E-Paper PDF 21st October (LHR)

CMYK

Monday, 21 October, 2019 I 21 Safar-ul-Muzaffar, 1441 I Rs 20.00 I Vol X No 111 I 60 Pages I Lahore Edition

Six, including Soldier, martyred in loc Shelling g

JUI-F tells govt to approach Rehbar Committee for talks

PAKIStAN ARMy ‘DeStROyS twO INDIAN ARMy BUNKeRS, KILLS NINe tROOPS’ IN ReSPONSe

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FO ReJeCtS INDIAN MeDIA RePORtS OF ‘MILItANt LAUNChPADS’ ALONG the LOC, INVIteS INteRNAtIONAL OBSeRVeRS tO See FOR theMSeLVeS

STORY ON BACK PAGE

3 polio cases surface, toll reaches 76

Editorial: Polio focal person ON PAGE 03 & 08

Kartarpur Corridor to be opened by November 9: PM STORY ON PAGE 02

Balochistan University VC steps down amid harassment scandal STORY ON PAGE 02

NOSERI: Families mourn their dead after unprovoked Indian shelling across LoC claimed the lives of five civilians. ONLINE

RAWALPINDI

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STAFF REPORT

t least six people, including a Pakistan Army soldier, lost their lives on Sunday after Indian troops resorted to “indiscriminate and ruthless” shelling from across the Line of Control (LoC) in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) in the latest spate of ceasefire violations. the shelling also left nine civilians injured. this is the highest death toll in 2019 in a single day of Indian shelling from across the LoC. “In response to unprovoked ceasefire violations by India in Jura, Shahkot and Nauseri sectors, nine Indian soldiers were killed while several others were injured and two Indian bunkers were destroyed,”

Arba’een observed amid high security

the military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on twitter.

ISPR Director General (DG) Major General Asif Ghafoor confirmed that one soldier had been martyred in the exchange of fire while two others were injured.

A subsequent tweet by General Ghafoor said, “Indian Army shall always get befitting response to CFVs. Pakistan Army shall protect innocent civilians along LOC [and] inflict unbearable cost to Indian Army. Indian lies to justify their false claims [and] preparations for a false flag operation will continue to be exposed with truth.”

“Indian Army struggling to pick dead bodies and evacuate injured soldiers.

Indian Army raising white flag. this they should think before initiating unprovoked CFVs and respect military norms by

CMYK

CONTINUED ON PAGE 02

Pakistan rejects BJP’s anti-Pakistan tirade STORY ON PAGE 03

turkey says Kurdish militia kills soldier in northeast Syria despite ceasefire STORY ON BACK PAGE Pentagon chief in Afghanistan as US looks to kickstart Taliban talks

STORY ON PAGE 02

avoiding to target innocent civilians,” the ISPR chief added.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan strongly condemned the unprovoked firing by Indian security forces on civilian population along the Line of Control in a statement issued by the PM Office.

STORY ON BACK PAGE

in today’s issue

CMYK Monday, 21 October, 2019

02 NEWS

KArtArpur Corridor to be opened by noveMber 9, SAyS pM ISLAMABAD

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STAFF REPORT

RIME Minister Imran Khan announced on Sunday that Pakistan is all set to open its doors for the Sikh community from across the globe as the Kartarpur Corridor would be opened for public on November 9.

In a Facebook post on Sunday, he said that construction work on the project has entered the final stages and the corridor will be open to the public on November 9. The prime minister said that the world’s largest Gurdwara will be visited

by Sikhs from across India and other parts of the globe. He said that Pakistan will become a major religious hub for the Sikh community. The religious tourism will

also result in increased foreign exchange reserves for the country besides creating jobs in different sectors, including travel and hospitality, the premier added.

On Monday, Pakistan had handed over the final draft agreement for the Kartarpur Corridor to India. In the final draft agreement, Islamabad kept the service fee of $20 for Sikh pilgrims visiting the corridor from the Indian side, unchanged. As many as 5,000 Sikh pilgrims can visit Kartarpur daily and Pakistan will consider the possibility of allowing more pilgrims on special occasions.

India would provide details of the pilgrims 10 days before their planned visit to the Gurdwara built at the site where Baba Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikhism, spent his final days. The names of the pilgrims would be cleared four

Six, including soldier, martyred in LoC shelling He prayed for the departed souls and early recovery of the injured. The premier saluted the Pakistan Army for their bravery, valiance, and giving a befitting response to Indian security forces. Earlier, AJK Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider said Indian forces in occupied Kashmir had “gone berserk”. In a post shared on Twitter, he added, “This is the height of savagery. The world must not stay silent over it.” An Indian army source told Reuters that the shelling was cover to allegedly help militants enter India because of which a “calibrated escalation of area weapons was undertaken”.The Indian army “retains the right to respond at a time and place of its choosing” if the Pakistani army continues to do this, he said.

PAKISTAN REJECTS ‘MILITANT LAUNCHPADS’ ALONG LOC: The claims were rubbished by Pakistan, which said India carried out an unprovoked attack deliberately targeted at civilians. Also, the Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson categorically rejected Indian media reports about “launchpads” which India claims it targets along the LoC. In this regard, Pakistan has called upon the P5 countries “to ask India to provide information about the alleged launchpads and stated its willingness to arrange a visit of the P5 diplomats to those locations to expose Indian falsehood”.

The FO said that the “heinous” targeting of civilians is “a typical attempt by India to divert international attention from the humanitarian nightmare in India-occupied Jammu and Kashmir”. According to the statement, Dr Faisal urged the Indian side to respect the 2003 ceasefire arrangement, investigate these and other incidents of ceasefire violations, instruct the Indian forces to respect the ceasefire in letter and spirit, and maintain peace on the LoC and the Working Boundary. He also stressed that the UNMOGIP must be permitted to play its mandated role as per the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions. Kashmir has been disputed by the two nuclear-armed neighbors since they both received independence in 1947. The two countries fought two of their three wars over the region. Tensions between the two countries have flared and there has been intermittent crossborder firing since August 5, when New Delhi flooded Indian Kashmir with troops to quell unrest after it revoked the region’s special autonomous status. Islamabad has warned that changing Kashmir’s status would escalate tensions but India says the withdrawal of special status is an internal affair and is aimed at faster economic development of the territory.

Action to be taken against violators of anti-smog act RAWALPINDI: Strict action will be taken against the violation of anti-smog protocol act and no one would be allowed to burn the chemicals and waste in the city. Chief Executive Officer DHA Dr Muhammad Sohail Chaudary told APP that on the instruction of Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar, immediate measures are being taken to combat the looming threat of smog this year. The CEO said in order to mitigate the factors behind smog, there is a need to adopt preventive measure and increase awareness. Dr Sohail advised people to wear face masks to protect themselves from breathing problems including eye, nose and throat infections. DHA focal person for smog Dr Muhammad Ali Mirza further recommended to avoid physical activity such as walking at evening and morning timing. APP

days before the date of visit and transport will be provided at the zero point on the border, according to the draft agreement.

REGISTRATION BEGINS: Meanwhile, the registration process has started for Sikh pilgrims who intend to visit Kartarpur on the 550th Birth Anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak. Construction process and renovation of the shrine have been completed and electricity has been supplied to the site from Shakar Garh’s grid station.

Imported marble has been used on the floor of the shrine which is spread on 10 acres.

Fire extinguishers, sound systems and CCTV cameras have been installed at the site. Other than that, construction of temporary guesthouses and a border terminal building has also been completed.

PM Imran will inaugurate the project on November 9, three days before the 550th

birth anniversary Baba Guru Nanak that will be celebrated on November 12. It is worth mentioning here that Pakistan has accepted India’s demand of facilitating visafree movement of 5,000 Sikh pilgrims per day, and now they will have to just obtain a permit to visit Kartarpur. In November last year, the premier laid the foundation stone for the corridor, months after he assumed office after winning majority of seats in the parliament. India’s cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu and other officials attended the ceremony.

Earlier, Pakistan formally invited former Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh to attend the opening ceremony of corridor on the occasion of the 550th Birth Anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak.

Speaking about the invitation to former Indian premier, Foreign Minister Shah

Mehmood Qureshi on Saturday said that Singh will visit Pakistan as a ‘yatri’ (ordinary citizen) and not as chief guest for the corridor’s opening. “He is welcome even as a common participant,” the foreign minister said. Speaking about the corridor, Qureshi said that India was initially reluctant to open the corridor but due to public pressure from the Indian Punjab, New Delhi decided to arrange a ceremony related to the corridor the same day, he said, adding that the arrangements made by Pakistan were way better than those being finalised by India.

The corridor will also be the first visa-free corridor between the two neighbours since their independence in 1947.

Pakistan is building the corridor from the Indian border to the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, while the other part from Dera Baba Nanak up to the border is being constructed by India. India is constructing a bridge at the zero point and has urged Pakistan to build a similar bridge on its side that will provide safe and secure movement of pilgrims.

It is pertinent to mention here that tensions between India and Pakistan have escalated after New Delhi revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s special status.

Balochistan University VC steps down amid harassment scandal Prof Dr Javed Iqbal, the vice chancellor of University of Balochistan, has stepped down from his post until the completion of inquiry into the harassment scandal by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), a notification issued by Balochistan governor’s secretariat stated on Sunday. “On request of the Vice Chancellor, University of Balochistan, that, to let the FIA conduct a fair inquiry into the recent cases of harassment in the university; the Hon’ble Governor Balochistan/Chancellor UoB has accepted stepping down from his responsibilities as VC, UoB till finalisation of the inquiry report of FIA,” the notification stated. Meanwhile, Professor Dr Mohammad Anwer Panezai has been given the “lookafter charge of the Vice Chancellor” till further orders.

The case had come to light about a month ago when the Balochistan High Court (BHC) directed the FIA to investigate reports of students being harassed at the varsity. In its probe spanning over several weeks, FIA discovered that male and female students were being harassed through objectionable videos of them. These videos were recorded using at least six cameras that were secretly installed at various spots in the university’s Quetta campus, in addition to the al-

ready existing official CCTV cameras.

On Monday, the law enforcement agency had arrested the security branch officer and surveillance in-charge of the university for blackmailing students with the help of immodest video content. The videos and footage of secretly installed cameras were also recovered from the suspects, which were used for blackmailing the university students. The accused had used these recordings to blackmail students, mostly women, and subjected them to harassment. Several affected girls had also contacted the inquiry officials after the FIA’s investigation of the scam started.

A spokesperson of the Balochistan government had promised stern action against those involved in the harassment scandal and subsequently, the FIA extended the scope of the investigation to 200 employees.

Various student organisations had also staged demonstrations inside university to protest against the on-campus harassment.

The students had marched inside the campus to mount pressure on the authorities to punish the culprits allegedly involved in the harassment of female and male students.

Arba’een observed amid high security NEWS DESK The chehlum of Imam Hussain (AS) was observed on Sunday across the country amid strict security measures taken by the federal and provincial law enforcement authorities.

The chehlum observance takes place 40 days after the Day of Ashura and commemorates the martyrdom of Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) grandson and his companions by the Umayyad army in Karbala. Lahore and Karachi saw a heavy deployment of security personal especially in the areas through which the procession passed. All roads leading to the route of the procession remained closed and walk-through gates were installed at several entry points to prevent unwarranted entry.

Security was beefed up throughout procession routes and traffic police were assigned to divert traffic away from the procession’s route.

In Lahore, the chehlum procession coincided with annual Urs of Hazrat Ali Hajveri. According to details, over 402 processions were held in the city, while around 681 majalis were also organ-

ised. In addition, contingents of Punjab Rangers patrolled the city while Rescue 1122 remained on high alert during the course of the procession.

In Karachi, roads leading to MA Jinnah Road were blocked and containers were placed from Numaish Chowrangi to Tower for security reasons. In addition, the Sindh home department issued a notification for the ban on pillion riding and the prohibition of the display of armaments, while mobile services were also suspended in several parts of the province. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government had also imposed section 144 in different parts of the province to ensure peace and communal harmony during the occasion. In Peshawar, mobile service remained partially suspended and thousands of police and Frontier Constabulary (FC) personnel were deployed. Every mourning procession was provided three SPs, six DSPs, five inspectors besides 400 traffic police employees, traffic mobiles, rider’s squad and fork-lifters in Peshawar. Similar measures were also deployed in other cities including Faisalabad, Multan, and Rawalpindi.

CMYK

“This is not acceptable; we cannot compromise on our dignity,” Khalid Baloch, the central office-bearer of Baloch Students Organisation had said. The protesters had lamented that the harassment scandal has severely affected the atmosphere of education in the province in general and at Balochistan University in particular.

They carried placards inscribed with slogans such as “Punish the accused”, “No to harassment”, “We want justice”, etc, during the protest demonstration.

“This harassment had been going on for a long time in the university,” Kabeer Afghan, the central office-bearer of Pashtoonkhwa Students Organisation had said.

The students, chanting slogans against the university administration, had demanded a comprehensive probe into the matter. They had also demanded the removal of the vice chancellor and other high-ups.

Commenting on the issue, then Prof Iqbal had said, “We will cooperate with FIA in exposing the elements involved in the scandal.” He had dispelled the impression that the FIA had made any arrest from the university. NEWS DESK

Medical council stands dissolved after Alvi signs new ordinance The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council stands dissolved after President Arif Alvi signed a new ordinance titled 'Pakistan Medical Commission Ordinance 2019' on Sunday to “regulate the medical profession by establishing uniform minimum standard of medical education and training and recognition of qualifications in medicine and dentistry”. The federal government directed the temporary shutting down of the offices of the PMDC for a week in a bid to “ensure protection of the essential records and assets of the council”. The PMC shall be a body corporate consisting of ‘Medical and Dental Council’; National Medical and Dental Academic Board; and National Medical Authority, which will act as a Secretariat of the commission. The government of Pakistan has acted immediately to protect the extremely important records. NEWS DESK

CMYK Monday, 21 October, 2019

three poLio CASeS SurFACe, toLL reACheS 76 TWO CASES EMERGE IN KP, ONE IN BALOCHISTAN

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NEWS DESK

HE total number of polio cases in 2019 has touched 76 after three more polio cases emerged in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Sunday. According to the Health Ministry, the two cases of polio were reported in Lakki Marwat area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), while the other polio case was reported in Balochistan.

Earlier on October 5, three cases of polio were reported in Pakistan. One each case was reported from Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The two victims from Lakki Marwat — a seven-year-old girl and a 21month-old boy — are residents of the

Sarai Naurang tehsil, a report released by the Emergency Operation Centre said, adding both children had not been administered the polio vaccine.

The EOC report cited “refusals by parents” as the top reason for the scale of the virus’ resurgence witnessed this year. In Balochistan, the victim was an

11-month-old boy from Harnai, The child had been immunised once during a routine drive. However, the family was constantly on the move between Ziarat and Harnai, the EOC observed in its report.

KP lead the number of polio case is 56. Sindh followed with eight cases, where the number of cases in Balochistan was 7 this year. Only five cases surfaced in Punjab, mostly in its capital Lahore. One of the reasons is the increased resistance towards vaccination drives and violence against polio workers in the province as compared to the rest of the country.

Prime Minister Imran Khan, last month, had expressed serious concern over the recent spike in polio cases in the country and directed federal and provincial government officials to undertake effective awareness and immunisation campaigns to eliminate the disease.

Fazl sabotaging Kashmir cause for political gains, says Firdous SIALKOT STAFF REPORT

Fake accounts case: nAb forms special team against Zardari The NAB has formed a special team against PPP Co-chairman and former president Asif Ali Zardari for his trial in the fake accounts case, a local news outlet reported on Sunday.

According to the report, a six-member special prosecution team has been constituted by the anti-corruption watchdog for the trial of six fake accounts references.

Deputy Prosecutor General Muzaffar Abbasi will head the team while Mudassar Naqvi will serve as the prosecutor in the money laundering and Park Lane references, Sohail Arif in illegal allotment reference, Waseem Javed in Pink Residency reference, Irfan Ahmad in Harish Company Reference and Mirza Usman Maqsood in Sindh Building Control Authority reference. The deputy prosecutor general has also been directed to inform the NAB headquarters about developments in the references. On October 6, the anti-graft watchdog’s Rawalpindi chapter had contacted a bank to seize assets worth Rs50 million of Aziz Tehseen, who is one of the accused in the fake accounts case.

Tehseen is accused of being a beneficiary of illegal tenders given out for solar street lights in Sindh. The anti-graft watchdog has so far detained 42 people in the case, including Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur. Senior PPP leadership, Omni Group’s Anwar Majeed and his son Abdul Ghani Majeed, former Pakistan Stock Exchange chairman Hussain Lawai and Summit Bank Senior Vice-President Taha Raza are among those being investigated in cases related to the fake accounts scandal. The matter is also being heard by the Supreme Court (SC). The case was transferred to Islamabad after a Karachi banking court accepted NAB’s transfer request filed following the apex court’s judgement forwarding the joint investigation team (JIT) report to the bureau with directions to investigate and file references.

Zardari remained in NAB’s remand till August 16 when the accountability court sent him to judicial remand after NAB prosecutor Muzaffar Abbasi apprised the court of new developments in the case. Consequently, he was moved to Adiala Jail. Talpur, on the other hand, was shifted from Islamabad’s Polyclinic Hospital to Adiala Jail at midnight on August 12. On August 19, the defence counsel lamented before the court that his clients were ill-treated in jail. NEWS DESK

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan has said that Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman is sabotaging the Kashmir cause for political gains.

Addressing a press conference, she said that Fazl remained the head of the Kashmir committee for two consecutive terms, but he did nothing for promotion of the Kashmir cause. She also said that October 27 would be observed as Black Day, but Maulana Fazl chose this day for his 'Dharna' to please India in a bid to create political unrest in the country.

"They are sabotaging the Kashmir cause for their political gains,” she added.

She further said that the government would not allow anyone to play with the lives of people and ensure its writ by protecting lives and properties of people.

Speaking about the Kartarpur Corridor, she said that Prime Minister Imran Khan will inaugurate the near Shakargrah-Sialkot on November 9 in connection with the 550th birth anniversary celebrations of Baba Guru Nanak.

She said that Pakistan was providing complete religious freedom to all its minorities, especially the Sikh community. She said that Pakistan won the hearts and

minds of the Sikhs community around the globe by completing the grand project of Kartarpur Corridor.

Dr Firdous said that the government had started the religious tourism in Pakistan by opening doors to the Sikh community globally.

The special assistant said that the national games would soon be held in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) after a span of nine consecutive years. She said that Pakistan's economic indicators were getting better day by day due to which there was a 13.98 per cent increase in Pakistan's national exports as well, saying that the imports of Pakistan have reduced significantly while exports also witnessed upward trajectory.

She said that all international monetary institutions, including World Bank (WB), were also appreciating the prevailing economic system in Pakistan, saying that Pakistan's economic indicators were getting better day by day due to effective, positive and revolutionary policies of the government. She said that Pakistan’s economy, undoubtedly, was successfully moving ahead in the right direction.

Dr Firdous said that the government was providing an ideal, conducive and protected environment to national and foreign investors. She said that several more big Chinese investors would bring investments in Pakistan during the next four years.

She said that the recent visit of the British royal couple to Pakistan

showed to the world that Pakistan was a peaceful country while Pakistanis are peace-loving people.

She said that India had been trying to put Pakistan in the blacklist of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). She added that India's illintentions to get Pakistan included in the blacklist had failed.

The special assistant said that martyrdom of five civilians and one soldier in unprovoked Indian firing is condemnable. She added that Pakistan Army had given a befitting response to the Indian aggression.

She further said that Pakistan Armed Forces are fully capable of defending every inch of the motherland.

She said that the recent ceasefire violation by the Indian forces and targeting of civilian population in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) along the Line of Control (LoC) had exposed the Indian brutalities and the United Nations (UN) must take serious notice of martyrdom of civilians and Pak Army soldiers in unprovoked heavy shelling by the Indian army.

Earlier, in a statement, the special assistant said that religious exploitation will not be allowed under any circumstances by the government. She said that protest is a democratic right of everyone as it is enshrined in the constitution of Pakistan but a state cannot be formed within a state and nobody can be allowed to undermine the sovereignty of government or take the law into his hand.

NEWS

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imran due in Karachi today Prime Minister Imran Khan will arrive in Karachi today on a day-long visit where he will hold meetings with high-ups besides inaugurating a power project. Sources said that the premier will hold separate meetings with Sindh Governor Imran Ismail, federal ministers and other prominent personalities during his upcoming visit to the metropolis. During the visit, the prime minister will meet Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Sindh chapter leadership and lawmakers. A session will be summoned by PM Khan to make consultations over the issues of the port city. The PM will also meet the business community during his visit. The leaders of Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P)and Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) will also meet PM Imran Khan. GDA’s Moazzam Abbasi, who recently defeated Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) candidate in Larkana by-election, will also attend a meeting with the premier.

PM Khan will also inaugurate the China power project in HUB, sources added.

Earlier on October 13, Sindh Governor Imran Ismail had hinted an upcoming visit of PM Imran Khan to Karachi where he will meet the leadership of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) after returning to Pakistan from the foreign visits. In his statement, the governor said the federal government respects the public mandate of the MQM-P. He added that the ruling political party, Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf (PTI) is willing to continue its journey along with the ally party. He continued that the leadership of both political parties adopted respectful behaviour with each other. Following the directives of the premier, the Sindh governor contacted the MQM-P senior leader and Federal Minister for Information Technology Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui. He gave PM’s message to Siddiqui during the conversation. NEWS DESK

Sikhs urge Fazl to postpone Azadi March LAHORE: The Sikh community residing in Pakistan has urged Jamiat Ulema-eIslam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman to postpone the Azadi March in the light of the 550th birth anniversary celebrations of Sikh religions founder Baba Guru Nanak. The Sikh pilgrims are scheduled to arrive in Pakistan on October 31. In November, Pakistan will open the Kartarpur Corridor for Sikh pilgrims to send a message of peace to the world. Sikh pilgrims coming from Canada, Europe, United States and India have expressed security concerns in the wake of JUI-F’s announcement of the protest. Sikhs have asked Fazl to postpone his movement so that they could peacefully perform their religious rites. They said any political chaos would affect the law and order situation in the country. Sikh leaders Sardar Satwant Singh, MPA Sardar Mohinder Paul Singh, Sardar Gopal Singh Chawla, Sardar Bishen Singh, Sardar Ameer Singh and others noted that protest is a fundamental right of everyone but in view of the internal situation and their religious rituals, Fazl should postpone his protest. They said if the Sikhs from abroad refuse to come to Pakistan due to the political chaos, it will be Pakistan’s and not the government’s loss and would dent the peace efforts badly. INP

Pakistan rejects BJP’s anti-Pakistan tirade ISLAMABAD APP

Pakistan on Sunday strongly rejected the anti-Pakistan tirade by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership during its electoral campaigns in two Indian states.

The Foreign Office in a press release said, “We categorically reject these allegations and threats as well as distortion of history and facts.”

It was a question worth pondering by all concerned whether the current BJP rulers in India had anything else to sell to the electorate other than their animus towards Pakistan, it added.

“As we have repeatedly emphasized, the instrumental use of Pakistan for domestic political gains and electoral dividends must come to an end in India,” it added.

The anti-Pakistan tirade by the BJP leadership continued as the electoral process in the Indian states of Haryana and Maharashtra advanced. In successive election rallies in recent days, Pakistan had been invoked repeatedly.

Statements had been made regurgitating baseless allegations of Pakistan’s support to terrorism and drug smuggling, threatening to choke water supply to Pakistan, and taking credit for Pakistan’s decision of opening of Kartarpur

CMYK

04 LAHORE

Monday, 21 October, 2019

WEATHER UPDATES MONDAY

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WEDNESDAY

300C

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THURSDAY

300C

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pRayeR tIMINgS FAJR SUNRISE

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ASR MAGHRIB ISHA

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dengue fever claims minor’s life A minor boy died of dengue fever in a Khushab on Sunday. The three-year-old boy, a resident of the Islampura area, came down with the mosquito-borne disease earlier this month. He died during treatment at a Khushab hospital.

Meanwhile, the number of people suffering from the viral infection in the town has reached 50. The dengue outbreak in the country appears to be crossing the previous record of 2011 when 27,000 people were affected by the mosquito-borne disease. However, this time deaths caused by dengue are expected to be minimal as compared to 2011 when 370 people lost their lives to the painful disease. During the current year, over 42 deaths have been caused by dengue so far and health practitioners attribute the lower mortality rate to better availability of surveillance and curative measures. NeWS DeSK

Kite string slits youth’s throat

Picture by Zubair Mehfooz

Stronger inStitutionS will lead to civilian Supremacy: moot LAHORE

A youth died on Sunday after his throat was slit by a kite string within the limits of Lahore’s Sanda police station on Sunday. According to police, 24-year-old Usman Khalid was on his way on a bike when he got caught in a kite string. He died on the spot. Upon being informed of the incident, the local police reached the spot and shifted the body to a nearby hospital for an autopsy. Taking notice of the incident, DIG operations Ishfaq Khan sought a report from SP Iqbal Town Muhammad Ajmal in this regard. He issued directives for the police force to ensure implementation of Punjab Prohibition of Kite Flying ordinance 2001 in letter and spirit to avoid such incidents in future. Sharp strings are used to cut the strings of rivals’ kites, but they often end up slitting throats of the people. earlier in Jan this year, a metal-coated kite string had slit the throat of a minor in Gujranwala’s Mujahidpura. NeWS DeSK

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SHaHaB oMeR

enIor Pakistan Muslim League-nawaz (PML-n) leader Ahsan Iqbal and other eminent experts on Sunday argued that the supremacy of constitution, independent media and rule of law were imperative for a strong and democratic federation.

These remarks were during a session, ‘State Discourse and nation Building’, at Asma Jahangir Conference, which was held at Avari Hotel in Lahore.

The session that covered issues of national security and civil liberties in the age of growing censorship was moderated by senior journalist Arif nizami and included eminent lawyer Ali Ahmed Kurd, former foreign minister Khursheed Mahmood Kasuri, PPP leader Chaudhry Manzoor, and Barrister Ali Zafar as panelists. nizami, who moderated the session, spoke about the prevailing crisis of identity in Pakistan. “Is Pakistan a secular state or an Islamic one or is it one based on the rule of law where all citizens, including minorities, have an equal right to live,” he raised a question.

He also spoke about the crackdown on media freedom in Pakistan, saying, “Who has the right to decide the narrative in Pakistan? Is it the people through their vote or a class associated with religion or the army? At present we are being told about the ‘officially certified truth’.

Should anyone have the right to dictate to the media in a democratic country?”

In response to these questions raised

by Arif nizami, the PML-n senior leader Ahsan Iqbal started a discussion and said, “In 1991 Pakistan was the economically number one state of South Asia and today we are far behind everyone.

He said in order for the country to progress there was a need to “bring all the ethnic, racial, religious groups together according to the constitution”.

“If the citizens get equal rights, the country will surely excel. Judiciary needs to independent for controlling and condemning the constitutional abuse,” he added. Barrister Ali Zafar talked about the 18th Amendment, saying it was a demand of the provinces which accorded more powers to provinces due to which federation felt “weak”. “Democracy is important to us but it is equally important that majority rule should be made subject

to the rule of law,” Zafar added.

Senior lawyer and activist Ali Ahmed Kurd, while speaking to nizami about the lawyers’ movement of 2007, said, “The movement was a historic one and allowed us to assert our rights.” He also pointed out the state’s discriminatory policies towards Balochistan. replying to Arif nizami’s question about the role of the opposition in nation-building, Chaudhry Manzoor said that people were being denied rights in the name of national security.

“There is a special group who decided about who would be in politics and who will be out and also decided about who is to be brought on media and who is to be kept away. There will be no national security unless the people’s rights and security are not ensured.”

Speaking about the civil liberties, Kasuri said, “Any national narrative supporting a certain group would never be successful, as rights of all needed to be acknowledged for a stronger Pakistan.”

Speaking on the issue of national security, Lt. Gen. (r) Talat Masood said, “The role of the armed forces has been crucial since the early years of independence and cannot be undermined even in

Yasmeen announces programme to cut-down infant mortality rate LAHORE Staff RepoRt

LAHORE: A devotee smokes outside the Data Darbar during the second day of 976th Urs celebrations of Abul Hassan Ali Hajveri, commonly known as Data Ganj Bakhsh, while the shrine is illuminated with colorful lights in the provincial capital. oNLINe

Provincial Health Minister Dr Yasmin rashid has announced to launch research programme with the assistance of Glasgow University to ensure health of mother and child in rural areas of the province. She decided to launch research programme by participating in a ceremony being held in honour of Prof Charlotte Wright at a local hotel here today.

Special Secretary Primary & Secondary Healthcare Ajmal Bhatti, Technical Advisor Dr Akhtar rasheed, MD Children Hospital Prof Dr Saleem, Prof Dr Javed Chaudhry, Dr Khalid Mehmood, Umer Moaz, Dr Junaid rasheed, Dr Amir-urDin Chohan, Dr Bashir Ahmed, Dr Zainab, Uzma and Amara from UnICeF

and Zara from nutrition programme also participated in the ceremony. on this occasion, Dr Yasmin rashid said that infant mortality rate has increased unusually in Pakistan. Health department will undertake steps in collaboration with World Health organization, UnICeF and Academia in order to cut-down infant mortality rate. Comprehensive verbal autopsy programme will also be initiated in gov-

ernment hospitals across the province, she added. Death rate of mother and child will have to be stopped during delivery procedure. Concerned Ceo, gynaecologists and child specialists will be bound to submit verbal autopsy report to Health Department. Safe and secure treatment of patients can be ensured in medical sciences with the help of modern knowledge, she concluded.

Police torture cell uncovered in Gujranwala GUJRANWALA Staff RepoRt

A court bailiff on Sunday unearthed a police torture cell of and rescued three people who were being illegally detained and tortured there.

The court bailiff had for the recovery of a citizen named Intizar raided a private torture cell operated by Inspector Sarfraz Virk, deployed in Jinnah road police

station in Gujranwala and established in a building opposite to the police station.

During the operation, three people including Intizar were rescued. They were found handcuffed and tied with a cot.

Liquor and other narcotics were also recovered from the vicinity. The rescued citizens told the raiding team that they were brutally tortured and injured with washing powder dissolved in

water. The court directed for medical examinations of the rescued persons to be conducted and also sought a report in this regard. Jinnah road SHo denied awareness about the private torture cell.

Inspector Sarfraz Virk, however, admitted his involvement.

Punjab police have had to face huge criticism for extrajudicial activities involving torture being carried out by police personnel.

In September, eight police-

men including a DSP in Vehari were arrested for the torture of a local woman. According to the victim, she was electrocuted and beaten in a torture cell, and later the police officials hanged her on stairs. She was accused of robbery by a landlord when police took her to the torture cell. earlier, a suspected ATM robber was killed after being severely tortured by police officers while he was in their custody.

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the present situation.”

“There are two reasons for weak democracy in Pakistan; one reason is the dominance of the army while the other is the weakness and timidity of all other state institutions,” said the ex-general. on concluding the session, Arif nizami said that national security could only be strengthened when democratic institutions and the media are allowed to function without interference. “All institutions are under threat at present. The dream of civilian control over the armed forces will be realized when all institutions, including media, become independent.”

Former prime minister Yousaf raza Gillani, while addressing the closing ceremony said, “I am deeply concerned over what I see as the present government’s drift towards instability. The supremacy of parliament is under threat while the government has abandoned the principles of parliamentary democracy in preference of dangerous populism which will only weaken the federation.” Marriyum Aurangzeb, Qamaruz Zaman Qaira, Irfan Qadir, Salima Hashmi, Mian Iftikhar Hussain, Sardar Akhtar Mengal, Mohsin Dawar were some of the prominent names who participated in the the conference.

Buzdar says law and order govt’s top priority Lahore: A meeting chaired by Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar in Lahore reviewed in detail the law and order situation in the province.

The meeting agreed upon a comprehensive liaison between Punjab and federal governments for the betterment of peace in the province. Addressing the meeting, the chief minister said every possible step would be taken to protect the life and property of citizens and to maintain peace.

He directed police to discharge their duties with honesty to cope with anti-social elements.

Besides senior provincial officials, Federal Interior Minister Ijaz Shah also attended the meeting. Staff RepoRt

CMYK Monday, 21 October, 2019

DCs iDentify over 100,000 kanal of benami lanD t ISLAMABAD

sHAHzAD PARACHA

HE deputy commissioners (DCs) have identified more than 100,000 kanal of benami land worth billions of rupees, it emerged on Sunday.

Sources disclosed that DCs have submitted a report to the Prime Minister’s Office and have asked the authorities to identify benami land in the country.

DCs serving in all provinces and the federal capital have identified more than 100,000 kanal of benami land worth billions of rupees, sources said, adding that a great number of those benami properties are located in Sindh.

Sources further said that the PM Office has forwarded the report to the chairman of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for further action. It is worth mentioning here that the premier had

ordered DCs to submit a report on benami properties till September 30. FBR has established three different benami zones in the country and they are not

only identifying the properties but are also filing references against the beneficiaries. Sources said that recently, Anti-Benami Zone III, Karachi, has

filed a reference under the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 2017, in the last week with adjudication authority against the M/s Marshall Homes Builders & Developers Pvt Ltd, a benami company. Sources said that this company is owned by Abdul Ghani Majeed, the son of Anwar Majeed who is the owner of Omni Group. In addition to this, Younus Kidwai is also the owner of this company, sources claimed.

Sources disclosed that the company owns one plot in Saddar Karachi worth Rs1 billion in 2016 and its current market price is around Rs2 billion. The Anti-Benami Zone has requested adjudication authority to confiscate the benami assets as per law, sources added.

In addition to this, sources also said that the incumbent government, in the last federal cabinet meeting, deferred the ordinance pertaining to amendment in the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 2017.

Historic Srinagar mosque closed for prayers since August 5 ISLAMABAD APP

The historic Jamia Masjid of Srinagar remains closed for devotees since 5th August and a large number of Indian forces’ personnel are deployed in and outside the Jamia Market, in Indian Occupied Kashmir. The people of Kashmir Valley and Muslim majority areas of Jammu region continue to reel under military clampdown and internet black-

CIty Notes M.A. NIAzI Well, we Lahoris got our fill of royalty, with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge spending a day in the city. Prince William is not exactly the heir apparent to the British throne, as that would be his father Charles. Still, William is probably ghoulishly interested in the health of his grandmother Elizabeth and his father.

But this trip was not so much about his father, as his mother, the late Lady Diana. So he made the mandatory visit to Shaukat Khanum. Did he play cricket because he likes the game, or as a tribute to Imran Khan? Or was there some need to show that Pakistan was a safe place?

Because he had his little knockabout not far from the place where the Sri Lankan team was attacked in 2009, leading to the match and tour being abandoned.

Perhaps the highlight of the visit to Lahore was William’s meeting with Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar. Buzdar did not give him a demonstration of the dying art of writing with one’s feet, contrary to rumour, nor did he give him a pair of goats from his farms. And no, it was neither because William didn’t know how to transport goats back to the UK, nor because the Punjab government knew that the price of goats had gone up, but still thought the CM was being exorbitant. From goats to girls is a big leap, but it must be made, because it seems that

out on the 77th consecutive day, reported by Kashmir Media Service.

People particularly patients and doctors are facing difficulties in reaching the hospitals in the absence of public transport. Shops and other business establishments continue to remain shut most of the time as a silent protest against India’s brutal actions in the territory. Students continue to stay away from their classes despite the Indian government has announced to open the educational institu-

tions. A Hong Kong-based English daily South China Morning Post in its article says that Kashmir feels like it is at risk of exploding at any time, after India announced the revocation of its special status on 5th August. It says that normal life is non-existent for civilians in the occupied territory. The newspaper maintained that there is a feeling of vulnerability, fear and hopelessness among the journalists of Kashmir.

Meanwhile, civil society members gathered at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi to protest against the continued lockdown in Kashmir. The protesters released a citizens’ statement in opposition to the Indian government’s move and said no steps should be taken about the future of Jammu and Kashmir without the consent of the people. They demanded restoration of the pre-August 5 position in the territory.

A documentary titled ‘Forced labour under the largest democracy’ was released during an event in New

Delhi. The director of the film, Shafkat Raina briefed the audience about the nature of forced labour that was conducted by the Indian troops in Kashmir during the ’90s. He also informed the audience about the circumstances and the negative effects that this forced labour had on the psyche and life of the Kashmiri victims. He said the forced labour is still prevalent in many areas of Kashmir including Pulwama district wherein Indian troops confiscate the vehicles from the drivers and later use them for encounters and night raids.

Members of the Kashmiri community, their friends and well-wishers held a ‘Kashmir Freedom March’ in Southampton, UK, to raise awareness of the violations of human rights in occupied Kashmir. The protesters of all ages showed their support for the people of the territory with flags and placards stating “Time for the UN to act for Kashmir” and “India stop torture in occupied Kashmir”.

The heir, but not the spare Lady Diana’s sons have bucked the family trend. The British Royal family has worked on blondes. Queen Elizabeth married a blonde, Prince Phillip, and then Prince Charles married Lady Diana. The result: William, who will be the UK’s first blonde King, though by the time he gets to the throne, he’ll have precious little left on top. Yet he married a dark girl.

He didn’t go as far as his younger brother Harry, another blonde, who married a mulatto (well, a black, actually; even if you’re blond, so long as there’s a negro in your ancestry, you’re black).

One theory is that that was the only way he could make his mark on history; as the prince who introduced tar into the Royal family. After all, as his uncle Andrew might testify, being the spare isn’t easy at all (queens, wives of kings and of heirs apparent are supposed to produce an ‘heir and a spare’). But it is necessary.

William and Harry’s great-grandfather, George VI, was born a ‘spare’, becoming King because his elder brother (Edward VIII) abdicated. And his father, George V, had succeeded because his elder brother Arthur died.

Of course, it doesn’t always work.

Go back about 800 years, and come to Richard I, Lionheart. He only became King because the heir and the spare were already dead. Sometimes, I think the

French got it right in 1793, when they executed Citizen Capet, whom they had already stripped of the title of King of France. Of course, the English have their own Republican tradition, best illustrated by how they shortened Charles I by a head in 1649. That little incident might be behind the intention of the Prince of Wales to choose George VII as his regnal name rather than Charles III. So it’s lucky that Buzdar didn’t mention it to Prince William. And nor did Imran, though he would probably have insisted

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that Charles was shot in Ekaterinberg.

Imran was busy, though, what with dealing with interlopers like Maulana Fazlur Rehman, trying to steal his copyright on staging dharnas. However, sending Pervez Khattak to negotiate with Maulana Fazal was a mistake. The Maulana probably didn’t want to catch TB from him, and probably thought that he would neither be much a host, nor would he be worth entertaining. Looking at their respective physiques, they don’t seem likely to reach a deal. What the

NEWS

05

kashmir military clampdown continues unchecked for 77 days SRINAGAR INP

In occupied Kashmir, the people of Kashmir Valley and Muslim majority areas of Jammu region continue to reel under military clampdown and internet suspension on the 77th consecutive day, today. According to Kashmir Media Service, normal life remains paralyzed due to restrictions and gag on internet and cellular services except for partial restoration of postpaid and landline phones. People continue to observe shutdown as a silent protest against India’s brutal actions in the territory.

Shops and business establishments remain closed most of the time except for few hours in the morning and evening. People particularly patients and doctors are facing difficulties in reaching the hospitals in the absence of public transport. Traffic is also off the roads in Kupwara, Baramulla, Bandipora, Pattan, Handwara and Sopore in north Kashmir.

Reports of strike were also received from Islamabad, Shopian, Pulwama, Pampore and Kulgam in South Kashmir, where additional forces’ personnel remain deployed. There was also no change in the situation in the central Kashmir districts of Srinagar, Badgam and Ganderbal, where business and other activities remain paralysed. The historic Jamia Masjid of Srinagar remains closed for devotees since August 5. A large number of Indian forces’ personnel remain deployed in the Jamia market and outside the worship place. Students continued to stay away from their classes since August 5 though the Indian government had announced that there would be no relaxation in syllabus and issued date-sheet for examinations of 10th and 12th classes from the last week of this month. Parents are reluctant to send their wards to educational institutions, fearing for their safety.

Maulana would like would be for the PML(Q) to be put in charge, and for its president to say the golden words: “Maulana, chalo, roti shoti khaiay.”

(Maulana, come, LET’S EAT.) But maybe the Prime Minister is busy convincing the Chief of Army Staff that there was no conspiracy against him, even though it seems the same people who deprived US President Donald Trump of the Nobel Peace Prize were against him too, and prevented him from winning the Nobel Prize for Economics.

General Bajwa has had his hopes up ever since Bob Dylan won the Literature Prize. Not that General Bajwa’s contributions to economic theory are the equivalent of rock lyrics, but it meant that the Nobel givers were thinking outside the box. Then there’s the thinking out of the box represented by the first allwomen spacewalk, by two American women. It’s the angle. It could have been represented as the first all-Jewish spacewalk. Or even as the first spacewalk by a marine biologist. Yes, one of those astronauts did a doctorate in marine biology. She graduated in biology and did a masters in space science. Don’t ask me how. I don’t just not know, I refuse to.

There are signs that the clampdown is easing. But it’s on-off, on-again-offagain. Is there a ban on SMSs. No one seems to be sure. But the government has found a surefire way of getting the Indians out of Kashmir: they tied armbands around each other. Modi is cowering under his desk.

Monday, 21 October, 2019

06 WORLD VIEW

new STaTeSMan HeLeN THoMPSoN

w

ITHOUT America’s “forever wars” in the Middle East there quite probably would be no President Donald Trump. In his supposedly implausible quest for the Republican nomination, Trump attacked the party establishment in February 2016 for failing to see that, after spending “five trillion dollars” over 15 years in the region, “we haven’t won anything”.

During the presidential campaign, he said Hillary Clinton’s promise to establish no-fly zones in Syria, with Russian military aircraft active in the country, was courting “world war three”. These attacks hurt his opponents. Most voters are long disillusioned with America’s Middle Eastern failures, choosing in 2008, 2012 and 2016 the presidential candidate vowing to end the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria respectively.

But in announcing on 6 October that the US will withdraw troops from northern Syria, Trump risks bestowing political capital on the House Democrats who wish to impeach him. Syria is perhaps the one issue that has the potential to make the Republican Senate leadership politically accept the Democrat accusation that Trump is unfit to hold office and should be removed by non-electoral means.

Trump’s decision is costing Kurdish lives, strengthening the Russianand Iranian-backed regime of Bashar al-Assad, and palpably am-

Trump wanTs To end america’s ‘Forever wars’ buT iT is puTin wHo Has THe greaTer conTrol in syria DONALD TRUMP’S ACTIONS ON SYRIA EXPOSE HIS CATASTROPHIC IMPULSIVENESS, BUT AMERICA’S STRATEGIC INCOHERENCE AND WEAKNESS GOES WELL BEYOND THE PRESIDENT plifies the never well disguised reality that his foreign policy decision-making is chaotic. Trump can score points with many voters on Syria. But, even without his impetuosity, he cannot escape the political impasse on the issue in Washington, DC, and the poor choices available when America’s cumulative failures in the Middle East have elevated Russian power in the region.

The US military entered Syria under Barack Obama in 2014 at the head of an international coalition to fight Islamic State (IS). This mission only arose because Obama’s initial policy aim of using the Syrian opposition to procure regime change in Damascus fell apart. The military commitment Obama made after IS made sweeping territorial gains was also half-hearted. Having promised that he would not place American troops in Syria, Obama needed local militias to do the ground fighting under American air cover, first of all in the Syrian border town of Kobanî. The Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) were the most viable option.

Immediately, this tactical imperative set up an inescapable conflict with Turkey, since it considers the YPG a terrorist organisation. Indeed, the costs of antagonising a fellow Nato member with a Mediterranean air base, Incirlik, on which the US depends led some Republicans now furious with

Trump to assail Obama as absurdly irresponsible. Lindsey Graham, Trump’s most ferocious Republican critic in the Senate on abandoning the YPG and Kurdish cities in Syria to Turkey, once called arming the YPG “the dumbest idea in the world”. Trump’s rhetoric and policy are mired in the contradictions generated by these strategic American weaknesses. During the 2016 campaign, he was simultaneously against forever wars and for defeating Isis. In May 2017, he decided to arm directly the YPG to retake Raqqa, IS’s de facto Syrian capital, and then six months later he promised to stop arming the YPG after complaints from the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Trump was also trapped from the start by a foreign-policy establishment aware there are no answers, but that won’t allow any admission of failure, as this would further expose American weakness against Russia in the Middle East. He assumed he had won some political space by ordering in April 2017 an air strike on Syrian government forces in response to the chemical weapons attack at Khan Shaykhun.

But when, three months later, he agreed with Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit a ceasefire in southwest Syria, Congress responded with a new sanctions bill against Moscow.

After he tried to accommodate Erdogan in November 2017, the

Father of the nation, or father of Hindutva?

influence in Syrian was ended – an eventuality that would require a confrontation with Russia.

Trump is in part doomed on Syria because more than any other issue it exposes the near-catastrophic consequences of his impulsiveness. At least three times he has changed the administration’s policy after a phone conversation with Erdogan. His disdain for the foreign policy-making process drove Mattis and others away, and it has left America’s supposed allies in the anti-IS coalition bewildered.

But incoherence on Syria in US politics goes well beyond Trump.

Helen Thompson is professor of political economy at Cambridge University.

Migrant underclass: arriving with dreams, ending up in chains

TiMeS of india Union home minister Amit Shah alluded to VD Savarkar while expressing the view that history needs to be rewritten from an Indian perspective. Shah’s views on the need for rewriting Indian history are understandable, since histories during much of the last century had a colonial bias and were tilted towards the British perspective. However, those histories began to be rewritten from about the 1970s onwards – Percival Spear’s ‘A History of India’ is hardly considered the last word in history writing nowadays – and subsequent histories can’t all be assumed to have a leftist bias as Shah suggests (although some do).

What stands out, however, are concerted attempts on the part of BJP leaders to ‘rehabilitate’ Savarkar, who was charged with murder in the plot to assassinate Mahatma Gandhi. Whether or not he was part of the plot to murder Gandhi (Sardar Patel, who BJP holds up as a counter-icon to Jawaharlal Nehru, thought he was), there can be little doubt that the outlook of Gandhi – the ‘apostle of nonviolence’ – was absolutely incompatible with the radical Savarkar’s. BJP prides itself as an “ideological” party, but for it to uphold both Gandhi and Savarkar is dizzyingly dissonant (the equivalent, say, of America upholding equally Thomas Jefferson and Vladimir Lenin).

While Gandhi upheld “Hindu-Muslim unity” Savarkar upbraided him for his “obsession” with it, and endorsed the two nation theory much before Jinnah did. Any ‘authentic’ history will need to record this as well. Savarkar’s most alarming idea – also a keynote of the Hindutva ideology he founded – is that the patriotism of Indian Muslims and Christians is always suspect as their “holyland” is different from their “fatherland”.

To the extent that it promotes Savarkar, BJP will have to clarify where it stands on this principle – accepting which would do violence to the Indian Constitution and render India a Hindu Pakistan where, too, minorities are deemed lesser citizens.

State Department and Pentagon ensured that arms shipments to the YPG continued anyway. When IS appeared finally defeated in December 2018, Trump tweeted that the US would withdraw all its troops, only for James Mattis, the then defence secretary, and Brett McGurk, the US special envoy on IS – to resign. Within weeks, Trump was forced to agree to a slower and incomplete withdrawal. Having retreated, his then national security adviser, John Bolton, and his secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, began suggesting that the remaining US troops would stay until all Iranian

Joe Biden has also promised to “end the forever wars in Afghanistan and the Middle East” while attacking Trump’s “America first” foreign policy. Various other high-profile Democrats, including Elizabeth Warren, have signed a pledge to end the forever wars, but have still attacked Trump’s troop withdrawal as irresponsible. “We need a strategy to end this conflict,” Warren tweeted.

That is wishful thinking, because the reality is that Russia now has a greater capacity to find an endgame in Syria than the US, and without any prospect of resolution on American terms the electoral pressure to end the forever wars will not abate.

THE AUSTRALIAN IDEAL IS TO BUILD A NATION WITH MIGRANTS WHO ENTER THE WORKFORCE AND HAVE A PATHWAY TO PERMANENT RESIDENCY AND CITIZENSHIP Sydney Morning Herald DaviD Crowe

Imagine, for a moment, being a woman who comes to Australia on the promise of having a job as a cook and a visa for a new life. Then imagine being told to work without pay for six months. Then being told to pay tens of thousands of dollars for that visa. Then being fired when you refuse to pay.

That is one example of the exploitation going on in this country against migrant workers who arrive with dreams and end up in chains. While the cook had a “temporary skill shortage” visa, she was totally exposed to the restaurant owner who treated her like an indentured labourer. Once she refused to pay, she had only 60 days to find a new sponsor.

Now imagine a worker without a visa. She signed up to a scam overseas – let’s say Malaysia – and applied for asylum as soon as she landed in Sydney. Her claim will take two years to be decided.

She works illegally and will be dependent on her “sponsors” for everything. “The conditions are shocking,” says Matthew Kunkel of the Migrant Workers Centre in Melbourne. “It’s not hyperbolic to say the conditions for some of these workers in Australia are like slavery.”

Kunkel represents workers who are cheated by employers because they are vulnerable, such as students from Colombia or labourers from Vanuatu.

Some of these cases make headlines, but many claims are only lodged when these legal workers are at the end of their stay and have nothing to lose.

Nobody will ever hear of the illegal workers. They have no status. They lodge no claims. Their exploitation is invisible. The problem is obvious for those who care to look. The number of people arriving by air and claiming asylum reached 95,000 over the past five years. About 65 people are still arriving every day (it is not 80 a day as government figures first showed, in an error by an official last week).

Some are genuine refugees. Most are not. About 90 per cent have their claims rejected. Once their claims go through the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, they wait two years on average before they go home. They used to wait one year, but the longer the delay the greater the incentive to seek illegal work. It is easy to stoke fears about foreign workers or anxiety about asylum seekers. That is not what this column is about. What, after all, is the threat? The exploitation of workers, legal and illegal, keeps prices down.

And there are no boats. It is easy to turn a blind eye to this sort of problem.

Yet these exploited workers are all around us. We don’t move without them keeping our cities working. We don’t eat without them getting food to our plates. The Australian economy is now built on an entire strata of the workforce made up of cheap labour from overseas. More than 95,000 people have claimed asylum after arriving by plane in the past five years.

The Australian ideal is to build a nation with migrants who enter the workforce and have a pathway to per-

manent residency and citizenship.

When that ideal works, it makes Australia the best country in the world. But what if it fails? What if Australian society actually depends on illegal workers who have no pathway to citizenship and are only here until their luck runs out?

They are temporary and disposable. No sick pay. No award rates. No options.

Consider, for example, another cook.

She flew in from the Philippines on a tourist visa and was fooled into thinking she could get a further visa. Then she fell out with her employer. She was sleeping in a train station by the time the Migrant Workers Centre came to her aid. These cases are merely illustrative. Illegal workers do not seek headlines. Yet there is no secrecy about the big picture – and where the pressure is coming from.

In the year to June, 57 per cent of the refugee claimants at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal came from Malaysia, while another 15 per cent came from China. These were followed by Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan, India and Pakistan. As with migration in general, the destinations are Sydney and Melbourne: 37 per cent of the claims are made in NSW and 45 per cent in Victoria. The source countries have not changed much over recent years. What has changed is the size of the crowd at the arrivals counter. It was 8252 a year four years ago and 24,520 last financial year.

This is now a political flashpoint.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton and Immigration Minister David Coleman insist everything is under control.

Labor’s home affairs spokeswoman,

Kristina Keneally, calls it a crisis. Labor makes the obvious political calculation that it is time to talk about almost 100,000 plane people after years of being blamed for 50,000 boat people. Crisis or not, this is a genuine test for the people who are supposed to be in charge. The Coalition told Australians it had the borders under control, so this is about the everyday business of government. Managing the show. Running the country.

The government says it is on top of the situation because it rejects applicants who are not genuine refugees. It does not say how many of those rejected are currently in the community, working perhaps while they appeal.

And it cannot be sure of the abuse some of these workers face. Can it check every kitchen? Every nail salon?

These workers are obviously a small proportion of the workforce and a tiny share of the travellers who walk through the airport arrivals halls every year. Even so, why shrug off the percentage when the arrivals are on track for 24,000 this year? Coleman is getting the annual rate down slightly, but the year is not over and it is too soon to declare mission accomplished.

The cook mentioned at the beginning of this column is still in Australia. Kunkel says she is trying to recover some of her wages. Her future is uncertain but at least she has a visa. Spare a thought for others who do not. The underclass may seem invisible, but it’s there.

David Crowe correspondent.

is

chief

political

Monday, 21 October, 2019

FOREIGN NEWS 07

PoMPEo sAys Us coMMiTTEd To AfghAn PEAcE AfTEr dEAdly ExPlosions KABUL

U

AGENCIES

S Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Washington remained committed to peace and stability in Afghanistan as police searched for bodies in the rubble of a mosque in eastern Nangarhar province where bomb blasts killed at least 69 people.

The explosives that went off during Friday prayers were placed inside the mosque in the Jawdara area of the Haska Mena district. On Friday, local officials had reported the number of dead at 62 and around 50 wounded.

“The United States remains committed to peace and stability in Afghanistan, and will continue to fight against terrorism,” Pompeo said in a statement. “We stand by the people of Afghanistan who only want peace and a future free from these abhorrent acts of violence.” Sohrab Qaderi, a member of Nangarhar’s provincial council, said the mosque, with a capacity of more than 150 worshippers at a time, was full

of people when the bombs exploded.

“Bodies of 69 people, including children and elders, have been handed to their relatives,” Qaderi said, adding that more bodies could be lying under the rubble. No group has claimed responsibility but the government blamed

WASHINGTON AGENCIES

Defense Secretary Mark Esper says that under current plans all U.S. troops leaving Syria will go to western Iraq and the military will continue to conduct operations against the Islamic State group to prevent its resurgence.

Speaking to reporters traveling with him to the Middle East, Esper did not rule out the idea that U.S. forces would conduct counterterrorism missions from Iraq into Syria. But he said those details will be worked out over time.

His comments were the first to specifically lay out where American troops will go as they leave Syria and what the counter-IS fight could look like. Esper said he has spoken to his Iraqi counterpart about the plan to shift the more than 700 troops leaving Syria into western Iraq.

The developments made clear that one of President Donald Trump’s rationales for withdrawing troops from Syria was not going to come to pass any time soon. “It’s time to bring our soldiers back home,” he said Wednesday. But they are not coming home.

As Esper left Washington on Saturday, U.S. troops were continuing to pull out of northern Syria after Turkey’s invasion into the border region. Reports of sporadic clashes continued between Turkish-backed fighters and the U.S.-allied Syria Kurdish forces despite a five-day cease-fire agreement hammered out on Friday between U.S. and Turkish leaders.

Trump ordered the bulk of the approximately 1,000 U.S. troops in Syria to withdraw after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made it clear in a phone call that his forces were about to invade Syria to push back Kurdish forces that Turkey considers terrorists. The pullout largely abandons the Kurdish allies who have fought the Islamic State group alongside U.S. troops for several years. Between 200 and 300 U.S. troops will remain at the southern Syrian outpost of Al-Tanf.

Esper said the troops going into Iraq will have two missions. “One is to help defend Iraq and two is to perform a counter-ISIS mission as we sort through the next steps,” he said. “Things could change between now and whenever we complete the withdrawal, but that’s the game plan right now.”

Taliban insurgents, who are fighting to reimpose strict Islamic law after they were ousted from power in 2001 by U.S.-led forces.

Suhail Shaheen, a spokesman for the Taliban, denied the group was responsible. In a tweet, he said that wit-

nesses to the attack said it was a mortar attack by government forces.

One of the wounded, Gulabistan, 45, said the mosque was full when the explosion happened.

“Mullah already started prayers and reciting verses of holy Koran, when a huge boom happened, then all around me it got dark, the only thing I remember is females’ voices and then I found myself in the hospital,” Gulabistan said.

He said he had been told his son was among the dead while his brother and two nephews had been wounded and were in hospital.

A Reuters reporter saw 67 freshly excavated graves for the victims in Jawdara village. The European Union said the attack aimed to undermine hopes for peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan.

The Taliban and Islamic State fighters are actively operating in parts of Nangarhar, which shares a border with Pakistan in the east.

A United Nations report this week said 4,313 civilians were killed and wounded in Afghanistan’s war between July and September.

US troops leaving Syria to go to western Iraq, says defence chief

Afghan presidential polls results delayed by ‘technical glitches’ KABUL: The election commission in Afghanistan on Saturday issued an apology over the persistent delay in the announcement of the presidential election results. The head of the country’s Independent Election Commission, Hava Alam Nuristani, told a press conference in the evening that technical glitches and careful efforts to ensure transparency are behind the delay. ”The election commission seeks apology from the people of Afghanistan and parties involved in the elections over delay in announcement of the preliminary results”, she said. The incumbent President Ashraf Ghani, frontrunner in the elections, welcomed the move. “The Afghan people yearn to hear about the results of the presidential elections, but we respect the Independent Election Commission’s decision to postpone announcing the results to ensure fairness, transparency, and accountability of the final vote,” Ghani tweeted. Under the Constitution, a presidential candidate needs more than 50% of the votes to be declared the winner. If no candidate wins the simple majority, a second and final round between the top two candidates of the first round will be held on Nov 23. The top election body was supposed to announce the preliminary results on Oct. 19 while the final results of the election – where a total of 13 candidates are running for the top seat – will be announced on Nov. 7. Among the front-running candidates are the incumbent president Mohammad Ashraf Ghani and his power-sharing chief executive Abdullah Abdullah and former Mujahideen leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. AGENCIES

Modi’s Turkey visit put off over Erdogan’s Kashmir remarks NEWS DESK

The U.S. currently has more than 5,000 American forces in Iraq, under an agreement between the two countries. The U.S. pulled its troops out of Iraq in 2011 when combat operations there ended, but they went back in after the Islamic State group began to take over large swaths of the country in 2014. The number of American forces in Iraq has remained small due to political sensitivities in the country, after years of what some Iraqis consider U.S. occupation during the war that began in 2003.

Esper said he will talk with other allies at a NATO meeting in the coming week to discuss the way ahead for the counter-IS mission. Asked if U.S. special operations forces will conduct unilateral military operations into Syria to go after IS, Esper said that is an option that will be discussed with allies over time.

He said one of his top concerns is what the next phase of the counter-IS missions looks like, “but we have to work through those details. He said that if U.S. forces do go in, they would be protected by American aircraft.

While he acknowledged reports of intermittent fighting despite the cease-fire agreement, he said that overall it “generally seems to be holding. We see a stability of the lines, if you will, on the ground.”

He also said that, so far, the Syrian Democratic Forces that partnered with the U.S. to fight IS have maintained control of the prisons in Syria where they are still present. The Turks, he said, have indicated they have control of the IS prisons in their areas.

“I can’t assess whether that’s true or not without having people on the ground,” said Esper.

The Government of India has decided to put off a proposed visit by Narendra Modi to Ankara, as a part of a number of measures showing its displeasure over Turkish President Recip Tayyip Erdogan’s UNGA (United Nations General Assembly) speech last month where he criticised its move on Article 370 in Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IoJ&K). According to sources, the visit, which had been discussed when Modi met Erdogan in Osaka in June last, is unlikely to take place by year-end, as planned earlier. Official sources said India’s sharp criticism of Ankara’s military operations in Syria this week, as well as an expected decision to cancel the selection of Turkey’s Anadolu shipyard to build naval support ships for it followed its unhappiness over Turkey’s stand on Kashmir. Modi had last visited Turkey during the G20 in Antalya in 2015.

Rohingya refugees agree move to Bangladesh island, says official AGENCIES Thousands of Rohingya living in Bangladesh refugee camps have agreed to move to an island in the Bay of Bengal, officials said on Sunday, despite fears the site is prone to flooding.

Dhaka has long wanted to move 100,000 refugees to the muddy silt islet, saying it would take pressure off the overcrowded border camps where almost a million Rohingya live. Some 740,000 Rohingya fled Myanmar in August 2017 in the face of a military crackdown, joining 200,000 refugees already in makeshift tent settlements at Cox’s Bazar.

Bangladesh’s refugee commissioner, Mahbub Alam, said officials overseeing the relocation would be posted to Bhashan Char island in the next few days.

“Approximately 6,000-7,000

refugees have already expressed their willingness to be relocated to Bhashan Char,” Alam told AFP from Cox’s Bazar, adding that “the number is rising”.

He did not say when the refugees would be moved, but a senior Navy officer involved in building facilities on the island said it could start by December, with some 500 refugees sent daily.

Bangladesh had been planning since last year to relocate Rohingya to the desolate flood-prone site, which is an hour by boat from the mainland.

Rights groups have warned the island, which emerged from the sea only about two decades ago, might not be able to withstand violent storms during the annual monsoon season.

In the past half a century, powerful cyclones have killed hundreds of thousands of people in the Meghna river estu-

ary where the island is located.

Rohingya leaders would be taken to Bhashan Char to view the facilities and living conditions, Alam said.

Safety facilities built on the island include a nine-feet (three-metre) high embankment along its perimeter to keep out tidal surges during cyclones, and a warehouse to store months-worth of rations, he added. Rohingya father-of-four Nur Hossain, 50, said he and his family agreed to relocate to Bhashan Char after they were shown video footage of the shelters.

“I have agreed to go. The camp here (at Leda) is very overcrowded. There are food and housing problems,” the 50-yearold told AFP. There was no immediate comment from the UN, although Bangladeshi officials said they expect a delegation would visit the island in the next few weeks.

Monday, 21 October, 2019

08 COMMENT

Nobel Prize 2019 for innovative poverty economics

The case for the prosecution Why is Rana Sanaullah not being brought to trial

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TaTe anti-Narcotics Minister Shehryar afridi should realise that he will have to find some better reason for not bringing rana Sanaullah to trial than his purported influence, as a former Punjab law Minister, over the investigating agencies. Mr afridi’s admiration of the anti-Narcotics Force is opportune, as he is the minister in charge of it, but he should not expect others to share that gushing enthusiasm.

It is probably an unconscious result, but Mr afridi’s reasons for failing to bring rana Sana before a court show his government in a poor light. Is the narrative that the PTI has still not taken power? Is there not something contrived in his not accepting responsibility for the transfer of the anti-Narcotics judge by Whatsapp? The transfer was carried out by the law Ministry. The allegation that ‘someone’ had deleted the video evidence showing the recovery of drugs from rana Sana’s vehicle, indicates that the Punjab Safe Cities authority is not controlled by the PTI’s Punjab government. He says that the lahore High Court is to be requested to allow the trial to proceed in jail, or for the case to be transferred to rawalpindi, because the prosecution cannot guarantee the safety of witnesses. If the government cannot guarantee it in drug cases, it has to be the government’s lack of capability.

Is there any truth to the suggestion that the arrest and investigation were so botched, that no judge will convict? Whatever the reason, and not because he is a former Minister, rana Sanaullah deserves a trial in which he is confronted with the evidence against him, and is given the opportunity to defend himself. If the prosecution is unable to produce the required evidence to effectively try rana Sana then perhaps his already elongated detention is no longer merited. It would be best if Mr afridi focused more on making the case against rana Sana rather than embarrassing himself and the government on television talk shows with justifications for a delay in proceedings that make little to no sense.

Polio focal person Too late the hero?

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He Prime Minister’s Focal Person for Polio eradication, ata Babar, has resigned, citing personal reasons, rather than the sixfold rise in polio cases this year that should have seen him booted out anyway. That the number of polio cases, which was 12 in 2018, has gone up to 72 already, with more than two months still to go in the year, is a case for consternation ordinarily, let alone while Pakistan, along with Nigeria and afghanistan, is one of the last three countries in the world that still harbours the disease.

Once polio is eliminated from these three, it will join smallpox as a disease which no longer affects people. In his resignation letter, Mr Babar has been fulsome in his praise for the personnel carrying out the eradication drive, but he has no word of explanation of why he has presided over such a precipitous rise in infections. even though he has left office to look after an ailing father, according to him, some explanation of what went wrong might have helped his successor, or at least those who will take on his responsibilities. The person ultimately responsible, the Health Services Minister, aamir Mahmood Kiani, was sacked, but for other sins, not the polio programme. His replacement, PM’s adviser zafar Mahmood Mirza, does not seem to have put polio on his list of priorities. This raises the suspicion that the government may not have got it very high on its own list of priorities. even if the federal authorities wash their hands of the affair, saying that it is a provincial matter, it is worth noting that the overwhelming number of cases this year, 53 so far, have been recorded in KP, where the PTI has been in office since 2013. There are six cases from Baluchistan, and five from Punjab, both provinces where the PTI or an ally form the government. It is either a low priority, or is being handled by incompetent people. The future of the nation’s children is at stake. apart from the economic costs, apart from foreign donor pressure, the government should realise the need to save children from being crippled. If this means the elimination of the dread disease, no stone must be left unturned, as it seems has been happening so far.

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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Academics qho have moved away from the neoliberal framework

DR OmER JAVED

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rICKle-dOWN economics did not really bear fruits towards either lowering income inequality or denting poverty, in any sustained way. In fact, with the help of deepening financialization of economies, and lowering of overall government intervention or regulation, at the back of Neoliberal assault since the start of the 1980s, it resulted in a phenomenal increase in the income and wealth of a small section of people, at the cost of the rest of the people in the society.

For the most, they did not have access to financial markets to earn proportionally higher returns than on traditional saving instruments, especially at the back of stagnating and even falling wages for many years now, in both the developed and developing countries. development economics or economics, in general, did not seem to have an answer to this phenomenon. It took the Global Financial Crisis of 2007/08– otherwise called the ‘Great recession’– to jolt many countries virtually blindly following the onesize-fits-all kind of Washington-styled policies, to re-think the neoliberal policy framework.

In this regard, over time, a broader, more focused, and creative approach adopted by policy makers to deal with poverty issues, in a very contextual way; one that was based on hard-core evidence rather than influenced by intuition. For this, political economics, and influenced by it, heterodox approaches were tapped into, especially in areas that challenged the neoclassical assumptions; including realizing, among others, the unbounded rationality of economic agents, the role of transaction costs, and in turn greater role of institutions, governments, and regulation,

in the functioning of economic exchanges in organizations and markets.

The Sveriges riksbank Prize in economic Sciences in Memory of alfred Nobel 2019, therefore, makes a lot of sense to be (jointly) awarded to three poverty economists– abhijit Banerjee, esther duflo, and Michael Kremer– ‘for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty’; where Banerjee and duflo work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), while Kremer works at the Harvard University.

The Prize will indeed help the work on poverty economics move forward with even more renewed energy. This is very important since according to the press release accompanying the announcement of the award, ‘More than 700 million people still subsist on extremely low incomes. every year, around five million children under the age of five still die of diseases that could often have been prevented or cured with inexpensive treatments. Half of the world’s children still leave school without basic literacy and numeracy skills’. Having said that, in a statement made by duflo soon after the announcement of the award indicated that among the bad news with regard to rising overall poverty levels and income inequality, a significant number of people have come out of extreme poverty in many countries during recent years.

Through applying innovative techniques to tackling poverty worldwide, whereby a new approach was adopted by the three scholars– while working in collaboration for many years now– to ‘obtaining reliable answers about the best ways to fight global poverty. In brief, it involves dividing this issue into smaller, more manageable, questions– for example, the most effective interventions for improving educational outcomes or child health. They have shown that these smaller, more precise, questions are often best answered via carefully designed experiments among the people who are most affected’.

Over time, their experimental approach has dominated the field of development economics; whereby more practical approaches have been

reached to tackling poverty, in both its common and unique dimensions prevalent worldwide; in turn, highlighting two important policy lessons for IMF (International Monetary Fund) programmes, and which are to move away significantly economic orthodoxy, and one-size-fits-all kind of policies. as ‫‏‬Prime Minister Imran Khan looks to tackle the substantial issue of poverty in Pakistan, his government should learn from the policy-related work of these three scholars on poverty, which among other achievements has benefited ‘more than five million Indian children... from effective programmes of remedial tutoring in schools. another example is the heavy subsidies for preventive healthcare that have been introduced in many countries’.

In fact, the Pakistani government should learn from the whole movement of the fight against poverty at the ‘abdul latif Poverty action Plan’ (j-Pal) at the MIT, mainly led by the three professors– where Banerjee and duflo were the co-founders of j-Pal, while Kremer has remained their long-time j-Pal affiliate– who have spent a significant portion of their lives working in j-Pal; where ‘the abdul latif jameel Poverty action lab (j-Pal) is a global research centre working to reduce poverty by ensuring that policy is informed by scientific evidence. anchored by a network of 181 affiliated professors at universities around the world, j-Pal conducts randomized impact evaluations to answer critical questions in the fight against poverty’.

Traditional policies to fight poverty have not worked that well, and it is therefore time for developing countries like Pakistan, along with World Bank, and other multilateral and bilateral development agencies, to learn from these new, innovative, and hands-on approaches to denting poverty.

Dr Omer Javed holds PhD in Economics degree from the University of Barcelona, and previously worked at International Monetary Fund. He tweets @omerjaved7

A hell of peace and prosperity

for the Modi government, Mr Khan, in his speech at UNGa, had to warn the world that India’s actions in Kashmir could cause a “bloodbath” in the region and provoke war between the two nuclear-armed countries.

On the other hand, Mr Modi also did his best to misguide the world regarding the ever worst against it. Pakistan is also one such victim of this situation of human rights violations in Kashmir propaganda move; it has to face a lot of hin- by presenting a very calm and peaceful picture drances and hurdles, sometimes in the shape of of the Valley, but all his efforts surely received blame and allegations and sometimes in the form a very serious setback when the participants of of conspiracies; the objective is simply to malign the General assembly came to know of a petiPakistan’s support to the Kashmiris. But it is pos- tion filed in a Houston Court by a victim Kashitive that in spite of this childish and notorious miri-american family for grave human rights behaviour of the Indian government, Pakistan violations in Kashmir. The Court had summoned has neither changed its policy nor its philosophy Mr. Modi, Interior Minister amit Shah and the regarding its efforts for world peace, specifically commander of the Indian army in Kashmir. It for peace in Indian-Held Kashmir. It is also a no- seems that Mr. Modi could not remember that table fact that Pakistan has never supported, Court ‘invitation’ in his heat and haste. Hopefavoured or encouraged fully he would again reany type of militancyceive an ‘invitation’ for the based action against the same purpose. cruelties of the Indian secuFor the last many The atrocities and rity forces in Indian-Held weeks, the situation in Kashmir. a few days beis getting worse cruelties inflicted upon Kashmir fore going to the USa for and worse. No internet, no the UN General assembly, the people of Kashmir by mobile phones, no media, Prime Minister Imran no communication; inciKhan had said, talking to the Indian security forces dents of rape are on the media, that anyone wanting Indian security forces are a proof that inwardly rise; to go and fight in occupied are brutally butchering the Kashmir would do a great use of pellet the Modi government has protesters; injustice to the Kashmiris guns on Kashmiri youth by undermining their legitaccepted the reality that has become a routine pracimate cause. He had further tice; people are not allowed Kashmiris, in no way, said, “Such an act would be even to go to the mosques. an act of animosity towards short, on one hand the want to be a part of India. In the Kashmiris.” This stateModi government is claimment of Mr. Khan was ing that Kashmir is an atoot The hostility of the warmly appreciated and ang of India but at the same Indian government admired even by the US time the people of Kashmir authorities. acting assisare being treated as if they against the Kashmiri tant Secretary for South belong to some hostile and Central asia alice G. land; as if they are aliens. people shows that India Wells said, commenting The atrocities and cruelties upon Mr. Khan’s statewants Kashmir without inflicted upon the people of ment, “Pakistan’s sustained Kashmir by the Indian sethe people of Kashmir commitment to counter all curity forces are a proof terrorist groups is critical to that inwardly the Modi regional stability.” Whatgovernment has accepted ever Mr Khan said in his the reality that Kashmiris, statement is a very clear message to the world in no way, want to be a part of India. The hostilthat Pakistan wants a peaceful solution to the ity of the Indian government against the KashKashmir issue without any bloodshed, without miri people shows that India wants Kashmir any massacre. Unfortunately the Modi govern- without the people of Kashmir. ment is taking Pakistan’s desire for peace as a weakness of Pakistan. just to make things clear Ali Sukhanver is a freelance journalist.

The suffering of the Kashmiri people goes on

ALI SUKHANVER

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ljazeera portrayed the true picture of the present-day Indian-Held Kashmir in a report a few weeks back, “In more than 50 interviews, residents in a dozen villages in Kashmir told The associated Press that the military had raided their homes since India’s government imposed a security crackdown in the region on august 5.

They said the soldiers inflicted beatings and electric shocks, forced them to eat dirt or drink filthy water, poisoned their food supplies or killed livestock, and threatened to take away and marry their female relatives. Thousands of young men have been arrested.” But on the other hand Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is still harping on the same theme that the cancellation of articles 370 and 35a would bring a new flood of peace and prosperity to the Indian-Held Kashmir. It is difficult to understand what type of peace and prosperity this region is going to be blessed with in such a horrible situation where even the honour of Kashmiri women is not safe.

If this is Modi’s desired shape of peace and prosperity, let the Kashmiris live in the hell of anarchy and distressful poverty instead of Modi’s paradise of peace and prosperity. a more agonizing fact is that whosoever tries to raise voice in favour of the wretched Kashmiris, the Modi government starts a very well organized type of hostile propaganda move Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

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Monday, 21 October, 2019

COMMENT 09 Editor’s mail

Send your letters to: Letters to Editor, Pakistan Today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan.

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PM Kashmir mission PM Imran Khan after a two-day stopover in Saudi arabia, has landed in New York to attend annual UN General assembly session. He is accompanied by Foreign Minister and two of unelected advisors, namely Hafeez Sheikh, allegedly a naturalised US Citizen and zulfi Bukhari, a British citizen by birth. any person who seeks US citizenship has to pledge on oath that he “absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom I have heretofore been a subject or citizen”.

Of course the PM will be assisted by our ambassadors to UN and USa, but what purpose do these two individuals serve, who when not holding any public office have never lived in this country, nor paid any taxes, neither do they have any stakes in Pakistan. When there was huge demonstration held in london on 15 august participated by thousands of Pakistanis, Kashmiris, Sikhs and some conscientious British citizens, neither of these two gentlemen had time to participate in them, although one of them holds portfolio of Overseas Pakistanis.

What is surprising is that a vocal Federal Minister was present in london, but he for reasons best known to him, did not take part in it. Unlike Indian diaspora, who constitutionally cannot hold dual nationality, nor right to vote in Indian elections, if they hold any foreign nationality, but are united on one platform and support whoever is elected by people of India.

They also send remittances back to India. It is unfortunate that Pakistani diaspora is divided among political parties of Pakistan and are rarely seen to be united on one platform.

GULL ZAMAn Peshawar

A judicial test The need for calm in a turbulent case ity. Where at one hand they are tasked to pre- dicial ship remains hanging. The day a member serve and protect the sanctity of the judiciary as of the highest court of the land is removed from a whole, on the other they have to ensure that office solely to serve the interest of certain quarters and not because of judicial accountability some actual misconduct, doesn’t get hampered in would be a sad and terrifythe process. Naturally, if ing day in the history of any other judge is indeed The Mr Justice Isa case is our country. a judge guilty of misconduct, then removed for a he or she should be prothe biggest test for the maybe thousand reasons from his ceeded against with strictly in accordance with Supreme Court in years office but the sole immunity that should be present law. However, simultaneously, the Supreme Court and all eyes remain on the is to secure his ability to dissent. also has to protect the inbench adjudicating it. Let express The decision of the dependence, integrity, imCourt on these partiality and dignity of us hope that at the end of Supreme petitions will be historic the judiciary as a whole. a SyED KASwAR GARDEzI small toe across the line the day, the rule of law and indeed be consequential. If the argument of Mr towards either side threatprevails above all and the justice Isa, that the Prime Or the past few weeks, the Supreme ens to sway away the ediknowingly adCourt remains huddled to deliberate fice upon which the sanctity of all institutions, Minister vised the President to file upon the constitutional petitions filed judiciary stands today.

by Mr justice Qazi Faeez Isa as well as Several questions of judiciary as well as the a false reference against him, carries weight with multiple bar associations challenging law continued to be raised establishment, remains the Bench, then what the references filed against the former. The full as the senior counsel on would be the effect of court headed by Mr justice Umar ata Bandial behalf of Mr justice Isa protected. We have such a declaration made has expressed its willingness to wrap up the continues his arguments matter at the earliest as it involves the apex before the ten-member enough enemies globally by the Supreme Court?

Will it not attract articles court itself. Perhaps, they are mindful of the far Supreme Court bench. and would rather not be 62 & 63 of the Constitureaching consequences of whatever decision according to the contion in so far as the parliathey reach and its potential repercussions. tentions made before the fighting amongst mentary membership of due to the far reaching presence of media bench, it has been alleged the Prime Minister is connowadays, the entire country is aware of the ref- that Mr justice Isa and his ourselves cerned? Similarly, if the erences filed against Mr justice Isa before the family have been illegally allegations are rejected Supreme judicial Council. adjudicating upon a spied upon by various and it is left open to the reference by the SjC would have been a routine agencies. It has also been SjC to deliberate upon the matter had it not been for the controversial in- asserted that confidential volvement of the federal government and the information regarding the judge and his family faith of Mr justice Isa, will an unbiased decision subsequent allegations by the judge himself. has been fed to the complainant, one Mr dogar, be made or will the SjC express its annoyance The general perception being steered by who had no other means of obtaining the infor- over allegations made against its chairman and Mr justice Isa himself is that the references are mation used in the complaints leading up to the members? every word formulating the basis of the a counterblast to his judgement rendered in the references before the SjC. While the judiciary Faizabad dharna case. may not be immune to ac- judgement that the Supreme Court will deliver Most liberal activists obcountability in general in due course will be meaningful. Whatever serve that certain quarters however, certain safe- decision that the Supreme Court reaches will are unhappy with the guards are indeed in place be criticized by one quarter or the other. If Mr words used therein. The Nevertheless, it can be to ensure that no judge is justice Isa succeeds in getting the references indirect finger is pointed embroiled in any contro- quashed, then the notion of ‘no judicial acsaid with the utmost towards the establishment versy over false and fabri- countability’ will gain traction and the critics will attack the judiciary for being biased in as the latter has been repcated charges. certainty that the Mr rimanded by the judge in Without prejudice, favour of a brother judge. at the same time, if his verdict. apart from certain points being raised Mr justice Isa’s fate is left for the SjC to deJustice Isa case is the the verdict, it is also

by Mr Muneer Malik, dur- cide, then the sentiment of serving the interwidely believed that the ing the course of his argu- ests of hidden powers will gradually rise and biggest test for the judge in question is ments, are indeed valid might drown the integrity of the apex court in Supreme Court in years and thought-provoking. If the process. fiercely independentNevertheless, it can be said with the utmost minded and cannot be inexecutive is allowed to and all eyes remain on the the fluenced in any manner snoop around members of certainty that the Mr justice Isa case is the whatsoever. Therefore, the judiciary and investi- biggest test for the Supreme Court in years and bench adjudicating it according to the petitions gate Supreme Court all eyes remain on the bench adjudicating it. let filed before the Supreme judges through the usual us hope that at the end of the day, the rule of law Court, the references are channels, then the same prevails above all and the sanctity of all institubasically an attempt to would undoubtedly oblit- tions, judiciary as well as the establishment, remuffle dissent and impinge upon the independ- erate the concept of the separation of powers of mains protected. We have enough enemies globally and would rather not be fighting ence of the judiciary. the executive and the judiciary.

Though the allegations may not exactly be at the same time, if false allegations have amongst ourselves. well founded, they give rise to certain pertinent been made, then the same can be and should be Syed kaswar Gardezi is a lawyer and a questions which leaves the Supreme Court ordinarily refuted through production of cogent bench tiptoeing a fine line between the inde- evidence. Not only is this a test case for the columnist. He can be contacted at pendence of judiciary and judicial accountabil- Supreme Court, but rather the future of the ju- kaswargardezi@gmail.com

F

Modi is RSS’s avatar ONlY five people were present at the rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s inaugural meeting, Hedgewar, Moonje, Veer Savarkar’s brother Ganesh damodar Savarkar, lV Paranjpe and BB Tholkar.

With rise of Bharatiya janata Party, Hedgewar now commands formidable respect with Hindu majority and terrified minorities.

India’s prime minister is avatar of rSS’s founder Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, who founded rSS on 27 September, 1925.

CP Bhishikar’s biography of Hedgewar, Keshav Sanghnirmata tells how rSS founder equated Muslims to “yavana” snakes. rakesh Sinha, BjP’s rajya Sabha MP and Hedgewar’s biographer, said, “Hedgewar formed rSS in order to consolidate the Hindus. He wanted to liberate them from restrictions imposed by the protracted Mughal-British rule. driving force for Hedgewar to form rSS was Vinayak damodar (Veer) Savarkar’s ideas on Hindutva and motherland. Sarvarkar had spelled out that only those who considered India as their fatherland and a holy land could be considered patriots. He ruled out Muslims, suggesting that their patriotism should always be suspected.

In a work that expressed admiration for Nazi Germany’s purge of jews, Golwalkar wrote in 1939, “… the foreign races in Hindustan must either adopt the Hindu culture and language, must learn to respect and hold in reverence Hindu religion, must entertain no idea but those of the glorification of the Hindu race and culture, i.e., of the Hindu nation and must lose their separate existence to merge in the Hindu race, or may stay in the country, wholly subordinated to the Hindu Nation, claiming nothing, deserving no privileges, far less any preferential treatment not even citizen’s rights.” (MS Golwalkar, We or Our Nationhood defined, Bharat Prakashan, 1939, 104-105). Golwalkar made it clear that in the rSS view, Hindu majoritarian identity politics is the only acceptable nationalism, and any politics of asserting an identity separate from the Hindu identity is ‘anti-national’ and ‘divisive.’ He wrote: “let us remember that this oneness is ingrained in our blood from our very birth, because we are all born as Hindus.” (Bunch of Thoughts, p 255).

AMJED JAvED Rawalpindi

Commercialisation of education alTHOUGH Islam stresses upon importance of seeking education and so did Quaid e azam, it is shocking that Pakistan Government has abdicated its primary function of regulating and providing quality education and promoting research and development by outsourcing it to private sector. at the time of partition, the subcontinent had two medical colleges attached to hospitals, one of them was KeMC in lahore and the other was in Calcutta. Some of best pre partition educational institutions were located in lahore, Peshawar, rawalpindi, Karachi etc, such as GC lahore, KeMC, Kinnaird College, Gordon College rawalpindi, edwards College Peshawar, Murray College Sialkot, Mama Parsi and Madressatul-Islam in Karachi etc. The government owned schools like Central Model in lahore were as good or even better than private schools. It is unfortunate that instead of improving the quality of education, it has deteriorated. It is primary constitutional function of the state, which it has outsourced and today education has been commercialised. Universities, colleges and schools have become a booming industry reaping profits.

Quantity has replaced quality. Similar is the fate of health.

It is the state’s failure to regulate which has resulted in over 4,000 of our doctors with post graduate degrees in MS and Md employed in Mid east and Gulf had their contracts terminated because private commercial institutions lacked structured training programmes and did not meet SCFHS regulations. For over a decade the state closed its eyes until there was an international scandal exposing fake degrees being sold by aXaCT and so powerful are their protectors that till today nobody has been given punishment they deserved.

No state in the world can survive and achieve economic self-reliance unless it invests in promotion of science, technology, economics and arts etc. educational institutions must not be reduced to commercial business ventures.

MALIk TARIq ALI Lahore

Monday, 21 October, 2019

10 FOREIGN NEWS

After corruptIoN AllegAtIoNS, trump SAYS g7 SummIt woN’t be At hIS reSort MIAMI

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AGENCIES

S President Donald Trump said on Saturday the next G7 summit will not be at one of his own Florida golf clubs, reversing a decision that had sparked corruption accusations.

Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney had announced the venue for the summit on Thursday, causing a firestorm among Trump’s Democratic opponents in Congress, who called the move “among the most brazen examples yet of the president’s corruption.”

“Based on both Media & Democrat Crazed and Irrational Hostility, we will no longer consider Trump National Doral, Miami, as the Host Site for the G-7 in

2020,” the president tweeted.

“We will begin the search for another site, including the possibility of Camp David, immediately.”

Mulvaney had said in his Thursday announcement that the south Florida venue was “the best place” among a dozen US locations considered for the June 10-12 gathering next year.

Critics, including ethic campaigners, said holding the event at Doral would violate both the foreign and domestic emoluments clauses that are designed to shield a US leader from outside influence.

“He is exploiting his office and making official US government decisions for his personal financial gain,” Jerry Nadler, the chairman of the powerful House Judiciary Committee, said in a statement following the Thursday announcement.

Trump is squarely in House Democrats’s sights as he faces an impeachment investigation into allegations that he pressured Ukraine into interfering on his behalf in the 2020 US election.

Even before the Doral announcement, lawmakers were probing Trump’s suggestion at the most recent G7 gathering in France in August that the next one could be hosted at one of his resorts.

On Friday, Congressional Democrats introduced new legislation called “Trump’s Heist Undermines the G-7 (THUG) Act,” which would have cut off all federal funding for the move to Doral, and require the White House to turn over all relevant documents that show how administration officials decided on the venue. The measure had a chance of passing the Democratic-controlled House

of Representatives, but its prospects of being put to a vote in the Republican-controlled Senate were slim.

STEEP DECLINE: Trump National Doral is vital to his organization’s finances and was once one of his biggest money-makers, but it has lately been in steep decline, according to The Washington Post. The newspaper reported in May that the resort’s net operating income — the amount left after expenses are paid — had fallen by 69 percent in two years.

Trump seemed to be aware early on of the allegations of impropriety that would follow the Doral announcement.

“We’re going to have it there, and there’s going to be folks who will never get over the fact that it’s a Trump property. We get that, but we’re still going there,” Mulvaney had told reporters.

He said Doral would put on the event at cost, which he claimed would be as much as half what it would be at other venues. But he gave no estimates of the cost or comparisons. An important draw is the club’s size — 900 acres, including three golf courses, according to Mulvaney, who said all the foreign delegations and the press could be housed “on campus.” The US last hosted the group of world leaders, then known as the G8 before Russia was disinvited, in 2012.

The venue was Camp David.

Catalan leaders demand talks with Madrid as thousands protest again MADRID AGENCIES

Barcelona returned to relative calm after six days of demonstrations against the jailing of separatist leaders left hundreds injured in the tourist hotspot and pro-independence groups demanding new talks with the Spanish government.

At the Urquinaona square in the city centre dozens of pro-independence activists on Saturday formed a human chain between police and protesters following the previous night’s clashes during which nearly 200 people were hurt. “I reject all forms of violence, I have come here for peace,” Carmen Fernandez, 65, told AFP. But on the famous Las Ramblas, protesters set up barricades and lit fires before they were dispersed by police firing foam projectiles.

Overnight Friday, radical separatists had hurled rocks and fireworks at police who responded with tear gas and rubber bullets. Regional president Quim Torra Saturday called on the Spanish government to “fix today a day and hour to sit with us for unconditional talks.” His demand for “unconditional” negotiations, addressed to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro

Sanchez, appeared to be aimed at ensuring that a referendum on independence, currently a non-starter for Madrid, was up for discussion. The Spanish government replied that it had “always been open to dialogue in the framework of respect for the law”.

It also called on Torra to condemn the violence, “which he has not done so far”.

‘BARCELONA DOES NOT DESERVE THIS’:Barcelona has been rocked all week by protests against a Spanish court’s jailing of nine separatist leaders on sedition charges over

the failed 2017 independence bid.

Emergency services said Saturday that 152 people had been injured in overnight clashes in Barcelona.

Dozens more were hurt elsewhere in Catalonia, taking the total to 182.

Authorities had already reported 500 injured since protests started Monday. The interior ministry said 83 people were detained in the overnight violence, in addition to 128 arrests police had reported previously.

“This can’t go on, Barcelona does not deserve this,” said Ada Colau, the city’s leftist mayor on Saturday, con-

demning “all kinds of violence”.

“All this is very sad, and is not helping our cause,” said Assumpcio Segui, a 75-year old pro-independence pensioner. Torra also urged demonstrators to remain calm. “The defence of rights and freedoms must always be expressed peacefully,” he said. While most marchers appeared peaceful, hordes of young protesters went on the rampage near the police headquarters earlier Saturday, igniting a huge blaze as police fired teargas to disperse them, an AFP correspondent said. Other fires broke out near Plaza de Catalunya at the top of the tourist hotspot Las Ramblas.

Police vans fanned out around the city, sirens screaming as regional police warned people in a message in English on Twitter “not to approach” the city centre.

‘CLASICO’ POSTPONED: On Friday, around half a million people had rallied in Barcelona, the biggest gathering since Monday’s court ruling.

Thousands of “freedom marchers” from five regional towns had arrived in Barcelona the same day, which coincided with the general strike in a region that accounts for about a fifth of Spain’s economic output.

Swiss vote in possible ‘green wave’ election

BERN AGENCIES

Switzerland was voting Sunday in national elections that could see unprecedented gains for parties demanding bold climate action and a possible slip for the anti-immigrant right-wing.

In a country that recently held a funeral march for an iconic glacier that has nearly vanished due to melting, opinion polls point to “green wave” vote. Climate change displacing immigration as the top concern among voters is one of the most significant shifts in recent Swiss political history, according to the Sotomo political research institute.

The Swiss People’s Party (SVP), which has repeatedly been accused of demonising migrants, is still likely to remain the largest parliamentary party, with opinion polls giving it over 27 percent support

in the wealthy Alpine nation.

But that is down from the 29 percent the SVP garnered in 2015. The Green Party, which won just over seven percent in 2015, is now backed by nearly 11 percent of voters, according to a poll released this month by public broadcaster RTS. Meanwhile, the Green Liberals — an environmentalist party with libertarian socio-economic policies — has also seen its fortunes rise, with the RTS poll giving it over seven percent support, compared to less than five percent four years ago.

Even if the Greens do not manage to secure a cabinet seat, the parties currently in government have pledged to do more to combat climate change, except for the SVP which has denounced “climate hysteria” in Swiss politics.

Swiss were voting across the country’s 26 cantons on Sunday although the vast majority of peo-

ple cast ballots by mail.

‘DORMANT ELECTORATE’: If the environmentalist parties match or outperform their poll numbers, they could, through an alliance, force their way into the executive branch for the first time. Under Switzerland’s unique political system, the election will decide the 200 lower house lawmakers and 46 senators elected to four-year terms, but the make-up of the executive Federal Council will not be decided until December 11.

The country’s so-called “magic formula” sees the council’s seven cabinet positions divided among the four leading parties.

Currently, six cabinet seats are shared equally between the SVP, the Socialist Party and the rightleaning Free Democratic Party, with the centrist Christian Democrats holding the seventh seat.

The presidency rotates each year.

Analysts have questioned whether an environmental alliance could join the cabinet, in part because there is no guarantee that the leftwing Greens and the libertarian Green Liberals could agree on a unity candidate. But Green Party vice president Lisa Mazzone told AFP that, given the severity of the climate emergency, her bloc intends to be “a force” in the executive.

On top of the funeral held for the Pizol glacier last month, a recent study by the Swiss Academy of Science showed that the nation’s glaciers have lost a tenth of their volume in the past five years alone. In a separate study, Zurich’s ETH university indicated that more than 90 percent of the roughly 4,000 glaciers dotted throughout the Alps could disappear by the end of this century if greenhouse gas emissions are not reined in.

CMYK

Indonesia’s popular president to be sworn in for final term JAKARTA: Indonesia’s popular president who rose from poverty and pledged to champion democracy, fight entrenched corruption and modernize the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation is to be sworn in for his final five-year term with a pledge to take bolder actions. Army troops and police, along with armored vehicles and firetrucks, are deployed Sunday across the capital, Jakarta.

Major roads are closed in a departure from the more relax atmosphere of President Joko Widodo’s 2014 inauguration. An Oct. 10 knife attack by an Islamic militant couple that wounded the security minister set off a security alarm and a new crackdown.

Western and Asian leaders and special envoys flew in for the event, including Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, China’s Vice President Wang Qishan and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao. AGENCIES

Qantas completes longest non-stop New York-Sydney flight SYDNEY: Australia’s Qantas on Sunday completed the first non-stop commercial flight from New York to Sydney, which was used to run a series of tests to assess the effects of ultra-longhaul flights on crew fatigue and passenger jetlag.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner touched down in Sydney early Sunday morning after a flight of 19 hours and 16 minutes — the world’s longest.

Qantas said tests ranged from monitoring pilot brain waves, melatonin levels and alertness to exercise classes for passengers. A total of 49 people were on board, in order to minimize weight and give the necessary fuel range. “Overall, we’re really happy with how the flight went and it’s great to have some of the data we need to help assess turning this into a regular service,” said Capt. Sean Golding, who led the four pilots. The flight was part of Project Sunrise — Qantas’ goal to operate regular, non-stop commercial flights from Australia’s east coast cities of Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne to London and New York. Two more research flights are planned as part of the project evaluations – London to Sydney in November and another New York to Sydney in December. “We know ultra long-haul flights pose some extra challenges but that’s been true every time technology has allowed us to fly farther. The research we’re doing should give us better strategies for improving comfort and wellbeing along the way,” said Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce. Night flights usually start with dinner and then lights off, but he said that for this flight, “we started with lunch and kept the lights on for the first six hours, to match the time of day at our destination. It means you start reducing the jetlag straight away.” AGENCIES

Monday, 21 October, 2019

BUSINESS 11

FBR collects Rs3.17Bn taxes in the FiRst quaRteR oF FY19-20 SARGODHA

R

APP

EGIONAL Tax Office (RTO), Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Sargodha was making all-out efforts to add non-tax filers into the tax net.

The Spokesman RTO Zafar Jasra talking to APP here Sunday said that awareness was also being created among masses regarding tax filing and in this regard all stakeholders were also being contacted.

He further told that during

last year Rs2.56 billion taxes were collected in the first three months of the fiscal year and Rs3.17 billion taxes have been collected in the first quarter of current financial year.

The Sargodha region has collected Rs14 billion tax during previous year adding that 1011 people were added in tax net in year 2018 and 30,525 have also been included current year.

The data of total 480 people living in 2 kanals and above areas houses has been collected and out of total 155 owners were tax filers and remaining 325 people have been served notices.

Planning Ministry authorises release of Rs 333.6m for Revenue Division so far

The data collected by the RTO Sargodha regarding commercial electricity and Sui Gas connections revealed that a lot of commercial connections were operational on the name of non tax filers which were being issued notices for tax registrations.

The FBR office has also collected date of 4800 people whom made transaction in the banks over Rs 1 million, he said and added that 584 practicing Doctors were also being included in the tax net.

A total of 500 members of Gymkhana club Sargodha hav-

ing NTNs never filed their tax returns and out of total 1197 members, around 173 members have no tax record.

The data revealed from grain, fruit and vegetable markets disclosed that total 59 businessmen were involved in businesses and only three businessmen were filing tax returns.

He said that uniform policy of the FBR has been adopted by the RTO office and the Chief Commissioner Sardar Ali Khawaja was also taking a keen interest to create awareness among the masses regarding tax filing and its facilities.

Hafeez Shaikh urges US firms to expand investments in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD APP

The Ministry of Planning, Development and Reforms has so far authorized release of Rs333.648 million for various ongoing and new projects of Revenue Division under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) for the current fiscal year (2019-20). The government in its federal PSDP had earmarked Rs1918.238 million for the Revenue Division projects with foreign exchange component of Rs250 million, according to the latest data released by the Ministry. Out of the total releases, an amount of Rs 76 million has so far been authorized for development of Integrated Transit Trade Management System (ITTMS) for which an amount of Rs480 million had been allocated in the federal PSDP 2019-20, including foreign aid of Rs100 million. An amount of Rs95 million has been authorized to be released for construction of Regional Tax Office (RTO) at Islamabad out of its total allocations of Rs325 million, the data revealed. The Ministry authorized the concerned departments to release Rs56.350 million for establishment of inland revenue offices all across the country for which Rs331.770 million amount was earmarked in the current PSDP. Likewise, Rs33.4 million have been authorized to be released for construction of Model Customs Collectorate at Gwadar for which Rs200 million have been earmarked in the current PSDP while authorization of Rs14.634 million have been made for construction of office building for Jhang Zone (Inland Revenue), Jhang out of its total allocations of Rs36.585 million. The concerned authorities have also been authorized for release of Rs11 million for construction of additional office block for Model Customs Collectorate at Hyderabad out of its total allocations of Rs27.5 million, Rs5.210 million for construction of Inland Revenue Zonal Office at Mansehra out of its total allocation of Rs26.050 million whereas an amount of Rs9.952 million have been authorized for release for construction of Regional Tax Office D.I Khan out of its allocations of Rs24.88 million. The Ministry also has allowed release of Rs4 million for construction of Zonal Office (IR) at Kohat, Rs4 million for PC-II design consultancy services for Additional offices of RTO Rawalpindi, Sahiwal and Bahawalpur, Rs4 million for construction of additional office block for RTO Abbottabad, Rs4.470 million for construction of additional floor on existing transit accommodation, and Rs7.66 million for construction of warehouse for Model Customs Collectorate at Khokar Niaz Baig Lahore. Overall, the Ministry of Planning, Development and Reform has so far given authorization for the release of over Rs160.586 billion for various ongoing and new social sector uplift projects under its Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) 2019-20, as against the total allocation of Rs701 billion.

Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh said that Pakistan’s economy is on the path to stabilisation. He also urged the US firms to benefit from investment opportunities available in the country.

He made this statement while attending a roundtable discussion with senior executives of the US-Pakistan Business Council during a luncheon in honour of the adviser and members of his delegation at the US Chamber of Commerce. The Pakistani delegation led by Dr Shaikh is currently visiting the US to attend the International Monetay Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) annual meetings.

The discussion was also attended by senior executives of the USPBC member companies including S&P Global, Citi, PepsiCo, Google, ExxonMobil, Motorola Solutions Inc, and others.

During the discussion, he also highlighted the government’s focus on improving ease-of-doing-business and encouraged the US companies to expand their investments in Pakistan.

Afterwards Dr Shaikh also met Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) President Jin Liqun. They discussed the bank’s portfolio in Pakistan and potential areas of project financing by AIIB. Liqun reiterated support for Pak-

istan’s development agenda and said that AIIB was ready to increase funding for Pakistan’s priority development sectors. He said that investment in infrastructure projects had a long term positive impact on growth. Dr Shaikh invited the AIIB president to visit Pakistan which he accepted.

Dr Shaikh along with his team also met with Islamic Development Bank (IDB) President Dr Bandar M H Hajjar and briefed him on the current economic situation in the country. He thanked the president for IDB’s technical and financial support to Pakistan. The IDB president informed that Pakistan had been identified as one of the first countries which will be supported by the Bank for strengthening market competitiveness in its core sectors. For this purpose an IDB mission would soon visit the country.

Dr Hafeez Shaikh also held a meeting with, IFC Vice President Nena Stoiljkovic. IFC is a sister organisation of the World Bank and member of the World Bank Group as well as the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in developing countries.

Stoiljkovic and her team briefed the adviser about IFC’s projects in Pakistan, particularly in the wind and solar sectors and also expressed interest in providing advisory services for structuring public-private partnership transactions. NEWS DESK

Exports of services decrease by 7.15pc ISLAMABAD: The exports of services during the first two months of the current fiscal year decreased by 7.15 percent as compared to the corresponding period of last year.

Services exports from the country during July-August (2019-20) were recorded at $809.03 million compared to the exports of $871.35 million during July-August (2018-19), showing decline of 7.15 percent, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported.

The imports of services into the country, however, increased by 10.58 percent during the period under review by going up from $1673.91 million last year to $1850.96 million. Based on the figures, the overall service trade deficit during the first two months increased by 29.83 percent by going up from the deficit of $802.56 million last year to $1041.93 million during the current year. Meanwhile, on a year-on-year basis, the exports of services from the country declined by 11.27 percent during the month of August 2019 compared to August 2018. The services exports during the month were recorded at $390.41 million against $440 million. The imports into the country, however increased by 30.57 percent by growing from $725.76 million during August 2018 to $947.63 million in August 2019, PBS data revealed. On a month-on-month basis, the exports of services decreased by 6.74 percent in August 2019 when compared to the exports of $418.62 million recorded in July 2019. APP

Sargodha man becomes first Pakistani to invent sugarcane intercropping drill SARGODHA SHAHZAD PARACHA

A professor of the College of Agriculture, Sargodha University has become the first Pakistani national to invent a Multipurpose and Multifunctional Sugarcane Intercropping Drill.

The invention will meet the diversified needs of small scale farmers by maximizing land utilization, increasing total yield and earning high monetary returns.

Dr Abdul Rehman, Assistant Professor of the Department of Agronomy, has designed and fabricated a unique drill with the help of his research team and local industry using indigenous raw material.

Sharing his views about the invention, Dr Abdul Rehman said that a multipurpose and multi-

functional tractor drawn drill was purposely designed for sugarcane sowing and intercropping. It has the capacity to perform the functions of various tillage implements including soil cultivation, breaking of clods, leveling of soil surface and drilling of seed and fertilizer in a single pass, he said.

“In the presence of Intercropping drill unit, there is no need to purchase different implements separately, he expressed adding that about 50% of existing area of sugarcane can additionally be utilized for sowing of wheat, gram, maize, vegetables, clovers and pulses by using this intercropping drill.”

Dr Rehman expressed that intercropping in sugarcane generally requires more labour, thereby intercropping drill will lessen the expenses, maximize

land utilization and uplift the socio-economic condition of the small scale farmers.

Deputy Director ORIC Sargodha University Dr Anjum Murtaza informed that a total of six patents have been listed with the Patent Office of Pakistan. He said the rise in university patenting is occurring against a broader policy framework aimed at fostering a greater interaction between public research and industry in order to increase the social and private returns from public support to R&D. It is worth mentioning here that the university is providing financial assistance for research projects and grants to the faculty from its own resources. Moreover, it has increased budget allocation for research by 51% percent for the fiscal year 2019-2020.

Monday, 21 October, 2019

12 BUSINESS CORPORATE CORNER

Fallout FRom tRump's tRade waRs Felt BY economies aRound the woRld WASHINGTON

Employees of Engro Polymer & Chemical joined the students of TCF Ghaghar Pathak for a fun-filled educational field trip to the Maritime Museum under its EPCL Cares programme. PRESS RElEASE

PIAF suggests package for overseas Pakistanis to attract foreign inflows LAHORE INP

As the country received 1.43 percent lower remittances amounting to $5.47 billion in the first quarter of 201920, compared to $5.55 billion in the same period of previous year, the Pakistan Industrial & Traders Association Front (PIAF) has suggested to the prime minister to announce incentives for overseas Pakistanis to push up foreign inflows.

In a joint statement issued here on Sunday, PIAF Chairman Mian Nauman Kabir and Vice Chairman Jawed Siddiqui, expressing their concern over the drop, observed that remittances could help in partly financing the deficit in import payments and foreign debt repayments. PIAF chairman suggested that structural reforms can revive Pakistan’s economic growth with major focus on incentives for overseas Pakistanis workers. If government supports overseas Pakistanis and provide them incentives, they can play a vital role in boosting Pakistan’s economy through their remittances and investments for high economic growth, said the chairman. Mian Nauman Kabir said that the government’s efforts raised the question mark taken under Pakistan Remittance Initiative to support the higher remittance flows in the FY20. The government targets workers’ remittances to reach the level of $24 billion during the current fiscal year of 2019-20 have created doubt now. He said that the drop in remittances is disappointing despite the fact that the SBP has allowed exchange companies to start work on directly attracting worker remittances from the countries from where the inflows remain nominal. Mian Nauman Kabir noted that migrant cash flow, which is a lifeline for the country’s struggling current account deficit, is expected to weaken more in the coming months as the US economic slowdown and its trade war with China hits the global economy. According to the data of the central bank, Pakistanis living abroad sent 17 percent less money home in August compared with the previous month of July 2019, remitting $1.69 billion in August 2019 from $2.039 billion in July, showing a decline of $348.4 million on a month-on-month basis. Remittances, one of the country’s biggest sources of foreign currency, fell 8.37 percent in the first two months of the current fiscal year of 2019-20, standing at $3.73 billion during Jul-Aug FY20 compared with $4.07 billion recorded in the same period last year.

PIAF Vice Chairman Jawed Siddiqui, lamenting on the gloomy picture of the country's position in the region with regard to its GDP growth in 2019, said that upward trend in September remittances to Pakistan from overseas workers is a positive news for the country’s economy. He said that it is also good news for the country that Pakistan’s trade deficit has narrowed but exports are almost flat despite huge depreciation in rupee. Jawed Siddiqui said the growth of 18 percent in remittances in Sept to $1.74 billion compared to $1.48 billion of last year’s Sept gives some positive hope. He said that the growth has also helped increase overall inflows in the Jul-Sept quarter. A significant drop in remittances in the second month of August of the quarter had a notable negative effect on the overall growth in the quarter.

t

AGENCIES

HE collateral damage of the United States’ trade wars is being felt from the fjords of Iceland to the auto factories of Japan. Central bank governors and finance ministers traded grim tales of suffering economies at the International Monetary Fund and World Bank fall meetings in Washington this week. Some also noted how far U.S. policy had shifted from the 1940s, when Washington cofounded the IMF. At that time, “the world economy had been hammered for over a decade by high tariff barriers, depression and war,” prompting the then U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau to champion a global economic system, World Bank President David Malpass told attendees at a session this week.

The U.S. message then, Malpass said, was: “First, there’s no limit to prosperity. Second, broadly shared prosperity benefits everyone.”

As the IMF’s gathering of 189 member-nations drew to a close, the unintended negative impacts of the trade wars were becoming clear, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said. “Everybody loses.”

The United States, the world’s largest importer, started a bitter tariff war with China, the world’s largest exporter, 15 months ago.

U.S. President Donald Trump is also in the midst of renegotiating, and sometimes upending, trade relationships with many of Washington’s top trading partners.

The fallout will slow global growth in 2019 to 3.0%, the slowest pace in a decade, the IMF estimated this week.

This pain is not being shared equally. The United States remains the least exposed of the world's 20 largest economies to a drop in exports in part because of its massive domestic consumer spending base.

EUROPE’S PAIN: The damage is

being particularly felt in European countries which “rely on exports and are open to trade,” the European Union’s Economic and Financial Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said.

More than 40% of Germany’s GDP was derived from exports in 2018, the most of any major global economy. Uncertainty in the business community is widespread, German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz told reporters.

German trade group BGA recently revised down its growth forecast for German exports in 2019 to just 0.5%, from 1.5%. As a result, many companies are scaling back their investment plans, something that will have repercussions for years to come. Scholz said concerns over Britain’s impending departure from the EU and the bloc’s trade dispute with the United States were clearly dampening global economic growth.

“The most important problem remains those factors that we cannot measure – specifically the reluctance to invest,” Scholz said.

The pain is being felt in countries that don’t rely on exports too, such as Iceland, which became the first developed economy to seek aid from the IMF after a 2008 banking collapse. Since then, it has rebuilt its economy in what’s been called a miraculous recovery. Now, that is threatened.

“We have become dependent on tourism,” explained Ásgeir Jónsson, the governor of Iceland’s central bank, with annual visitors growing five-fold to 2.5 million since the crisis. Foreign arrivals, however, have plummeted since the trade wars started, and are down 15.6% this summer from the year before. Iceland, with a population of about 300,000, built foreign currency reserves on the back of the increase in visitors, he said, but those are dropping too.

Trade links between countries have led to a more peaceful world in recent decades, but re-

cent experience shows “you can never take global trade for granted,” Jónsson said.

NO AMERICAN IMMUNITY: On Friday, Japan’s Cabinet Office, which helps coordinate government policy, downgraded its assessment of factory output in October.

The softness in production was largely due to car exports to the United States turning weaker, after growing steadily until the spring, a government official said at a briefing. “The pick-up in global growth is being delayed,” Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said.

“Japan’s economy is seeing exports weaken significantly and that’s affecting factory output.”

The United States hasn’t been immune from the impact of the trade wars. American farmers have been particularly hurt by Chinese tariffs on U.S. agricultural products, prompting the Trump administration to give billions in aid to the farm belt.

Washington’s imposition of steel and aluminum tariffs and uncertainty about passage of a new North American free trade deal - the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement - have also stalled local economic development.

Christopher Cabaldon, the mayor of West Sacramento, California, said bids for a $100 million infrastructure project in the city came in 80% higher than expected in part because of construction firms’ need to factor in higher costs and the risk of additional tariffs in the future.

“Even in small cities like my own, we see the impacts of trade.

We have come to realize the deep integration of our local economies in the global system,” Cabaldon told Reuters ahead of the IMF and World Bank meetings.

“Most of my economic development plans ... are playing out on a global stage, not down the freeway.”

EMERGING MARKETS DISENGAGE: The trade tensions are helping to spur a push among

African nations to create a more self-reliant continent. “We must take it upon ourselves to grow trade among ourselves,” said Ukur Yatani Kanacho, Kenya’s acting cabinet secretary for treasury.

Abdoulaye Daouda Diallo, the finance minister of Senegal, told reporters the U.S.-China trade tensions would affect African nations in the energy sector and cut funds available on financial markets. The dispute underscored the importance of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, he said.

Other emerging markets are also coming under pressure.

“Ukrainian exporters faced worsened conditions in global commodity markets,” which drove down steel prices, said Kateryna Rozhkova, the deputy governor of the country’s central bank.

Making matters worse, “the intensification of geopolitical conflicts led to rising oil and natural gas prices in the world,” she said.

Bahrain’s Finance Minister Sheikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa said the Gulf region was also affected by trade tensions and the resulting slowdown in investment, although geopolitical concerns – about Iran, for example – were another major factor.

“Trade tensions create uncertainty and nobody is insulated from uncertainty,” he told Reuters.

Peru cut its 2019 economic growth estimate to 3% in August, from 4.2%, citing trade factors.

Mexico is edging closer to a recession that its officials say might be more difficult to reverse than during the last downturn more than a decade ago.

“The Great Recession basically caught everybody by surprise, but economies were willing to cooperate and work together to pull it out,” Mexican Finance Minister Arturo Herrera said. “This slowdown is taking nobody by surprise, but there is very little appetite for cooperation.”

Commerce officials summoned over EDF corruption ‘Eroded buying power of masses ISLAMABAD INP

The Senate Standing Committee on Commerce and Textile Industry Chairman, Senator Mirza Muhammad Afridi, has summoned the officials of the ministry of commerce over complaints of misuse of the Export Development Fund (EDF).

The commerce officials have been asked to appear before the committee on October 22 and bring the record of disbarments made during the last five years and stop payments to trade associations immediately.

It may be mentioned that almost two decades back Export Development Surcharge was imposed on exports without the nod of stakeholders to boost exports but the cited objective cannot be achieved.

The allegations of misuse of funds by officials and influential businessmen surfaced repeatedly but to no avail.

This was one of the reasons that the Commerce Ministry had denied the Finance Ministry’s request for a third-party audit of the fund to keep matters hidden from the public eye. Presently, the government is earning over Rs22 billion per annum under this head while the textile sector contributes around 55 percent to the fund but it gets nothing in return.

The cited aim of EDF is to address bottlenecks faced by the exporters and producers of exportable goods and services in Pakistan with a view to increase the performance of the export sector, however, it has remained subjected to criticism by exporters since long as proper corrective measures were never taken.

dragging economy down’ ISLAMABAD: The continuously eroding purchasing power of the masses due to inflation is dragging the economy down and it must be noticed by the policymakers, a business leader said Sunday.

The economy can never improve unless the government reduces increasing expenditures and restore the buying power of masses through policy intervention, said Shahid Rasheed Butt, former president of the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

He said that high interest rates, runaway inflation and

negative tax policies have become a major obstacle in the economic activities leaving two million unemployed and compelling millions more to work on reduced wages.

Shahid Rasheed Butt said that the middle class plays a vital role in the development of an economy which is shrinking at a fast pace while life has become very difficult for the poor.

He noted that people paid Rs1.1 trillion in taxes a decade back while now they are paying Rs3.8 trillion as taxes but they are called thieves by the government. INP

Restructuring IMF members agree to boost lending capacity WASHINGTON AGENCIES

Global finance ministers on Friday agreed to double a key pool of money that the International Monetary Fund can use to aid distressed countries but again put off giving more votes to major emerging economies.

The IMF has been working to restructure its voting shares to give more

weight to growing economies like China, India and Brazil but some traditional powers have resisted since they stand to lose influence in the institution.

Despite a prior commitment to complete the new voting distribution before now, IMF membership at this week´s annual meetings kicked the can down the road, committing instead to revisit the issue at the latest by December 2023, according to a statement on Friday.

However, a new division of voting power "would be expected to result in increases in the quota shares of dynamic economies in line with their relative positions in the world economy," the statement said.

The Washington-based lender, founded in the wake of World War II, has traditionally been controlled by the United States and western European countries.

But major developing economies, which account for a growing share of global GDP, warn that without a shift of the power structure the IMF risks losing legitimacy and the ability to influence economic policies.

The IMF gets most of its resources through member quotas but since the review was pushed back it will rely on the special fund, known as the New Arrangements to Borrow (NAB), to en-

sure it has sufficient resources to ward off a new crisis.

The NAB was rolled back following the global financial crisis and the current iteration was approved for five years through November 2022.

"I welcome this high-level endorsement, which demonstrates the strong support of our membership for the fund's mission," IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said.

Daal Chawal, The Film: By The PoliCe, For The PoliCe

T

By KauKaB Jahan

HOLLYWOOD BOLLYWOOD

he recently released film ‘Daal Chaawal’ is based on paying homage to Pakistani police, especially to the Punjab Police and their use of advance technology to detect and identify criminals and terrorists and taking action against them. The film features the details of the Safe City Project introduced in Lahore, under which CCTV cameras are installed across the city so that criminal elements can be investigated and apprehended.

The story of Daal Chawal stems from real events, which tries to convey the message that the police of Pakistan, accused only for corruption and incompetence, play significant role in protecting citizens by risking their own lives. The film also pays tribute to the martyrs of the police department.

The film is directed by Awais Khalid, while its producer, writer, songwriter and music composer is Nasir Khan, who also holds the office of DIG in Lahore. The cast of the film consists mostly of new actors, comprising Ahmed Sufyan and Momina Iqbal in lead characters, while seniors Salman Shahid and Shafqat Cheema are also cast in prominent roles.

Daal Chawal revolves around young Ahmad (Ahmad Sufyan) who comes to Lahore with a Bachelor’s degree from a small town in Punjab to look for a decent job but gets disappointed by the undue nepotism in the city. Later, Ahmed decides to assists his uncle Khalil Khayali (Salman Shahid) in running a roadside stall of Daal Chawal (a common man food in Pkaistan, made out

of lentils and rice). Meanwhile, Ahmed meets with his landlord (Momina Iqbal), the daughter of a martyred police officer. She now works in the same department. The film also depicts various characters as the victims of the criminals of the city and their perpetrator (Shafqat Cheema), but everyone is silently submitting to them in order to protect themselves and their families.

The plot of Daal Chawal seems reasonable but the screenplay lacks the finish of a gripping storyline. Throughout the film, the pace is mostly encumbering. The first half of the film seems static as in a typical Pakistani film, while in second half, the story moves a bit further that also includes some action scenes which are filmed quite sensibly.

The film also highlights many other social issues like unemployment and exploitation with a tinge of humour and romance, but the suspense is presented in a very awkward way.

Speaking on the technical point of the film, sound effects are good, while fighting sequences are placed in the film justifiably. The camera initially looks shaky but gets stable in the rest of the film.

Despite all its weaknesses, the music of Daal Chaawal is melodious. The film includes a total of four songs sung by Jabir Abbas, Maria Mir and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. The title song in the voice of Rahat Fateh Ali Khan ‘hum Zinda hain’ leaves its impact when played during the film and in end credits. .

The lead characters of film Ahmed Sufyan and Momina Iqbal look promising and if get the chance to work on a better script, could be a good addition to the industry.

Salman Shahid always gives the character its soul while Shafqat Cheema plays the role of a traditional villain fairly enough.

According to the film’s director, Daal Chaawal is the story of all common people of Pakistan who leave their homes daily in the shadow of fear and uncertainty due to the volatile law and order situation in the country and an attempt to make them believe that their police is doing their best to protect its citizens.

The purpose of film, in the vision of producer, is to pay tribute to the performances and sacrifices of the police, as well as to raise its status and dignity in the hearts and minds of our new generations.

In the absence of Bollywood films in Pakistan at the moment, our filmmakers need to make films, might be with low budget, but with subjects and stories (both in scripting and direction) strong enough to get the attention of the cine-goers, that they prefer to go to the cinemas for watching Pakistani movies.

3 Peaceful Travel Destination in Pakistan

By Rohama Riaz There are two types of people, ones who like to trek thousands of miles up to the mountains and others who like to stay in a cozy place, camp on the bank of a beautiful lake or those who would just like to be surrounded by beautiful nature in a hut or a dome. At one point, we do not want to explore but just want to enjoy the beauty around us. Even the trekkers need relaxation sometimes.

So, here we suggest 5 places where you can go and have a peaceful getaway without any trek, struggle or a travel hassle involved.

SharaN ForeST

Untouched dense forest reserve in KPK, this place is located in Kaghan. All you have to do is to take a jeep from Paras and you will be in the forest within 1.5 hours. Now, the stop depends on the nature of your comfort and your requirement. If you are a person of extreme comfort, Chinar Family Resort should be your go-to place. Surrounded by a breathtaking view of mountains and forest; this place is a sheer beauty if described in one word.

Beautifully maintained, having proper facilities of rooms and every food item available on order, this family resort provides you with the best in the middle of a forest.

If you are an adventurous person with an idea of cooking your own food but having a comfortable sleeping pod; you can always book these camping pods set up by the government of KPK that will provide you a serene view, a cozy room and the choice to cook your own food.

If your soul needs an adventure in open air with your camps on, go for camping outside this youth hostel that was built by the British and is now a perfect camping spot for a thrilling experience.

robert Pattinson Says The Batman Suit is 'Very, Very Cool'

Henry Cavill is back on social media and fans are super excited

With Robert Pattinson as the new Batman will come a new suit, which sees the 33-year-old actor offer up that it will be super cool.

In an interview, while promoting the release of his latest flick, The Lighthouse, Pattinson says the ideas that director Matt Reeves has awesome ideas for the Batsuit.

As Pattinson also previously revealed, he heard the news about getting cast as Batman while on the set of Christopher Nolan's new movie, Tenet, with Pattinson further revealing additional details about his talks with the director about Batman and the Batsuit: Last month also saw Pattinson offer about talking with Nolan about the new suit: "I was talking about things to do with the Batsuit. how to get more movements in it.”

I've been told Matt Reeves is in part adapting the DC Comics "The Long halloween" storyline, which features a blue and grey suit with large ears, so maybe the Robert Pattinson Batsuit will be similar. If I have to guess, I am guessing it will be a slimmer and more fitted version than what Ben Affleck went with in the Zack Snyder films.

henry Cavill took a breather from social media as the Superman actor was absent from both Facebook and Instagram for over two weeks, but the good news is now he's back.

Cavill posted pics of himself while promoting the hugo Boss brand. "I'm back! And I'm in Shanghai! I had the good fortune of attending the hugo Boss Pre-Fall 2020 fashion show and got to rub shoulders with the likes of Mark Langer, Chun Wu and the designer himself Ingo Wilts," henry Cavill posted on Instagram Friday. "And yes this was a work event but, genuinely, every time I come to Shanghai it leaves me wanting more. I can't wait to get back here on my own time and enjoy the city and all it has to offer. Thank you China and thank you hugo Boss for being such wonderful hosts once again. See you when I see you next!"

"Miss you so much," says one comment.

"Yay! You’re back. Glad to hear you are doing well and the Boss is taking care of you!!" says another. "We’ve missed you!!! Welcome back," another fan says. "Guess who's back... back again... FINALLY!" says a happy fan.

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NaLTar VaLLey

Again, known for its dramatic mountain scenery, another unruffled world, away from the hubbub, Naltar Valley is a pure magic. Setting up a camp near one of the lakes, far away from human existence, in the middle of mountains is an experience which is pure bliss. There is also an option available of staying at skiing resorts with comfort in your room but the exuberance of spending a night in a camp and getting up to the majestic view of the lake right in front of you cannot be compared with anything else.

BoriTh Lake

A hamlet in the surroundings of Borith Lake to the northwest of Husseini, a village near Gulmit, Gojal, Borith is located in the upper Hunza. The lake can be reached through jeeps and is surrounded by calm and quiet mountains with little or no human interaction. The best and only comfortable place to live in Borith is The Borith lake hotel and resort.

The option of camping is always available to wake up to the astonishing view of the lake.

Laal kaptaan box office collection day 1: Saif ali khan’s film beaten by angelina Jolie’s Maleficent, makes rs 50 lakh Laal Kaptaan, starring Saif Ali Khan as a Naga sadhu, failed to attract audiences on its first day of release. The film clashed with Angelina Jolie’s Maleficent: Mistress of evil, which recorded a slightly higher opening at the box office.

According to a report on Box office India, Laal Kaptaan made around Rs 50 lakh.This is even lower than Sonam Kapoor’s latest release, The Zoya Factor, which had opened at Rs 70 lakh last month.

Directed by Navdeep Singh, the film is a revenge thriller.

It tells the story of a Naga sadhu who is also a bounty hunter. It also stars Zoya hussain, Deepak Dobriyal and Manav Vij. Sonakshi Sinha also has a cameo in the film.

The film had garnered mixed response from critics. The hindustan Times review of the film read, “The film, having established its time and mood, meanders. The punch to the gut you expected in the second half never comes and the thrill of the chase fades.

Monday, 21 October, 2019

14 SPORTS

MArquez eASeS to Motegi MotogP win AHeAd of quArtArAro

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AGENCIES

ARC Marquez cruised to his 10th MotoGP win of the season ahead of Fabio Quartararo to secure Honda the manufacturers' world championship at the Japanese Grand Prix.

Marquez, who wrapped up his sixth premier-class title last time out in Thailand, led every lap from pole - only briefly losing the lead on the first tour.

From third on the grid, Quartararo passed Petronas SRT Yamaha teammate Franco Morbidelli off the line to grab second, and then made an audacious lunge on Marquez at the Turn 7 left-hander to take the lead.

But the Frenchman's time out front would be limited to just three corners, as Marquez responded at Turn 10 and was never seriously challenged again.

Quartararo was able to keep his deficit to Marquez hovering at around one second for the opening half of the 24-lap encounter, but by lap 13 the champion had escaped to the tune of two seconds and finally crossed the line

0.870s clear.

It marked his 54th premier class win, tying him with five-time 500cc world champion Mick Doohan. In the closing laps, Quartararo had to turn his attentions to the charging Ducati of Andrea Dovizioso, who finished less than half a second adrift in third.

Quartararo's sixth podium of the

season sealed his status as rookie of the year in the standings.

Dovizioso had moved up to third from seventh on the grid, moving up to fifth on the first lap and then picking off Jack Miller's Pramac Ducati and Morbidelli. The Italian also saw off a stern challenge from Maverick Vinales on the best of the works Yamahas, with

Vinales finally slipping 1.2s behind.

Morbidelli was set for fifth for much of the race after dropping behind Vinales, but was pipped to the finish line by the LCR Honda of Cal Crutchlow and dropped to sixth.

Alex Rins was just another tenth behind in seventh, ahead of Suzuki team-mate Joan Mir, Ducati's Danilo Petrucci and Miller - who struggled badly running soft tyres front and rear.

Valentino Rossi had been running 11th on the second works Yamaha but crashed out with three laps to run, marking his first DNF since June's Dutch TT. Pol Espargaro was 11th on the best of the KTMs, while his factory team-mate Mika Kallio scored his first points as Johann Zarco's replacement in 14th - one place ahead of the Aprilia of Aleix Espargaro. Takaaki Nakagami, who had predicted a tough race owing to his lingering shoulder injury, could muster only 16th place on his final outing of the season. The Japanese rider still managed to beat Jorge Lorenzo, whose insipid form on the second works Honda continued with a low-key run to 17th - 40s behind Marquez.

MotoGP hero Valentino Rossi crashes at Motegi and fans urge him to retire

AGENCIES MotoGP superstar Valentino Rossi crashed out of the Japanese Grand Prix after another dismal weekend.

The Doctor has struggled badly for form in recent months. He hasn’t managed a podium finish since Austin in April and speculation continues to mount about his future in the premier class.

The 40-year-old had another weekend to forget after crashing his M1 in the last few laps at Motegi.

Rossi was unscathed, but it was another under-

whelming showing from the motorsport legend.

Marc Marquez - who wrapped up the title in Thailand - was once again a dominant force.

Petronas Yamaha sensation Fabio Quartararo bagged second as he continues to make waves in MotoGP. Ducati heavyweight, Andrea Dovizioso, secured the final podium place. Fans weren’t impressed with Rossi’s showing.

“Needs to retire. He’s past his prime,” said one social media user. “Maybe it is the best time for retirement,” added another. “Why doesn't he retire, just uselessly occupying a factory seat & wasting young talents like Fabio,” ranted a third.

“He hasn’t the vision to develop a good bike nor does he have the speed. Just tarnishing a great career in its twilight stage. Didn't want to say this but should've said earlier.”

Some Rossi aficionados offered their support, though. “He is 40 years old before anyone here says bad about him remember that you all won't even be 1 per cent as successful as he is,” commented a fan.

“Totally agree! Always support Vale,” replied another supporter. BT Sport pundit and paddock insider Neil Hodgson told Starsport earlier this month that the balance of power is shifting at Yamaha.

“With the power Rossi commands, it’s a really grey area,” he exclusively told Starsport.

“Obviously he has massive power and they will listen to him. “But in Misano they had Quartararo testing some of the latest stuff.

“That’s very surprising because for him, as a complete rookie, they’re putting development parts on his bike for feedback.

“Because he’s going so well, obviously they wanted his take. “It’s difficult to tell who they’ll listen to. The benefit is they’ve got three fast riders now where in the past it’s been two.

“Adding Quartararo into the mix and getting his verdict is only going to help.

“The issue is if they disagree, what advice to they follow? My gut instinct is it’ll be whoever is fastest and that’s pretty much Quartararo.”

Hussey joins Australia staff for Sri Lanka, Pakistan series SYDNEY: Former middle-order batsman Mike Hussey has been drafted in by Australian coach Justin Langer to help mentor the side during their upcoming Twenty20 series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. He is the latest great to be brought into the fold after Ricky Ponting joined the backroom staff at the one-day World Cup this year and Steve Waugh helped out during the Ashes series in England.

“I’m very excited actually. I’m really looking forward to getting back in around the Aussie team,” Hussey, who is nicknamed “Mr Cricket”, told the Sydney Daily Telegraph on Sunday. “They are going to be trying to get strategies in place, develop a style of play and what players they want and I love all that stuff — planning for a big event. “They have floated the possibility of being involved closer to the T20 World Cup (in Australia next year) as well but it’s all pretty loose at the moment.” Australia play back-to-back threegame T20 series against Sri Lanka and then Pakistan starting next Sunday in Adelaide to kick off their summer season. Langer has also made former Test speedster Ryan Harris bowling coach for the series. He told the newspaper the presence of Ponting, Waugh and now Hussey was enormous for his team. “I can’t tell you how influential these guys can be on the group,” said Langer. “It’s nice to have different voices and different eyes and see guys of that calibre giving us feedback on what they see.” AGENCIES

Formula 1: The easy-going champion remembered, 20 years on AGENCIES This month marks 20 years since Mika Hakkinen won his second and final world title in Japan. Through the prism of that victory, and his similar title triumph at the same track 12 months earlier, David Tremayne - who witnessed every one of Hakkinen's 161 Grand Prix starts - reflects on the Flying Finn’s career and legacy…

Mika Hakkinen always seemed such an unflappable character. Slow to anger, even slower to appear flustered.

Yet there was about him, that weekend at Suzuka on November 1st, 1998, a quieter mien than we usually saw. On race morning he looked almost withdrawn, to those of us on the outside of the McLaren team. Of course, that was to be expected when a man was about to go head-to-head with an arch-rival to settle the biggest deal in his racing career: The World Championship.

But even McLaren insiders were slightly concerned. Mika just didn’t look himself. This, remember, was the man who had gone from Lotus F1 driver – courtesy of ace talent spotter Peter Collins in 1991 – to McLaren test driver for 1993. Who had shown Ayrton Senna the way around at Estoril when Ron Dennis was finally able to let him off the lead in place of the unhappy Michael Andretti.

The intervening years had seen him banned for a race (after causing a shunt at Hockenheim in 1994), surviving a nearfatal crash in Adelaide in 1995 when a tyre punctured, and colliding with

McLaren team mate David Coulthard at Estoril in 1996.

But he had also matured into a race winner. Yes, that partly came courtesy of Coulthard and that year’s champion Jacques Villeneuve in Jerez at the end of 1997, but it was something that those of us who’d worked with him at Lotus in 1991 and ’92 loved seeing happen.

Gone were the days when he might move flat in Monaco and then wonder why, when he plugged it in, his phone didn’t work. When he would check in his suitcase and, as it chugged down the moving belt and he was asked for his passport, he would cheerfully point at said case as it disappeared and say, “It’s in there.” The days when Peters Wright and Collins might feel moved physically to restrain him on a bench in the Lotus motorhome and go over things with strained patience yet again.

“Mika, where is the car understeering?”

“In the corners!”

“Yeees, but which part?”

“The corners!”

"Which part, the entry, the middle, the exit?”

“Yes! The corners!”

Now the engaging young kid who had left Vantaa, near Helsinki, to take his chances in the big world of racing had matured. And there was something more.

Even Ferrari recognised that he was faster over a lap than their beloved Michael Schumacher.

And 1998 had finally brought the two

greats of their era into mano a mano conflict. Mika had won in Australia and Brazil, Michael in Argentina. David had intervened in San Marino. Then Mika won in Spain and Monaco before Michael hit back in Canada, France and Britain.

Mika counter-attacked in Austria and Germany, Michael in Hungary, before Damon Hill intervened in Belgium. Italy then fell to Michael, Luxembourg (at the Nurburgring) to Mika.

And that last race had been remarkable for the manner in which Mika and McLaren pulled off the success. The team fuelled Mika for four more laps than Michael, and he used then brilliantly, slamming in fast laps and then, crucially, rejoining just in front with his two inside wheels in the dirt in the first corner, giving Michael some of his own medicine.

When the second pit stop went like a dream Mika was home and dry, and Michael looked stunned.

They went to the showdown in Japan with Mika on 90 points, Michael on 86.

Michael put his Ferrari on the pole with Mika right behind him. I still remember the tension when they lapped in 1m 36.293s and 1m 36.471s, especially as their team mates DC and Eddie Irvine occupied row two, ready to do whatever might be needed to help their partners in this final battle. Standing on the grid anywhere, but especially at Suzuka, on that day, was, I remember, electric.

Would one man win a third title, or the other his first?

What we couldn’t have known, how-

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ever, was just how unsure Mika suddenly was after being half a second off Michael in the morning warm-up session they used to hold in those days.

“What am I going to do?” he asked.

Keke Rosberg, his manager and Finland’s 1982 champion, drew on his everpresent cigarette and just looked him in the eye, before remarking as only he could: "Just go and have fun and drive the car as fast as you want.”

It was all Mika needed to hear.

The tension was indescribable as start time approached, the drivers seeming to vibrate in their cockpits.

And then there was that horrible deflation when a car stalled. There it was, Jarno Trulli’s blue Prost-Peugeot on the seventh row. Off he went to the back of the grid as the field made another forma-

tion lap. McLaren had got the cooling fans out to their cars in double-quick time before that, but when the field assembled for the second try, another car stalled.

Schumacher’s Ferrari!

“The engine stalled because the clutch didn’t free itself,” he later recounted, Ferrari’s first possible title since Jody Scheckter’s back in 1979 now lost.

Settled in the cockpit of car number 8, Mika was his old self again. He led every lap and won by more than seven seconds from Irvine, with Coulthard another half minute down. Michael had charged from the back of the grid to third, but lost a wheel on the pit straight on lap 32 after picking up a puncture from debris. Afterwards, Mika was Mika – I remember him wearing that little-boy grin of his as he savoured his greatest moment.

Monday, 21 October, 2019

SPORTS 15

SHArMA HitS doubLe ton AS indiA decLAre on 497-9 RANCHI

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AGENCIES

OHIT Sharma struck his maiden double Test century Sunday as India declared on 497 for nine on day two of the third Test against South Africa. The in-form opener reached the milestone with a six off paceman Lungi Ngidi in the third over after lunch to a standing ovation from the raucous home crowd in Ranchi.

He hit another six off Ngidi before falling to paceman Kagiso Rabada for 212 and returned to the pavilion with handshakes from the South African side. The left-handed Ravindra Jadeja then took control to hit his 13th Test half-century before falling to debutant spinner George Linde for 51.

Linde returned figures of 4-133 with his left-arm spin. Number nine Umesh Yadav played a useful cameo of 31, hitting five sixes during his 10-ball blitz. Mohammed Shami, on 10, and debutant Shahbaz Nadeem, on one, were batting when skipper

Virat Kohli called them back at the stroke of tea.

Sharma, who hit twin centuries in his debut as Test opener at the start of the series, pulled India out of early trouble with his 267-run fourth-wicket stand with Ajinkya Rahane, who made 115.

The senior batsman, playing his 30th Test, surpassed his previous best of 177 on his debut against the West Indies in 2013. Sharma, who has three double centuries in his already illustrious one-day career, smashed the ball all around the park as he hit 28 fours and six sixes in his 255-ball stay.

He successfully reviewed an lbw decision on seven and survived a dropped catch on 28 on day one. Rahane, who started Sunday on 83, became Linde's first Test victim and the only Indian wicket to fall in the morning session.

Rabada struck twice to reduce India to 39 for three after the hosts elected to bat first on Saturday.

Bad light and rain forced an early end to the opening day with only 58 overs after play was called off. India are aiming for a whitewash after taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

Real Madrid beaten by Mallorca as Barca go top of La Liga

AGENCIES Barcelona sailed back to the top of the table on Saturday and trouble returned to Real Madrid after they endured their first La Liga defeat of the season at newly-promoted Real Mallorca.

Zinedine Zidane, David Beckham and Robinho were in the last Madrid team to lose a league game at San Moix in 2006 and 13 years later, Mallorca repeated the trick thanks to a scintillating strike by Junior Lago in the first half. Alvaro Odriozola allowed Lago too much room to cut inside and was then sent off late on, even if Madrid´s attempts at a comeback looked doomed well before they were reduced to 10.

"The problem is we have to show every three days that we are good," Real coach Zidane said. "That is what we don´t do. We have to be consistent. We have to put more life into our game if we want to achieve anything this year."

The 1-0 defeat halts the resurgence of Zidane´s side just as Barcelona´s appears to be gathering pace, a 3-0 win away at Eibar giving the Catalans their fifth consecutive victory in all competitions. Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and

Antoine Griezmann scored the goals.

In between, Atletico Madrid were pegged back by Valencia as a brilliant Dani Parejo freekick earned the visitors a hard-earned 1-1 draw at the Wanda Metropolitano.

It means Barca will finish the weekend top of the table for the first time this season as the defending champions continue to leave their stumbling start further behind them.

For Real, five games unbeaten and three of them victories had not erased the doubts, but at least seemed to offer evidence Zidane´s team were turning a corner. But Mallorca, who climb to 14th, deserved their triumph in what is their first season back in the top flight since relegation ended a run of 16 consecutive years there in 2013. Lago collected the ball on the left in the seventh minute, drove at the retreating Odriozola before cutting inside and unleashing a shot into the far corner.

Madrid lacked purpose and cutting edge, with their hopes all but dashed when Odriozola capped a miserable night by flying in late on Lago in the 74th minute and collecting a second yellow card. Zidane will hope to have at least one of the injured Luke Modric, Gareth Bale

and Toni Kroos back for their crucial Champions League group match away at Galatasaray on Tuesday. ´MSG´ FIRE FOR BARCA: Barcelona´s autumn injury crisis is over and their ´MSG´ attack is finally clicking into gear as Messi, Suarez and Griezmann all scored in a ruthless win over Eibar.

Griezmann´s place in the newly-formed attacking trident has not been secure but the Frenchman opened the scoring at Ipurua before teeing up Messi and then playing the crucial pass for Suarez to make it three.

"There will be good and bad days but we are getting to know each other and bit by bit we will do even better," said Griezmann. Victory also dismissed suggestions their players might be affected by Friday´s postponement of next Saturday´s Clasico due to protests in Catalonia.

Barcelona´s fans chanted in support of the nine Catalan leaders imprisoned last week for a failed independence bid in 2017. The match against Real Madrid is now expected to go ahead in December.

"It is fashionable not to agree on political issues but at least let´s agree on the date of the Clasico," Barca coach Ernesto Valverde said afterwards. "It doesn´t seem to me that difficult."

The only blot on the result was an injury to Sergi Roberto, who will be a doubt for the Champions League game at Slavia Prague on Wednesday after hurting his left knee.

ATLETICO LOSE GROUND: Atletico lost ground as they were undone by a late Parejo free-kick at the Wanda Metropolitano, where both sides finished the game with 10 men.

Diego Costa scored a first-half penalty and in a frantic final 10 minutes, Joao Felix limped off, with all three of Diego Simeone´s substitutes already used. Parejo struck moments later before Valencia´s Lee Kang-in was sent off in injury-time. Atletico confirmed Felix suffered a "grade two sprain" in his right ankle. He will now miss the Champions League game at home to Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday.

Sri Lanka to play two Tests in Pakistan in December LAHORE AGENCIES

After a positive response from the Sri Lankan Cricket Board (SLC), the chances of holding Test matches in Pakistan after 10 years have in-

creased.

According to reports, the SLC has shown an interest for Test matches in Pakistan in December, after successfully playing a limited-match series in the country.

The Islanders recently played a three-match

ODI series in Karachi, followed by a three T20I in Lahore. The Test series between Pakistan and Sri Lanka are part of the ICC Test Championship. For the series, Karachi and Rawalpindi have been narrowed down as the venues for the two Test matches.

Lahore was not chosen as a venue for the Test match due to weather in the city in December which would likely affect the match.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has taken Sri Lanka into confidence in terms of venues. If the series goes on schedule, this will be the first Test series to be held in Pakistan after more than ten years.

Pakistan last hosted a Test match on home soil in 2009 against Sri Lanka. International cricket in the country was largely suspended after March that year when armed militants used bullets and grenades to attack the Sri Lanka team bus taking the players to the Gaddafi Stadium. Since then most international teams have refused to tour the South Asian country, leaving Pakistan to play nearly all their "home" games in the United Arab Emirates.

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dAnieLLe KAng cAPS birtHdAy witH Second SHAngHAi win

SHANGHAI: Danielle Kang capped her 27th birthday with a nailbiting one-stroke win at the Buick LPGA Shanghai on Sunday, fending off fellow American Jessica Korda for her second victory at the tournament.

Korda was the overnight frontrunner at 15 under, with the defending champion trailing by one in the second edition of the $2.1 million event. Both had finished the penultimate day at six under par after Kang rallied from twin bogeys on the first two holes. But a bogey for Korda and a birdie for Kang flipped the lead on the first hole, with the defending champion's commanding short game keeping her ahead for most of the day. "It was a really stressful day but I definitely really played well out there," said Kang. "I've never been more nervous than the last putt for some reason, but I made it."

Korda's superior driving drew her level twice, but a narrow miss on the green of the 11th notched her third bogey and she trailed for the rest of the round. She nearly fell out of contention on the 512-yard 13th when a disastrous tee shot flew right of the fairway and came to rest against a spectator behind a tree, leaving barely enough room for her second swing. She salvaged a par there and went one under on the final par-five hole to bring her back within grasp of a playoff, but failed to capitalise on a birdie opportunity on the 18th. "It was just one of those days where it just wasn't meant to be, I guess," said Korda. "If you were going to tell me at the start of the week I would've come out finishing second, play in the final group, and had the week I did I would've probably taken it, but this one definitely sucks." Kang played solidly through the day to finish 16 under for the tournament with two birdies, dodging trouble on the 11th with a masterful recovery from the bunker with her second stroke. It was Kang's third professional tournament win after last year's Shanghai victory and the 2017 Women's PGA Championship at Olympia Fields in Illinois.

Punjab Cyclists Association and Gujranwala Cycling held a 10-kilometre race to express solidarity with the people of Indian Occupied Kashmir. PR

Monday, 21 October, 2019

NEWS

JUI-F Tells govT To approach rehbar commITTee For Talks ISLAMABAD

‘Imran has to go because he’s incompetent’ KARACHI: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Sunday the prime minister will have to resign from his post as he didn’t have abilities required for the job. Speaking to media-persons outside Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, he said that running the affairs of the country was not like playing a cricket match.

The country is going downhill due to the policies of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, he said, adding that everyone, including the traders, was protesting against this government. Bilawal further said the solution of problems of common man lies in democracy only, warning that the country was moving towards “anarchy”. Speaking about the anti-government protest, he said when the government would “shut down” parliament [by introducing ordinances] then the opposition parties will have to take to streets. He said the PPP would resist any attempts to impose martial law in the country as it had always done in the past. Bilawal said the Sindh government was providing relief to public and free health facilities were being provided. He said issues of Karachi were being solved with the help private sector, adding that we should all work together solve issues of masses. StAff rEport

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HE Jamiat Ulema-eIslam-Fazl (JUI-F) on Sunday canceled a meeting with a government committee a day after the party agreed to meet the delegation led by Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani to holds talks over the anti-government protest.

On Saturday, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government reached out to the JUI-F for the first round of talks in a bid to stop the religio-political party from marching on to the federal capital on October 31.

At the time, JUI-F senior leader Abdul Ghafoor Haideri had said that the party would see what the government would offer them but the final decision on holding the march rested with

JOINT OPP BODY TO MEET ON MONDAY NIGHT TO DELIBERATE DECISION OVER DIALOGUE OFFER Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

He added that the JUI-F could refer the government’s proposals to the Rahber Committee but it would continue to stick to its demand for the resignation of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

In the latest development, the JUI-F said the final decision on whether to hold talks with the government would be taken by the Rehbar Committee in a meeting on Oct 21, as party chief Fazlur Rehman was against taking a unilateral decision over the issue.

According to sources: “JUI-F believes that the impression being given that they [JUI-F] directly want to nego-

tiate with the government. To eliminate this impression, Fazl contacted all the opposition leaders and taken them into confidence and told them the Rahbar Committee will make a decision regarding the talks.”

The development was confirmed by Haideri, who hoped that the Senate chief would approach the joint opposition committee with the talks offer.

The talks had come hours after Defence Minister Pervaiz Khattak had told a press conference warning Maulana Fazl of state’s might if his party refused to come to the table points. Addressing the presser along with Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mehmood at

Parliament House, Khattak had said that the opposition, rather than showing willingness or taking any steps to solve issues, is bent on its demand for Prime Minister Imran Khan’s resignation.

Making it clear that the issue of Azadi March would be resolved through dialogue between the government and JUIF leadership, the PTI leaders had said that the government never closed doors to dialogue in its sit-in during the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) government’s tenure.

Making it clear that the premier’s resignation was out of question, Khattak said that the issues would be resolved through dialogue and the government’s writ would be implemented otherwise the only way forward would be to act and “make decisions according to the law”.

Turkey says Kurdish militia kills soldier in northeast Syria despite ceasefire One Turkish soldier was killed and another was wounded on Sunday after an attack by the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia in northeast Syria’s Tel Abyad, the Turkish defence ministry said, despite a deal to pause military operations as militants withdraw from the area.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan agreed on Thursday in talks with US Vice President Mike Pence a five-day pause in the offensive to allow time for the Kurdish fighters to withdraw from a “safe zone” Turkey aims to form in northeast Syria near its border. On Saturday, the truce was holding along the border, with just a few Turkish military vehicles crossing, a Reuters reporter at the scene said. But Sunday’s attack has underlined how fragile the agreement is.

Ankara regards the YPG, the main component of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), as a terrorist group because of its links to Kurdish insurgents in southeast Turkey. The YPG has been a close US ally in the fight against the militant Islamic State (IS) group.

In a statement, the Turkish defence ministry said an attack by the YPG with antitank and light weapons had struck Turkish

Pentagon chief in Afghanistan as US looks to kickstart Taliban talks KABUL AGENCIES

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper arrived in Afghanistan on Sunday in a bid to bring talks with the Taliban back on track after President Donald Trump abruptly broke off negotiations last month seeking to end the United States’ longest war. Esper’s trip to Kabul comes amid questions about the United States’ commitments to allies after a sudden withdrawal of U.S. troops from northeastern Syria and Trump’s long-time desire to get out of foreign engagements. “The aim is to still get a peace agreement at some point, a political agreement. That is the best way forward,” Esper told reporters traveling with him to Afghanistan. He is due to meet President Ashraf Ghani and U.S. troops while in Afghanistan. “I hope we can move forward and come up with a political agreement that meets our ends and meets the goals we want to achieve,” Esper said, adding that talks were in the State Department’s domain. He added that the United States could go down to about 8,600 troops, from the current 14,000, without affecting counter-terrorism operations, if needed.

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

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soldiers carrying out a reconnaissance and surveillance mission in Tel Abyad on Sunday. “The immediate response based on selfdefence was given,” the ministry said.

“Despite the Safe Zone Agreement with the United States… 20 harassments/violations were committed by PKK/YPG terrorists,” it said. On Friday, the Kurdish militia had accused Turkey of violating the five-day pause by shelling civilian areas in the northeast and the border town of Ras al Ain. A senior Turkish official later dismissed the accusations on Saturday, saying these were an attempt to sabotage the agreement between Ankara and Washington, and that Turkey fully supported the deal.

Erdogan had warned on Saturday that the offensive would continue and Turkey would “crush the heads of terrorists” if the deal was not fully implemented, while Turkey insisted that it is the duty of Washington to ensure the withdrawal of the YPG. Turkey’s defence ministry said late on Saturday that it was closely monitoring the withdrawal of the YPG and that it was in close contact with US officials over the issue and to provide logistical information. AGENCIES

EU moves to ratify Brexit accord despite delay request BRUSSELS: Brussels officials on Sunday pressed on with plans to ratify the divorce deal as European leaders considered Prime Minister Boris Johnson's reluctant request for a Brexit delay. Ambassadors and senior officials from the other 27 members states met Sunday after British MPs forced Johnson to send EU Council president Donald Tusk a late request to postpone the withdrawal. But Tusk will spend a "few days" canvassing member state leaders, meaning the British parliament will likely have to vote on Brexit again before hearing their decision on the October 31 departure. "It was a very short and normal meeting of the EU ambassadors to launch the next steps of the EU ratification of the agreement," EU negotiator Michel Barnier told reporters after Sunday's talks. Diplomats told AFP the ambassadors' meeting lasted only 15 minutes and had dealt simply with EU ratification, although a participant said they had "taken note" of Johnson's letter.

PREVIOUS DEAL TORPEDOED: On Saturday, MPs pushed through an amendment obliging a furious Johnson to ask for an extension until the British legislation governing the withdrawal is drafted and passed. Johnson, who refused to sign the letter and insists no delay is necessary, plans to bring the Brexit agreement he reached with Barnier last week to a vote on Monday. AGENCIES