Issuu

Saturday, 22 May, 2021 I 10 Shawwal, 1442 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XI No 321 I 12 Pages I Islamabad Edition

IsraelI polIce storm al-aqsa mosque, Injure 20 palestInIans despIte ceasefIre g

IsraelI polIce uses stun grenades, tear gas agaInst palestInIans

Jerusalem

agencies

ceasefire agreement reached between Israel and palestinian armed groups in the gaza strip appeared to be holding on Friday, but there have been tensions in occupied east Jerusalem where Israeli police stormed the al-aqsa Mosque compound and fired tear gas at palestinians after Friday prayers. Witnesses inside the compound said that after Friday prayers many palestinians stayed at the premises to celebrate the ceasefire between Hamas and the Israeli government. “they were singing and chanting when a contingent of the Israeli police [stationed] next to the compound came into the compound and started using crowd control measures that they use all the time, including stun grenades, smoke bombs and tear gas,” al Jazeera’s Imran Khan, reporting from occupied east Jerusalem, said. “they started firing in that crowd in an effort to try and disperse them.”

the attacks wounded some 20 people, according to a written statement by the palestinian red crescent. two of the injured were taken to a nearby hospital, the group said. the egyptian-brokered ceasefire came into effect in the early hours of Friday after 11 days of relentless Israeli bombing of the besieged enclave and thousands of rockets launched into Israel by Hamas, the group ruling the coastal strip. a delegation from egyptian intelligence reached gaza just hours after a ceasefire was announced between palestinian resistance groups and Israel. a palestinian source told anadolu agency that the egyptian delegation entered gaza via the Beit Hanoun (erez) crossing with Israel to meet with leaders from Hamas in order to follow up the ceasefire commitments. the delegation was headed by ahmed abdel Khaleq, a top egyptian intelligence officer responsible for the occupied palestinian territories. thousands of palestinians in the gaza strip

and occupied West Bank poured onto the streets to celebrate the ceasefire, waving flags and flashing the “V” sign for victory. Israel’s bombardment of gaza killed at least 243 palestinians, including 66 children, and brought widespread devastation to the already impoverished territory. on the Israeli side, 12 people, including two children, were killed. rescue workers pulled the bodies of nine palestinians including a child, from under the rubble in gaza, local media said. eight of them were retrieved from under the debris of their houses in al-Qarara area, northeast of Khan Younis city, while the three-year-old girl was found under the ruins of her family house in tal al-Hawa, south of gaza city. separately, Israeli prime Minister Benjamin netanyahu warned Hamas against any further rocket attacks following a ceasefire. In a speech hours after the truce took effect, he said, “If Hamas thinks we will tolerate a drizzle of rockets, it is wrong.” He promised to respond with “a new level of force against any expression of aggression against communities around gaza and any other part of Israel”. netanyahu also hailed Israel’s 11-day bombardment of gaza as “an exceptional success”. on the other hand, turkish president recep tayyip erdogan said that turkey will continue to show the world how the map of palestine has changed since the start of the Israeli occupation. “the whole world should know what this terror state of Israel is,” erdogan said at the opening ceremony of the seventh section of the north Marmara Motorway. Highlighting thursday’s united nations general assembly meeting on the crisis, erdogan said a “successful session” was held under the presidency of Volkan Bozkir, a turkish diplomat, and with the attendance of turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut cavusoglu, as well as other foreign ministers who stand together on the issue. “they talked about how palestine was occupied by this terror state of Israel since 1947, and was turned into a (small) piece of land today,” erdogan said.

At least 6 killed, 14 injured in blast at Palestine solidarity rally in Chaman CHamaN staff report

at least six persons were killed and 14 others sustained injuries when a bomb ripped through a Jamiat ulema-eIslam (nazriati) rally taken out in chaman to express solidarity with palestinians on Friday, Balochistan government spokesman liaquat shahwani said. the party staged the rally at Boghra chowk in the Murghi Market of the city as part of the Youm-e-Quds being observed in support of the palestinian people facing Israeli aggression. the bomb exploded with a bang as the participants started leaving after the rally came to an end. the blast reportedly took place near party’s senior Vice president Maulana abdul Qadir’s car. Qadir was injured and later taken to a nearby hospital where he was later discharged and sent home, said police. JuI leaders abdul Qadir luni and Qari Mehrullah were unharmed in the explosion. JuI-n central secretary Maulana Qari Meharullah ac-

cused the district administration of not taking any steps to guard the rally. He claimed that the blast occurred while the rally was in progress. shortly after the incident, the authorities sealed the area and imposed an emergency in local hospitals to treat the injured. dpo Jaffar Khan confirmed that six people were killed and another 12 injured in the bomb explosion. “paramedics arrived at the site of the blast and shifted the bodies and injured to the district hospital where an emergency has been imposed,” said police. shahwani strongly condemned the attack and said terrorists wanted to destroy Balochistan’s peace. “the enemies of solidarity with the oppressed palestinians are on the side of Israeli aggression,” he added. Balochistan chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan alyani also condemned the attack and regretted the loss of lives. “terrorist elements do not deserve any leniency. no one will be allowed to disturb the law and order of the province,” he said.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

Saturday, 22 May, 2021

ISLAMABAD

NEWS

PakIstan Passes grIm mIlestone of 20,000 deaths By CovId-19 IsLAMABAD

Staff RepoRt

AKISTAN crossed the grim milestone of 20,000 deaths due to coronavirus after 102 people passed away due to complications related to the virus in the past 24 hours. The national tally on Friday of total active Covid-19 cases was recorded at 6,229 with 3,070 more people testing positive for the deadly virus, and 6,021 people recovering from the disease during the last 24 hours. 102 coronavirus patients died during the past 24 hours, 89 of whom were under treatment in hospitals and 13 in their respective quarantines or homes, according to the latest update issued by the National Command and Operation Centre. During the past 24 hours, most of the deaths occurred in Punjab followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Out of the total 102 deaths that occurred in the last 24 hours, 50 of them were on ventilators. There were 4,424 Covid infected patients under treatment in critical care in various coronavirus healthcare facilities in the past 24 hours. The national coronavirus positivity rate during the past 24 hours was recorded at 5.95 percent. It is worth mentioning here that the

GOVT TO START VACCINATION FOR CITIZENS AGED 30 AND ABOVE TODAY Covid-19 positivity rate was the percentage of actual positive cases appearing in every 100 tests performed to identify infected individuals. According to John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the positive percentage will be high if the number of positive tests is too high, or if the number of total tests is too low. A higher positive percentage suggests higher transmission and that there are likely more people with coronavirus in the community who have not been tested yet. The maximum ventilators were occupied in four major areas: Lahore 52 percent, Multan 70 percent, Bahawalpur 42 percent, and Peshawar 38 percent. The maximum oxygen beds (alternate oxygen providing facility other than ventilator administered as per the medical requirement of a Covid-19 patient) were also occupied in four major areas: Gujranwala 49 percent, Swabi 47 percent, Peshawar 41 percent, and Multan 55 percent. Around 540 ventilators were occupied elsewhere in the country while no coronavirus patient was on a ventilator in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit

Baltistan, and Balochistan. Some 51,528 tests were conducted across the country on Thursday. 17,123 in Sindh, 20,272 in Punjab, 7,693 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 3,897 in Islamabad Capital Territory, 1,377 in Balochistan, 298 in GB, and 868 in AJK. Around 810,143 people have recovered from the disease so far across Pakistan making it a significant count with over 90 percent recovery rate of the affected patients. Since the pandemic outbreak, a total of 893,461 cases were detected that also included the perished, recovered, and under-treatment Covid-19 patients so far, including AJK 18,547, Balochistan 24,318, GB 5,454, ICT 80,010, KP 128,561, Punjab 332,000, and Sindh 304,571. About 20,089 deaths were recorded in the country since the eruption of the contagion. Around 4,869 have perished in Sindh, including 15 who died in hospitals on Thursday. 9,704 in Punjab had died with 64 deaths occurred in the past 24 hours. 51 of them in the hospital and 13 out of the hospital.

3,875 in KP, including 20 who died in hospitals on Thursday, 741 in ICT, including one who died in a hospital on Thursday, 270 in Balochistan, 107 in GB, and 523 in AJK, including two who succumbed to the deadly virus on Thursday. A total of 12,654,997 coronavirus tests have been conducted so far, while 639 hospitals are equipped with Covid-19 facilities. Some 4,870 coronavirus patients were admitted to hospitals across the country. VACCINATION FOR PEOPLE OVER 30: Pakistan on Friday decided to start inoculating people above 30 years of age beginning on Saturday as the country aims to ramp up its Covid-19 vaccination drive. The decision was made by the NCOC in a meeting today, Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar said in a tweet. “The messages for those who are being scheduled will go out today,” the federal minister added. The development comes only five days after the country had started registering people who are 30 years and above for the coronavirus vaccination. The country, since the beginning of the vaccination drive in February which first opened for healthcare workers, has inoculated more than 4.9 million people, with 211,475 jabs being administered in the last 24 hours.

Paf hands over three Jf-17 thunder aircraft to nigerian air force News Desk Pakistan Aeronautical Complex Kamra on Friday formally handed over three JF-17 Thunder aircraft to Nigerian Air Force at a ceremony held at Nigerian Air Force Base Makurdi. Minister of Defence of Nigeria Maj Gen (r) Bashir Magashi was the guest of honour, representing the president, at the occasion, whereas Vice Chief of the Air Staff Pakistan Air Force Air Marshal Syed Noman Ali was invited to attend the ceremony as the special guest of Nigerian Air Force. Addressing the ceremony, the Nigerian defence minister expressed his gratitude to Pakistan and Pakistan Air Force for sustained bilateral cooperation and partnership for enhancing Nigerian Air Force capabilities to meet Nigeria’s security challenges. He said, “We are happy and excited about the addition of JF17 fighter aircraft from Pakistan.” Speaking on the occasion, Air Marshal Ali said that the event is not only a historical landmark for Pakistan’s JF-17 programme but is also a reflection of strong military cooperation and mutual trust between Nigeria and Pakistan. He assured that Pakistan Air Force and Pakistan Aeronautical Complex would continue to provide all-out support to Nigerian Air Force in meeting all its requirements.

PM stresses collective action to recover from post-pandemic health, economic crises IsLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday said that a collective action by countries regarding expanding coronavirus vaccine’s supply and keeping economies open is necessary to gain recovery from post-Covid health and economic crises. “To ensure rapid recovery, we in Asia and elsewhere must keep economies open, revive disrupted supply chains, and resist protectionist temptations,” the prime minister said in his virtual address at the Nikkei 26th international conference on ‘Shaping the Post-Covid Era: Asia’s Role in Global Recovery’. The prime minister said that the pandemic, unless fully contained, could create social chaos and threaten peace and security in Asia and elsewhere in the world. “Unfortunately, no one will be safe until everyone is safe. The coronavirus vaccine’s supply and distribution must be immediately expanded with patent rights waived and production ramped up,” he said. PM Imran mentioned that coronavirus has created the worst global health, economic and social crisis and said it is essential to provide low-income countries fiscal space and liquidity to respond to the impact of the pandemic, revive economic growth and preserve social stability. He recalled his earlier proposal of a five-point agenda for debt relief, which was SDR creation and reallocation, larger concessional finance, fulfilment of climate finance commitments, and an end to illicit financial flows from developing countries. He welcomed the extension of the G-20’s debt suspension initiative, the agreement to create $650 billion in new SDRs, and the expansion of IDA funding and emergency support programmes for the multilateral development banks. The recommendations of the FACTI Panel on illicit financial flows must also be implemented, he added.

Imran not taking practical steps to end inflation: Bilawal News Desk Pakistan People’s Party Chairman Bilawal BhuttoZardari on Friday said that Prime Minister Imran Khan is only taking notices instead of practically eliminating the inflation. In a statement, the PPP chief said that so far, PM Imran has achieved nothing except inaugurating projects planned by the previous governments. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government cannot hide irregularities by ignoring the report filed by the auditor general, he added.

IMRAN URGES INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO TAKE ACTIONS TO STOP ISRAELI ATTACKS AGAINST PALESTINIANS

The prime minister said that if Asian and other countries are to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, they needed to invest massively in new and sustainable infrastructure – energy, transportation, housing, agriculture and industry. He stressed that less-developed countries must be helped to prepare a pipeline of sustainable infrastructure projects. To attract private investment, he said, such projects would need to be “de-risked” through blended finance and investment guarantees and incentives. PM Imran emphasised on mobilising science and technology to accelerate sustainable growth through targeted research on innovations and applications

required to advance sustainable development and environmental goals. He said that rapid digitalisation of economies is essential to ensure dynamic growth and mentioned the digital divide between advanced economies where 87 percent of people are online compared with only 19 percent having internet access in the poorest countries. He suggested expanded investment in digital hardware and software to bridge the gap of technology. About linking dynamic economic growth in Asia with greater physical connectivity, he said, China’s Belt and Road Initiative provided an important pathway to such regional integration across the Asia-Pacific region and beyond. He welcomed proposals from Japan and others to

support and finance quality infrastructure in Asia and elsewhere. The prime minister said that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative, has generated economic activity and employment besides enhancing bilateral and regional trade. He said that Pakistan looked towards serving as a geo-economic hub connecting the economies of Central Asia, South Asia, West Asia and beyond. However, he pointed that this potential could not be fully unleashed until the countries did not resolve their outstanding conflicts and disputes. On Afghanistan, PM Imran said that as the foreign forces are withdrawing from the country, it is imperative to redouble efforts to promote peace process between the Afghan parties. “Pakistan hopes that the violence will be sharply reduced and the Afghan parties will engage constructively to secure an inclusive, broad-based and comprehensive political settlement,” he added. The prime minister said that Pakistan desires peaceful and cooperative relations with all its neighbours, including India. But, he said, India must stop the human rights violations in occupied Jammu and Kashmir and revisit the unilateral measures it took on 5 August 2019. He highlighted that it is essential that an enabling environment is created for dialogue to peacefully resolve the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the UNSC resolutions and the wishes of the people of Kashmir. PM Imran said that the situation in Palestine remains a matter of deep concern for everyone and urged the international community to take urgent actions to stop the Israeli attacks against Palestinians, prevent the desecration of holy places, especially Al-Aqsa Mosque, and facilitate a just and lasting solution in line with the relevant UN resolutions.

Shehbaz invites opposition leaders to dinner on Monday News Desk Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz President and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif on Friday decided to host a dinner in honour of the opposition leaders in Islamabad on May 24. Former president and Pakistan People’s Party CoChairman Asif Ali Zardari, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl supremo, and Pakistan Democratic Movement President Maulana Fazlur Rehman have been invited to the dinner. Parliamentary leaders from the Awami National Party and other parties have also been invited, INP reported. The dinner gathering in Islamabad at 7.30 pm will discuss PDM and other political issues. On Thursday, the PML-N president went to

Charsadda to express his condolences over the death of veteran ANP leader Begum Naseem Wali Khan. Talking about the NRO, Shehbaz questioned the logic behind this argument, saying what kind of deal could they have possibly made when they were facing jails. Shehbaz lamented that the government had deteriorated the economy, adding that poverty and inflation had made people’s lives miserable. He said that the government gave billions of rupees in subsidies to the sugar exporters. Shehbaz criticised the government’s approach in handling the Covid-19 pandemic, saying that the government relied on the donated vaccines and let the situation get out of hand. He said that in terms of inoculating the population, Pakistan lagged behind even Bangladesh.

Saturday, 22 May, 2021

ISLAMABAD

PAkIStAN obServeS PAleStINe SolIdArIty dAy wItH NAtIoNwIde rAllIeS

NEWS

MINISTERS, MNAS, POLITICAL LEADERS COME OUT ON STREETS, CHANT SLOGANS AGAINST ISRAEL ISLAMABAD

MIan aBRaR

AKISTAN on Friday observed Palestine Solidarity Day to express unity with the innocent people of Palestine facing the unabated aggression of Israeli forces in Gaza since the last week of Ramadan. Israel has been pounding Gaza with airstrikes, killing nearly 250 people, including men, women, and children, since tensions heightened following the Sheikh Jarrah evictions and Israeli police brutality at the AlAqsa Mosque On Friday, the day was observed on Prime Minister Imran Khan’s appeal to support and express solidarity with the Palestinian people, who are suffering from the ongoing Israeli attacks. Protest rallies and demonstrations

against Israel’s brutal use of force were held across the country, including Azad Jammu and Kashmir and GilgitBaltistan, to convey the message that the entire Pakistani nation stands by their oppressed Palestinian brothers and sisters. The rallies also drew the attention of the world community towards grave human rights violations and barbaric attacks against innocent Palestinians by the Israeli forces. The Covid-19 standard operating procedures were followed during the rallies. Kashmiri activists turned the Kashmiri Martyrs’ Day protests into anti-Israel and anti-India rallies and urged the United Nations and world community to take action against the occupational regimes of Israel and India in Palestine and Jammu and Kashmir. National Assembly Opposition Leader Shehbaz Sharif and Speaker Asad Qaiser, several ministers, JUI-F MNA Mufti Asad Mahmood,

Pakistan welcomes ceasefire between Israel and Hamas

LAHORE: Citizens protest against Israeli atrocities against Palestinians. ZUBaIR MeHfooZ

Kashmir Committee Chairman Shehryar Afridi, Qasim Suri, Dr Wasim Shehzad and many rights activists took to streets in extreme warm weather and chanted slogans. The speaker along with ministers and lawmakers took out a rally from National Assembly to express solidarity with the people of Palestine.

app

Staff RepoRt

Pakistan has welcomed the announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that ended violence in Gaza. Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire across the Gaza Strip border on Friday, the Palestinian side and Egyptian state TV said. Since the Israeli violence began on May 10, health officials in Gaza said 232 Palestinians, including 65 children, had been killed and more than 1,900 wounded in aerial bombardments. The United Nations said its Middle East envoy, Tor Wennesland, was in Qatar on Thursday as part of truce efforts. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, in a tweet, welcomed the ceasefire announcement and said that this is the power of collective action. He prayed that may this ceasefire be the first step towards peace in Palestine. The foreign minister also met with UN Secretary General António Guterres at the UN headquarters in New York. During the meeting, the foreign minister expressed deep concern over the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories caused by Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people, resulting in over 250 deaths including dozens of women and children. Qureshi underscored that his visit to New York to attend the General Assembly session on Palestine was an expression of Pakistan’s firm and unwavering support to the legitimate cause of the Palestinian people for their right to selfdetermination. Welcoming the recent ceasefire announcement, the UN chief expressed the hope that this could help revive efforts for a negotiated settlement of the Palestinian issue. Foreign Minister Qureshi also briefed the UN secretary general on the serious human rights and humanitarian situation in the Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK), including continued illegal incarceration of the Kashmiri political leaders and extra-judicial killings. He said that the reinitiation of the 2003 ceasefire understanding between Pakistan and India along the Line of Control was a welcome step. “Pakistan desired normal relations with India. However, the onus was on India to take steps to create an enabling environment for a meaningful engagement,” he maintained. Qureshi urged the UN chief to use his good offices to resolve the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in line with the UN Charter and the relevant Security Council resolutions.

Prime Minister Imran Khan Friday said with the changing world public opinion, he was hopeful that Israel would soon fall under pressure of the global powers to grant equal rights to the oppressed Palestinian people. “I am seeing a welcoming change. What is that? The world public opinion is changing… This is for the first time that the voices raised from there (west). Their newspapers criticised it. Their media spoke against it. And politicians also stood against it which I never thought would happen in the United States and Western states,” the prime minister said in his televised message to the nation on Palestine situation. He said that having spent plenty of time in the west, he never saw their newspapers, media and politicians criticising Israel as the country had already been attacking Palestinians. Rather they all used to portray Israel as a victim, he added. PM Imran said that social media was the major reason behind that change of world public opinion, which disseminated all the information which the mainstream media censored. As the country observed Palestine Solidarity Day on Friday, the prime minister paid gratitude to the countrymen, who took to the streets in huge numbers to support the Palestinians and condemn the Israeli aggression. PM Imran said that since the creation of Israel,

Pakistan remained stick to Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s stance that it was an injustice to the Palestinian people and supported them at every forum. Referring to the recent wave of Israeli aggression, the prime minister said he was at Holy Prophet’s (Peace Be Upon Him) Mosque (Masjid-e-Nabvi) in Madina Munawara when the Israeli forces attacked worshippers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the holy night of 27th Ramadan. Moreover, the Palestinian families were also evicted from their homes and the attack by the “world’s most powerful army” also left the Palestinian children killed, he added. PM Imran said that while being in Saudi Arabia, he met the secretary-general of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and called for the OIC’s stand as well as taking the matter to the United Nations. Later, he said that he also talked to Saudi King Salman, received calls from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, who called for taking the matter to the world body. During a telephonic conversation with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the prime minister said, he had assured him of all-out support from Pakistan. The Muslim as well as other right-minded world stood by them (Palestinians), he added. He said that he assigned Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi to raise the issue at the UN as well as with the OIC and other Muslim world leaders, who did it effectively which was laudable.

PTI will never mete out injustice, Buzdar assures Tareen group MPAs LAHORE Staff RepoRt

A seven-member delegation of the Jahangir Tareen group met Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar in Lahore on Friday and reposed their complete trust in his leadership. The delegation comprised Saeed Akbar Khan Nawani, Ajmal Cheema, Nauman Ahmad Langrial, Zawar Hussain Warraich, Nazeer Chauhan, Umar Aftab, and Awn Chaudhry. MPA Saeed Akbar Khan Nawani said: “We are one and will remain so.” “We have complete trust in your leadership. You are our chief minister and we have come to you for resolution of our issues,” the lawmaker said, pointing to the CM. “The PTI is our party with whom our unconditional

association will continue.” CM Buzdar said that “we are united under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan”. “We have never meted out injustice to anybody and will never do so. Politics of vengeance is not our thing.” Assuring the MPAs of addressing their legitimate grievances, the chief minister said that the party’s name is Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and “we believe in the dispensation of justice”. Speaking to the media after the meeting, Langrial said that they believed that the prime minister would not allow any injustice to be meted out to them. “Our meeting with CM Usman Buzdar remained productive,” he said. “The chief minister listened to our grievances and issued directives for their redressal,” the MPA said.

FM Qureshi’s remarks ‘not anti-Semitic’: FO ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

The Foreign Office on Friday said that the remarks of Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi made in his interview with CNN “could not be construed as anti-Semitic by any stretch

addressed by Shehryar and APHC leaders Syed Faiz Naqshbandi, Mohammad Hussain Khateeb, Ghulam Mohammad Safi, Yousaf Naseem and some others. Afridi said that atrocities against Muslims by Zionist and Hindutva terrorist regimes require a response from the world as lack of response

PM sees ray of hope amidst changing world public opinion for Palestinians ISLAMABAD

NEW YORK

They also presented a parliament resolution on Palestine to the United Nations representative in Pakistan, demanding the UN secretary general to make arrangements for an investigation into the genocide of Palestinians by the Israeli forces. All Parties Hurriyat Conference led a rally from Faisal Mosque, which was

of the imagination”. “Any twist given to the foreign minister’s remarks would, unfortunately, prove the very point he was making,” FO Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said in response to media queries regarding the comments of CNN anchor.

CNN anchor Bianna Golodryga, herself a Jew, had given the impression that Qureshi’s remarks were “antiSemitic”. The FO spokesperson said, “The right to freedom of expression must be respected equally by everyone.” Foreign Minister Qureshi had lashed

out at Israel for controlling the media and having “deep pockets”. “Israel is losing out,” Qureshi said in the CNN interview. “They’re losing the media war, despite their connections… The tide is turning,” he added. “I will not justify any rocket attacks…and I cannot condone the aerial bombardment that is taking place,” Qureshi said, describing Israel’s attack on Hamas as “genocide”, “ethnic cleansing” and “war crimes”.

could trigger consequences beyond regions. He said that Kashmir and Palestine need immediate attention of the world and the situations in both the territories is a huge question mark on the credibility of the United Nations. He said that it is about time for the world to speak on Kashmir as humanity is under attack from the Zionist and Hindutva terrorists. He said that the resistance of Kashmiri and Palestinian nations reminds us of the resilience of humans against oppression and barbarism. He said that 57 Muslim states need to roar like lions, adding that Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has represented the sentiments of the whole nation in the UN General Assembly. RALLIES OUTSIDE NPC, LAL HAWELI: Protest demonstrations were also held in various localities of twin cities, including outside National Press Club in Islamabad and outside Lal Haweli in Rawalpindi. Minister for Interior Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed participated in the rally outside Lal Haweli in Rawalpindi while Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Mian Farrukh Habib attended the rally at Eid-Gah Shareef in Rawalpindi. The speakers at the rallies strongly condemned Israeli aggression against innocent Palestinians and urged the world community to take notice of grave human rights violations in Palestine.

Shehbaz-led NA delegation hands over resolution on Palestine to UN representative ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

On behalf of the parliament, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz President and National Assembly Opposition Leader Shehbaz Sharif on Friday handed over the unanimously approved resolution on Israel’s aggression and barbarism against Palestinians to UN Representative in Pakistan Julian Harnes. National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri, Andaleeb Abbas, Raja Pervez Ashraf, Maulana Asad, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Marriyum Aurangzeb and some other members of the Parliament also Julian Harness on the occasion. Talking to the UN representative, Shehbaz said that he is handing over the sentiments of Pakistan’s Parliament, its people and the Muslim Ummah. He said that the people of Pakistan demand and appeal that the UN Security Council ensures justice for the people of Palestine. He also said that Pakistan stands united with the Palestinians on this issue, adding that it is legal, moral and humanitarian responsibility of the UN, UNSC and other world organisations that they safeguard the innocent Palestinians. The opposition leader said that he has been striving for years for the right of self-determination of the people of Palestine, but since 1948, Palestinians are massacred and betrayed time and again for one unjust reason after another. He reminded how hundreds, including children, lost their lives, thousands were wounded and tens of thousands displaced in the recent brutal aggression by Israel. He said that the Israeli aggression is a blatant violation of the international resolutions and laws, and Pakistan condemns the aggression in the strongest words and deems it unacceptable. The entire world is condemning it and international organisations will need to fulfil their duties and take practical tangible steps against it, he added. He requested Julian to convey these sentiments to the relevant authorities that Pakistan stresses the need for implementation of the UN and UNSC resolutions on this issue. Global peace would be an elusive dream unless Palestinians are given their rights, and the situation could escalate to a third world war, he said. Shehbaz said that it is the right of the Palestinians to live with dignity and honour in the light of international laws and policies of the UN and international human rights organisations. Julian greeted the delegation, led by Shehbaz, and said he understands the sentiments of Pakistan and its Parliament. He came all the way to bid the delegation farewell.

Saturday, 22 May, 2021

ISLAMABAD

NEWS

SchoolS to reoPeN IN SoMe PArtS of couNtry froM MoNdAy

NEWS DESK

CHOOLS will reopen in some parts of the country from Monday as provinces made their own decisions on the matter in view of the local coronavirus situation. Punjab Education Minister Murad Raas on Friday announced that schools in few districts of Punjab will reopen from May 24. According to a notification issued in this regard, a copy of which was shared by the minister on his Twitter account, public and private schools in Punjab's select districts will operate only four days a week. Moreover, schools will be allowed to call students on alternative days with 50 percent attendance.

A decision related to the opening of schools in the remaining districts will be taken in the next meeting, the notification said. Per the notification, schools will be opened in Bahawalnagar, Jhang, Nankana Sahib, Sahiwal, Chakwal, Jhelum, Narowal, Sheikhupura, Chiniot, Kasur, Pakpattan, Sialkot, Hafizabad, Mandi Bahuddin, Rajanpur and Vehari districts. "All the authorities concerned shall ensure the observance and compliance of Covid-19 standard operating procedures in letter and spirit. The schools shall open for 04 days a week staggering 02 days attendance of each child," the notification read. Separately, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government announced staggered reopening all educational institutions in some districts

beginning May 24. The educational institutions are reopening in districts where the coronavirus positivity ratio remains below 5 percent — a decision made in line with the National Command and Operations Centre's announcement. Public and private universities and colleges in districts Battagram, Buner, Chitral Lower, Chitral Upper, DI Khan, Hangu, Khyber, Kohistan Upper, Kohiatan Lower, Kolet Palas, Karak, Kurram, Lakki Marwat, Mohmand, Malakand, Orakzal, Swat, North Waziristan, South Waziristan, Tank, and Tor Ghar will open from May 24. However, in the rest of the districts, educational institutions will remain closed till June 7, and the educational activities will continue online.

Curfew, other restrictions tightened to prevent march in occupied Kashmir NEWS DESK In occupied Kashmir, Indian forces have further tightened curfew and other restrictions in the name of Covid-19 in the territory to prevent the march and prayer meetings already announced by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, the chairman of Hurriyat forum. According to Kashmir Media Service, Farooq had called for a complete shutdown and a march towards Mazar-e-Shuhada in Srinagar to pay tribute to prominent martyred Hurriyat leaders, Mirwaiz Molvi Muhammad Farooq and Khawaja Abdul Ghani Lone, as well as the martyrs of Hawal massacre on their martyrdom anniversaries. All Parties Hurriyat Conference had also given the call

PM, MNAs discuss political situation, development projects NEWS DESK Members of National Assembly Muhammad Yaqub Sheikh, Muhammad Farooq-e-Azam Malik and Naureen Farooq Ibrahim called on Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday. Political situation in the country and development projects in the respective constituencies were discussed during the meeting, which was also attended by Special Assistant to PM on Political Affairs Malik Amir Dogar.

PM Imran vows to increase higher education budget NEWS DESK Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday vowed to increase the amount allocated for higher education in the next budget. Presiding over a meeting in Islamabad, PM Imran said that the promotion of higher education plays a key role in the progress and development of a country. The prime minister said that the developed countries spent a major part of their GDP on education. He directed Ministries of Finance, Education and Planning to present a report in this regard after consultation with the provinces.

for the shutdown on the occasion. Mirwaiz Molvi Muhammad Farooq was assassinated by the agents of Indian agencies after barging into his residence in Srinagar on this day in 1990. 70 mourners were killed when Indian troops opened fire on his funeral procession in Hawal area of the city. Khawaja Abdul Ghani Lone was also killed on this day in 2002 by the agents of Indian agencies when he was returning from Eidgah after addressing a public gathering. Srinagar-based media reports said that the authorities decided to strictly enforce coronavirus curfew on 21 May, marking Mirwaiz Molvi Muhammad Farooq and Khawaja Abdul Ghani Lone’s martyrdom anniversaries.

The reports citing official sources said that Inspector General of Police Vijay Kumar held meeting with all DIsG and SSsP through virtually to take stock of the situation. “It was decided that Police shall enforce strictest corona curfew tomorrow (21 May),” the officials said. Meanwhile, Farooq remained under house arrest on his father’s martyrdom anniversary. He had been under illegal and arbitrary house arrest since August 5, 2019. Moreover, in occupied Kashmir, Friday prayer could not be held at Srinagar’s historic Jamia Masjid and several main mosques, dargahs and Imambargahs of the territory due to the restrictions imposed by the authorities.

Pakistan played leading role in eﬀorts to end Israeli atrocities against Palestinians: Fawad ISLAMABAD APP

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry on Friday said that Pakistan played a leading role in efforts to end Israeli atrocities against innocent and unarmed people of Palestine, who had braved unabated bombardment and shelling from occupation forces for over two weeks. Interacting with foreign media on Palestine Solidarity Day observed across the country on the call of Prime Minister Imran Khan, he said that Pakistan took a firm stand, mustered support of friendly countries and represented the Muslim Ummah’s true sentiments over the Palestinians’ plight at the special session of United Nations General Assembly in an effective manner. He said that the efforts yielded the required results as a ceasefire had been reached between Hamas and Israel, terming it a ‘success’ of Pakistan and its friendly countries’ sincere efforts to mitigate the sufferings of the Palestinians. He said that Pakistan's response to the Israeli aggression was ‘unequivocal,’ as it instantly reached out to the international community urging them to play a constructive role in stopping the killings of innocent Palestinians. Sharing some efforts of the government in defusing the tension, he said that Prime Minister Imran had met the secretary-general of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in Makkah (Saudi Arabia) and made telephonic contacts with the Saudi king, and Palestinian and Turkish presidents. Besides, he said, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi reached out to his counterparts in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Palestine, Turkey, Afghanistan, China, United States and Sudan, and discussed the situation in Palestine.

Fawad said that Qureshi participated in the emergency meeting of the OIC's foreign ministers and presented the case for Palestine, issuing a strong statement condemning Israeli cruelties against the Palestinians. The information minister said that Pakistan's National Assembly unanimously passed a resolution against Israel's actions, supporting the cause of Palestine and the struggle of its people. He said that Israeli aggression against innocent Palestinians and the sacrilege of Al-Aqsa Mosque, one of the holiest places in the world, especially during the holy month of Ramadan was highly condemnable. Fawad deplored that the indiscriminate and excessive use of force by the Israeli occupation forces that resulted in martyrdom of innocent Palestinians, including women and children in Gaza and West Bank. “Such attacks are against all humanitarian norms, human rights and in-

ternational laws”. “We strongly denounce the systematic and brutal disenfranchisement, exclusion and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people,” he added. "We reject the continuing practice of expanding settlements through forced evictions (of Palestinians) by the apartheid regime, which are in violation of Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention and the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334." The minister recalled relevant resolutions introduced by Pakistan in the United Nations regarding Occupied Palestinian Territories, especially the seminal UNSC Resolution 271, which was adopted after the incident of the burning of Al-Aqsa Mosque in 1969. He reiterated Pakistan's fullest support to the Palestinian cause, and reaffirmed unwavering political, diplomatic and moral support to the brave and resilient Palestinian people.

He also called for solidarity among the Muslim Ummah to support the efforts to resolve the Palestine dispute in accordance with the relevant UN and OIC resolutions. He said that Pakistan wanted withdrawal of Israel from all occupied Arab territories, including Jerusalem, restitution of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people such as their right to self-determination, right of return to Palestine, and establishment of an independent, viable and contiguous Palestinian state, with pre-1967 borders and Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital. Answering a question, the information minister said that the foundation of Pakistan’s policy regarding Palestine was laid by Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, and now Prime Minister Imran was its custodian. He said that Pakistan's relevant departments were in contact with the Palestinian embassy to extend Covid-related and emergency medical assistance to Palestine. Replying to another question regarding Foreign Minister Qureshi’s remarks, he said “Suggesting that deep pockets influence media cannot be termed anti-Semitic.” To another query, Fawad said that some influential and wealthy lobbyists lacked interest in resolving the issues of Palestine and Kashmir and were creating hurdles in their early settlement. The minister said that Pakistan never took dictation from any country in its internal and international matters as it always took decisions independently, keeping the national interest supreme. Responding to a question, he said that Pakistan wanted peace with India, and was ready to talk and initiate trade with it, but India would have to revert back to the position of August 5, 2019, as "we cannot move forward by ignoring the situation in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir”.

Saturday, 22 May, 2021

ISLAMABAD

EffECtivE CommuniCAtion, tRAnsPAREnCy kEy ECommERCE GRowth: CCP ChiEf iSLamaBad

TLTP

OMPETITION Commission of Pakistan Chairperson Rahat Kaunain Hassan has said that effective communication and transparency will provide impetus to e-commerce growth and building consumer confidence. In a statement on Friday, she said that CCP will work with businesses to develop and declare e-commerce policy guidelines to build consumer confidence in the electronic marketplace and encourage fair trade practices to prevent any possible abuse and deceptive marketing practices in the e-commerce domain. She said that the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the shift towards a more digital world. Pakistan is no exception where there has been a rapid shift to digital business models, a surge in online transactions, and changes in consumption patterns. Therefore, it is deemed urgent to ensure that consumers are just as safe when shopping online as when shopping offline, she added. She also said that the CCP has approached around 35 major online platforms in Pakistan, seeking information

on the principal aspects governing their online activities and transactions. These aspects inter alia include the basic disclosures regarding business operations, product specifications and verification process, warnings (product

Cryptos slip again with bitcoin falls to $40,986 Prices of major cryptocurrencies went down on Friday, a day after clawing back a chunk of the losses witnessed in preceding six days. As of 1240 hours GMT on Friday, bitcoin, the world's biggest cryptocurrency, shed 1.67 percent to reach $40,986. With this decrease in price, the market capitalisation of the BTC has reached $767 billion. Bitcoin price has plunged 18.66 percent in the last seven days. Likewise, ethereum (ETH) shed 5.71 percent to reach $2,680. With this decrease in price, the market capitalisation of ETH has reached $312 billion. ETH price has plunged 32.85 percent in the last seven days. Similarly, Binance Coin (BNB) shed 2.33 percent to reach $380. The market capitalisation of BNB stands at $58.5 billion after this decrease. BNB price has plunged 37.30 percent in the last seven days. Furthermore, Tether (USDT) reached $1.00 with 0.02 percent increase in its price. Its market capitalisation has reached $58.6 billion with this increase. USDT price went down by 0.17 percent during the last seven days. Likewise, dogecoin (Doge) shed 4.45 percent to reach $0.3915. With this decrease in price, the market capitalisation of Doge reached $50.7 billion. Doge price came down by 27.42 percent during the last seven days. According to analysts, in the coming weeks, bitcoin will probably fluctuate largely between $40,000 and $50,000. They said for anyone who has followed the crypto-currency scene for a while, the events of recent weeks are a familiar story. Some random event - say, a tweet from Elon Musk announcing Tesla will accept cryptocurrency payments - sends Bitcoin to new highs, and people begin to say it's winning mainstream acceptance. Then another random event happens, perhaps a change of course from the Tesla tycoon. It comes tumbling down again, and talk of it going mainstream fades into the background, they added. NEWS DESK

safety etc.), warranties, disclosures and disclaimers, essential terms and conditions of online business in the pre-purchase, purchase, and post-purchase stages, payment modalities and security of payment systems, delivery mecha-

nism, return policy and consequences of delays in delivery, easy access to fair and effective dispute resolution. Given the growth of e-commerce players in Pakistan, the CCP encourages others not directly approached by it to also share the said information and take part in the consultative policy formulation process, she said. She further said that moreover, the CCP also wants businesses to explain what personal data protection and privacy safeguards are in place and whether information on products and services is presented in a transparent, accurate, easily accessible, and visible manner to help consumers make informed choices. Rahat said that the CCP’s aim is to strengthen consumers’ trust in the expanding electronic marketplace by providing the guiding principles for e-commerce business for preventing fraud, unfair trade practices and protecting the legitimate rights and interests of consumers. The CCP is mandated under the Competition Act, 2010 to ensure free competition in all spheres of commercial and economic activity, to enhance economic efficiency, and to protect consumers from anti-competitive behaviour.

PSX gains 341 points to near 46,000-mark

At least 6 killed, 14 injured in blast at Palestine solidarity rally in Chaman continued from page 01 He expressed condolences with the families of those killed and directed authorities to provide the best available medical facilities to the injured. The attack came a month after a powerful bomb exploded in the parking lot of the Serena Hotel in Quetta, killing at least five people and wounding 12 others. There has been a surge in violence in Balochistan, with several incidents of terrorism being reported last year. On April 13, at least 12 people were injured in an explosion during a football tournament being held at a ground in Allahbad Town located in Balochistan’s industrial town of Hub. The tournament was dedicated to police martyrs.

Dollar falls to Rs153.36 as rupee recovers 10 paisas Pakistani rupee snapped its four-day losing streak against the US dollar on Friday and was appreciated by 10 paisas (+0.07 percent) in the interbank. According to the State Bank of Pakistan, the US dollar opened at Rs153.46 and closed at Rs153.36. The local currency has shed Rs1.08 against the greenback during this week. Within the open market, rupee was traded at 153/153.80 per dollar. The local unit has gained Rs14.70 against the greenback in the current fiscal year 2020-21 while appreciation has been Rs6.48 in 2021. Meanwhile, the foreign exchange reserves held by the country stood at $22,910.3 million by the week ended May 07, 2021, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Monday. The reserves held by the central bank stand at $15,774.5 million while reserves held by commercial banks stand at $7,135.80 million. NEWS DESK

Gold price jumps to Rs93,000 per 10gm

KaracHi TLTP

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) turned bullish on Friday and the benchmark KSE-100 Index gained 340.91 points (+o.75) to close the session at 45,914.98 points. The KSE-100 Index remained positive for almost all the session and traded in a range of 388 points, showing an intraday high of 45,948.1 and a low of 45,560.1. Among other indices, the KSE All Share Index gained 284.45 points (+0.92 percent) to close at 31,068.6 points, while All Share Islamic Index gained 186.87 points (+0.84 percent) to close at 22,391.81 points. A total of 408 companies traded shares in the stock exchange, out of them shares of 276 closed up, shares of 110 closed down while shares of 22 companies remained unchanged. The overall market volumes decreased by 73.61 million to 710.43 million shares, while market capitalisation increased by Rs72.70 billion. The number of total trades decreased by 12,367 to 169,042, and value traded decreased by Rs1.17 billion to Rs19.66. Among scrips, WTL topped the volumes with 99.2 million shares, followed by BYCO (67.5 million) and HASCOL (48.3 million). Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include WTL, BYCO, HASCOL, KEL and SMBL, which formed 41 percent of total volumes. The sectors propping up the

index were commercial banks with 116 points, oil & gas exploration companies with 68 points, cement with 31 points, oil & gas marketing companies with 29 points and automobile assembler with 29 points. The most points added to the index was by HBL which contributed 32 points followed by PPL with 31 points, OGDC with 28 points, UBL with 25 points and PSO with 20 points. Sector wise, the index was let down by investment banks/investment companies/ securities companies with 7 points, transport with 6 points, tobacco with 3 points, synthetic & rayon with 3 points and leather & tanneries with one point. The most points taken off the index was by HASCOL which stripped the

index of 8 points followed by PIBTL with 6 points, COLG with 4 points, TRG with 4 points and PSX with 4 points. Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that resolution of dispute between the members of ruling party as well as anticipation of tax incentives for the industries in the upcoming budget helped KSE-100 Index put up a formidable addition of 374 points during the session and ended the session +341 points. Deferral of OGDC and PPL for consideration of privatisation resulted in a rebound in stock prices of both stocks. Banks, cement and steel sectors also contributed positively to the index. The incentives proposal for the refinery sector gave way to NRL, ATRL and PRL to post gains.

Oil prices surge around 2pc on recovery in demand Crude oil prices increased around two percent on Friday amid recovery in demand as restrictions ease across Europe and travel and tourism gradually pick up. At 1225 hours GMT, Brent, the international benchmark for two-thirds of the world's oil, was trading at $66.19 a barrel after gaining 1.66 percent. Likewise, the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 1.94 percent to reach $63.14 a barrel. The price for Opec Bas-

NEWS

ket was recorded at $65.95 a barrel with 3.57 percent decrease, Arab Light was available at $64.72 a barrel with 2.76 percent decrease while price of Russian Sokol decreased 2.58 percent to reach $65.29 a barrel. In recent weeks, there has been some optimism across Europe as UK fuel sales reached their highest level since the start of the pandemic restrictions in 2020. In addition, toll roads across France, Italy, and Spain experienced their

greatest use since the same months in 2019. As European refiners produce over twice as much diesel as gasoline, the demand increase for passenger cars, freight transportation, and certain types of heating that use the fuel looks promising. The IEA believes Europe’s oil demand could increase by as much as 9 percent this quarter and 4 percent in the third quarter, based on current trends. Since pandemic restrictions are grad-

cmYK

ually easing across most of Europe, and a greater reduction is expected for the summer months, demand looks set to increase for everyday commuting, tourism, and across several industries such as manufacturing and freight. Gasoline demand goes beyond Europe, with exports to the US of the light fuel hitting a near two-year high in March, as several disruptions to North American refining called for import hikes.

Gold price in the international market continued upward trend on Friday and increased by around 0.6 percent as the latest dip in US Treasury yields and concerns about growing Covid-19 cases in Asia continue boosting demand for the safe-haven assets. At 1400 hours GMT, gold in the international market was trading at $1,887.90 an ounce after gaining $10.20 an ounce in its value as compared to its closing value on Thursday last. Meanwhile, the price of 10 grams yellow metal in Pakistan has reached Rs93,000 after gaining Rs500. The closing price of 10 grams gold was recorded at Rs92,500 on Thursday last. The analysts said it seems inflation fears are finally translating into higher precious-metals prices, and exchange-traded fund investors are starting to swing into net buyers again. They said that US Treasury yields are falling and, on the other hand, there seem to be fears about virus resurgence in Singapore, Taiwan, and the broader Asian-Pacific markets, driving up demand for safety. NEWS DESK

Saturday, 22 May, 2021

06 COMMENT

UN credibility at great risk in Indian-held Kashmir

What the people of Gaza badly need

Less sentimentality, more help

The world is taking grave risks, beside soiling its own credibility

he Israeli military has killed over 200 Palestinians, destroyed landmark buildings in Gaza and bombed the strip’s civic infrastructure. Israel has however failed to break the will of the people of Gaza. As hamas and Israel announced a ceasefire, thousands of people rushed to the streets jubilantly making victory signs. Despite the destruction caused by the 11 day war, the morale of the people of Gaza remains high. While the people of Gaza displayed an 0unflinching determination throughout the campaign, they are likely to feel the pinch soon. Many families have lost their sole breadwinners. Thousands have lost their jobs and businesses. With hospitals bombed, hundreds of the injured and sick are in need of urgent medical assistance. Power and water supply need to be restored and the sanitary system put in place. A so called tectonic shift on the conflict is no doubt visible among the Democrats. The younger generation of US lawmakers coming from a diversity of backgrounds is considerably more sympathetic to the Palestinians. it will however be a long time before the USA is able to elect a President willing to help in a just settlement of the conflict, which requires the USA supporting the two-state solution with the creation of an independent Palestinian state having Al-Quds as its capital. Till this happens the USA would continue to block moves towards a sovereign Palestinian state in the Security Council. There are meanwhile a number of important things that need to be done. What has to be immediately undertaken by the OIC and the UN is to set up makeshift hospitals in Gaza and send medical teams duly provided necessary equipment and medicines. The Gulf Arab regimes which spend hundreds of billions dollars on defence purchases have to be persuaded to loosen the purse strings for the rehabilitation of the Gazan Palestinians. As UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres puts it, Gaza needs a robust package of support for a swift, sustainable reconstruction and recovery. In case the oi- rich Arab governments fail the Palestinians, there would be a need to put together a “coalition of the willing” for the purpose. This don,e there may not be a need to deploy a UN mandated ‘International Protection Force’ in Occupied Palestine as suggested by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

MuhaMMad Zahid Rifat

he United Nations was established following World War 11 in 1945 to provide international cooperation and resolve world conflicts . But it has miserably failed to settle the lingering, burning, bleeding unresolved Kashmir dispute between neighbouring nuclear powers of India and Pakistan and its credibility as a world body has remained at great risk for more than seven decades. The UN has failed miserably to ensure implementation of resolutions of its Security Council calling for a free, fair and transparent plebiscite in Indian-held Jammu and Kashmir to let the Kashmiris exercise their fundamental right of self-determination for which they are struggling against, and suffering at the hands of, occupying Indian security forces while the Indian government, headed by Prime Minister Narenda Modi, continues to belittle and flout all international laws. Unmindful of its obligations to international laws and regulations, India continues to pursue its own evil and devilish agenda, and had revoked special status of its occupied Jammu and Kashmir on 5 August 2019, merging it illegally still with the Indian Union, enhanced the strength of its occupying security forces giving them free hand to crush and kill Kashmiris at will, and placed the entire population of the occupied territory under complete lockdown also from the same date, which continues unabated after even more than 20 months. Furthermore, to continue pursuing hindutva policy of the RSS, the Modi government is also taking measures to turn the Muslim majority into a minority by resorting to genocide and settling down hindus there by issuing down fake and unlawful migration

Threats multiplying Will Imran Khan be able to cope?

ehANGIR Tareen forming a forward bloc within the PTI consisting of ‘like-minded’ MPAs and MNAs was an avoidable outcome. A few weeks prior to this development, senior members from this group were successful in securing concessions for Mr Tareen in the FIA sugar inquiry after meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan. Was the leniency that was agreed to not shown or is something much larger than Mr Tareen’s FIA case afoot? either way, Mr Khan faces a quagmire that will be tough to get out of and the threats and problems only seem to be multiplying. One such irritant, that should seemingly be quite manageable, is proving to be difficult. Mr Faisal Vawda, while appearing on a TV talk show, in another one of his foot-inmouth moments, brushed off the Tareen group as a bunch of nobodies that ‘can and will be handled through an ShO’. The irresponsible statement expectedly drew harsh criticism from within the party, with one minister describing Mr Vawda as ‘the real threat to Imran Khan’s government’. At a time when senior level PTI politicians are trying to pacify this rebellion, Mr Vawda’s statement was most unnecessary and out of line, but if the last two and a half years are any indication, he will not be reprimanded. Meanwhile, unja Assembly Seaker Pervez elahi has said that his party, the PML(Q), will not betray the PTI despite ‘unfulfilled promises’. This is not the first time Mr elahi has expressed his displeasure over the treatment meted out to him and his party by the PTI but with the few political options on the table he has to contend with what he has. Nevertheless, he misses no opportunity to remind PM Khan about the fragility of this alliance. At the same time, PML(N) president and leader of the opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif has increased his political activity. After being stopped from boarding a plane to the UK for medical treatment by airport officials despite a high Court order allowing him to do so, he has been put on the eCL by the PTI. he is now actively trying to get the broken PDM back together by convincing the PPP and ANP to return to the opposition alliance. Mr Khan has yet again resorted to his oft-repeated claim that all of the political pressure he is facing is emanating from ‘mafias trying to get an NRO’. Perhaps it’s time he reassesses which mafias are asking for what NRO from whom and why.

JavaRia NisaR

T has been more than a week since tensions arose in Palestine over Israel's forced occupation in east Jerusalem and the demolition of Palestinian homes. The latest clashes began when the Israeli riot police tried to stop Muslims from gathering and praying in Al Aqsa Mosque during the holy month of Ramadan. The forced evictions of Palestinians from the neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah also fueled the confrontations. Airstrikes and stun grenades echoed on Monday and till now more than 1500 Palestinians are wounded, and over 200 are reported dead including innocent women and children, until a truce has reportedly been agreed. The foundation of this dispute lies in the 73-yearold colonial attempt by Israel that continues to subject the Palestinians to military occupation, land dispossession, forced evictions, and human rights violations. After the titular victory of the UK in World War I and the dissolution of the Ottoman empire, the French and the British decided to carve up the Middle east in such a way to ensure their power and hold

Arif Nizami Editor Managing Editor

Joint Editor

Umar Aziz Executive Editor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

Besides the international community, the world body is also time and again being reminded at the appropriate highest level of Pakistan that the Kashmir issue is a nuclear flashpoint, so that without its resolution durable peace and stability in the region remains in danger and if the UN fails to act at the earliest possible in resolving the Kashmir issue peacefully, its own credibility will continue to be at great risk

The writer can zahidriffat@gmail.com

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A Modern Story of Colonization

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Yousaf Nizami Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

certificates. India is bound under the international laws not to change the demography of Indian-held Kashmir in an unchecked and unceasing manner. The UN as well as the international community at large is looking the other way and not going beyond condemnation of gross human rights violations and continues to refrain from pressuring Indian government in any manner to stop changing the demography of the occupied territory . There are many important dates in the history of Kashmir on which the Kashmiris in Indian-held Kashmir, as well as in Pakistan and the world over, observe Martyrs Days and Black Days to pay tributes to their freedom fighters who had lost their lives over the last seven decades-plus in indigenous, unarmed struggle for securing their fundamental right of self-determination, free themselves from Indian occupation and decide their future themselves, which has persistently been denied to them by India belittling the international laws and bluntly refusing implementation of UN Security Council resolutions. May 21 was another such Martyrdom Day which the Kashmiris everywhere observed to commemorate the martyrdom of Mir Waiz Farooq Shaheed and Abdul Ghani Lone Shaheed on this date by the Indian security forces in 1990 and 2002 respectively. Observance of the Kashmiris Martyrs Day on May 21 will be yet another occasion to remind the UN and international community of their obligations to ensure implementation of Security Council resolutions, pressurizing India to its longest complete lockdown in occupied Jammu and Kashmir and ending flagrant violations of human rights. Pakistan has all along been extending political, diplomatic and moral support to the Kashmiris in their just ,indigenous and unarmed struggle for freedom from Indian occupation and exercising their birthright of self-determination. On all martyrs days and black days which the Kashmiris observe, the civil and military leadership

of Pakistan as well as the people all over the country reiterate their continued support to the Kashmiris and exerting upon the United Nations and its Security Council to honour its own resolutions and get these implemented by India at the earliest possible. At the initiatives of Prime Minister Imran Khan , who had been raising the Kashmir issue not only at the UN General Assembly but also all other international forums, the Kashmir issue has been activated during the last couple of years pulling it out of the cold storage of the world body where it was lying for more than past five decades. The civil and military leadership of Pakistan has been urging the international community every now and then to honour their obligations towards the Kashmiris, force the Indian government to reverse its 5 August 2019 revocation decision and restore the special status of occupied Jammu and Kashmir and play its active role in ending the ongoing bloodshed, violence and killings of innocent Kashmiris at the hands of Indian security forces and let the Kashmiris exercise their self-determination right in a UN-supervised plebiscite in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions. Besides the international community, the world body is also time and again being reminded at the appropriate highest level of Pakistan that the Kashmir issue is a nuclear flashpoint, so that without its resolution durable peace and stability in the region remains in danger and if the UN fails to act at the earliest possible in resolving the Kashmir issue peacefully, its own credibility will continue to be at great risk. No words are strong enough to condemn ongoing lingering brutalities and oppression of Indian occupying security forces in Indian-held Kashmir, to deplore the lingering indifferent attitude of the international community towards bleeding Kashmir, being more interested in its trade and economic relations with the big country of India and also to continue availing every opportunity to remind the world body to wake up out of its deep slumber, realize its hitherto persistently ignored obligations towards oppressed and suppressed Kashmiris and force India to stop the ongoing killings of occupied territory and implement Security Council resolutions to which both India and Pakistan are signatories, and save its credibility which otherwise will continue to be at risk in the face of denial of all international laws by India.

Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

over the already divided Arab world, forever. To gain the support of Jews, in 1917, a statement known as the Balfour Declaration was issued by the British which was basically a public pledge to create ‘a national home for Jewish people’ in Palestine. And thus, from here onwards began the game of land between Israel and Palestine. Palestine came under the so-called mandate system after the fall of Ottoman empire created by the British and its allies which paved the way for colonization and occupation. The victors of World War I casually drew the borderlines in the Middle east with a ruler and established such fault lines that still create havoc in the Middle east and sharpen many ethnic and religious conflicts. The basic purpose of this mandate system was to transfer the power of defeated territories to the victors of the war to certify smooth administration, and governance until these states could become autonomous. however, in the case of Palestine, this was designed in a way to ensure Jewish rule and domination at the expense of Palestinians’ lives and homes. To fulfill its intended goal, the British started to expedite the Jewish immigration programmes to Palestine and in 1935 the Jewish population gradually rose to nearly 27 percent. After World War !!, the United Nations came up with a Partition Plan in 1947 where it proposed to divide Palestine into two halves, comprising of independent Arab and Jewish states with Jerusalem being an independent international entity under UN rule. The Arabs vehemently protested against it and the approval of this plan sparked violence and carnage in Palestine that became more prevalent with time. As the British mandate came to an end in May 1948, the State of Israel was officially established and with that, the long struggle to free Palestine from Israeli rule began. Israeli Independence and termination of British mandate led to a full-fledged war in 1948. The war resulted in the defeat of Palestinians and Arabs that caused the 1948 Palestinian exodus where nearly 700,000 Palestinian were forcefully evicted from their homes. Their lands were taken, more than 500

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villages were destroyed, and Palestinian history was erased with the hebraization of Palestinian place names. This exodus was the major component in the systematic destruction and ethnic cleansing of Palestinian society which is known as Nakba meaning disaster or catastrophe. Since then, many attempts have been made, such as in 1967 and 1973, to free Palestine from the rule of the tyrant Israelis, but unfortunately, the Arab support varies when it comes to the cause of Palestine. To this date, millions of Palestinians are robbed of their homes, their lands, their independence, and even their right to self-determination. Palestine is still not fully recognized as an independent state by many countries even though Israel is a settler colony which is forcefully occupying Palestinian lands and domains. It is time for the international community to recognize Israel as what it is— An Apartheid Colonial State. According to the human Rights Watch, Israel’s domination, its systematic oppression, and human rights violation against Palestinians point to the crimes of apartheid. The International Justice Court is also investigating Israel for its possible war crimes and illegal activities in Palestine. Nevertheless, the people in Gaza are still waking up with the sounds of bombs, crashing buildings, and cries of mothers. It is the responsibility of the international organizations, especially the UN, to ensure security, stability and peace in every region of the world. Unfortunately, the UN with its dilly dally attitude has failed in finding a solution to end the soaring violence in Palestine. So, while we sit safely with a hot cup of tea in our homes built on the lands that we proudly call our own without any fear of dispossession, think about the innocent Palestinians, especially little children who have nothing but rocks to defend themselves. The truce may give temporary relief, but where is the permanent solution? The writer can javnisar@yahoo.com

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

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Saturday, 22 May, 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

Palestine message

China and Pakistan: A Friendship Beyond Strategy A traditional friendship gains importance in the new cold war

dR RaJkuMaR siNgh

N today’s context the relationship between China and Pakistan has reached the stage of natural friendship and has surpassed all boundaries of formal linkages, found normally between two countries of the region or the globe. While Pakistan sees China as a potential safety against the Indian threat and a persistent supporter on Kashmir regionally and at global fora, Beijing views Pakistan as a gateway to the region, the Atlantic and the Indian Oceans, and also desires to use it as an economic and military corridor to reach the Middle east and Africa. In between the decades of diplomatic relations between the two since 1950, the People’s Republic of China has registered a tremendous growth in all sectors but especially in the economy, which is the second largest economy of the world and very closely chasing the USA, which it is likely to overtake in less than a decade. On the other hand, Russia’s understandings with China and Pakistan are also advancing, if not openly, against the Quad— a five -member alliance of maritime democratic states— the USA, Japan, Australia, India and South Africa, formed in 2007 against Chinese hegemony at a regional level in the Indian Ocean, South China Sea and to check any attempt to be a competitor of the USA, which has taken a rebirth after a decade of sleep, in 2017 on the initiation of the Japanese Prime Minister and which very recently concluded a summit via video conferencing on 12 March 2021. Now, the working of Quad has been symbolised as the anti-China front, meant to erect hindrances in Beijing’s growth and development. Thus, two rival groups have emerged, one led by the USA of Quad countries, while the other is piloted by China supported by Pakistan and Russia. In this new cold war the US and the China are the two frontal states, trying to mobilise the maximum states they can in their favour. At the time Pakistan was created as a result of the division of the Indian Subcontinent in 1947, in world politics it was the phase of Cold War between the two superpowers of the time, the USA and the USSR, which started just after

the end of World War II in 1945, while the Communist Party of China two years after Partition, on 1st October 1949, finally defeating its rivals, assumed power in Beijing. Pakistan and China set up their diplomatic relations on 21 May 1950 and maintained normal political, economic and defence relations for years and decades. As a mark of good understanding they resolved boundary issues in 1963, and formed strategic relations in 1972 after the creation of Bangladesh and enhanced economic co-operation in 1979. Over the years, China has become Pakistan’s largest suppliers of arms and its thirdlargest trading partner. earlier, when China exploded the first nuclear bomb of the region in 1964, and in response, India exiled its own in 1974, this part of the globe became fully nuclearised and from here initiated nuclear understanding between China and Pakistan. Although for a long time Pakistan remained associated with the USA through different treaties, such as SeATO and CeNTO, and got immense help in the form of aid and armaments from the USA, its relations with it declined with the disintegration of the USSR and consequently the launch of the US war against the terrorists in Afghanistan. In the context Pakistan’s increasing relations with China and India’s growing understandings with the USA might be a potential factor that can be ignored or overlooked. Gradually, while Chinese rivalry with the USA increased, the former approached near Pakistan and with New Delhi distanced from both Islamabad as well as Beijing paving the way for clear cut polarization in the region and at the global level and things began to go from bad to worse. In a nutshell, it makes no difference for China who rules Pakistan, a military dictator or an elected government. Beijing always remained ready for Islamabad like a great power and defended its interests in the region and beyond despite New Delhi’s reservations on several counts. Supporting each other on critical issues— China on Pakistan’s claim to Jammu and Kashmir and Islamabad’s unconditional backing to Beijing on Xinjiang, Tibet and Taiwan— multiplied their mutual understanding and interest as well. These ever-growing beneficial relations between the two paved the way for heavy and substantial Chinese investment in Pakistan. China

has always been a major trade partner and has given its co-operation in the field of military and technological transactions for the development of Pakistan’s economy and infrastructure. however, the biggest of all investments done was under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) scheme of China which started works on the China-Pakistan economic Corridor (CPeC) which has completely changed the whole situation. Now it will connect China with Pakistan and the Central Asian countries with a highway connecting Kashgar to Khunjerab and Gwadar Port in Southern Pakistan, from where Pakistan will serve as a trade node, and reduce the distance and Chinese cost in transportation through the Persian Gulf. In addition, under the plan of BRI, Beijing will invest a huge amount in textiles and garments, cement and building materials, fertilizers, agricultural technology, industrial parks and special economic zones. This close relationship, which includes a deep understanding on regional and global matters between China and Pakistan cast a long dark shadow on world politics and polarisation of nations in favour and against. The support that China and Pakistan give each other is considered significant in global diplomacy and has been compared to IsraelUSA relations and Russia-Serbia relations. Over the years and decades China has not only been successful in strengthening its relations with Pakistan, but has also gained the wide support of Pakistani people in comparison to the USA. According to surveys conducted in 2010, 2013 and thereafter, 80 to 90 percent of Pakistani people favoured China in place of the USA and a common quotation often referred to ChinaPakistan friendship is, ‘ A Friendship higher than the height of himalayas and deeper than the depth of the Arabian Sea’ and thus, in today’s context, Pakistan’s dependence on Western countries, especially the USA is lessening and heavily tilting to Beijing, ending the regional peace, causing instability and utting security at stake in coming years.

According to surveys conducted in 2010, 2013 and thereafter, 80 to 90 percent of Pakistani people favoured China in place of the USA and a common quotation often referred to China-Pakistan friendship is, ‘ A Friendship Higher than the Height of Himalayas and deeper than the depth of the Arabian Sea’ and thus, in today’s context, Pakistan’s dependence on Western countries, especially the USA is lessening and heavily tilting to Beijing

The writer is head of the political science department and dean of the Social Sciences faculty of the B.N.Mandal University, Madhepura, Bihar, India. He can be reached at rajkumarsinghpg@gmail.com

PRIMe Minister Imran Khan Friday said with the changing world public opinion, he was hopeful that Israel would soon fall under pressure of the global powers to grant equal rights to the oppressed Palestinian people. “I am seeing a welcoming change. What is that? The world public opinion is changing… This is for the first time that the voices raised from there (West). Their newspapers criticized it. Their media spoke against it. And politicians also stood against it which I never thought would happen in the United States and Western states,” the prime minister said in his televised message to the nation on Palestine situation. he said having spent plenty of time in the West, he never saw their newspapers, media and politicians criticizing Israel as the country had already been attacking Palestinians. Rather they all used to portray Israel as a victim, he added. Imran Khan said the social media was the major reason behind that change of world public opinion, which disseminated all the information which the mainstream media censored. As the country observed Palestine Solidarity Day on Friday, the prime minister paid gratitude to the countrymen, who took to streets in huge number to support the Palestinians and condemn the Israeli aggression. Imran Khan said since the creation of Israel, Pakistan remained stick to Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s stance that it was an injustice to the Palestinian people and supported them at every forum. Referring to the recent wave of Israeli aggression, the prime minister said he was at holy Prophet’s (Peace Be Upon him) Mosque (Masjid-e-Nabvi) in Madina Munawara when the Israeli forces attacked worshippers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the holy night of 27th Ramazan. Moreover, the Palestinian families were also evicted from their homes and the attack by the “world’s most powerful army” also left the Palestinian children killed, he added. Imran Khan said while being in Saudi Arabia, he met the Secretary General of Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and called for the OIC’s stand as well as taking the matter to the United Nations. Later, he said he also talked to Saudi King Salman, received calls from Turkish President Recep Tayyip erdogan and former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who called for taking the matter to the world body. During telephonic conversation with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the prime minister said, he had assured him of all-out support from Pakistan. The Muslim as well as other right minded world stood by them (Palestinians), he added. he said he assigned Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi to raise the issue at the United Nations as well as with the OIC and other Muslim world leaders, who did it effectively which was laudable. he said some 30 years ago, the world public opinion was changed when there had been racial bias against the Africans in South Africa with major powers also supporting the then South African government. But, he said, when the world public opinion changed, the same powers compelled the South African regime to grant equal rights to the Africans and Asians. “I am seeing the similar beginning. The world public opinion is changing. Insha Allah the world public opinion will force the big powers, who have so far been supporting Israel, to exert pressure for Palestinians’ equal rights. Insha Allah, the day will come when the Palestinian people will get their country, a just settlement, and will live as equal citizens as the Israelis do. We pray the day comes soon,” he said. Sohail ali Khan iSlamabad

Israeli atrocities ONe wonders where the saviors of human rights, champions of democracy, and the protectors of free speech disappear when it comes to one of the worst oppressors in the modern era? Israel is, as it did in the past, bombing densely populated areas in Gaza in the name of self-defense. It is destroying buildings, demolishing schools, breaking down water and sewage lines, and demolishing power lines on a daily basis. It recently destroyed a building that housed media houses including Al Jazeera. heavy bombing in densely populated civilian areas is caused massive causalities of innocent people including women and children. The world superpower, aka the US, witnessed this massacre and still is apologetic for the aggressor. President Biden, instead of leading the free world to stop Israel from its atrocities pledged unconditional support for Israel. The US president instead of condemning the barbaric actions of Israel spoke of the right to self-defense of the aggressor. The logic of the US and the so-called developed countries that the regime displaced Palestinians from their homeland and is indulged in the ethnic cleansing of Arabs from the occupied territories is beyond comprehension. Such statements are tantamount to instigating and enabling the aggressor further to embolden it to escalate its barbaric actions. The UN general assembly and the security council can’t do anything as the control lies with powers holding the veto right. Anything even remotely condemning Israel is vetoed by the US. Through such actions, the world powers have made the UN a toothless and useless body that is unable to follow through on its mandate. While countries like Pakistan and Turkey are working hard to convince the UN members to pressure Israel to stop the aggression against innocent people of Palestine. Raja Shafaatullah iSlamabad

Unemployment in Pakistan Unemployment is a serious issue which should be highlighted. Only in Pakistan, there are thousands of youths who are unemployed. Though, they have will to work, but unfortunately, they are jobless. There are numerous reasons behind unemployment: including over population, lack of skills, poor quality of education, and many more. But during the covid-19 pandemic, situation became worst, when all sort of businesses were closed. There were many who were left with no job. especially, in private sector, many of the employees lost their job because the industries were closed, and they had no income to pay their employees. If we look at the results of unemployment, then we would get some severe consequences. An unemployed person faces many issues. Such a person can go into depression and in some cases, people have committed suicide due to unemployment. It is also a cause of domestic violence. In 3rd world countries, unemployment has resulted into a high ratio of street crime. But this issue can be resolved. Government can play a vital role in this aspect. First of all, proper planning is needed. We should have a look at our education system and try to improve it. Jobs should be given at merit. Technical education should be encouraged. Agriculture sector should be developed. And multi-national companies should be encouraged, so that they invest in Pakistan and this step can produce thousands of jobs. fatEh Khan iSlamabad

Saturday, 22 May, 2021

08 WORLD VIEW

The GAzA cOnflicT hAs shOwn ThAT The Trump-neTAnyAhu pOlicy hAs uTTerly fAiled ALL THE PR OF THE ISRAELI ARMY CANNOT “COVER UP THE TRUTH: THE MILITARY HAS NO IDEA HOW TO PARALYSE HAMAS’S FORCES AND THROW IT OFF BALANCE

indePendent

PatRICK CoCKbURN

sRAEl and Hamas have ended their 11-day “war”, but even before the shooting stopped it had transformed the political landscape. the Israel/Palestinian confrontation has shifted away from focusing solely on Gaza to multiple fronts – Jerusalem, the West Bank, Israel itself– and an upsurge in any one of them could start a new round of violence. Events in Jerusalem ignited the present crisis and there is every chance that they will do so again. Far-right Israeli groups are intent on tightening their grip on the city and eliminating the Palestinian presence wherever they can. “the political temperature will stay high, simmering just below boiling point” says Daniel levy, a former Israeli diplomat and president of the Us/middle East Project. “Another flare-up in Jerusalem would make it boil over.” Israeli leaders had hoped that the cantonisation of the Palestinians – three million on the West Bank, two million each in Israel and Gaza, 300,000 in Jerusalem – would

fragment them politically as well as geographically. For a time, this strategy appeared to work, but over the last two weeks the crisis in one Palestinian canton has swiftly spread to the three others. Israeli police efforts to evict Palestinians from the sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of Jerusalem and their use of stun grenades and teargas in al-Aqsa mosque led to Hamas firing rocket barrages from Gaza. this in turn provoked protests by Palestinians in Israel on a larger scale than anything seen since the second intifada 20 years ago. on the West Bank, protesters poured into the streets in every town and the internationally recognised Palestinian Authority was mocked and marginalised. For all the empty talk about one- and two-state solutions to the Israel/Palestine problem, the outcome of the fourth war centred on Gaza proves that the area between the Jordan River and the mediterranean is a single political unit. What affects one part of it affects all the rest. the latest Gaza war showed that Israel does not have a viable military or political strategy for fighting or engaging with the Palestinians. Israeli generals and officials claim to have degraded the military infrastructure of Hamas, killed some of its commanders and destroyed part of its tunnel system. Israel was certainly surprised by Hamas firing 3,700 rockets into Israel, de-

spite being isolated in Gaza for 15 years. Even if Hamas proved to have a little more military muscle than expected, though, there is no doubting Israel’s superiority over the ill-equipped paramilitary force it faces in Gaza. But this superiority stubbornly refuses to produce victory or rather that Israel knows what such a victory would look like. It cannot realistically expect to eliminate Hamas and carry out regime change in Gaza without reoccupation, which would provoke even stronger Palestinian resistance. Keeping the Palestinians there under a state of permanent siege, the status quo for the last 15 years, has just been shown not to work. Claims of Israeli military success as justification for agreeing to a ceasefire are a smokescreen concealing Israeli failure to gain any real advantage from a bombardment that killed 232 Palestinians, including 65 children, but did little else. Israeli commentators are franker and better informed about this lack of success than their western counterparts. the editor-in-chief of the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz, Aluf Benn, calls the conflict just ended “Israel’s most failed and pointless Gaza operation ever”. He says that all the PR of the Israeli army cannot “cover up the truth: the military has no idea how to paralyse Hamas’s forces and throw it off balance. Destroying its tunnels with powerful bombs revealed Israel’s strategic capabilities without causing any substan-

Our responsibility to South Asia FUTURE GENERATIONS WILL REMEMBER WHAT THE WORLD DID, OR FAILED TO DO, IN THE FACE OF SOUTH ASIA'S DEVASTATING SECOND WAVE OF THE VIRUS Project Syndicate

KEVIN RUDD

lmost one-quarter of humanity lives on the Indian subcontinent. that fact is easily forgotten elsewhere, as world leaders focus on combating outbreaks of CoVID-19 and its new variants within their own countries. But when our descendants pass judgment on this moment in history, they won’t remember just the lockdowns, face masks, and vaccination programs. they will also remember India and its neighbors. they will remember how human remains have been found bloated and decomposing on the banks of the sacred River Ganges; how bodies had to be left in the heat outside crematoria, owing to a lack of wood for funerary pyres. they will remember how hospitals ran low on oxygen, medication, and hospital beds, while people lined up outside emergency departments and clinics begging for someone to save their loved ones. All of this will be seared in memory and history. Beyond inflicting agony on the sick, the coronavirus outbreak in the world’s most populous democracy is now robbing victims of their dignity in death, too. At the Asia society, we hear accounts almost daily from friends and colleagues who have lost their relatives. According to one member of our Asia 21 Young leaders network, “An uncle passed away last evening. Another the day before. A friend’s father last week. Everyone I know has someone they’ve lost.” there are already too many of these stories, and now this tragedy is spilling across India’s borders. In Nepal, where one out of every two citizens is testing positive for the virus, the hardship is multiplied by the fact that India is the country’s principal supplier of vaccines and oxygen; that supply line is now shut down. While these up-close images reveal an unfolding humanitarian calamity, the 30,000-foot perspective shows that things will only worsen as this deadly wave expands unchecked to rural areas of the subcontinent, where essential medical facilities are even scarcer. As fellow members of the human family, and as citizens of democracies that stand up for each other when help is required, we all need to act – governments, businesses, and private citizens. the quicker we do so, the more lives we might save. Helping south Asia is not only the right thing to do; it is also in our own self-interest. the rampant spread of the virus anywhere can create more deadly variants that threaten all of us. so, what can be done? start with vaccination: we need to put shots into at least a billion arms as fast as possible. to date, fewer than 10% of citizens in each south Asian country (with the exception of Bhutan) have received at least one vaccine dose, according to our World in

Data. We must pull new levers to speed things up. to that end, the rest of the world should join the United states and 100-plus other countries in backing a temporary World trade organization waiver of intellectual-property protections on vaccines. While not a silver bullet, this initiative, coupled with the removal of restrictions on related supplies and equipment, would help India’s sizable pharmaceutical industry to increase production, thereby reducing vaccine shortages domestically and in the region. It is also incumbent on countries with excess vaccine supplies – particularly those in the developed world – to share the wealth. Earlier in the pandemic, India set an example by sending more than 66 million doses of vaccines to 95 countries around the world when it could have vaccinated its own people more rapidly. It is time to return the favor. Equally important, more must be done to counter the scourge of misinformation. In an environment where fraudulent miracle cures are being propagated widely on social media, the world should help fund and support vaccine-literacy programs. Campaigns to increase the acceptance of masks, vaccines, social distancing, and other measures are needed especially in rural parts of the subcontinent, where complex sociocultural factors and linguistic diversity pose additional challenges. Finally, there is the problem of insufficient oxygen – canisters, concentrators, and tankers to transport them. of all the requests we have heard from our friends in the region, the plea for more oxygen has been the most urgent. India has only around 1,600 cryogenic tankers capable of transporting oxygen from production facilities to hospitals. And that includes the tankers it already supplied to Nepal, which itself has such a paucity of oxygen canisters that it is now asking mountaineers returning from mount Everest to donate their empty ones. shipping cryogenic tankers and oxygen canisters to south Asia will help save the lives of those threatened by the shortage, rather than by CoVID-19 itself. Here, developed countries with ample production capacity can help in ways that local nongovernmental organizations cannot – and help they must. Ultimately, this pandemic, and the legacy of our global response, belongs to all of us. Each generation is confronted by challenges great and small, and this one is ours. Unless we can truly protect people everywhere by arresting the virus and slowing its mutations, we may find ourselves facing the prospect of a permanent pandemic. Kevin Rudd, a former prime minister of Australia (2007-10, and 2013), is a member of the International Monetary Fund’s External Advisory Group, Chair of the United Nation’s Global Partnership on Sanitation and Water for All, and President of the Asia Society.

tive damage to the enemy’s fighting abilities.” many states have faced similar frustration when fighting a so-called asymmetric war against a militarily inferior but undefeatable opponent. this happened to Britain in Northern Ireland between 1968 and 1998. the sensible response of a government that fails to get its way by physical force is to seek political engagement with the other side to work out a compromise. But this is precisely what the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his political partners cannot do. For almost a quarter of a century, his strategy since he was first elected Israeli leader in 1997 has been to argue that Israel can have a permanent peace without compromising with the Palestinians. this view, dominant from the centre left to the hard right, held that the Palestinians had been decisively defeated and there was no need to concede anything to them. With President Donald trump giving total support to this maximalist position during his four years in the White House, many Israelis were persuaded that Netanyahu had been right. Gaza looked as if it had been successfully sealed off, the West Bank broken up into Palestinian Bantustans and expanding Israeli settlements, Jerusalem was encircled from without and increasingly de-Palestinianised from within, while the Palestinians in Israel remained an embittered but impotent minority. Arab states were normalising rela-

tions with Israel and the Palestinian Question no longer figured on the international agenda. It was all a mirage. the latest war in Gaza may look like the three previous ones in 2008-09, 2012 and 2014, but it is far more important because the Netanyahu/trump policy has collapsed and there is nothing much to put in its place. the old Israel/Palestinian crisis is back and is more envenomed and widespread than before. An ominous new feature of it is Palestinians in Israel taking to the streets to demand equality and an end to discrimination. Israeli settlers from the West Bank have been coming back to Israel to lead anti-Palestinian demonstrations within mixed Jewish/Palestinian towns and cities. such developments do not mean that the balance of power between Israel and the Palestinians has abruptly skewed in favour of the latter. on the contrary, one of the problems in convincing Israelis at every level that they should engage with the Palestinians is that they do not believe they need to. Hamas may have been energised and the Palestinian Authority further discredited by the latest conflict war, but there is an overall vacuum of Palestinian leadership and organisation. this is not quite such a crippling disadvantage as it might appear since Palestinian political movements have a long tradition of prioritising their grip on power over everything else. the ceasefire that came into force between Israel and Hamas early on Friday morning ushers in a period of enhanced instability. Daniel levy sees Israel as being in a state of permanent crisis because it has no military solution to Gaza/Hamas while its right-wing leaders are blocked off by ideological fixations from seeking to open up diplomatic and political options. the idea of weakening the Palestinians by fragmenting them has turned out to be counterproductive. Israeli leaders will now have to cope with four different variants of the Israel/Palestinian crisis, each of which may, like the coronavirus, become the dominant strain and detonate a new explosion.

An Afghanistan at peace could connect south and central Asia PAKISTAN COULD LEVERAGE ITS STRONG AGRICULTURE SECTOR TO PROVIDE SHORT-TERM FOOD RELIEF TO TURKMENISTAN new atlanticiSt

EmIly CaRll

VER the past forty years of conflicts, Afghanistan’s potential as a contributor to development and prosperity in Asia has gone unrealized. If it were a stable neighbor, as the current Afghan peace process is meant to make it, Afghanistan could harness its potential as the “heart of Asia” and connect the south and Central Asian regions. the five Central Asian countries have been isolated to the south by war-torn Afghanistan, to the east by rough terrain with nearly impassable mountains, and to the west by Iran, making engagement with south Asia both implausible and difficult. And though connecting the regions completely would be a lengthy process requiring the expansion and improvement of infrastructure across Afghanistan, achieving it would unlock opportunities for all: for Afghanistan, building infrastructure to integrate the regions would stimulate the country’s fragile economy; and for south and Central Asia countries, doing so would not only increase regional engagement but also serve their economic interests and open up access to new markets. such infrastructure would increase trade and the flow of people and ideas between both regions—and the additional flow would stimulate innovation, job creation, and economic growth. Regional connectivity is also crucial to harnessing the economic potential of south and Central Asia’s youth bulge; the median age in both regions is 27.6 years old. Given these potential benefits, south and Central Asian countries have a strong incentive to partner in support of a

stable, peaceful, and democratic Afghanistan. Energy infrastructure projects are already underway to connect the regions: the Central Asia-south Asia Electricity transmission Project will send surplus hydropower in Central Asia to communities in south Asia, while the turkmenistan-AfghanistanPakistan Power Interconnection Project will help support power trade among the parties and the turkmenistanAfghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline will run gas throughout the participating countries. A more comprehensive project, the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Program, brought together eleven countries across Central, south, and East Asia to promote development. But new road and railway infrastructure will be essential to open corridors and maximize the benefits of regional connectivity. All five Central Asian countries are landlocked and, in a geographical sense, partially surrounded by two major powers: Russia and China. Economically, too, Central Asia is surrounded: Russia and China tend to dominate the region’s imports and exports. Creating land corridors through Afghanistan would give the Central Asian countries access to Iran in one direction and to Pakistan, India, and the greater Indo-Pacific region in another. Doing so would also provide Central Asia with alternatives to its inefficient and expensive routes through China to access the global market and overcome both its isolation and its dependence on Russia and China. Regional connectivity would also help restart Afghanistan’s fragile economy, most notably by connecting Afghanistan to the region’s largest market in India. Improved infrastructure would offer countries the opportunity to trade an array of goods via land routes that are more cost efficient than existing air routes. the economic

links that come with new infrastructure would also encourage south and Central Asian countries to engage with Afghanistan through both the public and private sectors. Private-sector engagement could increase investment in Afghanistan, while public-sector engagement could encourage governments to incorporate Afghanistan into regional programming and multilateral initiatives such as the Us-Central Asia platform C5+1. Pakistan, too, would benefit from a peaceful Afghanistan. A direct land route to Central Asia through Afghanistan would provide Pakistan a more efficient and convenient alternative to its current routes through Iran or China. With this connection, Pakistan would be able to access new markets for its goods and strengthen ties with its muslim-majority neighbors— two opportunities that are key to fulfilling a pillar of its 2025 vision, which aims to modernize transportation infrastructure and greater regional connectivity, along with the country’s goal of refocusing its foreign policy around geoeconomics. Pakistan could, for instance, leverage its strong agriculture sector to provide short-term food relief to turkmenistan, where the CoVID19 pandemic has exacerbated an existing food crisis. this exchange would lay the foundations for a long-term partnership. Afghanistan can leverage its strategic geopolitical position to not only begin to rebuild its economy but also to help the region achieve greater prosperity. Yet that only underscores the need for countries in the region to prioritize the task of crafting consensus for peace in Afghanistan, a necessary condition to harness this untapped potential. Emily Carll is a project assistant at the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center.

Saturday, 22 May, 2021

BUSINESS 09

ISLAMABAD FBR confiscates over two million illegal cigarettes worth Rs6.4mn ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) Inland Revenue Enforcement Network (IREN) Squad has confiscated over two million cigarette sticks of various brands in Jhelum as well as Peshawar. According to officials, the IREN squad of Regional Tax Office, Rawalpindi, in a major counter-evasion operation, has seized one truck bearing registration number 6746 which was illegally transporting non-tax paid counterfeit cigarettes of various brands, including Gold Cup brand, for supply into the local market. The trucks were loaded with 110 cartons of cigarettes having 1.1 million sticks, with a market value of Rs3.4million accounting for unpaid duties and taxes at Rs2.3 million. The IREN squad conducted the operation on May 20, 2021 at Dina Bypass, Jhelum. It was reported by FBR’s Rawalpindi regional tax office that these counterfeit cigarette brands were manufactured in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), and then transported across into Pakistani markets without payment of duties and taxes. IREN squad of the RTO Peshawar also conducted a successful operation on the same day in Peshawar and confiscated 95 packarites of non-tax paid counterfeit cigarettes of various brands having 950,000 sticks. The market value of the seized cigarettes comes to Rs3.001 million involving unpaid duties and taxes at Rs2.003 million. Member Inland Revenue Operations Dr Muhammad Ashfaq Ahmed appreciated chief commissioners of Rawalpindi and Peshawar RTOs for their efforts and enforcement drive to curb movement of illicit cigarettes on the roads. The members of the raiding squads were also encouraged by the member IR to continue working with full commitment and integrity. STAFF REPORT

Audit finds irregularities in ADB-funded projects in KP PESHAWAR: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has expressed grave concerns over a recent audit by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) auditor general that highlighted irregularities in the ADB-funded projects of the provincial government. The auditor general has raised objections over Rs260.84 million expended on the ongoing projects of urban development. The ADB has requested the KP Local Government Department to contact the auditor general to resolve the issues. ADB Urban Development and Water Division Director Yong Yi has written a letter to the project director, asking him to immediately contact the Local Government Department and convene a joint meeting to resolve objections. The ADB has sought the progress report from the project director by May 31 through the Local Government secretary. According to the auditor general’s report, 10 audit objections have been raised which include an objection that sales tax on services had not been collected while paying consultants, which has resulted in withdrawal of Rs10.19 million. Similarly, an audit objection of Rs20.65 million has been raised for delay in completion of the project and delivery of goods from the consultant. According to the report, an objection of Rs70.95 million was raised for making unauthorised payment to consultants. The report noted that Rs3.2 million had been "illegally" transferred to the project director's account while audit objections of Rs40.80 million have been raised due to slow utilisation of funds and non-achievement of set targets. Further objections include irregularities over Rs2 million as rental building expenses, Rs3.3 million for unfairly paying an individual consultant for a vehicle and payment of Rs4.4 million for an ineligible person as a financial management specialist. The report said that additional payment of salaries and allowances to the persons involved in the project had also caused a loss of Rs3.3 million to the exchequer. It is pertinent to note that objections have been raised over the largest loan provided by ADB to KP in history of the provincial government for projects which were started in five major cities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Therefore, the objections, if not resolved amicably, would taint the confidence of the funder. AZIZ BUNERI

BALAKOt hyDROPOweR PROjeCt tO imPROve eneRGy seCuRity: OmAR ISLAMABAD

STAFF REPORT

INISTER for Economic Affairs Omar Ayub Khan has said that Balakot hydropower project will not only help unleash hydropower potential of the country but will also improve energy security by increasing clean and affordable energy share in the country’s energy mix. Omar said this on Friday while addressing the ceremony of signing of financing agreement of the project. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan also witnessed the signing of financing agreement of the project amounting to US$ 300 million. The loan agreement was signed by Secretary Economic Affairs Division Noor Ahmed and Cleo Kawawaki, acting country director, ADB. Omar said that this run-of-river hydropower project will be constructed on Kunhar River in district Mansehra and it will generate 300 megawatt electricity. “The government is working on a renewable energy policy to harness immense potential in solar, wind and hydel resources and have good opportunities for investments”, he added. The minister appreciated the ADB’s valuable support for financing this highly

important project. Speaking on the occasion, KP Chief Minister Khan reiterated that the provincial government is working on development of hydropower potential of the province on a fast-track basis. He mentioned that the Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf government is already making huge investments in development of various hydro sites in the province. He said that Balakot Hydropower project will provide livelihood by pro-

viding more than 1,200 jobs during the construction of the project in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Once completed, this hydropower project will provide reliable and cheap energy to the national grid. It will also improve provincial revenues streams for the provincial government and boost economic activities in the country, he added. “This project shows the strong commitment of the PTI government to address the challenges of climate

ECC directs ministries to expedite signing new PPA with K-Electric ISLAMABAD SHAHZAD PARACHA

The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet on Friday directed the ministries concerned to expedite the signing of a new Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with K-Electric. The meeting of ECC was held under the chair of federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin. The federal minister for planning and energy updated the forum about the principles agreed between the federal government and the K-Electric to resolve most of their long-standing issues regarding additional supply and payment procedures during the last meeting. The ECC appreciated the efforts made by all concerned and directed to expedite the signing of the new PPA for better payment mechanism and uninterrupted power supply to Karachi. The ECC also accorded approval for settlement of issues out of past transactions through arbitration. The energy minister said that a new PPA would be signed with the K-Electric soon. Meanwhile, Special Assistant

to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection Dr Sania Nishtar presented a summary regarding allocation of funds for launching the second phase of Ehsaas Emergency Cash (EEC) programme. It was proposed that the number of regular Ehsaas Kafalat beneficiaries would be increased and additional beneficiaries would be added (after identification through ongoing NSER) to mitigate economic hardships amid COVID-19 pandemic during the second phase of EEC. After due deliberations, the ECC recommended the Ehsaas programme to evaluate whether the new NSER survey targets those sectors which have been adversely affected due to smart and micro lockdowns during COVID-19 and present an updated proposal before the committee. The underlying rationale is to provide targeted subsidies to support the most vulnerable segments of the society during the third wave of the pandemic. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) presented a summary regarding “Refinance and Credit Guarantee Scheme for Collateral

Free Lending to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)” to facilitate SMEs which do not have collateral to get financing from banks. The proposed scheme will enable the SBP to partner with selected banks through a transparent procedure and provide collateral free financing to SMEs to promote sustainable economic growth and development in the country. The ECC also approved the summary and directed the SBP to develop a comprehensive monitoring mechanism with clear-cut benchmarks for effective performance evaluation of the scheme. Secretary Power placed a summary before the Committee for allocation of 3.0 MMCFD gas from well NF Hor-1 (RE) to M/S PPL, for a period of two years, for sale to any third party selected through a competitive bidding process at a mutually agreed and negotiated price under a Gas Sale and Purchase Agreement (GSPA). The ECC considered and approved the summary with a direction that such summaries may be dealt at the level of the concerned ministry/division after fulfilling all codal formalities.

change through development of clean and renewable energy in line with the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan”, the chief minister said. ADB Director General Eugene Zhukov assured of the banks’ continued support to help Pakistan diversify its energy sources, increase energy security through renewable and affordable energy mix and implement critical economic reforms. The director general thanked the minister for economic affairs and reiterated ADB’s commitment to further strengthen and expand its partnership with Pakistan in the priority sector for socioeconomic development of the country. It is worth mentioning here that the total cost of this project is $755 million out of which ADB has committed to provide $300 million while AIIB will provide $280 million. For this project, ADB is providing financing at highly concessional rates i.e. LIBOR (6month) + 0.5 percent per annum (currently 0.7 percent per annum) for a period of 27-years including a grace period of 7-years. The Energy & Power Department of KP will be the executing agency while Pakhtunkhwa Energy Department Organisation will be the implementing agency for the project which is expected to be commissioned by 2026.

Divestment of govt shares in PPL, OGDCL halted till settlement of circular debt ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

The Cabinet Committee on Privatization (CCoP) has stopped the Divestment of government’s shares in Pakistan LNG Limited (PPL) and Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) till the settlement of circular debt. The meeting of CCoP was held with Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin in the chair. The CCoP considered a summary presented by the Petroleum Division secretary. The forum approved the proposal of the ministry indicating that divestment of shares was not feasible at this stage and should be considered only once issues like circular debt were resolved, even partially; thereafter, strategic sale to a reputable Exploration & Development (E&P) company would be a preferred option. The Privatisation Division also tabled a summary, based on a recommendation of the Privatization Commission Board, regarding provision of funds for hiring of a Financial Advisory Consortium (FAC) of international repute having pertinent experience in the technical, financial, legal and regulatory fields to conduct the transaction of DISCOs and for carrying out an effective communication strategy effectively.

PAC moves to investigate Rs26bn scandal at National Bank ISLAMABAD SHAHZAD PARACHA

Amid a heated debate over the power of Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) to audit National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Parliament has taken notice of the Rs26 billion scandal at the NBP and has ordered Ministry of Finance (MoF) and the bank’s management to furnish relevant records. At a committee meeting held with Rana Tanveer Hussain of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in the chair, Public Accounts Committee discussed matters related to the the audit of the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and NBP. The committee chairman informed the members about the Rs26 billion controversial procurement contract awarded by NBP and the subsequent letter by Transparency International Pakistan (TIP) to the finance minister urging an investigation into the matter. Reprimanding the NBP Board of Direc-

tors Chairman Zubair Soomro, Tanveer inquired how the bank resorted to the court against the committee's decision. National Bank has freezed out the Public Accounts Committee from getting its accounts audited by the AGP since 2012 after the bank filed a case with the Sindh High Court. “This is an insult to the Parliament,” Tanveer said at the recent meeting of the committee. “The Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) can conduct audits of each government institution,” the PAC chairman noted, also questioning whether the board of the bank was above the constitution. The PAC chairman also warned that the committee could ask the government to dissolve the board of the National Bank. NBP Board of Directors Chairman Zubair Soomro informed the committee that the bank was not obligated to get its audit done by AGP. “The government does not provide funds to NBP and under the 18th amendment, only the departments which are funded by the government are bound to get an audit of their

accounts from AGP,” he added. The Ministry of Finance (MoF) on this occasion supported the PAC point of view that the constitution and laws were very clear that gave the AGP the power to conduct audits of each government department. Noor Alam Khan, the member of the committee, said that the PM should be apprised of the situation as departments including Supreme Court and Law Ministry were in favour of an audit, therefore, the NBP could not refuse. Riaz Fatyana, another member of the committee, said that if the bank’s board does not accept the plea, then the finance ministry should dissolve the board. Committee member Syed Mushahid Hussain further asked the NBP management to withdraw its case from the Sindh High Court (SHC). PAC chairman on the occasion directed the Finance Ministry to write a letter to the National Bank to withdraw the petition filed in the court against the decision of the committee, or else the committee would take ac-

CMYK

tion under criminal code. The chair also sought reports from NBP pertaining to audits which were done from the private chartered accountant firms. The scandal and TIP’s letter to Finance Minister Tarin On May 19, Transparent International Pakistan requested Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin to examine the allegations against NBP in a case pertaining to the violation of PPRA rules. In its letter, the TIP highlighted the alleged violation of PPRA Rules, 2004 in awarding a contract worth approximately Rs26 billion for scanning and indexing of documents to a single bidder. According to documents seen by Profit, the NBP invited tenders for Document Management System (DMS) in August, 2018, which received eight bids on November 17 whereas bids were opened on the same day. The bank then posted the evaluation report on PPRA’s website after a lapse of 19 months, on June 15, 2020. Three out of eight bidders did not submit

bids while four were disqualified with the justification that they did not conform to the specified requirements, after which a single bid of M/s A.S C. First Solution Pvt. Ltd. was declared as the lowest evaluated bidder. The bidder quoted Rs0.95 for scanning, Rs2.I5 for indexing; Rs115 to cover the cost of a box with seal, Rs30 cost of transferring to the warehouse; Rs19.50 per box as storage rental and Rs75 for retrieval. The total cost of the contract has not been declared, but is estimated around Rs26 billion for all 1,450 branches of NBP based on medium-sized branches generating over 100,000 documents including cheques in a five year period. TIP has alleged that prima facie, NBP, has violated the PPRA rules 26, 35 and 47 and awarded a contract to a single bidder, adding that undeclared total evaluated cost in the evaluation report is proof of collusion under PPRA Rule 2(f) is dubious. The civil society organisation has said that the contract must be cancelled if the bank is found guilty.

Saturday, 22 May, 2021

10 FOREIGN NEWS

ISLAMABAD

Covid fight Could return ‘to square one’: experts sound vaCCines alarm

AGENCIES

NDIA'S export ban on Covid-19 shots risks dragging the battle against the pandemic "back to square one" unless wealthy nations step in to plug a gaping hole in the Covax global vaccine-sharing scheme, health specialists said on Thursday. Covax, which is critical for poorer countries, relies on AstraZeneca shots made by the Serum Institute of India, the world's biggest maker of vaccines. It was already around 100 million doses short of where it had planned to be when India halted exports a month ago amid a surge in infections there. Rich countries with plentiful Covid-19 vaccine stocks must now share them immediately, at scale, the global experts said, otherwise the pandemic could be prolonged as the world struggles to contain a virus that is continuing to spread and mutate. "It is a huge concern," said Anna Marriott, health policy manager at the global charity Oxfam. She and others said it was imperative that wealthy countries and regions make good on their rhetoric and share excess vaccines now. "The current approach that relies on a few pharma monopolies and a trickle of charity through COVAX is failing - and peo-

COVAX, WHICH IS CRITICAL FOR POORER COUNTRIES, RELIES ON ASTRAZENECA SHOTS MADE BY THE SERUM INSTITUTE OF INDIA ple are dying as a result." Reuters reported on Tuesday that India is extending its ban, meaning it is now unlikely to resume major exports before October. Will Hall, global policy manager for the Wellcome global health trust, said COVAX's heavy reliance on the Serum Institute left it vulnerable. India's extension of its export ban made it even more crucial for rich countries to share doses via the scheme, he said, "not in six months' time, not in a month's time, but now". "We're not going to beat this virus unless we think and act globally," he added. "We all should be concerned about this – the more the virus continues to spread, the greater the risk of it mutating to a stage where our vaccines and treatments no longer work. If that happens we're back to square one." A highly transmissible new variant of the novel coronavirus first identified in India has spread to several countries around the world.

iaf pilot killed in mig-21 Crash in india’s punjab state NEW DEHLI: A pilot of the Indian Air Force (IAF) was killed after a MiG-21 aircraft crashed in India’s Punjab state in the wee hours, Friday. According to Kashmir Media Service, the incident took place around 1 am on Friday when the Mig-21 of the IAF crashed at Langiana Khurd village of Baghapurana in Moga area of Punjab. The slain has been identified as Air force Squadron leader, Abhinav Choudhary. The Indian aircraft was on a routine training sortie when the accident happened at Moga area of the state, the IAF said. "There was an aircraft accident last night involving a Bison aircraft of IAF in the western sector. The pilot, Squadron leader, Abhinav Choudhary, sustained fatal injuries," IAF tweeted. "IAF condoles the tragic loss and stands firmly with the bereaved family," it said. The IAF further said, "A Court of Inquiry (COI) has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident involving a Bison aircraft of IAF in the western sector. AGENCIES

49 bodies found, 26 more missing 4 days after CyClone tauktae sank barge off mumbai Coast NEW DELHI: A total of 49 bodies have been found in the Arabian Sea near the spot where the ill-fated barge ‘P305’ sunk on the night intervening May 17 and May 18 as Cyclone Tauktae ravaged past India’s western coast. After more than three days of search by the Indian Navy and Coast Guard in extreme sea conditions, 26 persons, who were on the barge, are still missing at sea. Hopes of finding any more survivors are slim. The search will continue for now as the sea is known to throw up miraculous survivors even days after accidents, media reports said. Legally, those missing cannot be presumed dead till there is evidence to support it. Such a search at sea is normally not called off for a few weeks. After a long search a certification has to be done, saying the missing persons are presumed dead. This certification is needed for paperwork by the families to seek compensations and insurances etc. Of the 261 persons on the ill-fated barge, 186 have been rescued from the sea and brought back to shore in batches. All those who have been rescued had jumped off the barge as it sank. All were wearing self-illuminating life-jackets that have a special ‘prop’ to keep a person’s head above water. The sunken barge was working at the Heera oil rig part of the Bombay High oil rigs 70 kms south-west of Mumbai. The government has ordered a probe asking a high-level committee to probe the sequence of events that led to the stranding of so many barges and ships. The committee will probe the sequence of events leading to the stranding and drifting of these vessels, and subsequent events, warnings issued by Meteorological Department and other authorities were adequately considered and acted upon and standard operating procedures for securing theses were adequately followed. AGENCIES

'VERY FEW OPTIONS': Covax aims to get vaccines to at least 20% of the populations of the more-than 90 low and middleincome countries signed up to receive the shots as donations. It has so far distributed about 65 million doses of mainly the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, many of them to Africa. A spokeswoman for the GAVI vaccines alliance, which co-leads Covax, said the facility was working hard to make up supplies. "We're trying to find different ways of making sure that those countries that have received the first dose are able to also receive a second dose and that vaccinations can continue," she told Reuters. "What we need right now, to meet the immediate needs, is dose sharing." The United States said on Wednesday it would share a total of 20 million doses of Pfizer's, Moderna's and Johnson & Johnson's vaccines by the end of June, donating a sig-

nificant amount via Covax, on top of 60 million AstraZeneca shots it had already planned to give to other countries. EU trade commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said this week that the bloc was working to significantly ramp up vaccine donations through Covax in the second half of 2021. Vaccine sharing announced by EU member states has so far amounted to 11.1 million vaccines, he said, of which 9 million are being shared via Covax. Britain, meanwhile, will have enough surplus doses to fully vaccinate at least 50 million people in poorer countries once

Chernobyl's inaccessible nuclear chamber is smoldering again AGENCIES Scientists have recorded a rise in nuclear activity in the destroyed nuclear reactor at the Chernobyl power plant in Ukraine since it was covered over in 2017, but the rise has leveled off and does not exceed safety standards, staff said. Staff at the plant said the rise in "neutron flux density", which if significant could indicate an uncontrolled nuclear reaction, did not pose a threat of such an event based on their mathematical models. High levels of radiation and damage mean it is not possible to determine precisely the situation under the destroyed block. Chinese scientists develop gene therapy which could delay ageing "After the establishment of a new safe confinement which has been in the designed position for more than four years, an increase in the neutron flux density is actually observed," scientists at Ukraine's Institute For Safety Problems Of Nuclear Power Plants said in a statement. "At present, the readings of the sensors in all rooms have stable values without an upward trend. The current levels do not pose a threat of a self-sustaining chain reaction," the Chernobyl plant said in a separate statement. The fourth rector at Chernobyl, 108 km north of the capital Kyiv, exploded in April 1986 during a botched safety test, in the world's worst nuclear accident. Clouds of radiation were sent out across much of Europe, and tens of thousands

SCIENTISTS HAVE RECORDED A RISE IN NUCLEAR ACTIVITY IN THE DESTROYED NUCLEAR REACTOR AT THE CHERNOBYL POWER PLANT of people were forced to evacuate. Scientists say the increase in neutron flux was recorded in a unit that nuclear fuel from the destroyed reactor had got into, possibly during the installation of a new shelter over the reactor. Scientists at Ukraine's Institute For Safety Problems Of Nuclear Power Plants said that before work on installing the new shelter began in late 2016, fuel was cooled by rainwater, which had since disappeared. "Based on predictive estimates, it is expected that in the future there will be an increase in the neutron flux density, which will be determined by the process of moisture loss," they said in a statement. "Current experimental data has confirmed this scientific hypothesis," they said, adding that they were carefully studying and monitoring the damaged unit.

‘Share dollars and doses’: rich world tries to tackle vaccine inequalities AGENCIES Major drugmakers and rich nation leaders faced up on Friday to the startling global imbalance in fighting Covid-19 and made big pledges to up supplies of cut-price vaccines to poorer regions. Lavishly-funded mass inoculation campaigns are helping the West and others slash infections, but few shots have reached poorer nations where the virus is still raging, sometimes uncontrollably, drawing accusations of "vaccine apartheid". More than 80% of the first billion shots went to wealthy countries, compared to just 0.2% for low-income nations, U.S. philanthropist Bill Gates told a special Group of 20 summit focussing on the global health crisis. "If we do not close this immense gap, more people will die needlessly. There are two immediate actions countries can take: share dollars and doses," he said. The summit was to call for voluntary licensing and technology transfers to boost vaccine production, but will sidestep a push from the United States and other nations to waive valuable patents, a joint declaration showed. The European Union promised to invest 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) to set up vaccination manufacturing hubs in Africa. At the Italian- and EU-hosted virtual summit, Pfizer) and BioNTech also pledged to make available 1 billion cutprice doses this year to poorer nations. Another 1 billion vaccines would be provided next year, Pfizer boss Albert Bourla told the summit. Johnson & Johnson promised 200 million doses of its vaccine to COVAX, a vaccine-sharing programme co-led by

the World Health Organization (WHO). "As we prepare for the next pandemic, our priority must be to ensure that we all overcome the current one together. We must vaccinate the world, and do it fast," Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said. CHINA PLEDGES BILLIONS: China’s President Xi Jinping pledged $3 billion in aid over the next three years to help developing countries recover from the pandemic and proposed setting up an international forum to promote fair distribution of vaccines. U.S. President Joe Biden was not among the speakers, organisers said. His administration has backed calls from many developing countries for a waiver of patents for Covid-19 vaccines, in the hope that would boost production and allow for more equitable distribution. However, the final declaration seen by Reuters did not mention such a mechanism. It has been contested by some European nations, who have instead called for the removal of U.S. trade barriers that they consider the main bottleneck preventing a ramping up of vaccine production. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said existing global agreements already allowed countries to force companies to share their licences in an emergency. She added that the EU will make a proposal to facilitate the use of those clauses and added that Europe would donate at least 100 million doses to poorer nations by the end of the year, including 30 million each from France and Germany. In their declaration, the world leaders noted the importance of the so-called ACT-Accelerator, a tool of the WHO to distribute Covid-19 vaccines, drugs and tests across the world.

every adult at home has been fully vaccinated, according to analysis by UNICEF's UK office last week. The GAVI spokeswoman said Covax's reliance on the Serum Institute was based, largely, on its vast production capacity, ability to deliver at low cost and on assurances that it would be able to produce the millions of doses needed at speed. "It always was Covax's plan to grow and diversify its portfolio to 10-12 vaccines but at the start of the year when approved vaccines were only slowly coming online, we had very few options available to us," she said.

Facebook rating drops to 2.6 on Google Play Store AGENCIES Facebook's rating dropped from 4.0 to 2.6. on Google Play Store after people boycotted the world's most popular social media site for flagging and deleting posts protesting against Israeli military aggression against Palestinians. The Facebook app now has a rating of 2.5 on the Google Play store and a 2.4 rating on Apple’s App store. Many users took to their social media handles to protest against the flagging of their posts and urged others to rate the app 1 star to keep the rating going down. One user shared a screen recording of showing how his Palestinerelated posts and hashtags keep getting deleted from the platform. Last week, BuzzFeed News reported that Facebookowned Instagram had mistakenly removed content about al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem where Israeli security police clashed with worshippers. The Thomson Reuters Foundation also reported that Instagram and Twitter had blamed glitches for the deletion of posts mentioning the possible eviction of Palestinians from East Jerusalem. Facebook has banned Hamas from its platform and removes content praising the group regarded by Israel, the United States, and the European Union as a terrorist group. Facebook deploys special team as Israel-Gaza conflict spreads across social media Palestinian ambassador to the UK Husam Zomlot recently met with Ebele Okobi, Facebook’s Director of Public Policy, to voice his concerns over the censorship of Palestinian posts and accounts, while on the contrary letting content related Israeli suppression run across their platforms, reports TRT World. AGENCIES

South Korea approves Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine South Korea on Friday approved Moderna Inc's Covid-19 vaccine, as the country attempts to speed up its inoculation efforts, drug safety minister Kim Ganglip told a news conference. The green light comes after two of three expert panels recommended approval be granted for the two-dose vaccine based on safety and efficacy in late-stage trials in the United States. Moderna is the fourth Covid-19 vaccine to be approved in South Korea, following doses developed by AstraZeneca Plc, Pfizer Inc and Johnson & Johnson, said Kim. Moderna has a deal with South Korea to supply 40 million doses of its vaccine, although the shipment timeline is yet to be announced. South Korean drugmaker GC Pharma is in charge of the import and local distribution of the Moderna vaccine, while there were media reports about a plan by Samsung BioLogics Co Ltd to produce the shots locally. AGENCIES

Saturday, 22 May, 2021

SPORTS 11

ISLAMABAD

TOkyO OlympicS will gO aHead even under STaTe OF emergency: iOc vp TOKYO

AGENCIES

HE IOC vice president in charge of the postponed Tokyo Olympics said Friday the games would open in just over two months even if the city and other parts of Japan were under a state of emergency because of rising Covid-19 cases. John Coates, speaking from Australia in a virtual news conference with Tokyo organizers at the end of three days of meetings, said this would be the case even if local medical experts advised against holding the Olympics. “The advice we have from the WHO (World Health Organization) and all other scientific and medical advice that we have is that — all the measures we have outlined, all of those measures that we are undertaking are satisfactory and will ensure a safe and secure games in terms of health,” Coates said. “And that’s the case whether there is a state of emergency or not.” Public opinion is Japan has been running at 60-80 percent against opening the Olympics on July 23, depending on how the question is phrased. Coates suggested public opinion might improve as more Japanese get fully vaccinated. That figure is now about 2 percent. “If it doesn’t then our position is that we have to make sure that we get on with our job,” Coates said. “And our job is to ensure these games are safe for all the participants and all the people of Japan.” IOC officials say they expect more than 80 percent of the residents of the Olympic Village, located on Tokyo Bay, to be vacci-

nated and be largely cut off from contact with the public. About 11,000 Olympic and 4,400 Paralympic athletes are expected to attend. Coates said about 80 percent of spots in the Olympics would be awarded from qualifying events, with 20 percent coming from rankings. Coates left no doubt that the Switzerland-based International Olympic Committee believes the Tokyo Games will happen. The IOC gets almost 75 percent of its income from selling broadcast rights, a key driver in pushing on. And Tokyo has officially spent $15.4 billion to organise the Olympics, though a government audits sug-

gests the real number is much higher. Tokyo, Osaka and several other prefectures are currently under a state of emergency and health-care systems are being stretched. Emergency measures are scheduled to end on May 31, but they are likely to be extended. “If the current situation continues, I hope the government will have the wisdom not to end the emergency at the end of May,” Haruo Ozaki, head of the Tokyo Medical Association, told the weekly magazine Aera. Ozaki has consistently said government measures to control the spread of Covid-19 have been insufficient. About 12,000 deaths in Japan have been attributed

to the virus, and the situation is exacerbated since so few in Japan have been fully vaccinated. Ozaki warned that if the emergency conditions are not extended, the virus and contagious variants will spread quickly. “If that happens, there will be a major outbreak, and it is possible that holding the games will become hopeless,” he added. Ozaki is not alone with this warnings. The 6,000-member Tokyo Medical Practitioners’ Association called for the Olympics to be cancelled in a letter sent last week to Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, Olympic Minister Tamayo Marukawa, and Seiko Hashimoto, the head of the organising committee. “We believe the correct choice is to the cancel an event that has the possibility of increasing the numbers of infected people and deaths,” the letter said. Hashimoto addressed the worry of ordinary Japanese. “At present there are not a few people who feel uneasy about the fact the games are going to be held where a lot of people are coming from abroad,” she said. “There are other people who are concerned about the possible burden on the medical system of Japan.” She said the number of “stakeholders” coming to Japan from abroad had been reduced from 180,000 to about 80,000. She said Olympic “stakeholders” would amount to 59,000, of which 23,000 were Olympic family and international federations. She said an added 17,000 would involve television rights holders, with 6,000 more media. She also said 230 physicians and 310 nurses would be needed daily, and said about

30 hospitals in Tokyo and outside were contacted about caring for Olympic patients. Organisers have said previously that 10,000 medical workers would be needed for the Olympics. Hashimoto said retired nurses might also be called in. Separately, the IOC has said it will make available an unspecified number of medical personnel from unnamed national Olympic committees. Fans from abroad were banned months ago. Hashimoto said the number of spectators — if any — at venues would “depend on the spread of the infection.” She has promised a decision on venue capacity next month. Kaori Yamaguchi, a bronze medallist in judo at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and a member of the Japanese Olympic Committee, hinted in an interview with the Kyodo news agency this week that organisers were cornered. She has been sceptical about going ahead. “We’re starting to reach a point where we can’t even cancel anymore,” she said. The IOC’s most senior member, Richard Pound, said in an interview with Japan’s JiJi Press that the final deadline to call off the Olympics was still a month away. “Before the end of June, you really need to know, yes or no,” JiJi quoted Pound as saying. Pound repeated — as the IOC has said — that if the games can’t happen now they will be canceled, not postponed again. IOC President Thomas Bach now plans to arrive in Tokyo only July 12. He was forced to cancel a trip to Japan this month because of rising Covid-19 cases.

Indian Wells to return in October after being cancelled twice due to pandemic SACRAMENTO AGENCIES

The prestigious ATP and WTA tournament at Indian Wells, California, will return in October, organisers said Thursday, after twice being shelved due to the coronavirus pandemic. “This year’s edition, postponed from its customary dates in March due to Covid-19, is now intended to take place in October, for 2021 only,” said an ATP statement. The 2020 edition of the Indian Wells event was cancelled as the first wave of the pandemic swept the world. The tournament dates for 2021 will be announced after the confirmation of the autumn calendar by the ATP and WTA Tours. “We are ecstatic to have the opportunity to hold the BNP Paribas Open in October and bring professional tennis back to the desert,” said tournament director

Tommy Haas. “We have never wavered in our desire to create an unforgettable experience this fall in Tennis Paradise for our fans, players and sponsors.” Elsewhere, the ATP’s Stockholm Open will now take place from November 7-13 in the same week as the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan. “The ATP continues to monitor the impact of Covid-19 in assessing the provisional Q4 calendar, including the threeweek sequence of events in Asia, in order to ensure optimised player flow,” said a ATP statement. “Since the resumption of the Tour in August 2020, we have had to take an agile approach to the calendar with the aim of staging as many of our events as possible,” said ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi. “Everyone in our sport has missed the BNP Paribas Open over the past two years and its return this October is great for tennis.”

Thiem knocked out of Lyon opener by Norrie in fresh setback ahead of French Open LYON AGENCIES

World No 4 Dominic Thiem suffered a fresh setback in his Roland Garros build-up when he was knocked out of the Lyon ATP event in his opening match on Thursday. Top seed Thiem, 27, lost to Britain’s 49th-ranked Cameron Norrie 6-3, 6-2 in just over an hour. Thiem, a two-time runner-up at Roland Garros, won just one match at the Italian Open last week, arriving in Rome on the back of a semi-final run at Madrid where he belatedly started his clay court season. “It was an unexpected victory,” said Norrie. “I played well and I could not be happier.”

Norrie will next face lucky loser Arthur Rinderknech after the 125thranked Frenchman shocked Italian sixth seed Jannik Sinner 6-7 (7/9), 6-2, 7-5. Greek second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, the champion at the Monte Carlo Masters, eased into the last eight against Tommy Paul of the United States 6-1, 6-4. Tsitsipas has now reached the quarter-finals or better at nine of his 10 events in 2021. French number one Gael Monfils, who on Tuesday won a match for the first time in 15 months, was knocked out by Japan’s world number 60 Yoshihito Nishioka, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/2). Nishioka had also defeated Monfils at the 2019 Davis Cup finals and his reward is a clash with Tsitsipas.

2018 champion Simona Halep withdraws from French Open due to calf injury PARIS AGENCIES

Simona Halep, the 2018 French Open champion, announced Friday she has withdrawn from this year’s tournament because she has failed to recover from a calf injury. “Unfortunately the tear in my left calf muscle needs more time to recover and the timeline is just too short,” said Halep, the reigning Wimbledon champion. Halep sustained the injury in her second-round match at the Rome Open on May 12, and the world number three has deemed the recovery time too tight to be fit for the May 30-June 13 Roland Garros. “Withdrawing from a Grand Slam goes against all my instincts and aspirations as an athlete, but it is the right and only decision to make,” she said. “The thought of not being in Paris fills me with sadness, but I will focus my energy on recovery, staying positive and getting back on court as soon as it is safe to do so. “Roland Garros 2022, I’m coming for you A bientot.”

Saturday, 22 May, 2021

PRAyER TiMinGS

NEWS

PM says reversing environMental fallout iMPortant for Protecting future generations IMRAN INAUGURATES K-2 NUCLEAR POWER PLANT, SAYS CHINA’S COOPERATION HELPED PAKISTAN MATERIALISE SEVERAL PROJECTS IN THIS SECTOR

JAwAD ZuLfIqAr

RImE minister Imran Khan, while inaugurating the Karachi Nuclear Power Plant Unit-2 on Friday, said that reversing environmental fallout is important to protect future generations, and the power plant – set up in collaboration with China – would help provide clean and cost-effective electricity. During the inauguration ceremony, which also marked 70 years of Pakistan-China relations, the premier spoke about Pakistan’s vulnerability to climate change, and the importance of taking measures to protect the country from the dangers of this global phenomenon. While climate change poses a global threat, Pakistan is considered among the countries most vulnerable to its effects. Due to the global change in temperature, the glaciers in Pakistan’s north are prone to melting, which may lead to floods, causing food security issues for the country and displacement of pop-

ulations from affected areas. Although Prime minister Imran refused to allow any more coal-fired power plants last year, there are other factors that contribute to the problem. One of them is unplanned urbanisation which causes environmental degradation through the reduction of green areas. However, the premier has issued directives to regulate urbanisation for environmental preservation. moreover, since the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf came to power, it has tried to replicate the massive tree plantation drive it undertook in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in other parts of the country to deal with environmental challenges. It has also converted brick kilns using traditional methods to zigzag technology. While these measures were necessary, experts have suggested that a lot needs to be done to counter environmental problems, particularly those that pose threats to public health. Among these are unchecked vehicular and industrial emissions and stubble burning which not only contribute to global warming but are also responsible for the rise in Pm2.5 concentration in the atmosphere. moreover, various studies have concluded that healthcare costs are likely to surge in the decades to come due to problems caused by environmental degradation. On Friday, while speaking about the power production capacity of the nuclear plant, the premier said that it would produce 1,100mW of electricity to help meet Pakistan’s energy needs. He also appreciated Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission for its efforts in

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the nuclear energy sector. Nuclear energy is considered to be safer for the environment, but the power plants are expensive to build, and there are concerns about accidents and radioactive waste which may pose threats to human health for thousands of years. PAKISTAN-CHINA RELATIONS: As both countries marked the 70th anniversary of their bilateral ties, the premier said that China’s cooperation through sharing its technology and expertise has helped the country build several projects in this sector. Highlighting the strong relationship between the two countries, he said that the entire nation valued China as a time-tested friend and from which it could learn in multiple fields, including poverty eradication, agriculture enhancement, and anti-corruption practices. On Thursday, the premier held a telephonic conversation with his Chinese counterpart, wherein both leaders affirmed the will to strengthen bilateral relations by diversifying cooperation between Pakistan and China.

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Pakistan’s GDP growth estimated at 3.94pc for FY20-21 ISLAMABAD GHULAM ABBAS

Pakistan added to amazon sellers list ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Pakistan has been added in the sellers list of Amazon, which is one of the world’s largest e-commerce platforms, said the ministry of Commerce on Friday. Adviser to Prime minister on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood said that the ministry of Commerce will continue discussions in the Focus Group for Amazon which will include representatives from sellers, logistic companies, various ministries and the State Bank of Pakistan to further guide Pakistan’s business community on how to make best use of this opportunity. Dawood said, “In order to reap full benefits, a lot of hard work has to be done in training, quality assurance, improvement in logistics, payment systems, customer relationship management, etc.“ He encouraged the breed of young entrepreneurs to train themselves in this regard and strive for continuous product improvement as a long-term continuous endeavour” The addition of Pakistan in the sellers list of Amazon marks the accomplishment of a milestone of the National eCommerce Policy, and is the outcome of sustained engagement with Amazon since the last quarter of 2019 by the ministry of Commerce, Pakistan’s Embassy in Washington, and the Consulate General in Los Angeles and the Pakistani diaspora on the West Coast of the US, and continuous dialogue with the business community and public sector stakeholders, through the National e-Commerce Council. Pakistani manufacturers gaining access to a worldwide Ecommerce platform with Amazon, opens a new chapter of supply chain, where Pakistani manufacturers will sell directly to customers. This new channel will encourage manufacturers to work back from customer needs, design new products, offer high quality at competitive prices and also access new market segments. By connecting with and forming part of the global e-Commerce network, an excellent opportunity has been created for Pakistani entrepreneurs, as highlighted by Eric Broussard, Vice President, Amazon International Seller Services who said and we quote: Eric Broussard said, “We are excited to announce that as of today, Pakistani entrepreneurs are eligible to sell on Amazon. We are eager to work with Pakistan’s dynamic business community, including small and medium-sized sellers, and help connect them with customers around the globe.”

Unlike the International monetary Fund (ImF) and World Bank estimates about Pakistan’s GDP growth, the National Accounts Committee (NAC) of the federal government on Friday estimated Pakistan’s GDP growth rate to hover around 3.94 per cent for the outgoing financial year. The 103rd meeting of NAC which was held under the chairmanship of the ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives secretary to review the GDP, estimated the growth on the basis of estimates of the agricultural, industrial, and services sectors of the country, that were estimated at 2.77%, 3.57%, and 4.43%, respectively. Earlier the government had estimated a GDP growth of 2.1 per cent for the fiscal year 2020-21. The ImF and the World Bank, on the other hand, had predicted the GDP growth in the range of 1.5 per cent for the current fiscal year. The increased wheat production, as the federal agriculture committee estimated wheat production of 26.2 million tonnes for the current fiscal year, had also contributed to growth of GDP. During the meeting, the provisional estimates of the GDP and Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF) for the year 2020-21 were presented on the basis of 6-9 months which were annualised. As per the official data, the agriculture sector grew by 2.77% in 2020-21 as against 3.31% in 2019-20. The growth of important crops during the year were 4.65% on the back of the historic production of wheat, rice, and maize, while sug-

arcane registered the second-highest production. The growth in the production of wheat, rice, sugarcane, and maize was at 8.1%, 13.6%, 22.0%, and 7.38%, respectively. However, cotton witnessed negative growth of 22.8%, which resulted in a 15.6% decline in cotton ginning. Other crops (vegetables, fruits and green fodder, etc.) showed positive growth of 1.41% mainly because of an increase in the production of oilseeds and vegetables. The livestock sector registered a growth of 3.1% whereas forestry grew at 1.4%. In the industrial sector, the growth was recorded at 3.57%. The value-addition in the mining and quarrying sector declined by 6.5%. Large-scale manufacturing (LSm) sector, which is driven primarily by QIm data from July 2020 to march 2021,

showed an unprecedented growth of 9.29%. major contributors to this growth were textiles (5.9%), food, beverages and tobacco (11.73%), petroleum products (12.71%), pharmaceuticals (12.57%), chemicals (11.65%), non-metallic mineral products (24.31%), automobiles (23.38%), and fertilizer (5.69%). The electricity and gas sub-sector declined by 22.96% mainly due to lower allocation of subsidies by the government to DISCOs, low increase in output, and a higher proportional increase in intermediate consumption. The construction activity increased by 8.34% mainly due to an increase in general government expenditure and private sector construction-related expenditures. Apart from agriculture and industrial sectors, the services sector has remained a major growth driver for many years and this year too, it witnessed a growth of 4.43% in the provisional estimates.

While the wholesale and retail trade sector grew by 8.37% primarily because of an increase in the marketable surplus, the transport, storage, and communication sector declined by 0.61%. The finance and insurance sector showed an increase of 7.84%. The remaining components of services, housing, general government, and other private services have witnessed a positive growth of 4.01%, 2.20%, and 4.64%, respectively. According to the officials, the GDP at current market prices has also been computed and stands at Rs47,709 billion for 2020-21. This shows a growth of 14.8% over Rs41,556 billion for 201920. The per capita income for 2020-21 has been calculated as Rs246,414, showing a growth of 14.6% over Rs215,060 during 2019-20. The per capita income in dollars increased by 13.4% from $1,361 in 201920 to $1,543 in 2020-21. According to sources at the ministry of planning and development, after the meeting of NAC, the meeting of Annual Plan Coordination Committee (APCC) will be held next week to finalise the national development outlay for the upcoming fiscal year. The APCC is likely to meet on may 26 which will review the ongoing fiscal year and proposed annual plan/PSDP for 2021-22.The meeting of the APCC will review the annual plan/PSDP 2020-21 and proposed annual plan/PSDP 2021-22. The final decision on the NAC and APCC recommendations will be made by another body, the National Economic Council (NEC).

Pakistan, China vow to strengthen strategic partnership ISLAMABAD TLTP

President Dr Arif Alvi and Chinese President Xi Jinping have vowed to deepen bilateral strategic communication and pragmatic cooperation and promote the high-quality operation of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. The resolve was expressed in the congratulatory letters exchanged by the two leaders on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. In his letter, President Xi said that China and Pakistan are all-weather

strategic cooperative partners that stood firmly by each other on issues of core interests and major concerns. He said that the mutual trust and friendship between the two countries have gone through the test of 70 years of international changes and remain rock-solid, and have become the most valuable strategic asset of the two peoples. He said that the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor has achieved remarkable results, bringing tangible benefits to the people of both countries besides providing strong impetus to the regional prosperity. The Chinese president said that he is willing to

join hands with the Pakistani leader to build a closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era for the benefit of both countries and their people. Noting that China and Pakistan have shared weal and woe and helped each other sincerely in the face of the Covid19 pandemic, Xi said that the two countries' ironclad friendship has been further upgraded. The Chinese president also expressed his hope that the China-Pakistan friendship will flourish forever. In his letter, President Alvi reaffirmed the commitment to further elevate Pakistan-China friendship to new heights and build closer China-Pakistan Commu-

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

nity of Shared Future in the new era. President Alvi said that both the countries have remained friends in good and bad times. He said that despite difficulties, both the countries have rendered immense sacrifices to achieve their objectives. He added that Pakistan-China friendship is a guarantor of peace in the region. Separately, President Alvi, sharing Xi's sentiments during his address as chief guest at the Virtual Reception on the 70th Anniversary of China-Pakistan Diplomatic Relations, said that the goal of China and Pakistan was friendship but both the countries cemented their goals for humanity.