Pakistan will this week begin the process of selling unused telecom

spectrum in an auction it hopes will raise around $1 billion and

enhance network capacity

The spectrum is in the 1800 and 2100 MHz bands typically used by operators
for 4G LTE (long-term evolution) networks that offer faster video streaming
and internet downloads,

. The country has some 85 million 3G/4G subscribers, and the upcoming
auction is seen as a precursor to any 5G launch.

The Pakistan telecom market is dominated by Jazz, backed by Netherlands-

based Veon Ltd; Telenor Pakistan, backed by Norway’s state-controlled
Telenor; Zong, owned by China Mobile and Ufone, which is controlled by
state-owned Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd.

Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic rival Joe

Biden battled fiercely over Trump’s leadership on the coronavirus
pandemic, the economy and the integrity of November’s election in
a chaotic first debate on Tuesday marked by personal insults, name
calling and Trump’s repeated interruptions.
More than 60 million people in India — 10 times the official figure — could have contracted the
novel coronavirus, the country's lead pandemic agency has said, citing a nationwide study
measuring antibodies.

According to official data India, home to 1.3 billion people, is the world's second most infected
nation, with more than 6.1m cases, just behind the United States.

BEIJING: China on Tuesday called India’s designation of the region

along their disputed border as a federal territory an illegal move,
and voiced new objections to infrastructure construction that
seems to strengthen India’s position in the area.

China rejected India’s move last year to reconstitute Ladakh as a federal

territory separate from held Jammu and Kashmir, saying it considered the
action illegal. Ladakh lies on the Line of Actual Control that stretches up to
Arunachal Pradesh, in the east.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has categorically rejected “unwarranted

and irresponsible remarks” made by India’s Ministry of External
Affairs regarding upcoming elections in strategically-located Gilgit-
Baltistan (GB).

ISLAMABAD: Hafiz Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi was appointed as special

representative to the prime minister on religious harmony.

The Muttahida Ulema Board is the only religious institution of the country to
issue guidelines declaring administration of polio drops “not” against the
teachings of Islam whereas the PUC has been at the forefront in supporting
the national narrative and referencing reasoning from religious texts over
several ideologically conflicting topics.

Both institutions were the first to call Daesh a “terror outfit” and termed
suicide bombing and killing in the name of honour haraam, and have spoken
out against the disregard for legal procedure and use of violence in cases
against those accused of blasphemy.

World Health Organisation (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom

Ghebreyesus has once again praised Pakistan's response to the
coronavirus, saying the country managed to fight the pandemic
while allowing its economy to pick up as the country stabilises.

Tedros outlined four essential steps to get the pandemic under control,
starting with preventing amplifying events and protecting vulnerable groups.

The WHO chief reiterated his call for funding for the WHO-led ACT-
Accelerator, a globally pooled hunt for Covid-19 vaccines, diagnostics and
treatments.

The programme has just $3 billion of the $38 billion needed to meet the goal
of producing and delivering two billion vaccine doses, 245 million treatments
and 500 million diagnostic tests over the next year

PAKISTAN could face a major wheat crisis by the end of December.

The warning has come from the National Assembly Standing
Committee on Commerce, which also pointed out that serious
mismanagement in planning of wheat imports had caused
shortages of the commodity, leading to a big hike in flour prices.
The government had allowed the Trading Corporation of Pakistan
and the private sector to import wheat towards the end of July in
the wake of its countrywide shortages, and later waived all taxes
and duties to make imports economically viable and release the
upward pressure on its prices. Yet the imports remain slow.
Although the private sector has imported over 300,000 tonnes of wheat and
booked orders for another million tonnes or so, the TCP is yet to place its first
order. A top TCP official told the committee that the corporation, which is
supposed to purchase 1.5m tonnes of cereal from the international market to
fill the supply gap, had to cancel the tenders floated earlier this month because
of the high rates quoted by suppliers. The new bids received for 300,000
tonnes of wheat are to be opened on Oct 5, which means the first TCP wheat
shipment will not reach here before the end of October even if everything goes
according to plan. Until then, prices are expected to stay up despite private
imports. The consumers, especially low-income households, are forced to pay
a higher price for their staple food because of delays in imports on account of
the government failing to predict the market despite less than targeted crop
output last spring. Even when it was clear the country was facing a shortfall of
1.5m tonnes for the current market year and prices had begun surging sharply,
it did not push the TCP to speed up the import process. The TCP authorities
will have to do exactly that if the government wants to prevent the present
shortages from morphing into a major crisis in winter.

WHAT relationship could there possibly be between Kashmir and

Germany — unless one dips into post-World War II history to
discern one? Visualise Christmas Eve 1979, with 100, 000 Soviet
troops moving into Afghanistan. Leonid Brezhnev is ruling an
incredibly vast Eurasian landmass with 10 time zones. Pakistan is
panicky. The USSR couldn’t care less as the US-led West rushes to
Pakistan’s help. Will Afghanistan become another Soviet socialist
republic? Will the Soviet satellites from Bulgaria to Poland ever
taste freedom? Will divided Germany ever unite? The answer is
obviously no.

Twelve years later, the Soviet Union breaks up into15 pieces. All Soviet
‘republics’ are free; East European satellites, from the Turkish border to the
periphery of the Gulf of Finland, are now truly sovereign. The Berlin Wall falls
and the city with the Brandenburg Gate landmark is the capital of the fourth
Reich.

Let Germany be the role model for Pakistan and let our people see how the
German nation, known for — or accused of — warmongering, showed a high
degree of quiet determination in the aftermath of World War II to see the day
when Germany would be unified without war.
The horizon after May 1945 was bleak. No country was devastated by war the
way carpet-bombed Germany was. Three Ds were to be imposed on Germany
— de-Nazification, demilitarisation and democratisation. Fine, but if American
treasury secretary Henry Morgenthau Jr were to have his way, Germany was
also to be de-industrialised. His argument was simple: Germany would again
pose a threat to world peace, as it had done after the Treaty of Versailles,
unless its ability to make war was crippled.

Pakistan must have Germany as its role model.

The plan would have materialised and Germans would have continued to eke
out a living in four zones had not Moscow moved quickly to normalise its part
of Germany and have an ‘elected’ government installed. The Western allies
reacted by merging the three Western zones into one Federal Republic of
Germany, and the country was after all to be rearmed because that was the
only way the Soviet juggernaut could be deterred. Moscow was asking Ankara
to ‘return’ Kars and Ardahan provinces to the USSR and was pressing
Denmark for a naval base. As the Cold War began, Nato — a military alliance
from Bosporus to the Arctic Circle — came into being. Under the cover of this
cast-iron security guarantee by nuclear-armed America, Germany began
rebuilding itself. By the mid-1960s, out of the debris of its cities, Germany rose
like a phoenix to become Western Europe’s strongest economy.

In external affairs there was a national consensus on one goal and one non-
negotiable policy: the survival of what was not under Soviet occupation and an
unconditional alignment of foreign policy with that of its Western allies,
especially the US. While there were bound to be differences in the kind of
relationship that existed between the victors and the vanquished, successive
West German governments showed a remarkable continuity in sticking to
Bonn’s total commitment to the US-led West and took no foreign policy or
security issues without Washington’s blessings. The Soviet collapse changed
all this. As a unified Reich came into being, Germany could breathe in peace,
because Russia was no more its neighbour, there being a buffer between the
two in the form of Poland, Byelorussia and Ukraine. Now Germany was on its
own.

As Yugoslavia creaked, Berlin recognised the independence of Croatia and

Slovenia in 1991 and was blamed for hastening Yugoslavia’s collapse, but
Berlin showed a wooden face. However, the real assertion of its independence
came in 2003 when chancellor Gerhard Schroeder found a priceless ally in
French president Jacques Chirac to oppose the Bush-Blair move to attack Iraq
on the basis of doctored intelligence for Israel’s benefit.
The Germans are a proud people with astonishing scientific and cultural
achievements to their credit. Yet, in the aftermath of World War II, they
bowed to geopolitical reality, shunned political rhetoric for unification and
marked their time, till the fruit of a unified Germany fell into their lap without
war.

Pakistan must have Germany as its role model. As a citizen of this globe I have
no doubt Indian tyranny in held Kashmir will come to an end and the valley
will be free and be part of Pakistan one day, but, while pursuing this sacred
aim, we Pakistanis must realise harsh realities, including Arab governments’
indifference to the Kashmiri people’s enslavement. While keeping our
gunpowder dry, our goal should be to make Pakistan a developed country
armed with the sinews of science and technology, wipe out poverty and create
an egalitarian and democratic society that can effectively advance our cause.
Empty rhetoric without elements of national power invites ridicule. Finally, let
us get one reality sound and clear: nothing is more important than Pakistan
itself.

1/10/2020

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday called for

improving Pak-Afghan relations by adopting a forward-looking
approach rather than remaining stuck in the past.

Both sides during the Afghan official’s visit expressed their desire to move
beyond their acrimonious past and build cooperative relations.

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday

lashed out at former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and the federal
government over his prolonged absence, with one member of the
two-judge division bench describing the move on the part of the
accused as ‘defeating the system’.

ISLAMABAD: The Afghan government and Taliban negotiators are

nearing a compromise on a key sticking point that has stalled peace
talks in Doha, Abdullah Abdullah, chairman of Afghanistan’s High
Council for National Reconciliation that is overseeing Kabul’s
peace push, said in an interview. After several small-group
meetings, the issue had been resolved “to a large extent”, he added.

Talks started in the Qatari capital on Sept 12, but an optimistic beginning was
marred by ongoing violence and discussions got bogged down by
disagreements over which interpretation of Islam should be used to frame
laws in a post-conflict Afghanistan.

The Taliban, who are Sunni hardliners, had insisted on strict adherence to the
Hanafi school of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence, but government negotiators
worried this could be used to discriminate against the predominantly Shia
Hazara community and other religious minorities.

Both sides have provisionally agreed “to recognise the principal issue of
Hanafi’s role without any discrimination to Shia communities or minorities, so
... the compromise is around that,” Mr Abdullah said

Prime Minister Imran Khan told a UN biodiversity summit on

Wednesday that Pakistan was among the ten countries that were
the most vulnerable to climate change.

The summit, held virtually in New York, brought together heads of state and
government from across the globe to consider urgent measures for protecting
biodiversity.

President of the 75th General Assembly of the United Nations, Volkan Bozkir,
had convened the summit, which was co-chaired by Prime Minister Khan and
German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

President Emmanuel Macron of France, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of

Canada, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand and Prime Minister
Boris Johnson of Britain were among the 64 world leaders who participated in
the meeting.

“Seventy-five per cent of the Earth’s land surface has been significantly altered
by human actions, including for example the loss of 85 per cent of the area of
wetlands,” said Mr Bozkir while explaining why world leaders needed to focus
their attention on this issue. “Also, 66 per cent of the ocean area is
experiencing multiple impacts from people, including from fisheries,
pollution, and chemical changes from acidification,” he added.

The prime minister informed the summit that Pakistan was one of those
fortunate countries which were diverse from north to south, east to west.

Pakistan has twelve climate zones. In the north, its highest mountain — K2 —
is also the second highest in the world. From there to the sea the country has
2,000 kilometres of diverse lands.
“So, we go from alpine climate zone to right down to the tropics and my
government has pledged to protect this biodiversity,” Mr Khan said.

He said that to protect the country’s flora and fauna, the government had
enlisted the help of local communities. “We have taken up the challenge to
plant 10 billion trees and to plant these 10 billion trees we have enlisted the
help of local communities,” he said.

The prime minister said that giving jobs to local communities not only
protected the forests, but also encouraged them to help the government
“achieve our target of 10 billion trees”.

Mr Khan said the government had increased national parks from 30 to 39.
Thus, “in the two years of our government, we have increased the national
parks by nine,” he said. Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Climate
Change Malik Amin Aslam told the meeting that the Covid-19 pandemic had
further underlined the link between people and nature.

“It reminded us that when we degrade biodiversity, we exacerbate the risk of

breakout of diseases, with more frequency and intensity, from wildlife to
humans,” he said.

Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN Munir Akram told the meeting

that while the impact of global warming and climate change was visible, “the
impact of biodiversity loss will be equally pervasive and equally devastating
for the future of humanity”

Azerbaijan on Wednesday vowed to pursue military action against

Armenian separatists in the breakaway Nagorny Karabakh region
until a full Armenian withdrawal from the disputed territory.

Armenian and Azerbaijani forces are engaged in the heaviest fighting in years

over Karabakh, an ethnic Armenian province that broke away from Azerbaijan
in the 1990s during the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The long-simmering conflict erupted on Sunday with both sides blaming each
other for the outbreak of violence.

“We only have one condition: Armenian armed forces must unconditionally,
fully, and immediately leave our lands,” Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev
said in televised remarks.

If “the Armenian government fulfils the demand, fighting and bloodshed will
end, and peace will be established in the region,” he added.
Earlier today, Azerbaijan's foreign ministry said in a statement that Baku was
“resolutely determined to continue the counter-offensive operation until its
sovereignty and territorial integrity is fully restored [...] (and) we clearly see
the Armenian troops leaving the territory of Azerbaijan”.

On Wednesday, Armenia and Azerbaijan rejected international calls for a halt

to fighting and negotiations.

Nearly 100 people are confirmed to have died in the flare-up and both sides
are claiming to have inflicted heavy losses on opposing forces.

France expresses solidarity with Armenia

Meanwhile, France’s president voiced solidarity with Armenia amid its conflict
with Azerbaijan over Armenian-occupied Upper Karabakh.

Claiming that it was Azerbaijan last weekend that started the conflict,
Emmanuel Macron called on Azerbaijan and Armenia to end the conflict
unconditionally, adding that he had discussed this issue with Armenian Prime
Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

“I wanted these attacks to end. I explicitly condemned these disproportionate

attacks,” he said in a news conference during a visit to Latvia.

“Something has been happening since July,” he added, evidently referring to

the killing of three Azerbaijani soldiers and the wounding of four others when
Armenia launched a border attack on July 12.

“It was determined that the attacks on Sunday came from Azerbaijan,”
claimed Macron, adding: “Both sides must comply with the cease-fire.”

Border clashes broke out early on Sunday when Armenian forces in Upper
Karabakh, or Nagorno-Karabakh reportedly targeted Azerbaijani civilian
settlements and military positions, leading to multiple casualties.

He said he would also discuss the issue with United States President Donald
Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“I have noticed the political statements made by Turkey [in favour of

Azerbaijan], which I find to be inconsiderate and risky,” said Macron, a
frequent critic of Turkey.

“France is concerned by the warlike messages from Turkey which is in favour

of Azerbaijan’s reconquering Nagorno-Karabakh. And that we won’t accept it,”
he added, not mentioning that the region is internationally recognised as
belonging to Azerbaijan.

Macron said that Armenia's sovereignty and people should be respected,

urging against any statements that would raise tensions.

International pressure for a ceasefire has mounted as fears grow that the
conflict could escalate into all-out war.

Karabakh's declaration of independence from Azerbaijan sparked a war in the

early 1990s that claimed 30,000 lives, but it is still not recognised as
independent by any country, including Armenia

The first person to be cured of HIV, Timothy Ray Brown — known

as the “Berlin Patient” — has died after a battle with cancer, the
International Aids Society (IAS) announced on Wednesday.

Brown made medical history and became a symbol of hope for the tens of
millions of people living with the virus that causes AIDS when he was cured
more than a decade ago.