Epaper – June 26 ISB 2021 by Pakistan Today

Saturday, 26 June, 2021 I 15 Dhul-Qadah, 1442 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XI No 356 I 12 Pages I Islamabad Edition

FATF decides To keep pAkisTAn on grey lisT g

Dr Marcus Pleyer says Pakistan has MaDe ‘significant Progress’ aDDressing 26 out of 27 iteMs on action Plan

he financial action task force has decided to keep Pakistan on its grey list as it is yet to fully implement the action plan. the decision was taken as its five-day virtual meeting in Paris that started on June 21 concluded. announcing the decision in a virtual press conference after the financial watchdog's five-day plenary meeting, fatf President Dr Marcus Pleyer said, "Pakistan has made significant progress and it has largely addressed 26 out of 27 items on the action plan it first committed to in June 2018." Pleyer, however, added that the item on financial terrorism still needed to be addressed which concerned the "investigation and prosecution of senior leaders and commanders of un-designated terror groups". he also pointed out that "a separate process has been taking place over the past few years" insofar as Pakistan was concerned "Back in 2019, fatf regional partner, the asia Pacific group (aPg), identified a number of serious issues during its assessment of Pakistan’s entire anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing system. since then Pakistan has made improvements. this includes clear efforts to raise awareness in the private sector to money laundering risks and to develop and use financial intelligence to build cases." But, he said, Pakistan was still "failing to effectively implement the global fatf standards" across a number of areas. "this means risks of money laundering remain high which in turn can fuel corruption and organised crime. that is why the fatf has worked with the Pakistan government to work on areas that need to be improved as part of the new action plan that largely focuses on money laundering risks. this includes increasing the number of investigations and prosecutions and making sure that law

enforcement agencies cooperate internationally to trace, freeze and confiscate assets. "this is about helping authorities stop corruption and prevent organised criminals from profiting from their crimes and undermining the financial system and legitimate economy in Pakistan," Pleyer said. When asked about the new action plan after the aPg evaluation, Pleyer said the plan had "six action items including enhancing international cooperation and demonstrating that assistance is being sought from foreign countries in implementing un security council designations". he said "this is about demonstrating that supervisors are conducting both onsite and offsite supervision commensurate with the specific risks associated with the non-financial sector." "it’s also about demonstrating that sanctions are applied to all legal persons and

arrangements for non-compliance with beneficial ownership requirements; increase in money laundering investigations and demonstrating that non-financial sector is being monitored for compliance with proliferation financing requirements," he added. the watchdog's president, responding to a question, said all items on both action plans needed to be addressed and goals fulfilled for countries to exit the grey list. for Pakistan, Pleyer said, even after the last remaining item on the original action plan was addressed, delisting would not occur as there was a parallel action plan that was also given. he said this while responding to a question from an indian journalist, who had asked if Pakistan would be delisted after addressing the single remaining item on the original action plan or if the five additional items added by the asia Pacific group would also need to be addressed. "as soon as this last remaining item of the [original] action plan is largely addressed, the members will decide whether they will grant an onsite [assessment] for this action plan. usually once an onsite [assessment] has been successfully completed, the membership can decide on delisting a country. "But in this case we have a parallel action plan with all the action items in the second action plan. then Pakistan must also largely complete all the items on this action plan and then there will be a separate onsite [assessment] to decide on this action plan. "so the delisting will not occur before both action plans are completed and two onsite [assessments] have been granted and successfully completed and have shown that the improvements are sustainable before the fatf members decide on delisting," Pleyer said. News Desk

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5 FC soldiers martyred in Sibi terrorist attack: ISPR five soldiers from frontier corps, Balochistan, were martyred after terrorists targeted a patrolling party in sibi district’s sangan area, the military’s media affairs wing said on friday. “During the exchange of fire, heavy losses were inflicted on to the terrorists in men and materials,” the inter-services Public relations said in a statement. the five martyred soldiers were identified as havildar Zafar ali khan, lance naik hidayatullah, lance naik nasir abbas, lance naik Basheer ahmed and sepoy noorullah. “a sanitisation/search operation is also in progress to block the escape routes of the terrorists and apprehend the perpetrators,” the isPr said. “such cowardly acts by inimical elements, backed by hostile intelligence agencies, cannot sabotage the hard earned peace and prosperity in Balochistan,” the statement said. “security forces are determined to neutralise their nefarious designs even at the cost of blood and lives,” it concluded. interior Minister sheikh rashid ahmed condemned the terrorist attack and offered prayers for the martyred soldiers.

“terrorists cannot demoralise us by carrying out such cowardly attacks. the state will fight against terrorists will all its might,” he said, adding that fc Balochistan have made great sacrifices for the country’s safety and security. in a statement, leader of the opposition in the national assembly shehbaz sharif condemned the attack and paid tribute to the martyred soldiers. “the increase in unrest in Balochistan is alarming. the law and order situation needs immediate attention,” he said. earlier this month, four soldiers from fc Balochistan, including a junior commissioned officer, had embraced martyrdom in a blast on the MargetQuetta road. according to the isPr, terrorists had used an improvised explosive device to target the fc troops who were employed on the road for security of Marget mines. the martyred soldiers were identified as subedar sardar ali khan, a resident of lakki Marwat; sepoy Musaddaf hussain, a resident of Vehari; sepoy Muhammad anwar, who belonged to Dera ismail khan; and sepoy awais khan, a resident of neelum. News Desk

Saturday, 26 June, 2021

ISLAMABAD

NEWS

PakisTan won’T Take miliTary aCTion if Taliban Take over kabul: Pm ISLAMABAD

TLTP

RIME Minister Imran Khan has said if the Taliban took over Afghanistan by force, Pakistan will not take military action against them. The prime minister said this while speaking to The New York Times via video call about the way forward for Pakistan in light of the US forces leaving Afghanistan by September 11, reported the daily on Friday. “Let me assure you, we will do everything except use military action against the Taliban,” Khan replied when asked what Pakistan would do if the Taliban took over

Afghanistan by force. “I mean, we will do everything up to that. All sections of our society have decided that Pakistan will take no military action.” “Now, we are fencing it (PakistanAfghanistan border), and almost 90 percent of the border, we’ve fenced now,” Khan added. “What if [the] Taliban try to take over Afghanistan through [the] military? Then we will seal the border, because now we can, because we have fenced our border, which was previously [open], because Pakistan does not want to get into, number one, conflict, secondly, we do not want another influx of refugees.” Asked if Pakistan would recognise the Taliban if they carried out a full military

sindh’s rs1.47tn budget approved by provincial assembly NewS DeSk The budget for the next fiscal year presented by Sindh government was approved by the provincial assembly on Friday amid the opposition’s protests. The opposition termed the Rs1,477 billion budget for FY22 as “deficit”, “anti-people” and “anti-poor”, adding that it ignored the provincial capital and other urban areas of the country in terms of development, The Express Tribune reported. “I held meetings with the opposition to avoid protest and focus on [the] budget. We also gave an opportunity to the opposition members for moving cut motions, but no one seemed interested. Not a single cut motion is received by my office,” said Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani while presiding over the session this morning. “Similarly, I gave the floor to the leader of the opposition to speak on the budget. But he opted for protest. In this situation, we have no other option but to go ahead and pass the budget,” Durrani added. The speaker asked Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah to present the total grants for the next financial year to pass the budget. But as the chief minister stood up, the joint opposition started their protest. Amid the noisy session, Murad, who also holds the portfolio of finance minister, presented the total grants for the financial year, announcing a 20 percent increase in the salaries of government employees, while setting the minimum wage in the province to Rs25,000. In the budget, the provincial government increased the development portfolio by 41 per cent, allocating Rs329 billion for the purpose. Despite the protest, the budget was passed with majority votes. Later, Sindh Information Minister Nasir Shah told the media that it was the opposition members who created a pandemonium in the house, compelling the speaker to make such a decision. “Even [the] CM did not speak because of the opposition members’ unruly attitude,” he added. Leader of the Opposition Haleem Adil Sheikh said that for the first time in the parliamentary history of Pakistan, the opposition and specifically the opposition leader of Sindh and parliamentary leaders of the major opposition parties, i.e. PTI and GDA were barred from speaking during the session. He claimed that Durrani, on the instructions of Murad and his party leadership, had decided to not let the opposition, specifically the opposition leader, whose speech during the budget session is pivotal to the democratic process, speak.

takeover in Afghanistan, Khan said: “Pakistan will only recognise a government which is chosen by the people of Afghanistan, whichever government they choose.” He said after the US withdrawal, he wished that Pakistan and the US could fix their “lopsided” equation of the past. “What we want in the future is a relationship based on trust and common objectives,” he said. “That’s actually what we have right now with the US.” Replying to a question related to Pakistan’s future relationship with the US after the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, PM Khan said that Pakistan has always had a closer relationship with the United States than neighbouring India.

“After 9/11, Pakistan again opted to join the US war on terror. Now, after the US leaves Afghanistan, basically Pakistan would want a civilised relationship, which you have between nations, and we would like to improve our trading relationship with the US,” he said. When asked what he meant by a “civilised” relationship, the premier said that Pakistan expects an “even-handed” relationship which, for instance, the US holds with Britain or India at the moment. He said that Pakistan and the US share a rather “lopsided” relationship during the war on terror, adding that Pakistan’s participation in the war claimed the lives of 70,000 Pakistanis together with a loss of over $150 billion due to the ensuing bombings and

Qureshi terms Modi’s meeting with Kashmiri leaders as ‘PR exercise’ NewS DeSk Noting that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with senior politicians of Indian Occupied Kashmir achieved nothing, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Friday termed it as “a public relations exercise”. According to Dawn, the foreign minister, while addressing a press conference, said that the talks were an effort to restore India and Modi’s reputation after the hit it took internationally in the wake of India’s repressive measures in occupied Kashmir on August 5, 2019, when the region’s special autonomy was removed. “In my view it was a drama and why was it a drama? Because at best it could be called a public relations exercise but

nothing was achieved [from it],” said the foreign minister. He termed the talks “unsuccessful and pointless”, adding that nothing would be gained from them. “Kashmiris are still in search of their identity. They are demanding their autonomous status and independence. They want security and are not accepting the demographic restructuring [in IOK].” FM Qureshi said that the Kashmiri politicians had unanimously called for a reversal of the steps taken on August 5, 2019, during the meeting. “We can clearly analyse from the discourse which has come out that they wish for full fledged restoration of statehood,” he said. Qureshi said that the politicians had gotten no concrete answer on their demands and were instead told that statehood could be restored at an

opportune time. “This is very vague. What is an opportune time? Two years have passed and how many more Kashmiri lives will have to be sacrificed?” questioned the foreign minister. He added the Kashmiris’ lack of confidence and trust had also been raised in the talks as well as the anger and pain being felt by them. FM Qureshi said that the discussions had shown present conditions in IOK to be contrary to Indian government’s claims of “development and prosperity” since compensation had also been demanded for the financial loss suffered by IOK in two years, with one participant claiming that “more than 50 per cent of industry is closed in IOK”. “So the perception is not that prosperity has arrived or will arrive.

Pakistan again assures US of its support for Afghan peace process ISLAMABAD INP

Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood on Friday received a telephone call from US Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs Ambassador Victoria Nuland as they discussed bilateral relations and key regional issues. According to a spokesman for Foreign Office, the foreign secretary underlined Pakistan’s commitment to forging a broad-based and long-term bilateral relationship with the US. He said that structured engagement was key to the promotion of the two countries’ shared objectives of peace and development. Underlining Pakistan’s focus on geo-economics, Mahmood reiterated the importance of enhancing economic, trade and investment ties between Pakistan and the US. He highlighted the progress made by the government in improving the ease of doing business and promoting a more conducive environment for foreign investment in

Pakistan. Turning to the regional situation, the foreign secretary reiterated that there was no military solution to the conflict in Afghanistan and reaffirmed Pakistan’s support for the Afghan peace process. He stressed that there was a fundamental convergence between Pakistan and the US on the need for a peaceful settlement in Afghanistan. The foreign secretary underscored the urgency of accelerating intra-Afghan peace negotiations and the importance of a responsible withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan. He said that it was important for the key regional and international stakeholders to press all Afghan parties to engage constructively towards achieving an inclusive, broad-based, and comprehensive political settlement. The foreign secretary also thanked Under-Secretary Nuland for the Covid-related support extended to Pakistan by the United States. He and Under-Secretary Nuland agreed to maintain close coordination on all matters of common interest.

Bilawal flinches PPP election campaign in Azad Kashmir NewS DeSk Pakistan People’s Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari in connection with his election campaign in Azad Jammu and Kashmir visited Dhan Gali on Friday along with Qamar Zaman Kaira, where he was greeted with rousing reception. Thousands of party workers raised slogans on his arrival and showered rose petals on his motorcade. Thousands of workers received their chairman with traditional zeal and fervour at Dhadial raising Jeay Bhutto and other party slogans. Addressing PPP workers, Chairman Bilawal said that “today we are with our Kashmiri brethren with who we have shared relations from three generations”. “Kashmiri people supported Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. They also supported Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto. We have struggled against dictatorships together and history is a witness to that. You had supported President Zardari and Qamar Zaman Kaira was your minister for Kashmir affairs. You supported peoples Party in difficult times as well. The development work which was carried out in Kashmir was and is unprecedented,” he said. Bilawal said that the behaviour and policy of federal and Kashmir governments with the people is derogating. “We feel your pain because you are the comrades of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and I cannot leave you at the mercy of these callous governments. Now I am among you all, and once again you have to support the PPP like you did with the Quaid-e-Awam and Shaheed Benazir Bhutto,” he

suicide attacks. “The US kept expecting more from Pakistan. And unfortunately, Pakistani governments tried to deliver what they were not capable of,” he said. “What we want in the future is a relationship based on trust and common objectives. That’s actually what we have right now with the US — I mean, our objectives in Afghanistan are exactly the same today.” When asked if Pakistan would consider it an Indian win if Kashmir’s status quo remains the same, PM Imran Khan said that it would be a disaster for India. “[That is because] it will just mean that this conflict festers on and on. And so as long as it festers, it’s going to stop there being any relationship — normal relationship — between Pakistan and India.” The premier was questioned about Pakistan’s relationship with China and how it affects both the US and India. In response, he said that he finds it “very odd” that China and the US would become great rivals. “It makes no sense because the world would really benefit if the two giants, economic giants, really got along and traded with each other. So it would be a benefit for all of us.”

added. “If you want for the problems facing Kashmir to be solved, then you have to support the PPP. In occupied Kashmir people are fighting against Modi’s policies and here in Azad Kashmir people are fighting poverty, inflation and unemployment in Imran Khan’s government. You are suffering because of the failed and incompetent government of Imran Khan. The people of Kashmir always prospered during the PPP governments. The PPP is the only party to get you out of these sufferings. We should form a government of PPP which can not only stand up to Modi’s government but also save you from this PTIMF government,” he further said. The PPP chief asked the workers to campaign door to door and deliver the message of PPP. He resolved that the next prime minister of Azad Kashmir will be from PPP. He asked to the people to elect PPP candidate, Afsar Shahid with a huge margin.

Bilawal said that he is always happy to visit Kashmir because the relations between the PPP and the people of Kashmir go back three generations. “Our relation is not only political but historical, and it will continue for generations to come. When you supported Shaheed Bhutto, we wrote history together. When you supported Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, we also recorded a history,” he said. He said that “when you supported President Zardari, the PPP government carried out historic development. Now, we have started the journey of a new generation”. “The youth of both Azad and Occupied Kashmir are also starting a new journey. They are fighting against Modi’s government in Occupied Kashmir and against Imran Khan’s policy of unemployment, poverty and inflation in Azad Kashmir. They cannot send their children to schools, buy medicines for their elders and feed their children,” he added. The PPP chief said that “Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had said that we will fight for Kashmir for a thousand years if need be”. “There was a time when Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto said that where Kashmiris shed sweat, we will shed blood,” he said. Now, Modi has done a historical injustice to Kashmiri people and Imran Khan’s response is “What can I do?”, he remarked. “When Zulfikar Ali Bhutto used to give a call for strike in Azad Kashmir, the people of Occupied Kashmir used to observe it as well. Imran Khan tried to find a solution for Kashmir by changing the name of Kashmir Highway to Srinagar Highway.

Only destruction has arrived,” said Qureshi. It also had clearly come to the fore, said the foreign minister, that a “complete military siege” had continued in the two years with Kashmiri political leadership in custody without charges being framed, extrajudicial killings continuing, fundamental rights being ceased and state tools of oppression on display. “But, the surprising and encouraging thing is that despite all this, they (Indian government) couldn’t break their (Kashmiris’) resoluteness and couldn’t subjugate them.” Qureshi said that the demands of the Kashmiri politicians had included release of political prisoners, restoration of fundamental rights, end to extrajudicial killings and reversal of illegal and unilateral steps.

Johar Town blast: House of arrested suspect traced LAHORE: Security personnel on Friday have traced the house of arrested foreign national suspect David Paul who was involved in blast in Lahore’s Johar Town that killed three and injured 21. Sources told that the suspect allegedly belonged to Mehmoodabad and that important documents were also confiscated from his residence. On June 24, 2021, in a major breakthrough in the ongoing investigation into Johar Town blast, law enforcement agencies had detained Paul, owner of the vehicle used in the explosion. Paul was offload from a Karachi-bound flight at Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport and was shifted to an undisclosed location for interrogation. Earlier, it was revealed that the car which was allegedly used in Johar Town blast entered Lahore from Babu Sabu interchange around 9:40am on Wednesday and went through checking by police personnel at the interchange. A case of Johar Town bomb blast was also registered in CTD Lahore police station on the complaint of SHO Abid Baig. The FIR included 7ATA, 3/4 Explosives Act, 302, 324, 148/149 and other serious provisions. Three unidentified terrorists were named in the FIR. The text of the FIR stated that the terrorists used a vehicle and a motorcycle for the operation. INP

Court extends remand of cleric in sexual abuse case LAHORE: A Lahore court on Friday extended physical remand of Mufti Azizur Rehman for three days in a sexual abuse case. The police produced the cleric before Judicial Magistrate Rana Rasheed Ali Khan on completion of his physical remand and requested that his remand be extended for his custody is needed for further investigation. The investigation officer said that the cleric and his sons need to be investigated further. He said that the cleric’s DNA test has not yet been conducted and added he would submit a forensic report soon. On Sunday, Punjab police had announced the arrest of Mufti Aziz involved in sexually assaulting a seminary student in Lahore along with his son. Mufti Aziz has since confessed to sexually abusing a student besides also trying to harass the latter to refrain him from making the video viral. The cleric during police interrogation verified the contents of the video showing him and a student named Sabir Shah and had said that it was filmed by the latter. “I sexually assaulted him while offering him to help in clearing the exams,” he had confessed. INP

Saturday, 26 June, 2021

ISLAMABAD

NEWS

aSad umar warnS of fourtH CoronaviruS wave next montH ISLAMABAD

INP

eDeRAL Minister for Planning and National Command and Control Centre head Asad Umar has warned of a fourth wave of coronavirus pandemic in Pakistan next month. In a tweet uploaded on Friday, Asad said that the new wave is possible in July urging

the people to strictly follow coronavirus guidelines to stay safe. The federal minister said that the NCOC in its meeting analysed data which hinted that another wave of the pandemic can hit Pakistan if safety protocols are not implemented. “Reviewed the artificial intelligencebased disease modelling analysis today in NCOC. In the absence of strong SOP

enforcement and a continued strong vaccination program, the 4th wave could emerge in Pakistan in July,” he tweeted. “Please adhere to SOPs and vaccinate as soon as possible,” he added. The third Covid-19 wave which hit the country in February proved deadlier than previous ones. During the third wave, the number of active cases in Pakistan crossed the 50,000 mark on March 31.

Within one month, Pakistan’s coronavirus figures almost doubled as on April 29, the country’s active cases crossed the 90,000 mark. Pakistan reported the highest coronavirus positivity ratio of 11.63 percent on April 4. As per the NCOC, the total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in the country stand at 952,907, while 897,834 people have so far recovered from

TTP chief Noor Wali Mehsud ‘killed’ in Afghanistan ISLAMABAD MIAN ABRAR

The chief of banned outfit, Tehreek-eTaliban Pakistan (TTP), Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud, has reportedly been killed in a drone attack in Afghanistan. However, a formal confirmation of the strike is awaited. Sources told Pakistan Today that Noor Wali Mehsud, along with his bodyguard, Inqulabi Mehsud, were killed in a drone strike in Afghanistan. Noor Wali Mehsud was among key commanders of the banned outfit. Noor Wali Mehsud was reportedly hiding somewhere in Afghanistan after the commencement of an operation in the tribal areas. Reliable Afghan sources have confirmed the killing of Mufti Mehsud.

Noor Wali Mehsud had been designated as a global terrorist by the United Nations (UN) on July 16, 2020. He had been appointed as the new leader of outlawed TTP after the killing of former chief Mullah Fazlullah in a US drone strike in June 2018. Under Noor Wali Mehsud’s leadership, TTP had claimed responsibility for numerous deadly terrorist attacks across Pakistan, including an attack targeting Pakistani security forces in North Waziristan in July 2019 and a bomb attack against Pakistani soldiers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in August 2019. US forces had targeted Fazlullah in a counterterrorism strike on June 14 in Afghanistan’s eastern Kunnar province, close to the border with Pakistan. WHO WAS NOOR WALI MEHSUD?

In contrast to Fazlullah’s infamous brutality, Noor Wali had a scholastic and literary background. Mehsud, 43, studied at a number of religious seminaries in Pakistan to specialise in different fields of religious teaching. He served as a deputy to Baitullah Mehsud, who has been blamed for the 2007 assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. The new leader Mehsud earlier this year authored a book in which he described the planning of Bhutto’s assassination, identifying the militants involved, including one who is still at large and believed to be hiding in South Waziristan. Mehsud also fought against the USbacked Northern Alliance in Afghanistan and took part in TTP attacks against

Pakistani security forces. According to a media reports, Mehsud hailed from Gorgoray area of Sararogha tehsil of South Waziristan and belonged to Mechikhel, a sub-clan of the Mehsud tribe. He also remained a Qazi (judge) of Sharia court established by Baitullah Mehsud. “With the appointment of Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud the leadership of TTP has returned to Mehsud tribe in its home base South Waziristan as Fazlullah was from Swat,” Rahimullah Yusufzai, an acclaimed journalist and expert on the Taliban, had commented on his appointment as new TTP chief. Mehsud’s leadership could see the breakaway factions which emerged in the TTP after Fazlullah fled to Afghanistan in 2009 reunite, Yusufzai said.

LHC orders strict action against those responsible for fuel crisis INP

Six-year-oLd girL raped in gujranwaLa, aCCuSed HeLd GUJRANWALA INP

A shopkeeper raped a six-year-old girl on Friday and escaped the scene. Police arrested the accused during a raid. According to details, 6-year-old Zainab d/o Umer Farooq went to a shop in neighbourhood in Wazirabad, Gujranwala. Shopkeeper Sufi Rafique raped the minor girl and escaped the scene. The police, during a raid, arrested the accused who had hidden in a mosque of the area. The girl was shifted to hospital where she was underwent medical checkup and police after registering a case against detainee started an investigation.

PIR MAHAL INP

LAHORE: A beautiful view of Azadi Chowk in the provincial capital. ZUBAIR MEHFOOZ

Man who murdered Asma Rani for refusing marriage gets death sentence PESHAWAR NEwS DESk

A district and sessions court on Friday handed the death sentence to Mujahidullah Afridi for murdering Asma Rani. District and Sessions Judge Ashfaq Taj announced this verdict after examining evidence and hearing arguments of both prosecution and defence sides. The court acquitted two accused Siddiqullah and Shahzeb for lack of evidence. Asma, a third-year student at Ayub Medical College, was shot dead in January 2018 at her hometown in Kohat after she allegedly rejected the marriage proposal of accused Afridi.

Soon after the murder, he had fled to Dubai following which his name was placed in Interpol’s most wanted people’s list. He was arrested in Dubai and brought back to the country in March 2018. According to Asma’s family members, she was returning home in a rickshaw with her sister-in-law when Afridi, who was waiting outside their house, shot her dead. She received three bullet wounds and was shifted to a hospital in critical condition where she succumbed to her wounds and was pronounced dead. Police had registered an FIR of the case on the complaint of brother of the deceased, Muhammad Irfan, under Section 324 and 304 of Pakistan Penal Code.

A schoolteacher was allegedly beaten up by relatives of a student in Pir Mahal city of Punjab’s Toba Tek Singh district, police said on Friday. The teacher associated with a private school filed a complaint with the Saddar police station for registration of a first information report against the people who allegedly tortured him. He said that he reprimanded one of his students for failing to memorise his lesson. Relatives of the student got angry over his rebuking their child and tortured him. The schoolteacher said that seven people abused and beat up him before dragging on the street. On June 23, a female student had allegedly attacked the principal of a government school in Jhelum when a complaint was raised before her parents regarding the recovery of a cigarette packet. The incident took place in Government Girls High School in Punjab’s Jhelum city where a female student attacked the principal to vent anger after being suspended from the education centre. It emerged that the class teacher had sent out the student for possessing a cigarette packet inside her bag.

WCLA completes 30pc of restoration work of Shahi Hammam, Paien Bagh LAHORE SHAHAB OMER

The Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) has completed 30 percent of the conservation and restoration work of Shahi Hammam (Royal Bath) and Paien Bagh (Ladies Garden) in Lahore Fort, Pakistan Today learnt on Friday. The government of Punjab had allocated Rs27 million for both the projects. Both the places were established behind the Jahangiri Quadrangle and used during the reign of Mughal emperor Akbar. The Paien Bagh was a garden for the females of the fort. An official on duty informed that the conservation project includes consolidation and repairing of the old structures and

the virus. Currently, there are nearly 33,000 active cases and the nationwide death toll stands at 22,152. According to the NCOC’s data, during the first wave, the number of active cases surpassed the 50,000 mark in June 2020 and then started to decline and finally, dropped to less than 6,000 by September. The second wave of the pandemic hit the country in October after which the NCOC introduced restrictions, among which included shutting down schools and other educational institutions. By December, the number of active case had exceeded 50,000 and then, gradually come down to the 16,000 mark in February 2021. Pakistan kicked off its vaccination campaign on February 2 and has so far administered 14,165,288 doses.

punjab SCHooL teaCHer beaten up for reprimanding Student

LAHORE The Lahore High Court on Friday ordered strict action against those responsible for the fuel crisis in June 2020. The judgment was announced by LHC Chief Justice Justice Muhammad Qasim Khan on the plea of Azhar Siddique. “Government should take stern action against those who have been found guilty for fuel crisis last year.” The government should ensure better storage capacity of petroleum products so that such crisis can be avoided in the future. The high court has summoned a progress report on its judgment within three weeks. Furthermore, it has been directed to present the report of the commission probing the fuel crisis before the federal cabinet. Last year, the Petroleum Division had ordered legal action against two oil marketing companies after shortage of petroleum across the country. A fact-finding committee formed over fuel crisis across the country had written a letter recommending punitive action against two privately-owned companies over their role in the crisis that hit hard the country. It is to be noted that, Nadeem Babar had resigned from his post of Special Assistant to the Prime Minister after being asked by Prime Minister Imran Khan owing to a probe regarding the fuel crisis during June 2020 in the country.

LASHARI SAYS INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS ARE BEING FOLLOWED FOR LAHORE FORT’S RESTORATION pointing and lime plastering of the walls and roofs. “The flooring and other repair work of the Paien Bagh is also under process. We are working as per the international standards for conserving different monuments in the Lahore Fort,” the official explained. A heritage lover, Ahmed Mohsin, while roaming around in the fort, expressed his gratitude over the ongoing conservation work in the fort. “I am glad that old neglected areas of the Lahore Fort are being conserved by the WCLA. We did not even

know about these areas, but with the placements of history boards and information, we are now able to know more about these places,” he added. Another tourist, Rehana Dar said, “The work is going on in the Lahore Fort, but sadly we cannot see those places because the WCLA has cordoned off those areas. I hope we will soon be able to visit these monuments in the fort as soon as they are conserved.” An architecture photographer, Mohammad Shoaib, expressed his

excitement over the conservation of the Paien Bagh and Shahi Hammam of the Lahore fort. “I have many photographs of the Lahore Fort, which were taken around twelve years ago when I had started photography. Now when I match the present pictures with the old ones, I see a vast difference. The fort has really been beautified and I appreciate the WCLA for this. The work done for improvement of gardens has also given the fort a new and fresh look,” Shoaib said. WCLA Director Conservation Najam Usaquib informed that an amount of Rs27 million has been allocated by the government of Punjab for the conservation of both the historic sites. “The WCLA had started the conservation of both the sites in

March this year. The Paien Bagh project will be completed by August this year while the Shahi Hammam project will be completed in March, 2022. The work is complicated because it has been neglected since long. Once conserved, these monuments will be illuminated and made a part of the night tour of Lahore fort,” he added. WCLA Director General Kamran Lashari said that it is a high time to give a new life to many neglected sites as after conservation, these places will give a new charm to the beauty of the fort. “Within the given resources, the WCLA is trying its best when it comes to the conservation and promotion of the historic sites and heritage. It is our mandate to make the fort more and more glorious for the tourists and heritage lovers. The Lahore Fort is a world heritage site and we are following all international standards and practices while conserving and restoring it,” Lashari said.

Saturday, 26 June, 2021

04 NEWS

islamabad

BuSIneSSmen cAll for lIftIng covId reStrIctIonS on reStAurAntS, mArqueeS ISLAMABAD

TLTP

S the coronavirus positivity rate in the federal capital has come down to less than one percent, the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry has the government to restore all businesses to normal timings and allow indoor dining & functions in restaurants, weddings halls and marquees. In a statement on Thursday, ICCI President Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan said that the business of restaurants, weddings halls and marquees has suffered huge losses due to the ban on their indoor business activities. He said that ICCI in collaboration with the National Command and Operation Centre and other stakeholders launched an active vaccination drive in the federal capital by opening vaccination centres in markets and industrial areas. This drive covered almost 90 percent of Islamabad for vaccination,

which led to marked reduction in coronavirus cases; therefore, it is the right time that the government should restore all businesses to normal operations so that they could revive business activities and play a more effective role in uplifting the economy. He said that because of the continued ban on indoor economic activity, many restaurants, wedding halls and marquees have suffered closure due to which thousands of workers have lost their jobs. He cautioned that keeping a ban on indoor activities of these businesses would render more workers jobless. Yasir said that the government should defer the bank loans for one year and waive off utility bills of those businesses that remained closed due to Covid-19 pandemic. He further said that the government should also provide financial support to the workers of closed businesses from Ehsaas Emergency Cash programme to alleviate their financial problems.

KP adds Rs8bn worth more projects into ADP PESHAWAR STAFF REPORT

Just four days before the end of the financial year, four administrative departments of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have submitted nine new development projects worth over Rs8.64 billion for approval. According to the KP Planning and development department, the department will also present three new projects, including a special development package of Rs5.87 billion for Torghar, Rs109 million for Dag Besud Road in Nowshera and Rs67 million for Pabbi road also in Nowshera. Similarly in the irrigation sector, Rs80.5 million has been allocated for flood protection in

NEWS DESK

Bahrain, Rs498 million for purchase of land for social welfare project Zumong Kor in Peshawar, Rs46 million for mobile food testing laboratory, Rs320 million for testing laboratory, Rs495 million for upgrading of Jhalagram Category D Hospital in Malakand in Buner and Rs1.15 billion for upgrading of DHQ in Dagar Buner to Category A hospital. According to P&D sources, all these projects will be presented for discussion after approval from the Provincial Working and Development party. It may be mentioned here that the cost of these projects has increased by billions of rupees because of lack funds for annual development projects of the province with five-year plans taking almost 15 years to complete.

PIA operates Sialkot-Skardu flights from July 3 to boost tourism KARACHI TLTP

As part of its efforts to help boost tourism in the country, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has decided to operate flights to Skardu from Sialkot. According to details, the national airline’s flights on this route will begin from July 3. The PIA has already been operating flights to Skardu from Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore. It also announced a 50 percent discount on shipping of cherry from the scenic region to these cities as the national flag carrier will charge Rs150 per kilogramme of the fruit instead of Rs300. Earlier on Saturday, PIA launched its Air Safari flights to boost tourism in the country. The airline’s first scenic Air Safari flight took off from the Islamabad International Airport with 91 tourists, including foreign nationals from as many as 13 countries, on board. Minister for Power Hammad Azhar was also among the tourists aboard the inaugural Air Safari flight that flew over the country’s breathtaking snow-capped peaks, including K2, Nanga Parbat and Broad Peak before landing in Skardu.

Pakistan rupee gained 6 paisas (+0.04 percent) against the US dollar in the interbank on Friday, making it the second straight day of appreciation against the greenback. According to the State Bank of Pakistan, the US dollar opened at Rs157.68 and closed at Rs157.62. Within the open market, the US dollar was traded at Rs157.70/158.30. Pakistani rupee shed Rs0.73 against the US dollar during this week. However, the local unit has gained Rs10.42 against the greenback in the current fiscal year 2020-21 while appreciation has been Rs2.27 in 2021. The currency experts said that the rupee strengthened because a sufficient supply of the dollars in the shape of export receipts and workers’ remittances were seen during the day. They said that the demand for the foreign currency remained high during the day due to corporate and import payments. They said that the rupee witnessed a continuous decline against the dollar during this week owing to demand for import and corporate payments.

Gold inches up to Rs90,700 per 10gm NEWS DESK Gold prices stayed on the front foot amid weakening US dollar as well as 10-year Treasury yields and gained over 0.60 percent in its value on Friday, poised for the first weekly gain in four weeks. At 14:10 GMT, gold in the international market was trading at $1,787.40 an ounce after gaining $11.90 in its value as compared to its closing value on Thursday last. Meanwhile, the price of 10 grams of yellow metal in Pakistan increased to Rs90,700 with a gain of Rs100. The price of yellow metal in the country remained Rs90,600 on Thursday. According to analysts, gold is

rupee gains 6 paisas to push dollar down to rs157.62

picking up the bid tone in European trading, taking advantage of the retreat in the US Treasury yield and the dollar across the curve. The risk-off action in the European equities, amid rising concerns over the rapid spread of the Delta plus Covid strain, lifts gold’s safe-haven appeal. Despite the rebound, gold’s upside appears capped around $1794 ahead of the US PCE Inflation data, which shed more light on the inflation picture and the Fed’s next policy move. The same favours gold prices due to its risk-barometer status. Among the key risk catalysts, US stimulus and trade headlines were the major favour to the market sentiment.

Pakistan gets $4.5bn facility for oil, lng imports NEWS DESK Pakistan has secured a $4.5 billion worth of three-year trade financing facility from Jeddah-based Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) to cover import cost of crude, petroleum products and liquefied natural gas (LNG). According to a report by Dawn, a formal financing framework agreement on the arrangement would be signed early next week. The funds would be utilised under Annual Financing Plan of roughly $1.5bn each. This trade financing arrangement is in addition to about $531 million already signed by Ministry of Economic Affairs with Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) for project financing of Mohmand dam, a couple of coal based projects besides a few hydropower projects including two in Azad Kashmir. The ITFC’s financing would be utilised over three years (2021-23) by Pak-Arab Refinery Ltd (Parco), Pakistan State Oil (PSO) and Pakistan LNG Ltd (PLL) for import of crude oil, refined petroleum pro¬ducts and LNG and help augment the country’s foreign currency reserves and provide resources to meet the oil import bill. The facility is expected to provide relief in oil and gas import bill and ease pressure on foreign exchange reserves. Under the facility, funds do not come into Pakistan’s account but ease pressure on foreign exchange reserves. These funds would be used for financing of letters of credit for oil and LNG imports by PSO, Parco and PLL.

Antibodies triggered by Chinese Covid-19 shots less eﬀective on Delta variant: researcher GUANGZHOU REUTERS

Antibodies triggered by two Chinese Covid-19 vaccines are less effective against the Delta variant compared with other strains, but the shots still offer protection, a Chinese disease control researcher has told state media. The Delta variant of the coronavirus, first detected in India, is becoming the globally dominant variant of the disease with its increased transmissibility, the World Health Organisation's chief scientist warned last week.

In an interview aired by China Central Television late on Thursday, Feng Zijian, researcher and former deputy director at the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, did not provide further details. Without naming the two vaccines, Feng said they fell into the category of inactivated vaccines, which contain "killed" coronavirus that cannot replicate in human cells. Five out of the seven domestically developed vaccines in China's mass inoculation scheme are inactivated vaccines. These include shots from Sinovac Biotech and Sinopharm used in countries

such as Brazil, Bahrain and Chile. The Delta variant has caused infections in three cities in southern Guangdong province, officials said, where a total of 170 locally confirmed patients were reported between May 21 and June 21. It remains unclear how many of them contracted the Delta variant. About 85 per cent of the Guangdong cases in the latest outbreak were found in the provincial capital, Guangzhou. "In the Guangdong outbreak [...] none of those vaccinated infections became severe cases, and none of the severe cases were vaccinated," Feng said.

Saturday, 26 June, 2021

ISLAMABAD

PResideNt uRges woRld to Note uRaNium’s illegal selliNg iN iNdia ISLAMABAD

TLTP

ReSIdeNT dr Arif Alvi has urged the international community to take note of recent incidents of illegal selling of uranium in black market in India, as such radioactive material can fall into wrong hands endangering human lives and security of the nations. The president made these remarks on Friday during an interactive session with the military officers from 12 foreign countries, who are currently undergoing the National Security Workshop Course at National defence University. He deplored that such an important incident had been ignored in the international media. The president highlighted Pakistan's success story against the war on terror, saying the armed forces and the law enforcement agencies of the country have successfully defeated terrorism. He stated that Pakistan has paid heavy costs while fighting the war on terror as it lost over 70,000 people, besides suffering economic

New Zealand plans stronger hate speech laws in response to Christchurch attack WELLINGTON REUTERS

New Zealand said on Friday that it plans to strengthen its hate speech laws, and increase penalties for inciting hatred and discrimination, in response to the attack by a white supremacist in Christchurch two years ago that killed 51 Muslims. The move comes after a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Christchurch attack on March 15, 2019 recommended changes to hate speech and hate crime laws, which it said were weak deterrents for people targeting religious and other minority groups with hate. New Zealand's hate speech laws have resulted in just one prosecution and two civil claims so far, the Royal Commission had noted. "Protecting our right to freedom of expression while balancing that right with protections against ‘hate speech’ is something that requires careful consideration and a wide range of input,” Justice Minister Kris Faafoi said at a press conference. The government proposed new criminal offences for hate speech that it said would be clearer and more effective. Under the proposal a person who "intentionally stirs up, maintains or normalises hatred" would break the law if they did so by being threatening, abusive or insulting, including by inciting violence, the government said. Punishment for such offences would be increased to a maximum of three years in prison or a fine of up to NZ$50,000. Currently the punishment is up to NZ$7,000 or three months in jail. It also proposed provisions that would protect transgender diverse and intersex people from discrimination. Current laws only target speech that "excite hostility" against a person or group on the grounds of their colour, race or ethnicity. The proposals are now open for public consultation. Australian Brenton Tarrant killed 51 people and injured dozens when he opened fire on Muslim worshippers in two mosques in Christchurch, shortly after releasing a racist manifesto online, and streamed the shootings live on Facebook. With support across the political spectrum, New Zealand swiftly banned the sale of the high-capacity semi-automatic weapons Tarrant used.

losses to the tune of about $150 billion. Regarding Afghanistan, he informed the participants that Pakistan is making serious efforts to promote peace and stability in Afghanistan as it would be the major beneficiary of a peaceful and stable Afghanistan. He added that Pakistan is the biggest sufferer of the prolonged conflict in Afghanistan that adversely affected its economy as well as the security of the country. He said that Pakistan, from the very beginning, has advocated for a negotiated settlement of the Afghan imbroglio as war is no solution to any dispute that increases human sufferings and miseries. The president briefed the participants about the achievements of the country, stating that the Prime Minister Imran Khan took a compassionate and smart decision by not enforcing total lockdown during the pandemic and provided emergency cash relief, under the ehsaas Programme, to over 15 million families to save them from poverty and hunger. He went on to say that Pakistan successfully handled the pandemic due to the cooperation of religious leaders and media as well as the entire nation which showed exemplary discipline during the pandemic.

The president apprised that Pakistan is moving in the right direction and is poised to become a geo-economic hub of the region by utilising its special geo-economic location to boost regional trade and encourage economic integration. He said that Pakistan is focusing on the development of the IT sector and taking practical measures and training its youth to enhance IT exports. He stated that his country is closely working with China to promote regional connectivity and economic cooperation among countries of the region. Replying to questions from the participants, the president said that Pakistan would not permit the USA to use its bases against the brotherly country (Afghanistan). He reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to further expand and consolidate economic, political and cultural relations with all friendly countries, particularly countries of the region. The participants lauded the hospitality extended by the government during their stay in Pakistan. They appreciated the social and economic achievements of the government, particularly the successful handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Fawad seeks Japan’s assistance to modernise, up-grade state media Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhary has stressed the need for early implementation of joint projects between Japan and Pakistan pertaining to modernisation and technical upgradation of state-run media. The minister said this while talking to Japanese Ambassador Kuninori Matsuda on Friday. He said that the state-run Pakistan Television, Radio Pakistan and Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) are being transformed to meet contemporary requirements in a fast changing world. The minister stressed the need for early implementation of joint projects between Japan and Pakistan pertaining to modernization and technical up gradation of PTV and Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation. He said the government is determined to turn APP into a premium digital news agency following the pattern of well-known leading international news agencies. He added that 11 modern studios would be established in major cities of the country with an aim to create and strengthen a state of the art and flourishing video news service of APP. The minister also

informed the ambassador regarding the government's initiative to establish Media Technology University and said that Japan’s cooperation to extend support to train human resources will be vital in terms of providing technical know-how. Fawad also emphasised the need for cooperation between the two countries in the realm of gaming and animation as it can add another feature to the ever strengthening bilateral economic relations. He also proposed joint ventures with Japan in the fields of film, drama, podcast and joint productions. The ambassador and the minister discussed in detail the status of ongoing joint initiatives between Pakistan and Japan in the avenues of media and information. Kuninori Matsuda expressed Japan’s keenness for collaboration in the areas of gaming and animation. He informed the Minister that Japanese company named Kadokawa is keen to invest in Pakistan particularly in the arena of animation and entertainment. On the occasion, the minister said that Pakistan is eager to benefit from Japanese expertise in this sphere. The ambassador told that NHK

would launch Urdu service in Pakistan on the occasion of commemorating and celebrating the 70 years of diplomatic relations between Japan and Pakistan, next year. He also appreciated the minister’s cooperation in supporting technological initiatives between the two countries. Fawad also assured his full support to the Japanese Ambassador in production and shooting of a commercial movie titled “Trango Man” in Pakistan. Separately, Fawad Chaudhry strongly condemned the terrorist attack on FC personnel in Sibi. In a statement, he said the country's enemies will not succeed in their nefarious designs. He said the entire nation stands by the security forces in war against terrorism. The minister said that such types of cowardly acts cannot sabotage the efforts of peace and security. He said the security forces have rendered numerous sacrifices for restoration of peace and security. The information minister said, “We equally share the grief of the families of martyrs.” He prayed for higher ranks in Jannah for the departed souls and courage and fortitude for the bereaved families. NEWS DESK

Iran's supreme leader gets locally made coronavirus vaccine shot DUBAI REUTERS

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei received his first dose of a homegrown Covid-19 vaccine on Friday, state television reported, amid an effort by the country to speed up its vaccination rollout.

TV showed Ayatollah Khamenei, 82, receiving what it said was the COVIran Barakat vaccine, developed by a state-affiliated conglomerate and approved for public use earlier this month. Iran, with a population of 83 million, has recorded 83,588 deaths from coronavirus, the highest toll in the Middle east. The government of

outgoing President Hassan Rouhani has blamed a so-far slow vaccination drive on US sanctions hampering efforts to buy foreign vaccines and on delays in deliveries. The country launched human trials of COVIran in december and has since started clinical trials of at least three other vaccines.

NEWS

Fire at China martial arts centre kills 18, mostly children BEIJING REUTERS

A fire tore through a martial arts training centre in China during the early hours of Friday morning, killing 18 people, with one state media outlet saying most of the dead were children who were staying there. The blaze broke out at 3 a.m. (1900 GMT Thursday) and was later extinguished, the government of Zhecheng county, in Henan province, said on its website. It was unclear what caused the fire, which injured 16 people, four of whom were in serious condition, it said. Most of the casualties were students aged between 7 and 16 staying on the centre's second floor, the Beijing Youth daily said in a report that was later deleted from its website. In a social media post, Zhonghong, a news outlet backed by China's state planner, identified the centre as Zhenxing Martial Arts Centre. Neither Zhenxing nor its founder, Chen Lin, answered calls seeking comment. "My kid is 9 years old, but I know nothing about his current situation. We can't see him or visit him," said Zheng, the father of one of the children admitted to hospital. "At Zhenxing, the kids would study and practice martial arts in the day and live there every night. I don't know what caused the fire," Zheng told Reuters by telephone. Another father was filled with relief that his son was among the survivors. "It's extremely lucky that my son escaped from the fire, but I don't know anything specific," said Xu, 39. "All information is being blocked," he said in a text-message. Police detained the person in charge of the centre, the county said. It did not identify the person or the training centre. Fires are not uncommon in China, due partly to patchy safety protocols and sub-standard construction. In one China's most horrific fires, 309 people were killed at a nightclub in the city of Luoyang, also in Henan, on Christmas day in 2000.

Roadmap finalised to revamp agriculture sector: Farrukh Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib has said that the government, under the directions of the Prime Minister, has finalised a comprehensive roadmap to fully revamp the agriculture sector on scientific grounds to ensure food security in the country. Chairing a meeting on devising a communications strategy on the new agriculture policy on Friday, the minister said the proposed agricultural reforms will lead the country towards selfsufficiency in food production, including livestock, poultry, and fisheries. Farrukh Habib said the ministry of information and its attached departments, including Radio Pakistan, Pakistan Television, and Associated Press of Pakistan, will play a key role in creating awareness about the new agriculture policy among masses, particularly the farmers' community. Speaking on the occasion, Prime Minister's Special Assistant on Food Security Jamshed Iqbal Cheema said all the barren lands across Pakistan will be utilized for agricultural purposes, keeping in view the environmental and soil features of the relevant areas. He said that the government is working on small dams to conserve every drop of water for the agriculture sector to achieve this objective. He said the government will diversify the agricultural production, going beyond the traditional crops. He said special agriculture malls would be established in all parts of the country where farmers could sell their produce and buy agri in-puts, ending the role of middlemen. Cheema said special quality control vehicles will be deployed at the entry points of all cities and urban centres to check the quality and nutritious value of milk. He expressed the resolve to make the country self-sufficient in edible oil by ending the import of soybean in next couple of years. NEWS DESK

FATF decides to keep Pakistan on grey list cONTINUED frOM pAGE 01 earlier, a journalist had asked him if it was discouraging for other countries to observe that despite making significant progress and completing almost all items on the action plan, Pakistan was still being maintained on the grey list. Responding to this, Pleyer said all items needed to be largely addressed for delisting to happen. "Our rules and procedures are very clear. All deficiencies must be addressed and it would also be discouraging if other countries fully address all their action plan items and then got off the list, and some countries got off the list before they have completed all the action items. So the expectation is clear, we treat all countries equally." In its last presser following a plenary, on

February 25, FATF President dr Marcus Pleyer had said Pakistan remained under increased monitoring, adding that “while Islamabad has made significant progress, there remained some serious deficiencies in mechanisms to plug terrorism financing”. The FATF plenary considered the report of Asia-Pacific Group on Pakistan. The APG, in its Mutual evaluation Report (MeR) on Pakistan released just weeks ago, had moved the country from enhanced (expedited) to enhanced follow-up list, Business Recorded reported. The second follow-up MeR on Pakistan uploaded by the AGP group on its website stated that overall, Pakistan has made notable progress in addressing the technical compliance deficiencies identified in its MeR. Pakistan has been rerated on 22 recommendations, and has been

downgraded as non-compliant from partially compliant in one recommendation. After adoption of MeR, Pakistan was placed under Post Observation Period by the FATF, which expired in February 2021. during the said period, Pakistan carried out major legal reforms with the enactment of 14 federal laws and three provincial laws along with relevant rules and regulations. Pakistan submitted its report to the FATF on its Technical Compliance on October 1, 2020. On Wednesday, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that the FATF had no justification to keep Pakistan on its grey list. In a statement carried by Radio Pakistan, Qureshi said that Pakistan had completed the FATF's technical requirements. "We had been given 27 points in the

cMYK

FATF Action Plan, out of which work on 26 has been completed," he said, adding that work was also being carried out to address the remaining item. "In this situation, there is no justification to keep Pakistan on the grey list," he said. He added that India wanted to use the forum for "political purposes" but should not be allowed to do so. Pakistan has taken solid steps to curb money laundering and terrorist financing, he added. In June 2018, FATF placed Pakistan on its list of “jurisdictions under increased monitoring” or grey list citing structural deficiencies, which, according to FATF, resulted in Pakistan’s failure to effectively combat terror financing and money laundering. In February 2020, FATF expressed concerns over “Pakistan’s failure to complete its action plan in line with the agreed timelines

and in light of the terrorist financing risks emanating from the jurisdiction.” Following this development, the global terror financing watchdog along with International Cooperation Review Group (ICRG) issued a 27point Action Plan for Pakistan to address these structural deficiencies. In October last year, FATF noted that Pakistan fully met the targets laid down in 21 of the 27 items of the Action Plan and asked the county to achieve full progress on the Action Plan by February 2021. In February this year, FATF decided to keep Pakistan on its grey list, giving it four more months – June 20, 2021 – to complete its full action plan. It noted that Pakistan has made progress across all action plan items and it has now largely addressed 24 out of 27 items of the action plan.

Saturday, 26 June, 2021

06 COMMENT

The war on terror continues

Development without suffering

And the still-absent feel-good factor

HiLE former Finance Minister abdul Hafeez sheikh was blindly implementing the tough conditions imposed by the iMF, ignoring their impact on the people,hissuccessor, a more imaginative shaukat tarin proposed a plan that could achieve the jointly agreed objective of financial viability without causing widespread suffering or creating unrest. instead of rising power charges, tarin suggested stopping capacity payments to electricity-producing companies and reducing line losses as measures to reduce the circular debt. Before the announcement of the budget, the iMF had asked the government to impose personal income tax of Rs 150 billion on individuals, which would have overburdened the salaried class. tarin proposes to expand the tax net by drawing into it over 7 million tax evaders. While measures suggested by tarin need to be widely appreciated, their implementation would pose challenges. Line losses can be reduced only through a costly renovation of the transmission network and ending power theft that takes place with the help of the staff. similarly inducting the big trading community into the tax net would require political will that was found lacking when an attempt was made in that direction in 2019. By continuing to remain in the iMF programme Pakistan wants to boost its foreign exchange reserves. it plans to launch $2.5 billion Eurobonds within months to be followed by sukuk bonds, green bonds and panda bonds. Meanwhile Pakistan has managed to get a $4.5 billion facility for oil and LnG imports from Jeddah-based islamic trade Finance Corporation (itFC). the facility is expected to take some pressure off the import bill and allow the government some room to keep oil prices relatively stable while at the same time increase the petroleum development levy. the Finance Minister has up to september to show his performance when iMF would conduct its review of the programme. the negative pressures that would have led to widespread protests if the iMF’s hard conditions were implemented have been restrained. a feel-good impact however remains a far cry. the government’s rampant incompetence continues to create difficulties for the people. Gas shortages in sindh have led to suspension of gas supply to non-export industries, flour mills are on strike over taxes imposed, there is a shortage of astraZeneca vaccines needed by workers returning to saudi arabia and rising prices of essential kitchen items are causing worries all over the country.

AttiyA MunAwer

akistan as a state has been facing the major challenge of terrorism for decades and efforts are being made to tackle the scourge of terrorism as a state. However, compared to the past, our state and institutions have not only made sacrifices in the ongoing War on terror but also achieved a number of paramount achievements, which is why the situation of terrorism is not the same as it was in the past 10 years, but the new wave that has erupted after the terrorist incident in Lahore’s Johar town indicates that the War on terror is not over, but continues. there is no doubt that anti-national elements are behind the new wave of terrorism in Pakistan and all of them are trying to destabilize Pakistan. terrorists have said that even a city like Lahore is not out of their reach. the iGP Punjab also admitted that they have 65 threat alerts and receive hundreds of alerts every year. However, if we want to curb terrorism in Pakistan, the Counter terrorism Deprtment needs to be more active and organized. as long as the CtD remained active across the country, the backs of terrorists were

Expecting the unexpected

Who’s minding the store?

HE recent trilateral swing of COas Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, in which he visited azerbaijan, turkey and Germany, may well have marked yet another success in his flying the flag abroad, but it does raise the question of what Foreign Minister shah Mehmood Qureshi was doing in the meanwhile. Mr Qureshi has been off the scene recently, which has not been explained, and his absence has been unexplained. as the nation was kept abreast almost by force of his struggles with the coronavirus, it is only to be hoped that this silence does not bode ill, or that Mr Qureshi’s natural bent towards revealing all, has not been defeated by something serious. However, if Mr Qureshi was not available, or if the matters to be discussed were of a matter too closely related to defence to be left to the Foreign Minister, the Defence Minister, Pervez khattak, should have stepped up. Mr khattak has of late done two notable things. First, he led the Pti to a defeat in a kP by-election on a seat which it held, in his home district. then, hardly that the stink from that died down, he rose in the national assembly during the Budget debate to say that there was no inflation. there would be relevant questions raised about the expenditure on these two ministers, if the COas has to do their jobs for them abroad. if there is a hybrid system of government, it still does not mean that ministers are there merely as a form of decoration. Visits abroad on behalf of a country are actually tiring, and with General Bajwa now into his fourth year as COas, whatever charm there might have been in such visits must now be exhausted. He has had to pull the government’s chestnuts before, with China and saudi arabia, the latter upset because of Mr Qureshi, and the burden of visits abroad should be taken off his shoulders by ministers who are presently enjoying their leisure, untroubled apparently by their absence.

Dr SAMi ullAh

HE current Pti government presented its economic blueprint in Budget 20212022 by setting the expenditures and revenues based on its priorities. the main theme of its economic triumph is based on expansion in GDP growth, instead of economic development in coming years. in the budget document and press conferences, the Finance Minister has clearly depicted that it is focusing on economic growth for the prosperity of Pakistan in the long run. the economic team is very assertive that the focus on growth will reap benefits in the shape of poverty alleviation, employment generation, gender equality and expansion in trade. this confidence is based on the “trickle Down theory” which postulates that due to economic growth, the rich become richer in short run but there is no need to worry because after a few years, the impact of inequality will trickle down for employment generation and poverty alleviation of the poor segments of society. in the long run, everyone will be equally benefited and this will lead the economy toward prosperity. the concept of trickle-down theory was introduced by Will Rogers in 1944 with the theme that there is a dire need to lower the business restrictions, minimize the tax rate, facilitate the investors in the short run and it will be beneficial for the vulnerable groups, unemployed and the socially excluded in the long run. this idea got prominence in the second half of the 20th century

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami Editor Managing Editor

Joint Editor

Umar Aziz Executive Editor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

in the 21st century, the pattern of government, politics and global linkages has changed from traditional style because everyone has to compete in the global market based on skill, technology and innovation. so, this is the appropriate time to settle the priorities in line with the international style of and many countries have followed the philosophy development for sustainability and prosperity. Our of trickle-down, Pakistan being one of them. in political leadership should consider “Post-2015 2020, Bloomberg reported the study of Craig Development agenda” for the prosperity and stirling on “50 Years of tax Cuts for Rich Didn’t sustainability of Pakistan. in this agenda, it has been trickle Down” based on 50-year empirics, and this suggested to the institutions and political leadership study concluded that trickle-down theory does not to focus on poverty alleviation, inclusive education promote employment or trade, or alleviate poverty. and health, gender equality in all domains, Even the experience of Pakistan in the 1960s was environmental sustainability, productive employment not pro-poor, it has been and urban development for observed that there was the long term survival and very high economic wellbeing of the left behind growth but with increased individuals. their priority poverty and inequality, If only GDP expansion is our should be to focus on the which further leads the development and investment target, the government will economy toward political in the people because they instability. if we build enhance the expenditures on are the real wealth of any economic growth on the nation. if we invest in the schools, hospitals, roads, cost of poverty and people, they will contribute to dams, etc but this will not inequality, it will hurt the the development and sustainability and contribute in enhancing the sustainability of the economy. inclusive growth for the the other hand, if literacy rate, health outcome, onlyOnGDP future generations. expansion is our the Pti government employment for the poor and target, the government will launched its political vulnerable. This phenomenon enhance the expenditures campaign named naya schools, hospitals, is known as “Growth Without on Pakista” during the 2018 roads, dams, etc but this elections and kept it up Development” and we have will not contribute in afterwards. We have more enhancing the literacy rate, experienced it for the last than 60 percent population health outcome, under the age of 30 years many decades employment for the poor and are known as a young and vulnerable. this country. after 70 years of phenomenon is known as vulnerable living, people “Growth Without were very motivated that Development” and we have experienced it for the soon they would enjoy the new era of last many decades. as a result, we have 25 million development in naya Pakistan, where everyone children who should be in school but are in streets, would have inclusive employment, quality we are ranked 154 out of 156 countries in gender education, health facilities, good governance and inequality, only 60 percent of the population can a corruption-free country. no one is even ready to read and write, we are facing worse health accept this unexpected decision of the current facilities and are considered among the ten most government based on trickle-down philosophy, fragile states of the globe. at this stage, we have because this thought has been found to have failed to set the priorities based on sustainability for the in the globe, and even in Pakistan during the 1960s vulnerable and youth of Pakistan, ultimately both so, this is very strange for both the friends and can be the strength for economic empowerment. foe of the government, that how they would sell this expired product and convince the masses The writer is an Assistant Professor in because they are only concerned with poverty Economics, University of Gujrat, Pakistan. He can alleviation, employment generation and price be reached at samiullah@uog.edu.pk and tweets control, instead of GDP growth, business @DrSamiEcon development, financial deficits and numbers game.

Trickle-down economics doesn’t work, do why try it?

Where does the COAS have to do the heavy lifting?

Yousaf Nizami Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

broken, but since the CtD became inactive, anti- situation, is obstructing the withdrawal of Us national elements, especially the terrorists of the troops from afghanistan and instigating terrorism banned tehreek-e-taliban Pakistan, have been to spread instability in Pakistan, as the presence of active in the country again. Pakistan's security RaW network in Pakistan, the arrest of several forces had wiped out the ttP by conducting indian facilitators, including kulbhushan Yadav, operations in several areas, but the bomb blast in cannot be denied. although we are much safer Lahore shows that the ttP is once again targeting today than we were a decade ago because of the unscrupulous and selfless sacrifices of the Punjab. While the Lahore blast points to loopholes in institutions that guarantee national security and the internal security, there is also a hint of a re- repulsion of terrorists at home, to deny the emergence of terrorists at the internal level. if this presence of sparks would be self-deception. Undoubtedly, anti-national elements inside and blast is to be traced, it is the same strategy that we outside the country are have consistently seen carrying out terrorist manifested in the 1990s, activities in Pakistan by and even then, cowardly forming a nexus. after the and weak Eastern enemies continued to target For peace to prevail in the Lahore blast, a new wave of terrorism may come to civilians by bombing region, it is necessary to the country. at this time, major cities in the there is a need for security homeland, and this was establish peace in inside the country to be stopped after the arrest of Afghanistan. When foolproof, in order to an indian spy like sarabjit singh. at a time when on Afghanistan is completely succeed in the War on terror. it is imperative that the one hand the Modi free from foreign when security alerts are government in the East is staging a failed all-parties domination and the law and issued to a particular place or institution or individual, kashmir conference and in order situation there they be immediately the West the Usa is in the improves, Pakistan will addressed and steps should final stages of withdrawing taken as soon as possible from afghanistan, definitely be on a new path tobe thwart possible attacks. demanding military bases of development Our security agencies need from Pakistan, while to set up separate cells to Pakistan has categorically respond immediately to denied it. Prime Minister such terrorist alerts, so that imran khan's refusal to the Usa is not a trivial matter, its effects will be terrorists are not allowed to succeed in their compounded on Pakistan, for which we nefarious intentions. the War on terror is not over yet, it is still going on, so it is necessary that the desperately need to be vigilant. For peace to prevail in the region, it is last terrorist be wiped out from the country while necessary to establish peace in afghanistan. When maintaining high alert across the country, and that afghanistan is completely free from foreign the people will not panic before the terrorist domination and the law and order situation there incidents nor panic in the future. the entire nation improves, Pakistan will definitely be on a new path stands united with the security agencies against the of development. But at the moment, the ground nefarious intentions of the terrorists. realities are giving a different signal. The writer tweets @AttiyaMunawer india, taking advantage of the changing

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Saturday, 26 June, 2021

COMMENT 07 Editor’s mail Send your letters to: Letters to Editor, Pakistan today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan. E-mail: letters@pakistantoday.com.pk Letters should be addressed to Pakistan today exclusively

Decreased Covid cases aS of Wednesday, 23rdJune 2021, the reported corona cases have achieved a decrement. the total percentage of the unrecovered Covid19 cases has dropped to 1.7% in the country. this percentage is the lowest as reported by the nCOC, in the past 8 months after October 18th, 2020 when the rate was seen to be 1.64%. almost 40,000 tests were conducted in the country out of which, almost 700 are said to be positive. this downfall in these cases is a very good news for the country and its inhabitants, but one should still wear masks and continue the use of sanitizers while in public to maintain this level. the people should still take it seriously and should follow all the SOP’s that are set by the government. Maria GhulaM MuhaMMad Karachi

Saving lives as a good in itself

Russia-Pak Relations: Challenges for the Region In the same year on the one hand Moscow welcomed Pakistan for making a breakand strong relations with the USSR for a through in its relations with India with the ladecade till the american-backed military coup hore Declaration, but soon criticized Islamabad for the outbreak of the Indo-Pak of 1958. as it was the phase of Cold War between War at Kargil in 1999 and mediated between the two superpowers of the world in which them to end the war, although it remained Pakistan was clearly sided with the USa, no hostile towards Pakistan. the war of Kargil was followed by a milsubstantial improvement was registered in their bilateral relations except between 1965 itary coup in which army Chief Pervez and 1971 when the USa imposed sanctions Musharraf replaced nawaz Sharif in October on Pakistan, the latter turned to the USSR, 1999, and in april 2001 the Deputy Prime which supplied the defence equipment to Is- Minister of Russia visited Pakistan where lamabad worth of $310 million, but soon their both countries agreed to co-operate in ecorelations became tense when in 1971 at the nomic development and to work towards time of the Indo-Pak war of 1971 the USSR peace and prosperity in the region. Viewing backed new Delhi and it signed a 20-year India’s growing proximity with the USa, treaty of Peace, Friendship and Cooperation Russia appeared ready to make Pakistan its strategic partner and change its earlier policy. on 9 august 1971. Further, the diplomatic relations between Russia President Vladmir Putin in 2011 publicly welcomed Pakistan’s bid to join the the two countries deShanghai Cooperation teriorated when the Organisation and said Soviet army interthat Pakistan was an vened in afghanistan partner in to save a Communist The April visit of the Russian important South asia and the government in DeMuslim world. Foreign Minister is a clear cember 1979 because as a result of the Pakistan fully supindication that Russia is large-scale deep unported the USa durbetween ing the subsequent moving closer to Pakistan and derstanding Russia and Pakistan, a war and also supplied away from India. On the other series pf high-level FIM-92 Stinger misvisits and exchange of siles to the Mujahidhand, the US withdrawal from delegations from both den who were fighting sides were undertaken against the Soviet Afghanistan and its and a defence cooperarmy in afghanistan. diversification of the USA into ation agreement beIn the war of tween the two was afghanistan which more than one sphere has signed in 2014 and lasted about a decade, Pakistan’s support to provided Russia an opportunity military-level exercises began in 2015 the USa and the West and continued onproved very costly for to expand Kremlin’s power and wards. By the time the the USSR, causing a influences in the region with regional and global atheavy loss of human the help and support of mosphere was also lives, arms and amcharged because of the munition and other Pakistan along with the tacit growing rivalry and matériél. however, polarisation of nations the wheels of change consent of China and now, it is in favour and against. again turned with the up to countries of this part of Keeping in view Soviet withdrawal the current status, the from afghanistan and the globe to reshape their april visit of the Russcurtailment of US aid ian Foreign Minister is policy preferences for to Islamabad under a clear indication that the Symington and the benefit of their Russia is moving Pressler amendments closer to Pakistan and of October 1990. national interest away from India. On the relations bethe other hand, the US tween the two counwithdrawal from tries again returned to afghanistan and its dinormal after the USSR’s withdrawal from afghanistan and cut of aid to Pakistan by the versification of the USa into more than one USa. In the light of new developments, Rus- sphere has provided Russia an opportunity to sia and Pakistan began to come closer and in expand Kremlin’s power and influences in the that direction the first such attempt was made region with the help and support of Pakistan by then PM Benazir Bhutto in 1995, but Rus- along with the tacit consent of China and now, sia did not gave any positive result because it is up to countries of this part of the globe to her government recognised the taliban-con- reshape their policy preferences for the benetrolled regime of afghanistan, however, Is- fit of their national interest. lamabad continued its efforts to warm up the The writer is head of the political science relations with Russia and despite some ups and downs, in april 1999, nawaz Sharif, the department and dean of the Social Sciences Prime Minister of Pakistan, paid an official faculty of the B.N.Mandal University, Madvisit to Kremlin, the first trip there by a Pak- hepura, Bihar, India. He can be reached at rajkumarsinghpg@gmail.com istani prime minister in 25 years.

The Russian ties with India have been thrown into doubt

Dr. rajkumar Singh

nhealthy big-power competition and aggressive rivalry prompted the recent visit of Sergey lavrov, the Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation, to visit Pakistan in april 2021 after a long gap of seven years where, in discussions with his counterpart, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, the Foreign Minister of Pakistan, he exchanged views on wide array of subjects from co-operation to strategy, including the situation in afghanistan. In the region the current phase of realignment commenced when US President Barack Obama announced the withdrawal of US forces from afghanistan in 2014, especially Russia and China began attempts to form a joint front of China-Russia-afghanistan-Pakistan through high-level visits and consultations and in the same year in the month of november the Russian foreign minister visited Islamabad and signed an agreement on Bilateral Defence Cooperation with Islamabad. as India, over the years in the post-Cold War period, slowly moved towards the USa and also signed with it a nuclear treaty in 2008, perhaps Russia and China in response, commenced encircling India, and decided to make an effective front to tie new Delhi’s hand for doing anything better in its neighbourhood and to ensure a dependable ally in the region. Under the plan and a calculated strategy, especially China erected several hurdles in India’s neighbourhood and improved its strategic relations with Bangladesh, Sri lanka, Pakistan, nepal, Myanmar and in many more countries with the help of its ambitious project, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Causing surprise to no one, China is at the forefront of opposing the USa and India while post-Soviet Russia has taken a back seat, giving Beijing a free hand to achieve their common goal. thus, as a result of this ongoing mind game, various challenges have emerged in their bilateral and multilateral dealings and solving issues of mutual interest. Within a year of independence,Pakistan, the old ally of the USa, which was also later a member of SeatO and CentO in the region, and the USSR established diplomatic and bilateral relations on 1 May 1948, and despite being in US camp and its staunch supporter in asia, it enjoyed relatively healthy

In a country where people do not often have basic necessities of life, dreams are often a luxury. In such a situation, it is tempting to question the value of saving someone’s life who has no dreams, crushed under the weight of poverty. Being a regular donor to a cancer hospital, I faced with this dilemma when I came across the story of a cancer patient. he was a father of five children, including four daughters and one disabled son. his first-born, physically and mentally challenged, requires special attention and care by his parents. he works as a labourer and cannot afford to send his children to school. his second son, who is still a young boy, accompanies his father daily to work so they can earn enough to put food on the table for the family. In 2019, he was diagnosed with cancer and successfully treated at Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer hospital and Research Centre in lahore. I should have been happy to learn about this cancer survivor but I felt weighed down by a question: we are working so hard to save lives of people who are deprived of having the luxury to be able to dream for themselves or even for their children. however, then I realized that saving a life is not a means to an end, it is a good in itself. We are no ones to judge if a person’s life is worth saving based on his ambitions or dreams. every life that God has created on earth, deserves to be loved, respected and saved. as the month of Ramzan is coming up and we will be blessed with the opportunity to help others, we must remember that the act of saving lives is a good in itself. ShEiKh SalEEM lahorE

Still waiting the most effective way to control the virus is to vaccinate a large number of people. For this, the government of Pakistan has taken a good step to vaccinate people. But unfortunately, the government has just started the vaccination process in big cities. On the other hand, people living in remote areas are still waiting for the government that when he will start Covid vaccination process . yes, it is certainly right that the non of remote areas, has not gotten any vaccine. though getting vaccine is the best way to defeat the deadly virus Covid-19. But the government is failed in this regard. I urge the government should start vaccination programme in remote areas too as soon as possible. iMran Sattar turbat

Now I can breathe a verdict heard around the world, murderer police officer of George Floyd convicted and sentenced to jail. a full federal investigation has been lodged into the police practices in the city of Minneapolis. the US justice department stated this murder as unconstitutional and unlawful. yes, no doubt, a historical verdict for the blacks in america and landmark in the history of justice in the modern world. But the history of hundreds of years of injustice towards blacks will never be eradicated in a single decision but it is inception of better time. there is also a need for systemic change in the socio-cultural fabric of the White dominated society. now, we can say that it is the first step towards black lives matter and the formation of egalitarian society in the americas. aMMar ul haSSan chiShty Mian channu

Fast food nOWaDayS, more and more people are affected by health issues such as diabetes and heart diseases, which are linked to over consumption of cheap, and mass –produced food. Some people believe the only solution is to make fast food less affordable by taxing it highly. Despite the severity of the problem, I think this is quite wrong. Increasing the tax on fast food would unfairly penalize people and may not necessarily bring about the desired health benefits. First, fast food is about more than just nutrition. Many teenagers spend money on fast food not because they need to eat out but because this is how they socialize. Fast food restaurants provide a safe, convenient place for young people to meet friends. For another group, low income families, fast food can provide an inexpensive treat for their children. Denying people a small pleasure in life could affect their social lives or happiness. another important point is that if the reasons for taxing fast food is to reduce obesity, it may be in effected. It is true that fast food is high in sugar, salt, and fat, all of which cause weight gain and are detrimental to our health. however, we also know that there are other factors which contribute to the risk of obesity, such as lack of exercise and inappropriate portion size. While home cooked food is generally healthy, this is not always the case. I personally knows a family that used to eat high-fat, homecooked food in enormous portions. they all suffered from health problems due to obesity. On the other hand, I do understand the point of view of those who say drastic action is needed. If fast food were taxed and became expensive, people would be forced to seek out healthier options. In addition, food producer would have an incentive to provide healthier foods. however, there is likely to be resistance from consumers and producers who want to have a wider choice. to conclude, although imposing a higher tax on fast food could have some positive effects, these would be outweighed by the drawbacks. tariq anjuM lahorE

Saturday, 26 June, 2021

08 WORLD VIEW

"We need to stand for freedom and openness – and do it together"

Der Spiegel RENé PfiStER

DER SPIEGEL: Secretary Blinken, many German and European politicians appreciate the fact that the U.S. is returning to the world stage, but there is also great concern that Donald Trump or a similar populist will take over the White House in 2025. Do you share the concern that U.S. democracy is still in a fragile condition and that Europe should, therefore, try to stand on its own two feet? Blinken: I think we all have to deal with the here and now and the challenges – both the problems and opportunities – that our citizens are facing together around the world. And what I have seen in just the last few months as we have been working closely with Germany, with other allies and partners, is that we are producing meaningful results for our own people and for people around the world. Ultimately, that's what matters. If we continue to do that, if we demonstrate that our democracies can deliver effectively for people, then I think the approach that we're taking will be sustained. Our obligation is to actually deliver results. What we've seen, working together – at the G-7, the NATO summit and the U.S.‑EU summit – is exactly that. At the G-7, with our commitments together to deliver a billion doses of the COVID vaccine, with more on top of that; the commitment to stop financing coal‑fired plants so that we can really get at climate change – it's the single biggest source of emissions; the program to, as we call it, "Build Back Better" for the world, investments we're making together in infrastructure, in low‑ and mid‑income countries, with a race to the top in terms of the standards of investment; the work that we did at the U.S.‑EU summit to end or at least put on pause trade disputes that had been lingering for years, in the case of Airbus and Boeing for 17 years; the steel tariffs; working together on trade and technology, setting standards, setting norms. DER SPIEGEL: The most difficult issue between Berlin and Washington at the moment is the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. President Biden has made it clear that he opposes the project, yet his administration has waived sanctions against Nord Stream’s operating company as well as its CEO. Why? Blinken: First, as you know, construction

on the pipeline began in 2018. By the time we took office in January of this year, the physical construction of the pipeline was more than 90 percent complete. We went ahead and sanctioned more entities under our law than had ever been sanctioned before, but the reality of the physical completion of the pipeline was such that we looked to see, can we make something out of a very bad hand that we inherited? Because, yes, President Biden has long said that the pipeline is a bad idea, that it will potentially be a tool of Russian economic coercion and strategic coercion, a tool that can be used not only against Ukraine but indeed Europe as a whole to the extent it increases dependence on Russian gas. But the question before us is what to actually do to mitigate or prevent the damage that the pipeline could do if used in the wrong way by President Putin and by Russia, and that's exactly the conversation we're now engaged in with Germany. DER SPIEGEL: You are paying a big political price domestically for not imposing sanctions on Nord Stream 2. What does the U.S. government expect from the German government in return? Blinken: We are in very active discussions with the German government right now, looking at a series of possible steps, actions and measures that we can take to make sure that the pipeline is not used for negative purposes, as a tool of coercion or blackmail, and that the interests of countries like Ukraine are protected, both economically and strategically. There are a series of very practical things that we are talking about, and my expectation is that we will agree on important measures that, again, can mitigate any damage that could be done. The sanctions that we waived, those waivers can be rescinded. We have to report again to our Congress in about a month's time. So I hope and expect that we will show real results from these conversations. DER SPIEGEL: If you look at the Ukraine crisis, it is very clear that the Normandy Format talks, which include France, Germany, Ukraine and Russia, have brought little to no progress at all. Was it a mistake on the part of former U.S. President Barack Obama to basically leave the conflict to the Europeans? Blinken: The U.S. was very engaged in Ukraine in 2015 and 2016. We respected the proposition that the Normandy Format would be the central vehicle for trying to advance the Minsk process – the agreements that were reached, which unfortunately have largely not been implemented by Russia over many years – and that this was the best way forward. But we were working as well to try to advance that process. President Biden discussed this with President Putin and, of course, he has discussed it with Chancellor Merkel, with President Macron and others. And what we have said is: Look, if Russia is serious about implementing Minsk and we

US SECRETARY OF STATE ANTONY BLINKEN DISCUSSES THE SIMMERING DISPUTE WITH GERMANY, PROVOCATIONS FROM MOSCOW, THE TRADE DISPUTE WITH BEIJING AND AMERICA’S ROLE IN THE FIGHT AGAINST AUTOCRATS.

can be helpful, we are fully prepared to do that, but it really starts with the basic question of whether Russia is serious about it or not or whether it prefers this frozen conflict where it can turn up the heat whenever it feels like it, as it did recently by amassing the largest number of troops on Ukraine's border since 2014. The real test is whether Russia is serious or not. Irrespective of that, we are committed to Ukraine's sovereignty, its territorial integrity, its independence and to making sure that it has the means to defend itself from Russian aggression as well as supporting its efforts to deal with the internal aggression posed by corruption and other democratic deficiencies. So, we are there for Ukraine. My hope would be that Russia would actually be serious about the Minsk process. In that case, I think Normandy can continue to play a central role. We are also prepared to be engaged and to try to move it forward. But the question is really with Moscow. DER SPIEGEL: Are you considering

naming a special envoy for Ukraine? Blinken: We will look to see how we can best be helpful if there is actually work to be done and whether that is through an envoy, whether that is through the very experienced and very senior team that we are putting together, including people who have deep experience with Ukraine. DER SPIEGEL: Just before Joe Biden took office, the EU and China agreed on a trade deal that should create new investment opportunities for European companies in China. Did you consider to be an unfriendly gesture on the part of the EU? Blinken: Look, we are not on trying to contain China or holding China back. We are focused on trying to hold up the free and open rules-based international system that the U.S. and Germany have helped build together and have invested so much in over so many decades. If different aspects of that free and open rules-based system are being challenged by anyone, whether it is China or any

other country, then we think it is important to stand up and defend what we built because it has delivered very important results for all of our citizens and can continue to do so. That is the basic approach. We also recognize that we all have very complicated relationships with China that cannot be summed up in one word or, as we like to say, on a bumper sticker. There are adversarial aspects, competitive ones, cooperative ones, but whether it is any of those three, our proposition is that we are much better off engaging China together. We are going to be much more effective in any of those areas if we are doing it together. That is what we are looking toward. We want to make sure in any of our engagements with China that we are upholding the basic norms and standards that bring us together, that if we are in a race, it is a race to the top, not a race to the bottom. That goes for the commercial relationship. That goes for the relationship on political and diplomatic issues and so on. When it comes to something like the agreement that was reached – no, the question is not a hostile action. We just want to make sure that we all have in mind some of the potential challenges that China poses; for example, when it comes to information technology that is so significant in all our lives. Unfortunately, if you are doing business with a so‑called "private company" from China, there is actually no distinction between private and the government. The government has the ability to control and to elicit information from any of these companies. And, unfortunately, right now, when it comes to norms and standards of human rights, of privacy, of intellectual property, the government in Beijing does not meet the standards that we have all set. I think we have to be careful. That is all that we are saying. I think we are seeing – especially if you look at the last two weeks – a convergence of views on the best ways to engage China. The last time the G-7 leaders met in 2018, China was not even mentioned in the communiqué. In this case, the leaders agreed to important things when it comes to dealing with China. A similar thing happened at NATO just a couple of days later. The last time NATO wrote a Strategic Concept back in 2010, China was not mentioned. Now, there is focus on China in NATO as well. And when we got to the U.S.‑EU summit, agreed to establish a trade and technology council between the United States and the EU that is going to make sure that when it comes to trade and technology, we are working together on the norms, on the standards, on the rules in ways that reflect our values. We reestablished the U.S.‑EU dialogue on China that had been dormant. So, what I am increasingly seeing is a shared viewpoint, but one that recognizes the complexity of the relationships, the fact that they are consequential for all of us, and we are not asking people to choose between the United States and China. We are simply saying we have a common set of values and interests that have helped shape the international system for almost eight decades, and we need to continue to stand for freedom and for openness when it comes to that system and to do it together.

The Afghan Air Force: When 'Buy American' goes wrong IN AN EFFORT TO SANCTION RUSSIA, IT APPEARS THAT CONGRESS SET IN MOTION A CHAIN OF EVENTS THAT SENT TAXPAYER MONEY TO US BUSINESSES TO THE DETRIMENT OF AFGHAN SECURITY

Hill SEAN D CARBERRY

Recent reports warn that the Afghan Air Force may be grounded once all U.S. forces and contractors leave Afghanistan. This comes as no surprise given the Afghan Air Force’s reliance on U.S. contractors to maintain aircraft (to be fair, the U.S. Air Force also relies heavily on contractors for aircraft maintenance). However, it didn’t have to be this way. In 2012, Congress set in motion a policy that ultimately decreased the self-sufficiency of the Afghan Air Force to the benefit of U.S. aircraft manufacturers and contractors. Now, that policy is coming home to roost.

For decades, Afghanistan flew Russian made Mi-17 and Mi-35 helicopters. Those aircraft were well-suited to the high altitudes and dusty terrain of Afghanistan. Afghan pilots and technicians knew those helicopters well. When the United States started building a new Afghan military after 2001, Afghan commanders and officials said they wanted more of the Russian birds. The Department of Defense proceeded to purchase Mi-17s for Afghanistan. Then, geopolitics intervened. In 2012, Congress imposed a ban on using federal funds to purchase military hardware from Rosoboronexport, Russia’s military exporter. In addition to selling Mi-17 helicopters to the United States for the Afghan Air Force, Rosoboronexport sold aircraft and weapons to the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad, who was using that equipment against his own people. Congress understandably did not want to enrich Russia and indirectly subsidize “the mass murder of Syrian civilians,” as Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said at the time. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) argued that U.S. funds should be used to purchase U.S.-

made aircraft for Afghanistan — aircraft such as the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, which is made in Blumenthal’s home state of Connecticut. The Defense Department pushed back. Then-Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Martin Dempsey both told Congress that the Mi17 was the right helicopter for Afghanistan, the Afghans wanted it, and that in an effort to build capacity and self-sufficiency of the Afghan forces as quickly as possible, it was important to give them the airframe they knew. The bottom line was that even if it could be argued that the Black Hawk was a “better” or cheaper helicopter (cherrypicked data could make the case in either direction), the disruption caused by changing flying horses in midstream was a detriment to the mission of building an Afghan security force that could take the lead in fighting the Taliban. Eventually, Congress prevailed. In 2017, the Department of Defense delivered the first UH-60 Black Hawks to Afghanistan to augment a growing fleet of U.S.- and Brazilian-

made planes and helicopters that the Afghans could not maintain on their own. Afghanistan then began the phase-out of Mi17s. At that time, I was the lead writer of the Lead Inspector General reports on Operation Freedom’s Sentinel. As subsequent Lead IG reports noted, the transition might have been a done deal, but it was not to the benefit of the Afghan security forces and it raised a lot of questions about the implementation. Initially, the United States was going to purchase 159 Black Hawks (in 2020 the Defense Department announced a reduced procurement of only 53). When the first Black Hawks arrived in Afghanistan, the country had two-dozen usable Mi-17s. Why the number of Black Hawks? How would Afghanistan meet the pilot and crew needs for so many new helicopters? How would the Afghan Air Force compensate for the reduced lift capacity and lower ceiling of the Black Hawks? What was the long-term cost of training and maintenance? Mi-17 pilots would have to be retrained on a new-to-them helicopter — not all would qualify. U.S. military advisers had concerns about whether Afghanistan had enough po-

tential recruits capable of being certified as Black Hawk crews. Afghan technicians performed 80 percent of required maintenance on Mi-17s, and for the foreseeable future, Afghanistan would be entirely reliant on U.S. contractors to maintain the Black Hawks (as with the Afghan Air Force’s C-130 cargo planes). To close the lift-gap created by the transition to Black Hawks, the Defense Department was going to provide the Afghans with another airframe with which they had no experience: CH-47 Chinooks. Thankfully, Congress halted funding for that. Ultimately, in an effort to sanction Russia, it appears that Congress set in motion a chain of events that sent taxpayer money to U.S. businesses to the detriment of Afghan security. There were other alternatives at the time, such as buying Mi-17s through third countries such as India. Russia still would have benefited, but at least the Afghan military would have one air platform it could continue to use with little-to-no U.S. support. Now, the Afghan Air Force has about a dozen Mi-17s that it can turn to when the 150 U.S. and Brazilian aircraft in its inventory are sitting on the tarmac for lack of maintenance. Sean D. Carberry is a foreign policy and national security writer and founder of Taimani One.

Saturday, 26 June, 2021

BUSINESS 09

ISLAMABAD corporate corner BOP, Pakistan Corporate Restructuring Company Limited sign agreement

LAHORE: The Bank of Punjab (BOP) joins hands with Pakistan Corporate Restructuring Company Limited (PCRCL) to capitalize upon the opportunity of availing their specialized, non-conventional remedial management expertise and accordingly signed an Agreement with Pakistan Corporate Restructuring Company (PCRCL). BOP was the first bank to enter into the MoU with PCRCL and has inked out formal agreement with PCRCL for transferring its NPLs for expeditious resolution of its long standing NPAs, especially Off-Shore Enforcement for recovery from certain hard-core obligors who have siphoned-off funds, absconded and are engaged in business activities abroad. The Bank carried out an exhaustive due diligence of its NPL portfolio and selected some of its hardcore NPLs for assignment to PCRCL. Speaking on the occasion, BOP President and CEO Zafar Masud said, “PCRCL will not only evolve as a vibrant economic agent, contributing towards the revival of sick industrial units but will also generate employment opportunities.” PRESS RElEASE

MSCI PROPOSeS dOwNGRAdING PSX tO FRONtIeR MARketS INdeX

LOBAL securities index publisher Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) on Friday proposed to downgrade the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) to its Frontier Markets (FM) Index in November 2021 from the Emerging Markets (EM) Index at present. The MSCI said that it will begin consultation on a proposal for Pakistan's reclassification from Emerging Markets to Frontier Markets, as it announced the results of the MSCI 2021 Market Classification Review. The MSCI announced the launch of a consultation on a proposal for the potential downgrade of the MSCI Pakistan Index from Emerging Markets to Frontier Markets status in one step coinciding with the November 2021 Semi-Annual Index Review, read a statement. “Although the Pakistani equity market meets the requirements for Mar-

ket Accessibility under the classification framework for Emerging Markets, it no longer meets the standards for size and liquidity,” said the MSCI. “More specifically, index continuity rules, as described in section 2.4 of the MSCI Global Investable Market Indexes Methodology, have been applied since the November 2018 Semi-Annual Index Review to artificially maintain the required three constituents in the MSCI Pakistan Index. “Additionally, since the November 2019 Semi-Annual Index Review, there have been no securities in the MSCI Pakistan equity universe that meet Emerging Markets Size and Liquidity criteria within the MSCI Market Classification Framework,” it added. The MSCI has sought feedback from market participants on this reclassification proposal until August 31, 2021, and will announce the results of the consul-

tation on or before September 7, 2021. Market analysts have viewed the development differently. According to Topline Securities, the potential downgrade in classification could be beneficial for Pakistan. “We believe the reclassification to Frontier Markets from Emerging Markets may turn out to be beneficial for Pakistan in terms of increasing visibility amongst foreign participants,” stated a report released shortly after MSCI's announcement. The report estimated potential investment from passive FM funds to the tune of $150 to 200 million where $125 to 150 million are likely to be in the main constituents. It said despite Pakistan being classified as Emerging Market, some of the active Frontier Market funds were still investing in the country. The report added that foreigners have been key participants at the Pak-

Matiari-Lahore transmission line to stabilise power sector: Hammad

SBP forex reserves fall $311m to $16.1bn The State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) foreign exchange reserves fell 1.89% on a weekly basis, data released by the central bank on Thursday showed. The foreign currency reserves held by the central bank were recorded at $16.106 billion on June 18, showing a decrease of $311 million compared with $16.4 billion in the previous week. Overall liquid foreign currency reserves held by the country, including net reserves held by banks other than the SBP, stood at $23,256.9 million. Net reserves held by banks amounted to $7,150.8 million. NEWS DESK

Britain begins formal Amazon, Google fake review inquiry LONDON AGENCIES

Britain’s competition regulator started a formal investigation on Friday into whether Amazon and Google may not have done enough to prevent or remove fake reviews. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it will gather more information to decide if the firms may have broken consumer law by taking insufficient action to protect shoppers. An initial CMA investigation, which opened in May 2020, had assessed the internal systems and processes of several platforms for identifying and dealing with fake reviews. The regulator said it was also concerned that Amazon’s systems had failed adequately to prevent and deter some sellers from manipulating product listings, through for example co-opting positive reviews from other products. “Our worry is that millions of online shoppers could be misled by reading fake reviews and then spending their money based on those recommendations,” CMA Chief Executive Andrea Coscelli said in a statement.

istan Stock Exchange (PSX), but have shied away due to Pakistan's minimal weight in the Emerging Markets Index. However, it warned that Frontier Markets have lagged behind the bigger markets in recent times as liquidity has dried up due to Covid-19 and consistent underperformance. Arif Habib Limited, in its report, stated that the simulated index for MSCI Pak FM would have a total 23 companies including 4 standard and 19 small cap as compared to 16 percent of companies in MSCI Pak EM (3 mid cap and 13 small cap). The Arif Habib report said that Pakistan’s weight was around 9.2 per cent when it exited the frontier markets space in November 2017, which has come down to 5.8pc due to a decline in the country’s market capitalisation on the back of significant depreciation in the Pakistani Rupee. NEWS DESK

Germany passes law to give descendants of Nazi-era refugees citizenship BERLIN REUTERS

ISLAMABAD INP

Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar has said that the government is committed to timely completion of power projects under the China-Pakistan economic Corridor (CPEC) project. Addressing the ceremony of 660 KV Matiari-Lahore High Power Transmission Line project on Friday, the energy minister said this transmission line will bring stability to the power sector. He said the project will also provide relief to the people of Pakistan. He said the CPEC will promote connectivity in the region and generate numerous employment opportunities in the country. He said that Pakistan and China enjoy strong friendship and both the countries are cooperating in different sectors including health, education, power, trade and other CPEC-related projects. The minister said CPEC is of utmost importance for Pakistan as it would enable the country to enhance industrial production, upgrade energy and communication infrastructure and improve connectivity within the region. The CPEC has generated a number of employment and investment opportunities in Pakistan and beyond, he said. He said the government is committed to providing basic necessities to the masses through its power projects. Hammad said the government has also worked to improve the electricity transmission system in the country and a record 24,633 MW power was transmitted in the current month through its national power system. He said the Matiari-Lahore HVDC project is now successfully starting high-power transmission.

He appreciated the hard work of NTDC Management, PPIB, PMLTC and State Grid Corporation of China for making the project a huge success. Speaking on the occasion, Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Nong Rong said that CPEC will be beneficial for all the segments of the society in Pakistan. He said stable transmission of power is of vital importance for development of the industrial sector. He said this project will prove to be a milestone in economic development. Nong Rong congratulated NTDC Pakistan and State Grid Corporation of China for the successful completion of the project. He also expressed sincere gratitude to the Ministry of Energy, CPEC Authority, NEPRA and China National Energy Administration for the unremitting support and convenience provided. He said over 1,300 Chinese engineers and technicians along with 6500 Pakistani workers overcame the impact of the pandemic and intensively worked together. They successfully implemented the low-power test and the high-power test, and smoothly made it into the new phase of the high-power trial run operation in spite of the difficulties and obstacles, presenting us a good interpretation of China speed in Pakistan, the ambassador said. He said up to now, CPEC has attained $25.4 billion investment in Pakistan. The ambassador said that China is willing to work closely with Pakistan to implement the consensus reached by leaders of two countries, and continuously advance the progress of CPEC, enriching the all-weather strategic partnership and building a closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era.

Germany's parliament approved changes on Friday that will make it easier for descendants of people who fled Nazi persecution to obtain citizenship, a move Jewish groups described as an important signal in the country responsible for the Holocaust. The amendments approved by the Bundestag lower house of parliament ensrhine in law decrees from 2019 already in force, which followed a campaign by relatives of Nazi-era refugees. "The ruling coalition has taken important legal steps to ensure that Germany lives up to its historical responsibility," President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, said. Relatives of refugees have been angered that their applications for citizenship were rejected despite constitutional guarantees. Germany’s Basic Law states that former German citizens who between 1933 and 1945 were deprived of their citizenship on political, racial or religious grounds and their descendants can have their citizenship restored. However, some had applications rejected or were told they are not eligible to apply, often on the grounds that they were born to a German mother and nonGerman father. Until 1953, German citizenship could only be passed on through the paternal line. Under the new law, these loopholes have been closed. At a time when politicians are warning about a rise in anti-Semitism in Germany, Schuster said law sent an important signal. "Political education and enlightenment in general must be strengthened in order to push back antidemocratic tendencies," he said.

Oil declines but on track for weekly gain on strong demand MELBOURNE AGENCIES

Oil prices fell on Friday, but remained on track for a fifth consecutive weekly gain on expectations demand growth will outstrip supply and OPEC+ producers will be cautious in returning more supply to the market from August. Brent was down $0.14, or 0.2%, at $75.42 a barrel at 1142 GMT, but was heading for a 2.6% rise on the week. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell $0.19, or 0.3%, at $73.11 a barrel, but on track for a 2% weekly gain. Both benchmark contracts settled at their highest levels since October 2018 on Thursday. “Oil prices have been supported in recent weeks, benefiting from the ongoing decline in

global oil inventories as oil demand continues to grind higher, although unevenly,” said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo. “With larger oil inventory declines ahead, we expect oil prices to keep moving higher during 3Q21,” he added, referring to the third quarter of this year. Oil prices also found support as the approval of a US infrastructure bill boosted optimism over the energy demand outlook, analysts said. All eyes are on the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and allies – together called OPEC+ – who are due to meet on July 1 to discuss further easing of their output cuts from August. “The producer group has ample space to boost supply without derailing the drawdown in oil stocks, given the rosier demand

outlook,” said Stephen Brennock of oil broker PVM. On the demand side, the key factors OPEC+ will have to consider are strong growth in the United States, Europe and China, bolstered by vaccine rollouts and economies reopening, according to analysts who said this was countered by rising Covid19 cases and outbreaks in other places. The prospect of sanctions on Iran being lifted and more of its oil hitting the market anytime soon has dimmed, with a US official saying “serious differences” remain over a range of issues over Tehran’s compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also said on Friday serious differences remained, but that he hoped an upcoming round of indirect talks would bridge them.

CMYK

Saturday, 26 June, 2021

10 FOREIGN NEWS

ISLAMABAD

US, France warn Iran that tIme rUnnIng oUt to revIve deal PARIS

AFP

he United States and France on Friday warned Iran that time was running out to return to a nuclear deal, voicing fear that Tehran's sensitive atomic activities could advance if talks drag on. On the first high-level visit to Paris by President Joe Biden's administration, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his French hosts saluted a new spirit of cooperation after four years of turbulence under Donald Trump. But the two sides said that one key Biden promise -- to return to the 2015 accord on the Iranian nuclear programme that was trashed by Trump -- was at risk if the clerical regime does not make concessions during talks that have been going on for months in Vienna. Blinken warned that the United States still had "serious differences" with Iran, which has kept negotiating since last week's presidential election won by hardliner ebrahimRaisi. "There will come a point, yes, where it

will be very hard to return back to the standards set by the JCPOA," Blinken told reporters, using the formal name of the accord. "We haven't reached that point -- I can't put a date on it -- but it's something that we're conscious of." Blinken warned that if Iran "continues to spin ever more sophisticated centrifuges" and steps up uranium enrichment, it will bring nearer the "breakout" time at which it will be dangerously close to the ability to develop a nuclear bomb. But Blinken said that Biden still supported a return to the accord, under which Iran had drastically scaled back its nuclear work until Trump withdrew in 2018 and imposed crippling sanctions. "We have a national interest in trying to put the nuclear problem back in the box that it was in the JCPOA," Blinken said. STALLING AS STRATEGY? France -- which like Britain, Germany, Russia and China had stayed in the 2015 accord despite pressure from Trump -- also ramped up pressure on Iran to move ahead. "We expect the Iranian authorities to take the final decisions -- no doubt difficult ones -- which will allow the negotiations to

be concluded," Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said at the joint news conference with Blinken. Talks have stalled in part over Iran's insistence on the lifting of all sanctions, pointing to the promises of economic relief under the accord. The Biden administration says it is ready to lift economic measures related to nuclear

work as laid out by the JCPOA -- but that it will keep other sanctions, including over human rights and Iran's support to movements in the Arab world. Some experts believe that Iran had been waiting for the election of Raisi, whose hardline approach is backed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the ultimate arbiter of the Islamic republic's foreign policy.

Analysts have said Iran could strike a deal before Raisi takes office in August -letting him take the credit for the expected economic boost but blame outgoing president hassan Rouhani, a moderate who championed a better relationship with the West, if the situation deteriorates. 'WELCOME HOME': Blinken, who was raised in Paris, saluted the alliance with France and sprinkled his remarks with fluent French, in a sharp change of tone after the sometimes abrasive "America First" approach of the Trump administration. "My dear Tony, I'm really very happy to welcome you to Paris," Le Drian said as he welcomed Blinken in an ornate room of the Quai d'Orsay, the French foreign ministry. "It's expected that you would visit Paris because you're at home here. I would even be tempted to say, welcome home!" Blinken is on a european tour that also took him to Germany and will continue in Italy, just after Biden visited the continent. The administration is looking to solidify relations with europeans in the face of growing challenges from a rising China and an assertive Russia. On hotspots of strategic importance to the French, Blinken also promised solidarity on tackling extremism in the Sahel and a united front on troubled Lebanon. "We have decided to act together to put pressure on those responsible. We know who they are," Le Drian said of Lebanon which is engulfed in twin economic and political crises. Blinken added: "We need to see real leadership in Beirut."

Palestinian mourners call for change at funeral of Abbas critic HEBRON REUTERS

Palestinian mourners called on Friday for a change of government as they marched through hebron for the funeral of one of President Mahmoud Abbas's most prominent critics, who died after being arrested by security forces. Thousands of people accompanied Nizar Banat's coffin through the streets of the occupied West Bank city, many of them chanting "The people want the fall of the regime" and "Leave, leave Abbas". Some waved Palestinian flags and others the flag of hamas, Abbas's rivals in Gaza. Protesters also gathered in Ramallah and outside east Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque. Banat's family said Palestinian Authority (PA) forces broke into his house in the city in the early hours of Thursday and hit him repeatedly with a metal rod before arresting him. he suffered blows to the head, the PA's Independent Commission for human Rights said after conducting an autopsy. Abbas' Palestinian Authority said it would hold an inquiry, but has not commented on the accusations. Its governor for hebron, Jibrin Al-Bakri, said Banat died when his health "deteriorated" during his arrest. Abbas' popularity has plummeted since the 85-year-old was elected president in 2005, with many Palestinians facing economic hardship and complaining of widespread corruption. he has ruled the PA by decree for over a decade.

Making its first statement since Banat's death, the umbrella Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), which Abbas chairs, said the PA inquiry would be impartial and that it would announce its findings at the earliest opportunity. But the PLO called on Palestinians "and especially the family of the martyr, Nizar, to assume national responsibility ... and not allow anyone to politicise this issue and divert it from its national, humanitarian and legal track." Banat, 43, was a social activist who had accused Abbas's PA of corruption, including over a short-lived Covid-19 vaccine exchange with Israel this month and Abbas's postponement of a long-delayed election in May. Banat had registered as a parliamentary candidate for that contest. human rights groups say Abbas regularly arrests critics. A human Rights Watch official said Banat's arrest was "no anomaly". Abbas denies the accusations. The United States, the United Nations and the european Union called on the PA to conduct a "transparent" inquiry into Banat's death. hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, urged Palestinians to rise up and "put a final end to the widespread violation by the (PA) against the freedoms and rights of our people". Abbas and the PA, which exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank, reject accusations they are corrupt and that they arrest people for their political views. They also deny torture.

First Covid-19 case could have emerged in China in October 2019: study SHANGHAI REUTERS

The virus that causes Covid-19 could have started spreading in China as early as October 2019, two months before the first case was identified in the central city of

Wuhan, a new study showed on Friday. Researchers from Britain's University of Kent used methods from conservation science to estimate that SARS-CoV-2 first appeared from early October to mid-November 2019, according to a paper published

in the PLOS Pathogens journal. The most likely date for the virus's emergence was November 17, 2019, and it had probably already spread globally by January 2020, they estimated. China's first official Covid-19 case was in December 2019 and was

linked to Wuhan's huanan seafood market. however, some early cases had no known connection with huanan, implying that SARS-CoV-2 was already circulating before it reached the market. A joint study published by China and the World health Organization at the end of March acknowledged there could have been sporadic human infections before the Wuhan outbreak. In a paper released in preprintform this week, Jesse Bloom of the Fred hutchinson Cancer Research Centre in Seattle recovered deleted sequencing data from early Covid19 cases in China. The data showed that samples taken from the huanan market were "not representative" of SARS-CoV2 as a whole, and were a variant of a progenitor sequence circulating earlier, which spread to other parts of China. The US National Institutes of health confirmed to Reuters that the

samples used in the study were submitted to the Sequence Read Archive (SRA) in March 2020 and later deleted at the request of Chinese investigators, who said they would be updated and submitted to another archive. Critics said the deletion was further evidence that China was trying to cover up the origins of Covid-19. "Why would scientists ask international databases to delete key data that informs us about how Covid-19 began in Wuhan?" said Alina Chan, a researcher with harvard's Broad Institute, writing on Twitter. Another study by Australian scientists, published on Thursday in the Scientific Reports journal, used genomic data to show SARS-CoV-2 binds to human receptors far more easily than other species, suggesting it was already adapted to humans when it first emerged. It said it was possible there was another unidentified animal with even stronger affinity that served as

an intermediary species, but the hypothesis that it leaked from the lab could not be ruled out. "While it is clear early viruses had a high propensity for human receptors, that doesn't mean they were 'man-made'," said Dominic Dwyer, infectious disease expert at Australia's Westmead hospital who was part of the WhO team investigating Covid-19 in Wuhan this year. "Such conclusions remain speculative," he said. Serum samples still needed to be tested to make a stronger case about Covid-19's origins, said Stuart Turville, associate professor at the Kirby Institute, an Australian medical research organisation who was responding to the University of Kent study. "Unfortunately with the current pressure of the lab leak hypothesis and the sensitivities in doing this follow-up research in China, it may be some time till we see reports like that," he said.

Saturday, 26 June, 2021

SPORTS 11

ISLAMABAD

Copa ameRICa: CavaNI sTaRs as URUgUay kNoCk oUT BolIvIa; paRagUay ease pasT CHIle CUIABA

AFP

DINSON Cavani scored his 52nd goal for Uruguay on Thursday in a 2-0 Copa America victory over Bolivia, who became the first team eliminated from the competition. Bolivia goalkeeper Carlos Lampe scored an unlucky own goal to open the scoring but at times almost single-handedly kept his side in the game. Paraguay went second in group A behind Argentina with a 2-0 win over Chile, who dropped to third with Uruguay fourth. The result left Bolivia unable to catch any of the teams above them, who have all qualified for the quarter-finals. “The appearance of Covid weakened us. We’ve played well, we tried to play without making mistakes but we didn’t have any luck,” complained Bolivia coach Cesar Farias. A first-half header from BraianSamudio and second half Miguel Almiron penalty gave Paraguay a second victory in three matches. With one match left, Argentina,

Paraguay and Uruguay can still win Group A, while Brazil, who controversially beat Ecuador 2-1 on Wednesday, have already wrapped up top spot in Group B. Colombia have also qualified for the quarter-finals but one of Peru, Ecuador and Venezuela will miss out. Uruguay thoroughly deserved their first victory of this year’s tour-

Hopefully I’ve still got a few games left in me for New Zealand: Ross Taylor WELLINGTON

nament as they dominated throughout in Cuiaba, registering 22 shots to Bolivia’s four. “The scoreline doesn’t reflect our dominance but we’re satisfied,” said Uruguay’s 74-year-old coach Oscar Tabarez, who added “we didn’t make any mistakes in defense.” “Bolivia didn’t have any clear chances so we’re happy. It’s nothing

to celebrate but we’re satisfied with the way we played and controled the match.” LAMPE A SHINING EXAMPLE: Uruguay’s star veterans Cavani and Suarez – the two most prolific forwards in Uruguay’s history – were a menace to the Bolivian backline throughout the match, even if they didn’t always have their shooting boots on.

At one point, the pair somehow contrived to make a mess of two-onone situation, delaying shooting opportunities and allowing Lampe to come out and swat the ball off Cavani’s toes. By then Uruguay’s Giorgian De Arrascaeta had fired over while Lampe had rushed out quickly to smother a Suarez effort. Rodrigo Ramallo had Bolivia’s best first half chance, getting in behind the Uruguayan backline before fizzing a shot inches wide from an angle. Suarez hit the side-netting with a header and Lampe dived full stretch to tip his freekick around the post. In between, Uruguay took the lead as De Arrascaeta crossed from the right and a sliding Jairo Quinteros, in trying to prevent either of the veteran forwards converting a simple tap-in, deflected the ball off Lampe and into his own net on 40 minutes. Lampe was in the thick of things after the break, making a reaction save from Cavani’s poke from seven yards, tipping a fierce drive from Rodrigo Betancur over the bar, and scampering backwards to parry a

Suarez lob from close to halfway. His opposite number, Fernando Muslera was rarely called into action but he did have to tip a long-range strike from Ramiro Vaca over the woodwork. Having earlier header over when well placed, Manchester United’s Cavani finally ended Bolivia’s resistance 11 minutes from time, converting a cross from Facundo Torres, who put in a lively cameo off the bench, twice firing narrowly wide. In Brasilia, Samudio rose above two defenders to power a header from Almiron’s corner into the top corner on 33 minutes, leaving goalkeeper Claudio Bravo rooted to his line. Chile’s hopes of getting back into the match suffered a blow when Gary Medel was penalized for clambering all over Carlos Gonzalez in the box, allowing Almiron to send goalkeeper Claudio Bravo the wrong way from the penalty spot on 58 minutes. Moments later it looked as if Paraguay would have a second penalty when Pablo Galdames appeared to rugby tackle Almiron, but incredibly it wasn’t given, even after a VAR check.

Livingstone guides stumbling England to series-clinching win against Sri Lanka

AFP

LONDON

Veteran New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor ruled out retirement on Friday following the Black Caps’ victory over India in the inaugural World Test Championship, saying he could still contribute to the team. The 37-year-old hit the winning runs in New Zealand’s triumph, easing the pain of defeats in the past two one-day World Cup deciders. Taylor, who has played a key part in developing the Black Caps from alsorans into a genuine cricketing force, acknowledged his advancing years but said he had no immediate plans to quit. “I’m just looking forward to going home and seeing the family,” he told Newstalk ZB. “Obviously I’m coming towards the end of my career but you don’t want to make decisions based on emotion and things like that. “Hopefully I’ve still got a few games left in me for New Zealand.” Taylor has previously not ruled out staying on until the 2023 one-day World Cup in the hope of completing unfinished business from 2015 and 2019. He is New Zealand’s leading runscorer in Tests and one-dayers, demonstrating his worth with vital contributions in the win over India and the Test series victory over England that preceded it. Taylor played down suggestions from legendary New Zealand allrounder Richard Hadlee that the current Black Caps’ side was the best in history. “I wouldn’t get too carried away. We’ve had some fantastic teams (like) the team of the 1980s,” he said. “But this current group are proud of what they’ve achieved and hopefully can achieve some special things in the future as well.”

AFP

Liam Livingstone saw England to a series-clinching win over Sri Lanka as the hosts overcame a batting slump in a rain-affected second T20 International at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff on Thursday. England appeared to have the game sown up after holding Sri Lanka to 111 at Glamorgan’s headquarters. But they collapsed to 36-4 in the face of some spirited Sri Lanka bowling chasing 112 – a target reduced to 103 from 18 overs following a rain delay. But Sam Billings (24) and Livingstone (29 not out) steadied the innings. Billings fell shortly before the finish but Sam Curran (16 not out) helped England to a five-wicket win with 11 balls to spare as the world’s top-ranked T20 side went 2-0 up in this threematch series. “Any test that we come up against at this stage, with the (T20) World Cup in mind, is a good challenge – anything out of the ordinary is good,” England

captain Eoin Morgan told Sky Sports. “So certainly the hiccup we had early in our innings when we were trying to force the equation a little bit with the bat pegged us back but the composure of Liam Livingstone and Sam Billings really showed our strength in depth.” Earlier, a fine collective effort in

the field saw Sri Lanka held to a meagre total, with 111 the fewest number of runs England have conceded when bowling their full 20 overs at this level. Fast bowler Mark Wood (2-18) and leg-spinner Adil Rashid (2-24) led the way as England avoided conceding a boundary in the powerplay for the first

time in a T20 international. KusalMendis (39) and KusalPerera (21) provided the only meaningful resistance with the bat. But England, without Jos Buttler due to a calf problem following the opener’s 68 in Wednesday’s 1st T20 in Cardiff, saw Jonny Bairstow bowled for a duck by paceman Binura Fernando at the start of their chase. Dawid Malan then fell for his second single figure score of the series, lbw to DushmanthaChameera. The dangerous Jason Roy was dismissed for 17 when he holed out to long-on with Morgan (11) also falling cheaply. But, with such a small target to chase, one decent partnership was always likely to be enough for England. Billings and Livingstone fitted the bill, with Lancashire all-rounder Livingstone thrilling spectators with a ramped six. Curran’s six down the ground ended the match, with England assured of a series success ahead of Saturday’s (today’s) finale at Southampton.

All roads lead to Wimbledon for Federer LONDON REUTERS

For Roger Federer, Wimbledon 2021 will not only be the last Grand Slam he contests before celebrating the "big four-oh" but also a chance to put behind him the memory of his 2019 heartbreak at the grasscourt major. The Swiss has held aloft the gilded Challenge Cup a record eight times. But equally memorably, he lost a chance to win a ninth title in 2019 when he astonishingly failed to convert two championship points against Novak Djokovic. That near-miss prevented him from winning a record-extending 21st Grand Slam title, and since then a combination of injuries and the Covid-19 pandemic have conspired to curtail his on-court action. When Wimbledon's favourite son walks out on the manicured lawns next week, he will be hoping his surgically repaired knees can deal with the rigours of winning seven best-of-five-set matches. Exactly how Federer, who turns 40 in August, will be able to cope with such de-

mands on his body is something that even he does not know because since that fifth-set tiebreak loss to Djokovic in July 2019, he has played only 34 matches, including just eight since February 2020. Before injuries started disrupting his career from 2016, Federer regularly contested more than 70 matches a year. "It’s a huge challenge for me. Everybody who has multiple surgeries or a tough surgery knows what I’m talking about,” said Federer, who had left knee surgery in 2016 on a torn meniscus before going under the knife twice in 2020 on his right knee. "Things don’t come easy. You secondguess yourself... and that’s sometimes the biggest worry: the worry of pain or the worry of how you’re going to feel the next day or when you wake up. "All this stuff, it takes a little bit of a toll on you sometimes." His lack of match-fitness will be severely tested not only by the Djokovics of this world -- who incidentally will be eager to flatten anyone who tries to stop him from joining Federer and Rafael

Nadal on 20 majors -- but also by an army of younger and fitter players. The likes of 20-somethings StefanosTsitsipas and Alexander Zverev no longer fear facing Federer and have beaten the Swiss great on multiple occasions. Federer has made no secret that at this stage of his career, anything he does or does not do on a tennis court is done with the sole purpose of making sure he is in the best shape possible to make another title run at Wimbledon. With that in mind, he quit the French Open after winning his third-round match. It was a move that annoyed many critics who felt that if anyone else had pulled out to protect their body, they would have been crucified for using another Grand Slam tournament as a dress rehearsal. Others rushed to defend the world number eight. "Roger has earned the right to do anything he wants in tennis right now,” American great Chris Evert said. "Wimbledon is his dream, that’s the golden tournament for him. He should be excused for any withdrawal he has."

Fellow ESPN analyst John McEnroe said the bigger concern was that: "He played a four-hour match, won that, then defaulted. It's hard to say how he was feeling that next day, if he could have gone on?" Fast forward a few days and a second round defeat on grass in Halle, the earliest exit Federer has suffered in 18 appearances at the Wimbledon-warm up event he has

won 10 times, was a further setback caused by what the Swiss described as a "negative attitude". However, with his focus clearly on equalling Martina Navratilova's overall record of nine Wimbledon titles, as Eurosport pundit Mats Wilander put it: "He'll be as fired up as the Rolling Stones playing at Wembley."

Saturday, 26 June, 2021

PrAyer TimiNgs

newS

Govt lowers taxes on Food, auto, It, real estate, reFInery ISLAMABAD

TLTP

INANcE Minister Shaukat Tarin has told the National Assembly that the government will focus on a growth strategy to create new job opportunities and enhance the income levels of the people. Winding up discussion on the budget for next fiscal year 2021-22 in the National Assembly on Friday, the finance minister said, “We are heading towards an inclusive and sustainable growth.” The finance minister said that Prime Minister Imran Khan took bold and difficult decisions to steer the economy in the right direction. “Despite covid-19 challenge, we achieved a growth of four percent during the current fiscal year due to the interventions made in different sectors, including industries, housing and construction and agriculture,” he said. Tarin also announced a series of relief measures for different sectors. He said the tax relief earlier given to the auto sector for vehicles up to 850cc is being extended to 1000cc vehicles. He said that tax imposed on medical bills and GP funds is being withdrawn. The tax imposed on the milk has also been waived off. He said there will be no tax on internet and SMS while only 75 paisas will be charged from the users on a call of more than five minutes. The minister said there will be zero tax on the registered IT platforms while only two percent for the unregistered ones. He said there will be 17 percent tax on the value added products of gold. He further said that tax on poultry is being reduced from 15 to 10 percent. On textile products, the tax has been reduced from 12 to 10 percent. Similarly, the tax rate on real estate has been reduced. Under the construction package the ratio of income tax has been reduced from 35 percent to 20 percent. He said tax relief has also been given to oil refineries so that they could turn to Euro-5 fuel. The minister categorically stated that no tax has been imposed on flour and its products. Tarin said the budget has given hope to all tiers of the society. He said

the budget envisages a comprehensive plan for the uplift of four to six million poor households. Under this plan, these households will be provided with affordable houses. The rural households will be given interest-free loans of up to Rs300,000 for the agriculture productivity, besides Rs200,000 for purchase of equipment. He said that Rs500,000 of interest free loans will be provided to each deserving household in the urban areas to start their businesses. He said these poor households will also be provided with health cards. The minister said that the allocation for Ehsaas Programme has been enhanced to Rs260 billion to provide assistance to under-privileged segments of the society. He said the government will provide targeted subsidies to the low-income groups on power tariff, flour, ghee and sugar. He further said that the tax collection for the next fiscal year has been fixed at Rs5,800 billion. “We are bringing changes in the tax system and introducing automation,” he added. He said that 12 withholding taxes have been withdrawn as these are regressive in nature. The finance minister said that the government has increased the annual PSDP by 40 percent from Rs630 billion to Rs900 billion. He said projects pertaining to transport and energy as well as development of backward areas includ-

ing Balochistan, tribal areas and GilgitBaltistan have been given priority in the development plan to bring prosperity and reduce poverty. The finance minister said that $1.1 billion have been earmarked for the purchase of anti-covid vaccine. Five billion rupees have been set aside for the development of the e-voting system. The minister pointed out that Pakistan has become a net food importer and the present government will now spend on the agriculture sector to achieve selfreliance. He said that a plan has been formulated in cooperation with the provinces to uplift this sector. He said that cold storages and warehouses will be established and a network of agrimalls will be spread across the country to eliminate the role of middlemen. As regards to the industrial sector, he said incentives of Rs40 billion will be given with an aim to increase the competitiveness of this important sector of the economy. He said that tax relief has been given to the SMEs sector and loans of Rs100 billion will be given to them at a mark-up of 9 percent. He said, “We are also bringing a new auto policy and “Meri Gari Scheme” will be introduced.” He said the incentives given to the export-oriented industries will be continued during the next fiscal year. He said, “Our aim is to enhance our export base by encouraging exports in different sectors.”

GERMANY: Chief of Army Staff general Qamar Javed Bajwa meets Chief of German Army General Eberhard Zorn. iNP

FAJR SUNRISE

ZUHR

ASR MAGHRIB ISHA

3:14

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Taliban gains drive Afghan government to recruit militias For two days the fighting was blistering. Rockets and heavy machine gun fire pounded Imam Sahib, a key district on Afghanistan’s northern border with Tajikistan. When the explosions died down and Syed Akram finally emerged from his home earlier this week, three of his neighbour’s children had been killed, and a tank was burning on a nearby street corner. Several shops and a petrol station were still smoldering. In the streets, the Taliban were in control. There were maybe 300 of them, he said. That had been plenty to overwhelm the government troops defending the town, who had numbered fewer than 100. Akram saw several bodies of soldiers in the street, but many had fled the district center. In recent days, the Taliban have made quick gains in Afghanistan’s north, overrunning multiple districts, some of them reportedly with hardly a fight, even as the US and NATO press forward with their final withdrawal from Afghanistan. By all accounts their departure will be complete long before the September 11 deadline set by President Joe Biden when he announced in mid-April an end to America’s “forever war”. The Taliban gains are significant because of the transportation routes they provide the insurgents. But equally significant is that the north is the traditional stronghold of Afghanistan’s minority ethnic groups, who aided the US-led invasion that drove the Taliban from power nearly 20 years ago and have been part of the ruling leadership since. The traditional stronghold of the Taliban has been in the country’s south and east. With the recent gains, Taliban now control the main border crossing with Tajikistan, a main trade route. They also hold the strategic district of Doshi, critical because the one road linking Kabul to northern Afghanistan runs through it. As a result, a worried government this week launched what it called “national mobilisation”, arming local volunteers. Observers say the move only resurrects militias that will be loyal to local commanders or powerful Kabul-allied warlords, who wrecked the Afghan capital during the inter-factional fighting of the 1990s and killed thousands of civilians. “The fact that the government has put out the call for the militias is a clear admission of the failure of the security forces … most certainly an act of desperation,” said Bill Roggio, senior fellow at the US-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Roggio tracks militant groups and is editor of the foundation’s Long War Journal. “The Afghan military and police have abandoned numerous outposts, bases, and district centres, and it is difficult to imagine that these hastily organised militias can perform better than organised security forces,” he said. On Wednesday at Koh Daman on Kabul’s northern edge, dozens of armed villagers in one of the first national mobilisation militias gathered at a rally. “Death to criminals!” and “Death to Taliban!” they shouted, waving automatic rifles. Some had rocket propelled grenade launchers resting casually on their shoulders. A handful of uniformed Afghan National Police officers watched. “We need them, we have no leadership, we have no help,” said Moman, one of the policemen. He criticised the defence and interior Ministries, saying they were stuffed with overpaid of-

ficials while the front-line troops receive little pay. “I’m the one standing here for 24 hours like this with all this equipment to defend my country,” he said, indicating his weapons and vest jammed with ammunition. “But in the ministries, officials earn thousands” of dollars. He spoke on condition he be identified only by his first name for fear of reprisals. The other police standing nearby joined in with the criticism, others nodding in agreement. New recruits in the security forces get 12,000 Afghanis a month, about $152, with higher ranks getting the equivalent of about $380. The US and NATO have committed to paying $4 billion annually until 2024 to support the Afghanistan National Security and Defence Forces. Still, even Washington’s official watchdog auditing spending says Afghan troops are disillusioned and demoralised with corruption rife throughout the government. As the districts fell, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani swept through his defence and interior Ministries, appointing new senior leadership, including reinstating Bismillah Khan as defence minister. Khan was previously removed for corruption, and his militias have been criticised for summary killings. They were also deeply involved in the brutal civil war that led to the Taliban’s takeover in 1996. Afghan and international observers fear a similar conflict could erupt once more. During the 1990s war, multiple warlords battled for power, nearly destroying Kabul and killing at least 50,000 people — mostly civilians — in the process. Those warlords returned to power after the Taliban’s fall and have gained wealth and strength since. They are resentful of their domains, deeply distrustful of each other, and their loyalties to Ghani are fluid. Ethnic Uzbek warlord Rashid Dostum Uzbek, for example, violently ousted the president’s choice for governor of his Uzbek-controlled province of Faryab earlier this year. A former adviser to the Afghan government, Torek Farhadi, called the national mobilisation “a recipe for future generalised violence”. He noted the government has promised to pay the militias, even as official security forces complain salaries are often delayed for months. He predicted the same corruption would eat away at the funds meant for militias, and as a result “local commanders and warlords will quickly turn against him (Ghani) and we will have fiefdoms and chaos”. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told The Associated Press on Thursday that the insurgents captured 104 districts since May 1, including at least 29 in recent fighting. That brought the total area of Taliban control to 165 of Afghanistan’s 471 districts nationwide. There was no way to immediately verify his statements, and some areas often change hands back and forth. Most analysts tracking the front lines say the Taliban control or hold sway in roughly half the country. Their areas of control are mostly in rural areas. Officials and observers say many across the country have allegiance to neither side and are deeply disillusioned by corruption, which has resulted in ordinary Afghans benefiting little from the trillions of dollars in international assistance pumped into the country the past 20 years. The AssociATed Press

Biden meets Afghan leaders as US troops leave, fighting rages WASHINGTON reuTers

US President Joe Biden meets Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his former political foe, Abdullah Abdullah, on Friday to discuss Washington’s support for Afghanistan as the last US troops pack up after 20 years of war and government forces struggle to repel Taliban advances. The Oval Office meeting may be as valuable to Ghani for its symbolism as for any new US help because it will be seen as affirming Biden’s support for the beleaguered Afghan leader as he confronts Taliban gains, bombings and assassinations, a surge in covid-19 cases and political infighting in Kabul. “At a time when morale is incredibly shaky and things are going downhill, anything one can do to help shore up morale and shore up the government is worth doing,” said Ronald Neumann, a former US ambassador to Kabul. “Inviting Ghani here is a pretty strong sign that we’re backing him.” Biden’s embrace, however, comes only months after US officials were pressuring Ghani to step aside for a transitional government under a draft political accord that they

floated in a failed gambit to break a stalemate in peace talks. Biden’s first meeting as president with Ghani and Abdullah, chairman of the High council for National Reconciliation, will focus on “our ongoing commitment to the Afghan people” and security forces, said White House deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. Biden has asked congress to approve $3.3 billion in security assistance for Afghanistan next year and is sending 3 million doses of vaccines there to help it battle covid-19. Biden will urge Ghani and Abdullah, foes in Afghanistan’s two last presidential elections, “to be a united front” and he will reaffirm US support for a negotiated peace deal, Jean-Pierre said. US officials, however, have been clear that Biden will not halt the US pullout – likely to be completed by late July or early August – and he is unlikely to approve any US military support to Kabul to halt the Taliban’s advances beyond advice, intelligence, and aircraft maintenance. Ghani and Abdullah spent Thursday discussing the situation in Afghanistan with lawmakers on capitol Hill.

WORRIES ABOUT AL QAEDA: The visit comes with the peace process stalled and violence raging as Afghan security forces fight to stem a Taliban spring offensive that threatens several provincial capitals and has triggered mobilisations of ethnic militias to reinforce government troops. The crisis has fueled grave concerns that the Taliban could regain power – two decades after the US-led invasion ended their harsh version of Islamist rule – allowing a resurgence of al Qaeda. US and UN officials say the extremists maintain close links with the Taliban. “The Pentagon and the intelligence community are saying it is very likely that al Qaeda will come roaring back. It is very likely that our soldiers and our troops may have to go back into Afghanistan,” said US Representative Mike Waltz, a former Army officer who commanded US special forces in Afghanistan. US officials respond that the United States will be able to detect and thwart any new threats by al Qaeda or other Islamists. The Taliban insist al Qaeda is no longer in Afghanistan. US government sources familiar with US intelligence reporting describe the situation

as dire. Ghani, they said, has been urged to do more to step up pressure on the insurgents while US-led coalition forces are still there. Biden, who pledged to end America’s “forever wars,” announced in April that all US forces would be out of Afghanistan by

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

the anniversary of the Sept 11, 2001, attacks by al Qaeda on the United States. He made the decision even though a 2020 US-Taliban deal forged under former President Donald Trump set May 1 as the US pullout deadline.