferred bidder for Chelsea: reports LONDON AFP

A consortium led by Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly will be named as the preferred bidder to buy Chelsea, according to British media reports on Friday. Chelsea’s Russian owner Roman Abramovich put the Premier League club up for sale just before being sanctioned by the British government after the invasion of Ukraine. The protracted bidding process is now believed to be close to a conclusion, with New York bank the Raine Group — handling the sale for Abramovich — reportedly picking Boehly’s group as the front runners. British businessman Jim Ratcliffe had made a dramatic late intervention in the bidding war with a £4.25 billion ($5.3 billion) offer earlier on Friday. Ratcliffe, the founder of chemicals company Ineos, reportedly made the

biggest offer for Chelsea during the process, but his approach came after Raine Group’s initial deadline had passed. Instead, it appears the Boehly consortium will be able to enter into exclusive talks to seal the deal, with the other bidders said to have been informed of the situation. A spokesperson for Boehly’s consortium refused to comment on Friday, but the chairman and chief executive of Eldridge Industries is thought to have taken a major step towards taking over at Stamford Bridge. Boehly has united with fellow Dodgers co-owner Mark Walter, British businessman Jonathan Goldstein, Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss and US investment firm Clearlake Capital in the consortium. Boehly was part of the ownership group that bought the Dodgers for $2.15 billion in 2012. The Dodgers, fuelled by their owners’ significant investment in

star players, won their first World Series title for 32 years in 2020. Chelsea’s Premier League rivals Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal are already owned by American investors. Former Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton and Boston Celtics co-owner Steve Pagliuca are the figureheads of the other two consortiums who made bids to buy the 2021 Champions League winners. Chelsea hope to have a new owner in place by the end of May as boss Thomas Tuchel looks to plan for next season. Due to the sanctions on Abramovich, Tuchel is currently unable to offer new contracts to existing players or sign players from other clubs. Chelsea defenders Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen are both expected to leave on free transfers at the end of this season. Once the Raine Group selects a preferred bidder, the government must then grant a new licence to allow the sale to be completed.

CMYK

Sunday, 1 May, 2022

pRayeR tImIngS

NEWS

Imran asks alvI, top judGe to InvestIGate letterGate

ISLAMABAD Inp

ORMER prime minister Imran Khan on Saturday wrote to President Dr Arif Alvi and Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial seeking from them a public inquiry and the formation of a judicial commission, respectively, to probe the “threatening letter” which the former insists is evidence of a “conspiracy” to topple Pak-

istan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government. Before his government was sent packing through a no-trust motion moved by the then opposition, Khan had repeatedly claimed that the former Pakistan ambassador to the US was told by a senior official of the Biden administration that if the no-confidence resolution succeeded, Islamabad could be forgiven otherwise the country could face dire consequences. He maintains those claims to this day, emphasis-

ing the “US-backed conspiracy” in speeches to supporters following his ouster. In the nearly identical letters, the ex-premier noted that the top judge and president had in their possession copies of the cipher which was given to Ambassador Asad Majeed Khan by US Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu. “The PTI government, as reflected in the last cabinet meeting, was of the view the contents of the cipher clearly reflect a regime change conspiracy to remove PM Imran Khan from the office of the Prime Minister,” the letters said. The vote of no-confidence against Khan was “engineered”, it continued, reasoning the claim with the “shifting allegiance of the then government’s allied parties” and the “purchase of loyalty of some members of PTI”. Khan also clarified that the cipher was the reason why the former deputy speaker of the National Assembly had dismissed the no-trust vote until the cipher was investigated. Subsequently, he requested Justice Bandial and the president to “at least examine the cipher which clearly pointed to a foreign regime change conspiracy” and order an inquiry into it. He also called on the Supreme Court to constitute a commission to conduct open hearings “in order to establish who all in Pakistan were involved in this regime change conspiracy”. “Right now the silence from the Supreme Court of Pakistan and Presidency are creating a sense of betrayal and helplessness amongst the people of Pakistan,” the PTI chairman said, adding that this was bringing them out to protest against “what they see is a violation of their democratic right to vote”.

COAS visits LoC, lauds professional excellence of troops ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Saturday lauded the “professional excellence” of the troops stationed at the Line of Control (LOC), said the military’s media wing. According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the army chief visited the front line troops stationed at the Padhar Sector. He was briefed on the latest situation along the LoC and the operational readiness of the formation. Later, the army chief also interacted with officers and men and had Iftar with them. Later, the army chief also interacted with officers and men and had Iftar with them.

FAJR SUNRISE

ZUHR

ASR MAGHRIB ISHA

4:38

12:30

3:58

5:59

7:00

8:22

fiqah-e-hanfia lahore sehr: 3:52 am iftar: 6:41 Pm

islamabad sehr: 3:50 am iftar: 6:49 Pm

karachi sehr: 4:37 am iftar: 7:01 Pm

fiqah-e-jafaria lahore sehr: 3:42 am iftar: 6:51 Pm

islamabad sehr: 3:40 am iftar: 6:59 Pm

karachi sehr: 4:27 am iftar: 7:11 Pm

In telephonic conversation, Bajwa, Gates discuss polio drive, Covid-19 ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

Army Chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation co-chair Bill Gates held a telephonic conversation on Saturday. According to a statement released by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), matters related to Pakistan’s commitment to comprehensive polio eradication and Covid-19 were discussed. Gates conveyed appreciation for Pakistan Army for supporting the polio drive, ensuring proper reach and coverage. Gen. Bajwa said it was a national cause and credit goes to all the stakeholders involved in the process. Gates also appreciated Pakistan’s success against Covid-19 despite resource constraints. The army chief attributed the success to a true national response, executed through the mechanism of the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) which allowed optimisation of resources. He also appreciated his efforts towards this noble cause and assured him of continued cooperation. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries where the poliovirus still exists. Pakistan reported its first polio case last week in nearly 15 months with a toddler paralysed by the crippling disease in Khyber Pakhtunkwa. “Deeply saddened to share that a 15-month-old boy has been paralyzed in North Waziristan, Southern KP [Khyber Pakhtunkwa], as #Pakistan confirms a wild #poliovirus case after nearly 15 months,” tweeted Dr. Shahzad Baig, Coordinator National Emergency Operations Centre for Pakistan Polio Eradication Program. Before that, Pakistan reported its last polio cases in the Qilla Abdullah district of Balochistan on January 27, 2021.

Researchers, activists express concern at Islamophobic wave in India NEW DELHI anadolu agency

Researchers, activists, and former top bureaucrats have expressed concern at the growing wave of Islamophobia in India, which is home to 10.9% of the world's Muslim population. According to Pew Research Centre, India hosts 213 million Muslims, which make up 15.5% of its 1.38 billion population. Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Asim Ali, a political researcher at the Centre for Policy Research (CPR), a New Delhi-based think tank, said that the rise in anti-Muslim mobilisation, hate speeches, communal agitations, mob violence, is an outcome of a facilitative atmosphere created by the ruling Hindu rightist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). “There is a huge market for anti-Muslim mobilisation, and local entrepreneurs of bigotry – the sadhus and sadhvis (holy Hindu men and women), who have cropped up all over the place, are in a sense exploiting this market,” he said. He said that it was not a question of silence by the ruling class but at times its complicity in this anti-Muslim mobilisation by Hindu extremist groups. Navaid Hamid, president of the All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat, an umbrella organisation of political and social Muslim

organisations, told Anadolu Agency the situation for the minorities is alarming. Alleging that minorities including Muslims and Christians are being made secondclass citizens, he said the trend is bringing disrepute to the country. "The future of this country under this regime is at risk concerning social fabric. We need a public struggle of all citizens, to educate the people about the upcoming dangers which will put this country into chaos and conflict," he said. Recently a group of 108 former top bureaucrats sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention to stop the anti-Muslim mobilisation. “The escalation of hate violence against the minority communities, particularly Muslims, in the last few years and months across several states – Assam, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, all states where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is in power, barring Delhi (where the union government controls the police) – has acquired a frightening new dimension,” said the letter signed by these former top officials. ‘IndIan brand of IslamophobIa Is local’: Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also cautioned against the rising hate politics in the country. "India can be the fulcrum of this new

global order, as a peaceful democracy with economic prosperity. But this requires India to first stem the raging communal divisions within," said Singh. Senior Muslim leader and former Chief of Delhi Minorities Commission Zafarul Islam Khan told Anadolu Agency that the Indian brand of “Islamophobia” is local though it is feeding on the western variant. “The Indian brand was born as a result of the falsification of Indian history following the divide-and-rule policy of the British in the wake of the 1857 Revolution. Over the years, this Indian brand became quite strong and got a new lease of life after the American war on Islam in the wake of 9/11,” he said. He added that every attempt is made to marginalise and criminalise Muslims in every walk of life. "All this is taking place with its tacit approval and will continue at least until the next general elections in May 2024. Thereafter, it may subside for a little while only to be reactivated again before fresh state elections,” said Khan. Recently, several provinces witnessed communal violence during the Hindu festival of Ram Navami. In recent weeks, in the southern state of Karnataka, the hijab or headscarf was banned in schools and colleges, in a setback to Muslim students who were demanding the right to wear the head-

scarf in educational institutions. Now right-wing groups have campaigns like the boycott of Muslim traders from fairs near Hindu temples and a push to ban halal meat. In the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, the local administration demolished the houses of Muslims and blamed them for the violence that broke out in the Khargone area during the Hindu festival. While the state’s home minister, Narottam Mishra, denies that one-sided action has been taken, ac-

tivists say the accused were punished without proving their guilt in a court of law. Government denIes alleGatIons: Supreme Court lawyer Ehtesham Hashmi said the law does not give the government any authority to raze houses without any notice. Rejecting the government's argument that they were acting against encroachments, he said that the government has shut its eyes to large-scale encroachments everywhere and was targeting a particular community.

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