Beijing assails Trump’s order for revocation of 1,000 student visas

China accused Washington of committing “political persecution and racial discrimination” on Thursday, after the US confirmed it had revoked the visas of more than 1,000 Chinese students under an order by President Donald Trump that accused some of espionage.

Trump declared in May that some Chinese nationals officially in the United States for studies have stolen intellectual property and helped modernise China’s military, as tensions between the two countries soar on multiple fronts.

China’s foreign ministry hit back on Thursday, saying the US should “immediately stop using all kinds of pretexts to restrict and suppress Chinese students in the US for no reason”.

“This is outright political persecution and racial discrimination. It seriously violates the human rights of these Chinese students,” said foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian at a press conference.

He said that China reserved the right to “further respond”.

The US State Department offered its first figures on the effects of Trump’s order on Wednesday, saying more than 1,000 visas from students and researchers had been revoked since it began implementing the proclamation on June 1.

“The high-risk graduate students and research scholars made ineligible under this proclamation represent a small subset of the total number of Chinese students and scholars coming to the United States,” a State Department spokeswoman said.

“We continue to welcome legitimate students and scholars from China who do not further the Chinese Communist Party’s goals of military dominance.”

The State Department declined to give details on whose visas have been revoked, citing privacy laws.

Nearly 370,000 students from China were enrolled at US universities in 2018-19 — the most from any country — offering a lucrative source of income to institutions that are now facing growing pressure from the coronavirus pandemic.

Some Asian-American activists have warned that Trump’s orders are creating a climate of suspicion on campuses, with students of Asian descent facing unfounded questions about their intentions.

But US officials say the number of espionage cases involving China has soared in recent years as part of a concerted effort by Beijing.

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Mohammad Hafeez declines PCB contract offering Rs100k-a-month: report

Veteran cricketer Muhammad Hafeez has reportedly turned down a monthly contract that was offered by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

According to the publication, the contract offered Hafeez more than Rs 100,000 per month. The 39-year-old's refusal means he will now be given a retainer contract in which he will not get a monthly salary but match fee and daily allowance.

Pak Passion's Saj Sadiq Hafeez stated that Hafeez wanted to see the contract being offered to newcomers.

Meanwhile, the PCB has decided that no player or official will be able to participate in any event without signing an agreement.

Last year, some cricketers played without signing the contract. There will be separate contracts for cricketers and match officials from different departments. After signing the PCB contract, they will have to get the NOC of the board before accepting any other contract.

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WHO asks world to learn from Pakistan's fight against COVID-19

The World Health Organisation (WHO) mentioned Pakistan among a list of countries that the world can emulate in the fight against coronavirus.

WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a recent press briefing remarked that Pakistan has used the infrastructure it developed in its fight against polio to tackle COVID-19.

The other countries mentioned by the WHO chief are Thailand, Italy, Mongolia, Mauritius, Uruguay.

Pakistan has seen a steady decline in the number of positive cases in the past few weeks after which the government lifted most of the country's remaining coronavirus restrictions.

To date, Pakistan has reported 300,361 cases and 6,370 fatalities while over 280,000 have recovered from the virus.

Former health minister Dr Zafar Mirza has hailed the remarks by the WHO chief and said it is a “great honour” for the people of Pakistan.

Mirza had supervised Pakistan’s COVID-19 response before resigning from the post in July.

In a detailed briefing on the current pandemic situation and how the countries are fighting the virus, Dr Tedros mentioned that Thailand has benefited from 40 years of health system strengthening. About Italy, he said that the country "took hard decisions based on the evidence and persisted with them". He also added that unity and solidarity, along with the dedication of health workers, contributed in bringing the outbreak under control.

For Uruguay, he said that the country has one of the most 'robust and resilient' health systems in Latin America which helped it overcome the COVID-19 pandemic.

The WHO chief also singled out Mongolia for quickly activating its State Emergency Committee in January. In the case of Mauritius, he said that the country used its previous experience with contact-tracing and a swift response to manage high-risk issues - high population density, high rate of non-communicable diseases and lots of international travellers.

WHO chief urged countries to invest in public health to build a "foundation of social, economic and political stability". He also acknowledged that significant progress has been made in medicine but warned that too many countries have neglected their public health systems.

"Part of every country’s commitment to build back better must therefore be to invest in public health, as an investment in a healthier and safer future," said the WHO chief.

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IMF asks Pakistan to hike gas, electricity tariff

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has asked the Pakistani government to increase the prices of gas and electricity for consumers in order to achieve the tax collection target set for the fiscal year.

In a recent meeting with Pakistani officials, the global lender asked the authorities to decrease the circular debt and electricity losses.

If Islamabad goes ahead with the move then it would add an extra burden on people already suffering due to the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Imran Khan had rejected a hike in petroleum products for the current month to provide financial relief to the masses amid high food inflation and heavy rains in the country which would incur a Rs17 billion revenue loss to the government.

According to the news report, the IMF also asked the government to allow the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) and Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) to decide the prices of the essential products.

It also urged the government to implement economic and tax reforms and emphasised that tax collection target for the first quarter (July-September) of the ongoing fiscal year must also be achieved.

The IMF asked Pakistan to collect over Rs1,000 billion in the form of taxes during the said period.

Last year, the global lender had approved $6 billion bailout package for Pakistan under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) after the country agreed to enforce flexible exchange rate, enhance taxes and end circular debt.

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'Motorway Police is not deployed where Gujjarpura rape incident took place'

Inspector-General National Highways and Motorway Police (NHMP) Dr Syed Kaleem Imam on Thursday said his institution cannot be held responsible in the Gujjarpura gang-rape incident as the area where the assault took place does not yet fall under its jurisdiction.

A mother of three was robbed and raped in front of two of her children after getting stranded on the Lahore-Sialkot Motorway early on Tuesday when her car ran out of fuel. The incident, which has shocked the nation, has spurred demands for the immediate arrest of the perpetrators and their execution by public hanging. Citizens have also asked why security officials were not dispatched promptly enough to help the victim and prevent the crime.

“The area where the assault happened, near Link Road, is the Punjab police's jurisdiction,” IG Imam explained.

“This is the Lahore-Sialkot section of the Motorway, constructed by the Frontier Works Organization (FWO)," he said, recalling that its soft opening was held in March.

He said the road is currently out of NHMP's jurisdiction and that Motorway Police will be deployed there once resources are made available. He said NHMP is still in the process of calculating financial costs of doing so, including hiring human resources and logistics equipment.

SOS calls by victim/family

The Motorway IG said a phone call was received by the Motorway Police helpline '130' at around 02:01am. The officer on call ascertained the victim's location to be near the Link Road, Imam said.

"The duty officer told her that the location is out of [NHMP's] jurisdiction," he said.

“Nonetheless, [the officer] contacted the FWO on their helpline '0309' and they responded promptly. The woman was put through to the FWO official while her call [to Motorway Police] was recording. They gave a contact number to the woman,” Imam stated.

However, the victim did not receive any help from the FWO either.

Meanwhile, a Dolphin Force official said they had received 15 calls at 2:49am and reached the spot of the incident at 2:53am. The official said he found the woman in shock and unable to speak. It took some time for her to narrate the incident, he reported.

On the other hand, CCPO Lahore Umar Sheikh said the victim had not called the police herself for help. Instead, some of her relatives had called Motorway Police at 1:30am.

However, the Motorway IG stuck to his claim, saying that the woman had told the NHMP official about the fuel exhaustion issue.

He said it cannot be said for sure as to when the incident took place after 2am, but noted that the FIR says it happened around 3am.

“We are in coordination with Lahore police and raids are being conducted. Hopefully, we’ll arrest the culprits,” he added.

Senate body takes notice and summons CCPO Lahore

Senate Committee for Human Rights Chairman Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar has taken notice of the incident and summoned Secretary Communication, IG Punjab Police and IG Motorway on September 16 to appear before the committee.

CCPO Lahore Umar Sheikh has also been summoned for clarification on his statements blaming the victim for the assault.

Instructing the authorities to submit a final report, Khokhar asked why Motorway Police did not respond to calls for help from the woman. He said that a woman being assaulted on the motorway and police not coming to help her is a matter of serious concern.

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'Motorway Police is not deployed where Gujjarpura rape incident took place'

Inspector-General National Highways and Motorway Police (NHMP) Dr Syed Kaleem Imam on Thursday said his institution cannot be held responsible in the Gujjarpura gang-rape incident as the area where the assault took place does not yet fall under its jurisdiction.

A mother of three was robbed and raped in front of two of her children after getting stranded on the Lahore-Sialkot Motorway early on Tuesday when her car ran out of fuel. The incident, which has shocked the nation, has spurred demands for the immediate arrest of the perpetrators and their execution by public hanging. Citizens have also asked why security officials were not dispatched promptly enough to help the victim and prevent the crime.

“The area where the assault happened, near Link Road, is the Punjab police's jurisdiction,” IG Imam explained.

“This is the Lahore-Sialkot section of the Motorway, constructed by the Frontier Works Organization (FWO)," he said, recalling that its soft opening was held in March.

He said the road is currently out of NHMP's jurisdiction and that Motorway Police will be deployed there once resources are made available. He said NHMP is still in the process of calculating financial costs of doing so, including hiring human resources and logistics equipment.

SOS calls by victim/family

The Motorway IG said a phone call was received by the Motorway Police helpline '130' at around 02:01am. The officer on call ascertained the victim's location to be near the Link Road, Imam said.

"The duty officer told her that the location is out of [NHMP's] jurisdiction," he said.

“Nonetheless, [the officer] contacted the FWO on their helpline '0309' and they responded promptly. The woman was put through to the FWO official while her call [to Motorway Police] was recording. They gave a contact number to the woman,” Imam stated.

However, the victim did not receive any help from the FWO either.

Meanwhile, a Dolphin Force official said they had received 15 calls at 2:49am and reached the spot of the incident at 2:53am. The official said he found the woman in shock and unable to speak. It took some time for her to narrate the incident, he reported.

On the other hand, CCPO Lahore Umar Sheikh said the victim had not called the police herself for help. Instead, some of her relatives had called Motorway Police at 1:30am.

However, the Motorway IG stuck to his claim, saying that the woman had told the NHMP official about the fuel exhaustion issue.

He said it cannot be said for sure as to when the incident took place after 2am, but noted that the FIR says it happened around 3am.

“We are in coordination with Lahore police and raids are being conducted. Hopefully, we’ll arrest the culprits,” he added.

Senate body takes notice and summons CCPO Lahore

Senate Committee for Human Rights Chairman Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar has taken notice of the incident and summoned Secretary Communication, IG Punjab Police and IG Motorway on September 16 to appear before the committee.

CCPO Lahore Umar Sheikh has also been summoned for clarification on his statements blaming the victim for the assault.

Instructing the authorities to submit a final report, Khokhar asked why Motorway Police did not respond to calls for help from the woman. He said that a woman being assaulted on the motorway and police not coming to help her is a matter of serious concern.

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PM Imran arrives in Quetta on one-day visit

Prime Minister Imran Khan has arrived in Quetta for paying one-day visit on Friday.

Balochistan Governor Amanullah Khan Yasinzai and Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan have welcomed PM Imran Khan upon his arrival in Quetta.

The premier was accompanied by Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz, Federal Minister for Planning Asad Umar, Qasim Suri and National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) chairman Lt Gen Mohammad Afzal during his one-day visit to Quetta.

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