EpaperLHR_21-03-10

Wednesday, 10 March, 2021 I 25 Rajab, 1442 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XI No 251 I 12 Pages I Lahore Edition

PDM Calls Pti's bluff; fielDs HaiDeri for senate DePuty CHairMan slot g

Pml-n leader SayS move aImed aT CreaTIng rIfT In oPP allIanCe ISLAMABAD

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he ruling coalition led by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Tuesday made an apparent attempt to create a wedge between the opposition alliance of Pakistan democratic movement (Pdm) by offering the slot of deputy chairman of Senate to a nominee of jamiat ulema-e-Islamfazl (juI-f) but the party’s top leadership foiled the plan.

The offer was made by defence minister Pervez khattak who lured sen-

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PTI may fIeld SenaTor ejaz Chaudhry for CoveTed SloT

ior juI-f leader maulana abdul ghafoori haideri during a meeting with Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani. haideri initially looked flattered and said that he even did not know he was named a candidate by the Pdm. however, the juI-f later rejected the offer, calling it a trap. a source told Pakistan Today that haideri changed his stance on PTI’s offer following being admonished by the Pdm chief maulana fazlur rehman. haideri later condemned the offer and said that the defence minister should have brought the matter up in public.

earlier, khattak and haideri spoke to media after a meeting with Senate chairman. “I offered haideri Sahib to become our deputy chairman [in the] Senate,” khattak said, but haideri did not react. “are you nominated for the office of Senate deputy chairman?” a journalist asked haideri who responded that he had not been formally informed by the Pdm. “Sadiq Sanjrani sahib is our chairman for now and we meet occasionally,” he said and added that he did not know who will be the chairman after march 12.

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Imran pushes for transparent polls to ensure fair elections g

Pm SeekS eleCTronIC voTIng for PakISTanI naTIonalS abroad

ISLAMABAD staff report

observing that electronic voting was essential to ensure transparency and enable millions of Pakistan nationals living abroad to vote in the next

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regreTS fraud PraCTICeS In SenaTe eleCTIonS

general elections, Prime minister Imran khan on Tuesday directed his cabinet to prepare a feasibility study on electronic voting machines (evm) on a priority basis.

Chairing a meeting of the cabinet, the prime minister said: “We need to use evm technology for transparent elections and I want regular updates on it.”

“The country cannot bear the kind of elections which were held in the past,” he added. “necessary steps should be taken to end corrupt practices in elections as witnessed in the Senate polls.”

Tuesday’s address comes days after Pm Imran, after winning a trust vote on Saturday, vowed to pursue electoral reforms.

“We are bringing modern technology in elections for a transparent election process. We have decided to use evms in the future. It is important to use them to counter the voter fraud claims made by the losing candidates. We are also working on putting up a system so that the overseas Pakistanis can cast their votes,” he had said.

during his address on Tuesday, Imran also directed the cabinet members to draw up a plan for the purchase of evms, saying he wanted to avoid any excuses of “we’re not prepared for this technology” when the time to use the machines comes.

The prime minister also mentioned a “frightening report” by the financial accountability, Transparency, and Integrity (faCTI) panel, a un transparency watchdog.

The report revealed that every year $1 trillion is transferred from poor economies to rich countries and tax havens through money laundering. “money belonging to poor countries, stolen through corruption, is lying in tax havens,” it said. he said that the ruling elites and officeholders of such countries have to send the ill-gotten wealth abroad otherwise it becomes noticeable.

“They do this by weakening the institutions responsible for monitoring money laundering and illicit financial flows.

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Joint resolution demands interim provincial status for GB g

In november, Pm Imran had announCed hIS governmenT Would gIve ProvISIonal ProvInCIal STaTuS To The regIon GILGIT staff report

gilgit-baltistan (gb) assembly on Tuesday unanimously adopted a resolution demanding provisional provincial status and representation in parliament for the semi-autonomous region.

The resolution was tabled jointly by the region’s Chief minister khalid khurshid khan and education minister raja azam khan, both from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), gb assembly opposition leader amjad hussain advocate from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), assembly member ghulam muhammad from the Pakistan muslim league-nawaz (Pml-

n), majlis Wahdat-i-muslimeen (mWm) leader muhammad kazim, jamiat-e-ulema-e-Islam-fazl (juI-f) leader rehmat khaliq.

The resolution sought to amend the Constitution to declare the region a provisional province of Pakistan “without causing any damage to the country’s stance on the kashmir dispute”.

“This house reiterates that the people of gb will continue their moral and political support to the people of Indian-occupied kashmir in their struggle. The resolution was passed by the house unanimously.”

The gb assembly secretariat also forwarded a copy of the resolution to the Prime minister’s Secretariat.

more inside

Senior citizens’ vaccination starts today as 54 more die of Covid-19 STORY ON PAGE 03

Cabinet approves proposed reforms in Soes STORY ON BACK PAGE

Govt proposes income tax exemption for lowcost housing, hydropower projects, oil refineries STORY ON PAGE 05

Coronavirus in

Pakistan

CONFIRMED CASES:

593,453

LAST UPDATED AT 7:40 AM ON MARCH 9, 2021

DAY'S DEATH TOLL:

54

RECOVERED:

In november, Prime minister Imran khan announced the government will give provisional provincial status to the region.

“We have made a decision to grant provisional provincial status to gilgit-baltistan, which has long been the demand here,” he had said in a speech.

The prime minister had said the decision was within the scope of the un Security Council (unSC) resolutions on kashmir.

While he gave no time-frame for

its implementation, such a move would require a constitutional amendment passed by two-thirds of the national assembly. gilgit-baltistan, which borders afghanistan and China, is the gateway of the $65 billion China-Pakistan economic Corridor (CPeC) infrastructure plan. but the region has so far reaped few rewards. locals fought pro-India forces and opted to join Pakistan in 1948.

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NEW CASES:

1,353 DEATHS:

563,823 13,281 SINDH:

PUNJAB:

KP:

BALOCHISTAN:

AJK/GB:

ISLAMABAD:

259,956 178,648 74,167 10,626/4,959

19,121

45,976

02

Wednesday, 10 March, 2021

LAHORE

NEWS

SeNAte pASSeS reSolutioN to proteCt woMeN riGhtS ISLAMABAD

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HE Senate on Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution expressing the resolve to protect the constitutional rights of women and safeguard their right to decision-making in all areas of life.

The Senate began its session on Tuesday

with Chairman Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani in the chair.

The resolution, moved by Senate Seemee Ezdi, called for placing women’s inclusion and representation at the centre of national legislation and policies to build a more just and equal world and ushering into 2021 in a better normal for women and girls.

It acknowledged Pakistani women in all roles and all around the world making

Foreigner sustains injuries in firing incident

the nation proud and contributing towards an empowered and inclusive world. It said that the Covid-19 pandemic demonstrated the importance of women’s leadership in promoting and ensuring that the perspectives of women and girls in all of their diversity, are reflected in pandemic preparedness and response as well as in the formulation and implementation of policies and programmes in all spheres

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A foreigner sustained minor injuries while a passerby was also injured in a firing incident in the Baghdadi area of the megalopolis on Tuesday. According to police, a Chinese national identified as Jason s/o Yahoo sustained minor injuries due to the glass break of his vehicle in firing near DMC School, Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai Road, Lyari, by two unidentified assailants riding a motorbike, while a passer-by was also injured due to gunshots. The injured passerby was identified as Khalid, s/o Sher Muhammad, age 40 years. He was shot in the stomach and hand. The injured were shifted to Civil Hospital Karachi for treatment. Deputy Inspector General of Police (South) Javed Akbar Riaz said that the Chinese national was in the area during a visit, along with his driver and interpreter, when his vehicle was attacked by unknown assailants. He said according to preliminary investigations the incident seemed to be a targeted attack. He said that shells of 9mm pistol were found from the crime scene, which was being sent for forensic. The vehicle belonged to Sindh Solid Waste Management Board. Earlier in December, Police and security officials disarmed a bomb planted on the car of a Chinese restaurant owner in Karachi’s posh Clifton locality near Bilawal House.

A student of the University of Sindh, who was forcibly taken from his hostel on February 10, was shot dead in an alleged police encounter on Sunday in Sukkur district. Activists and peers of the deceased have taken to social media to raise hue and cry over the incident, while the police have claimed that the student, 25-year-old Irfan Jatoi, was part of a car lifting gang.

The alleged encounter took place on the National Highway in the limits of Jhangro Police Station. The police claimed that three of Jatoi’s accomplices escaped.

“The police received a tip-off that

JIBRAN NASIR URGES SINDH CM TO ADDRESS THE INCIDENT some outlaws have been seen…with the noticeable intent of committing a robbery,” said Senior Superintendent (SSP) Sukkur Irfan Samo.

Jatoi’s family have maintained his innocence since his abduction and had filed a petition in the Jamshoro district and sessions court a day after he was allegedly picked up by the police from the hostel.

When the police were summoned

NewS DeSK Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has expressed his pleasure over the announcement of PDM panel for the chairman and deputy chairman Senate election scheduled for 12th March. Bilawal felicitated Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani and Abdul Ghafoor Haideri on their nomination as PDM candidates for the position of chairman and deputy chairman respectively. He said that the democratic forces are united against this incapable and incompetent government. He added that Gillani’s success is in fact a victory of the people of Pakistan.

AIMAL WALI CALLS ON ZARDARI, BILAWAL: Awami National Party (ANP) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chapter President Aimal Wali Khan called on the former president Asif Ali Zardari and the PPP chief Bilawal at Zardari House Islamabad on Tuesday evening. Zardari and Bilawal enquired about the health of ANP President Asfandyar Wali and wished him early recovery. Current political situation in the country was also discussed in the meeting as well as the matters involving opposition’s long march against the government.

before the court, they pled ignorance about any arrest. However, the family maintained that Jatoi has been missing for three weeks and the police are demanding bribes for his release.

Reacting to the killing, Lahori academic Dr Ammar Ali Jan said that he was shocked to hear of the incident and any “silence would mean complicity” on part of the Sindh government.

Similarly, activist and lawyer Jibran

Abbasi claims Imran trust vote aided by ‘certain quarters’ ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

Gillani’s success victory of people: Bilawal

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Tuesday said the vote of confidence that Prime Minister Imran Khan won was “ensured” by “certain institutions”. Talking to reporters in Islamabad, the former prime minister conceded that “horsetrading did take place during Senate elections” but said that “limits were crossed” to secure the trust of the parliament.

Imran, he said, did not win the confidence but was handed over the vote by the institutions. “It happened to the members of the government, not the opposition,” he added.

Abbasi hinted he was considering writing a letter to Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar, the chief military spokesperson, who he said had denied the military’s involvement in politics.

“We had said at the time that time will tell [whether

or not it’s true]. What happened during the Senate elections and the confidence vote was complete opposite [to what he had said],” he said. “Today, the parliamentary system in the country has come to a standstill.”

On Saturday, Prime Minister Imran won the vote of confidence from the National Assembly in a special session marked by an opposition boycott of the vote and clashes between Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters and opposition leaders outside the assembly building. He secured 178 votes, against the 172 required to win confidence. Imran volunteered to seek the MPs’ confidence after Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh lost the high-profile Senate seat election to opposition candidate Yousaf Raza Gillani. Opposition parties insisted the Senate defeat was enough to show that Imran no longer enjoyed the confidence of the House, and the vote of confidence was unnecessary.

Constitution protects rights of religious minorities, sacred places: Alvi ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

President Dr Arif Alvi on Tuesday said the government was taking necessary measures to protect the rights of minorities as well as ensure the security of their sacred places. He said the Constitution provided full protection and equal rights, and guaranteed fundamental rights for all citizens irrespective of their religion, race, caste, colour or creed.

Alvi made these remarks while speaking to members of the National Commission of Minorities (NCM), chaired by Chela Ram Kewlani, at the President House.

Talking to members of the commission, the president said that the government provided equal rights and opportunities to minorities and encouraged them to play their role in the national development of the country.

He said that steps were being taken to ensure the protection of churches, shrines, temples, gurdwaras and other places of worship of minority communities.

PTI members seen in Ali Haider Gillani video should be party to the case: ECP ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) observed that the lawmakers of the incumbent government that were seen in the recent scandal video should have been involved in the case proceedings related to the disqualification of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) senator-elect.

The ECP took up a petition today filed

by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) seeking early hearing of its request for disqualification of senator-elect Yousaf Raza Gillani.

During the hearing on the matter of former premier’s son Ali Haider Gillani’s video scandal, PTI lawyer Barrister Ali Zafar, Parliamentary Leader for Railways Farrukh Habib and member of National Assembly (MNA) Kanwal Shauzab appeared before the commission and

in all walks of life.

Earlier, the House offered Fateha for the departed souls of female workers hailing from Bannu who were killed by unknown assailants in North Waziristan. The house also prayed for the departed souls of those, who died of Covid-19. Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri led the Fateha.

The House will now meet on Wednesday at 10:30 am.

Public outrage: abducted student killed, accused of being criminal NewS DeSK

KARACHI

and at all stages of pandemic response and recovery.

The resolution recognised the role of women as frontline warriors in the battle against Covid-19 in their capacity as political leaders, health workers, scientists, doctors and caregivers. It paid homage to the political, economic and cultural achievements of Pakistani women and girls, who are contributing their best

recorded their arguments.

Barrister Ali Zafar claimed that rigging was carried out during the Senate polls through money and party tickets. Evidence of rigging was found a day before the elections, he told.

“Had the polls been transparent, [PTI candidate] Hafeez Sheikh would have won by a wide margin,” he added.

The member of ECP in Punjab said that the PTI lawyer has already provided the transcript of the leaked video. Punjab member asked about making those who were offered money as the party in the case over which, Barrister Ali Zafar said that they cannot be made party but the court can call them as witnesses. The one who takes a bribe and the one who gives it, both are accused, Punjab member said.

“Didn’t you think it necessary to make those who can be seen in the video (PTI lawmakers) parties to the case as well?”

asked the ECP chief, stating that the commission does not recognise these members by face. The representative of the electoral body from Punjab said, “We want to advance on this matter with a rationale and not on the basis of emotions.”

“You may provide us names of the 16 persons being accused, along with other material, and make the persons concerned a party in the case.”

The video, he observed, seems a matter related to marked ballot papers. “How would someone exercise their right to vote using a marked ballot paper,” he asked.

ECP member from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) said that the commission wants to take action, but it needs tangible evidence to do so.

Nisar Durrani asked, “can the [legitimacy of] the video be accepted without a forensic.” At this, PTI’s counsel said that Ali Haider has not termed the video

fake and he accepted his role in a presser.

“Prepare the petition in the correct manner, gather the evidence. Why will we not take action on it [then]?” asked the ECP chief.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) has withdrawn its petition seeking an inquiry into the matter over ECP’s directives to file a new plea. Notice cannot be issued to Prime Minister Imran Khan, Punjab member clarified.

Subsequently, the hearing has been adjourned till March 10. Last Wednesday, Gillani, who was fielded as a joint candidate of the 11-party PDM on a technocrat seat from Islamabad, defeated Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh in Senate elections in a major setback to the government. He received 169 votes to the latter’s 164.

On Saturday, three PTI leaders — Farrukh Habib, Maleeka Bokhari, and Kanwal Shauzab — approached the election

Nasir said that the deceased was alleged to be a wanted criminal by Sukkur police while many on social media were saying that he had been abducted from the Sindh University premises.

He called for the provincial police chief to launch an inquiry under Section 5 of the Anti-Terrorism Act. Nasir also called for the office of Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah to address the incident and “issue a statement on this encounter which has seemed to raise many questions”.

“History of encounters in Sindh is tainted with repeated abuse of power and encounter specialists enjoying undue patronage of government.”

AC summons Sindh CM in NAB case ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

An accountability court in Islamabad on Tuesday summoned Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and other suspects in connection with a graft case on March 31. In January, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) filed the first-ever reference against Shah for “misuse of authority”, accusing him of releasing funds for Nooriabad Power Company and Sindh Transmission and Dispatch Company projects in violation of the rules. The Nooriabad power project was originally conceived by the Sindh government in 2012, but could not be materialised due to “red-tapism and delays in regulatory approvals”. It was launched in August 2014 under a public-private partnership at a cost of Rs13 billion in which the Sindh government held 49 per cent shares and a private company owned 51 percent. A 95-kilometer-long, 132kV double-circuit transmission line was laid from Nooriabad to Karachi at a cost of Rs1.95 billion, causing a $16 million loss to the national exchequer. In the previous proceedings, the agency had addressed the objections raised on the reference by the accountability court. The watchdog has filed a 66-volume record against Shah in court. The statements and evidence submitted by witnesses against the chief minister are also part of the record. commission to halt the issuance of the victory notification for Gillani until a probe into a contentious video, showing the former prime minister’s son Ali Haider Gillani explaining to MPs how to waste their votes, is completed.

In another petition filed on Monday, the trio sought an early hearing of the case which was earlier scheduled for March 11 — a day before the election for the office of Senate chairman.

“The matter is extremely important as a senator elected with corrupt practices is now aspiring to become the chairman of Senate,” the petition said. “It is a matter of utmost importance, which will have far-reaching consequences.”

“The election of Yousuf Raza Gillani has been a rare incident in the national political history,” the request further said. “Hopefully, the election commission will hear the matter urgently, as it heard the issue related to [the] by-election in NA-75, Daska.”

“The issuance of the notification should be stopped till the action on the video scandal is completed,” the petition said.

Wednesday, 10 March, 2021

LAHORE

NEWS

03

SeNior CitizeNS’ vACCiNAtioN StArtS todAy AS 54 More die oF Covid-19

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HE country will begin the second phase of a nationwide coronavirus vaccination drive from Wednesday (today) to inoculate all above 60, health officials said.

The most senior citizens will be the first ones to receive the doses of Covid-19 vaccine, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan said.

The “vaccinations will be done in reverse order by age which means the oldest person who has registered will be vaccinated first” according to Planning Minister Asad Umar, who is spearheading the country’s fight against the pandemic.

The health department started registration of those 60 years and above for the immunisation programme from February 15 asking the citizens to send a text message at 1166 or enter their details at the national immunisation management system (NIMS)

VACCINATION TO BE CONDUCTED IN REVERSE ORDER BY AGE, SAYS ASAD website. Once registered, the eligible citizens will be informed about the vaccine centre and the date of vaccination through a text message, officials said.

On the other hand, 54 more people died of C0vid-19 in the past 24 hours, taking the overall death toll to 13,281, said the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Tuesday. The NCOC said that 1,353 fresh infections were reported during the aforesaid period, jacking up the national tally of cases to 593,453.

The total count of active cases is 16,349 and 1,644 of them were stated to be in critical condition. The positivity rate stands at 4.25 per cent. A total of 31,786 tests were conducted across the country on Monday

while so far 9,278,613 samples have been tested.

In the past 24 hours, as many as 3,365 patients have recovered from the virus while so far 563,823 people have recovered from the deadly disease.

At least 825 new coronavirus cases were recorded in Punjab during the past 24 hours, taking the provincial tally to 178,648.

According to the Punjab Primary and Secondary Health Care Department, at least 35 more patients succumbed to the pandemic as the total reached 5,600. The department added that at least 166,503 patients had recovered from the deadly virus as yet.

The provincial tally for confirmed coronavirus cases in Sindh reached 260,149

after 194 new cases were recorded during the past 24 hours. Around six more fatalities were also recorded, taking the death toll to 4,442, Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said

in a statement on Tuesday. As many as 137 people were also said to have recovered from the virus, taking the total number of recoveries to 251,531.

Qaiser rejects claims of fraud during Imran trust vote IMRAN WON A VOTE OF TRUST SECURING THE TRUST OF 178 MPS AGAINST THE 172 REQUIRED TO WIN CONFIDENCE IN A VOTE OPPOSITION CLAIMS WAS RIGGED

pM imran drops hint of major administrative changes in punjab

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Prime Minister Imran Khan Tuesday dropped a hint at brining major administrative changes in Punjab. According to sources, the prime minister expressed reservations over the state of affairs in Punjab during an important meeting held on Tuesday which was attended by senior party leaders. Sources said that before the meeting, Prime Minister Imran had an important discussion with Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar. The meeting also discussed the election of chairman and deputy chairman of the Senate. The premier gave the task to Defence Minister Pervez Khattak to get the support for the post of chairman and deputy chairman. According to sources, the government has decided to take the allies into confidence for the post of Senate deputy chairman. The meeting also deliberated on giving the post of deputy chairman to any allied party. The performance of the Punjab government was also discussed in detail in the meeting. The meeting, chaired by the premier, was attended by federal ministers, senior government members and constitutional experts, as well as CM Buzdar.

It is worth mentioning here that Federal Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed was not invited to the meeting.

National Assembly (NA) Speaker Asad Qaiser on Tuesday rejected the claim that the number of votes reposing trust in Prime Minister Imran Khan during the March 6 confidence vote did not match the number of MPs in attendance, challenging the opposition parties to prove its accusation.

PM Imran won a vote of trust from the lower house on Saturday, securing 178 votes against the 172 required to win confidence. The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), the 11-party opposition alliance, had boycotted the session.

But Mohsin Dawar, a Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) leader and the sole member of the opposition present during the vote, claimed that the number of MPs present in the House during the vote did not match the numbers that the government claimed had voted in favor of the prime minister.

Talking to the reporters in Islamabad, Speaker Qaiser, who was flanked by Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani, said: “I challenge the opposition alliance to

Gillani’s election: PTI to file new plea as ECP instructs to nominate 16 others ISLAMABAD

ISLAMABAD

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) has said that it will file a new petition with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) against the election of former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani on the Senate seat.

Talking to the media persons on Tuesday, PTI leader Maleeka Ali Bokhari said that the opposition used all means and money to win a Senate seat from Islamabad.

Speaking on the occasion, PTI leader Farrukh Habib said that Gillani is already an ineligible person so he does not have the right to become a member of the Senate.

In her remarks, MNA Kanwal Shauzab said that PTI is striving to bring transparency to the election process.

Earlier during the hearing of the case, the ECP on Tuesday observed that the video of Ali Haider Gilani, wherein he is seen telling PTI MNAs about the techniques to waste their votes, does not have any mention of money or Senate tickets.

The ECP’s four-member bench led by the authority’s representative from Punjab Altaf Qureshi initiated the hearing. On the occasion, the ruling PTI produced the videotape allegedly related to Sindh Minister Nasir Hussain Shah. PTI’s counsel Ali Zafar was of the stance that PTI and its allies have 180 MNAs in the lower house whereas the opposition has 160 members in the assembly.

“Had the polls been transparent, [PTI candidate] Hafeez Sheikh would have won by a wide margin,” he added.

Zafar said that people were offered money and tickets in the next elections [to garner their support]. He alleged that Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) candidate Gillani bribed PTI MNAs. “The Premier then asked the ECP to intervene in the matter,” he added.

At this, ECP’s member from Sindh Nisar Durrani asked as to when the premier did that. The council responded by saying that he did so through the media.

Zafar further said that Ali Haider Gillani was seen in the March 2 video telling PTI’s Captain (r) Jameel and Faheem about the techniques to waste their votes.

prove their allegations.”

“If a single vote is proved to be voted in favour of Prime Minister Imran [through fraud], I will tender my resignation,” Radio Pakistan quoted him as saying.

The speaker said that he has constituted a committee comprising members from both the treasury and opposition to probe the unpleasant incidents that took place inside and outside the parliament on the day of the confidence vote.

He urged the political parties to work for strengthening democracy and promote a culture of mutual respect. “We have to promote democratic norms and should not lose the moral ground,” he said.

He said that a free press is the basic requirement for democracy and assured to provide necessary facilities to reporters.

Speaking on the occasion, Senate Chairman Sanjrani announced to reach across the aisle as part of his campaign for a second term in the office.

He said that regardless of whoever wins the election of the Senate chairman, the focus should remain on strengthening the parliament and democracy.

pM welcomes senator-elect Abdul Qadir into pti NewS DeSK Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday welcomed senator-elect from Balochistan Mohammad Abdul Qadir into his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

Qadir was elected as an independent candidate from Balochistan on March 3 polls. He called on the prime minister on Tuesday and reposed confidence in his leadership. Defence Minister Pervaiz Khattak and PTI chief organiser Saifullah Niazi were also present in the meeting. Qadir was the independent candidate for the Senate election with the joint support of PTI and the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP). The local PTI chapters had revolted against the central party leadership for awarding the Senate ticket to Qadir after which the decision was taken back and the ticket was given to Syed Zahoor Agha, who later withdrew from the race.

Sanjrani to approach all political parties as part of his re-election campaign NewS DeSK Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani on Tuesday said that he would approach every political party as part of his reelection campaign.

Speaking at a press conference, the Senate chairman said that regardless of whoever wins the elections the primary focus should remain on strengthening the parliament and democracy.

The Senate chairman was flanked by National Assembly (NA) Speaker Asad Qaiser who strongly rejected the opposition’s allegations towards the number of votes secured by Prime Minister Imran Khan during the vote of confidence last week.

FARAZ HOPES SANJRANI WILL WIN THE TOP SENATE SLOT AGAIN Qaiser pressed that the promotion of democratic norms should not lose moral ground.

The speaker further stated that he had constituted a committee comprising members from both the treasury and opposition benches to probe into the unpleasant incidents that took place both inside and outside parliament house during the day of the vote.

Meanwhile, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shibli Faraz expressed hope that Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani, being a visionary and dynamic

politician, would win the slot again with clear majority.

Talking to a private news channel, he said that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has nominated Sanjrani for the top Senate slot as he is a man of credibility has run the Senate smoothly and effectively during the last three years.

Faraz said that the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) is divided on the nomination of Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani as its candidate, who had won his Senate seat through horse-trading and use of money.

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Wednesday, 10 March, 2021

LAHORE

NEWS

PRHEA PRotEsts foR sERvicE stRuctuRE, REgulARisAtion of jobs LAHORE

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HE Punjab Rural Health Employees Association (PRHEA) has continued its protest outside the Punjab Assembly due to lack of service structure and regularisation of jobs, Pakistan Today learnt on Tuesday.

The protest at the Mall Road is going on from the last two days and as result of which, the traffic on the main roads of Lahore was also severely affected and the traffic pressure could not be reduced due to incompetence and poor planning of the traffic police.

Speaking to Pakistan Today, a protester named Mohammad Saddiq informed that all of them are employees of the Punjab Health Facilities Management Company (PHFMC) administrated by the Punjab Health Department and they were protesting against the non-fulfilment of the promises made by the government. “We have no interest in protesting. We are on the roads for our legitimate demands. The Punjab Rural Support Programme (PRSP) was launched when Pervez Elahi was the chief minister of the province. Later, when She-

hbaz Sharif became the chief minister, he divided the health sector into different sections and established the PHFMC. We, the former employees of the health department, were also subordinated to this company. We had also staged a sit-in four or five years ago in which we were assured that various reforms would be brought in this company and we would be regularised by improving our service structure, but now we know that we have no future,” he said.

“The management of the company forcibly gets resignations from us whenever it wants. We do all the work related to health. We do a door-to-door polio campaign, but when it comes to demands, we are given a false promise. Midwives are better than us as they have been regularised while we are being humiliated despite being educated and having diplomas.”

Another protestor Samiullah informed that they have been working in the health department for 16 years but the government never thought of regularising them.

“We have been working on a contract since 2004 and we have not been regularised yet. Our supporters include male

ZUBAIR MEHFOOZ

and female employees from 14 districts. In the rest of the government departments,

employees have been regularised after working for three years. Our salaries are

very low and there is no service structure.

Hospital sweepers are paid more than us.

Our people are also exploited by the PHFMC. Most of our people have been terminated and are not being reinstated. We have held sit-ins at the same place many times before but we are given a false promise of notification and practically nothing happens. We have prepared for fifteen days and we will not leave until our demands are met. Our leaders are in talks with the provincial law minister and other members of the government, but so far there has been no success,” he said.

On the other hand, some shopkeepers at the Mall Road said that after the sit-in of federal government employees in Islamabad and the increase in their salaries, the government employees of Punjab also come here every day to hold sit-ins so that their demands could be fulfilled. “We have no interest in the protests, but our complaint is that due to these protests, the entry of traffic is blocked on this road, which also affects our business. The traffic police should make good plans to deal with such a situation so that the people could not get in trouble,” they suggested.

Govt paying attention to develop backward areas: Buzdar NEWS DESK Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar has said that the provincial government has extended the journey of development to the backward areas neglected in the past.

The chief minister was talking to Member National Assembly (MNA) Ghulam Bibi Bharwana, who called on him on Tuesday and apprised him of problems of her constituency.

The chief minister issued directions for the solution of various issues and reiterated that the government is working round the clock to resolve the public problems.

Separately, Buzdar said that the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) will not get any national reconciliation ordinance (NRO) within the tenure of Prime Minister Imran Khan. “The alliance of the opposition parties is only trying to safeguard its personal interests,” said the CM while talking to

Provincial Minister for Forest Sibtain Khan, who had called on him at his office. “The PDM only wants to protect its personal interests but the opposition alliance cannot mislead the public because the people want prosperity and development instead of unrest in the country.”

The chief minister said that after failing at the federal level, the PDM will also fail in its designs in the province. The government will complete its constitutional term, he vowed.

The meeting discussed the mutual interest and the political situation of the country.

Earlier, the PM had claimed that the opposition leaders had requested him in writing to grant them a NRO. Addressing some digital media representatives in Islamabad, the PM had said that the arch-rivals of the past, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), have now shaken hands to conceal their corruption.

Minority leaders urge Indian govt to arrest killers of 11 Pakistani Hindus ISLAMABAD APP

The leaders of minority community on Tuesday demanded the Indian government to immediately arrest the killers of 11 Pakistani Hindus in India, condemning the Prime Minister Narendra Modi regime’s blithe response in providing justice to the victims’ families.

They were addressing a webinar titled “India for selected Hindus only”, which was held here and attended by some Hindu leaders along with the family members and relatives of 11 Pakistani Hindus, who were earlier killed in Jodhpur, India.

Members National Assembly Ramesh Kumar and Harmeet Singh joined the webinar through a video link.

The family members of the victims said the killers of their dear ones are roaming freely in India and demanded that the Indian government must apprehend the killers and bring them to task.

Kumar said the Pakistani government would try its utmost to get the killers arrested and he would also contact the Hindu Council.

He said the protection of minorities is the government’s responsibility and he would also take up the matter with the Indian High Commission, adding that the issue would be raised at every platform to provide justice to the families. MNA Wasim William urged the United Nations Security Council to help provide justice to the victims’ families, who have not yet received the bodies of their dear ones. He said even a FIR is not yet registered for the crime and some women were made subject to third degree torture by the police.

Member Punjab Assembly Mahrinder Paul Singh urged the government to take up the matter at every forum as the state is responsible for the protection of minority community. Haroon Sadial said India is not even sparing Hindus going from Pakistan and called for practical measures to ensure the killers’ arrest.

STEP to conduct self-assessment test on 27th The STEP, an entry test preparation project by the Punjab Group of Colleges, would conduct the Self-Assessment Test 2021 on March 27. The test would be free for all and it would to take place at different branches of the STEP in more than 100 cities of the province. This year more than 100,000 students will appear in the test. The purpose behind conducting the self-assessment test is to help students assess and gauge their capabilities and prepare well before appearing in entry tests. In case of any weak areas, the students may put in more efforts and work hard to score good in entry tests. The STEP also offers great scholarship opportunities to high achievers of the self-assessment test. Through the scholarship, around 2500 top-scorers will be able to get free entry test preparation course from the institution. PR

LAHORE: Special Assistant to Punjab Chief Minister on Information Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan gives a shield to journalist Nasira Attique on the occasion of International Women’s Day at Lahore Press Club. ZUBAIR MEHFOOZ

Wednesday, 10 March, 2021

LAHORE PDM calls PTI's bluff; fields Haideri for Senate deputy chairman slot

NEWS 05 GovT PRoPoSES INCoME Tax ExEMPTIoN FoR low-CoST HouSING, HyDRoPowER PRoJECTS, oIl REFINERIES iSLamaBad

continued from page 01 RANA SANAULLAH CALLS OFFER A PLOY TO DIVIDE PDM: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Punjab President Rana Sanaullah reacted to the presser of Khattak and Haideri and said that the move by the government seemed to be an attempt to cause a rift within the PDM parties. “The JUI-F is bound by the decisions of the PDM. Fazl chaired a meeting yesterday and it had been agreed with a consensus to nominate Yousaf Raza Gillani as the alliance’s joint candidate for the Senate chairman elections,” he said. Sanaullah added that a committee headed by Shahid Khaqan Abbasi had been formed to select a nominee for the Senate deputy chairman post. He said that according to his information, the committee had picked Haideri as its nominee for the slot. The former Punjab law minister, however, said that he did not think the JUI-F would accept the offer.

PDM NAMES HAIDERI ITS NOMINEE FOR DEPUTY CHAIRMAN SLOT: Later, PDM decided to field Haideri for the slot of Senate deputy chairman while the PML-N will get the post of opposition leader in the upper house of parliament. A meeting of the steering committee was held under the chair of former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi at his residence. The meeting deliberated on names of candidates for the elections; however, an official announcement will be made by PDM head Fazl. PDM has fielded Gillani for the post of chairman Sanjrani has been fielded for the post of chairman senate by the ruling coalition. According to unofficial results of the Senate elections, the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has won 10 seats from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), two from Sindh, one from Islamabad and five from Punjab. With the joining of PTI by Abdul Qadir, an independent candidate from Balochistan, the number of seats of PTI have risen to 27, making PTI as largest party in Senate. Similarly, the ruling party’s coalition partner, Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) has 13 members in the Senate, while Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) has three, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) and Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) have one member each and three independents are also supporting the government. On the other hand, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) is the second largest party in the House with 20 members. PML-N has 18, JUI-f has five, while Awami National Party (ANP) and National Party (NP) have two members each. Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) have one member each, and two independent members are with the opposition while Jamat-e-Islami (JI) is yet to make its decision which has one member.

PTI MAY FIELD SENATOR EJAZ CHAUDHRY FOR COVETED SLOT: Separately, the ruling PTI proposed Senator Ejaz Chaudhry’s name as the party’s candidate for the slot of deputy chairman to Prime Minister Imran Khan.

According to informed sources, Prime Minister Imran will take a decision over the nomination on Wednesday after taking all the coalition partners into confidence. As per sources, a meeting of party leaders was held under the chairmanship of PM Imran in which the political situation and nomination of the deputy chairman candidate were discussed. They said that the prime minister said that he would take a decision after taking the allied parties into confidence over the nomination of deputy chairman.

Sources further said that the prime minister may also agree to a nomination from the allies.

Joint resolution demands interim provincial status for GB continued from page 01 But since then GB has not been granted full inclusion by the Constitution, over fears doing so would jeopardise Islamabad’s international stance that all of Kashmir is disputed territory. While the GB assembly has few powers, the National Assembly and Senate have no representation from the region, and it receives only a fraction of the national budget. Commenting on the passage of the resolution, Chief Minister Khan said the GB Assembly “unanimously passed a historic resolution demanding the provision of constitutional rights to the region.” In a series of tweets, Khan, while thanking the opposition parties and the treasury members, said: “The demand for constitutional rights is a unanimous demand of the people of GB, not that of an individual/ party.

The unity we’ve shown on this issue needs to be repeated again at [the] federal level.” Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry termed the development a “historic day” and said it was “truly a leap forward”.

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SHAHZAD PARACHA

HE federal government on Tuesday proposed up to Rs140 billion corporate income tax exemption for lowcost housing sector, hydropower projects and oil refineries.

Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh presented the Income Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2021, in the upper house of the parliament after necessary approval from the federal cabinet.

According to sources, the government has proposed a number of reforms in corporate income tax, including the streamlining of nonprofit organisations (NPOs). Around 15 income tax provisions pertaining to NPOs had expired and the government's main purpose is to make laws pertaining to NPOs simpler, they added.

Similarly, measures pertaining to the government’s borrowing powers from foreign multilateral organizations and countries have also been proposed in the bill. In addition, the government

has proposed to give exemptions to those realtors who would complete their low-cost housing projects before June 2024.

Meanwhile, if owners of hydropower IPPs sign an agreement with the government before June 2021, than the government would offer exemptions to them. Likewise, exemptions would also be offered to those oil refineries that would sign an agreement with the government before June 2021.

Overall, the government has proposed 80 amendments in the Income Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2021.

As per the IMF, the total quantum of these measures is Rs140 billion while independent experts believe it to be around Rs30 billion.

Later, the government's economic team, under the leadership of the federal minister, informed media that the federal cabinet has approved three important laws pertaining to the strengthening of the economy as well as departments.

Addressing a press conference, the finance minister said that the govern-

ment has introduced an Income Tax Amendment Bill, 2021, in Senate and "we are going to remove some tax exemptions to collect more taxes. The successive governments have given the exemptions to different sectors, especially the cooperate sector, and we will remove or minimize these exemptions.

"Basically, the government is working on a policy to ensure uniform taxes on all sectors," he added.

The finance minister informed that cabinet has given the approval to make State Bank of Pakistan autonomous.

"The governor SBP will be answerable to Parliament and later on institutions can also make the accountability of chief central bank."

While sharing some more points on SBP's autonomy, the finance minister said that the tenure of the SBP governor would be extended to five years.

The central bank can also make decisions pertaining to monetary policy as well as an exchange rate in an independent way.

He also shared that the government will abolish the monetary and fiscal

EU accepts Pakistan’s plea on Basmati GI tag The European Commission has accepted the plea submitted by the Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) against India on the Geographical Indication (GI) tag of Basmati rice.

The body had filed the Reasoned Statement in opposition to India’s claim of GI of Basmati on Feb 5, after sending the Notice of Opposition on Dec 7, 2020.

Pakistan will now directly advocate for the protection of Pakistan’s GI rights over the variety of rice with the case reaching its third stage where all the contesting parties will engage in consultations

with each other.

The parties will engage in negotiations for three months in a ‘pre-trial phase’ i.e. till May 6, whereby parties are encouraged to reach an amicable solution.

After the consultations are completed and in case no settlement is reached, the fourth stage of the trial will commence in the tribunal of DG Agriculture, European Commission.

It may be mentioned here that after the registration of the GI tag for Basmati rice, Pakistan has also decided to register pink salt as its GI product in order to stop India from

registering the same as Himalayan salt. Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce Razak Dawood, in a meeting held earlier last month, had said that this move will encourage and motivate local producers to expand their business at a global level.

“For this purpose, a registrant will be designated with the approval of the federal cabinet,” he said. “At the same time, other products [for GI registration] will be pursued on a priority basis.” He urged the business community to identify products that could be registered as GI in order to protect them from global exploitation. NEWS DESK

NEPRA notifies 89-paisa per unit increase in power tariff ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has notified a Rs0.8954 per unit increase in power tariff under the head fuel charge adjustment (FCA) for the month of January 2021.

According to NEPRA, the FCA for January 2021 would be charged in the billing month of March 2021 from all consumer categories of power distributing companies (DISCOs), except lifeline consumers i.e. consumers of up to 50 units. This FCA is, however, not applicable to K-Electric consumers.

Earlier, the Central Power Purchasing Agency

(CPPA) had requested NEPRA to approve an FCA of Rs0.9270 per kWh for January. Subsequently, the authority, during its hearing in this regard on February 25, approved an FCA of Rs0.8954 per kWh -- having an impact of Rs6.9 billion on the masses.

As per documents, the actual fuel charge component for January 2021 was recorded at Rs6.6530 per unit against the reference fuel charge component of Rs5.5776 per unit. Due to fuel price variation for the month under review, a power tariff hike of Rs0.8954 per unit was approved. AHMAD AHMADANI

Registration of new companies up 39pc in February: SECP ISLAMABAD: A host of reforms by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) for ease of doing business have led to a 39pc corporate growth in February compared to the same month last year. According to a statement issued by the SECP on Tuesday, the corporate registrar has incorporated 2,257 new companies and startups in February.

Ninety-nine per cent of these were incorporated online and 30 per cent applicants were issued registration certificates the same day, whereas 175 new foreign users were registered from overseas.

The total number of registered companies has risen to 137,054.

This sizeable growth in registration is a result of effective steps taken by SECP, including introduction of simplified combined process for name reservation and incorporation, reduction of fee, facility of online payments, issuance of digital certificate of registration, and assistance provided for incorporation by the newly established business centre. STAFF REPORT

Remotebase raises $1.4m seed to connect Pakistani software engineers with Silicon Valley startups Lahore-based remote talent startup Remotebase has raised $1.4 million in a seed round led by Pakistanfocused VC Indus Valley Capital (which closed its maiden fund with $17.5 million last week), it emerged on Tuesday. Draper Associates, the VC firm of Tim Draper, US-based early-stage VC Hustle Fund, and some other investors also participated in the round. NEWS DESK

policy board and the government will not be able to take loans from SBP. "We will give the targeted subsidy and will make a solid basis of economy in coming days."

Speaking to the occasion, Adviser to PM on Institutional reforms Dr Isharat Hussain said that the government would sign a performance agreement with 441 state-owned organizations.

"We have appointed CEOs in 56 departments through a transparent process and I assure you the government will appoint competent persons in the remaining departments," he added.

The adviser informed that presently, 51 organizations out of 85 commercial institutions are in profit, adding that the privatization process of 44 organizations would be completed soon.

Moreover, Industry and Production Minister Hammad Azhar said that the PM has directed to continue subsidy on five essential commodities through Utility Stores Corporation and "we will approve "Ramazan Package" during tomorrow's ECC meeting.

Imran pushes for polls transparent to ensure fair elections continued from page 01 “They bring in [development] projects not because the country needs them but because they get a lot of kickbacks. Big [infrastructure] projects with mega kickbacks,” said the prime minister. Presently, $7 trillion worth of stolen assets were parked in these safe havens causing irreparable loss to developing nations such as Pakistan, he said. “Politicians including PPP chairperson Asif Ali Zardari and PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif laundered their ill-gotten wealth. Such politicians normalise corruption in a society, bribe media groups and remove checks and balances to facilitate the money laundering chain.” “The nation has to pay for this by incurring debt and the price of that debt has to be paid through inflation,” he said. Imran reiterated that even nations struck by great calamities could “stand back up”, citing the examples of Germany and Japan in the Second World War. The greatest destruction is caused when morality is eliminated in society, he said. “We saw this in the [Senate] elections. Money was openly exchanged and everyone knows the drama we witnessed.”

CCP issues notice to Hyundai Nishat for deceptive marketing practices iSLamaBad STAFF REPORT

The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has issued a show cause notice to M/s Hyundai Nishat Motor (Pvt) Limited for, prima facie, deceptive marketing practices in the marketing campaign for its new SUV 'Hyundai Tucson'.

Concluding its inquiry on Tuesday, the CCP said it issued the show cause notice to the company over alleged violation of Section 10 of the Competition Act, 2010. The CCP took a suo motu notice of advertisements published in print media and on various social media platforms publicising the 'introductory price' of Hyundai Tucson with a disclaimer, 'for a limited period only'. In these advertisements, though the 'introductory price' was visibly printed in large font size, yet the disclaimer was not easily noticeable as it was printed at a much smaller font size.

General Tyre's half-year profit jumps to Rs406m despite Covid-induced slowdown iSLamaBad GHULAM ABBAS

General Tyre, one of the prominent tyre manufacturers in the country, has reported a profit after tax of Rs406 million for the first six months (July-Dec) of the current financial year (FY21) despite the economic impact of Covid-19.

The company had posted a PAT of Rs29.4 million during the same period of last year.

According to the company's financial re-

sults, GT recorded net sales of Rs6.45 billion during the period under review, up 41pc when compared with Rs4.56 billion in the corresponding period last year. This resulted in the earnings per share improving from Re0.24 last year to Rs3.33.

The record profit was the result of the company's focus on the Replacement Market (RM), also known as the aftermarket, which grew 72pc in terms of value as compared to last year. The increase is, to a large extent, due to the steps taken by the government to

curb smuggling in the country.

Lauding the improvement in company's profits, General Tyre Chief Executive Officer Hussain Kuli Khan stated that strict surveillance of the borders during Covid-19 played a positive role in the company's performance.

"This was the reason that smuggled tyres were not available in the local market, which helped the local industry's share to grow," he added.

Hussain observed 23pc across the

cmYK

board growth in the sales of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), saying that OEMs were nearing normal capacity.

He also lauded the revival of the tractor sales this year, terming it a positive signal for the tyre industry.

Besides local demand, he said, the company’s exports also increased by 2 times in the reported period, with exports amounting to Rs93.3 million.

"The local tyre industry is still facing problems due to heavy under-invoicing on

imports of tyres. The government needs to re-evaluate the ITP value at least twice a year if not every quarter."

He hoped that the authorities will further strengthen measures to restrain under-invoicing and smuggling to provide a level playing field to local manufacturers.

Hussain revealed that the company was in the process of developing new tyre sizes and bringing modern designs for OEMs and RM, which will further enhance the company’s position in the local industry.

Wednesday, 10 March, 2021

06 COMMENT

Farmers’ protest and the nemesis of ‘crony capitalism’

The mess and the masses A government focused on self-preservation

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he by-elections in February and the Senate polls last week have exposed the fragility of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government. The quest for an urgent vote of confidence was motivated by a sudden sense of insecurity in the PM. The developments have also exposed the PTI leadership’s moral bankruptcy. In the Daska by-election the PTI made use of government machinery to win, as it knew that it could not succeed in fair and free polls. Finance Minister hafeez Sheikh suffered defeat, which was the biggest political setback in the PTI’s tenure, because he could not get the 16 extra votes that the ruling coalition possessed. Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed maintains that “17 PTI MPs were disloyal and 13 took money” and that the PM knows who did not vote for him. Mr Khan decided to take no action against the corrupt in his party obviously because this would have deprived him of the majority he enjoys in the National Assembly, leading to his government’s fall. Mr Khan sought a vote of confidence even from those he knows to be dishonest because he prefers to stick to power, principles or no principles.

Knowing well that the opposition enjoys a majority in the Senate the PM has predicted the success of his candidate as Chairman Senate. Mr Khan can win the Senate chair only if he uses the tactics for which he condemns the opposition.

To continue to remain in power the PTI government’s reliance on those who matter is bound to increase. This might help Mr Khan and his sponsors for a while, but would eventually turn out to be harmful for both. Remarks like Sheikh Rasheed’s recent, “the Army stands with Imran and there are no chances of the fall of government” justify the opposition’s criticism of the intelligence agencies’ intervention in politics and the warning by the PDM that if they adopt the same attitude in the elections of the Senate chairman and deputy chairman, the PDM will be forced to place the facts before the nation. The support by those who matter has encouraged the government to ignore the problems of the man in the street. Whatever the outcome of the opposition’s planned long march, the common man’s unrest could one day get translated into a spontaneous mass movement against an already vulnerable government.

Laws meant to benefit Modi’s cronies

amJeD JaaveD

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TALeMATe between the Indian government and the protesting farmers’ unions remain s unchanged despite 11 rounds of talks. The farmers view the new farm laws as a ploy to dispossess them of their land holdings and give a free hand to tycoons to grab farmers’ holdings, though small.

Protesters allege the new laws were framed in secret understanding with tycoons. The farmers have reason to abhor the rich businesses. According to an a January 2020 Oxfam study, India’s richest one percent hold over four times the wealth of 953 million people who make up the poorest 70 percent. India’s top nine billionaires’ income is equivalent to the wealth of the bottom 50 percent. The opposition has accused the government of “crony capitalism’.

The government has tried every tactic to becloud the movement (it’s sponsored by separatist Sikhs, who desecrated Republic Day by hoisting their flags at the Red Fort, and so on). The government even shrugged off the protest by calling it miniscule and unrepresentative of 16.6 million farmers and 131,000 traders registered until May 2020. The government claims it planned to build 22,000 additional mandis (markets) in 2021-22.

Unruffled, the opposition still accuse the government of being “suit-boot ki sarkar” and an ardent supporter of “crony capitalism” (Ambani and Adani).

Modi did many favours to the duo. For instance they were facilitated to join hands with foreign companies to set up defence-equipment projects in India. BJPruled state governments facilitated the operation of mines in collaboration with the Ambani group just years after the Supreme Court had cancelled the allotment of 214 coal blocks for captive mining. Modi used Adani’s aircraft in March, April and May 2014

Exiting Afghanistan US in a precarious spot

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S the May 1 deadline for a possible US troop exit from Afghanistan approaches, the Biden Administration has a near impossible task at hand, to somehow broker a power sharing equation between the Afghan government being run by President Ashraf Ghani and the Taliban. In a blunt and rather threatening letter U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken did not mince his words, warning President Ghani that unless he agreed to the ‘interim’ arrangement being proposed, the Taliban would make “rapid territorial gains” soon after the USA exited the country, something that was under ‘active consideration’.

The letter strategically mentions that a copy of the same had also been sent to Chief executive Abdullah Abdullah who emerged as the second most popular political leader following a fiercely contested 2019 general election leading to a dispute that naturally had to be resolved by US intervention. The message sent to President Ghani seems to be simple enough: agree to the proposal of a “transitional Peace Government” or we will find someone who will.

Considering the Afghan government’s response to the letter, it seems Ghani is standing his ground, as his Vice President underplayed the importance of Blinken’s letter, stating that only elected representatives could govern the country and the USA could not make decisions on behalf of the Afghan people. This puts the Biden Administration in a very precarious spot. On one hand they are unable to convince the Taliban to renegotiate a deal that it inherited from Trump and on the other a rigid and stubborn Ghani is refusing to play ball and do what the USA feels would be a comfortable middle ground that would not lead to violence. efforts by the USA, mentioned in the same letter, outlining how they were seeking the support of countries like Turkey, and even rivals Iran and Russia, to coordinate a “unified” approach to peace might not succeed if the elected Afghan civilian government is unwilling to give the Taliban a seat at the table, even temporarily.

Pakistan remains central to the negotiation process, having some sway over the Taliban, which is why US Special envoy for Afghan Reconciliation Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad met with COAS Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa on Monday to discuss Washington’s new diplomatic push. however, Pakistan should not simply agree to whatever the USA wants it to do without getting something in return. A longstanding unfulfilled demand, of persuading the Afghan government to eliminate terrorists operating on its side of the border who attack targets in Pakistan, should be met before agreeing to ‘do more’ yet again.

A painful lost year The pandemic’s toll isn’t over

Washington Watch Dr James J Zogby

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he second week in March marks two devastating anniversaries. On 11 March 2020, eileen, my beloved wife of 51 years, passed away. She had a stroke in November 2019 and after a long period of recovery and rehabilitation, she was scheduled to come home on March 13. On March 10, she had a second stroke and died the next day.

The funeral we planned for the following week had to be postponed because a few days after eileen’s death, on March 13, the District of Columbia went into its first partial covid-19 lockdown, severely limiting gatherings.

It’s strange to try to recall our state of mind back then. We were still in the early stages of the pandemic

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami Editor Yousaf Nizami Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad Managing Editor

Joint Editor

Umar Aziz Executive Editor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

for countrywide campaigning.

“Crony capitalism” is well defined. MerriamWebster defines “crony capitalism” as “an economic system in which individuals and businesses with political connections and influence are favored (as through tax breaks, grants, and other forms of government assistance) in ways seen as suppressing open competition in a free market, if there’s one”.

A common point in all the definitions is undue favours (sweetheart contracts, licences, etc) to select businesses. It is worse than nepotism as the nepotism has a limited life cycle. But, “crony capitalism” becomes institutionalized.

Modi earned the title “suit-boot ki sarkar” when a non-resident Indian, Rameshkumar Bhikabhai Virani gifted him a Rs 10 lakh suit.To save face, Modi later auctioned the suit on 20 February 2015. The suit fetched Rs, 4, 31, 31,311 or nearly 40 times the original price. Modi donated the proceeds to a fund for cleaning the Ganges. `It was subsequently alleged that the Surat-based trader, Laljibhai Patel, who bought the suit had been favoured by being allotted government land for building a private sports club.

Miffed by opposition vitriolic opposition, Ambani’s $174 billion conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd. categorically denied collusion with Modi’s government. Reliance clarified it had never done any contract farming or acquired farm land, and had no future plans. It also vowed to ensure its suppliers will pay government-mandated minimum prices to farmers. The Adani Group also had clarified it did not buy food grains or influence their prices.

Like Modi, both Adani and Ambani hail from Gujarat, where Modi was the state’s chief minister for over a decade. Both tycoons are reputed to be Modi’s henchmen. Their industries quickly align their business strategies to Modi’s nation-building initiatives.

For instance, Adani created a rival regional industry lobby and helped kick off a biannual global investment summit in Gujarat in 2003 that boosted Modi’s pro-business credentials. During 2020, Ambani raised a record $27 billion in equity investments for his technology and retail businesses from investors including Google and Facebook. he wants to convert these units into a powerful local e-commerce rival to Amazon and Walmart. The Adani group, which humbly started off as a commodities trader in 1988, has grown rapidly to become India’s top private-sector port operator and power generator.

Ambani and Adani are like America’s Rockefellers and Vanderbilt’s in the USA’s Gilded Age in the second half of the 19th century. The Modi government’s patronage of the Ambanis and Adanis is an open secret. Kerala challenged Adani’s bid for an airport lease. A state minister said last year that Adani winning the bid was “an act of brazen cronyism.”

Farmers who could earlier sell grains and other products only at neighbouring government-regulated wholesale markets can now sell them across the country, including to big food processing companies and

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Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

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and there were mixed signals coming from the White house. My family and friends were together in the hospital with eileen. We were joined by doctors who had attended her and the nurses and staff who had been with her during rehab. No one was wearing masks. Neither were the medical staff in the ICU. Back then, we thought naively that we would have the funeral in a few weeks. The virus was in China, Italy, and then New York. But not here, not everywhere. We had no idea what the year was to bring.

In the months that followed, I learned that some of the staff who had been caring for eileen had, themselves, become ill with the virus. The stroke rehab units in the two hospitals where she was a patient had been converted into covid-19 units to treat the neurological effects of the disease. They told me harrowing stories of their patients, all of whom were forced into isolation, spending weeks and months alone, and some dying without being able to see members of their families except via FaceTime. The human toll has been enormous. All this time, I could only be thankful that we had been able to be with eileen every single day until the end.

One year later, the tally of the pandemic has been enormous. Worldwide, over 2,500,000 have died– 500,000 here in the USA; and 120 million have become ill with this virus– almost 30 million in the USA. This virus has consumed us and, quite literally, been killing us. And all of this happened in just the past year.

We’ve learned that despite Mr Trump’s denial of science, this pandemic is deadly real. And despite the efforts to denounce and politicize the lockdowns and wearing of masks, these precautionary measures were and are important. If only we had listened to the science and not been victims of neglect and crass politics. If we had acted early and decisively to confront this challenge, how many lives could we have saved? how much suffering could we have avoided?

As troubling as it is to look back at how innocent

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Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

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retailers such as WalMart.

The farmers fear the government will eventually abolish the wholesale markets, where growers were assured of a minimum support price for staples like wheat and rice, leaving small farmers at the mercy of corporate agri-businesses.

The farmers have a logical point. Agriculture yield less profit than industry. As such, even the USA heavily subsidies its agriculture. US farmers got more than $22 billion in government payments in 2019, the highest level of farm subsidies in the last 14 years, and the corporate sector paid for it. The Indian government is reluctant to give a permanent legal guarantee for the MSP. In contrast, the USA and Western europe buy directly from the farmers and build their butter and cheese mountains. even the prices of farm products at the retail and wholesale levels are controlled by the capitalist government. In short, not the principles of capitalization but well-worked-out welfare measures are adopted to sustain the farm sector in the advanced West.

The farmers would suffer double exploitation under a monopsony (more sellers less buyers) at the hands of corporate sharks. They would pay less than the minimum support price to the producers. Likewise, consumers will have to pay more because the public distribution system is likely to be undermined as mandi (regulated wholesale market) procurement is would eventually cease.

The heavily indebted Indian farmer has average income of only about Rs. 20,000 a year (about Rs 1666 a month). Thousands of farmers commit suicide by eating pesticides to get out of financial difficulties.

A study by India’s National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development found that over half of Indian farmers are in debt. More than 20,000 people involved in the farming sector committed suicide from 2018-2019, with several studies suggesting that indebtedness was a key factor.

More than 86 percent of India’s cultivated farmland is owned by small farmers with under two hectares. These farmers lack acumen to bargain with bigger companies. Farmers fear the Market Support Price will disappear as corporations start buying their produce.

Modi is unwilling to yield for fear of losing his strongman image and a Domino effect. If he yields on the farm laws, he may have to give in on the Citizenship Amendment Act. Fund collection in some foreign countries has started to sustain the movement. As such, the movement may not end anytime soon. Unless Modi yields early, he would suffer voter backlash in coming elections. The farm sector contributes only about 15 per cent of India’s $2.9 trillion economy. But it employs around half its 1.3 billion people.

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

and unaware we were a year ago, it is difficult to look forward and try to imagine where we’ll be a year from now. We now have vaccines (I have received my two doses). But while the rates of infection and deaths are in decline, they are still unacceptably high – higher than they were during the earlier peaks in April and August of last year. And we still have those whose foolish behavior may only prolong the crisis.

Last weekend, a conservative group held its annual gathering. Many were maskless as they listened to speakers, including Mr Trump, denounce the lockdowns and scoff at the mask mandates as unnecessary and a denial of personal freedom. And this week, two Republican governors ordered an end to masks and other restrictions in their states.

The professionals are now telling us that if enough of us are vaccinated, we may be able to return to some degree of normalcy by the autumn. But questions remain. Will people go back to their offices?

Will we feel comfortable in large gatherings? What will become of those children who lost a year of schooling and needed socialization and those who have developed depression and fear of interaction? how will we adapt to whatever this “new normal” looks like?

There is another haunting question that confronts me and my family and the families so many others who died during this past year– both the one-half million who perished from the pandemic and those, like my eileen, whose deaths were the result of other causes. Because grieving in isolation provides little relief, we are left to ask when will we be able to have the funerals which we so desperately need– so that we can collectively mourn, as we humans need to, with our community gathered around us to remember those whom we’ve lost and to console one another? ‪For me, and I feel certain for so many others who’ve lost a loved one this past year, eileen’s death remains a haunting open wound. The collective mourning provided by a funeral wouldn’t have closed it, but it might have provided some salve to help the healing.

The writeris President of the Arab-American Institute

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Wednesday, 10 March, 2021

COMMENT 07 Editor’s mail Send your letters to: Letters to Editor, Pakistan Today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan.

E-mail: letters@pakistantoday.com.pk Letters should be addressed to Pakistan Today exclusively

President’s message

Financing of terrorists by India FATF pays no attention to Indian terror financing

malik muhammaD ashraf

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eeDLeSS to emphasize, terrorist financing is the lifeline for those who carry out this inhuman act. There is genuine concern and push at the global level to dry up the sources of funding to the terrorist entities by making it obligatory on all the states to cooperate in this regard and also asking the states whose soil allegedly is used by the terrorist groups to commit acts of terrorism to take administrative, legal and financial actions to block all avenues that facilitate flow of money to the terrorists. FATF is the global watch-dog in this regard. The modus operandi of the FATF is to place the concerned country either in its grey or black list and giving it a catalogue of the measures it must comply with to qualify for exit from the assigned list. It undoubtedly has serious repercussion for any country put on either of the lists as it renders the concerned country ineligible for loans and grants by the international lending agencies.

But the dilemma is that the very process of consigning any country to the designated list inextricably is linked to global politics rather than an objective and realistic mechanism to firm up this approach. Pakistan’s placement on the grey list in 2018 on the basis of the US-sponsored resolution, supported by its western allies, was a classic example of discriminatory treatment and a clear proof of how much influence the big powers wield on the international level to have their way. It was a time when the USA was pushing Pakistan ‘to do more’ and the relations between the two countries were at the lowest ebb.

The move in fact was designed to put Pakistan under pressure.

But India, which has adopted terrorism as a state policy against its foes and adversaries, and has been supporting terrorist entities like ISIS and the Tehrik Taliban Pakistan through providing finances to these terrorist entities for carrying out terrorist acts within Pakistan, as corroborated by the Indian spy Kalbhshan jhadav, who was caught and convicted for sponsoring acts of terrorism and support to Baloch insurgents on behalf of Indian RAW, has not been touched or even asked to change course.

Kalbhushan Sudhir Jhadav, a serving commander in the Indian Navy, was arrested on 3 March 2016 in Balochistan while crossing over from Iran, in a counter-intelligence operation.

he was found in possession of a valid Indian passport with a fake name of hussain Mubarak.

During the investigations Jhadav confessed that Indian intelligence agency RAW was involved in destabilizing Pakistan and he was a serving officer of the Indian Navy working in Pakistan at its behest. he also acknowledged that he launched a covert operation against Pakistan from the Iranian port of Chahbahar for which he used to get instructions from Joint Secretary of RAW Anil Gupta. According to him, RAW had been funding the Baloch separatists for carrying out their insurgency operations. Commander Jhadav also admitted that he had been directing various activities in Karachi and Balochistan on directions from RAW since 2013 and had a role in the deteriorating law and order situation in Karachi. he was tried in the military court and awarded the death sentence. India took the issue to the ICJ, pleading for annulment of the sentence and his repatriation to India.

The ICJ in its verdict though found Pakistan in violation of Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations but said “it is not the conviction and sentence of Mr Jhadav which are to be regarded as violation of Article 36 of the Vienna Convention”. As is evident the substantive part of the verdict upheld and corroborated the Pakistani position in regards to the procedure adopted for trying Kalbhushan and the legitimacy of the sentence awarded to him. The verdict was an unequivocal confirmation of Indian involvement in terrorist acts within Pakistan and in funding to terrorists entities and insurgents.

It is pertinent to mention that Latif Mehsud, a TTP leader who was caught in Afghanistan in 2013 by NATO forces while returning after his meetings with the Afghan leaders, admitted that Afghan intelligence agency DNS and RAW were supporting the TTP in carrying out terrorist activities in Pakistan. Pakistan has shared a dossier with the UN, the USA and other important capitals with irrefutable evidence of Indian involvement in acts of terrorism within Pakistan.

The US magazine Foreign Policy in its article “Indians and Central Asians Are the New Face of the Islamic State” of 8 October 2020, elaborated about the stronghold of Daesh in India. The Economic Times, in its issue of 26 July 2020, reported that the UN had shown grave concerns on the increasing footprint of ISIS in India.

But it is regrettable to note that the FATF never raised even an eye brow over Indian state terrorism and financing of terrorist entities beyond its borders. Rehman Malik, Interior Minister in the PPP 2008-2013 government, in an

article has claimed that he pointed out this discriminatory treatment to the FATF and the response that he received from FATF was that the Indian money laundering and financing did not fall within its domain. That is indeed a preposterous and mind-boggling reply and clearly indicates the FATF bias. The FATF has also adopted a very intrusive approach with regards to ensuring implementation of the 27 points it has arbitrarily given to Pakistan. Pakistan has already implemented 21 and the report on the remaining six has been submitted to the FATF. The UN monitoring team responsible for tracking terrorist groups and their activities, in its 27th report to the UNSC, has acknowledged the ongoing efforts of the Pakistan government against elements involved in terrorist activities and arresting the individuals engaged in terrorism financing and clamping down on the assets of the said designated individuals and entities.

This report of the UN is testimony to the fact that Pakistan was neither involved in terrorist financing nor in money laundering.

Apart from terrorist financing, India has also been using ‘Lawfare’ as a weapon to commit and justify acts of terrorism against people of Indian occupied Kashmir, indulging in extra-judicial killings of the Kashmiris and in suppressing the freedom struggle of the Kashmiris since 1989.

Its security forces have been committing the foregoing heinous crimes with impunity enjoying the protection from prosecution given under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act 1990 (AFSPA).

Amnesty International and other human rights bodies like human Rights Watch have been regularly compiling report on human rights abuses in Indian-Occupied Kashmmir and the former even raised a voice for the repeal of AFSPA. The Modi government has scrapped the special status of Indian-Occupied Kashmir and annexed the state to the Indian Union through the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act, followed by promulgation of a law to change the demographic realities of the state. even within India it has deprived 1.9 million Muslims in Assam of Indian citizenship through National Register of Citizens, which followed anti-Muslim legislation in the form of the Citizenship Amendment Bill. All the foregoing acts are in contravention of the international law, UN resolutions and the Fourth Geneva Convention. The Modi government, inebriated by the RSS ideology of hindutva, has also adopted an aggressive posture towards Pakistan posing a threat to regional security. It is therefore obligatory on the UN and the international community to stop India in her tracks before it is too late.

The Modi government, inebriated by the RSS ideology of Hindutva, has also adopted an aggressive posture towards Pakistan posing a threat to regional security. It is therefore obligatory on the UN and the international community to stop India in her tracks before it is too late

Malik Muhammad Ashraf is an academic.

He can be contacted at: ashpak10@gmail.com.

DR Alvi expressed concern over the retrogressive laws in the making in europe in the wake of Islamophobia to target Muslims, including women. he said the media could play an important role in changing cultural scriptures about problems such as domestic violence by portraying it as an ill-practice.

The president said the role of Ulema (religious figures) could prove effective in supporting healthcare issues, including breastfeeding and population control. Federal Minister for human Rights Dr Shireen Mazari said the women had played a forefront role in the national development right from the creation of Pakistan by standing shoulder-to-shoulder with their male counterparts. She said whether it was struggle for family laws in the era of 60s or the present day ‘Aurat March’ and ‘haya March’, women of the country always championed their rights with diversity in views or forms. She said the government’s amendments in inheritance laws led to smooth dispensation of justice and mentioned that soon the bill on amendment in Protection of Women Against harassment at Workplace Act would be tabled in National Assembly. She urged upon the international community to take serious note of the rape incidents of Kashmiri women and the detention of women political leaders in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, besides the persistent violation of Geneva Convention. Minister for Defence Production Zubaida Jalal said education and financial security was the basis of women empowerment that gave strength to girls and women to make their mark in all fields of life. She mentioned that the school, she had founded 38 years ago in Balochistan’s Mand village, paved way for local girls to excel as a pilot, bankers and paramedics. During the COVID-19, she said, as an educationist, she started first ‘camel library’ in different areas of Balochistan to help children continue their studies during lockdown. She mentioned that 200 women had recently joined Frontier Corps in Balochistan in the fight against terrorism. Dr Fehmida Mirza, Member of National Assembly and former NA speaker, said the women could harness their potential and achieve tremendously if provided a level-playing field instead of the treatment of gender bias. She proposed a gender-specific national budgeting, a 10 percent quota in party tickets in general elections and an intensive post-legislative scrutiny of harassment at Workplace Act to make it more inclusive. eU Ambassador to Pakistan Androulla Kaminara said a conducive legal environment and a gender sensitive approach was need of the hour.

Ali KhAn lAhorE

Forgotten pensioners ACCORDING to the media reports, the government has increased the pay of government officers by 25%. The decision seems to have been made by the government in haste to appease the protestors. The government should have set up a pay commission to properly assess the amount of raise needed for the government employees and the pensioners. The commission must consider not only the serving employees but the pensioners also. In addition, the government needs to pay special attention to lower cadre employees who bear the brunt of inflation. The high-ranking officers enjoy better salaries and perks. They are less affected by inflation as compared to lower-ranking employees, who have meager salaries with no perks. however, the percentage increase in salaries has quite the opposite effect.

While such increases bring a good increase for high-ranking officers, the lower cadre employees end up with increases that are not good at mitigating the effects of rising inflation. even worst are the poor pensioners, who like this time are either forgotten by the government when announcing pay raises or get raises that are no less than a joke. We must support the weak, who need help the most and are at mercy of a deteriorating economy as compared to strengthening and pleasing those who already are at the top of the food chain. rAjA ShAfAAtullAh iSlAmAbAd

Insolvable power issues IT is pity that the entire government appears helpless to pinpoint the people resposible for the present electricity turmoil in Karachi which is being subjected to severe load shedding in this extreme hot & humid weather for the last several days while no immediate remedy is in sight .

On Monday , 29th June , a very high level meeting comprising all important ministers, secretaries , Ke management and advisors deliberated on the causes and issues of otherwise avoidable load shedding going on in Karachi , but failed to fix responsibility for the catestrophe. The outcome of the meering was to constitute another inquiry committee to ascertain the causes of the problem without announcing any measure to end the load shedding to which the Karachites are subjected to. had there been capable and competent participants in the meeting , the responsibility of this catestrophe would have been fixed and many heads should have rolled. As the things are going , the rest of the country should be prepared for another bout of load shedding and power tariff hikes . There is a suppressed power demand at the moment due to slowing down of industrial and commercial activities.

Engr riAz bhuttA lAhorE

Legal aid in Pakistan A system which provides free advice about law and helping to the people who are poor or unable to afford it. Majority in Pakistan do not get proper guidance regarding justice, people are not aware of such channels which are working tirelessly to make ease on the path of justice. The legal aid is the substantive right of people under the constitution which makes it obligatory on the state to provide inexpensive justice to eliminate all forms of exploitation, people does not have firm faith in our judicial system so they avoid to go in courts instead they prefer to solve their problems on their own because judicial process is lengthy and takes plenty of time , there are many legal aid provider associations in all over Pakistan for women, children, prisoners, and this concept of legal aid can be traced back in 1944 when in Britain lord chancellor Viscount Simon formed Rushcliffe committee to give legal assistance to people. Pakistan Bar Council free legal aid rules 1999 were framed to provide free legal support to suppressed masses, in pursuance of these rules free legal aid committees were constituted at federal provincial district levels.

SArfrAz Ali Soomro thAru ShAh

Wednesday, 10 March, 2021

08 WORLD VIEW

The ViCar of ChrisT Calls on The Grand ayaTollah PART OF FRANCIS’S MISSION WAS TO SUPPORT IRAQ’S DWINDLING CHRISTIAN POPULATION, WHICH HAS PLUMMETED—FROM 1.5 MILLION TO LESS THAN THREE HUNDRED THOUSAND—SINCE THE U.S. INVASION, IN 2003

New yorker

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RoBin WRiGHT

EsPITE marauding IsIs fighters and a raging pandemic, Pope Francis made a historic pilgrimage this weekend to Iraq, the birthplace of abraham, who was the first prophet to embrace belief in a single God, and the patriarch of the world’s three great monotheistic religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Vatican News called it the “most difficult and most important journey” of Francis’s eight-year pontificate. It was taxing physically, too. The eighty-four-year-old Pope, hobbled by sciatica, limped badly as Iraqis sang in aramaic, the language of Christ, and (unmasked) dancers from Iraq’s diverse tribes, religions, and ethnic groups performed along a red carpet. “I am the pastor of people who are suffering,” the Pope told Catholic News service last month, when asked why he insisted on making the trip. En route to Iraq, Francis told reporters, “This is an emblematic trip, a duty to this land so martyred for so many years.” IsIs once boasted that it would invade Rome and defeat Christianity. Instead, the Bishop of Rome went to the heart of what had been the Islamic state caliphate.

Visiting the Biblical lands of Ur and the Nineveh Plains fulfills a long-standing Vatican quest. In 1999, Pope John Paul II talked of his yearning to visit Mesopotamia, the cradle of early human civilization, to mark the second millennium since Christ’s birth.

The United states tried to stop the trip for fear that it would be interpreted as support for President saddam hussein. In the end, saddam balked, and John Paul reportedly wept when the visit was cancelled. This time, the Iraqi government ecstatically welcomed the Pontiff. “Muslims are more excited than Christians,” President Barham salih told me, on the eve of the Pope’s arrival. “It will show that extremists can’t invoke the name of God or abraham.” Billboards across the country—including many that were emblazoned with the IsIs flag from 2014 to 2017, when, at its heights, the jihadi movement controlled about one-third of the country—were festooned with giant pictures of Francis. Large yellow-and-white Vatican flags fluttered beside the red-white-and-black Iraqi flags on light poles along major streets.

Part of Francis’s mission was to support Iraq’s dwindling Christian population, which has plummeted—from 1.5 million to less than three hundred thousand—since the U.s. invasion, in 2003. The northern city of Mosul had more than sixty thousand Christians before 2003; that number has declined by nearly half because of strife unleashed by the american intervention and the rise of sunni jihadism. In 2014, IsIs

“HOW CRUEL IT IS THAT THIS COUNTRY, THE CRADLE OF CIVILIZATION, SHOULD HAVE BEEN AFFLICTED BY SO BARBAROUS A BLOW, WITH ANCIENT PLACES OF WORSHIP DESTROYED,” THE POPE SAID declared its new caliphate in Mosul and ordered the remaining Christians to convert, pay a religious levy in gold, leave—or face the sword. During IsIs rule, I saw graffiti spray-painted across homes in the Christian villages around Mosul that invoked God’s will to eradicate Christianity. I visited churches that had been looted, torched, and smeared with feces by IsIs fighters. By then, the last Christians had fled the area; thousands who could trace their heritage back two millennia abandoned Iraq altogether. The ouster of IsIs, in 2017, didn’t alleviate fears. “We are at a critical time in our history in this land,” archbishop Bashar Warda, who hosted the Pope in Erbil, on sunday, told me at the time. “Christian families have ten reasons to leave and not one reason to stay.” on his arrival, Francis told Iraqi Christians that even though they are “small like a mustard seed,” they should persevere.

But, at a moment when Iraq—and much of the world—seems ever more divided, the Pope’s broader mission was to urge coexistence. “This blessed place brings us back to our origins,” Francis told a group of Christians, Muslims, and minority faiths, when he prayed on the dusty plains of Ur, abraham’s birthplace, on saturday. “The greatest blasphemy” is “hating our brothers and sisters,” he said, as the desert wind blew his cape. “hostility, extremism, and violence are not born of a religious heart: they are betrayals of religion.

We believers cannot be silent when terrorism abuses religion.” The abrahamic religions, he added, “need one another.” one of the most striking parts of the trip was the Pope’s summit with Grand ayatollah ali al-sistani, who is the highest marja, or religious authority, for most of the world’s two hundred million shiites. Many of the billboards across Iraq had images of the two men, and dubbed the occasion “the historical meeting between minarets and bells.” sistani, who is ninety, lives in southern Najaf—the burial place of Imam ali, the fourth Muslim caliph, who shiites believe was the rightful heir of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUh). (shiite means follower of ali.) sistani is more than reclusive: he is almost never seen in public or in the media, and has turned down proposed visits by other world leaders. Unlike his shiite brethren in Iran, sistani distinguishes religion from politics, although he backed a democratic constitution after the fall of saddam hussein and has been hugely influential—in a country that is more than sixty per cent shiite—in telling Iraqis that their vote is more valuable than gold.

The two old men, both frail and stooped from age, were quite a contrast. The argentine-born Pope was

clean-shaven and dressed in a pristine white cassock and cap; the Iranian-born ayatollah wore a black turban, and his long gray beard fell onto his black robes.

When the Pope arrived, doves were released as a sign of peace. Francis removed his shoes, in keeping with Muslim custom. The two men held both of each other’s hands as they spoke in the spartan home, off a narrow alley, that the ayatollah rents; sistani is famed for living as an ascetic. Francis, who took the subway when he was a cardinal and generated headlines when, as Pope, he went out to buy his own eyeglasses and orthopedic shoes, is also frugal. he has opted to live in the sparer quarters of a guesthouse, instead of the Vatican’s papal apartments. The clerics’ common emphasis is on helping the poor and oppressed. In their first encounter, neither the Pontiff nor the ayatollah wore a mask. The Pope was vaccinated in January; Iraq received its first doses—fifty thousand, a gift as part of China’s vaccine diplomacy—only last week, amid a second wave of CoVID-19. sistani had not had his shots yet.

Catholics and shiites have one thing in common when it comes to leadership: throughout their histories, both have believed that their top clerics are empowered to interpret the word of God—and are infallible. In contrast, many Protestants and sunni Muslims believe that clerics are mere advisers or guides, and that an individual’s relationship with God is personal. as a result, the words of the Catholic Pope and the shiite ayatollah have inordinate influence on their flocks. and, in Najaf, the two men had a common message of tolerance among faiths. sistani, who reportedly did much of the talking in their meeting, which lasted roughly forty minutes, said that Christians should “live like all Iraqis, in peace and security, and with their full constitutional rights,” according to a statement from the ayatollah’s office. Religious authority had an important role “in protecting them, and others who have also suffered injustice and harm in the events of past years.” The Vatican said that Pope Francis, in turn, praised the ayatollah for using his powerful voice “in defense of the weakest and most persecuted” during the violence that has beset Iraq during the past two decades. sistani has repeatedly urged reconciliation among the country’s divisive sects, ethnicities, and tribes.

Notably absent from the Pontiff’s trip were Iraqi Jews, who trace their roots back to Biblical Babylon and for millennia were one of the world’s oldest Jewish communities. Before the First World War, a third of Baghdad’s population was Jewish, and Jews had impor-

tant government posts. sassoon Eskell became the first minister of finance, and played the same kind of role in creating a new national financial system that alexander hamilton did in the United states. In 1936, four years after Iraq’s independence, hebrew was one of Iraq’s six official languages. But the birth of Israel, followed by the arab-Israeli wars and the rise of a virulent Iraqi nationalism during Baathist rule, led Jews to flee.

The Vatican said that Jews had been invited to the papal prayer event in Ur, but the community—Iraq’s Catholic Church could identify only a dozen individuals in the country—is almost extinct.

During Francis’s first foreign outing in fifteen months, the dangers to the leader of the world’s roughly 1.3 billion Catholics—or some eighteen per cent of the global population—were visible as helicopters hovered over his armored convoy. soldiers lined the streets, and snipers were positioned on rooftops. IsIs still has more than ten thousand active fighters in Iraq and syria, according to Pentagon and United Nations estimates. Iraq is also home to several shiite militias aligned with Iran that have recently attacked bases where U.s. troops support Iraq’s counterterrorism campaign. on sunday, the Pontiff witnessed the challenge for all faiths when he toured Mosul, which was Iraq’s second-largest city until it was conquered by IsIs. Less than four years after the jihadis fled, large parts of this ancient site along the scenic Tigris River are still in ruins and uninhabitable. Much of the destruction is also from massive bombs dropped by the U.s.-led coalition that backed Iraqi forces during the nine-month campaign to drive out IsIs, whose forces operated from homes, churches, mosques, hospitals, and businesses for cover. Francis held a prayer service for the victims of war in a square surrounded by four Christian churches—all now just piles of stone. “how cruel it is that this country, the cradle of civilization, should have been afflicted by so barbarous a blow, with ancient places of worship destroyed,” the Pope said. he honored the thousands of Muslims, Christians, and other religious minorities who “were cruelly annihilated by terrorism, and others forcibly displaced or killed.” and he appealed to the faithful to demonstrate that “fraternity is more durable than fratricide, that hope is more powerful than hatred, that peace more powerful than war.”

The joyous reaction among the thousands of Iraqis who turned out during the Pope’s visit, despite the physical dangers and the pandemic, provided symbolic hope in a war-ravaged land. But, almost two decades after saddam’s ouster, the Iraqi government has still not addressed the core grievances and injustices that have riven the country, its faiths, and its political factions.

The Pontiff’s historic visit provided four days of wonderment, but perhaps not much more.

Iran-Saudi tensions: A new ‘zero hegemony’ approach is desperately needed DECADES OF US INTERVENTION AND A REGIONAL FOSTERING DIALOGUE AND COOPERATION AMONG ARMS RACE HAVE SEEN THE MIDDLE EAST EMBROILED GULF STATES IS NECESSARY FOR ANY POTENTIAL IN ENDLESS CRISES. THIS APPROACH NEEDS TO END RAPPROCHEMENT alliances with the Us as an economic and military superpower. During the Cold War, the shah of Iran, perceived as a regional policing figure, sought security through a strong alliance with the Us.

Middle east eye

C

Seyed HoSSein MouSavian

haos and insecurity continue to ravage the Middle East region. saudi arabia launched strikes against the Yemeni capital sanaa this weekend as missiles and drones fired by Yemen’s houthi forces targeted the heart of saudi arabia’s oil industry on sunday. Last month an explosion hit an Israeli-owned ship in the Gulf of oman.

Us President Joe Biden ordered air strikes against facilities in syria allegedly used by Iranian-backed militia forces, claiming retaliation for a missile attack on a Us base in Iraq’s Erbil, which killed a contractor and wounded a soldier. suffice to say, Biden’s election to the White house hasn’t alleviated the perilous situation in the Middle East.

The dominant paradigm for ensuring security in the region has long been based on Us intervention. In the post-World War II era, Gulf states have heavily relied on

EXPANDED MILITARY PRESENCE: soon after the 1979 revolution and the fall of the shah, the Us expanded its military presence in the Gulf. arab Gulf states assumed that by heavily purchasing Us arms and bringing their troops to the region, their own security would be ensured. and in part because Iran-Us relations have remained hostile, other Us allies in the Middle East - such as saudi arabia - have been unable to reconcile with Iran. observing the ruinous turmoil in the Middle East region today - from the destructive Us-led invasions of Iraq and afghanistan, to the rise of terrorism, to the medieval sectarian violence of the Islamic state - the assumption that security can be purchased has been severely challenged. But what are the alternative scenarios for regional security, insofar as the Us, Iran and saudi arabia are concerned? Four possible scenarios can be envisioned.

Firstly, there is the traditional, hegemonic approach by the Us, where it continues to have a military presence in the Middle East, and Gulf states rely on american troops for security. This approach has been applied in

one way or another for seven decades, and as a result, the Middle East is engulfed in myriad crises.

The second scenario entails the Us strategy of “pivoting to the East”. This suggests that the Us should focus more on the real threats posed by China and Russia. In the event that the Us abandons the Middle East region, a vacuum of power would likely be filled by other powers, including Russia and China.

integrity, non-interference in internal affairs of states, and rejecting sectarianism and the arming of illegal militias in regional states.

These principles would minimise the risk of further conflicts in the region; lay the foundations for sustainable peace, cooperation and friendly relations between Iran and saudi arabia; and pave the way for a new security paradigm towards collective regional cooperation.

LAYING A NEW FOUNDATION: Under the third scenario, an Israeli-led agenda for a so-called “arab NaTo” would replace the Us military presence in the region. Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz recently said that Israel intends to develop a “special security arrangement” with arab allies in the Gulf who share common concerns over Iran. But this scenario, promoted by the Trump administration, would most certainly perpetuate tensions - not reduce them.

The fourth scenario, and in my opinion the most conducive to ensuring sustainable peace and security, is a model of collective regional security and cooperation based on 12 principles introduced by Gulf Research Center chair abdulaziz sager and myself in a joint article published by The Guardian. among others, the principles include mutual respect, preserving national sovereignty and territorial

‘ZERO HEGEMONY’: While Riyadh and Tehran focus on each other, smaller Gulf countries have cause for concern about the potentially hegemonic tendencies of saudi arabia, Iran and Iraq. as such, a regional security system should be based on the “zero hegemony” concept. Fostering dialogue and cooperation among Gulf states is necessary for any potential rapprochement. at the same time, one of the biggest challenges to regional peace and security stems from Israel’s longstanding violations of Palestinian rights. one cannot perceive sustainable peace in the Middle East without a fair and just solution to this tragic conflict.

Seyed Hossein Mousavian is Middle East Security and Nuclear Policy Specialist at Princeton University, and a former Chief of Iran’s National Security Foreign Relations Committee.

Wednesday, 10 March, 2021

BUSINESS 09

LAHORE corporate corner Ministry of Human Rights, Lifebuoy Shampoo join hands for women empowerment ISLAMABAD: Lifebuoy Shampoo has announced its partnership with the Ministry of Human Rights with TumMazbootHo – a campaign that aims to inspire women to raise stronger daughters for Pakistan, while empowering them to take a stand against domestic violence. Launched on International Women’s Day, Lifebuoy Shampoo’s campaign with the Ministry of Human Rights, showcases the strength of bond that mothers share with daughters and highlights the influence of education in protecting future generations of girls from vulnerability. Amir Paracha, Chairman and CEO, Unilever Pakistan, said, “Domestic violence is a reality that millions of women face, and are increasingly vulnerable to in the post-Covid world. Our commitment in partnership with the Ministry of Human Rights is to ensure a world in which young women are raised to challenge and change this truth, and not conditioned to accept it.” PRESS RELEASE

OPPO set to launch F19 Pro LAHORE: OPPO is geared up to launch another iconic addition to its F series soon. With the eye-catching finishes on the F9 Pro or the gradient design of the F11 Pro, the F series has always showcased the trendiest technology to consumers. The upcoming smartphone, OPPO F19 Pro is expected to elevate the F series with its sleek and fashionable design. A few leaks have revealed that the upcoming technological marvel will be in flowing light design equipped with a 3D curved back cover that will redefine the standards of sleek and stylish smartphones. The phone is also expected to have AIpowered portrait features powered by Quad cameras, 30W VOOC Flash Charge 4.0, and ColorOS 11.1. In addition to this, OPPO F19 Pro will come equipped with a host of features making it a worthy contender in its price segment. PRESS RELEASE

MARKET DAILY

Stocks hammered as KSE-100 sinks 828 points 'RISING INFLATION, POLITICAL UNCERTAINTY AMONG KEY FACTORS DRAGGING THE BENCHMARK INDEX LOWER' KARACHI STAFF REPORT

Bears continued to dominate the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Tuesday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index falling below the 44,000-mark mainly due to economic and political uncertainty. Global equity markets, on the other hand, showed a positive pattern, whereas crude oil prices continued with the uptrend; WTI crude price appreciating 0.97pc to $65.69 while Brent crude price rising 1.14pc to $69.02 (as at 3:56pm PST). "The market received another thrashing from investors today, mainly on the back of rising inflation and political uncertainty. In line with the usual practice, institutional investors faced redemptions from investors, which resulted in the offloading of recently bought positions, especially in cement and steel sectors,” a report issued by Arif Habib Ltd read. Expectation of an increase in inflation leading to a hike in monetary policy has recently caused havoc among investors looking for safe haven stocks.

Resultantly, power sector saw gradual accumulation, particularly KAPCO & HUBC, while banking sector also saw brisk buying with limited price gains."

SUMMARY: The benchmark KSE-100 Index remained in the red for almost the entire session, registering its intraday low at 43,946.30 after shedding 1,104.76 points.

It settled lower by 828.15 points at 44,222.91. Among other indices, the KMI-30 Index plunged 1,835.25 points to close at 73,074.05, while the KSE All Share Index dropped 582.39 points, ending at 30,382.52. The overall market volumes improved from 459.82 million shares in the previous session to 491.70 million shares (+7pc).

Average traded value, however, declined 5pc, from $157.6 million to $149.2 million. Ghani Global Holdings (GGL +7.46pc), Unity Foods Ltd (UNITY -7.26pc) and TRG Pakistan Ltd (TRG -6.33pc) led the volume chart, exchanging 41.23 million, 33.32 million and 25.50 million shares, respectively. Sectors that dragged the benchmark index lower included cement (-191.02 points), technology & communication (-145.78 points) and oil & gas exploration (-74.06 points). Among the companies, TRG Pakistan Ltd (TRG -92.23 points), Systems Ltd (SYS -49.43 points) and DG Khan Cement Company Ltd (DGKC -47.02 points) dented the index the most.

Shedding 6.14pc from its cumulative market capitalization, the refinery sector ended as the session’s worst performer, with Attock Refinery Ltd (ATRL 7.50pc), Pakistan Refinery Ltd (PRL -6.79pc), National Refinery Ltd (NRL -5.64pc) and Byco Petroleum Pakistan Ltd (BYCO -5.75pc) posting significant losses.

OiL SuPERMajOR ENi ExitS PaKiStaNi MaRKEt aFtER 20 yEaRS ISlAmAbAd

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STAFF REPORT

TALIAN oil and gas group ENI, in a push to exit Pakistan after 20 years, has sold its assets to a joint venture comprising its local employee and the Hub Power Company Limited (HUBCO), the company said this week.

The move by ENI, which supplied three million cubic meters of natural gas a day to Pakistan in 2018, underlines the chronic problems facing the country, where a deep energy crisis has hampered economic development for years.

In a material disclosure to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), HUBCO said: “We hereby inform you that Hub Power Holdings Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of HUBCO together

HUBCO SUBSIDIARY TO ACQUIRE ALL UPSTREAM OPERATIONS AS WELL AS RENEWABLE ENERGY ASSETS OF ENI IN PAKISTAN with ENI’s local employees (in a 50:50 joint venture) has executed definitive agreements to acquire all upstream operations in Pakistan of ENI and renewable energy assets owned by ENI in Pakistan.”

The ENI website says the company has been in Pakistan since 2000 in the exploration and production, and gas and power sectors, but its local development support in the country began in the 1970s.

ENI, one of seven “supermajor” oil companies in the world, is also one of the largest gas producers in Pakistan,

actively engaged in the Bhit, Badhra and Kadanwari oil and gas exploration fields which generate 75pc of its revenue in Pakistan.

Though officially the amount of the deal, to be finalized in three months, has not yet been disclosed, industry insiders say it is likely to fall between $160-$189 million.

It was reported in 2020 that ENI was divesting its upstream business in Pakistan, which is currently being conducted through three entities: ENI Pakistan Limited, ENI AEP limited and ENI Pakistan M limited. Insiders say

the listed exploration and production companies (E&Ps) may opt to buy these assets.

ENI is currently reviewing its exploration and production portfolio and leaving or downsizing operations in countries where it has a small presence with few opportunities to grow or where development is too long and complicated.

It is working to sell assets in Australia where it aims to keep control of its solar business as it looks to meet aggressive renewable energy targets.

Last year, ENI unveiled one of the most ambitious clean-up drives in the oil industry when it pledged to slash its greenhouse gas emissions by 80pc.

Apart from its global consolidation plan, analysts believe setbacks in offshore exploration may be one reason for ENI’s exit from Pakistan.

HBL, Huawei Pakistan form strategic alliance KARACHI PRESS RELEASE

HBL and Huawei Pakistan signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to cement their strategic partnership, through projects focused on financial and technological innovation, enabling HBL to augment its existing processes and systems. Both organizations have already completed milestone projects in 2020, such as the Promissory Note discounting project and the SDWAN projects.

Muhammad Aurangzeb, President & CEO, Sagheer Mufti, Chief Operating Officer, Aamir Irshad, Head Corporate, Commercial & Investment Banking, Farhan Talib, Regional General Manager, China and Singapore, Dr Aamir Matin, Head Technology, Muhammad Nassir Salim, Head Global Operations and Walid Kouba, Regional General Manager, Gulf represented HBL at the occasion. Tian Bing, CFO Middle East Region, David Shi, President Middle East Enterprise, Mark Meng, CEO Huawei Pakistan, and Shahzad Rasheed, Chief Technical Officer represented Huawei. During the ceremony, an HCIE Certification was also awarded to Mr. Naveed Hussain, who is part of HBL’s network team.

LAHORE: The Bank of Punjab (BoP) and Fauji Foods Limited (FFL) have signed an agreement to provide easy loans to dairy farmers as part of Punjab Rozgar Scheme and extension of the Prime Minister Kamyab Jawan Scheme. PR

Both organizations agreed to work together to focus on technological innovation in digital banking, mobile payment systems, and the cloud platform.

Muhammad Aurangzeb, President & CEO - HBL commenting on the occasion stated, “We are delighted to enter into a global strategic partnership with Huawei with whom HBL has collaborated on a number of successful projects in the past year.

HBL’s relationship with Huawei signals our commitment to becoming a “Technology Company with a Banking License,” allowing us to serve our cus-

tomers better. It is also an affirmation of our commitment to making China the lynchpin of HBL’s international strategy, as we grow our business and portfolio in that region.”

Adding to his sentiments, CFO Middle East Huawei stated, “Our achievements cannot be realized without the support from HBL, our strategic bank partner.” Further adding, “Since 2019, we have comprehensive business cooperation with HBL on sales financing projects, banking services, while also delivering the SDWAN project.”

Rs85bn accord for construction of Balakot Hydropower Project signed PESHAWAR AZIZ BUNERI

In an important development for the country's energy sector, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has signed a contract agreement for the construction of 300-megawatt Balakot Hydropower Project with a Chinese company.

As per details, the 300MW power project would be constructed with an estimated cost of Rs850 billion in a period of six years with financial assistance from the Asian Development Bank.

A ceremony to this effect was held on Tuesday with Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan as chief guest. Concerned authorities from the Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organization and the Chinese construction company signed the contract agreement to start physical work on the project. Besides provincial cabinet members Taimur Saleem Jhagra and Himayatullah khan, the event was also attended by the high ups of the provincial energy department.

Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister termed the project "of vital importance for the

CmYK

province and a milestone achievement of the KP government", adding that the groundbreaking of the project is expected to be performed by the prime minister by the mid of next month.

Mahmood Khan stated that the project, upon completion, would play an important role in boosting industrial activities, creating jobs and developing the province. "During the construction phase, the project will generate around 4,000 job opportunities, whereas upon completion, it is expected to generate a revenue of Rs14 billion per annum."

The CM maintained that power generated from the hydropower project would be provided to local industries as well as domestic consumers on relatively cheaper rates. He said that the incumbent provincial government is taking resultoriented steps under a well-devised strategy to ensure optimum utilization of the hydropower potential of the province.

Hydropower projects with a total capacity of 160MW have so far been completed under PEDO, whereas work on various other projects with a total capacity of 216MW is under progress, the CM noted.

KARACHI: Dawlance, a subsidiary of Arcelik – the 2nd largest white goods manufacturer in Europe, on Tuesday celebrated its 40 years of reliability by making its products available to a wider customer base on DarazMall. The brand launched its official e-commerce store in 2020, and now, as a second phase, has officially introduced its wide range of products on DarazMall. PR

KARACHI: Pakistan Tobacco Company Ltd (PTC) was awarded six ‘Global Diversity and Inclusion Awards’ in the Global Diversity & Inclusion Benchmarks (GDIB) conference held in Karachi. The award was received by Waqas Ahmed Khan, Head of Human Resources, PTC, and Beenish Kajani, Senior Human Resources Manager. PR

ISLAMABAD: The female employees of Eighteen pose for a group photo to mark the International Women's Day. The management on the occasion pledged to strive for inclusion by creating opportunities for women in the workplace and ensuring gender balance across all teams. PR

LAHORE: The Coca-Cola Company recently marked the monumental success of its 5by20 programme, which empowered 1.2 million additional women beneficiaries from its original decade-long target of economically empowering 5 million women by 202. PR

Wednesday, 10 March, 2021

10 FOREIGN NEWS

LAHORE

US pRopoSeS inteRim goveRnment CoUld RUn AfghAniStAn Until new pollS WASHINGTON/KABUL

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AGENCIES

US-drafted peace plan for Afghanistan, reviewed by Reuters on Monday, calls for the current government to be replaced with an interim administration until a new constitution is agreed and elections held, while a joint commission monitors a ceasefire.

The warring parties have long harboured deep objections to key ideas in the proposal,

however.

The US special envoy for Afghanistan, ZalmayKhalilzad, shared the “Transitional Peace Government” proposal last week with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, opposition and civil society leaders, and Taliban negotiators.

Under the interim government, the national parliament could either be expanded to include Taliban members or suspended until after the election, the plan suggests. It also says that Afghanistan could “not host

Republican donations surge despite corporate boycott after Capitol riots AGENCIES Right after the deadly insurrection at the US Capitol, dozens of US companies announced they would halt political donations to the 147 Republican lawmakers who voted to overturn Donald Trump’s presidential election loss. Two months later, there is little sign that the corporate revolt has done any real damage to Republican fundraising. US Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). If anything, the biggest backers of Trump’s false election-fraud narrative - such as Missouri Senator Josh Hawley and Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene - have been rewarded with a flood of grassroots donations, more than offsetting the loss of corporate money. And contributions from both small donors and rich individuals looking to fight the Democratic agenda have poured into the party’s fundraising apparatus. The boycott’s limited impact underscores the diminishing role of corporate money in U.S. politics. Individual donations of $200 or less have made up a growing share of campaign money in recent years, while the share given by corporate America shrinks. That trend has accelerated with the rise of anti-establishment figures on both the right and left, such as Trump and progressive firebrand Bernie Sanders, a Vermont senator.

terrorists or permit terrorist-related activity on its soil” that threatens other countries, and that the Taliban would have to abandon safe havens and military ties “in neighbouring countries.”

Four political sources in Kabul who spoke on condition of anonymity, including a senior presidential palace official, confirmed the authenticity of a copy of the draft plan seen by Reuters. The plan has been reported by TOLO News and other Afghan outlets.

State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters on Monday: “Every idea we have put on the table, every proposal that is out there ... we understand that this process, at its core, must be Afghan-led and Afghanowned.”

The new US administration of President Joe Biden wants to revive stalled peace talks before May 1, when the last 2,500 US troops must leave Afghanistan under a February 2020 deal struck between the Taliban and the former Trump administration.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken last week proposed in a letter to Afghan leaders that Turkey hold a senior-level meeting “in the coming weeks to finalise a peace agreement.”

INTERIM GOVERNMENT: Ghani has refused to step aside for a transitional government. The senior presidential palace official in Kabul echoed that on Monday: “We will never accept an interim set-up through a conference or a political deal.”

The Taliban have rejected a ceasefire and elections. But a Taliban leader told Reuters that while they would not join an interim government, they were not opposed to one being formed.

The US draft calls for the establishment of a transitional government, including an “executive administration” chosen by the sides, “with special consideration for the meaningful inclusion of women and members of all ethnic groups.”

'Trapped' protesters in Myanmar allowed to leave after tense standoff YANGON AGENCIES

Hundreds of young Myanmar protesters who had been trapped by security forces in a district of Yangon overnight have been able to get out, activists said on Tuesday, after calls from western powers and the United Nations for them to be allowed to leave.

Thousands of people defied a night time curfew to take to the streets of Myanmar's main city in support of the youths in the Sanchaung district, where they had been holding a daily protest against the February 1 coup.

The army takeover and arrest of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi has plunged Myanmar into chaos. Security forces have killed over 60 protesters and detained more than 1,800 since then, an advocacy group said.

A former member of parliament said an official from deposed Myanmar

Indian PM Modi inaugurates bridge to connect India, Bangladesh Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said the entire region is being developed as a trade corridor between northeast India and Bangladesh. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday inaugurated a bridge connecting India with Bangladesh. "This connectivity has not only strengthened the friendship between India and Bangladesh but also proves to be a strong link of business too," Modi said, while opening the bridge via video conferencing. "The entire region is being developed as a trade corridor between northeast India and Bangladesh," he added. The bridge was built on the Feni river, which flows between India's northeastern border state of Tripura and Bangladesh. Maitri Setu (Friendship Bridge) symbolises growing bilateral relations and friendly ties, said an official statement issued by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs. The 1.9-kilometre bridge joins Sabroom town in India with Ramgarh town in Bangladesh. AGENCIES

leader Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy died in custody after he was arrested early on Tuesday.

Ba Myo Thein, an MP of the dissolved upper house, told Reuters that the party official, ZawMyat Linn, was arrested around 1:30am. "Now, the relatives are trying to retrieve the body at the military hospital," he said.

In Sanchaung, police firing guns and using stun grenades announced on Monday they would check houses for anyone from outside the district and would punish anyone caught hiding them. Youth activist SharYaMone said she had been in a building with about 15 to 20 others, but had now been able to go home.

"There were many free car rides and people welcoming the protesters," SharYaMone said by telephone, pledging to keep demonstrating "until the dictatorship ends".

Another protester posted on social media that they had been able to leave the

area at around 5am after security forces pulled out. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had earlier called for "maximum restraint" and the safe release of all protesters without violence or arrests, a call echoed by the US and British embassies in Myanmar.

An advocacy rights group said around 50 people had been arrested in Sanchaung after police searched houses, though checks were still being made.

A junta spokesman did not answer calls requesting comment. State television MRTV earlier said: "The government's patience has run out and while trying to minimise casualties in stopping riots, most people seek complete stability (and) are calling for more effective measures against riots."

Three protesters were killed in demonstrations in northern Myanmar and the Irrawaddy Delta on Monday, according to witnesses and local media.

MYANMAR AMBASSADOR IN

LONDON BACKS PROTESTS: Demonstrations have been held daily for more than a month to demand the release of Suu Kyi and respect for the election her National League for Democracy (NLD) party won last November.

The army took power citing fraud in the ballot -- an accusation rejected by the electoral commission. It has promised another election, but without giving a date.

The military has brushed off condemnation of its actions, as it has in past periods of army rule when outbreaks of protest were bloodily repressed.

This time it is also under pressure from a civil disobedience movement that has crippled government business and from strikes at banks, factories and shops that shut much of Yangon on Monday. In a diplomatic blow to the junta, Myanmar's ambassador in Britain followed its UN representative in calling on Monday for the release of Suu Kyi - drawing praise from British foreign minister Dominic Raab.

Britain, the United States and some other Western countries have imposed limited sanctions on the junta.

The European Union is preparing to widen its sanctions to target army-run businesses, according to diplomats and two internal documents seen by Reuters.

Ten years after Fukushima, Japan remembers 'man-made' nuclear disaster TOKYO AGENCIES

When a huge earthquake and tsunami struck Japan on March 11, 2011, devastating towns and triggering nuclear meltdowns in Fukushima, a stunned world watched the chaotic struggle to contain the world’s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.

A worker, wearing a protective suit and a mask, is seen from a bus near the No. 3 reactor building at Tokyo Electric Power Co's (TEPCO) tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, Fukushima prefecture, Japan February 10, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai An onslaught of waves sparked by the 9.0-magnitude quake crashed into the northeastern coast, killing nearly 20,000 people and

crippling the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant. More than 160,000 residents fled as radiation spewed into the air. At the time, some - including Prime Minister Naoto Kan - feared Tokyo would need to be evacuated, or worse.

“Fukushima is stamped for the rest of the history of nuclear energy,” said Kiyoshi Kurokawa, head of an investigation that concluded the disaster was “profoundly manmade”. The government has spent about $300 billion (32.1 trillion yen) to rebuild the tsunami-devastated Tohoku region, but areas around the Fukushima plant remain off-limits, worries about radiation levels linger and many who left have settled elsewhere. Decommissioning of the crippled plant will take decades and billions of dollars.

Japan is again debating the role of nuclear power in its energy mix as the resource-poor

country aims to achieve net carbon neutrality by 2050 to fight global warming. But an NHK public TV survey showed 85% of the public worries about nuclear accidents.

Energy policy was left in limbo after Shinzo Abe led his pro-nuclear energy Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) back to power the year after the disaster, ousting the novice Democratic Party of Japan, whose image was tainted by its handling of Fukushima.

“They sort of left things adrift,” said Tobias Harris, senior vice president at consultancy Teneo and author of a book about Abe. ‘RESULT OF COLLUSION’: Kurokawa’s commission, appointed by parliament, concluded in 2012 that the Fukushima accident was “the result of collusion between the government, regulators and Tokyo Electric Power Co” and a lack of governance.

Wednesday, 10 March, 2021

SPORTS 11

LAHORE

premier league: havertZ takes chelsea past evertoN; West ham Beat leeds LONDON

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AGENCIES

HELSEA strengthened their hold on fourth place in the Premier League as Kai Havertz inspired a vital 2-0 win over Everton, while West Ham boosted their surprise top four challenge with a 2-0 victory against Leeds on Monday.

Havertz has endured a disappointing first season following his £70 million ($96 million) move from Bayer Leverkusen last year.

But the Germany forward was given a rare start by Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel and he responded by playing a key role in both goals at Stamford Bridge.

Havertz’s shot was deflected into the Everton net for a Ben Godfrey own goal in the first half. The 21-year-old has not scored in the league since October, but Tuchel entrusted him with an important role as Chelsea’s false nine and Havertz’s intelligent movement put him in position to earn the second-half penalty that Jorginho converted.

“I’m very happy with his performance, no doubt about his quality, his talent and also his character,” Tuchel said.

“He needs to adapt to the Premier League, he needs to be at a club where you play to win every game, where the highest standards are normal. That’s a normal process for him to adapt to this mentality.”

Chelsea are unbeaten in 11 games in all competitions – winning eight times – since Tuchel replaced the sacked Frank Lampard in January. They are two points ahead of fifth

placed West Ham, who have a game in hand in a tense race to qualify for next season’s Champions League via a top four finish.

The Blues have kept nine clean-sheets under Tuchel and only their former Italian

boss Maurizio Sarri, who went 12 games unbeaten, has enjoyed a better start with the west London club. “If you share special moments and good results, this is the thing that lifts you up to the special performances you need,”

Goswami, Mandhana help India beat SA by 9 wickets to level series LUCKNOW AGENCIES

India Women levelled the five-match series against South Africa 1-1 by polishing off a small target with 21.2 overs to spare and denied South Africa a record eighth successive win. The victory was India's biggest margin of success against South Africa by wickets.

Roles were entirely reversed from Sunday's fixture when South Africa eased their way to an eight-wicket win after opting to chase, and restricted their opposition with a clinical display in the field. The hosts were much improved from that performance, had clearly shaken off any rustiness and created several chances in the field. Jhulan Goswami headlined their effort with four wickets and was well supported by returning seamer Mansi Joshi - who has not played ODIs since October 2019 - and the spinners. Rajeshwari Gayakwad chipped in with three wickets and ensured South Africa's middle-order was not allowed to settle or score freely.

Lara Goodall was South Africa's best batter and fell one short of what would

have been her second ODI half-century, but just one other player, stand-in captain Sune Luus scored more than 12. South Africa only had one partnership over 20 runs thanks to Goodall and Luus, who put on 60 for the third wicket, and their last six wickets fell for 44 runs. By contrast, India's unbeaten second-wicket stand was worth 138 and both Smriti Mandhana and Punam Raut reached half-centuries and were largely untroubled at the crease. They blunted South Africa's attack and took Shabnim Ismail for 46 runs in six overs to impose themselves on a bowling group that had too few runs to work with.

Mandhana hit Ismail for back-to-back sixes in the first over, both off short balls.

Her first shot, a swivel-pull, was a commanding one but her second, a top-edge over fine-leg suggested Ismail's line of attack might work. It did, but against Jemima Rodrigues, who under-edged an attempted pull onto her leg stump in the fifth over. That gave South Africa a sniff, but that was just about all they got. There was an opportunity to run Mandhana out in the next over but Ismail did not man-

age a direct hit and Mandhana got an inside edge off Marizanne Kapp but only as far as her pad. After that, she was in complete control.

She drove with authority and timed the ball to perfection to allow Raut time to get herself in. It took 31 balls before Raut found the boundary, when she charged Nonkululekho Mlaba and went over mid-wicket, and then danced down the track to hit her through mid-off. Mandhana brought up her fifty off 48 balls with an uppish drive through the covers and took India to 100 runs in 21 overs. Raut should have been out in the next over when she lofted Ayabonga Khaka to longon but Nadine de Klerk overran. Mandhana should have been out the over after that when she holed out to mid-off off Luus, but the delivery was adjudged a noball for height. South Africa were unable to create any more chances, Raut went on to reach fifty off 79 balls with a ramp shot and freed her arms to find the boundary twice more but left it to Mandhana to hit the winning runs with a straight drive down the ground.

Greenstar celebrates women’s day with bicycle ride KARACHI PR

The Greenstar Social Marketing (GSM) organised an event titled “International Women’s Day Bicycle Ride” to celebrate the women, who inspire, drive innovation, create magic and make an impact every single day.

The GSM, whose existence is centred on women health and well-being, recognised the International Women’s Day occasion like every year as an opportunity to raise awareness on women’s health, especially among the young women in Pakistan. This year the theme was “Choose to Challenge”. The GSM applauds its workers’ hard work and dedication, especially the lady health workers, who continued their efforts in the tough Covid-19 times.

It is up to us to create a gender-equal world and take action for gender parity.

About 150 women from different walks of life participated in the bicycle ride, where the women were appreciated for their valuable contributions to a healthy

Tuchel said. “I can feel a strong bond between the players in the dressing room. I feel positive energy from everyone around the team.

We need this to have a run like this.”

LINGARD SHINES: Sixth placed Everton

are four points behind Chelsea after their first away defeat since November.

“They played better than us,” Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti said. “Once they scored it was more difficult. We are disappointed, but not too much.”

West Ham’s unexpected bid to finish in the top four gathered pace with a confident dismantling of Leeds at the London Stadium.

Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa might have known it was not going to be his night when his side had two early goals disallowed.

Tyler Roberts’ effort was ruled out for offside against Helder Costa before Patrick Bamford netted from Raphinha’s cut-back, only for replays to show the ball had gone over the touchline before the cross.

West Ham took the lead in the 21st minute after Luke Ayling tripped Jesse Lingard in the area.

Lingard took the penalty and although Illan Meslier saved his shot, the on-loan Manchester United midfielder snapped up the rebound.

West Ham doubled their advantage seven minutes later when Craig Dawson was left unmarked to head in Aaron Cresswell’s corner. David Moyes’ side were battling relegation at this stage of last season.

But they have won four of their last six league games to leave Hammers fans dreaming of a place in Europe’s elite club competition. “We are doing really well and having a good season. It could be a great season,” Moyes said. “I’m not saying we will finish in the top four but we need to hang in and see what we can do.”

Fans from abroad will not be allowed to attend Tokyo Games: reports TOKYO AGENCIES

Japan has decided to exclude overseas spectators from the Tokyo Olympics over fears an influx of visitors could bring an increase in coronavirus infections, local media reported Tuesday.

Kyodo News said the government had concluded it was “not possible” to allow fans from abroad to attend this summer’s Games, already delayed by a year because of the pandemic. This was due to “concerns among the Japanese public over the coronavirus and the fact that more contagious variants have been detected in many countries”, Kyodo said, citing unnamed officials.

The Asahi Shimbun daily said the International Olympic Committee had asked Japan to make exceptions for overseas guests linked to sponsors, and that the government was considering the request.

Despite a spike in infections this winter, Japan has had a comparatively small outbreak overall, with about 8,300 deaths. It has avoided imposing blanket lockdowns, but the Tokyo area is currently under a state of emergency that requests bars and restaurants close early. Tokyo 2020 organisers have stressed that public safety will be “top priority” at the Olympics, which are due to start on July 23.

Around 900,000 tickets have reportedly been sold outside Japan.

Games organisers have said they plan to officially rule this month on the matter of foreign fans – likely before the nationwide torch relay begins on March 25.

Earlier Tuesday, there were reports that the torch-relay starting ceremony would probably be held without spectators, but fans would still be able to line the route.

And a poll by the Yomiuri Shimbun published this week found that more than 75 percent of Japanese opposed overseas fans attending the Games.

Tokyo 2020 president Seiko Hashimoto said Friday that organisers “really want to hold the event in full stadiums with fans from around the world”.

But this would be difficult “if we’re not in a position where we can accept them and the situation with medical facilities isn’t perfect”, she said.

Organisers have already laid out strict rules for the nationwide torch relay, which was called off in 2020 after the historic decision to postpone the Games by a year.

Reports said organisers feared crowding at the March 25 starting event in Fukushima, and would probably bar the 3,000 spectators initially planned.

A spokesman for Tokyo 2020 organisers would say only that “details of the (relay) Grand Start are still under discussion”.

Organisers are also set to decide on limits on overall spectator numbers in April.

NZ captaiN WilliamsoN ruled out of odi series agaiNst BaNgladesh female population towards nation-building and socio-economic sustainability.

The CEO of GSM, Dr Syed Azizur Rab, stated that, “The event was a roaring success as we received an overwhelming response from women of all ages. We also thank the other key stakeholders, including the academia, the media, the civil society and the relevant governmental institutions, who have promised to extend every possible support to enable more empowerment and healthy nurturing of our female population.”

The GSM has been operating as the largest private-sector institution to improve Pakistan’s reproductive health services for the past 30 years. It inspires the population by voluntarily delivering safe, reliable and quality contraceptive products at affordable prices and valuable family planning information. It has contributed 12 to 15 per cent yearly to the national “Couple Years of Protection”. It has established a nationwide network of 6,000 plus private providers, engaging over 100,000 pharmacies and retailers.

CMYK

WELLINGTON: New Zealand captain Kane Williamson will miss this month’s One-Day International series against Bangladesh because of an elbow injury, the Black Caps said on Tuesday. The team’s medical manager Dayle Shackel said Williamson had a small tear in his left elbow that had been irritating him for months. He said Williamson had attempted to manage the injury while still playing without success, forcing him to sit out the three-match Bangladesh ODI series, which begins on March 20. “He now needs a period of rest and rehabilitation to get the injury right,” Shackel said in a statement. Coach Gary Stead said the New Zealanders wanted Williamson’s injury dealt with before they contest the inaugural ICC World Test Championship final against India in June. “We want to make sure we have Kane fit and firing for that,” Stead said. “We will certainly miss his class and leadership in the upcoming Bangladesh series, but his omission will no doubt present an opportunity for someone else when the ODI squad is named.” The squad to face Bangladesh is due to be named on Thursday. AGENCIES

Wednesday, 10 March, 2021

prayer timings

NEWS

Cabinet approves proposed reforms in soes

ISLAMABAD

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ghulam abbas

FTER a delay of over two years, the government has finally approved the proposed reforms in stateowned enterprises (SOEs).

Briefing the media following the federal cabinet’s decision, Adviser to Prime Minister on Institutional Reforms and Austerity Dr Ishrat Hussain said that the government was working on bringing reforms in the state institutions.

“Before [our government came into power] no one even knew how many institutions we had.”

Now, after the government conducted a survey, we got to know that we have 441 institutions, he said while addressing a joint press conference with Finance Minister Shaikh, Federal Minister of Industries and Production Hammad Azhar and others on Tuesday.

The adviser said that as many as 56 chief executives, who were working abroad, had approached the government to work and collaborate with them.

“We have 85 SOEs (stateowned enterprises) — and the government will decide on which to keep and which to sell,” he said, adding the government had invested Rs19 trillion in SOEs. “We will have a performance agreement with these institutions,” he said.

“We have appointed 56 chief executives in various organizations so far and the best person at the best place will strengthen these institutions,” he said, adding that out of 44 loss-making institutions initially at least 28 institutions would be privatised.

Meanwhile, Shaikh said that the government was trying to bring about a unified law that would regulate both companies and state institutions.

The finance minister said that public listed companies and state institutions are currently functioning under separate laws. He said that three “big laws” had been approved that would strengthen Pakistan’s economy.

It is worth mentioning here that the legislation related to structured governance reforms for the management of SOEs developed in consultation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank (WB) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is long awaited.

As per a report prepared by the Ministry of Finance, the proposed law would introduce structured governance reforms in the management and oversight of the SOEs. Through this proposed enactment, the boards of directors of the SOEs would be given more autonomy in terms of decision-making in addition to ensuring the separation of the office of chairman from the CEO in all SOEs including entities established through special enactments. And the role of the line ministries/divisions would be streamlined for operational autonomy of the SOEs. The report was prepared to undertake reforms in SOEs in extensive consultative and collaborative work with development partners – IMF, WB and Asian Development Bank – to focus on 85 SOEs mostly operating in seven sectors – power, oil and gas, infrastructure transport and communication, manufacturing, mining and engineering, Finance, industrial estate development and

management, and wholesale, retail and marketing.

The report noted that breaking down the performance of SOEs reveals that over the past six years, one-third of the commercial SOEs have experienced losses intermittently. Additionally, the sum of the losses of top-10 loss-making SOEs contributes around 90% to the total losses of SOEs portfolio each year.

NHA, Pakistan Railways, PIA and power sector DISCOs have been among the major top 10 loss-making SOEs. As many as 12 loss making SOEs, mostly in the power sector, had caused Rs156 billion loss during the fiscal year 2018-19. Among loss making SOEs proposed for privatisation, the major loss making entities are eight DISCOs – Hyderabad electric supply company limited ((HESCO) Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO), Peshawar Electric Supply Company Limited (ESCO), Sukkur Electric Supply Company Limited (SEPCO), Multan Electric Company Limited (MEPCO), Lahore Electric Supply Company Limited (LESCO), Faisalabad Electric Supply Company Limited (FESCO) and Quetta Electric Supply Company limited )QESCO)) as well as one GENCO (Jamshoro Power Company) along and Pakistan Textile City Ltd, State Engineering Corporation and Telephone Industries of Pakistan.

There are 10 SOEs, which are on an active privatisation list and are at various stages of the privatisation process. Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) is an important entity on the active list and is at an advanced stage of the privatisation process. SME bank is another loss making SOE, which is on the active privatisation list. In addition to these, partial divestment of OGDCL and PPL is also underway.

As many as 10 SOEs have been identified as potential privatization candidates and due consultations with line ministries have already been initiated. In fiscal year 201819, six entities were loss making with a combined loss of Rs38.5 billion mainly emanating from ZTBL (Rs18 billion), SSGC (Rs14.8 billion) and USC (Rs5 billion).

RAWALPINDI

ment were discussed during the meeting.

The visiting dignitary acknowledged Pakistan’s continuous efforts for peace and stability in the region and pledged to further enhance bilateral relations between both countries, said the ISPR. The visit of the UK general comes a day after US Special Representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad and Commander Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan General Austin Scott Miller called on COAS Bajwa.

According to the ISPR, the US delegation greatly appreciated Pakistan’s role in the Afghan peace process. The military’s media wing said that matters of

Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa and United Kingdom Army Chief of Defence Staff General Sir Nicholas Patrick Carter discussed Afghan peace process on Tuesday, said the InterServices Public Relations (ISPR).

According to the military’s media wing, General Carter called on General Bajwa at General Headquarters (GHQ).

The statement said that matters of mutual interests including Afghan peace process, security and defence cooperation as well as evolving global geo-strategic environ-

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SBP to be more autonomous after cabinet approves amendment bill: Faraz ISLAMABAD staff report

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz on Tuesday said that the federal cabinet approved an amendment bill to make the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) stronger and more autonomous.

Briefing the media about the decisions of the cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan, the minister said the that draft State Bank of Pakistan (Amendment) Bill, 2021, which would now be tabled in the parliament, was aimed at ensuring the operational and administrative autonomy of the SBP and increase its scope and powers.

He said that the SBP, as a regulator, was responsible to control inflation but due to lacunas in the act, it was unable to perform in an effective manner.

The present government, he added, wanted to further empower the central bank so that it could take decisions independently without any outside interference. The past rulers used to get political advantages by misusing the SBP’s authority of the SBP, he further said.

The step to empower the SBP would have far reaching impact on the economy and it would help control inflation, the minister said.

Faraz said that the cabinet approved in principle the draft law of Pakistan Institute of Education Act and sent it to the Cabinet Committee on Legislation. Under the proposed law, a modern institution would be set up by merging the Academy of Educational Planning and Management, and the National Education Assessment System, a database of educational institutions, he said. The new institute would be responsible for managing the affairs of educational institutions, he added.

The minister said that the cabinet also approved the Out-of-School Children Framework. Under the framework, all the factors and motivations that prevented children from going to school, were being examined. The framework also proposed strategies to bring out-of-school children back to school, he added.

The cabinet, the minister said, also approved the procedure for distribution of donations provided by the government to the SAARC Covid- 19 Emergency Fund. It may be recalled that the cabinet had already approved the donation of $3 million to the fund, he added.

At the time of setting up the fund, he said, it was decided that the fund would be distributed through

COAS, UK CDS discuss Afghan peace process staff report

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mutual interest, regional security and ongoing Afghan reconciliation process were discussed in the meeting.

Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director General Lt Gen Faiz Hameed, Pakistan Special Envoy on Afghanistan Muhammad Sadiq and PM Special Assistant on National Security Dr Moeed Yusuf were also present in the meeting.

Khalilzad’s visit, first under the Biden administration, came against the backdrop of desperate attempts by the US to seek a political end to the war in Afghanistan. Khalilzad flew from Doha where he held talks with the Afghan Taliban.

the SAARC Secretariat, but later it was decided by the SAARC member countries to distribute the donations provided by each member on a bilateral basis. Therefore, the cabinet approved a new method of distribution of donations from Pakistan to the SAARC fund in accordance with the new procedure, he added Faraz said that the cabinet gave its consent to the proposal of Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry that Pakistan should also give coronavirus-related equipment being produced in Pakistan as part of the grant.

He said that the cabinet appreciated the decision of Justice (r) Azmat Saeed, the chairman of the inquiry commission on Broadsheet not to get any perks and privileges.

The minister said that the cabinet also approved Income Tax (Amendment), 2021, which was an important piece of legislation to improve the tax network.

He also said the cabinet discussed the reforms in state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and it was informed that steps had been taken to improve their performance.

Faraz said that the cabinet was informed that before the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government came to power, the SOEs had registered Rs286 billion loss in the fiscal year 2017-18, which was halved to Rs143 billion in 2018-19.

He said that the cabinet gave approval to the summary of appointment of Aizaz Ahmed as Managing Director of National Transmission & Despatch Company (NTDC). It also approved the appointment of Fauzia Khan as the director general of Pakistan Quality Control Authority, he added.

The minister said that the cabinet also gave approval to the appointment of Tariq Rashid as DG of Government Employees Housing Authority.

He further said that the cabinet also gave its nod to the proposal of removing the chief executive officer of Drug Regulatory Authority Sheikh Akhtar Hussain and appointment of Asim Rauf as its acting CEO. Faraz said that the cabinet also gave approval to the protocols for amendment in North-South gas pipeline agreement with Russia.

The minister said that the cabinet did not agree with the proposal made by the Government of Sindh regarding member finance in the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) Tribunal, considering the qualifications and experience of the candidates.

He said that the cabinet ap-

proved the appointment of members of the boards of governors of Sheikh Zayed Postgraduate Medical Institute and Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre under the Federal Medical Teaching Institutes Ordinance.

The cabinet, he said, approved the issuance of 41 new licences, revocation of seven licences, transfer of five and one case of jurisdiction in respect of Overseas Employment Promoters Licenses.

The cabinet was informed that the Bureau of Immigration and Overseas Employees had so far sent 1.1 million people abroad, he added.

Responding to a question, Faraz said that the politics of opposition revolved around money, browbeating and extortion. “An investor invests money, wins elections and then starts minting money after joining the government and patronizing various mafias,” he said.

He also said that the electoral process would remain controversial without transparency and openness.

Right now, a battle was underway between two systems – the opposition was representing the evil side and the government was leading the righteous forces, he added.

Faraz said that senator-elect Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani had not even shown an iota of repent over surfacing of news about his son’s attempts to purchase votes in the recent Senate election. On the contrary, “my father Ahmed Faraz would have disinherited me if I were involved in such dirty practices,” he added.

“We will have to bring rule of law in the country as without this progress and prosperity is impossible,” he further said.

The minister said that it was astonishing that Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) President Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who himself had been rejected by the people of his constituency, was demanding the government to resign.

The opposition was divided as a tug of war for Nawaz Sharif’s succession was going on in the Sharif family between Hamza Shehbaz and Maryam Nawaz, while the other component parties had their own internal bickering, he added.

He denied the impression that the opposition had the support of 51 senators and the government had 48 senators. During the last Senate elections, scores of PML-N senators were elected as independents. The ruling coalition’s candidate Sadiq Sanjrani would win the coveted post of Senate chairman, he added.

Activist’s arrest spotlights crackdown on dissent in India NEW DELHI: To her friends, Disha Ravi, a 22-year-old Indian climate activist, was most concerned about her future in a world of rising temperatures. She was drawn to veganism, enjoyed watching Netflix, and spent time on social media. But her life changed last month when she became a household name in India, dominating headlines after police charged her with sedition, a colonial-era law that carries a sentence up to life in prison. Her alleged crime: sharing an online handbook meant to raise support for months-long farmer protests on Twitter. “If highlighting farmers’ protest globally is sedition, I am better (off) in jail,” she said in court two weeks ago. She was released after 10 days in custody. Her mother told reporters in Ravi’s hometown of Bengaluru that the case “has reinforced our faith in the system,” and called her daughter strong and brave. Going after activists isn’t new in India, but Ravi’s saga has stoked fear and anxiety. Observers say what happened to Ravi — a young, middle-class, urban woman — hit home for a lot of Indians, who suddenly feared they could be jailed for sharing something on social media. Criminal lawyers also point to a troubling frequency in the way sedition is invoked. Many say checks and balances employed by lower courts, often overwhelmed with cases, are fading.

The incident has raised questions over India’s democracy, with critics decrying it as the latest attempt by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government to mute dissent and criminalize it. agencies

UN envoy in Doha to push on Afghan peace process: report DUBAI agencies

The United Nations’ envoy for Afghanistan is due to arrive in Qatar on Tuesday to meet with the Afghan government and Taliban representatives this week in a fresh push on the fractious Afghan peace process, a report quoting two sources familiar with the talks stated.

The visit comes as the United States is

seeking to shake-up the stalled Qatar-hosted talks between the warring sides, including proposals for an interim government.

UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan Deborah Lyons was also expected to meet US special envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad and Qatari officials during the visit, the sources said.

These are crucial meetings as the outcome will decide the fate of year-long talks

in Doha whether they should be continued or put under a moratorium, one of the sources said. With peace negotiations in the Qatari capital making little progress and violence in Afghanistan escalating, the United States is trying to build consensus around alternative options with all Afghan sides and key regional players.

Khalilzad has visited Afghanistan, Pakistan and Qatar over the past week.

Former US President Donald Trump’s administration signed a troop withdrawal deal with the Taliban in February 2020 under which all international forces were expected to leave the country by May 1. However, violence has risen and NATO officials say some conditions of the deal, including the Taliban cutting ties with international militant groups, have not been met, which the Taliban disputes.

The US government said on Sunday that

all options remain on the table for its remaining 2,500 troops in Afghanistan and that it had made no decisions about its military commitment after May 1.

The State Department comments came after reports emerged that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had made a new urgent push for an UN-led peace effort, warning the US military was considering exiting Afghanistan by May 1.

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