EpaperLHR_20-11-8

CMYK

8 November, 2020 I 21 Rabi-ul-Awwal, 1442 I Rs 25.00 I Vol XI No 129 I 36 Pages I Lahore Edition

IT’S OVER

Biden Beats trump to win us election g

trump accuses media of ‘trying Hard’ to Help biden win, says election ‘far from over’

g

Kamala Harris set to maKe History as first woman of color to be vice president

WASHINGTON AGENCIES

d

emocrat Joe biden has won the white House, us media said saturday, defeating donald trump and ending a presidency that convulsed american politics, shocked the world and left the united states more divided than at any time in decades. cbs, nbc and cnn news networks announced the result just before 11:30 am (1630 gmt) as an insurmountable lead in pennsylvania took biden, 77, over the top in the state-by-state count that decides the presidency. "america, i'm honored that you have chosen me to lead our great country," biden said in a statement. "the work ahead of us will be hard, but i promise you this: i will be a president for all americans — whether you voted for me or not. i will keep the faith that you have placed in me."

coronavirus in

pakistan

CONFIRMED CASES:

341,753

LAST UPDATED AT 8:34 AM ON NOVEMBER 7, 2020

DAY'S DEATH TOLL:

NEW CASES:

20

1,502

RECOVERED:

DEATHS:

317,898

6,943

SINDH:

PUNJAB:

148,922

106,208

KP:

BALOCHISTAN:

40,285

16,041

AJK/GB: ISLAMABAD: 4,652/4,343 21,302

trump quickly responded to the announcement by accusing biden of falsely

declaring himself the next president. "we all know why Joe biden is rushing

to falsely pose as the winner, and why his media allies are trying so hard to help him: they don't want the truth to be exposed," trump said in a statement. "the simple fact is this election is far from over." for biden, who got more than 74 million votes, a record, the triumph after a tense contest conducted during a global coronavirus pandemic was the crowning achievement of his half century in us politics, including eight years as deputy to the first black us president barack obama. the result condemned 74-year-old trump -- who made frantic attempts to claim fraud and stop the vote count -to becoming the first one-term president since george H. w. bush at the start of the 1990s. the republican, whose marathon press conferences, tweeting and raucous campaign rallies have made him a perpetual, noisy presence at home and abroad over the last four years, had no immediate reaction.

but ever since the night after tuesday's election, when he prematurely claimed victory, trump has been inhabiting a world increasingly disconnected from the reality of his approaching downfall. earlier saturday, he left the white House for the first time since election day to play golf, tweeting: "i won tHis election, by a lot!" and in an extraordinary white House address to the nation on thursday -- with biden's lead in the partial results already consolidating rapidly -- he claimed "they are trying to steal the election." despite trump's protests, the returns from vote counting offices around the country kept coming all week, with no credible reports of irregularities. and when us television networks declared that biden had taken an insurmountable lead in pennsylvania, that put the democrat over the magic number of 270 electoral college votes. trump had no way back.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

PM Imran vows universal health insurance for Punjab next year HAFIZABAD STAFF REPORT

prime minister imran Khan, while addressing a public gathering in Hafizabad on saturday, said half of the residents of punjab will receive the government's health cards by the end of this year while the entire province will receive universal health insurance by next year. He made the announcement after performing the groundbreaking of a university and a 400bed hospital in the area. the premier said it will be for the first time in pakistan's 73-year history that a common man will be assured that he will have health coverage if someone in their family falls ill. the health card will allow its holders to get treatment at any hospital, government or private, of up to rs1 million.

"this kind of health insurance is not available even in rich countries of the world. because of this, private hospitals will be built in areas like Hafizabad because even poor people will be able to get treated using the health card," he noted. the premier also said the government had set up panahgahs where the poor and labourers could stay and save money, and its next objective was to provide cheap housing to the people through the naya pakistan Housing programme. "lots of people talked about roti, kapra and makaan throughout history. people will get their own houses for the first time," he added. the government is also working on introducing a uniform education curriculum for english and urdu medium schools and madressahs, he said. during his speech, the premier ac-

cused pml-n supremo nawaz sharif of speaking "india's language" by attacking the country's military leadership, saying it had strengthened his resolve even further to bring to justice the people who looted the country. referring to the anti-government pakistan democratic movement (pdm) alliance, he said the opposition was staging a "circus" because now the national accountability bureau (nab) was free to pursue cases against them. "i want to tell all them. your opponent previously were people who were thieves themselves or wanted power but now your opponent is a person whom allah has taught to fight," the premier added.

He said the opposition had tried to "blackmail" the government by effectively demanding that nab be disbanded before giving their consent to legislation concern-

ing the financial action task force (fatf). "when i did not agree, they started attacking the judiciary [and] started talking against three sitting chief justices and then they attacked pakistan's army and isi chiefs," he said, adding that attacking the army and inter-services intelligence chiefs was tantamount to attacking the army itself.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05 in today’s issue

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Sunday, 8 November, 2020

NEWS

covid-19 kills 20 More, infects 1,502: ncoc ISLAMABAD

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STAFF REPORT

S many as 20 more patients of coronavirus died during the last twenty-four hours, lifting the country’s death toll to 6,943, said the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Saturday.

According to the NCOC, as many as 34,400 tests were conducted in 24 hours, against which 1,502 new cases of coronavirus were detected. The positivity rate climbed to 4.36pc from 3.84pc recorded a day earlier.

The NCOC announced that the total number of active coronavirus cases in the country has reached 16,912 while 317,898 patients have so far recovered from the disease.

Meanwhile, a large number of health workers including doctors and paramedics of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) have been infected with the novel coronavirus. So far, 97 health workers have been tested positive in the second wave of Covid-19, sources at the hospital said.

In the recent Covid-19 wave, 75 doctors,

Positivity rate climbs to 4.36Pc; 97 health workers test Positive in Pims

PMA wArns of lethAl second wAve ISLAMABAD TLTP

12 nurses and 10 other members of the PIMS staff have contracted the virus, sources added. Giving the details, sources said that 51 trainee doctors and 24 medical officers in the hospital have been infected with the virus.

"As many as 13 doctors and two nurses at the children hospital; five doctors at the cardiac centre and five others at the gynaecology ward have contracted Covid-19."

Moreover, 12 nurses posted at various wards of the hospital have also been tested positive for novel coronavirus.

The virus has surged due to fall in temperatures while the patients visiting are also not following the SOPs, sources said.

The PIMS staff infected with the virus have been quarantined at homes.

It is to be mentioned that the hospital officials earlier said that non-implementation of SOPs at a hospital could become a source of virus spread and warned that Outpatient

sheikh rasheed praises Bilawal over ‘responsible statement’ NEWS DESK Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed on Saturday appreciated PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari for “showcasing sensible thinking, and making a strong statement in a responsible manner”. Ahmed was referring to Bilawal’s interview with BBC Urdu where he said Nawaz Sharif’s stance was his own. “The PPP will neither submit resignations nor stand with the PMLN,” he predicted while addressing a press conference in Karachi. The seasoned politician said Nawaz and Maryam Nawaz were headed towards a dead-lock. “I have never seen a politician who prefers judo karate to dialogue.” The federal minister said Prime Minister Imran Khan was open to talks on everything except granting NRO. When asked about Jahangir Khan Tareen’s return, Ahmed said the former proved critics wrong. “They said he ran away but he has returned.”

Ahmed said the democratic process in the country will continue to strengthen and the incumbent government will complete its constitutional term. The federal minister said things will change after November 16.

“Let’s see if the losers accept their loss,” he remarked.

“It would be a shame if they don’t accept the decision of Gilgit-Baltistan’s (GB) people.”

Departments (OPDs) will be closed if the cases surge further.

In Punjab, the novel coronavirus claimed nine more lives and infected 352 people during the past 24 hours. According to a spokesperson of the Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department, nine more people succumbed to the deadly virus in 24 hours, lifting the death toll to 2,399 in the province.

He maintained that out of the fresh Covid-19 cases, 158 were reported in Lahore, 63 in Multan and 26 cases emerged in Rawalpindi.

On the other hand, the Hyderabad district administration on Saturday decided to place 16 union councils under smart lockdown. The decision has been taken as part of precautionary measures to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus in the city.

Qasimabad, five union councils of Latifabad and other areas of the city will be placed

While appealing to the people to follow safety standard operating procedure (SOPs) against the coronavirus, Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) on Saturday warned of a “lethal second wave” of the disease. Hailing the government’s decision to impose fines on those not wearing masks in public, the PMA urged the government to take strict action against those not following the Covid-19 SOPs. “The virus has claimed the lives of at least eight doctors in the past three weeks,” said the PMA in a statement. The PMA also suggested the government to organise a mask distribution drive and ensure prices of masks and sanitisers are controlled. The PMA also sought personal protection equipment for doctors and paramedical staff from the government and demanded the release of funds promised under an already announced package. Professor of Endocrinology Dr Rauf Niazi said that the Covid-19 is more lethal in the second wave compared to the first surge in Pakistan. Dr Niazi said the patients received by Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in recent times appeared to be severely ill than before.

under the ‘smart lockdown’.

The global tally of coronavirus cases has reached 49,801,615. A total of 35,350,204 patients have recovered and 1,250,859 have died so far.

The US, the worst-hit country, has

hue and cry over election rigging not to work in GB: shibli

IHC forms bench to probe Nawaz’s medical reports ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Accepting the request of an inquiry commission to probe the medical reports submitted by deposed prime minister and PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif before leaving for London, the Islamabad High Court on Saturday constituted a bench to do so.

IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah constituted a twomember special bench, comprising Justice Amir Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, to hear the petition. It will take up the case on November 24. Sharif has been residing in London since November last year on the pretext of medical treatment. His party insists that despite being summoned by the courts, who declared him a proclaimed offender in the Toshakhana corruption probe, the former premier will only return after the “completion” of his treatment.

An application was filed by a citizen, Zaman Mughal, in IHC in October seeking the constitution of a commission to identify those responsible for creating “fake” medical reports of the former premier which allowed him to travel abroad. It nominated Nawaz, Shahbaz Sharif, federal secretaries for interior and health, Punjab health secretary,

NAB chairman, Punjab police chief, and Lahore CCPO as respondents. The plea adopted the stance that instead of undergoing medical treatment in London, Sharif was maligning the state and its institutions. It stated that the purpose of PML-N supremo’s speeches were aimed at isolating Pakistan in the world, retaining the country in the FATF’s grey list and divert the attention of global bodies from the human rights violations in the Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

It deplored the use of language against senior military officials of the country by Sharif during the speeches he delivered recently. In January last year, a division bench of the high court had discarded Nawaz’s medical reports for being “vague” and subsequently dismissed his petition seeking suspension of his sentence on medical grounds.

Sharif’s counsel, Khawaja Haris Ahmed, had argued before the IHC that a special medical board constituted by the Sharif Medical City comprising senior doctors of the Sheikh Zayed Hospital and Doctors Hospital, Lahore opined that since the former premier was suffering from multiple ailments and the required facilities were not available in Pakistan, he should receive medical treatment abroad preferably from doctors who treated him in the past.

Police arrest Pml-n leader in nab office clash case LAHORE STAFF REPORT

Punjab Police on Saturday arrested general secretary of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s Lahore chapter and MPA Khawaja Imran Nazir in a case pertaining to the clash between law enforcement authorities and party’s workers outside the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) office in August.

Many people, including some officials, were injured and around 50 men were rounded up after heavy police

contingents and PML-N workers confronted each other shortly after the arrival of opposition party’s vice president Maryam Nawaz there in a land acquisition investigation. According to police officials, Nazir’s vehicle was used in the attack which left many policemen injured. Superintendent of Police (SP) Model Town Dost Mohammad said the police intercepted the vehicle at the Model Town Link Road after receiving confirmation from the Lahore Safe City Authority.

According to Chief Traffic Officer Hamid Abid, the car was identified through safe city cameras for in the

10,064,684 cases. It is followed by India, which has 8,464,032 cases, Brazil has 5,632,505 and Russia has 1,753,836 confirmed cases. Pakistan currently stands at number 28 among countries affected by coronavirus.

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz has said that complaints of electoral rigging by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leadership in Gilgit-Baltistan are in fact acceptance of defeat by them. In a tweet on Saturday, the information minister said that hue and cry by those who have always come to power through rigging will not work. The minister said that the people of GB know them well and they are asking what they will do for them now when they could do nothing for them during the last term. Separately, Shibli Faraz said the prime minister has taken strict notice of the top vacant posts in various ministries and divisions. Talking to a private news channel, he said the federal cabinet decided in its last meeting to complete the process of appointments on these positions within ninety days. Shibli Faraz said that the government has constituted a restructuring committee headed by Dr Ishrat Hussain for merging irrelevant departments in order to improve overall efficiency of the government institutions. STAFF REPORT

NAB attack case. The vehicle has been handed over to the Faisal Town police station where the lawmaker is being kept in detention. Speaking to a news outlet, Nazir confirmed he was stopped in the case pertaining to the clashes outside the anti-graft watchdog office.

GOVT ‘MIGHTY SCARED’: MARYAM Taking to Twitter, Maryam termed the arrest a “preemptive attack” before the upcoming Lahore rally on December 13. “PMLN Lahore Secretary General Kh. Imran Nazeer has been arrested. Make no mistake, this arrest is a preemptive attack before upcoming Lahore jalsa which they know will be the last nail in their coffin,” she wrote. “Zindabad Imran Nazir, zindabad. We are right behind you and will not leave you alone.

Uniform curriculum to help address social disparity: minister ISLAMABAD TLTP

Federal Education and Professional Training Minister Shafqat Mahmood has said that model textbooks will be taught in all public and private educational institutions as well as religious seminaries.

Speaking during a visit to the National Curriculum Council on Saturday, Shafqat Mahmood directed to provide model textbooks to private publishers as well without restriction of copyright.

The minister said the government's initiative of a uniform national curriculum will help address social

disparity in the country.

He added that after its implementation children of rural areas would have the same curriculum as of the children of elite class. He also reviewed the curriculum of class 6 to 8.

He said that a uniform education system would help end the cramming system in the educational process. It would improve the learning and thinking abilities of a child and introduce uniformity in the educational process. The minister was briefed about preparation of uniform national curriculum and other relevant matters at National Curriculum Council (NCC). Working groups of model textbooks including experts of public,

private educational institutions, Aga Khan University and LUMS briefed the minister about the progress.

They told the minister that preparation of model textbooks is at the final stage and would be proved as the best textbooks in the history of the country. The new curriculum-based textbooks have been prepared while keeping in view all demands of the modern era, they informed. The zero draft of middle class curriculum has been prepared and shared with the public, private, Madaris and Cambridge educational institutions. It would be prepared till the first week of 2021, they said.

The minister lauded outstanding efforts made by the team of National Curriculum Council.

Sunday, 8 November, 2020

NEWS

Zehri, BAloch quit PMl-n; Accuse nAwAZ shArif of BetrAyAl QUETTA

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STAFF REPORT

N a big blow to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Nawab Sanaullah Zehri along with Lt Gen (r) Abdul Qadir Baloch on Saturday announced their resignations from the party over the narrative built by its leaders Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz against the country’s armed forces and for inciting a mutiny.

Addressing a large gathering, Zehri accused Nawaz Sharif of “betraying all those who stood by him through testing times”. “From today, Nawaz Sharif is our political opponent,” said Nawab Zehri while announcing his resignation from the PML-N’s Central Executive

Committee. “I’ll chalk out a future course of action after consulting my friends and aides.”

Zehri, a former chief minister of Balochistan, is the second PML-N leader to have resigned from the party.

Last week Lt Gen (retd) Abdul Qadir Baloch quit the party “in protest against Nawaz Sharif’s anti-military narrative”, though the party sought to give it a different colour.

He said that he has “broken the shackles” and now he and his followers would expose the “real face of Nawaz Sharif” to the people of Balochistan.

“Balochistan belongs to us and we’ll prove this.”

Nawab Zehri mocked Nawaz Sharif for conveniently striking deals to get himself out of difficult situations. At the

same time he heaped praise on the late PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto for staying put in the face of imminent death.

“He [Bhutto] refused to bend and file a mercy petition to dictator Gen Ziaul Haq and preferred death,” Nawab Zehri said while calling it the “true character of a real leader”.

“A deserter doesn’t deserve to be called a leader,” he said while referring to Nawaz Sharif who has been declared “proclaimed offender” by courts after his refusal to return and serve out a sevenyear sentence awarded to him in a corruption case. “He should return to Pakistan and fight,” Nawab Zehri added.

On the other hand, Abdul Qadir Baloch said he has earned all the respect and honour because of his services to the country while serving with the armed

PDM’s ‘crucial’ sitting today to discuss Bilawal’s explosive interview ISLAMABAD MIAN ABRAR

Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) leaders are set to gather today (Sunday) to discuss the prevalent political situation, with the controversial statement of Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari atop the agenda.

The PDM meeting, to be held under the chair of PDM chairman Maulana Fazlur Rehman, would also discuss upcoming elections in Gilgit-Baltistan, issues pertaining to price hike and government’s strategy to hold public meetings.

According to sources in the PML-N, Bilawal’s BBC interview would be at the top of the meeting’s agenda wherein the PPP chairman would be asked to clarify "what made him go public with such a sensitive issue which could prove to be detrimental for the future of the alliance".

Another informed opposition source told Pakistan Today that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif is also expected to address the meeting via video link to explain why he had publicly named Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa and DirectorGeneral of the Inter-Services Intelligence (DG-ISI) Lt Gen Faiz Hameed during his address to the PDM rally in Gujranwala. The meeting of the opposition alliance will review the overall political situation in the country, besides its anti-government movement. It will also deliberate upon its future course of action, including its November 22 meeting which would be held in Peshawar. Political observers believe that this meeting of the opposition alliance will be of utmost importance particularly after the PPP chairman's interview to foreign media.

"Some could even express reservations, as the interview given by Bilawal has been under discussion in political circles since Friday, on the basis of which

court rejects petition to start new inquiry against Ayyan Ali ISLAMABAD INP

The Islamabad High Court on Saturday rejected the petition of the Customs department to initiate a new dollar smuggling inquiry against former model Ayyan Ali. Justice Ghulam Azam Qambrani announced the reserved verdict. In 2016, a Customs court had rejected the department’s application to conduct another inquiry against Ali in the money laundering case.

Customs claimed that she was smuggling dollars and challenged the decision in the high court. Ali was arrested at the old Islamabad airport in March 2015 on charges of trying to smuggle $506,800 to the United Arab Emirates. She was indicted by the Customs court in November 2015 for attempting to smuggle the money.

However, she pleaded not guilty.

there are rumours of a rift in the opposition alliance," an insider informed.

PDM ALLIANCE ‘DEEPLY HURT’: A source in the PML-N said that the statement of Bilawal had deeply hurt the PDM alliance with relationship between Bilawal and Maryam Nawaz getting soured.

“It appears that the two major opposition parties may not remain on the same page following this statement, as other parties in the PDM coalition are now concerned about the future of the coalition. Though the gulf today is thin but in near future, this statement would create distance between Maryam and Bilawal,” the source added. It may be recalled that PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had said that Nawaz Sharif's naming the army leadership had "shocked" everyone.

"We are waiting to see when the former prime minister will present evidence to substantiate his accusations against the army chief and DG-ISI. It is certain that he did not name them without a clear and solid evidence,” Bilawal had told an international broadcast during the interview.

He said that according to the consensus reached between the PDM leadership, it was decided that the responsibility of bringing Imran Khan's government cannot be placed on any individual and rather establishment should be blamed.

Another PML-N leader told this scribe that the PDM rallies had proved to be lethal for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government and Prime Minister Imran Khan was under so much pressure that he had started addressing public gatherings.

However, the source said, Bilawal’s interview to British media had proved to be detrimental for the alliance and Maryam Nawaz was very upset with the statement of the PPP chairman.

“Bilawal and Maryam had developed a solid partnership over the past few months and there was an impression that both the parties can lead an aggressive

forces of Pakistan.

“I am what I am, because of the army. We at the academy (PMA) are taught to do or die, and never ask why …

How can I be part of a group who blurts out venom against its own armed forces.

If I have to stand with someone, I will stand with my chief,” he said as the large crowd cheered.

Former Balochistan chief minister Sanaullah Zehri and a larger number of PML-N workers attended the workers’ convention held at the Metropolitan Hall of Quetta. Qadir Baloch said another reason for his resignation came in the wake of PML-N’s controversial decision not to invite former Balochistan chief minister Sanaullah Zehri to the recently held Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) rally in Quetta.

anti-government campaign but Bilawal’s explosive interview has badly hurt Maryam Nawaz,” the source said.

The source said that Bilawal has clearly distanced himself from the statement of the former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and said that it was shocking for him and other PDM leaders to hear the name of the military leadership directly in Nawaz Sharif's speech.

Though PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz has tried to save the alliance by saying that the statement of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was being twisted for political objectives and this bid is a failed attempt to break the PDM, the source said that Bilawal’s statement has not only hurt the alliance but also exposed deep-down cracks in the PDM ranks.

She clarified that Bilawal did not say anything in the interview which is ‘objectionable’.

Asked if the interview had damaged the alliance between the PPP and PML-N, Maryam Nawaz said that she and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari were not kids to be fooled around.

“We all know what is the purpose of twisting this statement. In fact, there is no such objectionable thing in the interview of Bilawal. Whatever we object to, we know that distorting the statement of the Chairman PPP is a failed attempt to break the alliance of opposition parties, the Pakistan Democratic Movement,” she told media.

Meanwhile, in another development, Maryam Nawaz also sought lists of those PML-N lawmakers who had opposed Nawaz Sharif's statement about the army leadership.

A source in the PML-N told this scribe that Maryam has said that it has been decided not to include those PML-N lawmakers in the committees to be formed for preparations of the public meeting of the PML-N being held on December 13.

“Those who have publicly opposed Nawaz Sharif’s statement against the army chief will be directed to clear their position before the meeting on December 13.

Those in question include PML-N MPAs Mian Jalil Sharaqpuri, Ashraf Ansari, Nishat Dhaha and others.

Maryam Nawaz has also informed Shahbaz Sharif about Nawaz Sharif's decision in their recent meeting in a court,” the source concluded.

Sania Nishtar convenes Ehsaas Governance Observatory meeting to track policy compliance ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

To monitor compliance to Ehsaas Governance and Integrity Policy and track progress, Special Assistant to Prime Minister Dr Sania Nishtar convened a meeting attended by the ancillary organizations of the Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division (PASSD) namely BISP, Pakistan Baitul Mal, Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund, Trust for Voluntary Organizations and Higher Education Commission.

“The meeting is part of regular Ehsaas reviews to assess status of compliance and progress against the Governance and Integrity Policy baseline before final one-year stock take that will be conducted in Dec 2020,” Dr Sania said. “Implementation of the Ehsaas Governance Policy and Observatory is underway since last year. Since the roll out of the governance policy and observatory, the Ehsaas entities have shown improvements in the execution of the governance reforms and we are trying to make their systems as robust as possible. Transparency and integrity is at the heart of policy and observatory.”

In November 2019, Poverty Alleviations and Social Safety Division formally began the execution of the Ehsaas Governance and Integrity Policy and Observatory, following its approval by the cabinet. The policy is premised to ensure that organizations involved

in delivery of welfare are effective and responsive to the needs of the disadvantaged populations. The governance observatory assists as an execution and tracking instrument for the Ehsaas Governance and Integrity Policy and it engages all ancillary organizations to adhere to the Ehsaas values and principles in their true essence.

To drive forward a transparency and integrity revolution, the policy stipulates a range of measures around how governing board should operate, which policies and legal instruments are critical, and the significance of conflict of interest and whistleblowing. It also outlines the organizational framework to reinforce integrity through risk management and assurance, maintenance of risk registers, appointment of accountability officers; error, fraud and corruption frameworks, IT security systems, solidification of financial and fiduciary systems, procurement systems, access to information, electronic filing, development of workplans, and creation of credible data sets. Also, the policy strongly aims to abolish discretionary powers.

The policy also specifies that by the end of four years, PASSD will strive to use blockchain technology driven systems to safeguard data transparency and integrity particularly for the registration of assets, verification of identity and the tracking of transactions.

03

efficient, smooth logistics to enhance operational readiness: coAs RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff (COAS), General Qamar Javed Bajwa has said that efficient and smooth logistics will enhance the overall operational readiness and response capacity against adventurism by the enemy, said the InterServices Public Relations (ISPR). Bajwa said this during his interaction with troops while visiting the Logistic installations of Lahore Corps on Saturday. Chief of Logistic Staff Lieutenant General Azhar Saleh Abbasi, Quartermaster General Lieutenant General Aamir Abbasi and Commander 4 Corps Lieutenant General Majid Ehsan were also present on the occasion. TLTP

Pakistani woman constrained in india for two years returns home HYDERABAD: A Pakistani woman who was held in India for two years returned to her home in Qasimabad on Saturday. Qasimabad Assistant Commissioner Gada Hussain Soomro welcomed the woman, Aarti Sarwan Kohli, on behalf of the Deputy Commissioner Fuad Ghaffar Soomro. Kohli said that she had gone to Delhi to meet her parents who had migrated to India after her marriage around 15 years ago. She said that she was unnecessarily held in India because she wanted to return to her husband and children. Kohli said that she returned to Pakistan through Wagah Border. The assistant commissioner said Pakistani citizens visiting India were not treated well and were deliberately troubled which amounted to human rights violations. APP

nAB to seize properties of omni Group ceo’s wife in fake accounts case The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Saturday decided to seize all properties of Manahil Majeed, wife of the chief executive officer (CEO) of Omni Group Abdul Ghani Majeed, in connection with an investigation against her in the fake accounts case. According to NAB sources, the antigraft watchdog will seize all her properties, plots and shares in the country and will present a report in this regard in the court. Sources maintained that the court had issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Manahil Majeed in the fake accounts case, adding that NAB has already requested the court to declare Manahil a proclaimed offender. However, the court had ordered Manahil via public notice to appear before the court on the 12th of November. It is pertinent to mention that Omni Group CEO’s wife was also nominated in the sugarcane subsidy reference. In September 2020, an accountability court had upheld the decision of the NAB to freeze the plot of an accused Manahil Majeed in Clifton Karachi in connection with the fake accounts case.

The accountability court Judge Muhammad Bashir had conducted the hearing and upheld the NAB’s stance. The NAB had filed a petition seeking confirmation of the decision to seize the plot, which was accepted by the court. NEWS DESK

Sunday, 8 November, 2020

04 NEWS Bajaur-Peshawar road blocked in protest against load shedding BAJAUR APP

During the protests against unjust load shedding in Bajaur Khar and its suburbs, protesters blocked the Bajaur-Peshawar highway for all kinds of traffic for almost two hours on Saturday. Passengers faced severe difficulties due to traffic closure.

For the last one week, people in the area have been protesting against the power outage and continuous power outage in the headquarters Khar.

Protesters Haji Syed Badshah, Aurangzeb Inqalabi, Amin-ur-Rehman, Lali Shah Pakhtunyar, Mufti Mohsin, Javed Khan, Haji Inamullah said that WAPDA

officials were continuing to cut electricity illegally. Local WAPDA officials cut off power at the local level, causing severe hardship to the people of the area due to power outages. “If WAPDA officials do not reduce the duration of load shedding at the Khar headquarters and stop the power outages at the local level, we will be forced to escalate our protests,” they said in their addresses to the protesters.

Protesters said that due to power outages,there was a shortage of drinking water and mosques in the area. They said that the duration of power load shedding should be reduced and uninterrupted power supply should be ensured.

Covid-19: islAmAbAd Authorities seAl Nust, Nud, FAst, ANd Numl dePts NEWS DESK

t

HE Islamabad authorities have sealed several departments in the federal capital's universities following the emergence of coronavirus cases, a day after they had sealed the International Islamic University.

The notifications issued by the Ministry of National Health Services Regulation and Coordination said that the common duty area shared by staff must be disinfected and all the people exposed should be quarantined.

The departments sealed in the universities include the National University of Modern Languages (NUML)’s Department of Management Sciences, Department of Computer Sciences, BS International Relations, BS English, and BBA; National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST)’s Department of MS Agriculture,

Department of Mechanical Engineering, and Department of Civil Engineering; National Defence University (NUD)’s Department of International Relations and Department of Government and Public Policy; FAST University’s Department of MS Data Sciences.

"It is hereby advised to immediately close down the department/class for a period till further intimation by the office of the undersigned and conduct thorough disinfection activities," the notification read.

The health ministry, in the notification, advised that the patients residing in the hostel be isolated till recovery and their contacts also quarantined in a separate isolation area.

It stressed that Covid-19 testing of all the exposed staff and students must be carried out, while adherence to coronavirus safety protocols must be strictly ensured.

Earlier on Monday, the federal education

KP CM directs capacity building of ETEA on modern lines PESHAWAR APP

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan has directed the enhancement of overall capacity of Educational Testing and Evaluation Agency (ETEA) on modern lines so as to enable it to cope effectively with the ever increasing requirements of testing and evaluation for recruitment in government departments and admissions in education institutions.

He issued these directives while chairing the 28th meeting of the Board of Governors of ETEA the other day, said an official handout issued on Saturday. Advisor to Chief Minister on Higher Education, Kamran Bangash, Secretary Higher Education Development, Muhammad Dawood Khan, Principal Secretary to CM, Shahab Ali Shah, Secretary Health Imtiaz Hussain Shah, Executive Director ETEA, Sharafat

Rabbani and other members of the board of governors attended the meeting.

The chief minister termed the ETEA as a reliable body of the provincial government with regard to educational testing and evaluation, and said that all the issues faced by ETEA would be resolved on priority basis so that the agency could perform its responsibilities with utmost efficiency maintaining the highest degree of transparency.

The meeting was given a detailed briefing about the overall performance / achievements, administrative and financial matters of ETEA, issues faced by the agency and ways forwards and progress on the implementation of the decisions made in the last meeting of the BoG. The meeting was informed that ETEA was holding its tests at all divisional level for the convenience of candidates across the province.

Foreign woman raped near Daman-e-Koh in Islamabad ISLAMABAD INP

In a tragic incident, a foreign woman was raped in the mountains near Islamabad as police launched a search operation to rescue the victim, local media reported on Saturday.

According to police sources, unidentified men sexually assaulted the

woman in the jungle near Daman-e-Koh – a popular tourist spot near the federal capital. Later, she managed to inform the police about the horrific incident on the phone.

But the ordeal did not end with the rape as she lost her way in the forest. However, the police are trying their best to locate her

and have started a search operation in the area around Daman-e-Koh, Talhar and Faisal Mosque.

Sniffer dogs are also being used in the ongoing efforts. Although the woman has not been found by the time this report is filed, the good thing is that she is still in contact with the police on the phone.

minister had said that the government were yet to make a decision to close schools and universities.

“Rumours again afloat regarding school closures,” education minister Shafqat Mahmood had said in a tweet. “It is again clarified that educational institutions are NOT being closed. We will continue to monitor the situation as health of the students, teachers and staff is very important but at the moment no such decision has been made.”

As many as 20 more patients of coronavirus died during the last twenty-four hours, lifting the country’s death toll to 6,943, said the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Saturday.

According to the NCOC, as many as 34,400 tests were conducted in 24 hours, against which 1,502 new cases of coronavirus were detected. The positivity rate climbed to 4.36pc from 3.84pc recorded a day earlier.

Four bills tabled in Punjab Assembly for minorities’ protection: minister LAHORE TLTP

Punjab Law, Parliamentary Affairs and Social Welfare Minister Raja Basharat has said that four new legislative bills have been introduced in the Punjab Assembly to protect the rights of minorities living in the province. Raja Basharat was addressing a meeting of the Special Committee of the Chief Minister held under his chairmanship at the Civil Secretariat on Saturday. The meeting reviewed the issues of minority parliamentarians and held consultations for solutions. Raja Basharat further said that Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar was paying special attention to the welfare of minorities across Punjab. He appealed to the participants to keep in close touch with each other for the best possible solution to their problems. The law minister said that their suggestions and recommendations to resolve the issues of minority parliamentarians would be sent to the chief minister. Punjab Minister for Minority Affairs and Human Rights Ejaz Alam Augustine, Parliamentary Secretary MPA Mahendra Pal Singh, MPA Peter Gill, MPA Imran Gill and Minority Affairs Secretary Nadeemur Rehman were also present on the occasion.

Sunday, 8 November, 2020

NewS

MoC subMIts new fIve-year trade PolICy to PM iSLAmABAD

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COMMERCE MINISTRY EYES $37BN EXPORTS BY 2025

GHULAM ABBAS

HE Ministry of Commerce (MoC) has finally submitted the new five-year trade policy (202025) to Prime Minister Imran Khan for approval.

The draft policy on Strategic Trade Policy Framework (STPF) 2020-25 has been shared with the Prime Minister Imran Khan to seek his feedback before presenting it in the federal cabinet.

According to sources, under the proposed STPF, a three-tier institutional mechanism is proposed for the resolution of sector-specific problems. It is believed that new mechanisms will help facilitate exporters to overcome their problems.

A high-powered board will be established under the chairmanship of the prime minister that would meet twice a year to ap-

prove policies for the promotion of exports from the country.

Other members of the board will include ministers for finance, commerce, food security, energy, and power divisions, State Bank of Pakistan governor and other top officials of the relevant ministries.

Interestingly, while the government has not been able to meet the export targets for the past two years, the ministry envisages ambitious annual exports of $37 billion by 2025.

According to details, apart from the policy board, the ministry would also constitute another ‘executive committee’ to be chaired by the commerce minister. The relevant federal secretaries and chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue would be members of the committee, which would look into the day-

Sindh govt issues new SOPs as second wave of Covid picks pace The Sindh government on Saturday issued revised Standard of procedures (SOPs) in order to curb the second wave of coronavirus which is rapidly picking pace in the country.

“The [safety precautions] that are issued earlier through order with the same reference number as above dated March 14, 2020, are strictly applied by all within the territorial jurisdiction of the province of Sindh,” read the notification issued by the home department.

With stress on implementation of all essential and general preventive measures, the notification underscores the

precautionary measures to be followed at workplaces, public places, and during travelling, especially when using public transportation.

Earlier on Friday, Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Murad Ali Shah had said that "strict action" would be taken against people failing to follow the safety measures against the coronavirus as cases are on the rise in the province.

"Cases are on the rise in Karachi and Hyderabad," the chief minister had said, adding that safety measures should be ensured everywhere in the province. NEWS DESK

Hearing of plea for unfreezing Shehbaz family’s assets adjourned till 25th LAHORE: The hearing of a petition filed against freezing of assets belonging to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif’s family has been adjourned till November 25 as Accountability Judge Jawad-ul-Hassan is on leave. The hearing at the accountability court was adjourned without any proceedings due to the absence of the judge. The court had earlier sought arguments from the lawyers of Shehbaz Sharif’s family in the case. Shehbaz Sharif had stated in his plea that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) froze his family’s properties in utter disregard to the actual facts as assets cannot be frozen at a time when the investigation process is still underway. He requested the accountability court to review its verdict of allowing the national graft buster to freeze the assets. Last year on December 11, the accountability court had ordered authorities to freeze properties of the PML-N president and his family. The court, in its verdict, directed the authorities concerned to freeze all assets of Shehbaz, Hamza Shehbaz, Suleman Shehbaz, two wives of Shehbaz including Nusrat Shehbaz and Tehmina Durrani. STAFF REPORT

Southwest Airlines warns of first involuntary layoffs in 49 years DALLAS TLTP

Southwest Airlines issued notices for what could be the first involuntary furloughs in its 49-year history, saying a union declined to discuss concessions aimed at cutting payroll costs.

Forty-two workers who manage parts inventory and are represented by the Teamsters union received federallyrequired notices that they could be laid off as of January 11, the Dallas-based airline said Friday. The full work group, which Southwest said voted not to engage in talks, includes 322 employees.

The carrier remains in negotiations with other unions.

The action could foreshadow additional furloughs if Southwest doesn’t secure givebacks with groups such as pilots, mechanics and flight attendants.

The airline has asked employees for a one-year, 10 per cent reduction in labour expenses after other cost cuts failed to stem millions of dollars in daily losses caused when the coronavirus pandemic eviscerated travel demand.

“We are not closing the door to further discussions,” said Russell McCrady, Southwest’s vice president of labour relations. “We hope to continue seeing progress that will protect our employees, while simultaneously responding to one

of the greatest challenges ever faced by our airline.” Furloughed employees would be expected eventually to return to work.

While the workers, known as material specialists, declined to negotiate contract concessions, the union told Southwest it was willing to discuss other measures that would produce the cost savings, the Teamsters said in a letter to members. The employees “have already sacrificed much” through members who left the company voluntarily or took extended leave, the union said.

“The 42 jobs the company is threatening appears to be SWA using our small group to send a signal to other labour groups about the company’s potential intentions for furloughs,” said the letter from David Bourne, director of the Teamsters Airline Division. He reminded workers that such notices can be rescinded at any time for any reason, and that the union remains open to negotiations.

Southwest and its unions began talks in early October aimed at reaching agreements by the end of the month toward the airline’s goal of saving more than half a billion dollars. Concessions sought by the airline would protect workers from furlough through to 2021.

The carrier reached deals with two small work groups and has extended talks with others for a short period.

to-day issues faced by the exporters and ensure its resolution. The executive committee will meet on a monthly basis in order to ensure the implementation of policy measures.

In the third tier, it has been proposed to constitute 12 to 16 sectors specific councils/boards. These councils will review sector-specific policies and suggest policy as well as incentives for the promotion of products as well as its subsequent exports from the country.

The recommendations of the council will first submit at the level of the executive council for approval and implementation.

However, these proposals can be taken up at the executive board level in case of involving high-level decisions.

It will be the first STPF, which will focus

on establishing an institutional mechanism instead of one-time subsidies for the sectors.

The private sector will be involved in all decisions especially having representation from the private sectors in the councils.

Under the STPF 2020-25, textile, leather, surgical and sports goods, carpet, rice, and cutlery was included along with non-formal and development sectors like engineering goods, pharmaceuticals, auto parts, process food and beverages, footwear, gem and jewelry, chemicals, meat and poultry, seafood, marble, and granite. And the special focus will be made to enhance exports in these sectors.

In the last decade, the Commerce Division had notified three STPFs: in 2009-12, 2012-15, and 2015-18. But none of these were successfully implemented to achieve the desired objectives due to various reasons. Moreover, the policies also failed to alter the export paradigm over the period.

K-Electric, SITE Superhighway Association discuss ways to overcome challenges KArAcHi PRESS RELEASE

A K-Electric delegation headed by CEO Moonis Alvi along with members of the leadership team met with the S.I.T.E. Superhighway Association of Trade and Industries Karachi on Thursday as part of the power utility’s drive to further strengthen industry facilitation through closer coordination.

During the meeting, current and upcoming challenges faced by industries and KE’s efforts to overcome these challenges were discussed, along with future strategy to address upcoming requirements of the SITE Su-

perhighway Industrial Area.

KE’s initiatives to improve service levels for industries include 100pc exemption from load-shed in addition to accelerated investments across power value chain to meet the city’s growing power needs. It was also agreed that to help with quick resolution of the association’s issues a Customer Support Centre would be made operational immediately, at space provided by the association.

It was also agreed that the processing time and requirements for new connection or load extension would be made simpler and faster.

President of S.I.T.E. Superhighway Association of In-

dustry Engr. Nisar Ahmed Khan spoke about KE’s efforts in facilitating industries through initiatives such as a simpler and faster process for acquiring new connections and appreciated K-Electric’s improved accessibility, hailing the formation of a dedicated CS centre with expedited Distribution operational support. KEs approach towards karachi industrial areas is was appreciated by President Engr Nisar Ahmed and assured KE complete professional support at all levels.

Moonis Alvi, CEO KElectric apprised the SITE Superhighway Association leadership about KE’s commitment to facilitating.

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PM Imran vows universal health insurance for Punjab next year continueD from pAge 01 "That person sitting in London is [planning] a conspiracy against the army because it is not a democratic institution where the army and ISI chiefs can be replaced by passing a no-confidence motion," he added, referring to Nawaz.

"What he is actually saying is that he is asking for a coup within the armed forces so that our army is destroyed."

He then addressed the PML-N supremo directly, saying: "Nawaz Sharif, you have reached this limit where you're speaking India's language to protect your theft? This makes my resolve even more strong to not rest until we bring people like you to book." Prime Minister Imran said the opposition alleged that the 2018 general elections were rigged, but questioned why they did not file petitions to challenge the elections in courts even though the government was ready to investigate.

He said his government was working on election reforms that will result in the holding of transparent and fair elections in the country. Citing an example from his cricket career, the prime minister said he was the first captain who pushed for matches to be held under neutral umpires and under him, Pakistan even played West Indies and India under neutral umpires at home. "I promise today that my government will conduct such elections for the first time in Pakistan that even those who lose will say they were fair," he said, adding that the government was also working on introducing electronic voting. "We are bringing election reforms and technology. Just like I was the first cricket captain to ask for neutral umpires, I will be the first prime minister whose government will win after holding transparent and fair elections."

IT’S OVER: Biden beats Trump to win US election continueD from pAge 01 CENTRIST IN DIVIDED ERA: The biggest ever turnout of voters -- some 160 million people, according to preliminary estimates -- poured out across the United States, ultimately favoring Biden's promise of calm to Trump's rollercoaster.

An old school centrist, Biden has fended off the energetic leftist wing of his party, while choosing Kamala Harris, the first Black woman on a major party presidential ticket, as his running mate.

Although a career politician -- a widely derided group today -- he is seen by many as a sympathetic character, humanized by having endured the loss of his wife and baby daughter in a car accident in 1972, then another son to cancer four decades later.

Yet despite his fervent promises to restore America's "soul," Biden will inherit a shaken, angry country.

Americans are bitterly split after an election campaign in which Trump deliberately stoked divisions over many of the country's most sensitive issues, including race, immigration and gun ownership.

And despite critics painting Trump as an aberration, he still won the votes of around 70 million people -- many of whom may not have liked Trump himself, yet consider Democrats as being out of touch with their traditional values.

That gulf in understanding between two Americas will likely continue to rage in Congress, threatening Biden's ability to govern at a time of economic upheaval and an accelerating coronavirus crisis.

HUMILIATION: For Trump, the defeat and his exit from the White House at the transition on January 20 will above all be a story of personal humiliation.

He shocked the country and the world when he stormed to victory in 2016 as a political newcomer taking down the seasoned Democrat Hillary Clinton in his first shot at public office. Then for much of his administration he appeared invulnerable to the normal laws of politics.

His showbiz style of running the government made him perhaps the most watched -and controversial -- individual on the planet.

He survived impeachment, tore up diplomatic norms, and was so omnipresent in the media that he lodging himself in the con-

CMYK

sciousness of ordinary Americans in a way never previously experienced.

A former reality TV star and celebrity real estate developer, he gave the impression of someone who always got his own way.

To crowds at rallies he loved to boast "we're going to win so much, you're going to be so sick and tired of winning." And to people he didn't like, his go-to insult was "loser."

Yet now he's a loser himself -- as perhaps he already feared on the morning of the election.

"Winning is easy," he mused as polls opened. "Losing is never easy. Not for me."

PRO-BIDEN OR ANTI-TRUMP?: Biden secured his win by recapturing the Midwestern states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin -- traditional Democratic territory that Trump had flipped in 2016 with his powerful appeal to white, working class voters.

The Democrat was also running slender majorities as vote counting approached an end in Arizona and Nevada, while the tally in Georgia was so close that the state declared it would hold a recount.

But it was the capture of Pennsylvania that sealed the deal, meaning that even if Trump somehow won all the other unannounced states he still wouldn't accumulate enough electoral college votes.

Biden built his campaign on driving inroads into Trump's working class base, while selling himself to the rest of the country as the responsible, steady leader needed to confront the Covid-19 crisis.

Rejecting Trump's erratic, often cavalier attitude to a virus that has killed more than 230,000 Americans, Biden promised to follow scientific advice and take the tough decisions needed to try and halt the pandemic.

He took a gamble, politically speaking, by not holding the traditional kind of mass rallies that Trump used to great effect, insisting that he wanted to set an example by following government guidelines on social distancing.

His campaign even held back from knocking on doors -- another basic, even essential tactic for rounding up supporters that Trump's team embraced to great effect.

And in a climate of ferocious political partisanship, where almost every aspect of life is now seen through Democratic or Republican lenses, Biden pledged repeatedly to "be a president for all Americans."

In many ways, though, the election was

less about Biden, making his third presidential run, than a referendum on Trump -- a figure of hate for opponents and open adoration to his supporters.

Some Republicans pleaded for Trump to expand his coalition with a more moderate pitch aimed at independent voters. But this most polarizing of presidents took the opposite tack, focusing his energy on super-charging his core base.

In the last weeks before the election, Trump addressed rally after rally with extreme, often entirely fact-free speeches. He painted illegal immigrants as murderers and rapists, claimed that Biden opposed God, and said Democrats would strip Americans of their personal firearms and allow mobs to destroy suburbs.

"We love you!" the crowds chanted back.

Confronted with pre-election polls that pointed to his coming defeat, Trump appeared genuinely unable to comprehend what was happening.

"Running against the worst candidate in the history of presidential politics puts pressure on me," Trump said.

"Could you imagine if I lose?"

AMERICA'S FIRST WOMAN VICE PRESIDENT: Kamala Harris crashed through one of the world's highest glass ceilings on Saturday to be elected America's first woman vice president, making history and helping bring to an end Donald Trump's turbulent rule.

Harris came into Tuesday's election already a repeat trailblazer as California's first Black attorney general and the first woman of South Asian heritage elected to the US Senate.

By winning the vice presidency, she will be a heartbeat away from leading the United States and poised on a stepping stone to the ultimate prize.

With the 77-year-Biden expected to serve only a single term, Harris would be favored to win the Democratic presidential nomination four years from now. That could give her a shot at more history-making -- as the first female president of the United States.

"This election is about so much more than Joe Biden or me," she wrote on Twitter after US news media called the election in their favor based on state results.

"It's about the soul of America and our willingness to fight for it. We have a lot of work ahead of us. Let's get started."

Sunday, 8 November, 2020

06 COMMENT

Separated at birth?

Politics at the expense of public health Playing Russian roulette

What makes the people and politics of the USA and Pakistan so similar?

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rime minister imran Khan has been holding public gatherings and big rallies despite an increase in the coronavirus’ ravages. Last month mr Khan addressed the insaf tiger Force, the insaf lawyers Convention, the insaf Doctors Convention, and a groundbreaking ceremony of a dam in isakhel. All these gatherings were meant to publicise the presumed successes of the Pti administration and to demonise the opposition. the meetings and rallies have continued this month also. When the ruling party is holding political rallies in the midst of the pandemic to vilify the opposition and advertise its performance, the opposition is not expected to sit idle. the PDm has held public meetings at Gunjranwala, Karachi and Quetta and is scheduled to hold more at Peshawar, multan and Lahore. the elections in Gilgit-Baltistan have led the Pti, PPP and PmL(n) to vie with one another in holding public rallies. What is unfortunate is that there is gross violation of sOPs at these gatherings. the videos show that the vast majority of the participants wear no masks while they also don’t observe social distancing. the gatherings are thus helping in the spread of the pandemic. the Pti continues to hold public rallies despite Health sAPm Dr Faisal sultan’s warning that a second coronavirus wave had begun in Pakistan. meanwhile the nCOC has made wearing of masks compulsory at public places and advised strict adherence to social distancing.

Despite the warning, mr Khan addressed a gathering in Gilgit, where elections are due this week, as he was keen to announce his government’s decision to give GilgitBaltistan provincial status and send the ‘blackmailers’ in the opposition to face justice. the big public rally in swat was used to publicise the sehat Card initiative and to accuse former Pm nawaz sharif of destabilising and weakening the country. At Hafizabad on saturday, the Pm again dilated on the benefits of his health scheme while declaring that he would not give an nrO to the opposition. instead of initiating an unhealthy competition with the opposition in holding rallies , the government should initiate talks with the opposition to bring it back to Parliament. Parliament is the most suitable place for political confrontation, all the more so at the time of the pandemic.

Rabia ahmed

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s politics these last few years and very much so the past few days has been all too familiar for us in Pakistan: the violence, the riots, the killings, the police atrocities, irrational attitudes, and the racism. And now, the President’s baseless and unpleasant allegations of fraud (election results as of writing this have not yet been finalized). We in Pakistan are familiar with it all, familiar with the overstatements, with the partisanship, the lies and histrionics, as well as with leaders digging in their heels and refusing to leave. Having said which, mr.

Zardari’s exit after losing elections all those years ago was a notable exception for us, an unexpected performance, uncharacteristic and dignified. mr. trump could learn something from it. Perhaps mr. Zardari should write a book: How to Leave Office for Dummies.

What makes the people and politics of the UsA and Pakistan so similar? it is like discovering a twin separated at birth. We are after all two very disparate cultures with regards to religion, customs, history, political framework, with a great difference between our financial capacities. the UsA is the 11th richest country in the world, according to its GDP, while Pakistan ranks at 138th. As for literacy, it seems the UsA is about 99 percent literate with no disparity between male and female literacy, while Pakistan’s literacy rate in the 15-plus age group three years ago stood at about 74.5 percent with male literacy at 81.3 percent and female at 67.5. there’s a fire-breathing dragon right there, nestled in those figures.

Why, if the UsA is so much more literate than we are, do our people’s minds work so similarly? Why are the religious zealots in both countries as extreme, the common man as misinformed and as easily taken for a ride? neither country possesses a thriving democracy.

Few in either country possess education which, mind you, is distinct from literacy. Few in either place it seems, judging from recent events, are taught values

PDM’s unity Different terms, same reference

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Here has always been an unsaid rule in Pakistani politics that prohibits the use of specific names of individuals belonging to institutions when referring to the ‘establishment’. Whenever the word is used, it is usually a reference to political interference, which is why most politicians choose to deal in euphemisms during discourse, both inside and outside Parliament. Last month at the Pakistan Democratic movement’s (PDm) first major public show in Gujranwala, former Prime minister mian nawaz sharif gave a rather rambunctious speech, breaking the norm by accusing COAs Gen Qamar Bajwa and isi chief Lt Gen Faiz Hameed directly of running a parallel government to the Pti’s. PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari stated in a recent interview that nawaz sharif’s choice of words came as a ‘shock’ to him and while it is not typical to talk like this at rallies, he could not control what the latter says and vice versa. the government has expectedly pounced at this statement, making a convenient deduction by projecting it as a clear indication that all parties in the PDm are not on the same page. there is no denying the fact that up until the very recent past, the PmL(n) and PPP have not trusted each other, having been bitter rivals for decades. it is only when a third party, be it a military dictator like Pervez musharraf or a new political party like imran Khan’s Pti, comes to power and pushes the opposition up against the wall that they decide to call the past water under the bridge and join hands. the basis of the PDm’s formation is and always has been civilian supremacy and mr sharif has simply chosen to define this by using language that other parties may not. it must be remembered that the phrase ‘selected Prime minister’ was coined by mr Bhutto Zardari himself and he used it first on the floor of the national Assembly, much to the dislike of the treasury Benches. the insinuation therefore is the same; that imran Khan was installed as a prime minister and the strings are really being pulled from someplace else. Another factor to consider is that mr sharif is making his statements from the comfort of London where he has been since last november, without the fear of arrest. Opposition politicians in Pakistan do not have this luxury. ideally, both the government and opposition should try to resolve their differences but that ship sailed a while ago. it remains to be seen whether or not mr sharif dials down his rhetoric to Bilawal-level, or ramps it up further.

Seeking judicial activism ……

The US election shows how the courts solve issues

akhtaR aly kuReshy

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was about to fade up and tired after continuously watching the fourth day of te Us election results on tV, which were stuck because of the counting of early voting in few states michigan, Georgia, Arizona, Pennsylvania and nevada and President Donald trump announced to move the Courts for getting some restraining order to stop counting which were declined by the Us Courts. it is obviously understood that courts are playing a vital role to harmonise the society with the command of law to do what legally required and not to do tat which is not allowed by the law. However. trump tried to distort the Us history of accepting an election result with open heart and moving forward. in other words, one can say that mr. trump is playing Pakistani politics of controversy and the disputing style that does accept election results if one has lost the election. the Us election was peaceful, interesting, and impressive to follow as no untoward incident taken place, neither open firing nor Qeemawala naans nor deghs of Baryani were seen anywhere. similarly, no body abused the election system and tried to caste fake vote. One thing is very significant, that the American people be-

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

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such as tolerance, fairness, work ethics, a disinclina- outright discourage people from thinking, as evidenced by the liberal implementation of bans and censorship. tion towards greed, and a distaste for violence.

Ghamidi sahib put it best when he said that we it implies a similarity between our education, the sort that encourages an interest in reading and learn- desperately need to learn the rules of disagreement ing, as well as our values which are mostly a product and debate, learn to listen, reason, evaluate and reof tarbiyat (upbringing). it also illustrates the differ- search. We need to inculcate toleration, and to think before we speak. Less need for U-turns then, aside ence between literacy and education.

Values have little to do with finances. An example from other advantages.

When all these things born of real education beis Allama muhammad iqbal, a great poet and philosopher whose father was a humble tailor without formal come a way of life, is when politicians will be unable education. His mother too was uneducated but she was to lead large ignorant segments of the population by known to be wise, generous and charitable. Yet they the nose like horses. the reason mr trump has so many supporters is were far sighted. iqbal graduated from Government College in Lahore, then went on to Cambridge and that he is able to say whatever he likes and his supporters are unlikely to verify his Lincoln’s inn as a lawyer. the statements. the reason our products of his intellect and government is able to take his values are known to us all credit for the low numbers of and require no introduction.

It is when all these things are covid in Pakistan for example if the most basic aim of is because no one checks, belife is to exist, the ultimate is addressed, when education cause they are too busy trying to exist rationally and with to plain stay alive. While the kindness, to try and under- right from the start encourages police and public by and large stand the meaning of life while helping others to do the same. people to think outside the box, fail to wear masks, despite it being a mandatory requireeducation and values enable one to reach the ultimate when rational steps are taken to ment in Pakistan these days, we still hear that the governwhereas literacy is but the make life easier for the masses ment did a great job in keepbasic rung, the first step towards climbing up if you so they have the leisure to do ing covid under control. the reason both socichoose to do so. it is the habit of reading other than work, that people get eties are so prone to riots and violence is that our peoborn of real education that into the habit of thinking ple are not used to reasonmakes a person choose to ing, neither are our climb further. governments prone to listenreading– which presumes ing. something other than of the the UsA, probably alone among the western counmills and Boons genre– is like an extendable cobweb brush. it helps you reach otherwise unreachable areas, tries, does not stress social welfare. it lacks affordable to become aware of ideas other than those that exist health care for its people, and has a poor support system around you. it helps you to examine and evaluate those for those without jobs. so much like us. And the police ideas and come to conclusions, perhaps different ones in that country is prey to the same faults as ours. it is when all these things are addressed, when eduto those that may be generally accepted in your society. no, there is nothing wrong with that. the general pub- cation right from the start encourages people to think outlic– that phrase sounds rather snobbish but isn’t meant side the box, when rational steps are taken to make life to be– is not wont to read, nor is it exposed to much of easier for the masses so they have the leisure to do other the world outside. An obvious reason is the pace of life, than work, that people get into the habit of thinking. the question is: does a wiser, less gullible, public the basic struggle to exist that keeps most people from thinking beyond their livelihood, and from travelling. suit those who govern? Will you answer that or Also the fact that reading may not a common pursuit in should i? the home they grew up in. most schools do not lay much Rabia Ahmed is a freelance columnist. Read more stress on further reading. they definitely do not in Pakistan, although they should. instead the powers-that-be by her at http://rabia-ahmed.blogspot.com

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Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

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lieve in their system, media, democracy, and the courts. the other message drawn from the election is that if any disputes occur the courts will decide, and of course, a civilized society empowers the courts to resolve disputes in a sober and justifiable manner, but where the system of justice is poorly built and undercapacity then the situation may be different, rather bitter, like Pakistan. the Us system further reflects confidence of ruling the world through science and technology and innovation.

Attaining this remarkable situation for the wellbeing of their citizens, a powerful and impressive judicial system is imperative and there is no secret that if its judicial system is powerful, then the country will rise and the people will prosper, civilize and will lead the World for further excellence. in order to understand this judicial philosophy, it is very easy to invest and deliberate your judicial system. We, being a poor and developing country, are not in position to design an advanced and high-tech judicial system to deliver justice in the country. However we have to follow the steps which other nations have taken to reach this destiny of success. in the early days of Us development, they openly hanged the person who stolen a penny and American courts played a vital role to achieve this position. even suo motu action and judicial activism were contributed a lot in the construction of the judicial avenue in the evolution of the UsA. in Pakistan all problems and corruption are born and multiply due to the poor and under-capacity judicial system which is about to collapse if not concentrated and made to comply with its due course. For example when former Chief Justices iftikhar muhammad Choudhary and saqib nisar mobilized judicial activism, so many burning issues and government policies were redesigned or repaired and a pressure was seen and felt that if something happened wrongly then everybody was expecting a suo Motu action from the supreme Court and government officials were carrying out their responsibilities as they are legally bound to do in normal circumstance, but in which they are usually found sluggish. History is witness that two powerful Prime ministers who were negligent in their duties were disqualified by the supreme Court which is, otherwise impossible as our judicial system is slave of the influential and it can punish only poor fellows,

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and rich men get the privilege of escaping scot-free. surprisingly many weeks silently passed but nothing heard from the supreme Court after the impressive order to increase the strength of nAB Courts from 24 to 120 so as to hold day-to-day hearing of mega-corruption cases. similarly more than a dozen situations are seeking the kind indulgence of the Chief Justice to take suo moto action to snub the deteriorating position in many fields and departments like price hike and corruption issues which are beyond the control of governments and are teasing the poor citizen.

Due to the bad governance and weak administration of governments everybody is trying to fill their pockets wether he is selling vegetables or cement, and neither government departments nor courts are delivering relief to the depressed public which is not even afraid of the smog and the return of killing disease of covid-19. Because of the orders of mr Justice shahid Karim of the Lahore High Court, the government department is trying control the smog which become alarming at 337 on the air quality index to make the city of Lahore the second dirtiest city of the world. the Arrival of winter is a good omen for Pakistanis, but simultaneously the risk level has gone high to safe from dengue and smog, apart from corruption and accelerating rate of woman harassment cases. A vibrant judicial activism is the way and last resort for the public to keep them safe and progressive for a peaceful sleep to the public although political turmoil is heating up and big gatherings are being held to expel the present government. All disputes, either political or social or other emerging issues of law and order and the declining economy, can be controlled and resolved through the courts and judicial activism may create an atmosphere to stabilize the situation, as under the Constitution there is no other way to get rid of this government until the Pm himself dissolve the Assembly or some in-House development to change the government as our vibrant judiciary blocked the way of imposing martial Law, gone are the days when easy to carry out a coup d’état.

Only a powerful judicial system is our protection from all abuses and mishandling of any issue, including the politics or economics of the country, subject to understand judicial significance and values.

The writer is an Advocate Supreme Court, Law Professor, member International Bar Association and former Assistant Attorney General for Pakistan, can be reached at akhtaradv@gmail.com

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Sunday, 8 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

Water crisis in Corona time sinCe the serious out break of the contagious disease COViD 19,the government has put a halt on the movement in the country in the shape of lockdown.7 days have been passed since most of the province has shut down and as promised by the government the province has not experienced loadshedding and the electricity utility bills will appear in installments. But the main concern of the province is cleanliness. Water storage has become common and a serious issue in the most areas of karachi because now a days, the public would have to consume alot of water in order to stay Clean and protect themselves from the pandemic virus. the government has to take serious note against this issue and make sure KWsB (karachi water and sewerage board)gets water supplied in all areas.

IBAAd HASSAn Karachi

Sectarianism

A leaky boat hankers for the shores Capsizing appears a veritable reality

Candid Corner Raoof hasan “In a chronically leaking boat, energy devoted to changing vessels is more productive than energy devoted to patching leaks.”

—Warren Buffett

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n spite of setbacks and the prospect of total burn-out, the vicious drama goes on unabated. this alone reflects the desperation that seems to be driving the PDm agitation.

What ails the principal constituents to indulge in such crass chicanery, such vile pursuits?

A cursory glance will tell the whole story. the PmL(n) is riddled with sharp divisions within the family oligarchy with one faction trying to out-manoeuvre the other, thus damaging the party credentials. A revolt is brewing which is likely to intensify if the anti-military narrative is not changed. But, convict-absconder nawaz sharif is not likely to allow that. Consequently, in the light of protest within, the party may lose its grassroots connect with its voter base and may disintegrate into factions.

With convictions looming in numerous indictments for corruption and money laundering, the PPP is struggling to keep afloat. With the senior Zardari likely to be incarcerated, the junior one is not even a shadow of either his mother or his grandfather. Unfortunately, he carries the albatross of his parents’ corruption around his neck and it is well nigh impossible to toss it away. it not only hangs in there, its dead weight is only increasing with time, thus diminishing his freedom to play his game– if he has any! On top of that is the abysmal performance of the party in sindh which is generally referred to as the worst administered province of the country, where problems have only increased with time.

Fazlur rehman misses a place in the parliament and a house in the ministers’ enclave. Give him that and a flag car to drive, and one can have him come crawling to do one’s bidding. extremely untrustworthy and intrinsically corrupt, he remains the most blatantly saleable commodity that one can locate in the political bargaining shops of the country. His espousal of the antimilitary narrative has sent ripples through his party with some openly raising their voice against it. they have virtually taken a position diametrically opposite to that of their leader and there is a fear that, as a consequence, unity of the party may be administered a sharp blow.

Additionally, he belongs to a coterie of wicked self-anointed pontiffs who can degenerate to using

the card of religion to create sectarian divides for so much else make for medals of disgrace to advancing their political interests. He exploits his adorn their chests. How will a dialogue help seminaries to produce hordes of ignoramus and in- when their shamelessness has no frontiers?

Under the present circumstances, there cannot doctrinated bigots to perpetrate violence. the other parties are mostly one-man con- be a dialogue. in the last couple of years, in spite coctions with virtually no representation either of having to deal with daunting challenges, considerable distance has been covered on the path to in Parliament, or in the hearts of the people. the unity of the coalition already lies in tat- sustainable recovery. the fundamentals have been ters in the wake of convict-absconder sharif’s corrected. Prime minister Khan has done this at diatribes against the military and its leadership. considerable risk to his popular base simply bethe PPP is visibly jolted and Bilawal has re- cause he is a person of character who is totally fused to espouse the extreme narrative, even committed to marshalling this country into a proasking for provision of proof for allegations gressive domain which would be far-removed made. similar voices have emanated from from the prospect of being bruised and battered within the JUi(F). Consequently, the discordant again. this has been undertaken by raising the conglomerate hangs by the most tenuous of level of awareness of the people and strengthening threads and a tiny jolt can send it packing. Yet, and empowering institutions to be vigilant against there appears enough venomous energy to keep attempts to indulge in unfettered pillage. this pushing it a while further. therein may also be process cannot be reversed simply because some hidden the ingredients for its further, even dis- defeated elements are raising a crescendo to force their way into the polititasteful disintegration. cal mainstream.

All this is happenthe parties comprising in the backdrop of ing the coalition of an increasing number of The parties comprising the crime and corruption are encouraging indicators fighting a last-ditch batwhich the government coalition of crime and tle for their survival and has secured in quick succession. the econcorruption are fighting a last- that of their wicked politics. Both are doomed. omy is showing robust ditch battle for their survival instead of initiating a disigns of improvement alogue with a bunch of with international agenand that of their wicked convicts, absconders cies giving it the and alleged criminals, thumbs-up. Praise is politics. Both are doomed. let them breathe thembeing lavishly heaped on Pakistan for being in Instead of initiating a dialogue selves out for they are on the verge already. Let the forefront of successwith a bunch of convicts, this contagion be fully combating the washed away for its tencovid-19 scourge, with absconders and alleged tacles are loosening and the WHO citing it as an soon they shall be disenexample to emulate by criminals, let them breathe tangled from the bodyothers. exports are picking up with those who themselves out for they are on politic of the country.

Let them flap their were starved for orders the verge already. Let this wings for they are finding it difficult to meet the growing de- contagion be washed away for soaked in oil. Let them speak their venom for it mand. the value of the dollar has fallen against its tentacles are loosening and has lost its bite. Let them cry their innocence the rupee to below 160 soon they shall be for it is stripped of apfor the first time in alpeal. Let them act their most a year. Unprecedisentangled from the bodypretensions for they dented incentives have have been seen through. been provided to busipolitic of the country Let them crave their emnesses. no further loans pires for they have been are being secured. relocated to the prison Prices of essential comhouses. Let them masmodities are stabilising and a dominant feel-good belief is taking roots querade their many faces for each has been shed with the opposition’s faces overcast in darkening of virtue. Let them enact their grandiose dramas for they will only self-destruct. the tide has shadows.

Yet there are people who plead for a dia- changed direction irreversibly and there is no logue, urging the government to take the middle hope in hell that things would ever be the same course to reconciliation. One may ask: dialogue for them to exploit to their advantage.

Pakistan is rid of its past and is fast chiswith whom and for what? For granting reprieve to a host of criminals for grievous crimes they elling a canvas that holds promise for its impovcommitted against the people? For having looted erished people to nurture hope in themselves, and plundered the state of its resources, leaving their future and that of their coming generations. it with a begging bowl to fend for its sustenance? it is finally time for it to chase its dreams. it is For having corrupted and dismantled state insti- finally time for it to raise the bar high and fulfil tutions so that they were stripped of their capac- its foundational charter and credo: rise, rise rise! ity to trace their crimes? For never having The writer is a political and security invested in the welfare of the marginalised and impoverished communities of the country? For strategist, and heads the Regional Peace having spread disaffection and sown the seeds Institute – an Islamabad-based think tank. of violence and division among the people? is Email: raoofhasan@hotmail.com. Twitter: this the criterion that merits a dialogue? this and @RaoofHasan

tHe Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H) once said there is something i fear for my Ummah more dangerous than the Dajjal “misguided and astray scholars” and that is quite right. such scholars had divided muslims into different sects on the name of right path towards islam. those who discriminate muslims in sects are worse than shatan. We are all Umaatis of one leader (Prophet muhammad). Can you imagine that would one leader want differences in his followers? never, a leader always wants his followers to be united on a single platform and fights against enemies and evils.

But here it’s totally adverse, the muslims have conflicts and they keep fighting among one another. the peoples of one sect declare the peoples of other sects as non-muslims without any rationality. How can we wipe out and fight against evils in our society, if we aren’t united? Abraham Lincolon said that “A house divided against itself cannot stand. Unity among the muslims is the all-important need of modern era but we are still judging and criticizing one another on how to pray, who is right and who is wrong. the Holy Quran says “Be righteous and act justly towards those who worship other gods”. the God himself orders to act justly even with those who worships other gods, so why muslims are fighting among themselves? the simple reason for it is that the muslims themselves don’t investigate and research about islam. they believe and stuck to the blind faiths which are given to them in heritage by the hypocrites and the extremists. Although, everything is told in the Holy Quran the need is only to open it. Let’s spread peace, love and unity among ourselves. World will be a house a bliss for us. the Hadith and the Quran warns muslims in several verses about making sects, then on what basis these muslims are being divided? its British’s propaganda they always had thirst for dividing and ruling over the muslims. it’s miserable that now it has also became muslim’s policy. Prophet (P.B.U.H) said that one time will come when there would be 73 different sects in the world so the day-of-judgment will be occurred. Out of those 73 sects solely one will enter into the Heaven while residual 72 sects will go to hell because until then they will run out of boundaries of islam. therefore, we should be one. the sense of different sects must be elaborated. the peoples are highly extremists on the subject of sectarianism. even mosques are particularized that this is sunni’s mosque that is shia’s mosque. Onetime i saw a shia man was offering prayer in sunni’s mosque. some peoples there noted him and beat him harshly until he knocked unconscious. my heart cried tears of blood, i swear this in not the religion of my prophet. Are these the muslims? Do our Prophet and religion teach us that? We are at a stage of havoc and wreckage.

Muzaffar KhoSo SuKKur

Preserving trees tree preservation starts with the understanding of the health of a tree and the soils that support trees . However, we all are well-known that we can help save trees from being cut down . instead of doing this useless job, we are instructed to plant a tree for our humanity’s advantageous things. i am surviving in a city named turbat where trees are not much concentrated , particularly in summer as they require much water to make their foods and release gases. Our municipal Corporation is not seen active in summer times mostly as i can see myself the trees are likely to die soon with no adequate water and we humans are ready to cut them which has become our part time job. i request the concerned authorities of Balochistan in order to provide more trees to turbat city in every side so that we gain a better environment with no pollution.

BarKatullah turBat

Finally a result DemOCrAt Joe Biden has won the White House, Us media said on saturday, defeating Donald trump and ending a presidency that convulsed American politics, shocked the world and left the United states more divided than at any time in decades. the confirmation of victory of Biden, who at 78 will be the oldest American president, brings to a climax three days of post-election anxiety and uncertainty that followed one of the most bruising Us presidential races in modern times. the Associated Press declared Biden, whose vice president will be Kamala Harris — the first female to hold the post in America’s history, the winner on saturday evening after he secured more than the crucial 270 electoral votes he needed to win the White House. Cnn, nBC news and CBs news also called the race in his favour, after projecting he had won the decisive state of Pennsylvania. shortly after winning the presidency, Biden also won nevada, adding to his electoral College victory over trump.

Biden declared victory in a tweet, saying: “America, i’m honored that you have chosen me to lead our great country. “the work ahead of us will be hard, but i promise you this: i will be a President for all Americans — whether you voted for me or not. i will keep the faith that you have placed in me.” trump, refusing to concede defeat, said that Biden was “rushing to falsely pose as the winner” after television networks declared the Democrat’s victory. “We all know why Joe Biden is rushing to falsely pose as the winner, and why his media allies are trying so hard to help him: they don’t want the truth to be exposed,” trump said. “the simple fact is this election is far from over.” atif NavEEd lahorE

Sunday, 8 November, 2020

08 WORLD VIEW

TrumP’S legal STraTegy for Challenging The eleCTion iS one more TrumPiST fanTaSy

New Yorker AmY DAviDson sorkin

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hE allegations of wrongdoing are earth-shattering,” Senator Lindsey Graham told Sean hannity, of Fox News, on thursday night. he was referring, vaguely and falsely, to the process of counting votes cast in the Presidential election, and echoing President trump’s claim, in an appearance at the White house earlier that evening, that “horror stories” regarding the vote count abounded. the horror for trump is that he is losing: as the votes have been counted, his early leads in Michigan and Wisconsin have disappeared; he has fallen behind in the ongoing counts in Georgia and Pennsylvania; and he has so far failed to catch up in Arizona or Nevada, where he is narrowly trailing. trump seems to see a single path to victory: baselessly blame everybody in sight, buy time in court, and see if his problems will just go away. the plan gets a little fuzzy at that last point, but the first two steps are clear: slander and sue. At the White house, he said, falsely, “there’s tremendous litigation going on, and this is a case where they’re trying to steal an election.”

At this point, the litigation is not, for the most part, tremendous, or even about specific allegations of fraud. this may be because there is no real evidence of widespread fraud anywhere in any of these states. (Systemic issues regarding voter suppression are another matter.) instead, most of the lawsuits are about circumstances that trump and his team have decided might lead to fraud. in

many cases, trump and his allies are lying about what those circumstances are, and even about the substance of many of the lawsuits that his campaign has filed.

For example, at the White house, trump, referring to one of his campaign’s suits in Pennsylvania, said that the state had been trying to “ban our election observers and very strongly”; he said that the state didn’t “want anybody watching them as they count the ballots . . . they’re trying, obviously, to commit fraud.” On twitter, he went further, saying that observers hadn’t been let in “in any way, shape, or form.” Senator ted Cruz, in his own appearance on hannity’s show on thursday, said that Philadelphia was “not allowing election observers in,” adding that “every time they close the doors and shut out the lights they always find more Democratic votes.” this is a fantasy; in fact, the only real dispute in the litigation turned out to be how many observers there could be in the Philadelphia convention center, where the votes were being tabulated, and how close they could stand to election workers. (there is a pandemic to consider.) No doors have been closed; no lights have been shut; there is even a live stream of what’s going on inside. And, by thursday night, even the technical issues seemed largely resolved after a state-court judge said that the observers could come within six feet, and a federal judge—the trump team was trying its luck in both venues—dismissed the matter, with instructions, according to the A.P., that both sides work out an agreement to adjust the number of observers, like “responsible adults.” (Good luck.) the cases include one about fifty-three supposedly late-arriving absentee ballots in Georgia, and video cameras observing ballot drop boxes in Michigan; both of those were dismissed by the first judges who heard them, and, although they may be appealed, the lack of substance is striking. A Nevada woman’s tale of a supposedly stolen ballot was highlighted at a trump campaign press conference, but Nevada officials say that she declined to give them an official statement. there is one notable exception to what is otherwise a pattern of high-stakes nuisance lawsuits, though, and it is in Pennsylvania: Republican Party of Pennsylvania v. Kathy Boockvar et al. (Boockvar is Pennsylvania’s

secretary of state.) the trump campaign petitioned the Supreme Court for permission to join the case on Wednesday. this case, which the Pennsylvania G.O.P. brought to the Supreme Court in September, concerns the date by which Pennsylvania’s mail-in ballots need to arrive. Under state law, the deadline is Election Day, but, in pandemicrelated litigation, Pennsylvania’s highest state court extended that to Friday, as long as the ballot is postmarked by Election Day. (there is a side dispute about how legible the postmark has to be.) there are real legal issues there—the central question is how state election rules, which, according to the Constitution, are the

general instructed election offices to segregate any ballots that arrived between eight p.m. tuesday and five p.m. Friday. this means that, even if the Supreme Court finds that these specific ballots came in too late, they can simply be left out of the count. they will not taint the tally as a whole. the real question at this point may not be whether the Supreme Court rules for trump but whether the number of ballots in question—which is not yet final—even makes a difference in Biden’s margin of victory in the state, which is growing. (it is possible, too, that Biden can get the two hundred and seventy electoral votes he needs to win the Presidency without Pennsylvania’s twenty

purview of the state legislature, are limited by state constitutions, and what judges get to say about that—but, again, no specific accusations of actual, rather than potential, fraud. the Pennsylvania G.O.P. has asked the Supreme Court to hear the case on an expedited basis; a couple of days before the election, that petition was denied. in a statement accompanying the denial, Justice Samuel Alito regretted that it couldn’t be heard in time and indicated that he thought that the Court should hear it at some point. if it does, one of the Justices with a chance to decide the case will be Amy Coney Barrett.

At any rate, because of the possibility of further litigation, Pennsylvania’s attorney

electors.) the math should be clearer by the end of Friday. in short, no one is trying to commit fraud, except the President. When trump says, as he did at the White house, “if you count the legal votes, i easily win. if you count the illegal votes, they can try to steal the election from us,” he is doing more than lying. he is defining “legal” and “illegal” in an entirely political manner—one helps trump, and the other doesn’t. he and his allies hardly try to hide that. For example, one of the obvious hypocrisies is that trump keeps demanding that the vote be stopped in states where his lead is evaporating but continued in Arizona, where he believes he has a shot at catching up with Biden. Lindsey

Trump-Biden presidential race could be decided

by Pennsylvania case before Supreme Court JUSTICE AMY CONEY BARRETT COULD PLAY A PIVOTAL ROLE

Fox News

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John Yoo

ith the presidential election still undecided, President trump’s campaign has launched a flurry of lawsuits in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Nevada and Georgia. the suits raise a range of claims. these include the exclusion of observers from vote-counting rooms, voting by non-residents, and even the counting of votes listed as being cast by people who have died.

But the case that could decide it all started weeks ago, and is currently waiting at the U.S. Supreme Court. the Boockvar case involves a decision by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court regarding how late mail-in ballots can be counted in that state. if the Supreme Court takes up this case and the presidential election hinges on the result of the vote in Pennsylvania, the high court could determine who is elected president. the U.S. Constitution does not establish a system that uses the courts to pick the president. the Founding Fathers created the

Electoral College — an institution that survives to this day — to pick select our nation’s leader. in the Electoral College, each state receives as many votes as it has members of the U.S. house of Representatives and Senate. California, our most populous state, gets 55 electoral votes — more than any other state. Our least-populated states each get 3 electoral votes. the founders rejected direct election of the president by the populace as a whole. they feared demagogues who might flatter and bewitch the people would get elected.

But they also did not want Congress to choose the president. the founders believed that the president must remain independent so he could stand up to Congress and not be beholden to lawmakers to stay in office.

State legislatures were given the power under the Constitution to choose members of the Electoral College. however, legislatures have delegated that power to voters. So when you cast your ballot in presidential elections you are not actually voting directly for a candidate. You are voting for electors pledged to vote for that candidate. this system represents a compromise that blended a popular voice with the institution of the states to elect the president — while avoiding Congress altogether. in most states, the legislature has decided that whichever candidate gets the most popular votes gets all the state’s electoral votes. the Constitution also gave state legislatures the exclusive authority to regulate the “times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives.”

While Congress can overrule the choices of

the state legislatures, state courts cannot. this is a crucial point. State legislatures set the deadlines, define the validity of ballots, and the manner of counting the votes. this system can handle any normal election. But the election this week was no normal election. the COViD-19 pandemic forced some states to adopt large-scale mailin balloting for the first time. Pennsylvania, for example, had 266,000 mail-in ballots in 2016, but 2.5 million this year. Most states have never mounted such a massive mail-in and counting effort before. Further, America simply cannot make up its mind. Aside from Barack Obama’s two elections, the presidential elections from 2000 on have been so razor-thin that the Electoral College has made all the difference. if President trump is reelected, he will have won the Electoral College but lost the popular vote for two elections in a row. Gone are the days when television networks and other news organizations could call the presidential election in the early evening because of the projected popular vote alone. in this context, the litigation in Pennsylvania could make all the difference if that state’s 20 electoral votes are needed to determine whether President trump or former Vice President Joe Biden wins the election.

As i write this, trump and Biden are within a single point of each other in the popular vote in Pennsylvania. the candidate winning the state’s 20 electoral votes remains undetermined. the mail-in ballots received between tuesday and Friday this week in Pennsylvania and accepted under the order of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court could decide the

winner of the presidential race in that state, even if the winner prevails by a very small number of popular votes. this is not unprecedented. in 2000, George W. Bush won Florida, the state’s electoral votes and the presidency by about 500 votes. it is at this point that trump has a strong case pending in the U.S. Supreme Court. his campaign and the Republican Party of Pennsylvania can challenge the vote in the state on the grounds that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court unconstitutionally interfered with the state legislature’s sole authority over the time, place, and manner of federal elections and over the selection of presidential electors. if the U.S. Constitution directly grants those powers to the legislature of Pennsylvania, state courts have no authority to alter state election law for federal office, including the presidency. As a result, the U.S. Supreme Court could strike down the extension of the Pennsylvania deadline to accept ballots until Friday and order the state to reject any ballots that arrived after Election Day on tuesday. this is not some constitutional flight of fancy. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has already made clear his view that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has violated the U.S. Constitution by allowing mailin ballots to be accepted until Friday. in an opinion urging the U.S. Supreme Court to accelerate its consideration of the issues raised in the Boockvar case, Alito wrote: “the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania has issued a decree that squarely alters an important statutory provision enacted by the Pennsylvania Legislature pursuant to its authority under the Constitution of the United States to make rules governing the conduct of elections for federal office.”

Joined by Justices Clarence thomas and

Graham offered hannity this explanation for that disparity: “i trust Arizona; i don’t trust Philadelphia.” Graham said that Philadelphia elections—all of them, apparently—are as “crooked as a snake.”

When hannity pushed the view that Pennsylvania was just so hopelessly corrupt that none of its numbers could be trusted, and that the state’s legislature, which is controlled

by Republicans, should just declare the whole election invalid, Graham said, “i think everything should be on the table.” the Pennsylvania legislature is under Republican control, and one trumpian dream is that the legislature just picks the state’s electors themselves, as was the case early in the Republic, though it’s far from clear that they have the power to do so. (they have delegated the power to voters under state law, after all.) if they tried, the litigation would, indeed, be spectacular. Even Cruz, when hannity posed the same scenario to him, called invalidating the election “a big cannon to use.” there will likely also be litigation once the recounts that are expected in other close states, such as Wisconsin and Georgia, get under way. the aim may be to delay certification of the results and thus interfere with the appointment of electors. But that’s an extreme long shot because the problems, as far as we’ve seen, just aren’t there— not even notionally—and because Biden is now ahead in too many states. (this isn’t 2000, when it was all about Florida.) Anyone seeking a rich debate on constitutional law or the gray areas of election rules should probably look elsewhere; the President’s legal strategy is about smears and a fight for power.

Soon enough, the legal effort may be nothing more than a vehicle that allows him to air his grievances but which goes nowhere—the disorganized clattering of a defeated President on the way out. the legal effort is also becoming an exercise in showing loyalty to trump. Graham told hannity, “i’m gonna donate five-hundred thousand dollars tonight to President trump’s defense legal fund.” he urged hannity’s viewers to give as well: “Donald J. trump dot com— five bucks from a million people goes a long way.” his appearance, and ted Cruz’s, came after both Eric and Donald trump, Jr., complained that Republicans weren’t helping, and it can’t be called anything but shameful; the question now is how many others in the G.O.P. share in the ignominy. Kevin McCarthy, the house Minority Leader, also appeared that night, on Laura ingraham’s Fox News program, to voice his support for the President. Graham said that “every Senate Republican and house Republican needs to get on television and tell this story.” And what a wild story it is.

Amy Davidson Sorkin has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 2014.

Neil Gorsuch, Alito concluded: “that question has national importance, and there is a strong likelihood that the State Supreme Court decision violates the Federal Constitution.” in a separate case, Justice Brett Kavanaugh adopted the same view.

Some critics will argue that the U.S. Supreme Court should defer to state courts in the interpretation of state law. Chief Justice John Roberts, who voted to delay the Boockvar case at the U.S. Supreme Court until after the election, admitted as much in a similar case from Wisconsin, where he agreed to overturn a federal judge’s order to extend the Election Day deadline.

Roberts remains sensitive to political attacks on the U.S. Supreme Court. he probably fears a rerun of Bush v. Gore, in which the Supreme Court stopped recounts in Florida 2000 and sealed George Bush’s victory over Vice President Al Gore in the presidential election that year. Democrats and liberals have attacked the political legitimacy of the Supreme Court ever since.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation to the Supreme Court, however, could upend Roberts’ carefully laid plans. Barrett had not yet joined the court when Roberts prevented the court from accelerating consideration of Boockvar. the case still remains on the Supreme Court docket, neither rejected nor accepted for review. if Barrett joins the other four conservative justices, who share her originalist approach to constitutional interpretation, then Roberts could not stop the Supreme Court from intervening in Pennsylvania or from deciding in favor of invalidating all mail-in ballots that came in after Election Day. President trump, who came from the world of reality tV to the unreal world of politics, will then be hoping that Pennsylvania 2020 turns out to be a rerun of Florida 2000, allowing him to serve a second term.

John Yoo is a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley, a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution, and a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.

He is the author of “Defender in Chief: Donald Trump’s Fight for Presidential Power.”

Sunday, 8 November, 2020

BUSINESS 09

Punjab govt waives licence fee of 75 small businesses LAHORE: On the directives of the federal cabinet, the Punjab government has given relief to 75 different small businesses across the province and waived professional tax, professional licence and vocational fee on all of them.

The provincial local government has also issued a notification to implement the decision and all the local bodies across Punjab. These small businesses include grocery shops, vegetable stalls, fruit vendors, plumbers, barbers, laundresses, butchers, ice cream parlours, restaurants, general stores, departmental stores, welding shops, flour mills, chicken shops, cobblers, milk sellers, tailors, beauty parlours, cloth stores and 56 others. TLTP

CNG price increased by Rs2 per kg in Punjab LAHORE: The rate of compressed natural gas (CNG) has also been increased by Rs2 per kg in Punjab on Saturday after the surge in Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) price. CNG is now available for Rs79.20 in Lahore.

Earlier, Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) issued a price-revision notification of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) for the month of November. As per the notification, the authority increased the locally produced LPG price by Rs114.05 per cylinder of 11.8 kg. Meanwhile, OGRA has fixed the LPG rate at Rs129,689.49 per metric tonne (MT) for the month of November. The new price was effective from November 1. INP

KP wedding halls association to hold protests over closures

FARmERs uRGE GOvt tO iNCREAsE whEAt suPPORt PRiCE tO Rs2,000 LAHORE

w

HASSAN NAQVI

HEAT farmers on Saturday urged the government to increase the support price to Rs2,000 per 40kg for the next crop. The federal government on Friday had enhanced the support price to Rs1,650 per 40kg, which was Rs15 more than the earlier approved Rs1,600.

Speaking to Profit, Malik Ahsan Raza Budh, a farmer from Muzaffargarh said that the government's announcement to increase the support price will neither provide relief to farmers nor end consumers.

"How? Consider the points. Pakistan has been in surplus mode since 2009 after the PPP government, led by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) president Asif Ali Zardari, raised the support price bar from Rs400 to Rs1,000 per 40kg in a single strike," he recalled.

“This ushered into the safest era of food security in Pakistan. All went well till 2020. During this, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) criminally raised objection to such a higher price, which according to them, was a burden on the government in terms of storage and other factors,” he added.

Budh maintained the PTI government committed stupidity and exported the surplus amount giving a chance to the urban-based commerce players who feed on hoarding and price hike by creating a shortage and

PUNJAB ASSEMBLY SPEAKER CHAUHDRY PARVEZ ELAHI ALSO PUTS HIS WEIGHT BEHIND FARMERS’ DEMAND black market. "Pakistan is now importing the food staple," he lamented.

“The government, instead of raising support prices, should subsidise fertilisers and power for farmers so that farmers can better earn money with the current support price,” the wheat farmer suggested.

Many progressive farmers from Sindh and Punjab did not agree with Budh while maintaining that the said hike in support price was “insufficient” for them.

Syed Shahzad Rizvi, a large progressive wheat farmer from Layyah told Profit that the March spell of rain has wreaked havoc on wheat farms in Punjab and Sindh, leaving the farmers in trouble.

He demanded that the government should fix the wheat support price at Rs2,000 per 40kg as Rs1,650 per 40kg support price is peanuts for farmers as this would hardly cover the costs which have been incurred during the production of wheat crop.

“The government should also ensure that the wheat is only bought at the official support price. The

Weekly inflation falls 0.12pc

PESHAWAR

farmers' plight starts with the distribution of bardana or jute bags at official procurement centres,” he added.

Meanwhile, Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Parvez Elahi called for raising wheat support price to Rs2,000 per 40kg. Elahi said that farmers are responsible citizens of this county, their prosperity is the prosperity of the country as such the wheat support price should be as per their demand.

‘PARADOXICAL AGRICULTURE’: Syed Aqeel Haider, a progressive wheat farmer from Chiniot who moved to paradoxical agriculture years ago, said that it is about time that farmers of Pakistan shift to paradoxical agriculture as adopting this system would mitigate major challenges faced as it is a conclusive sustainable agriculture production system developed on natural processes of soil fertility and vegetation.

The paradoxical agriculture reduces the cost of production of farmers by 70pc and also reduces the use of fertiliser by 70pc in the first year and gradually drops it completely.

“Unfortunately, Pakistan’s current crop production system evolved without the understanding of the natural algorithm of soil fertility and vegetation,” he opined.

Haider maintained that we have the examples of developed countries where farmers have moved to paradoxical agriculture and are getting 100-115 mound per acre yield from wheat crops. But despite the fact that Pakistan is an agricultural economy our per acre yield is between 20-25 maund per acre.

Abu Dhabi to host energy roundtable of global CEOs

AZIZ BUNERI

ABU DHABI

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) wedding halls association on Saturday decided to protest against the government for closing wedding halls to stop the spread second wave of the coronavirus pandemic in the province. The association said that lockdowns have caused a Rs7 billion loss to the wedding hall industry and the association is not in a position to afford their work to stop. KP Hotel and Wedding Hall Association (KPHWHA) President Khalid Ayub told Profit that “the present government is bent on shutting down the wedding Halls industry across the province.” He added that earlier, they had shut down the industry for over six months on the federal and provincial government's request but the industry was not provided with any compensation. He complained that all other industries were compensated for losses but no relief was given to wedding hall owners, warning that the decision to close wedding halls will render thousands of people jobless across the province. “The provincial government and the district administration have decided to close wedding halls for marriages from November 20, which the association has rejected and will protest against it,” Ayub informed after the association meeting in Peshawar.

“If the district administration or the provincial government want to shut down the wedding halls industry again, thousands of people associated with the industry would be forced to protest against the government.” He claimed that there is not enough open space in the province to hold wedding ceremonies if indoor wedding ceremonies were banned. Ayub added that after the lockdown was lifted, the association implemented all SOPs provided by the government therefore there was no justification for the district administration to seal the wedding halls. He alleged that at present, the district administration is shutting down the industry across KP on a daily basis for ‘extortion’ under the guise of coronavirus SOPs violations. "If the government is imposing restrictions on wedding ceremonies to prevent the spread of coronavirus why is the administration not taking action against political rallies in different cities of the province?" he questioned. Khalid Ayub concluded by saying that said that employment opportunities in KP are scarce due to terrorism, adding that “the government is carrying out an economic massacre across the province.”

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company will convene a roundtable of 30 global chief executives in the energy industry on November 11 (Wednesday) to address issues critical to the sector following the Covid-19 pandemic. The invitation-only forum will provide a high-level platform for discussion on key issues including energy market dynamics and a postpandemic economic recovery. The latest edition of the Abu Dhabi CEO Roundtable will "build on the productive discussions at the last roundtable held in June”, Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Adnoc group chief executive and UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, said. The forum "will enable us to share perspectives on the role of the industry in the energy transition and how our industry can reinforce its resilience, operate more sustainably and remain competitive in a fast-evolving energy landscape,” he added. The sessions will be attended by CEOs from major global oil companies like Exxon Mobil, Occidental and BP. They will be moderated by energy historian and economist Daniel Yergin.

The forum will be held on the sidelines of the annual Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (Adipec), which takes place online this year in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. The roundtable "will tackle the critical question of resilience – both economic and physical – in the post-Covid world”, Mr Yergin said in a statement. The author of The Prize, which chronicles the boom and bust of the US shale basins and the predominance of oil in the global energy industry, has released a new book, The New Map: Energy, Climate, and the Clash of Nations. "The global oil industry has demonstrated remarkable resilience in seamlessly operating and delivering supplies to consumers worldwide in the face of both the massive Covid disruption and a demand requirement that is down only 10 per cent for the year, despite lockdowns,” he added. The theme for this year’s Adipec is Examining the Oil and Gas Industry's Response to Unparalleled Change. It will address current energy market dynamics and the implications Covid-19 has on energy transition. Abu Dhabi’s flagship energy event will take place over four days, beginning on Monday. and will feature more than 700 speakers participating in 135 online sessions.

Ministers speaking at the event include Dr Al Jaber, UAE Energy and Infrastructure Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei and Saudi Arabia’s energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman.

AGENCIES

ISLAMABAD TLTP

The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) based weekly inflation dipped 0.12pc for the week ended on November 5 as compared to the previous week. According to the latest data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the SPI for the combined consumption group was recorded at 142.81 points against 142.98 points registered in the previous week. However, the SPI for the combined consumption group during the week under review witnessed an increase of 8.93pc when compared with the corresponding week of last year.

The weekly SPI with base year 2015-16 covers 17 urban centres and 51 essential items for all expenditure groups. Weekly inflation for the lowest consumption group, up to Rs17,732, witnessed a 0.33pc decrease, from 151.34 points in the last week to 150.84 points during the week under review.

Meanwhile, the SPI for the consumption groups from Rs17,732-Rs22,888, Rs22,889Rs29,517; Rs29,518-Rs44,175; Rs29,518 to Rs44,175 and above Rs44,175 per month also decreased by 0.32pc, 0.23pc, 0.17pc and 0.03pc, respectively.

During the week, prices of 14 items decreased, 14 items increased while that of 23

items remained constant.

The items that recorded decrease in their average prices included tomatoes, wheat flour, moong pulse, sugar, petrol, gur, rice (Basmati broken), diesel, beef, rice (Irri 6/9), bananas, eggs, vegetable ghee and cooking oil.

The commodities, which recorded an increase in their average prices, included chicken, LPG cylinder, onions, garlic, potatoes, firewood, shirting, long cloth, washing soap, mash pulse, masoor pulse, milk (powdered), gram pulse and mustard oil.

Similarly, the prices of the commodities that observed no change during the week under review included bread, mutton, milk(fresh), curd, vegetable ghee, salt, chillies, tea (packet), cooked beef, cooked daal, tea (prepared), cigarettes, lawn, georgette, gents sandal, gents chappal, ladies sandal, electricity charges, gas charges, energy saver, matchbox, telephone call and toilet soap.

This decrease is mainly due to a fall in prices of food items including tomatoes (25.22pc), wheat flour (3.82pc), pulse moong (2.03pc), sugar (1.91pc), gur (1.20 pc), rice basmati broken (1.16pc), beef (0.60pc), rice irri (0.52pc), bananas (0.44pc), eggs (0.34pc), vegetable ghee 2.5kg (0.18pc) and cooking oil (0.16pc) and among non-food items petrol (1.46pc) and diesel (0.78pc).

China’s exports growth outpaces pre-pandemic levels BEIJING AGENCIES

China’s foreign trade boomed again in October, with exports surging at their fastest pace for 19 months and imports showing stable growth, as the world’s second-largest economy continues to rebound from the coronavirus pandemic.

Outbound shipments leapt 11.4 percent in dollar terms last month compared to a year earlier, and hit $237 billion, customs data released on Saturday shows. The unexpected jump exceeded analysts’ expectations and is higher than the already strong September numbers, which saw exports increase by nearly 10 percent.

China’s exports have risen for five consecutive months, while most other major

economies are still trying to mitigate the devastating impact of the virus. Imports into China slowed after September’s surprise increase of over 13 percent. Inbound shipments reached $179 billion last month, growing by 4.7 percent year on year and falling short of the expected rise of over eight percent.

Skyrocketing exports and cooling imports have only widened China’s trade surplus with the rest of the world, including the US, which was one of the reasons Washington started its simmering trade conflict with Beijing. Despite Beijing having accelerated its purchases of American goods, as required by the terms of the US-China trade deal, China’s trade surplus with the US jumped slightly to $31.37 billion in October, from $30.75 billion in September, and was up

around 19 percent year on year.

China’s booming exports have been driven by a strong demand for medical supplies, as well as for electronic equipment, owing to the shift to working from home amid the pandemic. However, analysts have warned that the resurgence of the virus around the globe, and renewed lockdowns in Europe, may cripple demand and eventually have a negative impact on China’s trade performance next month.

The world’s second-largest economy is expected to become the only one among its major peers to secure growth this year. After a dramatic plunge in the first three months of 2020, China’s gross domestic product returned to growth in the second quarter and further expanded from July to September, increasing by 3.2 percent and 4.9 percent respectively.

CMYK

Sunday, 8 November, 2020

10 FOREIGN NEWS

Guatemalan muDslIDes Push storm eta's Death toll near 150 GUATEMALA CITY

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AGENCIES

HE death toll from torrential downpours unleashed by storm Eta leapt as Guatemalan soldiers reached a mountain village where around 100 people were killed by a landslide, adding to dozens of other dead in Central America and Mexico.

Many of those who lost their lives in the village of Queja in the central Guatemalan region of Alta Verapaz were buried in their homes after mudslides swallowed around 150 houses, army spokesperson Ruben Tellez said.

The devastating weather front brought destruction from Panama to Honduras and Mexico, which between them have registered more than 50 flood-related deaths.

Tellez said it was not the first time disaster had struck the remote corner of Alta Verapaz. The area around Queja appeared to

be the site of a huge landslide on a road pass a decade ago, which killed dozens, he said.

“Now with all this phenomenon it collapsed again,” he added.

Photos of the Queja landslide showed a lengthy strip of brown mud peeled from the lush green hillside. A video shared by the army showed soldiers trying to get to Queja having to haul themselves through a morass of mud with the aid of a guide rope.

The army said about 100 people are believed to have died in Queja alone, though searches for survivors continue.

Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei hinted the death toll could be higher, with the number of dead and missing in Queja estimated at about 150.

Footage from another part of Guatemala showed boats ferrying villagers in flooded regions and rescue workers carrying children on their backs, wading through water up to their hips.

‘CATASTROPHIC FLOODING’: One

Ivory Coast opposition leader arrested for creating rival govt

of the fiercest storms to hit Central America in years, Eta on Friday dumped more torrential rain across swaths of Central America. The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned “catastrophic flooding” in the region would continue.

Rescue operations across Honduras and Guatemala have been slowed by destroyed roads and bridges, forcing authorities to bring in the military and use helicopters and speedboats to rescue people stranded on top of their houses.

“This is the worst storm Honduras has seen in decades. The damage will undoubtedly be significant,” said Mark Connolly, UNICEF representative in Honduras, who estimated about 1.5 million children there will be affected.

Across the border from Guatemala in the Mexican state of Chiapas, flooding has killed 19 people, many swept up by rivers whose banks burst, state authorities said.

North of Chiapas in Tabasco state, the

deluges killed two more people, the federal government said. In Honduras, flooding has killed 23 people and two are missing, the government said. Many remained trapped on their roofs, the National Risk Management System said.

“We have been without food for two days ... waiting to be evacuated,” William Santos, sheltering on top of a banana packing plant with about 300 people in northern Honduras, told Reuters.

Eta hit Nicaragua as a Category 4 hurricane on Tuesday blowing furious winds of 150 miles per hour (241 kph). It weakened to a tropical depression inland but the rain continued. Bad weather is hampering rescue efforts.

“We have a lot of people trapped we have not been able to reach,” said Guatemalan President Giammattei.

The devastation harked back to Hurricane Mitch, which killed some 10,000 people in Central America in 1998.

Air strikes in Ethiopia's Tigray region will continue, PM says

ABIDJAN AGENCIES

Ivory Coast opposition leader and former prime minister Pascal Affi N’Guessan was under arrest on Saturday for creating a rival government after President Alassane Ouattara’s election victory, his wife and a spokeswoman said. Ivorian prosecutors are pursuing terrorism charges against more than a dozen opposition leaders who boycotted the Oct. 31 vote in which Ouattara won a third term in office and announced they were creating a transitional council. The standoff has raised fears of protracted instability in the world’s top cocoa producer, whose disputed 2010 presidential election led to a brief civil war. More than 40 people have died in clashes before and since the latest vote. Affi was arrested overnight after the public prosecutor confirmed on Friday that he was being sought by the police, his wife, Angeline Kili, told Reuters. “I confirm that my husband was arrested during the night but I don’t know where he is right now,” she said. Genevieve Goetzinger, a spokeswoman for Affi, said on Twitter he was arrested in the southeastern town of Akoupe while en route to his hometown of Bongouanou. The police were not immediately available for comment. Affi served as prime minister from 2000-2003 under President Laurent Gbagbo, whose refusal to concede defeat to Ouattara after the 2010 election sparked a civil war which killed 3,000 people. The opposition claims Ouattara has violated the constitution by seeking a third term. Ouattara says approval of a new constitution in 2016 restarted his mandate and allowed him to run again.

ADDIS ABABA AGENCIES

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed vowed further air strikes after jets bombed the northern Tigray region on Friday amid reports that Tigrayan forces had seized control of federal military sites and weapons.

The military conflict, which has raised fears of civil war, broke out on Wednesday following weeks of tension over Tigray’s unilateral decision to elect a regional administration against Abiy’s wishes.

“Our operation aims to end the impunity that has prevailed for far too long and hold accountable individuals and groups under the laws of the land,” Abiy said on Twitter on Saturday.

He spoke as parliament in the capital, Addis Ababa, approved the for-

mation of an interim government for the region - a step aimed at denying the legitimacy of Tigray’s regional government.

The escalating conflict drew international calls for restraint as political analysts and diplomats warned that a slide into civil war would not only destabilise the country of 110 million people, but hurt the broader Horn of Africa region.

Abiy, who won last year’s Nobel Peace Prize, said he launched the air strikes after the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) attacked a federal military base and tried to steal equipment. He said “the last red line” had been crossed.

Civilians in the northern region should avoid “collateral damage” by not gathering outside as strikes would continue, Abiy said in a televised

speech late on Friday.

Diplomats, regional security officers and aid workers have said fighting is spreading in northwestern areas along Tigray’s border with the Amhara region, which is backing the federal government, and near the border with Sudan and Eritrea.

Sudan partially closed its border with Ethiopia due to the violence, state news agency SUNA reported on Saturday. Abiy said on Friday that government troops had seized control of the town of Dansha, near the border area, from the TPLF. His government cut phone and internet communications to the region, according to the digital rights group Access Now, making it impossible to verify official accounts. Government officials accused the TPLF of shutting down communications.

Delhi suffers from ‘severe’ air pollution for third straight day MUMBAI AGENCIES

Air quality in India’s capital New Delhi remained in the “severe” category for a third straight day on Saturday due to increased stubble fires and vehicle emissions, the country’s main environment monitoring agency said. The Air Quality Index (AQI) in Delhi state stood at 441 on a scale of 500, indicating “severe” conditions that are hazardous, according to the federal pollution control board’s guidance. Delhi’s air pollution typically worsens in October and November due to farmers burning off stubble, and on coal-fired power plants in surrounding states and traffic fumes. The air quality has worsened due to the unusually high fire emissions, and no quick recovery is expected unless a drastic reduction in fire counts takes place, SAFAR, India’s main environment monitoring agency, said in its daily bulletin.

“Air quality is forecast to stay at the severe to the higher end of very poor category for the next two days,” it added. Covid-19 cases have increased in Delhi due to the ongoing festival season with a record 7,178 cases being reported in the state on Friday, the highest by any state on the day. On Thursday, the Delhi government decided to ban firecrackers in the national capital and announced steep fines for any violations. Delhi has installed anti-smog guns at various locations across the state to spray water droplets into the air, to reduce the level of air pollution. There, however, have been calls for more stringent steps to address the pollution issue. Swadeshi Jagran Manch, a nationalist group close to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party, said green crackers made locally by nearly a million employed in the factories should be allowed at Diwali, the biggest festival for Hindus, instead of a blanket ban that will destroy the domestic industry. “Delhi’s air stays in severe category AQI. TIme for the govt to look at putting a stop to all construction activities, atleast for a week. Also thermal power plants in the immediate periphery of Delhi shd stop operating,” Vimlendu Jha, an environmentalist and founder of an activist group, Swechha, wrote on his twitter page.

Guinea court confirms President Conde's election to third term CONAKRY AGENCIES

Guinea’s top court on Saturday confirmed President Alpha Conde’s victory in last month’s election, rejecting accusations of fraud and handing him a third term his opponents say is unconstitutional. The 82year-old Conde’s campaign to change the constitution earlier this year in order to circumvent a two-term limit and subsequent candidacy in the Oct. 18 election sparked violent protests that killed dozens of people.

Spanish-language misinformation dogged Democrats in US election Spanish-language misinformation flourished online in the days surrounding the U.S. election, even as social media companies moved to stem falsehoods that could affect the vote or spark violence.

Spanish-language social media posts from online celebrities, radio commentators and others have repeatedly questioned the reliability of mail-in voting and falsely described presidential candidate Joe Biden as a socialist, according to Spanish-language disinformation experts and posts seen by Reuters.

Other postings have pushed QAnon in Spanish, a conspiracy theory that claims incumbent President Donald Trump is fighting a cabal of “deep state” sex-traffickers, and describe Biden as a “superpredator” or a “pedophile,” these people said.

Social media companies introduced new rules to crack down on election-related misinformation through labeling content, restricting its reach or removing it, but enforcement has been uneven.

While Alphabet Inc’s YouTube, Twitter Inc and Facebook Inc have all taken action against some false or misleading Spanish-

language posts, many more remain online and have continued to spread, Reuters found.

“On Facebook and the other platforms it takes them longer to flag and take action when the post is in Spanish than English,” said Daniel Acosta Ramos, an investigative researcher with First Draft, echoing a complaint voiced by four other experts who spoke with Reuters.

A Facebook spokeswoman declined to comment on the matter but said the company had taken multiple steps to combat misinformation in Spanish, including adding two new Spanish-language fact-checking partners before the election. She did not address a list of posts and videos shared by Reuters that appear to violate the company’s policies.

Social media researchers also expressed concern about the spread of misinformation on the WhatsApp messaging service.

Lisa Zayas, a progressive organizer in Florida, provided Reuters with examples of Spanish-language misinformation spread through multiple WhatsApp channels used in her local community. The memes and graphics paint a picture of a Democratic

challenger bent on passing laws “against” the church.

Misinformation on WhatsApp remains especially difficult to study or counter, since it involves private messages. Zayas said the examples she noticed typically originated on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube but were delivered within the chat app.

“There’s been other countries who’ve had democratic elections where there has been much more disinformation that is peerto-peer, specifically India and Brazil, because of the deep penetration of WhatsApp and so it is possible that it played a role [here],” said Alex Stamos, a former chief information security officer for Facebook.

A WhatsApp spokesman said a new policy limiting the forwarding of messages was an important tool in the misinformation fight.

‘SLAVES OF THE MATRIX’: Spanishspeaking voters are a key constituency in multiple battleground states and Biden’s support among those voters was lower than expected in some regions. In Florida, the Republican Trump won 45% of the Latino

vote, an 11-point improvement from 2016.

It is unclear whether such misinformation had any impact on the Latino vote, which is made up of diverse nationalities and interests, this year.

Avaaz, a global civic organization, said on Thursday it found at least 43 Spanish-language posts across social media promoting false narratives about the election. The content has generated more than 1.4 million social media interactions so far, it added. The group cited several examples, including two Facebook pages described as “news and media websites.”

Each is respectively named “Slaves of the Matrix” and “Mr.capacho en vivo” and boast more than 250,000 followers combined. Their posts regularly attract tens of thousands of viewers and thousands of comments and shares.

The two pages claimed Trump had won re-election, before the ballots were all counted, that Democrats were trying to steal votes, and warned of an impending social media blackout. Posts making the false claims did not receive a fact-check but con-

tained Facebook labels that directed users to “See Election Updates.”

Media intelligence firm Zignal Labs also told Reuters it had noticed a flurry of Spanish-language social media and internet forum posts connecting Biden to pedophilia in the run-up to Nov. 3. They were spread across multiple internet platforms analyzed by Zignal, including Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, Instagram, and amateur news blogs.

Zignal said it found more than 7,000 mentions containing a combination of the phrases “Biden” or “Hunter” and “pedófilo” on Election Day and more than 40,000 in the weeks preceding it. It captured another 12,596 mentions on Tuesday in Spanish referring to Biden stealing the election.

Many of the posts remain active and have not been removed.

YouTube removed two videos containing Spanish-langauge election misinformation that had racked up thousands of views after Reuters flagged them to a spokesperson, who said the company’s policies applied “consistently across all languages and regions.” AGENCIES

Sunday, 8 November, 2020

BaBaR leads Pakistan's Rout of ZimBaBwe in fiRst t20i ISLAMABAD

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APP

KIPPER Babar Azam’s 82 helped Pakistan defeat Zimbabwe in the first Twenty20 by six wickets at Pindi Stadium Rawalpindi on Saturday.

Pakistan achieved the target in 18.5 overs as Babar and Muhammad Hafeez provided an 80-run partnership off 56 balls for the third wicket. Hafeez went for 36 runs in 18.2 over went he got an inside edge on Blessing’s ball.

Hafeez and Babar reached the fifty run (53) partnership off 36 balls. Babar, who was declared man of the match, was downed by Tendai Chatara in the 17 over when he tried to heave the ball away over the midwicket but mistimed it and was taken by Wesley Madhevere at deep midwicket. Babar who led Pakistan from the front, scored 82 runs off 55 balls including nine 4s and a six.

Babar and Haider Ali also provided a 26-run partnership for the second wicket.

Haider (7) was edged by Richard Ngarava in the 7.5 over as he tried to play across the line but got the thick edge and was taken

by Taylor behind the stumps. Babar reached his fifty in the 10.1 over. Pakistan reached it’s 100 in the 12th over.

Pakistan started lucky as opener Fakhar Zaman was dropped by Chibhabha on 1.2 over when he was on six. He hit the first six for Pakistan in the 3.4 over to Blessing Muzarabani, but couldn’t carry on as was dismissed by Blessing on 19 runs. Pakistan’s 50 came in the sixth over.

Earlier, Zimbabwean Skipper Chamu Chibhabha who won the toss and chose to bat first, was the first to be sent to the pavilion on a duck in the first over by

Mohammad Hasnain. He was deemed lbw by the umpire but took a review and the replay showed that was hitting top of off stump.

Haris Rauf was the one to dismiss the danger man Brendan Taylor for 20 runs including three 4s in 4.1 over. He flicked the ball off his pads in the air and it went straight in the hands of Haider Ali. Usman Qadir the son of legendary Spin-Wizard Abdul Qadir didn’t take time to prove his mettle as took his maiden T20 wicket when he bold Sean Williams in the 9.2 over for 25. Pacer Wahab Raiz bagged

Real's Hazard and Casemiro test positive for coronavirus MADRID: Real Madrid's Belgian forward Eden Hazard and his Brazilian teammate Casemiro have both tested positive for coronavirus, the La Liga club announced on Saturday. "Real Madrid informs that our players, Casemiro and Eden Hazard, have tested positive in the Covid-19 tests undertaken yesterday, Friday, in the morning," the club said in a statement. "All of the other first-team players and coaching staff, as well as the club employees who work directly with the squad tested negative in yesterday's tests. "Meanwhile, all of them, apart from Casemiro and Hazard, once again tested negative in the antigen tests taken this morning." Neither player will feature in the side to take on Valencia on Sunday. Nor will they be able to join up with their respective national teams during the coming international window as both are required to go into isolation. AGENCIES

Sikandar Raza’s (7) wicket in the 10.5 over.

Haris struck again and took his second wicket when he bold Ryan Burl for 8 in the 1.3 over. Wahab took his second wicket of Elton Chigumbura (21) on the last ball of the first innings. Chigumbura was all set to retire from all forms of international cricket at the conclusion of the ongoing Pakistan tour. He was one of Zimbabwe’s most-capped players, having played 281 international matches – excluding the current series – in which he made 5761 runs and took 138 wickets.

For Zimbabwe Wesley Madhevere was

the pick of the batsman as he remained not out scoring 70 runs off 48 balls including nine 4s and a six which helped his team to put a decent total on the scoreboard of 156 runs for six.

Both teams would play the remaining T20s on November 8 and 10 at Rawalpindi. Earlier Pakistan clinched the three-match ODI against Zimbabwe series by 2-1. Pakistan won the first ODI by 26 runs while defeated Zimbabwe by six wickets in the second. However, Zimbabwe defeated the Green-shirts in the last ODI in a nerve-racking super over.

Elton Chigumbura to retire from int’l cricket after Pakistan series NEWS DESK One of Zimbabwe cricket's most storied careers will draw to a close at the end of the current tour of Pakistan, with Elton Chigumbura announcing his retirement following the T20I series. The former Zimbabwe captain, now 34, played 213 ODIs for Zimbabwe, more than anyone apart from the Flower brothers Andy and Grant, and scored 4289 runs. In addition, he has played 54 T20Is (before the series against Pakistan), scoring 852 runs at a strike rate of 142.71.

Once a medium-pace-bowling allrounder who became a frontline batsman in the latter stages of his career, Chigumbura will be remembered as

Zimbabwe's best power-hitter of his time. He made his debut in international cricket in 2004 after the exodus of an upheaval in Zimbabwe cricket, at the end of which a number of rebels left the cricket set-up, and quickly established for himself a permanent place in the middle order. A 90-ball 77 against Australia in just his sixth ODI further boosted his credentials - he had played a starring role with the ball in an Under-19 World Cup win against them a few months earlier - and a couple of decent innings in the Champions Trophy in England cemented his place in the team.

Zimbabwe, and Chigumbura, may look back wistfully at a career where his batting never quite moved up to the

level his talent may have warranted, but he was always capable of big-hitting, which made him dangerous lower down the order. He also played his part in some of Zimbabwe's most famous moments. An unbeaten 52 in a win over Australia was a highlight, as were backto-back hundreds against Pakistan and India in 2015.

He had his moments in T20 cricket, too, a format that, on the surface, suited him to the tee. His most famous innings came against India, a stunning 26-ball 54, 42 of which came in sixes, as his side eked out a memorable two-run win. A 21-ball 53 against the UAE at the 2014 World T20 was similarly destructive, but far too many knocks failed to translate into wins for the side.

SPORTS 11 PSL 2020 wasim akram to coach karachi kings following dean Jones' death NEWS DESK Former Pakistani cricketer Wasim Akram on Saturday confirmed that he will be serving as the interim head coach of the Karachi Kings over the remainder of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2020 this month. The Sultan of swing, in a live video conference on YouTube with Cricslab, said that Jones cannot be replaced and will be immensely missed during the remaining PSL matches, but admitted that he will be "helping" the franchise. He said: "I am not taking Jones’s place as Kings’ head coach. I mean he will be missed throughout and we will leave his seat in our dressing room with his name.” The Kings, who qualified for the playoffs courtesy of their second-place finish in the round-robin stage, lost their coach Dean Jones, who died from a heart attack last month in India.

Remembering Jones for his remarkable cricket sense and professionalism, the left-arm pacer said: “He was a great buddy of mine. I know how he advocated for Pakistan across the world.

He talked about Pakistan’s cricket, food, talent, and hospitality everywhere in the world.” “I believe he was a great human being and as a coach he was brilliant. No coach in this world can take his place ever,” Akram concluded. He also hoped that the amount of experience on the Kings roster means that he won't have to do much. "With Imad Wasim as captain, current Pakistan captain Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan being there, Iftikhar Ahmed being there, Mohammad Amir being there - all these guys are such thorough professionals. I will just have to organise and hopefully, that won't be that difficult,” he added.

djokovic clinches sixth year-end no. 1 ranking to tie sampras Novak Djokovic has sealed the year-end men’s world number one tennis ranking for the sixth time to go level with childhood hero Pete Sampras after closest rival Rafael Nadal opted against playing in the ATP Tour event in Sofia next week. Spain’s 20-time Grand Slam champion Nadal, ranked second, was the only player who had a chance to stop the Serbian from finishing as the top-ranked player in 2020.

“Pete was somebody I looked up to when I was growing up, so to match his record is a dream come true” Djokovic said in an ATP statement.

“I will also keep striving to be a better player, hopefully have more success and break more records in a sport I love with all my heart.”

During the year Djokovic won the ATP Cup in January before picking up a record-extending eight Australian Open Grand Slam in Melbourne. He also won the Cincinnati Masters and a record 36th ATP Masters title in Rome. In September Djokovic also overtook American Pete Sampras, who ended as No. 1 for six straight years between 1993 and 1998, for the most weeks overall at the top ranking and will begin his 294th week in first spot on Monday.

The 33-year-old Djokovic, the winner of 17 Grand Slam titles, has mentioned that Roger Federer’s record of 310 weeks as No. 1 remains his target and he will have a chance to move past the Swiss on March 8 if he can hold on to his top spot. AGENCIES

Man City, Liverpool's fallibilities promise wide open title race LONDON AGENCIES

For the past three years Manchester City and Liverpool have dominated the Premier League to an extent never seen before in English football.

But after three seasons in which the title winner has averaged 99 points, neither side carries the same fear factor in an unpredictable campaign that offers a series of challengers hope of winning the league.

Defending champions Liverpool still head to City on Sunday top of the table.

But Jurgen Klopp's men have already dropped more points in seven games than they did in their opening 27 in romping to the title last season.

Of more lasting damage to their title credentials, the Reds have also lost the towering presence of defender Virgil van Dijk at the least the majority of what remains of the season. Even when the giant Dutchman was still present, Liverpool suffered a historic 7-2 humiliation to Aston Villa a month ago that leaves them with still the worst defensive

record in the league.

"So many things are different this year," said Klopp on Friday in a season where a packed schedule and empty stadiums appears to be levelling the playing field. "Nothing is to compare with last year. Nothing is to compare with the year before.

"We just have to make sure we get through very intense periods, line up the fittest players and play the best football we can. In this case it is against Man City, which is obviously one of the most difficult games to play in the world." Fitness issues have also contributed to City's shaky start. After a two-week long pre-season due to their Champions League commitments in August, Pep Guardiola's men won just two of their opening five league games, including a 5-2 thrashing at home to Leicester.

Injuries to Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus have left City often without a natural striker, while Aymeric Laporte, Riyad Mahrez and Ilkay Gundogan also missed matches due to positive coronavirus tests.

City start the weekend down in 10th, albeit just five points off Liverpool and with a

game in hand.

TOO EARLY TO CALL: Both have steadied the ship in recent weeks and remain bookies favourites to fight for the title.

But they face stiff competition with Chelsea and Tottenham significantly strengthening for a title challenge, while Guardiola warned of the threat posed by Leicester and Arsenal.

"They (Liverpool) are the biggest favourite, but I think what happened with the pandemic this season is different, so I see other teams really strong," said Guardiola.

Yet, the mutual respect between the two managers mean they continue to see each other as the biggest threat for the title.

Guardiola admitted earlier this year that Klopp's Liverpool are "the toughest rival I have faced in my career." But City have never lost at home to Liverpool in the league since the Catalan arrived in Manchester, including a 4-0 thrashing of the newly-crowned champions when they last met in July.

Clashes between the two have gone a long way to settling the destiny of the title in recent years. After an uncertain start to the

CMYK

season, City's 5-0 triumph over a 10-man Liverpool in September 2017 was the second of an 18-match winning run that catapulted them towards a record 100 Premier League points. A thrilling 2-1 win for Guardiola's side in January 2019 was Liverpool's only

defeat of the season in which they still missed out on the title despite amassing 97 points.

Last season it was Liverpool's 3-1 success early in the campaign that opened up a nine-point lead between the sides that City never recovered from.

Sunday, 8 November, 2020

PrAyEr TImINGS

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IrAn urgEs nExT us AdmInIsTrATIon To lEArn from sAncTIons TEHRAN

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AGENCIES

RAN'S President Hassan Rouhani said Saturday he hoped the next US administration will have learnt that sanctions cannot make Tehran bow to American policy.

US President Donald Trump, who appears to be on the verge of having lost Tuesday's election to challenger Joe Biden, has applied a "maximum pressure" policy and punishing sanctions against Iran since his 2018 withdrawal from a landmark nuclear agreement with Iran.

"We hope the three-year experience will be a lesson for America's next administration to abide by laws and regulations and return to its commitments," Rouhani said in a televised speech.

"Our people have faced economic terrorism for the past three years." Rouhani said Iran would "continue its resistance and patience until the other side bows before laws and regulations".

The Islamic republic hoped that "those imposing sanctions realise their path was

wrong and that they will not achieve their goals in any way". Iranian officials have said they will focus on the policies of the next US administration rather than who becomes president.

Tehran has also stressed that a possible US return to the nuclear agreement would have to be accompanied by compensation

Bomb attack kills former Afghan TV presenter

for damages caused by the withdrawal and a "guarantee" it will not be repeated.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Tuesday that the US election would have "no effect" on Tehran's policies towards Washington.

Biden has said he plans to embark on a "credible path to return to diplomacy"

with Iran if he wins the presidency and raised the possibility of returning to the 2015 nuclear deal, negotiated when he was vice president under Barack Obama.

The policy of "maximum pressure has reached its end, and contrary to Trump's expectations, Iran has not crumbled", government spokesman Ali Rabiei wrote Saturday in the state daily Iran. "Whatever administration comes to power ... (it) has no (more) sanctions left to impose," he said.

Rabiei called on the next US president to "attempt to dismantle the structure which Trump created" and return to a "reasonable policy". Most of Iran's daily newspapers covered the US presidential election on their Saturday front pages.

"Spectacular America!" mocked the ultraconservative Kayhan, saying "the country which calls itself the global role model of democracy has entered a period of political, security and social instability".

Aftab-e Yazd, a reformist paper, however, predicted "less surprises in foreign policy and things will be more predictable" without Trump. "Of course, being predictable does not equal being positive," it added.

Heavy fighting near key town in Karabakh YEREVAN AGENCIES

KABUL: A former Afghan television presenter and two other civilians were killed in a Kabul bombing on Saturday, in an attack officials blamed on a group linked to the Taliban. Yama Siawash was killed when a bomb attached to his vehicle exploded near his home in the Afghan capital, police spokesman Ferdaws Faramarz told journalists.

The murder of Siawash comes amid a rise in violence across the country even as the Taliban and Afghan government engage in peace talks in Qatar to end the country's grinding war.

Siawash, who recently joined Afghanistan's central bank as an adviser, used to be a prominent political and current affairs presenter with Tolo News, the country's biggest private TV channel, known for his hard-hitting interview style.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack, but the interior ministry blamed the Haqqani network, a group linked to the Taliban.

"Such targeted attacks and explosions of sticky bombs is the continuation of crimes by Haqqani network and the Taliban," Tariq Arian, spokesman for the ministry, told reporters. Washington has listed the Haqqani network as a terrorist group.

Siawash's death drew immediate condemnation from senior Afghan officials and foreign diplomats. "I am shocked at the killing of former Tolo News anchor Yama Siawash," Ross Wilson, US charge d'affaires in Kabul, said on Twitter.

"This attack is an assault on freedom of the press, one of Afghanistan's core democratic principles." Abdullah Abdullah, who heads the country's overall peace and reconciliation process, also said Siawash's murder targeted freedom of expression in Afghanistan. "This is an unforgivable and unforgettable crime," he said in a statement. AGENCIES

Armenia reported Saturday that "fierce combat" with Azerbaijani forces took place overnight near the town of Shusha, a key stronghold in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

After weeks of heavy fighting over the mountainous province, Azerbaijan appears to be closing in on the strategic town, 15 kilometres (nine miles) from Karabakh's main city Stepanakert.

The hilltop town of Shusha is located on a main road that links the unrecognised republic's capital with the territory of Armenia, which backs the separatists fighting for Karabakh's independence.

Armenian defence ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanyan reported

"especially intensive and fierce combat" overnight outside Shusha, adding that numerous attacks from Azerbaijan were thwarted. Armenia also said that throughout the night there was regular shelling on Shusha, home to an iconic Armenian cathedral that was damaged in attacks last month.

The Azerbaijani Defence Ministry rejected this claim saying the information of shelling on Shusha is "completely untrue".

Clashes broke out late September between Azerbaijan and Armeniabacked separatists over control of Karabakh, a region that proclaimed its independence from Baku during a war in the 1990s. The recent flare-up has been the worst in decades, killing more than 1,000 people, including civilians, although the death toll is believed to be

much higher.

The fighting has continued despite several attempts by Russia, France and the United States to help reach a lasting ceasefire. Those three countries make up the Minsk group of mediators which helped broker a truce between the exSoviet rivals in 1994 but are yet to find a lasting solution to the long-simmering conflict. Both sides have accused the other of targeting civilian areas and the United Nations this week decried indiscriminate attacks that could amount to "war crimes".

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has appealed to ally Russia for military support, while Azerbaijan has won the backing of Turkey, which is accused of sending mercenaries to Karabakh to fight against the separatists.

IMF extends $320m credit facility to Afghanistan WASHINGTON TLTP

The International Monetary Fund approved the extension of $320 million in credit to Afghanistan to help the country navigate the health crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and a post-pandemic economic recovery.

The 42-month arrangement will help the Central Asian country “anchor economic reforms and catalyse donor financing”, the fund said in a statement. The latest amount disbursed is equivalent to 80 percent of Afghanistan’s quota and will “support the authorities’ economic reform programme" aimed at preserving macroeconomic stability and reversing the fiscal devastation caused by the pandemic.

“The Covid-19 pandemic continues to weigh heavily on Afghanistan’s economy and livelihoods. The authorities’ determined response and expedient donor support have prevented a humanitarian crisis. However, the pan-

demic has set back progress toward self-reliance,” said Mitsuhiro Furusawa, deputy managing director and acting chair of the IMF executive board. Kabul will receive around $115m in immediate funding, with the remainder to be phased in over the period of the IMF programme, pending semi-annual reviews. The extended credit facility will also help preserve Afghanistan’s "macro-financial stability and support sustainable growth and poverty reduction”, Mr Furusawa added.

Domestic revenue mobilisation, underpinned by tax and customs administration reforms, will be key to protecting development spending and will form the basis for a stronger social safety net, he added. In May, the IMF extended $220m in emergency assistance for Afghanistan to help the country cope with the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. The amount was directed to help Afghan authorities plug an urgent balance of payments gap in 2020 and fund pandemic-related spending on health and social relief.

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Turkey's Erdogan ousts central bank governor as lira slides ANKARA/ISTANBUL: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan fired central bank governor Murat Uysal on Saturday and replaced him with ex-finance minister Naci Agbal, acting after a 30pc plunge in the lira currency’s value to record lows this year. The decision to replace Murat Uysal gives Turkey its fourth central bank governor in five years and could stoke longstanding criticism about political interference in monetary policy. The presidential decree was announced in the early hours Saturday in Turkey’s Official Gazette and gave no reason for the surprise move. But several officials close to the matter said Uysal was held responsible for the nosedive of the lira, the worst performer in emerging markets this year. “The rise in the exchange rate really exceeded expectations very rapidly. Some steps were expected to have an impact, but that didn’t happen,” one senior official said. Analysts said that while Agbal is a close Erdogan ally, he is seen as a capable manager who could take a more orthodox approach to policy. That could ease concerns that have driven Turks to snap up hard currencies at record levels. “Uysal’s leadership had been utterly disastrous. Agbal cannot be worse, surely. He had a reputation as a decent technocrat,” Timothy Ash at BlueBay Asset Management said on Twitter. “Agbal is actually qualified for the job.” The lira has continued to slide on concerns over the central bank’s depleted FX reserves, negative real rates, monetary independence, and the risk of Western sanctions over Turkish foreign and defence policies. Analysts also fear US-Turkish relations may come under more strain if Democrat Joe Biden defeats President Donald Trump in last Tuesday’s closely fought election, where the vote count has not been completed but is tilting Biden’s way. Turkey, a G20 country and the largest economy in the Middle East, roared back from a recession last year on the back of surging domestic lending and state support for the lira - until it was hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. The lira closed at 8.5445 against the dollar on Friday after touching a record low of 8.58, despite dollar weakness as votes were still being counted in the US election. Erdogan had appointed then-deputy governor Uysal to head the central bank in July 2019 after sacking predecessor Murat Cetinkaya, saying the bank had not cut interest rates to boost the economy. AGENCIES

Egypt holds second stage of parliament election CAIRO: Egyptians began voting Saturday in the second phase of a parliamentary election in which supporters of President Abdel Fattah alSisi are expected to win. Some 63 million of Egypt's more than 100 million people are eligible to elect 568 of the 596 lawmakers in the lower house, widely seen as a rubberstamp body for executive policies. The remaining deputies will be appointed by Sisi, a former general, whose government over the past six years has launched a severe crackdown on dissent, targeting journalists, bloggers, lawyers and intellectuals. The first phase of voting took place last weekend in 14 governorates including the Mediterranean city of Alexandria and the south of Egypt. The second and final phase, which wraps up on Sunday evening, is being held in 13 governorates, including Cairo, the Nile Delta and the Suez Canal. The new parliament will be the second to convene under Sisi, who took office in 2014 after leading the military's ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi the previous year. The outgoing legislature, elected in 2015, was packed with Sisi supporters and featured only a small opposition bloc known as 25/30. AGENCIES

UAE announces relaxing of Islamic laws for personal freedoms DUBAI AGENCIES

The United Arab Emirates announced on Saturday a major overhaul of the country’s Islamic personal laws, allowing unmarried couples to cohabitate, loosening alcohol restrictions and criminalising so-called “honor killings.”

The broadening of personal freedoms reflects the changing profile of a country that has sought to bill itself as a Westernised, skyscraper-studded destination for tourists, fortune-seekers and businesses despite its Islamic legal code.

The reforms aim to boost the country’s

economic and social standing and “consolidate the UAE’s principles of tolerance,” state-run WAM news agency reported. The announcement follows a historic US-brokered deal to normalise relations between the UAE and Israel, which is expected to bring an influx of Israeli tourists and investment.

The changes also reflect the efforts of the Emirates’ rulers to keep pace with a rapidly changing society at home. “I could not be happier for these new laws that are progressive and proactive,” said Emirati filmmaker Abdallah Al Kaabi, whose art has tackled taboo topics like homosexual love and gender identity.

“2020 has been a tough and transformative

year for the UAE,” he added. Changes include scrapping penalties for alcohol consumption, sales and possession for those 21 and over. The government decrees behind the changes were announced on WAM and detailed in the statelinked newspaper The National.

Although liquor and beer is widely available in bars and clubs in the UAE’s luxuriant coastal cities, individuals previously needed a government-issued license to purchase, transport or have alcohol in their homes. The new rule would apparently allow Muslims who have been barred from obtaining licenses to drink alcoholic beverages freely.

Another amendment allows for “cohabitation of unmarried couples,” which has

long been a crime in the UAE. Authorities, especially in the more freewheeling financial hub of Dubai, rarely enforced the law when it came to foreigners, but the threat of punishment still lingered for such behavior.

In a move to better “protect women’s rights,” the government said it also decided to get rid of laws defending “honour crimes,” a widely criticised tribal custom in which a male relative may evade prosecution for assaulting a woman seen as dishonoring a family. The punishment for a crime committed to eradicate a woman’s “shame,” for promiscuity or disobeying religious and cultural strictures, will now be the same for any other kind of assault.

In a country where expatriates outnumber cit-

izens nearly nine to one, the amendments will permit foreigners to avoid Islamic courts on issues like marriage, divorce and inheritance.

Traditional Islamic values remain strong in the federation of seven desert sheikhdoms.

The reforms said nothing of other behavior deemed insulting to local customs that has landed foreigners in jail in the past, such as acts of homosexuality, cross-dressing and public displays of affection. The reforms come as the UAE gets ready to host the World Expo. The high-stakes event is planned to bring a flurry of commercial activity and some 25 million visitors to the country after it was pushed back a year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

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