E-Paper PDF 21 August 2018 (ISB)

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Tuesday, 21 August, 2018 I Zil Hajj 09, 1439 I Rs 19.00 I Vol IX No 54 I 20 Pages I Islamabad Edition

AccountAbility, Austerity top govt’s AgendA

Ehsan Mani to take PCB reins after Sethi quits g

mani has represented pcb at icc as treasurer and later headed it as president for three years STORY ON BACK PAGE

taliban reject afghan ceasefire, kidnap nearly 200 bus passengers g

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in maiden meeting, federal cabinet decides to put names of nawaz sharif, maryam on no-fly list also directs ministries for law and interior to bring back hassan and hussain, ishaQ dar pm will not go on any foreign tours for neXt three months ‘unless there is a pressing matter’ STORY ON PAGE 03

‘Pakistan first’ at core of new foreign policy sharifs to spend eid in jail g

accountability court decides to give joint verdict in remaining two corruption references against eX-pm

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Qureshi says will seek input of national security institutions for formulating new policy

STORY ON PAGE 02

Shehbaz Sharif becomes Opp leader in NA

fo denies Qureshi said modi had called for dialogue STORIES ON PAGES 02 & 03

Musharraf demands presidential-level security for return STORY ON PAGE 02

STORY ON BACK PAGE

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STORY ON BACK PAGE

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02 NEWS

Tuesday, 21 August, 2018

ShArifS tO SpeNd eid iN jAil ISLAMABAD

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STAFF REPORT

ORMER premier Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam and son-in-law Capt (r) Safdar will spend Eidul Azha in Adiala Jail as the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday delayed the announcement of its reserved judgement on their appeal challenging the Avenfield properties reference verdict.

The Sharifs had moved the high court after the accountability court handed down a 10-year jail sentence to the ex-PM, seven years to Maryam Nawaz and one-year imprisonment to Safdar besides hefty fines.

The court said, "At this stage, we are not inclined to decide these petitions and they shall remain pending and fixed along with the appeals. In case there is a delay in deciding the appeals, the petitioners shall be at liberty to press these petitions." During the hearing of the case, the bench, comprising Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, reserved the verdict,

stating that "a reasonable judgement will be announced on appeals in Avenfield conviction".

Presenting his arguments at the outset of the hearing, NAB prosecutor Sardar Muzaffar Abbasi said that the Avenfield reference, pertaining to Sharif family's properties in London, was filed upon the orders of the Supreme Court. "The London flats were in the name of Neilson and Nescoll, which we proved were owned by Nawaz Sharif," he said.

APPEALS: On July 16, the legal counsels of the Sharifs had filed three separate appeals on behalf of their clients.

Nawaz’s counsel Khawaja Haris filed an appeal challenging the verdict against his client and requesting its suspension till IHC’s adjudication in the case. Similarly, Amjad Pervaiz filed the appeals on behalf of Maryam and Safdar.

An additional appeal was also filed requesting the court to transfer the AlAzizia and Flagship Investment references against Nawaz from the court of Judge Mohammad Bashir to another accountability court.

The appeals, which Sharif family lawyers say highlight legal flaws in the Avenfield judgement, ask for the accountability court's verdict to be declared null and void and the three convicts be released on bail.

The appeals state that the head of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) in Panama case and the prosecution's star witness Wajid Zia himself accepted that a response to the mutual legal assistance (MLA) request was not received.

They further said that levelling allegations without receiving a response to the MLA was mala fide.

JOINT VERDICT IN REMAIN-

Shehbaz Sharif becomes Opp leader in NA

ING TWO REFERENCES: Meanwhile, the accountability court hearing the Al-Azizia and Flagship references against the former PM and his two sons on Monday announced that it would give a joint verdict in the cases.

The deposed premier appeared before the court as Accountability CourtII Judge Arshad Malik resumed hearing the two references.

During the hearing, Nawaz's legal counsel Khawaja Haris appealed to the court to give a joint verdict against the Sharif family in remaining two corruption cases filed by National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

"Accountability Court-I had also decided to announce a joint verdict in three references. However, it only announced its verdict in Avenfield reference," he told the court, adding the other two cases were then transferred as the verdict on one of them came separately.

Approving request by Haris and ordering a joint verdict in the remaining two references, the court adjourned the hearing till August 27.

National Assembly (NA) Speaker Asad Qaisar on Monday declared Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif as leader of the opposition. According to a notification issued by the National Assembly Secretariat, the speaker declared Shehbaz leader of the opposition in pursuance of Rule 39 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, 2007 with effect from August 20, 2018. On Friday, the National Assembly had elected Imran Khan as the prime minister of Pakistan, as of the total members, 176 voted in favour of the PTI chairman. His opponent, Shehbaz, received 96 votes. Khan assumed charge of office after taking oath as 22nd premier of Pakistan on Saturday. NEWS DESK

Shehbaz appears before NAB LAHORE: Former Punjab chief minister Shehbaz Sharif appeared before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Monday in corruption investigations over Ashiana-e-Iqbal Housing scheme, Punjab Power Development Company (PPDC) and Punjab Saaf Paani company.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president was issued a summon on Sunday. NAB is investigating Shehbaz over illegal appointments in PPDC. For Ashiana-e-Iqbal housing scheme case, he was summoned after revelations by former principal secretary Fawad Hassan.

Fawad was previously accused and investigated for misuse of authority by illegally awarding contracts in the housing scheme. NAB had previously summoned Shehbaz over information/evidence regarding the illegal appointment of Syed Farukh Ali Shah as a member in National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) and chief executive officer of the PPDC. Shehbaz was summoned by NAB for the third time in PPDC investigation.

Corruption in the Punjab Saaf Pani Company is at the centre of the clean water case. The Saaf Pani Company was established by the Shehbaz-led Punjab government to conceive, plan, design, execute and manage projects for the provision of safe drinking water, in terms of both access and quality, to the communities living in unserved and underserved areas ie rural and peri-urban areas of the province. STAFF REPORT

Nawaz claims he ‘paid day-to-day expenses of PM House from own pocket’ School girls to wear Ajrak as part of uniform in Sindh The newly-elected Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government in Sindh has announced to make Ajrak as part of the uniform for girls in all secondary and higher secondary government schools. According to a recently issued notification, the use of Ajrak will be made part of the school uniform for the girl students from class IX to XII. To ensure the directives and implement the policy, the government has nominated Sadaf Akbar Memon as its focal person. She will be responsible to “visit schools under the administrative control of this directorate randomly.” The focal person will be responsible to look after the progress of implementation of the uniform policy and submit report on monthly basis. Ajrak is a unique form of blockprinted shawls and tiles found in Sindh, Pakistan.

These shawls display special designs and patterns made using block printing by stamps. In 2012, it was reported that instead of the conventional dupattas or scarves, the girl students in the schools and colleges of the province may soon be wearing ajraks – a trademark of the Indus Valley Civilisation – as districts governments have decided to make the traditional chaddar a part of uniform. NEWS DESK

Nine suspected terrorists held in Bani Gala swoop At least nine suspected terrorists were held by security agencies from the adjoining areas of Bani Gala, before and after the July 25 polls, a private media outlet reported on Monday. According to the report, the terrorists, who had reached the federal capital from Afghanistan, had plans of targeting the newly-elected prime minister, as well as other major political players. Sheltering in a safe house in the suburban areas of Islamabad, the terrorists were in continuous contact with their network in Afghanistan until they were arrested in separate raids carried out by security agencies. Arms and explosives were also recovered from their possession. In view of the threats, all potential targets, including Prime Minister Imran Khan, were informed and their security detail was enhanced. The media outlet further claimed that it was amid these threats that PM Khan announced residing at the military secretary’s annex located in the Prime Minister House colony. NEWS DESK

INFO MINISTER SAYS FORMER PM SHOULD PRESENT TAX STATEMENTS TO SUPPORT HIS CLAIM ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday claimed that he used to pay the day-to-day expenses of the Prime Minister’s House from his own pocket, a day after newly-elected Premier Imran Khan gave details of the expenses of the establishment during his first address to the nation.

“I used to pay the day-to-day expenses of the Prime Minister’s House from my own pocket,” he told reporters after appearing before the accountability court, adding that he has the cheques as proof. On Sunday, Imran Khan had broke down details of the expenses of PM House, saying, “The prime minister has 524 servants and 80 cars. The

prime minister, which is me, also has 33 bulletproof cars. The prime ministers all have helicopters and aeroplanes to fly them. We have massive governor houses and every conceivable luxury”.

He added that he planned on cutting down his own as well the country’s expenditure. “I will keep only two people with me out of the [prime minister’s staff of] 524. I will be staying in a three-bedroom house that served as the military secretary’s house.”

INFO MINISTER DEMANDS PROOF: Rejecting Nawaz Sharif’s claim, Federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudhary told a press conference later in the day that Prime Minister’s House expenses are part of the national budget. “If Nawaz Sharif’s claim is true, he should produce his income tax statements,” Chaudhry said.

Earlier during Sharif’s appearance in the accountability court, a number of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supporters gathered at the judicial complex to express their support for the disqualified prime minister. They tried to shower rose petals on Nawaz but police detained them.

CJP wants crackdown on snitches in NAB ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

The chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) on Monday ordered National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Justice (r) Javed Iqbal to answer for the publicity of summons issued to people in inquiries being carried out by the anti-corruption watchdog.

CJP Saqib Nisar also ordered the NAB chairman to appear, along with NAB Prosecutor General Asghar Haider, in his chamber on August 27.

The CJP, while hearing a case on the payment of high salaries to Punjab government officials appointed as heads of 56 public-sector private companies, said that the “NAB has no right to slander people.” “The summoning of people should be

private,” he asserted, adding, “The reputation of a person who is found innocent in an inquiry will be ruined in society due to news reports that he has been summoned by NAB.” Justice Ijazul Ahsan also regretted that the news of people summoned

by NAB breaks before they get their notice. He added that there were “black sheep” in the bureau.

The CJP insisted that action should be taken against any investigation officer who is found guilty of sharing information. The NAB prosecutor assured the bench that the anti-graft body had initiated an accountability drive within the organisation. According to a report submitted by the NAB prosecutor on Monday, 54 officials had withdrawn a total of Rs520 million in salaries. The NAB prosecutor told the court that at least 34 officials who received high salaries were ready to return the money. The apex court ordered all officials who had withdrawn market-based salaries in addition to their regular pay, to return the extra money within three months.

FO denies Qureshi said Modi had called for dialogue REJECTS INDIAN MEDIA REPORTS CHALLENGING FM’S STATEMENT ON INDIAN PM’S CONGRATULATORY NOTE Soon after newly-appointed Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Monday that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had hinted at resuming talks with Pakistan in his congratulatory message to Prime Minister Imran Khan, the Indian media claimed that the Indian PM’s letter doesn’t mention a call for ‘dialogue’. According to Indian media reports that quoted ‘credible govern-

ment sources’, Modi didn’t express his wish for dialogue in letter to Pakistan PM, but it did mention "India is committed to peaceful ties".

Modi’s letter as shared by TimesNow states, “Polls and the smooth transition strengthen belief in democracy.” It adds that Modi said shared belief will bring peace and prosperity in the subcontinent and make it free from terrorism and

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violence. It further quotes Indian PM Modi as saying “we have a commitment to build good neighbourly relations” and “pursue meaningful and constructive engagement for the benefit of people in the region.”

“The contents of the letter are what is usually written in a congratulatory letter. This is in contradiction to the claims made by the Pakistan Foreign Minister,” the report said.

FO CLARIFIES: Rejecting Indian media claims, the Pakistani FO said in a statement later on Monday evening that Foreign Minister Qureshi never stated that "Indian Prime Minister made an offer of a dialogue".

The FO statement said that the FM had not stated that "the Indian Prime Minister had made an offer of a dialogue", but had said that the Indian premier in his letter to PM Imran Khan had also mentioned something similar to what the foreign minister elucidated earlier – that the way forward was only through constructive engagement. NEWS DESK

CMYK Tuesday, 21 August, 2018

NEWS

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AccOuNtABility, AuSterity tOp GOvt’S AGeNdA ISLAMABAD

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STAFF REPORT

HE newly-inducted federal cabinet of Prime Minister Imran Khan has decided to place the names of imprisoned former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam on the Exit Control List (ECL) besides ordering implementation of the red warrants for the arrest and repatriation of Nawaz’s two sons and former finance minister Ishaq Dar. Addressing a press conference after the maiden meeting of the federal cabinet presided over by Prime Minister Imran Khan, Federal Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry said the cabinet had directed the law and interior ministries to put Nawaz and his daughter’s names on the nofly list, and implement red warrants against Nawaz’s sons, Hassan and Hussain, and Ishaq Dar and bring them back to Pakistan.

“Avenfield properties belong to Pakistan,” the information minister said, adding that the Law Ministry has been directed to contact the British government in this regard. The information minister said that a special task force will be tasked with bringing back laundered money that is stored abroad, adding that former National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor Rana Shahzad Akbar has been appointed as special assistant to the prime minister on accountability.

Both Nawaz and Maryam are currently

serving a prison sentence in Adiala jail after they were convicted in a corruption reference regarding the Sharif family-owned Avenfield properties in London. Nawaz was sentenced to a total of 11 years in prison while his daughter Maryam was given eight years’ sentence by an accountability court earlier in July.

“Eliminating corruption is an important part of our [government’s] policy,” Chaudhry said, adding that the process of accountability would be started from the prime minister and the cabinet members for which they would again declare their assets before the people.

Chaudhry said that there will be no political appointments in Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf’s (PTI) government. He, however, clarified that the PTI government will not terminate the services of 526 employees of the Prime Minister’s House.

He further expressed hope that the party would also win the presidential election, which will be held on September 4.

PTI has nominated Karachi leader Dr Arif Alvi as its presidential candidate.

‘NO FOREIGN TOURS’: Chaudhry said the cabinet also decided that Prime Minister Khan will not go on any foreign tours for the next three month “unless there is a pressing matter that needs to be addressed”. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi will represent the country on international platforms. Chaudhry also announced the government’s decision to restrict ministers’ foreign trips that are paid

for by the national exchequer.

As part of its austerity drive, the government has also decided to restrict the expenditures of ministers. The state will not pay for ministers’ medical checkups that are held abroad, Chaudhry said.

The government will also form two committees to decide which state buildings can be used for public benefit. A committee — to be headed by Minister for National History and Literary Heritage Division Shafqat Mehmood — will be formed to determine how to utilise buildings such as governor houses and other state buildings so that they can benefit the people but do not lose their historical importance.

Another committee headed by Finance Minister Asad Umar will decide how to use “general properties”, such as the residences of commissioners, inspector generals and other government officials.

Chaudhry also commented on the government’s stance on relations with neighbouring countries, saying talks with China and India will continue [on various matters]. He also emphasised that relations with India would be based on state-level instead of any personal relations.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has written a letter to PM Imran, who has already stated that Pakistan would be ready to talk on all matters, including Kashmir issue, he said. Information Minister Chaudhry said PTV will be given the same space as a private TV channel.

“The opposition is welcome to express

their views on PTV,” he added.

On a question regarding Law Minister Farogh Naseem representing General (r) Pervez Musharraf, Chaudhry said the law minister in general is not allowed to practice during his tenure. He said Gen Musharraf was not discussed during the first cabinet meeting.

Responding to a question regarding the seats vacated by Prime Minister Imran Khan and other candidates, he said the PTI would contest the elections on the vacant seats as well. The candidates will be announced by the party after Eid. He denied that PTI leader Jahangir Tareen was ever given official protocol.

Members of the cabinet will be given one car each, he said.

Give us three months to fulfill the promises we made, he urged the people of Pakistan. Prime Minister Imran Khan’s speech on Sunday was just over one hour and 10 minutes and people are already saying that it was too long, said the information minister. “He probably could not touch every topic in his speech, however, he spoke about broader guidelines for the foreign policy,” he said.

The first meeting of the new federal cabinet was held in Islamabad earlier in the day, following the swearing-in ceremony of its members.

A total of 16 ministers were inducted into the federal cabinet earlier on Monday.

Five advisers to the prime minister, along with a special assistant on accountability,

Imran appoints Naeemul Haque as advisor AOWN CHAUDHRY APPOINTED AS ADVISER TO PUNJAB CM ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Prime Minister Imran Khan has appointed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Naeemul Haque as an adviser to prime minister on political affairs, besides appointing trusted aide Aown Chaudhry as an adviser to Punjab chief minister. The notifica-

tion for Haq’s appointment was issued on Monday.

Meanwhile, in a separate notification, Iftikhar Durrani has been appointed as special assistant adviser to prime minister for media affairs.

Other advisers include Babar Awan, Dr Ishrat Hussain, Amin Aslam, Shehzad Arbab and Abdul Razzaq Dawood.

With Haque and Durrani’s inclusion, the cabinet will be comprising 15 federal ministers and seven advisers. PM Imran’s aide Aown Chaudhry was also appointed as an adviser to the Punjab chief minister, it was reported on Monday.

Aown, a Lahore-based businessman and for-

mer husband of film actress Noor, has a ubiquitous presence in all of Khan’s activities and is often seen standing behind the PTI leader during press briefings or sitting with him. He will reportedly serve as an advisor to Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar.

Earlier, it was reported that Imran was at odds with Aown over party matters and had directed him to keep a distance from party matters and the Prime Minister House.

Aown was conspicuous from his absence during the oath-taking ceremony of Imran Khan held on Saturday.

‘Pakistan first’ at core of new foreign policy FM QURESHI SAYS WILL WORK TO BRIDGE TRUST DEFICIT BETWEEN PAKISTAN AND OTHER COUNTRIES; CALLS FOR CONTINUED, UNINTERRUPTED DIALOGUE WITH NEW DELHI ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Newly-appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Monday said that Pakistan’s new foreign policy would “begin and end at Pakistan”, as he reaffirmed his government’s support to CPEC and other development projects being executed with foreign investment.

Addressing a press conference at the Foreign Office (FO) hours after being sworn in as part of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s 21-member cabinet, Qureshi said, “Pakistan’s interest is at our very centre of foreign policy. Wherever we need to fix our foreign policy we will fix it.”

About his government’s freedom to exercise its own foreign policy, Qureshi said: “There are pre-conceived notions about where the foreign policy of Pakistan was formulated. Let me be clear: the foreign policy will be made here ─ at the Foreign Office of Pakistan.” “I will engage with all the institutions for the betterment of the country,” he said, adding: “It is the policy across the world. Feedback is sought from national security institutions.”

‘BETTER RELATIONS WITH NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES’: Qureshi, emphasising the importance of fostering better relations with neighbouring countries, said: “I will try to bridge the trust

deficit between Pakistan and other regional countries.”

The foreign minister began his press conference with Afghanistan, addressing the people of the neighbouring country and their leader Ashraf Ghani.

He spoke of his intention to contact his Afghan counterpart and pay a visit to Kabul. “I want to bring a solid message to the people of Afghanistan. The two countries share a future and geography, and we have to work together and begin our long journey.”

“I want to tell the people of Afghanistan we need to become each other’s support base. And we have the capability to become a good support mechanism for each other. I have heard that we have a bilateral agreement in place which has five tracks and we want to move forward with those,” he announced.

‘Need continued, uninterrupted dialogue with India'”My second message is for the Government of India. I want to tell the Indian foreign minister that we are not just neighbours; we are atomic powers.

We have a lot of common resources.” “Coming to the table and talking peace is our only option. We need to stop the adventurism and come together. We know the issues are tough and will not be solved overnight, but we have to engage,” Qureshi said. “We cannot turn our

cheek. Yes we have outstanding issues. Kashmir is a reality; it is an issue that both our nations acknowledge.” “We need a continued and uninterrupted dialogue. This is our only way forward,” he stressed. “We may have a different approach and line of thinking, but I want to see a change in how we behave,” he said.

‘NEED FOR UNINTERRUPTED INDO-PAK DIALOGUE’: About India, Qureshi said India and Pakistan have to move forward keeping realities before them. “Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has written a letter to PM Imran Khan, in which he has indicated the beginning of talks between the two countries,” Qureshi claimed, adding that there is a need for continued and uninterrupted dialogue with New Delhi.

Qureshi also directly addressed his Indian counterpart, Sushma Swaraj, and said, “I want to tell the Indian foreign minister that we are not just neighbours; we are atomic powers. We have a lot of common resources. We have long-standing issues, both of us know these problems. But we have no other option but to engage in dialogue. We cannot afford adventurism.” “These issues are complicated and we may face hurdles in resolving them, but we must engage. We will have to admit that we are facing problems, we must admit that Kashmir is a reality.

The Islamabad declaration is a part of our history,” he added.

‘NATIONAL CONSENSUS ON FOREIGN POLICY’: The foreign minister said he would continue to work with the “very competent officers” posted at the FO. “I will consult them, I will approach former officials, academia,

others for guidance,” he said.

“It will be my effort and wish to have a national consensus on foreign policy; a bipartisan approach. And today, bringing forward that approach, I invite our opposition Hina Rabbani Khar, Khawaja Asif, and representation from the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal to come and join us at the table to think on foreign policy.”

“We will have to set our priorities and then move forward,” he said.

“An important event is coming up; the United Nations General Assembly, where I will be representing Pakistan and where we have to present Pakistan’s case to the world. I invite them to join us.”

“I have worked with the US in the past,” he said. “I have worked with [Richard] Holbrooke, Hillary [Clinton] and [Condoleezza] Rice. I know about their concerns and their priorities. I will speak to them in a straight forward manner, I will tell them that we too have our priorities, our nation has some aspirations. I will tell them that bilateral relations will operate on the basis of equality.”

‘CPEC IS A GAME CHANGER’: When questioned about the party’s stance on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the foreign minister said that his party “supports CPEC”.

“CPEC is a long-term project, it is a game changer,” he said, adding: “Our party supported it while in opposition too. The Chinese ambassador was in touch with me and I will be meeting him soon to get an overview on progress.”

“There has been a stress on infrastructure, but we want to talk about when we enter the speech of socio-economic development for the betterment of our people.”

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were also appointed.

The ministers inducted into PM Imran’s cabinet include Mohammad Farogh Naseem (Minister of Law and Justice); Pervez Khattak (Minister of Defence); Shah Mehmood Qureshi (Minister of Foreign Affairs); Asad Umar (Minister of Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs); Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed (Minister for Railways); Zubaida Jalal (Minister of Defence Production); Fawad Chaudhry (Minister of Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage); Fahmida Mirza (Minister of Inter Provincial Coordination); Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui (Minister of Information Technology and Telecommunication); Shireen Mazari (Minister of Human Rights); Shafqat Mahmood (Minister of Federal Education and Heritage); Aamir Mehmood Kiyani (Minister of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination); Chaudhry Tariq Bashir Cheema (Minister of State and Frontier Region); Noor-ul-Haq Qadri (Minister of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony); Ghulam Sarwar Khan (Minister of Petroleum Division); and Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar (Minister for Water Resources).

The advisers include Mohammad Shehzad Arbab (establishment portfolio); Abdul Razak Dawood (commerce, textile, industry and production and investment); Dr Ishrat Hussain (institutional reforms and austerity); Amin Aslam (climate change); and Zaheer-ud-din Babar Awan (parliamentary affairs).

Banking court rejects lawai, raza's bail pleas KARACHI: A banking court on Monday rejected the bail application of former Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSE) chairman Hussain Lawai and co-accused Taha Raza in a Rs4.14 billion money laundering case. The court had reserved its verdict on both petitions on August 18. Both suspects are currently in jail on judicial remand. While rejecting the applications, the court observed that it could not grant the bail at this point as the suspects are currently being investigated. Advocate Shaukat Hayat, representing Lawai, had asked the court to grant bail to his client as no material evidence had been produced by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) against him. However, the FIA prosecutor had vehemently opposed the bail application, submitting that fake accounts were opened and operated under the nose of Lawai, who was the then president of Summit Bank. The prosecutor said that the suspects were allegedly involved in a “white-collar” crime that involved as many as 29 fake bank accounts. He said that the investigation agency had to probe as to why these fake accounts were operated. The IO said that of the 29 fake banks accounts, 16 were opened in Summit Bank. Also on Monday, the banking court rejected an application filed by Advocate Farooq H. Naek against alleged torture by FIA on his client Abdul Ghani Majeed, who is a suspect along with his father Anwar Majeed in the money laundering case. In his order, the judge ordered the FIA to give the suspect proper time to sleep at night and if required, interrogate him during the daytime. Naek had claimed in the application that Majeed was not allowed to sleep the whole night in custody by FIA officials who were forcing him to give a confessional statement. STAFF REPORT

Karachi teenager shot dead in restaurant

A teenager was shot dead while another person was injured over a trivial issue in Korangi Industrial Area of Karachi, police and hospital officials said on Monday, a local news outlet reported. Two persons arrived at a restaurant in Mehran Town to buy water where a scuffle erupted between them and the restaurant owner. The people sitting at the restaurant intervened and pacified the two parties. However, a few minutes later, the restaurant owner called several of his relatives who attacked the duo. According to Korangi Industrial Area SHO Jamal Leghari, 17-year old Saddam Husain and 39-year-old Ameer Ali sustained critical bullet injuries in the fight.

The two men were shifted to Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Centre where Hussain succumbed to injuries during treatment, Dr Seemin Jamali, executive director of the hospital said. After receiving information about the incident, contingents of police rushed to the spot but the suspects had already shut the restaurant down and managed to escape, said SHO Leghari. NEWS DESK

04 ISLAMABAD

Tuesday, 21 August, 2018

WEATHER UPDATES TUESDAY

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WEDNESDAY

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Work on rs18 billion Airport mEtro projEct moving At A snAil’s pAcE ISLAMABAD

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sHaH NaWaZ MoHaL

slamabad International airport, the latest addition to the capital’s expanding infrastructure, lacks a public transport system even after months of the inauguration and operationalisation, as authorities have left airport employees and travelers at the mercy of taxi drivers and ride-sharing apps.

The metro bus extension project is far from completion as work on it moves on snail’s pace. The residents of the federal capital had started questioning the viability of the extension of the metro bus to the new airport as the approved route of the extension is not going through the main sectors and areas, and thus the authority may have to launch a shuttle service to bring passengers

to the metro stations. also, the entire project was expected to be completed by august 14, 2017, in line with directions from the then prime minister to compliment the newly-built airport. It is also noted that according to an Environmental Impact assessment (EIa) study of the mbs project conducted by the National Engineering services Pakistan (NEsPaK), around a thousand trees of up to 110 years had become prey to the metro bus service (mbs) which is being extended from Peshawar morr to connect the city to the New Islamabad International airport (NIIa).

It is pertinent to mention here that the claims made by the NHa that the infrastructure work for the project will not affect the current layout of the Kashmir Highway have proved wrong. as the ongoing construction of the

highway comes after a mere year when it was expanded by the same government.

Unlike the existing metro bus project which has elevated tracks, the metro bus extension has two parallel lanes constructed along the Kashmir Highway and the motorway. There are some new flyovers or underpasses added on the Kashmir Highway and the motorway. according to the extension, two main interchanges have been constructed at Golra morr and N-5 (GT Road). The project of 26.5km would be divided into two packages – Peshawar mor to G-13, and from G-13 to the N-5 interchange. Construction of four interchanges and 14 stopovers (stations) is also part of the project.

“The delay in the completion of mega projects whose price run in billions of rupees commenced by the

previous government in major cities poses new challenges to the present government. It is about time that the new government must show strictness and put in place a stringent mechanism of check and balances,” said a government official who wished not to be named.

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THURSDAY

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FRIDAY

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Eidul AzhA prAyEr timings Following are the Eidul Azha prayer timings in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

6am: Jamia Masjid Aqsa F-6/3, Jamia Masjid Ali al-Murtaza G-11/1.

6:15am: Jamia Masjid Aal-e-Suleman Ghauri Town Phase-4, Jamia Masjid Umar bin Khatab, Margalla Town, Jamia Masjid Muhammadi, Jhangi Syedan.

6:30am: Jamia Masjid Ali al-Murtaza Tarlai, Jamia Masjid Taqwa Athal Chowk Bhara Kahu, Jamia Masjid Saad ibn-e-Abi Waqas Street 41, G-15/1, Jamia Masjid Tayyiba Tarnol railway crossing, Jamia Masjid Riazul Jannah, Nai Abadi Alipur.

6:45am: Jamia Masjid Quba I-8, Jamia Masjid Tayyiba Raja Tikka Khan Mohalla Bhara Kahu, Jamia Masjid Tayyiba Kot Hathial Bhara Kahu, Jamia Masjid Farooq-e-Azam Golra Road H-13.

7am: Faisal Mosque in Islamabad, Jamia Masjid Syedna Umaer Farooq Railway Scheme No7; Jamia Masjid Zahra CDA Colony I-10/1, Islamabad; Jamia Majid Anwaar-e-Madina G-13; Jamia Masjid Usman Ghani, G-14/4; Jamia Masjid-e-Shuhada near Jungle Hotel Kashmir Highway Islamabad; Jamia Masjid Babul Islam Chirah, Jamia Masjid Khubaiab Nilore, Jamia Masjid Ghafooria G-11, Jamia Masjid Madni G-11/3, Jamia Masjid Khulafa-e-Rashideen G-9, Masjid Ashraful Uloom near Rawal Dam Chowk, Jamia Masjid Farooq-e-Azam I-9/4, Jamia Masjid Darus Salam G-6, Jamia Masjid Usman Buland Market G10/1, Jamia Masjid Baitul Salam F-11/1, Jamia Masjid Syedul Anbia Alipur Firash, Jamia Masjid Syeda Ayesha G-13/3, Jamia Masjid Abu Sufyan G-11 Markaz, Jamia Masjid Ameer Hamza F-10/3, Jamia Masjid Khalid Bin Waleed I-8/3, Jamia Masjid Syedina Ismail I-10/3 7:15am: Lal Masjid G-6, Jamia Masjid Muhammdia F-6/4, Jamia Masjid Usman-e-Ghani Tarnol, Jamia Masjid Abu Ayub Ansari G-11 Markaz; Jamia Masjid Gulzar-e-Madina Niaziyaan Islamabad.

7:30am: Darul Uloom Zakaria Tarnol, Jamia Masjid Ibrahim Sohan Garden, Jamia Masjid Ayesha Dhoke Abbasi Tarnol, Jamia Masjid Ibrahim H-8 Graveyard, Jamia Usmania F-11 Markaz, Jamia Masjid Makka Town Tarnol, Jamia Masjid Diwan Umar Farooq F-10 Markaz, Jamia Masjid Abuzar Hammad Railway Carriage Factory Colony, Markazi Jamia Masjid Jamia Qasmia F-7/4. staff report

WORLD VIEW 05

Tuesday, 21 August, 2018

‘sPy’ Chandraswami THE KGB HAD 10 NEWSPAPERS AND ONE NEWS AGENCY ON ITS PAYROLL

indian express

P

Coomi Kapoor

OLITICAL hustler and influential guru Chandraswami, who helped bring down the Morarji Desai government and was accused of trying to tarnish V P Singh’s reputation by faking documents from a St Kitts bank, was also a ‘CIA spy’, writes Vikram Sood, a former R&AW chief, in his just released book, The Unending Game. India, says the book, was the playground of games between the CIA and KGB for decades. Chandraswami and his associate Mamaji had become friendly with Saudi millionaire Adnan Khashoggi, whose assis-

tance they reportedly sought to help Rajiv Gandhi win the elections, in the aftermath of the Bofors scandal.

Khashoggi introduced the swami to his sonin-law Larry Kolb, a ‘part time CIA agent’. Khashoggi hosted the swami in a fancy apartment on New York’s Fifth Avenue, while Kolb worked hard to get the St Kitts story published by the Kuwait-based Arab Times, Sood writes. Despite the godman’s efforts, V P Singh was elected prime minister. Chandraswami then latched on to Chandra Shekhar, who ousted Singh to become PM himself. Chandraswami also wielded considerable influence with P V Narasimha Rao, who became PM subsequently. Sood claims the KGB had 10 newspapers and one news agency on its payroll and thousands of articles were planted in these outlets. In addition, the Soviets covertly financed and distributed 25 million magazines and books.

The fact that senior politicians of every hue attended the release of a compilation of articles by the late L M Singhvi is a testimony to the clout of his son Congress MP Abhishek Singhvi, who has grown in stature ever since Mamata Banerjee extended her support to help him win his Rajya Sabha seat. Though L M Singhvi was close to the Vajpayee government, his son Abhishek is firmly in the anti-BJP camp and Pranab Mukherjee was the chief guest at the event. Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, who was one of the panelists, felt distinctly uneasy in the hall filled with Modi baiters and a panel that included Anand Sharma, Dinesh Trivedi and Pavan Varma. The audience clapped repeatedly when Gadkari assured that the government did not want to pack the judiciary with its own men or approve of mob violence and lynching. To add to Gadkari’s embarrassment, thrice the suggestion was mischie-

vously made that he would make an excellent PM. Gadkari was conscious that Modi would not be amused.

After P J Kurien retired as deputy chairperson of the Rajya Sabha in June, the buzz in political circles was that the BJP would avoid an election in the Monsoon Session, since it was uncertain of the numbers. BJP MPs were quick to justify procrastination by pointing out that there was no rule stipulating the time by which the deputy chairperson’s post has to be filled. But surprisingly, the BJP went ahead with the election in the last session and, despite the tension, eventually won handily.

It seems the BJP’s hand was forced by Rajya Sabha Chairperson Venkaiah Naidu, who had to handle the House singlehandedly.

Naidu suffers from a spondylitistype condition in his upper spinal cord and finds it painful to keep turning his neck from left to right to identify the MPs. He made it clear that he needed a deputy as soon as possible.

Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu is conscious that the public is inconvenienced when he travels in the Capital as traffic is held up. Realising that several of the functions he presides over, such as book launches, can be

easily held at his own residence, Naidu got a fully equipped auditorium built at 6, Maulana Azad Road, in just three months. Incidentally, in the room leading to the auditorium there are photographs of Naidu’s predecessors as vice-president. While taking journalists on a guided tour last week, Naidu pointed out that while half the VPs were eventually elected president, the other half never made it. Asked the obvious question as to which category of vice-president would he fall in, Naidu simply laughed.

Former vice-president Hamid Ansari may be 81 years, but he is still fit. When he was called for his medical check-up after he qualified for the Indian Foreign Service, his uncle, a doctor, advised him to meet his friend, a civil surgeon, to

How important is the protest against Trump from the national-security establishment?

SEVEN FORMER CIA DIRECTORS ISSUED A PUBLIC LETTER SUPPORTING BRENNAN AND DENOUNCING THE PRESIDENT’S DECISION

new Yorker John Cassidy

During the past few years, we have learned that, almost no matter how outrageous or potentially dangerous Donald Trump’s actions and words are, senior Republicans in Congress, on whose support Trump ultimately depends, won’t break with him. If anything, Trump’s grip on the Republican Party, and particularly on its process of selecting candidates, seems to be getting stronger.

It is therefore tempting to dismiss the growing protests against Trump’s decision to revoke the former C.I.A. director John Brennan’s security clearance as just another summer squall in the nation’s capital, one that will quickly blow over. But possibly—just possibly—this could turn out to be a significant political moment.

The blowback intensified on Thursday, when seven former C.I.A. directors issued a public letter supporting Brennan and denouncing the President’s decision. “We all agree that the president’s action regarding John Brennan and the threats of similar actions against other former officials has nothing to do with who should and should not hold security clearances—and everything to do with an attempt to stifle free speech,” the letter said. The letter’s signatories included William Webster, George Tenet, Porter Goss, Michael Hayden, Leon Panetta, David Petraeus, and Robert Gates, whose tenures as the head of the C.I.A. spanned five Presidents, from Ronald Reagan to Barack Obama.

(Five former deputy directors of the Agency also signed the letter.)

That is quite a list. Even the stoutest Trump defenders will have difficulty describing the letter as a partisan political ambush, although, of course, that will not stop them from trying. And the letter wasn’t the only protest of its kind directed at Trump this week, or even the most cutting.

Also on Thursday, William McRaven, a retired Navy admiral who oversaw the 2011 Navy seal raid that killed Osama bin Laden, published an op-ed at the Washington Post, which begins, “Dear Mr. President, Former CIA director John Brennan, whose security clearance you revoked on Wednesday, is one of the finest public servants I have ever known.” The piece went on: “Therefore, I would consider it an honor if you would revoke my security clearance as well, so I can add my name to the list of men and women who have spoken up against your presidency.”

McRaven, who from 2011 to 2014 led the U.S. Special Operations Command, didn’t stop there. In a withering assessment of Trump’s Presidency, he continued, “Through your actions, you have embarrassed us in the eyes of our children, humiliated us on the world stage and, worst of all, divided us as a nation.

If you think for a moment that your McCarthy-era tactics will suppress the voices of criticism, you are sadly mistaken. The criticism will continue until you become the leader we prayed you would be.”

The op-ed quickly went viral, and no wonder. Unlike Brennan, the sixty-two year old McRaven hasn’t recently been a fixture on social media or the cable talk shows. The son of a Second World War fighter pilot, he spent thirty-seven years in the military before retiring, in 2014, and becoming chancellor of the University of Texas system. In asking the President to revoke his security clearance, he was taking a step that could have negative financial consequences for him and his family.

(Many retired military and intelligence figures parlay their security clearances into valuable consulting gigs.) And in addressing Trump personally but publicly, he was sounding a clarion call to other ex-military and intelligence officials who hitherto had kept silent.

On Thursday afternoon, Richard Haass, the president of the Council on Foreign Relations, wrote on Twitter that McRaven’s letter “could well be the closest we have come to a Joseph Welch ‘Have you left no sense of decency?’ moment that in

many ways broke the McCarthy fever.” Haass was referring to the famous moment during a congressional hearing, in June, 1954, when Welch, the chief counsel to the U.S. Army, challenged Joseph McCarthy, the Republican senator from Wisconsin who for years had carried out a hysterical smear campaign against people he suspected—or claimed to suspect—of being Communists.

On Friday morning, I spoke with Haass about McRaven’s intervention and the former C.I.A. chiefs’ letter.

“I think there has been something of a reluctance to take on this President—we see it among Republican politicians, business leaders, and members of the foreign-policy establishment,” Haass said. “People have been reluctant to do it because he can come back hard at you on Twitter.

He can mobilize the machinery of government against you. This represents a moment when members of the élite, the establishment, are standing up and challenging him directly. McRaven created something of a precedent, almost a space, into which others can move into.”

To be sure, the former C.I.A. chiefs didn’t go as far as McRaven did. They didn’t attack Trump’s over-all record, call him an embarrassment, or ask him to revoke their security clearances in solidarity with Brennan. But, Haass noted, “They were willing to put their names to something that will not go down well in the White House. It is one thing to take on an individual like John Brennan. But I don’t think the White House counted on this type of reaction. These are patriots. Many of them have served in the military. A lot of members of the Trump base will respect these people.”

We shall see if that turns out to be true. For months now, Trump, his lawyer Rudy Giuliani, and proTrump media figures like Sean Hannity have been vilifying former senior government officials with long and distinguished records, including Brennan; James Clapper, the former director of National Intelligence; and James Comey, the former F.B.I. director. In the coming days and weeks, the vilification campaign may well extend to McRaven and the former intelligence chiefs who

signed the public letter. Will Trump’s base care more about them than they did about Clapper?

Meanwhile, it looks like more arbitrary edicts from Trump are on the way. On Friday, the Washington Post reported that the President was “eager to move against others on the security clearance review list and could act soon.” A bit later, Trump said he intended to move “very quickly” to revoke the clearance of Bruce Ohr, a senior Justice Department official who, in 2016, had contacts with Christopher Steele, the former British intelligence officer who compiled a controversial dossier detailing alleged ties between Trump and Russia.

On Capitol Hill, some Democrats have expressed concerns that Trump’s actions are intended to silence people who might serve as witnesses in any eventual impeachment process or other legal proceeding. Most senior Republicans, predictably enough, are keeping quiet or expressing support for the President’s treatment of Brennan.

The “President has full authority to revoke [Brennan’s] security clearance as head of the executive branch,” Richard Burr, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said.

Haass, who worked in the White House under George H. W. Bush, and in the State Department under Colin Powell, conceded that, especially in the run-up to the midterms, Republicans are unlikely to come out strongly against Trump’s actions, much less hold hearings on them. But he pointed out that, back in 1954, a substantial amount of time—six months— elapsed between Welch’s exasperated remonstration of McCarthy and the Senate’s historic vote to censure the Wisconsin senator, which put an end to his reign of terror. “That statement took on more significance with the passage of time,” Haass said. “Sometimes, only in retrospect do actions or words emerge as a key moment, or a tipping point. We’ll only know in retrospect if this is one of those moments.”

John Cassidy has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 1995.

find out if he had any health issues.

The surgeon told him he was fit, the only problem was that he might be considered too thin. Ansari tried to put on a little weight. He was 64 kg when he joined the diplomatic service and is now only 67 kg, an enviable record.

PoPulism and talk of a welfare state will only get khan so far and no more Hindustan times Imran Khan’s first address to the nation after becoming Prime Minister was largely devoted to his vision of crafting a “Naya Pakistan”, a welfare state based on Islamic ideals and measures to tackle the corruption and poor governance that has affected so many of the nation’s 200 million people. He struck a chord with many in Pakistan when he displayed, side by side, images of the brains of a child benefiting from nourishing food and another afflicted by malnutrition. But there was a hefty dose of populism too, including his plans to give up the Prime Minister’s House with its 524 workers and 80 cars and instead live in a three-bedroom house with two workers after auctioning off all the excess vehicles. There was an appeal to national pride in the form of asking the people to pay more taxes so that Pakistan could be rid of its debt burden, which,

by Mr Khan’s reckoning, is $95 billion. There were also the fanciful schemes that came up during Mr Khan’s election campaign and even before — like the plan to convert the Prime Minister’s House into a research university. It is another matter that Mr Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party couldn’t even deliver on its pledge to convert the chief minister’s official residence in KhyberPakhtunkhwa into a library despite ruling that province for the past five years.

Perhaps more troubling was what Mr Khan left unsaid.

Though he spoke vaguely of austerity and plans to overcome Pakistan’s economic woes, there was no sign of a concrete plan to overcome the balance of payments crisis or word on whether another bailout alone will get Pakistan out of the woods.

For Pakistan’s neighbours, more worrying was Mr Khan’s silence on his plans to tackle their concerns. At a time when Pakistan’s relationship with the US has nosedived, Mr Khan could have used his speech to outline plans to improve ties with his neighbours. This would have helped him make new friends in the neighbourhood, at a time when Pakistan needs more friends. Equally worrying was Mr Khan’s stance on terrorism and extremism — beyond a pledge to implement the National Action Plan (NAP) to ensure peace, there was virtual radio silence on the subject. The NAP, framed after the deadly attack on a school in Peshawar in 2014, clearly hasn’t delivered and there is a need to go back to the drawing board.

Populism and talk of a Medina-like state will only get Mr Khan so far, the time has come for him to roll up his sleeves and deliver.

06 NEWS

Tuesday, 21 August, 2018

JI fACES ExPulSIoN froM MMA AS tENSIoNS MouNt ISLAMABAD

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HAMiD KHAn WAZiR

HE differences between Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) have reached an unbridgeable point as the MMA leadership is considering to take serious steps against JI, including expulsion from the alliance if the party does not mend its ways.

Well-placed sources told Pakistan Today that the marriage of convenience between JI and remaining four religious parties including Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F), Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan (JUP), Jamiat Ahle Hadith and Tehreeke-Islami (TI) faced a severe blow after JI’s unilateral decision to abstain from voting for election of the prime minister and the National Assembly speaker.

According to sources, since the re-

vival of MMA, great ups and downs were encountered mainly over the respective share in the alliance but senior leadership managed tensions to maintain the alliance.

However, MMA President Fazalur Rehman was placed in an embarrassing situation because he was lobbying for Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) candidate for the premiership slot and JI abstained from voting.

The MMA leadership was offended by JI’s unilateral decision and has decided to review JI’s participation in the alliance. The JI leadership is also facing great resistance within the party to quit the alliance because party workers mainly attributed their shocking de-

FO summons Dutch envoy over blasphemous cartoons contest ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office (FO) on Monday called the chargé d’affaires of Netherlands to record protest against the “announcement by the leader of Dutch Freedom Party and Parliamentarian Geert Wilders to hold a competition of blasphemous caricatures”. A statement issued by the Foreign Office said that Pakistan’s Ambassador in The Hague has also been directed “to forcefully raise the issue with the Dutch government along with Ambassadors of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states”. The FO also assured that Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi will lead the discussion of the matter in the upcoming meeting of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers, scheduled to be held in September.

Pakistan’s Permanent Representatives to the United Nations in New York and Geneva have also been directed to take up the matter with the UN Secretary General and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. The federal cabinet had earlier in the day also “strongly condemned this abominable and reprehensible plan,” in its maiden meeting. sTAFF RePORT

CPNE greets new information minister KARACHI: The Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) has felicitated the Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Fawad Chaudhry on assumption of his office. In a felicitation message on Monday, CPNE President Arif Nizami, Senior Vice President Imtinan Shahid, Secretary General Dr Jabbar Khattak, Vice Presidents Ikram Sehgal, Ayaz Khan, Rehmat Ali Raazi, Tahir Farooq, Arif Baloch, Joint Secretary Aamir Mehmood, Finance Secretary Hamid Hussain Abidi and Information Secretary Adnan Malik assured the newly-appointed minister of CPNE’s full support and cooperation. They expressed the hope that Fawad would play an effective role to ensure the freedom of expression, right to information, press freedom, and smooth and uninterrupted circulation of newspapers and magazines. They also hoped that the information minister would work to release the dues of newspaper advertisements pending against the federal government, and to ensure the judicious and transparent distribution of government advertisements to print media. sTAFF RePORT

feat in the general elections to the JI’s re-entry into the alliance. According to sources, JI will decide whether to remain a part of the religious alliance after Eidul Azha because its workers were left unsatisfied ever since it joined the alliance. If the JI fails to make a decision over the matter and continues to act unilaterally, the party could face an embarrassing exclusion from the alliance as the MMA leadership cannot justify and defend such acts in public.

Talking to Pakistan Today, JI chief and MMA Vice President Siraj-ul-Haq defended the abstention move, saying that they had agreed in principle to support MMA’s candidate but not one from

MMA PARTIES MAY RECONSIDER JI’S FUTURE IN ALLIANCE another party. To a question about the future of MMA, he said that since it is an electoral alliance and members are elected on MMA tickets, they are bound to follow the decisions taken unanimously on MMA platform.

However, he explained that his party can take unilateral decisions on some issues as well. Senior JI leader Mian Aslam said that the MMA will get stronger in order to deal with problems facing the country and would struggle against secular forces trying to damage social fabric of the country.

He acknowledged frictions between religious groups but denied the MMA alliance faced an existential threat in the immediate future. Aslam also denied that MMA partners are considering to expel JI, adding that it is the JI itself which has kept the alliance intact.

However, MMA Central Information Secretary Awais Noorani said that the party may decide to expel JI and that all members are united in opposition to it.

HAJJ SERMON

‘Islam preaches respectful behaviour, good character’ IMAM SHEIKH HUSSEIN ASKS MUSLIMS TO STRENGTHEN RELATION WITH HOLY QURAN MAKKAH Agencies

The Hajj sermon delivered at Mount Arafat on Monday emphasised respectful behaviour and good character as the most important lessons of Islam.

More than two million Muslims from around the world scaled the rocky hill southeast of the holy city of Makkah to perform the pinnacle of Hajj. Mount Arafat is where Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) delivered his final sermon.

“All prophets of Almighty Allah invited humanity to tauheed, and believing in it will be path of success,” said Sheikh Hussein bin Abdelaziz al-Sheikh, imam of

Prophet’s Mosque, while delivering the sermon. “Give respect and importance to your parents and teachers,” he said.

“Strengthen your relation with the Holy Quran,” he advised the Muslims. “Islam forbids us from indulging in sins. It propagates harmony and brotherhood amongst Muslims,” he said. The pilgrims performed Zuhr and Asr prayers combined, and spend time in Arafat with prayers for acceptance of their pilgrimage and recitation of Quranic verses until sunset.

After sunset, the pilgrims will head to Muzdalifah, where they will stay until midnight, engaged in prayers after performing Maghreb and Isha prayers combined. The rit-

ual of changing Ghilaf-e-Kaaba was also held early on Monday morning.

The new Ghilaf-e-Kaaba was prepared at a cost of 200,000 Riyal.

It comprises 670kg pure silk, 120kg gold and 100kg silver. Masjid-ulHaram Imam Dr Abdur Rahman AsSudais and Makkah Governor Prince Khalid Faisal participated in the ritual. Every Muslim is required to complete the Hajj journey to Islam’s holiest sites at least once in their lifetime if they are healthy enough and have the means to do so.

This year, the Saudi government has launched a “smart Hajj” initiative, with apps to help pilgrims with everything from travel plans to medical care. On Saturday, the Interior Affairs Ministry said that the number of pilgrims arriving in Makkah had already surpassed the two million mark, mostly from abroad including large contingents from Pakistan, Egypt, India and Bangladesh.

SC stops supply of water from Kallar Kahar pond to Bestway factory LAHORE sTAFF RePORT

The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday ordered the closure of a pond being used to supply water to a nearby cement factory in Chakwal district of Punjab.

The three-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar was hearing a suo motu case over the illegal use of water by two factories at the Lahore registry of the apex court.

CJP Nisar directed authorities to provide an estimate on the per cusec

rate of water from ponds before it is sold off to factories. “Water is a blessing of Allah, how can you sell natural water,” the CJP inquired from the Kallar Kahar pond owner Ghulam Sagheer. The water was being supplied to Bestway Cement.

The CJP asked why Sagheer’s property could not be seized and handed over to the government.

“I give zakat [charity] to widows from the money [obtained by selling water],” Sagheer replied.

Justice Umar Atta Bandial remarked that water as a natural resource cannot be sold for monetary

profit. The environmental department has also been directed to submit a report on environmental pollution problems in the region.

CJP Nisar also remarked that he intends to take a notice against mineral water companies. “[We] will have to see how the mineral water companies obtain their water and how much they pay for it,” he said.

“It is the government’s responsibility to provide clean water to the people,” he said in reference to Prime Minister Imran Khan talking about water crisis during his first address as premier.

MPA Imran Ali Shah apologises to SC, says he hit citizen in ‘self-defence’ ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Member of Sindh Assembly Imran Ali Shah on Monday submitted a written apology to the Supreme Court (SC) for thrashing a Karachi citizen publicly, however, he maintained his position that he acted in selfdefence. Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar on Saturday took notice of Shah’s public assault on a citizen earlier this week.

CJP had demanded that Shah and the citizen, Dawood Chauhan present a report within three days. PTI MPA Imran Shah drew strong backlash on the social media after a video of him brutally thrashing Chauhan went viral on social media channels like Facebook and Twitter. A lot of people demanded suspension of membership of the party leader while some called upon the party to withdraw him as a legislator from the provincial legislature.

The MPA was filmed slapping Chauhan multiple times during a street altercation with his security guards around. Shortly after the incident, the MPA had issued a video claiming that the man, whom he had beaten up, was misbehaving with “a poor man” on the street. “I got off my car and asked him what’s wrong, but he also hurled abuses on me and I just defended myself,” he had said. But later he maintained silence on his first version and in a damage control, tendered apology to the citizen. sTAFF RePORT

SC bars private medical colleges from directly enrolling students SHAHEEN AIRLINES DIRECTED TO DEPOSIT RS20 MILLION WITHIN ONE WEEK LAHORE: The Supreme Court has barred private medical colleges from directly enrolling students. A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar passed the order while hearing a suo motu case regarding admissions in medical colleges in Lahore on Monday. Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) Registrar Dr Muhammad Waseem submitted a new admission policy to the court. According to the new policy, admissions in the private medical colleges will be made through a centralised admission policy. On July 23, the CJP during the hearing of admission and charging of additional fee in private medical colleges’ case remarked that back channels for seeking admission into private medical colleges will be shut. Meanwhile, hearing another suo motu case, the CJP ordered Shaheen Airlines to deposit twenty million rupees within one week for the payment of monetary compensation to the stranded passengers in China. On August 7, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar ordered Shaheen Air International (SAI) to ensure that over 214 passengers, who were left stranded in China for a week, are adequately compensated for their ordeal. The airline was directed to pay Rs0.1 million to each passenger. On July 29, the SAI flight to Guangzhou was cancelled after the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) suspended the airline’s flight operations because of non-payment of its dues of over Rs1.5 billion. Over 300 passengers were left stranded at the Chinese airport. sTAFF RePORT

Chief Justice Nisar to jet off to Europe on dam building mission LAHORE inP

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar will be travelling to the United Kingdom and European countries to speak to the overseas Pakistanis to generate awareness on the crucial issue of water scarcity and building new dams for which funds could be raised from the expatriates.

The chief justice decided to visit Europe after accepting an invitation from the World Congress of Overseas Pakistanis.

Speaking to the World Congress of

Overseas Pakistanis Executive Director Arif Anis after delivering the landmark judgment on Friday through which the Supreme Court permitted Pakistanis residing abroad to cast vote in the upcoming by-polls, Justice Nisar said, “Many congratulations to overseas Pakistanis today.”

He added that it would be the first time that expat Pakistanis will be voting in a local election through I-voting mechanism.

The judgment was issued by a threejudge bench headed by the CJP himself which was hearing petitions at the apex court’s Lahore registry. Dr Farhat Sid-

diqui, along with Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and others through solicitor Muhammad Dawood Ghaznavi, sought voting rights for overseas Pakistanis.

The petitioners had asked the top court to order authorities to give them the right to vote so that they could participate in elections and choose their leaders. They had also asked the court to order the ECP to implement its 2014 judgment in which arrangements for overseas Pakistanis had been ordered for their fundamental rights as guaranteed by the Constitution.

Anis, who was representing the overseas Pakistanis, thanked CJP Nisar on behalf of the expatriates for their right to vote. He informed the CJP of the efforts of overseas Pakistanis for the collection of funds for construction of dams in the country and requested him to visit the UK, Europe and the US. He said that hundreds of millions of dollars could be contributed by the overseas Pakistanis to the funds for construction of dams as the expatriates were worried about the alarming water scarcity situation in Pakistan.

The CJP thankfully accepted the invitation mentioning that he had been earlier invited by many overseas Pakistanis residing in different countries for donations for the construction of dams, but it was not possible for him to visit all the countries. However, he said, he would visit overseas Pakistanis along with the governor of State Bank of Pakistan and the WAPDA chairman on a seven days trip to sensitise the overseas Pakistanis about the water crisis in the country. A seven-day trip to the UK and Europe is most likely to be scheduled in October.

Tuesday, 21 August, 2018

AhSAN quEStIoNS IMrAN-lEd govt’S CoMPEtENCE to dElIvEr ISLAMABAD

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sTAFF RePORT

AKISTAN Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and former interior minister Ahsan Iqbal Monday said that the new government is quite inexperienced and immature.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Ahsan said that Imran has promised the nation to bring back stars, but argued that he did not have a strategy to materialise it. Calling Imran the ‘prime minister-select’, former interior minister said that PM Khan had no political experience.

Mocking the new government, Ahsan said that Pakistan has a prime minister who did not even run a local government office, adding that such experiments will cost the nation.

The new government is quite inexperienced and immature, he said, adding that the PTI government will have to go through kindergarten.

He further claimed that Imran’s cabinet was the same as that of former president Pervez Musharraf. He also expressed his concern about the fate of the projects started by the pre-

PML-N LEADER SAYS IMRAN DOES NOT HAVE A STRATEGY TO FULFIL HIS PROMISES

vious government. Terming last month’s general elections as the most rigged polls in history, the former interior minister said that his party had only become a part of the parliament for the sake of democracy.

Ahsan also criticised PM Khan’s decision to keep the interior ministry

Abbasi in hospital after chest pain RAWALPINDI: Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) leader Hanif Abbasi, who has been serving life imprisonment awarded to him by an anti-narcotics court in the ephedrine case, was shifted to a hospital from Adiala Jail after he fell ill on Monday.

Abbasi has been shifted to Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology (RIC) after he complained of a heart-related ailment. He is said to be undergoing a medical examination at the hospital at present. It is pertinent to mention here that PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif and his son-in-law Capt (r) Safdar, who have been serving their sentences in Adiala Jail, were also moved to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) after they fell sick in prison. Last month, the Control of Narcotics Substances (CNS) Court of Rawalpindi handed down life term to Abbasi in the case related to misuse of controlled chemical ephedrine.

The PML-N leader was accused of misusing 500kg of the controlled chemical ephedrine, obtaining it in 2010 and selling it to narcotics smugglers. sTAFF RePORT

under him, stressing that the country needs a full-time interior minister. He also recalled PM Imran Khan’s criticism of the Nawaz-led government for not appointing a foreign minister for more than four years. The PMLN leader further said that Prime Minister Imran Khan has outlined issues

present in manifestos of all political parties, adding that the new government does not understand politics well, especially the state mechanisms.

Ahsan took Imran to task for not mentioning the energy crisis in his maiden address to the nation as the prime minister. He added that the new government has no roadmap for production of electricity generation.

“The prime minister does not know how much authority he has and what has been delegated to the provinces,” said the PML-N leader.

He said that Imran Khan duly ignored the China Pakistan Economic Corridor in his speech, and he did not mention any strategy for supervising the plan, adding that Imran did not outline any plan to fight terrorism. Ahsan further said that the challenges that they had to face in 2013 are not present now.

He added that the newly formed government had a one-point agenda and a Nawaz-phobia that prompted Imran to check the former premier’s expenditures after coming to power. He was referring to Imran’s breakdown of the Prime Minister House’s expenses that are being borne by the state.

Imran’s idol Mahathir sends his blessings MALAYSIAN PM SAYS PEOPLE OF PAKISTAN SUPPORTED IMRAN’S VISION ISLAMABAD sTAFF RePORT

Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad on Monday congratulated newlyelected Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan and expressed confidence that the close and brotherly ties and cooperation enjoyed by Malaysia and Pakistan over the last 61 years would be further strengthened in the years ahead.

In a letter to Imran Khan, Dr Mahathir said he looked forward to working closely with him in the spirit of genuine solidarity and for the unity of the Ummah.

“On behalf of the government and people of Malaysia, I

have the honour to extend my warmest congratulations to Your Excellency on your appointment as the Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

“Please accept, Your Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration. I am most heartened by your impressive victory in the general elections held on 25 July 2018,” he said in the letter, a copy of which was made available to the media.

Dr Mahathir said the election victory was a profound indication of support from the people of the country to Imran Khan’s vision for Pakistan.

“May Allah the Almighty bless you with wisdom and foresight to steer Pakistan to-

wards progress, peace and prosperity,” he said.

PM IMRAN’S IDOL: Often in his pre-election speeches, PM Imran has quoted Kuan Yew of Singapore and Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia as examples of men who advanced their countries because they cleaned them up.

In 2006, before PTI became a leading political party, Mahathir Mohamad visited Pakistan to attend a conference titled, ‘A clash of civilisations or A clash of interests?’ on the invitation of Imran Khan. It was said that this was the first time in the history of Pakistan that a former prime minister of a foreign country arrived in Pakistan on the invitation of a political party. The conference was attended by media persons and the who’s who of the political industry of Pakistan.

Imran seeks anti-corruption advice from Chinese counterpart ISLAMABAD sTAFF RePORT

Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China Li Keqiang Monday called Prime Minister Imran Khan and felicitated him on assuming the office at which the latter said he was keen to learn the Chinese experience in battling corruption.

The Chinese premier congratulated the prime minister on his party’s victory in the general election

and forming the new government.

Premier Li said that Pakistan and China were all-weather friends and expressed the desire to work closely with Prime Minister Imran Khan to further strengthen the bilateral relations. He hoped that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) would be completed as per schedule.

Prime Minister Imran Khan thanked Premier Li and people of China for their good wishes and said that Pakistan and China were close friends and strong partners.

The strategic cooperative partnership between Pakistan and China would be further strengthened during the PTI’s government.

Imran Khan conveyed that he was keen to learn from Chinese experience in poverty alleviation, anticorruption and social sector reforms like health and education as those were his government’s priorities for domestic reforms.

The prime minister said that CPEC was a project of national significance and would remain a prior-

ity during his government. He lauded the services of Chinese workers in the development of Pakistan.

CHINA VALUES IMRAN’S STANCE: China values and appreciates PM Imran’s positive statement on China-Pakistan relations and the CPEC, said a spokesman of the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday at a regular news briefing.

China has conveyed warm congratulations to Imran Khan on his appointment as Prime Minister of Pakistan.

NEWS

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Amin Aslam pledges to cope with climate change challenges ISLAMABAD: Advisor to Prime Minister on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam on Monday has pledged to boost Pakistan’s climate vulnerability by increasing the country’s tree cover, water conservation and storage, and climate-resilient food security measures. He expressed these views while chairing the first briefing after taking the oath of his office. Highlighting the unprecedented role of forests in overall environmental development and climate resilience against disasters, Aslam vowed to expand billion tree programme of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government to all provinces and administrative regions. Ministry of Climate Change Secretary Khizar Hayat Khan gave a detailed briefing to the prime minister’s advisor. Aslam said that growing air pollution is a major issue of the country and tackling of it requires strong policy measures. “I will take all-out measures to strengthen technical capacity and increase the human power of the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) and help it scale up its institutional role for air pollution control and overall environmental improvement of the capital city of Islamabad and surrounding areas,” he said. The advisor also highlighted that Prime Minster Imran Khan is highly committed to tackling environmental issues, air pollution, climate change and increasing the country’s water conservation and storage, biodiversity loss and unlawful wildlife hunting. “However, the role of climate change ministry in actualising the commitment of the prime minister to environmental protection and conservation is of unprecedented importance and I would leave no stone unturned to play my part in this regard,” he stressed. sTAFF RePORT

PM appoints Shahzad Akbar as special assistant on accountability ISLAMABAD: Former National Accountability Bureau (NAB) deputy prosecutor Mirza Shahzad Akbar was appointed as special assistant to Prime Minister Imran Khan on accountability on Monday. A notification in this regard was issued by the Cabinet Secretariat of Pakistan. The notification stated, “In terms of rule 4(6) of the Rules of Business, 1973 read with serial number 1A of Schedule-VA of the said rules, the prime minister has been pleased to appoint, with immediate effect, Mirza Shahzad Akbar as special assistant to the prime minister on accountability, with the status of Minister of State.” Mirza Shahzad Akbar is also a human rights lawyer, legal adviser and director of Foundation for Fundamental Rights, an Islamabadbased human rights organisation. sTAFF RePORT

KP CM proposes 11-member cabinet PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Mahmood Khan proposed 11 names for the provincial cabinet and forwarded a list to Prime Minister Imran Khan for approval on Sunday night. The finalised names comprise representatives from across KP, including Peshawar, Mardan, Swabi, Malakand, Swat, Bannu and Lakki Marwat to ensure equality among all areas, a senior member of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said. “The list has been sent for Imran Khan’s final approval and it will be decided in a day or two,” the source added. Earlier, sources said that CM Mahmood aims to build a cabinet comprising new and old faces, however, members of former chief minister Pervez Khattak’s cabinet are lobbying for new portfolios.

Former education and energy minister Mohammad Atif Khan seeks a new ministry while former health minister Shahram Khan Tarakai is unwilling to lead the same department. As Atif is inclined towards finance or tourism and sports ministries, Taimur Saleem Khan Jhagra is being considered for the ministry of education. Kamran Khan Bangash’s name has been proposed for the ministry of information. Ishtiaq Umer, however, is willing to retain to the ministry of environment and forestry. sTAFF RePORT

PPP leaders concerned about ‘old faces’ in new cabinet ISLAMABAD sTAFF RePORT

PPP leaders Raza Rabbani and Farhatullah Babar on Monday expressed reservations over the inclusion of a number ‘old faces’ in Prime Minister Imran Khan’s newly appointed cabinet, who had previously either served in former military dictator Gen Pervez Musharraf’s cabinet or were associated with him in the past.

Rabbani was concerned that the “former colleagues of Musharraf who were included in the cabinet are an open threat to the 18th Amendment, provincial autonomy, trade unions and freedom of press.”

He called upon all democratic powers to unite instead of wrangling with each other over inconsequential matters.

“Opposition parties must be aware of the seriousness of the

situation,” he said, adding that a united opposition would be able to keep a better watch on parliament than a divided one “If opposition parties continue to remain divided this way, they will be held accountable by history.” Farhatullah Babar was of the opinion that “a cabinet full of old faces is at odds with Imran Khan’s address.” He expressed concern that the prime minister had not spoken about civil-mili-

tary relations in his address.

“Civil-military ties is one of the biggest issues among basic, political issues,” Babar said.

“It is likely that Imran Khan will have to face serious circumstances when it comes to civilmilitary relations. A car that is being steered by one person and controlled by another will meet a horrific accident. If Imran Khan doesn’t address civil-military relations, he will find himself at the

same place that previous governments have also been,” Babar claimed. The PPP leader also criticised PM Khan for not speaking about the National Finance Commission (NFC) award or the formation of a parliamentary commission to probe allegations of election rigging.

“He will always face criticism that he came to power through a stolen election,” Babar claimed.

He also alleged that Khan’s

party, the Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf, wishes for a rollback of the 18th Amendment and the NFC award, which “will be very dangerous for the federation”.

“Increasing defence expenditures cannot be added to the NFC, that’s why some people want it to be rolled back,” Babar alleged. “He spoke about province’s issues,” he continued.

“Does he wish to take back powers from the provinces?”

08 COMMENT

Tuesday, 21 August, 2018

A road map for Naya Pakistan Compassion and hope are necessary but not enough

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mRAn Khan has graphically described the sad state of a debt-ridden economy, the low ranking of Pakistan in the Human Development Index and the living conditions of the poverty-stricken sections of the population. He has however expressed confidence to turn the situation around during the time available to him.

Imran Khan has announced wide ranging austerity measures that the Pm and his cabinet members would follow. In economic terms the move has no more than a symbolic value and is meant to sweeten the bitter pill the common man would soon be required to swallow by the ImF. Doing something voluntarily before being forced to do it under compulsion is making virtue out of necessity.

It remains to be seen if the governments in Sindh and Balochistan ruled by the PPP and BAAP would follow suit.

Also, whether high officials belonging to state institutions and government departments would readily part with the perks and privileges acquired over the years by them.

Imran Khan takes note of some of the vital issues that previous government had pushed under the rug like the damaging impact of climate change on people’s livelihood or malnutrition leading to stunting growth among 9.8 millions of children. He is also determined to bring 22.6 million of left out children to school.

There are serious omissions in Khan’s plans though.

He strangely ignores population planning without which the positive results of economic policies would be neutralised in no time. He has nothing to say about the diminishing media freedom. He ignores the need to curb extremism which is fast spreading its tentacles in society.

Some of Imran Khan’s important reforms are bound to meet resistance from powerful vested interest.

Diversion of development funds to local governments instead of mnAs and mPAs would be resented by his own parliamentarians. The promise to develop the best of relations with neighbouring countries and the determination to implement the nAP and holding talks with Baloch dissidents would be resented by the powerful supporters of the status quo. While one wishes Godspeed to Khan, one will judge him not by his claims but his capacity to give them material shape.

Pragmatism is the key ‘Relief, recovery and reforms’ need of economic sector

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ommon sense, creativity, out-of-the -box thinking, improvisation and steadfast political drive and will are the human qualities required to lift the country out of its present economic morass. At times of great financial distress, nations have responded with varying policies and programmes, but the underlining theme has always been realism and pragmatism to provide swift succour and relief to the most affected citizens. The then Soviet Union’s new Economic Policy (1921-28), in a stunning break from its doctrinaire socialism, allowed limited and controlled market economy, which somewhat restored its collapsed finances. US President Franklin D Roosevelt’s new Deal (initially 1933-36) introduced scores of public works programmes, emergency relief for unemployed and farmers, reforms in banking, industry, waterpower, labour and housing, and social security, to combat the ruinous impact of the Great Depression, despite being contrary to the basic capitalist concept of laissez faire.

Pakistan’s economy too is poised at a dangerous crossroads, and purely theoretical and textbook solutions or delayed decisions will no longer deliver the needful.

Time is of the essence, as is proper prioritisation of problems and decisive action. The concerned Task Force’s most daunting task is the urgent raising of $12 billion to meet this year’s liabilities alone, a thorny path that leads firstly to the familiar ImF lair, and thereafter possibly to the World Bank, Asian Development Bank or Islamic Development Bank, and the second the boosting of exports to reduce the yawning balance of payments gap. An example: Chinese exports to Pakistan last year totalled $15 billion and vice-versa just $1.5 billion. The national debt stands at a staggering Rs28 trillion, including external obligations of $95 billion, and this precarious situation demands a whole range of properly implemented counter-measures, including documentation and broadening of tax base, drastically raising domestic productivity, both in industry and agriculture, educational and human development input, and de-politicised and merit-based financial regulatory bodies. The goal of economic stability should include a ‘decade of austerity’, cracking down on annual money laundering of reportedly $10 billion and resort to the Pakistani diaspora. Funds and energy expended on recovering ill-gotten loot stashed abroad would not go unrewarded or wasted.

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami Editor Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

Umar Aziz

Asher John

Joint Editor

Executive Editor

Deputy Editor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

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No country for (poor) couples in love Living in 21st century with medieval mentality, moral policing, hypocrisy and voyeurism

Shah Nawaz mohal

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ERE in this beautiful land of ours, dear reader, we have two worlds. In the first one you can get away with everything ‘illegal’, ‘immoral’ and ‘Haram’. You can drink in the comfort of villas, farmhouses and posh apartments, do A-grade drugs from cocaine to ecstasy, have mad parties all night long, dance your wits out to the tunes of trance music and no one, let me repeat, no one will bother you.

Because the folks who are ‘empowered’ and ‘expected’ to bother you are outside the venue providing security and offering vigilance.

Love in this world expresses itself in rave dance steps fuelled by imported alcohol with deafening music in the background, broadcasted live on Instagram and Snapchat. The party goes on sans nuisance, sans interruption.

And so, do expressions and acts of affections like kissing and cuddling.

Disconnected and severed from the other world, the dwellers of this world when meet the inhabitants of the other, both gain a martyr, in extreme encounters. one bags Salmaan Taseer, the

other gets mumtaz Qadri. That, however, we’ll discuss some other time, in some other piece. now, let us gaze at the second world that dwells here in our beloved land. The mostly silent, always ignored, busy in making ends meet denizens of this world either live from paycheck to paycheck or from one odd job to another. It is a world where affluence is absent, want is abundant, love and affection are blurred before the altar of financial restraints and paltry incomes. These children of lesser gods who are denied earthly pleasures and relegated to a state much worse than the savages of bygone ages still have the same urges like the members of the other world.

Love-you may call it craving to have a beloved, infatuation, crush, lust, basic, primal instinct or whatever catches your fancy — creeps in this doomed world too. many of the folks from this second world are firm believers of religion and want to order their lives in strict accordance with dictates of faith. But, every now and then, nature triumphs belief and transgressions occur.

And that is where the trouble begins. The poor and pious of Pakistan are at the mercy of moral policing who make sure that they don’t wander away from the path of righteousness and salvation.

Last week a news story went viral where Islamabad police caught a couple around 18-19 years ‘kissing’ and ‘cuddling’ in a car near a market, took them to the Karachi Company Police Station where they were formally booked for ‘obscene acts’ under Section 294 of the PPC, an offence punishable with imprisonment for up to three months, or with fine, or both.

However after their arrest, both were released by the station house officer (SHo) on bail. The investigating officer while talking to a reporter said that they received a complaint that the couple were ‘kissing and cuddling’ in a car in G-9/3. He claimed that the couple was

still busy kissing and cuddling when the cops reached the scene and thus arrested them.

Those who live in Islamabad or visit the city often know the socio-economic status of those who live in Sector G-9. majority of those who live here in tiny government quarters are peons, helpers, assistant, and clerks in various government organisations. Rest are retired officers who live in small houses with tiny streets and an abundance of Afghan refugees thrown in the mix.

If only the ‘caught’ couple hailed from the other world and having ‘kissing’ and ‘cuddling’ in some farmhouse spreading on acres in Bani Gala or Shah Allah Ditta, or the uber luxurious suites in five-star hotels like Serena and marriott, or basement of some lush house in elite sectors of F-6, F-7, E-7, hill resorts like Highland Country Club. If only. Well, they didn’t. So, they had to face the iron hand of law.

Stop here and ask yourself this. Do these two worlds have anything, anything at all in common? The answer, trust me, would be a resounding no.

Since time immemorial, men and women have been profiting and losing in this business called ‘love’. Few among us haven’t experienced sleepless nights because we can’t stop thinking about someone. We imagine them right next to us when they are hundreds of miles away. We envision futures with them even when our present is under a pall of uncertainty. We hold their hands with all our might in their absence. We talk like maniacs on adrenaline. We listen like stones. We suffer like stoics. We revel in silence.

However, to do all of the above without humiliation, you need to have a sh*tload of money or else ‘cuddling’ and ‘kissing’ are punishable offence under Tazirat-e-Pakistan.

Another reason for us to salute our beloved Pakistan and its never-ending dichotomies.

Shah Nawaz Mohal is a law graduate and member of staff, Islamabad Bureau.

Being taken for a ride They are being dishonest and they think their electorate is foolish

Rabia ahmed

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UnjAB has a new chief minister, mr Usman Buzdar of the PTI. Although this is mr Buzdar’s first Provincial Assembly seat, he is not a stranger to politics. once the nazim of Dera Ghazi Khan, he was a member of the PmL-Q for nine years starting from 2002, after which he joined the PmL-n.

When he ran for the provincial assembly from that party in 2013 he lost to a PPPP candidate. This year, just before the elections mr Buzdar joined the junoobi Punjab Sooba mahaz. When that party merged with the PTI it brought mr Buzdar with it, after which he won the provincial assembly seat from Dera Ghazi Khan in these elections.

Such are the whims of fate.

The new chief minister’s father Fateh muhammad Khan Buzdar, meantime, has been thrice elected mPA from Dera Ghazi Khan, in 1985, 2002, 2008. our new Pm explained his reasons for selecting mr Usman Buzdar for the job. He said that mr Buzdar belonged to the most backward area of the Punjab, one without water and electricity. So, Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

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the Pm explained, mr Usman Buzdar is well aware of the issues faced by the people of such areas.

“He is the only mPA to not have electricity at his home,” said mr Imran Khan. “I am confident that he will work brilliantly to bring to fruition our vision, which aims at uplifting the lower sections of society and the backward areas of Pakistan.”

Since his nomination there have been several criticisms of the Pm’s choice of mr Buzdar’s as Cm, the most persistent being that mr Buzdar and his father were accused of the murder of six men in 1998. That case was apparently settled by jirga after a sum of 7.5 million rupees was paid to the heirs of the deceased and the case was closed. Simple.

In politics rumours and accusations abound, and every hit, above or below the belt appears permissible.

There is no way of knowing what the events surrounding any case are and what the truth is. In this particular case, one may not agree with a jirga being allowed to settle such major cases but it is not the fault of those concerned if jirgas have the power to do so in this country. And obviously, if the facility is available they will use it.

But an accusation of murder will raise eyebrows.

That mr Buzdar tends to roll around from party to party like a well-known domestic utensil is unfortunate but that too cannot be held against him since he is hardly alone. The PTI, the youngest of the major political parties in the country, is full of members with

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that tendency.

With reference to this habit of mr Buzdar’s, and because we have been led to understand that he is disadvantaged, one could excuse him by saying that people from disadvantaged backgrounds really have little choice. nobody stops for a person or a car to cross the road here, much less allow a disadvantaged person an advantage in politics.

But this tolerance is unnecessary if you stop to think: can a disadvantaged person pay out 7.5 million rupees for anything?

And the electricity? mr Buzdar we are told has no electricity in his home.

Which family would live without electricity in the long, sweltering, humid summers of Dera Ghazi Khan if it could help it? A family that can pay out 7.5 million can certainly help it. If there is no electricity in their area then there are such things as generators. Those who can afford them use them.

Still, apparently mr Buzdar really does not have electricity in his home in Dera Ghazi Khan. But that is just one of his homes. The other house, in which his wife and family live, does have electricity.

There are many people who live an arms-length from filth and poverty and do nothing about it, all the best-known political figures of the country included.

If the Buzdar family lives in such a disadvantaged area, one that has no basic facilities, it is clear that mr Buzdar senior, a three elected mPA, has not managed to achieve much. Will the

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son be any better? He may be, we don’t know, we hope he is, but living in backward areas is in itself no guarantee of an interest in such matters or an ability to bring about improvement.

It is hard to say for certain why mr Buzdar has been selected for his current post. It is extremely possible that he is keeping the seat for someone else and will be removed when that someone else is free to hold office. His is most likely to stick around as the nominal ‘done the virtuous thing’ visible face while someone else pulls the actual strings.

It could also be that he is a genuine choice and turns out to be a good one. Who knows? In which case he has our sincere good wishes.

The only thing one can say for sure is that it is time politicians stopped chucking dust in the face of its electorate and concentrated on doing some genuine good, not just on making us think they are doing so.

It is of little interest where, how and in what conditions anyone lives, mr Buzdar or anyone else. The thing that riles is the obvious attempt on the part of leaders to bamboozle, hoodwink and pull the wool over one’s eyes.

They are, in short, being dishonest and they think their electorate is foolish.

Such actions often backfire on the politicians. on the country they always do, wrecking people’s lives.

Rabia Ahmed is a freelance columnist. Read more by her at http://rabia-ahmed.blogspot.com

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

COMMENT 09

Tuesday, 21 August, 2018

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NAB remand accused in hospital

Tough road ahead for Prime Minister Imran Khan PTI must break the ‘traditional’ ways of doing politics and running the country

YaSmeeN aftab ali

T

HE pandemonium that broke out from the opposition benches upon the Pm’s vote count, protesting against the alleged election rigging, is an indicator of the rough road ahead for Prime minister Imran Khan. The plus point is, with a seasoned team of politicians sitting in opposition, Khan’s government will be forced to be on its toes.

Euphoria reigns supreme as hopes climb higher that every issue can be ‘fixed’ with Khan leading the team. The funds stolen and taken to foreign shores will return to make the economy robust. Ishrat Hussain, the Pm’s adviser on institutional reforms and austerity, has also headed the national Commission for Government Reforms from 2006 to 2008. He may come up with institutional reforms that he was unable to come up with before and create miracles.

Khan’s government takes over at a point where Pakistan is in the forefront of internal issues of multifaceted nature as well as global and regional conflicts. The task looming ahead is a daunting one.

A 21-member federal cabinet, comprising 16 ministers and five advisors, announced by Prime minister Imran Khan must grapple with an extraordinary set of challenges facing Pakistan.

Expectations of the populace are riding high and it will take time to realise that there are no ‘quick fixes’ option anymore.

The challenge for PTI is to convert the promises made into policies that are robust, implementable and headed

by competent people with time related targets given and answerability preferably on a regular monthly basis in Parliament in a question and answer session. Performance must be the corner stone of a Parliamentarian being awarded a ministry, not patronage. This basic parameter has to change ahead of any promised change failing which no change of the nature promised is possible.

“Imran Khan’s acceptance speech indicates he is fully aware of the need for national unity to overcome economic challenges and reducing the political and social divide.” (General Talat Masood: August 15, 2018) Pakistan must now enter the period of transition and subsequent transformation on different levels, including economic, social and political. This cannot be expected to happen overnight. However serious efforts by the new government must be seen to be undertaken to move in the right direction. There will be false steps but quick retrieval and redirecting course is a must.

A revisit to CPEC projects and provisions of contracts under the last political dispensation is a good thought.

The increasing space by religious based parties and extremism must be combated. Though traditional Islamic parties did not manage to win a lot of votes in elections but Tehreek-eLabbaik Party did manage to secure 2.2 million votes.

Striking a balance between the civil-military relationship will be a challenge for Khan’s government. The problem in the last political dispensation has been moves that were not seen to be aligned with the national interests of Pakistan — understanding the dynamics involved is make the relationship a functional instead of a dysfunctional one is a basic need of PTI. Also important is to empower the Parliament and

Khan’s government takes over at a point where Pakistan is in the forefront of internal issues of multifaceted nature as well as global and regional conflicts

make it supreme instead of important decisions to be made outside by a coterie of dynastic rulers, sycophants and boot lickers. The important policy decisions must be debated upon, discussed and then a consensus duly arrived. “more deliberate and serious involvement of the civilian government in foreign and security policy at the institutional level is necessary, if Imran Khan wants to pursue his declared policy goals.

This is especially relevant in conducting relations with India, Afghanistan and the US,” states General Talat masood. It is here that expertise and knowledge of Dr Shireen mazari and Shah mehmood Qureshi can pay dividends.

Imran Khan has achieved two milestones.

First, bringing the middle class, the youth and the educated segments of the society back in politics.

Second is the transformation of Pakistan from a strong two-party system to a strong three-party system.

Both these changes are huge and carry with it a higher degree of performance-based expectation by the people who voted him in power. Those Imran Khan pushed out of power will be waiting in the shadows to attack at every misstep. Imran Khan needs to understand by virtue of breaking the cycle of musical chairs between two parties he is in the un-envious position of a very high expectation of delivering. Should PTI not come up to mark or be seen to be making genuine efforts in the right direction power may return to the status quo supporting parties without a second chance to PTI for a very long time to come. PTI’s first stint will lead to some wrong steps, some wrong decisions. This if made, must be retrieved and corrected immediately and gracefully instead of making a bad situation worse. The direction of the ‘democratic order’ in future will depend on performance of PTI in coming days. PTI must break the ‘traditional’ ways of doing politics and running the country. The bubble of euphoria will break soon enough if PTI falls in the same trap parties before them had fallen.

Best of luck to Prime minister Imran Khan and his team!

Also important is to empower the Parliament and make it supreme instead of important decisions to be made outside by a coterie of dynastic rulers, sycophants and boot lickers

Yasmeen Aftab Ali is a lawyer, academic and political analyst. She has authored a book titled ‘A Comparative Analysis of Media & Media Laws in Pakistan.’ She can be contacted at: yasmeenali62@gmail.com and tweets at @yasmeen_9

Pm Imran Khan in his first address to nation promised across the board accountability for all those involved in corruption, money laundering etc. It is surprising that Chief Executive of omni Group, who was fit enough to travel by air from Dubai, while on remand for investigation is facilitated to get admitted in a hospital. How can any investigations be conducted when the accused is in a hospital?

If former Pm nawaz can be sentenced to 10 years imprisonment by nAB court for having assets and living beyond his means than everybody must face accountability.

A medical board was instituted twice before the former convicted Pm was allowed to be treated in a hospital. In the medina Welfare State concept, which Pm Imran Khan talked about is to be implemented, then every criminal or accused should be treated equally and fairly.

Pakistan has suffered enough because of the greed of few, who consider it kosher to pilfer this state, pay no taxes and abuse their power. When those declared as Loan Defaulters by State Bank are given important public office such as Speaker in Punjab, then doubts arise. Former President musharraf declared absconder, with non-bailable arrest warrants has the audacity to put conditions for his return. His money trail for owning assets in Dubai, London etc is as much trivial as that given by nawaz. Corruption has increased in Pakistan because almost every government including military junta of musharraf and AZ or mnS has used this as a tool for political manoeuvring. one hopes that Pm Imran Khan will stand up to his promises.

GuLL ZAMAN Peshawar

New federal cabinet nEW Prime minister Imran Khan’s first federal cabinet takes oath at a ceremony being held at the President’s House in Islamabad on monday.

It is quite appreciable to note that the size of the new federal cabinet is commendable on the lower side as it consists of 21 ministers and advisors with number of portfolios being retained by the prime minister with himself at least for the time being.

Prior to his being elected and taking oath as 22nd Prime minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan had indicated that his cabinet will be between 20 to 30 members. As such there is room for induction of at least couple of more ministers as the work gets underway at the national level by the PTI and allies in the right earnest.

The number of new federal cabinet compares quite favourably and appreciably with the largest ever federal cabinet of 60 ministers and advisors of the previous Prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi who had stepped down on may 31, 2013 on completion of PmL-n constitutional five years tenure. The former Pm had even inducted a federal minister in his already the largest cabinet just a week or so prior to his stepping down.

Hopefully, the new Prime minister and his new federal cabinet comprising old and new faces will get down to their work in the right earnest without wasting any time in formalities and try their level best to come up to the very huge expectations and hopes which not only PTI supporters but also others have pinned on them. Good luck and best wishes to the Pm and his cabinet with all the prays for their success and deliverance, please. Thanks.

M Z RIFAT Lahore

Democratic right AS a sequel to july 25 election, democratic process has almost been completed throughout the country. national and Provincial Assemblies have come into existence hopefully for next five years and their Speakers and Deputy Speakers have also been elected. new Prime minister of Pakistan and the Chief ministers of the four provinces have also been duly elected, taken oath and got down to their respective work in the right earnest for the welfare and well-being of the people.

While this process was in progress during the last couple of days, former ruling party at the Centre and in Punjab, PmL-n, leaders, legislators and supporters resorted to rumpus and ruckus in the national Assembly and the Punjab Assembly. They raised hostile slogans against alleged rigging in polls and surrounded the Speakers, the Prime minister and the Chief minister. What is more noticeable that they somehow carried inside the Houses portraits of the former disqualified, convicted and imprisoned prime minister and also raised slogans from the visitors’ galleries against all rules.

What is more mentionable in this regard is the fact that the former ruling party, which has been ousted from the corridors of powers at the national and provincial levels by PTI and allies, in all fairness, did not bother at all as what was going on in the Provincial Assemblies of Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. This contradictory attitude on their part was least comprehensible to say the last.

Protest is the democratic right of the opposition. But this should be done in a decent manner by wearing black arm bands, standing in front of their seats and chanting slogans and should not be abused by way of hostile gestures of trying to attack the new ruling party leaders which is in any way no service to democracy at all, please. Thanks.

M I H KHAN Lahore

10 foreign news

Tuesday, 21 August, 2018

Iran tells eU to speed Up efforts to save nUclear deal ANKARA

I

Bolton and Netanyahu blast ‘wretched,’ ‘disastrous’ Iran deal

AGENCIES

RAN urged Europe on Monday to speed up efforts to salvage a 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and major powers that US President Donald Trump abandoned in May, saying French oil group Total has formally pulled out a major gas project.

Efforts by the remaining signatories EU members Britain, France and Germany plus China and Russia - to avoid the agreement's collapse are struggling as Washington has said any firms dealing with Teheran will be barred from doing business in the United States.

"Europeans and other signatories of the deal have been trying to save the deal ... but the process has been slow. It should be accelerated," Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi said. "Iran relies mainly on its own capabilities to overcome America's new sanctions," he told a news conference broadcast on state TV. European states have been scrambling to ensure Iran gets enough economic benefits to persuade it to stay in the deal, which Trump said was "deeply flawed".

Washington imposed new sanctions on Iran in August, targeting its trade in gold and other precious metals, purchases of US dollars and its car industry.

The European powers, China and Russia say they will do more to encourage their businesses to remain engaged with Iran. But the threat of the US sanctions has prompted many major companies to pull out of Iran.

Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said France's Total has formally left a contract to develop Iran's South Pars Gas project. "The process to replace (Total) with another company is underway," he was quoted as saying by state TV. Total, which signed the deal in 2017 with an initial investment of $1 billion, did not have any immediate comment.

Pope vows no more cover ups on sexual abuses

Iranian officials had earlier suggested that China’s state-owned CNPC could take over Total’s stake in the offshore project.

CNPC, which already has a 30 percent stake in the deal, is an experienced onshore oil and gas producer, but is relatively new to offshore drilling.

Most of CNPC's experience lies in its subsidiary China Petroleum Offshore Engineering Company (CPOE), which has worked in shallow waters off north China.

"Once Total quits, that will trigger CNPC to take over automatically, according to the contract,” a senior Chinese industry source with knowledge of the deal

china protests to Us over stopover by taiwan's president

VATICAN CITY

BEIJING

AGENCIES

AGENCIES

Pope Francis, facing sexual abuse crises in several countries, wrote an unprecedented letter to all Catholics on Monday, asking each one of them to help root out "this culture of death" and vowing there would be no more cover ups.

In a highly personal letter addressed to "the people of God," Church language for all members, the pope appeared to be launching an appeal for all Catholics to face the crisis together and not let it tear the Church apart. The Catholic Church in the United States, Chile, Australia, and Ireland - where the pope is making a two-day visit this weekend - are reeling from crises involving sexual abuse of minors. Numerous surveys have pointed to plummeting confidence in the Church in those countries and elsewhere. In his letter, the pope referred to the suffering endured by minors due to sexual abuse at the hands of a "significant number of clerics and consecrated persons."

The Vatican said it was the first time a pope had written to all of the world's some 1.2 billion Catholics about sexual abuse. Past letters on sexual abuse scandals have been addressed to bishops and faithful of indi-

China's foreign ministry said Monday it has protested to the United States over a stopover by Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen during which she toured the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in Houston.

Tsai made the visit while returning from a trip to Paraguay and Belize, two of only 18 countries that extend diplomatic recognition to Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory.

Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told reporters at a daily briefing that Beijing would "always oppose any country providing conveniences and venues for relevant people from Taiwan to conduct such activities." "We have made clear our solemn position repeatedly to relevant countries," Lu said. "We are of course against all countries that have diplomatic ties with China, including the US, conducting official exchanges with Taiwan." The NASA visit marked the rare presence of a Taiwanese elected official at an official US government facility. While in transit, Tsai met with members of the Taiwanese-American community and spoke at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California, the first public address by a Taiwanese leader in the United States in more than a decade.

vidual countries.

"We have realized that these wounds never disappear and that they require us forcefully to condemn these atrocities and join forces in uprooting this culture of death," he said.

Quoting a Gospel passage that says "If one member suffers, all suffer together," Francis added: "(Those words) forcefully echo in my heart as I acknowledge once more the suffering endured by many minors due to sexual abuse, the abuse of power and the abuse of conscience perpetrated by a significant number of clerics and consecrated persons."

"With shame and repentance, we acknowledge as an ecclesial community that we were not where we should have been, that we did not act in a timely manner, realizing the magnitude and the

US President Donald Trump’s national security adviser on Monday bemoaned the “wretched” Iranian nuclear deal in his talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, as the senior US aide and Israeli premier called for stepped-up global pressure on Tehran to curb its military activities. Ahead of a day of discussions between Israeli and American security officials, John Bolton told Netanyahu that the United States sees the “highest importance” in preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and that’s why Trump withdrew from the deal negotiated by the Obama administration and was reapplying stiff sanctions. Bolton has been a strident critic of the nuclear deal and has pushed for greater pressure on Tehran to ensure it halts its support for terror groups in the Mideast and stops development of ballistic missiles. A former ambassador to the United Nations under president George W. Bush, Bolton is a longtime hawkish advocate for Israel. Netanyahu agreed the deal was “disastrous” and called Trump’s decision to drop out historic. He repeated his oft-used refrain that “the nuclear deal did not block Iran’s path to the bomb, it paved Iran’s path to an entire nuclear arsenal.” told Reuters.

“But the question is not about if CNPC is going to take over as the operator, but if CNPC could deliver and advance the project without Total.”

China also faces challenges supplying equipment such as large-scale compressors needed for developing the giant gas project, as leading manufacturers could be barred from supplying to Iran under US sanctions.

Carmakers PSA , Renault and Daimler are also among those to suspend or drop plans to invest in Iran along with Deutsche Bahn [DBN.UL] and Deutsche Telekom [DTEGn.DE] Working to maintain financial channels with Tehran and facilitate Iran's oil exports, the European Union has taken steps to counter the renewed US sanctions, including forbidding EU citizens from complying with them or related court rulings.

Death toll nears 400 in India's flood-hit Kerala, dozens missing KOCHI/NEW DELHI AGENCIES

The death toll rose on Monday to nearly 400 in India's southern state of Kerala, reeling under its worst flood in a century, as authorities handed out medicine and disinfectants to ward off disease in thousands of relief camps.

Dozens of people are missing and 1.2 million are sheltering in the camps, state officials said, as water receded and a huge clean-up gathered pace.

"The death toll has risen to 373," an official of the state's disaster management authority told Reuters.

Kerala received rainfall that was more than 40 percent greater than normal for the monsoon season, which runs from June to September, and torrential rain in the last 10 days forced officials to release water from dozens of dangerously full dams.

Federal health minister J.P. Nadda said more than 3,500 medical camps were set up across a region roughly the size of Switzerland, where rains since Aug. 8 have swelled rivers and triggered landslides.

"There is a requirement for 90 different medicines and the first installment has reached," he added.

"The biggest challenges immediately ahead are cleaning of the floodhit houses, rehabilitation, and

prevention of water-borne diseases," said Mahesh P., a village official in Rayamangalam, about 45 km (28 miles) from Kerala's financial capital of Kochi.

Mahesh oversees four relief camps in his village, which itself escaped flood damage. The camps accommodate people rescued from neighboring areas, which were among the worst affected.

The villagers had all pulled together to rescue people and prevent an even bigger disaster, Mahesh said.

"The flood has bonded the people like never before, sharing whatever they had."

Chlorine powder to disinfect water and other cleaning material are distributed by the camps Mahesh oversees, along with a basic survival kit consisting of a five-day supply of rice and food, toiletries and clothing.

South Sudan claims civil war is over but skepticism abounds NYAL AGENCIES

South Sudan's government claims the shattering five-year civil war is finally over, but there is considerable skepticism. It wasn't helped by the sight of President Salva Kiir refusing to shake the hand of rival Riek Machar after they signed a powersharing deal this month, according to video footage seen by The Associated Press.

This latest attempt at peace already shows cracks, with the armed opposition last week saying several key issues, including reconciliation, are yet to be resolved as the warring forces prepare to merge and Machar is set to return to the capital as Kiir's deputy once more.

Machar's side won't sign a final agreement that

doesn't ensure "accountability and justice and free and fair elections" at the end of the three-year transition period, chairman Mabior Garang de Mabior told AP. Even as negotiations continue in Sudan, which has taken the lead in peace talks as it eyes South Sudan's oil resources, the United States and many South Sudanese express deep concern that the fragile peace deal will end in violence as the previous one did in July 2016, with Machar fleeing his vice president post, and the country, on foot.

Now this East African nation, whose civil war along largely ethnic lines has created Africa's largest refugee crisis since the 1994 Rwandan genocide, nervously awaits the rebel leader's return.

South Sudan's government acknowledges that

some issues remain but says the current deal is genuine.

"It is the end of the war and the beginning of a new era," said Maal Maker Thiong, who works in

the president's office.

The civil war in the world's youngest nation has killed tens of thousands of people and sent more than 2 million fleeing since the fighting erupted between supporters of Kiir and thendeputy Machar in December 2013, two years after the country won independence from Sudan. Half of the remaining population of roughly 12 million is near starvation, according to UN agencies.

The idea that the two men whose rivalry has caused so much destruction are now in charge of finding peace has alarmed some in the international community and on the ground.

"We are concerned that the arrangements agreed to date are not realistic or sustainable," the US, Britain and Norway said in a statement this month.

foreign news 11

Tuesday, 21 August, 2018

West Is obstrUctIng aId to syrIa, retUrn of refUgees: rUssIan fM

Mali's top court confirms Keita as presidential election winner

MOSCOW

BAMAKO AGENCIES

Mali's constitutional court on Monday confirmed President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita's reelection in a run-off ballot, rejecting fraud accusations by the opposition candidate.

The decision clears the way for Keita to be inaugurated next month for a second five-year term, at a time when Malian authorities are contending with rising violence by jihadist groups and ethnic militia.

Challenger Soumaila Cisse had contested the electoral commission result of the Aug. 12 vote, which showed Keita winning 67 percent.

The election was tainted by armed attacks in the center and north, where hundreds of polling stations remained closed, and a turnout of only 34 percent reflected fears of violence as well as voter apathy.

Cisse says he would have won 51 percent of the vote but for ballot box stuffing and other cheating by Keita's camp. Keita rejected the allegations.

shots fired at Us embassy in turkish capital, no casualties

r

AGENCIES

USSIA lashed out at Western countries on Monday, accusing them of blocking UN aid for Syria's reconstruction and trying to prevent the return of refugees.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said after talks with his Lebanese counterpart, Gibran Bassil, that the US refusal to provide assistance for rebuilding Syria after more than seven years of fighting would deter Syrians from returning to their homes.

Russia has been the chief backer of Syrian President Bashar Assad, helping his forces to regain control over most of the country. Now Moscow is calling on Western countries, which backed the opposition, to help fund reconstruction efforts, saying it would reduce the flow of refugees and migrants to Western Europe.

Speaking after the talks with Bassil, Lavrov bristled at the US and its Western allies for making assistance to Syria contingent on a politi-

cal transition process. He also accused the West of pressuring the United Nations to stay away from reconstruction efforts in Syria.

Lavrov said Moscow is looking into why the UN cultural agency, UNESCO, is dragging its feet on the reconstruction of world-famous archaeological sites in the Syrian city of Palmyra. He said the UN Secretariat's political department has explicitly banned any involvement in reconstruction in Syria pending a po-

litical settlement.

Lavrov added that he voiced a strong protest against the move in a phone conversation with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

"It's inadmissible when a group of countries manipulates secretariats of international organizations, which are supposed to be unbiased and independent," Lavrov said. "The UN was created on the basis of ... equality of all countries. I strongly urge our Western partners to return to that

ANKARA AGENCIES

Amid tense relations between Ankara and Washington, several gunshots were fired on Monday from a vehicle at the US Embassy in the Turkish capital, causing no casualties.

The early morning attack coincided with a deepening row between the two countries over the trial of a US pastor in Turkey.

An unidentified assailant or assailants fired six bullets at an embassy security gate from a passing white vehicle around 0530 a.m. local time (0230 GMT), three bullets hitting an iron door and a window, the Ankara governor's office said in a statement.

The embassy is closed this week for a public holiday to mark the Islamic Eid al-Adha festival.

"We can confirm a security incident took place at the US Embassy early this morning. We have no reports of any injuries and we are investigating the details," said David Gainer, the embassy spokesman. "We thank the Turkish National Police for their rapid response."

Video footage from broadcaster Haberturk showed police teams inspecting one of the entrances to the embassy and apparent damage caused by a gunshot could be seen in one window. It said empty cartridges were found at the scene. President Tayyip Erdogan's spokesman condemned the attack on Twitter and said the incident is being investigated. "This is a clear attempt to create chaos," spokesman Ibarahim Kalin said. "Turkey is a safe country and all foreign missions are under the guarantee of the laws." The US Embassy in Ankara and the consulate in Istanbul have in the past been the targets of attacks by militants and have faced numerous security threats.

Putin still hopes for better US ties despite sanctions

BEIJING Malaysia's leader said Monday that he hoped China would sympathise with his country's fiscal problems as he met with the country's leaders after suspending multibillion-dollar construction projects financed by Chinese loans.

Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said at a news briefing with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang that he was seeking support from China's leaders over Malaysia's situation as it deals with a mass of debt and other economic problems created under previous administrations.

"We hope also to get China to understand the problems we face ... and I hope that China, and I believe that China will look sympathetically toward the problems that we have to resolve

Merkel sees no urgent need to help turkey financially BERLIN

MOSCOW

AGENCIES

AGENCIES

German Chancellor Angela Merkel told her Christian Democrats (CDU) at a meeting that she saw no urgent need to offer financial aid for Turkey to ease its currency crisis, the conservative party's general secretary said on Monday. "She made it clear again that she sees no urgency at the moment for special aid for Turkey," Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer told reporters after the CDU board meeting attended by Merkel.

Russian President Vladimir Putin still hopes to pull Moscow's ties with Washington out of a deep crisis, but nobody will go into mourning if this ambition is not reciprocated by the United States, the Kremlin said on Monday.

Moscow is bracing itself for a slew of new US sanctions despite Putin meeting US President Donald Trump at a summit in Helsinki in July, an encounter both sides said went well. Initial Russian triumphalism after the summit turned sour however as anger over what some US lawmakers saw as an over deferential Trump performance galvanized a new sanctions push.

The US State Department has said it will impose fresh sanctions by the end of this month, while bipartisan legislation from senators calls for other curbs to be widened.

Moscow is also bracing itself for potential US measures designed to frustrate its Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project.

Us-led coalition service member killed in Iraq crash BAGHDAD Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call that the new US sanctions proposals were unfriendly, illegal and would harm world trade.

"Let's wait and see what will happen, if anything," said Peskov, saying any Russian response would be dictated by Russia's own na-

tional interests.

"The Russian president is hoping for the best and, despite all this, wants to pull our bilateral ties out of the deep crisis they are in. He (Putin) still has that desire. But at the same time nobody plans to go into mourning if our approach is not reciprocated by Washington."

Malaysia lobbies for Chinese help amid fiscal woes AGENCIES

principle and not try to covertly exploit international organizations."

He also criticized recent comments by Filippo Grandi, the head of the UN refugee agency, who said last week that it was too soon to talk about the mass repatriation of the more than 5 million Syrian refugees.

Lavrov said the UNHCR should not be a "subsidiary of a group of Western countries."

Lavrov also charged that al-Qaida militants located near al-Tanf in southeastern Syria, where US military advisers are based, have launched raids intended to prevent refugees from coming back from Jordan.

Bassil said Lebanon, which is hosting more than 1 million refugees, fully supports Russian efforts to help Syrians return.

"Lebanon supports the quick and safe return of Syrian refugees without any link to a political solution," Bassil said. "The circumstances in Syria have changed and many areas are safe, and for that reason there is no reason for the refugees to stay."

He said Lebanon would be in contact with Syria to support Russian initiatives to help the refugees return.

and perhaps help us to resolve some of our internal fiscal problems," Mahathir said.

Mahathir is a vocal critic of largescale investment in his country backed by loans from Beijing and has tested Malaysia's ties with China by suspending Chinese-financed infrastructure projects.

He was expected to attempt to renegotiate the terms of those contracts during his meetings with Chinese officials, including President Xi Jinping.

Without giving any specifics, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV quoted Xi as telling Mahathir that their nations should "properly handle the existing problems based on the principle of mutual respect and friendly consultation."

Days before heading to Beijing, Mahathir said Malaysia wanted to cancel a Chinese-backed $20 billion East

Coast Rail Link and two energy pipelines worth $2.3 billion.

Malaysia's new government has called for drastic cuts to the projects' ballooning cost, which it estimates at more than $22 billion. Some of that money has already been paid and could be difficult to recoup.

China has said the projects bring mutual benefits to the two sides and any disputes should be dealt with by the commercial parties involved.

The projects are key components in Xi's signature "Belt and Road" initiative to construct ports, railways and other trade-related infrastructure across Asia, mostly built by Chinese contractors and financed by loans from Chinese state banks.

Belt and Road projects in Thailand, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and other countries have run into complaints that they are

CMYK

too costly, give too little work to local companies and possibly fuel corruption.

The cancellation of projects in Malaysia would create huge losses for the Chinese partners involved, said Jia Duqiang, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Science's Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies.

"Mahathir is worried about Malaysia's ability to proceed with the projects, but there are also political factors because the projects had been decided by the former government," Jia said.

Despite that, Mahathir's government appears open to further Chinese investment, such as in high-tech industries, ecommerce and vehicle production, Jia said.

Mahathir courted Chinese e-commerce investment in his country at the start of his visit on Saturday.

AGENCIES

A member of the US-led military coalition fighting Islamic State militants was killed and several injured when their helicopter crashed on a counter-terrorism mission in Iraq late on Sunday, the coalition said.

There were no indications that the crash was caused by hostile fire and the incident was under investigation, the statement added. "All personnel were recovered by Coalition forces immediately following the incident, and three were evacuated for further treatment," said the statement. Colonel Sean Ryan, a spokesman for the US-led international coalition, said on Twitter the crash was of a military helicopter.

china says will keep providing aid to pacific for sustainable development BEIJING AGENCIES

China will continue to provide aid to Tonga and other countries in the Pacific to help them achieve sustainable development, China's Foreign Ministry said on Monday, amid a mounting debt problem in the region. Tonga's prime minister on Friday backed down on calls for Pacific island nations to collectively lobby China to forgive their debts, after a source said China had complained about the plan.

Tonga is one of eight island nations in the South Pacific carrying significant debt to China, and had started building support to press China to cancel repayments.

12 buSineSS

Tuesday, 21 August, 2018

RASheeD wooS INveStoRS, SAyS RAIlwAyS IS ‘oPeN FoR BUSINeSS’ MINISTER SAYS HE NEEDS FOUR MONTHS TO BRING RAILWAYS BACK ON TRACK ISLAMABAD

N

STAFF REPORT

EWLY-appointed Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed on Monday said he will need at least four months to bring Pakistan Railways "back up on its feet", as he invited investors to benefit from the huge potential of the railways.

"PM Imran Khan is a powerhouse and has asked for only 90 days, I need a little more time but you will see results by December 30," Rasheed said while addressing a press conference.

"I will double the number of freight [trains] in this [120 day] time period," the minister said, emphasising that no railway system could survive without a strong freight train system.

"The Chaklala and Margalla stations will be upgraded on a priority basis. I wish to start a fast train from Karachi to Sukkur and one from Rawalpindi to Multan and then Karachi. This would start as soon as we have railway coaches available," Rashid said.

"We will plant trees on both sides of the track form Keemari to Peshawar," he said while praising the new government's emphasis on tackling environmental issues in the country.

Rasheed was of the view that the National Logistics Cell and the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) should be given a major chunk of the railway construction work, "so that there is no waiting around for tenders".

The railway's minister also vowed to solve problems for disabled and elderly members of the community and said that they would start by adding elevators and escalators to railway stations for their ease.

"I am announcing today that Railways is open [for business] anyone who wants to bring any kind of investment, they can. In fact, if overseas Pakistanis want to run [passenger] trains or freight [trains] here, they are welcome to do so, all they need to do

PepsiCo to acquire Sodastream for $3.2 billion NEW YORK: PepsiCo Inc said on Monday it would buy Israel-based SodaStream, which makes fizzy drink-making household devices, in a deal valued at $3.2 billion. PepsiCo will acquire SodaStream for $144 per share in cash, the companies said in a statement. “PepsiCo and SodaStream are an inspired match. Daniel and his leadership team have built an extraordinary company that is offering consumers the ability to make great-tasting beverages while reducing the amount of waste generated,” said PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi. Under the terms of the agreement between PepsiCo and SodaStream, PepsiCo has agreed to acquire all of the outstanding shares of SodaStream International Ltd. for $144.00 per share, in a transaction valued at $3.2 billion. The transaction will be funded with PepsiCo’s cash on hand. AGENCIES

United Auto gearing to launch 800cc Bravo hatchback by September: report NEWS DESK: The United Bravo car is all set to be unveiled on the 1st of September 2018, which is being brought to the Pakistani market by United Auto Industries. The United Bravo is set to be a hatchback automobile with an 800cc 3-cylinder water-cooled engine capable of producing 40 BHP and 60NM torque, reported PakWheels. United Auto officials said the United Bravo will come loaded with more features compared to domestically produced hatchback cars. The exact price of United Bravo hasn’t been revealed, but rumours are pointing towards the car being priced between Rs6-7 lacs.

is pay us the rent for our tracks," the railway's minister said.

Rasheed also invited private companies to brand rail cabins with their product advertisements, as "we do not have money of our own, this is why we are inviting outsiders to come and invest in Pakistan."

The railway's minister announced that eight dry ports and 32 railway stations will be upgraded. "We do not have the money to do this ourselves, thus we are inviting private companies to help us. No railway [company] can survive without freight [trains] and neither can we," he explained while putting forward his plans for Pakistan Railways.

"Again, private investors can take these stations from us, we know that private companies and individuals have no lack of resources in this country and we would like to use this to our advantage," Rasheed added.

"The railway's ministry will invite private companies to build shopping plazas and food streets adjacent to all new railway stations," said Rasheed.

Rasheed invited the public to provide suggestions for the railway department's improvement through social media. He also said that the public should hold the department accountable for each and every move and call the railways out if they witness any wrongdoing.

"Anyone holding a phone today is a walking talking media cell and we want people to use that power and help us improve. They can give us ideas on how to improve our services and they can call us out on anything that they think is wrong," he said.

Rasheed also said that the department itself will start using technology smartly and travel agents will be given railway ticket quotas to facilitate travellers. "Our online booking system will also be modernised so that people can book train tickets with ease," he added. Rasheed announced that 5,000 studio-style houses will be built for grade-4 railway employees, while railway employees will be given better health facilities. "We do not want to give our people a handful of medicines, we need to give them good health facilities."

He also asked that people who had illegally occupied land belonging to Pakistan Railways should vacate it.

"We will see what is to be done about this in a meeting to be held on Saturday," he maintained.

MARKET DAILY

PM gets cold welcome from PSX as stocks end flat LAHORE STAFF REPORT

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) did not give a very warm welcome to the new Prime Minister. As economic worries loom, investors seem to have adopted a wait and watch policy to see what steps the government takes. Another reason for thin volumes was the three days Eid holidays starting Tuesday.

The KSE 100 witnessed an upbeat start to the day and managed to gather 254.92 points to reach a high of 42,701.54. It closed flat, down 21.52 points at 42,425.10. The KMI 30 index appreciated by 72.57 points and ended at 72,711.17.

Whereas, the KSE All Share index was higher by 38.72 points and settled at 30,764.81.

Yesterday’s first public address (after taking oath) of Pakistan’s 22nd Prime Minister Imran Khan, in which the premier promised wide-ranging reforms with a focus on safeguarding Pakistan's resources and their redistribution

from the rich to the disadvantaged — failed to have an spillover effect on the market as investors remained unenlightened on the government's future economic plans.

In an economic development that came in after market closing hours, Pakistan’s Current Account Deficit (CAD) for July 2018 clocked‐in at $2.2 billion, up 14 per cent YoY, considerably higher than the market’s expectations.

Market participation remained dull as volumes were down 24 per cent to 147.6 million shares while value fell 20 per cent to $51.8 billion.

The market volume was down by 24 per cent from previous session and was recorded at 147.55 million. Worldcall Telecom (WTL +1.50 per cent) was the volume leader with 14.35 million shares traded.

The Bank of Punjab (BOP -1.34 per cent) and Engro Polymer and Chemicals Limited (EPCL -1.23 per cent) were next with 10.99 million and 6.90 million shares exchanged.

The power generation and distribution sector lost 0.59 per cent from its cumulative market capitalization. K-Electric Limited (KEL) appreciated by 0.18 per cent while Hub Power Company Limited (HUBC) was up by 0.10 per cent. Altern Energy Limited (ALTN -4.99 per cent) nearly touched its lower lock.

While Lalpir Power Limited (LPL) declined by 5.42 per cent.

Hub Power Company Limited (HUBC +0.10 per cent) announced its financial results for the Year Ended 30th June 2018.

The company declared final cash dividend of Rs 2.80 per share. Sales declined by 2.43 per cent YoY. While the earning per share depreciated by nearly 11 per cent YoY (FY17 Rs 8.29, FY18 Rs 7.40).

Lalpir Power Limited (LPL -5.42 per cent) released its financial performance for 2QFY18.

The company’s revenue dropped by 9 per cent YoY. Trading at the market shall remain suspended from Aug 21 to 23 on account of Eid Ul Azha. Normal activity shall resume on Friday, Aug 24.

PM appeals to overseas Pakistanis to send money via banking channels KARACHI ARSHAD HUSSAIN

Newly elected Prime Minister Imran Khan Sunday appealed to the Pakistanis living abroad to send their money through proper banking channels and invest in their own country to overcome the rising current account deficit. The present government will provide investment opportunities to Pakistani people living abroad.

In his first address to the nation

after taking oath, the PM said, “The present government will provide protection to the overseas investors in Pakistan and will impose rule of law, equality, merit system, accountability for all.

The Prime Minister also announced to set up an Investment Secretariat at the Prime Minister House which will provide all kind of help to foreign investors. The Secretariat will be constituted under the supervision of Dr Ishrat Husain. Dr Husain will

also head a task force to work on institutional reforms, especially to lower state institutional expenses.

He said that foreign investment would be brought into the country through Pakistani Embassies while all Pakistani ambassadors in foreign countries would be asked to educate Pakistanis living abroad to invest in Pakistan.

“We are not going to take further loans or no country is ready to give us loans owing to Pakistan’s deteriorating condition, PM said adding if

they will extend us loans we have to face more challenges.

He said all the bulletproof cars would be auctioned and the money will be deposited in the national kitty.

Pakistan needs to increase its exports and the exporters would be provided all kind of assistance to boost their exports. A committee will be formed to look into this issue and small businesses will be supported.

A 20 points National Action Plan will be implemented to bring peace.

Imran Khan calls for austerity, wants bullet-proof cars sold ISLAMABAD AGENCIES

Pakistan’s new Prime Minister Imran Khan called on Sunday for the rich to start paying taxes and said the country will begin an austerity drive to reduce debt, a campaign he will kickstart by selling his office’s fleet of bullet-proof cars. In his first address to the nation as premier, Khan set out his vision for a “New Pakistan” and spoke at length about the need to reshape the country by introducing an Islamic welfare system, reducing poverty and slashing high debt levels. “We have formed a bad habit of living on loans and aid from other countries,” said Khan, speaking under a portrait of his hero and Pakistan founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah “No country can prosper like this. A country must stand on its own feet.” Khan, 65, a former cricket legend, was sworn in as prime minister on Saturday after his party swept to power in last month’s election. A firebrand populist, Khan’s appeal has soared in recent years on the back of his anti-corruption drive, which has resonated with young voters and the expanding middle class in the mainly-Muslim nation of 208 million people. But Khan has inherited a host of problems at home and abroad, including a brewing currency crisis and fraying relations with Pakistan’s historic ally, the United States. Khan did not shed any light on policy plans to deal with the currency woes that analysts expect will force Pakistan to seek another International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout.

Instead, Khan focused on debt and said former central bank governor Ishrat Husain would lead a task-force to drive austerity. Criticizing what he called the colonial-era mindset and lavish lifestyles of Pakistan’s ruling elite, Khan announced he would live in a small threebedroom house instead of the palatial prime minister’s residence. Khan plans to have only two servants instead of 524 reserved for a sitting premier. He also announced plans to sell a fleet of bullet-proof vehicles to help Treasury shortfalls, a bold move in a country where Islamist militants still pose a threat. “I want to tell my people, I will live a simple life, I will save your money,” he said. Khan appealed to overseas Pakistanis to invest in the country and urged the wealthy to start paying taxes, a perennial problem in a nation famous for tax dodging and where less than 1 percent of the population files income tax. “It is your responsibility to pay taxes,” said Khan. “Think of this as a jihad (holy war), that you need to pay tax for the betterment of your country.” Khan said Pakistan was in grave danger from the effects of climate change and promised to reduce some of the world’s highest maternal death rates and infant mortality rates. He also spoke passionately about the need to help 22.8 million out-of-school Pakistani children in a nation where the literacy rate hovers above 40 percent.

Khan, who has never held a government position, named his 21-person cabinet over the weekend, opting mostly for experienced politicians.

Opponents criticized the choices, saying about half of the cabinet had served under the former military dictator Pervez Musharraf and were part of the old guard. On Sunday, Khan announced he will oversee the interior ministry.

CDNS awarded Best Financial Inclusion Award Pakistan 2018 ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Central Directorate of National Savings (CDNS) with an aim to inculcate the habit of thrift among the masses and as an important tool towards financial inclusion has yet again attained an international recognition for Best Financial Inclusion Pakistan in 2018 by the International Finance Magazine, UK. National Savings has been declared the award winner for its outstanding contribution in financial inclusion.

International Finance Awards recognises industry talent, leadership skills, industry net worth and capability on an international platform. After careful consideration of nominations by a qualified research team, winners are declared on the strength of their application and past accomplishments. It is yet another international recognition of National Savings on its achievements in Financial Inclusion. CDNS was declared a winner by CFI.Co magazine for Best Financial Inclusion, 2017 as well. This is an acknowledgement of the joint efforts of Finance Division and CDNS for its hard work over the years towards achieving the financial inclusion and extending social security net to the vulnerable segments of the society.

buSineSS 13

Tuesday, 21 August, 2018

CORPORATE CORNER Bahria town Karachi celebrates eidul Azha

PIA AND PSm emPloyeeS woN’t Be SACKeD FM ASAD UMAR SAYS LAUNDERED MONEY WILL BE BROUGHT BACK AS PER PM’S ORDERS ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Karachi: As per tradition, Bahria Town Karachi is ready to celebrate Eidul Azha with fun filled activities. A doubledecker bus has been arranged for the public to enjoy and take a tour of the area and witness all festivities. A dancing fountain has also been arranged which will showcase spectacular visuals on 23 and 24 August between 9pm and 10pm. Dan Zoo is to welcome people of all ages and see fascinating animals. PRESS RELEASE

wateen telecom plants trees at Quaid-e-Azam Industrial estate

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INISTER of Finance Asad Umar remarked on Monday that Prime Minister Imran Khan has ordered to bring back money which has been laundered from Pakistan.

While addressing a press conference in the federal capital, Umar said, “We are not aware how much funds have been parked at Swiss Bank. Former finance minister Ishaq Dar had shared four years ago that $200 billion had been parked.”

Dar did not do anything regarding these funds, he said, adding that it will be govern-

ment’s top priority to bring back the money which was laundered.

Umar also pointed out that Pakistanis have bought properties worth $8 billion in Dubai.

Speaking about the Pakistan International Airlines Corporation (PIAC) and Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM), he shared that the employees of these two organisations will not be terminated.

“The financial losses incurred by the PIAC and steel mills are not due to their employees. Holding employees responsible for financial losses is wrong,” he said.

Umar further remarked that as many as 500 employees used to work at the Prime Minister House.

“There employees will now work for the people of Pakistan,” he

added. Over government’s decision to sell bonds to overseas Pakistan, the finance minister said that the decision will be finalised soon.

“It has already been decided that government will sell bonds to overseas Pakistanis. In a couple of days, the government will finalise the decision,” he added.

Sale of refrigerators, deep freezers up by 15 to 20pc KARACHI ARSHAD HUSSAIN Lahore: Wateen Telecom donated and planted 1000 trees at the Quaid-e-Azam Industrial Estate (QAIE), Lahore, on Friday, August 17, 2018. As part of its corporate social responsibility initiatives, Wateen Telecom has been organising a plantation drive in different areas of the country. Besides the 1000 trees planted at QAIE, the company has already planted trees in different areas of Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi in order to help the environment. PRESS RELEASE

NBP, mobi-Direct sign two moU’s

iSLaMaBaD: The National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) signs two Memorandum of Understanding with Mobi Direct enabling NBP to become consortium member and settlement bank and for using Mobi Direct’s digital Products.

The agreement was signed by NBP EVP/ Group Head Payment Services and Digital Banking Group M Farooq and Mobi Direct Director/ Chief Business Architect S M Arif in presence of dignitaries from both sides. PRESS RELEASE

Zameen.com’s parent group emPG announces $50mn investment Lahore: As part of the larger Emerging Markets Property Group (EMPG), the parent company of Zameen.com and other vastly successful property portals in the MENA and South Asia regions, has announced that it has successfully closed an initial $50 million investment deal as part of a substantially larger round. In addition to Zameen.com, EMPG owns and operates market leading portals Bayut.com in the UAE, Bproperty.com in Bangladesh, and recently announced its acquisition of Morocco’s leading portal Mubawab. Together, these portals generate over 2 million leads for their clients every month. PRESS RELEASE

Khushhalibank selects IRIS payment platform for digital transformation Karachi: Khushhali Microfinance Bank Limited has selected TPS Multi-Channel Payment Platform to ready itself for the transformative forces that are shaping the future of banking. The new strategic partnership with TPS will see Khushhali Microfinance Bank leverage the capabilities of IRIS card management and transaction switching platform.

The fundamentally flexible platform will transform the bank's digital payment infrastructure and allow quick rollout of new and innovative services. PRESS RELEASE

The sale of Refrigerators and Deep Freezers have gone up by approximately 15-20 per cent on the eve of this Eidul Azha as people often replace and buy it to freeze meat of sacrificial animals in their houses. The companies of these products are likely to announce their total sale figures after a few weeks.

Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) former vice-president Mohammad Idrees, who is also the leader of electronic market association in Saddar Karachi said, “There is a sharp rise in the sale of refrigerators and deep freezers in the days before Eidul Azha.”

“It would be difficult to say now how many Refrigerators and Deep Freezers were sold at this point in time, but the market dealers say the sale of both products are on the rise for the last two week,” he claimed. People have to usually keep the meat in freezers, ensuring that they store as much of it as possible, he said.

The dealers at different shops said that people are complaining of higher prices from Dawlance, Haier, Orient and Samsung products, which have gone up this year because of the rising import duties in the last six months.

Sales of Refrigerators and Deep Freezers soared across the country in these days as Eid-ulAzha is due after one or two days,

the dealer said. Around 2 million refrigerators and deep freezers are sold every year throughout the country. But 300,000 refrigerators, including 100,000 deep freezers, were sold before Eidul Azha, said a dealer claimed.

A lot of people purchase refrigerators and deep freezers ahead of this holy festival of sacrifice to preserve the meat of sacrificial animals.

According to refrigerator sellers, the sales profit soared to 2030 per cent during this month as the companies are giving good margin to the dealers.

On the occasion of Eid-ulAzha, dealers of different companies are offering cash-backs, discounts and instalment services on various refrigerators. “We provide three, six and 24 months' instalment facilities to our customers,” said a dealer at an electronic shop of Saddar Karachi. “We sold 1,000 units of

Deep Freezer in the last 20 days,” he said.

The sales growth has been increased by 15-20 per cent of the figures of the same period last year. “Normally, we sell 18002,000 units of fridges in a month.

This eventually increased to 3,000 units this month,” Noman Ahmed another dealer of a shop claimed.

He said all the companies are providing handsome discounts on each fridge depending on the price. “We have also introduced exchange offers during this month of Eid. If someone comes up with their used product, we would exchange them with a new fridge depending on the product's condition,” he added.

Talking to Pakistan Today, he said that the sales have so far been good. “We also import branded refrigerators and sell it locally.

But owing tohigher regulatory dutiess, it's difficult for us to compete with local brands," he added.

SBP issues fresh notes ahead of eidul Azha KARACHI: To meet the demand for currency on the occasion of Eidul-Azha, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) through its 16 field offices of its subsidiary SBP Banking Services Corporation (SBP BSC) issued fresh notes of Rs185 billion for Eidul-Azha 2018 as compared to Rs168 billion issued on the previous Eid-ul-Azha last year. Out of the total fresh notes issued, Rs12 billion of lower denomination (upto Rs100) fresh notes have been provided to commercial banks as compared to Rs8 billion on last Eid-ul-Azha, for onward distribution among general public and account holders. Furthermore, Rs200 billion of fresh and good quality ATM notes oa f higher denomination (Rs500 and above) have been issued to commercial banks for smooth operations and availability of cash in ATMs during and before Eid holidays. STAFF REPORT

Sanjrani calls for strengthening Pak-China economic ties BEIJING: Senate Chairman Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani has said that Pakistan hoped to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with Liaoning, northeastern province of China, in fields of port construction, economic trade, high-tech and education. He made these remarks during his meeting with Xia Deren, chairman of the Provincial Political Consultative Conference in Dalian, the provincial capital. Xia Deren welcomed the distinguished guest and his delegation and briefly introduced the economic and social development of Liaoning. He said that Liaoning is an important industrial base of China and one of the earliest coastal provinces in China to implement the policy of opening up to the outside world. It has abundant port resources. At present, Liaoning is actively integrating into the construction of the “Belt and Road” to promote a higher level of opening up. He hoped that the chairman Senate will take the opportunity to actively promote the friendly exchanges and economic and trade cooperation between the two sides to achieve mutual benefit and common development. The CPPCC organizations at all levels in Liaoning Province will also work hard to promote pragmatic cooperation between the two sides. Sanjrani expressed his willingness to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with Liaoning in port construction, economic and trade, high-tech, education and training, and continuously strive to consolidate ChinaPakistan friendship. APP

Current account deficit widens to $2.2bn KARACHI ARSHAD HUSSAIN

The current account deficit (CAD) of the country further widened by 12.18 per cent to $2.2 billion in the first month of the current fiscal year compared to $1.93 billion in July 2017, according to data released from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) here on Monday.

According to the SBP, the exports of the country stood at $2.009 billion in the month of July 2018, which is contrary to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (FBS) exports data of $1.646 billion.

Similarly, the imports’ figure is also slightly higher and stood at $5.556 billion compared to the FBS data of $4.838 billion in July 2018.

Newly elected Prime Minister Imran Khan, in his Sunday speech, appealed to the Pakistanis living abroad to send their money through banking channels and invest in their own country to overcome the rising current account deficit and trade gap.

Premier Imran Khan assured investors that his government will provide all kinds of invest-

ment opportunities to Pakistanis living abroad.

“Pakistan needs dollars to pay-off loans and Pakistanis should support us to bring the country out from the financial crisis,” he said.

CAD soared up by 12.18 per cent in the month of July 2018. The deficit enhanced by $224 million compared to June 2018 and $268 million of July 2017.

During the last fiscal year, the CAD indicates a poor financial management of the previous government of Nawaz Sharif as it failed to overcome the rising imports, the market experts said.

Pak Rupee appreciated by 3.2 per cent against the dollar in interbank while 5-6 per cent in the open currency market during the last three weeks. The Pak-rupee had touched Rs130 in the open currency market while Rs129 in the interbank market in July this year.

The rupee had been devalued by 20 per cent during the last fiscal year. The central bank devalued Pak Rupee by 5 per cent on December 8, 2017, to Rs110, 4.5 per cent to Rs115 on March 20, 2018, and 5 per cent to Rs121. During the last 10 years, Pak Rupee has devalued annually by

around 5 per cent, said a Topline Securities report.

The current A/C deficit is widening only because of rising country’s imports bills and lower inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI).

Despite rising CAD, the foreign exchange (FX) reserves of the State Bank have remained under pressure and down to $10,152 billion last Thursday, which covers only about 1.5 months of imports bills. Total reserves of the country are at $16.712 billion.

The import bills had touched $55.8 billion in last fiscal year which is more than double of the total export’s inflows of $24.772 billion, the SBP’s data said.

The SBP had also imposed a 100 per cent cash margin on the import of 131 items of goods to overcome the rising imports of luxurious goods and also taken some hard decision to control the dollar rates in Interbank.

The State Bank is persistently facing payment pressure of international donor agencies including the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The dollar is being traded at Rs123.94 for buying and Rs124.04 in the interbank market today.

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14 SPORTS

Tuesday, 21 August, 2018

Pakistan thrash thailand 10-0 in asian Games KaRaCHi

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STAFF REPORT

ORWARD Muhammad Atiq’s hat-trick on Monday helped Pakistan hockey team thrash low-ranked opponents Thailand 10-0 in the former’s campaign opener during the Asian Games in Jakarta.

The silver medallists of the last edition of the Games did not give any chance to the opposition as they struck 21 shots at the goal — 12 through field moves and nine through penalty corners — and converted 10 chances. Meanwhile, Thailand had only one shot at the goal which was saved by goalkeeper Muhammad Imran.

Pakistan opened their goal tally with Toseeq Arshad scoring in the last minute of the first 15-minute quarter courtesy a penalty corner.

In the second quarter, former captain Muhammad Irfan senior scored the second for Pakistan in the 22nd minute through a penalty corner, followed by Atiq who completed a move on the

field to give Pakistan a 3-0 lead. Irfan scored his second goal in the 30th minute to end the first half with a lead of 4-0.

After a timeout of 15 minutes, Pakistan team did not slow down and scored their fifth goal in the 33rd minute as Mubashir Ali scored a goal through a penalty corner. The hero of

ronaldo arrives in italy as FiFa serie a returns milan AGENCIES

Cristiano Ronaldo's arrival in Italy has boosted the international popularity of Serie A which will return in the FIFA 19 video game to be launched next month, the Lega Serie A confirmed Monday.

Lega Serie A chairman Gaetano Micciche said they had agreed a partnership with EA Sports that will see the league feature in the new edition of the world's most famous football simulator. "We are very happy to come back in a famous and popular game like FIFA 19," Micciche said in a statement.

"The agreement signed with an internationally renowned partner such as EA Sports testifies to the worldwide recognition that our championship has."

Rival video game company Konami had held the rights for the last few seasons and while EA Sports included Italian clubs and players in its FIFA games it had to refer to Serie A as "Calcio A" and could not use Serie A logos.

Maurizio Finocchiaro, Electronic Arts Italy General Manager, underlined "the high potential of the next season for Italian football".

Ronaldo, 33, made his Serie A debut for Juventus in a 3-2 win at Chievo at the weekend after a 100 million euro move from Real Madrid. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner was the cover star in the FIFA 18 edition with his former club.

the day Atiq scored his second and team’s sixth goal in the 39th minute of the game through a field goal.

In the 42nd minute of the game Abu Bakar Mehmood scored through a penalty corner and his goal was followed by the third goal of Atiq, a field goal, as Pakistan gained an unassailable 8-0 lead in the game at the end of the

third quarter.

In the final 15 minutes, Pakistan scored two more goals in the 48th and the 50th minute of the game courtesy Mehmood’s penalty corner conversion and Toseeq’s field goal, respectively, to end the game with a convincing 10-0 win.

The player of the day Atiq after the match from Jakarta that he was well assisted by fellow players. “We went in to win the match,” he said. “Thailand is an easy side to play against, but still we didn’t give them any chance to score.

As soon as we got the ball, we went in to score and ended up with 10 goals. I feel good to have scored three goals which will help me in the matches against tougher teams.

Meanwhile, Pakistan captain Rizwan Senior said that the defenders did a great job as they didn’t let the Thailand attackers’ enter the area to make goal-scoring attempts. “Today we saw a perfect show by our defenders, attackers and mid-fielders. They all did their job well and we hope to see the same in next matches,” he said.

Djokovic thanks Federer for ‘letting him win’ at Cincinnati CinCinnaTi AGENCIES

Novak Djokovic ended a careerlong jinx, lifting the trophy in Cincinnati at last to complete a matched set of Masters 1000 titles.

Djokovic, who came up empty in five prior Cincinnati finals, defeated seven-time winner Roger Federer 6-4, 6-4 in the final.

The former world number one became the first man to win all nine of the ATP’s Masters 1000 events in the elite series’ current configuration.

Federer, meanwhile, lost a final in the hardcourt US Open tuneup for the first time.

“I played five finals (here) before, and most of those finals I lost to this great man, Roger … thank you for letting me win here once in Cincinnati,” Djokovic joked. “This is a dream come true. I finally won Cincinnati after six finals, some against the greatest ever, Roger.”

Federer, a 20-time Grand Slam winner, said his game wasn’t sharp

— but he didn’t want to take anything away from Djokovic’s achievement.

“Novak is a great champion,” Federer said. “This is about him making history.”

Federer’s streak of 100 straight unbroken service games in Cincy was ended by Djokovic in the sev-

enth game of the first set.

The 37-year-old Swiss had been aiming for a 99th career trophy, but was unable to get over the line due in part to four double-faults at the most inopportune of times, but he said his return game was also lacking.

“It was definitely not my best day on the return 3 it was just awful,” Federer said. “Missing every second serve on the forehand side, I don’t know what that was about. But I don’t even want to look for reasons why it happened. Novak totally deserved to win today. This (effort) was not good enough.

“Good week, but I’m happy it’s over and I need to rest,” added Federer, his eye on the US Open starting in New York in eight days.

Djokovic claimed the opening set in 37 minutes and came back from an early break in the second to overhaul his longtime rival as they played for the 46th time.

The Serb now leads Federer 2422 and has won their last three encounters.

modric and rakitic in Croatia squad to face Portugal, spain ZaGREB AGENCIES

Luka Modric, awarded the Golden Ball for the best player at the World Cup, and his midfield partner Ivan Rakitic have both been called up to the Croatia squad for matches against Portugal and Spain in September.

In his first squad announcement since Croatia lost 4-2 to France in the World Cup final on July 15, Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic called up 25 players.

Croatia will play Portugal in a friendly at the Estadio do Algarve on Thursday, September 6, before taking on Spain away in Elche on September 11 in their first game in the inaugural UEFA Nations League.

The presence of Real Madrid playmaker Modric, 33, and Barcelona star Rakitic, 30, comes after speculation in Croatia that the duo could retire from the national team following the remarkable run at the World Cup. Earlier this month, goalkeeper Danijel Subasic, striker Mario Mandzukic and defender Vedran Corluka announced the end of their international careers.

Defender Ivan Strinic, who started in the World Cup final, will also be absent after his new club AC Milan revealed at the weekend he had been diagnosed with a heart condition and would have to take a break from the game.

Croatia will also play England in Group 4 of the Nations League, and are due to entertain Gareth Southgate's side in Rijeka on October 12.

CROATIA SQUAD: Goalkeepers: Lovre Kalinic (Gent/BEL), Dominik Livakovic (Dinamo Zagreb), Karlo Letica (Club Brugge/BEL) Defenders: Domagoj Vida (Besiktas/TUR), Dejan Lovren (Liverpool/ENG), Sime Vrsaljko (Inter/ITA), Josip Pivaric (Dynamo Kiev/UKR), Tin Jedvaj (Bayer Leverkusen/GER), Matej Mitrovic (Club Brugge/BEL), Borna Barisic (Rangers/SCO), Antonio Milic (Anderlecht/BEL) Midfield: Luka Modric (Real Madrid/ESP), Ivan Rakitic (Barcelona/ESP), Mateo Kovacic (Chelsea/ENG), Milan Badelj (Lazio/ITA), Marcelo Brozovic (Inter/ITA), Marko Rog (Napoli/ITA), Mario Pasalic (Atalanta/ITA), Filip Bradaric (Cagliari/ITA) Forwards: Ivan Perisic (Inter/ITA), Andrej Kramaric (Hoffenheim/GER), Ante Rebic (Eintracht Frankfurt/GER), Marko Pjaca (Fiorentina/ITA), Ivan Santini (Anderlecht/BEL), Marko Livaja (AEK/GRE)

SBL ‘best thing’ for boxing in Pakistan, says Usman Zulfiqar laHORE SULMAN ALI

Despite producing boxers like Muhammad Wasim and Hussain Shah, boxing has never remained a popular sport in Pakistan mainly due to a lack of understanding and sponsors for the combat sport.

In last few years, however, boxing has grown in popularity among the youth of Pakistan as new boxing gyms have sprung up in major cities like Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad.

This young sport in the country is trying to make its mark through local tournaments. The local coaches and gyms are trying to promote boxing but lack of sponsorship is the biggest hurdle. Recently, however, Super Boxing League’s (SBL) launch may prove to be a game changer for the local boxing scene.

Talking to Pakistan Today, boxing coach and trainer Usman Zulfiqar discussed SBL and its significance for future of boxing in the country, terming it “probably the best thing happened to Pakistani boxers till date.”

“SBL is the first professional boxing league of Pakistan held under the World Boxing Council (WBC) banner, a lucrative international organisation and this tournament is launched under its Pakistani branch,” he said, adding that British-Pakistani boxer Amir Khan

has introduced it to the country.

The boxing coach further stated that the league has eight teams with five weight categories for men and one for female boxers.

“In July, the trials for Lahore were held and I took my boxers from Synergy and Equilibrium,” he said.

“Originally, we had Shahid, Haroon Sohail, Sharez Khan (heavyweight), Aman Ali Shah (72KG), Irfan Ahmed (57KG) for male category and Sarah Syed for the female category.”

He further said that Haroon and Shahid could not participate due to a schedule clash and personal reasons but Irfan, Aman and Sarah qualified for the next round.

“For tryouts, the organisers had given a call for open trials from across Lahore and the boxers had fought in their respective categories with four rounds for one fight,” Usman said, adding there were 14 boxers in Irfan’s categories and he had to fought three bouts to qualify for next round.

Talking about the referee decisions on the fights, Usman said that the organisers were watching every fight closely, observing the boxers and their abilities.

“Irfan’s first fight was ended in the second round, same happened in the second fight and third was called off after one-and-half round,” he said.

“Irfan and two other boxers were selected for the training programme where they are expected to train

over 100 boxers from all the categories. A tournament will be held at the end of September as well,” he said, adding that the tournament will be fought on team and point-based model.

Explaining the tournament schedule and points, the fitness trainer explained that every team will get four points on a knockout, three points on Technical Knockout (TKO), two points on unanimous decision

CMYK

and one point for split decision.

“The beauty of this whole tournament is that every fighter, no matter if he/she wins or losses, will get $300 per fight which is a huge boost and benefit for the local fighter,” he stated, adding that it will immensely improve local boxing environment.

“For training, I am restarting my military boot camp-style training under the banner of Equilibrium and we will get the results,” Usman stated.

Discussing the role of Amir Khan in introducing and arranging SBL, Usman said that Amir started this league in India almost two years ago and then launched in Afghanistan.

“Amir Khan is the SBL Co-Chairman along with Salman Iqbal in Pakistan,” Usman said, adding celebrities like Wasim Akram, Fahad Mustafa, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Shahid Afridi are the owners of regional teams. Talking about the future benefits of SBL, Usman explained that Amir will look for talented boxers and if he remains successful in getting WBC contract for the one or two local boxers, it will benefit both Amir and that boxer.

“The local boxer will be promoted step-by-step from Pakistan to Asia to the international level which will be important for boxing in the country,” he said, adding that before this there was no scope of boxing in Pakistan but this will surely change in the future.

CMYK

SPORTS 15

Tuesday, 21 August, 2018

norwich City paint Carrow road away dressing room pink

trent BridGe test

kohli Century swells indian lead nOTTinGHam

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AGENCIES

HESTESHWAR Pujara and Virat Kohli helped India pile on the agony for England in the third Test at Trent Bridge on Monday.

While Stokes dismissed Pujara at 72, Kohli went on to score his 23rd Test ton. India’s lead reached 449 when Kohli got out to Woakes.

Earlier, India were 194 for two in their second innings at lunch on the third day, a commanding lead of 362 runs. Pujara was 56 not out and India captain Kohli, who made 97 in the first innings, 54 not out.

Their so far unbroken partnership of 83 meant India batted through the session without losing a wicket and remained on course for a win that would cut England's lead in the fivematch series to 2-1.

England now need to surpass their highest fourth-innings total to win a Test -- 332 for seven against Australia at Melbourne back in 1928/29 -- if they are to achieve an astounding victory.

BAIRSTOW INJURY: To make matters worse for England, wicketkeeper and leading batsman Jonny

Bairstow suffered a finger injury and had to leave the field on Monday.

India resumed on 124 for two, already 292 runs in front, with Pujara 33 not out and Kohli unbeaten on eight.

With three days still left to play, India could dictate the course of the game after skittling England out for 161, with Hardik Pandya taking a stunning five for 28 in six overs -- the pace-bowling all-rounder's maiden five-wicket Test haul -- on Sunday.

Kohli was soon into his stride,

the star batsman clipping all-rounder Chris Woakes off his pads for four in the second over of Monday's play, with Pujara scoring a boundary in similar fashion off James Anderson.

While conditions offered a degree of assistance to swing bowlers on Sunday, they could not explain England's latest in a long line of batting collapses.

Having been 54 for none, they lost nine wickets for 74 runs and only avoided the follow-on thanks to Jos Buttler's 39.

SPORTS DESK

England lost all 10 of their wickets inside a session -- the third time that had happened since 2016.

And a score of 86 for four meant that in their past 61 Test innings, England had lost their fourth wicket having scored 100 runs or fewer on 30 occasions.

Another longstanding problem for England has been their slip catching and they floored their fifth chance in the cordon this match when Buttler, a wicket-keeper by trade, moved late at second slip before grassing a low, left-handed chance after Pujara, on 40, edged Anderson.

Buttler was soon pressed into service as a replacement wicketkeeper after Bairstow failed to gather a swinging Anderson delivery by Pujara and took a painful blow on the tip of his left middle finger.

Bairstow writhed in agony before walking off for an X-ray with England one-day gloveman Buttler, who was a wicket-keeper early in his Test career, taking over behind the stumps.

India had no need to rush, with Pujara happy to grind England into the ground with a 147-ball fifty including seven fours.

England lead the five-match Test series by 2-0.

"Marginal gains" - two words that have become sporting jargon in recent years.

But one Championship club have taken a highly unusual step to try to gain an edge on their opponents.

Norwich City have painted the away dressing room "deep pink", a colour that is said to lower testosterone levels and have a calming effect on people.

"Pink has an effect, not because it is pink, but because it's linked to childhood experiences," said Dr Alexander Latinjak, a lecturer in sport psychology at the University of Suffolk.

"If it is true that pink lowers testosterone levels then the coach should know exactly how to use that advantage tactically."

Norwich declined to comment, although sporting director Stuart Webber told supporters about the move at a fans' forum on Thursday.

Painting the opposition's dressing room pink is not a completely novel idea though - the University of Iowa have previously done it in an attempt to give their American football team the upper hand on their visitors.

In their two games at Carrow Road this season, Norwich have lost 4-3 to West Bromwich Albion and beaten League Two side Stevenage 3-1 in the Carabao Cup, so the jury is out on whether the move is paying off.

"I personally wouldn't have spent the time bothering to change the locker room colour. There are a lot of things you do before you do that," Dr Latinjak told BBC Sport.

"Now that teams will know about the pink locker room, they could take counter measures to ensure higher testosterone levels.

"It might even be that players from other teams have some fun - they could go in there all tense but start smiling, and smiling is linked to an improvement in performance."

Ronaldo, Modric and Salah up for UEFA Player of the Year lOnDOn AGENCIES

Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric and Mohamed Salah make up the three-man shortlist for the UEFA Player of the Year award for the 2017/18 season, European football's governing body announced on Monday.

Ronaldo -- the winner in each of the last two years -- and Modric both starred for Real Madrid as the Spanish giants won the Champions League for the third year running, while the latter also won the Golden Ball for the best player at the World Cup after inspiring Croatia on their run to the final.

Meanwhile, Egyptian star Salah scored 10 times as Liverpool made it to the Champions League final, before losing 3-1 to Real in Kiev.

Salah was forced off with a shoulder injury in the first half of that game after a clash with Real defender Sergio Ramos.

He also netted 32 goals in his debut Premier League season, with that tally a record for a 38-game campaign.

Lionel Messi came fifth in the voting by a jury of 80 coaches from clubs who played in the Champions League and Europa League, as well as 55 journalists representing each UEFA member nation.

The Barcelona star came second to Ronaldo last

Russell unhappy with pro-Guyana crowd at Tallawahs' home game

year but also failed to make the final three-man short-

Four Japan athletes kicked out of Asian Games for ‘buying sex’

SPORTS DESK Jamaica Tallawahs captain Andre Russell voiced his displeasure with the decision to shift more home games away from Sabina Park, after his side's first loss of the season to Guyana Amazon Warriors in Florida. The noisy and at times hostile atmosphere of about 4000 fans was overwhelmingly in favour of the visiting Warriors during a 71run win over the designated home team.

"Honestly, I'm very unhappy at the moment," Russell said after the game. "The guys fought tonight ... but based on tonight's game, it wasn't like a home game. It didn't feel that way.

"Every boundary, every wicket it was going Guyana's way. [Shimron] Hetmyer came out, he played some good shots and just the crowd being in his back, it kind of gave him that pump and it shouldn't be like that. I think we should have that home advantage where a guy hits a boundary, he hears silence. Right? If that's how home advantage is supposed to be in these conditions, then you have to wonder. You hit a four, you hit a six, you're not hearing nothing because a Guyana crowd is out here and they want to see Guyana do well."

According to Russell, his fielders were under pressure almost from the start of the match. When Samuel Badree struck with the seventh ball of the night to trap Chadwick Walton lbw, a hush fell over the ground before it became lively once more in the next over as Hetmyer hit his first two boundaries off Imad Wasim on his way to becoming the youngest centurion in CPL history at age 21. The Warriors eventually bested the previous CPL-best

JaKaRTa AGENCIES

total at the venue to make 209 for 7. "Honestly, these are little things that get me upset from the second over," Russell said. "Guys saying stuff to you on the boundary. I don't want to field on the boundary because guys are pressuring you. It shouldn't be like that. When I go to Guyana, then I expect that.

"Guys were upset. I was upset. When I got off the field, I was throwing shoes, everything all around the changing room, things that fans don't need to see but that's how upsetting these things can be. You want to know that the crowd is behind you in your home game. So if we go to Barbados and we see a sea of blue, then we expect that. But you're playing a home game, you want to feel that home advantage. You get a wicket, you hear that loud cheer. It gives the bowler energy even if you're tired." The Tallawahs have now lost four of five matches in Lauderhill since the CPL's first matches in Florida in 2016.

list in 2016.

Atletico Madrid's France star Antoine Griezmann, who scored twice as his club beat Marseille 3-0 in the Europa League final, just missed out in fourth.

The winner will be named, along with the UEFA Women's Player of the Year, in Monaco on Thursday, August 30, the same day as the draw for the Champions League group stage.

The nominees for the women's award are France's Amandine Henry and Norway's Ada Hegerberg, who both won the Champions League with Lyon, and Denmark's Pernille Harder, who lost in the final with Wolfsburg.

Four Japanese basketball players on Monday apologised for bringing "disgrace" to their nation after they were kicked out of the Asian Games for paying prostitutes for sex.

The regional Olympics was hit by scandal after the players were spotted in a notorious red light district of the Indonesian capital Jakarta wearing their national jerseys last week.

The expulsion of Yuya Nagayoshi, Takuya Hashimoto, Takuma Sato and Keita Imamura will come as a major embarrassment for Japan, who will host the Tokyo Olympics in two years' time.

"I deeply apologise for our careless act that has brought disgrace on not only basketball fans but also all of the Japanese people," Sato told a news conference after the players returned to Tokyo on Monday. Nagayoshi, wearing a black suit and tie, said he "can't imagine" playing basketball again.

Japan Basketball Association chief Yuko Mitsuya said it will wait for a report from a special committee of lawyers before formally punishing the four. "I just feel a sense of shame," said Yasuhiro Yamashita, the head of the Japanese delegation to the Asian Games, the world's second-largest multisport event.

"We deeply apologise and intend to give the athletes thorough guidance from now on," he told reporters in Jakarta.

The basketball players had dinner after leaving the Games village last Thursday and are believed to have been solicited by a pimp to go to a hotel with

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women, Yamashita added. They "paid for the services of prostitutes", Yamashita said, according to Japan's Kyodo news agency. The story broke after the four, who play in Japan's B-League, were spotted in the red light district by a reporter for Japan's Asahi Shimbun newspaper.

At the last Asian Games in 2014, Japan were forced to send home swimmer Naoya Tomita after he was caught on video stealing a journalist's camera from the pool deck.

PROSTITUTES AND CONDOMS: Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah, president of the Olympic Council of Asia, the Games' governing body, said the latest incident would serve as a warning to other athletes. "I'm sorry for this story but in the sports field you are hearing this kind of story in each Games," the sheikh said.

"Athletes should always be a good symbol of society because there's a big generation" that follows them, he added. "At the end of the day, representing your country isn't only about winning medals." The players visited the prostitutes after Japan beat Qatar 82-71 to go top of Group C. Japan were bronze medallists at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea.

It is far from being the first case of sexual misconduct at major multi-sport events, which typically draw thousands of athletes, officials and fans from around the world.

At the 2014 Asian Games, an Iranian official was kicked out for the verbal sexual harassment of a female volunteer, and a Palestinian footballer was accused of groping a female worker at the athletes' village.

Tuesday, 21 August, 2018

NEWS

EhSAN mANi to tAKE PCB REiNS AftER SEthi quitS FORMER CRICKET CHIEF SAYS HE WAS WAITING FOR IMRAN KHAN TO TAKE OATH BEFORE SUBMITTING RESIGNATION LAHORE

P

STAFF REPORT

AKISTAN Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Najam Sethi on Monday resigned from office and was promptly replaced with former International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman Ehsan Mani by Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Mani previously represented PCB at the ICC, cricket’s governing body, as treasurer for three years and later headed the organisation for another three years. Sethi, who has had longstanding differences with Imran Khan, said he had been waiting for the new prime minister to take oath before submitting his resignation.

“I wish PCB all the best and hope

our cricket team goes from strength to strength,” he tweeted. “Eid Mubarak.

Pakistan Zindabad.”

The text of his resignation recalled his appointment to the PCB’s Board of Governors by ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif from 2014 to 2017, and then again by former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi from 2017 till 2020.

He recalled that PM Khan “said on many occasions that you have a vision for Pakistan cricket”. “Therefore, it is only proper that you should assume charge and responsibility for assembling a management team for PCB that enjoys your full confidence and trust,” he added.

“In order to facilitate your objectives in the interest of Pakistan cricket, I hereby submit my resignation as Chairman of PCB and Member of its BoG,” the letter read.

Low women turnout

ECP to holD RE-ElECtioN iN PK-23 oN SEPtEmBER 10 NEWS DESK The Election commission of Pakistan (ECP) has announced to hold re-election in PK-23 Shangla on September 10 after it suspended the election results on the basis of low women turnout in the general elections held on July 25.

Out of 69, 827 total votes polled on the election day, at least 3,505 women exercised their right to vote, which was 5 per cent of the total votes.

According to the Elections Act 2017, the election watchdog can declare an election null and void if women’s turnout in a constituency is less than 10 per cent of its total polled votes.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shaukat Ali Yousafzai was declared a winner from PK-23. However, Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) nominee Muhammad Rishad Khan, who was the runners-up with a margin of fewer than 3,300 votes, had approached the ECP for re-election.

Yousafzai termed the ECP verdict cruel, saying that the commission should have ordered the re-polling of female voters only instead of declaring the whole election void. “It is not easy to hold elections in Shangla,” he claimed. “We will suffer due to the re-election in the constituency.”

The notification issued by the ECP stated that the candidates who contested the July 25 elections will be able to compete in the September 10 re-poll under the same party symbols.

Sethi has resigned both as PCB chairman and member of the Board of Governors. The journalist-turnedcricket boss was nominated by former premiers Nawaz Sharif and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi from 2014 to 2020.

‘RESIGNING WITH DIGNITY’: Sethi and Khan have shared longstanding differences ever since the 2013 elections. In 2014, the PTI chief had accused Sethi of being ‘rewarded’ with the PCB chairmanship in return for ’35 punctures’, a reference to the alleged fixing of results of 35 constituencies in the 2013 election in favour of the PML-N. Sethi had earlier hinted at resigning from his post as the head of the cricket affairs in the country than compromising over ‘dignity and honour’.

On Saturday, after taking oath as premier, Khan vowed to revamp the PCB during his meeting with members of the 1992 World Cup winning team. He announced to introduced revolutionary changes in the administrative structure.

Linking improvement with changes

in first-class cricket, PM Khan promised to award key positions to former cricketers in the board.

The meeting was attended by PCB Chief Selector Inzamamul Haq, Wasim Akram, Ramiz Raja, Waqar Younis, Mushtaq Ahmed, Javed Miandad and others.

NEW CHAIRMAN: Announcing Ehsan Mani’s nomination as the new chief of PCB, Prime Minister Khan said that Mani is an experienced person for the job.

In a tweet, Khan said, “I have appointed Ehsan Mani as Chairman PCB. He brings vast and valuable experience to the job. He represented PCB in the ICC; was Treasurer ICC for 3 years and then headed the ICC for another 3 years.”

“We will follow the set procedure which entails my nominating him on the PCB Board of Governors. He may then contest elections for the position of Chairman PCB,” the premier said in his next tweet.

Mani represented the PCB in the International Cricket Council (ICC) as its president from 1989 to 1996. For the 1996 Cricket World Cup in which several matches were played in Pakistan, he was on the advisory committee as the PCB representative.

Meanwhile, another governing board member Arif Aijaz has also resigned from his position.

taliban reject Afghan ceasefire, kidnap nearly 200 bus passengers

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday directed the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) to register overseas Pakistanis in order to ensure that they are able to exercise their right to vote in the upcoming by-polls in the country expected to be held in October. The directives were issued during a meeting of NADRA and ECP officials chaired by ECP Secretary Babar Yaqoob. Only those Pakistanis residing abroad with a machine readable passport (MRP) and a National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP) will be eligible for registration, the ECP said, adding that the registration process must be completed by Sept 15. NADRA was also tasked to provide a demonstration of the i-voting software which was developed to facilitate overseas Pakistanis who wish to exercise their right to vote. The Foreign Office and NADRA will run awareness campaigns with the help of embassies, the ECP. There are on average 29,000 Pakistani voters overseas registered in each National Assembly constituency, according to NADRA Chairman Usman Mobin.

NEWS DESK

AgEnciES

wave of attacks in recent weeks, including on the city of Ghazni, southwest of Kabul. Hundreds of people have been killed in the fighting.

Government officials are trying to secure the release of at least 170 civilians and 20 members of the security forces who were taken hostage by Taliban from three buses in the northern province of Kunduz.

Esmatullah Muradi, a spokesman for the governor of Kunduz, said the kidnapping happened when the buses were traveling through Kunduz from Takhar province.“The buses were stopped by the Taliban fighters, passengers were forced to step down and they have been taken to an undisclosed location,” Muradi said.

‘TRAVELING FOR HOLIDAY’ The Taliban confirmed they had captured “three buses packed with passengers”. “We decided to seize the buses after our intelligence inputs

ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Navjot Sidhu charged with sedition for hugging Gen Bajwa

KABUL/PESHAWAR The Taliban rejected on Monday an Afghan government offer of a ceasefire and said they would persist with their attacks, militant commanders said, while insurgents ambushed three buses and nearly 200 passengers traveling for a holiday.

Two Taliban commanders said their supreme leader rejected President Ashraf Ghani’s Sunday offer of a three-month ceasefire, beginning with this week’s Eid al-Adha Muslim holiday. In June, the Taliban observed a government ceasefire over the threeday Eid al-Fitr festival, leading to unprecedented scenes of government soldiers and militants embracing on front lines, and raising hopes for talks.

But one of the Taliban commanders said the June ceasefire had helped US forces, who the Taliban are trying to drive out of the country.

Taliban leader Sheikh Haibatullah Akhunzada rejected the new offer on the grounds that it too would only help the American-led mission. “Our leadership feels that they’ll prolong their stay in Afghanistan if we announced a ceasefire now,” a senior Taliban commander, who declined to be identified, said by telephone.

An official in Ghani’s office said the three-month-long ceasefire declared by the government was conditional, and if the Taliban did not respect it, the government would maintain military operations.

The Taliban have launched a

ECP tells NADRA to register overseas Pakistanis for upcoming by-polls

revealed that many men working with Afghan security forces were traveling to Kabul,” Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, said by telephone. “We are now identifying members of the security forces,” he said, adding that civilians would be released. Kunduz provincial council member Sayed Assadullah Sadat said people on the buses were traveling to be with family in Kabul for the holiday.

A senior interior ministry official in Kabul said officials in the area were talking to Taliban leaders in Kunduz to get the estimated 190 hostages released. “We’re are trying our level best to secure freedom for all passengers,” the official said.

Separately, Mujahid said the Taliban would release at least 500 prisoners, including members of the security forces, on Monday, a day before Eid celebrations begin.

A sedition case was filed against cricketerturned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu for hugging Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa. The case was filed against Sidhu in a Bihar court on Monday for insulting the Indian army by hugging Pakistan’s army chief at the swearing-in ceremony of Imran Khan as prime minister of Pakistan. The lawyer, Sudhur Ojha, filed the case in a court of the chief judicial magistrate in Muzaffarpur.

Ojha said that he has filed the case under Indian penal case sections involving sedition. In his complaint, he said that Sidhu’s gesture hurt the people of the country. “The court has admitted the case and will hear it next week,” he added.

Navjot Sidhu, a minister in the Congress-led government in Punjab, is under attack for hugging the Pakistan army chief by the BJP and Akali Dal leaders. While in Pakistan, Sidhu did not comment on the criticism he received back home. However, upon his return, he had addressed the matter saying, “He came up to me. First thing, he is a Jat like the Cheemas, Sandhus, and Sidhus. All three chiefs of Pakistan defence forces came to meet people in the first row. General Bajwa walked up to me and said that though he is a General, he wanted to be a cricketer.

He was very warm and said he wanted peace.” He added that Gen Bajwa told him the Pakistan government will open the Dera Baba Nanak (Kartarpur) corridor on the occasion of Guru Nanak’s 550th birth anniversary. “When someone takes names of Baba Nanak, then he has offered you everything,” the former Indian cricketer said, adding that he received “much love and affection from Pakistan”.

musharraf demands presidential-level security for return LAWYER TELLS SPECIAL COURT EX-DICTATOR WANTS TO APPEAR IN TREASON CASE BUT FACES SERIOUS LIFE THREATS IN PAKISTAN ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

A two-member special court bench hearing the high treason case against former military dictator Gen (r) Pervez Musharraf was informed on Monday that the ex-strongman wanted to appear before the court but wanted assurances that he would be provided with presidential-level security.

Musharraf is facing the high treason case for suspending the Constitution on Nov 3, 2007 — an offence for which he was indicted by the special court on March 31, 2014. That same year, the state prosecution laid down all its evidence but the progress in the case still slowed down due to the former military

ruler having filed multiple petitions against his trial at the appellate forum.

In March 2016, he left the country for Dubai to “seek medical treatment” and hasn’t returned since.

During Monday’s hearing, Athar Shah told Justice Yawar Ali-led two-member bench of the special court that his client would return and “appear before the court if he is given presidential level security by the Defence Ministry”.

“Musharraf’s life is in danger,” he added. “There were two attempts on his life: once in the Islamabad court and the other in Quetta during the Akbar Bugti case hearing.” At this, Justice Nazar Akbar said: “There is a non-bailable warrant out against Musharraf, so to provide him security is the government’s

responsibility.”

Regarding the federal government’s request to wrap up the case quickly, Justice Yawar observed: “It is necessary to record Musharraf’s [under Section 342 of the Criminal Procedure Code] statement.”

The prosecution reminded the court that Musharraf has failed to appear before the court despite repeated summons.

At this, Justice Yawar noted: “What we have to see is that whether a trial can be held in Musharraf’s absence. And the question is that can the absconder’s counsel appear in the court.”

In July 2018, the case had suffered a blow when head of the prosecution Mohammad Akram Sheikh, whom the PML-N government had appointed, tendered his resignation citing an “imminent change of government at the Centre”.

The court today expressed its displeasure at Sheikh’s behaviour, with Justice Yawar saying: “If Akram Sheikh wanted to leave the case, then why

Published by Arif Nizami at Plot # 7, Al-Baber Centre, F/8 Markaz, Islamabad. Ph: 051-2204545. Email: newsroom@pakistantoday.com.pk

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didn’t he submit an application? He is a senior lawyer; he should have known better.”

The court adjourned the case until August 27 and said that it will hear “arguments on the legal side of statements made as per Section 342”. Section 342 relates to the “power to examine the accused”.