Friday, May 08, 2020

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EU’s Rs 24.5 bln package, says Ambassador

Speakers recognize services of national leader of Azerbaijan

US committed to alleviate poverty in Pakistan: envoy

IslamabadPOST

Inside...Govt advised

to infuse more money to jumpstart

economy

– Page 02

EU Integrated Policies against

COVID-19

– Page 03

Germany re-opens, football league allowed

to resume

Pakistan going for COVID-19 exit strategy

– Back Page

Turkey sends

Ramadan aid to

Pakistan

DNA

ISLAMABAD: Tur-key’s state-run aid distributed food packages to 600 families in Paki-stan’s northeast-ern Punjab and northwestern Khy-ber Pakhtunkhwa provinces. The on-going lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus has de-prived a large num-ber of daily wage workers of their source of income.

Briefs

A.M.BhAti / DNA

ISLAMABAD: Center for Glob-al & Strategic Studies (CGSS) and Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Islamabad joint-ly organized an “International Webinar” on “Importance of Leadership Skills during Crisis Management”. This Webinar was dedicated to the 97th Birth Anniversary of Heydar Aliyev, National Leader of Azerbai-jan. The Webinar was aimed at spreading awareness on the significance of leadership quali-ties during the crisis in context of COVID-19. Ahmed Yar Hiraj, Chairman, Prime Minister’s Inspection Commission, Govt. of Pakistan

highlighted the contribution of the national leader of Azerbaijan. He stated that COVID-19 has pressurized the leadership. In third world countries, due to lack of opportunities and facil-ities it is very difficult to handle the crisis but the incumbent Government of Pakistan is tak-ing excellent measures through tax break and huge relief pack-age to the needy. In this pan-demic, the Government should show optimism to eradicate the depression during COVID-19.Fuad Muradov, Chairman of the State Committee on Work with Diaspora of the Republic of Azerbaijanexplained the leader-ship qualities of Heydar Aliyev that how he contributed for the people of Azerbaijan. In 1990s,

when Azerbaijan was in havoc, Heydar proved that the situa-

tion can be changed through economic development and so-

cial reforms. Ali Alizada, Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan to Pakistan presented special re-marks on the birth anniversary of. Heydar. He stated that the current leadership of Azerbai-jan is following the footsteps of Heydar as Azerbaijan was fac-ing multiple territorial issues, H.E. Heydar played a vital role to curb these issues. In present COVID-19 crisis, Azerbaijan Government has taken suffi-cient measures to contain the pandemic. Dr. Niaz Ahmad Akhtar, Vice Chancellor, University of the Punjab,Lahore stated that the common interest of Pakistan and Azerbaijan is a peaceful en-vironment in the country. Inter-

national laws should be imple-mented to avoid the conflicts. He also explained the various measures that University of the Punjab has taken to sup-port the nation in these testing times. He also highlighted the characteristics of a great leader and national hero of Azerbaijan. Dr. Farid Shafiyev, Chairman, Center of Analysis of Inter-national Relations, Baku dis-cussed the typology of leader-ship especially in context to crisis management. He stated that H.E. Hyder combined all types of leadership and how he recovered the country crisis in 1990s. The Azerbaijan Gov-ernmet was prepared for the pandemic by analyzing the sit-uation of the world.

Speakers recognize services of Heydar Aliyev

British envoy meets

Hafeez

DNA

ISLAMABAD: British High Commissioner Dr. Christian Turner called on the Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Dr. Abdul Ha-feez Shaikh here at the Finance Division. Ms. Annabel Gerry – Head of DFID also accompanied the High Commissioner.The Adviser exchanged views with the High Com-missioner and Head of DFID on matters of com-mon interest and special-ly thanked DFID on its cooperation in the recent launch of “Secured Trans-action Registry”. He said that the cooperation be-tween Pakistan and DFID will continue in future for overall prosperity of the people and businesses.

Opening of lockdown in phasesADNAN YousAf

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has announced open-ing of lockdown in phases from Saturday.In a media briefing, after National Coor-dination Committee meeting regarding COVID-19, in Islama-bad today, he said the decision has been tak-en in consultation with all the provinces to ease out people’s lives. He said labourers, ordi-nary people, and small business had suffered a lot due to lockdown, which prompted us to open the curbs. He said 35 percent of our revenue collection has decreased, while ex-ports have also come down. He said we have already opened the construction sector and from today we are going to open various sectors relating to the construction industry.

EU’s Rs 24.5 bln package

DNA

ISLAMABAD: Ambassa-dor of the European Un-ion to Pakistan, Androulla Kaminara met with Prime Minister Imran Khan to reiterate the EU’s com-mitment to support Paki-stan during and beyond the Covid-19 crisis.She presented the 24.5 billion PKR Covid19 package that the EU has put together in support to Pakistan. Ambassador Kaminara and the Prime Minister also discussed how Pakistan and the EU can further benefit from a stronger political partner-ship in light of the politi-

cal, economic and security developments.Ambassador Androulla Kaminara said: “A long-standing friend and part-ner of Pakistan, the Euro-pean Union stands side by side with Pakistan as the country faces the extraor-dinary challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic. The EU is convinced that the global pandemic re-quires global solidarity and cooperation. I very much appreciate the constructive discus-sion with Prime Minis-ter Imran Khan and I am looking forward to continued collaboration during and beyond the current crisis.”

The Prime Minister briefed the Ambassador on the government’s vi-sion and action to fight Covid19. Ambassador Kaminara lauded the governments’ efforts, including the scale-up of the Ehsaas programme for the most vulnerable and poor. She pointed out the opportu-nities of the partnership with the EU as major trade partner and key do-nor in Pakistan.The European Union is directing more than 142 million (24.5 billion PKR; 153 MUSD) towards the short and medium term response in the emerging health crisis in Pakistan

and into strengthening the preparedness of Paki-stan’s people for its social and economic impact, with a specific focus on the most vulnerable.Milko van Gool, Head of Cooperation at the Delegation of the Euro-pean Union to Pakistan explained: “The EU and its 27 Member States, as #TeamEurope, are col-laborating on a compre-hensive response to help Pakistan address the chal-lenges related to Covid19. We are working closely with the Pakistani govern-ment and our partners to make sure our assistance intervenes where it is most needed.

DNA

ISLAMABAD: Prime Min-ister Imran Khan held a telephonic conversation with President Muham-madu Buhari of Nigeria, today.The two leaders discussed matters of mutual inter-est including the unprec-edented socio-economic challenges arising out of the Covid-19 Pandemic. They agreed that Pakistan and Nigeria faced similar circumstances.The Prime Minister con-veyed Pakistan’s solidarity with the Government and people of Nigeria, and

commended their effec-tive measures to contain the spread of Covid-19. The Prime Minister also highlighted the steps tak-en to contain the spread of Coronavirus in Pakistan.The Prime Minister highlighted exceptional challenge faced by devel-oping countries to save lives from Covid-19 as well fighting poverty and hunger. While noting en-couraging response from the UN, IMF, the World Bank and other stakehold-ers, the Prime Minister underscored the need for additional measures and resources imperative for regenerating growth and

livelihoods.In this context, the Prime Minister highlighted his call for “Global Initiative for Debt Relief” for devel-oping countries. President Buhari expressed support for the initiative.The two leaders agreed that both sides would work closely in New York alongside the UN Secre-tary-General and other interested countries and partners to advance the shared goals.Expressing satisfaction at the current level of cooperation, the Prime Minister reiterated his commitment to further deepen bilateral relations with Nigeria, particularly in the trade and economic domains, in the context of Pakistan’s “Engage Afri-ca” Initiative.Prime Minister Imran Khan also extended a cor-dial invitation to President Buhari to visit Pakistan at his earliest convenience.

PM Imran phones Nigerian president

Pak, Uzbek ties to be cemented

ANsAr M BhAtti

ISLAMABAD: Abdul Razak Dawood Prime Minister Adviser on Com-merce has expressed desire to cultivate even deeper business relations with Uzbekistan.He expressed these views during a video meeting between him the Deputy Prime Minister of Uzbek-istan Sardor Umurzakov.The meeting that took place on Thursday was

facilitated by Embassy of Uzbekistan in collab-oration with Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Com-merce Ministry. Ambassador of Uzbeki-stan Furqat Sidikov and other embassy officials were also present on the occasion.During the negotiations, the parties discussed measures to prevent the further spread of corona-virus infection, eliminate its negative consequenc-es on the economies of

both countries, as well as the current bilateral Uzbek-Pak trade and eco-nomic interaction and its prospects, including coop-eration on diversification and development of in-terregional transport and logistics cooperation.The event was held in a very positive manner and the parties reached a wide range of agreements to further strengthen the mutually beneficial part-nership between the two fraternal States.

Ambassador of the European Union to Pakistan, Androulla Kaminara met with Prime Minister Imran Khan; presented the 26 billion PKR Covid19 package

ISLAMABAD: Ambassador of the European Union Delegation to Pakistan Ms. Androulla Kaminara called on Prime Minister Imran Khan. – DNA

ISLAMABAD: Advisor to PM on Commerce Abdul Razzaq Dawood had a meeting with Sardor Umurzakov Dy Prime Minister of Uzbekistan thru vido link and

Ambassador of Uzbekistan Furqat Sidikov. – DNA

During the negotiations, the parties discussed measures to prevent the further spread of

coronavirus infection, eliminate its negative consequences on the economies of both countries

COVID-19

The two leaders discussed matters of mutual interest including the unprecedented socio-

economic challenges arising out of the Covid-19 Pandemic. They agreed that Pakistan and

Nigeria faced similar circumstances

ISLAMABAD: In a video message re-leased on Thursday on U.S. Mission Pakistan’s social media platforms, Am-bassador Paul Jones discussed how the United States is expanding its partner-ship with Pakistan to alleviate poverty in the country. “I’d like to highlight how together we are protecting those most vulnerable to the economic fallout from coronavirus,” said U.S. Ambassa-dor Paul W. Jones. The Ambassador announced a new Amer-

ican contribution of $5 million to sup-port Pakistan's Ehsaas Emergency Cash Program and a $2.5 million therapeutic food program for children diagnosed with acute malnutrition. Since designating Pa-kistan a priority country for coronavirus assistance, the United States has com-mitted nearly $15 million in new funding to Pakistan. All of these contributions were identified as top priority needs by Pakistani authorities, and they are fully funded by the American people. – DNA

US committed to alleviate poverty

METROLITE02

Friday, May 08, 2020

IslamabadPOST

Briefs

Private schools warned

ISLAMABAD: Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority (PEIRA) has warned that the registration of schools/colleges would be cancelled those failed to comply with the au-thority’s orders regard-ing fee concession.According to a notifica-tion issued by PEIRA, the final notice has been given to such pri-vate institutions after receiving several com-plaints on Pakistan Cit-izen Portal.An official of PEIRA has also confirmed that be-

sides issuing notices to specific private schools/ colleges, the final notice has also been shared on social media.However, the notifica-tion further said that in milieu of numerous com-plaints received against

private educational insti-tutions from the parents and schools’ staff, all in-stitutions are advised to comply with the author-ity’s decision and must ensure its orders for the months of April and May 2020. – APP

DNA

ISLAMABAD: Countries around the world have initiated various measures to mitigate the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, and nothing could stop them from printing more money for the purpose. Pakistan should also print more money and distribute it through nationwide relief programs, such as ‘Ehsaas’, to boost spending and jumpstarting the economy, an eminent economist and former federal secretary finance has advised.The views were shared at a webinar ti-tled ‘Pakistan’s Economic Outlook and Way Forward’, which was organized by

Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) as part of its webinar series ‘Covid-19: Global Challenges, National Response’, by Dr. Waqar Masood Khan, former sec-retary finance and member of IPS Na-tional Academic Council.It was chaired by Executive President IPS Khalid Rahman while the partici-pants included Syed Muhammad Ali, senior research fellow IPS, Mirza Ha-mid Hasan, former federal secretary water and power, Air Commodore (r) Khalid Iqbal, and Zaheeruddin Dar, executive consultant and external ex-pert, Center for the Promotion of Im-ports from Developing Countries.Dr. Masood said the economy needs cash infusion instead of austerity and

this can be done by increasing money supply in the system. In this regard he suggested raising the amount be-ing paid under the Ehsaas Emergen-cy Cash program from Rs12,000 to Rs60,000 split into two tranches.He said the savings from less dollar payments due to declining global oil prices will compensate for the reduc-tion in remittances by overseas Paki-stanis and drop in export earnings. These will help spur the economy while the country’s vital dollar re-serves will not decline. The govern-ment needs to think at the macro lev-el, he added.He was of the view that using inflation targeting and interest rates for growth

is impractical economics. Regarding the upcoming budget, he said: “It will be a budget put together in a state of war. It will be just a formality so people should not hold any high expectations.”He did not see the next fiscal year as being any better, if not worse, than the current one which is about to con-clude. This is because of the economy which is in a nosedive along with the looming risk of food security posed by locust attacks.Muhammad Ali said there are four things that are important at this point in time; food, fuel, cash and health-care. These are critical factors for the country in its measures against the pandemic and should be part of the

crisis economy.He was of the opinion that there is an issue of governance. He said there is a lot of charity work in Pakistan and this provides a model whether it is for food rations or cash. This model is effective because it is more trustworthy, the dis-tribution process is successful and it is efficient. Economic governance is crit-ical to handling this crisis, he added.Khalid Rahman said the indigenous community bases can become mod-els of participatory governance. Giving the example of mosques, he said these can support operational activity during this crisis as they act as community centers and not just places of worship.

Govt advised to infuse more money to jumpstart economy

Economy needs cash infusion instead of austerity and this can be done by increasing money supply in the system. In this regard he suggested raising the amount being paid under the

Ehsaas Emergency Cash program from Rs12,000 to Rs60,000 split into two tranches

Services trade deficit

shrinks ISLAMABAD: The coun-try’s services trade defi-cit witnessed reduction of 30.01 percent during the first three quarters of the current financial year as compared to the corresponding period of last year. During the period under review country’s servic-es exports declined by 6.98%, whereas servic-es’ imports narrowed by 16.96%, according the trade statistics of the Pakistan Bureau of Sta-tistics (PBS). During the period from July-March (2019-2020), the exports reached to $4.247 billion against the exports of $4.566 billion during the same period of last year, it added. Meanwhile, the servic-es imports witnessed decrease of 16.96 % and went down from $8.053 billion in first eight months to $6.688 billion of the same period of current financial year, it said. – APP

Pakistani lawyer in

Facebook’s Oversight

BoardISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s lawyer and a founder of digital rights foundation Nighat Dad has been ap-pointed as board mem-ber to the newly created Oversight Board who will review certain con-tent decisions by Face-book and Instagram and make binding decisions based on respect for freedom of expression and human rights. The Oversight Board will tackle increasingly complex and contentious debates about what types of content should and should not be permitted on Facebook and Insta-gram and who should decide. The Board will prioritize cases that po-tentially impact many us-ers, are of critical impor-tance to public discourse, or raise questions about Facebook’s policies. Decisions made by the Board must be imple-mented by Facebook, as long as they do not vio-late the law, said a press release issued here on Thursday. Facebook an-nounced a 20-members board, including four co-chairs who helped select the others. – APP

IRSA releases

waterISLAMABAD: Indus River System Authority (IRSA) on Thursday re-leased 194,400 cusecs water from various rim stations with inflow of 184,500 cusecs. According to the data released by IRSA, water level in the Indus Riv-er at Tarbela Dam was 1476.79 feet, which was 90.79 feet higher than its dead level 1386 feet. Water inflow in the dam was recorded as 49,100 cusecs and outflow as 75,000 cusecs. The water level in the Jhelum River at Mangla Dam was 1212.20 feet, which was 172.20 feet higher than its dead lev-el of 1040 feet whereas the inflow and outflow of water was recorded as 55,800 cusecs and 40,000 cusecs respectively.

ISLAMABAD: Muhammad Ahmed Waheed President ICCI & Saif ur Rehman Khan VP ICCI presenting Notification of Convinior Maintenance Sub-Committee ICCI Choudhary Tahir Mehmood. – DNA

FiAz ChAuDrhy

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mahmood has said the government was working with Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) to promote distance learn-ing to overcome the ed-ucational gap, and meet the academic needs of the people particularly during the lockdown period.“We are working with the AIOU that is the part of the ministry to develop con-tents’ delivery for distance learning," he said this while talking in a private news channel's programme on Wednesday night.Highlighting importance of the distance learning system, particularly at a time, when the country was facing coronavirus

epidemic, he said various available mode of distance learning could be devel-oped to meet the educa-tional needs of the people.The living nations, he said, dug out new op-portunities, while going through difficult times. Online mode of education was one of the best op-tions to fill the education-al gap, he added.He said he knew that even some teachers faced diffi-culty in imparting educa-tion through online as it was somehow a new mode of education and there were also some public complaints about the ac-cess to online education, due to non-availability of internet or its slow speed. Shafqat Mahmood hoped that teachers and students would utilize online learn-ing programmes, offered by educational institutions

productively during the lockdown period.He also mentioned about Teleschooling launched by the government through the Pakistan Television (PTV). In that regard, he said an alternate edu-cational content delivery mechanism was developed with partnership of the AIOU.Meanwhile, AIOU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Zia Ul-Qayyum assured that the AIOU would be giving all-out support to its min-istry for contents’ devel-opment and their delivery in running educational programmes such as Tele-schooling.The university, he added, was prepared for sharing its 46-year-long experi-ence in distance learning with other institutions to promote the cause of edu-cation as its national duty.

Govt working with AIOU to fill educational gap

DNA

ISLAMABAD: Special As-sistant to the Prime Min-ister (SAPM) on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development Sayed Zulfikar Abbas Bukhari has indicated that five special flights would bring stranded citizens to Pakistan from Qatar in next two weeks.Addressing to Pakistani community via telecon-ference, he said current-ly 5,500 Pakistanis were

stuck in Qatar due to clo-sure of International flight operations amid the coro-navirus pandemic. Zulfikar Bukhari told the teleconference that 700 laid off Pakistani workers would be repatriated to Pakistan from the Middle East and their travel ex-penses would be provided by their foreign employ-ers. “These unemployed Pakistanis will be given employment through Kamyab Jawan program,” he added.The SAPM vowed to send

two community welfare attache to Qatar in the next few days, said a press release issued by the over-seas ministry.The virtual town hall meet-ing was arranged by the OP&HRD Ministry to in-form the community about the decisions taken by the government to provide relief to the Pakistani Di-aspora in the wake of coro-navirus. The meeting was attended by more than 50 people including officials of Pakistan's embassy and ambassador in Qatar.

‘Pakistanis from Qatar being brought back’

Allotment cases in

courtsISLAMABAD: As many as 48 cases of allotment of houses to the government employees of the Ministry of Housing and Works were pending in various courts of law of different catego-ries since several years.The Estate Office was con-tinuously pursuing the cas-es in court of law and fur-ther action would be taken as well as the cases were disposed of from the con-cerned courts, an official in the ministry told APP.The official said it was a fact that some time the re-tired federal government servants do not vacate the government accommoda-tions on their retirement due to involvement of Rules 15(2) of Accommodation Allocation Rules, 2002 or court cases. The official said these houses were va-cated as soon as cases were disposed of from the courts.To a question, he said the federal government had allocated funds amount-ing to Rs.2.500 million for repair and maintenance of 2,163 houses and flats (Cat-I to VI) for the cur-rent financial year. – APP

Govt alive to issues of newspaper hawkers: Bapi

DNA

ISLAMABAD: Aun Abbas Bapi, managing director of Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal, has said that newspaper hawk-ers are the most impor-tant part of the newspaper industry and the govern-ment will do everything possible to help them to overcome their financial difficulties.He expressed these views during a meeting with Tika Khan, Secretary Gener-al of All Pakistan Akhbar Farosh Federation and Zafar Bakhtawari, For-mer President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry at his office.

Bait ul Mal member from Islamabad Sardar Zahid Akbar was also present on the occasion.Aoun Abbas Bapi further said that the government will provide all possible support to the newspaper hawkers to continue their business with utmost re-spect and dignity. He said that the current economic crisis has affect-ed every section of the so-ciety including newspaper hawkers. We will use all our resources to help and support them.Secretary General of All Pakisran Akhbar Farosh Federation Tika Khan said on the occasion that news-paper hawkers are facing

serious financial difficul-ties nowadays and it has become difficult for more than one lakh newspaper hawkers in the country to make a living. He also requested prime Minister and Minister for information and Broad-casting for financial as-sistance. He further said that Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal should come forward to help the newspaper hawk-ers in this regard.Zafar Bakhtawari, former president of the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said on the occa-sion that newspaper hawk-ers in Islamabad as well as across the country are a highly organized force.

Friday, May 08, 202003Pakistan’s First And Only Diplomatic Daily

Editor-in-Chief: Ansar Mahmood BhattiDeputy Editor: Abid Raza

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Phone: 051-2266165 / 051-2261960Off: Awan Plaza, Block 18-A, G-8 Markaz Islamabad

NA session Relief from G20

I N a rare show of consensus, the government and the opposition have agreed to hold a session of the National Assembly on May 11. The single-point agenda is a proposed discussion on issues related to the

coronavirus. The session is likely to be held on alternate days after its com-mencement, without any requirement of quorum. The opposition parties have been demanding a parliamentary session to discuss the Covid-19 cri-sis for the past many weeks and now the government has finally accepted the opposition’s demand. Only NA members and relevant staff will attend the session, and no visitors will be allowed to enter the parliament build-ing. Though the minister for science and technology had proposed a virtual session, the opposition did not agree to it. However, especially after the National Assembly speaker contracted the virus, it has become imperative that all precautionary measures are taken before and during the session. We have to place people’s health above everything else.Assuming that all safety protocols are observed and a physical session is held while maintaining the required distances among the participants, there are cer-tain points that must be discussed during the session. First, it must be under-scored that parliament has a role in the political sphere which it must play during all expected and unexpected crises. In democracies, even during times of war, parliamentary sessions are held regularly. The representatives of the people have a right to ask questions about how different tasks are being performed and by whom. These questions are important for ensuring a high level of accountabil-ity of various ministries and institutions. Second, to keep everything transparent, all so-called autonomous bodies and entities must be answerable to parliament. The answers make the entire process aboveboard. We must not create a vacuum by not involving parliamentarians in important decision-making.We have seen in the past that the government is prone to making decisions unilaterally and without developing a consensus. Even before Covid-19 hit the country, we saw dozens of presidential ordinances being promulgated without due process. This is not in the best interest of the country. The government’s practice has been to have the National Assembly in recess and then make unilateral decisions or promulgate ordinances. The government should allow parliament to discuss the government’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak in the country. As the number of cases have crossed the 20, 000 mark and the number of deaths are over 500, the people of Pakistan need to know how the daily detection of the virus is being carried out and what the projections for the coming weeks and months are. As the federal government is insisting on easing precautionary curbs and opening commercial activities, parliament has a right to ask how the government is preparing for a fallout of such decisions.

A CCORDING to reports, Pakistan is seeking debt relief amounting to $1.87 billion from G20 countries. This potential relief is likely to give Pakistan a breather for at least one year. This is in addition

to what Pakistan is doing by exploring possibilities of taking advantage of lower oil prices in the international market and creating fiscal space through rescheduling of foreign and domestic debts. As Pakistan is faced with an impending economic downturn, some major mitigation efforts are in order. The country needs to be prepared for ensuing risks in the coming months, or even for a year. Though the economic managers of the government were already showing a subpar performance, the current Covid-19 crisis has given them an additional excuse to gloss over their own mismanagement and lack of competence in managing economic affairs of the country.What we need now are some outside the box solutions to tackle the situation. If the past two years are any guide, the government has been dilly-dallying on taking major decisions. During the past couple of months in an escalating Covid-19 pandemic, taking no action has been a preferred mode of operation for the government. Rather than prioritize actions and move ahead, there has been a sluggish response in almost all areas that needed prompt and perti-nent strategies. Although contacting the G20 for debt relief is perhaps one of the very few options Pakistan has, there is a need for collective thinking by establishing a common platform where the federal and provincial govern-ments come together and the opposition is also taken on board. Reschedul-ing debts and even seeking new loans is a serious business that should not be conducted without consulting all relevant stakeholders.The emerging situation is pointing towards economic and medical crises that will have far-reaching impacts, and that’s why extensive deliberations are re-quired. The government should be clear about what key areas there are for immediate policy interventions. Just by tinkering with monetary affairs and the banking sector, we cannot find long-term solutions, though they may be helpful in the short run. Fiscal matters involve provinces from where the gov-ernment collects taxes, and antagonizing or not involving all provinces in major decision-making will create more ill will than cooperation. The same applies to public finances and social safety nets that need a more circumspect approach than is being adopted in an ad-hoc manner right now. Even if the federal gov-ernment manages to get the G20 relief on its own, it is business – both large and small – located across Pakistan that will need to pay taxes so that the debts are repaid. We cannot just continue with the begging and borrowing spree that the government has been pursuing since 2018. There are a couple of things that must be taken care of, irrespective of the debt relief.

A S the whole world has been affected bad-ly by this present pandemic coronavirus where not only the humanity is facing the

severe health consequences but also major so-cio-economic disruptions prominent everywhere, unfortunately a large number of people of Pakistan have also been affected and number of patients in-creasing day by day, more than Five hundred peo-ple died whereas more than Twenty two thousand people have been infected as reported some day before by the Media and suspected are being in-vestigated on daily basis under the precautionary measures to fight against COVID 19 in the country.(TIKA) Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency is leading to support and donating actively the countries, fighting against COVID-19 through its 62 coordination offices in 60 countries all over the world including Pakistan. TIKA is playing its vital role as frontliner fighter against COVID-19 to strengthening the hospitals and government institutions with the supply of surgical masks and (PPE) Personal Protective Equipment also distrib-uted the food packets among the daily wagers, de-servers and poor families in Pakistan.It is pertinent to mention that TIKA is a Turkish

government official donor agency which imple-ments development projects to support the coun-tries, development progress all over the world through its offices and TIKA was established in 1992 after the dissolution of USSR. The main objective of TIKA is to make a strong bond and create bridge with the countries to con-tribute the countries, development progress by ap-plying sustainable projects for the betterment of people and the country.Ihsan Mustafa Yurdakul. Ambassador of Turkey. GokhanUmut Program Coordinator of (TIKA) handed over the donation based on (Fifty thou-sand) 50.000 surgical masks to the Federal Min-ister of State for Parliamentary Affairs. Ali Mu-hammad Khan, which will be utilized indifferent hospitals and public institutions of Multan and its surroundings to fight against COVID-19 including RecepTayyip Erdogan Hospital in Muzaffargarh which was constructed by TIKA in 2014, and has been declared Treatment centre by the Govern-ment of Pakistan.Turkish Ambassador said this donation is the start to fight against COVID-19 for Pakistan and more support will be continued till the end of this pan-

demic and the same feelings expressed by Gokha-nUmut, Country Head of TIKA. The Chairman Pakistan Bait-ul-mal (PBM) Aon Abbas Buppi said on the occasion Masks and PPE will be distributed among the frontliner staff like doctors, paramedic staff and police men fighting against COVID-19 Ali Muhammad Khan. Minister of State for Parlia-mentary Affairs specially thanked to the Govern-ment of Turkey and Program Coordinator of TIKA for this generous donation. Minister also added that both the nations are always together through all thick and thin especially in COVID-19 and the friendship of Pakistan and Turkey remained always ideal and examplary. The writer is broadcast journalist and can be

accessed at shakeel_gillani07@yahoo.com

Turkish Donation for Pakistan by TIKASyed Shakeel Gillani

The Chairman Pakistan Bait-ul-mal (PBM) Aon

Abbas Buppi said on the occasion Masks and PPE will

be distributed among the frontliner staff like doctors, paramedic staff and police

men fighting against COVID-19

U NFORTUNATELY, invisible chemistry of the coronavirus (COVID-19) has rattled safe heavens of the European Union (EU)

due to which its member states and its people are dying like Siberian migratory birds in hot deserts. COVID-19 is now testing geographic viability, socio-economic integration and above all geostrate-gic compulsion of the EU. It challenged its health-care system. It disintegrated its societies. It badly affected its economies too. It has been labeled more risky than great economic depression of 1930 which has also political consequences greater than fall of wall of Berlin. Despite having no vaccine so far, EU’s member states are taking diversified but integrated policy measures mainly, based on the best available sci-entific knowledge and expertise. It also stepped up its coordination among member states, first and

foremost to deal with the health aspect of the crisis, which is the most urgent. COVID-19 has become a severe public health emergency for the EU member states, its citizens, societies and economies with infections in all member states. All the member states, announced and implemented “non-pharma-ceutical interventions” mainly stay-at-home policies, community and physical distancing measures such as the cancellation of mass gatherings, closure of ed-ucational institutions and public spaces. In the time of widespread of COVID-19, EU showed great unity and solidarity and tried to cope with it by initiating some short, medium and long terms socio-economic, fiscal, banking and monetary and last but not least, budgetary policies. It announced various investment policies and incentives to private sectors to investment in artificial intelligence technol-ogies, bio-technologies, medical, healthcare sectors. The European Commission estimated the economic impact of the COVID-19 outbreak could be greater than the financial crisis in 2008. It introduced flex-ibility for funds and national expenditure, member states approved a safety net of liquidity for coun-tries, workers and companies involving the ESM, EIB, and Commission SURE, and EU leaders agreed on the need to work out a recovery plan for the block in the coming months.Since the onset of the crisis, Member States have continuously stepped up efforts to support their economies. Member states announced fiscal stim-ulus. Significant public resources were directed to strengthen the healthcare sector and civil protection mechanisms and to support affected workers and economic sectors. To date, the aggregate amount of Member States’ discretionary fiscal measures amounts to 3% of EU GDP, a threefold increase since 16 March, on top of the significant impact of automatic stabilizers.Furthermore, Member States have so far committed to provide liquidity support for sectors facing dis-ruptions and companies facing liquidity shortages, consisting of public guarantee schemes and deferred tax payments, which are now estimated at 16% of EU GDP, up from 10% on 16 March. On 23 March, EU Ministers of Finance agreed with the assessment of the Commission that the condi-tions for the use of the general escape clause of the EU fiscal framework, a severe economic downturn in the euro area or the Union as a whole, are fulfilled. It offered the flexibility necessary to the national budgets to support the economy and to respond in a coordinated manner to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall fiscal guidance would be provided

within this framework and as part of a streamlined European Semester exercise. A Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative was approved by the European Parliament and the Coun-cil and is in force as of the 1st of April. It allowed the use of EUR 37 billion under cohesion policy to address the consequences of the COVID-19 crisis. Furthermore, the scope of the Solidarity Fund was broadened to include major public health crises. Starting from the 1st of April, this allows the hardest hit Member States to get access to financial support of up to EUR 800 million in 2020.The European Central Bank (ECB) supported liquid-ity and financing conditions to households, business-es and banks, which helped to preserve the smooth provision of credit to the economy. On 18 March, the ECB decided to launch a EUR 750 billion Pan-demic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP), to expand the range of eligible assets under the cor-porate sector purchase programme (CSPP) and to ease the collateral standards. These measures were aimed at ensuring that all sectors of the economy can benefit from supportive financing conditions that enable them to absorb the Covid-19 shock.European Commission proposal re-activated the Emergency Support Instrument in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak on April 2, 2020. It provided support of EUR 2.7 billion from EU budget resourc-es. Its firepower would be further strengthened rap-idly, through additional voluntary contributions from Member States. The European Investment Bank (EIB) initiated a pan-European guarantee fund of EUR 25 billion, which could support EUR 200 billion of financing for companies with a focus on SMEs, throughout the EU, including through national promotional banks. It was an important contribution to preserving the level playing field of the single market in light of the national support schemes. EU also announced many diversified but integrated policies to preserve safety nets in all the member states. On April 3, 2020, the European Commission an-nounced the extension of the EU’s State aid Tempo-rary Framework to add additional measures to sup-port the economy in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak. It announced targeted support in the form of deferral of tax payments and/or suspensions of employers’ social security contributions to help avoid lay-offs due to the COVID-19 crisis in specific regions or sectors that are hardest hit by the out-break.It initiated targeted support in the form of wage sub-sidies for employees to help avoid lay-offs due to the

COVID-19 crisis in specific regions or sectors that are hit hardest by the outbreak.- More support for COVID-19 related research and development (R&D) to address the current health crisis. It extended more support for the construction and upgrading of testing facilities for products relevant to tackle the coronavirus outbreak, such as vaccines, medical equipment or devices, protective material and dis-infectants. Last but not least, it implemented more support for the production of products relevant to tackle to COVID-19 outbreak, such as vaccines, med-ical equipment or devices, protective material and disinfectants.EU is focusing a robust surveillance strategy based on enhanced testing, which thoroughly and contin-uously monitors the pandemic by gathering compa-rable data among Member States, monitors the in-tensity and geographical spread, detects nosocomial outbreaks, identifies and monitors changes in risk groups, provides information about age-specific pop-ulation immunity, measures the impact on health-care systems, monitors viral changes and measures the impact of mitigation and physical distancing measures (and their adjustments) through appropri-ate epidemiological indicators and criteria.EU is trying its best to develop a sufficient health-care capacity and resilience, including recovered general capacity (not related to COVID-19) and suf-ficient hospital and intensive care unit (ICU) beds. Monitoring and estimating resource-needs is crucial to ensure that healthcare systems have the capacity to respond to a new surge in cases. Prioritization should be given to build capacities related to med-ical, IPC, laboratory and contact tracing equipment as well as human resources.EU and all its member states are in the process of forming a strong risk communication strategy to in-form and engage the public and vulnerable groups explaining the rationale behind phasing out ‘stay-at-home’ policies and adjustment of community measures.EU has already started to chalk out a strategic roadm-ap and an action plan to support the recovery of the member states economies through high quality job creation and reforms to strengthen resilience and competitiveness, in line with a sustainable growth strategy. It should put in place the conditions to re-launch our economies whilst promoting economic convergence in the EU and reducing any fragmen-tation resulting from the crisis, including through the rapid restoration of the full functionality of the Single market. It includes the fiscal means Member States need to finance the necessary measures.

EU Integrated Policies against COVID-19 Dr. Mehmood Ul Hassan Khan

A Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative was approved by the European Parliament and the Council

and is in force as of the 1st of April. It allowed

the use of EUR 37 billion under cohesion policy to

address the consequences of the COVID-19 crisis. Furthermore, the scope

of the Solidarity Fund was broadened to include major

public health crises

IslamabadPOST

FRIDAY, MAY 08, 2020 | WWW.ISLAMABADPOST.COM.PK

Published by Ansar Mahmood Bhatti, Printed at Rohani Art Press, Islamabad

Power Company to invest

$ 4 bln ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia power produc-ing company ‘ACWA Power’ will invest around $ four billion in country’s renewable energy (RE) sector.The investment would be made mainly in Balochistan by set up solar power plants, sources told APP here.They said generation of cheap electricity utilizing indigenous renewable energy resources including wind, solar, waste to energy biomass was amongst the top pri-orities of the govern-ment. – APP

IslamabadPOST

BriefsUK

economy to plunge 14% LONDON: UK output is to crash by 14 percent this year on the corona-virus, the Bank of Eng-land said Thursday as it left its interest rate at a record-low 0.1 percent.“However the econom-ic outlook evolves, the bank will act as neces-sary to deliver the mon-etary and financial sta-bility that are essential for long-term prosperity and meet the needs of the people,” said BoE governor Andrew Bailey.“This is our total and un-wavering commitment.”Following the COVID-19 outbreak, the Bank of England slashed its main interest rate to 0.1 percent and decid-ed to pump £200 billion ($244 billion, 226 bil-lion euros) into the UK economy to get retail banks lending to fragile businesses. Two mem-bers of the nine-strong Monetary Policy Com-mittee, but not Bailey, voted at the latest meet-ing to increase the stim-ulus by a further £100 billion. – APP

Virus researcher shot dead

WASHINGTON: An eth-nic Chinese scientist working on the novel coronavirus in the United States has been shot dead in what police said was a murder-suicide over an “intimate partner”. Bing Liu, 37, was found dead at the weekend in his home on the outskirts of Pitts-burgh, where he worked as a research professor. The body of his suspect-ed attacker, 46-year-old Hao Gu, was discovered around the corner in what authorities said was a su-icide, according to local news channel WTAE. Police said the incident was the result of a dispute between the two men over an “intimate partner” and that there was no evidence Liu’s murder was connect-ed to his research, WTAE reported on Wednesday. That did not stop social media lighting up with conspiracy theories that he had been targeted be-cause of his work studying the virus. – APP

DNA

ISLAMABAD: With carrot and stick policy, Pakistan COVID-19 exit strategy pivoting on gradu-al resumption of markets, home isolation and smart sampling is all set to come into force.It is programmed to restart economic engine and restore social activities blown to smith-ereens over the last two months of lockdown in the length and breadth of the country, says a report published by Gwadar Pro on Thursday.COVID-19 exit strategy is sus-ceptible to get reversed if peo-ple do not act in conformity with set guidelines and pandemic runs amok. It will be further unfolding in phases exercising prudence and pragmatism.

Ideally, in pursuance of new pol-icy, Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and KPK, AJK and GB are likely to be in lockstep with the feder-al government. However, they will have complete freedom to tweak their line of actions as per their local dynamics, infection rate, healthcare system, market demand and economic needs.It may be remembered that all is subject to public discipline and spirit in compliance with vari-ous SOPs laid down to blunt the efficacy of the deadliest corona-virus that has already sent the entire world in tailspin.COVID-19 exit strategy entails 13 SOPs to effectively fight the disease. As per SOPs for home isolation asymptomatic per-sons (confirmed on PCR), and patients with mild symptoms, of age less than 60 years and

without volatile health condi-tions relating to lung and heart disease, renal failure or may be looked after at home.They say that patient living alone must not be allowed for home-iso-lation, proper education about personal hygiene should be given.They underlined the need to ob-serve hand hygiene and protec-tive mask in totality. They suggest to disinfect frequently touched surfaces in the designated room for isolation daily with 1% sodium hypochlorite solution and clean and disinfect bathroom and toilet surfaces at least once daily.Special Instructions are for per-son in isolation to stay away from elderly people, pregnant women, children and persons with co-mor-bidities within the household, avoid social / religious gathering. Home isolation SOPs ask for

repeat testing at day 10 of isola-tion and finally to end isolation, a previously tested positive patient should have two negative tests.Meanwhile 20-point SOPs for mosques being followed in Ramazan-ul-Mubarak will re-main in force later.New COVID-19 exit strategy in-volves also SOPs on the burial of coronavirus deceased peo-ple, SOPs on social distancing, SOPs on the treatment and clinical management of corona patients, SOPs for the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) kits by health workers at the federal and provincial levels, SOPs for purchases, the use of masks, and business activities to protect themselves from the dis-ease, SOPS for construction in-dustry, SOPS for allied markets.The federal cabinet also an-

nounced relaxation in lockdown gradually after May 9 to help restart economic engine to al-low formal and informal working class to earn their livelihood.Given the coronavirus exit strat-egy, provinces have also come up with their own restoration an and extension plans. Balochistan has aspired to reopen business but extended the lockdown till May 19, according to a notification issued by provincial Home and Tribal Affairs Department.“The looming threat of corona-virus spread still exists and the restrictions on social distancing and precautionary measures are still required to be put in place for (the) safety of human lives,” read the notification.Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) has been flexing its muscle to get rid of shutdown. Chief Minister

Mahmood Khan said during a meeting with a delegation of small traders’ association of the provin-cial capital that government was considering reopening business under a schedule and subject to implementation of Standard Op-erating Procedures (SOPs).Under burgeoning pressure of the business and trade communi-ty, Punjab government has decid-ed to further ease the lockdown ahead of Eidul Fitr, but with strict implementation of stand-ard operating procedures (SOPs) devised to maintain social dis-tancing to avoid further spread of the coronavirus disease.Sindh government has also sof-tened its stance to ease lock-down restriction before Eid, annual traditional religious gath-ering observed by Muslim at the end of Ramazan.

Pakistan going for COVID-19 exit strategy

Germany re-opens, football league

allowed to resume

KOHAT: Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa offering dua at Shuhada monument. – DNA

DNA

BERLIN: Chancellor Angela Merkel has said Germany's goal of slowing the spread of coronavirus has been achieved, so all shops can be reo-pened as lockdown restrictions are eased.Bundesliga football has been giv-en the green light to resume and schools will gradually reopen in the summer term.Germany's 16 federal states, under an agreement with the government, will take control of timing the reo-pening.They will operate an "emergency brake" if there is a new surge in in-fections.General contact rules involving will continue for another month. A lim-ited resumption has already begun, but this easing of restrictions is far broader.Two households will be able to meet and eat together, and elderly people in nursing homes and facilities for the disabled will be able to have vis-

its from one specific person. 'Germa-ny doing better than other countries'"I think we can safely state that the very first phase of the pandemic is behind us," Chancellor Merkel said. "But we need to be very much aware we are still in the early phases and we'll be in it for the long haul."Bavarian leader Markus Söder said Germany was doing better than many other countries because it had adopted a good strategy nation-ally and regionally and everyone had remained patient. Social dis-tancing of 1.5m (5ft) and hygiene were key to keeping the infection rate low, he said.

Germany has seen fewer than 7,000 deaths in the coronavirus pandemic - a much lower figure than in other Western European countries includ-ing the UK, Italy, France and Spain.The Robert Koch Institute (RKI), a federal public health body, reported 165 deaths in the past 24 hours on Wednesday and some 947 new infec-tions.The rate of infection has been con-sistently low for some time, and Mrs Merkel said she was very pleased that the number of new, daily in-fections was into three digits. She praised the responsibility of Ger-man citizens in sticking to lockdown measures to protect the lives of oth-ers as well as themselves.The popular daily newspaper Bild announced on Wednesday that Ger-many was opening up again. And broadly that is what has been agreed.Shops of up to 800 square metres (8,600ft) in size have already been allowed to open. All restrictions on shops will now be lifted, although masks must be worn and social dis-tancing maintained.

Secured Transactions Registry Inaugurated

A.M.BhAtti

ISLAMABAD: Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue, formally launched the Se-cured Transactions Regis-try (STR) today.The STR, established under the Financial Insti-tutions (Secured Trans-actions) Act, 2016,for registration of security interests/charges created by entities other than com-panies on their movable assets,has been operation-alized by the Securities and Exchange Commis-sion of Pakistan (SECP).The STR is an electronic register that can be ac-cessed through a dedicat-ed website 24/7. Financial institutions can now file

security interests online. Registration process is ful-ly automated and the reg-istry is searchable by gen-eral public, free of charge.The launching ceremony was chairedby the Advi-sor to the Prime Minis-ter on Finance and Rev-enue-Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh and attended by Governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP)-Mr. Reza Baqir,Chairman SECP-Mr. Aamir Khan, Chairman Board of Investment-Mr. Atif R.Bokhari, Chairper-

son, Karandaz Pakistan-Dr. Shamshad Akhtar, CEO, Karandaz Pakistan-Mr. Ali Sarfraz,Department Head of International Develop-ment (DFID)Pakistan-Ms. Annable Gerry, Country Director World Bank in Pa-kistan- Mr. Illango Patcha-muthu, Commissioners SECP-Mr. Shaukat Hus-sain and Mr. Shauzab Ali.In her address at the occa-sion, Ms. Annable Gerry, lauded the efforts of the financial sector regulators for their thought leader-ship and progressive role. Dr. Shamshad Akhtar also praised the SECP leader-ship and assured of Karan-daz Pakistan’s continued support for the SECP’s technology projects. Gov-ernor SBP and Chairman SECP also spoke on the occasion.

NehAl MirAj

ISLAMABAD: Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh chaired a meeting here at the Finance Division to de-liberate on the contours of a financial assistance pack-age for the Small and Me-dium enterprises in the wake of the Corona Virus pandemic. Minister for Industries and Country Director World Bank also partici-pated in the meeting.

The assistance package would explore the possi-bilities of supporting the small and medium sized enterprises, formal or in-formal, which are employ-ing 5 to 30 people but have suffered losses due to the recent lockdown. The ways and means to support the firms to con-tinue their production and to enable them to pay their fixed costs and sup-port their workers were discussed in detail. The Adviser said that the focus of the scheme should be that the workers attached

with these small business-es should not be laid off from their work because of the un-sustainability of the business. Provision of basic IT re-lated skills to the small-er businesses was also discussed, such skills/ expertise would help the workers as well as the businesses to continue their entrepreneurship in the odd and difficult times.It was also agreed that the cooperation of SMEDA and Punjab IT Board will be sought to make the package implementable.

Package for SMEs discussed

BEIJING: China's exports saw a shock 3.5 percent rise in April despite the global impact of the coro-navirus pandemic, official figures showed Thursday, partly due to rising medi-cal exports.But analysts warned of weakness ahead as key markets suffer down-turns, as well as the brew-ing threat of a renewed trade war with the United States.Imports fell 14.2 percent on-year, a steeper drop than last month, accord-ing to the Customs Ad-ministration.A forecast of analysts by Bloomberg had predict-

ed an 11 percent dive in exports and a 10 percent plunge in imports.Exports of medical instru-ments and devices rose 11 percent in the first four months from a year ago, according to customs data, while most other categories contracted.ING chief economist for Greater China Iris Pang told AFP that China's ex-ports of medical supplies provided a boost as the rest of the world grappled with the pandemic.Pang added that while ex-ports of clothing shrank, sales of textile yarns, fab-rics and other products grew, implying they were

used to make medical supplies.Beijing says it has been successful in largely curb-ing the spread of the virus in the country, and many businesses and factories are now back at work af-ter months of closure.And Louis Kuijs of Ox-ford Economics noted that "April shipments may have been boosted by exporters making up for shortfalls in the first quarter due to supply con-straints then".In the January-Febru-ary period, the height of China's coronavirus out-break, exports plummet-ed 17.2 percent. – APP

China exports see surprise 3.5% jump

The STR, established under the Financial Institutions (Secured Transactions) Act,

2016,for registration of security interests/charges created by entities other than

companies on their movable assets, has been operationalized by the SECP

UNICEF for life saving services for minorsDNA

NEW YOURK: United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has called for world’s governments to maintain lifesaving services for minor children that are under increasing threat from strained health services as a result of coronavirus’ outbreak. In a statement, UNICEF Executive Director, Henrietta H. Fore said UN agency estimates that 116 million babies have been born since the onset of COVID-19 pandemic with Pakistan grouped among the coun-tries that have highest numbers of forecast births.

Rupee weakens against dollar

DNA

ISLAMABAD: The ex-change rate of Pakistani rupee fell by 17 paisas in the interbank on Thursday against the US dollar to close at Rs160.22 against the last closing of Rs 160.05. However, accord-ing to Forex Association of Pakistan, the buying and selling rates of dollar in open market were record-ed at Rs 159.5 and Rs 161 respectively.

ISLAMABAD: The govern-ment of Pakistan is set to op-erate special charter flights from May 10, to repatriate stranded Pakistanis from the United States, in collab-oration with the national flag carrier Pakistan Internation-al Airlines (PIA). Initially, two special flights

will operate from Washing-ton DC – first to Islamabad on May 10 and second to Karachi on May 13, said a press release of Pakistan’s embassy in Washington re-ceived Thursday. Another flight will operate from Newark Airport, New Jersey for Lahore, the dates

for which will be announced shortly. In addition, the gov-ernment will also operate three more flights from the US for repatriation of Paki-stani citizens. Dates, cities of origin and destinations in Pakistan will be announced in due course of time, the embassy said. – APP

Pakistanis’ repatriation from US from May 10