E-Paper PDF 3 October (LHR)

CMYK

Thursday, 3 October, 2019 I 3 Safar-ul-Muzaffar, 1441 I Rs 20.00 I Vol X No 93 I 16 Pages I Lahore Edition

pakistan hosts Us-taliban talks g

g

taliban delegation to ‘inform Pakistan’s leadershiP of factors that derailed talks’ afghan govt says no Progress will be imminent if a Peace Process is not owned and led by govt

g

Pakistan says it formally extended invitation to taliban after hectic diPlomatic efforts to helP resume dialogue

STORY ON BACK PAGE

PESHAWAR/ISLAMABAD

a

STAFF REPORT

fghan Taliban officials were due in Pakistan on Wednesday, the insurgent group said, even as the top US diplomat involved in talks with the militants also met government officials there.

It was however not known if the Taliban and the US official would meet.

The Taliban delegation will be led by Mullah abdul ghani Baradar, to discuss “important issues” with Pakistani officials in the capital, Islamabad, Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said on Twitter.

Baradar, one of the group’s founders, was making his first known visit to Pakistan since he was released a year ago from a Pakistani jail. he later assumed the role of the Taliban’s chief negotiator with the United States on withdrawal of american troops from afghanistan.

Baradar, who previously coordinated the group’s military operations in southern afghanistan, was arrested in 2010 by a team from Pakistani and US intelligence agencies.

The visit was confirmed by Pakistan later in the day. according to a statement issued by the foreign Office, Pakistan formally extended an invitation to the Taliban Political Commission (TPC) in Doha for a visit to Islamabad after hectic background diplomatic efforts to help resume the US-Taliban dialogue.

The Taliban delegation’s visit would provide the opportunity to review the progress made under US-Taliban peace talks so far, and discuss the possibilities of resuming the paused political settlement process in afghanistan, it said. “accordingly a Taliban delegation is scheduled to visit Islamabad. Program for the TPC delegation’s meeting with foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi is being finalized, the statement added.

The top US negotiator in the talks, Special Representative for afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad, met Pakistani counterparts in Is-

lamabad this week, following discussions between US President Donald Trump and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in the United States the previous week.

“These consultations follow discussions held between the United States and Pakistan during the United nations general assembly in new York last week,” said a spokesman for the US Embassy in Islamabad via email.

The spokesman did not say if Khalilzad was still in Pakistan on Wednesday or if he planned to meet the Taliban officials.

The United States has long considered Pakistani cooperation as crucial to efforts to end war in afghanistan.

Trump last month halted the talks with the Taliban aimed at striking a deal for the US and other foreign troops to withdraw in exchange for Taliban security guarantees, following the death of a US soldier and 11 others in a Taliban bomb attack in Kabul.

The Taliban delegation would inform Pakistan’s leadership of the factors that derailed the talks, said a Taliban official, who declined to be identified.

Reacting to the visit, the afghan government warned that no progress would be imminent if a peace process was not owned and led by the afghan government.

Presidential spokesperson Sediq Sediqqi said in Twitter post “Peace is our priority. a peace process led and owned by the afghan

government will only lead to lasting and dignified peace in afghanistan.”

Sediqqi said: “no progress will be imminent if a peace process is not owned and led by the afghan government.” he apparently made the remarks in reaction to the travel of a delegation of Taliban political leaders to Islamabad.

PROGRESS ON PEACE?: The US and Taliban said last month, shortly before talks broke off, that they were close to reaching a deal, despite concern among some US security officials and within the afghan government that a US withdrawal could plunge the country into even more conflict and open the way for a resurgence of Islamist militant factions.

The Taliban also planned to follow up on Khan’s recent comments, that he would try to convince Trump to resume the talks, the Taliban official said. a government source in Pakistan told Reuters the Taliban would arrive on Wednesday evening and meet Khan.

Sediq Sediqqi, a spokesman for afghan President ashraf ghani, said on Twitter that the afghan government should be involved in any peace process. “no progress will be imminent if a peace process is not owned and led by the afghan government,” he said.

The Taliban have refused to negotiate with the afghan government, dismissing it as a U.S. puppet.

Business tycoons call on Gen Bajwa as economy nosedives g

Jui-f to review azadi march decision

PM Imran says multilingual education system divided society into classes STORY ON PAGE 03

us congressional body to focus on iok in hearing on human rights STORY ON BACK PAGE

Pakistan defeat Sri Lanka by 5 wickets, clinch series 2-0

business delegation to call on Pm today to discuss nab harassment among other things

STORY ON BACK PAGE

KARACHI: Abid Ali plays a shot during the third and final One Day International (ODI) cricket match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Karachi on Wednesday. AGENCIES STORY ON BACK PAGE

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT

Thursday, 3 October 2019

Khurram Jameel

decades. Reliable and affordable healthcare is the basic right of every human.

I believe that individually as well as collectively, we all need to play our role and become the enablers of this ultimate objective. Keeping in line with our values and core principles as a responsible organization, Siemens Healthcare (Pvt.) Ltd. organized several CSR activities round the year. The key highlights were the Blood Donation Drive in collaboration with Indus Hospital, Karachi and Breast Cancer Awareness Program.

As I reflected on the anthropological significance of this key historical incident, I realized that irrespective of the way we observe ourselves and those around us, we cannot ignore the basic fact that in the end, we all are humans. And no matter which theological ideology we support or favor, our genetically harmonious beliefs favor; unity as one creature, above all. Yet those walls and those beliefs, and those socioeconomic culturally irrelevant sub-zones defy those basic realities. If we look back on any timeframe, we would see, that our divisions, based on any tangible or intangible interests, did not last for too long. Every generation before us has done much to prove this. 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall is one of those events of our generation that resonated among the minds of intellectuals that we could live together against odds of the socio-political symphony.

With that, I would personally like to congratulate all our German friends here and around the world on this day of reunification.

Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer Siemens Healthineers

I

am convinced that articles on historical events can be commemorative, but they cannot truly describe the emotional and historic positions of individuals and collective minds of that time. Especially how that event dominated any dialogue during that time, on inherent urges of humans, as a specie, to be together and stay together. I believe that such events do define static impulses that then transform into dynamics and then into a certain depiction of measures that must be aligned with our continuous evolution for better lives.

Breaking a wall, the Berlin Wall, was indeed one of those events of our very recent history that abolished division. Being a German company in Pakistan, Siemens Healthcare (Pvt.) Ltd., draws inspiration from this mammoth event and strives to overcome all the obstacles that hinder the advancement of future healthcare in Pakistan. In recent years we have seen a paradigm shift in healthcare in the global market with its remnants touching the Pakistani market as well. However, there is still a massive room for improvement as the expenditure on healthcare for Pakistan has been less than 1 percent of the GDP for

CMYK

CMYK Thursday, 3 October, 2019

nEwS

03

PM IMraN says MultIlINgual educatIoN systeM dIvIded socIety INto classes ISLAMABAD

STAFF REPORT

P

RIME Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday said the government is planning to synchronize the multilingual education system to create social harmony among different classes.

He was addressing a prize distribution ceremony for madrassa students who earned distinction in the exams of contemporary education boards and religious seminaries exams. The prime minister said reforms are being introduced in the education system, which will help uplift the lower strata of the society with the provision of equal opportunities to prosper. He said a uniform curriculum is being designed so that all the graduates have equal opportunities to grow in practical life. He said the new education system will give an understanding of religion, contemporary knowledge and science and technology to the graduates.

Prime Minister Imran

noted that currently three parallel education systems are being practiced, which is leading to injustices and divisions in the society.

He said the PTI government had decided in its early days that the students of religious seminaries will be imparted contemporary modern education so that they too can get important positions in different professions. Underlining the importance of education, the prime minister said Islam has laid special emphasis on education. He observed Muslims around the globe are backward and vulnerable mainly due to lack of education. Referring towards occupied Kashmir, he said eight million Kashmiris have been locked in the “open jail” of occupied Kashmir for almost two months.

Coming towards the proposed news channel, the premier reiterated that Pakistan, Malaysia and Turkey have decided to launch an English language channel to advance the point of view of Muslims

to the world and project a positive image of Islam to the victims of Islamophobia.

He revealed the three Muslim countries have also decided to collaborate to make films on Muslim history and heroes of Islam.

Speaking on the occasion, Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood said the PTI government has been working on various initiatives to eliminate injustice in the society on the basis of education.

He said a uniform curriculum is being prepared for the government and private schools as well as Madrassas, and primary level curriculum will be prepared by March next year.

He said measures are also being taken to ensure that students of religious seminaries take examinations of contemporary education boards, and this process will hopefully be completed in three to four years. Prime Minister Imran also distributed awards among position holders.

No changes in federal cabinet, says interior minister LAHORE STAFF REPORT

Federal Minister for Interior Ijaz Ahmed Shah on Wednesday denied reports of any changes in the federal cabinet, saying the prime minister has confidence in his ministers.He said this during an exclusive interview with Pakistan Today Editor Arif Nizami on Channel 92’s programme ‘Ho Kya Raha Hai?’ The interior minister said that the prime minister has confidence in his abilities and he cannot be replaced as long as the premier trusts him.

“Even if he wants to replace his ministers, it is his prerogative,” he said.Talking about the upcoming ‘Azadi March’ of opposition parties led by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, he said that the government would provide the JUI-F chief with a container if he really wants to protest.

“However, this is not the right time to protest considering the regional situation and the Kashmir crisis,” he said.

Speaking about opposition’s criticism of the government over rising inflation in the country, he said that the incumbent government should not be blamed for the dollar hike and subsequent increase in inflation. “We are

Naeemul Haq rejects reports of cabinet reshuffle Prime Minister’s Special Assistant Naeem ul Haque has dismissed a fake list claiming of the expected changes in the federal cabinet. Taking to Twitter on Wednesday, Haque said he held a meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday and can confirm that the list of cabinet changes being circulated on the social media is totally false and there is no truth in it.

The special assistant said, “Our adversaries continue to indulge in fake messages to create divisions in the party. But that is not going to happen.” A fake list carrying the names of the changes had started circulating on the internet on Tuesday. According to the list, the likes of Asad Umar and Babar Awan would return to the Federal Cabinet. It also claimed that Dr Atta ur Rehman would be brought to the cabinet as minister for science and technology. NEWS DESK bearing the consequences of the policies of the previous governments,” he said.

While talking about the 18th Amendment, he said that government is not against it but it can be refined as a lot of powers given to the provinces have weakened the federation. Responding to opposition’s claim of government conducting a witchhunt of the opposition leaders, he said that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) is not working under the control of the federal government. “Even government ministers are being probed by NAB,” he said.

Talking about the rumours of a deal between government and under-investigation opposition leaders, he said that the law allows those under-investigations to avail plea bargain.

However, the premier would not grant them any deal under another ordinance like the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), he added.

Speaking about the plea bargain availed by seven suspects, including Abdul Ghani Majeed, in the fake accounts case, he said that Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Asif Ali Zardari was a beneficiary of that.

ECP de-notifies Qasim Suri ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday de-notified former National Assembly deputy speaker Qasim Suri as a member of the Lower House. The decision came after the election tribunal of the Balochistan High Court (BHC) last week declared Suri’s election to the National Assembly as void and ordered a re-election in the constituency. Suri was elected as an MNA

from NA-265 (Quetta-II) on a ticket of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) in the General Elections 2018. The result was challenged by Nawabzada Lashkari Raisani, who had filed a petition against alleged rigging in the constituency. Suri, who was deseated following the tribunal’s verdict, remains eligible to contest the re-election for which the election commission is yet to announce a date. STAFF REPORT

CMYK

04 LAHORE

Thursday, 3 October, 2019

WEATHER UPDATES 0 THURSDAY

30 C

200C

Foolproof security to be provided for Pak-Lanka cricket matches: IGP LAHORE APP

Inspector General Police, Punjab, Capt (r) Arif Nawaz Khan said on Wednesday the Punjab police would provide foolproof security to Sri Lankan team players and officials visiting Pakistan for the Sri Lanka tour of Pakistan 2019.

Addressing a high-level meeting here at Central Police Office, he told officers that daily life should not in any way be disrupted by the security arrangements and change of traffic management.

He further directed officers that close monitoring of hotels, stadiums, and routes of teams be conducted by

safe city cameras, whereas, snipers be deputed on rooftops of buildings situated on the route through which the Sri Lankan team would be traveling.

He directed CCPO Lahore and other senior officers to inspect security arrangements and brief deputed officials.

A detailed discussion regarding security of Pak-Sri Lanka matches at Qaddafi stadium was also discussed during the session.

In the meeting, CCPO Lahore BA Nasir assured the IGP that security arrangements along the lines of those employed during the PSL (Pakistan Super League) matches would be implemented.

The IGP said that an uninterrupted and efficient plan of patrolling by Dolphin, Peru and other patrolling forces should be devised and monitoring officers at the safe city head office should keep field officers and officials fully updated. He further said that search, sweep and combing operations should be conducted at Ferozewala, Band Road, Slums, Bus Stations, Hotels and Inns for security arrangements and if resources are required regarding security measures then central police office should be contacted immediately.

Additional IGs, CCPO Lahore, DIGs with other officers were present during the session.

FRIDAY

310C

200C

PLRA BOARD MEETING FAILS TO APPROVE STAFF REGULARIZATION AND INCREMENTS IN SALARY PLRA EMPLOYEES PROTEST AGAIN NON-REGULARIZATION OF SERVICES LAHORE

d

SHAHAB OMER

eSPITe repeated promises, proposals for regularization of staff were not approved by the Punjab Land Record Authority (PLRA) while PLRA employees from across Punjab went on a strike, Pakistan Today learnt here on Wednesday.

Reliable sources informed Pakistan Today that a 16-point agenda presented by Director General (DG) PLRA Hafiz Shaukat Ali was discussed at the board meeting which was presided by PLRA Chairman Sardar Ahmed Ali Khan Dirishik.

Sources added that the board approved proposals such as the establishment of Fard issuing centers in different embassies to facilitate overseas Pakistanis, the approval of executive allowances for officials

SATURDAY

working on deputation, approval of 1135 new vacancies for the 115 new Arazi Record Centers (ARC) and approval of new appointments to the 714 vacant positions of Service Center Officials (SCO), but did not discuss the case of regularization and service structure.

A PLRA official seeking anonymity said, “There has been no increment in salaries for the past three years and most employees are working on contracts which are about to expire,” adding that all issues were expected to be resolved by the board, which the chief minister had recently formed. The official further added, “The PLRA chairman is not interested in the staff’s welfare. The chairman and the Punjab Minister for Revenue Col (r) Anwar want the Patwari system to be reintroduced.”

“Both the chairman and the provincial minister are reported to have assured patwaris that the old way of doing things was about to return,” he added.

An employee working on ARC said, “We are doing a very important job of keeping, maintaining and updating land records. In Board of Revenue (BOR) this task is assigned

RAJANPUR: The police foiled a bid to marry eightyear-old girl with 27-yearold youth and arrested three while two managed to flee here on Wednesday.

According to details, the police on a tip-off raided nikkah ceremony of 8-year girl with 27-year youth in Kot Mithan area of Rajanpur. The police arrested the father and two brothers of girl while groom and nikkah khawan managed to escape the scene. A case was registered against the detainees and raids are being conducted to arrest the culprits. INP

LAHORE STAFF REPORT

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Wednesday sought all records regarding projects got approved by PML-N MNA Nasir Iqbal Bosal.The anti-graft body probe against the PML-N’s MNA from Mandi Bahauddin Nasir Iqbal Bosal and his brother Imdad Ullah Bosal who was principal secretary of exchief minister Punjab was underway. The NAB Lahore has sought the record regarding Nasir Iqbal Bosal and Imdad Ullah Bosal from finance department and P&D board.According to press release issued by the NAB, it has sought the record regarding funds allocated by the Imdad Ullah Bhosal for his brother constituency back in the previous PML-N government.As per the NAB, Imdad Ullah Bhosal had approved from the previous provincial government a gruesome amount of Rs4 billion for the projects of his brother’s constituency.

210C

SUNDAY

310C

180C

PLrA eMPLoyees go oN strIke

PoLIce foIL BId to MArry 8-yeAr-oLd gIrL wIth 27-yeAr-oLd

NAB seeks record of projects approved by PML-N MNA Nasir Iqbal Bosal

310C

to a Patwari who has the lowest grade but is always appointed on permanent basis because of the sensitivity of the work.

This issue demands the immediate attention of higher authorities.”

“Despite having worked here for the past three years there has been no increase in our salaries and no contract employee is being regularized. There is job insecurity among employees especially those working on ARCs,” an SCO seeking anonymity said.

While speaking to Pakistan Today, the official spokesperson of PLRA, Nadia Ahmed confirmed reports of a strike and said, “Previously strikes were observed by the staff of district offices or ARCs but this time the headquarter staff is also out in protest because the issue of regularization and contracts restructuring has been pending for a long time and is still unresolved.”

PLRA DG Hafiz Shaukat Ali, however, told this scribe that the issue is close to being solved, “A committee will present its recommendations in the next board meeting which would hopefully lead to a successful resolution of the problem.”

Thursday, 3 October, 2019

HydeRABAd FUNd CAse: UK CoURt RUles IN FAvoUR oF INdIA COURT’S VERDICT SAYS £35 MILLION BELONG TO THE HEIRS OF NIZAM IN INDIA LONDON

d

INP

eCIDING a decades-old legal dispute between Pakistan and India, a United Kingdom (UK) high court on Wednesday ruled that an amount of £35 million belonging to the Nizam of Hyderabad at the time of partition of subcontinent and deposited in a London bank account belongs to heirs of the Nizam in India.

The judgment stated that £35 million – belonging to Nizam of Hyderabad at the time of partition in 1947 and given to Pakistan for safekeeping in Natwest London bank account – belongs to heirs of Nizam in India.

FO SAYS VERDICT DOES NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT

Prince Mukarram Jah, the 8th Nizam of Hyderabad and his younger brother Muffakham Jah, had joined hands with India in the legal fight against Pakistan over £35 million.

The original amount, which was about £1,007,940, has now grown to around £35 million after 70 years.

Commenting on the verdict, Foreign Office (FO) said that the judgement rejects the longstanding claims of the two major parties and upholds the claims of the heirs of Nizam of Hyderabad.

FO further said that Pakistan had taken note of the judgment by the High Courts of Justice of the UK in the Hyderabad fund case on Wednesday after a two-week trial in June 2019.

“The ruling does not take into account the historical context of the transfer when India illegally annexed Hyderabad in violation of international law and all civilized norms, leading the Nizam of Hyderabad to make desperate efforts to defend his people and the state from Indian invasion,” said the statement issued by FO. The Nizam also raised the matter with the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) where the issue remains on the agenda to date.

The Nizam, as a sovereign, approached Pakistan for assistance, which the Government of Pakistan provided.

Pakistan is closely examining all aspects of the detailed judgment and will take further action in light of legal advice received.

Chunian 'serial killer' remanded in police custody for 15 days LAHORE STAFF REPORT

Imran should have focused only on Kashmir in UNGA speech, Bilawal says Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Wednesday contradicted his earlier statement of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s being good at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), saying that it should only have been about Kashmir.

Addressing a press conference in Mirpur on Wednesday after meeting the victims of the earthquake, he said that the premier’s speech at the UNGA was good; however, it should have been dedicated to the ongoing Kashmir issue and its nitty gritties.“The prime minister should have demanded democratic rights and right to self-determination for people of Occupied Kashmir,” he said.

He said that becoming an ambassador of Kashmir doesn’t mean a single tweet or just a speech and asked how many countries the premier visited to discuss the Kashmir issue during the last 50 days. Further, the PPP chairman said that the compensation being given to the people affected by the doctors’ strikes was not enough and demanded the federal government to increase the amount of money, doctors and paramedical staff are required in the hospitals. Bilawal went on to say that people are facing problems which is why the government will have to go, adding that our stance on “Azadi March” is clear. “The PPP has been against the politics of sit-ins,” he added. NEWS DESK

An anti-terrorism court on Wednesday remanded the suspect behind the murder-afterrape of four minor boys in Chunian, Suhail Shehzad, into police custody for 15 days.

The court, presided over by Judge Abdul Qayum Khan, also ordered a medical checkup of the suspect.

Shehzad was brought to the courtroom with a black hood over his head. In his statement to the court, the investigation officer said that the suspect had been brought to court in pursuance of a first information report (FIR) registered against the sexual assault and murder of one of the four boys.

The cases registered for the other three boys were being probed by a joint investigation team (JIT), he informed the court.

A day earlier, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar had announced the identification of the “serial killer behind the rape and murders of four minor boys” in Kasur district. According to him, 27-year-old Shehzad was identified using polygraphic and DNA testing.

Four children — aged between eight and 12 years — had gone missing since June with the latest, Faizan, 8, disappearing on the night of September 16.

The remains of three were found on Sept 17 from sand dunes near Chunian bypass.

The chief minister confirmed that the suspect was behind all four cases and murder which shook Kasur last month.

“The case against him will be pursued in an anti-terrorism

news

05

CJP questions 25-year span of life imprisonment Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa on Wednesday questioned the 25-year span of life imprisonment, as a seven-member bench of the Supreme Court (SC) took up the case to determine the time period of a life sentence. During the case, the top judge said: “How life imprisonment can be fixed for 25 years in prison when the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) is silent on the matter? “The question has appeared to us to be a question of immense public importance affecting a larger number of cases in the country,” said CJP Khosa. Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) members Ahsan Bhoon and Azam Tarar appeared before the bench and stated that the bar wants to become a party to the case. However, the matter has been postponed as the petitioner requested to file a fresh plea in the case. Currently, the sentence of life imprisonment corresponds to a maximum imprisonment of 25 years, and a minimum of 15 years (per Rule 140 of the Pakistan Prison Rules 1978), after earning remissions as may be extended by the executive functionaries from timeto-time but subject to Section 401 CrPC, Rule 216 and Rule 218 of the Pakistan Prison Rules, 1978. NEWS DESK

Govt to spare no effort for complete rehabilitation of quake victims: Firdous MIRPUR: Special Assistant on Information and Broadcasting Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan has said no effort will be spared for the complete rehabilitation of earthquake affected people of Azad Kashmir. She was addressing a ceremony in connection with distribution of compensation cheques amongst the quake victims in Mirpur on Wednesday. Firdous said an effective and realistic rehabilitation roadmap will also be prepared for the quake affected areas after assessment of the damages caused by the quake. The special assistant said that in the first phase, the federal and Azad Kashmir governments each will provide five hundred thousand rupees to the heirs of those killed in the calamity. She said no amount is sufficient to compensate for the lost life. This amount is only to enable the families to start afresh their lives. She said the seriously injured one hundred and fifty people are being provided with compensation of one hundred thousand rupees today. Fifty thousand rupees will be provided to six hundred other injured people. Firdous said a list of one thousand fully damaged houses has been prepared and these will be provided with two hundred thousand rupees each in the first phase. APP

Balochistan continues to be shortchanged politically: HRCP court,” he announced, adding that “I will oversee the Chunian case myself”.

He said that action has been taken against police officials because of whom the case got prolonged; however, no further details were given in this regard.

According to the Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Capt (r) Arif Nawaz Khan, the suspect is a resident of Rana Town in Lahore and committed the crimes in June, August and September.

Meanwhile, protests were held to express concern over lawlessness and the failure of police to protect the lives of people.

In the last few years, Kasur has been rocked by multiple incidents of abuse, rape and killing of children. In January 2018, six-year-old Zainab Ansari was found dead in a trash

heap near Shahbaz Khan Road, five days after she went missing. Police arrested the prime suspect, Imran Ali, on January 23, 2018.

On June 12 the Supreme Court had turned down his appeal against the death sentence, noting that he had admitted to committing similar offences with eight other minor victims.

Ali was, subsequently, executed in October last year.

In 2015, Kasur’s Hussain Khanwala village made headlines when a child pornography ring was busted. Hundreds of video clips had emerged showing a gang forcing dozens of minor boys and girls to perform sexual acts and filming them.

The gang had also used the videos to blackmail families of the children and extorted millions in cash and jewelry from them.

ISLAMABAD: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has released a detailed report after a factfinding mission to Balochistan. Titled Balochistan: Neglected still, the report states that Balochistan continues to be shortchanged politically. Incidents of enforced disappearance continue: in most cases, victims’ families say they are afraid of communicating their cases to the authorities. A disconcerting trend is that of women being ‘disappeared’ in certain areas, such as Dera Bugti and Awaran. Yet these cases tend not to be reported or recorded.

HRCP’s investigation also reveals that hundreds of coal mines are being operated by people who possess neither the financial resources nor the technological skills to provide for operational safety or deal with emergencies. The mission found that security agencies impose an unofficial security charge on per ton production from coal mines, which mine owners and labour unions alike have deemed extortion. HRCP believes that the level of the Frontier Corps’ presence in Balochistan and its degree of control undermines provincial government and civilian administration. The unwarranted involvement and permanent presence of security personnel in educational institutions like Balochistan University must also end.

HRCP strongly feels that the provincial government and civilian administration must run the affairs of the province without any undue interference. In addition, a law that criminalises enforced disappearances, punishes the perpetrators and compensates victims’ families must be enacted expeditiously. STAFF REPORT

Poor traffic management resulting in road accidents LAHORE FIDA HUSSNAIN

Lack of coordination between various government departments responsible for ensuring road safety in Punjab has led to an increase in traffic accidents and subsequent deaths.

According to a senior officer in City Traffic Police, nearly 300 letters were written by the department to the heads of various government departments for ensuring proper coordination to improve traffic control but none of them responded.

“Despite our best to improve traffic control, we are the first to be blamed for traffic mess,” the official said.

It is worth mentioning here that in a city as big as Lahore, gridlocks and road accidents are primarily due to ill-planned roads and faulty traffic control mechanism. 264 people had died in various cities of Punjab in 27,000 road-related accidents in September alone, said Rescue 1122 Director General (DG) Rizwan Naseer.

On Wednesday morning, 23-year-old Farooq Masih and 18-year-old Akash were crushed by a speeding truck on Multan Road while Tariq Masih, who was also with them, was severely injured. Meanwhile, another speeding bus crushed 60year-old Muhammad Munir near Lorry Adda. When his son went to the hospital to retrieve his body, he lamented the lack

CTP OFFICIAL SAYS THEY’VE WRITTEN NEARLY 300 LETTERS TO OTHER DEPARTMENTS BUT HAVEN’T RECEIVED ANY RESPONSE of check and balance on roads. “I have lost my father but nobody cares,” he cried.

DG Naseer said that around 50 per cent traffic accidents can be prevented by adopting basic safety measures, including wearing a helmet and driving within the

CMYK

speed limit.

CTP officials said that there are 7,500,000 motorcycles in Lahore and 700,000 rickshaws and most of them do not adhere to traffic rules. They also said that the department has identified lack of parking spaces as a common factor in the accidents taking place in different areas.

“When people do not have access to parking spaces, they tend to park their vehicles recklessly, disturbing the flow of traffic, which leads to road accidents,” they said.

When this issue was brought up with Lahore Development Authority (LDA) Spokesperson Sohail Janjua, he said that parking spaces cannot be built because there are buildings on Mall Road which do

not come under their operational control and buildings on Ferozpur Road were created before they were given control of the area in 2012-13. “However, we are trying our best to control the situation,” he said.

CTP Public Relations Officer (PRO) Rana Arif said that while the department is trying to control and manage the city’s traffic, the ultimate responsibility comes down to the people who show negligence on roads. Moreover, he said, the population of the city is increasing every day and there are only 2,400 wardens to control millions. “There are 262 traffic signals in the city where wardens are deployed. We can resolve a lot of issues if other departments coordinate with us,” he added.

06 WORLD VIEW 3rd October 2019_Layout 1 10/2/2019 10:19 PM Page 1

Thursday, 3 October, 2019

06 WORLD VIEW

A NEW SATIRE OF FBI TERRORISM STINGS DRAWS ITS CHARACTERS FROM REAL CASES FAR FROM BEING ENEMIES, THE FBI HAS BENEFITED FROM ITS BIGGEST BOGEYMEN, DEVELOPING A SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP WITH ISLAMIST EXTREMISTS WHILE PURSUING HUNDREDS OF TARGETS WHO NEVER POSED MUCH OF A THREAT AT ALL intercept

I

Trevor aaronSon

T’S a sunny day in Miami Beach as pretty young men and women dance by a pool. A disc jockey stands in a poolside booth, playing music.

Nearby, an FBI informant named Nura and another man, Malik, train their eyes on a drink cart being pushed through the crowd. Malik believes there’s a bomb on the cart. All he has to do is dial the number on the phone Nura is holding.

“The bomb will only take out the men, right?” Malik asks, suddenly unsure if he wants to move forward in the attack.

“What?” Nura replies, baffled by the question.

“The men are the soldiers. The women are not the soldiers. Only the men.”

“Yes, yes, of course. Just the men,” Nura says, trying to keep the FBI terrorism sting on track. “You see the wheel guards? They shape the blast. Only the men die in the blast.”

“A hundred percent no lady jihad?”

Malik asks.

“Hundred percent,” Nura says.

The FBI informant then hands him the phone. “Dial the number, brother,” Nura says.

The phone number is full of fives.

“I’m scared of fives,” Malik says. “Five is evil, brother. The halfway digit, the saluting snake — no. I’m scared of fives.

No fives.”

Nura and Malik then dial the number together, with the FBI informant pressing the fives. As soon as they finish, a SWAT team surrounds them and arrests Malik.

The FBI’s case agent, watching the takedown from a nearby hotel room, celebrates the arrest. “Yes! Great job, guys!” he says.

A federal prosecutor, standing next to the FBI agent, claps his hands sarcastically. “Shitty job, guys,” he says. “Most of that bomb was dialed by us. What if some libtard on my jury thinks that’s a little unfair to Ali bin Weasel?”

This FBI sting didn’t really happen.

It’s from British satirist Chris Morris’s new movie “The Day Shall Come,” which opened in New York and Los An-

geles on Friday. What’s remarkable about that scene, as with much of Morris’s film, is that the absurdity is not far removed from reality.

Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the FBI has used aggressive sting operations to catch would-be terrorists, providing all the weapons needed for supposed attacks and often a good amount of “dial the number, brother” prodding. To date, more than 300 defendants have been prosecuted following FBI terrorism stings.

These stings are often preposterous when examined closely. Derrick Shareef was arrested after buying grenades from an undercover agent; since Shareef didn’t have any money and was living with the government’s informant, the FBI set it up so that the undercover agent, posing as an arms dealer, would accept ratty old stereo speakers as payment. Emanuel L. Lutchman, a mentally ill and broke homeless man, planned to attack a New Year’s Eve celebration with a machete — a weapon he was able to buy only because the FBI gave him $40. The absurdities go on and on and on. Human Rights Watch criticized these types of FBI stings in a 2014 report for having “created terrorists out of law-abiding individuals by conducting sting operations that facilitated or invented the target’s willingness to act.”

Yet nearly two decades after the 9/11 attacks, FBI terrorism stings remain relevant. So far in 2019, 12 accused international terrorists have been charged following stings. The five-fearing Malik in “The Day Shall Come” is a composite drawn from dozens of terrorism sting defendants.

“Nobody we came across was scared of five,” Morris told me earlier this month from Edinburgh, Scotland, where “The Day Shall Come” was having its British premiere. “But the idea of freezing at the point where the FBI’s got them into a position where they think they’re dialing a bomb seemed very real. There are people who almost chickened out, so you think, what’s a ridiculous reason but one which an FBI agent couldn’t do anything about? Someone suddenly says they can’t dial the number five. So the jokes come when you look at the real situation and step a bit further.”

Islamist terrorism isn’t a new target of satire for Morris. His first movie, “Four Lions,” followed a group of inept British jihadis. His other credits include creating and producing British television shows and directing episodes of the HBO series “Veep.” For “The Day Shall Come,” Morris spent years researching FBI stings and talking to terrorism defendants, federal prosecutors, and FBI agents. By way of disclosure, he also talked to me, and I’m among three dozen people thanked at the end of the Morris’s film. I met Morris for coffee when he started researching FBI stings in 2012, but I did not play any further role in the movie. My connection was peripheral at best.

The main character in Morris’s film, Moses, played by Marchánt Davis, leads a group of black men in Miami known as the Star of Six. Moses is loosely based on Narseal Batiste, who led a group called the Seas of David. (The news media ultimately dubbed Batiste’s group the Liberty City Seven, which is the name that stuck.)

In real life, two scheming informants led Batiste and six of his followers in a supposed plot to bomb the FBI’s Miami office and the Sears Towers in Chicago.

Batiste and his men swore an oath to Al Qaeda, which the FBI caught on camera, but their alleged plot to bomb buildings never went further than taking photos of the FBI’s office. Evidence in the case raised questions about whether Batiste was more interested in hustling the informant for $25,000 or participating in terrorism.

After three trials, prosecutors convicted five of the so-called Liberty City Seven. A few years ago, Jeffrey Agron, who was the foreman in one of the trials that ended in a hung jury, told me: “There were a fair number of people on the jury who believed that it was a scam. … On the other hand, when asked to pledge an allegiance to Al Qaeda, they did it. When asked to take pictures for the plot, they did take the pictures.”

Batiste and his co-defendants have all been released from prison; he is now a painter and lives in Houston. Because the case was so bizarre, Morris saw a Batisteinspired character as an ideal vessel for demonstrating the absurdity of FBI terrorism stings.

“The shell of the Liberty City story

contains so many glaring examples of ridiculous things happening,” Morris told me. But while the film’s Moses has a lot in common with Batiste, his story ultimately takes him much deeper into the FBI’s screwball antics than Batiste ever went.

After setting up the five-fearing Malik, Nura pretends to be an operative for both the Islamic State group and Al Qaeda. He tells Moses that the two terrorist groups are the same, and Moses doesn’t know any better. Moses is desperate for money because he’s facing eviction from his house, which doubles as a church in which he and his followers end prayers by praising “Allah, Melchizedek, Jesus, black Santa, Prophet Mohammed (PBUH), and General Toussaint.”

He asks the informant if he can obtain uranium. The FBI then offers empty uranium canisters as part of a plan in which they’ll later provide fake nuclear material and arrest Moses. But the whole sting goes awry when the FBI discovers that Moses is running his own scam in an effort to get paid: trying to pass off the FBI’s empty canisters, which he and his followers have filled with urine and beans, as uranium to neo-Nazis in exchange for $100,000.

It’s a mess. At one point, Moses even approaches the FBI about becoming an informant on the neo-Nazis. But what makes “The Day Shall Come” so rich as satire is that the FBI, as an institution, is portrayed as an authentic and flawed character — and one that is every bit as scheming as Moses.

When Moses shows up unannounced at the FBI’s office, for example, the agents panic, fearing that their sting has unraveled. Case agent Kendra Glack, played by Anna Kendrick, assures everyone that she can meet with Moses and

make him go away, thereby keeping the sting alive. “If he says the wrong thing, I leave it off the 302,” she says. The number is a reference to the FBI form that agents fill out after interviewing a subject.

It’s a subtle jab at the FBI — a nod to criticism that agents, who do not record interviews as a matter of policy, only include material in written reports that benefits the bureau.

But Morris’s attacks on the FBI aren’t all so subtle. Looming over Miami in “The Day Shall Come” is the real-life FBI office building, which is actually in Miramar, just north of Miami. A $194 million structure that opened in 2015, the enormous glass building with sharp lines and curved walls houses the FBI’s South Florida office. Simultaneously assuring and foreboding, the building looks like a police headquarters in a dystopian comic book.

Morris delights in using the building as a way of showing how the FBI has benefited financially from, and been changed by, the endless search for terrorists since 9/11.

In one scene, the FBI’s special agentin-charge drives a federal prosecutor to the building. “Was the bureau high when they commissioned this?” the prosecutor asks. The FBI agent laughs. “Because it actually looks like a personality disorder,” the prosecutor adds. “Oh, he’s on a roll,” the agent counters. “You know, bin Laden got you this. You should put a big picture of him on the building, like the Colonel Sanders logo.”

That’s the joke underpinning “The Day Shall Come”: Far from being enemies, the FBI has benefited from its biggest bogeymen, developing a symbiotic relationship with Islamist extremists while pursuing hundreds of targets who never posed much of a threat at all.

Afghan forces still at the mercy of US air support US AIRCRAFT DROPPED 7,362 BOMBS IN AFGHANISTAN IN 2018 — MEANING THE LAST TWO YEARS OF US AERIAL OPERATIONS IN AFGHANISTAN ARE SHAPING UP TO BE THE MOST INTENSE AIR CAMPAIGN IN THE COUNTRY SINCE THE SURGE UNDER THEN-PRESIDENT BARRACK OBAMA Military tiMes

U

Shawn Snow

S aircraft dropped more bombs in Afghanistan in the month of August than during the past six years for that month as peace negotiations between the Taliban and U.S. entered into the final stages.

According to an airstrike roll up provided by U.S. Air Force’s Central Command, U.S. aircraft dropped 783 munitions in August.

That month, Taliban forces launched a deadly siege on the northern Afghan city of Kunduz even as Taliban and U.S. negotiators continued to forge forward with an agreement to end the nearly 18year long war.

B-52s were postured to respond to Taliban assaults of several urban centers that occurred in late August to early September but were not used, military officials said.

The Taliban failed to capture Kunduz and other urban centers during its offensive blitz, and President Donald Trump eventually pulled the U.S. out of peace negotiations with the militant group in September.

As the U.S. war in Afghanistan enters its 18th

year, U.S. aircraft still appear to be doing much of the heavy lifting from moving cargo to conducting deadly strikes on Taliban and ISIS positions.

With several months left in the year, U.S. aircraft are on track to drop more munitions than the surge years from 2010 to 2011 in Afghanistan, which saw nearly 100,000 American troops operating in the war-torn country. There are roughly 14,000 U.S. troops deployed to Afghanistan today.

As of August, U.S. aircraft have dropped 4,483 munitions in Afghanistan. In 2010 and 2011 — the height of America’s involvement in Afghanistan — aircraft dropped 5,100 and 5,411 bombs respectively.

U.S. aircraft dropped 7,362 bombs in Afghanistan in 2018 — meaning the last two years of U.S. aerial operations in Afghanistan are shaping up to be the most intense air campaign in the country since the surge under then-President Barrack Obama.

The numbers are staggering, and indicate that Afghan forces are still at the mercy of U.S. air support despite years and millions of dollars invested into the Afghan air force.

For the U.S. to pull out of the conflict, the Afghan air force must be capable of launching real time close-air support for maneuvering ground forces. Afghan aircraft must also be able to resupply

remote outposts across the country.

But Capt. Samantha Morrison, an AFCENT spokeswoman, says the Afghan air force has made progress. The Afghan air force “no longer require direct coalition support for routine operations,” she explained.

“The AAF is able to plan and execute successful air operations to further the security of Afghanistan and the legitimacy of its government without direct coalition support,” Morrison said.

According to a July DoD report on Afghanistan, the AAF has about 162 total aircraft in its fleet, but not all those aircraft are in country.

The numbers appear low, considering in 2017, the U.S. military embarked on a plan to provide Afghanistan with 159 UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters.

The status of the plan is unknown, officials with Resolute Support have yet to respond to a Military Times’ question about the Black Hawk plan.

But, the recent DoD report says thus far, only 28 Black Hawks have been delivered to Afghan forces with 27 UH-60s available in country.

The DoD report said the U.S. is delivering two UH60As a month and five armed MD-530s per quarter.

Attack assets in the Afghan air mix include 30 MD-530 helicopters, 19 A-29 Super Tucano turbo-

prop planes, and 10 AC-208s with precision strike capability. The AAF also has four C-130s and 37 Mi17 transport helicopters.

According to the DoD report, the fixed-wing A29 aircraft recorded its first ever night strike in December 2018. On Sept. 8, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said more than 1,000 Taliban fighters were killed over a 10-day period.

At a Pentagon 9/11 ceremony Trump said that the U.S. was hitting the enemy in Afghanistan “harder than they have ever been hit before.”

In mid-September, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani boasted that nearly 2,000 Taliban militants were killed following failed attempts to capture Kunduz and Baghlan. “Our mission in Afghanistan has not changed,” Morrison said in response to a question from Military Times regarding whether strike authorities had been expanded in Afghanistan. “Every member of the Resolute Support and Operation Freedom’s Sentinel missions serves to protect our homelands and to prevent Afghanistan from again being used as safe haven by terrorists,” Morrison said.

Shawn Snow is the senior reporter for Marine Corps Times and a Marine Corp.

Thursday, 3 october, 2019

foreign news 07

Slain Saudi writer's fiancee says prince must give answers ISTANBUL: The fiancee of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi said Tuesday that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has a duty to answer questions now that he has accepted responsibility for the killing inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul last year. Hatice Cengiz told The Associated Press she is apprehensive about returning to the site Wednesday for a ceremony marking the anniversary of Khashoggi’s death, but takes strength knowing she won’t be alone this time.

Cengiz waited outside the consulate last year on Oct. 2 as Khashoggi entered to collect documents needed to marry her.

He never re-emerged. The Washington Post columnist, who wrote critically about the prince, was killed by agents of the Saudi government who apparently dismembered his body, which has never been found. A vigil is scheduled to be held outside the consulate building Wednesday, starting at 1:14 p.m. (1014 GMT) marking the time Jamal walked into the building. “I am feeling anxiety, fear and strange things that I cannot express,” she said about returning to the consulate building. “Last year, I was waiting for Jamal on my own. This year the whole world will be waiting with me for Jamal — but we will be waiting for justice for Jamal.” Earlier this week, Prince Mohammed said in a television interview that he takes “full responsibility” for Khashoggi’s death, but denied allegations that he ordered the killing. Cengiz said the prince’s words were likely made to “weaken” public pressure over the death in the run up to the anniversary. She added, however, that if the prince was sincere, then “we would have the right to ask him about the details.” AGENCIES

Johnson promises ‘compromise’ Brexit offer to Brussels LONDON

p

AGENCIES

rIME Minister Boris Johnson said he would submit “compromise” plans for a Brexit agreement to Brussels on Wednesday but again warned that Britain was prepared to leave the European Union later this month without a deal, despite fears it could herald an economic slump. In his closing speech to his Conservative party’s annual conference, Johnson said the plans would address the contentious issue of how to keep open Britain’s border with Ireland.

“This is a compromise by the UK,” he told delegates in the northwestern city of Manchester, adding that he hoped EU leaders “understand that and compromise in their turn”. But he emphasised that if they did not, Britain would still leave the EU on October 31. A no-deal exit “is not an

outcome we seek at all. But let me tell you my friends it is an outcome for which we are ready”, he said, to big cheers from delegates. Johnson is expected to speak to European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker later on Wednesday to discuss the revised offer.

The Confederation of British Industry said a nodeal would be “a historic failure of statecraft” which would dog growth and trade “for years to come”. Johnson, a leading “leave” campaigner in the 2016 EU referendum, took office in July vowing to deliver Brexit at the end of this month in all circumstances. But like his predecessor Theresa May, he has struggled against a hostile parliament and the complexities of untangling four decades of EU integration.

His promise to leave without a deal was derailed when MPs last month passed a law demanding he seek to

delay Brexit if he has not reached an agreement by an EU summit on October 17.

Johnson is now racing to renegotiate the exit terms May agreed with Brussels, which were rejected by the British parliament three times.

His proposals focus on finding an alternative to her controversial “backstop” plan, which aims to keep an open border between British Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland after Brexit. The current arrangement would keep Britain in an effective customs union with the EU, which critics argued would force London to abide by the bloc’s rules indefinitely. Johnson said his plan would “under no circumstances have checks at or near the border in Northern Ireland”. It would seek to protect cross-border agricultural trade by extending existing regulatory arrangements — indicating Northern Ireland will continue following some EU rules.

Harry, Meghan sue newspaper over ‘privacy breach’ LONDON AGENCIES

Prince Harry recalled the hounding of his late mother Diana to denounce media treatment of his wife Meghan Markle, as the couple launched legal action against a British tabloid for invasion of privacy.

The couple, currently on tour in southern Africa with their first child Archie, said they were forced to take action against the Mail On Sunday because of the “human cost” of “relentless propaganda”.

In a stinging attack on British tabloid media, the Duke of Sussex said his wife was being dogged by the press in the same way as his mother Diana, Princess of Wales, was before her death in 1997.

“My deepest fear is history repeating itself,” he said in a statement on Tuesday. “I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces.”

Harry, 35, said the couple were bringing a case related to the contents of private letter, which were “published unlawfully in an intentionally destructive manner”.

Addressing newspaper readers, he said the article had “purposely misled you by strategically omitting select paragraphs, specific sentences, and even singular words to mask the lies they had perpetuated for over a

year”.

The statement did not reference a specific letter but earlier this year the Mail on Sunday, which denies any wrongdoing, published an article about a handwritten letter that Meghan had sent to her estranged father, Thomas Markle.

He claimed he was forced to publish the letter because false rumours about its content were already being circulated.

“Unfortunately, my wife has become one of the latest victims of a British tabloid press that wages campaigns against individuals with no thought to the consequences — a ruthless campaign that has escalated over the past year, throughout her pregnancy and while raising our newborn son,” said Harry.

“There is a human cost to this relentless propaganda, specifically when it is knowingly false and malicious, and though we have continued to put on a brave face –- as so many of you can relate to –- I cannot begin to describe how painful it has been,” he added. The claim covers the misuse of private information, infringement of copyright and breach of the Data Protection Act. Britain’s aggressive press at first welcomed Markle, 38, into the royal fold and the mixed-race actress was credited with breathing fresh life into a monarchy sometimes labelled stale and out of touch.

Harvard university wins race discrimination case MASSACHUSETTS AGENCIES

A US judge on Tuesday ruled that Harvard is right to consider race when admitting students, rejecting claims that the prestigious university discriminates against Asian-American applicants.

A lawsuit, backed by President Donald Trump’s administration, had challenged Harvard’s use of race in determining admissions, part of a decades-old push to boost minority enrolments at America’s oldest university.

Federal Judge Allison Dale Burroughs said in a long-awaited decision that while Harvard’s admissions process is not perfect, it was right, for now, to factor in race to form a diverse student body.

“The rich diversity at Harvard and other colleges and universities and the benefits that flow from that diversity will foster the tolerance, acceptance and understanding that will

ultimately make race-conscious admissions obsolete,” she said.

The case was filed in 2014 by Students for Fair Admissions, a group led by conservative white activist Edward Blum, who previously attacked the affirmative action policies at the University of Texas.

The US Supreme Court ruled against him in 2016, upholding the university’s admissions policy.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs argued that Harvard had used personality criteria to favor black, Hispanic and white applicants over Asian students with similar grades.

The plaintiffs had argued that if admissions were based just on grades then more Asian students would be admitted.

Harvard denied discriminating against Asians but defended its use of broader selection criteria than academic excellence, such as personality, when considering who to admit.

Thursday, 3 October, 2019

08 COMMENT Strengthening ties with Beijing But simultaneously maintaining relations with the West

P

rIme mInISTer Imran Khan’s third China visit in a year is important for a number of reasons. China had to be complimented for its support over Kashmir at the Un General Assembly. As President Xi Jinping is scheduled to visit India later this month to meet Prime minister narendra modi, it was necessary to exchange views on what needs to be done after the UnGA session. most of the Western countries would be contented once the restrictions on movement are eased and the electronic communication unblocked in the occupied Valley. The BJP government is likely to take steps in that direction in coming weeks. Once this happens, mr Imran Khan would be under pressure from the USA and its Western allies to stop his tirade against mr modi, pacify the people in Pakistan and in AJK and initiate talks with India. none of the Western countries would call upon India to revive Article 370 or support the demand for a referendum in Kashmir. Like Pakistan, China too has opposed the revocation of Article 370 of Indian Constitution, saying it “undermines China’s territorial sovereignty”. But unlike mr Khan, President Xi did not issue inflammatory statements against India.

While continuing political, diplomatic and moral support for the Kashmiris, Pakistan has to efficiently implement undertakings given to the FATF regarding money laundering and terror financing. What is more it has to rid the country of terrorist outfits of all hues and colours.

It was necessary to visit China because during mr Khan’s recent US visit questions were raised about the economic and strategic relations between China and Pakistan. After his address at a thinktank he was asked if relations with China didn’t compromise Pakistan’s sovereignty. With US President Donald Trump treating China as a strategic adversary, attempts could have been made by the US administration to wean Pakistan away from China. A strong pro-US group within the PTI has also caused apprehensions in the past. maintaining close relations is in the best interests of both Pakistan and China. Projects under the CPeC have helped Pakistan overcome power shortage, brought investments and created jobs. While strengthening ties with China, Pakistan has also to maintain good relations with the USA and european countries including russia.

Getting moving again Khalilzad may get talks started again

T

he visit to Islamabad by US Special envoy on Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad was cause for optimism. It showed that the USA wanted to resume talks with the Taliban, which had been broken off by the USA itself, by no one less than President Donald Trump himself, over perceived Taliban perfidy in carrying out attacks in which US soldiers were being killed, while at the same time negotiating to end the fighting that has now lasted almost two decades. however, while there was ire at the Taliban’s apparent attempts at an improvement of their negotiation position through last-minute violence, it cannot have escaped notice in Washington that negotiations had advanced so far that a signing ceremony at Camp David was scheduled, which was what President Trump cancelled.

Therefore, the USA would hardly be beginning talks afresh with a tabula rasa. however, it would also have to recognise that it has lost credibility because of President Trump’s shenanigans, and that the Taliban would not be as willing to trust in the word of the negotiating team. At the same time, it needs to recognise that the Taliban cannot be absolved of all responsibility for the breakdown, and the most charitable explanation of the situation would be that the negotiating team has no control over the field commanders; which would mean that the USA could not rely on their commitments.

The most compelling force for a settlement is that President Trump wants a withdrawal to boost his reelection bid next year. At the same time, Pakistan needs to ensure that the withdrawal does not leave it as did the end of the Afghan jihad: carrying the baby, with none of the advantages and all of the disadvantages of an end to the fighting. Afghanistan and its people need peace the most after almost half a century of war after the Soviet invasion in 1979, but so do its neighbours. That makes Pakistan more interested than the USA in a settlement. It does not have merely an election strategy depending on peace, but its own future as well. True, relations with the USA do depend on the situation there, but Pakistan should realise that its long-term interests depend more on a stabilisation of Afghanistan more than any short-term goodies it might be able to extract from anybody else.

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

I

The conflicts of Kashmir and Hong Kong: reminders of British imperialism Both Kahmir and Hong Kong had special status

abdul Rasool sYed

P

reSenTLy, the world is witnessing two major conflicts in Asia; of Kashmir and of hong Kong. Both of these conflicts have their roots back in the grubby legacy of British imperialism.

In Kashmir, the British left a bleeding wound amid the partition of colonial India and in hong Kong, a major cosmopolis neither truly independent entity, nor part of mainland Ghina. They left a ruinous legacy for generations to bleed.

Chronologically, hong Kong became a British colony after Qing China ceded hong Kong Island after the First Opium War in 1842, and the Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 after the Second Opium War, and was further extended when Britain obtained a 99-year lease of the new Territories in 1898. The territory was transferred to China in 1997. As a special administrative region, hong Kong maintains separate governing and economic systems from mainland China’s under the principle of “one country, two systems”. This meant that while becoming part of one country with China, hong Kong would enjoy “a high degree of autonomy, except in foreign and defense affairs” for 50 years. But what both China and Britain had neglected to consider was that a nation of almost eight million human beings, throughout a long colonial and postcolonial history, had accumulated a robust collective memory of its own, which was neither British nor mainland Chinese. They have developed the feelings of one nation different from that of the British and Chinese. They call themselves “hong Kongers” and are now struggling for their rights against a domineering central government.

Similarly, Kashmir came under the control of the British when in 1845, the First Anglo-Sikh War broke out, and Gulab Singh “contrived to hold himself aloof till the battle of Sobraon

(1846), when he appeared as a useful mediator and the trusted advisor of Sir henry Lawrence.

Two treaties were concluded. By the first the State of Lahore (Punjab) handed over to the British, as equivalent for rs 10 million of indemnity, the hill countries between the Beas and Indus; by the second the British made over to Gulab Singh for rs 7.5 million all the hilly or mountainous country east of the Indus and west of the ravi” (the Vale of Kashmir). The Treaty of Amritsar freed Gulab Singh from obligations towards the Sikhs and made him the maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir. The Dogras’ loyalty came in handy to the British during the War of 1857. The Dogras refused sanctuary to mutineers, allowed it to english women and children and sent Kashmiri troops to fight on behalf of the British. British in return rewarded them by securing the Dogra succession in Kashmir. A century later, Kashmir was sucked into the bloody partition of India and Pakistan, with both postcolonial states having a mutually exclusive claim on its territory. Thus, the British imperialists showed criminal indifference to resolve the issue and deliberately left it as a bone of contention between the two countries.

Consequently, today Kashmir stands as a nuclear flashpoint and the Kashmiris are unfortunately, reaping the chaos the British empire sowed nearly eight decades back. What is now happening in Indian occupied Kashmir is pathetic.

The Indian government has suddenly revoked the region’s special status. new Delhi has imposed a digital and telecommunications blackout in Jammu and Kashmir, so much less is known about what actually is happening there. But a few days back, the BBC released a video showing tear gas and ammunition used against protestors after Friday prayers in Srinagar. The New York Times also reported on hospitals bereft of staff and locals beaten up for venturing outside to buy milk; one doctor described the situation as a “living hell.”

Under this new dispensation, Kashmir is to be ruled directly from Delhi as a Union Territory.

The last time Kashmir was ruled directly from Delhi, from 1990 to 1996, it witnessed human rights violations on a massive scale, with extrajudicial killings, torture, rape, disappearances, firing on unarmed demonstrators, burning of homes, crops, and standing harvests, and a complete clampdown on all political activity. The possibility of a repetition, this time more intensely, is clear. hong Kong too, nowadays, is witnessing huge demonstrations. The protests began in June over plans, later put on ice, and finally withdrawn in September, to allow extradition from hong Kong to mainland China. But they’ve now spread

to reflect wider demands for democratic reforms.

Currently, hong Kong’s leader, the chief executive, is elected by a 1,200-member election committee - a mostly pro-Beijing body chosen by just 6 percent of eligible voters. not all the 70 members of the territory’s lawmaking body, the Legislative Council, are directly chosen by hong Kong’s voters. most seats not directly elected are occupied by pro-Beijing lawmakers. hong Kong’s mini-constitution, the Basic Law, says ultimately both the leader, and the Legislative Council, should be elected in a more democratic way, but there’s been disagreement over this.

The Chinese government said in 2014 it would allow voters to choose leaders from a list approved by a pro-Beijing committee, but critics called this a “sham democracy” and it was voted down in hong Kong’s legislature. however, while Beijing has not explicitly scrapped “one country, two systems,” recent events have made clear that rapid assimilation into China is a priority for the Chinese Communist Party. The patchwork arrangement that characterized the British empire in Asia is no longer tolerated by the leaders who inherited the imperial spoils—the goal is now total control.

Constitutionally, there was supposed to be some continuity between the governance of hong Kong and Kashmir in the transition from the colonial to the post-colonial era. Both regions were recognized as being distinct from the countries that they were part of and therefore, granted special protections on that basis. In hong Kong, the “one country, two systems” framework was introduced to guarantee hong Kongers the way of life until 2047.

In Jammu and Kashmir, these protections were, however, even more robust, enshrined in the Indian Constitution. Under Article 370, Kashmir controlled its own affairs, apart from foreign policy, defense, or communications, and Article 35A restricted outsiders from buying land. Under Article 370, it’s arguable that Kashmir had more independence than any part of India. But it was revoked by the fascist modi regime making good on its campaign promise to end Kashmir’s special status.

What the world is seeing today in Asia in Kashmir and hong Kong, is the result of the illconceived policies of the British empire. It is, therefore, incumbent on the UK to take a lead in resolving these matters by using its international clout and thereby redressing its historical blunders. Since the UK is a permanent member of the UnSC; it must exert diplomatic pressure to get these issues resolved at the earliest.

Global warming – a layman’s viewpoint What about the heat itself?

Younus sandila

I

am not a scientist and therefore, prefer to accept scientific theories as they are presented. I have always been happy to leave the issues like “what exists beyond the Black hole” and “whether life exists on other planets” for scientists to figure out. I did this for two reasons 1) I obviously had absolutely no idea how to find answers to these questions and 2) I was quite indifferent to whatever the answers scientists got through all their hard work and intelligent research as it really did not affect me directly– well that’s what it seemed like, at least.

Initially, I had a similar attitude towards the symptoms, causes and consequences of global warming– arguably one of the biggest challenges faced by the human race in thousands of years. I expected scientists would figure it out for all of us and then things would start getting better. however, seeing pictures of horrific changes taking place around the world, particularly those of melting glaciers in the Arctic region, I began to get a bit nervous. I tried to pay attention to what scientists were saying particularly about the causes that were triggering this man-made catastrophe. I quickly realized that this was no “black hole” theory that did not directly affect people living on Planet earth.

I started to read on the subject. I read on the greenhouse effect, carbon emissions, CFCs etc. which cleared some haze in my mind but raised some new questions too. I also came across some Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

I

bizarre theories that blamed cows for global warming. Being a beef lover I was heartbroken when I read recommendations suggesting something to the effect that all cows in the world be culled to save the planet! To my simple non-scientific mind, it was very confusing as to how cow dung be responsible for the thinning of the ozone layer. After all, animals inhabited earth before the most destructive species, the humans, surfaced! Did the droppings of ruminants not contain methane back then?

As I started to gain a somewhat better understanding of the phenomenon I realized that the entire focus seemed to be on carbon build-up as a consequence of burning fossil fuels (and of course the gasses excreted by cows!). It mostly talked about the atoms and molecules and how their build-up caused extra heat from the sun to get trapped within earth’s atmosphere. It did make some sense as unlike cows discharging methane gas, burning of fossil fuels was a relatively newer phenomenon. however, there was one little confusion that still kept bothering me. Our scientists put so much emphasis on additional solar heat getting trapped into earth’s atmosphere due to excessive buildup of greenhouse gasses, but there is hardly any mention of heat generated by humans within the earth’s atmosphere. We talk about carbon fumes emitted by cars using fossil fuel as source of energy. But we do not talk about the heat created by the engine. Once the car engine, or for that matter any machine, is left running for few minutes it heats up and emits heat energy. This is also true for engines using clean energy that do not emit any harmful gasses. Similarly, every light bulb, every air conditioner, even every computer generates heat energy and would continue to do

Islamabad – Ph: 051-2204545

I

Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

I

so even if the use of fossil fuels to generate power is brought down to zero. Similarly, every concrete building, every metaled road and every steel structure reflects sunlight and multiplies heat. Use of glass in modern architecture has increased manifold, seriously aggravating the damage to environment as glass heats up far more than cement.

Collectively, all this heat remains trapped within earth’s atmosphere. On a given summer day, imagine the amount of heat generated by all air conditioners running in a medium-sized modern city. Add to this the heat generated by all cars running on the roads and all light bulbs that are lit during the night, including those used in the headlights of the cars. What about the jet engines? The amount of heat generated by all airplanes flying across continents must be huge. heat generated by steel plants, oil refineries, fertilizer plants are only a few examples of heat created by the industry and left in the earth’s atmosphere. Where does all this heat go? There is no molecular buildup taking place of harmful gasses but an enormous amount of heat is being generated through the mechanical activity or by the reflection of sunlight.

To my simple nonscientific mind, it is critical that while carbon emission is being curtailed, production of heat energy must also be reduced to effectively tackle the issue of global warming. The question we need to answer is whether the issue of global warming be addressed if levels of carbon emission are brought down to the desired levels but the amount of heat produced by machines and other modern day gadgets as well as by way of heating up concrete, glass, metaled roads and steel structures remains the same?

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Thursday, 3 October, 2019

COMMENT 09 :

Editor’s mail

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

E-mail: letters@pakistantoday.com.pk Letters should be addressed to Pakistan Today exclusively

RAW and Indian diplomats on insurgency mission?

Resetting national priorities and agenda Where did we go wrong?

Malik TaRiq ali

A

T the time of Partition in August 1947, the Subcontinent was divided into two separate countries, India and Pakistan. In 1971, because of the myopic vision of the ambitious selfish mediocrity that ruled this country, Pakistan was further divided and Bangladesh emerged as the third major country in the Subcontinent, apart from nepal and Bhutan.

We as a nation need to do some introspection as to what mistakes were made, and accept our collective and individual responsibility for the harm to the country. We must reset our priorities to serve our own long term national interests with an aim to boost our economy, without which there is no national sovereignty or geographical security. It is a good sign that our present security establishment realizes the significance of a sound national economy. The Founding Fathers, led by the Quaid-e-Azam realized the dangers posed by hindu supremacists, revealed by likes of Vallabhai Patel and others, and decided to seek a separate homeland where we could live as free citizens. The Quaid could never visualize that having achieved independence, the remnants of the British raj and of the Unionists of Punjab and members of Indian Political Service with a few ambitious adventurers in uniform, would emerge and derail his vision of a modern democratic welfare state. We have for too long allowed Pakistan to be needlessly involved in this civilversus-uniform controversy and must unite to defend our country from the evil designs of the hindu supremacists who today rule India. no individual, whatever his public office, has the right to compromise state sovereignty by giving sanctuary to foreign extremists or allowing religion to be exploited and get this country involved in the CIA-sponsored socalled Jihad in Afghanistan. We made this cardinal mistake of fighting proxy wars, and earlier in 1960 offered bases like Badaber, which did not serve our own national interest. For too long, the over-ambitious ruling elite, without any vision, exploited our strategic location to get aid, grants, and so on from countries by serving them, whilst export revenues suffered and the internal investment climate was no longer favorable for foreign investments.

It is an established principle that the State

alone must have the monopoly of creating a dis- Legislative Assembly dissolved. mirza was reciplined militia to defend it from foreign inva- lieved as Defense Secretary and posted as Govsion and help the elected executive when called ernor of east Pakistan on 1st June 1954. he upon to do so for any other legitimate duty. The ruled east Pakistan with an iron fist. Over 1051 Zia and musharraf juntas violated state sover- Bengalis were arrested by June 1954, including eignty by allowing private militias to emerge on two professors of Dhaka University and Sheikh our soil. Over 75,000 citizens, including thou- mujibur rahman and yusuf Ali Chaudhry, who sands of our valiant soldiers, lost their lives both had supported creation of Pakistan. It is a fighting these foreign terrorists and extremists bitter ugly truth that the Constitution was delibwho were given sanctuary. The economy alone erately delayed by vested interests, including suffered losses of almost $100 billion. The only those who had given land by the raj. They beneficiaries were a few junta members and the feared confiscation of these holdings, as was corrupt politicians they nurtured. done by India, after they became a republic.

After the Quaid’s death the leadership that An already angered majority east Pakistan, emerged wavered from his vision and went off which had shown resentment at the imposition track. To start with, we delayed the process of of Urdu as national language was further hafinalizing our Constitution, which the Quaid rassed. Despite all reservations, east Pakistan stressed upon in his historic address to the first supported mohtarma Fatima Jinnah. mirza and Constituent Assembly on 11 August 1947. The Ayub who advocated One-Unit, adopted in Constituent Assembly which the Quaid formed, 1955. Ayub Khan in uniform was appointed as consisting of all those elected in the 1945-46 head of West Pakistan. resentment was further General elections, was summarily dismissed by escalated when Ayub after taking over imposed the Governor General in 1954 and we remained a new Constitution in 1961 which introduced a Dominion until march basic Democracy System 1956 when a Constitution reducing majority east was adopted.

Pakistan to parity with Iskandar mirza was West Pakistan.

Pakistan must revert back from Indian Political ServIn 1971 when ice, which he joined in AuBangladesh was created, to an undiluted gust 1926 as a lieutenant. its total exports were 0.005 On 14 August 1947 Iskanbillion takas which have democratic system of dar was a colonel and was risen to 271.93 billion nominated by raj to the takas in January 2019. government with an committee responsible for Their forex reserves stand independent Parliament at $32.775 billion as comdividing assets of British Indian Armed Forces beto their record low, and a strong judiciary to pared tween the two countries. of $7.47 billion in June he was promoted majorensure that nobody dares 2008, while GDP growth general in 1950, while he is 8.13%.

What to transgress their limits Bangladesh chose for itself simultaneously served as Defense Secretary under in 1971 was adopting a of power as defined in Pm Liaquat Ali Khan. Lt constitution, ensuring unGen Iftikhar was to have interrupted self-rule 1973 Constitution been the first native to asthrough its elected represume command of Pakistan sentatives, which the Army in 1951. When GenQuaid had elaborated upon eral Iftikhar died in an unin his address to the Staff fortunate air crash, it was Defense Secretary College Quetta in 1948. There have been brief Iskandar mirza who helped convince the Pm to periods of political instability but no supra conbypass maj Gens Akbar, Ishfakul majid and stitutional interventions. Their total exports n nAm raza and instead promote the junior-most 2018-9 are $40.53 billion with imports of $55.44 major general, Ayub Khan, who was earlier super- billion. Bangladesh has ensured some sort of poseded by three officers junior to him when the litical stability and focused on development of its Quaid was alive. industry, investment in human resources and Intrigues by Iskander as Interior minister, boosting its exports and GDP. and General Ayub in uniform as Defence minmen like Ayub Khan thought east Pakistan ister, were instrumental in derailing the Quaid’s was a burden on West Pakistan. Ayub Khan and vision. Instead of focusing on investment in its members of his junta lacked the vision and comhuman resources, increasing export revenues mitment to Pakistan when they intentionally waand generating more employment and achiev- vered from the Quaid’s vision. Pakistan must ing self-sufficiency in technological develop- revert back to an undiluted democratic system ment and research in science, economics and of government with an independent Parliament so on, Pakistan became a Security State serving and a strong judiciary to ensure that nobody the global strategic interests of USA, UK and dares to transgress their limits as defined in 1973 so on through membership of pacts like SeATO Constitution. We must focus on developing our and CenTO. Our territory and sovereignty human resources and refrain from getting inwere compromised when we offered our soil for volved in other nations’ proxy wars, nor should bases to counter the USSr. yet it was Pakistan we encourage our uniformed services to perform whose weapon supply was frozen in the 1965 duty in foreign lands, except for training assignWar and again in 1971 by our so-called allies. ments. Pakistan needs all its trained uniformed Discontentment and resentment started in men and women to protect its soil from foreign east Pakistan when A.K. Fazalul haq’s gov- aggression and root out the evil of terrorism ernment was dismissed and the east Pakistan which is legacy of the Zia and musharraf juntas.

One is shocked to read accounts of former diplomats and rAW officers about executing insurgencies in neighbouring countries. B. raman, in his book The Kaoboys of r&AW: Down memory Lane makes no bones about India’s involvement up to the level of prime minister in Bangladesh’s insurgency. India’s ambassador Bharath raj muthu Kumar, with consent of then foreign minister Jaswant Singh, `coordinated military and medical assistance that India was secretly giving to massoud and his forces _ `helicopters, uniforms, ordnance, mortars, small armaments, refurbished Kalashnikovs seized in Kashmir, combat and winter clothes’, via Tajikistan’s Farkhor and Aeini airbases, packaged food, medicines, and funds through his brother in London, Wali massoud’, delivered circuitously with the help of other countries who helped this outreach (former diplomat, V. Sudarshan, how India secretly armed Afghanistan’s northern Alliance, September 1, 2019). Conduct of Indian diplomats amounts to state-sponsored terrorism. For one thing, India should close `Free Balochistan’ office on her soil, and stop resuscitating propaganda skeletons of pre-Bangladesh days.

ASAd MALik Rawalpindi

Solidarity on Kashmir OUr politicians passed a resolution in the parliament that they all stand by the Kashmiris in the Indian held Kashmir during these tough times. however, unfortunately, this show of solidarity had a short life. The moment they were out of the house, all parties started beating their own drum. Some thought that the resolution was not strongly worded, while others think that the government did not do enough to plead the case internationally. The government on the other hand keeps beating the bush that what they did was never done before. In short, the much-trumpeted solidarity between government and opposition does not exist at all. They vote in favor of the resolution to look good in eyes of public and then soon after start scoring points by hitting at their opponent or bragging about their achievements.

For example, PPP leaders state that they have been taking the strongest stance for Kashmir issue since inception. maulana Fazalur rehman, the perpetual member of Kashmir committee until recently has his own claim to fame. The JI flaunts about their efforts in struggle of Kashmiris. Similarly, PmLn thinks they are the torch bearers of the Kashmir cause. now the champions of change, like many other things, claim that they have done for Kashmir what others could not. I wonder if even half of all these claims is true, why hasn’t there been any movement toward resolution of the issue? On the contrary, life of people in the IhK is become a living hell every passing day. I believe the day we will all be united and serious about solving the issue, we will find a way to settle it.

RAJA ShAFAATuLLAh islamabad

A forgotten city WhILe the world eagerly awaits rain as one of the blessing of Almighty, and are also considered as harbingers of good fortune, it is the other way round in Karachi, where the news of a rain spell is considered more as a warning rather than an intimation from the meteorological department.

This is largely due to the weak infrastructure of Karachi, which exposes its true loop-holes during prolonged rain spells. mountains of garbage invade the city destroying the fragile civic infrastructure while the stakeholders and administration continue to blame each other for lack of funds and resources.

The water that accumulates everywhere destroys roads, enters homes, damages vehicles and endangers power infrastructures and street lights potentially causing serious accidents. The people who stay at home are not safe either, as water-logging inside homes in low lying areas also results in avoidable fatalities due to electrocutions from otherwise safe home electrical devices such as motors, water coolers and generators.

As the mayhem continues authorities seem to be sipping on their tea cups or resting under the bridges, while the city slowly steps into its grave. It is requested to the responsible administration of the metropolis to take notice and ownership of the forgotten city which awaits the ‘real change’ in complete despair.

GuLShAN NAz karachi

The population threat PAKISTAn’S population has increased by an alarming rate.

In 1951, the country’s population was 33 million, which has now risen to nearly 210 million, as per the census 2017, making Pakistan the 6th most populous country in the world. According to some reports, at this rate, the state is tipped to become the 4th largest country in terms of population by 2050. The burgeoning population has a severe impact on the country’s socio-political and economic sectors.

It leads to political turmoil, economic crisis, poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, and other social ills. The rapid growth in population also causes an increase in the demand of food, water, energy, and other basic things that create deficit in demand and supply, pushing the country in crisis.

The population threat is real. If not paid proper heed now, it will prove detrimental to the country’s progress in the times ahead. Sensing the gravity of the matter, all the concerned institutions should step up to highlight the importance of family planning and devise strategies to tackle the menace.

AbduL hAFEEz JAToi hyderabad

Thursday, 3 october, 2019

10 foreign news

DonalD trump calls impeachment inquiry ‘a coup’ WASHINGTON

u

AGENCIES

S President Donald Trump has ramped up his rhetoric on an impeachment inquiry by opposition politicians threatening his presidency, labelling it a “coup” designed to “take away the power of the people”. Trump’s comments came after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pressed to prevent or delay five former or current State Department staffers from testifying in the investigation probing accusations that the republican president abused his office by seeking dirt from Ukraine on a 2020 election rival.

“As I learn more and more each day, I am coming to the conclusion that what is taking place is not an impeachment, it is a COUP,” Trump tweeted late on Tuesday. It is “intended to take away the Power of the People, their VOTE, their Freedoms, their Second Amendment, religion, Military, Border Wall, and their God-given rights as a Citizen of The

United States of America!” he wrote.

“The Greatest Witch Hunt in the history of our Country!” the 73-year-old leader posted. Last week, Democrats in the US House of representatives launched an impeachment inquiry that centres around a July 25 phone call that Trump held with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. In the call, Trump asked Zelensky to potentially open an investigation into the republican president’s political rival, former vice president Joe Biden.

Trump has been using increasingly strong language to lash out at the Democrats and the inquiry, repeatedly referring to it as “a witch hunt”. Over the weekend, he tweeted that if he were to be removed from office through a full impeachment process, that could lead to a “civil war,” a remark that drew concern even from the members of his republican Party. On Monday, Trump dubbed the whistle-blower whose complaint sparked the impeachment inquiry as “fake,” and questioned if Democrat Adam Schiff, the head of the House Intelligence Committee, should be arrested for treason.

POMPEO WARNED AGAINST OBSTRUCTION: Trump faces the possibility of becoming only the third president ever impeached by the US Congress, which could lead to his going on trial in the Senate.

Meanwhile, Pompeo accused three Democratic House committee heads conducting the impeachment inquiry of “an attempt to intimidate, bully and treat improperly the distinguished professionals of the Department of State”. But Democrats said the top US diplomat was “stonewalling” the investigation and, according to media reports, scheduled interviews with at least two of the diplomats who had direct involvement in the Ukraine matter. The first move of the three powerful House Democrats – Adam Schiff of the Intelligence Committee, Eliot Engel of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Elijah Cummings of the Oversight Committee – was to subpoena Pompeo and Trump’s private lawyer rudy Giuliani for documents and to summon the five diplomats to testify.

“Secretary Pompeo was reportedly on the call when the President pressed Ukraine to smear his political opponent,” they said. Pompeo’s letter suggested that the committees could be forced to subpoena the five diplomats, and that the State Department and White House could seek to limit what they could talk about.

“I will use all means at my disposal to prevent and expose any attempts to intimidate the dedicated professionals whom I am proud to lead,” Pompeo said. But news reports said the State Department’s former special envoy to Ukraine, Kurt Volker, would testify on Thursday and that the exambassador to Kiev, Marie Yovanovitch, would appear behind closed doors on October 11. The three committee heads

warned Pompeo in a statement on Tuesday that any effort to prevent witnesses from speaking to them was “illegal and will constitute evidence of obstruction of the impeachment inquiry”.

PHONE CALL TO AUSTRALIAN PM: Separately on Monday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said that Trump recently asked the Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and other foreign leaders to help Attorney General William Barr with an investigation into the origins of the russia probe that shadowed his administration for more than two years.

Morrison said on Wednesday that the phone call last month in which Trump sought help was brief and uneventful. He said Australia had already committed to helping the DOJ when the inquiry was announced in May, and he could not recall “favour” being used during the call with Trump early in September.

“It was a very brief conversation, and it was not one that I would characterise as being ladled with pressure,” Morrison told Sky News in his first comments on the call, which was first reported by the New York Times this week. Former Special Counsel robert Mueller, who was investigating russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential elections, wrapped up his report earlier this year, concluding that there was no evidence of a criminal conspiracy between Trump’s campaign and Moscow.

North Korea fires ballistic missile ahead of nuclear talks PYONGYANG AGENCIES

North Korea fired what appeared to be a submarine-launched ballistic missile, Seoul said Wednesday, just days before Washington and Pyongyang were set to resume long-stalled nuclear talks.

Pyongyang frequently couples diplomatic overtures with military moves, as a way of maintaining pressure on negotiating partners, analysts say, and may believe this weapons system gives it added leverage. A proven submarinebased missile capability would take the North’s arsenal to a new level, allowing deployment far beyond the Korean peninsula and a secondstrike capability in the event of an attack on its military bases. The South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected a ballistic missile early Wednesday fired in an easterly direction from the sea, northeast of the North Korean port of Wonsan.

The missile was “believed to be one of the Pukkuksong models”, the JCS said in a statement, referring to a line of submarinelaunched ballistic missiles (SLBM) under development by the North. Launches like this “are not helpful to efforts to ease tensions on the Korean peninsula and we

urge North Korea again to stop immediately,” it added. The North carried out a successful test of the solid-fuel Pukkuksong-1, also known as KN-11, in August 2016 which flew around 500 kilometres.

In July, North Korean state media had published pictures of Kim Jong Un inspecting a new type of submarine, fuelling concerns that Pyongyang was pushing ahead with an SLBM programme. Analysts say the missile is believed to have been fired at a lofted angle, adding it is likely an intermediate-range ballistic missile with an actual flight range of around 2,000 kilometres.

Vipin Narang, an associate professor at Massachusetts Institute of

Technology, drew a line between a recent series of launches by Pyongyang and Wednesday’s test, calling it “an explicitly nuclear weapons system”. The United States said it was monitoring the situation on the Korean peninsula.

A part of the missile landed in waters within Japan’s exclusive economic zone — a 200-kilometre band around Japanese territory — Tokyo said. “The launching of ballistic missiles violates UN Security Council resolutions and we strongly protest and strongly condemn it,” Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters. The North is banned from ballistic missile launches under UN Security Council resolutions.

‘NEGOTIATING POSITION’: The launch came a day after the North’s Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui said Pyongyang had agreed to hold working-level talks with Washington later this week. The two sides will have “preliminary contact” on Friday and hold negotiations the following day, Choe said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.

US State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus later confirmed the talks, which she said would happen “within the next week”. “It seems North Korea wants to make its negotiating position quite clear before talks even begin,” Harry Kazianis of the Center for the National Interest in Washington said after Wednesday’s launch. “Pyongyang seems set to push Washington to back off from past demands of full denuclearisation for what are only promises of sanctions relief,” he added.

It is not the first time the North has followed up an offer of talks with a weapons test. Pyongyang tested what it called a “superlarge” rocket launcher last month just hours after Choe released a statement saying that the North was willing to resume workinglevel talks with Washington.

Hong Kong flash-mob rallies erupt as anger mounts over shot protester CENTRAL AGENCIES

Flash-mob rallies broke out in Hong Kong Wednesday as anger mounted over police shooting a teenage protester who attacked officers in a dramatic escalation of the violent unrest that has engulfed the territory for months. A large crowd of demonstrators, including office workers in shirts and suits, mustered in a park and

then began marching through the city’s commercial district in an unsanctioned rally, chanting anti-police and anti-government slogans.

Hundreds of students also staged a sit-in at the school of 18-year-old Tsang Chi-kin, who was shot in the chest by a policeman as he and a group of masked protesters attacked officers with umbrellas and poles. The international finance hub has been left reeling from the shooting, the first time a demonstrator has been struck with a live round in nearly four months of increasingly violent pro-democracy protests. Tuesday witnessed the worst clashes of the summer as China celebrated 70 years of Communist Party rule with a massive military parade in Beijing.

The spiralling violence underscored seething public anger against Beijing’s rule and shifted the spotlight from China’s carefully choreographed birthday party.

running battles raged for hours across multiple locations as hardcore protesters hurled rocks and petrol bombs. Police responded for the most part with tear gas, rubber bullets, and water cannon. As criticism rose the police launched a spirited defence of their colleague at a press conference on Wednesday saying he feared for his life and the safety of his colleagues. “He only had one option, that is to fire the gun to immediately resolve the danger,” deputy commissioner Tang Ping-keung told reporters. But protest groups said the officer charged into the melee with his firearm drawn and failed to fire a warning shot as they condemned the increasing use of live rounds.

“The people of Hong Kong are sick and tired of having mere words of condemnation as their only shields against lethal bullets and rifles,” a masked protester said at a press conference near Tsang’s school.

Meanwhile, an Indonesian journalist who says police shot her in the eye with a rubber bullet while she was covering Sunday’s protests has suffered some permanent vision loss, her lawyer said Wednesday.

CMYK

israel begins netanyahu's pre-indictment corruption hearing TEL AVIV AGENCIES

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s long-awaited pre-indictment hearing on corruption charges began on Wednesday in Jerusalem, as a jittery political world eagerly sought clarity on his legal standing amid the stalemate that followed the country’s second inconclusive election of the year. Netanyahu is currently struggling to prolong his lengthy rule by building a unity government with his primary opponents, the centrist Blue and White party, who refuse to partner with him because of the serious crimes of which he is suspected. Israel’s attorney general has recommended charging Netanyahu with bribery, fraud and breach of trust in three separate cases. Netanyahu has denied wrongdoing, calling them part of a media-orchestrated witch hunt. The allegations against him include suspicions that he accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars of champagne and cigars from billionaire friends, offered a critical publisher legislation that would weaken his paper’s main rival in return for softer treatment and allegedly used his influence to help a wealthy telecom magnate in exchange for favourable coverage on a popular news site. Netanyahu has long promised he’d clear his name in the hearing. A team of his lawyers arrived at the Justice Ministry in Jerusalem to argue that all charges should be dropped. “We are going to present not only the evidence everyone is aware of but also new evidence. We are sure that once we present our findings there will be no choice but to close the case,” Netanyahu attorney Amit Haddad said, upon entering the hearing. “We believe and know that at the end of the day all the three cases must be closed.” The sessions are expected to extend over four days. It could take several weeks for the attorney general to render his final decision.

However, legal experts say the likelihood of an indictment is very high given the mountains of evidence collected by police over years of investigations and the prosecution’s seeming consensus of pursuing a trial. Although Netanyahu would not be required to step down if charged, he will face heavy pressure to do so. Already, he hasn’t been able to muster the required 61-seat majority in parliament to build a coalition government and faces stiff resistance from those he will need to back him. President reuven rivlin selected Netanyahu last week as the candidate with the best chance of forming a government. That move came after rivlin failed to broker a unity government between Netanyahu and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz in recent days. A unity government appears to be the preferred option for both sides, but they remain far apart on who should lead it first and what such a constellation would look like. Netanyahu and Gantz were slated to meet again on Wednesday before Gantz abruptly cancelled, signalling the likely breakdown of the talks. In such a case, Netanyahu will probably inform the president he cannot form a government. rivlin will then likely offer a chance to Gantz, who faces equally long odds of doing so. If he too doesn’t succeed, rivlin can select another legislator or he can set in motion what would be unprecedented third elections.

Thursday, 3 October, 2019

BUSINESS 11

Audit finds 'irregulArities' in WArid, Mobilink Merger ISLAMABAD

t

ABDULLAH MALIK

HE Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) has found the merger of Warid into Mobilink in violation to the laws and regulations of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), noting that not only undue favour was awarded to Mobilink but the illegal merger also caused a loss to the national exchequer.

The AGP, in the audit year 2017-18, observed that the PTA had received notices from Mobilink and Warid on 15th December 2015, seeking a change in substantial ownership interest and merger of both companies. Resultantly, PTA issued a no-

Samsung ends mobile phone production in China SEOUL AGENCIES

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd has ended mobile telephone production in China, it said on Wednesday, hurt by intensifying competition from domestic rivals in the world’s biggest smartphone market. The shutdown of Samsung’s last China phone factory comes after it cut production at the plant in the southern city of Huizhou in June and suspended another factory late last year, underscoring stiff competition in the country.

The South Korean tech giant’s ceased phone production in China follows other manufacturers shifting production from China due to rising labour costs and the economic slowdown. Sony also said it was closing its Beijing smartphone plant and would only make smartphones in Thailand.

But Apple still makes major products in China. Samsung’s share of the Chinese market shrank to 1pc in the first quarter from around 15pc in mid-2013, as it lost out to fast-growing homegrown brands such as Huawei Technologies and Xiaomi Corp, according to market research firm Counterpoint. “In China, people buy lowpriced smartphones from domestic brands and high-end phones from Apple or Huawei. Samsung has little hope there to revive its share,” said Park Sung-soon, an analyst at Cape Investment & Securities.

Samsung, the world’s top smartphone maker, said it had taken the difficult decision in a bid to boost efficiency. It added it would however continue sales in China “The production equipment will be re-allocated to other global manufacturing sites, depending on our global production strategy based on market needs,” it said in a statement, without elaborating.

CDWP okays two projects worth Rs3.9billion ISLAMABAD APP

The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) on Wednesday approved two projects worth Rs3.9 billion.

The CDWP met with Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Mohammad Jehanzeb Khan in the chair and reviewed proposals related to health and energy projects.

The first project titled "Detailed exploration of Uranium Resources in Dera Ghazi Khan, Phase I-X" aims to facilitate the supply of indigenous fuel for energy projects in the area. The Rs922million project would also result in the socio-economic uplift of the backward tribal areas of Dera Ghazi Khan.

The second approved project was related to the establishment of a 250-bedded hospital at Skardu, Gilgit Baltistan, at a cost of Rs2.99 billion. The hospital would cater to 0.6 million people of the Baltistan Division (four districts). Currently, only one 190-bedded facility is available in the entire division.

objection certificate on 23rd May 2016.

The audit noted that the PTA management had allowed Warid to provide 4G/LTE services without having a "subject licence" and participation in the NGMS auction, a prerequisite for launching 4G services in the country. It was observed that at the time of the merger, PTA had mentioned that the merger of Mobilink and Warid would result in the availability of 4G/LTE services to approximately 37 million subscribers of Mobilink, who previously had no access to 4G/LTE. "PTA had allowed merging the services of both companies but the licences were not merged," the audit revealed.

"This shows that Mobilink availed the benefit by operating two licences and

spectrums without paying the additional cost/fee to PTA." The audit noted that the future status of the licence issued to Warid Telecom was not taken into consideration despite the fact that Warid Telecom’s licence was expiring in 2019. "So an attempt to allow undue advantage to the telecoms was made as the national exchequer was deprived of the renewal fee."

The audit noted that the decision to allow 4G/LTE service to Warid on a spectrum of re-framing was not taken in the best public interest as the approval of Frequency Allocation Board was not solicited before the award of NOC. In addition, the telecommunication authority awarded undue favour to Mobilink

of Rs295 million during an auction of the Next Generation Mobile Services. The PTA, while barring other telecom operators from participating in the auction for bidding, awarded undue favour to Mobilink as the company was the sole participator in the auction, in violation of government laws.

The AGP said that the committee formed to investigate the issue didn't respond to the questions and reservations of the audit authorities. The audit body recommended that due to the sensitivity and technicality of the matter, a high-level inquiry committee may be constituted to look into the technical details of the issue.

When contacted, Mobilink and Warid CEO Amir Ibrahim maintained, "We have not broken any law and the merger be-

Market Daily

Stocks gain 109 points in volatile ride KARACHI STAFF REPORT

After a rocky start to the trading session, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) managed to land in the green zone on Wednesday. Foreign investors ended the first session of October (Tuesday) as net buyers with a net inflow of $0.482 million recorded.

Declining by 0.23pc, the KSE100 Index marked its intraday low of 32,180.71. It then recovered its losses and reached an intraday high of 32,388.73 after gaining 134.41 points. The index finally closed higher by 109.03 points at 32,363.35.

The KMI-30 Index lost 37.21 points to end at 51,508.54, while the KSE All Share Index gained 35.84 points, settling at 23,536.08.

The overall volumes remained decent and were recorded at 181.36 million. Maple Leaf Cement Factory Limited (MLCF +5.37pc), Unity Foods Limited (UNITY +3.49pc) and Worldcall Telecom (WTL -2.59pc) led the volume chart. The scripts had exchanged 16.30 million shares, 15.97 million shares and 13.54 million shares respectively.

The banking sector (+98.78 points), cement sector (+47.53 points) and oil and gas marketing sector (+17.87 points) saved the KSE-100 Index from landing in the red zone.

Banking giants Habib Bank Limited (HBL +82.28 points), United Bank Limited (UBL +19.67 points) and National Bank of Pakistan (NBP +12.17 points) remained the top positive contributors to the index on Wednesday.

The cement sector managed to gain 2.11pc in its cumulative market capitalization following media reports that cement prices are expected to go up in the northern region. D G Khan Cement Company Limited

(DGKC +4.99pc), Fauji Cement Company Limited (FCCL +4.66pc) and Kohat Cement Company Limited (KOHC +4.66pc) all closed with decent gains.

Gul Ahmed Textile Mills Limited (GATM +2.69pc) recorded earnings per share of Rs10.12 for FY19 (Rs5.82 in FY18) along with a final cash dividend of Rs2.50; Khyber Tobacco Company Limited (KHTC +0.15pc) posted an EPS of Rs-7.96 for FY19 as compared to Rs41.60 in FY18, while Kohinoor Mills Limited (KML -1.08pc) declared an EPS of Rs14.31 for FY19, up 204.47pc YoY (Rs4.70 in FY18).

Gwadar Port to become fully functional by next month ISLAMABAD AHMAD AHMADANI

The government would make the Gwadar Port fully functional by next month (November) as necessary transhipment rules for bulk cargo are ready for final approval, sources revealed on Wednesday.

Officials of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, on the condition of anonymity, disclosed that the Gwadar Port will be made fully functional as soon as transhipment rules for bulk cargo from the port to foreign destinations are approved by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) as well as the Law Division. "The government is leaving no stone unturned to make the port fully functional by November 2019," the officials maintained.

They informed that a committee, comprising Balochistan chief customs collector, Quetta collector, officials of the Model Customs Collectorate (MCC) Gwadar and MCC Appraisement-West (Karachi), was constituted recently to prepare the draft of transhipment rules.

"The committee has forwarded the draft rules to FBR and the Law Division for final approval. The approved rules will be issued in the 1st week of November, 2019," sources added.

According to a document available with this scribe, the Web-Based One Customs (WeBOC) module dealing with Afghan transit cargo has been modified while the user acceptance test (UAT) has been completed and configured with the system and is fully operational to deal with transit goods.

Similarly, the establishment of a new directorate at Gwadar has been initiated to facilitate the processing of transit cargo, destined for Afghanistan and China, in a more effective manner. Transit of goods from Pakistan to Afghanistan has been regulated under the transit rules issued on 18th June 2001 (Sub Chapter VII of Chapter XXI and Chapter XXV of Custom Rules, 2001). The transit of goods from Gwadar to Afghanistan has been covered under various routes notified in the aforesaid rules.

The Gwadar Port is a deep-sea port situated on the Arabian Sea at

Gwadar in Balochistan. The 637-acre Gwadar Port has an immense geostrategic importance as it is the entrance to the Persian Gulf and is considered to be a substitute of Dubai Port. It is also featured prominently among the 4,764 similar cargo handling facilities located in 196 countries around the world. Besides, the China– Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), it is considered to be a link between the ambitious One Belt, One Road and Maritime Silk Road projects.

The port was inaugurated on 20th March 2007 by the then president Gen (r) Pervez Musharraf, who was accompanied by the then Chinese communications minister Li Shenglin. By March 2007, China had provided 80 per cent of Gwadar Port’s $248 million initial development costs.

In 2015, it was announced that the port city would be further developed under CPEC at a cost of $1.62 billion. The development was aimed at linking the northern parts of Pakistan and Western China to the deepwater seaport.

tween the two telecoms was according to the PTA regulations."

The audit further highlighted the illegalities of PTA and noted that that the telecommunication authority served a show-cause notice to Wise Communication on 15th January 2014, stating that the operator illegally terminated 106.42 million minutes on the network of mobile operators and PTCL by bypassing the international gateway exchanges. As a result, the operator did not pay the dues on the account of Access Promotion Contribution for USF, causing a loss of $9.365 million to the national exchequer.

The audit also highlighted the administrative failures of the PTA management and noted that the authorities failed to recover an amount of Rs669.746 million on account of USF charges and 'research and development' contributions from the operators during 2016-17.

The AGP observed that a loss of Rs43.287 million in non-recovery of annual dues from telecom operators, as well as a loss of Rs385.875 million due to allocation and permission of frequency without recovery, was also incurred by the national exchequer.

traders announce islamabad march on 9th LAHORE INP

The All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajiran (APAT) reiterated on Wednesday that it would hold a march towards Islamabad on October 9, following the failure of its talks with the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). Addressing a press conference at the Lahore Press Club on Wednesday, APAT Central General Secretary Naeem Mir said that the traders’ protest march “will be peaceful and there is no plan of any lockdown”. “This is my message to the FBR chairman that we are going to Islamabad on ‘his invitation’,” the senior APAT official maintained. He said that the APAT leadership across the country has already been delegated responsibilities for the Islamabad march.

“Thousands of traders will first gather at the Aabpara Market and then march towards FBR and National Assembly buildings where a resolution against the unfair taxation system will be passed.” He, however, said that traders do not want a clash with the police or administration. Naeem Mir said that traders would protest on October 9 in Islamabad while the decision of countrywide protest on October 10 would be taken after consultation with other trade bodies. He asked the government to explain as to how the traders should run their businesses amid unfair taxation and exorbitant import duties.

SBP seeks record of foreign currency buyers from FBr KARACHI INP

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has asked the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to provide the record of foreign currency buyers from across the country. Through a letter sent to the FBR, the central bank has sought the data of those buyers who bought US dollars from money exchangers in the few months. The SBP letter stated, "FBR is authorised to collect the data from exchange companies to trace such buyers. The initiative is in line with the government’s policy to keep a track of banks and exchangers’ activities under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act." The data will help the government curb dollar hoarding in the country, the letter said, adding that all concerned departments and institutions, including Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU) and Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF), are collaborating with the government in this crackdown. Earlier on April 6, former information minister Fawad Chaudhry had said the government has directed the FIA to launch a full-fledged operation against dollar hoarding and speculative currency trade.

Thursday, 3 October, 2019

12 BUSINESS CORPORATE CORNER

fbr Abolishes lAhore And kArAchi internAl Audit directorAtes ISLAMABAD

Under its Corporate Social Responsibility programme, the Sui Southern Gas Pipeline continues to patronize 25 deaf children of Family Educational Services Foundation’s Rasheedabad Campus. PRESS RELEASE

LAHORE: Realme, the fastest growing smartphone brand in Pakistan, on Wednesday unveiled its first quad camera smartphones – realme 5 and realme 5 Pro – in Pakistan. PRESS RELEASE

t

SHAHZAD PARACHA

HE Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has abolished the Lahore and Karachi directorates of internal audit.

As per FBR's SRO on September 20, 2019, two directorates of Customs Internal Audit in Lahore and Karachi have been abolished while the countrywide task for the same would be managed by a single directorate in Islamabad.

Meanwhile, a serving FBR officer has filed a complaint with Advisor to PM on Finance and Revenue Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh

KARACHI: State Life Insurance Corporation, in collaboration with Dubai Islamic Bank, has formally started “Bancatakaful” under the name of “Tayyab”. SLIC Chairman Farrukh Hamidi and the Dubai Islamic Bank CEO inaugurated the facility. PRESS RELEASE

and FBR Chairman Shabbar Zaidi regarding the abolishment of the internal audit.

He alleged that the decision has taken away from the Customs Internal Audit its capacity to detect custom officers' corruption.

According to the complaint, FBR has purported to act under certain provisions of the Customs Act and Sales Tax Act, which do not

give the FBR any power to abolish any field formations.

It has been further alleged that the abolition of two directorates and the subsequent overburdening of the single directorate in Islamabad is a measure against FBR's statutory obligation to improve productivity in field formations. "It is also a measure against the FBR's statutory obligation to control corruption and

‘Turkish businessmen keen to sign JVs with Pakistani counterparts’ LAHORE STAFF REPORT

ISLAMABAD: Pak Suzuki has donated a Suzuki Bolan van to SAM Institute of Special (Inclusive) Education & Rehabilitation, Abbottabad. Pak Suzuki MD & CEO Masafumi Harano formally presented the symbolic key to SAM Founder Director Institute Samina Kouser. PRESS RELEASE

‘THE DECISION HAS TAKEN AWAY FROM THE CUSTOMS INTERNAL AUDIT ITS CAPACITY TO DETECT OFFICERS' CORRUPTION'

Trade and economic relations between Turkey and Pakistan should be stronger and private sectors of the two countries can play a vital role in this regard.

These views were expressed by Konya Governor Cuneyt Orhan while speaking at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar, LCCI President Irfan Iqbal Sheikh, Senior Vice President Ali Hussam Asghar, Vice President Mian Zahid Jawaid Ahmed and Executive Committee Members also spoke on the occasion.

Orhan said that Turkish businessmen are keen to step into joint ventures with their Pakistan counterparts in various fields, adding that both countries should enhance cooperation in trade, industry and tourism.

He said that Turkish people have deep love and respect for Allama Muhammad Iqbal and his teachings are a part of the lasting bonds between Turkey and Pakistan.

Governor Punjab Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar said that a ‘Governors of Muslim Countries Confer-

ence’ would be convened very soon and governors of all Muslim countries will be invited.

"We cannot grow until and unless we work hand in hand with the business community,” the governor said, adding that the business community is the backbone of the economy.

LCCI President Irfan Iqbal Sheikh said that Lahore and Konya are two historical cities and have a number of commonalities. “Konya has the reputation of being one of the more religiously fundamentalist metropolitan centres in Turkey.”

He said that Konya has a number of industrial parks and the city's economy has evolved into a centre for the manufacturing of components for the automotive industry, agricultural tools, plastic, paint & chemical industry, paper & packing industry, processed foods, textiles and leather industry etc.

“There are several Special Economic Zones being built in Pakistan under CPEC and we would like to have industrial cooperation with Turkish businessmen in these areas.

LCCI Senior Vice President Ali Hussam Asghar said that mutual trade volume is $661 million which has a potential to touch $1 billion.

to maintain a system of performance accountability of its officers and employees."

He alleged the Directorate of Internal Audit Karachi has been abolished to shelter the custom officers who are normally responsible for 90pc of corruption that takes take place throughout the country in a year.

"The Lahore directorate has been abolished for various reasons, all directed towards protecting the corruption from audit detections," he added.

The FBR chairman and spokesman did not immediately reply to queries of this scribe.

eCC okays power tariff hike of rs0.30 per unit ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC), in its meeting held under the chair of Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, has approved a hike of Rs0.30 per unit in the power tariff.

The ECC on Wednesday also approved a proposal submitted by the Ministry of National Food Security and Research regarding the release of 150,000 tonnes of wheat to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 100,000 tonnes of wheat to Sindh through the Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (PASSCO).

The committee further okayed a set of proposals submitted by the Ministry of Energy for the resolution of issues pertaining to 1,124MW Kohala Hydropower Project, including the minimum ecological water flow of 42 cumecs by maintaining the e-flow of 30 cumecs and releasing additional flow of 12 cumecs from

the spillway, and construction of sewage treatment plants and water bodies, the cost of which would be included in the NEPRA tariff.

The ECC also discussed the issue regarding the Cabinet Committee on Energy’s “Approval of the Settlement of Liquidated Damages” as referred to it by the cabinet and constituted a committee comprising Economic Affairs Minister Hammad Azhar, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Institutional Reforms and Austerity Ishrat Hussain and Special Secretary Finance Omar Hamid Khan to examine the matter and submit its recommendations to ECC. To another proposal by the Ministry of Energy, the ECC amended its decision of 28th August 2019 to allow proposed subsidy by the Sindh Government in favour of the destitute residents of Islamkot. The Sindh government would make budgetary provision/allocation for the amount of the proposed subsidy on an annual basis for the life of the proposed facility.

eCNeC approves Peshawar-torkham Motorway, karachi yellow line projects COMMITTEE ALSO GIVES A GO-AHEAD TO RS21BN-WORTH LAHORE WATER AND WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT PROJECT, AND CONSTRUCTION OF RS17BN-WORTH EXPRESSWAY ON THE EAST BAY OF GWADAR PORT ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) has approved several projects, including the construction of 21km-long Karachi Bus Rapid Transit (Yellow Line Corridor) Project, 47.55km Peshawar-Torkham Motorway Project, and interlinking of 220kV Daharki, Rahim Yar Khan, Bahawalpur and Chishtian grid stations to improve power supply system in the southern regions.

The ECNEC meeting was chaired

by Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance & Revenue Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh on Wednesday.

The committee approved the construction of Karachi Urban Mobility Project (Yellow BRT Corridor), which would be executed by the Sindh government at a cost of Rs61.439 billion. The project, to be funded mainly by the World Bank, would cover a distance of 21kms, starting from Korangi Industrial Road and passing through KPT Interchange, FTC Interchange, Shahrah-eFaisal, Shahrah-e-Quaideen till Kashmir Road, where it would integrate with the Red BRT Corridor.

The project would consist of 28 stations having 268 buses. Some 300,000 passengers would benefit from the corridor on a daily basis.

Meanwhile, ECNEC approved, with a proviso for formation of a coordination committee between the federal government and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government for overview and fiscal discipline, the construction of PeshawarTorkham Motorway Project as component-1 of Khyber Pass Economic Corridor (KPEC).

The total cost of the project would be Rs36.705 billion ($231.10 million) with World Bank’s share of Rs34.503 billion ($217.24 million) based on preliminary design. The firmed-up cost of the project would be available after the receipt of bids on Design-Build-Operate basis for which the Planning Commission would develop guidelines/standard operating procedures as well as other innovative mechanism.

The meeting also approved component-II “Economic Development & Upift of Areas Adjoining the Motorway” for which a framework agreement to facilitate preparation and feasibilities through World Bank had been agreed at a total cost of Rs8.357 billion. The KP govern-

ment would submit PC-1 envisaged under the component-II after the feasibility and detailed design.

The ECNEC further approved a project for interlinking of 220kV Daharki, Rahim Yar Khan, Bahawalpur and Chishtian grid stations for improvement of power supply system in southern areas at a an updated cost of Rs15.795 billion, including foreign exchange component of Rs9.800 billion.

The project would improve the reliability and uninterrupted power supply to HESCO and MEPCO areas, while the interlinking of RY Khan grid station to Daharki through 220kV transmission line would provide backup link between Mul-

tan, Guddu and Shikarpur. The proposed line from RY Khan to Bahawalpur and in/out of Vehari-Chishtian 220kV single circuit transmission line would provide additional source of supply to 220kV Bahawalpur and Chishtian grid stations.

Among other projects, the ECNEC approved construction of a four-lane 18.98km long (with embankment for 6 lanes) Expressway on East Bay of Gwadar Port at a cost of Rs17.369 billion with foreign exchange component of Rs16.435 billion to link Gwadar Port with the Makran Coastal Highway as well as with Gwadar Free Zone and future container terminals. The project would also have one interchange and

four bridges, four pedestrian overhead bridges along with cross-drainage structures and allied works.

ECNEC also accorded approval to “Dasu Hydropower Project (Stage-1); Revision of Cost for Land Acquisition and Built-up Property” at a total cost of Rs510.980 billion, including Rs36.914 billion for land cost. The committee directed the Planning Division to issue authorisation of the revised cost of land acquisition and built up property of Dasu Hydropower Project (Stage-1) as recommended by CDWP and subsequently by ECNEC. The ECNEC approved “Lahore Water and Wastewater Management Project-Construction of Surface Water Treatment Plant at BRDB Canal” at a cost of Rs21.045 billion with foreign exchange component of Rs19.684 billion to provide adequate quantity of safe drinking water to the target areas of Shadipura, Baghbanpura, Fatehgarh and Mustafabad through a unified water supply network.

In similar decisions, the ECNEC also granted ex-post facto approval to the development of Phase-1 of Kartarpur Sahib Corridor on EPE/Turnkey mode as well as a proposal by the Planning Commission for simplification of development funds’ release process, including the release of project-wise funds (Rupee component) allocated in PSDP to the ongoing approved projects of ministries/divisions during the first week of each quarter as per criteria of the Finance Division (20pc in 1st & 2nd quarters and 30pc in 3rd and 4th quarters).

1

Bringing The Youngest Entrepreneurial Minds Together: Meet Mariah Suleman.

Mariah Suleman is the creative mind behind Tinypreneur fair where young children are encouraged to come up with their own ideas of business and money making. Mariah believes that her concept will inculcate a much needed skill set in children. It will encourage them to think outside the box. Read more to find out about her idea to come up with Tinypreneur despite being a lawyer by profession.

2

What inspired you to become an ammipreneur?

I feel that just like raising a family is a rewarding endeavor for a woman, starting a business of your own can also be equally satisfying. Both are full time commitments that demand patience and love. My favourite thing about being an ammi-preneur is the inspiration I gather from my children. Without being an ammi, I would not be where I am today and would not have thought of instilling entrepreneurship amongst children from such small age. Secondly, I wanted something that would not only give me my own schedule but also a platform to meet other like minded parents and tinypreneurs fair gives me that opportunity.

in conversaTion wiTh

Mariah FroM TinyPreneurs www.scaryammi.com

8

Are there any time management hacks that you would like to share with the ammis reading this interview?

To really manage your time, you have to appreciate how much you have.

Take control of it and don’t let others allow to dictate what you do and when. Get your family to agree on some important priorities and wake up before everyone else does. I typically wake up (like mom ammis ) a little before the kids wake up for school and I try not to go back to sleep once they leave.

The morning time is when I set my goals, relax, work out, take calls and don’t just be busy to be busy, but to yield productive results. I feel that it's important to structure your day when your brain is at its peak.

3

What was your inspiration behind starting tinypreneurs while having a family law firm of your own?

Tinypreneurs is not just a business for me. It is an educational service that I provide to all parents and children. The goal is to plant the seed that will encourage children not only to imagine their first pay-cheque or business, but also the space to integrate lessons of earning money from their own efforts associated with the pursuit of social responsibility. Ever since my children started school, I felt that there is not much to engage in for kids in Pakistan. We have a dearth of entertainment and most of the activities revolve around food, gadgets and play dates where there are no constructive activities. I felt I need to raise the bar of kids entertainment so they not only have a good time, but also learn to have a go-getter spirit at all times. The concept was in the pipeline since two years and then finally last year, I came up with the idea of having an event which will be a learning and fun experience for families participating and a fun children’s market for them to manage on their own, in form of friendly business booths. This event is a philanthropic experience for children as young as 5 years old to be exposed to the world of an entrepreneur.

4

HOLLYWOOD BOLLYWOOD

Do your kids take part in the tinypreneurs event?

Yes, since I am an ardent baker, we baked pies and tarts and my kids put up a pie stall back in January. They were delighted to earn money and we made sure to share it with the underprivileged.

This is another aspect of the fair that I always emphasis on. When your children make money from their stall, encourage them to share it with the house help or anyone who you know would need the help. It will teach them empathy, which is an important part of solid upbringing and of our religion.

7

How did you establish tinypreneurs as a brand and did you face any issue in Its marketing?

Tinypreneurs brand goal is to establish a place where children learn entrepreneurial skills as well as get to bond with other children and their parents . My biggest marketing tool has been word of mouth and the adorable tiny entrepreneurs who came up to me when we were wrapping up our first fair and said “we want a picture with you because you gave us good memories.” I replied ‘well then it’s time to make more”. The footfall has been promising at the last fair , however I do think that in order to evolve and get bigger as a brand, Tinypreneurs fair will need more support from influencers and mom bloggers in the twin cities and even in Lahore, because we plan to grow bigger and bring the fair to other cities.

5

How difficult is it to manage tinypreneurs, your home, children and legal career simultaneously ?

Good things in life come with their share of difficulty, but that should never discourage a woman to do what she wants because we are born multi-taskers. The best part of starting tinypreneurs fair has been that my children are involved in it in their own adorable way. My son talks about it in school and his banter about his mummy’s upcoming event pushes his friends to tell their ammis to get them a stall. My son has been a true fan and an adorable marketer of the work I do. So I can proudly say that despite the challenges, he makes it easy when he brings in 100% organic clients. My legal career took a legit back-seat after I had kids, but I am lucky to have a supportive family who made it easier for me to keep working as a full time lawyer after I gave birth to my son.

In short, a supportive family makes all the difference all working/ammi-preneure.

6

Considering the lack of awareness around the concept of entrepreneurship in our society, what challenges did you face while establishing tinypreneurs?

Well, most parents loved the idea but I did feel that some missed out on the important aspect of the event when they mentioned making a profit of their own, or not being able to breakeven at their stall. What I wanted to convey to everyone was that; this event is not about parents not able to recover the cost of the stall or the little investment that they put. Tinypreneurs is an educational service/event that parents pay for and it is turned into a vibrant fest so that families come together and children get a break from their monotonous school routines and the usual weekend birthday celebrations and goodie bags. While all that is a lot of fun, I think we need to give our children a higher bar of entertainment, better and meaningful incentives and a platform where they open up knowing that they are the ones in control.

J.J. Abrams On Superman, Green Lantern, Justice League

Ryan Reynolds Stars In '6 Underground' Trailer From Michael Bay

Following my big Comic-Con scoop that J.J. Abrams will be taking on Superman and Green Lantern, now more of the same is being said -- again -- including Justice League.

Insiders filled me in that a big reason J.J. Abrams signed with WarnerMedia is that Abrams wants to tackle the DC characters, with Superman and Green Lantern first.

Now a pair of rumors has added more of the same, which comes from a reporter for Variety who offered the following (but since retracted his remarks for some reason): “I’m glad JJ is back in the rump.. I hope the new Warner Bros stuff leads to more stuff… someone with a cape perhaps… that’s a hint.”

Another rumor also adds that J.J. Abrams wants to tackle Superman, Green Lantern and Justice League.

While at Comic-Con back in July, DC insiders also told me that the creatives and such at WB would like to do another Justice League movie, but that they are trying to get things right and are instead presently focusing on character-driven movies.

Netflix released the trailer for 6 Underground, the action-packed movie starring Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool) and directed by Michael Bay (Transformers).

"Ryan Reynolds, Michael Bay and a metric f-ck-load of dynamite. Only on Netflix, December 13," the video description teases.

6 Underground is written by Deadpool writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, and also stars Mélanie Laurent, Corey Hawkins, Adria Arjona, Manuel Garcia Rulfo, Ben Hardy and Dave Franco.

It isn't escaping your boss, your ex, or even erasing your criminal record.

The best part about being dead...is the freedom.

The freedom to fight the injustice and evil that lurk in our world without anyone or anything to slow you down or tell you “no.”

6 Underground introduces a new kind of action hero. Six individuals from all around the globe, each the very best at what they do, have been chosen not only for their skill, but for a unique desire to delete their pasts to change the future.

CMYK

9

Would you like to share a memory when you loved being your own boss and one memory when you dread it?

When I was arranging the last Tinypreneurs Fair , I managed every single thing on my own. From the décor to the tables setting, the setting up of the stalls, light arrangement, music and there is so much more that goes into a successful event. Although that gave me a huge sense of achievement and made me love what I was doing, but it also made me realize that it is OKAY to delegate a few tasks and have a small but supportive team helping you out. It felt great to experience the energy high, but at the end of the day, I was so exhausted that I couldn’t move. I crashed in bed and stayed there good 12 hours J

10

What are the incentives offered to children taking part in Tinypreneurs?

Well, I think like all kids, our tinyentrepreneurs love the fact that they will be their own boss (that is an incentive every child waits for) sell what they have made, be innovative and get money for their hard work. This makes them feel that their time and effort has value, that in itself is such a confidence booster and of course , we have tons of activity stalls to get them excited and involved. The fair also happens to have a lot from games, rides, candies, science stalls, slime, (the works) good food , their friends and many activity stalls...you name it and its there. With time, we plan to add 'give aways' like a tinypreneurs mug, t-shirts and much more.

Amitabh Bachchan says he’s an Indian and adds, ‘My surname Bachchan does not belong to any religion’ Veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan says he does not belong to any religion. On the Gandhi Jayanti special episode of Kaun Banega Crorepati, host Big B will be seen sharing an anecdote with the sociologist Bindeshwar Pathak.

“My surname ‘Bachchan’ does not belong to any religion as my father was against it. My surname was Srivastava, but we never believed in it. I feel proud saying is that I’m the first person to hold this family name. When I was taking admission to Kindergarten, my father was asked my surname and then he decided that my surname would be ‘Bachchan’. When Census employees come to my place, they ask me about my religion and I always answer that I belong to no religion, I’m Indian,” said Bachchan.

Big B also spoke about his family tradition of starting the Holi festival by putting colour on the foot of a person who is highly respected and elderly.

The episode will air on Sony TV on Wednesday.

14-15 Sports 3rd October 19_Layout 1 10/2/2019 8:43 PM Page 1

Thursday, 3 October, 2019

14 SPORTS

Ronaldo ScoReS aS JuventuS bRuSh aSIde leveRkuSen TURIN

c

AGENCIES

RISTIANO Ronaldo scored his first goal in this season's Champions League, sealing a 3-0 win for Juventus over Bayer Leverkusen in their Group D game in Turin on Tuesday.

Ronaldo blasted in the third goal in the 89th minute to extend his record to 127 strikes in the competition to add to Gonzalo Higuain and Federico Bernardeschi's earlier efforts.

Juventus move top of their section, level on four points with Atletico Madrid, who defeated Lokomotiv Moscow 2-0 in Russia.

The Italian champions had been held 2-2 by the Spaniards at the Wanda Metropolitano in their opener.

"We had a good match against a team who love possession and are not easy to deal with," said Juventus coach Maurizio Sarri. "They took a lot of energy out of us in the first half. After the break, they slowed down a little and we took control."

Leverkusen face an uphill battle after their shock 2-1 defeat at home against Lokomotiv Moscow and are rooted to the foot of the table.

"It was a clear defeat," said Leverkusen coach Peter Bosz. "We played well in the first half even if we didn't

have chances, and then we made the mistake which led to the first goal.

"It's the difference between a team who has experience in the Champions League and one that is beginning its journey at this level." Juventus next host Lokomotiv and Leverkusen travel to Atletico on October 22.

Sarri opted for Higuain and Bernardeschi up front alongside fivetime Ballon d'Or winner Ronaldo.

Leverkusen were struggling from the outset after losing captain Lars Bender in the warm-up to a thigh problem, with defender Mitchell Weiser stepping

in.

The Germans showed little to threaten the hosts, with Lucas Alario shooting over on three minutes with what would be their best chance of the game. The breakthrough came for Juventus when Leverkusen defender Jonathan Tah failed to head clear Juan Cuadrado's long ball for Higuain, with the Argentine pouncing to drill home after 17 minutes.

The 31-year-old Higuain, back in Turin after loan spells at AC Milan and Chelsea, had a chance for a second on 38 minutes but was denied by Lev-

erkusen goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky.

Juventus piled on the pressure after the break as Ronaldo tried unsuccessfully to pull off an overhead kick in the 55th minute. Ronaldo then sent Higuain in behind, but although the Portuguese failed to connect with his teammate's return pass, Bernardeschi was lurking to provide the finishing touch just after an hour.

Juventus almost had a third with Hradecky failing to control the ball and almost turning it into his own net before grappling to save on the line.

But the Finnish international did well to deny Ronaldo in front of goal after a Higuain charge down the flank.

Welsh international Aaron Ramsey was introduced in place of Bernardeschi with Dybala replacing Higuain for the closing stages.

And in the dying minutes, substitute Rodrigo Bentancur picked out Dybala who slid the ball through for Ronaldo, allowing the 34-year-old to equal Real Madrid great Raul's record of scoring against 33 different sides in the Champions League. "It was an important match, after the draw in Madrid we had to win to get closer to the qualification," said Higuain.

"Now we head to Sunday, because another battle awaits us," added the Argentine of next weekend's Serie A clash with leaders Inter Milan.

Guardiola 'unfair' on Foden as Man City close on last 16

LONDON AGENCIES

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said Phil Foden's lack of minutes for the English champions is "unfair" as the 19-year-old came off the bench to score in a 2-0 Champions League win over Dinamo Zagreb on Tuesday.

Foden has been limited to just one start, in the League Cup against Preston, so far this season as the return of Kevin De Bruyne and signing of Rodrigo has seen the England under-21 international fall further down the pecking order. But he made the most of barely a few minutes on the field against the Croatian

champions after being introduced as a substitute in stoppage time to fire home after fellow sub Raheem Sterling had opened the scoring.

"I know he deserves to play. I want to give him minutes, every time he doesn't play I am completely unfair to him, I'm sorry," said Guardiola.

"But Kevin De Bruyne is there, David Silva, Bernardo Silva, Rodri, (Ilkay) Gundogan. It's what it is. "I know the best way to grow up is play minutes and minutes, but he is so young. "I don't know how many players of that age played as many minutes in the recent past he played in these last seasons with us.

"He is going to be an incredible future player for us because we count on him and we trust a lot in him."

Sterling even hopes Foden will get enough chances to shine to make a late run to be included in the England squad for next year's European Championship. "I am buzzing for Phil and I want him in the national team," said Sterling. "If he keeps going he will be there."

However, City' local hero Foden is happy to play a patient game with such an array of midfield talent to compete with. "You have to show the manager what you can do each day in training," said Foden. "Every young kid wants to play but you have to keep patient."

PATIENCE PAYS OFF: City enjoyed 71 percent possession and had 19 attempts on goal, but had to wait until 24 minutes from time to make the breakthrough when Sterling rounded off an excellent team move.

The English champions have maximum points from their opening two games with back-to-back matches

against bottom-of-the-group Atalanta to come. "It was good. We didn't concede one shot on target, with our huge possession we created enough chances to score earlier, but we were patient," added Guardiola.

"We need two more victories to qualify for the last 16 and hopefully we can make against Atalanta almost the definitive step to be there."

Despite missing the injured De Bruyne, Sergio Aguero, Bernardo Silva and David Silva were all guilty of missing guilt-edged chances before halftime, while Gundogan hit the bar.

Dinamo had romped to a 4-0 victory over Atalanta on matchday one, but barely ventured over the halfway line and their brave resistence was finally ended with a wonderfully worked team goal. Rodrigo's pass opened up the Zagreb defence and Riyad Mahrez's low cross left Sterling with the simple task of forcing the ball over the line from point-blank range. That should have alleviated City's frustrations for the night, but Guardiola was shown a yellow card

by Dutch referee Serdar Gozubuyuk and cut an increasingly annoyed figure on the touchline as the hosts saw a number of penalty claims turned away.

"Nobody is going to give us anything," said Guardiola. "We did it ourselves and that's top. That's why I love this team." There was little for the Catalan coach to be concerned about, though, as City were never in danger of conceding and finally made the game safe deep into stoppage time when Sterling led a counter-attack and teed up Foden to blast into the far corner.

Icardi opens PSG account to claim victory at Galatasaray PARIS AGENCIES

Mauro Icardi scored his first Paris SaintGermain goal as the French champions beat Galatasaray 1-0 to move four points clear at the top of their Champions League group on Tuesday. Argentina forward Icardi, who joined PSG on loan from Inter Milan last month, opened his account for the club to maintain their perfect start to their European campaign after downing Real Madrid 3-0 two weeks ago. The Turkish champions sit third in the standings with a single point from the draw at Club Brugge on September 18 and have not registered a win in four games in all competitions. PSG were without Neymar, serving the last match of his European suspension for abusing a referee on social media, Edinson Cavani due to a hip injury, and Kylian Mbappe who started on the bench as he continues to recover from a thigh injury as Icardi led the attack in Istanbul. "It wasn't the hardest goal to score but it came from excellent build-up play. He's worked a lot," coach Thomas Tuchel said. "It's good because we were without Neymar and Cavani, and Kylian didn't start. "I am very happy because the team did what was needed. It was hard but it was deserved." Fatih Terim brought in Ryan Donk and Jean Michael Seri to his side after Saturday's Super Lig draw with Fenerbahce as Algerian international Sofiane Feghouli dropped to the bench. "For me PSG are favourites for the competition. Our match against Real Madrid is now more important after the results we've had," Terim said. "We have nothing to lose and we'll play until the end." The first sight of goal for either side came as Angel Di Maria tested Galatasaray goalkeeper Fernando Muslera on two minutes. Icardi, returning to PSG's starting line-up after recovering from an injury sustained in the victory over Real, was shown a yellow card in the seventh minute for a foul on captain Muslera. Galatasaray's first chance arrived three minutes later as Seri's shot curled the wrong side of Keylor Navas's left-hand post. Five minutes into the second half Di Maria, who starred in the victory over his former club Madrid, wasted a one-on-one to claim the lead as Muslera saved his weak shot.

Pochettino faces tough task to lift Spurs after Bayern thumping MUNICH AGENCIES

Mauricio Pochettino has urged Tottenham to face their problems "like a man" but he has a huge job on his hands to mend shattered morale after their 7-2 Champions League mauling by Bayern Munich.

The team are at a crossroads just four months after they appeared in the final of the competition against Liverpool, winning just three out of 10 matches so far this season. In truth, reaching the showpiece in Madrid helped paper over the cracks after a rocky end to the last campaign in which their form dropped alarmingly.

A summer of uncertainty saw key players including midfielder Christian Eriksen linked with moves that did not materialise, which has had an unsettling effect on a club that is desperate to claim a regular place at Europe's top table.

Tottenham have been patchy this season, with a B-string crashing out of the League Cup late last month at the hands of fourth-tier Colchester United.

After that defeat Pochettino talked about "different agendas in the squad", hinting that all was not well in the dressing room. But Tuesday's punishing loss against the five-time European champions in their gleaming new stadium will do far more psychological damage.

It was the biggest-ever margin of defeat for an English team at home in European competition and the first time the club had ever conceded seven goals in a home match in any major competition.

Former Spurs and England winger Chris Waddle said off-field issues were getting in the way. "I don't think Serge Aurier wants to be there, Christian Eriksen hasn't signed a new contract. There is so much going on off the pitch," he said.

"It should have been dealt with over the summer. Instead all the contract questions are still going on. It's a shambles."

It is impossible to know what Pochettino said to his players behind closed doors at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium but when he spoke to the press after the game he was measured.

"I think we are very critical of ourselves, to find always the way to fix problems," he said. "We need again to try to work, to try to move on. I think it's more psychological now." "The most important thing is to stay calm, no rushed analysis, no rushed judgement, no rushed assessment," he added.

"You need to show your quality like a man first. To face it like a professional.

This type of situation you have to show your quality, how you are strong."

Spurs at their best play an incisive, fluent brand of attacking football with Eriksen, Son Heung-min and Harry Kane a handful for any opposition, but they can be surprisingly brittle.

The unsettled Eriksen was not in the starting line-up on Tuesday, dropped in favour of the out-of-form Dele Alli but Spurs had plenty of chances in a gripping first half before being rocked on their heels by goal from Robert Lewandowski on the stroke of half-time. The second half was a horror show as they fell apart, with salt rubbed into the wound by the

CMYK

fact that former Arsenal youngster Serge Gnabry scored four times.

Pochettino talked about how last season's Champions League run was the end of a cycle and spoke of the need for a reset. "For me after the final of the Champions League was a chapter closed and now the club is in a period that they need to open another chapter and design a proj-

ect medium, long-term," he said.

The problem he faces is convincing players such as Son and Kane that he is the man to deliver long-overdue silverware. Pochettino, now in his sixth season at the club, appears to have a vision for taking the club forward but he must communicate that vision quickly. And the players must listen.

14-15 Sports 3rd October 19_Layout 1 10/2/2019 8:43 PM Page 2

Thursday, 3 October, 2019

SPORTS 15

SRI lanka bat wIth thRee chanGeS; PakIStan bRInG In nawaz, abId alI SRI LANKA OPT TO BAT AGAINST PAKISTAN

kARACHI

S

AGENCIES

RI LANKA won the toss and chose to bat, in their pursuit of a series-levelling victory in the third and final ODI of the series against

Pakistan.

Pakistan made two changes to the XI that won on Monday. Imam-ulHaq who hurt the webbing on his hand, has been replaced by Abid Ali. They have also swapped one left-arm spinning allrounder out for another, bringing in Mohammad Nawaz in

place of Imad Wasim.

Sri Lanka have made three changes. On the batting front, Sadeera Samarawickrama and Oshada Fernando have been omitted, with Minod Bhanuka and Angelo Perera replacing them. Allrounder Isuru Udana has also made way for left-arm wristspin-

ner Lakshan Sandakan.

The surface for the second ODI seemed to have become more difficult for strokemaking towards the end of the game. Perhaps expecting this fresh pitch to behave similarly, captain Lahiru Thirimanne hoped to put up a competitive total first up.

The weather is expected to be good for the duration of the match.

SrI LANKA: 1 Avishka Fernando 2 Danushka Gunathilaka, 3 Minod Bhanuka (wk), 4 Angelo Perera, 5 Lahiru Thirimanne (capt.), 6 Shehan Jayasuriya, 7 Dasun Shanaka, 8 Lakshan Sandakan, 9 Wanindu Hasaranga, 10 Lahiru Kumara, 11 Nuwan Pradeep PAKISTAN: 1 Fakhar Zaman, 2 Abid Ali, 3 Babar Azam, 4 Haris Sohail, 5 Sarfraz Ahmed (capt.) (wk), 6 Iftikhar Ahmed, 7 Mohammad Nawaz, 8 Shadab Khan, 9 Wahab Riaz, 10 Mohammad Amir, 11 Usman Shinwari

Umar Akmal, Ahmed Shehzad return to Pakistan T20I squad SPORTS DeSk Ahmed Shehzad and Umar Akmal, two batsmen who have seen precious little international action in the recent past, are back in the Pakistan T20I set-up for the Sri Lanka series, recalled after 16 months and three years respectively.

The side also welcomes back Faheem Ashraf, who missed out on a central contract this year, while Mohammad Rizwan and Abid Ali miss out. Imam-ulHaq isn't part of the squad either, but his exclusion, according to a PCB statement, is due to the hand injury he sustained during the second ODI against Sri Lanka in Karachi.

Shehzad last featured in a T20I in June 2018 against Scotland. He was subsequently out of the reckoning after being suspended for testing positive for a banned substance. Umar, meanwhile, lost his place in 2016 when he was involved in a public spat with then head coach Mickey Arthur, leading to a three-match ban and a PKR 1 million (US$ 6300 approx) fine, with the PCB also revoking no-objection certificates for the player to play in overseas leagues for two months.

There might be some awkward reunions in the side, particularly between Shehzad and Umar, and the newly appointed bowling coach Waqar Younis. As head coach until the 2016 World T20, Waqar had resigned with scathing parting shots aimed at both players. He had said that sacrificing "one Umar Akmal will allow us to develop other players who can truly and proudly wear the star on their chest and represent

Pakistan". He had also said Shehzad should be made to re-earn his place in the national side after performing in domestic cricket. In a recent press conference, Waqar drew attention to that last remark, insisting he had never said he wanted the two to be kept away from the national side forever.

The three T20Is, all to be played at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore from October 5 to 9, will be the first multi-game series in the shortest format for Pakistan since the world's No. 1 side saw their 11-series-win-

ning streak snapped in South Africa at the start of the year. Sarfaraz Ahmed, however, was not part of that series, and has still yet to lose a series as captain.

Iftikhar Ahmed has been recalled to the T20I side as well, his solitary game in the format having come in 2016 against Sri Lanka, a match where he did not get to either bat or bowl. Mohammad Nawaz could also play his first T20I in over a year, after being picked alongside Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan and Iftikhar to form a strong spin contingent.

nida dar makes Pakistan history with Sydney thunder deal SYDNEY: Nida Dar has become the first Pakistan woman to sign a deal with an international cricket league, and is on track to take the field for Sydney Thunder in the Women's Big Bash League later this year.

The 32-year-old Pakistan stalwart has played 96 T20Is and 71 ODIs, most recently in a T20I series against South Africa, where she took five wickets and scored 192 runs in five matches. Nida is one of Pakistan's most experienced players, having made her debut for the national side in a T20I in 2010, and has remained a fixture in the international team for much of the last decade. No Pakistan player has taken more T20I wickets than her 88, and she ranks fourth on the ODI list with 66 wickets - only Sana Mir, Sadia Yousuf and Asmavia Iqbal are ahead of her.

Her batting, particularly in T20 cricket, has been potent too, with her strike rate of 96.27 higher than any Pakistan player to have padded up in at least five innings. AGENCIES

djokovic advances to Japan open quarter final TOKYO: Novak Djokovic stepped up a gear at the Japan Open Wednesday, fending off a tough challenge from Japanese wild card Go Soeda 6-3, 7-5 to advance to the quarter final. The world number one said he had no problems with the injured shoulder which forced him out of the US Open as he looked to face either French fifth-seed Lucas Pouille or Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka at the Ariake Colosseum, a venue for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Djokovic was cruising to a victory until late in the second set when the 35-year-old Japanese player put on a tenacious fight while the Serb began missing many of his first serves, reducing his lead to 5-4 before Soeda made it 5-5. But Djokovic snapped back in form and took the final two games without giving a single point to the Japanese, ending the match in just over 90 minutes.

"Obviously, I was pleased to get that done in two (sets)," Djokovic said. "We must give credit to Go Soeda, who played a really good match, fought hard, made me work for my win today. "For my side, I am really pleased. Probably I played even on a higher level than the first round. So the game is going to the right direction for sure," he said. AGENCIES

Sharma hits authoritative century on opening debut before rain holds sway VISAkHAPATNAM AGENCIES

Six years after he scored a century on debut, Rohit Sharma resurrected his underwhelming Test career with a smooth and authoritative century in his first innings as an opener. In the company of Mayank Agarwal, he put together India's 13th 200-run stand to quickly re-emphasise what a difficult assignment South Africa were on. Agarwal finished the rain-curtailed day 16 short of what could be a maiden Test hundred as, outside the first half-hour when the new hard ball moved a little, South Africa's attack lacked penetration and discipline to put these batsmen through any sustained period of examination.

Faf du Plessis' look at losing the toss said it all. Virat Kohli had turned to speak to the broadcasters, and du Plessis turned back to his camp with a wry, resigned look on his face. This was the eighth straight toss South Africa had lost in Asia, but it is in India specifically that you desperately want to win it. While winning the toss is no guarantee for success for visiting teams, so dominant have India been at home since 2013 that you can pretty much kiss the Test goodbye if you

don't get to do what you want at the start.

The despondence was not unfounded.

The new ball moved around for about a few overs, and then the South African spinners - three of them - showed neither the skills to trouble the batsmen nor the discipline to tie them down. On a slow, dry pitch, the odd edge produced by the quicks didn't carry, and the two batsmen quickly turned aggressive, hitting seven sixes between them, rendering the in-out fields ineffective.

There was enough discipline at the start of each session before the batsmen capitalised on weary bowlers. There will be debate around Vernon Philander's selection as one of the two quicks because he bowls mid-120s and doesn't move the ball much in the air. Du Plessis called him one of the two allrounders, which suggests his batting might have got him in ahead of Lungi Ngidi. Philander, though, used his experience and Kagiso Rabada his pace to test the opening pair.

A leave sailed over the off stump, an lbw shout suffered because of extra bounce, an edge fell well short. But that was the extent of the trouble the duo went through. In the first half hour, South Africa managed to keep their control percentages down to 72 and 75, but

this was not unusual, nor was the odd play and miss. As the precious little movement faded, the openers assumed control of the Test.

With little pace off the pitch, Philander was reduced to bowling with the wicketkeeper up to the stumps in his first spell itself. Rabada bowled a testing first spell of 6-3-14-0, Philander returned for a tight spell immediately after, Keshav

Maharaj got off to a decent start, but all that managed to do was keep India's run rate under three. South Africa were playing the long game well until then but they needed depth in their bowling to do so.

Dane Piedt and Senuran Muthusamy brought a visible drop in intensity and consistency, and India were quick to assert their dominance against them. Rohit hit two towering sixes down the ground

STUMPS INDIA 202 FOR 0 (ROHIT 115*, AGARWAL 84*) V SOUTH AFRICA

CMYK

in the first session, Agarwal got himself a flat one. Rabada came back for a burst before lunch, but the questions he asked now with the softer ball were not as searching as in the first spell. If Rohit was brutal against anything short of a length and good with his feet against spin, Agarwal showed a penchant for expansive cover drives, which he controlled with his wrists, much like his captain does.

Missing the consistency from their spinners, South Africa had to try and buy wickets with smart field placements. They bowled with no point or fine leg, encouraging the sweep and cut, one of which brought a top edge just before lunch. That, though, evaded square leg and brought Rohit his fifty. India ended the first session at 91 for no loss in 30 overs.

South Africa began with second session with renewed discipline. Philander bowled three overs for seven, Maharaj tied the other end up, but with Rabada not able to replicate the intensity of the morning spell, the flood gates opened. The second hour of the middle session was open season as Rohit went about hitting sixes for fun. The most incredible shot, though, was played by Agarwal, who brought up his fifty with a wristily driven six wide of long-off.

Thursday, 3 October, 2019

NEWS

Business tycoons call on Gen Bajwa as economy nosedives ISLAMABAD

a

GHULAM ABBAS

delegation of at least 20 businessmen, comprising heads of various private companies, called on army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa at the General Headquarters on Wednesday to inform the top general of the economic crisis being faced by the country.

The high-level delegation, mostly members of Pakistan Business Council (PBC), met Gen Bajwa at dinner, a member of the delegation told Pakistan Today.

The delegation will also meet Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday, it was learnt. “The meetings with the prime minister and the army chief are aimed at addressing the burning issues

US congressional body to focus on IOK in hearing on human rights WASHINGTON AGENCIES

A US congressional subcommittee will hold a hearing on ‘Human Rights in South Asia’ on October 22 with a focus on occupied Kashmir. “The hearing will focus on the Kashmir Valley, where many political activists have been arrested and daily life, the internet, and telephone communications have been interrupted,” read a press release issued on Sept 30 by the chairman of the House Subcommittee on Asia, Congressman Brad Sherman. It added that the subcommittee hearing will review the humanitarian situation in occupied Kashmir as well as whether Kashmiris have “adequate supplies” of food, medicine, and other essentials. Since the Indian government on August 5 repealed Article 370 of its constitution — stripping occupied Kashmir of its special status — a strict lockdown and communications blackout has suffocated the region into silence. It has now been in place for 59 days. “In August, I had an opportunity to meet with Americans from Kashmir Valley in the San Fernando Valley, along with my colleague Congressman André Carson (DIN). We heard stories of difficulties encountered by my constituents and others, and the fears they have for their loved ones. Since then I have had several additional meetings with Kashmiri Americans. I look forward to learning more about human rights in Kashmir,” said the American congressman. As per the press release, top State Department official for South Asia, Alice Wells, and Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Scott Busby, will testify during the meeting on Oct 22. Additionally, Sherman said that other State Department officials have been invited and they also expect to hear from private human rights activists on the issues. Last week, Wells said that the US had serious concerns over the clampdown in occupied Kashmir. “We hope to see rapid action — the lifting of the restrictions and the release of those who have been detained,” Wells had told reporters.

“The United States is concerned by widespread detentions, including those of politicians and business leaders, and the restrictions on the residents of Jammu and Kashmir,” she said, adding: “We look forward to the Indian government’s resumption of political engagement with local leaders and the scheduling of the promised elections at the earliest opportunity.”

The upcoming subcommittee hearing will also focus on other issues such as the Tamils of Sri Lanka, the human rights situation in Pakistan, including in Sindh and Muslims in Assam.

BUSINESS DELEGATION TO CALL ON PM TODAY TO DISCUSS NAB HARASSMENT AMONG OTHER THINGS being faced by the business community in the country,” said a business leader, adding that uncertainty, lack of clarity in government policies, negative growth in large scale manufacturing were the key issues to be discussed.

“We are mainly concerned with the uncertainty in the economic and political situation. The interest rates, lower growth in manufacturing and investment are related to issues,” said a businessman while talking to Pakistan Today.

According to sources privy to details, the PBC members were concerned about the recent arrest of their

members, like the arrest of former managing director (MD) of Pakistan States Oil (PSO) Sheikh Imranul Haq, by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in an inquiry into illegal award of LNG terminal-1 to Engro Energy Terminal Private Limited.

“The recent NAB summons for tycoon Hussain Dawood, Engro Corporation chairman, has also annoyed the PBC,” they claimed.

According to the sources, his cousin Razzak Dawood, who is PM’s aide on commerce, even threatened the government to resign from his posts in case his

cousin was arrested in the NAB case.

The former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, who is presently in NAB custody, is also a founding member of the PBC. Apart from the arrest and NAB investigations, the PBC members’ meeting with the PM and army chief was a reminder to the power corridors about their commitment regarding the amendments in the NAB law.

The government had committed to amend the law within two months, making the businessmen only answerable to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).

The businessmen said the prevailing uncertain situation in the country was hindering the influx of foreign investment into the country.

Contrary to the expectation that the market confidence will improve after

signing the loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the uncertainty was still there.

Apart from the major issue of market confidence, the business community and traders had also been concerned about the increasing gas and electricity prices.

It is worth mentioning here that the army chief was also included in the National Development Council (NDC), formed by Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government to accelerate economic growth and improve coordination among the provinces and the federation.

Subsequently, he had also taken the top military brass into confidence over the “difficult but extremely essential measures” taken by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government to bring the economy out of the woods.

During the corps commanders meeting, General Bajwa had briefed the forum about “difficult but extremely essential long-term beneficial measures” taken by the premier to breathe life into a crippling economy.

“Pakistan is on a positive trajectory of peace and development and shall carry forward the same towards enduring peace and prosperity,” the statement had quoted General Bajwa as saying.

JUI-F to review Azadi March decision FAZL AGREES TO CONSULT EXECUTIVE BODY TO REVIEW DECISION AFTER PML-N’S REQUEST, SEEKS MEETING WITH NAWAZ ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Wednesday said he will consult his party’s central executive committee, slated to meet on Thursday, to review the decision to hold an anti-government march in October after a visiting Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) delegation urged him for postponement of the event.

The decision to call on Fazl was taken at a meeting of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and PML-N on Tuesday, wherein it was decided that there won’t be a “unilateral decision” on the anti-government march.

The PML-N delegation led by party’s secretary-general Ahsan Iqbal included Shah Mohammad Shah, Amir Muqam, Abdul Qadir Baloch and Sardar Ayaz Sadiq.

The delegation also apprised the JUI-F chief and his accompanying delegation of the party’s meeting with PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and other PPP members.

Agreeing to review his decision of locking down Islamabad, the JUI-F chief said that a meeting of the party’s central executive committee will take place on Thursday, after which the response will be relayed to the PML-N. Sources told Pakistan Today that Fazl agreed to “request the party’s executive committee to defer the march”

upon PML-N’s Ahsan Iqbal’s insistence.

Also, the JUI-F has sought meetings with PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif and PPP chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to clear the air surrounding the Azadi March.

Speaking to media persons after the meeting, Ahsan Iqbal said that the federal government was becoming a threat to the country and that political forces must join hands to oust the prime minister and his team.

He said that neither the “opposition

parties were seeking an NRO [National Reconciliation Ordinance] nor the powerless government could grant them with one”.

The JUI-F chief said due to the incompetence of the government, the economy has crashed and the masses were being adversely affected.

He said that the common man was suffering due to the unprecedented inflation and price hike but the government was failing to deal with the issue.

Ahsan Iqbal said that the entire opposition, including PML-N, PPP, and MMA, are all in agreement that the current government has failed in one year.

He said it was a worrying fact that eight businessmen were going to the army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa to tell him that businesses are about to go bankrupt. “If the traders are going to the army chief to air their grievances then where are we going?” he remarked.

“If the entire burden of the government’s failure is placed on the military leadership then how will this country run,” he argued.

In a comment on the potential reshuffle in the federal cabinet, the PML-N leader said the “real problem lies in our unsuccessful and vengeful prime minister” and the issue couldn’t be fixed with “frequent reshuffling of the cabinet”.

Pakistan defeat Sri Lanka by 5 wickets, clinch series 2-0 KARACHI AGENCIES

Pakistan capitalized on a brisk century opening stand between Abid Ali and Fakhar Zaman to beat Sri Lanka by five wickets in the third and final one-day international on Wednesday, clinching the series 2-0.

The first match was washed out due to heavy rain last week before Pakistan won the second game by 67 runs on Monday. The 123-run partnership between Fakhar (76) and Abid (74) gave Pakistan a solid start in its runchase. Left-handed Haris Sohail also scored a fine 56 off off 50 balls to guide Pakistan to 299-5 in 48.2 overs.

The Fakhar-Abid stand overshadowed Danushka Gunathilaka’s careerbest 133, including 16 fours and six, that had earlier propelled Sri Lanka to 297-9 after the visitors had won the toss and opted to bat.

Abid, who had scored a hundred in his debut ODI against Australia earlier this year and replaced injured Imam-ulHaq at the top order on Wednesday, smashed 10 boundaries in his 67-ball knock that included some elegant drives.

Abid was finally undone by Wanindu Hasaranga’s googly and fell

leg before wicket in the 20th over after Sri Lanka successfully went for a television referral.

Sri Lanka wasted an opportunity to break the stand soon after Abid had completed his half century but substitute fielder Sadeera Samarawickrama’s spilled a diving catch at midwicket in Hasaranga’s first over.

Fakhar hit seven fours and a six but the left-hander also couldn’t capitalize on a dropped chance when on 74 when Gunathilaka couldn’t hold on to an easy catch in the lone slip. Nuwan Pradeep (2-53) got two wickets in successive overs when he first had Babar Azam lbw (31) and then Fakhar flashed wildly at a short ball and holed out at third man.

Earlier, Gunathilaka anchored Sri Lanka to a healthy total by featuring in three half-century stands.

Gunathilaka added 88 runs for the second-wicket stand with captain Lahiru Thirimanne (36) before adding further 50 runs with Angelo Perera (13) – one of the three changes Sri Lanka had made from the second ODI. But the innings got the real momentum when Gunathilaka put on a better than run a ball 74 runs with debutante wicketkeeper-batsman Minod Bhanuka (36).

Gunathilaka reached his second ODI century off 100 balls when he

drove left-arm fast bowler Usman Shinwari to deep point for a single.

Pakistan got a chance to dismiss Gunathilaka but Haris dropped a sitter at point before Mohammad Amir (3-50) had the left-hander clean bowled off a full pitched delivery.

But Dasun Shanaka (43 off 24 balls), who scored a half century in the second ODI on Monday, took charge in the last six overs as Pakistan was let down by sloppy ground fielding.

Wahab Riaz (1-81) was smashed for 37 runs in his last three overs with

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

CMYK

Shanaka hitting four boundaries and two sixes off the left-arm seamer. Wahab finally deceived Shanaka off a slower last delivery and had him caught at extra cover of the last delivery. Both teams will now compete in three Twenty20s at Lahore, starting from Saturday.

It is the first time since Sri Lanka’s team bus was attacked in Lahore in 2009 that a foreign team is conducting a two-week tour of Pakistan. Major teams have avoided the country since the ambush that killed eight people and injured several players.