Tuesday, 3 November, 2020 I 16 Rabi-ul-Awwal, 1442 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XI No 123 I 12 Pages I Lahore Edition
SchoolS won’t be cloSed, SayS miniSter aS covid-19 caSeS Surge Imran calls NCOC meeting today; Asad stresses need for immediate measures g
ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT
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N the wake of a resurgence of the Covid-19, Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood rejected the rumours regarding the shutdown of schools and said that “at the moment no such decision has been made”. “Rumours again afloat regarding school closures. It is again clarified that educational institutions are NOT being closed,” he announced on Twitter. The minister added that the government would keep a close on the situation and monitor the health of students and teachers. Punjab Education Minister Murad Raas had earlier said that no schools were being closed in spite of the rising number of cases. “Keeping a very close watch on COVID 19 cases in Schools of Punjab. Random testing is being done continuously. There is a slight increase in numbers but nothing alarming. Situation being analysed on
daily basis. There is NO plan to close Schools as of right now. Please follow SOPs [standard operating procedures],” he had tweeted. Earlier, Director of General Health Services Islamabad Dr Hassan Orooj said that the public is not following Covid-19 SOPs, adding that a second lockdown now seems “inevitable”. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan has called a meeting of the National Coordination Committee (NCC) on Tuesday to discuss ways to combat the respiratory disease. The PM will also be briefed by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on the situation. Hours before the announcement of the meeting, Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar had said that the government was considering measures to curb the spread of the disease, which first caused a countrywide lockdown in March. “Recommendations will be tabled in the NCC being called for tomorrow,” he
coronaviruS in
PakiStan
CONFIRMED CASES:
331,108
LAST UPDATED AT 7:40 AM ON NOVEMBER 02, 2020
DAY'S DEATH TOLL:
12
RECOVERED:
NEW CASES:
908
DEATHS:
335,093 6,835 SINDH:
PUNJAB:
146,331
104,554
KP:
BALOCHISTAN:
AJK/GB:
ISLAMABAD:
39,649
15,954
4,237/4,279 20,089
said on Twitter. “Need to take immediate measures which have the most impact on disease spread without curtailing economic activity.” Previously, Pakistan had imposed a 21day lockdown before it began easing restrictions. PM Imran often spoke against strict lockdowns due to their economic impact, especially on the lives of poor workers. Pakistan had seen its peak in June, with over 6,000 reported cases in a single day, but by August, that number had fallen to about 200 per day. Under these circumstances, the government had allowed schools to reopen. Unfortunately, cases began to rise again in October, and on November 1, 2020, Pakistan recorded 1,123 new Covid19 cases in a single day. Pakistan’s positivity ratio has risen to over 4 per cent, but this is still below the World Health Organisation (WHO) threshold of 5 per cent. Speaking to a local news outlet, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan said, “The second wave is here in Pakistan.” Health officials insist that if people follow guidelines such as wearing face masks in public spaces and the government relaunches a mass awareness campaign about the virus, another lockdown can be avoided. On Monday, Karachi reported 289 new coronavirus cases out of the total 443 infections registered in Sindh, the province’s chief minister Murad Ali Shah said. Among the new cases, 90 were reported from Karachi’s South District, 83 East, 48 Central, 40 Malir, 18 Korangi, and 10 from West, the chief minister said. Furthermore, Hyderabad reported 39 new cases, Tando Mohammad Khan 18, Shikarpur 12, Khairpur 10, Dadu eight, Ghotki seven, Jamshoro and Sanghar six each, Thatta five, Shaheed Benazirabad four, Matiari three, Badin two, Kashmore, Mirpurkhas, Naushehroferoze, Sujawal and Umerkot one each.
PTI sacks Chohan again, appoints Firdous as CM’s aide LAHORE SHAHAB OMER
Several provincial ministers, including Fayyazul Hassan Chohan, Mehar Muhammad Aslam and Zawar Hussain Warraich, were removed from their posts in a reshuffling of the Punjab cabinet, while former special assistant to prime minister Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan was appointed as the chief minister’s aide. Firdous, who was removed as the SAPM earlier this year, replaced Javaid Akhtar as the special assistant to chief minister on information. Chohan, however, was not removed from the provincial cabinet, as he continues to hold the portfolio of the Ministry of Colonies. The former provincial information minister has been removed from his post for the second time as he was previously fired for making offensive comments against the Hindu community. Moreover, Aslam and Hussain have been removed from the Ministry of Cooperatives and the Ministry of Prisons, respectively. Sources told Pakistan Today that while Chohan was fulfilling his
Campaign draws to a close with US facing a crossroads PHILADEPHIA AGENCIES
United States President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden have one last chance to make their case to voters in critical battleground states on Monday, the final full day of a campaign that has laid bare their dramatically different visions for tackling the nation’s pressing problems and for the office of the presidency itself. The candidates are seeking to lead a nation at a crossroads, gripped by a historic pandemic that is raging anew in nearly every corner of the country and a reckoning over race. More than 93 million people have already voted and each campaign insists it has a pathway to victory, though Biden’s options for picking up the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win are more plentiful. Trump is banking on a surge of enthusiasm from his most loyal supporters. The president’s final day has him sprinting through five rallies, from North Carolina to Wisconsin. Biden, meanwhile, was devoting most of his time to Pennsylvania, where a win would leave Trump with an exceedingly narrow path. Biden was also dipping into Ohio, a show of confidence in a state where Trump won by 8 percentage points four years ago. Heading into the closing 24 hours, Trump and Biden each painted the other as unfit for office and described the next four years in nearapocalyptic terms if the other were to win. “The Biden plan will turn America into a prison state locking you down while letting the far-left rioters roam free to loot and burn,” Trump thundered Sunday at a rally in Iowa, one of the five
he held in battleground states. Biden said America was on the verge of putting “an end to a presidency that’s fanned the flames of hate.” “When America is heard, I believe the message is going to be clear: It’s time for Donald Trump to pack his bags and go home,” Biden said in Philadelphia, the biggest city in a state that could decide the presidency. “We’re done with the chaos, the tweets, the anger, the hate.” As the candidates close out the campaign, the pandemic, which has killed more than 230,000 Americans and cost nearly 20 million to lose jobs, reached a new peak in infection rates, threatening yet another blow to the lives and livelihoods of voters. The election caps an extraordinary year that began with Trump’s impeachment, the nearcollapse of Biden’s candidacy during the crowded Democratic primary and then was fully reshaped by the coronavirus outbreak. A record number of votes have already been cast, through early voting or mail-in ballots, which could lead to delays in their tabulation. Trump has spent months claiming without evidence that the votes would be ripe for fraud while refusing to guarantee that he would honor the election result. In the starkest terms yet, Trump on Sunday threatened litigation to stop the tabulation of ballots arriving after Election Day. As soon as polls closed in battlegrounds such as Pennsylvania, Trump said, “we’re going in with our lawyers.” It was unclear precisely what Trump meant. There is already an appeal pending at the Supreme Court over the counting of absentee ballots in Pennsylvania that are received in the mail in the three days after the election.
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duties and also garnered praise from Prime Minister Imran Khan himself, the decision to remove his was taken at the Prime Minister House. Moreover, the PM House also decided to engage Firdous in the province. They said that Firdous was to be given this portfolio almost a week ago, but since she was mentioned in the detailed judgement of the Supreme Court (SC) in Justice Qazi Faez Isa case for her insulting remarks against the judge in the past, the decision was put on hold to allow things to cool down. Interestingly, Chohan, while speaking to journalists on Monday, said that he was unaware that he had been removed from the ministry. It is worth mentioning here that Firdous was removed from her former post on charges of possessing assets beyond known sources of income and abuse of power. However, soon after her appointment, the newly-appointed CM’s aide, thanked the premier and the provincial chief executive for giving her a portfolio in Punjab and reiterated her commitment to fulfilling her responsibilities.
more inside
Gunmen kill at least 19 students in attack on Kabul University STORY ON BACK PAGE
Minor Christian girl recovered, confirms Sindh government STORY ON PAGE 02
Ending class-based education system top priority: PM STORY ON PAGE 02
Those expecting factions within PML-N have received our ‘message of unity’: Maryam STORY ON PAGE 03
02
Tuesday, 3 November, 2020
NEWS
ENdINg clASS-bASEd EdUcAtIoN SyStEm toP PRIoRIty: Pm ISLAMABAD
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TLTP
RIME Minister Imran Khan has said that ending class-based segregation in the education sector is the top priority of the government. Chairing a meeting regarding uniform national curriculum on Monday, the prime minister said that a uniform education system is not only the need of modern times, but also a fundamental right of every child. He said that the new generation should be fully aware of the life and Sunnah of Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) as he is the real role model and his Sunnah is a beacon
of light for all Muslims. He said that the national education policy will improve the education standard and provide equal opportunities to empower all segments of the society. He added that the success of this system is based on selection of teaching staff and its capacity building. He also said that the new policy will enable people to get quality education. He added that a uniform education system will set a precedent to be followed for regional countries. Minister for Federal Education Shafqat Mahmood briefed the meeting that introducing uniform syllabus at the national level is aimed at highlighting analytical and creative capabilities of the students.
He said that besides imparting curricular education and highlighting Pakistani nationalism, this system will instill golden principles of truthfulness, honesty, tolerance, respect, mutual harmony, awareness about climate change, democracy, human rights, sustainable development and personal protection amongst students. He added that special focus has been made on character building of the students in the uniform education system. The meeting was informed that this syllabus has been formulated, while keeping sustainable development goals in view, and this will be applicable in all private and government schools as well as Islamic seminaries, across Pakistan.
Resolution seeks suspension of Ayaz Sadiq's NA membership
It was told that Islamic studies will be taught as a separate subject from Grade 1 to Grade 12 to promote Islamic teachings. A separate subject under the name of Religious Education will be introduced for students belonging to minority communities, which will be offered from Class 1. The meeting was apprised that the prime objective of the uniform syllabus is providing education to the students as per need of the modern time and consultation process with all stakeholders has been completed in this regard. The prime minister was also briefed about the Federal Directorate of Education and upgradation of educational institutions in Islamabad.
Minor Christian girl recovered, confirms Sindh government ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT
After orders from the Sindh High Court (SHC), Arzoo Raja, a Christian girl who was purportedly abducted and forced to marry an older Muslim man, has been recovered and shifted to a shelter home, confirmed Sindh government's spokesperson Barrister Murtaza Wahab. Speaking to a local news outlet, Karachi police chief Additional Inspector General Arif Hanif said that the girl had been recovered safely and her purported husband had also been arrested. The city police chief said that the girl would be sent to a shelter home as per the directions of the Sindh High Court (SHC) while the suspect would be presented before the court on Tuesday. According to Arzoo's father, the 13year-old girl was allegedly abducted from her residence in Karachi on October 13 and
two days later their 45-year-old neighbour, Syed Ali Azhar, while claiming to be her husband, produced a marriage certificate saying she was of legal age, 18, and had converted to Islam. A first information report (FIR) was lodged at Ferere police station subsequently on behalf of her father. The orders for her recovery had been issued by the SHC to police and security forces earlier in the day "The judge has ordered the girl be recovered by police and relevant agencies and shifted to a shelter home. [The] next hearing fixed for Thursday morning [November 5]. My lawyer has informed the court that an intervener will be filed on my behalf," Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari had tweeted earlier. The counsel for Arzoo's family, Jibran Nasir, also confirmed the development, adding that the SHC had directed that the girl be produced before the court at the next
President seeks UN efforts to implement Kashmir resolutions ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi has urged the United Nations (UN) to take steps to implement United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir. Talking to UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Julien Harneis on Monday, the president said that Pakistan has always pursued peaceful resolution of all outstanding issues with India, including the core dispute of Jammu and Kashmir, which has been on the agenda of the UN for over seven decades. President Alvi reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to multilateralism and the principles and purpose of the UN Charter. He informed that Pakistan has launched several programmes to realise the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). He also apprised Julien Harneis about the measures taken by Pakistan against the spread of Covid-19 pandemic as well as the financial support provided by the Government to the deserving families under Ehsaas Programme. Dr Alvi reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to bring minorities to the mainstream and protect their rights. Julien Harneis praised Pakistan for being tolerant to minorities. The president appreciated the role of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights for extensively documenting gross Human Rights violations being committed by India in the Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK). TLTP
hearing. The court noted that issues to be addressed are the girl's age, whether she was forcibly converted and if her marriage is legal, he said. Nasir said he trusted the Sindh government and the police would use all resources at their disposal to recover Arzoo. "To save our children, the government, judiciary, lawyers, civil society and the media should all be on the same page. We all need to play our respective roles effectively," he further said. Meanwhile, Sindh government spokesperson Wahab had said that the court had issued the directives on an application filed by the provincial government. The case led to protests which started in Karachi but have since spread across Pakistan to other cities including Quetta, Lahore, and Hyderabad after a judicial magistrate dismissed on Saturday an application filed by Arzoo's family, requesting to send her to a shelter home from the custody of her purported husband. The judge
upheld the marriage after Azhar claimed she had converted of her own free will. Police had booked Azhar and arrested his brothers, Syed Shariq Ali, Syed Mohsin Ali, and a friend, Danish, in connection with the alleged abduction. According to Arzoo's family, her purported husband lived in a house opposite theirs along with his family. "[The man who] abducted her has prepared fake papers to show that she is 18-year-old,” her mother, Rita Masih, said. The investigating officer in the case, Inspector Shariq Ahmed Siddiqui, had stated that the victim had appeared before the high court and was sent under the protection of the station house officer of the Preedy police station in compliance with the court's October 27 order. He said he had called in the verification of Arzoo's B-form, which as per the National Database and Registration Authority, was authentic.
Clear division within PML-N over ‘anti-state’ statements: Imran ISLAMABAD TLTP
Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Monday that there is a clear division within Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) ranks over the “anti-state” statements from the party leadership. He said this while chairing a meeting of the government spokespersons on Monday. The meeting discussed the overall political, economic situation of the country, while the matter of PML-N leader and former National Assembly (NA) speaker Ayaz Sadiq also came under discussion. PM Imran, during the meeting, directed party spokespersons to raise Ayaz’s statement against national security on a public level. “Nation loves Pakistan Armed Forces. There is a clear division within PML-N over anti-state activities,” said the PM, adding that opposition parties are playing tactics to get an NRO. “Oppositions only aim is to seek NRO and their narrative is against national interests of Pakistan,” the prime min-
ister told the meeting. He directed to effectively highlight the government's narrative and measures and public welfare projects. It is pertinent to mention here that several PML-N MPAs in Punjab Assembly had condemned the narrative of the party’s supreme leader Nawaz Sharif and other senior party leaders for targeting national institutions. PM TO HOST DINNER FOR ALLIES: Moreover, PM Imran has decided to host a dinner for coalition partners on November 5. He has invited coalition partners to a dinner on Thursday at his official residence to address reservations of political allies. Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA), Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) and other political allies have been invited to attend dinner. According to sources, the prime minister will discuss the overall political situation of the country and other important matters with the leadership of coalition parties.
LAHORE APP
A resolution condemning the statement of former National Assembly (NA) speaker and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Sardar Ayaz Sadiq on the release of the Indian pilot in February last year was submitted to the Punjab Assembly secretariat on Monday. Last week, Ayaz had claimed during a lower house session that Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, the Indian Air Force pilot who was captured in February last year after the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) shot down his intruding jet during a dogfight, was released “out of the fear of Indian attack”. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MPA Mussarat Jamshed Cheema submitted the resolution alleging Ayaz made the statement to please deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif and India. “Not only did he go against the Constitution but also distorted history by issuing remarks against Pakistan Army,” it states. Mussarat demanded a reference to suspend Ayaz’s membership of the parliament. She also called for action against those on whose behest the statement was issued.
Qureshi calls for global steps against Islamophobia ISLAMABAD TLTP
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has called for global measures including interfaith harmony to overcome the challenge of Islamophobia. The foreign minister was talking to his German counterpart Heiko Maas over the telephone on Monday. Qureshi said that Muslims around the world, including Pakistan, are deeply concerned about the growing trend of Islamophobia. Talking about Afghan peace process, he said that Pakistan continues its sincere efforts in this regard. He said Afghan leadership has a unique opportunity in the form of intra-Afghan talks and the success of these talks is essential for lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan. Qureshi said that Pakistan has always supported Afghan-led, comprehensive dialogue acceptable to Afghans. “We also need to keep an eye on the elements who want to destabilise the region,” he said. The foreign minister also apprised his German counterpart of the continuing and serious human rights violations by India in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK). He said in defiance of International Law, India wants to change the demography of IOK. He urged the International community to play its role to liberate unarmed Kashmiris from Indian oppression. Qureshi also extended condolences to his German counterpart over the loss of lives in Germany due to the coronavirus pandemic. He appreciated the German strategy in containing the spread of the coronavirus. He called for global efforts to tackle the challenge of the Covid-19 pandemic. The two foreign ministers agreed to continue consultations on the promotion of bilateral trade, economic cooperation and ongoing efforts for peace in the region.
Shehbaz, Hamza summoned on Nov 11 for indictment in money laundering case LAHORE APP
An accountability court in Lahore on Monday summoned on November 11 National Assembly (NA) Opposition Leader Shehbaz Sharif and Punjab Assembly Opposition Leader Hamza Shehbaz for indictment in a reference pertaining to money laundering and accumulation of assets beyond means case. Accountability Judge Jawadul Hassan conducted the case proceedings, wherein jail authorities produced Shehbaz, Hamza and other suspects on
expiry of their judicial remand. At the beginning of the proceedings, the statements of the approvers were provided to the accused in accordance with court previous orders. Defence counsel Amjad Pervaiz complained that Shehbaz and Hamza were opposition leaders in the National Assembly and provincial assembly respectively but they were brought to the court in armoured vehicles despite health issues. At this stage, Shehbaz also requested the court for the provision of a physiotherapist. To which, the court asked him to move a separate application for the purpose.
A special prosecutor submitted a report on behalf of NAB Lahore about the jail trial of the case, wherein the bureau stated that it did not have any objection to the jail trial of the case as the court was empowered to hold the jail trial. The bureau further submitted that the court orders would be complied with in this matter. Subsequently, the court adjourned further hearing till November 11 and extended judicial remand of the suspects. Meanwhile, the court dismissed the application filed by Shehbaz’s wife, Nusrat Shehbaz, for a permanent exemption from personal appearance in the case and summoned her on the next date of hearing.
Tuesday, 3 November, 2020
NEWS
KHAlIlzAd cAllS oN coAS to dIScUSS AfgHAN PEAcE PRocESS, REgIoNAl SEcURIty SItUAtIoN
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NEWS DESK
S Special Representative for Afghan Reconciliation Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad called on Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa in Rawalpindi on Monday, Radio Pakistan reported.
“The regional security situation, the Afghan peace process, with particular reference to border management, and the way forward for lasting peace in Afghanistan were discussed during the meeting,” the report said. Khalilzad appreciated Pakistan’s untiring efforts for facilitating the process towards the mutual objective of peace in the
IHc directs govt to share plans regarding Roosevelt Hotel ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday directed the government to submit a detailed response outlining the government’s plan regarding the state-owned Roosevelt Hotel in New York City. The hotel, a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) possession in the heart of posh Manhattan neighbourhood, shut its doors on guests permanently on Oct 31. “Due to the current economic impacts, after almost 100 years of welcoming guests to The Grand Dame of New York, The Roosevelt Hotel, is regretfully closing its doors permanently as of Oct 31, 2020,” an announcement shared on the hotel’s website had said. Justice Amir Farooq, while presiding the hearing of a petition against the hotel’s closure, inquired about the government’s plans for the future of the property. “It is being converted into apartments and offices. The Roosevelt Hotel has its own historical significance [so much so that] US President Donald Trump wants to buy it,” responded the petitioner’s counsel. The court observed it had already disposed of a petition regarding the hotel after the federal government’s statement. The court also directed the assistant attorney general (AAG) to apprise the IHC on the policy matter of the hotel and adjourned the hearing for one week. Earlier on October 2, Senate Standing Committee on Aviation was told the Roosevelt Hotel was not being sold but would either be renovated or reconstructed in the future. “Either the Roosevelt Hotel will be renovated or it will be demolished to build a 100-storey building,” PIA chief executive officer Arshad Malik told the panel of the Upper House, which met under the chairmanship of Senator Mushahidullah Khan. Malik observed that the purpose of reconstructing the hotel was to reduce the expenses and turn it into a profit-making entity. He had told the body that the current market value of the Roosevelt Hotel assessed by Deloitte was $562 million. At this, Senator Khan pointed out that the value of the hotel had already been assessed as $1,700 million and that it was a profit-making entity a year ago. He asked how it was now going into losses. Malik replied that since 2015, the property had been making profits and incurring losses as well and added that $105 million were due towards it.
region, it added. Khalilzad is the Trump administration’s special representative for Afghan peace and played a key role in arranging the US-Taliban deal and the joint declaration earlier this year. The US envoy had also called on the army chief last month to discuss matters related to mutual interest, peace and stability
in the region, Pak-Afghan border management, and current developments in the Afghan peace process, according to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations. In October, he had warned that “distressingly high” levels of violence in Afghanistan could derail ongoing peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban.
Those expecting factions within PML-N have received our 'message of unity': Maryam LAHORE STAFF REPORT
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz on Monday said elements who were expecting factions to emerge within the party have received “our message of unity”. Maryam had visited her uncle, PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif, and cousin, Punjab Assembly Opposition Leader Hamza Shahbaz, to express solidarity during their hearing at an accountability court in Lahore. “Shallow people have been making the same predictions for the past 30 years. This family is united and will
remain united,” she said while speaking to the media outside the court. The PML-N leader also took a jibe at the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, saying no one was “as terrified of the democratic leadership as they are”. The court was hearing the money laundering and assets beyond means references filed against the members of the Sharif family. The two were produced before the court from Kot Lakhpat Jail in an armoured vehicle under tight security. Maryam had shown up at the court after being declined a meeting by the prison’s administration. According to reports, Maryam took Shehbaz into confidence over the current political situation, and also took
LONDON Oil prices fell on Monday on worries that widening coronavirus lockdowns in Europe would weaken fuel demand while concerns remain over potential turbulence resulting from this week’s U.S. presidential election. Brent crude was down 80 cents, or 2.1%, at $37.14 a barrel by 1140 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate fell 93 cents, or 2.6%, to $34.86. Both contracts fell more than $2 earlier in the session. Countries across Europe have reimposed lockdown measures to try to slow Covid-19 infection rates that have accelerated over the past month. “The number of lockdowns - and the oil demand the countries that imposed them account for - will lead to some demand destruction, depressing balances and putting further strain on the already fragile mar-
“Unfounded charges of violations and inflammatory rhetoric do not advance peace,” he had said in a statement issued in Washington. “Instead, we should pursue strict adherence to all articles of the US-Taliban agreement and US-Afghanistan joint declaration and not neglect the commitment to gradually reduce violence,” he had added. Meanwhile, the COAS said last week that Pakistan and Afghanistan could not afford the risk of lawlessness and chaos as such a situation would have catastrophic consequences for both countries. Pakistan has always desired peace in Afghanistan and would spare no effort to restore peace and stability in the neighbouring country, he had said.
instructions regarding the Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) election campaign. The two leaders also discussed Ayaz Sadiq’s recent statement made in the National Assembly (NA). This was Maryam’s first meeting with the PML-N president since his arrest. Shehbaz, while responding to a journalist’s question about being brought to the court in an armoured vehicle, said, “It was the cruelty of the highest order, but it does not matter”. Maryam also condemned the act as reprehensible. “The terror that has befallen the government is of no one else’s making but of a democratic leadership,” she said. “They will have to suffer for the standard they are setting. Next year would be the year of general elections [in Azad Jammu and Kashmir]. The PML-N will also win elections in Gilgit-Baltistan,” she added. Shehbaz also met PML-N leaders Ahsan Iqbal and Marriyum Aurangzeb in the courtroom during which he was apprised of the current political situation.
Campaign draws to a close with US facing a crossroads K-Electric posts CONtINuED fROM pAgE 01 The state’s top court ordered the extension and the Supreme Court refused to block it, though conservative justices expressed interest in taking up the propriety of the three added days after the election. Those ballots are being kept separate in case the litigation goes forward. The issue could assume enormous importance if the latearriving ballots could tip the outcome. Under the shadow of possible legal battles, Pennsylvania loomed as the most important battleground on the map. For Biden, who lives in neighboring Delaware, Pennsylvania has long been the focus of his campaign, a bulwark to block Trump from securing the electoral votes needed for reelection. Both he and his running mate, Senator Kamala Harris, and their spouses will crisscross the state on Monday. But Biden’s other travel telegraphed his campaign’s hope to deliver a knockout blow to Trump that would make any Pennsylvania legal challenges essentially irrelevant. Biden added a late stop to Ohio, a state where Trump once had a sizable lead and can’t win without. That came on the heels of the ticket’s pushes into other formerly reliable Trump strongholds like Iowa and Texas, as well as Georgia, where the Democrats’ most popular surrogate, former President Barack Obama, was set to campaign Monday. But even as Biden enjoyed strong poll numbers,
the move to expand the map revived anxiety among Democrats scarred by Trump’s 2016 upset over Hillary Clinton, whose forays into red states may have contributed to losing longtime party strongholds such as Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. Facing a shortage of campaign cash, Trump has been unable to compete with Biden over the airwaves and has relied on rallies to fire up his base and generate media coverage. The rallies, arguably the most dominant political force of the last five years, could draw to a close Monday with stops in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and two in Michigan. The last will be in Grand Rapids, the same city where Trump held his finale four years ago. Trump is focusing his last rounds of stops only on states he won four years ago, playing defense in a campaign that has become a referendum on his handling of the pandemic. Both parties say the election holds outsize importance given the confluence of challenges facing the country. Adam Jentleson, a progressive strategist and former top aide to ex-Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada, said Election Day lives up to the over-used political billing of being the most important of the country’s collective lifetime because it “is about restoring the basic structure of a functioning, multiracial democracy that can be responsive to the will of its people, which is something that’s gotten lost over the past couple of decades.”
Govt committed to developing media industry: Faraz ISLAMABAD TLTP
Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shibli Faraz has said that the government will continue provision of all possible facilities for the development and promotion of the media industry as it fully believes in freedom of expression. In a statement to congratulate newly elected of-
fice-bearers of Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA), the information minister said that electronic media is playing a key role in decision and opinion making, and keeping the people abreast with the current situation. The minister expressed hope that the newly elected leadership of PBA will work for resolution of problems being faced by the media industry, especially journalists and media workers, with full devotion.
Oil drops as lockdowns widen and US election looms AGENCIES
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ket,” said Rystad Energy analyst Paola RodriguezMasiu. Global oil trading companies expect further demand destruction, though estimates differ. Vitol sees winter demand at 96 million barrels per day (bpd) while Trafigura expects demand to drop to 92 million bpd or lower. A tight race in the lead up to the U.S. election on Tuesday and accompanying uncertainty also prompted investor caution in global markets. “The concerns over oil supply and demand fundamentals ... are going to play second fiddle to the U.S. presidential election and to how risk markets will react to the outcome,” said BNP Paribas analyst Harry Tchilinguirian. Oil pared some losses after Japan’s export orders grew for the first time in two years and China’s factory activity rose to its highest in nearly a decade in October. More manufacturing surveys are expected
from the euro zone and the United States later in the day. Sharply rising Libyan oil production also added to price pressures. Libya’s output stands at about 800,000 barrels per day (bpd), up more than 100,000 bpd from a few days ago, a Libyan source told Reuters on Saturday. Meanwhile, output from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) rose for a fourth month in October, a Reuters survey found. OPEC and allies including Russia are cutting output by about 7.7 million bpd to support prices. This OPEC+ group is scheduled to hold a policy meeting on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, with some analysts expecting a postponement of plans to ramp up output by 2 million bpd from January. “A resolute and coordinated announcement and action by OPEC+ are what is really needed to prevent any further price slide,” said Commerzbank analyst Eugen Weinberg.
Rs2.96bn loss for fy20
The Board of Directors of K-Electric Limited recently approved the company’s financial results for the year ended June 30, 2020. As per the results issued to the PSX, K-Electric declared a loss of Rs2.96 billion in glaring contrast to a profit of Rs17.274 billion during the same period last year. This is primarily on the back of accumulated government receivables and delayed determination of tariff variations which have severely impacted working capital requirements of the company and driven up finance costs by 166pc to Rs16.737 billion vs. Rs6.285 billion in FY19. In spite of these financial challenges in the backdrop of Covid-19 pandemic, over Rs55 billion have been invested by the company across the generation, transmission and distribution businesses. Both, industrial and commercial consumption reduction on account of Covid-19 lockdown and load-shed exemption for high-loss areas coupled with the mobility restrictions for theft detection activities, impacted the sales mix of the company. However, despite these constraints brought on by the pandemic, T&D losses were kept within control, showing a marginal increase of 0.60pc in FY20 compared to the previous year. Similarly, sales growth of 0.5pc was witnessed during FY20. Before Covid-19 spread accelerated, up until March 20, 2020, the company had shown even stronger operational performance with 3.1pc growth in units sent-out as well as 2pc T&D loss reduction, year-on-year. According to K-Electric Moonis Alvi, “The year under review was unprecedented in more ways than one with the Covid-19 lockdown during which we provided uninterrupted power focusing on serving vulnerable consumer segments. Despite the mounting financial strain on the company because of pending govt receivables, KE continues to focus on the future and the city’s energy security. The company’s $650 million BQPS-III project is on course and the first unit is expected to come online by summer of 2021, with successful completion of the project by year-end. The company has also accelerated investment in interconnection facilities necessary to evacuate additional power from the national grid to ensure increased availability of power for next summer.” NEWS DESK
lucky cement launches second scholarship programme for lakki marwat students ISLAMABAD: In continuation to support education in Pakistan and provide affordable education for the deserving students, Lucky Cement Limited has launched yet another scholarship programme for the youth of District Lakki Marwat. Under this programme, the eligible students can apply for full scholarship of intermediate. The company will cover the tuition fee expense of the selected students. Students residing permanently and holding domicile of District Lakki Marwat can apply for the programme. The aim of the programme is to make education accessible and affordable for deserving students especially from the rural areas regardless of their financial background. NEWS DESK
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Tuesday, 3 November, 2020
NEWS
ATC extends remand of motorway gang-rape suspect LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore on
Monday extended for 15 days the physical remand of the
prime accused in the motorway gang-rape case.
Special Anti-Terrorism Court Judge Arshad hussain Bhatta heard the proceeding during which Abid Malhi was
presented after the identity parade. Malhi was produced amid tight security.
A woman was raped at gunpoint in September by two men before the eyes of her children after her vehicle ran
out of fuel. The two men including Malhi are also said to have stolen money and jewelry before fleeing the scene. APP
CCIR to regularise 799 appointments through ex-post facto approval ISLAMABAD AHMAD AHMADANI
T
he Cabinet Committee on Institutional Reforms (CCIR) has proposed a way for the federal government to resolve the issue of 799 government servants appointed since 2016 in different ministries/divisions without cabinet’s approval, Pakistan Today learnt on Monday. The aforementioned proposal will be presented in the federal cabinet meeting for ratification. A committee comprising the secretary of the establishment Division, the additional secretary of the Cabinet Division, and the additional secretary of the Law and Justice Division was earlier formed to identify irregular appointments and this committee, after scrutiny of available records, identified 799 irregular appointments. Out of this, 500 cases were regarding the Airport Security Force (ASF), Aviation Division, whereas 299 cases related to different other divisions/departments. The establishment Division had recommended CCIR to consider regularising the 500 cases of ASF, including appointments in BS 17, 18, 19. The only position not given for regularisation was of the director-general of ASF. however, the position of DG ASF may be kept unchanged with the approval of the federal cabinet.
In order to prevent the cabinet from being overburdened, it was recommended that each division scrutinize individual cases and move summaries for ex-post facto approval. Moreover, these summaries should be moved in consultation with the concerned organisations. Furthermore, the establishment division recommended that all divisions must exercise vigilance so that appointments are made only by the competent appointing authority even in cases of look after charge, additional charge, acting charge, current charge etc. earlier, Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Azam Khan, in a letter to all federal secretaries and heads of divisions, had directed them to send the lists of appointments without prior approval since 2016 by April 30, so that they could be declared illegal. This list would be presented by the cabinet secretary before the federal cabinet on May 5, Azam had said at the time. “The list shall, inter alia, include all such appointments also which were made pursuant to the delegated powers of the Federal Cabinet to a Federal Minister/Secretary, being illegal, void and without jurisdiction,” reads letter of Secretary to the Prime Minister, dated April 24, 2020. The decision was previously also validated by the Islamabad high Court (IhC), which had declared such appointments as “without jurisdiction and void”.
Minority Women Forum urges govt to uphold rights of girl child THE FORUM STATED THAT WHILE IT RESPECTS THE INDEPENDENT RIGHT TO CONVERSION TO ANY FAITH, IT APPEALS TO THE CONCERNED AUTHORITIES TO LOOK INTO THE PATTERN OF RELIGIOUS CONVERSIONS FOLLOWED BY UNDERAGE MARRIAGES NEWS DESK The Minority Women Forum has strongly condemned the practice of marrying underage girls belonging to the religious minorities on the pretext of converting their faith and contracting marriage of choice, saying this amounts to statutory rape under the Child Marriage Restraint Act. “The case of Aarzoo Raja, once again, seeks the State’s attention to the multiple vulnerabilities of minor girls of religious minorities emanating from the social divisions based on class, caste, religion and gender. Various research studies explain the disastrous consequences of underage marriages on the health of mother and child and deprive the girls from seeking their educational pursuits,” it said in a press statement. The Forum stated that while it respects the independent right to conversion to any faith, it appeals to the concerned authorities to look into the pattern of religious conversions followed by underage marriages. It demanded strict and unbiased implementation of
the Child Marriage Restraint Act particularly with regard to minor girls belonging to the religious minorities. Moreover, it demanded enactment of comprehensive legal and policy measures at the national and provincial levels to stop forced conversions and subsequent marriages of minority minor girls and to ensure that any religious conversion is done without any pressure and with free will. The Forum also demanded wide-ranging anti-discrimination measures, legislative, policy and administrative initiatives to protect and promote the human rights of religious minorities, particularly of minority women and girls who often become victims of abduction, rape, forced religious conversion and underage marriage. “If no action is taken against such rampant practices, then such incidents will strongly contribute towards the spread of social divisions, distances and disharmony among communities of different faiths. Adhering to the Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929, such marriages of minor girls need to be invalidated,” the statement by the rights group concluded.
Yet another PML-N MPA calls on Buzdar LAHORE APP
Less than two weeks after two “rebel” Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) MPAs met Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, yet another disgruntled lawmaker called on the provincial chief executive and expressed displeasure over his party’s narrative which he said was against the state and its institutions. Azhar Abbas Chandia, who won the PP-269 seat from Muzaffargarh-II in the 2018 general elections, briefed Buzdar about the issues of his constituency and expressed confidence in the chief minister’s policies, a channel reported. On the occasion, Buzdar said, for the first time, resources have been diverted to Muzaffargarh and other deprived and neglected cities of southern Punjab. “National Institutions are our pride and [any] conspiracy [against them] will be thwarted. The opposition parties are cutting down the
tree on which they are sitting and the attitude of opposition leaders is against the national interest,” he added. Last month, five PML-N MPAs — Nishat Ahmed Daha and Faisal Niazi from Khanewal, Mian Jalil Ahmed Sharaqpuri from Sheikhupura, Muhammad Ghiasuddin from Narowal and Ashraf Ansari from Gujranwala — had called on Buzdar to “seek funds for their constituencies”. At a later meeting, Sharaqpuri had publicly differed with his party’s chief Nawaz Sharif on his anti-establishment. Last week, retired Lt Gen Abdul Qadir Baloch, who heads the Balochistan chapter of the PML-N, and former Balochistan chief minister Sardar Sanaullah Zehri had decided to quit the party along with other colleagues after they developed serious differences with the central leadership of the party for not inviting Zehri to the recently held Pakistan Democratic Movement rally in Quetta and over the remarks of the former speaker of the National Assembly (NA), Ayaz Sadiq.
5 terrorists arrested in Rajanpur; suicide vest recovered RAJANPUR TLTP
Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of the Punjab police on Monday claimed to have busted a major terror module in the Rajanpur district of the province and arrested five alleged terrorists. According to the CTD spokesman, they carried out a raid in Rajanpur district and arrested five terrorists, who have been identified as Aijaz, Sagheer, Jabir, Anwar, and Kamran. “We have recovered a suicide vest, hand grenade, and huge cache of weapons from their possession,” the spokesman said, adding that the alleged militants recently relocated their network to Ranjanpur from Balochistan province. In yet another action on September 24, the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) officials claimed to arrest two alleged terrorists during a raid conducted in Dera Ghazi Khan.
Tuesday, 3 November, 2020
BusinEss sEntiMEnt in PAkistAn REBOunDs tO PRE-COViD lEVEls: D&B KARACHI
t
ARIBA SHAHID
HE Business Optimism Index (BOI) for Pakistan increased from 112.8 points in the second quarter (Apr-June) of 2020 to 146.5 points in the third quarter (July-Sept). According to Dun & Bradstreet's 'Business Optimism Index' report, business sentiment among local firms in Q32020 rebounded to pre-Covid-19 levels, mainly on account of resumption in economic activity amid gradual reopening of economy. All indices remained in the optimistic range during the period under review (between 141.1-149.4 points) and depicted a strong growth, barring Exporter Optimism
Index which remained relatively flat. The SME Optimism Index reached 142.2 points while the Large Companies Optimism Index rebounded to Q42019 level of 149.4 points. Businesses across all sectors remained optimistic during the third quarter. Services sector experienced the highest increase of 52.8 points on a QoQ basis and reached 146.5 points. Moreover, trading and manufacturing sectors' BOIs improved by 26.4 points and 19.2 points QoQ, respectively. A greater number of participants felt their sales revenues, selling prices, sales volumes, employment size and profits would increase in the near future. As many as 72pc of the respondents expected an increase in sales volume due to higher de-
mand; 35pc businesses expected price stability; while 45pc predicted an increase in selling price due to the PKR devaluation and to cover up the losses incurred during lockdown. The manufacturing, trading and services sectors are expected to remain optimistic for the fourth quarter of 2020 with the trading sector expected to remain most optimistic, driven by the resumption of business activities and gradual lifting of lockdowns. The net balance for forecast business situation (Q42020) highlighted optimism; net balance increased to 67pc compared to 7pc for the business situation in the current quarter, indicating significantly higher optimism in the coming months.
Business disruptions due to Covid19 and exchange rate fluctuations remain the biggest challenges to businesses that hindered their growth in the third quarter of 2020. Owing to Covid, the SME sector faced difficult times. This was reflected by the SME Optimism Index, increasing 35.1 points QoQ to 142.2 points. SME Optimism Index is lower compared to Large Companies Optimism Index for all parameters due to lower business optimism, especially in the manufacturing sector. The Exporters Optimism Index was calculated at 141.1 points for Q32020, down by 0.4 points QoQ. Exporters indicated a weaker forecast than domesticmarket oriented firms across all parameters.
No restriction on telcos to expand network in Gilgit Baltistan: minister ISLAMABAD GHULAM ABBAS
Unlike the impression that cellular companies were barred from launching 3G/4G internet services in GilgitBaltistan before the auction of the spectrum for the area, Information Technology Minister Syed Aminul Haq claimed on Monday that there was no such restriction on telcos, and that they were reluctant to expand network in GB "only because it was not commercially viable for them". Talking to the media in Islamabad, the minister clarified that there were no restrictions on four private telecom operators, including Jazz, Ufone, Telenor and Zong, to commence operations in GB. “They were only reluctant due to limited commercial viability in the region," he added. Referring to his meeting with Special Communication Organisation (SCO) Director General Maj Gen Ali Farhan regarding GB's IT uplift programme, the minister said there were 62 towers in GB that were currently being operated at 2G. “The SCO will convert them to 3G and 4G
in the coming months, besides upgrading around 92 towers along the Karakoram Highway to 3G and 4G.” He informed that four cities of GB would be offered a triple bundle from SCO. The bundle would include a package for TV, Internet and telephone. The minister claimed that the government has invested heavily in the IT and telecom sector of GB through the SCO, which would not only help uplift social and economic conditions of the GB people but would also facilitate CPEC-related activities. Established in 1976 to develop, operate and maintain all telecom services in Azad Jammu & Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan, SCO is a public sector organisation under the Ministry of IT & Telecom. Over the years, SCO has developed massive IT & telecom infrastructure, including laying of over 4,800km Optical Fiber Cable network in the region. "The ministry has already launched an IT park in GB, while AJK government has been asked to provide us the land to establish an IT park there too," the minister said. Talking about a proposal to expand SCO’s network in
Pakistan's exports back to pre-Covid level, crosses $2bn in Oct: Dawood ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT
While the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) is yet to release export figures for the month of October, Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood has claimed that the country's exports are back to the Pre-Covid levels, with positive growth of over $2 billion in October."Exports have maintained the growth trend in October 2020. Our exports have crossed the 2 billion mark after July 2020 and are back on track to pre-COVID-19 levels," the adviser tweeted on Monday. "This is despite the contraction in our major markets due to COVID-19 and the uncertainty created by the recent resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic,” he added. Dawood also congratulated the exporters on the latest achievement. Meanwhile, in another tweet, Dawood expressed satisfaction over the increase in pharmaceutical exports. "I am glad to share that our pharmaceutical exports have gotten off to a good start this year. In value terms, our exports have grown by 22.6pc in the first quarter (Q1) to $68.1 million as compared to $55.6 million in the corresponding period last year." As per the adviser, this was achieved due to the hard work of pharmaceutical exporters and the government's renewed focus on exports. Dawood also expressed gratitude to SAPM on Health Dr Faisal Sultan.
ECC approves concessionary package for industrial sector
other parts of the country, Haq said although there were some proposals in this regard, "but the incumbent government has no such plans and this idea is not even under discussion". He said the focus of his ministry was to improve the telecom and internet services in unserved and underserved parts of the country, including GB. On a query, he said the fate of SCO would be decided in case the GB was made the 5th province of the country. Regarding an extension of IT and telecom services in remote parts of the country, he said the ministry has already decided to hold the Universal Service Fund (USF) auctions after every 15 days. The minister said that that new social media rules would be notified soon. After the implementation of new rules, he added, the number of complaints received by the cybercrime wing of FIA would decline, as social media platforms would be compelled to take certain regulatory actions against violators. "PUBG and TikTok were making money from Pakistan but they did not even have any representative in the country to listen to our concerns," Syed Aminul Haq stated.
NEWS
05
CORPORATE CORNER PRA’s revenue rises 24pc to Rs9.4bn in October LAHORE: The Punjab Revenue Authority has collected unprecedented revenue of Rs9.4 billion in October 2020, as against the revenue of Rs7.6 billion in October 2019, registering a growth of 24pc. On a cumulative basis, the PRA collected Rs35.46 billion during the July-October 2020 period, as compared to Rs32.29 billion in the same period last year, showing a growth of 9.74pc. It is pertinent to mention that this continued growth in revenue collection was achieved amid the negative impact of Covid-19 on the economy. The Punjab government had reduced the rate of tax for over 20 services from 16pc to 5pc in the last quarter of the previous fiscal. The PRA chairperson, in his appreciation message, praised the efforts of officers and has motivated them to show a better performance in coming month.
Bank Alfalah, Mastercard launch Alfa Virtual Debit Card KARACHI: Bank Alfalah has announced the launch of the Alfa Virtual Debit Card in collaboration with Mastercard in an endeavour to bring the bank closer to customers in the times of social distancing. The virtual card eliminates the need to visit a branch, present any physical documentation or inperson interaction to application as customer verification is performed digitally.
ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to PM on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development Syaed Zulfikar Abbas Bukhari launches the ‘Country Homes and Luxury Apartments’ scheme in OPF Valley Zone V to provide safe, secure and profitable investment opportunities to expatriates.
FBR revenue grows 3.8pc to Rs1.33tr in July-Oct 2020 ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has achieved 3.8pc growth in revenue collection during the first four months (July-Oct) of the current fiscal year (FY2020-21). According to a statement issued on Monday, the FBR collected Rs1,337 billion in July-October FY21 as compared to Rs1,288 billion in the corresponding period FY20. During the period under review, the FBR collected Rs470 billion as income tax, Rs643 billion as sales tax/federal excise duty and Rs81 billion as customs duty. The gross collection during the first four months of FY21 was recorded at Rs1,400 bil-
lion as compared to Rs1,323 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year. The FBR collected Rs333 billion during the month of October 2020, compared with Rs325 billion in the same month of the last year, showing a 2.46pc growth. The revenue board stated that it had issued refunds worth Rs128 billion during the July-Oct period, as compared to Rs52 billion in the same months of last year. The FBR had issued Rs15 billion in October 2020, as compared to Rs4.5 billion in October 2019. The FBR said that despite a significant increase in issuance of refunds, revenue collection was higher in the month of October. The higher amount of refund was released in order to improve economic activities.
Ali Habib Medical Centre, Jamia Masjid become operational KARACHI: Ali Habib Medical Centre and Jamia Masjid at Naya Nazimabad have opened their doors to welcome and serve residents within and around the vicinity of Naya Nazimabad. On the auspicious occasion of 12 Rabiul Awal, worshippers thronged the Jamia Masjid, filling up its halls, to perform the Jummah prayers. The Jamia Masjid, which celebrates Islamic design and heritage, is built on
175,000 square feet will welcome 12,000 worshippers at a time, upon completion. Ali Habib Medical Centre, a not-for-profit institution, named in the honour of late Ali Habib - former Chairman, House of Habib, has also commenced operations. It is designed to cater to the primary healthcare needs of the community, both within Naya Nazimabad and the densely populated areas in the surrounding.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Ambassador to Tokyo Imtiaz Ahmad opened Japanese Photographer T.T. Tanaka’s photo exhibition “Encounters in Pakistan: Smiles & Colors at Gallery-58, Ginza”.
LAHORE: Huawei Consumer Business Group (CBG) has unveiled its latest addition to the HUAWEI Y Series, the all-new HUAWEI Y7a.
LAHORE: Celebrities and officials pose for a group photo during the launch of realme 7
ISLAMABAD SHAHZAD PARACHA
The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet on Monday approved a concessionary package for the industrial sector. The ECC meeting, held under the chair of Advisor to Prime Minister on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, considered the summary of the Ministry of Energy with regard to electricity rates for the industrial sector. Sources said the ministry had proposed to increase the rates of electricity for industry, however, the meeting rejected the proposal. On the other hand, the ECC gave approval to give concession to the industrial sector on using additional electricity. Sources said that the government was considering further reducing rates from Rs12.96 for the industry. A final decision in this regard would be taken by PM Imran in the upcoming meeting of federal cabinet, scheduled to be held on Tuesday.
Complaints against banks surge 51pc in 9M2020: ombudsman KARACHI STAFF REPORT
The number of complaints against banks increased by around 51 per cent during the first nine months of the ongoing calendar year, the office of Banking Mohtasib (ombudsman) revealed on Monday. Despite Covid-19, major increase was observed in the number of complaints lodged with the Banking Mohtasib against alleged frauds, forgeries and other irregularities during the first nine
CMYK
months of 2020, as compared to the same period of 2019. Almost 19,028 complaints were received by the Banking Mohtasib Secretariat during the Jan-Sept 2020 period, as against 12,624 complaints received in the same period of last year, depicting an increase of 50.7pc. These also included about 11,092 banking-related complaints received on the Prime Minister’s Portal. According to a statement, "The increase in the number of complaints represents the confidence of the general public in the working of the insti-
tution of Banking Mohtasib. The Banking Mohtasib Secretariat disposed of 13,488 complaints from January 1 till September 30, 2020." Banking Mohtasib Muhammad Kamran Shehzad has urged the general public to strictly follow the instructions being given by the banks in their public awareness campaigns regarding nondisclosure of their personal and financial credentials to any person. In this way, they will be able to protect themselves from any fraud, forgeries, etc.
Tuesday, 3 November, 2020
06 COMMENT
Innovation in religion
Futility of treason charges What matters is outperforming predecessors
P
AKisTAN has an unfortunate history of calling political opponents traitors and charging them of sedition. Over the decades some of the most patriotic people had to face the charge. Captain (later Colonel) hasan Khan who arrested Dogra Brig Ghansara singh and declared Gilgit a part of Pakistan in 1947 was in later years arrested and sentenced in rawalpindi Conspiracy Case along with Maj Gen Akbar Khan who had led a tribal lashkar, patriotic volunteers and irregulars to Kashmir to make it a part of Pakistan. Pakistan’ most celebrated poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz was also sentenced in this made up conspiracy case. Abdul Wali Khan, Ghous Bux Bizenjo, Ataullah Mengal and poet habib Jalib were tried along with several others in hyderabad Conspiracy case. They were released when Zia ul haq overthrew ZAB’s government showing that the case was politically motivated. Political Parties too have been banned in the past. Declared illegal in 1954, the Communist Party of Pakistan went underground and continued to work through front organisations. National Awami Party was banned in 1975 but continued to operate under the name NDP for a while. renamed ANP, it has ruled as a coalition partner in KP several times. After bandying charges of treason or being a security throughout the 90’s, the PML-N and PPP finally discovered the futility of the exercise. Terms like traitor and enemy agent almost dropped out of political parlance after the advent of democracy in 2008. This was widely welcomed as a sign of political maturity. The PTi, which lacks an understanding of the country’s political history needs to be reminded that labeling opponents as traitors would not cover up its own failures to deliver. The attention of the poor and lower middle class families that constitute the majority of the country is fully riveted on how to make the two ends meet. What matters to them is the ruling party’s performance that alone can ameliorate their plight. The government can expose its opponents only through better performance instead of wasting time in putting up posters and banners about somebody in the opposition being a traitor or even banning an opposition party. Vengeful actions of the sort haven’t helped governments in the past; they won’t help now.
HASAN AFTAB SAEED
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his is arguably the touchiest issue when it comes to religion. There are those who take an uncompromising position against anything that they believe started after the death of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Let us call them hardliners (for lack of a better term). On the other hand, there are those who see no problem in certain practices so long as they serve a good purpose. Let us call them enthusiasts (for the same reason). Everybody is aware of the acrimonious nature of the old conflict between the two. But there is much more controversy than there needs to be. The problem can easily be resolved given cooperation from both sides – for either side, at one time or another, is guilty of transgression here. so long as the enthusiasts do not bother anybody else and do not insist on others joining them, there ought to be no problem. The hardliners must refrain from interfering or unnecessarily giving their opinion when it is not sought. it is one thing to choose not to participate in something that one deems improper (more power to one), but to deliberately make a scene by calling in question the faith of somebody else is not only un-
Provincial status for Gilgit-Balitistan
A higher court?
Why now?
A
s elections for Gilgit-Baltistan approach, the ruling party has ramped up its campaigning efforts to secure a victory that was seized last time by the federal government of the PML-N and before that the PPP, showing that the party at the center has a better chance of winning in the region. GB has been largely neglected by Pakistan since partition in 1947. The people of GB have had pro-Pakistani statements since the Gilgit rebellion during the First Kashmir war in 1948, wanting to be merged into the country as a fifth province. This proposal was rejected by Pakistan on the basis that any such move would compromise its chances at the United Nations (UN) for a larger chunk of disputed Kashmir. This slow progression over the status of GB in Pakistan has led to the region being deprived of its basic democratic rights. The region has been run for the most part as an agency, getting its first functioning court in 2005 and a legislative assembly in 2009, granting the region self-rule. Opposition parties, especially the PMLN, are claiming that the PTi is violating election rules by announcing development projects in GB, but what it is conveniently forgetting is that their victory in the previous elections was on the back of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), that has resulted in perhaps the most consequential infrastructure upgrade in the region. The PTi is perhaps also facing some pressure from Chinese to clear up the mess that india has started to create over GB by upgrading its status to a province so that China’s investment is relatively more secure. A win for PTi in the upcoming election followed by GB somehow becoming a fifth province would automatically increase its seats in parliament. The creation of a fifth province will of course require a constitutional amendment for which the PTi will need a clear two-thirds majority that it simply does not have. With a non-existent relationship with the opposition, this will be a near impossible task for the ruling party. The motivation therefore, to grant GB provisional provincial status has little to do with the uplift of an aborted part of the country and more to do with solidifying political power.
SAlmAN muNir
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OBErT h. Jackson, Associate Justice, United states supreme Court concurred in the ruling that declared the supreme Court as the court of last appeal in February 1953. And said “There is no doubt that if there were a super-supreme Court, a substantial proportion of our reversals of state courts would also be reversed. We are not final because we are infallible; we know that we are infallible only because we are final.” This question of a higher court than the supreme Court of Pakistan intrigues me quite often. Would our justice system improve with such a change? Would people of Pakistan be served better, more efficiently and in a less costly way? Or in a cost-effective manner like our corporates propagate each time embarking on a so- called golden handshake scheme? it is no secret what the people want. They want cheap, speedy and even- handed justice. A common litigant just cannot afford the time and cost involved in something that might never happen in his lifetime. Be it a civil or a criminal matter. if we look at these three essential ingredients of a justice system we might easily conclude that our justice system sadly lacks all of these and then some. J.B Morton said that “Justice must not only be seen to be done. it must be seen to be believed.” This is exactly what the common person wants— to believe in the justice system.
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something has been done before does not mean that we should keep on doing it when we know that very rarely two cases are alike. so judges do enjoy a cerso, if we have a higher court than the supreme tain leeway in deciding cases and that leads the judiCourt what might happen? Unfortunately, i do not see cial systems towards growth and expansion to meet any improvement in the justice system with adding and address the changing needs of the time and the another layer. Just one more anguished layer costing people. Justice William O. Douglas of the Us the litigant an arm and a leg if not the heart. i know supreme Court talking about stare Decisis said “The that the lawyers have a tendency to complicate things search for a static security—in the law or elsebut then Charles Dickens said that “if there were no where—is misguided. The fact is that security can bad people, there would be no good lawyers.” how- only be achieved through constant change, through ever, some of the lawyers are not good lawyers and the wise discarding of old ideas that have outlived they are the only persons who are not punished by the their purpose, and through the adapting of others to courts for ignorance of the law. For a common per- current facts. Thus if we do not change with time or son, ignorance of the law is no excuse, but for a bad do not do something because, that has not been done lawyer it is a way to earn a living with no conse- before we will remain static. And that is not good. quences. Perhaps the courts The same principle apor the bar councils should plies to the laws that have look into this matter. been codified a long time As our justice system ago. They may have been For a common person, stands today it seems like tested and tried but they certhe saying attributed to sir tainly cannot meet the needs ignorance of the law is no James Mathew that “in of the people and even the England, justice is open to excuse, but for a bad lawyer it courts in a fast changing all, like the ritz hotel.” world. A cursory look at the is a way to earn a living with imagine the time and various Acts will tell you that money our supreme Court most of them were drafted in no consequences. Perhaps spent on the so- called the last century and in the last the courts or the bar councils to last century. i am not takPanama cases. if there were an ultra-supreme Court at ing anything away from our should look into this matter. that time then it might have various Parliaments or variswiftly over-turned the maous Dictators who all tried to jority opinion in the first tamper with the provisions of verdict and upheld the dislaw. The result mostly has senting opinion of the three been like a tutti frutti ice justices. But then who knows. cream. The common person gained nothing except The doctrine called stare decisis means that the more delays and more confusion. The laws, especially judges follow the principles of law decided in earlier those like contracts covering marriage, or property cases. in other words, earlier court decisions are bind- leases, or small businesses need to be totally reing on subsequent judges. This is helpful to lawyers vamped and rewritten in simple everyday English or in the sense that they can have a fair idea which way Urdu. so the parties can write and understand without the court might go in a particular case depending on the help of lawyers. And the courts can decide in one the facts and earlier decisions by the same or a higher or two hearings even without the rules of evidence. A court. This is called legal precedents and it introduces written document signed by both parties is enough for an element of certainty into litigation not only for the the courts to decide and deliver justice. Or maybe such lawyers but also for the litigants who can then decide cases go for decision elsewhere, like the Ombudsman? whether to file a case or not. Judges have all along But who will bell the cat? remember Martin tussled between following a precedent or disregard- Luther King wrote in a letter, “injustice anywhere is ing an earlier decision of the court. Lord Denning fa- a threat to justice everywhere.” mously said “The doctrine of precedent does not compel your lordships to follow the wrong path until Salman Munir is a management consultant and you fall over the edge of the cliff.” innocence lawyer. He can be reached at Precedents can be good or bad. Just because as1236m@gmail.com
Fixing the present system is the only way to ensure speedy justice
Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami
Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad
Anything less, and the advocate has failed to prove that it is indeed a religious matter. A useful rule-ofthumb is this: in the worldly sphere, everything called for but counterproductive as well. which is not forbidden is allowed; while in the reliLet us take rituals such as qul and gious domain, everything which is not allowed is forchaaleeswaan as familiar examples. Those who bidden. There is plenty of leeway when it comes to stage it are obviously convinced about its advisa- temporal matters, but if something is presented as bility or are following (in their view) a time-hon- part of religion, then one must be prepared to back it oured tradition; else, why would they hold it? in up with evidence. Taking offence when somebody addition, they are in an demands proof for someemotional state of mind thing being a religious acafter the loss of their dearly tivity is by no means an departed. Now, it is one appropriate attitude. There is plenty of leeway thing to believe that the On an ironic note, there practice is un-islamic, but is hardly anything innovawhen it comes to temporal those who point that out on tive about these innovamatters, but if something is the spot should hardly be tions. Adherents of all shocked when they fail to religions invariably recycle presented as part of religion, become heroes of those on the same old things, somethe other side. But at the then one must be prepared to times in a thinly disguised same time the enthusiasts, manner but often exback it up with evidence. on their part, must also tremely obviously. Take make sure that they do not birthdays of religious figTaking offence when take offence when their inures: Christians have their somebody demands proof for Christmas. Many Muslims vitation to join such activities is politely declined. have their milaad-un-nabi. something being a religious And of course, they must Followers of other relinot present such practices gions have also celebrated activity is by no means an as mandatory, failing to the birthdays of their real appropriate attitude. participate in which is to or imaginary founders. the detriment of someWhile i do not intend to body’s faith. comment on other reliWhen it comes to acagions, a lot is to be said demic debates however, there is an important limit about those who propose to commemorate Prophet to the validity of ‘What is the harm in it?’ retort. For Muhammad (peace be upon him) by celebrating his starters, if there is no use of something, then that is birthday, after the extensive arrangement for his reharm enough. But more significantly, whether there membrance (made by God himself), where the is harm in some activity or not depends on its nature. Prophet’s name resonates five times every day Much bad blood can be avoided by being clear on from all mosques in every part of the globe with the answer to a simple question: whether the advo- millions of Muslims praying for him in between. cate of a ritual considers it a religious activity or not in the obsession between mandatory and forbidden (for every religious act there are a hundred cultural (with nothing in between), it is easy to forget that traditions in a society). if the answer is no, then there some practices, like this one, could be in questionis no cause for further debate. so long as the thing able taste. As was pointed out by an intellect, there does not harm anybody else, it can hardly be ob- is no one day for the Prophet (peace be upon him); jected to. however, if the answer is yes, then the ad- every hour, every day, and every year is his. vocate must be prepared to justify the activity as a religious one. here, it must be borne in mind that for Hasan Aftab Saeed is a connoisseur of music, something to qualify as religion it must have a war- literature, and food (but not drinks). He can be rant to that effect from Allah and his messengers. reached at www.facebook.com/hasanaftabsaeed
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Tuesday, 3 November, 2020
COMMENT 07 Editor’s mail Send your letters to: Letters to Editor, Pakistan Today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan. E-mail: letters@pakistantoday.com.pk Letters should be addressed to Pakistan Today exclusively
Food security and safety standards ThE issue of food safety is emerging as a huge crisis on the international level. This year, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is encouraging everyone to consider the importance of the food system in our lives, and how we can make it stronger. The Pakistan Bureau of statistics (PBs) has released the key findings of the household integrated Economic survey (hiEs), 2018-19 which reveals that 16% of the population is experiencing moderate or severe food insecurity. This is indeed a very alarming situation for the country where the issue of food security has remained a subject of conceptual debate in the development of Pakistan. As a result, the vulnerability to food insecurity and hunger remains a threat for the nation. This issue can only be resolved once we introduce new techniques and empower our farmers and facilitate them with the modern machinery so that they can produce good quality of food. Our government is very keen in improving the standard of farmers, which is a very positive sign. however, if the government should issue licenses to the food industry on strict compliance and ensure that they follow the standards set by PsQCA and other food authorities with basic health rules, there should be random inspection on periodic basis, and those producing low quality and unhealthy food should be given strict punishment and their licenses cancelled. MuhaMMad Rohail haSSan. KaRachi
Israeli-Palestinian peace Normalization alone is not the way
Dr AloN-BEN mEir
T
hE normalization of relations between israel and sudan is another step forward toward the establishment of a comprehensive Arab-israeli peace. This development, following the normalization of relations between israel and the UAE and Bahrain, is extremely important, as any peaceful solution between adversaries that reduces the chances of violent conflict and promotes peace should be embraced. These new developments offer israel and the Palestinians a momentous opportunity to begin a process of reconciliation that could lead to ending their conflict. Netanyahu and Trump certainly deserve some credit for these historic developments. Nevertheless, i maintain that this could have occurred under any other israeli prime minister and Us president, as peace between israel and the Arab states has been becoming increasingly plausible over the past 10 years. indeed, the political, economic, and geostrategic environment in the Middle East has made it necessary, if not inevitable, to formally end the Arab-israeli conflict. Trump’s desperate need to score a foreign policy win, and Netanyahu’s want to achieve something that none of his predecessors had been able to realize (especially as he is fighting for his political life), are important factors. in the main, however, the Arab states’ security concerns, especially in the Gulf, over iran’s potential threat which israel can neutralize, and the Arab states’ need for advanced technologies and economic development, where israel can greatly contribute, played a far more potent role. in addition, the Arab states have largely grown tired of and frustrated by the continuing israeli-Palestinian conflict. Just like Egypt and Jordan before, they came to accept israel’s unmitigated reality and no longer want to be held hostage to this conflict, which has become increasingly intractable. The israelis must remember, though, that regardless of how many more Arab countries normalize relations with their country, the conflict with the Palestinians will not disappear and it must be addressed if israel wants to ensure long-term stability and security. The Palestinians, on the other hand, must accept the emerging reality. instead of opposing the normalization of israeli-Arab rela-
tions, which in any case they cannot stop, they standing proposal by hamas for a long ceasefire should be prepared to enter into such a process of (hudna) of 20 years or more, and lift the blockreconciliation with israel that would eventually ade on the condition that hamas stops manufacturing or purchasing any new weapons, halts lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state. To encourage more Arab states to normalize building tunnels, and ends all incitements relations and provide them with political cover, against israel while reining in all other jihadist israel should take concrete steps to ease the groups. Most financial aid hamas receives Palestinians’ hardship and demonstrate to the should be monitored by the EU and invested in Arab and islamic worlds that it recognizes the economic development, infrastructure, schools, critical importance of peacefully ending its con- and hospitals. This would discourage hamas flict with the Palestinians. such steps will also from provoking israel out of fear that israel reinforce the notion that the Arab states have could destroy these developments and reimpose chosen the right path to break the impasse be- the blockade if threatened. Fifth, a greater number of Palestinians must tween israel and the Palestinians by normalizing be allowed to work in israel, while providing betrelations with israel. There are a number of most important meas- ter working conditions and greater pay and ending ures that israel can take toward the Palestinians the practice of withholding taxes collected by isto demonstrate its good-will and intentions with- rael from Palestinian workers. in return, the Palesout compromising its national security, including: tinian Authority must commit to ending any First, israel should release all Palestinian incitement and fully cooperate with israel to inprisoners who have no blood on their hands. in tercept any terrorist plans. sixth, given that fact, these prisoners the objective is to norconstitute the largest malize relations with segment of the prison the Palestinians, the population. Moreover, To encourage more Arab building of mutual given the embittering trust is a central preissue of the Palestinian states to normalize relations requisite to future prisoners, the following and provide them with political neighborly relations. example shows how israel should allow skewed and unjust iscover, Israel should take Palestinian citizens to rael’s jurisprudence is concrete steps to ease the visit israel, albeit after toward Palestinians. going through rigorous Mohammed El haPalestinians’ hardship and security checks. in adlabi, former Gaza direcdition, israel should tor for the charity demonstrate to the Arab and permit a specific numWorld Vision, has been Islamic worlds that it ber of Palestinian stuimprisoned since June dents to attend israeli 2016 over charges of recognizes the critical universities. diverting $7 million in importance of peacefully These measures, funds to hamas, despite among many others, a lack of evidence from ending its conflict with the will certainly limit the israel, and support that Turkey and numerous audits showPalestinians. iran provide to the ing no evidence of such Palestinians, which is funneling of money. El designed to bolster the halabi is being held Palestinians’ resistance under administrative detention, a holdover from British-era Manda- to to israel—an action that can only further agtory Palestine, which allows a person to be held gravate the conflict. Anyone who does not live under the illusion without trial indefinitely under the belief that they will break the law in the future. he has ap- that the israeli-Palestinian conflict will simply die peared before the court a staggering 151 times, out as a result of normalizing relationships bewith his case being postponed each time. This tween israel and a growing number of Arab states, cannot argue against the logic that the above appalling practice must be stopped. second, further annexation of Palestinian measures must be taken under any circumstances. The current situation is not sustainable, cerland must end, which in any case was part of the normalization agreement between the Gulf states tainly not in the long run. The sooner israelis and and israel. By ceasing further annexation, israel Palestinians realize that they are stuck with one would remove one of the main obstacles that pre- another, the better. They should seize the opporvent other Arab states from normalizing relations. tunity that the normalization of relations between Third, the israeli government should provide israel and the Arab states provides. israel should the Palestinians with building permits in Area C, initiate the process of reconciliation that will lead which comprises 62 percent of the land mass in to constructive israeli-Palestinian peace talks. it is time for israel, which currently enjoys the West Bank. it is unimaginable that there will be any viable Palestinian state at some point in the upper hand, to think of what the future will the future without much of Area C included. hold absent an israeli-Palestinian peace. Nothing will demonstrate more vividly israel’s Dr Alon Ben-Meir is a professor of ultimate intentions about the establishment of a Palestinian state. This will also give ammunition international relations at the Centre for Global to the Arab states to pressure the Palestinians to Affairs at NYU. He teaches courses on international negotiation and Middle Eastern cooperate in this process. Fourth, israel ought to accept the long- studies. alon@alonben-meir.com
Rising inflation ThE country is currently in the grip of rising inflation and unemployment. The situation has worsened due to the Coronavirus pandemic. however, uncontrolled inflation accompanied by shortages of wheat and sugar is not new to the people of Pakistan. in the seventies, Bhutto introduced the rashon Depot system to control the distribution of basic commodities. The utility stores corporation was also formed to provide necessities to people at reasonable rates. however, the rationing system as well as the utility stores could not really curb the problems being faced by people. Often, it was due to political interference and nepotism. in the recent past, we also have seen severe shortages of wheat and sugar. For example, during the tenure of PMLN, sugar price surged beyond rs 100 per kg and did not return to normal before the black marketers and hoarders had made their quick buck. The CM Punjab started the ‘sasti roti’ project, which also became victim to corruption and mismanagement. The mafias and cartels controlling the supply of commodities are so strong in Pakistan and no government has really been able to do anything about it. it seems the current government has also fallen victim to such mafias and prices of commodities are going off the roof. i fail to understand that the opposition parties which are so wary of inflation were never too concerned when the same happened in their tenure. similarly, the government seems to have forgotten how the PTi took out protests during the PPP and PMLN governments against inflation and unemployment. The main issue is that the influential people belonging to various cartels very quickly become part of every government and profit from their clout in terms of seats they hold. i hope and pray that for once all parties sit together and decide to single out such black sheep among them and get rid of the mafias forever. Otherwise, we will keep witnessing shortages that are deliberately created so that the hoarder can make billions. Raja Shafaatullah iSlaMabad
Congrats Aleem Dar i feel honored to congratulate Pakistan’s international umpire Aleem Dar for breaking the record for most ODis as umpire. The 52-year-old from Pakistan already holds the record in Tests and has officiated in a record 387 international matches, now reached another milestone when he has surpassed rudi Koertzen’s record of most one-day internationals as an umpire in the second match between Pakistan and Zimbabwe on sunday when he has officiated in his 210th ODi in rawalpindi. if we have a small glance over his career as an empire, we will come to know that he made his international umpiring debut in an One-day international between Pakistan and sri Lanka on February 16, 2000; he made his Test debut in a match between Bangladesh and England in Dhaka in October 2003 and he has taken charge of 376 matches across all formats. Most importantly, Dar won the David shepherd Trophy three years in a row from 2009 to 2011 and he holds the record of officiating in 132 Test matches and is second in the list of T20is, only behind compatriot Ahsan raza, with 46 T20is. Aleem has officiated in 387 international matches so far, the most by any umpire. As a citizen of Pakistan, i believe that it is not the achievement of him only, rather it is the achievement for the entire nation and we should celebrate it. i urge the fans of him and the entire nation to congratulate him on a high level. Once again i congratulate him for his mind blowing efforts and performance which helped him to be a part of cricket and achieve such kind of praiseworthy achievement. MuhaMMad baKhtiyaR tuRbat
Geological wonders ThE recent earthquake has hit hard countries like Greece and Turkey, causing damage to property and resulting in considerable casualties. These two countries like Turkey and Greece are such beautiful regions in the world that they have been linked to beautiful heritage and fascinating historical background. in my schooldays in the early 1990s in Tuticorin, Korkai, Tiruchendur, Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu, we students had our geography syllabus rolled into a tome bigger than a usual book making it clear then that the branch of geography was like an ocean with so many uncharted areas around. i, a class 7 student then was charmed and encouraged by that ‘geography tome. ‘ Countries pay little attention to the geographical study but are hell-bent on researching the space above- outer space. Given many disasters like tsunami, earthquakes, serious research activities must go into the characteristics of Earth - even leading to greater heights in farming activities. Besides, Antarctica, the Pacific Ocean and the Arctic Ocean are all a few more “mystery worlds” only waiting to pose unseen threats to the whole world. Great hard work and high-end scientific efforts are needed to tackle Nature’s fury. P SEnthil SaRaVana duRai MuMbai
Tuesday, 3 November, 2020
08 WORLD VIEW
Biden will win REPUBLICANS SHOULD UNDERSTAND WHY
RCp
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Bill Scher
OE Biden is going to win. I have been wrong before. I will be wrong again. And maybe I’m wrong today. But we do not have any significant data to suggest Donald Trump was ever in a position to win reelection, or that he is closing the campaign with any sort of momentum needed for a come-from-behind victory. Four years ago, we did have such data. In the RealClearPolitics national polling average, Hillary Clinton’s lead shrunk nearly six percentage points between Oct. 18 and Nov. 3, before ticking up a bit at the end. Her share of support throughout the duration of the general election campaign never reached 50%, an indication of soft support. Moreover, the Trump train was clearly accelerating in those final two weeks, if you looked at RCP’s state poll averages. Clinton’s Michigan lead plummeted from 10 to
3.6 points and her Pennsylvania lead narrowed from 5.6 to 2.1 points. In Florida and North Carolina, Trump erased Clinton’s small leads completely to become, however barely, the front-runner. Trump also took the lead in Ohio in mid-October and never looked back. (Wisconsin was the one state he flipped where the polls did not show a late surge. But as RCP President Tom Bevan noted to me on Twitter, there were no Wisconsin polls taken after Nov. 2, which was six days before the election. In turn, there was no ability to detect any late surge.) Today, Trump is enjoying no such acceleration. Biden’s RCP national lead, as of early Monday morning, is at a healthy 7.2 points, roughly the same as it was 10 days prior. Since the end of the party conventions, Biden’s lead has remained between 5.9 and 10.3 points. Going back nearly 14 months, his lead has never been smaller than four points. And his average share of support as of Monday morning is at 51.1% and was above 50% throughout October. Biden’s lead has been, and is, strong, sturdy and stable. His battleground state advantages are smaller than his national margin, but they are still leads in most states and Trump is not aggressively closing the gaps. Look at the trajectories, starting from two Mondays ago through Monday morning. In Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Florida and North Carolina, Biden’s lead has not changed in either direction by more than half of a percent-
age point. The only battleground states where Trump has gained more than one point on Biden are Arizona (2.1), Iowa (2.7) and Minnesota (1.9). The RCP averages now give Trump a paper-thin lead in Iowa and a miniscule 1point deficit in Arizona. Still, the modest gains in those states don’t track with the national trajectory, so they may indicate nothing more than statistical noise. And even if we presume that Trump wins both, he’s still not ahead in enough other states to win 270 electoral votes. Without forward movement, he can’t get there. Now, what is the point of making so certain a prediction? Why not allow for the possibility that the polling industry has collectively missed the mark? Why not just wait and see what happens? Because we all should understand that Trump’s defeat has been long in the making, and was starkly visible to the naked eye for months. Do not embrace any spin that he could have won if only the pandemic didn’t spike in the last week, if only he stayed on message in the last week, if only his campaign spent its war chest more wisely, if only there was more coverage of the Hunter Biden laptop story, or if only there was more coverage of the third quarter GDP number. I fully expect these excuses and then some, though I expect the claim that Trump would have won if not for the pandemic to
Trump’s going to win again BIDEN AND HIS CAMPAIGN ARE MAKING MISTAKES. AND THE POLLS ARE ALMOST CERTAINLY WRONG AGAIN
nBC news Keith Koffler
Contrary to the prevailing wisdom among the cognoscenti, history and current circumstances suggest President Donald Trump is going to defeat former Vice President Joe Biden — for some of the very same reasons he came from behind in 2016 to shock the Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. It is understandable why conventional wisdom is getting this wrong again. Trump is down in the polls, the nation’s demographics are continuing to change in ways unfavorable to Trump and Republicans, the coronavirus has wrought death and economic destruction throughout the land and Trump’s personality provokes stormy oceans of antipathy — perhaps most crucially among women and suburban voters. But Biden and his campaign are making mistakes that will ensure little of this matters. And the polls are almost certainly wrong again. The only question is by how much. The economy is turning around, playing to Trump’s strength. The president has made significant outreach to minorities, and a relative handful of Black voters switching from Democrat to Republican could help him secure states like Georgia, Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan and North Carolina. Not to mention that Trump — unlike Biden — is actually campaigning for the job. Think of it. Clinton wandering around the woods near her home in Chappaqua, N.Y., kicking herself for not appearing even once in Wisconsin. Meanwhile Biden is only now belatedly hitting the trail — a little. This is a risky experiment. Every modern presidential candidate has traveled as much as humanly possible — and then traveled some more. Meeting and speaking to voters — responsibly — is key. Biden is exploring the political equivalent of eating consommé with a fork. Campaigning does not just reach voters.
It imparts a sense of vigor, industriousness and sociability that people want in a leader. I don’t think Trump should be drawing so many people to celebrations that feature sardine-packed, mask-less supporters whose health is at risk. But his rallies suggest that better days are ahead — the theme of most winning presidential campaigns. Thursday, there was a significant indicator that happy days may indeed soon be here again. The Commerce Department released the U.S. gross domestic product number for the third quarter, showing growth rate of around 33 percent. This will feed directly into Trump’s argument that he is best positioned to save the economy. Trump complains endlessly about mailin ballots, ignoring that they may help him. Many more Democrats are voting by mail than Republicans. But these ballots are more likely to be rejected because mistakes were made filling them out or they were late — or simply got lost. And while the Covid-19 numbers are rising, this does not necessarily benefit Biden. Trump has been arguing that it is time to open up the economy and stop worrying so much about the spread of the virus. People have pandemic fatigue, and they are eager to go back to their regular, pre-Covid lives, even if this sometimes means endangering themselves or others. And not only is Biden staying home, his army of volunteers and canvassers have been cooped up as well, doing outreach on their parents’ Wi-Fi instead of out seeing voters. The Biden campaign only recently emerged from the basement — with the exception of its leader — after Trump’s operatives had already spent months contacting voters on their doorsteps. Refusing to mobilize voters by showing up in their neighborhoods early and often is another likely ill-fated Biden experiment in ignoring modern campaign practice. You also should not underestimate the vast amount of damage created by Biden’s second debate suggestion that he would eventually eliminate the oil industry. When moderator Kristen Welker asked him whether he would “close down the oil industry,” Biden answered “Yes,” he would transition from it. When Welker asked why he would do that, he responded, “Because the oil industry pollutes, significantly.” Although the economy may be on the upswing, the American public is still suffering, making this is a gaffe of historic proportions. Biden later walked it back, insisting, “We’re not getting rid of fossil
fuels for a long time.” But his intention is clear. At the very least, the comment could well lose him Pennsylvania — where fracking has created tens of thousands of jobs. Then there are the polls. Pollsters insist their surveys have been adjusted from 2016 to include more demographics that support Trump — though they may harbor new flaws. They are still unlikely to capture the vast enthusiasm gap between Trump and Biden voters and fail to pick up the “shy Trump voters,” — people afraid to admit they back Trump — who may be shyer than ever. The shy voter phenomenon could prove even more pronounced in 2020 than in 2016. A bubbly volunteer calls on the phone and wants to know whom you are voting for. Do you want to admit to this person, perhaps an enthusiast of Sen. Bernie Sanders, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez or at least, a Taylor Swift fan, that you support the putatively racist, misogynist, greedy, white supremacist Trump? Of course not. “Biden!” You say. “Green New Deal! Leave me alone, goodbye!” The shy voter phenomenon could prove even more pronounced in 2020 than in 2016. You could at least explain not voting for Clinton. She was unlikable to so many. Though inspiring fewer strong feelings, Biden is, at least, not as easy to despise. What’s more, Trump has been vilified for the past four years, giving voters less of an excuse to admit they’re still voting for him. This could be particularly true for Black and Latino voters, who may not want to acknowledge supporting someone they have been told they must oppose. Expect Trump to far outpace his pathetic showing among Black voters in 2016, particularly Black men. Prior to the pandemic, Black unemployment had declined to record low levels. Trump has also signed and promoted major criminal justice reform legislation, resulting in the release of thousands of prisoners, including many African Americans. Moreover, the polls are not as bad as they seem for Trump. At this point before Election Day, Trump is, on average, polling behind Biden in battleground states by nearly the same amount he trailed Clinton in 2016. Trump is going to win many of those battleground states again. And, just like in 2016, the Electoral College and the presidency will follow. Keith Koffler is a senior editor at the Washington Examiner.
be repeated most of all. In his own telling, to a recent Erie, Pa., crowd, “We had this thing won. We were so far up. We had the greatest economy ever, we had the greatest jobs, the greatest everything. And then we got hit with the plague and I had to go back to work.” Nope. Trump was never ahead of Biden in the RCP national average, which has been tracked since September 2019. And according to RCP’s presidential job approval average, Trump has the unique distinction of never holding an approval number higher than 47.3% (forget about 50%) and almost never earning an approval number higher than his disapproval rating. (Trump was above water by just 0.1 points for one day, the very first day RCP began tracking his job approval: Jan. 27, 2017.) Trump has been weighed down by these numbers despite a growing economy for much of his presidency. The discrepancy between his poll numbers and economic numbers strongly suggests that most Americans have been so repulsed by his divisive, selfserving and just plain mean behavior that they didn’t care how fat their wallets were getting. They just want him gone. Trump loyalists may blame the coronavirus for his political misfortune. But the truth is the pandemic presented the president with a rare golden opportunity to reverse his fortunes. If anything, his deft handling of a major crisis could have turned his terrible numbers around. Trump could have wiped the slate clean, shelved the insults, worked cooperatively with all governors, elevated experts and consistently encouraged maskwearing so the nation could safely open up as soon as possible. The only things that prevented him from such responsible crisis management are his own character and his own abilities. He also could have used the tragic
killing of George Floyd to change public perception of his handling of race issues. After all, Trump did enact criminal justice reform, and was eager at his convention to show off the people of color he pardoned. Instead, he continued to fan the flames of racial division. Even though he has desperately tried to pin all subsequent social unrest on Biden and the Democrats, the incumbent has clearly taken the blame for presiding over chaos. One of the few times Biden’s RCP national lead reached double digits was in the weeks following Floyd’s death. Consider that in the first debate, Biden bluntly called Trump a “racist” — one of the harshest words ever used by one presidential candidate to describe another — and no one batted an eye. Of course, regardless of my confidence in the final outcome, Biden supporters should still campaign their hearts out on this final day, and try to generate as big a “blue wave” as possible, to win control of the Senate and strengthen the new president’s mandate. Trump supporters should also not take my word, and do everything they can to prove the pollsters wrong. But if I am proven right, Republicans should not spin themselves and make excuses. They should accept that Trump lost this race a long time ago because he did not take governing seriously, and because he tried to divide a nation that, in its heart, does not want to be divided. In turn, for the GOP to remove the stain of Trump from its reputation, Republicans will have to show their seriousness of purpose by working with President Biden on good faith compromises, and by rejecting the corrosive politics of polarization. Bill Scher is a contributing editor to Politico Magazine, co-host of the Bloggingheads.tv show “The DMZ,” and host of the podcast “New Books in Politics.”
Robert Fisk will be deeply missed Independent I was really saddened to read about the death of Robert Fisk, your foreign correspondent extraordinaire, who has long been my journalistic hero. Had read his columns religiously for several decades, and he will be greatly missed by readers as well as colleagues in the media. Fisk had a way with words that leaves him peerless in my humble opinion: he could paint a word-picture of the warzone he was reporting from that left you feeling that you were there with him witnessing everything he saw. Indeed, his words from places like Afghanistan, Iraq or Syria were worth a thousand pictures. His geopolitical and historical knowledge always enabled him to link facts from past conflicts to current disputes, and his eye for detail was second to none; often such things as identification numbers on ordnance bomb shells were included in his columns. There was a human side that always inspired me to come back for more; for example, when he wrote about his father’s service in the Great War, and growing up in Kent trainspotting — exactly what I did as a boy in the same post-World War II era in Cornwall. He often mentioned other people around him, like his driver in Beirut who referred to him as Mister Robert, but of course, his singlemindedness in telling the truth was what really set him apart. I’m sure he would have believed that old Texas expression that “the middle of the road is for yellow lines and dead armadillos”, as he was always intent on taking sides where it mattered to get the truth out to his readers. There was no middle of the road for Mister Robert. (Bernie Smith) Robert Fisk and I both worked for The Times in the 1970s. We were similar ages but the similarities ended there. I had a desk job in Printing House Square, working for the then features editor, Charles Douglas-Home. Bob was in Belfast at the height of the Troubles, based in the much-bombed Europa Hotel. To me he had an air of derring-do about him. He would fly over for edito-
rial meetings but would never sit to discuss anything, instead stand jiggling from foot to foot, eager to be off. Always in a hurry. I left The Times; life moved on. I didn't come across him again until I started to read The Independent, decades later. What a pleasure that was. I always intended writing a letter of appreciation to him. Today I wish I had. (Cynthia Lorne) I was deeply saddened to read of the death of Robert Fisk. His reporting of events in the Middle East was accurate and unbiased. He was not afraid of criticising Israel or the Arab nations in equal measure when their behaviour was contrary to humanity and international law. In fact, that sums him up in a few words – fair, unafraid and unbiased. I and many thousands who read his columns will miss him deeply. Although I never had the privilege of hearing him speak, I will miss him like a friend. (Patrick Cleary) Robert Fisk was brave and controversial. He was a brilliant writer, who did his best work in wars, transporting readers to his side in some burning village. He relished making enemies, especially if they defended US or Israeli activities in the Middle East. Fisk could be obsessive. He collected bits of shrapnel, often American made and fired by Israel, so he could use serial numbers to trace their origins. When I visited Beirut from Jerusalem in the 1990s he served me gin and tonics on his balcony overlooking the Mediterranean in a souvenir glass. Robert was old school. He poked fun at the flak jacket I brought to Lebanon from the former Yugoslavia, sniffing it to check for slivovitza plum brandy. Journalism can be a dog-eat-dog trade. Fisk's colleagues were not always kind about his work. I was an admirer, eating up his vivid reportage from Beirut when I was at school, and was awestruck when first I met him. I'll miss Robert, his guts and his appetite for the fight, even though usually he followed a warm hello with some crack about the evils of television news or the BBC. (Jeremy Bowen, BBC)
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BUSINESS 09
SUpREmE CoURT ExTEndS GIdC InSTAllmEnT pERIod by THREE yEARS LAHORE
Huawei to set up ICT academy at Air University ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT
A strategic memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between Air University and Huawei Technologies Pakistan for the establishment of the Huawei ICT Academy at the university. The ceremony was attended by the university’s Vice Chancellor Air Marshal (r) Javaid Ahmed, Dean Kashif Kifayat, Huawei Service Director Zhangwenwu as well as other respective professors and members from both organizations. The academy at Air University will be the 24th Huawei ICT Academy established under the MOU signed between the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan and Huawei Technologies Co Ltd aimed at promoting the studies of advanced technologies and adopting the globally renowned universityenterprise cooperation model for course development, training and certification in HEIs. Students from BS-cyber security, IT, computer science, software engineering and engineering will be able to get Huawei certified at an associate, professional and expert level. Addressing the ceremony, Professor Kashif Kifayat stated, “Air University is the headquarters of the National Centre of Cyber Security, establishing the Huawei academy here will attract more external students due to the trust Air university has developed. This initiative will have a significant impact on the cyber security culture of Pakistan and produce more Huawei cyber security product line experts in the country.” Adding to that, Huawei Service Director Zhangwenwu emphasized on the importance of creating intellectually independent individuals, saying, “Huawei understands that with the constant technological advancements happening in the world right now it is necessary to focus on youth development programs to build a skilled workforce for our future digital economy. “Similarly, the Digital Pakistan initiative by the Prime Minister of Pakistan also emphasizes this need to create skilled youth and to bolster the IT industry by building a digital ecosystem.” Echoing his statement, Vice Chancellor Javaid Ahmed stated, “This initiative by Huawei and Air University will benefit us in multiple dimensions. We will embed the Huawei certification in our BS-Cyber Security, IT and Computer Science as special courses.
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HASSAN NAQVI
HE Supreme Court of Pakistan on Monday dismissed review petitions in the Gas Infrastructure Development Cess (GIDC) case. However, it allowed the companies to pay the outstanding dues in 60 months instead of 24 months as decided earlier. The fertiliser association had requested the court to spread the GIDC payments over the period of 120 months (10 years). "The fertiliser players have received an extension of three years on GIDC payments, with 60 installments to be paid over five years as compared to 24 installments over two years as decided earlier by the court," said Ailia Naeem, a senior research analyst at AKD Securities Limited. "This development is favourable for the fertiliser sector which is currently
faced with liquidity issues – Fauji Fertilizer Bin Qasim Limited (FFBL) has cash to cover only 20pc of GIDC payment as per their latest financials." To recall, the fertiliser players had reportedly requested the recovery of outstanding GIDC dues (Rs109bn on non-concessionary gas) in 10 years, citing their worsening liquidity situation as the reason. The sector had also hinted at increasing urea prices by Rs500 per bag in case their request was dismissed. “As per our initial working, we had chalked out a 48-month extension in GIDC payment for players worst affected by the SC's initial decision," Naeem said. Meanwhile, Topline Securities Ltd stated that companies other than fertilisers, like textile and chemicals, had argued that they refrained from passing on the impact of GIDC to their consumers. The SC in the coming days is likely to release a detailed judgment where this matter (pass on or not) is likely to be elab-
orated, it added. "Nonetheless, we believe extension to 60 monthly payments is a positive development for companies affected by the GIDC verdict like Engro Fertilizers Limited (EFERT), Fauji Fertilizer Company (FFC), Fauji Fertilizer Bin Qasim Limited (FFBL), Lucky Cement Limited (LUCK), Gul Ahmed Textile Mills Limited (GATM), Feroze 1888 Mills Limited (FML), Lotte Chemical Pakistan Limited (LOTCHEM), Engro Polymer & Chemicals Limited (EPCL), Balochistan Gas Limited (BGL), Maple Leaf Cement Factory Ltd (MLCF) and Century Paper and Board Mills Limited (CEPB) among others.” It is pertinent to mention that GIDC was imposed by the government back in December 2011 to raise funds for development of gas infrastructure in the country. The GIDC Act provides a legal framework which allows the government to levy and collect cess from
MARKET DAILY
Stocks plummet 775 points as Covid cases, lockdown fears rise KARACHI STAFF REPORT
The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) plunged once again on Monday, as rising Covid cases within and outside Pakistan continued to rattle investor sentiment, pushing the benchmark index down over 1,100 points intraday. "Continuing with the downtrend from last week, the stock market posted heavy losses within the trading hour, mainly due to the end of earnings' season as well as the recent spike in Covid cases," said a report issued by AHL Ltd. "Although the PSX saw signs of intermittent recovery on the pretext of Supreme Court's decision on GIDC review case, selling pressure kept the index recovery in check." The benchmark KSE-100 Index remained in the negative throughout the day, recording its intraday low at 38,778.68 after shedding 1,109.32 points. It settled lower by 775.82 points at 39,112.18. Among other indices, the KMI-30 Index plunged 1,375.53 points to close at 62,121.16, while the KSE All Share Index dropped 619.35 points, ending at 27,566.21. The overall market declined from 541.8 million shares in the previous session to 322.3 million shares (-41pc). Average traded value also dropped by 41pc,
from $127 million to $74.7 million. Hascol Petroleum Ltd (HASCOL -7.45pc), Unity Foods Ltd (UNITY +1.92pc) and Pakistan International Bulk Terminal Ltd (PIBTL -2.24pc) led the volume chart, exchanging 32.40 million, 31.20 million and 20.16 million shares, respectively. Sectors that dragged the benchmark index lower included banking (-186.47 points), oil & gas exploration (143.52 points) and oil & gas marketing sector (-70.89 points). Among the companies, Habib Bank Ltd (HBL 68.79 points), Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd (OGDC -66.79 points) and Pak Petroleum Ltd (PPL 60.37 points) dented the index the most. Losing 6.34pc from its total market capitalization, the refinery sector ended as the session’s top loser, with Attock Refinery Ltd (ATRL -4.80pc), Pakistan Refinery Ltd (PRL -5.83pc), National Refinery Limited (NRL 5.38pc) and Byco Petroleum Pakistan Limited (BYCO -7.20pc) posting significant losses. Meanwhile, according to a PSX notification, UBL Pakistan Enterprise Index (UPP9) has carried its recomposition as of October 29, 2020. DG Khan Cement Company Limited (DGKC +0.98pc) would be added to the index while Bank AlFalah Limited (BAFL -1.81pc) would be removed. The changes would be implemented tomorrow (November 3).
PSX holds gong ceremony to mark listing of Agha Steel KARACHI ARIBA SHAHID
The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday held a gong ceremony to mark the listing of Agha Steel Industries Limited (ASIL) at the exchange. The listing took place after Agha Steel’s successful IPO, which was the largest in the country’s steel sector. Speaking on the occasion, PSX CEO Farrukh Khan said, “I would like to congratulate Agha Steel on their highly successful IPO and welcome them to the exchange. The successful IPO and listing of Agha Steel again demonstrates the depth and liquidity in our capital market for good companies.” He noted that this was the third listing of a company on PSX in the fiscal year 2021. “We are expecting
more listings on the boards of the exchange in the near future. We are confident that with the simplification of rules for listing on the GEM board of PSX recently, medium sized growth enterprises will come forward for listing as well.” Talking about the listing of his company on the exchange, Agha Steel CEO Hussain Agha said, “It’s an honor and a privilege to get listed at PSX, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the partners involved for the confidence they have shown in Agha Steel Industries.” Speaking about the purpose of the IPO, Agha stated, “This IPO will help us materialize our expansion plans and bring to Pakistan Asia’s first ‘endless steel plant with DRB technology’. We will do our best to continue on the path of prosperity and ensure sustainable growth for our shareholders.”
In his address, Arif Habib Limited CEO Shahid Ali Habib said, “I am delighted that Agha Steel Industries Limited, one of Pakistan’s largest steel companies, is getting listed at PSX. It is a proud moment for us at AHL to have facilitated this journey for the company.” Habib further hinted towards more IPOs in the future, “The market and the investors have shown strong resilience post easing of Covid-19 lockdown and AHL remains poised to bring several other companies for listing in the next few months.” The Agha Steel IPO proved to be the biggest IPO for a steel company in Pakistan and saw broad-based investor participation with 298 investors participating in the book building and over 5,200 participants in the general public subscription.
Total Parco sales decline after blasphemous caricatures LAHORE HASSAN NAQVI
French products are being boycotted across the Islamic world after the reprinting of the Holy Prophet's (PBUH) blasphemous caricatures by French Weekly Charlie Hebdo and the subsequent Islamophobic remarks by French President Emmanuel Macron. Following this development, the sales of Total Parco Pakistan Ltd (TPPL) have declined sharply in Pakistan, as the customers are refraining from using the French company's petrol stations across the country. Ali Khan (name changed to protect identity), a worker at Johar Town Bahoo Fuel Station, told Profit that petrol and diesel sales at his workplace witnessed a sharp de-
cline after the reprinting of blasphemous caricatures and Islamophobic speech by the French president. "Our sales and customers have reduced by approximately 60 per cent," he added. Khan said that the Bahoo petrol pump management has been actively distributing flyers and brochures, stating that they condemn the French president and newspaper involved in hate speech against the Holy Prophet (PBUH). "Our filling station is also decorated with lights and flags for the celebration of Rabiul Awwal," he added. SHARP DECLINE IN LUBRICANTS’ SALES: Corroborating Khan's statement, Mubashir Ali (name changed to protect identity), a worker at Royal Filling Station on Zahoor Elahi Road, told this scribe that oil
change and lubricants make up a major chunk of revenue, however, since the incidents in France, the pump has seen a sharp decline in lubricant sales. "You could safely say that our sale proceeds from lubricants have almost halved since the boycott French products campaign," he said in a choked tone. "We are trying our level best to educate customers that if they boycott Total's petrol and lubricants, local businesses will also get a hit." He said that they have also been distributing flyers and brochures to raise awareness in the surrounding areas. "It is sad that we have to prove our love for the Holy Prophet (PBUH)," he added. BOYCOTT FRENCH PRODUCTS CAMPAIGN: Scores of people across the
CMYK
country are presently following the boycott campaign against France in which they have stopped buying French products in a bid to cripple the French economy. Speaking to Profit, Punjab Group of Colleges (PGC) Marketing Manager Amina Hassan said that they are observing the boycott campaign as it will definitely have an impact on the French economy; this will make them realise that free speech does not come without consequences. "I have started buying petrol and lubricants from Pakistan State Oil (PSO) petrol pumps," she said. CANCELLATION OF CONTRACT WITH TPPL: Hussain Ahmad and Muazzam Ahmad, owners of Hamza Filling Station on Nasirabad-DI Khan Road in Bannu said that they too had taken measures to con-
Energy sector circular debt soars to Rs2.3tr ISLAMABAD AHMAD AHMADANI
In sharp contrast to the tall claims of incumbent Energy Minister Omar Ayub Khan, the circular debt of the country's power sector has increased to whopping Rs2,300 billion. These revelations were made on Monday during a meeting of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) which was held under the chairmanship of PML-N’s Rana Tanveer Hussain. Giving a detailed briefing on the country's circular debt, Power Division Secretary Ali Raza Bhutta informed the PAC that the energy sector's circular debt was recorded at Rs288 billion in the first six months of 2019, while another Rs198 billion were added to the debt in the second half of the previous year. Similarly, a Rs243 billion increase in circular debt was witnessed in first six months of 2020, whereas around Rs294 billion raise was expected in the second half of the current year. "Cumulatively, the power sector's circular debt has surged by Rs1,139 billion during the incumbent government's rule," Ali Raza Bhutta stated. Surprised on the shocking figures, the PAC chairman noted that the government had announced five power hikes despite a hefty increase in the circular debt. It is pertinent to mention that the government had been claiming that it had brought down the monthly build-up in circular debt from Rs38 billion during the tenure of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz to Rs12 billion and wanted to reduce it further to Rs8 billion per month by December this year. However, all claims made so far by the government have proved wrong as the circular debt of the power sector has been going up with each passing day. Sources said that poor governance -- low recovery of monthly bills and high power theft -- gave birth to the complicated 'circular debt', forcing the government to compromise on working capital at power production, transmission, distribution and oil & gas supplying firms.
demn Macron and the republication of the cartoons. “As an act of protest, we have cancelled the contract signed with Total Parco Pakistan for we cannot continue business with a firm that belongs to a country where the honour and sanctity of our Holy Prophet (PBUH) are continuously attacked,” they said. They said that they are weighing their options regarding which oil marketing company they should switch to. The owners of Hamza Filling Station are not alone; many other petrol pumps doing business with Total Parco Pakistan Limited (TPTL) are considering moving to other companies with the people determination to boycott French products. “I have decided to move to PSO as we are finding it difficult to work with Total due to ethical reasons,” said one such owner who wished to remain anonymous. TPPL is an oil marketing company which is the largest affiliate of the Total Group in the Asia Pacific Mathematical Olympiad (APMO) region. Total SE is a French multinational integrated oil and gas company founded in 1924 and one of the seven "supermajor" oil companies in the world.
Tuesday, 3 November, 2020
10 FOREIGN NEWS Brexit talks go into another week as eu, uK push to salvage trade deal LONDON AGENCIES
The European Union (EU) and British Brexit negotiators continued talks in Brussels on Monday and will continue doing so until around mid-week, sources on both sides said, in a sign that both sides are still pushing to avoid a damaging breakdown in trade in less than nine weeks. Intensive and secretive, the talks are a final bid to seal a new partnership agreement for when Britain’s transition out of the European Union runs its course at the end of this year. If the sides overcome their differences, the new deal would govern everything from trade and energy to transport and fisheries. If they fail, an estimated $900 billion of annual bilateral trade in goods and services would be damaged from Jan.1 by tariffs and quotas. An EU diplomatic source and a UK official said negotiations would continue face-toface in Brussels on Monday following a full weekend of talks. An update on their progress and the chances of a deal was expected on Wednesday or Thursday, they added. EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said on Friday that “much remains to be done” to seal a deal. Another EU diplomat following Brexit in Brussels told the media over the weekend that talks were still difficult on the most sensitive issues, including those of economic fair play, fishing rights and how to settle disputes in future. Both sides have, however, previously signalled their readiness to compromise on fisheries – a politically sensitive issue for both Britain and France, as well as several other EU states – and it was reported on October 23 that Paris was already laying the groundwork to net a deal. With time running out, financial markets and businesses are increasingly jittery as Britain and the EU face three main scenarios: a deal this year that salvages free trade, a tumultuous economic split, or a fudged arrangement that would settle future ties in a handful of areas but leave the rest up in the air.
China’s manufacturing sector at decade high as pandemic fallout fades BEIJING AGENCIES
Activity in China’s manufacturing sector accelerated at the fastest pace in nearly a decade in October as domestic demand surged. A private business survey showed on Monday the economy is quickly recovering from the Covid crisis. The Caixin/Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 53.6 from September’s 53.0. The reading was above analysts’ expectations and the highest since January 2011. The 50-threshold separates growth from contraction. China’s vast manufacturing industry has been recovering and steadily returning to levels seen before the pandemic. The October Caixin/Markit PMI showed that the country’s manufacturing recovery has continued to pick up speed, said Wang Zhe, senior economist at Caixin Insight Group. “Recovery was the word in the current macro economy, with the domestic epidemic under control. Manufacturing supply and demand improved at the same time.” The Caixin survey showed that total new orders surged to the highest level since 2010. The gauge for new export orders fell from the month before, though it remained in expansionary territory. “The second wave of coronavirus infections in Europe and the third wave in the US have significantly suppressed China’s overseas demand,” said Wang. The survey also showed Chinese factories hired workers for the second month in a row, though the increase was slight. Factory output also rose slightly from the month before, while a gauge of business confidence rose to a multi-year high. The Caixin survey focuses more on small and export-oriented firms while China’s official survey, which was released on Saturday, largely tracks large companies and state-owned enterprises. According to the official gauge, factory activity expanded at a slightly slower pace in October, but it was above analysts’ expectations. “There are still many uncertainties outside of China, so policymakers need to be cautious about normalizing post-coronavirus monetary and fiscal policies,” said Wang.
HOW InvestOrs are gamIng Out us eleCtIOn nIgHt WASHINGTON
F
AGENCIES
ROM the beach towns of Pinellas, Florida, to the suburbs of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Wall Street will be closely watching a few dozen counties on Tuesday night for hints on who will win the U.S. presidential race. Investment firms, faced with the prospect of a chaotic election complicated by an unprecedented number of mail-in ballots, have hired political analysts and crunched voting data to try to identify crucial counties and Senate races that might tell them which way the vote is headed. Pinellas, home to St. Petersburg-Clearwater, has picked the winner of every presidential election since 1980 except for the disputed 2000 vote. Bucks County, north of Philadelphia, is seen as an indicator
of suburban enthusiasm for Democratic contender Joe Biden. The calculus is by no means definitive or comprehensive. With Democrats more likely than Republicans to vote early, for example, initial results from some counties could show a strong Biden lead that gets tempered or reversed as in-person ballots are counted. “They are trying to find the signal from the noise. It can seem overwhelming,” said Andy Lewin, who works with financial services clients for Washington lobbyist BGR Group. He sees Pinellas and another county in Florida, Sumter, as bellwethers for older voters. If Biden outperforms Hillary Clinton - the Democratic candidate in 2016 - in Pinellas, or if President Donald Trump loses his margin of victory from 2016 in Sumter, the Republican is unlikely to be re-elected, he said. “They are great proxies for investors on where the election is headed,” Lewin said.
In recovery race, Europe's wealthy north spend big LONDON AGENCIES
With the pandemic having pushed any talk of austerity to the sidelines, the race is on in Europe to spend its economies out of recession and back to some semblance of normality. While the total cash being thrown at the challenge amounts to trillions of euros, that masks deep national differences between the amount and type of aid on offer. In short, the rich north is able to prop up essential parts of the economy with cash that will never have to be paid back while the poorer south is more reliant on providing short-term relief in the form loans and temporary tax holidays. To be sure, the purpose of the European Union’s 750-billion-euro joint recovery fund is to iron out such differences and make sure the wealth gap doesn’t get larger. But that money will only become available from next year, and even then only slowly. In the meantime, national differences prevail. Brussels-based think tank Bruegel puts the total amount of outright, non-repayable support Germany has been able to offer its companies and citizens at 8.3% of its economic output - not far short of the 9.1% figure in the United States. That includes 100 billion euros to recapitalise and buy stakes in compa-
nies affected by coronavirus, 23.5 billion in wage subsidies for those working on reduced hours, and 18 billion in direct grants to small companies in greatest need. Contrast that with the far less generous amounts on offer in the economies that were at the centre of the 2009 sovereign debt crisis: Portugal’s direct stimulus aid totals just 2.5% of output, Greece’s 3.1%, Spain’s 3.7% and Italy’s 3.4%. Rome offered a massive 220 billion-plus euros worth of moratoriums on the loans and mortgages of small companies - but as things stand, come end-January they will have to carry on where they left off with loans just as big as before. Madrid faces a similar dilemma. The government there backed credits of 140 billion euros to businesses and banks negotiated grace periods with companies on repayment schedules. But as those grace periods start to run out, concerns are rising of a wave of bankruptcies and Spain is seeking to offer more help. Friday’s news of a much stronger-than-expected rebound in the eurozone economy in the third quarter therefore only tells half of the story - coming before a second wave of infections took hold in October and with even the poorest economies still benefiting from state support. As new restrictions start to hit activity, the bleakest could be yet to come.
A spokesman for the Biden campaign declined to comment for this story. Representatives for the Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment. Several investment strategists singled out Florida as critical to Trump’s re-election. The state, with 29 Electoral College votes out of a total of 538, was vital to Trump’s surprise win in 2016. “The absolute most important thing to watch on election night is what happens in Florida,” Ben Melkman, head of hedge fund firm Light Sky Macro LP, told Reuters during a recent online forum. Florida, along with North Carolina, Ohio and Texas -- all states that investors are monitoring closely -- has already begun to process mail-in ballots. Election experts say these states will likely be able to count the majority of their votes by the end of the night. AFRICAN AMERICANS AND SUBURBANITES: Biden is leading Trump in national opinion polls, but the race is tight in several battleground states, which can swing to either party and decide the race. Noel Dixon, global macro strategist at State Street Global Markets, said he was watching North Carolina’s Bladen and Granville counties as indicators for the African-American turnout. An increase would be a good sign for Biden.
WHO chief in self-quarantine after contracting Covid-19 GENEVA AGENCIES
Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is in self-quarantine after being identified as a contact of a person who has tested positive for Covid-19, he tweeted on Monday. "I have been identified as a contact of someone who has tested positive for Covid-19. I am well and without symptoms but will self-quarantine over the coming days, in line with WHO protocols, and work from home," the WHO chief said. "It is critically important that we all comply with health guidance. This is how we will break chains of Covid-19 transmission, suppress the virus, and protect health systems," he continued, adding that he and his WHO colleagues would continue to engage with partners in solidarity to save lives and protect the vulnerable. Earlier on Monday, Geneva, home to the WHO's global headquarters, announced it would enter a state of semiconfinement due to its worsening Covid-19 situation. Bars, restaurants and non-essential shops will be closed, while gatherings of more than five people in public spaces will be banned. Schools will remain open.
UK takes control of weapons deal from Lockheed Martin-led group LONDON AGENCIES
Britain’s defence ministry will take back direct control of the operations and development of the country’s nuclear weapons from a consortium of Lockheed Martin, Serco and Jacobs Engineering in June 2021, Serco said on Monday. The three companies have managed an entity called AWE Management, which controls the Atomic Weapons Establishment, since 2000, with Lockheed Martin holding 51 percent and Serco and Jacobs holding 24.5 percent each. “The change in model will remove the current commercial arrangements, enhancing the MoD’s (Ministry of Defence) agility in the future management of the UK’s nuclear deterrent, whilst also delivering on core MoD objectives and value for money to the taxpayer,” the government said. Serco said it was told by Britain’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) late on Friday that AWE plc would transfer back under the direct control and management of the MoD as of June 30, 2021. Based in Al-
dermaston in southern England, AWE maintains the warheads for the Trident nuclear deterrent and is required to retain the capability to design a new weapon, should it ever be required. Shares in Serco fell 13 percent in early deals on Monday after the company said it would lose the contract. The company said AWE was expected to contribute about 17 million pounds ($22m) to both underlying trading profit and pretax profit in 2020. It said, however, assuming a smooth handover of the contract next year, it expected profit in 2021 to remain broadly in line with current consensus and at similar levels to expectations for 2020. Sky News, which first reported the news, said it was not clear if the companies would receive compensation for the termination of the 25-year contract, which was due to run until 2025. Analysts at Jefferies said they expected some compensation was likely as the consortium was now meeting its targets after a period of underperformance about five years ago. The MoD did not immediately respond to a request to comment.
India gears up to become major player in seaborne oil demand LONDON AGENCIES
India is gearing up to become a major player in seaborne oil demand, offering a valuable boost in the tanker market. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Gibson said that “like most nations, Indian oil demand has come under considerable pressure in 2020 as Covid-19 derailed the country’s continual demand growth. Nevertheless, the longer-term prospects for Indian oil consumption are good with demand already rebounding even as covid-19 continues to impact the wider economy”. According to Gibson, “this rebound in demand is evident in both refinery and crude buying activity. Indian refinery runs gained 10% month on month reaching 86% in September, with further gains expected for November and December. Government sources have suggested that oil demand could be back to pre-covid levels in the first quarter. Furthermore, official data showed that September gasoline demand recovered to 2.45 million mt, the highest since February and 3% up YOY.
Why NASA's moonshot, Boeing, Bezos and Musk have a lot riding on US election WASHINGTON AGENCIES
U.S. President Donald Trump’s differences with rival presidential candidate Joe Biden extend far beyond planet earth. President Trump’s plans to win the race in space call for a 2024 moon mission, and ending direct U.S. financial support for the International Space Station in 2025 - turning over control of the decades-old orbital laboratory to private space companies. Biden, on the other hand, would likely call for a delayed moonshot and propose a funding extension for the International Space Station if he wins the White House, according to people familiar with the fledg-
ing Biden space agenda. Pushing back the moon mission could cast more doubt on the long-term fate of Boeing Co’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, just as Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin scramble to bring rival rockets to market as soon as next year. Extending support for the space station for a decade would also be a major boost for Boeing, whose $225 million annual ISS operations contract is set to expire in 2024 and is at the depths of a financial crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the 737 MAX grounding after fatal crashes. Boeing and SpaceX are already supplying spacecraft to ferry astronauts to the ISS under a program begun under the Obama ad-
ministration and supported by both Trump and Biden. Though slowing the moonshot would push back contracts for moon landers and related equipment the companies aim to win, the emerging Biden space agenda appears broadly set to promote competition between traditional defense contractors like Boeing and “new space” rivals like SpaceX who promise lower-cost and reusable rocket systems and space vehicles. CRAVING CONSISTENCY: For the commercial space industry, “consistency is key,” said Mike French, a vice president at the Aerospace Industries Association trade group who earlier served as NASA chief of staff under Obama. “If you shake the etch-a-sketch now, you
will (be) risking a series of potentially historic accomplishments and the strong and sustained bipartisan support NASA has seen across its portfolio,” French told Reuters. Roughly 20 former senior NASA officials and scientists have assembled as a volunteer subgroup under the Biden campaign’s science committee to informally help draw up ideas for a space platform. Many held jobs in the Obama administration and are jockeying for influential roles on the transition team or in a Biden administration. Reuters spoke to three of those people, as well as over a dozen lobbyists, industry executives, and former NASA officials who have held their own discussions with Biden’s
campaign. Members of the subgroup also want to boost NASA funding for Earth science and support partnerships with other nations. They stressed that Biden’s space agenda, and the staff assignments to lead it, were in a formative stage as his campaign prioritizes more pressing issues, like the coronavirus pandemic and joblessness. A Biden campaign spokesman pointed to earlier remarks from Biden. In August, after SpaceX launched and returned the first astronauts from U.S. soil on a trip to the ISS in nearly a decade, Biden said he looked forward to “leading a bold space program that will continue to send astronaut heroes to expand our exploration and scientific frontiers.”
Tuesday, 3 November, 2020
SPORTS 11
HAMilton’S futuRe lookS leSS cleAR tHAn HiS SeventH title LONDON
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EWIS Hamilton stands on the brink of becoming the most successful Formula One driver of all time but a record-equalling seventh world title looks more certain than his racing future. Speaking after he won the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola on Sunday, the 93rd victory of his F1 career, and his Mer-
cedes team took a record seventh successive constructors’ championship, the Briton raised doubts. “I would like to be here next year but there’s no guarantee of that, for sure,” Hamilton told reporters after going a mighty 85 points clear of team mate Valtteri Bottas with four races remaining. “There’s a lot that excites me of the after (F1) life so time will tell.” His words could be seen as an early shot in negotiations with Mercedes over a new deal — worth many tens of millions — rather than a serious statement of
Yamaha MotoGP bosses looking at alternative ways to increase top speed Yamaha MotoGP boss Takahiro Sumi is looking at alternative ways to increase the top speed of the YZR-M1 as engine development is frozen until the end of next season. Riders Valentino Rossi and Maverick Vinales have continuously campaigned for better top end but it has yet to materialise even with the development of bolt-on parts such as exhausts. “We have to develop even more than before to improve our strong points. Unfortunately now, the corner speed and handling is not only for Yamaha,” said Sumi said when asked how the engine freeze will affect Yamaha. “We are aware the competitors improved a lot in this area, especially Suzuki. So, we have to make more effort for that. “Also, we are not giving up on improving the top speed for next year. Of course, the engine is frozen for next year, but the engine is one element, but we can find another way to improve for next year. “Last year, we were fast in free practice and qualifying, but not so in the race. “This is a point we wanted to improve for this year. Top speed was one of the main topics to improve, and we got some more compared to last year. “But unfortunately, the competitors did well also, so the situation is not so much different than we expected. “Now we have three races winners in Yamaha, and Valentino [Rossi] also got back his feeling and speed. “So, now all four Yamahas are ready to fight for the win. So, as a total package we have confidence we are in the right direction, but still a lot of work to do to be on the target point.” Yamaha will have to look at bolt-on parts to boost power and also aerodynamics which can provide expensive but vital mph. AGENCIES
DRS: Should Haider Ali have been given out? Haider Ali’s debut ODI innings was going well until it was cut short by what, according to replays, would appear to be a TV umpiring error. The dismissal was a point of interest in an otherwise routine game with little drama. Pakistan got on top early in the second ODI against Zimbabwe, never relinquishing control, and running down a small target on a good batting surface with consummate ease. But the decision that ended Haider’s innings on 29 - and the process that led to it - raised several questions. In the 22nd over, with Pakistan sitting pretty on 137 for 2, requiring 70 more for a series-sealing triumph, Haider tried to lap Sean Williams to fine leg. He missed, and the ball hit his pads. On-field umpire Aleem Dar had little hesitation in raising the finger. The batsman immediately reviewed and front-on slow-motion replays appeared to show the path of the ball deviating after it went past Haider’s bat, onto the pads apparently off Haider’s gloves. Third umpire Ahsan Raza requested UltraEdge, though the technology showed no obvious spike at the moment slow-motion replays appeared to show a deflection. After lengthy and repeated side-byside replays, Raza finally decided to go with UltraEdge, ruling that Haider must not have hit it. HawkEye went on to show the ball hitting the stumps, which meant the onfield decision of lbw had to stand. Haider was sent on his way, shaking his head. Though the technology is not thought to have failed, DRS playing condition 3.3.7 states that if it does “for whatever reason, the third umpire shall advise the on-field umpire of this fact but still provide any relevant factual information that may be ascertained from the available television replays and other technology”. The preceding conditions say that “if despite the available technology, the third umpire is unable to decide with a high degree of confidence whether the original on-field decision should be changed, then he/she shall report that the replays are ‘inconclusive’, and that the on-field decision shall stand”. That wasn’t the only awkward moment for the third umpire in what turned out to be a tricky afternoon. When Mohammad Rizwan was beaten and bowled by a Sikandar Raza delivery, the on-field umpires referred the matter to the TV umpire, just to confirm that Zimbabwe’s wicketkeeper Brendan Taylor hadn’t knocked the bails off with his gloves. He hadn’t - conclusively - and while Raza appeared to make his mind up quickly, it was the “not out” sign that flashed on the big screen, much to everyone’s bemusement. After a short delay, the right call was made, and Rizwan was on his way. AGENCIES
intent, yet they still shook assumptions. Hamilton is out of contract next month and, in this strangest of seasons, teams are having to contend with new financial realities and pressures amid the Covid-19 pandemic. “I guess if Lewis were to decide to step out of Formula One, which I don’t think will happen, we are going to have a frantic driver market out there,” said team boss Toto Wolff, who did not sound too concerned. “But I think it’s the moment and the emotions, we are all happy but very tired
also. It’s the same for me.” It would be a major shock if the Briton followed the example of former team mate Nico Rosberg, who retired immediately after winning the 2016 title. Speaking to Sky Sports last month, Hamilton said a new deal was ‘probably’ a formality, that he had yet to hit his peak and planned to race on. He has also spoken about using his platform to push for change in society, on questions of racial injustice and diversity. Mercedes want him to stay but the
question is how much they are prepared to pay and how long Hamilton wants to commit for, particularly with Wolff intending to stand back from the day-to-day running of the team. The Austrian, a shareholder in the team, has said he is working on the succession and a new, undefined executive role. Hamilton described Wolff on Sunday as “the best boss you could have.” The Briton’s future will become clearer once he wins the championship, with the stage set for title celebrations in Turkey in two weeks’ time, but it is hard to see him not staying for a shot at an eighth title and 100 wins and poles. The cars are staying the same next year and Hamilton has said he is keen to see how 2022 pans out with a major revamp of the regulations. Hamilton, winner of nine races so far this year, will equal Ferrari great Michael Schumacher’s record seven titles in Istanbul if Bottas fails to score seven points more than him. Bottas, now Hamilton’s sole rival, has managed that only twice this season.
Who were the Winners and Losers of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix? AGENCIES Lewis Hamilton did it the hard way as he inched closer to a record-equalling seventh world title with victory in an enthralling Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. We pick out the winners and losers at F1 returned to Imola for the first time in 14 years… WINNERS: THE NOW 7-TIME TITLE WINNERS: It was a matter of when, not if, Mercedes won their seventh successive constructors’ championship, taking the outright record from Ferrari with their fifth one-two of the 2020 campaign. To have wrapped it up with four races to spare shows how dominant they have been this year, winning all but two of the 13 Grands Prix so far. And as if that wasn’t enough, they hit another milestone in Imola, taking their 500th podium finish as an engine supplier in F1. LOSER: MAX VERSTAPPEN: Max Verstappen’s record of scoring a podium in every race he has seen the chequered flag in in 2020 remains intact. However, rather than securing the second place he richly deserved and worked so hard for, the Dutchman ended up in the gravel after one of his tyres let go. The chances of beating Valtteri Bottas to second in the drivers’ championship have reduced, as he trails by 35 points with four races to go, but he can still take heart from the fact his RB16 was a genuine threat to the all-conquering Mercedes in terms of pure performance. He will, however, be gald to see the back of Italy, with his 2020 record in the country reading 3 races, 3 DNFs... WINNER: LEWIS HAMILTON: Lewis Hamilton’s hard-fought victory at Imola was the 93rd win of his career and ninth in 13 races this season. It was also his 72nd win for Mercedes, tying Michael Schumacher and his time at Ferrari for the most wins with a single constructor, while Imola was the 29th circuit he has clinched victory in a Formula 1 car. He also led his 5,000th career lap to boot. And with title rival Bottas beaten into second, his lead of 85 points with four to go means he could win a seventh world title at the next race in Turkey. LOSER: PIERRE GASLY: Pierre Gasly drove superbly throughout the weekend in Italy, securing a brilliant fourth on the grid at Imola, just down the road from AlphaTauri’s factory. But a water pressure issue that first reared its head on the grid before the start ul-
timately ended his race when a fourth successive points finish was on the cards. In three starts in Italy in 2020, it’s been bang or bust for Gasly – he has won once and failed to finish twice. WINNER: DANIEL RICCIARDO: Daniel Ricciardo got his second podium of the year, courtesy of a second P3 finish in three races – having previously gone two and a half years without any podiums. The Australian’s third place was his seventh consecutive points score, helping Renault to move up into third place in the constructors’ championship, while strengthening his grip on fourth in the drivers’ title race. LOSER: LANCE STROLL: Lance Stroll collided with his friend and rival Esteban Ocon at the start, having qualified poorly, which dropped him to the back of the field. He generally lacked the pace of his team mate all weekend, and then got his braking all wrong when he came into the pits, missing his marks by a long way and hitting his front jackman. He crossed the line 13th, meaning he has failed to score in the last five races, during which time, team mate Sergio Perez has scored fives times and amassed 48 points – nearly two race wins. WINNER: DANIIL KVYAT: Daniil Kvyat is fighting for his future in F1, so his fourth place in Imola – which included two brilliantly opportunistic passes after the Safety Car retreated to the pits – was very timely. It was comfortably his best performance of the season and a fourth points score in six races, but it may still not be enough to keep his seat at AlphaTauri next
year, with Yuki Tsunoda favourite to replace him. LOSER: GEORGE RUSSELL: George Russell had a first Formula 1 World Championship point within his grasp, having qualified very strongly and raced very aggressively on Sunday in Imola. But a small mistake cost him dearly, the Williams driver losing control behind the Safety Car and skidding into the wall. He admitted his mistake immediately and took it badly, as he realised what might have been. WINNERS: ALFA ROMEO: Alfa Romeo put some breathing space between themselves and fellow Ferrari-powered rivals Haas in the constructors’ championship with their first double points finish of the season. Kimi Raikkonen ran very deep into the race to move into points contention, while Antonio Giovinazzi gained six places on the opening lap by starting on the softs. The two drivers now sit on four points apiece, having both announced new deals to race for Alfa Romeo next year at Imola. LOSERS: RACING POINT: Racing Point would be comfortably third in the constructors’ championship if they were able to maximise the potential of their car with two drivers. However, with Stroll on a bad run of form and the team making the wrong call to box Sergio Perez when he was in P3, relinquishing track position and a potential podium, this was a weekend to forget for the pink cars. They are now down to fifth in the constructors’ championship, level with McLaren and a point behind Renault.
Three talking points from the Premier League AGENCIES Manchester United were the big losers as the rest of the Premier League’s major powers restored a semblance of normality after a chaotic start to the season filled with goalfests and upsets. Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham moved up the table with single-goal victories, while bigspending Chelsea are beginning to click into gear as they won 3-0 at Burnley. United on the other hand are languishing in 15th after failing to win at Old Trafford for a sixth straight league game as Arsenal were worthy 1-0 winners thanks to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s penalty. AFP Sports looks at three talking points from the Premier League weekend. ARSENAL BREAK ‘BIG SIX’ CEILING: Arsenal’s improvement under Mikel Arteta took another huge step forward with the Gunners’ first away win against a ‘big six’ rival in the Premier League for 30 games stretching back to January 2015. In nearly a year in charge, Arteta has managed to make Arsenal competitive again when faced with opposition of the calibre of Liverpool, City, Chelsea, United and Tottenham. City and Chelsea were beaten en route to winning the FA Cup last season, while Liverpool have won only one of four meetings against Arteta’s Arsenal. Much more is needed to turn the
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Londoners back into title contenders as they again showed a struggle to score goals despite dominating large spells of the game at Old Trafford. Indeed, Aubameyang’s penalty is the only time Arteta’s men have found the net in their past three games. But the fact they now boast the best defensive record in the league having already played City, Liverpool and United away in the opening seven games exemplifies how they are now a far harder side to beat. “We knew since the beginning we have to trust the process,” said Aubameyang. “Mikel is bringing something very nice.” BALE BOLSTERS TOTTENHAM’S TITLE CREDENTIALS: Gareth Bale has had to bide his time to make an impact in his second spell at Spurs with Harry Kane and Son Heung-min now the established stars for Jose Mourinho’s men. But the Welshman offered a glimpse of what could be possible if all three can gel as an attacking trio as he came off the bench to score the winner in a 2-1 victory over Brighton. Spurs are now up to second, just two points adrift of Liverpool. Had they not conceded last-gasp equalisers to Newcastle and West Ham in their previous two home games, Tottenham could have been top of the table. They may well head into the November international break there as they travel to struggling West Brom next weekend, while Liverpool face Man-
chester City. So much will depend on keeping Bale, Kane and Son fit as all three have had injury problems in recent seasons. But with all of England’s traditional giants showing frailties, there is a golden opportunity for Spurs to target a first league title in 60 years. INGS INJURY MARS SOUTHAMPTON JOY: After dream starts to the campaign for Everton and Aston Villa have fizzled out, Southampton have stepped forward as the latest side to dream of what could be possible in an unpredictable season. Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men sum up the unpredictability of the Premier League with just three points separating Tottenham in second from Newcastle in 11th. Thrashed 5-2 at home by Spurs to be left with no points from their opening two games, Southampton have stormed back to move fourth thanks to four wins and a thrilling 3-3 draw at Chelsea in their last five games. After roaring into a 4-0 lead at Aston Villa on Sunday, the Saints were left hanging on for a 4-3 win, but of greater concern for Hasenhuttl was an injury suffered by Danny Ings. The England international has twice previously suffered cruciate ligament damage in the past. “It didn’t look good at the time,” Hasenhuttl said after the game. “He overstretched his knee and this is always dangerous and he was immediately shouting, ‘my knee, my knee’. He will have a scan tomorrow.”
Tuesday, 3 November, 2020
PrAyEr TImINGS
NEWS
Gunmen kill at least 19 students in attack on kabul uniVeRsity KABUL
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uNMEN attacked Kabul university’s campus on Monday, killing at least 19 people including students and trading fire with security forces, an Afghan government official and witnesses said. At least 22 others were injured, according to the spokesperson for the Afghan interior ministry. The attackers were targeting students and fired on them as they fled in the Afghan capital, one witness said.
PAKISTAN CONDEMNS ‘MINDLESS ATTACK’ “They were shooting at every student they saw,” Fathullah Moradi told Reuters, saying he had managed to escape through one of the university’s gates with a group of friends. The attack took place as the varsity was hosting a book fair attended by the Iranian ambassador to Afghanistan. The Taliban said their fighters were not
involved in the assault. No other group immediately claimed responsibility. Witnesses said the attack followed an explosion in the area. The attack ended after several hours with security forces killing three of the attackers, the interior ministry spokesperson said. While Afghan officials declined to discuss the bookfair, Iran’s semiofficial ISNA news agency reported on Sunday that Iranian Ambassador Bahador Aminian and cultural attaché Mojtaba Noroozi were scheduled to inaugurate the fair, which would host some 40 Iranian publishers. Iranian state television
Three-year-old rescued from rubble in Turkey, quake death toll hits 85 IZMIR AGENCIES
A three-year-old girl was rescued from a collapsed building in the western Turkish city of Izmir on Monday, nearly three days after a powerful earthquake in the Aegean Sea that has killed at least 85 people. Rescuers pulled the girl, Elif, out of the rubble, then took her on a stretcher to an ambulance as emergency crews searched for survivors in eight other buildings. Elif’s two sisters and brother were found alive in the wreckage along with their mother on Saturday, but one of the children later died. “A thousand thanks to you, my God. We have brought out our little one Elif
from the apartment block,” Mehmet Gulluoglu, head of Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), wrote on Twitter. AFAD said the death toll had risen to 83 in Izmir – making it the deadliest quake to hit Turkey in nearly a decade. Two teenagers also died on the Greek island of Samos, authorities said. A total of 994 people had been injured in Izmir and around 220 people were still being treated for their injuries, AFAD added. Roughly 20 people were still believed to be in the rubble of one of the city apartment blocks where searches were continuing, broadcaster CNN Turk said. It was the deadliest earthquake in Turkey since one in the eastern city
of Van in 2011 that killed more than 500 people. A quake in January this year killed 41 people in the eastern province of Elazig. Turkey is crossed by fault lines and is prone to earthquakes. In 1999, two powerful quakes killed 18,000 people in northwestern Turkey. Friday’s earthquake, which the Istanbul-based Kandilli Institute said had a magnitude of 6.9, was centred in the Aegean Sea, northeast of Samos. There have since been nearly 1,200 aftershocks, AFAD said. More than 3,500 tents and 13,000 beds have been supplied to provide temporary shelter in Turkey, and nearly 8,000 personnel and 25 rescue dogs were involved in rescue and relief work, according to AFAD.
reported the attack occurred, but did not offer information on its officials. Iranian diplomats have been targeted previously by attacks in the country and nearly sparked a war between the two countries. In 1998, Iran held the Taliban responsible for the deaths of nine Iranian diplomats who were working in its consulate in northern Afghanistan and sent reinforcements to the 950-kilometre-long border that Iran and Afghanistan share. Nato Senior Civilian Representative to Afghanistan Stefano Pontecorvo condemned the attack. “This is the second attack on ed-
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ucational institutions in Kabul in ten days. Afghan children and youth need to feel safe going to school,” he said in a statement. An attack late last month on an education centre in Kabul killed 24 people, mostly students. Violence has plagued Afghanistan while government and Taliban negotiators have been meeting in Qatar to try to broker a peace deal and as the united States brings home its troops. PAKISTAN CONDEMNS ‘MINDLESS ATTACK’: Meanwhile, the Foreign Office (FO) condemned the “mindless attack” on the varsity. “This act of terrorism is particularly despicable as it targeted an institution of learning,” the FO said in a statement. “We extend our deepest sympathies and heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and wish a speedy recovery to those wounded. Our thoughts and prayers are also with the Afghan people in this hour of grief and sorrow,” the statement said. Pakistan condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and will continue to support a peaceful and stable Afghanistan, the FO added.
57 jouRnalists killed last yeaR: unesco Fifty-seven journalists and media workers were killed across the world last year, the united Nations said in a new report to mark the International Day to End of Impunity for Crimes against Journalists. In the first nine months of this year, 39 journalists have been killed, including 3 female journalists, the report released by uNESCO on Monday said, noting that this is the lowest death toll in the last decade. unprecedented global attention following high-profile cases and better mechanisms to improve the safety of journalists were potential reasons for the lower death toll recorded this year, the report said. It added that journalists practising self-censorship in reaction to widespread threats could also be a factor. In 2018, 99 journalists were killed globally, according to the report. According to uNESCO’s data, the largest number of fatal attacks in 2019 – 23 killings – occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean region, representing 40 percent of the total killings registered worldwide. With 15 killings, Asia and the Pacific region recorded 26 percent of the fatalities – the second-highest tally globally. The Arab region was the third-deadliest with 18 percent of the recorded fatalities, amounting to 10 killings. AGENCIES
Veteran journalist Robert Fisk dies at 84 LONDON: Veteran journalist Robert Fisk, who for decades covered events in the Middle East and elsewhere as a foreign correspondent for The Independent, has died after suffering a suspected stroke at his Dublin home, Al Jazeera reported. Fisk, 74, became unwell on Friday and was admitted to St Vincent’s hospital where he died a short time later, the Irish Times reported late on Sunday. The Independent paid tribute to a journalist who was “renowned for his courage in questioning official narratives” and publishing “frequently brilliant prose”. “Fearless, uncompromising, determined and utterly committed to uncovering the truth and reality at all costs, Robert Fisk was the greatest journalist of his generation,” said Christian Boughton, editor of the Independent until last week and now managing director. “The fire he lit at The Independent will burn on.” Fisk joined The Independent in 1989, after falling out with the Rupert Murdoch-owned newspaper The Times, which he had initially joined as Northern Ireland correspondent in 1972. During his decades-long career, he covered key international events including the Lebanese civil war, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the Iranian revolution, Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait, conflicts in the Balkans and the Arab Spring. AGENCIES Published by Arif Nizami at Qandeel Printing Press, 4 Queens Road, Lahore, for PT Print (Pvt) Limited. Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965. Email: newsroom@pakistantoday.com.pk