e-paper pakistantoday 02nd august, 2012

Thursday, 2 August, 2012 Ramadan 13, 1433

Interpol rejects requestfor red warrant against

Pervez Musharraf PAGE |04PAGE |02PAGE |03

Rs 15.00 Vol III No 38 19 Pages Islamabad — Peshawar Edition

SC gives 2 weeks foreffective legislationon organs transplant

Pakistan’s firstvictory rekindlesOlympic hope

NEW DELHIaGeNCIes

INDIA on Wednesday overturnedits ban on foreign investment fromneighbouring Pakistan, the Com-merce Ministry said, in a move de-signed to build goodwill amid a

renewed push for a peace settlement.“The government of India has reviewed

the policy... and decided to permit a citizenof Pakistan or an entity incorporated in Pak-istan to make investments in India,” accord-ing to an official notification issued by theDepartment of Industrial Policy and Promo-tion (DIPP) in New Delhi.

Pakistan was the only country in thenegative list under the Foreign ExchangeManagement Act, or FEMA, which pro-hibits investing in India. The governmentremoved Sri Lanka from the list in 2006and Bangladesh in 2007. However, in Aprilthis year, DIPP initiated the move to re-move Pakistan from this list and movedthe Finance Ministry on the issue foramending the rules to allow Pakistan in-

vestments. A ban on investments in de-fence, space and atomic energy will remainand all propositions must be notified to theIndian government.

The decision to accept foreign directinvestment from Pakistan was taken inApril this year when the trade ministers ofthe nuclear-armed South Asian rivals metin New Delhi. They also discussed ways toease visa curbs on business travel and thepossibility of allowing banks from bothcountries to open cross-border branches.

India and Pakistan, which have foughtthree wars since independence, are chan-neling their efforts into “trade diplomacy”in a bid to build enough trust to tackle themore troublesome issues that divide them,such as Kashmir. The improved relationsbetween the rivals stem from Pakistan’sdecision to grant India “Most FavouredNation (MFN)” status by year end, mean-ing Indian exports will be treated the sameas those from other nations.

MFN status will mean India can export6,800 items to Pakistan, up from around2,000 at present, and the countries aim to

lift bilateraltrade to $6b i l l i o nw i t h i nt h r e eyears, of-f i c i a l sh a v es a i d .India alsoagreed toreduce itssensitive listof 865 itemsthat are notgiven preferentialmarket access underthe South Asia freetrade agreement by 30 percent. The matter is in the final stages ofdecision making. Official bilateral trade isjust $2.7 billion and heavily tilted in NewDelhi’s favour (India exported goods worth$2.33 billion to Pakistan last year, whileimports from there were worth $330 mil-lion), according to most recent figures, but

unofficial trade routedthrough third coun-

tries is estimated atup to $10 billion.

In fact, Pak-istan made thefirst gesture todeepen tradeties withIndia inMarch by re-placing its re-s t r i c t i v e

positive list of2,000 items al-

lowed to be im-ported from India

with a negative listof 1,209 banned items.

This move increased thenumber of exportable items

from India more than three-fold.In further progress, the neighbours

opened a second trading gate in Aprilalong their heavily militarised border,boosting the number of trucks able to crossdaily to 600 from 150. “We welcome thisdecision,” Pakistani foreign ministryspokesman Moazzam Khan told AFP.

“It will definitely benefit Pakistani in-vestors and industrialists. We hope this de-cision will be fruitful for the people of bothcountries.” Pakistani businessmen alsowelcomed the move.

“We do appreciate this action by thegovernment of India, but what will bemore interesting for me is when the Indianauthorities lift its ban on Indian investorsinvesting in Pakistan,” said Majyd Aziz, in-volved in the import and export of miner-als and in shipping.

“For a better economic future in SouthAsia, it will be a huge step when business-men from both the countries can freely in-vest in each other’s country.” ZubairMotiwala, chairman of the board of invest-ment in Sindh province, said it was the“right decision taken at the right time”.

“Allowing our country to invest inIndia is a great confidence booster and willpave the way for more cordial bilateral re-lations,” he said. The warming commercialties underline the new relevance of the pri-vate sector in the peace process, analystssaid. Pakistan has called for a “new era” ineconomic collaboration with India to build“a legacy of peace and prosperity for ourfuture generations”.

Public office holders not immuneto prosecution: CJP

India allows investments from PakistanPakistan calls for a ‘new era’ in economic collaboration

PAC orders inquiry againstfour generalsISLAMABAD: The Public Ac-counts Committee on Wednes-day ordered the initiation of aninquiry against four former gen-erals who got LGP quotas In ameeting chaired by NadeemAfzal in Islamabad, NationalAccountability Bureau (NAB)officials informed the commit-tee that NAB received a share of30 percent on recovering lootedmoney under the recovery andreward law. The NAB officialssaid they had received a total ofRs 1.6 billion from the govern-ment so far. However, it hadnot been given any share since2008. Committee memberKhawaja Asif said police andaudit officials also recoveredlooted money but did not getany share, adding that a uni-form policy should be made forall departments. Expressing dis-pleasure with NAB for receivingpayments of Rs 10.3 million foranti-corruption campaign, thecommittee directed the officialsto get audited the amount re-ceived by NAB under the headof donation and reward. NABChairman Fasih Bukhari said anamount of Rs 60.5 million re-ceived as a reward was distrib-uted among 2000 employees ofNAB. Khawaja Asif said formerNAB chairman Khalid Maqbooltook a loan of Rs 2 billion butnever returned it. Another for-mer NAB chairman MunirHafeez and General (r) SaeedMuzaffar and Gen (r) Moeenud-din Haider got LPG quotas. Thecommittee directed launching aninquiry into corruption allega-tions against four former gener-als. During the session,Chairman NAB Fasih Bukhariassured the committee of pre-senting the investigation reportinto the allegations in a month’s time. AGENCIES

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muham-mad Chaudhry on Wednesday said the constitution did not pro-vide immunity to any public office-holder for contempt of court.A five-member SC bench of Justice Iftikhar MuhammadChaudhry, Justice Shakirullah Jan, Justice Khilji ArifHussain, Justice Jawwad S Khawaja and Justice TassaduqHussain Jilani was hearing more than 27 identicalpetitions challenging the Contempt of Court Act 2012 onWednesday. The federation’s counsel Abdul ShakoorParacha concluded his arguments before the bench.Submitting his arguments‚ Paracha said legislation was theprerogative of parliament which could not be challenged.He said the new contempt of court law did not in any wayundermine the dignity of the judiciary, adding thatdoubting the intention of parliament was equivalent todoubting the intentions of the nation.Paracha said parliament had the authority to grant immunityto anyone, adding that parliament could also legislate on thesubject of immunity. “The constitution’s Article 204 refers tothe powers of the judiciary,” Paracha added. He also saidYousaf Raza Gilani had been convicted by the court forcontempt and that that could not become a precedent.“The new contempt of court law was passed not to grantimmunity to persons but to the steps taken by public office-holders in line of duty,” Paracha said. The chief justice remarkedthat the law said that a few people were exempted from contemptof court no matter what they said in court, adding that parliamentintroduced a law while the judiciary elucidated it. He said ifsomeone used contemptuous language against the judiciary andthen said his intention was not bad, how he could be pardoned.He further argued how could one prime minister be punishedfor not writing the letter to Swiss authorities while the other wasleft untouched. “Those found guilty of the contempt will bepunished, and there is no categorization in this regard,” heremarked. During the proceedings, Justice Jawwad S Khawajasaid parliament should work within its jurisdiction, adding thatit could not intervene in the legislative matters of the provinces.Meanwhile, Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jilani said a law passedby simple majority could not violate the spirit of theconstitution. Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry said parliamentarianswho were involved in the contempt of the court case would facea reference under Article 63-C1. The bench later adjourned thehearing until today (Thursday) when Attorney General IrfanQadir is expected to present his arguments. AGENCIES

g Says parliamentarians involved in contemptof court cases to be tried under Article 63-C1

IN FRUIT MARKET INJURE 23LAHORE

staff report

Two explosions at the Badami Bagh Fruit Marketon Wednesday left least 23 people injured, two ofthem critically. Rescue services and policeofficials were busy clearing the site and lookingfor clues for investigations until late night. Therewere no reports of casualties and the nature of theexplosions was unknown by the time the reportwas filed. Reports said the first blast was causedby explosives placed under a vendor’s cart, whilethe second blast occurred in the parking lot near

the main gate of the fruit market.The injured were moved to Mayo Hospital andServices Hospital for treatment. The fruit marketwas later cordoned off and security and rescuepersonnel were sifting through the rubble forclues. Police said they had received somewarnings about terrorists planning to target thecity. Following the mishap, security in Lahore wasput at high alert. Earlier it was reported thatTehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chiefHakeemullah Mehsud had decided to increaseterrorist attacks in Punjab with an emphasis toinflict maximum damage, especially in Lahore.

LHR 02-08-2012_Layout 1 8/2/2012 1:56 AM

02News

Today’s

LookQuick

newS

Story on Page 05

cArToon

Page 11

infoTAinMenT

Story on Page 14

Na body directs oGra to withdraw hike in petroleum products the strange story of Nelson Mandela’s clothing line

Thursday, 2 August, 2012

PESHAWARstaff report

THE fate of the rulingAwami National Party’sproposed all-parties confer-ence (APC) on energy crisesand unprecedented elec-

tricity load shedding has become uncer-tain after three opposition parties inKhyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, includ-ing the Jamaat-e-Islami, have refused toattend it.

“The government needs to take ac-tion to resolve the issues,” said JI provin-cial chief Prof Mohammad Ibrahim Khanwhile announcing to boycot the sched-uled APC on Wednesday. High-rankingANP leaders had met JI leaders in Pe-shawar on Tuesday, wherein the JI lead-ers said a decision would be made afterdiscussion and consulting leaders ofother parties.

Opposition leader in KhyberPakhtunkhwa Assembly Akram KhanDurrani, Pakistan Muslim League-Nprovincial general secretary Rehmat

Salam Khattak and Pakistan People’sParty-Sherpao leader Sikandar HayyatKhan Sherpao also announced their op-position to the scheduled APC during ajoint press conference. PML-N SeniorVice President Amir Muqam has alreadyopposed the APC and called it an eye-wash on part of leaders who were part ofthe ruling alliance. While opposing thescheduled APC, leaders of the four mainopposition parties demonstrated similarand identical tones against the ANP lead-ership. “The ANP being a major partnerin the coalition government is responsi-ble for the existing energy crises.” Simi-larly, the opposition leaders expressedconcern over the stock of issues, sayingleaders of the ruling coalition had failedto run the affairs of the country, there-fore, instead of convening the APC, theyshould resign.

Two days ago, the ANP high com-mand while opening up on load sheddingin Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had demandeddissolution of WAPDA and transferringaffairs of electricity transmission and dis-tribution to the provinces according to

the 18th Amendment. In this respect, theANP leadership announced taking lead-ers of other parties into confidencethrough the APC on August 9. ArbabTahir, provincial secretary general ofANP, said efforts were still underway toensure participation of all political forcesin the APC. He said, “We believe that theenergy crisis and electricity load shed-ding is a serious issue, therefore, provin-cial government intends to takepoliticians into confidence regarding fu-ture line of action.”

“Unfortunately, certain elementswithin Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are toeinglines of a particular lobby which is famil-iar for its step mother attitude towardssmaller provinces, particularly with Khy-ber Pakhtunkhwa,” he added.

According to Tahir, leaders of thePML-Q, PPP and Pakhtunkhwa MilliAwami Party had assured their participa-tion in the scheduled APC, while contactswere being made with leaders of JUI-S,Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf and others.He was hopeful about a shift in the deci-sion of the JUI-F, JI, PML-N and others.

ANP’s scheduled APC outof steam as major oppositionparties announce boycott

Another doctor abducted in Quetta QUETTA: Only a couple of days after the release of an abducted surgeon,unidentified armed gunmen kidnapped another senior doctor,presumably for ransom, in Quetta on Wednesday. According to police, DrGhulam Rasool, a senior professor at Bolan Medical College andpsychiatric was going to his private clinic on Brewery Road when fourarmed men intercepted him. They pulled him out of his car, bundled himinto theirs and fled. Capital City Police Officer Mir Zubair Mahmood toldreporters that armed men had abducted Dr Rasool. However, he said thepolice were making efforts for his recovery. Sources in the police say acouple of weeks ago, some armed men broke into the house of Dr GhulamRasool and stole gold jewelry and cash worth almost a million rupees. OnMonday, a senior surgeon Dr Deen Mohammad Bungalzai returned homesafely last after remaining in the captivity for eight days. sHaHzada zulfIqar

Three more peacocks die inTharparkar, toll rises to 165ISLAMABAD: Three more pea-cocks died at Tharparkar desertdue to the dreadful viral disease,Ranikhet, taking the death toll onWednesday to 165 in a brief periodof 24 days. According to a privatenews channel, two peacocks diedwhiel under treatment by theWildlife Department at Bepohar,while the third one severely struckby the Rani khet died inBhanbhan. As many as 129 peacocks have fallen prey to this myste-rious disease in Tharparkar alone. Locals say the root cause of thisviral disease is the hens. app

Malik says The Sunreporter will bebrought to Pakistan

ISLAMABADaGeNCIes

Interior Minister Rehman Malik said onWednesday that Mohammad Ali Asad, thecentral character of Olympic visa scam, wouldbe brought to Pakistan with the assistance ofInterpol. The interior minister said that thedetails of his passport would “soon be sharedwith public”. Malik said anyone found guiltyin the scam would be punished. He furthersaid that the Pakistani authorities were “alertand ready” for the proceedings of the case. Hesaid the procedure to compile information atthe National Database and RegistrationAuthority (NADRA) was “foolproof”. Maliksaid the Pakistani investigation team wouldsoon be sent to London for furtherinvestigation of the matter. Earlier onMonday, the Federal Investigation Agency(FIA) had declared Asad as the “mainaccused” in the case and decided to contactInterpol for red warrants against him. ThePakistani government had registered a caseagainst Asad for “fraud, impersonation andmis-declaration”, and is seeing hisdeportation from the United Kingdom.

ISLAMABADapp

The Supreme Court on Wednesday directedthe federal and provincial governments to ef-fectively legislate over the issue of transplant ofhuman organs.

A three-member SC bench, headed byChief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry,resumed hearing into a constitutional petitionmoved by Asma Jahangir, former president ofthe Supreme Court Bar Association.

The bench directed the chief secretaries togive proper attention to the issue and submit areport over compliance of the SC’s directivewithin two weeks. They were also ordered totake action against illegal transplant centers.

During the proceedings, representing theCapital Administration Transplant Authority,Dr Haider told the bench that they had dis-patched hard and soft copies of the preparedrules to all provincial governments. However,the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa govern-ments had not responded yet.

He urged effective and coordinated efforts

on the part of all provincial governments, say-ing that regulations carried out by Iran hadbeen regarded as the most effective throughoutthe world.

The chief justice observed that the poorwere forced to sell their kidneys but no one wasserious about the issue. He said legislation overthe issue should be simple so that the generalpublic could understand it.

He said the chief secretaries concernedshould be held responsible for the illegal tradein their respective provinces.

He lamented that the situation had deteri-orated as the authorities done nothing to dis-courage the illegal trade. “This issue is the mostsensitive one but there has been no law gov-erning it,” he added.

The CJP observed that illegal drugs werebeing sold at medical stores openly with no oneto keep a check.

He asked the chief secretaries to take cog-nizance of the plight of people and create pub-lic awareness on the issue.

Further proceedings were adjourned fortwo weeks.

SC gives 2 weeks for effective legislationon human organs transplant

pesHaWar: a man throws water on his daughter from the main supply pipeline as the

city experienced another hot and humid day on Wednesday. INP

LHR 02-08-2012_Layout 1 8/2/2012 1:56 AM

03NewsediToriALChallenges before CeC

coMMenT

Articles on Page 14

A whole lot of them

Kamran rehmat says;The bilateral envoy: Munter was, perhaps, the best friend US and Pakistan could have

dr James J zogby says; Romney’s world view: Not much different from that of the present Administration

ArTS & enTerTAinMenT

Story on Page 12

buSineSS

Story on Page 18

SPorTS

Story on Page 15

people find me sex-citing: Mallika Iranian sanctions soap opera recommences World hockey champs australia thrash spain


ISLAMABADtayyab HussaIN

PAKISTAN Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) PresidentChaudhry Shujaat Hussain onWednesday initiated discipli-nary action against seven de-

fecting party MNAs by serving themshow-cause notices, asking them to explainwhy they had violated the party’s disciplineduring the recent election of Prime MinisterRaja Pervaiz Ashraf.

All seven lawmakers in question hadabstained from voting held on June 22for election of Ashraf as PM in violationof the party’s decision to vote for thePPP’s nominee.

None of them voted even for the oppo-sition’s nominee, Mehtab Khan Abbasi,

who had bagged 89 votes.A source in the PML-Q informed Pak-

istan Today that the notices had been pre-pared and served through SM Zafar,veteran lawyer and senior party stalwart.

“Chaudhry Pervez Elahi has prevailedand the process of sending referencesagainst the party’s defectors has been initi-ated. Under phase one, show-cause noticeshave been issued to at least seven partyMNAs, five members of the likemindedgroup – Arbab Zakaullah, Humayon Saiful-lah Khan, Ghulam Hyder Samejo, Kash-mala Tariq and Kishan Chand Perwani,”the source said.

The source added that two more defec-tors who had left the party and joined Pak-istan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) andPakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) - AmirMuqam and Sardar Awais Khan Leghari,

had also been served notices.Shujaat has yet not sent a show-cause

notice to Sumaira Malik, who also did notvote for Ashraf and has unofficially joinedthe PML-N.

The source said all party legislators is-sued show-cause notices had been giventime until August 8 to explain their posi-tions, failing which a reference would besent by the party chief to the chief electioncommissioner (CEC), Justice (r) Fakharud-din G Ebrahim.

“The notices have worried the lawmak-ers in question and they are involved in ne-gotiations to deal with the situation. Theycan’t blame the government for bias as thenew CEC enjoys absolute respect among allcircles for his principles and integrity. Thismight also be the first test case for the CECwho was nominated by PML-N itself, while

the likeminded group has already an-nounced seat-adjustment with the PML-N,”a source in the likeminded group said.

“Likeminded people are thinking tocontest the matter in the court and get stayorders against the move while AmirMuqam and Awais Leghari are mulling toresign quietly.”

When contacted, PML likemindedChairman Salim Saifullah Khan confirmedthat show-cause notices had been receivedby at least two of his party’s MNAs, Kash-mala Tariq and Kishan Chand Perwani,while the rest had not received any notice.

Asked how they would react to the no-tices, Saifullah said they had already chal-lenged the election of Chaudhry ShujaatHussain in Lahore High Court (LHC) forthe past two years and since the matter wassub judice, such action could not be initi-

ated against his party colleagues.“Since the election of Shujaat is under

question, he could not exercise any powersas party president. Hence his show causenotice is meaningless,” said Saifullah.

He said his group would request theLHC to take up the matter and issue judg-ment to resolve the matter.

Amir Muqam told Pakistan Today thathe had submitted his resignation with theNational Assembly speaker and no questionof show-cause arose.

“Has anyone seen me recently at theNational Assembly? No, I have resignedfrom my NA seat since long and the show-cause notice holds no ground,” he added.

He also showered praises for Shujaatand said he had served under Shujaatand he had no grudge against his formerparty chief.

Shujaat serves show cause notices on seven defectorsg notices served on five likeminded lawmakers, Amir Muqam and Awais Legharig Saifullah terms Shujaat’s election fake, says notices hold no ground as matter sub judice

KASHMALA TARIQ AMIR MUQAM HUMAYON SAIFULLAH KHAN SARDAR AWAIS KHAN LEGHARI GHULAM HYDER SAMEJO KISHAN CHAND PERWANI ARBAB ZAKAULLAH

US report acknowledges Pakistan’ssuffering in terror war

Interpol rejects requestfor red warrantagainst Musharraf

ISLAMABADoNlINe

The Interpol headquarters rejected Pakistan’s request toissue a red warrant against former president and army chiefGeneral (r) Pervez Musharraf in the Benazir Bhuttoassassination case. The Interpol rejected the request on thegrounds that Pakistani authorities and the FederalInvestigation Agency (FIA) had sent insufficientdocumentation for the purpose of issuing a red warrant.According to a statement issued by the Interpol, it could notissue red warrant based on the evidences anddocumentation offered for the arrest of the formerpresident. Local authorities have again sent a request to theInterpol director with documentation in addition to theinvestigation reports, copies of statements by the thendirector-general of ISI’s counter-intelligence wing, JavedIqbal Cheema, and the former director general ofIntelligence Bureau, Ejaz Shah, US-based journalist MarcSiegel’s email to Benazir Bhutto and copies of the ordersissued by the Anti-Terrorism Court.

WASHINGTONapp

Nearly 11 years after joining the fightagainst terror, Pakistan continues tobe a crucial partner and remains oneof the biggest victims of terrorist vio-lence with the loss of another 3,170lives in the year 2011.

Over 2,500 civilians and 670 lawenforcement personnel died in ter-rorist-related incidents in Pakistan in2011, an “extremely significant” year,which saw elimination of al Qaedachief Osama bin Laden in May andseveral other high-value militants inthe South Asian region, the State De-partment annual Country Reports onTerrorism 2011 revealed.

The total number of worldwideattacks in 2011 was more than 10,000in 70 countries, resulting in morethan 12,500 deaths. But that figure,large as it may be, is a drop of 12 per-cent from 2010, Daniel Benjamin,State Department Coordinator forCounterterrorism said.

The report came the same daywhen Pakistan and the United Statessigned an agreement that wouldallow US and its NATO allies the useof key Pakistani routes into and outof landlocked Afghanistan.

The agreement underscores Pak-istan’s importance to completion ofthe US-led Afghan mission. Pakistanprovided the supply corridor toNATO soon after the 9/11 terrorist at-tacks, which led to invasion ofAfghanistan in November 2001.Since then, Pakistan has launchedseveral operations against militantson its side of the Afghan border andhas lost more than 38,000 civiliansand 6,000 security personnel to re-taliatory bombings. The fact wasnoted at a Congressional hearing on

Tuesday. In the annual State Department,

data shows that once again, thelargest number of reported attacksoccurred in South Asia and the NearEast. More than 75 percent of theworld’s attacks and deaths occurredin these regions. “The victims of ter-rorist attacks remain overwhelminglyMuslim.”

The majority of attacks occurredin just three countries: Afghanistan,Iraq, and Pakistan, which togetheraccounted for 85 percent of attacks in

these regions and almost 64 percentof attacks worldwide. BothAfghanistan and Iraq saw declines inthe number of attacks from the pre-vious year. While attacks inAfghanistan and Iraq decreased from2010 by 14 and 16 percent, respec-tively, attacks in Pakistan increasedby eight percent.

Releasing the Congressionallymandated Report, Benjamin noted,“counterterrorism efforts in Pakistancontinued to have wide-ranging re-gional and global implications.”

“Pakistan remained a criticalpartner on counterterrorism efforts,actively engaging against al-Qa’ida(AQ) and the Tehrik-e Taliban Pak-istan (TTP).” However, its coopera-tion regarding other terrorist groups,such as Lashkar-e-Tayiba (LeT), wasmixed, he claimed. “Despite strainedties, Pakistani officials publicly reit-erated that cooperation between theUnited States and Pakistan was in thebest interest of both countries.” Inaddition to Pakistan’s counterterror-ism efforts, a deluge of politically andethnically-motivated targeted killingsin Karachi consumed the attention ofPakistan’s parliament, SupremeCourt, and law enforcement agenciesduring the summer months.

LHR 02-08-2012_Layout 1 8/2/2012 1:56 AM

04 News


suKKur: people check their names in the new voters’ list 2012 at the election Commission office on Wednesday. oNLINE

WASHINGTONoNlINe

EX P R E S S I N Gconcern overc o n t i n u e dthreat posed byL a s h k a r - e -

Tayyaba to stability inSouth Asia, the UnitedStates has asked Pakistanto take more action againstthe terrorist group respon-sible for the 2008 Mumbaiattacks.

“We’ve urged Pakistanto take more action againstL a s h k a r - e - T a y y a b a , ”Daniel Benjamin, coordina-tor for counterterrorismtold reporters in a specialbriefing on the State De-partment’s annual terror-

ism report.“We’d certainly like to

see more progress on thattrial regarding the atroci-ties in Mumbai,” he saidnoting that LeT “remains amajor concern on the ter-rorist landscape, without adoubt”.

Benjamin said he hadnot seen any decrease inLeT strength and “thethreat to stability in SouthAsia that it poses”.

The State Departmentreport itself also warnedthat “terrorist opponents ofbetter Indian-Pakistan re-lations, such as the LeT,have long planned to derailany progress by launchingnew attacks”.

The overview of terror-

ism and terrorist groupsaround the world foundthat Osama bin Laden’sdeath in Abbottabad, cou-pled with the killing of topal Qaeda operatives in Pak-istan, “puts the network ona path of decline that willbe difficult to reverse”.

The report says theJune death of Iyas Kash-miri and the August killingof Atiya Abdul Rahman, alQaeda’s second-in-com-mand after bin Laden’sdeath, are among the topblows dealt to the organiza-tion in Pakistan.

But it warns that “de-spite blows in western Pak-istan, al Qaeda, itsaffiliates, and its adherentsremain adaptable”.

US warns ofLashkar-e-Tayyaba threat

BANGkOkafp

Myanmar security forcesopened fire on Rohingya Mus-lims, committed rape andstood by as rival mobs attackedeach other during a recentwave of sectarian violence, arights watchdog said Wednes-day.

The authorities failed toprotect both Muslims andBuddhists and then “un-leashed a campaign of violenceand mass roundups against theRohingya”, New York-basedHuman Rights Watch said in areport.

The violence whicherupted in June in Rakhinestate between Buddhists andRohingya has left about 80people dead from both sides,based on official figures — anestimate that HRW said ap-

peared “grossly underesti-mated”.

Hundreds of Rohingyamen and boys have beenrounded up and remain in-communicado in the westernregion of the country formerlyknown as Burma, it said.

Members of both Muslimand Buddhist communitiescommitted horrific acts of vio-lence with reports of behead-ings, stabbings, shootings andwidespread arson in Rakhine,also known as Arakan state,the report added. “What is re-markable is that if the atroci-ties that we saw in Arakan hadhappened before the govern-ment reform process hadstarted, the international reac-tion would have been swift andstrong,” said HRW Asia deputydirector Phil Robertson. “Butthe international communityappears to be blinded by a ro-

mantic narrative of sweepingchange in Burma, signing newtrade deals and lifting sanc-tions even while the abusescontinue,” he told a news con-ference. The report, based ondozens of witness interviews,said that the events in Rakhine“demonstrate that state-spon-sored persecution and discrim-ination persist” despite thegovernment’s pledge to endethnic unrest.

Police and paramilitaryforces “opened fire on Ro-hingya with live ammunition”,it added.

It quoted one Rohingyaman in the Rakhine state cap-ital Sittwe as saying that secu-rity forces watched as aBuddhist mob started torch-ing houses. “When the peopletried to put out the fires, theparamilitary shot at us. Andthe group beat people with big

sticks.”Another Rohingya man

said: “I was just a few feetaway. I was on the road. I sawthem shoot at least six people— one woman, two children,and three men. The policetook their bodies away.”Decades of discriminationhave left the Rohingya state-less, and they are viewed bythe United Nations as one ofthe world’s most persecutedminorities. Myanmar’s gov-ernment considers the esti-mated 800,000 Rohingya inthe country to be foreignerswhile many citizens see themas illegal immigrants fromneighbouring Bangladesh andview them with hostility.

President Thein Sein inJuly told the United Nationsthat refugee camps or depor-tation was the “solution” forthe Rohingya.

Myanmar troops ‘opened fire on rohingya Muslims’

wHo haltspolio drive dueto security risk KARACHI: World HealthOrganization (WHO) hasdecided to shut its offices downfor indefinite period oversecurity concerns. Sources atWHO told a private TVchannel that all operationswould remain suspended untilthe security of the polio staff isguaranteed. The World HealthInstitute in Karachi has alsosuspended polio monitoring.This is the first time in historythat polio service to any cityhas been put off. WHO sourcessaid that the decision to restorepolio services would be takenwhen the circumstancesnormalize. aGeNCIes

Seminary

student tortured

for coming late

MONITORING DESk

A seminary teacher severelytortured a student in DeraGhazi Khan, paralyzing his legsand kidneys, a private TVchannel reported onWednesday. According toDunya News, Abubakar, a 16-year-old student of JamiaRehmania, arrived got late forhis class by 10 minutes. As apunishment, his teacher QariKaleemullah brutally torturedhim to the point ofunconsciousness. Theadministration called in Rescue1122 workers who shiftedAbubakar to a hospital.According to the doctors atDistrict Hospital, Abubakar’slegs have been paralyzed andhis kidneys, badly affected. Thestudent’s father ManzoorAhmad has appealed to thegovernment for action againstthe teacher.

Pakistani hostages

released by piratesThe Pakistani crew of apirated Malaysian-flaggedcontainer ship, MV Albedo,held hostage by Somali pirateshas been reportedly released,a private TV channel learntWednesday. According tosources, all the sevenPakistani seamen have beenpulled through to safety. Of all22 hostages, seven are fromPakistan and Bangladesheach, six are from Sri Lanka,and one each from India andIran. One Indian sailor hasalready died since the vesselwas captured in November2010. MoNItorING desK

LONDONaGHa aKbar

While Aussies were awesomein their 5-0 demolition ofSpain and South Africa dis-played some rare spine by notdisintegrating against GreatBritain 2-2, Pakistan toofound its feet to rustle up amost welcome 2-0 winagainst Argentina to be placedsecond behind the Aussies inthe Pool A rankings.

If it stays that way at theend of the pool games, Pak-istan would have realizedtheir objective and achievedsomething tangible in the bar-gain: it would go to the semi-finals for only the second timesince 1992. But that is a longway off.

But for the moment theother results give them aglimmer of hope: Spain di-minishing and with two of itsvery best Santi Freixa andPablo Amat walking woundedand out of the event, Ar-gentina have lost both theirencounters so far, GreatBritain’s campaign also hit-ting snags from a drawagainst South Africa while theAussies reign supreme. If theycould somehow win and getfull three points from theirtwo next games against GreatBritain on Friday and SouthAfrica Sunday, even if theylose to the rampaging Aussies,they might still have doneenough to barge into the topfour. That at this point how-

ever seems a bridge too far,falling in the realm of day-dreaming. And it would be inthe fitness of things if theytackled things as they come.

The win against Ar-gentina though has rekindledhope – and not a moment toosoon.

Against Argentina, thebest of the lot from the SouthAmerican continent, Pakistanwas good enough but not re-ally overwhelming. At pointsthey looked downrightscrappy.

The good thing howeveris that while the forwardsseem shy of finding rhythm intheir movement and the fin-ishing is below par – nowherenear one expects at such alevel – the defence is holdingexceptionally well. One couldsay that they have so far notreally been tested, and a topoutfit may indeed have beenable to punch holes. That said,one has to concede they havemostly been doing the basicsright in tackling and intercep-tion, pretty decent markingand everyone showing the en-ergy to fall back. And they aredoing it without getting easilyflustered. That is why theyhave been able to thwart bothSpain and Argentina, allowingjust one goal in a flash toSpain.

On Wednesday, Pakistaniforays deep into Argentineside were many, but nothingreally remotely threateningenough to land them a goal.

The intent to get a short cor-ner didn’t seem to be a prior-ity – and that indeed was asurprise. Yet Pakistan drew itsfirst blood through Muham-mad Imran’s strike on itsshort corner when in the 30thminute Muhammad Waqaswas brought down inside thecircle. Such was Pakistan’sdomination in terms of pos-session that Imran Shahunder the cross bar had re-mained idle throughout.

The second half, Ar-gentina came with intent tofind the equalizer, but it wasPakistan that doubled its lead,this time Sohail Abbas scoop-ing waist high tearing into themiddle to deposit the ball intothe net. Up 2-0 in the 44thminute, Pakistan fromthereon should have coasted.But Argentina showing re-solve regrouped to launchtheir own counterattack, get-ting four penalty corners, notconverting any to a combina-tion of Pakistani defendersand ‘keeper dashing well.Akhtar Rasool, the Pakistanmanager, is a satisfied man:having lost two points fromthe draw against Spain, histeam has bounced back tostay in the tournament. He isaware of the flaws: “we havenot been able to score fieldgoals. That is an aberrationthat we shall make an endeav-our to rectify”. That they bet-ter did, for playing at home, awounded Great Britain wouldcome back at them hard.

Pakistan’s first victoryrekindles hope

MONITORING DESk

Pakistan Muslim League–Nawaz (PML-N) PunjabPresident Sardar ZulfiqarAli Khosa resigned from hisparty membership over dif-ferences with the leader-ship, Geo News reportedlate Wednesday night.

Per details, Khosa hasresigned from his partymembership and subse-quently sent his resigna-tion to the Punjab ChiefMinister’s House.

Khosa is a former gov-ernor of Punjab and fatherof former Punjab CM Sar-dar Dost MohammedKhosa.

The channel reportedthat the veteran politician

from Dera Ghazi Khan haddecided to contest the elec-tions independently fromhis home constituency.

Zulfiqar Khosa

jumps PML-N ship

BEIJINGafp

Authorities in China’s restivenorthwestern region of Xin-jiang have banned Muslimofficials and students fromfasting during Ramadan,prompting an exiled rightsgroup to warn of new vio-lence.

Guidance posted on nu-merous government web-sites called on CommunistParty leaders to restrictMuslim religious activitiesduring the holy month, in-cluding fasting and visitingmosques.

Xinjiang is home toaround nine millionUighurs, a Turkic speaking,largely Muslim ethnic mi-nority, many of whom ac-cuse China’s leaders ofreligious and political perse-cution.

The region has beenrocked by repeated out-breaks of ethnic violence,but China denies claims ofrepression and relies on tensof thousands of Uighur offi-cials to help it govern Xin-jiang. A statement fromZonglang township in Xin-jiang’s Kashgar district said

that “the county committeehas issued comprehensivepolicies on maintaining so-cial stability during the Ra-madan period.

“It is forbidden for Com-munist Party cadres, civil of-ficials (including those whohave retired) and students toparticipate in Ramadan reli-gious activities.” The state-ment, posted on the Xinjianggovernment website, urgedparty leaders to bring “gifts”of food to local village lead-ers to ensure that they wereeating during Ramadan.

Similar orders on curb-ing Ramadan activities wereposted on other local gov-ernment websites, with theeducational bureau ofWensu county urgingschools to ensure that stu-dents do not enter mosquesduring Ramadan.

The holy month began inXinjiang on July 20. The or-ders to curb religious activi-ties were sent out across theregion at different times,some before the start of Ra-madan and some afterwards.During Ramadan, Muslimsfast from dawn to dusk andstrive to be more pious andcharitable.

China restricts Ramadan

fasting in restive Xinjiang

french Muslims,

Jews unite against

pig dumping at

mosque

MONTAUBANafp

French Muslim and Jewishgroups were united in outrageWednesday after two pigheads were dumped at amosque in a town where anIslamist gunman killed twoparatroopers in March. TheFrench Council of the MuslimFaith described the defilementof the mosque in the town ofMontauban as “a racist andxenophobic provocation” andurged the authorities to bringthose responsible to justiceswiftly. Pigs are consideredunclean by Muslims, who arecurrently observing the holymonth of Ramadan.France’s Union of JewishStudents said it was appalledby an incident that hadoccurred in a “worryingclimate of hatred”. It was the first such incidentin the southern Tarn-et-Garonne region, leading tospeculation it was a responseto the March shooting spreeof self-styled Al-Qaedagunman Mohamed Merah.

LHR 02-08-2012_Layout 1 8/2/2012 1:56 AM

05


ISLAMABADoNlINe

THE National Assembly leg-islative body on petroleumand natural resources hasdirected the Oil and GasRegulatory Authority

(OGRA) and Ministry of Petroleum torevoke the recent hike in petroleumprices and maintain old prices.

The National Assembly standingcommittee met at the Oil and Gas De-velopment Company Limited (OGDCL)building with Engineer Tariq Khattakin the chair.

It strongly expressed annoyanceover the recent increase in prices of pe-troleum products and said the hikewould add to the miseries of commonman and boost inflation in the country.

The committee said another unfor-tunate factor was that price fluctuationwas announced by OGRA or the min-istry two or three days before the deci-sion that resulted into a shortage ofproducts and oil mafia earned billionsof rupees through hoarding.

Jamshed Dasti said Adviser to PMon Petroleum Dr Asim had no controland was playing into the hands of offi-cers. Barjees Tahir said the ministryleaked the information of price increaseand favored the oil mafia in the coun-try. Adviser to Prime Minister Dr Asimassured the meeting that leakage ofnews regarding price increase would becontrolled and officials would followthe code of conduct in the future.

He said the ministry followed atransparent formula about pricing ofpetroleum products and any one couldforecast the fluctuation in prices in thecoming days.

The ministry had no hidden role inthis regard, Dr Asim added. OGRAChairman Saeed Khan and Dr Asimagreed to devise a mechanism to keepthe decision of prices secret until the is-suance of the notification.

Dr Asim told the committee that Rs50 billion subsidy had been given to thefertilizer sector as all plants were closeddue to a shortage of gas. During themeeting SNGPL MD Arif Hameed toldthe committee that 1,865mmcfd of gas

was available in the system while its de-mand was 2,600 mmcfd with a shortfallof 624 mmcfd. He said that shortfallwould increase to 900 mmcfd in De-cember this year while in Jan 2013 itwould be increased to approximately1,100 mmcfd. The body showed annoy-ance over the slow pace of work on de-velopment schemes by MNAs anddevelopment funds of projects were ad-justed elsewhere.

The members said due to misman-

agement of departments, MNAs wereasked about revalidation of funds. TheSNGPL MD informed the committeethat Rs 22 billion of developmentschemes were pending with the SNGPL,while four billion of development proj-ects were pending with the SSGCL. Inthis regard, standing committee consti-tuted a sub-committee under the chairof Jamshed dasti and directed it to seeinto the issue and devise a mechanismfor its redressal.

NA body directs OGRA to withdraw

hike in petroleum productsg wants system to keep announcement of price hike secret to curb hoarding

PESHAWARINp

NATO supplies to Afghanistan remainedsuspended on Wednesday for the eightconsecutive day due to security threatsthrough the Torkham border.

The supplies to NATO forces werestopped when a driver was killed in a mil-itant attack on a convoy that was headingto Afghanistan.

Officials privy to the development saidsecurity arrangements had been tightened toensure a safe journey for the convoys. Theysaid the supplies would be restored once afoolproof security system was in place. OnTuesday, the memorandum of understanding(MoU) regarding restoration of NATO sup-plies was signed by Pakistan and the UnitedStates. The accord became operational afterformal signing by the two countries. It will beeffective until December 31, 2015 and couldbe extended for one year after consultations.

Pakistan will also provide facilities for the se-curity and quick transfer of the cargo and willkeep the US government informed of themonitoring and transit points of the cargo.Containers traveling to Afghanistan will be

bound to return via Pakistan. There will be notax or duty charged on the containers. How-ever, commercial carriers will have to payfees. New fees can also be introduced for thequick transfer of cargo.

NATO supplies remain suspended for the 8th day

ISLAMABADaGeNCIes

The salaries of tens of thousandsof federal government employ-ees, including the president, theprime minister, federal minis-ters and top judges could not bereleased on the first day of Au-gust because of a strike by thestaff of Accountant General Pak-istan Revenue (AGPR)for thelast 26 days in support of theirdemands for pay raise and im-provement in service structure.

The AGPR employees have nowcalled of their strike No work was being performedby the APGR employees, whosimply came to their offices,marked their attendance and satidle for rest of the day.

They were calling for payraise at par with salaries ofother federal workers, besidesdemanding audit and pensionallowance and a better servicestructure. The AGPR workerssaid they were forced to go onstrike after their demands were

ignored by the government. On the other hand, federal

government employees who arenormally paid on the first ofevery month, went home without any salary to the dismay oftheir families. The payment ofgovernment workers’ salariesfollows a cumbersome proce-dure in Pakistan, as FinanceMinistry allocates funds withwhich the relevant departmentsprepare salary bills, and theAGPR verifies the informationand issues salary checks.

Troops kill 7militants inOrakzai clash

PESHAWARaGeNCIes

As many as seven militants were killedin a clash with security forces in thenorthwestern tribal region of Orakzai,NNI reported.According to the media reports, theclash took place in Orakzai’s Dabori areaand wounded two security men. Securitysources said the military operation inthe tribal region had been able torecover 92 percent of its area from thecontrol of militants, however, pockets ofresistance still existed in parts ofOrakzai. Meanwhile, unidentified miscreantsblew up a government school withexplosives in the Badhber area ofPeshawar late Tuesday night, INPreported.According to details, anti-literacymilitants had planted explosives alongthe boundary wall of the GovernmentPrimary School for Boys. The schoolbuilding was destroyed due to the blastbut no causality or injury was reportedas the building was vacant at the time ofblast and situated away from theresidential area.

Five abductedFATA employeeswalk free aftermonths

PESHAWARstaff report

At least five employees, including twoofficers of the Federally AdministeredTribal Areas (FATA) DevelopmentProgram, abducted in February wererecovered from the Tank district.The officials at Tank, a city in the southKhyber Pakhtunkhwa province, onWednesday informed that the fiveemployees had been abducted from theMaghzai area of the tribal region onFebruary 29. All of them have beenrecovered, officials said. Though the officials were reluctant tocomment on the possibility of a deal forthe release of the hostages, however,local tribesmen said that the fiveofficials had been freed after payingransom. Taliban militants had earlierclaimed the responsibility forkidnapping the officials.Meanwhile, Peshawar Policesuccessfully freed a student abducted onJuly 19 from Dalazak Road. Thekidnappers had demanded Rs 10 millionfor the release of Haseeb Ali.Superintendent of Police Asif Iqbal leda raid in Azakhel area of Matanai, andsafely recovered the abducted student,besides arresting three kidnappers.

Houbara Foundation conducts

annual seed broadcast

LAHORE: Pakistan Army and Houbara Foundation International jointlybroadcasted seeds of desert plants over the Cholistan Desert. This is the 15th yearof the Foundation’s annual Habitat Restoration project since 1988. CholistanDesert is the prime wintering habitat of Houbara Bustard which migratesannually to Pakistan from breeding grounds in central Asia. press release

Govt employees get a taste

of not getting paid on the 1st

Police downs‘Taliban militant’in PunjabMULTAN: The Punjab Police killed a suspectedTaliban militant near Multan on Wednesday, officialssaid. According to police officials, a team of CrimeInvestigation Department (CID) intercepted a vehiclenear Ghazi Ghat near Dera Ghazi Khan onWednesday afternoon. Officials said the car drivertried to detonate the suicide vest he was wearing, butpolice opened fire and killed him on the spot. Officialsfurther said that a team of Bomb Disposal Squad wascalled from Multan to defuse his suicide vest and toclear his bag which cops believed was full of handgrenades and other weapons. Police believe thedeceased militant belonged to the Matiullah group ofthe banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). oNlINe

LHR 02-08-2012_Layout 1 8/2/2012 1:56 AM


SeHer

Iftar 06:59

fIqaH-e-HanfI fIqaH-e-jafrIa

03:49 SeHer

Iftar 07:00

03:39

LAHOREuMaIr azIz

The Punjab governmenton Wednesday releasedonly Rs 20 million out ofthe allocated Rs 300million for coping withthe dengue epidemicleaving the concernedauthorities high and dryin the face of a potentialdengue epidemic during

monsoon, as the first dengue case hasbeen confirmed in the provincialmetropolis.The Planning and Development (P&D)Department announced that theamount has been released for a quarter(three months), while the rest will bereleased later in the ongoing fiscal year.However, top officials in the P&Ddepartment have ignored the diseasepattern; the dengue outbreak assumesgreat proportions during monsoon,with the incidence at its peak in Augustlast year as well. At the start of the ongoing fiscal year,the same officials allocated Rs 300million for Prevention and ControlProgram of Epidemics in Punjab, butreleased only a minor chunk at a timewhen finances are needed the most andwill be ineffective after the threemonths pass. A senior official, on thecondition of anonymity, said the initialdengue control program was designedfor five districts: Lahore, Faisalabad,Rawalpindi, Gujranwala and Multan.However the chief minister broughtseven more districts in the ambitincluding Okara, Pakpattan,Sheikhupura, Sahiwal, Nankana Sahiband Kasur. Hundreds of employeeswere recruited across Punjab to fightthe dengue epidemic under the sameprogram. “Last year, the PC-1 wasmade for only five districts, but thespending has increased a lot afterincluding more districts as per ordersof the CM,” the official said, addingthat salaries bill of the dengue staffamounts to around Rs 25 million,terming the released Rs 20 million“peanuts”. He further said more moneyis needed for insecticides and logistics,as the officers monitoring the denguecontrol program have to go in the field

and need petrol and cars, all ofwhich translate into more money. “All the efforts of the governmentand the CM will go down the drainif the money is not released at theright time because after threemonths that money will have noeffect,” the official added.According to reports, 33-year-old Kathy, aChinese citizen fromBeijing, whoreached LahorefromBangladeshhas beentestedpositivewithdenguevirus and isa confirmedpatient withNS1 positivetest. She iscurrentlyadmitted in aprivate hospital.CM’s advisor on healthKhwaja Salmaan Rafiquedispelled the reports that Kathygot infected in Lahore. He said shetravelled from Bangladesh to Karachi,from where it is probable that she gotthe virus. This has further increasedthe threat for the residents of theprovincial capital as an increasingnumber of people are travellingbetween the two cities owing tovacations. To a question on theadequacy of funds, Rafique said thegovernment health authorities havealready procured the insecticide andare “self-sufficient”. He said the LadyHealth Workers (LHWs) and other staffwill work to cope withdengue. “We have anentire team ofexperts who willassess thelatestsituation ofthe sprayconducted asper thepopulation,”he furtheradded.

amidst fears of anotherepidemic only rs 20 million from theallocated rs 300 millionreleased Health spokesman

denies that the victimgot infected in Lahore,says she carried the virusfrom B’desh or Karachi

Man shot dead by robbers LAHORE: A man was shot dead on Wednesday by robbers while re-

turning home, City42 reported.

According to the report, 40-year-old Rana Javed, a resident of Gari

Shahu, was coming back to his house after selling his car when

unidentified men stopped him and robbed Rs 300,000 from him.

When he resisted, the robbers opened fire and murdered him at the

GT Road.

The same channel reported that in a separate incident, Finance Min-

istry officer named Mirza Akther Mansoor Baig was injured by the

robbers at Millat Park.

According to the report, Baig, along with his wife, was coming home

after shopping. Robbers attempted to rob him and upon resistance,

opened fire and injured Baig.. Witnesses shifted him to Sheikh Zayed

Hospital.

In another report, robbers broke into the house of Nadeem Salahri at

Haji Park.

According to the report, robbers managed to enter the house of Salahri

wearing veils (burkas), held the family hostage, tortured them and

stole 15 tolas of jewellery. MoNItorING desK

Bank’s security guard escapes with Rs 20m LAHORE: A security guard on Wednesday stole Rs 20 million from a

cash van on Jail Road.

Police said the cash van of Askari Security Company reached the Na-

tional Bank of Pakistan (NBP) Jail Road branch after taking cash from

the main branch of NBP.

Two security guards, Arshad and Nasrullah, entered the bank to in-

form the staff about the cash. Meanwhile, the third guard, Sher

Muhammad, who was supposed to be guarding the van, took Rs 20

million and disappeared.

DSP Civil Lines Raza Safdar Kazmi said police had taken Arshad and

Nasrullah into custody and started investigation. app

Robbery in cop’s house, youth injuredLAHORE: Robbers on Wednesday broke into a police sub inspector’s

(SI) house in Manga Mandi, stole thousands of rupees and injured one

youth, City42 reported.

According to reports, robbers broke into SI Noor Sabri’s house located

in Manga Mandi and took thousands of rupees in cash with them.

When he put up resistance, 24-year-old Zeeshan was also injured by

the miscreants. MoNItorING desK

Wrestler’s daughter robbed on gun pointLAHORE: Renowned wrestler Nasir Bholu’s daughter was robbed on

Wednesday in the Model Town area, City42 reported.

The TV channel reported that the former national wrestler’s daughter

was carrying about Rs 100,000 with her when some unidentified men

snatched the money from her

Nasir Bholu is a retired Pakistani professional wrestler and the last

surviving member of the “Bholu Brothers” wrestling team. He became

The Asian champion in 1982 by defeating David Stalford in

Bangladesh. MoNItorING desK

Man tortures servant to deathLAHORE: A man tortured his domestic servant to death on

Wednesday. According to police sources, the incident occurred in

Nawab Town area of the city, where 14-year old Qasim was tor-

tured to death by his employer.

The boy was working as domestic help to earn money for his fa-

ther’s operation.

Qasim’s family has demanded stern action against the

kil ler. Police sent the dead body for post mortem after ini-

t ial investigation. s ta f f r e p o rt

14 Special Tiger Squad to patrol outside banksLAHORE: Superintendent Police (SP) Mujahid Squad on Wednesday

ordered various officials to perform duty outside banks.

As many as 14 Special Tiger Squad will patrol outside different banks

in different divisions, including City Division, Sadar, Model Town,

Cantonment, Iqbal Town and Civil Lines. app

CrIMe SPree eruPtSaCrOSS CIty

LHR 02-08-2012_Layout 1 8/2/2012 1:56 AM

07


Lahore

cine STAr THe AMAzing SPiderMAn 03:00 PM

PH: 35157462 PirAnHA 3d 02:15 PM

cockTAiL 09:00 PM

cockTAiL 11:45 PM

cine goLd rowdY rATHore 12:30AM

PH: 35340000 rowdY rATHore 06:30 PM

cockTAiL 9:00 PM

THe AMAzing SPiderMAn 1:00 PM

THe AMAzing SPiderMAn 3:30 PM

Sozo worLd cockTAiL 09:00 PM

PH: 36674271 boL bAcHAn 08:30 PM

cockTAiL 11:30 PM

MAdAgAScAr 3 04:45 PM

Sozo goLd boL bAcHAn 12:00 PM, 03:00 PM

PH: 36674271 cockTAiL 09:30 PM, 11:30 PM

cockTAiL 12:30 PM, 03:30 PM

LAHORE: Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah onWednesday said that Chaudhry brothers have no moral val-ues and can go to any lengths to come back in power.Sanaullah said that Chaudhrys were trying to politicise the

load shedding issue and are using such tactics to demor-alise Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) He said thatPakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) chief ChaudhryShujaat’s statement regarding load shedding had betrayedthe nation. He added that PML-Q is blaming the Punjabgovernment for load shedding in an attempt to defamePML-N and to hide their own failures. Sanaullah said thatthe federal government itself has rejected Shujaat’s formulato end load shedding crisis in the country. INp

JI calls for

solidarity

with Burmese

MuslimsLAHOREoNlINe

Jamaat-e-Islami chief MunawarHasan on Wednesday asked the na-tion to observe Friday, (August 3)as a day of solidarity with theMyanmar Muslims against theatrocities being committed againstthem in Burma. In a statement issued from JI Sec-retariat, he called upon the Organi-sation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)and the world community to adoptimmediate measures to stop themassacre of the Myanmar Muslims.He urged the government to de-mand a special UN General As-sembly meeting on the issue andan end to the killing of theBurmese Muslims.He said that the UN and otherchampions of world peace wereblind to the genocide of theBurmese Muslims and the repeatedincidents of their burning alive. Hesaid that about four million Mus-lims were facing the worst type ofpersecution and terrorism. They were ready to migrate to savetheir lives but were being taken incustody.He expressed the view that if im-mediate attention was not given tothe matter, it would end up in amajor human tragedy. He urged the people to join the ral-lies tomorrow in large numbers toraise awareness on the issue.

LAHOREINp

LAHORE High Court (LHC) Chief JusticeUmar Ata Bandial on Wednesday orderedMinistry for Religious Affairs to ensure fairdistribution of Haj quota to private tour op-erators. Justice Bandial issued this order

upon hearing a contempt of court petition against theministry for ignoring court orders about awarding Hajquota to new tour operators.

During the hearing, Advocate Azhar Siddique, thecounsel of the petitioners, told the court that no actionhad been taken against established tour operators whohad violated laws in the past and that only small fineshad been imposed upon them.

Justice Bandial said that it was not enough to imposenominal fines on tour operators violating laws.

The court reissued a notice to the Competition Com-mission of Pakistan for October 1 and directed it to file areply on the matter.

Earlier in May, the petitioners through Advocate Sid-dique, had petitioned before the court that owing to un-just distribution of Haj quota to private tour operators,it had become impossible for a common man to bear Hajexpenses. They argued that the Haj policy 2012 had beenannounced and a plan had been made to dish out quotaon personal favors.

The petitioners had also asked the court to cancel theallocation of the quota allegedly based on favoritism anddirect the government to associate real stakeholders andnon-government associations for bringing transparencyin the Haj policies.

LAHOREstaff report

Dr Adil Najam, the vice chancellor of the La-hore University of Management Sciences(LUMS) on Wednesday was nominated by theUnited Nations General Secretary Ban Ki-Moon for re-appointment to the prestigiousUN Committee on Development Policy (CDP).

At its annual substantive session for 2012,held in July, the members of the UN Economicand Social Council (ECOSOC) voted to acceptthe genera; secretary’s nominations for theCDP’s 2013-15 term, including the appoint-ment of Dr Najam to the CDP.

Commenting on the announcement, DrNajam said that he was honoured at the con-fidence that the United Nations Secretary

General and the CDP has shown in him. Dr Najam has been a leading global public

intellectual on sustainable development andglobal governance. He was one of the lead au-thors of the third and fourth assessment re-ports of the Intergovernmental Panel onClimate Change (IPCC), work for which theIPCC was awarded the 2007 Nobel PeacePrize. As vice chancellor of LUMS he has con-tinued to be active on these issues within Pak-istan and globally. The CDP is global group ofexperts – invited to join in their individual ca-pacity – and convened by the ECOSOC andthe UN Secretary General to advise on globaldevelopment challenges and the economicagenda of the United Nations. The Committeeis a subsidiary body of the United NationsEconomic and Social Council.

LHC directs ministry toensure fair distributionof Haj quota

tHe NeXt tuNIsIa? Muhammad ramzan, a jail warden from Kasur attempts to set himself on fire after home

secretary’s ‘bad treament’. MURTAZA ALI

LUMS vice chancellornominated to UN CDP

Chaudhrys can cross all limitsfor power: Sanaullah

LHR 02-08-2012_Layout 1 8/2/2012 1:57 AM

Low

High

280cfridAY SATurdAY SundAY39°c i 28°c 34°c i 28°c 34°c i 28°c

PrAYer TiMingSfajr Sunrise zuhr Asr Maghrib isha

03:49 05:19 12:09 15:49 18:58 20:29

ciTY direcTorY

reScue 1122

edHi conTroL 115

MoTorwAY PoLice 130

PoLice 15

goVernor’S HouSe 99200081-7

cHief MiniSTer’S HouSe 99203226

fire brigAde 16

boMb diSPoSAL 99212111

McL coMPLAinTS 99211022-29

LAHore wASTe diSPoSAL 1139

eMergencY HeLP

HoSPiTALS

bLood bAnk

fATMid 35210834-8

iSLAMic ALLiAnce 37588649/37535435

coMPLAinT

wAPdA 111-000-118

Sui gAS 1199

rAiLwAYS

ciTY STATion (enquirY) 117

reSerVATion 99201772

rAiLwAY PoLice 1333

AirPorT

fLigHT enquirY 114

PiA reSerVATion 111-786-786

coLLegeS / uniVerSiTieS

PunJAb uniVerSiTY 99231257kinnAird coLLege 99203781-4queen MArY coLLege 36362942goVT. coLLege uniVerSiTY 111-000-010uMT 35212801-10LuMS 35608000ueT 36288666Lcwu 99203072SuPerior coLLege 111-000-078

Mid ciTY 37573382-3

SerViceS 99203402-11

MAYo 99211100-9

generAL 35810892-8

SHeikH zAid 35865731

Sir gAngA rAM 99200572

ucH 35763573-5

iTTefAq 35881981-85

cMH 366996168-72

SHoukAT kHAnuM 35945100

JinnAH 111-809-809

AdiL (defence) 36667275

cHiLdren’S 99230901-3

defence nATionAL HoSPiTAL 111-17-18-19

PArTLY cLoudY

weATHer uPdATeS

39°c

08Lahore

YOGA AND MeDITATION CLAsses

dATe: APriL 01 To deceMber 30, 2012Venue: fAiz gHAr, LAHore

A unique blend of Yoga, Meditation, neuro-LinguisticProgramming, Sufism & more.Achieve self-insight, mind-body harmony & betterhealth.

Yoga Master Shamshad Haider

100 GHAZALs OF MAULANA RUMI

Hast-o-neest centre for Traditional Art & cultureinvites you to its Monthly Saturday Sitting withJanab Ahmed Javed Sahib(director, iqbal Academy Pakistan)on 100 ghazals of Maulana rumi3:30 to 5:00 pm, Last Saturday of every month

dATe: MArcH 31 To deceMber 29, 2012 Venue: HAST-o-neeST cenTre, LAHore

CALLIGRAPHY & ARABIC CLAsses

Hast-o-neestone MonTH courSeS: ArAbic, fArSi & cALLigrAPHY:

1. Arabic Saturdays & Sundays, 2:00 to 3:00 pm, 2. farsi Tuesdays & wednesdays, 3:00 to 4:00 pm 3. calligraphy fridays & Saturdays, 2:00 to 4:00 pm contact:[email protected]

dATe: JuLY 20 To AuguST 18Venue: 10 coMMerciAL buiLding, oLd AnArkALi


L A H O R Es ta f f r e p o rt

IN P a k i s t a n i n v e s t m e n t i nh i g h e r e d u c a t i o n c o n t i n u e s t or e a p d i v i d e n d s . A s a w a r e n e s sr e g a r d i n g t h e i m p o r t a n c e o fs c i e n t i f i c a n d s c h o l a r l y r e -

s e a r c h p e r m e a t e si n t e l l e c t u a l c i r -

c l e s i n t h ec o u n t r y , t h e

s c i e n t i f i cc o m -

m u n i t y a n dH i g h e r E d u c a -t i o n C o m m i s -s i o n h a v et a k e n u p t h ec h a l l e n g e w i t hg r e a t z e a l .

S C O P U S , t h e w o r l d ’ sl a r g e s t a b s t r a c t c i t a t i o nd a t a b a s e o f r e s e a r c h l i t e r a t u r e , a n da n a n a l y t i c a l t o o l s i m i l a r t o t h e W e bo f S c i e n c e ( I m p a c t F a c t o r ) , i n i t i -a t e d a f o r e c a s t i n g e x e r c i s e u n d e r t h et o p i c , “ H o w W o r l d S c i e n t i f i c O u t p u tw i l l b e i n 2 0 1 8 ” .

A c c o r d i n g t o i t s r e s u l t s , b a s e do n t h e r e s e a r c h o u t p u t f r o m 2 0 0 3 –2 0 1 0 , P a k i s t a n i s e x p e c t e d t o h a v et h e s e c o n d h i g h e s t i n c r e a s e i n r e -s e a r c h o u t p u t r a n k i n g i n t h e w o r l d ,r i s i n g f r o m i t s c u r r e n t p o s i t i o n o f 4 3t o 2 7 i n 2 0 1 8 .

T h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f H E C i n2 0 0 2 h a s h e r a l d e d a r e v o l u t i o n i nh i g h e r e d u c a t i o n i n P a k i s t a n ; H E Ch a s a c c o m p l i s h e d m o r e i n n i n e y e a r ss i n c e i t s e s t a b l i s h m e n t , t h a n h a db e e n a c h i e v e d i n t h e f i r s t 5 5 y e a r s o fP a k i s t a n ’ s e x i s t e n c e . R e c e n t l y s i x

P a k i s t a n i u n i v e r s i t i e s h a v e b e e nr a n k e d a m o n g t h e t o p 3 0 0 A s i a nU n i v e r s i t i e s .

R e s e a r c h o u t p u t h a s g r o w n e i g h t -f o l d s s i n c e 2 0 0 2 ( f r o m 8 1 5 r e s e a r c hp u b l i c a t i o n s i n 2 0 0 2 t o 6 , 2 0 0 i n2 0 1 1 ) . 8 0 % o f t h e s e r e s e a r c h p u b l i -c a t i o n s f r o m P a k i s t a n a r e c o m i n gf r o m H E I s .

O u t p u t h a s m o r e t h a n d o u b l e d i nt h e l a s t 3 y e a r s a l o n e a n d i s e x -p e c t e d t o d o u b l e a g a i n i n t h e n e x t 3

y e a r s . A c a d e m i c c i r c l e s i n t h ec o u n t y h a v e t e r m e d i t a s a g r e a t

s u c c e s s a n d h o n o r f o r t h ec o u n t y i n p a r t i c u l a r a n d t h e

h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n s e c t o r i n

g e n e r a l . T h i s i s t h e o u t -c o m e o f d e d i c a t e d h a r dw o r k b y t h e f a c u l t y a s w e l la s m a r k e d r e s e a r c h s u p -p o r t i v e i n i t i a t i v e s i n t r o -d u c e d w i t h i n t h e l a s t f e wy e a r s i n t h e h i g h e r e d u c a -t i o n s e c t o r i n P a k i s t a n .

G i v e n t h e d i v i d e n d s P a k i s t a nh a s r e a p e d f r o m i t s i n v e s t m e n t i ns c h o l a r s h i p s a n d r e s e a r c h g r a n t s ,o n e w o u l d a s s u m e t h a t H E C i s af e a t h e r i n t h e c u r r e n t g o v e r n -m e n t ’ s c a p .

O n l y r e c e n t l y , t h o u s a n d s o fH E C s c h o l a r s e n r o l l e d i n P h Da n d M P h i l p r o g r a m s a b r o a d ,

c o m p l a i n e d t h a t H E C h a d n ’ t p a i dt h e i r t u i t i o n f e e s a t t h e i r u n i v e r s i -t i e s a n d m i g h t h a v e t o c u t t h e i r p r o -g r a m h a l f w a y a n d r e t u r n .

U p t o 6 0 0 0 s c h o l a r s h i p s c a t e r i n gt o s t u d e n t s f r o m B a l o c h i s t a n , F A T A ,s o u t h e r n P u n j a b a n d G i l g i t -B a l t i s t a n , w e r e s l a s h e d d u e t o l a c ko f f u n d s f r o m t h e g o v e r n m e n t . G i v e nt h a t t h i s m i g h t j u s t b e o n e o f t h ev e r y f e w s e c -t o r s a c t u -a l l yc a p a b l e o fb r i n g i n gf o r t h a p o s i -t i v e c h a n g e i nt h e c o u n t r y , i ti s d i s m a l t ow a t c h H E C ’ sa m b i t i o u sp r o j e c t sb e i n g s a c k e dd u e t o m e r en e g l e c t . “ I fc o n t i n u o u ss u p p o r t i sp r o v i d e d t o t h i s

s e c t o r a n d f a c -u l t i e s c o n t i n u e

w o r k i n g w i t ht h e s a m ez e a l a n d

v i g o r , P a k -i s t a n ’ s H i g h e rE d u c a t i o n s e c -

t o r c a n w i nm o r e l a u r e l s f o rt h e c o u n t r y ” ,

a c a d e m i c s h a v es a i d .

n The country is expected to register the second highest increasein research output in world but with the govt not paying enough attention or funds to HEC, this improvement could be meaningless

LHR 02-08-2012_Layout 1 8/2/2012 1:57 AM

09Foreign News


ASHkELONafp

PENTAGON chief LeonPanetta on Wednesday reiter-ated US calls to “exhaustevery effort” before consider-ing military options for con-

fronting Iran over its nuclearprogramme in top-level talks in Israel.

Speaking alongside Israeli DefenceMinister Ehud Barak on a visit to an IronDome missile defence battery in thesouthern port town of Ashkelon, Panettasuggested there was still room for diplo-matic manoeuvre.

“We have to exhaust every effort be-fore” taking military action, he said.

“It is my responsibility as secretaryof defence to provide the president with

a full range of options, including militaryoptions should diplomacy fail,” headded.

Preventing a nuclear-armed Iran was“a top national security priority” for theadministration of US President BarackObama and in that respect “all optionsare on the table,” he said.

As Panetta arrived late on Tuesday,Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Ne-tanyahu gave a series of TV interviews,in which he said he had not yet decidedwhether to strike Iran, which Israel andmuch of the West believes is trying to de-velop an atomic weapon under the coverof a civilian nuclear programme.

But at the same time, Netanyahuwarned that Israel would not rely onanyone else to guarantee its security —not even Washington.

Asked how the Obama administra-tion would react in the event of a unilat-eral Israeli strike, Panetta would onlysay: “We respect Israel’s sovereignty andindependence,” without commentingfurther.

Barak said it was extremely unlikelythat sanctions and diplomacy would con-vince Iran to abandon its nuclear ambi-tions, which Tehran insists are purelypeaceful in nature. “The probability (ofthat happening) is extremely low,” he re-marked. “We’ve seen sanctions anddiplomacy fail in the past.”

Despite the ongoing pressure on theIslamic republic, which was furtherramped up a notch by Washington onTuesday, Iran was continuing daily en-richment of “uranium needed for theirweapon,” Barak said.

“We have clearly have something tolose by this stretched time,” he re-marked.

Speaking ahead of his arrival in Is-rael, Panetta ruled out talks on “potentialattack plans” with the Israelis.

“I think it’s the wrong characterisa-tion to say that we’re going to be dis-cussing potential attack plans,” he toldreporters in Cairo. “What we are dis-cussing are various contingencies onhow we would respond.”

Washington, he said, was continuingto “work on a number of options in thatarea.” He did not give further details.

Speaking earlier, Barak thankedPanetta for bolstering ties between thetwo nations and said defence ties be-tween Israel and the US were “strongerand tighter than they have ever been.”

Pentagon chief urges more

time over Iran standoff

Police warnParisians to keepclothes on insummer heatPARIS: French police have warned Parisians tokeep their clothes on or face fines and evenimprisonment as residents began flocking to parksand the banks of the River Seine to bask in thesummer sun. In a statement posted on its website,the Paris police prefecture outlined rules forbasking in the sun outdoors and at the popularParis Plages annual event that has sandy beachesand deckchairs laid out on the river bank. Policesaid it is not forbidden “when the thermometerrises a few degrees to put on your best bathing suitand find a little corner of grass or the welcomingbanks of the Seine to put down your towel.” But itnoted that bathing suits should not be worn inofficial city parks and that dress should be “decentand in accordance with good morals and publicorder.” Those wearing inappropriate dress could befined at last 38 euros ($47) and face fines of up to3,750 euros and two years in jail if suspected ofsoliciting sex, police said. And nudity is completelyout of the question. “Any outfit that allows for thegenital area or breasts to be seen constitutes sexualexhibition and is punishable by a year in prison,”police said. afp

CAIROafp

Egypt’s Prime MinisterHisham Qandil has selected

a new government inwhich the finance andforeign ministers fromthe outgoing cabinet willretain their posts, statetelevision reported onWednesday.

Qandil wasmeeting with theministers, includ-ing Foreign Min-ister MohammedKamel Amr andFinance Minis-

ter Mumtazal-Said, a

day before hewas to for-mally unveilthe cabinet,the Nile

News channel re-ported.

A military official told AFP thatarmy commander Field Marshal Hus-sein Tantawi, who served as HosniMubarak’s defence minister and thenruled the country after the dictator’soverthrow, will be defence minister.

The premier selected AhmedGamal al-Din, a former deputy inte-rior minister, as his new interior min-ister, the report said.

Last week President MohamedMorsi chose Qandil, irrigation minis-ter in the outgoing cabinet, to select anew cabinet that would carry out anambitious plan to quickly restore se-curity and improve the economy.

The military, which retains leg-islative powers after a court dis-banded the Islamist-dominatedparliament in June, just before Morsitook office, retains control of thebudget in line with the country’s in-terim constitution.

It was also expected to have a sayin the appointment of the foreignminister and finance minister, whosebudget was fiercely opposed by theparliament dominated by Morsi’s

Muslim Brotherhood.Qandil had said he wanted a gov-

ernment of technocrats selected onthe basis of their competence.

Secular allies of Morsi during theelection have opposed his appoint-ment of Qandil, also said to be an Is-lamist, and warned against a cabinetdominated by Islamists.

Two of men whose appointmentshave been publicised — EducationMinister Mostafa Mosad and HousingMinister Tareq Wafiq — belong to theMuslim Brotherhood’s Freedom andJustice Party, a party spokesman toldAFP.

The new government will take of-fice amid a power struggle betweenMorsi and the military, which asidefrom its legislative powers has theright to veto any articles in the draftof a new constitution.

The military, which ruled Egyptbetween Mubarak’s overthrow in Feb-ruary 2011 and Morsi’s inaugurationon June 30, will hold on to its powersuntil a new parliament is elected, pos-sibly by the end of the year.

eGypt’s pM seleCtsNeW CabINet

Indian police chargereporter in Israeldiplomat attack

NEW DELHIafp

Indian police have charged a journalist withconspiring to carry out a bomb attack on anIsraeli diplomat in New Delhi in February,a senior police official told AFP Wednesday.Syed Kazmi, a freelance journalist whoworked part-time with Iran’s IRNA newsagency, is accused of helping a group ofIranians to plan and execute the attackwhich saw a man on a motorbike attach amagnetic bomb to an Israeli embassy car.“We charged Syed Kazmi yesterday underthe prevention of unlawful activities act. Hehas been charged with planning andconspiracy in the February attack,” saidanti-terrorism official Ashok Chand, who issupervising the investigation. Kazmi is theonly person to be charged in India inconnection with the bombing. A 42-year-old Israeli diplomat, the wife of the defenceattache at the embassy, was badly woundedin the explosion near the prime minister’sresidence in the centre of the Indian capital.A report in the Times of India newspaperon Monday said Delhi police had informedIran that the plotters were members of thecountry’s powerful Revolutionary Guards, abranch of the military.

‘Qaeda’ attack killsfive in south Yemen

ADENafp

Four Yemeni soldiers and a civilian werekilled in an attack on Wednesday by Al-Qaeda militants on a police station in thesouthern town of Jaar, a local official said.“Members of Al-Qaeda attacked thestation with automatic weapons andhurled a grenade, killing two soldiers and acivilian,” said the official. Two othersoldiers died of wounds, the same officialsaid later, adding that another soldier waswounded. The defence ministry newswebsite 26Sept.net said that more than“20 terrorists” from the Al-Qaeda-linkedAnsar al-Sharia attacked the post. AbdulaifSayed, the chief of the local PopularResistance Committees which fights theIslamists alongside the army, voiced fearsof a return of Al-Qaeda militants to thetown. In addition to Jaar, Al-Qaedagunmen also controlled Abyan’s provincialcapital of Zinjibar, which they overran inMay last year before being driven out in amid-June all-out offensive by the army.But militants remain in nearby mountains,Sayed said, complaining of an absence ofsecurity forces in theprovince.

AMRITSAR: An Indian

consumer looks at ‘rakhi’

(sacred thread) on the eve of

the Hindu festival Raksha

Bandhan on Wednesday. AFP

LHR 02-08-2012_Layout 1 8/2/2012 1:57 AM

When I first met CameronMunter, there was a lightexchange of his travails,which I jokingly put downto his business — diplomacy

— especially, in his position as ambassador.Quoting Sir Henry Wotton, the English

author, diplomat and politician, I said,“After all, an ambassador is supposed to be(emphasis mine) an honest man sent to lieabroad for the good of his country”.

There is interesting history attached towhat is one of the more famous quotes onthe circuit.

As the 36-year-old Sir Henry Wottonpassed through Germany on his first forayinto Italy as ambassador, he stayed somedays at Augusta (Augsburg) in 1604: where,having been in his former travels many ofthe best note for learning and ingenuity, hewas requested by Christopher Flecamore towrite some sentence in his albo (a book ofwhite paper).

Sir Henry Wotton, consenting to themotion, took an occasion from some acci-dental discourse of the present company towrite the definition of an ambassador thus:

Legatus est vir bonus peregrè missus admentiendum Reipublicae causâ.

This, Sir Henry Wotton could have beencontent, should have been thus Englished:“An ambassador is an honest man sent to lieabroad for the good of his country”.

This is not a comment on Munterthough, whose pragmatism and holistic vimwas best suited to the world’s most criticalbilaterals. As much as he enjoyed the joke,the bare truth is that the ambassador was,perhaps, the best friend both the US andPakistan could have hoped for in his avatar.

Ironically, neither side showed much in-clination to understand, much less appreci-ate, the demanding role he was pitch forked

into thanks to the mulish approach of thetwo sides as their ties deteriorated.

He is leaving for home after only 18months into the job.

While Munter was regularly into thecrosshairs of an agonizing battle for primacybetween the Department of State, his parentbody, and Department of Defense, over whoshould run America’s Pakistan policy, healso had the unenviable task of finding aconsensus view in Islamabad with the PPPgovernment and the military locked in theirown bubble over owning up the decision tounblock the Nato supply routes following along drawn out parliamentary review.

Given to the historical view about theAmerican envoy being a viceroy — an im-pression reinforced by Munter’s predeces-sor, the headmistress-like Anne WPatterson, who was always running up anddown the country as if governing Pakistan —the incumbent also suffered from standardcynicism.

One felt this was unfair given that whileMs Patterson simply carried out her brieffrom Washington with a starched eyebrow,and found plenty of genuflecting hosts in thehigher echelons in Islamabad/Rawalpindi —WikiLeaks offered rich vistas of her ‘matri-archal reign’ — the astute Munter was al-ways trying to find common ground with asensitive handling of intricate issues athand.

It didn’t help that episodes like the oneinvolving Raymond Davis, the raid that tookout Osama bin Laden and the unfortunateblitz on Salala check post apart from thehighly controversial drone policy regularlytested his resolve.

It is common knowledge in the diplo-matic circles of Islam-abad that thoughMunter defendedthe dronestrikes policyin publicsince that re-mains Wash-i n g t o n ’ su n c o m p r o -mised stance,he was pri-vately, miffedat its unilateraland brazen use.

Recently, hewas quoted by TheNew York Times ascomplaining to hisbosses that “he

did not realize his main job was to kill peo-ple” in reference to the high casualty figures,including innocent women and children,that the drone strikes have claimed.

The CIA, whose ‘militarized avatar’gained ground after the induction of GeneralDavid Petraeus as director, is predictablygung-ho. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta,who helmed the CIA from February 2009 tillJuly 2011, is now comfortably ensconced tolead a hard edged policy.

The general perception viz-a-viz theWhite House is that in an election year, ithas willy-nilly gone along with the Depart-ment of State if only to look tough JohnWayne-style.

Munter’s call for restraint, for instance,in the wake of the highly controversial re-lease of Raymond Davis last year was met bythe deadliest drone strike hours after theCIA contractor was whisked away followinga contentious compensation deal with theheirs of the Pakistani citizens he killed in La-hore.

His deep frustration stemmed from howthe Department of State had fallen in theshadows of the Department of Defense interms of decision-making.

Back in DC, Munter diligently pushedfor a proactive mien to salvage ties with Pak-istan, arguing that widespread anti-US sen-timent in the country was not necessarily asign of hostility to the US but one of overrid-ing disappointment with the results of therelationship going back to the Cold War.

If there’s some solace he will take backwith him it is that he was able to contributein putting the bilaterals back on track withthe reopening of Nato supply routes afterSecretary Clinton’s diluted expression of re-gret over the Salala blitz. His imploring thatan apology be extended to get a move-on

found no takers.Perhaps, the best service Mr and Mrs

Munter did their hosts was to engagewith all strata of Pakistanis on the socialcircuit, and those outside it, withwarmth. They genuinely exhorted theyounger generation to have confi-dence in their abilities and pull thecountry on her feet.

Their charm, and pragmatism, willsurely be missed.

The writer is a senior journalistbased in Islamabad and can be

reached [email protected]

Comment10

Arif NizamiEditor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36298305-10 Fax: 042-36298302Karachi – Ph: 021-34330811-3 Fax: 021-34330900Islamabad – Ph: 051-2287414-6 Fax: 051-2287417

Web:www.pakistantoday.com.pk Email: [email protected]

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

a whole lot of them

challenges before cec

As CEC Ebrahim put it on Tuesday, the first phase ofelectioneering has started with the publication of thevoters lists. The claim that the lists are error free will betested when they become accessible to the voters. For this

they should be made available at the ECP website and, for a nominalfee, accessible in the form of CDs, as suggested by PILDAT. As freshCNICs would continue to be made during the remainder of thegovernment’s tenure, the EC should institute a system wherebyfuture voter registration is automatically carried out at the time ofissuance of CNICs.

For the elections to be fair and free, the EC has to ensureeffective curbs on the use of money and muscle power, which play anegative role in every elections, thus barring the entry of the middleclass candidates in the legislatures. A realistic ceiling needs to beimposed on the maximum election expenses. Proper checks have tobe maintained to ensure that the limits are not transgressed. Anagreed code of conduct for political parties should be worked out tocurb unfair practices. What is equally important is an effectivemachinery to enforce the measures. It has to be ensured that thePresident, Governors and key bureaucrats associated with thepresent governments at the center and provinces do not misuse theirpowers to influence the outcome of the elections. In certainconstituencies women continue to be debarred from voting. The EChas to ensure that this does not happen. The fact that male votershave a numerical predominance in certain areas indicates thatwomen are discouraged from getting CNICs. Thus already a fairlysignificant portion of the women remains disenfranchised. The CECneeds to take measures to remedy this.

Disputes about elections also arise due to the centralised countingof votes. To stop any possible malpractices and allay apprehension,there has to be a live posting of polling stations-wise (progressive)voting results on the ECP website. What is highly important is a publicawareness campaign before the elections to raise the voter turnoutwhich compared to other Asian countries is much lower in Pakistan.Lawmakers reaching assemblies on the basis of the support of a miniminority lack prestige. One of the reasons for low voting is therelatively small number of polling stations requiring voters to travellong distances. The problem is particularly acute in Balochistan. Forthis there should be more polling stations while the EC should alsoarrange transport for voters as it did in the recent Multan by-elections.

Romney’s world viewNot much different from that of the present administration

Republican presidential aspirantMitt Romney is visiting the UK,Poland, and Israel this week inan effort to broaden his foreign

policy exposure. Pledging not to be criti-cal of the President while overseas, in thedays before his departure Romney laidout his differences with President Obamain an address to the Veterans of ForeignWars (VFW) and an interview with the Is-raeli daily newspaper Israel Hayom,which is owned by controversial casinoowner and founder of Islamophobicpropaganda, Sheldon Adelson.

If Romney's VFW remarks were in-tended as a preview of the policies hewould pursue, they were a disappoint-ment. His speech was long on rhetoricalflourish, but short on detail. His criticism

of President Obama was harsh and unre-lenting. Romney charged that this Ad-ministration had "diminished Americanleadership”, “weakened the military”, fo-mented a "national security crisis,” and"betrayed the trust that allies place in theUnited States.”

Delivering lines that sounded as ifthey had been prepared in the thick of theCold War by speechwriters for PresidentRonald Reagan, Romney affirmed his be-lief that "our country is the greatest forcefor good the world has ever known"; thatAmerica must have "the strongest mili-tary in the world"; and declared his "oneoverwhelming conviction and passion"that "this must be an American Century"in which "we lead the free world and thefree world leads the entire world.”

If this all sounds Reaganesque or a re-play of a George W Bush speech, it is pre-cisely because many of Romney's foreignpolicy advisers come out of the "Projectfor a New American Century,” the groupcreated by the acolytes of the Reagan erawho then populated the Bush Administra-tion. George W Bush's rhetoric often con-flated the good/evil world view ofneo-conservatism with the Manichaeismof right-wing Christian Fundamentalism.In Romney's case, there is a disturbingmix of neo-conservative hawkishness andmilitaristic American supremacy withMormonism's narrative of divinely or-dained American exceptionalism. Just asBush's interpretation of Christianity was

not shared by most Christians, Romney'sAmerica-on-steroids is a minority viewamong Mormons.

Beyond the rhetoric, there was littleelse that was noteworthy in Romney'sforeign policy preview. As others have ob-served, many of his criticisms of theObama Administration were either wrongon facts, splitting hairs, or just plain badpolicy.

For example, when Romney accusesPresident Obama of proposing "arbitrary,across-the-board...massive defense cuts,”he ignores the fact that these cuts are notObama's but the result of a Congression-ally-mandated agreement, owing to Con-gress' failure to behave responsibly andraise the debt ceiling. And Romney’scharge that this Administration would"weaken... the VA system" is off base. ThePresident has, in fact, increased spendingon veterans.

In other areas it is difficult to seewhere the policies advocated by candi-date Romney differ significantly fromthose of the White House. For example,despite his rejection of Obama's Afghanpolicy or current policy toward Syria,Romney ends up supporting very muchthe same approach to both. And the accu-sation that this Administration has be-trayed European allies like Poland andthe Czech Republic may score somepoints at home with disaffected ethniccommunities hailing from Eastern Eu-rope, but the reality is that both countries

appear quite satisfied with the commit-ments they have received from PresidentObama. Other than criticizing the way theUS has handled relations with Egypt, acountry undergoing dramatic transfor-mations, and Russia, a country that is in-creasingly asserting itself, Romney offersno prescriptions for a meaningful changein policy.

Romney reserves his sharpest criti-cism for the way President Obama hashandled Israel's difficult Prime Minister,Benjamin Netanyahu. This may sit wellwith some pro-Likud American Jews andright-wing Christians, but it ignores re-cent history and the imperative for Amer-ican policymakers to find a solution to theprofoundly unsettling Arab-Israeli con-flict—an issue Romney conveniently failsto mention. And while sounding morethreatening toward and less willing to ne-gotiate with Iran than the Obama Admin-istration, it is not clear how Romneywould deal with that country's nuclearprogram other than by going to war.

What is deeply disturbing in all of thisis the fact that Romney continues todemonstrate how out of touch he is withthe changing world the Obama Adminis-tration has inherited. Romney describesthe world of today as a "dangerous, de-structive, chaotic” place. But it was thereckless and neglectful policies of theBush Administration, not the Obama Ad-ministration, that created this state of af-fairs. Two failed wars, a failure to use

diplomacy when it might have made adifference, a penchant for unilateralism,and a reliance on practices that violatedthe rule of law and tarnished America'simage, all combined to produce wide-spread anti-American sentiment, an ex-pansion and emboldening of extremistmovements, and a weakening of Ameri-can allies.

The Obama Administration startedout determined to change course. Therehave been some successes in rebuildingfrayed relations with NATO allies andsome Asian and Latin American nations.But when faced with strong domesticpressure in other areas, notably in theMiddle East, the Administration's resolveweakened. On too many occasions theyfailed to build public consensus aroundalternative approaches to peace-making,to fighting extremism, and to supportingdemocratic reform. Instead, they re-signed themselves to a variation of exist-ing policy—taking the path of leastresistance. But even with the justifiablecriticisms that can be offered of theObama Administration's conduct, it mustbe said that Romney’s full-throated en-dorsement of the failed policies of theBush era is far more worrisome. This iswhat we heard from the GOP's candidatethis week before he left. We will, nodoubt, hear more upon his return.

The writer is President of the Arab-American Institute.

Washington WatchBy Dr James J Zogby

MusINGsBy kamran Rehmat

The bilateral envoyMunter was, perhaps, the best friend us and pakistan could have


LHR 02-08-2012_Layout 1 8/2/2012 1:57 AM

Comment 11

9/11 has been the most potent conflict transformerfor South Asia as it has not only altered the security dy-namics of the entire region but has massively impactedthe social, political and economical conditions to a con-siderable extent where we can kiss every prospect of areturn to the pre-9/11 setting goodbye. The security sit-uation has altered permanently.

The sheer brutality of the suicide attacks that haverocked the Pakistani land have shaken the people onmultiple levels and scales. The physical loss of lives,property and other possessions is just one aspect thatmay bring pain and misery but the trauma of livingunder a terrorized atmosphere of perpetual fear and ap-prehension, irreversibly impacts the psyche.

The political climate is as chaotic as ever with vi-cious rumors of Zardari being re-elected for another five

years. All state institutions at daggers drawn with eachother, there hardly seems a political will being exercisedin the country. The judiciary runs amok without achiev-ing much in terms of law and order, while the armedforces are left to their own devices to take major deci-sions over policy matters.

The growing trust deficit between Pakistan and theUS can also be translated as the political inability to forgestrong relationships with other nations to further the na-tional interest. To become isolated at this crucial stagewhere the endgame draws dangerously near and Pakistanwould be in the best position to consolidate its gains, ishardly a sensible decision. The mishandling of the Salalacontroversy and the issue regarding reopening of theground lines of communication for Nato goods are just afew among hundreds that have served to damage Pakistan

in terms of tarnishing its image and proving detrimentalto its interest. The social fabric is in tatters. Intolerance ison a continuous rise where the best policy one can adoptis of muted conformity. Multiple views and ideologies cir-culate and are thrust upon the public through brute force.What people have learned from the religious extremists orTaliban is that the best manner in which one can get onesmessage across is through forceful imposition. Wheremorality takes a nose dive, wickedness rears its ugly headto consume a society in its entirety. Keeping everything inview we must realize that not everything may be in ourcontrol, but surely not everything is out of it too. We needto see what we can actually do that may bring about thetransformation that we are hoping for.

LUBNA UMARIslamabad

women policeThe police system in Pakistan is still

working with a command and controlmodel where the males are dominatingthe overall structure. It needs seriousattention in order to accommodatewomen. The present structure of policedepartment is not providing a levelplaying field where women can be in-jected in this department, and thewomen that are already a part of thisdepartment are not being properly em-powered. This lack of empowerment is agreat hurdle for women police officers.We have to strengthen our women po-lice by giving them proper trainings. Itis very much important to bring womenpolice officers in the mainstream so thatthey can be in a better position.

Despite all these mounting chal-lenges, women officers are still outper-forming their counterparts with goodresults. They will also have a positiveimpact on our society. By empoweringwomen police officers, we will be in abetter position to indentify differentproblems related with our women andwill solve them in a proper way.

MUHAMMAD UZAIR NIAZIMianwali

roadside iftarPakistani people always stand at

the front row when it comes to helpingothers. They have always stood to-gether with the affected people of natu-ral calamities in Pakistan. Theirenthusiasm reaches to its peak espe-cially in the month of Ramadan. Andthis is the way to reduce the intensityof the victims’ misery with their kind-ness and open handedness.

For many years, the people ofKarachi used to arrange roadside if-tars, dastarkhwans/stalls voluntarilyfor travelers and needy people during

the whole month of Ramadan and ithas now become a tradition. People be-longing to different strata of society setup free iftar stalls on the roadside tofacilitate hundreds of passers-by with-out any discrimination of cast and ide-ology. An estimate suggests thatthousands of small and big iftar das-tarkhwans are set up in every Ramadanin almost all parts of the city. Evenworst condition of law and order situa-tion in the city and ever-rising infla-tion, couldn’t refrain Karachiites fromtheir hospitality. Temporary roadsidetables and mats are set up by charityworkers preparing free iftar for thepoor, needy and lonely.

To one’s amusement there’s noshortage of funds for setting up thesestalls as people of the metropolis are li-onhearted in this regard. One can eas-ily notice such iftar stalls at I IChandigarh Road, M A Jinnah Road,Shahra-e-Faisal, Shah Waliullah Road,Abul Hassan Isphani Road, UniversityRoad, Shahra-e-Quaideen, Tariq Road,Zaibu Nisa Street, Khayaban-e-Shamshir, Main Saba, Gizri, Sea View,Rashid Minhas Road, SaphooraChowrangi, Malir, Model Colony Hy-deri Market, Meena Bazaar Karimabad,Laloo Khait, Five Star Chowrangi,Samama Market and many other areas.

Residents of posh areas also set upiftar camps outside their residencesand it can also been seen outside dif-ferent mosques. Ramadan is a festiveseason in Pakistan when people makedonations, do charities and perform allrecommended good deeds to get bless-ings of Allah Almighty. Different vol-unteers distribute iftar boxes amongcommuters and passengers of buses,cars and vehicles. Burns Road is a fa-mous food street in the southern partof the city in Karachi. The concept ofstreet iftar stalls was originally intro-duced by the dwellers of Burns Road tohelp people trapped in massive traffic

jam. The tradition has since moved toeastern and western parts of theKarachi as well.

These roadside stalls clearly revealthe open-heartedness of Karachiitesdespite skyrocketing prices of basiccommodities. This culture of settingstalls for iftar in the metropolis tell usthat there is a lot more to praise aboutPakistan rather than talking about itsstreet crimes, pollution, target killingsand traffic jams.

AREEBA REHMANKarachi

Massacre in MyanmarHundreds of Muslims have been bru-

tally killed in Myanmar (Burma) but inPakistan few protests have been wit-nessed. Political parties, civil societiesand so-called free media have not high-lighted this issue. On Social networkingwebsites, killing of Muslims has been dis-cussed a lot and people have also con-demned this hostile act.

Jamaat-e-Islami has protestedagainst killing in Rawalpindi. JUI-F hasannounced to hold protest rallies againstkilling of the innocent Muslims and Pak-istan Tehreek-e-Insaf has also protestedagainst these killings. But all of theseprotests which have been held till nowhave been on small scale and media hasalso not shown these protests.

Pakistani electronic and print mediawhich eagerly highlights the death newsof Indian actors should realise the seri-ousness of this issue and should show-case these killings.

MUBASHIR MAHMOODKarachi

The audacity to ridiculeEx-Chief of Sarhad Hydel Develop-

ment Organization (SHYDO) has the au-dacity to ridicule ANP leaders for load

shedding in KPK and Pakistan.The fact of the matter is that since

1960-70's when the thermal power unitswere installed (on 5-6 year contracts) noother power production project were un-dertaken in Pakistan until 2008, whenPPP came into power and we first facedload shedding in Pakistan.

SHYDO is a Provisional organizationthat was to develop all the 50MW andbelow hydel power projects in KPK. Butin its 30 years of existence, SHYDO hasnot constructed any project.

SHYDO has completed a number offeasibility studies (via funds from GTzand other foreign funded organizations)but has not acted on any of these studiesin two decades.

The last time I checked, in 2010,SHYDO had a fund of 200 crore rupeesin the organizations NIB bank account.And in the last 2 decades, SHYDO hasonly been saving this fund in its ac-counts, and had not spent a single rupeein developing any hydel projects in KPK.

KPK has more than 60,000 MWhydel potential, but with hydel power theconstruction time takes a very long time.For example, SHYDO had identified po-tential of 4500MW hydel dam at Dasuand also at Basha in 1970's. The feasibil-ity of Dasu dam said that it would take 4years to construct the dam, and then an-other 3 years to fill the dam with enoughwater so it can start producing electricity.

So Mr Ex-Chief SHYDO, you shouldnot be complaining about others workbecause you yourself has not done any-thing for this country, this province orthese people. You, like many others inSHYDO, spent your time getting yoursalaries only and did not do a single daysworth of honest work. If you had hon-estly worked, then today SHYDO wouldhave completed all the old projects andwe in KPK would not have to face anyload shedding at all.

SHAHRYAR KHAN BASEERPeshawar

claims of an engineerA Pakistani engineer, Agha Waqar,

has claimed that he has invented a waterkit/ device which enables the automo-biles to run on water instead of gasoline.During last few days, he has held variousdemonstrations to prove the device func-tioning, which were attended by severalscientists, engineers and politicians. Ithas been a dream for scientists to find acheaper energy source which can reduceour dependence on fossils fuels. A num-ber of research based experiments at in-dividual and corporate level were carriedout across the globe during last severaldecades but none of them was commer-cially viable. Agha claims that with onelitre of distilled water, a light car can runaround 40KM. If true we are entering ina new era of unlimited and abundant en-ergy. Agha’s device uses the car batteryto draw current to electrolyze the waterinto its components – hydrogen andoxygen. Hydrogen is used to run the carengine which in turn keeps charging thebattery to supply the required currentfor ongoing electrolysis process.

In other words, it’s a perpetual ac-tion --- energy is producing energy,enough to run an engine and to regen-erate itself. As per existing governingphysics laws, it’s an impossible act ---we need more energy to produce cer-tain amount of energy. Agha has aston-ished the whole nation with thisinvention; but then again this is notthe first time such claim has beenmade. Previously, several suchclaimants (scientists and engineers)died in mysterious conditions, orkilled/poisoned, or jailed on fraudcharges.

It’s being suggested that if Agha isconfident of his device’s functioning, heshall, without any further delay, applyto patent the water kit. By doing so, hewill have to produce all the requiredscientific data and proofs to justify hisclaim. That will end any speculationabout the functioning of such anunimaginable invention. Keep fingerscrossed, interesting days ahead.

MASOOD KHANJubail, Saudi Arabia

Editor’s mailSend your letters to: Letters to

Editor, Pakistan Today, 4-Shaarey

Fatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan.

Fax: +92-42-36298302.

E-mail: [email protected].

Letters should be addressed to Pakistan

Today exclusively.


Social transformation

LHR 02-08-2012_Layout 1 8/2/2012 1:57 AM

WHILE the first look of her upcoming Bollywood

film Kismat, Love, Paisa, Dilli was beingunveiled in a mall in Mumbai, Mallika

Sherawat kept talking about her Hollywoodlifestyle in a candid chat with TOI. However,

her hero Vivek Oberoi was not too impressed. Flaunting herCannes connections, the actress said, "I told the producers

and Vivek that we should have unveiled the first look atCannes. The film is young and cocky. It would have been fun

to see how people react to it. But they just did not agree."And though the actress looked a bit crestfallen, Vivek refusedto agree even now. "I'm a realist. As a desi hero, I understand

that the audience for a film based in Delhi is more in Indiathan anywhere else. Why should I take KLPD to Cannes?Shouldn't I take a film that talks about Indian ethos and

culture?" said Vivek. Though Mallika momentarily seemed toagree with Vivek, she could hardly get over her Los Angeles

lifestyle. "Trust me, the lifestyle there is so hassle free. Cleanair, cleaner roads, safety, security... everything there is perfectfor a happy life. LA is so unlike Mumbai. Here, we are so tiredtraveling because of the traffic. The unhygienic conditions are

also bad for the system," said Mallika, who interestingly wasn'ttoo unhappy with the Mumbai crowd and happily wore just a tee

shirt into the mall. When she suggested that Vivek too shouldshift base to LA, he simply shot back, "LA for me is Lonavla.And I believe the air there is far cleaner too." Obviously, the

much married actor failed totake into consideration theseveral parties and dances

that Mallika seems to beenjoying these days. But tellher that and she would only

keep a finger on her lips andsay, "Shush." But she did letslip that she may be on to a

Hollywood project next. Andwith her fascination for all

things Hollywood, its not toosurprising either. "I like the factthat people find me sex-citing,"the actress said and added that

if she was to rate any oneBollywood actress who's as boldas her, it would be Vidya Balan.

"She is an inspiration for me.And I really love the way she

makes intimate scenes lookeffortless, which many

actresses fail to do," saidMallika. CoURTESy ToI

As Jism 2 gears up for release this Friday, the filmgets embroiled in numerous controversies. WhileSunny Leone's effigies were burnt in Amritsaryesterday, there're reports that the movie poster iscopied. A few days ago, a PIL was also slammedagainst Sunny Leone in the Allahabad High Court.The film's track Yeh Jism, is also said to be copy of aTurkish song. Jism 2 is a sequel to 2003 flick Jismwhich had John Abraham and Bipasha Basu in thelead roles.The film is slated for August 3 release.Here's a look at the top 5 controversies bugging thefilm. Jism 2 poster It has emerged that Jism 2 postergot inspired from a Felix Bendish's visual for afashion show in 2010. Designer Felix toldmissmalini.com, “I did this shoot with photographerKenny Zaveri from Mumbai in 2008, which I onlyused two years later (as a promo poster) for myfashion show in Goa in December 2010. Thecollection was entitled ‘skin’. Kenny came up withthis concept and then we proceeded with our stlyingand shows in 2010. Because my collection, was abased on racisim and female foeticide, we thoughtthis image was perfect for the concept. Thankfully itson record with the goa press.” NO SUNNy LEONE IN JISM 2 fIRSTPOSTER: Yes, you read it right. The mystery girlin the first poster of Jism 2 is not Sunny Leone. Infact it's the Dan Dan girl Nathalia Kaur, who hasgraced the poster. Pooja Bhatt told a daily, "A yearago, when it was being speculated that the film willfeature either Bipasha Basu

or Mallika Sherawat, I decided to whet people'sappetite with a sexy poster. I called my friend,photographer Joy Datta, who deals with duskyBrazilian models, for options. I chose Nathaliafrom amongst the ones he showed me." Now weknow why Ram Gopal Varma said that Nathalia isPooja's discovery!PROTEST AgAINST SUNNy LEONE: Activistsof Bhagwan Valmiki Shakti Sena shouted slogansagainst the film Jism 2, as they burnt effigies ofactress Sunny Leone and director Pooja Bhattduring a demonstration in Amritsar. Thedemonstrators reportedly protested againstvulgarity shown in the Bollywood film.PIL AgAINST SUNNy LEONE: A PIL has beenslammed against Sunny Leone in the AllahabadHigh Court. The PIL was filed by Rakesh Nayayik, aresident of Varanasi. It seeks a stay on the release ofthe film, and has challenged the provisions of thelaw which define the powers of the Censor Board inIndia. It objects to the presence of the Canadianadult film actress Sunny Leone in the film.Advocate SMA Kazmi, the legal counsel who ishandling the case, said, “We have sought a stayorder on the release of Jism 2 because of thesexually explicit content of the movie, and theinclusion of Sunny Leone in the film, for theadverse moral impact

that her presence would have on society.”JISM 2 SONg COPIED: Pooja Bhatt's film Jism2 has been in the news for all the wrong reasons --one of them being the tittle track Yeh Jism, which issaid to be copy of a Turkish song. Debutant musiccomposer Arko Pravo Mukherjee denies that andsays these are just rumours. "I don't care aboutthese rumours. There is some similarity in thebeginning of three more songs but these thingshappen. It was not a conscious decision to copy.This song is totally different," Mukherjee told IANS. A doctor by profession, Mukherjee left Kolkatafour years ago and came to Mumbai with a dream ofmaking music for Bollywood and feels fortunate tostart his career with Jism 2. It is very important toget the 'right break' in the industry, says Mukherjee."It often happens that you make songs for a film butdue to some reasons, the movie does not get made.It happened to me thrice. This is verycommon. I am lucky that I ammaking my debut with Jism2," he added.

CoURTESy HT


rajesh ignores DimpleKapadia in his will

BOLLYWOOD superstar Rajesh Khanna, whopassed away on July 18, has apparently leftnothing for his estranged wife Dimple

Kapadia in his will. The actress was by his side like ashadow, in his last days. According to reports, theveteran actor has given everything to his twodaughters, Twinkle and Rinkie, which includes hisbungalow Aashirwad, bank accounts and otherassets. Reportedly, he made his will just weeksbefore his death. Rajesh Khanna-Dimple Kapadiatied the knot in 1973 and separated in 1984 butnever formally divorced. Khanna was in a live-inrelationship with Anita Advani, who had earlier saidthat she doesn't want any share in his property. Thefamily is planning to convert his home into amuseum. NEwS dESK

Mila Kunis’ first ride in the bus

ACTRESS Mila Kunis once freaked out when shewas forced to take the bus to the set of "That'70S Show" after one heated argument her dad

refused to let her use her car. The 28-year-old foundfame as a teenager on the show and lived with herparents for the duration of her TV stint. "I was livingwith my parents when I was working on 'That '70sShow' and one time I got into a fight with my dad andhe threatened to take my car keys away,"dailystar.co.uk quoted Kunis as saying. "I woke up thenext morning to go to the set and my keys were goneand there was bus fare and a note saying: 'Good luck'. Ifreaked out as I had never taken the bus before and Ihad no idea how to do it," she said. NEwS dESK

12

Pattinson shies from pressafter cheating scandal

ROBERT Pattinson has decided he's not readyto face the press in the wake of girlfriendKristen Stewart's "momentary indiscretion"

with 'Snow White and the Huntsman' directorRupert Sanders. According to EntertainmentTonight, the 26-year-old actor has canceled anupcoming press appearance in the US for his newfilm 'Cosmopolis,' Us Magazine reported. The film isset to premiere soon in NYC, but it is unknown ifPattinson will be in attendance. However, a rep forthe actor has since told Gossip Cop, "No confirmedengagements have been canceled. Any reports to thecontrary are inaccurate." According to reports onTuesday, Pattinson has been easing his pain afterthe scandal by partying with friends in hishometown of London. NEwS dESK

jeSSICa SIMPSOn

PEOPLE FIND ME SEX-CITING: MALLIKA

COwBOy HatS…CEL

EBRITIE

S IN

LHR 02-08-2012_Layout 1 8/2/2012 1:57 AM


gotye on sex changerumors and video parodies

HE quickly squashed a death rumor soonafter it hit Twitter earlier this month. But isthe "Somebody That I Used to Know" singer

becoming…a woman?! "Apparently there's been asex change hoax as well," Gotye told me the otherday when I caught up with him in New York City.But he doesn't mind if you think he's becomingsome man that you used to know. Oh? Asked if hewanted to set the story straight during thisinterview, the 32-year-old Belgian-Australian (realname: Wouter "Wally" De Backer) laughed, "Do Ihave to? Maybe it's fun keeping it open." Fun is alsothe gazillion or so video parodies of "SomebodyThat I Used to Know." "There are a bunch that I'veseen that I've enjoyed," Gotye admits. "I've certainlyhad a good laugh at some of them. NEwS dESK

jessica Biel angry withCameron Diaz

ACTRESS Jessica Biel was furious when shefound out fiance Justin Timberlake's ex-girlfriend actress Cameron Diaz is still in love

with him. Diaz, who dated Timberlake from 2003 tolate 2006 and starred with him in the 2011 movie "Bad Teacher", said in an interview she will always lovehim in different ways. Sources says Diaz's commentsent Biel hopping mad. "Jessica has always beenthreatened by Cameron's close relation-ship withJustin. And she believed Cameron was saying that ifJustin was having second thoughts about the wedding,she would be waiting for him with open arms,"showbizspy.com quoted a source as saying. "Jessicawas deeply concerned that Justin could be getting coldfeet about marriage. She basically told him that if hedidn't cut contact with Cameron, he could forget aboutmarrying her," added the source. NEwS dESK

Madonna concert causes riot

MADONNA has hit back at reports thatclaimed that a riot broke out at her Parisconcert because her show lasted just 45

minutes. Earlier reports had suggested that fans wereangry that she played only ten songs, but the 53-year-old has taken to her official site to clarify thecontroversy. "Playing the Olympia was a magicalmoment for me and it was real treat to do this specialshow for my fans and be so close to them," News.com.quoted her as writing on the site. "Unfortunately atthe end of the show - after I left the stage - a few thugswho were not my fans rushed the stage and startedthrowing plastic bottles pretending to be angry fans.The press reports have focused on this and not thejoyous aspect of the evening. But nothing can takeaway or ruin this very special evening for me and myfans. When I looked out in the audience, everyone Isaw had a smile on their face. I look forward tohaving this wonderful experience again," she wrote.TMZ had reported that the people in audience whostaged the riot were not angry about the shortenedset, but rather about the pop icon's use of a videofeaturing a swastika. NEwS dESK

13

Mary j. BLIge

SaraH jeSSICa ParKer

BrItney SPearS BeyOnCe

Cowboy hats are back with a vengeance. all the gloom and doom about cowboy hats earlythis year must have had some distributors wondering if they were going to eat their entireinventory of wholesale cowboy hats. first, many fashion reports said cowboy hats werefinished. next accessories Magazine ran their 2007 retail sales report that stated the worstperformer in headwear for department stores in 2007 was cowboy hats. then theunofficial start of the summer season arrived with Memorial Day weekend andcowboy hats were suddenly back on the fast track.

CONTROVERSIES

Kate MIDDLetOn anDPrInCe wILLIaM

LHR 02-08-2012_Layout 1 8/2/2012 1:57 AM

WANT proof that DannyBoyle and the gang puton the greatest show in

the galaxy for the London 2012Opening Ceremony? Well, even mys-terious beings from other planetsshowed up to catch a glimpse. Possi-bly. Yes, it seems a UFO appearedover the Olympic Park in Londonjust as the firework display eruptedinto full force, reportsExaminer.com. Don’t believe us?Just look at this video, and you’llclearly - well, sort of clearly - see howa mysterious disc-shaped objectmakes its first appearance in the topleft-hand corner then travels acrossthe sky above the stadium as if hop-ing to get a better look. Explana-tions? Well, it could have been asatellite, we suppose. Or anotherworld monarch preparing to para-chute from a blimp. But maybe - justmaybe - it was a spaceship full ofMike Oldfield fans from Mars who’dheard their hero was in the area. Yes,the more we think about it, the morewe’re convinced that last option isthe most likely scenario. NeWs desK

Infotainment 14


a controversy is brewing in South Africaover Nelson Mandela’s reported involve-ment in a clothing line. When news brokeearlier this month that the former South

African leader had launched a line of branded ap-parel, portions of the proceeds from which wouldsupport one of his charities, the media covered itas a curiosity: a Nelson Mandela clothing line?

And Nelson Mandela’s involvement was, atleast according to the media who covered theline’s launch, a given. “Nelson Mandela’s ClothingLine ‘46664’ Debuts In The U.S. (PHOTOS)” wentthe Huffington Post headline. Trade publicationWomen’s Wear Daily, which had been reportingon the clothing line since 2011, wrote that the Nel-son Mandela Foundation “oversees” the clothingbrand in question, which it said in another storywas “founded by Nelson Mandela.” Styleite wasjust one of many news sources to refer to thebrand, known as 466/64 after Mandela’s RobbenIsland prisoner ID number, as “Nelson Mandela’sFashion Line.” (It helpfully noted that the brandname was “pronounced ‘four, double six, sixfour.’”) After the North American launch, theDaily Beast wrote in its lede:

New York Fashion Week, held semi-annuallyin September and February, features collectionsfrom the likes of Ralph Lauren, Michael Kors, andDiane von Furstenberg.

But next season will feature an unusual addi-tion to that lineup: Nelson Mandela.

But now, a spokesperson for the NelsonMandela Foundation says that 466/64 has no af-filiation with Mandela and is misleading thepublic by claiming an association with the for-mer president and humanitarian hero. Says theorganization in a statement:

“466/64 Fashion is making false claims that itis tied to Nelson Mandela — it is not, nor does itbenefit him or his foundations. They are deliber-ately misleading people in the fashion industry —the name ‘Nelson Mandela’ is not to be used inconjunction with any commercial products. Theycleverly use his quotes in their advertising, butthis is not his line of clothing; he did not launch

it, nor is he associated with it.”This is interesting because the clothing brand

and the Mandela Foundation appeared to enjoy amuch cozier relationship until recently. As late asSeptember of 2011, Tokyo Sexwale — who is theSouth African Minister of Human Settlements, aformer political prisoner held at Robben Island,and a Nelson Mandela Foundation board member— was telling the press nice, positive things about466/64 and its relationship with Mandela and hislegacy. “466/64 Apparel is not just anotherbrand,” said Sexwale, “but a way of giving back toan organization that is intimately connected withthe legacy of this country’s greatest leader.”

For its part, 466/64 maintains that it is theofficial, licensed apparel brand of a charity asso-ciated with Mandela — just not of the MandelaFoundation:

A spokeswoman for 466/64 Fashion ex-plained that the 46664 trademark (which takesits name from the prison number given to Man-dela when he was incarcerated for life onRobben Island, South Africa) is managed by46664 South Africa, a not-for-profit organiza-tion founded in 2002 to promote Nelson Man-dela’s humanitarian legacy. “46664 South Africahas its own board of directors and is a separateentity to the Nelson Mandela Foundation,” saidthe statement. “46664 South Africa has officiallylicensed 466/64 Fashion. 466/64 Fashion’smandate from 46664 South Africa is to establisha global fashion brand that can create a sustain-able income stream in order to fund various hu-manitarian projects. 46664 South Africa’s ethosis not to use Mr. Mandela’s name and imagecommercially. 466/64 Fashion is therefore notMr. Mandela’s clothing brand or line and shouldnot be reported as such.”

That may be what the brand says now, butuntil recently it certainly has played up its associ-ation with Mandela. Images distributed to thepress featured quotes from Mandela, it launchedin the U.S. at the South African consulate on Nel-son Mandela International Day — which was alsoNelson Mandela’s 94th birthday — and the reason

so many publications (including us) have reportedthat 466/64 South Africa was associated with Nel-son Mandela is because that’s what the 466/64press materials said.

466/64 recently updated its Web site to re-move both an FAQ section and the entire company“About” page (which now just redirects to thehomepage). Cached versions of those pages revealonly a little more about the 466/64 businessmodel, and nothing about whatever disagreementor controversy seems to have led the MandelaFoundation to disavow the brand. 466/64 apparelseems to be the product of a licensing deal be-tween the 46664 South Africa foundation and aSouth African company called Brand ID, which46664 authorized to sell apparel bearing the466/64 brand.

According to 466/64’s old FAQ, the deal wasa typical flat fee + points licensing arrangement —Brand ID guaranteed 46664 a minimum annualfee plus a percentage of annual sales. The fee wasnot disclosed, but 466/64 said the guaranteedminimum “assists 46664 with long-term plan-ning, through a sustainable income stream.” Thepercentage of annual sales to be given to the char-ity was 7%-9% — which might not sound like a lot,but given the margins on apparel is actually con-sidered quite substantial. (Most celebrities, bycontrast, get “points” of only 1-5% on their li-censed apparel deals, although the numbers maybe higher if the points are on net sales as opposedto gross.) Still, it must be said that buying clothingand accessories is a notably inefficient means ofcontributing to any charity.

466/64 also said that it would be producing atleast 60% of its wares in South Africa to supportthe local textile and apparel manufacturing indus-try. And while it certainly made a lot of its pur-ported connection to Mandela, it also said, “Animportant aspect of the license agreement 46664is the protection of Mr Mandela’s IntellectualProperty. This guards against the commercialisa-tion of Mr Mandela’s name and image and otherelements related to him within the terms of the li-cense agreement.” Courtesy Jezebel

The strangestory of Nelson Mandela’sclothing line

New York-based “prank collective” Improv

Everywhere have just pulled off their latest

impressive stunt, which is well worth a watch

if you’ve got six minutes (or thereabouts) to

spare. In a nutshell? More than 4,000 people

took place in the “MP3 Experiment”, which

involved listening to an MP3 and collectively

following the instructions of narrator, Steve

The Omnipotent Voice From Above. (Ah, we do

like a man with a catchy name.) Key activities

carried out by the crowd included following

and high-fiving unsuspecting passers-by,

striding round with sheets over their heads

and - best of all - taking part in a

gigantic water gun battle.

What japes!

NeWs desK

world’s biggest water-gun fight held in ny

A single bird is believed to be responsible for the

strike that tore a large chunk out of the nose of

United Airlines flight bound for Denver. Flight 1475 en

route from Dallas/Ft. Worth managed to land safely

with no injuries to the 151 passengers on board. “It

didn’t affect the engines. It didn’t affect the landing

gear from coming down at all,” aviation expert Steve

Cowell told 7NEWS. “Passengers probably wouldn’t

have felt anything, but the pilot certainly would have

heard the smack of the bird on the nose.”

Smithsonian Institution scientists will analyze the

animal’s remains to determine the species involved.

Some 9,622 bird strikes occurred in 2010 — up

significantly from 1,793 in 1990, according to ABC

News. Nearly three-quarters of all strikes happen less

than 500 feet above ground. newS deSk

Groundbreaking gay author, screenwriter,

political essayist, and playwright Gore Vidal died

Tuesday at age 86, as reported on his official

website. Vidal’s legacy includes penning The City

and the Pillar, one of the first mainstream

American novels to feature overtly gay

characters. He is commonly regarded as an

important figure in LGBT representation and

sexual liberation. Throughout his career, he

continued to incorporate gay themes. In the

documentary The Celluloid Closet, Vidal

admitted he had added overt homosexual

subtext to his screenplay for Ben-Hur. Vidal was

also a prolific and controversial political activist.

He was a member of the leftwing World Can’t

Wait organization and advocated the

impeachment of George W. Bush. Vidal’s other

works include the novels Myra Breckenridge,

Lincoln, and Burr; his memoir Palimpsest; and

the screenplays for Suddenly, Last Summer, Is

Paris Burning, and Caligula. A revival of his play

The Best Man is currently running on Broadway.

NeWs desK

Bird causes near-fataldestruction to airplane

ICOnICwrIter gOre VIDaLDIeS ufO spotted

at London Olympics opening ceremony

LHR 02-08-2012_Layout 1 8/2/2012 1:58 AM

LONDONafp

Eight players involved in a match-fixingscandal at the Olympic badminton tourna-ment have been disqualified, the Bad-minton World Federation (BWF)confirmed on Wednesday. But the eightplayers -- four from South Korea, two fromIndonesia and two from China -- are ap-pealing the decision, the body said, con-firming an earlier AFP report.

The eight players who were found to beinvolved in fixing also lost theior appealagainst their ban and will lose their right tocompete in the 2016 Olympics in Rio - andthe outcome of the appeal hearing.8 DISQUALIfIED OvER BAD-MINTON fIxINg - SOURCE: Eightplayers involved in a fixing scandal at theOlympic badminton tournament have beendisqualified, a senior source with knowl-edge of the case told AFP on Wednesday.

The eight women's doubles players --four from South Korea, two from Indonesiaand two from China -- were disqualifiedfollowing a disciplinary hearing of the Bad-

minton World Federation (BWF), thesource told AFP. "They have been disqual-ified," said the source. The eight are Chi-nese are top seed Yu Yang and WangXiaoli, South Korea's Ha Jung-Eun andKim Min-Jung as well as Jung Kyung-Eunand Kim Ha-Na as well as Indonesian pairMeiliana Jauhari and Greysia Polii.ExPULSIONS APPLAUDED fORBADMINTON fIxINg: Olympic bad-minton officials and players cheered theBadminton World Federation decision onWednesday to disqualify eight women in-volved in a match-fixing scandal. Chinesetop seeds Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang, In-donesia's Greysia Polii and MeilianaJauhari and South Korean duos JungKyung-Eun and Kim Ha-Na and Ha JungEun and Kim Min Jung were thrown outof the women's doubles event. Angry spec-tators booed and jeered as China's goldmedal favourites swatted shuttlecocks be-yond the boundaries and into the net andseemed to deliberately serve into the net,pairs wanting to lose to secure a betterdraw in the knockout rounds after a Chi-nese duo had been upset earlier.

LONDONafp

WORLD champions Aus-tralia routed 2008Olympic silver medallistsSpain 5-0 in men's

Olympic field hockey on Wednesday. Open-ing up Spain's defence with frequent inter-changes, Australia posted their secondstraight win to stay on top of Pool A with sixpoints. The Netherlands also took theirpoints tally to six from two outings in PoolB after posting a 3-1 victory over Belgium ina tough contest where the last goal for theDutch came in the final minute when theiropponents were pressing for an equaliserand were playing without a goalkeeper.

Australia opened the scoring in theninth minute through Russell Ford who de-flected in a ball from Mark Knowles.Matthew Butturini was on target five min-utes later after creating space. Simon Or-chard's field goal in the 29th minute gaveAustralia a 3-0 lead at half-time.

Glenn Turner collected a long pass ontop of the circle to slam past the goalkeeperin the 40th minute and Edward Ockendenrounded off the scoring with a penalty cor-ner conversion in the 69th minute.

Ockenden, Australia's captain, said theteam had played better than in their 6-0win over South Africa on Monday.

"The free-flowing play is what we liketo do, but it doesn't always work out likethat," said Ockenden. Spain, who nowhave just one point from two matches, sawseasoned player Pol Amat going off thepitch after colliding with an Australian de-

fender. Amat's injury came after Spain'sstar striker, Santi Freixa, suffered a frac-ture in the last match against Pakistan.Freixa has been ruled out of the tourna-ment and replaced on the Spanish team

roster. "We'll see what happens to Pol.Without him and Santi it might gettougher for us," said Spanish goalkeeperFrancisco Cortes. Mink van der Weerdenconverted two penalty corners for the

Netherlands against Belgium. After a goal-less first half, he score seven minutes intothe second session, but Belgium equalisewith a penalty corner goal of their own byJerome Dekeyser in the 58th minute.

thursday, 2 august, 2012

Page 18

is Phelps the greatestolympian of all?

Ye answerscritics by gold

LONDONafp

Teenager Ye Shiwen calmly deflectedcontroversy over her super-fast swim-ming as she spearheaded China's questfor Olympic glory on Tuesday.Ye, repeating her denial of ever usingdrugs, said suspicions voiced by someobservers did not affect her -- and hadeven spurred her on.The 16-year-old was speaking after set-ting a new Olympic record to win the200m individual medley, as China wonfour more titles to maintain their lead inthe medals table."I don't feel upset or sad about what themedia have been saying about me," Yesaid. "I feel calm, but it just encouragedme to prove myself."Ye had aroused comment with her world-record 400m medley win, which in-cluded a last lap that was faster thanmen's winner Ryan Lochte. But she saidshe was "absolutely not" a drug cheat."I do two-and-a-half hours (of training)every morning, two-and-a-half hoursevery afternoon and I have trained fornine years," said the tousle-haired teen."I think everyone can achieve their goal.In my mind everyone can be a genius. Ithink in other countries people have wonmultiple medals and no one says any-thing about them, so why should they saythese things about me?"Ye kicked home with now-trademarkspeed in the 200m medley, adding toChina's golds in diving, weightlifting andfencing as they reached 13 golds on dayfour, four better than the United States.Lin Qingfeng won the men's -69kg classweightlifting, Lei Sheng was victorious inthe men's foil fencing and China made itthree out of three in diving as ChenRuolin and Wang Hao clinched thewomen's 10m synchro platform. AndChina unofficially pocketed the women'stable tennis -- for the seventh consecu-tive Games -- when Ding Ning and Li Xi-aoxia set up an all-Chinese final.

LONDONafp

China made sure of their first tabletennis gold at the London Olympicswhen world champion Ding Ning andLi Xiaoxia both reached the women'ssingles final on Tuesday.

Their success also guaranteedChina will maintain a 100 percentrecord in the event, having won everyOlympic women's singles since tabletennis first appeared in the Games atSeoul in 1988.

Top seed Ding ended the hopes ofone of the sport's brightest stars, AiFukuhara of Japan, and then won acontroversy-tinged semi-final against

Singapore's Feng Tianwei 11-7, 11-4, 9-11, 12-10, 6-11, 11-6.

On match point at 10-3, the en-counter seemed to have been settled inDing's favour, but after Feng hesitated,the Chinese left-hander acknowledgedthe ball had clipped the table on theway down on her side.

"The umpire said that I had wonthe point, but I said what happened toshow I play fair -- to show I'm not sovery bad," she said.

Ding won because she mixedclose-to-the-table hitting and counter-hitting, with mid-court containment,and some spectacular long-distancelooping and lobbing, which brought athunderous response from the crowd.

China became certain of gold whenLi won 11-5, 11-4, 11-13, 11-6, 11-7against Kasumi Ishikawa, the fourthseed from Japan. She beat Chinese-born Dutch player Li Jiao in her ear-lier match on Tuesday.

The Chinese won every individualtable tennis medal at Beijing 2008,underlining a dominance described as"devastating" by the sport's top ad-ministrator.

Countries are limited to two men'sand women's singles players each atthe London Olympics. Wednesday'sfinal will be a rematch of last year'sworld championships final won byDing, who is also the Asian title-holder.

China guarantee table tennis gold

World hockey champsAustralia thrash Spain

Eight disqualified over badminton fixing scam

british PM's goldwish comes true

LONDONafp

Prime Minister David Cameron's wishcame true Wednesday as host nationGreat Britain won a first gold medal -- atlast -- at the London Olympics.Britain had to wait till day five of theOlympics to strike gold, with rowersHelen Glover and Heather Stanning tak-ing the women's pair title at Eton Dor-ney, west of London. Cameron wasvisiting the Giant's Causeway, the spec-tacular coastal rock formation in North-ern Ireland, when he heard the news."Can I first of all say how delighted I amabout Heather and Helen's gold medal inthe rowing -- an absolutely fantastic ef-fort," he said. One of the stones at thecauseway, worn away by visitors who sitin it for good luck, is known as the wish-ing chair. "I was sitting in the wishingchair, I was told I could make my wish. Iwon't say what it was, but as soon as Igot back to my mobile phone I had thegood news," he said. "Fantastic news.Well done to them, a great success forthe United Kingdom team."

The British press hadjoked on Wednes-

day thatCameron had"cursed" theteam because

when he at-tended the men's

road race cyclingand the pair's divingevent featuring

teenage star TomDaley, Britainhad failed to wina medal.Members of the

Great Britain squadhoped the medalwould prove an in-spiration.

London: Australia's edward ockenden (L) vies for the ball with Juan fernandez of Spain during their London 2012 olympic games hockey. AFP

London: A combination of pictures on August 1, 2012, shows eight badminton playersthat were disqualified wednesday in a match-fixing scandal at the olympic badmintontournament in London. (Top row L-r) South korea's kim Ha na, Ha Jung-eun, kim Min-Jung,Jung kyung-eun. (bottom row L-r) indonesia's greysia Polii, Meiliana Jauhari and china'swang Xiaoli and Yu Yang. AFP

LHR 02-08-2012_Layout 1 8/2/2012 1:58 AM Page 16

Sports 16


LEEDSafp

ENGLAND will seek to bounceback after what spin bowlerGraeme Swann described as a"public humiliation" when

they face South Africa in the secondTest starting at Headingley on Thurs-day. England's ranking as the numberone Test team is under threat after theywere beaten by an innings and 12 runsin the first Test at the Oval last week,with the hosts taking only two wicketswhile South Africa piled up 637 runs intheir only innings.

Swann revealed that the Englandplayers spent two hours analysing theirdefeat immediately after the first Testand England coach Andy Flower in-sisted that confidence remains high andthat the team could come back strongly.

"We get ourselves into the rightframe of mind by doing the things thatwe have been doing very well for the lastcouple of years," said Flower.

"I have every confidence in our play-ers that we can come back and playgood cricket."

England will lose their number oneranking if the tourists win what is onlya three-match series and so they need tobounce back quickly.

However, they can draw some com-fort from recent South African defeatswhich have followed innings wins.

The Proteas beat India by an in-nings in the first Test in an away seriesin 2009/10 and a home series in2010/11 only to lose the second Testeach time, and that dubious feat was re-peated at home against Sri Lanka in2011/12.

They also won the first Test againstAustralia last summer, albeit not by aninnings, only to lose the second clash.

With conditions likely to be morebowler-friendly at the Yorkshire groundthan they were at the Oval, England willseek to exploit the potential weakness ofSouth Africa's batting from number sixdown.

Specialist batsmen JacquesRudolph and JP Duminy did not bat atthe Oval and failed to strike form in fourinnings apiece in warm-up gamesagainst county teams, while the SouthAfrican tail does not have the batting

credentials of the England lower order.However, Rudolph, who spent five yearsplaying for Yorkshire, brushed aside anyconcerns when he spoke to journalistson Tuesday.

"The way we play the game we arenot too results orientated," he said."Going into Thursday we just have tomake sure we stick to the sameprocesses which I thought we did bril-liantly in batting and bowling down atthe Oval."

South Africa will almost certainlystay with the team that triumphed at theOval, while England will make at leastone change following the withdrawal forpersonal reasons of batsman RaviBopara.

Uncapped James Taylor was calledinto the squad and will make his debutunless England decide to go in with anextra bowler.

Flower said, though, that a four-man attack had served England well andhe did not see any reason to change thestrategy.

If Taylor does play he will come intothe match in good form, having made163 not out for Nottinghamshire against

Sussex in a county match at the week-end.

Tall fast bowler Steven Finn, whowas in the squad but did not play at theOval, could be brought in to providemore penetration to the England bowl-ing attack in place of Yorkshire pacebowler Tim Bresnan.

Probable teams and officials for thesecond Test between England and SouthAfrica starting at Headingley here onThursday:ENgLAND (fROM): AndrewStrauss (capt), Alastair Cook, JonathanTrott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, JamesTaylor, Matt Prior (wkt), Tim Bresnan,Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, JamesAnderson, Steven Finn, GrahamOnionsSOUTH AfRICA (LIKELy):Graeme Smith (capt), Alviro Petersen,Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, AB deVilliers (wkt), Jacques Rudolph, JPDuminy, Vernon Philander, DaleSteyn, Morne Morkel, Imran TahirUMPIRES: Steve Davis, Rod Tucker(both AUS)Tv UMPIRE: Asad Rauf (PAK)MATCH REfEREE: Jeff Crowe (NZL)

England gather up forcomeback in second Test

State bankdominatescorporate T20 cup

LAHOREstaff report

State Bank defeated Candyland with a largemargin of 83 runs in the Advance Telecom2nd Corporate T20 Cup played at the DHASports Club – Moin Khan Academy onTuesday. Naveed Malik the Man-of-the-Match award winner played an outstandinginnings of 58 runs in 26 balls with 5 sixesand 5 fours. M. Afzal and Junaid Zia made26 and 24 respectively to reach a final scoreof 160 runs for 6 wickets in 20 overs. Inreply Candyland openers could face thefury of the SBP bowlers departing in twoovers with the rest of the batsmen notbeing able to stay long at the crease. Theylost wickets in quick succession. HasanMehmood bowled well for the bankersclaiming 3 wickets for 16 runs as Candy-land slumped to a lowly 77 in 14.3 overs.SCORES: State Bank beat Candylandby 83 runs. State Bank 160 – 6 in 20overs (Naveed Malik 58, M. Afzal 26,Junaid Zia 24; Zahid Mehmood 2 – 29,Salman Ali 2 – 39) Candyland 77 – 10in 14.3 overs (Fawad Khan 19, IsrarUllah 18; Hasan Mehmood 3 – 16, Saa-dat Munir 2 – 6, Ansar Javed 2 – 15). THURSDAy’S fIxTURE:National Bank vs Candyl

U-19 Cricket World Cup saved my career, says Gul

LAHOREstaff report

Former Pakistan leg-spinner, Saqlain Mush-taq Ahmed, may not have found any goodturn with the officials of Pakistan CricketBoard (PCB). But the veteran bowler is inhigh spirits with another extension to hisdeal with the English and Wales CricketBoard (ECB).

The deal will extendhis four-year old spellwith the English teamas their spin coachtill 2014.

“The ECB hasextended my con-tract till 2014 astheir spin bowlingconsultant and Iwill rejoining theEngland team forthe ICC T20 WorldCup in Sri Lanka,”PTI quoted Mushtaqas saying.

In April, Mushtaq’sname appears amongthe foremost con-tenders to be-c o m et h e

bowling coach of the Pakistan team ahead ofthe Sri Lanka tour. It was reported that theMushtaq has not only applied for the postbut also had two meetings with the PCBChairman Zaka Ashraf.

He wanted a three-year contract with thePakistan Board with a condition of not dis-missal him. However, PCB never got back tothe spinner, giving him a clear signal of not

accepting his conditions."The PCB might not want to rec-

ognize my qualifications and ex-perience but the ECB has

extended my contract," hesaid.

The former sussex bowlerhas taken 185 wickets in 52Tests for his country, whilealso picking up 166 scalps in144 One Day Internationals(ODIs) in a 13-year careeracross from 1990 till 2003.

Mushtaq is also one of themost successful cricket exports

from Pakistan to play in theEnglish county, taking 1407wickets (25.67) in 309 First-

Class matches, while plyinghis trade for Somerset,

Surrey and Sus-sex.

ECB extends Saqlain’scoaching period

PoA suspendsjudo federation

LAHOREstaff report

As a result of the recommendation ofan arbitration committee set up by thePakistan Olympic Association, the of-fice bearers of the Pakistan Judo Feder-ation has been suspended till the finaloutcome of the arbitration proceedingsfiled by Sindh Judo Association and thePunjab Judo Association.It may be mentioned here that SindhJudo Association had filed an arbitra-tion before the Pakistan Olympic Asso-ciation against the office-bearers ofPJF on account of financial embezzle-ments, misuse of official powers andunconstitutional acts.The Arbitration Committee held twomeetings on May 26 and June 29 at La-hore. After hearing both the parties andon the basis of the available record, thecommittee came to the conclusion thattheir was a prima facie case.Immediately on filing the arbitration bySJA, the President PJF had suspendedthe SJA and appointed an Ad hoc Com-mittee for Sindh which he was not com-petent to do. The CommitteeArbitration Committee in its meeting ofMay 26 had ordered that the position ofall the parties in the arbitration will beas it stood on April 2 when the arbitra-tion was filed.

new zealand’s Vettoriout of 2nd windies Test

WELLINGTONafp

New Zealand spinner Daniel Vettori will miss the second Testagainst the West Indies in Kingston with a groin strain, NewZealand Cricket (NZC) said Wednesday. The 33-year-old managedto play on after suffering an adductor strain in the first Test, whenthe Black Caps slumped to a nine-wicket loss, but would not be fitfor the Kingston match, NZC physiotherapist Paul Close said."Dan will return to New Zealandwhere he will be monitoredclosely and undergo aperiod of rehabilita-tion," Close said. "Hewill require a restfrom bowling andhis return date willbe determined byhow well he re-sponds to the treat-ment." New Zealandwill be hoping to re-habilitate Vettori, thecountry's most cappedTest player, in time forthe Black Caps' tour ofIndia, which begins on Au-gust 23. His absence inKingston potentially opensthe way for leg spin-ner TarunNethula tomake hisTest debut.

LAHOREstaff report

Pakistan pacer Umar Gul hassaid that the ICC Under-19Cricket World Cup had rescuedhis career at a time when hewas at the verge of walkingaway from cricket.

Umar, who is currently oneof Pakistan's key bowlers with158 wickets apiece from 45Tests and 111 ODIs, played inthe U-19 world cup in 2002 inNew Zealand and finished with11 wickets at 12.72 runs perwicket, even as it turned out tobe an unsuccessful campaignfor the green shirts who failedto progress to the knock-outstage of the Super League.

"I was on the verge of walk-ing away from cricket after apoor 2000-2001 domestic U19tournament following which Iwas not selected in the Pakistan

Academies team. But then Igave myself a last chance,worked hard by attending theAcademy side's training ses-sions as a net bowler until Iwas picked in the fast bowlers'camp that was supervised byDaryl Foster.

"Lady Luck finally smiledon me when I was selected inthe Pakistan squad for the ICCU19 CWC 2002 and though theevent turned out to be a poorone for the side, personally Ibenefitted as I regained myform, picked up some key wick-ets and when changes weremade in the Pakistan side fol-lowing a disastrous ICC CricketWorld Cup 2003, I was able tofind my way in the side," Gulrecalled.

"I owe it big time to the ICCU19 Cricket World Cup 2002. Ifthat opportunity had not beenprovided to me at that time, I

would have left cricket and re-verted my attention and focusto academics," he added.

Citing the example of AzharAli who played in New Zealand10 years ago as a bowler and isnow the mainstay of Pakistan'smiddle-order, Umar said,"Azhar was a very keen bats-man even then but ICC U19CWC actually provided himthat platform and opportunitywhere he evaluated and re-worked on his strengths and isnow one of the stars of interna-tional cricket.

"The ICC U19 CWC pro-vides you a launching pad andalso gives you a chance to testyourself against the best play-ers from all over the world inthat age group. It gives you avery good idea which level ofcricket you belong to and whatyou need to do to survive orexcel at the highest level."


‘world record

needed to win

110m hurdles’LONDON: Reigning worldchampion Jason Richardson isin no doubt about what it willtake to win the men's Olympic110m hurdles - a world record.The field for the men's highhurdles is of the highest class,featuring the likes of Cuba's de-fending Olympic champion andworld record holder DayronRobles, and 2004 Olympic goldmedallist Liu Xiang of China.Also racing in what is expectedto be one of the track highlightsof these Games will be USteammate Aries Merritt, whoclocked 12.93sec in the LondonDiamond League meet earlierthis month to finish ahead ofRichardson. afp

Sports17

LONDONafp

The sky's the limit but the focus is mostdefinitely not on Usain Bolt, according toYohan Blake, the fastest man in the worldthis year who will be going for theOlympic sprint double. The Jamaicansprinter, who long lurked in the shadowscast by teammates Bolt and Asafa Powell,has roared to prominence as the potentialsuccessor to the illustrious Bolt.

Blake, 22, has come a long way sincebeing sat at home in Jamaica watching onthe television as training partner Bolt wonthree golds in the 100, 200 and 4x100mrelay in Beijing four years ago.

He took his chance to claim the world100m title in Daegu, South Korea, lastyear after Bolt sensationally false-startedin the final, and then stunned onlookersby beating Bolt in the sprint double in theJamaican Olympic trials. "My philosophyis that the sky's the limit," Blake said.

"I've always wanted to be at theOlympics. It's everyone's dream. "I've gotno message for Usain Bolt. He's a goodguy. I'm not focusing on Usain. "It's allabout going out there, focusing and exe-cuting the race. Me and Usain are friends.When we're training it's all fun. "We'll be

keeping all that good chemistry going. Onthe line, it all changes." He added that itwas similar with his US rivals: "I try notto think about that rivalry. I just focus onme and what I have to do. "For me, I keepit simple. I want to beat those guys but it'sall about the execution.

"Come the track, I have to get myfocus right, don't panic, just think aboutgetting to that line," said Blake, nick-named the "Beast" for his healthy ap-petite for work in training under thetutelage of Glen Mills. Blake contendedthat his lack of experience at theOlympics was completely irrelevant, andpredicted an exciting race in the blue rib-bon event of track and field. "The 100mis going to be great. In every race thereare surprises. Everyone's been waiting forthis for four years. It's going to live up toexpectations," he said. Blake said usurp-ing Bolt at the Jamaican trials had beenless significant in terms of confidencethan his 100m win in the worlds.

‘Sky’s the limit but focus not on Bolt’


Pistorius aim45s barrier inolympics bow

LONDONafp

Oscar Pistorius said Wednesday he istargeting breaking the 45-second barrierin the 400m as he prepares to becomethe first double amputee athlete to com-pete in the able-bodied Olympics.The South African, known as 'Blade Run-ner' because he runs with carbon fibreprosthetic running blades, competed inthe Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 Para-lympics, but can now make his debut inthe Olympics following studies thatfound his prosthetics give him no advan-tage over his able-bodied rivals.The 25-year-old's personal best is 45.07seconds in the 400m and now Pistoriuswants to smash the 45-second barrierwhen he takes his place on the London2012 track."I'd love to. I'm in good shape. I feel verystrong. I've had a good season," he said."I'm really hoping to at least make thesemi-final and if I can run a personalbest, I'd be really, really happy."It hits you when you're standing on thestarting blocks. At Athens and Beijing,that's when it really dawned upon methat I was there at that competition."If I can imagine the excitement that I'vehad over the last couple of weeks, I can'timagine what it's going to be like whenI'm finally out there on the track."Pistorius is set to compete in both the400m and the 4x400m relay.

London: Liaquat Ali of Pakistan on the track of the olympic Stadium during the 2012 Londonolympics. The athletics competition begins on August 3. AFP

LONDON: US swimmer Michael

Phelps prepares for the men's

200m individual medley heats

swimming event at the London

2012 Olympic Games. AFP

LONDONafp

The confusion that marred theOlympic men's team gymnastics finalshows the sport still has progress tomake as it seeks to limit the influenceof judges and improve the credibilityof the scoring system. At the climaxof Monday's final, Japanese super-star Kohei Uchimura was left aghastafter seeing the score for his pommelroutine, which knocked his countryoff the podium and into fourth place.

"I just thought: 'It's wrong, it'swrong,'" said the triple world cham-pion. The superior jury concurred,after an appeal was made by theJapanese team, and Uchimura's

score was increased by 0.700 -- ele-vating Japan to second, droppingGreat Britain to third, and denyingUkraine a place on the podium.

For the first gymnastics finalof the London Games, the sportcould have done without suchdrama, even if things were ulti-mately resolved without contro-versy. That was not the case at the2004 Athens Olympics, whenSouth Korean individual silver-medallist Kim Dae-Eun took hisdissatisfaction with the result asfar as the Court of Arbitration forSport (CAS), but in vain. The scan-dal, caused by an inadvertent judg-ing error, pushed gymnastics intoa period of deep introspection.

Gymnastics seeks tolimit ‘trial by judges’


WatCh it livE

ESPNSportscentre

07:30PM

Sports 18

LONDONafp

Wimbledon champion SerenaWilliams swept into the Olympicquarter-finals with a 6-1, 6-0 routof Russia's Vera Zvonareva onWednesday. Williams is biddingto win a singles gold medal for thefirst time and the Americanfourth seed remains on course toachieve her aim after a third suc-cessive demolition job at the AllEngland Club. The 30-year-old,who faces former world numberone Caroline Wozniacki or Slova-kia's Daniela Hantuchova in thelast eight, had lost just nine gamesin her first two matches and sheneeded only 51 minutes to crushZvonareva in an almost perfectdisplay under the WimbledonCentre Court roof.

Williams, a two-time doublesgold medal winner with sisterVenus, thrashed Zvonareva in the2010 Wimbledon final and this

match was even more one-sided.It took just two minutes to

determine the course of thematch as Serena, a 14-time GrandSlam winner, easily broke the13th seed in the first game.

Even at this early stage,Zvonareva seemed resigned toher fate and she gave up on oneWilliams winner without even atoken effort to return.

After another break in thefifth game, Williams could havebeen forgiven for easing up. Butshe is in business-like mood thisweek and instead hammereddown three successive aces tohold serve before storming backfrom 40-0 down to seal the setwith one more break.

This was ruthless stuff fromWilliams and the second set wasjust as painful for Zvonareva, whorepeatedly slammed her racquetin frustration as a barrage ofWilliams winners ended hermedal hopes.

Longest setin olympictennis hisotry

The longest set in Olympic history wasplayed when Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of Francedefeated Milos Raonic of Canada 6-3, 3-6,25-23 in the second round of men's sin-gles in London 2012 at Wimbledon onTuesday (July 31). The previous record inmen’s singles was 30 games in 2004 whenFernando Gonzalez defeated Taylor Dentin the third set, 16-14, to win the bronzemedal. The third set of a women’s doublesmatch in 1988 went to 20-18.The longest set in Tennis history also wasplayed at the All England Club in 2010when John Isner beat Nicolas Mahut 70-68 in the fifth set in the first round of Wim-bledon. The contest between Jo WilfriedTsonga and Milos Raonic also had themost number of games 66 in a best-of-three set match at the Olympics. The previ-ous record was 63 games. Tennis was partof the Olympic Games from the inaugural1896 Olympics, but was dropped after the1924 Summer Olympics. It returned as afull medal sport at the 1988 Olympics andhas been played at every edition of theGames since then. It was not played at theOlympics between 1924 and 1988.fIRST EvER MEDAL fOR AfRICAIN fENCINg: Egypt’s AlaaeldinAbouelkassem has won the first Olympicmedal ever claimed by a fencer fromAfrica. He lost the final 15-13 to his Chi-nese rival, yet could barely believe whathe’d achieved by earning a silver medal.Alaaeldin Abouelkassem, son of an Al-gerian mother and an Egyptian father,said his victory would not just boostfencing in Egypt, but in all over Africa."They need this medal to improve thefencing in Africa," he said. On his way tothe final, Alaaeldin Abouelkassem beatreigning world champion Andrea Cas-sara of Italy and former four-time worldchampion Peter Joppich of Germany.BRITAIN'S fIRST gOLD INWOMEN'S ROWINg: Great Britainhas collected its first gold medal of theLondon Games after Heather Stanningand Helen Glover won the coxless pairswith a stunning performance that willspark a mass outpouring of celebrationand relief across the country on Wednes-day (August 1). Facing the twice Olympicchampions in lane one from Romania andthe twice world champions from NewZealand, they dominated the race fromstart to finish and sealed victory in 7:27.13in front of Australia and New Zealand.One had never stepped in a rowing boatuntil 2008, the other will return to servein the Royal Artillery in September. ButHelen Glover and Heather Stanning willnow go down in the record books as thefirst homegrown gold medallists of theLondon 2012 Olympics. Not only that but,in their first Olympics, they have madeBritish sporting history as the first femalerowing gold medal winners in a sport thathas reliably delivered over the years.

clijsters ousts ivanovicto reach quarters

LONDONafp

Kim Clijsters won the battle of the formerworld number ones as the Belgian de-feated Serbia's Ana Ivanovic 6-3, 6-4 toreach the quarter-finals of the Olympicson Wednesday. Clijsters is playing thepenultimate tournament of her career asshe prepares to retire for the second andfinal time after next month's US Open andshe has admitted an Olympic medal wouldbe the perfect way to sign off. The 29-year-old, competing in the Olympics for thefirst time, remains on course to fulfill thatdream after cruising past former FrenchOpen champion Ivanovic in 58 minutesat Wimbledon. "I feel like I've been play-ing some really good tennis in the firstthree matches here, it's just a matter oftrying to keep that up," Clijsters said.

Dazzling Decosseinto judo semis

LONDON: World cham-pion Lucie Decosse was ather brilliant best as she pro-duced a dominant displayof dynamic judo to advanceinto the women's under-70kg semi-finals onWednesday. The 30-year-old is bidding for her firstever Olympic gold medalfollowing three world titlesand four European crowns.Four years ago in Beijing

she was favourite in the under-63kg category but was beatenby long-time rival Ayumi Tanimoto of Japan in the final.Here, though, she looked totally focused, waiting patientlyfor an opportunity before throwing Canada's Kelita Zupancicfor the maximum ippon (a technical knock-out) with akosoto-gari (minor outer reap) 30-seconds from the end ofher bout. In the quarter-finals she was in a hurry and tookjust 10-seconds to humiliate 2009 world champion YuriAlvear of Colombia with an uchi-mata (inner-thigh throw).She will face Hwang Ye-Sul in Wednesday's semi-final afterthe South Korean produced the most remarkable upside-down o-goshi (hip throw) on Slovenia's Rasa Sraka. Hwanglifted Sraka off the ground and as she launched herself intothe throw she managed to tip the Slovenian the wrong wayup as she drove her into the mat, flat on her back.

S. PERvEZ QAISER

stats corner

UNSTOPPABLE SERENAPOWERS INTO LAST 8


LONDONafp

Roger Federer moved into the OlympicGames quarter-finals with a 7-5, 6-3 winover Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin onWednesday. After securing a record-equalling seventh Wimbledon title earlierthis month, Federer is desperate to com-plete a career Golden Slam by winning asingles gold medal for the first time.

The 17-time Grand Slam champion,who won doubles gold with compatriotStanislas Wawrinka in Beijing in 2008,was slightly below his best against Is-

tomin, but even at less than 100 percentFederer was still too good for the worldnumber 34 in a rain interrupted clash atWimbledon.

Federer, 30, will play Serbian seventhseed Janko Tipsarevic or American JohnIsner for a place in the semi-finals. Aftera rain delay of over an hour, Federer fi-nally made it onto Court One and theSwiss star looked set for a routine winwhen he broke in the second game of thematch. But a commanding 3-0 lead forFederer swiftly disappeared as Istominbroke back and began to hammer downsome powerful serves. Istomin, who be-

came the first player from Uzbekistan toreach the fourth round of a Grand Slam atWimbledon last month, was beginning tocause Federer some serious problemswhen rain forced a stoppage.

Federer had to save two break pointswhen they returned at 5-5 half an hourlater and he made the most of that escapeby converting his third set point in thenext game.

That signalled a resumption of nor-mal service after Federer's brief wobbleand a break in the second game of the sec-ond set was enough to get the Swiss greatto the finish line.

FEdErEr kEEps Gold bid on traCk

LONDONafp

M ICHAEL Phelps is the most decoratedOlympian of all time. But is that the same asbeing the 'greatest'? That was the question lefthanging in the air after the swimming super-

star won the 19th Olympic medal of his career by anchor-ing the US 4x200m freestyle relay team to gold in Londonon Tuesday. That saw him overhaul the record of 18medals amassed by Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina be-tween 1956 and 1964. Phelps's haul, which includes 15golds, is outstanding. But swimmming opens itself up toproducing multiple-medal winners by having categoriesfor styles as well as distances. So while athletics has the100m, in swimming the distance can be covered in sev-eral different ways. And there are those who arguelongevity is a key factor in determining greatness --Phelps is still only 27 and his medals have been amassedover the space of just three games. However, longevitywasn't an option for Jesse Owens, who overcame barriersof racial prejudice to win four track and field golds inBerlin in 1936 and was then stripped of his amateur sta-tus for accepted a few commercial offers. And even if hehad still to be allowed to compete Owens, like many con-temporaries, would have seen his career cut short by theSecond World War when the games were suspended.That Phelps could even contemplate winning eight goldmedals at a single games, as he did four years ago in Bei-jing, was in a sense only possible because fellow US poolgreat Mark Spitz had, 36 earlier, won a then record seven-- and all in world record times -- at Munich.

Is Phelps thegreatestOlympian

of all?

London : Serena williams celebrates afterdefeating russia's Vera zvonareva duringtheir women's singles tennis match. AFP


Thursday, 2 August, 2012 19

Published by Arif Nizami at Plot # 7, Al-Baber Centre, F/8 Markaz, Islamabad. Editor: Arif Nizami

LAHORE/PESHAWARstaff report

Countrywide protests against chronic loadshedding continued unabated in severalmajor cities and towns of Punjab and Khy-ber Pakhtunkhwa on Wednesday, with

people taking to the roads and streets tovent their anger at apathetic authorities.

Demonstrators burnt tyres, peltedstones at police and raised slogans againstauthorities as they blocked several majorroads and highways across the country dur-ing desperate protests for electricity. The Cir-

cular Road in Peshawar was blocked earlymorning by thousands of people from villagesin the districts suburbs. The demonstratorsput barriers and torched tyres to block theroad against prolonged and unannouncedpower outages that are now stretching over20 hours a day in the area. A shortage of waterhas added to the miseries of the people as theyfast in extreme humid conditions.

Despite the road being blocked forover three hours, no official came to thescene to appease the masses. The demon-strators vowed to continue their protestsuntil the load shedding issue was ad-dressed to their satisfaction.

In Kohat, lawyers and citizens stageda demonstration against load shedding atPeshawar Chowk. The power crisis inPunjab is getting worse by the day, evi-dent from continued protests in Lahoreand other cities and towns of Punjab. Pro-longed load shedding and a subsequent

water shortage forced the people to comeon to the Lahore Bund Road, which wasblocked by agitating citizens for hours.

A protest was staged in Gujranwala’sAlipur Chattha tehsil, while similar protestswere held in Khushab and Nurpur Thal aswell where protesters blocked the JauharabadRoad and voiced slogans against the govern-ment. Furniture industry workers alsoprotested against power outages that led tothe blockade of traffic on Jhang Road.

In Hafizabad, a large number ofworkers of power looms and factories andbusinessmen took out a rally in protestagainst prolonged power load sheddingfrom Wani Chowk to General Bus Stand.Enraged protesters attacked and ran-sacked a post office injuring three em-ployees. Residents of Peshawar’s Armarlocality also took to the streets to protest,erecting hurdles near Tarnab Farm andblocking the GT Road.

PML-n accuses Imran of ‘gambling away’SKMCH money, PtI chief cries foul play

g Khawaja asif alleges Imraninvested $4.5m gained fromZakat in foreign capital markets and lost 65 percentof the invested sum

ISLAMABADstaff report

Accusing its nemesis Imran Khanof money laundering, thePakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Wednesdayaccused the Pakistan Tehreek-i-

Insaf (PTI) chairman of “gambling away”millions of rupees donated to his hospital inreal estate abroad. Meanwhile, the PTI chief mocked thePML-N’s allegations, saying the partyshould have at least investigated thematter a little more before going public.Addressing a press conference at PunjabHouse, PML-N senior leader Khawaja Asifhanded out hard copies of “evidence” ofImran’s foreign investments. He alleged thatImran sent the funds, donated to his hospitalShaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital& Research Centre through moneylaundering. “Despite opposition from theboard of directors of the hospital, Khaninvested $4.5 million from the money gainedfrom ‘Sadqaat’, ‘Fitrana’ and ‘Zakat’ inforeign capital markets. He lost 65 percent ofthe invested capital,” he said.Asif alleged that Imran sent Rs 210 millionto Dubai through money laundering andbought property in Muscat. “In BritishVirgin Islands, a shell company was firstregistered. That company transferred moneyinto a company, HBG in Dubai, then HBGbought shares of Sugarland company worth$3 million. During 2009-2010, Sugarlanddeclared losses and in the coming two years,it faced 64% losses. Here, the money ofShaukat Khanum invested by Imran Khanalso faced a loss but it was not shown,” Asifsaid while referring to the documents he haddistributed. Asif questioned Imran that if theinvestment was so safe and profitable, thenwhy did he not put in his own money ratherthan that of Shaukat Khanum. Asif also alleged that those working atShaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital areeither Imran’s friends or family members.“Another important person is Imtiaz Haideri.He is a member of Imran Khan’s trust, is achief executive in Dubai and a chief executivein British Virgin Islands too.” Responding toAsif’s money laundering allegations, Imransaid, “Shaukat Khanum Memorial CancerHospital is not Imran Khan’s personalhospital; the patients are not my relatives,they are Pakistanis.” Imran said that byattacking the hospital, the PML-N has causedharm to many Pakistanis who receive freehealthcare at the hospital. “It is the only freecancer hospital and PML-N should havethought before doing this,” he said.Lamenting that the PML-N dragged a welfareinstitute into politics, Khan said the accusersshould have attacked him but not thehospital. Calling PML-N’s allegationsbaseless, the PTI chairman said the $3million amount mentioned by Khawaja isalready stated in hospital’s balance sheet. “Ifwe had misused the money, we would havenot mentioned it in our accounts,” he said,adding that the PML-N leader had in factrelied on their public balance sheet to pickout all the numbers for his accusation.Imran said that the hospital receives moneyfrom donors within the country and abroad.He said the amount of money the hospitalgets in Zakat is never enough to provide freehealth service and so fund raising events areorganized to bridge the shortfall. He said thatthe foreign donations are collected in a dollaraccount which is managed by the hospital’sendowment fund. “The endowment fund usesthis money for investment and earn profit onit,” he declared. “The endowment fund has itsown board which decides how to use themoney, a board of which I’m not a member,”Imran said, adding that the board decided toinvest money in Dubai as property prices wererising back then. Imran said the money neverwent abroad from Pakistan as it was a part ofthe endowment fund and the company, wherethe hospital’s endowment fund invested, wasowned by Imtiaz Haideri, who is also the chiefexecutive. “The investment crashed all of asudden,” he admitted, but said the owner hadpromised them that they will earn profit onthe investment and will not incur losses.“Khawaja might be upset by this but I want totell him that we have received Rs 40 millionfrom a Sialkot businessman and raised Rs 60million through a fund-raising iftari inLahore,” said Imran.

ISLAMABADaGeNCIes

Senators from across the po-litical divide on Wednesdayexpressed their concern overthe worsening law and orderin Balochistan, saying the wayforward was meaningful dia-logue between estrangedBaloch leaders, army and theFrontier Corps (FC).

During a debate in theUpper House on Wednesday,the senators said if the es-tranged Baloch leaders had notrust in the Pakistani govern-ment, they could be providedsecurity guarantee fromfriendly countries like SaudiArabia. While the House wasdebating the matter, the mem-bers strongly took exception tothe absence of the interiorminister, Rehman Malik.Members from the PML-N,ANP and JUI staged a tokenwalkout of the proceedings toregister their protest over thelack of seriousness on part ofthe minister. The members ofthe Upper House said cancercould not be treated by amedicine meant for fever,warning that if the situation

was not controlled, the coun-try could face another tragedylike East Pakistan.

Initiating the debate,Abdul Ghafoor Haideri saidthe Balochistan issue could beresolved by direct negotia-tions with the Baloch peopleand removing their sense ofdeprivation. He said prob-lems of Balochistan had polit-ical and constitutionalbackground that needed to beaddressed with serious effortsat proper level.

Suriya Amiruddin saidBalochistan was facing a num-ber of problems including kid-napping for ransom, shortageof water, unemployment andlaw and order. KalsoomParveen said the governmenthad announced the AghazHaqooq-e-Balochistan Pack-age for the people of theprovince, but unfortunatelyonly a third of the package hadbeen implemented so far. Sar-dar Fateh Muhammad Has-sani said the discussion onBalochistan was an importantinitiative and all membersfrom both sides of the dividemust seriously give their sug-gestions to resolve the issue.

ISLAMABADstaff report

In apparent effort to speed up the trial of the accusedin the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, India has hintedat offering Islamabad a chance to cross examine wit-nesses by a Pakistani judicial commission set up forinvestigation into the incident. Indian Home Secre-tary RK Singh said New Delhi might consider sucha request from Islamabad as it wanted conviction ofthose who responsible for the terror attacks.

The news comes after Islamabad told New Delhithat recently obtained evidence of the Mumbai at-tacks was inadmissible in court because Pakistanis

were not allowed to cross-examine Indian officials,a lawyer said Wednesday. Pakistan’s Interior Min-istry wrote formally to the Indian government aftera court rejected the evidence in July on the basis thatthe Pakistanis could not question Indian officials,prosecutor Chaudhry Zulfiqar said.

The letter is likely to aggravate New Delhi, whichhas branded Pakistan’s attempts at prosecuting sevenalleged conspirators a “facade” and has insisted it hasalready handed over enough evidence to convict theaccused. Seven suspects, including Lashkar-e-Taibacommander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, have beencharged with planning, financing and executing theterror attacks in Mumbai that killed 166 people in No-vember 2008. Their trial in Pakistan has been hit bydelays and the judge has been changed five times.“We have requested our High Commissioner in Pak-istan to approach the government there and ask themhow they want to proceed. If they send us a commu-nication, we will look at that communication. “Oncewe get to know as to how they want to proceed, wewill consult our legal team what is feasible and whatis not. We want these people to be brought to justice,”he told reporters here.

Mumbai evidencenot valid, Pakistantells India

Senators demand talks with Baloch nationalists

IslaMabad: pakistan tehreek-i-Insaf Chairman ImranKhan addresses a press conference on Wednesday. AFP

FILE PHoTo


e-paper pakistantoday 02nd august, 2012

Documents

Transcript of e-paper pakistantoday 02nd august, 2012