EpaperLHR_21-10-7

Thursday, 7 October, 2021 I 30 Safar, 1443 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XII No 99 I 12 Pages I Lahore Edition

Gen nadeem to take over as new dG-IsI

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Staff RepoRt

adeem ahmed anjum, a seasoned soldier who has battled militants, became head of Inter-Services Intelligence agency Wednesday, replacing Faiz Hameed who was appointed commander of the Peshawar corps. anjum belongs to the Punjab Regiment of the Pakistan army and has also served as the commandant of Command and Staff College, Quetta.

He is a battle-hardened soldier who also headed Frontier Corps in Balochistan. The agency conducted

many successful anti-terrorism operations under his command. He last served as commander of V Corps assigned in Karachi.

The appointment of the spy chief is the prerogative of the prime minister. However, per standard practice, the prime minister makes the choice in consultation with the army chief.

Hameed, a former senior ISI figure who headed its internal security, was appointed to the post in June 2019. He had succeeded Lt Gen asim munir who remained in the office for only eight months.

Hameed was seen to be hugely influential within ISI during his previous stint at the agency. He was one of the figures who brokered the Faiz-

abad agreement in late 2017 when Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan protesters blocked off roads into Islamabad. an Inter-Services Public Relations statement further said Lt Gen muhammad amir was posted as the Commander Gujranwala Corps while Lt Gen asim munir malik after promotion to the rank of lieutenant general was appointed the Quartermaster General.

The statement announced other postings as well, saying Lt Gen mohammad Saeed has been posted as the Karachi corps commander, Lt Gen Nauman mehmood as president of the National defence University.

Lt Gen Nadeem anjum was commissioned in the Light anti Tank Battalion of Punjab Regiment.

General officer has diversified experience of command, staff and instructional assignments.

He’s graduate of Combined arms Centre UK, Staff College Quetta, advance Staff Course UK, NdU Islamabad, aPCSS USa and Royal College of defense Studies UK. He holds a master degree from King’s College London and NdU Islamabad.

General has vast experience of command in conventional as well as sub conventional threat environment. He has been on command on both western border and LOC besides long service in Balochistan.

He commanded an infantry brigade in South Waziristan agency, an infantry brigade in Kurram agency and Hangu during Op Zarbe azb and he was IGFC Balochistan during Op Raddul Fasad.

He has been an instructor at Pma, Staff College and NdU. He has been Commandant of Staff College, Quetta. He has also been Chief of staff of 5 Corps.

His last assignment was Commander 5 Corps, Sindh.

First visit since Taliban takeover: US Deputy Secretary of State Sherman to reach Islamabad today ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

a seven-member team from the United States, led by deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, will arrive in Islamabad Thursday on a two-day visit.

Sherman, after Central Intelligence agency chief William J. Burns, will be one of the first high-level officials under President Joe Biden to visit Pakistan — and after the Taliban takeover of afghanistan in august.

Sherman will meet senior officials in Islamabad after an earlier visit to New delhi and mumbai on October 6-7, when she will meet officials and civil society leaders and address the US-India Business council’s annual “ideas summit,” the State department said last week.

The ministry of Foreign affairs has requested the Civil aviation authority to exempt the visiting delegation from mandatory body search, photographing and asked the state lounge be allocated for their stay.

The delegation will also be exempted from the RT-PCR testing, the letter suggested.

The foreign ministry officials be allowed access to the parking area of the state lounge and five people from the State de-

Disgruntled BAP lawmakers decide to file no-confidence motion against Kamal disgruntled Balochistan awami Party (BaP) lawmakers and its allies in the government have decided to file a no-confidence motion against Chief minister Jam Kamal Khan two days later, dawn reported on Wednesday. during a press conference, Provincial minister for Social Welfare and Special education asad Baloch said that the disgruntled lawmakers met with the delegation sent by the chief minister.

The delegation asked for more time “but we said that we have already given Jam Kamal three years and we can’t spare anymore time”. The disgruntled lawmakers have the support of almost 40 members of the provincial assembly, asad added. meanwhile, five members of the Balochistan cabinet and four parliamentary secretaries decided to resign from their post after a deadline given to Kamal for stepping down as chief minister expired Wednesday.

Three ministers, two advisers, and four parliamentary secretaries submitted their resignations to Zahoor Buledi.

The ministers, who resigned, include Provincial Finance minister Zahoor Buledi, abdul Rehman Khetran, and asad Baloch, advisers, who resigned, include akbar askani and muhammad Khan Lehri, and parliamentary secretaries, who resigned, include Bushra Rind, Rasheed Baloch, Sikander Imrani, and mahjabeen.

partment and the US embassy in Islamabad be issued entry passes, it added.

The trip comes as India, one of the top allies of the Western-backed ashraf Ghani government of afghanistan that collapsed in the face of Taliban offences, as well as the US, ramps up propaganda campaign to scapegoat Pakistan for the collapse of the Ghani regime.

Pakistan was one of the backers of the 1996-2001 Taliban regime and has been accused by US officials of keeping the insurgents alive through covert support.

Prime minister Imran Khan, in an opinion piece published last month in The Washington Post, called his country a “convenient scapegoat.”

“In afghanistan, the lack of legitimacy for an outsider’s protracted war was compounded by a corrupt and inept afghan government, seen as a puppet regime without credibility, especially by rural afghans,” he wrote, elaborating on themes in his address to the UN General assembly.

He urged the world to engage the Taliban government “to ensure peace and stability.”

Following the article, Sherman called on Pakistan to take action against all extremist groups.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 02

more inside

Registrar office’s objections on Maryam’s fresh plea in Avenfield reference overruled by IHC STORY ON BACK PAGE

Hasaan Khawar replaces Fayyaz Chohan as Punjab govt spokesperson STORY ON BACK PAGE

The chief minister had refused to step down from his post and convened a meeting of the provincial cabinet.

Kamal had said that he will not resign despite mounting calls from disgruntled BaP lawmakers to leave office by 5:00

pm on Wednesday.

“Come what may, I will not resign from Balochistan Cm post on demand of some 12, 14 lawmakers,” he had said, adding that the step will set the wrong precedent. NewS DeSk

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Thursday, 7 October, 2021

LAHORE

NEWS

ImrAn UrGeS GATeS To provIDe ASSISTAnce To AFGhAnISTAn isLAmABAD

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RIME Minister Imran Khan urged Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation co-founder Bill Gates to consider providing humanitarian assistance to poverty-stricken people in Afghanistan. In a telephonic conversation with Gates, the prime minister highlighted that more than half the population in the war-torn country was living below the poverty line and in dire need of financial assistance.

The two leaders shared their concerns regarding the health system in Afghanistan — the only other country in the world that is polio-endemic along with Pakistan, according to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

Expressing their resolve to eradicate the infectious disease from both countries, they discussed the resumption of polio campaigns in Afghanistan to secure Pakistan’s recent gains in the elimination of the poliovirus.

Khan apprised Gates of Pakistan’s “continued progress” against polio eradication and appreciated the

Umer laid to rest at Karachi’s Abdullah Shah Ghazi graveyard NEws DEsk Legendary comedian Umer Sharif was laid to rest at Karachi’s Abdullah Shah Ghazi graveyard on Wednesday. The funeral prayers of Umer were offered at a park in Karachi’s Clifton, which were attended by a large number of people, including politicians and artists. People from all walks of life came to pay their last respects to the legendary comedian. Actors Rambo and Saud, and PSP Chairman Mustafa Kamal were in attendance as well. A large number of people also visited Umer’s residence to offer their condolences.

Meanwhile, strict security arrangements were made on the occasion as law enforcement personnel were deployed to avoid any untoward situation. Earlier, the body, which was draped in the Pakistani flag, was moved in a convoy for the funeral. The body of legendary comedian was transported to the Sindh capital from Germany via a Turkish flag carrier. Umer was born on April 19, 1955. He started his career as a stage performer using the name Umer Zarif but later renamed that to Umer Sharif. Two of his popular comedy stage plays were Bakra Qistoon Pe and Buddha Ghar Pe Ha. Sharif received national awards for best director and best actor in 1992 for Mr. 420. He received ten Nigar Awards and remains the only actor to receive four Nigar Awards in a single year.

First visit since Taliban takeover: US Deputy Secretary of State Sherman to reach Islamabad tomorrow CoNTiNUED from pAgE 01 “We seek a strong partnership with Pakistan on counterterrorism and we expect sustained action against all militant and terrorist groups without distinction,” she told reporters. “Both of our countries have suffered terribly from the scourge of terrorism and we look forward to cooperative efforts to eliminate all regional and global terrorist threats,” she said from Switzerland, her first stop on a trip that will also take her to India and Uzbekistan. Prime Minister Khan has encouraged the world to engage Afghanistan’s Taliban and provide economic support, although he has stopped short of backing recognition — a step opposed by the United States.

invaluable assistance provided by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in that regard.

He added that the country had reported only one case of wild poliovirus (WPV) this year and positive WPV environmental samples had decreased substantially.

He stressed that his government remained committed to ending all forms of polio in the country.

Gates praised Khan for the progress and pledged his foundation’s continued support to the Pakistan polio programme for ensuring that no child in Pakistan was at risk of paralysis due to poliovirus.

The tech billionaire also congratulated the prime minister for Pakistan’s Covid-19 vaccine roll-out and noted the Foundation’s support of government-led programmes, including Ehsaas, which was “making impressive progress in reducing stunting, and the digitisation of the National Savings Programme”.

He offered his continued collaboration through the Gates Foundation to improve the health and well-being of the people in Pakistan.

The prime minister thanked Gates for his Foundation’s valuable partnership with Pakistan.

Mengal, Wasay to support no-trust motion against Balochistan CM QUETTA INP

once again have put their heads together to find a way to remove Khan.

During its all night deliberation, the opposition

alliance mulled over ways to make Khan to call it a day.

They were of the view that the chief minister should resign today in any case.

In the backdrop of political upheaval in Balochistan, Balochistan National Party (BNP-M) chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal and Balochistan president of Jamiat Ulema-e Islam Abdul Wasay have agreed to support the disgruntled ruling MPs in their efforts to table a no-confidence motion against Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan.

An important meeting was held between Mengal and Wasay on Wednesday during which they deliberated on the political situation in the province and agreed to support the estranged parliamentarians in efforts to oust Khan.

They held that their parties would later decide, after a no-trust motion was tabled, if they would like to become part of the new government or they would bring their own candidate for the office of the chief minister.

They decided to establish contacts with the opposition parliamentary members and estranged MPs. On the other hand, the estranged MPs have issued an ultimatum to Khan to tender his resignation until 6:00 pm today or else they will use all other options including a no-trust motion.

However, in the face of all odds, Khan has vowed to save his seat, refusing to give in to the demands of his resignation.

The opposition and estranged MPs alliance

Govt provided Rs 45 billion interest free loans to ensure food security, says Gardezi App Punjab Agriculture Minister Syed Hussain Jahanian Gardezi Wednesday said that the PTI government has provided interest-free loans of Rs. 45 billion to ensure food security and increase production per acre to the farmers in the last three years so that farmers could purchase agricultural inputs in time.

Punjab Minister for Agriculture Syed Hussain Jahanian Gardezi expressed these views while addressing the participants of a conference on food security here at a local hotel. Federal Minister for National Food and Security Syed Fakhar Imam also attended.

“In addition, a subsidy of Rs. 4.40 billion has been provided to farmers for the supply of certified seeds and modern agricultural machinery,” said the minister. he said that Pakistan is the 10th largest country in the world in terms of food production but with it it is the sixth largest country in the world in terms of growing population with a population of 2.2% per annum. He said the increasing agricultural production per acre to meet the nutritional needs of a growing population is a matter of urgency.

The Minister Agriculture said that the present government has taken effective measures to ensure better prices of agricultural commodities to the farmers and last year a support price of Rs 1,800 per 40kg for wheat and Rs 200 per 40 kg for sugarcane

has been ensured.

“The process of registration of 146 new markets has been completed under Punjab Agricultural Marketing Regulatory Authority (PAMRA) to increase the income and profit of farmers while

farmer platform has been set up in 105 agricultural markets of the province on the direction of Chief Minister Punjab. Where farmers are selling their produce directly without middlemen, he added.

Addressing the conference, Syed Hussain Jahanian Gardezi said that food growth in Pakistan is 1.5% per annum there is dare need to increase it.

Water scarcity in Pakistan also leads to a decline in crop yield per acre. Therefore, the present government has provided modern drip sprinkler system at a cost of Rs.3.62 billion and installation of solar system has been completed at a cost of over Rs. 429 million on 50% subsidy. Finally, the Punjab Minister for Agriculture paid tribute to the organizers of the conference for holding a conference on a national issue and said that the participating researchers, researchers and scientists and academia would work together to come up with such a strategy which will help ensure food stability.

Earlier, former Federal Secretary Information and Broadcasting / Vice President Center for Global and Strategic Studies Ashfaq Ahmad Khan Gondal, representative of Hanns Seidle Foundation Dr. Stephen Codella and Vice Chancellor MNS Agricultural University Multan Dr. Asif Ali and other speakers also addressed the conference. The technical sessions were also held in the conference in which speakers reviewed the food security situation.

Thursday, 7 October, 2021

LAHORE

UnITeD nATIonS UrGeD To help reSolve KAShmIr DISpUTe wAshiNgToN DC

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HE current resistance in Indian illegally occupied Jammu Kashmir (IIOJK)is rooted in the struggle of the people for the exercise of the right of self-determination – the promise which was given to them by the United Nations Security Council in 1948. While the people of IIOJK hold peaceful protests on the streets of Srinagar, Baramulla, Islamabad, Kupwara and elsewhere, Indian army has fired upon these peaceful protestors, killing more than 100,000 innocent civilians, including women and children since 1990,” this was stated by Shehryar Khan Afridi, Chairman, Parliamentary Special Committee on Kashmir at a reception given by Washington based World Kashmir Awareness Forum (WKAF) at Sapphire Tyson. The hall was packed to its capacity The Chairman articulated that Pakistan has consistently upheld the right of the people of Jammu and Kashmir to selfdetermination in accordance with the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council. These resolutions provide the pathway for the holding of a free and impartial plebiscite for the determination of the future of the State by the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

History tells us that attempts to forcibly

suppress the legitimate demands of the people of Jammu and Kashmir have resulted in failure. Similarly, threats of use of force have not affected Pakistan’s resolve to maintain its position of principle. One thing is crystal clear that without an active interest of big powers to come to the rescue of Kashmiris, India will not agree to any meaningful talks on Kashmir. He urged the world powers to break their silence and help the people of Jammu & Kashmir as the situation there was brewing with anger, and it may erupt anytime due to uninterrupted and prolonged atrocities being committed on the Kashmiris by fascist Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Chairman added that his purpose of coming to America is to increase awareness in the corridors of power in Washington about the Kashmir issue. His sole purpose was to mobilize world opinion in support of the cause of right of self-determination to the people of Jammu and Kashmir as well as the principle stand of Pakistan;.

The Chairman praised Prime Minister Imran Khan who pleaded the case of the people of Jammu & Kashmir at all international fora including the United Nations that Pakistan supports initiatives and efforts aimed to achieve a just and durable settlement of the Kashmir problem, in accordance with the aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

Afridi Sahib expressed his resolve to interact with the elected representatives, civil

president says focus on STem important for pakistan’s progress isLAmABAD StAff rEPort

President Dr Arif Alvi on Wednesday said that Pakistan needs to make utmost efforts to join the global race of technology, which would also guarantee the future national economic development. The president, while addressing the launching ceremony of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) project, said children’s motivation towards science education would create actual wealth for the country, which would later support the industry and IT sector too.

Under the umbrella of ministry of science and technology, the Pakistan Science Foundation is executing the STEM project’s first phase under PSDP programme. The project is initially being launched in 50 schools across Pakistan, which were selected based on their excellent academic results during the last three years. Calling STEM education “very dear” to him, the president referred to a survey

by Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), which showed that the interest of Pakistani children towards STEM is comparatively low in the region.

Quoting a study by University of Sargodha, the president said parents, science festivals and encouragement by teachers played key role to motivate children towards STEM education. He said China produces around 4.7 million STEM graduates annually while Pakistan is far behind in the list of countries producing those graduates. Calling the launching of STEM as a timely step, the president called for adopting the required factors for promotion of STEM education, which provides the basis for development in organised societies. He also hinted at visiting the STEM schools sometime and added that it is inevitable to uplift the people to compete the world.

society, members of think-tanks, academia to pursue forward the vision of his prime minister, Imran Khan Sahib.

He expressed his unconditional moral, political, and diplomatic support to the people of Kashmir for a just and peaceful solution to the long-standing dispute. He said that we stand shoulder to shoulder with our Kashmiri brethren.

Ambassador Dr. Asad Majeed Khan, Pakistan’s Ambassador toe United States presented historical perspective of the dispute and underscored the efforts made by the current Government towards resolution of the Kashmir dispute.

Speaking on the occasion, Ambassador Khan said that Prime Minster Imran Khan has termed himself as the Ambassador for Kashmiri people and has been effectively pleading the case for Kashmir at all international forums including the United Nations. He briefed the audience on the recent visit by the Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi to attend the 76th Session of the UNGA in New York. During the visit, Foreign Minister along with President Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Chairman Pakistan Parliamentary Special Committee on Kashmir sensitized the international community on the plight of Kashmiri people and urged them to play their role in resolution of the Kashmir dispute as envisaged in the UNSC Resolutions and in accordance with wishes of the Kashmiri people.

Ambassador Khan highlighted that India’s illegal and unilateral actions of 5th August 2019 were in contravention to its international obligations, commitments to the United Nations and bilateral agreements and understandings between the two countries. He also drew attention of the audience to the grave peace and security threat posed by these Indian actions in South Asia and called for the international community to urge India to end its human rights violations in IIOJK and rescind illegal and unilateral actions taken on August 5, 2019.

Ambassador Khan also lauded the role played by the Pakistani and Kashmiri American community in highlighting the gross human rights violations in IIOJK and echoing the voice of innocent Kashmiris in the corridors of U.S. Congress. He stressed upon them to continue sensitizing the respective Congressman and members of civil society on this grave issue.

Ambassador Khan reiterated Government of Pakistan’s continued moral, political and diplomatic support to the people of Jammu and Kashmir in their struggle for right to self-determination.

Dr. Ghulam N. Mir, President, WKAF said Kashmiris cherish the moral and political support of the brotherly people of Azad Kashmir and Pakistan in fighting off the oppression unleashed by the Indian regime. We are grateful to the indomitable prime minister Imran khan for forcefully

PM Imran Khan won’t consult Shehbaz over NAB chief’s appointment: Fawad isLAmABAD StAff rEPort

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry and Minister for Law Farogh Naseem revealed the government’s stance on Wednesday that as long as PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif occupies the post, no consultation with take place with the Opposition.

While addressing a presser at the Press Information Department, Chaudhry stated that “It is highly inappropriate to consult a thief over the matter of [the NAB chairman’s] appointment. We cannot appoint a warden after asking a thief [who it should be].”

“If Shahbaz Sharif had a

degree of shame he would resign as Opposition leader himself,” he added.

“NAB will do real work, instead of being embroiled in controversies,” he further revealed.

On the other hand, Farogh Naseem stated that “The president is the one who will appoint the NAB chairman,” he explained, adding that this will be done after consultation with both, leaders of the House, and the Opposition.

The law minister revealed that after consultation, a name may be agreed upon for the appointment of the NAB chairman. “If the consultations fail, a parliamentary committee will be formed, similar to how one was formed for the appointment of the vacant posts at

president Arif Alvi extends nAB chairman’s tenure until new chairman is appointed: Farogh naseem

the Election Commission of Pakistan,” he stated, adding that it will contain six members from the Opposition and six from the treasury benches.

Naseem said that National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser will form the committee.

“Until the new chairman is appointed, the old one will continue,” he added, saying that he will continue to have all the powers and authority that come with his post.

Naseem said no decision has been made yet over whether retired Justice Javed Iqbal will be “permanently appointed” but the government, including the cabinet and the PM believe that a wider selection must be made available.

online visa service to be started for Afghanistan citizens: rasheed isLAmABAD

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Federal Law Minister Farogh Naseem announced on Wednesday that the new chairman of the National Accountability Bureau will be appointed by President Arif Alvi after consultation with the leaders of the House and Opposition. Nasim revealed in a presser on Wednesday that until the new chairman is appointed, Justice [retd] Javed Iqbal will continue to serve as the bureau’s chief.

“Let me make it clear that he [Iqbal] will be able to exercise all the powers, functions and authorities that a normal chairman has.”, he stated. There should be a larger pool of candidates to select from, the PM, cabinet members and government believed, Naseem revealed. Naseem further explained that the names of the candidates for NAB chairman will be sent President Alvi. “If, in case, the consultation between Opposition and leader of the House turns out to be non-consensus, a parliamentary committee will be formed comprising six members from the government’s benches and six members from the Opposition benches.”, he added. Federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry co addressed the presser and reiterated that that the PM will not hold any talks with Opposition as long as PML-N leader Shehbaz Sharif occupies the post. “If Shahbaz Sharif had a degree of shame he would resign as Opposition leader himself.”

Minister for Interior Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad on Wednesday said that online visa service will be started for Afghan citizens to make this process more transparent and smooth. Talking to the media, the minister said that this new system will start working within 10 days as the government will provide an on-arrival visa. He said that the government will use modern technology to get data and maintain the complete records of entry and exit movements. He said that this system will be applicable on two borders initially while other five borders will be included later. He said that the government is going to announce an amnesty to all visa-holders to submit an application by 30th of next month and make sure their exit from Pakistan.

“Otherwise, they have to face cases against them in Pakistan”, he added. He said that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has been given the task to avoid hoarding of dollars in the country. He added the present government is making sincere efforts to provide all basic facilities for the country’s people. He said that things are changing in the region and Pakistan being a responsible state would fulfill its responsibility of national security while meeting international expectations as a major country in the region with the objective to strengthen peace in Afghanistan.

NEWS

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advocating the cause of Indian Occupied Kashmir at all international platforms, including his powerful speeches at the 76th United Nations General Assembly session on September 24, 2021. He continues to support our principled position that Kashmir conflict must be resolved according to the UNSC resolutions passed as far back as 1948. Kashmir remains one of the most important unfinished business items United Nations’ agenda.

Dr. Mir voiced his optimism that the political resistance in Kashmir is alive, despite the brutal tactics of Indian occupation forces. He emphasized that Kashmiri diaspora need to pursue the goal of right of self-determination as a united front.

United we stand but divided we fall, Mir added.

Dr. Mir appealed to the world powers in general and the United Nations in particular to bring immense moral and political influence to bear on initiating a peace process which will lead to a speedy, just and honorable settlement of the dispute and restore to the people of Kashmir their inalienable right to self-determination.

Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Secretary General, WKAF said that the United Nations bears a special responsibility to bring peace to Kashmir because it was in its chamber more than 74 years ago that India made a pledge to the world body in general and to the people of Kashmir in particular that they would be enabled to decide their future under an impartially supervised plebiscite on the basis of their unfettered right of selfdetermination. That promise has not been kept and in fact, has been repudiated in cynical violation of the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations.

“No consideration of the Kashmir dispute which is designed to arrive at a peaceful settlement will yield any result unless the Kashmiri viewpoint is fully taken into account,” Fai emphasized.

Thursday, 7 October, 2021

04 NEWS

LAHORE

GOVt COGNIzaNt OF INFlatION'S ImPaCt uPON POOr: Pm ISLAMABAD

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riMe MiniSTer imran Khan Wednesday said that the government was cognizant of the problems faced by the poor due to inflation and stressed that targeted subsidies should be provided to the under-privileged segments of the society.

The prime minister said that Kamyab Pakistan, Sehat Sahulat Cards and ehsaas were the flagship programmes of the government aimed at poverty alleviation and social uplift of the lower segments of the society.

The prime minister expressed these views in a briefing given by Special Assistant on Poverty Alleviation Dr. Sania nishtar about the provision of targeted subsidies to the eligible families under the umbrella of ehsaas programme.

The briefing was also attended by Minister for Finance Shukat Fayaz

Tarin, Minister for Defense Pervaiz Khattak, Minister for information Fawad Chaudhry, SAPM Dr. Shehbaz Gill, Governor State Bank Dr. raza Baqir, President national Bank and sen-

ior officers.

The prime minister directed that a comprehensive awareness programme should be launched to inform the masses as to how targeted subsidies

could be availed. The meeting was apprised that ehsaas programme had developed a mobile app in collaboration with national Bank of Pakistan.

This application would be used by vendors to provide subsidized items to eligible ehsaas beneficiaries throughout the country. it was informed that due care has been taken to eliminate chances of misuse of targeted subsidies under the ehsaas programme.

Cementing trade ties with Kyrgyzstan: Meanwhile, Prime Minister imran Khan directed to strengthen regional linkages for the promotion of bilateral trade and commercial relations with Kyrgyzstan.

The Prime Minister was talking to Pakistan’s Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan Sardar Azhar Tariq Khanm, who called on him here. Ambassador Azhar Tariq apprised the Prime Minister of the prospects of economic diplomacy with the whole Central Asian region especially Kyrgyzstan.

Removing taboos about breast cancer to help save women lives: President ISLAMABAD APP

President Dr Arif Alvi has said early diagnosis of breast cancer was the only way to save the lives of 40,000 women in the country, who fell victim to the disease in a year.

The president said removing taboos about breast cancer through strong awareness campaigns would help the women not to shy away from seeking urgent medical help. Along with his wife Samina Alvi, the president in an interactive session with journalists of print and electronic media here at the Aiwan-e-Sadr highlighted the importance of the media's role in sensitizing the public about breast cancer. President Alvi said in a developing country like Pakistan, prevention was the best way to avoid expensive medical treatment of several diseases, including breast cancer.

He said it was the responsibility of the society to give more public space to women by providing them access to facilities, whether relating to education, health or a safer environment free from harassment.

The president urged the journalists to join the cause of fighting breast cancer by highlighting the topic in their

content so as to make the people more aware.

Begum Samina Alvi said in view of her awareness campaign on breast cancer, the media had been effectively highlighting the subject in their television programmes and newspapers. She said she would be visiting colleges in different cities this month to raise awareness among girls on self-diagnosis.

She also urged the male members of the family to realize the suffering attached with the disease and support women to get proper medical care.

Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Health Dr

Faisal Sultan said in view of the seriousness of breast cancer, there was a need to strengthen the capacity of relevant health facilities. He mentioned that producing an increased number of oncologists and surgeons, and reducing reliance on imported medicine and technology was important in this regard.

He said the government would consider facilitating local production of drugs used in the expensive treatment such as molecular therapies.

Dr Muhammad Asad Pervez, oncologist and Consultant Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital said one in every eight women in Pakistan was diagnosed with breast cancer every year, meaning every such patient in 13 minutes.

He said research showed that the stage-wise survival rates of breast cancer patients in the span of five years was Stage 0 (100%), Stage 1 (98%), Stage 2 (88%), Stage 3 (52%) and Stage 4 (16%).

He said the safety plan comprised awareness, modifying lifestyles, early detection including self-examination and mammography, and immediate treatment.

Later, President Alvi and Samina Alvi responded to the queries and feedback of the journalists relating to making the awareness campaign more effective.

Non-vaccinated persons provided COVID-19 vaccine jabs in markets KARACHI APP

Assistant Commissioner new Karachi Sub-Division riaz Sheikh visited different areas in his jurisdiction including UP Mor, nagan Chowrangi and Sarafa Bazaar on Wednesday and checked the vaccination cards while doses of COViD-19 vaccination were provided to over 20 non-vaccinated persons. The AC new Karachi visited the markets in line with the guidelines of national Command and Operation Center (nCOC). During the visits to markets, face-masks and vaccination cards of more than 200 shopkeepers, restaurant managers and other staffers were checked. riaz Sheikh, on the occasion, said that district administration officers were regularly visiting various shopping malls and public places to check and ensure implementation of COViD19 standard operating procedures (SOPs).

Fehmida, Naz Shah discuss Kashmir strategy ISLAMABAD APP

Federal Minister for inter Provincial Coordination, Dr. Fehmida Mirza met with naz Shah, Shadow Minister for the UK Parliament in the Ministers office. The dignitaries talked about how important a role sports plays in maintaining peace in the region. The federal minister also stated that gender sports are very important to her and has been the prime focus lately.

The government is in the process of formulating policy level changes in sports as the federal government is responsible for broader guidelines though autonomy prevails. Both agreed that sports diplomacy is very important when it comes to international relations. The minister said that awareness about sports in Pakistan is essential. And though it is commonly understood that cricket is the most played in Pakistan, the reality is that football is the most widely played sport of our country. it was suggested that the UK Sports Board and Pakistan Sports Board make collaborative efforts for the betterment of sports in Pakistan and develop deeper diplomatic relations.

Chinese business community celebrated Chinese national day at Mr. Qamar Khan's residence. Pr

Maryam leading Indian malicious propaganda against national security institutions: says Farrukh Habib ISLAMABAD APP

Minister of State for information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib on Wednesday expressed the belief that Pakistan Muslim League-nawaz (PML-n) Vice President Maryam Safdar in connivance of his father nawaz Sharif was leading indian malicious campaign aimed at maligning national security institutions of the country.

“The entire world knows that how india runs a campaign to malign Pakistan Army and does not waste any opportunity, which it can use to run fake and concocted news against Pakistan Army. Today, i am forced to say that Maryam Safdar is leading the indian malicious campaign against the Pakistan Army in the country,” the minister told to media persons. Farrukh’s remarks came in the backdrop of persistent verbal onslaught of the PML-n leadership against the state institutions on the social and mainstream media. referring to recent petition filed by Maryam in which she suddenly changed her position in the case being heard by the court in her conviction in the Avenfield apartment case, the minister asked Maryam as to why she did not mention the top official of one of the state institutions in her petition three years ago.

“What are the reasons that you have been seeking adjournments against an appeal filed by yourself. Have you ever fought your any case on merit,” he questioned and said Maryam had nothing to supplement her arguments in the appeal for which she used some 'arguments' of a former disqualified judge.

The minister also took exception to the plea taken by the former judge in his disqualification case, alleging of some sort of 'influence'.

Farrukh said it was the habit of PML-n to attack the state institutions including the national Accountability Bureau and the apex court. “They can go to any length to malign state institutions for their personal in-

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terests,” he added. They could compromise national interests over their own vested interests, he said while recalling nawaz Shairf’s criticism of the state institutions from abroad, he added. “i want to tell the nation that our security forces are rendering relentless efforts to defend our country.

Our Jawans (soldiers) and officers have sacrificed their lives for protecting our borders and rooting out terrorism,” he added. He said the government would not let the Sharif family avail relief in the corruption cases by attacking the state institutions.

He said the PML-n leaders should be ashamed of themselves after the Shairf family used a past case of Zardari in which their leadership influenced the court as a plea in their own case to save their skin. “i want to tell the nation that the Sharif family itself was charge sheeted in the case which they used as plea, because in this case Shehbaz Sharif was passing directions to Justice (r) Qayyum for writing decision against their opponents (Zardari family),” he added.

The minister said they had nothing to argue in their case that was why they were taking the decision of that case as plea to malign the state institution.

“There are facts and that clearly state that Maryam

Safdar is beneficial owner of the flats purchased in London,” he said, adding their assets in London was bought through ill-gotten money and corruption. in the case of Panama Papers, there were evidences and an opportunity of fair trial was ensured, he said, adding the Sharif family even got bails on medical grounds and their leader nawaz Sharif was at large despite his conviction in the case had been restored and his properties in Pakistan were going to be auctioned.

The minister said the money spent on purchasing the flats in London by Sharif family would be retrieved as the process of mutual legal assistance had been initiated with the host country. “i want to assure the people of Pakistan that that money belongs to them and will be brought back to the country at all cost,” he maintained.

He dared Maryam to produce something concrete before the court if she had anything other than caliber font and Qatari letter. Farrukh said he wanted to remind the nation of the facts of the case fighting by the Sharif family to defend their corruption.

“There is need to tell the people that as to who a three times Prime Minister of Pakistan looted the national exchequer ruthlessly and then laundered that money abroad while being into the power,” he added.

“When the Panama Papers were surfaced the then prime minister nawaz Sharif spoke lie at the floor of house while telling the national Assembly that these are the means through which his family made assets abroad,” he said while recalling another conflicting stance of nawaz Sharif which he took in the apex court after some seven months. it was later revealed in the report of the Joint investigation Team made to probe the Panama Papers that the then prime minister and his cabinet held iqamas of foreign companies, he noted.

He said Maryam was the same woman who asserted in public that she did not own any property in Pakistan and abroad while his brother in a talk show said that his sister Maryam was the beneficial owner of the flats.

Thursday, 7 October, 2021

LAHORE corporate corner service sales Corporation ndUre footwear stores network completes 200 stores LAHORE: NDURE has exponentially grown to fulfill its commitment to making everyday fashion accessible for shoppers across Pakistan. NDURE just opened doors to its 200th store in Pakistan, earning itself a milestone of becoming the country’s 2nd largest retail network. NDURE has always ensured that its stores are present in all major cities across Pakistan so that fashionable footwear becomes more accessible for the audience of Pakistan. The brand's extensive network is spread across Pakistan and covers cities from Karachi to Gilgit. This milestone has been made possible because NDURE has swiftly adapted to global fashion trends and changing customer needs with the help of its state-of-the-art production facilities. press release

indus Motors forges ahead with developing future leaders

ISLAMABAD: Indus Motor Company (IMC) remained resolute in its pursuit to foster learning in the country as it recently sponsored the Markhor 2021, Youth Leadership Conference. This year’s conference was held in the picturesque Manoor Valley, snuggled 8,500 feet above sea level in Kaghan, KP. IMC’s Head of CSR and Media Management, Asad A Abdullah, represented the company as guest speaker. The Markhor is Pakistan’s 1st wilderness-based programme and the brain-child of Abdul Samad Khan, founder of Youth Impact, an award-winning not-for-profit organization. The five-day conference was held under the elaborate themes of #WorldofPossibilities and #ItsTheTime, which focused on how leadership and management methodologies were forced to evolve and adapt in the face of the challenges the Covid-19 pandemic brought on. This year, IMC under its flagship Toyota Goth Education Program, sponsored ten students, eight of whom were girls, who came from economically disadvantaged communities, residing in villages neighbouring IMC. Group diversity - Markhor’s unique stamp - was on full display, the 70+ young participants girls and boys, belonging to different regions, religions and socio-economic backgrounds. Two of these participants were awarded with the Markhor Icon certificates. press release

experts call for measures to develop capital markets in Pakistan KARACHI: There is a dire need to simplify the regulatory framework, increase participation of retailer investors and encourage the formation of holding companies by removing inter-corporate dividend tax to boost the development of capital markets in Pakistan, according to experts in a panel discussion organized by ACCA Pakistan (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants), CFO Club and Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX). The webinar featured prominent industry leaders and financial experts, including Sajjeed Aslam (Head of ACCA Pakistan), Shabbar Zaidi (Ex-Chairman FBR), Raeda Latif (Head of Marketing & Business Development, PSX), Asif Soomro (Managing Director, KASB Securities), Shehzad Dhedhi (Founder, CFO Club) and Imran Ahmed (CFO, Engro Fertilizers). According to Shabbar Zaidi, high market volatility is one of the reasons for low individual investors’ participation, while large pension funds also avoid investment in the stock market. He recommended that long-term investment should be encouraged through tax credits and excessive compliance requirements of listed companies should be removed for the listing of more entities. Asif Soomro suggested that the government should seriously reconsider the proposal to withdraw inter-corporate dividend tax relief as this is an excessive requirement. The relief was introduced after an extensive collaborative process and global benchmarking in 2007/8 to promote the formation of Holding Companies structures and corporatization of family-owned enterprises. press release

NEWS

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UK MP stresses ‘galvanisation at grassroots’ to raise KashMir disPUte globally ISLAMABAD: NEPRA under its CSR drive “Power with Prosperity” has brought Akhuwat Islamic Finance (AIM), K-Electric and Engro Energy together who all signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Wednesday at NEPRA HQ, to offer interest-free microfinance loans (Qarz-eHasna) to households and small business owners for the installation of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. The trio collaborated under the visionary leadership of Tauseef H. Farooqi – NEPRA Chairman who launched power with prosperity fund earlier this year to initiate mega CSR projects to uplift the underprivileged communities of the country. pr

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akistan-origin member of the Uk Parliament, naz shah, said voices against atrocities in indian-occupied kashmir needed to be galvanised at a grassroots level to make them heard effectively at the international level. in an interview with the associated Press of Pakistan during her visit to Pakistan, shah said that attention raised on human rights violations in iok such as the incidents of killings, rapes and pellet gun attacks would have more impact with a global audience than just parliaments. she said a “strategic shift” in media was required to inform the world about the infringement of the legitimate rights of kashmiris. shah called for spreading the word through active social media platforms about the plight of the elderly generation which was a witness to the indian brutalities in iok for decades and also the difficulties faced by the youth who continue to suffer “grave inhumanities”. the Labour MP for Bradford West — known for her strong support in the House of Commons for the people of kashmir, women and minorities — emphasised that the untold stories of the abuse in iok needed to be delivered to the young people in the world as part of effec-

tive lobbying for the kashmir cause.

“Relevant information and videos on social media depicting the situation in occupied kashmir can generate immense international pressure,” shah said.

“We have seen that the issue of climate change and Black Lives Matter was all about successful media campaigns.” she said the topic of kashmir was very close to her heart since she had spent her teenage years in azad kashmir.

“Until every daughter in kashmir is free of rape, people get united with families and do their businesses without having the fear of getting blinded by pellet guns, i will not stop speaking about the reality of kashmir,” shah said. she said it was “tragic” that the demography of iok was being

graana.com, UCP gear up for Pakistan’s First bs in real estate Management Setting a pragmatic benchmark in the real estate academia, Graana.com and the University of Central Punjab gear up to launch Pakistan’s First ever BS in Real Estate Management. Pakistan’s first multidisciplinary Bachelor’s in Real Estate Management course aims to build a pathway to develop a quality workforce and strategic leaders with successful careers to take on the challenges of the housing sector in Pakistan and come up with relevant solutions. In this regard, CEO Graana.com Mr. Shafiq Akbar, along with the senior management of UCP - including Dean Business school, Mr. Faisal Mustafa, hosted a webinar to discuss the importance of formal education in revolutionising the sector. "To promote this initiative, Graana.com promises jobs to the graduates of BS Real Estate Management from UCP," announced CEO Graana.com Shafiq Akbar during the webinar. The wide-range degree is an amalgam of finance and management theories, beginning with core economics, finance, and general management subjects. The attendees will be subjected to analyse financial and real estate markets and gain a greater understanding of how financial institutions and property markets operate. This will further enable them to find out the existing loopholes in the real estate sector, which will be addressed through an academic approach. The objective of the BS course is to specialise in all phases of the real estate cycle – from conceptualising, initiating, and analysing to negotiating, financing, and closing the transaction and property sales and marketing. It further guarantees to nurture the youth by instilling a comprehensive knowledge and developing practical Real Estate business skill set, promoting Real Estate Entrepreneurship and Employment. press release

KARACHI: The PBA Joint Call Centre for Mera Pakistan, Mera Ghar was officially inaugurated on Wednesday in Islamabad. Pictured: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Dr Reza Baqir and PBA Chairman Muhammad Aurangzeb. pr

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changed by those having no historical attachment with the Valley.

“You do not need to be a kashmiri but a human to see the atrocities in kashmir,” she said.

ISLAMOPHOBIA: asked about the growing islamophobia in Europe, she said the western democracies needed to understand that the feelings of Muslims were hurt when caricatures of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) were made. “if people in the West can understand the emotional connections to the desecration of a statue, they also need to recognise the connection the Muslims have with their prophet,” she said. shah, who is shadow minister for communities in the Uk, said that she had been emphasising that islamophobia did not need any legislation, but an understanding by the people to not hurt Muslims.

Ufone collaborates with Pakistan banks’ association for ‘Mera Pakistan, Mera ghar’ helpline initiative

oxford Pakistan Programme launched at University of oxford

OXFORD: A major new academic initiative on Pakistan was launched at a high-profile event here in London on 30th September 2021 at the High Commission for Pakistan. This initiative, the Oxford Pakistan Programme, aims to promote various Pakistan-related activities at the University of Oxford. This will include graduate scholarships for deserving students, visiting fellowships for Pakistani faculty members and special lectures on Pakistan.

The OPP has drawn strong support from the University of Oxford, the High Commission for Pakistan in London, and the British High Commission in Islamabad. The programme has raised pledges of over £500,000 from Pakistani businessmen and key members of the Pakistani diaspora in the UK. The OPP is the brainchild of Professor Adeel Malik of the University of Oxford, Dr Talha J. Pirzada, Lecturer in Material Science and Haroon Zaman, Trainee Lawyer at Travers Smith, London. They were assisted in this effort by Oxford alumni Minahil Saqib and Dr Mohsin Javed. press release

ISLAMABAD: Ufone has launched its new state-ofthe-art Contact Center for Pakistan Banks’ Association (PBA), in order to resolve queries and generate leads for the government’s ‘Mera Pakistan, Mera Ghar’ helpline initiative, which brings affordable housing finance facility for low income groups. The contact center was inaugurated by State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Reza Baqir, here in Islamabad, in presence of President and Group CEO, PTCL & Ufone, Hatem Bamatraf, Chairman, Naya Pakistan Housing and Development Authority, Lt. Gen. (r) Anwar Ali Hyder, Chairman Pakistan Banks’ Association (PBA), Muhammad Aurangzeb, and senior management of the member banks and financial institutions of PBA. Ufone is providing Contact Center services to PBA from two existing Centers by disseminating information on the loan process, eligibility criteria etc., besides offering 24/7 query and complaint resolution services to prospective customers. press release

Ufone collaborates with Pakistan banks’ association for ‘Mera Pakistan, Mera ghar’ helpline initiative

beaconhouse celebrates international teacher’s day

KARACHI: Pakistani telecom company, Ufone has launched its new state-of-the-art Contact Center for Pakistan Banks’ Association (PBA), in order to resolve queries and generate leads for the Government of Pakistan’s ‘Mera Pakistan, Mera Ghar’ helpline initiative, which brings affordable housing finance facility for low income groups. The Contact Center was inaugurated by Governor, State Bank of Pakistan, Reza Baqir, here in Islamabad, in presence of President and Group CEO, PTCL & Ufone, Hatem Bamatraf, Chairman, Naya Pakistan Housing and Development Authority, Lt. Gen. (r) Anwar Ali Hyder, Chairman Pakistan Banks’ Association (PBA), Muhammad Aurangzeb, and senior management of the member banks and financial institutions of PBA. press release

KARACHI: Beaconhouse Group - the largest international network of private schools, celebrated International Teacher’s Day on Tuesday, October 5 by paying a special tribute to the crucial role of teachers who selflessly shape the leaders of tomorrow and inspire nation building through focused mentoring and commitment to cause. The tribute was marked through a thought-provoking campaign titled ‘ajeeb log hain ye’, which highlighted the noble character of teachers who invest their heart and souls towards the academic nurturing and learning of their students. The campaign consisted of a special video launched on Beaconhouse’s social media platforms that showcased the everyday moments and challenges of teachers while they embark on their mission of creating change through learning. The campaign also invited everyone from students to their parents and Beaconhouse alumni to share a memory or a picture of their favourite teacher with the hashtag #ThankYouTeacher. Beaconhouse Group is proud to be the largest employer within the country’s private education sector employing more than 8,500 teachers. press release

Thursday, 7 October, 2021

06 COMMENT

Agenda for second term

Confusion over NAB Ordinance So many cooks spoiling the broth

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He Information Minister, Law Minister and PM’s Law Advisor issued conflicting statements a day before the NAb ordinance was to be announced.

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry stated plainly that the Prime Minister would not consult Leader of the opposition Shehbaz Sharif on the appointment of the new NAb chief as he was involved in multiple corruption cases.

He demanded that the opposition choose a new leader. Law Minister Farogh Naseem however said the PM would consult Mr Sharif as he was the Leader of the opposition.

PM’s Law Advisor babar Awan maintained that the Prime Minister had reiterated in the Cabinet meeting that he would not consult Shehbaz Sharif as he was facing three corruption cases.

The PML(N) President has faced several NAb cases over the last three years. He has been in NAb’s custody and his name was put on the eCL. NAb however failed to prove any charge against him. In May NAb categorically admitted before a Lahore High Court Full bench that Mr Sharif was not alleged to have received any kickbacks or any ill-gotten money in return for a favour. As NAb continues to institute new enquires and file new cases, Mr Sharif is an accused like some of the key members of the PM’s inner circle, including cabinet ministers, their families, major financial backers and political allies whose names appeared in the Pandora Papers along with those who siphoned off their country’s wealth to offshore companies without fulfilling the legal requirements. To maintain like Mr Chuadhry that no action would be taken against cabinet members till found guilty while refusing to talk to Shehbaz Sharif is following double standards.

Again, demanding that the opposition elect another Leader is preposterous. It is for the opposition to decide who is to be its leader as it is for the majority party to elect the PM. In order not be seen as a henchman of the government the NAb chief has to be a jointly nominated official. This requires a meaningful consultation spread over several sessions till there is a consensus on a name. Until the exercise is conducted and found to be unsuccessful, the matter may not be referred to a parliamentary committee comprising legislators from both sides of the aisle.

The Kaptaan must depend on ideologues, not electables

Dr FariD a Malik

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or meaningful course correction one term of five years is not enough, at least two terms are required for this purpose. Had the 2013 elections been free and fair, Imran Khan would have been the Prime Minister and Comrade Ahsan rashid the Chief Minister of Punjab., Together as a team they could have delivered as the party Think Tanks had prepared policy frameworks to deliver change. The momentum, after the mammoth october 2011 Jalsa in Lahore and the december one in Karachi, was with the ‘ Kaptaan’.

Asif Zardari termed this contest as election of the ‘returning officers’ while IK demanded opening of four constituencies for scrutiny. being an establishment-launched party, the PML(N) knows all the tricks of stealing elections and then getting away with it. No other party has been able to achieve this feat. In 1977 bhutto, the most popular leader of his times, tried to manipulate the ballot for securing an absolute majority, but in the process lost his government and life. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) succeeded in forming a coalition government in 2013, followed by a majority in 2018. In the politically savvy province it happened for the first time that the party in power was given a second term of office for the sake of continuity of reforms.

The next elections in 2023 will be crucial for the much-needed change to take root. So far the ‘ Thugs’ have been able to dodge accountability for their misdeeds of the last three decades in power.

Massive corruption has taken place since 1985 but the corrupt have escaped conviction thus far.

President Farooq Leghari, after dismissing the government of his own party in 1996, formed the ‘ ehtesab bureau ‘ under Mr Justice (retd) Mujadid Mirza to go after the corrupt elements. Mirza Sahib started with great fanfare but soon realised his limitations. The legendary Justice (retd) Fakhar-ud-din J. Ibrahim as interim Law Minister introduced sev-

YDA protests Violence is never the answer

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LTHoUGH relations between the PTI government and the young doctor’s Association (ydA) have remained mostly cordial, the recent controversy and resulting protests over the introduction of the National Licensing examination (NLe) has pushed the two into a clash. Peaceful protesters were provoked to storm the Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) building yesterday after the Islamabad Capital Police thrashed, baton-charged and arrested several doctors. That both the PMC management and Health Ministry officials ignored the invitation from the ydA for negotiations over the matter is another example of the government unwilling to find common ground and solution to a complicated problem, leading to confrontation and the use of force to quell legitimate protests. Ironically, this is the same excessive aggression with which the PMdC (Pakistan Medical and dental Commission) was abruptly dissolved within a day, its building vacated, taken over and locked shut within to establish the PMC, the body that is pushing for the NLe. The NLe is essentially an additional exit exam for doctors who have already cleared the theoretical portion of their assessment and are ready to start their professional careers as medical practitioners. ydA’s contention is understandable to the extent that because the exam takes place only twice a year and without passing it a candidate cannot start the mandatory house job, so a number of aspiring doctors will be stuck preparing for a resit without a job, which is essentially a waste of their time.

The rate of failure is likely to be high because even if a candidate secures the required merit of 70 percent, if he or she fails any one of the three clinical scenarios, it will not be considered as a pass.

The PMC considers the NLe as another filter to avoid any slippages and ensure that the best and most educationally sound talent makes it through the system.

This is a legitimate endeavour as well. both sides therefore have concerns that need to be resolved through meaningful dialogue, not violence. The PMC can perhaps ease off on the limited frequency of the exam. The US MLe, also a licensing exam, can be taken thrice in 12 months. Unless the PMC engages with the ydA and its various chapters across the country who are also calling for strikes, the medical system will feel the brunt and as usual, it will be the patients who suffer the most. With a horrendously low 1:1300 doctor to patient ratio, the country ill-affords less doctors coming through the system and the ones who are practising to be out on the streets protesting.

Pathik hasan

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verybody knows that China is the ‘Allweather friend’ of Pakistan. China has been maintaining its good relations with Pakistan since the 1950s. Chinese PM Zhou enlai and President Liu Shaoqi had visited Pakistan several times. Pakistani policymakers have also been visiting China from time to time. The China-Pakistan economic Corridor has added more strength to China’s ties with Pakistan. on the other hand, China has very warm relations with bangladesh now. bangladesh has strategic ties with China. business and defense relations between China-bangladesh are very high. bangladesh imports from China hugely and buys most of its military equipment from beijing. bd PM Sheikh Hasina Wajed also visited beijing several times.

So it can be assumed easily that China has very good relations with both Pakistan and bangladesh.

China has huge investments in both bangladesh and Pakistan. Pakistan is a bordering country of China, and bangladesh is also very close to China geographically.

However, bangladesh has strained relations with Pakistan. There have been some bilateral problems between bangladesh and Pakistan, such as the 1971 chapter, allegations of interference in internal affairs, and so on. but these problems are not eternal problems regarding trengthening the ties. There may be solutions to these problems. but a holistic diplomatic approach is very needed. A trustworthy and reliable mediator is needed in this regard.

Chin can play a very effective role in this regard. because China is reliable and trustworthy to both Pakistan and bangladesh, it can be a true mediator to strengthen the strained ties between Pakistan and bangladesh.

As a rising superpower, China has some responsibilities to ease the regional tensions and unrests.

China has the responsibility to mediate a crisis.

Founding Editor

Yousaf Nizami Umar Aziz

Joint Editor

Joint Editor

Executive Editor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

IK has to carefully plan his agenda and players for his next term as it is vitally important for the future of the country. A fresh start has to be made. Within the party fold there are star players who were sidetracked to accommodate the electables who have failed to deliver.

The strained ties must be smoothened

Arif Nizami (Late)

M. A. Niazi

by Naeem Sahib, which were education, Health and employment. State was required to cover these areas. everyone between the ages of five and 35 had to be provided complete coverage by the state and made employable.

With the induction of electables in droves after the october 2011 grand show, the focus of the party shifted to elections. The policies formulated by the Think Tanks were ignored. The protests by the old guard were overruled by the Chairman. In 1977 in quest for a second term, bhutto moved away from ideologues in favour of the evergreen electables, but had to pay a heavy price for this blunder.

IK has to carefully plan his agenda and players for his next term as it is vitally important for the future of the country. A fresh start has to be made. Within the party fold there are star players who were sidetracked to accommodate the electables who have failed to deliver. In 1970 bhutto promised; ‘ roti, Kapra, Makan’ IK has shown his firm commitment to build an Islamic Welfare State which has to be revisited with solid policies and plans for implementation.

Now that the electables are on the way out, the ‘Think Tanks’ should be in.

Important policy papers are already available which can be updated. The people of Pakistan have suffered enough at the hands of the political bounty hunters. only ideology and ideologues can deliver meaningful change. In the words of Chairman PCb rameez raja, it was the youngsters and the fresh blood under the guidance of the Kaptaan that won the World Cup in 1992. Hopefully the same approach will be adopted by IK to win another term in 2023. Pakistan needs honest, able leadership that understands the challenges of the 21st century and is willing to stick its head out to deliver change.

The writer is ex-Chairman, Pakistan Science Foundation. He can be contacted at: fmaliks@hotmail.com.

Why China should mediate between Pakistan and Bangladesh

Dedicated to the legacy of late Hameed Nizami

Editor Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

eral checks to keep the defaulters out of the electoral contest but when they were given waivers he decided to quit. The PML(N) managed to win the elections with an absolute majority and came back with full vengeance to capture total control of the state apparatus which eventually led to the takeover in october 1999.

The Sharif family again succeeded in slipping out after a secret agreement with the dictator. After coming into power in 2018, IK despite his conviction and efforts, found the results have been mixed mainly because of the electables that surround him, as change is not their forte.

In 1970 bhutto won the elections in West Pakistan on the basis of ideology and the ideologues who sided with him. His reforms agenda was fully supported by his able team which worked selflessly to deliver change. At the peak of his popularity, he dissolved the assemblies ahead of time and went for a fresh mandate.

For his second term he decided to change the players. Those who had been wiped out by the ideologues in 1970, were now contesting elections on the PPP ticket. When the crunch time came he was left alone to fight the establishment onslaught. by contrast IK built his party with the sweat and blood of Comrades like Ahsan rashid and Naeemul Haq, but came into power with the help of the electables who succeeded in hijacking the party. While IK is committed to change, his team is not. The lack of performance of the electables in his first term will not help in his re-election campaign. He needs fresh untainted faces, the old wine in new bottles has lost its efficacy and will not sell in 2023.

The Think Tanks within the PTI were created to build the framework for an Islamic Welfare State on the lines of ‘riasat-e-Madina’. Comrade Naeemul Haq was tasked by the Chairman to identify the way forward. Considering the meagre resources of the nations, three areas were identified

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Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

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China has very good relations with bangladesh and Pakistan. So, it would be very easy for China to bolster the strained ties between Pakistan and bangladesh.

China has huge business investment in both bangladesh and Pakistan. To ensure its own interest, it should mediate.

China can offer bangladesh to utilize CPeC and the Sri Lankan Hambantota port. Ultimately China would benefit.

If China does it, it will gain international prestige as a mediator. Acceptance of the Chinese approach would broaden. China can counter the Western narrative that China can’t lead the world.

To decrease bangladesh’s dependence on India, China should mediate to strengthen strained bangladesh-Pakistan strained ties as soon as possible. but how? China can arrange a trilateral meeting amongst China, Pakistan and bangladesh. China can manage a bilateral meeting. A sideline meeting is also another platform. For example, the belt and road Initiative summit can be the platform. Policymakers from both parties can join the sideline meeting. China can use a holistic diplomatic approach. China can use its envoys to both countries.

It is possible for China to mediate the strained relations between bangladesh and Pakistan. China has experience. China mediated the Kim-Trump meeting in Sentosa island in Singapore in 2018. If China wants this, they will be successful. China will be able to make bangladesh and Pakistan understand that warm relations are very much necessary for the greater interest of 370.25 million people in bangladesh and Pakistan. both parties have to realize the current world scenario. Pakistan should hear and fulfill the demands of bangladesh. because Pakistan has more responsibilities to bangladesh in this regard. bangladesh is a Muslim country. It is going to be a South Asian economic miracle.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan had in July 2020 spoken to his bangladesh counterpart over the phone and expressed his government’s desire to “deepen fraternal relations on the basis of mutual trust,

Islamabad – Ph: 051-2204545

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Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

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mutual respect and sovereign equality”. It was also reported on 4 december 2020 that Pakistan’s High Commissioner to bangladesh Imran Ahmed Siddiqui called on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed in dhaka. President dr Arif Alvi said to the envoy that ‘Pakistan is keen to improve ties with bangladesh and called for utilising all avenues for improving the bilateral relationship.’Then there was Pakistan’s mango diplomacy towards bangladesh on August 10. bangladesh and Pakistan can start to strengthen the ties through such kinds of little initiatives like ‘Mango diplomacy’. So, every effort is appreciable.

India’s National register of Citizens (NRC), Citizenship Amendment bill (CAB) and Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) bills has created distance between bangladesh and India. In the onion crisis moment in bangladesh in 2019, India didn’t agree to provide onions to bangladesh. bangladesh had to export from Pakistan, egypt and Myanmar. India’s role was very self-serving. bangladesh understood the reality at that period.

The rohingya refugee crisis has created distance between bangladesh and Myanmar. The rohingya repatriation process is stagnant. Myanmar’s military regime is not taking rohingyas (citizens of Myanmar) into Myanmar. bangladesh seeks assistance from the international community in this regard to pressurize Myanmar. Possibility of bangladesh’s connection with West Asian, Central Asian, eurasian states and the central and western parts of China through Gwadar port, using the CPeC project, can bring bangladesh-Pakistan under an umbrella to strengthen the strained ties.

Pakistan and China should utilize the approach at his moment. This is the high time for Pakistan and China to understand it. China should take a great initiative to start bilateral talks between bangladesh-Pakistan. Pakistan should understand the reality. Pakistan and China should utilize this golden opportunity. Pakistan should solve the problems diplomatically with bangladesh fulfilling the demand of bangladesh. China as a mediator would benefit from the improved ties.

The writer can be pathikhasan1141@gmail.com

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

reached

at

Thursday, 7 October, 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

My City AFTer all the struggle and voices, the Tharushah to Nusharo Froze link road is now under construction. The long-standing dilapidated condition of the road claimed many lives, caused several injuries and procrastinated emergency cases from addressing them. The shabby road would also impede speedy traveling taking more than half an hour for an 8-minute drive. discussing delay in construction or other things which had occurred in the past would be nothing but a never-ending debate that, of course, is a waste of time. The best way forward is to appreciate the speedy construction of the road.

This is the fruitful result of those who raised their voices, held protests or made a bulk of complaints for its immediate construction and more praises to those who lead them.

Sarfraz ali Soomro Tharu Shah

Full-time Culture Minister needed

Socio-economic policies during the Covid-19 Pandemic Though Pakistan has done well, health spending is essential ibrahiM khan

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He covid-19 pandemic has placed enormous stress on governments, health authorities and individuals across the world, with the total global death count estimated at 4.16 million people, and an infection burden of 194 million. The virus, which originated from an animal market in Wuhan, China, quickly spread across the globe. being an easily transmittable airborne disease, with multiple variant offshoots, the virus is hard to contain. As it spread through porous borders, governments around the world were left reeling as the world came to a standstill. Governments dealt with the pandemic in different ways; some countries like Singapore initiated full lockdowns shutting off all land and sea borders and imposing heavy quarantine rules, whilst others took a more lenient approach, like Sweden, the only country in europe to not have implemented a lockdown at any time during the pandemic.

Pakistan, located in South Asia, bordering India, Afghanistan, China, and Iran having a population of over 200 million people, got its first CovId-19 cases from pilgrims returning from Iran. every year around early spring, approximately 0.7 million Muslims from Pakistan travel to Iran on pilgrimage. The first two cases were detected in Karachi from two returning pilgrims on 26 February 2020, and by March 24 Pakistan had reported 990 cases and seven deaths.

From then on the virus’s spread was untrammelled. Its spread was hugely concerning in a country lacking health infrastructure, medical supplies, and having a sizable population (five percent of whom live on less than $2 a day) living in abject poverty. The Pakistan Government reacted promptly. at first closing schools, banning big events, and closing its borders with Afghanistan and Iran. Systematic covid-19 detection screening was instituted across airports, with only three airports kept open for international flights, to restrain the virus’s spread from foreign passengers.

Pakistan’s National Security Council established the National Coordination Committee(NCC), which opened up an operational arm known as the National Command and operation Centre (NCoC) in March 2020. The NCoC was an essential factor in curbing the impact of covid-19 in Pakistan. It functioned as a command and control center, with both government and military personnel working together, making data-driven decisions that ensured realtime implementation.

The effect of CovId-19 on the economy has been considerable. While Pakistan’s economy has been steadily growing over the past two decades, due to the CovId-19 containment measures enforced, GdP growth in Pakistan is estimated to have contracted by 1.5% in Fy

2020. over half the working population suffered either job losses or income cuts, and poverty incidence increased from 4.4 percent to 5.4 percent, leaving over two million people in poverty.

Low-skilled workers however faced the greatest loss in livelihood. As cases continued to rise, despite mounting pressure from citizens, particularly the wealthier economic classes, Imran Khan’s government refused to implement a nationwide lockdown, stating it would be detrimental to let the economy stall completely and leave daily-income earners, of which there are an estimated 67 million, without a job and no livelihood to sustain themselve. As part of a $940 million economic stimulus package to mitigate the adverse socioeconomic effects of the pandemic, the government gave out 12,000PKr, equivalent to approximately $75, to low-income earners.

As covid-19 cases began to decline by June 2020, the government decided to abandon citywide lockdowns, and instead imposed what they termed ‘smart lockdowns’ as a measure to stop the economy from completely stalling. In a ‘smart lockdown’, an area or street identified by an infected person, their family or hospital data as their residential address, would be shut down immediately, with all residents unable to leave.

The Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), the country’s intelligence agency, headed the national contact tracing system to identify individuals who may have been in contact with those who tested positive. This contact tracing system was originally designed to trace terrorist targets, but with the pandemic, the ISI modified the system to help with virus detection. The government also tracked and checked recent journeys of infected persons, in order to minimize the infection spreading from contact with other people across land and air transport. At the risk of being a ‘police state’, all this allowed the government to force the list of people in contact to quarantine, thereby reducing the ability of the virus to transmit further. Contacts of the infected person were also advised to isolate. If the infected person had recently travelled, flight information was also tracked and co-passengers were made to quarantine. In many cities, entire sub-sectors were shut down to curb transmission.

The National Command and Control Centre was crucial to this, coordinating the entire apparatus, but there were several other factors that greatly helped the government in halting the spread of the virus. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two remaining countries in the world that have yet to eradicate polio. The government was able to leverage its existing polio eradication programme infrastructure and work with field epidemiologists (trained locally through the US Centers for disease Control and Prevention) to carry out covid-19 testing and tracking. Additionally, the country quickly built up its polymerase chain reaction (PCr) testing facilities, increased local production of Personal Protective equipment (PPe), began production of ventilators, and increased the number of intensive care unit beds.

It must however be mentioned that Pakistan’s population on average is a lot younger than other countries where covid-19 struck.

Some of the countries where covid-19’s impact has been the deadliest, have populations that are considerably over the global average, such as the USA and Italy. research shows that people over 60 are more vulnerable to the virus, while younger people are less susceptible to it. The average age in Pakistan is 22 years, compared to 38.1 years in the USA, and a global average of 29.6. According to a leading Pakistani epidemiologist, dr rana Jawad Asghar, Pakistan’s younger population is the reason there were less deaths from covid-19 in the country. In an interview with the bbC, he said four percent of Pakistan’s population is aged 65 and above, compared to rates of 20-25 percent in more developed countries.

From a social perspective, what is success?

It’s letting people have as much freedom as possible, whilst ensuring their safety and ability to earn money. And from that perspective, Pakistan has performed well. The poorest income workers were able to continue to sustain themselves and although large gatherings were banned, people were still able to meet each other which was important in cementing the social capital of individuals and communities in unusual circumstances like a global pandemic.

In sum, the formula of staying open and imposing ‘smart lockdowns’ played a crucial role in curbing the transmission of CovId-19 and prevented Pakistan’s economy from completely stalling and keeping economic losses relatively minimal.

Like many developing nations, Pakistan spends painfully very little on public health. The WHo sponsored a Joint external evaluation in 2016 for Pakistan which looked at areas including pandemic preparation and made comprehensive suggestions to improve national health emergency infrastructure but not a lot of progress has been made in that regard.

The current pandemic has indicated that public health is a global good whose costs and benefits spill out into the global arena. While intrinsic actions must be taken at the national level, the spillover effects of these externalities need to be dealt with by all countries and all at once. More specifically, global action across sectors, particularly in the domain of public health and hygiene, will need to be ramped up. Standards around investment and accountability, to guarantee the right to health and universal health coverage must be promulgated.

The global indivisibility of public health has shown us that coordinated multilateral action for people and the planet has never been needed more and we need to act in the here and now for a covid-19-free future. The example of Pakistan may point to a model for other governments to emulate in the future.

The writer is currently studying in the UK

beSIdeS economic sector revival and development of other priority sectors, there is also dire need for promotion of art and culture in the country in furtherance of projection of soft, positive and progressive image of Pakistan and its peace loving people within the country and also in foreign countries.

This is to request Prime Minister Imran Khan to induct a whole time Culture Minister in his cabinet with immediate effect to ensure promotion of art and culture of Pakistan within the country and abroad.

Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) and other public sector art and culture related bodies are currently being looked after by the Federal education Minister who is holding additional charge of the National History and Literary Heritage division under whose control PNCA falls. because of his heavy commitments as the education Minister,he is not finding enough time to visit the PNCA regularly to set its house in order and also ensure promotion of art and culture.

It is also submitted for the kind information of the Prime Minister that the interest of the minister holding additional charge can very well be judged by the bitter fact that on his express directions the organizers of first-ever international Islamabad Art Festival held last month had paid money to PNCA for use of its space while all other facilities and places were provided free .

This just one instance in the larger interest to ensure promotion of art and culture should be enough to convince the worthy prime minister that the country direly needs a full time culture minister at the earliest possible lest the PNCA and other public sector cultural bodies start crumbling due to lack of interest at the appropriate higher levels.

Thanks. muhammaD murTaza lahorE

Urban flooding in Karachi HAvING ruled for twelve years in Sindh,Karachi’s serious problems are not fixed yet by PPP.Provincial and local governments are at conflict with each other.deliverable municipality in Karachi seems to be far cry.The current monsoon spell ‘Sagaar’ has brought heavy rains in Karachi.Lowlying areas have turned into rivers.

Additionally,main roads and highways are terribly flooded.Three to four feet accumulated-water can be seen most parts of metropolian city,Karachi. residents face difficulty in reaching their destination.Heavy rains are multiplying their worries and in some areas rain-water has entered residential areas which carried away their utensils and other things which were kept at their homes.Government has disappeared from the scene and seems unwilling to pay heed to people’s grievances.declaring rain emergency is not the solution to deep-rooted problems but fixing the problems is.

QaSim Jan TurbaT

Beggars on road AS traffic increases by the day, it is necessary to manage it safely. one important task to achieving this is to curb the presence of beggars at every signal. They create major traffic hazards, endangering their lives and those of others.

In Pakistan, begging has become a profession. Almost at every traffic stop, one is greeted by beggars. They gather around a car as soon as it stops at a signal. The most awful thing is that they encourage their children to also beg and most of them are physically fit to work. They can do manual labour if they so desire. Instead, women carry their babies and beg while making emotionally blackmailing statements as if they are well trained in the art. Healthy beggars should be made to work and the disabled should be maintained at state expense. The authorities should take steps and save the people from this nuisance, not to mention the hazards at traffic signals. aaShir SalEEm Karachi

Senseless education system A trend has begin that the private sectors demanded for the fees after reopening the institutions. As there were lockdown due to Covid-19 it took about 7 months to take off everything. So, isn’t it a foolish question that parents should submit the fees of the off-days, as there wasn’t anything to learn? Then why demanding the fees? don’t you know that balochistan, being the poor province, that there people can’t even afford three times food well, but the greedy principals demand what their need is, they are blind to see the parents who were not able to pay the fees before as being in their workshops then how they can submit even through there wasn’t any job or work during Covid-19. It’s not only my request, it’s the humble request of all the parents who seriously want PSA JAr KeCH to take an action to the greedy institutions that they should stop the new trend of taking fees. zahra baiG hoTh TurbaT

Thursday, 7 October, 2021

08 WORLD VIEW

Who cares abouT The Pandora PaPers?

Tax havens: bring Them To heel The Tax Justice Network reported last year that governments are losing $245bn annually to corporate tax abuse, and $182bn to tax evasion by individuals

THE SORRY TRUTH WOULD SEEM TO BE THAT BY NOW NO ONE IS EITHER SURPRISED NOR MOBILIZED BY THE PANDORA REVELATIONS Tony Blair and his wife Cherie sidestepped paying $423,000 property tax by buying a $8,75m building in a posh London neighbourhood through an offshore company based in the British virgin islands has certainly provided a new focus for criticism both of the couple, but also this particular legal loophole.

mOscOw Times

a

mark GalEotti

NOTHeR massive leak, another multi-national investigation, another slew of allegations of everything from outright corruption and money laundering to legal but ethically problematic tax avoidance and financial engineering.

The Pandora Papers, a trove of almost 12 million documents, have shined a light on the activities of over 330 politicians and public officials in more than 90 countries and territories.

According to the international Consortium of investigative Journalists, Russian nationals are “disproportionately represented,” accounting for 14% of the more than 27,000 named companies. The news is at once dramatic, predictable, and — alas — arguably pointless.

This no doubt sounds deeply churlish, an offence to the 600-plus journalists from 150 different news outlets including Russia’s iStories, who dug into the data for two years, connecting the dots and uncovering the faces behind the anonymous offshore shell companies.

The Papers will, one can hope, provide further impetus for efforts in the West to bring meaningful transparency to what is, for all the ritual declarations of politicians, bankers and regulators, still a financial system that offers numerous opportunities for legal avoidance of tax and scrutiny to those able to afford the right lawyers and accountants.

The way former British prime minister

THE RUSSIAN RESPONSE: When it comes to Russia, while a cast of the high and the mighty appear, inevitably media attention has focused on anything that can be linked with Putin, notably allegations about the family of a reputed former girlfriend. That reflects Western media obsessions as much as anything else. But does it really matter?

First of all, the news can be mobilised for political purposes in other ways, too. The relatively innocuous discovery that before his election, Ukraine’s President volodymyr Zelensky moved millions of dollars assets into a network of offshores, in collaboration with his aid Serhiy Shefir and present security service chief ivan Bakanov has been pounced on with glee not just by his political enemies but also the Russian media. Given his carefully cultivated image as the one honest man in Ukrainian politics, the impression of impropriety — even if everything he did was legal — is a problem.

Secondly, the very scale of the revelations dilutes their impact by contributing to the sense — not entirely inaccurate — that everyone with power and money is much the same.

That said, Beijing’s magnates and politicians are surprisingly absent, not least given the ample evidence there is of systemic corruption in China. Likewise, there is a dearth of Americans, and the notion that they never abuse financial loopholes does rather stretch credulity.

No wonder that Russian sources also rush to portray this as a strategic leak by the US intelligence community intended to undermine the Kremlin. it has to be said, though, that this would seem to be a rather scattershot and slowmotion attack. Would Washington really also embarrass so many allies in the quest to air some dirty Russian laundry? in any case, while individuals may be turning to their lawyers and PR consultants, how much

Guardian

real impact will this have? The sorry truth would seem to be that by now no one is either surprised nor mobilized by these kind of revelations.

Do any Russians really presume that these people weren’t fiddling the books? Will it come as a shock that, for example, Sergei Chemezov, CeO of Russian state defence conglomerate Rostec, has a superyacht registered through an offshore? They are probably more surprised that he does not moor it at a secret Pacific island hideaway populated by genetically-engineered unicorns.

THE NAVALNY DILEMMA: This is not just about the Pandora Papers, although they do seem to demonstrate that more is not always better, it also speaks to a fundamental political challenge facing Team Navalny.

Their ‘He’s not Dimon to you’ video had the virtue of dismantling Dmitry Medvedev’s reputation as being one of the few honest figures in the regime. ‘Putin’s Palace’ was not just their first direct attack on the monarch, it had a voyeuristic “cribs of the rich and famous” dimension. i suspect many watched not for the forensic analysis of the financing but the poledance hookah bar.

Where do you, can you, go from there? it is all very well going after Sergei Lavrov, and other boyars, but there is surely a law of diminishing returns. Once there is a general assumption that everyone is a crook and a thief, then further revelations may enthuse your base, but are hardly likely to expand it. As pollsters put it, that is already ‘priced in’ to people’s political decision-making.

A lot of journalists can justly congratulate themselves on some serious work. Hopefully, campaigners will be able to use the latest revelations to push for serious regulatory changes.

But for Russia, the likelihood that this is a oneweek wonder, at best. Unlike Pandora’s box, there’s unlikely to be Hope at the bottom.

Prof. Mark Galeotti is a senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute and an Honorary Professor at the UCL School of Slavonic & East European Studies. He is the author of “We Need To Talk About Putin.”

F

Editorial

ive years after the Panama papers exposed the vast scale of offshore banking and business services via the activities of the wealth management specialist Mossack Fonseca, hundreds of billions of pounds are still being secreted away in tax havens. The leak of almost 12m documents, known as the Pandora Papers, reveals that 35 current or former heads of state are among the customers of secrecy jurisdictions where huge sums of money are hidden in order to avoid tax and transparency. King Abdullah ii of Jordan, Czech prime minister Andrej Babiš and Azerbaijan’s ruling Aliyev family are among those with serious questions to answer, along with more than 100 billionaires and rich individuals from all over the world.

Beyond any specific acts of venality, as outrageous as these are, looms a system whose existence is a global disgrace. As a matter of course, and in spite of their immense personal advantages, the ultra-rich are ripping off everyone else. They do this by refusing to pay their share towards the services and resources (health, education, energy, water and governance) on which everyone depends. And they are facilitated and encouraged in this by an industry whose purpose is to shield their wealth and conceal what they are up to.

Underpinning this international tax avoidance infrastructure is the idea that rich people and companies should be allowed to do what they want; that governments’ claims on their money are in some sense unreasonable or unjust. How deeply antisocial this belief and its adherents are has never been better illustrated than now, in the middle of a pandemic and on the brink of climate disaster. Rarely, if ever, has the pooling of global resources to solve our collective problems been more necessary. And yet, the Tax Justice Network reported last year that governments are losing $245bn (£180bn) annually to corporate tax abuse, and $182bn (£134bn) to tax evasion by individuals.

The efforts of campaigners and media organisations have borne some fruit. This summer 130 countries signed up to a new global minimum corporate tax rate of 15%, along with measures to stop multinational corporations shifting profits around. The eU has a blacklist of jurisdictions lacking transparency, and pressure has increased since Brexit to add the British virgin islands, Guernsey and Jersey to it.

But while measures to prevent tax evasion and money laundering have been strengthened, the legal tax avoidance sector is thriving. The chancellor, Rishi Sunak, was wrong to say on Monday that the prominent role of the City of London in this system is not a “source of shame”. British crown dependencies and overseas territories were pioneers in the tax avoidance business, and are responsible for a third of the total losses borne by other countries. What makes this even worse is that the countries bearing the heaviest losses relative to their overall public spending are among the world’s poorest – and also those hit hardest by Covid-19 and global heating.

Successive Conservative governments have dragged their heels on this issue. But the current one appears to be heading in the wrong direction entirely with its network of freeports, or onshore tax havens. The Pandora Papers have revealed how many world leaders and other public figures have a vested interest in the status quo. elected politicians, including Boris Johnson, must now prove that they are not among them. The stashing of vast quantities of cash in tax havens must be stopped.

Pandora Papers show true face of global Britain THE UK IS HELPING REINVENT CAPITALISM ONCE MORE, BY EXTENDING THE PROTECTION OF A CONSTITUTION DESIGNED

BY THE POWERFUL, FOR THE POWERFUL, TO THE BILLIONAIRES, OLIGARCHS AND CRIMINALS OF THE WORLD IN TOTAL, EXPERTS ESTIMATE, BRITAIN AND ITS OVERSEAS TERRITORIES ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR FACILITATING AROUND A THIRD OF THE TOTAL TAX DODGED AROUND THE WORLD OpendemOcracy

P

adam ramsay

eRHAPS more than anything else, the Pandora Papers — the tranche of documents published Sunday night, which reveal the secret wealth of the world’s rich and powerful — tell a story about Britain.

There’s the role, for instance, played by the British virgin islands, an overseas territory of the U.K. that functions as a tax haven.

Czechia’s multimillionaire prime minister used the territory to hide his ownership of a chateau in France. Others, including the family of Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and vladimir Putin’s PR man, have made similar use of the islands to conceal wealth — while Tony and Cherie Blair reportedly saved £312,000 in stamp duty when they bought a London property from a company registered in the British virgin islands in 2017.

Then there’s London itself. The leaked documents show how the King of Jordan squirrelled personal cash away in the capital’s property market, as did key allies of imran Khan, Pakistan’s president.

More details will emerge in the coming days. But one thing is already clear. This isn’t a story about countries on the periphery of the world economy. it is a story about how the British state drives a global system in

which the richest extract wealth from the rest.

The British virgin islands were captured by england from the Dutch in 1672. By then, the indigenous population had already gone — either slaughtered in an unrecorded genocide or fled for fear of one. The islands have been a haven for pirates of various sorts ever since.

But this is just one part of Britain’s offshore network. There are around 18 legislatures across the globe that Westminster is ultimately responsible for. These include some of the worst offenders in the world of money laundering, tax dodging and financial secrecy. The Cayman islands are British. So is Gibraltar. So are Anguilla and Bermuda.

These places aren’t just British in an abstract sense. Under the 2002 British Overseas Territories Act, their citizens are British citizens. They operate under the protection of the British diplomatic service. And, when need be, they can rely on Her Majesty’s Armed Forces: in the last 40 years, Britain has twice gone to war to defend Overseas Territories. Once was when Argentina tried to claim back the Falklands/Malvinas. The other time was the invasion of iraq, when the British government claimed that Saddam Hussein’s weapons programme threatened its military bases at Akrotiri and Dhekelia on the island of Cyprus. in total, experts estimate, Britain and its overseas territories are responsible for facil-

itating around a third of the total tax dodged around the world. And that’s before we consider money stolen by corrupt rulers, or the proceeds of crime. Not to mention the way that billionaires’ hidden wealth allows them to influence our political systems in secret.

This complexity is no accident. The U.K., unlike almost any other country on earth, lacks a written constitution. The rules about how the rules are made are set through “convention,” an endless fudge that ultimately amounts to them being made up by our rulers as they go along.

We see this most clearly in how the domestic territories of the British state are governed: Scotland, Wales, Northern ireland, Greater London and the City of London each has its own arrangements, each absurd in its own way. each of these messes leaves a different tangled thicket in which the crooks of the world can hide their cash.

Seen from the perspective of international capital, though, it is the Overseas Territories, as well as the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and Mann, which form the most significant part of this complex.

They use the malleability of the British constitution to form a network of safes in which the rich can hide their cash.

Although no one knows for sure how much money is hidden in tax havens, of which the British territories make up a sig-

nificant chunk, the figures involved are so vast that academics at the Transnational institute in the Netherlands have described them as “the backbone of global capitalism.”

Seen this way, the constitutional flexibility of the British state isn’t just some postmedieval hangover. it’s a hyper-modern tool in an era of global surveillance capitalism, where the rich can flit around offshore while the rest are forever trapped by borders.

Through its empire, the British state played a key role in inventing modern capitalism. Now, the U.K. is helping reinvent capitalism once more, by extending the protection of a constitution designed by the powerful, for the powerful, to the billionaires, oligarchs and criminals of the world.

Adam Ramsay is OpenDemocracy’s main site editor.

Thursday, 7 october, 2021

buSineSS 09

lahore corporate corner

ASAD UMAR REFUTES US REPORT CRITICAL OF CPEC, SAyS NO DEBT ISSUE UNDER CHINESE ISLAMABAD GHUlaM aBBaS

W

KARACHI: Byco Petroleum Pakistan Limited (BPPL) and Axens Group from France sign MoU for Byco’s massive upgradation project set to produce Euro-V Gasoline & Diesel in Pakistan. A Virtual Signing Ceremony took place at the Byco Head Office with representatives from both sides. PR

TPL Trakker with HABIBMETRO becomes pioneer for advanced auto finance solutions in Pakistan

KARACHI: TPL Trakker, Pakistan’s leading IoT Company for Tracking, Telematics, Mapping, and Location Based Services, has recently partnered with Habib Metropolitan Bank to offer vehicle tracking solutions to the Bank's clients. By joining hands with TPL Trakker, a market leader in GPS Tracking for about two decades, HABIBMETRO Bank aims to enhance its auto finance solutions. With this collaboration, HABIBMETRO Bank will be able to offer an added benefit of security on leased vehicles for their auto finance customers.

Moreover, HABIBMETRO will also be utilizing TPL Trakker’s IoT platform to control and monitor its entire fleet. To mark the occasion, a signing ceremony was held between HABIBMETRO Bank and TPL Trakker.

Present at the occasion were, Sarwar Ali Khan, CEO, TPL Trakker, Ahsan Mairaj, Head of Financial Institutions, TPL Trakker, Babbar Wajid, Executive Vice President, Consumer Head HABIBMETRO, Adil Ahmed Sethi, Product Head Autos HABIBMETRO, Syed Faheem ul Islam, Consumer Product Head, Retail Banking

FrieslandCampina Engro Pakistan Ltd. joins UN Global Compact to achieve global SDGs

KARACHI: Friesland Campina Engro Pakistan Ltd has joined the United Nations Global Compact to reinforce its commitment towards achieving the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and promoting responsible business. The UN Global Compact is the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative, with more than 9,500 companies and 3,000 non-business signatories based in over 160 countries, and more than 60 local networks. It provides strategic direction and support to enable businesses to achieve their sustainability objectives. With the signing of the UNGC Charter, FCEPL aims to further strengthen its strategic sustainability initiatives and programs in line with the ten UNGC principles and SDGs. PRESS RElEaSE

Rupee drops to new record low, closes near 171 Pakistan's rupee reached a fresh low against the US dollar, closing near the 171 level in the inter-bank market on Wednesday. As per the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the PKR closed at 170.96 against the USD, a day-on-day decline of 16 paisas or 0.09 per cent. This is the weakest the rupee has been against the US currency, surpassing the 170.8 recorded earlier. With a fresh fall of 0.09pc, the rupee has cumulatively shed 12.27pc (or Rs18.69) since its recent high of Rs152.27 recorded on May 14. Meanwhile, the currency lost around 8.51pc or Rs13.42 since June 2021. The rupee recorded a depreciation of Rs0.16 on Wednesday, two days after the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics reported that the country’s import bill surged to $6.47 billion in September 2021. NEWS DESK

HIlE refuting a report regarding debt burden under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar on Wednesday said Pakistan did not have a 'China debt' problem pertaining to loan financing from CPEC. Addressing a joint press conference flanked by the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (ASPM) on CPEC Khalid Mansoor, the planning minister acknowledged that Pakistan had a debt servicing and debt sustainability challenge but stressed that "we do not have a China debt problem."

Umar was responding to a recent report by a US-based international development research lab, AidData, that was critical of CPEC. He claimed that "misconceptions are being spread regarding the transparency of CPEC projects, debt sustainability, and secret loans."

Referring to the report he said, "China has facilitated some CPEC projects by granting loans to Pakistan", adding that loans were granted on less markup compared to the loans borrowed from other countries.

The federal minister said that 74 per cent of external loans have been taken from international financial institutions.

Denying all rumours regarding expensive loans from China, the minister highlighted that power projects under the CPEC have an average of 4pc interest rate, while the cumulative rate of interest on other Chinese loans is 4.25pc.

Umar mentioned that the government had shared all the details of the

PLANNING MINISTER SAYS CUMULATIVE RATE OF INTEREST ON CHINESE LOANS 4.25PC

loans related to CPEC with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The federal minister said that wrong information leads to misunderstanding, adding "the reason for the increase in the current account deficit is not Chinese loans as China had provided various grants for different CPEC projects," he said.

Umar maintained that foreign media is spreading "incorrect information regarding CPEC" and urged the local media to question foreign reports instead of relaying information released by them "without due verification and understanding."

"The IMF is a part of the programme and all details regarding the projects under CPEC have been shared in the Parliament as well," he said.

Umar said that data on energy and

power projects was available with the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority and that the government had provided information about CPEC to the International Monetary Fund at the start of its programme.

Regarding the purported issuance of secret loans, the planning minister said: "We tried to think about it but [only one thing] comes to our mind that maybe they are calling sovereign guarantees for any loan or project as secret or hidden debt."

He explained that sovereign guarantees were provided to all independent power producers — whether domestic or foreign — and "nothing new was created in this [and] neither is it a secret".

He said there were various other projects where the government utilised

PSX opens regional office in KP KARACHI STaFF REPORT

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Wednesday announced the inauguration of its regional office in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) by holding a gong ceremony at PSX Trading Hall here in Karachi.

This is a significant development for the capital market of Pakistan whereby PSX will now be in a position to specially focus on this region in terms of meeting the business needs of the business-community, industry and investors with regard to the capital market.

Earlier, the north-western province was covered by PSX through its northern regional office in Islamabad.

Present at the gong ceremony were KP Minister for Finance & Health, Taimur

Khan Jhagra, who was the chief guest, Special Assistant to KP Chief Minister on Industry & Finance,Abdul Karim Khan, KP Board of Investment & Trade CEO Hassan Daud Butt, PSX Chairperson Dr Shamshad Akhtar, PSX CEO Farrukh H. Khan, PSX management team and market participants.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is integral and central to Pakistan in terms of its industrial zones, business hubs, and centers of trade of the northern part of Pakistan. It constitutes of numerous types of industries, businesses and trades which contribute significantly to the national exchequer.

With increasing industrial and trading activity taking place in KP, a significant need was felt by PSX to reach out to fulfil the requirements of the business community of KP to channelise their liquid re-

sources for investment and for raising capital to expand their industrial and business base.

PSX intends to fulfil this need in the near future through its representation in KP. By opening an office in KP, PSX asserts its presence in the region by utilising its resources to spread investor awareness & education and to educate businesses about the benefits of listing on the Exchange. PSX will thus increase its outreach in the northern areas of the country.

It will also be facilitating or expediting the growth plans of businesses & companies (with potential for listing) through capital raising via equity or debt issuance. PSX will be in a position to facilitate the raising of capital for numerous infrastructure projects by the government and for corporates and businesses who have need for capital to expand.

KP govt announces financial support for women in digital economy PESHAWAR STaFF REPORTS

To empower women and make the economically independent by expanding their businesses, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Science and Technology has setup Seed Funds under the initiative of Digital Jobs in KP. “The purpose of the initiative is to empower women by bringing them towards the digital economy in the province,” Provincial Minister for Science, Tech and Information Technology Atif Khan said here on Wednesday.

“In the future, the Department of Science and Technology will launch new schemes to attract women towards entrepreneurship in the

province, he informed, adding that such initiatives would help in making women economically independent. These seed funds will provide financial support ranging from $5,000 to $15,000 to expand female-led startups in KP. According to the Digital Jobs in KP plan, the seed funds will be outsourced to a specialist fund management firm. The firm will provide funds to women-led startups by scrutinising applications from different angles. Initially, through a competitive process, 30 women-led startups will be provided seed funds according to their business nature and proposals while technical support would also be provided with the help of specific firms to expand their ventures and make them earn more profit.

measures such as sovereign guarantees or standby credit to support the private sector in making investments instead of putting up its own cash.

Umar claimed that CPEC loans for private power projects were comparatively cheaper than loans from other international agencies such as the World Bank or the Asian Development Bank.

Regarding the loans for infrastructure projects, he said a majority of them were taken at a concessional rate of two per cent interest. Umar added that China had provided various grants as well for different CPEC projects and if they were included then "the average rate of the government-to-government loan is less than 2pc".

The planning minister said the information was shared "before as well" and that it was being repeated due to the report being highlighted in the media.

Responding to a question on the lack of employment opportunities created from CPEC projects, Umar explained that the first phase of infrastructure and capital-intensive projects were not intended to generate employment.

"The jobs, which are meant to come, will arise from our new projects starting now," such as industrialisation ventures, industrial investment, manufacturing and agricultural projects.

Umar said that both Pakistan and China would welcome the participation of other countries in CPEC, adding that it would be a "very good idea" to make it a regional corridor and "Pakistan will completely support it."

The minister also called upon the international community to maintain financial relations with Afghanistan and become a part of its development process.

Easypaisa to introduce vaccination certificate payments KARACHI: Continuing its efforts to provide convenient digital payment options to customers, Easypaisa, the country’s leading digital payments App, has added a much-needed service to its portfolio. All Pakistanis eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations can now pay for their vaccination certificate through their Easypaisa wallet.

Easypaisa is the first digital payments platform to introduce vaccination certificate payments, thus enabling millions of Pakistanis who lack access to other modes of payments such as credit or debit cards. Customers can now pay for their vaccination certificates instantly without any extra hassle or charges. COVID-19 vaccination certificates can be downloaded from the website of National Immunization Management System (NIMS). After filling in details on the NIMS website, customers can now opt for paying through the Easypaisa wallet or by visiting any one of the 170,000 registered Easypaisa agents across the country. PRESS RElEaSE

Bank Alfalah, Al-Ghazi Tractors partner to promote countrywide farm mechanisation KARACHI: Bank Alfalah Ltd. and Al-Ghazi Tractors Ltd (AGTL) have signed an MOU to facilitate farmers by fast-track processing and delivery of tractors as well as other farm machinery. The ceremony was held at Shaadin Manzil, Lahore and the MOU was signed by Muhammad Saeed Mushtaq, General Manager Sales & Marketing AGTL and Javed Iqbal, Head SME & Commercial Banking, BAFL. Rooma Malik - officer Agri Finance, Yahya Hameed Wahla, Agri Business Head BAFL and Abdul Ahad - Senior Manager Marketing Planning, AGTL were also present in the event.

Pakistan’s agriculture sector is paramount to the economy as it contributes nearly 20pc of the GDP and employs more than 42pc of the nation’s total workforce.

BAFL is continuously making efforts to facilitate this sector and the people it employs. Through this partnership, farmers will be able to acquire tractors and other farm equipment manufactured by AGTL under the Prime Minister’s Kamyab Jawan Scheme (PMKJ). BAFL is extending collateral free tractor finance facilities to the farming community on subsidized markup rates under PMKJ. Bank Alfalah and Al-Ghazi Tractors shall also jointly conduct awareness sessions to disseminate financial literacy and technical knowledge. PRESS RElEaSE

Thursday, 7 October, 2021

10 FOREIGN NEWS

LAHORE

World Climate body ChieF Warns oF looming Water Crisis GENEVA

t

AnAdolu Agency

HE number of people suffering water stress is expected to soar, aggravated by population increase and dwindling availability, the head of the world’s climate organisation said, releasing a new report.

According to figures cited in the State of Climate Services 2021 report, some 3.6 billion people had inadequate access to water at least one month per year in 2018.

By 2050, this is expected to rise to more than 5 billion.

“Lack of water continues to be a major cause of concern for many nations, especially in Africa. More than two billion people live in water-stressed countries and suffer a lack of access to safe drinking water and sanitation,” said World Meteorological Organization’s Secretary-General Petteri Taalas at a news conference.

He said that water-related hazards have increased in frequency over the past 20 years, adding: “We need to wake up to the looming water crisis.”

“Increasing temperatures are resulting in global and regional precipitation changes, leading to shifts in rainfall patterns and agricultural seasons, with a major impact on food security and human health and wellbeing,” Taalas said.

He said water highlights the need for urgent action to improve cooperative resource

management and integrated water and climate policies and increased investment in such a precious commodity.

Massive flooding

Pope says ashamed Church did not prioritise abuse victims in France VATIcAN cITY ReuteRs

Pope Francis said on Wednesday he was saddened and ashamed by the Catholic Church’s inability to deal with the sexual abuse of children in France and that the Church must make itself a “safe home for everyone”. “I would like to express to the victims my sadness, sorrow for the trauma they have suffered and also my shame, our shame, for the church’s inability, for too long, to put them at the centre of its concerns,” Francis said at his weekly general audience. Speaking a day after a major investigation revealed that French clergy had abused more than 200,000 children over 70 years, the pontiff invited Catholics in France to take responsibility for what had happened in order to make the Church a “safe home for everyone”. “This is the moment of shame,” he said, calling on bishops to make every effort to ensure that “similar tragedies do not happen again”. Jean-Marc Sauve, head of the commission that compiled the report, said the Church had shown indifference towards the abuses for years, preferring to protect itself rather than the victims, many of them aged between 10 and 13. The height of the abuse was 1950-1970, the commission said in its report, with an apparent resurgence in cases in the early 1990s. The pontiff added that he was close to French priests dealing with a “hard, yet healthy” challenge. The Pope had already expressed his gratitude to victims for the courage they had in coming forward and denouncing what they had been through.

“This past year has seen a continuation of extreme, water-related events. Across Asia, extreme rainfall caused massive flooding in Japan, China, Indonesia, Nepal, Pak-

‘THEY ATTACKED EVERYTHING’

Palestinians see larger threat behind last week’s brazen attack by Jewish settlers AGENcIES Dozens of Jewish settlers swept down from the dusty hills, hurling rocks at a small Palestinian village in broad daylight, smashing windows, cars and water cisterns as families hid inside their homes and Israeli soldiers looked on.

Palestinians in this rural part of the occupied West Bank say last week’s attack was especially violent but not unusual.

They view it as part of a much larger effort by Israel to force them off their land, including by cutting off vital water resources in a parched region.

Days after the attack — in which a four-year-old boy was hospitalised after being struck in the head by a stone as his family hid inside their home — residents of the village of AlMufagara surveyed the damage.

It included the smashed water cis-

ASEAN weighs excluding Myanmar junta boss from summit: envoy BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN ReuteRs

Southeast Asian countries are discussing not inviting the head of Myanmar’s junta to a summit this month, due to the military’s failure to make progress on an agreed roadmap to restore peace in the strife-torn country, a regional envoy said on Wednesday.

The junta’s inaction on a fivepoint plan it agreed in April with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was “tantamount to backtracking”, Erywan Yusof, the bloc’s special envoy to Myanmar, told a news conference.

Erywan, the second foreign minister of ASEAN chair Brunei, said the junta had not directly responded to his requests to meet detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi, whose government was overthrown in a February 1 coup led by

military chief Min Aung Hlaing.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the coup, which ended a decade of tentative democracy and prompted outrage at home and abroad at the return of military rule.

More than 1,100 people have since been killed, according to the United Nations, many during a crackdown by security forces on pro-democracy strikes and protests, during which thousands have been arrested.

The ASEAN roadmap included a commitment to dialogue with all parties, allowing humanitarian access and ceasing hostilities.

Myanmar’s long history of military dictatorship and alleged human rights abuses has been ASEAN’s most tricky issue, testing the limits of its unity and its policy of non-interference.

istan, and India,” Taalas said.

“Millions of people were displaced, and hundreds were killed. But it is not just in the developing world that flooding has led to

major disruption. Catastrophic flooding in Europe led to hundreds of deaths and widespread damage,” he added.

Taalas welcomed as great news the announcement earlier Tuesday that US-Japanese scientist Syukuro Manabe, Klaus Hasselmann of Germany, and Giorgio Parisi of Italy won the Nobel Physics Prize for climate models and the understanding of physical systems.

“The previous Nobel prize that was given to climate science was when the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) was the winner (in 2007), and this is again demonstrating that climate science is highly valued,” said the WMO chief.

The announcement came ahead of the Nov. 1-12 COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, where global warming will be high on the agenda.

“A key issue for the COP26 is that we should raise our ambition in climate mitigation. That’s, of course, number one. But we also have to pay attention to climate adaptation. And since the negative trend in weather patterns will continue for the coming decades,” Taalas said.

Since 2000, flood-related disasters have risen by 134 percent compared with the two previous decades, according to the report.

Most flood-related deaths and economic losses were recorded in Asia, where end-toend warning systems for riverine floods require strengthening, it said.

But the foreign ministers meeting virtually on Monday voiced disappointment about the lack of progress made by the State Administrative Council (SAC), as Myanmar’s junta is known.

Malaysia’s top diplomat Saifuddin Abdullah on Twitter said that without progress, “it would be difficult to have the chairman of the SAC at the ASEAN summit”.

He reiterated his remark about Min Aung Hlaing in parliament on Wednesday and said the ASEAN envoy was doing “whatever is humanly possible” to make progress on the roadmap.

Myanmar junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun did not respond to calls from Reuters on Wednesday.

Last week he told a news conference that Myanmar was cooperating with ASEAN “without compromising the country’s sovereignty”.

terns on which the Bedouin community and its livestock rely.

“They attacked everything we have, our water containers, our animals, our trees, our houses,” said Mohammed Rahbi, deputy head of the rural Yatta regional council. “It was an attack on humanity itself.”

The hardscrabble region is in

what’s known as Area C, the 60 per cent of the West Bank that is under full Israeli military control, according to agreements reached in the 1990s.

Palestinians say it’s nearly impossible to secure building permits, even for basic infrastructure like water and electricity. The military has designated an area that includes Al-Mufagara as

a firing range, making it even harder for residents to remain on the land.

Israeli authorities have meanwhile tolerated the construction of two nearby settlement outposts that are illegal even under Israeli law, where those who took part in last Wednesday’s attack are believed to have come from.

After ambushing a local shepherd and killing a number of his sheep, the settlers — shirtless with scarves wrapped around their faces — rampaged through the small cluster of stone homes and animal pens.

Footage released by the Israeli rights group B’Tselem showed Israeli soldiers standing among the settlers as they hurled the stones. At one point a soldier threw a tear gas grenade and shoved the Palestinian who was filming the attack.

“This is our home,” the Palestinian shouted.

CIA lost dozens of informants in recent years: NYT REPORT SAYS PAKISTAN AMONG GOVERNMENTS TURNING FOREIGN SPIES INTO DOUBLE AGENTS AND USING THEM TO PROVIDE THE CIA WITH DISINFORMATION WASHINGTON AnAdolu Agency

The Central Intelligence Agency has lost dozens of informants in foreign countries, including Pakistan, according to a report.

The disclosure that a large number of individuals recruited to spy for the US had been killed, captured or compromised in recent years was made in a top-secret cable obtained by the New York Times.

The cable was distributed to every CIA station and facility around the world.

Oppositional intelligence agencies in Pakistan, Russia, China and Iran have been hunting down US in-

telligence assets and in some cases turning them into double agents, the Times reported. The memo said the success of other intelligence agencies is due in part to their increasingly sophisticated technologies, including biometric scans and facial recognition tools that have allowed them to track CIA officers and, in some cases, discover the identities of informants.

The memo urged case officers to not only be mindful of evading those technologies, but to also be sure to vet their recruits, and placed a special emphasis on reminding officers that they are underestimating their adversaries. Former officials who spoke to the Times said the CIA has grown rusty at recruiting informants in for-

eign governments after spending decades focused on post-9/11 counterterrorism.

Rather than kill or capture US informants, some foreign governments have been turning them into double agents and using them to provide the CIA with disinformation, and the former officials said Pakistan has shown a marked capacity for doing it.

Developing networks in Pakistan has become more important in the wake of the collapse of the USbacked government in Afghanistan, and the Times said, “learning more about Pakistan’s ties to the Taliban government and extremist organisations in the region is going to become ever more important”.

thursday, 7 October, 2021

laHOrE

BABAR AZAm lAudS hiS TEAchER, cAllS him ‘oNE of ThE moST cRuciAl figuRES’ of hiS cRickETiNg jouRNEy

P

Agencies

AKISTANI cricketer Babar Azam lauded his teacher, “Mama jee” on Wednesday, the man who helped Azam become the outstanding batsman he is today.

Azam took to his Twitter to pay tribute to him crediting him as one of the most crucial figures of his cricketing journey.

“His no compromise on punctuality actually made me a better cricketer and taught me things which will accompany me all my life. Respect your teachers, as they define your future. #WorldTeachersDay,” he

tweeted. It is pertinent to note that Babar Azam has broken Gayle’s record by becoming the fastest to score 7,000 T20 runs.

Babar while playing his 187th inning reached the landmark during Central Punjab’s National T20 Cup clash against Southern Punjab.

Of his 7,000 T20 runs, 2,204 have been scored in T20Is. In April this year, Babar Azam had surpassed Virat Kohli’s record to become the fastest to make 2,000 runs in T20 internationals, beating the Indian skipper by a margin of four innings. It merits mention that Babar Azam is the 11th cricketer to score 2,000 T20 runs.

Holding slams ‘arrogant’ England for pulling out of Pakistan tour cHAgUARAMAs AFP

Former West Indies fast bowler Michael Holding said that England’s decision to cancel its short tours to Pakistan amounted to “Western arrogance”.

England’s men’s and women’s white-ball teams were due to tour this month but the England and Wales Cricket

Board (ECB) pulled out of both because of concerns over “mental and physical well-being”.

“The ECB statement doesn’t wash with me. No substance,” said Holding, who played 60 Tests and 102 oneday internationals in his glittering career.

“Nobody wants to come forward and face up to anything because they know what they did was wrong.

“So they put out a statement and hid behind a state-

ment. It just reminds me of the rubbish they did with Black Lives Matter.

“I won’t go back into that because I’ve said enough about that. But what that signal sends to me, is the same Western arrogance.

“I will treat you how I feel like treating you, it doesn’t matter what you think, I’ll just do what I want.”

It would have been the first tour of Pakistan by an England women’s team and the first by their male counterparts since 2005.

Ahead of England’s announcement, New Zealand had also pulled out of their own series in Pakistan, citing a security threat.

The Pakistan Cricket Board remains confident in its security arrangements and believes the country is safe to host international cricket despite the Kiwis’ hasty exit.

At the time of its withdrawal, the ECB acknowledged the news would not go down well with opponents who helped rescue England’s 2020 summer by travelling in restrictive bubble environments at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Pakistan went to England before vaccines were available for six or seven weeks,” said Holding, a respected television commentator since his retirement from the game in 1987 and author of ‘Why We Kneel, How We Rise’, a sober account of racial discrimination.

“They stayed, they played their cricket, they honoured what England wanted them to honour, to save England’s butt, to put it mildly.

“Four days in Pakistan? I’m absolutely sure they would not have done that to India, because India is rich and powerful.”

sPOrts 11 NZ coach Stead says no tension around T20 opener against Pakistan WeLLingTOn ReuteRs

New Zealand coach Gary Stead played down suggestions of any tension around their T20 World Cup opener against Pakistan after the Black Caps recently abandoned their limited-overs tour citing a security alert. New Zealand’s withdrawal dealt a massive blow to Pakistan’s hopes of staging regular international cricket, with England subsequently calling off their men’s and women’s tours.

New Zealand face former champions Pakistan in their opening Group 2 match on October 26 in Sharjah and Stead said his side were focused only on that. “I’m not sure if there’s any more tension on it from our perspective,” he told reporters on Tuesday. “Obviously, what happened in Pakistan was sad for Pakistan cricket, their players and also our players, who missed out on that opportunity as well. “We can’t change what has happened there.

All we can do is prepare for the tournament and we face Pakistan first up.” New Zealand are bidding to win a second world title this year after claiming the inaugural World Test Championship in June by beating India in the final. Stead said they would not set too many goals. “I guess our first one is focusing on one game at a time, but the main goal is to get to that semi-finals stage and if you’re there, you’ll know that you’re only two wins away from a title,” Stead added.

England committed to Ashes after Root confirms participation: report MeLBOURne ReuteRs

England have committed to touring Australia for the Ashes after players’ concerns over Covid-19 conditions were resolved at a meeting between the countries’ cricket boards and England captain Joe Root on Tuesday, British media reported. Root confirmed his participation in the five-test series at the meeting and will likely be joined by a full-strength squad, the Daily Telegraph reported, despite players’ having voiced hesitancy over touring in a Covid-19 “bubble”. Cricket Australia (CA) was not able to provide immediate comment. CA, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Australian authorities have been negotiating for months over the touring conditions in a country where international arrivals must isolate in quarantine hotels for 14 days, regardless of Covid-19 vaccination status. One of the biggest sticking points has been whether family members can join England players in Australia over the Christmas and New Year period. Australia’s borders are effectively closed to non-citizens and non-permanent residents. Australia’s white-ball captain Aaron Finch said he sympathised “fully” with England players’ concerns but was glad to hear a resolution had been reached.

Oman almost had to wave ‘goodbye’ to World Cup due to deadly storm, says official Agencies The chairman of Oman’s cricket board told Reuters he would have had to wave “Goodbye” to the Twenty20 World Cup had a deadly storm that ripped through the Gulf state on Sunday taken a slightly different path.

Eleven people were killed as heavy winds and rain swept through the country after tropical storm Shaheen made landfall in Oman.

The Gulf state will host six Group B matches at Al Amerat near Muscat, including three involving their own team, and Oman Cricket Chairman Pankaj Khimji said they were “very fortunate” to have missed the worst of the storm.

“We were so close to being virtually wiped out,” he told Reuters.

“We had the cyclone only a few nautical miles north. It made the landfall there and it’s devastated that whole region and flooded the whole plain over there.

“Had this had happened over here in this area, I’d have said ‘Goodbye’ to the World Cup.” While a handful of hospitality tents bore the brunt of the storm, the organisers were pleased with the greener look of the outfield following the intense rain.

“We got about three to four inches of rain,” said Khimji. “And that made the ground even

more lush and greener, it looks even prettier now. It washed off all the dirt and sand.”

The tournament was moved to the United Arab Emirates and Oman from India due to a Covid-19 surge and Khimji said it was a huge honour for minnows of the cricket world to stage such a prestigious event.

“This cricket coming to Oman is gigantic,” he said. “To think that there will be tens of millions of people watching the first game, it’s overwhelming to an extent.

“How often will an associate country get a chance to host and play in the World Cup at the same time? This is unreal, I’m living a dream.”

Zeeshan Maqsood will lead a bunch of Omani amateurs in the tournament and Khimji was hopeful they could make the Super 12 stage with a top-two finish in Group B, which also includes Bangladesh, Scotland and Papua New Guinea.

“They have been fantastic. These are rank amateurs, they have a job which they do nine-to-five, and they’ve taken a month or two off just to compete in this World Cup.” England arrived in Muscat on Tuesday to begin their 10-day preparatory camp before the Super 12 stage in the United Arab Emirates.

The World Cup gets underway on October 17.

Thursday, 7 October, 2021

prayer timiNgs

NEWS

RegistRaR office’s objections on MaRyaM’s fResh plea in avenfield RefeRence oveRRuled by ihc

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he Islamabad high Court (IhC) overruled the objections raised by the registrar’s office to a petition filed by PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz on Wednesday, asking for annulment of the verdict in the Avenfield Apartment reference.

A two-judge IhC bench comprising Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani heard Maryam and her husband retired Captain Mohammad Safdar’s appeals against their conviction.

An an application has been filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) seeking hearing of their appeals on a daily basis.

The court overruled the objections to Maryam’s latest application and directed to fix it for hearing. It adjourned the hearing on all appeals for October 13.

Maryam’s counsel Irfan Qadir, during today’s hearing, refuted the claims that the PML-N leader was against the country’s armed forces. he called it a mere

“misunderstanding”.

“Our [security] agencies are the best in the world and our judges are respectable,” he said.

It is pertinent to note that Maryam on Tuesday had filed a fresh application, along with “extremely relevant, simple and clear-cut facts”, with the IhC seeking annulment of the verdict in the Avenfield Apartment reference. earlier, the Accountability Court judge Mohammad Bashir had on July 6, 2018 convicted former PM Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and her husband retired Captain Mohammad Safdar in the Avenfield Apartment reference and handed them jail terms of 10, seven and one years, respectively, for owning illegal assets.

They had filed appeals in the IhC against the conviction. The court had on September 18 the same year suspended their sentences and released them on bail.

Maryam’s latest application was filed “in consequence of certain extremely relevant, simple and clearcut facts which have come to light after the

pronouncement of judgement and sentence” in the case.

“These facts which even otherwise are quite wellknown are being brought to the notice of this honourable court for enabling it to decide this matter expeditiously, justly, fairly and in accordance with law,” the miscellaneous application filed through Advocate Irfan Qadir said.

The IhC registrar office, meanwhile, had raised two objections to Maryam’s new application. According to the registrar, Maryam had made the same plea in her application as she did in her primary appeal challenging her conviction in the Avenfield case.

The office further said “Maryam Nawaz can adopt fresh grounds in the appeal only with the court’s permission.”

Maryam in her application concluded that the entire proceedings that resulted in her conviction were a “classic example of outright violations of law and political engineering hitherto unheard of in the history of Pakistan”.

President says focus on STEM important for Pakistan’s progress ISLAMABAD staff report

President Dr Arif Alvi on Wednesday said that Pakistan needs to make utmost efforts to join the global race of technology, which would also guarantee the future national economic development.

The president, while addressing the launching ceremony of STeM (Science, Technology, engineering, Mathematics) project, said children’s motivation towards science education would create actual wealth for the country, which would later support the industry and IT sector too.

Under the umbrella of ministry of science and technology, the Pakistan Science Foundation is executing the STeM project’s first phase under PSDP programme.

The project is initially being launched in 50 schools across Pakistan, which were selected based on their excellent academic results during the last three years.

Calling STeM education “very dear” to him, the president referred to a survey by Annual Status of education Report (ASeR), which showed that the interest of Pakistani children towards STeM is comparatively low in the region.

Quoting a study by University of Sargodha, the president said parents, science festivals and encouragement by teachers played key role to motivate children towards STeM education. he said China produces around 4.7 million STeM graduates annually while Pakistan is far behind in the list of countries producing those graduates.

Calling the launching of STeM as a timely step, the president called for adopting the required factors for promotion of STeM education, which provides the basis for development in organised societies. he also hinted at visiting the STeM schools sometime and added that it is inevitable to uplift the people to compete the world.

Minister for Science and Technology Senator Shibli Faraz said the programme would be spread throughout

the country. The selected schools will become hubs of STeM education and serve as model schools for all schools of adjoining areas. he said the programme also includes training of teachers and preparation of master trainers. Moreover, a monitoring mechanism will also be in place to examine the productivity of the programme.

Federal education Minister Shafqat Mahmood said the education ministry has launched a pilot programme in 35

educational institutes of Islamabad, which would also benefit the Pakistan Science Foundation in STeM initiative. he said STeM is also part of uniform education curriculum, adding that training of teachers is of high importance to achieve the desired results.

Pakistan Science Foundation Chairman Dr Shahid Baig also addressed the event, attended by provincial ministers, diplomats and principals of the STeM designated schools.

FAJR SUNRISE

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fia to investigate fake covid vaccination entries made under names of Kulsoom nawaz and ishaq dar South Punjab health Secretary Ajmal Bhatti has said that an application has been submitted to the Cyber Crime Wing of Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for action against fake entries of Covid-19 vaccination. In a statement issued on Wednesday, he informed that the FIA would probe against fake entries of Covid-19 vaccination made under the names of Kulsoom Nawaz, late wife of PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, and former finance minister Ishaq Dar in the National Immunisation Management System (Nims). he said that he has sought a report on this issue from the district health authorities of Multan and Vehari after inquiry. Strict action would be initiated against all those staff members who found guilty in the crime, he said. In a letter sent to the FIA, the health department informed the agency about the fake entries. “It is hereby requested to kindly investigate and take necessary action against the fake entries under the names of Kulsoom Nawaz Sharif and Muhammad Ishaq Dar in the National Immunisation Management System,” the letter stated. According to the letter, a fake entry for the administration of a PakVac vaccine dose was made under the name of Kulsoom Nawaz from Gymnasium Mailsi, which serves as a vaccination centre in Vehari, on October 5. Another fake entry, for the first dose of the Cansino vaccine, was made under Dar’s name the same day from the vaccination centre at the office of the Defence housing Authority’s chief executive officer in Multan. News Desk

hasaan Khawar replaces fayyaz chohan as punjab govt spokesperson Fayyazul hassan Chohan has recently been replaced by newly appointed Special Assistant to the Chief Minister (SACM) on Information and Special Initiatives hasaan Khawar as the Punjab government’s spokesperson, according to a notification issued by the Chief Minister’s Office on Wednesday. It is pertinent to note that, earlier this year, Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan had resigned as the special assistant to the Punjab chief minister on information in August. A week later, Chohan had been appointed as the spokesperson for the provincial government. Khawar on his appointment as the SACM took to Twitter and stated that “Alhamdulillah! I’ve been appointed as Special Assistant to Chief Minister Punjab on Information & Special Initiatives. I’m grateful to CM Usman Buzdar for trusting me for this important role.” Khawar went on to pledge that he would give his best under Buzdar’s leadership to achieve Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vision. It merits mention that this is the third time that the Punjab government has removed Chohan from its information wing. Chohan had first stepped down from his post as the provincial information minister in March 2019, amid intense criticism over his derogatory remarks directed against the hindu community. he had then got appointed again as the Punjab information minister after nine months in December that year, only to be replaced almost after a year in November 2020, when Awan was notified as the SACM on information. Later, Chohan was appointed as the provincial government’s spokesperson after Awan’s resignation. After being replaced by Khawar, he now holds the portfolio for of only Punjab prisons minister. News Desk

Yousaf Raza Gillani has already availed the ‘one-time permission’to travel abroad: Interior Ministry Senate opposition leader Yousuf Raza Gillani has been stopped from travelling abroad for an international conference, earlier on Wednesday.

Former Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani was barred at Islamabad Airport from traveling to Italy to attend the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) to be held in ROMe on 8th to 9 October, 2021. Mr Gilani was nominated as leader of a parliamentary delegation for the international parliamentary moot by Chairman of the Senate.

According to the Gillani’s son, Qasim Gillani, the former PM’s staff was informed at the airport’s immigration counter that his name was on the exit control list (eCL).

As per the sources, Interior Ministry stated that Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani’s name was placed on eCL in 2013 on the recommendation of NAB in appointment of Tauqeer Sadiq as Chairman OGRA. According to Interior Ministry, Yousaf

Raza Gilani was granted a ‘One Time Permission’ to travel abroad which he availed in 2020.

It is pertinent to note that this is not the first time that the former PM has been stopped from exiting the country. In Feb 2019, Gillani was stopped from leaving the country at the Lahore airport after his name was found to be on a no-fly list.

Former MNA Syed Ali Musa Gillani took to Twitter to state that the government had stopped the PPP leader from proceeding to Italy on the invitation of the Italian government to represent the country during a climate summit.

“In the age of innocent until proven guilty and in a self-proclaimed democracy, the leader of the opposition is not allowed to represent Pakistan and lead the delegation of parliamentarians at an international conference.

Such is the democracy we live in!”, he stated. he added that tools like the eCL only make “the tyrants of today look weak and deprive Pakistan of badly needed statesman-

ship at the international arena.”

It merits mention that Gilani was scheduled to meet high-level dignitaries in Italy including his counterpart and Mayor of Rome. Mr. Yousaf Raza Gilani while talking to media informed that he had been traveling abroad after the 2013 restriction. The countries visited by Mr Gilani after 2013 include UAe, UK, Afghanistan, Nigeria, France, Norway, Nepal, Cambodia and South Korea.

As per sources, PPP opines that Gillani was stopped at the airport as the federal government did not want the former PM to overshadow the current PM Imran Khan who was given a snub by US President Joe Biden by not inviting him at the World leaders virtual conference on climate change.

The party further believes that the Ministry of interior stooped too low by barring Mr Gilani from traveling abroad on pretext that he was on no fly list despite the fact that Mr Gilani has traveled abroad 17 times since year 2013.

PPP Senator Sherry Rehman has stated on the matter that “Convicted criminals are allowed to leave the country, but there are restrictions on PPP leaders,” she said, adding that he wanted to represent the country in front of lawmakers around the world but was

stopped.

She also criticised the “two systems” in the country. “If one former prime minister is allowed to leave the country despite his name being on the eCL then why can’t another?” she questioned. staff report

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