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Monday, 2 November, 2020 I 15 Rabi-ul-Awwal, 1442 I Rs 40.00 I Vol XI No 123 I 52 Pages I Lahore Edition

Imran announces provIncIal status for GIlGIt-BaltIstan g

Premier says oPPosition leaders are sPeaking the language of indian Prime minister narendra modi

ISLAMABAD

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olloWing a prolonged debate and public demands, Prime minister imran khan on friday finally announced to integrate gilgit-Baltistan (gB) into the country as its fifth province “keeping in view the un security Council resolutions”, radio Pakistan reported. addressing the azadi Parade in gilgit, the prime minister said that his government took the decision keeping in view the “long-standing demand of the people of the region”. imran arrived in the region earlier in the day to join its 73rd independence day celebrations. gB celebrates its independence on november 1 every year to mark the region’s liberation from dogra raj in 1947. “i want to pay tribute to gB scouts and those martyrs who gave sacrifices and freed this region [from indian occupation],” he said. imran further said that he could not speak in detail about a development package because of the upcoming elec-

tions on november 15 but assured the people that his government would prioritise helping the poor and people from underdeveloped areas. the announcement to elevate the status of the region comes weeks before the federal unit goes into its third general election. the prime minister’s visit is the first from any of the central leaders of the ruling Pakistan tehreek-e-insaf (Pti) in the region which has attracted relentless political campaigns from the opposition parties especially the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in the run-up to the poll. imran, in his address, also took on the Pakistan democratic movement (Pdm) — the multi-party anti-government alliance of the opposition parties — from “criticising” state institutions. referring to Chief of army staff (Coas) general Qamar Javed Bajwa and inter-services intelligence (isi) director general lieutenant general faiz hameed, he said that the opposition’s criticism of the military leadership has proved he had “appointed right people to the posts”. he was responding to the comments of deposed prime minister and Pakistan

muslim league-nawaz (Pml-n) supreme leader nawaz sharif, who in a series of speeches from london, accused general Bajwa and general hameed of orchestrating his ouster in 2017 and rigging the 2018 general elections.

‘NATION WILL SEE WHO PERSPIRES, SHAKES’: taking a jibe at former national assembly (na) speaker and Pml-n leader for his remarks on the indian pilot, imran said the “nation will see who perspires and whose legs will shake now”. ayaz, while addressing a session of the lower house last week, had claimed the government had released Wing Commander abhinandan Varthaman — the indian air force pilot who was captured in february last year after the Pakistan air force (Paf) shot down his intruding jet during a dogfight — in “capitulation”, fearing “imminent attack” from india. following the claim, inter-services Public relations (isPr) chief major general Babar iftikhar held a press conference on thursday to “set the record straight”, saying abhinandan was released only to “give peace another chance” and not for any other reason. sadiq issued a video clarification as well as held a press talk, saying his statement was blown out of proportion. referring to ayaz’s speech, imran said that the opposition leaders were speaking the language of indian Prime minister narendra modi. “i received congratulatory messages from leaders across the globe for how Pakistan conducted itself after Pulwama and today, he [ayaz] is saying that Pakistan acted out of fear, which was the basis of modi’s entire election campaign,” he added. “and the entire purpose behind this is to blackmail imran khan so that he looks past their looted wealth and gives them a [national reconciliation ordinance] nro,” the premier said. “i want to tell my nation today that imran khan will never forgive these dacoits.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 04

Pakistan snubs fake Indian report of deportation of Pakistanis from France ISLAMABAD staff report

the foreign office (fo) on sunday rejected as “fake news” an indian news report suggesting the “forced” deportation of 118 Pakistan nationals from france in connection with Prime minister imran khan’s recent criticism of President emmanuel macron following his statement about people having the right to publish blasphemous cartoons. asian news international, premium indian news agency, citing a fake twitter account pretending to be handled by the Pakistan embassy in Paris, reported sunday morning that french authorities have rejected 183 visitor visas of Pakistan nationals and “forcefully deported” 118 citizens with proper documents.

“We’re currently in touch with french authority to give our citizens temporary stay,” ani reported. the report was later carried by several indian outlets and made the rounds on social media. rebutting the claim, fo

in today’s issue

spokesperson Zahid hafeez Chaudhri, in a statement, said, “We have noticed some fake news with regard to the Pakistani diaspora in france being spread by some sections of indian media and dummy twitter accounts.” “the baseless and misleading information is patently a handiwork of indian anti-Pakistan propaganda machine working overtime,” he said.

Chaudhri also said that there have been “no complaints” from the Pakistan diaspora in france, whose members are “law-abiding and contributing positively to the french economy.” he added that the official twitter account of Pakistan’s embassy in france @Pakinfrance could be followed for accurate information. special assistant to Prime minister on overseas Pakistanis Zulfi Bukhari also confirmed to arab news that his ministry had not received any such complaints. “there are over 110,000 Pakistanis who are living in france and we have not received any complaint from them recently,” Bukhari said.

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Monday, 2 november, 2020

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FO reJeCtS IndIA'S IrreSPOnSIBle, UnwArrAnted StAteMent Over GB ISLAMABAD

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AKISTAn on Sunday categorically rejected Indian Ministry of External Affairs’ irresponsible and unwarranted statement regarding Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) saying that India had no locus standi whatsoever on the issue — legal, moral or historical.

“Administrative, political and eco-

nomic reforms are a long-standing demand of the people of Gilgit-Baltistan. The envisaged provisional reforms reflect the aspirations of the indigenous populace of Gilgit-Baltistan,” the Foreign office (FO) spokesperson said in a press release.

For more than 73 years, India has been in illegal and forcible occupation of parts of Jammu and Kashmir.

Pakistan called upon India to immediately end its illegal and forcible occupation of parts of Jammu & Kashmir and

comply with its international obligations by allowing the Kashmiris to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination through a free and impartial plebiscite under the auspices of the United nations as enshrined in the relevant Un Security Council resolutions.

Regurgitation of false and fabricated claims by India can neither change the facts nor divert attention from India’s illegal actions and continuing humanitarian crisis resulting from perpetration of the

worst human rights violations in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK), it was added.

“Pakistan’s position on the Jammu & Kashmir dispute remains firmly anchored in the relevant United nations Security Council Resolutions. The final resolution of the Jammu & Kashmir dispute is only possible through the exercise of the Kashmiris’ right to self-determination by holding free and impartial plebiscite under the auspices of the United nations,” the spokesperson said.

Pakistan welcomes Saudi decision to resume Umrah for foreign pilgrims

Maryam advises army to be ‘very careful’ with statements

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Religious Affairs on Sunday welcomed the decision of the Saudi Arabian government to resume the Umrah for international pilgrims as nearly 10,000 foreign visitors arrived in the kingdom after a seven-month hiatus caused by the coronavirus pandemic. “It’s a good step by Saudi Arabia, and it is a blessing for Muslims around the world,” Imran Siddiqui, the spokesperson of the ministry, told a foreign media outlet.

The first flight carrying foreign pilgrims from Pakistan landed at the King Abdulaziz Airport in Jeddah at 4:00 pm, a Saudi newspaper reported. A second flight arrived at 4:30 pm from Indonesia at the same airport. “All health precautions are in place,” head of the airport Essam Fouad said, referring to measures against the spread of the new coronavirus. The move was part of gradual Saudi measures to ease restrictions imposed to stem the spread of the virus in the kingdom. Under the new measure, 20,000 pilgrims and 60,000 worshipers per day will be allowed to perform the ritual at the Grand Mosque, where the Holy Kaaba is located, according to the state-run AlEkhbariya channel. STAFF REPORT

Pakistan Muslim League-nawaz (PML-n) Vice President Maryam nawaz said that the army should not let itself be dragged into politics while telling the director-general of its Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Major General Babar Iftikhar, to be more careful.

The above was said during the PML-n’s Sher Jawan Movement opening ceremony on Sunday.

“Imran Khan and the government benefit if they drag institutions in politics; it suits them. But it does not suit the armed forces and other institutions to appear [as if] they are standing behind a political party,” she said, adding that the ISPR DG, as a trained soldier and spokesperson for the institution, “should be very careful”.

She added that there should be no discrimination, as these can increase the divide between the public and the institutions.

Foodpanda awards $1.875 million offline media account to Blitz Advertising KARACHI: Foodpanda has awarded its $1.875 million offline media review for Pakistan to Spark affiliate Blitz Advertising, to expand its services all over Pakistan, including smaller cities. “By winning the Foodpanda Pakistan 2020 media pitch, which lasted for well over two months, we are committed to delivering superior value & sparking creativity in the mobile food delivery marketplace,” said Ahsen Idris, chief executive officer of Blitz Advertising, in a statement to Profit. “The credit goes to the team for its relentless work and input, with the clarity of thought, value proposition, and the strategic insights. We are super excited to work on this very dynamic category.” Announced in September 2020, the media review by Foodpanda Pakistan had shortlisted GroupM and Blitz Advertising as potential media agencies to take over its overall media strategy development. Adcom Zenith was the incumbent and had served Foodpanda Pakistan since 2017. As reported by Profit, the media agency that won would work with the brand & media teams of Foodpanda Pakistan to meet a specific cost per rating point (CPRP) target which was based on a desire for media efficiency instead of media effectiveness, according to the brief. The media brief detailed that the mobile food delivery marketplace is expanding its services all over Pakistan, including smaller cities, and wanted annual KPIs around efficiency. To determine the best-fit media agency, a test case was issued within the brief as well. BABAR KHAN JAVED

NEWS DESK

Maryam’s statements were in reference to ISPR DG’s comments on PML-n leader Ayaz Sadiq’s statements.

After his comments sparked public outrage and compelled the military to issue a rebuttal, former national Assembly (nA) speaker Ayaz on Saturday had said that he stood by his statement that the decision to release the Indian pilot was in February last year was taken out of the fear of an “imminent attack”.

Following this ISPR chief Major General Iftikhar held a press conference to “set the record straight”.

The army clarified that Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, the Indian Air Force pilot who was captured in February last year after the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) shot down his intruding jet during a dogfight, was released only to “give peace another chance” and not for any other reason. General Iftikhar said that he had a “one-point agenda: to talk about Indian violation of Pakistan’s airspace in February last year”.

Govt orders verification of PIA’s financials ISLAMABAD AHMAD AHMADANI

The federal cabinet has directed to verify the figures claimed

by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Arshad Malik while briefing the federal cabinet on the “Restructuring of PIA”.

According to sources, Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Hussain Chaudhry expressed his reservations over the figures presented by the PIA CEO regarding the progress and strategy to revive the airline.

Earlier on October 20, it was suggested in a meeting of the federal cabinet under the chair Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan that Fawad Hussain Chaudhry should share his number with Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan for verification by the PIA management.

Sources said that Fawad Chaudry pointed out that few of the figures were different from what was claimed by Arshad Malik.

According to the details, Arshad Malik claimed that PIA had suffered a loss of Rs31.9 billion in the current year because of the Covid-19 pandemic and the airline’s total debt stood at Rs400 billion with annual interest payments of Rs24 billion. He said that revenue had surged 42.5pc in 2019, achieving a gross profit of Rs7.8 billion after eight years compared to a gross loss of Rs19.7 billion in 2018 whereas its operating loss went down to Rs7.7 billion in 2019 against Rs32.1 billion in the previous year, showing a 75.9pc improvement. However, PIA could not sustain its earnings as normal operations were suspended in the first week of March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“The reasons for improvement included an 82.5pc improvement in seat factor, increase in passengers, cargo, charter services, excess baggage etc., which resulted in a revenue of Rs44 billion,” the PIA CEO said, adding that three grounded aircraft were also made operational with the help of PIA’s own resources.

Other factors that contributed to the airline’s improvement included the closure of loss-making routes, the addition of profitable routes, reducing operational loss by 76pc through cost-cutting measures, implementing the HITIT sys-

THE AIRLINE'S CEO CLAIMS TO HAVE PRESENTED AUDITED FIGURES, HOWEVER, PUBLISHED FIGURES CANNOT BE VERIFIED AS PIA IS A PUBLIC LISTED COMPANY tem which resulted in savings of $10 million per year, as well as better corporate discipline and the introduction of merit policies. Factors that had caused losses to PIA for years were also highlighted. These included old aircraft with poor seating arrangement, no entertainment system, flying to unprofitable destinations, overstaffing, union activity, and corruption. Legacy loans, liabilities and political intervention also contributed to losses.

During the pandemic, PIA lost the key Umrah season and Hajj operation. There was also a decline in leisure travelling whereas flights to Europe were also suspended in the wake of a probe into fake licenses of the airline’s pilots following a major crash incident in Karachi.

The management had set the revenue target at Rs194.5 billion and operating profit target at Rs0.3 billion. However, later, it revised the revenue target down to Rs94.5 billion and projected operating loss of Rs31.9 billion following the Covid-19 outbreak. Following the presentation, the cabinet directed the Aviation Division to prepare a comprehensive revival plan for PIA and present it to the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) for discussion.

When contacted, a spokesman of PIA confirmed that Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry had expressed concerns on profitability figures claimed by PIA CEO Arshad Malik. He said that the airline’s CEO has presented audited figures in the cabinet which are published but published figures cannot be verified as PIA is a public listed company. “now, the auditor will be held responsible if any of the figures are incorrect, not PIA,” he said.

Pakistan to seek renewal of loan from China Pakistan on Saturday decided to seek a rollover of a $3 billion Chinese trade finance facility which the country cannot afford to pay back when the facility expires in May next year. According to a report by the Express Tribune, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has fully tapped the $3 billion or 20 billion Chinese yuan in the additional trade finance facility available under the China-Pakistan currency swap arrangement as stated in SBP's financial accounts for the fiscal year 2019-20 (FY20). It is pertinent to mention here that most of the funds, originally meant to promote bilateral trade in respective local currencies, were utilised to repay maturing foreign debt and keeping gross foreign currency reserves at comfortable levels. The bilateral currency swap agreement (CSA) was reached by the SBP and the Peoples Bank of China (PBOC) in December 2011 “to promote bilateral trade, finance direct investment and provide shortterm liquidity support”, according to the central bank. “The state bank purchased and utilised Rs475 billion during the year with the maturity buckets of three months to one year,” said the SBP’s financial statement. “We plan to roll over the CSA (currency swap agreement) for another three years in 2021,” said a spokesman for SBP, adding that the $3 billion money is part of the current $12.1 billion in foreign currency reserves held by the central bank. Failing to secure an extension of the loan's expiry date, the SBP will be liable to repay China $3 billion by using dollars to buy Chinese yuan, a move that is certain to impact the country's foreign reserves. Furthermore, another $4 billion short-term loan that Pakistan borrowed from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates will also mature in the next few months. MONITORING REPORT

Bhasha dam vital for economy, job creation: PM DIAMER: Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that Diamer-Bhasha Dam is a vital project for water storage, power generation, increasing viability of Tarbela Dam, creating job opportunities and further strengthening the economy. The prime minister said this while visiting the construction site of the dam in Gilgit-Baltistan on Sunday. He reviewed the ongoing work on the dam site and talked to the workers. The premier expressed his satisfaction on the pace and standard of the construction work and said that it will expedite economic activities in the area. Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) Chairman Lieutenant General (r) Muzammil Hussain briefed the Prime Minister on the ongoing construction work. PM Imran was accompanied by Federal Minister for Water Resources Faisal Vawda, other ministers and officials during his visit to GB. TLTP

JI leader booked for holding political gathering sans admin's nod MUZAFFARGARH: A police case was registered against a Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) leader on Sunday for holding a political gathering in Muzaffargarh without prior permission from authorities and violation of coronavirus guidelines in it. JI leader Senator Sirajul Haq was also present in the gathering, reports suggest.

Reportedly, Saddar police lodged the first information report against Rana Shamshad which said there was no implementation of SOPs at the venue. The complaint was registered under Section 11EE of the anti-terrorism act, 1997, listing him as a proscribed person under the Fourth Schedule. APP

Monday, 2 november, 2020

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COrOnAvIrUS On the rISe In PAkIStAn ISLAMABAD

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TLTP

AKISTAn has reported 17 deaths in the last 24 hours due to novel coronavirus, taking the nationwide tally of fatalities to 6,823, said the national Command and Operation Centre (nCOC) on Sunday.

According to the nCOC, 977 fresh infections emerged during this period, lifting the national tally of cases to 333,970.

Around 27,655 samples were tested during the last 24 hours across the country.

There are 12,592 active cases of the coronavirus as 314,555 patients have so far recuperated from the disease.

So far, Sindh has reported 145,851 cases, followed by Punjab reporting 104,271 cases while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) reported 39,564, Balochistan 15,920, Islamabad 19,970, Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) 4,261 and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) 4,133. A total of 821 patients are under treatment in various hospitals across the country and 97 of them are said to be in critical condition.

Meanwhile, the novel coronavirus has claimed five more lives and infected 255 people during the past 24 hours in Punjab.

In a statement on the daily Covid-19 situation issued on Sunday, the spokesperson Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department Punjab said that five more people

succumbed to the deadly virus in 24 hours, taking the death toll to 2,362 in the province. He maintained that 255 new cases of the coronavirus were reported in the province during the last 24 hours. The province has overall reported 104,271 cases out of which 97,456 have recovered their health.

Meanwhile, the Sindh province on Sunday witnessed a massive spike in Covid-19 cases after it recorded 480 fresh virus cases, including 367 from Karachi, within the past 24 hours, said Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah.

“We have performed 11,313 cases during the day, which resulted in 480 people testing positive for the virus,” the chief minister said while giving a routine daily update on Covid-19 situation in the province. He said that 110 patients had recovered from the deadly infection during the past 24 hours while four people lost their battle against it.

Giving detail of the overall Covid-19 situation in the province, CM Murad said that 146,331 virus cases have been reported in the province so far of which 2,631 succumbed to the infection.

“We have 4,921 active Covid-19 cases in the province of which 245 are being treated at various hospitals while the remaining are self-isolating at their homes,” he said adding that 186 patients are in critical condition while 28 are on ventilators.

STRINGENT ENFORCEMENT OF SOPS: The nCOC has also directed the quarters concerned to spearhead stringent enforcement of standard operating procedures (SOPs) and mass mobilisation adherence to safety guidelines in the wake of surge in coronavirus cases.

The nCOC which met here on Sunday took a detailed review of epidemic curve chart data, prevailing positivity ratio of Covid-19, micro and smart lockdown imposed and implementation of the SOPs. The forum was informed that the positivity ratio of coronavirus cases is surging for the past three weeks whereas all other indicators are showing a rising trend. The nCOC decided that no complacency in adherence to SOPs particularly mask wearing and social distancing can be allowed as it might escalate the contagion.

The meeting also decided to launch an effective media campaign for education and awareness of masses with messages emphasising strict compliance of SOPs by the masses during their outdoors activities.

Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar said that smart lockdown would be imposed in the areas where coronavirus cases are reported.

In a statement, the CM said that the decision for closing the markets at 10 pm had been taken with consultation and more strict measures could be taken in case of not following the SOPs in

Faraz stresses distinction between politics and crime ISLAMABAD TLTP

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz has said that politics and crime must be kept separate. Taking to Twitter on Sunday, the minister said the red line in politics and Pakistan's national interest must be obeyed.

"The nation understands the difference between nawaz Sharif's interests and national interests, nawaz Sharif's followers will also have to accept this," he added. The information minister's statement came in continuity of his and other government officials' statements condemning Pakistan Muslim Leaguenawaz (PML-n) MnA Ayaz Sadiq's October 28 national Assembly (nA) speech wherein he implied that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government had buckled under fear of an Indian attack and released an Indian pilot captured during last year’s military

standoff between the two hostile neighbours.

Faraz had on Friday also tweeted against the PMLn leader's speech, saying, "It was beyond pardon, and that the law would take its course".

“Ayaz Sadiq and his followers should be punished as weakening the state is an unforgivable crime,” the information minister had said.

Separately talking to a private news channel, Faraz said that the state will establish its writ if the leaders of PML-n will continue to stand by their anti-state statement. He termed the anti-Pakistan statement of PML-n leader Ayaz Sadiq as baseless and against the ground reality.

He advised the PML-n leadership to disassociate such elements from their party and rename the party as 'Muslim League-Pakistan'. The information minister said that Pakistan came into being on ideological basis and those who are involved in its defamation would be exposed.

early action helped Pakistan boost exports during pandemic: Bloomberg ISLAMABAD APP

Pakistan’s decision to loosen pandemic restrictions early has helped the country’s exports emerge stronger than its South Asian peers, Bloomberg reported on Saturday. According to a report by Bloomberg, outbound shipments have grown at a faster pace than Bangladesh and India as textiles, which account for half of the total export, led the recovery.

The country saw total shipments grow 7 per cent in September, compared with new Delhi’s 6pc and Dhaka’s 3.5pc. The report stated that Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s administration was the first in the region to ease pandemic restrictions, allowing export units to reopen in April, a month after locking them down to stem the spread of Covid-19. This helped draw companies from the South Asian nation.

“Pakistan has seen orders shifting from multiple nations including China, India and Bangladesh,” the report quoted All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) Secretary General Shahid Sattar as having said. “Gar-

ment manufacturers are operating near-maximum capacity and many can’t take any orders for the next six months.” Even as lockdown curbs disrupted trade in India and Bangladesh for at least two months beginning late March, Pakistan was already making face masks and personal protective gear for export.

The South Asian nation also gained some orders from companies looking to diversify their supply chains amid the trade war between the U.S. and China, the world’s top textile exporter, despite factories there reopening as early as April.

“This war between two giants has given us new opportunities in polyester-cotton products,” the report quoted the nation’s largest textile maker, nishat Mill’s Garment and Home Textile Operations Head Khalid Mehmood having said. “So there is a six-month slot for Pakistan now to capture the maximum number of customers who were China-based.”

Executives from nishat Mills and Interloop Ltd, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of socks that counts nike Inc. and Adidas AG among its clients, said they have seen some orders diverted to them from China.

Ayaz’s comments meant for FM, not COAS, Fawad tells Indian media ISLAMABAD TLTP

Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry has clarified that PML-n leader Ayaz Sadiq's controversial comment on Indian pilot Abhinandan had nothing to do with Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

Speaking to an Indian channel, Fawad said that a statement made last week in the parliament by the former speaker of the national Assembly (nA) was meant for Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and had nothing to do with COAS Bajwa. "You asked me [for my comment] and listened to me so I thank

you for that," the minister told the Indian anchorperson. However, the journalist accused Fawad of "going back on your words". "You're saying you were talking about the events from October 14, that you never talked about October 26. What was one of your colleagues saying yesterday?

He had claimed that 'India would have attacked by 9 pm' and 'our Army chief was sweating'. So, who's speaking the truth: him or you," the Indian anchorperson asked, referring to Fawad and Ayaz’s statement. To which, Fawad responded by saying: "See, politicians issue such statements to discredit each other and I'll tell you once again that in the statement he [Ayaz] gave, he never even mentioned the army chief."

SChOOl ClOSUreS nOt Under COnSIderAtIOn At PreSent: MInISter LAHORE: Punjab Education Minister Dr Murad Raas on Sunday said that the provincial government was not considering closing the schools despite a surge in the number of coronavirus cases across the country. The virus positivity rate reached 3.72 per cent as 807 more people tested positive over the last 24 hours, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) said on Saturday. Raas, through a tweet, said that the Punjab government was keeping a close eye on the coronavirus situation in the schools. He said that random testing was being conducted and a slight increase in numbers has been observed. “Situation being analysed on daily basis. There is NO plan to close Schools as of right now. Please follow SOPs,” he said. The NCOC on Saturday asked citizens to report violations of health precautions, days after tighter restrictions were introduced across the country to curb the infection spread. “With [the] arrival of the 2nd wave & continued widescale violation of sop’s, NCOC has decided to seek citizens help for sop compliance,” Planning Minister Asad Umar, who heads the NCOC, had said in a tweet. STAFF REPORT

Bazaars and markets. He warned that due to violation of the coronavirus SOPs, the number of patients are increasing day by day, therefore, precautionary measures were utmost necessary for saving lives and health.

‘NO DECISION ON LOCKDOWN IN BALOCHISTAN’: The Balochistan government spokesperson Liaquat Shahwani said on Sunday that the decision for imposing micro smart lockdown has not been taken yet by the authorities.

Shahwani said that the nCOC appealed to nationals to follow standard op-

erating procedures (SOPs) during the second wave of the novel coronavirus.

He said that Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan had earlier expressed fear of another wave of Covid-19. The imposition of lockdown had affected citizens due to an increase in financial burden amid an economic crisis, he added.

The spokesperson admitted that a rise in the number of infections was witnessed in the province in September up to 3 per cent, however, it was not decided yet to impose micro-smart lockdown.

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Monday, 2 November, 2020

NEWS

Power struggle ensues between bureaucrats PUNJAB PUNCH SHAHAB OMER

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POWER struggle has erupted between the bureaucrats in the Centre and Lahore, with the officials of the Provincial Management Service (PMS) demanding more powers while doing away with the quota for federal officers.

A meeting of the general body of the PMS Officers Association was held in the provincial capital on Sunday, and was attended by nearly 1,000 provincial officers. The meeting passed a resolution that federal and provincial governments should abolish unconstitutional provincial sub-cadres and provisions of SRO 2020 (1) 1046, SRO 88, 89 and CSP Rules 1954, and restore provincial posts o the constitutional powers of the provincial assembly,

cabinet and chief ministers.

The PMS officers demanded from the Punjab government to limit District Management Group (DMG) officers to 115 posts of provincial sub-cadre as per DMG’s own rules, till a constitutional decision is taken on provincial posts. The demanded that by imposing Rule 7.1, the 57 posts should be given to DMG officers, while the remaining 650 provincial posts should be released for them.

The officers contended that written promises made them should be implemented and S&GAD should be run through a regular minister to eliminate the civil service crisis.

The meeting decided that until their demands are met, the officers will wear black armbands on Mondays and Fridays.

Furthermore, provincial officers also demanded the immediate transfer of chief secretary of Punjab, saying that he had disappointed them.

The root of Pakistan’s administrative and

federal problem lies in the post of chief secretary, said Tariq Mehmood Awan, a senior official of the PMS Association.

The official told Pakistan Today that the unconstitutional appointment of an officer of the Federal Establishment Division and Services to provincial post undermines the federation and the Constitution of Pakistan.

He said that as per the Constitution, the chief minister, along with his ministers, runs the government. “The ministers should be directly accountable to the cabinet through their administrative secretaries, but when the system of all districts and departments is run by the chief secretary, then he will become a source of power and the system will be paralysed,” he said, adding that the system should be run through the ministers.

Awan said that in Pakistan, political and financial federalism has been formed in accordance with the Constitution, while administrative federalism has not been formed

due to the continuous violation of the Constitution by the DMG officials. “Pakistan’s federal and governance problems are due to the colonial and highly-centralised DMG bureaucracy” he said. “More than 4,000 provincial officials have called on the provincial and federal governments to implement administrative federalism in accordance with the Constitution.”

It is worth mentioning here that the power struggle between the provincial and federal bureaucracies is not new, rather it has been going on for the past two decades, and no government has been able to resolve it to date.

In the past, Nasir Mehmood Khosa, the former chief secretary of Punjab, launched various retaliatory actions PMS officers.

Many provincial officers were arrested and imprisoned during his tenure. The clash continues to this day, and the PMS Association has now launched a war against Chief Sec-

Four more dengue cases reported in Punjab

Imran announces provincial status for Gilgit-Baltistan COntinuEd fROm pAgE 01 “The way in which they attacked the judiciary […] they are trying to elevate one judge,” he said, adding that when they, who have “run away abroad”, are cleared in cases, like in the Hudaibiya Paper Mills and money laundering references, then the judiciary is correct but when the verdicts are against them, then the judiciary is wrong.

“Similarly, the pressure on the army is only there so that we forgive them,” he further said.

‘MOST EXTREME’ GOVT IN INDIA: Imran also took on his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, whose government he said was the “most extreme” government in 73 years and hated Muslims and Pakistan.

He said that laws enacted by the Indian government, the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens, were targeted at Indian Muslims, adding that no government had done to Kashmir what this “extremist, racist, totalitarian” government had done.

He emphasised that this was why Pakistan needed a strong army. “There is no

week when our soldiers do not sacrifice their lives. From our merged districts to Balochistan and sometimes even in Karachi, planned terrorism is being carried out. Who is standing in front of them?

Our army and security forces,” he said.

“We know that Narendra Modi’s government is trying to [create chaos] not only through terrorism but through ShiaSunni conflict. They planned to spread chaos by killing Shia and Sunni scholars.

I pay tribute to our army who destroyed

these plans,” he added.

THE VISIT: Imran arrived in Gilgit earlier in the day. According to his office, the premier will also visit Astore National Park and the Diamer-Bhasha dam site to review the construction work.

Sources had informed Pakistan Today that since the PTI has lagged behind in its campaign in the region, the prime minister was expected to announce some development projects, to woo the voters for the general poll.

retary Jawad Rafique Malik.

The provincial officers’ complaints are not without substance. Currently, only five PMS officers are posted as secretaries in Punjab, whereas deputy commissioners (DCs) posted in 25 out of 36 districts of the province are DMG officers. Moreover, DMG officers of BPS-20 and BPS-21 are allotted luxurious bungalows in GOR-1, but the same treatment is not meted out to their provincial counterparts as currently only three PMS officers have been allotted houses in GOR-1.

In addition to this, DMG officers of BPS-19 are often appointed as DCs in different districts, while PMS officers are deprived of this right. Furthermore, BPS-20 DMG officers are compulsorily given the secretariat, but PMS officers are not. Lastly, while the DMG officers are promoted to a higher grade every five years, PMS officers do not have such consistency in promotions.

Meanwhile, PPP Senator Taj Haider, the in-charge of the party’s Central Election Cell, through a letter to the GB chief election commissioner, requested him to take notice of the visit ahead of the elections.

The letter said that the election cell had received complaints from its contesting candidates that Imran accompanied by several cabinet members was scheduled to participate in a ceremony to be attended by the GB governor and the caretaker chief minister, which was in violation of the election code of conduct.

However, Imran’s visit is not unprecedented. Deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif had visited the region in February 2015 ahead of the last election and announced development projects for the region. He had also announced the formation of a high-powered committee to grant constitutional rights to the people of GB. Interestingly, the PTI leadership did not visit GB before the elections were scheduled. Sources said that the opposition’s campaigning in the autonomous region may have prompted the premier to go ahead with his visit.

LAHORE: Provincial health authorities on Sunday reported four more cases of dengue fever in Punjab. According to a spokesperson of the Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department Punjab, three new cases of dengue fever were reported in Lahore and one in Attock. The number of confirmed dengue fever cases in Punjab has reached 147 this year from January 2020 so far, after detection of four new cases, the spokesperson said. He further stated that no deaths have been reported in the ongoing year due to the dengue virus, adding that the most patients have recovered to health. Earlier in the month of August, as many as 533 suspected patients of dengue fever were reported in Punjab in a single day. The patients after tests were declared healthy and were allowed to leave for their homes. Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmeen Rashid earlier said that the provincial government was taking all-out measures to cope with the menace of dengue fever. “The ratio of dengue cases have substantially been reduced due to the efforts made by the district authorities and other concerned departments,” she said. She directed to carry out effective measures for preventing the growth of dengue larva. The minister said that dengue patients were being provided best medical facilities at public sector hospitals in Punjab. TLTP

After 50 years of CoP union, it’s time for introspection AS CHURCH OF PAKISTAN CLOCKS 50 YEARS OF UNITY, BISHOP MARSHALL URGES LEADERSHIP TO RESET VISION FOR CONFRONTING SPIRITUAL AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHALLENGES FACING COMMUNITY LAHORE STAFF REPORT

The founding fathers of the united Church of Pakistan were visionary leaders who recognised the need for a unified church keeping in view the future challenges facing the community and it’s time that the current leadership resets its vision with the same spirit.

These views were expressed by Bishop of Raiwind Azad Marshall while delivering the main sermon on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee of the historic union of four church traditions -- the Anglican Church in Pakistan, the United Church in Pakistan, the United Methodist Church in Pakistan, and the Pakistan Lutheran Church – 50 years ago, at the Cathedral Church of the Resurrection on Sunday.

The celebration mass was attended by the leader-

ship of the Church of Pakistan including Bishop of Peshawar and Moderator CoP Bishop Humphrey Peter, Bishop of Lahore Irfan Jamil, Bishop of Sialkot Alwin Samuel, Bishop of Hyderabad and Moderator’s Commissary for Karachi Diocese Kaleem John, Bishop of Multan Leo Roderick Paul and Bishop of Faisalabad John Samuel. A large number of members of the clergy and congregation of the CoP were also present at the special service.

In his sermon, Bishop Marshall paid tribute to the founding fathers of the CoP and urged the incumbent church leadership to prepare itself for effectively handling the present and future challenges facing the CoP and the community at large.

“50 years ago, these men of vision realised the need for a unified church keeping in view the changing socio-economic and geopolitical challenges that would

deter the growth and impact of the indigenous church in Pakistan. These men of faith and courage boldly set aside their preferences and responded to the prayer that Jesus Christ prayed 'Make them one as you and I are one'. In that moment of obedience, the Church of Pakistan was born in a bid to form a strong union and orthodox Christian presence in our beloved homeland,” he said.

Bishop Marshall said that the founding fathers of the CoP recognised the fact that the Pakistani Christian community, even though it was relatively smaller in number, was divided by denominations. “They knew that these divisions would only weaken the community further and their fears were not unfounded. In fact after 70 years of independence we know how many storms we have weathered and how much we have been jostled by the change and challenges that come at us,” he

said.

Bishop Marshall said that the Golden Jubilee of the church union provided the leadership an opportunity for introspection. “Let us take this opportunity to recognise where we have blind spots, where our vision fails and where our faith is found wanting. Let us reset our vision so that we are not distracted by the failures of the past, and the challenges of the world around us,” he said.

Punjab to hold Revenue Awami Khidmat Katchari from today: CM LAHORE TLTP

The Punjab government has announced to hold Revenue Awami Khidmat Katchari once again across the province from Monday for changing centuries-old style of governance.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar said that revenue-related issues of thousands of citizens would be resolved on the spot. He said that concerned officers will remain present in Revenue Awami Khidmat Katchari from 10:00am to 3:00pm. He claimed that revenue related matters of the people across the province will be dealt under one roof which will help resolve complaints related to revenue at the earliest. Services correction in record, issuance of Fard, entry of transfer deeds, registry, income certificate, inspection record, issuance of domicile and other matters

SAYS OPPOSITION COMPROMISING ON NATIONAL INTEREST FOR POLITICAL GAINS relating to revenue will be resolved in Revenue Awami Khidmat Katchari, he added.

Vowing that public service is Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf (PTI) government’s mission, Buzdar said that deputy commissioner, district collector, additional deputy commissioner, assistant commissioner, tehsildar, sub-registrar, lawyer, patwari and staff of Land Record Centre will be present in the Public Service Courts.

Meanwhile, CM Buzdar said that the opposition parties have left no stone unturned for compromising on Pakistan's interests as their recent narrative is totally against the stance of Pakistan. Opposition leaders should repent from the negative politics, he added.

He said that 220 million Pakistanis will not let any

nefarious conspiracy succeed against Pakistan. Opposition leaders did not avoid from the politics of gathering despite the second wave of coronavirus, he added.

He further said that the opposition leaders have no sentiments for the people as they are unaware of the problems of common man, adding that are only busy in scoring political points instead of standing with the people.

He strongly condemned the negative role of the opposition. He said that Prime Minister Imran Khan has always given priority to the national interest, whereas opposition parties have always ignored the interests of Pakistan for their personal gain. Opposition leaders will be held accountable for their anti-Pakistan statements, he added.

The chief minister said that it is unfortunate that the opposition leaders’ statement is benefiting the eternal enemy of Pakistan. The mentality of the party leaders, who had been in power for the last three decades, has been exposed, he said. Politics is the name of serving the people but the opposition parties have damaged Pakistan's interests for the sake of their vested interests, he added.

The CM said that people of Pakistan strongly condemned every effort for making the national institutions controversial. Pakistanis are standing with their institutions and will continue to support them. There is no future for those who are speaking against the institutions, he added.

Monday, 2 November, 2020

AsiA stoCks beCome more AppeAling AheAd of Us polls: bloomberg NEW YORK

A

AGENCIES

slowing pace of virus infections and optimism over China’s economic recovery is burnishing the appeal of Asian stocks for some money managers as volatility in global markets jumps ahead of next week’s US vote, Bloomberg has reported.

GAM Investment Management, Robeco Hong Kong and Nordea Investment Funds see regional shares extending October’s gains, regardless of who wins the election. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index has beaten the MSCI All-Country World Index by the most since 2008, thanks to a rally in Chinese technology stocks such as Tencent Holdings and Alibaba Group Holding. The daily new virus cases in Asia Pacific have fallen by about a third from a month ago while

the US and parts of Europe saw record increases in recent days. China’s economy has regained all the ground it lost in the first half, boosting prospects for the region’s growth. In contrast, Germany and France have gone back into lockdowns, sending European shares sharply lower.

“Asia has become a safe haven” as the pandemic has worsened in other regions, and China is recovering, said Jian Shi Cortesi, a fund manager at GAM in Zurich, which manages $131 billion in assets. “The two major factors that are driving the markets now, i.e. US election uncertainties and pandemic lockdowns, tend to impact the US and Europe more than Asia.”

The latest economic data from China show its recovery from the pandemic slump is broadening out, with stronger growth in manufacturing and consumer spending. Improving corporate earnings as well as China’s goal of becoming a technology powerhouse

China predicts natural gas demand will double in 15 years BEIJING

should offer fresh catalysts for traders in the nation’s stock market that is the calmest in more than four years.

“China’s recovery should lift the Asia region through economic links”, and will benefit South Korea and Taiwan the most, Ms Cortesi said.

Joshua Crabb, a portfolio manager at Robeco, said Asian stocks will continue to outperform as “economies are starting to heal” from the virus-induced damage and valuations are cheap. Nordea Investment Strategist Sebastien Galy said his firm’s managers are positive primarily because China is recovering.

To be sure, harsher pandemic measures in Europe could damp the recovery prospects of some Asian economies that rely heavily on exports, such as China and Singapore.

Robeco’s Crabb prefers cyclical sectors, especially those linked to the consumer. “Pent up demand has been building” and economies are reopening, he said.

Demand for gold plunges to 11-year low

AGENCIES

China’s largest natural gas supplier has predicted that demand will double over the next 15 years, giving hope to natural gas producers around the world that the industry will soon bounce back. The Chinese economy has been the single largest contributor to global growth over the past several decades. Fossil fuel producers around the world closely watch Beijing, as the goals set by the Chinese government are usually fulfilled. With that in mind, several recent policies have strengthened expectations of an increase in natural gas consumption. PetroChina, China’s largest natural gas supplier, has predicted that demand will double over the next 15 years to 620 bcm despite the effects of the pandemic and the rising importance of renewables. Two aspects of this prediction are remarkable. First, the timing of the publication in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic which has decimated global energy markets. Second, China’s recent announcement that it will become carbon neutral by 2060, which would suggest less, not more, fossil fuel consumption. However, several key characteristics of natural gas make it indispensable in a future where renewables dominate the energy mix. The Chinese political system is highly centralized, meaning that the government frequently succeeds in meeting the goals it sets.

Impressive economic growth over the years has caused significant environmental damage and pollution. Now, the Chinese population is becoming increasingly vocal in its demand for improved living conditions. Beijing, therefore, introduced the coal-togas policy to transform consumption habits. The switch to cleaner natural gas is already bearing fruit in large cities where air quality has improved significantly – especially during the winter heating season. Furthermore, China’s natural gas sector has been shaken up by reforms concerning the energy infrastructure. Companies are forced to relinquish pipelines to newly created PipeChina. According to experts, this could stimulate exploration and production activities and therefore domestic production. Also, by having an independent pipeline operator, the threshold is lowered for smaller parties to enter the market.

LONDON AGENCIES

Gold lost its shine for investors and central banks in the third quarter, the World Gold Council (WGC) said in its latest report, as the coronavirus pandemic weighed on global interest in the precious metal.

Demand for gold slipped by 10 percent from the beginning of the year and plunged to 892.3 tons in the period July-September, according to the WGC data. This is the lowest quarterly total since 2009, the report states, explaining the decline by the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak on investors and consumers.

Meanwhile, central banks have started to tap their gold stockpiles as governments are trying to offset the impact of the virus. Net sales, primarily driven by Uzbekistan and Turkey, amounted to 12 tons over the third quarter, marking the first such move since 2010, according to the WGC. The banks are still expected to resume gold buying before the end of the year, but at a slower pace than in 2018 and 2019.

“Uncertainty has been elevated by the pandemic, motivating many investors – including central banks

– to seek assets that will diversify and protect the value of their portfolios in times of crisis,” the report says. According to a leading analyst at the WGC, Louise Street, the selling came from banks attempting to benefit from the high gold price “at a time when they are fiscally stretched.”

However, investment demand helped to outweigh weakness elsewhere, she noted, adding that this helped to push gold prices to record highs earlier this year. In August, gold bullion hit its historic high of above $2,075 an ounce. It subsequently lost some of the gains, slipping to the current levels of below $1,900 per ounce on Comex.

Bar and coin investment demand jumped by nearly 50 percent year-on-year to 222.1 tons in the third quarter. Another investment instrument, gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs), also saw a quarterly inflow. They took global holdings of gold-backed ETFs to a new record of 3,880 tons.

“It was equally encouraging to see gold’s role as a safe-haven for retail investors shine through this quarter, as people continue to seek stability in volatile markets,” Street said.

NEWS

05

After year of disruption, America set to choose a path ahead After a year of deep disruption, America is poised for a presidential election that renders a verdict on the nation’s role in the world and the direction of its economy, on its willingness to contain an escalating pandemic and its ability to confront systemic racial inequity. But the two men on the ballot, US President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden, offer more than just differing solutions for the country’s most pressing problems. The choice before voters is a referendum on the role of the presidency itself and a test of the sturdiness of democracy, with the president challenging the legitimacy of the outcome even before Election Day and law enforcement agencies braced for the possibility of civil unrest. “There’s more than just your standard ideological difference between the two candidates. There’s a fundamentally different view of what the presidency is and what leadership means for the nation,” said Jeffrey Engel, director of the Centre for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University. Voters appear to recognise the moment: more than 91 million people have already cast ballots, shattering records for early voting. A Trump victory would deepen the anti-establishment, inward-facing approach to the nation’s challenges that he has ushered in over the past four years — an approach enthusiastically embraced by the president’s supporters and loathed by his critics. The courts, which have been stacked with a generation of conservative jurists during Trump’s tenure, would veer further to the right. Victory for Biden would be as much a repudiation of the incumbent as it would be a win for the longtime Democratic politician, a former vice president and senator. Though Biden has outlined an agenda that envisions a more robust role for the federal government in American life and a more aggressive effort to combat the pandemic, the core of his campaign centred on him being a temperamental contrast to Trump. Control of the Senate is also at stake. Competitive races from Maine to Arizona give Democrats a chance to retake the majority from Republicans. Democrats are expected to easily maintain their grip on the House. The election is being held at a moment of bitter partisanship in America, and whichever candidate wins the White House will confront the challenge of governing through deep divisions. If anything, the campaign has clarified how stratified the US has become, with Trump’s base of support coming from overwhelmingly white voters at lower income and education levels. More highly educated Americans, particularly women, and voters of colour, most notably African Americans, have all but abandoned the Republican Party during Trump’s four years in office.

Trump faced a particularly fierce outcry from Black Americans after his response to the largely peaceful protests that erupted across the country this summer over racial injustice in policing. The president highlighted the sporadic outbursts of violence and argued that white, suburban neighbourhoods would be overrun by mayhem if Biden were elected. Biden has condemned Trump as racist. Biden also has made explicit appeals to Republicans, seeking to draw support from those who may have taken a chance on Trump but have been turned off by his divisiveness and fierce personal attacks on his critics. The Democratic nominee has proved to be an alluring alternative to some of those voters, given his more moderate record and campaign agenda, and his more traditional approach to foreign policy, including US engagement in the kinds of multilateral institutions such as Nato that Trump has flirted with abandoning. Dan Giesen, 56, of Minneapolis, said he was a conservative voter before Trump became the Republican nominee four years ago, leading him to vote for third-party candidate Evan McMullin. Last week, Giesen was waiting in line to cast his vote early for Biden. “I think we can deal with partisan differences when our institutions and our norms are in place, but I think that those are being seriously eroded under Donald Trump,” he said. Biden heads into Tuesday’s election with an edge in public polling, including a comfortable national lead and a narrower advantage in some of the battleground states that will decide the contest. AGENCIES

Beheaded, not stirred CIty NotES

s

M A NIAzI

O far, Prime Minister Imran Khan has not said about French President Emanuel Macron what Turkish President Recip Erdogan has.

Is he concerned about French imports from Pakistan? I’m not sure they are going to recover, at least not until France has recovered from the second wave of the coronavirus, which has struck Pakistan too, which has led to making facemasks compulsory, and where there are to be heavy fines mulcted from defaulters.

I do wonder why the police declared a Youm-eTashakur after that. Some cops have even gone as far as calling for a Youm-e-Nijaat. The police have always been eager to get a role in the enforcement of mask-wearing, social distancing or hand washing. Not so much because of an abstract concern for public health, as because of a very concrete concern with their own wealth.

The government has also been considerate in set-

ting high fines for defaulters. Some knowing he would have to pay a fine of Rs100 might prefer to pay up, but if the fine is Rs6,000, then [paying Rs2,000 seems good as a bribe to avoid the hassle. And if there is a lot of hassle paying the fine (like court appearances and trials), the police could probably charge more. Of course, they would duly compensate the magistrates and their staffs for their pains in making the accused miserable.

The attitude of the Islamabad police would have nothing to do with the acquittal of Imran Khan in the storming of PTV and Parliament House during the 2014 dharna. I’m amazed that the rial court merely took six years to reach a decision. That’s unseemly haste. What normally happens is that at this stage the case has had the high court decide an application on whether a witness called by the prosecution is to be allowed to testify or not, but still not have the issue decided by the Supreme Court (SC), which would have been appealed to. Rushing the case through is one of the perks of being in power. Or maybe the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) decided quickly in honour of the reason why the dharna participants stormed PTV and parliament: to get access

CMYK

to bathrooms. The PTI people were tired on the open, you see. And when so many people are doing their morning business in the open, there is a lot of dodging involved if you are coming even a little late.

In honour of this acquittal, I suppose Sudan should be forgiven for recognising Israel. Frankly, that makes almost less sense than United Arab Emirates’s recognition, for Sudan cannot even buy Israeli technology. I suppose they were in a hurry to beat Saudi Arabia in the race while started with the UAE and Bahrain, and which is meant to buttress US President Donald Trump’s election campaign, even though I am not sure that the Sudanese recognition will make much of a difference. I do not think it will make much difference to clouds swirling over Sardar Ayaz Sadiq’s head, who really seems to have put his foot in it by daring to hint that Pakistan was scared into returning shot-down Indian Air Force (IAF) Pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman. Even the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) director general has had to contradict him, when he said that he was returned to keep the peace, and the step was admired all over the world. Yes,

and Kashmir got freed.

Abhinandan got a Param Vir Chakra for his pains.

That reminded me of the Hilal-e-Jurat awarded to Lieutenant General A A K Niazi for commanding in East Pakistan in 1971. Of course, that is not mentioned in polite company these days. Nor is the year 1971 ever to be mentioned. Of course, raking up 1971 does not recognise well enough that the secession of East Pakistan was purely the result of politicians’ machinations.

Of course, the last true patriots in the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) are jumping ship. Lieutenant General (r) Qadir Baloch and Nawab Sanaullah Zehri have left the party in Balochistan, while Mansab Ali Dogar in Multan has joined the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q). And Sean Connery has died.

Ayaz Sadiq is old enough to remember that Connery made James Bond the epitome of style. Of course, Imran will also remember him, but will never admit it.

I suppose he is a favourite of Punjab Governor Sarwar too. After all, he was an MP for Glasgow in Connery’s native Scotland. And Sarwar is the right age to know that vodka martinis are shaken, not stirred.

Monday, 2 November, 2020

06 COMMENT

Enemy wand without our gate

Talking the talk

But when will the PM walk the walk?

W

HILe giving an interview to the German newspaper Der Spiegel, Prime Minister Imran Khan said things he had said before, but their tenuous link with reality made it moot whether he would move on to actualizing his statements. There is much work to be done before Mr Khan’s claim that in the country ‘We have more freedom of speech than almost any Western state’ becomes true. This is contradicted by examples of pressmen being abducted, kept for a few hours, and then released, having been told to keep quiet about their experience. So far, it has been easy to see which report has caused ire. There seem to have been lines drawn, which are meant to tell journalists that they report on these issues at their peril. It does not seem a matter of expressing opinions; the example of a journalist in Karachi is revelatory, for his report was factual, and exposed an official untruth.

Mr Khan also said ponderously that ‘there are always human rights violations in military operations and we sometimes speak about it when it happens. But this should not be done in public.’ This conveniently covers the recent past. The opposition has accused the military of favouring Mr Khan’s PTI, but he has not helped with his evaluation, shared in a public speech, that the opposition was upset because it did not control the ISI. The PTI itself, by its constant refrain that it is on the same page as the military, has dragged the military into the arena of partisan politics, where it remains by its silence on this issue.

Mr Khan also indulged in an old habit, that of political punditry. After having predicted a BJP win in last year’s election, Mr Khan used the interview to comment on US politics. He seemed to have a soft spot for President Donald Trump, whom he said was ‘unlike other politicians in that he plays by his own rules.’ Mr Trump is heading for a comprehensive defeat if the polls are any indication, so Mr Khan might find Mr Biden elected, adding the hostility against Pakistan of knowing Mr Khan took sides to that poured in his ear by his half-Indian Vice-President.

Humayun GauHar

W

e live in dangerous times, which is why they are interesting. Pakistan has discovered another one of the many enemies within. This one is a former speaker of the National Assembly, which is the only thing of consequence attached to him. As a member of the National Assembly, he recently belittled the drubbing that the Pakistan Air Force gave to the Indians when they downed two of their jets and captured one of their pilots, but released him two days later in keeping with the Geneva Convention. He claimed that the Army Chief and the Foreign Minister were quaking because they feared an all-out attack from India at 9 pm that night.

What an idiot. If you don’t believe that he’s an idiot, you just have to see him and say to yourself, “There goes an idiot.” He sang the tune of his master, who is the former prime minister Nawaz Sharif who is busy railing against Pakistan’s Army and its chief from London. The UK has given this convict refuge because they got their hands on a person who could be a weapon to be used against Pakistan if and when the need arises. Could you have imagined some years ago that Nawaz Sharif would be the successor to Altaf Hussain? One lives and learns. everyone was appalled by this statement, which was great fodder for the Indians and their media which went beserk. They needed balm like this to put on their emotional wounds after the thrashing they got. On top of that, the Chinese army had also thrashed them more than once in Ladakh with only their fists and kicks, exposing the Indian army to ridicule, and they captured thousands of miles of Indian territory. But statements like this do create mischief and fall in the category of fitna (mischief) that creates fasad (disharmony) and could disenchant some Pakistanis with

FBR shortfall Where have the reforms gone?

T

He Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has missed its target for the third consecutive month this year in October, collecting Rs 335 billion against the target of Rs 352 billion, meaning that there was a shortfall of Rs 17 billion, to add to the shortfalls of Rs 10 billion and Rs 15 billion occurring in August and September respectively. The collection for the year so far stands at Rs 1,353 billion, which is Rs 21 billion more than the target of Rs 1,332 billion.

After a good July, when the FBR went Rs 63 billion over target, but it seems the FBR is now settling to the more familiar pattern of missed targets and cutting a sorry figure both before the government and more importantly the IMF, which currently sets the target.

The FBR has been given a target of Rs 4,963 billion this year, with the IMF expecting a shortfall of Rs 300 billion. While the FBR is ahead of its target presently, the trend of failures is not encouraging. It is also discouraging that the PTI government campaign promises of FBR reforms have disappeared, and it seems that it is no longer trying. It seems to have given it its best shot when it brought in chartered accountant Shabbar Zaidi from the private sector, but apart from his health breaking down and forcing his departure, not only did the FBR remain as corrupt and inefficient as before, but the collection promised to the IMF were not achieved. The tax-net remained unexpanded, and even the tentative effort, in the shape of making the production of an ID card compulsory for large transactions, was dropped after the threat of a traders’ strike.

The failure to carry out reforms means that the government is not in control of its finances. Further, it makes nonsense of the PTI’s pre-election promises of institution-building. Going by its previous record, the government might want to claim that the economy is recovering, but it should not, considering that not only is the trend not positive, but reforms have not even been tried. The government has tried to duck economic issues. Time is running out, but tough decisions do not mean merely obeying the IMF diktat.

Possible but preventable The horrors of nuclear winter Zainab naZir

S

CReAMING missiles, ghostly rhapsody, tormenting sky, burning snow, bones with cosmic energy, skeletal landscape, crushed victims, bleeding sloughs of flesh, gruesome destruction, frozen rivers and failed crops, nights of annihilations, colourless mornings and the smell of sadness and death— all this is possible but preventable.

The earth goes through periodic cooling periods known as ice ages with the last ice age ending a few thousand years ago. Today, we are resting comfortably in the middle of a mild climate period, which means moderate winters in most places around the world. Today, we are also capable of changing the environment artificially and are already doing so with the uncontrolled release of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere which are warming the planet. With thousands of nuclear weapons around the world, that warming trend could very quickly reverse and send us straight into a man-made ice age.

For most countries, nuclear weapons are an instrument of power but with Pakistan, however, the issue of nuclear weapons is intertwined with the sovereignty and identity of the state and the possible existential threat from India. For Pakistan, Kashmir entails the perennial possibility of disaster and nuclear war. Due to the underlying political and social factors, Kashmir holds the status of a nuclear flashpoint. If the situation along the Line of Control continues to be tense, it would cross the confrontational threshold and could ignite a nuclear war. In India-Pakistan relations, the Kashmir dispute and nuclear issues are interlinked.

Had there been no Kashmir issue between the two foes, there was no need for Pakistan to go nuclear. even a constrained exchange of warheads between the two nations would be among the most cataclysmic ever, notwithstanding the risk of the radioactive after-

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come down to Pakistan’s level and immediately cry, “Rigging!” and ask for a recount. It will throw the election into doubt and erode the legitimacy of the new President if and when he manages to fight his their army, though this one won’t.

The former speaker called Ayaz Sadiq is the clas- way into the White House. Trump has got his storm sic Trojan Horse except that he was not built by the troopers, known as “the Proud Boys”, ready to take enemy who is at our gates but by a do-it-yourself to the streets and unleash violence. The USA will then enemy within our gates. He pushed the limits of pa- start looking like Pakistan after our elections. After triotism to the extent where the Pakistan government that all bets are off because one doesn’t know which is mulling charging him with treason under Article 6 way the cookie will crumble. But since Trump is a petulant, spoilt brat such turof the Constitution. But I moil could suck the security should warn that a case here forces in and one of them, could also fling a lot of manthe Secret Service probably, ufactured mud on the Army Make no mistake. This is no would escort Mr. President and our government, so the out.

Prime Minister should count ordinary election. It is Make no mistake. This to ten before he proceeds. is no ordinary election. It is Wasn’t it Cicero who said America, as in the United America, as in the United that the enemy at the gates is States, its constitution, its States, its constitution, its not as dangerous as the system and its soul, on the enemy within the gates? This system and its soul, on the ballot. So the electors and is the ‘beauty’ of democracy, especially the people will that a so-called parliamentarSo the electors and ballot. have to think very hard and ian can stand up in the Lower very patriotically before House of our Parliament and especially the people will casting their votes otherwise talk such garbage. If we had have to think very hard and the turmoil that could ensue followed the practice of would change the culture of making candidates clear the very patriotically before the United States. If turmoil qualification and disqualification articles in the Consticasting their votes otherwise ensues, America’s much vaunted way of life could be tution before they can the turmoil that could ensue stood upon its head and contest elections, we would again, all bets are off. possibly have fewer Sadiqs. would change the culture of then, So let us see. But we are in I suggested this in an earlier for an interesting few days. article not so long ago. the United States. If turmoil This election is clashing Someone should check head-on with a severe surge ensues, America’s much whether he is perhaps related in corona virus infections in to Mir Sadiq, the traitor who vaunted way of life could be the USA. It is rising slightly betrayed the great Tipu Sulin Pakistan too but in the tan. stood upon its head and UK, Germany, France, The other dangerous Spain et al, it is rising so thing that is happening is the then, again, all bets are off sharply that when it is over US presidential election toand done with, it will have morrow. The opinion polls changed the way of life in are showing a clear lead for these countries quite signifJoe Biden but the psephologists got it all wrong in the 2016 elections when they icantly as well. Britain has already gone into a nasaid that Hilary Clinton would win. Actually they tional lockdown for one month and one doesn’t know were not so wrong. Hilary Clinton won the popular to what extent it will change the country. With Brexit vote by 3 million, which in a truly democratic country looming at the end of this year and no trade policy would have made her President. But the USA has an yet with the eU, God alone knows what will happen undemocratic electoral system where the electoral to the rather interesting european experiment in fucollege counts not the will of the people. This is how ture. But it was an experiment that challenged the they have created a democratic dictatorship and concepts of states with boundaries and encouraged a Trump has certainly shown that he has all the quali- kind of universal con-federalism.

I should end here because I am watching the ties of a dictator. If he wins a second four-year term, he could become a full- fledged dictator and change cricket match.

America like you wouldn’t recognize it.

Humayun Gauhar is a veteran columnist in Anyway, the danger is that if the election is close and Biden wins by even a small margin, Trump will Pakistan and editor of Blue Chip magazine.

An ex-Speaker echoes his master’s voice

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Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

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math and the long-term climatic effects. The effects would be enormous and global.

In 1983, a team of scientists and astronomers, including Carl Sagan, made a terrifying prediction that in the event of a nuclear war, on top of all the damage from the bombs themselves, our world may enter what is known as a nuclear winter.

So, what is a nuclear winter? It is basically the environment of devastation that might come from hundreds, if not thousands of nuclear bombs. These bombs would cause massive firestorms especially if they are dropped on large cities and the smoke, soot and dust would rise up to the stratosphere and spread globally. Because of this, surface temperatures could go down, the ozone layer would get thinner and we could even be thrown into a global famine, but could we survive it?

Nuclear winter involves both science and politics.

A team of researchers recently simulated what would happen in the case of a relatively smaller nuclear winter and their findings were definitely not good. They imagined a nuclear war between India and Pakistan where the countries collectively dropped one hundred nuclear bombs, each about the size of the bomb the USA used on Hiroshima. But why India and Pakistan? Both the countries are traditional and historical enemies with unresolved and prolonged disputes between them. Both the states are nuclear-armed and both adhere to military doctrines.

As a result of any nuclear conflict, the black carbon; which is a major component of soot, would rise to the stratosphere and absorb sunlight. This would heat up the stratosphere and decrease the surface temperature of the earth and the upper one hundred metres of the ocean: hence the winter part of the Nuclear Winter. This would affect all life forms— from animals to plants to humans. This, coupled with the fierce competition for shrinking of basic resources, civil turbulence due to mass starvation, rapidly shifting weather patterns and economic collapse, would devastate all human life with no part of the planet left untouched.

Islamabad – Ph: 051-2204545

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We need to be warned as winter is coming. The temperature increase in the stratosphere might cause major losses in the ozone layer which would cause more exposure to ultraviolet radiation, damaging our health and agricultural crops. In fact, crops would have a really hard time because there will be less rain during nuclear winter and there would be less time for the crops to grow because of killing frosts. With the reduction in crops and possible ultraviolet damage to aquatic life, we may even experience a famine.

In the next five years, the researchers predict that the earth will be around -1.6°C cooler and around 1.1°C cooler over the next 20 years. Growing seasons would be reduced by 10 to 40 days. Moreover, the ozone layer losses would persist for a decade and we need to remember that all of these losses were predicted when only 100 nuclear bombs were dropped but currently, there are more than 15,000 nuclear weapons worldwide. So, if it is 100 bombs or less, it would be possible to survive the famine and other consequences of increased exposure to UV radiation.

But if there ever is a nuclear war that is larger, the nuclear winter would be even more devastating.

Different physicists suggest personalized evaluations of nuclear winter and its global catastrophic threats. However, people are not interested and motivated in helping the far future. They are concerned only with the near future, or with their personal lives and tribes. A hypothetical future war between the South-Asian neighbours can have ramifications for the entire planet. Researchers have assumed that only in a week, both Pakistan and India would detonate 250 nuclear warheads over each other’s cities. According to the research by Colorado University, Boulder, and Rutgers University, this would kill 50-150 million people─ more than the number killed during the six-year-long World War II. There is nothing more important than preventing a nuclear war. We need to rethink and reexamine the role that our nuclear weapons should play. The principal role of our nuclear weapons should be to deter potential adversaries from an attack. The future is dismal. The results predict noontime darkness. All of us are at risk. All of us are responsible. All of us have reasons to be worried about nuclear weapons in the hands of countries, including ours.

Zainab Nazir is a freelance columnist

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Monday, 2 November, 2020

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

PDM and the people

The Ross Perot of Pakistan Making the vote effective mustafa abdullaH balocH

“D

eMOCRACy is when the indigent, and not the men of property, are the rulers.”─ that’s what Aristotle said, but is it applicable in today’s capitalist world? With all the power and money held by few and the poor left with leftovers, and the world divided between the two hostile camps of haves and have-nots, as described Karl Marx in his legendary theory of class struggle, described in his ever popular book Das Kapital. Well, it’s debatable, as it’s not easy to implement ideal democracy in a controlled environment. The only power a common citizen has is the ballot, and then only if the vote does not get stolen.

The progress we see in the West is because of uninterrupted democracy and the ever-flowing path of one system that keeps getting better day by day. Let’s peek into the upcoming elections of the USA where the 46th President would be elected on November 3. The two candidates are putting forward their plans to serve the country where the blues (Democrats) are discrediting te reds (Republicans) over the economic crisis and not dealing with the covid-19 pandemic in the way that was expected by Americans.

Looking back at history, a character named Ross Perot emerged as the third option against the two-party system in the USA. He ran as an independent candidate contesting against Bill Clinton in 1992 and later established the Reform Party. He raised quite a few eyebrows by getting around five percent votes, later only to be forgotten in the annals of history. The American youth thought that he may change the rules of the game, but sadly nothing as such happened.

Here in Pakistan a transplanted minion has been brought into the political stage, ballooned with high hope and a bit of ego to change things, and the rest is history.

While Americans soon realised that only te twoparty system is conducive to their system, but here unfortunately the Ross Perot from Mianwali got into power.

When a character like Ross Perot comes into power then inflation rises to 11 percent, prices of medicines get hiked around 500 percent in two years which includes lifesaving drugs. the cabinet ministers laugh up their sleeves during Cabinet meeting, while the Ross Perot of Mianwali defends his controversial Governor of California, Buzdar. This Ross Perot is going one step ahead by making Parliament submissive and even making a Churchill turn green with envy. This Ross Perot neither has the capacity nor the vision to lead the country towards progress.

The continuous process of democracy is the best way to filter out the elements who failed to deliver. Through votes ultimately a credible and

strong leadership will emerge, let the people de- democracy in turmoil. While here we don’t see cide. Since we are discussing democracy how any resignations even after repeatedly failing to can we ignore its mechanisms and traditions achieve self-set milestones.

So what’s the game changer? What might being practised in the UK, whose Parliament is also known as “The Mother of Parliaments” flip the show that started in 2018? Well, probawhere the constitution is flexible and unwritten, bly something sometime in March... yes you but still holding the Parliament strong since cen- guessed it right: the Senate─ Khan is eager to get his grip on the Senate but at the same time turies with solid conventions.

Pakistan, having a fragile democratic sys- PDM (Pakistan Democratic Movement) is gathtem, needs more time and honest leadership for ering momentum with each passing day and democracy to flourish. No other system can ben- drawing public attention, so what if they march efit the masses except democracy, provided there towards Islamabad as expected in the beginning are no strings attached. One thing which the of 2021, and in panic Kaptaan suffers from the democratic parties must work on is a ‘free and nervous 90s and hits his own wicket. Howzat? fair’ electoral process, failing which the whole If what he said in his campaign was a fairy tale as per his own confesidea of democracy sion, then he must also would just be a deluagree that he is the pied sion. Once the public piper of this fairy tale. loses hope then it is difNow it is a competition No wonder if the Ross ficult to convince them Perot is allowed to conand make them believe between the PDM and the tinue, then at the end of in the power of ballot.

5 years, he would ask Political dissent is enraged public as to who for more 5 years in always good for will lead the agitation order to switch ‘ON’ democracy, it mirrors the button for fairy tale. the wrongdoings of the against this present Now it is a compegovernment at the motition between the ment. Similarly, a government over the PDM and the enraged strong opposition is the public as to who will pillar that balances and inflation and economic lead the agitation keeps the House strong issues. And if the leadership against this present and keeps the governgovernment over the ment alert. The governof PDM shows an iota of inflation and economic ment must always be issues. And if the leadgrateful to opposition clemency towards the ership of PDM shows as it shows it the right incumbent government, then an iota of clemency topath and point out the the incumbent shortcomings in its the public will itself lead the wards government, then the governance. public will itself lead Sadly, today in agitational movement. the agitational movePakistan things are not So far the PDM is gaining ment. the way they should So far the PDM is gainhave been, with the reamomentum insidiously, ing momentum insidison being immature ously, but if they don’t politics, personal but if they don’t cater cater to the expectavendetta and witchhunting of opponents. to the expectations and shy tions and shy away, then the public will The opposition cannot away, then the public will take the lead. even say a word against The people of the the current government take the lead USA were lucky that on the floor of ParliaRoss Perot never made ment or on the media or it to the Oval Office, in a public gathering, as otherwise selling bufthe Ross Perot of Pakistan doesn’t believe in tolerance although he faloes, shelter-homes and egg-onomics would often claims to know more about democracy have been witnessed by the public of the USA, than anyone on earth just because he played the which Pakistan is experiencing right now because gentlemen’s game in London for some years. Al- in this part of the world Ross Perot doesn’t believe though the game didn’t bring any gentleness in in massive economic investments like CPeC. Here is a relevant quote by Bill Clinton: “We him but that’s how things are moving here in all do better when we work together; our differPakistan.

Khan usually quotes the high standards of ences do matter, but our common humanity matdemocracy in the UK, but conveniently forgets ters more.” the fact that the PMs there resign if they fail to Mustafa Abdullah Baloch is a columnist and even pass a single bill as we recently saw David Cameroon and Theresa May, the two Premiers social activist) Twitter: MustafaBaloch_ resigning over Brexit, but still it didn’t put the

WHeN it comes to politics in our country, it seems we keep going in circles. We keep hearing the same slogans, same allegations with similar faces over and over again. eleven parties of the opposition have formed PDM to launch a movement to force fresh elections. Two main parties of this alliance, the PPP and the PMLN have ruled the country for a long time.

Both failed to establish real democracy and lay the foundations of a strong and prosperous Pakistan. The PPP led by Mr. ZA Bhutto in their very first stint did introduce some reforms but did not go far enough to transform the country. That government was eventually ousted by an alliance similar to the PDM. Unfortunately, the outcome of that movement neither helped the people nor the parties which launched it as it culminated in martial law. In the last few decades, the hide and seek of government and the opposition parties continue with prime focus to grab power. When in opposition, all parties make tall claims but forget everything when in power. The governments formed are more like political dynasties than true democratic systems. The parties have no democracy within and have never worked to establish trues democracy when in power. While protesting they know all about inflation, unemployment, and lack of basic facilities, but as soon as they get power, their focus changes to doing whatever it takes to keep a hold on power. The only people benefiting, and prospering seem the political dynasties and their cronies. Over the last twelve years or so, the first PPP was in power and PMLN along with PTI were protesting. When PMLN got power, they forgot about the public but PTI was protesting like anything highlighting all the right issues concerning people. Unfortunately, when PTI got to power, history seems repeating itself. They seem to have forgotten all the promises they made. They seem to be doing everything but the things that would address the issues such as inflation and unemployment. However, now PPP and PMLN have all the wisdom in the world to be the champions of the poor and the marginalized. Although they never really cared about people while in power, they have formed the PDM to remove the current government. I am afraid we are yet again at a point where this would at the least make life worst for people or at the worst result in an outcome that does not benefit either the government or the opposition. I wish for once our politicians would sit together and decide to work for the people of Pakistan rather than to achieve their selfish motives.

Raja Shafaatullah ISlamabad

Boycott?

ReCeNTLy, a French magazine named “Charlie Hebdo” had drawn pictures of our Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H). A teacher was killed in France after showing those pictures of the Prophet (P.B.U.H) to his students. French president emmanuel Macron remarked against our Holy Prophet and Islam while paying homage to teacher who was beheaded outside of his school.

Moreover, those pictures were also projected on government buildings as a tribute to teachers. It has upset the Muslims throughout the world.

Islam is the religion of peace, it strictly prohibited its followers to disgrace someone’s religion. even no other religion or law of the world allows to humiliate any other religion. Then why is France doing these kinds of ill-suited activities over and over? Take notes that it was not the first time. France is practicing such types of inappropriate acts repeatedly.

Several Muslim countries condemned this act of France and boycotted of French products. Many processions were carried out across the Muslim world with slogans “World Muslims are united”, “Macron will pay a high price”. Muslims can give up their lives but can not condone anything against their Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (P.B.U.H) and Islam. It is high time that we should also boycott French goods and show our love for our Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H) and religion. muzaffaR KhoSo SuKKuR

Irresponsible statement ReCeNTLy, former National Assembly speaker Ayaz Sadiq has triggered a controversy by stating on the floor of National Assembly that the PTI government had released captured Indian pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan under the pressure of an Indian attack. The statement of the former speaker created a furore among the people of Pakistan. Because after releasing the captured Indian pilot, Pakistan was heaped with praise by the rest of this worl for this gesture of Pakistan. But now, due to Ayaz Sadiq’s statement, the image that Pakistan currated is being diluted. To sum it up, he should apologise to Pakistani nation because of his irresponsible speech. hunzla KaKaR zhob

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

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

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

Monday, 2 November, 2020

08 WORLD VIEW

Why DonalD Trump Deserves re-elecTion NO OTHER NATIONAL POLITICIAN HAS DISPLAYED THE GUT-LEVEL AWARENESS THAT NOTHING LESS THAN POLICY DISRUPTION WAS NEEDED ON MANY FRONTS, COMBINED WITH THE WILLINGNESS TO ENTER THE ARENA AND THE ABILITY TO INSPIRE MASS SUPPORT

national interest

F

ALAn TOnELSOn

OR foreign policy America First-ers, economic nationalists, and immigration restrictionists, the case for President Donald Trump’s re-election is strong and straightforward, even though the implementation of these policy course changes has been needlessly uneven.

For supporters of the above measures still gripped with doubt, and undecided Americans, the three main reasons for voting Trump are arguably even stronger.

First, between the Trumpist trade and immigration overhaul, and his tax and regulatory cuts, it looks like the president has hit upon a combination of policies that could both ensure improved national economic and technological competitiveness, and build the bipartisan political support needed to achieve these goals.

For years before the Trump era, more realistic trade policies boasted the potential to square a major circle for U.S.-based businesses—and manufacturers in particular. By curbing imports from countries with no serious protections for the environment, workplace safety, labor rights, and the like, tariffs could enable these domestic businesses to maintain and increase competitiveness even under the kinds of stringent regulatory regimes they’ve typically resisted. The

prospect of a big regulatory payoff would appeal to many liberals and progressives, too. Whatever the promise of this approach, the Trump administration has chosen a different combination of policies for the economy—high tariffs, tax and regulatory relief for business, and immigration restrictions that have tightened the labor market. And the strength of the pre-Chinese Communist Party Virus economy—including low unemployment and impressive wage growth for lower-income workers and minorities—attests to its success.

A Trump victory not only could continue this approach. But the president’s renewed political strength, buoyed by support from more economically-forward-looking Republicans and conservatives like Senators Marco Rubio of Florida and Josh Hawley of Missouri, could produce a more complete economic revival strategy that would include family-friendly tax and regulatory policies (like childcare expense breaks and more generous mandatory family leave), and more ambitious industrial policies that would work in tandem with tariffs and sanctions to beat back the China technology and national security threat.

Moreover, a big obstacle to this type of right-of-center (or centrist) conservative populism and economic nationalism would be removed—the president’s need throughout the last four years to support the stances of Congress’ still long list of conventional conservatives in order to ensure their support against impeachment efforts.

A second under-appreciated reason for voting Trump has to do with Democrats and other Trump opponents. Since Trump first announced his candidacy for the White House back in 2015, it’s been imperative for

Americans opposed to him on whatever grounds to come up with viable responses to the economic and social grievances that gave him a platform and a huge political base.

Once he won the presidency, it became even more important for his adversaries to learn the right lessons.

Nothing could be clearer, however, than their refusal to get with a fundamentally new substantive program. As just indicated, conventional Republicans and conservatives capitalized on their role in impeachment politics to push their longstanding and increasingly outdated (given the president’s overwhelming popularity among Republican voters) agenda. As for Democrats and liberals, in conjunction with the outgoing Obama administration, the countless haters in the intelligence community and elsewhere in the permanent bureaucracy, and the establishment conservatives Trump needed to staff much of his administration, they concentrated on ousting an elected president they considered illegitimate and wasted more than three precious years of the nation’s time. And when they weren’t pushing a series of charges that deserve the titles “Russia Hoax” and “Ukraine Hoax,” the Democrats and liberals were embracing ever more extreme Left stances as scornful of working-class priorities as their defeated candidate’s description of many Trump voters as “deplorables.”

If the president is defeated this time around, why would any of these factions change? This forecast leads a third and perhaps most important reason for voting Trump. As has been painfully obvious especially since George Floyd’s unacceptable death at the hands of Minneapolis police officers, the type of arrogance, sanctimony,

Muslims’ rage at Macron threatens to escalate tensions across Europe

Guardian SImOn TISDALL

Maybe he knew what he was doing. Maybe he didn’t. Either way, Emmanuel Macron set France and Europe on a new collision course with the Islamic world last month – all in the name of freedom. Last week’s spate of lethal terror attacks suggests the French president may have started something he cannot finish.

Macron’s impassioned speech on 2 October, vowing to fight “radical Islamism”, eradicate “separatism” and uphold secular values at all costs, foreshadowed this latest crisis. It was seen at the time as a mainly domestic political exercise, intended to spike the guns of France’s far right before his 2022 election campaign.

But Muslim leaders were enraged by Macron’s description of Islam as a faith “in crisis all over the world” that had, in effect, been hijacked by extremists. Then, two weeks later, after the murder of a Paris schoolteacher, Samuel Paty, by a foreign-born Islamist, an undaunted Macron doubled down. His defence of the notorious, recently republished Charlie Hebdo caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), which Paty had shown to pupils, and a national crackdown on mosques, imams and Islamic groups added fuel to the fire. France itself was “under attack”, Macron dramatically declared, a phrase he repeated on Thursday.

Political and religious leaders from Bangladesh to Jordan and anti-French demonstrators publicly vented their fury, accusing him of doing “Satan’s work”. Much of what he said was misunderstood or purposefully distorted.

Truth was a casualty, too.

Yet the fact remained: by loudly and uncompromisingly championing French values, Macron had managed simultaneously to outrage mainstream Muslim opinion and, apparently, to energise extremists.

The immediate, grim result, which fairly or unfairly will be laid at his door, was a string of attacks in Nice, Avignon and Saudi Arabia.

France, struggling to contain a worsening Covid pandemic, is now on its highest terrorism alert, with schools and churches under armed guard. Macron cannot be faulted for sticking up for the French post-Enlightenment ideal of an equal, integrated, secular and republican society. But he and other European leaders now face a possibly powerful Islamophobic, antiMuslim backlash that could spawn yet more bloodshed. This sudden explosion of violence and recrimination potentially affects everyone.

All of Europe’s governments risk being drawn into a deepening polarisation, with evident implications for peace, security and social cohesion. Like France’s National Rally (formerly the National Front), German, Italian and other far-right Islamophobic and anti-migrant populist parties whose public support has been falling of late must be licking their lips. Muslim leaders such as Pakistan’s Imran Khan have seized on the affair to deflect anger over their own failings. Macron’s critics will say this is what comes of having an imperious presidentin-a-hurry, pushing to seize the reins of European leadership. Macron wants to turn the EU into a more powerful, independent bloc that stands up for itself against the US, China – and Islam. But the price tag for his neo-Gaullist European vision keeps rising.

Europe’s most determined opponents have meanwhile spotted an opportunity. Chief among them is Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey’s president. He suggested Macron was mentally unbalanced. “Our history is one of a battle against tyranny and fanaticism,” Macron responded via Twitter. No prizes for which tyrant and fanatic he was talking about.

Erdoğan is a deeply unpleasant, authoritarian Islamic nationalist. But in one respect, he and Macron are alike. Erdoğan also casts himself as a pan-regional leader, as a tutor and defender of the Sunni Muslim world. This ambition was symbolised by his provocative redesignation of Istanbul’s former cathedral, Hagia Sophia, as a mosque.

Forget Trump v Biden – Erdoğan v Macron is the heavyweight bout of the year. The two have already gone several punishing rounds over disputed gas reserves in the eastern Mediterranean, Libya, Syria and NagornoKarabakh. At Macron’s urging, December’s EU summit will discuss sanctions on Turkey.

Yet two men’s clashing ideas and geopolitical rivalries do not explain the depth and breadth of Muslim-world fury. That stems from dismay felt by the overwhelmingly nonviolent Muslim majority about entrenched European Islamophobia, racial discrimination, cultural insensitivity, and heartless migrant policies.

Further afield, perceived French neocolonialism in the Sahel and apparent western indifference to the endless horrors in Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, Myanmar and Xinjiang feed tensions. For many Muslims, the projection of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) caricatures on to the walls of several French cities after Paty’s death was intolerable. Yet so, too, was the attack on a Nice church. On both sides, lack of respect is a big part of the problem.

The destructive impact of Covid-19 has frayed tempers further, putting governments and citizens everywhere under pressure. Into this giant mantrap Macron has jumped feetfirst, increasing, not reducing, misunderstanding at a time of extreme stress.

A Pew Research survey last year found that solid majorities of people in the UK, France, the Netherlands, Germany and Sweden hold positive opinions of Muslims in their country.

In Italy and southern and eastern Europe, there is greater negativity. Although far-right populist parties continue to exploit fears about identity and immigration, especially among less-educated and older people, and although recorded incidents of Islamophobia are up, overall tensions have fallen compared with five years ago.

On the other hand, the French policy mandating assimilation into a prescriptively “lay” society – unlike British-style laissez-faire multiculturalism – appears too rigid. Macron should think again about how it is applied. It’s plain the relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims in Europe remains fragile. The danger is obvious. Will the bitter furore over Macron’s justified but clumsy defence of French values, the perception Islam is under assault, and the ensuing terror, tip Europe into a new, confrontational downward spiral? Let’s hope not.

and—more crucially—intolerance that had come to permeate Democratic, liberal, and progressive ranks has spread widely into Wall Street and the Big Business sector.

To all Americans devoted to representative and accountable government, and to the individual liberties and vigorous competition of ideas that’s their fundamental foundation, the results have been nothing less than terrifying. Along with higher education, the Mainstream Media, Big Tech, and the entertainment and sports industries, the nation’s corporate establishment now line up squarely behind the idea that pushing particular political, economic, social, and cultural ideas and suppressing others have become so paramount that schooling should turn into propaganda, news reporting should abandon even the goal of objectivity, companies should enforce party lines in the workplace and agitate for them in advertising and sponsorship practices, and that free expression itself needed a major rethink.

And oh yes: Bring on a government-run “Truth and Reconciliation Commission” to investigate—and maybe prosecute—crimes and other instances of “wrongdoing” by the president, by (any?) officials in his administration. For good measure, add every “politician, executive, and media mogul whose greed and cowardice enabled” the Trump “catastrophe,” as former Clinton administration Labor Secretary Robert Reich has demanded. Along with a Scarlet Letter for everyone who’s expressed any contrary opinion in the conventional or new media? Or in conversation with vigilant friends or family?

That Truth Commission idea is still pretty fringy. So far. But not too long ago, many of the developments described above were, too.

And if Trump loses, there will be no major

national institution with any inclination or power to resist this authoritarian tide.

It’s reasonable to suppose that more traditional beliefs about free expression are so deeply ingrained in the national character that eventually they’ll reassert themselves.

Pure self-interest will probably help, too. In this vein, it was interesting to note that Walmart, one of the mega-companies that has proclaimed its belief that “Black Lives Matter,” and promised to spend $100 million on a “center for racial equality” just saw one of its Philadelphia stores ransacked by looters during the unrest that has followed a controversial police shooting.

But at best, tremendous damage can be done between now and “eventually.” At worst, the active backing of or acquiescence in this Woke agenda by America’s wealthiest, most influential forces could produce lasting harm to the nation’s life.

No doubt that if most Trump supporters had been asked back in 2015, “Of all the 300-plus million Americans, who would you like to become president?” their first answer wouldn’t have been “Donald J. Trump.” But no other national politician at that point displayed the gut-level awareness that nothing less than policy disruption was needed on many fronts, combined with the willingness to enter the arena and the ability to inspire mass support.

Nowadays, and possibly more important, he’s the only national leader willing and able to generate the kind of countervailing force needed not only to push back against Woke-ism, but to provide some semblance of the political pluralism indeed, diversity— required by representative, accountable government. If the price is more bombast and even downright vulgarity, and less regard for policy procedure and for the legitimate sensitivities of many genuinely aggrieved groups, than even many Trumpers would like to see, given American politics’ failure to date to provide a more reassuring disruptor, it’s sadly one that’s worth paying.

Alan Tonelson is the Founder of RealityChek, a blog on economics and national security, and a columnist for IndustryToday.com. In 2016, he advised both the Trump and Sanders campaigns on international trade issues.

The disease that’s killing Trump’s presidency Globe and Mail EDITORIAL BOARD

US President Donald Trump is on the precipice of an overwhelming defeat, one that may hand control of all three elected arms of the American government – the White House, House of Representatives and Senate – to the Democratic Party. The proximate cause is the SARS-CoV-2 virus and Mr. Trump’s entirely self-defeating response to it.

Nearly 230,000 Americans are dead, a tally that in recent days has risen by more than 800 a day. The number of infections is also hitting new highs; last week saw the first day with more than 80,000 new cases.

Yes, things in some European countries are as bad or worse. The relative death toll is higher in Belgium and Spain – and Quebec. And Mr. Trump, whatever his pretensions of omnipotence, is hardly responsible for all that has gone wrong in the U.S. pandemic fight. The country is a federation of 50 states, and some Democratic-led states, such as New York, are among the hardest hit.

A national crisis often causes voters to rally around their government, and even Mr. Trump saw his approval rating temporarily jump when the virus first hit. But he did nothing to keep that support. Instead of leading the virus response, he repeatedly blocked it, delivering month after month of inaction, evasions and falsehoods, seasoned with non-stop mockery of basic publichealth measures such as masks.

Mr. Trump mostly used his bully pulpit to undermine and belittle the national pandemic response, including that of his own administration. He thereby eviscerated his own credibility and turned himself into the lightning rod for anger over the United States' COVID-19 failures.

The President of the U.S., rather than showing leadership, kept telling voters that the only problem was that his opponents were spreading a fake news virus. That approach may have cheered supporters who see conspiracies everywhere and live to stick it to the left, but for many more Americans, it crystalized their opinion of him as a dangerous sower of chaos and a threat to their own well-being.

For the first three years of his administration, many Americans believed they could safely ignore Mr. Trump’s constant at-

tacks on common sense and the status quo.

After all, the man’s Twitter bark has always been worse than his actual bite. But the virus, and Mr. Trump’s insidious response to it, have been impossible to ignore.

Prior to the pandemic, a lot of voters simply tuned out his tirades. The fact that eight years of economic growth and falling unemployment under Barack Obama continued under Mr. Trump was his main sales pitch. His unfavourability rating has been higher than his favourability throughout his presidency, but with most Americans employed and incomes rising, he had a shot at re-election, in spite of himself.

Then the virus arrived and blew a hole in the U.S. economy.

It also shone a bright, unflattering light on the Republican quest to take away health care from millions of voters, by killing the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare.

Fear of GOP plans to whittle down an already weak social safety net is the main reason Democrats won control of the House of Representatives in the 2018 midterm elections. The gaps in the U.S. health care system were underlined this year, as millions of people lost their jobs – and their health insurance – at precisely the moment they were most worried about becoming critically ill. Mr. Trump’s response has been to promise to replace Obamacare with something even better. What, exactly? For four years, he hasn’t been able to say. It’s pure snake-oil salesmanship. There is no Trump health plan.

With nothing else to run on, Mr. Trump treated the rioting that accompanied some Black Lives Matters protests in the summer as a godsend. Praying for violence, and doing his best to encourage it, he promised a crackdown. But the protests mostly remain peaceful. He tried to sow chaos but reaped little.

And in Joe Biden, Mr. Trump ran into his worst nightmare. The former vice-president is the candidate for a return to normalcy. He is promising not revolutionary change, but modest improvements, accompanied by a soothing press of the mute button. He is no left-wing radical. He hasn’t a radical bone in his body.

Mr. Trump was elected four years ago by a frustrated electorate that wanted mayhem.

Four years later, the desire for another go on the roller coaster is simply no longer there.

Monday, 2 November, 2020

BUSINESS 09

FPCCI asks govt to reduce petroleum levy, taxes The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) has asked the government to slash high petroleum levy and the general sales tax (GST) on petroleum products to support the industry and trade.

FPCCI President Mian Anjum Nisar in a press statement on Saturday said the petroleum levy has been kept on higher side of almost Rs30 per litre, putting an additional burden of billions of rupees on the consumers just to achieve revenue target at a time when POL prices are stable in the international market. “The government increased the levy on petroleum products manifold to minimise its revenue losses instead of letting consumers benefit fully from the reduction in global oil prices during the pandemic-hit economic slowdown,” he said. The FPCCI president said the trade and industry could have reaped the full benefits of the drop in global oil prices and the rates could have been reduced further if the government had not increased the levy in May this year to adjust the losses when the government had announced a sizeable cut in petroleum prices. The highest levy raise of 300 per cent was on kerosene oil, imposed in May this year when the government decreased its price to Rs47.44 per litre but increased the levy by Rs18.02 per litre from Rs6 per litre.

According to the FPCCI president, the government increased petroleum levy by up to another Rs7 per litre on petroleum products in September instead of providing the benefit of lowering international oil prices to the consumers and reducing the POL prices. He said on petrol, the levy was increased by Rs6.29 to Rs27.99 per litre followed by Rs7 per litre on high-speed diesel to Rs29.95 per litre and E-10 gasoline by Rs5 per litre to Rs26.44. He said that at a time when the country’s GDP was further stretched owing to nominal exports growth owing to the high cost of doing business, the businesses need maximum relief. “Pakistan’s economy is going through a challenging time due to the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic. For improving the cash flow of businesses at this crisis-like situation of ongoing Covid-19, the government should support the economy by cutting tax rates on all items including the POL products,” he demanded. He observed that the government has already enhanced the general sales tax on all petroleum products to a standard rate of 17pc across the board to generate additional revenues. Earlier, the government was charging 0.5pc GST on light diesel, 2pc on kerosene, 8pc on petrol and 13pc on HSD. The FPCCI president concluded by saying that a sizeable cut in POL prices would certainly bring down the cost of doing business besides making local products competitive on the world markets. NEWS DESK

UK extends 80pc wage subsidies as England goes back into lockdown LONDON AGENCIES

Britain’s government will extend by a month its costly coronavirus wage subsidies to ensure workers who are temporarily laid off receive 80 per cent of their pay, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Saturday as he announced a new England-wide lockdown. Britain introduced the 80pc wage subsidy scheme in March and it had been due to expire on Saturday to be replaced with more targeted and less generous support. The scheme supported 8.9 million jobs at its peak and had been forecast to cost around 52 billion pounds ($67.28 billion) over its eight-month lifespan. Firms will have to contribute 5pc of the employment costs for workers covered by the extension, the finance ministry said. It also said a mortgage payment holiday scheme would be extended for households and business premises which are required to close because of coronavirus restrictions would get grants of up to 3,000 pounds ($3,881) a month. Mortgage borrowers impacted by the pandemic and who have not yet had a payment break will be entitled to a six-month holiday, while those that have already started a payment holiday will be able to top up to six months, the ministry said. “I have always said that we will do whatever it takes as the situation evolves. Now, as restrictions get tougher, we are taking steps to provide further financial support to protect jobs and businesses,” finance minister Rishi Sunak said. “These changes will provide a vital safety net for people across the UK.”

PaKIstan to annoUnCE law FIrm For FIghtIng BasmatI gI tag CasE

P

AKISTAN has short-listed two Brusselsbased international law firms, Messrs Altius and Messrs Liedekerke Wolters Waelbroeck Kirkpatrick to fight the country's Basmati Geographical Indication (GI) tag case in the European Union whereas Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan is expected to announce the finalised option's name soon.

The government had decided to oppose India's application demanding exclusive rights of claiming a GI tag to Basmati rice in the EU on September 22 whereas India had applied for the tag under Article 50(2)(a) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs, mentioned in the EU official journal dated September 11, 2010.

The protection of geographical indications is aimed at boosting exports, helping support rural development in the country, and enhancing the livelihood of agriculture producers and skilled craftsmen.

The marketing of GI products also enhances secondary economic activities and boost regional economic development in various regions boosting economic development. GI law protects local products

such as the Peshawari chappals, Multani blue pottery, Hunza apricots, Hala ajrak, Kasuri methi, Chaman grapes, Turbat dates etc.

Currently, India and Pakistan have 65 and 35 per cent shares of Basmati in the world rice trade, respectively. Basmati rice fetches Pakistan around $800 million to $1 billion annually.

It may be mentioned here Pakistan, after a delay of almost 18 years, had enacted Geographical Indications (Registration and Protection) Act in March this year.

As per the Indian application, basmati is special long grain aromatic rice grown and produced in a particular geographical region of the Indian sub-continent. In India, this region is a part of northern India, below the foothills of the Himalayas forming part of the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP).

Further, India has claimed that basmati is grown and produced in all districts of the states of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, as well as in specific districts of western Uttar Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir.

According to a report by Dawn, the relevant rules confer the right to oppose the Indian application pur-

suant to Article 51 of the Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 by Dec10, 2020.

The notice of opposition should contain a declaration that the application might infringe the conditions laid down in the regulation after which the commission will forward the notice of opposition to the relevant authority or body without delay. If the notice of opposition is lodged with the commission and is followed within two months by a reasoned statement of opposition, the commission will check the admissibility of this reasoned statement of opposition.

Within two months after the receipt of a reasoned statement of opposition, the commission will invite the authority or person that lodged the opposition and the authority or body that lodged the application to engage in appropriate consultations for a reasonable period that will not exceed three months.

It may be mentioned here apart from opposing the GI tag in the EU, Pakistan must also consult international dictionaries to rectify the definition as the same rice is largely produced in the country.

Moreover, India is also registering Himalayan salt and Multani Matti with Indian names in the international market. NEWS DESK

KP farmers lament high cultivation costs PESHAWAR AZIZ BUNERI

Farmers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and tribal districts have started preparing lands for wheat crops, however, prices of fertilisers and seeds have shot up this year, making purchases next to impossible for the cultivators.

Farmers further complained that in addition to expensive seeds, land preparation has also become too costly due to high petroleum prices, making it difficult for them to look after agriculture lands in the province.

Noman Khan, a farmer from

Charsadda, told Profit that landlords are facing severe difficulties in preparing lands for wheat crop due to rising prices of transport, seeds and fertilisers for the 12th year in a row.

He said that the lands of KP are suitable for almost all kinds of crops, vegetables and fruits. However, the government has never focused its attention on the uplift of the agriculture sector.

“In addition to wheat and maize, various types of vegetables and fruits including sugarcane, tobacco and poppy are also grown here and exported to other provinces of the country as well

as Afghanistan and Central Asian countries,” Khan said.

It may be noted here that in Pakistan, very little budget is allocated for agriculture, which hinders agricultural development and the solution of farmers' problems.

Noman Khan and other farmers urged the government to focus on agriculture like other sectors of the country.

"The provision of seeds and fertilisers at affordable rates and agricultural loans would not only solve our problems but also enable the farmer community to play its role in stabilising the country’s economy," they said.

On the other hand, officials of the KP Agriculture Department said that seeds would soon be available at cheaper prices. They said that wheat seeds had to be imported in large quantities from Punjab for Kharif season at a high cost, however, farmers would now be provided with wheat produced by the province itself.

Officials claimed that seeds are available at low prices in the province as wheat is available in abundance.

They said that the agriculture department is working on various projects to increase agricultural production so that the province can be self-sufficient.

Amazon tells India regulator its partner Future Retail is misleading public NEW DELHI AGENCIES

Amazon.com Inc. AMZN.O has complained to India’s market regulator that its local partner Future Retail Ltd FRTL.NS misled shareholders by incorrectly saying it was complying with its contractual obligations to the U.S. ecommerce giant, a letter seen by Reuters shows.

Amazon is locked in a bitter legal dispute with Future Group, which in August sold its retail assets to Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd RELI.NS for $3.4 billion. The deal, Amazon alleges, breaches 2019 agreements by Future.

The tussle has strained Amazon’s ties not just with Future Retail – one of India’s top retailers – but also with Ambani, Asia’s richest man, and his Reliance group, which is fast expanding its e-commerce business and threatening companies like Amazon.

Amazon last Sunday won an injunction to halt Future’s deal with Re-

liance from a Singapore arbitrator both sides had agreed to use in case of disputes. The Indian retailer then said in a news release it had complied with all agreements and “cannot be held back” by the arbitration proceedings.

In the letter to the Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Chairman Ajay Tyagi on Wednesday, Amazon said Future’s news release and stock exchange disclosures violated Indian regulations, urging the regulator to investigate the matter and not approve the deal.

“Such a disclosure is against public interest, misleads public shareholders … as well as perpetuates a fraud for the benefit of the Biyanis alone,” Amazon letter said, referring to Future’s promoter family led by Kishore Biyani.

A spokesman for Future Group and the Biyani family declined to comment.

A Future group source denied Amazon’s allegations, saying there was no question of any fraud or misleading the public or shareholders, without elaborating.

Amazon declined to comment on its letter, the contents of which have not pre-

viously been reported. Reliance and SEBI did not respond to requests for comment.

“IRREPARABLE HARM”: Amazon says the 2019 deal, in which it invested nearly $200 million in a Future unit, had clauses saying the Indian group could not sell its retail assets to anyone on a “restricted persons” list, which included Reliance.

Reliance, which in August bought Future’s retail, wholesale and some other businesses, has said it plans to “enforce its rights and complete the (Future) transaction … without any delay.”

The faceoff comes as Jeff Bezos-led Amazon has already been battling tighter foreign investment rules and antitrust cases in India, which is one of its key growth markets where it has committed investments of $6.5 billion.

Some Indian lawyers have argued the Singapore arbitrator’s order in favour of Amazon is not automatically enforceable and would need ratification by an Indian court. But Amazon believes the order is binding, it told SEBI. The letter asks the regulator to “suspend

review” of the deal.

SEBI’s action in the matter “would promote ease of doing business in India by holding listed companies accountable for their dealings,” Amazon’s letter says.

Amazon says the Future-Reliance deal means the U.S. giant will lose the prospect of becoming the single largest shareholder of the Indian retailer, which has an “irreplaceable and widespread network” of more than 1,500 retail stores.

Future has argued it entered into the deal with Reliance because its retail business was severely hit during the COVID-19 pandemic and it was critical to protect all its stakeholders.

The arbitrator, V K Rajah, a former attorney general of Singapore, sided with Amazon in his Oct. 25 order, saying: “The law expects businesspersons to honour their contractual commitments.”

The U.S. company told SEBI that if the Future-Reliance deal “is implemented by completely disregarding the interim (arbitration) award, it will cause irreparable harm and injury to Amazon.”

Virus, consolidation take toll on energy jobs HOUSTON AGENCIES

Oil and gas companies worldwide are taking an axe to their employment rolls, shedding workers to survive what is expected to be a prolonged stretch of weak demand.

Exxon Mobil Corp said it will cut its workforce by 15%, or about 14,000 people, along with oil majors Chevron Corp and Royal Dutch Shell Plc. All told, more than 400,000 oil and gas sector jobs have been cut this year, according to Rystad Energy, with about half of those in the United States, where several big exploration companies and largest oil service companies are headquartered.

Coronavirus has devastated swathes of the global economy, with energy, travel and hospitality among the industries hit hardest.

Energy companies were already struggling with weak returns, particularly those operating in US shale regions, but have had to double down on cost cuts as investors pressure companies to improve margins. “The Covidera reality across the oil industry is austerity on an epic scale. There is no escaping the fact that this means, among other things, job losses,” said Pavel Molchanov, analyst at Raymond James.

In addition to Exxon, Chevron Corp, Australia’s Woodside Petroleum Ltd and Canada’s Cenovus Energy Inc all announced plans in recent weeks to cut staff.

Global fuel demand slumped by more than a third in the spring. While consumption has recovered somewhat, it remains lower than a year ago with major economies resuming lockdowns to contain the pandemic.

The downturn has been particularly harsh in

the United States, the world’s largest crude oil producer. The nation has recorded the most deaths from coronavirus, and the damage from the pandemic has sent unemployment to about 8%.

US Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette said it is unlikely to return to the peak, near 13 million barrels per day, reached in 2019, largely through the use of fracking technology used by shale companies. The shale industry has been hit hard by the pandemic because it is easy for oil firms to cut staff and spending in the sector.

Fracking has become a hot-button issue in the US presidential campaign. Democratic challenger Joe Biden wants to limit fracking on federal lands, while incumbent President Donald Trump has pushed for more drilling, and argues Biden’s position would destroy jobs.

CMYK

Consolidation is helping drive job cuts.

Chevron plans to eliminate roughly 25% of the staff acquired with Noble Energy, which it acquired this month. Shell said its oil output likely peaked last year, and it plans to cut roughly 10% of its workforce. Cenovus said it will cut 25% after it buys rival Husky Energy Inc. In Australia, more than 2,000 oil industry jobs have been cut since March, including at Exxon and Chevron. Top independent gas producer Woodside said earlier this month that it would cut around 8% of its workforce.

Mohammad Barkindo, secretary general of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), recently expressed concern that the pace of oil demand is below expectations, potentially requiring major producers to maintain production cuts. Not

all companies are throttling back.

PetroChina Co Ltd, Asia’s largest oil and gas producer, reported a 350% surge in profit from a year earlier.

In an outlook released earlier this month, BP Plc laid out two scenarios that suggest world oil consumption, roughly 100 million barrels per day, peaked last year. BP Plc recently cut about 50% of its exploration team as it shifts operations towards renewable energy development.

Currently, futures markets suggest crude prices may not advance beyond $40 a barrel for at least two more years due to weak demand, and that could limit hiring.

“The practical reality is when you have oil prices in the $30 to $40 range, I don’t think many companies have the luxury to wait for a recovery,” said Alex Pourbaix, chief executive at Cenovus.

Monday, 2 November, 2020

10 FOREIGN NEWS

FRAncE'S MAcRon SEEkS to cAlM tEnSIonS wIth MUSlIMS PARIS

F

AGENCIES

RENCH President Emmanuel Macron appealed for calm from the Muslim world in comments to Arab broadcaster Al Jazeera on Saturday.

Macron told the Qatar state broadcaster that he understood why Muslims were upset by blasphemous caricatures of the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him), but that this did not justify violence.

"I can understand that people could be shocked by the caricatures, but I will never accept that violence can be justified," he said in a long interview.

Earlier this month, Macron defended secularism and freedom of expression in France and said Islam was suffering a crisis after a French high school teacher was decapitated for displaying blasphemous caricatures in class. His comments prompted a wave of protests and criticism from the Muslim world.

"I understand the feelings that this arouses, I respect them. But I want you to understand the role that I have. My role is

to calm things down, as I am doing here, but at the same time it is to protect these rights," Macron said. "I will always defend in my country the freedom to speak, to write, to think, to draw."

"That doesn't mean that I personally support everything we say, think, draw, but [...] I consider that it is our vocation to protect [these freedoms and human rights] and also to protect the sovereignty of the French people."

The interview will air on Sunday, but Macron posted the full, French-language interview on his YouTube channel.

France has been on edge since an attack in September outside the former offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, which republished blasphemous cartoons in a recent edition.

Macron emphasized in the interview that the cartoons were not the work of the French state. He said political leaders had distorted the truth, leading people to believe the French government was responsible for the blasphemous caricatures.

"The [blasphemous] caricatures are not a governmental project, but emerged from free and independent newspapers

UAE, Saudi Arabia invest $1bn in India's Reliance NEW DELHI AGENCIES

Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund invested 75.6 billion Indian rupees ($1bn) in Reliance Industries’ Digital Fibre Infrastructure Trust. The two state entities each paid 37.8bn rupees to buy units in the trust that oversees the Indian conglomerate’s fibre optic assets, Reliance Industries said in an investor presentation. The company underscored the "induction of strong partners for managing [a] critical asset base," according to the presentation. Adia and the PIF have previously invested in Reliance Industries. India’s most valuable company is expanding into retail and technology in a bid to tap into the country's consumer boom and move away from its core oil-refining business. Adia said it plans to invest 55.12bn rupees in Reliance Retail Ventures, the country's largest retail chain. PIF invested 113.67bn rupees in Reliance Industries' Jio Platforms in return for a 2.32 per cent stake. Reliance Industries posted a 15 percent drop in quarterly profit on Friday as the Covid-19 pandemic hurt its oil and gas business unit. However, revenue from its telecoms business softened the blow. Net profit for the three months to the end of September fell to 95.7bn rupees from a year ago, the Mumbai company said in a bourse filing on Friday. Quarterly revenue fell by 24 per cent to 1.16 trillion rupees. “We continue to pursue growth initiatives in each of our businesses with a focus on the India opportunity,” Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani, 63, said.

Refining and petrochemicals revenue in the company’s core oil and gas exploration business fell by 36 percent and 23 percent, respectively.

“Domestic demand has sharply recovered across our O2C [oil-to-chemicals] business and is now near preCovid levels for most products,” Ambani said.

Reliance Retail Ventures recorded a 4.9 percent decline in quarterly profit. “Retail business activity has normalised, with strong growth in key consumption baskets as lockdowns ease across the country,” Ambani said. Reliance’s Jio posted a net profit of 28.44bn rupees, compared with 9.9bn rupees in the same quarter a year ago. Its revenue rose by 33 percent as the number of subscribers exceeded 400 million. “With large capital raise in the last six months across [the] Jio and Retail businesses, we have welcomed several strategic and financial investors into the Reliance family,” Ambani said.

that are not affiliated with the government," he added.

Macron told Al Jazeera that his comments that Islam was “in crisis” were referring to the extremist elements that also threatened mainstream Muslims.

"What I wanted to say is very clear, that today there are people in the world that distort Islam and who kill in the name of a religion that they claim to defend. They slaughter," he said. "Today there is violence practiced by some extremist movements and individuals in the name of Islam."

"Of course this is a problem for Islam because Muslims are the first victims.

More than 80 percent of the victims of terrorism are Muslims. And this is a problem for all of us."

He defended France's secularism but said the concept was often misunderstood.

He said people were completely free to practice their religion, and no matter their beliefs, they were treated equally in France.

Macron also said religious and political leaders who failed to condemn the violence were partly responsible for encouraging the attacks and called for support in condemning attacks in France.

He said calls for a boycott of French goods from leaders such as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan were "unworthy" and "unacceptable."

NEW BILL: Macron defended his plans for a bill to combat Islamic extremism, saying that it would help defend the Muslim community in France. He also said the legislation would target people who promote extremism and keep the Muslim community integrated into French society.

"We are going to prevent children from dropping out of school, we are going to prevent financing linked with terrorist activities [...] And above all, we are going to ensure [...] that everyone, whatever their religion [...] fully respects the laws of the French Republic."

In this same effort, he said France would also reform its housing and education policies and work to empower the disenfranchised.

He called on the Islamic community to help combat the scourge of violent and extremist groups that hijack Islam to commit inhumane acts, citing "Islamic State," Islamists in the Sahel region, the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

Johnson locks down England as UK Covid-19 cases pass 1 million LONDON AGENCIES

United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson has ordered England back into a national lockdown after the country passed the milestone of one million Covid-19 cases and a second wave of infections threatened to overwhelm the health service.

The UK, which has the biggest official death toll in Europe from Covid-19, is grappling with more than 20,000 new coronavirus cases a day and scientists have warned the “worst case” scenario of 80,000 dead could be exceeded.

Johnson, at a hastily convened news conference in Downing Street on Saturday after news of a lockdown leaked to local media, said that the one-month lockdown across England would kick in after midnight on Thursday morning and last until Dec 2.

In some of the most onerous restrictions in Britain’s peacetime history, people will only be allowed to leave home for specific reasons such as education, work, exercise, shopping for essentials and medicines or caring for the vulnerable.

“We must act now,” Johnson said, flanked by his chief medical officer, Chris Whitty, and his chief scientific adviser, Patrick Vallance.

“Unless we act, we could see deaths in this country running at several thousand a day.”

The government will revive its emergency coronavirus wage subsidy scheme to ensure workers who are temporarily laid off during a new England-wide lockdown receive 80 per cent of their pay, he said.

Essential shops, schools, and universities will remain open, Johnson said, and while elite sports will continue, amateur sports for adults and children will be asked to stop.

Restaurants will be shut apart from takeaways, and outbound international travel will be discouraged except for work. All non-essential retail will close.

Places of worship will remain open for private prayer, though funerals will be limited to close family members only.

Johnson’s imposition of stricter curbs came after scientists warned the outbreak was going in the wrong direction and that action was needed to halt the spread of the virus if families were to have any hope of gathering at Christmas.

EUROPE LOCKED DOWN: The measures bring England into alignment with France and Germany by imposing nationwide restrictions almost as severe as the ones that drove the global economy this year into its deepest recession in generations.

Johnson was criticised by political opponents for moving too slowly into the first national lockdown, which stretched from March 23 to July 4. He fell ill with Covid in late March and was hospitalised in early April.

A national lockdown represents a dramatic change of policy for the prime minister, who has been saying for months that it will not be necessary.

Two weeks ago he defended his strategy of a patchwork of local restrictions by saying he wanted to avoid the “misery of a national lockdown”. Currently, areas of England are subject to one of three tiers of

coronavirus restrictions.

“I am optimistic that this will feel very different and better by the spring,” Johnson said, adding that there was realistic hope of a vaccine in the first quarter of next year.

Asked by reporters what took him so long to impose a national lockdown, Johnson said it was a constant struggle to balance the risk to life and the risk to livelihoods.

“We have to mindful the whole time of the scarring and the longterm economic impact of the measures,” Johnson said. His medical adviser Whitty said that without the tougher measures then the National Health Service could be overwhelmed.

Keir Starmer, the opposition Labour leader, who called for a lockdown two weeks ago, said the delay introducing the restrictions will come “at an economic cost and a human cost”.

Lawmakers are expected to vote on the proposals on Wednesday.

The new lockdown will heap more pressure on finance minister Rishi Sunak and the Bank of England to increase their already huge support for the UK economy, the world’s sixth-biggest. The economy slumped a record 20pc in the spring.

So far, the United Kingdom has reported 46,555 Covid-19 deaths — defined as those dying within 28 days of a positive test. A broader measure of those with Covid-19 on their death certificates puts the toll at 58,925.

The United Kingdom has the world’s fifth-largest official death toll, after the United States, Brazil, India and Mexico, according to a Johns Hopkins University tally.

Arson attack targets mosque in France; no casualty PARIS AGENCIES

An unidentified arsonist attempted to set fire to a mosque in Chateaudun, France, the head of the mosque has said. The General Secretary of Islamic Confederation National Opinion (CİMG), Fatih Saikir said someone poured a can of gasoline onto the mosque and started a fire but it was extinguished without growing but the building sustained damage. There were no casualties. Mosque officials filed a complaint, according to Saikir, who said police went to the mosque and conducted an investigation. A police statement said the incident was considered an attempted arson and camera records will be examined within the scope of the investigation. Earlier on Saturday, an Orthodox priest in Lyon was shot and seriously wounded Saturday afternoon in the French city of Lyon, according to franceinfo. The assailant is on the run with police in pursuit. The attack occurred at the Greek Orthodox Church of the Assumption in Lyon's 7th arrondissement around 4 p.m. local time (1500GMT) in the afternoon as the priest was closing the building. "He was attacked by a single man who shot him twice," police officials said, according to French daily Le Figaro. The priest was shot twice in the stomach by the perpetrator who was armed with a sawed-off shotgun, the reports added. Ludovic Cassier, a representative for the SGP Police Unit, described the assailant as "an individual of Mediterranean type who is about 1.9 m [6.2 feet] tall. He was dressed in a long black coat with a black cap, and seemed to be concealing a shotgun with sawn-off barrels under his coat. He used his weapon in the direction of the priest, and he fled." French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin has issued a warning via Twitter that the police have cordoned off the area and are monitoring the situation. "An event is underway in the Jean-Mace sector. Security and rescue forces are there. A security perimeter has been installed. Avoid the area and follow the instructions of the authorities."

US, Sudan agree to restore sovereign immunity to end terror lawsuits KHARTOUM AGENCIES

Sudan and the US have signed an agreement to restore the African country’s sovereign immunity in a move to end litigation in American courts over Khartoum's history of involvement in terrorist attacks. The Sudanese Justice Ministry said that the agreement will settle cases brought against Sudan in US courts, including for the bombing of American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, for which Sudan has agreed to pay $335 million to victims. The deal is part of a US pledge to remove Sudan from its designation as a state sponsor of terrorism, which dates back to support by removed ruler Omar Al Bashir who had ties with and hosted terrorist groups – including Osama Bin Laden. President Donald Trump said this month that the United States will remove Sudan from the list as soon as Khartoum sent the $335m it has agreed to pay to American victims of militant attacks and their families. Khartoum says it has now transferred the funds. But the concern in Khartoum was that despite paying compensation it would continue to face further lawsuits unless the US agreed to recognise sovereign immunity, which it lost as a designated sponsor of terrorism. The terror designation makes it difficult for its transitional government to access urgently needed debt relief and foreign financing as it fights an economic crisis.

Asia stocks become more appealing ahead of US polls: Bloomberg NEW YORK AGENCIES

A slowing pace of virus infections and optimism over China’s economic recovery is burnishing the appeal of Asian stocks for some money managers as volatility in global markets jumps ahead of next week’s US vote, Bloomberg has reported.

GAM Investment Management, Robeco Hong Kong and Nordea Investment Funds see regional shares extending October’s gains, regardless of who wins the election.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index has beaten the MSCI All-Country World Index by the most since 2008, thanks to a rally in Chinese technology stocks such as Tencent Holdings and Alibaba Group Holding. The daily new virus cases in Asia Pacific have fallen by about a third from a month ago while the US and parts of Europe saw record increases in recent days. China’s economy has regained all the ground it lost in the first half, boosting prospects for the region’s growth. In contrast, Germany and France have gone back into lockdowns, sending European shares

sharply lower.

“Asia has become a safe haven” as the pandemic has worsened in other regions, and China is recovering, said Jian Shi Cortesi, a fund manager at GAM in Zurich, which manages $131 billion in assets. “The two major factors that are driving the markets now, i.e. US election uncertainties and pandemic lockdowns, tend to impact the US and Europe more than Asia.”

The latest economic data from China show its recovery from the pandemic slump is broadening out, with stronger growth in

manufacturing and consumer spending. Improving corporate earnings as well as China’s goal of becoming a technology powerhouse should offer fresh catalysts for traders in the nation’s stock market that is the calmest in more than four years.

“China’s recovery should lift the Asia region through economic links”, and will benefit South Korea and Taiwan the most, Ms Cortesi said.

Joshua Crabb, a portfolio manager at Robeco, said Asian stocks will continue to outperform as “economies are starting to

heal” from the virus-induced damage and valuations are cheap. Nordea Investment Strategist Sebastien Galy said his firm’s managers are positive primarily because China is recovering.

To be sure, harsher pandemic measures in Europe could damp the recovery prospects of some Asian economies that rely heavily on exports, such as China and Singapore.

Robeco’s Crabb prefers cyclical sectors, especially those linked to the consumer.

“Pent up demand has been building” and economies are reopening, he said.

Monday, 2 November, 2020

IftIkhar, BaBar star IN PakIstaN’s serIes-clINchING wIN aGaINst ZIMBaBwe IN PINdI

S

AGENCIES

PINNER Iftikhar Ahmed grabbed a maiden fivewicket haul while Babar Azam notched a half-century as Pakistan thumped Zimbabwe by six wickets to win the second one-day international in Rawalpindi on Sunday.

Ahmed spun a web around Zimbabwe’s batsmen with figures of 5-40 to wreck them for a paltry 206 before Azam knocked an attractive 74-ball 77 not out to chase down the target in 35.2 overs.

Zimbabwe needed early wickets, but a solid opening stand of 68 between Imam-ul-Haq (49) and Abid Ali (22)

ensured Pakistan were set up nicely.

The win gives Pakistan an unassailable 2-0 lead after they won the first game by 26 runs on Friday. The final match is also at the same venue on Tuesday.

Left-arm spinner Tendai Chisoro (2-49) removed both the openers while Sean Williams dismissed debutant Haider Ali (29) but Azam and Ahmed (16 not out) completed the victory during their unbroken fifth-wicket stand of 46 runs. Azam hit seven boundaries in his 16th ODI half-century, bringing up the victory with his second six.

It was 30-year-old Ahmed who rocked Zimbabwe after the tourists won the toss and opted to bat but could never cope with the spin and were bowled out

in 45.1 overs.

Left-hander Williams, who topscored with a 70-ball 75 and Brendan Taylor (36) were repairing the innings from 59-3 during a fourth-wicket stand of 61 before Ahmed struck.

Ahmed, who had only one wicket from his previous five ODIs, had Taylor caught off a miscued sweep at the boundary to start the slide, which saw tourists lose their last seven wickets for 86 runs. Taylor, who made a fighting 112 in the first match on Friday, hit two sixes and three boundaries in his 45-ball knock.

Ahmed then removed Wesley Madhevere (10), Sikandar Raza (2) and Chisoro (7) to leave Zimbabwe struggling at 150-7.

Williams, who completed his 32nd 50 off 47 balls, holed out to Ahmed at long-off, to end his lone fight. He smashed 10 boundaries and a six.

Debutant paceman Musa Khan finished with 2-21.

The series is part of the One-Day Super League, the first qualifying round for the 2023 World Cup to be held in India. With Sunday’s match, Pakistan’s Aleem Dar set a new record for umpiring in most ODIs with 210, beating South African Rudi Coertzen’s 209 matches as umpire.

Dar already holds the records for officiating in the most Test matches with 132. The two teams will also play three Twenty20 internationals on November 7, 8 and 10, also in Rawalpindi.

SPORTS 11

No fans at Portugal’s MotoGP race, says Portuguese PM

The first MotoGP race in Portugal since 2012, will now take place without spectators after the Portuguese government announced a partial lockdown on Saturday The season-ending MotoGP race in Portugal on November 22 will now take place without spectators after the Portuguese government announced a partial lockdown on Saturday to fight a surge of COVID-19 infections. The first MotoGP race in Portugal since 2012, due to take place at the Algarve International Circuit, will now be held behind closed doors due to new measures announced by Prime Minister Antonio Costa, which kick in from Nov. 4. Around 27,000 fans attended the Formula One Grand Prix in Portugal last week but Costa said the event had not been a success as social distancing was not observed. “What happened at the Grand Prix is unacceptable and cannot be repeated,” he said. “We have already told the organisers that the MotoGP race will be held without an audience because our inability to organise events of this scale with spectators has been revealed.” AGENCIES

Hamilton wins wild race in Imola as Mercedes clinch seventh-straight constructors’ title AGENCIES Lewis Hamilton spearheaded Mercedes claiming their record seventh consecutive constructors’ title at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, leading home team mate Valtteri Bottas and a delighted Daniel Ricciardo – but there was late race drama as Red Bull’s Max Verstappen retired from P2 after appearing to suffer a tyre issue, bringing out a Safety Car that led to a climactic race ending.

Bottas had enjoyed a strong start to the Imola race from pole position, leading into Turn 2 as Hamilton lost out to Verstappen on the run down to Tamburello on Lap 1 and moved to third.

But Mercedes’ decision to give Hamilton a long first stint paid dividends when Renault’s Esteban Ocon retired at the side of the track on Lap 29, the resultant Virtual Safety Car allowing Hamilton to pit from the lead – Bottas and Verstappen having boxed earlier in the race – and retain P1.

But with 12 laps to go, Verstappen’s retirement at Villeneuve led to a full Safety Car, setting up a breathless final few laps of the race, which ultimately saw Hamilton hold on to win out from Bottas, while Ricciardo secured his second podium of the season for Renault after holding off a late charge from AlphaTauri’s Daniil Kvyat, who finished a brilliant fourth as he fights for his F1 future.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc came home fifth, holding off the Racing Point of Sergio Perez, who’d gambled with a late stop under the Safety Car. The McLaren duo of Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris claimed P7 and P8, while it was a fantastic day for Alfa Romeo, who took their first double points finish of the year, Kimi Raikkonen leading Antonio Giovinazzi in P9 and P10, the Finn having made a 49-lap stint work to his advantage.

Meanwhile, after a brilliant effort to qualify P4, AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly suffered a coolant leak that forced him to retire from the race on Lap 8 – while in a bizarre incident, Williams’ George Russell spun into retirement under the Safety Car on Lap 53.

For Mercedes, though, there were scenes of jubilation, as they continued to re-write the F1 history books with an amazing seventh consecutive constructors’ title.

AS IT HAPPENED: Beneath crisp autumnal skies, Valtteri Bottas lined up on pole position, the view in front of him the long dog-legged run down to Turn 2, and the infamous Tamburello. Could he hold off the attack of his team mate Lewis Hamilton, lurking with intent back and to the right of him?

Both Mercedes got away in step when the lights went out, but Hamilton appeared to get bogged down in the second phase of his launch and was swamped on the left by the Red Bull of Max Verstappen, and on the right by the fast-starting AlphaTauri of Pierre Gasly – the only driver to start in the top four on soft tyres.

Hamilton had to defend from someone and chose to go right, allowing Verstappen through to take P2 behind Bottas into Tamburello, as Hamilton squeezed Gasly. The Frenchman briefly lost ground to the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc, before toughing it around the outside of Turn 2 and taking P5.

It was P5 because Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo had opportunistically nipped through when Gasly had been outmuscled by Hamil-

ton, Ricciardo thus taking fourth, ahead of Gasly, Leclerc and Albon, who’d dropped a place at the start. Behind them, Lance Stroll tagged the Renault of Esteban Ocon at Turn 2 costing himself a front wing that was replaced at the end of the first lap, while down at Tosa, Sebastian Vettel nerfed Haas’ Kevin Magnussen into a spin – the stewards investigating but deciding not to take any action.

It was a dream scenario early doors for Bottas then, who’d not only beaten Hamilton to Turn 2, but now had Verstappen as a buffer between him and his team mate around the narrow, hard-to-follow-at Imola.

By Lap 10, Bottas’ advantage over Verstappen was only 1.5s, the Dutchman with the same advantage to Hamilton behind – but the Finn looked comfortable out front.

There was a collective groan on Lap 8 as Gasly, who’d driven brilliantly all weekend, was ordered to retire his AlphaTauri AT01, with the team having been spotted working on the car before the race start, while a coolant leak was ultimately cited as the reason. It was a cruel fate for the Frenchman, who resignedly climbed out of the boxed AT01 and removed his Ayrton Senna tribute helmet.

The teams had only had 90 minutes of practice at Imola to try out all three tyre compounds – and it seemed in the early stages of the race that tyre degradation had been higher than anticipated. Leclerc was one of the first of the frontrunners to pit on Lap 13, despite having started on the mediums, the Monegasque triggering the pit stops of the cars around him, as Ricciardo, Alex Albon and Daniil Kvyat pitted on the following lap.

All those drivers took on hards, with the order remaining constant, Ricciardo heading Leclerc, with the Monegasque nearly outbraking himself into the Tosa gravel as he desperately tried to get past, while behind Albon was forced to fend off an attack from Kvyat, the pair making light contact at Tamburello on Lap 17.

Verstappen pitted on Lap 18, with Bottas brought in at the end of the following lap.

Prior to the Finn’s pit stop, Hamilton was pushing hard in a bid to overcut his way back into contention. “I’m going to pick up the

pace,” he told engineer Pete Bonnington.

“Don’t stop me.” Bonnington appeared to agree with his driver, though, as he radioed to tell Hamilton to extend his stint, with Hamilton duly getting his head down and pumping in quick laps.

Bonnington was on the radio again on Lap 26 asking whether Hamilton, who was approaching a long line of backmarkers, could extend by a further 10 laps. “I can definitely go longer,” his driver replied breathlessly.

Slower cars were concerning the group behind the Hamilton-Bottas-Verstappen fight too, with Kevin Magnussen having climbed up to P8 thanks to a long first stint. But the Dane – who would eventually retire from the race on Lap 49, suffering headaches caused by violent upshifts on his Haas – was quickly passed on Lap 27 by Ricciardo and Leclerc.

Magnussen holding up that group, though, appeared to have played perfectly into the hands of Sergio Perez, who’d maximised the opportunity of starting with a free tyre choice in P11 to climb to P4, before pitting and taking up P7 ahead of Ricciardo.

Lap 29 saw Esteban Ocon retire with a suspected gearbox issue – a minor occurrence that had a major effect on the outcome race. With the Virtual Safety Car activated by the parked Ocon, Hamilton was perfectly positioned to nip into the pits and take on the hard tyres. As Bottas was forced to trundle around, Hamilton had enough time in hand to emerge from the pits with his lead intact, 4s up the road from Bottas – who must have been wondering what more the racing gods wanted from him…

There was more bad news for Bottas, too, who had Verstappen in close company as Hamilton quickly opened his lead out at the front, with Mercedes then radioing Bottas to tell him that he had significant damage to the floor of his car, as well as debris lodged in the bodywork that he’d run over on Lap 2.

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, meanwhile, had stealthily stayed out until Lap 39 on his medium tyres before taking his pit stop, climbing as high as P4 before diving into the pits. A catastrophic stop, though, saw him stationary for 13.1s as his mechanics strug-

CMYK

gled to affix both his right-front and left-rear tyres, leaving him P14 when he eventually emerged from the pits.

With 20 laps to go, things again appeared to take a turn for the worse for Bottas, who outbraked himself into Rivazza, allowing Verstappen to close up and pass the Finn for P2 around the outside of Tamburello. “Senddddd it!” screamed a jubilant Verstappen into his radio, as he quickly opened up a gap over Bottas, who was clearly struggling for pace with his hobbled Mercedes. Verstappen’s joy, however, would be shortlived…

Verstappen’s pass on Bottas had left the order as Hamilton leading, 12s up the road from Verstappen, Bottas, Kimi Raikkonen – who had yet to pit – then the wily Perez, Ricciardo, Leclerc, Albon, Kvyat and Carlos Sainz in the final points paying position, ahead of his team mate Lando Norris. Imola has provided some stellar action over the years, though – and it had a trick up its sleeve before this race was done.

Verstappen was looking well-placed for a clear run to P2 when on Lap 51 of 63, he appeared to suffer a tyre issue, spinning off into the gravel at Villeneuve corner and into retirement, while also bringing out the Safety Car. Bottas, at last having some luck as he moved back to P2, pitted immediately, with Hamilton following his team mate in on the following lap for soft tyres and retaining the lead.

George Russell, meanwhile, booted the throttle of his Williams behind the Safety Car and smeared his car down the wall going into Acque Minerale. “I don’t know what to say,” said Russell, before scrambling to safety and sitting dismayed on the Imola grass.

Crucially, Perez and Kvyat had also opted to pit under the Safety Car, giving them fresh soft rubber for the final few laps to attack the likes of Ricciardo, Leclerc and Albon. It was Kvyat who used that new rubber to the best effect when the race restarted on Lap 58, quickly passing both Albon and Perez before putting a beautiful move on Leclerc around the outside of Piratella to claim P4 and get after Ricciardo, who’d found himself back in the podium positions once again.

Behind, Perez made it past Albon at Vil-

leneuve, but Albon then made what looked to be an unforced error, spinning his Red Bull around and dropping himself to the back of the pack – something that won’t have impressed his Red Bull paymasters currently evaluating whether or not to give the Thai driver another go-around in 2021.

Up at the front, though, Hamilton had the situation in hand, as he duly headed home what had briefly looked like an unlikely Mercedes 1-2, and bag a record-breaking seventh constructors’ title – a huge moment for the team, and one that a euphoric Hamilton said he would delight in telling his grandchildren about one day.

With the fastest lap bonus point too, the now-85 point lead over Bottas also means that Hamilton’s own seventh title looks a practical certainty.

If the Mercedes had starred, though, so too had Ricciardo, whose brilliant start had put him in a position to claim an incredible second podium of the season with the Renault team that he’ll leave in four races’ time. A shoey with race winner Hamilton duly followed – but Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul insisted there would be no second tattoo coming.

Kvyat had done exceptionally well to work his way up to P4 at the flag, choosing the perfect time to remind the Red Bull bosses that he could still do a job in F1, while Leclerc took his second-straight topfive finish for Ferrari – as team mate Vettel could only take P13 after his slow stop.

Perez’s late pit stop ultimately left him an angry sixth – the Mexican feeling that his first podium of the season had been well within reach – while he finished ahead of the McLaren duo of Sainz and Norris, who’d once again appeared to lack the ultimate pace of their upper midfield rivals on race day.

The top 10 was closed out by the Alfa Romeos, who enjoyed the team’s best race of the year to claim ninth and 10th, Raikkonen’s epic first stint meaning he headed home boy Antonio Giovinazzi, who’d started the race last.

On a day when Red Bull needed to score at least 33 points to stand a chance of preventing Mercedes taking the constructors’ title, though, the Milton Keynes team left Imola with nothing, as Albon eventually came home P15. In a way it summed up how 2020 has gone so far, with Red Bull coming close – but never quite able to properly arrest – the momentum of the mighty, and now seven-time constructors’ champions, Mercedes.

THE KEY QUOTE: “It was an exhausting race, the speed we were having to go. I had a poor start and it’s just very overwhelming right now because I look at my crew, this team here, and I know the guys and girls, men and women back at the factory back in Brackley and Brixworth, they’re the unsung heroes.

“It’s unbelievable, and to come back year on year... I tell you, while we have great performance, it’s not easy to continue to deliver weekend in and weekend out for everyone.

“Woo! Seven-time champs. That’s something I’ll be able to tell my grandchildren one day” – Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes WHAT’S NEXT? We now go from one F1 returnee to another, as we leave Imola and head to the Istanbul Park circuit for the 2020 Turkish Grand Prix on November 12-15.

Who can get on top of the track last raced at in F1 in 2011?

Monday, 2 November, 2020

PrAyEr TImINGS

NEWS

azerbaijaN Gets hold of 193 settlemeNts iN karabakh ANKARA AGENCIES

t

HE Azerbaijani army has liberated 193 settlements from Armenian occupation, the Turkish National Defence Ministry said on Sunday as clashes in Karabakh continue for over four weeks.

“The heroic Azerbaijan army continues to save its occupied territories by demonstrating its strength and capabilities at the front line,” it said on Twitter.

Meanwhile, Armenia and Azerbaijan have again accused each other of bombing residential areas in defiance of a pact to avoid the deliberate targeting of civilians in and around the mountain enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. Shelling was reported by both sides on Saturday within hours of the latest agreement to defuse the conflict, reached after talks in Geneva between the two countries’ foreign ministers and envoys from France, Russia and the United States.

The agreement with the co-chairs of the

OSCE Minsk Group fell short of what would have been a fourth truce since the fighting began on September 27. The death toll in the worst fighting in the South Caucasus for more than 25 years has surpassed 1,000.

Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but is populated and controlled by ethnic Armenians.

About 30,000 people were killed in a 1991-94 war in the region. Azerbaijan rejects any solution that would leave Armenians in control of the enclave, which it considers to be illegally occupied. Armenia regards the territory as part of its historic homeland and says the population there needs its protection.

The Nagorno-Karabakh Emergency and Rescue Service said the central market in Stepanakert, the enclave’s largest city, had come under fire and that large parts of it had been burned. Shushan Stepanyan, a spokeswoman for the Armenian defence ministry, also said several civilians had been wounded in attacks on the strategic city of Shushi, 15km (9 miles) south of Stepanakert. Azerbaijan’s defence ministry denied both accusations, adding that the

regions of Terter, Aghdam and Aghjabedi had come under artillery fire, as had Gubadli, a town between the enclave and the Iranian border that was taken by Azeri troops this week.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan formally asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to begin “urgent” consultations on providing security amid a conflict with Azerbaijan, the foreign ministry said on Saturday. In his letter to Putin, Pashinyan said hostilities were approaching Armenia’s borders, reiterated that Turkey was backing Baku and invoked a 1997 treaty on friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance between Moscow and Yerevan. “The prime minister of Armenia has asked the Russian president to begin urgent consultations with the aim of determining the kind and amount of aid which the Russian Federation can provide Armenia to ensure its security,” the foreign ministry said. Moscow’s defence pact with Armenia does not however extend to NagornoKarabakh, and Russia said on Saturday that “necessary” help would only be provided if the fighting reaches Armenian territory.

FAJR SUNRISE

ZUHR

ASR MAGHRIB ISHA

4:56

11:46

3:36

6:19

5:13

6:36

UN chief calls for hUmaNitariaN ceasefire betweeN armeNia, azerbaijaN NEW YORK: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed his support for the call made by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group Co-Chairs for a humanitarian ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Through a statement attributable to his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, the UN chief fully supported the call made by the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, as agreed in Moscow on Oct. 10, and confirmed subsequently in Paris on Oct. 17 and in Washington on Oct. 25. “The secretary-general remains deeply concerned by reports of continuing hostilities, which continue to affect civilians. He condemns all such attacks and reiterates that both sides have the obligation, under international humanitarian law, to take utmost care to spare and protect civilians and civilian infrastructure in the conduct of military operations,” said the statement. “The secretary-general calls on the sides to implement, in good faith and on an urgent basis, the concrete steps they agreed to take through the facilitation of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, as well as their previous commitments,” the statement said, adding that Guterres urges the sides to continue engaging in a substantive dialogue and to intensify their efforts with the facilitation of the co-chairs to reach a peaceful and sustainable settlement of the conflict. Foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan on Friday reached an agreement on not targeting civilian population and non-military objects in accordance with international humanitarian law, said a joint statement issued by the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group. Armenia and Azerbaijan have been at loggerheads over the mountainous region of Nagorno-Karabakh since 1988. Peace talks have been held since 1994 when a ceasefire was reached, but there have been sporadic minor clashes. A new round of armed conflict broke out along the contact line on Sept. 27. AGENCIE

death toll from aeGeaN sea qUake toPs 60, as rescUers hUNt for sUrvivors ISTANBUL: The powerful earthquake that hit the Aegean Sea on Friday has killed 62 people in Turkey, the country's disaster agency said Sunday.

Two people also died on the Greek island of Samos, Greek authorities said. Rescue workers continue to search for survivors under the wreckage of eight buildings in the city of Izmir, in western Turkey. Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said Sunday there was "no clear number on how many people are still under rubble. Hard to give a number. There is an estimation, but I cannot share."Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday that 103 people had been rescued from the debris so far. A total of 20 buildings were seriously damaged in Izmir by the tremor, according to Izmir Mayor Tunc Soyer, the majority of them in the middle-class Bayrakli district. At least 940 people have been injured in Turkey, 218 of whom are still being treated at hospitals, the country's disaster agency said Sunday. More than 900 aftershocks have been registered since the initial quake, 42 of them with a magnitude over 4.0, according to the agency.Greek authorities said Friday that two teenagers, a boy and a girl, died on Samos after a wall collapsed on them. AGENCIES

coroNavirUs iN

PakistaN

CONFIRMED CASES:

333,970

LAST UPDATED AT 8:22 AM ON NOVEMBER 1, 2020

DAY'S DEATH TOLL:

17

RECOVERED:

NEW CASES:

977

DEATHS:

314,555 6,823 SINDH:

PUNJAB:

145,851

104,271

KP:

BALOCHISTAN:

AJK/GB:

ISLAMABAD:

39,564

15,920

4,133 / 4,261 19,970

PULWAMA: A man walks in picturesque fields in a land without freedom. INP

Xiaomi overtakes Apple as 3rd-largest smartphone maker MASSACHUSETTS AGENCIES

With the smartphone market starting to recover from the coronavirus crisis, Chinese producer Xiaomi has made history by beating the iconic Apple iPhone at its own game.

Xiaomi has claimed the third spot among world’s largest smartphone producers for the first time, according to the results of the latest quarter, revealed by three research firms - International Data Corporation (IDC), Counterpoint and Canalys.

In the three months to the end of September, the company’s shipments hit a record high, with different data pointing at more than 40-percent growth and the number of shipped units ranging between 46.2 million and 47.1 million.

Meanwhile, its closest rival, Apple, has slipped to fourth place in

the ratings. According to IDC, the US corporation shipped 41.6 million iPhones in the third quarter, down over 10 percent year-on-year. Data from Counterpoint differed slightly, but Canalys put the number of shipments at 43.2 million. However, data from all three firms showed that Apple is behind Xiaomi.

Xiaomi’s success was partly driven by the troubles of its domestic competitor, Huawei. That company lost its crown as the biggest smartphone maker globally to Samsung, amid the increasing pressure of US sanctions. Samsung shipped around 80 million smartphones, data shows, while Huawei shipped around 30 million fewer devices in the third quarter. Some analysts believe that Xiaomi might have taken some customers away from Huawei.

“Xiaomi executed with aggression to seize shipments from Huawei,”

said Mo Jia, analyst at Canalys.

“There was symmetry in Q3, as Xiaomi added 14.5 million units and Huawei lost 15.1 million. In Europe, a key battleground, Huawei’s shipments fell 25 percent, while Xiaomi’s grew 88 percent.”

The Trump administration placed Huawei on its infamous ‘Entity List’ last year, effectively banning American firms from doing business with the Chinese tech giant. Thus, Huawei lost access to updates of Google Android software on its smartphones, which could easily spook potential clients, especially those outside of China. Earlier this year, Washington increased pressure on Huawei, targeting vital chip suppliers to the firm, as it required foreign manufacturers that use American software and technology to obtain a special license before shipping products to Huawei.

4 dead, a millioN flee homes as GoNi batters PhiliPPiNes MANILLA: At least four people have died and a million others have been forced to flee their homes as Super Typhoon Goni slammed into the southern part of the Philippines’ main island of Luzon on Sunday. The immensely powerful storm brought “catastrophic” winds and intense downpours of rain as it made two landfalls in the Southeast Asian country. The typhoon is the world’s strongest so far this year, boasting sustained winds of 225 kph (140 miles per hour) and gusts of up to 310 kph (190 mph). Authorities in the archipelagic nation evacuated nearly a million people to safer ground before Goni made landfall in Catanduanes and Albay in the Bicol region, where four deaths were recorded.

Provincial Governor Al Francis Bichara said one of the victims was hit by a fallen tree and a fiveyear-old was washed away after a river burst its banks. Footage from the region showed powerful winds, rivers overflowing and villages submerged. The Philippines weather bureau said “catastrophic violent winds and intense to torrential rainfall” were expected to prevail over Bicol and surrounding provinces. AGENCIES

Published by Arif Nizami at Qandeel Printing Press, 4 Queens Road, Lahore, for PT Print (Pvt) Limited. Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965. Email: newsroom@pakistantoday.com.pk