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Friday, 30 October, 2020 I 12 Rabi-ul-Awwal, 1442 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XI No 121 I 12 Pages I Lahore Edition

Army sets the record strAight on AbhinAndAn episode g

iSpr chief SayS india waS given a ‘bloody noSe and it iS Still hurting’

SayS ‘miSleading’ to link releaSe with anything other than ‘mature reSponSe’

Notice: the offices of Pakistan today will remain closed on Friday, october 30, on account of eid Milad-un-Nabi (PBUH). therefore, the paper will not be published on Saturday, october 31. We wish our readers a happy eid!

ISLAMABAD staff report

he army on thursday clarified 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 only to “give peace another chance” and not for any other reason. the inter-Services public relations (iSpr) chief major general babar iftikhar held a press conference to “set the record straight” after former national assembly (na) speaker and pakistan muslim leaguenawaz (pml-n) leader ayaz Sadiq claimed during a lower house session that the indian pilot was released “out of the fear of indian retaliation”. addressing the press conference, general iftikhar said that he had a “one-point agenda: to talk about indian violation of pakistan’s airspace in februrary last year”. referring to Sadiq’s claim, the iSpr chief said that a statement was given which “tried to distort the history of issues associated with national security”. he said that following the attack on a convoy of indian security forces in the pulwama district on occupied Jammu and kashmir which killed some 40 troops, india “showed aggression against pakistan in violation of all international laws on february 26, 2019, in which not only did it face defeat but was humiliated around the world”. “pakistani armed forces’ alert and timely response foiled the enemy’s designs. the enemy planes that had come to drop the explosives on the pakistani people escaped while dropping their payload on empty mountains in panic after seeing our shaheens.” he said that the pakistan security forces “decided to teach the enemy a lesson in response” to the attack and the country’s

ATC acquits Imran in 2014 parliament attack case ISLAMABAD staff report

entire civil and military leadership was united in the decision. “pakistan responded to india in broad daylight after announcing it. not only did we give an appropriate reply, but also shot down two enemy warplanes [and] wing commander abhinandan was captured. “during these actions, the enemy became so frightened that it shot down its own helicopter and troops in a state of panic. this victory not only exposed india’s hollow claims of power before the world but made the entire pakistani nation proud,” he said. the iSpr director general said that pakistan’s victory was “not only acknowledged by the world” but the indian leadership had attributed their forces’ failure to the absence of rafale fighter jets. “being a responsible state, the government of pakistan in order to give peace another chance decided to release indian prisoner of war wing commander abhinandan,” he added, emphasising that this

coronAvirus in

pAkistAn

CONFIRMED CASES:

331,108

LAST UPDATED AT 7:54 AM ON OCTOBER 29, 2020

DAY'S DEATH TOLL:

RECOVERED:

NEW CASES:

908

DEATHS:

312,638 6,775 SINDH:

PUNJAB:

144,765

103,587

KP:

BALOCHISTAN:

AJK/GB:

ISLAMABAD:

39,277

15,876

3,938/4,211 19,454

decision, which was in line with the geneva convention, was praised the world over. “i want to set the record straight once more. pakistan, first, demonstrated its capability and resolve. the decision was taken after considering all possible conflict options, and was from a position of strength,” general iftikhar said. he stressed that the civil and military leadership were prepared to combat “any sort of situation” with full preparedness. he also said that linking the “mature response of a responsible state” in releasing abhinandan to any other situation was “highly regrettable and misleading,” adding it would be akin to declaring a pakistani defeat to india. “in my opinion, this would be unacceptable for any pakistani,” the iSpr dg said. “Such statements have a visible impact on national stability,” he said, adding that india was taking advantage of this through its media.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 02

an anti-terrorism court in islamabad on thursday acquitted prime minister imran khan in a six-yearold case pertaining to a mob attack on the parliament house. then chairman of the pakistan tehreek-e-insaf (pti), imran was among the central leadership of the party booked in September 2014 for allegedly attacking the parliament building during the 126-day-long sit-in seeking the ouster of then prime minister nawaz Sharif. announcing his verdict, accountability judge raja Jawad abbas hassan decided to indict foreign minister Shah mahmood Qureshi, minister for defence pervez khattak, minister for education Shafqat mehmood and minister for planning and development asad umar at the next hearing on november 12. provincial ministers aleem khan and Shaukat yousafzai, as well as former pti secretary general Jahangir khan tareen, have also been summoned at the next hearing. meanwhile, pakistan awami tehreek (pat) activist mubashir ali was also acquitted in the case while the party’s leader tahirul

Covid-19 positivity rate crosses 3pc after over 70 days: Asad ISLAMABAD staff report

after a gap of 70 days, the country saw its positivity rate crossing the 3 percent threshold, said federal minister for planning asad umar on thursday, appealing to the public to follow the government issued standard operating procedures (Sops) amid the deteriorating situation of the pandemic. asad, who also supervises covid-19 strategy, said in a tweet, “after more than 70 days the national covid positivity ratio was higher than 3% yesterday.” he said that the national command and operation centre (ncoc) has tightened restrictions on some high-risk public activities but the rising spread of the disease can only be controlled if people believe in the need for precautions. the coronavirus seems to be gradually rearing its ugly head again across the country as 908 fresh cases of the deadly disease emerged over the past 24 hours, said the ncoc on thursday. according to the ncoc, the total number of confirmed patients of covid-19 has risen to 331,108. Sixteen people

succumbed to the infection during the past 24 hours, pushing the death toll to 6,775. as many as 29,449 samples were tested for the coronavirus. there are a total of 11,695 active cases of covid19 as 312,638 out of the total confirmed patients have recuperated. a total of 897 patients are under treatment in hospitals across the country and 95 of them are on ventilators. So far, Sindh has reported 144,765 cases, followed by punjab that has reported 103,587 cases while khyber pakhtunkhwa (kp) reported 39,277, balochistan 15,876, islamabad 19,454, gilgit-baltistan (gb) 4,211 and azad Jammu and kashmir (aJk) 3,938. meanwhile, authorities in punjab have imposed 491 micro smart lockdowns in the province, as the number of coronavirus cases continues to rise. punjab, which has the second-highest tally of infections after Sindh in the country, has imposed 491 micro smart lockdowns across the province, of which 435 are in lahore alone, according to official documents. in gujrat, there are 29 “micro smart lockdowns”, three in hafizabad, two in Jhang,

eight in Jhelum, three in kasur, six in khanewal, and five in khushab. while there are a total of 671 infected people in the lockdown areas. with an uptick in those sickened by the deadly virus, the province has also ordered businesses and commercial activities to shut down at 10:00pm in lahore, multan, and rawalpindi. however, medical stores, pharmacies, tandoors, printing press, call centers, and takeaway from restaurants have been exempted from the new timings. Separately, public parks will close at 6:00pm. in response, the lahore restaurants unity association has reacted strongly to the provincial government forcing shut restaurants at 10:00pm. in a statement issued by its president, aamer rafique Qureshi, the association said that most restaurants make money at night. “by reducing operating time for restaurants would increase rush,” he said, “this can lead to a further increase in covid-19 cases.” he added that due to the outbreak 40 per cent of the restaurants had already closed permanently in lahore.

Qadri was declared a fugitive. during the previous hearing, the premier through his counsel, abdullah babar awan, had urged the court to acquit him as the prosecution was no longer interested in pursuing the case. awan had informed the court the “prosecution stands in favour of [imran’s] acquittal” and “was not interested to prosecute” him. “the learned prosecutor appearing for the other side is heard and the learned prosecutor candidly conceded that in this false case the charge against the petitioner is groundless and there is no probability of the conviction and therefore, the learned prosecutor agreed that this is a fit case for acquittal.” the prime minister, thorough his counsel, had further contested: “the applicant is maliciously implicated and dragged in this false case. further proceedings shall cause harassment and political victimisation. particularly, after the prosecution stands in favour of the acquittal of the applicant.” according to awan, not a single witness of the prosecution had linked imran with the offence, adding that there was no direct or indirect evidence available on record against the prime minister.

more inside

PM Imran, COAS Bajwa discuss security, army affairs STORY ON PAGE 03

ministers take ayaz Sadiq to task over ‘irresponsible’ statement STORY ON PAGE 03

PM to announce a mega development package for South Balochistan soon STORY ON PAGE 03

armenia used cluster bombs in barda attack, alleges azerbaijan STORY ON BACK PAGE

Friday, 30 October, 2020

NEWS

MalaySia’S Mahathir SayS MuSliMS have ‘right to kill MillionS oF French people’ iF eye-For-eye logic iS applied

agenCieS

ALAySIA’S former premier Mahathir Mohamad said on Thursday that “Muslims have a right to be angry and kill millions of French people for the massacres of the past”, prompting a swift response from Twitter, which quickly took down the tweet, and drawing wide condemnation from netizens. The comment was part of a larger blog post, which was also posted on Twitter. Mahathir started off the post by saying that “as a Muslim”, he did not approve of the killing of French teacher Samuel Paty — who was beheaded after he displayed blasphemous caricatures of Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) — but added that freedom of expression should not be used to insult others. “The killing is not an act that as a Muslim I would approve,” he wrote. “But while I believe in the freedom of expression, I do not think it includes insulting other people. you cannot go up to a man and curse him simply because you believe in freedom of speech.” Mahathir, 95, a respected leader in the Muslim world, further said that Muslims have a right to be angry and want retribu-

PM shares French writer’s quote about Holy Prophet (PBUH) ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has shared a quote of French writer and poet Alphonse de Lamartine about the last Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him). PM Imran Khan said in his Twitter message on Thursday the Alphonse de Lamartine’s citation is one of his ‘favourite quotes’ about Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him). The quote read, “If greatness of purpose, smallness of means, and astonishing results are the three criteria of a human genius, who could dare compare any great man in history with Muhammad [Peace Be Upon Him]? The most famous men created arms, laws, and empires only. They founded, if anything at all, no more than material powers which often crumbled away before their eyes. This man moved not only armies, legislations, empires, peoples, dynasties, but millions of men in one-third of the then inhabited world; and more than that, he moved the altars, the gods, the religions, the ideas, the beliefs and the souls.” Earlier on Wednesday, PM Imran had raised the issue of the publication of blasphemous caricatures on the international level and asked the leaders of the Muslim states to act collectively for countering the Islamophobia; attacks on Islam and Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) in Western countries especially Europe. TLTP

Faraz terms promotion of hate content against Islam deplorable ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz has said that Prime Minister Imran Khan’s letter to the leaders of Muslim countries for joint efforts against Islamophobia represents sentiments of the Muslims of the entire world. In a tweet on Thursday, the information minister said that promotion of hate content against Islam and Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) in different Western countries is deplorable. The minister said that those who claim to be civilized and champions of human rights should learn to respect sentiments of Muslims. Separately, talking to a private news channel, Faraz said that the government is utilising all legal resources to bring convicted and fugitive former prime minister Nawaz Sharif back to the country. He asked Nawaz to come back to the country to face the corruption cases instead of criticising and targeting the national institutions especially judiciary and armed forces. TLTP

tion for past crimes. “The French in the course of their history has killed millions of people. Many were Muslims. “Muslims have a right to be angry and to kill millions of French people for the massacres of the past. But by and large, the Muslims have not applied the ‘eye for an eye’ law. Muslims don’t. The French shouldn’t. “Since you have blamed all Muslims and the Muslims’ religion for what was done by one angry person, the Muslims have a right to punish the French.” The former Malaysian president also criticised French President Emmanuel Macron who, Mahathir said, was being ” very primitive in blaming the religion of Islam and Muslims”. Several Muslim-majority countries have denounced remarks by French officials, including Macron, defending the use of blasphemous caricatures of Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) in a French school classroom. Mahathir said that Muslim-majority Malaysia was “peaceful and stable” because the citizens, who belong to different races and religions, were “conscious of the need to be sensitive to the sensitivities of others”. The senior politician went on to say that while the rest of the world “cop(ies) the

ways of the West […] we have our own values, different as between races and religions, which we need to sustain.” He stated that the contemporary Western world “no longer adhere(s) to [its] own religion. They are Christians in name only. That is their right. But they must not show disrespect for the values of others, for the religion of others. It is a measure of the level of their civilisation to show this respect.” Mahathir also commented on women’s

rights, saying that originally the feminist movement in the West strove to secure the right to vote in elections. “Today, we want to eliminate everything that is different between men and women,” he said and added that the Western countries “should not try to forcibly impose” its values on the rest of the world. Twitter said the message violated its rules about glorifying violence, but it determined that it may be in the public’s interest for the post to remain. One of the tweets was deleted, however. The Malaysian leader did not mention the incident that took place in the French city of Nice earlier today, where a knife-wielding attacker beheaded one woman and killed two others in a Church. The dispute flared after French middle school teacher Samuel Paty, who showed his pupils blasphemous caricatures of Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) during a civics lesson, was beheaded earlier this month in the street by an attacker of Chechen origin. French officials said the killing was an attack on the core French value of freedom of expression and defended the right to publish the cartoons. Macron has also said he would redouble efforts to stop conservative Islamic beliefs subverting French values.

Since Paty’s killing, French officials — backed by many citizens — have re-asserted the right to display the blasphemous sketches, and the images have been widely displayed at marches in solidarity with the killed teacher. That has prompted an outpouring of anger in parts of the Muslim world, with some governments accusing French leader Emmanuel Macron of pursuing an anti-Islam agenda. On Sunday, Prime Minister Imran Khan denounced Macron’s remarks on blasphemous caricatures, calling them “encouragement of Islamophobia”. He was referring to comments made by President Macron in which he criticised Islamists and vowed not to “give up [blasphemous] cartoons” depicting Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him). “By attacking Islam, clearly without having any understanding of it, President Macron has attacked and hurt the sentiments of millions of Muslims in Europe and across the world,” said PM Imran, adding that “the last thing the world wants or needs is further polarisation”. He also asked social media giant Facebook to place a ban on Islamophobia and hate against Islam just as it had placed on the Holocaust.

Three dead in knife attack in French church, woman beheaded niCe AGENCIES

An attacker with a knife killed three people, including a woman who was decapitated, at a church in the French city of Nice on Thursday, police said, in an incident the city’s mayor described as terrorism. Mayor Christian Estrosi said on Twitter that the knife attack had happened in or near the city’s Notre Dame church and that police had detained the attacker. Police said that two people were confirmed to have died in the attack and several were injured. A police source said that a woman was decapitated. French politician Marine Le Pen also spoke of a decapitation having occurred in the attack. The attack comes while France is still reeling from the beheading earlier this month of French middle school teacher Samuel Paty in Paris by a man of Chechen origin. The attacker had said he wanted to punish Paty for showing pupils blasphemous cartoons of the Holy Prophet (Peace

Saudi man arrested in Jeddah after knife attack on guard at French consulate duBai AGENCIES A Saudi man was arrested in the Red Sea city of Jeddah after attacking and wounding a security guard with a “sharp tool” at the French consulate on Thursday, local police said. A statement from the Makkah region’s police said that the guard suffered “minor injuries” and that “legal action” was being taken against the perpetrator. The French Embassy said that the consulate was subject to an “attack by [a] knife which targeted a guard”, adding the guard was taken to hospital and his life was not in danger. “The French Embassy strongly condemns this attack against a diplomatic outpost which nothing could justify,” it said in a statement. The attack occurred after a knife-wielding man beheaded a woman and killed two other people in the French

Be Upon Him) in a civics lesson. It was not immediately clear what the motive was for the Nice attack, or if there was any connection to the caricatures. Since Paty’s killing, French officials

Azerbaijan expresses concern over Kashmiris’ plight iSLamaBad TLTP

Azerbaijan has expressed concern over the plight of Kashmiri people suffering immense abuse in the Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK). Ombudsperson of Azerbaijan Sabina Aliyeva expressed solidarity with the peo-

ple of Jammu and Kashmir at an event organized by Pakistan’s embassy in Baku, Azerbaijan in connection with Kashmir Black Day, said a statement issued on Thursday. She made a special mention of the killing of children by the Indian forces and compared it to Azerbaijani children killed due to recent Armenian bombardment on civilian population.

city of Nice earlier in the day. Nice’s mayor described the attack as terrorism. France is still reeling from the beheading earlier this month of a school teacher by a man of Chechen origin. The attacker had said that he wanted to punish the teacher for showing pupils blasphemous caricatures of the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) in a civics lesson. Since Samuel Paty’s killing, French officials have reasserted the right to display the cartoons as a matter of free expression, and the caricatures have been widely displayed at marches in solidarity with the teacher. That has stirred anger in parts of the Muslim world, with several governments accusing French President Emmanuel Macron of pursuing an anti-Islam agenda. Saudi Arabia on Tuesday condemned cartoons but held back from echoing calls by other Muslim states for action against blasphemous images being shown in France.

— backed by many ordinary citizens — have re-asserted the right to display blasphemous caricatures, and the images have been widely displayed at marches in solidarity with the killed teacher.

That has prompted an outpouring of anger in parts of the Muslim world, with some governments accusing French leader Emmanuel Macron of pursuing an antiIslam agenda.

Army sets the record straight on Abhinandan episode Continued from page 01 “This same statement is being used to reduce the extent of India’s defeat,” General Iftikhar said. “Under the current scenario, when enemy forces are indulging in hybrid warfare against Pakistan, we must all take great care in moving forward responsibly,” he said. “The Pakistan Army is keeping an eye on regional security, and is not only well aware of all internal and external threats but is also prepared to respond

to them.” “With the aid of our nation, we will defeat all conspiracies against Pakistan and will respond to any aggression in a befitting manner,” he added. After addressing the press, the ISPR chief responded to a single question on alleged attempts to sow division between the rank-and-file and the military leadership. “No one can divide the leadership and the rank-and-file,” he said. “This is the reality now, and will remain the reality,” he responded.

Friday, 30 October, 2020

NEWS

MiniSterS take ayaz Sadiq to taSk over ‘irreSponSible’ StateMent iSLamaBad

MIAN ABRAR/GHULAM ABBAS

OvERNMENT ministers on Thursday took former National Assembly (NA) speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq to task over his “irresponsible” statement pertaining to the release of captured Indian pilot last year. In a statement, Qureshi accused the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader of playing in the enemy’s hands, saying that such an irresponsible statement could not be expected. He said that Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) director general (DG) has clarified the entire situation and there is no room for further explanation. The FM said that in wake of the encounter between Pakistani and Indian Air force on February 27, the air chief of India was removed for poor performance. “The then Indian air chief had also made irresponsible statements after February 27 air combat but Pakistan showed great responsibility which was appreciated all over

the world. Then we took steps to reduce tensions and it is called wisdom,” he added. The foreign minister said that it was unfortunate to know that such irresponsible statements are being made from within Pakistan. “Such statements will strengthen the rhetoric of the enemy of Pakistan. If such statements are made, the enemy will use them,” he asserted. The FM said that Ayaz’s statement was irresponsible and out of place. Separately, addressing a press conference, Faraz demanded of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) to apologise for an irresponsible statement of former NA speaker regarding release of the Indian pilot. He said that Ayaz needs to apologise on floor of the parliament for his irresponsible statement to appease India. He said that the former NA speaker’s controversial statement was much celebrated in the Indian media. Referring to downing of Indian fighter jet and capturing of its pilot in February last year, Faraz said that it was a great day in Pakistan’s history, when India’s so-called military might was badly exposed at the hands of Pakistani heroes. He said that Prime Minister Imran

Body of missing minor girl found in Lower Dir LOWER DIR: The body of two-year-old Hareem Shah, who went missing five days ago, was found in Chakdara, Lower Dir on Wednesday, after which the area people staged a massive protest against the incident. The minor girl went missing from Sharab Kohi, Rahmora Darra area on October 23 and the report of the incident was filed the same day. Police said that the body of the little girl was found at a mountain in Ramora Darra. It said that the little girl has been killed. The body was sent to Khyber Medical University Peshawar for medical examination. 12 suspects have also been arrested from the area, who are being interrogated. The news about the murder of the minor girl spread like a jungle fire. Hundreds of people attended the funeral prayer and then held a protest demonstration to condemn the incident and demanded the arrest of the culprits. The protest rally in Chakdara Bazaar was organised by the central trade union which was attended by civil society activists and other people in large numbers. The protesters gave a deadline of three days to police for the arrest of culprits and said in case of failure, they will march towards Islamabad. Chakdara Bar Association President Advocate Attaullah, who also attended the protest, said that no member from the bar will take the case of the accused, if arrested. STAFF REPORT

Investigation into Peshawar seminary attack expanded PESHAWAR: The security agencies have expanded scope of the probe of Tuesday’s blast in a Peshawar seminary which martyred 10 people as wounded as many as 110, saying the neighbourhood has been geo-fenced and data of mobile calls in the locality has been collected. A police search operation has been underway on the third day of the attack. The students of seminary have been sent back to their homes and police has recorded statements of the eyewitnesses. A sketch of the accused being prepared with the help of the eyewitness accounts. The investigators also completing the data of the arrested suspects. An investigation team, comprising of the officials of the Counter-Terrorism Department, police and other law enforcement agencies, had prepared preliminary probe report on Wednesday. Moreover, the record of seminary students and their details being scrutinised. APP

Khan had decided to release the captured Indian pilot as a response from a responsible state, because neither Pakistan nor India can afford war. He further said that the decision to release Abhinandan got worldwide acclaim. He, regretfully, said that the opposition is making national pride controversial and trying to portray country’s victory as defeat. The minister said the opposition leaders are criticising state institutions to protect their personal interests and to win some concessions for their corrupt leadership. He said that opposition’s prime objective is to create chaos and sabotage economic stability in the country, but they should keep it in mind that the people of Pakistan will never let this happen. He added that gone are the days when protection of personal interests was the main objective of Pakistan’s politics. He further said that now Pakistan’s politics will remain focused on protecting national interests of the country. Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Planning Asad Umar said that Pakistan had received intelligence reports on February 27, 2019 that India was preparing to at-

abhinandan Freed aS peace geSture: Foreign oFFice ISLAMABAD: Foreign Office (FO) Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri has said that Pakistan had released Indian Air Force Pilot Abhinandan as a gesture for peace and goodwill, and ruled out any pressure in this regard. He said this while responding to a question during his weekly press briefing here on Thursday. Chaudhri clarified that the Indian pilot had not been freed under any pressure. He said that Pakistan wants peace and stability in the region and release of Indian pilots manifests this resolve of Islamabad. The spokesperson, however, said that Pakistan is fully prepared and capable to take firm action against any misadventure from any country. He also said that Pakistan’s response of downing Indian planes was a manifestation of the level of preparedness of its armed forces against any outside threat against the country. Responding to another question, Chaudhri said that new domicile and land acquisition laws in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) are against the international law and the spirit of UN resolutions over the matter. He said that India cannot alter the status quo of occupied Kashmir. “Kashmir Black Day” was observed across the globe to condemn India’s illegal occupation of Kashmir, he said, adding that 27th of October represents a dark chapter in human history when, 73 years ago, Indian forces had landed in Srinagar to forcibly occupy the territory. STAFF REPORT

tack at 9:00 pm, but the attack in question never materialised because Islamabad had

PM Imran, COAS Bajwa discuss security, army aﬀairs iSLamaBad STAFF REPORT

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Thursday called on Prime Minister Imran Khan to discuss the internal and external challenges to the country. According to the Prime Minister’s Office, the two discussed “professional matters pertaining to Pakistan Army, internal and external security situation”. The premier, while referring to “recent efforts to stoke violence in Pakistan”, expressed the resolve that the entire nation was united “against the cowardly acts of the enemy”, the PMO said through a tweet.

He also paid tribute to personnel from the Pakistan Army, Frontier Corps (FC) and law enforcement agencies “who sacrificed their lives for the defence of the motherland”. The meeting comes a day after Gen Bajwa vowed to take terrorists and their facilitators to the task. During a visit to Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar on Wednesday to inquire after the health of those injured in Tuesday’s explosion at a seminary in the city, the army chief credited the nation for “rejecting the narrative of the militants” by showing exemplary unity, adding that the masses stood united today with the same enthusiasm and resolve. Referring to the Army Public

School attack of December 2014, the army chief said the “enemy” had targeted innocent children then, and had done so again, the day marking the “black day” when India occupied Kashmir. General Bajwa had said that a large number of Afghan refugee children were among those injured and killed in the madrassa attack and had vowed that the military would not rest until they had eliminated all terrorists and their facilitators from Pakistan. He had said that he went to the hospital to share in the grief of families, students and teachers of the seminary, and to express his solidarity with them.

NA extends CPEC Authority Ordinance iSLamaBad APP

The National Assembly (NA) on Thursday extended the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority Ordinance, 2019, for another 120 days. The ordinance was tabled by Adviser to Prime Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan following which Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri forwarded it to the standing committee. The government had earlier introduced a resolution seeking an extension for the ordinance which expired in June. The ordinance, promulgated by the president in October last year, had established a 10-member authority tasked to expedite

projects along the multibillion dollar road and rail network that links China to the Arabian Sea through Pakistan. The authority is mandated with exploring economic growth and unlocking the potential of an interlined production network through regional and global connectivity. The ordinance had been extended by the lower house through a resolution in January 2020 for 120 days. Meanwhile, in the Senate, PPP Senator Raza Rabbani questioned the legal standing of the CPEC Authority now that the ordinance has expired. Calling attention to on the matter during the session, Rabbani questioned the government’s handling of the project.

“How can the authority function when the ordinance has expired?” he asked, saying the authority’s utilisation of CPEC funds was therefore “illegal”. He accused the federal government of purposefully allowing the ordinance to lapse. “There is no law governing the project at the moment. The federal government should introduce new legislation.” Responding to Rabbani’s statements, Minister for Information Senator Shibli Faraz insisted that the government will now allow anyone to derail CPEC projects. “We designed the CPEC Authority to make it more efficient. We are here to build the same institutions that you destroyed,”

PM to announce a mega development package for South Balochistan soon iSLamaBad APP

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday said that he would soon visit South Balochistan and announce a comprehensive development package for uplift of the under developed areas there. Chairing a high-level meeting as follow up of National Development Council’s meeting of July 24, 2020, the prime minister said that during his visit, he would also break ground for multiple development projects under the proposed package, a PM Office press release said. Federal Ministers Murad Saeed, Shafqat Mahmood, Zubeda Jalal, Hammad Azhar,

Aminul Haq, Syed Ali Zaidi, Syed Fakhar Imam, Asad Umar, Omar Ayub Khan, Faisal vawda, advisors Abdul Razzak Dawood and Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, and special assistants to PM Sania Nishtar, Nadeem Babar and Tabish Gohar also attended the meeting. Besides, Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director General Lt General Faiz Hameed, Commander Southern Command Lt General Muhammad Wasim Ashraf, Balochistan Education Minister Sardar yar Muhammad Rind, relevant secretaries and senior officers were also part of the meeting. During the meeting, the prime minister viewed that the development of South

Balochistan was neglected in the past which made the people face poverty and backwardness. However, he said, the incumbent government put the Balochistan’s development on priority to bring it at par with other parts of the country. Moreover, the Gwadar Port would also prove to be a milestone for national development, he added. The prime minister was apprised of the proposed development package for under developed areas of South Punjab including Khuzdar, Awaran, Chagi, Kharan, Washuk, Lasbela, Gwadar, Panjgur and Turbat. The briefing also encompassed the development projects related to roads, energy, dam, education, health, agriculture, cattle and fisheries.

he said. Faraz said that the government intended to present a bill in this regard in the National Assembly soon. “We can have discussions on it then,” he offered.

promised a crippling counter-attack to New Delhi in response.

My statement on abhinandan taken out of context: ayaz ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker Ayaz Sadiq has clarified that his statement regarding Abhinandan was taken out of context by the Indian media. In his clarification statement, he said that Indian media tried to distort his remarks. Terming the striking down of Abhinandan’s fighter jet a success for Pakistan, he said that the Indian pilot was sent to attack Pakistan not to distribute sweets. He said that decision to release Abhinandan was not right. Sadiq further said that the premier conveyed a message to release Abhinandan through Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi to the opposition parties. On the other hand, Special Assistant to Prime Minister of Pakistan on Political Communication Dr Shahbaz Gill on Thursday said that Prime Minister Imran Khan wanted peace and it was the only reason that Indian pilot Abhinandan was released. Gill said that Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) MNA Ayaz Sadiq should be ashamed of himself over his statement on the floor of the National Assembly (NA). “Sadiq’s statement indicates his affection with former prime minister Nawaz Sharif”, while many of PML-N lawmakers do not agree with elder Sharif’s policy, he added. The SAPM demanded a medical checkup of Ayaz Sadiq and added that opposition is pushing the Indian narrative. On February 27, Pakistan Air Force (PAF) after striking down two Indian fighter jets had arrested a pilot, named Abhinandan varthaman, who ejected himself after being hit in the airspace of Pakistan in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. TLTP

Friday, 30 October, 2020

NEWS

NCC CoordiNatiNg with stakeholders to develop sNC: miNister ISLAMABAD

APP

INISTER for Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mahmood on Thursday said the National Curriculum Council (NCC) was coordinating with the provinces, administrative units, and other stakeholders for the development of the Single National Curriculum (SNC). The minister said that arrangements

were being made to bring the curriculum at par and align with international standards, including a comparison between national curriculum with Singapore and Cambridge curricula, adding that all the findings were incorporated in the SNC. The minister further said that the consultative process was carried out with the engagement of stakeholders from all provinces and areas including the public and private sector, the federal government educational institutions (FGEIs).

He said that under phase-1 first draft of SNC for grade 1-5 was developed and shared with all the provinces and the University of Cambridge for their input and feedback. Provincial and area workshops were subsequently held in all federating units from November, 2019 to January, 2020. He said that the services of Aga Khan University, Institute for Educational Development (AKU-IED) were hired to ensure the value-addition of SNC and development of teacher training modules

and assessment framework. “Input and feedback received from all federating units, FGEIs, AKU-IED and Cambridge University were then collated and consolidated in the second draft of SNC. This formed the basis for discussions and consensus-building during the National Conference on SNC February 1114, 2020” he said. The minister further said that the first phase curriculum for grade 1-5 was presented to Prime Minister Imran Khan in

FBR, CAP deal for PoS integration to provide retailers with level playing field LAHORE HASSAN NAQVI

Retail businesses across the country welcomed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)

between the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and Chainstore Association of Pakistan (CAP) to ensure effective and efficient integration of Point of Sales (PoS)/tills installed at

Tier-1 retailers across the country. According to the press release issued on Wednesday, CAP committees will be formed at central and regional levels in order to

facilitate smooth integration and to collectively manage any bottlenecks. CAP has assured FBR that all Tier-1 retailers would duly and fully integrate their tills/PoS without any

exception by November 30. The association would also augment FBR’s efforts to improve the PoS system and make it foolproof. Besides, CAP will assist FBR in the identification of all Tier-1 and Tier-2 retailers who are liable to be integrated but have not yet integrated, the press release reads further. The foundational principle of this MoU and the benefits agreed to by FBR is complete integration by Tier-1 retailers with FBR’s system by November 30. Speaking to Profit, CAP President Rana Tariq Mehboob said that this is an extremely important agreement and a game-changer in terms of tax compliance in the country. He added that the Tier1 retail sector has joined hands with FBR to serve as torch-bearers in tax compliance for the rest of the country for the first time in Pakistan. “We are confident that as a result of this agreement our country will soon see significant increases in

government revenues and in the future ease-of-doing business will be the hallmark of this agreement for all Integrated businesses,” Mehboob said. The CAP president maintained current tax laws were made for a pre-integration tax period and changes were required to the same for the PoS Integration era. WHO WILL BENEFIT FROM IT? This agreement covers the entire Tier-1 retail sector of over 60,000 outlets represented by CAP, a DGTO approved association created for Tier-1 retailers nationwide. Mehboob shared that in the future CAP will be playing the role of a key partner of the FBR in spearheading the PoS Integration initiative by ensuring that CAP-FBR committees are formed not only to review and resolve local issues pertaining to integration but also have permanent working committees at the federal level. “The scope of the committees is clear that all integrated businesses should prosper and serve as a positive example for all nonintegrated retailers while ensuring 100 per cent tax compliance for the FBR,” he said.

Shaukat Khanum Pink Polo Cup final to be held on Nov 1 The final match of Shaukat Khanum Pink Polo Cup will be held on November 1, 2020 at Jinnah Polo & Country Club (Phase 8, DHA, Lahore). Every year, Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust organizes a polo cup to raise awareness about breast cancer and the importance of early detection in saving lives. This year, Shaukat Khanum Pink Polo Cup is taking place at Jinnah Polo & Country Club in Phase 8, DHA, Lahore. There are six teams participating in the tournament this year and the much-anticipated final match will be held on Sunday, November 1, 2020. The grand finale will be a socially distanced picnic where public will enjoy musical performances by Aima Baig and Quadrum band. The public will enjoy Harley-Davidson bike show, tent-pegging, and many other fun-filled activities that will be organized in a safe manner, keeping in view the latest health and safety guidelines. Social distancing measures will be enforced while masks and sanitizers will be readily available for the public. Despite the coronavirus pandemic, the organizers believe that the important message about breast cancer awareness must reach the public this year as well so we can save precious lives. PRESS RELEASE

Court grants Zardari exemption from appearance in Thatta water supply reference ISLAMABAD: An accountability court in Islamabad on Thursday approved former president Asif Ali Zardari’s petition seeking exemption from personal appearance in the Thatta water supply reference. During the proceedings, the testimony of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) witness, Ali Raza, was recorded. The court also rejected the petition of another co-accused to defer the hearing. Earlier this month, the court had indicted Zardari and others in Park Lane and Thatta water supply scheme references. The accused persons, however, had pleaded not guilty. Both the references are offshoots of the fake bank accounts case. Zardari has so far been indicted in four references related to the fake accounts case. He was earlier indicted in Toshakhana and mega money laundering references. APP

March, who expressed his satisfaction over the completion of the first phase within the given timeframe, adding that after completion of textbooks on the basis of SNC phase-1 for grade 1-5, the uniform curriculum at primary level will be implemented throughout the country from March 2021. Similar to the first phase, SNC for grade 6-8 will be developed and implemented throughout Pakistan by March 2022 and for 9 to 12 by March 2023.

He shared that the adjustment in tax rates has been made according to the particular needs of business segments and solid business rationale. CAP Senior Vice Chairman Asfandyar Farrukh told Profit that the main benefits will be realised once the FBR implements the reduced tax rates and audit relief for integrated retailers. “These incentives will help create a level playing field for high-revenue low-margin retailers that are otherwise unable to stay competitive with small retailers that benefit from staying under the tax radar and weak enforcement,” Farrukh said. He maintained that all tier-1 retailers, whether super-stores or fashion retailers, will benefit once the MoU is fully implemented as only when tax

rates are low and compliance is hassle-free can businesses compete with the informal sector. “The tax base will only widen once all fully documented retailers are able to thrive more than the undocumented,” he opined. WAY FORWARD: Mehboob said that after implementation of this agreement, there would be no hurdles left for the growth of the PoS integration initiative and for the integrated retail sector to flourish. “Even for the GST rate of 17pc still prevalent across many sectors of retail such as grocery, electronics etc, we have committed to work with the FBR through federal committees in trying to bring this down in the future based on the expected jump in the tax collection.

Friday, 30 October, 2020

ECC aPPROvES ‘PM'S PaCkagE FOR RaBI CROPS’ tO FaCIlItatE FaRMERS ISLAMABAD

SHAHZAD PARACHA

HE Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) has approved the ‘Prime Minister's Package for Rabi Crops, especially Wheat’. The decision was made in a special meeting of the committee with Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh in the chair on Thursday. According to the package, Rs1,000 per 50 kilogrammes bag will be given as subsidy on fertilizers; DAP, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers. The federal and provincial governments will share the subsidy on a 70-30 ratio. Federal funds for the subsidy will be directly dis-

Pioneer Cement posts Rs40m loss for 1QFY21 LAHORE HASSAN NAQVI

The Board of Directors of Pioneer Cement Limited (PIOC) met on Thursday to review the company's performance and announce its financial results for the first quarter ending September 30, 2020. As per details, the cement manufacturer posted a loss after tax (LAT) of Rs40 million (earnings per share: Rs0.17) as compared to a LAT of Rs185 million (EPS: Rs0.82) in the same period last year (1QFY20). During the period under review, the company sales stood at Rs3.992 billion as compared to Rs1.871 billion last year, showing an increase of 113.3pc. On the other hand, the company's finance cost increased by a massive 361.9pc YoY to Rs429 million from Rs93 million in 1QFY20. Shahrukh Saleem, an investment analyst at AKD Securities Ltd, said on a quarterly basis, the company’s topline witnessed a significant increase of 11.7pc after it made bulk of the dispatches from trial run of its new line in 4QFY20. On YoY basis, topline increase clocked in at 1.1pc mainly on the back of higher dispatches after new line came online in 2HFY20. He said that the company recorded 8pc gross margin for the quarter under review as against -14pc/2pc margins witnessed in 4QFY20/1QFY20, as prices improved during the period while Federal Excise Duty (FED) also decreased to Rs75 per bag. Saleem maintained that PIOC's distribution cost declined by 21pc YoY despite an increase in dispatches, as increase in local cement demand resulted in reduced need to supply to far flung areas. Administrative expenses remained largely flat. "Other income witnessed an increase of 9.2pc/3.8pc YoY/QoQ and stood at Rs121 million. Excluding the 'other income', the company's loss before tax stood at Rs187 million for 1QFY21," Saleem added.

bursed to the provinces by the Finance Division on the basis of their share, keeping in view their system strength and overall outreach. The Ministry of National Food Security would examine the provinces' demand for funds and after its recommendation the Finance Division shall transfer the funds to the provinces. It was also decided that the provinces will expand, improve and upgrade their subsidy disbursement systems. The package will be presented in the next cabinet meeting on Tuesday for approval by the federal cabinet. Earlier, the food security ministry had proposed the ECC its chalked out agricultural relief package for Rabi season in order to increase wheat production by extending subsidies to wheat farmers. The package by the name of ‘Prime Minister Rabi

Package’ is intended to pass over relief to farmers in the production cost of the wheat crop according to which per gunny bag of urea will cost Rs1,000 less than usual. The package is set to subsidize urea cost for farmers by Rs1,000 per bag which will translate to a decrease in overall production cost, encouraging farmers to grow more wheat crops. The federal government is set to bear 70pc of the subsidy while the relevant province will contribute 30pc, which means against each bag, the federal government will pay Rs700 and the province will share Rs300 in the total cost. According to the ECC meeting notification on Thursday, a mechanism to serve up the subsidy will be formulated by the board shortly.

Appointment of NBP board chairman, directors challenged in court ISLAMABAD SHAHZAD PARACHA

A former employee of the National Bank of Pakistan has challenged the appointment of NBP board chairman and all directors in the Islamabad High Court. Fazal Rahim, a shareholder and retired employee of NBP, has challenged the appointment of NBP Board Chairman Zubyr Soomro and all directors in the IHC through writ petition no. 3205. The petitioner alleged that the appointment of chairman and directors has been in violation of Public Sector Companies (PSC) Rules 2013, Listed Companies Regulations 2017, Esta Code, SBP prudential regulations and Supreme Court decisions. The petitioner contended that contrary to the instructions of the Establishment Division, no advertisement was issued for the appointment of chairman

and directors. "In addition, the chairman is 73 years old and the law required him to seek relaxation from the cabinet before his appointment." According to the petitioner, the appointment of the board chairman as the HR committee’s chief was a violation of SBP's prudential regulations. "Providing the chairman with a bank vehicle and other facilities, renovating his office and giving him with personal staff is not only a violation of prudential regulations but also bank by-law and PSC Rules." Giving examples of the Supreme Court’s decision in the Ashraf Twana case in 2012, Ataul Haq Qasmi case in 2019 and the PTV case in IHC in September 2020, the petitioner pleaded that the appointment of chairman and all boards be declared illegal and that all benefits and amounts given to them may be recovered. The court issued pre-admission notices to the parties after the preliminary hearing of the case.

KP PDWP approves 35 projects worth Rs56bn PESHAWAR AZIZ BUNERI

The Provincial Development Working Party (PDWP)-Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Thursday approved 35 projects worth Rs56.03 billion. The PDWP meeting, held under the chairmanship of Additional Chief Secretary Shakeel Qadir Khan, considered a total of 36 schemes pertaining to energy, law & justice, local government, irrigation, health, agriculture, road, industries, welfare & supportive services, urban development, sport & tourism and elementary & secondary education sectors. The forum approved 35 schemes with an estimated cost of Rs56,033.481 million, while one scheme was deferred due to inadequate design and was returned to the respective department for rectification.

Approved schemes under energy sector included modification in Malakand-III, solarization of mosques & worship places, and installation of additional 40MW power transformer along with civil works at 132Kv GSS in Wana, South Waziristan. Similarly, the approved projects for the Law & Justice Division included construction of seven district judicial complexes and 25 tehsil judicial complexes. For under development, the PDWP approved construction of a bus terminal/taxi stand, fruit & vegetable market and family park in sub-division Jandola Tank and sub-division Darzinda, D I Khan, besides construction of a fruit & vegetable market, cattle fair markets, slaughter houses in district Orakzai. Likewise, the PDWP approved the establishment of a park on Peshawar Ring Road, including provision of municipal services.

NEWS

Starcom appoints Benish Irshad as COO KARACHI BABAR KHAN JAVED

Starcom Pakistan has appointed Benish Irshad as a chief operating officer (COO). The full-service advertising agency made the external hire in order to drive change in terms of adding value in processes and adding clients to the portfolio. The role was previously held by Farhan Khan, who was promoted to the position of CEO after over 13 years with the non-ownership Publicis Groupe franchise. A brand building professional with 16 years of working experience, Irshad joined Mindshare as a media planner in 2004 right after completing her undergraduate in marketing from IoBM. She went on to lead marketing roles at Procter and Gamble for ten years before switching to Lotte Kolson as the head of marketing. Procter and Gamble and Lotte Kolson are both media clients of Starcom Pakistan, with the former having been a client for over 20 years due to the non-ownership Publicis Groupe franchise while the latter was won in January 2020 as a media client. DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION AT STARCOM: A survey conducted by Profit found that female professionals in the media and advertising industry rank & regard Z2C Limited and its subsidiaries as part of a wishlist of companies to work for, after BBDO, Unilever, and L’Oreal. Due to Merchant, the culture at Z2C Limited and its subsidiaries is widely regarded as meritorious by nature, with an average decade tenure among top-performing employees. A spokesperson for Starcom Pakistan told Profit that 31 per cent of the media agencies’ 167 total employees are women. The media holding company is widely regarded as a career accelerator, with key positions at Google, Procter & Gamble, Telenor, and Dial Zero held by former employees of Z2C and its subsidiaries, according to LinkedIn analytics. Farhan Quresh and Omar Abedin, former CEOs of Starcom Pakistan, are now respectively regional head of Google and chief marketing officer of Graana. The appointment of Irshad, a seasoned female professional, is part of a wider strategy by the media holding company to improve its diversity and inclusion. In June 2020, Urooj Hussain was named head of MediaVest after nearly eight consecutive years. Like Irshad, Hussain is a graduate of IoBM and has held media roles since 2009, starting her career with Starcom. After eight years with Starcom Pakistan as the planning and strategy lead, Fizzah Shahid was promoted to associate director. Eisha Salim was functionally promoted to the head of planning in June 2020 and title wise business lead for MediaVest. With the exception of a client-side stint with Lotte Kolson, Salim has been a part of Publicis Groupe since 2014. In 2020, her work for Dawlance and EFU campaigns resulted in winning two gold Effies for Starcom Pakistan.

Jazz condemns sealing of its office by FBR Jazz, one of Pakistan's largest internet and broadband service providers, has condemned the sealing of its Islamabad premises by the Federal Board of Revenue, saying that the step would shake the confidence of the company's investors. In a statement issued on Thursday, Jazz Spokesperson said, "We received a notice from FBR yesterday for the recovery of a disputed tax demand and we have serious reservations on these alleged taxes. The proceedings were carried out on plea of a tax recovery notice for a disputed amount from 2018 which is under legal proceedings. Due to the drastic measures, our corporate reputation and pride has been hurt while confidence of foreign investors of Jazz and others has been shaken. Despite being the largest taxpayers, we are treated in an unfortunate way. NEWS DESK

Double Collision: Covid-19 and Climate Change

ALI ASHAR JAFFRI The Novel Coronavirus attacked the global economies when these were already struggling to survive the catastrophic impact of natural environmental degradation and climate change. All over the world, natural resources are depleting at an unprecedented rate and on the other side Greenhouse Gases emissions are accelerating rapidly. Engulfed in pollution, smog and waste, the entire world was suddenly jolted as the devastating Covid-19 wreaked havoc all around. Suddenly, the human

race faced a double collision impact, i.e. the threats of both Covid-19 and Climate Change. During the early days of the pandemic, a decrease in the global Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emission and improvement in the air quality was observed. According to the International Energy Agency, an 8pc decrease in Greenhouse Gas emissions was observed in this year as opposed to the projected numbers. Some analysts and experts prematurely started envisioning Covid-19 as having positive influences on natural environment. However, this is not the case. We are facing a double collision situation in which the human race is in danger of being crushed under the devastating impacts of these two catastrophes. The momentary decrease in global pollution levels were due to the suspension of almost all human activities such as all forms of travelling, industrial activities, business activities, etc. due to Lockdown. These environmentally unsustainable activities started/resumed as soon as the Covid-19 lockdowns were lifted and countries like Pakistan are once again facing the threats of high air pollution levels and the resultant smog. Climate change has intensified the

CMYK

Covid-19 dilemma since it has been reported that people living in smog affected areas will be more vulnerable to the virus due to weak respiratory systems and surrounding pollution. This validates the proposition that climate change and global pandemics are in fact intertwined in terms of their effect on human race and strategies required to combat them. Collective and well-coordinated action is required from all concerned stakeholders to combat the effects of this double collision which can otherwise prove fatal to mankind. As the world continues to adopt and adjust to the ‘new normal’, it should be ensured that the new way of doing things is based on the principles of green management and sustainability. In this regard, digitalization of business processes will play a major role in all future programs. The Covid-19 has greatly accelerated the digitalization of various business operations. The Pakistan Banking Industry has been the front runner in the efforts to digitalized its business operations and provide digital solutions to its customers. Stimulated by the Covid-19, this green management approach can pave the way for the sustainable and green growth of our country’s

economy. The need of the time is not only to create green business practices but also a green conscious workforce. The Covid19 has proved the ability of various businesses to revamp the business operations in line with the changing external environment. This ability should be utilized to create an economic system that has the resilience to combat and survive future pandemic and global catastrophes. The Pakistan Banking Industry is leading the rest of the economy in a digital era. This green movement requires the development of the required cognitive, technical, and attitudinal modification in workforce behavior. In the absence of green management principles, we will be in a state of continuous vulnerability against various unprecedented disasters and climate change catastrophes. The Covid-19 is a wake-up call for the whole world to think green and act green before it is too late. About the Author: Ali Ashar Jaffri is the General Manager - Supply Chain & Procurement at Bank AL Habib Limited. He has more than 22 years of managerial experience in a number of reputed national and international organizations. Email: ali.ashar@bankalhabib.com

Friday, 30 October, 2020

06 COMMENT

The adult in the room

A window of opportunity Need to resolve issues before Peshawar rally

T was understandable why Prime minister imran Khan’s speech before the insaf Doctor’s Forum reflected frustration. his expectations that the opposition’s rallies would fail miserably had been belied after the PDm’s impressive shows of force in Gujranwala, Karachi and Quetta. even those the opposition calls “selectors” understand now that mr Khan had miscalculated. instead of drawing the right political conclusions, mr Khan continues calling the opposition a gang of thieves who would soon be packed off to jails. One wonders if any of the PTi’s leaders or allies could persuade mr Khan to treat the opposition as a competitor rather an enemy. The opposition alliance has so far displayed a rare unanimity. The case against Captain (retd) Safdar and his brief arrest in Karachi failed to cause mutual suspicions. The absence of PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari from Quetta rally too raised no eyebrows. maulana Anas Noorani was told to give a public explanation for his controversial remark which he did, ascribing it to a slip of tongue. The PDm sticks to its narrative that requires all institutions, including the military establishment, to strictly abide by their role as defined in the Constitution. it remains to be seen whether the opposition alliance can maintain unity when required to resign from the assemblies. Those who brought the PTi to power have little reason to be satisfied with its performance. The mismanagement of the economy can affect the country’s ability to defend itself. What is more, this can cause public unrest which again can have a negative impact on the country’s security, both internal and external. Despite its desire not to be dragged into political disputes, the issues with the establishment have assumed centre stage during the rallies. The next PDm rally is to be held on November 22. This provides more than three weeks to the PTi, the PDm and the establishment to resolve their differences. The PTi government needs to bring down the temperature so that Parliament can legislate amicably. The establishment has to follow the Constitution in letter and spirit so that it does not become a subject for heated public discussion. While the opposition’s role is to criticize the government’s policies, it has to allow the party in power to complete its tenure.

Americans face a stark choice this time At Penpoint M A nIAZI

meriCANS will have the privilege on Tuesday of choosing whether they want to retain their current President, republican Donald Trump, for a further four years, or of voting in Democrat Joe Biden. it is being billed as a fight for the USA’s soul, but it is surprising the similarities between the two men, and thus how far the great diversity that is the USA finds itself in for leadership from the same kind of person as has predominated in US history. Neither is much of a departure from the stereotype that has prevailed in US history, to the extent that any departure from it has been noted: the WASP, the White Anglo-Saxon Protestant. And one might add male. Trump does not depart from the stereotype at all, while Biden only does to the extent that he is not a Protestant, but a roman Catholic. however, a candidate’s Catholicism, once a big deal, is no longer one. Vice-President mike Pence is one, and has not been a handicap. From the US perspective, Biden is about as WASP as they come. he does not come across as gross as Trump does, but he is painted with the same brushes. Sexual harassment was something Trump was accused of as a candidate back in 2016, and his Presidency could have been very messy, but there was no scandal there. however, Joe Biden has had abuse rumours swirl around him, both when he previously ran for President, and when he was a vicepresidential candidate. he has not engaged in the sort of bad behavior, or loose talk, that Trump has been accused of, but he comes across as a kind of sexual predator too. The defence offered for him also seems to concede that he was guilty: that such behavior was acceptable, even expected in the era when Biden was growing up (he will become President at 78 if he wins, being older than Trump, who is 74 already, and will become the USA’s oldest President by the time his second term ends). This, and the rumours about previous holders of the office, indicates that there is a culture of infidelity in the US political elite. As that culture permeates US society as a whole, it seems that to be out of it is exceptional rather than usual. What seems to have changed is that it is being brought out into the open by the #meToo movement, the trial of movie mogul harvey Weinstein and the

The second wave Steps taken could have been more practical

he second wave of the covid-19 pandemic is upon us, and the ban on commercial activities after 11 pm imposed in 11 cities is recognition of that fact by the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC). it is a relief that the NCOC has so far obeyed the scientific consensus by making the wearing of facemasks compulsory, but this might not be possible to enforce, even with the penalty of a fine of between rs 6000 and rs 35,000, with up to six months imprisonment. it might not be appropriate to go into the efficacy of facemasks. Not only is the jury out on that, but in many countries, it is a political question. however, making them compulsory might not be feasible for the very people Prime minster imran Khan professed so much concern that he rushed the re-opening of the economy: the daily wagers, small shopkeepers and all those who earn their living on a daily basis. These are the people who might not be able to afford the expense of a mask a day, and thus be liable to these punishments, or more likely, to the depredations of the police. it would have been more proactive of NCOC if it had made the provision of free facemasks an official responsibility. it should not be forgotten that even if one was to accept the claims made for the masks, their use lies in preventing wearers from spreading the coronavirus, and thus breaking the transmission chain. Thus free facemasks not only helps the freeloading wearers, but also those who come into contact with them. That a second wave was round the corner was obvious, and now is the time to be more vigilant than ever before. Pakistan’s having escaped the worst effects before means that it is paradoxically more vulnerable to a second wave, as the pool of those who could be infected is all that much larger. historically, the second wave of an epidemic may well be worse than the initial one. Pakistan has not been as badly hit in the first wave as other countries in the region. Only if the whole country keeps its guard up will it come out of the second wave without being too badly damaged.

COVID-19 and family planning Diversion of funds is one issue, stockouts of contraceptives are another

DR Alon Ben-MeIR

hile there is reason to celebrate our success against the Coronavirus, perhaps we need to look at the bigger picture before we fully understand in what ways covid-19 is impacting us. As we are beginning to understand how covid-19 has destroyed the economies across the globe, there are other impacts that will take time to unfold. One such less known phenomenon is women’s access to reproductive health services. According to a recent report by UNFPA, during public health emergencies, human and financial resources are often diverted from essential health programmes to respond to the disease outbreak, and Pakistan’s response hasn’t been an exception to this. Such action would mean that resources for essential maternal, newborn health, gender, reproductive health services will be diverted to deal with the outbreak, contributing to a rise in maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity, increased unmet need for contraception and

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami Editor Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

Umar Aziz

Asher John

Joint Editor

Executive Editor

Deputy Editor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

suicide after arrest of former mutual-fund manager Jeffrey epstein. Bide has apparently tried to make amends by naming a woman as his vice-presidential nominee, Kamala harris. Being black, she also covered another base for him, that of the black vote. Biden had been Vice-president for eight years to the country’s first black President, but still needed to consolidate the black vote, which had been made more aware by the Black lives matter movement which swept the USA after being sparked by the killing of George Floyd by policemen who had taken him into custody. Biden, A Democrat, was in the right party, as blacks had voted overwhelmingly Democrat, but had worked with Ku Klux Klan supporters while a Senator, over legislation. Again, that is being ascribed to the era he was in; the Democratic Party he joined included segregationists from the South. Trump has got a very bad record on race. he chose a debate with Biden to tell the white supremacist group the Bad Boys to ‘stand down and stand ready.’ This is being taken to mean that Trump is not only unwilling to leave the Presidency if he loses, but also that he looks to white supremacists to help him remain in office. This indicates that he wishes to go beyond the rules, and in words of lenin, does not intend to rely on ‘formal majorities’. On the other hand, there has been no hint that Biden might not accept an unfavourable result. The attempted overthrow of the Governor of michigan recently, showed the role white supremacist groups are expected to play. The USA faces a stark contrast with Biden representing the enlightenment ideals that called the USA into being. The Constitution represented those ideals, which borrowed from english political development and thought, and which went on to inspire the making of the French republic. To break the ideal requires that something be done. Can Trump claim to have solved the race problem? he seems a representative of those who want a reversion, almost as if a black President was too much to tolerate. That might be the reason why the republicans nominated someone who had never run for office before. Can Trump claim to have fought off China? it seems the covid-19 pandemic has put China ahead, and Trump in his second term, or Biden throughout his presidency, will have to fight these two issues. it should not be ignored that Trump’s antipathy to China has an obvious racial element. White russia is apparently acceptable. Biden will not be soft on China, not if Kamala

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sexually transmitted infections. emergency maternal and reproductive health services may take the brunt, with inadequate facilities for isolation areas to assess and care for women in labour and the newborn. life-saving procedures including treatment of pregnancy- and delivery-related complications are delayed due to staff deployment, staff not being prepared and lack of infection prevention and control capacities, and shortages and lack of infrastructure, such as operation theatres and ward space. Women who have to spend time recovering in hospital in Pakistan are often reliant on relatives for food and care, making isolation and infection control measures difficult and intensifying the risks of covid-19 spread. Availability and access to family planning services may be impacted as recent evidence shows that the need for family planning increased during the period of imposition of isolation and lockdown at home. The unmet need for contraception is aggravated as the contraceptive commodities’ delivery to facilities and households are negatively affected by limited imports and in-country availability and distribution of contraceptive commodities. For most women in reproductive ages, family planning is at least as critical as other health care services. As public health infrastructure shifts to support and treat people with covid19, it is essential that we maintain access to essential maternal health services and commodities including family planning. in the absence of these measures, the consequences could be life-threatening. According to the Pakistan Demographic health Survey 2017-18, each year in Pakistan, there are about 3.7 million unintended pregnancies, 2.6 million unsafe abortions and 5.5 million women with unmet need of family planning. Further, 8,300 women die each year from preventable pregnancy-related complications. estimates indicate that only a 20 percent decline in service coverage of essential maternal care may result in 796,808 additional births without access to health facilities leading to 2,133 additional maternal deaths and 58,541 additional still births in next three months. Stock-outs of many contraceptive methods are being faced across Pakistan due to supply chain disruptions and diversion of funds to covid-19 response. Again, a 20 percent decline in use of modern contra-

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harris has anything to do with it. China becoming a world power is bad enough, but for it to replace the USA, just at the time that india garnered its support, is an exquisite agony, which can only be balanced by india itself becoming a world power. That is something Pakistan dreads, even more than the present dilemma it faces, whose henchman it will be, the USA’s or China’s, in the coming standoff. Pakistan has traditionally backed republicans, though this time it is a hobson’s choice: the republican President has formed a personal relationship with indian Prime minister Narendra modi, while the Democratic vice-presidential nominee is the daughter of an indian (her Jamaican father allows her to claim she is a black) and the grand-daughter of a diplomat who was influential in her childhood. One of the things Trump showed during his Presidency was his penchant for corruption, in the sense that he was willing to interfere in criminal cases on behalf of those he considered friends. it seems that Biden’s son hunter misused his father’s office during his Vice-Presidency, getting money from both China and Ukraine. Some of that money has gone to Biden himself, it seems. While he may not be guilty of corruption, it is a safe bet that this issue will be raised during a Biden Presidency. Trump’s unwillingness to reveal his income tax returns, and what has been revealed about them, show that he is not entirely aboveboard in his business operations. The choice before the USA is not between a shining knight and a black-dyed villain. it is between two white Anglo-Saxon male septuagenarians, both guilty of misogynistic behaviour, both racist, both corrupt. The only difference is that Trump is tawdry, and while Biden is not stylish (too old for that), he shows restraint. Trump reflects something. The republican Party reflects that part of the US electorate that is not just nostalgic about a time when the USA was the leader of the Free World, but everyone knew his place. And white males were on top. The Democrats reflect the part that holds to the enlightenment ideals of the republic’s founding. For the second time, Biden has to play the role of the ‘adult in the room.’ When Obama became the first black President and hillary Clinton his Secretary of State, Biden was given responsibility for foreign affairs. Clearly, he was the establishment’s safety valve. This time around, Trump is not under the control of that establishment. That will be restored by Biden’s winning.

The writer is a member of staff.

ceptives will result in 2.15 million additional women with unmet needs of modern contraception, over 900,000 additional unintended pregnancies, and around 390,000 additional unsafe abortions will happen. What needs to be done to ensure availability and access to family planning services? For the availability of the family planning commodities, continuity of supplies like condoms, oral pills and injectables is critical to ensure continuous use and avoid any unintended pregnancies. health and Population Departments should work on war footing for future contraceptive security, given emerging issues with insufficient supply globally. Furthermore, departments should invest in inventory building to avoid potential stock-out situations in the months ahead. We have a thriving private sector that is serving 43 percent of women in their use of modern contraceptives, almost equal to the public sector (44 percent). Joining hands and building public-private partnerships is the need of the hour, as pointed out in the recommendations from the Call to Action on Alarming Population Growth, that were approved by the Council of Common interests. Government departments and the private sector need to promote alternate long-term modern methods to help clients continue use contraception and protect against unintended pregnancies. For uninterrupted access to services, necessary protocols need to be developed to guide and support staff with respect to provision of services under the covid environment. This is an ideal time to integrate family planning services across health and Population Welfare Departments. The Family Welfare Workers (FWWs) under the supervision and assistance of the Population Welfare Department urgently need to link up with lady health Workers (lhWs) to identify women and clients to supply them necessary commodities at their doorsteps and identify pregnant women who will be delivering in the coming weeks for referral for safe delivery at a facility. All workers providing family planning services must suggest and provide alternate methods to women to meet their immediate contraceptive needs. investment in training and human development through technology is integral to all family planning programmes. For a country with over 217 million mouths to feed already, there is no time for complacency. While we may win the battle against Coronavirus, let’s not lose the war. Dr Alon Ben-Meir is a professor of international relations at the Centre for Global Affairs at NYU. He teaches courses on international negotiation and Middle Eastern studies. alon@alonben-meir.com

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Friday, 30 October, 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

Adulteration; a sin! rABi-Ul-AWAl is the holiest islamic month for muslims besides ramzan. it is the birth month of our beloved Prophet muhammad (PBUh). he was born on 12th of rabi-ul-Awal. he was a guiding light for the people of that time. his teachings are still followed by muslims all over the world in different walk of life. Any muslim who doesn’t follow his‫ ﷺ‬teachings is considered out from scope of islam. One of his hadith quotes “One who sells adulterated goods to muslims is not from us.” This hadith clearly states that any person who is involved in selling adulterated and substandard goods to muslims is not from Prophet’s Umah. Yet muslims are involved in selling adulteration of food items. There is hardly any food that is available in its pure form. Be it milk, ghee, meat, juices, fizzy drinks, spices everything is adulterated in order to get financial gains. This is not the teachings of islam. Thankfully, there are departments working for the welfare of people and keeping check on this mafia. Punjab Food Authority is one suck department in Punjab which regularly checks the quality of food items. it makes sure that food that reaches us is free from adulterants and is safe for consumption. i urge all the people involved in this abhorrent business must stop it as they are destroying their final life after death. AMNA NAvEED LAHorE

Education: A basic right

Shortage of justice LHC lacking 20 judges

AkhtAR Aly kuReshy

lThOUGh our beloved country is facing a multitude of crises, predominantly price hike, political instability, law and order, financial setbacks, food deficiency, corruption. last but not least injustice, which is a hub of crises. Surprisingly, our leaders underestimate the demand of essential justice and try to find out the solution of national crises in other nonproductive ways, resulting in heavy frustration spreading all around and leading to the abuse of democracy and its leaders. There is no institution which carries out research and makes analyses to point out that a country can’t run smoothly without having an efficient judicial system. Once a person having a severe pain in the stomach went to a hakeem for instant relief. The hakeem asked him what he taken for dinner the night before; he told many tasty dishes. Then the hakeem again asked if the bread he had taken was blackish, and he replied that it was a little blackish. The hakeem gave him Surma (kohl) to apply in his eyes, he cried more loudly at the hakeem, saying, “i am dying with pain in the stomach and you are giving me medicine for the eyes”… The hakeem said, “Actually your eyesight is weak, so that first i will treat your eyes so that you may be able to see correctly, then will start other treatment.” This is the position of Pakistan, where we and our leaders are searching for the solution of heavy crises the other way around, whereas the real solution has been overlooked since many decades, and we will continue blindly if we do not realize the significance of justice. There are three basic ingredients or pillars of government which run the country. The first is a legislature or Parliament to make or amend the laws to meet the needs of the citizens; then the second is the executive or Cabinet to make and execute policies and laws, and last but most important is the Judiciary to punish those who are not obeying the laws or policies or are creating problems in the smooth running of the country. There is no need to laugh, as the first and last pillars are shaking and not functioning properly, and the

country has been halted and disturbed from Day One, and the leaders are busy in te blame game and in making money in sugar and flour, among other things, for their family and not for the poor public. This society of injustice is very much supportive to the elite and the influential persons, who are enjoying life by living above the law and have power to turn the law into their personal slaves when they are in need, whereas it is killing for a common man and an abuse for the whole nation. injustice is a main root of corruption, nepotism and the system of looting money by some or a group of people in the government, and its favorites. Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade it, neither persons nor property will be safe. There is a need emerging of having a most powerful judicial system to treat all citizen equally and punish those who break the law or misuse power, and make an example for others. The first pillar of government, Parliament, is a bone of contention, as the ruling party is not in a position to make laws to reform our judicial system rather they are fighting and blaming each other like children and promoting instability and turmoil. The last pillar, the judiciary, particularly the superior judiciary, is more powerful and sometimes is doing good, and is mostly silent and ignores the challenges. Time is passing away speedily without any solution as to whether here in Pakistan all citizens are equal, or that there is no law indeed. Apart from so many crucial lacunae in our judicial system, one big and prime issue is that of capacity building of the judiciary, although judges’ strength is drastically very low and not able to meet the demand of litigants. There is an urgent need to triple the strength of judges and equi them with stateof-the-art courtrooms, as well as digitization of the entire judicial system. This may be just a dream, as one may be shocked to know that the lahore high Court, a prime institution of justice, is lacking 20 judges for the last two years. No new appointment have been made

even though many times the Chief Justices have made lists of new judges, but every time these have been sent back by the Supreme Court judges to review it by adding more good names, or for some other reason. Situation seems to be alarming and seeking the indulgence of hon’ble Chief justice of Pakistan and Prime minister imran Khan to look into the matter to expedite the process of new appointments rather make the law of enhancing the strength of lahore high Court judges from sixty to 120 similarly to all other high Courts as population and litigation index of province of Punjab is going high day by day. One main reason of lawlessness and missusing of law, is poor strength of judges in subordinate judiciary and in high Court as number of cases per judge is multiply three to five times high. if government is not willing to reform the judicial system then enhancing the strength of judges may create harmony and facilitate the process of getting justice speedily and inexpensively. Unfortunately our judicial system does not fall under the ambit of CPeC like motorways and Orange line Trains, ml One or other physical infrastructure projects, therefore, there is no chance of any improvement in the judicial system, as one can simply analyse that there is no development project in Pakistan for last ten year except CPeC, so we should strive to add development of our judicial system into CPeC so that it can be upgraded. Justice is, in fact, the glue that holds societies together. Justice includes the notion of upholding the law, as in the work of police, judges and the courts. Behind the concept of justice lies the notion of balance that people get what is right, fair and appropriate. One thing is very important to be kept in mind by the government, that justice is for living persons only and not for the dead, as a dead person cannot cry out for justice. it is a duty of the government to do justice for them before they die as in Pakistan the majority of citizens either die for justice, or justice itself dies in the hands of our judges and our judicial system.

One thing is very important to be kept in mind by the government, that justice is for living persons only and not for the dead, as a dead person cannot cry out for justice. It is a duty of the government to do justice for them before they die as in Pakistan the majority of citizens either die for justice, or justice itself dies in the hands of our judges and our judicial system

Writer is an Advocate Supreme Court of Pakistan, Law Professor, member International Bar Association and former Assistant Attorney General for Pakistan.

eDUCATiON is the basic need of every citizen of Pakistan constitutionally. however, Balochistan, the largest province of Pakistan, suffers badly from educational facilitities. The schools of Balochistan largely lack proper buildings, sanitary facilities, wall chalks are used instead of markers, and even water is an issue for a great many rural schools. more importantly, the rural students sit under open sky to continue their education. it is because the government pays less attention to the rural schools whereas the locals are poor who hardly get food two times a day. On the other hand, they cannot send their children to the nearby cities for two reasons in particular: one, because they are poor. Second, they have no terms with the people of cities. Dishearteningly, in the villages, the students even do not get good teachers. This is because most of the teachers are appointed politically who are uneducated and are ghosts. According to a report of Alif Ailan, more than 5000 teachers in Balochistan are ghosts. As they have strong bonds with the authorities, they are never fired. Witnessing the sickening education system, the poor students get compelled to quit their education and work on their fields or become masons. Besides this, most schools in Balochistan have no access to libraries. it results in wasting of time with unnecessary stuff for the students which they could properly utilize if there existed a library. Although many schools get separate funds for building libraries in their premises, they are never built. Thus, i plea to the government of Balochistan to take serious actions against the corrupt system of education and standardize the quality of education by providing them with required facilities. if the government fails to concentrate on education, soon we are going to witness an era of great concerns. MunEEb MaqSood quEtta

France in flames The situation in France is worsening. A woman was beheaded by an attacker with a knife who also killed two other people at a church in the French city of Nice on Thursday, police said, in an incident the city’s mayor described as terrorism. mayor Christian estrosi later said that the attacker had yelled “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest) repeatedly, even after he was detained by police. estrosi said on Twitter that the knife attack had happened in or near the city’s Notre Dame church and that police had detained the attacker. Police said three people were confirmed to have died in the attack and several were injured. The French anti-terrorist prosecutor’s department said it had been asked to investigate. One of the people killed inside the church was believed to be the church warden, estrosi said, adding that a woman had tried to escape from inside the church and had fled into a bar opposite the 19th-century neo-Gothic building. “The suspected knife attacker was shot by police while being detained, he is on his way to hospital, he is alive,” estrosi told reporters. “enough is enough,” estrosi said. “it’s time now for France to exonerate itself from the laws of peace in order to definitively wipe out islamo-fascism from our territory.” The mayor said the victims had been killed in a “horrible way”. GULzAr MANSoor ISLAMABAD

Second wave of Covid-19 DUe to the negligence and irresponsibility of public and government the situation of Covid-19 pandemic is getting worst as the results the positivity ratio of virus getting increased than 3% after a gap of 70 days. The responsibility of the government and authorities concerned do not get finished after issuing standard operating procedures rather it is the responsibility of the government to make the public to follow SOPs and it is first and foremost responsibility of the government and concerned authorities to follow the SOPs strictly by themselves. Our respected ministers and authorities always blame the public for not following the SOPs, what about their high populated gathering and ceremonies taking place in different part of the country. it is only possible to control the spread of the disease if public and government work together and follow the instructions strictly. According to a news report the federal authorities have issued multiple warnings in the past few days on the ignorance towards implementation of COViD-19 SOPs as the second wave hits the country. i want to ask that all these instructions were followed by the federal government. Not at all, i urge the government to use all available resources to follow the SOPs strictly and make the public to follow them, if someone goes against the instructions should be finished equally that belongs to government or public. MUHAMMAD BAkHTIYAr TUrBAT

Friday, 30 October, 2020

08 WORLD VIEW

Why French President Macron’s clash oF civilisations With islaM is Misguided MACRON SHOULD REALISE THAT THE OLD FRENCH SYSTEM IS DISASTROUSLY UNSUITED TO AN INCREASINGLY MULTI-ETHNIC AND MULTI-RACIAL SOCIETY

BlooMBerG

PanKaJ mIShra

HE last thing the world needs amid a resurgent pandemic is a clash of civilizations. Yet this is what French President Emmanuel Macron seems intent on fomenting. And, in many Muslim leaders, he has found willing and eager partners for his venture. From all accounts, the Chechnya-born teenager who gruesomely murdered a schoolteacher in France this month represents yet another case of online radicalization — the same force that has fueled flash lynch mobs in India and right-wing militias

in the United States. But Macron chose to respond to the atrocity with an unprecedented crackdown on France’s Muslim community, accompanied by a vociferous critique of its religion — thereby “communalizing,” to use an Indian phrase, what is a widespread social pathology. Having asserted that Islam is “in crisis all over the world today,” Macron has now gone further by proclaiming France’s staunch support for the caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) that originally enraged the young murderer. To put it soberingly: Macron has staked France’s global reputation on crude mockery of a figure revered by more than a billion Muslims. Self-appointed paladins of Islam, who have lately been floundering, eagerly accepted the lifeline thrown to them by Macron. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, both beset by multiple crises, have ostentatiously attacked the French president. Erdogan even questioned Macron’s

mental health, provoking France to recall its ambassador to Turkey. The boycott of French goods demanded by Erdogan is already being administered in Kuwait and Qatar. Mass protests against Macron are emerging in a broad swathe of Muslim countries from Libya to Bangladesh. In recent days, Islamophobia has surged at all levels of French society, from the interior minister, who accused halal food in supermarkets of fostering separatism, to the assailants who stabbed two Muslim women in headscarves near the Eiffel Tower. Macron’s own strategy seems clear: to outmaneuver his far-right rival Marine Le Pen. His poor handling of the pandemic had already diminished his chances in the 2022 presidential election. Macron now hopes to bluster his way out of an existential crisis with appeals to France’s matchless grandeur. He has a tradition of rousing rhetoric in this regard. Take, for instance, this declaration from Macron’s book “Révolution” in 2016: “In the spirit of France there is an aspiration to the universal that is at once an unceasing indignation at injustice and

As India drifts into autocracy, nonviolent protest is the most powerful resistance

Guardian amartya Sen

Nothing is as important, the philosopher Immanuel Kant claimed, as the “freedom to make public use of one’s reason on all matters”. Unfortunately, as Kant also noted, the opportunity to argue is often restrained by society – sometimes very severely. A disturbing fact about the world today is that authoritarian tendencies have been strikingly on the increase in many countries – in Asia, in Europe, in Latin America, in Africa and within the United States of America. I fear I have to include my own country, India, in that unfortunate basket. After India secured independence from British colonial rule, it had for many decades a fine history of being a secular democracy with much personal liberty. People showed their commitment to freedom and their determination to remove authoritarian governance through decisive public action, for example in the general elections in 1977, in which the despotic regulations – dressed as “the emergency” – were firmly rejected by the people. The government obeyed promptly. However, in recent years the priority of freedom seems to have lost some of its lustre for many people, and the current government gives striking evidence of the inclination to promote a different kind of society. There have also been strong attempts to stifle anti-government protests, which, strangely enough, have often been described by the government as “sedition”, providing grounds for arrest and for locking up opposition leaders. Aside from the despotic tendencies implicit in this approach, there is also a profound confusion of thought here, since a disagreement with the government need not be a rebellion to overthrow the state, or to subvert the nation (on which the diagnosis of “sedition” must depend). When I was in school in British-ruled colonial India, many of my relations, who were nonviolently agitating for India’s independence (inspired by Mahatma Gandhi and other champions of freedom), were in British

Indian jails under what was described as “preventive detention”, allegedly to stop them from doing anything violent. After India’s independence, preventive detention as a form of incarceration was halted; but then it was reintroduced, initially by the Congress government, in a relatively mild form. That was bad enough, but under the Hindutva-oriented BJP government now in office, preventive detention has acquired a hugely bigger role, allowing easy arrests and imprisonment of opposition politicians without trial. Indeed, from last year, under the provision of a freshly devised Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the state can unilaterally declare someone to be a terrorist, which allows them to arrest this alleged terrorist and place them in incarceration without trial. A number of human rights activists have been designated as terrorists and are in jail already under this arrangement. When someone is described as being “anti-national”, this can be seen as a big philosophical denunciation anywhere in the world, but in today’s India it may mean nothing more than the person has made some critical remarks about the government in office. The confusion between “anti-government” and “anti-national” is typical of autocratic governance. The courts have sometimes been able to stop such abusive practices, but given the slow movement of the Indian courts, and the differences of opinion within India’s large supreme court, this has not always been an effective remedy. One of the most prominent defenders of human rights in the world, Amnesty International, has been forced to leave India as a result of governmental intervention. The pursuit of authoritarianism in general is sometimes combined with the persecution of a particular section of the nation – often linked, in India, with caste or religion. The low-caste former “untouchables”, now called Dalits, continue to get the benefits of affirmative action (in terms of employment and education) that were introduced at the time of India’s independence, but they are often very harshly treated. Cases of rape and murder of Dalits by upper-caste men, which have become shockingly common events, are frequently ignored or covered up by the government, unless pressed otherwise by public protests. The Indian authorities have been particularly severe on the rights of Muslims, even to the extent of restricting some of their citizenship rights. Despite centuries of peaceful coexistence between Hindus and Muslims, there have been striking attempts in recent years by politically extremist Hindu organisations to treat indigenous Muslims somewhat like foreigners and to accuse them of doing harm to the nation. This has been fed by cultivating disaffection and inter-religious animosity through the rapidly increased power of extremist Hindu politics. The fact that the celebrated poet Rabindranath Tagore had a Hindu

background was not contradicted by his selfdescription in Oxford (when giving the Hibbert lectures) that he came from the confluence of three cultural streams, combining Hinduism and Islam, in addition to western influence. Indian culture is a joint product of people of different religious faiths, and this can be seen in different fields – from music and literature to painting and architecture. Even the very first translation and propagation of Hindu philosophical texts – the Upanishads – for use outside India was done on the active initiative of a Mughal prince, Dara Shikoh, the eldest son of Mumtaz (in whose memory Dara’s father, Emperor Shah Jahan, built the Taj Mahal). Led by the government’s current ideological priorities, many school textbooks in India are being rewritten now to present a thoroughly revisionist history, reducing – or ignoring altogether – the contributions of Muslim people. Despite the government’s power, armed with the UAPA, to call anyone a terrorist, those accused are typically committed to nonviolent protests in the way that Gandhi had advocated. This applies particularly to newly emerging secular resistance in India, led by student leaders. For instance, Umar Khalid, a Muslim scholar from Jawaharlal Nehru University who has been arrested and imprisoned as an alleged “terrorist” through the use of the UAPA, has eloquently expressed this secular movement’s commitment to peaceful protest: “If they beat us with lathis [sticks], we will hold aloft the Tricolour [the Indian national flag]. If they fire bullets, then we will hold the constitution and raise our hands.” While the growth of authoritarianism in India demands determined resistance, the world is also facing a pandemic of autocracy at this time, which makes the Indian lapses look less abnormal than they in fact are. The justification for imposing tyranny varies from country to country, such as reducing drug trafficking in the case of the Philippines, curtailing the flow of immigrants in Hungary, suppressing gay lifestyles in Poland, and using the military to control allegedly corrupt behaviour in Brazil. The world needs as many different ways of defending freedom as there are attacks upon it. Dr Martin Luther King Jr noted in a letter written in 1963 from Birmingham jail: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” He also insisted that all resistance has to be nonviolent. So do the young student leaders of today’s India. If there is a commonality in the distinct manifestations of autocracy, there is also a shared reasoning in the resistance. Amartya Sen is a Harvard professor and Nobel-prize winning economist. This is an edited extract of a speech that he gave upon winning the 2020 Peace prize of the German Book Trade.

oppression, and a determination to tell others what we think of the world, here, now and on behalf of everyone.” Macron doesn’t seem to have considered a basic problem: Most people in the world today do not much care what the French think of them. Assertions such as the 2007 claim by his predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy that “the African has not fully entered history,” or Macron’s own remarks in 2017 that Africa had an intransigent “civilizational” problem, stemming from African women who breed “7 to 8 children,” have not given those people much reason to reconsider their disdain. Taking up the white man’s burden abroad, Macron seems oblivious to a deepening problem at home: The old French model, which claimed to be universal and superior to all social systems, is disastrously unsuited to an increasingly multi-ethnic and multi-racial society. Nor is the spirit of France immune to certain global trends. Social cohesion has been endangered across the world by uneven growth and extreme inequality, and the

dwindling of trade unions, churches, local newspapers and other institutions that once helped foster civic participation and the responsibilities of citizenship. In almost every major country, members of a minority radicalized on the internet periodically disrupt public life with vicious acts of violence. France seems particularly unprepared for these volatile realities because French leaders can still rally broad support for an outmoded national ideology of secularism. Such circling of wagons, however, can only further alienate disaffected minorities and delay necessary modifications to the country’s self-image and political, legal and educational systems. Indeed, by endlessly eulogizing their country’s political and intellectual traditions, French leaders have made them as hidebound and resistant to the 21st century as the “originalist” interpretations of the U.S. constitution fetishized by rightwing Republicans. Invoking Voltaire’s maxims, and other greatest hits of the French Enlightenment, may gratify diehard secularists. But many more people around the world are now grappling with the longterm consequences of what Voltaire, among many other past luminaries, said about black people (evidently, animallike in their stupidity) and Jews (all born fanatics). Ignoring France’s irrevocably diverse population and fragile security situation, as well as a highly unstable international climate, Macron has taken to peddling an unsustainable idea of French glory in his bid for re-election. The dangers of his opportunism include greater polarization at home and broader, more intense conflicts abroad. They should not be underestimated.

Remembering Saladin’s liberation of Jerusalem

Middle east Monitor Jehan alfarra

On 2 October 1187, Ayyubid Sultan Salah Al-Din (known in the West as Saladin) liberated Jerusalem from the Crusaders nearly a century after they captured the holy city from the Fatimid Caliphate. What: Saladin’s liberation of Jerusalem Where: Palestine When: 2 October 1187 THE CRUSADER KINGDOM OF JERUSALEM With a cry of ‘Deus vult!’ – Latin for ‘God wills it’ – head of the Roman Catholic Church Pope Urban II ignited the flame for the Crusades in 1095, urging Christian Europeans to go on ‘armed pilgrimage’ to Jerusalem and reclaim the Holy Land from Muslims. An army of 100,000 undertook the mission, forming the First Crusade. On 15 July 1099, Jerusalem, which had been recaptured by the Fatimids from the Seljuks the year before, fell to the Crusaders after a brutal siege which lasted for over a month. Their victory laid the foundations for the establishment of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem. SALADIN’S RISE TO POWER: At the time, Muslim forces in the Middle East and North Africa region were divided, with power struggles between and amongst the Sunni Seljuks in the Levant and the Shia Fatimids in Egypt. Sultan Nur Al-Din Zengi, who ruled much of the Syrian province of the Seljuk Empire between 1146 and 1174, sought to unite all Muslim forces between the Euphrates in Mesopotamia and the Nile in Egypt in order to defeat the Crusaders. Saladin, who was born in 1137 into a Kurdish Sunni military family had gone on a military expedition on behalf of Nur Al-Din to Egypt alongside his uncle Shirkuh to help the wazir (adviser) to the Fatimid Caliph Al-Adid, Shawar, to resolve internal power struggles and assert his rule. However, Shawar, the effective ruler of Egypt, soon allied with the Crusaders against Shirkuh and the Zengids. Upon the personal request of the Caliph Al-Adid, Shirkuh came back to Egypt to fight off Crusader incursions. He later had Shawar executed and, despite being Sunni, was appointed wazir by the Shia

Caliph. But Shirkuh died soon after, and Saladin was appointed wazir in his place. Saladin consolidated his position in Egypt and, upon the Caliph’s death, became ruler of Egypt and abolished the Fatimid Caliphate. Indeed, Nur Al-Din extended his dominance across large parts of the Muslim world, but he died before he achieved his ultimate goal of liberating Jerusalem. Defeating other claimants to Nur Al-Din’s throne in Syria, Saladin was proclaimed sultan. Saladin had spent over a decade unifying Muslim cities under Sunni rule. He established the Ayyubid dynasty and asserted his rule over Egypt, Syria, Upper Mesopotamia, the Hejaz, Yemen and much of the North African coast, finally realising Nur Al-Din’s dream. In 1185, Saladin agreed to a truce with the Crusaders, allowing him time to deal with political problems in the Muslim world and raise a large army. Two years later, in 1187, French Crusader Lord of Oultrejordain Raynald of Châtillon raided a Muslim caravan, violating the truce. SALADIN’S SIEGE OF JERUSALEM: After unifying Muslim lands under his rule, Saladin was ready to take on the Crusaders in light of Raynald’s violation of the truce. The Kingdom of Jerusalem was, at this time, also internally divided. On 4 July 1187, Saladin’s armies scored a great victory at the Battle of Hattin near Tiberias, the most pivotal defeat to befall the Crusaders. Crusader King Guy de Lusignan and many Crusader princes and lords, including Raynald of Châtillon, were captured. Saladin killed Raynald in fulfilment of a vow that he made following the latter’s murderous attacks against Muslims. After the Battle of Hattin, which dealt a major blow to both the morale and military might of the Crusaders, Saladin moved against many Crusader states and conquered almost every Crusader territory in the region, clearing the path to retake Jerusalem. The holy city had become a refuge for most of the Crusaders of the Levant, and fighters who fled previous defeats against the Muslims. They held out in defence of Jerusalem as Saladin’s forces descended on the city and besieged it. The Muslim army bombarded the city walls using catapults and tried to storm the city several times. After a 12-day siege, on 2 October 1187, the leader of the Christian forces, Balian of Ibelin, surrendered the city. In contrast with the bloody takeover by the Crusaders who massacred 40,000 Muslim and Jewish inhabitants upon entering Jerusalem in 1099, the handover to Muslim control was peaceful. The Crusaders were given safe passage out of the city and Christian places of worship were left intact. Arab Christian communities were allowed to stay. After 88 years in the hands of the Crusaders, the Muslims, led by Saladin, entered Jerusalem once again.

Friday, 30 October, 2020

buSiNESS 09 corporate corner ACE Money Transfer partners with Bank Alfalah for cross border payments KARACHI: ACE Money Transfer, a leading cross-border remittance provider, today advanced its services and partnership with Bank Alfalah by launching a mega incentive campaign for its customers sending remittances to Pakistan and which are paid by Bank Alfalah. Customers stand to win various prizes, including high-end laptops, smartwatches, motorbikes, gift vouchers and a grand bumper prize of brand new 1.8L Honda Civic car. “By launching this incentive campaign with Bank Alfalah, one of Pakistan’s most trusted and technologically advanced bank, we look forward to giving back to our customers who trust our services with their hard-earned money,” said Rashid Ashraf, CEO of ACE Money Transfer. He also stated. PRESS RElEASE

Q32020: Jazz registers significant growth in 4G subscribers KARACHI: Pakistan's number one 4G operator and largest internet and broadband service provider Jazz invested over Rs3.7 billion during the 3rd quarter of 2020 with a strategic focus to expand 4G services. During this period, 4G users reached 22.2 million, a 70pc increase YoY. This increase in data subscribers, coupled with strong demand for data and network expansion, saw data revenue grow by 25.4pc YoY. Jazz’s overall subscriber base grew by 8.5pc YoY reaching 64.2 million. “Jazz’s third quarter was driven by continued investment in network expansion and our digital businesses, including financial services,” said Jazz CEO Aamir Ibrahim. “This performance is a testament to the important role our services play in our customers’ lives and to Jazz’s relentless expansion and innovation. We remain committed to empowering the masses with digital tools necessary in creating equal opportunities in today’s world.” PRESS RElEASE

CM BuzdAr AnnounCEs rs5Bn rEliEf pACkAGE for HAfEEz CEnTrE firE AffECTEEs LAHORE STAFF REPORT

UNJAB Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar on Thursday announced a Rs5 billion special relief package for affectees of the Hafeez Centre inferno. The announcement was made by the CM at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), where he also took notice of the fire affectees' plight. Punjab Information Minister Fiazul Hassan Chohan, Finance Minister Makhdoom Hashim Jawan Bakht, LCCI President Mian Tariq Misbah, Senior Vice President Nasir Hameed khan, Vice President Tahir Manzoor Chaudhry, Bank of Punjab President Zafar Masood, SAARC Chamber of Commerce President Iftikhar Ali Malik, former LCCI presidents Almas Hyder, Muhammad Ali Mian, Irfan Iqbal Sheikh and former senior vice president Ali Hussam Asghar were also present on the occasion, according to a statement issued by the chamber. "The Bank of Punjab (BOP) will provide soft loans to the fire victims and for this purpose, a special desk of the bank has been established near Hafeez Centre," the CM said. "The BOP will provide finance solutions at affordable rates under Kamyab Jawan Progamme/Punjab Rozgar Scheme and BOP Apni Dokan." In addition, Buzdar informed, the bank would provide flexible solutions on matters pertaining to "renovation of existing shop/office premises, purchase of shop/office premises, or purchase of inventory/stocks

ISLAMABAD

LAHORE: Sarsabz Fertilizer on Thursday organized a special awards ceremony as part of its loyalty programme ‘Sarsabz Royals’ to reward and recognize its top performing and longstanding dealers from around the country. PRESS RElEASE

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) on Thursday deferred its decision to hike electricity price, saying that the same would be decided after "verification of data". According to a NEPRA official, the authority will take its decision regarding the proposed hike under the head fuel price adjustment of September after complete verification of data. "If the data is verified, there will be a price hike as proposed, whereas the verification process will be completed within the next seven days." It may be noted that the authority, after receiving a request from Central Power purchasing Agency (CPPA) to jack up electricity price, had called an online hearing on Oct 29 (today) to consider the proposed fuel price adjustment and to arrive at a fair decision in this regard.

The CPPA, on behalf of power distributing companies (DISCOs), had sought a per-unit increase of Rs1.36 in power price under the head fuel price adjustment for the month of September 2020. As per details provided by CPPA, the variation in actual and reference fuel charges was Rs2.8410/kWh in September, which was why CPPA asked NEPRA to allow Rs1.36/kWh hike in the power tariff. Based on the monthly data provided by CPPA, around 37.18pc of electricity was produced in the country from hydel sources, while 17.42pc was generated from coal, 5.82pc from furnace oil, 10.10pc from domestic natural gas, 21.40pc from imported LNG, 1.34pc from wind and 5.17pc from nuclear sources. During the course of hearing on Thursday, NEPRA officials informed that power generation with diesel and furnace oil in Sep-

tember had caused approximately Rs10 billion heavy burden on the exchequer. The National Power Construction Corporation told NEPRA that power price would witness a further hike in December 2020 and January 2021, as furnace oil would be used as fuel for power generation purposes mainly owing to gas shortage. Speaking on the occasion, NEPRA Chairman Tauseef H Farooqi expressed his annoyance and asked why the common public should bear the cost of errors in the system? Deploring the closure of Sahiwal power plant, the chairman said power consumers could have been given a Rs2.5 billion relief if the said plant had remained operational. He maintained that the decision regarding fuel price adjustment for the month of September will be announced during the next seven days after necessary verification of presented data.

maRket dailY

KSE-100 plunges 1,298 points as rising virus cases, partial lockdown dents investor confidence KARACHI STAFF REPORT

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed bloodbath on the last trading session of the week/month, with the indices slipping all day long amid spike in coronavirus cases and imposition of partial lockdown across the country. Global equity markets also showed a negative trend, whereas crude oil prices continued with its declining trend; WTI crude price falling 3.58pc to $36.06 while Brent crude price dipping 3.10pc to $38.45. "An increase in coronavirus cases, imposition of partial lockdown, end of rollover week as well as results' season, and global sell-off in stock and commodity markets were enough for the PSX to lose around 2,000 intraday," said a report issued by AHL Ltd. "Selling pressure was evident across the board, particularly in exploration & production and banking stocks; price levels were seen near or at lower circuits." The benchmark index remained in the red throughout the day, registering its intraday low at 39,275.43 after losing 1,911.43 points. It closed lower by 1,298.86 points at 39,888.00. On a month-

lution of administration-related issues. The LCCI president said in order to resolve development-related issues in Lahore, a joint high-powered committee should be constituted which may include four representatives of private sector nominated by LCCI in addition to representatives relevant government departments. He emphasized the dire need of new parking plazas in Lahore due to the growing needs of the city. "We are ready to work with Punjab government in this regard." Misbah informed that encroachments have badly affected the commercial areas of the provincial capital. These areas should be made free from encroachments, as they added to the cost of doing business. The LCCI president said that safe city surveillance should be extended to all markets of Lahore along with measures to control street crimes. He said the high rate of conversion fee (20pc of commercial value) for land use charged by LDA was an impediment to industrialization and should be abolished. Misbah said the water tariff of WASA-Lahore for industrial and commercial users (Rs100,000 for one cusec and Rs50,000 for ½ cusec) was extremely high as compared to other cities of Punjab like Faisalabad and Multan etc. LCCI recommended the government a uniform rate across all cities. The chamber president appreciated the government for providing a relief package to the shopkeepers of Hafeez Centre. "We propose that they should also be given relief in provincial taxes," he added.

NEPRA defers decision to increase power tariﬀ AHMAD AHMADANI

LAHORE: This breast cancer awareness month, BIMA Mobile, the leading provider of digital health and insurtech services in Pakistan, teamed up with the First Lady of Pakistan Begum Samina Arif Alvi to host a digital meet up to raise awareness of the disease. PRESS RElEASE

to restart business activities". He noted that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has already announced disbursement of refunds to the Hafeez Centre fire victims on a priority basis. Buzdar said the BOP has also offered the traders 135 shops (owned by the bank) at its IT Tower (Lahore) on affordable terms. "In order to further the business activity in Punjab, the government has planned to establish 13 Special Economic Zones (SEZs) across the province; work on SEZs in Faisalabad and Lahore has commenced, while SEZs in Bahawalpur and Muzaffargarh will be announced soon." The CM maintained that the PTI government has never shied away from supporting the business community. The government recently announced a Rs57 billion tax relief package for the business community in wake of Covid-19, besides reducing the rate provincial sales tax on 13 sectors mostly affected by the virus lockdowns. Earlier, LCCI President Mian Tariq Misbah thanked the Punjab CM for accepting LCCI’s demands and announcing a relief package for Hafeez Centre affectees. Misbah also highlighted some of the longstanding issues of the business community that required immediate attention of the government. "We fully support the measures to strengthen the price control mechanism but this should be done in just manner," he said, adding that LCCI must get a fair representation in district committees for timely reso-

on-month basis, the benchmark index witnesses a fall of 1.63pc in its value when compared with September 2020. Among other indices, the KMI-30 Index plunged 2,201.68 points to end at 63,496.69, while the KSE All Share Index dropped 790.57 points, settling at 28,185.56. The overall market volumes surged from 368.42 million shares in the previous session to 541.19 million shares (+47pc). Average traded value also increased by 34pc, from $94.5 million to $126.9 million. Unity Foods Ltd (UNTIY -1.17pc), Maple Leaf Cement Factory Ltd (MLCF -0.84pc) and Pakistan International Bulk Terminal Ltd (PIBTL 5.88pc) led the volume chart, exchanging 60.52 million, 39.11 million and 38.64 million shares, respectively. Sectors that drove the benchmark index south included banking (-245.49 points), oil & gas exploration (-198.01 points) and fertilizer (-131.36 points). Among the companies, Pak Petroleum Ltd (PPL -67.32 points), Engro Corporation Ltd (ENGRO -65.97 points) and Pakistan Oilfields Ltd (POL -65.41 points) dented the index the most. Shedding 6.75pc from its cumulative market capitalization, the refinery sector ended as session

top loser, with Attock Refinery Ltd (ATRL 7.33pc), National Refinery Ltd (NRL -6.07pc), Pakistan Refinery Ltd (PRL -7.37pc) and Byco Petroleum Pakistan Ltd (BYCO -6.62pc) posting significant losses. Meanwhile, according to a PSX notification, Agha Steel Industries Limited will start trading from Monday (November 2) with an opening price of Rs32 per share. NCCPL has assigned ‘AGHA’ to the company as security symbol. Also, GlaxoSmithKline (Pakistan) Ltd (GLAXO -3.68pc), in a notification to the exchange, announced its intention to dispose of its "old & inactive warehouses" situated in six different locations across the country with a total carrying value of Rs83 million. On the financial side, Ghandhara twins -Ghandhara Nissan Ltd (GHNL -7.38pc) and Ghandhara Industries Ltd (GHNI -6.76pc) announced earnings per share of Rs0.04 and Rs3.37 for 1QFY21 (Rs0.27 and Rs0.32 last year); Fatima Fertilizer Company Ltd (FATIMA -7.27pc) declared an EPS of Rs1.14 for 3QFY20 (Rs1.03 in 3QFY19); while Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd (OGDC -2.59pc) posted an EPS of Rs5.45 for 1QFY21 (Rs6.35 last year).

CMYK

Fauji Cement profit jumps 138pc to Rs696m in 1QFY21 LAHORE HASSAN NAQVI

The Board of Directors of Fauji Cement Company Limited (FCCL) met on Thursday to review the company's performance and announce its financial results for the first quarter ended September 30, 2020. As per details, the cement manufacturer posted a profit after tax (PAT) of Rs696 million (earnings per share: Rs0.50) in 1QFY21 as compared to a PAT of Rs293 million in 1QFY20, showing an increase of 138pc. The company’s sales stood at Rs5.501 billion as compared to Rs4.243 billion last year, depicting a growth of 30pc. During the period under review, the company’s cost of sales increased 18pc to Rs4.313 billion as compared to Rs3.652 billion last year. Meanwhile, the cement manufacturer’s gross profit clocked in at Rs1.188 billion in 1QFY21 as compared to Rs591 million in 1QFY20, showing an increase of 101pc. The company’s distribution costs, admin expenses, finance

cost and other income decreased 9pc, 6pc, 29pc and 71pc YoY, respectively, during the period under review. Shahrukh Saleem, an investment analyst at AKD Securities Ltd, said that the result was significantly better than AKD's expectation mainly due to higher-than-expected gross margins. He said the company's revenue increased by 30pc/47pc YoY/QoQ, where apart from increase in dispatches, improved pricing scenario and decreased discounts also contributed heavily. "Additional impetus must have been provided by a decline in Federal Excise Duty (FED) to Rs75 per bag from Rs100 per bag," the investment analyst added. The gross margins for 1QFY21 stood at 22pc against 6pc/14pc recorded in 4QFY20/1QFY20 while surpassing AKD's expectation by a massive 10ppts, Saleem stated, adding that deviation largely occurred from lower-than-expected cost of sales which AKD attributes to efficient procurement of coal.

FBR’s action against Jazz to discourage foreign investments: OICCI LAHORE: The Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI), the collective body of top 200 multinational companies in Pakistan, has expressed shock and dismay at the Federal Board of Revenue’s action against one of the largest taxpayers in the country. The FBR’s Large Taxpayer Unit (LTU)Islamabad on Wednesday had sealed the premises of Pakistan Mobile Telecommunication Limited (PMCL), widely known across the country as ‘Jazz’, within hours after serving a notice for payment of alleged tax demand. Commenting on the development, OICCI President Haroon Rashid observed, “Without going into details of the legality of tax demand, the manner in which LTU officials handled the situation was disappointing. This blatant action is a huge setback for the government and OICCI’s joint efforts to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country.” STAFF REPORT

Friday, 30 October, 2020

10 FOREIGN NEWS

CHina propoSES dEvElopMEnt tarGEtS for 14tH fivE-YEar plan pEriod

BEIJING

AGENCIES

HE fifth plenary session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China concluded Thursday proposed major social and economic development targets for the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025). China will strive to make new strides in economic development during the period, according to a communique released after the session. The country aims to realize sustained and healthy economic development on the basis of a marked improvement in quality and efficiency, with growth potentials to be fully tapped. The domestic market will become stronger, the economic structure will be further improved, and the innovation capacity will be significantly strengthened. The industrial base will be upgraded, and the industrial chain will be further mod-

ernized, according to the communique. China will see more solid foundation for agriculture, and more balanced development between urban and rural areas and between different regions. The country will also make great progress in developing a modernized economy. With new steps to be taken in reform and opening up, China will further improve its socialist market economy and basically complete the building of a high-standard market system. Market entities will show more vitality, and significant progress will be made in the reforms of the property right system and the market-based allocation of factors of production. With the fair competition system to be further improved, China will basically form the new institutions of a higher-level open economy. China's social etiquette and civility shall be further enhanced, while the core socialist values shall be embraced by the people. A significant improvement is expected to be

made in people's intellectual and moral integrity, cultural and scientific qualities, as well as physical and mental health. The systems of public cultural service and cultural industries will be further advanced, with rich cultural and intellectual activities organized for the public. The influence of the Chinese culture will be increased, and the Chinese nation's cohesiveness will be further strengthened. China aims to make new progress in building an ecological civilization, optimize the development and protection of

territorial space, and achieve notable results in green transformation of production and lifestyle. The country will allocate energy and resources more appropriately and raise utilization efficiency. It will continue reducing emissions of major pollutants and improving ecological environment, make ecological security shields more solid, and greatly improve urban and rural living environment. The well-being of the people will reach a new level. China will achieve fuller and higher-quality employment, with personal income growth basically in step with economic growth, and marked improvements in distribution structure. The country will also see much more equitable access to basic public services. The education level of the entire population will be continuously improved, while the multi-tiered social security system and health system will be further enhanced. Efforts will also be made to consolidate achievements scored in the fight against poverty and fully promote the strategy of rural vitalization. China will further enhance governance capacity, improve socialist democracy and the rule of law, and demonstrate social fairness and justice. The national administrative system will be perfected, the role of the government will be better played, and the administrative efficiency and credibility will be significantly strengthened. The country will step up the level of social governance, especially at the community level, continuously improve the systems and mechanisms to forestall and defuse major risks, greatly enhance the capability to respond to public emergencies and prevent natural disasters, strengthen security guarantee for development, and make major strides in the modernization of national defense and the armed forces, according to the communique.

China's GDP exPeCteD to exCeeD 100 trillion yuan in 2020 BEIJING: China's gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to cross the 100trillion-yuan mark in 2020, says the communique of the fifth plenary session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, which was released on Thursday. AGENCIES

Washington may allow Huawei to receive chip supplies WASHINGTON AGENCIES

The US could be easing its draconian sanctions against Huawei by letting more chip suppliers ship components to the Chinese tech company – as long as they are not used for developing 5G technology. This was indicated by the US Department of Commerce during talks with semiconductor manufacturers, media reported, citing people briefed by Washington. According to a semiconductor executive involved in the talks, the agency “has been telling companies in recent conversations that while licenses to supply Huawei

are handled with a view to denial, this can be overcome if you can demonstrate that your technology does not support 5G.” After the Trump administration toughened restrictions against the leading Chinese smartphone and telecom equipment maker, which the US deems a security threat, manufacturers were required to obtain licenses for sales to Huawei of products made abroad with US technology or software. The move threatens Huawei’s smartphone business, which relies heavily on chip supplies. Unwilling to lose a big client, companies rushed to get those permissions. South

Korea's Samsung reportedly won a license from the US government to sell “some of its products” – namely organic light-emitting diodes, or OLED displays – to Huawei earlier this week. Last month, Intel and AMD were also said to have been granted licenses to continue selling some supplies to the Chinese tech company. While many similar applications are still pending approval, executives at two Asian semiconductor companies said they were optimistic about receiving the license, the FT reported. “It has been indicated to us that chips for mobile devices are not a problem,” one of them said as cited by the outlet.

samsung electronics' profit posts double-digit growth in Q3 SEOUL: Samsung Electronics, South Korea's tech giant, posted a double-digit growth in the third-quarter operating profit thanks to a recovery in global demand, the company said Thursday. Operating profit reached 12.35 trillion won (10.9 billion U.S. dollars) in the July-September quarter, up 58.8 percent from a year earlier. It was the highest in two years since the third quarter of 2018. Revenue expanded by 8.0 percent to hit a record high of 66.96 trillion won (59.1 billion U.S. dollars) in the quarter, and net income rose 48.9 percent to 9.36 trillion won (8.3 billion U.S. dollars). The ratio of operating profit to revenue came to 18.44 percent in the cited quarter, the highest in two years. Samsung said in a statement that reopening of key

economies led to a significant increase in consumer demand even as the COVID-19 pandemic has continued around the world. Outlook for the fourth-quarter earnings is blurred by the COVID-19 resurgence in Europe and in the United States. Samsung said it expected profit to decline in the fourth quarter amid weakening memory chip demand from server customers and intensifying competition in mobile phones and consumer electronics. Samsung's semiconductor business posted an operating profit of 5.54 trillion won (4.9 billion U.S. dollars) on revenue of 18.8 trillion won (16.6 billion U.S. dollars) in the third quarter. The profit was up from 5.43 trillion won (4.8 billion U.S. dollars) tallied in the second quarter, and the revenue marked the highest since the third quarter of 2018.

US official focuses on 5G opportunities during Middle East visit WASHINGTON AGENCIES

The US is pressing its case against the Chinese telecoms manufacturer Huawei as part of a diplomatic offensive that has seen a top American official tour 16 nations in the Middle East and Europe. Speaking at a roundtable on Wednesday from Washington, Keith Krach, US undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and environment, said the US is determined to promote 5G security and its Clean Network programme, taking a swipe at Huawei and its Chinese counterpart ZTE. The Clean Network Initiative is "the Trump Administration’s comprehensive approach to safeguarding the nation’s assets including citizens’ privacy and companies’ most sensitive information from aggressive intrusions by malign actors, such as the Chinese Communist Party", according to the US State Department. It was rolled out in August by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. “This programme addresses the long-term threat to data privacy, security and human rights … it is rooted in internationally accepted digital trust standards and built on a coalition of trusted partners and based on rapidly changing technology and economics of global markets,” said Mr Krach, who flew back to Washington after meeting officials in Abu Dhabi. The Clean Network programme fits well with the UAE’s vision of “secure and forward-looking economy”, he said. “It [the programme] is critical for the UAE to drive private sector investment from the US and other nations.” More than 45 countries, 70 telcos and companies such as Fujitsu, Telefonica, Taiwan Mobile, Softbank, VMWare and Reliance Jio have extended their support to the programme, Krach said.

8 inmates killed, 12 injured in Herat prison riot HERAT AGENCIES

At least eight killed and 12 others, including prison guards, wounded during a riot in a facility holding nearly 2,000 prisoners. Rioting at a prison in western Afghanistan has left at least eight inmates dead, provincial officials told foreign media on Thursday. The violence erupted a day ago at the prison during night in the city of Herat, the capital of the western Herat province, according to Mohammad Rafiq Shirzai, a spokesman for the provincial health department. He said 12 others – eight inmates and four prison guards – were wounded in the outbreak at the facility, which holds approximately 2,000 prisoners. It was not immediately known if there are any Taliban fighters at the penitentiary. The rioting erupted after prison guards began clearing some partitions created by the prisoners in the so-called Block 5 of the prison, said Jelani Farhad, a spokesman for the provincial governor. The police tried to collect “unnecessary items in the possession of the prisoners, which the prisoners resisted,” he said. One of the eight fatalities had gunshot wounds, Shirzai said, adding that the incident is under investigation. According to a provincial official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to the media, the prisoners set fire to one prison block. Afghan prisons have occasionally seen rioting, with inmates seeking better conditions in the notoriously overcrowded facilities, many of which are poorly built. The country’s largest prison, Pul-e-Charkhi on Kabul’s outskirts, was built in the 1970s to house 5,000 prisoners, but now holds 10,500.

Friday, 30 October, 2020

SPORTS 11

Very touGh to win MotoGP title, Suzuki another leVel, SayS VinaleS

AGENCIES

AVERICK Vinales makes a gloomy forecast for his 2020 MotoGP title hopes after conceding more ground to Joan Mir and Suzuki at Aragon, where the Factory-spec Yamaha riders were resoundingly beaten by Franco Morbidelli's A-spec bike. When MotoGP champion Marc Marquez's title defence was ruined by a broken arm, the favourites to take over his crown on paper were Andrea Dovizioso and Maverick Vinales. The pair have finished second and third in the standings to Marquez, respectively, for the past two seasons. But as the 2020 series heads for its final decisive tripleheader, both are openly doubting their chances of overhauling Suzuki's Joan Mir. The cause of Dovizioso's woes are more obvious, he and Ducati are still struggling to unlock performance from the revised 2020 rear tyre, leaving him off the podium for the past seven races. Meanwhile, Vinales is battling inconsistency and hasn't managed to finish in the top five for two consecutive races since the Jerez season-openers. By contrast, Mir, although still without a victory, has only been outside the top 4 once in the last eight events. He presently leads the championship by 14 points from Petronas Yamaha's Fabio Quartararo (3 wins) and is 19 ahead of Monster Yamaha's Vinales (1 win).

"The target is to win the title. But with these inconsistent results and this feeling I have on the bike, it’s going to be very tough to win this title," Vinales said after a fourth place, just a fraction from Mir and the podium, in Aragon 1 was followed by a distant seventh in Aragon 2. "We are doing a lot of mistakes, also by the technical point of view. We’ll see. "I cannot say too much. The bike today was not working, I had many issues. For me something I still don’t understand is how I am able to ride that fast in FP4 and then cannot match the lap times in the race – normally I risk more and give my maximum (in the race). "All I can do is stay calm, relaxed and give the best info for Yamaha." But Vinales warned catching Mir is "impossible with the bike we have right now. Suzuki right now are on another level. You can see the results Mir is doing: 2nd, 2nd, 3rd, 2nd. If he doesn’t win it’s because he starts very far away. "Suzuki looks like they are able to turn faster, more corner speed and less metres in the corner. You cannot recover all this just by opening the gas [more]." Vinales had finished 2.8s from Mir's race-winning team-mate Alex Rins at Aragon 1. The victory time then improved by almost six-seconds at Aragon 2, but Vinales was over 4s slower than the weekend before and dropPedrostao +14.3s. Most perplexing, Sunday's winner was Franco Morbidelli, riding the lower A-spec Yamaha, rather than the 2020 Factory-spec package.

And Vinales wasn't the only Factoryspec Yamaha rider to suffer. Morbidelli's team-mate Quartararo finished half-a-second behind Vinales in eighth place, then questioned why the Yamaha doesn't seem to improve as the weekend goes on, a trend exaggerated by back-to-back races. "When our bike works good from the Friday you can win races. But when it doesn’t work you can do nothing to make it work," echoed Vinales. "We are the ones that lose more places during the race. If there is grip on the track the Yamaha is the best bike. When there isn’t, it’s impossible to ride. Today I changed engine brake, traction control, I ride smooth, I ride aggressive… the lap time was the same. "Anyway, I took one point out of Fabio. This was our objective; to be the first '2020' Yamaha. This is what we can do." The exact differences between Morbidelli's machine and the three Factoryspec bikes of Vinales, Quartararo and Valentino Rossi isn't completely clear. What we do know is that Morbidelli's bike is a closer evolution of the 2019 machine (but still upgraded) compared to the direction taken for the 2020 Factory-spec. The most visible difference is the revised air intake and therefore engine on the Factory machines, which are slightly faster on the straight (Morbidelli joined Mir at the bottom of the top speed charts at Aragon). Vinales felt the strengths of the '2019' (Morbidelli) bike are, "basically the DNA

of Yamaha: turning and corner speed. Bike this year's [Factory bike] is a bit more difficult, not only from my side but for the other riders. They are also struggling with this bike. "This [technical direction] was decided in Malaysia, many months ago. It’s the bike we have." He added: "Last year I just struggled because I put too much engine brake on the bike. That was very easy to solve. We destroyed the tyre by braking, but in acceleration the bike was fantastic. "We tried many times [the '19 and '20 Factory-spec bike over the winter] and finally we go with 2020 bike. For sure it’s not the best package we can have. "Still, the championship is alive so we need to stay strong and find something, magically to be fast. That’s it. I don’t want to think too much about last year’s bike. "We’ll see at Valencia. Fresh mind. We’ll try to push. If it’s more of the same it means we have to change something big. If we solve it, it means we have done something wrong on our own. "We have ideas but it will be tough to improve the bike because we didn’t improve nothing from the Malaysia test. If the bike works good, we will be good. If not, we’ll try to survive and get the maximum results." Morbidelli's second victory of the season moved him to fourth in the world championship, 25 points from Mir. The other Factory-spec Yamaha rider, Valentino Rossi, missed both Aragon rounds after a positive Covid test.

Dovizioso in negotiations with Yamaha for test rider role AGENCIES Andrea Dovizioso could return to the Yamaha fold in 2021 as its official MotoGP test rider in place of Jorge Lorenzo, Motorsport.com has learned. Dovizioso rode a Yamaha in 2012 in his sole season with the Tech 3 squad after being ousted from Honda, with the Italian scoring six podiums on the M1 and finishing fourth in the standings. He announced in August he would not be renewing his contract with Ducati beyond this year, bringing an eight-year partnership to an end. Dovizioso was on Aprilia’s radar to join Aleix Espargaro in 2021, though Motorsport.com understands he never considered the Italian marque an option. Recently, Dovizioso confirmed he was speaking with several manufacturers about a test rider role for next year having previously stated a sabbatical is an option if he didn’t find the right deal to continue racing. In recent weeks, Yamaha, Honda and KTM have been in contact with Dovizioso’s manager Simone Battistella regarding a test role. As well as the economic side, it seems Dovizioso’s desire from any deal would be the freedom to race in other disciplines – most notably motocross, having taken part in a round of the Emilia Romagna

championship earlier this year before breaking his collarbone in a crash. According to Battistella, a final decision will be made this week on his future. “What Andrea wants is to be able to enrol in races in other disciplines this year,” Battistella told Motorsport.com. “We will make the final decision this week.” A key element in Dovizioso’s decision will be what manufacturer gives him the best option to return to the Mo-

toGP grid full-time in 2022. Given the uncertainty surrounding Marc Marquez’s injured shoulder, further layoff would make Dovizioso a perfect substitute for Honda should HRC take him on. But HRC isn’t keen on the idea of Dovizioso combining development of the RC213V with the risk of injury from racing motocross. KTM’s work with test rider Dani Pedrosa has yielded two victories this year,

and the Austrian marque’s desire to promote in-house talent makes it unlikely Dovizioso would be guaranteed a 2022 seat. This leaves Yamaha as his best option, given Valentino Rossi’s Petronas SRT deal is at the moment only for one year, while the Japanese marque would greatly benefit from someone with recent race experience to help develop the M1 – not least its engine, which it will be looking to make a significant step forward with for 2022 having regularly been the slowest in the speed traps this year. Lorenzo has only tested the M1 four times this year since February, and only the 2019 bike, while questions have been raised about his level of commitment and his usefulness to the project given he was four seconds off an Aprilia at the recent Algarve test in Portugal. Motorsport.com understands Yamaha is in pole position to secure Dovizioso’s services next year. Under the regulations for non-concession teams, Yamaha could field Dovizioso on the grid on three occasions next season - though this will depend on the easing of current Covid-19 restrictions on wildcards. Recently, Rossi said he’d welcome having the three-time championship runner-up as a test rider should the opportunity arise.

Crutchlow ‘happy with career’ if 2020 is his final MotoGP season AGENCIES Cal Crutchlow says he'll be "happy" with everything he has achieved in his MotoGP career should he not find a ride for the 2021 season after losing his LCR seat. Crutchlow will be moved out of the LCR Honda squad at the end of the current season to make way for Alex Marquez, who is being moved from the factory team having extended his HRC contract for two more years. The Briton's future remains uncertain, but it is understood he has a pre-agreement in place with Aprilia for 2021 - who publicly is still sticking by Andrea Iannone while he awaits to see if his 18 month doping ban will be overturned by mid-November. Crutchlow stepped up to MotoGP from World Superbikes in 2011 with Tech3 Yamaha, before serving a one-year stint with Ducati in 2014 and then moving to LCR, becoming a factorycontracted Honda rider in 2018. In his time in the premier class, Crutchlow has become the most successful British rider since Barry Sheene, winning three races and scoring 16 further podiums. While Crutchlow still has a desire to race in 2021, he'll be satisfied knowing he "left nothing on the table" should he stop racing after this season. "I have to look at the whole situation," Crutchlow said when asked about his future plans. "I think I'm in a good situation, I think I'm in a good situation in my life, I feel I've done everything I can in MotoGP. "I've tried my best every time I got on my bike, and if - if - I stop now I'd be happy with what I've done because I've left nothing on the table, I've given 100%. "Now, I didn't win the world title but I gave absolutely everything. "Of course, I still want to race, I still think I'm competitive, and if there's an option available I will look at that at the time. "But at the moment, there isn't an option available. And then it depends... I don't think there's a shortage of investment in Aprilia, I think they're doing a great job and continue to grow their project. "They have a great leader with Massimo, and I think they have a good rider with Aleix [Espargaro] and I think technically they are doing better year on year. "So, it's absolutely something I would look at." Outgoing Ducati rider Andrea Dovizioso was also linked to the Aprilia seat alongside Espargaro, but the Italian was never interested in the option. Last week Honda and LCR confirmed Crutchlow's current team-mate Takaaki Nakagami will remain with the squad for two more years and will receive factory machinery. Aprilia will field a revised line-up of Espargaro and test rider Lorenzo Savadori for the final three rounds, the latter replacing Bradley Smith, who has been deputising for Iannone since Jerez. The Italian marque is yet to give a reason for the change, but insists Smith remains its test rider.

‘It’s a sensible proposal’ – Wolﬀ backs engine freeze to help Red Bull adopt Honda power unit AGENCIES Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff says he is willing to support a freeze on engine development to allow Red Bull to take over Honda’s power unit when the Japanese manufacturer leaves Formula 1 at the end of 2021. Wolff has prviously ruled out Mercedes providing Red Bull with power units, meaning they and sister team AlphaTauri would either have to persuade Ferrari or Renault to supply them, or adopt Honda’s infrastructure and engine designs for ongoing use – but it has been suggested the only viable way for that to happen is for engine development to be frozen across the board, so Red Bull aren't forced into a hugely expensive development program.

And Wolff says he would be in favour of such a freeze. "Well, I think Formula 1 is in a good state with three engine suppliers… potentially four, and I totally understand where Red Bull are coming from," he said. "They don’t want to go back to customer status, they want to be a works team; and they have the capability of tweaking it and maybe optimising it, and maybe there are a few things in the pipeline from Honda that are giving them confidence that there is more performance in the engine. But I think we should do everything to give Red Bull that opportunity." Red Bull boss Christian Horner previously said he was “open to all possibilities”, including what would be the most expensive route of taking over Honda’s existing engine

CMYK

IP and becoming a full works team in F1. And Wolff said he can see the attraction of that option, given Red Bull's desire to be a leading team competing for wins and championships. “I think that for them, going back to customer status is not something that they are very keen on, and I truly believe that Honda have done a very good job... but equally I understand that they don’t want to go in a spending war with all the other OEMs in developing engines, so it’s a sensible proposal. “I’d like to support [them], I think Red Bull is a tremendously important brand to Formula 1 and we should do everything to keep the two teams [Red Bull and AlphaTauri] in Formula 1 and help them in the option for having, basically, works status,” he concluded. It's perhaps unsurprising for Wolff to be happy with the idea of such a freeze, given the Mercedes power unit is widely understood to be the most powerful in the sport. But it remains to be seen whether Red Bull will pursue the idea further – and whether they will find support from other F1 stakeholders.

Friday, 30 October, 2020

PrAyEr TImINGS

NEWS

ArmEniA usEd clustEr bombs in bArdA AttAck, AllEgEs AzErbAijAn BAKU

AGENCIES

zErbAIjAN has accused Armenia of using cluster munitions in two days of attacks, killing at least 25 people and wounding dozens in barda, eastern Azerbaijan, near Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia has denied carrying out the attacks on Tuesday, when four people were killed, and Wednesday, when 21 died. Wednesday’s strike marked the deadliest reported attack on civilians in a month of fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh. Lala Ismayilova, an English-language teacher in barda, lost her 31year-old brother Fuad Ismayilov, on Wednesday. “My father passed away years ago, and Fuad was the man of our family. After the first shelling, he went out to see what happened. “The second rocket landed when he went outside. He was young. How can I live without my brother?” barda-based activist Ulviyya baba-

soy said decried the targeting of civilians. “I saw dead bodies, injured people, everything was ruined,” she told the media. “After the things I witnessed today, I don’t know how we will continue our normal lives, it is so hard after all of this. l believe that civilians should not be targeted in war. This is crime, terrorism. Stop it, Armenia.” According to a list, victims ranged in age from 30 to 80. barda MP zahid Oruj told the media that Armenia was attempting to “create scenes similar to Syria and Libya, with people’s blood shed in the streets”. “It seems like they (Armenia) are intent on creating a picture of war that shows Azerbaijan suffering, inside Azerbaijan’s borders, rather than in the battlefields. Everyone should be convinced that peace in the region depends on Azerbaijan,” said Oruj. Wednesday’s attack came despite a US-brokered truce agreed at the weekend, the third ceasefire attempt in a row to collapse just minutes after it took effect. Azerbaijani presidential aide Hik-

met Hajiyev said Armenian forces fired cluster Smerch missiles against barda, accusing them of using cluster munitions “to inflict excessive casualties among civilians”. because of their power, more than 100 countries have banned cluster munitions, though Armenia and Azerbaijan have not. Meanwhile, Yerevan also accused Azerbaijani forces of deadly new attacks on civilian areas of NagornoKarabakh. Since the conflict restarted on September 27, each side has claimed the other is targeting civilians, and both regularly deny the claims. ria Novosti news agency reported that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan confirmed the deployment of russian border guards along the Armenian border with Nagorno-Karabakh. “There is nothing special about this,” Pashinyan said. “russian border guards have been on Armenia’s border with Turkey and Iran … Now, due to the latest developments, the russian border guards are also on the southeast-

ern and southwestern border of Armenia.” Armenia’s defence ministry, meanwhile, confirmed that Azerbaijan had seized the strategic town of Gubadli between Nagorno-Karabakh and the Iranian border, an military gain that could make a diplomatic solution more difficult. Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but is populated and controlled by ethnic Armenians. About 30,000 people were killed in a 1991-1994 war in the region. Azerbaijan rejects any solution that would leave Armenians in control of the enclave, which it considers to be illegally occupied. Armenia regards the territory as part of its historic homeland and says the population there needs its protection. The Nagorno-Karabakh’s defence ministry has recorded 1,119 military deaths since fighting erupted on September 27. Azerbaijan has not disclosed its military casualties. russia has estimated as many as 5,000 deaths in total.

FAJR SUNRISE

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At least 25 dead, scores missing after typhoon lashes Vietnam HANOI AGENCIES

Vietnam deployed hundreds of soldiers and heavy machinery on Thursday to search for survivors after landslides triggered by torrential rains from Typhoon Molave, one of the strongest typhoons in the region in decades. The landslides, which hit remote areas in the central province of Quang Nam late on Wednesday, killed 13 with 40 missing as rescue efforts were hampered by bad weather at the tail end of the storm, the government said. State media said 12 fishermen died at sea. “We can forecast the storm path or the amount of rain, but can’t predict when landslides happen,” Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung said in a statement. “The road is covered under deep mud and heavy rains are still lashing the area, but rescue work has to be carried out quickly,” Dung said. State television said the bodies of 12 fishermen were found on Thursday after their boats sank when trying to return to shore two days earlier. Two navy vessels had been mobilised to find them and 14 were still missing.Since early October, Vietnam has been battered by storms, heavy rains and floods which have affected over a million people. The government said Typhoon Molave had left millions of people without electricity and damaged 56,000 houses. It weakened to a tropical depression after making landfall on Wednesday and is expected to reach Laos later on Thursday. Images on social media showed villages overwhelmed by flooding, and roads filled with debris, toppled trees or blocked by landslides.

Next crop of Covid-19 vaccine developers take more traditional route CHICAGO/BERLIN AGENCIES

The handful of drugmakers dominating the global coronavirus vaccine race are pushing the boundaries of vaccine technology. The next crop under development features more conventional, proven designs. The world will need several different vaccines to fight the Covid-19 pandemic, given the sheer size of global need, variations in effects on different populations, and possible limits of effectiveness in the first crop. Many leading candidates now in final-stage testing are based on new, largely unproven technology platforms designed to produce vaccines at speed. They include messenger rNA (mrNA) technology used by Moderna Inc. and Pfizer Inc. with partner bioNTech SE, and inactivated cold virus platforms used by Oxford University/Astrazeneca Plc, johnson & johnson and CanSino biologics, whose vaccine has been approved for military use in China. Merck & Co. in September started testing a Covid-19 vaccine based on a weakened measles virus that delivers genes from the new coronavirus into the body to stimulate an immune response to the coronavirus. Of these, only the technology offered by j&j and CanSino that use cold viruses as vectors to deliver coronavirus genetic material have ever produced a licensed vaccine – for Ebola. The next set of candidates – with late-stage trial results expected in the first half of 2021 – are heavily skewed toward approaches that have produced successful vaccines. Conventional methods include using a

killed or inactivated version of the pathogen that causes a disease to provoke an immune response, such as those used to make flu, polio and rabies vaccines. Also more common are protein-based vaccines that use purified pieces of the virus to spur an immune response. Vaccines against whooping cough, or pertussis, and shingles employ this approach. French drugmaker Sanofi is developing a proteinbased Covid-19 vaccine employing the same approach it uses for its Flublok seasonal flu vaccine. Sanofi expects to start the final phase of testing in early December, with approval targeted in the first half of 2021. While Novavax Inc. has not yet produced a licensed vaccine, it is using similar purified protein technology and expects to start a late-stage US trial involving 30,000 volunteers in late November. “Those are more traditional approaches, so we can feel more comfortable that we have a lot of experience with them,” said Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Offit also sees promise in some of the inactivated virus vaccines being developed by Chinese researchers, including Sinopharm’s China National biotec Group (CNbG), one of the few first-crop developers using a traditional technique. Other second-wave developers are making vaccines based on virus-like particles (VLPs), which mimic the structure of the coronavirus but contain no genetic material from it. VLP vaccines can be produced in a variety of different types of cells, including mammal, bacterial, insect, yeast and plant cells.

up to 23 million people in us could move thanks to remote work, survey finds OAKLAND AGENCIES

America’s biggest cities should brace for a chunk of families moving out because they prefer to work remotely from less crowded and less expensive areas, according to a survey by Upwork released Thursday. The survey showed 14 million to 23 million people plan to pack up, many of them from big U.S. cities. The trend is no surprise since the pandemic made it dangerous to commute on mass transit and work in crowded offices. Still, Upwork chief economist Adam Ozimek said the large number was a surprise. Ozimek commissioned two smaller surveys with new questions to confirm the trend. Some 20,000 people participated and results of the three surveys show 6.9% to 11.5% of households plan a move because of remote work opportunities. That comes on top of families that would be moving regardless of the pandemic-led changes. Of those planning a move, 20.6% are currently in a major city, 41.5% are moving more than four hours away and 13.2% are moving two to four hours away. Upwork helps connect businesses with freelancers around the world. Several tech companies, including Facebook Inc Fb.O, Twitter Inc TWTr.N, Square, Dropbox Inc DbX.Oand Stripe, are giving employees the option to choose permanent remote work with some requiring a pay cut for those leaving the expensive cities.

Exxon to cut 14,000 global jobs as pandemic hurts demand AGENCIES Exxon Mobil Corp said on Thursday it could cut the number of global employees by 15pc and would lay off about 1,900 employees in the United States as the Covid-19 pandemic batters energy demand and prices. Exxon was once the largest US publicly traded company, but has been slashing costs due to a collapse in oil demand and ill-timed bets on new oilfields and expansions. It has promised to shed more than $10 billion this year in project spending and cut operating expenses 15pc. An estimated 14,000 employees globally, or 15pc, could lose jobs, including contractors, spokesman Casey Norton said. The cuts would include everything from layoffs to retirements or performance-based exits. Exxon had about 88,300 workers last year, including 13,300 contractors. “We are not targeting a headcount reduction percentage,” Norton said, adding that the “end result” of its country-by-country reviews “may be close to 15pc of our global workforce.

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