Vol. XXXIX No. 08 Regd. No. 241 JAMADI-us-SANNI 20 1443 -- MONDAY, JANUARY 24 2022 PESHAWAR EDITION 12 PAGES Price. 20 www.thefrontierpost.com Taliban, civil society OSLO (AFP): The Taliban delega- tion began talks focused on human rights with Afghan civil society members in Oslo on Sunday, ahead of highly anticipated meet- ings with Western officials. The discussions, which are being facilitated by Norway and are to focus on human rights and the hu- manitarian crisis in Afghanistan. U.S. Navy claims DUBAI (TASS): The US Navy has stopped a ship leaving Iran in the Arabian Sea, which they say was carrying cargo destined for supporters of Houthis. This was reported on Sunday by Al-Hadath TV channel. The ship detained by the US Navy is 40 tons of fertiliz- er, which can be used as explo- sives. @thefrontierpost First national English daily published from Peshawar, Islamabad, Lahore, Quetta, Karachi and Washington D.C Khaleeq Nazar Kiani C orruption in Balochistan may be reached to that level where general peo- ple are not ready to accept it anymore and openly displaying their discon- tent, anger in a very unique way. A few days back residents of Gawader started a contri- bution campaign for the Minister of fisheries Balochistan. It was a gen- tle and unique way of protest exposing the ram- pant corruption of the ruling elite class. Gawader KO Haq Do (Give the right to Gawader) was an unprecedented three weeks long agitation move- ment in the history of Gawader. To keep aside the political affiliation almost every family of Gawader not only supported but actively participated in it. It should be a warning sign for the rulers who often give sermons on the benefit of CPEC for Balochistan. To date, CPEC may be a game-changer or beneficial for Pakistan but not so for Balochistan. The residents of CPEC's center of gravity Gawader are still struggling to save their only big source of livelihood, the fish catching which is under threat due to the trawler mafia. Modern employment opportunities are still a dream for them. Professional investors a- re very smart and always do their risk management bef- ore taking any decision of investment. They analyze the situation for a good ret- urn on their investment. G- wadar Free Zone fails to at- tract investors despite good incentives this is what was told by the Board of invest- ment to the Prime Minister. But surely he may have not been informed about the poor infrastructure, lack of sustainable power and water supply, most impor- tantly the poor law and order situation despite a dedicated task force. Gawader port was inau- gurated in 2007 but still struggling to find business despite the change of port operator and billions of dol- lars borrowed money investment. Now the ques- tion on the viability of Gawader as a deep seaport is pertinent and valid. In the current year Federal PSDP a project is reflected under the title "Studies on Making Gwadar Port More Competitive (SB)" with an allocated amount of 295 million. This study should have been part of the feasi- bility of Gawader port or have been done before a decision to accept the offer of China for its construc- tion in 1999. Still expend- ing billions without know- ing its future. In 1994 Government floated a policy package to develop the Gwadar deep seaport on a BOT basis but no response was received from any foreign investors. Had any decision-maker thought about the lackluster response of the investors at that time? There are doubts about the full function of the port with its maximum capacity in the near future. Maybe in the next few years, a pip- eline from Rikodiq to trans- port slurry or a pipeline to transport petroleum prod- ucts generate some busi- ness but that will not be enough. Saudi Arabia is also not interested to build an oil refinery at Gwadar which was planned in 2017. The argument of the Babus in Islamabad is that the Chinese must have done their homework before investing. Surly China does but for the next 50 or 100 years not as per the expec- tation of Pakistan. The first priority of China is to develop its western region which has 1/3 of the coun- try's population and 70% land but is much poor and underdeveloped than its eastern region. All the development and wealth is concentrated in its eastern region. China and Pakistan have similarities in the sense that on both sides, the western regions are poor and have no developed infrastructure. China is car- rying out a big infrastruc- ture development program in the western region and announced incentives by reducing the tax from 25% to 15% for the local and foreign investors to estab- lish their businesses there. Once western China is fully developed then transport linkages will be developed with Gwader port and this is not going to happen in 10 to 20 years. It will take a generation or more. However, the specula- tive real estate business is thriving and every big gun in the country has taken benefit from it. The real estate business in the Gwader is like a Ponzi scheme that gives the divi- dend to its initial investors and ruins the last one. The bitter truth about Gawader TEHRAN (TASS): Tehran regained its right to vote in the UN, having paid the debt on contributions to the organization using frozen assets in South Korean banks. This was reported on Sunday by the ISNA age- ncy, citing Iranian Perm- anent Representative to the UN Majid Takht-Ravanchi. The right to vote in the UN should return to Iran from Monday. Bloomberg also reported that South Korea paid off Iran's debt of $18 million from assets blocked at the request of US. The payment was ma-de on Friday through the m-ediation of the American side. "The [South] Korean government has completed the payment of Iran's con- tribution to the UN in the amount of $18 million <...> of Iranian funds, with active cooperation with rel- evant organizations such as the US Department of the Treasury and the UN Secretariat," the text on the website of the South Korean Ministry of Planning and finance. According to the report, on January 13, the Iranian government asked the lead- ership of South Korea to pay the contribution of the Islamic republic to the UN from the frozen assets in order to avoid losing the right to vote in the General Assembly due to debt. January 21 payment was made. On January 12, the dele- gations of Venezuela, Iran, Sudan and a number of other countries temporarily lost their right to vote in the UN General Assembly due to arrears in contributions. In the text of the letter of the Secretary General of the world organization António Guterres addressed to the Chairman of the 76th ses- sion of the General Assem- bly, Abdullah Shahid, there are 11 states that have debts. Iran regains UN voting rights by paying a fee from its assets in Seoul ISLAMABAD (APP): Prime Minister Imran Khan Sunday categorically said that he would not meet Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif, because it would amount to compromising over Sharif family’s crimes. During the fifth session of live “Aap Ka Wazir Azam Aap Key Sath’ pro- gramme, the prime minister said that he would not give Sharif’s family any NRO because doing so would be huge treason with the coun- try. The prime minister said that he did not consider (Shabaz Sharif) as an oppo- sition leader rather he treat- ed him as man who had committed serious crimes against the nation and country. Responding to a query, the prime minister said an opposition leader had a stature but in the instant case, Shahbaz Sharif was delivering lengthy speeches in the parliament without caring to give reply to a number of graft and corrup- tion cases pending with the courts. He did not want to respond to Ramzan sugar mills case, transferring of Rs3.7 billion in the account of a peon Maqsood and Rs16 billion in the accounts of other servants. They were accounted for Rs8 bil- lion cases pending with NAB, he added. The prime minister said that Sharif family should take some pity on this country. Expressing his wonder, he said by using delaying tactics in the courts, what kind of service they were rendering to the democracy and setting example for a civilized society! “If I meet him, it will amount to acceptance of their wrongdoings (corrup- tion) as no longer a punish- able crime in a civilized society,” he stressed. The prime minister said that he wanted the nation to imbibe the basic principles taught by the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) regarding rule of law and equal treatment of all seg- ments of society. He stressed that as fol- lowers of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), the nation should follow those principles. He regretted that differ- ent trends had been set in the society for the powerful and the weak. The ordinary criminals had been lan- guishing in the jails and the powerful elite was residing outside the country. Those criminals had been show- ered with flower petals. If such were the stan- dards in society, then set the jails open for the ordinary criminals, he said, adding that he was ready to talk to everyone including TLP and Balochs, but would not talk to such elements who had siphoned off the coun- try’s wealth, the prime min- ister elaborated. He said according to the World Bank rule of law index, Switzerland topped the list with 100 percent score. In Singapore, a min- ister committed suicide due to his corruption and in the US a powerful family also followed the same course to avoid public shame. “Unless we follow the path of our Holy Prophet (PBUH), we cannot aspire to get prosperity,” he said, adding (Imran Khan) had no magic wand to set the wrong things right. The prime minister opined that a society had to fight such crimes and trends. To another question, he invited the former prime minister Nawaz Sharif to return back and face the criminal cases. “I am wait- ing for your return to Pakistan, please return back,” he added. About the Opposition parties’ proposed march, the prime minister said the public would not come out on the streets to save cor- ruption of former rulers. He said the public had come out on the streets to support two leaders in the country, one Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and then came out to support him in his cam- paign against corruption. The prime minister said not a single party in the country ever brought sup- porters in huge numbers to Minar-e-Pakistan, and it was the PTI that did it by four times. He said the corrupt junta could not befool the public anymore. Though there was an issue of price hike but the public would not come out on the streets as they understood two families’ theft and corruption. The prime minister fur- ther said that his party would complete its current term in power and would also return to government in the next term, owing to tackling of historic and huge economic challenges faced by any past govern- ment in the country’s histo- ry. He also warned the opposition parties that he would become more dan- gerous in case he did not remain in power. “You will not find any place to hide. Whatever you have done with the country, the people knew it very well, the vol- cano is brewing. They will flee the country and hide in London,” he added. Referring to Nawaz Sharif, the prime minister said he would not return back to Pakistan out of his love for the ill-gotten pelf. Often, they floated rumours of deals to save their party from disintegra- tion, he said, adding they were the elements whose time had run out. “The way they treated the country, the nation is not ready to par- don them,” he observed. The prime minister said a three-time prime minister, had been expressing his ignorance about the illegal accumulated wealth and the properties in UK worth bil- lion of rupees. Even his sons were declaring them- selves as citizens of UK to evade accountability, he added. The prime minister responding to another ques- tion, reiterated that Allah Almighty had bestowed upon him with everything. He had entered into poli- tics, some 25 years back. The party’s manifesto included the establishment of an Islamic welfare state. The framers of the coun- try’s constitution had inserted such ideology, he said, adding his whole life- long struggle hovered around the achievement of this objective. He emphasized that unless they move on that objective, they could not become a nation. The prime minister said from the day first, he had not promised to make Pakistan an Asian tiger or turn Lahore into a Singapore. The correction of mess and issues of the past seventy years would take time, he added. The prime minister ruled out any compromise with the corrupt leaders terming them as ‘the big dacoits of the country’. He said that they wanted to blackmail him. But he would not grant them any NRO of Musharraf who by striking a deal with these two families had done grave injustice with the nation, worse than his imposition of martial law. Due to such deal, the nation had to suffer. They now wanted to blackmail his government so that in the end, there could be a deal like Musharraf’s NRO, he said and compared such an act to committing the biggest treason with the country. Responding to another question, he said that he wanted the young people to keep in mind Hadiths about the rule of law and verses from the Holy Quran over PM: Meeting Shahbaz amounts to compromising over their crimes Turkey and US will hold talks on F-35 in late Jan. - early Feb. ANKARA (RIA Novosti): Ankara and Washington will negotiate the delivery of F-35 fighters in late January - early February in the United States, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said. The United States previ- ously sent an official notice to Turkey about its exclu- sion from the program for the supply of the latest F-35 fighters due to Ankara's purchase of Russian S-400 air defense systems. The US canceled the joint mem- orandum on the F-35 si- gned by Turkey in January 2007, signing it with the seven remaining partners in the F-35 project - the UK, Italy, the Netherlands, Australia, Denmark, Canada and Norway. The Turkish President said that the United States offered his country to buy F-16 fighters after it was exclud- ed from the F-35 supply program. "As for the F-35, we asked:" We made such a contribution, how will we compensate. Six F-35s des- tined for Turkey are in the hangar. It is being dis- cussed what will happen to them," Akar added. Nuclear aircraft carriers use in Japan and US joint drills TOKYO (TASS): A major joint exercise between the Japan Self-Defense Forces and the US Navy took place January 17-22 south of Okinawa. This was announced on Sunday by the Japan Self-Defense Forces. It is noted that 10 ships from the American side took part in the exercises, including the nuclear air- craft carriers Carl Vinson and Abraham Lincoln. The Japanese side was repre- sented by a Hyuga-class helicopter carrier. According to Japan 's NHK TV channel, the exer- cise was meant to highlight the cohesiveness of Japan and the United States in the region amid rising Chinese maritime activity. Armenian President quits YEREVAN (Agencies): Armenian President Armen Sarkissian resigned without completing his presidential term, the leader 's press service reported. According to him, the president cannot use most of his potential to solve systemic domestic and for- eign policy tasks. He believes that today's Armenia is a presidential republic in form, but not in content. “I thought for a long time and decided to leave the post of the President of the Republic after active work for about four years (the President of Armenia is elected by the parliament for a term of 7 years - Gazeta.Ru). This decision is not emotional at all, it follows a certain logic. The President does not have the necessary tools to influence the radical processes of domestic and foreign poli- cy in this difficult time for the country and the peo- ple... when national unity is needed, the institution of the president should not be the object of gossip and conspiracy theories, there- by diverting public atten- tion from the most impor- tant issues.,” Sargsyan said. He said that now the country needs meaningful, well-thought-out actions. “Otherwise, we, the Armenians of the whole world, will not achieve the goal of our mission, we will find ourselves on the side- lines of history. We no longer have the right to make mistakes!” Sargsyan said in a statement. The day before, Sargsyan expressed hope that Armenia and Azerbaijan would be able to establish a stable peace through compromises. Sargsyan took office as President of Armenia in the spring of 2018. Barry Brownstein W e are told that comparing cur- rent Covid poli- cies concerning the unva- ccinated to Nazi-era poli- cies is outrageous. We are told we are dishonoring the memory of the dead. No one should apologize for comparing Nazi policies with stigmatization of the unvaccinated today. Comparisons reveal mind- sets. If an alcoholic, Peter, said he has nothing to learn from Tom’s experience, since Tom drinks a quart of vodka a day and Peter drinks a pint, we would dis- agree. Peter may well learn from Tom even if the degree of Tom’s alcoholism is different. If Tom over- came his alcoholism, Tom might have a universal les- son to teach Peter. When we learn from a cautionary tale, it’s not because there are exact par- allels. We learn because we can conceptualize the prin- ciples the tale teaches. In the history of humani- ty, when there are parallels in the present to past terri- ble times, we honor the memory of those who suf- fered horrifically by learn- ing what brought forth their suffering. When we say “Never again” those words have meaning, not when we mindlessly call people Nazis or communists, but when we understand what generated the suffering of millions. In 2020, Auschwitz sur- vivor Marian Turski reminded his audience that the death camps were a cul- mination of a process that began with propaganda: But be careful, be care- ful, we are already begin- ning to become accustomed to thinking, that you can exclude someone, stigma- tize someone, alienate someone. And slowly, step by step, day by day, that’s how people gradually become familiar with these things. Both the victims and the perpetrators and the witnesses, those we call bystanders, begin to become accustomed to the thoughts and ideas, that this minority that produced Einstein, Nelly Sachs, Heinrich Heine and the Mendelssohns is different, that they can be expelled from society, that they are foreign people, that they are people who spread germs, diseases and epi- demics. That is terrible, and dangerous. That is the beginning of what can rap- idly develop. For his part, Turski pro- motes an 11th Commandment: “Thou shalt not be indifferent.” Today, we have the power to oppose; tomorrow we may not. There are universal les- sons to learn from relying on the right people to lead society; individuals are fal- lible and strict limits on power are always needed. There are universal les- sons when bureaucrats exercise power backed by the coercive force of gov- ernment: They may be unprepared, unresponsive, or incompetent at best and immoral and evil at worst. Politicians and bureau- crats are especially danger- ous when they believe they are anointed to coerce oth- ers. Followers who have not yet learned that power is dangerous may be sur- prised by the actions lead- ers take; next time they believe they will find better people to champion. Their next anointed champion is likely to fall short; the anointed are not incen- tivized to respect the auton- omy of ordinary people. In his book The Vision of the Anointed, Thomas Sowell warns, “What is sel- dom part of the vision of the anointed is a concept of ordinary people as autonomous decision mak- ers free to reject any vision and to seek their own well- being through whatever social processes they choose.” The anointed want unbridled power; they are certain they have the knowledge they need. Sowell explains, “The hall- mark of the vision of the anointed is that what the anointed consider lacking for the kind of social progress they envision is will and power, not knowl- edge.” Sowell adds, The real comparison, however, is not between the knowledge possessed by the average member of the educated elite versus the average member of the gen- eral public, but rather the total direct knowledge brought to bear through social processes (the com- petition of the marketplace, social sorting, etc.), involv- ing millions of people, ver- sus the secondhand knowl- edge of generalities pos- sessed by a smaller elite group. The anointed are sure that if problems remain, it is only because others obstruct them. Sowell explores the mindset of the anointed: The refrain of the anoint- ed is we already know the answers, there’s no need for more studies, and the kinds of questions raised by those with other views are just stalling and obstructing progress. “Solutions” are out there waiting to be found, like eggs at an Easter egg hunt. Intractable problems with painful trade-offs are simply not part of the vision of the anointed. Problems exist only because other people are not as wise or as caring, or not as imaginative and bold, as the anointed. Those who exercise power over us want to keep us in the dark, not learning history’s lessons. During Covid, Big Tech has ramped up censorship to levels that we would expect to see in totalitarian soci- eties. Lessons from history, consideration of alternative paradigms, and the works of great champions of liber- ty such as Sowell, Hayek, and Mises provide prover- bial light. Closed, the blackout cel- lular blinds in my bedroom screen out the light; opened, the light shines away the darkness. Remove any barrier keeping us in mental darkness and light will shine to take us in the right direction. Learning from the Passenger Urlrich Alexander Bosc- hwitz, born in Germany to a Jewish father and Prot- estant mother, escaped to Sweden in 1935. When he moved to England, Bosch- witz was classified as an “enemy alien” and interned in Australia. In 1942, Boschwitz, was allowed to return to England but died at sea after a torpedo attack by a German submarine. Recently rediscovered is Boschwitz’s 1938 literary masterpiece, The Passenger. Boschwitz tells the story of Otto Silbermann, set in 1938 in Germany, just after Kristallnacht. Silbermann, a fictitious Jewish business owner, is on the run from Nazi roundups. To elude capture, he takes a continu- ous series of train rides, from German city to city. One mistake, and he is doomed; yet Boschwitz’s protagonist can’t quite believe what has happened: “Who could have imagined anything like it? In the mid- dle of Europe, in the twen- tieth century!” “People don’t just go hauling off respectable citizens from their homes! They can’t do that!” The mindset Boschwitz reveals is instructive. If the hunted could not quite believe what was happen- ing, we can understand why ordinary Germans saw nothing to be concerned about. Today, fully vacci- nated Americans may not be concerned about upheaval in the daily lives of the unvaccinated. German propaganda turned reality on its head. A newspaper headline at a train station screamed at Silbermann, “Jews declare war on the German People.” Did ordinary Germans question such unbelievable news? Probably not. Today, do the vaccinated question the propaganda that the unvac- cinated are killing the vac- cinated? Silbermann tries to escape to Belgium and is quickly caught and sent back. He tries to rally him- self by thinking “Maybe things aren’t so bad.” His naïve faith in government is revealed when he reasons, “Even if [the Nazi govern- ment] is full of anti- Semites, it’s still the gov- ernment, and this [the beat- ings and roundups of Jews] is something they simply can’t allow.” He hopes, “Tomorrow the government might well declare it hap- pened without their knowl- edge.” More naivety is revealed. Sneaking back to his apartment to find his Aryan wife, Silbermann finds everything smashed. He picks up “sufficient evi- dence” of the deeds of the Nazi thugs, imagining he will get justice. He meets former busi- ness partners who are inca- pable of empathy and only want to take advantage of him. Reality sinks in as Silbermann realizes, ‘’I should finally acknowledge the reality of the situation: things are going to get worse—much, much worse!” Poignantly Silbermann asks himself if his “opti- mism was nothing but cow- ardice.” From his time on the front lines of World War I, Silbermann has fond mem- ories. Things were unpleas- ant, “but we were soldiers. Soldiers among soldiers. And now we are filthy Jews and the others are Aryans!” Today, professionals fired over their personal medical decisions would echo Silbermann’s plaintiff cry: “My character and my qualities are entirely unim- portant. The headline [that I am Jewish/ that I am not vaccinated] decides. The content doesn’t matter.” In our optimism we believe that somehow things will get magically better. Is our optimism a cover for cowardice? There was little Silbermann could have done to escape his fate. Our job in opposing tyranny is exponentially easier, as Charles Eisenstein points out: Those pushing a techno- medical-totalitarian pro- gram are nowhere near to consolidating power to the extent of the Soviet Communists, the slave- owning class, the Nazi Party, or the medieval Catholic Church. Similar forces are at work—dehu- manization, scapegoating, ideologies of control—but there is still time to turn the tide. Vocal dissent does not mean certain death. Today, vocal dissent doesn’t mean death, but many people self-censor as if it does. Eisenstein writes, Another thing I’ve been hearing a lot of recently is that “Covid tyranny is bound to end soon, because people just aren’t going to From darkness to light Continued on B. Page Continued on B. Page
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Vol. XXXIX No. 08 Regd. No. 241 JAMADI-us-SANNI 20 1443 -- MONDAY, JANUARY 24 2022 PESHAWAR EDITION 12 PAGES Price. 20
www.thefrontierpost.com
Taliban, civil societyOSLO (AFP): The Taliban delega-tion began talks focused on humanrights with Afghan civil societymembers in Oslo on Sunday,ahead of highly anticipated meet-ings with Western officials.The discussions, which are beingfacilitated by Norway and are tofocus on human rights and the hu-manitarian crisis in Afghanistan.
U.S. Navy claimsDUBAI (TASS): The US Navyhas stopped a ship leaving Iran inthe Arabian Sea, which they saywas carrying cargo destined forsupporters of Houthis. This wasreported on Sunday by Al-HadathTV channel. The ship detained bythe US Navy is 40 tons of fertiliz-er, which can be used as explo-sives.
@thefrontierpost First national English daily published from Peshawar, Islamabad, Lahore, Quetta, Karachi and Washington D.C
Khaleeq Nazar Kiani
Corruption inBalochistan may bereached to that
level where general peo-ple are not ready to acceptit anymore and openlydisplaying their discon-tent, anger in a veryunique way. A few daysback residents ofGawader started a contri-bution campaign for theMinister of fisheriesBalochistan. It was a gen-tle and unique way ofprotest exposing the ram-pant corruption of theruling elite class.
Gawader KO Haq Do(Give the right to Gawader)was an unprecedented threeweeks long agitation move-ment in the history ofGawader. To keep aside thepolitical affiliation almostevery family of Gawadernot only supported butactively participated in it. Itshould be a warning signfor the rulers who oftengive sermons on the benefitof CPEC for Balochistan.To date, CPEC may be agame-changer or beneficialfor Pakistan but not so forBalochistan. The residentsof CPEC's center of gravityGawader are still strugglingto save their only big
source of livelihood, thefish catching which isunder threat due to thetrawler mafia. Modernemployment opportunitiesare still a dream for them.
Professional investors a-re very smart and always dotheir risk management bef-ore taking any decision ofinvestment. They analyzethe situation for a good ret-urn on their investment. G-wadar Free Zone fails to at-tract investors despite goodincentives this is what wastold by the Board of invest-ment to the Prime Minister.But surely he may have notbeen informed about thepoor infrastructure, lack ofsustainable power andwater supply, most impor-tantly the poor law andorder situation despite adedicated task force.
Gawader port was inau-gurated in 2007 but stillstruggling to find businessdespite the change of portoperator and billions of dol-lars borrowed moneyinvestment. Now the ques-tion on the viability ofGawader as a deep seaportis pertinent and valid. In thecurrent year Federal PSDPa project is reflected underthe title "Studies on MakingGwadar Port MoreCompetitive (SB)" with an
allocated amount of 295million. This study shouldhave been part of the feasi-bility of Gawader port orhave been done before adecision to accept the offerof China for its construc-tion in 1999. Still expend-ing billions without know-ing its future.
In 1994 Governmentfloated a policy package todevelop the Gwadar deepseaport on a BOT basis butno response was receivedfrom any foreign investors.Had any decision-makerthought about the lacklusterresponse of the investors atthat time?
There are doubts aboutthe full function of the portwith its maximum capacityin the near future. Maybe inthe next few years, a pip-eline from Rikodiq to trans-port slurry or a pipeline totransport petroleum prod-ucts generate some busi-ness but that will not beenough. Saudi Arabia isalso not interested to buildan oil refinery at Gwadarwhich was planned in 2017.
The argument of theBabus in Islamabad is thatthe Chinese must have donetheir homework beforeinvesting. Surly China doesbut for the next 50 or 100years not as per the expec-
tation of Pakistan. The firstpriority of China is todevelop its western regionwhich has 1/3 of the coun-try's population and 70%land but is much poor andunderdeveloped than itseastern region. All thedevelopment and wealth isconcentrated in its easternregion. China and Pakistanhave similarities in thesense that on both sides, thewestern regions are poorand have no developedinfrastructure. China is car-rying out a big infrastruc-ture development programin the western region andannounced incentives byreducing the tax from 25%to 15% for the local andforeign investors to estab-lish their businesses there.Once western China is fullydeveloped then transportlinkages will be developedwith Gwader port and thisis not going to happen in 10to 20 years. It will take ageneration or more.
However, the specula-tive real estate business isthriving and every big gunin the country has takenbenefit from it. The realestate business in theGwader is like a Ponzischeme that gives the divi-dend to its initial investorsand ruins the last one.
The bitter truthabout Gawader
TEHRAN (TASS): Tehranregained its right to vote inthe UN, having paid thedebt on contributions to theorganization using frozenassets in South Koreanbanks. This was reported onSunday by the ISNA age-ncy, citing Iranian Perm-anent Representative to theUN Majid Takht-Ravanchi.
The right to vote in theUN should return to Iranfrom Monday.
Bloomberg also reportedthat South Korea paid off
Iran's debt of $18 millionfrom assets blocked at therequest of US. The paymentwas ma-de on Fridaythrough the m-ediation ofthe American side.
"The [South] Koreangovernment has completedthe payment of Iran's con-tribution to the UN in theamount of $18 million <...>of Iranian funds, withactive cooperation with rel-evant organizations such asthe US Department of theTreasury and the UN
Secretariat," the text on thewebsite of the SouthKorean Ministry ofPlanning and finance.
According to the report,on January 13, the Iraniangovernment asked the lead-ership of South Korea topay the contribution of theIslamic republic to the UNfrom the frozen assets inorder to avoid losing theright to vote in the GeneralAssembly due to debt.January 21 payment wasmade.
On January 12, the dele-gations of Venezuela, Iran,Sudan and a number ofother countries temporarilylost their right to vote in theUN General Assembly dueto arrears in contributions.In the text of the letter ofthe Secretary General of theworld organization AntónioGuterres addressed to theChairman of the 76th ses-sion of the General Assem-bly, Abdullah Shahid, thereare 11 states that havedebts.
Iran regains UN voting rights bypaying a fee from its assets in Seoul
ISLAMABAD (APP):Prime Minister Imran KhanSunday categorically saidthat he would not meetOpposition Leader in theNational AssemblyMuhammad ShahbazSharif, because it wouldamount to compromisingover Sharif family’s crimes.
During the fifth sessionof live “Aap Ka WazirAzam Aap Key Sath’ pro-gramme, the prime ministersaid that he would not giveSharif’s family any NRObecause doing so would behuge treason with the coun-try.
The prime minister saidthat he did not consider(Shabaz Sharif) as an oppo-sition leader rather he treat-ed him as man who hadcommitted serious crimesagainst the nation andcountry.
Responding to a query,the prime minister said anopposition leader had astature but in the instantcase, Shahbaz Sharif wasdelivering lengthy speechesin the parliament withoutcaring to give reply to anumber of graft and corrup-tion cases pending with thecourts.
He did not want torespond to Ramzan sugarmills case, transferring ofRs3.7 billion in the accountof a peon Maqsood andRs16 billion in the accountsof other servants. Theywere accounted for Rs8 bil-lion cases pending withNAB, he added.
The prime minister saidthat Sharif family shouldtake some pity on thiscountry. Expressing hiswonder, he said by usingdelaying tactics in thecourts, what kind of servicethey were rendering to thedemocracy and settingexample for a civilizedsociety!
“If I meet him, it willamount to acceptance oftheir wrongdoings (corrup-tion) as no longer a punish-able crime in a civilizedsociety,” he stressed.
The prime minister said
that he wanted the nation toimbibe the basic principlestaught by the Holy Prophet(Peace Be Upon Him)regarding rule of law andequal treatment of all seg-ments of society.
He stressed that as fol-lowers of the Holy Prophet(PBUH), the nation shouldfollow those principles.
He regretted that differ-ent trends had been set inthe society for the powerfuland the weak. The ordinarycriminals had been lan-guishing in the jails and thepowerful elite was residingoutside the country. Thosecriminals had been show-ered with flower petals.
If such were the stan-dards in society, then set thejails open for the ordinarycriminals, he said, addingthat he was ready to talk toeveryone including TLPand Balochs, but would nottalk to such elements whohad siphoned off the coun-try’s wealth, the prime min-ister elaborated.
He said according to theWorld Bank rule of lawindex, Switzerland toppedthe list with 100 percentscore. In Singapore, a min-ister committed suicide dueto his corruption and in theUS a powerful family alsofollowed the same course toavoid public shame.
“Unless we follow thepath of our Holy Prophet(PBUH), we cannot aspireto get prosperity,” he said,adding (Imran Khan) hadno magic wand to set thewrong things right. Theprime minister opined thata society had to fight suchcrimes and trends.
To another question, heinvited the former primeminister Nawaz Sharif toreturn back and face thecriminal cases. “I am wait-ing for your return toPakistan, please returnback,” he added.
About the Oppositionparties’ proposed march,the prime minister said thepublic would not come outon the streets to save cor-ruption of former rulers.
He said the public hadcome out on the streets tosupport two leaders in thecountry, one Zulfikar AliBhutto and then came outto support him in his cam-paign against corruption.
The prime minister saidnot a single party in thecountry ever brought sup-porters in huge numbers toMinar-e-Pakistan, and itwas the PTI that did it byfour times.
He said the corrupt juntacould not befool the publicanymore. Though there wasan issue of price hike butthe public would not comeout on the streets as theyunderstood two families’theft and corruption.
The prime minister fur-ther said that his partywould complete its currentterm in power and wouldalso return to governmentin the next term, owing totackling of historic andhuge economic challengesfaced by any past govern-ment in the country’s histo-ry.
He also warned theopposition parties that hewould become more dan-gerous in case he did notremain in power. “You willnot find any place to hide.Whatever you have donewith the country, the peopleknew it very well, the vol-cano is brewing. They willflee the country and hide inLondon,” he added.
Referring to NawazSharif, the prime ministersaid he would not returnback to Pakistan out of hislove for the ill-gotten pelf.
Often, they floatedrumours of deals to savetheir party from disintegra-tion, he said, adding theywere the elements whosetime had run out. “The waythey treated the country, thenation is not ready to par-don them,” he observed.
The prime minister saida three-time prime minister,had been expressing hisignorance about the illegalaccumulated wealth and theproperties in UK worth bil-lion of rupees. Even his
sons were declaring them-selves as citizens of UK toevade accountability, headded.
The prime ministerresponding to another ques-tion, reiterated that AllahAlmighty had bestowedupon him with everything.He had entered into poli-tics, some 25 years back.The party’s manifestoincluded the establishmentof an Islamic welfare state.
The framers of the coun-try’s constitution hadinserted such ideology, hesaid, adding his whole life-long struggle hoveredaround the achievement ofthis objective.
He emphasized thatunless they move on thatobjective, they could notbecome a nation.
The prime minister saidfrom the day first, he hadnot promised to makePakistan an Asian tiger orturn Lahore into aSingapore. The correctionof mess and issues of thepast seventy years wouldtake time, he added.
The prime minister ruledout any compromise withthe corrupt leaders termingthem as ‘the big dacoits ofthe country’.
He said that they wantedto blackmail him. But hewould not grant them anyNRO of Musharraf who bystriking a deal with thesetwo families had donegrave injustice with thenation, worse than hisimposition of martial law.
Due to such deal, thenation had to suffer. Theynow wanted to blackmailhis government so that inthe end, there could be adeal like Musharraf’s NRO,he said and compared suchan act to committing thebiggest treason with thecountry.
Responding to anotherquestion, he said that hewanted the young people tokeep in mind Hadiths aboutthe rule of law and versesfrom the Holy Quran over
PM: Meeting Shahbaz amounts tocompromising over their crimes
Turkey andUS will holdtalks on F-35in late Jan. -early Feb.
ANKARA (RIA Novosti):Ankara and Washingtonwill negotiate the deliveryof F-35 fighters in lateJanuary - early February inthe United States, TurkishDefense Minister HulusiAkar said.
The United States previ-ously sent an official noticeto Turkey about its exclu-sion from the program forthe supply of the latest F-35fighters due to Ankara'spurchase of Russian S-400air defense systems. TheUS canceled the joint mem-orandum on the F-35 si-gned by Turkey in January2007, signing it with theseven remaining partners inthe F-35 project - the UK,Italy, the Netherlands,Australia, Denmark,Canada and Norway. TheTurkish President said thatthe United States offeredhis country to buy F-16fighters after it was exclud-ed from the F-35 supplyprogram.
"As for the F-35, weasked:" We made such acontribution, how will wecompensate. Six F-35s des-tined for Turkey are in thehangar. It is being dis-cussed what will happen tothem," Akar added.
Nuclearaircraft
carriers use inJapan and
US joint drillsTOKYO (TASS): A majorjoint exercise between theJapan Self-Defense Forcesand the US Navy tookplace January 17-22 southof Okinawa. This wasannounced on Sunday bythe Japan Self-DefenseForces.
It is noted that 10 shipsfrom the American sidetook part in the exercises,including the nuclear air-craft carriers Carl Vinsonand Abraham Lincoln. TheJapanese side was repre-sented by a Hyuga-classhelicopter carrier.
According to Japan 'sNHK TV channel, the exer-cise was meant to highlightthe cohesiveness of Japanand the United States in theregion amid rising Chinesemaritime activity.
ArmenianPresident quitsYEREVAN (Agencies):Armenian President ArmenSarkissian resigned withoutcompleting his presidentialterm, the leader 's pressservice reported.
According to him, thepresident cannot use mostof his potential to solvesystemic domestic and for-eign policy tasks. Hebelieves that today'sArmenia is a presidentialrepublic in form, but not incontent.
“I thought for a longtime and decided to leavethe post of the President ofthe Republic after activework for about four years(the President of Armeniais elected by the parliamentfor a term of 7 years -Gazeta.Ru). This decisionis not emotional at all, itfollows a certain logic. ThePresident does not have thenecessary tools to influencethe radical processes ofdomestic and foreign poli-cy in this difficult time forthe country and the peo-ple... when national unity isneeded, the institution ofthe president should not bethe object of gossip andconspiracy theories, there-by diverting public atten-tion from the most impor-tant issues.,” Sargsyan said.
He said that now thecountry needs meaningful,well-thought-out actions.“Otherwise, we, theArmenians of the wholeworld, will not achieve thegoal of our mission, we willfind ourselves on the side-lines of history. We nolonger have the right tomake mistakes!” Sargsyansaid in a statement.
The day before,Sargsyan expressed hopethat Armenia andAzerbaijan would be ableto establish a stable peacethrough compromises.
Sargsyan took office asPresident of Armenia in thespring of 2018.
Barry Brownstein
We are told thatcomparing cur-rent Covid poli-
cies concerning the unva-ccinated to Nazi-era poli-cies is outrageous. We aretold we are dishonoringthe memory of the dead.
No one should apologizefor comparing Nazi policieswith stigmatization of theunvaccinated today.Comparisons reveal mind-sets. If an alcoholic, Peter,said he has nothing to learnfrom Tom’s experience,since Tom drinks a quart ofvodka a day and Peterdrinks a pint, we would dis-agree. Peter may well learnfrom Tom even if thedegree of Tom’s alcoholismis different. If Tom over-came his alcoholism, Tommight have a universal les-son to teach Peter.
When we learn from acautionary tale, it’s notbecause there are exact par-allels. We learn because wecan conceptualize the prin-ciples the tale teaches.
In the history of humani-ty, when there are parallelsin the present to past terri-ble times, we honor thememory of those who suf-fered horrifically by learn-ing what brought forth theirsuffering. When we say“Never again” those wordshave meaning, not when wemindlessly call peopleNazis or communists, butwhen we understand whatgenerated the suffering ofmillions.
In 2020, Auschwitz sur-vivor Marian Turskireminded his audience thatthe death camps were a cul-mination of a process thatbegan with propaganda:
But be careful, be care-ful, we are already begin-ning to become accustomedto thinking, that you canexclude someone, stigma-tize someone, alienatesomeone. And slowly, stepby step, day by day, that’show people graduallybecome familiar with thesethings. Both the victimsand the perpetrators and thewitnesses, those we callbystanders, begin tobecome accustomed to thethoughts and ideas, that thisminority that producedEinstein, Nelly Sachs,Heinrich Heine and theMendelssohns is different,that they can be expelledfrom society, that they areforeign people, that theyare people who spreadgerms, diseases and epi-demics. That is terrible, anddangerous. That is thebeginning of what can rap-idly develop.
For his part, Turski pro-motes an 11thCommandment: “Thoushalt not be indifferent.”Today, we have the powerto oppose; tomorrow wemay not.
There are universal les-sons to learn from relyingon the right people to leadsociety; individuals are fal-lible and strict limits onpower are always needed.
There are universal les-sons when bureaucratsexercise power backed bythe coercive force of gov-ernment: They may beunprepared, unresponsive,or incompetent at best andimmoral and evil at worst.
Politicians and bureau-crats are especially danger-ous when they believe theyare anointed to coerce oth-ers. Followers who havenot yet learned that poweris dangerous may be sur-prised by the actions lead-ers take; next time theybelieve they will find betterpeople to champion. Theirnext anointed champion islikely to fall short; theanointed are not incen-tivized to respect the auton-omy of ordinary people.
In his book The Visionof the Anointed, ThomasSowell warns, “What is sel-dom part of the vision ofthe anointed is a concept of
ordinary people asautonomous decision mak-ers free to reject any visionand to seek their own well-being through whateversocial processes theychoose.”
The anointed wantunbridled power; they arecertain they have theknowledge they need.Sowell explains, “The hall-mark of the vision of theanointed is that what theanointed consider lackingfor the kind of socialprogress they envision iswill and power, not knowl-edge.” Sowell adds,
The real comparison,however, is not between theknowledge possessed bythe average member of theeducated elite versus theaverage member of the gen-eral public, but rather thetotal direct knowledgebrought to bear throughsocial processes (the com-petition of the marketplace,social sorting, etc.), involv-ing millions of people, ver-sus the secondhand knowl-edge of generalities pos-sessed by a smaller elitegroup.
The anointed are surethat if problems remain, itis only because othersobstruct them. Sowellexplores the mindset of theanointed:
The refrain of the anoint-ed is we already know theanswers, there’s no need formore studies, and the kindsof questions raised by thosewith other views are juststalling and obstructingprogress. “Solutions” areout there waiting to befound, like eggs at anEaster egg hunt. Intractableproblems with painfultrade-offs are simply notpart of the vision of theanointed. Problems existonly because other peopleare not as wise or as caring,or not as imaginative andbold, as the anointed.
Those who exercisepower over us want to keepus in the dark, not learninghistory’s lessons. DuringCovid, Big Tech hasramped up censorship tolevels that we would expectto see in totalitarian soci-eties. Lessons from history,consideration of alternativeparadigms, and the worksof great champions of liber-ty such as Sowell, Hayek,and Mises provide prover-bial light.
Closed, the blackout cel-lular blinds in my bedroomscreen out the light;opened, the light shinesaway the darkness. Removeany barrier keeping us inmental darkness and lightwill shine to take us in theright direction.
Learning from thePassenger
Urlrich Alexander Bosc-hwitz, born in Germany toa Jewish father and Prot-estant mother, escaped toSweden in 1935. When hemoved to England, Bosch-witz was classified as an“enemy alien” and internedin Australia. In 1942,Boschwitz, was allowed toreturn to England but diedat sea after a torpedo attackby a German submarine.Recently rediscovered isBoschwitz’s 1938 literarymasterpiece, ThePassenger.
Boschwitz tells the storyof Otto Silbermann, set in1938 in Germany, just afterKristallnacht. Silbermann,a fictitious Jewish businessowner, is on the run fromNazi roundups. To eludecapture, he takes a continu-ous series of train rides,from German city to city.One mistake, and he isdoomed; yet Boschwitz’sprotagonist can’t quitebelieve what has happened:“Who could have imaginedanything like it? In the mid-dle of Europe, in the twen-tieth century!” “Peopledon’t just go hauling offrespectable citizens fromtheir homes! They can’t dothat!”
The mindset Boschwitzreveals is instructive. If thehunted could not quitebelieve what was happen-ing, we can understand whyordinary Germans sawnothing to be concernedabout. Today, fully vacci-nated Americans may notbe concerned aboutupheaval in the daily livesof the unvaccinated.
German propagandaturned reality on its head. Anewspaper headline at atrain station screamed atSilbermann, “Jews declarewar on the GermanPeople.” Did ordinaryGermans question suchunbelievable news?Probably not. Today, do thevaccinated question thepropaganda that the unvac-cinated are killing the vac-cinated?
Silbermann tries toescape to Belgium and isquickly caught and sentback. He tries to rally him-self by thinking “Maybethings aren’t so bad.” Hisnaïve faith in government isrevealed when he reasons,“Even if [the Nazi govern-ment] is full of anti-Semites, it’s still the gov-ernment, and this [the beat-ings and roundups of Jews]is something they simplycan’t allow.” He hopes,“Tomorrow the governmentmight well declare it hap-pened without their knowl-edge.”
More naivety isrevealed. Sneaking back tohis apartment to find hisAryan wife, Silbermannfinds everything smashed.He picks up “sufficient evi-dence” of the deeds of theNazi thugs, imagining hewill get justice.
He meets former busi-ness partners who are inca-pable of empathy and onlywant to take advantage ofhim.
Reality sinks in asSilbermann realizes, ‘’Ishould finally acknowledgethe reality of the situation:things are going to getworse—much, muchworse!”
Poignantly Silbermannasks himself if his “opti-mism was nothing but cow-ardice.”
From his time on thefront lines of World War I,Silbermann has fond mem-ories. Things were unpleas-ant, “but we were soldiers.Soldiers among soldiers.And now we are filthy Jewsand the others are Aryans!”
Today, professionalsfired over their personalmedical decisions wouldecho Silbermann’s plaintiffcry: “My character and myqualities are entirely unim-portant. The headline [that Iam Jewish/ that I am notvaccinated] decides. Thecontent doesn’t matter.”
In our optimism webelieve that somehowthings will get magicallybetter. Is our optimism acover for cowardice?
There was littleSilbermann could havedone to escape his fate. Ourjob in opposing tyranny isexponentially easier, asCharles Eisenstein pointsout:
Those pushing a techno-medical-totalitarian pro-gram are nowhere near toconsolidating power to theextent of the SovietCommunists, the slave-owning class, the NaziParty, or the medievalCatholic Church. Similarforces are at work—dehu-manization, scapegoating,ideologies of control—butthere is still time to turn thetide. Vocal dissent does notmean certain death.
Today, vocal dissentdoesn’t mean death, butmany people self-censor asif it does. Eisenstein writes,
Another thing I’ve beenhearing a lot of recently isthat “Covid tyranny isbound to end soon, becausepeople just aren’t going to
From darkness to light
Continued on B. PageContinued on B. Page
Moday, January 24, 2022 The Frontier Post
LAHORE (APP): SpecialAssistant to PrimeMinister on ReligiousAffairs, Hafiz MuhammadTahir Mehmood Ashrafisaid on Sunday thatPakistan was progressingeconomically and the peo-ple would re-elect PrimeMinister Imran Khan innext general elections dueto his prudent policies.
Addressing the Fazayele Abubakar Siddique (RA)conference here atMuttahida Ulema BoardPunjab Office, he said thatprogress in agriculturesector was evident of thegovernment policies.
Ashrafi said the govern-ment was well-aware ofthe problems of salariedclass people in the prevail-ing circumstances, howev-er efforts were being madeto bring down inflation.
He said that ImranKhan was not going any-where. He said thatcaliphate system(Khilafat-e- Rashida) wasa system of mutual consul-tation.
He said that Pakistan'ssystem was already basedon mutual consultationand decisions were madeafter mutual discussions,adding that everyone had
to play a role for makingthe country, Madina likestate in the real sense.
Ashrafi said thatPegham-e-Pakistan wasthe document which wassigned by a majority fromall religious schools ofthought, adding thateveryone should follow it.
Some forces wanted tocreate unrest in the coun-try on the name of reli-gion, however, securityinstitutions of the countrywere aware of nefariousdesigns of such elements,he added. Several otherscholars also addressed theconference.
LAHORE (NNI): Leader ofthe Opposition in theNational Assembly andPakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) PresidentShehbaz Sharif on Sundayexpressed grave concernover the acute shortage ofurea fertilizer in the country.
In a statement, he saidhow tragic it was that thePakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf(PTI) government was act-ing like a mute spectator tothe ordeal of farmers whowere running from pillar tothe post in search of urea.
“The commodity isbeing smuggled and sold atexorbitant rates and thefarmers are protesting, but
the government has notmoved even by an inch,”Shehbaz said, alleging thattruth of the matter was thatall this was the result ofgovernment’s incompe-tence and corruption.
Calling for an end to theexploitation of farmers,PML-N president said thatformer prime minister andPML-N supremo NawazSharif had announced whathe claimed a ‘historic’package for the country’sfarmers in 2015 underwhich they were compen-sated for the losses theysuffered in floods.
He questioned if urea’sprices were high globally,
then why did not the gov-ernment take steps to con-trol its smuggling? “Theshortage of urea will lead toless agricultural productivi-ty,” he expressed the fear.
Shehbaz regretted thatthe country which used toexport wheat and sugar wasnow importing the samecommodities. He went onto say that the country hadrecord cotton production ofover 10 million bales in2015-16 when last time thePML-N was in power.
“While the figures ofcotton production beinggiven by the present gov-ernment are all fudged,”PML-N president claimed.
Pakistan progressingeconomically: Ashrafi
LAHORE (INP): SpeakerPunjab AssemblyChaudhry Parvez Elahi hassaid that Pakistanis livingabroad are our asset, it isimportant to ensure protec-tion of their rights andproperty at all costs. Hesaid, we cannot forget theirservices for strengtheningthe national economy.
This was stated by himwhile talking to PML-USPresident Mian ZakirNaseem, General SecretaryChaudhry Tanveer andSenior Leader ChaudhryIdrees Arif who called onhim in the Speaker'sChamber on Sunday.
The problems ofPakistanis living abroadand issues of mutual inter-est were discussed on the
occasion.Chaudhry Parvez Elahi
said that Pakistan MuslimLeague along with the gov-ernment has enacted legis-lation for overseasPakistanis and has playedits responsible role in facil-itating the voting processof millions of Pakistanis.We will formulate a com-prehensive policy to solvethe problems of overseasPakistanis, he added.
Appreciating the servic-es rendered to the party byPML-US President MianZakir Naseem at home andabroad, the Speaker PunjabAssembly said that theparty's position was furtherstrengthened by the succes-sive meetings of PML inthe USA; his valuable serv-
ices to the Pakistani com-munity in USA cannot beforgotten.
Mian Zakir Naseem saidthat PML has done anunprecedented job foroverseas Pakistanis in itstime. Ch Shujat Hussain asthe Prime Minister orderedrepatriation of dead bodiesof Overseas Pakistanis freeand fixing Rs 50 thousandfor burial solved our verymajor problem.
Mian Zakir Naseem, ChTanveer and Ch Idreescongratulated Speaker ChParvez Elahi on comple-tion of new building andhouse of PunjabAssembly. The delegationalso visited the new build-ing of the PunjabAssembly and the House.
Protection of property ofoverseas Pakistanis mustbe ensured: Parvez Elahi
ISLAMABAD (APP):Mainly cold and dry weath-er is expected in most partsof the country, according tothe Pakistan MeteorologicalDepartment (PMD).
However, more rain withsnow over the hills isexpected in upper KhyberPakhtunkhwa, northeastPunjab, Gilgit Baltistan,Kashmir and its adjoininghilly areas.
Dense fog is likely toprevail in upper Sindh,plain areas of Punjab andKhyber Pakhtunkhwa dur-ing morning/night.
According to the synop-tic situation, the westerlyweather system is affectingupper parts of the countryand may persist tillMonday (morning). Duringthe last 24 hours, rain wind-thunderstorm with snowfallover the hills occurred inKhyber Pakhtunkhwa,Punjab, Islamabad,Kashmir, north Balochistanand Gilgit Baltistan.
The rainfall recordedduring the last 24 hours wasPunjab: Gujranwala 55mm, Mandi Bahauddin,Murree 48, Narowal 44,Sialkot (Airport 42, City18), Mangla 51, Jhelum 35,Hafizabad 32, Lahore (City30, Airport 26), Gujrat 28,Chakwal 25, Islamabad(Airport 24, Bokra 22,
Golra 21, Zeropoint 18) ,Saidpur 15), Sargodha 22,Rawalpindi (Chaklala 29,Shamsabad 21), Joharabad19, Attock 15, Kasur,Sahiwal 10, Nurpurthal 09,Faisalabad, Okara 06, TobaTek Singh 05, Jhang 03,Multan, Dera Ghazi Khan,Bhakkar, Kot Addu 01,Khyber Pakhtunkhwa:Malam Jabba 46, ChIrat 41,Parachinar 20, Kakul 14,Dir (Upper 14, Lower 08),Saidu Sharif 13, Balakot12, DI Khan 08, Peshawar07, Takht Bai 06, Bannu,Mardan 05, Patan, Kalam01, Kashmir: Muzaffarabad(City 47, Airport 37) ,Garhi Dupatta 32, Kotli 30,Rawalkot 23, Balochistan:Kalat 20, Gilgit Baltistan:Skardu and Astore 02mm.
The snowfall recordedwas Murree 26 inches,Malam Jabba 22.0,Rawalkot 3.4, Kalat,Skardu, 2.4 Parachinar,Astor 1.0 and 0.5 in Kalam.
The lowest minimumtemperatures recorded dur-ing the period were Leh,Kalat -09 C, Gupis -07,Parachinar -06, Kalam,Quetta -05, Skardu, Astore,Bagrote -04, Dalbandin,Malam Jabba, Hunza -03Murree, Zhob, Rawalakot -02, Cherat, Nokkundi,Baramulla, Shopian andAnantnag -01 C.
More rain likelyin upper KP,
northeast Punjab,GB, Kashmir
LAHORE (APP): As manyas 1988 new cases of coro-na virus were reported onSunday whereas 5 personslost their lives due to thepandemic during the last 24hours.
According to the datashared by the spokespersonof Punjab Primary andSecondary HealthcareDepartment (P&SHD), thenumber of corona viruscases in the provincereached to 462,369 whiletotal number of deathsrecorded 13,102 so far.
The P&SHD confirmedthe maximum number of
corona virus cases werereported in Lahore with1323 cases while 4 caseswas diagnosed with thevirus in Attock,1 inBahawalnagar, 21 inBahawalpur, 7 in Chakwal,1 in Chineot, 6 in DeraGhazi Khan, 83 inFaisalabad, 22 inGujranwala, 9 in Gujrat, 3in Hafizabad, 1 in Jhang, 4in Jhelum, 10 in Kasur, 1 inKhanewal, 3 in Khoshab, 2in Layyah, 6 in MandiBahauddin,1 in Mianwali,32 in Multan, 1 inMuzaffargarh, 1 inNankana Sahib, 2 in
Narowal, 6 in Okara, 3 inRajanpur, 347 inRawalpindi, 27 inRahimyar Khan,16 inSahiwal,13 in Sargodha,17in Sheikhupura, 2 in TobaTek Singh, 2 in Vehari and11 new cases of COVID-19were reported in Sialkotdistrict during the last 24hours till filing of thisnews.
The Punjab healthdepartment conducted9,363,703 tests forCOVID-19 so far while431,895 confirmed casesrecovered altogether in theprovince.
KARACHI (APP): Asmany as 3 more patients ofcoronavirus died overnightlifting the death toll to7,741 and 3,108 new casesemerged when 16,469 testswere conducted.
This was stated bySindh Chief Minister SyedMurad Ali Shah in a state-ment issued here onSunday.
He said that 3 morepatients of COVID-19 losttheir lives lifting the deathtoll to 7,741 that constitut-ed 1.5 percent death rate.
Syed Murad Ali ShahShah said that 16,469 sam-ples were tested whichdetected 3,108 cases thatconstituted 18.9 percentcurrent detection rate. Headded that so far 7,467,836
tests have been conductedagainst which 524,797cases were diagnosed, ofthem 90.5 percent or474,819 patients haverecovered, including 464overnight.
The CM said that cur-rently 42,237 patientswere under treatment; ofthem 41,775 were in homeisolation, 30 at isolationcenters and 432 at differ-ent hospitals. He said thatthe condition of 368patients was stated to becritical, including 23 shift-ed to ventilators.
Out of 3,108 new cases2,480 have been detectedfrom Karachi. Accordingto district wise statistics811 South Karachi, EastKarachi 704, Central
Karachi 448, Hyderabad258, Korangi 242, Malir155, West Karachi 120,Kashmore 28, Sanghar 27,Sujawal and TandoMohammad Khan 25 each,Badin 24, Ghotki 23,Sukkur 20, Tharparkar 17,Thatto and Mirpurkhas 16each, Nawabshah andDadu 14 each, Matiari 12,Jamshoro and TandoAllahyar 10 each, Umarkor9, Larkano, Shikarpur andJacobabad 8 each,Khairpur and NoushehroFeroz 2 each new covidcases reported.
In the last 24 hours,196,536 Covid-19 vac-cines have been given,while 33,311,997 or 60.07percent vaccines have beeninoculated till January 23.
KARACHI (APP): SpecialAssistant to ChiefMinister (SACM) Sindhon Empowerment ofPersons with DisabilitiesSadiq Ali Memon onSunday visited RescueCenter Keti Bandar.
According to a commu-niqué here, DeputyCommissioner ThattaGhazanfar Ali Qadri gavea briefing to Sadiq AliMemon regarding the
ongoing rescue operationto search for the missingfishermen.
The SACM wasinformed that two bodies ofthe missing fishermen wererecovered while the searchfor the rest was continue.
Officers of the localadministration were alsopresent on occasion.Expressing satisfactionover the ongoing rescueoperation to find the miss-
ing fishermen, Sadiq AliMemon directed the offi-cers to use all possiblemeans to find the missingfishermen.
He on the occasion alsoextended his heartfelt con-dolences to the bereavedfamilies. He said that in thishour of grief and hardship,the government of Sindhwas with the fishermen andall possible steps werebeing taken to find them.
1988 new coronapositive cases
reported in Punjabon Sunday
KARACHI: A fisherman being rescued during Search and Rescue Operation conducted by PN andPMSA at Keti Bandar.—NNI Photo
KARACHI: Police personnel stand alert in Karimabad market after Sindh government imposedsmart lock down due to increase in COVID-19 cases. ––INP Photo
3 deaths reported inSindh due to Covid-19
3 deadin 475 roadaccidents
LAHORE (APP): At leastthree people were killedand 505 injured in 475road accidents in all 36districts of Punjab duringthe last 24 hours.
Of whom, 279 peoplewere seriously injuredwho were shifted to dif-ferent hospitals, whereas,223 victims with minorinjuries were treated at theincident site by rescuemedical teams. Analysisshowed that 232 drivers,24 underage drivers, 57pedestrians, and 216 pas-sengers were among thevictims of road crashes.
Statistics show that 95road accidents werereported in Lahore whichaffected 93 people placingthe provincial capital attop of the list followed by29 in Faisalabad with 31victims and at thirdMultan with 54 road acci-dents and 57 victims.
According to the data,382 motorbikes, 71 auto-rickshaws, 71 motorcars,17vans, 6 passengerbuses, 17 trucks and 56other types of auto vehi-cles and slow-movingcarts were involved in theroad accidents.
3 injured asroof of house
caved inLAHORE (APP): A womanand her two children wereinjured in a roof collapseincident at Mian MirColony, here on Sunday.
Police said that threefamily members, includinga woman, and her two chil-dren were sleeping in thehouse when suddenly itsroof made of T-Iron cavedin. Resultantly they cameunder the debris.
Reportedly, the volun-teers of Rescue-1122rushed to the spot andpulled the victims out ofdebris and shifted them toServices Hospital.
The injured were identi-fied as Shahida (40), wifeof Muhammad Yousaf ,Faisal (19), and Laiba (20).
6 hotels, 3shops sealed
over violationRAWALPINDI (APP): Ateam of Law EnforcementAgencies has raided dif-ferent areas of Rawalpindiand sealed six hotels andthree shops on violation ofStandard OperatingProcedure (SOPs), orderedby the Punjab governmentfor protection of peoplefrom Corona virus.
According to a districta d m i n i s t r a t i o nspokesman, three hotelswere also imposed finesfor violating the SOPs.
He informed that theoperations were conductedby Additional DeputyCommissioner (ADC),Headquarters and AssistantCommissioner (AC) Canttto check implementation ofthe SOPs.
ADC conducted raids inChandni Chowk, SixthRoad, Murree Road andCommercial Market areasand sealed two hotels andthree shops while finesamounting to Rs 25,000were also imposed on theviolators.
AC Cantt conductedraids in Jinnah Park andSaddar areas and sealedfour hotels while finesamounting to Rs 30,000were also imposed onthree hotels for violatingthe SOPs.
The district administra-tion was taking measuresfor protection of peoplefrom COVID-19 pandem-ic, he added.
2 bodies of missingfishermen recovered,operation underway,
SACM briefed
Sindh banssailing,
swimming inthe sea
KARACHI (INP): TheSindh government hasimposed a ban on swim-ming, sailing, and bathingin the sea for seven daysstarting Sunday.
A notification issued bythe Karachi commissionerstates that strong windshave started blowing in theprovince, especially in thecoastal areas. “Due to theirimpact, the sea has becomerough and turbulent withhigh tidal waves.”
This could pose a threatto the lives of fishermenand people who gather onthe beaches for recreation-al purposes. The govern-ment has, therefore,imposed the restrictionwith “immediate effect”.
People violating theorders will be punishedunder Section 188 (dis-obedience to order dulypromulgated by publicservant) of the PakistanPenal Code.
On Saturday, threeboats with nearly 40 fish-ermen aboard capsized inThatta. One dead bodywas recovered and 28 fish-ermen were rescued,according to officials.
Most of the fishermenwho went missing were ona boat named Al Siddiqui.According to the PakistanFisherfolk Forum, SyedGulab Shah, another boat,Bahre Hassan, carrying 22fishermen was rescuedlast night.
Shehbaz slams PTI govtfor urea crisis in country
PPP govtsestablishedlargest numberof higher educationinstitutions:BilawalISLAMABAD (PPI)Chairman PakistanPeoples Party BilawalBhutto Zardari has saidthat PPP governments inPakistan established thelargest numbers of highereducation institutions andcolleges besides recordprimary and non-formalschools in the country topromote education.
In his message on theeve of International Dayof Education beingobserved globally tomor-row, Chairman BilawalBhutto Zardari said thateducation remains top pri-ority of his Party as itbelieves that the futurebelongs to our childrenand youth, and the dreamof a bright future withouteducation will remainunfulfilled. PPP govern-ments always increasedthe education budget,whenever in power andestablished record numberof universities and othertechnical education insti-tutions in the history ofcountry, he added.
He said that profession-al and technical educationare key to a better futureand for this purpose theshare of education inbudget has to beincreased. Bilawal BhuttoZardari pointed out thatexpenditure on educationhas dropped to 1.5% ofthe GDP during the select-ed regime of Imran Khan,which shows a sorry stateof affairs. After winningthe next general elections,PPP government will fur-ther increase the educa-tion budget, he vowed.
PPP Chairman saidthose compromising onthe educational promotionand making unbearablecuts in the budget of uni-versities and their alliedcenters are in fact causinggreat disservice to thenation. "Such approach isextremely hostile to thepeople, when on the onehand, about 25 millionchildren between the agesof 5 and 16 are out ofschools, while on theother, there is a big differ-ence in access to qualityeducation among the chil-dren of poor and privi-leged classes in the coun-try," he added.
PUBLIC NOTICE
It isPublishedThroughThisNotice That I IkramUl HaqS/o Ghufran Ul Haq R/o
House no 31Sector VIII KDAKohat Presently Residing atDoha Qatar is The owner ofPlot no26SectorA-1Size10Marla Phase II.KDA KohatHas Appointed Mr ArshadAhmadS/oNasrullah JanR/oMohallah Malang AbadJungle Khel Kohat Through(Special) Deed no 480 Bahino04Volumno239Pageno143Dated16/09/2020whichis Registered in The officeKohat of Tehsildar/SubRegisterar Kohat TheAttorney Holder Now WantsTo Transfer The Above SaidPlot If Any Bank/Institution/Firm/Person has anyobjection About TheTransfer He Should ContactThe Housing officer KDAWithin 15 Days in Wirtingwith proofs otherwise Plotwill be Transferred and noobjection will be Accepted(Projcet Director UrbanAreaKDAKohat)
Monday, January 24, 2022The Frontier Post 03
PESHAWAR (APP): PrimeHousing Society in partner-ship with Partner LeafOrganization launched aspecial housing society forthe employees of PakistanRailways at Turlandai(Nisata) locality of districtCharsadda on Sunday.
In first phase of thescheme 5000 registeredemployees of PakistanRailways would be allotted
plots in the scheme. SpecialAssistant to KP CM onMineral Development, ArifAhmadzai and MPA ZahirShah Toru participated inthe launching ceremony.
The employees ofPakistan Railways wouldbe allotted plots on softinstallation while in thenext phase, employees ofother public sector organi-zations and general public
will also take benefit of thescheme.
Addressing the inauguralceremony, Arif Ahmadzaisaid that the possession ofown house is the dream ofall government employeesand lower middle incomeclass. The project, he saidwill also usher business andemployment opportunitiesin Charsadda andNowshera districts.
PESHAWAR (APP): Spe-cial Assistant to the ChiefMinister Khyber Pakhtu-nkhwa on Information andPublic Relation BarristerMuhammad Ali SaifSunday said that the fifthwave of Corona pandemicis spreading rapidly asmore than 1500 new caseswere reported and urgedpeople to follow SOPs.
In a statement issued
here, Barrister Saif said thatthe provincial governmentis taking steps to deal withthe Corona pandemic, but itis not possible to eradicateit without the cooperationof the people.
Barrister Saif said that inthe last three days, a total ofmore than 1500 new casesof Corona have beenreported. The governmentunder the leadership of
Chief Minister KhyberPakhtunkhwa MahmoodKhan is taking steps toeradicate Corona, but with-out the cooperation of thepeople, complete eradica-tion of pandemic is not pos-sible, he added.
He urged people toensure the use of masks andmaintain social distance inpublic places to preventfurther spread of the virus.
F.P. Report
PESHAWAR: Minister forLocal Government andRural Development, FaisalAmin Khan GandapurSaturday inaugurated plan-tation campaign by plantinga sapling in Benazir Parkafter holding a meetingwith the staff of DeraDevelopment Authority(DDA), at D.I.Khan.
The minister was briefedin detail about plantationcampaign that was run in
collaboration with theKhyber PakhtunkhwaForest Department.
In the first phase, 1000saplings would be plantedinside Dera Townshipwhile it would be expandedin the next spring season.Secretary Local Governm-ent Shakeel Ahmed andProject Director Shah Jehanwere also accompanied bythe visiting minister.
Speaking on the occa-sion, Faisal AminGandapur directed Project
Director DDA to devise acomprehensive planningfor beautification of town-ship.
He also directed forgenerating designs formaking parks of townshipmore attractive keeping inview greenery and naturalbeauty.
Later the elders of DeraTownship met with theminister and lauded theirefforts for beautification ofthe township and extendedtheir support in this regard.
PESHAWAR (APP): Theexporters and importersdoing business with Afgha-nistan have welcomed thegovernment’s decision toincrease the number ofexport items to Afghanistanfrom four to 16 in Pakistanicurrency to enhance thequantum of trade with theneighbouring country.
The traders hoped theexport to Afghanistan wo-uld further improve afterthis important decision ofthe government of Pakistan.
However, they urgedIslamabad to expedite thenegotiation process withthe present Afghan govern-ment regarding promotionof barter trade and bring itinto logical end and practi-cality. These matters werediscussed during a meetingbetween IGFC KhyberPakhtunkhwa Major GenAdil Yamin and a tradersdelegation, mostlyexporters, that was led by
Sarhad Chamber ofCommerce and Industry(SCCI) acting presidentImran Khan Mohmand,according to statementissued here on Sunday
The delegation was con-sisted on Chairman, SCCI’sStanding Committee onPak-Afghan Bilateral andTransit Trade Promotion,Shahid Hussain, formerpresident Faiz MuhammadFaizi, PAJCCI Vic presidentand the chamber formerSenior Vice President ZiaulHaq Sarhadi, Pattern InChief Khyber Chamber ofCommerce and IndustrySyed Jawad Hussain Kazmi,former President KhyberChamber Shakirullah, Colretired Sadiq and others.
The DG IGFC andCommandant Khyber Riflewere also present duringthe meeting.
The meeting discussedthe administrative matters,bringing speediness in
movement of export-goodsladen vehicles, hurdles thatwere impeding Pak-Afghanbilateral and transit trade.
The SCCI delegationgave proposal and mecha-nisms to further improvePak-Afghan bilateral tradeand transit trade viaAfghanistan.
The meeting hailed thefederal government andFederal Board of Revenuefor increasing the number ofexport items to Afghanistanfrom four to 16 in Pakistanicurrency to enhance thequantum of trade with theneighbouring country.
The traders want tofinalize negotiations withthe present Afghan govern-ment regarding promotionof barter trade and bring itinto logical end and practi-cality. They also urged animmediate solution ofDTRE issues to ease diffi-culties to traders andexporters.
PESHAWAR (APP): TheGovernment of KhyberPakhtunkhwa has returnedfrom Dubai Expo 2020with the remarkableachievement of signing 44memorandums of under-standing (MoU) with inter-national investors in differ-ent sectors.
Out of the total 44 MoUs11 have been signed byonly Khyber PakhtunkhwaEconomic Zones Develo-pment and ManagementCompany (KP-EZDMC).The international invest-ment conference was heldat Dusit Thani, Dubai,United Arab Emirates.
The Chief ExecutiveOfficer (CEO) KP-EZDMC, Javed IqbalKhattak, the MoUs weresigned with internationalinvestors for investment ineconomic zones and specialeconomic zones of KhyberPakhtunkhwa, especially inRashakai SpecialEconomic Zone, DarabanSpecial Economic Zoneand Mansehra EconomicZone for livestock feed,marble & granite, surgicalequipment, foam manufac-turing, PVC unit and bot-tling plant. Under theseMoUs foreign investorshave pledged investment tothe tone of US$ 8 billion.
More over a tripartiteMoU has also been signedamong PEDO, Infra Co
Asia and KPEZDMC forsolarization of allEconomic Zones.
The CEO KP-EZDMCwhile elaborating thedetails of companies andstatistics of investment,said that Berkley Group ofCompanies, a real estatedevelopment company iswilling to extend opera-tions in Pakistan, interestedin acquiring 10 acre land inRashakai SpecialEconomic Zone with aninvestment of 1.7 millionUSD while HabibHisamPvt Limited, a com-pany doing business inlivestock sector is keen toacquire land in Mansehrato establish large scalepoultry business inPakistan with an invest-ment of 16 million USD.
Similarly, Al IbrahimiGroup, Dealing in 7 sec-tors, i.e. hotels, restaurant,trading, general supplies,willing to establish industryin Pakistan by acquiringland in Rashakai SpecialEconomic Zone with aninvestment of 1.7 millionUSD while Mai Al Dhafrawants to set up a bottlemanufacturing plant at suit-able place in KhyberPakhtunkhwa with aninvestment of10 millionUSD.
Furthermore, MalikFoams, an UAE basedentrepreneur is also keen to
establish a foam manufac-turing facility, inRashakaiSpecial EconomicZone with an investment of6 million USD while VRGroup wants to establishmarble processing unit i.e.solid surface tops inMohmand Economic Zonewith an investment of0.17million USD.
Sigma Group, a compa-ny dealing in surgicalequipment, wants toacquire land in RashakaiSpecial Economic Zonewith an investment of10million USD and Zoonergy(Tianjin), a Chinese ownedcompany in collaborationwith Seeds and energy andPower department, willingto solarize all economicZones in KP with an invest-ment of USD 56.7 million.
Samara Group, a groupfocusing on constructionbusiness willing to acquireland in Rashakai SpecialEconomic Zonewith aninvestment of1.5 millionUSD while Bio Just Francein collaboration with Seedsconsulting, willing to estab-lish a food processing unitin Daraban SpecialEconomic Zone with aninvestment of USD 200million and SmartSolutions Pvt Ltd is keen toset up 50MW solar plant inDera Ismail Khan with aninvestment of 130 millionUSD.
PESHAWAR (APP): Asmany as 45 corona patientsare under treatment in twomajor hospitals of theprovincial metropolis with26 in Khyber TeachingHospital and 19 other coro-na patients admitted inLady Reading HospitalPeshawar, a health depart-ment official confirmedhere Sunday.
He said that 122 beds areallotted for corona patientsin Khyber Teaching Hosp-
ital, Peshawar and currentlyCorona patients are admit-ted in 26 beds. KhyberTeaching Hospital’s spoke-sman Sajjad Ahmad saidthat they have 28 ventila-tors reserved for coronapatients and 6 patients ofCorona are on intensivecare by pap and ventilators.
He disclosed that 9 pati-ents infected with Coronaare undergoing treatment atHDU besides 31 beds allot-ted for the patients with Low
Amount of Oxygen and 11patients are being treatedthere. Three crore patientshave been admitted in thelast 24 hours and only 96beds of corona are leftvacant in the hospital.
However, when contact-ed the spokesman of theLRH Muhammad Asim, hesaid, the number of coronavirus patients in LRH hasrisen to 19 with eight newpatients have been admittedin the last 24 hours.
PESHAWAR (APP): Atleast 8 people died and 16others have been injured inrain and snow related inci-dents in different parts ofKhyber Pakhtunkhwa, saida report shared by theProvincial Disaster Mana-gement Authority (PDMA)here on Sunday.
According to aspokesman of the authority16 houses have receivedpartial damages while onehas been completelydestroyed. Chief MinisterMahmood Khan has direct-ed all concerned districtadministration and authori-
ties for acceleration ofrelief operation in theaffected areas.
The highest number ofcasualties occurred inDistrict Shangla whereinfive persons including threechildren died while onehouse was also damagedcompletely. Similarly, onechild died in Charsadda,D.I. Khan and Hangu dis-tricts respectively.
Four houses were par-tially damaged in Khyber,3 in Charsadda and twoeach in Buner, Upper Dirdistricts and one eachhouse in D.I. Khan, Hangu,
Karak, Peshawar and Tankrespectively. In Charsadda,three cattle have also per-ished.
The authority has starteddistribution of relief goodsincluding tents, kitchensets, hygiene sets, watercooler, tarpal sheets andplastic sheets in the affect-ed families in Charsaddaand Karak districts.Similarly, district adminis-tration and other concernedauthorities were busy intaking steps for re-openingof the closed roads.
It said that the authorityis consecutively monitor-
ing the overall situationand in close contact withdistrict administration andother concerned authori-ties. The authority hasdirected the immediatepayment of compensationto all affectees as per poli-cy of the provincial gov-ernment.
It said that theEmergency OperationCentre of the PDMA isfully operational 24/7 andhas directed tourists totake precautionary meas-ures before visitingtourists’ spots in theprovince.
PESHAWAR: A man roaming in local market while selling birds.
PESHAWAR: Vendor selling and displaying fresh flowers bouquet to attractcustomers at University Road.
PESHAWAR: Family ride on motorbike wear protective face mask whiletravelling in city to protect from Omicron virus.
8 killed, 16 injuredin rain-snow related
incidents: PDMAPESHAWAR: Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan meeting with a delegation ofKurram district.
Razmak roadcleared forall traffics
PESHAWAR (APP): TheEmergence Response Teamled by Additional DeputyCommissioner (General)Daulat Khan has said thatthe Razmak road has beencleared for all types of traf-fic and the stranded fami-lies due to heavy snowfallwere evacuated timely bythe officials of the securityforces and Police.
He said Deputy Commi-ssioner North WaziristanShahid Ali Khan tookprompt action and directedthe emergency responseteam for clearing theRazmak road.
He said the officials ofthe security forces, Additi-onal Assistant Commissi-oner Razmak Shahid Iqbal,DSP Razmak JamshedKhan, TMO Razmak, Res-cue 1122, Civil Defense,Highways Department andother concerned officialsare ready to deal with anychallenge at any time.
The district administra-tion has requested thetourists to take all precau-tionary measures so thatthey do not feel any dis-comfort during the journeybecause of heavy snowfall.
Snowfallcontinues
PESHAWAR (APP): Morethan three feet of snow hasfallen, the series is stillgoing on, spokesman of theGaliyat DevelopmentAuthority Ahsan Hameedsaid on Sunday.
However, he informedthat all streets of Galiyatare being cleared despiteheavy snowfall which con-tinued even last night.
All the tourists arebarred from travelling dueto heavy snowfall, thespokesman said.
Locals should avoidtravelling between KandlaTauhidabad and DongaGali to avoid untowardincidents, Ahsan Hameedwarned.
He said the GDA con-cerned officials are busyclearing roads by usingheavy machinery in theoperation.
12 familiestrapped insnowfallrecovered
PESHAWAR (APP): Thedistrict administration ofNorth Waziristan Sundayrecovered 12 familiestrapped in snowfall on themain road of Razmak andshifted them to safe places.
In a statement issued byDeputy CommissionerNorth Waziristan ShahidAli Khan, the EmergencyResponse Team has beenclearing the road blockadesin snow-hit areas of the dis-trict with heavy machineryand retrieved 12 familiesthat were trapped due tosnowfall.
An alert was issued to allthe departments concernedfor taking preemptivemeasures to avert snow-related mishaps across thedistrict, the DC said.
Roads are now clear andopen for light vehicleswhereas the teams of dis-trict administration andpolice jawans are sprayingde-icing salt to ensureunimpeded traffic flow.
DC also advised people,particularly tourists, toavoid unnecessary travel insnowbound and landslide-prone areas during the pre-vailing weather conditionsand observe caution asroads were slippery.
PTI leaderSardar
Idrees tojoin JUI-F
PESHAWAR (INP): Yetanother leader of PakistanTehreek-i-Insaf in KhyberPakhtunkhwa on Sundaychanged his loyalties bydeciding to join JamiatUlema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F).
This time it is former KPlocal bodies’ ministerSardar Idrees, who has toldJUI-F provincial AmeerSenator Maulana AtaurRehman that he will for-mally join the party at alarge public gathering to beheld in Abbottabad onJanuary 28.
Meanwhile, talking toreporters, JUI-F KPSecretary General MaulanaAtaul Haq Darwesh hasconfirmed that Idrees isgoing to join the party.
He has also expressedthe optimism that after for-mer KP minister’s entry,the support base of JUI-F,which, as per his claim, isalready the province’s mostpopular party, will alsobroaden in Abbottabad.
He has disclosed thatsome other important per-sonalities of the PTI are alsoin touch with the party’s KPhigh-command for theirjoining in the near future.
ANP to backPPP’s DIKmayorshipcandidate
PESHAWAR (INP):During a telephonic contactbetween the leaders ofAwami National Party andPakistan People’s Party, ithas been decided onSunday that the ANP willsupport PPP’s candidate forDera Ismail Khan’s mayor-ship during the secondphase of local governmentelections in KhyberPakhtunkhwa.
Reportedly, a telephoniccontact was held betweenPPP leader Nayyar Bukhariand ANP leader Aimal WaliKhan. They exchangedviews on the election ofmayor in Dera Ismail Khanby the end of March.
Mr Bukhari said that theANP decided to back PPPcandidate Faisal KarimKundi for the DIK mayor-ship.
Aimal Wali informedthat the ANP would runKundi’s election campaignopenly and its provincialorganization would helpthe PPP candidate.
Bukhari, on behalf ofhis party, expressed hisgratitude to the ANP forextending support to thePPP contestant.
More rainexpected inUpper KP:Met Office
PESHAWAR (APP): Morerain is expected in upperKhyber Pakhtunkhwa inthe next 24 hours: an offi-cial of the MeteorologicalDepartment said hereSunday.
He said with rain, snow-fall is also predicted atsome places of MalamJabba and Kalam with coldand dry weather will pre-vail in most plains andsouthern districts of theprovince.
About the rain, he said,the highest rainfall of 36mm was recorded inMalam Jabba, 29 mm inCharat and 20 mm inParachinar, 11 mm rain inDir, 10 mm in Saidu Sharif,Swat, 8 mm in Peshawar, 5mm in Bannu, 3.3 mm inBalakot and Pattan.
About the snowfall, hethe official of the Met-eorological Departmentsaid that 18 inches of snowhas been recorded inMalam Jabba and half aninch in Kalam withMinimum temperature inPeshawar was 6 degreeCelsius, maximum 10degree Celsius and humidi-ty was 93 percent.
KP-EZDM signs 11 MoUswith investors: CEO
Prime Housing Societylaunched for PR employees
Traders hail increasedin number of exportitems to Afghanistan
45 Corona patients undertreatment in hospitals
More than 1500 coronacases reported in 3 days
Gandapur inauguratesplantation drive
In briefIn briefKohat team
calls on KhattakKOHAT (APP): A dele-gation of PTI Kohat ledby Member ProvincialAssembly Ziaullah Ba-ngash called on Pak-istan Tehreek-e-InsafProvincial PresidentPervez Khattak. Discu-ssion on the politicalsituation of Kohat,party organization andother issues were dis-cussed in detail. FormerProvincial Law Min-ister Imtiaz Qureshi,PTI District LeaderAftab Alam, Malik Atif,Chairman Tehsil LachiEhsan Khan, ChairmanTehsil Gambat SajidIqbal, Shafi Jan, SaeemQureshi. Other PTIworkers were also pres-ent in the meeting.
57 shopkeepersfined
FAISALABAD (APP):Price control magis-trates imposed a totalfine of Rs 84,000 on 57shopkeepers for profi-teering in the districtduring the last 24 hours.A spokesman for thelocal administrationsaid on Sunday thatprice control magis-trates inspected variousshops in different mar-kets and bazaars ofFaisalabad and found57 shopkeepers invol-ved in overcharging andimposed fine on them.
Spring festivalto be arranged
FAISALABAD (APP):The forest departmentwill organize spring fes-tival in February withan aim to persuade peo-ple for planting maxi-mum trees during thecoming tree plantationdrive. A spokesman forthe local forest depart-ment said on Sundaythat all necessary arran-gements were beingcompleted for thespring festival. The for-est department has alsoprepared nursery of var-ious plants, and thesaplings would be pro-vided to the generalpublic on nominal proc-ess so that maximumspace could be broughtunder tree plantation inFaisalabad, he added.
Man crushedto death
FAISALABAD (APP):A man was crushed todeath under the wheelsof tractor trolley, in thelimits of Khurarianwalapolice station. Rescue-1122 spokesman saidon Sunday that Muha-mmad Ramzan (58),resident of ChakNo.193-RB was travel-ing on a tractor trolleywhen he slipped and fellonto the road. The trac-tor trolley crushed himand he died on the spot.The police took bodyinto custody and startedinvestigation.
Youth commitssuicide
FAISALABAD (APP):A youth committed sui-cide over domestic dis-pute, in the precincts ofGhulam MuhammadAbad police station.Police said on Sundaythat 26-year-old AmirMukhtar, resident ofMohallah Usman-e-Ghani ended his life byshooting himself afterbeing quarreled with hisfamily. Rescue-1122shifted the body to mor-tuary for postmortem.
1565 powerpilferers held
MULTAN (APP): Mul-tan Electric PowerCompany (MEPCO)have caught 1565 pow-er pilferers during sep-arate operations launc-hed across the SouthPunjab during currentmonth of January so far,MEPCO official said onS u n d a y . M E P C Oteams accompanyingtask forces raided dif-ferent places in Multan,Vehari, Sahiwal, Rahi-myar Khan, Muzaffa-rgarh, Bahawalnagar,Khanewal, and DeraGhazi Khan and detect-ed theft of over 1.9 mil-lion electricity units. Asum of over Rs 32.8million fine wasimposed on them whileFIRs were registeredagainst 278 of themover their involvementin tampering with bodyof meters.
The Frontier PostMonday, January 24, 2022District
SWABI (APP): Two per-sons were killed overwomen dispute in the juris-diction of Yar Hussainpolice station, said policeon Sunday.
Muhammad Altaf resi-dent of Sher Abad lodgedFIR that he was on the wayin his car along with hisbrother Muhammad Farooqto meet with their friendsthat Iqbal, Munsif andSabzal allegedly openedfire near Mela Larkhoroand killed his brother.
Meanwhile, Qamar AliShah lodged FIR in thesame police station that hewas on the way to bazaaralong with his brother Sabz
Ali Shah to bring luggagethat Farooq, Sajjad, Hassanand Habib Nabi allegedlyopened fire and killed hisbrother Sabz Ali.
The police registeredseparate FIRs and startedinvestigation.
Journalists called onSpeaker NA
A Journalists delegationbelonging to district SwabiSunday called on SpeakerNational Assembly AsadQaiser.
The delegation was ledby President MuhammadFarooq, General SecretaryAzmat Khan and FinanceSecretary Muhammad Riazmet with Speaker Asad
Qaiser and discussed vari-ous aspects of media andproblems faced to them.
Speaking on the occa-sion, Asad Qaiser said thatthe media has an impor-tant role to highlight theproblems of people andplaying role of a bridgebetween government andcitizens. He assured thatthe problems of the jour-nalist community wouldbe resolved on prioritybasis.
He said that billions ofrupees developmentalworks continued in Swabidistrict that would bringprosperity among peopleafter its completion.
Two killed in Swabiover women dispute
QUETTA: ANP center senior vice president Ameer Haider Khan Hoti addressing a press conference.
HYDERABAD: Pakistan’s Peoples Party MNA Shazia Mari addressing apress conference.
SARGODHA (APP):Provincial Minister forLabour and ManpowerAnsar Majeed Khan saidon Sunday the PakistanTehreek Insaaf (PTI) gov-ernment was utilizing allavailable resources for theprogress and prosperity ofthe country.
Chairing a review meet-ing of city developmentpackage and schemes hereat DC office, he said thatofficers of the districtadministration should per-form their duties diligently.
The minister urged theofficers of building depart-ment to ensure the utiliza-tion of funds on the ongo-ing projects in a transpar-ent manner so that projectscould be completed intime.
He said that no compro-
mise would be tolerated onmaterial standard and com-pletion of the schemes.
The meeting reviewedthe expenditure and pace ofwork on 22 schemes underthe city development pack-age.
The meeting wasinformed the cost of GovtAssociate College for Girls49-NB had been estimatedat Rs 165 million, forwhich, steps were beingtaken for the release offunds while Rs 18.6 mil-lion had been spent on theconstruction of Park inChak no 47-NB.
The meeting was furtherinformed that Rs 7.8 mil-lion had so far been spenton water supply scheme inCheema Colony, whileanother Rs 20 millionwould soon be released for
the scheme.The meeting was
informed that so far Rs19.1 million had been spenton water supply and sanita-tion schemes of the city,Rs18.6 million on onescheme of local govern-ment, Rs 80 million on twoschemes of metropolitancorporation, Rs 65.8 mil-lion on schemes of con-struction and expansion of12 roads and more than Rs2.3 million had been spenton three urban develop-ment schemes.
Provincial MinisterAnsar Majeed Khanassured that WASA wouldsoon be established inSargodha.
DC Muhammad AsgharJoyia and officers ofdepartments concernedwere also present.
LARKANA (APP): All-outarrangements have beenfinalized for the Nationalimmunization Campaign ofPolio. More than 306850children of the Larkana dis-trict upto five years of agewould be vaccinated OralPolio Vaccine (OPV)dur-ing the Seven-day Nationalpolio campaign startingfrom January 24, 2022 toJanuary 30, 2022 to savethem from the cripplingdisease of Polio.
This was disclosed bythe District Health Officer(DHO) Larkana here onSunday evening.
He said the children uptofive years of age would be
administered Oral PolioVaccine (OPV)during thethree days campaign.
He said 882 mobileteams have been constitut-ed which would visit all theareas including the remote,far-flung areas of the dis-trict to accomplish the task.
He further said that three(5) Roaming polio teamshave also been constitutedin Larkana city to coverchildren during four cam-paign.
DHO Larkana said thatthirty 90transit polioteams have also been con-stituted in the district in thisregard and they would beavailable at Railway
Station, Bus stops and vari-ous markets of the districtduring the 07-day anti-polio campaign.
He exhorted the parentsto be cooperative with thevisiting mobile polioteams to make the nationalanti-polio campaign com-plete success.
He also urged the reli-gious scholars, electedrepresentatives, NGOsand local community tomake this campaign suc-cessful by involving theirall-possible efforts so thatthe children of the wholedistrict could be immu-nized against this crip-pling disease.
ABBOTTABAD (APP):Adopting measures to con-trol the Omicron, a newvariant, district administra-tion Abbottabad directedthe citizens to wear a facemask, keep a safe distanceand also get a booster doseof vaccination.
Deputy CommissionerAbbottabad Tariq SalamMarwat also visited themass vaccination center atJalal Baba Auditorium toreview the vaccinationarrangements. On the occa-
sion, Additional DeputyCommissioner Shahab Mu-hammad Khan and DirectorHealth Officer AbbottabadDr. Faisal Khanzada werealso present.
DC Abbottabad alsoinquired about the vaccina-tion process from the citi-zens those were visitingJalal Baba Auditorium forvaccination and issueddirectives for the staff.
He said that the healthdepartment should improvethe vaccination of coron-
avirus and facilitate themasses of far-flung areas ofdistrict Abbottabad.
Tariq Marwat alsodirected the health depart-ment to improve the capac-ity of the coronavirus vac-cination teams and alsostart awareness campaignsfor the masses, ensuringvaccination at publicplaces.
However, the adminis-trative officers wouldensure the cooperation withthe health department.
HARIPUR (APP): DeputyCommissioner HaripurMohammad MaghithSanaullah Sunday has saidthat following the direc-tives of provincial govern-ment district administra-tion Haripur would observethe next one month as agood governance month.
To make this drive suc-cessful we have distrib-uted the month in fourweeks where differentactivities would takeplace.
The DC expressed theseviews while chairing ameeting regarding goodgovernance month.
He further said that thefirst week of the good gov-ernance month would befor cleanliness andhygiene, the second weekwould be for service andcleaning week, the thirdweek would be for publicservices and the fourth
week would be observedas a regulatory week.
DC Haripur said thatduring the first weekwhich would be observedas cleanliness and hygieneweek our staff wouldensure the cleaning ofmain highways, residentialand commercial areas ofthe city and would lift theold piles of garbage.
Mughees Sanaullahstated that the main high-ways and walls of themain city will be white-washed to eliminate wallchalking which is a seriousissue of our society,
Under the beautifica-tion programme of thecity, the staff would startmaintenance of the oldstreet lights and installa-tion of the new lights.
He further said thatunder this campaign gov-ernment buildings, hospi-tals, schools, colleges and
all government officeswould celebrate a cleaningweek where all staff mem-bers of the offices wouldparticipate to provide acongenial environment tothe visitors.
The DC said that themasses of Haripur shouldparticipate in the drive andconvince their friends andfamilies to take part andmake Haripur beautifuland clean.
Mohammad MaghisSanaullah further said thatorders have been issued toall TMOs to immediatelyremove unnecessary wallchalking from the walls atpublic places while thedistrict administrativestaff have started identify-ing the building materialsand garbage dumpedalongside the roads wherelocal government teamswould start cleaning of theareas.
MANSEHRA (APP):Mansehra police on Sundayarrested a most wanted out-law Syed Sheeraz Shahinvolved in robbery, kid-napping, rape and theftcases and recovered fromhim arms and ammunition.
According to the policesources, Sheeraz Shah sonof Taj Shah, resident ofChappar Paien Battal wasinvolved in many heinouscrimes and was a threat tothe masses.
During the year 2019, a
case was registered againstthe accused Sheeraz Shahwho booked a Taxi fromthe district Battagram whenhe reached the area ofBattal police station helooted 50000 rupees fromthe taxi driver and fledaway successfully aftercommitting the crime.
Police also registeredcases of kidnapping andrape against him during theyear 2020 while theaccused Sheeraz Shah wasalso wanted to Punjab
police in an armed robberycase where he robbed ahouse in the area ofRaheem Yar Khan and loot-ed 22 Tola gold, 6 lakhrupees cash and othersworth 4 million rupees.
On the directions of theDistrict Police Officer,Mansehra Battal policeformed an investigationteam to arrest the accusedinvolved in heinous crimesand during a search andstrike operation, the accusedSheeraz Shah was arrested.
GHOTKI (INP): Twodacoits on Sunday blewthemselves up after policecordoned off them in asearch operation in Ubaurotown of Ghotki district ofthe Sindh province.
According to police, agroup of bandits attackedcops at Langu Road andafter a retaliatory fire twoof them blew themselves upafter being trapped in apolice cordon.
“They hurled hand
grenades at the cops how-ever fortunately they didnot explode,” they said.
SSP Ghotki AzharMughal said that thedacoits were equipped withguns and hand grenadesand they hurled one of thecrackers at the police partywhich fortunately did notexplode.
“The bandits were out ofammunition stock whenthey blew themselves up ina bid to evade the arrest,”
he said.Recently, a policeman
got martyred after beingattacked by bandits in thesuburb of Ghotki district ofthe Sindh province.
According to police, thebandits attacked a policecheck-post in Ghotki dis-trict resulting in the deathof a policeman. “In theretaliatory fire, the banditsfled the scene,” they saidadding that police wasgoing after them.
MUZAFFARABAD, Jan23 (INP): A rare leopardthat was rescued seriouslyinjured in Muzaffarabad,Azad Jammu Kashmir(AJK) died on Sunday.
According to the Wild-life Management Board,the injured female leopardwas shifted to Islamabadfrom Muzaffarabad due toher severe wounds. X-raysshowed fix to six riffle pel-
lets in the body of the leop-ard, the board added.
The body of the predatorwas paralysed due to theriffle pellet that hit herspinal cord.
The medical team oper-ated the leopard to save herlife, but they failed indoing so.
Earlier it was reportedthat the wild animal wasspotted at the banks of river
Neelam seemed falling intoa ditch.
The locals had rushed torescue the injured predatora few kilometers away fromMuzaffarabad city.
Wildlife Director NaeemIftikhar Dar along with theteam reached the site to res-cue her.
Locals also offeredchicken meat to provide thelost energy to the big cat.
THATTA (INP): The bod-ies of two fishermendrowned in sea near KetiBandar found in a searchoperation on Sunday.
A spokesperson ofFisher Folk Forum said thattwo bodies of the fishermenof a boat capsized Saturdaynear the coastal town ofKeti Bandar have beenfound.
A search led by PakistanNavy underway to trace 11missing fishermen of thecapsized boat.
Navy’s helicopters andboats searching for the sur-vivors and bodies of theuntraced fishermen.
The rescue teams facing
difficulties due to roughweather and fast winds.
Sindh Chief MinisterSyed Murad Ali Shah onSaturday directed the divi-sional administration tomake all out efforts to searchthe missing fishermen.
Moreover, Commi-ssioner Hyderabad hasimposed seven days’ ban onfishing in sea and canals inThatta, Sujawal and Badindistricts under section 144.
A boat carrying 16 fish-ermen capsized near KetiBandar, citing a fisher-men’s organization.
In a deadly boat capsizeincident in the same area inDecember 2017, 21 people
were died when an over-loaded boat carrying devo-tees to a shrine for an annu-al festival and pilgrimagecapsized after being bat-tered by strong winds nearMirpur Sakro.
The boat was 10 nauticalmiles away from the coastaltown of Buhara in Thattadistrict when the incidenttook place.
The boat, had been car-rying nearly 100 devotees,mostly hailing from thecoastal settlements ofKarachi, to the annual pil-grimage. The boat over-turned after its crew lostcontrol of the vessel caughtin a gale.
Police arrestdacoits,
stolen cashrecovered
DI KHAN (INP): Thepolice arrested to dacoitswanted in five robbery inci-dents, recovered stolenvaluables, cash and equip-ment used in robberies hereon Sunday.
Taking notice of surge inrobbery incidents, DistrictPolice Office (DPO) Capt.(Retd) Najamul HusnainLiaqat directed police totrace and arrest the culprits.
Following the directionsof district police chief,operations were conductedin jurisdiction of BundKurai police station in DeraIsmail Khan.
During operation, twodacoits identified as Irfans/o Muhammad Selmanand Muhammad Khalil s/oMuhammad Ismail hailingfrom Rodi Khel werearrested.
The police recoveredfive sewing machines, anelectric UPS, two batteries,two goats, four mobilesphones, Rs3500 cash andequipment used in rob-beries from possession ofthe detainees.
The detainees werebeing investigated afterregistering separate casesagainst them.
ANF seizesheroin from
parcel bookedfor Norway
JHELUM (INP): The Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) onSunday foiled a drug smug-gling bid in Jhelum.
According to details,479 grams of heroin packedin a parcel that was to besent to Norway from a pri-vate courier service inJhelum. The ANF on a tip-off recovered the heroin.
The heroin was con-cealed in the sole of theshoes that were to be sent toNorway. The ANF said thatthe parcel was booked by aresident of Gujrat for Norw-ay. Further investigation isunderway in this context.
Last year in the month ofOctober, the AirportSecurity Force had foiled amajor bid to smuggle over1500 kilogrammes of hero-in out of the country andarrested an alleged smug-gler from Karachi airport.
According to ASF offi-cials, the heroin was recov-ered from the passengerwilling to travel to Dubaifrom Jinnah InternationalAirport, Karachi.
Distt adminto launch campaign
KHANEWAL (APP): Thedistrict administration hasdecided to launch a specialcampaign against poly-thene bags in order toensure implementation ofLahore High Court ordersregarding ban on use ofpolythene bags.
Administrator MunicipalCorporation Umer Sherazisaid that all resources werebeing utilized to make dis-trict clean and green. Hesaid that Lahore High Courthas imposed ban on use ofpolythene bags and addedthat a special campaign wasbeing launched for imple-mentation of the orders.
He said the polythenebags were one of the majorreasons for blockage ofsewerage lines and alsocreating environmental pol-lution. He said the specialteams of municipal com-mittee were being formedfor the campaign whichwas going to be startedfrom the next week.
February to be observe as‘good governance month’
DC directs to controlspread of Omicron variant
‘Govt utilizing availableresources for progress’
Keti Bandar boat capsize:
Bodies of drownedfishermen found
Mansehra police arrestsmost wanted outlaw
Anti-polio drive startsin Larkana today
Dacoits blow themselvesup during police operation
Hurt leopard rescued, dies
L O N D O N / K I Y V(Reuters): Russia will facesevere economic sanctionsif it installs a puppet regimein Ukraine, a senior UKminister said on Sundayafter Britain accused theKremlin of seeking toinstall a pro-Russian leaderthere.
Britain made the accusa-tion late on Saturday, alsosaying Russian intelligenceofficers had been in contactwith a number of formerUkrainian politicians aspart of plans for an inva-sion.
The Russian ForeignMinistry dismissed thecomments as “disinforma-tion”, accusing Britain andthe transatlantic militaryalliance NATO of “escalat-ing tensions” over Ukraine.
Mykhailo Podolyak, aUkrainian adviser to thepresidential office, said theallegations should be takenseriously.
“There’ll be very seriousconsequences if Russiatakes this move to try andinvade but also install apuppet regime,” BritishDeputy Prime Minister
Dominic Raab told SkyNews on Sunday.
The British accusations,first made in a statement bythe foreign ministry, comeat a time of high tensionsbetween Russia and theWest over Russia’s massingof troops near its borderwith Ukraine.
Moscow has insisted ithas no plans to invade.
The foreign ministrysaid it had information theRussian government wasconsidering formerUkrainian lawmakerYevhen Murayev as apotential candidate to heada pro-Russian leadership.
Murayev, 45, has pro-moted views that closelyalign with Russian narra-tives on Ukraine.According to a poll by theRazumkov’s Centre thinktank conducted inDecember 2021, he wasranked seventh among can-didates for the 2024 presi-dential election with 6.3%support.
Murayev himself pouredcold water on Britain’sclaims that Russia wants toinstall him as Ukraine’s
leader, in comments toBritish newspapers. In aFacebook post later onSunday, he called for anend to dividing Ukraineinto pro-Western and pro-Russian politicians.
“The time of pro-Western and pro-Russianpoliticians in Ukraine isgone forever,” he wrote.“Ukraine needs new politi-cians whose policy will bebased solely on the princi-ples of the national interestsof Ukraine and theUkrainian people.”
Murayev told TheTelegraph he was barredfrom Russia as a nationalsecurity threat and had beenunder Russian sanctions forfour years, making theBritish line on him “non-sense.”
Also noting he wasunder sanctions, the Russ-ian Embassy in Londonmocked the “obvious dete-rioration” of British expert-ise on the region.
The British foreign min-istry declined to provideevidence to back its accusa-tions. A ministry sourcesaid it was not usual prac-
tice to share intelligencematters, and the details hadonly been declassified aftercareful consideration todeter Russian aggression.
In a message to Reuters,Ukrainian adviser Podolyakacknowledged there wasdoubt among Ukrainians asto whether Murayev was“too ridiculous a figure” tobe the Kremlin’s pick tolead Ukraine. But he addedthat Russia had propped uppreviously minor figures inleadership positions inannexed Crimea and sepa-ratist-held Donbass.
Therefore “one shouldtake this information asseriously as possible”, hesaid.
The British claims cameafter the top US andRussian diplomats failed onFriday to make a majorbreakthrough in talks toresolve the crisis overUkraine, although theyagreed to keep talking.
Russia has made securitydemands on the UnitedStates including a halt toNATO’s eastward expan-sion and a pledge thatUkraine will never be
allowed to join the Westernmilitary alliance.
US National SecurityCouncil spokespersonEmily Horne said in a state-ment: “This kind of plottingis deeply concerning. TheUkrainian people have thesovereign right to deter-mine their own future, andwe stand with our demo-
cratically-elected partnersin Ukraine.”
Britain, which thisweek supplied 2,000 mis-siles and a team of mili-tary trainers to Ukraine,also said it had informa-tion that Russian intelli-gence services were main-taining links with numer-ous former Ukrainian
politicians, including sen-ior figures with links toex-President ViktorYanukovich.
Yanukovich fled toRussia in 2014 after threemonths of protests againsthis rule and was sentencedin absentia to 13 years injail on treason charges in2019.
The Frontier PostMonday, January 24, 2022
DAKAR (AFP/APP):Voters in Senegal went tothe polls on Sunday to electmayors and local represen-tatives in a vote seen as akey test of support forPresident Macky Sall.
The election is the firstin the West African countrysince deadly riots eruptedlast year following thearrest of opposition leaderOusmane Sonko.
The poll, which comesfive months ahead of aneagerly-awaited generalelection, is also the firstsince Sall won a secondterm in 2019.
The president has comeunder increasing criticismsince then, facing accusa-tions of arranging courtcases against his rivals andof planning a bid for a thirdpresidential term in 2024.
Long lines had formed
outside polling stationsbefore they opened at 8 am.
Over six million Sene-galese, around a third of thepopulation, are eligible tocast votes for the mayors ofmore than 500 townhalls aswell as the heads of 40administrative areas knownas “departments”. IbrahimaDieng, a 28-year-oldmechanic, was among thefirst to cast his ballot at aprimary school in the capi-tal Dakar’s Yoff district.
“Voting is our only wayof having a say in the run-ning of the country,” hesaid. Senegal was rockedby several days of clashesand looting in March 2021after opposition leaderSonko was summoned tocourt to answer charges ofrape in a case that he saidwas politically motivated.
At least 12 people were
killed nationwide, a tollthat shocked a country con-sidered a beacon of stabili-ty in a volatile region.
Sall, 60, was first electedin 2012 on promises to helpthe poor in the nation of 17million people.
He is well respected onthe international scene, buthis critics view him as serv-ing the business interests ofSenegal’s former colonialpower France.
The political oppositionalso fears that Sall will seekto exploit constitutionalchanges approved in 2016to argue that a two-termlimit for presidents does notapply, and run again.
Several of his ministersare standing in Sunday’svote, including HealthMinister Abdoulaye DioufSarr, who is running formayor of Dakar.
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan(AFP/APP): A renownedinvestigative journalist inex-Soviet Kyrgyzstan hasbeen charged with posses-sion of narcotics, policesaid Sunday, days after hereleased an investigationinto the fuel business of apowerful political family.
Bolot Temirov, whoseYouTube channel TemirovLive is known for its hard-hitting anti-corruptioninvestigations, was takeninto custody Saturday nightafter police raided themedia outlet’s office.
Around 200 supportersof Temirov including fel-low journalists gatheredoutside the interior ministryon Sunday, with some call-ing for the minister’s resig-nation. In a statementSunday, police in the
Central Asian country’scapital Bishkek saidTemirov and his colleagueBolot Nazarov had beenarrested on a charge of“possessing illegal nar-cotics”.
Temirov was chargedand released followingdetention but is barred fromleaving the country.Nazarov is still being held,a police spokesman con-firmed to AFP.
In footage of the journal-ist filmed during his arrest,Temirov said he believedpolice had planted drugs inhis pocket.
The investigation comesafter Temirov Live releaseda report on alleged profi-teering in the fuel industryby a relative of KamchibekTashiyev, Kyrgyzstan’ssecurity committee chief,
who came to power along-side current president SadyrJaparov during unrest in2020.
Japarov said onFacebook Sunday he wouldensure the case was “inves-tigated fairly” but pledgedsupport for Tashiyev, along-term ally.
“Kamchibek (Tashiyev)explained in detail... thatthe accusations against himwere completely false.”
Tashiyev during aSunday press conferencedenied that his committeehad influenced the investi-gation into Temirov andother employees of thechannel, calling the investi-gation into his nephew’sfuel business “a lie”.
“I have never beeninvolved incorruption...that is my life-
long position,” Tashiyevsaid. Tashiyev accusedTemirov’s colleagueNazarov of being “addict-ed” to narcotics and using abong to smoke illicit sub-stances without offeringproof for the claim.
Kyrgyzstan’s vast, oil-rich neighbour Kazakhstanhas been rocked by politicalunrest that authorities theresaid has left 225 peopledead after protests againstan energy price hike beganat the turn of the year.
But mountainousKyrgyzstan has long beenthe region’s most politicallyvolatile country, with threeof the country’s six post-independence leadersforced out of office since2005 amid street ralliesover corruption, nepotismand rigged votes.
YAOUNDE (AFP/APP):Cameroon’s governmentsaid Sunday that 16 peoplewere killed in a fire causedby fireworks in a nightclubin the capital Yaounde, thetragedy occurring as thenation hosts the Africa Cupof Nations football tourna-ment. “The initial reportshows 16 dead and eightseriously injured” after the“accidental fire” broke outSaturday night, the commu-nications ministry said in astatement.
The fire engulfed themain room of Liv’s NightClub in the capital’s upmar-ket Bastos district, home toembassies and diplomatresidences.
“The tragedy, which was
caused by explosions fromthe fireworks often used inthese places, first con-sumed the building’s ceil-ing, resulting in two veryloud explosions, causingpanic and a stampede,” theministry said.
“When we arrived it wasa panic, there was a strongfire with lots of smoke,” anofficial with the firefighterstold AFP on condition ofanonymity. “We counted 16dead and five injured,” theofficial added.
A security guard presentfor the fire said that “it hap-pened very quickly”.
“It was a little after 2 amand most customers arrivearound 3am... there aremany victims,” the security
guard said.There were some burnt
objects out the front of theclub that suggested a fire,but the building’s facadewas not destroyed orcharred, an AFP journalistsaid.
Cameroon is hosting theAFCON tournamentdespite regular violence inthe country’s west, whereEnglish-speaking militantsdeclared independencefrom the majority French-speaking country in 2017.
Both the separatists andgovernment forces havebeen accused of atrocitiesin the fighting, which hasclaimed more than 3,000lives and forced over700,000 to flee their homes.
DILI, East Timor(AFP/APP): Former EastTimor President JoseRamos-Horta on Sundayannounced he would runfor the top job again in theupcoming election, adecade after the end of hisfirst term. The 72-year-oldwas a critical figure in EastTimor’s independencestruggle, winning the NobelPeace Prize in 1996 along
with Carlos Filipe XiminesBelo.
The presidential electionwill be held on March 19,with the winner takingoffice on May 20, the dayEast Timor celebrates its20th anniversary of inde-pendence from Indonesia.
Ramos-Horta’s candida-cy was announced at ameeting held by theNational Congress of the
Reconstruction of Timor-Leste (CNRT), a politicalparty led by the charismaticformer president XananaGusmao. “I am carrying outwhat has been entrusted tome by CNRT party and thepeople of East Timor to runin the 2022-2027 presiden-tial election,” Horta saidafter the congress.
Gusmao added: “Let’stogether support Horta to
the presidential palace.”Ramos-Horta served as
the president of SoutheastAsia’s youngest countryfrom 2007 to 2012 and asprime minister from 2006to 2007. He will go againstseveral other candidatesincluding the outgoingpresident Francisco “Lu-Olo” Guterres and formerCatholic priest MartinhoGermano da Silva Gusmao.
Incumbent Guterres,from the RevolutionaryFront for an IndependentEast Timor Party (Fretilin),announced his candidacyon January 16 whileGusmao said he would runin the election after PopeFrancis revoked the priest-hood status of the diocesanpriest last November, clear-ing his path to run in theelection.
FLORIDA (THE HILL):Florida state senators thisweek offered a rare hint ofbipartisan agreement on aplan to redraw a swingstate’s congressional districtboundaries in a way that pla-cates both majority Republi-cans and minority Demo-crats — and, likely, a stateSupreme Court that is keep-ing careful watch of both.
But a last-minute inter-vention from an unusualsource — Gov. RonDeSantis (R) — has trippedup what might have been asmooth finish to a bumpyprocess, adding whatamounts to a new lap of analready-long course just aslegislators thought theywere nearing the finish line.
DeSantis this week pro-posed his own version of amap, which would likelyhand his party control of 17of 28 seats in Congress forthe next decade while ensu-ring Democrats eight seats.The remaining three seatswould be narrowly dividedbetween the two parties.
In a statement, the gov-ernor’s top lawyer saidDeSantis’s proposal wouldadhere more closely to stateand federal redistrictingrules.
“We have submitted analternative proposal, whichwe can support, thatadheres to federal and staterequirements, while work-ing to increase district com-pactness, minimize countysplits where feasible, andprotect minority votingpopulations,” general coun-sel Ryan Newman said.
Newman hinted thatDeSantis might veto a mapthat did not suit his tastes:“Because the Governormust approve any congres-sional map passed by theLegislature, we wanted toprovide our proposal assoon as possible and in atransparent manner,” theattorney said.
But days later, the stateSenate adopted their ownmap, one that divides thestate’s 28-member delega-tion between 14Republican-heavy districts,eight that favor Democratsand six that would be com-petitive.
That version passed theSenate in a 31-4 vote, withfive members not voting,though over the objectionsof Latino advocacy groupsthat say it unduly dilutestheir voting power.Republicans control 24 of40 seats in the state Senate.
Republicans in the legis-lature declined to commentor did not respond torequests for comment, inpart for fear of having theirwords used against them ineventual lawsuits that arecertain to come no matterwhich side prevails.
But Democrats whovoted for the Senate-passedplan said they were sur-prised at DeSantis’s inter-vention, which came afterthe legislature had been atwork for months on theirown plans.
“What his map was, atthe last minute, we didn’tknow. He just sent this mapover and wanted us to take
it up,” said state Sen. LindaStewart (D). “I don’t knowwhat authority he had to dothat, but I can tell you heonly had, I don’t know if itwas 72 hours or some limit-ed time for a senator to pickup his map, and nobodydid.”
The rival maps containseveral glaring differences,among them boundariesaround the heavily populat-ed Orlando, Tampa andMiami areas. But mostnotably, DeSantis’s mapeliminates a Democraticdistrict that stretches fromTallahassee to theJacksonville area along theGeorgia border, currentlyrepresented by Rep. AlLawson (D).
The Senate-approvedmap maintains Lawson’sdistrict as a majority-minority seat, similar toone the Florida SupremeCourt established ahead ofthe 2016 elections and atleast vaguely reminiscentof a district that has existedfor all but a few years sincethe 1960s — albeit a dis-trict that has shrunk geo-graphically as Florida’spopulation has boomed.
The Senate’s proposalhas now headed to the stateHouse, where majorityRepublicans have proposedtwo different maps of theirown, both of which favorRepublicans more than theSenate version while pre-serving Lawson’s district.
DeSantis backers main-tain the Lawson districtrepresents an unconstitu-tional gerrymander because
it stretches so far east andwest between NorthFlorida’s two populationcenters.
But the last-minute dis-pute is likely to throw awrench into what mightotherwise have been minornegotiations between thetwo legislative chambers.
“The governor injectinghimself into this I thinkadds greater uncertainty,”said Michael McDonald, aredistricting expert at theUniversity of Florida whohas clashed with DeSantis.“If DeSantis wants to pick afight with the legislature,we could see a fight,because it looks like leg-islative leadership in theSenate didn’t want to goalong with the governor onthis plan.”
Hovering over thedebate is a constitutionalamendment approved byvoters in 2010 that soughtto limit partisan influencein the redistricting process.The state Supreme Courtruled a redistricting mapadopted by Republicans thefollowing year did not com-ply with those standards,forcing a new map thathanded Democrats severalnew seats in the middle ofthe decade.
But in the years since,both DeSantis and his pred-ecessor, now-Sen. RickScott (R), have appointedfour new justices to thestate’s highest court, hand-ing jurisdiction over theFair Districts standard towhat is likely a more con-servative court.
WASHINGTON (Reuters):US Secretary of StateAntony Blinken on Sundayrebuffed the idea of impos-ing economic sanctions onRussia now, saying thatdoing so would undercutthe West’s ability to deterpotential Russian aggres-sion against Ukraine.
Russia’s massing oftroops near its border withUkraine has sparkedWestern concerns that it
may invade. If Russia doesmake an incursion, the Westhas threatened sanctionswith far-reaching economiceffects. Moscow has said ithas no plans to invade.
“When it comes to sanc-tions, the purpose of thosesanctions is to deter Russianaggression. And so if theyare triggered now, you losethe deterrent effect,” Blin-ken told CNN’s “State of theUnion” program in an inter-
view. Blinken said if onemore Russian force enteredUkraine in an aggressivemanner, that would trigger asignificant response.
Asked if US hands weretied over Ukraine becauseof its need for Russian sup-port in separate talks onreining Iran’s nuclear pro-gram, Blinken, speaking toCBS’s “Face the Nation”program, replied: “Not inthe least.”
Sanctioning Russia nowover Ukraine wouldundercut deterrence
FM presentsLebanon with
proposal toease Gulf rowBEIRUT (AFP/APP): Ku-wait’s foreign minister saidSunday that he has givenLebanese authorities a list ofsuggested measures to betaken to ease a diplomaticrift with Gulf Arab coun-tries. The proposal were del-ivered to Lebanon’s PrimeMinister Najib Mikati andPresident Michel Aoun dur-ing a visit by Kuwaiti For-eign Minister Sheikh AhmedNasser al-Mohammed Al-Sabah, the first to Lebanonby a senior Gulf officialsince a spat erupted last year.
The visit, coordinatedwith Gulf Arab states, ispart of wider efforts torestore trust betweenLebanon and its Gulf Arabneighbours as the countrygrapples with an unprece-dented financial crisis.
Police findstowaway onflight from
South AfricaTHE HAGUE (AFP/APP):Police in the Dutch city ofAmsterdam discovered astowaway hidden in the nosewheel of a cargo plane arriv-ing from South Africa, aspokeswoman said Sunday.
The unidentified man isbelieved to have slippedonboard the plane before itleft Johannesburg, RoyalDutch Military Policespokeswoman JoanneHelmonds said.
“The man was foundalive in the nosewheel sec-tion of the plane and wastaken to hospital in a stablecondition,” she told AFP.
Helmonds said policehad opened a probe into theincident.
“It is quite remarkablethat the man is still alive,”he said.
Flight times betweenJohannesburg andAmsterdam average about11 hours.
Stowaways on flights tothe Netherlands are rare, headding, noting that previ-ous attempts had involvedwould-be migrants fromNigeria and Kenya.
Iran urgespeople to
dress warmlyto cut gas useTEHRAN (AFP/APP):Iran’s oil ministry onSunday urged people towear warm clothes toreduce a surging demand forgas, as people turn up theirheaters to cope with bitterlycold winter temperatures.
Iran has the world’s sec-ond largest gas reservesafter Russia, and the fourthlargest oil reserves. Gas isalmost free in Iran becauseit is heavily subsidised.
“Gas consumption canbe managed by wearingwarm clothes and turningoff heating applianceswhen leaving home andwork,” Oil Minister JavadOwji said Sunday, accord-ing to the ministry’s Shananews agency.
“We ask people to savegas consumption so that wecan pass the next 10 dayswithout any problem.”
On Thursday, Iran’sMeteorological Organis-ation issued weather warn-ings about low tempera-tures in several cities, incl-uding the capital Tehran.
“Even though, thanks toGod and to the efforts ofthe employees of the oilindustry, the gas networkis stable, the continuationof this situation requiresthe cooperation of dearcompatriots and consump-tion management,” headded.
Owji said that in past 24hours, the use of 692 mil-lion cubic meters of gashad been registered in“domestic, commercialand non-major industrysectors”.
Florida redistricting planfaces Opp from DeSantis
East Timor Nobel laureate Ramos-Hortato run for president again
Cameroon govt says 16killed in nightclub fire
UK warns Russia will face severe sanctionsif it installs Ukraine ‘puppet regime’
Top Kyrgyz investigativejournalist on narcotics charge
Senegal votes for mayors inlitmus test for president
6 The Frontier Post LeaderMonday, January 24, 2022
The Frontier PostJALIL AFRIDIManaging Editor
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The ddelicateego of
ErdoganAccording to western media, Turkish journalist
Sedef Kabash has been arrested for makingoffensive remarks about Turkish President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan during live television broad-casts in recent days. According to details, the jour-nalist broadcasted live an insolent saying about cat-tle in the palace in the context of the policy of RecepTayyip Erdogan. The words of the female journalistcaused a wide resonance in social media and weredenounced by government officials, while represen-tatives of the ruling Party publicly reacted harshly tothe comments of the journalist. According to reports,the Turkish High Council of Radio and Television(RTÜK) has launched an investigation against theTV channel "Tele-1" on which Kabash appeared,while the court ruled on the arrest of Turkish jour-nalist, Sedef Kabash.
According to Article 299 of the constitution ofTurkey, insulting the head of the state is a criminaloffense and the accused can be slapped with a pun-ishment of one to four years imprisonment or fine, orboth. The law was adopted in 2005 but prosecutionsurged during Erdogan's era. According to reports,the Turkish government has squeezed the space forfreedom of expression in society while digital andprint media, as well as social media platforms suchas Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and others, areunder strict censorship of the government.
According to a report of Turkish media outlet,Gazette Devor, Turkish Police had launched a probeto 128, 872 cases of alleged insulting of PresidentRecep Tayyip Erdogan during 2015 to 2019, while9,556 people had been prosecuted and sentencedincluding 903 minors of ages 12-17 years for theirposts on social media. According to data, the victimsof article 299 include people from all walks of lifeincluding political opponents, students, journalists,academics, TV artists, anchors, and minors of age 12for merely using proverbs, vague references.
According to reports, last year a journalist wasprosecuted for posting a 300-year-old poem on hisTwitter account. Turkish media has imposed self-censorship while people avoid sharing their viewsregarding political matters on social media due tofear of prosecution on the charges of insult by thegovernment. Presently, Turkey occupies the top slotin the list of nations having the least freedom ofexpression in their countries. The European Court ofHuman Rights (ECHR) had urged the Turkish gov-ernment to rescind article 299, which violates thebasic rights of the Turkish people including freedomof expression, and also in contradiction of rule 10 ofthe European convention on human rights. In fact,Erdogan and his aides had drawn a thin line betweencriticism and insult while creating a sense of fear anddistrust among the masses about the authoritarianattitude of the government.
No criticism can endanger a government except itsown deeds, Erdogan must lessons to the critics whohighlight the shortcomings of the governmentwhereas the deputies and Ministers never told thetruth to the kings in history and Erdogan has noexception from it. It is suggested to the Turkishstrongman that if he desires to win the hearts of thepeople then keep his heart abreast and honor the sanevoices who speak for the good and welfare of thecountry, as no great man ever dies of a curse butthrough his own hands.
Fueling conflictin Ukraine
The United States Embassy in Kiev announcedthe arrival of the first batch of military aidpromised by President Joe Biden to Ukraine to
defend itself from the potential invasion of Russia.The US mission in Kiev wrote on its Twitter handlethat about 200,000 pounds of deadly aid, includingammunition for Ukraine's forward defenders, hasarrived in the country. The US side vowed that thedelivery demonstrates Washington's commitment toUkraine's defense.
The Ukrainian crisis is intensifying graduallydue to aggressive actions of warring groups, theUnited States, and allies as well as Russia. The westurges Russia for de-escalation and reduction in itstroops at the Ukrainian border while Russia wants ahalt in NATO expansion in its backyard and with-drawal of NATO troops from Eastern Europe. Therecent dialogue between the parties on the issuefailed to move the worst security crisis betweenMoscow and the West since the Cold War.Currently, the United States has moved a hugecache of the latest weapons to Ukraine to strength-en its abilities against Russia while significantNATO troops equipped with the latest arsenal arealready deployed in Eastern Europe in such a waythat the Russian mainland is at their aim and caneasily hit within minutes. All these had been doneby the west in the ploy of an imaginary Russianinvasion against Ukraine while the Kremlin is con-tinuously denying these charges and accusing theWest of planning military provocations, through theprovision of arms and ammunition to Ukraine bythe UK, the US, and other NATO nations.
The global rivals had chosen Ukraine to satisfytheir rivalry and gathered piles of the latest deadlyweapons on Ukrainian borders. Both parties areshowing their muscles and want to knock down eachother on Ukrainian land. The poor Ukrainians arealready facing economic and financial challenges totheir survival, hence Kiev is unable to protect itspeople from the flames of war and destruction. It isadvisable for the warmongers to be kind to the peo-ple of Ukraine, spare them in your rivalry and letthem live a peaceful life.
From the moment thedraft treaty on secu-rity guarantees was
handed over to the UnitedStates, Russia saw onlyattempts by Washingtonto drag out the discussionof initiatives, the RussianForeign Ministry said. Inaddition, the White Houseand its allies launched aninformation campaign toportray Moscow as athreat to internationalstability. In this regard,the department calledhypocritical the statementof the US StateDepartment thatAmerican representativeswere in constant contactwith Russian andEuropean colleagues toresolve the situation. Theagreement to provide theRussian Federation with awritten response to itsproposals was announcedin Washington only theother day. At the sametime, according to theAmerican media, theState Department askedMoscow not to publish thedocument after receivingit. Experts do not rule outthat the forthcoming USresponse may become thebasis for the start of aconstructive dialogue.
The US authorities aretrying to drag out the dis-cussion of Russian initia-tives on security guaranteesafter they received a draftof the relevant agreementfrom Moscow. This wasstated in the press serviceof the Ministry of ForeignAffairs of the RussianFederation.
“During the period thathas passed since December15, 2021, when we official-ly handed over toWashington the draft treatyon security guarantees andagreements on measures toensure the security ofRussia and NATO coun-tries, on the American sidewe have seen mostly obvi-ous attempts to drag out the
discussion of the specificparameters we propose onvarious expert levels andformats,” the ministry saidin a statement.
Instead of working on aspecific response to theRussian side, the WhiteHouse and its allieslaunched an informationand propaganda campaignagainst the RussianFederation in order to pres-ent it as an “aggressor” anda “threat” to internationalstability, the ForeignMinistry noted.
In this regard, the depart-ment emphasized that theState Department's state-ments about the constantcontacts of American repre-sentatives with Russian andEuropean colleagues as partof a "comprehensive diplo-matic effort" to resolve thesituation sound "hypocriti-cal and implausible."
"Build a sense of secu-rity"
Earlier, White Housepress secretary Jen Psakiconfirmed that the UnitedStates would provideRussia with a writtenresponse to its demandswithin a week.
“We will put in writingthe serious concerns thatwe, allies and partners haveabout Russia’s actions, aswell as ideas on how wecan really increase eachother’s sense of security inthe future,” Psaki said at abriefing.
According to her, it isabout increasing trans-parency, reducing risks,promoting arms control andbuilding trust. She clarifiedthat Washington coordi-nates all its actions withallies and partners. At thesame time, the press secre-tary once again noted thatthe United States does notintend to make any promis-es on Ukraine's sovereigntyand its right to NATOmembership.
Psaki also said she didnot believe that the written
response to be provided toRussia would in any way"undermine the US negoti-ating position" or be used todiscredit it.
“We are doing what weare considering what is pos-sible to do on the diplomat-ic path. These are not justwritten answers, as if weare filling out a question-naire. We are also going toaddress our concerns andrepeat some of the strongstatements you heard fromthe President and Secretaryof State Blinken,” theWhite House spokeswomanexplained.
State Department'srequest
Despite Psaki's state-ments about the allegedtheses that will be includedin the response of theUnited States, the StateDepartment is skepticalabout the prospect of itspossible publication.Officials in the departmenteven asked Moscow torefrain from publishing thedocument when it comesinto its possession. Thiswas reported on January 21by the American newspaperThe Washington Post, cit-ing sources.
At the same time, theState Department con-firmed that Washington'sresponse will include pro-posals on security issues.The document itself,according to the interlocu-tors of the publication, isintended to demonstrate theUS interest in continuingthe dialogue with Russia.Moreover, the Bidenadministration expects thatthe upcoming response willgo straight to the table ofVladimir Putin.
A similar assumption, oncondition of anonymity,was expressed by high-ranking statesmen in aninterview with anotherAmerican publication, TheNew York Times.
In their opinion, behindthe demand for a writtenresponse from the UnitedStates is the desire of thePresident of the RussianFederation to personallyfamiliarize himself with thespecific position of theUnited States.
Difficult dialogueThe US has promised to
provide Russia with a writ-ten response to the securityguarantee demands nextweek. This was announcedon January 20 by the presssecretary of the Russianleader, Dmitry Peskov, andthen confirmed by AnthonyBlinken at a press confer-ence following talks withSergey Lavrov in Geneva.At the same time, theSecretary of State said thatWashington should consultwith its partners and allies.
The draft treaty on secu-rity guarantees was madepublic in mid-December.The document consists ofeight articles, whichinclude such requirementsas non-conduct of anymeasures affecting thesecurity of the other side,non-use of the territory ofother states for the prepara-tion or implementation ofan armed attack on eachother, non-expansion ofNATO to the east, refusalby the United States to cre-ate military bases on theterritory of states that wereformerly part of the USSRand not members of NATO,the renunciation of thedeployment of ground-based medium-range andshorter-range missiles, aswell as nuclear weaponsoutside the national territo-ry, and a number of others.
Earlier, the White Houseexpressed readiness to dis-cuss only the non-deploy-ment of American missilesin Ukraine, the prospectsfor certain missile systemsin Europe under theI n t e r m e d i a t e - R a n g e
Nuclear Forces Treaty, andlimiting the scale of mili-tary exercises.
However, on January 21,the Russian ForeignMinistry stressed that fur-ther ignoring Moscow'slegitimate concerns wouldhave the most serious con-sequences. The departmentalso reported that this posi-tion was clearly communi-cated to Anthony Blinken.
Strategic DialogueExperts interviewed by
RT believe that the answerthat the United States willpresent to Russia is likelyto be a formality that willstill give grounds for fur-ther negotiations.
“The US response willbe demagogic, as we areused to. Obviously, a lotwill be said about Ukraineand its right to determinewhich alliances it is readyto be in, about the protec-tion of military support forthe Ukrainian governmentfrom the United States,Britain and other countries.In addition, questions ofstrengthening Russia's mili-tary cooperation with Cubaand Venezuela may beraised there. And thisdirectly affects the interestsof Washington,” suggestedpolitical scientist MalekDudakov.
He also doubted that theUS would be willing tomake any concessions onissues it had previouslydeclared unacceptable. Theexpert also suggested thatthe United States is notinterested in their responsebecoming public knowl-edge, as they fear that inthis way their field formaneuver may narrow andretreat from the designatedlines will become impossi-ble.
In turn, KonstantinBlokhin, a researcher at theCenter for Security Studiesof the Russian Academy ofSciences, believes that theState Department mayoppose the publication of a
written response due to thefact that this document canbe used in the internal polit-ical struggle in the UnitedStates itself.
“America has to holdmidterm congressionalelections. At the same time,everyone remembers howthe Democrats usedRussian-American rela-tions as a tool in the fightagainst Trump at one time.Therefore, the currentadministration wants toprotect itself from a repeti-tion of such a situation,”explained Blokhin.
At the same time, PavelFeldman, Deputy Directorof the RUDN Institute forStrategic Studies andForecasts, does not rule outthat the US response maycontain a certain construc-tive element.
“It is highly likely thatthe United States will con-firm in writing its readinessto negotiate on issues ofnuclear deterrence andarms control in Europe.Perhaps they will offer torestore the agreements onopen skies and on the elim-ination of intermediate andshorter-range missiles, andthey will also take the ini-tiative on new dialoguemechanisms that allow theRussian Federation andNATO to carry out mutualmonitoring of the exercis-es,” Feldman said.
In his opinion, the veryfact that the United Statesplans to provide Russiawith a written confidentialresponse inspires cautiousoptimism.
“Despite objectivelyexisting contradictions,Russian-American negotia-tions continue. If we add upthe future response of theAmericans and our initia-tives, then it may well bethat a new joint draft agree-ment will appear, whichwill determine the contoursof global security for yearsto come,” the analystsummed up.
“Build a sense of security”Polina Dukhanova, Alena Medvedeva
The new accusationagainst our country,put forward by the
UK (that Moscow intendsto imprison a "pro-Ru-ssian leader" in Kiev, asformer Verkhovna Radadeputy Yevgeny Muraevis named) brings to mindthe ancient joke about "t-hey just thought they hadreached the bottom, as iffrom below knocked."
The Foreign Office ofthe United Kingdom hasbeen demonstrating uncom-promising, regularly over-flowing Russophobia formany years, but the degreeof absurdity in its activitieshas further increased withthe arrival of ElizabethTruss as head of theForeign Office .
In less than half a year ofbeing in office, the politi-cian managed to be remem-bered by many both for herfierce struggle against the"Russian threat" and for herpenchant for either spectac-ular or eccentric gestures.The most striking of themwas, of course, her trip on atank in Estonia inDecember last year.
The reservation abouteither showiness or eccen-tricity in this case is funda-mental, since the top gov-ernment leaders of Britainin recent years often behavein such a way that they arehonored with numerous
ridicule and insulting char-acteristics. The main exam-ple here, of course, is PrimeMinister Boris Johnson .Well, the "performance" ofTruss in the tank was aclear imitation of MargaretThatcher , who had a simi-lar experience in the 1980s.But if for the Iron Lady thisevent has become part ofher cult image, then it hasmade the current BritishForeign Secretary an objectfor honing wit by prank-sters all over the planet.
And most importantly,this is by no means an iso-lated case when ElizabethTruss does and says sheerstupidity. Just a couple ofdays ago, she, speaking inAustralia , said :
"Ukraine is a proudcountry with centuries ofhistory. They have knowninvasions before - from theMongols to the Tatars.They suffered from afamine arranged by thestate. Their resilience ismore than enough. If theyhave to, they will fight toprotect their country."
And this "from theMongols to the Tatars"again reveals such a levelof ignorance and unprofes-sionalism of the minister(and her team - someonewrote this nonsense forher), which makes onewonder for the thousandthtime: is it really in Britain,
in the British elites no onebetter - smarter, more edu-cated, more qualified, moreadequate?
It's not even about theircave Russophobia. In theend, Winston Churchill andthe same MargaretThatcher did not likeRussia either - but the scaleof personalities is simplyincomparable.
Unfortunately, theanswer to the questionposed is not encouraging:there really is no one betterthere - and this, in fact, isone of the main dangers ofthe current situation.
Marveling, indignantand mocking Liz Truss ,one must be aware that sheis really crème de la crème,the best of the best in themodern British elite.
By the age of 46 - whichis just early youth for apolitician - she has behindher the posts of Minister ofthe Environment, Food andAgriculture, Minister ofJustice and LordChancellor (Truss becamethe first woman in historyto hold this position). Nowshe is the Minister ofForeign Affairs and one ofthe main contenders toreplace Boris Johnson,under whom the prime min-ister's chair is wobbly.
Modern Western elites
are fundamentally differentfrom their predecessors. Inprinciple, this has neverhappened before and couldnot be.
The upper class through-out human history havebeen accused - and oftenquite rightly - of a multi-tude of sins and vices,depravity and corruption.
However, power hasalways been accompaniedby colossal personalresponsibility, and the pathto it has been accompaniedby harsh personal experi-ence.
Even representatives ofthe aristocracy, born with asilver spoon in their mouth,went through a lot beforereaching political heights -drill and physical punish-ment in childhood, partici-pation in hostilities andwork in the most dangerouscorners of the planet wherethey were sent by the coun-try (or their own adventur-ism) . And they - evenbeing in a privileged posi-tion relative to lower ranks- knew what hunger, cold,unsanitary conditions, lackof professional medicalcare, the struggle for sur-vival and work at the risk oflife.
And now, for the firsttime in the history ofmankind, the West has cre-
ated an absolutely "incuba-tory" elite that has no expe-rience of personal interac-tion with real life in itsentirety.
Elizabeth Truss is aprime example of this. Awell-to-do middle-class girlwho grew up during theheyday of the welfare state.Ambitious and well awareof the situation, shereceived a prestigiousOxford education andalready in her youth sheclearly set her sights on apolitical career, at the ageof 21 she joined theConservative Party of GreatBritain. Her career at theinitial stage is a smoothtrack of party positions,work in big business andnear-political sinecures.Truss's main life test can beconsidered the fact that shemanaged to get into thecountry's parliament onlyon the third attempt. But assoon as she was there, hercareer very quickly rushedto the very top.
Truss is no exception tothe rule. On the contrary,she is a typical representa-tive of the Western politicalclass, which at the momentdetermines the fate of itscountries and in many waysthe world (simply due tothe geopolitical status ofthe respective powers).
Having realized this fea-ture, it becomes easier to
understand all the gamethat we are seeing from theUK and the West as a whole- whether it is the aggrava-tion of the energy crisis byone's own hands or the useof methods against Russiathat amaze with their brain-lessness and at the sametime immorality.
As a result, the world isforced to deal with theabsolutely irresponsibleelite of the West, whichperceives the world andwhat is happening in it assome kind of computergame - a mixture of strate-gy and shooting.Emphasized ignorance,unprofessionalism andsucking delusional fan-tasies out of your fingerbecome a logical conse-quence of this approach.
The Russian ForeignMinistry, in response tofresh accusations, called onthe British Foreign Officeto "stop provocative activi-ties, stop spreading non-sense and concentrate onstudying the history of theTatar-Mongol yoke."
True, it is unlikely thatLondon will heed this call.This means that the foreign(and domestic) policy ofGreat Britain - a permanentmember of the UN SecurityCouncil and a nuclearpower - will continue to bedetermined by Liz Trussand her associates.
The West creates an absolutely “incubatory”elite that has no experience of personalinteraction with real life in its entirety
Irina Alksnis
The coronavirusthreatens tribesthat have deliber-
ately refused to communi-cate with the world: mostof these live in theAmazon basin in SouthAmerica . However, some-times they are forced toleave the jungle, and acci-dental contacts withneighboring peoples areinevitable. This meansthat the risk of transmis-sion of infection increases.
Refused to contactAccording to various
estimates, from 150 to 200non-contact peoples live onEarth. So called groups ofpeople who know about theexistence of human society,but do not want to interactwith it. For the most part,these are the remnants ofthe indigenous populationof South America, PapuaNew Guinea and theAndaman Islands .
The most famous are thenorthern Sentinelese fromthe island of the same namein the Indian Ocean . Theyconstantly patrol their terri-
tory and attack anyone whocomes close. In 2018, rep-resentatives of the warliketribe shot and killed Ame-rican missionary John Ch-au, who hoped to convertthe natives to Christianity.
Non-contact peoples aremainly engaged in huntingand gathering, some inprimitive agriculture. Forseveral centuries, they havebeen under the threat ofextinction due to the onsetof civilization, scientistsfrom South America writein a recent review. The dan-ger is poachers, resourcecompanies, farmers,preachers and tourists.Under the influence ofexternal interference, thetribes leave their habitualhabitat and change theirway of life.
Infections cause greatdamage to the indigenouspopulation. The immunityof isolated tribes is notfamiliar with most of thepathogens circulating in thehuman population. Eventhe common cold virus isdangerous for them. The
typical cause of death isfrom a disease brought infrom outside. For example,measles outbreaks are kno-wn to have claimed the liv-es of the Andamanese Jara-wa and Yanomami Indians.
And in 2014, in theBrazilian state of Acre,fleeing from poachers, theSapanava people, who hadnot previously been in con-tact with the world, enteredthe village. A few dayslater, many fell ill with theflu, and only timely med-ical care saved them fromdeath.
Actually, the situation isnot new. Over 90 percent ofthe Native American popu-lation died during coloniza-tion from infectious dis-eases. Now scientists fearthat COVID-19 will reachisolated groups.
Omnipresent pandemicResearchers from the
University of Mato Grassonote that ethnic minoritiesare most affected by thecoronavirus in Brazil . They
are six and a half timesmore likely to die from thedisease than the generalpopulation. Scientists con-ducted a geographicalanalysis during the peak ofthe epidemic in the springand summer of 2020 andidentified 16 clusters thatare most susceptible to out-breaks of infection. Thetwo main ones are in thenorth of the country and inthe middle west.
Not only the pandemic isto blame for the high mor-tality, the authors of thework believe. According tostatistics, among indige-nous peoples, as well asthroughout the world, menand the elderly are morelikely to die from covid.Apparently, long-termpolitical and social isola-tion is making its contribu-tion.
A similar situation isdescribed by scientists fromEcuador. Due to isolationfrom civilization andunderdeveloped infrastruc-
ture, small tribes, whichmake up seven percent ofthe population, aredeprived of access to healthcare. Medical laboratoriesare exclusively in cities,their services are expen-sive.
Despite isolation, thevirus penetrates into themost remote corners of thecountry. Specialists testedselectively 769 people from14 small communities, andfound positive results in 12.Sometimes up to half of thetests point to SARS-CoV-2.According to the oral testi-monies of the heads of thetribes, people died fromcovid, but how many isunknown.
Of particular concern arethe Tagaeri andTaromenanes, the last non-contact groups from theclosed part of the YasuniNational Park. The infec-tion can get to themthrough interaction with theHuaorani Indians.
Most of the infected inBrazil were found in theArara tribe from the
Amazon basin , who cameinto contact in 1987. At thepeak of the epidemic, 46percent of the Arar had apositive test, and there wereonly 121 of them.
Non-contact tribes livemainly in the forests of theAmazon basin - the richestecosystem on the planet.Biodiversity provides themwith a stable existence.However, the growingappetites of private andstate companies are depriv-ing the small inhabitants oftheir usual way of life, forc-ing them to interrupt theirvoluntary isolation.
So, in the summer of2020, ten tribes entered theterritory of an indigenouscommunity in westernBrazil. They took tools,bananas, hammocks,clothes and returned to theforest. All this forces spe-cialists to look for ways tocontrol such contacts. Thechallenge is to minimizethe risk of COVID-19 out-breaks among the last smallpeoples living in harmonywith nature.
Nations that will disappear due to COVID-19Tatyana Pichugina
Quote of the dayIt is during our darkest moments that we must focus
to see the light. — Aristotle
The Frontier Post 7Opinion Monday, January 24, 2022
Important NoticeThe Frontier Post will not be responsible for the comments in the articlesand letters. The Frontier Post requests the writers of articles and lettersto please make sure that they write their email addresses and mentionthe names of the cities, towns, districts or tehsil of their residences at the bottom of their articles and letters.
In the old days, whenthey said that diplo-macy (not the foreign
policy of this or that po-wer, but the way of ar-ranging international rel-ations) was defeated, theymeant war. That is, thesolution of contradictionsis not through the mindand tact, but with the useof the last argument ofkings. When guns speak,diplomats are silent.
In today's times, wheneverything is wonderful,one can speak of the defeatof diplomacy even beforeany artillery arguments. Be-aring in mind the disappe-arance of conventions andconventions that ensureddiplomatic activity, their e-xistence gave hope for a p-eaceful resolution of inter-state contradictions, but no-w it doesn’t matter withhope.
A significant role in theloss is played by the so-called democratic diploma-cy, in which people'sdeputies participate (or tryto participate) in interstaterelations, whose compe-tence in complex issues ofinternational life is frankly
low, but their ambition isextremely high. The oldapproach of negotiatingwith properly mandatedministers is now consideredundemocratic and smacksof secret diplomacy. Underwhich there is a danger thatministers-negotiators mayneglect the will of thenation (deputies know bet-ter what this will is). Andthere is not far from statetreason. Trump and nowBiden have much to sayabout such allegations.
An example of the hip-popotamus grace that dem-ocratic diplomacy exhibitsis the "Putin AccountabilityAct" submitted to the USCongress, according to TheWashington Post.
The very name of the actis very impolite (althoughdemocratic). The United St-ates had quite a few foreignenemies - Stalin, Mao Zed-ong, Hitler, etc., but for allthe severity of interstate re-lations, hostile leaders werenot mentioned by name. Itis customary to call byname undisciplined school-children or lower ranks,that is, those who are in thepower of the school admin-
istration or the command ofthe unit. But the case withPutin is somewhat differ-ent. Although, perhaps, it ispleasant for congressmen tofeel themselves in the roleof a strict head teacher.
But God bless them,with the subtleties of polite-ness. More interesting isthat the American deputiesare going to impose sanc-tions on V.V. Putin person-ally, that is, to declare himunworthy of negotiations -except for unconditional (n-ot even honorable) surren-der with subsequent prose-cution. Not only the succe-ss of such consultations, b-ut even their fundamental l-egal basis raises strong do-ubts. And since Prime Min-ister Mikhail Mishustin andall ministers should also besubject to sanctions, whowill remain in the shop?
At the same time, theywant to announce sanctionsagainst D.S. Peskov, who,by virtue of the very posi-tion of press secretary, doesnot have his own personalposition, but is the voice ofV.V. Putin and, like an
ambassador or a messenger,is an inviolable figure. Buthere the US democraticpoliticians are akin toPushkin's Tsar Saltan:
"As the king-fatherheard,
What did the messengerbring him?
In anger he began towonder
And he wanted to hangthe messenger."
The last wonderful detailof the bill is the require-ment to subject bankers P.O. Aven and M. M.Friedman ( Alfa-Bank ) liv-ing in London to cruel andunusual sanctions. Not onlyhave the financiers beenunder the hospitablepatronage of Her Majestyfor a long time, they arealso playing tricks with var-ious Russian oppositionists,and sanctions against suchvaluable personnel are amanifestation of blackingratitude. "Comrade con-gressmen, there has been amonstrous mistake!"
However, even Ilf andPetrov noted that it isimpossible to foresee all thenonsense that a brutalizedadministrator is able to
come up with. This also ap-plies to the people's deput-ies of the United States.
As a result, Americanresponse workers are in adifficult position. Ofcourse, the main obstacle toconcluding a peace agree-ment with a bear that hasstood up on its hind legsand growled (however, thedemocratic West has beenharassing it for a long time)is the inability to admit thateverything will ever end.Including undivided domi-nance over the ecumene.
"There was a class, but Iwent." Moreover, it isfamously oblique only tomake the first stroke. SeeMS Gorbachev and the suc-cesses of his new politicalthinking. Retreat is general-ly the most difficult type ofmilitary (and diplomatic)action.
But to these objectivedifficulties, which makeconsultations with Russiaextremely difficult, areadded difficulties of a sub-jective nature. When a dis-traught congress standsbehind you, to agree onanything is a task akin tosquaring a circle.
Retreat most difficult type ofmilitary and diplomatic action
Maxim Sokolov
The Russian ForeignMinistry called thenext message of
British colleagues "non-sense": the Foreign Officesaid that the Russianauthorities plan to installa "loyal government" inUkraine and for this theyare cooperating, in partic-ular, with ex-People'sDeputy Yevgeny Muraev.He was surprised by sucha statement and offered toturn to "Mr. Bean" inorder to understand thelogic of the British.
What they say inBritain
British diplomats believethat the Russian authoritieswould like to establish agovernment loyal toMoscow in Ukraine. TheUK Foreign Office claimsthat if this option is imple-mented, ex- VerkhovnaRada deputy YevgenyMuraev will become thehead of the Cabinet.
“We have informationthat indicates that theRussian governmentintends to imprison a pro-Russian leader in Kiev,while at the same time con-sidering whether to invadeand occupy Ukraine.Former Ukrainian MPEvgeny Muraev is beingconsidered as a possiblecandidate,” the ministrysaid in a statement.
The Foreign Office alsosaid that the diplomats haveinformation that theRussian special services arein touch with Ukrainianpoliticians. This, accordingto the Ministry of ForeignAffairs, refers to two for-mer first vice-premiers ofthe country - SerhiyArbuzov (was in power in2012-2014) and his prede-cessor Andriy Klyuev(2010-2012), who was stillthe head of the administra-tion of the ex-president ofUkraine ViktorYanukovych.
In addition, “ VladimirSivkovich , former Deputy
Secretary of the NationalSecurity and DefenseCouncil of Ukraine, as wellas Mykola Azarov , PrimeMinister of Ukraine in2010-2014” are suspectedof having links with Russia. All of them, according toStrana.ua, have been livingin Russia since 2014.
London is confident thatsome of the namedUkrainian politicians "arecurrently in contact withRussian intelligence offi-cers, participating in theplanning of an attack onUkraine."
British ForeignSecretary Liz Truss urgedMoscow to negotiate andease tensions. She opinedthat the data released by theagency “sheds light on thescope of Russian activitiesaimed at underminingUkraine and provides aglimpse into what theKremlin is thinking.”
“Russia must makeefforts to de-escalate, endits campaign of aggressionand disinformation, andseek to return to the path ofdiplomacy,” the ministersaid.
Truss recalled that theUnited Kingdom and thecountry's partners havealready said that forMoscow, "any Russianinvasion of Ukraine" wouldbe "a huge strategic mistakewith a significant cost."
Following the messageof the British ForeignOffice, Deputy PrimeMinister of Great BritainDominic Raab warned thathis country would stand"shoulder to shoulder" withUkraine. According to him,London is ready to imposesanctions against Russianot only in case of its“invasion” of Ukrainianterritories. "Very seriousconsequences" may alsooccur if Moscow intends toestablish a "puppet regime"there.
What the "futureprime minister" Muraev
saysThe owner of the Nash
TV channel and ex-People'sDeputy Yevgeny Muraevsaid in a commentary toStrana.ua that the Britishaccusations were unfound-ed. He recalled the Russianrestrictions under which hehas been for several years.
“Since 2018, I have beenunder Russian sanctionsdue to a conflict with [thehead of the political councilof the Opposition Platform- For Life party Viktor ]Medvedchuk. My family'sassets have been seizedthere. As with the Britishintelligence services andthe Foreign Office, this iscombined with the fact thatRussia allegedly wants toappoint me the head of the“occupation government” –this is a question for Mr.Bean,” Muraev empha-sized. Mr. Bean is the heroof the British comedyseries, who constantly findshimself in comical situa-tions, eccentrically solveseveryday problems.
In a comment to theTelegraph newspaper ,Muraev said that he "has ahard time digesting this stu-pidity and nonsense."“Maybe someone wants toclose another independentTV channel,” he suggested.
He added that as a man"who is banned from enter-ing Russia due to a nationalsecurity threat and whosefather's assets were frozenin Russia", it is "difficultfor him to comment" on theBritish Foreign Officestatement.
A few hours before thepublication of the Britishstatement , photographs inthe style of James Bondfilms appeared on Muraev's social networks . A blackand white image of himwith a gun in his hand wasposted on Instagram andFacebook. The captionreads: "Details tomorrow."
However, these pages arenot verified.
Muraev has been inopposition to the authoritiesfrom the very beginning ofhis political career. At firsthe was a member of theOpposition Bloc party, afew years later he createdhis own party - Nashi. In2019, he participated in thepresidential elections, butwithdrew his candidacy infavor of another politicianin exchange for the post ofprime minister in case ofvictory. Then, on the lists ofthe Opposition Bloc, hetried to become a people'sdeputy, but the party couldnot overcome the percent-age barrier.
The politician hasrepeatedly expressed dis-satisfaction with the leader-ship of the country. So, in2018, he stated thatUkraine had given up itssovereignty to "overseassponsors" from the UnitedStates. As for the currentUkrainian authorities, hebelieves that UkrainianPresident VolodymyrZelensky does not yetunderstand that his fatecould turn out worse thanthat of Viktor Yanukovych.
The former member ofthe Verkhovna Radabelieves that the current sit-uation is reminiscent of theeve of the Maidan at theend of 2013. “VladimirAlexandrovich, we are tiredof you. We want to live in anormal country. [Tired] ofyour stupid decisions, ofyour harmful decisions forthe country. You either needto change, or it will endvery badly,” he said in earlyNovember last year.According to Muraev, anew crisis could lead to thedivision of the country byneighbors.
The reaction ofMoscow and Washington
In recent days, the UKhas repeatedly warned of animpending "Russian inva-sion of Ukraine" without
providing any evidence.Based on these statements,the British authoritiesdelivered several dozentons of weapons andammunition to Ukraine in afew days, including NLAWanti-tank missiles (thoughwith a shelf life expiringthis year).
The United States hasalready expressed "con-cern" in connection withthe statement of the BritishForeign Office aboutMoscow's plans to establisha "pro-Russian govern-ment" in Ukraine
“Such planning is deeplydisturbing. The people ofUkraine have the sovereignright to determine their ownfuture, and we stand on theside of our democraticallyelected partners in Ukraine,”said Emily Horn , aspokeswoman for the presi-dential administration ’snational security council .
In Moscow, the state-ment of the Foreign Officewas perceived as misinfor-mation. The RussianForeign Ministry stressedthat this once again provesthat NATO , led by theAnglo-Saxons, is escalatingtensions around Ukraine.
“We call on the BritishForeign Office to stopprovocative activities, stopspreading nonsense andconcentrate on studying thehistory of the Tatar-Mongolyoke,” the agency said in astatement.
Earlier Truss said thatUkraine has already experi-enced a lot of invasions -"from the Mongols to theTatars." In response to this,the official representativeof the Ministry of ForeignAffairs, Maria Zakharova,asked which educationalinstitution issued the diplo-ma to the minister.
The diplomat added thatMoscow expects moreprovocative statementsfrom Western countries,including on the situationaround Ukraine.
London reveals“Moscow’s plan” for Ukraine
Angelina Milchenko
As the poet Shelleyonce hopefullywrote, ‘if winter
comes, can spring be farbehind?’ When it comesto China–US relationsnow, it seems that springis quite far behind.
At the beginning of2021, there were modesthopes. The good news wasthat Joe Biden had won theUS presidential election.Trump’s trade war had sentthe relationship into a deepdive. His manipulation ofthe China question fordomestic political gain con-tributed to its further deteri-oration. His handling of theTaiwan issue towards theend of his term increasedthe risk of accidental con-flict across the TaiwanStrait.
Biden is the polar oppo-site of Trump. He belongsto the US policy main-stream, characterised asprofessional, decent andcool-headed. Somebelieved this was a positivesign for China–US relationsand held prospect a morepragmatic approach towardChina. The Chinese gov-ernment shared this viewand signalled its willing-ness to work with the newadministration.
After the Biden adminis-tration officially tookoffice, Yang Jiechi, in
charge of China’s foreignrelations, said ‘it is a taskfor both China and theUnited States to restore therelationship to a predictableand constructive track ofdevelopment and build amodel of interactionbetween the two majorcountries that focuses onpeaceful coexistence andwin-win cooperation’.
But many in Washingtoninterpreted Yang’s messageas an effort to blame theUnited States for the prob-lems between the two coun-tries instead of an expres-sion of goodwill. Onassuming office, Secretaryof State Antony Blinkendefined the new administra-tion’s approach towardsChina as a mixture of com-petition, confrontation andcooperation.
It soon became clear thatcompetition would contin-ue to dominate US policytowards China. Washingtonblasted China’s behaviouron a range of issues, includ-ing Hong Kong, Xinjiang,Taiwan, the South ChinaSea and human rights.Blinken labelled China’spolicies in Xinjiang as a‘genocide’. The Bidenadministration also steppedup efforts to rally its alliesto ‘push back’ on China.
Washington’s uncom-promising posture drew
frustration and anger fromBeijing. Many in Chinaconcluded that the Bidenadministration’s China pol-icy was worse than theTrump administration’ssince it sought to create aninternational anti-Chinafront. A tit-for-tat exchangebetween Beijing andWashington followed. Atthe two countries’ firsthigh-level face-to-facemeeting in Alaska on 13November 2021, there wasa heated exchange.
Despite some coopera-tion on particular issues,like climate change, theconflict between the twosides has increased. Theissue that drew the mostattention turned out to beTaiwan. Taiwan authorities’efforts to push for inde-pendence coupled withincreasing US endorsementand support elicited atougher stance from China,which included sendingmilitary aircraft to patrolthe vicinity of Taiwan. Thevicious cycle of interac-tions between Beijing,Taipei and Washingtonincreased the likelihood ofa military showdown.
Against this background,the virtual summit meetingbetween Chinese PresidentXi Jinping and Biden on 16
November was more abouthow to set guard rails forthe relationship thanexploring the possibility ofsubstantive cooperation.Despite the summit, therelationship betweenBeijing and Washingtoncontinues to slide. The mostrecent bickering includes aUS official boycott of theBeijing Winter Olympics,sanctions over Xinjiang andChinese retaliation.
Why has the relationshipevolved in this way?
The rise of China haselevated security concernsamong US realists aboutChina’s strategic intentions,especially in the light ofChina’s military moves todefend its proclaimed terri-torial sovereignty in theSouth China Sea and theTaiwan Strait. Politicaldevelopments in Chinahave also disappointed USliberals who had banked onthe hope of encouragingpolitical reform in Chinathrough engagement.
Trump’s race-to-the-bot-tom anti-China rhetoricprovided a vent for frustra-tion with China for both USrealists and liberals alikeand contributed to a politi-cal atmosphere in theUnited States in whichbeing tough is the right andonly posture when it comesto China.
Given the anti-Chinaconsensus in the USCongress and the slimmajority the governingDemocrats enjoy, Bidenhas had to remain tough onChina to get anything doneat home. This includes theappointment of cabinetofficials, passing bills tocontain COVID-19 andrebuilding infrastructure.
How the two countriesinteracted with each other,which was characterised bymegaphone diplomacy fordomestic consumption,undermined any goodwillthat remained for stabilisa-tion and improvement ofthe relationship.
In the short run, thesefactors are unlikely tochange. The 2022 mid-termelections bode ill forChina–US relationsbecause the Republicanswho stand on an eventougher policy towardChina appear likely to win.
Under these circum-stances, the Biden adminis-tration is unlikely to be ableto advance a pragmaticapproach toward China.Ahead of the 20th PartyCongress, China is alsounlikely to compromise.
The stabilisation andimprovement of China–USrelations is likely to remaina distant prospect for sometime yet.
‘If winter comes, can spring be far behind?’Jia Qingguo
Co m m a n d e r - i n -Chief of the Ger-man Navy, Vice A-
dmiral Kai-Achim Schön-bach, was forced to resignafter saying that Crimeawould never return toUkraine and that RussianPresident Vladimir Putindeserved respect. Hiswords were condemned inthe Ministry of Defenseand the Foreign Ministryof Germany. In Russia,the incident was treatedwith sympathy.
"Gone, he'll nevercome back"
“Does Russia reallywant a small piece ofUkrainian land? Or annexthe whole country? No, thisis nonsense. Putin is proba-bly applying pressurebecause he knows he cando it and it's splitting theEU, but what he reallywants is a high level ofrespect. Giving him respectis a small price to pay. It'snot a price at all. It's easy togive him the respect he pos-sibly deserves," said Vice
Admiral Schoenbach,speaking at a conference ofthe Indian Institute ofDefense Studies ManoharParrikar, commenting onthe situation in Ukraine.
According to him,Russia is important forIndia and Germany to con-front China. “Our sanctionsare going in the wrongdirection. Of course, wecannot agree with what ishappening in Ukraine, wemust deal with this issue.But the Crimean peninsulais gone, it will never return.This is a fact,” the ViceAdmiral is convinced.
The German publicationDer Spiegel published anarticle criticizing the wordsof the commander in chief.However, readers stood upfor the military in the com-ments to the publication.According to many,Ukraine is “inflating” thesituation around theCrimean peninsula in orderto drag Germany into thisconflict and stop NordStream 2.
“Those who believe thatRussia will return Crimeaalso believe in Santa Claus.The Vice Admiral only sayswhat everyone knows,”wrote a firmus reader.
Some Germans alsoagree that the Vice Admiral"simply said out loud whatthe majority thinks."
"It was a clear mis-take"
Spiegel also reportedthat Schönbach's remarkscaused discontent in theGerman Ministry ofDefense and the Ministry ofForeign Affairs. Accordingto the publication, DefenseMinister ChristineLambrecht "urgently"
spoke via video withInspector General of theGerman Armed ForcesEberhard Zorn and a publicrelations consultant to dis-cuss the vice admiral'swords.
The Ministry of Defenseof the country also made anappeal. “The statements (ofVice Admiral Schönbach –Gazeta.Ru) in terms of con-tent and choice of words inno way correspond to theposition of the FederalMinistry of Defense,” thedepartment’s press servicetold dpa .
The vice admiral himselfwrote on his Twitter that hesaid about Putin and Cri-mea "carelessly, incorrectlyassessing the situation."
“I shouldn't have donethis. There is no doubt thatthis was a clear mistake.My security policy state-ments at a think tank inIndia expressed my person-al opinion… They do notcorrespond in any way to
the official position of theBundeswehr,” Schönbachwrote.
" T h o u g h t l e s sComments"
The Ukrainian ForeignMinistry also reacted to thestatements of the GermanVice Admiral. They areconvinced that "Crimeawill certainly return thanksto the persistent efforts" ofKiev and its partners, who"will show determination incountering the aggressorstate."
“The Crimean peninsulacan only be lost in theimagination of the GermanVice Admiral… In thisregard, we demand clarifi-cation from the Germangovernment how the wordsof the Navy Commandercorrelate with Germany’sconsistent support for theCrimean Platform.
<...>Even an attempt tounderstand Putin by thecommander of the GermanNavy must have its moral,political and dangerouslimits. In this case, theseborders have been grosslyviolated,” the UkrainianForeign Ministry said in astatement .
Due to the violent reac-tion of Ukrainian andGerman officials,Schönbach had to urgentlyresign.
“I have just asked thefederal secretary of defenseto immediately release mefrom my duties and dutiesas an inspector of the navy.The mindless comments Imade in India on securityand military policy issuesare increasingly beingblamed on my office. Toprevent further damagefrom the German Navy, the
Bundeswehr, but above allfrom the Federal Republicof Germany, I consider thisstep necessary, ”Pressep-ortal quoted him as saying.
His resignation wasgranted.
"Sanity Awakened"Schönbach's dismissal
garnered the approval ofthe Ukrainian ambassadorto Germany, AndriyMelnyk . "We welcome thatSchönbach has resigned,"he told German newspaperWelt.
He also stressed thatwhat happened "seriouslycalls into question the inter-national authority and relia-bility of Germany - notonly from the Ukrainianpoint of view." Accordingto Melnyk, Schönbach'swords "plunged the entireUkrainian public into adeep shock."
In Russia, the fate of theGerman vice-admiralaroused only sympathy. Inan interview with RIANovosti, State Dumadeputy from the Crimean
region Mikhail Sheremetsaid that after so much timeafter the referendum in2014 in the West, finally,“sanity woke up.”
“I am sure that theEuropeans will recognizethe territory of Crimea asRussian. But that's not whatmatters. The importantthing is that the Crimeansconsider themselves citi-zens of Russia and thatRussia considers Crimea anintegral part of itself.Crimea has always been, isand will be Russian. Andlet those who are trying touse Crimea to impose sanc-tions and put pressure onRussia will kill it on theirnoses,” the parliamentarianstressed.
In turn, Senator AlexeiPushkov wrote in hisTelegram that Schönbach’sstatements are an exampleof “unacceptable” thinkingfor a general or a “correct”politician from a NATOcountry .
“Not only to talk likethat, it’s even forbidden tothink like that. Where betterto talk nonsense about the"great history" of Ukraine,which supposedly foughtback from the Mongols,then from the Tatars, thenGod knows who else ...This is what Western poli-tics can carry - and it iseven encouraged. What isneeded is not an assessmentof reality, but an ideologi-cal dogma; what is neededis not a sound analysis, butservice to the line of theglobal “liberal party”.
The vice admiral wentbeyond this invisible buthard "red line". He paid theprice for this, ”the senatorironically remarked.
Why German viceadmiral was firedwithin 24 hours
Maria Shustrova
According to him, Russia is important for India andGermany to confront China. “Our sanctions are
going in the wrong direction. Of course, we cannotagree with what is happening in Ukraine, we mustdeal with this issue. But the Crimean peninsula isgone, it will never return. This is a fact,” the Vice
Admiral is convinced. The German publication DerSpiegel published an article criticizing the words ofthe commander in chief. However, readers stood upfor the military in the comments to the publication.According to many, Ukraine is “inflating” the situa-tion around the Crimean peninsula in order to dragGermany into this conflict and stop Nord Stream 2.“Those who believe that Russia will return Crimeaalso believe in Santa Claus. The Vice Admiral onlysays what everyone knows,” wrote a firmus reader.
Some Germans also agree that the Vice Admiral"simply said out loud what the majority thinks."
F.P. Report
KARACHI: ChairmanBusinessmen Panel (BMP)of the Federation ofPakistan Chambers ofCommerce and Industry(FPCCI) Mian Anjum Nisaron Sunday said thatincrease in Foreign DirectInvestment (FDI) in thefirst half the current fiscalyear reflects the improve-ment in security situation,implying that investors hadstarted coming back toPakistan as the country hasattracted FDI of over $1billion, up by 20 percentowing to government’s eff-orts to create a conduciveenvironment for investors.
In a statement issuedhere, he said that the coun-try’s liberal policies offeredone of the most attractiveinvestment regimes in theregion, anticipating thatPakistan might attract $2.5billion in foreign inflows infiscal year 2021-22.
Although the FDI datawas encouraging, it mightbe difficult to keep the paceof FDI inflows at presentlevels for the next half yearif Covid-19 challenges con-tinued to mount, he said.FPCCI former presidentappreciated the govern-ment’s resolve to meet thechallenges faced byPakistan in European mar-kets vigorously, suggestingthat it should devise strate-gies to promote Pakistaniproducts and called upon
the trade officers to takeadvantage of opportunitiesoffered by the China Paki-stan Economic Corridor.
Mian Anjum Nisar saidthat lifting of Covid-19restrictions across the worldduring the first half of thecurrent fiscal year alsoencouraged foreign inves-tors to press ahead with theirinvestment plans for Paki-stan. Moreover, the revivalof work on energy projectsunder CPEC drew invest-ment in the power sector,which turned out to be thetop segment in FDI inflowsduring July-Dec 2021.
Quoting the figures, hesaid that in Dec 2021,Pakistan registered 29 per-cent year-on-year increasein foreign investment,which reached $219 mil-lion. The power sectortopped the foreign invest-ment chart as investmentinflows amounted to $364million during the half ofthe year, however, it was36pc lower than the invest-ment of $487 million in thesame period of 2020. Theinvestment in financialbusinesses jumped 38pc to$206 million during July-Dec 2021 against $128 mil-lion in the same period of2020. The communicationsector recorded foreigninvestment of $147 millionin the period under reviewagainst the outflow of $42million in July-Dec 2020.
The Chairman FPCCI’sBMP said that China
emerged as the biggestinvestor in Pakistan as itpoured $306.7 million inJuly-December 2021. It,however, was 21.3 percentlower than the investmentof $389.8 million in thecorresponding period of2020. Investment by the USmore than doubled to$149.3 million in the periodunder review against $68.2million in July-December2020. Investment from theNetherlands skyrocketed184.6% as it rose from$43.7 million in July-December 2020 to $124.5million in July-Dec 2021.
The improvement in FDIcame on the back of revivalof ongoing projects underCPEC, particularly thosethat were related to thepower sector, he said,adding that work on energyschemes had been halteddue to the Covid-19 out-break in China and then inPakistan but during the pastsix months, activities resu-med at full pace, which ledto the flow of investmentbetween the two countries.Lockdowns have been lift-ed by both sides and itbodes well for foreigninvestment flows, he said.
Mian Anjum Nisarappreciated the govern-ment’s efforts to attract for-eign investment in thecountry, which has bornefruit as it jumped 20%despite the challengesposed by the pandemic. Thetimeframe of this data
(July-December) is fromthe end of third wave ofCovid-19 and the beginningof fourth wave, so therewere no restrictions inbetween and investorspoured money freely, hepointed out. However, theinvestment environmentwill be challenging infuture, he warned.
Work on CPEC has resu-med and this is the majorreason behind the sharpincrease in inflows duringJuly-December 2021, hesaid and elaborated thathydropower and coal proj-ects were being executed aspart of CPEC, adding thatin future startups wouldlead the FDI inflows.
Mian Anjum Nisar saidthat despite some increasein foreign investment, theFDI inflows were not suffi-cient to fully offset thewidening in the currentaccount gap. He said thatonly political will and dras-tic steps can revive theeconomy, which shouldhave grown significantlyand constantly for visibleimpact. He advocated theneed for raising the coun-try’s tax base so that tax-to-GDP ratio improves fromcurrent 9 percent. Besidesgovernance challenges,adverse security percep-tion, political instabilityand the foreign tradeoffices role is also vital forthe continuity of enhance-ment in foreign investment,he concluded.
ISLAMABAD (APP): Theimport of mobile phonesinto the country has wit-nessed an increase of 16.17percent during the half offiscal year (2021-22) ascompared to the correspon-ding period of last year.
Pakistan importedmobile phones worth US$1090.621 million during
July-December (2021-22)as compared to the importsof US $938.819 millionduring July-December(2020-21), showing growthof 16.17 percent, accordingto the Pakistan Bureau ofStatistics (PBS).
Meanwhile, on year-to-year basis, the import ofmobile phones also rose
by 8.92 percent duringthe month of December2021 when compared tothe same month of lastyear.
The import of mobilesinto the country duringDecember 2021 wererecorded at $233.891 mil-lion against the exports of$214.736 million in
December 2020.On month-on-month
basis, the imports ofmobile phones also wit-nessed increase of 10.30percent during December2021, as compared to theimports of US $212.058million during November2021, according to thedata.
ISLAMABAD (APP):Pakistan Furniture Council(PFC) Chief ExecutiveOfficer Mian KashifAshfaq Sunday saidPakistan’s furniture exportsregistered astronomical206.05 per cent increaseduring the first five monthsof the current fiscal year,compared to correspondingperiod of the last year.
He was talking to a dele-gation of furniture manu-facturers jointly led byChaudhary Nabeel andChaudhary Waleed, whichcalled on him here.
He said during the periodunder review, furnitureworth US$ 3,645 millionwas exported and $ 1,191million compared to corre-sponding period of last year.He said furniture industryhad big potential to domi-nate global markets withinnovative designs andcould significantly con-tribute to exports. However,a package of incentives andfacilitation was direly need-ed for further boostingexports, he added. He saidif the government extendedfull support, the volume of
furniture exports couldtouch the figure of $5 bil-lion for the next five years.
He hoped that under thedynamic leadership ofPrime Minister ImranKhan, the furniture sectorwould grow and flourish inthe days to come. He saidthe business communityhad pinned high hopes onPakistan Tehreek-e-Insafled government, addingthat Imran Khan’s govern-ment was committed toproviding all facilities tobusinessmen to enhance thevolume of exports.
ISLAMABAD (APP): Thebusiness community fromacross the country stronglycondemned the Anarkaliblast on Sunday expressingsolidarity with law enforc-ing agencies to frustrate theevil designs of anti state ele-ments and stamp out terror.
Chairing an emergentcore committee meeting ofUnited Business Group(UBG) president SAARCChamber of Commerce andIndustry Iftikhar Ali Maliksaid the entire business com-munity with absolute unityin their ranks is on one pagewith law enforcing agenciesto defend the geographicalfrontiers and flush out terror-ism from the motherland.
He said that Pakistan isfacing gigantic and myriadchallenges including terror-
ism and is passing througha critical period of history.He said that with theproverbial resilience of ourpeople, we are destined toovercome this challengeand will soon emerge as astronger country.
Iftikhar Malik who isalso Chairman UBG prayedto Almighty Allah to grantthe strength and vision tofulfill obligations to thenation to the best of ourabilities and in line with theprinciples set by father ofthe nation “We, by playingour part in the developmentof the country, can makePakistan unassailable agai-nst security and economicchallenges,” he added.
He said that better lawand order is pre-requisitefor strengthening of nation-
al economy and promotionof democratic system bes-ides inflow of foreign inve-stors in every sphere of life.
While concluding hesaid that patriotic businesscommunity will help thwartthe targeted anti state sub-versive activities by a sec-tion of disgruntled andunscrupulous elements.
Prominent present amongthem were UBG patron -in -chief SM Muneer,UBG Pre-sident Zubair Tufail, Secre-tary General Zafar Bakh-tawari, Secretary Informa-tion Dr Mirza Ikhtiar Baig,Khalid Tawab, Mian Adress,Sh Tanvir, Dr Nouman IdrisButt, Hussam, HameedAkhtar Chadda, GhazanfarBilour, founder SecretaryGeneral SAARC ChamberRehmat Ullah Javed.
ISLAMABAD (INP): Cha-irman Pakistan EconomyWatch (PEW), Brig (retd)Aslam Khan has said due torising inflation and politicaland economic instabilitythe people are worried andthe future of the country isat stake.
In a statement issuedhere on Sunday, he said thatif the country’s economywas not given full attentionby policymakers then wewill be wiped out.
Brig (retd) Aslam Khansaid that in these criticaltimes, it is a welcome stepto recognize the economyas a key component ofnational security.
He said that economicsecurity is a key element ofnational security thatrequires serious effort inthe right direction.
Chairman PEW wel-
comed the Prime Minister’sacknowledgement thatgoing to the IMF is tanta-mount to compromisingnational security, addingthat the only way out of theclutches of internationalinstitutions is to stabilizethe economy, which is alsolinked to the well-being ofthe people.
He said that it hasbecome impossible to pro-vide resources to meet theneeds of defence and othercritical sectors leaving usinsecure, the solution towhich is growth and devel-opment.
Aslam Khan said that atpresent there is no suchcountry in the world thatcan ensure security andsovereignty without arobust economy while bor-rowing countries have tocompromise their national
interests.He added that the agri-
cultural exports of coun-tries with ten to twentytimes less area thanPakistan are earning threeto four times more than ourtotal exports.
On the other hand,Pakistan is an agriculturalcountry but it is importingfood items worth billions ofdollars.
The agriculture sectorhas never received theattention it deserves as thefocus of policymakersremained on the industrialand services sectors.
Chairman PEW said itwas not enough for anycountry to be committed todefending its territorialintegrity in response toadventures by neighbour-ing countries as it requiresresources.
ISLAMABAD (INP): For-mer President of IslamabadChamber of Commerce andIndustry (ICCI) Dr. ShahidRasheed Butt has saidPakistan has enough oil andgas to satisfy all its needsfor the next fifty years.
Pakistan has coalreserves that are enough tosatisfy the needs of thecountry for the next fewhundred years, whichshould be utilized as themajority of local compa-nies, are still relying onimported coal, he said.
In a statement issued onSunday, Shahid RasheedButt said that incentivesshould be announced for
foreign oil and gas explo-ration companies to reducedependence on fuel importsand ensure energy security.
The foreign companies,which have been forced toleave the country, should becalled back with all kindsof assurances and goodincentives so that the ener-gy situation in the countrycan be improved, he added.
The business leaderinformed that apart fromcoal, the oil and gas importbill is on the rise resultingin massive deficits whichcannot be repaid withoutloans.
The ICCI formerPresident said that accord-
ing to a report by the USEnergy InformationAdministration, Pakistanhas gas for the next 53years and petroleumreserves for the next fiftyyears but instead of extract-ing it, we are spending bil-lions in importing fossilfuel.
Pakistan needs at least30 billion dollars over the12 months to pay off debtsand liabilities but the gov-ernment does not have themoney and the country’seconomy lacks the capacityto repay loans thereforefresh borrowing is neededto repay old debts, heobserved.
ISLAMABAD (INP): ThePakistan Industrial andTraders Association Front(PIAF), on Sunday whileappreciating the NationalElectric Power RegulatoryAuthority (NEPRA) fordecreasing electricity priceby 99-paisa per unit underquarterly tariff adjustment(QTA) formula, has urgedthe authority to cut theelectricity rate on perma-nent basis.
The tariff cut willbecome effective from Feband remain in place untilApril 2022 and provideabout Rs22 billion relief tothe consumers in thesethree months. The adjust-ment was on account ofvarious cost variations forthe 4th quarter (March-June) of 2020-21. Thelower tariff will be applica-ble to the consumers of allDiscos.
In a joint statementissued here on Sunday,PIAF senior vice chairmanNasir Hameed and vicechairman Javed Siddiqialso welcomed the govern-ment plan of shutting downall expensive oil basedpower plants (IPPs) toensure availability ofcheaper energy for con-sumers.
Nasir Hameed lamentedthat the previous govern-ment did not pay attention
on rehabilitation and main-tenance of old power plantswhich caused several sys-tem constraints inflictingheavy losses.
He urged the power min-istry to identify system con-straints, communicate tar-gets to all the concerneddepartments to initiate up-gradation of transmissionsystem on war footing. Hecalled for completing allongoing power projectswell before time. He saidthat production of hydelpower has been increasedwhile furnace oil price isconstantly declining in theinternational markets. Theauthority, therefore, shouldnot restrict the relief to onemonth only rather it shouldmake decrease in the powertariff on permanent basis,he added.
PIAF vice chairmanJaved Siddiqi said thatbusiness friendly policiesmust be adopted as otherneighbouring countries ofthe region are giving totrade and industry. Theamount specified in tradepolicy should be utilised forthe promotion of exports bygiving incentives to thetrade and industry and byexploring new markets, hesuggested.
He said that the high costof doing business hasproved to be dangerous for
Pakistan’s industry, dis-couraging investment bothin capacity and capability,calling for lessening theburden of heavy taxes onthe power sector.
Javed Siddiqi said thatconstant hike in power tar-iff on the plea of fueladjustment has pushed theelectricity prices higher andadded to the already soar-ing cost of trade and indus-try. Seeking the same com-petitive energy tariffs fordomestic industries to cap-ture the global market, hesaid that due to the highrates of electricity, powertheft became rampant as thetariff was not affordable forthe consumers.
The Vice ChairmanPIAF urged the power min-istry to identify system con-straints and communicatetargets to all the concerneddepartments to initiate up-gradation of transmissionsystem on war footing. Hecalled for completing allongoing power projectswell before time. He saidproduction of hydel powerhas been increased whilefurnace oil price is con-stantly declining in theinternational markets. Hesaid that business-friendlypolicies must be adopted asother neighboring countriesof the region are giving totrade and industry.
The Frontier Post Monday, January 24, 2022
MULTAN: Labourer busy in unloading corn cobs from delivery truck atvegetable market.
KARACHI: People purchasing dry fruits from a street vendor.
Pakistan to attract $2.5bforeign investment inFY22: Anjum Nisar
Cyber securityjobs top list
of fastestgrowing roles
RIYADH (Agencies):Cybersecurity specialists,talent acquisition experts,and back end developersare among the fastest-growing jobs in SaudiArabia, according to newdata from global profes-sional networking firmLinkedIn.
The pandemic, digitali-zation and a slew of newgovernment policies in theregion have all impactedthe list published by thecompany this year, whichreveals that a staggering 9in 10 MENA professionalsfeel confident in their cur-rent role. This increasedconfidence is in turn driv-ing a desire among theworkforce to change jobs,with 72 percent of profes-sionals in KSA consideringa switch this year.
Skills such as networksecurity and user interfacedesign are also some of thefastest growing skills in theregion, as technology con-tinues to hold center stagein the region’s agenda.
It was found that thedesire to consider a new jobrole seems to decrease withage with nearly nine in 10— 87 percent — of Gen Zsurveyed looking for achange compared to the 71percent of boomers andGen X.
Ali Matar, head ofLinkedIn MENA andEMEA Venture Marketssaid: “A staggering 8 in 10professionals in the UAEand KSA are consideringchanging their jobs.
“This is part of a largerglobal trend that has alsoseen companies revamppolicies and benefits to notjust hire, but also retainquality talent.
“Candidates are beingincreasingly selective aboutthe organizations theychoose to apply for — cit-ing flexibility, compensa-tion, and company cultureas critical factors.”
The research also claimsthat nearly 85 percent ofworkers feel confidentenough to push for a pro-motion or new job opportu-nities at work, while almosthalf — 48 percent — of theworkers surveyed in SaudiArabia think their confi-dence in their role will onlyget better in 2022.
Competition in theKingdom was found tohave dropped by around 29percent, and job seekersacross markets are in astronger position to negoti-ate salaries and terms thatbenefit their ideal world ofwork.
One of the key motiva-tors of this surge in workerconfidence is the increasein flexible working, with51 percent of the workforcesaying that it has madethem more confident tothink about trying a newcareer.
Govt urgedto withdrawbuyers’ ICcompulsion
MULTAN (APP): Presi-dent, Multan Chamber ofCommerce and Industry(MCCI), Khawaja Muha-mmad Hussain, appealedgovernment to relax thecondition of national identi-ty cards on sales to unregis-tered buyers pleading that itwould cause stress amongthe business community.
The tough conditionincorporated in the FinanceSupplementary Bill wouldhold bound the retailers,manufacturers and others toregister ComputerizedNational Identity Cards(CNICs) of unregisteredbuyers.
The same condition hadbeen introduced in past butwas withdrawn after itcaused anxiety among thebusiness community,Khawaja said.
The re-introduction ofthe condition would putextra burden on businesscommunity. It shifts theonus of CNIC of unregis-tered buyers on businesscommunity, the MCCIpresident said adding thattraders could also face legalaction action in case theCNICs of unregistered buy-ers were not verified.
He said that businesscommunity alwaysremained on top on pay-ment of taxes.
The MCCI presidentsaid that manufacturerswere already paying 20per cent sales tax on salesto unregistered buyers,some 3 per cent above thetax rate of 17 per cent incase of sales to registeredbuyers.
IT exportsincrease by35.77% insix months
ISLAMABAD (APP): TheInformation Technology(IT) exports have surged atthe growth rate of 35.77percent in the first sixmonths of the currentfinancial year.
“ICT export remittances,including telecommunica-tion, computer, and infor-mation services for theperiod July-DecemberFinancial Year (FY) 2021-22 have surged to the US$1.302 billion at a growthrate of 35.77% in compari-son to the US $959 millionduring July-December FY2020-21”, said the ministryin a statement issued hereon Sunday.
In December 2021, theICT export remittances arethe US $251 million at agrowth rate of 28.72%when compared to US$ 195million reported for themonth of December 2020also, $30 million higherthan export remittancesduring the previous monthNovember 2021.
The net exports for theperiod July-DecemberFY2021-22 are US$ 972million which is 74.65% ofUS$ 1.302 billion inexports. Last year, for thesame period the net exportswere US$ 681 millionwhich was 71.01% of US$959 million in exports.
‘Dubious economicconditions have put
country’s future at stake’
Business communitycondemn Anarkali blast
PIAF calls for cutin power rates
Pakistan has enough oil,gas reserves for next 50years: Shahid Rasheed
Pak furniture exportswitnesses 206% surged
Mobile phone imports increased
The Frontier Post Monday, January 24, 2022
In briefIn briefWomen
football cupKARACHI (NNI):Administrator Karachi,Sindh governmentsSpokesman and CMAdvisor on LawBarrister MurtazaWahab on Sunday saidthat holding of WomenE m p o w e r m e n tFootball Cup inKarachi is a pleasantbreeze. “Womenshould have the oppor-tunity to showcasetheir talent in everyfield. Platforms will beprovided for girlsinvolved in varioussports,” theAdministrator said thiswhile addressing a cer-emony of distributionof certificates for thefinal of the footballmatch between theunder-19 girls at thefootball groundClifton. BarristerMurtaza Wahab saidthat participation ofgirls in sports is ahealthy trend. "PPPbelieves in women'sempowerment," headded. He said thatShaheed BenazirBhutto led Pakistanand gave confidence towomen He said thatwomen all over theworld have outstandingperformance in everyfield. "Karachi's colorsare being restored andvarious tournamentsand sports competi-tions will be held in thecity," the Administratorsaid. Jaffa footballteam won the WomenE m p o w e r m e n tFootball Cup afterdefeating KarachiUnited. BarristerMurtaza Wahab distrib-uted prizes and appre-ciated and encouragedall the talented girlswho played in the foot-ball match.
3rd T20abandoned
A D E L A I D E(Agencies): England'sthird and finalTwenty20 againstAustralia in theWomen's Ashes wasabandoned without aball being bowledbecause of rain inAdelaide. Australianow lead the multi-for-mat series 4-2 as eachside take one point.The hosts won the firstT20 by nine wickets,before the second T20was also abandonedbecause of rain. Thetwo sides next faceeach other in a one-offTest from 27-30January in Canberra,with four points onoffer for the winner.Victory for Australia inthe Test will guaranteethe holders retain theAshes as Englandwould only be able tosecure an 8-8 draw atbest. The three one-dayinternationals that fol-low the Test are worthtwo points each. "It'sreally frustrating butwe're just going tohave to prepare as bestwe can for the Test,"England captainHeather Knight toldBBC Test MatchSpecial. "We've hadsome really goodpreparation in the lastcouple of years in Testcricket, but it's a prettyquick turnaround, soit's going to be quitetricky." The four-dayTest at the ManukaOval starts at 23:00GMT on 26 January.Since the first multi-format series in 2013,three of the five Testshave been drawn, withEngland and Australiawinning one each."Previously whenwe've not been at ourbest we've gone intoour shells a little bit, sowe've talked about theway to beat the Aussiesis to be aggressive,"added Knight. "Wehave to be positive inthe Test and make aplan to try and win it."There are no reservedays in the Women'sAshes and the serieswas brought forwardby a week to allowboth teams to quaran-tine before the subse-quent World Cup inNew Zealand."Reserve days in Ashesand World Cups wouldbe useful - the sched-ule is massively con-densed this year sothere is no wiggleroom but it would begood in future series ifthey could be workedin," said Knight.
09
LAHORE (APP): TikTok,the leading short-form videoplatform, has announced itwill sponsor the officialanthem of the HBL PakistanSuper League 7.
This season’s anthem willbe sung by Atif Aslam andAima Baig and produced byAbdullah Siddiqui.
This year, TikTok will addthe flavour and excitementaround the upcoming seasonof the HBL PSL by bringingits most-awaited anthem tothe fans. TikTok will be thefirst digital platform wherethe teaser and anthem willofficially be launched. Thepowerful duo of Atif Aslamand Aima Baig coupled withthe gifted Abdullah Siddiquiand TikTok as the drivingforce behind the anthem issure to instill a sense of cele-
bration, joy, entertainmentand passion among cricketfans in Pakistan.
This sponsorship willfurther cement TikTok’sposition as one of theworld’s most loved enter-tainment platforms. TikTokis transforming entertain-ment experiences intosomething that’s truly per-sonal, while celebrating thejoy of discovery. his isfueled by the TikTok com-munity that creates contentthat brings joy, celebratescreativity, shapes cultureand transcends boundaries.
Chief Operating OfficerPCB Salman Naseer said onSunday : “The HBLPakistan Super Leagueanthems have a fan base oftheir own and each seasonwe have produced quality
anthems that have ignitedpassion and excitement bothin Pakistan and around theworld. This season, we areupbeat and excited about abrilliant collaborationbetween Pakistan superstarsAtif Aslam and Aima Baigwith Abdullah Siddiqui.
“We want to thankTikTok for coming onboardwith us as the anthem part-ner, the TikTok platform issynonymous with entertain-ment and I am confident thisanthem will help generategreat excitement on the plat-form. In recent days, wehave made two strategicpartnerships with TikTokand I am confident that thesetwo partnerships will pro-vide Pakistan cricket andentertainment fans someworld-class content.”
TikTok to sponsor officialanthem of HBL PSL 7
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO(AP): There were mixedemotions within the pow-erhouse Italian ski teamwhen Elena Curtoni won asuper-G on Sunday whileSofia Goggia crashedagain with the BeijingOlympics less than twoweeks away.
For the second victory ofher career in her 230thWorld Cup race, Curtonimastered a tricky course-setto finish a slim 0.09 secondsahead of Austria’s TamaraTippler and 0.24 ahead ofOlympic combined champi-on Michelle Gisin.
Overall World Cupleader Mikaela Shiffrintook few risks and placed16th with lower-rankedskiers still coming downthe course.
Goggia’s left knee wasbeing checked after she didthe splits midway throughanother wild run, a dayafter she overcame a seriesof mishaps to win a down-hill on the Olympia delleTofane course.
Goggia also had a high-speed crash during adownhill at Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, Austria, lastweekend. She escapedserious injury in that crashbut was banged up to thepoint that she said shecouldn’t walk on Monday.
Like the crash in Austria,Goggia’s latest falloccurred on a section ofthe course where shadowsmade visibility difficult.
Goggia was 0.07 behindCurtoni at the secondcheckpoint when she madean error and had to checkher skis to stay on course.Moments later, Goggia lostcontrol as her skis rattledon the hard surface. Sheended up doing the splits,was bumped into the airand landed on her backbefore tumbling down thecourse, through the nextgate, eventually coming toa stop without hitting thesafety nets.
After being tended tobriefly, Goggia clickedback into her skis andmade her way down to thefinish under her ownpower. But she was visiblydiscouraged.
“It’s a bittersweet day,”Curtoni said. “I’m happywith what I was able to doin my race and very upsetfor Sofia.” Curtoni left herleader’s seat to check onGoggia. “She was undershock,” Curtoni said.Goggia missed her homeworld championships inCortina last season afterbreaking a bone in herright knee.
If she can stay healthy,
Goggia will be the favoritein both the super-G anddownhill at the BeijingGames, which open Feb. 4.Curtoni’s previous victorycame in a downhill inBansko, Bulgaria, twoyears ago. She has beenstrong all season and thismarked her third podiumresult in six super-Gs.
Curtoni excelled on thetechnical middle section ofthe course where Goggiaand several other skiershad trouble. “There weresome turns where I couldhave done more but it wasstill a good run on a diffi-cult course-set,” Curtonisaid. “I did what I’m capa-ble of out there.”
The last three women’s
World Cup races have nowbeen won by three differ-ent Italians: FedericaBrignone won a super-G atAltenmarkt followed byGoggia’s downhill victoryon Saturday, then Curtoni.
Italy dominates thesuper-G standings, whichare led by Brignone (377points) — who finishedfourth Sunday — Curtoni(348) and Goggia (332).Next up on the women’scalendar is a giant slalomat Kronplatz in nearby SanVigilio di Marebbe onTuesday.
Then another weekend ofspeed races in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany,are the final events beforethe Beijing Games.
Curtoni wins, Goggia crashes inmixed day for Italy ski team
MELBOURNE (Agencies): RafaelNadal finally got the better of acrazy, long tiebreaker and knew he’dwon half the battle.
After saving four set points andmissing with the first six of his own,Nadal finally clinched a tiebreakerthat lasted 28 minutes and 40 secondsto set himself on course to secure aspot in the Australian Open quarterfi-nals for a 14th time. After his 7-6 (14),6-2, 6-2 fourth-round victory over fel-low left-hander Adrian Mannarino onSunday, Nadal is potentially just threewins away from a men’s record 21stGrand Slam singles title.
He later reflected on a tiebreakerwhere momentum swung wildly;where chants of “Let’s go Rafa, Let’sgo!” rang out; where a point was decid-ed on a 25-shot rally with both playersscrambling at full stretch; and thatended only when Nadal volleyed fromdeep in the court and Mannarino’sreflex reply skewed wide.
“Well, you know, I played a cou-ple,” he said, smiling, in reference to
long tiebreakers. “But, yeah, (it was)a crazy one, chances for both. And,yeah, lucky to win that tiebreak at theend, no? “Half of the match in thetiebreak, without a doubt.”
Nadal will next play DenisShapovalov, the 22-year-old Canadianwho finished off a 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3 winover Olympic gold medalist AlexanderZverev on Margaret Court Arena lessthan an hour later to reach the last eightin Australia for the first time.
Shapovalov had to isolate after test-ing positive for COVID-19 when hearrived in Australia ahead of the year’sfirst major, but recovered quickly tohelp Canada win the ATP Cup inSydney and now reach a Grand Slamquarterfinal for the third time. Women’sNo. 1 Ash Barty advanced to the quar-terfinals for the fourth straight yearwhen she beat 20-year-old AmericanAmanda Anisimova 6-4, 6-3.
Barty is aiming to be the firstAustralian woman to win her homeGrand Slam title since 1978 and hasgone through the first four rounds with-out dropping a set. Anisimova, comingoff a third-round upset over defendingchampion Naomi Osaka, broke Barty’sopening service game of the second set— a first for the tournament — but thetwo-time major winner responded bytaking six of the last seven games.
Barty beat Anisimova in the semifi-nals of the French Open in 2019 on theway to winning her first Grand Slamtitle and won her second at Wimbledonlast year. She’ll next play No. 21-seed-ed Jessica Pegula, who beat fifth-seed-ed Maria Sakkari 7-6 (0), 6-3.
French Open champion BarboraKrejcikova breezed to a 6-2, 6-2 winover two-time Australian Open cham-
pion Victoria Azarenka and is into thelast eight for the third time in fourGrand Slam events.
Wimbledon runner-up MatteoBerrettini completed a Grand Slamset with a 7-5, 7-6 (4), 6-4 win over19th-seeded Pablo Carreno Busta inthe last match on Day 7. The sev-enth-seeded Berrettini has nowreached the quarterfinals at all fourof the tennis majors and will nextplay No. 17 Gael Monfils, who beatMiomir Kecmanovic 7-5, 7-6 (4), 6-3. The 35-year-old Monfils made itto the last eight for the second time in17 trips to Melbourne Park. Nadal, inhis 17th campaign in Australia, isnow tied with John Newcombe insecond spot on the all-time list formost Australian Open quarterfinals,one behind Roger Federer’s 15.
It’s also the 35-year-old Spaniard’s45th time into the last eight at a GrandSlam tournament, which is third on theall-time list behind Federer (58) andNovak Djokovic (51). He shares themen’s record of 20 major titles withFederer and Djokovic. But he’s theonly one of the trio playing in thistournament. Nine-time AustralianOpen champion Djokovic was deport-ed on the eve of the tournamentbecause he didn’t meet Australia’sstrict COVID-19 vaccination rules.Federer is recovering from injury.
Mannarino, who didn’t finish his 4-hour, 38-minute four-set, third-roundwin over No. 18 Aslan Karatsev untilafter 2 a.m. on Saturday and appearedto be hampered by an abdominal orupper leg injury, threw everything atNadal in the opening set on Rod LaverArena, where temperaturesapproached 33 Celsius (91 F).
Nadal reaches Australian Openquarterfinals for 14th time
ISTANBUL (Agencies):Dozens of people fromChina's Uyghur Muslimethnic group protested inIstanbul on Sunday, callingfor a boycott of nextmonth's Winter Olympicsin Beijing over China'streatment of the minority.
The protesters gatheredoutside the city's TurkishOlympic Committee build-ing, waving the blue-and-white flags of the inde-pendence movement ofEast Turkestan, a groupBeijing says threatens thestability of its far westernregion of Xinjiang.
"China stop the geno-cide, China close thecamps", chanted thedemonstrators, some hold-ing up a banner reading"Stop Genocide Olympics".
Chinese authoritieshave been accused offacilitating forced labourby detaining around a mil-lion Uyghurs and otherprimarily Muslim minori-ties in camps since 2016.
China initially denied
the camps existed, but hassince said they are voca-tional centres and aredesigned to combat extrem-ism. It denies all accusa-tions of abuse.
"China does not have theright to host the Olympicswhile committing all thetorture, cruelty and geno-cide against Uyghurs," saidheadscarved Uyghurhousewife MunevverOzuygur, who said she hadrelatives in camps in China.
The Beijing Olympicsbegin on Feb. 4. The UnitedStates and many of itsallies, including Britain,Canada, Australia, Japanand Denmark, have saidthey will not send officialdiplomatic delegations tothe Games in protest atChina's rights record.
About 50,000 Uyghurs -with whom Turks share eth-nic, religious and linguisticconnections - are believedto reside in Turkey, thelargest Uyghur Diasporaoutside Central Asia.
Last month, 19 Uyghurs
filed a criminal complaintwith a Turkish prosecutoragainst Chinese officials,accusing them of committinggenocide, torture, rape andcrimes against humanity.
Uyghurs living in Turkeyhave criticised Ankara'sapproach to China. ForeignMinister Mevlut Cavusoglusaid this month he con-veyed Turkey's "views,expectations and sensitivi-ties" over the Uyghurs tohis Chinese counterpartduring talks in Beijing.
U.N. experts and rightsgroups estimate more thana million people, mainlyfrom the Uyghur and otherMuslim minorities, havebeen detained in recentyears in camps in Xinjiang.
"The world, Turkic coun-tries and Islamic countriesneed to wake up. China iscommitting genocide rightnow," said protesterAbdurrahman Taymaz."They are deceiving people.We want these OlympicGames to be boycotted assoon as possible."
Olympics Uyghurs inTurkey call for boycott
of Beijing Games
ISLAMABAD (NNI):England's gem MichaelOwen, as the officialAmbassador of GlobalSoccer Ventures (GSV) jetsinto Pakistan.
The crown jewel ofLiverpool lands inIslamabad on 25 January2022 to begin football trans-formation. In a series of highprofile engagements andevents Michael will explainhis vision to overhaul foot-ball in Pakistan as GSV.
Michael will meet thePM Imran Khan and hisSpecial Assistant UsmanDar to outline GSV's foot-ball transformation pro-gramme for Pakistan. Hewill attend a meet and greetsession with the ArmyChief and conclude hisIslamabad visit at a highprofile presidential recep-tion hosted by Dr Arif Alviat The President House.
In Karachi, on 26January 2022, MichaelOwen will attend a press
conference at NEDUniversity to officially holda ground breaking ceremo-ny and release images tothe world of Pakistan's firstever Soccer City.
Michael Owen said, "Iam really excited to be atthe helm of Pakistan'slargest football transforma-tion programme anddelighted to be dischargedwith the responsibility totake football to a wholenew level in Pakistan".
Zabe Khan CEO of GSVsaid, "There is not much tosay when England's prideand joy takes the top job torevive football in Pakistan.Michael has been a veryloyal servant to Liverpooland his commitment andloyalty to making Pakistana successful football nationseems relentless".
Yasir `Mahmood GroupChairman of GSV said, "Itis a great honour forPakistan to welcomeMichael Owen to a country
which needs a professionaldirection with football.This change is set to kickoff with a player likeMichael Owen and all I cansay exciting times withfootball lie ahead".
Football is here to staywith GSV master plan byimplementation of its strat-egy for Pakistan. GSV willdevelop a sustainable grass-roots plan, devise a TalentID programme for interna-tional development inEurope, create lucrativeprofessional pathways withinternational football con-tracts offering a careerchanging lifestyle for thesuper talented, develop astate of the art stadiumstarting with Karachi as theflagship soccer city at NEDUniversity featuring worldclass sport science develop-ment and ultimately creat-ing a sensational franchisefootball league inPakistan's very own theatreof dreams.
Owen jets into Pakistanto unveil GSV's first
ever Soccer city
F.P. Report
KARACHI: The finalround of Sindh Open GolfChampionship 2022 wasplayed on Sunday atAirmen Golf Club.Pakistan’s Ace GolferShabbir Iqbal who main-tained lead on first twodays won the tournamentwith 208 eight under par.Muhammad Naeem ofPGC is the runner up with215 one under par andMuhammad Ashfaq ofAGC with 216 at par holdsthird position.
Speaking with themedia, Shabbir Iqbal whohas completed 194 titles,said, “I am thankful toAlMighty Allah for win-ning the Sindh Open Golf2022. Loosing title at lastweek’s Rashid D Habib
was my bad luck, howevernow I played carefully. Iam well prepared forPakistan Open, Chief ofAir Staff Tournament andDHA Open.”
Muhammad Saqib ofLGG with seven over parsecured first position inJunior Professionals.Second position in this cat-egory is jointly shared byAbdul Wadood from MTGand Nabeel Khan ofAirmen Golf Club.
In the senior profession-al category Tahir Naseemfrom GYM stood first withfour over par. MuhammadAkram is the runner upwith eight over par.
Salman Jehangir fromLG lead Amateurs catego-ry with two over par.Yashal Shah and SaimShazli of KGC secured
second and third positions.Omar Khalid of DHA suc-ceeded fourth positionwith Gross 240 at par.President Sindh GolfAssociation- KhurramKhan distributed prizesand trophies amongst theleaders of final day.
Khurram said, “Thestrong winds during thelast two days did chal-lenged the golfers, howev-er they accepted the chal-lenge. We will continuepromoting Golf players inPakistan.”
Tournament Refereeand Secretary of SindhGolf Association ColZahid Iqbal thanked theAirmen Golf Club forhosting the Sindh OpenGolf 2022. He congratulat-ed the winners and encour-aged the participants.
Defending ChampionShabbir Iqbal winsSindh Open Golf
ISLAMABAD (NNI): TheInternational CricketCouncil (ICC) has declaredPakistani ace batsman andwicketkeeper MohammadRizwan as ICC’s Cricketerof the Year in Men’s T20Ifield for the year 2021.
Announcing its decision,the ICC in a tweet onSunday listed its qualifica-tions for namingMohamamd Rizwan as itsCricketer of the Year whichwere sheer consistency,indomitable spirit and somebreath-taking knocks.
The ICC also declaredthat the year 2021 was amemorable one for thePakistani star.
Rizwan defeated JosButtler, WaninduHasaranga and MitchellMarsh to win the ICC’sprestigious award.
In a tweet, the PakistanCricket Board (PCB) alsocongratulated MohammadRizwan on winning the ICCaward.
Earlier, Pakistan'sShaheen Shah Afridi andMohammad Rizwan werenominated for Sir GarfieldSobers Trophy for ICCMen’s Cricketer of theYear. The ICC hadannounced that the 2021edition of the ICC Awards,celebrating and rewardingthe top performances acrossmen’s and women’s inter-
national cricket throughoutthe year will be unveiled onall of ICC’s channels andplatforms this week.
The individual awardsfor excellence in women’sand men’s internationalcricket will be revealed onthe ICC channels onJanuary 23 and 24.
This year’s awards willcomprise a total of 13 indi-vidual awards.
Players that have had themost impactful perform-ances in the period underconsideration — January 1to December 31 were nom-inated for these awards.TheICC Voting Academy, com-prising a wider selection ofglobal cricket journalistsand broadcasters, had votedfor their first, second andthird choices, while anoverwhelming 1.2 millionglobal cricket fans also sub-mitted their votes to choosetheir favourite cricketers ofthe year.
The result of the ICCVoting Academy selectionsand the fans’ vote will becombined to determine thewinner in each of these cat-egories.
The Emerging andAssociate categories listedabove did not feature short-lists and were determinedsolely by the ICC VotingAcademy.
List of awards and nom-
inees: Sir Garfield SobersTrophy for ICC Men’sCricketer of the Year:Shaheen Afridi, Joe Root,Mohammad Rizwan, KaneWilliamson.
Rachael Heyhoe FlintTrophy for ICC Women’sCricketer of the Year:Tammy Beaumont, LizelleLee, Smriti Mandhana,Gaby Lewis.
ICC Men’s TestCricketer of the Year: JoeRoot, Kyle Jamieson,Dimuth Karunaratne,Ravichandran Ashwin.
ICC Men’s ODICricketer of the Year:
Shakib Al Hasan, BabarAzam, Janneman Malan,Paul Stirling.
ICC Women’sCricketer of the Year:Tammy Beaumont, LizelleLee, Hayley Matthews,Fatima Sana.
ICC Men’s T20ICricketer of the Year: JosButtler, WaninduHasaranga, MitchellMarsh, MohammadRizwan.
ICC Women’s T20ICricketer of the Year:Tammy Beaumont, GabyLewis, Smriti Mandhana,Nat Sciver.
Mohammad Rizwandeclared ICC Men’s T20I
Cricketer of the Year
In briefIn briefMan held for killing
ISLAMABAD (APP):Islamabad Ramna policeSunday arrested a manaccused of killing a per-son during a brawl erupt-ed between two groupsin a ground of sector G-11. According to a policespokesman, on January13 police received infor-mation about a clashbetween two groups andgunshots at multi-pur-pose ground sector G-11.The police team rushedto the scene and found astudent with bulletinjuries. The injured per-son identified as AyanKhan was shifted to hos-pital where he was pro-nounced dead. The policeafter registering an FIRstarted an investigation totrace the accused. SPSaddar Tasawar Iqbalconstituted a police teamunder the supervision ofSDPO Ramna RanaHussain Tahir, SHORamna Akhtar Zaman,in-charge InvestigationSub-Inspector Asif Khan,constable MuhammadRamzan and other per-sonnel. The team, whileusing modern investiga-tion methods, traced theaccused Zohaib Satti andarrested, besides recover-ing a weapon used incrime. IGP IslamabadMuhammad AhsanYounus lauded theefforts of police teams fortimely tracing the culprit.
Eight suspectsheld
ISLAMABAD (APP):As many as eight sus-pects were taken intocustody by the capitalpolice during a massivesearch and compingoperation conducted inlimits of Noon police sta-tion, said a policespokesman on Sunday.According to details, asearch operation wasconducted in and aroundShams Town, DokeMaliar, Badana linkRoad jhangi syedain onthe direction of IGIslamabad MuhammadAhsan Younas, in whichofficials participatedunder the supervision ofSP Industrial Area SaudKhan. During the searchoperation eight suspectswere shifted to policestation for verification.One accused was arrest-ed and recovered armammunition. During thesearch operation, 120houses,55 shops and 225persons were searched.IG IslamabadMuhammad AhsanYounas said that the pur-pose of the search opera-tion was to tighten thenoose around the crimi-nals. Search operationsare being carried outagainst criminal ele-ments in different areasof the city.
Photoexhibition
ISLAMABAD (APP):A photo exhibition“Images of Science“ ofscientists from morethan 80 research insti-tutes of the GermanMax Planck Societyshowcasing their workvarying research fields,concluded here at theNational Art Gallery,PNCA on Sunday. TheGerman Embassy incollaboration with thePakistan NationalCouncil of the Arts(PNCA) organized theexhibition, said a pressrelease. The exhibitionwas providing an oppor-tunity for a fascinatingglimpse into the worldof science. The tech-niques used range fromconventional photogra-phy to coloured micro-scopic images (withlight, electron, or tun-neling microscopy) tocomputer simulation.
AIOUadmissions
ISLAMABAD (NNI):Allama Iqbal OpenUniversity (AIOU hasannounced PhD admis-sions in seven disciplinesin the first phase of springsemester 2022. Theseprograms include: educa-tion (with specializationin)(distance and non-for-mal education, elemen-tary teacher education,science education,teacher education), edu-cational planning andManagement (EPM),Quran & Tafseer,Chemistry, Physics,Statistics andAgricultural Extension.
RAWALPINDI (APP): Asmany as 435 more weretested positive of fatalcoronavirus during the last24 hours, raising the tallyof confirmed cases to42,046 in the Rawalpindidistrict, while two losttheir battle of life againstthe deadly disease.
As per the latest datareleased by the DistrictHealth Authority hereSunday, the total infectedcases included 38,957from Rawalpindi and 3089from other districts.Among the newpatients,115 belonged tothe RawalpindiCantonment, 108 from
Rawal town, 90 fromPotohar town,57 fromTaxila, 29 from GujjarKhan,17 from Kahutta, tenfrom Kallar Syeda, sevenfrom Murree and two fromKotli sattian.
"Presently,59 patientsare admitted to five healthfacilities, including 19 inthe Institute of Urology,15in the Benazir BhuttoHospital,14 in the FaujiFoundation Hospital, tenin the Holy FamilyHospital and one in theBarmwt Hospital. Thereport updated that threepatients were on ventila-tors in critical condition,21 stable and 35 on double
oxygen support.As many as 4,827,287
people, including 44,578health workers, had so farbeen vaccinated againstthe fatal disease since thestart of the vaccinationdrive from March 10," itinformed. District HealthAuthority added that 2112were quarantined, includ-ing 2063 homes and 49 inthe isolation centres.
In addition, the reportupdated that during thelast 24 hours,2421 sam-ples were collected, out ofwhich 1986 were declarednegative, while the posi-tivity rate was recorded at17.98 per cent.
ISLAMABAD (APP):Islamabad Electric SupplyCompany (IESCO) onSunday issued a powersuspension programme forMonday for various areasof its region due to neces-sary maintenance and rou-tine development work.
According to IESCOSpokesman, the powersupply of different feedersand grid stations wouldremain suspended for theperiod from 9:00 a.m. to2:00 p.m. Imran Khan, ZiaMasjid, Tamir, Tramri, F-10/4, G-10/3, Chishanp,Alkital, Old United, OldExchange, PHA-1,I-10/1,Shahullah Dutta, Rahara,CM Pak Zong, BahriaEnclave, IsolationHospital, Sunny Bank,Cecil, Kohala, Balawara,Mangial, Shamsabad,Shaheed Muhammad Din,Farooq Azam, ZafarulHaq, Iqbal Road-II.Westridge, GulzarShaheed, Bani, Azizabad,Cheering Cross,Kamalabad, Nogzi,Fazahia. I & II, F-17/1 &2, Top City, I-14/3,Rehmatabad-1, KarChowk, Sarwar Shaheed.Jhanda, Hyal, Adiala,Rajar, Dhok Awan, Nadar,
Old Keller, Fazal AhmedShaheed, New Chuah,Mandira, Pind Jatla,Bengali, Nishan Haider,Gagan, Sher Shah Suri,Kala Khan, Lalazar, ShafiChauhan, Darya Sharif ,Qaziabad, Miskinabad,3rd Mela, Sarka,Bolinwal, Karpa, SajjadShaheed, Fateh Jang City,Galyal, Gul Muhammad,F-7 Court, Abbaspura,Sanaullah Shaheed, CMHJhelum, Puran, F-6Machine Mohalla M. RiazShaheed, Safdar Shaheed,Sanghoi, Nathwala, Col.Muhammad Akram,Pakhwal, F-Nine ChakDaulat, Bhagwal, MadhuKals, Gujjar Khan,Mankiala, Jarmut, BabaShaheed, Thackeray,Smoot, Islampura, KangarThati, Dhok Pathan,Kariala, Megan, Minara,Islamia Chowk, JundAwan, Dhadial Rural,Sehigalabad, Chakral,Katas, Duffer, Toba,Sagarpur, Kot Chaudhary,Sukho, Dharabi, KotSarang, Thai, Dharmand,Bilalabad, Akwal, MainBazar, Jhangi, EMEComplex, P&T Winnipeg,Azharabad, ShamsColony, Siham, Range
Road, Chakra, I-14/3,Officer Colony, HPT,Amir Hamza, Manwala,Tret, Ghauri Garden,Sohdran Road, Khanna-2,Al-Noor Colony-2,Khanna East, Lohi Bhair,Coral, Gulshanabad, DhokNoor , Adiala, Askari-14,Humayun, Humayun-1,Kohsar Valley, ModelTown, Mehboob Shaheed,Sarwar Shaheed, Swan,Pepsi, Hamk, RCCIExpress, Feeders, From09:00 AM to 04:00 PM,G-11 / 1, F-10, Golra. F-10/2, F-11/1, G-11/2, F-9Park, Golden Heights, G-11/3, G-11/4, GHQ,Khudadad Heights, PHA(G-11/3), Tin Mela,Fawara Chowk, SDW,Attock Rural, SDWColony, GBHP-2,Shakardara, Gujar Khan,Mankiala, Islampura,Mandira-2. , Thakra,Kangar Feeders, From08:00 am to 05:00 pm,Charuhi Feeder, From8:00 am to 04:00 pm,Beirut Gala, Darbar MahiToti, Khoi Ratta City,Dhania Bell, CharhoiDhangi, City, Kariala,Jandroot, Dabsi , Dudut,Majan, Nomanpura feed-ers, and surroundings.
Two more died,435 new Corona
infections in 24 hours
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan answering public calls in Apka Wazir e Azam Apkay Sathon national TV. ––APP Photo.
RAWALPINDI (APP):Provincial Law MinisterMuhammad BasharatRaja on Sunday said thatcamps would be set in theRawalpindi Cantonmentareas to create awarenessabout the Naya PakistanHealth Card facility.
Lauding the efforts ofthe Chief Minister Punjab,Sardar Usman Buzdar, forproviding health cards toevery head of the familyin Rawalpindi district, hesaid that Chief Ministerwas turning the dream of awelfare state into reality
according to the vision ofPrime Minister ImranKhan.
Raja said that the pro-vision of free of costfacilities to the province'sresidents, includingRawalpindi, was a revolu-tionary step of the PTI-ledgovernment.
Meanwhile, ChiefExecutive Officer DrFaiza Kanwal told APPthat the health card facili-ty had been started in thedistrict from January 20.
She informed that up toRs 1 million free of cost
treatments would be pro-vided to the people at 11hospitals of the city,including RawalpindiInstitute of Cardiology,Bilal Hospital, Christianhospital, Al Syed hospital,Hussain LakahaniInternational Hospital, AlKhidmat Hospital,Saidpur road, IslamicInternational medicalwelfare trust, AbbasiHospital, Bahria interna-tional Hospital, Friendsmedical welfare trust andSadaqat internationalHospital.
ISLAMABAD (NNI): Assnow is falling in Murreeintermittently, the cityadministration has closedall connecting roads to thehilly station and bannedtourists’ entry after 5pm.
A new spell of snowfallis continued in Murreeand since morning, thehilly resort has receivedover 6 inches snow. Afterrecent blizzard tragedyhere in which at least 22stranded tourists died, theadministration hasbecome very careful.
The Rawalpindi ChiefTraffic Officer said that asmany as 1170 vehicles oftourists had enteredMurree but the trafficpolice would not allowmore than 8,000 vehicles.
He said for the safety ofvacationers, the adminis-
tration had closed roadfrom Kaldana to Gulyat.He asked the tourists totake a substitute route. Hesaid after it becomes slip-pery the Masyari LinkRoad had also beenclosed. He said that vaca-tioners could enter fromLower Topa.
According to theMetrological office report,snowfall will continue tohit Murree for two days.
Besides Murree, snow-fall is also continued inAzad Kashmir, Rawalakot,Gulyat, Thandyani, LipaValley, Upper Neelum andAbbottabad.
The land contact withLipa and Upper Neelumvalleys is disconnected.
There is not electric sup-ply in Gulyat, Thandyani.As almost one-foot snow
has lashed Murree road, theadministration has closedthe road and other connect-ing roads.
Chitral, Lawari Tunnelhas also been shut due toslippery. A rainy spell hascontinued all across thecountry. The rains havebrought chill to alreadycold weather.
Intermittent rans aresoaking Rawalpindi,Islamabad, Gujrat,Jhelum, Sargodha,Wazirabad, Gujranwala,Sheikhupura, Narowal,Sialkot, Arifwala andother suburban areas.
Rain has also lashedLahore since yesterday.The low-lying areas in thecity have been submergedin rainwater. The powerfeeders keep on trippingdue to intermittent rain.
ISLAMABAD (APP): Acritically injured femalecommon Asian Leopardrescued by the Wildlife andFisheries Department AzadJammu and Kashmir (AJK)on Sunday succumbed tothe deadly bullet injuriesduring a full blooded reha-bilitation effort carried outby the Islamabad WildlifeManagement Board(IWMB).
The injured wildcat wasbrought on late Saturdaynight at the IslamabadWildlife ManagementBoard rehabilitation andrescue center in a criticalcondition, IWMBManager OperationsSakhawat Ali told APP.
Sakhawat told that inview the situation andfacilities in AJK, theIWMB Chairpersondirected them to makearrangements for rehabili-tation of the injured com-mon leopard.
He said, theChairperson was of theview that the Leopard
could be shifted anytimefrom AJK to Islamabad asthere were no better facil-ities in the Valley to con-tinue her treatment.
As per the AJK WildlifeDepartment's report, hesaid the Leopard's leg wasfractured and there was nox-ray facility to assess thedamage for further treat-ment. Therefore, we madeall arrangements for x-rayand surgery start her treat-ment within two to threehours, he told.
The leopards alongwith AJK ForestDepartment team reachedat 12'O clock at night andat 1210 hours the x-raywas done, he noted.
He also revealed thatthe x-ray revealed that theLeopard's leg was notfractured due to any acci-dent rather, shot byfirearms. Bullets were hitin the vertebral columnthat broke the connectionof the vertebrae with thebackbone that left the bigwildcat paralyzed, he told.
While explaining therehab efforts, Sakhawattold that after consultationwith the vet, it was decid-ed to remove the pelletsand complete effort wasdone to remove it. "Onebullet from her body'speriphery was removedbut the rest of them werestuck in the gap betweenthe vertebras and thebeautiful animal, unfortu-nately perished during hersurgery" he told.
In extreme remorse andregret, Sakhawat said nodoubt it was a huge lossfor us, adding, "She wasan adult female of four tofive years age as per thereport of the vet. We allespecially the entire teamare very sad and shockedto see the demise of such abeautiful animal."
The IWMB officialremained from 10pm till9am in the morning tooversight the rehab activi-ties that were intended tosave the beautiful endan-gered species.
ISLAMABAD (APP):Islamabad Police claimedto have arrested 15 outlawsincluding seven drug push-ers from different areas ofthe city and recovered nar-cotics, weapons andammunition, a policespokesman said.
He said that followingdirections and guidance ofIslamabad IGPMuhammad AhsanYounas, renewed effortswere underway to curbbootlegging and drug ped-dling activities in the city.
On a tip off, SHOAabpara along with histeam arrested a drug dealerSham Anwer and recovered30 litres alcohol.
Similarly, Lohibherpolice arrested a suspectQasim Mahmood with 20bottles of wine.
Bhara Kahu policearrested three drug peddlersnamely Maqsood Masih,
Danish and Basheer Faisaland recovered 48 bottlesand 20 litres wine.
Koral police held anaccused Sohail Khaliq andrecovered 1140 gramshashish and also arrestedaccused Muhammad javaidand recovered one 30 borepistol. Ramana policearrested accused mohsinand recovered 246 gramhashish also recovered 30bore pistol from accusedSamander khan. Golrapolice arrested an accusedMuhammad Awais involvedin illegally oil selling.
Karachi company policearrested accused ZohaibAkhter and recovered one30 bore pistol. Industrial-Area police arrestedaccused MuhammadAnwer and recovered ironpunch and one knife.
While Sabzi Mandipolice arrested two accusedJahangir khan and Aamir
Khan and recovered twopistols along with ammuni-tion from their possession.Shahzad Town policearrested accused AsadMehmood and recoveredone 30 bore pistol. Separatecases have been registeredagainst the nabbed persons.
The IGP has appreciatedthe performance anddirected all police officialsfor high vigilance andmonitoring against thoseinvolved in anti-socialactivities. He said thatIslamabad Police wouldalso safeguard its youthfrom various evils like useof drugs and ensurebrighter future of them.
He said that it is the col-lective responsibility ofevery person of the societyto remain alert againstthose involved in criminalactivities in their surround-ings and inform police foraction against them.
RAWALPINDI (APP): Afive-day anti-polio drivewould commence in theentire district fromJanuary 24.
The newly appointedDeputy Commissioner(DC)Tahir Farooq will inaugu-rate the polio immunizationcampaign by vaccinating achild at the District HealthAuthority office, Khaybane Sir Syed while StationC o m m a n d e r ( S C )Rawalpindi Brig. SalmanNazar will administer dropsat Rawalpindi CantonmentGeneral Hospital.
In charge Anti-Poliodrive Muhammad Islamtold APP that during thecampaign, 2964 polioteams would go door-to-door and administer poliodrops to 718,000 childrenless than five years in alltehsils and union councilsof the district. Islam saidstaff deployed for the cam-
paign has been issued spe-cial instructions and toldthat no negligence in thisregard would be tolerated.
He said that 396 areasIn-charge, 204 medicalofficers, allied hospitalsand tehsil headquartershospitals would participatein the campaign.
In addition, " 307 fixcentres have also been setup to administer drops", headded.
Islam said that SOPs" sregarding COVID-19would be implemented inletter and spirit to ensuresafety during the drivewhile wearing masks, andthe use of sanitiser wouldalso be mandatory forpolio teams.
The In-charge informedaround 12,000 childrenbelow five years of agewould also be covered dur-ing the drive, which hadmissed from immunization
being out of city or notpresent at home in the pre-vious campaign concludedon December 13.
He said all possiblesteps had been taken by theconcerned to make thecampaign successful. Asufficient quantity of vac-cines is available, and nostone will be left unturnedin our effort to make thecampaign a success. Islamsaid the objective of regu-larly conducting anti-poliocampaigns was to keepchildren through protectivedrops and increase theirimmunity.
He urged the citizens,particularly the parents, tocome forward and playtheir role in eliminating thecrippling disease fromsociety. "The parentsshould cooperate with spe-cial teams so that the settarget could be achieved,"he added.
Camps set up to createawareness about NayaHealth Card: Bashrat
The Frontier PostMonday, January 24, 202210
DC, SC to inaugurate Anti-Polio
drive today
Policecrackdownintensified,
300 suspectsquestioned
RAWALPINDI (APP): Onthe direction of InspectorGeneral of Police (IGP)Punjab Rao Sardar AliKhan, a police crackdownintensified aiming at elimi-nate crime, said a policespokesman on Sunday.
Rawal Town Police con-ducted search operations indifferent areas. Duringcourse of action, searchoperations were carried outin Pahguari and surroundingareas of Bani police station.
Similarly, Pirwadhipolice conducted searchoperation in BangashColony and surroundingareas. While search opera-tions were carried out inFauji Colony and surround-ing areas of Sadiqabadpolice station.
Police, elite force, ladiespolice, and other lawenforcement agencies par-ticipated in the operation. Atotal of 200 houses weresearched and data of 300suspects were questioned.
SP Rawal Babar JavedJoya said that the searchoperations will continueunder the National ActionPlan. He made it clear thatit was duty of police to pro-tect the lives and propertiesof people.
ITP startsdrive against
amateur drivers
ISLAMABAD (APP):Islamabad Traffic Police(ITP) has constituted specialsquads to take action againstamateur drivers and bikeriders not using helmets.
Following directions ofInspector General of Police(IGP) IslamabadMuhammad Ahsan Younis,Senior Superintendent ofPolice (Traffic) MazharIqbal who has also appealedthe parents to refrain hand-ing over vehicles or bikes totheir under-age children,said a news release.
SSP (Traffic) has alsodirected all Zonal DSPs forstrict action against ama-teur drivers and to ensuresteps for a safe road envi-ronment in the city. Hedirected to ensure renewedefforts for awareness abouttraffic rules among citizensby the ITP education wing.
He directed ITP’s teamsto visit educational institu-tions to create traffic senseas several students havejoined ITP as traffic volun-teers. The SSP (Traffic)said that the purpose ofaction against amateurdrivers and motorcyclistswith helmets is to ensuretheir own safety as itshould not be considered apunitive measure.
Senate toresume itsbusiness
todayISLAMABAD (APP):Senate of Pakistan willresume its scheduled busi-ness after a two-day breaktoday (Monday) at 2:30pm. According to the agen-da shared on the website ofthe Senate, the houses willtake up motions and leg-islative business. Thehouse would also take uptwo resolutions.
Wounded leopard succumbs to bullet injuries
at IWMB rehab centre
Police arrested 15outlaws including
seven drug pushersIESCO issuespower suspension
programme
Murree Road closedas snow keeps on
hitting upper areas
170 criminals arrestedKABUL (Agencies): officials’ security ofHerat states that in the past a month 174 peo-ple arrested in the province in different crim-inal offenses. A source security of Heratsaid, officials’ Security from the chief ofpolice of Herat arrested 174 people in a sev-eral military’s operation since from month incase of murder, kidnapping, armed robbery,theft of vehicles, property, sale and produc-tion of alcoholic beverages from the city andits districts.
Blast hit-below in Herat HERAT (Agencies): A magnetic blast hit apublic “Townace” transportation car late lastnight in western Herat province, killed atleast seven people, according to reports.Mawlana Naeem al-Haq Haqqani, Head ofInformation and culture of Herat, the blasthits a public transportation car last night, inthe phase of Haji Abbas area, 12 district’smunicipality of Herat province. Seven peo-ple were killed including four women andten more civilians wounded in the blast.
Asia is comparable to a living body composed of soil and water. The heart that beats inside the body is Afghanistan. The destruction of Afghanistan would be the destruction of Asia. And in its progress and prosperity lies the well-being of Asia. - Allama Iqbal
Jamadi-us-Sanni 20, 1443 — Monday, January 24, 2022
The Frontier Post
KABUL (Pajhwok): Forty-six people were killed andwounded last week in sepa-rate incidents violence innine provinces, as interna-tional humanitarian assis-tance with Afghanistan co-ntinued and the governmentorganized an EconomicConference in Kabul atte-nded by foreign diplomats.
CasualtiesLast week, 26 people
were killed and 20 othersinjured in separate inci-dents of violence inBadakhshan, Baghlan,Balkh, Faryab, Kabul,Khost, Kunar, Laghman,Paktia provinces.
One child was killed inFaizabad, the capital ofBadakhshan province, bysecurity forces when theywere conducting a searchoperation against a criminal.
Two people were killedand as many injured in Pul-i-Khumri, the capital ofBaghlan province, when anunexploded ordnance wentoff. One person was killedin unidentified gunmen fir-ing in Pul-i-Khumri.
Ten resistance frontarmed personnel werekilled in the Kushinda dis-trict of Balkh province,according to Al FathaMilitary Corps.
Unknown gunmen killeda tribal elder in the Lolashdistrict of Faryab and threebrothers were gunned downin the Paghman district ofKabul. One of the slainbrothers had served in secu-rity forces.
According to reports, achild was killed in a blast inKabul’s Budkhakh area.One person was killed andtwo injured during firing ata protest rally in Khostprovince.
One man was killed byunknown men in theSawkai district of Kunarprovince. Four people werekilled and 10 others injuredin firing in the Dak area ofNarang district. Accordingto local government offi-cials, the incident was trig-gered by personal enmityand some common peoplealso fell victim to the firing.
A woman and a childwere injured in securitypersonnel firing at PassportOffice in Laghman. Thebody of a young man wasrecovered from a bag inGardez, the capital ofPaktia province.
According to reports, theprevious week 22 peoplewere killed and 16 othersinjured in Kabul, Herat,Faryab, Laghman and
Nangarhar provinces.Economic ConferenceAfter the inception of the
new government, anEconomic Conference wasorganized last week for thefirst time. Top Afghan gov-ernment officials and repre-sentatives from 20 coun-tries and eight internationalorganizations participatedin the huddle.
Afghan officials said anopportunity for investmentin the country has beenprovided and the interna-tional community shouldrecognize the new Afghangovernment, provide sup-port because it has ful-filled all requirements forrecognition.
Acting Prime MinisterMullah Mohammad Hassansaid if international com-munity removed hurdles inthe way of Afghanistanself-reliance, then thiscountry has natural resour-ces and believed that inve-stment in natural resourceswill eradicate poverty.
Addressing Afghanis-tan’s Economic Conferen-ce, UN Secretary-GeneralSpecial Representative forAfghanistan DeborahLyons said attention shouldbe paid to girls’ educationin Afghanistan, investors
should be assured full secu-rity and professional indi-viduals from every ethniccommunity should beallowed in the governmentmachinery to serve.
She stressed Afghan-istan’s economic positivetrajectory was vital andways should be explored toimprove the country’seconomy.
She said through UNtransfer mechanism $8 bil-lion will be injected intoAfghanistan’s economy toimprove the country’s eco-nomic situation.
She said after nation-wide peace and security anopportunity for trust-build-ing and fair policy makingwas available.
International commu-nity behavior with ActingGovernment
Last week, representa-tives of around 20 countriesand some internationalorganizations participatedin Afghanistan’s EconomicConference. The EU re-established its diplomaticpresence in Kabul and USSpecial Representative forAfghanistan Thomas Westsaid US will pay teacherssalaries if all girls schoolsare reopened inAfghanistan by March.
During an exclusiveinterview with BBC, Westsaid Washington has noplan to recognize new Afg-han government. He, how-ever, said US wanted to seesteps taken by the Talibanfor normalizing ties.
Turkish Ambassador toAfghanistan Cihad Ergi-nary during a meeting withActing Interior MinisterSerajuddin Haqqani ple-dged that Ankara will notallow anti-Taliban move-ment on its soil, accordingto a statement from theMinistry of Interior (MoI).
In a separate MoI state-ment Chinese ambassadorto Afghanistan blamed USfor the past 20 years ofproblems and stressed overthe formation of govern-ment in Afghanistan whichshall be acceptable to allAfghans.
Humanitarian assis-tance
Last week, Da Afghan-istan Bank announced thearrival of $32 million cashassistance in Kabul andsaid the amount had beentransferred to the Afghan-istan International Bank(AIB).
The EU announced268m Euro aid besides itsearlier announcement of
220m euro humanitarianaid to Afghanistan. The EUalso announced $300 mil-lion aid for education,health sector and InternallyDisplaced Persons.
The UK announced onemillion pound assistancewith Afghan refugees inIran through World FoodProgram.
US Secretary of StateAntony Blinkin has dis-cussed Afghanistan withPeter Maurer, head of theInternational Committee ofthe Red Cross and key UNofficial and said US willsupport the people ofAfghanistan.
This comes as earlierUN Secretary-General Ant-ony Gurtress warned ofacute poverty the people ofAfghanistan will face andstressed on coordinatedefforts to support the peo-ple of Afghanistan.
Pakistan Prime MinisterImran Khan discussedAfghanistan during a tele-phonic conversation withRussian President VladimirPutin and stressed overunfreezing Afghanistan’sassets. Russian presidentalso discussed Afghanistanwith Iranian PresidentIbrahim Raeesi. Theytermed the formation of
inclusive government theonly way for reachingdurable peace and stabilityin Afghanistan.
Fate of aircraftsThe Afghan aircraft
parked in Tajikistan andUzbekistan are unlikely tobe returned to the war-bat-tered country, the Pentagonsays.
Asked about the fate ofthe aircraft, Pentagonspokesperson John Kirbysaid: “it is safe to assume”that the aircraft would notbe sent back toAfghanistan.
This comes as earlierAfghan Acting DefenseMinister Mullah Yaqoubdemanded the return of air-crafts parked in the neigh-boring countries.
According to reports,during the regime changeover 40 Afghanistan’s air-crafts were taken toUzbekistan and Tajikistan.
Public sentimentsOn Friday, hundreds of
people during a rallydemanded protection ofIslamic and national values,including respect to Hijab,and asked the governmentto take steps in this regard.
In a separate protestrally, participants slammedPakistan’s Prime Minister
Imran Khan’s views ofsending professional indi-viduals to Afghanistan andsaid Afghans did not needprofessional individualsfrom other countries.
Pakistan Prime MinisterOffice in a series of tweetson Sunday said: “Pakistanis committed to providingall-out support to Afghanpeople to avert humanitari-an crisis,”
“The Prime Ministerdirected the authorities con-cerned to explore bilateralcooperation with friendlycountries as well to staveoff humanitarian crisis inAfghanistan by exportingqualified and trained man-power especially in med-ical, IT, Finance andaccounting.”
In Laghman, some dis-abled persons and somewomen in Kabul duringtheir protest rallies askedthe international communi-ty to unfreeze Afghan-istan’s assets.
In Kabul some womenprotesters termed unem-ployment and inflation asmajor challenges the peopleof Afghanistan are facedwith and asked the interna-tional community to sup-port the people ofAfghanistan.
KABUL (Pajhwok): Apiece of bread, weighingbetween 115 and 157grams, is sold for 10 afgha-nis in Kabul, with peoplegrumbling about officialnegligence.
On December 11,Pajhwok Afghan Newspublished a report titled“Up to 46grm differencefound in bread weight inKabul bakeries”.
On December 15, theKabul Municipality fixedthe price of a piece of 140grams bread at 10 afghanisafter the dollar’s valuedecreased against theafghani.
On December 15, theprice of a 50 kilograms bagof Kazakhstani flour was2,500 afghanis. But bowthe rate has fallen to2,450afs.
Niamatullah Barakzai,spokesman for municipali-ty, had then said: “Themunicipality’s contactnumbers are available inthe statement and peoplecan inform us if any bakeryviolates the price.”
The statement added,“The weight of only fresh-ly-baked bread is valid.Anyone violating the rulesshould be reported to0731010422.”
InvestigationPajhwok once again
weighed pieces of freshly-baked bread at 20 bakeriesin different areas of Kabul.A 10-afghani piece of
bread weighed 115 to 157grams.
The findings showed atsome bakeries, a piece ofbread was 42 grams lessthan the specified weight.At others, it was evenheavier than it.
The bakers violating therelevant rule said if flourand gas prices went up,they would have to reducethe weight of bread evenfurther because they werestill in loss.
One piece of 10afs breadweighed 157 grams in abakery near Public HealthSquare, 115 grams in theAirport Squarer, 147 gramsin Macro Ryan, 145 gramsin 1st Macro Ryan, 140grams in Kalola Pushta,140 grams in two bakeriesin Haji Yaqoob Square and135 in grams Qala-i-Fathullah.
The bread weight inbakeries in Taimani,Paikob and ShaheedSquare is 130 grams. It is129 grams in Kalola Pushtaand Qala-i-Fathullah, 125grams in the 6th Street ofTaimani, 124 gram in the5th Street of Taimani and119 gram in Bibi Mahroarea.
Mahmood, worker at abakery in the AirportSquare, called the currentsituation dismal. If it con-tinued, he feared, theywould have to close theirbakery.
He denied shrinking the
bread size and said: “Themunicipality has set theweight of bread at 135grams for us. It has handedme an appreciation letterfor maintaining goodweight.”
The baker called on thegovernment to pay seriousattention to the situation. Ifprices of flour and gas wentup, he said, backers wereforced to reduce the weightof bread.
Abdul Rahman Khairk-hwa owns a bakery in thePublic Health Square. Hisbakery has the highest
bread weight. He saidworking conditions weredeteriorating day by day. Ifthe situation continued foranother moth, most bak-eries might close, hewarned.
“There will be no profiteven if the bread weight iscut to 100 grams. I havenot reduced the weightbecause I do not want tolose customers,” heremarked.
“Those who have drasti-cally reduced the weight ofbread would suffer less,”he continued.
“The municipality, with-out any logic, fixed theweight of bread. If theydistribute flour to bakeriesand lower the price of gas,they will have no prob-lem…”
He called on the govern-ment to ensure the securityof businesspeople toencourage investments inAfghanistan.
Bread weight reduc-tion an injustice
Darwish Ahmad, a resi-dent of Shahr-i-Naw, said:“The size of bread isshrinking day by day.
Some time ago, when flourbecame more expensive,the weight of bread fell.But when the price wentdown, the weight of breaddid not increase.”
He said the weight ofbread varied from place toplace, an unfair practicethat must stop. He calledon the government to mon-itor the weight and price ofbread and pay greaterattention to the problem.
Meanwhile, MadinaSirat, a resident of DarulAman area, agreed theweight of bread varied
from one place to another.He slammed it as an injus-tice that people were com-plaining about.
Madina urged the gov-ernment to pay seriousattention to the reducedweight of bread and makesure that it remained thesame in all bakeries.
Municipality’s duty tocheck hoarding
Niamatullah Barakzai,spokesman for the munici-pality, told Pajhwok theydid not provide price liststo anyone specifically. Buthe acknowledged it wastheir job to stop hoardingand monitor quantity andquality.
Municipality teamsmonitor quality and quanti-ty of foodstuff and preventhoarding in 22 police dis-tricts of Kabul on a dailybasis.
If the price set for acommodity the marketgoes from price to famine
Price-driven commodi-ty shortage
Noorullah Omari, headof the National Chamber ofProfessionals, toldPajhwok bakeries currentlybaked bread weighing 130to 140 grams. A committeehas been set up to overseebakeries.
In different areas, heclaimed, bakeries had beenfined for reducing theweight of bread. Some ofthese bakeries were evenclosed for two to three
days.He was asked whether
or not flour and gas priceswould come down and theweight of bread wouldincrease.
He replied in the nega-tive. “I don’t see a situationwhere flour and gas priceswill go down. The price offlour per tonne rose to $30due to problems inKazakhstan. Bakeries havebeen forced to cut theweight of bread,” heargued.
He reasoned Afghani-stan was a consumer coun-try, which imported almostall food items from abroad.
Omari stressed the priceof bread should be keptconstant. If the flour ratewent up, he explained, theweight of bread would beaffected.
Based on the directionof the prime minister, acommission has been setup to monitor prices
The panel has represen-tatives from the municipal-ity, National Directorate ofSecurity, GeneralDirectorate of Terrorism atthe Ministry of Interior, theMinistry of Commerce andthe Chamber ofCommerce.
Omari added: “In orderto resolve these problems,we hold two meetings aweek with the Chamber ofCommerce and theMinistry of Commerce andIndustry.”
OSLO (Khaama Press): Asmall number of Afghansbased in Norway protestedagainst the visit of theTaliban delegation to the
country’s capital Oslo andsaid that they (Taliban) donot represent us, Euronewsreported. The demonstra-tion was staged to oppose
the visit of the Taliban del-egation and their meetingswith Norwegian authoritiesand members of theInternational community.
The Afghan protestorssaid that the Taliban are onthe blacklist for “terrorists”of the US and that theyshould not be negotiatedwithin Norway.
Afghan delegation led bythe acting Foreign MinisterAmir Khan Motaqi hasarrived in Oslo and is sup-posed to meet with authori-ties from Norway and spe-cial representatives ofFrance, Germany, Italy,Britain, the United States,and the European Union.
Earlier, the ForeignMinistry of Norway in astatement had said that theinvitation and negotiationwith the Taliban do notmean their recognition butit is essential to address theongoing humanitarian situ-ation in Afghanistan.
OSLO (Pajhwok): A high-level government delega-tion arrived in the capital ofNorway late on Saturdayfor talks with Western offi-cials and Afghan politicalfigures. Led by ForeignMinister Amir KhanMuttaqi, the 15-memberteam flew into Oslo on aplane sent by theNorwegian government.
The three-day meetingsfocus on human rights andhumanitarian aid forAfghans, according to
Afghan and Norwegianofficials. The visiting dele-gates are scheduled to meetNorwegian, EuropeanUnion, British, French andGerman, Italian andAmerican representatives.
The Taliban team is alsoexpected to meet Afghansfrom civil society, includ-ing women leaders, humanrights campaigners andjournalists.
The foreign ministry inOslo said the meetingswould discuss ways of
addressing humanitarian,economic, social and politi-cal issues.
In a statement, the min-istry said the meetingswould also focus on Afghangirl’s access to educationand human rights.
Mona Juul, Norwegianambassador to the UnitedNations, stressed the needfor talks with the currentAfghan rulers due to thedeep humanitarian crisis inthe country.
She said: “We have to
make sure that we are ableas an international commu-nity to get necessaryhumanitarian assistanceinto Afghanistan for themillions of people facing avery grave humanitariansituation.”
Zabihullah Mujahid, theTaliban’s spokesman,insists the Islamic Emiratehas taken steps to meetdemands of the internation-al community. He wants theTaliban government to berecognised.
KABUL (TOLOnews):Officials from theAfghanistan Chamber ofCommerce and Investment(ACCI) said that currentlyflights via air corridorshave been suspended andthere are only cargo flightsvia air corridor to China.
According to ACCI offi-cials, the suspension offlights via air corridors hascreated challenges inexporting merchants’ goodsabroad. The officials saidthey have been trying to
solve the problem, but havemade no progress to date.
“ACCI had been tryingto bring facilities and easi-ness, but so far, there is noprogress,” ACCI’s deputyhead Khairuddin Mayelsaid. Before the collapse ofthe former government,Afghan goods used to betransported out of the coun-try to world marketsthrough air corridors fromairports in four provinces:Kabul, Kandahar, Balkhand Herat.
Meanwhile, a number oftraders urged the IslamicEmirate to solve the prob-lem and facilitate the exportof goods to world marketsvia air corridors.
“During the former gov-ernment, air corridors wereactive and most of thegoods were exported viathe corridors. Also, at thattime there was subsidies forthe export of goods throughthe corridors,” ZalmaiAzimi, a trader said.
According to ACCI, cur-
rently only the air corridorbetween Afghanistan andChina is active, and so far1,500 tons of pine nutshabe been exported toChina in cargo flights.
ACCI’s statistics showthat in the past five years,1,800 flights transportedgoods valued at $600 mil-lion through air corridors toa number of countriesincluding India, the UnitedArab Emirates, China,Russia, Britain, France andGermany.
Oslo talks onAfghanistan situation
Afghan exports stalled bylack of air transit: ACCI
IEA team’s arrival triggered protest
Govt organizes conference amid focus on economic rehabilitation
Kabul residents irked by shrinking bread size
The
Frontier PostMonday, January 24, 2022
Printed and published by Mahmood Afridi at Moraka’s Printers, 27 Abdara Road, University Town, Peshawar. Managing Editor Jalil Afridi. Phone 0300 9009001
TEL AVIV (Agencies): Isr-ael’s cabinet approved onSunday a joint Israel-UAER&D fund to support techprojects involving Israeliand Emirati companies.
The fund is designed toencourage collaboration ontechnological innovation,and to help Israeli compa-nies access resources thatare not available in Israel,according to a statementfrom the Foreign Ministry.
It will also help Israelibusinesses find Emiratipartners, navigate local reg-ulations, and develop mar-keting strategies.
The fund, which wasproposed by ForeignMinister Yair Lapid andScience, Technology andInnovation Minister OritFarkash-Hacohen, will
allocate NIS 15 million ayear over the next decade.The UAE will providematching funds, for a totalof NIS 300 million for thelife of the fund.
The UAE and Israelsigned a normalizationagreement in 2020 as partof the US-backed AbrahamAccords.
During his Decembervisit to the UAE, PrimeMinister Naftali Bennettand his host Crown PrinceSheikh Mohammed binZayed Al Nahyan agreed toopen the fund.
“This joint fund, and acorresponding joint busi-ness council, will harnessleading economic and tech-nological minds in the UAEand in Israel, and task themwith commercializing solu-
tions to challenges rangingfrom climate change anddesertification to cleanenergy and future agricul-ture,” the two leaders said ajoint statement.
The fund will be man-aged on the Israeli side bythe Foreign Ministry, Scie-nce Ministry, Finance Mi-nistry, Economy Ministry,and Innovation Authority.
Lapid said in a statementthat Israel and the UAEshare a passion foradvanced technology thatimproves citizens’ qualityof life, protects the environ-ment, and promotes eco-nomic development.
“The bilateral R&D fundis the engine to start theprocess in the private sec-tor, by encouraging compa-nies, with an emphasis on
SMEs (small and mediumenterprises) to connect, todevelop, to create, and tomarket innovative techno-logical products in theregion and globally,” hesaid. He also thanked hisEmirati counterpart,Abdullah bin Zayed.
Farkash-Hacohen saidthe fund would “create abridge that would facilitateEmirati investments inIsraeli technology” in ener-gy, infrastructure and more.
The fund is part of a w-ave of investment betweenthe countries in the wake ofthe Abraham Accords. Lastweek, the Wall Street Jou-rnal reported that the UAEsovereign-wealth fundMubadala Investment inv-ested $100 million in six Is-raeli venture capital firms.
Israel approves jointR&D fund with UAE
MOSCOW (RIA Novosti):Somalia and the AfricanUnion (AU) have agreed toreorganize the peacekeep-ing force (AMISOM) in thecountry, Garowe reports.
"Over the next 33 mo-nths, the forces in Somaliawill be reorganized andbecome partners with theUN," the statement said.
It is noted that theAfrican Union peacekeep-
ing mission in Somalia willbe renamed the AfricanUnion Transitional Missionin Somalia (ATMIS).
ATMIS will be led by aspecial representative whowill be appointed by theChairman of the AC.
Somalia ceased to existas a single state more than30 years ago, when the dic-tatorial regime of SiadBarre fell in 1991. The inte-
rnational community reco-gnizes the only legitimateauthority in the country asthe federal government, w-hich controls the capital ci-ty of Mogadishu and a nu-mber of other areas. Theremaining parts of Somalia- countries where clan divi-sion is one of the decisivefactors of social and politi-cal life - are under the con-trol of unrecognized state
entities or are self-govern-ing territories.
In particular, in the n-orthern part of the countryis the unrecognized Rep-ublic of Somaliland, whichoccupies the territory of theformer British Somalia. Inanother part, including theeasternmost point of Africa,Cape Ras Hafun, is the Pu-ntland regionwho declaredautonomy in 1998.
African Union peacekeepers inSomalia to become UN partners
stand for it much longer.” Itwould be more accurate tosay, “Covid tyranny willcontinue until people nolonger stand for it.” Thatbrings up the question,“Am I standing for it?” Oram I waiting for other peo-ple to end it for me, so thatI don’t have to? In otherwords, am I waiting for therescuer, so that I needn’ttake the risk of standing upto the bully?
Holocaust survivor VeraSharav warns against blind-ly supporting the war onCovid: “Part of what’swrong is the idea of justfollowing authority withoutconsidering, what if they’rewrong? What if it’s not inmy best interest? Why?” S-he adds, “It’s a very, very d-angerous thing to do to fol-low. That’s what happenedin Germany essentially. AllGermans were not evil, butmost of them, the vast maj-ority, simply went along.”
What Silbermann
LearnedSilbermann’s features
are not stereotypical, mak-ing it easier for him toblend in while traveling. Heencounters other Jews wh-ile riding the trains. One,with a more stereotypical J-ewish appearance, wants tojoin forces with Silberm-ann but he is reluctant. Si-lbermann reasons, perhapseven correctly, that his riskof being caught will go up.
As Silbermann encoun-ters other Jews, he beginsto notice his own us vs.them thoughts: “I’m no dif-ferent than anyone else, butmaybe you truly are differ-ent and I don’t belong inyour group. I’m not one ofyou. Indeed, if it weren’tfor you, they wouldn’t bepersecuting me.”
By his willingness to seehis own ugly thoughts,Silbermann offers us animportant lesson. As hebecomes aware of and doesnot justify his thoughts, hesheds light on his thinkingand dispels his darkness.
He thinks of his Aryanbrother-in-law, his businesspartners, and others whoeither refuse to help or seekto take advantage of hisplight. And then remember-ing his own unwillingnessto help others, Silbermannthinks, “What actually sep-arates me from you [thosewho won’t help]… We’reso alike it’s downrightfrightening.”
Silbermann’s realization“We’re so alike” is hopeful.The darkness I see in you isalso in me, but so is thecapacity to be courageousand compassionate. In hisbook Out of Darkness intothe Light, the late psychia-trist Gerald Jampolskywrote, “It takes work toremember that we havechoices.” Today, so manyfuriously proclaim theyhave no choice but to fol-low the anointed.
For many decades, inCalifornia, Jampolsky ranthe Center for AttitudinalHealing. Actor RobertYoung, famous for playing
the dad in the iconic televi-sion series Father KnowsBest, was a supporter ofJampolsky’s Center.
Jampolsky relates thestory of Young’s teenagedaughter asking, “Dad, howcome each week on televi-sion you solve the most dif-ficult family problems ima-ginable, and yet at homeyou seem so stupid?” You-ng laughed and replied,“Well, honey at the studio Ijust have a good screen-writer.” As long as peoplebelieve the current anoint-ed, such as Dr. Fauci, aretrusted societal screenwrit-ers the lessons of history,economics and the laws ofpower will not be learned.We will continue to denyour responsibility to opposeanyone claiming to be ano-inted. Jampolsky writes,“Everything in life dependson the thoughts we chooseto hold in our minds and onour willingness to changeour belief systems.” Wealone retain the power to letin the light.
From darkness to light
Frenchsoldierkilled
in attack onmilitary
base in MalPARIS (TASS): A Frenchsoldier who took part inOperation Barchan in Maliwas killed during theshelling of the base. Thiswas announced on Sundayby the press service of theElysee Palace.
The report notes that asoldier of the 54th artilleryregiment “died as a resultof a mortar attack on aFrench military base in Gao(in southeast Mali),” whichoccurred on Saturday. Ninemore French soldiers wereinjured.
Alexandre Martinbecame the 53rd Frenchsoldier to die in the Sahel inthe past eight years.
In some media reportsthat mistranslated his mili-tary rank, the 24-year-oldsoldier was erroneouslyreferred to as a "brigadiergeneral". In fact, Martenhad the rank of "brigadier"(corporal), which refers tothe junior command staff.
In August 2014, Francelaunched OperationBarkhane to fight Islamistgroups in Mali, BurkinaFaso, Mauritania, Nigerand Chad.
It became a continuationof Operation Serval, whichthe French military carriedout in 2013-2014 in Mali.According to the Ministryof the Armed Forces ofFrance, a total of more than5,000 people are involvedin the current campaign.
WHO didnot rule out
emergence ofmore contagiousthan “omicron”
GENEVA (TASS): Futurevariants of the coronavirusmay be more contagiousthan omicron. WorldHealth Organization(WHO) expert Maria vanKerkhove said this onSunday, speaking on theScience in Five Minutesprogram broadcast byWorld Health Organizationon social networks .
"The more this virus cir-culates, the more opportu-nities it has to change," shesaid. Omicron will not bethe last option we will dis-cuss, and there is a veryreal possibility that therewill be options in the futurethat are of concern,” theexpert added.
Kerkhove stressed thatthe properties of newstrains of coronavirus arenot currently known, how-ever, "there is no doubt thatthey will be more infec-tious, since they will needto surpass the variants thatare circulating now." Thesenew strains could causedisease "of greater or lesserseverity" but would also beable to evade immunity, sheexplained.
The expert urged "toreduce the risk of futureoptions of concern."According to her, this isnecessary in order to pre-vent serious diseases and toavoid overloading healthcare systems. In this regard,she recalled that peopleinfected with coronavirusare “at risk of long-termconsequences” and expertsstill do not understandeverything about the “longcovid”. Although there isincreasing evidence that theomicron strain leads to "onaverage" a less severecourse of the disease thanwhen infected with thedelta variant, "omicron" is"still dangerous" andshould not be considered"weak", concluded Mariavan Kerkhove.
F.P. Report
NEW YORK: This week,all Security Council andsubsidiary body meetingsare expected to take placein person.
On Monday (24 Jan-uary), there will be a brief-ing, followed by consulta-tions, on the UN SupportMission in Libya (UNS-MIL). Under-Secretary-General for Political andPeacebuilding AffairsRosemary DiCarlo and acivil society representativeare expected to brief. Thechair of the 1970 LibyaSanctions Committee, Am-bassador T.S. Tirumurti (In-dia), is scheduled to briefon the committee’s work.
On Tuesday (25January), Norway will con-vene a high-level opendebate on the protection ofcivilians, under the theme“Wars in cities: protectionof civilians in urban set-tings”. Norwegian PrimeMinister Jonas Gahr Størewill chair the meeting.
The anticipated briefersare Secretary-GeneralAntónio Guterres, ICRCPresident Peter Maurer anda civil society representa-tive.
Non-Council memberstates are invited to partici-pate in person at the opendebate or submit a written
statement to be included inthe meeting’s officialrecord. A presidential state-ment is a possible outcomeof the meeting.
The Council will hold anopen briefing, followed byclosed consultations, on thesituation in Afghanistan onWednesday (26 January).Norwegian Prime MinisterJonas Gahr Støre will chairthe meeting. Secretary-General António Guterresis expected to participate.Special Representative andhead of the UN AssistanceMission in Afghanistan(UNAMA) Deborah Lyonsand a civil society represen-tative will brief.
The chair of the 1988Afghanistan SanctionsCommittee, AmbassadorT.S. Tirumurti (India), isscheduled to brief on thecommittee’s work.
Also on Wednesday,there will be an open brief-ing and closed consulta-tions on political develop-ments in Syria. SpecialEnvoy for Syria Geir O.Pedersen and a civil societyrepresentative are the antic-ipated briefers.
On Thursday (27January), Council membersare scheduled to vote ontwo draft resolutions: onerenewing UNSMIL’s man-date and another renewingthe mandate of the UN
Peacekeeping Force inCyprus (UNFICYP).
Council members willhold closed consultationson the UN Regional Centrefor Preventive Diplomacyfor Central Asia (UNRC-CA) on Thursday. SpecialRepresentative and head ofthe UNRCCA NataliaGherman will brief on theUNRCCA’s work.
Also on Thursday, therewill an open briefing andclosed consultations onhumanitarian developmentsin Syria. The anticipated br-iefers are Acting AssistantSecretary-General forHumanitarian AffairsRamesh Rajasingham and acivil society representative.
This week, Councilmembers will closely fol-low developments inMyanmar and Ukraine.They may choose to con-vene a meeting on these orany other issues.
Members have beennegotiating a draft resolu-tion initiated by Ghana andNorway on piracy andarmed robbery in the Gulfof Guinea, which may bevoted on during the week.
At the subsidiary bodylevel, the 1373 Counter-Terrorism Committee willhold a formal meeting onMonday (24 January) todiscuss its programme ofwork for 2022.
Week ahead at UNSC
BRUSSELS (TASS):Protesters against sanitarymeasures in Brussels havecalled for the resignation ofthe Belgian government forviolating the kingdom'sconstitution. A petition tothis effect was announcedon Sunday at a rally in theCinquetieth AnniversaryPark, which ended themarch for freedom, a TASScorrespondent reports.
"The government of thekingdom, which allowedthe violation of the consti-tution and fundamentalfreedoms of citizens, must
resign, snap elections mustbe held in the country," thepetition says. According tothe organizers, the docu-ment will be published onsocial networks and regis-tered on the portal of thecountry's government tocollect signatures.
Earlier, during a protestin Brussels, there wereclashes with the police.Several hundred demon-strators who separated fromthe main column tried tobreak through the policecordon near the building ofthe European Commission,
started throwing firecrack-ers and bottles at the police.Police drove off a group ofprotesters using water can-nons and tear gas. Up to 10people were detained dur-ing the clashes, police said.
Several tens of thou-sands of people took part inthe pan-European demon-stration, authorized by thecity authorities. The actionwas organized by the non-governmental organizationEuropeansUnited ("UnitedEuropeans"), whichincludes activists of bothright and left views.
Brussels protesters callfor resignation of Govt.
the duty of Muslim regard-ing spread of virtue andcrushing of evil in a society.
He observed that if thenation understood theseteachings, they wouldresolve many issues.
The prime minister saidQuaid-e-Azam MuhammadAli Jinnah had been a fol-lower of those principles.
The doctrine of necessitywas created for the power-ful and elite classes, hesaid, the cells in jails werefilled with the ordinarycriminals while the power-ful dacoits were roamingfreely, he regretted.
The prime ministerunderlined the need for thesociety to face such chal-lenges and make endeav-ours to crush the evil ten-dencies in the societywhich made the people totreat the corrupt elementsas politicians and personal-ities. In that case, the peo-ple would have fears fromcommitting crimes.
The prime minister saidthat former prime ministeralong with his sons wasresiding outside the coun-tries in billions of dollarsworth properties in the UK.While his finance minister,Ishaq Dar was also residingthere along with his kins.
He further said that thetwo royal families in thecountry had been given VIPtreatment which AitzazAhsan had rightly termedas Sharif’s doctrine. Theyhad bribed the judges in thepast, that’s why JusticeKhosa of the SupremeCourt had equated themwith the Sicilian mafia, headded. Previously, theprime minister had heldfour such like live TV ses-sions with the public lastyear. About 86 questions,74 on telephone calls and12 others via social media,were responded by theprime minister during thesesessions. The prime minis-ter, to a question, said hispolitical opponents wereraising hue and cry over theprice hike to save theirskins from accountability.
Citing a World Bank’sreport, he said whichacknowledged that govern-ment had succeeded inreducing poverty in the fourcategories. The country’sGDP had been increased by5.37 percent despite thecoronavirus challenge,which was also hurtling theglobal world economies. InIndia, the growth rate hadbeen in the negative, headded. But on the otherhand, they had been hear-ing opposition parties’ cho-rus joined by certain mediapersons, lamenting that thecountry had beendestroyed, he added.
Enumerating theachievements of his gov-ernment, the prime ministersaid that construction sectorwas witnessing the boomand the private banks wereextending loans to the low-income group. The govern-ment had got the issue ofpending foreclosure lawresolved through the courts.About 290 billion rupeesloans were sought by theapplicants and out of whicha total of 123 billion rupeesloans had been approved. Asum of Rs40 billion loanwas released to the appli-cants from the low-incomegroup to construct their
homes.Besides, the prime min-
ister said the governmentwas constructing 45,000housing units, and the pri-vate sector had launched324 projects envisaging theconstruction of 3 millionhouses. He said with sucheconomic activities, 30allied industries with theconstruction sector werealso being benefitted.
The prime minister saidwith the bumper crops, thepeople in villages hadearned Rs1400 billion andwitnessing an increase ofRs165,000 in the totalincome of per head.
The large-scale manu-facturing witnessed agrowth of 10 percent. Thevehicle and tactor produc-tion and sale of motorcy-cles had increased. Thetotal tax collection reachedto over 6000 billion rupees.The private sector offtakereached to 930 billionrupees that also sought aloan of worth Rs1.1 trillion.
Due to incentives grant-ed to IT sector, its exporthad surged. Record exportsworth 31 billion dollarswere recorded with remit-tances soaring up to 30 bil-lion dollars, he maintained.
The prime minister fur-ther said that the Economistmagazine had rankedPakistan as among the topthree countries whose econ-omy was performing wellwith sustainable growth inthe last three years.
To another question by acaller, the prime ministersaid through the HealthCard every family wasbeing extended facility ofRs1 million free of costtreatment. In Punjab alone,400 billion rupees had beenallocated for the purpose.No one ever thought ofspending such hugeamounts on the social sec-tor in the past. He termed itas Pakistan’s biggest socialnetwork system.
The prime minister saidthat the private sectorwould be encouraged withprovision of low-cost landsfor construction of healthfacilities and import ofduty-free equipment.
The prime minister saidpositive criticism was agood thing and stressedupon differentiatingbetween propaganda, fakenews and reality. He saidcertain mafia had beenspreading disappointmentin the society by negativelyprojecting the economicpicture of Pakistan. Theyhad the vested interests todislodge the government atany cost, the prime ministerobserved, regretting thatcertain media persons werealso spreading depression.
Contrary to their claims,the Bloomberg journal hadput Pakistan as a countrymoving on a sustainablepath, he added. He said theglobal inflation and pricehike of commodities trig-gered by sharp disruption inthe supply and demandchain, due to Covid 19 pan-demic, had affected all thecountries of the world alikeincluding Pakistan.
The post-Covid scenariosent the prices of vital com-modities skyrocketing andPakistan was not the onlycountry in the world to bearthe brunt of imported glob-al price hike, he added.
To a question of Saeeda,a resident of Rawalpindi,
the prime minister said thatit was an age of IT andmobile cells and within onehour, he got the informationabout the public issues.
He admitted that theprice hike was the majorissue that often kept himawake. The prime ministersaid a good journalismalways kept the peopleabreast of the latest situa-tion and urged the need ofprojecting the issue with itstrue perspective.
He said when his gov-ernment came to power, thecurrent account deficit wasaround 20 billion dollarscausing pressure on thevalue of rupee. Its devalua-tion added to the price hike.
UK was hit hard by thecoronavirus pandemic. InPakistan, they rolled out 8billion dollars during thepandemic whereas the UShad extended 6000 billiondollars to its people.
The global food priceshad been at the highestlevel in a decade. In the US,prices of commodities hitthe 40 years highest mark,in Japan prices of com-modities jacked up to 30years highest level and thepalm oil price was at thepeak level.
In Europe, the prices offood had been at the highestpeak in the last 30 years, hesaid, adding the fertilizershortage was adding tofears of food and edibleshortage in different partsof the world. Due to pan-demic, the richest countrieshad been suffering, he saidand referred to Canadawhere 40 percent of popu-lation feared running out ofresources to afford food. Inthe US people had beenstanding in queues to pur-chase food, he added.
The prime minister saidthat global surge in thepetroleum prices had alsocontributed to increase inprices of electricity andtransport. Out of this sce-nario, he said the salariedclass unfortunately, hadalso been affected. Theprime minister assured thatthe salaried class and thegovernment servants wouldbe provided with reliefonce the government rev-enues increased with col-lection of tax. The primeminister also appealed tothe corporate sector toextend benefits to theiremployees after earningbillion rupees profit. Theiroff-take reached to over1,000 billion rupees, headded.
He also appealed to thenation to wear masks totackle the new wave ofOmicron variant as it wasspreading at faster pace.
The prime minister saidthat the government wasbringing reforms in theCriminal Justice System forthe first time in the coun-try’s history. He furthersaid that different cartelsand mafias had been activein the country making hugewindfalls through hoardingand price hike.
The prime minister saidthat eight regulators in thecountry had informed thatthese cartels had got 800stay orders from differentcourts. An amount of 250billion rupees had beenstuck up due to such litiga-tion.
According to FBR, hesaid, 2500 billion rupeescases were lingering on due
to litigation. The 19,000customs related cases werealso pending involving bil-lions of rupees, he said,adding the country suffereddue to the theft of powerful.
The prime minister saidthat he would give goodnews to the nation in thenext few months.
He also enumerated thechallenges faced by hisgovernment in the initialperiod ranging from dwin-dling foreign reserves, fis-cal deficit, power circulardebt etc. and the successfulefforts to steer the countryout of those challenges.
To another question, hesaid that through the mini-budget they wanted to doc-ument the economy as theexemptions were misusedby certain people to evadetaxes. Out of 220 millionpopulation, only 2 millionhad been paying taxes. Ifthey did not pay tax, thecountry could not achieveprogress, he said, addingnow with the introductionof FBR’s track and tracesystem, they had got thedata of those people livingin luxurious homes andaffording big vehicles butpaying zero taxes. He saidthe government would givethem an opportunity to con-tribute to the progress ofthe country by payingtaxes. The prime ministersaid in US, if you evadetax, you would land direct-ly in the jails. India had thedouble tax collection, hesaid, urging the citizens topay tax to steer the countryout of poverty. The primeminister said the govern-ment for the first time, hadintroduced single syllabusup to class five. The primeminister also lauded theefforts of all the govern-ment departments, civil andmilitary for overcoming thecoronavirus pandemic.
During previous four TVsessions, the callers hadraised different issues per-taining to corruption, landgrabbing, inflation, coron-avirus, Riyasat-i-Madinaetc., besides giving certainsuggestions.
The highest participationin these sessions was madeby the callers from Punjabprovince followed byIslamabad CapitalTerritory, Sindh and KPK.About 11 per cent amongthese participants wereoverseas Pakistanis.
Major redressal of thepublic grievances includedinheritance share of land asraised by a resident ofKohat, improvement oftraffic system in Lahore,construction of RHC at aland donated by a residentof Sarai Alamgir for whichthe government of Punjabhad allocated Rs30 millionfor the proposed scheme,water logging issue due toGojra main drain inFaisalabad, stone crushingpollution issue at GhoraGali etc road, corruption inthe utility store, passportissue at Pakistan embassyin Germany and initiationof criminal proceedingsrelated to encroached landof an overseas Pakistani.
Issuance of promptdirections and resolution oftheir grievances by theprime minister had beenwidely appreciated by theparticipants who had alsoexpressed their acknowl-edgment and gratitude tothe prime minister.
PM: Meeting Shahbaz...............TEL AVIV (TASS): TheIsraeli governmentapproved on Sunday thecreation of a state commis-sion to investigate the cir-cumstances of the acquisi-tion by the Jewish state ofsubmarines and a numberof other warships inGermany between 2009and 2016, when formerPrime Minister BenjaminNetanyahu was in power.This is reported by theIsraeli radio Kan , notingthat Prime Minister NaftaliBennet abstained from vot-ing on this issue.
"The creation of thecommission is a top priori-ty in the field of security.This is a clear signal thatgames with Israel's securityare unacceptable," the radiostation quoted DefenseMinister Benny Gantz assaying. "This is the mostserious security corruptioncase in the country's histo-ry. It's time to investigate
and provide answers,"Jewish Foreign MinisterYair Lapid tweeted aheadof the vote on the issue.
The investigation ofoffenses in concluding adeal to acquire submarinesand other warships from theGerman companyThyssenKrupp began inIsrael in February 2017 andwas called "Case 3000". InDecember 2019, StateAttorney Shai Nitzandecided to file corruptioncharges against him againsta group of Israeli officialsand high-ranking officials,including former head ofthe Israeli Navy EliezerMarom and formerThyssenKrupp representa-tive in the Jewish state MikiGanora.
Netanyahu has not yetbeen involved in the "Case3000". Nevertheless, thepolice interrogated him as awitness in 2018 as part ofthis investigation.
Currently, the JerusalemDistrict Court is consider-ing three cases of briberyand other violations againstNetanyahu, who headed thecabinet from 2009 to 2021.The former prime ministerhimself has repeatedlydenied all the accusationsagainst him.
Israel, under Netanyahu,purchased from Germanysix Dolphin-class sub-marines, considered themost expensive weapons ofthe national army, as wellas several missile boats. Allships have already beendelivered to the Israeli mil-itary. Already with the cur-rent premiere, on January20, the Israeli Ministry ofDefense signed an agree-ment with the Germandefense department andThyssenKrupp on thedevelopment and produc-tion of three new sub-marines for the Israeli Navyfor € 3 billion.
Israeli cabinet oks body toprobe submarine purchases
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