Wednesday, 13 July, 2022 I 13 Zil hajj, 1443 I rs 40.00 I vol XII No 372 I 48 Pages I Islamabad edition
PM Shehbaz likely to announce cut in Petrol PriceS LAHorE
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rIME Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday asked the ministries concerned to move a summary suggesting reduction in petroleum prices after rates reduced in international market. The PM summoned a summary for a reduction in the oil prices while chairing a meeting at the PM Office. The meeting was attended by officials from Oil and Gas regulatory Authority (OGrA) and other ministries and departments. The directives are two days ahead of the fortnightly summary presented to the prime minister on prices of the petroleum products. Global benchmark Brent crude tumbled $7 to below $100 a barrel on Tuesday on a strengthening dollar, demand-sapping Covid-19 curbs in top crude importer China, and rising fears of a global eco-
nomic slowdown, according to a report by reuters. He asked the ministries of finance and petroleum to present a summary to him for approval, adding that the people deserved
relief after passing through difficult times. “The price reduction seen internationally should be transferred to the people with full transparency,” the PM said. He told the meeting that the
government would reduce the oil prices transparently at par with the reduction in the international market, which according to the PM Office statement was a gift to the people on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha. He said the incumbent government would continue to providing relief to the people hit by the inflation caused by the previous government. Meanwhile, Head of Prime Minister’s Strategic reforms Salman Sufi assured the people that the “relief measure will have no impact on IMF programme. “It is strictly due to the petroleum prices reduction in international market. As the prices fall further internationally, prices shall reflect that in Pakistan,” Sufi added. Earlier on June 30, the government had announced a hike of rs14.85 per litre in the price, the fourth hike in the last 35 days, taking the total raised amount since the incumbents government’s takeover to nearly rs100.
PML-N’s competition not with PTI but with ‘incompetence, inflation’: Maryam Nawaz JHANG staff report
PML-N Vice-President Maryam Nawaz told her party’s supporters that the Shehbaz Sharif-led party’s competition was not against their archrival PTI but with “incompetence and inflation”. The PML-N leader is leading a rally in Jhang
today (Tuesday) as a part of her party’s campaign for the by-polls being held for Punjab Assembly seats PP-125 and PP-127. The PML-N leader has so far addressed the rally in Jhang’s Gojra Morr and Chiniot Morr, where she slammed the PTI. In her address at Gojra Morr, Maryam told the people that the PML-N had formed a govern-
ment in the province and now the hard times are over and the good times are on the horizon. “If the people want inflation to decrease then they should vote for PML-N. PML-N’s competition is not with Imran Khan but with inflation and incompetence,” Maryam said while making a case for the people of Jhang to vote for her party in the July 17 by-polls. She asked the people to make a promise to her that they will throw out the people against Punjab’s development. The PML-N leader also assured the people that she will not rest easy till their fortunes are changed. On July 17, the control of the Punjab Assembly will be on the line, as the race for 20 seats in the province heats up. In Pakistan’s most politically important province, the PML-N is hoping to maintain its narrow control over its fortress. While the PTI is aiming to wrest the province away from the ruling party. Both the parties are campaigning hard to win control of Punjab, PML-N’s Maryam Nawaz has been addressing rallies in all the constituencies while the PTI Chairman Imran Khan himself is leading his party’s campaign.
coaS bajwa oversees army’s support in relief activities in karachi rAWALPiNDi staff report
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa reached Karachi directly from KSA. The COAS was flown over the city to oversee impact of urban flooding due to recent heavy spell of rains. COAS was briefed about latest situation of flooding and Army’s complete support rendered to the civil administration in Karachi. COAS appreciated the timely response of formations in aid of civil administration for rescue and relief efforts. He directed Karachi Corps to ensure that all out efforts and every single resource is utilised to bring comfort to the people. Earlier on his arrival, COAS was received by Corps Commander Lieutenant General Muhammad Saeed .
more inside
Punjab by-polls are a fight for “real independence”: Imran Khan STORY ON BACK PAGE in today’s issue
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Pakistan’s next tech ‘unicorn’ Airlift calls it quits as financial realities force closure TAimoor HAssAN That’s all folks. After three years of operating in Pakistan, Airlift Technologies has announced a complete shutdown of its quick commerce operations from tomorrow (July 13). The company announced the decision of the shutdown in a meeting today with employees. Earlier, multiple Airlift employees told Profit that there was ravaging anxiety at the startup because of the reports that Airlift had decided on a complete shutdown and an all-staff meeting has been called tonight for some important announcement. A high-ranking source at Airlift, on the condition of anonymity, told Profit with authority that the startup was wrapping up operations completely and an announcement in this regard will be made soon. “They have decided to give a two-month severance package to employees and shut it down completely,” the source at Airlift said. Image of an Airlift document shared during a meeting with employees on Tuesday, communicating the news of shutdown Launched in 2019, over the course of its brief presence in Pakistan Airlift fought tooth and nail to first make their mass-transit model fail and later jumped onto the quick commerce bandwagon spending tens of millions of dollars along the way. So what happened? Briefly, a lot. A global fund-
ing crunch, rising inflation, soaring petrol prices, all mean that people are now less willing to pay money for luxuries like immediate grocery delivery. On top of that, because of the global economic downturn, companies like Airlift have had to make these services more expensive. For a very long time, startups have been using VC money to subsidise these luxuries, and as investors pull their purse strings tight during the recession there is a bit of a modern meltdown in progress. ArTIcLe coNTINues AfTer ThIs AdverTIseMeNT: Airlift, like other quick commerce companies, had been working on the belief that if they acquired enough customers they would eventually reach scale and become profitable. The problem was that particularly in a country like Pakistan, where cheap house labour and a culture of extracting favours from places like local kiryana stores exists, people were never going to be happy paying for these services. That still, however, does not entirely explain why Airlift might be shutting down completely. Startups are
built on the concept of solving an existing problem. Perhaps Airlift’s biggest blunder was trying to solve a problem that never really existed. Where Is The shuTdoWN TALK coMINg froM? : Airlift employees have been in a veritable state of anxiety for a few weeks now. Over the course of Eid, Airlift’s services were unavailable and warehouses were reportedly being packed up. Already recently stung with 31% of their colleagues having been given the boot, employees began hearing rumours that the startup was making the moves to exit Pakistan entirely. Another employee told Profit that the startup was going for a complete shutdown because of fundraising difficulties that saw investors, without specifying who, backing out from investing from the $20 million round. “The company is wrapping up stock at its warehouses and there is considerable uncertainty around the future of the employees,” said a source at the startup. The source also af-
firmed that no official announcement regarding the closure of the company has yet been made internally, but anticipate clarity in the coming few days. Profit reached out to Airlift CEO Usman Gul and multiple other high-ranking executives for an official response to reports regarding the company shutdown. Not a single response has been received till the filing of this report. On its Twitter handle, Airlift has said that their services were temporarily suspended, without positively denying rumors of a total shutdown. In response to a Twitter post which asserted that Airlift will be shutting down completely, Airlift said that it was currently undergoing restructuring in response to the global downturn. “We are adapting to the changing economic conditions but we are still committed to providing hassle-free services to all our customers. Our services are temporarily unavailable,” Airlift wrote further in response. But multiple high-ranking sources at Airlift have confirmed that the startup is in-fact opting for a complete shutdown because of funding woes that have been compounded in the presence of the downturn in investments. In a recent update, Airlift employees have been called for a session tonight. The material of the discussion in the meeting was not disclosed to us.
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Wednesday, 13 July, 2022 | ISLAMABAD
NEWS
Punjab by-eLeCtIonS: IMran CLaIMS ‘MyStery Man’ IS abettInG Pre-PoLL rIGGInG MULTAN
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AKISTAN Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan said former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supreme leader Nawaz Sharif and members of his family, and former president Asif Ali Zardari ruined the country in their respective years in power.
Addressing a public gathering in Lodhran in connection with the July 17 by-elections, Khan said that during his tenure, investigative agencies had prepared corruption and maladministration cases against the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairperson, his family and Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah but “mysterious powers” intervened to keep them from being punished. “I [my government] did everything [in our authority] to prosecute them, but that
power did not let us [punish the corrupt],” he said, adding he will disclose more details about it at an appropriate time. “Those who wield [real] power […] did not think their [Zardari’s] crime was severe enough [to deserve punishment],” he said. Commenting on the jeer Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal faced at a restaurant in Bhera (LahoreIslamabad motorway) on Friday night, Khan said it was not misbehaviour but an
established fact that the PML-N MP is a thief and a traitor to his people. He declared Iqbal went to the eatery to eat, but received what he rightfully deserved. Khan alleged that with the connivance of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja, Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shahbaz is trying to steal the byelections. A mysterious ‘Mr. X’ is sitting in Lahore and colluding with the Election Commission
Chief Secretary Punjab, IG Punjab review security, traffic arrangements in Murree
Pakistan asks UN to protect developing countries from supply chain shocks NEW YORK APP
Minister for Planning, Development and Special initiatives Ahsan Iqbal on Tuesday called upon the United Nations to champion the issue of Ukraine-Russia war to protect the developing countries including Pakistan, from extreme shocks of supply chains causing delays in achieving the targets of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). “There is a need at UN level to champion this issue that countries like Pakistan and many developing countries are facing extreme economic situation due to the doubling and tripling of the commodity prices in the international markets,” the minister said. He was speaking at the virtual event here titled “Mobilizing the private sector for the Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs) and the Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs)”. The event was organised by UN Global Compact (UNGC). The minister said the countries like Pakistan were now under heavy pressure of these increased commodity prices which also resulted in creating financial burden on private sector. He said the government was finding it difficult to provide extra resources for the programmes that they were doing for SDGs with the private sector. Iqbal stressed the need for some kind of relief for such developing countries to enable the private sector in contributing towards SDGs. He said immediately after launch of SDGs in 2015, Pakistan Parliament adopted the international SDGs as its National development goals. “We tried to give ownership to this
Sharif ‘thwarted Imran’s conspiracy’ to make Pakistan next Sri Lanka: minister ISLAMABAD StAff rePort
Minister for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb Monday criticised Imran Khan for what she claimed were the poor economic indicators and said his successor, Shehbaz Sharif, “thwarted former prime minister’s conspiracy to turn Pakistan into Sri Lanka”. Reacting to Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman’s speech in Lodhran late Monday, Aurangzeb said: “Keep lying Imran sahib, while Shehbaz Sharif, his brother (Nawaz Sharif), and his (ruling) allies in the government will continue to strive for economic selfsufficiency and national development and resolve the problems of people.” The minister also lambasted Khan for striking a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on “tough conditions”, adding that “Khan should be ashamed of himself for the agreement he signed with the IMF.” “Shame on you, Imran Khan […] it was you who had said I’d rather end my life than knock on IMF’s door,” she added. Aurangzeb further declared Khan had used his time in office for corruption, adding if he had not done so, the economy of the country would have been in a much better condition today. The information minister went on to say that Khan had “turned down Sharif’s offer for a so-called charter of the economy as he did not care about Pakitan’s progress”.
Pakistan, China maritime drill to conduct live-fire exercise SHANGHAI Monitoring rePort
Navies of Pakistan and China commenced a live-fire drill Tuesday as part of a four-day joint maritime exercise codenamed Sea Guardians-2. Fleets participating in the drill set off from a military port in Shanghai for the scheduled sea area. The joint exercise aims to enhance defense cooperation, exchange expertise and experience, deepen the traditional friendship between the two countries and militaries, and promote the development of the China-Pakistan allweather strategic cooperative partnership. Professional and technical exchanges, tug-of-war, and basketball matches took place on Monday.
agenda from the very beginning. This is not a global agenda this is our own national agenda,” he added. He said Pakistan was among the top 10 vulnerable countries as far as climate change was concerned and to cope with this issue, the government was very actively working.. “We have also partnered with the private sector to create more jobs in the business because we are very young country and around two third of the population is very young.” The minister informed that the government is also trying to work very closely with private sector to provide maximum jobs to the youth. “We offer internship programmes to the young graduates and under graduates so that their employability becomes easier and they get more jobs,” he added. The minister added that the
NEWS DESK
government had also started major advocacy programme with the private sector particular to sensitize small and medium size business towards the benefits of adopting SDGs practices. That will give us much broader penetration in the private sector because we found that big businesses were sensitive, they had greater awareness, and they were partnering with us but amongst small and medium enterprise there was knowledge gap. “So through our own advocacy we are trying to bridge the gap and get them on board.” He said during last three years, the country like Pakistan suffered greatly from COVID-19 which impacted the entire sectors of businesses. And now in the post COVID period , we are badly hit by the supply chain shocks and this situation also triggered due to the Ukraine war.
Sharif, Erdogan exchange Eid greetings ISLAMABAD/ANKARA Monitoring rePort
The prime minister and Turkish president exchanged greetings for the Muslim holiday of Eid ul-Adha on Saturday. In a phone call, Shehbaz Sharif and Recep Tayyip Erdogan also discussed bilateral and regional issues, the former’s office said in a statement. Erdogan offered prayers for the victims of the devastating floods in Balochistan, while Sharif expressed Pakistan’s firm resolve to further enhance its bilateral cooperation with Turkiye, recalling his recent visit to Ankara, the statement noted. “The Prime Minister conveyed
that he was looking forward to welcoming President Erdogan for the 7th Session of the High-Level
of Pakistan (ECP), he alleged. “Mr. X is fully aware we are competing with people who are using black money [to win elections].” Towards the start of the speech, Khan rued the situation in Karachi, where at least five people have been killed due to relentless rainfall that has submerged several areas of the city and left many without power. He accused the Sindh government of being unprepared to deal with the monsoon rains, unlike the former government of PTI in Punjab under Usman Buzdar. Khan said the Buzdar administration had installed underground water tanks to store rainwater and prevent it from causing urban flash floods. He said the same could not be done in Sindh due to “corrupt” elements such as Zardari being in charge. “Sindh can’t progress until he (Zardari) is there,” he claimed.
Strategic Cooperation Council (HLSCC) in Pakistan in September 2022,” it added.
Chief Secretary Punjab Kamran Ali Afzal and Inspector General of Punjab Police Rao Sardar Ali Khan on Tuesday visited Murree on the third day of Eid-ul-Azha to review security and traffic arrangements. According to the Rawalpindi Police spokesman, during the visit Police and administration chief’s reviewed arrangements made for tourists during the Eid holidays in Murree. Chief Secretary Punjab Kamran Ali Afzal said all resources should be utilized for the convenience of tourists. Keeping in view the meteorological department’s weather advisory, the police and administration were fully prepared to deal with any situation, he added. IG Punjab Rao Sardar Ali Khan pointed out that the convenience and guidance of tourists should also be taken into consideration by the police and administrations teams along with maintaining law and order in the area. He commended the traffic wardens and tourism police personnel on duty in Murree. On the occasion, Commissioner Rawalpindi Noorul Amin Mengal said the best arrangements have been made for the tourists visiting Murree. The Commissioner said that the best strategy was adopted in collaboration with local traders against overcharging, cheating mafia and wrong parked vehicles. Noorul Amin Mengal said that a special shuttle service has been launched for the convenience of tourists and tourism desks have also been set up for their guidance. He said that more buses were added to the shuttle service as the number of tourists has multiplied. Regional Police Officer Rawalpindi Imran Ahmar said Murree Tourism Police was enthusiastically assisting and guiding tourists. However, there were about 6,000 vehicles in Murree at present, and entry of vehicles out of capacity would be prohibited. Additional police and wardens have been deployed in Murree, ensuring smooth flow of traffic, he added. Chief Secretary and IG Punjab along with Commissioner Rawalpindi and RPO Rawalpindi inspected the Tourism help desk at Lower Topa. The Chief Secretary Punjab expressed satisfaction over the facilities provided in the bus and shuttle service launched for Murree. The Chief Secretary and IG Punjab also visited Shuttle Service Lower Topa, Ghika Gali and Mall Road GPO Chowk.
Karachi flooded in latest bout of torrential rain KARACHI reuterS
Torrential rains caused widespread flooding and damage in the country’s financial capital Karachi on Monday, the second day of Eid ul-Adha, even inundating the business district, officials and residents said. Most underpasses were flooded and there was nowhere to pump the flood waters out to, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah told reporters. He said an unprecedented 126 millimetre rain had fallen in three hours. At least six deaths had been confirmed in the latest spell of Monsoon rains, adding to the 29 reported since they began last month. According to the police, five men were killed by electrocution in various areas while one died due to a wall collapse. Further investigation was underway, the police said. The streets of posh neighbourhoods such as the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) and Clifton were flooded, with water gushing into houses. The situation was particularly dire in the middle- and lower-middle-class areas where entire neighbourhoods remained submerged on Monday. Commuters
were left stranded in places or attempting to wade through knee-deep water on foot or on bicycles. Some residents arranged for boats to move them to safer places. “At the moment, the situation is like this that we need to travel by boat rather than in vehicles as the roads are flooded,” said one resident, Abdul Raheem. Other Karachi residents said they were forced to abandon their cars on submerged roads and walk through waist-high water. Authorities summoned paramilitary troops and the Navy to help with efforts to drain the waters from flooded streets and evacuate people. KARACHI: Commuters struggle to move forward in a flooded street after heavy monsoon rains in Karachi. — Sabir Mazhar/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images RESCUE SERVICES: Karachi’s main streets, which house financial institutions and bank headquarters including the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), were also flooded and rescue services were using boats to reach stranded people. Chief Minister Shah directed all relevant departments to expedite work to address the rain emergency. After a visit to several water-logged areas along with Karachi Administrator Barrister Murtaza
Wahab and other officials, he issued instructions to immediately drain the road leading to Jinnah Hospital from Taj Mahal Hotel so vehicles shouldn’t face problems reaching the hospital. He also issued orders to deploy suction pumps across the city to speed up the drainage of water. He also called a meeting at the Chief Minister’s House to discuss the situation. The Pakistan Navy was also taking part in the relief and rescue operations, it said in a statement. “Deeply saddened by the tragic losses due to torrential rains in Karachi,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Twitter. He offered every possible support for the Karachi administration. The highway linking Quetta city to Karachi was also closed for traffic as sections of it were swept away by flash floods. Poorly built homes — particularly in rural areas — are prone to collapse in floods, which also destroy huge tracts of prime farmland. The worst floods of recent times were in 2010 — covering almost a fifth of the country’s landmass — killing nearly 2,000 people and displacing 20 million. ‘FLOODED’ BALOCHISTAN: In Balochistan, about a dozen villages in
the Lasbela district were submerged as the Winder River overflowed and water flooded into houses. The Navy and local officials had rescued about 500 people and local administration from the affected villages so far, government official Farhan Suleman Ranjho told Reuters. The rains are said to be almost twice as heavy as the average downpour at this time of the year. They started in mid-June, initially causing havoc in Balochistan, where 65 people have died so far. Authorities are delivering tents, food and other essential items to hundreds of rain-affected people in Sindh and Balochistan. The metrological office has forecast more rains in the coming days. 150 DEAD: Monsoon rains over the past month have killed at least 150 people as downpours continue to lash the country, triggering flash floods in some parts of the country. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said 91 women and children are among the dead so far. The monsoon rains also damaged homes, roads, five bridges and power stations across the country. At least 163 people were also injured in rain-related incidents since June 14, it said in a statement.
Wednesday, 13 July, 2022 | ISLAMABAD
NEWS
MQM-P’S WaSIM akHtar aSkS ZardarI, bILaWaL to Look at ‘InCoMPetenCe’ oF SIndH Govt
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QM-P leader and former Karachi mayor Wasim Akhtar while lashing out at the Sindh government asked PPP leaders Asif Ali Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to look at the “incompetence” of their team as Karachi has been “ruined”. Addressing a press conference in Karachi, Akhtar said that what happened to Karachi after the recent downpour was not hidden from anyone. “Despite having all the resources why did the Sindh government not plan? Where are you people? Why were arrangements not made? Where is the provincial disaster management authority?” asked the MQM-P leader. The former city’s mayor said that all the underpasses of the city were closed for traffic as they were inundated with rainwater.
Post-Hajj flight operation set to commence from Friday NEWS DESK The post-Hajj flight operation was set to commence from Friday as the first Airblue flight, PA 741, carrying over 201 Hujjaj would land at Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport early (Friday) morning. Similarly, the second Airblue flight PA 871 carrying over 200 Hujjaj would reach Multan at 22:50 same night, spokesman Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Umer Butt told APP. Likewise, the flight operation from Madina would start on July 18. The nearly one month long post Hajj flight operation to bring nearly 82,000 Pakistani Hujjaj from Saudi Arabia would continue without any break till August 13. The returning pilgrims would be welcomed by the officials of Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony, Civil Aviation and concerned Airlines. Five litre each Aab-e-Zam Zam would be provided to pilgrims at their arrival to the airport. Pakistan has been allotted a quota of 81,132 pilgrims for this year’s Hajj, with 32,000 people using a government scheme and 48,000 traveling through private operators.
ten billion afforestation project achieves over 1.9 bln plantation target NEWS DESK The flagship project of the Ministry of Climate Change of Ten Billion Tree Tsunami Plantation project (TBTTP) has achieved the plantation target of sowing and regrowing over 1.9 billion plants in 2022. The TBTTP project was initiated in 2018 with the vision to implement the largest ever plantation target in the country to restore its depleting forests, revive green cover, improve natural resources, an official told APP while sharing project updates. He said overall 1935.049 million (1.935 billion) plants have been planted so far across the country with the equal contribution of the federal and provincial governments. The plantation in Gilgit Baltistan (GB) and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) was fully funded by the federal government, he added. The plantation progress across the provinces showed maximum promising outcomes in Sindh that topped the plantation progress with 755.370 million followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 692.170 million, AJK 222.564 million, Punjab 188.917 million, GB 54.092 million whereas the least was plantation was carried out in Balochistan province that could only manage to plant 54.092 million trees across the province, he said. The official mentioned that the project was only federal government initiative that had seven PC-Is and consensus of all the provinces whereas the project was welcomed and supported wholeheartedly by all the federating units. The project would help cut the green house gas emissions (GHGs) through carbon absorption made by trees and would also be helpful in reducing impacts of rising global warming, he added. To a question, he said the plantation initiative was an amalgam of plantation and naturally assisted regeneration that would help enhance tree number through two-pronged strategy. The assisted regeneration concept has been very successful in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province where the degraded forest areas owned by the forest department communities were demarcated and barricaded to avoid grazing, tree cutting and intrusion of any kind that helped new seedlings to grow in abundance, hence giving a whooping increase in tree cover with less capital consumption, he informed.
“The people of the city are asking where the tax goes? Tax collected from Karachi should be spent here,” said the former Karachi mayor. He claimed that the people employed at the departments meant for dealing with the situation were gone for Eid Holidays to interior Sindh. “Asif Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto should see their team’s incompetence. You have not devolved the powers that’s why you have failed. Look at Larkana and Nau Dero’s situation,” said Akhtar. He also asked the Sindh government why did they not clean the nullah’s a month before the rains had hit the city, adding that the city has been “ruined”. “Every year the situation is the same but this year there was destruction. Everyone saw what happened, the city already had no infrastructure in place and what was remaining has been damaged [now as well],” said the former Karachi mayor. Akhtar’s presser came after intermittent heavy
rains in different parts of Karachi since Monday evening have inundated many areas of the city, bringing life to a complete halt. To top it all off, the electricity supply in most areas of the city has been suspended for several hours, making it difficult for people to carry on their day-to-day activities. According to sources, rainwater accumulated on the main roads and streets of the Defense Housing Authority (DHA), Clifton, Malir, Airport Road, I.I Chundrigar Road, Saddar, Old City Area, Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Federal B Area, North Nazimabad, Korangi, and PECHS. In addition to residential areas, several main roads of the city, including the NIPA Chowrangi Flyover, Qayyummabad Chowrangi, Arts Council Chowrangi, Supreme Court Registry, Zainab Market, Bolton Market, and MA Jinnah Road have been flooded with rain and sewerage water, affecting the flow of traffic.
Pakistan records highest Covid-19 positivity ratio of 5.46 percent in a day ISLAMABAD StAff rePort
Pakistan has recorded the highest COVID-19 positivity ratio of 5.46% during a single day after a gap of five months, the National Institute of Health (NIH) data showed Tuesday morning. The last time the country recorded such a high positivity ratio — 5.55% — was on February 17. The number of deaths stood at 40 at the time. According to the NIH data, during the last 24 hours,
4,674 diagnostic tests were conducted across the country out of which 255 came back positive. The condition of 141 COVID-19 patients, according to the NIH, is critical and they are being treated in intensive care units (ICU) at different medical facilities. Per the NIH data, only one COVID-related death was reported in the country during the last 24 hours, taking the death toll to 30,424. Experts blame two sub-variants of the Omicron variant, namely BA.4 and BA.5, for the rise in COVID-19 cases in Pakistan, saying that they have escape mutations that are giving them an edge.
Monsoon rains help turn Capital’s air quality moderate NEWS DESK The air quality of the federal capital after rain turned moderate as recent spell of monsoon rainfalls lashed out various parts of the country that have helped plummet scorching heat in the metropolis and subsided the pollution. The air quality of the federal capital on Sunday was reported healthy as suspended particles were recorded below permissible limits in the atmosphere along with the pollutants’ ratio due to consistent rainy weather and reduced vehicular traffic on roads. The air quality data has been collected by Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) that
monitors air pollutants ratio for 24 hours based on three intervals of eight hours data collection from different locations. The Pak-EPA data revealed that the air quality throughout the three intervals of data monitoring remained high as the pollutants were below the permissible limits of national environmental quality standards (NEQS). The hazardous air pollutant particulate matter of 2.5 microns (PM2.5), which was a lethal atmospheric contaminant, remained 22 micro grammes per cubic meter on average which is higher than the NEQS of 35 mic-programmes per cubic meter and denotes the air quality unhealthy.
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Monitoring the flood situation in Lasbela, says CM QUETTA APP
Chief Minister Balochistan Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo said that he was in contact with the administration and PDMA to get updates on the situation arose after the monsoon rains in Lasbela. “We are aware of the difficulties faced by the people and the problems of the victims families will be addressed,” This was stated by the Chief Minister Balochistan in a telephonic conversation with the leader of Balochistan Awami Party Lasbela Muhammad Hassan Jamoat. CM was apprised of the need to intensify relief operations in other areas following the flood situation caused by torrential rains. The Chief Minister was informed that Balochistan Awami Party workers and volunteers of the district administration are participating in the relief activities. The Chief Minister assured the provision of relief goods for the rehabilitation and relief of the people and said that in the light of the orders of the government of Balochistan, the survey teams of Lasbela administration are conducting surveys of the affected areas. Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo expressed deep sorrow over the loss of human lives during the flash flood and assured that government will take every possible steps to mitigate the losses caused by the calamity.
World population to hit 8 bn this year, Pakistan major contributor: un NEW YORK AfP
The world’s population is expected to reach eight billion on November 15, the UN forecast Monday in a report that said India will surpass China as the most populous country on earth in 2023. That overall population milestone “is a reminder of our shared responsibility to care for our planet and a moment to reflect on where we still fall short of our commitments to one another,” Secretary General Antonio Guterres said, without citing specifics. “This is an occasion to celebrate our diversity, recognise our common humanity, and marvel at advancements in health that have extended lifespans and dramatically reduced maternal and child mortality rates,” he added. The forecast by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs said the world’s population is growing at its slowest pace since 1950. It should hit 8.5 billion in 2030 and 9.7 billion in 2050, peaking at around 10.4 billion people in the 2080s before steadying at that level until 2100. While a net drop in birth rates is observed in several developing countries, more than half of the rise forecast in the world’s population in the coming decades will be concentrated in eight countries, the report said.
Wednesday, 13 July, 2022 | ISLAMABAD
04 NEWS
BBQ Parties, swings in ParKs, Peshawar zoo douBle joys of PeoPle during eid-ul-azha
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OLLOWING the past traditions, the people of Khyber Pakthunkhwa enjoyed BBQ and other meat dishes besides free swings by children on the third day of Eid-ul-Azha celebrations. On the third day of Eidul Azha, the people visited houses of their relatives and friends for exchange of Eid greetings, sweets and meat gifts. The citizens of Peshawar, Nowshera and Charsadda alongwith families also visited parks and Peshawar zoo that added colour to Eidul Fitr celebrations. The children also impressed by wildlife animals mostly from Asian
tigers, lions, bears falcons and snakes during their visit to Peshawar zoo and enjoyed free swings also in the facility. As per traditions, the people of Peshawar passed the first Eid day at home and spent the second and third day by visiting houses of their loved ones, relatives and friends for exchange of Eid greetings and sweets besides distributed Eidi and meat gifts among children. “I came to Wapda Town to hand over sacrificial animals meat to my sister in line of islamic rituals,” Sajid Ali, a resident of village Dheri Ishaq Nowshera said. “I visited the home of grandfather on third day of Eidul Azha and exchanged Eid greetings with him
37.564mn saplings to be planted during monsoon in KP
viz a viz his family members. Such joyful event, which comes after a long time, are creating spirit of love, warmth, sacrifice and brotherhood in the society,’ Omar Khan, ‘28′ a resident of Pabbi told APP. The exchange of Eid greetings and distribution of Eidi meat among students bring people and relatives more closer besides doubled their joys. “I distributed 15 Kgs meat among my relatives and poor people and has utilized half amount of Edi by visiting parks and Peshawar zoo for recreational activities and donated the remaining amount among orphans children to include them in Eid-ul-Azha celebrations,’” said Omar Khan. “Helping needy and poor people
double our Eid joys,’ he said. “I met with all my friends, cousins and relatives during last two days of Eid and today I came to Peshawar alongwith brother to visit parks and recreational spots for entertainment,” Azhar Khan, a resident of Nowshera at historic Shahi Bagh Peshawar while enjoying free swing said. He said Eidi received from relatives and loved ones has greatly helped him pay ticket charges of free swings, foods and transport. Like Omar and Azhar Khan, thousands of people of Peshawar, Nowshera and Charsadda districts were thronged to parks, picnic and recreational points besides Peshawar Zoo to celebrate the last day of Eidul-Azha with great enthusiasm.
Parks and recreational spots in Peshawar, Kohat, Charssada and Nowshera were flooded with tourists due to effective security measures made by the government. Great hustle and bustle was seen at Chacha Younis Park, Shahi Bagh and zoo in Peshawar, Tanda dam in Kohat, Kund Park in Nowshera and Sardaryab picnic point in Charsadda where people mostly children and youth enjoyed free swings, food parties and wildlife animals. Sardaryab picnic point on Peshawar-Charsadda Road and Kund Park in Nowshera was jam-packed with visitors on Wednesday while spicy items including meat, rice and Bar B Que parties were enjoyed by them on the banks of Shah Alam,
Khayali and Indus rivers amid funfair. The riverside views, colourful boats and fried fish attracted visitors at Sirdaryab in Charadda district in abundance. Local musicians and singers enthralled visitors in Sardaryab and presented local Pashto songs especially during evenings and received warm applause from tourists. The brightly painted boats on river bank that offer trips to tourists for Rs 150-200, also attracted tourists in large number at Sardaryab. Great rush of tourists were seen especially children tried to get place in the boats before enjoying entrance in the rivers.
CM Sindh directs Local govt dept to restore Korangi causeway, drain out water from streets
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A monsoon tree planting campaign was being launched by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Forest, Environment and Wildlife Department under which 37.564 million saplings would be planted. Under the 10 Billion Tree Tsunami Project Monsoon Tree Planting Campaign, 37.564 million saplings will be planted across the province for which all arrangements have been completed. According to Forest Department spokesman, 113.946 million plants raised in different nurseries out of which 37.564 are fit for plantation. During monsoon plantings campaign, 116 different types of species have been selected and will be planted according to the geography, climate and soil conditions of the province. KP Forest Department currently has more than 113.9 million plants in public and private nurseries. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Forest formation is divided into three major circles. As many as 19.6 million saplings will be planted in Central South Region which includes newly merged tribal districts including Southern districts, while in Northern Forest Region 2 Abbottabad which includes districts of Hazara Division, 8.927 million saplings will be planted. Similarly, In Malakand Forest Region 3 Swat, which includes all the districts of Malakand Division, has a program of planting more than 9 million saplings under the monsoon planting campaign. The Forest Department has arranged monsoon planting campaign to be implemented through six major editorial groups i.e, Departmental Plantation, Mass Plantation/ Urban and Peri-Urban Plantation, Farm Forestry, Village level Development Committees Plantation, Defense Forces plantation and Educational Institutions. Under Departmental Plantation, a total of 20.686 million saplings will be planted under various government agencies, including 13.104 million saplings in Region One, 4.143 million saplings in Region 2 and more than 3.439 million saplings in Region 3. As many as 0.895 million saplings will be planted in urban and non-urban areas across the province, while 8.946 million saplings will be planted across the province under the Farm Forestry Program. Similarly, more than 2.210 million saplings will be planted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under Village level Development Organizations. Similarly, a tree planting campaign program has also been designed under the Defense Forces and 3.879 million saplings will be planted across the province through forces.
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah directed local government department to install small pumps to drain out rainwater from the streets and simultaneously start patch work of the damaged roads and restore Korangi Causeway. He said this while presiding over a meeting on rain emergency and repair of damaged infrastructure on Tuesday. The meeting that held here at CM House was attended by provincial minis-
ters, Sharjeel Memon, Nasir Shah, Zia Abbas shah, Chief Secretary Sohail Rajput, Commissioner Karachi Iqbal Memon, Additional IG Karachi Javed Odho, Secretary Local Govt Najam Shah, Secretary Rehabilitation Asif Memon and other concerned officers. The Chief Secretary told the chief minister that he had visited various localities of the city and found water had been drained out, but still some portions of Tower, Memon Masjid, KMC building, Kharadar, Wazir Mansion and their con-
necting streets were submerged. The chief minister was told that the underpasses of district South and East have been cleared of rainwater and they would be opened for traffic by the evening. The chief minister directed the Local Government to get small pumps installed at the streets where rainwater was still accumulated and clear them. “A forecast for another spell of heavy rain has been issued, therefore we have not to restore all the roads and streets but have to get
China’s earthquake relief assistance to Afghanistan showcases international humanitarian spirit By Zhu yongBiao On June 22, a 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck Khost and Paktika of Afghanistan, causing severe casualties. After learning about the earthquake, the Chinese government immediately expressed sympathy to the Afghan people and decided to provide RMB 50 million as emergency humanitarian aid to Afghanistan. The Chinese government also expressed that it would closely coordinate with the Afghan interim government to ensure the relief supplies would arrive at the disaster-affected people as soon as possible and assist the Afghan people to tide over the difficulties. China is also ready to work with Afghanistan in consolidating disaster prevention and mitigation, especially in monitoring and forecasting disasters. On June 27, the first batch of China’s relief supplies arrived in Afghanistan and were distributed quickly to those in need. A sum of RMB 50 million is not a small amount for China. The Chinese
people, however, lodged no complaint but unanimously expressed their great support. Meanwhile, the Chinese people, the local government, the Red Cross Society of China, and China’s enterprises, institutes, individuals, and others took action to offer what they came up with to assist Afghanistan. Up to now, various civilian donation events for Afghanistan are still being carried out. In fact, for a long time, especially after the tremendous change in Afghanistan last year, the Chinese government and people have not stopped their humanitarian aid to the Afghan people, even showing a greater momentum. Since the earthquake, China has given the greatest and most substantial aid among all countries. China is also the fastest in implementing aid. The supplies, which are of great quality, pertinency, and practicality, have been unanimously praised by the Afghan interim government and people. It can be said that China’s fast and efficient aid to Afghanistan has once again given a vivid example of China’s long-term and
constructive support to the Afghan people. In recent years, China has seen a continuous improvement in the level of international aid and constantly implemented its value of a community with a shared future for humanity with its practical actions. In foreign aid, China has adhered to internationalism and the humanitarian spirit and contributed with its utmost efforts to offer the greatest timely assistance to foreign countries and their people when they are exposed to the threats of natural disasters, major infectious diseases, and others. This large-scale assistance to the Afghanistan earthquake disaster has once again highlighted China’s humanitarianism and worldwide affection. The international humanitarian spirit embodied in the concept of a community with a shared future for humanity exudes an attentiongrabbing light. The humanitarian spirit should be essentially people-oriented, valuing not only the safety of a nation’s people but also that of people in other countries as fellow human beings. There is a Chinese saying
ready for the upcoming spell,” he said. Shah said that the Korangi Causeway has been damaged, therefore an alternate route to Korangi from the industrial area was under pressure. He directed Minister Local Government Nasir Shah and Minister Transport Sharjeel Memon to personally visit the causeway and hire a contractor on emergency basis and start work from tomorrow. Meanwhile, the CM directed Additional IG Karachi Javed Odho to ensure traffic management.
that one should care for aged people as one would one’s own aged parents and for young people as one would one’s own young children. China will never stand by with folded hands when a friend’s in trouble and never offer aid under the precondition of its self-interest. This reflects China’s righteousness and the Chinese people’s long-held principle. This is highly consistent with the Afghan people in following the traditional idea of establishing Hujra (Afghan’s cultural guest room) to entertain familiar or unfamiliar passing guests. It is similar to the hospitality of the Afghan people. The Chinese government and people have held that when a large number of Afghan people are facing issues of survival and the right to life, the most significant and urgent task is to save lives. It should neither deliberately tie humanitarian aid to politics nor politicize the issues of humanitarian aid, human rights, and the right to development under the banner of politics, much less biasedly using them as weapons to torment those Afghans in suffering. The author is a professor, executive director of Research Center for the Belt and Road of Lanzhou University, director of center for Afghanistan Studies of Lanzhou University.
Three Ahmadi men arrested on Eid animal slaughter charge LahoRe Staff RepoRt
Police in Faisalabad arrested three men belonging to the Ahmadiya faith on Sunday, the first day of Eid ul-Adha, for “hurting Muslim sentiments” by sacrificial offering of animals on the religious festival. The men were arrested right after a first information report (FIR) was filed against five people, Saleem ud-Din, a spokesperson for Jamaat-i-Ahmadiyya Pakistan, told the press. The FIR, registered at Thikriwala police station, said that complainants were present in a mosque after Eid ul-Adha prayers when they came to know through verified sources that residents of the Ahmadi community were sacrificing animals inside their homes. “The complainants then reached the area and climbed the
roofs of nearby houses, to find that the members of the Ahmadiyya community were sacrificing a goat at one place while the other members were cutting the meat of another animal at a different place,” the report said. “The Islamic sentiments of the complainants and other Muslims were hurt by this and [the complainants] recorded a video which can be presented as evidence,” it added. “By performing a ritual in line with Islamic beliefs and presenting themselves as Muslims despite being Ahmadis, they have committed a cognisable offence, according to Muslim ummah’s belief, and this has grievously hurt Muslim sentiments,” the complainants stated in the report. Saleem ud-Din said the slaughter was being performed within the confines of a house and not in a
public place. “The community is being persecuted,” he said. Pakistan’s five million Ahmadis claim that the faith’s founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, was a messiah. Laws, passed since the 1970s,
ban Ahmadis from describing themselves as Muslims or carrying out core Islamic practices such as performing the call to prayer or building minarets on their places of worship, which they are banned from calling mosques.
Wednesday, 13 July, 2022 | ISLAMABAD
NEWS
Pakistan backs UNGA call for connectivity boost for economic growth united nationS Staff RepoRt
The UN General Assembly on Monday adopted, by consensus, a resolution — sponsored by the five central Asian states and supported by Pakistan — that called for strengthening connectivity between central and south Asia to ensure economic growth in the region. “Regional connectivity — in the road, rail, energy, trade, ports and shipping [sectors] — is a vital accelerator for faster economic production, growth and prosperity,” Munir Akram, Pakistan’s ambassador to UN, told the 193-member body. The resolution was proposed by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. It seeks to improve the capacities of the stakeholders in the countries of central and south Asia, especially in the landlocked and least developed countries to strengthen their links with the sub-regional and regional transport and trade networks. “Regional connectivity and cooperation can also contribute to building and sustaining peace, stability and security,” the envoy said. For the landlocked central Asian states, Pakistan can serve as a gateway not only to South Asia but to global markets, Ambassador Akram said, while underlining the deepening relationship between them. In this regard, he said Pakistan and central Asian states have concluded several multilateral and bilateral trade agreements, including the Quadrilateral Traffic in Transit Agreement (QTTA). At the same time, Ambassador Akram said the greatest challenge to connectivity is the tensions between Pakistan and India over the dispute on the Kashmir region. “This festering dispute must be resolved in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions and the wishes of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.”
05
SiNo techS exPected to rAiSe PAkiStAN tomAto ProdUctioN
d
newS deSk
R Syed Ahmad, Principal Scientist of Vegetable Research Institute, Faisalabad in an exclusive interview with China Economic Net noted, however, in recent years, the price of tomatoes in Pakistan has fluctuated very frequently, which is beyond our control. If the price fluctuates too much, the low price will cause farmers to suffer great losses, which greatly affects their enthusiasm, and in turn leads to a subsequent drop in production. Generally speaking, in Punjab, the largest tomato-producing region, April to May marks the start of the tomato high season. But this year, I am not sure about that. Dr Nadar K, Senior Scientific Officer at the National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC), indicated that in Pakistan, tomatoes have a total annual production of around 529,600 tonnes and an average yield of 9.2 tonnes per hectare. The downward trend in the prices of tomatoes, which are an indispensable part of most of dishes in the country, has been seen in Sindh province since early January. Muzzammil Aslam, former Spokesperson to Finance Minister, also
noted on January that the price of tomato has fallen to Rs35 at retail in Karachi, the biggest consumer center of the country. So, what caused it? Reasons for the inequalities are complex. Although it is the farmers decision on what and how much to plant, but at the government decision-making level, we lack an institution, or a system, to provide farmers with policy guidance on a macro level, so as to avoid blindly planting or abandoning a certain crop, which lead to yield fluctuation, Dr Ahmad emphasized. If farmers donate get good returns after a year of hard work, they would be disappointed and cut back on planting, and Pakistan has to import a lot of tomatoes, which are a must in most of the country’s daily dishes. In addition, the lack of advanced agricultural technology is also a key factor affecting the tomato production in Pakistan. Growing tomatoes on ordinary land is affordable for most farmers. But if you use hydroponics or soilless cultivation, it will add a lot of cost, Dr Ahmad told CEN. If a reasonably priced hydroponics or soilless culture technology can be introduced into Pakistan to guarantee the input-output ratio of farmers, he believes that this will be an excellent cooperation opportunity. At present, there are 13 varieties of tomatoes planted in our industrial park,
of which TOMIMARU and DRC564 have the highest yields, with the yield per square meter reaching 40 kg and 60 kg respectively. In addition, they have beautiful fruit shape, long storage life, and strong resistance to diseases and insect pests, Zhang Lin, the head of Shaanxi Yangling Aoda Modern Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd., mentioned while interviewing CEN, in order to promote the development of the park to a higher level, we will actively consider launching international cooperation plans such as talent export, technical cooperation and exchanges with other countries especially countries along the Belt and Road. According to Zhang, Pakistan is facing problems such as lagging agricultural modernization, low level of mechanization, and confusing use of fertilizers and pesticides, all of which China has also encountered before. Promotion of soilless cultivation, improvement of shed facilities, selection of excellent varieties and strengthening of water and fertilizer integration, each link of facility agriculture is closely related to the yield and quality. Nowadays, our greenhouses are equipped with facilities such as sunshades, heat preservation curtains, heating pipes, high-pressure sprays, circulating fans, temperature and hu-
midity sensors, and irrigation systems to jointly regulate the planting environment in the park, Zhang analyzed that Yangling is located in the arid and semi-arid areas of northwestern China, which also face water shortages like Pakistan. In response to this problem, the park adopts a combination of groundwater and tap water irrigation, collecting groundwater and also designing a 3,000-cubic-meter reservoir to collect rainwater and purify it as an irrigation reserve. As for another major factor limiting tomato production in Pakistan, pests and diseases, Dr Ahmad also pointed out that late blight and tomato virus disease can cause severe reduction in production, while main pests such as cotton bollworm and leaf miner can cause great harm to leaves, flowers and fruits in the growing period. In this regard, Zhang introduced a combination of physical and chemical control measures, focusing on prevention. At the same time, in order to avoid affecting soil quality, the use of various chemical fertilizers and pesticides should be minimized, and key prevention should be carried out in the early stage of pests and diseases based on previous planting experience and climatic conditions.
Pakistan’s next tech ‘unicorn’ Airlift calls it quits as financial realities force closure continued from page 01 What Went Wrong?: Quick commerce is on the ropes everywhere. The delivery in 30-minutes model gained great fame and investor confidence during the early pandemic but has since been faced with harsh criticism over its feasibility. Airlift not only put all its chips on the quick-commerce bandwagon, but had done so after already failing to make an earlier mass-transit business model work. Despite an $85 million investment in Series-B round last year co-led by Harry Stebbings of the 20VC fame, and Buckley Ventures, the cash-burning models have led Airlift here. The startup’s existence has been a series of fake hype and has focused more on inflating investor confidence than focusing on good business fundamentals. The company had earlier pumped up the rumour mill with claims that Airlift had raised $200 million. Prior to a meeting with former prime minister Imran Khan in and in the office of former commerce minister Razzaq Dawood in January this year, Airlift cofounder Ahmed Ayub told a group of startup founders and commerce ministry officials that the company had completed a $200 million raise. While no official announcement of the $200 million round was made, the startup’s funding woes had begun with increased investor scrutiny into numbers. In the follow on act, Airlift has been in the process of completing a $20 million bridge round raise, amid news on May 25 that Airlift was cutting down operations, shutting down completely in South Africa and retaining operations in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad only in Pakistan. Airlift further announced laying off 31% of its workforce, citing concerns around fundraising in a bear market, as investors shun the ‘growth at all costs’ model. The startup has been in the process of raising a $20 million bridge round from existing investors, of which $10 million was reportedly being provided by Ali Mukhtar of Fatima Gobi Ventures. Ali Mukhtar has not confirmed his participation in Airlift’s recent round, in a question asked by Profit. Sources say that another prominent investor in Airlift, Aatif Awan of Indus Valley Capital, has also backed out from investing in Airlift anymore, which hints at the dire straits Airlift is in. Awan neither confirmed, nor denied these claims when approached by Profit. Reportedly Ali Mukhtar backed out only after Aatif Awan backed out. When investors back out, it is not even an assumption that the business that they supported all along, does not hold any promise anymore. The down round, which saw Airlift’s valuation slashed substantially, was earlier reported to had been completed, providing Airlift the much needed lifeline to get through the downturn peacefully.
Airlift’s restructuring, which included shutting down South Africa and smaller cities in Pakistan, was part of the company’s strategy to be self-sustainable, to be self-reliant when funding was running dry. To be self-reliant, Airlift had to generate cash from its own operations, which in the retail quick commerce business, does not look doable. What is the quick commerce model?: In the world of quick commerce, very high growth comes by serving a large number of customers and very very quickly. So if a 15-minute or even a 30minute delivery promise, which serves the purpose of existence of a quick commerce business, is to be met, a startup like Airlift needs to make their logistics operations superfast to enable such deliveries. Under the quick commerce model, that is done through setting up a network of warehouses or dark stores which are only used for holding inventory and fulfilment of orders. If such operations are to be scaled to serve a big number of customers or the masses, these warehouses need to be opened up at a large number of locations to ensure that the startup is able to serve customers from any neighbourhood it serves. Setting up this network of warehouses and the fulfilment costs associated with such deliveries makes quick commerce a very costly affair, according to an expert on quick commerce, who chose to comment anonymously. Quick commerce startups further entice customers through heavy discounts on products and deliveries. The startup has to forego its own margins to be able to attract as many orders as possible to increase GMV numbers and raise subsequent funding rounds at higher valuations. That had been the game during the great Pakistani startup funding pump of 2021 which saw $381 million invested into Pakistan (tiny by global standards). It had been about pumping money and getting to those explosive growth numbers, without testing the sustainability in absence of VC funding. Airlift has been able to do that really well. According to numbers available to us, Airlift’s revenue growth had been impressive. From $1.4 million in Q1 2021, Airlift reached $16.9 million in gross revenue in the last quarter of the year, clocking in $33 million in gross revenue for the entire year. But it’s a retail play, ladies and gentlemen! You can only earn as much as the manufacturers you sell products of, allow you margins. These margins are very tiny at the beginning and swell as the company grows bigger, sells good volumes to convince manufacturers to give them better margins. the problem With airlift’s numbers: Airlift had been recently making some tall claims to its investors. From the numbers available to us, Airlift was trying to give this confidence to investors that it would be able to turn those profits that in-
vestors are looking for. For starters, these numbers do not inspire confidence because of the way retail works and the macroeconomic doom in Pakistan. Gross revenue looks impressive at Airlift, net revenue does not. For the first quarter of 2021, Airlift’s net revenue was only $100,000. It grew to $300,000 in the next quarter, was zero in the third quarter, and was only $400,000 in the last quarter of 2021. As a percentage of gross revenue, it’s a very low margin which is the nature of retail businesses such as FMCG retail. For instance, Airlift’s gross margin for Q4 2021 was only 2.36%. After further subtracting costs, Airlift reported a negative $5.8 million adjusted EBITDA during the last quarter alone of 2021. That’s $5.8 million burnt in cash before even adding marketing and central services and general administration cost in the case of Airlift. In retail, however, if you have substantial volumes, manufacturers might allow you higher margins. Airlift has thereafter reported higher revenue numbers and better margins. For the first quarter of 2022, Airlift reported gross revenue of $21.9 million with net revenue of $900,000, translating into a 4% margin, and a $5.3 million cash burn at the adjusted EBITDA level. For the next quarter (Q2 ’22), however, Airlift forecasted its revenue at $23.8 million, with a gross margin of 13% and adjusted EBITDA falling a big number to negative $3.1 million for the quarter. At the EBITDA level, Airlift is tracking positive numbers and in the third quarter of the ongoing year, Airlift claimed to investors that it will be earning a 20% margin which will turn its EBITDA to a positive $400,000, proving the company’s financial stability. This is all based on an assumption, however, that Airlift would be able to secure 20% gross margins in the retail industry. First of all, its growth is questionable to negotiate those margins. Airlift has already shut down its operations in smaller cities in Pakistan where it was not able to grow in the first place because of low purchasing power in these cities. Secondly, it would not be able to grow as significantly if it has already scaled down operations and would not be thinking of expanding in the absence of funding. More importantly, however, rising food, fuel, and electricity costs in Pakistan because of the consistent surge in inflation have waned purchasing powers in the top-tier cities like Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad, which, Airlift claimed in a recent announcement, formed 90% of the company’s operations. To add to the confusion, Airlift claimed to investors that all of Pakistan, which included smaller cities like Sialkot, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Peshawar, and Hyderabad, besides Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad, constituted 90% of its total operations.
Airlift has not responded to Profit’s query as to which of the above statements is true. The lack of transparency casts a shadow on actual Airlift growth numbers in Pakistan, as well as prospects of growth in Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad where it operates now. So if Airlift is not able to grow because purchasing power has waned and because it does not operate in other cities anymore, it would not be able to negotiate a 20% margin with manufacturers, which is already high to claim. Retail industry, especially FMCG retail, operates on thin margins. A source in the FMCG retail industry told Profit that big retailers like Metro operate at margins of around 15% and Airlift claiming margins of 20% is unrealistic. Gross margins of 20% are possible on certain categories of products but are unrealistic to be margins overall for a business. Airlift further claimed to its investors that it had negotiated product margins with Unilever from 10% to 34.5%, which is again an unrealistic claim unless Airlift negotiated this margin on one or two products and not the overall basket of goods from Unilever. According to a source in the FMCG industry, the margins from Unilever for retail stores can go as high as 15-18% but 34.5% overall was not possible. Another source said that even for products on which 34.5% margins are available, they can only be achieved if a certain sales volume is achieved on those products. Most of the time, those targets are not achieved because they are very high, the source said. On the other hand, FMCG companies are also under pressure, having increased prices because of the recent surge in inflation which would decrease their own sales but the margins have shrunk because of the increase in costs. Fewer sales mean pressure on margins for everyone including manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and digital retailers like Airlift. This casts doubt on the future prospects of profitability of Airlift’s quick commerce business. If its claims of revenue are unrealistic because the margins are unrealistic and not available to anywhere in the industry. While these are margins of the FMCG industry we are talking about, Airlift has been selling electronic products such as phones as well, which are again a low margin product, nowhere near to the 20% margin as claimed. Airlift has not disclosed to us how much of their business comes from FMCG products. the delivery fee equation is equally messed up: The overwhelming majority of Airlift’s revenue comes from product margins that they have estimated at 20%, for the third quarter of 2022, which will drive them a positive adjusted EBITDA value. The next source of revenue is the delivery fee, which Airlift plans to raise to 2% of the revenue. This metric would again be under pressure because
of the rising fuel costs. On the one hand, delivering orders to customers has become more expensive, on the other hand, consumers would be unwilling to pay delivery fees because of the fall in their own disposable income. In fact, Airlift would have to increase delivery fees by more than 2% of revenues to keep up with the rising fuel costs but would be in a situation where it would lose orders if it did. So the situation for Airlift looks something like this: it needs to generate its own money to be sustainable but would not be able to do so because in the industry it operates in, the great margins they are seeking are not possible while its own costs of delivering quick commerce orders have increased. In short, it does not look like a business that would be able to generate its own money and become sustainable. And in times during which VC money is chasing sustainable businesses, it doesn’t sound unbelievable that investors backed out from investing further. It could be possible that Airlift would have tried to seek buyers and sell it to them, even if it’s for peanuts. Over $100 million have been pumped into Airlift since 2019 so completely shutting it down means that nobody gets anything against the investment they made, except for some proceeds from selling inventory and office equipment. But could Airlift have gotten acquired by other players in the industry to consolidate their position in the market? Airlift’s $20 million round was being raised at a $50-100 million valuation, while its earlier Series-C round (rumoured to have been completed at $200 million) was being raised at a $275 million valuations. Airlift has already seen its valuation slashed quite substantially because of the downturn in investments, and as we have argued, quick commerce is not an attractive business that can be made sustainable anytime soon. “The valuations are random numbers. They are not actual valuations so for any potential buyer, extensive due diligence would be required to ascertain the actual worth of the company and it might actually be very less,” said a source in the industry. Then Airlift has credibility problems, with questions raised over the authenticity of its numbers. Going to a potential buyer would require thorough audits which might reveal that the company was never as strong as it purported itself to be. By far the biggest company that could have acquired Airlift is foodpanda. The problem, however, is foodpanda’s parent company is also suffering from the effects of the investment downturn and has seen its valuation slashed on the public market. “It is not ideally a market these days where you would find buyers. Companies don’t have money for acquisitions right now and the financial heft for acquisitions is particularly missing in Pakistan,” the source said.
06-07 Comments - 13th July 2022_Layout 1 7/13/2022 12:03 AM Page 1
Wednesday, 13 July, 2022
06 COMMENT
What the Fourth of July really means
Dangers of turning rains into a partisan issue Need for mutual collaboration
Patriotism
D
AyS before the start of the monsoon season late last month Karachi Administrator Musafa Wahab assured the citizens that in the rainy season this time there will be no water accumulation on the roads as the cleaning of 41 major drains In the city had been almost completed. Less than four weeks later, a recordbreaking rainfall submerged the entire Karachi, leaving main roads inundated and citizens virtually trapped in their homes as rainwater accumulated on roads. There were at least nine dead. While the PPP can be criticized for the claims made by Mr Wahab, it is preposterous to suggest, as Imran Khan has done, that former PTI Punjab CM Sardar Usman Buzdar could have stopped the flooding with his gimmickry. The pattern of monsoon rains this year has been deeply affected by climate change as pointed out by Chief Meteorologist Dr Sardar Sarfraz also. It is not Karachi and Sindh alone that have faced the brunt of heavy rains. Monsoon rains which began on June 14 had by the first week of July claimed 77 lives of which 39 deaths were reported in Balochistan. Urban flooding had been reported in Quetta, Pasni and Turbat. The rainfall has exceeded earlier calculations. The rains across Pakistan are 87 percent more than the average downpour. In Balochistan, the rains are 274 percent more than the average rainfall, while Sindh’s are 261 percent. Climate change led earlier to rampaging glacial outburst floods (GlOFs) that swept away bridges in the Northern Areas and families had to be shifted to safer places. Earlier this month the death toll in torrential rains and flash-floods-related incidents rose to 43 in Gilgit-Baltistan. No provincial government can alone cope with the challenges posed by climate change. The challenges can take the form of increased frequency of extreme climatic events, increased variability of monsoons, floods, drought in regions known for rains and rains in areas known for low precipitation, increased coastal erosion and sea water incursion. Instead of initiating a blame game, the political parties should discuss the issue by taking the issue to Parliament for debate and discussion leading to collaboration and sharing of needed resources.
washington watch Dr James J Zogby
M
y conflicted feelings about the Fourth of July were a long time in the making. In the eighth grade I won a citywide speech contest, delivering remarks on patriotism to an audience that included my very proud parents. I rose through the ranks of the Boy Scouts, pledged the flag, and, like the rest of my generation, hid under my desk during drills designed to prepare us for the possibility of an enemy air raid. My hometown was close to an Air Force base, so seeing fighter jets flying overhead in formation was a common experience— though not so common that I didn’t look up in awe whenever they passed. And I went to the fireworks displays that were a part of the annual Fourth celebrations and cheered in delight as they exploded overhead. In my middle teens, my mother shared with me a box of letters she had received from two of my uncles— both infantrymen who served in World War II’s European theatre. In them, they recounted their experiences in the famed Battle of the Bulge, crossing into Germany, and then entering concentration camps at the war’s end. I devoured their correspondence, marvelled at their heroism, grieved for their lost comrades, and felt a profound respect for their sacrifice and sense of purpose. These were experiences that shaped my early years. Those youthful feelings of patriotic pride, however, gave way to vastly different feelings in the mid1960s as Americans were forced to wrestle with the legacy of our original sins against Black Americans
To the polls! Tensions run high
amJeD JaveD
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HE minorities in India together constitute about 19.3 percent of the total population. yet they are under-represented in Indian parliament. The minority Muslim candidates nominated by major political parties are usually defeated. Muslims alone constitute 138 million (13.4 percent) as per the 2001 census. Majoritarian India caricatures the golden words in the Indian Constitution to protect minorities. Article 15(1) and 15(2) provide for “Prohibition of discrimination against citizens on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth”. Article 16(1) and 16(2) speak about “Citizens’ right to equality of opportunity in matters relating to employment or appointment to any office under the State”. Article 25(1) talks about “people’s freedom of conscience and right to freely profess, practise and propagate religion, subject to public order, morality and other Fundamental Rights.” Article 28 advocates “people’s freedom as to attendance at religious instruction or religious worship in educational institutions wholly maintained”. Article 30(1) provides for the “right of all religious and linguistic minorities to establish and administer educational institutions of their
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Especially now, as our freedoms, opportunity, and acceptance of diversity are threatened— not by a foreign foe, but by violent fanaticism, greed, and intolerance— we need to celebrate our American diversity and the aspirational values that brought us here and continue to move us forward.
The farmers’ movement provides the template
Dedicated to the legacy of late Hameed Nizami
M. A. Niazi
Realizing our grievous error, my wife and I quickly got the children together and left. Since then, I’ve never felt the same about fireworks. And even when I see them at a distance, I think of Fayzeh and all the other children living in fear of bombs whether in Ukraine, Syria, Israel, or Gaza. This year’s Fourth had an added trauma as we learned of yet another mass shooting— this one at a celebratory parade in Highland Park, Illinois— leaving seven dead and dozens wounded. I had been invited to go to the White House to witness the fireworks display from the South Lawn. I hadn’t been enthusiastic about attending and after the massacre in Illinois, I was even less inclined. But as the day wore on, I decided to do what I hadn’t done in years. I went. And I’m glad I did. As I walked around the White House lawn, looking not so much at the explosions in the air (because I still don’t think bombs are fun) but at the faces of the families that had gathered, a different feeling came over me. I saw men, women, and children of every race and creed. Some wore red, white, and blue, while others were decked out in their ethnic garb and as I passed, I could hear different languages spoken. They were Americans gathered at their White House, as other Americans were gathering at similar events in their parks or schools in thousands of cities and towns across this country. And they had come together to celebrate, not bombs or wars, but the freedom, opportunity, and acceptance they or their ancestors had come to this country to find. As I walked and watched, I felt good about my country. Especially now, as our freedoms, opportunity, and acceptance of diversity are threatened— not by a foreign foe, but by violent fanaticism, greed, and intolerance— we need to celebrate our American diversity and the aspirational values that brought us here and continue to move us forward. We need this kind of patriotism if we are to continue to flourish and become “the land of the free and the home of the brave.” The writer is president of the Arab American Institute
Will Indian minorities ever coalesce into a joint movement?
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T’S approaching a fever pitch, the by-election season in Punjab is. Initially, the League were thought to be the favourites, against their bête noire PTI. And they probably still are. But it can’t be denied that the PML(N) is at least a little nervous. Three critical Leaguers at executive positions, most notably former NA Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, have quit their respective positions so that they can campaign in earnest without having the courts or the Election Commission crying foul. On its end, the PTI has decided to give the League a run for its money. you may win, but it won’t be easy. The PTI, with all its talking points against politics-as-usual, has given almost all of the twenty tickets to ‘electables’ who are veterans of several parties. This is not a proof that the PTI, like other parties, doesn’t stick to its manifesto when it comes to the rough and tumble of politics; because that hypothesis has long since stopped requiring proof. The Election Commission’s observations about the Punjab government’s decision to give some relief in electricity bills, however, needs some scrutiny and debate. The questionable practice of patron-pillage politics in our neck of the woods is known to all. It should be discouraged and, in its extreme cases, the commission and the courts rightly follow a code. However, it’s a tricky area, deciding what executive decisions are blatant voteseeking endeavours and which are just a government going about its business. Statistically outlying discretionary spending in constituencies about to go to the polls is one thing, but a government taking a decision about electricity at a time when the management of electricity is a burning public issue, could be argued to be quite different. The polls are, predictably, already being interpreted as a barometer for the general polls, especially in case the latter take place earlier than scheduled. It is hoped they go by without incident.
Editor Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad
and Native Americans, and then were challenged in a different way by the Vietnam war. I opposed that war and watched too many of my generation drafted and sent abroad to fight, lose their lives, or be physically or psychologically maimed in a conflict that we never should have entered and served no legitimate purpose. What was most disturbing was the way that themes that had evolved from our history of warfare— our War of Independence, the Civil War, and the two World Wars— were recycled to generate patriotic fervour for this war. They falsely claimed that the youngsters sent off to die were “sacrificing their lives for our freedom,” “fighting tyranny,” or “fighting the enemy there, so we wouldn’t have to fight them here.” The war ended with 55,000 Americans and possibly one million Vietnamese dead. Another casualty was the naive patriotism of my youth. It was deeply disturbing that the same cynical exploitation of patriotism accompanied the Iraq war. At that time, I was teaching in North Carolina, living near a military base that sent many young men and women to Iraq. It was painful to listen to the local evening news as tearful mothers and spouses consoled themselves repeating the now shopworn lines that their loved ones were going to Iraq to keep America free. I couldn’t bring myself to celebrate the Fourth that year. One of my most troubling memories that changed my attitude toward the Fourth of July occurred in 1983. That year, my wife and I were hosting a 12year-old Lebanese girl, Fayzeh. She had been a victim of Israel’s bombing of West Beirut during which a cluster bomb had shattered one of her legs. On the Fourth of July, as was our practice, we took our family to see the fireworks. As the first fireworks exploded overhead, I will never forget how Fayzeh reacted. She was terrified and began to shake and cry. To us, the explosive sound of the fireworks lighting up the sky had been a wonder and a joy, but to her it was a traumatic reminder of the nightly savage bombardments of her city.
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choice”. Article30 (2) provides for “freedom of minority-managed educational institutions from discrimination in the matter of receiving aid from the State”. Anjana P.Chatterji, Thomas Blam Hansen and Christopher Jafferlot (eds) (Majoritarian State) have explored how India tramples rights of the minorities. Protesters’ properties and mosques are bulldozed as “encroachments’ Bulldozer has become a symbol of state terror against Muslims in India, says Kashmiri leader Mehbooba Mufti. Several international human rights’ organizations have criticized India for persecution of the minorities. A so-called religious parliament even called upon Hindus to buy the latest arms and ammunition to carry out genocide of the Muslims. The US State Department’s annual report to the Congress on international religious freedom listed several incidents of ‘violence’ against minorities in India. It included incidents of ‘cow vigilantism, attacks on religious places and properties owned by Muslims and anticonversion laws in several states of India’. The report also accused the Indian authorities of allegedly ignoring the attacks on ‘religious minorities’ and supporting the ‘rising incidents of attacks on their places of worship’. It further criticized the country for imposing new laws and penalties to curb the forced religious conversions. “Four state governments have laws imposing penalties against so-called forced religious conversions for the purpose of marriage. India has a slew of draconian laws to stifle dissent and suppress protests. Even the colonial-era Indian Penal Code provision about “sedition” has not been repealed despite strictures by the courts. “Dalits are not allowed to drink from the same wells, attend the same temples, wear shoes in the presence of an upper caste, or drink from the same cups in tea stalls. India’s Untouchables are relegated to the lowest jobs, and live in constant fear of being publicly humiliated, paraded naked, beaten, and raped with impunity by upper-caste Hindus seeking to keep them in their place. Merely walking through an upper-caste neighborhood is a life-threatening offense.” The farmers’ movement succeeded as it transformed into an “oppressed people of India move-
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ment”. The farmer’s protest began, initially, with the sole aim to get the new farm laws repealed. The farmers perceived “crony capitalism” as a surreptitious and predatory unilateral attempt to take away their lands, their single source of livelihood. But, the government, infatuated by the hubris of its parliamentary majority, shrugged off the farmers’ demand. They thought that the farmers lacked capacity to mobilize their miniscule protest into a mass movement. To ‘strongman’ modi’s chagrin, the protest has assumed an all-Indian dimension as Bhim-army chief Chandra Sheikhar Azad, founder of azad samaj party (open-society party) joined the protesters with declaration ‘ek juth ho kar larna hai’ (we have to fight united). To express solidarity with the farmers, 18 opposition parties decided to boycott Indian president’s address to joint sitting of the parliament at the start of the budget session . They criticized the government for obduracy when 155 farmers, braving water cannons, tear gas and lathi charges, have already lost their lives. Surprisingly, the farmers across several states, irrespective of their religious beliefs, joined the protest, braving police baton charge and water torrents on elderly farmers, besides inclement weather, sometimes becoming freezing. Farmers’ local and Diaspora sympathizers flooded them with food, fruit and even quintals of American almonds (from USbased supporters). The government tried to sow seeds of discord among the peasant unions. The protest went on showing singular interfaith harmony where the non-Muslims human-shielded the Muslims offering prayers. The famers’ stamina baffled the arrogant Modi government’s imagination. The farmers turned their trolleys into makeshift dormitories. The sick and tired farmers were relieved to be replaced with fresh batches from homes far afield. Women back home plunged into the fields to take care of cultivated land and livestock. The minorities can’t protect their rights unless they coalesce and start a joint struggle “oppressed people of India movement” against the majoritarian Indian government. The international community and the USA should take India to task for human rights violations. The USA could invoke provisions of the International Religious Freedom Act, passed in 1998, during the Clinton administration, against the rogue Modi government.
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06-07 Comments - 13th July 2022_Layout 1 7/13/2022 12:03 AM Page 2
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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
Soaring street crimes in Karachi WHILE the government claims to have controlled the street crimes in Karachi, the reality on ground is different. Street crimes have become an undesirable part of the metropolis. Police officials, whose main duty is to control this menace, remain missing from such scenes. Even the patrolling force introduced for this purpose is negligible. The vehicles used for patrolling are mostly outdated or lack enough fuel to chase the culprits. Ironically, a large number of police officials, instead of doing public service, prefer to get associated with the big bosses, as they are provided adequate facilities with next to nothing in the name of responsibility. The government is bound to protect the life and property of people. It needs to adopt appropriate measures required for the situation. The strength, efficiency and presence of the patrolling force needs be strengthened. Besides, strict action should be taken against police officials who do not perform their duties diligently. MUHAMMAD AYUB KARACHI
Overpopulation must be tackled Much must be done
sami Ullah KaKar
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AKISTAN is going to find its parallels within Robert Malthus’ principle of population about rapid growth of population and its being an impending cause of food insecurity. According to Thomas Robert Malthus, “Population growth is in geometric 2,4,8,16,32 and production of food can only increase arithmetically 1,2,3,4”. Countries in South Asia are mostly pregnant with multifaceted dangers that hinders their progress and development in a fast-changing world. Such dangers include overpopulation, malnutrition, starvation, economic imbalance and unavailability of basic facilities. Countries that share contagious problems like these are India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. The problems are easy to diagnose but hard to surmount because they will need a holistic approach. Population is one of the rising issues in Pakistan. Pakistan is now the fifth most populous country in the world. According to United Nation World Population Prospects 2019, Pakistan’s population is projected to reach 262.96 million in 2030 and increase further to 338.01 million in 2050 and 403.10 million by 2100. This means there will be an overwhelming increase in population with no rational and careoriented strategy to deal with it. Most people thins that overpopulation is a blessing but it is probably not because it is a sign of worry for the state of the economy. As far as social and economic indicators are concerned, most people are devoid of basic rights and utilities like education, jobs and proper health care. Overpopulation is a menace which causes water scarcity and malnutrition, According to Global fertility rate 2022, Pakistan has a fertility rate of 3.4 births per woman, which means the population of Pakistan is mushrooming by 53 million annually. Afghanistan, the war-torn country, has 3.991 births per woman and India has 2.51. There are various causes and remedial measures of overpopulation in Pakistan. Firstly, there is a crucial role of clerics. Their alarming clerical interpretation of increasing the Ummah, expressed in Friday sermons, is worth mentioning. Due to misinterpretation of religion by a multitude of scholars, people believe that population control is sinful. The mosque prayer leaders can introduce religion as a social agency to create awareness about the population explosion. It can truly convey that Islam focuses on accountability -tending of children, their wellbeing and proper growth, which should also be
considered during breeding. Through a gradual process, during Friday sermons, religious authorities can construct collective consciousness to breed less and nurture efficiently. Secondly, lack of awareness of repercussions of population due to illiteracy. The country’s literacy rate is almost 58 percent. Due to illiteracy, people can’t comprehend that the country can’t afford a high birth rate. The problem can be surmounted through an awareness campaign on social media which is the strongest source; awareness teams with proper guidance regarding population explosion must be sent government of Pakistan immediately across the country. Thirdly, unavailability and high taxes of contraceptive pills. People cannot buy costly pills due to economic constraints. Their unavailability and high taxes is sheer inefficiency of the government. They should be facilitated for people with guidance of proper use. Contraceptive pills should bear low taxes. Fourthly, the main cause of population explosion is early marriage. Due to immaturity, young couples are unaware of sex education; the responsibilities of children; consequences arises from huge families for both the country and hem. Strict implementation of family planning is the major remedy for this issue. Government through female health workers can introduce family planning and use of contraceptive pills to persuade people to limit their child birth. Fifthly, mostly in rural areas, people are vying for the birth of a male child. Due to the patriarchal and misogyny-dominated population, the birth of a male is a sign of pride, honour and strength and being female is a curse and debt to be paid when time comes. In such an atmosphere, many sections of society place a premium on boys’ education, while girls are expected to take up domestic responsibilities Daughters seem to be as a burden or debt to be paid and sons are commonly perceived as the support system of the family. However, man enjoys ultimate power to halt or increase the number of children. This notion needs to be debunked because it has belittled and degraded the female gender and its role. We as a progressive society should yearn for gender equality and avoid trespassing on the rights of women. The effects of over-population are easily seen; The population explosion may wreck havoc and cause famine as we witnessed in history. Recall the 1943 Bengal famine which engulfed up to three million people for their over-population. Winston Churchill has been quoted as blaming the famine on the fact Indians were “breeding like rabbits’ ‘. The rise in population leads to higher demand for water for domestic, industrial, agricul-
tural and municipal needs and also evacuation for waste materials. According to reports of Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE), Pakistan ranks 14 out of 17 “extremely high water risk” countries in the world, as the country wastes one-third of water available. More than 80 percent of the country’s population faces “severe water scarcity.” Around 40 percent of water in Pakistan is lost due to spillage, seepage, side leakage, and bank cuttings along with irregular profiling of alignment of banks. Saving water through different techniques would be the panacea of the water crisis. The incremental growth is endangering their lives as well as others because of lack of subsistence. The population growth has outnumbered the resources that existed in the status quo. Paraphrasing Robert Malthus, population growth in Pakistan is arithmetical, sources of subsistence growth is geometrical. Food consumption and production are huge problems. Due to over population and meagre job opportunities, a large number of people remain unemployed and extinct themselves dreadfully. Their life is mostly preoccupied by a sense of desperation and anxiety. Due to low economic status they vent their frustration outwards; blaming external matters for their deprivation and dejection. They resort to the last option and try to commit suicide. It is necessary to enhance technological development by introducing freelancing as an online marketing source in which a person can work as a virtual assistant, graphic designer and so on. According to Pakistan Software Export Board’s reports, Pakistani freelancers earned $150 million in 2019-20 which lead to Pakistan being fourth in the finances market above India and Bangladesh. Population growth is the primary cause of social evil. Picture a person unable to feed his family of many members, due to meagre resources and high inflation. He will use illegal means to meet the ends of the family. Subsequently, his children will adopt the source of income he did because assertion made by Will Durant in the book Fallen Leaves: Last Words on Life, Love, War, and God seems pto fit the case: “Our children bring us up by showing us, imitating us, what we really are”. Job opportunities in profusion is the only remedy for have-nots to make ends meet. To ease the suffering of the country, already on the brink of economic collapse, is everyone’s civic and moral duty. Overpopulation is a burden which causes imbalance in standard of living, employment and prosperity which further leads to felony, deviance, anomalies and crime. So, a country with too much population is like an overcrowded boat; bound to sink.
To ease the suffering of the country, already on the brink of economic collapse, is everyone’s civic and moral duty. Overpopulation is a burden which causes imbalance in standard of living, employment and prosperity which further leads to felony, deviance, anomalies and crime. So, a country with too much population is like an overcrowded boat; bound to sink
The writer is a freelance columnist
Can polio be eradicated? POLIO is caused by a virus known as poliovirus. This virus usually enters the body through the mouth or nose which further travels inside our respiratory (breathing) and digestive systems. Pakistan, along with very few other less developed countries, remains the last polio-endemic country to eradicate the virus. There are organisations such as WHO, UNICEF, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), Rotary International and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also known as CDC. ]. The government was able to control the disease for many years but due to the factors mentioned there is again a rise in the cases of polio. There have also been weaknesses in project management as the government lacked in providing sanitation and clean water which basically resulted in the spread. The world has been fighting against polio for a very long time. It was reported that in 1988, there were around 350,000 cases of wild polio spread across 125 countries and in 2018, there were only 33 cases reported in two of the countries. The efforts to eradicate polio over the last few years basically meant that there were over 18 million reported cases of paralysis which were averted. The success in eradicating polio will result in children being safe from this disease and no child will ever have to experience the unfortunate effects of this disease again. On the other hand, there is a lack of planning from the government’s health department for the eradication of polio on a large scale as the health administration is only targeting and focusing on the vaccination of children which is being done multiple times in a year. This further added mistrust and doubt in the mind of the general public. A fair and a must share is not provided to the healthcare sector of the country and the needs of the people are being neglected. Form the year 2013 and 2014 there have been reports of different militant groups in Pakistan that are targeting Polio vaccination teams and these incidents mostly took place in FATA and KPK. After the several brutal attacks on vaccination teams which resulted in the killing of a lot of polio workers that were on the duty of vaccinating the children in the area. This resulted in stopping the campaign in FATA. Significant progress was made in Pakistan’s efforts to eradicate the disease. With case rates dropping from 1803 in 1994 to 28 cases in 2006, polio eradication appeared to be a possibility. So to make positive progress in the project for eradication of polio some of the points mentioned below should be considered: Providing security to the medical teams and medical workers that are operating in tribal areas by providing polio drops to the children. There was a misconception that the vaccines are being made from pig fat as discussed above so it should be made clear by the government through advertisements that it is just a myth. Proper workforce should be hired by the government that is motivated to work and for the projects related to health the government can hire internees and train them to work properly and this will help in the development of the individual and they can later be hired for a permanent job. There should be accountability of the workforce so that if any person is not following the policies then he or she should be held responsible. ALI HAIDER LAHORE
Importance of cycling IN developed countries, cycling is a lifestyle choice that has implications beyond one’s own physical wellbeing. Denmark, for example, has 12,000 cycling tracks and people prefer to cycle their way to work or leisure. Driving, in fact, is not that common in the cities. However, in Pakistan only those who cannot afford cars commute on bicycles. This is unfortunate because cycling as a mode of transport is an extremely useful way of reducing the global carbon footprint since it consumes zero fuel. With inflation touching the sky, together with the country having one of the highest numbers of cardiac and diabetic patients, incorporating cycling into our lives can kill two birds with one stone. For this, the authorities and civil society activists should step forward and organise more cycling events in all major cities. In Islamabad, this is happening in the form of Cycling Sunday in which families participate enthusiastically. In other cities as well, the relevant authorities should make a start by constructing dedicated cycling tracks on all prominent roads and by declaring some of the roads as exclusive cycling zones. Meanwhile, bicycle manufacturing companies should also work to import the latest materials and machines to manufacture good quality but lightweight bicycles. However, they need to keep them cost-effective as well so that cycling may get a quick promotion in the country. MUHAMMAD TARIQ MULTAN
08 WORLD VIEW 13th July 22_Layout 1 7/12/2022 9:33 PM Page 1
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08 WORLD VIEW
Sri Lanka and the gLobaL revoLt againSt the eLiteS FROM THE CANADIAN TRUCKERS WHO REVOLTED AGAINST LIVELIHOOD-DESTROYING COVID RULES TO THE DUTCH FARMERS RISING UP AGAINST THEIR GOVERNMENT’S MAD ECO-POLICIES, FROM ITALIAN TAXI DRIVERS PROTESTING AGAINST THE RISE IN FUEL PRICES TO THE MASS PROTESTS IN ALBANIA AGAINST FOOD AND FUEL PRICE RISES FOLLOWING THE LOCKDOWN AND THE WAR IN UKRAINE, POPULAR PROTESTS ARE BREAKING OUT ACROSS THE WORLD Spiked BREndAn O’nEIll
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oME in the West are relishing the images of revolt coming out of Sri Lanka. Tweeters and leftists are marvelling at the footage and photos showing angry Sri Lankans storming the presidential palace and having a dip in its ornate pool. The imagery is indeed striking, and heartening: it’s always good to see people pushing back against their inept, corrupt rulers. And yet these Western observers might soon be in for a surprise, for this revolt is not only an indictment of the Sri Lankan elites and their legion errors of judgement. It is also an indictment of the conceits of the global elites more broadly. It calls into question the prejudices and policies of global establishments in thrall to climate-change alarmism and Covid authoritarianism. In Sri Lanka we are witnessing a rebellion not only against corrupt government officials, but also against the dangerously out-of-touch worldview of the international technocracy. Sri Lanka’s economic crisis is incredibly serious. The nation is bankrupt. Inflation is rampant. Food prices have risen by 80 per cent. Last month petrol prices rose by 24 per cent, diesel prices by 38 per cent. At the end of June the government announced that petrol supplies were almost at an end – it banned the sale of petrol except for essential services, essentially making driving illegal. People cannot make ends meet. over the past year, half a million Sri Lankans have been plunged back into poverty. The uN says more than three-quarters of the population have reduced their consumption of food
due to the severe food shortages. It’s little wonder there have been months of rebellion. And huge political tumult, too, including the resignation of the cabinet in April; the resignation of the prime minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa, in May; and the fleeing of the president – Rajapaksa’s brother, Gotabaya – at the weekend. President Rajapaksa was spirited away by the army shortly before the people stormed his compound. Those images of struggling Sri Lankans lying back on luxury sofas in a palace abandoned by the petrified ruling class might just be the most iconic proof yet that a global revolt of angry working people is well and truly brewing. The crisis in Sri Lanka is multi-faceted, for sure. But there are two important contributory factors we should be talking about. First there’s the impact of the global Covid lockdowns. They shattered Sri Lanka’s tourism industry. Tourism raked in $4.4 billion for Sri Lanka in 2018, making up 5.6 per cent of its GDP. In 2020 tourism contributed just 0.8 per cent to GDP. And things did not improve in 2021, as they had been expected to. More importantly, the global shutdowns, and the restrictions on production and trade they entailed, impacted on Sri Lanka’s supplies of food and essentials, too. As one report says, the ‘economic turmoil and human misery’ in Sri Lanka are partially a consequence of the ‘economic fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic’. The drastic slowing down of global economic output has stored up dire consequences for poorer parts of the world. The uN Food and Agriculture organisation says the number of people affected by hunger has risen by an astonishing 150million since the start of the pandemic. It is estimated that the inflationary conse-
quences of mankind’s self-imposed economic torpor during the pandemic have dragged tens of millions of people around the world back into poverty. So perhaps those who predicted that the lockdown’s unprecedented halt on economic activity would prove devastating for the less developed countries were right. Perhaps they should not have been denounced as grannykillers and No Platformed from social media after all. Perhaps we should have thought carefully, and talked seriously, about the potential consequences of suspending economic life before taking such rash, experimental action. The other facet of Sri Lanka’s crisis we must confront is the role played by eco-ideology. It is unquestionable that Sri Lanka’s suffering has been inflamed and exacerbated by its determination to become a Net Zero nation. A nation of fertiliser-free farming. A ‘good’ environmentally responsible nation that will please the green elites in global institutions. Sri Lanka’s severe green policies have had a devastating impact on food production and on its key export industries, worsening its crisis of inflation. In April last year, the Sri Lankan government banned the import of chemical fertilisers and pesticides. Its aim was to encourage organic farming. This was a borderline psychotic policy – 90 per cent of Sri Lanka’s farmers use fertilisers, and they predicted, rightly, that their crop yield would diminish in the absence of these modern substances. The production of rice, tea and rubber was seriously undermined by the ideological rush to organic. Try to take this in. In 2019 Sri Lanka produced 3.5 billion kilograms of rice. In 2021, following the fertiliser ban, it is thought that rice production fell by 43 per
cent. Self-imposed hunger, to appease the gods of environmentalism. Seventy per cent of Sri Lanka’s population of 22million are directly or indirectly dependent on agriculture, so the severe changes to farming predictably had severe consequences across society. They contributed to inflation hitting a 47-month high – 8.3 per cent – towards the end of last year, with food inflation reaching 11.7 per cent. The fertiliser ban was reversed in November, when its horrible impact became clear, but by then it was too late. ‘[Crop] yields may not rebound’, reported Reuters, which turned out to be right. As with the global lockdown’s dire impact on Sri Lanka, these deranged and damaging green policies will feel to many Sri Lankans like an external imposition, something pushed on their nation by global institutions and global decisions. Yes, Sri Lanka’s own political elite feverishly embraced the organic lunacy. But as Michael Shellenberger points out, the World Economic Forum promoted organic in Sri Lanka. Many elite campaigners in the West advocated for Sri Lanka to move to full organic, some of them supported by funds from ostentatiously eco-friendly corporations like Google, Disney and JPMorgan. If I were a Sri Lankan farmer, watching my yield deplete, seeing prices sky-rocket, seeing fuel and food running out, I would be angry primarily with my government, yes. But I would save some of my fury for the world’s influential eco-elites, who seem to view the developing world as a site for environmental experimentation rather than as a part of the world that needs more industrialisation and growth in order that it might enjoy economic equality with us in the West. Sri Lanka shows us what happens when
policy is shaped according to the desires and prejudices of the new elites rather than the needs of ordinary people. Lockdown may have been a boon for the laptop elites and for some billionaires, but it was incredibly harmful for many working-class people in the West and for millions of hard-up people in the global South. The green ideology may provide the new elites with a sense of purpose, flattering their narcissistic delusion that they are saving the planet from a manmade heat death, but it hits the pockets of workers in the West who will end up paying for the Net Zero madness, and it inflames hunger and destitution in those parts of the world not yet as developed as the West. In Sri Lanka, we see an extreme and unsettling case study of what happens when global policy is built on the fear and narcissism of disconnected elites, rather than being informed by the question of what people need in order to flourish and become wealthier. Also in Sri Lanka we see exactly the kind of pushback we need against all this. The people have had enough. And they are not alone. From the Canadian truckers who revolted against livelihood-destroying Covid rules to the Dutch farmers rising up against their government’s mad eco-policies, from Italian taxi drivers protesting against the rise in fuel prices to the mass protests in Albania against food and fuel price rises following the lockdown and the war in ukraine, popular protests are breaking out across the world. The government of Sri Lanka may have been the first to fall, but it seems unlikely it will be the last. The uprisings are inchoate. Some are leaderless. The demands are not always clear. But it’s obvious what people are generally angry about – the irrational decisionmaking practices of a new class of political rulers who prefer quick-fix clampdowns and displays of virtue over the tough task of working out how to materially and spiritually improve people’s lives. Those who think populism is over now that Trump and even Boris Johnson have gone are in for a shock. Wake up. Look out your windows. Check your swimming pools. Brendan O’Neill is spiked’s chief political writer and host of the spiked podcast, The Brendan O’Neill Show.
Sri Lanka’s collapse points to global gloom PROTESTERS ARE IN THE STREETS, SOME OF THEM SETTING POLITICIANS’ HOMES ON FIRE, AND POLICE USED TEAR GAS TO DISPERSE THEM. PARKIN WRITES THAT THERE ARE MILES-LONG LINES FOR GASOLINE, AND SOME PEOPLE ARE ONLY EATING ONE MEAL PER DAY NatioNal Review JIM GERAGHTY
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ou probably saw that footage of seemingly unending throngs of people swarming and overtaking the president’s residence and prime minister’s house in Sri Lanka. our Dominic Pino has been keeping an eye on that troubled island nation for a while, and he lays out the sadly predictable path to chaos: a dumb ban on chemical fertilizers, corruption and mismanagement, the interruption of the usual trade routes and tourism, and a devastating wave of runaway inflation. WHY SRI LANKA SUDDENLY MATTERS: Back in March, as the world was still watching the Russian invasion of ukraine, Reuters filed an ominous dispatch from Sri Lanka about the consequences of its government’s attempt to ban the use of artificial fertilizers: “I cannot recall any time in the past when we had to struggle so much to get a decent harvest,” said [W. M.] Seneviratne, a lean 65-year-old with a shock of silver hair, who has been farming since he was a child. “Last year, we got 60 bags from these two acres. But this time it was just 10,” he added. The dramatic fall in yields follows a decision last April by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to ban all chemical fertilizers in Sri Lanka – a move that risks undermining support among rural voters who are key to his family’s grip on Sri Lankan politics. Although the ban was rolled back after widespread protests, only a trickle of chemical fertilizers made it to farms, which will likely lead to an annual drop of at least 30% in paddy yields nationwide, according to agricultural experts. A month later, the Guardian’s correspondent sent back a dispatch with similarly grim warnings: “We are
a tropical country full of rice paddies and banana plantations, but because of this stupid fertilizer ban, now we don’t even have enough food to feed ourselves,” said Rajith Keerthi Tennakoon, 52, former governor of the southern province. “We have had past economic crises, security crises, but never in Sri Lanka’s history have we had a food crisis.” But the Guardian being the Guardian, it had to add a paragraph insisting that a ban on artificial fertilizers was good in theory: on the face of it, a push to organic farming would be seen as laudable, given concerns over the use of chemical fertilizers. Yet it was the sudden and obtuse manner in which the ban was introduced — imposed virtually overnight and with no prior warning or training – and the questionable motives behind it, that have left even organic farming advocates furious. Sri Lanka is a small island nation off the coast of India. When Hollywood needs a jungle, it films there. The Bridge on the River Kwai, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and one of the Jungle Book movies all included scenes shot on the island. It is about as far as a country can get from the united States, and when news about the country has reached Americans, it was usually bad news — such as the government’s long battle against the Tamil Tigers terrorist group, or the devastating 2004 tsunami. Yet with the Tamil insurgency defeated, in the past few years, Sri Lanka had begun to look like a success story by the standards of the region. As our Dominic Pino laid out: By 2019 it had been elevated from a lower-middle-income country to an upper-middle-income country by World Bank classifications. Its GDP per capita, adjusted for purchasing power, is about double that of India, about the same as the poorer countries of Eastern Europe such as ukraine and Moldova, and only slightly behind Brazil. Its largest city of Colombo had become a tourist destination. It’s not a wealthy country by any stretch of the imagination, but it was doing well for its neighborhood, and its 22 million inhabitants saw a dramatic improvement in their quality of life in the past decade. But everything fell apart fast: Inflation is raging out of control, the government defaulted on its debts, an energy crisis led to rolling blackouts, and the food shortages
spurred massive crowds of people to storm into the houses of the country’s wealthy rulers and effectively topple the government. Inflation in Sri Lanka has reached jaw-dropping levels: “Consumer prices rose 54.6 percent in June from a year earlier, with transport surging 128 percent from the previous month and food 80 percent.” Back in May, I noted that the Russian invasion of ukraine meant that two of the world’s biggest grain exporters were effectively taken out of the market, as well as Russian exports of fertilizer. I also said: The global fertilizer shortage is likely to reduce crop yields in a lot of places, which means we may be dealing with a worse problem in the coming months and years. using less fertilizer usually translates into fewer crops. . . . Hungry people do things that well-fed people do not. They protest and they riot. Hungry people move across borders as refugees. They are more easily recruited into terrorist or extremist groups. . . . Hungry populaces are more likely to turn to demagogues promising an easy solution. Where there is hunger, there is conflict. Back in early June, when very few Western minds were paying much attention to Sri Lanka, Dominic wrote an unnervingly prescient piece entitled, “Sri Lanka’s Collapse and the End of Globalization”: Coming out of the pandemic, Sri Lanka was counting on the return of tourism, a vital industry to the island country with many beaches on the Indian ocean. one problem: The firstand third-largest tourism markets for Sri Lanka were Russia and ukraine. Russia is also a major buyer of Sri Lankan tea. The realities of the war and the sanctions on Russia have upended that plan. . . . Protesters are in the streets, some of them setting politicians’ homes on fire, and police used tear gas to disperse them. Parkin writes that there are miles-long lines for gasoline, and some people are only eating one meal per day. Sri Lanka’s default may just be the start of a wider financial crisis in the developing world as a result of worsening global economic conditions. The country had the disadvantage of exceptionally poor leadership and bad timing of the pandemic and the war in ukraine. But poor leadership is common in the developing world, and less robust economies are especially susceptible to bad luck. Countries are economically connected in strange
ways. In many cases, those connections only become widely known in hindsight, after a crisis has made them obvious. It would be an overstatement to say that fewer Russians and ukrainians going on vacation plunged Sri Lanka into crisis, but that seemingly innocuous fact was one of many contributing factors. Those in the prosperous West who are cheering for the end of globalization should be careful what they wish for. And as the Wall Street Journal warns, there are other debt-ridden countries that are probably not too far from Sri Lanka’s dire position: Countries such as Zambia and Lebanon are already in the grip of crises and are seeking international help to provide loans or restructure their debts, while Pakistan’s new government, which came to power in April, says that it narrowly averted a debt default in recent weeks, driven by a soaring fuel-import bill. Foreign-exchange reserves held by the central bank dwindled to cover less than two months’ worth of exports, largely closing off Pakistan’s prospects of tapping international financial markets. China, a close ally, provided a $2.3 billion loan in June to shore up the foreigncurrency reserves. Bloomberg News adds El Salvador, Ghana, Egypt, and Tunisia to the troubled list. But Pakistan stands out, as that country has an estimated 165 nuclear weapons. one Indian business publication’s assessment of the Pakistani economy reads like a horror show, and it explicitly compares that country to Sri Lanka: runaway foreign debt; skyrocketing cost of foreign imports; a collapsing currency; falling exports; shortages of food, fuel, and medicines; hoping for rescue from the International Monetary Fund but having no negotiating leverage; and a recovery plan that relies on people drinking less tea and exporting donkeys to China. You would like to think that a country with a large nuclear arsenal would also know how to manage its borrowing, pay its debts, and keep its economy running smoothly. Then again, there’s probably some Pakistani out there wondering how an American could have the nerve to make that criticism. JIM GERAGHTY is the correspondent of National Review.
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Wednesday, 13 July, 2022 | ISLAMABAD
NEWS
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All SeT To CoMMeMoRATe SuPReMe SACRifiCeS of liveS by vAliAnT SonS of The Soil Pakistan’s exports to China surged 8 percent in June BEIJING app
Pakistan’s exports to China in June 2022 have increased by 8% to US$251.30 million as compared to the corresponding month of the previous year when it was recorded at US$232.74 million in June 2021. Also, as compared to May 2022, Pakistan’s exports to China have shown positive signs by gaining a value of US$22.38 million. In May, the total exports to China were recorded as US$228.92 million, China Economic Net reported. Pakistan’s exports to UAE, Italy, Netherlands, UK, Spain, Bangladesh, Thailand, Canada, and France have also increased as compared to the corresponding month of June 2021. Pakistan’s exports to all destinations of the world during June 2022 were recorded at US$2,887 million, which is 5.83% more than the corresponding month of June 2021 when the total figure was US$2,728 million. Regarding imports, China is one of the top partner countries which shows a decrease during June as compared to the corresponding month of the previous fiscal year. In June 2022, Pakistan’s imports from China decreased by 14% to US$1625.21 million compared to June 2021, US$1894.16 million imports. This is a good sign for Pakistan to minimise its trade deficit.
Two killed, four injured in Muzaffargarh firing
ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt
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PECIAL congregations will pay rich tributes to the Kashmiri martyrs at both sides of the LoC on Wednesday, July 13, in remembrance of valiant 22 sons of soil for laying down the supreme sacrifices of their precious lives 92 years ago this day (July 13) in 1931 in front of Central Jail in today’s’ occupied Srinagar. Jammu Kashmir people living both sides of the Line of control including AJK and IIOJK, besides rest of the world are all set to observe the 92nd Kashmir Martyrs Day on Wednesday, July 13, with the renewal of the pledge to continue the grand mission of the Kashmiri martyrs through continuing the freedom struggle, with full vigour, for the achievement of the birth right of self-determination and for the liberation of occupied Jammu & Kashmir from the tyrannical Indian rule. Symposium and meetings will be the hallmark of the Kashmir Martyrs Day across Azad Jammu & Kashmir as well as at various places in the bleeding Indian occupied Kashmir valley and rest of the world to observe the day with due solemnity and reverence to remember the Supreme sacrifices of the valiant sons of the soil. It was on this day in 1931 when the Dogra troops had shot dead 22 Kashmiris in front of the Central Jail Srinagar. A large number of people had gathered outside the jail protesting against the trial of a young man – Abdul Qadeer for treason inside the prison. In Azad Jammu Kashmir, it was a state holiday to facilitate the people to participate in the events of
the day from all over the liberated territory. This year too, the Kashmir Martyrs Day will be flanked by a sign of a new hope, that if India agrees to the ground realities without any reservations and learns a lesson from the historical facts that New Delhi cannot rule Kashmiris by force, may help bring a lasting peace and prosperity in the region through the early peaceful settlement of the Kashmir issue in line with the aspirations of the people of entire Jammu & Kashmir. In AJK people from all walks of life will manage special prayer meetings besides staging rallies and
seminars to pay rich tributes to Kashmiri martyrs were held at various places in AJK to mark the day. Special Kashmir Martyrs Day meetings will be hosted at all the district and tehsil headquarters including Mirpur, Muzaffarabad, Kotli, Bagh, Rawalakot, Sudhanoti, Neelam valley, Haveili, Hattiyan and Bhimbher and all other small and major towns and cities under the spirit of various social, political and religious Kashmiri outfits besides the civil society belonging to all spheres of life including the business community, lawyers and the media groups in various parts of the state.
Monitoring the flood situation in Lasbela, says CM King Salman Relief completes distribution of sacrificial meat in 10 districts of Pakistan
ISLAMABAD MonitoRing RepoRt
Two people were killed and four others injured in a firing incident in Muzaffargarh district of Punjab on Tuesday, reports said. The incident happened when two rival groups opened fire on each other after an argument between them, the reports said. One group allegedly accused the other of spying against them for the police, which led to the arrest of one of their family members. The injured people were shifted to a nearby hospital where two of them are in critical condition. Police reached the site following the firing incident and a search operation is underway to arrest the culprits from both groups, the reports added.
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Chief Minister Balochistan Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo said that he was in contact with the administration and PDMA to get updates on the situation arose after the monsoon rains in Lasbela. “We are aware of the difficulties faced by the people and the problems of the victims families will be addressed,” This was stated by the Chief Minister Balochistan in a tele-
phonic conversation with the leader of Balochistan Awami Party Lasbela Muhammad Hassan Jamoat. CM was apprised of the need to intensify relief operations in other areas following the flood situation caused by torrential rains. The Chief Minister was informed that Balochistan Awami Party workers and volunteers of the district administration are participating in the relief activities. The Chief Minister assured the provision of relief goods for
KP govt restores 2% property tax, hopes to collect Rs5.5bn NEwS DESk Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government restored local council property tax across the province after two years with the hope the collect Rs5.5bn annually. The KP cabinet had waived the 2% property tax on immovable property tax due to the Coronavirus pandemic and approved the transfer of the same amount to the 84 Tehsil
Municpal Administrations (TMAs) from the provincial exchequer. The Finance Department officials said that all the TMAs have been directed to collect local council fee at the rate of 2%. In this regard, the Finance Department informed the Local Government Department to start the tax collection process from July 1. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the KP government had stopped TMAs from collect-
ing the property tax for two years ago and released Rs 4 billion in first year and Rs 1 billion in the next year to TMAs as their expenditure. However, now that the situation has returned to normal, therefore, the KP government decided to start the tax collection. According to local government department sources, more than Rs5.5b is expected to be collected this year in term of local council fees, ie property tax.
the rehabilitation and relief of the people and said that in the light of the orders of the government of Balochistan, the survey teams of Lasbela administration are conducting surveys of the affected areas. Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo expressed deep sorrow over the loss of human lives during the flash flood and assured that government will take every possible steps to mitigate the losses caused by the calamity.
ISLAMABAD: King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KS-Relief) completed the distribution of the sacrifice of 300 bulls and 600 goats on the occasion of Eid-ul-Adha in ten districts of Pakistan so that deserving and affected people can also benefit from the sacrificial meat on Eid Day. Under this program, sacrificial (Qurbani) meat was distributed in 8 districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Charsadda, Mardan, Swabi, Lakki Marwat, Mansehra, Chitral, Kohistan, Bajour) and districts (Ganche and Rondo) in Gilgit Baltistan so that these people can also enjoy Eid, said a news release issued by the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Pakistan here on Tuesday. This sacrificial (Qurbani) program is carried out in collaboration with the National Disaster Management Authority, local government, and local NGO. As per details, more than 80,297 people benefited from this project. Staff RepoRt
Wednesday, 13 July, 2022 | ISLAMABAD
10 FOREIGN NEWS
TUrkey To hoST rUSSIA, UkrAIne, Un grAIn TAlkS
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URKEY said it will host Russian and Ukrainian delegations with UN diplomats on Wednesday to discuss the resumption of stalled grain deliveries across the Black Sea. The four-way meeting with Turkish officials comes as food prices soar around the world due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine is one of the world’s biggest exporters of wheat and other grain. But its shipments have been blocked by Russian warships and mines that Kyiv has laid across the Black Sea. NATO member Turkey — on good terms with both Russia and Ukraine — has spearheaded efforts to resume the grain deliveries. Turkish officials say they have 20 merchant ships waiting in the Black Sea that could be loaded quickly with Ukrainian grain. Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said on Tuesday that the meeting would involve the three countries’ military delegations and team from the
United Nations. “Military delegations from the Turkish, Russian and Ukrainian defence ministries, and a delegation of the United Nations, will hold talks tomorrow in Istanbul on the safe shipment to international markets of grain waiting in Ukrainian ports,” Akar said. – Erdogan-Putin talks – A Russian foreign ministry spokesman confirmed the meeting but also insisted that Moscow had a list of demands. “Another round of expert consultations is planned for July 13 in Istanbul,” ministry spokesman Pyotr Ilyichev was quoted as saying by Russia’s Interfax news agency. “Our understandable conditions include the possibility to control and search the ship to avoid the contraband of weapons, and Kyiv’s commitment not to stage provocations,” Ilyichev said. The Russian spokesman added that the UN team would act as “observers” at the talks. Turkish President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan has tried to use his good relations with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and Kyiv’s Westernbacked leaders to thrust Ankara into the centre of negotiations about Ukraine. Erdogan is due to meet Putin for the first time since Russia’s invasion when the two leaders are hosted by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Tehran next Tuesday. The talks are officially due to focus on the situation in war-ravaged Syria. But the Kremlin said Putin and Erdogan will also hold a separate meeting that is almost certain to focus heavily on Ukraine. – Snake Island – Turkey has been sending defence delegations to both Moscow and Kyiv in a bid to break the deadlock over Ukraine’s grain. A plan proposed by the United Nations would see the shipments start along specific corridors that avoid known locations of mines. Ukraine has refused to de-mine the area out of fear that Russia might then
stage an amphibious assault on cities such as the Black Sea port of Odessa. Ukraine’s port authority said last week that Kyiv’s recapture of Snake Island in the Black Sea has allowed it to resume shipments into neighbouring Romania along the Danube River. But those deliveries can only cover a small fraction of the 20 to 25 million tonnes of grain believed to be blocked in Ukraine. The negotiations are complicated by mounting suspicions that Russia is stealing and exporting grain from farmers in Ukrainian regions now under its control. Ukraine summoned Ankara’s ambassador to Kyiv after Turkey last week failed to seize a Russian-flag ship suspected of carrying confiscated grain. The ship returned to a Russian port after spending nearly a week anchored off Turkey’s Black Sea coast. Ukraine’s foreign ministry said it was “deeply disappointed” with Turkey. Agencies
China warns Asian nations to avoid being used as ‘chess pieces’ by big powers
US drone strike kills Islamic State Syria chief: Pentagon The leader of the Islamic State militant group in Syria was killed Tuesday in a US drone strike, the Pentagon said. Maher al-Agal was killed while riding a motorcycle near Jindayris in Syria, and one of his top aides was seriously injured, Pentagon Central Command spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Dave Eastburn told AFP. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed that Agal was killed in a drone strike. The Syrian Civil Defense Force said one person was killed and another injured in a strike that targeted a motorcycle outside Aleppo, but did not identify the victims. There was little information available about Agal, whom the Observatory called the Islamic State governor for the Levant. The strike came five months after a nighttime US raid in the town of Atme in northern Syria led to the death of the overall Islamic State leader, Abu Ibrahim al-Qurashi. US officials said Qurashi died when he detonated a bomb to avoid capture. Agencies
Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi said on Monday that countries should avoid being used as “chess pieces” by global powers in a region that he said was at risk of being reshaped by geopolitical factors. Addressing the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) secretariat in a speech in Jakarta, Wang said many countries in the region were under pressure to take sides. “We should insulate this region from geopolitical calculations… from being used as chess pieces from major power rivalry and from coercion,” said Wang, who was speaking through a translator. “The future of our region should be in our own hands,” he said. Southeast Asia has long been an area of friction between powers given its strategic importance, with countries in the region now wary of being caught in the middle of U.S-China rivalry. China claims almost the entire South China Sea as its territory based on what it says are historical maps, putting it at odds with some
ASEAN countries which say the claims are inconsistent with international law. Wang’s speech comes just days after he attended a G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in Bali and amid intense Chinese diplomacy that has seen him make string of stops across the region in recent weeks. On the sidelines of the G20, Wang held a five-hour meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken with both describing their first in-person talks since October as “candid”. Wang said on Monday he had told Blinken both sides should discuss the establishment of rules for positive interactions and to jointly uphold regionalism in the Asia-Pacific. “The core elements are to support ASEAN centrality, uphold the existing regional corporation framework, respect each other’s legitimate rights and interests in the Asia-Pacific instead of aiming to antagonize or contain the other side,” Wang said. Agencies
Japan mourns as funeral for former PM Abe held in Tokyo Mourners lined the streets of central Tokyo on Tuesday to bid farewell to assassinated former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, as his hearse was driven past political landmarks after a private funeral. The country’s longest-serving prime minister was gunned down on Friday while campaigning, in a crime that rattled Japan and prompted an outpouring of international condemnation and grief. His funeral was held at Tokyo’s Zojoji temple on Tuesday, with relatives and close acquaintances in attendance. But elsewhere in the temple compound, thousands of wellwishers lined up in the humid heat to pay their respects before a photo of the late leader, who held office until 2020. “I can’t get over my sadness, so I came here to lay flowers,” consultant Tsukasa Yokawa, 41, told AFP, describing Abe as “a great prime minister who did a lot to elevate Japan’s presence” globally. After the service, a hearse carrying Abe’s body departed for a final tour of some of the political landmarks he served in: the parliament, the prime minister’s office and the headquarters of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party. Residents gathered along the route, while staff and officials, including ministers and senior LDP figures, stood sombrely outside each venue. They pressed their hands together and bowed their heads in respect as the car arrived. Abe’s widow Akie sat in the front of the hearse — carrying her husband’s mortuary tablet inscribed with his posthumous Buddhist name — and bowed back. Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi, Abe’s brother, called the murder “an act of terrorism” on Tuesday. “I’ve lost my brother. At the same time, Japan has lost an irreplaceable leader,” he tweeted. “My brother loved Japan and risked his life to be a politician and protect this nation.” In a speech at the funeral, 81-year-old Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso recalled drinking and playing golf with his close ally. “You were supposed to read an eulogy for me. This is very painful,” he said, according to Japanese media. – Security flaws – Abe was campaigning in the western city of Nara when he was shot. The murder suspect, 41-year-old Tetsuya Yamagami, is in custody and has told police he targeted Abe because he believed the politician was linked to an organisation he resented. Yamagami approached him from behind in broad daylight, in circumstances that have raised questions about security. Satoshi Ninoyu, the chairman of the National Public Safety Commission, a cabinet position overseeing national police, pledged Tuesday to hold a full review of any security failings. Local police have already admitted flaws in their guarding programme for the high-profile politician. Police searches of the suspect’s home have found pellets and other possible components for building a gun like the crude weapon used in the attack, Japanese media reported Tuesday, citing unnamed investigative sources. Yamagami spent three years in Japan’s navy and reportedly told investigators that his mother’s large donations to a religious organisation had caused the family financial troubles. The Unification Church, a global religious movement founded in Korea in the 1950s, said on Monday that Yamagami’s mother was a member, but did not comment on any donations she may have made. – Condolences pour in – Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said Tuesday that more than 1,700 condolence messages had been received from 259 countries, territories and international bodies. Agencies
China provides heartfelt help to quake-hit Afghanistan, never stands idle when its friends are in need Qian Feng Web Desk
In the early hours of June 22, a 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan, making it the country’s deadliest in two decades. Up to now, the earthquake has killed more than 1,500 people, injured nearly 2,000 people, destroyed tens of thousands of houses, and killed at least 155 children. Since rescue efforts have been blocked by torrential floods in some Afghan provinces, local officials say the death toll could still rise. As is known to all, Afghanistan ended years of war after the US military withdrawal last August. Since then, the country has been in desperate need of funds to rebuild and recover. However, the US government froze $7 billion in assets of Afghanistan’s central bank, and stopped eco-
nomic aid on the grounds of punishing the Afghan Taliban. This has exacerbated the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the country and damaged its economy and people’s livelihoods. What is worse, Afghanistan has been hit by a series of natural disasters recently, including wildfires and floods in some places. After the earthquake, this landlocked, mountainous country has been further plunged into a dual economic and humanitarian crisis. Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi has frankly admitted that the government is “financially unable to provide the needed assistance to the affected people.” The top leader of the Afghan Taliban has also publicly called for international assistance for the disaster-stricken people. His remarks speak volumes of the seriousness of the earthquake disaster in Afghanistan.
China never stands idle when its friends are in need. As a friendly neighbor and sincere friend of Afghanistan, the Chinese government and people are concerned about the affected areas and people. The Chinese government immediately decided to provide 50 million yuan of emergency humanitarian assistance to the disaster-hit areas. Several batches of relief supplies have arrived and are being distributed in a fast and efficient manner, and more supplies are on the way. During a phone call with Acting Foreign Minister Ali Mutaki of the Afghan Interim Government on June 27, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi stressed that as a friendly neighbor and sincere friend of Afghanistan, China empathizes with the Afghan people for the difficulties they are facing and China is ready to provide more timely assistance to
Afghanistan based on its needs. Wang said he believes the Afghan side will stay united to overcome the disaster and rebuild their homes as soon as possible. China’s rapid action, which can be summed up in three words – fast, solid and considerate, has won the praise from the international community and the Afghan people and fully demonstrated China’s speed, reputation and humanitarian spirit. Fast: Time is life. From the Chinese government to Chinese social organizations and enterprises, everyone has been racing against time to deliver humanitarian supplies to the disaster-affected people as quickly as possible, so that they can tide over the difficulties soon. Solid: China is a firm advocate of global development cooperation. It faithfully does what it has said. All the 8,000 tons of food China had promised to send to Afghanistan
has already arrived in the country. China has also announced that it will add additional emergency humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan for earthquake relief. Considerate: Apart from the fast arrival of disaster relief materials, China has carefully considered the multiple difficulties faced by the affected people and their actual needs, and subsequently included the much needed materials such as tents, folding beds, blankets and bed quilts into the supplies, which have been well-received and highly applauded by the people in distress. China’s rescue work is the best manifestation of the friendship between China and Afghanistan which goes back to ancient times. It shows that China is fulfilling its promise of being a responsible major country, and doing all it can to build a community with a shared future for mankind.
Wednesday, 13 July, 2022 | ISLAMABAD
SPORTS 11
‘Really happy’: Thai fans Of Man UTd, liveRpOOl painT BangkOk Red BANGkok APP
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FTER the rains came the red wave, as tens of thousands of jersey-wearing fans surged into Bangkok’s Rajamangala Stadium to witness Manchester United and Liverpool’s pre-season clash on Tuesday night. The renovated stadium — boasting a newly laid pitch that was hastily covered to protect it during a downpour ahead of the match — is hosting the Premier League titans for the latest chapter of one of the oldest rivalries in English football. For Thai Termjit ‘Ip’ Trungchitvilas,
proudly wearing her Liverpool shirt, it was a dream come true. “It’s my first ever time seeing them play,” the 36-year-old, who has supported the team for the past three decades, told AFP. With tickets starting at 5,000 baht ($140), fears over filling the 51,000 capacity stadium — with scattered reports ahead of the match of cut-price tickets — seemed borne out by swathes of empty upper tiers in the stands. Trungchitvilas paid 15,000 baht ($420) for her ticket, snapping up her seat on the first day the tickets went on sale. “It’s a lot of money,” she admitted, but added it was worth it to see her favourite
player Mohamed Salah in person. While Salah was on the bench as the match started, Manchester United’s superstar Cristiano Ronaldo was not on the trip as speculation mounted over his future at the club. But United fan ‘Paht’ Siripanichleul, 25, said he was still overjoyed to be at the stadium to see his favourite players, as preseason football tours by Europe’s top clubs return to Asia for the first time since the pandemic. “I’m really happy they are doing this tour, its important for the fans,” he said. As night fell the crowd was warmed up with a pyrotechnic show from K-pop star Jackson Wang and a performance from pop-
ular Thai singer Mili — who shot to international fan after eating sticky rice and mango at the Coachella music festival in the United States. The thousands of fans who were present roared as the teams emerged, with Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp drawing the biggest screams. And once the whistle went for the kickoff, at 8:00pm (1300 GMT), the crowd did their best to show it wasn’t quantity but quality that counted as the polluted night air reverberated with chants, frenzied clapping, screams and cheers. “I love Liverpool so much,” said 29year-old accountant ‘Air’ Nantaporn, who
The Sting redux: Fake IPL set up to dupe Russian punters AHMEDABAD AFP
A gang of conmen set up a fake Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament with farm labourers acting as players to dupe Russian punters in a betting scam reminiscent of the Oscar-winning 1973 movie “The Sting”. The grifters managed to reach the quarterfinal stage of their so-called “Indian Premier Cricket League” before the racket was busted by Indian police. The tournament began three weeks after the actual IPL concluded in May, according to police, but that proved no hindrance to the gang, who they said leased a remote farm in the western state of Gujarat. They installed a cricket pitch, complete with “boundary lines and halogen lamps,” police inspector Bhavesh Rathod told reporters. “Besides this, the accused had set up high-resolution cameras on the ground and used computer-generated graphics to display scores on a live-streaming screen,” he added. The gang hired labourers and unemployed youths for 400 rupees ($5) per game and broadcast the matches live over a YouTube channel called “IPL”. Players took turns to wear jerseys of the Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indi-
AFP
ans and Gujarat Titans, police said, acting on the instructions of the Russiabased mastermind. Crowd noise sound effects were downloaded from the internet and a speaker with a knack for mimicking one of IPL’s real Indian commentators was used to make the tournament appear authentic. At the same time, the cameraman made sure that the entire ground was not shown, beaming close-ups of the players
instead. Russian punters were lured into betting their rubles on a Telegram channel set up by the gang, who would then alert the fake umpire on the pitch using walkie-talkies. The supposed official “would signal the bowler and batsman to hit a six, four or get out,” Rathod added. A “quarter-final” match was being played “when we got a tip-off and we busted the racket,” said Rathod. The accused had received a first in-
NEW DELHI ReuteRs
As India prepares for its first “National Javelin Day” on August 7 to mark the anniversary of Neeraj Chopra’s historic Olympic gold medal, the 24-year-old will hope to bring a maiden senior World Championships medal to the celebrations. Chopra, the son of a farmer, came up with an effort of 87.58 metres in Tokyo last year to become the first Indian to claim an individual Olympic gold in athletics. While superstardom has followed the athlete with Bollywood good looks, his focus has remained on pushing the boundaries in a sport that is dwarfed in cricket-crazy India and Chopra heads into the worlds looking to break new ground. Chopra, who hails from the Northern Indian state of Haryana — better known for producing wrestlers and kabaddi players — threw a personal best of 89.30m at last month’s Paavo Nurmi Games before improving it to 89.94m at the Stockholm Diamond League. “I’m close to 90m,” said Chopra, who finished second in Stockholm behind Grenada’s reigning world champion Anderson Peters. “I know I can throw it this
stalment of more than 300,000 rupees (nearly $4,000) from the punters in Russia, Rathod said. The scheme has echoes of “The Sting”, the 1973 movie starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford, in which a group of con artists set up a fake betting operation in order to defraud a gangster. The Board of Control for Cricket (BCCI) in India did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.
year. “A lot of guys now are capable of throwing over 90m. It’ll take 89m plus to win in Eugene.” Victory at Eugene, Oregon will mean Chopra will become the first men’s javelin thrower to follow an Olympic triumph with a world title since Norway’s Andreas Thorkildsen in 2008-09. ‘NO PRESSURE’: Chopra said being the reigning Olympic champion would not heap pressure on him
ahead of the July 15-24 worlds. “Nothing of that sort should happen because I play with a free mind and perform to my potential,” he added. “There’s no pressure […] I train well and give 100 percent in competition.” Chopra’s chances have improved following the withdrawal of Johannes Vetter, who has the secondbiggest throw of all time, after the German sustained a shoulder injury, while Peters is managing a back issue. Long jumper Anju Bobby George remains the only Indian to claim a world medal with a bronze in 2003, Chopra — dubbed by the nation’s media as the “man with the golden arm” — looks primed to continue his run of success. At the Gold Coast in 2018, the former world junior champion became only the third man to win an athletics gold for India at the Commonwealth Games after sprinter Milkha Singh in 1958 and discus thrower Vikas Gowda in 2014. He then added an Asian Games gold in Jakarta before becoming a household name with his Olympic win, which meant that he spent the second half of last year being feted by an adoring nation and only resumed training in December.
Djokovic doubts US Open participation but ‘hope springs eternal’ AFP
Recently-crowned Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic said on Monday it is unlikely he will feature in this year’s US Open as he continues to refuse to be vaccinated against coronavirus. As things stand, the 35-yearold’s unvaccinated status means he will not be allowed into the United
Biles’s Olympic meltdown sparks stars into going public on mental health PARIS
India’s javelin champion Chopra looks to break new ground at worlds
BELGRADE
couldn’t stop beaming and giving thumbs-up gestures. “It’s a good day for me, I hope”.
States to play in the tournament, which starts next month. The Serb was deported from Australia over his vaccination status in January, preventing him from defending his Australian Open title. “At the moment I can’t go to the United States, I’m hoping for positive news, but there’s not a lot of time, I don’t know, hope springs eternal,” he told Serbian broadcasters RTS.
“I’d like to play the US Open but if it doesn’t happen it’s not the end of the world, nor the first Grand Slam I have to withdraw from. “It’s important to me to stay healthy, physically and mentally, so I can still play for a long time and the chances to do so will certainly come,” he added. The Serbian top seed beat Nick Kyrgios in four sets on Sunday to win his seventh title at the All Eng-
land Club and 21st Grand Slam crown overall — leaving him just one behind Rafael Nadal. “People asked me, speaking about my records, what was my favourite number and I cited one of my idols, who is no longer with us, Kobe Bryant,” Djokovic said in front of a crowd of thousands of fans in Belgrade. “My favourite title is the next one,” he added.
American gymnastics superstar Simone Biles’s legacy may not be the four Olympic gold medals she won in her career but a remarkable meltdown at the Tokyo Olympics which sparked other sports greats to speak out about their battle with mental health issues. Biles’s attack of the twisties — a condition meaning gymnasts lose the ability to orientate themselves in mid-air — is perhaps the most abiding image of the Games. Since then, retired French football icon Thierry Henry and Irish rugby great Keith Earls have spoken frankly about their problems. Biles’s travails followed Japan’s four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka who had admitted to her battles with depression in May last year. Henry usually cut a very composed and assured figure on and off the pitch so his admission came out of the blue and a surprise to many. “To cry was impossible,” Henry told L’Equipe newspaper in March. “You are not allowed to show your weaknesses. “It was: ‘Thierry, do not cry, do not cry, do not cry!’ “I did cry when I was on my own, but I struggled with myself not to crack in public. “NOw I cRy,” addEd thE aRSENal lEgENd: Earls has accrued over 90 caps for Ireland and was a pivotal member of the 2018 Six Nations Grand Slam winning side. He was diagnosed as bi-polar in 2013 after biting the bullet and going to see a psychiatrist. The 34-year-old’s openness in his 2021 autobiography ‘Fight or Flight: My Life, My Choices’ was described as “inspiring” by his Ireland team-mate James Ryan. “My admiration of him (Earls) has grown more, the way he’s able to normalise that, that it doesn’t matter who you are… Mental health doesn’t discriminate,” said Ryan. Earls says that on the back of his revelations other team-mates have decided to go and see a psychiatrist. This transparency seems to have broken the taboo where it was not seen as the done thing for sports people to go and see someone to discuss their mental health. “Twenty years ago it was the same thing regarding mentally preparing for events,” Greg Decamps, a researcher in sports psychology at Bordeaux University told AFP. “NObOdy SaId ‘I am SEEINg a mENtal cOach’: “We are beginning to see the same thing in terms of consultations at sports psychology clinics. “Because we cannot expect athletes to perform if there are unresolved psychological problems.” England’s men’s cricket Test captain Ben Stokes is another who has opened the door on mental health issues. The 31year-old followed a long list of cricketers such as Marcus Trescothick, Sarah Taylor and Andrew Flintoff who have struggled with mental health when he admitted his problems last year, taking four months away from the game to manage his illness. “I was in a real dark place and having some difficult thoughts,” he said in May when he was elevated to the captaincy. “I now realise talking is such a powerful thing and it has completely changed me.”
Wednesday, 13 July, 2022
prayer timings
NEWS
PuNjAb by-POLLs ARe A fIght fOR “ReAL INdePeNdeNce”: IMRAN KhAN BHAkkAR
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staff report
ORMER Prime Minister Imran Khan Tuesday said that the byelection in Punjab Province were a “fight for real independence”, urging the people to support his quest against the “turncoats and thieves”. Addressing a public gathering in Bhakkar, Imran Khan said that he would not accept the “thieves” in power even if his life is taken. Berating the incumbent government, PTI Chairman Imran Khan said that the coalition parties had not come to reduce inflation but to abolish the corruption cases registered against them. He said it is a “jihad against the thieves” imposed on the nation under the US regime change conspiracy. The PTI leader claimed that the parties in the coalition government had been plundering the national wealth and the country for the past 30 years, adding that he has been fighting against them for the last 26 years. Declaring the upcoming by-elections in the province a “fight for real independence”, Imran Khan urged the
people to support him against the “turncoats and thieves”. It is a jihad against the thieves imposed on the nation under the US regime change conspiracy, he added. The PTI leader said that these people had been plundering the national wealth and the
country for the past 30 years, adding that he has been fighting against them for the last 26 years. “A person who does not have any ideology and Qibla becomes a turncoat”, he said and added that jail threats are being given to our people.
Imran Khan said that “they” wanted us to accept the thieves but we will never accept them. Imran Khan made it clear that they would not accept US slavery at all costs. Criticising the collation government, he said a “US slave” has been made the prime minister of Pakistan. He maintained that Shehbaz Sharif is a “thief” and his son Hamza Shehbaz is an unconstitutional chief minister. During his address, the ousted prime minister also lashed out at the PPP and its co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari. He alleged Zardari and his aides were sending Sindh’s money abroad. Without naming PML-N’s Maryam Nawaz, Imran Khan said that a “liar queen” is leading the campaign of thieves. Dubbing Suleman Shehbaz a “kickback specialist”, Imran Khan said that the Panama Papers revealed that Maryam Nawaz has Rs4 billion properties in London’s posh area. The PTI leader said that they conceal the stolen money abroad to escape the accountability process. He urged the masses to inflict a defeat on the thieves to change their own fate on July 17.
PM directs civic bodies to be alert ahead of Thursday’s monsoon spell
Pak Army, Navy, Rangers on the roads to help civilians deal with unprecedented rains
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday directed the federal and provincial civic bodies to closely monitor the safety measures ahead of the monsoon spell starting Thursday. The prime minister asked the authorities concerned to ensure a proper precautionary system for the people across the country including Sindh, Balochistan and South Punjab. PM Sharif lauded the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) for extending support to provincial governments and institutions in controlling the situation amid heavy rains. He mentioned unity, cooperation and selfless service to the people as strength of his government.
The prime minister also paid tribute to the provincial governments and the institutions for their services in protecting the lives and property of the people. He urged the departments concerned to do their best to serve the people with dedication. In a message to the workers and staffers of civic bodies, he said the spirit of helping the mankind was in fact the greatest and noble service. He commended the departments responsible for municipal and civic measures including the police for showing a great spirit of public service during the Eid holidays. news desk
NewS DeSk The Pakistan Navy in its humanitarian assistance and disaster relief activities in rain affected areas of creeks conducted relief operations and helped locals draw standing water from houses in different areas. Pakistan Navy was present in the area at the request of the civil administration and was constantly monitoring the situation under Operation Madad (assistance), said the Pakistan Navy spokesman in a news release received here. All field units of Pakistan Navy were issued orders to provide all possible assistance to the people in case of any emergency, he said. Earlier, the Pakistan Navy Directorate General of Public Relations on its official Twitter handle shared that the Pakistan Navy Humanitarian Assistance Disaster Relief (HADR) Operations in collaboration to provincial disaster management authority of Sindh continued in various areas of Karachi. The rescue operations aimed to support marooned populace during torrential rains, it said. Pakistan Navy troops were reaching out to deep localities and stood with nation midst challenges of severe urban flooding. Meanwhile, Brig Shafiq Awan revealed that Army troops and Rangers are busy in relief efforts Unprecedented and unexpected rain spell hit Karachi especially southern part. In last 6-8 hrs only 106 mm of rain record in few areas of Karachi . All Nullahs including Gujjar, Orangi and Mehmoodabad are working at their optimum capacity. Water will recede in due course of time. In this critical moment, Besides CBC and DHA, Pak Army and Rangers are busy in relief efforts .
NDMA alerts departments amid vigorous monsoon, torrential rains across country ISLAMABAD staff report
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Tuesday issued advisory to the provincial and federal departments to stay vigilant and alert amid fresh weather forecast of vigorous monsoon and torrential rains. The press release said that as per fresh forecast by Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) monsoon currents were penetrating upper and central parts of the country and another strong Monsoon Low Pressure Area system was likely approaching Sindh, which was forecast to continue
from July 13 to July 17 and to cause more heavy rains. The NDMA has issued instructions to the concerned federal ministries, departments, respective provincial governments, their line departments including press information departments (PIDs), provincial, Gilgit Baltistan and State disaster management authorities PDMAs, GBDMA and SDMA respectively, district administrations and DDMAs, municipal administrations and major metropolis to remain watchful and take all necessary precautionary measures to deal with any untoward situation. The departments were also directed to ensure pre-place-
ment of emergency equipment including de-watering pumps and availability of emergency personnel to respond to any emergency especially in case of any blockage, road closure and damage, it said. It also directed to ensure timely evacuation of population from low-lying and flood prone areas as per evacuation plans and make certain availability of shelter, food and medicines in relief camps. The NDMA further urged the relevant authorities and departments to conduct mass public awareness and alert population about possible risks associated with the monsoon rains and avoid unnecessary travelling during the said period.
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ISLAMABAD The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has asked all political parties to file with it details of their assets for fiscal year 2021-22 on or before August 29. The ECP said that under Section 210 of the Elections Act, 2017 read with Section 204 of the act and rules 159 and 160 of the Election Rules, 2017, every political party was bound to submit to the Election Commission within 60 days from the close of each financial year a consolidated statement of accounts of the party, duly audited by a chartered accountant. Section 210 provides that a political party
shall, in such a manner as may be prescribed, submit to the Commission, within 60 days from the close of a financial year, a consolidated statement of its accounts audited by a chartered accountant on Form-D containing: (i) annual income and expenses; (ii) sources of its funds; and (iii) assets and liabilities. The statement to be submitted to the ECP shall accompany the report of a chartered accountant with regard to the audit of accounts of a political party and a certificate signed by an office-bearer authorised by the party head stating that: (i) no funds from any source prohibited under the Elections Act, 2017, were received by the political party; and (ii) The statement contains an accurate financial position of the political party.
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PM office flouts instructions to cut POL related expenditures ISLAMABAD staff report
The Prime Minister’s office has flouted PM Shehbaz Sharif’s instructions to cut petroleum related expenditures to 40%. According to details, the premier had directed all departments to cut petroleum expenses in order to curtail expenditures. However, the PM’s office has allocated a higher amount for petroleum related expenses in the current fiscal year 2022-23. Details show that the PM’s office has allocated Rs20 million on the account of petroleum expenses during FY23 which was Rs19.1 million during FY22. Similarly, the president’s house as well as the president’s secretariat spent Rs23.49 million and Rs25 million, respectively, on petrol in the last fiscal year while the two have now been allocated Rs20 million and Rs25.5 million for FY23. Documents show that the National Assembly secretariat disbursed Rs28.11 million on the account of petroleum related expenditures while the government has been allocated Rs30 million in the current fiscal year. Meanwhile, the Senate Secretariat has been allocated Rs35 million on the account of petroleum related expenses which was Rs34.9 million in FY22.
Imran becomes dark chapter in national history: Marriyum NewS DeSk Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb said on Tuesday that loot and plunder of Imran Khan and his spouse Bushra Bibi cannot be hidden by trying to link opponents with treason and making a false narrative of corruption. In a statement, she said presence of huge number of people in the PML-N rallies in the bye-elections was proof that Imran Khan had become a dark chapter in national history. Declaring war on inflation, unemployment, economic catastrophe, anarchy, hatred and hunger, the people had rejected Imran Khan, said the minister. The revolution came on April 11 under a public decision, she said adding that Imran had gone home after becoming a symbol of corruption and incompetence. The victory of PML-N on July 17 will further prove this reality, she maintained. She further stated that the coalition government, led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, had thwarted Imran Khan’s conspiracy to turn Pakistan into Sri Lanka whose economy was completely collapsed. “Keep lying Imran Sahib, while Shehbaz Sharif, his brother (Nawaz Sharif) and his allies in the government will continue to strive for the economic self-sufficiency and national development, and to resolve problems of people,” she said in a news statement while reacting to the Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf Chairman’s address to a public gathering. The minister said Imran Khan should be ashamed of himself as it was his government which signed agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on tough conditions. “Shame on you, Imran Khan as it is you who has said that he would rather commit suicide instead of going to IMF,” Marriyum added. She said the national economy would have been in better state if Imran had not misused the power to make billions through corruption. Calling Imran Khan a “beggar”, she said he sold watches (gifts) from Toshakhana to make a few millions. “What he has done while being into the power for four years? Why is he crying and whining now,” she questioned. She said ironically, the person, who took loans worth over Rs 20,000 billions, was showing his concern for the economy.
ECP asks political parties to submit details of assets staff report
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The statement of accounts is to be submitted on Form-D as prescribed under the rules. Printed forms are available free of cost at the Election Commission Secretariat, Islamabad, and in the offices of the provincial election commissioners, Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. The membership/certificate issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP) in respect of the auditor engaged shall be annexed to the Form-D along with the last valid renewal certificate. The Form-D shall also accompany a legible copy of each of the bank statements for the period of July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022, of the party, along with a bank reconciliation statement.
Published by Arif Nizami at Plot # 7, Al-Baber Centre, F/8 Markaz, Islamabad, for PT Print (Pvt) Limited. Ph: 051-2204545. Email: newsroom@pakistantoday.com.pk