EpaperLHR_20-11-21

Saturday, 21 November, 2020 I 4 Rabi al-Akhir, 1442 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XI No 142 I 12 Pages I Lahore Edition

PDM insists on holDing Peshawar rally DesPite surging CoviD Cases g

khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, oPPosition alliance face off as Peshawar denies Permission

ISLAMABAD staff report

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he Pakistan democratic movement (Pdm) is insisting on holding a rally in Peshawar despite khyber Pakhtunkhwa (kP) government’s refusal to grant permission for a public meeting planned due to the rising number of coronavirus cases in the country.

Pakistan is witnessing a steady increase in coronavirus cases with each passing day as the country recorded 2,738 covid19 cases and 36 deaths in the last 24 hours, said the national command and control centre (ncoc) on friday. the ncoc said that with fresh inclusion of the infections in the country, the national tally of cases now currently stands at 368,665, registering a 36.2 per cent increase in new cases cases over the past seven days. the 11-party anti-government alliance had previously sought permission to hold a rally on Peshawar’s dalazak road, ring road chowk, but Peshawar’s deputy com-

Pakistan

CONFIRMED CASES:

368,665

LAST UPDATED AT 7:29 AM ON NOVEMBER 20, 2020

36

RECOVERED:

NEW CASES:

2,738 DEATHS:

327,542 7,561 SINDH:

PUNJAB:

159,752

112,893

KP:

BALOCHISTAN:

AJK/GB:

ISLAMABAD:

43,259

Pakistan registers 36.2Pc increase in new coronavirus cases over Past 7 days

missioner on friday denied their request for the november 22 rally reportedly, the district administration and capital city police had taken the request under consideration while keeping section 14 of the kP civil administration act 2020 in mind. furthermore, a field assessment was conducted and a meeting was held with the organisers of the rally. after considering all aspects, and to safeguard human lives due to the potential spread of covid-19, the kP government had banned large public gatherings, according to the official notification. a letter issued by the dc’s office further noted that the positivity rate in the city had exceeded 13 per cent, and stated that a public gathering “is likely to further increase the spread of the life-threatening virus”. in response to the notification, the Pdm has refused to back down and claims that this is a ploy by the ruling party to prevent the rallies from taking place. ikhtiar wali, the spokesperson of Pakistan muslim league-nawaz (Pml-n) kP

Coronavirus in

DAY'S DEATH TOLL:

g

16,642

5,806/4,494 25,719

chapter, insisted that the coalition would go ahead with the rally. speaking to media persons, the spokesperson said that the premier had held a rally in swat a week ago and that the kP chief minister had held a large public gathering two days ago. “who did they ask for permission? and who granted them permission? so if there is no rule for the ruling party, then why is [there one] for us?” he said. separately, referring to the government as ‘covid-18’, Pml-n vice President maryam nawaz rejected the government’s demands to postpone jalsas and public gatherings as coronavirus cases rise across the country. “while a mask gives you protection from covid-19, ‘vote ko izzat do’ narrative & struggle will protect you from ‘covid-18’ & all such future attempts, insha’allah. Protect yourself, protect your vote,” she wrote on twitter. one day earlier, federal minister for Planning and development asad umar, who is also the head of the national command and operations centre (ncoc), had said that he requested speaker national assembly asad Qaiser to summon a meeting of the national assembly committee to stop the proposed rally of the opposition alliance in Peshawar. in response, the Pml-n Punjab President rana sanaullah, while speaking to the media on thursday, had said that the opposition was not ready for any negotiation and plans to hold the Pdm rallies in Peshawar and multan as per schedule. after this, there will be a rally in lahore on december 13, he had said and called the government’s “propaganda” a failure. if coronavirus spreads from rallies, there should first be a smart lockdown in gujranwala from where the virus spread after the initial Pdm rally, sanaullah said on the occasion.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

Growth in construction activities to strengthen economy: PM ISLAMABAD staff report

Prime minister imran khan has said that growth in construction activities will strengthen the national economy and provide employment opportunities to the people. the prime minister said this while chairing a weekly meeting of the national coordination committee on housing, construction and development on friday. he directed the Punjab government to approve applications for construction as per prevailing laws as soon as possible, besides directing Pakistan telecommunication authority (Pta) and national electric Power regulatory authority (nePra) to work with the state bank of Pakistan (sbP) to resolve issues related to the construction sector at the earliest. the Pm also stressed on public awareness regarding the naya Pakistan housing scheme. sbP governor reza baqir informed the meeting that the banks are ensuring the provision of facilities to the people for obtaining loans under the naya Pakistan housing scheme. moreover, special desks have been set up at around half of the bank branches in each district across the country, he added.

State institutions being restructured to curb financial losses: Dr Ishrat ISLAMABAD app

adviser to the Prime minister on institutional reforms dr ishrat hussain on friday said that Pakistan railways (Pr), Pakistan steel mills (Psm) and Pakistan international airlines (Pia) were being restructured to curb financial losses. speaking at a press conference along with minister for information and broadcasting senator shibli faraz, he said that the cabinet had approved the restructuring plan of the Pr while the Psm employees would be given a handsome severance package worth billions of rupees besides restructuring the institution. he said that five companies would be set up to make the railways self-sufficient and profitable department. one company would be set up for the new main line – one while other companies would deal with freight and passenger services, he added. he also said that till 1985, railways was a profitable organisation and earned substantially from its freight service but now 96 per cent freight was taken by trucks and four per-

the Punjab chief secretary briefed the meeting that applications for construction work on 44 million square feet have been received from all over the province and approval for construction on 20 million square feet has been given. he said the commencement of construction work on 44 million square feet in Punjab will start economic activities worth about rs1 trillion. the chief secretary told the meeting that with the enhancement of construction activity, the consumption of all allied materials like cement, bricks and steel had also increased. the khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief secretary informed the meeting that so far, applications for construction on six million square feet have been received. he said that it will generate rs100 billion economic activity in the province. a representative of bank al habib informed the meeting that they have so far approved a loan worth rs6 billion for the construction industry. special assistants to the Prime minister malik amin aslam and shahbaz gill, advisor dr ishrat hussain, federal and provincial secretaries and senior officers also attended the meeting.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

more inside

Pakistan main stakeholder after Afghans in Afghanistan peace: PM STORY ON PAGE 03

cent by the railways. he further said that under an arrangement, 1,200 acres of Psm land would be given under a leasing arrangement to put the industrial unit back on its feet. about 19,000 acres of land would be kept separate and be held by the government, he added. dr ishrat said that the Pia was suffering losses of rs450 billion and had huge debt. under a financial restructuring plan, the national flag carrier employees would be reduced from 14,000 to 7000, he said adding 3,500 of its employees would be offered a voluntary severance package while 3,500 would be reduced by outsourcing core business of the Pia. the per plane employee

would be reduced from 500 to 250 and flights would be made operational for profitable routes, he further said. the former state bank of Pakistan (sbP) governor said that the government would do away with redundant regulations and no objection certificates to facilitate opening of new businesses. the difference in prices of sugar in the market and utility stores was causing distortion in the prices. the flour was available at lower prices in the sahulat bazaars, he added. due to incentives of the government, the construction industry would invest rs1 trillion and business would be generated in more than 30 industries, he informed.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

covid-19 on the rise: Provinces act to curb second wave STORY ON PAGE 02

Genocide Watch’s statement on Indian Muslims vindicates Pakistan’s stance: FM STORY ON PAGE 03

global tech giants threaten to leave country in light of new rules STORY ON BACK PAGE

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Saturday, 21 November, 2020

NEWS

CovId-19 on the rISe: ProvInCeS Move to Curb SeCond wAve ISLAMABAD/LAHORE/KARACHI

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TLTP

AKISTAN is witnessing a steady increase in coronavirus cases with each passing day as the country recorded 2,738 Covid-19 cases and 36 deaths in the last 24 hours, said the National Command and Control Centre (NCOC) on Friday.

According to the NCOC, 36 more people succumbed to the disease, taking the death toll to 7,561. The NCOC said that with fresh inclusion of the infections in the country, the national tally of cases now currently stands at 368,665, whereas the number of active cases stands at 33,562. A total of 868 patients recovered from the virus during the last 24 hours, while 327,542 people have recovered from the deadly disease in the country so far.

A total of 42,909 tests were conducted across the country during this period, while 5,098,291 samples have been tested so far.

The positivity rate has increased up to 6.3 per cent in the country.

In Sukkur, a doctor and surgical staff have tested positive for the novel coronavirus at National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD).

Reportedly, a heart surgeon and surgical staff had tested positive for the Covid-19. The doctor and the staff have been quarantined at

KARACHI TO BE PLACED UNDER SMART, MICRO LOCKDOWNS, SAYS COMISSIONER homes, reports added.

Meanwhile, the NICVD administration, as a precautionary measure, suspended all the scheduled surgeries at the hospital till further orders. Till now only the emergency ward is operational and angioplasties are being carried out.

Meanwhile, the Punjab government on Friday notified a ban over indoor marriage ceremonies across the province amid the second wave of coronavirus pandemic.

According to the notification, there would be a ban on holding indoor marriage ceremonies from November 20 until January 31. The marriage ceremonies and other public gatherings can be held in open places.

Not more than 300 persons would be allowed to attend ceremonies, the notification reads and directs to ensure implementation of the standard operating procedures (SOPs) to contain deadly virus spread. Wearing facemasks at public places has been declared mandatory.

Meanwhile, the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) on Friday cancelled scheduled examinations amid a sharp increase in coronavirus cases. The

ASI's body burnt after murder: medical report KHAIRPUR: A post-mortem report on Friday revealed that assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Bilawal Wassan’s body was burnt after he was brutally murdered. The ASI was a nephew of senior PPP leader Manzoor Wassan and Adviser to the Sindh CM Nawab Khan Wassan. His charred and unidentifiable body and vehicle were found near Shah Abdul Latif University police station in Bhargani on Wednesday last. Wassan’s post-mortem report revealed that the body was burnt after he was killed. His hands and legs had been cut and there were fractures in his skull and ribs, the report said. The police said that the murder was made to look like an accident by burning the body and vehicle. Two arrests have been made, the police said. They are both Bilawal’s friends.

One of them, Faraz Rajput, was taken into custody from Karachi a day earlier. Rajput had tried to escape and had been identified by an eyewitness, the police said. He told the police the body found in the vehicle belonged to ASI Bilawal. The Wassan family spokesperson said that this was a planned murder. He said that the police officer was first killed and later his vehicle was burnt to cover up evidence. Police had earlier said that a car parked on the roadside near Bhurgri village was gutted and a charred unidentified body was found from the vehicle, which was shifted to hospital. TLTP

Pakistan rejects Modi’s 'groundless' allegations ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday rejected as “groundless” the allegations levelled against Pakistan by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling it a desperate attempt to divert the international attention from its state-terrorism in the Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) and state-sponsored terrorism against Pakistan. The Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson, in a statement, said that it was evident that India had stepped up anti-Pakistan propaganda, following presentation of the dossier by Pakistan providing irrefutable evidence of India’s statesponsorship of terrorism. He said that the dossier presented

by Pakistan extensively documented India’s active planning, promoting, aiding, abetting, financing and execution of terrorist activities against the country. “Bland denials and regurgitation of old litany of charges by the Indian side will not change facts. Raising the ‘bogey’ of socalled 'cross-border terrorism' time and again does not lend any credibility to India’s false narrative,” the spokesperson remarked. On the other hand, he said, India’s history of conducting false flag operations in IOK and inside India to malign Pakistan was too well-known. He said that Pakistan had consistently sensitised the international community about the possibility of India resorting yet again to a false flag operation, and it again forewarned the world. APP

examinations were scheduled to take place on November 21 and 22.

According to the PPSC, several Covid19 cases are being reported from the examination centres, therefore the administration has decided to postpone the scheduled examinations. The new date of the examinations would be announced later.

Karachi Administrator Iftikhar Shallwani also announced on Friday that smart and micro lockdowns will be imposed in all districts of the city, as coronavirus cases have surged in the port city.

The decision was taken during a meeting chaired by Shallwani which was attended by deputy commissioners and the district health officers. Secretary health Kazim Jatoi was also part of the meeting.

“Micro lockdowns will be imposed in districts Malir and Korangi,” said Shallwani. “All deputy commissioners should consult their respective health officers [on the lockdowns]. The notification announcing the lockdown should be released by today or tomorrow,” he added. Shallwani said that Karachi’s districts south, east, central and west will

PUNJAB BANS INDOOR MARRIAGE CEREMONIES TO PREVENT VIRUS SPREAD release notifications announcing the imposition of smart lockdowns by Saturday.

In areas where the smart lockdowns will be imposed, no more than four persons will be allowed to gather at one place and wearing masks will be made compulsory. Only one person will be allowed to leave his/her house and will have to explain the reason for venturing out to law enforcement personnel.

The people will not be allowed to hold events or social gatherings in areas where the smart lockdowns will be imposed. Streets, neighbourhoods and areas will be sealed in accordance with the directives of the district health officers in the districts of Malir and Korangi, said Shallwani. The number of coronavirus cases in Karachi is rapidly increasing and the people are frequently found violating the SOPs. In view of the prevailing situation, the Sindh government has set up an emergency control room in the health department building to deal with the Covid-19 second wave. A notification had been issued in this regard. Four doctors and nine health officials would perform duties in the 24/7 emergency control room established on the sixth floor of the Sindh health department

building. On the other hand, keeping in view the second wave of the coronavirus, the provincial government has cancelled the vacations of Sindh health department employees. “We have reported 1,276 Covid-19 cases in the province during the last 24 hours,” said Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah in a statement on routine Covid-19 cases in the province. He said that the province performed 12,975 tests, bringing the number of cases performed so far to 1,872,262. “We have so far reported 161,028 virus cases,” Murad Ali Shah said while conveying that 827 patients also recovered during the past 24 hours in the province, bringing total recoveries to 145,143.

The chief minister said that the death toll in the province has reached 2,799 after 19 more deaths reported from the province today.

He said there are 13,086 active virus patients being treated currently.

Giving details of the Covid-19 cases reported from Karachi, Murad Ali Shah said that the provincial capital reported 929 cases in 24 hours, which included 333 cases from district South, 273 from East, 94 from Central, 92 from district West, 75 from Korangi, and 62 patients from district Malir.

Authorities fail to enforce smart lockdowns in Lahore LAHORE SHAHAB OMER

Despite attempts to curb the second wave of Covid-19, the district administration and related departments have failed to ensure compliance of smart lockdowns imposed in the different parts of the provincial capital.

According to information available with Pakistan Today, 11 areas of the city were identified by the Punjab Primary and Secondary Health Care Department on November 9 as hotspot areas for coronavirus.

The affected areas include New Muslim Town (C Block), Allama Iqbal Town (Raza Block, Sikandar Block, Umar Block), Garden Town, Cavalry Ground, DHA Phase I (AA Block), HBFC ( B Block), DHA Phase VI (A Sector & L Sector), Askari XI, Anarkali, Mozang, Shadman and Gulshan Ravi.

During a survey, it was found that not only were people moving to the sealed places in these areas but that business centres were also still open. Nasir Mahmood, a resident of Gulshan-e-Ravi, said that a few streets in his area were sealed off, but people were still coming to the bazaars and even going to their offices regularly. “The government-imposed lockdown is only in the news. In practice, the lockdown is nowhere to be seen and people are not following any SOPs [standard operating procedures]. People go to restaurants without masks. There is no social distance in the markets, functions are still going on in the wedding halls.

Lockdown is nowhere to be seen.”

Similarly, residents of other areas of the city also complained that the movement of people in the sealed areas has not decreased and the actions of the administration are not visible. A senior district administration official explained that they [district administration] had been ordered to seal the areas with the highest number of cases of coronavirus and impose smart lockdown there, but this was not possible at this stage.

“We were getting results from private laboratories and smart sampling, which made it easier to estimate which areas of the city had the highest number of infected people. We were asked to seal various areas of the city, he said, adding that smart lockdown was implemented only in the streets where coronavirus cases were present. “Sealing the whole area meant putting people who are healthy in trouble,” he added.

The official further said that since this was not a micro-smart lockdown but a smart lockdown, district administration and the Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department checked each street.

“If there were seven, eight or 10 cases in one street, we just sealed that street. Now the thing to consider is that if there are six people living in a house and they are all infected, then the street was sealed only because of that one house.”

He said that in this scenario, only the people of the house would have restricted movement, while the other people on the same street who were not infected were treated leniently.

Furthermore, he informed that “Police and health department personnel are now stationed and working outside the affected streets. We have closed these streets with barriers on one side and tents on the other.”

The official also said that they were also facing severe difficulties in the process of checking the streets because the citizens do not cooperate and that many residents were often reluctant to get testing, making it harder to see the complete picture.

“On several occasions, people even got into fights with the district administration staff. People in the posh areas take their own tests out of self-responsibility, but many are reluctant to take the test just to avoid being imprisoned and that's one of the reasons the Covid-19 case is on the rise,” he justified.

When the official was asked why large grocery stores or other business centres in the affected areas remain open till late at night, he replied that business activities in the affected areas have fixed working hours and they are closed on time.

“All medical laboratories, pharmacies and hospitals in the affected areas are ordered to be open 24 hours a day, while grocery stores, grocery stores and petrol pumps are open from 9 am to 7 pm,” he maintained.

Speaking to Pakistan Today, Lahore Deputy Commissioner Mudassar Riaz Malik said, “The lockdown is not in the whole area but in the streets. Our plan is to target only those areas where there are more patients.” He added that in 15 days, they had sealed more than 500 shops and other business centres.

No attempt to sabotage CPEC will succeed: China BEIJING APP

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said on Friday that any attempt to sabotage the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) flagship project would not succeed and with support of the international community, both China and Pakistan could work together to ensure its success.

“I have already made my response to this issue.

No attempt to sabotage the CPEC will succeed,” Zhao Lijian said during a briefing. This was said in reply to a question about a comment made during the

joint briefing of the foreign minister and the directorgeneral of Inter-Service Public Relations (ISPR), wherein they accused India of supporting terrorist forces and sabotaging CPEC. He said that China opposes all forms of terrorism and also opposes double standards in counterterrorism efforts. “China calls on the international community, the regional countries, in particular, to carry out counterterrorism cooperation and safeguard collective security,” he added.

While commending Pakistan on its positive contribution to global counterterrorism cause, he said that the Chinese side firmly supports Pakistan’s efforts in stopping terrorist activity in order to safeguard

regional peace and security.

He reiterated that the CPEC is an important and pioneering project of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

He added that it is not only important for the development of the two countries but also for regional connectivity and prosperity.

“We are confident that with support of the international community, China and Pakistan can work together to ensure the success of the CPEC,” he said.

Recently Pakistan shared a dossier with the international community which has incriminating evidence of India harbouring, training and financing terrorist networks that not only seek to destabilise Pakistan but also the disruption of the CPEC.

Saturday, 21 November, 2020

NEWS

reSult wIthheld In GblA-II for forenSIC AudIt of PoStAl bAllot PAPerS ISLAMABAD

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GHULAM ABBAS

HE votes recount in GBLA-II Gilgit-2 concluded on Friday with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidate Fatehullah Khan emerging victorious, but a returning officer of the constituency suggested a forensic audit of postal ballot papers as the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) candidate in the constituency, Jamil Ahmed, had serious concerns about the suspicious increase in postal ballot papers from 1,300 to 1,700.

Both PTI and PPP are in tug of war in this constituency as, initially, the PPP

candidate was leading and unofficially declared the winner. However, the result was changed on the next day of the election, sparking a fight between leaders and supporters of the two parties.

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had extended his stay in Gilgit to get the result of the constituency while joining with protesters of his party.

“As there are a number of unfair means/illegalities that are committed by the candidates/parties for getting postal ballot paper cast in their favour and forensic verification can be a viable option to trace their legality and proceed against the violator in accordance with the law. As per

the agreement of the candidates of the constituency, the validity of postal ballots may be ascertained before issuance of the final result by Election Commission, Gilgit Baltistan,” the returning officer said in a letter to the election commission.

The unofficial results shared by the returning officer put Fatehullah Khan ahead of PPP's Jamil Ahmed by 96 votes.

According to unofficial and unconfirmed results, the ruling party grabbed nine seats while the PPP came second with three victories. Meanwhile, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) won two seats and Jamiat Ulema-e-IslamFazl (JUI-F) and

Majlis-e-Wahdat-ul-Muslimeen (MWM) won one each while Independent candidates secured seven.

Both PML-N and PPP have termed the polls 'rigged'. Taking to Twitter, Bilawal said that his "election has been stolen". He then addressed political workers at a gathering. "Your mandate has been stolen.

Our candidates were pressurised."

Bilawal said that election rules were violated but the GB chief election commissioner sided with the government and targeted the opposition parties. "Our candidate lost by two votes. They are trying to steal three seats but we will not let them."

The PPP chairman said that the "puppet government" did not even expect they would win. "They don't even have a candidate for chief minister post."

PML-N Vice-President Maryam Nawaz claimed PTI won the seats through 'rigging', 'bullying', and with the help of turncoats.

Taking to Twitter, Maryam said that

Genocide Watch’s statement on Indian Muslims vindicates Pakistan's stance: FM ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said that recent statement of the head of Genocide Watch regarding genocide of Muslims in India is endorsement of Pakistan’s stance and viewpoint.

In a statement on Friday, the foreign minister said that Pakistan has already expressed its concerns on the matter at the international forums. The foreign minister said that the situation is further deteriorating in Indian Occupied

Kashmir (IOK). He said that Muslims are being maltreated not only in the occupied territory but the entire India.

Whatever happened in Gujarat and Delhi is before everybody, he added. Qureshi said that Pakistan has also presented irrefutable evidence regarding Indian involvement in acts of terrorism in Pakistan.

Talking about the situation in Afghanistan, Qureshi said that Afghan peace process has entered the final phase and negotiations are carried on in Doha as well. He said that the recent visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan was aiming to strengthen

Pakistan main stakeholder after Afghans in Afghanistan peace: PM ISLAMABAD NEWS DESK

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday said that his visit to Kabul was another step towards conveying Pakistan’s commitment to peace in Afghanistan.

In a series of tweets on Friday, the prime minister said that he has never believed in military solutions which is why he always believed that peace would be achieved in Afghanistan through political dialogue.

“After the Afghans, we have the greatest stake in this peace as it will allow for connectivity [and] trade, bringing prosperity to both Afghans [and] Pakistanis,” he said, adding that the primary goal of both countries was to bring peace to the area after four decades of chaos.

He further said that their people in the tribal areas, who have suffered the ravages of the war in Afghanistan, will especially benefit from peace and trade.

PM Imran visited Kabul on Thursday where while addressing a press conference alongside Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, he said peace in Afghanistan guarantees peace in the region. After holding a one-on-one meeting between the two top leaders, PM Imran showed concern over increasing violence in Afghanistan despite ongoing peace talks. He said that Pakistan would be happier over peace in Afghanistan and added that Islamabad played its role in peace talks. He also assured every possible support of Pakistan for peace in Afghanistan. The premier underlined the need to further strengthen economic ties between both the neighbouring countries.

No one's land will be taken forcibly for Ravi development project: RUDA LAHORE SHAHAB OMER

The Ravi Urban Development Authority (RUDA) has announced that no land will be seized by force for the Ravi Urban Development Project (RUDP) and the project will be completed in three phases, Pakistan Today learnt on Friday.

The first phase covers 44,000 acres of land for which no one is being evicted. “No notice was given to anyone to acquire land for the project. So there is no truth in the rumours about forcible land acquisition. So far, only eight court cases have been filed against illegal housing schemes but no such thing was reported by common citizens,” a RUDA spokesperson said. The first phase

Faraz asks Opp to show responsibility amid Covid-19 ISLAMABAD

will involve 28 feet high walls being constructed on both sides of the Ravi River to protect the citizens from floods. Seven water treatment plants will also be installed at the project site. Similarly, three barrages will be constructed at the project site and an artificial lake will be constructed there as well. The spokesperson of RUDA also said that the lake would improve the groundwater level in the city. He further said that at present, innumerable settlements have been formed in the flood-prone area along the Ravi River.

However, the release of floodwater by India at any time poses a serious threat to these populations, he added. “Our biggest problem in the coming days will be the water supply. The water war is not going to start in the future, it has already started.

Buzdar inaugurates Bahimat Buzurg programme LAHORE

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Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz has said that protecting the health of people is the government’s top priority.

In a tweet on Friday, the information minister said that coronavirus is an international phenomenon and not a product of any mind. He said that the opposition parties should demonstrate responsibility as the court has also issued its ruling. He also said that the opposition leaders and organisers of the public gatherings will be responsible if the people lose their lives due to the pandemic. Earlier on Tuesday last, spokesperson for the Balochistan government, Liaquat Shahwani, held the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) responsible for the Covid-19 spread in the province. “Coronavirus cases recorded a threefold increase after PDM’s public gathering in Quetta,” Shahwani claimed while addressing a press conference.

Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar on Friday inaugurated Bahimat Bazurq programme and distributed cards among the elderly women. Addressing the ceremony, the chief minister stated that a special fund has been set up with an initial amount of Rs2 billion to assist deserving senior citizens of 65 years and above. Under this programme, needy senior citizens will be given a monthly stipend to lessen their financial difficulties, he added. The chief minister emphasised that elderly women have been particularly included in this programme to make them self-reliant. He termed the programme a good omen, saying that he is feeling happy. The government is inching closer to the goal of the State of Medina envisioned by Prime Minister Imran Khan, he said. “The establishment of the State of Medina is a long and arduous journey but I am convinced that we will succeed in achieving this important goal,” he stressed. The chief minister said that respect and service to elders is a social as well as collective religious obligation.

bilateral ties of Pakistan and Afghanistan as Islamabad will continue to assist Kabul for the establishment of peace. The foreign minister detailed that they held important sittings with the Afghan leadership to discuss enhancing multilateral economic cooperation between both countries. During the visit, Islamabad and Kabul have also held delegation-level dialogues, he added. Qureshi said that Pakistan apprised Afghanistan of its reservations regarding Indianbacked terrorism in the region.

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PTI failing to cement a clear majority in the northern region is a "shameful defeat" for the incumbent government. "This defeat is a telling sign of what the future has in store."

Maryam said that the ruling party was unable to secure a majority despite using state machinery and with the help of turncoats, adding that the people of GB have no confidence in the PTI. As many as 330 candidates, including four women, were vying for 23 general seats in the third legislative assembly of the northern region.

Citizens, wearing facemasks and observing social distancing, lined up outside polling stations in bitter cold across the region, many voters braving heavy snowfalls.

More than 15,000 security personnel from GB, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Sindh, and Balochistan were deployed at polling stations.

Covid-19 reinfection unlikely for at least six months, study finds LONDON: People who’ve had Covid-19 are highly unlikely to contract it again for at least six months after their first infection, according to a British study of healthcare workers on the frontline of fight against the coronavirus pandemic. The findings should offer some reassurance for the more than 51m people worldwide who have been infected with the pandemic disease, researchers at the University of Oxford said. AGENCIES

Saturday, 21 November, 2020

04 NEWS

Govt takInG steps to ensuRe chIlD RIGhts pRotectIon: pM ISLAMABAD

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STAFF REPORT

RIME Minister Imran Khan said on Friday that the government has initiated various programmes to ensure protection of children’s rights.

In his message on the World Children’s Day, the prime minister said that the government is striving to ensure that child’s rights to inclusive development, education, healthcare, participation, dignity and security as envisaged in the UN Convention on the Rights are implemented in true letter and spirit.

The premier said that a national commission on the rights of children has been set up which monitors child rights situation

in the country. Alluding to the legislation passed for the protection of children, PM Imran said that the manifesto of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) provides enhanced focus on childhood nutrition and child friendly learning environment. He said that the creation of a violence-free society and ending child abuse is one of the present government’s priority areas.

Separately, in a statement on Friday on the occasion of World Children Day, Foreign Office (FO) Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said that Pakistan reaffirms the right of every child to grow, learn, play and flourish in a safe, responsive and friendly environment, free of distress, hunger, fear and oppression.

As a party to the CRC and its two optional Protocols, Pakistan is committed to

upholding the promotion and protection of human rights of all children and fulfilling its national and international obligations in that regard.

He said that Pakistan has undertaken a range of institutional and legal measures to eliminate exploitation of children and their discrimination based on gender, religion and ethnicity.

He said, “We remain committed to eradicating the incidences of violence against children, child labour and forced marriages, while ensuring that the right to food, education, health and healthy environment is available to all children of the country.”

The spokesperson said the plight of children in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir should not be for-

Int’l transit activity starts at Gwadar with arrival of fish cargo

gotten on this day. He said that these children, living in one of the world’s largest prisons, deserve urgent attention from the international community, particularly the United Nations.

Chaudhri said the over 15-month-long physical and digital siege with frequent incidences of house demolitions, arbitrary detentions and use of force including through pellet guns have traumatised children in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK).

He said that the international community must be sensitive to the plight of oppressed children in the occupied territory and urge India to immediately stop its illegal and inhuman policies and practices that are in contravention of its own obligations under the convention on the rights of children.

ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

International transit activity started at Gwadar with the arrival of the first fish carrier containing 200 tonnes of fish from international waters. In a statement, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) said that the fish will be shipped to China in reefer containers, opening up a new era of prosperity and growth for the people of Balochistan and the economy of Pakistan. Pakistan Customs is all geared to realise the vision of the prime minister for transforming Gwadar into an international transit trade hub and facilitate trade through Gwadar Port. The FBR has already notified International Transshipment Rules vide SRO 218(I)/2020 dated 10th March 2020. A dedicated Directorate of Transit Trade has also been established at Gwadar to work closely with the stakeholders and transform Gwadar into a transit trade hub. As a result of this proactive approach and support of all stakeholders, in the coming days, more vessels containing international cargo including LPG, steel pipes and DAP fertilizer for transit to Afghanistan are scheduled to arrive at Gwadar Port. “This reflects the confidence of the international business community and shipping lines in the economic potential of the port and excellent trade facilitation measures put in place by Pakistan Customs, the statement read. “Gwadar is the future of Pakistan and will help the country earn much-needed foreign exchange in the future.”

Dollar climbs to Rs160.73; gains Rs2.57 in week KARACHI TLTP

The US Dollar gained Re0.11 against Pakistani Rupee in the interbank market on Friday. According to a State Bank of Pakistan tweet, the US Dollar opened at Rs160.62 and closed at Rs160.73. The greenback has gained Rs2.57 against Pakistani Rupee during the week. As per market analysts, this weakening of PKR against the greenback is mostly sentiment driven. "The recent news of IMF officials visiting Pakistan soon and resumption of talks with the agency led to panic-buying by importers and hedging their imports. Moreover, some banks squared their short positions which put further pressure on the rupee,” said Sana Tawfik of Arif Habib Ltd, adding that the PKR will remain range bound and likely to close the year at 161 level.

GIGLIT: Snow-covered trees present a beautiful sight in the mountainous region. INP

Q&A: Where are we in the Covid-19 vaccine race?

AGENCIES Drugmakers and research centers around the world are working on Covid-19 vaccines, with large global trials of several of the candidates involving tens of thousands of participants well underway.

The following is what we know about the race to deliver vaccines to help end the coronavirus pandemic that has claimed more than 1.34 million lives worldwide: Who is furthest along?

U.S. drugmaker Pfizer Inc PFE.N and German partner BioNTech SE BNTX.O22UAy.DE released final late-stage trial data on Wednesday that showed their shot was 95% effective at stopping COVID-19, the highest efficacy rate so far.

The companies are the first to publish final Phase III efficacy and safety data and plan to apply for an emergency use authorization (EUA) in the United States within days. On Monday, another U.S. pharmaceuti-

cal company, Moderna Inc MRNA.O, released interim data showing that its vaccine worked in a large, late-stage clinical trial with a 94.5% efficacy rate.

Interim late-stage trial results for Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine published on Nov. 11 showed the shot is 92% effective.

The next data release will likely be from AstraZeneca Plc AZN.L with the University of Oxford in November or December. Johnson & Johnson JNJ.N says it is on track to deliver data this year.

What happens in these trials?

The companies are testing their vaccines against a placebo - typically saline solution - in healthy volunteers to see if the rate of Covid-19 infection among those who got the vaccine is significantly lower than in those who received the dummy shot.

What were pharma companies waiting for to release data?

The trials rely on subjects becoming naturally

infected with the coronavirus, so how long it takes to generate results largely depends on how pervasive the virus is where trials are being conducted. Each drugmaker has targeted a specific number of infections to trigger a first analysis of their data.

Early in the trials, infection rates were low.

With a surge in infections around the globe in October and November, trial participants became infected more quickly.

Pfizer’s final results were based on 170 cases within its trial involving more than 43,000 participants. Moderna conducted its interim analysis after 95 participants developed Covid-19 while Russia’s examination was conducted after 20 volunteers developed the disease.

AstraZeneca said two weeks ago that a slowdown in infections during the summer is delaying data analysis for its UK trial.

How well are the vaccines supposed to work?

The World Health Organization ideally wants to

see at least 70% efficacy in trials. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration wants at least 50% - which means there must be at least twice as many infections among volunteers who received a placebo as among those in the vaccine group. The European Medicines Agency has said it may accept a lower efficacy level.

When will regulators rule on safety and efficacy?

P f i z e r / B i o N Te c h plan to submit an EUA application in the United States within days. Moderna aims to file an application in the coming weeks once it has the two months of safety data on half the trial participants, as required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. That should happen in the second half of November.

That means an FDA decision is unlikely before December.

Regulators for Europe, the United Kingdom and Canada are considering data as it becomes available. It is not clear when companies

will submit efficacy data or when the agencies would make a decision.

Could these be the first widely available coronavirus vaccines?

Yes, although China

launched an emergency use program in July aimed at essential workers and others at high risk of infection that has vaccinated hundreds of thousands of people.

Saturday, 21 November, 2020

TPL Trakker to provide fleet management services to Sialkot Dry Port Trust KARACHI: TPL Trakker, Pakistan’s leading IoT Company, has been chosen as the sole fleet management partner for Sialkot Dry Port Trust (SDPT), Asia’s first ever Dry Port in the private sector.

Following the partnership, TPL Trakker will provide SDPT a customized solution catered to address their business needs. These services will include online tracking of their fleet, business insights on drive time and distance travelled, a live dashboard indicating real-time status of the fleet, creation and monitoring of geofences as well as SMS alerts, helping SDPT efficiently manage its fleet of customs bonded vehicles. SDPT is the largest Bonded Carrier in the private sector with over 100 vehicles providing quality services in terms of efficient transit time, safety and reliability. press release

K-Electric installs 136 lowcost meters through facilitation camp in Rasheedabad KARACHI: K-Electric organized a customer facilitation camp in Surjani Town’s Rasheedabad area to address billing related and other complaints of the residents. More than 200 billing related issues were resolved on the spot, which was the basic purpose of the camp, while more than 50 customers were also facilitated in settlement of their dues through easier payment options. In keeping with the vision behind Project Sarbulandi, and the provision of electricity to even the most remote areas of Karachi, 136 low-cost meters were also provided. A medical camp was also set up alongside the camp where area residents were offered free medical checkups and advice. Approximately 170 residents of the impoverished and underdeveloped area availed this facility. press release

Application forms for ARY Laguna DHA City to be available till 25th KARACHI: ARY Laguna DHA City – Pakistan’s firstever waterside community, which is bringing Crystals Lagoons’ internationally renowned innovative and patented technology for the first time to South Asia. Envisioned by Pakistan’s leading business conglomerate and most trusted property developers, ARY Group and DHA, the project is speedily becoming a reality in Sector 1 of DHA City, Karachi, which is estimated to be at a 20-30-minute drive via under-construction Malir Expressway from Phase 8. The announcement of the availability of the membership/application forms was just made on 17th November and in merely 3 days, the response has been extraordinary. The last day to acquire an membership/application form for ARY Laguna DHA City is now, therefore, November 25 th. press release

LAHORE: Beaconhouse launched the 12th edition of its Non-Profit School of Tomorrow (SOT) Events – ‘A World of Tomorrow: From Darkness to Light’, featuring over 60 international thought leaders in 24 Live sessions over three days through a series of discussions, workshops and debates. The SOT Conference will especially host the iconic Dr Mahathir Mohamad, former Prime Minister of Malaysia in an exclusive interview with Kasim Kasuri, CEO Beaconhouse on 22 November. press release

In fIRST REvIEw, EU ComES CLEAn on mILITARY fAILIngS BruSSeLS

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aGeNCIes

HE European Union acknowledged on Friday that it lacks the capabilities to meet its goal pushed most strongly by its biggest members - to become a standalone military power able to help NATO or deploy troops rapidly to regional crises.

Seeking to address major shortfalls, the EU’s first annual defence review, presented to the bloc’s defence ministers on Friday, found that only 60% of the na-

tional troops and weapons nominally available to NATO are in a fit state to be deployed.

EU governments are also reluctant to deploy those troops, the report found. Formal EU military missions receive just 7% of all EU states’ military personnel committed worldwide, with problems generating troop levels, it said.

While such EU weaknesses were largely known, because the bloc has never had the military strength to match its economic might, major EU governments including France, Germany, Italy and Spain hope the detailed review and

public recognition of failures will be a watershed.

“The EU does not have all the required military capabilities available in order to fulfil (its) level of ambition,” said the report. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters: “European defence suffers from fragmentation, duplication and insufficient operational engagement.”

Smaller member states including Greece, Sweden and Poland have sought to protect domestic armament industries, which leads to duplication in weapons output, thwarting coordination geared to the protection of the continent as a whole.

Zameen.com, Faysal Islami sign MoU on affordable homes construction Karachi press release

Zameen.com, Pakistan’s biggest real estate portal, recently entered into an agreement with Faysal Islami to facilitate the construction of affordable houses in the country (as per Prime Minister Imran Khan’s directives). Zameen.com’s Country Head Ahmed Bhatti and Faisal Islami’s Head Retail Banking Tahir Yaqoob Bhatti signed the agreement on behalf of their organisations.

Zameen.com CEO Zeeshan Ali Khan, Senior Directors Shujaullah Khan and Taha Mahmood, Director Adil Ahmed Kamal, Associate Director Asim Bhatti, Regional Manager Muhammad Hassan, Faisal Islami’s Chief Risk Officer Mian Sulman Ali, Head Consumer Finance Syed Iftikharul Haq, Head Retail Risk Management Jawad Naseem, and Head Secured Business Talha Hameed were all present at the signing ceremony, which took place in Karachi.

Under said Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), Zameen.com will provide its consultancy services to customers seeking Faysal Home Finance scheme for the construction of affordable houses. Moreover, Roshan Digital Account holders will be able to avail

NEWS

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corporate corner

KARACHI: Hamdard University on Friday organized and hosted the HEC Intervarsity Zone G Cricket Tournament, which was inaugurated by Higher Education Commission Incharge Sports Division Javed Ali Memon. Hamdard University Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Shabibul Hassan was also present on the occasion. press release

State institutions being restructured to curb financial losses: Dr Ishrat continued from page 01

free consultancy services for making investments in the national real estate sector.

It is pertinent to mention that individuals who earn more than PKR 25,000 per month are eligible to avail home loans from designated private banks on low profit rates (as per the State Bank’s announcement). Commenting on the occasion, Zameen.com CEO Zeeshan Ali Khan stated that Zameen and Faysal Islami ‘are committed to working for the promotion of Pakistan’s real estate sector in line with Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s vision’; adding that Zameen.com would continue to work for the development of the national property marketplace.

‘Owning a house is no longer a dream for millions of people who for years had been struggling to secure residential accommodations for

themselves and their families. Zameen.com will be providing one-window solutions on all property-related queries in addition to a wide range of consultancy services regarding Islamic home financing scheme being provided by Faysal Islami,’ he said.

Faysal Islami President and CEO Yousuf Hussain stated that low-wage employees will be able to avail Islamic home financing solutions from Faysal Islami. He further stated that said loan scheme ‘is being offered on the lowest profit rate in the country’s history’ under the directives of PM Khan and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

‘Faysal Islami has introduced easy home loan solutions for the construction of affordable houses and Zameen.com, in its capacity as a bona fide real estate expert, will provide consultancy services to home loan seekers,’ he said.

Growth in construction activities to strengthen economy: PM continued from page 01 Separately, while chairing a meeting of the working groups of Pakistan Island Development Authority and Ravi Urban Development Authority on Friday, Prime Minister Imran Khan said that Pakistan’s coastline is feasible for urban constructions of international standard and attract foreign tourism.

The prime minister said that the country’s coastal line has the capacity to create enormous opportunities for foreign investment. He said that the

Ravi City Project will not only help reduce population pressure on big cities like Lahore but also introduce new dimensions of urban planning.

He said that big projects will have a positive impact on the country’s economy and the lives of the common people, adding that these projects will help develop local industry and create new job opportunities in the country.

The PM was briefed that Ravi City and the urban centres on islands will be constructed in line with the principles of the green city for the first time in the history of Pakistan.

PDM insists on holding Peshawar rally despite surging Covid cases continued from page 01 Similarly, PDM Spokesman Mian Iftikhar Hussain had said that the federal government is repeating the mistake of the provincial government in its handling of political rallies. He had warned that the PDM will hold the rally even if permission is not granted.

It is pertinent to mention that Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday had urged the nation to strictly adhere to the health guidelines to curtail the transmission of the contagion disease and announced new restrictions on public

events, including the suspension of his party’s political rallies.

“We have cancelled our jalsas and will ask other [parties] to do the same because that is one place where the virus spreads rapidly,” he said, adding that the recent campaigns in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) seem to have resulted in a rise in the number of cases.

“This is the time to take precautions.

If we do [adopt restrictions], we can slow down the virus. Just like earlier we were saved due to following precautions, that time has come again,” the prime minister had said in a televised address.

CMYK

Industrial activities in Faisalabad were booming and there was shortage of labour, he noted. Dr Ishrat said that it was easy to break down institutions but it always took time to build a new one. He said that during the tenure of present government, the heads of different institutions and departments were appointed on merit and through a set selection procedure. The collective judgment was made and the appointments were discussed in the cabinet before the approval, he added. Talking about reforms in Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), he said if FBR started collecting tax from all taxpayers, the country’s dependence on borrowing would end.

Human interaction between tax collectors and payers should end to increase the tax revenue, he added. He said that automation of tax system including automated refund transfer to exporters was being done. Dr Ishrat said that Rs250 billion were refunded to the exporters, adding out of 3.7 million tax payers only one million were paying income tax and the burden was on honest taxpayers. The FBR was tracing those who were paying income tax by taking help of databases of National Database and Registration Authority, property registration departments and civil aviation records. He was of the view that 17 per cent sales tax was high and could be brought down when the citizens would start paying their income tax. Thousands of companies were registered but many of them were not paying taxes, he added.

Saturday, 21 November, 2020

06 COMMENT

Social Workers are Heroes

Another step towards media censorship IT ministry’s draconian rules

One girl’s story of unremitting effort

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he Information Technology Ministry has notified rules to remove and block unlawful online content. This was done without consultation with all relevant stakeholders as promised by Prime Minister Imran Khan in February. Under the new rules, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has been empowered to block entire online systems and networks that do not comply with its requests for removal of “offensive” content— which can include criticism of the government or public office holders— and also mandates all social media companies to provide decrypted data of its entire user base. The ISPs and the SMCs could be fined up to rs500 million for failing to abide with the directives of the Ministry.

It is maintained by the PTA that it will not restrict or disrupt the flow or dissemination of any online content except in the case of removing and blocking access to online content which goes against the interest of Islam, integrity, security and defence of Pakistan, public order, public health, public safety, decency and morality.

There is a lot of ambiguity and difference of opinion about these terms which could easily be stretched to block genuine criticism of the government’s policies.

The new rules could in fact stifle dissent and free speech and open the door to mass censorship for political gains. There is a perception that rules are being made, bypassing Parliament, to make social media platforms fall in line.

We are told that the vital digital economy of the country is beginning to take off. In a situation like this, restrictions on social media companies should not be on the government’s agenda. The Asia Internet Coalition (AIC) which comprises mega tech companies has meanwhile reiterated that if such rules are implemented, it would become extremely difficult for them to make their services available to Pakistani users and businesses. This would be highly detrimental for the growth of the digital economy in the country. Pakistan in fact needs to be an attractive destination for technology investment to realize its goal of digital transformation.

The government should step back and hold consultations with all stakeholders, including mega tech companies, internet service providers and local digital rights activists, to formulate a digital policy in sync with the times.

Naeem KaNdwal

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here are very few people in the world who have dedicated their lives to serve humanity. Serving the needy is considered a great virtue in every religion. Social workers are the guarantors of the development of society. Such people are the benefactors and heroes of a nation. Maleeha Fatima Zaidi is one such revolutionary woman from Karachi. She runs a welfare organization called "Al-hadi Welfare Organization". Through this organization she is educating poor students. Fatima's goal is to educate poor students so that they can play an important role in the development of the country and the nation. When i asked Fatima about her life and achievements, she said: "I have achieved my dreams because I always have had this will to keep going on. Life hadn't been easy for me since childhood. I faced a lot of challenges because I was the member of a family, which had self-esteem and self-respect, but had to work hard even for the basic life supports. The unavailability of such resources demotivated me and decreased my confidence, and made me an introvert, but I had a wish to become a social worker, to help those who were struggling just like me. I had a dream to do something that I would be renowned for. Due to being introverted, I had a limited circle of friends, but I turned my weaknesses into strengths by participating in different speech competitions and proving myself there. I was the first girl in our family who secured A-1 Grade in matriculation, which increased the hopes of my father who always supported me in every stage of life Then I got a 50 percent scholarship in my hSC and completed my 12 years of education.

I wanted to do MBBS but didn't go for it, behind which there is a reason. My father was a worker in a pharma industry, and he always used to mention his managing director, who was a pharmacist Ms

CPEC blues

India is the world's biggest terrorist

Phase 2 needs more attention if it is to get anywhere

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he Planning Minister and the Chinese Ambassador vowed to make the second phase of CPeC a success in their recent meeting. Beneath the surface is another postponement of the scheduled meeting of the Joint Cooperation Committee, which cannot take place until the Joint Working Group on industrialisation and economic zones meets. The minister and the ambassador took up this very issue, because the difference between the two sides are to be resolved at their meeting, and the failure so far to finalise the agenda of the meeting and the minutes of the previous meeting.

There appear to be two major issues holding up the second phase. First, there seem to be issues surrounding the financing of the railways mainline upgradation project, which is the centerpiece of this phase of the CPeC. Then, there are issues surrounding the infrastructure to be provided for the special economic zones, which are central to the industrialization component of the CPeC as a whole. Settling these issues should not be as difficult as the government seems to be making it.

After all, the present government is now benefiting from the first phase, being busy inaugurating projects somehow completed in its tenure, but initiated during its predecessors, such as the Orange Line Metro train.

The government should realize that its record on the CPeC, which started with PM’s Commerce Adviser razzaq Dawood trashing it in a Financial Times interview back in 2018 soon after the PTI came to power, has not been as good as that of its predecessors. A CPeC Authority was set up to expedite the pace of work, but the needless brouhaha over its enabling legislation shows just how little the government cares, or how feckless it is. The PTI had targeted the CPeC before taking power, but now has to rely on it to provide the economy the stability it needs if it hopes to be reelected. As significant, it needs the fillip of the CPeC to help the economy emerge from the depths the covid-19 pandemic has plunged it in. however, that requires the government to pay more attention to the business of bread-and-butter governance, and less to an accountability drive which seems to be going nowhere, serving just so that opponents can be hounded.

suicide jackets to various organizations. Indian agency rAW has also been providing terrorism training to the Altaf hussain group along with providing trying to sabotage the CPeC project, providing arms funding and weapons. Ajmal Pahari has admitted that atia muNawer and money from India to terrorist organizations. India India trains the Altaf hussain group. Dr Allah Nazir has distributed rs 22 billion to terrorists, India has also had links with the Indian agency. he travelled to OT only Pakistan, but all the countries in also formed a militia force of 700 people, which aims India on a fake Afghan passport and has been inthe region, are well aware of India's plan- to target CPeC, but Pakistan is ready to thwart all volved in the Gwadar Pearl Continental hotel attack, while the rAW was also involved in the Peshawar ning and sponsoring of terrorist activities as conspiracies against the country.

While India is planning terrorist activities, it is Agricultural University and APS attacks. The evia state, as this is directly experienced by all.

The Pakistani Foreign Office has once also trying to bring together the TTP and other dence of Indian terrorism given by Pakistan is very comprehensive. If the international again pointed out the fact that community still shows indifferIndia has a hand in fomenting terence, then the fire of Indian terrorrorism in Pakistan, for which there ism will soon reach their countries. is solid evidence. According to a It is gratifying that the governIt is gratifying that the government has shown courage and report in the leading American ment has shown courage and demagazine Foreign Policy, India is decided to bring all the evidence before the world, otherwise cided to bring all the evidence one of the leading countries in the before the world, otherwise efforts efforts have been made to improve relations with India for two world in terms of terrorist activihave been made to improve relaties. The United Nations has also and a half years, and even previous governments have also tions with India for two and a half revealed the presence of terrorist years, and even previous governremained silent on India’s terrorism to establish peace while groups in Kerala and Karnataka. ments have also remained silent on But to promote unrest and bloodIndia has always tried to isolate Pakistan globally by making India’s terrorism to establish peace shed, the Indian government is while India has always tried to isoaccusations against it at every opportunity.

Moreover, the sponsoring the notorious terrorist late Pakistan globally by making organization ISIS and this nexus is cause of Pakistan's troubles in the Financial Action Task Force accusations against it at every opa major threat to world peace. The portunity. Moreover, the cause of is Indian propaganda. It is hoped that the new policy of report warns the international Pakistan's troubles in the Financial community in unequivocal terms Pakistan to break its silence and name India will change the Action Task Force is Indian propthat Indian terrorism is dangerous. aganda. It is hoped that the new attitude of the international community. This new policy will The history and details of this policy of Pakistan to break its sinexus are disappearing from the make the world believe that Pakistan is a country affected by lence and name India will change eyes of the world, but it is a grim the attitude of the international terrorism, while India is a sponsor of terrorism, and even after fact that India's extremist policy community.

This new policy will has become a catastrophic threat to this, if the international community does not take notice of the make the world believe that Pakthe whole world which, if left istan is a country affected by terIndian sponsorship of terrorism and effective measures are not unchecked, could have dire conserorism, while India is a sponsor of quences. taken immediately to prevent I, then it would be failing in its terrorism, and even after this, if the It is clear that Pakistan has international community does not resonsibility. Then, it will mean deliberately endangering world been informing the world about take notice of the Indian sponsorIndian terrorism, but this time the peace. Since all members of the international community will ship of terrorism and effective government has presented irmeasures are not taken immedilose heavily in te event of a conflict, to the extent that the refutable evidence of Indian terately to prevent I, then it would be rorism, Foreign Minister Shah whole world could suffer an existential threat, it is the interest failing in its resonsibility. Then, it Mehmood Qureshi and Pakistan will mean deliberately endangerof all to rein in India Army spokesman Maj Gen Babar ing world peace. Since all memIftikhar held a joint press conferbers of the international ence at the Foreign Office where community will lose heavily in te the audio clips of rAW officers event of a conflict, to the extent were played and a video of the training of terrorists was also shown. The Foreign banned organizations. The ISPr said that Indian that the whole world could suffer an existential Minister and the DG ISPr said that the Indian intel- Colonel rajesh, who is currently in Afghanistan, is threat, it is the interest of all to rein in India. ligence agency was once again in Pakistan, and was in touch with terrorist organizations. The Indian The writer can be reached at financing and training terrorists; India wants to create agency rAW funds its front man through third counAttiabutt121@gmail.com .

She tweets @AttiyaMutries and India not only sends money to Afghanistan political and economic instability in Pakistan and is for terrorism, but also provides weapons, IeDs and nawer

The latest Pakistani dossier only proves the point

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Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami Editor Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

Umar Aziz

Asher John

Joint Editor

Executive Editor

Deputy Editor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

Nighat Parveen. he always admired her as a per- Karachi. I won the All-Karachi Baitbazi compefect lady and used to say "mein bhi apni beti ko tition because ever since childhood, I had been Nighat Parveen banaunga" (I will make my daugh- heavily into poetry. I appeared on different TV channels as well I also worked with rotaract, ter a Nighat Parveen) I heard this sentence many times from my fa- which is an international organization, which ther, that's why I gave priority to my father's wish gave me an opportunity to work as GS, but I had over mine and took admission in Pharmacy but a dream to build my own organization That was not an easy task. I faced a lot of failures life took another harsh turn and I again had to face the financial trouble as I wasn't able to pay and everyone was against me, saying that you are doing such useless things the rs 42,000 of the adand you are just wasting mission fee. It was the last your time. day of submitting admisbut I worked towards sion fee and my father's that oal, day and night. hope started to die, but Social workers are the voice Today, Glory be to the my relatives somehow of the voiceless. Social Almighty, I am te Founder gathered some amount and President of Al-hadi and paid my admission workers are heroes. Social Welfare Organization, fee and I got enrolled in workers are called the angels which is a registered NGO pharmacy. I was the first and working for the develgirl in my whole family of the earth. Maleeha Fatima opment of society and educircle, who got admission cation.

Al-hadi has to university and then I Zaidi is a real hero of this sponsored the fees of many earned my biggest age. She is a role model for students all over Karachi. achievement by hard work and struggle, when I got today's young generation. He We are giving an opportunity to our youth to prosponsorship for the whole life is a beacon for the mote their skills and many five years of my studies more things for the betterafter one test and interyounger generation. Today's ment of nation Now, I am a view by an educational orgirl with strong self-belief ganization of my young people can and self-confidence, workcommunity. That day gave revolutionize their lives by ing for the betterment of me a lot of self-confiour country. Now I am dence and self-belief. learning from her working as a host in 92 Then I started to work on experiences multimedia as well". my passion of serving Social workers are the people and to become a voice of the voiceless. Social social worker. I gave free workers are heroes. Social tuitions to needy students. workers are called the angels First time, I joined Voice of Woman and after some time, because of my of the earth. Maleeha Fatima Zaidi is a real hero of work, motivation and dedication, I became Vice this age. She is a role model for today's young genPresident of Voice of Woman, which was the start eration. he life is a beacon for the younger generaof my journey. Then I worked with different or- tion. Today's young people can revolutionize their ganizations and could see my destination right in lives by learning from her experiences. front of me. On the other hand, I also participated Naeem Kandwal is a freelance columnist in different speech and baitbazi competitions of

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Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

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Islamabad – Ph: 051-2204545

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Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

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Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Saturday, 21 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

Polio a menace POLIO-VIrUS is one of the dangerous viruses that results in disability to a human being forever.Following it, Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only unfortunate countries who could not eradicate polio-virus till the day.Due to it, the people of the both countries face humiliations while traveling to the other countries.Despite spending millions of rupees, the government is fail to root out the crippling disease from the country.One of the prime reasons behind this is unawareness among the people regarding the vaccination.Misconceptions, and rumors were spreaded out due to which the parents show unwillingness when asked for the vaccination.Finally, I would like to request to the government to arrange awareness programs and campaigns to create awareness among the masses.

AMREEN RAhiM KEch,

Second wave COrONAVIrUS is again spreading in Pakistan.It is not being controlled by the Government of Pakistan.One of the prime reasons is that public is ignoring the SOPs suggested by the World health Organization (WhO).Due to this condition, the government is calling meetings to decide if to go for lock down again in the country or not.So, it is the responsibility of the government to ensure the availability of every kind of facilities in order to provide some relief to the public in such a tough time.Apart from this, online classes in Balochistan are also an issue for the students because there is no internet in many of the districts of Balochistan, such as Kech, Awaran and many more.Finally, I request to the Prime Minister Imran khan to make effective measures to ensure the availability of basic needs to the citizens in the period of lock down.

ZAKRiA LAL TuRbAT

The story of a little girl

The lesson to learn from China Agricultural mechanization in Pakistan rehaN Saeed aNd Sumeera aSghar roy

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gricultural Mechanization is about using tools, implements, and machinery in farming. It covers the whole spectrum from farm to fork, including land clearing, sowing, fertilizing, harvesting, transporting, processing, and storage.

The expected outputs are sustainable increasing production, high nutrition value, high quality, and improved shelf life.

Pakistan, is the world's fifth-most populous country in South Asia with a two percent population growth rate, and its population is expected to reach 403 million by 2050. hence there is a dire need to enhance production, yield, and food safety to meet the growing population's increasing demand. Pakistan ranked 107 out of 118 countries, on the Global hunger Index.

Farm mechanization started with only 3000 tractors in the early 1950s, 117,940 in the 1980s, 401,700 in 2004, and 634,000 tractors are now operating in Pakistan. Despite all these big numbers, we have not met the International standard of 1.4 hp per acre of arable land, with Pakistan only 0.9 hp per acre. There is no consistent local production of tractors in Pakistan since we have started local assembling to reduce the price, as the numbers of tractors produced annually are 70,770, 48,120, 48,883, 34,914, 71,894, and 49,902 in 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2018, and 2019, respectively. Undoubtedly, almost all the governments have set up subsidized schemes for tractors, but this is just the initial stage of mechanization started since the 1950s and according to FY15 statistics, only 10 percent of farmers have others to prepare their land with rented tractors. So what's next?

Other agricultural equipment, like trolleys, cultivators, disc ploughs, wheat threshers, amon others, are being produced locally in Pakistan. Still, grain losses are still very high as their efficiency is not up to the mark, and there is no such functional body to regulate the local production efficiency. recent flour price hike indicates that despite being the most favoured staple food for most of the population, there is no consistency in wheat production, and yield. Its harvesting is still manual, using knives and sickles, leaving straw near the ground, and requiring immense labor, while threshing is using local low-efficiency threshers, while transportation takes place on animal-driven carts, causing delays in reaching markets. Then mill owners keeing the grain in storage for a long time causes grain loss.

In the past ten years, many subsidized projects have been implementing and completed to advertise and propagate the benefits

of farm mechanization, including drip irriga- institutes, in all provinces, but a question mark tion, use of sprinklers, solar power technol- on their performance exists, and they have not ogy, laser land leveling, and., funded by yielded te desired results.

To push the turtle-slow pace of agricultural World Bank, the federal government, and te provincial governments. But in most of these mechanization in Pakistan, Pakistan must impilot projects for small farmers, the equip- prove available farm power by increasing its ment was imported from either India or Israel, income through better policies. We should facausing system cost increase and there was no cilitate quality monitoring of locally manufacavailability of spare parts in Pakistan, which tured agricultural machinery, reducing farming forced the farmers to pay high prices or aban- machines, provision of subsidized agricultural don the technology, or even eschew it. Fur- schemes, updating the curriculum of our instithermore, but not the least important factor, tutions to outcome-based learning, and publicfarmers are unwilling to switch to technology private partnership should be facilitated by due to high costs, expensive imported equip- giving them enough space for innovations in ment, lack of technical assistance, and private the agricultural sector.

Therefore, mechanization is an enabler to firms' monopoly.

China is feeding a 1.4 billion population, help smallholders break out of this vicious using 12.66 percent arable land. China's agri- cycle of poverty and change from more marculture was not always like the present; and ket-oriented farming to more income-oriented even in 2004, there was no subsidized govern- farming to improve their livelihoods. It will help to make our enviment scheme for agrironment better by precultural machines, senting multiple despite the declining options to the farmers labour in rural areas instead of burning of since 1978 due to crop residues due to rural industrialization Therefore, mechanization is time limitations. Insurand rural-urban mian enabler to help ance companies should gration. But the yield also step in to help and land use had insmallholders break out of farmers in case of natcreased during that period because of this vicious cycle of poverty ural disasters and calamities. farm mechanization. and change from more engr. rehan The farmer companies Saeed is a postgraduate were made "combine market-oriented farming to student at the College service enterprises more income-oriented of Agricultural engi(CSe)", to offer agrineering, China Agricultural services such farming to improve their cultural University, as harvesting; small Beijing, China. farmers and machinlivelihoods. It will help to rehan's area of interest ery moved from South make our environment better is water and irrigation to North during the systems along with the harvesting period and by presenting multiple modern mechanization back to the North duroptions to the farmers of Agriculture. rehan's ing the plantation pework has been pubriod. Due to small instead of burning of crop lished in NAYADAUr farms, and high land and Pakistan today. he fragmentation, the residues due to time holds his bachelor's detractors were divided limitations gree from the Univerinto small, medium, sity of Agriculture and large. To boost Faisalabad, Pakistan. inter-provincial coopSumeera Asghar eration between difroy is a PhD candidate ferent enterprises, the Chinese government stepped in 2004, an- at the National key laboratory of Fruit Scinounced highly subsidized schemes for less ences, Beijing, China. her areas of interest are wealthy farmers, and waived the tolls on com- agriculture and plant biotechnology, She holds a master’s degree from the University of Agribine arvesters, among other steps.

A good and well-thought-out thorough sus- culture, Faisalabad rehan Saeed is a postgraduate student at tainable agricultural mechanization strategy would create perspectives and new attractive the College of Agricultural engineering, China jobs, especially for the youth. We have to take Agricultural University, Beijing, China a stance to develop a local industry to produce Rehan Saeed and Sumeera Asghar Roy is highly efficient and cheaper agricultural tools.

We have agricultural mechanization research a freelance columnist

BIBI hajira was a little, nine year old, girl, her father and mother names are Saleh Muhammad and Bibi luni respectively. She was resident of sur kach huramzai, which is the village of district Zhob. A few years ago, on account of lack water she went to well to take water along her cousin Bibi Tahira. Unfortunately, some monsters abruptly came there and brutally murdered her and vanished from the incident site. The father and the uncles of her registered a FIr after panic event in district Zhob Thana but no response so far by concerned authority. The innocent girl Bibi hajira is no more with her parents but her parents is still alive and waiting to find justice. But the successive deputy commmissioners of Zhob have paid no attention since the incident: which is a question mark of the district's administration as well. The familly of the oppressed girl is in deep distress.

The authority concerned must pay special heed to provide justice to Bibi hajira's whole family especially to parents. huNZLA KAKAR Zhob

Afghan peace PrIMe Minister Imran Khan on Friday reiterated that there was no military solution to the conflict in Afghanistan, saying peace in the neighbouring country will bring prosperity to both Afghans and Pakistanis. "After the Afghans, we have the greatest stake in this peace as it will allow for connectivity & trade, bringing prosperity to both Afghans & Pakistanis," the premier tweeted, a day after he paid his maiden visit to Kabul since assuming office in 2018. he said the residents of Pakistan's tribal areas, "who have suffered the ravages of the war in Afghanistan", will especially benefit from peace and trade. Prime Minister Imran added that his visit "was another step towards conveying Pakistan's commitment to peace in Afghanistan. I have never believed in military solutions which is why I always believed that in Afghanistan, peace will be achieved through political dialogue." On Thursday, the prime minister assured the Afghan leadership of Pakistan’s full cooperation for reduction in violence in Afghanistan as he sought to fix bilateral ties that have for long been weighed down by mutual mistrust. Imran both publicly extended this assurance and included it in the official communique on his day-long trip to Kabul that followed a series of confidence-building measures and a flurry of high-level exchanges aimed at creating a conducive environment for transforming the relationship into a cooperative one. “If you feel there is somewhere Pakistan can help, please let us know. […] We assure you that we will do whatever is within our reach,” the premier said at a joint media talk with President Ashraf Ghani. The prime minister said that the main purpose of undertaking the trip, one he described as “historic”, was to assure the Afghan leadership that despite the increase in violence, Pakistan’s major concern remained “peace in Afghanistan”. Pakistan first facilitated monthslong talks between the US and Taliban, whose successful culmination last February paved the way for intra-Afghan dialogue and later helped the Afghans to settle their differences and start the talks in Doha in November.

The talks have so far failed to make progress and the two sides (Afghan government and Taliban) have been blaming each other for the stalemate, whereas violence has increased in the war-torn country. This was the first visit by a top Pakistani leader since the intra-Afghan dialogue began. It was followed closely on the heels of the US announcement of reduction in the number of troops from 4,500 to 2,500 by mid-January. A statement on his visit issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said he “called on all sides for taking necessary measures for reduction in violence leading to ceasefire to protect Afghan lives”. Prime Minister Imran reaffirmed Pakistan’s support to “a peaceful, stable, united, democratic, sovereign and prosperous Afghanistan”. he reiterated that a negotiated political settlement was the only way forward for enduring peace, stability and prosperity in Afghanistan. The prime minister and the Afghan president had wide-ranging talks during which efforts to strengthen bilateral relations and achieve lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan were reviewed. The PMO said Pakistan and Afghanistan also issued a document titled ‘Shared Vision between Islamic republic of Afghanistan and Islamic republic of Pakistan to Support Peace and Stability in Both Countries and the Wider region’. The shared vision is aimed at advancing a forward-looking cooperative partnership between the two countries for political, economic and people-to-people exchanges. The two leaders agreed to constitute committees to pursue security and peace-related matters.

The two leaders also agreed to expedite infrastructure and energy connectivity projects. They also discussed development of new rail-road projects between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the PMO said.

EhTiShAM AhMAd LAhoRE

Saturday, 21 November, 2020

08 WORLD VIEW

HOw dO PfIzer and MOderna vaccIneS wOrk? and wHy dO THey need TO be kePT SO cOld? A RUSH OF INTERIM ANALYSES FROM PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES HAVE SPURRED OPTIMISM THAT A NOVEL TYPE OF VACCINE MADE FROM MRNA CAN OFFER HIGH LEVELS OF PROTECTION

Conversation

a

Sanjay MiShra

S the weather cools, the number of infections of the Covid-19 pandemic are rising sharply. Hamstrung by pandemic fatigue, economic constraints and political discord, public health officials have struggled to control the surging pandemic. But now, a rush of interim analyses from pharmaceutical companies Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech have spurred optimism that a novel type of vaccine made from messenger RNA, known as mRNA, can offer high levels of protection by preventing Covid-19 among people who are vaccinated.

Although unpublished, these preliminary reports have exceeded the expectations of many vaccine experts, including mine.

Until early this year, i worked on developing vaccine candidates against Zika and dengue.

Now i am coordinating an international ef-

fort to collect reports on adult patients with current or previous cancers who have also been diagnosed with Covid-19.

PROMISING PRELIMINARY RESULTS: Moderna reported that during the phase 3 study of its vaccine candidate mRNA-1273, which enrolled 30,000 adult US participants, just five of the 95 Covid-19 cases occurred among the vaccinated, while 90 infections were identified in the placebo group. This corresponds to an efficacy of 94.5%. None of the infected patients who received the vaccine developed severe Covid19, while 11 (12%) of those who received the placebo did.

Similarly, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine candidate, BNT162b2, was 90% effective in preventing infection during the phase 3 clinical trial, which enrolled 43,538 participants, with 30% in the US and 42% abroad.

HOW DOES MRNA VACCINE WORK? Vaccines train the immune system to recognise the disease-causing part of a virus.

Vaccines traditionally contain either weakened viruses or purified signature proteins of the virus.

But an mRNA vaccine is different, because rather than having the viral protein injected, a person receives genetic material – mRNA – that encodes the viral protein.

When these genetic instructions are injected into the upper arm, the muscle cells translate them to make the viral protein directly in the body. This approach mimics what the SARSCoV-2 does in nature – but the vaccine mRNA codes only for the critical fragment of the viral protein. This gives the immune system a preview of what the real virus looks like without causing disease. This preview gives the immune system time to design powerful antibodies that can neutralize the real virus if the individual is ever infected.

While this synthetic mRNA is genetic material, it cannot be transmitted to the next generation. After an mRNA injection, this molecule guides the protein production inside the muscle cells, which reaches peak levels for 24 to 48 hours and can last for a few more days.

WHY IS MAKING AN MRNA VACCINE SO FAST? Traditional vaccine development, although well studied, is very time-consuming and cannot respond instantaneously against novel pandemics such as Covid-19.

For example, for seasonal flu, it takes roughly six months from identification of the circulating influenza virus strain to produce a vaccine. The candidate flu vaccine virus is grown for about three weeks to produce a

hybrid virus, which is less dangerous and better able to grow in hens’ eggs. The hybrid virus is then injected into a lot of fertilized eggs and incubated for several days to make more copies. Then the fluid containing virus is harvested from eggs, the vaccine viruses are killed, and the viral proteins are purified over several days.

The mRNA vaccines can leapfrog the hurdles of developing traditional vaccines such as producing noninfectious viruses, or producing viral proteins at medically demanding levels of purity.

MRNA vaccines eliminate much of the manufacturing process because rather than having viral proteins injected, the human body uses the instructions to manufacture viral proteins itself.

Also, mRNA molecules are far simpler than proteins. For vaccines, mRNA is manufactured by chemical rather than biological synthesis, so it is much quicker than conventional vaccines to be redesigned, scaled up and mass-produced. in fact, within days of the genetic code of the SARS-CoV-2 virus becoming available, the mRNA code for a candidate vaccine testing was ready. What is most attractive is that once the mRNA vaccine tools become viable, mRNA can be quickly tailored for other future pandemics.

WHAT ARE PROBLEMS WITH MRNA? mRNA technology is not new. it was shown a while back that when synthetic mRNA is injected into an animal, the cells can produce a desired protein. But the progress remained slow. That’s because mRNA is not only notoriously unstable and easy to degrade into smaller components, it

It’s time to withdraw US troops from Iraq Usa today GEoff laMEar

After the Trump administration’s consideration of military strikes on iran for its nuclear program, the rocket attacks in iraq’s Green Zone, where the U.S. embassy is located, on Tuesday have the potential to draw the United States closer to a conflict with iran.

But President Trump should keep military retaliation off the table. Military action has incentivized — not deterred — iran and its proxies in the past, endangering U.S. personnel.

Military force hasn’t made American personnel safe. in the last bout of hostilities with iran, kata’ib Hezbollah, an iran-aligned militia group in iraq, conducted a rocket attack in December 2019 which killed a U.S. contractor. in response, the U.S. hit kata’ib Hezbollah hard, striking five of the group’s facilities. if military action could deter further attacks, that should have been the end of it. But it wasn’t.

ESCALATING TIT-FOR-TAT ATTACKS instead, a cycle of escalation ensued, with kata’ib Hezbollah supporters attacking the U.S. embassy that same month. The U.S. then pursued the most aggressive option on the table, killing iranian general QassemSoleimani and the leader of kata’ib Hezbollah, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in January. Rather than prevent further attacks, the move prompted iran’s direct retaliation, with iran’s ballistic missile attack injuring over 100 U.S. personnel.

What happened in the aftermath of this standoff also underscores the failure of a military response to solve the problem. Attacks continued throughout the year, only stopping in October when kata’ib Hezbollah pledged to stop attacks if the U.S. withdrew. Tuesday’s

US TROOPS' PRESENCE IN IRAQ IS NOT MAKING RELATIONS WITH IRAN ANY BETTER. IT'S ACTUALLY SPURRING IRAN TO MORE VIOLENCE, SHOWING ITS TIME TO WITHDRAW rocket attacks came after Pentagon officials said they would withdraw only 500 of the 3000 troops in iraq.

WHAT CAN BE LEARNED FROM THIS AND WHAT IS THE SOLUTION? Neither the American strikes on kata’ib Hezbollah nor the strike against Soleimani ended the attacks on U.S. personnel. Both ultimately escalated the situation and made an iran-U.S. war more likely. The longer U.S. forces stay in iraq, the longer they are in harm’s way. And as was seen in the previous tit-fortat last December, a single American death acts as a flash-point that risks a war.

Thankfully, Tuesday’s attack produced no U.S. casualties. That warrants a sigh of relief but not celebration. U.S. personnel are still needlessly endangered for a mission that is largely accomplished. With iSiS’s territorial control gone and its leadership decapitated, the U.S. has little to benefit from staying in iraq and a lot to lose. The role of preventing an iSiS resurgence should now fall to the iraqi Security Forces, a role the U.S. military already envisions as the end goal.

IRAQIS ARE THE BEST COUNTERWEIGHT TO IRAN: Military action proved counterproductive against both kata’ib Hezbollah and iran, so the solution is a full military withdrawal. This is not an abandonment of the region, but a shift from a militaristic role to one based on diplomacy. The U.S. can and should

still engage iraq in areas of overlapping interest and to share intelligence for counterterrorism purposes.

The inevitable criticism of this move is that iran would fill the U.S. gap. But the militarized U.S. presence actually drives iraqis closer to iran. in the aftermath of the Soleimani killing, iraqi lawmakers symbolically voted to oust U.S. forces while populist Muqtada al-Sadr led hundreds of thousands in an antiAmerican rally.

This is the same Muqtada al-Sadr who analysts predicted would be a strong anti-iran influence in iraq. Withdrawing would redirect this nationalist sentiment against iran. The natural counterweight to iran in iraq is not the U.S. it’s iraqis.

The U.S. has not established deterrence with iran.

U.S. military presence in iraq risks harm to personnel which in turn can bring the U.S. into a war with iran.

The costs are high and the benefits are nonexistent with the defeat of iSiS. The iraqis are the ones best suited to preventing iSiS from reemerging and opposing a vassalization of their country by iran. Therefore, it behooves both Trump and Biden to declare that that end has finally come.

Geoff LaMear is a fellow at Defense Priorities and a Marcellus Policy Fellow at the John Quincy Adams Society where he researches Iranian proxies.

One law for interfaith marriage, another for everyone else times of india Madhya Pradesh’s BJP government is tabling a bill to prosecute “love jihad”, a non-existent entity that also weighs heavily on the minds of other BJP state governments. The orchestrated thrust for such a law is surprising because central agencies haven’t detected a single love jihad case in the country. Hapless citizens must bear the cost of such unnecessary over-legislation, even now a prime underlying factor for poor governance in the country. inclusive nationalism – or uniting the land and its people under one law, with the state not discriminating against citizens on grounds of region, religion, language, caste and sex – takes a beating here. in this regard, MP’s state sponsored discrimination directly challenges Article 15.

Far from BJP’s longstanding Uniform Civil Code promise, the love jihad legislative trajectory leads to

a differentiated civil code. Where the Special Marriage Act invites indians irrespective of religion to enter into a marital relationship, the MP bill frowns upon allowing the same right to interfaith couples.

The interfaith couple, and a religious priest if theirs is a personal law marriage, must inform the district magistrate 30 days before the wedding. With offences being cognisable and non-bailable, attracting a five-year jail term even for collaborators, the law will all but criminalise interfaith marriage.

A country aiming for a nation under one tax, one ration card, one civil and criminal code contradicts itself by herding citizens into religious ghettos, daring those who mingle with state sponsored harassment. Consenting adults having to contend with the state as gatekeeper and vetoholder in marriage, while being told in other contexts to become job creators and empowered citizens, betrays yet another

contradiction. The new india is beginning to look like a really archaic india. Such laws will pose hurdles for New Delhi’s foreign policy as well. Unfavourable international attention stemming from discriminatory legislation with potential to fuel social conflict has grave reputational and soft power costs – recall CAA. The Centre can, of course, reveal its hand when the bill comes to the stage of governor giving assent or referring to the President. The easiest course for Centre would be to reform the SMA’s convoluted provisions that force harried couples to take the easier route of religious marriages. Such a modernising move can end the love jihad conversation over religious conversion and earn the gratitude of lovestruck youngsters. And if all else fails there is the Supreme Court, which must act as the conscience keeper of the Constitution.

is also easily destroyed by the human body’s immune defences, which make delivering it to the target very inefficient.

But beginning in 2005, researchers figured out how to stabilize mRNA and package it into small particles to deliver it as a vaccine. The mRNA Covid-19 vaccines are expected to be the first using this technology to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

After a decade of work, the mRNA vaccines are now ready for evaluation. Physicians will be watching for unintended immune reactions, which can be both helpful and detrimental.

WHY KEEP MRNA SUPERCOLD? The most important challenge for the development of an mRNA vaccine remains its inherent instability because it is more likely to break apart above freezing temperatures.

Modification of the mRNA building blocks and development of the particles that can cocoon it relatively safely have helped the mRNA vaccine candidates. But this new class of vaccine still requires unprecedented freezer conditions for distribution and administration.

WHAT ARE THE REFRIGERATION REQUIREMENTS? The Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA vaccine will need to be optimally stored at minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit and will degrade in around five days at normal refrigeration temperatures of slightly above freezing. in contrast, Moderna claims its vaccine can be maintained at most home or medical freezer temperatures for up to six months for shipping and longer-term storage. Moderna also claims its vaccine can remain stable at standard refrigerated conditions, of 36 degrees Fahrenheit to 46 degrees Fahrenheit, for up to 30 days after thawing, within the six-month shelf life.

Not surprisingly, Pfizer is also developing shipping containers using dry ice to address shipping constraints.

Sanjay Mishra is a Project Coordinator & Staff Scientist, Vanderbilt University Medical Center at Vanderbilt University.

The last days of Pompeo Haaretz

M

Editorial

ike Pompeo chose to end his term as secretary of state with a tour of solidarity with israel’s extreme right, while spitting on decades of preTrump U.S. foreign policy, on the norms of international law and on justice. On Wednesday he came across more like an extremist leader of the Yesha Council of settlements than as the foreign minister of the superpower. it’s a good thing that this will presumably be his last official visit. it’s a good thing that he will soon leave office.

On Thursday morning, after his meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Pompeo announced that the State Department will regard the international boycott, divestment and sanctions movement as antisemitic and called the movement a “cancer.” With that, the secretary of state embraced the false propaganda of the israeli government, according to which anyone who supports a boycott of the settlements or of israel over the occupation is an antisemite. This dangerous position constitutes an anti-democratic silencing of free speech.

One need not support BDS or ignore the antisemitic circles that may make use of the movement in order to recognize that calling for a boycott of an illegal occupation that is not recognized by the international community is legitimate, nonviolent and certainly not necessarily antisemitic. Sanctions and boycotts are internationally accepted tools against unjust regimes, and so long as the israeli occupation persists and the Palestinian people is not free, there will be more and more calls to use these tools against israel as well as the settlements.

Pompeo continued on to the Psagot Winery, in the Sha’ar Binyamin industrial zone, where he was presented with the wine that it named for him. The wine was made from grapes grown on privately owned land that was stolen from its Palestinian owners, most of whom live in the adjacent city of el Bireh. The winery’s founder and CeO, who hosted Pompeo, lives in an estate that he built for himself, also on stolen, privately owned land.

The secretary of state gave the State Department’s imprimatur to the following sins: He visited settlements, drank from the poisoned chalice, sanctioned dispossession and later also announced that the State Department will permit goods produced in settlements to be marked as israeli when they are exported to the United States. it would seem that the only thing that still remains for Pompeo to do during his visit is to approve israel’s annexation to the Yesha Council.

These are the last days of Pompeo. How good it is that this is the case.

Saturday, 21 November, 2020

BUSINESS 09

ECC aPProvEs $150m grant for PurChasE of Covid vaCCinE

corporate corner

ISLAMABAD

t

LAHORE: BARD Foundation organized a ceremony to announce their sponsorship of rising Pakistani tennis star Haniya Minhas. The ceremony celebrated her achievements and paved the path for future accomplishments. PRESS RElEASE

SHAHZAD PARACHA

HE Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet has approved a grant of $150 million for the purchase of Covid-19 vaccine. Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh chaired the ECC meeting in Islamabad on Friday. Industries & Production Minister Hammad Azhar, Economic Affairs Division Minister Khusro Bakhtiar, Adviser to PM on Institutional Reforms and Austerity Ishrat Hussain, Special Assistant to PM on Petroleum Nadeem Babar and SAPM on Revenue Dr Waqar Masood were also present on the occasion.

The ECC evaluated a proposal submitted by the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations & Coordination and approved, in principle, the provision of a technical supplementary grant of $150 million for the purchase of Covid vaccine.

The health ministry briefed the committee that this shall be the first phase of procurement and the amount of vaccine will suffice for the most vulnera-

ble 5pc of the population -- health workers and people aged above 65 years. Besides, around 10 million people would be provided with vaccine cover under the above arrangement.

The ECC directed the health ministry to discuss the proposal with World Bank and other donors in coordination with the Economic Affairs Division (EAD) so that they could assist in providing financial facility for the procurement of the vaccine during the first phase and for the procurement of additional quantities in the future as needed.

The forum also directed the ministry to draw a holistic proposal regarding the pricing and risk mitigation mechanism for the procurement of the Covid vaccine for provision on a wider scale.

Meanwhile, the ECC approved the EAD's request to proceed with the formal request for availing the G20 Debt Relief for the extended period (January-June 2021). Approval of the federal cabinet would be required for signing of the bilateral debt service suspension agreements.

The chair also approved a technical supplementary grant (TSG) of Rs19.65 billion for "Initiating the

Process of Retrenchment of Pakistan Steel Mills Employees" and of Rs500 million for "Prime Minister’s Special Package to Implement 'Skills For All' Strategy as Catalyst for TVET Sector Development in Pakistan".

Similarly, Rs689.3 million were approved as budget re-appropriation for National Information Technology Board (NITB) to fulfill its various requirements.

Moreover, the committee okayed a proposal of the Ministry of Energy/Petroleum Division for the allocation of 2.25MMCFD gas from Umair -1 to M/s OGDCL for sale to M/s Engro at a mutually agreed and negotiated price under a gas sale and purchase agreement, subject to initiation of field development plan and development and production lease.

Lastly, the ECC was briefed on the status of wheat import through Trade Corporation of Pakistan. The Ministry of National Food Security & Research informed the forum that a tender was floated on 11 Oct for the provision of additional 340,000MT wheat.

Subsequently, the bids were opened on 18 oct and the lowest bid was accepted. The total quantity to be imported is now 2.248 million metric tonnes.

MARKET DAILY

Bears hold sway as benchmark index sheds 353 points KARACHI STAFF REPORT

Bears took charge of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Friday, with the indices succumbing to selling pressure ahead of the rollover week. Global equity markets, on the other hand, displayed a positive trend, whereas crude oil prices also moved north from the previous close; WTI oil price appreciating 0.67pc to $42.18 while Brent crude price rising 0.88pc to $44.61. "After a reasonable start to proceedings, the benchmark index took a negative turn in the afternoon session, mainly due to selling pressure observed in banking and cement stocks ahead of the rollover week," a report issued by Arif Habib Ltd read.

"Developments such as the imposition of smart lockdown in corona-hit areas, and SBP's announcement of monetary policy (due on Monday evening) also kept the market under pressure." The benchmark KSE-100 remained in the red for the most part, recording its intraday low at 40,126.80 after dropping 413.90 points. It settled lower by 353.52 points at 40,187.18. Among other indices, the KMI-30 Index plunged 507.75 points to end at 64,009.77, while the KSE All Share Index lost 157.66 points, closing at 28,273.86. The overall market volumes inched up from 188.55 million shares in the previous session to 189.79 million shares. Average traded value, however, declined from $50 million to $47.1 million.

Unity Foods Ltd (UNITY +1.67pc), TRG Pakistan Ltd (TRG -3.96pc) and Maple Leaf Cement Factory Ltd (MLCF -3.47pc) led the volume chart, exchanging 39.72 million, 14.17 million and 10.12 million shares, respectively. Sectors that drove the benchmark index south included banking (-90.99 points), cement (63.13 points) and investment banking (-52.47 points).

Among the companies, Dawood Hercules Corporation Ltd (DAWH -51.37 points), United Bank Ltd (UBL 28.60 points) and Lucky Cement Ltd (LUCK -25.69 points) dented the index the most. Shedding 1.61pc from its cumulative market capitalization, the oil & gas marketing sector turned out to be the session's biggest loser, with Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Ltd (SNGP -3.73pc), Shell Pakistan Ltd (SHEL -2.03pc), Hascol Petroleum Ltd (HASCOL -1.53pc) and Pakistan State Oil Company Ltd (PSO -1.03pc) closing in the negative. Meanwhile, in a notification to the exchange, BankIslami Pakistan Ltd (BIPL +1.93pc) informed that the bank has approved final bid of AKD Securities Ltd for the purchase of BIPL Securities Ltd (BIPLS +9.66pc) at a price of Rs8.60 per share.

KP govt intensifies action against food adulterators

Govt to engage stakeholders on proposed PTA with Afghanistan: Dawood ISLAMABAD: Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood said on Friday that following the prime minister’s visit to Kabul, the Ministry of Commerce will start engaging all stakeholders on items to be placed in the proposed Pak-Afghan Perennial Trade Agreement (PTA), starting next week.

“We are looking at engineering, pharmaceutical, cement, building materials, fruit and vegetables for enhancing the trade liberalization between both of the countries,” said the adviser in a tweet. “I request all the stakeholders to be prepared for discussions through video link.”

On Thursday, the commerce adviser had informed that PTA between Pakistan and Afghanistan will be finalized by the end of January 2021, and hoped that Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA) will also be signed around the same time.

It is pertinent to mention that a trade delegation, headed by the commerce adviser, had left Islamabad

for a two-day visit to Kabul on Monday to mull ways to boost bilateral trade ties.

During the meetings, extensive and fruitful deliberations were held on the whole spectrum of bilateral trade and investment relations including formalization of informal cross-border trade, while the two sides also discussed a wide range of issues pertaining to trade and economic integration.

“Held an extensive round of discussions with the concerned officials and a 1-on-1 meeting with H.E. the President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani. Many understandings reached on several issues relating to trade & transportation,” the adviser had tweeted following the meetings.

During his visit, Dawood also met High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR) Chairman Abdullah Abdullah and thanked him for his support, besides calling on Da Afghan Wolesi Jirga speaker and the Da Afghanistan Bank governor. APP

PESHAWAR AZIZ BUNERI

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Food Safety and Halal Food Authority (KPFS&HFA) on Friday carried out a massive crackdown against food adulteration in various parts of the province. The authority during a raid in a factory in Pand area of Swat recovered more than 1,200kgs of unhealthy cherry. The factory was using non-food colours in cherries, besides using a number of other hazardous chemicals for preservation purposes. The operation was carried out on the directions of FS&HFA Director General Suhail Khan, wherein the unhealthy factory was sealed. According to the authority, action was also taken against food adulteration in district Mardan, where more than 350kgs of substandard spices and 50 litres of rancid oil were seized in a chips factory near Maqam Chowk. In addition, the FS&HFA acted against food adulteration in Munda Bazaar, Lower Dir, where two factories were sealed for the use of washing powder in the sweets. The food safety team also discarded more than 1,000kgs of unhealthy ghee in the factories. Furthermore, the KP FS&HFA checked the quality of milk in Dera Ismail Khan, and discarded more than 2,000 litres of adulterated milk.

Appreciating the actions of the field teams against food adulteration, DG Suhail Khan said provision of safe food to the people is the topmost priority of the authority. He said there would be no tolerance on quality of food and strict actions would be taken all those involved in food adulteration.

HYDERABAD: A worker paints a boat for his customer on the bank of River Indus. INP

KPT, Metro Gas sign MoU for establishment of virtual LNG pipeline Karachi Port Trust and Metro Gas (Pvt) Ltd have entered a memorandum of understanding for establishment of a 'virtual pipeline system' to disseminate LNG across the country.

The MoU was signed by KPT General Manager Rear Admiral Zakaur Rehman and Metro Gas CEO Owais Mir. The ceremony was also attended by KPT trustees and officials as well as members of the busi-

ness community.

"KPT will allocate suitable berths for this purpose and arrangements are underway by Metro Gas (Pvt) Ltd for the transportation of ISO tanks to customers through road," a statement issued by the company on Friday read.

The process involves transfer of LNG from ships to ISO tanks through a Mobile Filling Platform (MFP)

and thereafter to their respective destinations. LNG Easy and Metrogas will re-gasify the LNG at end user premises and will also provide gas storage units.

"Metro Gas (Pvt) Ltd firmly believes the LNG Virtual Pipeline can be the driving force to unlock the LNG market in Pakistan by providing accessible and affordable energy to SMEs and the common man," the statement read. NEWS DESK

Pakistan improves compliance with WTO's Trade Facilitation Agreement ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Pakistan has considerably improved its implementation of the World Trade Organization (WTO)’s Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) from 34pc in June 2018 to 79pc in November 2020, a statement issued by the Federal Board of Revenue on Friday read.

Owing to effective implementation of TFA, Pakistan has improved 31 positions in ‘Trading Across Border Index’, which tangibly contributed to the rise of Pakistan (from 136th position to 108th position) in the Global Fund’s Annual Ease of Doing Busi-

ness 2020 Report. According to the statement, the implementation of WTO’s TFA by Pakistan is better than regional countries like India and Bangladesh, where implementation rates are 78.2pc and 36.1pc, respectively.

Pakistan’s implementation rate is higher than the average of all WTO members (65.5pc) as well as all developing countries (65.2pc).

"Trade facilitation is an effective driver to stimulate economic activity, attract foreign direct investment, promote exports and generate employment. In line with the direction of the prime minister to thoroughly facilitate trade (import, export, and transit) to achieve the strategic objectives of economic

and export-led growth, Pakistan Customs (FBR) followed an integrated plan," the statement read.

The FBR chairman specifically designated dedicated project teams under Member (Customs) to ensure implementation of WTO’s TFA in the country. "The teams worked industriously and all this resulted in substantial implementation (and compliance) with the TFA and have comprehensively facilitated national/regional/international trade."

Salient TFA reforms/provisions that have been implemented in Pakistan include Authorized Economic Operators (AEO) Programme, advance ruling, electronic payments,

CMYK

pre-arrival processing, freedom of transit, opportunity to comment and information before entry into force, temporary admission of goods and inward & outward processing, risk management and post clearance audit.

According to the WTO, among the most difficult-to-implement (and least notified) provisions are Single Window and Border Agency cooperation. Despite this, significant work has been done on these important areas with the help of the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank and these provisions would be implemented in Pakistan well within timelines.

Implementation of WTO’s TFA by Pak-

istan has been acknowledged worldwide, the FBR statement said.

According to the World Bank, Pakistan has made the list of top 10 governments that have done the most in the past year to improve the ease of doing business in their countries. OECD Trade Facilitation Indicators DataBase (2019) has acknowledged Pakistan’s best performance across the areas under TFA. Moreover, the World Customs Organization (WCO) has stated that "considering the recent advancement of Pakistan Customs administration for proceeding TFA, Pakistan is suitable to be listed in the successful countries".

Saturday, 21 November, 2020

10 FOREIGN NEWS

EThIopIa accUSES Who chIEF oF BacKIng TIgrayanS ADDIS ABABA

E

AGENCIES

THIO PIA’s army chief on Thursday accused WHO boss Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus — the world’s highest-profile figure from the country’s Tigray region — of lobbying for and seeking to arm leaders in the conflict-torn province.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed unleashed a military campaign in the country’s northern region on Nov 4 with the declared aim of unseating its ruling party, the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF), which he accuses of defying his government and seeking to destabilise it.

Army chief Berhanu Jula told a press conference that Tedros, who served as health minister under TPLF leader Meles Zenawi, was “a part of that team”, referring to the party.

“He has worked in neighbouring countries to condemn the war. He has worked for them to get weapons,” said Berhanu, without offering evidence to support the claims.

He added that Tedros had “left no stone unturned” to help the TPLF. In a separate press conference, Redwan Hussein, spokesman for a crisis committee handling the conflict,

Indian economy may grow 8.5pc next year: Barclays LONDON: The Indian economy is expected to grow 8.5 percent in the 2022 fiscal year, according to Barclays.

The firm has raised its earlier projection of seven percent, saying the country will “return to normal” faster than expected. The upward correction comes as the coronavirus curve in the world’s second-most populous nation begins to flatten. Confirmed coronavirus cases in the country have exceeded nine million, but the number of new daily cases has fallen since a peak in midSeptember. “The prospect of an effective vaccine in the near future and high serum prevalence of antibodies across the population support the case for a more durable economic recovery,” Barclays said in a note seen by the Economic Times. The country’s GDP forecast for the current fiscal year has been revised, however, down to negative 6.4 percent from negative six percent. Barclays expects GDP to fall by 8.5 percent in the second quarter of the current fiscal year, almost in line with the Indian central bank’s forecast. Last week, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) projected the nation’s GDP to contract by 8.6 percent in the July-September quarter, implying the country was likely to have entered a technical recession in the first half of the year for the first time in its history. Barclays’ projections were echoed by Morgan Stanley, which has said the Indian economy will see strong growth by April next year. “We maintain a constructive view on the economy and expect the growth recovery to gain strength from 2Q21,” Morgan Stanley’s 2021 Global Macro Outlook report said, noting that the growth would be accompanied by inflation under control. AGENCIES

admitted “the government is not happy” with Tedros.

“The government is aware that he has been hustling and bustling, calling leaders and… institutions and asking them to… compel the government to sit and negotiate,” he said.

“The government actually expects him to reach out and ask… as to how he might be of use or help to the government.” Tedros has yet to respond to the accusations.

The 55-year-old was appointed as the first African head of the WHO in 2017 and has become a household name as he grapples with the Covid-19 pandemic. He has been ranked as one of Time magazine’s most influential people.

Abiy’s government insists its target is the “reactionary and rogue” members of the TPLF and not average civilians in Tigray.

But observers have voiced concern about Tigrayans losing their jobs or being arrested for their ethnicity.

CLOSING IN ON MEKELE: The TPLF led the overthrow of Mengistu Hailemariam, head of Ethiopia’s military regime, in 1991 and dominated politics for three decades until the arrival of Abiy in 2018.

The party has complained about being sidelined under Abiy, and scapegoated for the country’s woes. The bitter feud with the central government this year led the TPLF

to hold their own elections in defiance of a postponement due to the pandemic.

On Nov 4, Abiy said the TPLF had attacked two federal military camps in the region, crossing a “red line”.

His controversial campaign has seen warplanes bombing Tigray and heavy fighting, while Amnesty International has documented a gruesome massacre.

A communications blackout in Tigray has made claims difficult to verify, but the overall toll is believed to be in the hundreds.

Abiy this week insisted the military operation was in its final phase.

Redwan said that “our defence forces are moving forward and closing in on Mekele”, the regional capital.

He added that the northern town of Shire, where heavy fighting has been reported in recent days, was already in government hands. A senior Tigrayan official, Wondimu Asamnew, said that Tigrayan forces “have adopted a defensive posture on all fronts”.

A statement from Tigray’s self-declared president Debretsion Gebremichael on Thursday said the army had “called upon assistance from an outside force, with drones starting to be used in the battle”.

China not ready to lift ban on troubled Boeing 737 MAX BEIJING AGENCIES

Boeing’s 737 MAX jets are still banned from the US company’ biggest market, as China has not changed its position on the plane’s safety and has not allowed the aircraft to take to the skies.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) announced that it has not set a date for the resumption of Boeing 737 MAX flights, according to local media reports citing the watchdog.

The aviation authority stressed that the position has not changed since last month, when its director, Feng Zhenglin, said that it needs to ensure

that the troubled aircraft has safe and reliable modifications before making the decision to lift the grounding.

He earlier noted that the 737 MAX must meet three conditions.

Apart from clarity on the results of the investigation into the cause of the crashes that killed 346 people, design improvements must pass airworthiness inspections and pilots must receive adequate training for them.

Last year, China became the first country to ground Boeing 737 MAX planes after the second fatal crash in just five months.

The Chinese regulator’s statement comes shortly after the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) decided to lift the nearly two-year

ban. While the decision does not allow the jets to return immediately to the skies, it is expected that the first commercial flights will resume before the end of the year.

“The US FAA’s approval does not mean other countries have to follow,” senior engineer Shu Ping, the director of the Aviation Safety Institute of the Academy of Civil Aviation Science and Technology, said as cited by ChinaDaily. Boeing recently revealed its bullish outlook for the Chinese market.

Betting that passenger traffic in China will grow much faster there than in other countries, the US aerospace giant plans to sell 8,600 new airplanes to Chinese airlines valued at $1.4 trillion over the next two decades.

UN expects 200,000 Ethiopian refugees to flee Tigray to Sudan GENEVA AGENCIES

The UN agencies are planning for the possible arrival of 200,000 refugees in Sudan fleeing violence in Ethiopia over a six-month period, a UN refugee agency official said on Friday.

"Together with all the agencies we have built a response plan for about 20,000 people and currently we are at about 31,000 so it has already surpassed that figure," Axel Bisschop told a Geneva briefing. "The new planning figure is around 200,000."

It comes as Tigray forces fired rockets at a neighbouring state on Friday, heightening fears the internal conflict could spread to other parts of the country, a day after Ethiopia said its forces were closing in on the dissident region's capital Mekele.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, last year's Nobel Peace Prize winner, unleashed a military campaign in the Tigray

region on November 4 with the declared aim of unseating its ruling party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which he accuses of defying his government and seeking to destabilise it.

Hundreds of people are reported to have been killed in the conflict in Africa's second most populous country, while tens of thousands have fled fighting and air strikes in Tigray, crossing to neighbouring Sudan.

Mr Abiy this week insisted the military operation was in its final phase. Redwan Hussein, spokesman for an Ethiopian crisis committee handling the conflict, said that "our defence forces are moving forward and closing in on Mekele."

An official in Ethiopia's Amhara state said TPLF forces fired rockets at the regional capital, Bahir Dar, early on Friday morning.

Last week, the TPLF also fired rockets at Asmara, the capital of neighbouring Eritrea which it accuses of backing the Ethiopian advance. Both Eritrea and Ethiopia deny the allegation.

UK borrowing hits new high of £214.9bn in seven months LONDON AGENCIES

British public sector borrowing climbed to a record £214.9 billion ($284.89bn) in the first seven months of the fiscal year, as UK finance minister Rishi Sunak plans to announce a squeeze on public sector pay to help bring government spending under control. The UK government borrowed £22.3bn in October alone, £10.8bn more than the same month a year ago, putting Britain on track for a deficit of £372.2bn by the end of March, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Meanwhile, retail sales rose 1.2 per cent in October on the month, the sixth monthly increase in a row, which took sales 6.8 per cent above their pre-crisis level. Sunak said the government has provided more than £200bn of support to protect the economy and people’s livelihoods “from the significant and far reaching impacts of coronavirus”. “This is the responsible thing to do, but it’s also clear that over time it’s right we ensure the public finances are put on a sustainable path,” Sunak said. Sunak will set out his spending review next week, giving details of how much money will be allocated to different departments, with analysts expecting him to make the case for pay restraints on public sector earnings. A three-year pay freeze could save the government £23bn by 2023, or £15bn if National Health Service workers are not included, according to a report from the Centre for Policy Studies. The UK’s borrowing figures so far this fiscal year are now £169.1bn more than in the same period last year and the highest public sector borrowing in any April to October period since records began in 1993.

This puts public debt as a share of gross domestic product at 100.8 per cent, however stronger growth in the economy in the third quarter meant this was down slightly from September's peak of 101.2 per cent, the highest level since the early 1960s.

Euro beats US dollar as world’s most used currency: SWIFT BELGIUM AGENCIES

The US dollar has lost to the euro as the number one currency for global transactions for the first time in nearly eight years, said the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT). According to monthly SWIFT data, the last time the euro was in the number one spot was February 2013.

Data from SWIFT, which handles cross-border international payments for more than 11,000 financial institutions in 200 countries, showed the European Union’s single currency was the most used one last month. It was followed by the greenback, then the British pound, and the Japanese yen. In the fifth spot was the Canadian dollar, which has moved China's yuan to sixth place. Statistics showed that 37.8 percent of the SWIFT cash transfers were completed in euros in October, rising six percent from about a year ago and marking the highest level since February 2013. The use of the US dollar dropped to 37.64 percent, down 4.6 percentage points. The US currency has weakened more than 11 percent from its March peak. Analysts are predicting its valuation to drop further. Still, the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) said in its June report that the US dollar remained a dominant force in international finance. According to BIS, "around 85 percent of all foreign exchange transactions occur against the US dollar. It is the world's primary reserve currency, accounting for 61 percent of official foreign exchange reserves."

Covid-19: UK’s biggest vaccination programme may start within weeks LONDON AGENCIES

The UK could begin a mass vaccination programme “within weeks,” as authorities identify dozens of centres where people can be inoculated against coronavirus.

Health officials are putting plans in place for mass vaccination centres to be set up in football stadiums and smaller venues in primary care networks for atrisk groups. The indoor arena at Pride Park football stadium in Derby is one confirmed vaccination centre. A mass recruitment drive for healthcare staff is also due to take place shortly, the Health Serv-

ice Journal reported.

It is understood the government hopes to vaccinate as many as one million people per day at peak deployment.

Speaking on Sky News, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said a mass Covid vaccination programme could be rolled out “within a matter of weeks”. Hancock said it would be run “in parallel” with a flu programme and the law had been changed to allow more people to deliver the shot.

He said: “Normally 15 million people are vaccinated against flu. This year it will be 30 million - the biggest number in history. "We hope that we will also have a Covid vaccination programme

alongside that. "It will be a huge effort, but I know that the NHS is up for it."

Hancock said there were “encouraging signs” with both the Pfizer and Oxford vaccines but cautioned “nothing is guaranteed yet”. He added that peak deployment would likely take place next year.

Dr Nigel Watson, a Hampshire GP who is working on vaccination plans, confirmed reports that firefighters and soldiers would be recruited for the rollout. “This is the biggest vaccination programme in history and therefore we’re going to need to expand the workforce over the winter period,” he told BBC. “We’re already extended as it is.”

Prof Peter Openshaw, of Imperial College London, warned the logistical challenges involved with rolling out the vaccine would be immense.

Prof Openshaw said the Pfizer vaccine, which needs to be stored at -75 degrees, could be kept at hospitals and delivered to GPs once a week. “This is no easy feat,” he said.

Meanwhile, a leading scientist has suggested coronavirus infections may be starting to level out in the UK. Prof Neil Ferguson, of Imperial College London, told the Guardian infection rates appear to be “plateauing” and beginning to go down slowly.

Saturday, 21 November, 2020

Team fully pRepaRed To face New ZealaNd, says BaBaR aZam

p

AGENCIES

AKISTAN’S cricket captain Babar Azam on Friday said that the team was fully prepared to face New Zealand on its upcoming tour. During a press conference in Lahore, Azam expressed confidence in the team’s ability to challenge the Kiwis and said: “Our team is very excited to go on its New Zealand tour and players are in the right frame of mind to perform to the best of their ability and potential.”

The batsman said that though the team was taking New Zealand as a

challenge, it was not under pressure.

“We will enjoy the tour and make efforts to play a good game,” he told reporters and noted that Pakistan’s past record in New Zealand was good.

The skipper said that all the players included in the team were capable and try to deliver their best performances.

“We always face challenges and playing abroad is a difficult task, but we have been playing well when abroad. For example, we showed a good performance in England,” he said. At the same time, however, he stressed that players must work hard and stay in form to prove themselves.

Red Bull want 2022 engine supply finalised by end of November, says Horner

He said that while younger players should learn from seniors on the team, the latter should “demonstrate their best performance”.Azam rubbished reports of “grouping” among players, saying that the team was a single unit whose “objective is to play for Pakistan and strive to achieve glory for the country”.

He also thanked former captains Sarfaraz Ahmed and Azhar Ali, both of whom were removed by the Pakistan Cricket Board, and said that he has learned from both his predecessors and will consult them whenever needed.

“I am the one responsible for mak-

ing decisions but I will consult them too,” he maintained.

Azam has been appointed as Pakistan’s captain in all three formats.

Pakistan will leave for New Zealand on November 23 and will complete a mandatory 14-day quarantine period in Lincoln.

The three-match T20 series between Pakistan and New Zealand will start on December 18 and end on December 22.

The ICC World Test Championship fixtures will be played in Mount Maunganui and Christchurch from December 26-30 and January 37, respectively.

‘Lewis helped me become a better racing driver’

AGENCIES Red Bull want to know what F1 power unit they will be using for 2022 before the end of the month says Team Principal Christian Horner, with taking over the Honda intellectual property (IP) their preferred option. The four-time world champions and their sister team AlphaTauri were left in a quandary when Honda announced last month that they would be leaving the series at the end of the 2021 campaign, leaving only three engine suppliers. By regulation, Renault must supply Red Bull and AlphaTauri if they can't find another option, as they have the fewest customers – but both the French manufacturer and energy drinks company would prefer not to work together again, with Red Bull instead pursuing the possibility to continue on with the Honda engine. It is understood Red Bull and Honda have had several discussions with regards Red Bull taking over the Japanese manufacturer’s IP as well as their Milton Keynes facilities and the Honda engineers who work there. “I think our preferred option would be to continue with the power unit that is in the car next year, obviously rebadged as something else,” said Horner. “If we can make an agreement with Honda regarding the use of the IP and product moving forward it would be a great shame to see those engines just in a warehouse somewhere in Japan, so subject to what the regulations are, it would be the preferred route would be to find an agreement to continue with those power units.” However, should Red Bull go down the route of taking on the Honda power unit themselves, they are pushing for an engine development freeze across all manufacturers.

Mercedes would accept such a freeze, and while Ferrari and Renault have suggested they would be against, it is understood one of those are willing to change their stance. “I think we’ve been having quite productive discussions behind the scenes with the Commercial Rights Holder and the governing body,” added Horner. “Obviously there’s some key elements that need to be in place, before making any commitment on future engine plans, regarding engine freezes and so on.” While Horner said Red Bull technical chief Adrian Newey would push the deadline to get the right engine deal, with teams permitted to start working on their 2022 cars on January 1, Horner said a final call was ideally needed by the end of November.

RUSSELL ON WHAT HE’S LEARNED FROM THE SEVEN-TIME CHAMP AGENCIES Before George Russell was a front-line Formula 1 racer, he got to spend a year on the sidelines as Mercedes’ reserve driver. And Russell has revealed that being able to see how the now seventime world champion Lewis Hamilton operated behind the scenes helped to make him a better racing driver.

Having joined the Mercedes junior programme for 2017, Russell’s role with the Silver Arrows in 2018 allowed him to sit in on the team’s postsession debriefs, where he was able to learn from both Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, as well as Mercedes’ engineering team.

And speaking on our F1 Nation podcast, the Williams driver revealed the lessons he’d taken away from watching Hamilton work – as well as shedding some light on how Hamilton had supported him after his unfortunate crash at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

“Personally, I’m running out of su-

perlatives for Lewis,” said Russell. “I think everybody knows how great he is – even while he was a two-time, threetime world champion. But for me, when I joined Mercedes and saw him working first hand, I knew he wasn’t purely just relying on natural talent.

“He doesn’t just wake up on a Sunday morning and jump in and he’s the fastest. He puts a huge amount of effort in, which I don’t think he really gets the credit for. That grew my respect for him massively. And he works on the smallest of small details, just to excel and get that little bit extra from himself.

“I spoke to him actually after Imola,” added Russell, “and he gave me some incredibly wise words, sort of ‘here for you if you need’, really. I have learned a lot from him just being in those debriefs, learning what he’s looking for to make the car go quicker and what he’s working on with his driving style, which has actually helped me become a better racing driver over the past 18 months.

“I’ve understood what I need to

make my car go faster, and I understood that’s what Lewis was doing. He’s setting the benchmark at the moment: incredible driver, incredible bloke, and just a lot of respect for him.”

Meanwhile, although Russell really got to know Hamilton when he became part of the Mercedes family in 2017, according to the Briton, the pair’s first meeting had actually come a decade earlier – and it wasn’t an experience that Russell was keen to relive…

“The first time I became aware of him was probably back in 2007,” said Russell. “I remember he came to [UK karting track] PFI once during his first season in F1. He rocked up in a Mercedes, wearing his McLaren Vodafone race suit and obviously everyone at the track mobbed him, and I got a photo with him. I had a woeful haircut – he’ll probably argue that his haircut at the time wasn’t much better. “So there is that embarrassing photo out there… which I saw circulating not long ago, so I think for both of our sakes, we’d prefer that to stay away!”

Atletico game could leave Barca's Griezmann wondering what might have been AGENCIES When Barcelona forward Antoine Griezmann returns to face his former club Atletico Madrid in La Liga on Saturday the Frenchman could be forgiven for wondering how things might have been different had he stayed at the Wanda Metropolitano.

First of all, the chances are that Griezmann will be on the bench as his current and former employers battle.

After leaving Atleti, where he was the star man, for the Nou Camp in 2019

few things have gone right for Griezmann. He has struggled to find the form that persuaded the Catalans to pay his 120 million euro ($141.98 million) release clause.

Instead, he has toiled in the shadow of Lionel Messi, unable to find a regular starting spot with youngsters Ansu Fati, Trincao and Pedri all leaping ahead of him in the pecking order.

Meanwhile, the man who replaced the France striker at Atletico, Portugal's Joao Felix, is flourishing, having scored eight goals in his last seven games for club and country.

Add in the impact at the Madrid club of Luis Suarez since the Uruguay striker joined from Barca in the last transfer window and Atleti, who are just three points off leaders Real Sociedad with two games in hand, look the team to beat in Spain.

Griezmann's former agent, Eric Olhats, this month launched a scathing attack on Messi and the power he wields at Barca.

"Antoine arrived at a club with big problems, in the fact that Messi controls everything," he told France Football magazine.

Huge tests for Real, Barca, a milestone for Flick - what to watch in Europe this weekend AGENCIES Real Madrid and Barcelona's stuttering starts to the season could continue, while AC Milan's unbeaten record in Serie A is in danger and Bayern Munich coach Hansi Flick is aiming to continue his astonishing record.

AFP Sport previews the standout football action on the continent this weekend: GERMAN ACCENT TO FRENCH SHOWDOWN: Monaco v Paris Saint-Germain, Friday 2000 GMT PSG are five points clear at the top of Ligue 1 and chasing a ninth straight win when they face Monaco, the only other club

BARCA CLAIMED A FIRST WIN IN FIVE LA LIGA GAMES LAST TIME OUT WHEN THEY THUMPED REAL BETIS 5-2 to have won the title in the past eight seasons.

Paris have won 4-1 and 4-0 on their last two visits to the principality but they might find things harder this time, not least because coach Thomas Tuchel is without a host of injured players, while Neymar is a doubt.

The game has a German accent to it, with Monaco looking to return to the upper echelons of the French game under new

SPORTS 11

Croatian coach Niko Kovac, who was born and raised in Germany.Ex-Borussia Dortmund boss Tuchel has been full of praise ahead of the game for Kovac, who he came up against when the latter was at Eintracht Frankfurt. Kovac is looking to relaunch his career after being sacked by Bayern Munich.

LANDMARK FOR FLICK: Bayern Munich v Werder Bremen, Saturday 1430 GMT

Kovac was replaced in the dugout in Bavaria by Hansi Flick, who went on to win the Champions League, Bundesliga and German Cup treble last season and has added the UEFA and German Super Cups this season.

On Saturday Flick takes charge of Bayern for the 50th time when they host Werder Bremen. Flick's record is astonishing. He has overseen 45 wins, one draw and just three defeats, with Bayern averaging 3.3 goals a game in the Bundesliga.

Bayern sealed the title with a 1-0 win in Bremen in June. Werder only just stayed up last season and lost 6-1 on their last trip to Munich. A similar outcome is quite possible

Ricciardo one of four drivers 'at different level' says Renault sporting director AGENCIES How good is Daniel Ricciardo? According to Renault sporting director Alan Permane he's in a select group of four drivers in F1 who are a cut above the rest, as he explained in our latest Beyond The Grid podcast. Ricciardo has taken two podiums this season for Renault and Permane has seen enough of the Australian to know that he belongs in the elite of the elite.

Permane made the admission when asked how sad he was to be losing Ricciardo to McLaren at the end of the year. "Yeah, very sad, honestly," he said. “There’s not many of them on the current grid, and I am only speaking from what I see, the same as everyone else sees – OK I see a bit more of Daniel – but there’s him, there’s Lewis [Hamilton], there’s Charles [Leclerc], and there’s Max [Verstappen].”

“And I think those four are at different levels.”

Permane added that he hopes Ricciardo’s team mate, Esteban Ocon, can learn from him and “close that gap”. Currently, the Frenchman sits 56 points behind the Australian. “No disrespect to Esteban, but he’s just that one tenth, half a tenth behind, and where we are, that can be a lifetime,” continued Permane. “And he’s striving hard to close that gap and learning from Daniel where he can and how he acts and how he sees what he’s done with his team…

“If he can emulate him and have that same success, then great,” he said. Next season, when Ricciardo leaves Renault to partner Lando Norris at McLaren, the team will lose their charismatic and talented driver. Permane explained why he will leave a void at the end of the season. “[I’ll be] Very sad, honestly,” said Permane. “He’s very cool. In and out of the car, you don’t meet many that are pretty much spot on, both ways. And he’s done a great job in building a very strong team around him in terms of engineering and his mechanics, his people in the garage.

“I tell him every week, it’s not too late to change his mind. Seriously I do, and of course it’s tongue in cheek and I know he can’t change his mind… but who knows, if this had been a normal season and people weren’t making their minds up before they’d even turned a wheel, who knows where we’d be now?” concluded Renault’s sporting director.

this time.

REAL TO STRUGGLE WITHOUT RAMOS? Villarreal v Real Madrid, Saturday 1515 GMT Zinedine Zidane's Real have had two weeks to stew on a 4-1 hammering at Valencia and could find the going tough again this weekend when they make another trip to Spain's east coast to play Villarreal.

Unai Emery's side are undefeated in six La Liga games and are second in the table, two points behind leaders Real Sociedad and two above Real, who have a game in hand.

While Madrid are without talisman Sergio Ramos after he suffered a hamstring injury playing for Spain, Villarreal have two of Spain's most in-form strikers in Paco Alcacer and Gerard Moreno.

The latter has four league goals this season and scored a late equaliser for Spain against Switzerland in the Nations League last weekend, while Alcacer has nine in total.

Saturday, 21 November, 2020

PrAyEr TImINGS

NEWS

GLobAL teCh GIAnts threAten to LeAve Country In LIGht of new ruLes

t

NEWS DESK

HE Asia Internet Coalition (AIC), which comprises Google, Facebook and Twitter, and others, have said that they cannot continue their operations in the country in light of the new rules and regulations introduced by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.

This statement comes one day after the

introduction of the ‘Removal and Blocking of Unlawful Online Content (Procedure, Oversight and Safeguards) Rules 2020’ rules. The rules have granted the concerned authorities blanket powers to censor digital content, and this move has been criticised as curtailing freedom of expression.

The AIC said it was “alarmed by the scope of Pakistan’s new law targeting internet companies, as well as the government’s opaque process by which these

Azerbaijani troops enter Aghdam as Armenia hands over first district BAKU

rules were developed.”

“The consultation that was announced in February never occurred,” AIC Managing Director Jeff Paine lamented in the statement.

Under the new guidelines, social media companies or internet service providers face a fine of up to $3.14 million should they fail to limit the sharing of content classified as defamatory of Islam, promoting terrorism, hate speech, pornography or any content

viewed as endangering national security.

Reportedly, social media companies are required to provide Pakistan’s designated investigation agency with any information or data in decrypted, readable and comprehensible format.

The information to be provided may include subscriber information, traffic data, content data and any other information or data. Furthermore, Pakistan wants the social media companies to have their offices in the

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country. The coalition said the “draconian data localization requirements will damage the ability of people to access a free and open internet and shut Pakistan’s digital economy off from the rest of the world.” It said the new rules will make it difficult for its members “to make their services available to Pakistani users and businesses.”

Previously, Prime Minister Imran Khan promised to introduce a “broad-based” consultation on content regulation. This promise came after strong backlash from stakeholders over the release of formally known as the Citizen Protection (Against Online Harm) Rules, 2020. “The consultation process, therefore, appears to have lost credibility,” the AIC had said in a letter addressed to the premier back in October.

So far, there has been no comment from the PTI-led government, which has repeatedly said it was not against freedom of expression.

Al-Qaeda chief Ayman Al-Zawahiri is dead, reports Arab media

AGENCIES

Azerbaijan said on Friday its troops have entered a district bordering Nagorno-Karabakh handed back by Armenian separatists after almost 30 years as part of a Russian-brokered peace deal to end weeks of brutal fighting in the region.

Troops moved into the district of Aghdam, one of three due to be handed back, the Azerbaijan defence ministry said, a day after columns of Armenian soldiers and tanks rolled out of the territory. Armenia will also hand over the Kalbajar district wedged between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia on November 25 and the Lachin district by December 1. On Thursday Armenian residents of Aghdam hurriedly picked pomegranates and persimmons from trees surrounding their homes and packed vans with furniture, before fleeing before the official deadline to cede the mountainous province. “We wanted to build a sauna, kitchen. But now I had to dismantle everything.

And I’ll burn down the house with everything I own when I leave,” Gagik Grigoryan, a 40-year-old electrical worker, said before abandoning his home. Fierce clashes between Azerbaijan’s forces and Armenian separatists broke out in late September in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. The brutal war lasted six weeks, leaving thousands dead and displacing many more.

The long-standing ex-Soviet rivals finally agreed to end hostilities last week under the framework of a Russian-brokered accord that sees Moscow deploy peacekeepers to the region and requires Armenia to cede swathes of territory. Separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh and several surrounding districts captured the territory and claimed independence that has not been recognised internationally, even by Armenia, following a postSoviet 1990s war that left some 30,000 dead. As part of last week’s peace deal, Armenia agreed to return some 15 to 20 per cent of the Nagorno-Karabakh territory captured by Azerbaijan in recent fighting, including the historical town of Shusha. The exchange of territory was originally due to begin Sunday, with Armenians in the Kalbajar district fleeing en masse before the official deadline for Azerbaijan’s takeover.

But Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev postponed the deadline by one week over “humanitarian” considerations. The Russian peacekeeping force of some 2,000 troops has deployed to the administrative centre of the region, Stepanakert, and set up checkpoints and observation posts along the strategic Lachin corridor connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia. While Armenians in the provinces to be handed over to Azerbaijan have left in an exodus, the Russian mission on Thursday said it had taken by bus some 3,000 residents back to Stepanakert and other regions who had fled during the six weeks of heavy shelling. Most of Azerbaijan’s south-western district of Aghdam has been under the control of Armenian separatists since 1993.

India nears 9 million coronavirus cases MUMBAI AGENCIES

India has recorded 45,576 new cases of the coronavirus health ministry data showed on Thursday, taking total infections in the country to 8.96 million. The South Asian nation has the world’s second-highest number of Covid19 infections, after the United States, but cases have been falling since hitting a peak in September. Deaths rose by 585, with the total now at 131,578, the ministry said.

The city government of national capital New Delhi said it was working to increase the number of beds in hospital intensive care units, as fears abound of a resurgence in Covid-19 cases after the Diwali festival. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has sought the federal government’s approval to shut down city markets, which are likely hotspots for the deadly virus. His government has also increased the fine for not wearing masks to 2,000 rupees ($26.95) from the previous 500 rupees. In Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat, which has reported 192,000 Covid-19 cases so far, the government will impose a night curfew in Ahmedabad city from Friday. The curfew, which begins at 9:00 p.m. and ends at 6:00 a.m., will be in force until further notice, said Rajiv Kumar Gupta, the senior government official in charge of managing Covid-19 in Ahmedabad.

AGENCIES Al-Qaeda chief and Egyptian national Ayman Al-Zawahiri has died in Afghanistan from natural causes, Arab media reported on Friday.

The news reports came a few days after social media carried speculation that the Al-Qaeda chief had passed away. Zawahiri was last seen in a video message that was released by the militant group on the 19th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in the US. Arab News stated in its report that it spoke to at least four security sources in Pakistan and Afghanistan — who spoke on condition of anonymity — out of which two confirmed Zawahiri’s death.

An Al-Qaeda translator said Zawahiri had died last week in Ghazni. “He died of asthma because he had no formal treatment.”

A Pakistani official has been cited by Arab News as saying that he believed Zawahiri had died, most probably by natural causes. Another source close to the Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan said Zawahiri had died this month and that a few followers had offered his funeral prayers.

He did not elaborate as to whether the funeral prayers were offered in absentia or as his body was buried in the grave. “What we know is that he was having some breathing issues and has passed away somewhere in Afghanistan,” said the source.

“We have received the same information that Zawahiri died about a month ago,” a Pakistani source, privy to anti-terror operations in Afghanistan, reportedly told Arab News.

However, Arab News said it spoke to another Pakistani official who said that Zawahiri was in Afghanistan and had been “extremely ill” but said he was not aware whether the Al-Qaeda leader was dead or not. To my knowledge he was extremely ill and had the issue of kidney failure,” the intelligence official

said. “He was unable to manage his dialysis but I still need to confirm if he has died.”

The US has said that it has received news of Zawahiri’s death but had not verified it yet.

The reports have come as questions grow over AlQaeda’s future intentions, with the network radically different from the franchise that spread fear around the world under the leadership of the charismatic Bin Laden. The killing of Bin Laden in a US operation in Pakistan in 2011 left the group in the hands of al-Zawahiri, an Egyptian veteran of jihad and the key AlQaeda ideologue, but without Bin Laden’s ability to rally radicals around the world.

Hassan Hassan, director of the US-based Center for Global Policy (CGP), said at the weekend that alZawahiri had died a month ago of natural causes.

And Rita Katz, director of the jihadist media monitor SITE, said unconfirmed reports were circulating that al-Zawahiri had died.

“It is very typical of AQ to not publish news about the death of its leaders in a timely manner,” she said.

Nonetheless, this is not the first time there have been reports of al-Zawahiri’s death, only for him to reemerge on several occasions.

“Intelligence agencies believe he is very sick,” said Barak Mendelsohn, associate professor at Haverford College and author of several books on Al-Qaeda.

“Ultimately, if it did not happen now, it will happen soon,” he told AFP. BOARD OF ADVISERS: If either or both men are dead, the group they have left behind can in no way be compared to the network which planned and carried out the September 11 attacks, analysts say.

Its ideology has spawned several franchises across the world that bear its name, including in Africa’s Sahel region, in Pakistan as well as in Somalia, Egypt and Yemen.

But it does not control their actions or the alliances

Global economy to shrink 4.3pc in 2020: UNCTAD GENEVA AGENCIES

The global economy will contract 4.3 percent this year due to the Covid-19 crisis, while a viable vaccine will not halt the spread of the economic damage, said the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

The Geneva-based organisation said inequalities and vulnerabilities will worsen as the effects of the pandemic disrupt any progress made on poverty and other sustainable development goals. It also warned that the distribution of a viable vaccine is likely to expose longentrenched inequalities in the global trading system.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has gravely wounded the world economy with serious consequences impacting all communities and individuals,” said UNCTAD Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi. “Moving rapidly across borders, along the principal arteries of the global economy, the spread of the virus has benefited from the underlying interconnectedness – and frailties – of globalisation, catapulting a global health crisis into a global economic shock that has hit the most vulnerable the hardest.” While developed economies are expected to be more affected in 2020 than developing countries, with their gross domestic product contracting 5.8 per cent versus 2.1 per cent, UNCTAD said the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Agenda 2030 will be derailed unless immediate policy actions are taken.

The recovery must also centre on renewed trade policies that tackle the twin challenge of market concentration and environmental impact, the report says,

and global production networks must be more green, inclusive, and sustainable while simultaneously resetting the multilateral system, to support the most vulnerable and deliver on climate action.

Since the start of the outbreak in China last year, more than 1 million people have lost their lives, with uncertainty remaining about how and when the pandemic will run its course. However, UNCTAD said the unprecedented economic shock generated by the global health emergency has already sharply exposed the global economy’s pre-existing weaknesses, severely setting back development progress around the world.

In 1990, the global poverty rate was 35.9 percent before falling to 8.6 per cent by 2018. However, it has inched up to 8.8 per cent this year and will likely rise throughout 2021. “Millions of jobs have already been lost, millions of livelihoods are at risk, and an estimated additional 130 million people will be living in extreme poverty if the crisis persists,” UNCTAD said.

The Covid disruption has had real and disproportionate consequences on vulnerable and disadvantaged low-income households, migrants, workers in the informal sector and, often, women, UNCTAD said, with those working in the tourism and micro-enterprise sectors particularly affected. “Especially in the developing world, many of these populations are not protected by social safety nets and yet are particularly affected by soaring unemployment,” UNCTAD said.

The report said about 79.4 percent of workers in sub-Saharan Africa and 84.5 per cent of workers in the world’s least developed countries do not have access to any social protection or labour programmes.

that they may forge on a local level.

Mendelsohn said he expected Al-Qaeda’s leadership to act more along the lines of a “board of advisors” in the future.

“People will listen to AQ central leadership if they want to, not because they think they are bound to obey its view,” he said. No longer the supreme militant group, Al-Qaeda has seen other outfits grow and has sometimes clashed with them on the ground.

It has been overshadowed by Daesh which sought to carve out a caliphate in Iraq and Syria and coordinated attacks in Europe.

WHO’S NEXT? The key challenge of a new leader would be to retain the group’s potency within this context.

Many analysts point to one key candidate — Saif al-Adel, a former lieutenant-colonel in the Egyptian armed forces who joined the Egyptian jihadist movement in the 1980s.

He was arrested and then released, ending up in Afghanistan which was the base for Bin Laden and alZawahiri, and joining Al-Qaeda.

According to the US-based Counter Extremism Project (CEP) think tank, he was arrested in Iran in 2003 and freed in 2015 in a prisoner exchange. He was still believed to be in Iran in 2018 as one of al-Zawahiri’s key deputies.

“Adel played a crucial role in building Al-Qaeda´s operational capabilities and quickly ascended the hierarchy,” the CEP said.

Mendelsohn said Adel was a “big name” in the movement and “should be the next in line”.

But he stressed that Adel, along with Abdullah, spent several years hiding in Iran, thus possibly staying away from Al-Qaeda’s new generation of leaders.

“I’m not sure how strong his position is within AlQaeda, especially now that the old generation, basically all the old guard, is dead.”

China extends biggest debt relief to poor countries among G20 states: Liu Kun BEIJING AGENCIES

The world’s largest lender China has said that it has granted debt relief worth a combined $2.1 billion to developing economies hit hard by the coronavirus crisis. This is the highest deferral amount offered among the members of the G20, a group of the world’s largest economies, Chinese Finance Minister Liu Kun announced on Friday. Debt payments from developing economies worth $1.353 billion were suspended by the country’s aid agency, the China International Development Cooperation Agency, and the Export-Import Bank of China, according to the official. Almost two dozen countries are set to benefit from the measure. Additionally, the China Development Bank (CDB), which serves as a commercial creditor, deferred $748 million in debt of the poorest counties by the end of September. The move is part of the Debt Service Suspension Initiative for Poorest Countries (DSSI), agreed by the G20 in April, shortly after Covid-19 started wreaking havoc globally. “China will stay in close communication and coordination with other parties within the G20 over the issue of debt vulnerabilities in the poorest countries, and we will continue to participate, in an active manner, in the multilateral debt coordination process,” Liu said.

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