e-paper pakistantoday 12th January, 2013

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Saturday, 12 January, 2013 Safar 29, 1434Rs 15.00 Vol iii no 196 19 pages lahore edition

KARACHI/LAHORESTAFF REPORT

FolloWInG Thursday’s “po-litical drone strike” by Mut-tahida Qaumi Movement(MQM) chief Altaf Hussainand promises of participating

in Dr Tahirul Qadri’s long march at allcosts, the party on Friday dropped anothershocker by excusing from participating inthe march on the capital, citing securityrisks. Shocked but undeterred, Dr Qadri

said he would lead the march on Islam-abad per schedule at all costs and thereshould be no illusion in this regard.

Addressing a press conference late atnight with Pakistan Muslim league-QuaidPresident Shujaat Hussain and PervezElahi, Qadri said he had forwarded hischarter of demands to the PMl-Q leader-ship and the participants of the marchwould not budge from Islamabad until thedemands are met.

on Thursday night, President AsifZardari had tasked Shujaat with contacting

Dr Qadri and try and make him withdrawhis call of long march. Shujaat told re-porters he was hopeful of a positive out-come of the prevailing quagmire.

Addressing a news conference inKarachi earlier in the day, MQM DeputyConvener Dr Farooq Sattar said the partyleadership had decided to separate itselffrom the long march, however, it wouldcontinue to support Dr Qadri’s ideology.

He said that the decision was takenin the backdrop of the deteriorating se-curity situation in the country and it was

dangerous to put the lives of millions ofpeople at stake. Sattar said the MQMhad conveyed its decision, which hadbeen endorsed by party chief Altaf Hus-sain, to Dr Qadri.

Altaf Hussain had earlier vowed to takeactive part in the long march, but the deci-sion was apparently withdrawn after thedeadly blasts in Quetta and Swat that killedclose to 116 people. Sattar said terroristswere out to sabotage the long march and themarch faced immense security threats.

“Besides, Dr Qadri will unveil the

ways in which the long march is beinghampered,” Sattar added. Dr Qadri saidearlier in the day that he would lead themarch on Islamabad per schedule at allcosts and there should be no illusion inthis regard. Affirming his resolve to carryon with the march, he said the incumbentgovernment had lost legal, moral, andconstitutional authority to rule afterThursday’s carnage that killed 116 people.

MQM SayS ParticiPation in lonGMarch too danGeroUS in cUrrent SecUrity SitUation

tahirUl Qadri SayS lonG Marchto Go ahead deSPite all oddS,handS over charter of deMandS to PMl-Q leaderShiP

Security of gains, notworkers, forced MQM out

ISLAMABADTAyyAb HUSSAIN

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement took a U-turn on its claimsof participating in Dr Tahirul Qadri’s long march after cuttingan underhand deal with President Asif Ali Zardari, whopromised the party a lion’s share in the caretaker governmentin Sindh and federal government and holding of localgovernment polls in Sindh at the earliest. In return Zardariasked MQM chief Altaf Hussain to withdraw his support forthe marchers, Pakistan Today has learnt reliably. A source inthe PPP-led government said an MQM delegation, led byMQM Rabita Committee Convener Dr Farooq Sattar, metPresident Asif Ai Zardari on Thursday night and put twodemands for withdrawal of his party’s support to the longmarch. “Dr Farooq Sattar asked President Zardari to give alion’s share in the caretaker setup, especially in Sindh, and tohold local government elections in Sindh immediately, so thatthe party could sell the bargain to its voters,” the source said.He added that after the Supreme Court’s verdict fordelimitation in Karachi, the MQM leadership was perturbedand hence wanted a big share in the caretaker setup to ensureits win in the next general election.

QUETTAAGENCIES

Shia leaders on Fridaypublicly questioned PakistanArmy chief General AshfaqKayani over security in thecountry after the previousday’s bombings aimed at theminority sect killed at least102 people in Quetta. “I askthe army chief: What haveyou done with these extrathree years you got (inoffice). What did you give usexcept more death,” MaulanaAmin Shaheedi, a centralleader of the Majlis-i-Wahdat-i-Muslimeen, told anews conference. Most ofThursday’s deaths werecaused by twin attacks

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QUETTA:

Hazara Shias

refused to bury

their dead until

the Pakistan

Army assured

them security

from the

genocide being

carried out by

the Sunni

terrorist outfit,

the Lashkar-e-

Jhangvi. The

sit-in

demonstration

was continuing

by the time the

newspaper was

sent to press

at 2am.

ShiaS aSk Gen kayani

Related pictuRe | page 04

US drone strikes in Pakistan on rise for 2013: report

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Saturday, 12 January, 2013

Today’s

lookQuick

newS

Story on Page 09

cartoon

Story on Page 11

infotainment

Story on Page 14

SC sends notice to FIA over Abdul Qadir Gilani’s plea brand-new island emerges off Germany

Kaira advises Tahirul Qadrito rethink long marchISLAMABAD: Minister for Information Qamar ZamanKaira on Friday advised Minhajul Quran chief Tahirul Qadrito rethink his decision of long march‚ as had the MuttahidaQaumi Movement. Talking to reporters in Islamabad onFriday‚ he welcomed MQM’s change of mind and itsdecision of not taking part in the long march. He hoped thatDr Qadri would listen to the MQM and the people. Askedwhat course the government would take if Qadri went aheadwith the long march‚ he said everybody had the right toprotest and assemble. He‚ however‚ made it clear thatnobody would be allowed to disrupt public life. ONLINE

Court orders release of BoPscam accused Sheikh Afzal LAHORE: An accountability court on Friday ordered therelease of Sheikh Afzal, accused in the Rs 8.4 billion Bank ofPunjab (BoP) scam, after accepting his plea bargain request.Earlier, Afzal’s counsel told the court that the nationalAccountability Bureau had accepted the plea bargain deal. Hesubmitted that an amount of Rs 3.5 billion had beendeposited as a down payment under the plea bargain dealwhile the remaining amount would be paid in five years. Herequested the court to accept the agreement and order therelease of the accused, which the court accepted. APP

NATO terminal attacked,one person deadQUETTA: A nATo supply terminal located at Hazar Ganjiarea was attacked with rockets, resulting in the death of oneperson. 11 nATo tankers were destroyed by the rockets.Earlier, a blast was also heard on Saryab Road near theQuetta Development Authority (QDA) office. According topolice, the blast was followed by intense firing. DIGoperations said a police team had been sent to the area. Thenature of the blast was unknown as yet. The blast came a dayafter a string of bombings on January 10 that left at least 116people dead and over 150 wounded in one of the bloodiestdays of violence Balochistan has seen in years. ONLINE

OGRA decides to move CNGstations out of cities ISLAMABAD: The oil and Gas Regulatory Authority(oGRA) has decided to shift all Compressed natural Gas(CnG) stations from densely populated areas of thecountry. Reports said the CnG stations would be shiftedto outside of cities. Meanwhile, CnG station ownershave expressed concerns over the decision, calling it anunjust act. ONLINE

ISLAMABADAGENCIES

AS tensions continue to simmer be-tween India and Pakistan over thekillings of two Indian soldiers alongthe line of Control (loC), JamaatudDawa chief Hafiz Saeed on Friday

warned new Delhi of an escalation in violence inIndian occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

Saeed, who is accused of masterminding2008 Mumbai terror attacks, in an interview toReuters said, “We do not want any force to beused or any military operation for this. But theIndians are opting for the other alternative.”

Saeed also accused India of destabilising Pak-istan. He also “challenged” the Indian govern-ment to prove that he was present near the lineof Control a few days ago.

A day after Indian Home Minister Sushilku-

mar Shinde said that Saeed had visited AzadKashmir a few days before two Indian soldierswere allegedly killed by Pakistani troops in Kash-mir, Saeed said in a tweet: “I CHAllEnGE theIndian Government, its ministers & agencies toprove my presence near loC or remain exposedas liars in front of the world.”

Saeed also demanded that a Un probe beheld into the ceasefire violations on the loC aswell as into “the injustice, rapes, mass-graves andabductions in occupied #Kashmir”. The JuDchief alleged the exchange of fire between Indianand Pakistani forces was due to India “trying toshift focus from its internal problems of #Rape,#Communal Riots and exploiting the sentimentsagainst #Pakistan #loC”.

Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shindeon Thursday had said Saeed had visited the bor-der areas in Azad Kashmir a few days before theattack on Indian soldiers.

India is opting for the other alternative:Hafiz Saeed on LoC violations

QUETTAAPP

Funeral prayers of three journalists, who fell victimto Thursday’s bomb blast in Quetta, were offered onFriday and they were laid to rest in graveyards oftheir native areas.

The three journalists who lost their life on dutyincluded SAMAAA TV’s reporter Saifur Rehman,and cameraman Imran Sheikh, and Iqbal Hussain,an employee of news network International (nnI).

A powerful bomb blast took place at a snookerclub on Alamdar Road in Quetta on Thursday night.A second powerful blast occurred close by just as

media team and security and rescue personnel ar-rived at the site of the first bombing.

The two bombs lefts 81 people dead, includingjournalists, police officials, rescue workers and citi-zens. Imran Sheikh and Iqbal Hussain were report-edly killed on the spot, while Saifur Rehman expiredat Combined Military Hospital. The funeral of Sheikhwas offered at Railway Eidgah and he was laid to restin a graveyard in Muslim Town. He is survived by hiswife and two daughters. The body of Saifur Rehmanwas taken to Karachi for burial. He has left behindthree sons and a widow. Hussain’s funeral was of-fered in nichari Imambargah and he was laid to restin a graveyard in Marriabad area.

Three journalists killed inQuetta blasts laid to rest

KP shoots downCentre’s FC platoons’deployment request

PESHAWARSHAMIM SHAHID

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government onFriday rejected the federal government’s requestfor dispatching Frontier Constabulary (FC)platoons to Islamabad to counter the potentialthreat of a law and order situation during DrTahirul Qadri’s long march on January 14.According to details, the federal governmentreached out to the KP government throughInterior Ministry to ask for FC platoons to bedeployed in Islamabad during Tahirul Qadri’slong march to the capital. The request by thefederal government was discussed in a high-levelmeeting of the KP government. However, therequest was rejected on account of no date ofreturn given by the federal government for theplatoons. Furthermore, the KP governmentofficials also reminded the federal governmentthat they too were in short supply of lawenforcement personnel. Moreover, the KPgovernment said that the province was in a war-like situation and the FC personnel wereguarding the boundaries between settled districtsand the Federally Administered Tribal Areas(FATA) region where militants were believed tobe holed up. A KP government official, oncondition of anonymity, told Pakistan Today thatthe KP government had been requesting thereturn of the FC personnel which had been atthe disposal of the federal government for thelast five years. The FC personnel in Islamabadhad been engaged in guarding diplomaticmissions, offices and residences of the VVIPs,the official said. The official said that the federalgovernment had shown reluctance in returningthe platoon back to KP.

QUETTA: Hazara Shias mourn their loved ones at an imambargah on Alamdar Road on Friday, a day after three

bombings, one targeting an FC checkpost and two targeting Hazara Shias, killed more than 116 people. online

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editorialSpate of terror:

comment

articles on Page 10

A nation hostage to terrorism.

Arif Nizami says;

Tarnishing the Quaid: Threats bigger than Qadri.

Raoof Hasan says;The distortion parade: A venomous agenda that would spark bitter controversy.

artS & entertainment

Story on Page 15

lahore

Story on Page 07

SPortS

Story on Page 15

Miley Cyrus gets in bed with Harry Styles, clarifies Caretalker govt not to be selected on Qadri;s says Wattoo PCb names three uncapped players for South Africa series

ISLAMABADAPP

CHIEF Justice of PakistanIftikhar MuhammadChaudhry on Friday ob-served that the sole ob-jective of the national

Accountability Bureau (nAB) was toeliminate corruption from the soci-ety.

He was heading a three-memberbench comprising Justice GulzarAhmed and Justice Sheikh AzmatSaeed as its other members, whichresumed hearing in the quarterlyprogress reports related to imple-mentation of its verdict on RentalPower Plants (RPPs) case.

The CJ asked nAB officials towork for strengthening national in-stitutions.

He said the court decision wasvery explicit, but no tangible actionwas taken by nAB.

The chief justice directed the of-ficials to complete challans against

all the accused without any discrim-ination.

The bench in its order directedthe nAB chairman to personallyoversee the progress on the imple-mentation of its verdict and initiatecriminal proceedings against the ac-cused, besides ensuring recovery ofthe amount.

During the course of proceed-ings earlier, nAB Additional Prose-cutor General Fauzi Zafar apprisedthe bench that three officials had al-ready been suspended for removinginvestigation officer Asghar Khanfrom the case.

Justice Azmat Saeed said all peo-ple who had been protecting the ac-cused would have to face criminalproceedings as well.

Fauzi requested the bench togive him time for submission of acomprehensive report, as he was notfeeling well.

The bench accepted the requestand adjourned the hearing until Jan-uary 15.

NAB’s sole objective is toefface corruption, says CJ

ISLAMABADSTAFF REPORT

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chair-man Imran Khan on Friday stronglycondemned the terrorist attacks thattook place in Quetta and Swat onThursday causing a loss of over 100lives and leaving many injured.

This combined with terror attacksin other areas and targeted killingsleft over 130 people dead in a singleday.

In a statement, the PTI chief saidinnocent people were being killed butthe government had limited its role toissuing condemnation and condo-lence messages. “no strategy to com-bat terrorism and to find a durablesolution to the problem is visible,” hesaid.

Khan said the situation had dete-riorated to an extent that even per-sonnel of law enforcement agenciesand media were not safe. He stronglycondemned lashkar-e-Jhangvi for its

genocidal campaign against the Haz-ara community in Quetta. “This sec-tarian strife combined with randomacts of terror is leading to a strongfeeling of instability in the country,”Khan asserted.

He said the situation in the entirecountry, particularly in Balochistan,

had been chaotic for quite some timenow. “Unfortunately the govern-ments, both federal and provincial,have done nothing to take stock of thesituation and devise a workable plan.The result is that this province, whichis full of natural resources, is slippingout of control,” he said.

Imran expresses concern overrampant acts of terrorism

QUETTA: Unidentified armed men shot dead two labourers in Quetta’sSariab area on Friday. Police sources said the armed assailants riding amotorbike came to a shop in Killi Kamalo Sariab and opened indiscriminatefire at two labourers sitting inside the shop. “The two labourers receivedserious bullet wounds and succumbed to their injuries on way to hospital,”they said. The attackers managed to flee. The deceased were identified asSiraj and Abdul Mateen. Police have registered a case and investigationswere underway. APP

Two labourers shot

dead in Quetta

Drone attack? That wasa suicide attack: Nisar

ISLAMABADONLINE

national Assemblyopposition leaderChaudhry nisarKhan on Fridaysaid that theaddress ofMuttahida QaumiMovement(MQM) chief AltafHussain was a“suicide attack”which only servedto destroy theMQM leader’scredibility. Talking to journalists at ParliamentHouse, nisar that it was not the first time AltafHussain had made hypocritical statements and thestatements only pointed to his dubious character.“Altaf Hussain had initiated discussion about thereligious sect of Quaid-e-Azam in the past and if wedo not get familiar with Hussain’s bent of mind, thewhole nation will have to bear the consequences ofit,” he added. Answering a question, nisar said thathe had finalised names for caretaker government.“The caretaker prime minister would not be fromPakistan People’s Party (PPP) or Pakistan Muslimleague-nawaz (PMl-n) and will be acceptable to theentire nation,” he said.

ISLAMABAD: The clash between the PakistanTehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) onthe issue of allotment of ‘the scale’ as the electionsymbol is going to end, as after hearing both parties’final arguments on Friday, the Election Commissionof Pakistan (ECP) reserved the decision, which wouldbe announced soon. Both right-wing parties hadapplied for the allotment of the weighing scale astheir election symbol. During the hearing, PTI’slawyer and senior leader Hamid Khan pleaded that hisparty should be granted the ‘scale’ as a permanentelection symbol as it truly represented the party’sname and ideology. He said the PTI had used the scale

as an election symbol in the last elections held inGilgit-Baltistan. JI’s lawyer Toufeeq Asif, on theother hand, pleaded that the scale had been alreadyallotted to the JI in 1970 elections, therefore, he saidthe party had a right to obtain it again. JI seniorleader liaquat Baloch was also present. He arguedthat in the 1970 elections, the JI was allotted scale asthe symbol, but later on in 1984 this symbol wasomitted from the ECP’s symbols list. The JI leadersaid that now once again eth ECP had included thesymbol so it should be allotted to the JI. The ECP toldboth parties that the symbol would be allotted onmerit and reserved its verdict. STAFF REPORT

PTi, Ji clash over election symbolto end with eCP decision

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nEW DELHIAGENCIES

InDIA’S rulingCongress party onFriday talkedtough by sayingIndia wanted

peace with Pakistan butthe neighbouring countryshould not take it as asign of weakness.It also warned that ifPakistan did not stopviolating the loC (line ofControl), India wouldhave to think of takingstrong action.“We don’t want to breakthe process of peace butat the same time, we needto send a strong messageto Pakistan that we arequite strong and can faceany challenge. Theyshould not feel that weare weak in any respect,”Congress spokespersonSandeep Dikshit toldreporters.

“If Pakistan did not stopviolating the loC, Indiawill have to think oftaking strong action. Weare watching the situationwhether the Pakistangovernment ismaintaining the statusquo of ceasefire on theline of Control. Theyshould stop violating theceasefire. A clear picturewill emerge in the nextthree-four days,” he said.The Congress alsorubbished remarks madeby BJP leader and formerexternal affairs ministerYashwant Sinha that bothUnited ProgressiveAlliance and nationalDemocratic Alliance hadcommitted a mistake intalking to Pakistan.“It is possible they arefeeling now that theymight have erred intaking the bus to lahore.We want friendlyrelations with Pakistan

and to strengthen thesame,” said Dikshitreferring to former primeminister Atal BihariVajpayee’s famous busride to Pakistan in 1999.on the Pakistangovernment stopping thebus service (Paigam-e-Aman) between the twocountries, Dikshit said:“As far as stopping thebus service is concerned,I think the government ofPakistan is not clearwithin themselves fortaking any decision”.The Congress expressedhope that Pakistan wouldhelp control the situation.“We do hope that thePakistan government willtake cognizance of ourdiplomatic and militaryprotests for violating theceasefire on the line ofControl and they shouldtry to solve the problemthan to aggravate thesame,” said Dikshit.

WASHIngTOnONLINE

Visiting Afghan PresidentHamid Karzai on Thursday as-sured the US that with a strongsecurity force, Afghanistanwould not be threatened byterrorists from across its bor-ders when the America-led in-ternational force withdrawsfrom the country in 2014.

on a three-day official visit tothe country, Karzai, ahead of histalks with US Defence Secretary

leon Panetta, hoped that the twocountries would be able to workon the modalities of the bilateralsecurity agreement (BSA), whichis currently being negotiated be-tween the two countries. “I canassure you, Mr Secretary(Panetta) that with the help thatyou’ll provide, Afghanistan willbe able to provide security to itspeople and protect its borders soAfghanistan will never again bethreatened by terrorists fromacross our borders,” Karzai toldthe Defence Secretary in his

opening remarks ahead of themeeting between the two leaders.“I’m sure during this trip,Afghanistan and the US will workout the modality for bilateral se-curity limit that will ensure theinterests of the state ofAfghanistan and also the inter-ests of the United States,” Karzaisaid. The BSA would determinethe troop structure and nature ofUS presence in Afghanistan post-2014 after the withdrawal of theUS-led international forces fromthe country.

“Wrong policies of thegovernment causedcorruption and terrorism,”Qadri said, making it clearthat rulers who failed to haltterrorism were eitherineligible or aides toterrorists.The TMQ chief said no onein the country was safe, be itMuslims, Hindus,Christians or anyone else.Qadri praised the judiciaryfor dismissing writ petitionsagainst his march anddeclaring the march legal. “The courts declared thelong march lawful,democratic and according tothe fundamental rightsprovided by the constitutionof Pakistan. I would request

the local and foreign mediato highlight the news ofjudiciary rejecting thesewrit petitions,” he added.He took exception to thePunjab government’smeasures to create hurdlesin the way of his longmarch, saying theadministration wasdirecting the transporters toreturn advance money thatthey received to transportthe participants of themarch to Islamabad. Qadri said the Punjabgovernment was usingvarious tactics in order toput stumbling blocks in theway of his rally.“The media, the wretched ofthe earth and a majority ofpoor people will stand byme in the struggle of

restoration for peace anderadication of corruptionfrom the country,” he said.Without naming theInterior Minister RehmanMalik, Qadri said thegovernment was disfiguringthe facts in the name ofpolitics by levelling bogusallegations on TMQworkers.The TMQ chief said if anyattack was carried out onthe long march, PresidentAsif Ali Zardari, PrimeMinister Raja PervezAshraf, Interior MinisterRehman Malik, PMl-nPresident nawaz Sharif,Punjab Chief MinisterShahbaz Sharif and Punjablaw Minister RanaSanaullah would be heldresponsible.

aimed at Hazara Shias in Quetta,where members of the sect havelong accused the state of turning ablind eye to extremist militantdeath squads. The leaders were sooutraged at the latest bloodshedthat they called for the military totake control of the city to shieldthem and said they would not allowthe 82 victims of twin bombattacks to be buried until theirdemands were met.The burials had been scheduled totake place after Friday prayers butthe leaders said the bodies wouldremain in place until Shias receivepromises of protection.Shaheedi said scores of bodieswere still lying on a road.“They will not be buried until the

army comes into Quetta,” he said.According to reports pouring infrom Quetta late on Friday, theprotesting Shias continued withtheir sit-in despite rain andextreme cold weather. Violenceagainst Shia Muslims is rising andsome communities are living in astate of siege, a human rightsgroup said on Friday. “last yearwas the bloodiest year for Shias inliving memory,” said Ali DayanHasan of Human Rights Watch.“More than 400 were killed and ifyesterday’s attack is any indication,it is just going to get worse.” Thebanned extremist group lashkar-e-Jangvi (leJ) claimed responsibilityfor the attack in a predominantlyShia neighbourhood where theresidents are ethnic Hazaras, amajority of whom are Shias who

first migrated from Afghanistan inthe nineteenth century. The leJ hasstepped up attacks against Shiasacross the country but has zeroedin on members of the sect who livein resource-rich Balochistanprovince.“The leJ operates under one frontor the other, and its activists goaround openly shouting, ‘infidel,infidel, Shia infidel’ and ‘death toShias’ in the streets of Quetta andoutside our mosques,” said SyedDawwod Agha, a top official withthe Balochistan Shia Conference.“We have become a community ofgrave diggers. We are so used todeath now that we always haveshrouds ready.”Among the dead in Quetta wasKhudi Ali, a young activist whooften wore a T-shirt with fakebloodstains during protests againstthe rising violence against Shias.Ali’s Twitter profile said: “I am

born to fight for human rights andpeace.” The roughly 500,000-strong Hazara people in Quetta,who speak a Persian dialect, havedistinct features and are an easytarget, said Dayan.

“They live in a state of siege.Stepping out of the ghetto meansrisking death,” said Dayan.“Everyone has failed them – thesecurity services, the government,the judiciary.”

ceasefire violationsare cause for seriousconcern: antony

NEW DELHI: India onFriday said the repeatedceasefire violations by Pakistanalong the loC in Jammu andKashmir were a matter of“serious concern” and theprovocative action of killing oftwo soldiers was a “turningpoint”. Defence Minister AKAntony said there were“enough troops” in Jammu andKashmir and the governmentwas taking all steps to protectthe interest of the country. TheDirector Generals of Militaryoperations (DGMos) of thetwo countries were in touch, hesaid, adding “let us see theresult of that talk”. Antony saidsuch ceasefire violations andfiring were a matter of seriousconcern. “It is not an isolatedincident, it’s increasing fromthe last one year. Ceasefireviolations are also increasing.It is a matter of concern to usand the tragic, provocativeactions two days back, thatwas a turning point at themoment,” the defenceminister said. online

“Actually, the MQM leader-ship is concerned due to thephenomenal increase in thePashtun vote bank. So thesupport to Dr Qadri’s marchwas a pressure tactic. nowafter assurance from Presi-dent Zardari, they are hopefulof making up their previouslosses,” the source added.

The source said PresidentZardari gave categorical as-surance on MQM’s share inthe caretaker setup, but hegave no clear assurance onholding the local bodies’ elec-tions as the Sindh Publiclocal Government ordinance2012 had already hurt badlythe ruling party’s popularityin interior Sindh and the na-tionalist parties gained a lot.MQM DIVIDED: A source

in the MQM said there were“deep divisions” within theRabita Committee over thedeal, as Zardari had a habit ofdodging its coalition partnersand not meeting his prom-ises. “This decision might beright as my party would get agood deal with the PPP, butthis U-turn has badly affectedthe morale of party workers,”he said. “We had already beenfacing criticism for the party’sjumping from one branch toanother and then back withinhours and days, but thismarch call had given us a lotof boost. However, this dealhas badly hit the party work-ers’ morale, especially outsideSindh,” said the source.

Despite repeated at-tempts, MQM spokesmanWasay Jalil was not availablefor comments.

Sikandar Jatoihanded over topolice on physical remand

KARACHISTAFF REPORT

An anti-terrorism court(ATC) on Friday handedSikandar Jatoi, father ofmain accused ShahrukhJatoi in Shahzeb Khan’smurder case, to police onphysical remand till 16th.Sikandar Jatoi was broughtbefore the ATC in anarmoured personnel carrier.Jatoi’s counsel informed thecourt that his client was adiabetic and heart patient.But the court rejected hisplea and handed overSikandar Jatoi to police onphysical remand. SikandarJatoi appeared before the SCon Thursday after acquiringa one-day protective bailfrom the lHC, however, hewas arrested from thecourt’s premises. Two more witnessesidentity accused: Twomore witnesses identifiedSiraj Talpur, Sajjad Talpurand Ghulam Mustafalashari in front of theJudicial Magistrate South onFriday. The witnesses saidSiraj Talpur and ShahrukJatoi fired at the moving carof Shahzeb Khan and itturned turtle. Prior to this,two other witnesses in theirstatements said Siraj Talpurshot at Shahzeb, whileSajjad Talpur and GhulamMustafa lashari raisedinstigated that Shahzeb wasstill alive and more shotsshould be fired.

Don’t take India forgranted: Congressto Pakistan

Security of gains,not workers,forced MQM out

how Many More bodieS?

Altaf cuts Qadri’s long march short

Won’t let Afghanistan soil beused by terrorists: Karzai

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Deputy Prime Minister Chaudhry

Pervez Elahi meet with Tehreek Minhajul Quran chief Dr Tahirul Qadri at his residence on Friday. online

continued fRom page 01



QUETTA: Local residents look at clothes left in a pile at the site of twin

suicide bombings on Friday. online

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LAHORERANA HAIDER

PAKISTAn Muslim league-nawaz(PMl-n) MPA Shamsa Gohar’s fa-ther, Muhammad Yousuf, who hasbeen living illegally in the UnitedKingdom (UK) for the past 14 years

received British nationality in 2004 allegedly ona fake Pakistani Identity Card arranged by hislawmaker daughter, Pakistan Today has learnt.

The matter has been taken up by the Fed-eral Investigation Agency (FIA) which hasstarted an enquiry involving the PMl-n law-maker and her brother Haider Yousuf.

According to FIA sources, Shamsa’s fatherhad gone to UK on a PC (picture changed) pass-port which he destroyed on his arrival there andstarted living illegally. In 2004, the British gov-ernment had summoned applications from illegalimmigrants following which Yousuf applied forpolitical asylum claiming he faced life threats inPakistan which had forced him to flee to the UK.

Meanwhile, his daughter in Pakistanthrough her contacts got a fake ID card madethrough nADRA and sent it to her father, whichhe used in his successful asylum application. Tilltoday, Yousuf resides in Manchester as a Britishnational where he runs a tailoring shop.

Talking to Pakistan Today, Shamsa Gohar’sformer second husband, Sarfraz Gohar, allegedthat Shamsa’s father had gone to UK on a fake

passport. He said in 2004, when Yousuf neededan ID card for his asylum application, Shamsaused her contacts to procure a fake one fromnADRA which did not have her father’sthumbprint or signature. “They didn’t even goto collect the card from the nADRA office. Shegot it delivered to her home and sent it to her fa-ther in UK,” claimed Sarfraz, adding that Yousufnever came to Pakistan to get an original ID card.He said he had filed an application with the FIAwhich was conducting enquiry under FIR no.353/2012. He said he had also filed an applica-tion with the UK border agency which was alsoenquiring the matter. He said he was Shamsa’ssecond husband and had recently filed a divorcesuit against her because she was allegedly havingan affair with another PMl-n lawmaker.

Sarfraz said his marriage with Shamsalasted for seven years and they had a 6-year-old daughter. He further said that she was firstmarried to her cousin Abid Ali from whom shehad filed for divorce and had registered an FIRno. 590/2005 against her brother-in-lawShahid Ali and husband Abid at the oldAnarkali police station.

Talking to Pakistan Today, Shamsa Goharsaid all applications against her and her fatherwere baseless and contrary to the truth.

“An enquiry is underway. The truth will be es-tablished once it concludes,” she said. She said herfather was a tax paying British national and a reg-istered voter. “He has been living there for almost14 years and did not go there on a PC passport.My ex-husband is dispensing bogus allegationswhich are a pack of lies. He has come up with sev-eral other fake allegations in the past which werenot proven in court,” she claimed. Shamsa saidshe had not committed any crime and had no in-volvement whatsoever in the matter.

FIA lahore Inspector Chaudhry EjazAhmad told Pakistan Today that Shamsa Goharcame to the Agency’s office on January 8 but didnot record a statement, seeking a new date forthe hearing. He said her brother, Haider Yousuf,also came in on January 9 and accepted that hisfather had been living in the Manchester for thepast 14 years but sought a later date for record-ing his statement.

fia investigating PMl-nfemale MP over fake cnicnFIA summons Shamsa Gohar for alleged involvement inprocuring fake ID card for her father’s British nationality

Shamsa Gohar

LAHORESTAFF REPORT

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said police shouldrespect the citizens and address their grievances andwarned that he would not tolerate any hurdle in the provi-sion of justice to the people. listening to complainantsfrom various districts, he said police should serve themasses by providing them justice. “Justice should be up-held during the investigation of cases. Strong action wouldbe taken against corrupt police officers while honest oneswould be encouraged,” he said. law Minister RanaSanaullah Khan, MnA Pervaiz Malik, home and prosecu-tion secretaries, Punjab inspector general police, Punjabdirector general forensic science agency and other con-cerned authorities were present on the occasion. The chiefminister said the government had provided billions of ru-pees for the maintenance of law and order and for the pro-tection of life and property of the citizens and now it is theresponsibility of the police to address the grievances of thepeople and be courteous to them at police stations. “Thoseinvolved in heinous crimes should be arrested immediatelyand all necessary measures should be taken for this pur-pose. Police should submit the FIRs of cases in the courts assoon as possible so that the culprits can be punished with-out any delay,” the chief minister said. He said that themost advanced forensic lab of South Asia had been estab-lished in the provincial metropolis at a cost of Rs 2.5 billion.Shahbaz said police should check the oppressor and helpthe oppressed because cruelty and injustice tend to ruin so-cieties. “Societies are created through provision of justiceand destroyed through injustice,” he said. He added thatonly those societies progress where justice is upheld. Thechief minister said his doors were open to every man whohad been deprived justice and police should serve the peo-ple sincerely and perform their duties honestly for which‘Allah Almighty will reward them’.

Police should respect the common manShahbaz criticises Altaf onremarks regarding Jinnah

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif onFriday criticised MQM chief Altaf Hussain over hisremarks regarding Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad AliJinnah. Speaking at the opening ceremony of ModelTown underpass, Shahbaz said the stature of thefounder of the nation could not be undermined bysomeone’s remarks. “only those who want to pushthe country towards darkness are against Punjab’sdevelopment projects. I also want to clarify that theMetro Bus Service scheme is costing only Rs 30 bil-lion,” he said. NNI

brtS to be launched on 27thLAHORE: The Punjab government is all set to launch in-auguration of the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) onJanuary 27 as high ups have been issued strict directions tocomplete the work at a fast pace, Pakistan Today haslearnt. According to details, the 27km long route will have29 bus stops between Gajumatta and Shahdara. The routeon the Ferozepur road will include Dulu Khurd, Yuhan-abad, nishter Colony, Attari Sarroba, Kamahan, ChungiAmar Sidu, Ghazi Road, Walton Road, Iteffaq Hospital,naseerabad, Model Town, Kalma Chowk, Canal, Ichra,Shama, Qartaba, Janazgah, MAo College, Civil Secretariat,District Courts, Bhaati, Azadi Chowk, Timber Market andShahdara. The project is being completed in a record timeof 11 months. It has many features which are being intro-duced for the first time in the metropolis including e-esca-lators, articulated buses, modern bus stations, e-ticketingbesides many others. The escalators are being rapidly in-stalled, while the articulated buses have reached here fromTurkey in time. The designated route will allow passage ofa bus after every five minutes reducing the travel time from2 hours to 55 minutes. The fare has also been set at an af-fordable price with specific sitting area for females and dis-abled persons. The route has a state-of-the-art bus stationafter every kilometer. The Punjab government furtherplans to introduce the modern transport facility in othercities of the province after its success in lahore. The chiefminister in his address thanked the people for being pa-tient during the completion of the project which is about tobe launched soon for their convenience. STAFF REPORT

LAHORE: A candlelight vigil was organised outside the press club on Friday to pay tribute to Swedish Christian missionarybirgitta Almby, who was gunned down by unidentified assailants outside her home in Model Town in November. Almby’s funeralwas held in Sweden on Friday while Christians of the city remembered her services to the community in special prayers. Thepolice has so far been unable to trace Almby’s killers, who served poor Christians in Pakistan for over 38 years. STaff PhoTo

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06

LAHORESTAFF REPORT

ABBAS Sharif, theyoungest brother ofPakistan Muslimleague-nawaz (PMl-n) President nawaz

Sharif, passed away on Friday afterbeing electrocuted at his home inRaiwind. He was 58. He was buriedat the Jatti Umra graveyard on Fri-day evening.

According to details, Abbas wentto the bathroom before Friday prayersbut did not come out. His absence wasnoticed by his servants, who informednawaz who was also present. Theybroke the door open to find Abbaslying on the floor unconscious.

He was taken to Sharif MedicalCity Hospital where he died whilebeing provided first aid.

Punjab Chief Minister ShahbazSharif also reached the hospital soonafter being informed.

A large number of PMl-n ac-tivists and leader started visiting Rai-wind to express their condolences.

Abbas was the youngest amongthe siblings and was married toSabiha Abbas. He was MnA in1993, but after that he dissociatedhimself from active politics. Helooked after the business of theSharif family. He is survived by a

widow, two sons and two daughters.President Asif Ali Zardari,

Prime Minister Raja PervaizAshraf, leaders of various politicalparties including JI chief MunawarHassan, AnP chief Asfandyar WaliKhan, PMl-Q chief Chaudhry Shu-jaat Hussain, PTI chief ImranKhan, PPP Chairman BilawalBhutto Zardari and Sindh GovernorIshratul Ebad expressed grief overthe death of Abbas and prayed forthe departed soul. Qul of late AbbasSharif will be held at Jatti Umra at1pm on Sunday (tomorrow).

Shujat Hussain, Pervaiz Elahi,

Manzoor Watto, Arif nizami, Ja-hanjir Badar, Tanveer AshrafQaria, Mustaq Awan, Punjab As-sembly Speaker Rana Iqbal,Khawaj Asif, Zulfiqar Khosa, BilalYasin, Main Amir Mahmood, DostMuhammad Khosa, Ishaq Dar,Khawaja Salman Rafiq, RanaMaqbol, Yousaf Salluhudin, PunjabChief Secretary nasir MahmoodKhosa, lahore DCo noorullahMangel, lahore CommissionerJawad Rafiq, Sohail Waraich, RanaShamain, Punjab IG and lahoreDIG Rai Tahir were among thosewho attended the funeral.

nawaz’s brother abbas Sharif passes away

Police put on high alertafter Quetta blasts

LAHOREAPP

The city police on Friday enhanced the se-curity of sensitive installations and impor-tant locations in the wake of blasts inQuetta. Capital City Police Chief, Addi-tional IG Aslam Tareen said that he had di-rected DIG (operation) and all additionalSSPs (operation), including SDPos andSHos, to remain on high alert to ensurefoolproof security in their respective areas. He further said that he had directed thepolice officers to take effective precaution-ary measures, especially at crowded publicplaces, to prevent incidents of terrorismand subversion.Tareen ordered the deployment of plainclothesmen wherever necessary. Police of-ficers were also directed to utilise all theavailable resources and their best profes-sional skills to maintain vigil against sus-pects and dubious elements. He also urgedthe people to cooperate with police in thisregard, saying that in case they find anyunclaimed baggage or see any shady char-acter or activity they must immediately in-form police emergency and Rescue 15.

LAHOREINP

The Human Rights Commis-sion of Pakistan (HRCP) onThursday slammed the killingof over 100 people, predomi-nantly the Shia Hazara, in astring of bombings in Quetta,Mingora and Karachi, and de-manded the government totake immediate steps toclamp down on the murder-ing mayhem.

In a statement issued onFriday, the commission saidthat in the first few days of2013, HRCP found itselflamenting for the second timeagainst large-scale sectarianbloodshed in the country.

The callous targeting of themembers of the Hazara com-munity in Quetta in two of thethree bombings on Thursdaycaused the highest death toll ina sectarian attack in a day inPakistan so far.

The statement said that thelack of any apparent distress at

these brutal attacksand absence of ur-gency to nab thekillers promptedhuman rights or-ganisations in thecountry and abroadto accuse the state

of looking the other way asmore and more citizens of theShia community were being”mowed down in these ap-palling attacks”.

“If the government hasany trepidation regarding itsfailure to put an end to sec-tarian killings, it has cer-tainly done a good job hidingit,” the statement said.

“How can attackers, in acity like Quetta, manage toget through security check-posts and kill innocentShias?” it said

They said that the blood-shed in Mingora and Karachion Thursday only demon-strate hastened descent intochaos as the general electionsapproach.

“The people expect muchmore from the police and thesecurity forces than mere in-formation on the nature ofthe explosions that claimedcitizens’ lives.

A banned organisationhas claimed responsibility forthe Quetta bombings,” thestatement said.

“The network and sanctu-aries of banned outfits mustbe raided across Pakistan, in-cluding Punjab, and thekillers should be appre-hended and tried,” it said.

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday, on theadvice of the prime minister, approved the appointment ofMuhammad Falak Sher Farooqa as lahore AccountabilityCourt-II Judge. The post was vacant since September 16 dueto the expiry of the deputation period of the incumbentAhmed nawaz Ranjha. Muhammad Falak Sher Farooqa wasappointed on deputation basis on his own pay scale until hisretirement on August 31, or until further orders. APP

Falak Sher Farooqa appointed Accountability Court judge

Lahore

HRCP slams killing of Shias

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low

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080cSunday monday tueSday17°c i 07°c 17°c i 06°c 16°c i 08°c

Prayer timingSfajr Sunrise zuhr asr maghrib isha

5:45 7:12 12:16 3:01 5:20 6:48

city directory

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

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mayo 99211100-9

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Jinnah 111-809-809

adil (defence) 36667275

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Partly cloudy

weather uPdateS

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inTeRnATionAl JouRnAliSM Con-

fri Jan 25 at 02:00 am venue : Pearl continental hotel

the conference focuses on the impact of social,

economic, political, technological and

educational changes on the practice of

journalism.

Sports at lumS (SlumS) is organizing the 3rdconsecutive university college and Schoolcompetition in Pakistan. with record breakingParticipation of more than 600 athletes in 2011and 800 participants in 2012. lSf'13 is to be heldfrom 14th-17th January 2013.

mon Jan 14 at 02:00 am venue: lahore univerSity of management ScienceS (lumS)

Shahjiwana international debating

championship is the annual debating

championship of the university college

lahore.

fri Jan 25 at 02:00 am venue : univerSity college lahore (ucl)

10TH SHAHJiWAnA inTeRnATionAl

DebATing CHAMPionSHiP

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

07Lahore

LAHOREWALEED MALHI

EnVIRonMEnT degradation has ledto migration of scavenger birds fromriver Ravi, Pakistan Today haslearnt. These birds, which wereseen in large numbers at dumping

sites on the river bank would eat the waste keep-ing the environment healthy.

Migratory birds are excellent indicators ofthe state of our environment. like many otherspecies, their migration patterns match theirneeds of resting, breeding and feeding sites. Byacting as natural controls, birds help regulatepests by reducing populations of potentiallyharmful insects such as caterpillars, weevils,cutworms, beetles and flies. The impact of thecontinuous decline of birds from the city willhave a disastrous effect on the environmentand the natural process.

These birds, however, have migrated andleft the city. There were about 212 species in

1965 which have decreased with time and atpresent, not even a single bird can be seen onthe dumping sites.

River Ravi is a perennial river and unfor-tunately is being used to accumulate the wasteof the entire metropolitan from industries aswell as local households.

A writ petition was submitted to the GreenBench of lahore High Court (A bench formed byChief Justice in High Courts to hear all issues re-lated to the environment) based on the issues ofdischarge of untreated municipal and industrialwastewater into Ravi.

As a response to this writ petition, lahoreHigh Court made a commission for reviving theecology of the river. The commission is workingunder the chairmanship of Dr Kauser A Malik(HEC-Distinguished Professor of Biotechnol-ogy, Director, Research, Innovation & Commer-cialization (oRIC) FC College lahore) and hasmembers from the provincial government de-partments (WASA, EPD), representatives fromnon-government organisations (WWF-Pak-

istan) and technical experts, to find a solutionfor controlling pollution in Ravi and coming upwith practical and feasible outcomes using in-digenous technologies.

The commission has organised three meet-ings on the ecology of Ravi and formed a sub-committee which visited different sites oftreatment plants (nARC at Islamabad andWSP at Faisalabad) and submitted a reportwith recommendations for the treatment ofwastewater of lahore.

Ahmad Rafay Alam, the secretary of thecommission said, “Birds are important for theeco system and play a vital role in maintaining ahealthy environment. We are going to constructa biodegradable forest on the river, which willalso serve as a park for visitors”.

local residents say voices of birds could beheard in the area more than 15 years ago and thesky used to be full of birds. Today, they claimthere is a lot of smell in the area and an increasein diseases. Solid waste of the city, they allege, isthe root cause of all these problems.

Solid waste in Ravi leads tolarge scale birds’ migration

Two die in cylinderblast

MOnITORIng DESK

At least two people died in a cylinder explosionon Friday. According to details, a gas cylinderexploded in a factory near Badami Bagh area. Asa result of the explosion, one man lost his life onthe spot while the other was seriously injured.He was shifted to the hospital for treatmentwhere he succumbed to his wounds and died.

The police reached the scene and gathered evi-dence. They started investigations under Explo-sives Act. The families of the deceased menclaimed that the factory used expired cylinderswhich had caused the explosion.

LAHOREAPP

Pakistan Peoples Party Punjab President andKashmir & Gilgit-Baltistan Affairs MinisterMian Manzoor Ahmad Wattoo said that a care-taker setup would not be formed on the direc-tions of Tahrik-e-Minhajul Quran Chief DrTahirul Qadri even if he launched several longmarches. Talking to journalists after presidingover a meeting of PPP office-bearers of Gujran-wala at the Governor’s House on Fri-day, he advised Tahirul Qadri notto undermine his ‘respect in thesociety’ for an activity in whichhe was not even a stakeholder.

“The next general elec-tions will not be postponedeven for a single day. Consen-sus would be developed amongall political parties in the parlia-ment for a unanimous caretakersetup and a single party willnot be allowed toderail thedemocraticp r o c e s s , ”he said.

Appreciating MQM’s decision of not sup-porting the long march, he said it was a wise de-cision on Altaf Hussain’s part. He said allpolitical parties, judiciary, media and civil soci-ety wanted a sustainable democratic system.

“A unanimous, free, independent and strongelection commission had been formed whichwould hold free and fair elections,” he said.

He reiterated that the caretaker setup wouldbe constituted in March and all political parties,including the PPP, were doing their homework

for the upcoming elections.“The PPP will first finalise its candi-

dates and then bring them into the field.The PPP’s achievements includeamendments to the constitution, Be-nazir Income Support Program,provincial autonomy and restoration ofsacked employees,” he said. “The PPPis also working on an accountability billand on the formation of the Southern

Punjab province. The PPP has drawna political roadmap for

the nation so that noone can derail the

d e m o c r a t i cprocess,” he

added.

Man writes extortion noteto Governor Mahmud to avenge ‘fraud’LAHORE: The Civil lines Police on Fridayarrested a school principal for writing anextortion note to Punjab GovernorMakhdoom Ahmed Mahmud.Per details, Mateen Shah, principal of aschool in Baghbanpura, had written a let-ter to Governor Mahmud in which he haddemanded Rs 5 million on the 10th ofevery month and threatened to kill Mah-mud in case of non-compliance. Governor Mahmud shared the threat withActing Punjab IG Khan Baig who immedi-ately ordered the Additional IG SpecialBranch and CCPo Aslam Tareen to tracethe perpetrators. After initial investiga-tion, the police were able to track downMateen, who said that he had written theletter to implicate his rivals as “they haddefrauded him of Rs 0.25 million”. Civil lines SHo Abid Rashid told PakistanToday that in the letter, Mateen hadclaimed to be a member of a terroristgroup while during interrogation he ad-mitted that he wanted to take revengefrom Tahir Aslam and Gohar Hassan who,he claimed, had sold him a piece of landon fake documents and were now refusingto refund the money. STAFF REPORT

Caretaker govt not to be selectedon Qadri’s will, says Wattoo

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08


News

DAMASCUSAGENCIES

SYRIA has denounced interna-tional envoy lakhdar Brahimias “flagrantly biased”, castingdoubt on how long the Un-Arab league mediator can pur-

sue his peace mission. The Syrian foreignministry was responding to remarks byBrahimi, a veteran Algerian diplomat, aday after he ruled out a role for PresidentBashar al-Assad in a transitional govern-ment and effectively called for the BaathParty leader to quit. “In Syria ... what peopleare saying is that a family ruling for 40 yearsis a little bit too long,” Brahimi told the BBC,referring to Assad, who inherited his postfrom his father Hafez, who seized power in

1970 and ruled for 30 years.“PresidentAssad could take the lead in re-

sponding to the aspira-tion of his people

rather than re-sisting it,”

B r a h i m i

said, hinting that Assad should go. The for-eign ministry in Damascus said it was verysurprised at Brahimi’s comments, whichshowed “he is flagrantly biased for thosewho are conspiring against Syria and itspeople”. Syria’s Al Watan newspaper dailysaid Brahimi had removed his “mask of im-partiality” to reveal his true face as a “a toolfor the implementation of the policy of someWestern countries”. Brahimi has had nomore success than his predecessor KofiAnnan in his quest for a political solution toa 21-month-old conflict in which more than60,000 people have been killed.REGIONAL RIVALRIES: William Hague, UK foreign secretary, gavewarning that violence in Syria mightworsen, saying that the international com-munity must “step up” its response if it does.So far regional rivalries and divisions amongbig powers have blocked any concerted ap-proach to the upheaval, one of the bloodiestto emerge from a series of revolts in theArab world. Russian and US diplomats, whoback opposing sides of the war, are dueto meet Brahimi in Geneva on Friday. onSunday Assad, making his first publicspeech in six months, offered no conces-sions and he said he would never talk to foes

he branded terrorists and Western puppets.As peace efforts floundered, rebels bat-

tled for a strategic air base for a second day,pursuing a civil war that had briefly re-ceded for some Damascus residents whoset aside their differences to play in a raresnowfall that blanketed the city. For a fewhours, people in the capital dropped theirweapons for snowballs and traded hatredfor giggles. There was no respite on otherbattlefronts, with heavy fighting aroundthe Taftanaz base in northwestern Syria,which rebels are trying to capture to extendtheir grip on Idlib province and weakenAssad’s control of the skies. Rebels as-saulted the airport’s main buildings and ar-moury using heavy guns, tanks and otherweapons and appeared to have overrunhalf the area of the base, Rami Abdelrah-man, director of the Syrian observatory forHuman Rights activist group, said. Havingtried to take the base for months, rebelshave been bolstered by the recent arrival ofIslamist fighters including the allegedly al-Qaeda-linked nusra Front, he said. oppo-sition forces have seized chunks of territoryin northern Syria in recent months, but re-main vulnerable to attack by the military’sjets and helicopters.

Syria rebels capturekey idlib airbase DAMAScUS: Syrian oppositionfighters have overrun Taftanazairbase, the largest in northern Syria,after several days of fierce combat,the Syrian observatory for HumanRights has said. Anti-governmentactivists said fighters from Jabhat al-nusra and other groups opposed toPresident Bashar al-Assad seizedcontrol of buildings, ammunition andmilitary equipment in the sprawlingTaftanaz airbase in northern Idlibprovince on Friday. “The fighting atTaftanaz military airport ended at11:00 am (09:00 GMT) and the baseis entirely in rebel hands,” said RamiAbdel Rahman, the director of theUK-based rights group, on Friday.“Many regime forces have been killedand most of the soldiers and officersfled at dawn,” he told the AFP newsagency by phone. agenCieS

Paris PKKmurders termed‘internal feud’PARIS: Turkey’s prime minister has said the fatalshooting of three Kurdish female activists in Parisappears to have been the result of an internal feud.Recep Tayyip Erdogan said evidence so far pointedto the women being killed by someone known tothem, as the building where the execution-stylekillings occurred was secured by a coded lock andcould only be opened by insiders. But Erdogansaid investigations needed to be completed beforea definitive conclusion could be reached. “Thosethree people opened it. no doubt they wouldn’topen it to people they didn’t know,” Erdogan toldreporters on his plane returning from Senegal onFriday, according state-run Anatolian newsagency. Those killed in Thursday’s attack includeSakine Cansiz, a founding member of theKurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a group thatstarted its rebellion against the Turkishgovernment in 1984 and is seeking self-rule. Theother two victims are 32-year-old Fidan Doganand leyla Soylemez, described as a “youngactivist”. The attack overshadowed peacenegotiations between Turkey and the guerrillas,said commentators. Erdogan also said the killingscould also have been intended to sabotage effortstowards peace talks with the PKK. Frenchinvestigators gave no immediate indication of whomight be behind the murders but police continuedtheir search for the culprits. The PKK has seenintermittent internal feuding during an armedcampaign in the mountainous Turkish southeastthat has killed some 40,000 people since 1984.Turkish nationalist fighters have in the past alsobeen accused of killing Kurdish activists, who wantregional autonomy.AGENCIES

BEIjING: State-controlledchannel CCTV said 16 homes inthe Gaopo village in Zhenxiongcounty were engulfed by fallingearth at around 8.20am on Fridaymorning. By Friday afternoonlocal time, rescue-workers hadhauled 22 dead bodies from theground, while 2 victims had beensent to hospital. “Dozens more”locals were still thought to beburied, China’s official newsagency Xinhua claimed.Photographs carried in China’sstate-media showed rescue

workers in orange-overallshunting for victims with the aid ofan excavator. Xinhua said rescueworkers were operating in near-freezing conditions. An officialfrom Zhenxiong’s propagandaoffice, who gave his name as Mr.Wu, told the Daily Telegraph: “Allthe leaders are at the scene givinginstructions on the rescue work.Right now the rescue work is thepriority, trying to save more livesis the priority.” local reports saida 700-strong emergency teamhad been dispatched to the

disaster zone while Yunnan’sprovincial governor, li Jiheng,had also travelled to the region.The affected area is locatedaround 550km northeast ofYunnan’s capital Kunming andnot far from Yiliang county where18 schoolchildren died lastoctober when their school wasburied in a landslide. Thatdisaster was attributed to heavyrains and a series of strongearthquakes that had rattledthrough the region in September,claiming 81 lives. AGENCIES

un urges swiftdeployment oftroops to Mali GOMA: The Un SecurityCouncil has called for aswift deployment offoreign troops toMali to rein in ultra-conservative armedgroups in charge ofthe country’s north.The call on Fridaycomes as the fighters arevowing to capture moreterritory in the West African nation. Diplomats at theUn in new York said Dioncounda Traore, Mali’sinterim president, had appealed to Paris and Un chiefBan Ki-moon for help. Citing a letter from thepresident, Susan Rice, the US ambassador to the Un,said: “It basically said: ‘Help - France’.” France is Mali’sformer colonial ruler and the two countries maintainbilateral relations. Francois Hollande, the Frenchpresident, told a meeting of diplomats in Paris onThursday his country would respond urgently to Mali’sappeal, but would only act under the auspices of theUn. “They are trying to deliver a fatal blow to the veryexistence of this country,” Hollande said of the Islamistgroups that control the north of Mali. “France, like itsAfrican partners and the whole of the internationalcommunity, cannot accept this.” Al Jazeera’s RoryChallands, reporting from Paris, said French militaryofficials would neither confirm nor deny reports thatFrench troops had already arrived in Mali. “We didhear from a spokesman with ECoWAS, the bloc ofWest African nations, that the Un has endorsed to goin with a military force into Mali. agenCieS

42 killed, ‘dozens’ trappedin Chinese landslide

AzAz: a man carries a bag at a Syrianrefugee camp on Friday. agenCieS

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News09Rains, snowfall forecastin upper KP, Punjab, GBISLAMABAD: Pakistan Meteorological Depart-ment (PMD) on Friday predicted light rain andsnowfall in mountainous regions of Punjab, KhyberPakhtunkhawa (KP) and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) for thenext 24 hours. More rains and snowfall in theseareas have been forecast on Wednesday. However,the weather is expected to remain cold and dry inother areas of the country during next 48 hours. Ac-cording to PMD, upper KP as well as Punjab besidesthe hilly areas of Murree and Galyat will receive scat-tered rain and snowfall during the next 24 hours.Minimum temperature was recorded in Astore at -15C during the last 24 hours Weather is expected toremain cold and dry in different areas of the countrywhile the plain areas of Punjab and Sukkur divisionis expected to remain foggy. INP

‘Osama got classified cablespassed by Manning to WikiLeaks’

NEW YORK: Some classified cables allegedlyleaked to the whistleblower website Wikileaks byUS soldier Bradley Manning ended up in the handsof osama bin laden, prosecutors have claimed. USmilitary prosecutor Captain Joe Morrow saidduring a pre-trial hearing that the terrormastermind had an al Qaeda lieutenant bring himsome of the secret State Department and militaryreports allegedly leaked by Manning. TheWikileaks-bin laden connection was part of acollection of new evidence that prosecutors saidthey would bring to trial to show that Manningaided America’s enemies by passing the material tothe anti-secrecy website. According to a report bythe new York Times, prosecutors also said theywould show logs of web chats between Manningand Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. During oneexchange, the two laughed about a Times articlefrom 2010 that said the Pentagon consideredWikileaks a threat to national security, the papersaid. According to new York Daily news,prosecutors did not offer specifics about the secretmaterial that bin laden received. Manning’s trial,originally set to begin in March, was postponeduntil at least June 13 so that the judge could reviewthe new evidence. The 25-year-old formerintelligence agent faces 22 charges, includingaiding the enemy, which carries a maximumsentence of life in prison. ONLINE

WASHIngTOnSPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

The CIA opened 2013 with a flurry ofdrone strikes in Pakistan, pounding Tal-iban targets along the country’s tribal beltat a time when the obama administrationis preparing to disclose its plans forpulling most US forces out of neighbour-ing Afghanistan.

Current and former US intelligenceofficials attributed the increased tempo toa sense of urgency surrounding expecta-

tionsthat Pres-

ident obama will soonorder a drawdown that

could leave Afghanistanwith less than 6,000 US troops after 2014.The strikes are seen as a way to weakenadversaries of the Afghan government be-fore the withdrawal and serve notice thatthe United States will still be able tolaunch attacks, Washington Post re-ported.

The rapid series of CIA strikes “maybe a signal to groups that include not justal-Qaeda that the US will still present athreat” after most American forces havegone, said Seth Jones, a counterterrorismexpert at the Rand Corp.

The CIA may see a diminishing win-dow for using drones with such devastat-ing effectiveness as the military beginssharp reductions in the 66,000 US troopsin Afghanistan, current and former offi-cials said. A former US intelligence officialwith extensive experience in Afghanistansaid the CIA has begun discussing plansto pare back its network of bases acrossthe country to five from 15 or more be-cause of the difficulty of providing secu-rity for its outposts after most US forceshave left. “As the military pulls back, theagency has to pull back,” the former USintelligence official said on the conditionof anonymity, particularly from high-riskoutposts along the country’s eastern bor-der that have served as bases for runninginformant networks and gathering intelli-gence on al-Qaeda and Taliban strong-

holds in Pakistan.Such a retrenchment could slow the

process of identifying fresh targets fordrone strikes, although the agency is ex-pected to continue operating the remotelypiloted planes from fortified bases, suchas a landing strip in Jalalabad.

The CIA’s base plans are among awide range of issues that the US govern-ment has been negotiating with AfghanPresident Hamid Karzai, who is visitingtop officials in Washington this week. ACIA spokesman declined to say whetheragency officials had met with Karzai.

The surge in drone activity comes askey leadership positions at the CIA and inobama’s national security cabinet are influx.

Former CIA director David H. Pe-traeus, who had previously commanded

coalition forces in Afghanistan, hadsought to place tighter restrictions on theagency’s drone campaign in Pakistan,leading to clashes with the head of theCIA’s counterterrorism center, former of-ficials said.

The strikes so far this year have beenscattered across north and SouthWaziristan, semi autonomous regions tar-geted in the vast majority of the morethan 300 strikes carried out by the CIA inPakistan since 2004. Pakistanis in thetribal region said they were baffled by thesurge in activity. “This is beyond our un-derstanding why the drone attacks are in-creased,” a tribal elder from Miran Shah,the main town in north Waziristan, saidduring a telephone interview. He spoke onthe condition of anonymity, citing con-cern for his safety.

ISLAMABADAPP

THE Supreme Court on Friday issued a no-tice to the Federal Investigation Agency(FIA) after MnA Abdul Qadir Gilani movedthe SC over his alleged harassment in theinvestigation of Haj corruption case.

The three-member bench headed by Chief JusticeIftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry issued the notice onthe plea moved by Gilani’s counsel Abdul HafeezPirzada. During the proceedings, the counsel apprisedthe bench that his client was being harassed by the FIAon the pretext of investigation despite the fact that theallegations had not been proven.

He said the allegations were levelled by MnAImran Shah, who could not prove anything and hadtried to defame his client. He claimed that the FIA wasreluctant to initiate criminal proceedings againstImran Shah and had withdrawn the FIR they had reg-istered against him. Pirzada pleaded that a directiveshould be issued for the initiation of criminal proceed-ings against Shah for falsely implicating Gilani.

He also complained that the FIA had started in-vestigations into the authenticity of his client’s aca-demic degree. The chief justice told FIA investigationofficer Hussain Asghar that the bench had asked forthe authenticity of Zain Sukhaira’s degree and not ofGilani and made it clear that it was not the job of theFIA to probe into the degrees’ issue. The chief justice

said the court had assigned him the task of investigat-ing the scam and he should avoid indulging in unnec-essary and irrelevant matters. “You should be carefuland concentrate upon your task,” the CJP advised him.

Asghar apprised the bench that they had investi-gated the import of a luxury vehicle on the basis ofCustoms record. The bench, while issuing a notice tothe attorney general’s office for assistance over theissue, adjourned further proceedings until January 21.The same bench also deferred proceedings until Jan-uary 23 on a contempt issue against Interior MinisterRehman Malik after his counsel Dr Abdul Basit ap-prised the bench that he could not turn up due topressing engagements in view of certain threats re-lated to Dr Tahirul Qadri’s long march.

US drone strikes in Pakistan on rise for 2013: reportg washington Post says increase in drone strikes are final efforts before uS withdraws from afghanistan

SC sends notice toFIA over AbdulQadir Gilani’s pleag gilani moves Sc overalleged harassment in hajcorruption case investigation

PML-N leadershiprefuses to holdtalks with PPPcommittee

ISLAMABADONLINE

The top leadership of the Pakistan Muslimleague-nawaz (PMl-n) on Friday refused tohold talks without an agenda with the four-member cabinet committee constituted bythe Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).Sources said Mian Raza Rabbani, one of thefour members, had contacted PMl-n’s IshaqDar, the opposition leader in the Senate. However, Punjab Chief Minister ShahbazSharif refused to hold dialogue without anyagenda when Dar contacted the topleadership of his party regarding the talks. He questioned what the federal governmentwanted from the Punjab government inconnection with Tahirul Qadri’s long march. The CM said the central government shouldcontact the opposition leader in thenational Assembly nisar Ali Khan if itwanted to hold discussion on the caretakersetup. The source said there were bleakchances of immediate dialogue between thePPP and PMl-n after the refusal fromShahbaz Sharif. The cabinet committeewould have to announce its agenda beforeholding any dialogue, the sources added. The ruling PPP formed a four-membercommittee comprising Khurshid Shah,Farooq naik, nazar Muhammad Gondal andMian Raza Rabbani, tasking it with talkingto political forces and the Punjabgovernment over the current situation inconnection with holding timely elections ina transparent manner.

MULTAN: Punjab Governor Makhdoom Ahmed Mehmud inaugurates a mosque at Qila Khona Qasim bagh on Friday. Abdul Qadir Gilani and Ali Musa Gilani are also

seen in the picture. inP

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Comment10

Arif NizamiEditor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36375963-5 Fax: 042-32535230Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9 Fax: 021-35381208

Islamabad – Ph: 051-2287273Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

Email: [email protected]

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

A nation hostage to terrorism

Spate of terror

The large scale killings on Thursday in Quetta, Karachi andSwat indicate that the terrorists rather than the lawenforcement agencies possess the initiative. The commonman thus continues to pay a terrible price in life, limb and

property. With 124 dead bodies already counted, and more among theseriously injured likely to be added to the tally in the next few days,January 11 will be remembered as one of the blackest days in thecountry’s history. Many more who have been disabled would have tolive with the trauma for the rest of their lives. Eyewitnesses tell of 50shops and nearby houses having been badly damaged in Quetta due tothe explosions. The financial loss would be unbearable for quite a fewvictims of the bombings.

In Quetta, two perpetrators of the carnage have taken credit fortheir cowardly, shameful and gruesome acts. Banned United BalochArmy claimed responsibility for the attack on the FC check post, where12 persons including two children died, and lashkar-e-Jhangvi for thetwo successive attacks in a predominantly Hazara neighbourhoodwhere 81 lives were lost. In Karachi, the seven Pushtun labourers shotand killed in their beds have obviously been targeted by ethnicterrorists who resent the increasing presence of Pushtuns in the city.In Swat, where elements affiliated with the TTP have again started tomake their presence felt through targeted attacks, are presumablybehind the latest terrorist act. A section of the extremists believes thatthe Tablighi Jamaat is luring people away from jihad; it is likely to beinvolved in the attack that killed 34 people.

Sins of omission and commission on the part of both the politicaland non-political establishment are responsible for the deterioratinglaw and order situation in the country. Had those in powerconcentrated on reducing the ethnic tension in Karachi, themetropolis long before now would have been a haven of peace insteadof constantly being engulfed in mayhem and killing. Equally glaring isthe political establishment’s failure to resolve the Balochistan crisisthrough talks. It left the matter in the hands of the agencies, whichsingularly lack the competence and the will for a peaceful resolution.

The two Waziristan agencies remain the epicentre of most of theterrorist activity in the country. one has heard too often that aconclusive military operation in the area was only a matter of time.While the reports have alerted the extremists and made themdesperate, the operation is nowhere in sight. There is a dire need torise to the occasion. Continuing to delay what is urgently neededamounts to making the nation a hostage to terrorism.


A venomous agenda that would spark bitter controversy

The distortion paradeCandid CornerBy Raoof Hasan

Altaf Hussain’s attempt tomalign the person of theQuaid as part of his ‘drone

attack’ is simply reprehensible thatwill be condemned broadly by allwithout exception. The verythought of finding a parallel be-tween the Quaid’s upright andprincipled life and his uncompro-mising character and integrity thatwas acknowledged even by hisfiercest political adversaries andthe MQM chief’s vile foray into dis-torting history to win applausefrom a servile and captive audiencereflect a degenerative mindset thatwill stop at nothing in its bid topromote a destabilising agenda.

The Quaid’s passport that AltafHussain showed as proof of his vitu-perative assault has never been a se-cret. It is dated 1946 when there wasno Pakistan. Would the MQM chiefsuggest a way the Quaid could havesecured a ‘Pakistani’ passport beforethe country had come into exis-tence? But, hidden behind the attackon the Quaid was the real agenda ofthe MQM: carving out a separateprovince in Sindh where he couldrule, unchecked and unchallenged.

The condemnable high-pitchdrama notwithstanding, the ad-dress has also raised some criticalquestions – for the federal govern-ment of which the MQM is a part-

ner, for Tahirul Qadri who has wel-comed the MQM as part of his longmarch and for the people in generalwho are the ultimate custodians ofthe state of Pakistan. The federalgovernment will have to decidewhether it can continue to keep theMQM as a partner while allowing itto be part of the march against it,Tahirul Qadri will have to ascertainthe damage that the MQM’s inclu-sion in the march will do to its legit-imacy and the people of Pakistanwill have to decide as to how longcan they sustain the condemnableattempts to distort history and de-monise the fair name of the Quaid.I have written previously about thelegitimacy of the long march havingbeen gravely jeopardised because ofthe acceptance of the MQM and theChaudhrys as its participants. Afterthis vile outburst, the prospect hasmagnified manifold.

The nearness of the long marchseems to have unnerved the federalgovernment and those who arecommissioned with the task of ‘con-trolling’ it. The original nonchalantapproach with which the news hadbeen greeted has started giving wayto ‘threats’ and imposition of ‘con-ditions’ on the participants and thetransport owners. Tahirul Qadrihas also been asked to secure a ‘no-objection certificate’ to enter Islam-

abad. But, what I am amazed at isthe abject lack of cohesion betweenthe so-called ‘democratic’ parties ofthe country in devising a crediblestrategy to either stop the march,or combat its possible impact. Thefederal government which shoul-ders the principal responsibility inthis regard has failed to come outwith any initiative that would aimat forging unity among the demo-cratic forces of the country to meetthe brewing challenge. All we haveseen since the December 23 an-nouncement has been a spate ofstatements trying to mitigate thepossible impact of the long marchand why it may not even take off. Inthis charade, the government hasbeen joined in by the likes ofnawaz Sharif who, in all probabil-ity, would not like to credit anyoneother than himself with the abilityto take out a long march.

I also doubt the government’ssincerity in stopping the longmarch. In the first instance, so littleeffort seems to have gone into de-vising a plan to do so. next, lessthan three months away from theend of its term, I see no reason whyit should not announce a firm datewhen the assemblies would be dis-solved paving the way for the in-terim government to take over tohold the elections. This could have

been an effective weapon to take theinitiative away from Tahirul Qadri.Consequently, there may actually besome substance to the rumours thatthe entire drama of the long marchis being ‘sponsored’ to elongate the‘life’ of the incumbent PPP-led gov-ernment through the imposition ofan emergency. Far-fetched that itmay appear, and given the multipleother shenanigans that the PPP gov-ernment has been part of, the pos-sibility cannot be totally written off.At the same time, with the longmarch still days away, Islamabadhas started looking like a caged citywith important roads blocked withcontainers and other impediments.Will these physical barriers be suf-ficient to guard against the bur-geoning crowds that come ladenwith energy that springs from mul-tiplying frustrations they have tobear every day of their life?

Failure of governance in everyconceivable sense had created animmense vacuum and the comingof Tahirul Qadri and other suchself-proclaimed saviours was only amatter of time. Confronted with thedaunting prospect, there was aneed for more thought to have goneinto planning an effective strategyto deal with a situation that is likelyto emerge in the wake of the march.The government needed to have

followed a consultative path by tak-ing other stakeholders on boardand devising a plan with theirinput. Instead, we have witnessedan increasing divisiveness amongthe political outfits with some ofthem joining in the march and oth-ers coming up with their own solu-tions that range from the bravadoto the bizarre. What seems to haveescaped the attention is that, leaveaside the prospect of 4 million peo-ple gathering in the parade groundin Islamabad on January 14, even ifa hundred-thousand people do so,it would create a massive adminis-trative nightmare for the govern-ment. What would it do if therewere an attempt to take over thebuildings surrounding the D-ground? Will force be used? If yes,what can be the possible conse-quences and will the governmenthave the necessary wherewithal interms of legitimacy, planning, con-viction and necessary support fromother state institutions includingthe army to combat the threat? TheMQM show in Karachi is possibly apreparation to reap the dividendsconsequent upon the mess that ap-pears in the offing.

The writer is a politicalanalyst. He can be reached [email protected]

It was a bloody Thursday when allhell broke loose. Bomb and sui-cide attacks in Quetta and a pow-erful explosion in Mingora, thecapital of the troubled Swat val-

ley, claimed at least 115 lives.The same day firing by Indian troops

on the loC killed another Pakistani sol-dier. This is the fourth such incident inthe last five days on the southern borderof Azad Kashmir.

As if this was not enough to furtherdemoralise a nation down on its knees,the MQM supremo Altaf Hussain chosethe day to generate controversy aroundthe only person revered across the boardby everyone, the father of the nationQuaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

The Muttahida chief, in his typicaldemagogic style while giving his two-hourplus telephonic khitab (address) to his‘mesmerised’ followers, claimed that Jin-nah had a British passport. In order to jus-tify his British nationality and Canadianpassport of his new-found ally TahirulQadri, he declared that the Quaid took oathof allegiance to the British king George VI.

of course Jinnah had a British passportlike everyone else before independence. Butto equate it with those fleeing the countryvoluntarily and holding passports of thecountries of their refuge is a travesty – a caseof twisting facts to justify the unjustifiable.

Similarly, even to insinuate that hewas a British stooge is also very unfortu-nate. on the contrary, Jinnah vocifer-ously opposed the proposal of having acommon governor general for both Indiaand Pakistan, favoured by the lastViceroy of India lord Mountbatten.

Mountbatten, a personal friend ofnehru, became the first governor generalof independent India. Twisting this argu-ment in their favour the MQM leader Fa-rooq Sattar spuriously claimed thatnehru agreed to the proposal of making

Mountbatten the governor general ofIndia so as to avoid declaring allegianceto the British Empire. nehru nonethelesstook oath from Mountbatten, a fact con-veniently ignored by the MQM stalwart.

At the time of partition, both Indiaand Pakistan were dominions until theyhad their own respective constitutions.India became a republic in 1949 as soonas it had a constitution. Pakistan owingto shenanigans of its politicians becamea republic much later in 1956.

But this did not mean that in the in-terregnum India and Pakistan were notindependent states. The Quaid being aconstitutionalist par excellence took theextra caution of getting the words of hisoath as governor general altered. Thewords “allegiance to the British King”were replaced with “allegiance to the con-stitution of Pakistan”.

Jinnah abhorred Mountbatten for hisdubious role in partition, and clear tilt inIndia’s favour. According to the memoirspenned by Gen Shahid Hamid, MilitarySecretary to Governor General Jinnah, theQuaid literally told Mountbatten to leavefrom the reception after his oath taking.

According to Hamid, “I was not farfrom the Quaid when he called his ADCand told him to tell Mountbatten to gohome as he had had enough of him.” EvenJaswant Singh, a cardholder BJP stalwartin his recent political biography of Jinnah,‘Jinnah: India-Partition- Independence’,has paid glowing tributes to the integrityand steadfastness of the Quaid-e-Azam.

While Don Quixote and his SanchoPanzas are busy demolishing elusivewindmills of democracy – in the name ofdemocracy – a lot is unravelling. Is it bydesign or by sheer coincidence that themilitants have chosen to wreak havoc bystepping up their terrorist campaignagainst the Pakistani state and its people?

At the same time the person whoepitomises the raison d’être of Pakistanis being dragged into unnecessary con-troversy for transient political gains. In-deed this is a sad day for the country.

In the meanwhile, the stakeholders –the government and the military – arevirtually helpless spectators wringingtheir hands in despair. Coalition parties– the MQM and PMl-Q inclusive – weare told are supporting the government.

It is indeed a relief for the rulingcoalition that the MQM although stillsupporting the long march has decidednot to participate in it. The declared aimof Allama Qadri is to undo the present

democratic system. Hence if it had em-barked on the march, the MQM wouldhave been perceived as running with thehare and hunting with the hounds.

As for the PMl-Q, the Choudharys ofGujrat are miffed in the manner in whichZardari has side-lined them. A trip toMinhajul Quran to meet Allama Qadri hasprobably helped them to bounce back.

The PMl-n on the other hand isnaively assuming (or pretending) that thepeople are so keen to have the Sharifs backwith a thumping majority that to them thegeneral elections are a mere formality toinstall them in power in Islamabad. Theyassume that the Allama’s long march cha-rade is just to rob them of that triumph.

obviously, the real issues facing thecountry are the biggest casualties in thepresent hullabaloo. no matter howflawed Qadri’s objectives in embarkingon a long march, heavens will not fall ifthe maverick cleric still goes ahead withit. With no political outfit supporting himthe wind is already out of his sails.

The democratic system hopefully isnot so fragile that it cannot take the heatof a long march with dubious aims de-clared by a person having no real credi-bility. We are told that the military is notbacking Qadri. Hopefully that is the case.

In the meanwhile, the real issue con-fronting the country is the spectre of ter-rorism. Coalition partners as well as theopposition should sit together to formulatea line of action to deal with the menace.

The military has acknowledged thethreat in its recently revised Green Book.It considers terrorism as even a biggerthreat than the one from India.

Despite the bonhomie being expressedby peaceniks on both sides of the divide,peace with India is still very fragile. Cancel-lation of leave of Indian military personnelshows that new Delhi is taking the on-going military standoff more seriously thanour political and military establishment.

Already isolated, Qadri should followMQM’s lead and cancel his flawed longmarch. As for the political elite, theyshould be seen on the same page on ter-rorism and India.

President Zardari should instruct hisprime minister to hold an APC on this ex-istential threat. The civilians by showinga modicum of unity amongst their rankscan strengthen the hands of the militaryto walk the talk and effectively deal withthe external and internal threats.

The writer is Editor, Pakistan Today

Tarnishing the QuaidThreats bigger than Qadri

By Arif nizami

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Comment 11


* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

For all its talk about foreign nationalstrying to influence Pakistani politics,the PMl-n is keenly listening to for-

mer Glasgow MP Chaudhry Sarwar regard-ing the ticket-awarding process for theupcoming elections.

ZAB also enlisted the services of anothernaturalised brown sahib for the ’77elections, to disastrous ends. In any case,whatever works...

whiteLIES

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[email protected]

children’s bad behaviourChildren of today have become both

aggressive and depressive with their life.They don’t know how to face life problemsand what behaviour is expected of themwhen dealing with their elder and youngerones. Their personality is formed by anumber of factors, including their family,relatives, peers and teachers. The parentshave only a little control over their childrenonce they reach a certain age. It’s mostlytheir peers, the teachers and other sourcesof education i.e., media. The influence ofparents is high during the early age, but asthe child discovers new friends and ideas,he or she grows independent of theinfluence of parents.

one cause of bad behaviour of a child ishis family’s attitude. With broken familiesand the absence of a father at home, raisinga teenager becomes a major problem forsingle mothers. A child’s first ten years oflife is just like a whiteboard; whatever theparents write on it, it works like an ink of apermanent marker that can never beremoved throughout his life. If this periodof life is not handled properly, then thechild suffers throughout his whole life.

The second major cause of a child’s badbehaviour arises during his second periodof life: his school life. Children are highlyaffected by their peers. If a child gets agood friend, many bad aspects of hispersonality would not be there to beginwith. A good friend can teach him how toface and solve critical situations. But thecompany of bad friends can destroy hiswhole life.

Teachers play a vital role in making anation’s future. A teacher’s attentiontowards the children is very important.Some children misbehave in the classroomas a way to get their parents’ attention.negative attention is better than noattention at all. Society, teachers andfamilies should identify the root causes ofstudent’s bad behaviour. Parents andteachers should especially keep an eye ontheir activities and company, developstrong interpersonal relationship andinvolve them in studies and other activitiesbecause they also have a duty to make agood decision for the children if they arecan’t make one.

RASHIDA MUHAMMAD DINLahore

Editor’s mailSend your letters to:

Letters to Editor, Pakistan Today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah,

Lahore, Pakistan Fax: +92-42-32535230

E-mail: [email protected] should be addressed to

Pakistan Today exclusively

my enemy’s enemy…Apparently, the cat is coming out of the bag.

last week’s unprovoked firing between Pakistaniand Indian forces along the line of Control(loC) in Kashmir has already ignited the borderwhich has been relatively peaceful for the lastone decade.

now come some real characters who vow toderail the fragile peace process between thesetwo feuding countries.

After occupying the tribal areas of Pakistan,Tahreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has now beeneying on new areas to take its brutality to.

As per a news report, TTP’s chiefHakeemullah Mehsud has declared in a videomessage to send militants to Indian-heldKashmir who will not only fight the Indian forcesbut also enforce the Shahria (read Taliban’sinterpretation of religion) in the valley.

This is a very serious development; bothcountries will be trapped by these militant forceswho are working on an agenda which is generallynot in line with the peace seeking masses of thesubcontinent. Both Pakistan and India shallensure that the TTP shouldn’t get theopportunity to highjack the movement in Indian-held Kashmir.

It’s the sole right of Kashmiris to decide theirfuture, not of some foreign miscreants to enforcetheir hidden agenda at gun point. Both countriesshould realise that “my enemy’s enemy is myfriend” will not work here as both are facing acommon enemy.

MASOOD KHANJubail, Saudi Arabia

after 2013 electionsAll the political parties with vested interest in

status quo are opposing the long march of DrTahirul Qadri; only the MQM is supporting andjoining the long march. MQM is the only politicalparty which is fighting to eliminate the dominat-ing role of feudals, capitalists, obscurantists andreligious fundamentalists in Pakistani politicsand wants a major role for the lower middle classin the country’s affairs. It is a known fact thatPakistan’s politics has been dominated by landedaristocracy which has been ignoring the ordinaryPakistani’s welfare. These politicians’ only inter-est has been to fill their pockets, keep the peopledeprived from education and keep them ignoredfrom their basic rights. They have been makingpromises that they never honoured.

I am surprised at TV anchors who areprotecting the corrupt and incompetentpoliticians and sham democracy, challenged byDr Tahirul Qadri. These super anchors are notdiscussing the demands of Dr Qadri but hispersonal credentials to make people believe thathe is crazy and is here to derail the democracywhich, they claim, during the past five years hasmade the country an Asian Tiger and everyPakistani is now having a wonderful life.

The pertinent question is what the fate of themasses will be after the 2013 elections if theresult of the elections proves more divisive andchaotic. Why can’t we break the monopoly ofthese tried politicians and have only those electedwho are capable and have good reputation?

S T HUSSAINLahore

Divorce is a major ethicaland social issue of the world. Itseparates couples and endsmarriages. Islam asks to avoidit as much as possible. Divorcerates are climbing through theroof these days. Researchshows at least 50 percent ofmarriages will end in divorce inAmerica. If the current ratioscontinue the world over, thistrend can also hit Pakistan.Divorce has many causes, justin the same way it has manyeffects.

Financial issues are one ofthe main reasons of divorce.Financial problems, likeunemployment or low income,can hurt marriages. Couplescan become habitual of usingfinancial resources beyondtheir reach or can fall a victimof excessive spending. Thesefactors can causedisagreements between them.Unemployment causesdepression, panic, anxiety,blame, fear, and the worse ofall, feeling of helplessness.Blaming the unemployed

spouse for the issue cancollapse a marriage. Unequalfinancial position is anotherfinancial issue. For example, ifone spouse, such as the female,makes more money than theother spouse, fear and jealousymay creep in, leading to anger,disagreement and eventuallydivorce.

According to the research,not all marriages fail for thesame reasons. Communicationis also one of the problemsbetween couples. This mayhappen even before themarriage. Couples may notcommunicate with each otherbecause of various issues thateach individual may beexperiencing or if theexpectations are not clear fromthe beginning of a relationship.Sometimes it happensimmediately after the marriagedue to ego or hesitation.

Talking about your feelingsin a marriage is importantbecause then you can figure outexactly how to improve arelationship. Feelings left

unaddressed can fail amarriage. Also if a couple doesnot communicate pre-maritalissues before marriage, theywill realise during the marriagethat things should have beensettled up before.

These issues can get worsewith time. But this type ofunderstanding is usually notfound in Pakistani society.

The third major reason fordivorce is love and teenagemarriages. People in love canmake irrational decisionsunsuitable to their conditions.This type of marriage is not,mostly, socially acceptable inPakistan.

We live in a society and wemust follow the norms andtraditions of a society. Divorceaffects the couples, theirchildren, their families and thesociety in general.

It should be avoided asmuch as possible by followingthe norms and traditions of thesociety we live in.

MUHAMMAD SHAHID RIAZLahore

the issue of divorce in Pakistan

by apollo

The newly minted Punjab governor,upon hearing endlessly that the guber-natorial mansion is haunted, sacrifices

a goat on the premises every day. Yes,Every. Single. Day.

That’s a whole lot of goats.But one day, there was a mix-up and the

ritual did not take place. on that day, thegovernor’s secretary slipped and injuredhimself. The governor slipped himself andanother guest also had a fall.

Well, it is a most scientific observation,then, that the goat routine works,Goddammit!

Maybe if former Governor Khosa haddone the same, he might have still beenthere.

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12

"lincoln" is leading the way to the 2013 oscars.this morning, the biopic about the 16thpresident picked up 12 academy awardnominations, including best director for StevenSpielberg and best actor for daniel day-lewis.

ang lee's "life of Pi" followed close behind with11 nominations. "les Miserables" and "Silverlinings Playbook" tied for third place, witheight nominations each. the academy alsonamed its eldest and youngest best actress

nominees ever. "beasts of the Southern wild"star Quvenzhané wallis, 9, is up for best actressalong with "amour" lead emmanuelle riva, 85.See who made the cut below, and weigh in onwho you want to win with oscar.com's My Picks,

an interactive and social oscar ballot thatallows you to pick who you think will win ineach category. you can compete with yourfacebook friends when the academy awards airon feb. 24.

BEST PIcTURE:"Beasts of the Southern Wild" "Silver linings Playbook" "Zero Dark Thirty" "lincoln" "les Miserables" "life of Pi" "Amour" "Django Unchained" "Argo"

BEST SUPPORTING AcTOR:Christoph Waltz, "Django Unchained" Philip Seymour Hoffman, "The Master" Robert De niro, "Silver linings Playbook" Alan Arkin, "Argo" Tommy lee Jones, "lincoln"

BEST SUPPORTING AcTRESS:Sally Field, "lincoln" Anne Hathaway, "les Miserables" Jacki Weaver, "Silver linings Playbook" Helen Hunt, "The Sessions" Amy Adams, "The Master"

BEST DIREcTOR:David o. Russell, "Silver linings Playbook" Ang lee, "life of Pi" Steven Spielberg, "lincoln" Michael Haneke, "Amour" Benh Zeitlin, "Beasts of the Southern Wild"

BEST AcTOR: Daniel Day lewis, "lincoln" Denzel Washington, "Flight" Hugh Jackman, "les Miserables" Bradley Cooper, "Silver linings Playbook" Joaquin Phoenix, "The Master"

BEST AcTRESS: naomi Watts, "The Impossible" Jessica Chastain, "Zero Dark Thirty" Jennifer lawrence, "Silver linings Playbook" Emmanuelle Riva, "Amour"

Quvenzhané Wallis, "Beasts of the Southern Wild"

BEST ORIGINAL ScREENPLAY: "Zero Dark Thirty" "Django Unchained" "Moonrise Kingdom" "Amour" "Flight"

BEST ADAPTED ScREENPLAY: "lincoln" "Silver linings Playbook" "Argo" "life of Pi" "Beasts of the Southern Wild"

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE: "Frankenweenie" "The Pirates! Band of Misfits" "Wreck-It Ralph" "Paranorman" "Brave"

BEST FOREIGN FEATURE: "Amour" "A Royal Affair" "Kon-Tiki" "no" "War Witch"

BEST VISUAL EFFEcTS: "life of Pi" "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" "The Avengers" "Prometheus" "Snow White and the Huntsman"

BEST cINEMATOGRAPHY: "Skyfall" "Anna Karenina" "Django Unchained" "life of Pi" "lincoln"

BEST cOSTUME DESIGN:

"Anna Karenina" "les Miserables" "lincoln" "Mirror Mirror" "Snow White and the Huntsman"

BEST DOcUMENTARY FEATURE: "Searching for Sugar Man" "How to Survive a Plague" "The Gatekeepers" "5 Broken Cameras" "The Invisible War"

BEST DOcUMENTARY SHORT: "open Heart" "Inocente" "Redemption" "Kings Point" "Mondays at Racine" "Snow White and the Huntsman"

BEST FILM EDITING: "lincoln" "Silver linings Playbook" "life of Pi" "Argo" "Zero Dark Thirty"

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING: "Hitchcock" "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" "les Miserables" Best Music (original Score): "Anna Karenina" "Argo" "life of Pi" "lincoln" "Skyfall"

BEST MUSIc (ORIGINAL SONG):"Before My Time" from "Chasing Ice" "Everybody needs A Best Friend" from"Ted" "Pi's lullaby" from "life of Pi" "Skyfall" from "Skyfall"

"Suddenly" from "lesMisérables"

BEST PRODUcTIONDESIGN: "Anna Karenina" "The Hobbit: An UnexpectedJourney" "les Misérables" "life of Pi" "lincoln"

BEST SHORT FILM, ANIMATED:"Adam and Dog" "Fresh Guacamole" "Head over Heels" "Maggie Simpson in 'The longestDaycare'" "Paperman" BEST SHORT FILM, LIVEAcTION: "Asad" "Buzkashi Boys" "Curfew" "Death of a Shadow (Dood vaneen Schaduw)" "Henry" BEST SOUND EDITING: "Argo" "Django Unchained" "life of Pi" "Skyfall" "Zero Dark Thirty" BEST SOUNDMIxING: "Argo" "les Mis-érables" "lifeof Pi" "lin-coln" "Sky-fall"

Miley Cyrus gets inbed with harryStyles, clarifiesMiley Cyrus tweeted a picture of her cuddlinga cutout of one Direction singer Harry Styleson Tuesday. Miley, who is engaged to liamHemsworth, posted the image in a bid to getthe 18-year-old singer's attention on behalf ofher younger sister, noah - a huge fan. neWS DeSk

MUCH larger than life and asglossily tumbling locked as ashampoo commercial, the firstofficial portrait of the Duchess ofCambridge has been unveiled at

the national Portrait Gallery. The duchess hadslipped in before the gallery opened – mindfulof the media scrum at the actual unveiling,which included television crews from Germanyand Russia – with her husband. "It's justamazing, I thought it was brilliant," she said."Delightful," gallery director Sandy nairne saidof meeting the couple. "A delightfulexperience," artist Paul Emsley said. There is

no tiara, gilt, red plush or ermine, just a soberbackground, a plain, dark blue-green blousemodestly fastened up to the neck, and a glint ofone expensive earring. Emsley, Glasgow-born,South Africa-reared and winner of the 2007 BPportrait prize, said he had faced one difficultywith the portrait. He said Kate was just toobeautiful to make a good subject. "I think anyartist would agree that with an older face, withlines or wrinkles, or strong distinguishingfeatures, it's easier to create a likeness. Butwith a genuinely beautiful face, it's harder toconvey character." That character was, he felt,genuinely friendly, warm, putting him at ease

immediately and interested in the progress ofthe work, which was made from dozens ofclose-up photographs and a few sketches."She's so nice to be with," he said, "and it'sgenuine."The duchess sat for the painting atthe artist's studio in Bradford on Avon and atKensington Palace last May and June. Her onerequest was that she should look like a naturalhuman being, not a woman on official duty.The original plan for an unsmiling face evolvedinto a gentle enigmatic smile – but no teeth."There isn't a single open-mouthed portrait inthe collection," nairne said, "and for very goodreason." neWS DeSk

Duchess of Cambridge delights in first official portrait

lITTlE-KnoWn Irish actorJack Reynor will replace ShialeBeouf in Transformers 4. The 20-year-old takes on themale lead role after theHollywood star quit followingthe last Transformers film,Dark of the Moon. Director andproducer Michael Bayconfirmed the news on hiswebsite yesterday. He will staropposite Mark Wahlberg whohas also signed up. He wrote: "Jack Reynor, he isan Irish kid that came toAmerica with 30 bucks in hispocket. Pretty ballsy. "Seriouslywho does that? Anyway Ispotted him in a great littleIrish movie What Richard Did.This kid is the real deal." Jackappeared in 2012's Dollhouseand What Richard Did is out in

UK cinemas on Friday. Weeds star Hunter Parrish,luke Grimes, landon liboiron,and Australian actor BrentonThwaites all tested for the rolebut lost out to Jack. ShialeBeouf left the Transformersfranchise after Dark of theMoon. Mark Wahlberg hasalready been cast in the next

instalment of Transformers. Jack will play a race car driverwho is dating Wahlberg’s on-screen daughter. That role hasyet to be cast. Michael alsodenied reports Transformers 4would be a remake of theprevious films. He said:"Transformers 4, is not areboot. That word has beenfloating around on the net."This movie takes place exactlyfour years after the war inChicago from Transformers 3." He added: "The story makes avery natural transition, andreason as to why we have awhole new cast. "ThisTransformers will feel verydifferent than the last three. Weare embarking on a newtrilogy." Transformers 4 is dueout on June 27, 2014. neWS DeSk

Transformed! unknownactor replaces Shia lebeouf

robert Pattinson,kristen Stewartnominated for worstactor, actress awardRobert Pattinsonand KristenStewart and theirnew film TheTwilight Saga:Breaking Dawn -Part 2 have beennominated for topGolden Raspberryawards - the annualceremony thathonours the worstin the movies.leading the list ofnominations arePattinson andStewart, who are up for the award of WorstActor and Worst Actress, the Mirrorreported. Stewart has also been nominatedfor the same award for another fantasymovie Snow White And The Huntsman. Thereal-life couple are also in the reckoning forthe Worst Screen Couple. neWS DeSk

kate tellS artiSt PaUl eMSley the PaintinG of her – no tiara, lookinG natUral – iS 'jUSt aMazinG' at UnveilinG at national Portrait Gallery

KHI 12-01-2013_Layout 1 1/12/2013 7:17 AM


13

Gangster Squad stars Sean Penn in the role of real-life 1940s mob kingpinMickey cohen. from johnny depp’s john dillinger to Steve buscemi’s nuckythompson on hbo’s boardwalk empire, see other real mobsters behind the

characters.

Sean Penn portrayed the mob boss of all mobbosses—los angeles-based Meyer harris “Mickey”

cohen—in the latest pulp crime flick, Gangster Squad.cohen was no stranger to dealings with other

notorious gangsters, at times joining forces withbugsy Siegel and al capone during his career, and

eventually becoming the west coast strong-arm extension for the east coast

Syndicate during the 1940sand 1950s.

Sean Penn/Mickey cohen

deeply involved in las vegas organized crime,frank “lefty” rosenthal was the real-life mobster

portrayed in Martin Scorsese’s 1995 film casino,which starred robert de niro and joe Pesci. frank

lawrence "lefty" rosenthal (june 12, 1929 –october 13, 2008) was a professional sportsbettor, former las vegas casino executive,

and organized crime associate.hedied on october 13, 2008 at

the age of 79.

enoch lewis “nucky” johnson became a household namewhen Steve buscemi started playing him in the popular hbodrama, boardwalk empire. taking advantage of the public’sdesire for liquor during the Prohibition-era 1920s, johnson

ruled over atlantic city as a venal city treasurer andbootlegger. but how true to life is buscemi’s nucky? “i

don’t feel compelled to accurately portray thereal person,” said buscemi in an hbo Q&a,

“but rather a corrupt politicalboss of that era.”

Steve bUSceMi / nUcky johnSon

Martin Scorsese’s the departed swept the 2007 academyawards, winning an oscar for best Picture. the film—basedon andrew lau and alan Mak’s 2002 hong kong film infernalaffairs—stars leonardo dicaprio, Matt damon, and jack

nicholson, who plays organized crime lord frankcostello, said to be loosely based on james joseph

“whitey” bulger. in a life-is-stranger-than-fiction story involving fbi informants,

drug trafficking, andracketeering.

jack nicholSon/whitey bUlGer

in the 2009 shoot-‘em-up crime drama Public enemies,johnny depp played notorious bank robber john dillinger

as a mysterious, violent hustler with a colorfulpersonality. a product of the Great depression, dillinger

robbed a dozen banks and was killed at age 31 after a bloody shootout. after serving time in the

indiana State Prison, dillinger was quoted assaying, “i will be the meanest bastard

you ever saw when i get out of here.”

Sporting a killer mustache in 1970s era crime drama donniebrasco, johnny depp plays undercover agent joseph Pistone,who infiltrated and took down the bonanno crime family innew york city while operating under the alias donnie brasco.while Pistone is a fictional construct, the longer that brascostayed undercover, the more he feared he was becoming

a mobster himself. in an interview in 2005, the fbilegend said he still travels in disguise due to a

mob contract on his head.

best known for raking in millions from thelufthansa heist in 1978, james “jimmy the Gent”

burke, was associated with the lucchese crimefamily. his story was said to be the inspirationfor jimmy conway, robert de niro’s character

in Goodfellas. Gent, was an irish americangangster and lucchese crime family

associate who is believed to haveorganized the lufthansa

heist in 1978.

robert de niro/jiMMy the Gent

a Manhattan heroin drug lord in the 1970s, franklucas rose from humble limo driver to powerful

kingpin, his story portrayed by denzel washingtonin the 2009 film american Gangster. lucas was

released from prison in 1991. frank lucas (born September 9, 1930) is aformer U.S. heroin dealer and organized

crime boss who operated in harlemduring the late 1960s and

early 1970s.

denzel waShinGton/frank lUcaSjohnny dePP/john dillinGer johnny dePP/joSePh PiStone (donnie braSco)

before charles bronson was in death wish, he wasgenerating fear as the titular notorious bank robber in

Machine Gun kelly in 1958. a Prohibition-era thug, Georgecelino barnes fittingly chose his nickname after his favorite

weapon. with a slew of offenses, ranging fromracketeering to kidnapping, he spent the rest of his

years behind bars in alcatraz. his most famouscrime was the kidnapping of oil tycoon and

businessman charles f. Urschel injuly 1933.

an unusual story of gangster-turned-fbi informant,henry hill of the lucchese crime family—immortalized by

ray liotta in the 1990 movie Goodfellas—died in june2012. his story was immortalized in nicholas Pileggi’s book

wiseguy: life in a Mafia family. following his death,liotta said of hill, "although i played henry hill in the

movie Goodfellas, i only met him a few shorttimes so i can’t say i knew him but i

do know he lived a complicatedlife."

no stranger to intense mobster roles, robert de niroplayed fearsome crime syndicate boss al capone in

director brian de Palma’s 1987 film, the Untouchables. thelegendary Prohibition-era mobster—who has also been

played by rod Steiger, jason robards, ben Gazzara,william forsythe, f. Murray abraham, and william

devane, as well as currently by StephenGraham on hbo’s boardwalk empire—

his name now synonymouswith the mafia.

robert de niro/al caPone

with a hankering for stolen cars, bank robberies, andbloody shootouts, these criminal lovebirds were

charismatically played by warren beatty and faye dunawayin the 1967 film. despite their cinematic (and notorious)mad love, their larcenous hijinks ended in 1934, whenthey were shot to death by police in louisiana. bonnie

elizabeth Parker and clyde chestnut barrow arebelieved to have killed at least nine police

officers and committed severalcivilian murders.

charleS bronSon/Machine GUn kelly ray liotta/henry hill

robert de niro/lefty roSenthal

faye dUnaway and warren beatty/bonnie & clyde

KHI 12-01-2013_Layout 1 1/12/2013 7:17 AM

nineteen years ago, the paternal grandpar-ents of a 5-year-old boy allegedly kidnappedhim. now, Richard landers Jr. has resur-faced, age 24 and married, in Minnesota, theChicago Tribune reports. He lives under adifferent name, however—one provided byhis grandparents when they took him andmanaged to stump police. The grandparents,who now use aliases, live just a few milesaway. “It’s happened so fast, and we haven’ttalked to him yet,” says his stepfather. But“we’re going to as soon as we can.”

Prior to the abduction, the grandparents“were allegedly upset over pending court pro-ceedings regarding the placement of theirgrandson,” police said. After they vanished in1994, they were charged with interferencewith custody, but the charges were droppedwhen the case remained unsolved in 2008.Then, in September 2012, landers’ stepfathergave police landers’ Social Security card; the

number led authorities to the 24-year-old,who seems “well-adjusted.” Will he meet hismother again? “That’s going to be up tohim,” a police spokesman said. “We can’tforce him and say, ‘now you’re going backwith your mom.’ He’s 24 years old.” NEWS DESK

SYDnEY NEWS DESK

CHInA’S one-child policy has created ageneration that is less trusting, morerisk-averse and perhaps less likely to be-come entrepreneurs, according to newAustralian research.

Published in the journal Science, the study ofmore than 400 Beijing residents born around thetime the controversial population policy was in-troduced could have implications for China’seconomy, researchers say.

“We found that individuals who grew up assingle children as a result of China’s one-child pol-icy are significantly less trusting, less trustworthy,more risk-averse, less competitive, more pes-simistic, and less conscientious,” said Universityof Melbourne researcher nisvan Erkal.

China introduced the policy in 1979 to combatpopulation growth and family planning officials inBeijing have defended it in the past, sayingChina’s population — currently 1.3 billion —would have hit 1.7 billion without it.

The new study, “little Emperors: BehaviouralImpacts of China’s one-Child Policy”, based on re-search by Erkal, Monash University and Aus-tralian national University academics, found thegroup displayed distinct behaviour.

The scholars used a series of “economicgames” — in which the 421 subjects born between1975 and 1983 exchanged or invested smallamounts of money, or made other economic deci-sions — to measure their levels of trust, risk-tak-ing and competitiveness.

In one game, participants born under theone-Child Policy (oCP) were on average found tobe less trusting than those born before, sharing

less of an endowment with another player (46.1percent compared to 50.6 percent).

They also returned less than those not bornunder the policy (30.4 percent versus 35.4 per-cent). The researchers said both of these differ-ences were statistically significant.

The study found the differences persisted,even after the impact of demography and familybackground were controlled.

“We found that being born before or after theone-child policy best explains our observations,”Erkal, an associate professor, said.

In addition to the experiments, researchersalso conducted personality surveys that they saidrevealed those born under the oCP were also“substantially more pessimistic, less conscien-tious, and possibly more neurotic”.

“The oCP can be thought of as a natural ex-periment which enables us to separate out the ef-fect of being an only child from the effect of familybackground,” they wrote.

Fellow researcher lisa Cameron from Monashsaid the effect could have economic implications.

“our data shows that people born under theone-child policy were less likely to be in morerisky occupations like self-employment,” she said.

“Thus there may be implications for China interms of a decline in entrepreneurial ability.”

Cameron said researchers observed the nega-tive effects of being an only child in China even ifthere was significant social contact with otherchildren while growing up.

“We found that greater exposure to other chil-dren in childhood — for example, frequent inter-actions with cousins and/or attending childcare —was not a substitute for having siblings,” she said.

The one-child policy in fact permits some fam-ilies to have several children. Parents in the coun-tryside can have two children if their firstborn isa girl, while ethnic minority families are often ex-empt from birth restrictions.

Talk of phasing out the unpopular one-childpolicy has been mounting, with an influentialthink-tank with close links to the government re-cently proposing families be allowed to have twochildren by 2015. The China Development Re-search Foundation (CDRF) called for a relaxationof the policy in october, saying the country hadpaid “a huge political and social cost” for themeasure, which has been blamed for creating ademographic time-bomb.

14Infotainment


brand-new island emerges off Germany

THERE’S a new piece of Germany. over thecourse of just 10 years, a 34-acre island hasdeveloped 16 miles off the country’s coast,

in the north Sea, the Telegraph reports. Some 50different plant species already live on the island ofnorderoogsand; sea birds are moving in, too; anddunes now measure as much as 13 feet in height.“For conservationists,” the island’s quickappearance “is anything but ordinary,” says anational park worker. Sandbanks often form in thearea’s shallow waters, but they’re usually destroyedby winter storms, experts say. While islandsaround norderoogsand have offered protectionfrom the weather, a major storm could prove itsundoing, note scientists. NEWS DESK

dea agents got prostituteas secret service agent

THE Drug Enforcement Administration’salleged role in the Secret Serviceprostitution scandal has been confirmed. A

pair of DEA agents set up a liaison between a SecretService agent and a prostitute in Colombia in April2012, a Justice Department probe that is just nowcoming to light finds. Another DEA agent wasn’tinvolved in that particular episode, but all threeadmitted paying for prostitutes and using “theirDEA Blackberry devices to arrange such activities.” The DEA agents also attempted to destroy evidenceor lie to investigators, according to the report, vianBC news. But disciplinary action is up to the DEAitself; “legal proceedings” weren’t deemed necessary.Sen. Susan Collins wrote this week to the DEA to askwhy its “administrative actions” on the matter “arestill pending”; an agency rep says the issue is“currently under review.” But a DEA official has saidthe Justice Department presented its investigation’sconclusions in September of last year. NEWS DESK

largest ever spiral galaxy spotted

ASTRoBoFFInS using nASA's GalaxyEvolution Explorer (GAlEX) telescope, whichsees ultraviolet light, have realised that

nGC6872 is the biggest known galaxy, much largerthan previously thought. "Without GAlEX's ability todetect the ultraviolet light of the youngest, hotteststars, we would never have recognised the full extentof this intriguing system," Rafael Eufrasio, a researchassistant at nASA's Goddard Space Flight Center saidat the American Astronomical Society meetingyesterday. The boffins found the massive galaxy byaccident: "I was not looking for the largest spiral – itjust came as a gift," Eufrasio told BBC news." Measuredtip-to-tip across its spiral arms, the galaxy spans morethan 522,000 light years, making the star system fivetimes the size of the Milky Way. large galaxies likenGC6827 and the Milky Way grow by merging andacquiring new stars from smaller systems, in theformer's case, from a neighbouring small disc galaxynamed IC4970. But in this case, instead of absorbingall the stars from IC4970, the gravitational interactionof the systems is spawning stars that may form abrand new galaxy. "The northeastern arm of nGC6872 is the most disturbed and is rippling with starformation, but at its far end, visible only in theultraviolet, is an object that appears to be a tidal dwarfgalaxy similar to those seen in other interactingsystems," said team member Duilia de Mello, aprofessor of astronomy at Catholic University. NEWS DESK

‘doomsday asteroid’ evenbigger than thought

THE asteroid Apophis, whose reported threatto our planet has attracted widespreadattention, is even larger than scientists

believed, according to new images. Europe’sHerschel Space observatory says the asteroid issome 1,066 feet feet wide, some 20% wider thanpreviously thought. That “translates into a 75%increase in our estimates of the asteroid’s volumeor mass,” says the study’s leader. Fortunately, wesurvived yesterday’s passage, and reports thatthere was a 2.7% chance it would hit Earth in 2029have been debunked. But scientists are stillinvestigating the asteroid, which will pass near usagain in 2036, liveScience notes. At that point,there remains a one-in-200,000 chance of acollision, the BBC reports. “There is a small regionof space—something we call a keyhole—and if itpasses through that keyhole in 2029, it will comeback and hit us on 13 April in 2036,” says ascientist. It would carry 100 times the energy ofour biggest nuclear weapons, he adds. “While thereis no cause for alarm, similarly there is no room forcomplacency,” writes Stuart Clark. NEWS DESK

why your fingers getpruney in bath: better grip

WHEn your fingers and toes get allwrinkly in the bathtub, it’s more thanjust a sign that’s it’s time to grab a towel.

British researchers say it’s a trait primatesacquired to give them better grip in the water,perhaps as they were swinging from wet branches,reports Sciencenews and the Telegraph. onetheory is that the pruney skin acts sort of the wayrain treads do on car tires. Researchers tested thetheory by having people perform tasks such asmoving marbles from a water-filled container to adry one. Those who soaked their fingersbeforehand to get them nice and wrinkly were 12%faster. The researchers speculate that havingpruney fingers constantly would be a disadvantage,so evolution provided a way for early humans tohave them only when necessary. NEWS DESK

Boy kidnapped at 5turns up married at 24

A 59-year-old woman in Ireland paralyzedwith severe multiple sclerosis has lost hercourt fight against the nation’s ban on as-sisted suicide, reports the Irish Times. Marie

Fleming sought permission to end her lifewith the help of her partner of 18 years, butDublin’s High Court rejected the request, re-ports Reuters.

“There are no words to express the diffi-culty we had in arriving at this decision,”wrote one judge. “Yet the fact remains that ifthis court were to unravel a thread of this lawby even the most limited constitutional ad-judication in her favour, it would—or at leastmight—open a Pandora’s box which wouldbe impossible to close.”

The judge called Fleming “in many waysthe most remarkable witness” he and hisfellow judges had ever encountered, and thecourt ordered the state to pay her legalcosts. Fleming’s lawyer read a statement onher behalf, saying she was “very disap-pointed and saddened” at the ruling. Shecan still appeal. NEWS DESK

Paralyzed woman in Irelandloses right-to-die case

KHI 12-01-2013_Layout 1 1/12/2013 7:17 AM


LAHORESTAFF REPORT

THE Pakistan Cricket Board onFriday named three uncappedplayers and dropped wicket-keeper Adnan Akmal for next

month's three-test series against SouthAfrica. The newcomers are fast bowlersMohammad Irfan and Ehsan Adil andbatsman Harris Sohail in the 16-mansquad. Sarfraz Ahmed has replacedAkmal behind the stumps.

The 2.16-meter (7-foot-1) Irfan im-pressed selectors with his left-arm fastbowling during the recent one-day seriesagainst India which Pakistan won 2-1. The30-year-old Irfan, who is said to be sevenfoot one inch tall, impressed with hissteepling bounce during Pakistan's recenttour to India where he featured in all threeone-day matches and two Twenty20 inter-nationals. But he has yet to play a test.

The test squad, led by Misbah-ul Haq,will open with a four-day side match at Eastlondon from January 25 before the firsttest in Johannesburg from February 1. ThePCB said separate squads for two Twenty20internationals and five one-day matches,which follow the tests, will be announcedlater. Surprisingly, none of the three Akmalbrothers - Kamran, Umar and Adnan - are

part of the test squad and no selector wasavailable to say why. Adnan has been a reg-ular in Pakistan's test squad as specialistwicketkeeper. Although he was injured dur-ing Pakistan's tour of Sri lanka last June heplayed in the ongoing first class season. Heis replaced by Sarfraz Ahmed.

nineteen-year-old paceman EhsanAdil was also selected for the first time afterimpressing during the Junior World Cup in

Australia last year. Adil has taken 56 wick-ets in ten first-class matches this season.

left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman alsoreturns to the squad after being banned fora failed dope test during the county seasonin England last year. He will partner thewily offspinner Saeed Ajmal. The pacesquad will be led by the experienced UmarGul, Junaid Khan and Irfan. Uncapped left-hander Haris Sohail and Faisal Iqbal also

retained their places in the squad after fail-ing to play any match on the Sri lanka tourwhile left-handed opener nasir Jamshed,who has yet to play a test, also made the cut.TEAM: Misbah-ul Haq (capt), Mo-hammad Hafeez, Azhar Ali, nasirJamshed, Asad Shafiq, Younis Khan,Mohammad Irfan, Sarfraz Ahmed,Umar Gul, Junaid Khan, Ehsan Adil,Saeed Ajmal, Abdur Rehman, Haris So-hail, Faisal Iqbal, Taufiq Umar.

ITINERARyjan 25-28: vs South Africainvitation XI at East londonFeb 1-5: First Test at JohannesburgFeb 14-18: Second Test Cape TownFeb 22-26: Third Test CenturionMarch 1: Ist Twenty20 at DurbanMarch 3: Second T20 at CenturionMarch 6: South Africa invitationXI side match at KimberleyMarch 10: Ist one-day internationalat BloemfonteinMarch 15: Second one-dayinternational at CenturionMarch 17: Third one-dayinternational at JohannesburgMarch 21: Fourth one-dayinternational at DurbanMarch 24: Fifth one-dayinternational at Benoni.

PCB names three uncappedplayers for South Africa series

MELBOURnEAGENCIES

Phil Hughes became the first Australianto score a century on his one-day inter-national debut as he powered the side toa 107-run win over Sri lanka on Friday.Hughes hit 112 and stand-in captainGeorge Bailey struck 89 before DavidHussey smashed 60 not out off 34 ballsto turn a good total into a commanding305-5 on a flat MCG wicket. DineshChandimal kept Sri lanka in contentionwith a belligerent 73 but four wicketsfrom Clint McKay and some superbfielding, including three run-outs, re-stricted the tourists to 198 in reply. Aus-tralia, who won the test series 3-0, leadthe five-match oDI series 1-0 with thesecond game on Sunday in Adelaide.

Sri lanka could be withoutChandimal for that game after thewicketkeeper, one of the few successstories of a one-sided test series, hadto have repeated on-field treatment towhat looked like a hamstring problem.His mobility steadily decreased after

he had his thigh bandaged. Australia,though, can be happy with the way aninexperienced line-up coped withoutrested captain Michael Clarke and theomitted Mike Hussey. opener AaronFinch and number three UsmanKhawaja managed just 16 and threerespectively after Australia won thetoss but Hughes put on 140 for thethird wicket alongside Bailey at the

rate of a run a ball. Khawaja later com-pensated for his failure - run out whenhe failed to ground the bat - with a di-rect hit from mid-off to run out thedangerous Tillakaratne Dilshan for 51.Hughes, who averaged 46.60 in thetest series that finished on Sunday,timed his strokes sweetly, deployinghis favoured cut shot whenever possi-ble and compiled 14 boundaries.

Hughes debut century powers Australia to win

LAHORESTAFF REPORT

The Pakistan Cricket Board has de-cided to retain senior batsman Mis-bah-ul-Haq as captain for the Test andone-day series in the forthcoming tourof South Africa. The 38-year-old hasdrawn flak for his below-par perform-ances in one-day cricket including therecent tour of India. The PCB had re-moved him as captain of the Twenty20squad last year for being a slow scorer.

But sources reported to have saidthat the national selectors were toldby the Board that Misbah will con-tinue as captain for both formatswhile Mohammad Hafeez has beenretained as captain of the T20 squad.Pakistan leaves on January 20 forSouth Africa to play three Tests, fiveone-dayers and two T20 matches.

"Board Chairman Zaka Ashraf ishappy with the performance of Mis-bah and the way he led the team tothe one-day series win in India re-cently," one source said. "The positive

report about Misbah is that despitehis age, he is fit and brings about lotof confidence and discipline to theteam with his presence and leader-ship qualities," the source said.

He said the Board had decided tocontinue with Misbah for the SouthAfrican tour while Hafeez would begroomed to take over from him afterthe Champions Trophy in Englandthis year. Misbah has said after re-turning from India that he had no in-tentions to quit oDI cricket as heenjoys the format and is fit for it.

"There is a concept in Pakistanthat someone of my age shouldn't beplaying cricket at the top level. I dis-agree, I made my debut late and I be-lieve as long as someone is fit andready to perform at the highest levelthere is nothing wrong with him car-rying on," Misbah said. Sources closeto the selectors said Asad Shafiq, afterrecovering from a injury, was certainto replace Umar Akmal in the middleorder while Taufiq Umar would re-turn as the opener for the Tests.

Pakistan cricketershope for pay raiseafter win in india

LAHORE: Busy celebrating the oDI serieswin against arch-foes India, Pakistani crick-eters are hoping that the triumph would en-hance their chances of getting a handsomepay raise this year. A source said that the na-tional selectors met in lahore and handedover a preliminary list of candidates whoshould be considered for the new centralcontracts and retainers in 2013. "The selec-tors also held deliberations on the forthcom-ing tour to South Africa with the test squadexpected to be announced first," the sourcesaid. He said Pakistani players, after reach-ing the semifinals of the World Twenty20Championships in Sri lanka and beatingIndia in India, were very hopeful that theywould get a pay raise from the Board. "Theplayers have already conveyed their feelingsto the PCB chairman recently in India thatthe pay raise given to them in the last centralcontracts was not enough as it came afterthree years," the source said. He pointed outthat when the last central contracts weregiven, some of the senior players had refusedto sign them as they felt the raise of 25 percent in the monthly retainers and 10 per centincrease in match fees was not enough buthad to back down after a stern stance takenby the board. "But this time they are hopefulagain since the chairman is also happy withtheir performances in India which is always abig tour for Pakistan," the source said. Thesource said the board would soon form aspecial committee to go through the list pro-vided by the selectors and than determinenew categories and the pay raise. last yearthe board gave out central contracts to theplayers in May after a long delay. STAFF REPORT

Pakistanplayers’ bPlstints in doubt

LAHORESTAFF REPORT

Zaka Ashraf, the PCB chairman, saidPakistan players would play in theBangladesh Premier league (BPl) butindicated that their presence could de-pend on the BCB agreeing to a tour ofPakistan.The BPl is scheduled to begin on Jan-uary 18 and several Pakistan playerswere sold at its auction last month.Their participation, however, couldhinge on the BCB's response toAshraf's comments.There has been a lot of talk ofBangladesh touring Pakistan but withsecurity continuing to be a concern,there have been no concrete steps for-ward."Bangladesh almost toured Pakistanbut at the last moment they pulled outover the security concern and I don'twant to repeat this again," Cricinfoquoted Ashraf as saying. "We can't send our players like this, asBangladesh have an agreement to ful-fill. If they decide to come Pakistanand play then we will consider sup-porting and favoring them [in this mat-ter]."The BPl also clashes with the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Pakistan's premier first-class event, and the PCB said itwouldn't be fair to disrupt the players'commitments to their teams.The PCB and BCB have been discussinga short Bangladesh tour to Pakistansince 2011, but have faced hurdles.A proposed tour in April 2012 waspostponed because of an order from aDhaka court, and another proposal fora tour in January this year was rejectedby the BCB on security grounds.Pakistan have not hosted internationalcricket since the 2009 terror attacks onthe Sri lanka team bus and haveplayed all their home matches at off-shore venues such as England and theUAE.

Misbah remains Test, oDi captain

AUSTRALIA

A Finch c Chandimal b A Mendis 16

P Hughes c Chandimal b Malinga 114

U Khawaja run out (J Mendis/Chandimal) 3

G bailey c J Mendis b Mathews 89

D Hussey not out 60

G Maxwell c A Mendis b Kulasekara 5

b Haddin not out 10

Extras: (2b, 3lb, 5w) 10

Total: (five wickets; 50 overs) 305

Fall: 1-53, 2-72, 3-212, 4-241, 5-248.

Did not bat: M Johnson, M Starc, C McKay, X Doherty.

bowling: N Kulasekara 10-0-53-1, L Malinga 10-1-61-1 (2w),

A Mathews 8-0-46-1, A Mendis 10-0-62-1 (3w), T Dilshan

4-0-17-0, T Perera 4-0-28-0, J Mendis 4-0-33-0.

SRI LANKA

U Tharanga c Haddin b Starc 1

T Dilshan run out (Khawaja) 51

M Jayawardene c Finch b McKay 5

D Chandimal c Haddin b McKay 73

A Mathews run out (Maxwell) 12

L Thirimanne run out (Maxwell/Haddin) 0

J Mendis c bailey b Johnson 20

T Perera c bailey b Johnson 4

N Kulasekara c bailey b McKay 18

L Malinga not out 1

A Mendis c Haddin b McKay 0

Extras: (2b, 2lb, 9w) 13

Total: (all out; 40 overs) 198

Fall: 1-8, 2-17, 3-111, 4-128, 5-128, 6-167, 7-169, 8-194, 9-198.

bowling: M Starc 6-0-25-1 (2w), C McKay 8-0-33-4, M

Johnson 9-1-43-2 (2w), X Doherty 8-0-41-0, G Maxwell 4-

0-28-0, D Hussey 5-0-24-0.

Australia won by 107 runs

Australia lead the five-match series 1-0

SCOREbOARD

KHI 12-01-2013_Layout 1 1/12/2013 7:17 AM Page 16

Sports 16


hot putter putsthongchai clearin windy durban

DURBAnAGENCIES

Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee wielded a hotputter as he fired a seven-under-par 65 inblustery conditions to seize a three-strokelead after the first round of the Volvo GolfChampions on Thursday. British openchampion Ernie Els and fellow SouthAfrican louis oosthuizen, the 2010 Britishopen winner, carded 68s to lie joint sec-ond. Paul lawrie, Thomas Bjorn, JeevMilkha Singh, Richie Ramsay, Jamie Don-aldson, Scott Jamieson and Danny Willettshared fourth spot on 69. Former para-trooper Thongchai, who is 80th in theworld rankings and won last year's Walesopen, made light of the strong winds topost five birdies in an outward 31. Furtherbirdies at the 10th and 15th holes followedand he cancelled out his only bogey of theday at the 17th with a fine up-and-downfrom the sand at the 18th for anotherbirdie. "I made long putts from every-where. I had 24 or 25 putts today and Ihaven't putted this well in a long time,"Thongchai told a news conference. "It'svery, very exciting to come here becauseI've never been to South Africa before."The gusting winds and steady rain affectedplay for much of the afternoon but the 43-year-old remained unaffected and calledon the experience he gained from his vic-tory in similar conditions in Wales lastyear. "We have no choice, everyone has toplay in this and I enjoy it," said the five-times European Tour winner. "We playmost of the time in Europe in conditionslike this. I won in the same wind as this inWales and it was also raining in that one."

india backtracked onpassport rule: amritraj

SIngAPORE AGENCIES

The Indian sports ministry backtrackedon plans to ditch the questionable pass-port rule that has blocked Prakash Amri-traj's return to Davis Cup action, theplayer's father and former tour playerVijay Amritraj told Reuters. America-bornPrakash played 10 ties for India in theDavis Cup before he was barred in 2008after the sports ministry introduced a rulesaying that only Indian passport holderscould represent the country at sports.India does not permit dual citizenship.With an ongoing row over the running ofthe Davis Cup team expected to see someplayers skip the home tie against SouthKorea next month, the All India TennisAssociation (AITA) had hoped the govern-ment would end the passport rule so thatPrakash could compete. Vijay Amritraj, awinner of 16 singles and 13 double titlesand a former Davis Cup finalist, said theAITA had asked him to speak with thesport ministry to help with negotiations.

PORT ELIZABETH AGENCIES

It was South Africa's day with three half-centuries and a century, they batted wellaround Amla who's been lucky, but tookadvantage of the reprieve he got whenon 48 on the first day of the second testagainst new Zealand at St. George's Parkon Friday.

new Zealand had their chances, adropped catch, a review they shouldhave taken, a couple of run-out attemptsand edges that didn't carry. The honourscould have been even, but it wasn't to be.South Africa are in control.

Earlier at tea, Hashim Amla andGraeme Smith compiled half-centuriesas South Africa moved to 191 for three attea.

Amla reached the break unbeaten on70 while Smith notched his 36th testhalf-century shortly after lunch beforebeing dismissed eight balls later for 54with seven fours.

Paceman Doug Bracewell, with fig-ures of two for 44, was the pick of newZealand's attack.

The elegant Amla brought up his25th test fifty off 92 balls but he didenjoy a slice of luck when, on 48, he wasdropped in the gully by Kane Williamsonoff the bowling of left-arm quick TrentBoult.

Amla and Smith combined for a sec-ond-wicket stand of 92 off 20.4 overs be-fore Smith was caught down the legsideby keeper BJ Watling off the bowling ofleft-arm seamer neil Wagner to leaveSouth Africa on 121 for two.

The hosts lost their third wicket 16runs later when Jacques Kallis (8) edgeda Bracewell delivery through to Watling.

But any hopes new Zealand mighthave harboured of making further quickinroads into a powerful batting line-upwere dashed when AB de Villiers (29 notout) and Amla combined for an unbro-ken fourth-wicket partnership of 54.

South Africa had won the toss andelected to bat on a slowish pitch whichoffered up just a touch of movement forthe seam bowlers.

Smith and Alviro Peterson (21) puton a 29-run opening stand but the right-handed Peterson departed when he top-

edged an attempted hook shot off thebowling of Bracewell and was caught byJeetan Patel at fine leg before the hoststook lunch on 99 for one. new Zealandincluded debutant all-rounder ColinMunro in their line up.

Amla hits century to provide SA control

RAJKOTAGENCIES

InDIA had never chased more than325 to win a one-day internationalon home soil and, if the old Indiamight have regarded England as

ripe for the taking, this present side lacksthe same formidable presence. They cameclose, but when Ishant Sharma was left tohit Jade Dernbach's last two balls for six totie the match, they probably knew in theirhearts that the game was up. England hadlost their last 13 oDIs in India and had wononly one match on their last three oDItours of India. Two defeats in their warm-up matches did not auger well, but theyserved up a victory for their new limited-overs coach, Ashley Giles, at the first timeof asking and will now face the rest of thefive-match series with greater belief.

The first international at the SaurashtraStadium lavished favours upon the bats-men. The pitch was amenable and the out-field glassy but James Tredwell, withinternational-best figures of 4-44, saw Eng-land home. An understudy to GraemeSwann in England's oDI side, he has achance to assert himself with Swann restingout of the series, although "assert himself"is probably the wrong phrase because he isa mild-mannered unassuming chap, verymuch the introvert to Swann's extrovert.India needed to enter unchartered territoryto beat England in the opening oDI in Ra-jkot. They had never scored more than 325to win a one-day international on home soiland, even if they only needed one more runthan their previous highest, they knew thathistory as well as recent batting form wasagainst them. not that the task initiallyseemed to trouble them. They began confi-dently with Ajinkya Rahane and Gautam

Gambhir rarely having to extend them-selves in amassing 96 in 16.4 overs in an un-troubled first-wicket stand, but both got outto gentle chip shots against James Tredwellto reach the mid-point at 136. India neededanother 190 runs at 7.60 per over.

Tredwell, an understudy to GraemeSwann in England's oDI side, has had onlyintermittent opportunities, but Swann hadbeen rested from the series, leaving himwith an opportunity to assert himself. Thiswas only his 10th one-day international,and his first against India and neither Ra-hane nor Gambhir played his offspin withtotal conviction before he dismissed themin successive overs. There is little strikingabout Tredwell's mild-mannered, unas-

suming approach to the crease and hewould have surprised himself if he hadmade one turn on such a benign surface,but he tossed one up to defeat Rahane's in-side-out shot and had him caught at long-off. He then deceived Gambhir in the flightto have him caught at short mid wicket.

Gambhir, with a run-a-ball 52, hadbeen the quicker scoring of the two openers,shamelessly reliant upon a succession of de-liberate deflections between gully and slipas well as turns off his hip. With 66 on theboard against ten overs of inconsistent pacebowling, India began confidently but Tred-well and the debutant, Joe Root, whobowled ahead of Samit Patel and slipped ina spell of part-time offspin without mishap,just as Suresh Raina had done for India ear-lier in the day, dragged England back intothe game. India's highest successful runchase at home was their 325-5 to beat WestIndies also in Gujarat, down the road in

Ahmedabad, in 2002. Yuvraj Singh wasIndia's sole survivor and, at halfway, a lotwas still required from himself and his col-leagues if India were to outlast England togo one-up in the series. It was difficult tojudge how many runs England needed tofeel impregnable in the opening oDI in Ra-jkot. To reach 325 for 4 achieved parity, butno certainty, especially with memories oftheir warm-up defeat against Delhi stillfresh. The India of old would have felt thatthis chase was in range. An India that haslost a series to Pakistan will look at it andwonder. As serenely as Ian Bell and AlastairCook proceeded to give England a flatteringstart, in an opening stand of 158 in 27.4overs, England's most destructive batsmen,Kevin Pietersen and Eoin Morgan, were re-stricted to a brace of 40s and an uninhibitedfinal fling by Samit Patel, who made 44 notout from 20 balls as 38 came from the lasttwo overs, was a necessary flourish.

England make a winning startENGLAND

AN Cook c Rahane b Raina 75

IR bell run out (Rahane) 85

KP Pietersen c Kohli b Dinda 44

EJG Morgan c & b Dinda 41

C Kieswetter not out 24

SR Patel not out 44

Extras (w 10, nb 2) 12

Total (4 wickets; 50 overs; 207 mins) 325

Did not bat JE Root, TT bresnan, JC Tredwell, ST Finn, JW

Dernbach

Fall of wickets 1-158 (bell, 27.4 ov), 2-172 (Cook, 31.1 ov), 3-248

(Morgan, 41.6 ov), 4-255 (Pietersen, 43.5 ov)

bowling: b Kumar 7-0-52-0, I Sharma 10-2-86-0, Ab Dinda 8-

0-53-2, R Ashwin 9-0-61-0, RA Jadeja 10-0-46-0, SK Raina

5-0-18-1, V Kohli 1-0-9-0

INDIA

AM Rahane c Dernbach b Tredwell 47

G Gambhir c bell b Tredwell 52

V Kohli c †Kieswetter b bresnan 15

yuvraj Singh c Dernbach b Tredwell 61

SK Raina c & b Tredwell 50

MS Dhoni c Root b Dernbach 32

RA Jadeja b Dernbach 7

R Ashwin c †Kieswetter b Finn 13

b Kumar not out 20

Ab Dinda b bresnan 3

I Sharma not out 7

Extras (lb 1, w 7, nb 1) 9

Total (9 wickets; 50 overs; 222 mins) 316

Fall of wickets 1-96 (Rahane, 16.4 ov), 2-102 (Gambhir, 18.4 ov),

3-138 (Kohli, 25.4 ov), 4-198 (yuvraj Singh, 34.4 ov), 5-243

(Raina, 41.4 ov), 6-271 (Dhoni, 44.2 ov), 7-273 (Jadeja, 44.5 ov),

8-297 (Ashwin, 47.3 ov), 9-307 (Dinda, 48.5 ov)

bowling: ST Finn 10-0-63-1, JW Dernbach 10-0-69-2, TT

bresnan 8-0-67-2, JC Tredwell 10-0-44-4, JE Root 9-0-51-0, SR

Patel 3-0-21-0

Toss England, who chose to bat

Series England led the 5-match series 1-0

ODI debut JE Root (England)

Player of the match JC Tredwell (England)

Umpires SJ Davis (Australia) and S Ravi

TV umpire VA Kulkarni

Match referee AJ Pycroft (zimbabwe)

Reserve umpire RM Deshpande

SCOREbOARD

SOUTH AFRICA INNINGS

A. Petersen c Patel b bracewell 21

G. Smith c Watling b Wagner 54

H. Amla not out 70

HM Amla not out 106

JH Kallis c Watling b bracewell 8

Ab de Villiers c Williamson b Patel 51

F du Plessis not out 69

Extras (b 5, lb 6, w 2, nb 3) 16

Total (4 wickets; 90 overs) 325

To bat D Elgar, RJ Peterson, DW Steyn, RK Kleinveldt, M Morkel

Fall of wickets 1-29 (Petersen, 9.6 ov), 2-121 (Smith, 30.4 ov),

3-137 (Kallis, 35.4 ov), 4-223 (de Villiers, 61.1 ov)

bowling: TA boult 19-2-74-0, DAJ bracewell 21-2-70-2, N

Wagner 22-2-88-1, JS Patel 19-1-60-1, C Munro 9-0-22-0

New zealand: MJ Guptill, bb McCullum*, KS Williamson, DG

brownlie, DR Flynn, bJ Watling†, DAJ bracewell, C Munro, JS

Patel, TA boult, N Wagner

Toss South Africa, who chose to bat

Test debut C Munro (New zealand)

Player of the match tba

Umpires HDPK Dharmasena (Sri Lanka) and IJ Gould

(England), TV umpire RJ Tucker (Australia), Match referee DC

boon (Australia), Reserve umpire JD Cloete.

SCOREbOARD

SYDnEYAGENCIES

Pakistani asylum-seeker Fawad Ahmed,who was granted a permanent Australiavisa in november, was on Friday calledup for the Prime Minister's XI matchagainst the West Indies in Canberra.

The 33-year-old leg-spinner left hishome in the border region nearAfghanistan to come to Australia on ashort-stay visa to play cricket in 2010and has established his credentials atthe Melbourne Renegades in the T20Big Bash league.

He was selected for the one-daymatch on January 29 alongside Pak-istan-born Usman Khawaja and Indian-born fast bowler Gurinder Sandhu.

national Selection Panel chairmanJohn Inverarity described the picks asreflecting the cultural diversity that ex-

ists in Australian cricket. "Fawad isplaying for the Melbourne Renegades inthe T20 Big Bash league and grade clubMelbourne University, and we are en-couraged by his ongoing development,"Inverarity said. "We have also been very

pleased with the progress of Indian-born fast bowler Gurinder Sandhu, whohas performed well for the SydneyThunder following strong performancesfor Australia in last year's Under 19World Cup."

Ricky Ponting, who recently retiredfrom international cricket, captains theteam, with former Test wicketkeeperBrad Haddin his deputy.

Ahmed has previously said he wastargeted by Muslim extremists in Pak-istan because of his involvement incricket, even receiving death threats be-cause of the perception that the sportpromotes Western values.

PM's XI: Ricky Ponting (capt), BradHaddin, Fawad Ahmed, Jono Dean,Alex Doolan, James Faulkner, PeterHandscomb, Usman Khawaja, KaneRichardson, Gurinder Sandhu, AshtonTurner, nick Winter (12th man).

Pakistan asylum-seekerfawad gets oZ PM’s Xi call

newage, risingSun in garrisonPolo final

LAHORESTAFF REPORT

The final of the lahore Garrison PoloCup will be played between newage andPAF/Rising Sun at 2.30 pm on Sunday.The subsidiary final will be played be-tween Guards Group and Ravi Autos. Amatch for 3rd position will be played at11.30 am on Sunday.Another two pool matches of the lahoreGarrison Polo Cup-2013 were played onFriday at Fortress Stadium lahore Canttand win was newage and PAF-RisingSun fate. In the first match newage de-feated 11 Corps by 7/ 2 ½ goals. Fromnewage Shah Shamyl Alam Scored 3 goal,Adnan Jalil Azam Scored 2 Goal , BilalHaye and Usman Haye Scored one goaleach for newage. While 11 Corps teamfail to scored any goal for 11 Corps. Twoand half goal of only which are receivedof handicap. Umpires of this mach werelt Col Asif Zahoor and Khurshid Ahmed.In the second match, PAF/ Rising Sunbeat Master Paints by 6-2 goals. ForMaster Paints Shah Qubilal Alam andSaqib Khan Khakwani scored one goaleach. Umpire of the match were Majoromer Minhas and Khurshid Ahmed.

aslam academy quettabeat golden Star

LAHORESTAFF REPORT

Aslam Academy Quetta beat Golden Starby 32 runs match in a friendly matchhere at the Ittifaq ground on Friday. ScORES: Aslam Academy Quetta 189for all in 34.3 overs. Captian MohammadAslam 79*, Jabar 20 and Shreefud Din19. Mohammad Asif 3/25, Umair 3/30,Mohammad Farhan and MohammadRameez took two wickets each. GoldenStar 157 for all in 30.2 overs. nadeemKhan 29, Zeshan Shabeer 23, Moham-mad Asif 23 and Saeedul Hassan 22. In-ternational cricketer of Afganistan BachaKhan took 4/34, Shareefud Din 3/29 andAslam 2/32. Aslam of Aslam Academywas named the man of the match.


QuAiD-e-AzAM oPen golf

aguero's comebackstill a week away,says mancini

LONDON: Manchester City strikerSergio Aguero will miss Sunday'smatch against Arsenal and faces an-other week on the sidelines with ahamstring injury, manager RobertoMancini said on Friday. The 24-year-old Argentine, who is City's joint top-scorer this season with 10 goals,picked up the injury in City's 3-0 winover Stoke City on new Year's Dayand was forced to sit out their FA Cupvictory over Watford last weekend."Sergio won't be available for at leastanother week," Mancini told re-porters. "He should make the gameagainst Fulham but we won't risk himagainst Arsenal. He should be readyby next weekend." AGENCIES

wenger optimisticover walcott’sarsenal future

LONDON: Arsenal manager ArseneWenger said he was "optimistic" thatEngland international Theo Walcottwill commit his long-term future to thelondon club and sign a new deal.Barely a week goes by without theFrenchman being asked whetherprogress has been made on persuadingtop scorer Walcott to stay at the Emi-rates Stadium. Walcott, who has hiteight Premier league goals this cam-paign, is out of contract at the end ofthe season. "Discussions progresssmoothly but slowly. We are on a goodroad but in this situation, as long asnothing is signed, you are cautious,"Wenger told a news conference on Fri-day. "But I am optimistic we will get toa happy conclusion. I was optimisticlast week, but I am a bit more opti-mistic this week." AGENCIES

Sports17


LAHORESTAFF REPORT

Friday was the first round of the profes-sionals section competition in the 2ndQuaid-e-Azam open Golf Champi-onship that got rolling at the par 72, la-hore Gymkhana Golf Course, endorsedand supported by Shezan Internationaland the first round belonged to MatloobAhmed of Garrison Golf Club and Mo-hammad Munir of U-Fone.

During the first round, yesterday atthe Gymkhana Course, Matloob Ahmedand Mohammad Munir were models ofexcellence, performing to perfection andlooking awesome in every aspect of thegame and it was through a very well-bal-anced all round effort that they came upwith similar rounds of gross 66, six

under par and this is a score that cham-pions dream of when they are compet-ing. This did spread cheers all round thegolf course and made the sponsorshappy and left the organizers delighted.M.S Janjua of Shezan patted the twochampions over their praiseworthy per-formance and hoped they would keep upthe pace over the next two rounds andcontinue with their excellence.

With a total of 87 professionals lin-ing up for top slots in this prestigiouschampionship, one finds quite a fewother competitors looking pretty goodand in particular two names that standout are Ahmed Shahid Javed Khan ofRoyal Palm and M. Safdar Khan of Gu-jranwala Golf Club. Shahid too had aperfection oriented round of gross 69,three under par and looking good in

equal measure was M. Safdar with asimilar score of gross 69.All in all it wasa great day for golf as besides the topfour, six other competitors had underpar rounds and four had par rounds.The competitors who achieved underpar scores are Imdad Hussain (Garri-son) 70, Shakeel Fayyaz (Islamabad)70, Shahid Hanif (Gymkhana) 70, M.Tariq (Islamabad) 71, M. Asif (DefenceRayal) 71 and Talat Ijaz (Gymkhana)also 71. The competitors with par scoresare Danyaal Jehangir, nisar Hussain,M. Siiduque and Haseeb-ur-Rehman.

As for the details of Matloob's roundhe had five consecutive birdies on holes7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 and two more on the13th and 16th. He had regulation parson ten holes and a solitary bogie on the4th hole. His partner on the leader

board rolled in birdies on holes 2, 4, 7,9 and 15 and powered an eagle on par 5,16th by virtue of a perfect tee shotbacked by an eight iron approach shotwith a given putt. Matloob was all praisefor the state of the greens which helpedhim in attaining a perfect score. one ofcompetitors Aashir Hanif is placed verylow on the leader board but he had thehonour of scoring two consecutive ea-gles on the 14th and 15th holes.

In the amateur section, the leaderafter 18 holes is Fakhar Imam of De-fence Raya Golf Club. His gross score inthe first round was gross 73 and follow-ing him are Col (r) Asif Mehdi at 77 andCol (r) Muslim Chatta also at 77. Col (r)M. Shafi is at 78. The second roundpromises a great fight between the topcontenders.

Matloob, Munir joint leaders of the day

radwanska dolesout double bagelto win Sydney

SYDNEY: Agnieszka Radwanska hum-bled Dominika Cibulkova 6-0 6-0 in aruthless display of all-court tennis to winher second Australian open warm-uptournament in two weeks at the SydneyInternational on Friday. The Pole, seededfourth for Melbourne Park and a winnerin Auckland last week, secured her ninthstraight victory from the start of the yearin a little over an hour of one-sided tenniswhen the hapless Cibulkova doublefaulted. Radwanska tempered her cele-brations out of respect for her opponentand said she felt sympathy for the Slova-kian, who had beaten three top-10 playerson her way to the final. AGENCIES

condolence LAHORE: President, lahore City CricketAssociation, Khawaja nadim Ahmed hascondoled the death of Abbas Sharif,younger brother of former prime minis-ter, Mohamamd nawaz Sharif and ChiefMinister Punjab, Mian Shahbaz Sharifwho died here on Friday. In a condolencemessage he along with other office bear-ers of lCCA expressed his heart felt sym-pathies with the members of the bereavedfamily. He prayed to Allah AlmightyAllah that the departed soul may rest ineternal peace and grant courage to bearthis loss with fortitude. STAFF REPORT

MELBOURnE AGENCIES

Victoria Azarenka had a fairytale yearin 2012, opening with a red-hot 26-match win streak and capturing foursuccessive titles, including her firstgrand slam at the Australian open. Shefinished the year with six tournamentvictories, clinched the world numberone ranking and won the bronze medalin singles and gold in mixed doubles atthe london olympics.

To cap it off, Azarenka was awardedthe order of the Motherland by BelarusPresident Alexander lukashenko. Al-though not as dominant as a resurgentSerena Williams, who claimed the Wim-bledon and U.S. open titles, she hadmore wins against top-10 players thanany other on the WTA tour.

Yet her dream run could have cometo an abrupt halt less than 10 days beforeshe opened the defence of her Melbournetitle when a pedicure infected the big toeon her right foot. Rather than risk aggra-vating the injury, the 23-year-old with-drew from her Brisbane International

semi-final against Williams, just 30 min-utes before they were due on court. Criticssuggested the move may have been tacti-

cal. Why risk giving too much awayagainst the world number three, who isthe biggest threat to her defending theAustralian open title?

last year, however, the tall right-han-der was injury-free before she embarkedon her unbeaten run at the start of theyear and she said when she withdrewfrom Brisbane that was her sole focus asshe built into the year's first grand slam.

The decision appeared to have paidoff, with the world number one and topseed declaring on Friday that she had re-covered completely and was ready to go."It's much better," she told reporters atthe official draw for the Australian open."I've been practising for the last couple ofdays and it feels good, so I'm really happythat its all gone and behind me.

"The preparation (has) been prettygood, I had a couple of matches beforethat (injury) happened but I'm prettyhappy where I'm at." While Azarenka'sdemolition of Maria Sharapova in theAustralian open final last year cata-pulted her into the grand slam win-ners' club, the Belarusian had beenthreatening for several years.

azarenka’s run couldface another Williams test


i’m playing againstanimals, jokes elsafter colsaerts rocketDURBAN: Four-times major winner Ernie Els gothis first close-up view of the world's longest profes-sional hitter nicolas Colsaerts at the Volvo GolfChampions on Thursday and the 43-year-old wasstunned by his Belgian playing partner's power."They should put a plaque down. I was comingfrom a different zip code and I've got to competeagainst these animals," joked Els after the firstround in Durban. Colsaerts led the driving dis-tances on the European and PGA tours in 2012with a staggering average of 318.6 yards, ranking

over three yards ahead ofU.S. Masters champion

Bubba Watson. AGENCIES

Sports 18


watch it LiveTEN SPORTS2nd Test: South Africav New Zealand01:30PM

ESPNBarclays: Stoke City v Chelsea08:25PM

STAR SPORTSBarclays: Evertonv Swansea City08:24PM

Servis clubdown tauseef inexhibition match

LAHORESTAFF REPORT

Servis club has won the opening exhi-bition match of 10th Muhammad Sid-diq Memorial Cricket Tournamentwhen they beat Tauseef Club by 35runs played at Allama Iqbal instituteground the other day Mr. Waqqar-ul-Munir Chairman Tournament Commit-tee of East Zone Cricket Associatonwas the Chief Guest. A large no of or-ganizers were also present.Fine bowl-ing by imran Ali was the main featureand declared man of the match.SCORES: Servis club (180) all out. arshad nadeem 61,

mudasser ali 33, azam Siddiq 37, Sattar khan 20. waqas

khan 3/30, Shairrbaz khan 2/35, israr baig 1/29. tauseef

club (145) all out. abrar baig 33, waqas khan 18, zeeshan

butt 24, awais manzoor 18, ali raza 10. imran ali 5/33,

adnan danish 2/22, Sattar khan 2/17, farhan asghar 1/37.

east zone meeting LAHORE

STAFF REPORT

The East Zone cricket Association tour-nament committee meeting will be heldon January 13 at 3 PM (Sunday) in thechairmanship of Chairman TournamentCommittee Waqar-ul-Munir at his hose. Specially in the meeting Hanif Muham-mad Memorial Event will be discussed.All members of the committee will ad-vise to attend the meeting in time.

LOnDOn AGENCIES

Manchester United striker Wayne Rooneywill miss Sunday's Premier league clashagainst north-west rivals liverpool afterfailing to recover from a knee injury, man-ager Alex Ferguson said on Friday. Rooneyinjured a knee ligament in training andmissed United's holiday fixtures againstnewcastle United, West Bromwich Albionand Wigan Athletic as well as their FACup draw at West Ham United."Wayne Rooney is still out," Fergu-son told reporters. "I am hopinghe will start training today actu-ally, in which case he won't befar away. I don't think it is anissue, but we need to guidehim along. "In terms of theinjury he had, it's quitestraightforward so if hestarts today, I assume hewill be available for

Wednesday's replay (against WestHam)." United winger nani and

midfielder Anderson will bothreturn to the squad for liver-pool's visit to old Trafford."nani is back in training andwill be included in the squadfor Sunday."Anderson has

been back training for 10 daysnow so he will be in the squadfor Sunday. All in all it is quitea positive situation. It's good to

have them back." United lead thePremier league by seven points from

local rivals Manchester City after 21games, while liverpool are 14 points fur-

ther adrift in eighth place.The fixture,however, remains as important asever, according to Ferguson. "Thederby game against liverpool never

changes," he said. It's always an im-mensely important game - intense,emotional. We are going into thegame in reasonable form."

United’s rooney out of liverpool clashLOnDOn

AGENCIES

Chelsea's former England captain John Terrysaid his knee felt "totally fine" after making hiscomeback for the club's under-21 team followingtwo months on the sidelines. The 32-year-oldcentral defender played for 45 minuteson Thursday night, featuring as anover-age player in a 2-0 victory overneighbours Fulham. "I have comethrough alright," Terry toldChelsea TV. "Initially I wasgoing to play between 30 and45 (minutes) so I managed toget through the first half andthe knee feels totally fine whichis the main thing. "lungs are alittle bit... which is natural, but itis good to get in 45 under my belt.It has been frustrating two monthsreally. "I felt fine, totally fine. Pass-ing, tackling, everything felt fine.It's really positive to come through

a game and hopefully give myself a chanceto be back involved with the first team."Terry hurt his knee against liverpool onnovember 11, his first match back afterserving a four-game ban for racially abus-ing Queens Park Rangers defender Anton

Ferdinand. Terry has missed 16 games in allcompetitions and said he hoped to soon

be back in contention for a first-team recall. "Maybe it is too soonto get back starting. The ladshave been playing well as well, soI know better than anybody Ihave to wait my time and be pa-tient and try to get back in thesquad first, than the team afterthat," he said. Chelsea, fourth inthe Premier league - 14 pointsbehind leaders Manchester

United - travel to Stoke City onSaturday looking to bounce backfrom a midweek home defeat bySwansea in the Capital one(league) Cup, semi-final first-leg.

i feel fine, terry says after comeback

Sydney: Victoria Azarenka,

Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams,

Agnieszka Radwanska, Angelique

Kerber, Petra Kvitova, Sara errani

and na Li pose for photographers

ahead of the Australian Open.

MELBOURnE AGENCIES

ACHIEVInG a lifetimegoal can leave someplayers content butmay also blight their

ambition. For Andy Murray, how-ever, nothing could be further fromthe truth. The Scot's victory at theU.S. open last September came onthe back of his olympic triumphthe previous month and was thefulfilment of a dream.

But with the new calm thatsuccess brings showing in his im-proved demeanour on court, the25-year-old is more determinedthan ever to add more grand slamtitles to his tally, starting at theAustralian open, which begins inMelbourne on Monday.

"The U.S. open and theolympics made me extremely mo-tivated," Murray told reportersthis week. "It wasn't a case of 'oh,everything's done now'. "It'staken a long time to get there andto win those sorts of events. Iknow the feeling when you do winthem now and it's worth all of thework that you put in.

"In the past, there were loadsand loads of questions. I wasn'tphysically strong enough. I wasn'tmentally strong enough. I didn'tlisten to my coaches. I was spoilt.

"Whatever it was, none of thatreally bothers me anymore. I'mjust looking for ways to keep im-proving." The next chapter beginson Monday when Murray bids tobecome the first man in the openera to follow up his first grand slamtitle by winning the very next one.

It is a difficult task; Pete Sam-pras, who went on to win 14, took11 grand slam events to win his sec-ond title, while novak Djokovic,the man Murray beat to win innew York, took 12 more slams to

win another one. Murray picked upwhere he left off in 2012 by win-ning his first event of this year inBrisbane and will go into Mel-bourne as the second favourite forthe title behind Djokovic. In thepast 12 months, Murray has trans-formed himself from the nearlyman of tennis into a national hero.When he lost to Roger Federer inthe final at Wimbledon last sum-mer, his fourth defeat in grandslam finals, the knives were out.

Critics claimed that Murrayhad missed his window of opportu-nity, that as he entered the secondhalf of his twenties, his powerswould begin to wane.

But when he struggled to holdback the tears in an emotional run-ners-up speech at Wimbledon, theeffect was to bring the public on hisside, perhaps more than winningthe title would have done.

And when the olympics cameround at the same venue just a fewweeks later, he produced inspiredtennis to beat Djokovic in the semi-finals and then wipe Federer offthe court in the final. The founda-tions had been laid and he main-

tained his form and focus in newYork to beat Djokovic and becomethe first British man to win a grandslam singles title for 76 years.

"I was motivated to get backinto the gym and get evenstronger," Murray said a week afterhis U.S. open victory. The Aus-tralian open represents the an-niversary of his partnership withIvan lendl as coach, a relationshipmany feel was the key to gettingMurray over the line. DarrenCahill, a respected coach and tele-vision pundit with ESPn, says theformer world number one has hada huge impact on Murray.

"They're 12 months down theroad now, they have an olympicgold medal under their belt, a U.S.open under their belt and I see alittle bit more swagger on thecourt," said Cahill, who has workedwith Murray in the past.

"It doesn't mean anythingwhen it comes to playing these topguys. (But) it means he's not focus-ing on that one major, he's focus-ing now on multiple. There's noquestion he's capable of winningmultiple slams."

MELBOURnEAGENCIES

World number one novak Djokovic's bid for athird successive Australian open title has beengiven a boost with a relatively smooth draw inthe first grand slam of the season. The 25-year-old Serb kicks off his title defence with a firstround tie against unseeded Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu in the draw announced on Fridayand faces no major hurdles until a potentiallydangerous quarter-final against fifth-seededCzech Tomas Berdych.

In a top half of the draw free of 'Big Four' ri-vals Roger Federer, Andy Murray and the absentRafa nadal, a possible semi-final clash with fourthseed David Ferrer, looms for five-times grand

slam winner Djokovic, who beat the tenaciousSpaniard in the quarter-finals last year. "I thinkrealistically, three can win," Australia's former

Wimbledon champion Pat Cash said at the draw,referring to Djokovic, second seed Federer andthird-seeded Murray. "You've got to say novak,you'd expect him to be the favourite ... but AndyMurray is hitting his peak." Former world numberone Federer faces a tough first week in his bid toadd to his record 17 grand slam titles, however.

The four-time champion will also play an un-seeded Frenchman in Benoit Paire in his opener,but is likely to face former top-10 player nikolayDavydenko of Russia in the second round beforeanother potentially tricky clash with local hopeBernard Tomic in the third. Big-serving MilosRaonic of Canada, the 13th seed, is then an un-palatable prospect in the last 16, with athleticFrenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga a good chance tomeet the Swiss in the quarter-finals.

Murray focusedon more GS success

Djokovic starts australia defence against Mathieu


19

Saturday, 12 January, 2013Published by Arif Nizami at Qandeel Printing Press, 4 Queens Road, Lahore. Editor: Arif Nizami

Complete shutter downin Quetta tomourn killings

QUETTASTAFF REPORT

The provincial metropolis on Fridaywitnessed a complete shutter down on acall by political, traders and religiousorganisations in protest againstThursday’s bloodbath that left over 100 people. over 100 people were killed and dozensinjured in three bombings in the city on Thursday. Markazi Anjuman-e-Tajran, JamiatUlema Islam (nazriati), Tahafuz-e-Azadari Council, Tehreek nifazeFiqah-e-Jaffria Balochistan, HazaraDemocratic Party and otherorganisations had given the call ofstrike against the bombings. All main and small business centres onJinnah Road, Qandhari Bazaar, MasjidRoad, Fatima Jinnah Road, liaqatBazaar, Prince Road, Abdul SattarRoad, Alamdar Road, Toghi Road,Mission Road, Soraj Ganj Bazaar andDouble Road remained closedthroughout the day. The provincial government and HazaraDemocratic Party had announced toobserve three-day mourning against themassive killings caused by the bomb blasts. Heavy contingents of Frontier CorpsBalochistan, police and BalochistanConstabulary were deployed across thecity and armed contingents ofBalochistan Constabulary and FrontierCorps continued patrolling the city theentire day. Armed personnel of Frontier Corps hadalso taken positions in trenches set upby placing sand bags at several areas.They put up blockades on several roadsand kept searching motorcycliststhroughout the day.

four major generals promoted

RAWALPInDI STAFF REPORT

Four major generals of the PakistanArmy have been promoted to the rankof lieutenant general, a press releaseissued by Inter-Services PublicRelation (ISPR) said on Friday. Itsaid Major General Maqsood Ahmad,Major General Zubair MahmoodHayat, Major Ganeral Syed WajidHussain and Major Generalnajibullah Khan had been promotedto the rank of lieutenant general.

ISLAMABADANWER AbbAS

Pakistan has officially contacted theUnited nations Military observers Groupfor India and Pakistan (UnMoGIP) overthe continued ceasefire violations byIndia along the line of Control (loC), asthe Foreign office called in Indian HighCommissioner Sharat Sabharwal to lodgea formal protest over repeated, unaccept-able and unprovoked attacks by India.

Addressing an emergency news con-ference at the Ministry for Foreign Af-fairs, Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani saidIslamabad had taken onboard the Unitednations Military observers Group forIndia and Pakistan over the continuedceasefire violations by India on the loC.

“Pakistan has conveyed its concern tothe Western diplomats and the Un Mili-

tary observers Group for India and Pak-istan over repeated violation of line ofControl by Indian army‚ urging them toplay their role in defusing the tension,” hesaid. Earlier, Indian High CommissionerSharat Sabharwal was summoned at theMinistry of Foreign Affairs and a strongprotest was lodged with him, Jilani said.

He said the Indian government hadbeen conveyed a message through thehigh commissioner to conduct a thoroughinvestigation into the repeated violationsof the ceasefire along the line of Controlby Indian troops and to adopt necessarysteps to ensure they did not recur.

The secretary said the ministry alsogave a detailed briefing to ambassadorsof 18 countries at the Foreign office, giv-ing them detailed account of Indian ag-gression on the loC. “Pakistan reiteratesits commitment to a peaceful resolution

of all outstanding issues through a sus-tained and result-oriented dialogue withIndia,” the foreign secretary added.

Jilani said he also reminded the gov-ernment of India of its commitment tofully implement the ceasefire along theloC and strongly urged it to abide and re-spect the ceasefire, which he said was animportant confidence-building measurethat had worked well since 2003.

“These attacks not only vitiate the at-mosphere but also create unnecessaryand avoidable distractions in our effortstowards the peace process,” he said to aquery. To another question, Jilani said ifIndia was carrying this aggression to di-vert the world’s attention away from therecent gang rape in new Delhi, it was in-deed unfortunate. To a question on reser-vations over awarding India the MFnstatus, the foreign secretary said the

media had presented his statement out ofcontext, adding that the agriculture sec-tor was having some issues, followingwhich the ministries concerned were di-rected to take them onboard over theMFn title to India.

Jilani reiterated Pakistan’s offer tohold an independent inquiry into the re-cent incidents of ceasefire violationsthrough the United nations.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani govern-ment has decided to suspend the“Paigham-e-Aman” bus service betweenAzad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and In-dian-held Kashmir.

“Pakistan has suspended the cross-loC bus service between Chakan-Da-Bagh (J and K) and Rawalakote (AJK) forthe time being,” Trade Facilitation officer(TFo), Poonch, Abdul Hamid Sheikhsaid.

WASHIngTOnSPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

RECoGnISInG the im-portance of Pakistan’ssupport for peace andstability in Afghanistan,US President Barack

obama on Friday saw greater aware-ness in Islamabad on addressing ex-tremism in the region.

Speaking after long deliberations atthe White House with visiting AfghanPresident Hamid Karzai on the way for-ward in Afghanistan and the region,obama said curbing extremism in Pak-istan-Afghanistan border region wouldrequire political and diplomatic coopera-tion between the two neighbours and notjust military action. Addressing a jointpress conference with Karzai, Presidentobama said the US and Afghanistanrecommitted themselves to political rec-onciliation between the Afghan govern-ment and the Taliban. “Today we agreed

that this process should be advanced byopening of a Taliban office to facilitatetalks,” he said after the talks, which alsocovered the scope of the US-Afghanistancooperation beyond 2014, when the US-led Afghan war officially ends.

obama said if some US forces stayedin Afghanistan beyond 2014, their mis-sion and role would be to train theAfghan forces and carry out targeted ac-tions against al Qaeda and its affiliates.The US president specifically noted thatAfghan reconciliation would requireconstructive support from Islamabadand welcomed the recent steps towardsthat end. “Reconciliation also requiresconstructive support from across the re-gion including Pakistan. We welcome re-cent steps that have been taken in thatregard. We look for more tangible stepsbecause a stable and secure Afghanistanis in the interests of not only of theAfghan people and the United States butentire region.” Asked by an Afghan jour-nalist about the US future policy with re-

gards to alleged militant safe havens inthe Tribal Areas, obama emphasisedthat “Afghanistan, the United States andPakistan all have an interest in reducingthe threat of extremism in some of theborder regions of Afghanistan and Pak-istan”. “That is going to require morethan simply taking military actions. Thatis really going to require political anddiplomatic work between Afghanistanand Pakistan.” obama added the US ob-viously would have an interest in facili-tating cooperation between the twosovereign neighbouring countries.

“As President Karzai has indi-cated it is very hard to imagine stabil-ity and peace in the region if Pakistanand Afghanistan don’t come to somebasic agreement and understandingabout the threat of extremism to bothcountries and both governments inboth capitals.” “I think we are startingto see a greater awareness on that onpart of the Pakistani government,”obama said.

Sri lankaparliamentvotes to impeachchief justice

COLOMBOAGENCIES

Sri lanka’s parliament on Friday voted toimpeach Chief Justice ShiraniBandaranayake after a process criticised byinternational rights groups as an assault onjudicial independence.The assembly voted 155 to 49 to dismissBandaranayake whose most recent rulingshad gone against the government ofPresident Mahinda Rajapakse who iswidely expected to ratify the sacking andname a replacement within days.“The motion (to impeach) was carried with155 voting for and 49 against,” SpeakerChamal Rajapakse said at the end of a two-day debate on a controversialparliamentary panel report which foundBandaranayake guilty of misconduct.Bandaranayake, 54, the country’s firstwoman in the highest judicial office, hasalready challenged the parliamentaryprocess.Three leftist members of Rajapakse’sUnited People’s Freedom Alliancecoalition, who stayed away when the votewas taken, said they failed to “avert aconstitutional crisis” with the first eversacking of a top judge in Sri lanka.“Right from the beginning, we attempted tointervene at several stages to avert aconstitutional crisis, a confrontationbetween the legislature, executive and thejudiciary,” Senior Minister D. E. WGunasekera of the Communist Party said.Gunasekera said the impeachment hadbeen politicised and damaged the image ofthe country.Ruling party supporters celebrated theparliamentary vote by bursting firecrackers around the tightly-guardedparliament building.The government brought charges againstBandaranayake after she turned down acontroversial bill that sought to grantgreater financial and political power toRajapakse’s youngest brother Basil, theeconomic development minister.Although she was accused of 14 counts offinancial, professional and personalmisconduct, a parliamentary committeeconvicted her only of three.

Obama recognises Pakistan’s‘key’ role in Afghan peaceg US president says curbing extremism in Pakistan-Afghanistan border region to requirepolitical, diplomatic cooperation between the neighbours g Says US, Afghanistanrecommitted to political reconciliation between Afghan government and Taliban

indian HC gets dressing down over loC killingsg Pakistan contacts un observers, diplomats over india’s repeated loc violations

QUETTA: A large number of Hazara Shias on Friday

participate in the funeral procession of Shias

killed in Thursday’s twin bombings. inP


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