Lahore- E paper – March 17, 2020

CMYK

17 March, 2020 I 22 Rajab, 1441 I Rs 20.00 I Vol X No 258 I 16 Pages I Lahore Edition

CORONAVIRUS

Pakistan on tenterhooks as toll shoots uP g

Official tally across Pakistan reaches 184 after Punjab, Sindh, KP report more cases

g

Those quarantined at Taftan question lack of doctors, hygiene issues at camp

g

PM’s aide says govt has coronavirus under control, asks people not to panic

ISLAMABAD

P

STAFF REPORT

AKISTAn on Monday recorded its biggest single-day spike in coronavirus infections, taking the tally to 183, amid reports of ineffective quarantine procedures many of those are reported to be among those who had been held at a quarantine camp at the country’s Taftan border crossing with Iran.

Dera Ghazi Khan authorities confirmed its first case of the novel coronavirus on Monday, raising the provincial count to two cases. The patient, who was among the 814 persons quarantined at a facility in DG Khan, had arrived from the Taftan border. DG Khan Health CEO said that the patient, a resident of Layyah, had been shifted to Indus Hospital Muzaffargarh.

DG Khan Commissioner naseem Sadiq said that another five patients, suspected of having contracted the virus, had also been shifted to Indus Hospital Muzaffargarh With an addition of 47 new cases, the tally of coronavirus cases in Sindh reached 150. According to a spokesperson for the Sindh health department, 119 of the cases arrived in Sukkur from Taftan, 30 are from Karachi while one is from Hyderabad. Sindh government spokesperson Murtaza Wahab said that the “exponential increase is largely due to the recent inflow of people brought in from Taftan after a purported quarantine”.

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah directed the provincial police chief to carry out raids on stores and pharmacies that are selling overpriced tissue papers, hand sanitisers and anti-septics.

The Sindh government is also contemplating closing restaurants and tea shops by 9 pm, as the number of coronavirus cases in the province continues to rise. “I am now adopting a zero-tolerance policy,” Chief Minister Shah was quoted as saying in a statement by his media consultant. “If our people stay out and visit eateries until late at night, I

ISLAMABAD: A policeman monitors the body temperature of an employee of the Supreme Court before allowing him into the building. To prevent the spread of coronavirus, the apex court has taken additional measures, including barring the entry of irrelevant people and making it mandatory on the employees to undergo screening and sanitisation before entering the premises. ONLINE

will shut down restaurants and hotels,” Shah added.

However, as per the government data, no deaths due to the coronavirus have been recorded.

Prime Minister Imran Khan also chaired a meeting of the country’s national coordination committee on COVID-19. no major announcements were made following the meeting.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) also reported its first cases of coronavirus, confirming 15 positive cases. KP Health

Minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra tweeted that 15 out of 19 individuals who arrived in the province from Taftan have tested positive for the virus. “They are being well looked after in quarantine in an isolated facility in Dera Ismail Khan,” he wrote.

SAPM SAYS CORONAVIRUS UNDER CONTROL: Meanwhile, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza said that the government has extended its emergency measures, including travel restrictions and a ban on public gatherings to the entire country

Stock market crashes as virus fear spreads g

KSE-100 closes 2,375 points lower; marks biggest daily loss since 2009

KARACHI ARIBA SHAHID

Following the global trends, Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) began the first trading week on a bearish note, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index recording its biggest daily fall since 2009.

Dropping below the 34,000 mark, the KSE-100 Index lost 2,441.98 points or 6.77pc to touch its intraday low at

33,618.90. The sudden plunge at the start of the session caused yet another 45minute ‘market halt’ (4th in the last six sessions). As trading resumed, the index failed to find any positive triggers and settled lower by 2,375.97 points at 33,684.91.

Among other indices, the KMI-30 Index lost 3,890.87 points to end at 52,017.17, while the KSE All Share Index dropped 1,424.74 points, closing at 23,867.22. Of the total traded shares,

18 advanced and 289 declined.

According to analysts, investors resorted to panic selling on Monday following the increase in the number of coronavirus cases in the country. Global markets also took a hit as the US Federal Reserve and other central banks unveiled emergency measures to support their coronavirus infected economy.

Saad Rafi, head of sales at Al Habib Capital, commented, “The PSX today was primarily influenced by the prevalent bearish spell in regional markets, drop in US Crude prices and its negative impact on E&P stocks and rising concerns about the negative repercussions of coronavirus on Pakistan’s economy.”

Saad Hashmi, CEO of BMA Capital, said, “The market fell across the board on concerns over coronavirus impact. Globally, the coronavirus spread escalated over the weekend with all markets, including those in Asia and Europe, taking a significant hit. International commodity prices, including that of oil, also fell.”

As the number of coronavirus cases has risen drastically, the impact is likely to weigh on other aspects of the financial sector. “PKR depreciation, lower yields and selling panic in international markets indicate more flight of capital from Pakistan.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 02

CMYK

to tackle the coronavirus.

Addressing a press conference, Dr Mirza said that there was no immediate need to lockdown cities in the country as the situation is “still under control”.

He assured the public that the current preventive measures adopted by the health ministry are sufficient to control the spread of the novel coronavirus in Pakistan, adding, that measures would be tightened up if the situation turns more serious.

“Under the new emergency meas-

ures, all recreational and sporting events are being cancelled/postponed while public places like restaurants, parks are ordered to shut until the situation is not stable,” he said.

Dr Mirza further advised the public to adopt safety measures as suggested by the health experts to remain safe from the disease.

He urged the media to put their share of creating mass scale public awareness against pandemic effects of coronavirus in the country. “The government is completely prepared to fight coronavirus and country has made timely and appropriate arrangements that stopped the spread of the virus,” he said.

Dr Mirza said that it is not only the responsibility of the Health Ministry but every individual is responsible for safety, adding that the government has launched a comprehensive awareness campaign and people should have to follow the guidelines.

“The coronavirus affects those people who have less immunity,” he added.

The Health Ministry has deputed its officials at the airports and border crossing points and the screening of the travelers is being carried out through thermal screening, he mentioned.

He further said that foreign flights are restricted to operate only in major cities, including Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad, as aerial operations will remain suspended at other airports.

He said that any person who has symptoms of coronavirus should contact the state helpline 1166. Replying to a question, Dr Mirza said that he had emphatically called for an end to the lockdown in occupied Kashmir at the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) meeting where the Indian Prime Minister was also present.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 02

Coronavirus slowly shutting down planet STORY ON BACK PAGE

more inside

Preventing economic fallout from coronavirus top priority, PM says

g

Imran vows stern action against profiteers and hoarders, directs officials to ensure availability of essential commodities

g

Balochistan CM says severe shortage of coronavirus testing kits, ventilators in province STORY ON PAGE 03

LHC seeks NAB's reply on plea challenging Mir Shakilur Rehman’s arrest STORY ON PAGE 03

02-03 NEWS 17 MARCH-20_Layout 1 3/17/2020 12:33 AM Page 1

02

Tuesday, 17 March, 2020

NEWS

PrESIdENt AlvI JEtS off to ChINA oN two-dAy vISIt BeiJing

P

STAFF REPORT

RESIDENT Dr Arif Alvi left for Beijing on Monday on a two-day visit at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Planning Minister Asad Umar and senior officials are also accompanying the president.

According to a statement issued by the Foreign Office, a number of memorandums of understanding (MoU) are expected to be signed between the two sides during the visit to enhance bilateral cooperation in multiple spheres.

This is President Alvi’s first visit to China and is “singularly aimed at conveying strong support and solidarity of Pakistan towards the Chinese government and people while Beijing is resolutely engaged

ISLAMABAD: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on Monday banned the entry of visitors coming along with the passengers at the airports. This was decided in a high-level meeting of the CAA amid coronavirus fear.

According to the decision, passengers will not be allowed to bring in a company inside the airport premises. The passengers will also have to shift their luggage themselves. Only the driver of the passenger would be allowed to enter the premises. “The drivers would be allowed to park their vehicles in the parking areas of the airports,” it emerged. The CAA further said that the decision is aimed at providing a secure environment to the passengers and minimizing the risk of the disease. The authority has also appealed to the citizens to avoid unnecessary visits to the airports as it could become a source of virus spread. INP

in efforts against the novel coronavirus”, according to the FO press release.

The visit will play an important role in further solidifying the historic bond of trust and mutual support between the two “iron brothers”. “It will also serve as an opportunity for the leadership of the two countries to review bilateral, regional and international issues and to advance the shared goals of promoting peace, prosperity and development in the region and beyond,” the statement read.

“Pakistan and China are closest friends and staunch partners. The two countries are joined together in an ‘All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership’. This timetested friendship is based on unparalleled mutual trust, understanding and commonality of interests,” it added. “The leadership of both countries is fully committed to building a closer China-Pakistan community of a shared future in the new era.”

Justice Mazahar Ali Naqvi sworn in as SC judge

Nawaz barred FO from statements against India: former spokesperson neWS deSK Former Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Tasneem Aslam has that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif had barred the FO from commenting against Indian atrocities in held Kashmir and its spy Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav.

Jadav, a serving Indian army official, is presently in Pakistan’s custody.

“Nawaz Sharif did not want to say anything against India and Jadhav through the Foreign Office,” she said during an interview with a YouTube channel of journalist Essa Naqvi. When asked if Sharif’s instruction benefited the country, she said, “It did not benefit the country but I do not know whether it benefited his [Nawaz’s] own interests or not.”

Tasneem worked as FO spokesperson twice — first from 2005 to 2007 during the regime of President Pervez Musharraf and

CAA bans visitors’ entry at airports amid virus pandemic

then during the last Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government between 2013 and 2017.

She said that Nawaz had business in-

Clerics urged to postpone religions gatherings amid virus outbreak ISLAMABAD: Minister for Religious Affairs Noorul Haq Qadri on Monday urged clerics to postpone all religions gatherings as a precautionary measure against coronavirus. In a video message, Qadri urged them to temporality call off Jumma prayers to avoid large scale public gatherings. He reiterated the government is taking effective steps to tackle the pandemic. Separately, the Sukkur administration has closed the shrines and public libraries for three weeks as part of safety measures. According to an official, the wedding hall owners are also directed to temporarily stop holding functions.

Strict action would be taken against violators of these directives, he added. APP

UAE suspends issuance of visa to Pakistani citizens ISLAMABAD: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has suspended issuance of visas to Pakistani citizens for an indefinite period. Islamabad embassy of the UAE, in a statement on Monday announced suspension of issuance of visa till the next orders.The embassy will issue visas only to those holding diplomatic passport, the diplomatic mission said. The mission will not issue visa on general Pakistani passport, statement added. It is to be mentioned here that the UAE on Saturday suspended the issuance of all entry visas from March 17 (Tuesday) except for those holding diplomatic passports. The decision does not apply to persons who have already got visas before the effective date, statement said. The Federal Authority For Identity and Citizenship of the UAE has said that the move was taken as a precautionary measure being initiated by the country to contain the spread of novel coronavirus and is in response to the World Health Organisation declaring the novel coronavirus outbreak as a pandemic, which makes travel at this point dangerous. The authority added that the decision will be effective until the countries of departure activate a mechanism for medical screening of passengers as an additional measure. The countries around the world using restrictions on movement as a measure to contain rampaging virus disease that has claimed over 6000 lives across the globe. STAFF REPORT

terests in India and he did not meet leaders of Indian Occupied Kashmir’s (IOK) political party Hurriyat Conferences when he visited India as the prime min-

ister. “Usually, every prime minister of Pakistan meets Hurriyat leaders but Nawaz Sharif did not meet them when he visited India,” she added.

Nawaz had visited India in 2014 to attend the swearing-in ceremony of its Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi.

Tasneem said even in his speech at the United Nations (UN) summit Sharif did not talk about India and Jadhav but on the Kashmir issue.

When asked, PML-N information secretary Marriyum Aurangzeb said the comments by a retired FO official “bore no resemblance to reality”.

“It is a false and biased expression of an individual’s views, based on her personal predilections,” she said.

Recalling efforts made by Sharif to resolve the Kashmir dispute, Marriyum said, “The principled manner in which he dealt with the issue of Pakistan’s relations with its eastern neighbor is well documented.”

She said the former prime minister’s address to the UN General Assembly in 2016 contained the “most forceful references” ever to the issue of Kashmir and the “most powerful condemnation of the atrocities and brutalities of the Indian occupation forces [in the held valley]”.

Coronavirus: Pakistan on tenterhooks as toll shoots up Continued from page 01 “In view of the health emergency it is imperative that all the restrictions in the occupied territory must be lifted immediately, opening up communication and movement would facilitate dissemination of information, allow distribution of medical supplies and enable containment and relief efforts to proceed unimpeded,” he demanded.

Replying to another question, he said different hospitals across Punjab have been equipped with coronavirus testing and prevention kits and suspected cases are being treated thoroughly.

CONDITIONS AT TAFTAN: “The spike in cases was mainly because of the people who came from Taftan. They had been quarantined there, and then we moved them to our own facility where we tested them,” said Meeran Yousuf, spokesperson for the health minister of Sindh.

People currently in the Taftan camp said they were not being adequately screened for coronavirus or treated for existing conditions. They also complained of squalid living conditions at the facility, which is housing hundreds of people. Under current procedures, those released from the camp are being held for a further 14 days in their home provinces in separate quarantine facilities, where they will be tested if they display symptoms of the virus, Yousuf said.

A provincial government spokesperson in Balochistan, where Taftan is, denied the claims that conditions were inadequate at the camp and said that the staff was constantly monitoring those in quarantine for symptoms.

“The World Health Organisation (WHO) protocol calls for a 14-day mandatory quarantine,” said Balochistan government spokesperson Liaquat Shahwani. “People can still develop symptoms after 14 days, or even 28 days. It differs from case to case,” he added.

“We are sleeping in tents, with up to five people in one tent because there is a shortage of space here,” said Amir Ali, 26, a travel agent who was brought to Taftan camp on March 3. “There are not enough bathrooms or enough water. The system for screening is not as they claim. They are not giving us all these medicines,” he added.

Ali shared videos from the camp that showed rows of tents, basic bathroom facilities and some people forced to sleep in close quarters on the floor of the town’s main government building. The videos also show rubbish littering the ground between the tents. Since last month, more than 4,600 people have been held at the quarantine camp, Shahwani said. Of those, 1,822 had been released to their home districts on Friday, while several hundred remain at the camp, government data shows. The cases recorded in Sindh province were among the 1,822 people who were cleared last week.

ISLAMABAD: Lahore High Court’s (LHC) senior judge Justice Sayyed Muhammad Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi was sworn in as a Supreme Court (SC) judge on Monday. Justice Naqvi came on the seat which fell vacant after the retirement of former Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa. He will serve as SC judge until 2025. Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed administered the oath in a ceremony attended by apex court judges, Attorney General Khalid Jawed Khan, senior lawyers, law officers and officers of Law & Justice Commission of Pakistan. Supreme Court Registrar Khawaja Daud Ahmad conducted the proceedings of the oath-taking ceremony. The notification announcing the elevation of Justice Naqvi to the Supreme Court was issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice on Friday. Hailing from Gujranwala, Justice Naqvi was elevated to Lahore High Court in 2010, Prior to which, he was a practicing lawyer at the Supreme Court and the high courts in between 1988 and 2001. Justice Naqvi is an avid sports player and has been a member of cricket teams during his academic days. INP

PM Imran to chair cabinet meeting today ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan will chair a cabinet meeting later in the day.

Reports emerged that the cabinet will discuss the overall political, economical situation of the country in addition to the emergency situation following the outbreak of coronavirus.

The meeting will review the implementation of the decisions taken in the National Security Council (NSC) meeting on Friday. The briefing on upcoming budget is also a part of the agenda, while the detailed briefing by the Ministry of Energy and Power is also included in the agenda. In the previous meeting, Prime Minister Imran Khan had expressed displeasure over non-submission of a final probe report on the wheat and sugar crisis and gave the authorities one week to submit the report. STAFF REPORT

Stock market crashes as virus fear spreads Continued from page 01 Mutual funds were seller due to redemption call from clients,” he added.

Adnaan Sheikh, Assistant Vice President (Research) at Pak Kuwait Investment, noted, “Coronavirus fears are culminating into panic sell-off in global stocks, and Pakistan is no different.”

“The mood remained bearish on Monday as the highest number of new cases were reported today. Over the weekend, cases have emerged in Lahore as well. The virus fear is hitting hard and so is the fear of foreigners’ pull-out from the debt market. This is technically, fundamentally and emotionally ‘blood-on-

the-street’,” said Arsalan Soomro, Managing Director KASB Securities.

MONETARY POLICY: As for the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) monetary policy, which would be announced tomorrow (Tuesday), Soomro said, “The monetary policy statement would guide the market direction from tomorrow onwards. The impact of stocks is sometimes irrational, non-fundamental and doomsday depiction. Classic human behavior amidst pessimism.”

Despite popular belief, the bloodbath in the PSX is not a direct result of the Fed rate cut. Saad Rafi opined, “The Fed rate cut did not directly influence the PSX today. It only raised expectations that the

CMYK

SBP may follow the Fed’s footsteps and slash the key benchmark rate. Although the 100bps discount rate cut expected tomorrow and oil prices decline might off-set the negative impact in the later week, we foresee index bottoming out tomorrow.”

“Considering how the Fed rate cut was done with the intention to boost confidence, the opposite has been witnessed.

Theoretically speaking, there should be a positive impact on stock markets, but the opposite happened due to coronavirus panic which [forced] people to keep cash as a safe haven,” he added.

MARKET SUPPORT: Naushad Chamdia, CEO of Standard Capital Securities, said, “The government should intervene

and curb the short selling and bring the market support fund as most of the European and world markets have taken this step. This should be done on an urgent (support fund) and a temporary basis — 20 days or 30 days (curbing short selling). Otherwise, this free fall will trigger a redemption call on the mutual fund industry which will further bring the market down to an alarming level.”

As far as support levels are concerned, a general consensus in the market is that they are irrelevant now and that the market will continue to mimic global markets.

However, Fahad Hussain Khan, Deputy Head Research at Adam Securities, believes that the market may take support at 33,000 and 32,350. Closing below 32,350 may lead to revisiting 19th August 2019 low of 28,670.

02-03 NEWS 17 MARCH-20_Layout 1 3/17/2020 12:33 AM Page 2

Tuesday, 17 March, 2020

PrEvENtINg ECoNoMIC fAlloUt froM CoroNAvIrUS toP PrIorIty, PM SAyS IMRAN VOWS STERN ACTION AGAINST PROFITEERS AND HOARDERS, DIRECTS OFFICIALS TO ENSURE AVAILABILITY OF ESSENTIAL COMMODITIES iSLamaBad

P

STAFF REPORT

RIME Minister Imran Khan on Monday underlined the government’s priority to save the economy from the negative impacts of the coronavirus and ensure an uninterrupted flow of economic activities in the country.

While chairing a meeting of the National Coordination Committee to discuss measures to contain the disease, the prime minister said that protecting the employment of the general public is also a top priority of the government. He directed the concerned authorities to devise a comprehensive strategy to provide relief to the common man in view of

any possible situation and ensure the availability of the essential commodities. The premier stressed that the complaints of hoarding and illegal profiteering will not be tolerated at any cost. He said that stern action will be taken in this regard.

He said that the Centre and provinces are dealing with the situation with full coordination. He added the government is fully aware of the dangers but such decisions should be avoided that could create an environment of fear.

He asked people of every field to exhibit responsible behaviour and directed Dr Zafar Mirza to hold a daily public briefing at 5:00 pm.

“Maximum steps will be taken on the government level to stop coronavirus and there is a need to

opp parties move IhC against Mir Shakilur rehman's arrest

BALOCHISTAN CM SAYS SEVERE SHORTAGE OF CORONAVIRUS TESTING KITS, VENTILATORS IN PROVINCE give awareness to the nationals over the seriousness of this matter. I appeal nationals to adopt self prevention measures which will also assist the authorities to contain the spread of the virus,” he said.

“The Pakistani nation has always fought graciously and persistently all crisis and a joint effort on the national level will also come forth this time against coronavirus.

We do not have to be afraid of the disease but to fight this issue,” he added. Minister for Religious Affairs Noorul Haq Qadri, Interior Minister Ijaz Shah, Adviser on Finance Hafeez Sheikh, Special Assistant on National Health Services Dr Zafar Mirza, Special Assistant on Information and Broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awan, Special Assistant for Over-

seas Pakistanis Zulfi Bukhari and others were present on the occasion.

All the chief ministers were present through video link.

A briefing was also given by Dr Zafar Mirza, whereas, the participants of the meeting held consultations for further steps to fight COVID-19 pandemic.

The committee was also given a briefing regarding the meeting with prominent clerics for preventive measures during processions of Friday prayers. Balochistan Chief Minister Jamal Kamal Khan said that there was a “severe shortage” of coronavirus testing kits and ventilators in the province.

He briefed participants of the meeting about the facilities being provided to pilgrims in Taftan and

Quetta. On the recommendation of the chief minister, it was decided to send pilgrims in Taftan to their respective provinces. A consensus was reached during the meeting that the pilgrims will be quarantined by provincial governments and tested for the virus.

The chief minister said that food, water, health and shelter facilities were available for pilgrims at Taftan. He said that traders and pilgrims made up the estimated 3,000 people who were quarantined in Taftan. It is worth mentioning here that the urgent meeting was called over the increasing numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Pakistan that jumped to 136 on Monday after more people were diagnosed with the disease across the country.

GOVT SETS UP TWO NEW BODIES TO FIGHT CORONAVIRUS: The government has also decided to set up two new bodies in order to oversee the roadmap to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

The first committee would in-

LHC seeks NAB's reply on plea challenging Mir Shakilur Rehman’s arrest LaHore STAFF REPORT

LaHore STAFF REPORT

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Information Secretary Marriyum Aurangzeb on Monday said that the opposition parties have filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against the arrest of Geo and Jang Group owner Mir Shakilur Rehman. In a statement, Marriyum said the PML-N, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) collectively filed the petition in public interest. Marriyum said the petition pleads that freedom of expression and the right to information is an essential part of Article 17 of the constitution. She said media is the fourth pillar of the state and the freedom of expression is the basic foundation of a free nation.

Articles 4, 9, 10A, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 19A are the custodian of the right to freedom of expression, the petition argues. It states that in a democratic country, freedom of expression and freedom of the media are an essential condition and component of democracy. The petition maintains that NAB violated the constitution to arrest the head of the largest media group of the country, adding that Rehman’s arrest has a specific context because he was being constantly pressured to stop criticism of NAB. “The media house was under extreme pressure over Shahzeb Khanzada’s program but Shakeel did not bow to the pressure,” Marriyum said, adding that NAB arrested Rehman even though he had provided all required documents regarding the land allotment. She claimed that the federal government and PEMRA blocked Geo’s broadcast after Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan’s press conference on March 13, adding that the position of the channel was also pushed back.

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday sought para-wise comments from the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) by March 26 on a petition filed by Mir Shakilur Rehman’s wife challenging the arrest and physical remand of the Jang/Geo Group’s owner.

An LHC divisional bench, presided

by Justice Ali Baqar Najafi heard the case during which the court also directed the anti-graft body to allow the media tycoon’s personal physician for his routine checkups along with permitting him for his routine walks, sleeping machine, books, newspapers and visits from his counsel.

During the court proceedings, Rehman’s wife tendered a request to the court which pleaded the release of her husband from NAB’s custody as he is ‘not going anywhere nor leaving the country’.

The bench remarked that “all are

equal in the Constitution’s eye. This court does not have different merits for different people, all are equal here”.

As the proceedings commenced the counsel for accused, Aitzaz Ahsan, questioned NAB’s conduct, arguing Rehman was to give an explanation on his 54-kanal land, which he is accused of acquiring illegally, but “it is astonishing enough that the chairman NAB issued an arrest warrant on the same day”.

He contended that the investigation is being conducted in Lahore but the arrest warrant was issued from Islamabad. The counsel further told the court that his client has cooperated with the anti-graft body and has appeared before it, however, he was arrested while he was cooperating.

“The accused is arrested after completion of inquiry but in this case neither the inquiry was completed nor any questioner handed him over,” Aitzaz said adding that his client was handed over to NAB on

physical remand.

“Could a habeas corpus petition be heard after an accused is handed over to concerned quarter on remand?” Justice Najafi asked Aitzaz.

“We are saying that both issuance of the arrest warrant and granting physical remand are illegal.

Is this the same inquiry in which former prime minister Nawaz Shari was issued notice?” Justice Najafi asked.

“I am not sure but I have heard of it,” Aitzaz responded.

Rehman was taken into custody at the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) Lahore office on Thursday after he had allegedly failed to give satisfactory answers to its 26-point questionnaire about the purchase of a 54-kanal land.

According to NAB, Rahman had illegally acquired 54 plots, each measuring one kanal, at Canal Bank in H-Block of Lahore’s Johar Town in 1986 in connivance with then Punjab chief minister Nawaz Sharif.

University hostels to be converted into isolation wards in Punjab neWS deSK The Punjab government has decided to convert the hostels of universities in the province into quarantine facilities amid the coronavirus outbreak.

The Punjab Higher Education Commission has ordered students to submit their belongings to hostel wardens. The university management has been told to vacate

the rooms as soon as possible.

Ghazi University, University of Dera Ghazi Khan and the University of Punjab are being converted into isolation wards as of now. Private universities across the province have also been ordered to keep staff and teachers away from the campus until April 5.

Pakistan reported 108 cases of the virus Monday evening. Of these, most of the cases were from Sindh.

Sindh govt to provide ration to families of people kept at Sukkur isolation centre KaraCHi STAFF REPORT

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on Monday issued directives for provision of ration to families of the people put in quarantine in Sukkur on their doorstep.

The chief minister said the provincial government will take care of the

families of those kept at the Sukkur isolation centre. He said he is well aware of the fact that the people being quarantined for the COVID-19 had families to feed. He asked them to focus on their health and not worry about their families back home.

It is noteworthy that the Sindh government has established a coronavirus

pandemic emergency care and cure center with isolation wards with 2,000 beds capacity at the newly constructed Labour Colony in Sukkur.

According to a spokesman of the provincial health department, the health desks have also been set up at the Karachi airport for screening of all passengers.

NEWS

It is to mention here that Sindh has reported the highest number of 103 coronavirus cases thus far.

The media coordinator to the Sindh health minister, Meeran Yousuf confirmed the total number of cases in the province has reached 103 after 15 more people returning from Taftan were tested positive for the disease this evening.

03

clude ministers of foreign affairs, interior, information, finance and religious affairs besides all the four chief ministers, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) prime minister, NDMA chairman, Special Assistant to Prime Minister Moeed Yousaf, Sergeant General of Pakistan Army, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) DG, Director General Military Operations (DGMO), Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) DG and federal health Secretary.

An official told Pakistan Today that in order to regulate the flow of information and make unified national narrative and counter fake news, a COVID-19 National Command & Control Centre (CCC) has also been established.

The official said that the COVID-19 Command & Control Centre will be operational 24/7. This Central Crisis Communication Centre will have representatives from the Health Ministry, Digital Pakistan team, representatives of ISPR, Information Ministry, NDMA, and relevant federal officials for coordination. This CCC will be linked to Provincial Command & Centre through video, telephone and internet. The CCC will have daily communication strategy which will be shared with all concerned departments. All media releases and updates will be managed through this CCC.

8 ChIldrEN AbUSEd EvEry dAy IN PAkIStAN IN 2019: rEPort ISLAMABAD: As many as eight children were sexually abused every day in Pakistan in 2019, according to a new report, which shows a 25 per cent decrease from the previous year. In 2019, a total of 2,846 cases of child abuse were reported from all four provinces of Pakistan, as well as Islamabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan, as per Sahil, an Islamabadbased NGO working for child protection. Of the total, 778 were abductions, 405 children went missing, 384 were cases of sodomy, 279 of rape, 210 of attempted rape, 205 of gang sodomy cases and 115 of gang rape, the data showed. In addition, 104 child marriage cases were also reported from across the country. Majority of the victims, 54 per cent, were girls, while 46 per cent were boys. The most vulnerable age group was between six-15 years. Although children as young as 0-5 years were also sexually abused, stated the report.

There were at least 70 cases identified related to pornography. In 2018, a total of 3,832 cases of child abuse were reported by Sahil in Pakistan. INP

04 LAHORE

Tuesday, 17 March, 2020

WEATHER UPDATES TUESDAY

260C

150C

WEDNESDAY

260C

150C

THURSDAY

270C

Mayo Hospital under tHe radar for alleged corruption LAHORE

t

SHAHAB OMER

HE Mayo Hospital purchase committee, in violation of rules by the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA), is all set to procure neurosurgery instruments at 15 per cent higher rates under the ADP scheme, Pakistan Today learnt reliably on Monday.

Well established sources in Mayo Hospital informed this scribe that a tender to procure neurosurgery instruments was advertised on December 2, 2019, under the ‘Upgradation of Neuro Surgery Department’ scheme. The hospital's management aimed to procure 18 different packages related to neurosurgery instruments through that tender. “In 4 packages (12, 13, 16 and 17), various bidding companies were rejected for having minor deviations in instrument

sizes despite the fact that all instrument manufacturers have a slight difference in sizes of instruments i.e. scissor, forceps, needle holders etc.,” sources added.

Interestingly, the committee claimed that rejected bidders did not give it a demonstration whereas the companies had given the demos. Soon afterwards, the procurement committee later a grievance meeting for the bidders without inviting or informing them, a course of action that was planned to oblige a single blue-eyed bidder. Later, the committee uploaded a document containing the minutes of the meeting on their website which was endorsed by the signatures three officials from Mayo Hospital, including Dr Syed Muhammad Zubair, Professor Dr Ameer Afzal, and the hospital's additional medical superintendent (P&D).

It may be noted here that the incorrect document was swiftly cleared by not one but three officials who, quite evi-

dently, stamped and signed it without even giving it a glance.

According to the document, a copy of which is available with Pakistan Today, there are errors in decisions of package 12, 13, 16 and 17 that have been repeated four times. The document shows that the decisions that were given against M/S Coral Medical were copied and pasted for M/S Claris Medical as proven by the fact that Coral Medical's name has been written where Claris' name should have been four times.

Sources said that the botched copy and paste job was endorsed by three responsible officials of the hospital and pointed towards the likelihood that the glaringly flawed document was approved on purpose.

Sources also added that later, the financial offer of a single bidder was being considered for purchase even though had their prices were 15 per cent higher than others. “The committee rejected the companies on supposed technical reasons whereas there was no issue, to begin with," sources said while wondering what fair and unfair competition was.

Sources said that all the top officials, including officials of the purchase committee, are allies who want to oblige a single company to benefit their personal interests and demanded that the health minister, health secretary and provincial health minister take immediate notice of the corruption taking place in Mayo Hospital. Mayo Hospital Medical Superintendent (MS) Tahir Khalil, when contacted by this scribe, said that the procurement of neurosurgery instruments was in process but nothing had been received as yet. “The procurement and negations are in process and we will finalise our decision within a day or two.

The rates can be higher due to the high price of the dollar; however, if the rates are 15 pc higher then we will try to bring it down to 10 pc".

He also maintained that other companies were rejected due to technical evaluations.

When asked about the grievance committee's meeting and the flawed documentation, the MS said that it must be a clerical mistake. “We will definitely recheck the document and correct the mistakes,” he said.

Pakistan has rich tourism potential, says Ukrainian diplomat D&D The Ukrainian Diplomat Vitaliy Zayonchkovsky has said that Pakistan has rich tourism potentials and bilateral tourism can be developed between Ukraine and Pakistan.

Vitaliy Zayonchkovsky, who is a Ukrainian Diplomat working with the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine in a department which is responsible for relations between Ukraine and Pakistan, spent his time in Pakistan while attending a course at the Diplomatic Academy of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan in Islamabad.

Vitaliy Zayonchkovsky with Chief Editor DND News Agency Agha Iqrar Haroon In an interview with Dispatch News Desk (DND) News Agency, Vitaliy Zayonchkovsky said that people to people contact between Ukraine and Pakistan is needed to further enhance excellent relations between the two countries. When he was asked to share his impression for staying in Pakistan, he said: “When I arrived from Kyiv to Islamabad, it was winter. I was surprised to be in the summer (in Islamabad) after winter. The trees turned green and flowers bloomed. Islamabad turned out to be a green city, and I compared it with Kyiv, which is also considered one of the greenest capitals in Europe and the world. Clean air, lack of traffic, spacious streets, many green areas. All this is noteworthy. In a word – Islamabad is a modern city”.

When asked to explain the situation in Crimea which has been illegally annexed by Russia, he stated that since February 2014, Russia has occupied Crimea and since then there have been constant violations of human rights, especially the rights of Crimean Tatars.

He added that at the moment, Russia is working to legitimize this aggression. “To this end, Russia is trying to absorb Crimea in such a way as to convince world opinion of the legality of this aggression and is doing every-

thing so that the world forgets the Crimean question”, he maintained.

When asked how can we (Pakistan and Ukraine) improve already excellent bilateral relations, he said: First of all, we must develop relations between people. This is a wide range of relationships, starting with the education of Pakistani students in Ukraine, Ukrainian students in Pakistan. It could also be a tourism development. Ukraine and Pakistan are travel countries with great potential.

At the moment, Ukraine receives 20 million tourists a year, Pakistan, as far as I know, has received 2 million tourists, which of course is much lower than the country’s potential. And you need to work more in this direction, promoting these tourist opportunities and charms for Ukraine and vice versa.

It can be a mutual exchange of operators who will hold presentations in both countries, it can also be advertising companies. Of course, there is such potential and it needs to be realised.

When asked what are (were) the most interesting places in Ukraine for tourists, he commented: Each region in Ukraine, as well as in Pakistan, has its own special places and its charms. Of course, Kyiv is a historical place with a history of more than two and a half thousand years of history, this is, of course, the Carpathians in the west of the country.

The Carpathian Mountains resemble the Himalayas and in Kashmir. The same green and wooded. In Pakistan it is the Arabian Sea, in Ukraine, it is the Black Sea. In each place, there are many monuments of antiquity and architecture. The city of Odessa, with a unique atmosphere. Each city is a historical centre that deserves attention to watch.

When he was asked to comment about what similarities we can find between Pakistani and Ukrainian societies? he said: “Before travelling to Pakistan, I heard many times about the general features of the Pakistani and Ukrainian peoples”.

160C

PRAyER TiMingS FAJR SUNRISE

ZUHR

ASR MAGHRIB ISHA

4:53

12:12

3:37

6:13

6:11

7:32

Buzdar orders officials to ensure implementation of anti-virus measures LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar on Monday directed the relevant departments to ensure implementation of the guidelines devised by the provincial government to combat coronavirus pandemic.

In a statement, the chief minister assured that the steps taken by the Punjab government to combat the virus are now bearing fruit. We are adopting all the measures for the safety of the people, he added. The chief minister further advised the masses to follow the instructions of the health organizations regarding the prevention of the virus. STAFF REPORT

court extends ssp adeel's remand in shahbaz tatla murder case LAHORE: A district and sessions court on Monday extended the remand of Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Mufakhar Adeel who is the prime suspect in the murder case of his friend Advocate Shahbaz Tatla. During the hearing, when Adeel was inquired about his counsel, he said he has not hired a lawyer as of yet. Police officials sought further remand to properly probe the matter. The court also handed over the co-accused, Asad Bhatti, to the police on five-day physical remand. Earlier on Mar 11, police officials contended that the investigation will be carried out to ascertain how the former AAG was murdered, what the murder weapon was and where the body was hidden.

The defense did not contest the physical remand, (given by the court on Mar 11), adding that it is the right of the police to investigate the matter. Addressing the media, the defense counsel advocate Aftab Bajwa said: “We will cooperate with the police in the process of investigation, but it is very clear that Mufakhar was arrested in doubt”. STAFF REPORT

Tuesday, 17 March, 2020

Social diStancing only prevention for coronaviruS: Sindh cM Murad KARACHI

S

STAFF REPORT

InDH Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has warned that the only way to prevent yourself from getting the coronavirus is social distancing. He summarised the virus situation in the province and said there are no China-origin cases in Sindh so far. We tested 34 people and their tests all came back negative, he said.

On February 26 we reported our first positive coronavirus case in Karachi and I held my first meeting on February 27, said Shah. He said the Sindh government has actively been sharing statistics with the media and monitoring the situation.

He said 393 tests were done in Sindh before the pilgrims from Taftan arrived and 27 people tested positive. Two recovered and have gone home, he said.

He said 25 people are under treatment and some are in isolation at home.

They’re all doing fine, said Shah, adding that no one is in critical condition.

Justifying that some people were isolated at home, he said there is no treatment for the coronavirus. The chief minister said your test being negative doesn’t mean you don’t have the virus.

Someone could have it ans show no symptoms at all and become fine themselves, he said, adding that it depends on your immune system.

But such a person can spread it to others, he said, and this is a virus that transmits fast. Some people can treat themselves at home on the advice of doctors, he said. They just need to isolate themselves, which means not meeting anyone else and eating a proper diet.

According to international protocol, if a patient shows no symptoms for five consecutive days they are tested again and if it’s negative, another test is conducted in 24 hours. If the second test comes negative as well, the patient is considered cured. “Cases will rise. We all know that.”

But not everyone needs to come to the hospital, he said, adding that people who can treat themselves should consult doctors and stay home.Of the 27 patients in Karachi, eight had a travel history to Syria, three to Dubai, three to Iran, five to Saudi Arabia, five were local transmissions, one to Qatar and one was from Balochistan. He labeled the case from Balochistan one that was caused by mishandling.

We have tested 100 people with a travel history and their close contacts.

But the government isn’t mass testing, he

said. Sindh recently acquired 10,000 kits through an MoU with Indus Hospital but the issue is the facilities to test people.

We can only do 200 tests a day, said Shah, who clarified that testing isn’t necessary. Just because your test is negative doesn’t mean you’re okay, he said, adding that a test could be negative today and positive tomorrow. “The most important thing is social distancing, whether you’re sick or not.” We can test to one level, but now more than that, said Shah. Right now, they’re only testing people with travel history and symptoms and their contacts. And this will continue, he said, adding that it’s not possible to test more people.

There are 853 pilgrims in Taftan from Sindh, he said, of which 291 were brought back and quarantined in the Labour Colony flats in Sukkur. Shah said the quarantine facilities in Taftan weren’t quarantine facilities at all as everyone was kept in one big room.

He clarified that Sindh did not bring these pilgrims back. The federal government sent them, he said, adding that even more were sent to Punjab.

There are a lot of rumours going around, but we will tell you about the positive cases in the province immediately, he

Examinations in Sindh to commence from June 1, says Saeed Ghani

KARACHI STAFF REPORT

Secondary examinations of students across Sindh will commence from June 1, Education Minister Saeed Ghani said in a press conference on Monday.

Students studying in grade nine and matriculation will sit for their exams on June 15. Intermediate students, both grade 11 and 12, will have their examinations from July 6.

All papers will be held in the afternoon shift, the minister confirmed.

“Results of all the classes except

grade 12 will start coming out from August 15,” Ghani said. Results of 12th graders, on the other hand, will come out on September 15.

The Sindh government had postponed all examinations and shut down all educational institutions following the novel coronavirus pandemic in the province.

Sindh has reported the highest number of cases so far.

Admissions of students getting promoted to grade 11 will start from July 15. “You will note that we are commencing the admissions before the results,” Ghani said. “These will

be provisional admissions, which will be confirmed after the results come out,” he explained. Addressing the media, the minister said that the government was trying to confirm the examination dates for Cambridge students as well. “I have a meeting with the federal education board and we are trying to close all schools by June 30,” Ghani said.

The pandemic has affected people worldwide and it is expected that the British Council will suspend their examinations too, he said.

Following the closure of schools, parents have protested against paying schools fees. To this, the minister said that monthly fees should be paid but not advance fees.

“We should keep in mind that the fees charged is used for paying employees working at schools and if we stop that it will be unfair to them,” he said.

Ghani emphasied that vacations have been given to students to protect them from the virus. “I want parents to advise children to stay at home instead of going out,” he added.

The national tally of those affected by the virus touched 94 after 50 new cases were reported in Sindh Monday morning. This is the highest number of cases reported in a day.

Twin cities witness decline in traffic, public turnout over COVID-19 fears ISLAMABAD APP

The twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad on Monday witnessed a slight decline in traffic and public turnout in markets, bazaars and major thoroughfares on intercity routes after novel Coronovirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

The major arteries of IJP Road, Murree Road, 9th Avenue, Expressway and others were less inhabited by automobiles plying within the twin cities.

The major Markaz (business hubs) of federal capital had fewer visitors as compared to routine week-start day.

The Commercial Market of Rawalpindi, 6th and 7th Road, Raja Bazaar and many other routes within the garrison city also witnessed less traffic as compared to other days.

Talking to APP, Saman Baig a university student said the educational institutions across the country had been closed due to the impending risk of COVID19 outbreak which had reduced traffic on roads mainly at peak hours.

“My university has also been closed and I have just visited the market to get some grocery where people were buying household items and other goods but inter-

estingly the ratio of masses in the market was apparently less. People were found wearing pollution masks and safety gloves and had also put on masks on their kids’ faces,” she added.

Ms Baig regretted that she had found increased prices of hand sanitizers as an ordinary pocket size of Rs100 was sold for Rs280 which was disappointing.

However, she said ordinary hand washing soaps were also serving the same purpose to keep oneself safe from the virus. “I preferred to buy hand washing soaps that are at the moment more easily available in the market,” she added.

She mentioned that pollution masks were not easily available to public in Rawalpindi where the district administration should take strict measures to provide relief to the masses. When contacted Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) spokesperson Dr Waseem Khawaja, he said the masks were necessary for an infected person and his attendant to wear whereas it was unnecessary for normal people to keep on masks outdoors.

He said if hand sanitizer was not available then people should use ordinary hand washing soaps to keep their hands safe from contamination of the virus.

said. “Hiding cases is to our own detriment.”

The chief minister detailed the quarantine facilities Sindh has prepared and said everyone will be kept for a full 14 days. If you think it’s a five-star facility, it’s not, he said, adding that people are being provided a charpoy, bedding, towels, soap and three meals a day.

It’s not perfect, but we don’t live in a perfect world, he said. “Whatever was humanly possible, it has been done.”

The 291 pilgrims were all tested the first day and now their results are coming back. He announced that 11 more had tested positive for the coronavirus and 12 negative. That brings the total coronavirus count in Sukkur to 61. Shah explained that the PCR machine used to conduct the tests could only manage 45 tests at once and the tests take between six and eight hours to process. The machines are not regularly available and need microbiologists, he said. The Sukkur cases are not that alarming, he said, what’s more alarming are the cases in Karachi that are unaccounted for, he said. He said Allama Shehanshah naqvi, Dr Bari of the Indus Hospital and Information Minister nasir Shah went to Sukkur to speak to the quarantined patients and urge them to stay quarantined and away from each other.

NEWS

05

Kp cM talks to suspected coronavirus patient via-video call PESHAWAR INP

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan on Monday said that the government and people are jointly struggling to prevent spread of coronavirus in the province. Talking to a suspected coronavirus patient in quarantine center Dera Ismail Khan via Video call from Peshawar, he said government is committed to defeat this fatal disease. The patient expressed satisfaction over the arrangements made for them in the quarantine center DI Khan.

The provincial government of KP on Friday had announced to close all the public and private educational institutes across the province for 15 days to combat the spread of COVID-19. It was decided in the meeting to ban all public gatherings across the province. The cabinet also ordered the evacuation of students from hostels. It has also decided to postpone official events across the province. In addition, festivals and prison visits have also been banned.

Tuesday, 17 March, 2020

06 WORLD VIEW

How tHe internet enables radicalisation IN GOING DARK, JULIA EBNER GOES UNDERCOVER ONLINE TO STUDY THE DYNAMICS AND TACTICS OF FAR-RIGHT EXTREMIST NETWORKS

new StateSman

a

MaRK O’CONNeLL

few Saturdays ago I was walking through central Dublin with my wife and our two small children, when we fell into step with a crowd that had just dispersed from a protest around the corner at Leinster House, where the Irish government sits. Beside me, a woman with very large sunglasses and very large hair was saying something to another woman about how “the Somalis” were all being given five-bedroom houses. I looked around and saw a number of people carrying placards with messages about defending free speech, and branded with the logo of a fringe hard-right party whose leader had publicly advocated the “Great Replacement” – a conspiracy theory, popular among white nationalists, claiming that ruling elites are for some reason planning to replace white European populations with immigrants of colour. I turned to my wife, and informed her in a low voice that I feared we might be surrounded by fascists.

Though there was no sense of any real danger, the mere presence of these people was disturbing, as though some squalid, hate-filled corner of the internet had materialised in the real world, its denizens breathing the same air as our children. This dichotomy between “the internet” and “the real world” has, of course, been unsustainable for a while now. But it was still disturbing – distinctly creepy, in this case – to see these particular bits of the online realm so concretely manifested as atoms, not least because the “real world” for these people might not be the streets, where they present themselves as humble advocates of free speech, but the internet, where the true viciousness and paranoia of their inner lives is on full display.

I thought a lot about this false dichotomy, and about my minor and fleeting experience of it, as I read Julia Ebner’s Going Dark. Ebner, an Austrian counter-extremism researcher at London’s Institute for Strategic Dialogue think tank, spends a lot of time in places where the notional border between “the internet” and “the real world” is especially porous. Her job involves studying the dynamics and tactics of various far-right extremist networks; this work, she says, offers “only a

feline view of the cat-and-mouse game between those who try to disrupt and destabilise our democracies and those who protect them”. She writes that, “To comprehend what is causing the havoc around us one needs to be inside, where the engines of the movements can be observed and studied.”

To facilitate this observing and studying, she assumes a range of different false identities, infiltrating both the offline and online spaces of various far-right movements (and one pro-Isis hacking discussion forum). In theory, this affords her a level of access she would likely be denied were she openly to approach them as a journalist, let alone a counter-extremism researcher. Presenting herself as one of these people should allow her to gain the trust of extremists and bring to light information about their social world that would otherwise remain obscure.

But in practice, this approach leads to a shallowness of engagement. A lot of the book’s action, as a matter of strict necessity, consists of Ebner sitting at her computer, reading (and occasionally making) posts on far-right forums or social media platforms. She goes through an online vetting process – basically a Skype chat – to join Reconquista Germanica, an online far-right group she describes as “Europe’s biggest trolling army”. She lurks in a video game chat group in which the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville is being planned. She joins a white supremacist dating site called WASP Love.

This is all written in the style of first-person immersive reportage, but the reported material is often too thin to support the weight of the form. When reading Going Dark, I thought often of Jon Ronson’s 2001 book Them: Adventures with Extremists. Ronson succeeded in illuminating the human strangeness and bizarre beliefs of his subjects precisely by presenting himself as the journalist Jon Ronson (as opposed to Ebner’s approach of using various false identities). This approach allowed him a degree of control over the journalistic encounter, an ability to interview his subjects and have real and revealing exchanges with them. Ebner, on the other hand, undergoes a lot of initiations – via Skype chats, via discussion groups – without ever really leveraging those beginnings into any sort of deeper engagement.

There are moments in which the tension is ratcheted up with the sort of details you might find in an espionage thriller. Meeting a group of far-right Generation Identity members in a pub in Mayfair, one of them suggests walking down the road to visit the offices of the anti-fascist group Hope Not Hate, and Ebner bites her tongue “so hard that I can feel it start bleeding”. Elsewhere, we find her reading posts on a forum, and spilling hot coffee all over her keyboard in shock at a particularly upsetting post. At such moments, you can hear the propulsive orchestral score swelling on the soundtrack of the cat-and-mouse movie. ****** Across the various groups Ebner writes about, the process of radicalisation invariably begins in loneliness and isolation. If there is one thing QAnon conspiracy ob-

sessives – with their bewilderingly complex theories about deep state plots to unseat Donald Trump – have in common with, say, a pro-Isis group chat for “jihadi wives”, it is the desire for connection to some broader and deeper cause. Extremist world-views are persuasive to the extent that they offer isolated individuals a means of turning their confusion and loneliness into a sense of shared identity and purpose.

The Trad Wife scene, which Ebner intersects via a discussion group early in the book, is one of the more bizarre far-right subcultures she encounters. These are young women who believe that their “sexual market value” (SMV) is the most important thing about them: “The heterosexual community, they believe, should be seen as a market place, where women are sellers and men buyers of sex. A woman’s single most important resource is therefore, according to them, her SMV.” Their preferred relationship model, Ebner relates, is something called “Taken in Hand (TiH)”, whereby the male partner is unquestioningly deferred to in all matters of life and sex. She quotes the following tips, offered to men by a self-declared TiH Trad Wife: Don’t delay discipline any longer than is absolutely necessary. If you think she should be spanked for a sarcastic remark, it is infinitely more effective if you take her by the arm, and lead her to the bathroom, the bedroom, the garage, and administer the swats right then.

This is clearly a very extreme interiorising of the logic of patriarchal oppression. But you don’t need to be a Freudian analyst to suspect that we have drifted into the arena of the psychosexual. The whole thing, in other words, can come across as basic sadomasochism masquerading as a commitment to regressive gender norms. But Ebner seems mostly uninterested in examining the roots of this strange subculture, or for that matter the deeper contexts of contemporary fascism more generally.

She relates a moment in her interaction with the Trad Wives where, hands trembling over her keyboard, she feels herself in danger of being persuaded that she should forget her career and concentrate on her looks and cooking skills, and on showing “submission and respect”.

“What if I had been doing everything wrong?” she writes. “I can see how easy it would be to get drawn into this community. These redpillers [people who believe that women rather than men are the privileged group in society] first make you question everything, then radically twist your world views. Don’t let them do that to you. But. What if? I have to get out of here. Now. I log out of Reddit and shut down my computer.”

This moment seems to serve two purposes. The first is to illustrate Ebner’s thesis that “everyone can be exploitable in moments of weakness”, and that “the only effective guard is information”. But it struck me as a weird move to suggest that an actual extremism expert might suddenly find herself on the perilous verge of Trad Wifery just from reading too many Reddit posts, and also that the only thing that prevents her from going over the edge is her expertise in the area. (“What ultimately

helped me to walk away from the Trad Wives was knowing the steps and signs of radicalisation before joining The Redpill Women forum.”) I found myself reluctant to follow the implication that were it not for Ebner’s solid grounding in counter-extremism research, she would stand before us today a Trad Wife.

The second purpose is to inject, once more, a little kinetic energy into a basically static scene of people logging on and logging off, posting and reading posts. And in terms of narrative non-fiction, this impulse points towards a deeper problem. So much of what happens in the world now – including a lot of the most politically and culturally important stuff – takes the form of people sitting at their desks or hunched over their phones. People making posts, and reading posts, and then standing up from their computers and behaving in ways that are informed by all that posting. But it’s hard to write compellingly about people being online all the time – about all these atoms interacting with all these bits, and vice versa – even if what they’re doing online is being actual Nazis, and even if it results in real violence. The cat-andmouse approach is, in the end, a self-limiting one, a chase pursued at the expense of deeper analysis.

Mark O'Connell is the author of To Be a Machine (2017), and Notes from an Apocalypse: A Personal Journey to the End of the World and Back (2020). He writes for the Guardian, Slate and the New York Times.

Going Dark: The Secret Social Lives of Extremists, Julia Ebner, Bloomsbury, 368pp, £16.99

Why the right's new strongmen are winning everywhere ALL AROUND THE WORLD, FROM POLAND AND HUNGARY TO THE US, FROM BRAZIL TO INDIA, THE RIGHT’S ASSAULT ON THE RULE OF LAW, THE RELATED UNDERMINING OF CIVIL SERVANTS, JUDGES AND CIVIL SOCIETY ACTIVISTS, ITS CENSORING OF THE PRESS, ARE ALL PART OF A CAMPAIGN TO EXERT THE EXECUTIVE OVER ALL OTHER BRANCHES OF THE STATE

Guardian Lea Ypi

In Franz Kafka’s short story Before the Law, a man turns up at the gates of the law. He thinks that since the law is for everyone, he has a right to gain entrance, but meets a powerful gatekeeper who tells the man he must fight him in order to get in. The man prefers not to challenge the gatekeeper. He sits patiently outside the law, spending everything he has to win him over, making polite requests to be accepted but always failing to obtain permission.

Kafka’s story is a good metaphor for thinking about the relation between law and politics. The gates to the law are in theory always open. To be inside the law means to be recognised, represented and protected by the authorities that support and enforce it. Inclusion in the law, however, also requires fighting its gatekeepers, and doing so in the awareness that there are no guarantees of success. Law, in other words, depends on politics.

Historically, the progressive left’s position before the law has taken many forms in-

cluding fighting its guardians, persuading them to compromise and identifying with them. But regardless of the differences of strategy, there was a shared awareness among both socialist and social-democratic movements and parties that gaining access to rights required an active struggle to challenge the status quo with a positive vision for social change. Democracy was not allegiance to a body of settled norms; it was the name of a process. With the help of that process, previously excluded groups of people - workers, women, people of colour - became subjects with rights. There was little inherently desirable or despicable about the rule of law, it was all down to whom the laws represented, and how.

The struggle is not over, but progressives are in retreat. In the ongoing crisis of liberal democracy, only the new right seems to understand the relation between law and politics, often interpreting it in sinister ways. The right, ever more coherent in its ideology and disciplined in its organisation, is increasingly willing to challenge the guardians of the law through a relentless assault on the institutions on which the law relies to be enforced: the courts, the civil service, the press, multilateral institutions. Witness the recent resignation of Sir Philip Rutnam, citing the involvement of the home secretary, Priti Patel, in a “vicious and orchestrated briefing campaign” against him and his colleagues.

Or the revelations of Dominic Cummings’s former plans for restructuring the BBC to

turn it into the British equivalent of Fox News. Or the tirade of the recently appointed attorney general Suella Braverman against the Human Rights Act, and her remarks about taking power back from the courts.

This is not only happening in Britain.

If anything, the advance of the rightwing executive in Britain is still in its baby steps.

All around the world, from Poland and Hungary to the US, from Brazil to India, the right’s assault on the rule of law, the related undermining of civil servants, judges and civil society activists, its censoring of the press, are all part of a campaign to exert the executive over all other branches of the state. Its ultimate aim is to turn the law into an instrument of rightwing politics, to disempower those who would still see it as a vehicle of social emancipation. What seemed a few years ago like isolated cases of attacks on minority rights, as with Viktor Orbán’s campaign to restrict NGOs’ ability to assist with asylum claims or the ongoing segregation of Roma people, are now going mainstream. Think about the dramatic rise in the assassinations of social activists – particularly black and indigenous people – in the months following the election of Jair Bolsonaro as Brazil’s president. Or the brutal violence to which members of Muslim communities have been subjected in India, following Narendra Modi’s divisive amendments of citizenship laws.

The right’s offensive on the rule of law is not surprising. Attacking the constitution,

mocking abstract human rights, discrediting universal citizenship as little more than a dangerous illusion, are familiar tropes of traditional conservative thinking: from Edmund Burke’s critique of the French revolution, to Joseph De Maistre’s hostility to constitutionalism, to Carl Schmitt’s celebration of the power of the executive to suspend legal norms. The conservative answer to the contradictions of modern societies has always been to invoke a mythical past of cultural homogeneity, and unflinching respect for the authority of tradition.

In contrast, the left is failing. It is failing because the mainstream left has either forgotten or failed to communicate the lessons the new right has learned from it: it has abandoned the critique of capitalism, the language of class, the need for political education. It has also abandoned all efforts at international coordination with regard to strategy, means and goals. It has turned liberal parliamentary democracy into an end in itself, while losing all nuance of what the state is for, and why we need the law.

This is not surprising. The left is plural and divided, not just on whom to fight, but also over what, and how. On the face of these divisions, it is natural to find common ground in the protection from assault of existing laws and institutions. It is even more understandable when one has helped to shape these institutions, attempting to make them more inclusive over the decades. It is easier to celebrate individual paladins of the

law, such as Lady Hale or Gina Miller, than to create the collective political force required to challenge the liberal consensus.

The right has managed to both reappropriate its tradition and renew itself by displacing its own crumbling centre. Reluctant to do the same, the left is losing. It is losing because it has divorced politics from law.

Righteous outrage is no substitute for political action. If people think all politicians are corrupt, they are not going to miss them on the Today programme. If laws are widely seen as a tool in the hands of self-serving elites, nobody is going to feel sorry when judges are called traitors, or sympathise with bullied civil servants. The assault on legality will continue to have legitimacy.

To win, we must not passively defend the rule of law, but actively change how we do politics. The challenge lies in connecting the law – an abstract, seemingly eternal body of rules – to the realm of politics, to show which rules are worth changing and which are worth fighting for.

By the end of Kafka’s story, the man who seeks entrance to the law has become a friend of the gatekeeper. As his death nears, he wonders what would have happened if he had tried to fight. When he is drawing his last breath, the guardian leaves, and the gates of the law are permanently shut. Will the left escape his fate? There is hope, but only just.

Lea Ypi is a professor in political theory at the London School of Economics.

Tuesday, 17 March, 2020

US wIll take aCtIon In Self-defenCe If attaCked, PomPeo tellS IRaq WASHINGTON

U

FOREIGN NEWS 07

tacks and threats to American lives and will take additional action as necessary in self-defense,” it said.

Iraq’s Joint Operations Command said 33 Katyusha rockets were launched near a section of the Taji base which houses USled coalition troops.

It said the military found seven rocket launchers and 24 unused rockets in the nearby Abu Izam area.

The Iraqi military said several Iraqi air defense servicemen were critically wounded. Two of the three wounded US troops are seriously injured and are being treated at a military hospital in Baghdad, the Pentagon said.

Longstanding antagonism between the United States and Iran has mostly played out on Iraqi soil in recent months.

Iranian-backed paramilitary groups have regularly rocketed and shelled bases in Iraq which host US forces and the area around the US Embassy in Baghdad.

The United States has in turn conducted several strikes inside Iraq, killing top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and Kataib Hezbollah founder Abu Mahdi alMuhandis in January.

AGENCIES

S Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned Iraq’s prime minister that the United States would take measures in self-defense if attacked, according to a statement on Monday after a rocket attack on an Iraqi base that houses US troops helping fight Islamic State.

Pompeo spoke to Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi on Sunday, a day after three American troops and several Iraqi forces were wounded in the second major rocket attack in the past week on an Iraqi base north of Baghdad, US and Iraqi officials said, raising the stakes in an escalating cycle of attacks and reprisals.

He said Iraq’s government should defend the US-led coalition helping it fight Islamic State, according to the statement from State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus.

“Secretary Pompeo underscored that the groups responsible for these attacks must be held accountable. Secretary Pompeo noted that America will not tolerate at-

Israel's ex-army chief Gantz gets shot at forming government TEL AVIV AGENCIES

Blinded Chilean student says protests won't end until president steps down SANTIAGO AGENCIES

A Chilean student who became a lightning rod for broad social unrest after police shot him in the face during a demonstration has said President Sebastian Pinera will never regain the trust of citizens and should step down. Gustavo Gatica, 22, a psychology student at a Santiago university, said Pinera, a conservative billionaire two years into a second term in office, squandered an early window to engage with demonstrators’ complaints of social inequality and elitism when unrest began in October. Instead, Gatica told Reuters in his first interview since he lost his sight in November, Pinera had said Chile was “at war” with those perpetrating violence and failed to rein in rights abuses by police. “This unrest could have broken out at any moment because politicians had no idea what people were feeling, they lived in a bubble,” he said. “The difference is that Pinera declared war, brought soldiers out, there were deaths, shootings. That’s why people remain in the streets, why there is so much violence, because he remains in office. “His resignation would dial down the tensin.” The protests resulted in at least 31 people killed, 3,000 injured, and 30,000 detained. Prosecutors are probing allegations of abuse made by over 5,000 people against the security forces. Chile’s human rights watchdog says 445 people suffered eye injuries, primarily due to police tear gas canisters and rubber bullets. Gatica became one of two people blinded in both eyes after he was shot with rubber bullets on Nov. 8. The end of the southern hemisphere summer vacation and the second anniversary of Pinera’s return to office last week has seen protests surge again. In response to the protests, Pinera has announced measures to improve pensions, lift the minimum wage, cut hospital waiting lists, and address white collar crime and the price of medicines, as well as agreeing to demands for a referendum on a new constitution. In a local television interview on Thursday, he renewed his backing for Chile’s police, saying there had been some “excessive use of force” but they had found themselves “overwhelmed” by “unprecedented and organized” violence. Elected in 2017 with 54% of the second round vote against a leftist candidate, center-right Pinera insisted he would see out his last two years in office, saying: “I was voluntarily chosen by a large majority of Chileans.”

Israel’s ex-military chief Benny Gantz was due to be nominated Monday to try to form a government but talks continued with his bitter rival, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on an emergency alliance to combat coronavirus.

Gantz, who heads the centrist Blue and White party, won recommendations on Sunday from a thin majority of lawmakers to form a coalition government after almost a year of political paralysis in Israel.

But his path there is difficult given the deep divisions within the factions that backed him, which include the mainly Arab Joint List and the nationalist Yisrael Beiteinu.

Netanyahu — Israel’s longest-serving premier and the first ever to be indicted in office, on graft charges — has insisted that voters on March 2 elections gave him a mandate to continue as prime minister.

The vote, Israel’s third inconclusive election in less than a year, saw Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud secure the most seats.

But, along with its religious party allies, Likud fell three seats short of a majority of 61 seats in the 120-member Knesset, or parliament.

President Reuven Rivlin was due to meet Gantz, 60, later on Monday to officially grant him a maximum of 42 days to try to form a government, a task which

proved impossible for any candidate following the two elections last year.

Gantz has an “hollow mandate,” political columnist Sima Kadmon wrote in the Yediot Aharonot newspaper, referring to the potentially crippling divisions within the anti-Netanyahu camp.

But Rivlin made clear he wants a government in place “as soon as possible,” in part to help Israel beat back the COVID-19 pandemic.

He summoned the two rivals on Sunday for an “urgent conversation”, which ended without agreement, but Likud and Blue and White said the talks would continue.

After the meeting, Rivlin emphasised the need to “intensify direct contacts… between the Likud and Kachol Lavan negotiating teams, and welcomed both sides’ willingness to do so”.

But prospects for the two men com-

ing to terms may be remote, especially as mutual acrimony has ramped up in recent days.

A new Knesset will also be sworn in later Monday in a stripped-down ceremony due to COVID-19.

CORONAVIRUS COALITION? Writing in the left-wing Haaretz newspaper, Raviv Drucker said the pandemic “could be our political establishment’s miracle,” forcing a compromise that has proved elusive over the past year of political deadlock.

Israel has 250 confirmed cases of coronavirus with no fatalities but tens of thousands in home-quarantine.

Authorities have banned gatherings of more than 10 people and ordered schools, universities, restaurants and cafes to close, among other measures.

Netanyahu, 70, on Sunday proposed a six-month unity government that he would lead to manage the response to the pandemic.

He also offered a four-year arrangement that would see the two leaders equally split the job of prime minister.

“Gantz doesn’t believe a single word Netanyahu says,” columnist Nahum Barnea wrote in Yediot Aharonot, arguing against the prospects of an alliance.

But, Barnea added, coronavirus could prove “key to a deal”.

Gantz has also previously refused to serve in any government led by someone facing criminal charges, but that was before the coronavirus crisis.

Russia says militants in Syria's Idlib region not complying with ceasefire MOSCOW AGENCIES

Russia’s foreign ministry said on Monday that militants in Syria’s Idlib region are not complying with a ceasefire brokered by Russia and Turkey, the Interfax news agency reported.

The foreign ministry said the militants were taking counter-offensive action in the region.

Japanese man sentenced to death for murder of 19 at care home TOKYO AGENCIES

A Japanese man was sentenced to death on Monday for the stabbing murder of 19 disabled people at a care home, in one of the country’s worst mass killings. Satoshi Uematsu never disputed his involvement in the grisly rampage but his lawyers entered a plea of not guilty, arguing the 30-year-old was suffering a “mental disorder” linked to his use of marijuana. The court ruled that the former employee of the facility deserved no leniency over the 2016 attack, which shocked the country. “The lives of 19 people were taken away.

This is profoundly grave,” chief judge Kiyoshi Aonuma told the court. Uematsu planned the murders and had “an extreme intention to kill”, he added. Prosecutors had sought the death penalty — which in Japan is carried out by hanging — and argued that the defendant was capable of taking responsibility for the violence at the Tsukui Yamayuri-en centre, just outside Tokyo. Uematsu was impassive as the verdict was announced, looking straight ahead at the judge as he was sentenced. He wore a black suit with his hair in a long ponytail down to his waist, and was flanked by six uniformed court officers wearing surgical masks.

Uematsu, who faced six charges including murder, reportedly said before the trial that he would not appeal any verdict, though he argued he did not deserve the death penalty.

He has reportedly said he wanted to eradicate all disabled people in the horrifying attack that also left 26 people wounded.

I HATE YOU SO MUCH: He turned himself to the police after the assault, carrying bloodied knives. It later emerged he had left his job at the home just months earlier and been forcibly hospitalised after telling colleagues he intended to kill people at the centre.

Spanish king distances himself from scandal-hit father BARCELONA AGENCIES

King Felipe VI of Spain moved Sunday to distance himself from his scandal-hit father, stripping him of his palace allowance and renouncing what he was due to inherit from him. The announcement came after reports earlier this month in the Swiss daily Tribune de Geneve that former monarch Juan Carlos had received 100 million dollars (90 million euros) from Saudi Arabia via an offshore account.

The money was lodged in a Swiss bank account in the name of a Panamanian foundation, the paper reported, according to which $65 million of that sum was given

by Juan Carlos to his former mistress, Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein.

A later report in Britain’s Daily Telegraph said that 52-year-old King Felipe was also a beneficiary of the fund, which it said had been set up when Juan Carlos was still on the throne.

In the palace statement released Sunday, the reigning king said that in April he had

made it clear to a notary that he would accept no money from the foundation in question.

He also said he had absolutely no knowledge of having been named as a beneficiary to another foundation, which according to press reports paid millions of euros towards his father’s flights in private jets.

The statement said King Felipe was renouncing any assets, shares or investments that might be either illegal or compromise the royal family’s integrity.

Spanish media reports say Juan Carlos has until now received an annual allowance from the state of more than 194,000 euros ($216,000).

GROWING PRESSURE FROM THE LEFT: The reaction from leftwing parties Sunday evening suggested that for them, at least, it was not enough.

On Twitter, economist Carlos Sanchez Mato of the United Left party, called on the king to renounce everything he stood to inherit from his father — including his role as head of state.

On Tuesday, the Spanish parliament decided against launching an investigation

into suspected money laundering by the former king. Spain’s hard-left Podemos party had called for it after reports earlier this month that in 2008 Juan Carlos received $100 million from Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah via the Swiss account of an entity listed in Panama. Podemos, which is part of

the ruling coalition with Pedro Sanchez’s Socialist Party, is avowedly republican.

Juan Carlos, now 82, came to the throne after the death of the military dictator Francisco Franco in 1975 and is widely respected for having favoured a transition to democracy.

Tuesday, 17 March, 2020

08 COMMENT

What would we do without latest studies?

The rise and rise of coronavirus cases CM Buzdar thrown in at the deep end

T

Here is a steady and rapid increase in coronavirus cases in Pakistan. on Sunday evening there were total 52 cases but by Monday morning the number had increased to 94 and by afternoon to 137. Three days back Pakistan had less than half of India’s coronavirus cases. Now it has 23 cases more than its neighbour’s. The tally has suddenly increased due to the discovery of 51 new cases in Sindh and 15 in KP who were a part of thousands of pilgrims, students and traders coming from Iran. Had a proper medical checking system been put in place at Taftan by the federal government, the cases would have been identified there and sent to hospitals of the provinces of their origin.

Had the Sindh government not detained those arriving from Taftan at its Sukkur identification facility for further checkup, they would have proceeded straight to their homes spreading the virus all over the province. The media reports over the last two weeks have described the pathetic condition at the Taftan camp where three internees would reportedly sleep on a single mattress and everyone bathed inside the toilets for lack of separate arrangements. SAPM for health Zafar Mirza visited the place weeks back for a photo op but failed to take notice of subsequent reports in the media. Barrister Murtaza Wahab, Assistant to Sindh CM, tried on Saturday to draw the attention of the PM towards a need for strict screening measures at Taftan border as well as at the country’s three international airports.

Punjab being the most populous province of the country, many more coronavirus affectees are likely to have entered it than Sindh. Some of the Punjab pilgrims had actually narrated to media the tribulations they were undergoing in Iran. The Punjab government however displayed little keenness to discover how many of those coming from Taftan might have reached the province by bus or train undetected. There have also been reports about laxity in the checking of incoming passengers at Lahore airport. While one breathes a sigh of relief that there is only one coronavirus patient presently in the province, one shudders at the idea of any big spurt of cases in Punjab caused by unscreened virus carriers.

Thank God for science

haSaN aFTaB SaEED

O

Ne of the negatives of living in the age of science is that it is very easy not to appreciate our immense debt to scientists and the studies they keep publishing for the benefit of the society at large. What with our cellphones, microwaves, computers, smart watches and the like, we are seldom oblivious to our dependence on technology – and corporations love us for this trait.

But it is very easy to lose sight of the importance of science in answering fundamental questions, without which life would become all but paralyzed. Thankfully, there’s a group of researchers around the world who have taken it upon themselves to issue periodic reminders of the utility of science in our lives. This article is dedicated to those heroic men and women, who are selflessly and tirelessly toiling for mankind.

Homo sapiens have been around for millennia but till very recently they were not sure if life was real or only a computer simulation. So, while we were all going through the motions of living our lives, we were not giving it the kind of serious consideration and thought something real (as opposed to make believe) would warrant. Finally, in 2017, a team of theoretical physicists at oxford published the result of their meticulous research on the subject in the journal Science Advances. Their conclusion: Life is not a

Dash to Beijing Amid a global crisis

P

reSIDeNT Arif Alvi is in Beijing for two days on an invitation from his counterpart Xi Jinping, accompanied by the Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and former finance minister Asad Umar who is now the minister for development and special initiatives, a portfolio directly overseeing the China-Pakistan economic Corridor (CPeC). The Coronavirus pandemic has obliterated economies around the world with stock markets plunging to record lows due to persistent uncertainty amid border closures and transport restrictions that have crippled bilateral trade by disrupting logistics, all of which has led to a global recession. While Pakistan has only started grappling with the spread of the virus, China, which is where the virus has originated from, has suffered a great deal of loss, both in terms of lives and economic activity. This is perhaps why it was necessary, even with the omnipresent risk of getting infected with the virus that the President and two senior federal cabinet ministers are making the visit to get a feel for what the Chinese are thinking about the future of Belt and road Initiative (BrI) at the center of which is CPeC. The PTI government has been the beneficiary of Chinese largesse that has come in the shape of investment in mega infrastructure projects and support to foreign exchange reserves in the form of billions of dollars in loans. Although SBP (State Bank of Pakistan) reza Baqir has claimed that Pakistan’s economy is prepared for any sort of economic shock at the hands of the Coronavirus, his words offer little confidence or solace seeing how even the most robust economies of the world are faltering day by day. even if there is an inkling from the Chinese about some sort of disruption in CPeC inflows, some sort of plan should be in place to deal with the fallout of such a decision.

This visit is politically significant as well given how China has outrightly supported Pakistan’s narrative on the situation prevalent in Indian occupied Kashmir. Apart from this, there is a need to have good coordination between the two countries until the ongoing pandemic settles down, which could take months, according to most experts. The visit is therefore timely and important and hopefully it is able to garner the desired results for both countries.

On love and betrayal Eternally suspended between doubt and fear, how we betray our love

Shah Nawaz Mohal

T

o be or not to be, asked Hamlet. An absolutely apt question, it was. However, it was also his failure to choose between either that landed him and those around him in perdition. It was his indecision and indecision alone that ruined people he loved; the folks he loathed and ideals the cared for. The doom that was result of his choosing no course of action proved evil that was all-pervasive and left no one to mourn for the departed few.

Hamlet is everyman, goes the adage. You need not to be a prince or a leper to feel the dilemmas of indecision. In our lives, chance and fate throws down the gauntlet, every now and then, that brings us to a crossroads where we are condemned to choose one and let go of the other.

What we choose, remains. What we don’t, lurks around.

Humans have been living and dying in the midst of other humans. We are born of them, raised, fed and clothed by them, befriend them, fight and kill them, enslave and emancipate them, love their souls and break their hearts, make them ours before abandoning

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami Editor Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

Umar Aziz

Asher John

Joint Editor

Executive Editor

Deputy Editor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

Another long-standing puzzle was also recently computer simulation after all. Get your acts together, solved, thanks to Carnegie Mellon University psyguys. The damn thing is real!

The other day, I was reading a scientific article chologists. They studied many couples, and after exwhich had listed ways in which males and females tensive testing concluded that people with supportive were different. It had concluded that the sex differ- spouses were more likely to experience personal ences in personality and behaviour were very real. In growth and happiness. Being in the dark for so long, other words, males were males and females were fe- so many mortals were making mistakes in this regard. males no matter what each sex thought of itself. Don’t But now that you know, all you need to do is get be misled by the simplicity of the statement. At first yourself a supportive spouse, and you are fixed for glance it may appear to be the old law of identity, but life. Science has again come to the rescue when it was needed most. it would be foolish to dismiss There have been other, it as merely that. For the law no less ground-breaking, of identity is an axiomatic studies that have solved law of thought. our scientists The wars over buying of many of the mysteries of – bless them – have carried life for Homo sapiens. All out extensive research and toilet rolls during every crisis of them would take some have come up with their conchronicling, but here are clusions based on empirical may soon become things of a three of them in no particuevidence and a great deal of bygone era. According to other lar order: We owe it to the experimentation and what painstaking research of the not. What would we do withsimilar studies, a combination Johns Hopkins school of out science? At the same Public Health to know that time, for some there’s also a of water and paper (in the keeping guns out of the cause for care and caution: same sequence) yields better hands of troubled individuSo, the next time you get als prevents gun violence. caught in the wrong restresults than either the paper We must doff our hats to acroom, the ‘I identify as a ademics who shocked the woman’ excuse won’t work or water in isolation. Like world by publishing in the if the officer is up to speed quantum mechanics, the Journal of Aging Studies on his science. that fashion magazines gloLast year, Dr. evan rified youth. We bow our Goldstein shocked the world conclusions of science are often heads in reverence to the reby claiming that he had extremely counter-intuitive. searchers who published in found conclusive evidence to the Proceedings of the Naclaim that it is cleaner and Thank God for science. Where tional Academy of Sciences safer to wash up after your would we be without it? that smoking a lot of pot business in the toilet as commade one’s mind fuzzy. pared to using tissue paper.

But paying tribute to Well, who would have our heroic scientists is not thought! This could have farreaching effects on the lifestyles of billions across the enough. For some years ago a study in Clinical Psyworld. The wars over buying of toilet rolls during chological Science has conclusively demonstrated every crisis may soon become things of a bygone era. that exercise is good for you. So, get off that couch According to other similar studies, a combination of of yours, and do some exercise. After this publicawater and paper (in the same sequence) yields better tion, you don’t have an excuse anymore. results than either the paper or water in isolation. Like Hasan Aftab Saeed is a connoisseur of music, quantum mechanics, the conclusions of science are often extremely counter-intuitive. Thank God for sci- literature, and food (but not drinks). He can be reached at www.facebook.com/hasanaftabsaeed ence. Where would we be without it?

I

Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

I

them to the wolves. We create ripples of happiness in none of them would matter if our mind is a dungeon. a sea of sorrow. out of guilt or as a coping mecha- Because in the end, it’s our head we live in, whereas nism, we go to each and every extent to distract our- rest of the things are just accessories to/for our life.

So if our mind, this place between our two ears, selves from our ever-present past. At times we is a dungeon, what makes it a dungeon? Are we succeed at it, most of the times, we don’t.

This all, dear reader, happens when your conscience born with one, with a preset operating system that is alive and kicking. If it is dead, then congratulations, makes it a dungeon? or does it mature over time? you are beyond the vagaries of guilt and regret. or as a According to my own understanding, all of the coding of the functioning or friend of mine put it, conevolving of this dungeon is science is either your best done in the very initial friend or worst enemy. Well, it stages of life, starting right is both. one moment it makes Humans have been living and after we are born. The us human, the very next it starting period is crucial. punishes us for being human. dying in the midst of other And works at a very high Can we forget? Not a place and slows down and chance. We don’t forget peohumans. We are born of them, tapers over time. ple we’ve hurt or betrayed or raised, fed and clothed by them, Since this article is enleft, as they say, unceremotirely based on honesty, and niously. our memories are befriend them, fight and kill ideas, perceptions and rethe worst taskmasters, we’ll flections, it is of little acaever know. We may bury a them, enslave and emancipate demic value and may sound thing, a memory, a person’s them, love their souls and break and feel like a rant. voice, a lady’s touch for a And a rant it is. A rant day or a decade, but it retheir hearts, make them ours from a dungeon, even if mains. And when you think you have forgotten the before abandoning them to the some people deny that it is not the case, the fact doesn’t touch, the smell, the feel, the wolves. We create ripples of change. What changes is sense; they are back. how dark it is in there.

I say, discard everything happiness in a sea of sorrow Some people have it better. and anything said above, exSome have a high functioncept conscience but coning bulb of ignorance (who science. Perhaps, if there is in my opinion, are the most ever a heaven or hell, it has to be conscience; the rewarding heaven for our mag- blessed ones). Some have a small window to it. nanimous petty good deeds and a hell for our gravely Some may have a small tunnel to crawl through to huge sins. All of it, all the good, and all the bad, right get some light. our memories gnaw at us, forgiveness is the only between our ears and behind our two eyes is heaven solace and oblivion awaits us. and hell, in a word, our conscience.

The march continues for the alive, for the dead, We think we are progressing, yes, but only with age. Besides that, this life we live is a vicious circle destination has long arrived. Two cheers for life and of guilt. And nothing, nothing ever changes in this life. all it makes us go through. or shall I say barely changes in life. our life is less Shah Nawaz Mohal is a law graduate and about our riches, our power, our acquaintances and more about our mind. We could be living in a castle, journalist based in Islamabad. He can be reached at enjoying all the luxuries life can throw one’s way, but mshahnawazmohal@gmail.com.

Islamabad – Ph: 051-2204545

I

Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

I

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Tuesday, 17 March, 2020

COMMENT 09 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

The era of isolation

Israel is engaged in systematic self-destruction No government even after three elections

Dr aloN BEN MEir

I

T is said where are two Jews, there are three opinions. And in the state of Israel, there is yet another version: where there are five Jews, there are nine political parties. There are certainly advantages to having different views on every topic, especially when the issues under discussion are seriously consequential and relate to the future national security and wellbeing of the state. However, when those different views are not guided by a unity of purpose, but rather personal interest, which is placed above that of the nation’s, the result could be extraordinarily dire to the future of the state. Moreover, when corruption at the top seeps through the lower strata of the political parties, it is like an infectious disease forcing everyone to zealously guard his/her turf and leave the affairs of the state for another day, if that day ever comes.

This is the plight of the political parties in Israel, which are putting the future of the state at risk—not because they cannot form a government that must address the urgent issues that face the nation, but largely because the leaders of the parties and their surrogates insist on being appointed to posts or positions to satisfy their hunger for power.

Chief among those who are corrupt to the bone is Prime Minister Netanyahu, who bribes, cheats, misleads, lies, fakes, and deceives, and would crawl to the bottom of any sewage pit only to stay in power. The fact that he has been indicted in three cases on charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust and will soon face trial after several years of exhaustive investigation, is only befitting a man who has no scruples and is willing to drag the country into the same pit. one, however, cannot blame Netanyahu alone. It is the Likud party that has enabled him over the years to chip away brick-by-brick at Israel’s democracy, undermine the judiciary, discriminate against Israeli Arabs as well as Jews of color, alienate the American Jewish community, and torpedo any prospect of a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. To be sure, the Likud party has long since lost its con-

science as it continues to support its leader, any of the parties can say where Israel will be in whose manipulative skills are surpassed only by 10 or 15 years if there is no solution to the conhis deviousness and ever-insatiable thirst to stay flict with the Palestinians.

The two leading parties, Likud and Kahol as prime minister to his dying day – to hell with Lavan, talk with various degree of emphasis Israel’s future.

And what about the other political parties? about annexation of the settlements along the Why is it that after three elections, there is still Jordan Valley, about maintaining indefinite Isno consensus to form a government? Had the raeli security throughout the West Bank, about business of the state assumed priority and con- means and ways to stifle Palestinian communisensus emerged in developing a cohesive strat- ties while applying different laws governing the egy on how to deal with the difficult issues the Palestinians in the West Bank versus the Jews country must grapple with and set aside personal who populate the settlements. However, one ambition, a government could have been formed thing is certain: Israel is becoming an apartheid state and Trump’s “deal of the century” only refollowing the first election.

But that was not the case. Not a single party inforces this ugly, self-destructive development.

The sad thing is that no matter how much has advanced specific policies to address the rampant poverty that affects nearly two million Is- wishful thinking and how harshly any governraelis (representing 23 percent of the Israeli ment treats the Palestinians, the Palestinians population), half of whom are children, in a coun- will not disappear. They are there to stay and try that has, in relative terms, one of the strongest will never give up or give in on their right for statehood, regardless of the massive and uneconomies in the world.

Not a single party has a comprehensive plan conditional American support Israel may enjoy for now. as to how to fix the The Israeli politibroken healthcare syscal parties must sooner tem in a country that than later wake up to has some of the most the bitter reality. readvanced scientific Not a single party has a gardless of Israel’s and technological recomprehensive plan as to how to overwhelming military search in medicine including worldwide. fix the broken healthcare system superiority, its nuclear arsenals, IsNot a single party rael’s real strength lies is paying any attention in a country that has some of the in the cohesiveness to the continuing disand unity of purpose crimination against most advanced scientific and among its people. Any some Sephardic Jewtechnological research in future Israeli governish communities and ment must first and especially against Ismedicine worldwide foremost focus on raeli Arabs, who constrengthening the Isstitute 20 percent of raeli social fabric by the population. They addressing the socioare accused of being disloyal and their representatives are shunned economic malaise while further enhancing the away from participating in the political affairs judiciary and guarding the democratic principles of the state; but then they are expected to support of the state that includes the Israeli Arabs.

Simultaneously, the next government must the government’s treatment of the Palestinians in the territories as the perpetual enemy to justify articulate a peace plan to end the conflict with the Palestinians based on a two-state solution. their draconian policies.

Not a single party is addressing the growing By using its military and economic prowess, Isemigration of disillusioned Israelis who are fed rael can sustain any peace accord as long as it up with government’s paralysis and corruption is fair and allows the Palestinians to live in and have lost faith in the country’s future. The peace and dignity.

No one can impose any moratorium on the number of those leaving Israel is greater than the number of immigrants into the country that was Israeli freedom to discuss any number of views on any issue. This is one of the central hallmarks supposed to be the promised land for the Jews.

Not a single party is trying to remedy the of a true democracy. In the end though, Israel destructively escalating social and political po- has gone astray for too long under a misguided larization between the secular and the ortho- Prime Minister. Now the country is marching todox, between Arab and Jews, between the ward self-destruction unless a new awakening haves and have-nots in a country that faces sweeps the nation and the people remember the mortal enemies in a region awash with insta- reasons behind the establishment of the state in bility, violence, wars, and deadly rivalries for the first place. regional hegemony.

Dr Alon Ben-Meir is a professor of And above all, not a single party has come up with a realistic plan to end the seven decades international relations at the Centre for Global old Israeli-Palestinian conflict that has and con- Affairs at NYU. He teaches courses on tinues to consume the Israelis from within, hav- international negotiation and Middle Eastern ing still no end in sight. Not a single leader of studies. alon@alonben-meir.com

HUMANS are complicated creatures each person has their own way of dealing with trauma or Problems. Some go into isolation and some just burry it all inside like the trauma never happened. Isolation is seen as the state of having minimal contact with others. everyone in their life goes through this phase or you can say that somehow they are stuck in this.

Some people become a part of isolation, they may be physically able to go out and meet people but are inhibited from doing so by factors such as depression, social anxiety, losing a loved one, or grief and that leads to a person feeling vulnerable, needing some comfort.

We humans make a lonely crowd, and it’s killing us.

I would like to focus on isolation and how in isolation people can ease their process of healing instead of suppressing their emotions or turning towards negativity in isolation. In isolation, you can become a target for both positive and negative thoughts, it depends on your will.

The majority of peoples in our society are somehow in isolation and not on the good side of isolation they are on the negative side. That’s why we are divided today, instead of being united. If we want to take a step forward and think about how we can make this world united or less isolated than we can focus on how to control the negative thoughts that come in isolation, mostly they overcome by reading books especially selfhelp books. Because every book carries a message with itself, a motivational purpose and a value to give.

I myself have been the target of isolation. And I know it is hard to recover from a huge trauma that has changed your life that is why they say: “Time heals every wound.” I read a lot of self-help books. I have learned and still learning a lot from them and not just books by being my own advisor and having faith in me instead of depending on people. I learned that isolation is not just a process it’s a phase and a necessary phase. And everyone goes through this phase the question is: Do you want to divert towards the negative or Do you want to divert towards the positive. The choice is yours. Talk to people interact and share your thoughts and feelings with your family and friends as isolation is not for everyone as I mentioned before some people suppress their emotions instead of suppressing them talk about them. Work your way through and heal. If we stay like this forever with the amount of depression and anxiety in our youth, we will always remain stuck under this title: “we are a sad generation with happy pictures”.

IqrA FAISAL Lahore

Some year SINCe the day we greeted each other ‘happy 2020’, we’ve been seeing and hearing all about chaos. World war III on the verge of breaking out, kashmir issue, and political stress around the world to state a few.

All this happening in 2020. The most familiar phenomenon around the world is ‘CoronaVirus’ which risks everyone’s lives. Italy is completely locked down, and other countries shut their institution and other general places to save their lives. This unhabitual things or diseases makes world agitated. However, this is just a March of a year and we people go through from many tragedies. Still many more to come as according to predictions of 2020, hope that after this all trial there should be some wondrous things happen to the world. Now we are just sitting in our homes and praying well for the world. Still thinking that this 2020 has a good start for us? or this year will gave us more adventurous things.

YUSMA TANvEEr Karachi

EOBI Pensioners GooD news for the eoBI pensioners prime minister khan fulfils his promise. eoBI pensions have been increased by 62 % from PKr 5250/- to PKr8500/-, to be taken to PKr 15,000 during the government’s tenure.

Due to revival of 4 BIG commercial projects that were previously frozen for years and record collections, eoBI pensions have been increased from 1st January 2020 as announced by SAPM zulfikar bukhari during a ceremony in Islamabad. This is a good initiative by the government for the poor people whose pension is very less. Now they can have some kind of relief.

SABEEN rASHID Islamabad

Being alone I have been a big admirer of reporters and the media houses almost right from my college years like 1997. In that particular year, I had started peeping into various english news reports even as I was studying my undergraduate degree [first degree] in Physics at college in Tiruchendur in Tamil Nadu.

In fact, the sad news of the death of Princess of Wales, Diana in an unfortunate car crash in 1997 had so saddened me that I had started discussing that piece of news with my classmates in Tiruchendur and other familiar people in my native places like Korkai, Tuticorin, Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu. Like this, loss of life in family is irreparable, not easy enough to fill that vacuum. I can feel the depth of such unfortunate loss of life even as our family had been recently bereaved through the death of my beloved and talented father [being a great speaker, a writer especially in Tamil, a political crusader] – we all shed our tears and my lovable mother has still been mourning the loss, unable to come out of it.

Just interestingly enough in the same fashion, the recent news tidbits of the separation of Prince Harry [the late Diana’s son] from the royal status/tag have been creating a lot of interesting yet emotional stories out there the world over. Having been fondly termed Megxit by the British media, the latest family event involving Harry and his wife Meghan besides their kid Archie has taken dramatic precedence across the media houses both from the east and the West.

In a nutshell, Harry’s separation, his relocation to his wife Meghan in Canada and their deep-rooted family bond in the UK have almost become the talking points, sending some positive signals about family values and the bond of greatness/togetherness at the world stage.

P SENTHIL SArAvANA DUrAI Mumbai

Tuesday, 17 March, 2020

10 FOREIGN NEWS

BIden, SandeRS attaCk tRUmP at deBate UndeR Shadow of vIRUS WASHINGTON

w

AGENCIES

HITE House hopefuls Joe Biden and rival Bernie Sanders launched a joint attack on Donald Trump’s response to the coronavirus pandemic as they faced off in a high-stakes debate Sunday, accusing the president of undermining his own scientists with misinformation. Going head to head days before four large states hold Democratic primaries, the two main candidates left in the marathon race stood six feet (1.8 meters) apart on stage and elbow bumped one another at the start of a televised debate held with no live audience.

Sanders, the 78-year-old underdog who needs a strong showing Tuesday in order to keep his White House dreams alive, took a stinging shot at the president, accusing him of fomenting confusion and eroding the allimportant trust in government institutions in the time of crisis.

“We have to shut this president up right now because he’s undermining the doctors and the scientists who are trying to help the American people,” Sanders added, referring to multiple statements by Trump that have been at odds with expert views.

“It is unacceptable for him to be blabbering unfactual information that is harming the

American public.”

With their first one-on-one debate overshadowed by the fast-moving health crisis, Biden and Sanders spent the first 10 minutes solely on how to address the pandemic which has already led to at least 60 deaths and more than 3,000 coronavirus cases in the country.

“We’re at war with the virus,” Biden said. “I would call out the military. Now,” he added, warning that the Department of Defense and the Federal Emergency Management Agency must step in immediately to dramatically expand the number of intensive care beds.

“The present system can not handle the surge that is likely to come,” he said.

Sanders too called for “aggressively” ramping up testing but also for expanding the safety net to make sure Americans are not pushed deeper into economic crisis due to coronavirus.

“What happens if I’m sick? It’s going to cost thousands of dollars for treatment. Who is going to feed my kids?” Sanders said, putting himself in the shoes of a working-class parent. This 11th Democratic debate has placed the most intense spotlight yet on the duel between the former vice president and the leftist US senator from Vermont.

The debate was moved from Arizona, one of the four states holding a primary on Tuesday, to national capital Washington to

avoid trans-national travel by the candidates and their teams.

Also voting Tuesday are Florida, Illinois and Ohio, three of the country’s most populous states, with large troves of Democratic delegates at stake. All four states decided to go ahead with their primaries despite concerns about the virus.

‘WEAKNESS AND DYSFUNCTION’: Both Biden and Sanders have had to cancel planned rallies, and on Sunday they acknowledged shifting from live rallies to televised or online events — and that they are both taking precautions to avoid getting infected.

Scrapping live events could pose a particular handicap to Sanders, who has consistently mobilized large and enthusiastic crowds at his campaign events.

Sanders may find one advantage. The coronavirus crisis has exposed some of the vulnerabilities he often denounces in the US health system as he calls for the federal Medicare system to be expanded to cover all Americans.

The pandemic “exposes the incredible weakness and dysfunction of our current healthcare system,” Sanders said.

The 77-year-old Biden, after a nearcalamitous start to the primary season, has staged a spectacular comeback.

He appears in the driver’s seat as he

seeks to expand his lead in the race for the delegates who formally pick the nominee at the party convention in July.

And the big states voting Tuesday, which all show Biden with double-digit leads in polling, should help him consolidate his lead, particularly in delegate-rich Florida, where he holds a 40-point advantage.

Sanders was the campaign’s putative leader just weeks ago, but he is the clear underdog now.

Yet the senator hardly seems ready to

throw in the towel, despite a stinging series of defeats last week including in the Midwest industrial bastion of Michigan.

For some, Sanders’ continued campaign was a way he could gain a last bit of leverage before finally dropping out — to help advance elements of his “political revolution” and bring some of his progressive ideas more firmly into the party’s political mainstream. Biden has extended a hand towards his more liberal rivals’ supporters, saying that “together” Democrats will beat Trump.

Global banks take crisis measures as virus death toll surges PARIS AGENCIES

NEW YORK: An empty street is seen in Manhattan following the outbreak of coronavirus disease in New York City. AGENCIES

Remedies for economic fallout from coronavirus PARIS AGENCIES

Policymakers and government leaders have taken a range of approaches to deal with the economic fallout from the coronavirus. Here is a list of how some of the world’s biggest economies and economic blocs have reacted.

UNITED STATES: The US Federal Reserve slashed rates back to near zero, restarted bond buying and launched other measures from its crisis-era toolkit, along with other central banks, to put the floor under a rapidly disintegrating global economy assailed by efforts to contain the coronavirus pandemic.

The Fed also encouraged banks to use the trillions of dollars in equity and liquid assets built up as capital buffers since the financial crisis to lend to business and households whose balance sheets and lives have been upended by the virus.

The central banks of the United States, the euro zone, Canada, Britain, Japan and Switzerland agreed on Sunday to offer three-month credit in US dollars on a regular basis and at a rate cheaper than usual.

The US Treasury Department will defer tax payments without interest or penalties for certain individuals and businesses negatively impacted, aiming to provide more than $200 billion of additional liquidity to the economy.

The Small Business Administration

will also provide capital and liquidity to firms affected by the coronavirus.

Earlier, Trump signed a $8.3 billion emergency spending bill to combat the spread of the virus and develop vaccines for the highly contagious disease.

EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK: The ECB made it clear it would not tolerate “unwarranted” increases in borrowing costs and it was ready to buy more sovereign debt to allow governments to borrow on the cheap as they ramp up spending to combat the epidemic.

The ECB will also provide banks with loans at a rate as low as minus 0.75%, below the -0.5% deposit rate, and increase bond purchases by 120 billion euros this year with a focus on corporate debt. The ECB’s bank supervisory arm will let euro zone banks fall short of some key capital and cash requirements, to keep credit flowing to the economy.

But unlike its US and British counterparts, it did not cut rates, instead pointed the finger at euro zone governments to do more.

CHINA: China earmarked 110.5 billion yuan ($15.9 billion) to fight the epidemic.

Beijing has ramped up funding support for virus-hit regions and the central bank has cut several key rates, including the benchmark lending rate, and has urged banks to give cheap loans and payment relief to exposed companies.

China will modify the environmental supervision of companies to help the resumption of production disrupted by the

coronavirus epidemic, giving firms more time to rectify environmental problems.

ITALY: Economy Minister Roberto Gualtieri said the government’s planned economic support package would total some 25 billion euros ($28 billion) to ensure that companies and workers were helped through the crisis.

He said the package would provide extra funding for the health system as well as a mix of measures to help companies and households including freezing tax and loan payments and boosting unemployment benefits to ensure no jobs were lost.

The measures, originally due over the weekend, are now expected after a cabinet meeting on Monday.

The government said payments on mortgages will be suspended across the whole of Italy and Italy’s banking lobby ABI said lenders would offer debt moratoriums to small firms and households grappling with the economic fallout from the virus.

JAPAN: The Bank of Japan said it would double its purchases of risky exchange trade funds (ETFs) to a pace of around 12 trillion yen ($112.6 billion) a year and it would create a new loan program to extend one-year, zero-rate loans to financial institutions to boost lending to firms hit by the outbreak.

To prevent credit markets from freezing up, it will set aside 2 trillion yen for additional purchases of commercial paper and corporate bonds and it would pur-

chase Japanese real-estate trust funds (JREIT) at a pace of 180 billion yen per year.

The government meanwhile announced a second package of measures worth about $4 billion in spending to cope with the fallout of the outbreak, focusing on support to small and mid-sized firms, as concerns mount about risks to the fragile economy.

THE EUROPEAN UNION: European Union leaders have so far failed to agree radical measures to tackle the crisis. European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday Brussels was working on responses including a “package to prop up the EU economy”.

Euro zone finance ministers, known as the Eurogroup, meet on Monday and signals before their meeting suggest that a large scale, coordinate fiscal boost is likely coming.

GERMANY: Germany’s center-left coalition agreed to increase public investments by 12.4 billion euros by 2024 and to make it easier for companies to claim subsidies to support workers on reduced working hours to counter the effects of the coronavirus epidemic.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives are split over whether Germany should rush out a fiscal stimulus package to counter any impact of the coronavirus on Europe’s largest economy.

BRITAIN: Britain launched a 30 billionpound ($39 billion) economic stimulus plan just hours after the Bank of England

The US Federal Reserve and other central banks unveiled emergency measures to prop up the coronavirusbattered global economy, as the three worst-hit European countries recorded their deadliest days of the pandemic.

The virus has upended society around the planet, with governments imposing restrictions rarely seen outside wartime, including the closing of borders, home quarantine orders and the scrapping of public events.

With the virus infecting nearly every sector of the global economy, concerns are growing the world will be catapulted into a damaging recession, leading to stock markets enduring horror losses and wild swings.

The US Fed attempted to stem the panic with drastic measures announced before Asian markets opened on Monday, slashing its key interest rate to virtually zero.

“What’s happened with the Fed is phenomenal news,” US President Donald Trump said Sunday at a regular briefing of his coronavirus task force. “I can tell you, I’m very happy.”

The Bank of Japan on Monday also announced emergency economic stimulus measures for the world’s third-biggest economy, adding to similar efforts from European central banks.

But investors remained in panic mode, with the futures markets on the Dow Jones Index predicting another sharp move downwards and Asia-Pacific stocks tumbling again.

Australia’s main share index fell 9.7 per cent on Monday, its largest-ever percentage drop, with investors fearing that governments had few other tools to fire up the global economy.

“The biggest concern has to be that the big G7 central banks have exhausted their policy tool kit, especially the biggest and most influential one of them all, the Fed,” said AxiCorp’s Stephen Innes.

China provided more evidence of COVID-19’s dire economic impact, announcing factory output had contracted for the first time in nearly 30 years.

11-12 Business 17 March 2020_Layout 1 3/17/2020 12:01 AM Page 1

Tuesday, 17 March, 2020

BUSINESS 11

CORPORATE CORNER Qatar bans passenger arrivals over virus fears Under the instructions of the Qatar Ministry of Public Health, from midnight Wednesday evening (18 March), entry to the State of Qatar will only be allowed for Qatari nationals, who will be required to enter quarantine for a period of 14 days. Passport holders of other nations will no longer be granted entry for a period of 14 days, after which the restrictions will be reviewed. Passengers with onward connections through Hamad International Airport will be accepted for travel and Qatar Airways’ global network will continue its operation for transit passengers as normal. Cargo operations remain unaffected. Pr

ISLAMABAD: Ufone, in collaboration with National Institute of Health (Pakistan), conducted a public awareness session on coronavirus at the Ufone Tower. NIH Senior Scientific Officer and Focal Person for Infection Prevention, Control and Patient Safety Dr Mumtaz Ali Khan was invited to deliver the session. press release

Horticulture exPorters fear Huge losses aMid border closures ISLAMABAD

a

GHUlAM ABBAS

S borders have been closed and the services of international airlines have been suspended in wake of coronavirus outbreak, the exporters of horticulture products fear huge losses in case the closure of trade routes prolong.

As the pandemic has entered over 150 countries so far, Pakistan may also confront an alarming situation in terms of trade and economy.

"If the present situation prevails for the next two months, it is anticipated that the overall export of fruits and vegetables from Pakistan will sustain a massive loss of over $150 million," said Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Ex-

"Mega superstores are shutting down as preventive measures against the deadly virus, and this is having a pronounced negative impact on the export of fruits and vegetables."

He said if the pandemic is not fully controlled, the export of mango, which is due to commence from June, will also be seriously affected, leading to huge financial losses to the exporters as well as the agriculture sector. Referring to the association's Horticulture Vision2030, he claimed by implementing the same, the export of fruits & vegetables could be enhanced to $2.5 billion within a period of five years.

As per Waheed Ahmed, Pakistan tops the list of countries at risk of global warming and that agriculture is likely to be its most affected sector.

"On one hand, the agriculture sector

Crude oil falls below $30 as coronavirus spreads LONDON AGENCIES

LAHORE: Team CarFirst recently met the Honda Atlas Cars Pakistan Limited (HACPL) officials to further strengthen their joint exchange programme. The meeting took place at HACPL’s Manga Mandi factory. PrESS rElEASE

port Association (PFVA) head Waheed Ahmed on Monday.

On the other hand, he added, the suspension of flights has also posed a serious threat for transportation and trading sectors. "Transportation of food items via sea route is experiencing problems and under these circumstances, only those countries that have a strong agriculture sector along with adequate food for their local population can encounter such a crisis." He said owing to the curtailment of operations by various airlines around the world, the export of fruit and vegetables to Europe, Far East and the Middle East has come under threat, adding that amidst closure of hotels, restaurants and a sharp drop in tourism activities, there has been a significant reduction in demand of fruits and vegetables around the world.

Brent and US crude fell below $30 on Monday as emergency rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve and its global counterparts failed to tame markets and China’s factory output plunged at the sharpest pace in 30 years amid the spread of coronavirus.

Brent crude LCOc1 was down $4.03, or almost 12pc, to $29.82 a barrel by 1339 GMT. The front-month price had risen $1 earlier in the session.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 was at $28.63, down $3.10 or almost 10pc. To combat the economic fallout of the pandemic, the Fed on Sunday slashed its key rate to near zero, triggering an unscheduled rate cut by the Reserve

Bank of New Zealand to a record low as markets in Asia opened for trading this week.

The Bank of Japan later stepped in by easing monetary policy further, while Gulf central banks also cut interest rates.

However, the measures failed to calm investors, and stock markets weakened again.

“The price response is understandable, given that lower interest rates and new bond purchasing programs will do nothing to combat the current weakness of oil demand,” Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch said.

He added that the more countries freeze public life, close their borders and cancel flights, the greater the impact will be on oil demand, especially as this also involves economic activity being generally

scaled down.

Meanwhile China’s industrial output fell by a much larger than expected 13.5% in JanuaryFebruary from the same period a year earlier, the weakest reading since January 1990 when Reuters records began.

Brent’s premium to WTI narrowed to less than $1, close to its narrowest since 2016, making US crude oil uncompetitive in international markets.

“The relative weakness in Brent shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, given the severity of the breakout across Europe,” said ING analyst Warren Patterson.

“Another factor offering relatively more support to WTI is news that President Trump has ordered Strategic Petroleum Reserves to be filled up at these lower price levels.”

of Pakistan has been hit by scarcity of water while on other, rapid increase in the population is leading to an extraordinary demand of food and more than often to get out of such crises, the country has no other option but to go for import which in turn puts immense pressure on our foreign reserves," he noted.

He, however, said while the spreading of coronavirus has created numerous tough challenges, it would equally open doors of opportunities in future.

To take full advantage of that specific situation, it’s imperative to work on a war-footing to strongly develop the agriculture sector. "Bright opportunity awaits to enhance exports to $25 billion alone on a medium-term basis if the government and political parties with mutual consensus work together for agricultural development."

PM calls for early privatisation of cabinet-approved institutions ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday directed the Ministry of Industries to speed up the process of privatization of the institutions already approved by the cabinet. Presiding over a briefing on the capacity building of institutions functioning under the administrative control of the Ministry of Industries, the prime minister said that business community and experts of change management should also be consulted in the privatisation process. Advisor to PM on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood, Secretary Industries Division and senior officers attended the meeting. The meeting was told that the Ministry of Industries, having a total of 38 institutions working under it, would only have nine institutions under its control after the privatization of 13, merger of 10 and transfer of five institutions to concerned divisions and provinces. The PM said that the privatization of state institutions, which were a burden on public exchequer, was in national interest. He said that the process of privatization, merger or transfer of institutions was aimed at curbing economic deficit and ensuring improvement in the capacity and performance of institutions. APP

ECNEC approves six projects worth over Rs100bn KARACHI: Greenstar Social Marketing collaborated with the School of Leadership (SoL) to celebrate the Int’l Women’s Day 2020. PrESS rElEASE

APPROVED PROJECTS INCLUDE RS15.2BN WINDER DAM AND RS22.9BN KACHHI CANAL IN BALOCHISTAN ISLAMABAD STAFF rEPOrT

KARACHI: Team Pakistan has made it to the Top 16 of the Vitality Running World Cup – a global running event which organized by Discovery Vitality South Africa.

PrESS rElEASE

LAHORE: According to a new report by the European Patent Office, Huawei, a leading global provider of ICT infrastructure and smart devices, filed more patent applications in Europe than any other company last year, pioneering the development of solutions to support digital transformation worldwide. PrESS rElEASE

The Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC) on Monday accorded approval to more than Rs100-billion worth six development projects, including Winder Dam and Kachhi Canal.

The approvals came at a meeting chaired by Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh at the Cabinet Division.

The Winder Dam project, which is to be constructed across Winder River in Lasbela district of Balochistan, was approved by ECNEC at a total cost of Rs15,230.76 million without foreign exchange component (FEC) and with the condition that the command area development and land acquisition components will be started in parallel to the main project by the government of Balochistan.

The provincial government will ensure completion of the project within approved scope and cost. In case of further revision, an increase in cost will be borne by the provincial government from its own resources. It is expected that the project will be completed in four years’ time.

Kachhi Canal Project (remaining works of Phase-I) in Dera Bugti district of Balochistan was also approved at the revised cost of Rs22,921 million without FEC with the recommendation that there will be no deviation from scope and cost firmed by the follow up com-

mittee constituted by the Central Development Working Party (CDWP).

A component of detailed engineering design/tender documents/PCI for phase II and phase III costing Rs120 million has been added in the cost summary of the project, which will be actively pursued. Balochistan’s agriculture department will ensure the resolution of land settlement issues and development of 102,000acre command area to be developed

by December 2020.

The responsibility of technical soundness of design will rest with the project consultants NESPAK and no deviation from the design will be made.

The project will be completed in three years from the date of approval.

The Pakistan Raises Revenue Project including its IPF Component (For the FBR Headquarters, Islamabad) was approved at the total cost of Rs12,480 million with FEC component of $80 million. The aim of the proposed program is to eliminate country’s fiscal constraints through sustainable increasing revenues and reducing tax expenditure by broadening tax base and modernising FBR with advanced ICT based operations under its transformation roadmap.

The proposed project is part of World Bank’s funded IDA soft loan amounting to $400 million. The loan has two components i.e. $320 million for result based/ Disbursement Linked Indicators (DLI)-based financing, and $80 million for its traditional invest-

ment project financing (IPF).

Up-gradation of connectivity of FBR offices through installation of ICT equipment at all FBR offices and Customs control posts for data sharing and communication is envisaged under this project.

The committee chair directed that FBR will give a detailed presentation on the strategy for the utilisation of funds especially the DLI component and its impact on the Human resource building at FBR in the next meeting of ECNEC. The council also accorded ex-post facto approval for the development of Kartarpur Sahib Corridor on EPC/ Turnkey basis phase- I (Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib Narowal) at a modified cost of Rs16,546.2 million.

The Lahore Water and Wastewater Management Project – a sewerage system from Larech Colony to Gulshan-eRavi, Lahore (through trench less technology)- was approved by ECNEC at the revised cost of Rs14,430.506 million. The cost includes Rs14,165.06 million AIIB loan ($256 million) in addition to already incurred amount of Rs265.446 million.

The project aims comprehensive and detailed design of sanitation system for disposal of sewerage and wastewater from Larech Colony to Gulshan-e-Ravi, Lahore through trench less technology. The project intends to ensure efficiency in safe and quick disposal of sewage/wastewater by laying of trunk sewerage system and to develop a comprehensive, technically viable plan.

The construction of Eastern Wastewater Treatment Plant (44 MGD) of Faisalabad City (Phase-I) at the total cost of Rs19,071.222 million was also

approved by ECNEC. The foreign component of the project includes loan and grant from the government of Denmark (DANIDA) amounting to Rs17,238.179 million, 35pc of this amount is grant, while loan component is 65pc.

The chair directed to set up a committee with the EAD minister and Planning Commission’s deputy chairman to prepare a mechanism for the disbursement of necessary aid in a fair and transparent manner wherein all provinces have an equal chance of getting a fair share according to their developmental needs and the priorities of the federal government.

ECONOMIC PROGRESS REVIEWED: Separately, Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh chaired another meeting at the Finance Division to review the progress being made by major sectors of the economy.

Ministers for Energy and Economic Affairs Division, the FBR chairperson and secretaries of the Finance Division, the Ministry of National Food Security and Research and the Ministry of Commerce attended the meeting.

The participants of the meeting shared the details of ongoing major initiatives of their respective ministries and divisions, their current status of progress to meet the targets set during the current financial year, the impact of the ongoing coronavirus epidemic on the economy and the strategy to achieve the targets with maximum success.

It was agreed during the meeting that all sectors related to the economy would work in unison to achieve economic targets with maximum efforts and that the government would ensure that the common man was not affected by any adverse fallout of the pandemic.

11-12 Business 17 March 2020_Layout 1 3/17/2020 12:01 AM Page 2

Tuesday, 17 March, 2020

12 BUSINESS february fdi sees highest percentage rise since 2017 KARACHI: Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Pakistan rose 151pc to $289 million in February 2020, compared to $151 million in February last year, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday. This represents the largest percentage increase year-on-year (YoY) since October 2017, when FDI had jumped 150pc to $288 million. During the last eight months of fiscal year 2020, overall foreign direct investment increased 75pc to $1,853 million. For comparison, during the same eight-month period a year ago, FDI in the country stood at $1,059 million. Foreign investment in debt securities during the eightmonth period of fiscal year 2020 reached $2,161 million. Foreign direct investment has been on the rise in FY20, particularly in the last four months, where the monthly FDI has been consistently above the $200 million mark. One notable month was December 2019, where FDI increased to $487 million, against $319.5 million recorded during the same month in 2019. Country-wide data released by the central bank shows that China remained the largest investor, with net FDI of $697 million during the eight-month period, compared with net investment of $304 million during the same period last year. The second-largest investor was Norway, with a net FDI of $289 million, compared with $1.2 million during the same period the year before. However, the UAE and Kuwait divested $14 million and $4 million during the same period, respectively. The highest amount of FDI during the eight-month period was in the power sector, at $576 million. The second highest was communications, at $472 million, followed by the financial business sector, at $195 million. MEIrYUM AlI

Wall street dives, s&P 500 sheds $2tr in value S&P 500 companies lost more than $2 trillion in value in the first few minutes of trading on Monday as investors panicked about the mounting damage from the coronavirus pandemic on the global economy. Trading on the three main US stock indexes was halted for 15 minutes at the open, the third such pause in six days, as the benchmark index plunged 8pc and triggered an automatic cutout.

A sharp cut in interest rates by the Federal Reserve to near-zero only added to the alarm, while traders worried that the pandemic was paralyzing supply chains and squeezing company finances.

Rate-sensitive financial stocks plunged 12.6pc, leading declines among the major S&P sectors. Energy stocks tracked a 10pc slump in oil prices, while technology stocks also shed 10pc. Apple Inc, Amazon.com Inc and Microsoft Corp together lost nearly $300 billion in market value. Wall Street’s fear gauge jumped 13 points to 70.83. “The fear factor is going through the roof this morning,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York. “Markets are spooked by the emergency of the central banks stepping in and adding billions of dollars of liquidity.” World stocks plummeted 8pc, oil prices slumped 10pc and even safe-haven gold took a hit as France and Spain joined Italy in entering a virtual lockdown to contain the fast-spreading disease. Bars, restaurants, theaters and movie houses in New York and Los Angeles were ordered shut. Underscoring the economic blow of the outbreak, severe virus containment measures sent China’s factory production tumbling at its fastest pace in three decades. At 10:14 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 2,326.15 points, or 10.03pc, at 20,859.47, while the S&P 500 was down 263.50 points, or 9.72pc, at 2,447.52. The Nasdaq Composite was down 747.03 points, or 9.49pc, at 7,127.84. Another 1,000-point dip for the Dow will wipe out the entire Trump-bump, taking the index to levels seen before the presidency of Donald Trump. AGENCIES

textile exports up 3.68pc in seven months ISLAMABAD: Textile exports from the country during the first seven months of the current financial year grew by 3.68pc as compared to exports of the corresponding period last year. During the period from July-January 2019-20, textile worth $8,099,885 million was exported as compared to the exports of $7,812,418 million during the same period last year. According to the data released by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, the exports of raw cotton increased by 9.99pc, as about 11,920 metric tons of raw cotton valuing $15,889 million was exported as compared to the 8,910 metric tonnes worth $14,446 million exported last year. Meanwhile, 262,513 metric tonnes of yarn (other than cotton yarn) worth $640.001 million were exported in the first seven months of FY20 as compared to the exports of 241,036 metric tonnes valuing $635,040 million exported last year. During the period under review, knitwear exports of the country recorded an increase of 6.27pc, from $1,724,361 million last year to $ 1,832,486m. APP

Pol Prices likely to droP by rs25 Per litre froM aPril AHMAD AHMADANI

i

ISlAMABAD

N light of 40pc decline in the price of Arab Light crude oil, Prime Minister Imran Khan has advised the Ministry of Finance to sign agreements with the suppliers to ensure sustainable relief to the masses in the form of reduced oil prices and badging of petroleum products, Pakistan Today has learnt.

According to sources privy to this development, PM Imran Khan has also advised the finance ministry to present a summary in this regard to the federal cabinet’s Economic Coordination Committee (ECC). They said the PM decided to pass on the impact of decline in global oil prices in order to provide maximum relief to the masses.

“It is expected that masses will

find up to Rs25 per litre relief in POL prices from next month,” an insider said. “Owing to the badging of petroleum products, Pakistan will have to pay less regardless of the situation in the international oil market.”

At present, petrol was available at Rs111.60 per litre in the open market, while high-speed diesel (HSD) was priced at Rs122.26 per litre, light diesel oil (LDO) at Rs77.51 per litre and kerosene oil at Rs92.45 per litre.

Sources also said that per unit prices of electricity of oil-run power plants could also witness a decrease due to a reduction in furnace oil price.

They said that per kilogram price of compressed natural gas (CNG) may find up to Rs25 cut; industries may find cheaper gas with effect to the likely cut in CNG price.

Experts are of the view that the

current account deficit of the country could improve following the dramatic decline in global oil prices and it could stabilize the value to Pak-

AGP orders finalisation of FY21 audit plan ISLAMABAD STAFF rEPOrT

Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) Javaid Jehangir on Monday directed his department to finalize the next year's (FY21) audit plan after consulting all concerned stakeholders.

The directive came at a two-day conference on 'Goal Settings of Next Audit Year Plan 2020-21' held at the Department of AGP. Chairing the conference, the AGP highlighted the significance of the conference, saying it was being held at a time when main audit reports have been finalized for the current audit year 2019-20, and DAGP is going to start audit planning for the next year.

Jehangir said the organization is working in a transformed environment and that the stakeholders including government departments, ministries and foreign donors expect better and relevant feedback through DAGP reports.

“The audit reports should develop clear understanding of stakeholders towards audit issues and auditor’s perspective. For a better and effective audit planning, it is essential to interact with external stakeholders to determine their perspective of contemporary issues,” he said.

The AGP stressed the Directors General Audit to bring innovation into audit reporting. “The auditors need to make an intelligent analysis of audit issues re-aligning audit reports with the expectations of the stakeholders.”

He emphasised on reflecting strategic issues, goals and achievements of auditee organisations, issues related to public service delivery, governance

and transparency into the audit reports.

The department was considering establishing separate works audit offices in KP and Sindh, on the pattern of works audit office Punjab for better accountability transparency and reporting purposes, Jehangir told the conference.

The AGP highlighted that it was the trust of foreigner donors that, for the purpose of more accountability, they (donors) had entrusted DAGP to conduct audit of foreign aided projects.

DAGP audits more than 200 foreign aided projects every year. The representatives of international donors highlighted their long term relationship with DAGP. A USAID representative apprised the participants that the AGP had conducted USAID funded projects worth $2 billion during the last decade and the quality of audit was far-higher and comprehensive. The conference was attended by the Controller General of Accounts along with all provincial Accountant Generals, all Directors General from audit offices across the country, senior management of DAGP and representatives of USAID, World Bank, Asian Development Bank and GIZ. Lessons learnt during the audit activity of previous year were shared and key highlights of next Audit Year Plan 2020-21 were presented during the conference.

AGP Jehangir directed all Directors General Audit to take feedback from relevant secretaries and heads of organizations, and to include it into the audit plan for year 2020-21 for better accountability.

He further directed them to conduct audits of those organizations that reflected high risk areas.

Relief to consumers: Gas utilities asked to rationalise revenue requirements ISLAMABAD AHMAD AHMADANI

The Petroleum Division of the Ministry of Energy has advised the state-owned gas companies (SNGPL and SSGCL) to rationalise revenue requirements, as various options to reduce gas sale prices are under consideration by the government to provide relief to gas consumers, Pakistan Today has learnt.

Petroleum Division Secretary Mian Asad Hayaud Din has written a letter to the chairpersons of board of directors (BoDs) and managing directors of both companies, asking them to rationalise revenue requirements.

Similarly, the secretary also informed the two gas utilities that the government has been reviewing various options to reduce the gas sale prices.

Informal preliminary consultation sessions held with SNGPL, SSGCL and OGRA have identified four areas for consideration and desired action by gas companies. The identified areas are reduction in allowable Unaccounted for Gas (UfG) benchmark to 4pc as against 6.3pc, reduction in return on assets to 15pc, 1pc reduction in rate of depreciation, and rationalisation/reduction in cost (mainly transmission and distribution costs).

The PD’s secretary, in his letter, further advised the gas companies to present a comprehensive

istani currency. Similarly, the massive cut in global oil prices could help reduce the prevailing high inflation rate of the country.

siemens Healthineers, NuMs collaborate to improve healthcare in Pakistan ISLAMABAD: The Siemens Healthcare and the National University of Medical Sciences (NUMS) on Monday signed a Document of Understanding (DoU) along with two German private institutions for a project aimed to engage all four parties in an effort to expand medical facilities and practices in Pakistan. German institutions, who are part of the project, are ‘It’s a Deal GmbH’ and ‘POWERGROUP GmbH’.

According to studies conducted by the World Health Organisation (WHO), Pakistan requires over 638,000 hospital beds to establish a wellserving medical infrastructure for the country.

However, presently, the country is only equipped to fulfill 20pc of that demand. As part of the DoU, all four parties aim to work towards enhancing the standard of medical facilities and care. The collaboration includes all stages of financing, investments, technological upgrade as well as clinical education and marketing.

Speaking on the occasion, Siemens Healthcare Managing Director/CEO Khurram Jameel said: “It is in many ways a giant leap for healthcare in Pakistan, where we welcome German investors to invest in developing healthcare facilities in the country. Siemens Healthineers is very proud to be part of this collaboration in bringing state-of-the-art medical practices to Pakistan together with NUMS.” PrESS rElEASE analysis on identified areas to their respective BoDs to seek approval for filing petitions with OGRA for determination of revenue requirements for financial year 2020-21.

Sources aware of the matter said that the gas companies would be facing approximate loss of Rs25 billion while fixing the gas prices. And this will also jeopardise the RLNG supply chain and could lead to possible sovereign default in respect of RLNG imports since these companies would no longer be able to borrow and pay for the imported gas.They said the lender to both companies are likely to recall such loans that are issued against specific government guarantees with 17/17.5pc return and higher UFG, while the companies don’t have liquidity to pay such loans.

The receivables of two gas companies have exceeded Rs260 billion for which price increase is essential, sources maintained.

IMF chief says 20 countries seek aid, calls for coordinated spending WASHINGTON AGENCIES

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on Monday said 20 additional countries have asked about receiving aid from the global lender as the coronavirus pandemic halts economic activity, and she called for strong, coordinated fiscal stimulus to limit the damage.

In a blog post on the IMF website, Georgieva said the Fund was ready to mobilise its full $1 trillion lending capacity to help member countries deal with the crisis.

She did not identify the countries that have expressed interest in new financing programmes. Iran last week said it was seeking an emergency loan from the IMF.

“As the virus spreads, the case for a coordinated and synchronized global fiscal stimulus is becoming stronger by the hour,” Georgieva said.

The IMF chief issued her message shortly before she was due to participate in a 10am EDT (1400 GMT) call with leaders of the G7 wealthy democracies, several of which are battling severe coronavirus outbreaks.

US stock markets were down sharply in mid-morning trading with the S&P 500 index down about 10pc and shedding $2 trillion in value.

Georgieva, in her blog, suggested that coordinated fiscal action on the scale of the 2008-2009 financial crisis may be necessary.

She said that in 2009 alone, Group of 20 countries deployed about 2pc of their GDP

in stimulus, or about $900 billion in today’s money, “so there is a lot more work to do.”

She said that governments should continue to prioritise health spending and provide support to the most affected people and businesses with policies such as paid sick leave and targeted tax relief.

On the monetary policy front, she said central banks “should continue to support demand and boost confidence by easing financial conditions and ensuring the flow of credit to the real economy,” citing emergency actions by the US Federal Reserve and other central banks on Sunday as an example.

EMERGING MARKET RISKS: She applauded the opening of swap lines between major central banks, adding that such swap lines may need to be extended to emerging

market countries in the future.

She said central banks’ policy actions will need to balance the difficult challenge of addressing capital outflows from emerging markets and commodity price shocks, citing recent record outflows of $42 billion reported by the Institute of International Finance last week.

“In times of crisis such as at present, foreign exchange interventions and capital flow management measures can usefully complement interest rate and other monetary policy actions,” Georgieva said.

She said financial system supervisors should aim to preserve stability, ensuring banking system soundness while sustaining economic activity.

“This crisis will test whether the change

made in the wake of the financial crisis will serve their purpose,” she said, referring to increased capital requirements and other policies put in place over the past decade to rein in financial market excesses.

Georgieva said banks should be encouraged to use their capital and liquidity buffers and renegotiate loan terms for stressed borrowers.The IMF earlier this month announced that it would make about $50 billion available to emerging and developing economies through various emergency financing programmes.

In addition, Britain has contributed $195 million to the Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust, a fund for the poorest countries, bringing its debt relief fund to about $400 billion.

13-Entertainment- 17 March 20_Layout 1 3/16/2020 9:26 PM Page 1

TuniSia HerbaliSTS caSH in on coronaviruS fear Paris Hilton in search of a way she can evade death In the present times filled with turmoil over coronavirus gripping the world, the thought of the end is undoubtedly hovering over many heads. In the midst of that, American media personality Paris Hilton is looking for a way to evade — wait for it — death.

Speaking to Britain’s Cosmopolitan magazine, the 39-year-old socialite revealed: “Death scares me because I don't know what happens. I just don't want it to be nothing because that would be so boring.” She went on to further say that she is trying to find a way that would let people escape death and reach immortality.

“I'm trying to figure out a way - freezing myself or inventing the fountain of youth pill — so people could live forever, like that movie 'Death Becomes Her'.” "I feel 21 forever. And I'm all natural. I feel so lucky that my mum always told me to stay out of the sun. I feel lucky I haven't had to resort to what most people do in this town," she said. Apart from that, she also spoke about stepping down from her role in the show The Simple Life and how the producers had put forth a question in front of her on who would be a fit for the show. "My schedule is just so insane. I can't imagine leaving my life and going to the middle of nowhere and doing that again. Plus the show is so timeless and iconic, you can't remake that. They asked me who I would recommend if I didn't want to do it myself. (Who did I say?) I can't tell. I've signed a confidentiality agreement,” she said. NEWSDESK

TUNIS

T

AGENCIES

HOLLYWOOD BOLLYWOOD

HERE is no known cure for the new coronavirus, but in the medicinal herbs souq in Tunis, anxious Tunisians are consulting with herbalists and stocking up on traditional remedies.

"I am afraid for my father, who is old and sick, so I have come here to look for plants to boost his immunity," said Baya, a 43-year-old civil servant.

Tunisia has reported 20 COVID19 cases since March 2. While no deaths have been reported, authorities have taken tough measures to halt the spread of the disease and fewer customers are crowding the paved alleys of the capital's ancient medina.

But in the heart of the old city,

Tunisians continue flocking to the Souk el-Blat and its herbalist stalls, where flasks, powders and dried herbs are stacked high.

Local and imported herbal medicines are traditionally valued for warding off winter flu, which shares some symptoms with the new coronavirus - a respiratory infection that has killed more than 6,000 people worldwide.

Fear of contagion has seen a rush on garlic, sending the price soaring to 25 dinars (eight euros) a kilo, while other customers look for plant remedies that are effective and affordable.

"I can understand people falling back on tradition," said Hedi Oueslati, a pharmacologist and Tunisia's director general of health.

"But there is currently no medicine nor miracle plant effective against the

new coronavirus."

He continued: "If we're talking about a grandma's remedy that is not dangerous and poses no problems, ok."

But, he added, "you have to be careful not to fall for quackery."

Some people were profiting from public anxiety to sell "concoctions" with unknown ingredients, he warned.

"What can I take for coronavirus?" Hanen Oueslati (no relation to the health director) asked a vendor at a stall selling fresh rosemary and oregano.

"I want plants to sterilise the home and others for making herbal infusions," said the 38-year-old woman.

"The goal is to protect us, that's all, especially since there is no medication against the virus," she said.

Fethi Ben Moussa, a 61-year-old

herbalist, explained: "Tunisians love everything traditional and natural: in times of panic they trust in the remedies of our ancestors.

"People are asking for things to prepare at home like thyme, ginger and moringa," he said, claiming that they were "good for immunity and fighting viruses."

At another shop, Haj Mohamed offered preparations of ginger, jujube honey and tumeric that he claimed, without evidence, are "100 per cent effective against viruses."

A second generation herbalist, he claimed these are "magic ingredients for fighting all kinds of flu".

But Dr Chokri Hamouda, the director general of healthcare in Tunisia, has a warning: "Just because it's natural doesn't mean it's not harmful."

Taylor Swift asks fans to stop partying while coronavirus sweeps the world Pop sensation Taylor Swift is joining the list of celebrities who are using their platform to raise awareness about the novel coronavirus and tell of those downplaying the disease. Turning to her Instagram Story, the 30-year-old Lover crooner laid emphasis on social distancing and self-isolation as the toll of confirmed cases around the globe escalates at a rapid pace. “Guys, I follow you online and I love you guys so much and need to express my concern that things aren’t being taken seriously enough right now,” she said. “I’m seeing lots of get togethers and hangs and parties still happening,” she added. “This is the time to cancel plans, actually truly isolate as much as you can, and don’t assume that because you don’t feel sick that you aren’t possibly passing something on to someone elderly or vulnerable to this,” she continued. “It’s a really scary time but we need to make social sacrifices right now.” NEWSDESK

Armeena Khan pens down appreciation note for medical staff

Ariana Grande tells off people downplaying coronavirus: Don't turn a blind eye

Bond star Olga Kurylenko contracts coronavirus

Pakistani actress Armeena Khan penned down an appreciation note for all the medical staff around the world who are on the front lines battling the coronovirus.

The Sherdil actress took to Twitter and penned down an appreciation note for the medical staff across the world.

She tweeted, “Let’s thank all the medical staff around the world who are currently on the front lines, engaged in what is nothing less than a full scale war. They are literally laying down their lives in the line of duty.”

She also prayed for the protection of the medical staff saying: “God bless them all and keep them in HIS protection. #Coronavirus.” Later, she took to Instagram and shared: “An appreciation post for all the medical staff everywhere. Not all heroes wear capes!

Thank God for you guys.” NEWS DESK

While many are taking precautionary measures in the present times of the coronavirus, a colossal number of people continues to downplay the intensity of the disease.

Condemning the latter lot, singing sensation Ariana Grande stepped forward terming people not taking the global pandemic seriously as ‘selfish.’

Taking to her Instagram Story on Sunday, the Thank U, Next crooner said: “I keep hearing from a surprising amount of people statements like ‘this isn’t a big deal’ / ‘we’ll be fine’… ‘we still have to go about our lives’ and it’s really blowing my mind.”

“I understand if that is how u felt weeks ago. but please read about what’s going on. please don’t turn a blind eye,” she added.

“It is incredibly dangerous and selfish to take this situation that lightly. NEWS DESK

Hollywood actress Olga Kurylenko has revealed on her Instagram handle that she has contracted coronavirus and has been locked up at home.

James Bond film Quantum of Solace actress took to Instagram and wrote, “Locked up at home after having tested positive for Coronavirus.”

“I’ve actually been ill for almost a week now”, she said and added that “Fever and fatigue are my main symptoms”.

The Oblivion actress urged the fans and followers to take coronavirus seriously. She wrote, “Take care of yourself and do take this seriously!”.

Earlier, Hollywood star couple Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson were tested positive for coronavirus. NEWS DESK

Tuesday, 17 March, 2020

14 SPORTS

FATE oF Euro 2020 To bE dETErminEd As uEFA sET For Crisis mEETing PArIS

A

AGENCIES

DECISION over whether to postpone football's Euro 2020 by up to a year, with all the sporting and financial consequences that would entail, is set to be made when UEFA holds a crisis meeting on Tuesday as Europe battles the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. European football's governing body will hold a videoconference with representatives from all 55 member associations as well as from clubs and players bodies. UEFA will then hold an executive committee meeting at 1400 (1300 GMT) at their Swiss headquarters.

The future of the European Championship, due to take place for the first time in 12 different cities spread across the continent from June 12 to July 12, is up in the air along with those of the Champions League and Europa League.

The "dark scenarios" that UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin warned against envisaging when he spoke at the organisation's congress in Amsterdam just two weeks ago now have to be considered.

All of Europe's leading domestic leagues ground to a halt last week, while UEFA suspended all Champions League and Europa League games due to be played this week.

Both tournaments are still in the last-16 stage. Europe has become the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic, with Italy and Spain on lockdown, France gradually following suit, and other countries closing borders to halt the spread of the outbreak.

More than 1,800 people have died in Italy, which is supposed to host the opening game of Euro 2020 in Rome.

POSTPONED FOR A YEAR? The head of the Italian football federation, Gabriele Gravina, has already proposed

that the Euro be postponed, with Italy coach Roberto Mancini calling for it to pushed back 12 months.

"We would have won the European Championship this summer, we can also win it in 2021," Mancini told television station Rai Sport.

It is a position that many around the continent are coming round to amid much uncertainty as to when club football can resume.

"UEFA has no choice. They have to postpone the Euro and the Champions League," one senior figure in the world game told AFP, although finding agreement across the board may not be easy.

"There are people who want to play, and others who don't," French football federation president Noel Le Graet told broadcaster TF1 on Sunday.

German broadcaster ZDF reported that two possible options are on the table for the

European Championship.

One is to push it back to 2021, although that is not as simple as it might appear, as it would need FIFA president Gianni Infantino to agree to halting the inaugural edition of his highly lucrative Club World Cup, due to take place in June and July next year in China with some of Europe's top club sides involved.

FIFA offered "no comment" on Monday on the matter.

There is also the issue of the women's European Championship, scheduled to run from July 7 to August 1 next year in England, with the final at Wembley. The London venue is also supposed to hold the semi-finals and final of Euro 2020.

The alternative option, according to ZDF, is to maintain a Euro 2020 by playing it towards the end of the year.

FINANCIAL STAKES 'ENORMOUS' That supposes that the crisis will have calmed down by then, and there is also the issue of all the other football that has been suspended.

Le Graet said "it is probable" that all friendly matches scheduled to be played at the end of this month will be postponed.

Play-off matches to decide the last four berths at Euro 2020 can be expected to go the same way.

In any case, world governing body FIFA has already moved to say that clubs no longer need to release players for the scheduled international dates.

They may come to a decision to try to complete the Champions League and Europa League by curtailing the competitions, meaning ties up to the semi-finals could be decided in one-off matches.

From a financial viewpoint, UEFA would undoubtedly prefer postponing their flagship tournaments to cancelling them altogether, or playing matches behind closed doors.

"The financial stakes are enormous," according to one senior figure in the international game. "We know that FIFA has significant reserves but we don't know about UEFA or the different leagues."

In any case, the European Leagues grouping of almost a thousand clubs in 29 countries across the continent warned that "cooperation, coordination and flexibility are going to be essential".

Liverpool left to wait and wonder after virus strikes LIvErPooL AGENCIES

Liverpool could have been crowned Premier League champions on Monday for the first time in a generation at the home of local rivals Everton. Instead, the stadium will be silent.

Jurgen Klopp's team would have needed Manchester City to lose to Burnley on Saturday to have given them a chance to seal the deal at Goodison Park.

Regardless of whether it would have happened on Monday or over the coming weeks, Liverpool's first top-flight title for 30 years was a mere formality.

But now fans are wondering when, or even if, they will be crowned champions after the coronavirus laid waste to the global sporting calendar.

The message coming from Liverpool is that there are more important issues than football to talk about, even with the club tantalisingly close to glory.

"I've said before that football always seems the most important of the least important things," Klopp said in a statement on Friday.

"Today, football and football matches really aren't important at all.

"If it's a choice between football and the good of the wider society, it's no contest. Really, it isn't."

Klopp's stance won him the support of World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who thanked him for his "powerful message".

Liverpool supporters, desperate to reclaim their position at the pinnacle of the English game, agree with their German

manager, saying the pandemic overshadows football.

Supporters' union Spirit of Shankly is focusing on the damaging fallout from the COVID-19 virus.

"In talks with @lfc we asked for assurances that non-playing staff will not lose their pay as a consequence of shifts being cancelled," it said in a statement.

"We also need to keep in mind those most vulnerable. Cancelling football games means (foodbanks) will be hit hard."

DESERVING WINNERS: Liverpool have stumbled in recent weeks, knocked out of the Champions League by Atletico Madrid and dumped out of the FA Cup by Chelsea.

But they have been peerless in the Premier League, leaving their rivals in

their wake to race 25 points clear of defending champions Manchester City.

With Alisson Becker in goal, Virgil van Dijk marshalling the defence and their devastating front three of Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, Klopp's men have been irresistible.

Paul Hayward, writing in the Daily Telegraph, said Liverpool should be crowned champions for the 19th time even if no more games are played.

"If a season ends too soon, its natural winning line is the point it reached before the halt was called: emphatically so, 29 games into a 38-match campaign, which is a respectable distance," he wrote. "'Voiding' the 2019/20 football season would be nonsense," he added. "Handing over the trophy at any point where clubs were forced to give up would feel morally correct." Brighton and Hove Albion chief executive Paul Barber said if the season were to be "frozen" it would be unjust on Liverpool.

"Everybody in the game appreciates what a fantastic season they've had and what a wonderful team they are," he told the BBC. "But equally it would be unjust for teams to be relegated when there are still eight, nine, ten games to play of the Premier League."

But West Ham vice-chairman Karren Brady said if the fixtures could not be completed, the only fair solution would be to declare the season "null and void".

Writing in the Sun, Brady, whose club are just two places above the relegation zone, said: "Who knows who would have gone down or come up if the games have not actually been played in full?

"A huge blow to Liverpool, who might be robbed of their first title in 30 years."

Nobody knows when football will return but, when it finally does, many in the game hope Liverpool are given the chance to complete their long journey back to the top.

Taiwan's Tai wins All England Championship title TAIPEI AGENCIES

Taiwan's Tai Tzu-ying beat Chinese world number one Chen Yufei 21-19, 21-15 to win the All England badminton Championship for the third time on Sunday. Tai, seeded second, was on a revenge mission in Birmingham after losing last year's final against Chen. The 25-year-old's previous All England titles came in 2017 and 2018 and she clinched a third in impressive style. "I'm very excited to have won the Yonex All England," Tai said. "I've very familiar with playing against Chen as I've played against her so many times. "I put her under pressure today, and I'm very happy that I was able to control the rallies well. I really like to play this tournament." In the men's event, Denmark's Viktor Axelsen won his first All England Championship title, beating Taiwanese top seed Chou Tien-chen 21-13, 21-14. Axelsen lost to Kento Momota in the final last year, but the world number seven was at his powerful best to make amends. And 26-year-old Axelsen said it was a day he would never forget. "This means a lot to me. It is a big dream come true and it's up there with all my biggest achievements in my career so far," he said after his maiden tournament win in a Super 1000 event. "Obviously right now I'm both happy and really emotional. It's just crazy. It's a day I'll remember for the rest of my life." Pre-tournament favourite Chou admitted he was below his best. "I tried to put in a better performance but I wasn't able to control the rallies as well as Viktor was able to," he said. "I didn't play to my 100 per cent, and I didn't expect that, but that's the way it is."Japanese duo Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota stormed to the women's doubles title, beating China's Du Yue and Li Yinhui 21-13, 21-15.

Indonesia's Praveen Jordan and Melati Daeva Oktavianti defeated Thai third seeds Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai 21-15, 17-21, 21-8 in the mixed doubles final.

Tuesday, 17 March, 2020

SPORTS 15

FinAL LEg oF bAngLAdEsh's Tour oF PAKisTAn PosTPonEd DhAkA

T

AGENCIES

HE Pakistan and Bangladesh cricket boards have agreed to postpone the upcoming third leg of their series, of one ODI and a Test in Karachi in early April, in light of growing concerns around the

COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) and travel restrictions around the world.

The Bangladesh squad was due to arrive in Karachi on March 29 to play an ODI on April 1 and the second World Test Championship match from April 5. The boards will explore windows to complete the series as well as fit in another Test match, scheduled for March 2021.

Despite the cancellation of the tour, and of cricket and other sports events around the world following the spread of the pandemic, the PSL has continued to run after getting permission from the government of Punjab - the games are being played behind closed doors to empty stands, and the schedule has been tweaked to shave four days off the original.

As such, though, the province - of which Lahore, the venue of the knockout matches, is a part - is under Section 144, a law that bans all private and public sports activity as well as other public gatherings. But, notwithstanding the regulations, both the National Stadium in Karachi and Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore have had a large presence of mediapersons during the games, and post-match presentation ceremonies and press conferences have been fairly crowded with representatives of the PCB and other stakeholders in attendance.

As for the overseas presence in the PSL, over a dozen cricketers have left Pakistan for home, with Chris Lynn becoming the latest to leave, his decision becoming public soon after he hit a match-winning century against Multan Sultans to put his team Lahore Qalandars in the PSL knockouts for the first time.

The PCB has responded to the exodus of foreign players by allowing teams to complete their XIs with local players as needed, and also replace the overseas players with local ones.

Meanwhile, the PCB has also indefinitely postponed the domestic Pakistan Cup one-day tournament, featuring six provincial teams, which was scheduled to start on March 25 and run until April 24, with matches played in Karachi, Multan, Lahore and Faisalabad.

HBL PSL TODAY’S MATCH VS 2:00 PM muLTAn suLTAns

LAHORE

PEshAwAr zALmi

VS 7:00 PM LAhorE qALAndArs

LAHORE

KArAChi Kings

Chris Lynn to leave PsL and return to Australia LAhorE AGENCIES

DON'T SACRIFICE LIVES

Doubts grow in Japan over Tokyo Olympics Tokyo AGENCIES

Doubts are growing in Japan about the Tokyo Olympics, with growing opposition to holding them as scheduled and some urging officials not to risk lives by pressing ahead during the coronavirus emergency.

Officials like Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach have repeatedly insisted preparations should continue to light the Olympic flame on July 24. But with events from the Premier League to NBA basketball scrapped, and Japanese sport also at a standstill, even US President Donald Trump has suggested putting the Olympics on hold.

Japan has seen relatively few cases, with 814 testing positive and 24 dead.

But some people on the streets of Tokyo voiced concern for the fans that would pour in from abroad.

Koki Miura, a 27-year-old employee at an internet company, told AFP: "To be honest, even if Japan overcomes this crisis, we wouldn't receive visitors from the world. I think we'd better not hold it."

"We cannot sacrifice people's lives for it," added Miura, who said the Games should be postponed -- if not cancelled outright. Public opinion in Japan appears to be moving against the Games. A poll for public broadcaster

NHK taken March 6-9 suggested 45 percent were opposed to going ahead as planned, with 40 percent in favour.

And a new poll of more than 1,000 people released Monday by Japan's Kyodo news agency showed 69.9 percent of respondents believe Tokyo will not be able to hold the Games as scheduled.

Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike has

said it is "unthinkable" to cancel the Olympics but the decision rests with the IOC, which is planning emergency talks with international sports federations on Tuesday, according to an IOC source.

Bach has stressed the IOC will follow World Health Organization recommendations regarding a possible postponement. But he has also acknowl-

oLymPiC boxing quALiFiEr goEs AhEAd dEsPiTE virus FEArs Olympic boxing qualifiers for fighters from Europe were taking place in London on Monday behind closed doors despite mounting concerns over coronavirus and enormous disruption across the world of sport.

The Boxing Road to Tokyo event in London started on Saturday in front of paying spectators at the Copper Box Arena and is due to run until March 24.

It features around 350 male and female boxers from dozens of nations and is the first opportunity for boxers from Europe to qualify for Tokyo 2020.

The IOC Boxing Task Force, in a statement on Sunday, said the rest of the event, from Monday, would take behind closed doors "due to the changing situation with coronavirus and concerns for public, athlete and

volunteer welfare".

Shortly before that decision, the head of European boxing told the BBC he was "very concerned" that the event was taking place.

European Boxing Confederation (EUBC) president Franco Falcinelli said he feared the risk of a boxer getting the virus was "very high".

"In my opinion it's very strange that England -- and the competition -is open at this hard time," he said.

Falcinelli also said he was concerned that the athletes could struggle to return home because of flight restrictions.

Britain's death toll from COVID19 rose on Sunday to 35. Official figures showed the country has recorded 1,372 confirmed cases.

CMYK

edged that the cancellation of qualifying events was posing "serious problems".

At the beginning of March, Bach said the IOC would show "flexibility" regarding qualifications for the Tokyo, and encouraged "all athletes to continue to prepare" for the Games.

LOOK AT THE PANIC: Masao Sugawara, a 90-year-old pensioner, told AFP: "Personally, I think it would be safer to postpone the Olympics for a year, just as President Trump said. Look at the panic." "Of course it would be disappointing, though," he admitted.

Manfred Otto, 45, a half-Japanese, half-German lawyer, said he was "worried" about the Games and stressed: "We really need to be careful." "If the outbreak does not get controlled by June or July, I think we should postpone it," said Otto. The betting odds are increasingly shifting towards the opening ceremony not taking place on July 24.

Bookmaker Paddy Power is offering 41 against the Games opening on time.

This comes as the virus -- which has killed 6,400 people worldwide -- shreds the international sporting calendar, with almost no elite sporting action taking place last weekend. Preparations for the Games have already been affected, with qualifiers cancelled, test events scaled back and the Olympic torch arrival and relay altered.

Plans have been scrapped to involve hundreds of children in the torch's arrival ceremony, while an exhibition and three events to display the flame have also been axed.

Shortly after his matchwinning century for Lahore Qalandars, Chris Lynn said he was heading back to Australia and would miss the knockouts. On Sunday, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced enhanced restrictions on all international travellers entering the country with them required to self-isolate for 14 days. In an Instagram post, Lynn wrote: "Thoroughly enjoyed my time at the @thepsl unfortunately in these circumstances I've chosen to head home, I've always said there is more to life than cricket and this is certainly one of these cases. I have full faith in the @lahoreqalandars to go all the way but more importantly have fun lads! Thank you to everyone involved, Pakistan you have been a blast."

Tuesday, 17 March, 2020

NEWS

Coronavirus slowly shutting down planet AT LEAST 349 PEOPLE SUCCUMB TO DEADLY VIRUS IN ITALY ON MONDAY, AS US CITIES SHUT DOWN PUBLIC PLACES ROME/TEHRAN/NEW YORK

a

AGENCIES

T least 349 people succumbed to the deadly coronavirus in Italy on Monday, as a US state started restricting residents’ movements in a desperate bid to contain the pandemic as American cities followed their European counterparts and shut down — closing schools, public buildings, cinemas, restaurants and bars.

Meanwhile in Iran, the coronavirus outbreak on Monday killed a member of the clerical body that appoints the supreme leader, state media said, taking the death toll among serving and former officials to at least 12. Ayatollah Hashem Bathayi Golpayegani, who was 78, died two days after testing positive for the Covid-19 disease, state news agency Irna reported.

The official represented Tehran in the Assembly of Experts, an 88-strong body of clerics that appoints and monitors Iran’s supreme leader. At least 12 Iranian politicians and officials, both sitting and former, have now died of the illness, and 13 more have been infected and are either in quarantine or being treated. “Effective tonight, all other non-essential retail, recreational, and entertainment businesses MUST CLOSE after 8:00 PM,” New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said.

“All non-essential and non-emergency travel in New Jersey is strongly discouraged between the hours of 8:00 PM and 5:00 AM. “This will remain in effect for the foreseeable future. We want everyone to be home –- and not out,” he added. Before the announcement, only the US territory of Puerto Rico had imposed a curfew.

UAE BANS PRAYERS IN MOSQUES FOR FOUR WEEKS; IRAN OUTBREAK KILLS MEMBER OF SUPREME COUNCIL OF CLERICS

New Jersey’s move came as the White House denied reports that President Donald Trump was considering a nationwide curfew.

“This is not true!” Trump’s Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere wrote in reply to a tweet by a CNN anchor that the plans would mean non-essential businesses having to close by a certain time each day. Across major US cities Monday, normally bustling streets, transport networks and roads were eerily quiet as employees began the working week at home and children contemplated weeks with no classes to attend.

New York — the city that usually never sleeps — was hunkering down for an extended period of inactivity with all nightclubs, theaters, cinemas and concert venues ordered to close from Tuesday.

Meanwhile, France and Spain joined Italy in imposing lockdowns on tens of millions of people while Australia ordered self-isolation of arriving foreigners and other countries extended entry bans as the world sought to contain the spreading coronavirus. Colombia will block entry to travellers who are not residents or citizens and will close schools and universities from Monday.

Colombian citizens and foreign residents who arrive from March 16 will be required to perform an obligatory 14-day period of self isolation.

Guatemala logged its first fatality from coronavirus on Monday as nations in South and Central America ramped up measures to contain the infection, with Panama banning entry of non-resident foreigners and Honduras closing its borders to passenger traffic for a week. Argentina published a decree establishing a 30-day ban on entry to non-residents who have travelled to a

country highly affected by coronavirus in the last 14 days.

Mexico warned the outbreak could last all year as it began rolling out tougher measures to contain the spread, calling for an end to large gatherings and extending Easter school holidays. France is preparing an order that would put its inhabitants under partial lockdown to combat the epidemic. The Czech Republic tightened restrictions on Monday to combat the outbreak, banning people from moving around except for work, shopping and some other limited activities until March 24.

Slovenia will shut down its air traffic from Tuesday in an attempt to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.

Britain will isolate older people “within weeks” and force into quarantine anyone diagnosed with coronavirus, the government said as it stepped up measures that have so far been less stringent than elsewhere in Europe. Germany urged people returning from Italy, Switzerland and Austria to self-isolate for up to two weeks. China has tightened checks on international travelers at Beijing airport and said it will centrally quarantine all arrivals at its capital, after new imported coronavirus cases surpassed locally transmitted infections for a second day.

Australia’s capital and the country’s second most populous state declared states of emergency on Monday.

The Philippines recorded four additional coronavirus deaths and 29 new cases, bringing the domestic tally of infections to 140, as authorities placed the entire capital Manila under “community quarantine” for about a month beginning Sunday. South Korea reported 74 new coronavirus infections on Monday, bringing the country’s total to 8,236. The Netherlands closed all schools, cafes,

restaurants and sport clubs nationwide, its most farreaching moves yet on the epidemic.

Gulf Arab states expanded measures, with the United Arab Emirates shuttering several public venues including parks and the Abu Dhabi bourse trading hall, as infections continued to spread in the region. President Michel Aoun declared a medical state of emergency in Lebanon and called on people to work from home as the country steps up measures to prevent the spread of the virus.

Several other countries have also imposed bans on mass gathering, shuttered sporting, cultural and religious events, while medical experts urged people to practice “social distancing” to curb the spread.

The United Arab Emirates health ministry banned prayers at all houses of worship, including mosques, for four weeks starting Monday as part of measures to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus.

AIR POLLUTION LIKELY TO INCREASE MORTALITY FROM CORONAVIRUS: EXPERTS NEW YORK AGENCIES

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan and renowned religious scholar Maulana Tariq Jameel avoid shaking hands as a precautionary measure against coronavirus during a meeting held at PM Office in Islamabad on Monday.PPI

Crowded, poor South Asia sees steady rise in coronavirus cases DHAKA AGENCIES

Health authorities across South Asia reported rising tallies of coronavirus cases on Monday, raising the prospect of rapidly spreading outbreaks overwhelming poor medical facilities in a region that is home to a quarter of the world’s people. South Asia has been relatively lightly hit by the virus compared with neighbours to the east, like China and South Korea, and to the west like Iran and parts of Europe.

But measures that have reined in epidemics in China, where the coronavirus emerged late last year, and South Korea are unlikely to work in poor, crowded parts of South Asia, health officials say.

“As compared to developed countries like the United States and China it will be difficult to (enforce) social distancing, especially in slum areas,” said Giridhara R Babu, an epidemiologist at the Indian Institute of Public Health in the city of Bengaluru.

“The living environment itself is crowded and may not be practical to ask them to maintain minimum distance from each other.” Pakistan recorded a sharp rise in coronavirus cases on Monday, up 40 to 94, according to a Reuters tally of statistics from central and provincial governments.

The majority of new cases were in the southern province of Sindh in patients who had recently travelled from Iran – which has one of the world’s worst outbreaks.

Afghanistan saw its tally rise to 21 with the majority of cases in the western province of Herat, which borders Iran and where thousands of Afghans cross back into

their home country every day, some after being deported and others to escape a worsening Iranian economy.

Afghanistan’s health infrastructure has been devastated by decades of war and a lack of funds and it would be hard pressed to mount any sort of concerted action against a coronavirus epidemic.

Matin Noorzai, a wholesaler in the one of the main

markets in the Afghan capital of Kabul, said he had seen unprecedented demand and soaring food prices in recent days as worried shoppers stocked up. “If the situation continues like this, I am sure in the coming week there will be no food left in the market,” he said.

Sri Lanka, meanwhile, reported an almost-doubling of cases to 18 from 10.

Air pollution from petrol and diesel vehicles is likely to increase mortality from the novel coronavirus in cities, public health experts told AFP Monday. The European Public Health Alliance (EPHA) warned that dirty air in urban areas that causes hypertension, diabetes and other respiratory illness could lead to a higher overall death toll from the virus currently sweeping the world. Emissions from petrol and diesel engines were still at “dangerous” levels that could imperil the most vulnerable during this and future pandemics, said the European Respiratory Society (EPS), which is a member of the EPHA. “Patients with chronic lung and heart conditions caused or worsened by long-term exposure to air pollution are less able to fight off lung infections and more likely to die,” EPS member Sara De Matteis said. “This is likely also the case for COVID-19,” added de Matteis, who is also an associate professor in occupational and environmental medicine at Italy’s Cagliari University. The virus has so far infected more than 168,000 people and killed over 6,500 worldwide. Several European nations have implemented unprecedented measures to prevent the spread of the disease and allow health systems to treat patients. While there is currently no proven link between COVID-19 mortality and air pollution, one peer-reviewed study into the 2003 SARS outbreak showed that patients in regions with moderate air pollution levels were 84 percent more likely to die than those in regions with low air pollution. COVID-19 is similar to SARS and can cause respiratory failure in severe cases. Mortality data for COVID-19 is incomplete, but preliminary numbers show the majority of patients who die are elderly or have pre-existing chronic conditions such as heart or lung disease.

According to the European Environment Agency, air pollution leads to around 400,000 early deaths across the continent annually, despite European Union air quality directives. One COVID-19 hotspot, northern Italy, has particularly high levels of PM10 — microscopic particles of pollution due largely to road traffic. The number of fatalities in Italy shot up by 368 to 1,809 on Sunday — more than half of all the cases recorded outside China. A study published last week in the journal Cardiovascular Research said that air pollution shortens lives worldwide by nearly three years on average, and leads to 8.8 million premature deaths annually.

The shutdown in northern Italy has in fact led to a significant reduction in nitrous oxide and small particulate matter in the air, according to satellite data. EPHA Acting Secretary-General Sascha Marschang said that governments must prioritise a reduction in polluting vehicles to avoid unnecessary deaths during future outbreaks. “Governments should have tackled chronic air pollution long ago, but have prioritised the economy over health by going soft on the auto industry,” he said. “Science tells us that epidemics like COVID-19 will occur with increasing frequency,” added.

Published by Arif Nizami at Qandeel Printing Press, 4 Queens Road, Lahore. Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965. Email: newsroom@pakistantoday.com.pk

CMYK