E-Paper PDF 15th November (LHR)

CMYK

Friday, 15 November, 2019 I 17 Rabi-ul-Awwal, 1441 I Rs 20.00 I Vol X No 135 I 16 Pages I Lahore Edition

Don’T shooT yourself in The fooT, allies aDvise imran g

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pml-Q leaders, senate chief, mQm senator urge govt to withdraw indemnity bond demand, allow nawaz to fly overseas

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shujaat urges imran to pay no heed to people hampering pml-n supremo’s departure

legal fraternity says govt’s decision to seek rs7bn from sharifs ‘unjustified, unprecedented’

LAHORE

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staff report

he Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has come under increasing pressure to let former prime minister Nawaz Sharif go abroad without a financial guarantee, with party leaders, coalition partners and legal experts calling upon Prime Minister Imran Khan to withdraw the “unjustified” condition.

The development comes at a time when the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has already taken the government to the Lahore high Court (LhC) over its demand for an indemnity bond worth Rs7 billion, which it called “unconstitutional” and akin to “ransom”.

Leaders of the government’s major coalition partner PML-Quaid — Chaudhry Shujaat hussain and Pervaiz elahi, on Thursday urged the prime minister not to listen to those were creating hurdles in the departure of Nawaz Sharif.

“PM Imran has to overcome the storm which has started over Nawaz Sharif’s departure,” Shujaat said, referring to a barrage of statements coming out in the favour of Nawaz after the government asked him to submit an in-

demnity bond of Rs7bn for the permission to fly overseas.

Urging the PM to focus on important issues, such as rising inflation and unemployment, the PML-Q president said the PM should refrain from taking measures which will put him in a difficult position afterwards. “People in power should only spend their energy on ending inflation and unemployment,” he added.

Speaking separately, PML-Q leader and Punjab Assembly Speaker Pervaiz elahi urged the federal government to withdraw its demand of the surety bond, saying the government shouldn’t demand money from the PML-N supreme leader as it decided to allow him to go abroad for medical treatment on “humanitarian grounds”. he said if something happened to Nawaz Sharif then the issue would haunt the incumbent prime minister for the rest of his life, comparing the current scenario to that of former premier and founder of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

Nawaz does not have any property in his name as he has given everything to his children, he added.

The Chaudhry brothers, considered to be veteran deal brokers, are an integral part of the

PTI government in Punjab and they are also heading the talks with anti-government protesters led by Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

Meanwhile, PTI leader Barrister Ali Zafar, who also served as an interim information minister in 2018, said the court has not put any condition while granting bail to Nawaz Sharif and there was no justification for the government to put new conditions.

The court might declare the condition void, he added.

Another ally in the Centre, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM-P), has also opposed the condition of the indemnity bonds.

In a TV show on Geo News, MQM Senator Ali Saif said that there was no space for indemnity bond in the constitution for removing someone’s name from the exit Control List (eCL). he said it was not legal, but a political decision, which was unprecedented, fearing the decision won’t stand in the court.

SANJRANI URGES MAX FACILITATION: In addition to this, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani, who is considered close to the PTI government, urged the federal government to refrain from playing politics over the health of the ailing opposition leaders. he said the government should immediately give permission to Nawaz Sharif so that he could fly to London for a medical checkup on the recommendation of the medical board.

Sanjrani demanded the federal government to provide maximum healthcare facilities to Nawaz and former president Asif Ali Zardari, as the refusal or delay in this regard might backfire.

These remarks from the government camp have laid bare the divide within the power circles over the treatment meted out to the ex-PM, giving strength to the rumours of fissures within the federal cabinet over the decision to allow Nawaz to go abroad. however, government spokesperson Firdous Ashiq Awan said the ball was in PML-N’s court on whether or not it wanted to fulfill the condition to pave way for Nawaz’s departure.

Pakistan won’t fight anyone else’s war, reiterates PM g

PML-N takes govt to court for demanding Rs7bn

imran says flawed policies of the past responsible for problems plaguing pakistan today

CONTINUED ON PAGE 02

nawaz’s case will set tone of pakistani politics, pml-n warns govt STORIES ON PAGE 02

Countrywide road closures begin as JUI-F executes ‘Plan B’ STORY ON BACK PAGE

rs500m recovered from ishaq dar’s bank accounts: nab STORY ON BACK PAGE

Smog forces Punjab govt to close schools for two days STORY ON BACK PAGE

Pakistan leads in global censorship requests to Facebook STORY ON BACK PAGE

trump impeachment inquiry moves ahead after start of televised hearings STORY ON BACK PAGE

STORY ON PAGE 10

CMYK Friday, 15 November, 2019

02 NEWS

PML-N takes govt to court for deMaNdiNg rs7bN SHEHBAZ BLASTS GOVT, NAB FOR PLAYING ‘DIRTY POLITICS’ OVER NAWAZ SAYS IF PML-N AGREES TO PAY, PM IMRAN WILL WAVE AROUND SHARIF’S HEALTH, TERMS CONDITION OF INDEMNITY BOND A ‘RANSOM’ THESE BONDS AND TERM THEM AS PROOF OF ‘LOOTED’ MONEY LaHore

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STAFF REPORT

HE Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday issued notices to the federal government and Interior Ministry in a plea filed by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), challenging the government’s decision of demanding indemnity bonds worth Rs7 billion from former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in return for his removal from the no-fly list.

The decision to approach the high court was announced by PML-N chief Shehbaz Sharif in a press conference, wherein he declared the government’s decision to demand surety bond a “ransom”.

Justice Ali Baqir Najafi and Justice Sardar Naeem of LHC heard the plea.

The petition stated that there was no prohibition in removing the name from the ECL in the light of the bail granted to Nawaz Sharif. PML-N’s counsel Amjad Pervaiz told the court that Nawaz has been granted bail on medical grounds but the federal government still did not remove his name from the ECL. He said there were court decisions pertaining to the cases wherein people were removed from the no-fly list after they gained “plea bargain” and appealed to the court to permit Nawaz to go abroad.

Earlier in the day, Shehbaz Sharif

flanked by senior PML-N leaders addressed a press conference.

The PML-N president said the government by asking the Sharif family to submit indemnity bonds to secure permission for Nawaz to travel abroad was, in fact, demanding “ransom”.

Condemning what he dubbed as a “political game” staged by Prime Minister Imran Khan and his team regarding the PML-N supremo’s health, Shehbaz said: “The prime minister can “neither give nor take an NRO [National Reconciliation Ordinance-like deal].” He called the bonds a “lie” and said the government was trying to fool the people.

“They’re trying to say ‘we got Nawaz and Shehbaz to pay Rs7.5bn,” he said.

“Therefore, Nawaz Sharif and I and our party have rejected this condition and we don’t accept it at all,” he said.

He said Prime Minister Imran Khan should de-politicise this human issue. But regardless, you could neither give or take an NRO, he said.

Shehbaz said his brother was facing many illnesses and will continue to do so.

“I ask the government, when, on July 6, 2018, a trial court gave a verdict against Nawaz and Maryam, and Nawaz was by his very sick wife’s bedside, and left her to come back to Pakistan on July 13 and went straight to jail, did you ask for an indemnity bond or surety bond? He came

without it,” said the PML-N chief.

“Now, two high courts have given him bail and said he can go abroad for treatment but the government is playing politics on the issue,” said Shehbaz, terming it “disgraceful”.

Listing Nawaz’s achievements, he said there was no decision by the courts in this regard, yet the government was asking him to pay a bond.

“At a time when the entire country is worried about his health, the government is only worried about politics,” said Shehbaz, reiterating that they will never accept this condition.

Legal experts have also rejected and condemned this and said there is no legal standing or compulsion for him to pay the bond, said Shehbaz.

Our soft-spoken law minister, Farogh Naseem, said if the law is silent, then they can talk about it, said the PML-N chief.

“I’m not a lawyer but big lawyers in Pakistan have condemned it and said there is no justification for it,” he said.

He accused the Interior Ministry and NAB of tossing the ball between themselves. Nawaz’s health has been made into a shuttlecock between NAB and the interior ministry, he said, accusing them of doing “dirty politics” on his health. On October 22 night, Nawaz’s health deteriorated at the NAB office and his platelet count dropped to 15,000 or 16,000, said

iSLamaBad STAFF REPORT

Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Information and Broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awan on Thursday said the government would relief to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif within the legal framework, as she dismissed Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif’s press conference an “attempt at fooling nation”.

Addressing a presser in response to the PML-N chief, she said the government’s intentions regarding the removal of the ex-PM from the no-fly list should not be doubted.

Responding to a question regarding Shehbaz Sharif‘s statement, she expressed that the attitude of the PML-N leader was condemnable.

“Nawaz Sharif did not go to jail for winning a gold medal or a trophy,” she asserted, adding that Nawaz Sharif was found guilty by the courts, and not the government.

The special assistant expressed that the government gave relief to Nawaz Sharif on humanitarian grounds. In a comment on the PMLN’s reluctance to submit indemnity bonds, she claimed Nawaz’s own

family is not ready to mortgage the Jati Umra residence, which should be “enough to open people’s eyes”.

“Hospital is the best place to treat a patient, but the Sharif family is keeping Nawaz in Jati Umra,” she added.

Earlier, while addressing a press conference after consultation meeting of senior party leaders in Lahore, Shehbaz Sharif said that the incumbent government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) wants to take ransom from Sharif family in the name of indemnity bond.

Earlier in the day, Firdous said that the government had thrown the ball in the PML-N’s court by offering permission for foreign travel in return for an indemnity bond worth Rs7 billion.

She was referring to the announcement made by Law Minister Farogh Naseem who, yesterday, said that Nawaz will be given “one-time” permission to travel abroad for his medical treatment for a period of four weeks. He had said this permission would be subject to the Sharif family submitting an indemnity bond “to the tune of Rs7-7.5 billion”. “The government is repeatedly telling them [PML-N] to move forward. The condition of Nawaz Sharif’s health does

Continued from page 01 It is not just politicians, who are calling out the PTI government for its Rs7bn condition, as it has come under criticism from the legal fraternity of the country. In a statement issued by the Pakistan Bar Council, Vice Chairman Amjad Shah denounced the decision and urged the federal government to allow Nawaz Sharif to travel abroad for medical treatment without any conditions.

The PBC leader said the Imran Khan-led government was disregarding the critical and very serious health condition of the former premier and was making “mockery” of courts. He further stated that there is no justification for the demand of security bonds when the Islamabad High Court has already granted bail to Nawaz – after the filing surety bonds – on medical grounds. “Imposing of such an unjustified and illegal condition, in fact, amounts to negate and defy the order of the high court entailing the consequences of the contempt of court,” the statement read. Abid Hassan Minto — one of Pakistan’s top legal mind — said the demand was “unjustified” because the court had allowed Nawaz to get medical treatment of his choice. “The conditional removal of his name from ECL and submitting the surety bond is unjustified,” he added.

Nawaz's case will set tone of Pakistani politics, PML-N warns government

Sharif family holding Nawaz hostage, says Firdous PM’S SPECIAL ASSISTANT TERMS PML-N’S PRESSER AN ATTEMPT TO ‘FOOL’ NATION

Shehbaz, who added that they rushed him to the hospital where his platelet count dropped to 2,000 the next day.

“It is a miracle in medical history that there was no internal bleeding,” he said, adding the former prime minister also suffered a cardiac episode due to the medicines that were prescribed to stablise the platelet count.

Even Dr Shamsi, the expert brought in by the Punjab government, advised that Nawaz be taken abroad, to Boston or Europe, for treatment, said Shehbaz.

“Despite multiple ministers and even the prime minister saying that they would facilitate Nawaz’s departure, nothing was done,” claimed Shehbaz.

“We paid a surety of either Rs10 million or Rs20 million in the Lahore High Court and Rs4 million in the Islamabad High Court, and both those courts said Nawaz can be treated anywhere in Pakistan or abroad, yet the government is adding conditions to deceive the public,” said Shehbaz.

Nawaz’s health is the most important thing, everything else is subordinate, he said. But what is the reason for the indemnity bond condition, he asked.

“Let’s say, even if we do sign these bonds, Imran Khan will wave them around and say ‘I got the money out of them’,” he said, calling the premier a person with a “small mind”.

Don’t shoot yourself in the foot, allies advise Imran

not allow for it to be politicised,” Awan said, adding: “Complete the legal formalities, submit the indemnity and immediately take him wherever you want for treatment.”

“On the basis of human compassion, Prime Minister Imran Khan gave [Nawaz] the waiver and permitted him to go [abroad] for treatment one time,” she said, adding that this was “out of the box” as the laws and sections of the Exit Control List don’t permit it.

The premier’s special assistant said that the spokespersons for PMLN were politicising the matter, calling it an “unfortunate approach”.

“From this forum, I appeal to them again: Our political match is not a T20 match, nor a One-Day, this is a long series.

“The long series has to continue in the field of politics, you will get opportunities, so will we,” she said, urging them not to “hit sixes and fours” regarding Nawaz’s health.

She said that the government’s leadership had told them not to make any statements regarding Nawaz’s health but the PML-N’s “army of spokespersons” was busy trying to mislead people.

Awan urged Shehbaz to play the role of a “responsible leader” and make a decision. “This political fighting […] and throwing bouncers on one another will continue, Nawaz’s health shouldn’t be compromised in this.

CMYK

KHAWAJA ASIF SAYS INDEMNITY BOND HAS NO MONETARY VALUE, BUT IT WILL PROVE TO BE DEADLY IN BACKDROP OF PAKISTANI POLITICS iSLamaBad STAFF REPORT

Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) leader Khawaja Asif on Thursday chided the federal government for demanding indemnity bonds worth Rs7 billion from former premier Nawaz Sharif on the account of medical treatment in a foreign country, saying the government was “playing with the life” of the PML-N supreme leader by denying him an unconditional departure.

Insisting that the former prime minister be allowed to go abroad for medical treatment, Asif said the Rs7 billion’s surety bond had no monetary value but it could prove to be a “deadly thing” in the backdrop of the Pakistani politics. “It will muddy politics in Pakistan,” he said in a National Assembly (NA) session.

Responding to the government’s concerns on whether the elder Sharif would come back after fly-

SAYS LAW MINISTER FAROGH NASEEM ADVOCATED FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT FOR MUSHARRAF, BUT NOW HE’S OPPOSING IT IN CASE OF NAWAZ SHARIF

ing to the United Kingdom, the lawmaker said Nawaz has built his legacy in Pakistan as a three-time prime minister and the head of the largest political party, which would make him come back.

“A man who has everything in Pakistan, his politics is in Pakistan — politics is the most valuable property for politicians — his political career spanning 35-40 years, his voters are in Pakistan,” he said.

“He does not want to leave Pakistan. His doctors told him in front of me, that we (the doctors) have done as much as we can and while we have the capability to treat you, we do not have the technology or the wherewithal,” Asif said, elaborating on the issue. Criticising Law Minister Farogh Naseem, the PML-N senior leader said Naseem had advocated freedom of movement for former dictator Pervez Musharraf but not for Nawaz.

“Uphold principles, do not make statements to suit current circumstances,” the

PML-N leader said, adding: “I request [the government] not to turn Nawaz Sharif’s life into a pawn.”

He said even though the former PM was fighting for his life, he has not forgotten his real battle –which ‘vote ko izzat do’– and he is still fighting on that front.

He went on to claim that a “law officer told a court official […] that the government’s stance [on Nawaz’s health] is ‘let him die for all we care'”.

He also alleged that during a meeting of government members, Prime Minister Imran Khan had asked to confirm if Nawaz’s reports were being meddled with. “These attitudes are self-destructive,” the PML-N leader warned.

“Let’s bring some civility in our attitudes,” he added.

He also took the government to the task over blacking out certain parts of his previous speeches, saying when the parliamentarians don’t have freedom of expression, how will the journalists get it?

CMYK Friday, 15 November, 2019

NEWS

PakistaN ruLes out deaL oN raW sPy kuLbhushaN Jadhav iSLamaBad

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STAFF REPORT

HE Foreign Office (FO) on Thursday strongly rejected any deal on Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav, saying the decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) would be implemented in accordance with the law of land.

“Absolutely, no deal on Kulbhushan.

We will honour the ICJ judgement in light of the law of Pakistan and there should be no doubt about it,” FO Spokesman Dr Muhammad Faisal said

at a weekly press briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The FO spokesman endorsed an earlier statement of the Director General Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) that rejected speculations about an amendment in Pakistan Army Act to implement the ICJ verdict regarding the serving Indian navy commander.

The United Nations’ top court based in The Hague, Netherlands in its final decision on July 17 this year after two-yearlong proceedings had ruled “an effective review and reconsideration of the death sentence by Pakistan, by the means of its

own choosing of legislation”.

The FO spokesman said Kartarpur Corridor was open for visit by any citizen of Pakistan, however clarified that media crew would require a prior security clearance for its equipment.

On the first day of its opening, around 12,000 persons from India and Pakistan visited the Gurdwara, whereas up to 5,000 will be allowed in future on a daily basis, he said.

On recent decision of Indian Supreme Court in Ayodhya case, the spokesman said the “dangerous precedent had put all mosques across India under threat”.

IHC to rule on contempt cases against Firdous, Sarwar on Nov 25 IHC CJ SAYS PEOPLE LOSE CONFIDENCE IN INSTITUTIONS WHEN GOVT MINISTERS MAKE IRRESPONSIBLE REMARKS iSLamaBad STAFF REPORT

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday reserved its verdict on contempt of court cases against Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan and PM’s Special Assistant on Information Firdous Ashiq Awan, after both of them offered unconditional apologies for their remarks.

The verdict of the cases, which were being heard together by IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah, will be announced on November 25.

During the hearing of the case, Justice Minallah lashed out at Sarwar for linking the release of Nawaz Sharif on bail with a ‘deal’.

“You are a representative of the federal cabinet,” the IHC chief justice said. “You have raised questions on the medical board [constituted by the government].

“The court announced a verdict on that medical board and you declared it as fake.”

The aviation minister said that he had

“expressed doubts” about the medical board.

“You have tried to influence a pending case,” declared Justice Minallah. “This is contempt of court and you don’t even realise what you have said.”

“I do realise,” Sarwar insisted. Justice Minallah said that the court “respects” the minister. “The purpose of summoning you here is to make you understand,” the chief justice said.

“You tried to make people lose confidence in institutions by your remarks.”

Sarwar offered an “unconditional apology” and said: “I apologise if my remarks have caused pain to the court.” “The court does not experience pain,” the judge said.

“Court verdicts are recorded by history.”

The court told Sarwar to “submit whatever [he] wants to say in writing”. The minister responded: “I don’t want to contest this case that is why I am offering an unconditional apology.”

Awan had also appeared before the court for a hearing of a similar case. The court reserved its verdict in that case as well.

The high court had issued separate notices to Sarwar and Awan for their remarks over an IHC verdict that granted bail to former premier Nawaz in the Al Azizia case on medical grounds. Awan, who had been summoned for saying that the IHC decision to grant bail to Nawaz was “a special dispensation”, had earlier submitted a written apology to the court.

Sindh govt moves SC against amendment in NAB law

Hamdullah calls out Firdous over her political loyalty

KaraCHi

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) leader Hafiz Hamdullah on Thursday called out Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan over her political loyalties.

Speaking on a television programme, the JUI-F leader said that while SAPM has been asking Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) to submit an indemnity bond to guarantee that party supremo Nawaz Sharif would return to the country after medical treatment abroad but can she guarantee that she will not change her political loyalties in the future.

Hamdullah said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) protested for 120 days in the federal capital but the special assistant was not even a part of it. He further accused Firdous of changing her political loyalties in a whim.

STAFF REPORT

The Sindh government on Thursday moved the Supreme Court against an amendment in the National Accountability Ordinance 1999, which allows the federal government to withdraw ‘better class’ facilities from the accused facing embezzlement cases of Rs50 million or above. The PPP-led provincial government filed a petition at the top court’s Karachi registry.

The petitioner argued that the “promulgation of the 2019 Ordinance by the President of Pakistan is unconstitutional and ultra vires of Article 89 of the Constitution for having been promulgated in a mala-fide manner, prior to a scheduled session of the House of Parliament”.

The move came a day after the Sindh chief minister, Syed Murad Ali Shah, announced that the provincial government would contest the ordinance as “jails were under the jurisdiction of the provincial government(s) and the federal government was not authorized to make such an amendment”.

“After Ayodhya case, the veneer of the so-called image of secular India has been completely shredded,” he said.

He said Pakistan strongly condemned the 1992 demolition of Babari Mosque where Muslims used to pray for since the last 450 years and added that it would raise voices at different levels against the decision of the Indian judiciary that permitted construction of temple at the site.

The FO spokesman said India had cornered itself after its wrong decision of abrogating the special status of Jammu and Kashmir by scrapping Article 370 and 35-A.

03

He called upon the international community to pressurise India on lifting the three-month-long continuous curfew and internet blockade and also release the detained Kashmiri leaders.

He rejected the notion that Pakistan had toned down its protest on Kashmir, saying there was no change in its policy.

“Pakistan is not inching back from its stance on Kashmir and will always stand by it,” he added.

About 265 fake websites run by India in over 60 countries for propaganda including targeting Pakistan, the spokesman said the study by an independent organization was a manifestation of the fact that “nothing good could be expected” from India.

Asked update on inquiry related to entry of social media star Hareem Shah into the briefing room of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, the spokesman said, “We have ascertained the facts and all necessary measures have been taken to prevent occurrence of any such incidents in future.

Gen Bajwa lauds Armoured Corps' performance in conventional, non-conventional combat RAWALPINDI: Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa lauded the Armoured Corps’ performance in different forms of combat during a visit to the Armoured Corps Centre here in Nowshera, the military’s media wing said on Thursday. According to the statement issued by the InterServices Public Relations (ISPR), “Lieutenant General Sarfraz Sattar [was] installed as colonel commandant Armoured Corps” during the visit of the COAS. “Outgoing Colonel Commandant Lieutenant General Naveed Mukhtar (Retired) large number of serving and retired officers, soldiers and families of shaheeds [martyrs] attended the event. “COAS appreciated performance of Armoured Corps both in conventional and non-conventional combat,” the ISPR noted. STAFF REPORT

Ex-PM Abbasi shifted to Adiala Jail after successful surgery ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was shifted back to Adiala jail after successful surgery in a private hospital. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader was admitted to a private hospital on November 4, where he underwent a hernia operation. PML-N leaders Murtaza Javed Abbasi, Mohsin Shahnawaz Ranjha and Barjees Tahir visited hospital and inquired health of former premier after getting permission from the court.

Abbasi had been arrested by National Accountability Bureau (NAB) while en-route to Thokar Niaz Baig in Lahore on July 18 in a multi-billion-rupee case related to the award of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import contract. NAB sources said that Abbasi, in 2013, had awarded LNG import and distribution contract to the Elengy Terminal in violation of the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules and relevant laws. STAFF REPORT

Bilawal rejects Rs50 per maund increase in support price of wheat iSLamaBad STAFF REPORT

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has rejected the increase of Rs 50 per maund (40 kg) in wheat support price.

In a statement here on Thursday, Bilawal Bhutto said that after five years, increasing the wheat support price by a mere 50 rupees is a joke with the farmers. After the last PPP tenure, all successive governments have ignored the plight of the farmers. During the last PPP government the wheat support price was increased from Rs 450 to Rs 1200. This increase resulted as an incentive for the farmers and we were able to shift from a wheat importing country to a wheat exporting one.

“Wheat support price should at least be increased to Rs 1,600 per maund,” he said.

The PPP chairman said that the world over, currently wheat price stands at Rs 1,575 while our farmers are only to get Rs 1,350.

“Governments across the world protect and support the rights and interests of their farmers and agricultural communities but in Pakistan, the exact opposite is hap-

pening. Our government is antifarmers.”

Bilawal pointed out that the prices of inputs for farming community like urea, DAP and energy have skyrocketed and the meagre increase in support price is not in line with production costs and inflation. “This government’s antiagriculture policies have destroyed our farming communities and as a result agricultural produce has declined. This policy will lead to food shortages.”

The PPP leader said that all major crops have seen reductions in output like cotton wheat and rice. This year decline in cotton production stands at almost seven million bales. Government has left farmers at the mercy of market forces, leading to chaos.

“After destroying our industrial sector, the PTI government is now destroying agriculture. If our farmers stop tilling their land, our country will not have enough food to survive. Agriculture is the backbone of Pakistan. He urged the government to immediately bring forward a well thought out farmer friendly agricultural policy and place it before the Parliament for approval.”

neWS deSK

Govt submits list of internment centres in SC iSLamaBad STAFF REPORT

The federal government on Thursday submitted a “detailed list of internment centres in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the Supreme Court as it took up appeals against a Peshawar High Court verdict that had rendered these centres “unconstitutional”.

A five-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa had ordered the government to submit a detailed list of the prisoners.

During the proceedings, Attorney General Anwar Mansoor informed the court that the internment centres were set up in 2011 and claimed that these “centres were constituted for psychological treatment and rehabilitation of the terrorism offenders”.

CMYK

JUSTICE ISA SAYS SUCH CENTRES ARE ILLEGAL AFTER KP-FATA MERGER However, Justice Qazi Faez Isa objected to the reply and said it didn’t contain the response of the Defence Ministry, which represents the Pakistan Army. The copy of the Ministry of Defence’s reply will be provided to the court soon, the attorney general replied.

“It is the biggest case of contemporary history,” Chief Justice Khosa said, adding the court “review the status of these centres and the constitutionality of the Action (in Aid of Civil Powers) Ordinance and take a decision”.

After the 25th Amendment –that pertains to merger of tribal areas into

the mainstream — the law has become void, said Justice Isa. However, CJP Khosa said these matters needed to be reviewed.

“If 1000 people inflict harm on one million, then the rights of one million should be protected,” the AGP said. “I will stand with the one if he is being punished against the law,” Justice Khosa remarked, adding: “Prove your stance in arguments, the matter will be decided after detailed arguments.”

The bench adjourned the hearing of the case till Friday.

In Oct, the PHC had struck down the Actions in (Aid of Civil Power) Ordinance promulgated by Khyber Pakhtunkhawa Governor Shah Farman on August 5, 2019, and declared it a violation of “fundamental rights enshrined in the constitution”.

04 LAHORE PRAyER TIMINgS FAJR SUNRISE

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ASR MAGHRIB ISHA

5:05

11:47

3:27

6:29

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LHC allows Kaira to meet Zardari

Friday, 15 November, 2019

WEATHER UPDATES FRIDAY

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BaRood KHana oF LaHoRE FoRt aLL SEt FoR touRIStS LAHORE

t LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (IHC) on Thursday allowed Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Qamar Zaman Kaira to hold a meeting with the party’s Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari. While hearing the petition filed

by Kaira, the court has permitted him to meet the ex-president on Nov 25. It merits a mention here that PPP lawyers and chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had failed to convince Zardari to apply for bail plea in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) case against him. Zardari said: “It’s my case and only I will decide about it. Let’s see what government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) will do with me now.” Afterward, the senior PPP leaders had asked Bilawal to allow them to convince the party cochairman on filing the bail. Furthermore, the PPP leadership had also written an application to form a private medical board for the checkup of the ex-president.

The PPP’s application stated that doctors have pointed out Zardari’s severe health issues, adding that an uncontrolled sugar level can create problems for him.

Government doctors also suggested to get help from a neurologist, the application told. The PPP said that getting proper medical care is a basic and legal right of every prisoner. On October 22, Zardari was brought to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) from Adiala jail and admitted to the cardiology department’s VIP ward. The former president had complaints of backache, weakness and anxiety. STAFF REPORT

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SHAHAB OMER

HE Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) has successfully completed conservation work at the Barooad Khana (arsenal depot) inside Lahore Fort after installing lights there.

Pakistan Today learnt that over 150 lights were installed for illuminating the British era monument which cost around Rs38 lacs – which will now be made part of night tours.

It was learnt that weather shielded lights were imported for this purpose while “greek in spot lights” and spots were used for illumination.

People who saw the Barood Khana illuminated for the first time said they were captivated by its beauty and grandeur. “We truly got to experience the Barooda Khana for the first time and it looks spectacular,” said Asma Ilyas, a tourist in Lahore Fort.

Another tourist Khalid Riaz appreciated the effort put in by WCLA, say-

ing, “Earlier the site was covered by wild growth and debris; WCLA seems to have made a tremendous effort in bringing to life this age-old monument.”

WCLA Deputy Director Media and Marketing told Pakistan Today that it took over one year for conservation at the Barood Khana to be completed.

“This monument was hidden from public eye as it was buried under

150,000 cubic feet of debris and wild plant growth. It took great effort by the authority to remove the debris and revive the monument,” he said.

“The site dates back to the British era and is believed to have been used for storing arsenal and gunpowder during the 1857 War of Independence. According to a 19th-century map of Lahore, there were gardens and arcades at the

Defamation lawsuit against PM Imran postponed till Nov 28

Road accident leaves two dead, 15 injured near Faisalabad

STAFF REPORT

FAISALABAD: At least two people were killed and 15 got injured after a speeding coaster collided with a tractor-trolley near Faisalabad in the wee hours of Thursday.

According to details, the accident occurred near Ameenpur Interchange near Faisalabad, where a speeding coaster rammed into a tractor-trolley. The accident was so severe that drivers of both vehicles died on the spot. Rescue teams reached the spot and shifted the injured to a hospital in Faisalabad. INP

Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly and President of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Shehbaz Sharif’s defamation lawsuit against Prime Minister Imran Khan was on Thursday adjourned till November 28.

Shehbaz had filed the lawsuit against the sitting prime minister due to allegations hurled on him which according to Shehbaz Sharif hurt his reputation and p ublic image.

LAHORE

The sessions court postponed the hearing of the case to allow leader of opposition ample time to submit his case in its entirety, which he has failed to do thus far.

Last year, PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif went to the court, suing the prime minister for Rs10 billion for accusing him of offering a bribe to stay silent over the Panama Papers allegations against the Sharif family.

During the course of the hearing today, the judge directed lawyers of both parties to come prepared on next hearing to forward their arguments on

an application challenging jurisdiction of the court to hear this suit.

In his suit, Shehbaz Sharif said, “The defendant (Imran Khan) levelled maliciously false, baseless and unfounded allegations against him.”

“He also levelled the same allegations no less than three times in television programme aired on April 26 this year.”

The plaintiff said that he had served a legal notice through his counsel on the defendant on May 8, 2017, under Section 8 of the Defamation Ordinance, 2002 calling upon him to tender a proper apology within 14 days of the receipt of the notice.

Upon failing, he warned, he will initiate legal action against the defendant for the recovery of Rs10 billion as damages under the law. However, Khan failed to tender an apology.

Sharif’s lawyer said that considering the seriousness of defamatory allegations and consistency with which he levelled allegations, his client is entitled to a claim of compensation. The PTI chairman had earlier claimed that the Punjab CM had offered him Rs10 billion through one of his close associates to stay silent over the Panamagate case.

3 more Tezgam fire victims identified through DNA tests LAHORE: The number of bodies handed over to heirs and relatives of the victims – who had lost their lives in Tezgam Express inferno – rose to 48 on Thursday after the identification of three more bodies through DNA. Reportedly, the three victims, including two women and a man, hailed from Mirpurkhas. Besides, nine of the remaining bodies are yet to be identified through DNA test, according to the district administration. Last Thursday, 23 bodies of the victims reached Mirpurkhas and traders shut their businesses voluntarily to take part in their collective funerals as a pall of gloom fell on the town. INP

CMYK

site before the depot was constructed.

The structure was part of the Alamgiri Gate and Musamam Darwaza of Lahore Fort before a road was built connecting the Hathi Gate and Diwan-e-Aam, during British era,” he added. WCLA Director Conservation Najamusaqib said, “We had to use crane and horticulture experts to remove the debris. The conservation of Barood Khana cost Rs17 million while an additional Rs38 lacs were spent on illumination [installing lights]. Along with the Royal Kitchens, Barood Khana is among the two sites which have been successfully restored by the WCLA.” “We expect a large number of tourists to visit the site,” he said, adding that the inauguration of the Barood Khana will be accompanied by a National Heritage and Tourism workshop.

WCLA Director General Kamran Lashari said, “This project is a fine exemplar of the WCLA’s efforts in conserving the heritage of Lahore. We are working on restoring other historical sites to their former glory: The Royal Kitchens is another such example.”

Extremism in India will lead to its downfall: Sarwar

LAHORE: Governor Punjab Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar said that the extremism in India will prove to be the cause of its downfall. Addressing the eighth convocation of the University Of Wah (UOW), the governor said that the Indian Supreme Court by allowing the construction of Hindu temple at the site of the demolished Babri Masjid in Ayodhya was caving in to pressure from the Hindu right. He said that “Hindu fanatics’ in India were usurping the rights of minority communities while Pakistan through its recent efforts, such as the establishment of Kartarpur Corridor had demonstrated its resolve to protect minority rights which he said was in line with the message of Quade-Azam. He said that the day wasn’t far when the Kashmiri people will break away from the shackles of Indian oppression.

The Punjab governor further said that the Prime Minister Imran Khan had directed for business centres to be established in all public and private universities. “We are striving to create an environment in which graduates would not have face problems getting employment.” As per the prime minister’s vision of Clean and Green Pakistan, he said, all universities have been directed to increase use of solar energy, and provide clean drinking water to teachers and students. Governor Sarwar concluded his address by saying that through determination, courage and hard work nearly every feat can be accomplished, citing that by following these principles he was able to become the first Muslim member of the British parliament. STAFF REPORT

Friday, 15 November, 2019

NA boDy AppRoveS pAkIStAN peNAl CoDe AmeNDmeNt bIll ISLAMABAD

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STAFF REPORT

HE National Assembly Standing Committee on Interior on Thursday passed a bill titled “The Pakistan Penal Code (Amendment) Bill (Section 3), 2019”.

The 12th meeting of the NA Body on Interior was held in the committee room of National Data Base Registration Authority (NADRA) Headquarters on Thursday, with MNA Raja Khurram Shahzad Nawaz in chair.

The Bill titled “The National Counter Terrorism Authority (Amendment) Bill 2019″ was discussed and deferred till next meeting. Remaining Bills on the agenda were also deferred till next meeting due to the absence of the movers.

The committee recommended that NADRA may establish a reg-

istration center at Ibraheem Haidri, Karachi, for facilitation of the population specially the fishermen community.

Issues faced by the public in correction of minor errors in CINCs was also discussed and the committee decided to simplify the process

involved in the rectification.

The committee called for an increase in the number of registration centers for better facilitation of public.

NADRA updated the committee about its working relating to Sehat Insaf Cards. NADRA is pro-

viding I.T help in issuance of the cards by processing data obtained from BISP (Benazir Income Support Programme) and providing it to State life for further action.

The committee raised the objection that undeserving people were getting Sehat Cards and decided to invite Poverty Alleviation & Social Safety Division and Health department for detailed discussion on the issue.

Committee members and MNA’s who attended the meeting included Sher Akbar Khan, Mehar Ghulam Muhammad Lali, Malik Karamat Ali Khokhar, Sardar Talib Hassan Nakai, Syed Iftikhar Ul Hassan, Syed Agha Rafiullh, Nawab Muhammad Yousuf Talpur, Abdul Qadir Patel, Mehboob Shah while senior officers from the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Law and Justice, NADRA and ICT were also present.

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Court summons Islamabad DC after Siddiqui claims he was arrested on fake notification ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

During the hearing of a petition filed by an aide to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, Irfan Siddiqui in Islamabad High Court (IHC), it was learnt that the notification issued for Siddiqui’s arrest had some irregularities. Siddqui’s counsel Tanveer Iqbal Khan claimed that his client was arrested on a fake notification. He said that the said notification was neither publicized nor published in the gazette, adding that Siddiqui was arrested on a fake notification that carried the name of the deputy commissioner but was signed by some other official. He added that the signature on the notification did not match the Deputy Commissioner Hamza Shafqat’s signature. The deputy commissioner informed the court that it was in fact who he did the two signs, to which Justice Aamer Farooq told him that it is mandatory for such notifications to get published in newspapers so as to inform the public about it.

The deputy commissioner accepted that the notification had not been published anywhere in the media. On which, the court ordered the Islamabad administration to present a new report and adjourned hearing till November 22, 2019. It is pertinent to mention here that Irfan Siddiqui has filed a petition in IHC against the FIR at the Ramna police station, pleading that the case against him is baseless.

kp CtD officer gunned down in 'family dispute' PESHAWAR STAFF REPORT

LAHORE: People cover their faces with scarves to protect themselves from pollutants as smog engulfs the provincial capital once again. ONlINE

A senior official of the Khyber Paskhtunkhwa CounterTerrorism Department (CTD) died on the spot from gunshots after unidentified persons opened fire on his car on Thursday.

According to police, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Ghani Khan was travelling in his car when unidentified persons opened fire on the vehicle. His gunman Rashid and driver Nasir as well as two passers-by were wounded, police said. The injured have been shifted to the Lady Reading Hospital for medical treatment. Heavy contingents of police arrived at the crime scene soon after the incident occurred. A search operation in nearby areas is underway. Initial inquiry of the case revealed that Ghani was involved in a property dispute with some of his family members, the police statement said, adding that the conflict had resulted in deaths in firing incidents previously. KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan took notice of the incident and directed the provincial inspector general to wrap up the investigation as quickly as possible and submit a report.

Rain, snowfall expected in parts of country ISLAMABAD

Nawaz and Zardari's political roles have ended, Fawad says NEWS DESK Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry on Thursday said that the role of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and former president Asif Ali Zardari has ended in the politics of Pakistan.

Fawad Chaudhry in his Twitter message repeated one of Shakespeare’s famous quotes: “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances.”

The minister predicted that the role of Nawaz and Zardari has ended in the “political drama”.

He added that fresh characters gave no more importance to the older ones rather than utilising them to make their own roles significant.

Earlier on Wednesday, Fawad Chaudhry had said that the incumbent government has made a massive undertaking by allowing Nawaz Sharif to travel abroad. He further speculated that infighting was taking place inside the Sharif family, a power struggle to become the leader of the political party and the household.

The minister further said that it was high time that Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) stopped politicizing their ailing leaders’ health.

“We just want PMLN and its leadership to ensure the guarantee sought for the safe exit of the former premier,” Chaudhry said.

The minister also revealed that after such a precedent of sending a convicted felon out of the country had been set then other political leaders who are under custody or convicts serving time would also ask for a similar settlement citing the same concerns.

INP

Winter has descended upon Pakistan and the Met Office has forecast snowfall in the mountains and rainfall in several cities. According to Met Office, some parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, North-eastern Balochistan, Sindh, Islamabad, Gilgit Baltistan and Kashmir are likely to receive rain with lightning and strong winds while snowfall is expected in hilly areas. On Wednesday, most parts of the country experienced cold and dry weather. Meanwhile, some areas of Multan, Khanewal, Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Layyah and Barkhan received light rain which turned the weather pleasant there. The Met department reported that Multan recorded 5mm of rain.

Three children register FIR against pedophile Sohail Ayaz RAWALPINDI INP

Three children who were raped by Sohail Ayaz have come forward and registered cases against the accused after his arrest here on Tuesday.

The 46-year-old rapist was arrested after a woman filed a case against him for kidnapping her 13-year-old son, drugging him and then raping him for four days. According to the first information report [FIR] Sohail threatened the child of releasing videos of the crime if he told anyone about the incident.

Further, a case of child abduction was also made against the accused over an 11-year-old who had gone missing around three months ago.

According to the details, obscene videos and pictures were confiscated from the accused on his arrest, whereas the paedophile also confessed to filming the abuses performed on his most recent victim, whose report became the catalyst for the criminal’s arrest.

According to the Rawalpindi City Police Officer (CPO) Captain Faisal Rana, the accused has confessed to more than 30 counts of child sexual abuse

in Pakistan, in addition to revealing about a network of delinquents involved in child rapes which they filmed, sold or streamed live on the dark web.

“One of his confessions is about raping a labourer’s daughter,” he said while stressing that more confessions were expected from the rapist

who was remanded into police custody for five days on Wednesday.

Soon after his arrest, a senior police official Rai Mazhar had told a local news channel that Sohail was a chartered accountant by profession who was working on the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governance and Policy Project as a consultant, drawing a salary of Rs300,000 and other benefits from the KP government since the past two years. “He used to spend most of his salary on the equipment used to record the live-streaming of rapes. We have sent his laptop and equipment to the forensic lab for tests,” he added.

The police official also revealed that the rapist also has a child of his own. “Sohail, who is the father of a girl from a failed marriage, has been living in Rawalpindi’s DHA Phase 8 area since his deportation from the UK,” he further added.

It may be mentioned here that Sohail Ayaz is a convicted paedophile who was deported from the UK in 2009 after serving jail sentences for kidnapping and raping children in addition to circulating videos of the abuse he subjected his victims to on the dark web.

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The UK police had discovered that the rapist was wanted in Italy for being involved in a Romanian child pornography ring before coming to the UK where he volunteered at “Save the Children” foundation to continue targeting children in a similar manner.

Then aged 35, Sohail was arrested at the charity’s headquarters when thousands of child porn images were discovered at his home in Barking, east London. Some of the images depicted six-month-old babies and others showed youngsters being tied up or blindfolded.

‘One very disturbing and worrying aspect of this case is that you sought and obtained work at a wellknown children’s charity. There is a concern that you did this work because it may have appeared to you that it would give you access to children’ the sentencing judge had said at the time of his conviction.

Further, Rawalpindi Police citing CPO Rana on Twitter, said that the police would register cases of child abuse on its behalf if the survivors’ parents were unable to do so due to societal pressure.

Rawat police have been instructed to present the suspect in court again on November 18.

Friday, 15 November, 2019

06 WORLD VIEW

why no arab Spring in paleStine?

AS THE ARAB SPRING VERSION 2.0 SWEEPS LEBANON AND IRAQ, AN INTRIGUING QUESTION LOOMS: WHY HAS THERE BEEN NO ARAB SPRING IN PALESTINE? Carnegie endowmenT for inTernaTional PeaCe

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AARON DAVID MILLER

HE same grievances—corruption, lack of trust in governing elites, and the breakdown of basic services—that have been driving thousands into the streets of Lebanon and Iraq also apply in the West Bank and Gaza. Yet Palestinians have been unable or unwilling to harness people against their own leaders in a sustained way. What does the absence of such protests say about the Palestinians and their politics? And is it only a matter of time, as journalist Hani Masri recently predicted, until the next wave of the Arab Spring arrives in Palestine?

IT’S THE OCCUPATION, STUPID! As corrupt, inefficient, and dysfunctional as Palestinians believe their leaders to be, getting rid of them has never been their top priority. It is intriguing, though, that the first intifada in December 1987 was in fact a revolt against both the occupation and the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), then operating not in the West Bank and Gaza, but in exile. Indeed, the PLO had to play catch-up to try to regain control of events on the ground.

Still, among both the elite and the general public, the primary focus has been ending the occupation, not bringing about the end of their own governing regimes. At least, not yet. Given Mahmoud Abbas’s increasing unpopularity, that state of affairs is no longer guaranteed. But to date, Palestinian independence has been the single most compelling factor driving Palestinian tactics and strategy.

Palestinians face a unique challenge. Not only do they want to build self-governing institutions and win statehood, they must manage this within the severe constraints of Israeli

occupation. There are few, if any, precedents in modern history for a people negotiating its way out of this kind of situation and building state institutions, let alone successfully establishing a state.

So although resentments about the lack of representation, corruption, economic mismanagement, and human rights simmer, the focus of Palestinian energy has been on Israel. As Hani Masri laments, “Palestine’s actual ruler is the occupying state, which attacks Palestine in its history, present and future”. This implicitly subordinates their own leaders’ transgressions to the burdens of occupation and allows Palestinian governing elites to redirect attention away from their own flaws and blunders. Focusing on transformational internal change, let alone the overthrow of governments, would also carry the very real risk of what the Washington Institute’s David Pollock calls an “intrafada”: internal factional conflict between Palestinians. This could not only easily divert attention from the independence struggle, but also divide an already badly fractured Palestinian national movement to their adversaries’ advantage.

A SOCIETY DIVIDED BY GEOGRAPHY AND POLITICS: The prospects of a movement that might challenge the current Palestinian leadership or seek reforms for more effective, representative governance became even harder after Hamas’s 2007 takeover of Gaza and the ensuing bitter conflict between Fatah and Hamas. The PLO—the organizational embodiment of Palestinian nationalism—is seemingly hopelessly fractured. It has come to represent a kind of Noah’s ark where there seems to be two of everything: statelets, security services, governing structures, constitutions, and visions of where and what kind of political state Palestine should be.

After 2007, the physical separation of the West Bank and Gaza—always a constraint—became a deep political rift

too. This undermined any coherent and unified national Palestinian strategy.

Elections for a Palestinian parliament and president (last held in 2006 and 2005 respectively) were the one vehicle that might have legitimized leaders and a strategy. But the elections were held hostage to an intense Fatah-Hamas competition, which multiple efforts at unity failed to resolve. Whether a recent report that Fatah and Hamas have agreed to hold legislative and presidential elections in February 2020 is any more credible than previous promises over the years remains to be seen.

Fatah and Hamas may have been bitterly divided. But the Arab awakenings in other parts of the region united them in one regard: to repress, and, if possible, co-opt dissent in an effort to maintain their power.

Other than Israel’s occupation, the one factor limiting mass protests was the authoritarian presence of the Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority and Hamas and their determination to prevent popular mobilization directed against them.

The ground presence of these security forces—who were not present during the first intifada—and their power relative to grassroots protesters made any challenge to their authority extraordinarily difficult. Witness the brutal manner in which Hamas crushed protests in Gaza this past spring.

Since Fatah and Hamas blame one another for instigating the unrest, demonstrators were put in the untenable and fraught position of appearing to support one side or another. This left them vulnerable to accusations of undermining the ever-popular desire among the public for Palestinian unity.

PALESTINIANS’ WARINESS STEMS FROM EXPERIENCE: So what of the future? Nine years into the Arab Spring, the tumult and transformation that swept the Arab world since a Tunisian fruit seller set himself ablaze has yet to produce anything close to the same impact in Palestine. The focus on Israeli occupation and the repressive

and controlling presence of Hamas and the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority have proven to be hugely constraining forces.

Add to that the Palestinian experience of uprisings and confrontations, especially the second intifada, which caused enormous destruction and death.

Palestinians are understandably reluctant to embark on another unknown journey, particularly one that promises neither an end to the Israeli occupation nor a significant improvement in their day to day lives.

Indeed, looking at what the Arab spring has wrought in Syria, Libya, Yemen, and Egypt, Palestinians might be forgiven for not wanting one in their own backyard. As the first century historian Tacitus wrote: “The best day after the death of a bad emperor is always the first day.” The trajectory of the Arab Spring has tragically borne that out.

Still, politics and life are unpredictable. Deteriorating economic conditions, especially in Gaza where unemployment is running close to 47 percent; repressive government; corruption; and of course an Israeli occupation create the kind of desperate mix that might yet produce an explosion.

But most likely it will come in the form of a third uprising against Israel (still seen as highly unlikely now), not as a Palestinian Spring aimed at their own leaders, no matter how dysfunctional their governance. Any such uprising would be seen as a loss of confidence in Palestinian leaders, but the occupation would be the main focus. And there’s a simple reason why.

As the late PLO leader Yasser Arafat quipped to me in a rare moment of candor: “You shouldn’t wait for revolutions in Palestine. Palestinians will always be angrier at the Israelis than they will ever be at me.” So far, Arafat’s been right on target.

Aaron David Miller is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, focusing on U.S. foreign policy.

Stubble burning haS returned with a vengeance and StateS remain clueleSS on tackling thiS Scourge Times of india With paddy stubble burning in Punjab surpassing their 2018 mark, it is incumbent upon the Amarinder Singh government to review its strategies to curb farm fires. Only last week, Supreme Court dealt out some severe tongue lashing to the Centre and state governments and issued a series of directions. But it is perhaps already too late for course correction this year.

Punjab reported nearly 49,000 farm fires in 2018 and a similar number in 2017.

2019 is proving to be no different and air quality has remained poor in much of north India in recent days.

The surpassing of last year’s farm fire count means that the machines intended for in-situ management of paddy stubble have hardly made any impact on the ground. Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, two other states which contribute to the problem but to a lesser extent, haven’t made much progress either. While Haryana has a good track record of supplying the straw management machines to custom hiring centres from where farmers can avail them, Punjab has clocked only a 30% score on this count.

But on the delivery of these machines to individual farmers both states fare equally poorly.

It is incumbent upon both states to fix these supply bottlenecks and ensure the machines are available cheaply. The extra expenditure and criminal cases besides impounding of farm equipment, coming atop agricultural distress and rising labour costs, have antagonised many farmers.

While SC has proposed financial assistance of Rs 100 per quintal for not burning stubble, farmers say this is inadequate. Rather than cash incentives which open a Pandora’s box, governments need to review the policy of subsidising water guzzling rice cultivation with free power, support prices and open-ended procurement.

Excessive rice growing serves no national interest and now harms environment and public health.

Trump exposed: A brutal day for the president IMPEACHMENT IS NOT MERELY AN INQUIRY INTO PRESIDENTIAL MISCONDUCT. IT IS A VIOLENT INTRUSION INTO INTIMATE REGIONS OF PRESIDENTIAL PSYCHOLOGY PoliTiCo magazine JOHN F HARRIS

Perhaps it was George Kent’s bow tie, which looked like it was paying homage to Watergate prosecutor Archibald Cox, but a dramatic day of testimony on Capitol Hill sent the mind back to one of the more compelling vignettes to emerge from that earlier scandal.

Richard Nixon was relaxing, in his own fashion, with West Wing hatchet man Charles Colson and imagining the joyful day when he would have payback against the diverse enemies arrayed against him. “One day we’ll get them—we’ll get them on the ground where we want them,” Nixon rhapsodized.

“And we’ll stick our heels in, step on them hard and twist, right Chuck?”

An impeachment inquiry is a constitutional exercise, a vindication of checks and balances, a living expression of rule of law. Yes, yes, sure—all of that. But the start of public hearings Wednesday was a reminder of what impeachment really is in the modern presidency: A brutal exercise in psychological exposure.

There was breaking news from the hearings, but it was mostly a matter of detail. There was a new anecdote from diplomat William Taylor about Trump allegedly haranguing a subordinate to keep up the pressure on Ukraine to investigate the Biden family.

This was a validation of the existing narrative rather than a fundamental twist of plot.

In a more profound way, the day was a portrait— a vivid one, in an especially grave setting—of Trump being Trump: obsessive, hectoring, contemptuous of process and propriety, as bluntly transactional about

military aid to a besieged ally as he would be about a midtown real estate deal. In that sense, this latest impeachment exercise fits neatly with the modern history of White House scandal. Presidents tend to be prosecuted for being themselves—men of compulsive and agitated ambition and need.

Sometimes historians speculate about what kind of president Nixon would have been like if his positive features—the canny operator in global politics—could have been detached from the noxious ones, the crudeness and paranoia. The same fantasy can be indulged with Bill Clinton—if his powerful gifts of persuasion and illumination were somehow delinked from his addiction to seduction and indiscipline in personal affairs.

The answer, of course, is that such an outcome is inconceivable. In every case, the scandals were projections of fundamental character, springing from the same inner drives that vaulted them to success in the first place.

Taylor nodded to this in his opening statement.

He recounted being aghast at how military aid to Ukraine was being withheld to extract a statement from new Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky on a publicly announced probe of Hunter Biden. Gordon Sondland, Trump’s ambassador to the European Union who was also immersed in the negotiation, “tried to explain to me that President Trump is a businessman,” Taylor said. “When a businessman is about to sign a check to someone who owes him something, the businessman asks that person to pay up before signing the check.” The clash of values and mindset could not have been sharper. Taylor, a career public servant, reminded Sondland that, “the Ukrainians did not ‘owe’ Trump anything.”

The coming weeks will likely also offer a window into the other great continuity of presidential scandal from Watergate to Monica Lewinsky to Ukraine. That

is the need for presidents to project confidence and control when the very nature of an impeachment inquiry underscores that they have lost control.

The news has been full of reports lately about Trump’s “isolation,” “anger,” “frustration” and “rage”—toward Democrats, toward the media, toward his own team for failing to bring Democrats and the media to heel. And the White House’s internal recriminations are flowing in both directions.

“Frustrated Trump allies urge him to stop talking about himself,” my colleague Anita Kumar wrote earlier this week, in one example of the genre.

The effort to project control recalls the scene in “Animal House” in which the ROTC parade commander, surrounded by chaos, vainly shouts, “Remain calm! All is well!”

Democrats landed damning new evidence in Wednesday’s testimony that could help them make the case that Trump abused the power of the presidency.

At the Trump White House on Wednesday, press secretary Stephanie Grisham assured reporters that Trump was too busy to dignify the impeachment inquiries by paying attention: “Not watching. He’s working.” Trump, meanwhile, did manage to squeeze in a few moments to fire off a new barrage of tweets denouncing the proceedings. “New hoax. Same swamp,” he wrote. This contradiction, too, fits into a long presidential tradition.

“One year of Watergate is enough,” Nixon pronounced piously at his State of the Union address in January 1974. Congress, the federal courts, the news media, and, ultimately, the public decided that it wasn’t quite enough—they wanted seven more months until the 37th president faced the inevitable and resigned.

Clinton had the opposite outcome—his public approval rose so steadily that Jay Leno joked that Clinton was doing so well in the polls, “he is already

planning his next sex scandal.”

His ultimate success in the impeachment drama of 1998 and 1999 reflected both a forgiving public appraisal of his behavior and his ability to project that he was “a compartmentalizer,” in the phrase his aides invoked at that time. Clinton supposedly left the defense to his lawyers and focused on public business, and for the most part avoided the relentless drive against him by Republicans in Congress.

In that sense, his approach was the exact opposite of Trump’s. But make no mistake: Compartmentalization was largely an illusion. Behind the scenes in the Oval Office and West Wing, Clinton was often distracted by fear, embarrassment over his private failings and rage over what he regarded as a supremely illegitimate effort to make them public in a campaign to reverse the results of an election.

Someday, if Trump and Clinton ever repeat the golf outings they used to share, they will have plenty to talk about in their shared experiences.

One thing they both know: Impeachment is not merely an inquiry into presidential misconduct. It is a violent intrusion into intimate regions of presidential psychology. There is no way to compartmentalize that.

Friday, 15 November, 2019

CeAsefIre tAkes hoLd After deAdLy IsrAeL-GAzA vIoLenCe GAZA

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AGENCIES

ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza took hold Thursday after two days of fighting triggered by an Israeli strike on an Islamic Jihad commander, with 34 Palestinians killed in exchanges of fire.

Both Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad and Israel’s military confirmed the ceasefire early Thursday brokered by Egyptian and UN officials — the usual mediators between Gaza and Israel. Five rockets were fired at Israel from Gaza after the ceasefire came into effect and air defences intercepted two of them, the army said, but the incident did not appear likely to set off another severe round of fighting. “#Egypt and the #UN worked hard to prevent the most dangerous escalation in and around #Gaza from leading to #war,” tweeted Nickolay Mladenov, UN envoy for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, who travelled to Cairo for the talks. “The coming hours and days will be critical. ALL must show maximum restraint and do their part to prevent bloodshed.”

The agreement, which entered into force at 5:30 am (0330 GMT), came after the death toll from Israeli air strikes rose to 34 since Tuesday. Islamic Jihad claimed a number of the dead as members.Palestinian officials said eight members of the same family had been killed in an Israeli strike overnight, including five children.

Israel’s military said the man killed in the strike in Deir al Balah in the central Gaza Strip was an Islamic Jihad rocket unit commander.

Relatives, neighbours and an Islamic Jihad spokesman disputed that, with some saying he had been a Palestinian Authority military police officer.

“This is a war crime. You are killing innocent children, sleeping at home,” neighbour Adan Abu Abdallah told AFP. Israeli military spokesman Jonathan Conricus told AFP: “He was an Islamic Jihad commander and he, like many others, have the tactic of hiding ammunition and military infrastructure in their own residence.

“Of course we try always to minimise the amount of non-combatants killed or injured.”

The escalation began early Tuesday with Israel’s targeted killing of a top Islamic Jihad commander, Baha Abu alAta, who it accused of being behind rocket fire and other attacks.

Israel’s military alleged he was planning more violence and called him a “ticking bomb,” while one top secu-

rity official said the strike was able to reach him in the bed where he slept, presumably with a drone. The strike triggered almost immediate retaliatory rocket fire from Islamic Jihad at Israel, setting off air raid sirens and sending Israelis rushing to bomb shelters in the country’s south and central regions.

Israel’s military said some 450 rockets had been fired at its territory since Tuesday morning and air defences had intercepted dozens of them in fireballs high in the sky.

No Israelis were killed, though damage was caused and one rocket narrowly missed speeding cars on a busy highway. Israeli medics said they had treated some 63 people as of Wednesday night, all with mild injuries and almost half wth “stress symptoms.”

Israel responded with air strikes, saying it targeted Islamic Jihad militant sites and rocket and missile-launching squads. Unusually, it singled out Is-

FOREIGN NEWS 07

lamic Jihad rather than hold Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules Gaza, responsible for the violence.

Israeli analysts said it was a clear signal the army sought to avoid a wider conflict. Hamas repeatedly said it would not abandon its ally, but it was faced with seeking to maintain a fragile truce with Israel that has seen tens of millions of dollars in Qatari aid flow into the impoverished Gaza Strip since last year. Islamic Jihad initially declined all mediation, but apparently decided by Wednesday night it was ready to negotiate.

An Egyptian official said the ceasefire reached overnight included an agreement that Palestinian groups in Gaza work to prevent violence by demonstrators during weekly protests near the border fence.

In return, Israel agreed to stop hostilities and commit to a ceasefire during the weekly demonstrations, according to the official. Israel did not confirm any of those claims.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had not commented publicly on the ceasefire, but had on Wednesday said Islamic Jihad must stop its rocket attacks or “absorb more and more blows”. He added that Israel did not want a further escalation but was prepared to respond “without mercy.”

The flare-up raised fears of a new all-out conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza, who have fought three wars since 2008. Islamic Jihad is the second-most-powerful militant group in the Gaza Strip after Hamas.

The flare-up came at a politically sensitive time for Israel, with no new government in place after a September election ended in deadlock.

Four killed, 52 wounded in Baghdad protests BAGHDAD AGENCIES

Iraqi security forces killed at least four people on Thursday and wounded more than 50 as they tried to push protesters further back to their main camp in central Baghdad, police and medical sources said.

On Thursday morning, three protesters died after tear gas canisters directly struck them in the head and another died in hospital from wounds from a stun bomb fired by security forces, the sources said.

Security forces used live rounds, rubber bullets and fired tear gas canisters in a bid to disperse hundreds of protesters gathered near Tahrir Square, a Reuters cameraman said.

At least half of the wounded protesters had injuries sustained from live ammunition, police and medical sources said. The others were taken to hospital having choked on tear gas, or were struck by rubber bullets, the sources said.

The square has been the epicentre of the country’s anti-government protests for weeks.

Security forces increased the use of tear gas, rubber bullets and live fire came after two days of relative calm. More than 300 people have been killed since the protests in Baghdad and the south of the country started in early October, driven by discontent over economic hardship and corruption.

Demonstrations were also taking place in several locations in southern Iraq. Protesters on late Wednesday set fire to local officials’ houses in the town of Gharraf, 25 km (15 miles) north of the southern city of Nassiriya, security sources said.

Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi’s government has taken some measures to try to quell the unrest, including handouts to the poor and creating more job opportunities for college graduates.

But it has failed to keep up with the growing demands of demonstrators who are now calling for an overhaul of Iraq’s sectarian political system and the departure of its entire ruling elite.

The unrest is among the biggest and most complex challenges to the current ruling elite since it took power after the U.S. invasion and the toppling of Saddam Hussein in 2003.

Since putting down an insurgency by Islamic State in 2017, Iraq has enjoyed two years of comparative stability. But despite its oil wealth, many people live in poverty with limited access to clean water, electricity, healthcare or education.

India's top court to set law on women’s entry in temples, mosques NEW DELHI: India’s Supreme Court said on Thursday it will set the law on women’s entry into temples and mosques after being asked to review its decision lifting a ban on some women entering the Sabarimala temple in Kerala state. The court deferred a decision on petitions seeking a review of its 2018 ruling to lift a ban on women of menstruating age entering the temple’s grounds. Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said seven judges will take up issues relating to women entering any house of worship. Gogoi said the question of whether women of all ages should be allowed into Sabarimala is part of a larger debate that includes issues like allowing Muslim and Parsi women to enter religious practices and female genital mutilation in the Dawoodi Bohra community. “Fresh opportunities to be given to all parties,” he said. It wasn’t clear if the court might broaden its consideration of issues regarding women and religion. Gogoi is retiring, so will not among the seven judges weighing the matters. The Sabarimala temple bars women age 10 to 50 from its grounds. It says the celibacy of the temple’s presiding deity, Lord Ayyappa, is protected by India’s constitution and women of all ages can worship at other Hindu temples. Some Hindu figures consider menstruating women to be impure. When the Sabarimala temple, one of the world’s largest Hindu pilgrimage centers, opened its doors to females of menstruating age after the Supreme Court’s verdict in September last year, women weren’t able to enter as hundreds of protesters fought street battles with police to keep them out.

Indian courts have been gradually recognising the rights of women, challenging deeply conservative Indian society. It last year scrapped a law that did not allow wives to bring criminal charges against adulterous husbands. AGENCIES

Lebanon's Aoun hopes a govt is formed in the coming days BEIRUT: Lebanon’s President Michael Aoun on Thursday said on his official Twitter account that he has hope in the possibility of the formation of a new government in the coming days. The demands of the protesters will be among the first goals of the incoming government, Aoun said. AGENCIES

Saudi Arabia discussing Yemen truce in informal talks with Houthis: sources DUBAI/NEW YORK AGENCIES

Saudi Arabia is intensifying informal talks with the Iran-aligned Houthi movement on a ceasefire in Yemen, sources familiar with the discussions said.

The talks were launched in Jordan in late September, three of the sources said, with Riyadh taking sole responsibility for military efforts by the Arab alliance fighting in Yemen after the exit of its main partner, the United Arab Emirates.

The discussions began after the Houthis offered to halt cross-border missile and drone attacks on Saudi cities if the Saudi-led coalition ended air strikes on Yemen, they said.

A fourth source said “discussions on finalizing the security pact are moving very quickly now through a number of channels” but that Riyadh still had concerns about its border security.

“We have had an open channel with the Houthis since 2016. We are continu-

ing these communications to support peace in Yemen,” a Saudi official said.

A Houthi official, who declined to be named, confirmed the group was discussing a broad ceasefire with Riyadh but cautioned that the group’s patience was “wearing thin”. The United Nations also hopes to restart negotiations between Yemen’s Saudi-backed government and the Houthis to end what is widely seen as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. The U.N.’s Yemen special envoy has said he hopes for a resolution to the conflict in the first few months of 2020. The Sunni Muslim coalition intervened in Yemen in March 2015 after the Houthis ousted the government of Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi in the capital, Sanaa.

The war has killed more than 100,000 people and pushed millions to the brink of famine, according the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, a non-governmental organization. The Houthis, who hold Sanaa and most big urban centers, say they are fighting a corrupt system.

TOUGH ROAD AHEAD: Diplomats said Riyadh hoped to build on the success of a deal it brokered this month between Hadi’s government and UAE-backed southern separatists to end a power struggle in Aden and other southern provinces,

the alliance’s stronghold.

The pact aims to prevent a new front in the war and unify ranks among nominal coalition allies that turned on each other. It would see the southern separatists join Hadi’s government.

“Riyadh wants to combine an eventual agreement with the Houthis along with the (southern) deal … to build momentum for a political solution that would end the war,” a Western diplomat said.

Saudi forces have taken control of Aden port, Abyan and the oil-producing provinces of Shabwa and Hadramout as Emirati forces withdrew.

Abu Dhabi distanced itself as Western pressure built and tensions with Iran increased, raising fears of war in the Gulf.

But military sources said Emirati troops remain in Balhaf LNG terminal in Shabwa, al-Dhabah oil port in Hadramout and in Mukalla, a former militant stronghold.

Finding a framework that is palatable to Yemen’s fractious parties and addresses Saudi security concerns could be hard. “I think the most optimistic outcome is a sustained pause in the fighting and a prolonged series of negotiations that are unlikely to lead to a clear and comprehensive settlement,” said Graham Griffiths, a senior analyst at Control Risks Middle East.

Friday, 15 November, 2019

08 COMMENT

The shape of things to come

PM Imran Khan up a blind alley Need to end prevailing bitterness in politics

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yCOPhANTS have been the bane of many a leader in Pakistan in the past. They play upon the whims and conceits of the rulers, make them underestimate the consequences of their unwise actions and mislead them by painting rosy pictures of the situation in the country. Some of them have already added to the bitterness prevailing in the country by unseemly remarks about the health of ex-PM Nawaz Sharif and in support of imposing conditions on his travel abroad. Prime Minister Imran Khan has created problems for himself by falling into their trap.

Mr Khan has been misled to believe that by allowing Mr Sharif go abroad for medical treatment he would be violating his oft-repeated promise not to give an NRO to anyone. Despite realising the gravity of Mr Sharif’s condition, Mr Khan has predicated the ailing politician’s departure on an indemnity bond of Rs 7.5 billion and a return to the country within four weeks. This despite the former PM having already submitted surety bonds at the time of securing bail from two high courts. The demand is absurd as the government cannot act as a court seeking bonds and placing conditions of its own. Prominent lawyers including some attached to the PTI and its ally MQM have questioned the rationale, saying there is no space for indemnity bonds in the Constitution for removing someone’s name from the eCL. Some of government’s allies too have expressed reservations about the conditions imposed by the PTI administration.

PML(Q) chief Ch Shujaat hussain has said there should be no conditions for Nawaz Sharif’s travel abroad for medical treatment, warning that any untoward happening would inject unprecedented bitterness into the body politic with dire consequences for the national economy. he advised Mr Khan to avoid the lifelong stigma that is bound to be attached to his name in case this happened.

The PMLN has approached the Lahore high Court to remove the former PM’s name from the eCL. It would be embarrassing for Mr Khan if the court delivered a verdict rejecting the government’s conditions. This would also confirm the view that the PTI leadership had been playing politics with Mr Sharif’s life.

HEC in trouble Is the government being penny-wise pound-foolish?

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he government has slashed the budget of the higher education Commission by half, granting it only Rs 59 billion against a demand of Rs 103.5 billion, while the development budget granted it was Rs 28 billion against a demand of Rs 55 billion. While it is true that departments and organisations do not get their wish list approved in entirety, this is a form of national suicide. One result is going to be an inability pay salaries of foreign faculty, who have been identified as a key component in improving standards at universities. Instead of getting research conducted through the distribution of research grants, the heC will not be able to pay salaries to faculty that joined on the assurance of the heC paying them. It is possible that this may be a cost-cutting measure. If so, it is short-sighted to say the least.

One does have Prime Minister Imran Khan making all the right noises, the latest example being his remarks at the signing of the MoU on Wednesday between Doublestar MSD Tire & Daewoo Pakistan express Bus Service Ltd. he told the audience that the economy had stabilised, and now the government would focus on creating jobs for the youth. In the knowledge economy of the immediate future (which many would say has already arrived), how youth are to be prepared for the new job market without having world-class universities, and how such universities are to be produced without getting highquality faculty, maybe the Prime Minister does. It would help if he told someone else the secret, because no one has been able to square the circle of imparting good education without good institutions.

One would have thought that a government elected because it had received the youth vote would have paid more attention to providing jobs to young people, and paid more attention to their concerns, such as creating quality in tertiary education. The heC’s measures are already cautious and pennypinching; instead of subjecting university faculty to accountability, and casting envious looks at their salaries, the government must make sure the heC is adequately funded. As important, it must ensure that the government meets the salary commitments made to foreign faculty.

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami Editor Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

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Joint Editor

Executive Editor

Deputy Editor

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Hindu fundamentalism triumphs at Penpoint M.a. nIaZI

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he Indian Supreme Court may have tried to satisfy both hindus and Muslims in the Babri Masjid case, but the decision has opened the way for a hindu fundamentalist government to resume taking over all the mosques in India on the plea of some association of the site with some deity. The Court might think that it was Solomonic judgement by giving the hindus what they wanted, while ordering that the Muslims be given alternative land. how the Sunni Wakf Board will find so much land nearby, in a land associated with Ram as well as his family, is not known.

The decision is also the second leg of the triad the BJP wants to achieve: ending then ban on non-Kahmiris buying land in Kashmir, and ending the Muslim personal law, bringing them under a uniform civil code.

This decision has brought an end to litigation between hindus and Muslims of Ayodhya that started in 1885 when Raghubir Das filed a suit before the Sub-Judge of Faizabad, to be allowed to offer puja at the Ram Janmabhoomi. The dispute started with a communal riot in 1856, and this may well have been the first sign of a claim by hindus. It is almost as if someone was trying to kill two birds with one stone: find a birthplace for Ram, and do down the Muslims. Faizabad district had formed part of the Kingdom of Oudh, of which the King had just been deposed, and the Kingdom brought under direct British rule.

It is worth noting that hindus seem to raise the Ram Janmabhoomi issue whenever there is a major change. The first riot occurred when the British had taken over Oudh. The next major development, in 1949, took place when the British had left. This decision has come after the BJP was re-elected.

The verdict has not yet caused the sort of riots that were set off in India by the 1992 Mosque demolition, which led to riots in which about 2000 were killed. however, it was feared that it would. The attempt of the Indian Supreme Court seems to have been to give a panchayati decision, one in which all parties would get something. however, it does not seem all feel they have won, except hindu groups. The Mus-

lim Personal Law Board has even hinted at moving a review application, which would mean that even this decision is not necessarily definitive.

One of the aggrieved hindu groups is the Nirmohi Akhara, which had claimed the right to manage the Ram Janmabhoomi, resting on the claim that it already managed the hindu religious sites in the Babri Mosque compound. Its pretences were excluded by the Supreme Court, and the site has been given to first the receiver, but ultimately to a trust created by the Government of India (which the BJP will be only be too willing to, packing it with its men). The Akhara, a sect of hindus worshipping Vishnu (of whom Ram was supposed to have been an avatar), had long been in the forefront of litigation, right from the suit filed by its Mahant, back in 1886.

The Babri Mosque controversy showed that multireligious solutions had been tried before by the British. A Ram Chabutra was constructed for hindus, and a railing was placed between it and the mosque, so that hindu ceremonies could be carried out.

The hindu claim is that the Babri Mosque was built on the site of a hindu temple. Another claim is that it is a temple converted to a mosque.

That is a claim of which one extant example would be the many temples throughout the Roman empire to churches. Some of those churches were converted to mosques by Ottoman conquerors. Perhaps the best-known example of such a conversion would be that of the hagia Sophia, which was the principal cathedral of Constantinople, but which was converted into a mosque when the city was captured. If one is to examine examples, the holy Kaaba was converted from an idolatrous temple into what it is today, a mosque (indeed, the principal mosque of the Muslims), at the time of the Conquest of Makkah by the holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon him).

An important aspect of the Babri Mosque issue is that it is a touch-button issue for Pakistanis. In 1992, when it was demolished, there were demonstrations, in the process of which about 30 temples were destroyed. The decision has not provoked any spontaneous reaction, but it adds to the unease felt by the public over the Indian government’s August 5 shutdown of Kashmir, which is now 100 days old, and where it seems clear that Pakistan has limited its outrage to Prime Minister Imran Khan’s speech at the UN General Assembly. With the anger about Kashmir being offered no more outlet than the Kartarpur Corridor opening, the Pakistan

Peace through Kartarpur The Corridor is a win-win situation Dr Zeeshan Khan

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he Kartarpur corridor is a new entry point giving access to the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur. however, tensions between India and Pakistan have often made it hard to access and this is being seen as rare cooperation. Sikhism was born in Punjab, a region that was divided during the partition of British India in 1947.

A tweet by Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan unilaterally announcing exemption of the $20 fee for pilgrims on inauguration day and no requirement of passport as the document, proved a cool breeze for Sikhs.

In the Sikh tradition, the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib is considered the 2nd holiest site after the Gurdwara Janam Asthan (also known as the Gurdwara Nankana Sahib). This is the place where the founder Guru of Sikhism, Baba Guru Nanak, spent 18 years of his life.

Initially, former Indian cricketer and present Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu was slammed on social media for crediting Pakistan with a successful peace initiative and he maintained, “The Kartarpur Spirit can make pilgrims of us all, venturing out on a journey that breaks the barriers of history and opens the borders of the heart and the mind. A journey that our people can walk together towards, a future of shared peace and prosperity for India and Pakistan.” The corridor spanned an area of 104 acres exclusively and 1500 acres on the whole. As per the Agreement, 5000 pilgrims will be able to visit the Shrine from India every day. eleven months ago, one could only see a tiny building encompassed by green fields on all sides. however, the area seems to have been transformed now into a white marble grandeur, with the building soaked in the vibes of spiritual attire somewhat like the majestic Taj Mahal of Agra, India. Pakistan’s sincere efforts have made Gurdwara Darbar Sahib the largest Gurdwara in the world.

Although many years ago, in 1999, Pakistan

Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

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had made India a similar offer to create a fenced corridor. however, at the time, India had not responded positively to the offer.

The Pakistan Army should be given the utmost credit for making this dream come true.

Who could have thought that the country would open up borders for a country with which it had such an elaborate history of feuds and beefs. This corridor is one of a kind and we can truly see how good the diplomatic policies are getting over the years– first with the creation of the economic corridor with China and now a ‘social’ corridor being erected in the face of adversity from our Indian neighbours. One cannot soil the religious love of the Sikhs by not fulfilling their wishes as an Islamic Republic, Pakistan knows how to respect other religions and recognize the need for the freedom of religion, unlike India that yearly has so many disputes over ethnicity and religions. Article 36 of the Constitution of Pakistan assures that “The state shall safeguard the legitimate rights and interest of minorities, including their due representation in the Federal and Provincial services.” Development of Kartarpur Corridor is part of the same commitment to promote religious freedom and harmony of the minorities.

The countries should not be quarreling over disputes that could stain the religious freedom of the Sikhs with violence and petty feuds between India and Pakistan. The foundation stone for Baba Guru Nanak University has also been laid and a Rs 50 coin and a postal stamp to commemorate the 550th birthday of Baba Guru Nanak has also been issued by Pakistan. however, despite the current hostile climate, the Pakistan government is hoping to turn the grand cross-border project into a religious tourism bonanza for the country.

The government is rightly aiming to promote religious tourism along with international standards. The Kartarpur Corridor project has garnered global attention in terms of both tourism and heritage value.

The government intends to highlight the strategic location of Pakistan as a hub of culture

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government really do not need this decision.

Since the judiciary is the supposed saviour in general, and in particular in the case of Kashmir, the court decision, particularly after it decided a long process of litigation, cannot be challenged.

An indication can be taken from the original decision by the Allahabad high Court. After all, the Indian Supreme Court did not decide the case in an original jurisdiction, but merely upheld the Allahabad high Court decision. A further point to be noted is that Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi is no hindu extremist, not belonging to the Cow Belt, but an Assamese, who was elevated to the Gwuhati high Court. As the son of a onetime Chief Minister of Assam, he could be accused of being pro-Congress rather than pro-BJP. If anything, it shows that a secular India is not being hijacked by a hindu extremist minority, but that the Indian majority consists of hindu extremists. As the details of the Babri Mosque tale tell, Indian secularism existed only in the minds of some dreamers in New Delhi.

After Independence, caste hindus, rid of the British, worked on ridding India, or rather South Asia, of the effects of Muslim presence. And that is a work in progress.

Perhaps there is insufficient recognition of the fact that Congress has never given up on the hindu extremist voter. Congress under Jawaharlal Nehru’s father, Motilal, was taken away from secularism, and towards hindu fundamentalism, by its dickering with the hindu Mahasabha. The Mahasabha elements left the Congress after Independence and went into the Jan Sangh and Swatantra parties before ending up in the BJP. however, the Congress has always maintained a streak of hindu fundamentalism, not because that was its base ideology, but because it wanted to retain its mass appeal in an electorate which has elected the BJP four times now.

The Babri Masjid decision illustrates how the judiciary of a constitutional state follows the popular mood. Though the Indian judiciary preens itself on how it upholds India’s secularism and constitutionalism, it is now proving a willing collaborator in the ethnic cleansing of India. The lockdown in Kashmir and the Babri Mosque decisions are merely trailers before the main feature, which will unfold in India no matter which party comes to power. The will of the people must be obeyed, and that will is hindu fundamentalist.

M.A. Niazi is a member of the staff.

and heritage with reference to the importance of other historic relics and monuments in the region and also intends to portray an image of openness, security, and friendliness to foreign investors by showcasing Punjab’s rich cultural experiences and elements of tolerance and diversity.

This contains the aim to build on concrete facts and eliminate many myths and misconceptions about security, isolationism, intolerance, and poverty in the region thereby encouraging foreign tourists, students, spiritualists, academics and researchers to learn and enjoy the many benefits of travelling to Punjab and experience its history, art, music, food, festivals, hospitality and recreation. It will also highlight the recently announced visa-on-arrival policy for residents of the UK, Malaysia, Turkey, and 70 other countries.

Talking about the importance of the Kartarpur project from a religio-cultural angle, the PM spoke of the cordial relationship Muslims and Sikhs have enjoyed for centuries. The Kartarpur Corridor is an effort to further strengthen these ties between Muslims and Sikhs. It is a small part of the government’s strategy to promote peace and interfaith harmony among the Muslims and Sikhs of South Asia and the rest of the world. Various analysts are expressing the opinion that by opting for the establishment of the Kartarpur Corridor, Pakistan has scored a diplomatic victory.

From the perspective of the Sikh community, visa-free access to the holy place would be a befitting tribute to Guru Nanak, who rose to break the stranglehold of the oppressive systems of the socio-religious order in nascent Punjab. National poet Iqbal also wrote a poem for Guru Nanak referring to him as a spiritual man and highlighted his narration of Oneness of Creator–the concept also mentioned in Guru Granth Sahib, the holy scripture of Sikhism.

Lastly, Pakistan sacrificed over 82,000 lives in the war against terrorism due to its effective counter terrorism strategy and defeated the demon and observed last Minority Day in connection with the Quaid-i-Azam’s address to the legislative assembly on 11 August 1947 where he had stated that all citizens were free to go to their worship places without distinction of religion or faith. Pakistan must adopt the message of love and peace.

Dr Zeeshan Khan tweets @DrZeeshanKhanA1. He cam also be reached at dr.zeeshan.alias.ghazikhan@gmail.com

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Friday, 15 November, 2019

COMMENT 09 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

Treating our teachers better TeACheRS are supposed to be spinal cord of a nation in terms of socio-economic and cultural development of a country. In pakistan,especially in sindh teachers are treated badly. yesterday, on november 6, there was called a well managed and peaceful protest in front of CM house by the Sindh Professors and Lecturers Association (SPLA)for their time scale and promotion.Meanwhile,police contingent reached there and arrested many of teachers including female professors.

Perhaps,government is unaware that potest is a democratic right of every citizen. Moreover, college teaching staff from all over of sindh has said they will remain in peaceful protest until their resolution of time-scale,and furthers it was explained that colleges will be closed till to meet their demands.On the other hand,by closing of colleges the already lowest rate of literacy in Sindh is going to be in a worst condition if demands are not meet.The protestors reminded the government that summary of time scale had been sent to the secretariat on 2010,but perhaps it has not yet been pursued.Surprisingly, all other provinces have resolved its time scale issue of the college education.

ZAKir HuSSAiN Wahi Pandhi

Justice for Nimrita

Kartarpur Corridor, Babri Masjid & IOK Hindutva rules supreme

sultan MehMooD halI

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AKISTAN achieved a major milestone in diplomacy by inaugurating the Kartarpur Corridor safely on November 9. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the corridor from the Indian side while Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan opened the transit on the Pakistan side. India and Pakistan had on October 24 signed an agreement on the modalities for operationalizing the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor, paving the way for its inauguration ahead of the 550th birth anniversary of the Sikh faith founder Guru Nanak Dev. The move was welcomed by the hundreds of thousands of Sikhs all over the world and even the USA, eU and China appreciated the peace move by Pakistan. Among the prominent Indian Sikhs who graced the occasion were former Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, Indian Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, cricketer –turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu and actor-turned-politician Sunny Deol. The visiting jatha of Sikhs, who attended the inauguration ceremony of the Kartarpur Corridor in Pakistan, expressed happiness after visiting the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur and hoped it would help in bringing peace between India and Pakistan.

The Kartarpur Sahib Corridor links Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan, the final resting place of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev, to Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Indian Punjab’s Gurdaspur district. Indian media and the BJP were incensed by Pakistan’s bold move and tried their best to create doubts about the peace corridor. The “Free Press Journal” published a fake news claiming, ‘Security increased at Kartarpur Corridor after ‘terror camps’ were spotted near Gurudwara Darbar Sahib’. The false narrative stated that Pakistan’s ISI wants to create trouble in both Punjab and Kashmir and in this regard, it is not only trying to infiltrate its terrorists but also boost the Khalistan movement in Punjab. India is finding it difficult to re-

spond to Pakistan’s master stroke in the shape have already observed non-presence of any terof Kartarpur corridor. Other than achieving high ror camps or related activity in the areas tarmoral ground, Pakistan has created sympathy geted by India and propagated as being struck in Sikh community as well as it serves as rea- by them. While the Indian high Commission in sonable foreign exchange project. India is hell Islamabad was also invited to accompany the bent to make the project controversial and raise delegation, the proposal was never answered. unnecessary security concerns to restrict Sikh PM Imran Khan has reiterated his policy in the UN that Pakistan condemns any terrorist activcommunity from visiting their holiest shrine.

On the very day that the Kartarpur Corri- ities as these have harmed Pakistan the most. dor was being inaugurated, India’s Supreme Indian attempts to falsely accuse and implicate Court ruled in favour of a hindu temple on a Pakistan are a cover to justify her brutal aggresdisputed religious ground in Ayodhya and or- sion in IOK. The world media has already nodered that alternative land be given to Muslims ticed the faulty narrative, and recent criticism to build a mosque– a verdict in a highly con- by the German Chancellor of Modi’s policies tentious case that was immediately deplored supplements Pakistan’s stance. Moreover, the much-propagated guided tour of eU members by a key Muslim body.

The dispute over land ownership has been to IOK has failed miserably as eU announced it as a visit by people with one of India’s most heated a far-right mindset in their issues, with hindu nationprivate capacity. alists demanding a temple Ferny Manecksha’s on the site in the town of Indian Muslims need to exposé in The Wire of NoAyodhya in Uttar Pradesh decide if they want to vember 4, titled ‘In Kashstate for more than a cenmir, the Justice System Is tury. The 16th century repeat 1947 for their in Limbo’ discloses that Babri Masjid mosque was destroyed by hindu hardsurvival as a community. even two months after the decision to dilute Article liners in December 1992, As long as organizations 370, Kashmiris are finding sparking massive hinduMuslim violence that left like Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Hind, it hard to access courts.

Child rights activists– some 2000 people dead. the counterpart of JUI (F), alarmed by mass arrests, Top leaders of RSS were many of underage perentrenched in New Delhi continue to support sons– filed a petition in the weeks before the verdict to ensure that the Supreme Hindutva, parroting the Supreme Court expressing concern over the rights of Court ruled in favour of Indian line of Kashmir Kashmiris to access the hindutva. In a travesty of justice system— but to no justice, the Indian being an integral part of avail. Indian minorities Supreme Court delivered a India, the Muslims there have already noticed that verdict in favour of the the Modi government is hindus, which proves that will continue to be moving on the agenda of hindutva rules supreme, hindutva, which allows no while justice can flee to brutalized by the Modi space for non-hindus. brutish beasts. regime with impunity Declaration of independOn October 31, the ence by Manipur Sate and day Maulana Fazlur Rahbreakdown of talks beman’s Freedom March tween Indian government was to reach Islamabad, taking advantage of Pakistan’s and the world’s and Nagaland reflect the practical manifestation attention being focused on the protest rally, In- of the concept of a hindu state. Indian actions dian PM Narendra Modi took his heinous step in IOK are likely to create a domino effect, and of the annexation of Indian Occupied Kashmir a blowback which the Indian state shall not be (IOK) and Ladakh a step further. Both were able to handle. The Indian judiciary also feels amalgamated into Union Territories and fresh helpless in front of a radicalized Modi establishmaps were issued, which showed Gilgit- ment. Indian Muslims need to decide if they Baltistan as part of Ladakh and Azad Jammu want to repeat 1947 for their survival as a comKashmir also as part of India. To provide a munity. As long as organizations like Jamiat-ecover to its odious acts, the Indian media con- Ulema-e-hind, the counterpart of JUI (F), tinued to churn out dishonest news continue to support hindutva, parroting the Initems. Francesca Marino wrote in The Quint, dian line of Kashmir being an integral part of ‘Pakistan State Support to Jihad Continues, India, the Muslims there will continue to be Jaish Recruitment is On’. The news item stated brutalized by the Modi regime with impunity. that Prime Minister Imran Khan simply had no Sultan Mehmood Hali is a retired Group idea as to what was happening in his country.

The news is an attempt to establish linkage with Captain and author of the book Defence & Pakistan by re-playing the terrorist card against Diplomacy. Currently he is a columnist, her. The recent visit to AJK by 22 diplomats analyst and TV talk show host.

LAST month, on 16th September, a girl medical student named Nimrita Kumari was found dead in her hostel room. According to the reports she had committed suicide. The hindus and her family members were not trusting that she commited suicide. In current reports, in her body male DNA was found and she was raped by someone before her death. So, the one who has raped her he should be caught as soon as possible.

ZAHEEr AHMED Turbat

Winter rain WeLCOMe to the first heavy spell of the winter rain. Though it may be a cause of little concern for cotton growers, it is mostly good news for everyone in the country. hopefully, it will help fight the gravely dangerous issue of smog in Lahore. heavy rain in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi has ended the dry spell causing health issues for people. Now the air will be free from pollution and dust and dirt will be washed away from roads. The agricultural land in the Pothohar region is arid, which primarily depends on rains for irrigation. These rains will be a blessing for farmers in the Pothohar region as it will benefit them preparing their land for the Rabi crop. The government needs to supply better quality seed to farmers to enable them to increase agriculture production. The farmers must put in extra efforts to preserve water any way they can for use during dry days. Similarly, the citizens should avoid wasting water and littering as that chokes drains and cause problems. even a step further, they take small steps such as growing vegetables in their lawns and backyards to bring about a change. This would not only be a healthy activity but also will help fend off the adverse effects of exorbitant prices of daily use vegetables on their budgets. Overall, a small effort by everyone can help bring about a big change. rAJA SHAFAATuLLAH islamabad

Our battle PAKISTAN is among 10 countries affected most by climate change,Pakistan is in a geographic location where average temperature is predicted to rise faster than elsewhere increasing 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit. Pakistan has faced catastrophic floods,droughts and cyclones in recent years that have killed and destroyed livelihoods and damaged infrastructure. Climatic changes are expected to have wide ranging impacts on Pakistan,reduced agricultural productivity,increased variability of water,increased coastal erosion and seawater incursion.In the last 50 years the annual mean temperature has increased by roughly 0.5 degrees Centigrade. The number of heat waves days per years has increased nearly fivefold in the last 30 years.Sea level along the Karachi coast has risen to approximately 10 centimeters in last century. By the end of this century, the annual temperature in Pakistan is expected rise by 3 degrees Fahrenheit to 5 degrees Fahrenheit. Pakistan is expected to experience increased variability of river flows due to increased the melting of glaciers. Deforestation and increase in the use of chemicals in domestic and agricultural life are the main cause of climate change in Pakistan. rAFiA KHALiD islamabad

The Molana’s Azadi ReCeNTLy Molana Fazal ur Rehman has announced a protest and a sit in in Islamabad calling it as the “Azadi March”. however it is still unclear what the ultimate motive of this azadi march is, whether it is to show solidarity with the Kashmiris against the Indian aggression in Indian Occupied Kashmir or it is merely to topple the government of Imran Khan. But one thing is crystal clear that the azadi march is going to create an environment of chaos and conflict in the capital which will not just be the ultimate challenge for the government but it will not be in the greater national interest of Pakistan. A protest and march against the government at this time when geopolitics is very active in the region and Kashmir issue is at its peak of either exploding or dissolving, although protest is their democratic right but the opposition must reconsider it for the sake of national issues and national interests.

MuHAMMAD ASiM KHAN islamabad

Friday, 15 November, 2019

10 FOREIGN NEWS

trump impeacHment inquiry moves aHeaD after start of televiseD Hearings WASHINGTON

t

AGENCIES

HE Democratic-led impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump moves ahead on Thursday after an opening day of public testimony that linked Trump to a pressure campaign to force Ukraine to conduct investigations that would benefit him politically.

The first day of televised hearings, following weeks of closed-door interviews about Trump’s dealings with Ukraine, gave a potential audience of tens of millions of Americans their first look at a probe that has ignited partisan passions ahead of the 2020 presidential campaign.

William Taylor, the acting ambassador to Ukraine, offered a new disclosure about the Republican president’s keen interest in getting Ukraine to investigate Democratic political rival Joe Biden, saying a member of his staff overheard a July 26 phone call in which Trump asked about those investigations. After the call between Trump and Gordon Sondland, a former political donor appointed as a senior diplomat, the staff member asked Sondland what Trump thought about Ukraine, Taylor said.

“Ambassador Sondland responded that President

Trump cares more about the investigations of Biden, which Giuliani was pressing for,” Taylor testified, referring to Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani.

Trump told reporters at a White House news conference after the hearing ended that he knew “nothing” about the call with Sondland. “It’s the first time I heard it,” said Trump, who has denied any wrongdoing. David Holmes, a Taylor aide subpoenaed to testify behind closed doors on Friday in the impeachment inquiry, is the staffer who overheard the call that Sondland made to Trump from Ukraine, said a person familiar with the issue.

Republican lawmakers called Taylor’s account hearsay and noted Ukraine’s president has not said he felt pressured by Trump.

NEW PUBLIC PHASE: The hearings may pave the way for the Democratic-led House of Representatives to approve articles of impeachment – formal charges – against Trump.

That would lead to a trial in the Senate on whether to convict Trump of those charges and remove him from office. Republicans control the Senate and have shown little support for Trump’s removal. The focus of the inquiry is a July 25 phone call in which Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to open a corruption investi-

gation into Biden and his son Hunter, and into a discredited theory that Ukraine, not Russia, meddled in the 2016 U.S. election. Hunter Biden had been a board member for a Ukrainian energy company called Burisma.

Democrats are looking into whether Trump abused his power by withholding $391 million in U.S. security aid to Ukraine – a vulnerable U.S. ally facing Russian aggression – as leverage to pressure Kiev into conducting the investigations. The money – approved by the U.S. Congress to help Ukraine combat Russia-backed separatists in the eastern part of the country – was later provided to Ukraine.

Wednesday’s hearing, held in an ornate hearing room packed with journalists, lawmakers and members of the public, was the first step in a new public phase of the impeachment inquiry as Democrats and Republicans each try to make their case to the public.

Ratings for the hearing are expected to be available on Thursday, giving both parties their first reading on how interested the public is.

The inquiry is being conducted as the 2020 presidential campaign begins to gather steam. Opinion polls show Democrats strongly back impeachment and Republicans strongly oppose it, leaving both parties appealing to a small sliver of the public – inde-

Clashes as acting Bolivia leader aims to end power vacuum

SUCRE AGENCIES

Bolivia’s interim president Jeanine Anez moved Wednesday to fill the power vacuum left by the resignation of Evo Morales, who said he was ready to return from exile in Mexico to “pacify” the country, as riot police clashed with his supporters and one was killed.

Anez, a 52-year-old deputy senate speaker before proclaiming herself acting president on Tuesday — a move endorsed by the Constitutional Court — named 11 cabinet ministers and appointed a new military high command.

In a press conference at the presidential palace, she reiterated a pledge to “hold elections in the shortest possible time.”

Anez named former diplomat Karen Longari as foreign minister, and a right-wing senator, Arturo Murillo, as minister for the interior.

Her economy minister Jose Luis Parada worked for the local government in the wealthy eastern province of Santa Cruz, an opposition bastion. Rejecting Morales’ claims that her presidency amounted to a coup, she said: “There is no coup in Bolivia. There is a constitutional replacement.”

“The only coup d’Etat in this country has been by Evo Morales,” she said, referring to a 2016 referendum that blocked the ex-president from running for re-election, but which Morales had overturned by the Constitutional Court.

Riot police fired tear gas during clashes with hundreds of Morales’ supporters who marched towards the presidential palace to protest Anez’s appointment. A 20-year-old man was shot and killed in a village near the eastern city of Santa Cruz during a clash between Morales supporters and police, a doctor said.

Bolivia has been in political turmoil since a controversial October 20 election in which Morales was awarded a fourth term as president. Opposition figures cried foul, claiming electoral fraud, and an audit by the Organization of American States (OAS) found clear evidence of vote count manipulation.

Ten people have now died and more than 400 have been injured in the protests, according to prosecutors. A previous toll put the number of deaths at eight. On Wednesday, demonstrations took place in Morales strongholds of El Alto, around 20 kilometers (nine miles) from La Paz, and El Chapare, a coca-growing region in the center of the country.

The La Paz clashes took place three blocks from the presidential palace, where Anez was presiding over the appointments of the new military top brass. Anez praised the “democratic disposition of the Armed Forces and police” who abandoned Morales last weekend, prompting him to resign on Sunday after weeks of protests.

Police units in various parts of the country had rebelled on Friday, siding with opposition supporters. On Wednesday, troops tried to remove barricades on the main highway linking two of the country’s biggest cities, Santa Cruz and Cochabamba, amid efforts to resume business as usual after three weeks of protests and strikes brought much of the country to a halt.

Public transport services in La Paz were returning to normal on Wednesday, and bank and businesses reopening. “We are doing everything possible to bring everything back to normal,” said police chief, General Yuri Calderon. He said dozens of small police stations had been ransacked and burned by pro-Morales supporters in the wake of the ex-president’s resignation. “If the people ask me, we are ready to return to pacify” Bolivia, Morales told a news conference in Mexico City, where he arrived Tuesday after receiving political asylum.

Climate change, corruption blamed for Venice flood devastation VENICE AGENCIES

Much of Venice was left under water after the highest tide in 50 years ripped through the historic Italian city, beaching gondolas, trashing hotels and sending tourists fleeing through rapidly rising waters.

The government in Rome was expected to declare a state of emergency at a cabinet meeting on Thursday after Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte described the flooding as “a blow to the heart of our country”. Officials blamed climate change while shopkeepers on the Grand Canal raged against those who have failed to protect the UNESCO city from the high tide.

They said corruption had repeatedly delayed a barrier protection system that could have prevented the disaster. “The city is on its knees,” Venice mayor Luigi Brugnaro said in an interview with national broadcaster RAI. “There’s widespread devastation,” he said in the famed St Mark’s Square, which bore the brunt of the flooding. “In all likelihood the damage from last night runs into hundreds of millions of euros.”

The state of emergency for a natural disaster

will allow the government to use “exceptional powers and means” to intervene more quickly, and Conte said his government was ready to allocate funds. “The disaster that has struck Venice is a blow to the heart of our country,” Conte said at the scene. “It hurts to see the city so damaged, its artistic heritage threatened.”

St Mark’s Square was calm on Wednesday evening, with just a smattering of tourists walking through the relatively dry square marked with occasional puddles.

Four Venetian friends who had gathered in the square, all wearing boots, said the relative quiet and lack of tourists was upside of an otherwise harrowing few days. “We’ve never seen anything like it,” said Alvise, 19.

Earlier, tourists lugging heavy suitcases waded in thigh-high boots or barefoot through the submerged alleys, as gondola and water taxi drivers baled sewage-tainted water out of their trashed vessels. Schools would stay closed on Thursday, authorities said.

Dirty water was swirling around the marble tombs inside the 12th-century crypt of St Mark’s Basilica, which suffered untold damage when an unprecedented high tide swept through the city. It was closed to tourists as were many

other Venice highlights including the Fenice Theatre and the Ducal Palace.

“We said last year that the basilica had aged 20 years in a high tide. It risks having aged much more than that in this one,” said the building’s procurator Carlo Alberto Tesserin.

A 78-year old was killed by an electric shock as the waters poured into his home.

“We ask the government to help us, the costs will be high,” mayor Brugnaro tweeted.

“These are the effects of climate change.”

“The future of Venice is at stake,” he warned. “We cannot live like this anymore.”

Environment Minister Sergio Costa blamed climate change and the “tropicalisation” of violent rainfall and strong winds. “This is what is happening more and more often in the Mediterranean,” Costa said on Facebook.

“Global warming will destroy our planet if we do not immediately reverse the direction.”

The exceptionally intense “acqua alta,” or high waters, peaked at 1.87 metres (six feet).

Only once since records began in 1923 has the water crept even higher, reaching 1.94 metres in 1966. “It was unbelievable. The water rose so quickly,” said resident Tiziano Collarin, 59, as he surveyed the damage.

CMYK

pendents and others who have not made up their minds. At the second public hearing on Friday, lawmakers will hear from Marie Yovanovitch, who was abruptly pulled from her post as U.S. ambassador to Ukraine in May. Yovanovitch, who has worked for both Republican and Democratic administrations, told the impeachment inquiry behind closed doors on Oct. 11 that Trump ousted her based on “unfounded and false claims” after she had come under attack by Giuliani.

Yovanovitch said Giuliani’s associates “may well have believed that their personal financial ambitions were stymied by our anti-corruption policy in Ukraine.” Trump called Yovanovitch “bad news” in a phone call to Zelenskiy, according to a White House summary. Three more public hearings are scheduled for next week.

DeatH toll in australia busHfires rises to four MELBOURNE: The death toll from devastating bushfires in eastern Australia has risen to four after a man’s body was discovered in a scorched area of bushland, police said Thursday. Three others have perished in bushfires in New South Wales, the state worst affected by a series of catastrophic fires that broke out along the eastern seaboard late last week. Residents found the body — believed to be a 58-year-old man last seen on Friday — near the New South Wales town of Kempsey, one of several areas hit by the fires in recent days. More than 100 blazes were burning on Thursday but a respite from tough conditions has seen the danger from many fires downgraded and residents returning to sift through the remains of their homes. Hundreds of houses have already been damaged or destroyed and more than one million hectares (2.5 million acres) of land burnt in the blazes. Challenging conditions were expected to flare again in Queensland and New South Wales at the weekend as the temperature rises and winds pick up, and many blazes are still proving difficult to contain. In Burrell Creek, dozens of firefighters were preparing to battle an out-ofcontrol bushfire that has so far engulfed 24,000 hectares from the coastal town of Old Bar inland to Hillville in northern New South Wales. Native wildlife has also been badly hit by the bushfires, with conservationists estimating that hundreds of koalas have perished. As many as 350 koalas died in a single nature reserve near Port Macquarie alone, raising fears for the future of the creature in the area.

Nick Boyle, of Taronga Conservation Society, said “our hearts are breaking” not only for the victims but also for the “defenceless wildlife” that had been killed by the state’s “earliest and worst” bushfire season. “Pressures on the koala were already compounding,” he said, citing habitat loss and non-native predators. “And now this.” Bushfireprone Australia is experiencing a horrific start to its fire season, which scientists say is being exacerbated by climate change. AGENCIES

Hong Kong students hunker down as government dismisses curfew rumours HONG KONG: Pro-democracy protesters paralyzed parts of Hong Kong for a fourth day on Thursday, forcing schools to close and blocking highways, as students built campus barricades and stockpiled weapons and the government dismissed rumours of a curfew. Thousands of students hunkered down on several campuses, surrounded by piles of food, bricks, petrol bombs, arrows with heads wrapped in cladding, catapults and other homemade weapons. Police said the Chinese University, in the New Territories, had become a “weapons factory and an arsenal” with bows and arrows and catapults. “Their acts are another step closer to terrorism,” Chief Superintendent (Public Relations) Tse Chun-chung told a briefing, referring to protests on all campuses. He also said police would temporarily avoid directly clashing with “highspirited rioters” to give themselves a breather and avoid injuries. China’s Global Times tabloid, owned by the state-run People’s Daily, the mouthpiece of the Communist Party, said on Twitter that the Hong Kong government was expected to announce a weekend curfew after some of the worst violence in decades in the Chinese-ruled city. It deleted the post after a short time. The Hong Kong government said the rumors were “totally unfounded”. Protesters have torched vehicles and buildings, hurled petrol bombs at police stations and trains, dropped debris from bridges on to traffic below and vandalized shopping malls and campuses, raising questions about how and when more than five months of unrest can be brought to an end. Police said arrows were fired at officers from Hong Kong Polytechnic University in the morning. AGENCIES

Friday, 15 November, 2019

bUSiNeSS 11 CORPORATE CORNER

Govt on courSE for timEly comPlEtion of induStrial zonES, na told MURAD SAEED SAYS AFTER DIPLOMATIC SUCCESS IN KARKEY RENTAL POWER CASE, THE COUNTRY WILL SOON WITNESS A POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT ON REKO DIQ CASE

ISLAMABAD: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Speaker Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani and USAID Mission Director to Pakistan Julie Koenen pose for a group photo with the USPakistan Centers for Advanced Studies in Energy (USPCASE-E) team. press release

LAHORE: Samsung’s first-of-its-kind ‘Creators Galaxy Workshop’ kicked off on Thursday with an aim to empower community members with right skill set and provide them with a platform to grow with the Samsung Community. press release

Pakistanis should expect substantial decrease in salaries in 2020

ISLAMABAD ppI

P

ARLIAMENTARY Secretary for Textile Aliya Hamza Malik told the National Assembly on Thursday that the government has expedited its work on industrial zones in order to ensure their timely completion.

"Our government is paying special attention to the country's exports," she said, adding that the exports have already witnessed an increase, due to which the trade deficit has come down significantly.

Housing Minister Tariq Bashir Cheema informed the house that work on various housing projects has commenced under the Naya Pakistan Housing Programme. He said the allocation

NEPRA likely to burden power consumers with additional Rs17bn ISLAMABAD

BUSINESS DESK

aHMaD aHMaDaNI

The people of Pakistan are the only nation in the Asia-Pacific who will record a substantial decrease in salaries made next year on the back of rising inflation and depreciation of the Pakistani rupee, according to a report released by mobility consultancy ECA International. The Salary Trend Report published by the group contends that the average real salary increase in Pakistan is expected to be negative, and employees will likely be worse off than they were last year. Lee Quane, Regional Director Asia at ECA International, has surmised these trends. Quane explained, "The average real salary increase in Pakistan is forecast to be -3.0pc, meaning that employees will be worse off than they were last year. Despite the nominal increase staying at a relatively high 10.0pc, inflation has shot up as the rupee has depreciated." He added that the Inflation in Pakistan is forecast to reach 13.0pc in 2020, exceeding the nominal increase and leaving workers out of pocket compared to 2019. However, the same is not true for other Asia-Pacific countries, especially neighbour and archrival India. According to the report, India topped the table for average real salary increases in Asia, but now also tops the table globally for 2020. The average real salary increase is set to be 5.4pc for workers in India, which is four times the rise expected in Hong Kong. "Salaries in India are set to rise significantly, with 5.4pc increase almost four times as high as the expected increase in Hong Kong.

Despite inflation rising slightly from 2019 and the economy slowing slightly, though workers can still expect more increases," said Quane. Workers in China are set to see a real salary increase of 3.6pc in 2020, while UK workers will receive a lower real salary increase in 2020 as compared to the previous year. Overall, the global average salary increase stands at 1.4pc and the Asia-Pacific average increase is 3.2pc.

The power distribution companies (DISCOs) have requested the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) to pass on approximately Rs17.2 billion to the already burdened power consumers.

Following the requests of DISCOs to adjust variation in power purchase price (PPP) for the quarter of the fiscal year 2019-20 (JulySept FY20), NEPRA has decided to conduct a hearing on the matter on 20th November to arrive at a just and informed decision.

As per the sources in the power sector, if NEPRA approves the quarterly adjustments of DISCOs on account of variation in the power purchase price, then the power consumers will face around Rs17.2 billion worth heavy burden.

DISCOs, in their requests, have sought 17-paisa per unit hike in the electricity price, they added.

According to documents available with this scribe, the Islamabad Electric Supply

President Alvi urges Shell to invest in renewable resources ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi on Thursday urged Royal Dutch Shell to invest in renewable resource of energy since the company has achieved major breakthroughs in this sector. He said this during a meeting with Royal Dutch Shell South Asia (Government Relations) Vice President James Hall in Islamabad. The president noted that Shell was one of the oldest multinationals in Pakistan, having a presence in the South Asian region for over a century. He said that the investment policy of Pakistan has been designed to provide a conducive business environment for the attraction of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Dr Alvi underscored that the country's investor-friendly investment policy provided no restriction on remitting capital, profits and dividends. "The government welcomes Shell's interest in new projects and hopes that the company would keep investing in Pakistan to assure its economic development," he added.

Speaking on the occasion, James Hall informed that Shell has its footprint in Pakistan since its independence in 1947 and has been privileged to play a vital role in the country's progress. "Right from the largest natural gas discovery at Sui in 1952 to the launch of the retail visual identity stations in 1995 that changed the face of fuel retailing in Pakistan, Shell has been a dedicated energy partner in the country. We are making a paradigm shift in our strategy by implementing a structured convenience retailing model for our customers across our service station network, which would be another milestone for downstream in the country." sTaFF repOrT

of Rs5 billion interest-free loan has been made which would be utilised for low-cost housing.

"The federal government employees will be accommodated in these housing schemes."

Meanwhile, Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad said that Pakistan Railways has earned a profit of Rs4 billion on passenger trains.

"The department plans to induct new passenger coaches, in addition to indigenously built coaches through joint ventures," he added.

Religious Affairs Minister Noorul Haq Qadri told the house that Saudi Arabia has waived 2000 Riyal fee on Pakistanis performing more than one Umrah within two years.

Moreover, Parliamentary Secretary for Food Muhammad Ameer Sultan said that aerial sprays have been carried in Karachi to control the locust attacks. The chair directed the

Company (IESC) has sought collection of Rs1.44 billion from the electricity consumers, Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) has asked for a collection of Rs5 billion, Gujranwala Electric Power Company (GEPCO) Rs1.53 billion, Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (FESCO) Rs994 million, Multan Electric Supply Company (MEPCO) Rs2.21 billion, Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO) Rs3.6 billion, Hyderabad (HESCO) Rs2.5 billion, and Quetta (QESCO) Rs1.52 billion and Sukkur (SEPCO) Rs1.19 billion.

NEPRA had determined the tariff of DISCOs for the FY2017-18 and the same has been notified by the federal government with effect from January 1, 2019. Pursuant thereto, the DISCOs have filed their requests for adjustments on account of variation in PPP for the quarter of FY20 in line with the notified mechanism.

NEPRA, in its notice of hearing, invited all the interested/affected parties to submit written/oral comments or objections as permissible under the law.

Pakistan to export 300 tonnes of onions to Bangladesh ISLAMABAD INp

Pakistan will export 300 tonnes of onions to Bangladesh after nearly 30 years of hiatus.

According to officials of the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), a Bangladeshi firm has placed a 300-tonne import order to Pakistan.

"Bangladesh's Tasho Enterprise has confirmed striking a deal with a Karachi-based Roshan Enterprise for the purpose," they informed. "Bangladesh would import at least 12

containers of onion from Pakistan under the agreement." The officials said Pakistan is likely to get more onion import orders from the country in view of India slapping a ban on the export of vegetables to neighbouring countries owing to a local shortage of essential Kitchen commodities following floods.

According to media reports, heavy rainfall in India wreaked havoc with the onion growing states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Telangana, leading to an increase in the prices of the commodity and a ban on its export to meet local needs.

federal government to fully assist the Sindh government in this regard.

Two bills were laid before the house, including the 'Islamabad Capital Territory Prohibition of Interest on Private Loans Bill, 2019' and 'The Control of Narcotics Substances Amendment Bill, 2019'.

Speaking on the occasion, Communications Minister Murad Saeed claimed that former finance minister Ishaq Dar and other members of the Sharif family were "absconders" in different cases. "The PTI government is committed to building a welfare state where the rich and poor will be equal before the law," he added.

Saeed maintained that Pakistan was changing under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan. He said the economy was achieving stability, as evident from record positivity in the stock market.

"After diplomatic success in $1.2 billion Karkey rental power case, the country will soon witness a positive development on Reko Diq case," he added.

MARKET DAILY

KSE-100 closes in green amid rangebound trading KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) ended a range-bound session on Thursday slightly positive. Foreign investors closed as net buyers for sixth consecutive session on Wednesday with a net inflow of $1.80 million.

The KSE-100 Index recorded its intraday high at 37,507.02 after gathering 340.06 points. It then slid to its intraday low at 37,130.01 after shedding 36.95 points. The index finally settled higher by 76.24 points at 37,243.20. The KMI30 Index appreciated by 158.71 points to close at 60,732.97, while the KSE All Share Index gained 39.23 points, closing at 26,439.91. The advancers to decliners ratio stood at 212 to 148.

The overall trading volumes surged from 275.31 million in the preceding session to 336.02 million. Maple Leaf Cement Factory Limited Right (MLCFR1 +2.11pc), The Bank of Punjab (BOP +0.10pc) and Pak Elektron Limited (PAEL +2.99pc) led the volume chart. The scripts had exchanged 38.60 million shares, 17.65 million shares and 16.33 million shares, respectively.

Sector that helped the index close in green included automobile assembling (+40.36 points), banking (+23.06 points), cement (+22.71 points), pharmaceutical (+17.22 points) and technology & communication (+12.54 points).

Meanwhile, Honda Atlas Cars (Pakistan) Limited (HCAR +4.99pc) sales dropped by 54pc in 2QMY20. Gross profit margin improved from 7pc in the last quarter to 10pc. Other income fell 86pc compared to the previous quarter while finance cost surged by 267pc. The company’s earnings per share increased from Rs1.69 in 1QMY20 to Rs 3.57. According to media reports, automakers have decided to reduce their production to cut operational costs owing to low demand in the market. HCAR would observe 23 days of non-production during the month while Indus Motor Company Limited (INDU +4.72pc) has already announced to operate with a single shift till December 2019. sTaFF repOrT

China says 'in depth' talks on tariffs removal underway with US BEIJING aGeNCIes

China Thursday said it is discussing with the US "in depth" about a first phase trade deal and a potential rollback of tariffs, despite recent mixed messages over the lingering trade impasse.

Beijing and Washington have been embroiled in an 18-month trade war which has weighed on the global economy and have slapped punitive tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars in two-way trade.

Amid signs of easing tensions, the Chinese commerce ministry last week said the two sides had agreed on a plan to roll back tariffs in stages -- only to have US President Donald Trump deny that any such

plan had been made.

Trump warned on Tuesday that he could even increase tariffs further if a partial deal with Beijing failed to materialize.

But China's commerce ministry spokesman Gao Feng sounded a more positive note on Thursday, and said Beijing was "willing to work together with the US... and to create conditions for the first phase of the agreement."

"If the two parties reach a first phase agreement, the extent of the tariff cancellations should fully reflect the importance of the first phase agreement," Gao said at a regular briefing in Beijing.

"The two sides are discussing this issue in depth."

Trump last month held off on a round of tariff increases, and

White House officials have suggested that as part of the current mini-deal he could delay fresh tariffs on $160 billion worth of Chinese goods planned for midDecember.

The partial deal could also include promises from Beijing to increase purchases of US farm goods and better protections for intellectual property rights.

Trump had planned to sign a pact with China's President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the now-cancelled summit in Chile this month.

Since that summit cancellation no other meeting between the two has been announced.

Gao said the elimination of tariffs was "in line with the interests of producers and consumers,

in line with the interests of China and the United States, and in line with world interests."

Economic data show the uncertainty created by the dispute between the world's two biggest economies is undermining global growth.

The International Monetary Fund has cut its global growth forecast and warned that implementing all the announced tariffs would cut $700 billion out of the world economy next year.

Separately, China's customs administration on Thursday said that it was removing restrictions on US poultry imports and "allowing US poultry imports that abide by the requirements of our country’s laws and regulations."

Friday, 15 November, 2019

12 bUSiNeSS regional economy hinges on afghan peace: minister

HafEEz SHaiKH StrESSES nEEd for Public-PrivatE PartnErSHiPS ISLAMABAD

ISLAMABAD sTaFF repOrT

Planning Minister Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar has said that peace in Afghanistan was vital for regional prosperity, adding that many development opportunities have been missed in the past owing to conflict in Afghanistan.

Addressing a seminar organised by the Islamabad Policy Research Institute in Islamabad on Thursday, the minister said that political solution to Afghanistan issue would bring about economic progress and development in the region.

Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, Chinese Ambassador Yao Jing, IPRI president and foreign delegates were also present on the occasion.

The minister said that Pakistan was focusing on cooperation in the energy sector at regional level. "Pakistan is heading towards industrial development as different countries are heavily investing in its economy, particularly in the e-commerce sector," he added. Bakhtiar underscored that Pakistan should also invest in research and development to ensure the growth of all sectors on the pattern of China.

Talking about China Pakistan Economic Corridor, the minister said that under the CPEC framework, other countries could also become partners and make investments. He stated that the incumbent government has quickened the pace and implementation of CPEC projects while hurdles related to such projects have been largely removed.

Bakhtiar noted that there was tremendous trade potential in the region and Pakistan could play an important role in the promotion of trade linkages between Central Asia and South Asia.

The minister called for initiating joint ventures with the private sector for sustained economic growth. He added that a business-to-business forum has been formulated between the investors of Pakistan and China in order to expedite the development process.

SbP reserves up $40m to $8.4bn BSUINESS DESK The foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank increased 0.5pc on a weekly basis, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday.

On November 8, the foreign currency reserves held by the SBP were recorded at $8,397.3 million, up $40 million compared with $8,357.6 million in the previous week.

The SBP, in its report, cited no reason for the increase in reserves.

The overall liquid foreign currency reserves held by the country, including net reserves held by banks other than the SBP, stood at $15,502.4 million.

Net reserves held by banks amounted to $7,105.1 million.

a

GHUlaM aBBas

DVISER to Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Abdul Hafeez Shaikh said on Thursday that joint ventures with the private sector were imperative to ensure economic development in the country.

Addressing the Peace and Development Conference in Islamabad, he said the process to achieve the goal of prosperity was not possible without the private sector's support.

He said the government's responsibility was to create an enabling business environment and to facilitate the private sector to grow and create more jobs.

"You cannot hire millions of people in government departments. It is not the government's business to create jobs in its departments; instead, our role to create opportunities in the rest of the economy by providing the right sets of incentives," he said. "The private sector of any country possesses a very important role in development, as it could find new markets in allied countries." He maintained that the incumbent government has provided a feasible environment for investors by ensuring ease in doing business.

"The government has taken effective measures to stabilise the national economy, resulting in a reduction in current account deficit up to 40 per cent."

PM’S AIDE SAYS GOVT STRIVING TO INCENTIVISE PRIVATE SECTOR IN ORDER TO CREATE JOB OPPORTUNITIES FOR MASSES Dr Hafeez Shaikh said that it was essential for the developing countries to enhance the skillsets of their people. "We must look to find ways to sell our products to other countries and to ensure that others partner with us," he said. "This is the focal lesson of development as no country in the history has brought prosperity to its people alone, especially without its neighbours," he added, citing the example of Chinese leadership which understood this lesson and brought 700 million of its people out of poverty.

He said that the region was marred by many problems including poor connectivity, low trade, no rail links, difficult border crossings, excessive visa restrictions, poor infrastructure links, unharmonised customs, poor access to insurance and finance, archaic foreign exchange rules and restrictive visa regimes.

The solution, he said, lied in finding a way out through greater access and more interactions between

the people of the region.

Shaikh also spoke on the role of money in bringing prosperity and development, saying that there was "so much money chasing few projects". He said the Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank alone had $100 billion while the share capital of World Bank, Asian Development Bank and Islamic Development Bank was also impressive but they were insignificant when compared to hundreds of billions of dollars possessed by the private sector. "All this money is waiting for good purchase but countries make bad policies which don't attract those billions of dollars and instead create lots of obstacles in the way of that money to come to our countries," he said.

On the country's economy, the adviser said the government had inherited a difficult economic but it was taking tough decisions to overcome the crisis.

He noted that the World Bank had also acknowledged Pakistan as one of the top ten reformers in the ease of doing business. "This year, our portfolio investment from the rest of the world is rising ... we have achieved energy self-sufficiency; we are having an open visa policy and anyone from the countries being represented here would get visa on arrival; we have the Torkham border working 24/7; we have a currency swap agreement with countries like China and we are trying to have the CASA-1000 deal with Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan," he concluded.

PIA, Etihad Airways renew codeshare agreement Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and Etihad Airways have renewed their codeshare agreement, allowing passengers access to each airline route.

According to a PIA spokesperson, under the codeshare partnership, the customers of the national flag carrier could also travel on the flights of Etihad Airways across the globe. In return, he added, PIA will facilitate the passengers of Etihad Airways on Abu Dhabi-

Pakistan route. “The accord will come into effect from 26th November.”

The spokesperson said that the codeshare deal would see Etihad place its ‘EY’ code on PIA’s services between Abu Dhabi and Lahore, Islamabad, and Peshawar while PIA will place its ‘PK’ code on Etihad’s services between Karachi, Islamabad, and Lahore, and Abu Dhabi.

Commenting on the announcement, Robin Kamark, Etihad Airways Chief

Commercial Officer, said, "The UAE and Pakistan share strong historical, commercial and cultural links and this partnership with PIA, one of the oldest and most experienced airlines in Asia, is a natural progression for both carriers.

It enables us to cater to the strong customer demand for both point-to-point business and visual flight rules travel between the UAE and major cities in Pakistan, and to provide seamless travel

Byco, Bank Alfalah join hands to digitise fuel payments ISLAMABAD sTaFF repOrT

Byco Petroleum Pakistan Limited has partnered with Bank Alfalah to launch digital payments across Byco's nationwide network of retail outlets.

As per a statement issued on Thursday, Bank Alfalah, being an advocate of the OneQR concept, has now enabled Byco Petroleum to not only accept payments through its Alfa App but also through 25 other digital banking apps being used across the country.

"Now every Bank Alfalah customer with Alfa app can drive to their nearest Byco retail outlet and avail a litre of petrol for just Rs100, purchasing as much as 10 litres of petrol in a day and 300 litres in a month, at this discounted price," the statement read.

Recently, Pakistan State Oil

had shown an interest in signing a similar contract with Finja, a Pakistani fintech. However, the Explosives Department chief inspector (under the Ministry of Industries and Production secretary) had decided against the collaboration, citing the digitisation process a "safety issue".

Meanwhile, experts maintained that there has never been a single incident globally where the use of a mobile phone had caused a fire or explosion at a petrol pump.

"This as an urban myth," they said. "In fact, petrol pumps use a mobile POS device with a GSM sim to swipe credit cards at the pump in Pakistan with no objection."

The UK Petroleum Industry Association Ltd looked into the issue in 2017 and concluded that there were no ignition incidents associated with mobile phones anywhere in the world. "Mobile

phones, although not specifically designed to standards as 'protected equipment', pose a negligible ignition risk, and one that is far less than other ignition sources on a fuel forecourt."

It is pertinent to mention that almost Rs8 billion is spent daily in cash at fuel pumps with a footfall of 7 million people per day.

The movement of cash is painful for all participants from the buyer to the franchisee/distributor/oil company. This entire chain can easily be digitised which would accelerate e-commerce through increased adoption.

Experts believed that QR transactions at pumps would accelerate e-commerce, reduce inflation and bring Pakistan into the age of technology.

According to a source, PSO is ready for digitisation of payments if the matters are cleared.

options for the large Pakistani diaspora around the world, connecting through our hub in Abu Dhabi."

For his part, PIA Chief Commercial Officer Nausherwan Adil stated that this is indeed a great opportunity for PIA to join hands with Etihad Airways, connecting Pakistan to UAE and around the globe and expanding reach to more destinations for the convenience of valued passengers. BUsINess DesK

‘China will further prioritise stabilising growth’ BEIJING aGeNCIes

China’s Premier Li Keqiang said the country will further prioritize stabilizing growth, according to state media on Thursday citing a meeting he had with local officials. China’s factory output growth and other key indicators slowed significantly and missed forecasts in October, data from the statistics bureau showed Thursday, as weakness in global and domestic demand and the drawn-out Sino-U.S. trade war weighed on the world’s second-largest economy. China’s regional differentiation in economic performance is widening, with some regions showing weakening growth, said Li. China will further prioritize maintaining growth within a reasonable range, he said. China’s economic operations are maintaining stability in a “complex and severe environment,” said Li, according to the report.

US weekly jobless claims rise to five-month high WASHINGTON aGeNCIes

The number of Americans filing applications for unemployment benefits rose to a five-month high last week, but this likely does not signal a shift in labour market conditions as claims for several states were estimated because of Monday’s holiday.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 14,000 to a seasonally adjusted 225,000 for the week ended Nov 9, the highest reading since June 22, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Data for the prior week was unrevised.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims would climb to 215,000 in the latest week. The Labor Department said claims for California, Hawaii, Kansas, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico and Virginia

were estimated. Some of the states did not have enough time to process the claims data because of Monday’s Veterans Day holiday, leading to them making estimates.

The four-week moving average of initial claims, considered a better measure of labour market trends as it irons out weekto-week volatility, rose only 1,750 to 217,000 last week. Still, layoffs remain low even as the pace of hiring has slowed from last year’s brisk pace, keeping the labour market on solid ground and reducing financial market fears of a recession.

Labour market strength, marked by the lowest unemployment rate in nearly 50 years, is supporting consumer spending and helping to offset some of the hit on the economy from a 16-month trade war between the United States and China.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell

told lawmakers on Wednesday that the labour market had “benefited a wide range of individuals and communities.”

The US central bank last month cut rates for the third time this year and signalled a pause in the easing cycle that started in July when it reduced borrowing costs for the first time since 2008.

Thursday’s claims report also showed the number of people receiving benefits after an initial week of aid fell 10,000 to 1.68 million for the week ended Nov 2.

The so-called continuing claims were in recent weeks likely boosted by a 40-day strike by workers at General Motors, which economists said caused temporary layoffs at auto parts suppliers.

The four-week moving average of continuing claims was unchanged at 1.69 million.

Putting the Fun back in FitneSS

Zainab Khanani is no ordinary trainer! She refers to herself as a fitness coach. She will do a lot more than just run you through a routine of Burpees, Squats, Push ups and more. She will scold you, pester you and admonish you if you are not following through.

Zainab Khanani takes personal responsibility for all those who work with her. She makes grocery lists and sends them, while insisting her clients send her pics of food they are eating. She also runs a facebook community group where members have to upload pics of their food and waist measurements and steps taken

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Tell us a little about yourself?

I am Zainab Khanani mother of 3 kids Alhamdollilah.

Certified fitness trainer and a fitness nutritionist.

What diet do you recommend for busy Ammis who are too caught up to cook separately for themselves?

Either you are a working Ammi or a housewife, diet should always be the sort that suits the whole family and everyone can enjoy it like oats with fruits and shredded chocolate.

How did you get into this profession?

I was always passionate about health and fitness because I know the importance of being fit and healthy. That’s why I wanted to pursue my passion as my career.

What's your moto in life?

I would love to help people specially in their weight loss journey. As I want everybody to live a fit and healthy life.

How do you add fitness into your everyday life?

Any type of physical activity that makes you feel active and fit rather than sitting on the couch.

How should we give priority to fitness since after kids its sometimes difficult to manage things?

As we do everything else in life like taking care of family, shopping, cooking, watching TV or going to the movies etc same should be the outlook about fitness and exercise. It should be a part of our life.

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Any tips for Scaryammis?

The weight loss journey is not the short term goal as a fitness expert I would like to advice everyone to make a habit to keep a healthy lifestyle.

What's your advice to young girls, married women, and moms regarding fitness?

My program is about how to teach people to adopt and maintain healthy lifestyle through my specially designed fitness classes which is mixture of functional training and aerobics exercises with nutritional guidance.

Any tips for Ammis on staying fit during pregnancy?

Yes, they can make themselves active during pregnancy too, by going for a slow walk and they can do upper body homebased workouts and follow a healthy and nutritious diet.

What's the most effective at home work out for Ammis who can't go to the gym?

There are lots of workouts which they can do at home without any equipment like leg raises, squats with front raises, calf raises with lats raises, plank hold etc.

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The hottest chili pepper in the world is so hot it could kill you The "weapons-grade" Dragon's Breath chili pepper is so hot it's downright deadly. If you ate one, it could potentially cause a type of anaphylactic shock, burning the airways and closing them up.

What sports are an excellent source or cardio?

SWIMMING is best for cardio and full body movements.

How can we make fitness fun for ourselves?

If your coach or trainer designs and update your workouts with variation, it will be fun for you.

More people visit France than any other country France is a beautiful country, filled to the brim with delicious wines, scrumptious cheese, and tons of romance. So it's no surprise that more people want to visit France than any other country in the world, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization.

How many days a week should we be working out at the minimum?

At least 4 days a week and ideally 35 to 40 minutes is enough.

HOLLYWOOD BOLLYWOOD

The world's most densely populated island is the size of two soccer fields Santa Cruz del Islote in the Archipelago of San Bernardo off the coast of Colombia may only be about the size of two soccer fields (AKA two acres), but the artificial island has four main streets and 10 neighborhoods. Five hundred people live on the island in around 155 houses. With so many people packed into such a small space, it's the most densely populated island in the world, according to The Guardian.

Robert Pattinson Answers 'Why Batman' Justice League Sound Mixer Shows Off Earlier this year saw it announced that Robert Pattinson will Henry Cavill Superman Mustache

be playing the titular character for director Matt Reeves in The Batman. The 33-year old actor is known for the popular Twilight vampire movies, but following those flicks, he stayed out of the limelight.

As part of Variety's "Actors on Actors" interview series, Jennifer Lopez questions Robert Pattinson, "Why Batman?"

Pattinson starts off by saying that he never thought Twilight was going to be a huge thing and compared it to indie movies and says he just kept doing movies he wanted to do.

He also says that his approach to acting is taking on projects that he likes and that since he assumes every project could be his last, he wants the movies to be the best that they can be.

Regarding playing Batman, Pattinson offers: "With Batman, there was something — I was very focused on it. It kept coming back into my head. It was probably like two years ago, and my agent was like, 'Really?'"

Pattinson reveals that he wanted to do the Batman and sort of sought out the part, and also that he knew they were going to do another Batman.

A new image of Henry Cavill as Superman sporting the controversial mustache surfaces from a sound mixer on the Joss Whedon version of Justice League.

As Henry Cavill was filming on Paramount's Mission Impossible flick at the time, which required the mustache, Henry Cavill wasn't allowed to shave off the mustache for the Justice League reshoots, so in post-production, Warner Bros. was forced to remove the mustache digitally through CGI. The pic below reveals the sound mixer using the raw footage from the Justice League reshoots, prior to the Henry Cavill Superman mustache getting removed digitally.

Warner Bros., for whatever reason, didn't do a very good job of removing the 'stache, which received many complaints when the final version of Justice League was released theatrically.

Joss Whedon was responsible for the theatrical release of Justice League, though it did recently become known that WB execs were influenced by Marvel zombie fans to make it more goofy and funny, which backfired completely.

CMYK

Sara Ali Khan enjoys holiday in New York After treating her fans with beautiful, seaside pictures from Sri Lanka three weeks back, actor Sara Ali Khan is off to wintry New York for a brief holiday. On Thursday, the actor shared a picture as her Instagram stories.

In the picture, Sara is seen wrapped up in woollens and looking at mannequin in a shop window in Soho in lower Manhattan, New York City. She also shared a picture of her friend, who goes by the name Kamiyaah (Kamya Arora), who too seems excited about their ‘shopping and roaming’ spree in the US city.

Sara, who has been shooting for her next, a remake of hit ’90s film Coolie No 1, had taken a short break three weeks back too and dashed off to Sri Lanka. She had shared a bunch of pictures. She can be seen sipping a drink in a pool while another had her in an auto and is enjoying the Lankan rains.

Sara, who made an impressive debut in 2018 with Kedarnath and followed it up with the more commercial Simmba, the actor proved she could act and be a typical Bollywood heroine too. Reportedly, the actor’s mother Amrita Singh isn’t too excited about the idea and wants her daughter to focus on her career, while Sara is okay about mixing personal life with work.

Friday, 15 November, 2019

14 SPORTS

Hoeness seT To end An erA AFTer TrAnsForming BAyern MUNICH

H

AGENCIES

AVING transformed Bayern Munich into one of Europe's strongest clubs, then been jailed for tax evasion, Uli Hoeness will bring the curtain down on a glorious 40-year reign at the German giants when he steps down as club president on Friday.

Hoeness will officially stand down at Friday's annual general meeting having nominated Herbert Hainer, a former CEO of sportswear firm Adidas, to succeed him, but he will stay on the club's supervisory board for at least four more years.

Since the 67-year-old joined club management after retiring as a three-time European Cup winning player four decades ago, Bayern have dominated the Bundesliga and been crowned kings of Europe two more times.

"I think that someone like Uli Hoeness will never stop, he's got a Bayern heart, so he will always stay connected to us," said Bayern captain Manuel Neuer on Wednesday.

He hands the reins to Hainer with Bayern Munich in rude health, generating 750 million euros ($825 million) in turnover and reported profits of 52 million euros.

The club has a vast army of 300,000 members and over 1,000 employees, while their Allianz Arena stadium has been paid off.

It is a far cry from his first day as club manager on May 1, 1979, following a career-ending knee injury, with Bayern carrying debts of seven million Deutschmarks (around 3.5 million euros in today's currency).

After two hours at his desk, Hoeness says he "went home, because there was no work", but his relentless drive and recruitment of top players in the coming years has yielded 24 German league

Zverev denies illegal phone use at ATP Finals LONDON AGENCIES

and 14 German Cup titles.

"Bayern is unimaginable without you," wrote in a tribute Germany legend Franz Beckenbauer, who Hoeness replaced as club president in 2009.

"The club would not be what it is today."

However, the fire still burns in Hoeness' belly, as proven last Sunday morning when he rang a talk show on German television to berate pundits criticising Bayern sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic.

Bayern are seeking a new coach since Niko Kovac was relieved of his duties a fortnight ago and Hoeness will no doubt have a say in who replaces interim coach Hansi Flick.

Ajax coach Erik ten Hag, Paris Saint-Germain boss Thomas Tuchel -- both of whom have said

they will not leave their respective clubs this season -- and ex-Bayern coach Pep Guardiola are reportedly on the short list.

Hoeness, the son of a butcher, rose to fame for transforming Bayern into a global brand as a millionaire businessman who bounced back despite a spectacular own goal which landed him in jail in 2014.

The black mark on his legacy is the 21 months he served in prison following his 2014 conviction for evading at least 28.5 million euros ($31.5 million) in taxes.

It spoke volumes for his fearsome reputation that few in the German media questioned whether it was morally right for someone convicted of tax evasion to again run Germany's biggest club.

Alexander Zverev denied he was using his phone illegally during his ATP Finals round-robin defeat to Stefanos Tsitsipas at London's O2 Arena. The defending champion was asked about the incident during the post-match press conference following his 6-3, 6-2 defeat on Wednesday. TV footage that circulated on social media appeared to show him touching something in his bag at a changeover during the match. Rules state players cannot access any electronic devices during matches. But Zverev, 22, insisted he did not have his phone with him on court.

"My phone was in the locker room," he said. "I always leave it there. I don't know what they saw, but it was definitely not a phone." When asked what he might have been touching in his bag, the German said: "I mean, a water bottle? Empty water bottle maybe?"

Zverev beat Rafael Nadal earlier in the week but his comprehensive defeat by Tsitsipas leaves his tournament hopes in the balance ahead of his final group match against Daniil Medvedev on Friday.

Toxic smog delays Asian Tour golf in New Delhi DELHI AGENCIES

The start of a leading Asian Tour golf tournament was held up Thursday by toxic smog that has engulfed the Indian capital with hazardous levels of pollution. Organisers of the four-day Panasonic Open India event said the tournament could be shortened if the pollution remains serious, as completing the event would be "a big challenge". Delhi and other cities across northern India are blanketed by a poisonous haze each winter due to buildup of traffic fumes, industrial emissions and smoke from agricultural fires.

"The opening round of the Panasonic Open India was delayed due to poor visibility and weather conditions," an Asian Tour organiser told AFP. The

first golfers went on the course five hours late and some wore anti-pollution masks.

A photo posted on Twitter by the Asian Tour showed Bangladeshi golfer Mohammad Siddikur Rahman hitting a shot while wearing a face mask.

The amount of PM2.5 -- deadly tiny particles that get into the bloodstream and lungs -- soared to about 20 times the safe limit set by the World Health Organisation.

Delhi authorities closed all schools until Friday, banned construction and are only allowing cars on the road depending on whether the registration is an odd or even number.

The road rationing is meant to end on Friday, but Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said it could be extended.

Driven Chadwick eyes Formula One but on her own terms LONDON AGENCIES

Jamie Chadwick's ambition is to race in Formula One but with conditions attached -- she wants to secure the drive on merit and not because someone pays for her to do so, she told AFP. The self-assured 21-year-old Briton took potentially a big step towards achieving that goal in winning the inaugural W Series title -- an all-women single-seater six-race championship raced over 30 minutes and one lap -- this year.

Chadwick is fully aware of the challenges facing her in a sport not renowned for female participation. The last woman to line up on the grid of a Formula One race was Italy's Lella Lombardi in the Austrian Grand Prix in 1976.

"I want to be there on merit. I don't care if someone pays for me to be in Formula 1 tomorrow, I won't do it as I am not there on merit yet," she said after appearing at the Sport Industry Breakfast Club in London.

"I know if I jumped into an F1 seat tomorrow I would not do women in motorsport justice and I feel morally loyal to that."

Chadwick, who has proven herself

racing against male rivals, says she wants to know that she at least gave it her best.

"If I have the opportunity, which I believe I do after this year, to race at all levels and I am successful in all of them then I deserve a seat," she said.

"If am not then I do not deserve a seat but so long as I have had the opportunity I cannot say I did not have the best shot at it."

Chadwick said she was being tapped up in her teens by F1 teams -- but there was a very expensive catch to their solicitations.

"As a young driver you get phone calls every day," she said.

"I had calls from three or four and I sat down with a team when I was 14 years old.

"I could not believe they were interested in me and could not understand why an F1 team would want to take me ahead of anyone else.

"The contract came through and the zeroes were ridiculous.

"I thought for a very brief moment maybe they are going to give me this. But quickly I realised, no this is what they want me to pay them!"

Chadwick's parents work in finance, which she says counts as a blessing as her

desire to drive comes from within her not due to their ambitions.

HEATING THE ZEITGEIST: She has been signed up as a development driver by the once-dominant F1 outfit Williams.

"I was so lucky the Williams thing came about," she said.

"I told them that I could not pay for anything.

"I don't think F1 teams should benefit from young drivers constantly being given false hope and led in all sorts of directions throughout their career."

Chadwick, who needs 40 Super Licence points to qualify for a drive in Formula One and hopes to accrue some of them by successfully defending her title next year, equates W Series with boarding school in a positive sense.

"So in all the racing I had done previously you are in a team but you are an individual. You have your little team round you but it is very lonely.

"W Series was the same for everyone.

"All the drivers travel together, stay in the same hotel, use the same transport to the track, you spend all your time together and race against each other so there is an element of boarding school."

The W Series is the brainchild of for-

CMYK

mer banker Catherine Bond Muir, who in her banking days played a pivotal role in Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich buying Chelsea football club.

She believes it is constantly evolving and presenting different challenges.

"The W Series has been like getting to the top of a series of mountains. But every time you get to it a new bloody

range is in front of you," she said.

"The best success off the track is what we achieved with TV sales. It is heating the zeitgeist.

"It is an interesting story as no one has seen it before - women racing each other in single seaters and also demonstrating when they put helmets on they are just the same as the men."

Friday, 15 November, 2019

SPORTS 15

PAkisTAn To HosT sri LAnkA For Two TesT series in deCemBer LAHORE

P

AGENCIES

AKISTAN are set to host a Test series for the first time in ten years, against Sri Lanka next month. The twomatch series will be played in Rawalpindi and Karachi, on December 11 and 19 respectively.

The Test series was originally scheduled to be played in October with the limited-over series initially slated for December - and was reportedly supposed to be played at a neutral venue as Sri Lankan players had refused to tour Pakistan. But PCB requested Sri Lanka to play the entire bilateral series in Pakistan, assuring the highest level of security.

The limited-overs series was then played first as a test for security measures taken by the hosts. Following the success of the tour, a convinced Sri Lanka agreed to play in Pakistan again.

"We are pleased to confirm our return visit to Pakistan as, based on our earlier visit, we are comfortable and convinced conditions are suitable and conducive for Test cricket," SLC chief executive Ashley de Silva said in a statement. "We also believe all cricket playing countries should host international cricket at home and in

this relation we are happy to play our part in complete resumption of international cricket in Pakistan, which not only has a proud history but has been one of our biggest supporters in our early days as a cricket nation.

Top Sri Lankan players had pulled out of the Pakistan trip in September, forcing SLC to send a second-string team to play the limited-overs series in Lahore and Karachi. With the visitors ending the tour on a high, winning the T20I series 3-0, Sri Lanka coach Rumesh Ratnayake signed off with lavish praise on Pakistan, calling the tour a success both on and off the field, adding he was confident that Sri

Lanka soon wouldn't be the only ones to have visited Pakistan.

"We drew our opening World Test Championship series against New Zealand, and I anticipate, like in the past, these two Tests will be exciting and competitive, and the fans will thoroughly enjoy the quality of cricket that will be on display."

Lahore, which hosted all three matches of the T20I series, missed out on hosting one of the Tests due to a forecast of foggy weather on the given dates. The Rawalpindi cricket stadium, which will host its first Test in 15 years, is understood to be extensively renovated.

"This is fabulous news for Pak-

istan and its reputation of being as safe and secure as any other country in the world," said Zakir Khan, PCB director of international cricket. "We are thankful to Sri Lanka Cricket for agreeing to send their team for the longer version of the game, which will contribute significantly in the PCB's efforts and drive for regular resumption of international cricket, and help in its endeavours of attracting new audiences and younger generation.

"Now that the itinerary has been confirmed, we will shift our focus on series preparations to ensure we deliver arrangements as per our very high standards. This series is part of our cricket celebrations and we will leave no stone unturned in putting up a show which is a memorable one for the players, officials, fans and media."

Sri Lanka were also the last team to play Tests there; it was the ambush by terrorists on their team bus in Lahore in March 2009 that effectively ended international cricket in Pakistan. Several members of that team were injured in the attack, with Thilan Samaraweera the most seriously hurt among them, taking a bullet to the thigh.

No international cricket was played in Pakistan in the first half of this decade, but cricket has gradually begun to return over the last few years.

Shami nabs three as India roll Bangladesh for 150 INDORE AGENCIES

Mohammed Shami led an inspired pace bowling attack as India dismissed Bangladesh for 150 on the first day of the opening Test on Thursday.

Shami claimed three wickets, while fellow pacemen Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav took two apiece to pack off the tourists early in the final session in Indore.

Mushfiqur Rahim put up a brief resistance with his 43, but Shami struck on successive deliveries to stop the Bangladesh tail from wagging.

Shami bowled Mushfiqur and then trapped new man Mehidy Hasan lbw, prompting the umpires to break for tea. Sharma struck on the first ball after the break to get Liton Das caught for 21.

Taijul Islam then played out Shami's hat-trick ball, but was later

run out for one. Yadav cleaned up Ebadat Hossain to wrap up the innings in 58.3 overs.

Yadav, Sharma and Shami took wickets in the morning session before Mushfiqur and skipper Mominul Haque put on 68 for the fourth wicket.

Spinner Ravichandran Ashwin broke the stand after getting Mominul bowled for 37. It was his 250th wicket in home Tests, and he added to the tally by then bowling Mahmudullahfor 10.

Atv the start, Bangladesh endured three maidens before getting

their first run through Imrul Kayes, but he managed just five more before becoming the first wicket.

Sharma struck in the next over to send Shadman Islam back to the pavilion, also for six.

Batting remained tough for Mominul and Mohammed Mithun, who was trapped lbw for 13 by Shami finding swing and seam movement. It could have been worse for Bangladesh had India not been sloppy in the field.

Rahane, who spilled three chances at first slip, dropped Mominul when he had made only three, and Mushfiqur survived when put down by skipper Virat Kohli at third slip.

Bangladesh, who lost the preceding Twenty20 series 2-1, had a troubled build-up when star player and captain Shakib Al Hasan was banned for two years, with one year suspended, for failing to report approaches by bookmakers.

dale steyn, Colin munro, Jason roy among 28 foreign names for PsL 2020 draft With the Pakistan Super League (PSL) returning in full to Pakistan next season, 28 foreign players including Dale Steyn, Colin Munro, Alex Hales and Jason Roy registered themselves to be drafted in the fifth edition as platinum players. Australia's Ben Cutting and Chris Lynn have also expressed their interest in being part of the fifth season. Each PSL franchise has an option of retaining up to eight players from their previous roster, but they can do so while adhering to limits in each category: up to three players in platinum, diamond and gold each; five in silver, and two emerging players.

The PCB had also reduced the salary cap from USD 1.38 million to USD 1.1 million to assemble a full squad. The base price for the platinum category last year was $160,000 and the maximum for one player $250,000. This time, those caps have been reduced to $147,000 and $218,000 respectively. The players who registered to be drafted are from eight cricket-playing nations; seven from England, six South African, five from the West Indies, and three each from Afghanistan and Australia. Sri Lanka will be represented by two players and and New Zealand (Munro) and Nepal will have one each. The registration of each player doesn't ensure participation in the PSL; the decision to pick players from the list belong to the franchises. The availability of players also depends on whether international commitments clash with the PSL, which begins on February 20. The draft will be held on December 6. There has been intense focus on foreign players visiting Pakistan of late, with the decision of their touring the country left up to them by their respective national boards and the PSL franchises for the most part. In the last four PSL seasons, the overwhelming majority of matches in the PSL took place in the UAE, as did Pakistan's "home" games on the international circuit. Pakistan has made significant strides in combating terrorism in the country over the past few years, paving the way for more international cricket in the country, with the plan to host the entirety of the PSL in Pakistan the most ambitious one yet.

Over the last three years, PCB used PSL as a platform to restore international cricket in the country. The board got the ball rolling in 2017 when the Gadaffi Stadium hosted the PSL final. In the following season, four games were held across Karachi and Lahore. In the season held earlier this year, the last eight games were played in Karachi alone. This year, four venues Lahore, Karachi, Multan and Rawalpindi - will host the entire tournament, comprising 34 games between them. AGENCIES

Bancroft, Burns back as Ashes flops axed for Pakistan Tests BRISBANE AGENCIES

Joe Burns and Travis Head are set to fill the batting vacancies in Australia's Test line-up after being named in the 14-man squad for the two matches against Pakistan.

Cameron Bancroft, who was dropped after two Ashes Tests, has also been called up after his late inclusion to the Australia A side while the uncapped Michael Neser has been included as another seam-bowling option in a squad that covers both a day Test in Brisbane and a day-night Test in Adelaide. It was announced earlier in the day that Will Pucovski had asked not to be considered for selection as he manages his mental health.

"We feel [Joe] was unlucky to miss the Ashes squad," national selector Trevor Hohns said. "Joe's record speaks for itself, he has Test hundreds on the board and has combined very well with David [Warner] in the past. We also like the feel of a right-hand, left-hand combination at the top of the order.

"Travis scored a hundred against a very good New South Wales attack just a few weeks ago and also offers the option of part-time off-spin. Matthew Wade was superb as a specialist batsman through last summer, had a solid Ashes series with

two hundreds and strong start to the current domestic season.

"We anticipate Matthew and Travis will give us a strong middle order in support of the top four. Cameron Bancroft is someone who has the ingredients of what we believe makes a good Test cricketer and rounds out our batting group in the squad."

Despite the unconvincing form of a number of the batsman, and the Australia A side falling to 9 for 57, Test captain Tim Paine remained bullish ahead of the series.

"I saw that Pakistan are smelling blood in the water or whatever they said," he told reporters in Adelaide. "What happened in Perth has got nothing to do with what is going to happen at the Gabba. The same thing happened in England with the Headingley Test 'Oh, momentum' and all these words that don't matter. Ball one at the Gabba next week is all square and we start again."

Burns' recall means Marcus Harris, who was the incumbent opener having played the last three Ashes Tests, loses his place while Usman Khawaja has paid the price for a poor start to the domestic season having been dropped in England.

Harris managed just 58 runs in six innings after replacing Bancroft during the Ashes. Though his form has been steady at the start of the domestic season with a century, which came on a featherbed at

Junction Oval in Melbourne, and two half-centuries, he has been cut.

Burns failed twice in the Australia A match against Pakistan in Perth but the selectors, Trevor Hohns and Justin Langer, have opted to return to a player who has four centuries in 16 Tests including 180 in his most recent outing against Sri Lanka in February. A stint with Lancashire was cut short by post-viral fatigue syndrome and though he returned for the Australia A tour of England - and scored a century he was left out of the Ashes squad.

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Head, who will also be joint vice-captain with Pat Cummins, was part of Australia A's collapse, but a century in the previous round of Sheffield Shield has been enough for a swift return.

Bancroft has come up on the rails to earn his place after a lean start to the season for Western Australia and not initially being included in the Australia A side until Nic Maddinson withdrew for mental health reasons. However, after Australia A subsided on the second day in Perth, he top-scored with 49 from No. 6 and has the

versatility to bat in any position among the top order if required.

Neser, who was part of the Ashes squad, has been rewarded for a strong start to the season and will push for the third pace-bowling slot alongside Mitchell Starc, who has been in outstanding form for New South Wales, and James Pattinson although one of the latter two will be favoured to join Cummins and Josh Hazlewood at the Gabba. However, Neser's impressive performance with the pink ball against Pakistan A in Perth could put him in contention for the day-night Test in Adelaide and he has effectively taken Peter Siddle's position.

"We are blessed to have four of the best fast bowlers in the world challenging each other for spots and most importantly playing as a group," Hohns said. "Cummins, Starc, Hazelwood and Pattinson are daunting pace prospects for any opposition, particularly at home. Michael Neser adds to that group with his ability move the ball both ways, giving the team another bowling option depending on the conditions."

Mitchell Marsh, who took the No. 6 slot at The Oval in September and claimed a maiden five-wicket haul, was not in contention for this squad having broken his hand punching the dressing room wall at the WACA last month.

Friday, 15 November, 2019

NEWS rs500m recovered from ishaq dar's bank accounts, nab says ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Thursday claimed that it has recovered Rs500 million from Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz senior leader and former finance minister Ishaq Dar. According to a NAB press statement, Rs500m have been recovered from Dar’s accounts and transferred to the Punjab government.

In Gulberg, Dar’s four-kanal house, worth millions of rupees, has been handed over to the Punjab government. The NAB chairman has stated that the house will be sold and the money transferred to the national exchequer, the press release added. Last week, it was reported that the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) has rejected a request by the Pakistan government to issue a red arrest warrant notice against Ishaq Dar, who is currently in London. The Pakistan government through the Interior Ministry had requested the Interpol to issue red arrest warrant for the former finance minister, but Interpol decided to reject the request after evaluating the evidence submitted by Mr Dar. The former finance minister is accused of possessing assets disproportionate to his declared sources of income. A reference against the former finance minister was filed by the NAB in light of the Supreme Court’s July 28 verdict in the Panama Papers case. Dar had earlier been declared an absconder by the accountability court due to his continuous absence from the proceedings. STAFF REPORT

Photo: Zubair MehfooZ

Smog forces govt to close schools in lahore, Faisalabad and gujranwala for two days LAHORE: The Punjab Education Department on Thursday issued a notification directing all schools in Lahore, Gujranwala and Faisalabad to remain closed on November 15 and 16 due to poor air quality. According to the notification, schools in the three districts will remain closed due to “dense smog” and “hazardous environment”. Punjab Minister for Schools Education Dr Murad Raas in a tweet said, “The Punjab government is taking all necessary steps to improve air quality.” On Wednesday, the education department issued a ban on outdoor activities in all public and private schools across the province till December 20. The government has cautioned students against the hazardous air quality and directed them to wear air filter masks in addition to holding awareness sessions on environment in campuses. Lahore was ranked as the second most polluted city in the world with an air quality ranking of 447, according to Air Visual’s Air Quality Index (AQI) published on Wednesday. Indian capital New Delhi ranked first among most polluted cities with and an air quality ranking of 556. An AQI ranking between 301-500 (or above) is classified as ‘hazardous’ and would “trigger a health warning of emergency conditions. STAFF REPORT

Countrywide roAd Closures begin As Jui-F exeCutes ‘PlAn b’ Shujaat, Elahi urgE Fazl to rESolvE mattErS pEacEFully ISLAMABAD

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STAFF REPORT

day after Jamiat Ulema-eIslam-Fazl (JUI-F) ended its much-trumpeted ‘Azadi March’ and announced to shift to “Plan B”, party workers on Thursday blocked all major highways across the country.

Earlier in the day, JUI-F workers started to arrive in Nowshera city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from Mardan, Charsadda and Peshawar. A major road was blocked in Hakimabad, where a large contingent of police was also present. The participants of the antigovernment march have also closed Indus Highway in Bannu. A party worker said cars will only be allowed to pass through in the case of an emergency, adding that the road has been shut “indefinitely”.

In Malakand, where workers from different parts of the Malakand division gathered at Chakdara Chowk, JUI-F blocked the Chakdara Road, which is the main road, which caused a large traffic jam.

In Balochistan, a meeting of the JUI-F’s Quetta chapter has been called to decide the future course of action.

Provincial party chief Maulana Abdul Wasay, who will head the meeting, said in Balochistan roads are being closed in four places: • Quetta-Chaman road will be closed at Chaman’s Syed Hameed Cross

Fazl says won't stop at blocking roads Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Thursday warned the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government of more protests, saying his cadres will not stop at blocking highways if Prime Minister Imran Khan failed to quit his post. In a conversation with Hamir Mir at Geo News, he said the resignation of the PM is our primary demand and the party wouldn’t backtrack on it. In a comment on an abrupt ending of the sit-in, he said that the Rahbar Committee was operational and talks were on-going between opposition parties. Fazl said that the antigovernment movement had embarked on its second phase, hoping that they would be able to send government home by the end of this year. The JUI-F chief said that his party had not created a situation where the everyday life of people got affected. “We wouldn’t have been forced to block highways across the country if the government had decided to go home during our dharna,” he said. Fazl said that the conditions that the government had imposed on Nawaz Sharif were disappointing. He said that the government was blackmailing Nawaz. The JUI-F chief confirmed that he had spoken to Shehbaz Sharif. NEWS DESK

• Highway connecting Karachi to Quetta will be closed at Khuzdar • Highway connecting Balochistan to Punjab will be closed in Dera Ghazi Khan • Highway from Balochistan to Iran will be closed at Taftan Following the decisions taken during the meeting, the roads will be closed, Wasay said.

PROTEST MANUAL: In this regard, an alert has also been issued by JUIF’s information department, according to which, if Hub Road is blocked, trains should not be stopped.

The notice said that if a road is blocked, ambulances and baraats should be permitted to pass through.

People coming from overseas or going to the airport should be shown alternative routes.

Protesters were instructed to avoid using sticks. Additionally, shops

should not be forcibly closed.

The alert said that party workers should be directed to avoid causing damage to public property and there should be announcements that people who are caught doing these “are not our people, in fact, they are miscreants who will be handed over to the administration”. Additionally, briefings would be given on social media and workers would be updated with occasional video messages.

PML-Q LEADERSHIP ASKS FAZL TO RESOLVE MATTERS PEACEFULLY: Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leaders Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi met Fazl on Thursday in order to urge him to resolve the matter peacefully.

Talking to the media after their meeting, Shujaat said that the JUI-F chief is a democratic person. “We want

a system that meets the expectations of the people”, he added.

Elahi asserted that this was the only sit-in which was conducted with a lot of discipline. He said that all the parties are standing behind the JUI-F and he is the only leader of the opposition now, adding that an immense sitin was held under his leadership.

Fazl told the media that they held the sit-in in a peaceful manner. “If Prime Minister Imran Khan had resigned, the protest would not have spread throughout the country”, he added. He continued saying that they were fighting a war for the nation and will protest democratically.

“Gatherings have begun nationwide. Workers are gathering on all major highways. The workers have a clear direction not to disturb any citizen”, he added.

Responding to a question regarding Nawaz Sharif, he said that it is extremely unethical to demand a guarantee. He further said that PML-N supremo should be allowed to travel abroad for treatment. “It is a democratic right to go to the masses of a country where the democracy is suspicious”, he added. The hardline JUI-F ended its sit-in yesterday after a party meeting was held under the chairmanship of party chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, where the party decided to shift to its Plan B and block major highways across Pakistan.

Soon after the meeting, the JUI-F chief announced the expansion of protests and reiterated his demand for the resignation of PM Imran.

Following the decision, the participants of the March dismantled their tents and started gathering their belongings to leave the sit-in venue.

pakistan won’t fight anyone else’s war, reiterates pm ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday said that Pakistan will no longer fight anyone else’s war and will only play a conciliatory role between rival nations as it has already suffered a lot due to its policy of joining foreign conflicts in the past.

Addressing an international conference titled ‘Margalla Dialogue ’19’ – organised by Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI), the premier said, “One main lesson we have learned in the last four decades is that we must not ally ourselves with any country where we have to fight someone else’s war.”

“In the past, our governments thought that they would gain something by becoming a frontline state for some powerful country but we only gained foreign aid and in the end if we

analyse the numbers, we lost far more than what we had gained,” he said, adding that Pakistan’s flawed decisions during the 80s and 90s were responsible for the problems the country is facing today.

Regarding Afghanistan, the prime minister said that peace in that country is not only beneficial to Pakistan, but for the whole region, especially the landlocked central Asian republics. He said that Pakistan is plying its role for peace in Afghanistan as there is no military solution to this issue and it should resolve politically. The prime minister also mentioned that Pakistan is also making efforts to ensure that there is no conflict in the region for which it is also reaching out to Iranian and Saudi leadership for forging tranquility among the brotherly Muslim countries.

He praised Saudi Arabia and said that whenever Pakistan required help the kingdom had always come to its

aid. He also said that if Iran sanctions were lifted from Iran, the country could become a regional power. “Iran emerging as an economic power could prove beneficial for Pakistan,” he added.

He further said that besides making efforts to ensure peace in the region, we are also opening up our country for investors, tourists, and other activities. He cited the examples of both the United States (US) and China on spending money and how it had impacted the two countries. “We can learn from the examples of the US and China. While one focused on spending billions on war, the other developed its infrastructure,” he added.

Speaking about the crisis in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK), the premier said that India is committing atrocities against the people of Kashmir to make them submit to its illegal acts in the occupied territory. He said that millions of people have been under siege in

IOK for over one a hundred days. He added that there is complete communication blockade in the valley and youngsters are being picked up by the Indian troops.

He urged the world community to step in to avoid any serious situation in South Asia as the “fascist” regime of Indian premier Narendra Modi is pursuing an ideology of hate in the region.

“India is in the grip of extremist ideology and their ideology is based on hatred and racial superiority which is similar to the ideology of the Nazi party in Germany,” he added.

He further said that when the Nazi party came into power in Germany no one had idea where it was heading to and “today India is facing the similar situation”. He warned that if the international community did not intervene in the Kashmir conflict “there will be catastrophe as the two nuclear armed countries have come face-to-face”.

Pakistan leads in global censorship requests to Facebook FacEbook’S tranSparEncy rEport rEvEalS 31pc oF total rEquEStS For contEnt rEStriction originatEd From pakiStan On the request of Pakistan’s government, Facebook restricted 5,690 items within the country in the first half of 2019 for allegedly violating local laws prohibiting blasphemy, anti-judiciary content, defamation, and condemnation of the country’s independence, a local news outlet reported on Wednesday.

Facebook’s latest transparency report revealed that while content restrictions decreased from 35,972 to 17,807 globally this year, 58 per cent of censorship requests originated from Pakistan and Mexico.

In the second half of 2018, Facebook had restricted 4,174 items on the request

of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) but this year the number increased by 1,516, amounting to 31 per cent of the global censorship requests.

Facebook suspended 5,376 posts, 128 pages and groups, six profiles and two comments. On Instagram, the platform restricted a total of 178 items — 171 posts and seven accounts whereas only nine items had been restricted the preceding year. The government sent 1,849 data requests and sought data of 2,594 users/accounts. Of the total requests, 1,674 were processed legally.

Facebook said that it received a re-

quest from PTA to remove 23 items alleged to violate local laws prohibiting blasphemy and after reviewing the content, it took action against five items for violating the Facebook Community Standards. “Based on the report from the PTA, we also restricted access to three items in Pakistan. Three of the items reported were duplicates, and we took no action on the remaining 12 unique items,” the report added.

In January this year, PTA lodged a formal takedown request for two Facebook posts, which it said constituted illegal obscenity under the Section 37 of Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA). The social media giant, however, initially stated that the posts did not violate its community standards but after an assessment of the Pakistan’s local laws, restricted access to those

posts within the country.

Facebook also accepts government requests to preserve account information pending receipt of formal legal process.

“When we receive a preservation request, we will preserve a temporary snapshot of the relevant account information but will not disclose any of the preserved records unless and until we receive formal and valid legal process,” the report stated.

During the first half of this year, the Pakistan government sent 400 preservation requests and specified 483 users/accounts compared to the platform.

3.2BN FAKE ACCOUNTS REMOVED: Facebook removed 3.2 billion fake accounts between April and September this year, along with millions of posts depicting child abuse and suicide.

That more than doubles the number of fake accounts taken down during the

Published by Arif Nizami at Qandeel Printing Press, 4 Queens Road, Lahore. Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965. Email: newsroom@pakistantoday.com.pk

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same period last year, when 1.55 billion accounts were removed.

The world’s biggest social network also disclosed for the first time how many posts it removed from popular photo-sharing app Instagram, which has been identified as a growing area of concern about fake news by disinformation researchers.

Proactive detection of violating content was lower across all categories on Instagram than on Facebook’s flagship app, where the company initially implemented many of its detection tools, the company said in its fourth content moderation report.

For example, the company said it proactively detected content affiliated with terrorist organisations 98.5 per cent of the time on Facebook and 92.2 per cent of the time on Instagram. NEWS DESK