FARUKH SHEHZAD

The writer is a former civil servant.

EVERY government in Pakistan has had a pet project or slogan to gain traction in the public. For PML-N it has been motorways and other infrastructure projects; for PPP the age-old ‘roti kapra aur makaan’ for all has still not lost its populist appeal as an increasing number of people approach the poverty line.

For the PTI it is the uprooting of systemic corruption that it sees as an evil that has kept the middle class deprived and unable to change its financial position through hard work unlike many of its peers abroad.

During the first two years of PTI rule, reforms took centre stage but when these failed to see the light of day in sectors ranging from the civil service to state-owned enterprises, and remained tucked away in files and folders in the offices of the Prime Minister’s Secretariat, the government solely focused on the corruption of previous regimes.

Now, even that hoopla has lost its appeal because of the repetitiveness of the exercise, with no tangible results. This has forced government wizards to come up with another buzzword — ‘audit’ which in theory is an exercise to ensure transparency in government but is actually more of a cover-up for the extreme incompetence which is quite evident by now.

What these audits also do is to discourage potential investors.

Hardly a day passes that the prime minister or one of his overzealous ministers does not announce a special audit of a project or a government department.

To make the notion of transparency conspicuous, what government auditors mostly do is to evaluate the departments they are auditing by implementing laws and procedures in letter, though not in spirit, and creating audit paras pointing to irregularities in the billions which are eventually settled but that, in the meantime, make sensational headlines.

Departments such Railways, the Petroleum Division, the National Highway Authority etc were under the spotlight more than once in the last year or so.

The only outcome of this fixation with audits are some very rich auditors, not because of the hours they put into the assigned job but because of the way they approach the audit. It has been alleged that in some cases when auditors land in a department, settling audit paras entails the exchange of money.

For those who have financial stakes, audit paras would mean a delay in payments and anyone with enormous capital invested in various projects cannot risk that. Hence the greasing of palms.

Sometimes audits also paint a very misleading picture as in the recent case of a special audit team of the auditor general of Pakistan. It was pointed out that there were irregularities of over Rs15 billion in the corona funds for Punjab during 2019-2020. Does this mean Rs15bn were embezzled? Absolutely not.

What these audits also do is to discourage potential investors. For example, the government recently started the audit of all oil refineries and oil marketing companies to rule out the possibility of irregularities in taxes, product sourcing and transportation costs.

This has been undertaken in addition to the countless mechanisms already in place for OMCs including regulation by Ogra, internal audit and independent audit reports prepared by reputed auditing firms that are subsequently submitted to the SECP which evaluates and crosschecks the data.

Potential investors see the unnecessary spotlight as a risk to their investment because unsettled audit paras delay financial closure of an investment, subsequently affecting returns on investment.

In one breath the prime minister talks about the ease of doing business and in the next announces an audit or investigation which creates panic and uncertainty leading to an irreversible loss for businesses.

Whatever little space is left to envisage a viable business pro-position in the private/public sector is filled by a proactive judiciary.

It is one thing to be able to register a business but quite another to have a conducive environment to successfully run it.

The ability to get a tax registration number or have a company registered with the SECP within a couple of days would make the country score high on various indexes prepared by organisations monitoring the ease of doing business.

But will that change the fact that the business will be harassed by tax officials as well as bribe-taking functionaries as soon as it starts operating? Absolutely not.

Also, does that insulate the business from the swelling cost of doing business due to the plummeting rupee and increasing input costs of raw material? Absolutely not.

Lastly, a no-brainer. Will the prime minister’s approach of blaming previous regimes for everything going wrong fetch him another term in government? Absolutely not.

The writer is a former civil servant.

syedsaadatwrites@gmail.com

Twitter: @SyedSaadat55

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ISLAMABAD, OCT 8: As the coronavirus positivity rate has declined to 2.8 per cent across the country, the Nat­ional Command and Opera­tions Centre (NCOC) on Thu­r­sday decided to open the doors of educational ins­ti­tutions for normal classes from Oct 11.

A meeting of the NCOC decided to reopen the educational institutions based on the reduced level of Covid-19 spread and the launch of vaccination programme in schools, Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar said in a tweet.

“Based on the reduced level of disease spread and the launch of the school vaccination program, it has been decided in today’s NCOC meeting to allow all educational institutions to start normal classes from Monday the October 11,” tweeted Mr Umar, who heads the NCOC.

Based on the reduced level of disease spread and the launch of the school vaccination program, it has been decided in today's NCOC meeting to allow all educational institutions to start normal classes from Monday the 11th of October.

— Asad Umar (@Asad_Umar) October 7, 2021

It may be mentioned that the educational institutions were earlier operating on a 50 per cent capacity across the country after they had reopened following intermittent closures due to the fourth wave of Covid-19.

According to data shared by the NCOC, 46 people lost their lives across the country due to coronavirus over the last 24 hours, taking the tally to 28,032. With 1,453 new cases, the number of total infections now stood at 1,255,321.

Moreover, 51,343 tests were conducted throughout the country during the last 24 hours, whereas the positivity ratio stood at 2.82pc.

With 1,840 patients recovered from the virus over the past 24 hours, total recoveries stood at 1,182,894. The number of patients in critical care was 2,934.

The NCOC asked the provinces to speed up the vaccination drive to further stop the spread of the disease.

The NCOC has devised a comprehensive plan with the collaboration of the National Database and Registration Authority and district administrations to target tehsils which were lagging behind others in terms of vaccination.

In a tweet, Asad Umar also criticised the UK government for its decision not to accept Chinese vaccine against Covid-19. “UK decides gora (western) certificates and vaccines are ok but most non gora vaccine certificates and Chinese vaccines are not. This despite widespread evidence of fake certificates in US & Europe. Chinese vaccines are WHO approved. Health considerations or hangover of a colonial mindset?”

Though the United Kingdom had taken Pakistan off the travel restrictions last month, it did not accept Chinese vaccines. Pakistanis travelling to the UK had to spend 10 days in isolation there even though they got both doses of Chinese vaccination.

Pakistan has administered more than 87 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine, with 31m second doses and 62m first doses, according to the NCOC data.

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ISLAMABAD, OCT 7: MATSUDA Kuninori, Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan, on Thursday, October 7 administered the oath of newly elected office-bearers of Pakistan-Japan Cultural Association (PJCA) Islamabad. 

An oath taking ceremony to this effect was held today at the official residence of the Ambassador, with a limited number of attendees as a precaution against the coronavirus pandemic.

Justice (R) Ali Nawaz Chowhan has been unanimously elected as the new President of Pakistan-Japan Cultural Association (PJCA) Islamabad by the members of its executive committee where as Mrs. ORITA Toshiko and Prof. Dr. Nusrat Ara Majeed were elected as Vice Presidents.

Ambassador MATSUDA, while speaking on the occasion, congratulated the newly elected office-bearers of PJCA Islamabad and expressed his good wishes for their future endeavors to further deepen the cultural interactions and most importantly people-to-people contacts between Japan and Pakistan.

“The friendship between our two nations is based on mutual trust, cooperation, and understanding. I believe that cultural relationship, in particular, can significantly contribute to further deepen the existing mutual trust and understanding between Japan and Pakistan”, said the Ambassador.

The Ambassador expressed his hope that PJCA and other such organizations in Pakistan would step forward and join the Embassy of Japan to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Pakistan next year in a befitting way.

Justice (R) Ali Nawaz Chowhan, the newly-elected President of PJCA Islamabad, while expressing his views on the occasion, thanked the Ambassador for taking time to grace the oath taking ceremony of the recently elected executive committee members of the association.

While assuring his association’s cooperation to further strengthening the cultural relations between the two countries, President PJCA stated that the new team of PJCA Islamabad will do its best to promote the cultural ties between Pakistan and Japan with close cooperation of the Embassy of Japan in Pakistan.

Since PJCA Islamabad was formally inaugurated in 1972, the organization has been playing an important role in the promotion of friendship and cultural relations between Japan and Pakistan.

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ISLAMABAD, OCT 7: Center for Global & Strategic Studies (CGSS), Islamabad, Hanns Seidel Foundation Pakistan & MNS University of Agriculture, Multan jointly organized Conference on "Food Security vis-à-vis Sustainable Agriculture in Pakistan: Policy Outcomes and Prospects" at Margala Hotel, Islamabad.

The Conference is a follow up to the Roundtable Discussion organized in July at Multan. The Conference highlighted and discussed food security vis-à-vis agriculture productivity in Pakistan. The Conference focused to devise coherent policies to curb the deficit to maintain and sustain the food supply chain by enhancing agriculture growth.

The Conference commenced with the opening remarks of Mr. Ashfaq Ahmed Gondal, Former Federal Secretary of Information and Broadcasting and Vice President (Federal Region), Center for Global & Strategic Studies (CGSS), Islamabad.

He stated that food security is directly related to agriculture and agriculture is the backbone of Pakistan. This sector accounts for 19% of the GDP and the export of agro-based products comprise of the 80% of Pakistan’s export.

Dr. Steffen Kudella, Resident Representative, Hanns Seidel Foundation Pakistan in his welcome remarks and stated that food security means everyone has access to sufficient and safe food even in times of crisis.

Food Security is a serious non-traditional security challenge globally and for Pakistan, because many households suffer from food insecurity as per a recent study.

This becomes particularly serious for children. Even though Pakistan already has a comparatively strong food production sector, its agricultural potential is much bigger and needs to be used for its people.

Dr, Kudella stated that our Conference intends to connect relevant stakeholders from the farmer in the field to the highest level of policymakers. We want to provide constructive suggestions to policy makers that are based on research and evidence.

Chief Guest of the Conference Fakhar Imam, Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research, Government of Pakistan stated that it is a privilege and honor to be amongst the leading agriculture experts and scientists. Pakistan is a country blessed with the agro-economic zones.

We have one of the most extensive irrigation system in the world. Currently, we are using 1/4th of our geographical land for cultivation of five major crops which is still dominated by wheat. 38% of our population is employed in the agro-economic sector which increases the significance of this sector.

Pakistan has incomparable taste ad aroma of fruits which cannot be found in any other part of the world. Fakhar Imam stated that Pakistan needs to upgrade agriculture sector through use of modern technology.

We can apply different methodologies on smaller areas and that can be replicated on larger scale upon success to multiply its benefits for the people of Pakistan. We have youth that is committed to take agroeconomic sector to new heights. 60% of our total exports depends upon cotton and 70% of the edible oil comes from cotton. This year, we had record production in many crops and by next year more people would invest in this sector.

Guest of Honor of the Conference Hussain Jahania Gardezi, Provincial Minister of Punjab for Agriculture, Government of Pakistan stated that as far as food security is concerned, it has always remained a threat to mankind.

Various scientists and philosophers have also been warning about the threats related to food, agriculture security and climate change. Food security threat has always existed; however, the dimensions of this threat have changed due to other factors particularly climate change.

Pakistan is the 10th largest country to produce agriculture commodities, at the same time, we are the 6th largest country by population. If we compare, the world food growth is not more than 1.5%. Therefore, policymakers must come up with innovative ideas to bridge this gap.

Pakistan is a signatory of Sustainable Development Goals and has committed to provide safe and healthy food to its citizens and I hope that our policymakers, academia and scientist will put efforts to fulfill our nations requirements.

Prof. Dr. Asif Ali (TI), Vice Chancellor, MNS University of Agriculture, Multan stated that today’s Conference covers all the important aspects and we have competent speakers who will share their expert opinions.

In 21st century, nontraditional threats have risen. The road to the progress of food security has been bumpy but, the improvements have been tremendous. He stated that we should have production diversity and environmental sustainability.

We must educate people regarding eating habits an achieving balance in food consumption. Traditional and nontraditional threats are interconnected. On threat destabilizes the other and changing climate is the biggest challenge to food security.

Prof. Dr. Usman Mustafa, Team Leader, Barani Water Conservation Project, ME&I Consultants MFS&R, Government of Pakistan stated that food security means everyone has at all times, access to and control over sufficient quantities of good quality food for an active, healthy life.

More than any other sector, agriculture is the common thread which holds the 17 SDGs together. Investing in this sector can address notonly hunger and malnutrition but also other challenges including poverty; water and energy use;climate change; and unsustainable production and consumption.

He stated that there is lot of scope with minimum investment. Reduce poverty and increase employment.

Dr. Shehzad Kousar, Assistant Professor, COMSATS University, Islamabad highlighted food security and nutritional status: Gender perspective in Pakistan. She stated that to achieve SDG 2 of zero hunger and improving food security, the Government of Pakistan is promoting gender-balanced agricultural development by improving women’s capacity to increase food production and agricultural value addition. There is either need to reduce productive burdens of women or need to compensate her work with better wages or food packages.

The results from our study suggest that increased time to productive tasks by a woman diminishes her time for reproductive and non-productive tasks that ultimately leads to reduce household food security status.

Our findings would help policy makers to understand and plan to reduce unintended negative nutritional consequences of increasing women productivity through agricultural interventions.

Ms. Manahal Fatima, AWF Foundation, Islamabad gave presentation on food Systems for Adolescents in Pakistan. The presentation focused on prioritizing adolescent nutrition. Poor nutrition during adolescent can lead to higher morbidity rates, decreased well-being, and intergenerational cycle of malnutrition.

It was stated that adolescents at more risk to food insecurity than children. Challenges to food security includes contaminated food supplies, inappropriate food storage, unhygienic sources, inadequate monitoring, poor personal hygiene and foodborne illnesses.

Dr. Aftab Alam, International Development Consultant gave presentation on Agriculture development issues and policy ramifications in Pakistan. He stated that Pakistan regularly falls under top 10 worst affected countries of Climate Change.

Pakistan experienced 126 heatwaves between 1997 and 2015. Climate Change has shaken the fundamentals of agriculture system and we must take adequate measures for adaptation and mitigation.

Paradigm shift is required in Government policies and programs, curriculum, research in universities and think tanks and agricultural extension system. There is a need to take significant steps to facilitate private sector to contribute towards adaptation and mitigation. 

Prof. Dr. Waqar Akram, Professor of Economics, Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Sukkur presented speech on Sustainable agriculture for food security: policy perspective in Pakistan. He stated that agriculture has changed intensely since Green Revolution.

Food productivity wheeled due tonew technologies, mechanization, increased chemical use, specialized production, Government support policies and irrigation system. This has allowed farmers to produce more food at lower prices for food security.

Sustainable agriculture cannot be ensured without resilience., adaptability and diversity. Resilience from economic shocks, political contexts, and others that are often highly unpredictable and rarely stable in the long run.

Adaptability is related to be able to adjust itself and take a new form in the face of changing conditions.The more variety exists within a food system, the more tools and avenues a system will have to adapt to change.

Dr Muhammad Abid, Senior Advisor Adaptation to Climate Change and Climate Services, GIZ Pakistan highlighted technological transformation and agriculture sector in Pakistan. He stated that transformation is required not only to meet growing food demands but also to manage challenges of climate change, urbanization, deteriorating natural resources and loss of biodiversity.

Agricultural innovation in Pakistan is rapidly evolving with the introduction of modern tools. He stated that updated climate-smart profiles at national and sub-national level providing the current status and gaps in the adoption of climate-smart agriculture practices covering food security, productivity and mitigation aspects.

Dr. Mubashir Mehdi, Associate Professor and Director Business Incubation Center, MNS University of Agriculture, Multanpresented speech on Food supply chain system: Risks Analysis and way forward for Pakistan.

He stated that Sustainable Food Supply Chainis a market-oriented and systems-based approach for measuring, analyzing and improving the performance of food value chains (FVCs) in ways that help ensure their economic, social and environmental sustainability.

He stated that commodity-based Supply/value chain case studies can be kept up to date and used to illustrate contemporary issues. Value chain research is an important emerging field of theory and practice and it is inclusive because it requires cross-disciplinary teams.

Dr. Mehmood Ahmad, Professor of Practices at Water Informatic Centre, Lahore University of Management Science and Former Advisor, Food and Agriculture Organization stated that it is a national challenge to revisit conventional agricultural practices and shift focus on to small-farmer prosperity to sustainably, enhance their domestic and global competitiveness, ensure rural development and protect livelihoods, decrease per acre cost without compromising output, mitigate the effects of rural-urban migration and minimize the environmental impacts of input-heavy agricultural activity.

Policy makers must explore and implement nature-based solutions for climate-smart agriculture systems. Government supports through a variety of means such as setting up model farms, regulations, economic incentives capacity building, communications and providing an enabling environment for the private sector to develop a value chain across this production system.

The Conference was attended by approximately 75 participants and was moderated by Ms. Laraib Fatima Hassan, Communication Executive, CGSS.

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• Lt Gen Faiz Hameed appointed as Corps Commander Peshawar.
• Lt Gen Muhammad Amir appointed as Commander Gujranwala Corps.
• Lt Gen Muhammad Saeed appointed as Commander Karachi Corps.

RAWALPINDI, OCT 6: Lieutenant General Nadeem Ahmed Anjum has been appointed as the director-general of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the post previously held by Lt Gen Faiz Hameed.

Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed has now been appointed as the new Corps Commander Peshawar, the Inter-Services Public Relations (SIPR) announced Wednesday. 

Lt Gen Anjum was a commander in Operation Zarb-e-Azb, and during Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad, he was posted as the inspector-general of the Frontier Corps Balochistan. He has also held the position of Corps 5 Sindh.

The newly appointed ISI chief is a graduate of NDU Islamabad and holds a master's degree from King's College London and the NDU, the ISPR said.

The ISPR also confirmed the following appointments:

Lt Gen Muhammad Amir — Commander Gujranwala Corps 

Lt Gen Asim Munir  — Quartermaster General

Lt Gen Muhammad Saeed — Commander Karachi Corps

Lt Gen Nauman Mahmood — President Defence University

Major Gen Asim Malik has been promoted to the rank of Lt Gen. He has also been appointed the army's adjutant general.

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RAWALPINDI, OCT 6: Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed, formerly the director-general of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), has been posted as the Peshawar corps commander, the military's media affairs wing said on Wednesday.

In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) announced two other postings as well, saying Lt Gen Mohammad Amir has been posted as Gujranwala corps commander while Lt Gen Asim Munir has been appointed as the quarter master general.

The ISPR has yet to announce who will replace Gen Faiz as the ISI chief.

The appointment of the ISI's DG is the prerogative of the prime minister. The spymaster's choice is, however, made by the prime minister in consultation with the army chief.

The outgoing DG ISI, Gen Faiz, was given the role on June 16, 2019, in a surprise military shake-up. He had previously served in the ISI as the head of internal security and is believed to be a close confidant of Army Chief Gen Qamar Bajwa.

Gen Faiz is from the Army’s Baloch Regiment. His appointment had come at a very crucial time when both external and internal security challenges seemed to be growing.

His name first caught public eye when he helped end the Faizabad dharna by a religious group in November 2017 through an agreement. The group had then staged the sit-in against amendments to Elections Act 2017.

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ISLAMABAD, OCT 5: The government of Japan in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations handed over locust control items to the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in a ceremony organized in Islamabad, under the Grant in Aid project titled “Project for the Restoration of Livelihoods in the Merged Districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa”.

The items handed over during the ceremony included 20,000 liters of insecticide, 170 battery-operated sprays pumps, 170 generator-operated spray pumps and 77 units of motorcycles for mobilization of staff of the Agriculture Extension Department for future locust control activities in the merged districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The support will strengthen the operational capacities for desert locust control operations through better preparedness and response to the crisis.

The handing over ceremony was attended by MATSUDA Kuninori, Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan, Mohibullah Khan, Minister for Agriculture Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Mr. FURUTA Shigeki, Chief Representative, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Pakistan Office, Ms. Florence Marie Rolle, FAO Representative in Pakistan and Dr. Israr Khan, Secretary Agriculture GoKP as well as other senior officials of the relevant departments of the Government of KP.

The aforesaid project, which provided grants worth 560 million Japanese Yen (Equivalent to around USD 5.1 million / around PKR 840 million), started in April 2018 and will be completed within 2021. The Project has been implemented in order to restore livelihoods in the Merged Districts of KP by improving productivity and value addition in the Agriculture Sector. Under the project, activities like establishment of fruit nurseries, rehabilitation of irrigation channels, and distribution of poultry packages have taken place and benefitted more than 32,000 households (around 295,000 individuals). The provision of the locust control equipment was added so that the KP Government can effectively tackle with locust attacks in future.

At the handing over, Ambassador MATSUDA stated, "Japan supported Pakistan to control locust outbreak by supplying 60 thousand litters of insecticide and material needed, along with financial support to farmers last year. Moreover, we are providing additional material to the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa because we believe that initial response is essential for locust control in the near future. I hope people in this region will continue stable farming and our cooperation will contribute to their prosperity”.

Ms. Florence Marie Rolle, FAO Representative stated that the support from the people of Japan was instrumental in the restoration of livelihoods in the Newly Merged Districts (NMDs) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and augmenting the capacity of Agriculture Department to cope with future disasters more effectively. She further added that our collaboration with the Embassy of Japan and JICA will further be strengthened in the days ahead for the provision of better services to the crisis hit people in the NMDs and elsewhere in the country. 

Mr. FURUTA Shigeki while speaking at the ceremony said that the two phases of projects, funded by Government of Japan ensured food security through sustainable agriculture development that resumed agriculture-based livelihoods of the people who returned after internal displacement. He hoped that the JICA support would make a significant contribution for strengthening capacity of Agriculture Extension Department in combating future locust attack in the targeted areas to minimize crops damages of poor farm families.

Mohibullah Khan, Minister for Agriculture, KP expressed his appreciation on behalf of the Government of KP. He thanked the Government of Japan and JICA for their extended support through the FAO implemented project for the restoration of livelihoods in the Merged Districts of KP. He further said that this support came at a very critical juncture and much needed time, which had not only revitalized livelihoods of the local people but ensured their food security as well.

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Farukh Shehzad / Editor-In-Chief / Exclusive

ISLAMABAD, OCT 5: The tenure of Chief of Army Staff General Bajwa will be completed on November 2022. It is still one year left in completion of Gen. Bajwa’s service days but the debate on the appointment of new army chief of Pakistan has begun.

The news came on the screen when the Pakistan army announced posting and transfers of army personnel on Sept 7, 2021.

Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed, Lt. Gen. Azhar Abbas, Lt. Gen. Nauman Mahmood, Lieutenant General Sahir Shamshad are amongst the top 4 positions in the seniority list for the appointment of new army chief of Pakistan after the retirement of COAS Gen. Bajwa.

The name of Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed DG ISI is being discussed on various forums for the next army chief of Pakistan.

Earlier COAS Gen. Bajwa took charge as Pakistan Army Chief on November 2016 after the retirement of Gen. Raheel Sharif.

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ISLAMABAD, OCT 5: Achievements continue to rain for Pakistan’s premier technology services and solutions organization Systems Limited, as the company has won the 2021 Poll of Asia’s Outstanding Companies by Asia Money.

Being the only IT company from Pakistan on the list, Systems Limited has won the accolade in two categories, namely Outstanding Company in Small/Mid-Caps and Technology Hardware & Equipment. The announcement came just within a week of Systems Limited’s historic inclusion in Forbes Asia’s Best Under A Billion list for the second year in a row.

The Asia’s Outstanding Companies Poll is a benchmark award that honors companies in Asia that have excelled in areas such as financial performance, management team excellence, investor relations, and CSR initiatives.

The 2021 poll received over 5,787 votes for publicly listed companies across 13 markets in Asia. The results recognize 191 companies as being the most outstanding in their respective sectors and markets.

Mr. Aezaz Hussain, Founder & Chairman of Systems Limited, on this occasion said, "Being among Asia's high-achieving companies is nothing short of amazing. This recognition highlights our drive to continue the pursuit of excellence. I'm immensely proud of the way the entire management team and the Board of Directors of Systems spearhead these breakthroughs."

CEO & Managing Director Mr. Asif Peer expressed his delight by saying, "I'm truly grateful for this win which is a testimony of our hard work, passion, and commitment towards our teams, customers, and partners.

This is inflection point for us and I'm positive we will continue to face all the challenges head-on and set new records with our growth mindset."

With less than three months to end 2021 and back-to-back achievements under the belt, the top-tier leadership of Systems Limited stands humble yet confident about the company’s continued growth fueld by the dedication of its teams and support of its partners and stakeholders.

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TOKYO, OCT 4: New Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called a general election for Oct. 31 in his inaugural address on Monday, hoping to capitalise on the honeymoon period typically enjoyed by new administrations amid a drastic drop in COVID-19 infections.

KISHIDA TO CREATE PANEL ON ECONOMIC STEPS

Kishida said on Monday he will create a new panel to debate measures to achieve solid economic growth in a post-pandemic world.

In his first news conference as prime minister, Kishida also said he will consider offering cash payouts to households hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic.

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Abu Dhabi, OCT 4: Stadiums in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will operate at 70 per cent of their capacity for the Twenty20 World Cup, the organisers said, though conditions in Oman, where preliminary rounds are due to be played, have still to be fully assessed following a cyclone.

Tropical Cyclone Shaheen struck coastal areas of Oman, including the capital of Muscat on Sunday, two weeks before preliminary round matches of the tournament commence on October 17.

Some 3,000 fans would be accommodated at Al Amerat stadium in Muscat, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said in a statement on Sunday, though the cyclone left streets in the Omani capital under water, prompted evacuations from coastal areas and delayed flights in and out of the country.

The 16-team tournament was shifted to the Gulf states as a result of a surge of Covid-19 infections in India, but the Indian cricket board (BCCI) remains the event host.

The ICC said the BCCI and itself had worked closely with host authorities to ensure fans are welcomed in a safe environment and Covid-19 protocols are applied at all venues.

“The T20 World Cup is the largest sporting event to be held in the region and it will be the biggest global cricket event since the pandemic with fans in stadia,” the ICC said.

“In the UAE, all venues will be operating at approximately 70pc of maximum seated capacity, whilst Abu Dhabi has also introduced new socially distanced ‘pods’ of a maximum of four spectators on their east and west grass mounds,” it said.

Dubai, which hosts matches including the November 14 final, and Sharjah are the two other venues in the UAE.

The UAE is currently hosting the Indian Premier League (IPL) with fans at a reduced capacity.

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