EpaperLHR_21-07-19

Monday, 19 July, 2021 I 8 Zil-Hajj, 1442 I Rs 40.00 I Vol XII No 20 I 48 Pages I Lahore Edition

Pakistan assures ‘swift action’ as Ghani recalls afGhan envoy, staff g

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g FO terms Ghani’s decisiOn investiGatOrs Find Gaps in victim’s stOry ‘unFOrtunate, reGrettable’ interiOr minister thinks victim's alleGatiOns are suspiciOus

ISLAMABAD MiAn AbrAr

i

n a diplomatic standoff following the incident involving afghan ambassador’s daughter, the afghan government on sunday recalled its envoy and other staff of its mission back to kabul. according to unconfirmed reports, pakistani ambassador to kabul mansoor ali khan also arrived in pakistani capital the same day – hinting at another diplomatic stalemate as afghan taliban, who already control over 85 percent afghan territory, are making their final push to take over kabul. silsila alikhil, 26, was going home in a rented vehicle in islamabad on Friday when she was briefly kidnapped by unidentified assailants who released her hours later with injuries and rope marks, afghanistan’s foreign ministry claimed on saturday. investigators, however, have found gaps in the victim’s story, saying that the envoy’s daughter had visited several places in twin cities and footage of her visits had been retrieved and was being

looked into.

Following the incident, prime minister imran khan directed minister for interior sheikh rasheed ahmed to utilise all resources to apprehend the culprits. “[afghanistan’s] president Ghani has recalled the afghan envoy and other diplomats from islamabad, saying the kidnappers of the ambassador’s daughter must be brought to justice and the safety of afghan diplomats in pakistan be secured,” said tolo news quoting Waheed Omar, an adviser to the afghan president. pakistan immediately responded to the afghan president’s move, terming it “unfortunate and regrettable”. “the decision by the Government of afghanistan to recall its ambassador and senior diplomats from pakistan is unfortunate and regrettable. the reported abduction and assault of ambassador’s daughter in islamabad is being investigated and followed-up at the highest level on the instructions of the prime minister. the security of the ambassador, his family and personnel of the embassy and consulates of afghanistan in pakistan has been further beefed up,” said an official statement is-

coronavirus in

Pakistan

CONFIRMED CASES:

989,275

LAST UPDATED AT 7:44 AM ON JULY 18, 2021

DAY'S DEATH TOLL:

NEW CASES:

21

2,607

RECOVERED:

DEATHS:

919,163 22,781 SINDH:

PUNJAB:

355,462

350,259

KPK:

BALOCHISTAN:

140,560 AJK/GB: 21,989/7,362

29,080 ISLAMABAD:

84,563

sued here by ministry of Foreign affairs. “the Foreign secretary met the ambassador of afghanistan today, highlighted all the steps taken by the Government in this context, and re-assured him of full cooperation. We hope that the Government of afghanistan would reconsider its decision,” the statement added. earlier on sunday, the interior minister told a news conference that the abduction case of afghan ambassador’s daughter would be solved within 72 hours. he said that the interviews of the trio of taxi drivers whose cars the ambassador’s daughter had rode have been recorded. he said that the first driver had driven the envoy’s daughter to khadda market in sector G-7/1, while a second driver had then driven her to rawalpindi. he added that a third had driven her from damane-koh, islamabad. the interior minister said that footage of her trip from rawalpindi to daman-e-koh was missing and the matter was under investigation. he said that the “riddle” would be solved by the evening and all aspects of the case would be unearthed, reflecting some gaps in the statement of the victim. later in the day, the interior minister told media that the kidnapping allegations were suspicious as the investigation has revealed all the facts. “there is a clear difference between the evidence of the investigation and the statement of the afghan ambassador’s daughter. in the cctv footage, the girl was walking in the market of islamabad, rawalpindi and later daman-e-koh,” he said. he also said that the investigation had revealed that afghan ambassador’s daughter had lied and no incident of kidnapping had taken place. “the afghan ambassador’s daughter said her phone was snatched. but the phone was recovered from her,” he said.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

Delhi played role to keep Islamabad on FATF grey list: Jaishankar NEW DELHI TLTP

india finally on sunday admitted that prime minister narendra modi’s government ensured that pakistan remains on the grey list of the Financial action task Force (FatF), ani news agency quoted external affairs minister (mea) s Jaishankar as saying. “due to us, pakistan is under the lens of FatF and it was kept in the grey list,” Jaishankar said while addressing bharatiya Janata party (bJp) leaders.

Jaishankar claimed that india was successful in “pressurising” the neighbouring country via the FatF, saying that pakistan “changed” its behaviour due to the measures taken by the modi government. modi made “personal efforts on global forums like G7 and G20 to keep pakistan on the list, ani also quoted the indian minister as saying. last month, the FatF — the global body working to combat the financing of terrorism and

Taliban favour ‘political settlement’ to Afghanistan conflict: leader KABUL AFP

the taliban’s supreme leader hibatullah akhundzada on sunday said he “strenuously favours” a political settlement to the conflict in afghanistan even as the hardline movement has launched a sweeping offensive across the nation. the announcement comes as representatives of the afghan government and taliban insurgents sat down for a new round of talks in doha over the weekend, stirring hopes that the long-stalled peace talks were being resuscitated. “in spite of the military gains and advances, the islamic emirate strenuously favours a political settlement in the country,” akhundzada said in a message released ahead of next week’s holiday of eidul adha. “every opportunity for the establishment of an islamic system, peace and security that presents itself will be made use of by the islamic emirate,” he added.

For months, the two sides have been meeting on and off in the Qatari capital, but have achieved little if any notable success with the discussions appearing to have lost momentum as the militants made enormous

gains on the battlefield. the two sides were due to talk again on sunday. the taliban leader said his group remained committed to forging a solution to end the war but slammed “the opposition parties” for “wasting time”.

“Our message remains that instead of relying on foreigners, let us resolve our issues among ourselves and rescue our homeland from the prevailing crisis,” he added. the insurgents have capitalised on the last stages of the withdrawal of us and other foreign troops from afghanistan to launch a series of lightning offensives across large swathes of the country. the group is now believed to control roughly half of the nation’s 400 districts, several important border crossings, and have laid siege to a string of vital provincial capitals. the taliban have long appeared to be united, operating under an effective chain of command, and carrying out complex military campaigns despite perennial rumours of splits among the organisation’s leadership.

Questions remain over how firm of a hand the taliban’s leaders have with commanders

on the ground and whether they will be able to convince them to abide by a potential agreement if signed. the leader’s statement notably made no mention of a formal ceasefire call for the eid holidays.

TEMPORARY CEASEFIRES: Over the years, the taliban have announced a series of short truces during islamic holidays that initially spurred hopes that a larger reduction of violence would be implemented in the country. however, the group has more recently been criticised for using the temporary ceasefires to resupply and replenish their fighters, allowing them to launch withering onslaughts on afghanistan’s security forces once the truce expires. the us-led military coalition has been on the ground in afghanistan for nearly two decades following an invasion launched in the aftermath of the september 11, 2001 attacks.

Fears are growing that afghan forces will be overwhelmed without the vital air support they provide, allowing for a complete taliban military takeover or the start of a multisided civil war in a country awash with large stockpiles of weapons following nearly four decades of fighting.

money laundering — retained pakistan on its grey list despite the country meeting 26 of the 27 conditions and handed it over a new six-point action plan, keeping islamabad exposed to global pressure tactics. however, the FatF noted that pakistan had completed all but one of the 27 items in the action plan and it had decided to keep it under “increased monitoring”. “the FatF encourages pakistan to continue to make progress to address as soon as possible the one remaining cFt [combating the financing of terrorism]-related item by demonstrating that tF [terror financing] investigations and prosecutions target senior leaders and commanders of un-designated terrorist groups,” according to the global body. the remaining action item was the most significant among all in the view of the member countries including the us and india, which have circled pakistan through the FatF platform.

more inside

Pilgrims perform Hajj rituals under Covid safety measures STORY ON BACK PAGE

Jewish visits, opposed by palestinians, spark clashes at al-aqsa mosque STORY ON BACK PAGE

PM Imran asks Nawaz Sharif and family to face independent judiciary STORY ON PAGE 03 in today’s issue

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02

Monday, 19 July, 2021

LAHORE

NEWS

Sindh ex-cM MuMtaz bhutto PaSSeS aWay

F

News Desk

ORMER Sindh chief minister Sardar Mumtaz Khan Bhutto, 94, breathed his last in Karachi on Sunday after a protracted illness.

Mumtaz Bhutto’s body is being shifted from Karachi to Larkana for burial.

His body will be sent to Larkana at 6 pm for funeral prayers, Spokesperson Ibrahim Abro said.

Bhutto’s spokesperson added that the political personality, who had also served as the governor of Sindh prior to becoming its chief minister, has been ill for some time.

Mumtaz Bhutto, a cousin and close aide of former prime minister and PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, passed away at his residence in Karachi.

Prime Minister Imran Khan also extended his condolences to the bereaved

family.

“Saddened to hear of the passing of Sardar Mumtaz Ali Bhutto. My condolences and prayers go to his family,” he wrote on Twitter.

President Arif Alvi expressed sorrow over the death of Bhutto and extended his condolences to the family.

Soldier martyred in South Waziristan operation News Desk A young sepoy was martyred during an intelligencebased operation by security forces in the Senai Narai area of South Waziristan district, the Inter-Services Public Relations said on Sunday. According to a statement by the ISPR, the operation was conducted "on reported presence of terrorists". "During intense exchange of fire with terrorists, Sepoy Junaid, age 20 years, resident of Balakot, District Mansehra embraced shahadat," the statement said. The military's media wing said that a cordon and search operation is in progress in the area to eliminate any terrorists present.

Man SlaughterS WoMan, tWo children in abbottabad ABBOTTABAD INP

A man brutally slaughtered a woman and her two children in Abbottabad on Sunday, over an unknown reason. As per police, the dreadful incident occurred in Abbottabad’s Sergharbi area, where a man, who is said to be the neighbour of the deceased family, slaughtered a woman and her two children with a sharp dagger. The police said that the accused fled the scene after the killings, while raids are underway by to arrest the culprit. Meanwhile, the bodies have been shifted to the hospital, while their identification has not been disclosed yet. In a separate incident of the same in nature, a woman in Karachi allegedly killed her husband, as it divulged, with the help of her declared male friend in the Korangi district. After recovery of the blood-ridden, rope-tied and blanketshrouded body of her husband, whose throat was slit, from under her bed, following house help’s statement to the police, the suspect wife had told police that her male friend murdered him. The murder took place at around 11 am in the morning on Saturday where the woman, with her friend, killed the husband while their three minor kids witnessed the ghastly event. My friend Soni killed him, the wife had told the police.

“He told me to hide the body at your place somewhere for now and later I would dispose of it,” she admitted in her police statement.

Firing at PeShaWar quarantine centre leaveS tWo coPS dead PesHAwAR INP

Two policemen were killed on Sunday after an unidentified man opened fire at a quarantine centre in Peshawar. While no details were offered as to what prompted the incident, the police said they have arrested the suspect, identifying him as one Abbas. A probe has also been launched to ascertain the motive behind the shooting. The slain policemen have been identified as Sub Inspector Gul Rehman and Sergeant Imran. Firing incidents have also been reported in Peshawar previously. On June 28, five people were killed during an incident of firing in a jirga which, according to police, was held to settle a land dispute.

He prayed for Bhutto to be granted heaven and for his family to find the patience to bear the loss.

Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani expressed grief over Bhutto’s passing and extended his condolences to the family.

Minister for Interior Shaikh Rasheed Ahmed was also among political leaders to express sorrow over the former chief minister’s death. He prayed for Bhutto’s ranks to be elevated in the hereafter and for his family to be granted patience in their hour of grief.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that he is saddened to hear of the news of Bhutto’s death.

He extended his condolences to the family and remembered Bhutto with admiration.

“Mumtaz Bhutto was a notable figure in Sindh’s politics,” he said.

Chief Minister Balochistan Jam Kamal

expressed profound sorrow over the veteran politician’s demise.

“I share in the grief of Mumtaz Bhutto’s family,” the Balochistan chief minister said.

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry expressed heartfelt sorrow over Bhutto’s passing.

“I am praying for the family in this hour of grief,” he said.

Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar has expressed a deep sense of sorrow and grief over the demise of the former CM. The chief minister also extended heartfelt sympathies and condolences to the bereaved family members.

In his condolence message, Usman Buzdar prayed that may Allah Almighty rest the departed soul in eternal peace and grant courage and strength to the bereaved family with fortitude.

‘Imran Khan visits those who have money,’ says Maryam during AJK election rally News Desk Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Vice President Maryam Nawaz has said that the candidate in Bagh, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, was only visited by the ruling party as he is an “ATM machine and [Prime Minister] Imran Khan visits those who have money, not those who are poor.”

Addressing her party’s election rally in the region, the PML-N leader stated that the ruling party organised a rally because their candidate there has no links with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.

“The ‘selected’, who asks people for their votes wasted the taxpayers’ money on the helicopter ride.”

“But despite spending millions, they were rejected by the people. You were rejected by the people from Karachi to Khyber.” Maryam remarked.

The PML-N leader termed the upcoming AJK elections a “revolution”. “July 25 is the day to restore the respect of votes and safeguard them,” she added.

Speaking about her father and party chief Nawaz Sharif, Maryam said, “I’m glad that Nawaz Sharif’s sacrifices have borne fruit and have not gone to waste”.

“Those talking about the minus formula should see how Nawaz Sharif is becoming a plus, plus and plus with every passing day,” she quipped.

On the occasion, Maryam also told the people of AJK

to not spare anyone who attempts to steal votes.

Moreover, Pakistan People’s Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari would join the AJK election campaign on the third day of Eid ul Adha after concluding his United States trip, it was learnt on Sunday.

According to sources privy to the details of Bilawal Bhutto’s schedule, the PPP chairman would begin the third phase of his election campaign in the AJK from July 23.

“Bilawal Bhutto will attend two public gatherings in Azad Jammu and Kashmir on July 23,” they said adding that the first gathering would be in Bagh and the other in Muzaffarabad.

Bilawal Bhutto will further spend the entire election day on July 25 in the AJK and will also visit polling stations to witness the polling process, the sources said.

Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari has been leading the election campaign of the Pakistan People’s Party in Azad Jammu and Kashmir in the absence of chairman Bilawal BhuttoZardari due to his US visit.

It is pertinent to mention here that the election campaign is in full swing in the region as the polling day nears with Prime Minister Imran Khan, PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz also visiting the AJK and addressing multiple rallies in a day to woo their voters.

With additional input from INP

FM, chinese envoy visit injured chinese at cMh RAwALPINDI TLTP

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Chinese Ambassador Nong Rong visited Combined Military Hospital (CMH) Rawalpindi on Sunday to inquire after the well being of Chinese nationals injured in the Dasu incident. According to the InterServices Public Relations (ISPR), during the visit to the hospital, the foreign minister inquired after the injured Chinese nationals and wished them speedy recovery. Qureshi assured the injured Chinese nationals of the government’s all-out support and medical care. Ambassador Nong Rong, speaking on the occasion, said that China and Pakistan will continue to cooperate more closely to face any challenges together. Earlier on arrival, Commandant CMH Major General Muhammad Aleem apprised the visiting dignitaries of medical care being provided to the injured. At least 13 people – nine Chinese nationals and four Pakistanis – were killed and more than two dozen others wounded Wednesday morning when a shuttle bus they were travelling in plunged into a deep ravine after an explosion on board. The bus was ferrying the Chinese and Pakistani workers to an under-construction tunnel site of the Dasu Hydropower Project in the remote Kohistan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. On Saturday, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid assured Chinese Minister for Public Security Zhao Kezhi that the investigation of the Kohistan bus tragedy was underway at the highest level on the directions of Prime Minister Imran Khan and had entered the final stage.

“The Chinese investigation team is being provided full support,” Rashid said. “All Chinese workers in Pakistan would be provided fool-proof security,” the minister said during a telephone call with the Chinese minister. The two sides also agreed that no hostile element could spoil the relationship between the two countries. Earlier, PM Imran also spoke with his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang and assured him that the government of Pakistani would spare no effort to fully investigate the incident. “He [prime minister] assured that no effort would be spared to fully investigate the incident,” said a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office detailing the telephone call between the two premiers.

Chilli farming under CPEC to expand over 5000 acres in Pakistan IsLAMABAD APP

After a successful pilot project at 100 acres under China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the next phase of Chilli farming will be ready for launch with upcoming sowing.

Referring to an article published by China Economic Net, CPEC Authority Chairman Lt Gen (r) Asim Saleem Bajwa on Sunday in a tweet said, the Chilli farming could spread over an area of 5000 acres in various regions of the country.

According to the article of China Economic Net, Pakistan has ideal conditions for Chilli/Pepper (Capsicum Annum L.) cultivation. Pakistan is amongst the top ten chilli producing nations which enjoy a combination of warm, humid yet dry weather and a well-drained sandy loam with rich organic content.

However, Pakistan’s chilli production has been lower than the world average for the same period since 2015. From FY2014–15 to FY2017-18, the average annual production of chilli in Pakistan was around 143,428 tons, but it plummeted to 126,943 tons in FY201819, accounting for 85.7% its peak in FY2017-18 of 148,114 tons.

In Pakistan, Sindh province is the major producer of chilli followed by Punjab and Balochistan. The major constraints in production faced by chilli farmers here are lack of modern irrigation system, imbalance use of fertilizer and pesticide, and lack of training.

“In Pakistan old methods of 1970s,

1960s or 1980s are adopted by farmers.

Now Pakistan has to adopt modern technology to increase its production,” recommended Zahid Gishkori, a Special Investigative Correspondent in Pakistan.

What is worse, growers are troubled by some marketing issues, including unreasonable commission agent charges, improper weighing, price fluctuations and lack of proper storage facilities. Pepper growers are unable to make a proper profit from chilli due to marketing channel barriers.

Talking to China Economic Net, Khurum Javed Maqbool, Director Marketing of Fatima AG Soultions Limited, Pakistan, pointed out that at present the whole ecosystem in Pakistan is inefficient.

“From harvesting to sewing and storing of the crop and then selling it and then farmers getting financing and then the returns for their produce… All these operations require improvement.”

In July, a pilot Chilli farm project under the cooperation between Pakistani farmers and their Chinese partners – CMEC & Sichuan Litong Food Group – began to bear fruit, with a yield around 3 times Pakistani varieties.

Chen Changwei, Chairman of Sichuan Litong Food Group, China, noted that their pilot Chilli farm project successfully completed 100 acres of plantation in the first half of 2021 in Lahore.

For the 100-acre-pilot-project, the quantities of seeds are 380 grams per acre, with a yield reaching 3 tons per acre. The total production is expected to

reach 300 tons.

While as per Ministry of National Food Security & Research (Economic Wing), chilli is grown on 47,349 hectares in Pakistan with a crop yield of about 2.68 tons per hectare (1.072 tons per acre) and an annual production of around 126,943 tons in FY2018-19.

As per Chen, they brought a total of 13 varieties of Chinese chillies to Pakistan since 2019. It took them three years to conduct the pilot program, and of all these 13 varieties, two varieties, namely, PJH302 and PJH-407, have been certified for cultivation in Pakistan.

“Seed is the basic input for agriculture sector and has imperative role in enhancing agriculture productivity, food security and poverty alleviation,” said YEAR BOOK 2019-20 released by Ministry of National Food Security and Research (NFS&R), Pakistan.

On top of seeds, field management is also of great significance. Correct and careful management of farming and farmers could increase efficiency and reduce risk.

“We’re gonna arrange a team of 3 agricultural experts on each chilli field of around 0.165 acres,” Wu Guang told China Economic Net. And these agricultural experts will train Pakistani staff in planting technology.

Advanced Chinese irrigation systems have also been introduced into the field.

Umer Diyal, a farmer who worked in the pilot Chilli farm in Qasbi, Lahore, said the Chinese introduced an irrigation system, and the expense of fertilizer has been reduced and every plant was getting

water. “Watering of plants is not complex and expensive any more,” he added.

Also, contract farming helps a lot when it comes to addressing farmers’ concerns about marketing.

Agriculture-related economy is vulnerable, so “we’re conducting contract farming with Pakistani farmers,” Wu Guang told China Economic Net. That is, Pakistani farmers undertake to supply agreed quantities of chilli, based on the quality standards and delivery requirements of CMEC. In return, CMEC agrees to buy the chilli, at a price that is nailed down in advance.

“When the chillies are ripe, they are naturally dried and then shipped back to China for further processing,” Chen Changwei noted.

“If there is a farmer, who has harvested 100 acres of chilli crops in Nawabshah, Sindh, his profits from the local markets would be low. About 70% of the households in Pakistan grow on their own, so they wish to export the chilli to other countries,” Zahid Gishkori said, hinting that contract farming might be a feasible way for them to “export” at doorstep during the pandemic period.

“This model generates employment in the rural economy, reduces risk for firms, and provides income for farmers,” Wu Guang told China Economic Net. He further mentioned that in the next phase of the pilot Chilli farm project, as many as 3000 acres of land would be brought under chilli cultivation.

Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Nong Rong praised the chilli farming project, saying that the project is expected to produce more than 8,000 tons of dried chillies with a net income of more than Rs. 100,000 per acre for local farmers.

Lastly, Pakistan has another advantage over China in growing chillies.

Sequential cropping is feasible here as the climate, soil, and water of Pakistan are different from that of China.

Monday, 19 July, 2021

LAHORE

PM iMran aSkS naWaz ShariF and FaMily to Face indePendent Judiciary

P

News Desk

RIME Minister Imran Khan on Sunday asked former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his other family members, residing in the United Kingdom, to return home and face trials as judiciary in the country was fully independent.

Addressing a mammoth public gathering held in connection with Azad Jammu and Kashmir upcoming general elections on 25th July, the premier said that it was his dream to put the country on the right path and this is the only way through which it can be developed.

Seeing a large number of people without observing standard operating procedures against Covid-19 pandemic, PM Imran appealed the people to continue wearing mask and observing SOPs to prevent spread of the virus. “You all are standing very close together. I fear that I will hear later that many coronavirus cases

Shehbaz pins energy crisis on government’s ‘incompetence’ Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz President and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif has pinned the energy crisis on the federal government’s “incompetence and greed for money”. Citing a report issued by the former Punjab chief minister, Geo News reported that Shehbaz expressed concern over the disruption in the supply of gas to industries and the CNG sector and said that it is, indeed, “bad news for the nation.” Shehbaz said that the “never-ending problem” of electricity and gas load-shedding has been going on for the last few months, which is a sign of mismanagement on part of the government. He said that the government’s claim that the PML-N had produced more electricity than required during its tenure has been proven false, adding that time has shown how the PML-N had increased the power generation capacity keeping in view the needs of the country. Last week, Shehbaz had said that the PTI-led government had subjected the masses to the curse of electricity load-shedding.

“There can be no greater crime than this,” Shehbaz had said while addressing a press conference in Lahore along with other PML-N leaders. NewS DeSk

emerged due to this rally,” he said.

He said that the pandemic has yet not been over and we will have to continue observing SOPs to protect ourselves and others form coronavirus.

The premier also lauded the spirit and determination of the crowd gathered, receiving a loud roar in response.

“A large portion of my life was spent playing cricket under the sun. Sitting on the stage here I felt my clothes drenched in sweat. So when I look at all of you packed here together, I wish to pay special tribute to all of your determination,” he said.

PM Imran said that he thinks of the future of the people of the country, especially the youth. “I want our country to be such that when one travels with the Pakistani passport they should be admired. The world should look at us with respect. The green passport should be respect. We should become a great nation,” he said.

Speaking of the Arabian peninsula at the time of the

Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), he said that there were two superpowers then, and the Arabs “had no standing” in society.

“They were bedouins and poor,” he said, adding that history bears witness that after Muslims migrated to Medina, one superpower knelt before the Muslims and after 14 years, another followed.

“The Arabs whom no one even looked upon, ended up ruling the world. What was the reason?”

He further said that Muslims have been directed to follow the teachings of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and they will always achieve greatness if they do this.

“I want our nation to become a great nation.

Unfortunately, we went off track. We began asking for aid and entering into other people’s wars. We brought destruction upon our own people. We lost our respect.

“No one respects a person who asks for alms and loans. You can test this out yourself,” PM Imran.

Work on Dasu power project to resume soon: Foreign Office IsLAMABAD STAff RePoRT

The Foreign Office on Sunday said work on the Dasu Hydropower Project will soon resume as both Pakistan and China were committed to the timely completion of this and other projects being undertaken with Beijing’s cooperation.

Responding to media queries, Foreign Office Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said: “The Chinese construction company [China Gezhouba Group Company] […] has declared its earlier notice, about contract termination of employment of Pakistani personnel working on Dasu Hydropower Project, null and void.”

Following the incident, reports citing undisclosed sources claimed Gezhouba Group had terminated the employment of Pakistani workers working on the project in a purported notification that claimed the Chinese

constructions giant was “forced to suspend the construction”.

“The notification of employees contract termination […] had not been approved by the competent authority and has been declared null and void now,” Gezhouba Group clarified in a notification issued Saturday.

Chaudhri further said matters pertaining to security and execution of the plant were being looked into, and the relevant authorities both from Pakistan and China were working in close contact in this regard.

“Both Pakistan and China remain committed to timely completion of Dasu Hydropower and other projects being undertaken with Chinese cooperation,” he said.

Following the attack on the Chinese team, Water and Power Development Authority and Gezhouba Group had decided with mutual consultation to temporarily suspend construction work.

Since then, Wapda is working in close liaison with the Gezhouba Group’s top management.

AfP

Carefully preserving an animal takes patience and attention to detail — luxuries Jahangir Khan Jadoon says he doesn’t always have when a bereaved pet owner rushes into his workshop.

“Sometimes an emotional customer will bring his dead pet with tears still in his eyes saying, ‘I can’t live even a night without him’,” the taxidermist tells AFP from his studio near Lahore.

Surrounded by stuffed leopards, deers, parrots and cats, Jadoon sees his craft as both an art and a vital way to console those in pain.

Some animals can take days to properly preserve

He said that even if a person asks his parents or siblings for money repeatedly, they began looking at the person differently. “No ones respects a country that does not stand on its own two feet,” he said.

The premier went on to say that a person who is truthful and just is respected the world over. He said that if there is one leader he respects it is Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah. “Even his opponents viewed him as an honest and just man. They respected him despite being his opponents.” PM Imran said that the country needs to change its ways. “We must adopt honesty and trustworthiness. Look at your own area. Look at Bhimber.

Villages and cities all respect the man who is honest and just. This is a person’s nature (to be drawn towards such people). This is God-given.” The premier said that when people go to the polls on July 25, they must ask themselves, if the party they are voting for has a leader that is honest and just. “Or is he one who lied to the nation, acted well enough to rival Bollywood standards […] so much so that the women in our cabinet began crying after looking at his face?” the premier asked.

The prime minister was referring to PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif who was allowed by the courts to go to London on medical grounds. “We were afraid.

Will he even be able to climb the stairs of the airplane?” remarked the prime minister. “He left as one Nawaz Sharif and turned into a completely different man in London,” he added.

three killed, 12 inJured in buStrailer colliSion LAHORe STAff RePoRT

At least three people were killed and a dozen other sustained injuries after a bus and trailer collided head-on in Toba Tek Singh district of Punjab, police said on Sunday. According to rescue officials, the incident occurred near a road leading to Samundari tehsil of Faisalabad when a trailer smashed the speeding bus, leading to the tragic accident. “Three people have so far died while 12 others are currently being treated, with some said to be in a critical condition,” a rescue official said as the teams shifted the wounded to a nearby hospital. The identity of those killed and injured in the road mishap could not be ascertained immediately. Deadly accidents are common in the country due to poor road infrastructure and disregard for traffic laws. In a recent incident, at least six people were killed while 30 others received injuries when their bus turned turtle after skidding off a bridge in Khanewal.

IsLAMABAD STAff RePoRT

LAHORE: Customers buy sacrificial animals at a local market. ZUBAIR MeHfooZ

Stuffed with love: Bereaved pet owners turn to taxidermy LAHORe

03

Joint team, china ambassador pay on-site condolences to victims of bus blast

ncoc daily update: 2,607 new cases take total caseload to 989,275 ISLAMABAD: Pakistan confirmed 2,607 new Covid-19 cases over the past 24 hours, the National Command and Operation Centre said on Sunday. The NCOC, a department leading campaign against the pandemic, said that the number of total cases rose to 989,275, amidst the fears of a fourth wave. According to a statement by the NCOC, Sindh has been the worst hit, with a total of 355,462 cases, followed by Punjab where the disease was detected in 350,259 people. A total of 22,781 people died of the disease, including 21 patients who died over the last 24 hours, the NCOC said, adding that 2,508 are in critical condition. The country has 47,331 active cases while 919,163 others have recovered from the disease. The vaccination drive in the country has also picked up its pace with 513,082 doses administered to the public on Saturday, the NCOC said. Some 18,185,297 people have been partially vaccinated and 4,550,696 others fully vaccinated, according to the latest official data. STAff RePoRT

NEWS

while others take weeks, depending on the size and particulars of the animal.

First, the skin is carefully removed, washed, and then exposed to the sun. The animals are then stuffed and carefully sewn back together while their eyes are replaced with glass balls.

But there are times, Jadoon admits, when he has only hours to bring comfort to a distraught client, making the delicate process all the more difficult.

“Someone with a parrot or a cat will come and request us to preserve the pet as soon as possible. They say: ‘do it now’. So in such cases, we have to apply extra chemicals. Even then it can take hours,” he adds.

Over the years, Jadoon has seen a wide range of species brought into his workshop, from rare leopards

to a cassowary bird that lived in a zoo for decades.

“I learnt this skill from my forefathers. My grandfather started it in 1918 after a deer died in Lahore’s zoo,” Jadoon tells AFP, saying that he has also stuffed his fair share of animals that merely serve as decorations for fancy homes.

A growing taste among elite Pakistanis for exotic pets — especially big cats seen as symbols of wealth and power — has also spilled over into his work.

“Most people prefer a cat or a dog, a parrot or a peacock as their pet. But nowadays, there’s a new trend of raising lions,” Jadoon says.

He has helped establish a collection at a university museum, where those studying ecology and conservation can learn more about the delicate trade.

“This type of museum provides an opportunity to the students,” said Arshad Javid, who heads the Wildlife and Ecology Department at the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences in Lahore.

“They can see them here, they can identify the difference among the species.”

But dealing with a pet and its owners is a different

The Chinese joint work team to Pakistan, along with staff from the Chinese embassy expressed their condolences to Chinese nationals who were killed in a bus blast in Kohistan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa earlier this week. The Chinese officials said that the strong friendship between China and Pakistan won’t be disrupted, and urged Pakistan to double down security measures to protect Chinese nationals in the country, Global Times reported.

Pictures of the victims and white flowers were presented at the scene where the deadly bus blast claimed the lives of nine Chinese nationals. Wu Wei, deputy director-general of the Department of External Security Affairs of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs who leads the joint work team, along with Nong Rong, the Chinese ambassador to Pakistan, paid condolences on Saturday. Wu said as constructors of a new generation of friendship between China and Pakistan, their “blood and sweat” won’t be forgotten by the history and people of the two countries. After the condolences, they went to the Dasu hydropower project, where all the victims used to work. Wu also said that the joint work team has asked Pakistan to tighten up their security measures, to ensure the safety of all Chinese employees in the country. A criminal investigation group from the joint team is working together with Pakistani authorities. Zhao Kezhi, Chinese Minister of Public Security, said in a phone call with the Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed on Saturday that his ministry has sent criminal investigation experts to assist in the investigation into the terrorist attack. Zhao said the Chinese government attaches great importance to the attack and hopes China and Pakistan can work together to find out the truth, solve the case as soon as possible, locate the real perpetrators and severely punish the organisers behind the attack.

Monday, 19 July, 2021

04 NEWS

LAHORE

BAnK ACCounT holDerS TAxeD rS66Bn on ProFiTS in lAST FiSCAl yeAr KARACHI

T

TLTP

HE bank account holders paid Rs66 billion as income tax on profits derived on their deposits during the fiscal year 2020-21.

The tax payment in the fiscal year 2020-21 is 10 percent higher, compared with the Rs60 billion paid in the preceding fiscal year.

Sources at the Regional Tax Office (RTO) Karachi, which has the jurisdiction over the collection of income

tax on profit from the banking deposits, attributed the record deposits of the banking system to the Covid related restrictions.

The deposits of the banking system reached a record high of Rs19.795 billion by June 30, 2021.

Sources said over the last years, deposits of the banking system have been increasing as the people prefer risk-free investment. The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) collects the tax on profit on banking deposits under Section 151 of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 at the rate of 15 percent.

The banks are withholding the amount at the time of payment of profit to their depositors. The tax rate increased 100 percent to 300 percent in case the profit recipient is not on the Active Taxpayers List. The sources said the collection from the deposits would further increase, as the changes have been made to Section 151 related to profit on debt.

The explanations on the Finance Act, 2021 issued by the FBR, said the scope of separate block taxation on interest income had been revised. “Previously, the interest income up to Rs36

million in case of individual and Association of Persons (AOPs) was chargeable to tax at the rates ranging from 15 per cent to 20 per cent under [the] final tax regime.”

The FBR said by virtue of the new amendments, the interest income up to Rs5 million would be taxed at the rate of 15 percent under the final tax regime.

If the interest income is more than 5 million, it would be taxed under the normal tax regime; while a uniform rate of 15 per cent withholding tax has been introduced on interest income under Section 151 of the ordinance.

Tax rates on petroleum cut to reduce burden on consumers: Fawad NEWS DESK Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry has said that to reduce the burden of increasing international petroleum prices, the government of Pakistan has been reducing the tax rate on fuel. In a statement, the minister said that in January this year, Brent crude price was $51 per barrel whereas in July it touched $75 mark, showing an increase of 47 percent. He said that in January, petrol price in Pakistan was Rs106 per litre and now in July it is being sold at Rs118 per litre, showing an increase of only 11.3 percent. Fawad said if petroleum levy was kept at December 2020 level of Rs30, which was the maximum the government can charge, the additional collection would have been approx Rs200 billion. He said that the petroleum levy has been slowly reduced during the last 7 months. He said for the month of July, the foregone approximate Rs27 billion tax would have been collected, if the government had kept sales tax at 17 percent and levy at Rs15 as per IMF Programme pre-Covid level. He said that average tax on per litre petrol during the last 6 months of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government was Rs22.5 compared to only Rs11.5 currently.

Air traffic control complex at Faisalabad airport operationalised NEWS DESK An air traffic control (ATC) complex equipped with the latest technology as per international standards established at the Faisalabad airport became functional on Sunday. According to the airport manager, the newly established ATC complex has become operational at the Faisalabad airport. The complex was completed in six months at a cost of Rs40 million. The new air traffic control complex has been established at the height of 120 feet as due to the lower height of the old ATC it was difficult to control the planes at the airport. Earlier this month, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) had greenlighted Air Arabia to operate four flights to and from Faisalabad and Multan in a week. According to CAA officials, the low-cost Emirati airline (Air Arabia) would operate two weekly flights between Abu Dhabi and Multan and two flights between Abu Dhabi and Faisalabad. Last month, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) had granted permission to increase the number of flights up to 40 per cent to five countries.

Cryptos make slight gains with Bitcoin reaching $31,768

LAHORE: Workers sharpen knives ahead of Eid-ul-Azha. ZUBAIR MEHFOOZ

Scholarship under KJP a beacon of hope for jobless youth: Dar NEWS DESK Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Youth Affairs Muhammad Usman Dar has said that the skill scholarship under ‘Kamyab Jawan Programme’ is a beacon of hope for unemployed youth of the country.

He expressed these views in his tweet, wherein he also shared a success story of Shakeel Ahmed, who is earning Rs60,000 per month through an online website after completing a six-month course in Graphics Designing under Hunarmand Pakistan Programme.

Dar said that it is heartening to see that youth from all the federating units of Pakistan are reaping benefits of ‘Kamyab Jawan Programme’. He congratulated Shakeel Ahmed, who is from Azad Jammu and Kashmir, on getting an online job.

IT ministry assigns Syed Husnain Abbas Kazmi as NITB executive director ISLAMABAD SHAHZAD PARACHA

The ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication has assigned the post of executive director (ED) National Information Technology Board (NITB) to Director General (DG) Administration, Syed Husnain Abbas Kazmi.

According to the document, Syed Husnain Abbas Kazmi has been assigned to the post of with immediate effect for a period of three months or till appointment of a regular incumbent, whichever is earlier.

Sources said that the government has not ex-

tended the contract of former CEO Shabahat Ali Shah citing reasons that he failed to develop a comprehensive system with regard to online proceedings of Cabinet matters. Sources claim that the MoIT&T wants to extend the contract of Shabahat Ali Shah but the Prime Minister’s Secretariat rejected the ministry’s extension request.

Further, the NITB failed to upload the summaries on Tablet PCs which were provided to cabinet members. The cabinet division had also written a letter to NITB in this regard, sources added. Moreover, the cabinet division has conducted a third party inspection of NITB’s system which shed light on its fragile state which can be hacked easily.

ISLAMABAD: The prices of major digital currencies made some gains on Sunday after two back to back red sessions, increasing the market cap to $1.35 trillion (+2.3 percent) as of 1240 GMT. The price of Bitcoin (BTC), the largest cryptocurrency, increased to $31,768 after gaining 0.72 percent. With this increase in price, the market capitalisation of the BTC has reached $596 billion. Likewise, ethereum (ETH) price gained 4.68 percent to reach $1,963. With this decrease in price, the market capitalisation of ETH has reached $229 billion.

Similarly, XRP gained 1.51 percent to reach $0.589. The market capitalisation of XRP stands at $58.9 billion after this increase. On the other hand, Cardano (ADA) price reached $1.20 with a 2.69 percent gain in its price.

Its market capitalisation has reached $38.6 billion after this increase. Likewise, Dogecoin (Doge) price appreciated by 9.56 percent to reach $0.190. With this decrease in price, the market capitalisation of Doge reached $24.7 billion. Bitcoin price has been on a constant downtrend since June 15, crashing roughly 24% to where it currently stands - $31,768. Anticipating a bounce from the range low at $29,074 is the only semblance of hope the bulls have. TLTP

Result season may keep PSX green in two-session week KARACHI TLTP

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) is likely to remain range-bound in the two-session week starting today (Monday) as the market will open only on Monday and Friday due to three Eid-ul-Azha holidays (July 20-22).

As sessions on Monday and Friday will be followed by three holidays and two offdays, respectively, investors may prefer to avoid risks and securities showing healthy earnings will be in limelight.

Expected corporate profitability will be a factor that can create hawkish sentiment in the bourse; however, the ongoing fourth wave of Covid-19 may add some risk to investors’ confidence as the country recorded 15,991 fresh coronavirus cases last week, a number not witnessed in at least six preceding weeks.

Again, instability in oil prices could keep market performance in check, albeit crude prices declined on a week-on-week basis and recorded their worst week since March under the double blow of additional OPEC supply coming to markets and unfavourable fuel inventory data from the United States.

Downtrend in rupee against the US dollar may rail investors’ confidence and fuel profit taking. On the regional front, the conflict in Afghanistan continues to be a major concern that may restrain the market from posting exorbitant gains.

“Next week the market is expected to continue the momentum it gained this week,” stated the Arif Habib Limited report.

“We highlight cyclical sectors to be in the limelight due to healthy earnings expected in the upcoming result season.”

Taking a view of the last week performance of PSX, the benchmark KSE-100 Index

managed to close the week with a gain of 271 points (0.6 percent) at 47,834.38 points.

Trading on Monday kicked off on a negative note and the market dropped as concerns over rising coronavirus cases coupled with the anticipation of another lockdown shattered investor confidence.

However, the market bounced back in the next session and remained on an upward trajectory for the rest of the week owing to historic rise in remittances to all-time high level of $29.4 billion in fiscal year 2020-21, increase in the country’s foreign currency reserves to four-and-a-half-year high, and a surge of 90 percent in the number of vehicles sold in fiscal year 2020-21 compared to the previous year.

According to a report from Arif Habib Limited, “The week saw the index gaining some momentum in spite of a continued rise in Covid cases on account of the delta variant.”

CMYK

Despite positive triggers, trading remained sombre as concerns over mounting Covid-19 infections and announcement of measures to curb them took a toll on investor sentiments. Mid-way through the week, the Sindh government announced fresh restrictions to keep rising virus cases in check.

Average daily traded volume contracted 4 percent week-on-week to 467 million shares while average daily traded value declined 10 percent week-on-week to settle at $96 million. The sectors propping up the index included commercial banks (82 points), technology and communication (75 points), cement (46 points), textile composite (36 points) and investment banks/investment companies/securities companies (36 points).

The sectors that dragged the index down included fertilizer (36 points), power generation and distribution (17 points), pharmaceuticals (13 points), oil and gas exploration

companies (12 points) and automobile parts and accessories (7 points).

The stocks that contributed positively to the index included Systems Limited (79 points), Lucky Cement (62 points), Pakistan Stock Exchange (36 points), Unity Foods (33 points) and Bank Al Falah (30 points).

Meanwhile, the stocks that contributed negatively included Pakistan Oilfields (15 points), Engro Fertilizer (15 points), Kapco (11 points), Cherat Cement (11 points) and Engro (10 points) were among the negative contributors. Foreign buying was witnessed last week, settling at $4.6 million compared to a net sell of $5.2 million in the preceding week. On the domestic front, major selling was reported by individuals ($9.98 million) and broker proprietary trading ($6.32 million). The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) is currently trading at a PER of 6.8x (2021).

Monday, 19 July, 2021

LAHORE

Pakistan assures ‘swift action’ as Ghani recalls Afghan envoy, staff continued from page 01 The minister said that the envoy’s daughter had changed four taxis and no kidnapping allegation was proved. A medical examination report, shared on social media and later confirmed by Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences where Alikhil was treated, said that she was admitted with swelling and rope marks on the wrists and ankles. The report said that she was held for more than five hours and also noted that she had some swelling in the brain’s rear occipital region. There were three drivers under investigation, wherein the first had taken the victim to Khadda Market, a second had then driven her to Rawalpindi, and a third had driven her from Daman-e-Koh. However, the statement of the victim did not mention her visit to Khadda Market, Rawalpindi and Daman-e-Koh. Social media activists took to social media site, Twitter, to register their protest over Afghan government’s decision to recall its diplomatic staff from Islamabad. “Why should not #Afghan Embassy be handed over 2 Taliban who controls 80% of Afghanistan. Kabul regime has no longer functional internal sovereignty. Send Afghan Ambassador back. Recognise de-facto Taliban govt as de-jure Afghan govt,” tweeted Jan Achakzai, a noted columnist and political commentator.

NEWS

05

The monsoon breAks wiThouT wellinGTon booTs CitY NOtEs M A NiAzi

A

particularly heinous conspiracy against the national interest was successfully foiled, a particularly vile plot against the ideology of Pakistan was crushed, by the devoted patriots at the Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board, when they raided the city, finding that vile textbook which showed Malala Yousafzai next to Major Aziz Bhatti Shaheed not just on the same page, but together.

Who but a dyed-in-the-wool civilian would think of even hinting, no matter how indirectly, that there is any sort of equivalence between someone who died for his country, and a girl who got shot by the Taliban. And anyway, what rank did Malala hold?

Before the raiding parties got to work, the monsoon broke. Well, so we are told, even though the rainstorm was only something because of the heat which had gone before. The old-time storms of the past, in

which streets were flooded and homes washed, just didn’t happen. There was an opportunity of indulging in the time-honoured pastime of bathing in the rain. But it wasn’t taken. And I don’t know whether Shehbaz Sharif took away his wellingtons, or whether they’re at the bottom of some cupboard in CM House, but Usman Buzdar hasn’t found them yet. Or if he has, he isn’t flaunting them yet.

I hope we won’t have a monsoon failure this year. It would be a bit of a disappointment because Europe is suffering the most awful floods. They’ve not just had entire towns flooded, even washed away, but at least 160 people have died there.

When so many people die here in the monsoons, even we would notice. They should appoint an officer of three-star rank to head a disaster management authority if they want any control over the floods It could be that global warming is finally kicking in, and making its effects manifest. One of the factors blamed for the covid-19 pandemic has been global warming. Of course, that deep thinker and billiant intellectual, Donald Trump, told us that global warming was a Chinese con-

spiracy to stop him from making America great again. (Imran Khan showed his independence from such degenerate thought by blaming Nawaz Sharif.) Trump insists that global warming doesn’t exist.

Whether or not it does, HafeezSheikh has a NAB case being developed against him, relating to his first stint as Finance Minister in the last PPP government.Shaukat Tarin, his successor, is worried by NAB, which still has a case against him, dating back to his stint as Finance Minister in that government. So do we learn anything about how NAB operates? That it lies in wait, like the proverbial lion (not the PML-N one), until a minister is no more as a minister, then it pounces.

Of course, sitting ministers against whom there are NAB cases, and who high-mindedly resign, like PM’s Law Adviser Babar Awan or Punjab Senior Minister Aleem Khan, just get cleared and reinstated.

Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan, who was involved in the Rawalpindi Ring Road scandal, doesn’t believe in any such nonsense, with the result that he stayed put in his flag car. Now

that an enquiry report clears him as well as PM’s Adviser on Overseas Pakistanis Zulfi Bokhari, he must be wondering why Bokhari resigned.

Well, neither Ghulam Sarwar Khan nor Bokhari are clear from NAB. Whenever PTI gets turfed out, NAB will go after them. I don’t know who the new Shehzad Akbar will be, but there will be one. There is one solution to this: don’t get turfed out. Imran’s problem is that he needs to have the levers in his own pocket, not that of others.

He’s rattled these days. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is in the USA, with some hope that he will explain to Joe Biden why he, Bilawal, should be PM in place of someone who doesn’t give the USA the airbases it wants. Then Sheen Shah Afrisi is threatening his youth vote by taking a man-of-the4-match ward in the UK. Incidentally, if Haiti could have a sitting President assassinated, Pakistan could at last have an ex-President die. A gnetleman to the last, Mamnoon Hussain dood up and was counted. Asif Zardari has expressed deep sorrow over both events.

Wonder why?

Zimbabweans hit by exorbitant internet costs Harare ANADOLU AGENCY

Eight gigabytes of private internet data from Zimbabwe’s largest mobile network company at the beginning of 2021 cost $15, or 1,300 Zimbabwean dollars.

From March 10, the same 8GB shot to $18, equivalent to 1,560 Zimbabwean dollars, with 50GB of private internet from Econet Wireless rising from $47, which is about 4,000 dollars in local currency.

PERPETUAL RISE OF DATA COSTS: Beginning July 8, Econet, which has more than four million subscribers, revised its data pricing upwards.

Subscribers have to part with a whopping $23 to buy

8GB of private data while the highest private bundle of 50GB has been priced at the equivalent of $73.

INDIGENOUS DEALERS NOT SPARED: For many Zimbabweans, like Gift Tseyani, 23, who is a high school dropout, but an avid internet-based news consumer, the latest hike in prices at Econet has crumbled his quest for news.

He said he cannot afford the cost.

The second-hand mobile phone street vendor said switching on to read news on the internet has suddenly become a luxury. “I have stopped subscribing to private wifi internet on my mobile phone and yes, I have been a regular subscriber of private wife at Econet, but with the prices up again now, I just have to make do without internet,” Tseyani told Anadolu Agency. Even the popular WhatsApp messaging service monthly data package at Econet now costs more than $5, leaving the price for many like Tseyani way beyond reach.

VIRTUAL LEARNING UNDER THREAT FROM EXPENSIVE DATA: The situation is worse for Harare-based Netty Chiwawa, 44, a teacher and mother of three school-aged children who had to switch to virtual learning during lockdowns to curtail the spread of the coronavirus.

Netty works as a government primary school teacher.

Having capitalized on the lockdown to conduct private lessons with students to earn extra income, the stream of money has been shattered by exorbitant internet costs as she has conducted lessons virtually.

Her own children have also not been spared by the crisis -- faced with a single parent whose monthly income now can no longer meet their internet requirements for virtual learning during the incessant lockdowns.

“I can’t now continue with the online private lessons because internet data is now too expensive and that

means loss of business for me,” Chiwawa told Anadolu Agency, adding that it means her children have no choice but to quit virtual learning.

GOVERNMENT WORKERS MOST AFFECTED: Teachers employed by the government, like Chiwawa, currently earn $200 monthly.

But according to the Zimbabwe Teachers Association (ZTA), teachers have gone on record demanding salaries of about $550.

For Chiwawa, at least increased wages may revive her dream of affording her children’s virtual learning amid lockdowns.

But the government has not acceded to the demands of many workers, like teachers.

VIRTUAL TRADING THREATENED BY HIGH DATA COSTS: Businessmen like Petros Musasiwa, 36, a vehicle accessories dealer who trades his products via social media like WhatsApp, have been pounded by rising internet costs.

“I have pulled out of WhatsApp groups where I was advertising and actively selling my wares during these crazy days of endless lockdowns. Surely, I have no capacity to stomach the internet costs which have kept rising,” Musasiwa told Anadolu Agency.

For academic research consultants like Bernard Garwe, based in the capital, Harare, it is no longer business as usual as internet costs have also drained him.

“I have always depended on the internet for all my research and with the high costs now, it means hard times for me. I don’t know for now how I will cope,” Garwe told Anadolu Agency.

Garwe said he has had to see business slip out of his hands as clients ditch him because he had to constantly go offline due to unaffordable internet costs.

ANALYSIS: Central and South Asian leaders explore initiatives for Afghan peace London ANADOLU AGENCY

The situation evolving in Afghanistan continues to influence the regional dynamics prompting the concerned states to realign their position to thwart common threats and strive for mutual gains jointly.

Speaking in Tashkent at a conference on regional connectivity between Central and South Asia, Uzbekistan's President, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, has called for strengthening peace and cooperation between our countries, building an open and constructive policy meet the common interests of all states of Central and South Asia. He hoped that the formation of stable trade, economic, transport, and communication ties, which should become the main driver of the further development of our countries and the entire vast region in the long term.

A key observation echoed at different levels in Tashkent is that a positive approach for inclusive and constructive engagement can allow

both Central Asian and South Asian states to contribute towards regional stability in order to turn inter-regional cooperation into an effective forum to facilitate peace and development for all participants countries like. Calling Afghanistan as one of the key links in the practical interconnection of Central and South Asia, Mirziyoyev hoped that "interregional partnership will become an important factor in establishing peace and stability and reviving the economy in that country."

The plans for promoting transport, logistics, and energy projects, which are connecting Central and South Asia, must fully take into account the security situation on the ground, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at the same conference adding that "the Afghan crisis is aggravating the threat of terrorism and illegal drug trafficking, which has grown to an unprecedentedly high level." He warned that "the current situation is fraught with the danger of a spill-over of the instability into neighboring states." Lavrov

cmYK

named the risk of this spill-over scenario as "a major obstacle to the efforts to involve Afghanistan in regional cooperation."

Lavrov referred to the general military and political trends in Asia, where new strategies and concepts are emerging, which without naming the United States he alleged were "aimed not at uniting efforts towards collective work but at the containment and isolation of rivals. Such strategies are unlikely to help create a favorable atmosphere for achieving the high goals".

Only a comprehensive settlement of the internal Afghan conflict will create the conditions necessary for the successful implementation of economic projects and initiatives involving Kabul. Therefore, we think that the establishment of a strong peace in Afghanistan must remain a collective priority both in the region and on the international stage. The implementation of our economic development plans requires the mobilization of our political will and joint action to ensure regional security.

For Garwe, it meant he had to stay out of touch with his customer base, who are equally affected.

“People requiring my academic consultancy in terms of their university research projects are also having a torrid time during this Covid-19 era battling to virtually link up with me as they are also victims to high internet costs,” he said.

Ranked 136th worldwide for mobile data pricing in a study based on the cost of 1 gigabyte (1GB) of mobile data, neighboring South Africa’s data costs an average of $2.67 (rand 38.93) for 1GB of data, with the cheapest data costing $0.12, while the most expensive is $34.95.

Sub-Saharan Africa has six of the 10 most expensive countries in the world for internet costs, with Equatorial Guinea the most expensive at $49.67 for 1GB of internet, according to Cable.co.uk between Dec. 8, 2020 and Feb. 25, 2021.

NETWORK COMPANIES PASSING COSTS TO CONSUMERS: As internet costs hound the majority of the population and companies in Zimbabwe, mobile network companies like Econet have gotten away with murder.

“The bundle price adjustment is an average 20 percent uplift across the board, and is essentially in response to rising input costs. Our pricing review is designed to ensure viability of the business and ensure that we continue to offer a reasonable quality of service to our valued customers,” Econet said in a statement after hiking prices July 8.

MEDIA NOT SPARED AS DATA COSTS RISE: But even the Content Creators Network Zimbabwe, which comprises the Centre for Innovation and Technology (CITE), News Hawks, an online news website and Magamba Television Network, has not escaped rising costs.

Monday, 19 July, 2021

06 COMMENT

Much better progress needed in effectively dealing with climate change crisis

Who’s minding the store?

Afghan ambassador’ daughter’s case shows lawlessness again

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SLamaBaD, under the PTI government, seems to have become a place where anything goes. From mysterious killings, to the recent case of Usman mirza, now diplomats’ families are under is no longer safe. The kidnapping and assault of the afghan ambassador’s daughter indicates that the city is no longer safe for diplomats or their families. The Prime minister and Interior minister thundering afterwards in rage may have led to the arrest of the guilty taxidriver, but did not stop the event.

It is also not clear what exactly the Interior minister thinks he is doing. This is the second major disaster he has presided over in as many days. The attack on the Chinese engineers at the Dasu hydropower project has been laid at the door of terrorists. The incident will have untold negative effects on relations with a friendly country. afghanistan can hardly be counted as friendly, but it is very important to Pakistan now a days, because of the endgame currently going on. Sh Rasheed ahmad might realize the futility of a policy leaving Islamabad to those forces which pick on journalists, and attack them inside their homes. Sh Rasheed may find himself unable to police Islamabad, but he would do well to remember that all diplomats, all diplomats’ families will now find themselves unsafe, because the capital is full of people who answer to a higher power than the government.

This has created a sense of immunity and entitlement, a belief that it is more important to know the right person than do the right thing. The government should realize that criminals are not concerned with diplomatic niceties, so it will not be enough to target foreigners or diplomats for protection. Even if terrorists are at work, a vigorous law and order policy will reduce the number of their opportunities. It should never be forgotten that a vigorous watch-and-ward policy will clamp down on all kinds of crime. It should also not be forgotten that if terrorism is suspected, it can only be comatted by efficient intelligence-gathering. With government sleuths distracted by their orders to hunt down the opposition, it seems that the terrorists are getting away by default. Unfortunaterly for Sh Rashid, as Interior minister, is in charge of these agencies. If he is not up to the job, the Prime minister must find someone who is.

Dr Omer JaveD

‘S

onam P Wangdi of Bhutan, the chair of the least developed countries (LDC) group at Cop26, said: “Despite Covid understandably taking the headlines, climate change has been getting worse over the past year as emissions continue to rise and the lives and livelihoods on the frontline suffer. We vulnerable countries are not asking for much – just that richer countries, who have caused this problem, take responsibility by cutting their emissions and keeping their promise to help those their emissions have harmed.” – Excerpt from the Guardian article ‘Move faster to cut emissions, developing world tells rich nations’ by Fiona Harvey according to Bloomberg, and based on data by ‘Global Carbon Project’, the biggest polluters in terms of share in carbon dioxide emissions in 2019, were China at 23 percent, the USa at 15 percent, India at 7 percent, Russian Federation at 5 percent, and Japan at 3 percent, which means that only five countries contributed 53 percent of the total carbon dioxide emissions in 2019. at the same time, advanced countries are yet to come true on their commitment that they made with regard to providing climate finance to developing countries, to support them in reducing the pollution footprint that was primarily being made by rich countries. The same Guardian article pointed out in this regard that ‘one of the major sticking points for the Cop26 talks is the rich world’s failure to make good on a promise originally made in 2009 that $100bn a year in climate finance would flow to poor countries by 2020 to help them cut emissions and cope with the

Covid-19 fourth wave Uptick in numbers coincides with Eid

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ERE should no longer be any doubt about the predictions of the coming of a fourth wave of the covid-19 pandemic, because the numbers say that it is now well and truly upon us. Perhaps more worrisome is that the force driving it is apparently the delta variant that caused so much devastation in India. not only is the delta variant that much more infectious, but it is also more deadly. India was left with a shortage of oxygen, as well as an overcrowding of cremation grounds and cemeteries.

Before such haplessness strikes here, it would be advisable if it would throw off the euphoria it has developed by facing off previous waves, and its assumption that it has shown exceptional cleverness, but looking forwards to the dangers coming ahead. most immediately is Eidul azha. Though there is not as much shopping as on Eidul Fitr, which is now past, there is still some. apart from that, there is a flocking to the animal markets, many of them impromptu roadside affairs, and then on Eid and succeeding days, there will be the traditional socialisation. It would help if the government curbed its eagerness to keep the economy open, too often by rushing to reopen markets, restaurants and offices.

The government is faced with a stark choice. It could look bad and close down sections of the economy, or it could let people die. apart from the sheer moral impossibility bo the latter choice, the government must realise that if enough people die, the economy collapses anyway. The vaccine has not provided as effortless a way out of the pandemic, and if the government wants to benefit from it, it will have to do much better at administering it than it has so far. all the passive inducements have been tried so far, such as reducing age limits, so what is now needed are more active measures.

That requires a quality of leadership that goes beyond claims of having done well.

Kabul’s limited security options Talha ahmeD

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HE Great Game in afghanistan is in the final phase, with 95 percent of the US troops withdrawal completed, and the Taliban are pushing the Kabul regime into the corner.

The recent dramatic military victories pose a serious security threat to the Kabul regime.

The regime in Kabul has been left with multiple security problems at hand. Starting from a decrease in troops recruitment to a massive surrender of ana.

Despite the ana still a force of 250,000 soldiers it lacks the military hardware, training, and professionalism. moreover, compatibility, integration, an repairing of military hardware, is another major issue for the ana. With all these problems chasing it, it is being tasked to deal with the immediate crisis, which is the advance of the Taliban. The Taliban have already managed to take over all major border crossings with all immediate neighbours, including Iran, Tajikistan, China, and Pakistan, cutting the land connectivity of the Kabul regime with regional players.

These ports and crossing are operational and the Taliban are generating revenue from them. meanwhile the ana is unable to recapture even one of them. They are putting themselves in a difficult situation because the Taliban are generating revenue from these border points, which would be enough to support, expand and sustain military operations across afghanistan. The failure to recapture these strategic locations indicates a lack of will as well as a lack of strategy to deal with the powerful insurgency across afghanistan.

In fact in most of the cities and towns Taliban took over without any considerable resistance, while in others, ana troops surrendered after a few clashes.

The amnesty announced by the Taliban is another major factor. Both sides had enough of this war, now they want peace and stability, but can the Kabul regime deliver on the table when it is not performing on the battlefield?

Talking about the will and strategy in most of the

Arif Nizami Editor Managing Editor

Joint Editor

Umar Aziz Executive Editor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

The security challenge is immediate.

The majority of ana grounded aircraft and helicopters are of the Soviet era, so with the sanctions locations ana forces surrendered because the head- in place, the Kabul regime is not able to collaborate quarters were unable to send reinforcements. This is with Russians to repair and maintain those. new concerning for Kabul apparently it seems like the Delhi, which operates many Russian aircraft and atana lacks the ability to sustain the battlefield for tack helicopters, including mi-17 and mi-35, can be long. Winter season is around the corner in which bat- the place for Kabul to turn to.

But the USa does not offer funding or advisory tles would be much longer.

But is the Kabul regime a sitting duck? all re- support for this project and in fact is pursuing Kabul to give up on all of those. gional and non-regional The repairing and operaplayers are closely monitortionalization of 11 grounded ing the building crisis and mi-35s will cost around $50 changing dynamics of the The majority of ANA million. over the years conflict. many are already Delhi has assisted ana, shifting policies and are adgrounded aircraft and even has provided helicopjusting to the building situahelicopters are of the Soviet ters. During the last week tion. Even though all Globe master C130 of regional countries have era, so with the sanctions in two the India air force delivered buffed up border forces. consignments to ana, the meanwhile, including Tajikplace, the Kabul regime is consignment included istan and Iran, they have alnot able to collaborate with 122mm artillery cannons ready started official with other tonnes of ammuengagement with the TalRussians to repair and nition. iban especially after they maintain those. New Delhi, But regardless of the detook over border crossings. bate whether Delhi is willing all these parties are trying which operates many to invest $50 million for mito develop working relation35 helicopters or not, the ships especially in the conRussian aircraft and attack project seems unlikely to text of trade and transit. helicopters, including Mi-17 make any progress because For the Kabul regime, just last month mD helicoppolitical legitimacy is linked and Mi-35, can be the place ters secured a contract of with dominance in the batfor Kabul to turn to. around $43 million related to tlefield, where the Kabul afghanistan air force 530F regime is not performing light attack helicopters. well. For the operations and ana has around 75 530F’s counter-insurgency drive the ana was heavily relying on US close air support. but with this deal, The USa has likely offered an alPost-Withdrawal the Pentagon has refused to offer di- ternative to the project of mi-35s whose cost is alrect military support and would only be providing fi- most the same. But would it be enough to turn the tables? Time will tell but with the security situation nancial and military aid.

The problem doesn’t end here; ana has limited getting worse the security options for Kabul are also options regarding the military hardware. ana does squeezing. Kabul regime now has to revisit the secunot have enough time and resources to purchase new rity policy and have to play within these limited seaircraft and attack helicopters, it can be a long-term curity options. modernization project but for now, the ana needs The writer is a freelance columnist rapid modernization with a new conclusive strategy.

Kabul has to face up to the demoralization of the ANA

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Yousaf Nizami Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

impacts of global heating. Tanguy Gahouma-Bekale tinues to bear down on the western US, subjecting of Gabon, the chair of the africa group of negotiators, more than 31 million people to temperatures above said: “Developed countries are currently not pulling 45C, the pain is being felt in wealthier countries, too. their weight or keeping their promises on their obliga- …In the middle East, migrant construction workers tions to provide climate finance. Like any negotiation, – many from nepal – have been particularly at risk. you need to have faith that pledges and commitments In Qatar, hundreds are estimated to be dying yearly will be met. In 2009 and 2015, they promised to de- from heat stress as they work on building infrastrucliver climate finance by 2020. Yet this is still to be met, ture ahead of the football World Cup, a Guardian investigation found in 2019.’ and we don’t have a clear plan to achieve it.”’

Having said, the stimulus amount being spent in moreover, in the recent meetings by both G7 and G20 countries no concrete details were provided as the wake of the pandemic is also not helping properly to how they will come true on their commitments that fight the otherwise existential threat of climate they made in the Paris agreement in 2015, which also change crisis, and one that is fast approaching. In a July 15, 2021 published does not create the right atGuardian article ‘Trillions of mosphere before the Cop26 dollars spent on Covid remeetings, set to be held in covery in ways that harm november this year. This environment’ by Fiona Harhas led 100 developing As a heatwave continues to vey, it was pointed out that countries to reportedly come bear down on the western ‘Trillions of dollars poured together recently, and to rescuing economies have asked rich countries to US, subjecting more than 31 into around the world from the provide clear details of their million people to Covid-19 crisis have been implementation strategy for in ways that worsen meeting their commitments, temperatures above 45C, the spent the climate crisis and harm including reaching net zero emissions by around 2050. pain is being felt in wealthier nature because governments have failed to fulfil promises In this regard, Fiona countries, too. …In the of a “green recovery” from Harvey in the same article the pandemic. only about a indicated that ‘The LDC Middle East, migrant tenth of the $17tn in bailouts group has published five deconstruction workers – many provided by governments mands, calling for developed since the start of the pancountries to bring forward from Nepal – have been demic was spent on activiand strengthen their national ties that reduced greenhouse plans for cutting their emisparticularly at risk. gas emissions or restored the sions this decade; provide natural world, according $100bn a year in climate fito analysis from Vivid Econance to the poor world; help nomics, published on Thurspoor countries to adapt to the ravages of extreme weather; accept their responsibil- day. …about $3tn was spent in ways that would ities in contributing to loss and damage to poor coun- increase greenhouse emissions and harm the natural tries from the impacts of climate breakdown; and world, outweighing the $1.8tn spent globally on green projects, such as renewable energy and lowbring the Paris agreement into full effect.’

It is important that concrete and significant steps carbon transport.’ are quickly taken with regard to climate change crisis, The writer holds PhD in Economics degree from given the serious impact that it has already started to make. For instance, in a recent Guardian published the University of Barcelona, and previously worked article ‘Deadly heat: how rising temperatures threaten at International Monetary Fund.Prior to this, he did workers from nicaragua to nepal’ by Joe Parkin MSc. in Economics from the University of York Daniels pointed out in this regard that ‘more than 5 (United Kingdom), and worked at the Ministry of million people die each year worldwide due to exces- Economic Affairs & Statistics (Pakistan), among sively hot or cold conditions, according to a recent other places. He is author of Springer published book 20-year study, and heat-related deaths are (2016) ‘The economic impact of International climbing. another study found that 37% of heat-re- Monetary Fund programmes: institutional quality, lated deaths around the globe in warm seasons could macroeconomic stabilization and economic be tied to the climate emergency. as a heatwave con- growth’.He tweets @omerjaved7

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Monday, 19 July, 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

Favouritism To begin with, when I think about discrimination the one issue that sticks out in my mind is Favouritism. Favouritism is like action as if you only have one student and others does not exist. Playing favourites is a bad habit; you can harm apparently in harmless ways. In a Class there is always someone that will stand out and someone that will not but despite of that they all are equal. moreover, one may be smarter than the other but at the end of the class they all are students. all should be treated fairly. nevertheless, they may not be the smartest but each student has a talent inside them. after all everyone is created uniquely. Showing Favouritism on one student may have a bad effect to another student because they may lose their respect and starting doubting about the teacher’s capability. always choosing the smart ones is never a good deed because how can a Teacher bring out the best on those average students if they only set their eyes on the favourites. a Teacher is always labelled as the second parent and a parent’s love and attention must be equally divided among it’s children. Whether it’s pretty or ugly, smart or dumb, rich or poor they all deserve the best.

ShEhnaz zahir SiT Panjgoor

Gawadar stadium

The Nuclear future of East Asia Sze-Fung lee

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n the face of north Korea’s and China’s continuous expansion in their nuclear arsenal in the past decade, the nuclear question for East asian countries is now more urgent than ever —especially when the USa’s credibility of extended deterrence has been shrinking since the Cold War. Whether to acquire an independent nuclear deterrent has long been a huge controversy, with opinions polarized. Yet it is noteworthy that there is a gray zone between zero and one—the degree of latency nuclear deterrence.

It is suggested that developing nuclear weapons may not be the wise choice for East asian countries at the moment, but, given that regional and international security in asia-Pacific is deemed to curtail, regardless of decisions to go nuclear or not, East asian nations should increase their latency nuclear deterrence. In other words, even if they do not proceed to the final stage of acquiring an independent nuclear deterrent, a latent capability should at least be guaranteed. meanwhile, for those who have already possessed certain extent of nuclear latency —for instance, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan — to shorten their breakout time whilst minimizing obstacles for possible future nuclearization.

From a realist perspective, the locations of Japan, South Korea and Taiwan have always been valid arguments for their nuclearization — being surrounded by nuclear-armed neighbours China and north Korea —and they have witnessed a threat escalation unprecedented since the Cold War. Having its first nuclear weapon tested in 2006, the total inventory north Korea now possess is estimated to be 30-40. not only has north Korea’s missile test on march 25— the first of the Biden presidency— signalled a clear message to the USa and her allies. Pyongyang’s advancement in nuclear technologies also indicates a surging threat. north Korea state media claimed the latest missile launched was a “new-type tactical guided projectile” which is capable of performing “gliding and pull-up” manoeuvres with an “improved version of a solid fuel engine”. The diversity of launchers Pyongyang currently possesses —from short-range ballistic missiles (SRBms) to submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBms), as well as the transporter erector launchers (TELs) and the cold launch system increase the difficulty in intercepting them via aegis destroyers or other ballistic missile defense system since it is onerous, if not impossible, to detect the exact time and venue of the possible launches. Indeed, the “new type of missile” could potentially render South Korea’s Terminal High altitude area Defense (THaaD) useless by evading radar detection system through its manoeuvres, according to one study. moreover, the cold launch (perpendicular launch) system used by the north also indicates that multiple nuclear weapons could be fired from the same launch pad without severe damage caused to the infrastructure. Shigeru Ishiba, Japam’s former Defense minister, has noted that not all incoming missiles would have to be intercepted with the country’s missile defense system, and “even if that is possible, we cannot perfectly respond to saturation attacks”.

China’s total inventory of nuclear deterrent has reached 320, exceeding United Kingdom

and France’s, with their nuclear deterrents considered limited deterrence. Though China’s current nuclear stockpiles are still far less than Russia’s and the USa’s, its nuclear technologies have been closely following theirs. For instance, China has successfully developed multiple Independently Targetable Reentry Vehicles (mIRVs) and maneuverable Reentry Vehicles (maRVs)—its intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBm) DF-41 is capable of equipping up to 10 mIRVs while its medium-Range Ballistic missile (mRBm) DF-21D could carry maRV warhead that poses challenges to the BmD systems— these advancement in nuclear technologies are solid proof that the Chinese nukes are only steps away from moscow and Washington. Yet China’s nuclear arsenal remains unchecked and is not confined by any major nuclear arms reduction treaty.

In addition to China’s expansion of military capabilities and ambition in developing hypersonic glide vehicles (HGVs) and new maRVs, there is no lack of scepticism of its no-first use policy, especially with Beijing’s actions in the East and South China Seas. These all raise concerns and generate insecurity from neighbouring countries and hence, East asian states Japan, South Korea and Taiwan would inevitably have to reconsider their nuclear options.

In spite of having advanced BmD system, for instance, aegis Destroyer (Japan), THaaD (South Korea), Sky Bow III (Taiwan), the existing and emerging nuclear arsenals in Pyongyang and Beijing still leave East asian states vulnerable. The fuuture could be worse than it seems— merely having deterrence by denial is not sufficient to safeguard national security— particularly with the shrinking credibility of the USa’s extended deterrence after the Cold War. Theoretically speaking, alliance relations with the USa assure a certain extent of deterrence by punishment against hostile adversaries.

For example, the USa is committed to defend Japan under the 1960 mutual Defense Treaty. Yet in reality, security could never be guaranteed.

Sze-Fung LeeIs the USa willing to sacrifice Washington for Tokyo? or new York for Seoul?

Strong rhetoric, or even a defense pact, would not ensure collective security, let alone strategic ambiguity, the strategy adopted by Washington for Taipei. Besides, with Trump’s american First policy continuously undermining alliance relations in the past four years, East asian countries may find it hard to restore trust, despite the Biden administration’s effort to repair the alliance. moreover, even if alliance relations and credibility of extended deterrence is robust, could East asian countries shelter under the US nuclear umbrella forever? If they choose not to go nuclear, these states would be constantly threatened by their nuclear-armed neighbours and forced to negotiate, or worse, compromise in the face of a possible nuclear extortion.

Undeniably, horizontal nuclear proliferation is always risky. not only is it likely to worsen diplomatic relations with neighbours, it also generates a (nuclear) regional arms race that eventually trap all nations into a vicious circle due to the lack of mutual trust in an anarchical system, which will consequently lead to a decrease in regional, as well as international, security.

Yet with the expansion and advancement of Pyongyang and Beijing’s nuclear arsenal, regional and international security is deemed to reduce, regardless of East asian countries’ decisions to go nuclear or not. as official nPYT members, Japan’s and South Korea’s withdrawal

may encourage other current non-nuclear weapon states to develop nukes. However, the nPT has already proven futile im preventing north Korea from acquiring its own nuclear weapons; or Israel, India and Pakistan from going nuclear.

Admittedly, the road for East asian countries to go nuclear would be tough. Taipei’s attempt to develop nuclear weapons would trigger a response from Beijing, and a pre-emptive strike. That goes for Seoul and Pyongyang though the risk is relatively lower. as for Japan, although direct military confrontation is less likely compared to Seoul and Taipei, the challenges are no easier. as the sole nation to suffer from an atomic bomb, Japan’s pacifism and anti-nuclear sentiment are embedded in it. according to a 2017 opinion poll, 17.7 percent agreed “Japan should acquire its own nuclear weapons in the future” whilst 79.1 percent opposed the idea. Despite having the imperative skills and technologies for an independent deterrent (its breakout time is estimated at 6-12 months), Japan lacks natural resources for nuclear warheads and would rely heavily on uranium imports. Japan’s bilateral nuclear agreements with the USa, U.K, France and australia specified that all imported nuclear-related equipment and materials “must be used only for the non-military purposes”. Violation of these agreements may result in sanctions that could cause devastating effect on Japan’s nuclear energy programme, which supplies approximately 30 percent of the nation’s electricity.

These issues, however, are not irresolvable.

Undeniably, it may take time and effort to negotiate new agreements and change people’s pacifism into an “active pacifism”, yet these should not be the justifications to avoid acquiring an independent deterrent, as ensuring national security should always be the top priority. It is because in face of a nuclear extortion, the effectiveness of a direct nuclear deterrence guaranteed by your own country could not be replaced by any other measures such as deterrence by denial via BmD system or deterrence by punishment via extended deterrence and defense pact.

Therefore, if there are too many obstacles ahead, then perhaps the wiser choice for Japan, South Korea and Taiwan at the moment is to increase their nuclear latency deterrence, shorten the breakout time and pave their way clear for future nuclearization. In other words, to keep their nuclear option open and be able to play offense and defense at their own will. nevertheless, in addition to strengthening latency nuclear deterrence, as well as obtaining a more equal relationship in the official and unofficial alliance with america, East asian countries with similar interests and common enemies should unite to form a new military alliance with a security treaty regarding collective defense like naTo; and focuses more on countering hybrid warfare like the QUaD. If Japan, South Korea and Taiwan ever choose to go nuclear, a common mechanism could be established to ensure that these states would pursue a minimum to limited deterrence capability that does not endanger each other’s security but rather strengthens it, which would help minimizing the destabilization brought to regional security while constituting a more balanced situation with nuclear-armed rivalries. after all, proliferation may not be the best solution, it is certainly not the worst either.

Sze-Fung Lee is a freelance journalist and a researcher at the Global Studies Institute in Hong Kong.

PICTURES of Gawadar Stadium went viral a week ago, even International Cricket Council (ICC) tweeted its picture and termed it the most beautiful Cricket Ground of the world. This Stadium is between rocky mountains and also covered by open deserted area. Gawadar deep sea port which is back bone of CPEC project, picture of stadium definitely caught attention of world. meanwhile Baloch nation and locals of Gawadar suffered from this picture. They also demand to share their picture of grief and address it. Habitants of the city face scarcity of water, they are barred to fish in their own sea which is main source of earning.

There is a visible threat of demographic change, as soon as CPEC is completed foreigners and locals of other provinces settle in Gawadar, they would be driven into minority. another major concern of people is “fencing Gawadar” if movements of local people is being restricted in early days it would be extended in future. major issues if local people are not heard and highlighted which can blur the beautiful picture of Gawadar in really means. a very condemnable fact in our media is that media highlights picture of Gawadar does not highlight picture of people living in Gawadar. Giving importance to land over the people should end now. noor BaLoch Karachi

Breaking The War Jinx THERE have been Western media reports of possible nuclear war across the world. For instance, Charles Richard, the Commander of the US Strategic Command has started shedding light on the possibility of nuclear war. abbreviated to the USSTRaTCom, this unit is part of the combatant commands in the US defense sector. Furthermore, even PRoCEEDInGS, a monthly magazine from the US naval Institute has been widely talking about such issues as nuclear war facing the world community. By the way, there are some questions now. What is the use of nuke war? What use is it of going to war? Catastrophic impacts apart, all the war tactics have been proved to be pretty much dangerous to the international community and humanity. Just look at all the CoVID-19 vaccines available out there in the world now! all those vaccines have been nothing but the sums of great knowledge and hard work involved. Where is the question of aggression in the corona fight here? Rather or instead, there have been many core issues inflicted on mankind and the globe. Poverty, economic crisis, climate change issues and agrarian problems are some of those issues to be looked into as quickly as possible. as one practical example, the people in my native areas like Korkai, Tuticorin, Tiruchendur, Kanyakumari, nagercoil, marthandam and Tirunelveli in Tamil nadu have been into rigorous and diverse agricultural activities, working hard and embracing new changes.

Therefore, the world should move on in the direction of overall growth. Let mother nature grow up and prosper in her own natural ways. So should the human race. Let us all get immersed in the lap of nature instead of waging war on one another. Besides, there is no denying the fact that the best way out to end war is by non-violence greatly attached to asian region.

P SEnThiL Saravana Durai MuMBai

Smart Policing aS far as human rights violations are concerned, we suppose to encounter such a trend more in our police stations. It is no denying the fact that we desperately need CCTV cameras in police stations and the absence of it gives free hand to police officials carrying out human violation. For instance, when a person is wrongfully caught and brought to the police station letter a writ of habeas corpus is filed to the court for securing his rights. Keeping in view, installation of cameras is essential so that footages can be used as a piece of evidence.

In a globalized world, we are a developing country, upgrading of police is pivotal along with the scientific evidence. In foreign countries, we can see that body cameras are installed on police officials to record each move so that the accused must not claim of being caught illegally.

Different actions are emerging day to day of police affairs in which custodial deaths, assumption of alcohol, harsh behavior on part of police officials and many more are seen, such kind of activities should be prevented by monitoring the entire operation of police stations. But when we talk about human life, the concerned authority also needs to improve the condition of police stations. Secondly, we often see that whenever a police officer commits human violation or breaks the law he is suspended temporary rather than punishing for his act, when it comes to lodging an FIR, aggrieved person is found running from pillar to the post for his basic right he is denied of his basic right, lodging of FIR is mandatory . our resources and taxes are being wasted. Installation of cameras will work like a defense shield not only for public but also for police officials, but the bottom line is whether police will abide by law and work according to it or will it violates, tortures and abuses physically the commons if the intention of work is positive then CCTV is a blessing but if they want to run their personal practice then CCTV is a curse.

ShaFi ahMED Khowaja jaTi SujawaL

Monday, 19 July, 2021

08 WORLD VIEW

Why ‘politicAl islAm’ cAn bE A gAtEWAy to dEmocRAcy CONTRARY TO MAINSTREAM RHETORIC, ISLAMIST MOVEMENTS CAN PROMOTE CIVIC ENGAGEMENT, DEFUSE THE TEMPTATIONS OF EXTREMISM AND AID THE INTEGRATION OF MUSLIMS IN THE WEST

Middle east eye

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ALAin GAbon

He post 9/11 “war on terror”, which fuelled a dramatic upsurge in islamophobia across the West through the stigmatisation of all Muslims as potential terrorists or “jihadist sympathisers”, has now been dramatically expanded into a war not just against actual terrorism, but also “islamism”, “political islam” and non-Muslims labelled as “islamo-leftists”. in certain countries, especially France which since the first 1989 “headscarves affair” has sadly become the West’s laboratory for islamophobic experimentation - those witch hunts have even morphed into official state policies.

These are often replicated by other western countries. after France, Denmark announced that it was launching an “investigation” into the alleged spread of “islamo-leftist” activism in its own universities.

Justified by problematic “conveyor belt” theories of radicalisation and “gateway drug” concepts advanced by certain hypermediatised (and overrated) academics, and based on simplistic and broadly debunked notions of “islamism” as the “antechamber” to violent armed jihadism, this type of demonisation now aims to censor, ban and criminalise everything presented as “political islam” - even when it’s not.

Far from limiting itself to violent extremist action, this all-out enterprise brings together governments, mainstream media, think tanks and certain sectors of academia in a highly deleterious securitisation of islam and Muslims, who are conceived as an existential threat to national security, and more generally, “western civilisation”. it proceeds via gross confusion among religious conservatism, fundamentalism, radicalisation, “political islam”, islamism, non-violent extremism, and jihadist terrorism (whether

real or potential).

The consequence of that fallacious continuum among qualitatively different phenomena is that mere religious orthopraxy, such as an emphasis on prayer rituals or islamic dress, is immediately perceived as the “gateway” to jihadism, and treated as such. But this only seems to apply to Muslims. islamophobic double standards ensure that Jews, Christians and others remain untouched by such gross generalisations and false equations.

SYSTEMATIC ASSAULT: More recently, this eradicationist approach has targeted peaceful civic engagement on the part of Muslims, even when it is carried out entirely within the democratic institutions and frameworks of our societies.

The exclusion of veiled mothers from school trips on the pretext that their hijabs would violate the “separation of church and state”, and the banning of anti-racist NGOs, such as the French Collective against islamophobia, on the grounds of it being an “islamist” organisation, are only two recent examples of this systematic assault on the basic rights of Muslims. as explained by journalist Myriam Francois, this expanding and worsening “problematisation of islam” and Muslims stems from a refusal to extend civic rights and equal treatment to certain minorities: “instead, an underlying and unresolved racism refuses to fully recognise Black and arab French men and women as equals. rooted in white supremacy and dressed up as ‘defence of the nation’, it is whitewashed nationalism with a socialist twist.”

Prominent philosopher Jacques ranciere goes further, analysing this new war on islamism as an attempt to “criminalise all social struggles and civic actions in favour of discriminated minorities and immigrant groups by presenting them as potential auxiliaries of jihadist terrorism”.

Such policies are not just gravely antidemocratic, but also profoundly counterproductive, since civic engagement in the life of one’s nation - including politics - is a wellknown factor in both the inclusion of minorities and the pacification of frustrations, which may otherwise find outlets in more radical forms of engagement.

research has amply demonstrated that civic participation, even when fuelled by a sense of religious duty to contribute to one’s society, far from representing the “threat” that some have dreamed up, is actually a powerful factor of integration, helping to consolidate one’s sense of belonging, place, citizenship and identification with the nation.

By discouraging or even banning legitimate and positive forms of civic and political engagement, our governments risk encouraging the very phenomena they claim to want to combat, such as “radicalisation” and “islamist separatism”. By preventing Muslims from becoming political actors, governments can only make them feel excluded and unwanted, generating frustration, anger and disillusionment.

RADICAL DIFFERENCES: as rare voices have the courage to assert in today’s climate, rather than being banned or viewed with paranoid suspicion and fear, “political islam” - including the critical varieties that might not fit well within the normative political cultures of the West - should be encouraged, engaged with, or at least tolerated. after all, that is what democracies and free societies are supposed to be about, recognising that dissent and challenges to the existing order are not just legal and legitimate, but healthy. On the other hand, criminalising certain political islamic movements is probably the worst course of action, as such discriminatory policies are precisely what groups such as the islamic State (iS) hope for on the part of western societies, pushing more Muslims into their arms out of anger and frustration.

Fallacious presentations of “islamism” as monolithic and universally toxic for democracy - its alleged antithesis - ignore the diversity of islamist movements, the radical differences and irreconcilable divergences that often separate them, and the dramatic historical mutations of certain movements, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, europe’s new bogeyman. it thus bears repeating that if iS is indeed an islamist organisation, so too is a democratic movement such as Tunisia’s ennahda and its leader, rached Ghannouchi. Yet, the gap between the two is so vast that they are indeed not just “different”, but irreconcilable

- even if they are all “islamists”.

The blissful ignorance among many segments of society of the ample research on islamist movements, not to mention the diverse forms of “political islam”, ensures that those terms simply mean “bad”, “barbaric” and “dangerous” - and that whoever is labelled as such can be targeted for elimination by state powers in the name of “democracy” and “defence of the nation”. according to Jocelyne Cesari, one of the world’s top scholars on islam, the false narrative that political islam leads to violence and extremism ignores the fact that if islamism can, under certain specific circumstances, be a gateway to radicalism, it can also “be a gateway to a more democratic and pluralist worldview”.

RUPTURES AND REFORMS: in her book islamism in Power, anne-Clementine larroque has shown that once in power, islamist parties or movements tend to moderate and even reform themselves, while establishing ruptures from more radical groups, especially jihadists, which are “the kiss of death”.

This observed pattern invalidates the simplistic “political islamism = armed jihadism” equation, or the gateway drug pseudo-theory that one leads to the other.

Other top experts on islam, including John l esposito, arguably the world’s leading scholar on the topic, have shown that the genuine search for social, economic and political justice is at the heart of the islamist project - and that this “yearning” is one of the main characteristics shared by most parties and movements.

Several cases of islamists in power show that if given the chance, they are perfectly willing to live by democratic rules. ennahda in Tunisia, whose conduct could teach lessons in civic spirit and democratic behaviour to western parties, is by no means the only one, or the “exception that confirms the rule”, as the anti-islamism hysteria would have us believe.

Before Turkish President recep Tayyip erdogan’s autocratic turn after the July 2016 failed coup attempt and the subsequent massive purges, the ruling aKP was also - and could become again - a model of democratic behaviour. it brought into the country’s

mainstream political life millions of Turks who had largely been excluded from it, while giving historically marginalised minorities, especially the Kurds, unprecedented rights and recognition.

The aKP also pulverised the false cliche that “with islamists, it’s one vote, one time”, since erdogan and the aKP have regularly submitted themselves to the rule of the ballot box, even at the cost of losing major elections.

PROGRESSIVE ISLAMISM: another important example is egypt under former President Mohamed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood. Brief as their tenure might have been, given the premature interruption by the 2013 military coup of General abdel Fattah el-Sisi - incidentally, one of the world’s worst totalitarian despots who the US and eU support unconditionally while blaming “islamists” for not being democratic enough - the Muslim Brotherhood’s rule was characterised by a substantial and qualitative expansion of democracy.

Using the Polity iV index, one of the main political science tools to measure autocracy, democracy and their fluctuations, researchers Shadi Hamid and Meredith Wheeler demonstrated that under Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood, egypt had indeed started its democratic transition. Though far from perfect, given the impossible situation, egypt became in a short period of time far more democratic than it had been under previous, non-islamist (and even anti-islamist) regimes. it was also infinitely more democratic and hopeful than under the current regime.

The blanket and crude vilification of “islamism” and political islam also ignores the existence of democratic islamist trends, such as progressive islamism - though ignorance may make that expression sound like an oxymoron.

Dr Alain Gabon is Associate Professor of French Studies and chair of the Department of Foreign Languages & Literatures at Virginia Wesleyan University in Virginia Beach, USA. He has written and lectured widely in the US, Europe and beyond on contemporary French culture, politics, literature and the arts and more recently on Islam and Muslims.

Reckoning and reparations in Afghanistan

Progressive Magazine

E

KATHY KELLY

arlier this week, 100 afghan families from Bamiyan, a rural province of central afghanistan mainly populated by the Hazara ethnic minority, fled to Kabul. They feared Taliban militants would attack them in Bamiyan.

Over the past decade, i’ve gotten to know a grandmother who recalls fleeing Talib fighters in the 1990s, just after learning that her husband had been killed. Then, she was a young widow with five children, and for several agonizing months two of her sons were missing. i can only imagine the traumatized memories that spurred her to again flee her village today. She is part of the Hazara ethnic minority and hopes to protect her grandchildren. When it comes to inflicting miseries on innocent afghan people, there’s plenty of blame to be shared.

The Taliban have demonstrated a pattern of anticipating people who might form opposition to their eventual rule and waging “pre-emptive” attacks against journalists, human rights activists, judicial officials, advocates for women’s rights, and minority groups such as the Hazara. in places where Taliban have successfully taken over districts, they may be ruling over increasingly resentful populaces; people who have lost harvests, homes, and livestock are already coping with a third wave of COViD-19 and severe drought. in many northern provinces, the re-emergence of the Taliban can be traced to the afghan government’s incompetence, and also to criminal and abusive behaviors of

the local military commanders, including land grabs, extortion, and rape. President ashraf Ghani, showing little empathy for people trying to flee afghanistan, referred to those who leave as people looking to “have fun.” responding to his april 18 speech when he made this comment, a young woman whose sister, a journalist, was recently killed, tweeted about her father who had stayed in afghanistan for seventy-four years, encouraged his children to stay, and now felt that his daughter might be alive had she left. The surviving daughter said the afghan government couldn’t protect its people, and that’s why they tried to leave.

President Ghani’s government has encouraged the formation of “Uprising” militias to help protect the country. immediately, people began questioning how the afghan government could support new militias when it already lacks ammunition and protection for thousands of afghan National Defense Forces and local police who have fled their posts. The main backer of the Uprising Forces, it seems, is the formidable National Directorate of Security, whose main sponsor is the Cia. Some militia groups have raised money through imposing “taxes” or outright extortion. Others turn to other countries in the region, all of which reinforces cycles of violence and despair.

The staggering loss of landmine removal experts working for the nonprofit HalO Trust should add to our sense of grief and mourning. about 2,600 afghans working with the demining group had helped make more than 80 percent of afghanistan’s land safe from unexploded ordnance strewn over the country after forty years of war. Tragically, militants attacked the group, killing ten workers. Human rights Watch says the afghan government has not adequately investigated the attack nor has it investigated the killings of journalists, human rights activists, clerics, and judicial workers that began escalating after the afghan government began peace talks with the Taliban in april.

Yet, unquestionably, the warring party in afghanistan with the most sophisticated weapons and seemingly endless access to funds has been the United States. Funds were spent not to lift afghans to a place of security from which they might have worked to moderate Taliban rule, but to further frustrate them, beating down their hopes of future participatory governance with twenty years of war and brutal impoverishment. The war

has been a prelude to the United States’ inevitable retreat and the return of a possibly more enraged and dysfunctional Taliban to rule over a shattered population.

The troop withdrawal negotiated by President Joe Biden and U.S. military officials is not a peace agreement. rather, it signals the end of an occupation resulting from an unlawful invasion, and while troops are leaving, the Biden administration is already laying plans for “over the horizon” drone surveillance, drone strikes, and “manned” aircraft strikes which could exacerbate and prolong the war.

U.S. citizens ought to consider not only financial recompense for destruction caused by twenty years of war but also a commitment to dismantle the warfare systems that brought such havoc, chaos, bereavement, and displacement to afghanistan.

We should be sorry that, during 2013, when the United States spent an average of $2 million per soldier, per year, stationed in afghanistan, the number of afghan children suffering malnutrition rose by 50 percent. at that same time, the cost of adding iodized salt to an afghan child’s diet to help reduce risks of brain damage caused by hunger would have been 5 cents per child per year.

We should deeply regret that while the United States constructed sprawling military bases in Kabul, populations in refugee camps soared. During harsh winter months, people desperate for warmth in a Kabul refugee camp would burn—and then have to breathe—plastic.

Trucks laden with food, fuel, water, and supplies constantly entered the U.S. military base immediately across the road from this camp.

We should acknowledge, with shame, that U.S. contractors signed deals to build hospitals and schools which were later determined to be ghost hospitals and ghost schools, places that never even existed.

On October 3, 2015, when only one hospital served vast numbers of people in the Kunduz province, the U.S. air Force bombed the hospital at 15 minute intervals for one and a half hours, killing 42 people including 13 staff, three of whom were doctors. This attack helped greenlight the war crime of bombing hospitals all around the world.

More recently, in 2019, migrant workers in Nangarhar were attacked when a drone fired missiles into their overnight camp. The owner of a pine nut forest had hired the laborers, including children, to harvest the pine nuts, and he notified officials ahead of time, hoping to

avoid any confusion. 30 of the workers were killed while they were resting after an exhausting day of work. Over 40 people were badly wounded.

U.S. repentance for a regime of attacks by weaponized drones, conducted in afghanistan and worldwide, along with sorrow for the countless civilians killed, should lead to deep appreciation for Daniel Hale, a drone whistleblower who exposed the widespread and indiscriminate murder of civilians.

Between January 2012 and February 2013, according to an article in The intercept, these air strikes “killed more than 200 people. Of those, only thirty-five were the intended targets. During one five-month period of the operation, according to the documents, nearly 90 percent of the people killed in airstrikes were not the intended targets.”

We should be sorry for night raids that terrified civilians, assassinated innocent people, and were later acknowledged to have been based on faulty information.

We must reckon with how little attention our elected officials ever paid to the quadrennial “Special inspector General on afghan reconstruction” reports which detailed many years’ worth of fraud, corruption, human rights violations and failure to achieve stated goals related to counter-narcotics or confronting corrupt structures.

We should say we’re sorry, we’re so very sorry, for pretending to stay in afghanistan for humanitarian reasons, when, honestly, we understood next to nothing about humanitarian concerns of women and children in afghanistan.

When i think of the generations in afghanistan who have suffered through war, occupation and the vagaries of warlords, including NaTO troops, i wish we could hear the sorrow of the grandmother who now wonders how she might help feed, shelter and protect her family.

Her sorrow should lead to atonement on the part of countries that invaded her land. every one of those countries could arrange visas and support for each afghan person who now wants to flee. a reckoning with the massive wreckage this grandmother and her loved ones face should yield equally massive readiness to abolish all wars, forever.

Kathy Kelly (Kathy.vcnv@gmail.com) is a peace activist and author working to end U.S. military and economic wars. At times, her activism has led her to war zones and prisons.

Monday, 19 July, 2021

BUSINESS 09

LAHORE

SNGPL SUSPENdS GAS SUPPLy to CNG SECtoR, GENERAL iNdUStRiES ISLAMABAD

Kamyab Pakistan to be launched this month ISLAMABAD APP

Minister for Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin on Saturday said The government has decided to give Rs1.6 trillion to Kamyab Pakistan programme in the next three years to uplift under-privileged population of the country.

He said that an extensive consultative process was followed in working out modalities of the programme ensuring that all relevant stakeholders are on board.

Kamyab Pakistan is a flagship programme which shall extend micro-loans to entrepreneurs, small business and farmers at 0 per cent markup without collateral. The key focus is to provide loans to 4.5 million households at the lowest strata, registered with the National Socio Economic Registry (NSER) of Ehsaas Programme, said a press release in this regard. "The Kamyab Pakistan Programme reflects the firm commitment of the government in pursuing pro-people agenda and developing Pakistan into a welfare state in line with the principles of Riasat-eMadina," Tarin said. The cumulative disbursement under the programme would be Rs1.6 trillion over the period of next 3 to 5 years and shall benefit 3,000,000 families which makes this programme one of the largest of its kind in the world. The micro-loans will be disbursed under a wholesale arrangement between the banks, DFIs, Pakistan Mortgage Refinance Company (PMRC), micro-finance banks and housing finance companies (HFCs). Under Kamyab Kissan Programme, agricultural loans shall be given to farmers with landholdings upto 12.5 acres. Micro loans would be extended up to Rs150,000 per crop for procurement of agricultural inputs to boost agricultural productivity. In addition, loans up to Rs200,000 would be given for machinery and equipment. Similarly, loans shall be extended for small businesses and start-ups at 0pc markup in both rural and urban areas under ‘Kamyab Karobar’. Loan size is up to Rs500,000 and repayment will be in easy installments. The third component of the scheme is introduction of a new tier titled Naya Pakistan Low Cost Housing Scheme wherein loans of up to Rs2.7 million for NAPHDA and Rs2 million for non-NAPHDA projects will be given at highly subsidised rates for up to 20 years. KPP will also integrate with Government’s ongoing skill development program for educational and vocational training under “Kamyab Hunarmand” scheme and provincial initiative of Sehat Insaf Card. The Kamyab Pakistan Program (KPP) has been designed to foster “Bottom-up” approach as envisaged by the Prime Minister.

The KPP aims at empowering all those who are underprivileged and belong to marginalized sections of the society. ECC has approved the Kamyab Pakistan Program in its meeting held on 16 July 2021. The Finance Minister commended all concerned who made great efforts in designing the whole program and taking it forward towards its formal launch which is scheduled soon.

Punjab’s food circular debt jumps to Rs560bn Punjab’s food sector circular debt has risen to a staggering Rs560bn, equal to the Annual Development Programme for the year 2021-22, giving a nightmare to the finance wizards in the province. According to a report by Dawn, Punjab harvested a bumper wheat crop, about 22 million tonne this season and the department procured at least 3.5 million tonne of it at a rate of Rs1,800 per maund (40kg). The food debt was hovering around Rs400bn until the end of the last financial year (2019-20) but the recent wheat procurement campaign by the food department added close to Rs160bn to the number. The food officials, however, clarify that a good portion of the Rs160bn will be recovered when the department issues wheat to flour millers after the end of their own stocks. MONITORING REPORT

S

AHMAD AHMADANI

UI Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) has suspended gas supply to all Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) stations and general industries of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provinces to manage the gas load on its system.

In a letter to CNG, general industries dated July 17, SNGPL informed that in line with the direction of the Ministry of Energy (MoE) and in order to manage gas loads on its system, it has been decided to suspend gas supply to all CNG and general industries till the situation improves.

Annoyed over the decision to suspend gas supply to CNG sector, Ghiyas Abdullah Paracha, a senior leader of All Pakistan CNG Association (APCNGA) said that

SOME LOCAL GAS BEING DIVERTED TO POWER SECTOR: HAMMAD it is not acceptable or fair to the CNG sector which is already struggling due to the government’s policies.

He said that gas supply to the CNG and general industries has been suspended because there is a shortage of around 300 Million Cubic Feet per Day (MMCFD) Re-gasified Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG) and only a small quantity of furnace oil available to meet the power sector’s demands.

Paracha further said that neither the government itself arranges adequate quantities of gas to meet the energy needs, nor does it allow the private sector to bring gas to the country.

He said UGDC, a local private company, has

been striving hard for the last ten years to import gas.

However, this company has not gained anything even though it has obtained necessary licenses and No Objection Certificates (NOCs).

SNGPL was approached to inquire about the demand and supply, and actual reasons behind suspension of gas supply; however, officials did not respond till the filing of this news.

Meanwhile, Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar on Sunday said that some local gas, 3.75 per cent of total, was being diverted to the power sector to meet its peak demands due to a lightning strike on China Hub power plant and low outflows from Mangla Dam. “This is a temporary arrangement for a few days,” he tweeted.

It is to be mentioned here that China Hub Power Plant has capacity of generating 1260 MW electricity.

Dawood urges increase in regional trade, says govt achieving economic stability PAKISTAN, UZBEKISTAN TO SIGN PTA ON SEPT 30

EFU Life wins Silver at Effie Awards 2021 for digital web-series ‘Humrahi’ KARACHI PR

SIALKOT APP

The government is successfully completing its agenda of economic stability, however the country must focus on regional trade which is quite low, said Adviser to Prime Minster on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood.

He was addressing a meeting of exporters at the Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) here on Saturday. SCCI President Qaisar Iqbal Baryar, Senior Vice President (SVP) Khurram Aslam Butt, Vice President (VP) Ansar Puri, Chairman AirSial Airline Fazal Jillani, Chairman Sialkot International Airline Limited (SIAL) Khwaja Masood Akhtar (Sitara Imtiaz), SCCI former presidents and a large number of business community members were present on the occasion.

“We must focus on regional trade. We have very low trade with regions. The EU regional trade is 90 per cent,” Dawood said.

Dawood said that Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to Uzbekistan was a successful visit, in which 71 agreements were signed with Uzbekistan and announced that single country exhibition was going to be held in Tashkent soon to promote a wide range of export goods.

Article continues after this advertisement He urged the Sialkot exporters to participate and explore the opportunities internationally, adding that the government had made products exports competitive in the FY22 budget by rationalising tariff lines of over 4,000 raw materials, comprising around 42 per cent of total imported raw material.

“Uzbekistan would also prove to be a gateway for Pakistan to other Central Asian countries,” he said.

He said that the preferential trade agreement (PTA) would be signed on Sept 30, 2021.

Dawood added that a meeting of businessmen and the chambers would be held after Eidul Azha with the prime minister, to set the targets of exports for the next financial year and that he said he would discuss the EXIM Bank issues with the finance minister soon.

During the meeting, SCCI President Qaisar Iqbal Baryar informed the participants about the issues faced by the business community. He discussed various issues of the industry including imposition of five per cent withholding tax on export companies on account of purchases from unregistered suppliers, decrease in percentage of rebate on sports goods, price fixation issue of beauty and single use instruments industry, release of funds from EDF for child labour elimination programme, enhancement in duty drawback schemes, one-time settlement of time barred DLTL cases, establishment of branch of EXIM bank in Sialkot, facilitation in establishment of business-to-business-to-consumer (B2B2C) framework by the SBP, establishment of e-commerce incubation and training centres in Sialkot, permanent representation of SCCI in EDF Board, initiation of back-to-back letter of credit for five export-oriented sectors.

Later, Abdul Razak Dawood visited Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers & Exporters Association (PRGMEA) and assured them that all problems of industrial sector would be resolved amicably.

EFU Life Assurance Limited, the leading life insurance provider in the country, has been awarded ‘Silver’ at the Virtual Effie Awards Ceremony 2021 in the category of ‘Branded Content’ for Humrahi, a digital web-series. This is the 5th recognition for ‘Humrahi’ after winning the ‘Gold Effie’ for Season 1 and international wins at Dragons of Asia for ‘Best Campaign in the Country’ and ‘Best Use of Media across all countries’ along with MAA Globes 2019 win for ‘Best Use of Media category’. The branded content category recognizes brands for efforts to effectively reach its target audience through the creation of original branded content and how it relates back to the overall brand and business goals; how effective the brand was in media planning and distribution, and how the content was shared by the audience and the results achieved for the brand and business. The category is contested across all industries and is not limited to a specific marketing medium. EFU Life launched ‘Humrahi’ on Digital, with a targeted approach to reach its audience to change the perception of life insurance amongst the millennials through an unconventional message of life planning, and with the key objective of positioning it as a smart choice for savings and future planning. The Effie Awards were launched in 1968 by the New York American Marketing Association as an awards program to honor the most effective advertising efforts. Effie Pakistan is a not-for-profit initiative between Pakistan Advertisers Society and Effie Worldwide.

The annual award is presented to recognize the most significant achievement in marketing communications: ideas that work. EFU Life had partnered with Mullen Lowe & Rauf Pakistan for creative strategy and execution and Mediavest Pakistan for media planning and execution.

OPEC+ agrees oil supply boost after UAE wins argument with Saudi JEDDAH AGENCIES

OPEC and its allies Sunday agreed to gradually add more oil supplies to the market, ending a two-week spat between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The unusually public dispute that tested the unity of the cartel was resolved in a classic compromise -- with Riyadh meeting Abu Dhabi halfway in its demand for a more generous output limit.

“Consensus building is an art,” Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman told reporters after the meeting. The deal is evidence of the strong bonds between members and shows “OPEC+ is here to stay.”

The agreement means the cartel will

UAE WINS ARGUMENT FOR PRODUCTION QUOTA ADJUSTMENT boost output by 400,000 barrels a day each month from August, continuing until all of its halted output has been revived. The deal will also give the UAE and several other countries higher baselines against which their production cuts are measured, starting in May 2022, according to a statement from the group.

The UAE’s level was increased to 3.5 million barrels day, below the 3.8 million it initially demanded but above the previous baseline of 3.2 million.

Supply Squeeze: The truce between the two long-time allies will ease a looming supply squeeze and reduce the risk of an in-

flationary oil price spike. It also puts an end to a diplomatic spat that unnerved traders, as the fight between the two long-time allies risked unraveling the broader accord between the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies that has underpinned the recovery in crude prices.

The multifaceted agreement means several things for the oil market. It gives consumers a clearer view of how quickly OPEC+ will restore the 5.8 million barrels a day of production it’s still withholding, since making deep cuts last year in the initial stages of the pandemic.

The baseline adjustments won’t alter the

pace of the 400,000 barrel-a-day monthly output increases when they take effect next year, Prince Abdulaziz said. The group will continue to meet every month, including a review of the market in December, and could adjust the schedule if required, he said.

“The monthly meetings and the December review tell you that that is all amendable,” said Bill Farren-Price, a director at research firm Enverus. “So oil bulls should read this as positive -- OPEC+ supply management continues.”

Internal tenSIonS: The accord also resolves longstanding grievances that caused tensions within OPEC+ since late 2020. The UAE blocked an agreement earlier this month, arguing that the way its quota was calculated was unfair because it didn’t reflect

a costly expansion in the country’s industry.

The spat was particularly bitter, and the tensions go beyond oil diplomacy amid growing economic rivalry between Abu Dhabi and Riyadh. Ministers of each country used media interviews to make their case, stirring memories of the 2020 Saudi-Russia price war, and also past threats from the UAE to leave the cartel.

With a successful deal in the bag, both countries emphasized the strength and friendliness of their relationship.

“The UAE is committed to this group and will always work with it,” Energy Minister Suhail Al-Mazrouei told reporters after the meeting. He thanked Saudi Arabia and Russia for keeping OPEC+ together and fostering a constructive dialog that enabled a deal.

Monday, 19 July, 2021

10 FOREIGN NEWS

LAHORE

fLash fLoods batter bavaria as european death toLL rises to 184 GERMAN DEATH TOLL CLIMBS TO 157 BERCHTESGADEN/BISCHOFSWIESEN

f

REUTERS

LASH floods hit southern Germany on Sunday, killing at least one person, turning roads into rivers and adding to the flooding devastation that has claimed the lives of more than 180 people across Europe in recent days.

Some vehicles were swept away and swathes of land were buried under thick mud as the Berchtesgadener Land district of Bavaria became the latest region to be hit by record rainfall and floods.

Hundreds of rescue workers were searching for survivors in the district, which borders Austria.

"We were not prepared for this," said Berchtesgadener Land district administrator Bernhard Kern, adding that the situation had deteriorated "drastically" late on Saturday, leaving little time to for emergency services to act. Sunday's death brought Germany's death toll to 157 in its worst natural disaster in almost six decades, and the European toll to 184.

About 110 people have been killed in the worst-hit Ahrweiler district south of Cologne. More bodies are expected to be found there as the flood waters recede, police say.

The European floods, which began on Wednesday, have mainly hit the German states of Rhineland Palatinate, North Rhine-Westphalia as well as parts of Belgium. Entire communities have been cut off, without power or communications.

In North Rhine-Westphalia at least 46 people have died, while the death toll in Belgium stood at 27.

The German government will be readying more than 300 million euros ($354 million) in immediate relief and billions of euros to fix collapsed houses, streets and bridges, Finance Minister Olaf Scholz told weekly newspaper Bild am Sonntag.

"There is huge damage and that much is clear: those who lost their businesses, their houses, cannot stem the losses alone." There could also be a 10,000 euro short-term payment for businesses affected by the impact of the floods as well as the Covid-19 pandemic, Economy Minister Peter Altmaier told the paper.

POWER OUT: Scientists, which have long said that climate change will lead to heavier downpours, said it would still take several weeks to determining its role in these relentless rainfalls. read more In Belgium, which will hold a national day of mourning on Tues-

BAVARIA BECOMES LATEST REGION TO BE HIT BY FLOODS

day, water levels were falling on Sunday and the clean-up operation was underway. The military was sent in to the eastern town of Pepinster, where a dozen buildings have collapsed, to search for any further victims. Tens of thousands of people are without electricity and Belgian authorities said the supply of clean drinking water was also a big concern. Emergency services officials in the Netherlands said the situation had

somewhat stabilised in the southern part of Limburg province, where tens of thousands were evacuated in recent days, although the northern part was still on high alert.

"In the north they are tensely monitoring the dykes and whether they will hold," Jos Teeuwen of the regional water authority told a press conference on Sunday.

In southern Limburg, authorities are still concerned about the safety of

RESCUE WORKERS CONTINUE CLEAN-UP IN BELGIUM

traffic infrastructure such as roads and bridges battered by the high water. The Netherlands has so far only reported property damage from the flooding and no dead or missing people.

In Hallein, an Austrian town near Salzburg, powerful flood waters tore through the town centre on Saturday evening as the Kothbach river burst its banks, but no injuries were reported.

Many areas of Salzburg province and neighbouring provinces remain on alert, with rains set to continue on Sunday. Western Tyrol province reported that water levels in some areas were at highs not seen for more than 30 years.

Parts of Switzerland remained on flood alert, though the threat posed by some of the most at-risk bodies of water like Lake Lucerne and Bern's Aare river has eased.

US accuses Iran of trying to deflect blame for nuclear talks impasse WASHINGTON/CAIRO REUTERS

The United States on Saturday accused Tehran of an "outrageous" effort to deflect blame for the impasse in Iran nuclear talks and denied that any agreement had been reached on a prisoner swap.

Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Abbas Araqchi, said earlier on Twitter that the next round of negotiations in Vienna must wait until the new Iranian administration takes office in August but insisted that a prisoner exchange could take place quickly if the United States and Britain would stop linking it with the nuclear issue.

Indirect US-Iranian talks on reviving the 2015 deal have been on hold since the last round ended on June 20, and Araqchi's comments confirmed that Tehran will not return to the table before

President-elect Ebrahim Raisi takes over.

"We're in a transition period as a democratic transfer of power is under way in our capital. Vienna talks must thus obviously await our new administration,” he tweeted.

US State Department spokesman Ned Price said: "These comments are an outrageous effort to deflect blame for the current impasse."

"We stand ready to return to Vienna to complete work on a mutual return to the JCPOA once Iran has made the necessary decisions,” Price said, referring to diplomatic efforts to get both countries back to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

That is the nuclear accord that former President Donald Trump abandoned and his successor, President Joe Biden, seeks to revive.

LandsLides kiLL at Least 30 in MuMbai after heavy rains MUMBAI

After war with Israel, a grieving Gaza marks Eid Al-Adha holiday GAZA REUTERS

For Palestinians who lost loved ones in the fighting between Gaza's armed groups and Israel two months ago, there is little cause for celebration during the upcoming Muslim holiday of Eid Al-Adha.

Known as the Feast of Sacrifice, it commemorates for the faithful the prophet Ibrahim's readiness to sacrifice his son to show his dedication to God. The holiday, coinciding with Hajj, the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Makkah, begins on Tuesday, and Muslims traditionally mark the occasion by slaughtering sheep or cows and exchanging gifts. For this year's four-day festival, Mahmoud Issa, a 73-year-old retired teacher, bought new clothes for his grandchildren and took them to a farm to choose an animal to slaughter.

But he mourns the death of his daughter Manar, 39, and her daughter, Lina 13, who he said were killed by an Israeli missile that destroyed their house in the Bureij refugee camp on May 13. Manar's husband and three other children survived.

"As adults, we are still haunted by pain, but we must get the children out of

this atmosphere and make them live the atmosphere of Eid, so that they forget the pain of losing their mother and their eldest sister," Issa said, sitting next to a large mural of Manar.

Gaza's Hamas Islamist-run government says 2,200 homes were destroyed and 37,000 damaged by Israeli bombing during the 11 days of cross-border fighting in May. POOR SALES: In Gaza's livestock markets, breeders and farmers reported poor sales ahead of the holiday. At one market in the town of Khan Younis, some customers loaded animals onto donkey carts to take them home.

"This year, the purchase of animals is weak because of the blockade, war and the coronavirus," said merchant Saleem Abu Atwa, referring in part to tight border restrictions imposed by Israel and Egypt, which cite security concerns for the measures. "We hope calm continues.

It is for the sake of everyone," he added.

At a street stall in Gaza's busy Rimal neighbourhood, Mohammad Al-Qassas laments the destruction of his shoe store in the fighting as he sells goods that he salvaged from the rubble.

REUTERS

At least 30 people died in three Mumbai suburbs after several houses collapsed when heavy rain triggered landslides, officials said on Sunday, and forecasts of further downpours could force authorities to relocate people living in danger zones.

Rescuers resorted to using their hands to dig up the ground in an attempt to find survivors, local television showed, as authorities said more people could be trapped inside the debris. Emergency workers carried the injured through narrow lanes on makeshift stretchers. Several areas of Mumbai have been hit by floods due to heavy rainfall over the past 24 hours, crippling India's financial capital. The mega-city and the coast of India's industrial Maharashtra state are expected to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall in the next four days, the weather department said. "We'll take the decision to shift the people who are living in a dangerous situation to permanent settlements immediately," said Nawab Malik, a state cabinet minister, according to a tweet by news agency ANI, a Reuters partner. Torrential rain, especially during India's July-September monsoon, often triggers the collapse of buildings, especially older or illegally built structures. Within the last 24 hours, authorities have reported 11 incidents of houses or walls collapsing in the Mumbai area, officials said. In one neighbourhood, about half a dozen shacks located at the base of a hill collapsed on top of each other, they added. Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered his condolences in a tweet and announced aid for the victims.

Monday, 19 July, 2021

SPORTS 11

LAHORE

OlymPiC Cluster sCAre As Athletes test POsitive in GAmes villAGe

Arsenal agree deal to sign Brighton defender White: report LONDON

TOKYO

REUTERS

Arsenal have agreed a deal in principle to sign Brighton & Hove Albion defender Ben White for 50 million pounds ($68.86 million), British media reported on Saturday. Sky Sports reported Brighton have added a sell-on clause for White, who was a late call up to Gareth Southgate's England squad for the European Championship. White did not feature at the Euros as England lost to Italy in the final. After being released by Southampton in 2014, White secured a move to Brighton and made an impact at the south coast club following loan spells with Newport County, Peterborough United and Leeds United. White was one of the standout performers for Graham Potter's Brighton last season, making 36 Premier League appearances in the heart of the defence. Mikel Arteta's Arsenal are looking to strengthen their back line after finishing eighth in the league last season and missing out on European football for the first time since the 1994-95 season. Meanwhile, Brighton confirmed winger Alireza Jahanbakhsh has completed a permanent move to Dutch side Feyenoord on a three-year contract.

The Iran international joined Brighton from Eredivisie outfit AZ Alkmaar in 2018 but struggled for regular first-team chances, scoring four goals in 61 appearances in all competitions.

Wolves striker Jimenez returns to action after head injury LONDON

t

AFP

WO athletes have tested positive for the coronavirus in the Tokyo Olympic Village after a team colleague was also infected, officials said on Sunday, raising fears of a cluster just days before the opening ceremony. The first cases involving athletes in the Village come a day after a member of their entourage returned the first positive test in the complex, which will house thousands of athletes.

The three infections were revealed as competitors fly in from around the world for the pandemic-delayed Olympics, which are facing significant opposition in Japan due to their Covid risks.

Tokyo 2020 spokesman Masa Takaya said the three cases "were from the same country and sport". They are "isolated in their rooms and Tokyo 2020 is delivering meals to them", he said, adding that the rest of the team have also been tested. The team was not identified.

The Olympic Village, a complex of apartments and dining areas in Tokyo, will house 6,700 athletes and officials at its peak when the delayed 2020 Games finally get underway.

The Tokyo Games, which will be held largely behind closed doors to prevent infections, are unpopular in Japan where opinion polls have consistently demonstrated a lack of support.

Olympic officials have been at pains to play down the health risks of the Games, which are taking place in stringent anti-

coronavirus conditions with athletes tested daily.

"Mingling and crossing of populations is very limited. We keep the risk to an absolute minimum level," Olympic Games executive director Christophe Dubi said on Sunday.

"We can ensure that transmission between the various groups is almost impossible."

Fifty-five cases linked to the Games, which open on Friday, have been discovered this month, including four athletes.

South Korean IOC member Ryu Seung-men tested positive on arrival in Japan and was placed in isolation, a

spokesman for the Olympic body said.

On Saturday, International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach appealed for Japanese fans to show support, saying he was "very well aware of the scepticism" surrounding the Games.

Athletes are arriving to find a restrictive environment, with daily testing, social distancing and no movement possible outside the Olympic "bubble". They are under orders to leave Japan 48 hours after their event.

In another example of the difficulties, Australia's entire athletics team was quarantined before departure after a member of their entourage returned an inconclusive

test. The official later tested negative.

"We expect that there'll be cases associated with these Games and really what's going to matter is how we respond to that and to ensure that there's no complacency," said David Hughes, medical director of the Australian Olympic team.

Australia has 194 athletes in the Olympic Village backed by support staff including psychologists to help them deal with the "extra strain" of the anti-Covid measures.

Australian basketball star Liz Cambage was one of the athletes to pull out of the Games, citing mental health fears, while tennis player Nick Kyrgios withdrew due to the lack of fans.

Australian chef de mission Ian Chesterman said a "buoyant" mood in the camp was tempered by caution over possible mental health problems in the unusual environment.

"The mood and everything is sort of buoyant and excited to be here, and that we're conscious of the fact that it's like no other," he said.

"We have to make sure that athlete, mental health and wellbeing is at the forefront of all their thinking."

On Saturday, Games chief Seiko Hashimoto admitted athletes are "probably very worried" about coming to Japan, pledging full transparency over Covid cases.

Japanese and Olympic officials have also been forced onto the defensive over a welcoming reception for Bach attended by 40 people while Tokyo remains under a coronavirus state of emergency.

REUTERS

Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Raul Jimenez played his first game since fracturing his skull in November, featuring in a 1-0 pre-season friendly defeat by third-tier Crewe Alexandra on Saturday. The 30-year-old Mexico international, who now wears protective headgear, almost scored on his return to action, striking the bar with a free kick before being replaced by Patrick Cutrone after 33 minutes. Jimenez was injured on Nov. 29 after a clash of heads with Arsenal defender David Luiz and received lengthy treatment on the pitch before being taken off on a stretcher and rushed to hospital for emergency surgery. He was back in training in February and cleared to return in May but was not risked for Wolves’ final game of the season against Manchester United. Jimenez has scored 48 goals in 110 appearances for Wolves in all competitions, and netted four times in nine Premier League games last season before his injury. Wolves, who finished 13th under former manager Nuno Espirito Santo last term, begin their Premier League campaign under new boss Bruno Lage at Leicester City on Aug. 14.

Hamilton faces tough task but promises to bring his 'A-game' SILVERSTONE REUTERS

Lewis Hamilton promised fans he would bring his 'A-game' to Sunday's British Grand Prix after being beaten by Max Verstappen in Formula One's first ever Saturday sprint race and falling further behind in the title battle.

Mercedes' seven-times world champion, who has won his home race a record seven times already, warned, however, that it would be tough.

"I need everyone to bring their energy again tomorrow and I’ll come with my A-game," the Briton told the 105,000-strong crowd at Silverstone. A capacity attendance of more than 140,000 is expected on Sunday in the biggest sporting event in Britain since the Covid-19 pandemic led to closed doors last year. Most will still be hoping to see Hamilton, the most successful Formula One driver of all time, celebrate a 99th career victory. Hamilton had qualified at the front of the grid for the experimental sprint race but lost out at the start as Red Bull's

Verstappen, alongside on the front row, made the quicker getaway. "I think he had a lot of pace in him today and I don’t think he was particularly having to push too hard, and we were flat-out," said Hamilton of the difference between his car and Verstappen's. "Tomorrow’s going to be tough. If I can try somehow to keep up with them through the stints, maybe we can apply pressure through strategy -- but we’re not going to be overtaking them on the track: they’re just too fast."

Verstappen will start with a 33-point advantage over his closest rival and every chance of chalking up a sixth win in 10 races. Saturday's sprint was a 17-lap affair without pitstops while the grand prix will allow more opportunities through strategy. Hamilton recognised he needed to make a better start, however. He said he had done everything correctly but for whatever reason the clutch did not deliver and he suffered a lot of wheelspin. "Their starts are really great this year and we have lost a bit of performance on our starts, so we’ve got to try to work a bit harder to try to improve that because losing positions is never a great thing," he said.

India and England have impressive depth, Australia not so much AGENCIES It has become abundantly clear during this pandemic-ravaged era that one of the prized ingredients in a cricket squad is depth. Ideally it should be both in batting and bowling.

Even the home team squads are now larger in case concussion substitutes are required or for when players test positive. Touring parties are far larger to accommodate both replacements and pre-series inter-squad matches. This situation favours the wealthier countries and those with a robust development system.

India displayed their ample depth particularly in quick bowling - in defeating Australia on their recent tour. In making six changes from the first to second Test and still defeating England comfortably at Edgbaston, New Zealand surprised with their talent too.

England have displayed both depth and flexibility by comprehensively blanking Pakistan in their three-match ODI series. Their prospects for the Ashes in Australia were also boosted by the skilful showing of both Saqib Mahmood and Brydon Carse, two bowlers whose pace should be an asset on bouncy pitches.

History has shown that strength in

IN PANDEMIC-ERA CRICKET, TEAMS WITH A LARGE POOL OF PLAYERS HAVE A HUGE ADVANTAGE OVER THOSE WHO DON'T fast bowling is a requirement for success in Australia, and England are building up an impressive group. However, good pace bowling alone isn't a guarantee of victory in Australia. The bowlers need good catching support and sufficient runs to provide a decent margin for error.

It is the latter that should most concern England.

On that score, though, the forced selection of a whole new squad for the Pakistan series may turn out to be a blessing. I'm not convinced that Rory Burns and Dom Sibley, with their dubious techniques and quirky habits, will have much success against a thoroughbred Australian pace attack.

Consequently, the reminders served

by Dawid Malan and James Vince against a quality Pakistan pace attack should be sufficient for them to be included in an extended Ashes squad. On the last tour of Australia, Malan and Vince performed well at the Gabba and the WACA, showing they were comfortable coping with the extra bounce.

Some might dispute that assessment

of Vince, but his sublime half-century at the WACA was terminated by an unplayable shooter, and he was well on his way to a century in Brisbane until he was run out by a direct hit. If either of those innings had turned into something substantial, he might by now have well been an established member of the Test side.

There's no doubt he has the talent to be a very good Test batter. The only query is whether the mental side of his game can match it. Those reservations aside, there should be a place for both players in an extended Covid-era touring party.

The other bonus England may gain from having to unveil a second team was legspinner Matt Parkinson. He is a big improver and his style of bowling can be useful in Australia. His ability to flight the ball and his typical "confident Northerner" temperament could make him a valuable Ashes asset.

The one major team whose recent performances haven't implied substantial depth are Australia. Batting is the main area of concern and the batters haven't flourished in the Caribbean, with only

Mitchell Marsh making his mark. But Marsh is unlikely to replace Cameron Green as the Test allrounder batting at six.

Once again the Australian batting was shown to be fragile when David Warner and Steve Smith are missing. A glance at the Sheffield Shield batting performances for the last couple of seasons doesn't inspire much confidence that the new wave of stars is on the horizon. When it comes to batting talent, India are best placed of all the teams.

Their development system, which produces players with "traditional techniques" and provides ample opportunities at first-class level, is one to be envied.

Mind you, the extent of India's reserves will be fully tested on the England tour as they have already had to react to isolation requirements and they haven't even played a warm-up game. Just another example of why modern cricket teams consider depth king.

Originally published on ESPNcricinfo

PArts Of hOCkey leGend's stAtue stOlen LAHORE STAFF REPORT

A ball and hockey stick, part of a statue of national hockey great Samiullah Khan, have disappeared in Bahawalpur, social media posts suggested Sunday. The theft occurred less than two weeks after the statue was installed at a crowded crossing in the cantonment neighbourhood in Khan's hometown to honour the left-winger popularly known as "Flying Horse" for his electrifying runs down the left flank. "Let's see for how long his shoes and socks survive," one upset hockey enthusiast commented. Khan played for Pakistan between 1973 and 1982. At the FIH World Cups, he played for two winning teams -- in 1978 and 1982. Khan also won silver in the 1975 World Cup. His sole Olympic performance came in 1976 where the Pakistan team won bronze. In 1980, Pakistan participated in the American-led boycott of the Summer Olympics in the Soviet Union. He thrice won gold in Asian Games: 1974, 1978 and 1982. Khan was also an exceptional scorer for a winger. He scored 55 goals in international games including 12 in four World Cup appearances.

China to complete construction for 2022 Winter Games by October BEIJING REUTERS

China is expected to complete construction work for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics

by October, the state-backed Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday. 53 of the 57 Winter Olympic projects in Beijing and nearby Yanqing have been finished, while the remaining four, including renovation of the National Stadium, known as the Bird's Nest and site of the 2008 Beijing Olympics opening ceremony, are due for completion in coming months. The National Stadium will host the closing ceremony for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. The Beijing sites will host snow events, while Yanqing, a mountainous subdivision of the Beijing municipality, and Zhangjiakou in neighbouring Hebei province will host ice events such as Alpine skiing and snowboarding. China announced in June that all 76 Winter Olympics projects in Zhangjiakou had been completed.

Monday, 19 July, 2021

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PIlgrIms PErform Hajj rITuals undEr CovId safETy mEasurEs maKKaH

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ROUPS of pilgrims flocked to the Grand Mosque of Makkah on Sunday while adhering to precautionary measures against Covid-19 to perform the Islamic rituals of Hajj.

Pilgrims on this day perform Tawaf before preparing to head to Mina, situated east of Makkah, to spend the rest of the day resting and sleeping in preparation for their journey to Mount Arafat for prayer in what is considered the most important pillar of the pilgrimage process.

Since Saturday, groups of pilgrims have been performing the Tawaf, circling the Holy Kaaba.

“46,000 pilgrims have arrived in Mina,” Deputy Minister of Hajj and

Umrah Abdelfattah bin Suleiman Mashat told a foreign news agency on Sunday morning.

“The number of women participating in the Hajj this year exceeds 40 percent,” he added.

Mina sits in a narrow valley surrounded by rocky mountains, and is transformed each year into a vast encampment for pilgrims.

Saudi Arabia has put in place a number of protocols to ensure safety for pilgrims, aside from continuous cleansing and sanitization operations throughout the holy mosque.

Thermal cameras have been placed at entrances of the Grand Mosque to monitor the temperature of those entering the area. Translation services in 10 different languages have also been put in place for those inside the Grand Mosque.

Jewish visits, opposed by Palestinians, spark clashes at Al-Aqsa Mosque Jerusalem REUtERs

Brief clashes erupted on Sunday between Israeli police and Palestinians at Al Aqsa mosque over visits by Jews to the compound revered in Judaism as the site of two destroyed Biblical temples.

No serious injuries were reported in what police described as stone throwing early in the day by several Palestinian youngsters who it said were then dispersed.

Palestinian officials said police forcefully evacuated Muslim worshippers to clear the way for Jewish visitors and fired rubber-coated bullets during the confrontation in one of the most sensitive venues in the Arab-Israeli conflict.

All was quiet by the time Muslim noon prayers were held, but the incident drew condemnation by the Palestinian Authority, which administers limited self-rule in the occupied West Bank.

Israeli media reports put the number of Jewish visitors who walked through the Jerusalem plaza at around 1,300.

They were mostly religious Jews, some with children in tow, who toured the site under heavy police guard on the Tisha B'Av -- an annual fast day in Judaism marking the razing of the temples.

In a statement, the Palestinian Authority said it held "the Israeli occupation government fully responsible for the escalation resulting from the Israeli incursion in the Al Aqsa mosque complex in occupied Jerusalem".

The Authority called the Jewish visits provocative and a "serious threat to "security and stability".

After the spate of violence, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett directed that Jewish visits there "continue, while maintaining order at the site", an official statement said.

Israeli police monitor and regulate Jewish visits to the compound, known in Judaism as Temple Mount.

Muslims refer to the compound, where Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam's third holiest site, and the Dome of the Rock are located, as the Noble Sanctuary.

The area is in Jerusalem's walled Old City and part of the territory Israel occupied in a 1967 Middle East war. Violence there led in part to an 11-day Israel-Gaza war in May.

LAHORE: People purchase bus tickets to return to their hometowns ahead of Eid-ul-Azha. ZUBAIR MEHFOOZ

FAJR SUNRISE

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England defeat Pakistan by 45 runs in second T20I England cruised to a 45-run victory against Pakistan, after a clinical performance, in the second Twenty20 International (T20I) between the two sides at the Yorkshire Cricket Ground in Leeds on Sunday to level the three-match series at one apiece. Chasing a daunting target of 201 runs, Pakistan were off to a solid start as openers Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan stitched together a breezy 50-run partnership.

Pacer Saqib Mahmood dealt the first blow, removing Babar (22 off 16), caught by fielder Dawid Malan.

Explosive batsman Sohaib Maqsood came out with a lot of intent, racing to 15 runs off 10 balls, before being stumped by wicketkeeper Jos Buttler off the bowling of leg-spinner Rashid Khan. The England spinners then applied a chokehold on the run-scoring options as Pakistan’s batsmen struggled to find regular boundaries. Rashid took advantage of the mounting pressure, removing batsman Mohammad Rizwan (caught and bowled) after he had managed 37 runs off 29 balls. Off-spinner Moeen Ali joined the fun picking up two crucial wickets to leave Pakistan in all sorts of trouble against the rising required run rate. Ali first removed batsman Mohammad Hafeez (10 off 12), caught by fielder Jonny Bairstow, before cleaning up batsman Fakhar Zaman (eight off eight). Young batsman Azam Khan (one off four) stepped out of his crease but missed a Rashid Khan delivery that was collected by wicketkeeper Jos Buttler for an easy stumping. All-rounder Imad Wasim played a quickfire 20-run knock off 13 balls, before falling to pacer Tom Curran, caught by fielder Jason Roy. Mahmood then removed tailender Shaheen Shah (two off four), caught by fielder Chris Jordan, and clean bowled tailender Haris Rauf for a golden duck. In the end, Pakistan could only manage 155 runs for the loss of nine wickets in their allotted overs, losing by 45 runs, as all-rounder Shadab Khan remained unbeaten after scoring 36 runs off 22 balls. Saqib Mahmood was the most successful bowler for his side picking up three wickets at the expense of 33 runs in his allotted overs.

Earlier, after losing the toss and being asked to bat first, England were off to a shaky start. Opener Jason Roy (10 off 4) went hard after all-rounder Imad Wasim, only to sky the fourth delivery of the match into the hands of fielder Mohammad Hafeez. Imad returned in his next over to remove batsman Dawid Malan (one off five) as Pakistan looked to tame the explosive England batting line-up. The fall of wickets however did not impact England’s intent as batsmen Moeen Ali and Jos Buttler combined for a whirlwind 67-run knock off just 31 balls to provide a solid foundation for their side. Pacer Mohammad Hasnain got the better of Moeen Ali, caught by fielder Babar Azam, after he had raced to 36 runs off 16 balls.

Batsman Liam Livingstone then joined the explosive Buttler on the way to a 52- run partnership off 34 balls as England looked to impose themselves in the match.

Mohammad Hasnain then returned to provide a crucial breakthrough for Pakistan removing Jos Buttler, caught by Babar Azam, after he had raced to 59 runs off 39 balls. The opening paved the way for more wickets as Pakistan looked to stem the flow of runs from the bat of the Englishmen. Leg-spinner Shadab Khan removed dangerous batsman Jonny Bairstow (13 off seven balls), caught by fielder Fakhar Zaman, as the batsman tried to clear the boundary but failed.

Liam Livingstone (38 off 23) appeared to be in sublime form, similar to his incredible touch in the first T20I, before falling because of a mix-up with fellow batsman Tom Curran. Curran (nine off seven) himself fell shortly after off the bowling of Mohammad Hasnain, caught by fielder Sohaib Maqsood. Pacer Haris Rauf then removed tailenders Chris Jordan (14 off eight) and Adil Rashid (two off four) in quick succession to further dent England’s onslaught. Tailender Matt Parkinson was the last wicket to fall, bowled by pacer Shaheen Shah, as Pakistan managed to restrict England to 200 runs in 19.5 overs despite the fireworks from the batsmen.

Hasnain was the pick of the bowler for his side, taking three wickets at the expense of 51 runs. NEws DEsk

Ballots replace bullets in remote part of Kashmir IslamaBaD ANADOlU AgENcy

Just a few months ago, this remote mountainous northern strip of Azad Jammu and Kashmir called Neelam Valley was blazing with bullets as the forces of India and Pakistan were exchanging fire.

Now the mountains as high as 17,000 feet along the 740 kilometers (460 miles) Line of Control, that divides Jammu and Kashmir into India and Pakistan are blurring and echoing with sounds of loudspeakers, as electioneering picks up in AJK to elect regional assembly on July 25. A convoy of over two dozen jeeps and buses is making its way on a narrow and battered hilly road along the gushing waters of Neelam River also known as Kishanganga River.

Their destination is Kail — a small town of scenic Neelam Valley — just a few meters away from the highly militarized and world’s

most dangerous border.

The 144 kilometres (89 miles) long strip of Neelam Valley is bordered by the Kupwara and Bandipora districts of Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir on the southern side across the LoC. In the picturesque valley perched in Harmukh mountains part of great Himalayas, around noon under clear skies, over 2,000 people have gathered in the sprawling sports ground of a government college in Kail to show support to their candidate, belonging to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, which is taking part in the upcoming elections as a favorite.

Some youths have their faces painted in the party flag colors.

“Until a few months ago, it was hard to imagine about a public gathering here,” Zafar Ali, a participant, said while speaking to Anadolu Agency.

Just a few meters away, right in the middle of the bazaar, large-size banners of the

candidates from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Pakistan Peoples Party are placed, indicating a tough contest between the three parties. This rally took more than two hours to cover a 20 kilometres distance from the Sharda town, to reach Kail due to sloppy terrain.

HIGH DECIBEL CAMPAIGN: After every few miles, the convoy took breaks as cheering youths carrying party flags danced to drum-beating and chanted slogans.

“It is because of the cease-fire, we are sitting here without any fear,” Ali, a student of Kail College said while wiping out sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief.

“Otherwise, people would not even dare to assemble for a small wedding (until February) as no one knew when and where the shell would hit,” he said.

Over 3.2 million voters will elect a 53member assembly for a five-year term. Out of 53 seats, 45 are general, while eight are

reserved for women, technocrats, and religious scholars.

As many as 12 seats are reserved for those who have migrated from Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

At one point, the convoy numbed into a smaller rally of another political party coming from the opposite side. It raised the temperatures, as both of them raised slogans with high pitches. But they passed each other peacefully.

The election euphoria has visibly taken over this famous tourist destination — a rare happening here — following the return of normalcy in the wake of a recent cease-fire agreement between India and Pakistan.

In February, the two militaries agreed to honor the 2003 cease-fire agreement along the LoC, followed by an exchange of letters between the two premiers, which was widely viewed as an outcome of backchannel diplomacy.

“Not only the Neelam Valley but all the districts along the LoC have been overtaken by the festivities of the election,” said Safeer Kyani, a jeep driver, who was part of the rally.

Some 16 out of 45 general seats fall in the districts located along the LoC, which, according to analysts, may play a decisive role in the formation of the next government.

“Elections activities in 2011 and 2016 were restricted due to fears of shelling from across the border,” Kyani said pointing to nearby trenches resulted due to shelling from across the LoC. The area was witnessing a daily dose of shelling and sniper attacks until February this year, killing hundreds of troops and civilians from both sides.

BANNERS AND FLAGS COVER REGION: Unfazed by the hilly terrain and battered track, many youths sporting party flags zoom past motorbikes and jeeps risking their lives.

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