Tuesday, 30 November, 2021 I 24 Rabi-us-Sani, 1443 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XII No 152 I 12 Pages I Islamabad Edition
Pakistan backs saudi ProPosal to host oic summit on afghan crisis g
Islamabad offers to host the summit
ISLAMABAD MiAn AbrAr
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OREIGN Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi welcomed on Monday Saudi Arabia’s move to request an extraordinary session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers to discuss the situation in Afghanistan and announced that Pakistan had offered to host the meeting in Islamabad on December 17. According to a statement issued by the Foreign Office (FO), Qureshi said Pakistan “fully endorses” the initiative taken by Saudi Arabia and expressed confidence that other OIC members would also back
the proposal. Saudi Arabia, which is the chair of the OIC summit, made the call for the extraordinary session the same day, according to state-run Saudi Press Agency. The agency reported that the meeting had been called to discuss the situation in Afghanistan and “pathways for an urgent humanitarian response”, acknowledging Pakistan’s offer to host the summit. ince the Taliban took over Afghanistan on August 15, the country — already struggling with drought and severe poverty after decades of war — has seen its economy all but collapse, raising the spectre of an exodus of refugees. According to the FO’s statement,
coronavirus in
Pakistan
CONFIRMED CASES:
1,284,365
LAST UPDATED AT 11:46 AM ON NOVEMBER 29, 2021
DAY'S DEATH TOLL:
NEW CASES:
5
176
RECOVERED:
DEATHS:
1,241,761 28,709 SINDH:
PUNJAB:
475,248
442,950
KPK:
BALOCHISTAN:
179,928
33,479
AJK/GB:
ISLAMABAD:
34,547 / 10,411
107,626
Qureshi, too, highlighted the need for providing humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan in these difficult times. “Afghanistan is a founding member of the OIC. As part of the Islamic Ummah, we are bound by fraternal bonds of amity and brotherhood with the people of Afghanistan,” he said, stressing that “today, our Afghan brothers and sisters need us more than ever before.” Describing the situation in the warntorn country, he said Afghanistan currently “faces a serious humanitarian situation — millions of Afghans, including women and children, confront an uncertain future due to [the] shortage of food, medicines, and other essential life supplies”. And the advent of winter had exacerbated this humanitarian crisis, the foreign minister added.He emphasised the need for the OIC to “step in to help our Afghan brethren”. “We should step up our collective efforts to alleviate the humanitarian needs of the Afghan people, provide immediate and sustained support to them, and continue to remain engaged with them for the wellbeing and prosperity of Afghanistan.” According to the FO, the first extraordinary session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers was held in Islamabad in January 1980, also on the then situation in Afghanistan. “Next month, we would, once again, gather in Islamabad, to reaffirm our abiding solidarity with and support to the Afghan people,” it quoted Qureshi as saying. The foreign minister added that he was confident about the meeting considering “concrete steps to help address the humanitarian and economic challenges facing Afghanistan,” and that he looked forward to welcoming his fellow foreign ministers from OIC member states to Islamabad.
Govt all set to launch mega vaccination campaign to fight new variant g
Asad Umar urges people to get vaccinated against ‘extremely dangerous variant ’ ISLAMABAD Agencies
Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar Monday said the government was all set to launch a mega vaccination campaign in next three days to help people fight the variant and urged citizens to get vaccinated against the virus. Asad, also the head of National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), while addressing a press conference along with SAPM Faisal Sultan, said that the new variant of coronavirus, Omicron, is extremely dangerous and next two to three weeks are extremely important in this regard. He said the new variant is spreading around the world but vaccination provides the only protection against the virus. Asad further said that the government is taking steps to control the spread of the new coronavirus variant in the country. On the occasion, Faisal Sultan said that Omicron variant is spreading faster as compared to other variants. Unvaccinated people are being affected by the virus all
SBP, Saudi Fund for Development sign pact for $3bn Saudi deposit g
Central bank to add deposited amount to forex reser ves KARACHI TLTP
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has signed an agreement for a deposit of $3 billion from Saudi Fund for Development (SFD). The SBP in a statement on Monday said that a deposit agreement between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, represented by the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), and the government of Pakistan, represented by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), was signed by the Chief Executive Officer of SFD Sultan Bin AbdulRahman AlMarshad and the Governor SBP Dr Reza Baqir at the State Bank of Pakistan in Karachi, Pakistan. Under this deposit agreement, SFD shall place a deposit of USD 3.0 billion with SBP. “The deposit amount shall become part of the central bank’s foreign exchange reserves,” it said. “It will help support Pakistan’s foreign currency reserves and contribute towards resolving the adverse effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.” Cording to the SBP, the deposit agreement reflects the
around the globe, he added. The PM’s aide further said that millions of people have been vaccinated and but still millions are yet to get their jabs. On the other hand, Omicron, heavily mutated Covid-19 variant, spread across the globe on Sunday, shutting borders and renewing curbs. The variant, first discovered in southern Africa, represents a fresh challenge to global efforts to battle the pandemic. Several countries have already re-imposed measures. “We know we are now in a race against time,” said European Commission Chief Ursula Von der Leyen. Vaccine manufacturers need two to three weeks “to get a full picture of the quality of the mutations”, she added. A long list of countries have already imposed travel restrictions on southern Africa, including Pakistan, Qatar, the United States, Britain, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the Netherlands. Angola became the first southern African country to suspend all flights from its regional neighbours Mozambique, Namibia and South Africa.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 05
MORE INSIDE
FBR tightens noose around real estate agents, developers STORY ON BACK PAGE
Rupee slumps to new historic low of 176.20 STORY ON BACK PAGE
strong and special relationship between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan and it is expected to further augment the economic ties between the two brotherly countries. On October 27, Saudi Arabia agreed to provide $3 billion to Pakistan in the shape of cash assistance along with a $1.2 oil facility on deferred payment. This is the second financial assistance package that
the kingdom has extended to Pakistan in the past three years, aiming to help the countr y manage a brewing external sector crisis. The kingdom had extended a similar package valuing at $6 billion in October 2018 to provide breathing space to Pakistan before the countr y went to the International Monetar y Fund for an extended loan facility.
No back channel with India on Kashmir dispute until enabling environment is created, Shah Mahmood Qureshi STORY ON PAGE 02
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Tuesday, 30 November, 2021 | ISLAMABAD
NEWS
No back chaNNel with iNdia oN kashmir dispute uNtil eNabliNg eNviroNmeNt is created, shah mahmood Qureshi ISLAMABAD
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Staff RepoRt
oreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi Monday made it clear that there is no back channel working between Pakistan and india over Kashmir dispute and neither there would be any dialogue until india creates enabling environment for a dialogue on Kashmir. The Minister made this statement in a special incamera briefing to a sitting of the Parliamentary Committee on Kashmir. “The onus lies with india as they vitiated the environment and they need to create enabling environment for any dialogue. Pakistan will not show leniency towards india,” he said. Foreign Minister said that Pakistan has been raising Kashmir at all available forums since PTi government took over the reigns of the government. He said Pakistan took the Kashmir dispute at the United nations Security Council which dented the indian narrative that Kashmir
psX gains 1,215 points to breach 45,000 level with big margin
was an integral part of india. Qureshi said that Pakistan also raised Kashmir at the human rights council of the Un, european Union and other international parliamentary forums. He said that Kashmiris were the principal party to Kashmir dispute along with Pakistan and india and they would be included in any dialogue on Kashmir. He said that the measures taken by india on Aug 5, 2019 have violated the bilateral agreements and United nations conventions and United nations Security Council (UnSC) resolutions. He said that the post Aug 5, 2019 events have proved that Kahsmiri freedom movement is an indigenous struggle and india has failed in its propaganda to blame Pakistan for the freedom movement. He said that due to extensive lobbying of Pakistan, today the world stands concerned on Kashmir and the voices within india are also rising. He said that Pakistani missions have been working vigorously to raise awareness on Kashmir dispute and events are being held to spread awareness over the indian oppressive tactics of india in indian illegally occupied Jammu and
Kashmir (iioJK). He said he had written 25 letters to the Un secretary general over the issue. He said due to these efforts, india is subject to more scrutiny to the world community on developments taking place in the iioJK. “We have been able to expose the indian designs and bring them under international scrutiny and we need to raise india’s reputational cost so as indians cant kills Kashmiris with impunity,” he said. Foreign Minister said that india has lost battle of hearts and minds in occupied Jammu and Kashmir and the resolve of Kashmiris has not shaken despite presenting sacrifices sacrifices since 1947. Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Kashmir Shehryar Khan Afridi warned india against transfer of Kashmiri lands to Central reserve Police Force (CPrF) of india which is a part of making demographic terrorism in the indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (iioJK). Shehryar Afridi said that the fascist regime of Modi is hell bent to the demographic status of the occupied territory by accelerating transfer of land to indian forces under the garb of turning them ‘strategic areas’ which is war crime
SSGC suspends gas supply to CNG stations across Sindh, Balochistan till Feb 15
KARACHI tLtp
The Pakistan Stock exchange (PSX) turned bullish on Monday, with the benchmark KSe-100 index gaining 1,215.89 points (+2.76 percent) to close at 45,330.05 points. The market opened on a negative note and shed 180 points during the first half an hour; however, volumes were very low at this stage. Later, bulls controlled the market mood that sustained till the end of the session. The KSe-100 index moved in a range of 1,483.49 points, showing an intraday high of 45,416.99 points and a low of 43,933.50 points. Among other indices, the KSe All Share index gained 681.72 points (+2.25 percent) to close at 30,984.06 points, while KMi All Share islamic index gained 538.83 points (+2.51 percent) to close at 22,048.2 points. A total of 370 companies traded shares in the stock exchange, out of them shares of 264 closed up, shares of 85 closed down while shares of 21 companies remained unchanged. out of 95 traded companies in the KSe-100 index, 83 closed up, 10 closed down and two remained unchanged. The overall market volumes decreased by 21.44 million to 268.24 million shares. Total volumes traded for the KSe-100 index decreased by 7.34 million shares to 109.63 million shares. The number of total trades increased by 11,529 to 124,778, while the value traded increased by rs0.63 billion to rs10.90 billion. Among scrips, FFLr1 topped the volumes with 14.85 million shares, followed by TPLP (14.74 million) and WTL (13.69 million). Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include FFLr1, TPLP, WTL, BYCo, and FneL, which formed around 25 percent of total volumes. The major sectors taking the index towards north were engineering, cement, automobile parts and accessories, technology, automobile assemblers, cable and electrical goods, fertilizers and banks. The major sectors taking the index toward south were modaraba and textile spinning.
and crime of aggression under international law. He said that the world community should put india under scrutiny for extra-judicial killings of the Kashmiri people by indian forces. Afridi said that the silence of the world over india’s war crimes in occupied Jammu and Kashmir is encouraging Modi regime to exacerbate its crimes against humanity against helpless Kashmiris. eminent overseas Pakistani Tahir Javed gave an overview of the work done by overseas Pakistanis in the United States of America to raise awareness on Kashmir dispute. He said Prime Minister imran Khan was the first chief executive of Pakistan who is connected with the Pakistani diaspora directly 24/7 which has made a huge difference. Zafar Mahmood, a Pakistani expat working for Pakistani cause in Canada, briefed the Committee on his organisation’s lobbying for Kashmir dispute in Canada. He requested Chairman Kashmir Committee to visit Canada and lobby with the Canadian authorities on Kashmir.
ISLAMABAD ahmad ahmadaNI
The Sui Southern gas Company Limited (SSgCL) on Monday announced to suspend gas supply to the Cng sector in Sindh and Balochistan till February 15, 2022. “in adherence to the goverenment of Pakistan approved gas Load Management Plan, that places domestic and commercial customers on top of the gas sectoral list, it has been decided to suspend gas supplied to all Cng stations
across Sindh and Balochistan as per following schedule i.e. from December 1st 2021 (8:00 am) till February 15, 2022 (10:00 pm),” a statement released by the gas utility in this regard said. SSgCL added that the SSgC looks forward to the Cng sector for understanding the gravity of the situation and expects its cooperation for serving the domestic customers better, through uninterrupted gas supplies. As per local media reports, the decision to suspend gas supplied to the Cng sector has been taken to make gas available to the domestic customers during the current winter season that has already seen a major spike in demand. earlier on november 27, SSgCL had cut gas supplies to all Captive Power Plants (CPPs) of general industries (non-export) across the two provinces in adherence to Petroleum Division’s priority order for gas load management. The discontinuation of gas supplies to all these Captive Power Plants (CPPs) was exercised under the gas Sales Agreement (gSA) signed with CPPs, as the agreement states that gas supply will be provided by the company on an ‘as and when available’ basis only during March to november each year, a statement had read, adding that the domestic sector tops the list of the petroleum division’s priority order of gas load management. gas supply to all these CPPs shall remain discontinued till further orders, however zero rated export industry including its CPPs along with the fertilizer sector will continue to get the gas, the statement added.
Shireen Mazari, interior secretary summoned in missing journalist case ISLAMABAD ageNcIeS
The islamabad High Court (iHC) on Monday summoned Human rights Minister Shireen Mazari and the interior secretary in person on December 1 in the case of a missing journalist and blogger. The high court’s orders came while hearing a plea seeking recovery of missing journalist and blogger Mudassar naaru. Additional Attorney general Qasim Wadud, Deputy Attorney general Syed Tayyab Shah and counsel iman Mazari appeared before the court on behalf of the petitioner. iHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah expressed annoyance after the additional attorney general could not confirm to the court the date the prime minister and his
cabinet would meet the affected family. “if the son of an influential person had gone missing, the reaction of the state would have been different,” the judge remarked. The court only ordered the prime minister and the cabinet to meet with the affected family, the court added. “if a citizen goes missing, it is a very serious crime,” the judge said. “it is unfair that the affected families have to go to the commission.” The court adjourned further proceedings of the case till December 1. Four days back, the iHC ruled that the state and its functionaries have to discharge an onerous burden to satisfy the loved ones, particularly the dependents of the victim that it is not a case of “enforced disappearance”. The court also held that the phenomenon of “enforced disappearances” definitely constitutes a grave crime against humanity.
record rice production to help pakistan earn $ 4.75b from export: Fakhar ISLAMABAD INp
Current account deficit surges to $5.1bn in 4MFY22 ISLAMABAD Shahzad paRacha
The country’s current account deficit (CAD) has surged 4.7 per cent of the gDP to $5.1 billion during the first four months of the current fiscal year (4MFY22) against a surplus of $ 1.3 billion (1.4pc of gDP) last year. As per details, the Monthly economic Update & outlook november 2021 released by the Finance Ministry states that the CAD widened due to the constantly growing import volume of energy and nonenergy commodities, along with a rising trend in the global commodity prices, CoViD-19 vaccines, food, and metals. imports grew by 66pc to $23.5 billion as compared to $14.1 billion during July-
october FY22 while exports grew by 32.2pc reaching $9.7 billion during the period under review. The MoF claims that Pakistan is on a high growth path and at the same time, it is confronted with persistent inflationary pressure. The second estimates of the cotton crop along with the latest performance of high-frequency variables are encouraging and setting an optimistic baseline scenario. However, there are some risks to the economy associated with rising international commodity prices, widening of the CAD and subsequent pressure on Pakistani rupee, the report states. Meanwhile, CPi inflation during 4MFY22 was recorded at 8.74pc against 8.87pc during the same period last year.
inflation had started declining after surging to 11.1pc in April, mainly driven by a drop in the prices of agricultural products. The report further states that the fiscal deficit reduced to 0.8pc of gDP in Q1FY22 against 1.1pc of gDP in the comparable period of last year. The primary balance remained in surplus and stood at rs184.2 billion or 0.3pc of gDP in Q1FY22 against the surplus of rs257.7 billion or 0.6pc of gDP last year. The level and degree of persistence of inflation is the consequence of depreciation that followed the previous balance of payments crises, reinforced by the acceleration of worldwide inflation and the exceptional surge in international commodity prices, the report states. These measures should contain the
CAD for the current fiscal within manageable proportion. This will also help to adjust the pressure on the exchange rate and hence on expected inflation. Moreover, iMF has also acknowledged that based on available data, the government’s extensive policy response to the CoViD-19 pandemic had helped minimise its human and macroeconomic repercussions and thus, resulted in a strong economic recovery. external pressures, on the other hand, have begun to materialise, mostly due to the compound impacts of increased economic activity, an expansionary macroeconomic policy mix, and rising international commodity prices. However, the measures taken by the government will ease these pressures in the coming months.
Federal Minister for national Food Security and research (nFS&r) Fakhar imam has said that record rice production of nine million ton this year has endowed the country to earn 4.75 billion dollars from its exports. Addressing a news conference in islamabad on Monday, he said both the government and the private sector will have to make coordinated efforts to achieve this export potential. Fakhar imam said that we have also suggested that a committee be formed under the chairmanship of Prime Minister imran Khan to monitor and push the exports of rice. He pointed out that Pakistan is primarily exporting the rice to China, Kenya, UAe, Afghanistan and Afghanistan. He said we can also explore other markets in Africa and Latin America for its export. The Minister nFS&r said there has also been record production of sugarcane. He said prices of the commodity witnessed an increase due to its hoarding by certain elements. He however expressed the confidence that the price of sugar will further come down.
Tuesday, 30 November, 2021 | ISLAMABAD
MisMANAgEMENt bY ROYAl PAlM gOlF & COuNtRY Club iN MusiC FEstivAl LAHORE
t
Shahab omeR
HE Rhythm Festival (music event) which was held on Sunday at Royal Palm Golf and Country Club was marred by fighting and mismanagement, Pakistan Today has learnt. According to details, the musical concert was performed by pop singers like Young Stunners (the rap/hip-hop duo consisting of the vocals of Talha Anjum and Talhah Yunus), Danial Zafar, Hassan Rahim and Umar Mukhtar, but the event was highly mismanaged and the management could not control the public there. However, club sources informed that about a thousand people had
attended the concert and the event had a pass which was sold for Rs 15,000 each. Sources further said that the management was unable to manage a huge crowd there and due to that the fight broke out at the venue however the reason behind the fight were unknown. Sources also claimed that harassment to the females also took place during the event. Moreover, several people got hurt when the stage broke as the stage could not bear the load of so many people. Sources further added that the management in order to cover the situation had to shut down the lights and music so that people would calm down and leave. “Overall the concert was a mess and there was no proper management by the
Royal Palm Golf and Country Club. The women were harassed, the stage broke and the men were fighting, while a few were also drunk,” sources added. Meanwhile, the video of the incident went viral on social media. Paras Naaz tweeted, “Just yesterday I saw a video on twitter of Pakistani men fighting in a similar way in the UK and now this. No wonder people look at us weird when we tell em we’re Pakistani and not Indians. The Pakistani name is being spoiled by none other than Pakistani men themselves.” Similarly, Biolal1 tweeted, “And that’s one of the reasons I hateee going to concerts” while another Twitter user Fatima tweeted, “Pakistani concerts are incomplete without a phadda. You can’t
change my mind.” Iqra Yusuf another one tweeted, “Fucking hell; far too many boys here should never have been born. they only have anger, violence, abuse to offer” while rm_roll tweeted, “Thankgod I did not go to this shit show. No regraaaats”. The Marketing official of Royal Palm Golf and Country Club Samar Wahab said, “The VIP stage was prepared for 50 persons with VIP passes, but a lot of people jumped onto the stage when the music began because of which it wracked and had to be removed. now the question arises that the ones who are complaining about the breaking of stage, did they have the VIP passes? Other than this there was no issue in the event and it went smooth.”
Gwadar women protest for rights, end to ‘illegal trawler fishing’ GWADAR NewS DeSk
Hundreds of women Monday took to roads in Balochistan’s Gwadar district and demanded rights and jobs cut due to curbs on illegal smuggling of petrol and goods across Pakistan, Iran border. The rally commenced from Al Johar Public School and concluded at Marine Drive. Speaking at the rally, the participants stated that the breadwinners of their homes were without jobs which had compelled them to step out into the streets. They called for an end to illegal fishing by trawlers and for lifting restrictions on trade with Iran. Addressing the rally, Maulana Hidayatur Rehman Baloch, the secretary general of Jamaat-i-Islami’s (JI) Balochistan chapter and who is leading the movement, stated that today’s “historic rally” was a testament to the
fact that each and every citizen of Gwadar had mobilised for their basic rights. Activist Jibran Nasir, tweeting videos from the rally, said thousands of women marched on the streets of Gwadar, adding that a rally of youth and children had also taken place earlier.
“All have the same demand: to provide the entire Makran area with basic amenities like potable and clean water,” he said. On Sunday, Balochistan Minister for Planning and Development Mir Zahoor Ahmed Buledi, who is heading the government team for talks with the
protesters, said that the demands made by Baloch had been implemented to a great extent — something he said Baloch had also acknowledged in his speeches. The minister called on him to show more flexibility in negotiations. Thousands of people from Gwadar, Turbat, Pishkan, Zamran, Buleda, Ormara and Pasni have been staging a protest for the past several days. Among their demands is the removal of additional check-posts at Pushkan, Sarbandan and Gwadar City, the complete removal of fishing trawlers and the opening of the Pak-Iran border. Last week, the Excise, Taxation and Anti-Narcotics Department had ordered the closure of all wine stores in Gwadar district with immediate effect in view of the “law and order situation”. The notification was shared by Buledi on Twitter, who said the decision was taken after negotiations with JI’s Baloch.
NA-133 by-poll: Saqib Nisar case: Justice Minallah states judicial ECP orders activism has caused damage to the judiciary forensic analysis Pakistan? Did that person release it or ISLAMABAD someone sitting in America?” of videos The chief justice further stated that the Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice court “cannot play into the hands of” political Athar Minallah has stated on Monday that entities trying to build narratives rather than of alleged judicial activism had already caused a lot of approach the court themselves. “When they damage to the judiciary, while adding that the do not approach the court, the court also has vote fraud court cannot risk “opening up of the to see what their intentions are,” he added. Staff RepoRt
LAHORE NewS DeSk
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has taken notice of the report of alleged video regarding buying and selling of votes during campaigns for NA-133 byelection and decided to take strict action, if the report is proved true. If pre-poll rigging is proved, then the case will be referred to the Election Commission Islamabad and the NA-133 by-poll could also be postponed, besides disqualification of the involved candidates. The ECP sent letters to chairman PEMRA, chairman NADRA, IGP and commissioner Lahore, ordering forensic analysis of the video and identification of persons. The ECP also directed the returning officer to submit a written report of forensic. Action will be taken on the report by November 30. On the other hand, the ECP announced that by-election for the Senate seat of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, vacated by Muhammad Ayub Afridi, would be held on December 20. The polling will be held in the building of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly. According to the ECP spokesperson, nomination papers can be submitted from November 30 to December 2. The scrutiny of nomination papers will be completed by December 6 and appeals could be filed till December 8.
floodgates” by ordering inquiries into “anything that goes viral on social media” While hearing arguments on the maintainability of a petition seeking the formation of an independent commission to authenticate the alleged audio of former CJP Saqib Nisar, Justice Minallah stated that the judiciary cannot play into the hands of those whose intentions are to build political narratives through audio tapes leaked on social media. Justice Minallah further stated that the ones who were “affected” by the audio leak “did not show interest in bringing the matter to the court”, which was an apparent reference to ongoing hearings on PML-N Vice President Maryam and her husband retired captain Mohammad Safdar’s appeals against their convictions in the Avenfield reference. The high court chief justice stated that “Anything goes viral on social media. How many can the court order inquiries into?” Questioning the maintainability of the plea, the judge remarked: “It is said about me that I have bought some flat. Should we start an inquiry into that as well?” Upon this, Ahmed argued the problem was that the “real affected parties” did not come forward. To this, Justice Minallah replied: “Suppose this audio is legitimate, where is the real clip? Tomorrow, anybody will bring a clip and ask for an inquiry.” The judge wondered about the identity of those behind the audio leak. “Who has the capability to record the chief justice of
“Who released the audiotape and to whom?” It is pertinent to note that the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has issued a pre-admission notice to Attorney General Khalid Jawed Khan on a petition seeking a probe into an alleged audio leak involving former chief justice Saqib Nisar. IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah took up the petition filed by Sindh High Court Bar Association (SHCBA) President Salahuddin Ahmed and judicial commission member Syed Haider Imam Rizvi. The petition said the alleged audio clip of the former top judge tainted the image of the judiciary and pleaded with the court to constitute a commission comprising a retired judge, lawyer, journalist and members of civil society to ascertain the veracity of the controversial clip. “The alleged audiotape creates the impression that the judiciary is under the influence of outside forces,” a lawyer representing the petitioners said, adding the judiciary needs to appoint a probe commission to save its reputation. The court further questioned if the petition was filed against the incumbent chief justice, to which the counsel replied that it pertains to the audio leak involving a former chief justice. Justice Minallah said the clip in question dates back to the time when Nisar was serving as the chief justice. He noted the judiciary had to confront big challenges with lawyers’ associations playing a role in its independence.
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Exports of readymade garments increase by 22.3pc in 4MFY22 ISLAMABAD app
The exports of readymade garments from the country witnessed an increase of 22.34 per cent during the first four months of the current fiscal year (4MFY22)as compared to the corresponding period of last year. According to data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the exports of readymade garments during July-October FY22 stood at $1158.603 million against the exports of $947.070m during July-October FY21. Overall exports of textile commodities witnessed an increase of 26.55pc during 4MFY22 as compared to the corresponding period of last year. The textile exports during the current fiscal year were recorded at $6021.815 million against the exports of $4758.473 million last year, according to PBS data. Meanwhile, on year-on-year (YoY) basis, the exports of readymade garments witnessed an increase of 21.09pc at $297.435 million during October as compared to the exports of $245.628 million during the same month of last year. On month-on-month (MoM) basis, these exports also increased by 7.7pc in October 2021 when compared to the exports of $276.228 in September 2021.
Omicron poses ‘very high’ global risk, countries must prepare: WHO GENEVA ReuteRS
The Omicron variant is likely to spread internationally, posing a “very high” global risk where Covid-19 surges could have “severe consequences” in some areas, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Monday. The UN agency, in technical advice to its 194 member states, urged them to accelerate vaccination of high-priority groups and to “ensure mitigation plans are in place” to maintain essential health services. “Omicron has an unprecedented number of spike mutations, some of which are concerning for their potential impact on the trajectory of the pandemic,” the WHO said. “The overall global risk related to the new variant of concern Omicron is assessed as very high.” Further research is needed to better understand Omicron’s potential to escape protection against immunity induced by vaccines and previous infections, it said, adding that more data was expected in the coming weeks. “Covid -19 cases and infections are expected in vaccinated persons, albeit in a small and predictable proportion”, it added.
04 NEWS 30th November 2021) (ISB)_Layout 1 11/30/2021 12:13 AM Page 1
Tuesday, 30 November, 2021 | ISLAMABAD
04 NEWS
CulTuRE mAJOR bOnD TO bRing PEOPlE Of KOREA, PAKiSTAn ClOSER; SAyS Amb SAngPyO LAHORe
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Mian abRaR
MBASSADOR Suh Sangpyo of Republic of Korea has said that culture and peoples’ exchanges are the most effective ways to make different people friendly. He expressed these views while speaking at the Korean Night held here at a local hotel. The Embassy of Korea organized the Korean Night to celebrate Korean culture, art and its music under the theme of the ‘Squid Game’. The event was attended by around 120 highlevel dignitaries including Consulate Generals, Honorary Consuls, Pakistani officials, artists and businessmen. Korean students from high-schools in Lahore volunteered at the event as the Monitors, while embassy staff dressed in the 456 Protagonist uniforms projected the Squid game themed event. The Ambassador wished that such events could be a building block towards more solid cultural ties between Korea and Pakistan. “The event is a testament to the growing interest in Korean arts and culture among Pakistanis and the world,” he added. The Korean Night opened with the Squid Games series opening video which is Netflix’s most-watched series as of November 2021. The participants both young and old participated in the traditional Korean games including Dalgona, Ddakji and Jegichagi. The Korean Embassy Chef Lee demonstrated
the Dalgona Candy making process on stage and then the guests volunteered to play the second Dalgona challenge in pursuit of prizes. Ddakji/Ttakji was the second challenge where contestants competed with the card-board tiles and flipped the opponent tile to win the game. The guests played Jegichagi; the players kicked a jegi up in the air and kept on kicking to prevent from
falling to the ground. The players with the most consecutive kicks won the prizes. There was a K-Pop dance performance by the K-Pop Event 2021 Winners Dynamite Crew and the program ended with the musical duo ‘Jinspark’ performing with their traditional Gayageum and modern Handspan serenading the audience.
Senate Committee takes notice of media ads during PML-N’s tenure
News Desk Senate Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting has asked for details of ads run during PML-N’s tenure after PML-N Vice-President Maryam Nawaz’s audio scandal sparked controversy. As per the audio, Maryam was instructing someone to stop giving advertisements to four TV channels. The state minister said the Ministry of Information has started an inquiry after Maryam’s audio clip went viral. A report, containing details of ads till 2008, would be furnished before the committee on Wednesday, he said. The committee’s chairman, Senator Faisal Javed, took notice of Maryam’s audio clip as Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib gave a briefing during the meeting.
Senator Javed said “some channels were receiving a majority of the ads, while others were getting a negligible amount”, as he lamented that media workers, due to non-payment of salaries, were forced to commit suicide. Habib informed the participants of the meeting that the ministry’s constituted committee is probing in what capacity did Maryam issue the directives to stop media ads. “We are also probing whether the directives to stop ads had impacted the independence of journalism,” the state minister said. Earlier this week, Maryam while addressing a press conference had confirmed the authenticity of the viral audio clip. Replying to the question, the PML-N leader said that she will not deny that the voice is hers or say it has been “fabricated”. “I was running the party’s media cell at that time and it is an old audio clip,” she stated.
Road accident leaves three killed, nine injured in Karachi KARACHI: Three people were killed and nine others injured in a road accident in Karachi on Monday, media reported. A van carrying staff of a private company crashed into a mini-bus coming from the opposite direction in the Landhi neighbourhood, according to media. The injured included passengers from both vehicles, whereas all the three dead passengers were aboard the van, said the reports. The wounded were shifted to a nearby hospital where two of them are said to be in critical condition. Staff RepoRt
KP economic potential to be tapped through SEZs: official ISLAMABAD: Authorities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) are determined to tap the economic potential of the province through the development of special economic zones (SEZs), the chief executive officer (CEO) of the KP Economic Zones Development and Management Company (KPEZDMC) said. The investment-friendly policies of the KP government and efforts of the KPEZDMC have enabled the province to attract foreign and local investments, Javed Iqbal Khattak told the Associated Press of Pakistan. The province has now five economic zones including the Rashakai SEZ being constructed under the framework of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), he said, adding that the management of the company is following highly business-friendly policies to facilitate the investors. He said that work on other SEZs in other parts of the province is also passing through different stages, and the KPEZDMC has also mobilized investment of Rs165 billion rupees (about $934 million) through new and existing economic zones, and since March 2020 has allotted 357.61 acres of land to investors. “The company is committed to providing world-class industrial infrastructure and facilitating investors through its industrial facilitation offices,” he added. He said that the company is working on sector-specific industries in the economic zones, with a special focus on minerals, jewels, marble, and fruit and vegetable. For fruit and vegetable, the economic zones’ sites are situated adjacent to the districts known for the production of various fruits and vegetables, where the horticultural products would be value-added for both domestic and export purposes, he added. MonitoRing RepoRt
Parag Agrawal to replace Jack Dorsey as Twitter CEO Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey will step down from his role and Chief Technology Officer Parag Agrawal will become his successor, Twitter announced on Monday. Dorsey’s departure marks the end of his second CEO stint at the social networking site, and he leaves at a time when Twitter has made headlines for its renewed pace of product launches after years of criticism that the site had fallen behind larger rivals like Facebook and new social media apps such as TikTok in innovation. Despite the quickened pace of new features, shares of Twitter have slumped in recent months, adding pressure on Dorsey to end his unusual arrangement of being CEO of two companies. Dorsey is stepping down now because he feels confident about his successor, and will focus on his payments processing firm Square Inc and other pursuits such as philanthropy, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. The company’s board has been preparing for Dorsey’s departure since last year, the source said. Shares of the microblogging platform surged 9% in early trading, while those of digital payments firm Square Inc (SQ.N), of which Dorsey is also chief executive, were up 3%. In his latest tweet on Nov. 28, Dorsey said: “I love twitter.” The “likes” on that tweet surged to more than 54,000 on Monday. CNBC was first to report Dorsey’s move. Dorsey co-founded Twitter in 2006 and became CEO the following year. In 2008, co-founder Ev Williams and board member Fred Wilson pushed out Dorsey as the social media site gained steam with users and they determined he was unfit to lead the company. But after years of stagnant growth and a slumping share price, Dorsey returned as CEO in 2015 while continuing to lead Square. In early 2020, Dorsey faced calls from Elliott Management Corp to step down, after the hedge fund argued that he was paying too little attention to Twitter while also running Square Inc. Dorsey fended off the pressure by giving Elliott and its ally, buyout firm Silver Lake Partners, seats on Twitter’s board. MonitoRing RepoRt
LHC stays imprisonment of Mandi Bahauddin DC, AC LAHORe Staff RepoRt
The Lahore High Court (LHC) Monday stayed a verdict of a consumer court ordering the arrest of Mandi Bahauddin Deputy Commissioner Tariq Basra and Assistant Commissioner Imtiaz Ali on contempt charges. Last Friday, Mandi Bahauddin District and Sessions Judge Abdul Jabbar, who also heads the district consumer court, had convicted the two civil servants after members of the district administration and the judge engaged in a heated argument over the eviction of the occupant of a government residence, awarding them three-month imprisonment each and issuing orders for sending them to prison. However, the civil servants purportedly evaded arrest and left for Lahore over the weekend where they filed an appeal challenging the consumer court’s order before the high court. Meanwhile, Mandi Bahauddin District Police Of-
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ficer (DPO) Sajid Khokhar, who the court had ordered to send the convicted officers to the prison, went on leave until the filing of the appeal. Today, LHC Chief Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti, who took up the petition, suspended the imprisonment orders. He also served notices on all respondents and sought responses. The accused had through their counsel maintained the case did not fall under the purview of the consumer court. But Justice Bhatti said the applicants could appeal before the higher forum if a lower court took notice of a matter despite it being outside its jurisdiction. The counsel for the officials argued that a judge must decide the case as per the law. The judge observed the officials had disobeyed the consumer court by sending a clerk before the judge. CASE HISTORY: The consumer court judge had convicted the deputy commissioner and assistant commissioner for contempt of court in connection with the hearing of a request by a citizen, Muhammad Asim,
who was forcibly evicted from an official residence in Wapda Colony by Rana Mehboob Ali, a litigation clerk in the district administration. The court issued notices to the officials to appear before the court. However, they sent the litigation clerk who committed grave misconduct and contempt by misbehaving with the judge. The clerk challenged the authority of the court, as well. At this, the judge convicted him. However, Basra telephoned the judge and misbehaved with him, asking him to set the clerk free whereas Ali also appeared in the court and misbehaved with the judge. The judge issued notices to both the officials under Section 228 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) to appear and personally answer as to why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them. They appeared in the court on Friday but could not satisfy the judge. At this, the judge awarded threemonth imprisonment to them and sent them to the Gujrat District Jail.
Tuesday, 30 November, 2021 | ISLAMABAD
NEWS
05
PM IMran takes a DIG at nawaz sharIf, says he ‘haD escaPeD abroaD after LyInG’
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stAff RepoRt
RIME Minister Imran Khan while addressing a ceremony at the Al-Qadir University on Monday spoke indirectly about the Asma Jahangir Conference where former prime minister Nawaz Sharif spoke. The PM lamented how the PML-N supremo was allowed to address the event. “This person had escaped abroad after lying,” he said, while taking a dig at Nawaz Sharif. He said societies perished when they refused to condemn sins, adding that the former prime minister was speaking at a conference where judges of the Supreme Court were present. PM Imran Khan said if society continued to venerate and appreciate people who had indulged in corruption, then other people would find no incentive in
working hard. “Why would a common man study 14 years, work eight hours a day to earn for his wife and children when another person operates like a qabza group?” he asked. “Mental slavery is far more dangerous than physical slavery,” the PM added, while speaking about the importance of breaking the shackles of slavery. “Unfortunately, due to colonialism, Muslims suffered from mental slavery around the world,” he said. The prime minister emphasised on speaking the truth and dispensing justice. “Speaking truth was a quality of Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) before he was appointed a Messenger.” PM Imran Khan said he had always aimed at creating institutions in Pakistan that would implement Islam in its true spirit. He spoke about education at length, lamenting that there were no universities
researching the lives of the Muslim leaders, warriors, scholars and reformers. “Islam and Science were both working alongside each other,” he said. “There was harmony between them. Read Al-Biruni and others, they had a strong connection to Allah,” he added. The prime minister spoke out against Western culture, saying that Pakistan’s youth was confused about it in today’s world. He said young Pakistanis studied the Western culture and were misled by it, saying that its progress lured many into copying it. The premier urged universities to research on the disastrous effects that Western culture was having on family life, and spoke out against how pornographic material was widely available on smartphones these days. He said universities were important as they can help people make “informed
choices” that will help people make smarter and better choices. “Allah encourages Ijtihad in the Holy Quran,” he said. “How will Ijtihad take place here if the person who differs in his point of view from you, is declared a kafir,” he lamented. The prime minister said that the concept of leadership that Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) gave to Muslims will be imparted in Pakistani universities to the youth, adding that “we will start from our students.” Speaking about leadership, the premier said a selfish and cowardly person can never become a leader. He said it was important to educate students about these aspects so that when they become future leaders, they think about Pakistan’s progress rather than appointing their friends to high places and committing corruption.
Sindh seeks Centre’s help for booster jabs kARACHI Staff report
Provincial Minister of Sindh for Health Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho has reached out to the federal government with a request to provide vaccine stocks for the booster dose drive in the province. “Administering booster jabs to individuals over the age of 65 years is necessary,” Pechuho said while addressing a press conference in Karachi. She said that she doesn’t have many details about the newly discovered variant of the coronavirus — Omicron — but “there have been more than 30 genetic mutations in this virus.”
“[We] will conduct a genetical research if vaccinated individuals contract the new strain,” said Pechuho. The provincial minister further stated that they have asked the Centre to start the Rapid Antigen Tests again and provide stock for the booster doses drive. She demanded the provision of 1 million doses of Pfizer, 500,000 doses each of Moderna and AstraZeneca. However, Sindh Health Secretary Zulfiqar Ali Shah had earlier said that consignments of the vaccine are being imported for the administration drive of the booster dose. The Government of Sindh on Sunday decided to make a booster dose of the coronavirus vaccine compulsory after the discovery of the new COVID-19 variant. The Sindh Health Department announced that a
booster dose of Pfizer vaccine will be administered to fully vaccinated individuals. Shah said that the decision to administer fully vaccinated individuals a booster jab has been made in order to prevent the spread of the virus in the province. “The booster jabs are currently being administered at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre and Dow University of Health Sciences Ojha Campus but the scale of vaccination will be expanded across the province,” said Shah. He further stated that no fee will be charged for the administration of the booster jab. Shah requested the fully vaccinated individuals to get the booster jab and advised those who are yet to get the basic vaccination to get themselves immunised against the virus.
Blogger’s ‘bareheaded’ photos at Kartarpur gurdwara provoke controversy, Police launches investigation News Desk A female blogger’s photos taken at the Kartarpur Gurdwara has sparked controversy on social media on Monday. The Punjab Police has launched an investigation soon after the controversy started making rounds on the social media, after an Indian Sikh journalist, Ravinder Singh Robin shed light on the offensive nature of the photo-shoot on Twitter. “Modelling bareheaded for ladies’ attire, in the premises of Gurdwara Sri Darbar Sahib at #KartarpurSahib in Pakistan, by a Lahorite woman has [severely] hurt the religious sentiments of Sikhs,” he stated. Soon after, the Punjab Police tweeted that they were “investigating all aspects related to this incident and strict legal action will be taken against [those] responsible”.
“[The] management of concerned brand & model are being investigated. Worship places of all religions are equally respectable,” it said. It is pertinent to note that the blogger’s photos were shared on the Instagram page of a clothing brand named Mannat Clothing, but were removed after the criticism. As per the sources, the police would first investigate the “model” and the brand’s role in the capturing of the photos and later “register a case”, while adding that “[Police] are checking whether the model conducted the photoshoot on her own or the brand carried out the session.” Later, the blogger, Sauleha Imtiaz apologised for the pictures, while clarifying that the pictures were not part of a formal photoshoot. “I just went to Kartarpur to learn about
the history and know about the Sikh community. It wasn’t done to hurt anyone[‘s] sentiments or anything for that matter. However, if I have hurt anyone or they think that I don’t respect their culture, I am Sorry,” she stated. “I respect the Sikh culture very much and I am sorry to all the Sikh community.” The clothing brand Mannat in their defense, clarified that “the pictures posted on our accounts are NOT part of any [photo]shoot done by Mannat Clothing. These pictures were provided to us by a third party (blogger) in which they were wearing our dress.” “However, we accept our mistake that we should not have posted this content and we apologise to every single person who was offended by this,” the statement added. Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said “the designer and
the model must apologise to Sikh community” over the photos. “Kartarpur Sahib is a religious symbol and not a film set,” he tweeted. Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Political Communication Shahbaz Gill termed the blogger’s photos “stupid and unthoughtful”, saying the designer must apologise for “hurting Sikh community’s religious sentiments”. Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar also took notice of the incident, sought a report from the chief secretary and ordered an inquiry into it. Buzdar also sought action against the officials who allowed the “modelling”, with a statement saying “Not only will action be taken against those responsible after a comprehensive investigation into the incident but it will also be seen being taken.”
Lower Dir civil judge sent to prison on rape charge IsLAMABAD Staff report
A local court on Monday sent a senior civil judge, posted in Lower Dir district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and facing charges of sexually assaulting a woman, to prison. Jamshed Kundi was arrested last week when the complainant, a resident of Nishterabad neighbourhood of Peshawar, approached Balambat police station, claiming the judge forced himself on her at his official residence. Police said an initial medical examination of the victim confirmed the occurrence of the incident. In her complaint, the woman alleged the judge had received gold ornaments worth Rs1.5 million by promising to provide a job to her sister three months ago. He contacted her on November 25 saying he was unable to provide the employment and asked her to accompany him to Balambat so that the ornaments could be returned to her. The woman said she travelled with the judge to Timergara town in Lower Dir from Peshawar in his official car. On reaching the bungalow, the judge expressed sexual interest in her, and raped her when she refused. The police report, signed by Station House Officer (SHO) Fazal Ghafoor Khan, said a preliminary medical report of the victim had confirmed the rape following which the judge was arrested and produced in a court of law. Meanwhile, the Peshawar High Court (PHC) had suspended the judge.
Govt all set to launch mega vaccination campaign to fight new variant CoNtINueD fRoM pAge 01 South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday called on countries to lift the travel bans “before any further damage is done to our economies”. The head of the World Health Organization in Africa also urged countries to follow the science rather than impose flight bans in a bid to contain the new Covid strain.
QAU VC, ASA come face to face, trade barbs IsLAMABAD Hamid KHan Wazir
Academic Staff Association (ASA) and the Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) Vice Chancellor Dr Muhammad Ali Shah came face to face and blamed each other for the problems facing the country leading university. The ASA alleged that the QAU VC is seeking exit a year before the end of his tenure, through his candidature for the post of VC at three regional public sector universities in Punjab. “The QAU is a difficult university to manage, with an assertive faculty and students who come from all parts of the country due to admission on quota basis. In 2020 also, the incumbent VC had tried to leave QAU and seek job in the provincial higher education sector. But he was refused NOC by the Federal Ministry of Higher Education and Professional Training, and asked to complete the remaining tenure at QAU,” states the flyer issued by a panel of the faculty contesting the Academic Staff Association (ASA) elec-
tions on Tuesday. In a WhatsApp messages, the QAU VC said: “If they refuse NOC then how can I leave. This is their political mimics which they want us to use for their elections.” He added that they should come up with something concrete which they do not have as these are always believers of disruptive politics and known for their lies. They said that no substantive reforms of any part of the QAU setup have been contemplated, let alone enacted, over the past three years. The ASA is expected to proactively work to tackle the current university crisis. They alleged that earlier this month, the Senate Standing Committee on Federal Education and Professional Training had also expressed its disappointment on the serious decline of academic standards at QAU and 31 other public sector universities in the view of the Higher Education Commission. Of particular concern is the recent report by an international agency, Retraction Watch, about several instances of plagiarism in journal articles, including at QAU. They stated that the incumbent Vice
Chancellor is under scrutiny for his own confessions about the encroachment of 700 acres of university land made before the National Assembly Standing Committee on Federal Education and Professional Training and about the open sale of
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drugs on campus huts made before the Senate Standing Committee on Narcotics Control, as the QAU administration has done nothing to enforce the Supreme Court’s 2017 decision to seek the help of the Capital Development Authority in va-
cating the previously grabbed land from illegal encroachers. The VC QAU shared a long list of his three years performance and said that the Directorate of the Student’s Affairs; Directorate of Academics; Directorate of Estate; Career Counseling and Placement Office and Business Incubation Center have been set up during the three years. “QAU ranked top in Pakistan by Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2022, the university has also significantly improved QS Ranking from 454th to 378th by QS World University Ranking 2022,” he added. He added that recently another prestigious ranking agency Times World University Ranking placed QAU among the top 100 Asian universities, besides resolving the longstanding accreditation issues of the Department of Law and Pharmacy programs. He said that PSDP Projects of RS. 2074.170 million was initiated including academic blocks, hostels and research labs, besides distributing scholarships worth Rs. 232.8 million among students in the financial year 2020-21.
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Tuesday, 30 November, 2021
06 COMMENT
The other great national pastime
Changing perceptions in public domain Videos create a sensation
On morally judging others
V
IDeoS have appeared showing alleged PML-N and PPP functionaries distributing money to some of the voters after getting a promise on the Quran that they would vote for their respective candidates days before NA 133 polls. Interestingly all the characters in the video ascribed to PMLN are masked or, in the case of women, hiding their faces with the traditional chaddar. What is more there are PMLN flags and pictures of party leaders in every nook and corner thus overdoing to implicate the party. This is not the case however with videos ascribed to PPP. Both parties deny they had authorized anyone to do the dirty job. The videos have initiated a war of words between the PMLN and PPP. The PML-N’s candidate maintains that the video showing money being distributed to seek votes for him is fake and is part of a campaign to malign him as he had won the 2018 elections with about 90,000 votes while the PPP candidate had got only a little over 5,0000 votes. According to PPP’s candidate Aslam Gill the PMLN had psychologically lost the election, adding that buying votes was an old tactic of the PML-N. There are other voices also in both the PPP and PMLN. PPP Punjab’s Secretary Information Shahzad Cheema has noted that such videos doing the rounds on social media are a “ploy” to ruin the election. A PMLN leader has held the PTI responsible for both the videos to create further differences between the two opposition parties and simultaneously to divert public attention from the audio ascribed to CJ (rtd) Saqib Nisar. While the PPP and PMLN are involved in a blame game, the PTI is happy. PTI Minister Farrukh habib wonders what is the value of these elections Buying and selling votes is a crime. It aims at depriving the voter of free choice in voting. The practice cannot be allowed if the elections are to be fair and free. Whether the videos are genuine and made at the party leaderships’ direction is for the eCP to determine. The eCP has rightly directed the authorities to conduct forensic analyses of the video clips and arrest the persons who can be seen in the videos distributing cash.
HASAN AFTAB SAEED
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Ne of the more unfortunate traits of human beings is the satisfaction they get when they think they are richer, more influential, or better looking than others in their social circle. Barring those rare specimens with a sound philosophy of life and exemplary mental hygiene, this weakness gets the better of everybody. There are those who, when they realize that no stretch of the imagination will allow them to conclude that they are more successful than others, consciously or subconsciously develop ingenious theories to explain the strange situation. The delusion of choice invariably centres around their own undisputed moral superiority over their real or imagined rivals. For example, when a woman cannot account for the inexplicable lack of her own success and the even more unfathomable (real or perceived) success of another woman, she feels an irresistible urge to put it down to the latter’s morals, or lack thereof. of course, a lax morality, no matter how profitable, is something she herself is quite incapable of. Few fruits are as soothing to the ego as sour grapes, especially when served with a liberal garnishing of sanctimony. Interestingly, those who are the most critical of
‘Naya housing’ hits snags Inflation makes low-cost housing unaffordable to deliver
Finding the fault lines
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he PTI government has been fast in announcing development projects aimed at helping and uplifting the most underprivileged sections of the population, with its ‘Naya Pakistan housing Society’ as the flagship project. however, with virtually no observable work having been done on ground, it is unlikely to fulfil its purpose, that of providing affordable housing to the poorest. It is a sad irony that due to a continuous and unabated rise in inflation, construction costs have increased significantly, which means the government itself cannot afford to build subsidized homes. What is more, the uncontrolled rise in prices is much of the government’s own making. The target of providing 5 million housing units was already ambitious to begin with and the government has continued to increase the scope of projects to be constructed under the Naya Pakistan housing & Development Authority (NAPhDA) since its inception almost two years ago by adding more cities where it would operate. With prices of both construction materials and labor rates going up by a whopping 40 per cent since 2018, a much more substantial subsidy than originally decided would have to be approved, which will be a difficult task considering how the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has tasked the government to reduce subsidies across the board as one of the major preconditions to revive the stalled $ 6 billion extended Fund Facility (eFF). Another important aspect of providing low cost housing is the involvement of the central bank and private banks who have to provide affordable finance to those looking to take advantage of the government’s scheme. To that end, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) had made it mandatory for banks to allocate 5% of their lending to projects under the NAPhDA at significantly lower than conventional market interest rates with no collateral other than the houses themselves, a risky loan for any bank especially in a market where the mortgage industry is practically nonexistent. The higher cost of building the houses coupled with a rising discount that is bound to be hiked further as monetary policy tightening continues, both the borrowing limit and interest will need to be revised. In the present scenario it seems unlikely anyone is going to benefitting from the government’s housing schemes any time soon.
Enforcing the constitution
RAjA HAmzA ANwAR
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heN a distressed Member of Parliament from ex-Fata, spoke empathically about the sordid state of affairs in the tribal areas at the Asma Jahangir Conference held in Lahore, he lamented the degradation of the citizens from ex-Fata caused by the concentration of powers in the centre for the benefit of the Punjabi status quo. he is right to blame the status quo and his comparison to the Bengali depredation of the 1960s and 1970s is apt, yet his suggestion to radically overhaul the Constitution of Pakistan to have a new one is, perhaps, inconsequential. The Democratic Republic of Congo is anything but a democracy, its name is the epitome of anarchy. The Congolese have a joke: there have been six constitutions since the country gained its independence from Belgium in 1960, but they all have the same Article 15. The reference to “Article 15” is a joke. There is no such clause in the Congolese Constitution yet the joke is meant to be a disparaging innuendo about their Constitution. The most prominent interpretation of this joke is that it does not matter what the constitution says unless it is acted upon, its boundaries respected, undivided fealty offered to it, its spirit protected from the bestial transgressor. There is a dilemma; at one time the Constitution is a strong document that acts as a resilient adhesive for the provinces populated by various ethnicities of Pakistan; one which can be enforced by the citizens against the state excesses. on the other hand, it is a dangerously fragile instrument, which can be broken
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others are offended the most when it is brought to their notice that other people take a similarly unfavourable view of their lives. But if you happen to suggest that the only sensible way out of the mess is for everybody to start minding her own business and stop judging others, they are apt to be very reluctant to concur. What fun would life be shorn of its principal joy! Although they do not express it in so many words, the gist of their response is that there are sound judgments (their own) and those that are anything but (those of others). At that moment you could be excused for thinking that you are engaged in conversation with the needle of the moral compass itself. What is usually skipped in most moral debates is the crucial matter of authority. even if a woman is justifiably convinced of something, that hardly gives her the right to poke her nose in other women’s affairs. Consider a typical conversation: a woman declares another woman’s choice of attire to be indecent. To which you politely suggest that so long as no law is being broken, how a woman dresses is hardly anybody else’s business except her parents and husband. You are then accused of defending indecency. She probably knows it as well as you do that being anti-judging and being pro-indecency are two distinct things, but the opportunity of making the accusation is too tempting to let go. When a woman declares that the conduct of another woman is not quite up to the mark, nine times out of ten what is really bothering her is the lack of courage on her own part to behave similarly. She would love to be like the object of her criticism but finds herself unable to because of her peculiar social constraints or mental hang-ups. Because she cannot do something, she decides that anybody else who does it must surely be evil. She renders this verdict considering herself the absolute benchmark of appropriate behaviour. The quick progression from sour grapes to evil grapes is only logical. It is possible, of course, that she genuinely believes that conducting herself in a certain manner is for a woman’s own good. But if her concern is a sympathetic one, she would hardly take offence when somebody is unwilling to see eye to eye with her on the issue. Deriving pleasure from the act of denouncing others and becoming resentful when the censure fails to ‘reform’ the other party are tell-tale signs of her motives not being as philanthropic as she lets on. Sincere interest in somebody else’s welfare is the last
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down completely or its effect diluted. one has to see the Constitution as a document that is routinely debated in the Parliament and outside, interpreted and enforced in the Courts of Pakistan, in conjunction with the underlying Constitutional theme that led to its enactment. If one sees the Constitution from the vantage point of its origin, it is manifest that it was envisaged to be a federal charter predicated on the consent of the Provinces of Pakistan. Its departure from Ayub Khan’s one-unit Constitutional legacy, which sought to consolidate powers in the centre to artificially engineer a parity with the eastern wing of Pakistan was bound to be counter-productive. By fulfilling the pledge of autonomy, the present 1973 Constitution was envisioned as a visible departure from the misgivings of the past. A sentiment of remorse perpetuated by the cataclysmic separation of east Pakistan is imbued in the Preamble to the 1973 Constitution. It reads as follows “wherein the territories now included in or in accession with Pakistan and with such other territories as may thereafter be included in or accede to Pakistan shall form a Federation wherein the units shall be autonomous with such boundaries and limitations on their powers and authority as may be prescribed”. Though the Preamble is non-justiciable, it nevertheless allows its readers to peek into the thematic structure underlying the Constitution. The problem lies not in its text, its structure or the need to agree on a new “social contract”, as the respected member Parliament suggested at the conference; it lies with our inability to enforce the Constitution as it was meant to be. Though the much glorified 18th amendment fulfilled the promise of autonomy through devolution of powers to the Provinces, it faces a mammoth of challenges. What was expected to be an era of change from a federal-centric system of governance to the emancipation of provinces, free from the dominance of the Punjab led centre, is being diluted through the stroke of a pen and interpretation of the words of the Constitution. The fate of the 18th amendment appeared once again in the case of Dr Nadeem Rizvi v Federation of Pakistan before the honourable Supreme Court of Pakistan. The majority judgement in the case interpreted the Constitution in the manner whereby certain hospitals providing research and special training facilities, despite being recognised as hospitals catering for the public, were declared to be
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thing a person with an overblown ego is motivated by. Negative emotions rarely produce anything good. What is usually at play here is the desire to make others as miserable as the moral judge herself, who is stuck with a particular lifestyle not because she is convinced that it is the best one but because of constraints out of her control. It frustrates her no end to think that there are women who can do things she so desperately wants to do herself but is unable to. her moral outrage is merely a façade for a bad case of inferiority complex. Behind her purported concern for society lurks the good old holier-than-thou self-righteousness. It is worth pointing out that these compulsive moral judges are not evil. If anything, they are pathetic, for anybody remotely happy and satisfied with life would hardly waste every waking hour of her life finding fault with others on petty issues. Moreover, unless it is one of those black or white questions, opinions on any given issue span a wide spectrum with nobody to decide the matter one way or the other. each one of us would love to be appointed the final arbiter, but this solution is an obvious non-starter in the current milieu of democracy. one could whine about others’ moral shortcomings till kingdom come, but it would be useless and silly because one can only correct one’s own attitude and course of action, not anybody else’s. It is very easy to forget that morality is for improving one’s own self, not for hitting others over their heads with. Since time immemorial, delusions have provided temporary relief from many a self-inflicted misery. Like alcohol however, there is the inevitable hangover to contend with. And in the long run, like all drugs (alcohol included) they make matters worse because one accustomed to seeking solace in them tends to demand them in ever increasing doses. Life is best lived without crutches of any kind. Those camouflaged in delusions of moral superiority are the toughest to avoid because they are the hardest to recognize for what they are. *By way of his contribution to the crusade against sexism in writing, the author has consciously avoided using masculine nouns and pronouns (‘man’, ‘he’, ‘him’ and ‘his’) in this article. The author is a connoisseur of music, literature, and food (but not drinks). He can be reached at www.facebook.com/hasanaftabsaeed
under the control of the Federal Government, as opposed to the Provinces. The position negates the fact that hospitals and health has remained the sole legislative and the administrative domain of the Provinces even before the 18th amendment however, this judgement may come to be known as the judgement altering the balance of power between the provinces and the Federation given the startling fact that the majority in the honourable Court has allowed Federal legislation on areas concerning enforcement of fundamental rights, regardless of the consideration as to whether they possess the requisite power under the Constitution. The carte blanche opening to indiscriminately assume the powers of the Provinces has laid a judicial precedent for limiting the responsibilities of the Provinces thereby, circumscribing the effect of the 18th amendment. The majority while dilating upon the practical problems associated with provincial control of these hospitals, did not consider the exorbitant running costs the federal government would have to solely bear coupled with the consecutive increase in the National Finance Commission Awards mandated to be paid to the Provinces by the Federation. It may have been prudent, in terms of optimal resource allocation to allow the Provinces to retain control of the hospitals in question. Furthermore, the issue of reverting the hospitals and health to the Federation leads one to wonder as to the view future courts will take on more contentious issues relating to resource allocation and taxation. Nevertheless, the powerful dissent of an honourable Judge in the judgement has a calming effect that exudes hope that attitudes may shift, compelling the minority judgement of today to be the majority judgement in the distant future to strengthen the roots of autonomy and de-centralisation in Pakistan. The anxieties of the minority provinces are justified and need to be seriously dealt with. It cannot be done by yearning for a new Constitution but to address the fault line in our attitudes towards enforcing and interpreting its text that perpetuates their grievances. Dr B.R.Ambedkar, the framer of the Indian Constitution remarked, “I feel that the constitution [of India] is workable, it is flexible and it is strong enough to hold the country together both in peacetime and in wartime. Indeed, if I may say so, if things go wrong under the new Constitution, the reason will not be that we had a bad Constitution. What we will have to say is that man was vile.”
The anxieties of the minority provinces are justified and need to be seriously dealt with.
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Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk
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The writer is a Barrister and practices law in Pakistan. He can be reached at rajahamzaanwar786@hotmail.com
Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk
06-07 Comments - 30th November 2021_Layout 1 11/29/2021 11:31 PM Page 2
Tuesday, 30 November, 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
Islamophobia in the West
UAE-Turkey agreement Western Media and Economic prosperity as a gateway to resolve mutual differences
SHAziA ANwER CHEEmA
T
URKeY and UAe on November 24 inked important MoUs when Turkish President Recep Tayyip erdoğan hosted Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Ankara. The tangible outcome of this meeting was the UAe announcement of the allocation of a $10 billion fund to invest in Turkey. Coverage of this event in western media was loaded with judgmental diction and european media questioned how both countries can go for a sustainable relationship without solving their ideological and political differences over regional issues? UAe and Turkish media called this meeting important and successful stating that UAE and Turkey are very clear that they share a similar outlook and have agreed on a range of important strategic topics. Both countries called that they have common interests, true commitment, and a shared vision for achieving peace and stability through prosperity collective. Turkey and UAe diplomatic relations got derailed due to their major differences over regional issues including Arab spring, Syrian war, Libyan civil war, Muslim Brotherhood, and Qatar embargo. The meeting of President Recep Tayyip erdoğan with visionary Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan broke the ice as this was the first visit of Crown Prince to Turkey after 2012. Turkey is also in a phase of normalization of its relationship with Saudi Arabia and President erdoğan and Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz discussed bilateral ties by telephone, just before the November 2020 Group of Twenty summit. They agreed to settle disagreements through dialogue rather than escalate them with foreignpolicy jabs. I am amazed why foreign media is expressing surprise over this meeting? Do not we have Chinese –US and Chinese-eU models of trade that are beyond the boundaries of political differences? If US and China can exchange trade worth $310.3 billion in 2020 then why not Saudi Arabia can do the same with Iran or with Qatar? I have noticed that whenever Middle eastern countries try to shun off their difference for trade, a wave of articles and news appear in western media calling such positive developments “fluid”, “not tangible”, “politically impossible” etc. Such loaded diction creates
doubts about any positive development taking place among Middle eastern countries if they ever try to forget their differences and try to move on peacefully. We remember after World War II, the World was divided into different blocs, mainly between the two—-the Capitalism and Socialism/Communism and countries pledged their allegiance to only the countries including that in particularly bloc but this arrangement is now a bygone era along with the philosophy of Communism. The structure of Post-WWII international relations created hegemonies and waged wars, led to economic downfalls of many vulnerable economies because they lived a life of a slave neither they were able to form mutually beneficial alliances nor they were capable to break the bloc’s code of “brotherhood”. Good or bad, beneficial or non-beneficial, one bloc countries contained their thick and thin within the bloc. In the cold-war era, even weaker countries were dragged into high-risk international politics for being a part of a bloc. Political dialogical differences never allowed beneficial trade between nonallied countries. Countries trapped in monopoly games and hegemonic cynical propaganda, fed-up with this controlled contrived situation. however, the late 70s and early 80s changed the scenario altogether when the bloc-based Chinese economy came out of isolation and decided on economic reforms and trade liberalization. Announcing to break away from “ism” oriented trade politics, China went through free-market reforms in 1979. According to Chinese government statistics, by 1979, China’s real GDP grew at an average annual rate of 6.7% from 1953 to 1978; providing a solid base for the competitiveness of the open market economy. The tagged pricing and quality of Chinese products were good enough for capturing the global market. Almost the same time when China entered into the open market economy, the leader of the Communist bloc, the former Soviet Union was struggling for political and economic survival and by 1991, it lost its geographical identity and the world saw the historic fall of the Berlin Wall as well as Fall of Communist bloc. one of the major causes of the death of the Soviet Union was its faulty economic structure that could not allow the reach of Soviet products to international open marker rather it was confined only within Soviet and socialist bloc. President Putin
once said that supply (production of goods) could not be stopped to keep people on their jobs while demand (the market) was very limited and the quality of goods was of Soviet standard not for the global competitive market. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the unipolar world emerged and now the United State was the sole unchallenged power. Soon the US went for an exodus of “Boots on foreign soil” and a series of US invasions started with operation Desert Strom in Iraq and recently ended (or maybe halted) in Afghanistan. When the US was busy bombing different countries with a slogan of “saving humanity and providing them freedom”, China was reaching US markets. Uni-polarity looked redundant, outdated, and failed miserably to pace with the 21st century as the US faced a trade deficit of $255,438 million with China in the first 10 months of 2021 and US Think Tanks are claiming that US trade, industry and economy have become a slave of Chinese supplies. The 21st century has come up with a message to all that economic relations have another mostly ignored plus point—-the power of Public Diplomacy. Trade Diplomacy and People to people connections can become a massive force to resolve conflicts and subdue differences. economic engagement could be the best possible way to bridge the politico-ideological gaps by listening to each other more and learning more about each other. The rise of China in the 21st century has taught a lesson that Politics and Trade must not be linked with each other as they had been after the second world war that changed the dynamics of international relations. The world is no more divided into blocs created after World War II when national security and the nation’s survival were based on bloc formation. Turkey-UAe economic agreement breaks the myth that for mutually beneficial trade for the sake of greater good involving parties must be aligned politically. Turkey and UAe have decided to take prosperity as a gateway to resolve mutual differences.
The rise of China in the 21st century has taught a lesson that Politics and Trade must not be linked with each other as they had been after the second world war that changed the dynamics of international relations. The world is no more divided into blocs created after World War II when national security and the nation’s survival were based on bloc formation.
Shazia Anwer cheema is a Prague-based foreign affairs expert who writes for national and international media. She is a doctoral student. Researcher in semiotics and philosophy of communication at charles University in Prague. She heads the DND think tank. She can be reached at her: twitter @ShaziaAnwerch Email: shaziaanwer@yahoo.com
JIhADI groups emerged at the time of the Soviet Union war. These Jihadi groups were trained by the Muslim countries in the name of Allah for “Jihad Fi Sabilillah.” But the irony is that funds for training these groups were allocated by the Muslim countries as well as America. These extremist groups harbour many obnoxious thoughts which created unfounded despise against Muslims. But the act of minority groups of Muslims victimized the whole Muslims diaspora. A few jihadis attacked the World Trade Centre which further increased the catastrophic situation and Muslims were seen as terrorists. Now the world sees the Muslim community as a terrorist group. Many documentaries are made to prove that Muslims are terrorists. In every religion, there are extremists deteriorating the peace. Myanmar is a drastic example of atrocity when thousands of Muslims were slain in the name of religious differences but the west was gagged. There are many other examples when Muslims were targeted. In New Zealand, more than 50 Muslims praying in mosques were killed by an extremist person. Religious discrimination must be eased to bring peace and prosperity in the world. There are main reasons behind religious discrimination that Muslims are divided into many sects which affects unity. When a person from any religion is killed, his religious community stands at one point. But when a Muslim is killed, we do not find unity because of sectarianism. Due to the lack of mutual hardship faced by the Muslim diaspora, the west criticizes. It is the right time to stand along the flag of Islam to dissipate the Islamphobia. Furthermore, it is a dire need of the time to promote harmony among different religious to put forward the real face of Islam that teaches about peace. RAJA YOUSAF MEHMOOD AttOck
The other side of a picture AS today’s life has taken a new turn with the emergence of social media, human life has been seriously affected. There is no doubt that social media is used very excessively by the young in the present period. There was a time when students like us had to face restrictions and checks by our elders. Truly, it is the fear of bad habits which compelled them to keep a check on our daily activities and our connections with people around us. Contrarily, children and boys of this time show a hardline disregard and pay little attention to parents and elders’ guidance, hard-earned experiences, lessons of life and many other similar acts and instructions that can help them lead a good and meaningful life. In current times, Western culture has undeniably held great sway over the minds of people living in emerging societies whose culture and lifestyle differ in numerous ways. A case in point is Irrfan Khan, the former real actor in the Indian film industry and his movie “hindi Medium”. This movie shows how Western concepts of liberty keep children away from their parents and make them self-centred and independent of parental caring and their helping hands or the principle of reciprocity. They have houses for old people, so that the aged may not be a burden on the shoulders of their parents. Whereas, the Islamic position regarding this is very different. In addition, although co-education is beneficial for the cooperative and collaborative environment and learning, it has been reported many a time that by co-education, harassment in schools is rising. There are many problems which the developing world has been confronting for a long time. These include poverty, refugee influx into developing countries, the challenge of climate change sprouted mainly by the large industries and factories for economic ends by the Western powers, and so on. The other side of a picture always paints a true picture, so keeping in view all these truths, our society needs to learn that recognition of truth is like half-done work. So, the right thing to do is now to accept the harsh reality and keep pace with changes in accordance with their culture, civilization and our own original and unique attributes must always be given top priority. By doing so, we can be in a position to stand as a bulwark against all cultural assaults and patchwork will no longer exist. Khalil Jibran has correctly stated: “Pity the nation whose statesman is a fox, whose philosopher is a juggler and whose art is the art of patching and mimicking.” ABDUL QADEER SEELRO LARkANA
It’s time to bring a change oUR country is in the grip of multiple problems that are crushing the public. Most of the problems being faced by our country are a manifestation of consistent wrongdoings of past and present governments. Unfortunately, our leadership never truly put the country first. They rather followed self-focused policies that benefited them than the country. however, people are also part of the problem as they never stood up to inflation and unemployment in a way that would force the government to stay away from poor policies. Neither did the people use their power of the vote in large numbers to force the corrupt and underperformers out. We keep betting on the same people and expect a different result every time. There is a select group of families and individuals who keep showing up under different guises and slogans to woo the public. These people flock to the party that seems to be gaining steam and start promising people that they will change the fate of the country after winning the elections. People don’t realize that it is the same group of people who created the problem in the first place while being in the other party and are now promising to bring about change being in the other. If people really wanted to change their fate, they would never elect such people. They would also stand up strongly for their rights. history is witness that when people stand strong, nothing can come in their way. Unfortunately, it seems that we ourselves are corrupt and are only interested to see those in power who would let us keep doing what we do. No wonder Pakistan stands among the lowest per capita tax collecting countries in the world. If we want to see the change, we will have to change ourselves too. People will have to pay taxes and call out wrongs when they see it. Society should never respect people who have ill-gotten money, rather they should be outcasted. only if people decide to stand strong against corruption and use their right to elect wisely, will we have leaders who work for the country and people because they will genuinely be afraid of a backlash if they do not perform. otherwise, I am afraid the circus we are witnessing will continue in perpetuity with the country drifting toward complete destruction. RAJA SHAFAAtULLAH ISLAMABAD
08 WORLD VIEW 30th November 21_Layout 1 11/29/2021 10:05 PM Page 1
Tuesday, 30 November, 2021
08 WORLD VIEW
Why iran may become a latent nuclear state SOME REPORTS NOW SPEAK OF THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION OUTSOURCING THE WAR OPTION TO ISRAEL, GIVING THE REGION’S ONLY NUCLEAR POWER THE GREEN LIGHT TO ACT MILITARILY AGAINST THE IRANIAN NUCLEAR PROGRAMME, WHICH MAY WELL LEAD TO AN ALL-OUT REGIONAL WAR
al Jazeera
a
Marwan BiShara
S the negotiations to salvage the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement resume in Vienna, it is a déjà vu all over again. The United States warns of crippling sanctions, Israel threatens war, the Europeans plead and prod, and the Arabs watch from the sidelines, as Iran drags out the talks and accelerates its uranium enrichment. Except this time, diplomacy seems destined to fail, leaving the door open to a number of scenarios, which, thanks to former US President Donald Trump and his Middle East brain trust, former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, include war and/or the distinct possibility of Iran becoming a latent nuclear state. After all, it was Trump who decided to nuke the internationally recognised 2015 agreement. After repeatedly condemning it as “rotten” and “disastrous”, he abandoned it in 2018 on the basis of unsubstantiated and unrelated allegations. To make matters worse, Trump imposed new crippling sanctions on Iran, including secondary sanctions on third parties trading with the country, and ordered the assassination of its most revered general, Qassem Soleimani. Boxed in, Iran lashed out in all directions. Most importantly, it renewed its uranium enrichment programme,
bringing it ever closer to weapons-grade level. After US President Joe Biden took office in January, he failed to use the small window of opportunity to disavow his predecessor’s policies and get the deal back on track in the first half of the year. His attempts to exploit Trump’s sanctions to force Tehran into accepting new conditions have backfired. In August, Ebrahim Raisi, a hardline cleric and a protégé of Supreme leader Ali Khamenei, was elected president of Iran. Today, Tehran insists its return to the agreement is conditional on the Biden administration’s lifting “all sanctions” imposed after 2017 – whether nuclear-related or not. It expects washington to provide the necessary guarantees that no future administration may abandon the deal again. And it will wait for proof that the sanctions are totally and truly lifted before making any moves towards the agreement. It also rejects any and all discussion of its missile systems and regional role. For its part, washington expects Iran to return to the status quo ante and dispose of the highly enriched uranium and the powerful centrifuges that produced it before nuclear-related sanctions are lifted. It insists other sanctions may only be lifted after Iran changes its “destabilising” regional behaviour. And it also insists on the need for a more comprehensive, more permanent agreement that guarantees Iran may never produce nuclear weapons. In short, as mistrust runs deep and expectations run wild, a return to the 2015 agreement is looking utterly improbable and terribly insufficient to settle the nuclear issue. That is why, the Biden administration is contemplating the use of so-called Plan B, which includes stronger diplomatic pressure and tougher economic sanctions against Iran. But then again, this is a policy that has been tried and has failed many times. what is the point of redeploy-
Patriarchy still reigns
with the Americans before sanctions are lifted. And here lies the fundamental difference between Vienna 2015 and Vienna 2021. Tehran may no longer be accelerating its enrichment to use as leverage in the negotiations, as it did prior to the 2015 agreement, but rather to become a de facto latent nuclear state. To be clear, a latent nuclear state is not a nuclear power. It is a state that possesses the know-how and the resources to quickly become one – much like Japan, which is also a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). By contrast, Israel, which is a nuclear power, is not a signatory. In fact, Iran has long wanted to be like Japan. Iranians who see Japan as a model to emulate, have long considered it a double standard that Japan can have the fuel cycle and “stay happily” in the NPT, but Iran cannot. Iran may be more interested at this point in time in becoming a latent nuclear state like Japan than a nuclear power like India, Pakistan or Israel. Not only is this consistent with its official line, which states that Iran will not develop nuclear weapons that it considers “immoral”, it is also more realistic than becoming a nuclear power and more achievable than ever before. Short of a dramatic political reversal, this could lead to a direct confrontation with the US and/or Israel. But my guess is that for the foreseeable future, it is going to be the Arabs, those in Iraq, Syria, lebanon, Yemen and elsewhere, who support a Middle East free of nuclear weapons, that will pay the price of this foolish regional Cold war. Marwan Bishara is an author who writes extensively on global politics and is widely regarded as a leading authority on US foreign policy, the Middle East and international strategic affairs. He was previously a professor of International Relations at the American University of Paris.
iran nuclear deal: Why talks are likely to fail
DESPITE GENDER GAINS, SOCIETAL MINDSET REGRESSIVE Tribune, india The more things change the more they remain the same. That a large percentage of women — varying from 84 per cent in Telangana to 14 per cent in Himachal Pradesh — approve of wife-beating by husbands for various reasons, as revealed by National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), puts a dampener on some of the other progressive findings on gender issues by the survey. Tellingly, the reason that most women tick as justifiable for a husband to hit the wife revolves around the widely held belief that it is the woman who is mainly responsible for the smooth running of the household. So, it is presumed that dereliction of her duty towards the in-laws, or looking after the house and children merits a beating or domestic abuse. It smacks of how deeply embedded the patriarchal attitudes are and how they continue to be ingrained into both girls and boys. This is the unsaid condition on which girls are being increasingly allowed to study and take up jobs. No wonder, gender crimes are under-reported, for reporting leads to a backlash: the victims are shamed and face societal retaliation and embarrassment. The NFHS-5 indicators of the women’s falling fertility rate and rising bank accounts are evidence of the huge strides made by them over the years and their contribution to the socio-economic development of the country. However, the increased autonomy and empowerment that they enjoy today is hardearned, on the basis of their own ability to do multi-tasking and juggle the demands of their homes and careers. Most men have failed to travel the distance to meet them half way in household work and match their steps hand in hand. Along with the laws enacted to promote and safeguard women’s rights, of utmost importance is a shift in the societal mindset over traditional gender roles and parity. The endorsement or condoning of domestic abuse is reflective of a regressive society. Only when the abhorrent practice is regarded as unacceptable will domestic violence be tackled head-on and the victims would come out confidently to report the crime.
ing it, knowing Iran could accelerate its uranium enrichment to the 90 percent needed to become a nuclear state, while its hardline government boasts mounting “economic resistance” against American imperialism? If America does not play it carefully, it may have to go at it alone. Russia and China are not going to join any new American pressure campaign against Iran, considering their tensions with the Biden administration. It is doubtful the Europeans will join either, without a realistic endgame in sight. That is why the US has recently warned that “all options are on the table”. But we have heard that before regarding the Taliban in Afghanistan and look how that turned out. we have also heard it muttered on Ukraine, Taiwan, Venezuela, Syria, North Korea, etc. Some reports now speak of the Biden administration outsourcing the war option to Israel, giving the region’s only nuclear power the green light to act militarily against the Iranian nuclear programme, which may well lead to an all-out regional war. The record shows that the US is disposed to making bad decisions on false pretences that lead to horrific outcomes in the Middle East, but I doubt we are close to another foolish decision yet. Neither washington nor Tehran is interested in such military escalation. Biden’s strategy is to largely disengage militarily from the Middle East hotspots, not get drawn into a quagmire worse than the Iraq war. And despite his bluster, Khamenei has shown to be careful not to drag Iran into a military confrontation with the US – one that is sure to cripple the Islamic Republic, weaken its regime and damage its regional standing. That is why, washington will persist in its pursuit of a diplomatic solution, knowing all too well that Iran will continue to drag its feet in Vienna while it speeds up its enrichment, even refusing, for now, to negotiate directly
Middle easT eye
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THE HARDLINERS IN TEHRAN AND THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION ARE MILES APART. FAILURE WILL LEAD TO A PERILOUS LEVEL OF ESCALATION BETWEEN IRAN AND THE US
Shahir ShahidSaleSS
OllOwINg a five-month hiatus, talks to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal - from which the US unilaterally withdrew in 2018 are set to resume in Vienna. After the US pulled out of the deal and reimposed old sanctions, along with more than 1,500 new ones, Iran, in retaliation, began ignoring limitations on its nuclear programme stipulated by the deal. Six rounds of talks aimed at reviving the broken accord were held during the last months of the presidency of Iranian moderate Hassan Rouhani and the P4+1 (Britain, China, France, Russia and germany), along with an EU representative. Under the direction of Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran joined the talks on the condition that there would be no direct US-Iran negotiations. In June, after the election of hardline cleric Ebrahim Raisi as president, the Iranian government adopted delaying tactics for the resumption of talks. From the conclusion of the nuclear agreement in 2015 until Rouhani and his top diplomat, Mohammad Javad Zarif, left office this past August, hardliners mounted uninterrupted, concerted attacks on them as the deal took centre stage. The hardliners, who now control all three branches of government, argued the Rouhani administration was too willing to bend to the Americans. Hossein Shariatmadari, chief editor of the hardline daily Kayhan and a representative for Khamenei, said in 2016, before Donald Trump took office as US president: “Enemies, in exchange, gave Iran fake coins under [the nuclear deal].” The same year, Mohammad Ali Jafari, then the commander of Iran’s Revolutionary guards, said the deal was “the outcome of our diplomacy, a major
part of which is based on the commitments made by the unreliable and implacable enemy”. Khamenei, who rarely admits publicly to making errors, said after the US withdrawal that it was “wrong” to have approved the accord: “I personally made a mistake in these negotiations. As a result of the persistence of the officials, I allowed the [deal].” CREDIBILITY UNDER THREAT: Even before Trump torpedoed the deal, Ali Bagheri Kani, a “hard hardliner” who will lead Iran’s negotiating team in the upcoming talks, accused Rouhani and his team of retreating in the face of intimidation for accepting it in the first place. Now, against this backdrop, how can the hardliners led by Khamenei return to the original nuclear deal - and justify such a move to their social base? But it gets even worse. In the dying days of the Rouhani presidency, his chief of staff announced that after six rounds of talks, the Americans were prepared to lift 1,040 sanctions that were inconsistent with the deal. But hundreds of other sanctions under the heading of sponsoring terrorism, human rights violations, ballistic missiles and Tehran’s destabilising activities in the region would remain in place. To avoid a severe blow to their trustworthiness and credibility with their conservative social base, and above all to prevent the leader’s status from being called into question, hardliners have opted to reject simply returning to the original deal, let alone accepting more sanctions. On 31 October, the Revolutionary guards - one of the two main centres of power in Iran, alongside Khamenei and his office - explained in their political organ, Sobhe Sadeq, that Iran’s new approach for the revival of the nuclear deal
would include insisting on the “effective removal of all cruel sanctions, a guarantee by western countries for the complete fulfilment of their obligations and assurances that they will never violate and abandon the deal again, and [implementing a mechanism for] verification of sanctions removal.” It added: “An agreement acceptable to the new [Iranian] nuclear team must meet these three conditions.” DEMOCRATS IN TROUBLE: In the US, President Joe Biden and the Democrats are now the underdogs going into the 2022, and possibly 2024, elections. According to ABC News/washington Post polls, the current lead for Republicans is “the biggest … in the 110 ABC/Post polls that have asked this question since November 1981”. Surrendering to the Iranian government’s conditions with regards to rolling back sanctions unrelated to the nuclear issue could put Biden and the Democrats at risk of being labelled as the appeasers of the hardline administration and Raisi, who is linked to the 1988 mass executions of political prisoners. On this front, Raisi has defended his actions, telling reporters: “If a judge, a prosecutor has defended the security of the people, he should be praised.” In addition, the Biden team cannot legally guarantee that the US will never leave the deal again. Section 1245 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 authorises the president to issue renewable sanctions waivers on the Iranian oil and banking sectors, which would apply to penalties for third parties dealing with Iran. Any future American president will have the power to refuse to renew the waivers, as Trump did, and Biden cannot repeal that authorisation. European governments can give as-
surances that the deal will be upheld, even if the US pulls out. After Trump withdrew, France, germany and Britain tried hard to circumvent American sanctions by setting up a mechanism to support commercial activities between European companies and Iran. But it never took off, because European banks and companies were not prepared to risk a ban from the US market or astronomical penalties as a result of violating US sanctions. From the Iranian hardliners’ perspective, it is incomprehensible that governments cannot force their country’s private sector to trade with Iran and ignore US sanctions. The government in Iran would easily handle a similar situation within the country. In a July article, Sobhe Sadeq explained that Iran will expand and advance its nuclear programme until “Biden’s velvet approach faces the fate of Trump’s cast-iron line of action”. last month, the Revolutionary guards more clearly spelled out that “Iran’s objective of adopting patient diplomacy”, delaying resumption of the talks, has been “to convince the main parties” to accept Iran’s conditions. This time around, the likelihood of talks failing is relatively high, which could lead to a perilous level of escalation in the US-Iran conflict - possibly even a war. Even if an agreement is reached, given their mutual antagonism and Khamenei’s moves to obstruct a detente, it is only a matter of time before the nuclear deal becomes unstable and collapses again. Shahir Shahidsaless is an IranianCanadian political analyst and freelance journalist writing about Iranian domestic and foreign affairs, the Middle East, and the US foreign policy in the region.
Tuesday, 30 November, 2021 | ISLAMABAD
NEWS
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LAst dAtE to APPLy For EhsAAs UNdErgrAd schoLArshiP ExtENdEd tiLL dEc 31: sANiA IslAMAbAD
staff rePort
Senator Dr. Sania Nishtar, SAPM has announced an extension in the last date to submit scholarship applications for the year 2021 till December 31, 2021. Earlier, November 30, 2021 was the last date for the online submission of applications. “Given the delays in admission process
at several public sector universities in the country, the last date for Ehsaas scholarship applications has just been extended. The decision has been made to enable maximum number of deserving students to apply for this opportunity”, said Dr. Sania in an official statement. Since the reopening of portal in the first week of September 2021, as many as 77,210 applications have been submitted and 23,740 application cases are in
process of submission. The Ehsaas undergraduate Scholarships are targeted at students from low-income families earning less than Rs. 45,000 a month and marginalized regions to assist them in their undergraduate studies. 135 public sector universities recognized by Higher Education Commission are part of this programme. Students enrolled in 4 to 5-year undergraduate programmes of public sector uni-
versities are eligible to submit scholarship applications for the year 2021. Eligible students can apply through an online portal: https://ehsaas.hec.gov.pk/. In the last two years, 142,000 Ehsaas scholarships were awarded to undergraduate students nationwide. This year also, 50,000 scholarships will be awarded to deserving students. The Ehsaas Undergraduate Scholarship covers the hundred percent tuition fee
and a monthly stipend. Recipients who had secured Ehsaas undergraduate scholarship in last two years will continue receiving scholarship till the completion of undergraduate degree based on their academic performance. Total budget of the programme is Rs. 24 billion. Over 4 years, 200,000 undergraduate scholarships will be awarded on need and merit basis. 50% of scholarships are reserved for girls.
Turkish Consul General visits Dawlance factory in Karachi KARACHI Press release
Photo shows MMBL at Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi to promote financial empowerment for fural and urban areas alike. Celebrating the university’s silver jubilee, mmbl origanized a business camp and recruitment drive to duide the aspiring youth about the opportunities in the agriculture and corporate sector.
chief Executive iEsco to hold online Katchery PRess ReleAse In light of Government of Pakistan vision and instructions given by Ministry of Energy (Power Division) for redressal of valuable customer complaints on top priority online Kacharies are conducting on regular basis by IESCO management. By following these instructions Chief Executive IESCO Dr. Muhammad Amjad Khan will hold on line katchary on Tuesday dated 30.11.2021 From 09:30 AM to 11:30 AM. Valuable IESCO customers related to all Operation Circles i.e. Islamabad, Rawalpindi City, Rawalpindi Cantt, Attock, Jhelum and Chakwal are requested to call on telephone number 0519253105 for immediate redressal of their electricity related issues or for their valuable suggestion according to given schedule.
supernet and PAKsAt sign strategic Partnership for Proliferation of satellite communications
Dawlance is the leading producer of home-appliances and electronics in Pakistan, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Arçelik – the 2nd largest manufacturing enterprise in Europe. The Consul General of Turkey – Mr. Tolga Uçak, recently visited the Dawlance Private Limited factory (DPL–2) in Karachi, to inaugurate its newly installed, state-of-the-art manufacturing plant for air-conditioners. This visit of a high-ranking envoy from Turkey, holds immense importance for Dawlance, as it reflects the strong relations between the two brotherly nations, enabling socio-economic collaboration and technology-transfers for sustainable growth and prosperity. This diplomatic engagement will further strengthen the brand-equity of Dawlance and Arçelik on an international level. Consul General of Turkey - Mr Tolga stated: "It is an honour for me to share my views with you today on the cherishing relation between Turkey and
ant voyage. Also heartiest well-wishes to Dawlance for a successful venture that has completed 40 years of operation out of which five were with Arçelik, and I hope this relationship grows stronger with time. Dawlance is serving Pakistan with all its capabilities and we will make sure that it continues its efforts, we will bring reforms in the R&D, electronics sector education and prepare skillful youth to carry forward the mission and vision we have set. My best wishes are
Clash of Ideologies: Islam & Liberalism, a case of morality & human rights
KARACHI Press release
Supernet Limited (“Supernet”), Pakistan’s largest satellite communications systems integrator and service provider and PAKSAT International (“PAKSAT”), Pakistan’s national satellite operator have signed a strategic partnership to expand the existing relationship. Through this partnership, Supernet will be able to provide national and international customers with seamless connectivity through Pakistan’s current and future national satellites and PAKSAT will be able to expand its technical and support services in Pakistan and the broader region. The partnership also includes exploring areas of cooperation and investment in the emerging technologies related to space and satellite communications. Supernet has historically been a significant user of PAKSAT’s satellites, starting with Paksat 1 up till 2011 when the switchover to Paksat 1R took place. Supernet is currently utilizing Paksat 1R to support the connectivity requirements of Independent Power Producers (IPPs) through a C-band network. This agreement reinforces Supernet’s and PAKSAT’s pledge to empower each other for national satellite bandwidth requirements, deployment of the existing services of PAKSAT, provision of equipment, technical expertise as well as to collaborate in the upcoming new national satellite and strategic projects. Sadaqat Liaquat - CEO PAKSAT, Muhammad Adnan Raza - Head of Marketing & Solutions PAKSAT, Shams ul Arfeen -CEO Supernet and Ali Akhtar - Head of BU, Telecoms and Defense Supernet, along with officials from both companies attended the signing ceremony. Sadaqat Liaqat said, “Together Supernet and PAKSAT will be able to serve the under privileged areas of Pakistan via Satellite services for corporate and government sector. With the upcoming new satellite MM1, Pakistan’s data and video market will be transformed to the next level.” Ali Akhtar stated, “This partnership continues to help Supernet in serving its customers through Pakistan-owned satellites. Supernet looks forward to effectively leveraging our multi-dimensional relationship with PAKSAT for the effective expansion of space-based technologies in Pakistan.”
Pakistan and our future strategies. After one year of my arrival, Arçelik acquired Dawlance, and there was a great communication system between Dawlance and the parent company, which was hindered by the pandemic but as the pandemic is losing its grip, the communication bridge is rejuvenating between the two companies. I extend my congratulations to Mr Umar, Mr Haroon, Arçelik, and all the workforce of Dawlance making this journey of 5 years a fruitful and pleas-
ZoHAIb TARIq There are many areas where there are contradictions between Islam with liberalism on principles. One of them is the ideological. The Liberal utilitarianism is generally held to be the view that the morally right action is the action that produces the most good or pleasure. The classical liberal utilitarians, such as, J.Bentham and J. Stuart Mill, identified the good with pleasure. Bentham argued that, "Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure. It is for them alone to point out what we ought to do, as well as to determine what we shall do… They govern us in all we do, in all we say, in all we think..” He further argued that “it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong.” In other words, one can do whatever it desires for pleasure as long as it does not harm anyone else, and this is a very popular narrative among advocates of liberalism. On contrary, Islam negate this concept on ideological grounds and states in the Quran (45:23) that, “Did you ever consider the case of him who took his desire as his god, and then Allah caused him to go astray despite knowledge, and sealed his hearing and his heart, and cast a veil over his sight? Who, after Allah, can direct
him to the Right Way? Will you not take heed?” Abul Ala Maududi, provide analysis on this ayah and states that, ‘“Desire as his god” implies that one should become a slave of his lusts and desires. He should do whatever he likes whether God has forbidden it, and should not do what he dislikes, whether God has made it obligatory. When a man starts obeying something like this, it means that his deity is not God but the one whom he is obeying without question, no matter whether he calls him his lord (with the tongue) or not, and carves out an image of him and worship him or not. For when he has worshiped him directly without question, it is enough to make him a deity and after this practical shirk one cannot be absolved from the guilt of shirk only because he did not call the object of his worship as his deity with the tongue, nor prostrated himself before it.” Therefore, the notion of Islam to control selfish desires contradict the philosophical notion of Liberal utilitarianism that advocates for pursuing those desires in the pretext of “Liberty”. Moreover, unlike Liberalism, for Islam, the measurement of right and wrong are the teachings of Quran and Sunnah, not the ‘greatest happiness of greatest number.’ As Quran (12:40 & 18:26) stipulates that its the absolute conviction Allah in One in “His Judgment” and in “His Legislation”. Meaning that only He in the ruling Judge, Sovereign and the Legislator which has the right to declare what is lawful and what is unlawful or to punish those who do not abide by His Laws, and “Allah makes none to share His judgments and His Rule” Similarly, the case of liberal interpretation of human rights is also not much different, it also
deeply rooted in the in the idea of “Liberty” and “utilitarianism”, that justifies pursuing human desires in the pretext of human rights. According to liberal utilitarianism, humans have the right to pursue their desires as long as it does not cause harm to anyone else. This means that many of the acts that are forbidden in Islam, such as, homosexuality, alcoholism, fornication, drugs, apostacy, illicit businesses, Riba, blasphemy and many other things that fall under the domain of ‘Haqooq Allah’, their violation are totally permissible in the pretext of “human rights”. Somewhere down the line, it would not be a matter of surprise if proponents of liberal values, start advocating for legitimization for incest, cheating on spouse, cannibalism, lying, or molesting dead animals in the pretext for human right as none of these things hurt anyone. Furthermore, the case of liberal interpretation of women rights is also not much different. Feminist scholar, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie argues, “We teach girls shame. Close your legs. Cover yourself. We make them feel as though by being born female, they are already guilty of something. And so, girls grow up to be women who cannot say that they have desires. Who silence themselves. Who cannot say what they truly think.” However, if one’s desires are intended to rebel against morality, ethical values, norms, principles and practices prescribed in Quran and Sunnah than that person is basically switching masters from God to one’s own desires. The writer is a graduate of London School of Economics and a former Research analyst at Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He can be reached at zohaibzohaib36@gmail.com
with Dawlance and Kotch group, and I believe that they will continue to strengthen our bilateral relations. Even though my tenure is over, a new chapter is waiting for all of you, thank you." The Chief Executive Officer of Dawlance – Umar Ahsan Khan expressed his pleasure on hosting the Turkish Consul General and said that: “It is an honour for Dawlance to be recognized by the Turkish government, as Mr. Tolga Uçak has officially appreciated our large-scale investments and efforts, to nurture higher productivity and consistent innovation in Pakistan. We remain committed to create more employment opportunities for the skilled and unskilled workforce in Pakistan, while we deploy advanced technologies to build capacity and gain expertise in local manufacturing and marketing of electronic products, supported by our nationwide network of dealers.” For over forty years now, Dawlance products have exceeded the customer’s expectations, with unmatched quality, performance and energy-conservation. Recently, the company has also evolved its smartphone-enabled, user-friendly
Engro Fertilizers wins prestigious UN Women 2021 Asia-Pacific WEPs Awards KARACHI: Engro Fertilizers Limited, Pakistan’s premier seed-to-harvest solutions provider, has secured first runner up position in the category of “Leadership Commitment” at the prestigious UN Women 2021 Asia-Pacific WEPs Awards. The UN platform has recognized Engro Fertilizers for its extraordinary efforts in advancing gender equality and economic empowerment of women in Pakistan, despite facing challenges during the global COVID-19 pandemic. The Leadership Commitment category recognized leaders in corporations who have been instrumental in setting strong corporate commitments inclusive of progressive policies, regulations or practices that aim to promote gender equality in the workplace, marketplace, and/or community. This includes company leaders taking specific roles and responsibilities in promoting gender equality within the company and making public commitments or delivering gender sensitive messages to the public. Press Release. Engro Fertilizers was lauded for its efforts to raise gender diversity in the workforce, with a focus on hiring women managers, supervisors, trainees, and apprentices in unconventional field-based, plant-based, and warehousing roles. Key initiatives, such as impact platforms for professional development of women, were also rolled out to promote gender empowerment. Whilst competing against 700 applicants from 20 Asia-Pacific countries, Engro Fertilizers was presented this accolade as one of the region’s top private sector champions for gender equality and becoming the first and only company from Pakistan to get this accolade. Expressing his appreciation at winning the award, Nadir Qureshi – CEO of Engro Fertilizers – said, “At Engro Fertilizers, we proactively promote a culture of diversity to create an environment for everyone to thrive through equal access to opportunities. It is humbling for us to have received this award from amongst such distinguished competition and, going forward, we will continue to nourish a culture that is fully committed to diversity, equity and inclusion.” Receiving the award, Arshia Saqib – VP Human Resources of Engro Fertilizers Limited – shared, “Gender diversity is not a zero-sum game which requires men to lose for women to gain. As a purpose-driven organization, it is our endeavour to build an inclusive ecosystem – one that promotes equal opportunity for all, regardless of gender. Press relese
Tuesday, 30 November, 2021 | ISLAMABAD
10 FOREIGN NEWS
XI StreSSeS StrengthenIng MIlItAry tAlent cUltIvAtIon BEIJING
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AgeNcies
HINESE President Xi Jinping has stressed thorough military talent cultivation to support and lead progress in strengthening the armed forces. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee (CPC) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), made the remarks when speaking at
a CMC conference on military talent-related work from Friday to Sunday. Xi called for implementing the spirit of the September central conference on talent-related work and training of competent military personnel for building a strong army in the new era, to lend solid support to the realization of the goals set for the centenary of the People’s Liberation Army that falls in 2027. Talent holds the key to advancing the high-quality development of the Chinese armed forces, achieving victory in the military competition, and gaining the upper hand in future wars, Xi stressed. The years since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012 have seen historic achievements made in the
talent-related work of the Chinese military, Xi said. Xi noted the need to cultivate a new type of highquality and professional military personnel, and stressed upholding the absolute leadership of the CPC over the military in the whole process and all aspects of talent-related work. Strengthening the capabilities to fight and win should be the starting point and ultimate goal of military talent cultivation, Xi said. Xi emphasized the importance of strengthening theoretical and political education, calling the political requirement the most fundamental for military personnel. Xi called for great efforts to improve military per-
sonnel’s scientific literacy and technological knowhow to improve their ability to win modern wars. He also urged accelerating the building of first-class military schools and training of first-class military personnel. Highlighting the precise and effective allocation of military human resources, Xi called for ensuring the cultivation and development of military talent for joint operations command, new combat forces, high-level scientific and technological innovation, and high-quality strategic management. Xi stressed the importance of fostering an optimized atmosphere of trusting, respecting, supporting, and showing concern for talent in the armed forces.
Taliban ask EU for help with Afghanistan’s airports AFP
South African president demands ‘urgent’ lifting of travel bans JOHANNESBURG AFP
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged the countries to “immediately and urgently” reverse travel bans linked to the discovery of the new coronavirus variant Omicron, terming them scientifically “unjustified”. Dozens of nations from Europe to Asia have blacklisted South Africa and its neighbours since South African scientists flagged Omicron on November 25. The flight bans have angered several African leaders. “We call upon all those countries that have imposed travel bans on our country and our southern African sister countries to immediately and urgently reverse their decisions,” Ramaphosa said in his first address to the nation following last week’s detection of the new variant. The World Health Organisation has labelled Omicron a variant of concern, while scientists are still assessing its virulence. A “deeply disappointed” Ramaphosa argued that the ban was “not informed by science”. The countries that have already imposed travel restrictions on southern Africa include key travel hub Qatar, the United States, Britain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the Netherlands. ‘AfrophobiA’: Earlier Sunday, Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera accused Western countries of “Afrophobia” for shutting their borders. And in Botswana, the other southern African country to detect the strain — among a group of foreign diplomatic visitors in the first instance — two ministers cautioned against “geo-politicising this virus”. “We are concerned that there seem to have been attempts to stigmatise the country where it was detected,” Health Minister Edwin Dikoloti, said on Sunday. The head of the WHO in Africa was equally worried. “With the Omicron variant now detected in several regions of the world, putting in place travel bans that target Africa attacks global solidarity,” said WHO regional director general Matshidiso Moeti in a statement. Ramaphosa warned that the travel ban would “further damage the economies (and) undermine their ability to respond to and recover from the pandemic”. South Africa, the continent’s most industrialised country, is struggling with slow economic growth and a more than 34% unemployment rate. The travel curbs are another major blow to its key tourism industry, which had set high hopes on the upcoming southern hemisphere summer. ‘UnjUstified restrictions’: Ramaphosa blasted the G20 countries for abandoning commitments made at a meeting in Rome last month to support the recovery of the tourism sector in developing countries. On Sunday, he added: “Instead of prohibiting travel, the rich countries of the world need to support the efforts of developing economies to access and manufacture enough vaccine doses for their people without delay. “These restrictions are unjustified.” Ramaphosa called on rich countries to stop fuelling vaccine inequality, describing jabs as the “most powerful tool” to limit Omicron’s transmission. He once again appealed to South Africans to get their shots and said the government was considering making vaccines mandatory for certain activities and locations in a bid to increase uptake. “Vaccines do work,” he said. “Vaccines are saving lives.” Just over 35%of adults in South Africa have been fully inoculated after a slow start to the vaccine campaign, with vaccine hesitancy widespread. The country is Africa’s worst hit by COVID, with around 2.9 million cases and 89,797 deaths reported to date.
The Taliban asked for help in keeping Afghanistan’s airports running in weekend talks with EU officials that also raised “grave concern” about the humanitarian situation in their country, according to an EU statement late Sunday. Both sides sent senior officials to the Qatari capital Doha for the talks, which happened just ahead of two weeks of negotiations between the US and the Taliban due to start Monday, also in Doha. The EU’s European External Action Service (EEAS) said in its statement that “the dialogue does not imply recognition by the EU of the interim (Taliban) government but is part of EU’s operational engagement, in the interest of the EU and the Afghan people”. The Taliban delegation was led by interim foreign minister Amir Khan Mutaqqi, accompanied by the interim ministers for education and health, the acting central bank governor, and officials from the foreign, finance and interior min-
istries and the intelligence directorate. The EU side was headed by the EU special envoy for Afghanistan Tomas Niklasson, with officials from the EEAS and the European Commission’s service handling humanitarian aid, international partnerships, and migration. The EU statement said the Taliban vowed to stick by its promise of “amnesty” for Afghans who had worked against it during the two decades of Western-oriented rule up to the hasty exit and evacuation by the US and its allies in August. The Taliban side also re-committed to allowing Afghans and foreigners to leave if they wish so, but “requested assistance for maintaining operations of airports” so that could happen. “The two sides expressed grave concern about the worsening humanitarian situation in Afghanistan as winter is arriving,” the statement said, adding that the EU would continue supplying humanitarian aid. The EU side pressed the Taliban to create an “inclusive government”, foster
democracy, ensure girls had equal access to schooling, and prevent Afghanistan serving as a base for any group “that threatens the security of others”. It also suggested that, if the Taliban met EU conditions, that could unlock extra financing for Afghanistan’s cash-
strapped new rulers but only “for the direct benefit of the Afghan people”. The Taliban reiterated they would uphold human rights “in line with Islamic principles” and would welcome back diplomatic missions that had closed, according to the statement.
China puts forward four proposals as Iran nuclear talks resume BEIJING News Desk
China welcomes the resumption of talks about the Iran nuclear deal and has made four proposals in the hope of pushing forward the negotiation process, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told reporters on Monday. Talks between world powers and Iran on salvaging the 2015 nuclear deal will resume in Vienna on Monday after being called off for five months. At Monday’s news briefing, Wang said the resumption of negotiations is likely to offer a political settlement to the Iran nuclear issue. Reiterating China’s support for a diplomatic settlement, Wang put forward four proposals. First, the U.S. is the initiator of the Iran nuclear crisis, Wang said, urging the U.S. to lift sanctions against Iran and third-party entities and individuals. On this basis, Iran should fully resume its nuclear commitments. Neither party should impose any other conditions for this, Wang said. Second, all parties should respect each other’s le-
gitimate rights and concerns, Wang said, calling on relevant parties to uphold the principle of mutual respect and win-win cooperation so as to promote regional peace and stability. The legitimate rights and interests of parties involved in economic and trade cooperation with Iran should be respected, added Wang. Third, the spokesperson called for a pragmatic and flexible negotiation strategy and encouraged all parties to use their political wisdom and settle the issue through equal consultation. China supports pushing forward the negotiation based on the previous consensuses, he noted. Fourth, Wang stressed that all parties should stay committed to a political settlement of the issue, and stay restrained and rational to maintain the negotiation process. China will continue practicing real multilateralism, play a constructive role in the next-stage negotiation and strive to pull the nuclear deal back to the right track, Wang said, adding that the country is ready to conduct constructive cooperation with all parties on the basis of mutual respect, mutual benefit and equality.
India parliament votes to scrap farm reform laws after Modi U-turn NEW DELHI AFP
India’s parliament voted Monday to scrap agricultural reform laws that sparked a year of huge protests by farmers, after a surprise U-turn by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Thousands of farmers have been camped out on the outskirts of the capital New Delhi since last year — one of the biggest challenges to Modi’s Hindu nationalist government since he came to power in 2014. The rallies became a lightning rod for discontent in a country where two-thirds of the 1.3 billion population rely on agriculture for their livelihood. In its first meeting for the winter session, both houses of India’s parliament rushed through a bill to scrap the laws, after Modi’s shock decision to reverse course earlier this month. But farmers’ unions have vowed to keep up the fight against the government until they secure further concessions from the government. They are seeking minimum prices for crops and compensation for the families of hundreds of farmers they said died during the protests, among other demands. “I don’t think this government has any sympathy for farmers,” Vishavjot Mann, who joined a weekend rally for agricultural workers in Mumbai, told AFP. “The government have just announced that they will repeal the laws, not because they think that they were wrong but because they understand that these protests will hamper their election results,” she added. Modi’s reversal came ahead of important elections for his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in states such as Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, both home to huge numbers of farmers. The government claimed the reforms, passed in September last year, aimed to deregulate farm produce markets. But protesting farmers said the new laws would lead to a corporate takeover of the industry.
Tuesday, 30 November, 2021 | ISLAMABAD
Abid, AbdUllAh pUt pAkistAn in sight of victoRy AgAinst bAnglAdesh
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AkISTAN reached 109-0 in their second innings at stumps on the fourth day chasing a target of 202 in their first Test against Bangladesh in Chittagong on Monday. Both openers Abid Ali (56) and Abdullah Shafique (53) completed their fifty as the visitors came within 93 runs of victory after bowling out the hosts for 157 earlier in the day. Earlier, the visitors were 38-0 at tea with Ali batting on 20 along with Shafique (18), after Shaheen Afridi’s 5-32 helped them restrict the Tigers in the second innings earlier in the day. Resuming on 39-4, Bangladesh looked down and out once they lost Mushfiqur Rahim in the first over of the day, before Liton — who struck a hundred in the first innings — hauled the hosts back to respectability with 59 off 89 balls. Afridi trapped Liton leg-before and then had Abu Jayed out for a duck to complete his fourth five-wicket Test haul, before off-spinner Sajid khan, who finished with 3-33, wrapped things up by dispatching Taijul Islam.
SPORTS 11
The hosts had got off to a positive start with Mushfiqur hitting a boundary off the first ball of the morning, bowled by Hasan Ali. But two balls later he left the wrong delivery and departed for 16 after Hasan struck off-stump. Das joined overnight batsman Yasir Ali to prevent further collapse. Just when they looked ready to prosper, Afridi’s low bounce hit the helmet of Yasir, who retired hurt after making 36. Liton survived on 26 when he was given out, caught at short leg off Sajid khan. The replay showed that the ball only hit his pad and was going down the leg. Sajid was rewarded for his persistence as he trapped Mehidy Hasan leg before for 11. Substitute Nurul Hasan replaced Yasir after Mehidy’s dismissal and barely survived a strong caught-behind appeal just before lunch. Nurul heaved one at long-on to Faheem Ashraf off Sajid after the break, getting dismissed for 15, and Pakistan took little time to take the remaining wickets. Bangladesh have failed to defeat Pakistan in any of their 10 previous encounters.
Shaheen, Ravichandran become leading wicket takers in Tests this year News Desk
Man United appoint Ralf Rangnick as interim boss
Pakistan fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi and Indian right-arm spinner Ravichandran Ashwin have become the joint highest wicket takers in Test matches this year with 44 wickets each, a news outlet reported on Monday. According to the report, Shaheen has played eight matches while Ravichandran has played seven matches so far this year. Both bowlers are performing well for their sides in the ongoing Test series as
India is playing New Zealand at home while Pakistan is playing an away tour in Bangladesh. The fiery left-arm pacer had delivered his career best figures in an innings against West Indies in August, taking six wickets for 51 runs, while Ravichandran’s best figures were 6-61 in February against England. As per the report, Shaheen also features in the list of top wicket-takers in all formats this year so far, sharing the record with his teammate Hasan Ali.
LONDON News Desk
Manchester United announced on Monday they had appointed Ralf Rangnick as interim manager until the end of the season following the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The 63-year-old German joins from Lokomotiv Moscow, where he was manager of sports and development. At the end of the season Rangnick, whose appointment is subject to work visa requirements, will take on a consultancy role at Old Trafford for a further two years. He takes over from first-team coach Michael Carrick, who has been in caretaker charge for two games since Solskjaer was sacked just over a week ago following a terrible run of results for the 20-time English champions. “He was our number one candidate for interim manager, reflecting the invaluable leadership and technical skills he will bring from almost four decades of experience in management and coaching,” said United football director John Murtough. The former RB Leipzig boss said he was excited to be joining United and focused on making it a successful season for the struggling club. “The squad is full of talent and has a great balance of youth and experience,” he said. “All my efforts for the next six months will be on helping these players fulfil their potential, both individually and, most importantly, as a team. “Beyond that, I look forward to supporting the club’s longer-term goals on a consultancy basis.” United are eighth in the Premier League table after a 1-1 draw with leaders Chelsea on Sunday, five points off the top four. First-team coach Carrick — who has overseen a Champions League win over Villarreal and the draw at Stamford Bridge, where he dropped Cristiano Ronaldo — will remain in caretaker charge until Rangnick’s work visa is finalised. Club bosses sacked Solskjaer last week after a 4-1 humbling at lowly Watford despite keeping faith with the Norwegian after humiliating home losses to rivals Liverpool and Manchester City. Solskjaer, who scored the winning goal for United in the 1999 Champions League final to complete a historic treble, was in charge for nearly three years. Under his leadership United finished in the Premier League top four in back-to-back seasons for the first time since Alex Ferguson retired as boss in 2013 but they failed to win their first silverware since 2017. United can boast abundant riches in attack, with Ronaldo, Edinson Cavani, Marcus Rashford, Sancho, Marcus Greenwood and Anthony Martial all vying for starting spots. But their leaky defence has already conceded 22 goals in 13 games, more than four times Chelsea’s total of five.
Controversy clouds Ashes before a ball is even bowled
sYDNeY AFP
Cricket’s oldest rivalry pitting Australia against England always throws up on-field rancour, but the upcoming Ashes series has been engulfed by controversy before a ball is even bowled. With the opening Test starting in Brisbane on December 8, Australia’s preparations have been consumed by a text-message scandal while English cricket is facing claims of institutional racism. First to Australia and Tim Paine, who quit as Test captain earlier this month when lewd text messages he sent to a female colleague in 2017 were about to be made public. The 36-year-old, previously seen as squeaky-clean, had been appointed to repair Australia’s reputation after the 2018 “Sandpaper-gate” ball-tampering scandal which rocked cricket and cost Steve Smith the captaincy. Paine has now withdrawn from the Australian Test squad completely, despite team-mates urging him to continue. The way Cricket Australia (CA) handled a 2018 inquiry that cleared Paine, and the current administration now throwing him under the bus in the eyes of some, has also been in the spotlight. Former England skipper Alistair Cook said the drama would inevitably upset “team dynamic”. “It is the kind of external noise that a team does not need going into such an important series,” he said in Britain’s Sunday Times. “There has been speculation that Paine’s absence will make Australia stronger. “It’s possible that his replacement… may be a better
wicketkeeper-batsman but the removal of an established captain, in such circumstances, is a distraction that can only unsettle the team dynamic.” Australia now head into the Gabba Test led by Pat Cummins, a fast bowler with little captaincy experience and whose tactical decisions will come under close scrutiny. His appointment was nevertheless broadly welcomed, but Smith becoming his deputy threatened yet more controversy. Spin legend Shane Warne said that Smith should never even have been considered after “Sandpaper-gate”. “His second chance is getting to play for Australia again and in my opinion announcing him as vice-captain opens up CA for ridicule and criticism,” Warne told reporters. ‘Reflection’: While Paine’s downfall sent shockwaves through Australia, the British press rubbed their hands in glee. “Career in Ashes,” Sky Sports screamed. But the gloating was tempered by a racism storm rocking English cricket, sparked by allegations from Pakistan-born Azeem Rafiq. Rafiq told a parliamentary inquiry how racist language was “constantly” used during his two spells at English county club Yorkshire, where he played alongside England Test captain Joe Root. He made allegations against several high-profile individuals, including former England players. Root broke his silence from the team’s Australian base to demand change. But he also said that he had not witnessed racism during his time at Yorkshire. Rafiq called Root “a good man” who “never engaged in racist language”, but also said that he was hurt by Root’s reaction to his claims. The 30-year-old Root hasn’t fronted the media since. England managing director Ashley Giles admits there has been reflection among the Ashes squad and they now have a “great opportunity” to lead the way in how sport and society tackles discrimination. “We are in the public eye, very front and centre at the moment with the issues we have in the game and it’s great that we can do something about it,” he said in Australia on Sunday. The five-Test Ashes series had already got off to a rocky start with fears it could be cancelled after months of concern from England over tough Covid-19 quarantine guidelines set down by Australia. After tense negotiations, a breakthrough was reached and a full-strength team jetted to Australia for 14 days in quarantine, only to be met by torrential rain when they emerged, largely washing out last week one of only two scheduled practice games.
Waseem reclaims Wbc silver flyweight title kARACHI AgeNcies
Pakistan’s most successful professional boxer and the only one from the country Muhammad Waseem made a comeback with style as he became the World Boxing Council (WBC) silver flyweight champion for the second time. Waseem defeated Columbia’s Rober Barrera after a unanimous decision in Dubai on the night of November 26. The win will help Waseem fulfil his life-long dream of becoming the world champion. Waseem rose to prominence in professional boxing in 2015. Before that, he was representing Pakistan and had won Commonwealth and Asian Games medals, along with a gold medal at the World Military Games. He holds the impeccable record of 11 wins and only one defeat that too came during a title bout in 2018 against South Africa’s Moruti Mthalane. However, Waseem had been determined to bring the glory home. After the International Boxing Federation title bout loss to Mthalane, Waseem went on to fight three more times, with the last fight in Lahore against Philippines’ Jeny Boy Boca. With the win in Dubai, according to Waseem’s social media updates, he has qualified for the WBC and World Boxing Association world title bout.
Tuesday, 30 November, 2021
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FBR tightenS nooSe ARounD ReAl eStAte AgentS, DeVelopeRS NO PUBLIC OR PRIVATE DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY SHALL CONDUCT BUSINESS WITH AGENTS WHO ARE UNREGISTERED WITH THE FBR AS A DNFBP ISLAMABAD
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HE Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has ordered real estate agents, builders and developers to obtain registration certificates before January 1, 2022, for continuing business operations. FBR is pleased to impose the condition on all real estate development
authorities, cooperative housing societies, and all other housing societies, schemes and firms dealing in the real estate, a notification in this regard states. As per details, the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2010 empowers FBR to license or register its reporting entities (R0s) namely, Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBPs), impose conditions on any activities by DNFBPs to prevent the
offences of money laundering, predicate offences or financing of terrorism through issuance of directions or imposing conditions under the relevant provisions of the AMLA, 2010. The tax department further added that no public or private development authority shall conduct business activity with any real estate agent for the transfer or registration of immovable property unless the real estate agent is registered with the FBR as a DNFBP.
The above condition shall apply to all real estate agents registered or dealing with the development authorities, housing authorities, cooperative housing societies and other housing schemes dealing in land development for residential and commercial purposes, construction, and sale,purchase or transfer of ownership rights. The agents have also been informed that any volition of this condition shall be subject to legal action.
By election on Senate seat vacated by Ayub Afridi on December 20
Pakistan logs lowest daily COVID -19 tally in over 1.5 years
ISLAMABAD staff RepoRt
AgencIeS
Bye-election to the Senate seat of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa vacated by Senator Muhammad Ayub Afridi would be held on December 20, announced Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday. Ruling Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf (PTI) has got this seat vacated to get Advisor on Finance Shaukat Tarin elected as a Senator. If elected, Tarin would be given the portfolio of Finance Minister. According to schedule, the ECP would start receiving nomination papers from November 30 to December 02 following which the names of candidates would be published on December 03. The scrutiny of nomination papers would be completed by December 06. While the appeals against acceptance or rejection of nominations could be heard by December 08. Last date for disposal of appeals by the tribunal would be December 10 and final lists of candidates would be published on December 11.
Pakistan logged 176 new coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours, the lowest daily tally since April last year, the Health Ministry said on Monday. With new infections, Pakistan’s overall caseload reached 1,284,365, while 1,241,909 patients have so far recovered. The total number of active cases in the country is 13,738. Some nine people lost their lives due to the coronavirus over the past 24 hours, pushing the toll to 28,718, according to the ministry. Pakistan has seen a significant decline in coronavirus cases over the past few months, propelling the government to relax almost all restrictions. However, Pakistan on Sunday banned all flights to and from seven African and Asia Pacific countries, including South Africa and Hong Kong, in an attempt to contain the possible spread of the new Omicron coronavirus variant. Pakistan has so far vaccinated over 120 million people of its total 210 million population.
Veteran journalist Muhammad Zia ud-Din passes away ISLAMABAD staff RepoRt
Veteran journalist Muhammad Zia ud-Din passed away in Islamabad on Monday following a prolonged illness, state broadcaster Pakistan Television confirmed. He was 83. Born in 1938 in Madras (now Chennai) city of British India, Din along with his family had migrated to East Pakistan following partition and had studied BSc in Pharmacy at the Dhaka University. In 1960, he moved to West Pakistan and three years later, enrolled in Karachi University to study journalism. In 1964, he joined the Pakistan Press International (PPI) — then Pakistan Press Agency (PPA) — as a cub reporter.
Later, he joined Dawn, serving as a resident editor for Islamabad and Lahore. He was also the newspaper’s correspondent in London between 2006 and 2009. He also served in The News and now-defunct The Muslim, and remained associated with Express Tribune — which started in 2010 — as its first managing editor until 2014 when he resigned from the position to work as a freelance journalist. Among his other experience in the field, he served as the assistant secretary general for the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) and later on, as the president of the South Asia Free Media Association (SAFMA) from 2002 to 2006. PTV paid homage to the deceased for his “illustrious career” that spanned 60 years.
Rupee slumps to new historic low of 176.20 MonItorIng report The Pakistani rupee lost more ground on Monday, plunging to an all-time low of Rs176.22 against the United States (US) dollar in the interbank currency market. According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the local currency closed at Rs176.20 after being traded at Rs175.44 on Friday. In the open market, however, the dollar traded at Rs177.30 against the rupee. he rupee has maintained the downtrend for the past six months. It has lost 23.93 per cent or Rs23.46 to date,
compared to the 22-month high of Rs152.27 recorded on May 14. With a fresh decline of 0.42pc, the rupee has depreciated by 11.84pc or Rs18.66 since the start of the current fiscal year on July 1, 2021, data released by the central bank revealed. While speaking to the media on Friday, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance Shaukat Tarin had blamed speculators for devaluation of the local currency. “Experts say that the real effective exchange rate of the dollar should be around Rs165-67. If the greenback is trading as high as Rs176 in the interbank market, then the rupee is undervalued by almost Rs10,” he lamented.
Covid-19 audit reveals Rs5.24bn corruption by USC ISLAMABAD Ghulam abbas
The federal government on Monday released the audit report of expenditures made under COVID-19 related measures, revealing irregularities worth Rs5.24 billion in purchases made by the Utility Stores Corporation (USC). According to details of the audit released by the Ministry of Finance to meet conditions set by the IMF to resume the stalled loan programme, the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) has found irregularities in government interventions to ensure availability of five essential items including sugar, flour, oil and ghee, pulses and rice to be sold through the USC at subsidised rates, in addition to procurement of substandard ghee and edible oil worth Rs1.40 billion, payments to ineligible beneficiaries, and cash withdrawal through fake biometrics. The report has been displayed on the Finance Ministry’s website after the Fund had made it compulsory for the government to release the report before the transfer of the next $1 billion loan tranche.
The ‘Expenditures incurred on COVID19 by Federal Government’ report has also highlighted that apart from financial misappropriations and irregularities, officers in the USC procured counterfeit food items that have been graded unfit for human consumption by the Punjab Food Authority (PFA) and other quality standards authorities. It may be recalled that in the backdrop of the pandemic, the government had launched the Prime Minister’s Relief Pack-
age 2020 under which Rs50 billion was released for USC to provide food items at subsidised rates to the vulnerable sections of society. Earlier, the federal government had also released grants for Rs21 billion between December 2019 and March 2020 for the procurement of five essential items through 3,989 outlets of retail utility stores. Showing that sugar purchase tenders were split by the USC, the audit highlighted that the loss due to irregular and ill-planned
procurement of sugar amounted to Rs1.37 billion. The report shows that one procurement was made at Rs65.90 per kg by floating a tender in November 2019, while another purchase was made at the rate of Rs78.32 per kg in April. The USC also made payments worth Rs237.33 million for the transport of sugar without verifying the toll tax and weighbridge receipts from point of origin to the last destination. Similarly, there is an irregularity worth Rs28.34 million due to the non-replacement of expired and unsaleable stocks by vendors whereas Rs46.87 million seem to been have lost due to irregular arrangement of local transport without an advertisement. Further, the audit highlights the procurement of ghee and cooking oil worth Rs1.60 billion without competitive tendering process or obtaining competitive rates. Out of this stock, ghee and oil worth Rs1.40 billion that was placed on shelves at USC retail outlets had been declared unfit for human consumption by the PFA. The audit report states that the USC management neither itself tested the quality of commodities purchased nor were the
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
quality and safety parameters ensured from vendors even though as per USC’s manual, no product can be placed on shelves at any outlet without the provision of PSQCA and ISO certificates by the concerned manufacturer. Similarly, the USC failed to obtain lab test reports resulting in doubtful and excess payments against substandard wheat flour. The regional managers of USC accepted the shipments of wheat flour and paid Rs1.67 billion during 2019-20 to flour mills without ensuring the prescribed specification in violation of government instructions, the report said. In another violation, the corporation procured 119,110 bags of 20 kg wheat flour worth Rs95.28 million during January to August, 2020, without conducting any bidding process. The audit has highlighted that the USC faced a loss Rs322.80 million due to nonobservance of prescribed flour specifications as officials ignored the standard for maximum moisture contents in flour at 12 per cent and instead raised it to 14pc whereas the ash content ratio was increased from 2pc to 2.5pc.