Issuu

Saturday, 17 July, 2021 I 6 Zil-Hajj, 1442 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XII No 18 I 12 Pages I Islamabad Edition

Blaming Pakistan for afghanistan unrest unfair, imran tells ghani

TASHKENT

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RIME Minister Imran Khan has urged Kabul to consider Pakistan as a “partner in peace” and refrain from blaming it for the civil war inside Afghanistan, which he reiterated was the “outcome” of American insistence on seeking a military solution of a political crisis. “Blaming Pakistan for what is going on in Afghanistan is extremely unfair […] Peace in Afghanistan is our foremost priority,” the prime minister said at the international conference on “Central and South Asia Regional Connectivity: Challenges and Opportunities” held in Uzbekistan capital of Tashkent on Thursday. Imran is currently on a two-day visit to the central Asian country. The prime minister’s remarks came shortly before he and Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani, who was also present during the speech, were scheduled to meet on the sidelines of the conference. “President Ghani! Let me just say that the country that will be most affected by turmoil in Afghanistan is Pakistan. Pakistan suffered 70,000 casualties in the last 15

years. The last thing Pakistan wants is more conflict,” he said, as he stopped reading from his written speech. Islamabad played a vital role in the United States-Taliban negotiations, which resulted in a deal between the two in February 2020. But it hoped that the deal would pave the way for a power-sharing agreement between different stakeholders in Afghanistan. That hasn’t happened, and with the abrupt announcement of the complete and

unconditional departure of American troops from Afghanistan by President Joe Biden, it now looks almost impossible. Rejecting Ghani’s assertions of Islamabad for “not supporting peace” in the war-torn country, Imran asserted Pakistan did not want turmoil in its neighbouring country, because a peaceful Afghanistan was in its [Pakistan’s] own interest. “Mr Ghani! I want to make it clear to you that Pakistan will be the last country to think about supporting turmoil and unrest in Afghanistan,” he said. The prime minister said Pakistan would continue to support reconciliation in Afghanistan and urged the domestic stakeholders and the international community to gear up efforts for a “politically negotiated settlement”. As Pakistan’s economy was recovering following a difficult phase, the country wanted peace on its Western border to ensure the completion of development projects for the betterment of the entire region, he said.

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Pakistan forms quadripartite forum to focus on central Asia story on page 02

isi dg rejects afghan allegations of infiltration The allegations of infiltration levelled by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, were rejected by Inter-Services Intelligence Director-General Lt Gen Faiz Hameed on Friday. The top spymaster was talking to Geo News in Tashkent where he is attending the Central and South Asia Conference 2021 along with Prime Minister Imran Khan and other senior government functionaries. During his address, the Afghan president had levelled unfounded allegations against Pakistan, saying that 10,000 fighters had crossed over into Afghanistan from the country. “If talks fail, we will fight the Taliban,” said Ghani. “This is the last chance for peace,” he had said. DG ISI categorically stated that these allegations against Pakistan are not true, in fact infiltration is being done from Afghanistan. “We want peace in the neighbouring country as a peaceful and stable Afghanistan is in the interest of Pakistan and other countries,” DG ISI said. He said that Pakistan is not supporting any faction in Afghanistan. We are interested in a negotiated settlement among all the Afghan groups, he maintained.. News Desk

In call with Chinese counterpart, Imran assures full probe of bus explosion ISLAMABAD staff report

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday assured his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang of full cooperation in the investigation of this week’s explosion that claimed the lives of 12 people, including nine Chinese workers. Wednesday’s blast sent the bus carrying Chinese workers to the site of the Dasu Hydropower Project crashing into a ravine in Kohistan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where, for several years, Chinese engineers have been working on projects as part of Beijing’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative. While initially, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had blamed the incident on a mechanical failure, Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry Thursday revealed that traces of explosives had been detected during the initial investigation. Fawad further said the prime minister was “personally supervising all developments” and the government was in “close coordination” with the Chinese embassy in Islamabad. Later that day, Beijing announced it will dispatch investigators to Pakistan, urging Islamabad to punish the perpetrators if it was a terrorist attack. Today, Keqiang in a phone call with Imran, called on Pakistan to assist the task force, mobilise all neces-

sary measures to find out the facts, and bring those responsible to justice, Chinese state-owned broadcaster CGTN reported. He further expressed hope that Pakistan will take concrete and effective measures to strengthen the protection of Chinese personnel and institutions and prevent a repeat of similar events in the future. Imran assured Keqiang that “no effort would be spared to fully investigate the incident,” according to a statement by Prime Minister’s Office. He expressed condolences over the loss of precious lives of Chinese workers. CPEC MEETING POSTPONED: Meanwhile, a joint meeting on the ChinaPakistan Economic Corridor, which was scheduled for today, has been postponed to a later date after Eidul Adha, said Asim Saleem Bajwa, chairman of the CPEC Authority. The Dasu project is part of CPEC, a $65 billion project aimed at connecting China’s northwestern Xinjiang province to the port of Gwadar in Balochistan. Islamabad is a close ally of Beijing, and a large number of Chinese nationals are based in Pakistan to supervise the infrastructure projects. The government has created a special security division for the security of CPEC and its workforce.

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Saturday, 17 July, 2021

ISLAMABAD

NEWS

pakistan forms quadripartite forum to focus on central asia TAsHkeNT

aNadolu ageNcy

AKISTAN on Friday joined the United States, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan in creating a new quadripartite consultation forum to support the peace process in Afghanistan. The decision was reached during a meeting in Tashkent involving Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, his Uzbek and Afghan counterparts Abdulaziz Kamilov and Foreign Minister Mohammad Hanif Atmar, respectively, as well

as US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad. They emphasised that peace and regional ties are mutually reinforcing, given the importance of regional ties for the development of long-term peace and stability in Afghanistan and the region, the Uzbek Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. They also acknowledged the historic potential to further build effective international trade channels in order to boost trade and strengthen business partnerships, the statement said.

QUeTTA INP

Pakistan rejects Afghanistan’s claim of providing air support to Taliban IsLAMABAD staff RePoRt

Islamabad has rejected Afghanistan Vice President Amrullah Saleh’s claim of Pakistan providing “close air support” to the Taliban and that it warned the country’s security forces from acting against the insurgent group. Earlier this week, the Taliban captured the strategic border crossing of Spin Boldak along the frontier with Pakistan that provides direct access to Balochistan, continuing sweeping gains made since foreign forces stepped up their withdrawal from Afghanistan. Following the announcement, Afghanistan’s security forces launched an operation to retake the border crossing. However, in a twisted turn of events, Saleh on Thursday claimed Islamabad had warned Kabul that any move to

dislodge the Taliban fighters from border town will be “faced and repelled by the Pakistan Air Force”. In a tweet, he claimed the Pakistan Air Force was now “providing close air support to the Taliban in certain areas”. He, however, did not substantiate his allegations with evidence. Islamabad strongly denied the claim, with a Foreign Office statement saying Pakistan “took necessary measures within its territory to safeguard our own troops and population”. Kabul “conveyed to Pakistan its intention of carrying out air operation inside its territory” opposite the Chaman border crossing, it said. Pakistan “responded positively” to her “right to act in its territory […] In spite of [the fact that] very close border operations [are] normally not acceded to by internationally accepted norms/standards/procedures”.

“Pakistan took necessary measures within its territory to safeguard our own troops and population,” the statement added. While we acknowledge Kabul’s right to “undertake actions on its sovereign territory”, the PAF “never communicated anything” to its Afghanistan counterpart. “Such statements undermine Pakistan’s sincere efforts to play its part in an Afghan-owned and Afghan-led solution,” the Foreign Office asserted. The statement further recalled Islamabad rescued and returned to Afghanistan “with respect and dignity” 40 of its troops who fled to Pakistan. It said Pakistan’s military also offered to provide Afghan security forces with all logistical support it had requested. “We remain committed to peace in Afghanistan and shall continue to endeavour towards this end irrespective of the detractors,” the statement added.

37pc pakistanis lost their jobs due to covid-19, senate informed

nawaz removed from power through conspiracy, alleges maryam BHIMBeR INP

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz has alleged that former premier Nawaz Sharif was removed from power through a conspiracy. Addressing an election rally in Bhimber area of Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK), the PML-N vice president claimed that the false cases were registered against Nawaz Sharif for removing him from premiership. “Nawaz Sharif is in London but they have to steal the election for defeating him in the election. These people lost even by staying on a same page,” she added. “I am a daughter of this soil who loves the armed forces of Pakistan. Some people did unfair to us with cruelty; however, I have left this matter to Allah Almighty,” Maryam Nawaz maintained. She said that Nawaz Sharif removed the darkness of load-shedding from the country adding that today people have no electricity but received huge amounts in bills. He said that the prices are being increased regularly due to Imran Khan s incompetence and corruption. “Prices of sugar, ghee and flour have also gone up at utility stores,” she added.

Five people including four children were dead when roof of a house collapsed due to heavy rain in Quetta on Friday. According to Levies Force, the roof of a dilapidated house located in Quetta’s Pashin area collapsed, last night due to heavy rains. As a result, five people, including four children, were killed after being trapped under the debris of the house. The deceased man was identified as Daud, who along with his four children lost his life. The bodies have been shifted to a nearby hospital for medico-legal. On Thursday, at least six people including women and children were killed when roof of a house collapsed in Lahore. The roof of a two-storey house located in Shadbagh area oaf Lahore, had collapsed suddenly, burying six persons under the debris. Six of them including two children and two women lost their lives while being shifted to the hospital. Six of the deceased were identified as Sumera, Rizwan, Mehwish, Rabia, Ibrahim and Minahil. Earlier in February, last year, at least three persons lost their lives and five others wounded when the roof of a madrassah collapsed in Lahore. The incident had taken place in Lahore’s Chungi Amar Sadhu area where three persons died including 50-year-old Karim, 50-year-old Irshad and 23-yearold Nadeem.

pakistan postpones peace conference on afghanistan

News Desk Minister of Planning and Development Asad Umar on Friday said that 37 per cent of Pakistanis lost their jobs due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic has affected the country’s economy like other parts of the world. The figures collected to know the socio-economic impact of Covid-19 were revealed by the ministry during question-hour in the Senate. The ministry said that 49 percent (27.31 million) of people belonging to the working class was affected due to the coronavirus pandemic. 37 percent of the workforce lost their jobs and were unable to find a replacement. The highest unemployment due to Covid-19 was reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where about 55 per cent of the working class lost their jobs or their income was reduced. Experts watching global labour trends believe that post-Covid-19 readjustments mean that some lost jobs may never reappear as some sectors may shrink permanently and others flourish and expand. The pandemic delivered a body blow to global trade, with export volumes dropping abruptly to their lowest in nearly a decade in March and April, last year. The recovery since then has been led largely by China, which stands alone among major economies in seeing year-over-year growth in exports.

father, four children dead in pashin roof collapse incident

News Desk RAWALPINDI: US Charge d’ Affairs to Pakistan Angela Aggeler calls on Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa at GHQ. INP

Hydropower push leaves Muzaﬀarabad hot and bothered MUZAFFARABAD ReuteRs

On hot summer evenings, Khawaja Maqbool Hadieri’s family used to sit on their home’s balcony and relish the cool breeze wafting off the nearby Neelum river. But these days, after 80 percent of the river’s flow was diverted for hydropower, “we’re sweating while sitting there, even using an electric fan,” Hadieri, 70, a resident of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir capital, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. As Pakistan seeks new sources of green energy, officials are diverting rivers through tunnels to harness clean hydropower. But the diversions are also causing a range of problems, from hotter urban temperatures to water shortages and sewage buildups in riverbeds once rushing with water. In Muzaffarabad, the diversion of the Neelum’s waters in 2018, to generate almost a gigawatt of power, has driven protests from residents. Even environmental officials acknowledge that since the change the city of more than 190,000 is hotter during the summer Now officials are also planning to divert the second river running through the city — the Jhelum — for another hydropower project, leading to protests and warnings about the project’s environmental implications for the state capital. “Water flowing in the rivers should not go waste and should be tapped for the wellbeing of people – but river diversions should be avoided,” urged Raja Abbas Khan, the former head of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Environmental Protection Agency. VANISHING HEAT SINK: Shafiq Abbasi the current deputy director of the EPA, said the Neelum river’s icy mountain snowmelt once worked as an effective heat sink for the city, with residents thronging to its banks during summer high temperatures. But since the diversion its capacity to absorb heat has more than halved in the hot May to August summer months, he said. Faisal Jameel, a businessman and

member of a campaign to protect Muzaffarabad’s two rivers, said authorities needed to shore up water supplies, solid waste disposal and sewage treatment in response to the flow reduction in the Neelum. After citizen protests, the Water and Power Development Authority, which manages the power project, in 2019 provided funds for the Azad Jammu and Kashmir government to try to mitigate the problems. Ejaz Ahmed Khan, secretary of the state Local Government and Rural Development Department, said more than three dozen projects to protect water supplies or improve solid waste disposal were carried out in areas affected by hydropower tunnelling. But a much-needed solid waste disposal plant for the area was never developed, because of a lack of local expertise, he said. As a result, the state environmental protection agency has withheld compliance certification of the efforts, saying they have not been completed, said Adnan Khurshid, director general of the provincial EPA. Environmental advocates say the planned diversion of the Jhelum river, to power a 1.1-gigawatt hydropower plant that is part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project, is a step too far for Muzaffarabad. Protesters camped for two months near the confluence of the two rivers in the capital have successfully pressured the state prime minister to raise concerns in Islamabad about the Kohala Hydropower Project. The prime minister has since directed national water resources officials and others to visit the project site to look at potential environmental impacts of the diversion. State officials said an in-depth study on the potential environmental impacts of the project has not been carried out. Meanwhile, summer average temperatures in and around Muzaffarabad have risen 4-5 degrees Celsius (7-9 degrees Fahrenheit) since the Neelum diversion, they said. They believe a new study is needed to look at how to maintain sufficient river flow through the city and to consider the long-standing problems of solid waste and sewage dumping into the Neelum.

Pakistan on Friday postponed the two-day Peace conference on Afghanistan due to be held is Islamabad on Saturday. The announcement for the postponement of peace conference came after Prime Minister Imran Khan held a delegation-level talks with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on sidelines of ‘Central and South Asia 2021: Regional Connectivity: Challenges and Opportunities’ conference, held in the capital of Uzbekistan. The conference is now expected to be held after Eid-ul-Adha.

shehbaz condemns increase in petrol prices LAHORe INP

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz chief Shehbaz Sharif on Friday condemned the increase in the prices of petroleum products. In a tweet, the National Assembly opposition leader said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government has set another record as the petrol prices have hit an average all-time high. Thursday’s was the highest-ever petrol rate, as per available official record, as it previously peaked at Rs117.83 per litre in August 2019. “For the first time in history, the prices of petroleum products have touched an all-time high,” Sharif tweeted. The reality of the tax-free budget of the government has been revealed, he added. A notification issued by the Finance Division announced the exdepot price of petrol was increased by Rs5.40 per litre and that of high-speed diesel by Rs2.54 per litre. On the other hand, the exdepot price of kerosene was increased by Rs1.39 a litre and that of light diesel oil by Rs1.27 a litre. The ex-depot rate of petrol was fixed at Rs118.09 per litre instead of Rs112.69 per litre at present, showing an increase of 4.8 percent.

Saturday, 17 July, 2021

ISLAMABAD

NEWS

FourtH wave Feared aFter surge in covid-19 cases ISLAMABAD

StAff rePort

ATIONAL positivity rate of Covid-19 has risen to over six percent, raising a serious concern of a fourth wave in the country, according to the data released by the National Command and Operation Centre on Friday. A total of 2,327 people tested positive for the disease on Thursday, raising the tally of infections to 983,719, the NCOC, the nerve centre against the disease, said in a statement. Sindh has been the worst hit, with 352,472 cases, followed by Punjab where

the disease was detected in 349,475 people. A total of 22,720 people died of the disease, including 31 patients who died over the last 24 hours, the NCOC said, adding that critical 2,388 patients are currently under treatment in 639 hospitals across the country. A total of 917,329 have recovered from the disease in the country, the statement added. The vaccination drive in the country has also picked up the pace with 583,655 doses administered to the public on Thursday, the NCOC said. Some 17,336,845 people have been partially vaccinated and 4,323,805 others fully vaccinated against Covid-19 in the country, according to the latest official data.

Pakistan to get 1.24m astrazeneca vaccine doses under covax ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will receive as many as 1.24 million more doses of AstraZeneca vaccine under the Covax programme, INP reported on Friday. They said a consignment containing 1.24 million AstraZeneca vaccine doses will reach Islamabad onboard a foreign airliner on July 17 (Saturday). Pakistan had received the first batch of the British vaccine on May 8, the sources in the National Health Ministry said, adding the country had thus far been provided three consignments of various Covid vaccines under the Covax programme. The consignments include 1.62m doses of Pfizer vaccine and 2.5m doses of Moderna. Covax has pledged free Covid vaccines for 20 per cent of the country’s total population. INP further stated that the AstraZeneca vaccine will be distributed to the provinces as per their needs, adding it would be administered to people with chronic diseases and low immunity. Since the British vaccine has been approved by the US and European and Gulf countries, it will also be administered to people travelling abroad. Separately, Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar on Friday said the people with both doses of vaccine against Covid have seven times lower risk of getting the virus as compared to those who were not vaccinated. Even the people with the first dose have a four times lower risk of the disease as compared to those without the vaccine, Asad Umar said while addressing a media briefing here along with Special Assistant to Prime Minister on National Health Services Dr Faisal Sultan. INP

Pakistan, Kuwait to further raise joint voice against Islamophobia ISLAMABAD MIAN AbrAr

Pakistan and Kuwait on Friday vowed to jointly raise their voices against Islamophobia. The pledge was made during a call on Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Kashmir Shehryar Khan Afridi by Ambassador of Kuwait Mr Nasr Abdul Rahman Al-Mutairi here at the Kashmir Committee Chambers. During the meeting, Shehryar Khan Afridi appreciated the efforts of Kuwaiti Ambassador in restoring Kuwaiti visas for Pakistanis. Kuwait and Pakistan, along with other Islamic countries, will continue to play an

LAHORE

active role in fighting Islamophobia and other issues facing the Islamic Ummah, said Shehryar Khan Afridi. The Kuwaiti Ambassador paid tribute to the dynamic role of the Government of Pakistan and especially Shehryar Khan Afridi in providing facilities to the refugees from Afghanistan and Jammu and Kashmir. “The government and people of Kuwait are grateful to Pakistan for standing by Kuwait even in difficult circumstances,” said the Kuwaiti Ambassador. “We pay tribute to the services of Pakistani doctors and medical staff in fighting the coronavirus,” added Kuwaiti Ambassador Nasr Abdul Rahman.

imran, Qureshi refuse to shake hands with india’s Jaishankar ISLAMABAD INP

Prime Minister Imran Khan and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Friday did not shake hands with India’s External Affairs Minister Jaishankar during a group photo at the Tashkent conference. According to details, Prime Minister Imran Khan shook hands one by one with heads of the states and foreign ministers participating in the two-day Central-South Asia conference hosted by Uzbekistan. However, when he reached near to Indian External Affairs Minister Jaishankar, he did not approach him for a handshake and rather initiated an informal chat with the Russian foreign minister standing next to him. Qureshi also did not shook hands with his Indian counterpart during the conference. Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Imran expressed disappointment over Pakistan being blamed for unrest in Afghanistan and said that no one played more role than Pakistan did in bringing the Taliban to the negotiating table. Addressing the Tashkent conference, the prime minister, who is on a two-day visit to Uzbekistan, said that Pakistan was a victim of the war on terror and has sacrificed over 70,000 countrymen during it. “Even today, Pakistan will be affected the most from any unrest in the neighbouring country,” he said. “We played our role in bringing the Taliban to negotiating table,” the prime minister said and expressed his disappointment that even after that Pakistan is being blamed for the ongoing situation in the neighbouring country.

INP

The Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board has included the subject of “Naazrah Quran” for grades one to four as a separate compulsory subject, a notification issued on Friday stated. Students will attend three to four classes of the subject in a week and a 50-mark annual exam will be taken to evaluate their progress. The step comes as an implementation of the Punjab Compulsory Teaching of Holy Quran Act, 2018 that entails the teaching of the Holy Quran as a compulsory subject for Muslim students in all educational institutions. The Punjab government made the subject mandatory for university students last year. The PCTB has initiated the process to introduce the subject for grades six to 12 as well.

Pakistan wants peace in Afghanistan: Fawad TASHKENT INP

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry has said that the international conference being held in Tashkent on Friday is aimed at promoting regional connectivity. In an interview on Friday, he said over 60 countries are participating in the conference. The minister said heads of state and foreign ministers from different countries have gathered in Tashkent to discuss ways to enhance regional trade and economy. Fawad Chaudhry said Pakistan wants peace in Afghanistan so that our regional connectivity improves and we are linked to Central Asia. He said Prime Minister Imran Khan’s efforts for the purpose continue, which will succeed. “Heads of state and foreign ministers from different countries have gathered in Tashkent to discuss ways to enhance regional trade and economy,” he stated. Referring to talks between Prime Minister Imran Khan and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the information minister said that the bilateral meetings focused on launching a freight system that would connect Gwadar and Karachi to Tashkent. Moreover, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said Pakistan will continue to play its reconciliatory role for peace in Afghanistan. He was talking to US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad on the sidelines of the International Conference on “South AsiaCentral Asia Regional Connectivity-Challenges and Opportunities in Tashkent. The Foreign Minister said Afghanis have to decide the future of Afghanistan. He said Pakistan considers peace in Afghanistan essential for the promotion of

regional linkages and economic development in the region. It bears mentioning that Prime Minister Imran Khan and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Friday did not shake hands with India’s External Affairs Minister Jaishankar during a group photo at the Tashkent conference. According to details, Prime Minister Imran Khan shook hands one by one with heads of the states and foreign ministers participating in the two-day CentralSouth Asia conference hosted by Uzbekistan. However, when he reached near to Indian External Affairs Minister Jaishankar, he did not approach him for a handshake and rather initiated an informal chat with the Russian foreign minister standing next to him. Shah Mahmood Qureshi also did not shook hands with his Indian counterpart during the conference. Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Imran expressed disappointment over Pakistan being blamed for unrest in Afghanistan and said that no one played more role than Pakistan did in bringing the Taliban to the negotiating table. Addressing the Tashkent conference, the prime minister, who is on a two-day visit to Uzbekistan, said that Pakistan was a victim of the war on terror and has sacrificed over 70,000 countrymen during it. “Even today, Pakistan will be affected the most from any unrest in the neighbouring country,” he said. “We played our role in bringing the Taliban to negotiating table,” the prime minister said and expressed his disappointment that even after that Pakistan is being blamed for the ongoing situation in the neighbouring country. Prime Minister Imran Khan also raised the Indian Occupied Kashmir issue and said that it was the major bone of contention between Pakistan and India.

Akram calls outcome of key UN forum ‘beacon of hope’ for virus-hit countries NEW YORK APP

states would be guided by that beacon of hope as “we navigate heavy seas” towards the post of the anti-poverty Sustainable Development Goals. The HLPF, a subsidiary of ECOSOC, is the core UN platform for the follow-up and review of the 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 objectives. Akram, who presided over the intensive deliberations, said the forum examined the voluntary national reviews of 42 countries that illustrated both the common and differentiated challenges they confront in realising the SDGs and responding to the pandemic. The status of implementation of key SDGs was also reviewed that “unless states, individually and jointly, take bold emergency actions, we will, by and large,

Punjab makes Holy Quran teaching compulsory in schools

be unable to achieve the most of 17 SDGs by 2030”, he said. The meeting also unanimously adopted a Ministerial Declaration that prescribes the required actions and commits governments and other stakeholders to implement them. Ambassador Akram said the main messages from the forum’s deliberations and the declaration include: (1) The world must quickly contain and defeat the virus. No individual will be safe until everyone is safe. The world economy will not fully recover, nor can we achieve the SDGs in time unless we do so. The vaccine is a global public good and must be made available to all. (2) Financial assistance is the key to recovery, SDG achievement and arresting climate change and environmental degradation. Resource mobilisation must be

pursued as a global goal to address all aspects of the triple crisis: Debt restructuring, concessional assistance, creation and generous reallocation of unutilised Special Drawing Rights quotas, scaled-up public and private investment in sustainable infrastructure and other employment generating projects and programmes. (3) Poverty and hunger that have increased sharply must be addressed frontally, including through social protection programmes and safety nets, and massive concessional assistance to those in need, the poorest people and the poorest and vulnerable countries. (4) The UN platform must continue to be the principal advocate of the poor and act boldly to secure implementation of all the commitments made in the declaration.

Pm snubs indian media; says rss ideology main hurdle in normalising ties ISLAMABAD APP

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday snubbed the Indian media, saying the Indian RSS ideology was the main hurdle in normalisation of ties with Pakistan. The prime minister, who was in Tashkent to participate in a conference on ‘Central and South Asia Regional Connectivity, challenges and opportunities’, responded to the question by an Indian journalist, who sought Pakistan’s stance on talks with India. “We have been trying to tell India … that we have been waiting … for a long time, let’s live like civilized neighbours, … but what to do, as the RSS ideology has come in the way,” Imran Khan said. He was leaving the Congress Hall after attending the conference when an Indian journalist asked that India wants to know whether talks and terror go together. The prime minister has very clear views about the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its extremist policies. In an earlier tweet, the prime minister had pointed out that the “RSS ideology of Hindu supremacy, like the Nazi Aryan Supremacy, will not stop in IOK; instead, it will lead to suppression of Muslims in India & eventually lead to targeting of Pakistan. The Hindu Supremacists version of Hitler’s Lebensraum.” The prime minister’s two-year-old tweet on the RSS involvement in the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir stands true to the day as the extremist Hindu policies have made the lives of non-Hindus unbearable under the government of RSS-backed Bharatiya Janata Party government of Narendra Modi.

‘oil’ discovered in islamabad’s residential neighbourhood ISLAMABAD INP

Oil was reportedly discovered on drilling a water bore in Islamabad’s Sector H/13 neighborhood. As word got out about the reported discovery, dozens of local residents started drilling for “oil”. They installed suction machines to pump out “oil” and began selling it before the area was sealed by the local administration. Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Hamza Shafqaat, responding to reports, tweeted, “At the moment we have sealed over a dozen such pumps.” “Local were selling oil to brick kilns,” he said, adding the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) was investigating the issue with Assistant Commissioner Abdullah Khan.

Saturday, 17 July, 2021

04 NEWS

ISLAMABAD

PSX ConSolIDATES gAInS WITH AnoTHER 206-PoInT RAlly KARACH

TLTP

HE Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) remained bullish and consolidated gains of previous days on Friday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining 206.07 points (+0.43 percent) to close at 47,834.33 points. The market opened on a positive note and remained in the green zone throughout the session. The KSE-100 Index traded in a range of 262.1 points, showing an intraday high of 47,889.7 points and a low of 47,627.6 points. Among other indices, the KSE All Share Index gained 125.65 points

(+0.39 percent) to close at 32,564.8 points, while All Share Islamic Index gained 53.15 points (+0.23 percent) to close at 23,388.44 points. A total of 376 companies traded shares in the stock exchange, out of them shares of 223 closed up, shares of 129 closed down while shares of 24 companies remained unchanged. The overall market volumes decreased by 151.72 million to 355.4 million shares. The number of total trades decreased by 22,403 to 121,920, and value traded decreased by Rs0.89 billion to Rs14.59 billion. However, the market capitalisation increased by Rs49.90 billion. Among scrips, TPL topped the volumes with 29.69 million shares, fol-

Crude prices recover with Brent reaching $73.82 NEWS DESK Crude prices made gains on Friday amid a volatile week that saw prices moving in both directions. At 1335 GMT, Brent, the international benchmark for two-thirds of the world's oil, gained 0.48 percent to reach $73.82 a barrel. Similarly, the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) reached $72.10, up 0.57 percent. The price for Opec Basket was recorded at $75.29 a barrel with 0.21 percent increase, Arab Light was available at $73.58 a barrel with 0.84 percent decrease, while the price of Russian Sokol reached $73.61 after shedding 1.56 percent. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allied producers project global oil demand to grow by six million barrels a day in the second half of 2021, reaching pre-pandemic levels by next year. According to the July report, global oil demand may surge to about 96.6 million barrels a day. The indicator is expected to grow by some 3.3 million barrels a day, surpassing the 100 million barrels a day mark in 2022. At the same time, the forecast for growth in oil supply from nonOPEC countries has been lowered by 30,000 barrels to about 63.8 million barrels a day. The organisation sees Canada, Norway, Brazil, China and Guyana at the forefront of the predicted increase, while the United States is forecast to raise production of liquid hydrocarbons by a mere 0.06 million barrels a day. The report predicts that gasoline and diesel will also rise in demand during a postpandemic recovery in freight traffic and increasing population mobility, especially so in the United States, China and India. The forecast is similar with regard to aviation fuel, with the number of domestic and international flights gradually rising. The OPEC+, however, notes that the continued spread of the coronavirus and its impact on the growth of the global economy may affect the figures unpredictably. The OPEC+ countries in June increased oil production by 586,000 barrels a day, returning to the market some 26 million barrels daily which they cut during the worst of the pandemic.

Dollar nears Rs160 with 64 paisas gain NEWS DESK Pakistan rupee continued depreciating against the US dollar on Friday and shed another 64 paisas (-0.40 percent) in the interbank. According to the State Bank of Pakistan, the US dollar opened at Rs159.30 and closed at Rs159.94. Within the open market, the US dollar was traded at 159.50/160.30. It is pertinent to mention here that the rupee has struggled against the dollar in seven out of the last ten sessions. Pakistani rupee shed 77 paisas against the US dollar during this week, while depreciation during the fiscal year 2021-22 has been Rs2.40. However, the local unit has gained 15 paisas in the current year 2021. Currency experts said that the local currency remained under pressure during the day due to higher demand for the US dollar for corporate and import payments. They said that demand for the foreign currency remained higher because of the last trading day of the week. They said that big banks are buying the dollars.

lowed by ASC (17.75 million) and TREET (17.09 million). Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include TPL, ASC, TREET, UNITY and WTL, which formed 29 percent of total volumes. The sectors propping up the index were commercial banks with 74 points, cement with 70 points, technology & communication with 51 points, chemical with 14 points and automobile assembler with 8 points. The most points added to the index were by LUCK which contributed 59 points followed by SYS with 47 points, HBL with 27 points, UBL with 17 points and BAFL with 13 points. The sector wise, the index was let down by oil & gas exploration compa-

nies with 28 points, investment banks/ investment companies/ securities companies with 10 points, oil & gas marketing companies with 6 points, automobile parts & accessories with 4 points and fertilizer with 3 points. The most points taken off the index were by POL which stripped the index of 19 points followed by PSX with 9 points, ENGRO with 8 points, PSO with 6 points and MARI with 5 points. A major development came from the floors of PSX after Lucky Cement announced that its auto manufacturing subsidiary has entered into an agreement with global technology giant Samsung for the production of Samsung-branded phones in Pakistan.

ECC okays financial set-oﬀ mechanism for govt-owned IPPs: Hammad NEWS DESK Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar has announced that the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) has approved a financial setoff mechanism for government-owned independent power producers (IPPs), paving the way to bring down the circular debt by Rs116 billion. Taking to Twitter on Friday to make the announcement, Hammad Azhar said that the ECC approved the financial set-off mechanism for government-owned IPPs. “This means that the receivables and payables between government entities have been balanced against each other,” he said, adding that it would lead to a reduction of Rs116 billion in the circular debt stock. According to sources, the ECC approved adjustments of payables

against the Atomic Energy Commission and Neelam Jhelum hydropower project. “The meeting also approved adjustments in payables and receivables of WAPDA and NTDC,” they said while confirming that it would bring down the debt cycle by Rs116 billion. Rising circular debt is one of the biggest impediments in the way of the country’s economic growth, say experts. In 2020-21, the government added Rs498 billion to circular debt due to lower budgeted subsidies, and increased cost of inefficiencies. The accumulated circular debt was Rs 2.732 trillion in 2020-21 as the government claimed that it added only Rs 177 billion in circular debt. On Thursday, the Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCoE) approved a summary on Examination, Valida-

tion of Process of IPPs Agreement submitted by the Power Division. The Power Division submitted a summary on Examination, Validation of Process of IPPs Agreement, and the committee, after detailed discussion, approved the proposal that the agreements with 2002 IPPs finalised by the Implementation Committee be reviewed in the light of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) advice in the M/s Nishat Chunian Power Ltd case. On May 25, Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar said that circular debt recorded a reduction of Rs189 billion during July-April FY 2021. Taking to Twitter, he said circular debt build-up during July-April this fiscal year was Rs260 billion as compared to Rs449 billion during the same period last year, showing a reduction of 189 billion.

Gold price increases to Rs93,600 per 10gm NEWS DESK Gold price came down slightly (-0.25 percent) on Friday after hitting the $1,830 mark. As of 1355 GMT, gold was available in the international market at $1,825.90 per ounce after shedding $4.50. Meanwhile, the price of 10 grams of yellow metal in Pakistan increased to Rs93,600 after gaining Rs300. The increase in price of gold in the country was due the overnight increase in gold price when the local market was closed. The closing prices of the yellow metal in the country remained Rs93,300 on Thursday. According to analysts, since late June, gold has been rising almost every trading week. Over the last three weeks, the systematic rise has only recouped half of the

Chinese firm announces $800m investment in Pakistan ISLAMABAD TLTP

Sichuan Geological Engineering, one of the biggest investment groups in China, has announced investment of around $800 million in different regions of Pakistan. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) in this regard was signed between General Manager of Sichuan Geological Engineering, Li Qi, and Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Capital Office head, Haji Qurban Ali, said a press statement issued on Friday. Speaking on the occasion, Li Qi said that a technical team will visit Pakistan soon and start work in GilgitBaltistan. He said the team will also facilitate the local businessman in being equipped with latest technology to avail all mines and minerals opportunities as desired. He thanked Ali for his supportive role in all the process. He said now and onwards, Pakistan and China will work together for development and investment enhancement in the region. Qurban Ali on the occasion said the FPCCI will provide the Chinese investment group with every needed support. He said that Pakistan geographical and strategically has important positions in the region and has vast opportunities in the sectors of manufacturing, textile, IT, mine & minerals, gems stone, hydro power, tourism, construction and other sectors for investment.

losses from last month's drop. Despite the sustained presence, buyers are acting much more cautiously or simply have less strength, they said. The latest bounce took the prices on Thursday to the area between the 50- and 200-day moving averages. A decisive move higher can initiate a rally in the following days, as the crossing of these lines often triggers a mechanical market reaction in the direction of the break-up. They said that in the last 24 hours, gold lost its growth impulse, wandering around its 200 MA, a precursor for a prolonged consolidation or a reversal downwards. Mostly this month's rally has been due to the support of a long-term uptrend. Fundamentally, the trend was shaped by the soft monetary policy of the major central banks, led by the Fed.

WB lists reasons for increase in remittance in S Asia during Covid NEWS DESK Remittances increased by 5.2 percent in 2020 in South Asia and it was somewhat surprising because household surveys globally showed remittances falling, especially in the second quarter of 2020. The World Bank’s latest South Asia Economic Focus helps explain the large increase in remittances in 2020, according to a report of the South Asia Office of the Chief Economist of the WB. Remittances sent by overseas Pakistanis registered a substantial 27 percent growth in the fiscal year 2021-22 over the last year, the fastest rate of expansion since FY2003. On a cumulative basis, remittances rose to a historic annual high of $29.4 billion in FY21. Senior economist of WB, Valerie Mercer-Blackman, listed six reasons why remittances soared in South Asia during Covid-19. First is savings repatriation. A portion of the recorded rise in remittances could represent repatriated savings of emigrants returning home after losing their jobs or not finding new opportunities. For example, Saudi Arabia granted less than 10,000 work visas per quarter in the first and third quarters of 2020, compared to an average approval rate of over 40,000. Second reason is better capturing of remittance statistics. Remittances could have shifted from informal (unrecorded) to formal (recorded) channels. Part of the increase was just recording of flows unnoticed in the past in official statistics, not an actual increase .

LAHORE: Member (Health, Nutrition & Population) P&D Board, Dr Sohail is presenting souvenir to Mr. Abdullah Khan Sumbal, Chairman Planning and Development Board Government of Punjab on World Population Day 2021 held in P&D Board . Dr Aman Ullah Joint, Chief Economist and Mr. Nadeem Khan PCCB are also present.

LAHORE: MD NTDC Engr Muhammad Ayub conducting interviews of Upper Technical Staff (UTS) alongwith GM HR NTDC and his team. PR

TEVTA Punjab celebrates World Skills Day to enhance skill awareness Lahore: On The Eve of World Skills Day 2021, TEVTA Punjab Under the Leadership of Chairperson TEVTA Mr. Ali Salman Siddique Organized an Event Comprising MoU with China Tang International Education Group & Zalmi Foundation, Prize Distribution Ceremony for all Top Position Holders of Punjab, DICE-TEVTA Innovation Competition Winner Announcement, Integrated Prospectus Launch for Technical Steam to Celebrate Skill Day with Honorable Minister Industries, Investment, Commerce & Skill Development Mian Aslam Iqbal attending as Chief Guest for Skill Awareness. Other Top Dignitiries including COO TEVTA Rai Manzoor Nasir, Director Cricket Peshawar Zalmi, Muhammad Akram and CIO Peshawar Zalmi were present on occasion The tripart MoU signed between TEVTA, Zalmi Foundation and Tang International Education Group is aimed at CCTE Model, Sino-Pak Dual Diploma Vocational and Joint Technical Education Program to enhance Vocational education in Pakistan through E-Learning. The agreement will also help to establish industry-academia linkages to promote demand-driven vocational-technical education talents and provide customized technical vocational education and solutions to modern economy "Since taking over as the Chairperson of the largest Skill Provider of Pakistan, we have proposed a new Skill Ecosystem critical to change the landscape of Skill Sector of Punjab. Chairperson TEVTA Ali Salman Siddique said while speaking to the charged crowd. PR

Innovating the way to a Hepatitis C free Pkistan karachi: Ferozsons Laboratories Limited and Teamup organized the first-of-its kind hackathon on Hepatitis C eradication, in partnership with Abbott, PepsiCo, Nestlé, Corporate Coalition for Viral Hepatitis Elimination, SensusDx and other valuable partners. The hackathon aims to bring innovators, health hackers, entrepreneurs, and medical experts onto a common platform to find solutions that can curb the spread of the disease in Pakistan. As part of the hackathon, an insightful panel discussion was held on the 15th of July at 5 pm UTC+5 to discuss how innovative solutions for the prevention, detection and management of HCV can help eradicate this disease from Pakistan. Esteemed panelists for the event include Dr. Huma Qureshi- Focal Person on Hepatitis and Zoonosis from the Government of Pakistan, Dr. Asad Ali Choudhry- Vice-Chairman of PARSA Trust and Director PARSA HealthNet ECHO, Pakistan, Dr. Saeed Sadiq Hamid- Professor at the Department of Medicine and Director of the Clinical Trials Unit at The Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan, and Osman Khalid Waheed-CEO of Ferozsons Laboratories Limited. Programmers, healthcare professionals, data analysts, and entrepreneurs applied for the Hackathon under the following thematic areas: • Prevention • Detection • Management Shortlisted applicants were to be invited to a twoday hackathon whereby they will pitch their ideas to a panel of industry experts, seasoned entrepreneurs and investors. The winners of the challenge will be awarded with cash prizes and a chance to work with industry experts to scale their solution and make real impact in the health industry. If you are: • an entrepreneur • a student pursuing undergraduate or a post-graduate degree in health, science, computer science, design, engineering, ICT and other related fields • a Health Professional • or a Data Analyst, and have an idea that can help curb the spread of the deadly Hepatitis C, this is an opportunity not to be missed. PR

Saturday, 17 July, 2021

ISLAMABAD

NEWS

CrYPTOs gO dOWn As TOP ExChAngE BInAnCE susPEnds PurChAsEs

HE prices of major digital currencies went down on Friday after the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance suspended the purchase of stock tokens, decreasing the market cap to $1.35 trillion (-0.6 percent) as of 1400 GMT. The price of Bitcoin (BTC), the largest cryptocurrency, increased to $31,851 after gaining 0.07 percent. With this increase in price, the market capitalisation of the BTC has reached $597 billion. On the other hand, ethereum (ETH) price shed 0.86 percent to reach $1,902. With this decrease in price, the market capitalisation of ETH has reached $222 billion.

Muhammad Yaseen appointed Alberta's associate minister of immigration and multiculturalism Muhammad Yaseen was appointed Associate Minister of Immigration and Multiculturalism on July 8, 2021. Muhammad Yaseen was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, representing the constituency of Calgary-North, on April 16, 2019. He was appointed Associate Minister of Immigration and Multiculturalism on July 8, 2021. He previously served as the parliamentary Secretary of Immigration. He is currently a member of the Standing Committee on Resource Stewardship. Prior to serving with the Legislative Assembly,Mr. Yaseen is an active member of his community, volunteering with the Canadian Red Cross and the Pakistan Canada Association for many years. He has also contributed his time to Junior Achievement, the United Way, the Mustard Seed, MOSAIC Volunteers and the Calgary Food Bank over the years. Mr. Yaseen was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in November 2012 by then Lieutenant Governor of Alberta, the Honourable Donald S. Ethell. PRESS RELEASE

KE working to ensure power supply to its customers KaracHi PRESS RELEASE

As Karachi continues to experience intermittent showers, In this regard, we are regularly monitoring the situation in various parts of Karachi and our teams are vigilant to address any concerns raised by citizen’s and media. Per reports, 3 fatal incidents of electrocution were reported in the city, 2 of which did not involve KE infrastructure whereas third one is being reviewed by the area teams. 25-year-old Raheel was reported to be traveling on his motorbike on a waterlogged road in FB Area’s Hussainabad locality and reportedly came into contact with a streetlight pole. Eyewitnesses report that the streetlight was wrapped with decorative lights. It could not be ascertained at the time whether the said streetlight pole and wrapping of LEDs were installed by local administration or area association. Investigations are also underway of an extremely unfortunate incident in the Shanti Nagar area of Gulshan-e-Iqbal Block 10 A. Per initial reports, leakage of current in the TV cable hanging at a dangerously low height created an electric current. While KE’s pole was fully grounded and compliant with safety codes, the encroached wire and subsequent current from the illegal wires on the pole proved fatal for 25-yearold Somaar along with a cow that was tethered to the pole. We are currently investigating the third incident and will update once the information becomes available. K-Electric expressed its deepest sympathies with the families who lost loved ones to unfortunate incidents across the city. We are actively monitoring reports of all such incidents and continue to liaise with operational field staff to ensure that we continue to provide power with safety.

Similarly, XRP shed 0.49 percent to reach $0.598. The market capitalisation of XRP stands at $59.7 billion after this decrease. On the other hand, Cardano (ADA) price reached $1.20 with a 2.22 percent fall in its price. Its market capitalisation has reached $38.7 billion after this decrease. Likewise, Dogecoin (Doge) price depreciated by 4.79 percent to reach $0.180. With this decrease in price, the market capitalisation of Doge reached $23.4 billion. Meanwhile, Binance has suspended the purchase of stock tokens, effective immediately. The exchange has advised users to exit positions on or before October 14, 2021.

All stock tokens listed on Binance.com are products issued and sold by CM-Equity AG, a German Financial Company. The trading platform has given traders from the EEA and the ones from Switzerland the option to shift their stock tokens onto the CM-Equity portal. The remaining traders are expected to close their positions before the end of the 90-day period. In its trading service agreement, Binance had clearly stated: “Binance.com reserves the right to suspend or terminate Binance stock tokens trading service without notice. If necessary, Binance.com has the right to suspend and terminate Binance stock tokens trading service at any time.”

Blaming Pakistan for Afghanistan unrest unfair, Imran tells Ghani continued from page 01 Imran said Pakistan had made every effort for durable peace in Afghanistan, including bringing the Taliban to the dialogue table. However, he said, the right time to engage the Taliban in negotiations was way before the American announcement of the pullout of its troops from Afghanistan. “Why would the Taliban listen to Pakistan at a time when they are gaining victory after the withdrawal of [foreign] troops,” he pointed out, adding the US always insisted on a military solution to the Afghan conflict. He said Pakistan was already hosting over three million refugees from Afghanistan and did not have the capacity to bear another influx of refugees which he observed seemed inevitable in the wake of further turmoil. The prime minister said in his Thursday’s meeting with Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, he discussed the ways how the neighbouring countries of central Asia could support peace and stability in Afghanistan for regional prosperity. Imran said another challenge to re-

gional development was the “unsettled disputes” in South Asia, including the issue of Indian-occupied Kashmir. “The unsettled disputes between Pakistan and India remain a challenge with Kashmir as the main issue,” he said. Unfortunately, because of such a situation, the huge potential of regional development remained untapped, he lamented. The prime minister said Pakistan believed in regional connectivity by promoting the land and sea linkages among the countries to boost economic activity. He said Gwadar sea port had the potential to cater to the needs of central and south Asian regions as a regional transportation hub. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor would prove a harbinger of development and prosperity for the region, benefitting the two regions, he said. The conference gathered Mirziyoyev, Ghani, the foreign ministers and high representatives of central and south Asian countries and the heads of international and regional organisations and financial institutions. The main objective of the forum was to strengthen historically close and

friendly ties, trust and good-neighbourly ties between the regional states. During the plenary and the breakout sessions, the forum participants discussed the possibilities of promoting initiatives aimed at developing trade, economic, transport, communication and cultural and humanitarian cooperation in the context of further deepening regional connectivity. Earlier speaking to reporters at the forum, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that to ensure the development of the region, regional connectivity was of utmost importance. National Security Adviser Dr Moeed Yusuf told the media that Pakistan was moving from a geo-strategic position to a geo-economic one with the sole objective of ensuring regional prosperity. Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry said the conference was attended by 60 countries and will have a far-reaching impact on regional connectivity. He said Imran, in his talks with the Uzbek leadership, proposed that a rail and road link be established between Tashkent and Gwadar.

Garment labourers face wage theft during pandemic: AFWA iSLamaBad TLTP

Majority of Pakistani garment workers have suffered wage losses that were actually wage theft by global brands during Covid-19 lockdowns. According to the Asia Floor Wage Alliance (AFWA) report, ‘Money Heist: Covid-19 Wage Theft in Global Garment Supply Chains,’ wage theft — the denial of wages or employee benefits — is endemic in global garment supply chains due to power asymmetry between brands, suppliers, and workers, and was escalated by Covid-19 lockdowns. AFWA interviewed workers from 189 factories in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, Cambodia and Bangladesh, and in

Pakistan, it interviewed 605 workers from 50 garment factories in Faisalabad, Lahore and Karachi. The garment sector is the country’s second largest employer, accounting for around 8.5 percent of GDP and almost 70 percent of its exports. Despite the pandemic, it continued to grow with garment exports increasing to $15.5 billion in fiscal year 2020-21 from $12.6 billion in 2019-20. “Garment workers in Pakistan faced some of the highest levels of wage theft in the Asian garment industry during the Covid-19 crisis due to the imposition of provincial Covid-19 lockdowns,” AFWA said in its report, “Money Heist: COVID-19 Wage Theft in Global Garment Supply Chains.” “All workers in our survey experi-

enced employment shocks either in the form of layoffs (86 percent) or terminations (14 percent),” the report said. The practice peaked in April during the total lockdown period in March-May 2020. “Wage theft peaked in April 2020 but workers consistently experienced wage theft throughout the year, and well into 2021,” the report said. “Workers reported an overall wage theft of 29 percent in 2020, with a sharp decline in wages by 61-69 percent during the total lockdown period and 26 percent during the partial lockdown period (June-October 2020).” It estimated that in the 50 factories surveyed, 244,510 workers were denied $85.08 million as wages due to order cancelations or non-payment for existing orders.

Binance has exercised this clause and traders are now solely responsible and liable for managing their stock token exposure and the risk it entails. All positions that remain open after 2021-10-14 19:55 (UTC) will be closed at 2021-10-15 13:30 (UTC) based on actual executed prices after the market opens for trading on the same day. The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange is suspending stock tokens at a time when regulatory pressure is mounting. Binance is caught in a complex web of legal concerns with jurisdictions of the Cayman Islands, the UK, Thailand and Singapore among others. NEWS DESK

Pakistan rejects draft as WTO edges closer to deal on overfishing Pakistan has severely criticised the draft agreement that the World Trade Organisation (WTO) is hopeful to finalise to stop overfishing. Pakistan described the draft deal as “regressive and unbalanced”. Islamabad’s reaction came after the head of the WTO on Thursday expressed optimism about clinching the long-awaited agreement The virtual conference in Geneva, the first meeting of WTO trade ministers since 2017, aims – after 20 years of talks – to fix rules to curb harmful subsidies that lead to overfishing. The global trade body has not reached a multilateral deal in years and its director general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who took office in March, said at the start of the ministerial conference that it would be a "litmus test" of the WTO's ability to do so. "I believe that we are all genuinely committed, but a shift of mindset is necessary for us to bridge the final gaps that continue to separate members," she said in opening remarks at the WTO headquarters in Geneva. "You can send a powerful signal – one way or the other – about the WTO's credibility as a multilateral negotiating forum." However, several ministers expressed deep reservations about the current draft agreement, which is the fifth version and has taken months of negotiations to prepare. India called the aspects of the draft agreement unjust. "Clearly, it will lead to capacity constraints for developing countries, while advanced nations will continue to grant subsidies," Indian trade minister Piyush Goyal said in one part of the text. "This is unequal, unfair, unjust." The European Union, a major subsidiser, was more upbeat, saying the draft formed the basis of a potential agreement as it "contains many elements for landing zones". NEWS DESK

In call with Chinese counterpart, Imran assures full probe of bus explosion continued from page 01 In April, a bomb explosion at Zaver Pearl Continental Hotel in Quetta killed at least five people. Chinese ambassador Nong Rong was staying at the hotel but was not present there when the blast occurred. The proscribed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan had claimed responsibility for the attack. The Afghanistanbased group has recently claimed a string of attacks not only in tribal regions along the Afghanistan border but also in the cities, including Islamabad. There have been signs in recent months that the TTP has been regrouping along the Afghan border, claiming frequent clashes with security officials.

Uninterrupted GSP+ status linked to implementation of rights conventions: EU envoy KaracHi TLTP

The Ambassador of European Union in Pakistan Androulla Kaminara has stressed the need to ensure implementation of conventions on human and labour rights so that the GSP plus status granted to Pakistan by the EU continues without any issue. During her visit to the Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI), the EU ambassador, while discussing the possibilities of further improving EU-Pakistan bilateral trade,

said that European Union is committed to working together to facilitate EU’s trade in Karachi and the rest of the country, said a press statement issued on Friday. KCCI President M Shariq Vohra, SVP Saqib Goodluck, Chairman of KCCI’s Diplomatic Missions & Embassies Liaison Subcommittee Junaid Mundia, former KCCI president Majyd Aziz and others attended the meeting. Androulla Kaminara stated that progress on reforms and implementation of conventions was reviewed after every two years, adding special trade incentives like GSP sta-

tus are withdrawn if the country is found not fully abiding by obligations in the light of the report. However, she said in the 2020 review report, Pakistan had gained a significant improvement in certain areas but a lot more needs to be done in other sectors as well. Appreciating improvements in some of the conventions out of a total of 27 conventions signed by Pakistan, she said that the government spent two years making legislation for the protection of the journalist community. But, she emphasized, there was a need to expedite reforms and steps for legislation on dis-

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appearance, torture, abuse and inspection on factories to meet all EU obligations. She informed that the EU and Pakistan Business Council would be formed to strengthen the bilateral trade and economic ties with a particular focus on Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Earlier, Shariq Vohra, while welcoming the EU Ambassador, emphasised that European Union’s GSP Plus has helped Pakistan fight terrorism and bring peace to the world. “This GSP plus, which created abundant employment opportunities that helped in dealing with the economic

crises to an extent, should not be disturbed and the European Union must continue it for a longer period of time so that the industry is geared up to deal with all the challenges in a highly competitive world”, he added. He also stressed that the government of Pakistan must expedite work on all the pending legislations on top priority to retain its GSP Plus status. He also emphasised that European Union must work closely and more actively with the Karachi Chamber to review the progress and impact of GSP Plus on Pakistan’s economy and businesses.

Saturday, 17 July, 2021

06 COMMENT

The Rohingya people: In search of Livelihood and Nationality

Connecting central and South Asia The issue is the choice of the route

major international moot on regional connectivity between Central and South Asia has concluded in Tashkent. Prime Minister Imran Khan held a joint press conference with the Uzbek president on Thursday and addressed the forum on Friday. The agenda of the moot included a comprehensive exchange of views and joint development of proposals for enhancing multifaceted economic and cultural cooperation between the two parts of Asia. Landlocked Central Asia is a market with a population of 75.3 million and the total GDP at $300 billion. The countries of South Asia have a population of about 1.9 billion with the total GDP of more than $3.3 trillion. At present, the trade turnover of the Central Asian countries with their South Asian partners has small volumes, in 2020 only $4.43 billion, which is 3.2 percent of their total foreign trade turnover While Mr Imran Khan was accompanied by the ministers of Information and Interior, the National Security Adviser and the PM’s adviser on Trade to the moot, India sent only its Foreign Minister S Jaishankar. Pakistan and India presented different plans for discussion. Pakistan’s first connectivity plan was the Trans-Afghan route based on the construction of a Mazari-Sharif-Kabul-Peshawar railway. The Uzbek side was promised access to ports in Karachi and Gwadar. Keeping in view the still unsettled situation in Afghanistan, Pakistan had a second plan also. Uzbekistan could access the same Pakistani ports via China, bypassing Afghanistan, with the goods traffic passing through the Karakoram highway which connects Gilgit-Baltistan to China’s Xinjiang region. India emphasised the role of the Chabahar port in Iran and maintained that it could play an important role for trade with the Central Asia region. Pakistan has offered a viable route which could become the natural choice of Central Asian countries provided those in control of Afghanistan manage to ensure peace and stability in the country, adopt less rigid policies and abstain from exporting their version of Islam to neighbouring countries. While the BJP considers Central Asian conquerors as oppressors, Pakistan and Uzbekistan have planned to jointly produce a film on the emperor Babar, underlining a common cultural heritage. China’s Belt ad Road scheme, with CPeC as its flagship project, is yet another factor that could sway Central Asia in favour of the main route supported by Pakistan.

The Mynmar government insists they are not citizens

Dr rajkumar Singh

he Rohingya peopl, largely belong to the Indo- Aryan ethnic group, having a total population of 1,547,778,and are mainly inhabitants of present Rakhine State, earlier known as Arakan in history, a coastal country in Southeast Asia, and are scattered in about 20 countries including the USA, China, Australia, Japan, Canada, Sri Lanka, Finland, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and many more countries of Asia surrounding Myanmar. They are followers of three contemporary religions-Islam (Sunni), Sufism and about 2.5% are hindu. The Rohingya of Myanmar claim that are indigenous with a historical and cultural heritage of over a millennium and influence from Arabs, Mughals and Portuguese continuing from precolonial and colonial periods when Arakan was an independent kingdom between Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent, while the Myanmar government considers them as colonial and post-colonial migrants coming from neighbouring Chittagong/east Bengal, now Bangladesh. During the British colonisation of Burma, now Myanmar, between 1837-1937 migration of labourers from India and Bangladesh to Myanmar was significant and human Rights Watch also admits that this kind of migration was considered an internal movement because under British administration Burma was also a province of India, although even at that time local population did not like it. After Independence in 1948 from the British, the Government of Myanmar declared their migration illegal and in place of Rohingya, the government ac-

AJK Polls The party chiefs need to step in

he eggs and rotten tomatoes pelted at Kashmir Affairs Minister Ali Amin Gandapur would have been the natural outcome of his tracks earlier on PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, but they were a surprisingly strong reaction by PML(N) activists,who were suspected. The response of Mr Gandapur’s guards, of aerial firing in response, was perhaps natural, but it was dangerous. AJK elections centred traditionally around local issues, with the Pakistan government only figuring as far as its support for Kashmir is concerned. That the PML(N) and PTI have taken their rivalry to AJK is symbolised by the fact that they are congesting directly, unlike the PPP, which is technically contesting as the AJKPP. This hooliganism, verbal being transformed into physical, bodes ill for the 2023 general election in Pakistan. In 202 national constituencies of Pakistan, there may be more firing incidents, and it needs only one to produce a tragedy. The problem is not just loudmouth politicos, but a leader like the PTI’s Imran Khan, who very often has used intemperate language against his opponents. Worse, there is a perception among followers that having a big moth makes one win the approval of the party leader. This is fatal to any chance that the politician might follow his instinct not to say anything that he would not like to hear. The problem has unfortunately gone beyond leaders merely setting an example. They now have to make clear, in so many words, that they disapprove of the kind of rising rudeness that degenerates into the sort of violence that was witnessed on Thursday. The track on Mr Gandapur is reprehensible. however, it is for his party leader to do two things. First, he has to temper his own rhetoric, and try and display some of the parliamentary decorum that was not shown during the National Assembly budget session. Second, he must make it explicitly clear that any member of his party who makes remarks hurting others’ feelings will meet with his disapproval. Other party leaders must follow suit. The 2023 election is at stake.

The world community must stop supporting India

muhammaD ZahiD rifat

AKISTAN has yet again reiterated its unstinted support to the Kashmiri people in their just, indigenous, unarmed struggle for freedom from forcible illegal occupation of India which is continuing with its brutalities and atrocities through its security forces. The civil and military leadership of Pakistan has all along been extending its moral, diplomatic and political support to Kashmiris, calling upon the United Nations to implement resolutions of its Security Council and letting the Kashmiris exercise their right of self-determination to resolve the more than seven decades lingering Kashmir dispute, drawing the attention of international community to wake up from its deep slumber and condemn India for its gross human rights violation in its illegally occupied territory of Jammu and Kashmir and end the almost two years long complete lockdown on entire population of occupied Kashmir. They have been voicing their support for Kashmiris at all national and international forums and on every occasion and opportunity. President Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan reiterated unflinching support of Pakistan on July 13 when the Kashmiris on both sides of Line

Arif Nizami Editor Managing Editor

Joint Editor

Umar Aziz Executive Editor

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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

Support for Kashmiris reiterated

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Yousaf Nizami Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

cepted Kaman as the distinct pre-colonial Muslim as original residents of the country. even the government does not recognise the term Rohingya and prefers to use the word ‘Bengali’for the community. According to government the Rohingya having mixed their history with Kaman Muslim and with the help of human rights organisations push their separatist agenda and demand right to self-determination within Myanmar and here lies the socio-political and legal aspect of the entire problem. As a result of this inherited perception about the Rohingya of Rakhine State, their position became very weak, socially, politically and legally, in independent Myanmar and gradually they began to be treated as a deprived lot, separated from government facilities and concessions. Most of the evidences testify that as there was no international boundary between the Bengal Presidency and the Arakan valley of Myanmar, the British east India Company encouraged a large number of people to migrate into the then lightly populated and fertile land of Arakan primarily to work as labour in paddy fields. The migration of people did not remain limited to the Arakan but extended to almost the whole of Myanmar, and the largest cities in particular, continued to be a hub for migrants from British India between 1885-1937 and Burmese rule felt helpless. It however, gave birth to a feeling of superiority and racism,and extended to resentment as exhibited in social tension and interethnic clashes after the country became free. even earlier in the 1930s and 1940s Myanmar witnessed several struggles against the Indian Muslims living in the country but it became more frequent and repressive as well after 1962 when a Military Junta took over, nd treatment of Rohingya became both visible and discriminatory. Now, the new military dictator initiated implementing a Nationalist agenda which had its roots in racial discrimination and further the 1978 operation Nagamin to separate nationals from non-nationals. These steps of the government followed large scale violence that forced more than 200,000 Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh, where they faced a number of difficulties including starvation leading to the death of about 12,000 of them, but after bilateral negotiations they were repatriated. In a nutshell, the military junta in 1962 proved a disaster for Rohingya, for apart from launching a nationalist agenda also ended Burma’s Westminster- type political system. Before the takeover, when Westminster system was in practice, it was hoped the country would find a solution because the Rohingya became politically con-

scious after taking part in general elections in 1951, 1956 and 1960 and in every term Rohingyas were represented/elected for the Parliament of Burma and a discussion was active in the higher political circle that the Rohingya-majority northern Arakan would either remain under the central government or be made a province where more than 40 percent Rohingya lived. But these positive developments and political participations by the Rohingya were falsified when under the Citizenship Act of 1982 this community was excluded, as they were not included in the list of the country’s 135 ethnic groups. The passed laws established three levels of citizenship-the most basic level, naturalization, and requiring proof of family living in Myanmar prior to 1948. Although the Rohingya community of Burma were eligible for apply in two categories, they had no any documents to show as a proof and General Ne Win, who drafted the Citizenship Act, used as a basis a survey conducted by the British in 1824 in which the name of Rohingya was not included, and this is why they were denied citizenship right. however, their name was included in earlier surveys, but this single survey was made basis of this decision. Thus, the new Citizenship Act indicated the intent of the State to both remove the Rohingya permanently from their homeland or to destroy the community as a group. Further developments led to the change of country’s name from Burma to Myanmar in 1989 followed by the name change of province Arakan to Rakhine State in 1990s. It intensified the earlier struggle between the Rohingya and the Buddhists. From the 1990s the forms of the Rohingya struggle change and now it was characterized by lobbying international overseas diaspora, establishing indigenous claims and highlighting the term Rohingya in place of the documents of Bengali origin but these steps were largely criticized from ethnic Rakhines and Kamans and considered it a movement for achieving a self-administered area or a separate Islamic State. Military rule, which lasted till 2011, continued with a mix of Burmese nationalism and Theravada Buddhism and discrimination against Rohingyas. The same theme continued after 2012 but took an ugly and violent form from 2016-2017 which resulted in mass killings having tacit support of the government of the day. All surveys and reports conducted in this phase confirmed its genocidal nature and it was condemned by countries of the world at large.

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of Control, in Pakistan and around the globe were observing another martyrs day to pay homage to their large number of martyrs during the last several decades. It was on 13 July 1931 when the troops of the Dogra ruler had brutally killed 22 Kashmiris one after the other in front of the Central Jail in Srinagar. Indian invasion and forcible occupation of Jammu and Kashmir in 1947 has led to over 100,000 deaths of innocent Kashmiris, massive human rights violations and long jail sentences mostly without trials. President Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan in their tweet messages on July 13 paid glowing tributes to the Kashmiris for their courage and determination which remain deterred against prolonged Indian subjugation and reiterated that they stood with Kashmiris on yet another Martyrs Day. They emphatically stated that Pakistan would continue to provide diplomatic , moral and legal support to the Kashmiris in Indian-Occupied Kashmir till they achieved their cherished goal of freedom , while the entire Pakistani nation stood with the Kashmiris in their just struggle and would not compromise till their Kashmiri brethren and sisters got their right of self-determination as guaranteed by the resolutions of the UN Security Council. It was none else but Prime Minister Imran Khan who had in his maiden address to UN General Assembly couple of years back had forcefully highlighted the lingering unresolved Kashmir issue telling the world body that Kashmir was a nuclear flashpoint between two nuclear neighbouring powers .Not only UN General Assembly but also on all international forums and in his interactions with the world leaders, the Pakistani Prime Minister has been highlighting the Kashmir issue, calling for its peaceful solution in accordance with the Security Council resolutions for ushering in durable and stable peace in the region which otherwise remains threatened by Indian PM Narendra Modi’s RSS philosophy of hindutva. For more than 72 years India has persistently illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir against the

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wishes of the Kashmiri people and in the blatant violation of the Security Council resolutions and indeed its own somehow forgotten and intentionally ignored commitments to the people of Kashmir. It was on 5 August 2019 that India had also illegally and unilaterally sought to change the status of the occupied territory by ending its special status and making it part of the Indian Union, and deployed additional troops raising the number to around 900000 giving their brutal powers and imposing a military siege on all eight million kashmiris. It is a matter of bitter record and shame on the face of the world body as well as the sleeping international community that the Indian occupation forces, empowered with ruthless powers, continue to use brute force including pellet guns against peaceful protestors particularly the youth, impose collective punishments ,resort to destruction of entire neighborhoods and houses in the name of searches, killing hundreds of innocent young Kashmiris in occupied territory unabatedly . The United Nations, its Security Council, the international community at large, human rights organizations and others just keep on expressing concern over the tragic and brutal happenings in occupied territory of Jammu and Kashmir. They do not and cannot exert due pressure on India and its hundutva-minded Prime Minister Narendra Modi to stop brutal killings in Indian-Occupied Kashmir, implement UN Security Council resolutions and let the Kashmiris exercise their fundamental right of self-determination and decide their future themselves. All major countries by and large have their trade, economic and investment relations with India and cannot barter away these for saving the bloodshed of innocent Kashmiris. Let the Kashmiris bleed and suffer. But despite all their indifferent attitudes, the Kashmiris are going to be victorious sooner and later, exercise the right of self-determination and be free from shackles of forced Indian slavery, slapping the faces of those who kept looking the other way while Kashmiris were bleeding and suffering. The day of their victory is fast approaching. The writer can zahidriffat@gmail.com

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reached

Saturday, 17 July, 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

A case against zoology/botany

Why Central Asia is growing Potential and opportunities of investment

Dr muhammaD akram Zaheer

eNTRAL Asia is the heart of the world and in order to control the world, the region should be under the control of a power. historically, the region was tied with its nomadic and silk route. It was also a crossroad for the movement of people, goods, and ideas between Muslims land and europe, China and India. In the 19th century, there was a competition between Britain and Tsarist Russia to establish influence in the region and it might have been an effort for global balancing. The influence of British gradually rose while Russia declined with the humiliating defeat by Japan in1905. After World War I, Imperial Russia collapsed, but it immediately re-infused itself as the USSR with Central Asia as five republics. From World War II, the USSR controlled the Caucasus and Central Asia and was able to preserve its dominance in the region until 1991. After the disintegration of the USSR, Central Asia appeared with five autonomous states Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. The landlocked states required cooperation of neighboring countries to enter world markets. The regional states have increased their geopolitical importance for the world. The states also have concentrated upon their economic growth and development. These countries are also improving the environment for investment and economic activities. The USA, Russia and China have focused their attention on developing economic ties with regional states. Although there are some issues of good governance, which are inherited from the Soviet period, the contemporary regimes have well-managed. Thei foreign policy has been constantly seeking economic advantage and security. At the social level, the criminal groups have increased their influence across the region, with rampant corruption, narcotics, poverty, and terrorism threatening all five states in Central Asia. The states have planned to encounter this with the state apparatuses which are inherited from socialism- literacy, workers, infrastructure and so on. From the strategic perspective, the region is significant for geopolitical interest to China, Russia and the USA. The region of estimated proven natural gas reserves is 232 trillion cubic feet. Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan possess about 100 trillion cubic feet and Uzbekistan 65 trillion cubic feet, The region’s oil reserves are 17.49 billion barrels. Kazakhstan has the region’s largest proven oil reserves. The Central Asian states are seeking investment but the international community is more focusing on geopolitics. The regional states are pursuing economic cooperation and opportunities among themselves as well as with other countries. Initiatives to improve stability and political coop-

eration have paved the way for economic activities by countries like China and India. The region has two trump cards of educated youth and abundance of natural resources, while the environment for foreign investors is secure. China and India, the two rapidly growing markets, are interested in regional energy and mineral resources and have developed close relations with Central Asian states. After the reforms era, China has made progress in an investment-driven model for manufacturing and investment beyond the border. So it has vast scope of investment in Central Asia. ‘OBOR’ is a game-changing investment of China in the region, introducing it as a transit corridor for Asia, europe and Russia. The region has promising investment potential in petrochemicals, agriculture and tourism. These three sectors have a low level of foreign direct investment but with prioritization by governments, it may be boosted. The region has many petrochemical and agriculture commodities and raw material for processing. The region also has potential to serve in both the domestic and international meat market. Italy has invested in the beef industry of Kazakhstan and has been earning from it for several years. Another area of investment is textiles, which has immense opportunities for cotton and wool production. The Central Asian states have the same Soviet past but follow different directions for development aspirations. Kazakhstan is the largest economy of the region, with 70 percent of its total investment. According to National Bank of Kazakhstan, the foreign direct investment has increased by 9.8 percent to $4.1billion in 2018. The main areas of investment are transport, mining, trade finance, information technology, communication and insurance. Last year, 17.2 percent investment in fixed assets has increased. A significant growth in industry 27.1 percent, construction 20.6 percent, real estate 20.1 percent and agriculture 14.2 percent is also calculated. The government has arranged a list of $10.6 billion projects and has made legislation to permit taxation and customs systems to attract investment in the country. The migration and visa process has been relaxed and the citizens of 62 countries can and travel Kazakhstan easily. The country has aimed to increase gross FDI inflow by 26 percent by 2022. That is why Kazakhstan is going to become the destination of global investment. Kyrgyzstan is landlocked and mountainous with an economy of agriculture, minerals and reliance on workforce abroad. Cotton, wool and meat are main agricultural products. Other sources of income are gold, mercury, uranium and natural gas. The country attracts foreign investment in construction of dams, mining, gas production and agriculture sectors but most of the investment goes to mining. Due to conflicts between the local population and investors in a few districts of Kyrgyzstan the flow of investment has decreased. The country is facing few challenges to the Foreign Direct Investment, the economy minister Oleg Pankartov has stated, “The main problem is the lack of land plots to implement investment projects due to limited resources”. he further added, “There are difficulties of land transformation and limited energy capacity and poor infrastructure”. That is why FDI decreased 31.5 percent in 2018. The government is determined to solve these problems and facilitate to foreign investors. The main investors in Kyrgyzstan are Britain, China, Canada, Kazakhstan and Russia. In 2019, the World Bank reported the rank of the country is 70th out of 190

countries. Kyrgyzstan is among those who have made progress in terms of investment and protection. The trade with neighbours has boosted. however, the country has wide potential in investment, to make contracts and of payments. Tajikistan is a more attractive country for the cross border investors due to its favorable environment for investment. The government is directing foreign investment to install new industries and modernize old industries. Aluminum, cotton, energy and tourism reveal potential of investment and attract foreign investors toward Tajikistan. The foreign direct investment in Tajikistan has increased from $270 million to $317 million in 2018. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, FDI stock in the country was $42.7 billion in 2018. The major investors are China, Russia, the UK and the USA have invested in the energy and banking sectors. Chinese companies are investing in agro, tourism, hydropower and steel production. From the last two years, China has invested more than $3 billion. According to the Chamber of Commerce of Tajikistan, China wants to create industrial enterprises with progressive technology and equipment. Turkmenistan is an isolated country of six million people with rich natural gas reservoirs. The government tightly controls any foreign activities. Although the visa system is very complicated businesspersons and investors are frequent visitors. As the Turkmen language has long been in isolation, there are some difficulties to foreign businesspersons. Therefore, english is used by foreign businesspersons for the business activities in Turkmenistan. however, international investors have shown their interest in investment and trade with Turkmenistan. The country has potential of investment in agriculture, energy, construction and transport. The FDI stock was $36 billion in 2018, or 81.6 percent of GDP. China, Russia, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan are the main investors in Turkmenistan. Due to the development of a market economy, Turkmenistan has planned to raise investment in fixed assets $65.72 billion by 2025, which will facilitate the manufacturing sector and will create many jobs in the country. Uzbekistan has introduced such reforms such as liberalizing the foreign currency market, establishing economic zones and a visa for three years for people from foreign investment companies. Furthermore, the foreign investors who invest more than $3billion can get a residence permit for ten years. Within one day, a certificate of origin of goods will be issued to foreign traders. With the participation of international financial institutions, 89 projects were launched in 2019. Then 31 projects of more than $3 billion are also planned with the help of the World Bank and Asian Development Bank. Banks are able to open accounts for those who are Uzbek residents and businesspersons meeting the requirements of FATF. In short, Central Asia is a top investment destination. The most investment is in the natural gas, hydrocarbon and metals sectors to extraction, processing to transportation. The other destinations for FDI in the region are service sectors, real estate development, agriculture, trade, communications, labour, expertise, technology, manufacturing and infrastructure development. China, the european Union and Russia are major investors in the regional countries. Chinese investment is growing quickly in all countries of the region. Other key factor of investment inflow is the rate of return on investment that seems positive. The writer is a PhD Scholar in Political Science and can be contacted at akramzaheer86@yahoo.com

SINGLe national curriculum initiative is a good step but it mainly aimed at eradicating inequality and discriminatory feelings amongst the diversified population of Pakistan at the primary level only. Our education system is going through plenty of drawbacks which require reforms. But here I want to draw the attention of government to an overshadowed unnoticed plight in our education system. That the government should not let our youth get wasted by putting their energies and time in useless, fruitless degree programs. We are producing a massive amount of useless workforce that could give no contributions to the socioeconomic development of the country. I want to point out at the bachelors, masters, MPhil and PhD programs in Zoology and botany in Pakistan. Approximately half million students take admission in these disciplines every year. Neither a single student come out as a potential contributor to the society till now, in both disciplines. There is a fruitless cycle going on since decades, that a student gets admission in zoology/botany at bachelor level then does masters, MPhil or PhD in the same discipline and started teaching the same in any college or university and the cycle repeat itself again and again. That youth, energy, time and money could be invested in a more skilled or productive work which could bring some utility to the society and the state. When it comes to zoo services, there are only 14 zoo in Pakistan, which don't require any services of a zoologist in reality, they need a veterinary doctor there. There is no need of such ridiculous degree programs when there are prevailing other parallel programs like veterinary sciences, environmental science, agricultural science, microbiology, biochemistry, genetics, wildlife management etc. I am not arguing to discard the zoology/botany degree programs completely from Pakistan but atleast the Government should immediately take some measures to reduce such useless degree programs to a short diploma course levels. This will eventually persuade a shift of fresh-energetic youth towards the other disciplines which are not that useless. For those students who have no interest in studies, but still want to be known as graduates due to social pressure and their integrity, should avail the option of "BA" and "MA" degree programs as they are not that unproductive as the above mentioned degree programs. HEEra KHalid laHorE

Functions of student societies SOCIeTy is a group of folks that commonly proportion values, requirements and pastimes. scholar is an important pillar in building and educated society as schooling is the idea for dwelling in a world network as change, industry, financial or political. For the prosperity and betterment of a society, the foremost position of pupil is to acquire expertise and wisdom and should now not waste his/her treasured time carelessly. he ought to put up himself to the regulations of discipline to construct a civilized society. They have to understand their roles and duties in the direction of a elegant society. They must expand conduct of self-reliance and attempt no longer to apply unfair approach in each thing. A scholar can recognize and help common humans to understand their rights. he is expected to be properly informed as well as balanced in his perspectives. he have to recognise that he is ready to offer his co-operation and services for the well being of the society. As he's conscious of right and wrong, top and awful; he will no longer comply with any other guy dictates blindly. scholar must contribute himself for improvement, choose and act for a civilized society. they will stand for the strength of will, truthfulness, high sense of obligation and honor, spirit of provider and sacrifice. A pupil have to recognise his skills and put it to use in a proper manner. fabric attention and getting reputation ought to not pass him from the right direction. If we had a look on records, we see that students played essential function in the course of struggle for independence. but sadly, now-a-days students waste their time and attention in pastimes, as education is most effective away to get academic stages. these days the conduct of college students is very casual, which if no longer diverted right into a healthy channel could take form of destruction. college students of today are leaders of the next day so they have to perform their duties for the goodness of their society and in the long run for his or her cherished native land. The university and college college students are just like the sinews of society. they are matured, extra responsible and aware socially and politically. accordingly, they could carry out their responsibilities and help in developing a healthful tone of the society, sadly, they have got evolved bad, as a substitute unfavorable altitudes. They take pride in bunking faraway from the lessons, in jogging truant and in sowing wild oats. They overlook their studies; use unfair way in the examinations and try and skip with the aid of hooks or crooks. They overlook that they're the future hopes of the us of a.simplest patriotic, law-abiding and disciplined youths (college students) can uplift the society and construct the state. they could make a contribution to social work in diverse ways. in preference to wasting energy in regional and political rivalries, they can assist in positive programmes. they are able to educate the illiterate and take person training inside the night. they can assist in preventing against social evils. they are able to do lots in maintaining the city easy, in producing site visitors feel most of the humans. they can render helping hand to the sick, old and terrible. they could play the position of second for the police. KaSHif ali KHoSSo dadu

Baldia Town and its problems BALDIA town has no infrastructure, poor road maintenance. And there's no authorities clinic or another making plans infrastructure in Baldia. Basic facilities isn't always to be had to humans here. home of Baldia are low pay individuals, they're not getting their essential necessities and that they are suffering for an all-encompassing time. The issue of water is terrible individuals do not get water at all and what they get is not spotless for drinking. Individuals gets sick because of the inaccessibility of clean water. While, water was seen overflowing out of the haggard lines, shaping water pools to a great extent and causing challenges for people on foot and the traffic. Roads aren't totally developed and their condition is very awful. Mishaps happen each day in light of the fact that the roads and streets are broken. Roads development and fix projects are begun yet never finished.In entire Baldia town not have a solitary public hospital. Individuals likewise travel to get a great deal their treatment. Individuals here become ill due to trash dumps, residue and heaps of contamination. SEEma Ejaz KaracHi

Saturday, 17 July, 2021

08 WORLD VIEW

Challenges in Combating terrorism and extremism online THERE IS, AS ALWAYS, NO ONE SOLUTION TO SOLVE ALL THE NUANCED PROBLEMS AROUND COUNTERING TERRORISM AND VIOLENT EXTREMISM ONLINE. HOWEVER, TO EVOLVE AND MITIGATE RISK WITH THE TIMES, A BIG-TENT APPROACH IS CLEARLY NEEDED. MULTISTAKEHOLDER FORUMS WILL HAVE TO BECOME MORE COMFORTABLE WITH NON-U.S. COMPANIES AT THE TABLE

lawFare institute

Erin Saltman

NLINe terrorism and violent extremism are cross-platform and transnational by nature. Nobody has just one app on their phone or their laptop, and bad actors are no different. These trends are evident in case studies—from the international recruitment of foreign terrorist fighters, including women, by the Islamic state, to the violenceinducing conspiracy theories from Qanon. any efforts trying to effectively counter terrorism and violent extremism need to similarly go beyond one-country, one-platform frameworks. The next big challenge for governments and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) working with tech companies is to embrace the reality that the internet and its services are highly heterogeneous, and platforms with global users are increasingly not based in the United states. STATE OF PLAY: The ability of tech companies to share risk mitigation tools across platforms, as well as to work with governments and civil society to share trends and advance compatible crisis response frameworks, has come a long way in recent years. These endeavors have been fostered through initiatives like the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT), where I work; Tech against Terrorism (TaT); and the Global Network on extremism and Technology (GNeT). These organizations and networks work collaboratively with wider government-led forums—such as the eU Internet Forum, the United Nations’ Counter-Terrorism executive Directorate and the Christchurch Call to action—in an effort to advance tech companies’ efforts to self-regulate and increase proactive responses.

To date, GIFCT and others have worked on cross-platform efforts for its member companies. This includes things like a hashsharing database to share hashes, or “digital fingerprints,” of photos and videos that have been identified as terrorist content so that platforms can track and remove it if necessary. Learning from progress made in the child-safety space, hashed versions of labeled terrorist content allow the identifiers of terrorist content to be shared without sharing any user data or personally identifiable information. shared efforts also include a cross-platform incident response framework to react quickly to real-world attacks that have online elements, like the 2019 livestreaming of the Christchurch shootings, and a series of international working groups. Working groups bring together government officials, tech leaders, members of civil society, first responders, and other stakeholders to build best practices and understanding on topics such as crisis response, content algorithms and positive interventions for countering online extremism, transparency reporting frameworks, and technical approaches to countering terrorism. research on terrorist and violent extremist trends shows that a single online terrorist campaign often uses three or more platforms. a smaller, less-regulated platform is usually used for private coordination—such as an end-to-end encrypted chat platform. a second platform is used for storing original copies of propaganda and media; think cloud storage or similar file-sharing sites. additionally, core members or sympathizers disseminate strategized content on larger social media platforms, or “amplification” outlets, which will inevitably be the well-known platforms that everyone uses to gain the most traction. Fighting terrorism online requires addressing this interplay, but any single platform or company lacks visibility into the trends elsewhere online. academic insights into adversarial trends and efforts to map which platforms are being exploited are key for tech companies to adapt their safety efforts accordingly. Government efforts to convene internet companies around counterterrorism and coun-

terextremism also need to draw on expert insights to cast a wide net that brings smaller and more diverse platforms to the table. social media platforms, despite what some observers fear, are not psychic. Without strong on-platform signals, such as text or images that might be shared alongside a link, they don’t inherently know that a UrL link shared on their platform leads to violating content if that content is hosted on a third-party platform. They also often can’t tell that a user is a “terrorist” or “violent extremist” without obvious signals on their platforms. research looking at the outlinks associated with one Islamic state publication showed that UrLs shared on Twitter alone linked to 244 different content-hosting platforms, largely housed on lesser-known micro-sites, such as 4shared.com, cloudup.com or cloud.mail.ru. BEYOND SOCIAL MEDIA: Large, silicon Valley-based social media companies will always rightfully be subject to scrutiny, but if policymakers are going to effectively challenge terrorism and violent extremism online, they need to think laterally and globally. Violent extremist organizations are savvy about online branding and membership. These organizations, and their followers, increasingly engage in “swagification” as their audiences grow. Logos and subculture slogans of neo-Nazi and white supremacy groups are put on T-shirts, flags, caps, manifestos, and even “survival kits” for members and supporters to purchase. Financial technology and online marketplace platforms are often shocked when human rights groups and social justice NGOs flag these monetized products. Looking at current efforts and advocacy for increased regulation online, the focus has been almost entirely on user-generated content on social media. Legislation in the eU, australia, the United Kingdom and elsewhere focus almost exclusively on the fast removal of images and videos. however, many of the platforms being used to further terrorist and violent extremist efforts have less to do with official propaganda on social media and more to do with funding and coordination.

Conference dial-in services, hospitality platforms for room bookings, smaller chat platforms, gaming-adjacent communication platforms, and transportation applications have all been implicated in terrorist and violent-extremist plots and events in recent years. To help guide these platforms, attention will have to shift to a wider range of safety tools. Logo detection, text classifiers, network deplatforming and UrL-sharing efforts are just some of the ways collaborations can further safety-by-design and proactive work. We can’t simply algorithm our way out of the problem. algorithmic oversight and tools that can enhance efforts are certainly needed, but tooling will always have to be paired with context and human oversight. Open source intelligence and research insights are necessary so that platform moderation teams have resources to help guide them. It is then the responsibility of platforms to take those insights and act on them in accordance with legal guidance and their policies. While tools and algorithms help platforms solve for scale and speed, human oversight and context resources are needed to ensure nuanced understanding and to mitigate any potential over-censorship. GLOBAL USERS, GLOBAL PLATFORMS: For the past 10 to 20 years, people have associated global tech with silicon Valley, or at least with big american companies. These companies have to adhere, at the very least, to U.s. laws, and often implicitly accept U.s. norms on free speech and other rights. But as they have expanded globally, their user base has also expanded exponentially among non-U.s. audiences. For counterterrorism and counterextremism efforts, this has meant the need for a huge scale-up in language comprehension and nuanced understanding of how social and cultural norms of hate speech and violence manifest internationally. The indicators of violent extremism in the United states can’t be expected to look identical to indicators across europe, asia and africa. every region and country has its own violent extremist and terrorist organizations, each with specific socio-political histories that often include coded symbols,

slogans and slurs. Yet not every tech company has the capacity to hire tens of thousands of moderators around the world. Only the largest monetized companies can afford this internal support infrastructure. Crosssector efforts and public-private partnerships will remain key, particularly for the smaller platforms relying on third-party intel and tooling. Lastly, global companies are emerging from non-U.s. markets more frequently. In an Organization for economic Cooperation and Development survey of the top 50 social media platforms, 13 were based in China. These companies are coming from countries with different rules and oversight infrastructure, as well as different cultural norms around privacy and security. This is not inherently bad. however, there are no real supranational global mechanisms to institute digital norms, and even when human rights NGOs and UN bodies highlight the need for “human rights” oversight, GIFCT and those monitoring tech platform progress are already seeing varying interpretations of what that means. are tech companies solving for free speech, privacy or safety? Oftentimes solving for one is at the expense of the other two. platforms navigating among these three necessary pillars have followed different paths. Ultimate user privacy with end-to-end encrypted communication has been criticized as giving a free pass for child exploitation and terrorists. safety- and security-focused policies to remove bad content faster on platforms are criticized for potential over-censorship with possible ramifications for activists when data is handed over to governments. Free speech without parameters inherently leads to dehumanization and violence when unchecked. CROSS-SECTOR COLLABORATION: There is, as always, no one solution to solve all the nuanced problems around countering terrorism and violent extremism online. however, to evolve and mitigate risk with the times, a big-tent approach is clearly needed. Multistakeholder forums will have to become more comfortable with non-U.s. companies at the table. The next big question is, who is willing to come to the table and what can they do together? It will always be easier to judge those companies already at the table, those trying to provide some level of transparency and those willing to admit when something has gone wrong. What to do with companies unwilling to take part in dialogues or provide transparency will increasingly be a question for governments and lawmakers. Dr. Erin Saltman is the director of programming at the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT). She was formerly Facebook’s head of counterterrorism and dangerous organizations policy for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, working with multi-sector stakeholders and building out CVE programs for Facebook in partnership with international NGOs.

The Afghanistan fiasco is a symptom of a greater elite problem ONE DOES NOT NEED TO BE A FAN OF BIDEN, OR A LEFTIST, FOR THAT MATTER, TO THINK THAT TOTAL WITHDRAWAL FROM AFGHANISTAN SHOULD BE A BIPARTISAN CAUSE Federalist

Sumantra maitra

erhaps the worst question in the most recent press conference by president Biden on afghanistan was when a journalist asked whether Biden trusts the Taliban. Befuddled by the bizarre insinuation, Biden asked whether it was a serious question. The unnamed journalist said it absolutely was, because if Biden does not trust the Taliban, why is he handing over the country to the Taliban? Biden incredulously answered that he doesn’t trust the Taliban, but it is not an american problem to solve. The question exemplified the general quality of wisdom and talking points about foreign interventions prevalent among a certain section of the media. afghanistan is not for america to give or keep. It is and has always been a semi-feudal society, where there never was a coherent state in the entirety of human history. The Taliban are aligned with afghanistan’s majority pashtun tribe, who can keep on waiting forever and eventually will achieve power. Most importantly, trust is not a determinant factor in foreign policy, a domain where amoral interests decide alignment and balancing. No one over the age of 13 with a functioning cognitive ability and a rudimentary sense of history should ever talk like that journalist, yet here he was, in the White

house press corps, making a fool out of himself. One does not need to be a fan of Biden, or a leftist, for that matter, to think that total withdrawal from afghanistan should be a bipartisan cause. americans overwhelmingly favor bringing troops home from peripheral regions and avoiding foreign entanglements. In fact, the Washington post lamented that on afghanistan Biden’s instincts are closer to Donald Trump’s: “in the handling of the United states’ longest war, Biden’s core instincts have aligned with those of former president Donald Trump — a skepticism of endless military deployments and a willingness to end those campaigns despite security concerns.” This is a late acceptance of the idea that Trump’s foreign policy instincts weren’t wrong. avoiding mindless humanitarian intervention is a prudent thing to do, regardless of who is doing it. In that cause, presidents Trump and Biden have been remarkably similar so far, and even president Obama understood that principle, even though he was persuaded to intervene in Libya by samantha power and hillary Clinton, overruling his vice president, Biden. What Biden said in that press conference should sound familiar to a conservative realist, and was what Trump said in some form or other during his campaigns: “We did not go to afghanistan to nationbuild. and it’s the right and the responsibility of the afghan people alone to decide their future and how they want to run their country.” Who could legitimately argue with that? The war in afghanistan was not supposed to be a potential colonial occupation, building institutions and saving women’s rights, resulting in 200 years of blood and treasure loss. american soldiers were not sent there to

imitate sir Charles James Napier no matter how many gallons of tears Gen. Mark Milley sheds. “Never has afghanistan been a united country, not in all of its history. Not in all of its history,” Biden noted. That is true too. afghanistan was always a primitive area in the middle of the great-power rivalry of each age, between the Mughals and persians, the British and russians, then the soviets and americans. No one ever made a coherent state out of afghanistan because it never existed in human history. The american idea of state formation in afghanistan was predicated on the theory that people all across the world are equal and afghanistan could be like post-war Japan or Germany, where Madisonian democracy would flourish and afghans unite under one national identity and fight to preserve their system of governance. Culture, geography, and history never mattered to this idealism. The flaw was that afghans would never fight for this goal, as there has never been a unified afghan identity since the time of Babur. There were only the pashtun, Tajiks, hazaras, and other such tribal identities. In contrast, Germany and Japan had coherent, civilized polities, different though they might be in temperament than the anglo-american west. It is near-impossible to impose a foreign system on a feudal society without colonizing it for a few hundred years. None of this is a new argument, but all of it was ignored in the build-up to the conflict nonetheless. The U.s. Department of Defense should have studied more history instead of acting like a nonprofit organization. state and identity formation takes centuries. The painful thing was that this should have been Trump’s moment. It will forever be a counterfactual history, as no one quite knows what led him to hire John

Bolton, h.r. McMaster, and a top brass who constantly opposed his every realignment, from syria to afghanistan. McMaster, widely regarded as a “scholar,” is still worried about the potential fallout of U.s. withdrawal on afghan women. The american people, on the other hand, are not at all concerned about whether a sexual revolution goes on in afghanistan or not. In that way, these interventions and humanitarian pretensions are primarily elite concerns. Most americans are far more grounded, smart, and realist than that. In his latest essay, stephen Walt raises a few fundamental questions. Why did the United states (and the North atlantic Treaty Organization) imagine they could turn afghanistan into a modern, Western-style democracy? Why did the Taliban consistently out-fight the afghan National security Forces? Finally, why did the war continue for so long? The answers to the last two questions are, as I mentioned above, that afghanistan never had a single identity, so naturally the multi-ethnic afghan forces kept losing to the primarily pashtun Taliban; secondly, the war continued for so long because the american ideological brass was thoroughly detached from their own countrymen. The first question needs to be studied more, as that is the ultimate lesson from this 20-year fiasco. afghanistan (and Iraq, Libya, and syria) are not isolated debacles, and it would be foolish to consider them so. Fiascos like these will keep happening for as long as we harbor the delusion that all problems in the world are the United states’s concern, and deserve our blood and treasure. They are a symptom of a far more entrenched modern and elite worldview, which is essentially radical in nature, believes in a historical arc of progress, and is fundamentally opposed to the guidance of american betters ranging from George Washington to John Quincy adams. They warned america against foreign overextension and exhaustion, which results in internal social incoherence and collapse. Dr. Sumantra Maitra is an ECR member at the Royal Historical Society (United Kingdom), and a fellow at Martin Center (United States). He is a senior contributor to The Federalist.

Saturday, 17 July, 2021

BUSINESS 09

ISLAMABAD corporate corner Balanced agriculture policies, value chain investments needed to curb food inflation and manage strategic commodity reserves KARACHI: The government needs to introduce balanced agriculture policies and modernize the value chain to control food inflation and manage strategic reserves of certain commodities in Pakistan, according to experts who participated in the Agri Webinar Series organized by Engro Fertilizers and Pakistan Agricultural Coalition. The session, titled "Rethinking Pakistan’s approach to managing food inflation and strategic reserves", included Dr Akbar Zaidi (Executive Director, IBA), Syed Mahmood Shah (Senior VP, Sindh Abadgar Board), Rashid Langrial (Additional Secretary, Ministry of National Food Security & Research) and Imran Nasrullah (CEO, Cargill Pakistan) as the panelists. The session was moderated by Arif Nadeem, CEO of Pakistan Agricultural Coalition. According to Dr Akbar Zaidi, weak supply chain infrastructure, changes in demographics, currency devaluation and transition towards the market economy are some factors contributing to food inflation in Pakistan. To manage the food inflation and food security challenge, there needs to be a greater focus on comprehensive planning and forecasting to accurately determine the supplydemand dynamics. While strategic reserves are important, the basic challenge of maintaining those reserves by preventing pest infestation and spoilage would remain till investments are made in the supply chain and infrastructure. Syed Mahmood Shah also reiterated that basic infrastructural issues need to be fixed to enable the development of value-added exports and to enhance the country’s food security. There is a dire need to replace ad-hoc policies with long-term solutions that promote farmer well-being, otherwise the growers will not prioritize crop yield and quality. Further, the government must provide credit facilities and ensure power supply to rural areas to integrate rural centers in the value chain through the development of processing units in those areas. Imran Nasrullah added that Pakistan has remained a food deficit country for the last few decades as systemic issues of yields and capacities are not being overcome. Pakistan should learn from global examples, such as Indonesia, to develop balanced agricultural policies that promote value-addition and exports to offset the import bill and ensure food security through staple crops. He added that the country has tremendous potential in exports of milk, rice and wheat through value-addition, and improvement in quality controls and logistics. Further, based on global learnings, Pakistan should take urgent steps to promote women empowerment in cooperatives and farming to enable them to add greater value. Highlighting the initiatives of government to uplift the agriculture sector, Rashid Langrial shared that the government is seriously contemplating building strategic reserves of certain commodities to counter any price manipulation in the market. The government is fully focused on the agriculture sector with its agricultural transformation plan to modernize the infrastructure, develop cold storages and commodity warehousing facilities, boost farm level productivity, and mechanization and research. With the launch of pilot projects, new export opportunities in the value-added sector, such as shrimp farming, are also being explored. Press release

US TO SAncTiOn chineSe OfficiAlS AnD wArn cOMpAnieS Over hOnG KOnG: repOrT WASHINGTON reUTers

HE United States is preparing to impose sanctions on Friday on a number of Chinese officials over Beijing's crackdown on democracy in Hong Kong, and warn international businesses operating there about deteriorating conditions, two people with knowledge of the situation told Reuters. The sources said the financial sanctions would target seven officials from China's Hong Kong liaison office, the official platform which projects Beijing's influence into the Chinese territory. A separate updated business advisory issued by the State Department would highlight U.S. government concerns about the impact on international companies of Hong Kong's national security law. Critics say Beijing implemented that law last year to facilitate a crackdown on pro-democracy activists and free press. "Let me talk about the business advisory," U.S.

President Joe Biden said when asked about it at a news conference with visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel. "The situation in Hong Kong is deteriorating. And the Chinese government is not keeping its commitment that it made on how it would deal with Hong Kong, and so it is more of an advisory as to what may happen in Hong Kong. It's as simple as that and as a complicated as that." The moves mark the Biden administration's latest effort to hold the Chinese government accountable for what Washington calls an erosion of rule of law in the former British colony that returned to Chinese control in 1997. Foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said at a regular news conference on Friday that the U.S. should stop interfering in Hong Kong. China would make a "resolute, strong response" to U.S. actions, he said. Both people, who asked not to be identified, said the Hong Kong measures were still subject to change. One of the sources said the White House was also re-

What might the Bank of England do to wean the UK economy oﬀ stimulus? LONDON reUTers

Two top Bank of England officials surprised investors this week by saying the time might be nearing for the British central bank to rein in the huge stimulus programme it has used to steer the economy through the coronavirus crisis. With activity bouncing back strongly, and inflation rising faster than expected, Deputy Governor Dave Ramsden said on Wednesday that the BoE might start to consider tighten-

ing monetary policy sooner than he previously thought. On Thursday, Monetary Policy Committee member Michael Saunders went further, warning that sticking with the BoE's full 895 billion pound ($1.24 trillion) bond purchase programme risked entrenching higher inflation expectations if the recovery continued apace. On Friday, a group of lawmakers told the BoE to explain why it was not winding down its stimulus. But the way ahead is far from clear. The BoE does not know how

many jobs will be lost when the government ends its wage subsidies programme in September, so MPC members remain cautious about removing stimulus. And the central bank is acutely aware of how talk by the U.S. Federal Reserve of merely slowing bond purchases in 2013 caused a "taper tantrum" which pushed up borrowing costs in financial markets sharply and forced the Fed to stress it was in no rush. Below is a summary of the ways the BoE could choose to take its foot off the stimulus accelerator.

MD SNGPL Ali J. Hamdani Issued Directives on Consumers’ Complaints Sui Northern Gas organized e-Kachehri for natural gas customers at its Head Office. Managing Director SNGPL Ali J. Hamdani listened to complaints of customers and directed relevant officials for immediate resolution of complaints. Senior Management of the Company along with Regional Managers attended E-Kachehri through video conference. Consumers belonging to different areas of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa lodged complaints related to gas connection and billing. MD SNGPL Ali J. Hamdani issued directives to the relevant regional managers and assured customers of quick resolution of their issues. It is pertinent to mention that under the directives of Prime Minister’s Performance Deliv-

ery Unit (PMDU), SNGPL has been organizing E-Kachehri for more than a year during which a large number of customers have benefitted from it. Press release

Analysis: How Japan's investing star became embroiled in Toshiba board dispute BOSTON/TOKYO reUTers

Hiromichi Mizuno's connections, spanning from the Japanese government to Harvard University, made him a guiding voice among climate-focused investors worldwide. Now those ties have placed his own conduct under scrutiny after an independent report focused on Mizuno's role in alleged collusion between the management of Toshiba Corp (6502.T) and Japan's trade ministry to block foreign investors from gaining board influence at the conglomerate. The revelations helped lead to the ouster of Toshiba’s chairman last month. Mizuno said in a recent interview that he put no pressure on Harvard and only volunteered to help the endowment understand how things worked in Japan. He and government officials have challenged the report's conclusions and said it does not reflect Mizuno's account. The dispute highlights the tension between the two strands of Mizuno's career - the champion of sustainable investment and the government insider - at a time when foreign shareholders are trying to judge Japan's receptivity to over-

viewing a possible executive order on immigration from Hong Kong, but that it was still not certain to be implemented. The U.S. Treasury Department has declined to comment on the issue following media reports this week about possible new sanctions. "We know that a healthy business community relies on the rule of law, which the national security law that applies to Hong Kong continues to undermine," State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Tuesday when asked about the issue. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman is preparing a visit to Japan, South Korea and Mongolia next week. The State Department's announcement of her trip made no mention of any stop in China, which had been anticipated in foreign policy circles and reported in some media. The State Department on Tuesday strengthened warnings to businesses about the growing risks of having supply chain and investment links to China's Xinjiang region, citing forced labor and human rights abuses there, which Beijing has denied.

seas investment. Abby Adlerman, an adviser to corporate boards and CEO of Boardspan, a provider of corporate governance software, said it would have been better if Mizuno had recused himself from the talks at Harvard. "All of this recognition and access to information means he is pulled in different directions as to his loyalties and has responsibilities to many parties," she said. The current situation, she said, is "shuttle diplomacy gone bad." Mizuno said he only volunteered to help university officials as a part of the Harvard community, where he was about to start an academic fellowship. “I did what I could to help both Harvard and the Japanese government" make informed decisions, he said. PUSHING MANAGERS: The report's description of a powerful government insider throwing his weight around contrasts with the civic-minded persona that Mizuno cultivated as chief investment officer of Japan's $1.6 trillion Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) and burnished as a Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) director. Mizuno earned an MBA from Northwestern University and joined the GPIF in 2015 from London-based private eq-

uity firm Coller Capital. The post gave him a platform to become a prominent voice pushing for considering environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues in investment decisions. But his approach caused friction with people concerned GPIF would become actively involved with the Japanese stock market or push beyond its enabling legislation, according to a Harvard Business School case study about his efforts. Mizuno left the GPIF last year but retained his government connection as a special adviser at Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), holding the position until being named a United Nations special envoy on sustainable investment in December. "He's got a style which is not traditional, and that sometimes makes people uncomfortable. But he's perceived by the international crowd as an important champion of ESG practices, and that makes him a hero outside of Japan," said Alicia Ogawa, who leads a center focused on Japanese corporate governance at Columbia University. 'SOMEONE WITH CONNECTIONS': Mizuno's academic fellowship was at Harvard Business School, distinct

from Harvard Management Co., or HMC, which runs the university's $41 billion endowment. HMC held a 4% Toshiba stake, one of the single largest chunks of shares, which drew Toshiba's attention when it sought to lobby investors against outside director candidates last summer. The company also sought intervention from METI, which could use new foreign investment rules to block the nominees. When that didn't work and HMC declined to meet with Toshiba, METI gave the company Mizuno's name as "someone with connections to HMC," according to the shareholder-commissioned investigation, conducted by three lawyers. Yet Mizuno would be an unlikely messenger to tell a shareholder to back off, having spent years stressing governance issues. He once cautioned on Twitter against Japan's foreign investment rules, worried they gave overseas investors "impressions of a setback in corporate governance or anti-shareholder activism." He told Reuters nobody asked him to deliver messages to HMC, and that he told METI Harvard was not an activist but rather "a very sophisticated longterm investor.

Mobilink Microfinance Bank launches Digital Application DOST- to facilitate banking on the Go LAHORE: Pakistan’s largest digital bank, Mobilink Microfinance Bank Limited (MMBL) has launched ‘Dost’, a mobile-based application that provides a complete digital banking ecosystem to its customers and gives them hassle-free access to financial services round the clock. The latest addition to the MMBL ecosystem reflects the bank’s relentless pursuit for innovation to foster digital banking and financial inclusion in the country. The digital application was launched in Islamabad by President & CEO MMBL, Mr. Ghazanfar Azzam along with senior executives, while dignitaries from the banking and finance sectors, MMBL staff as well as customers, and media were also in attendance. Designed for ease of use and agility, the Dost app will help customers experience an array of digital banking features and perform all sorts of transactions through their accounts such as funds transfer, bill payments, mobile top-ups, receive loan summaries, purchase movie, bus and, airline tickets, view, and download e-statements, block & manage cheques and debit card and a lot more with only a few taps on their smartphones. In addition, users will stay connected with the MMBL customer support team through instant WhatsApp Chat right from the Dost homepage in case they need additional support. In his keynote address, President & CEO MMBL, Mr. Ghazanfar Azzam said: “This latest innovation is driven by MMBL’s long-term commitment to deliver unparalleled access to top-notch banking and finance facilities to enable and empower our customers. Similar to a trusted friend, ‘Dost’ will always remain close and readily available to users in times of pressing need and further strengthen our connection with our valued customers. I believe this new addition to our digital ecosystem will also be instrumental in fostering financial inclusion in the country which is a key strategic priority for us. I congratulate the MMBL team for this remarkable success.” Speaking at the launch ceremony, Chief Finance & Digital Officer MMBL, Sardar Mohammad Abubakr said: “MMBL is proud to launch Dost, a complete digital ecosystem designed to optimize and simplify digital banking operations for our valued customers. As the largest digital bank in the country, MMBL is always on the lookout to introduce innovative solutions to promote digital banking and digitize customer journeys end-to-end. The digital application will provide seamless delivery of services to our customers besides extending digital services to underserved areas lacking physical banking and finance infrastructure.” The bill payment, mobile top-up, and loan request facilities are features specifically designed for the ease and quick financial facilitation of users. Dost offers its customers 1000+ billers through which they can make payments to utility companies, telecom services, government bodies like FBR, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), Government of Pakistan, airlines, Internet Service Providers (ISPs), education institutes, and many more. Likewise, the ease of blocking lost signed cheques and debit cards right from the couch will save users a lot of inconvenience. Dost is a fully secured digital solution and will also provide fingerprint and facial recognition user logins on supporting devices going forward. MMBL is offering some exciting offers such as cash backs on first transactions through the Dost app to both MMBL customers and independent users. Press release

Saturday, 17 July, 2021

10 FOREIGN NEWS

ISLAMABAD

WHO prOpOses fresH missiOn tO CHina and lab audits GENEVA

REUTERS

he World health Organization has proposed a second phase of studies in China into the origins of the coronavirus, including audits of laboratories in Wuhan, but there is no sign yet that Beijing would accept a further international probe, diplomats said. WhO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus presented the plan to member states at a closed-door meeting on Friday, a day after saying that investigations were being hampered by the lack of raw data on the first days of spread in China. A WhO-led team spent four weeks in and around the central city of Wuhan with Chinese researchers and said in a joint report in March that the virus had probably been

transmitted from bats to humans through another animal. But countries including the United States and some scientists have demanded further investigation, particularly into the Wuhan Institute of Virology which was conducting research into bats. The WhO plan calls for further studies in China - but not in other countries - and specifically for audits of laboratories around Wuhan, diplomats said. China's mission to the U.N. in Geneva did not respond to a request for comment. "We need information, direct information on what the situation of this lab was before and at the start of the pandemic. Then, if we get full information, we can exclude that. One of the challenges again is, you know, a challenge of access and also transparency with regard to the hypotheses that

Gunmen kill niGerian army General On HiGHWay frOm Capital ABUJA REUTERS

Gunmen shot dead a Nigerian army general as he was travelling by car on a major road from the capital, Abuja, the army said on Friday, in the first such fatal gun attack on a senior serving military officer. Armed robberies and kidnappings for ransom, particularly in the northwest, have become so frequent that many are afraid to travel by road. Growing nationwide lawlessness led legislators in April to call on the president to declare a state of emergency. Major General hassan Ahmed was killed when gunmen attacked his vehicle along the Lokoja-Abuja road on Thursday, army spokesman Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu said in a statement. Lokoja, 200 km (124 miles) south of Abuja, is the capital of Kogi state. Nwachukwu did not say who was travelling with Ahmed, or how far outside of Abuja he was, but local media said the deceased general was with his driver and a relative. Ahmed was a director at army headquarters, and had earlier served as the army's Provost Marshal. While two retired generals were shot dead last year in attacks as they travelled by road, no serving general had previously been killed in this manner. The insecurity in northwestern Nigeria is joined by Islamist insurgencies in the northeast that the United Nations says have left 350,000 people dead over 12 years. In the middle of the country, conflicts between nomadic cattle herders and farmers have killed thousands and displaced half a million over the past decade, according to French medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres. In the southeast, a recent spate of attacks on police has triggered fears of a return to war and state-sanctioned violence.

are put," Tedros told reporters on Thursday. China has called the theory that the virus may have escaped from a Wuhan laboratory "absurd" and said repeatedly that "politicizing" the issue would hamper investigations. At a regular news briefing on Friday, when asked about Tedros' comments, China's foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said that some data was unable to be copied or leave China as it involved personal information. It was not clear whether the WhO plan was a "wish list", one diplomat told Reuters, adding: "It goes totally against what the Chinese have been saying for the last months." China's mission to the U.N. in Geneva issued a statement on Thursday night saying that 48 developing countries had written to the WhO calling for the "global study on origin-tracing" to be guided by science and

not by politics. "however, for quite some time, a handful of countries, led by the U.S., have been

'Revolt of the young': Swiss to vote on reform of pension system ZURICH REUTERS

Swiss voters are to get a fresh chance to decide on reforming their increasingly underfinanced state pension system under a proposal that would raise both men's and women's retirement ages to 66 at first, and to just over 67.5 by 2050. Ageing populations and ultra-low interest rates are putting pressure on pension systems everywhere, and many countries have already raised retirement ages. Recent attempts to initiate a reform through the Swiss system of direct democracy

have failed at the ballot box. Now the Young Liberals, youth wing of the business-friendly Liberal Democratic Party (FDP), are having another go. Under the slogan "Revolt of the Young", they submitted 145,000 signatures to authorities in Bern on Friday to force a referendum on a proposal to bring the retirement age to 66 by 2032, from the current 64 for women and 65 for men. "The reform discussed in parliament doesn't go far enough. It only secures the system for a few years, but the big problem comes afterwards," said Patrick eugster, president of the initiative

committee. "We need a sustainable solution now," he said. "If people live longer, they also have to work a bit longer." The proposal would raise the retirement age more slowly from 2032, in line with average life expectancy. The initiative needs validation from parliament, and a referendum would then be expected in around three years. Critics say the reform is unfair to women, whose retirement age would rise faster, and would only benefit the wealthy. "People with low and medium in-

stigmatizing the epidemic, putting a geographical label on the virus and politicizing the origins study," it said.

comes would be working longer to improve the financing of the pension system so the rich don't have to contribute more," said Cedric Wermuth, co-president of the Social-democratic Party (SP). Thomas Bauer of the employee organisation TravailSuisse said the move would lead to more older workers being registered as unemployed or disabled. Switzerland's pension system rests on two mandatory pillars, the Old Age and Survivors' Insurance (AhV) and the occupational benefits insurance (BVG) or "pension fund", and a third, voluntary pillar for private savings. Since 2014, the AhV has been paying out more than it takes in, with the problem bound to intensify as the babyboomer generation retires. The UBS International Pension Gap Index published in June found reforms were urgently needed in Switzerland as the ratio of active to retired people, currently at just above three to one, was likely to fall to just two to one by 2050.

The Warthog and the senator: The politics of retiring a warplane WASHINGTON REUTERS

The U.S. Air Force is desperate to get rid of some of its fleet of expensive, slow and outdated A-10 Warthog airplanes, but politicians have blocked the move, aiming to keep the local dollars flowing. President Joe Biden wants to retire dozens of the 40year-old warplanes to free up funding to modernize the military. But within weeks of the release of his proposed defense budget, Democrats drafted a law to keep the planes, many of which are based in Arizona, where Senator Mark Kelly is up for re-election in 2022. The negotiations over the A-10, which the Air Force has wanted to retire for more than two decades, show the extensive measures Democrats will take to protect their slim majority in the Senate. having military aircraft based in a constituency brings enormous economic benefit. The A-10 fleet at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson has been viewed as vital to the base, which contributes about $3 billion to the local economy and is among the region's top employers, former Tucson Mayor Thomas Volgy said. Kelly wrote to the Senate Appropriations Committee on July 9 to request $272 million "to restore all funding to the A-10 program" in fiscal 2022 and $615 million to buy new wings to rewing the portion of the A-10 fleet

that had been earmarked for retirement. he also spoke to Democratic Senator Jack Reed, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, who in turn prohibited any A-10 retirements in his draft of the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act, annual legislation that sets defense policy, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The NDAA is a long way from becoming law, but items added by the chairman in the draft are difficult to strike, or weaken with an amendment.

Democrats hold a tenuous majority in the 50-50 Senate thanks to Vice President Kamala harris' tie-breaking vote, meaning they cannot afford to lose even one seat in the chamber. Kelly faces up to seven potential Republican competitors in the race to keep his seat. Mothballing about a fifth of the A-10 fleet would be a significant symbolic blow that local officials fear would foreshadow a longer-term plan to eliminate the planes completely - and could weaken Kelly's candidacy. "We all know that the A-10 had been on the chopping block for some time. It has taken a herculean effort by elected officials to keep the A-10 in the Air Force's inventory," Volgy said. Kelly opposes "retiring A-10s without a suitable replacement to carry out the close air support mission that is critical to our national security and protecting American troops," a spokesperson told Reuters. The A-10 has been on the chopping block for many years because it is old - it was first deployed in 1976 - and because it competes with attack helicopters for the best way to provide air support to frontline troops. While the Air Force plans to install a larger contingent of military personnel at the base once the A-10s are retired - eclipsing the economic fallout from mothballing the planes - Kelly could be blamed for letting some planes go under his watch. Kelly is seen as among the most vulnerable Senate Democrats up for re-election in 2022, along with Georgia's Raphael Warnock.

Reuters photographer Danish Siddiqui captured the people behind the story NEW DELHI REUTERS

Danish Siddiqui, the Reuters journalist killed in crossfire on Friday covering the war in Afghanistan, was a largely self-taught photographer who scaled the heights of his profession while documenting wars, riots and human suffering. A native of New Delhi, Siddiqui, 38, is survived by his wife Rike and two young children. he was part of a team that was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography in 2018 for documenting Myanmar's Rohingya refugee crisis, a series described by the judging committee as "shocking photographs that exposed the world to the violence Rohingya refugees

A man works inside a cotton factory in Mumbai June 4, 2010. REUTERS

faced in fleeing Myanmar." Friends and colleagues described a man who cared deeply about the stories he covered, carrying out meticulous research before

embarking on assignments and always focusing on the people caught up in the news. "even in breaking news cycles he would think about humanizing a

story, and you see that so often in his pictures, including those that won the Pulitzer and stories we have done in the last few years," said Devjyot Ghoshal, a Reuters correspondent based in New Delhi and a neighbor of Siddiqui. "Covering the Delhi riots together and the Covid-19 pandemic more recently – his most compelling images were about people, isolating the human element." A Reuters photographer since 2010, Siddiqui's work has spanned wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Rohingya crisis, pro-democracy protests in hong Kong and unrest in India. In recent months, his searing photographs capturing the coronavirus pandemic in India have spread across the world. "Ninety percent of the photogra-

phy I have learnt has come from experimentation in the field," Siddiqui once wrote. "What I enjoy most is capturing the human face of a breaking story. I shoot for the common man who wants to see and feel a story from a place where he can't be present himself." Ahmad Danish Siddiqui was born on May 19, 1983. he became a journalist after a Master's degree in Mass Communications from Delhi's Jamia Milia Islamia University. Siddiqui joined Reuters after stints as a correspondent with the hindustan Times newspaper and the TV Today channel. Last year, while covering sectarian unrest in a Delhi suburb, Siddiqui and Ghoshal saw a Muslim man being beaten by a frenzied hindu mob. The images were

widely featured in international media, highlighting the danger of wider conflagration between India's hindu majority and sizeable Muslim minority. Siddiqui, a Muslim, had a narrow escape when the mob turned their attention on him. Those photographs were part of a selection of Reuters pictures of the year in 2020. Siddiqui provided video and text from his assignments as well as photographs. On his final assignment, he was embedded with Afghan special forces in the city of Kandahar. earlier this week he was travelling with a convoy of commandos when it came under heavy fire from Taliban militants on the outskirts of Kandahar. he captured the drama in pictures, film and words.

Saturday, 17 July, 2021

SPORTS 11

ISLAMABAD

DjokoVIC SAyS hE WIll plAy Tokyo olympICS 'WITh muCh pRIDE'

Saka calls out social media giants for 'not doing enough' to stop racist messages LONDON

PARIS

AFP

England winger Bukayo Saka told social media platforms Instagram, Twitter and Facebook they must do more to stamp out racial abuse after being targeted in the wake of his Euro 2020 final penalty miss. After the 19-year-old's spotkick was saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma to seal Italy's triumph at Wembley on Sunday, the Arsenal star was targeted by trolls online along with teammates Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho, who also missed penalties. "To the social media platforms Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, I don't want any child or adult to have to receive the hateful and hurtful messages that me, Marcus and Jadon have received this week," Saka said in a post on Twitter on Thursday. "I knew instantly the kind of hate that I was about to receive, and that is a sad reality that your powerful platforms are not doing enough to stop these messages. "There is no place for racism or hate of any kind in football or in any area of society and to the majority of people coming together to call out the people sending these messages, by taking action and reporting these comments to the police and by driving out the hate by being kind to one another, we will win. "Love always wins." Saka had been one of England's breakout stars as the Three Lions reached a first major tournament final for 55 years. Yet there was a sour end to his Euro experience.

VAR scores Euro win with clinical and fast decision-making: research LONDON REUTERS

The use of Video Assistant Referee (VAR) upsets many soccer fans worldwide, but its role at the European Championship was far less controversial than during the 2020-21 English Premier League season, William Hill said in a report on Thursday. The bookmaker generated a controversy rating for each of the 18 decisions overturned by VAR during the Euros with reactionary metrics such as tweet volume, text sentiment analysis and articles generated on the incidents. The pan-European tournament produced an average controversy rating of 4.40, making it 14.39% less controversial than the Premier League. Five of those 18 overturned decisions led to goals, six led to the awarding of penalties, three goals were allowed while six were disallowed for offside. There was also one goal ruled out for handball and two red cards as a result of the use of VAR. Mario Gavranovic's potential winner in a 1-1 group-stage draw with Wales was rated as the most controversial call of the tournament, with Swiss forward correctly adjudged to have been marginally offside. Karim Benzema's strike chalked off in France's 1-0 win over Germany and Dutch defender Matthijs de Ligt's card upgrade to red for a deliberate handball in their last-16 defeat by the Czech Republic also sparked outrage on social media.

AFP

ORLD number one Novak Djokovic said Thursday he will play at the Tokyo Olympics, giving him the opportunity to achieve the first calendar Golden Slam by a male player. "I booked my flight for Tokyo and will proudly be joining #TeamSerbia for the Olympics," tweeted Djokovic in English. "With much pride I'm packing for Tokyo and joining our national team in the fight for the brightest medals at the Olympic arenas," he then tweeted in Serbian. "For me playing for Serbia was always a special joy and motivation and I will give my best to make us all happy. Let's go." The 34-year-old has already won the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon titles this year. He needs Olympic gold and then the US Open to become the first man to capture the Golden Grand Slam. The calendar Golden Slam has only ever been achieved once in the women's game when Steffi Graf swept the board of all four majors and Olympic gold at Seoul in 1988. Serena Williams, Rafael Nadal and Andre Agassi have claimed career Golden

Slams. Djokovic's path to potential gold in Tokyo had already been eased by the decision of rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal to skip the tournament. US Open champion Dominic Thiem is also an absentee. Djokovic won a bronze medal in singles at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing where he was defeated by Nadal in the semi-finals before beating James Blake of the United States for third place. At London in 2012, he carried Serbia's flag at the opening ceremony but was again a semi-final loser at the hands of Andy Murray. He was defeated by Juan Martin del Potro in the bronze medal match. Del Potro also beat him in the first round in Rio four years later. Djokovic's announcement on Thursday came just four days after he had cast doubt on his participation at the Games. Having defeated Matteo Berrettini for a sixth Wimbledon title and 20th career Grand Slam crown on Sunday, Djokovic admitted he had cooled on making the trip, saying it was only "50/50" if he would participate. "As I said, my plan was always to go to the Olympic Games. But right now I'm a little bit divided. It's kind of 50/50 because of what I heard in the last couple of days," said Djokovic. The Serb had always insisted he would

think twice if the Covid-19 protocols in Japan became too strict and if fans were banned. All venues at the Games, which start on July 23, will be closed to spectators as the Japanese authorities look to limit the risks of Covid-19. Foreign visitors have been barred as have family members of visiting athletes. "That was really disappointing to hear. I also hear that there's going to be a lot of restrictions within the Village," said Djokovic. "Possibly you would not be able to see other athletes perform live.

Upgrades will help but Red Bull still ahead, says Hamilton LONDON REUTERS

Mercedes should be closer to Formula One leaders Red Bull at this weekend's British Grand Prix but there will still be a performance gap, seven times world champion Lewis Hamilton said on Thursday. Hamilton is 32 points behind Red Bull's Dutch youngster Max Verstappen after nine races and ahead of a grand prix the Briton has won a record seven times. Red Bull have won the last five races in a row, with Verstappen chasing his fourth successive victory, but Hamilton was hopeful car upgrades would give him more of a chance of fighting back. "A lot of work's gone on over the last couple of weeks so I'm hoping that to come back to a circuit that suits us a little bit better hopefully bodes well for a closer battle," said Hamilton. Mercedes have won seven of the

last eight British Grands Prix and also taken nine consecutive pole positions at Silverstone. "There's a lot of changes on the car

but it's not a massive update in terms of the gap that we've seen in the races," Hamilton said. Hamilton said Red Bull's advantage appeared to be two to three tenths of a second a lap and Mercedes had not brought that much of a performance improvement but were hopeful they had made a step in the right direction. An additional challenge for this weekend is a new sprint qualifying on Saturday, with a maximum three points on offer for a 100km race that sets the grid for Sunday. "We need to win both races," said Hamilton. "Again, that's going to be difficult. Do we have the single lap pace that they have? Unlikely but we could be surprised tomorrow. "I'm trying to stay hopeful and positive." Finnish team mate Valtteri Bottas said he hoped to be competitive. "I don't think we're going to be on pole by one second like last year but I hope we can fight for the pole," he said.

Little fanfare as Tokyo enters Olympic countdown

TOKYO AFP

Tokyo entered the final Olympic countdown on Friday, but there was little fanfare with just one week until the opening ceremony, as virus infections surge in the Japanese capital. Organisers have been forced to bar spectators from all events in the city and most venues hosting competitions elsewhere in the country. And Olympic participants from athletes to media face a range of anti-virus measures including regular testing and limits on their movement.

But with Tokyo recording its highest case numbers since a winter wave in January, scrutiny of virus risks around the Games is intense. International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach insisted Thursday that anti-virus rules "are working". Among thousands of arrivals to Japan since July 1, only a handful of positive cases have been reported. Tokyo 2020 on Thursday said an athlete and five staff members, mostly contractors, had tested positive. Another four positive tests were reported among Olympic staff on Friday. Other cases have been found among

delegations arriving early for training camps, or in one case among staff at a hotel hosting Brazilian athletes. But Bach said a visit to the Olympic Village had convinced him that anti-virus rules were "in place, and they are working, and they are enforced". "We could see and convince ourselves that all the delegations are following the rules and are supporting the rules, because they know it is in their own interest to be safe," he said at a meeting with Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike. The capital is currently under a virus state of emergency, although the measures are significantly less strict than a lockdown and mostly limit alcohol sales and restaurants' opening hours. The measures will continue throughout the Olympics, and could be expanded to other regions where cases are surging. Japan has seen a smaller outbreak than many countries, with fewer than 15,000 deaths, despite avoiding harsh lockdowns. But the country's vaccination roll-out has been comparatively slow, with around 20 percent of the population so far fully vaccinated. Dozens of teams are already in Japan - some at training camps dotted around the country, and others in the Olympic Village, where national flags have been hung on the buildings housing delegations. British weightlifter Sarah Davies was among the athletes posting on social media

about life at the pandemic Olympics. "We have what we call the prison yard," she said in a video posted on her Instagram account as she walked on a stretch of pavement. "So we can literally walk up and down this stretch between the hours of 7 am and 10 am, and that is the only time we're allowed outside," she said. "Genuinely, feels like we're in prison. But, hey, it is what it is... Welcome to Olympic Games, Covid edition." Other teams in town, including American swimmers and star gymnast Simone Biles, also posted images from their training sites. Bach will be in Hiroshima on Friday to mark the start of an "Olympic truce" endorsed by the United Nations. IOC vicepresident John Coates will visit Nagasaki. The truce aims to ensure a halt to all hostilities, allowing the safe passage and participation of athletes and spectators for the Games. Bach has sparked controversy by reportedly asking Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to consider allowing spectators into Olympic venues if the virus situation improves. Local media said the request was made during a meeting between the two men on Wednesday, with Suga saying any changes to spectator rules would be decided by local and national government officials with organisers and Olympic and Paralympic representatives.

"I can't even have my stringer that is a very important part of my team. I'm limited with the amount of people I can take in my team as well. I'll have to think about it." The Olympics tennis event will also be missing Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka, Angelique Kerber and Bianca Andreescu -- all major winners -- from the women's tournament. Other absentees from the men's side include British number one Dan Evans, Australian crowd pleaser Nick Kyrgios, David Goffin of Belgium and Canadian duo Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil.

Italy considers bid to host Euro 2028 or World Cup 2030 MILAN REUTERS

Italy is considering making a bid to host the 2028 European Championship or the 2030 World Cup but must improve its stadiums if it is to succeed, the head of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) said on Thursday. Italy beat England on Sunday to win their second European Championship. The two countries could also be rivals to host the World Cup, which is held every four years, as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has backed plans for a bid by the United Kingdom and Ireland for the 2030 finals. "We will evaluate an Italy candidacy for the 2028 European Championship and the World Cup of 2030, in which the centenary of the world championship is celebrated," FIGC president Gabriele Gravina told a news conference. "Let's try for the Euros first, then we'll think about the other one." Some Italian stadiums have not been updated since the 1990 World Cup, the last major soccer tournament hosted by Italy alone. "We must improve the conditions of the stadiums because if we do not start an investment path in infrastructure we will never be able to aspire to organise such a great event," Gravina said. "We must do things quickly. For me, we cannot go into a bid thinking that 'we have the stadiums, but if you give me the event, I will then improve them'.

Benfica president resigns amid tax fraud investigation LISBON REUTERS

Luis Filipe Vieira, who suspended his duties as president of Portuguese club Benfica last week after being detained as part of an investigation into alleged tax fraud and money laundering, has resigned from his post, local media reported on Thursday. Vieira, who ran the club for 18 years, said in two letters to the chairman of the board that he was no longer in a position to carry out his duties after his arrest, according to Portuguese broadcaster RTP. Benfica were not immediately available for comment. Vieira, 72, was taken into custody on July 7 for questioning over deals worth more than 100 million euros ($118 million) that may have caused large losses to the state and several companies, public prosecutors said. A court ruled on July 10 that Vieira would stay under house arrest until a three million euro bail was paid and ordered him to hand over his passport, giving him twenty days to pay the money. Rui Costa, formerly vice-president of Benfica, took over last Friday as president after Vieira’s suspension. It is not yet known whether he will remain in the position permanently following Vieira’s official resignation.

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ORE than 1,000 people were missing and more homes were destroyed in floodstricken regions of western Germany and Belgium on Friday where waters were still rising and the death toll was already at about 117. Entire communities lay in ruins after swollen rivers swept through towns and villages in the western German states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate, Belgium as well as the Netherlands. “It was so terrible, we couldn’t help anyone. People were waving out of the windows,” Frank Thel, a resident of Schuld, told Reuters in front of a pile of rubble in the Rhineland-Palatinate town, where several buildings had collapsed. In Germany alone, 103 people have died in what is the country’s worst mass loss of life in years. Twelve of the dead were residents of a home for disabled people in Sinzig south of Cologne who were surprised by the flash floods during the night. The death toll is expected to rise further as more houses collapsed, while in Belgium, media said at least 14 had died. Some 114,000 households in Germany were without power and mobile phone networks collapsed in some flooded regions, which meant that family and friends were unable to track down their loved ones. “Our state is experiencing a flood catastrophe of historic dimensions,” North Rhine-Westphalia premier Armin Laschet said, citing extensive damage in 23 towns and rural districts. In Rhineland-Palatinate, around 1,300 people were

Akram calls outcome of key UN forum ‘beacon of hope’ for virus-hit countries NEW YORK APP

The High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development wrapped up its latest session on Thursday (early Friday in Pakistan) with Pakistan’s Ambassador at the United Nations Munir Akram calling the outcome as a “beacon of hope” for the developing countries trying to recover from the economic and social consequences of the coronavirus crisis. In his closing remarks, Akram, who also heads the Economic and Social Council, said the deliberations over eight days, in which many world leaders, including Prime Minister Imran Khan, took part — both virtually and in-person — were “intense and action-oriented.” He expressed the hope that member states would be guided by that beacon of hope as “we navigate heavy seas” towards the post of the anti-poverty Sustainable Development Goals. The HLPF, a subsidiary of ECOSOC, is the core UN platform for the followup and review of the 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 objectives. Akram, who presided over the intensive deliberations, said the forum examined the voluntary national reviews of 42 countries that illustrated both the common and differentiated challenges they confront in realising the SDGs and responding to the pandemic.

reported missing in the Ahrweiler district south of Cologne, the district government said on Facebook. COLLAPSED INFRASTRUCTURE: Further north, in Erftstadt near Cologne, several houses collapsed on Friday morning, and authorities feared casualties. Residents had been evacuated but some returned home so officials do not know who might be in the houses, district commissioner Frank Rock said, adding: “We are expecting deaths.” Roads around Erftstadt were impassable as they were washed away by the floods. Rescue crews tried to reach residents by boat and had to rely on walkie-talkies to relay information. “The network has completely collapsed. The infrastructure has collapsed. Hospitals can’t take anyone in. Nursing homes had to be evacuated,” a spokeswoman for the regional government of Cologne said. A district spokesman said some 55 people have been rescued and 15 are still trapped in their houses there. One dam close to the Belgian border, the Rurtalsperre, flooded, while another, the Steinbachtalsperre, was stabilised early on Friday. Some 4,500 people have been evacuated from communities downstream, and a stretch of the A61 motorway has been closed amid fears of a breach. The German military has deployed over 700 soldiers to help with rescue efforts. REINFORCING DIKES: Thousands of residents in the north of the Limburg province in neighbouring Netherlands were ordered to leave their homes early Friday as floodwaters peaked. Emergency services were on high alert, and authorities were also reinforcing dikes along vulnerable stretches where floodwaters continue to rise. Waters were receding in the southern city of Maastricht, where there was no flooding and in the town of

Valkenburg, where damage was widespread, but no one was hurt. In Belgium, at least four people were missing. The Belgium crisis centre has urged people in large parts of the south and east of the country not to travel. France sent 40 military and a helicopter to Liege in Belgium to help with the flood situation, Prime Minister Jean Castex said on Twitter. “The waters are rising more and more. It’s scary,” Thierry Bourgeois, 52, said in the Belgian town of Liege. “I’ve never seen anything like it.” In the town of Maaseik, on the Dutch border, the Meuse had risen beyond a retaining wall and was spilling past bags placed on top. Several towns and villages were already submerged, including Pepinster near Liege, where around 10 houses partially or fully collapsed. The death toll in Germany is the highest of any natural catastrophe since a deadly North Sea flood in 1962 that killed around 340 people. The crash of a high-speed ICE train in 1998 killed 101 people. Floods at the Elbe river in 2002, which at the time were billed by media “once-in-a-century floods”, killed 21 people in eastern Germany and more than 100 across the wider central European region. European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said the scale and intensity of the flooding was a clear indication of climate change and demonstrated the urgent need to act, echoing an earlier message from German Chancellor Angela Merkel. German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer told magazine Spiegel the federal government aimed to provide financial support for the affected regions as quickly as possible, adding a package of measures should go to the cabinet for approval on Wednesday.

Afghanistan forces fighting to retake Pakistan border crossing KANDAHAR AFP

Afghan forces clashed Friday with Taliban fighters in Spin Boldak after launching an operation to retake the key border crossing with Pakistan, as regional capitals stepped up efforts to get the warring sides talking. Dozens of wounded Taliban fighters were being treated at a Pakistan hospital near the border after fierce overnight fighting, AFP correspondents at the scene reported. “We have suffered one death and dozens of our fighters have got injured,” Mullah Muhammad Hassan, who identified himself as a Taliban insurgent, told AFP near Chaman in Pakistan, about five kilometres (three miles) from the border. The fight for the border comes as a war of words heated up between Kabul and Islamabad after the Afghanistan vice president accused the Pakistan Air Force of providing “close air support to Taliban in certain areas”. Pakistan strongly denied the claim, with a Foreign Office statement

saying the country “took necessary measures within its territory to safeguard our own troops and population”. “We acknowledge the Afghan government’s right to undertake actions on its sovereign territory,” it added. Residents of Spin Boldak, which fell to the Taliban on Wednesday, said the Taliban and army were battling in the main bazaar of the border town. “There is heavy fighting,” said Mohammad Zahir. The border crossing provides direct access to Balochistan. As fighting continued, Pakistan said Thursday it would hold a special conference on Afghanistan in Islamabad at the weekend, although Taliban officials had not been invited. There were signs too that official talks in Doha — which have stalled for months — could stutter back to life. An aide to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani told local media his government had asked for the Islamabad conference to be postponed as negotiators were already heading to Qatar. The Taliban have capitalised on the last stages of the withdrawal of

foreign troops to launch a series of lightning offensives across the country, capturing a swath of districts and border crossings, and encircling provincial capitals. Foreign troops have been in Afghanistan for nearly two decades following the US-led invasion launched in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. They have appeared largely out of the picture in recent months, but fears are growing that government forces will be overwhelmed without the vital air support they provide. The speed and scale of the Taliban onslaught has caught many by surprise, with analysts saying it appears aimed at forcing the government to sue for peace on the insurgents’ terms or suffer complete military defeat. An Afghan official said Thursday a local ceasefire with Taliban leaders had been negotiated for Qala-i-Naw the Badghis provincial capital that saw fierce street fighting last week. “The ceasefire was brokered by tribal elders,” Badghis governor Hesamuddin Shams told AFP.

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Reuters journalist killed covering clash between Afghanistan forces, Taliban KABUL AFP

A Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer with the Reuters news agency was killed Friday covering fighting between Afghan security forces and the Taliban near a border crossing with Pakistan, the media outlet reported, citing an army commander. Afghan forces were fighting to retake Spin Boldak when Danish Siddiqui and the senior officer were killed in Taliban crossfire, the official told Reuters. The agency reported Siddiqui, an Indian national, had been embedded with Afghan special forces in Kandahar since this week. “We are urgently seeking more information, working with authorities in the region,” Reuters president Michael Friedenberg and editor-inchief Alessandra Galloni said in a statement. “Danish was an outstanding journalist, a devoted husband and father, and a much-loved colleague. Our thoughts are with his family at this terrible time.” Reuters said Siddiqui had earlier reported being wounded in the arm by shrapnel while covering the fighting. He was treated and had been recovering when Taliban fighters retreated from the fighting in Spin Boldak. The agency said it was unable to independently verify the details. Siddiqui was part of a team to share the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography for documenting the Rohingya refugee crisis. The agency said he had worked for them since 2010, covering the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Rohingya refugees crisis, the Hong Kong protests and Nepal earthquakes.

Officials say no ban on animal sacrifice in occupied Kashmir, a day after restriction Authorities in Indian-occupied Kashmir on Friday said there is no ban on the sacrifice of animals during the upcoming Eidul Azha holiday, a day after the government asked law enforcers to stop the sacrifice of cows, calves, camels and other animals. G.L. Sharma, a senior government official, said the earlier communication was “misconstrued”, and the government had been seeking proper transportation of animals and the prevention of cruelty during the festival. “The letter was sent to enforcement agencies to enforce the laws of the Animal Welfare Board and it is at the time there is mass slaughter of animals to prevent cruelty on animals,” Sharma said, according to the local news portal The Kashmir Walla. “This is not a ban on slaughter and sacrifice.” A government communication addressed to civil and police authorities in the region on Thursday asked them to stop “illegal killing/sacrifices of cows/calves, camels & other animals”, citing animal welfare laws. Muslims mark Eidul Azha by offering special prayers and slaughtering livestock, usually a goat, sheep, a cow or a camel. The meat of the sacrificed animals is shared among family and friends and poor people who cannot afford to sacrifice animals. The letter caused an uproar in the already restive region with an association of groups of Muslim scholars calling it “arbitrary” and “unacceptable”. The association, Muttahida Majlis-e-Ulema, said in a statement that “the sacrifice of permitted animals, including bovines” on Eidul Azha “is an important tenet of religion on this day”. It urged the government to immediately revoke the “discriminatory order”. Generally, cows are considered sacred in Hindu-majority India, and slaughtering them or eating beef is illegal or restricted across much of the country. The AssociATed Press

Electioneering picks up in Kashmir ISLAMABAD AnAdolu Agency

Perched in lofty mountains, the scenic city of Muzaffarabad, capital of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, is festooned with billboards, banners, and pictures of leaders and candidates. The election fever has taken over the region, which is going to elect regional assembly on July 25. Jammu and Kashmir is held by India and Pakistan in parts and claimed both in full. A small sliver of land is also held by China. Since India revoked autonomy and divided the part that it is holding into two centrally administered territories on August 5, 2019, elections in Azad Kashmir have attained considerable significance. Over 3.2 million voters will elect a 53member assembly for a five-year term. Out of 53 seats, 45 are general, while eight are reserved for women, technocrats, and religious scholars. The city located at the confluence of Neelam and Jhelum rivers looks in a celebra-

tion mood, with enthusiastic activists of different political parties roaming around with flags and banners to exhibit their prowess. There is a festive look at the city’s famous Azaadi Chowk (freedom roundabout) — a replica of historic Lal Chowk (Red Square) located 125 kilometres (77 miles) away across the Line of Control (LoC) in Srinagar, the capital of Indian-occupied Kashmir. Life-size billboards, posters, and banners have also overtaken the capital’s main Chattar chowk near the parliament building. Residents in small villages along the 57 kilometres (35 miles) Srinagar road that along the banks of Jhelum River leads to the heavily militarised LoC — a de facto border that divides the region between Pakistan and India were seen pasting posters and banners of their respective candidates. DEFYING COVID-19: Candidates backed by their party leaders are holding huge public rallies and corner meetings, simply defying the coronavirus restrictions. Neither candidates nor participants wear

masks, a requirement made mandatory by the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Election Commission. The National Command and Operations Centre, which devises the guidelines and policy for the control of the pandemic, had recommended postponement of polls till September. But the election commission after consulting political parties rejected the recommendation but called for strict observation of Covid-19 protocols. In a last-ditch effort to woo the voters, candidates and their supporters are also going door-to-door with new promises. Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Syed Khubaib Shah, who runs a small printing press said he has got double the orders of printing posters and banners compared to previous 2016 polls. “It is more fanfare compared to the previous elections,” he said. Although a staunch supporter of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, his printing press is fast rolling out posters of rival Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.

“I will still vote for PML-N. Business is business and politics is politics,” said Shah with a broad smile on his bearded face. A tough contest is expected between the PTI, which is ruling Islamabad, and the PML-N, the incumbent ruling party in AJK. The PTI, however, seems to have brighter chances to form the government, according to local surveys and political estimates. Muzzaferabad, which has nine seats out of 45 general seats, is considered a decisive battlefield to form the government. “We are going to go with change this time,” Umer Sharif, a shopkeeper at Khawaja market told Anadolu Agency. PTI SMELLS POWER: He was referring to Prime Minister Imran’s famous slogan tabdeeli, or change, which he introduced in his elections campaign in the 2018 general elections and managed to secure the highest number of seats. “I think the PTI deserves a chance. We Kashmiris have tested several parties in the past but they disappointed us in terms of development and economy. Let’s give him

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

[Imran] a chance,” he contended. Bilal Ahmed, who runs a small business, however, foresees the next government led by the centre-left Pakistan Peoples Party. With strong roots in Muzaffarabad, the party of slain Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has formed the government in this part of the picturesque Himalayan region four times in the past. “The PPP is in a strong position, mainly in Muzaffarabad. We are confident to clinch five to six seats from here,” he contended rejecting the surveys, which suggest that the party can win only one to two seats in the city. Raja Zakir, another businessman from Muzzafarabad, supports Jamate-e- Islami, a mainstream religiopolitical party. “I don’t mind if my candidate wins or loses. I will simply go for the right candidate,” he said. According to Raja Iftikhar, a Muzaffarabad-based political analyst, the PTI’s entry with “full force” has added the festivity to the electioneering.