E-paper PakistanToday 4thFebuary, 2012

Chinahasnointentionto‘buyEurope’,WentellsMerkel

PAGE 17

Pakistanbackafterbattingcollapse

PAGE 18 PAGE 04

Centreshouldequallyshareenergyshortage,ShahbaztellsGilani

rs15.00 vol ii no 219 22 Pages islamabad — Peshawar edition pakistantoday.com.pk saturday, 4 february, 2012 rabi-ul-awal 11, 1433

LAHORESTAFF REPORT

PRIME Minister Yousaf RazaGilani said on Friday that theSenate elections would be heldon time, after which thegovernment would present its

fifth budget, an unprecedented event inthe history of Pakistan. He said he had indicated some sixmonths ago that some elements werehatching conspiracies against thegovernment to stop the Senate elections,however, in a few days these conspiracieswould begin to unfold and the mediashould patiently wait for the realitiesbehind these conspiracies to be revealed.Gilani also said if any person or party wasinterested in early elections, they shouldcontact him after the Senate elections. Hesaid he was the longest servingunanimously elected prime minister ofPakistan to date. The premier said wouldrespect the outcome of the SupremeCourt move to indict him on contemptcharges. “It is our own court. I respect itsdecisions and will appear before it as andwhen called,” Gilani told reporters at theLahore Railway Station afterinaugurating the country’s first privately-run train, the Pak Business Express.He avoided questions about writing a letterto Swiss authorities to reopen graft casesagainst President Asif Ali Zardari and saidthe matter was sub judice so he could notcomment on it. However, he said thegovernment had never intended toconfront any institution, nor would it makeany such move in future.Answering a question about the recentincrease in petroleum prices, Gilani said itwas the duty of regulatory authorities toraise or reduce oil prices according to theprices in the international market.However, he said, this time thegovernment had supported the resolutionagainst the raise in petroleum prices. Hesaid he had arranged a meeting of thefinance minister and National Assemblyopposition leader and formed a committeeto review the price increase, which wouldgive its recommendations in a week’s time.Talking about Punjab Chief MinisterShahbaz Sharif’s claim that a high-rankingpersonality in Islamabad was involved inthe dengue outbreak and the PunjabInstitute of Cardiology catastrophe, he saidthe president had no role in it and beingchief executive of the country, he himselfalways facilitated the Punjab government incombating the outbreak. He pointed outthat during his recent visit to Davos, he alsodiscussed the issue with World HealthOrganisation (WHO) experts and askedthem to find a solution to the problem.Later, at the foundation stone layingceremony of Kala Shah Kaku Toll Plaza inShahdara, the prime minister said thePakistan People’s Party (PPP) had nevercompromised on principles and faced everytrial bravely. He said dictators came andwent but the vision and philosophy ofZulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhuttowould live forever. The PPP, he said, hadalways made sacrifices for the cause ofdemocracy and to uphold the constitution.

No plot caN stop seNate polls: pMg gilani says he will

respect sC’s decisionin contempt case

g tells politicians tocontact him aftersenate elections ifthey want snap polls

g says ppp will never compromiseon principles

ISLAMABADMIAN ABRAR

The government-opposition talks for sup-port on the 20th Constitutional Amend-ment Bill made headway on Friday as thegovernment accepted three out of fourconditions set by the Pakistan MuslimLeague-Nawaz (PML-N) for importantlegislation aimed at providing legal coverto the by-elections held for 23 NationalAssembly and provincial assembly seatsfrom April 2010 to 2011.

A source told Pakistan Today that thesecond round of talks was held here at Par-liament House between the Pakistan Peo-

ple’s Party (PPP) and the PML-N, in whichthe latter presented its four conditions forsupporting the bill. “The PML-N put forthits four conditions including appointmentof an independent chief election commis-sioner, installing a caretaker governmentwith consensus of the opposition leader inthe National Assembly, empowering the po-litical parties to fill reserved seats for womenand transfer of EOBI, Worker’s WelfareFund and Sheikh Zayed Hospital from theCentre to the province,” said the source.

The source said the government teamaccepted three demands out of the fourbut sought some time for consultationwith all stakeholders on the demand for a

caretaker regime to hold general elections.The government team comprised Reli-gious Affairs Minister Khursheed Shah,Senator Raza Rabbani and Water andPower Minister Naveed Qamar, while theopposition team was led by National As-sembly Opposition Leader ChaudhryNisar Ali Khan and comprised SenatorIshaq Dar and Zahid Hamid.

“Nisar informed the government teamthat in order to ensure fair, free and trans-parent elections, it was mandatory to fullyempower the chief election commissionerand the commission should be provided allnecessary constitutional cover besides in-creasing the term of its members from two

years to five years,” said the source, addingthat some necessary legislation was neces-sary in the 18th Amendment to removeambiguities about a caretaker setup. Thegovernment team said it could not decideon a caretaker setup by itself and couldonly be given permission by the primeminister and president, the source added.

Later, Nisar told a group of reporterat his chambers in Parliament Housethat the government team had re-sponded positively. “The governmentside has said that the demand aboutcaretaker setup could not be made a partof the constitution, however, the primeminister can give assurance on the floorof the house that caretakers could be ap-pointed in consultation with the opposi-tion leader,” Nisar added. He said thegovernment team had been conveyedthat the opposition had no faith in verbalassurances by the prime minister as ithad a very bitter experience with the ap-pointment of the National AccountabilityBureau (NAB) chairman, as the premierhad termed writing a letter to the oppo-sition leader ‘consultation’.

20th AMeNdMeNt BiLL tALKs

PML-N made four demands,government accepts three

7 troops killed inKurram clashesPESHAWAR: At least seven security forces personnel werekilled and three were injured when dozens of militants at-tacked a checkpost in Lower Kurram Agency in the earlyhours of Friday, officials said, claiming 18 militants werekilled in retaliatory action. The checkpost, at ShaheedanoDhand in Lower Kurram Agency, was attacked by a horde ofmilitants using modern and sophisticated weapons and hand-grenades. Later, security forces carried out retaliatory action,targeting suspected hideouts and compounds of militants withthe help of helicopter gunships and artillery. The officials said18 militants were killed in the fighting. “Armed militantsstormed the post around midnight and killed seven soldiers,”said an official who did not want to be named. Other securityofficials also confirmed the attack. Taliban spokesman Ehsan-ullah Ehsan in a telephone call to AFP claimed responsibilityfor the raid, saying 12 Frontier Corps soldiers were killed andfour others captured by militants. “We carried out this attackto avenge the killing of our commander Taj Gul in KhyberAgency,” Ehsan said. “We have killed 12 FC soldiers and cap-tured four others alive,” he said, adding that militants alsoseized a large cache of weapons. staff report/afp

PESHAWAR: Volunteers search for victims in the rubble of a destroyed house of tribal elder Aastana

Gul following a car bombing on Friday. afp | story on page 04

LAHORE: Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani flags off the new Pak Business Express on Friday. afp

Govt defers bill until monday | PaGe 03

PDF E-Paper ISB_Layout 1 2/4/2012 1:22 AM

02Saturday, 4 February 2012

News

today’s

LookQuick

ISlamaBaD

Story on Page 08

neWS

Story on Page 06

cOmment

Page 13

The woes of taxi drivers Congress disapproves of Aiyar appearing on Pakistani TV show Cartoon

Balochistan remains shut forsecond day over Domki murders QUETTA: On a call given by the Baloch RepublicanParty, a shutter-down strike was observed in theprovincial capital and various parts of Balochistan forthe second consecutive day on Friday to protest thekilling of Balochistan MPA Sardarzada Bakhtiar KhanDomki’s wife and daughter. The deceased, who werealso the sister and niece of Baloch BRP chief BramdaghBugti and granddaughter of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti,were gunned down in Karachi on January 31. Acomplete shutter-down strike was observed in DeraAllahyar, Naushki, Khuzdar, Mastung, Hub, Washuk,Khuzdar, Sibi, Turbat, and other towns of the province.The strike was also supported by Balochistan NationalParty-Mengal, National Party (NP) and othernationalist parties. Business and trade activitiesremained shut as all shops, markets, trading centres,commercial establishments and educationalinstitutions remained closed. Local administrationshad put in place tight security measures and lawenforcement agencies personnel were deployedthroughout. The activists of BNP-Mengal held ademonstration in Naushki, while members of theDomki tribe took out a rally in Dera Murad Jamali,demanding justice. STAFF REPORT

Dr Wardag strong candidate

to replace Karzai this October PESHAWAR:Afghanistan’s EducationMinister and experiencedparliamentarian Dr Fa-rooq Wardag is emergingas a strong candidate forthe office due to be va-cated by President HamidKarzai by the end of thecurrent calendar year. TheConstitution ofAfghanistan bars Presi-dent Karzai, who has al-ready served two terms,from running for a third

one. Highly placed Afghan sources told Pakistan Today thatKarzai had now given a green signal to his cabinet memberDr Wardag to begin his presidential campaign, with elec-tions due in October this year. Unable to contest electionshimself, Karzai was looking to have a confidant in the officehe would vacate at the end of the year, said the sources.They added that Dr Wardag had initiated contacts with peo-ple from various parts of Afghanistan in order to pave theway for his victory. In this respect, a couple of days ago, DrWardag traveled to the southeastern and eastern provincesof Afghanistan where he held detailed meetings with lead-ing figures from every walk of life. On the eve of his trip intothe Kunar province, which borders Pakistan, Dr Wardagalso visited the Sheigul and Asmar districts, both of whichlie on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and are under theinfluence of Taliban militants. Beside being the incumbenteducation minister, Dr Wardag has previously been the lawand parliamentary affairs minister (2001-2006). He is cred-ited as the “author” of Afghanistan’s first ever constitution,adopted in the historical Loya Jirga in 2004. He was alsothe secretary for a number of Loya Jirgas. During the waragainst the former Soviet Union, Dr Wardag was associatedwith the Hizb-e-Islami Afghanistan (HIA), headed by Gul-badin Hekmatyar. Despite Hekmatyar’s stance against theUS-led allies, his party remained on good terms with Presi-dent Karzai and Dr Wardag played a key role in these cor-dial relations. SHAMIM SHAHID

ISLAMABADMIAN ABRAR

STATE Minister for HumanResource Development(HRD) Shaikh WaqasAkram on Friday severelycriticised Interior Minister

Rehman Malik for lying to the federalcabinet about the liberty given tobanned outfits to hold public meetingsacross the country, especially in thefederal capital, in the name of “Pak-istan Defence Council”.

Speaking on a point of order, theminister who himself was reportedlyon the hit-list of banned group Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, now active undera new name of Tanzeem Ahle SunnatWal Jamaat, said lies by the interiorminister in a cabinet meeting were a“shameful act”.

“Though I am a minister, I want toregister my protest in the House thatthe interior minister lied to me andthe federal cabinet,” Akram said,adding that Malik had also told thecabinet that the provincial govern-ments were violating the law by allow-ing banned outfits to hold publicrallies and meetings.

He said the interior minister hadalso claimed that he would write a let-ter to provincial governments to get

hold of these elements and a copy ofthe said letter had also been providedto him.

“But I was stunned to read in thenewspapers that the same outfits areholding a public meeting today in thefederal capital. Now if the interiorminister cannot stop the terrorists,why does he accuse the Punjab gov-ernment? This is all shameful and itproves that talking about fighting waron terror is a drama. A governmentthat can’t stop trivial terrorists cannotfight the war on terror,” the ministersaid.

Lashing out at the banned outfits,Akram said the banned militants fellunder the fourth schedule and underlaw such persons could not go to anypublic place, let alone lead a publicrally.

“Under the 1997 Act, anyone whoeven carries a flag of a banned outfit isto be arrested. What to talk about tak-ing out rallies. I had pointed out dur-ing the recent cabinet meeting thatbanned outfits were being allowed tohold meetings but the law ministerhad assured to write to provincial gov-ernments for prompt action,” headded.

Akram was well supported byPML-N MNA Sahibzada Fazal Karimwho asked the government where its

writ was, as it was being challenged byterrorists. He said people falling underthe fourth schedule were making amockery of the government’s rule.

“Sunni Ittehad was not allowed tohold a public meeting in Lahore butthose who had killed around 40,000Pakistanis were allowed to hold meet-ing in the city. If no action is takenagainst these outlaws, I fear therewould be no writ of the government,”he added. He said the governmentshould not allow the banned outfits tooperate under new names.

Reacting to the point made byboth the lawmakers, the interior min-ister smartly pushed the ball back tothe lawmakers, claiming that the gov-ernment’s bill was pending with theSenate standing committee for lawand justice for the past two years, butit had not been passed.

“If these terrorists are arrested,they are released by courts due to thelacunae in the law. How can I ask po-lice to nab these people as law en-forcers get strength from laws,” hesaid, adding that he had been told bythe members of the Senate committeethat the government’s law carried of-fensive provisions and if passed, thesame could be misused against politi-cians.

“I have told them that if they think

those amendments are inappropriate,they should pass it for only threeyears’ time. Begum Nasim Chaudhry(the chairperson of national assemblystanding committee on law and jus-tice) has also volunteered her servicesand asked me to bring the bill to thenational assembly and her committeewas ready to assist,” he added.

Calling for a stern action againstbanned outfits, Malik said the Houseshould form a committee to propose away forward for legislation in this re-gard, as this would also send a strongmessage to the provincial governmentto move against such culprits.

Referring to the argument byAkram, the interior minister said hehad no knowledge about the publicmeeting in the federal capital and hewould investigate the matter.

“This is only a news item. Let meverify it. If these outfits hold publicmeetings in the capital, I will take ac-tion. The banned outfits hold publicmeetings and collect funds under newnames. I will investigate the matterand submit a report in the next ses-sion,” he assured.

Former religious affairs ministerHamid Saeed Kazmi said terroristswere arrested on a daily basis, butwere released by courts as judges werethreatened by these elements.

State minister slams Malik formisleading cabinet on banned outfits

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Security officials stand amidst the rubble of a girls’ school which was hit by explosives on Friday. reuters


03Saturday, 4 February 2012

NewscOmmentRein them in

articles on Page 12-13

The ISI must be put under civilian control.All grown-up now?CM Punjab learns the value of sharing.Arif Nizami says:

White Lies: PM Gilani, we understand, is going that extra mile, literally, to show that he is tighteninghis belt in these days of economic hardship. For instance, he drove in his Land Cruiser tothe Supreme Court recently, never mind the helicopters that hovered above through outthe journey. Encouraged by public response, the PM decided to show another form ofextreme austerity on his recent trip to Davos to attend the World Economic Forum.

FOreIgn neWS

Story on Page 16

artS & entertaInment

Story on Page 14

SPOrtSPakistan back after batting collapse

Story on Page 22

Iran will respond to any oil, military threats: Khamenei Can Simon Cowell afford Beyonce?

Courage under fire: And rightly so.

ISLAMABADSTAFF REPORT

After receiving positive signals from theopposition for conditional support tothe government’s 20th AmendmentBill, the treasury benches on Friday de-ferred the bill for Monday in respect of12th Rabi-ul-Awwal, the birth anniver-sary of the Holy Prophet (PBUH).

The announcement was made byPrime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani dur-ing the National Assembly session, stat-ing that the meeting of the LowerHouse scheduled for February 4 to passthe 20th Constitutional AmendmentBill had been postponed keeping inmind the sanctity of the day.

The bill was placed on the agenda ofthe Lower House but was deferred on arequest made by opposition MPSahibzada Fazal Karim. This would bethe third time that the 20th Amend-ment Bill was deferred.

Religious Affairs Minister Khur-sheed Shah said the bill would now bepresented in the House on February 6(Monday), when it would be passed. Hesaid the government would also makean effort to win support from the oppo-sition parties on the bill to make it aunanimous amendment.

Meanwhile, referring to a point oforder raised by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) legislator Aasia Nasirabout strike of doctors and paramedicsat the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sci-ences (PIMS) hospital, the prime min-ister announced grant of one basicsalary to the doctors and paramedicsworking in the federal hospitals in ad-dition to their existing salaries with ef-fect from January 2012. He said theannouncement of grant of one addi-tional basic pay to the health officialswas part of efforts to provide better fa-

cilities to them. The National Assembly was also

told that despite the devolution ofhealth subjects to the provinces, thefederal government was taking steps tocurb the use of spurious drugs andquackery in the country.

Responding to a calling-attentionnotice moved by Nawab Abdul GhaniTalpur and others, Professional andTechnical Training Minister Riaz Hus-sain Pirzada told the House that districthealth and drug officers in theprovinces were responsible for arrest-ing quacks and verifying their degrees.

He said the Islamabad Capital Ter-ritory Administration had been askedto curb quackery in the federal area andin this regard, raids had been con-ducted in various sectors.

He said during the last year, actionwas taken against 33 illegal licenceholders and drugstores. The ministeremphasised the need for the enactmentof a law envisaging stern punishmentfor fake doctors.

He said the federal and the provin-cial government also needed to work intandem and launch a joint campaignagainst the companies involved in pro-duction of spurious drugs.

Responding to another calling-at-tention notice moved by MuhammadJunaid Anwar Chaudhry and others,Pirzada said a summary had been sentto the Finance Ministry for the releaseof supplementary grant to the FederalDirectorate of Education, Islamabad.

He assured the House that thefunds would be released to the FederalDirectorate of Education within amonth for the payment of House hiringallowance to the employees.

The House also offered fateha forthe departed soul of the former Pir Pa-gara, Shah Mardan Shah.

Govt defers 20thAmendment Billuntil Monday

PBc to form human rights committees at district levelISLAMABAD: The Human Rights Committee of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) on Friday decided toconstitute human rights committees at provincial and district levels, besides publishing an annual report onhuman rights violations in the country. The committee meeting was held under Salahuddin Panhwar, andattended by members including Muhammad Ahsan Bhoon, Muhammad Ramzan Chaudhry and Kalb-e-Hassan, who was a special invitee. Other than discussing the agenda items, the committee also requestedKalb-e-Hassan to nominate members for the Human Rights Committee in Rawalpindi division. PBC’svarious members would decide members for the committees in Lahore, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Sargodha,Multan, Bahawalpur and DG Khan in Punjab. Similarly other members would constitute committees fordistricts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Sindh. The PBC members are authorised to associate anymember of the provincial bar council with the formation of committees in their respective areas. Thecommittee also decided that the PBC would publish an annual report on human rights violations in Pakistanat the end of every year. STAFF REPORT


A constitutional petition requesting theSupreme Court for a stay order on Senateelections scheduled to be held next monthwas filed here on Friday, stating thataround 70 incumbent parliamentarianswho would be voting in the election did nothold valid degrees, thus stood disqualified.

The petition was filed by MubashirLuqman, a TV anchor, through lawyerSyed Ali Zafar under Article 184(3) of theconstitution, making the Election Com-mission of Pakistan (ECP) and the federa-tion respondents.

The petitioner asked the court to directthe ECP secretary not to hold Senate elec-tions scheduled to be held in March. Healso asked the court to order that all theMNAs and MPAs who held fake degreesstood disqualified from holding their postsand new MNAs and MPAs be elected intheir place in accordance with law.

The petitioner asked the court furtherto order new by-elections in accordancewith the finalised and valid voter lists in 29constituencies where previously void by-elections (under bogus voters list) wereheld. “Any election held to the Senate onthe basis of existing MNAs and MPAs,which includes fake degree holders, andthose who are elected through void by-elections would therefore not be a validelection under the law and would lead to ablatant violation of the constitution,” thepetitioner maintained.

The petitioner stated that if this wasallowed to happen, it would mean that animproperly constituted Senate would be-come part of parliament and be able topass laws affecting the lives of everyone.“Such a situation would be a grave consti-tutional deviation,” the petitioner stated,adding that it was indeed the fundamentalright of every person to ensure that theelections to the Senate were held honestly,justly and in accordance with law.

sC moved to haltsenate elections


04Saturday, 4 February, 2012

News

KARACHI WAqAR HAMzA

AIRLINES com-ing to and frothe country suf-fered a loss of Rs3.8million in

two days due to delays inflights at the Karachi and La-hore airports.

On Friday, the total lossin terms of arrivals, depar-tures and transits the na-tional and internationalflights faced was Rs 2.2m,

while on Thursday, the delayscaused a loss of Rs 1.6m.

It is to be noted thatbased on medium air craftcategory, average operationalcost is $53/minute.

Sources said that due tothe “Go by the book” cam-paign of around 250 air traf-fic controllers across thecountry, the national and in-ternational flights were facingdelays, which in turn werecausing financial losses to theairlines. And Pakistan Inter-nationals Airlines (PIA) re-

mained the major loser in thecampaign.

The incoming flights thatfaced delays at Karachi air-port include PIA 787 (3min-utes), ABQ201 (3minutes),SAI13 (3minutes), VTF1025(8minutes), THA508 (3min-utes), PHY516 (6minutes),FDB331 (5minutes), QTR318(4minutes), UAE06 (4min-utes) and ABY45 (4minutes).

Similarly, the arrivals ofPIA flights that suffered de-lays at Karachi and Lahoreairports on Thursday in-

cluded 636 (8minutes), 351(4minutes), 310 (3minutees),303 (3minutes), 315 (6min-utes), 154 (7minutes), 264(6minutes), 651 (3minutes),582 (9minutes), 583 (7min-utes), 653 (5minutes), and684 (4minutes).

Shaheen Air’s flight 228faced seven minutes of delay,and Airblue flights that faceddelays include ABQ 403(4minutes), ABQ 201 (7min-utes), RTR 1012 (12minutes),and KEN 820 (12minutes).

The air traffic controllers

refused to give track shorten-ing to international flights,resulting in a 30-minutelonger travel between1020hours to 1515 hours onThursday and 41 minutes onFriday, the sources added.Besides, a total 30 departuresgot affected at Karachi andLahore airports on both days.

Air traffic controllers ofthe Civil Aviation Authoritywent on the protest campaignon January 27 and stoppedgoing the extra mile to ac-commodate the traffic for

shortcuts and expedite land-ings and takeoffs on all 23 do-mestic stations of thecountry.

The protest was launchedin order to make the CAA im-plement the agreement of re-lief package of 125% ratingallowance to air controllers,which was agreed betweenboth the parties a month ago.

The sources said thecountry’s airports received 20international flights a day onaverage besides more than 60domestic flights.

Air traffic controllers’ protest

costs airlines Rs 3.8 million


The Supreme Court wasmoved on Friday to suspendthe Election Commission ofPakistan (ECP)’s notificationof holding by-elections onFebruary 25, 2012 on vacantseats of the National Assem-bly and provincial assem-blies.

The civil miscellaneousapplication was filed in theapex court by PakistanTehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI)

Chairman Imran Khan, stat-ing that the apex court hadpassed an order on January19, 2012 wherein the ECPwas restrained from holdingby-elections on the vacantseats on the basis of pollutedelectoral rolls containingsome 37 million unverifiedvotes.

He said despite the Feb-ruary 25 restraining order,which was passed in veryclear and unambiguousterms and in the presence ofthe respondent – the ECP

secretary - the commissionnotified on January 27 thatthe by-elections would beheld on February 25.

He said it was evidentthat the ECP secretary wasgoing to hold the by-elec-tions on the basis of thesame polluted voter listscontaining a large number ofunverified votes, which wasillegal.

Khan stated that holdingby-elections on the basis ofknown bogus voter listswould amount to a negation

of the right of vote, rule oflaw and spirit of democracy.“The issuance of January 27notification by the ElectionCommission in the absenceof new corrected and veri-fied voter lists amounts todisobedience of the court’sorder passed on January 19,2012,” said the application,and requested the court tosuspend the January 27 no-tification of the ECP and re-strain it from holding theby-elections on the basis ofpolluted voter lists.

Shahbaz writesletter to Pm onload shedding issue

MONITORING DESK

Punjab Chief Minister ShahbazSharif has written a letter toPrime Minister Yousaf RazaGilani, demanding equalsharing of energy shortageacross the country. In theletter, the Punjab chiefminister said there was acomplete closure of gasindustry in Punjab sinceDecember 25, 2011 in additionto electricity load shedding ofsix to 18 hours. He complainedthat the issue of LNG importand the establishment of LNGTerminal had been allowed tolinger for the past four years.Shahbaz demanded completeban on establishment orrelocation of CNG stations. Hesaid Iran-Pakistan gas pipelineshould be taken up on war-footing.

Bomb blast killsfour in Peshawar

PESHAWARAFP

A car bomb attack targeting ananti-militant tribal elder killedfour people on Friday andwounded seven others inPeshawar, police said.The attack outside theresidence of the tribal elderAastana Gul in the Pishtakharasuburb of Peshawar damagedone house and the office of aproperty dealer in the street.“Four persons were killed andseven were wounded,” TahirAyub, a senior police officialtold AFP. Peshawar’s bombdisposal expert Hukam Khansaid up to 40 kilogrammes ofexplosives were packed in thecar and detonated remotely. Another police official,speaking on condition ofanonymity, blamed ahomegrown militant groupLashkar-e-Islam led by thewarlord Mangal Bagh andbased Khyber Agency forthe killings.

Imran moves sC to halt by-pollsbeing held on bogus voters lists

coa to visitneelum, Jhelumhydropowerprojects in IHK


A delegation of the PermanentCourt of Arbitration (CoA), TheHague will visit the hydropowerprojects on Neelum and Jhelumrivers and the surrounding areason February 4 and 5. An officialsource said the Indian secretaryfor water resources will alsoaccompany the CoA delegation,which will be assessing theenvironmental impacts of thedecrease in water inflows in theNeelum River due to theconstruction of the Kishangangahydroelectric project in theIndian-held Kashmir (IHK).Later the delegation will also bevisiting another under-construction project in the IHK.The CoA has already passed aunanimous order on Pakistan’sapplication for interimmeasures on the construction ofKishanganga hydropowerproject. The court barred Indiafrom constructing anypermanent works on or abovethe Kishanganga riverbed atthe Gurez site that may inhibitthe restoration of the flow ofthe river to its natural channel.Renowned water expertArshad H Abbasi believes thatif the Kishanganga project isbuilt according to the plan,water inflow in Neelum Riverwill reduce significantly. Heestimated that Pakistan wouldhave to face an annual loss of$141 million due to reducedinflows in the two rivers.Abbasi is of the opinion thatthe environmental andfinancial costs will be too highfor Pakistan, as India willchannel the water ofKishanganga River to WularLake on Jhelum River, whichwill significantly increase theriver’s flow.

Banned religious

organisations gaining

ground again: BBcMONITORING DESK

The intelligence agencies of Pakistan have warnedits government of their apprehensions regardingvarious indigenous banned religious organisationsbecoming operational once again with the help offinancial assistance they are getting in local andforeign currencies from both Pakistan and abroad,the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)’s Urduservice claimed in a report on Friday. It said allthese organisations had earlier been weakened bythe operations of security forces and the lawenforcement agencies. BBC Urdu cited a secretreport that said several banned Islamistorganisations were opening new bank accounts withdifferent fake names, and that these accounts werebeing opened in both Pakistani and foreign banks.Apart from organisations banned for theirinvolvement in incidents of extremism, they alsoinclude others which apparently were working forsocial welfare. Intelligence agencies had warned thattransferring amounts into those accounts could liven upthe organisations once again, said the report.

centre’s lack ofinterest ruiningrailways: Bilour

LAHORE: Red tape and lackof interest of the federal govern-ment has brought trains to ahalt across the country, FederalMinister for Railways GhulamBalour said on Friday. Drawingthe attention of Prime MinisterYousaf Raza Gilani, Bilour un-derscored that railways was ina really bad shape due to finan-cial constraints. He pointed outthat despite the approval fromthe cabinet, the Finance Min-istry did not issue funds to PR,which had resulted in almostall rail operations coming to ahalt. STAFF REPORT

Balochistan assembly condemns

murder of Bugti family’s womenQUETTA

SHAHzADA zuLFIqAR

Balochistan Assembly on Fri-day witnessed heated discus-sions on the murder of thewife and daughter of its mem-ber Bakhtiar Domki inKarachi and several membersand provincial ministersstaged a walkout in protest.

Soon after the sessionstarted, provincial ministerMir Asad Baloch took the flooron a point of order andstrongly condemned the mur-der of Bramdagh Bugti’s sis-ter, niece and their driver in

Karachi. He said the attack oninnocent women was an “ex-tremely cruel and shamefulact”, while expressing his sur-prise over a statement by theSindh deputy inspector gen-eral of Police that the killingswere a result of tribal enmity.He alleged that the familymembers of slain Balochleader Nawab Akbar KhanBugti were being targetedunder a well-knit strategy.

The minister said thatwhile the government wassympathising with the Bugtifamily by promising that thekillers of Nawab Akbar Bugti

would be apprehended, itcould not even protect the fe-male members of the Bugtifamily. He said the rulersshould have learnt a lessonfrom the Bangladesh debacle.He also appealed to the Inter-national Court of Justice toplay its role and “stop thegenocide of the Baloch nationin Pakistan”. Later, he stageda walkout from the assemblyand was followed by PakistanMuslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) ministers NasreenKhaithran and HammalKalmati to record their protestagainst the murders.

amid peace bid, us received

purported letter from talibanWASHINGTON

REuTERS

The White House received aletter last year purported tocome directly from MullahOmar, the reclusive leader ofthe Taliban, asking the UnitedStates to deliver militant pris-oners whose transfer is now atthe heart of the Obama admin-istration’s bid to broker peacein Afghanistan.

The unusual messagekicked off a debate within theadministration about whetherit was truly authored by themysterious one-eyed preacherbelieved to be directing the Tal-iban from hiding in Pakistan —and its meaning for US effortsto forge a negotiated end to 10years of war. “As we have en-gaged various interlocutors aspart of the reconciliation

process, we have received a va-riety of messages that wererepresented as being from sen-ior members of the Taliban,”an administration official saidon condition of anonymity.

“However, we haven’t re-ceived a letter that we are cer-tain is from Mullah Omar.” Themessage reportedly expressedimpatience that the WhiteHouse had not yet transferredfive former senior Taliban offi-cials out of Guantanamo Baymilitary prison.

US officials have been con-sidering moving the detaineesto Afghan custody in the Gulfstate of Qatar as one of a seriesof good-faith measures that, ifsuccessful, could lead to talkson Afghanistan’s future be-tween militants and the gov-ernment of Afghan PresidentHamid Karzai.



News


IN T E R I O R Minister RehmanMalik on Friday said law en-forcement agencies were busyin investigating the murder ofthe wife and daughter of

Balochistan MPA Mir Bakhtiar Domkifrom various angles, adding that athird party might have committed thecrime to create law and order in theprovince.

Speaking in the Senate, Malikcalled the killings a very sensitiveissue as the incident could be given apolitical touch. He said a committeecomprising two MPAs from Balochis-tan and Sindh assemblies each hadbeen formed to probe into the matter.

The family of the Balochistan MPAwas shot dead near Gizri flyover earlyon Tuesday. The deceased were alsothe sister and niece of Baloch Repub-lican Party (BRP) leader BaramdaghBugti.

Malik told the House that the ac-cused in the PIC deaths had been puton the ECL.

Senator Professor Ibrahim Khanannounced boycotting the entire ses-sion in protest of the chairman’s notfixing a time to debate the adjourn-ment motion submitted by him.

Senator Professor Khurshid wascritical of the statement of US Presi-dent Barack Obama about continua-tion of drone attacks. He alsocriticised the government as he be-lieved that someone from its quarters

leaked the parliamentary recommen-dations on national security to the USambassador in Pakistan.

On a point of order, Senator QariAbdullah asked the government tostand by Iran in the wake of Israelthreat to its nuclear sites.

Senator Tahir Mashhadi observedthat the government was fleecing thepublic by increasing petroleum prices.He called it “bhatta” from the poor ofthe country.

Senator Zahid Khan also endorsedhis point of view and asked the gov-ernment to revert the petroleumprices.

The First Quarterly Report for theyear 2011-12 of the central board ofdirectors of the State Bank of Pakistanwas presented in the House.

minister urges

effective legislation

against quackeryISLAMABAD

APP

Minister for Professional and TechnicalTraining Riaz Hussain Pirzada on Fridaycalled for effective legislation to curbillegal medical practices and quackery.Responding to a calling attention notice,the minister called upon the NationalAssembly to legislate on the issue butproposed to consult provinces also, asafter the 18th Amendment, health hadbecome a provincial subject.MNAs Nawab Abdul Ghani Talpur,Shakeela Khanam Rasheed, AbdulGhafoor Chaudhry, Talat Mahesar andYasmeen Rehman had drew the attentionof the minister towards the increasingnumber of quacks in the federal capital.The minister replied that action had beentaken against 33 quacks and their caseswere in courts of law.But he pleaded that for other parts of thecountry, provinces should be asked foraction and legislation, as any law by thefederal government would be consideredan interference into the affairs of theprovinces.“We do not have a regulatory authorityon this issue and there is need for unanimity among the provincesand the federation to have an effectivebody in place,” Pirzada said.To a question about fake degrees, he said,the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council(PMDC) had evolved a mechanism toascertain the validity of degrees ofdoctors and practitioners.He said in provinces, the issue ofquackery was dealt by EDOs while in thefederal capital, commissioner ICT wasresponsible for the same.He also pleaded that some subjects in thehealth and education sectors needed tobe centralised and quoted examples ofsome other countries where such issueswere addressed at the federation level.Upon emphasis by the members toresolve the issue, Pirzada proposed thatafter devolution of the health ministry tothe provinces, there wws an urgent needthat PMDC be put under the Ministry ofProvincial Coordination.

FIa official’s house

targeted in Quetta QUETTA

APP

A blast occurred outside the house ofFIA official on Mano Jan Road onFriday, police said. A police official saidunidentified men placed explosivesalong the outer boundary wall of FIADeputy Director Akbar Baloch. “Thewalls of the house were damaged as aresult of blast,” he added. Soon after theincident, the personnel of lawenforcement agencies reached the siteand cordoned off the area around thearea and started a search operation.Further investigations were underway.

ISLAMABADSHAIq HuSSAIN

The grave political crisis confrontingthe current Pakistan People’s Party-ledcoalition government is also proving tobe a major hindrance in repairing theties between Pakistan and the UnitedStates that got strained after NATO airstrikes on two Pakistani border posts inNovember last year.

The political crisis, which hasshaken the present government, seemsto have eased up a couple of days agowhen the Supreme Court (SC) allowedformer ambassador Hussain Haqqani, acentral character of the memo scandal,to travel abroad. The talk of the capitalwas that Haqqani’s freedom was the re-

sult of some understanding between thearmy leadership and civilian rulers.

However, the SC’s ordered PrimeMinister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Thurs-day to appear before it in person, andbe formally charged for the contempt ofcourt owing to his failure to write a let-ter to Swiss authorities for reopeningalleged corruption cases against Presi-dent Asif Ali Zardari, reminding thecivilian government that it was still inthe middle of storm.

Almost all world powers are keenlymonitoring the evolving political situa-tion in Pakistan and now all eyes arefixed once again at the apex court whereGilani will appear on February 13 toface contempt charges.

Nonetheless, the US is not onlykeenly interested in Pakistan’s currentpolitical situation more than any otherstate, but it is also getting restless andagitated as the current standoff be-

tween the government and judiciarydrags on.

The Obama administration’s anxi-ety is primarily due to the hurdles thatthe political crisis is causing in the wayof reconciliatory efforts being madewith the help of the United Kingdomand some other friendly states to winback Pakistani support for the counter-terrorism campaign, which is now at acrucial stage.

US and Pakistani military officialshave been locked in intense, behind thescene efforts since the NATO air strikeslast year, and their talks seem to havemade headway with clear signals fromboth sides that rapprochement isaround the corner.

Pakistan, which closed down itsborder with Afghanistan for NATO sup-plies, has indicated that it is willing tounblock the vital supply routes, accord-ing to diplomatic sources, with the

added measure of taxation on everycontainer.

It is said that there has been consid-erable progress on some issues such asdrone strikes, with both sides close toan understanding on a very limitednumber of such attacks in Pakistanitribal areas in the future and that too inaccordance with the intelligence pro-vided by the authorities in Islamabad.

Then there is the issue of US mili-tary trainers which were asked to packand leave Pakistan in the wake of stale-mate between the two sides after the USMarines raid on Al Qaeda chief’s com-pound in Abbottabad. Reportedly, thisproblem is also resolved, with Islam-abad now willing to allow only a fewtrainers to come back.

However, despite all these settled ornear to settlement issues, there is still amajor hindrance in the shape of seriouspolitical crisis that has been under the

focus of the current PPP-led govern-ment, leaving it no time to divert its at-tention to a complete resolution of thestandoff with the US administration.

The Parliamentary Committee onNational Security (PCNS), which wastasked to come up with its recommen-dations for the settlement of Pakistan-US standoff, has done its job and its 35recommendations are ready to be ap-proved by the joint sitting of the par-liament in the form of a resolutionthat will pave the way for the normali-sation of Islamabad-Washington ties,but the session that was supposed tohave been held by now is delayed bysome more days. The holding of thejoint session of the parliament willstill be in doubts if the political crisisremained unsettled and thus there willbe more delay in the resolution of Pak-istan-US standoff to the utter dismayof American authorities.

govt’s political crisis impeding resumption of us-pakistan ties

SWAT: The main Malam Jabba highway has been closed for traffic due to heavy snowfall. onLIne

Murder of Domki’s family beinginvestigated from all angles: Malik



News

ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

PRESIDENT Asif Ali Zardarion Friday confirmed the serv-ices of three additionaljudges of the Sindh HighCourt. The judges include

Justice Muhammad Tasnim, JusticeSyed Hassan Azhar Rizvi and JusticeMuhammad Ali Mazhar.

President’s spokesman FarhatullahBabar said the president also confirmedJustice Nisar Muhammad Sheikh forextension for another year as an addi-tional judge of the Sindh High Court.The nominations for the confirmationof the additional judges of the SindhHigh Court were earlier approved bythe Judicial Commission of Pakistanand unanimously agreed upon by theparliamentary committee on the ap-pointment of judges.

The president approved the confir-mation on the advice of the prime min-ister. Meanwhile, President Zardari alsoconfirmed the instrument of ratificationof the agreement on economic, scien-

tific and technical cooperation betweenPakistan and Romania.

The agreement between the twocountries was signed on September 12last year followed by the cabinet deci-sion to ratify the same.

The president on the advice of theprime minister affixed his signature andseal confirming that the governmenthad ratified the articles of the agree-ment.

The president also gave assent tothe Carriage by Air Bill 2012.

The bill was first passed by the Na-tional Assembly on May 11, 2011. TheSenate passed it on October 28, 2011with amendment and returned it to theassembly under Clause-2 of Article 70.

The National Assembly in pur-suance of Article 70 of the constitutionagain passed the bill as amended by theSenate on December 30, 2011. The billseeks to give effect in Pakistan to theconventions concerning internationalcarriage by air known as the MontrealConvention.

The president signed the bill on theadvice of the prime minister.

govt waives loans

of malakand

division residentsISLAMABAD

STAFF REPORT

The Senate was informed on Friday thatloans worth Rs 1.098 billion of 13,464residents of four districts of Malakanddivision had been written-off by variousbanks.Finance Minister Dr Abdul HafeezShaikh informed the House during thequestion-answer hour that the loans hadbeen written-off for the residents ofterrorism-hit districts of Malakand,Swat, Buner and Chitral. He said that asummary for waiving loans of anotherRs 400 million was with the primeminister, and that it would be approvedin a couple of days. The minister saidthat after the approval, residents ofother districts, including Bajaur, willbenefit from the decision.To a question, the minister said that Rs1,898.5 billion had been invested in theNational Savings Schemes. He said theprofit rate for the schemes had beenrevised last month, and the next revisionwould be made in April this year.

aSI, PO killed in

Peshawar clash KARAK

STAFF REPORT

An assistant sub-inspector and in-chargeof the Cobra Squad was killed in anencounter with a gang of proclaimedoffenders (PO) and kidnappers onFriday.A PO was also reportedly killed by thepolice in the encounter.Sources said two groups of RafiqueZargar and PO Noor Jamal clashed inJatan area of Takht Nusrati tehsil.Police reached the site during the gunbattle to restore order, but as the policeparty arrived, Jamal’s group openedindiscriminate fire at them. Resultantly, Cobra squad in-charge ASIHabib Nawaz was killed on the spot.Reinforcements were called in and afteran operation, police officials managed totake hold of hideouts the POs in plains aswell as in the mountains of Sheenghar.It was reported that a PO, whose identitywas not ascertained, was also killed inthe operation.Kohat DIG Masood Afridi arrived at thespot later and monitored the searchoperation.He directed District Police Officer SajjadKhan to arrest the culprits at all costsand directed an enquiry into the killing ofASI Habib.

KASURWAqAS ASHRAF

Affected by Kasur district’s recruit-ment committee, scores of candi-dates staged a protestdemonstration outside the KasurEducation Complex on Fridayagainst the alleged violation ofmerit in the process for selectingsecondary school educators.

Speaking on the occasion,Muhammad Afzal, AhtshamulHaq, Imran Afzal, Shakeel Ahmed,Amin Arif and Naveed Akhtar saidthe EDO education violated themerit policy and change the meritlist of pre-selected candidates forthe post of secondary school edu-cator (Bio-Chemistry) BS-16.

They said the Punjab Educa-tion Department had advertisedthe post of science teachers, men-tioning that only those candidateswere eligible for the post of SSE

(Bio-Chemistry) BPS-16 who hadstudied botany, zoology and chem-istry in BSc and had a master’s de-gree in biology or chemistry.

After the interview process, alist of twelve candidates had beendisplayed on the notice board atEDO office in accordance with therecruitment policy 2011.

According to advertisement,nine candidates of the twelvewould be appointed for the saidpost in Kasur.

“But, it is unfortunate thatonly two candidates in the list putup were called for appointment,”the protesters said.

They said the EDO office hadfilled the remaining seven posts bycandidates whose names had notbeen displayed on the pre-selectedmerit list.

Due to favouritism and politi-cal pressure, the candidates dis-qualified were called for interview

again. However, the recruitmentcommittee had again declared thecandidates disqualified.

On Friday, the affected candi-dates staged a protest and sit-inoutside the EDO office.

They said the EDO had ap-pointed those candidates for theposts who had been disqualified bythe recruitment committee andthe EDO itself.

They said the EDO had re-fused to provide a justification fornot calling the successful candi-dates.

Talking to Pakistan Today,Kasur DCO Ahsan Waheed saidthe EDO education could betterexplain the development, addingthat the affected candidates shouldcomplain before the Lahore com-missioner’s office and the LahoreHigh Court for resolving theirgrievances. EDO Iftikhar HassanButt refused to give his comments.

Zardari regularises three SHC judges

KARACHI: A delegation of the Awami National Party led by Shahi Syed called on

President Asif Ali zardari at Bilawal House on Friday. onLIne

KARACHI: An activist of the Save Aafia Movement protests during a demonstration outside the Karachi Press Club on Friday. Inp

Candidates for Kasur educators

protest violation of meritNEWS DESK

India’s ruling Congress party on Fri-day disapproved of party leader ManiShakar Aiyar appearing on a Pak-istan TV talk show in which HafizMuhammed Saeed, the alleged mas-termind of the 2008 Mumbai terrorattacks, participated through a phonelink, according to a report in DailyNews and Analysis. “I don’t know the(details)...I certainly think proprietywould require that such situationshould be avoided...unless trapped in a situation,” party spokesper-son Abhishek Singhvi told reporters. He said it was clear that Aiyerwas not supporting Hafiz directly or indirectly. “Even the perceptionof interaction with somebody accused of such heinous crimes like26/11.... is not acceptable”. Singhvi’s comments came a day afterAiyer appeared on the TV show in which the host suddenly intro-duced Hafiz, chief of the Jamaat-ud-Dawa, via phone link while Aiyarwas in the studio in Islamabad with another panelist. In the show,Hafiz appeared to lose his cool when Aiyar questioned his contentionthat Indians did not accept Pakistan and said he should be arrestedand brought before a terrorism court.

three children

killed in

Khan Pur road

accident KHAN PUR

APP

Three children were killed when theirmotorcycle collided with a wagon onRahim Yar Khan Road on Friday.According to police, the threeidentified as Iqra (8), Imtiaz Ahmad(10) and Sikandar (9) of Basti MurridKhan were going to school with theircousin Muhammad Nawaz (15) whentheir motorcycle collided with a wagonhead on. As a result Iqra, Imtiaz and Sikandardied on the spot while Nawaz receivedserious injuries. The wagon driver fled from the sceneafter accident.The police registered a case andinvestigations were underway.

Congress disapproves

of aiyar appearing on

pakistani tV show


Saturday, 4 February, 2012

Page 08The woes of taxi drivers


THE Benazir Income SupportProgramme (BISP) on Fridayformally signed the agreementwith the State Life Corporation

to provide health insurance to its regis-tered beneficiary families.

The pilot project of health insurancescheme to be launched in Faisalabad Dis-trict would be extended to beneficiaryfamilies all over Pakistan subsequently.State Life Corporation Chairman ShahidAziz Siddiqui and BISP Secretary SherKhan signed the agreement in the pres-ence of BISP Chairperson Farzana Raja.

Addressing a press conference on theoccasion, Farzana Raja said that a com-prehensive working was being done sincea year to present the unique gift to BISPbeneficiary families. “Like all other initia-tives of BISP,” she said, “the health insur-ance would also be carrying state of theart technology-based systems.”

She said that the BISP has alreadyprovided life insurance to its beneficiaryfamilies in collaboration with the StateLife Insurance Corporation and so far 2.5million families have been provided withthe facility, while the rest of the familieswould be covered soon.

The BISP chairperson said that the

BISP beneficiary families were identifiedby the parliamentarians in the first phaseof the programme, whereas, in the secondphase, seven million families were in-cluded in the programme as a result ofthe poverty survey. The families excludedfrom the programme had more than 16.17points on the scorecard and due to budg-etary constraints, the BISP could not re-tain them in the programme anymore.

She said that the necessary steps weretaken to ensure more efficient and accu-rate beneficiaries’ targeting system sothat the most deserving could be bene-fited from the programme.

Farzana said that the pilot projectunder the Health Insurance Scheme wasbeing launched in the Faisalabad district,with 75,000 beneficiary families. She saidthat the State Life Insurance has signedagreements with 6 hospitals from privatesector in the district and was negotiatingwith the Punjab government to sign sim-ilar agreements with public sector hospi-tals.

She said that the World Bank andGIZ, a German organization, were pro-viding financial and technical support forthe health insurance scheme.

Farzana Raja said that Benazir Cardswould also be provided to all the benefi-ciary families till June 30, 2012 and therole of postmen would be eliminated.

Moreover, she said that under theWaseela-e-Taleem initiative, over onemillion children will be enrolled inschools in the near future.

Answering a question, Farzana Rajasaid that the BISP was a transparent pro-gramme in every aspect and even theBISP chief patron (president of Pakistan),

executive patron (prime minister of Pak-istan) or the BISP chairperson (herself)did not posses the discretion of includinga single family in the programme. Byvirtue of its transparent mechanism, theBISP was being supported and trusted byinternational organisations consistently,she added.

Answering another question, Farzanaurged the reporters to inform the publicabout fake SMS to beneficiary familiesand general public on the name of BISP.She said that the swindlers must be takento task and the BISP should be informedimmediately about them so that strict ac-tion can be taken.

g Programme to provide rs 25,000 annual health cover to each beneficiary family, says Farzana raja


The trade with India can multiply five timesif Pakistan captures even one percent ofIndia’s market of 300 million middle class.In contrast, given Pakistan’s middle class of30 million, India has to tap 10 percent of itsmarket to match the benefit, former StateBank of Pakistan governor Ishrat Hussainsaid on Friday.

Addressing a discussion session organ-ised by the Institute of Regional Studies,Ishrat said, “The Army is on board regard-ing trade with India and the weak indus-tries can be protected through negativelist.”

Referring to the World Trade Organi-sation (WTO) two-year trade waiver for

Pakistan, he said that it would boost tradewith EU if bed linen was taken off the list,the benefits would be reduced to 100 mil-lion Euros from 300 million Euros that wasinitially expected from duty-free access tothe European markets to help the textile ex-ports after devastating floods of 2010.

Ishrat said, “Pakistan can turn aroundits economy if it exercises strict fiscal disci-pline and plugs gaping holes caused by badgovernance in different sectors of econ-omy.” He argued, “The energy shortage isscrippling production, poor tax base and col-lection is worsening the tax to GDP ratio,sick public sector corporations are becom-ing a drain on budget, lack of prioritisationin federal and provincial governments’ de-velopment plans is causing delays and in-creasing cost of the projects,

non-development expenditure are eatingup meager resources, after 18th amend-ment the provinces have become richer butare not sharing burden of defense and debtservicing that is the sole responsibility ofthe federal government and finally, the lackof local government system is hurting socialsector development.”

“The energy shortage can be managedby resolving the issue of circular debt. A five-year investment bond can be floated to meetthe flow cost. The functioning of powercompanies should be streamlined, privatevehicles should be switched over to petroland industry should be provided with gas,”the former SBP governor said, adding thatthe government should go ahead with IPIand TAPI gas pipeline projects. The tax toGDP ratio can be improved by broadening

tax base and better tax collection, he said.IRS member Brig (retired) Bashir Ahmedmaintained that there should be reductionin the defense expenditure and the tradewith India should be promoted. Also, rail-way, which is the cheapest way of move-ment of people and goods, should berevived. Mayaudon, the deputy head of theEU delegation in Islamabad, observed thatthe undocumented economy was sustainingPakistan’s economy.

Speaking on the occasion, IRS Presi-dent Ashraf Azim said that political will wasrequired for getting economy out of thequagmire, while SDPI Economics Bulletinseditor Tahir Dhindsa feared that Pakistan’sforex reserves may decrease if it paid theIMF loan from its cash reserves, which willalso hit the public’s confidence.

‘pak trade to get boost even if it captures 1% of India’s market

RAWALPINDI: An illuminated view of a building decorated to mark Eid Milad-ul-Nabi (PBuH) celebrations. staff photo

IrI releases special issue oneid milad-un-nabi


The Islamic Research Institute (IRI) of theInternational Islamic University, Islam-abad, has released a special issue of“Meesaq-e-Madinah”(Agreement of Madi-nah) to celebrate Milad-un-Nabi (PBUH)and to spread the message of Shariah. The special issue would be distributed dur-ing Milad festivities in the country. Speak-ing on the occasion, Dr Khalid Masood,Director General (DG) of the Institute, saidMeesaq-e-Madinah provides basis for a so-ciety to work on equality for all citizens of astate. It was first ever charter of humanityin the history, he averred. The special issueof the agreement has been published by theIslamic Research Institute printing press.

FIa gets Khurram’s4-day remand


Senior Civil Judge Shahrukh Anjumandon Friday granted another four daysphysical remand of prime minister’s ex-media coordinator Khurram Rasool to theFederal Investigation Agency (FIA) overhis alleged involvement in a fraud case.On January 26th, the FIA had registereda case against Khurram in a cheque dis-honor case and defrauding under Sec-tions 481 and 420 on complaint ofSohail Rabbani. In his complaint, Rab-bani submitted that Khurram Rasoolhad got a fake account opened in thename of Trading Corporation Pakistan(TCP) and he had given 71 million toKhurram for getting sugar quota. “Buthe (Khurram) could not allocate sugarquota for me due to which Khurramgave me a fake cheque of Rs 71 million,”he stated in his application.However, the FIA on Friday presentedfake letters of TCP account and therecord of dishonored cheques before thecourt and requested the court to furtherextend his remand.

BISP families to have health insurance scheme


low

High

09°cSunDay mOnDay tueSDay13°c I 08°c 14°c I 07°c 13°c I 05°c

Prayer tImIngSFajr Sunrise zuhr asr maghrib Isha

06:00 07:02 13:30 16:00 On sunset 19:00

cIty DIrectOry

POlIce emergency 15

amBulance 115

reScue 1122

HIlal-e-aHmer 9250488

eDHI FOunDatIOn 2827844

BOmB DISPOSal 9270698

FIre BrIgaDe centre 16

cIVIl DeFence 9262830

emergency HelP

HOSPItalS

BlOOD BanK

PImS BlOOD BanK 9261272

POly clInIc BlOOD BanK 9209123

cOmPlaInt

WaPDa 111-000-118

SuI gaS 1199

raIlWayS

cIty StatIOn (enQuIry) 117

reSerVatIOn 9273614

raIlWay POlIce 1333

aIrPOrt

FlIgHt enQuIry 114

PIa reSerVatIOn 111-786-786

cOllegeS / unIVerSItIeS

InternatIOnal ISlamIc unIVerSIty 9260765

BaHrIa unIVerSIty 9260002

numl 9257677

QuaID-e-azam unIVerSIty 90642098

arID agrIculture unIVerSIty 9290151

FJWu 9273235

rIPHa InternatIOnal unIVerSIty 111510510

nca raWalPInDI 5770423

PunJaB laW cOllege 4421347

maHrOOF Int 2222920

PImS 9261170

POly clInIc 9218300

cDa 9221334

SHIFa InternatIOnal 4603666

alI 4444435

DIStrIct HQS 5556311-14

ultraSOnIc clInIc 2824862

HOly FamIly 9290319

siLeNt WhisPers

Silent Whispers is about the ability to hear the voiceof agony and pain that is around us. the artist withinme is sensitive enough not only to listen to thesewhispers but also to empathize with the ...

druMMiNg CirCLe

Date anD tIme: FeB 4, at 05:00 Pm, WeeKly eVentVenue: tHe centre FOr artS anD culture

Our drumming circle is a (free!) ongoingevent and is held every Friday from 5 to 6p.m.We are having a great time, and want toshare the good time with you! Ourdrumming circle has children ...

clOuDy

WeatHer uPDateS

11°c

sorry JuLiet!

est ever musical comedy!!!!!

“Sorry Juliet! romeo loves Paaro” is about themontagues and capulets are two rivalryfamilies. they are involved in a family feudthat goes back years before an ...

Date: FeBruary 03 — 05, 2012Venue: tHe 3rD BaSe, ISlamaBaD

Date: January 25 — FeBruary 11, 2012 Venue: nOmaD gallery, ISlamaBaD

08 Saturday, 4 February, 2012

Islamabad

the woes of taxi drivers

ISLAMABADSALMAN ABBAS

TAxI-DRIVING, once considered asmart business option for the mid-dle class to earn livelihood, is nomore profitable due to the gas cri-sis and sky-rocketing petroleum

prices.As the petroleum prices have increased to

an alarming proportion, the taxi drivers havehad to raise their fares accordingly. Therefore,lesser people are able to afford traveling bytaxi, making most taxi drivers sell their vehi-cles to find other sources of income.

“I have been running a cab since 2005 andnever faced such difficulties in my business asI had to face in the past three years and now Ihave finally decided to leave this business,”said Husnain Khan, a taxi driver. He said,“First the government started three-day CNGload-shedding but it may not have been enough

to force the poor man to commit suicide, so ithas also increased the petroleum prices to analarming proportion.”

Another taxi driver of Rawalpindi said thatthe Punjab government has started the yellowcab scheme but only the people who had anapproach in the government could succeed ingetting a cab. However, he added, the peopleare not showing much interest in the saidscheme jus because of the prevailing gas andpetroleum crisis.

Taxi Driver Association President AftabAhmad told Pakistan Today that most of thepeople think that the drivers have deliberatelyincreased the fares but what can the poor driv-ers do if they get petrol at Rs 96 per litre andcould not get CNG for three days a week. “Themedia has also criticised us, alleging that thetaxi drivers were fleecing commuters but wealso want to highlight our plight,” he said,adding that, “A large number of taxi drivershave now been leaving the business of running

cab as nothing is left in it.” He said that an-other problem being faced by the taxi driverswas that no one was ready to now buy a taxiworth Rs 0.4 million on even half of its price.

Aftab said, “Previously, during the three-day CNG load-shedding, the taxi drivers rantheir vehicles on petrol, which was unafford-able now and they were compelled to let theirtaxis stand for three days as they could not af-ford petrol on more than Rs 90 per litre.”

“The government pledged us that it willallow two or three CNG pumps to provideCNG to the taxi drivers during the load-shed-ding but nothing has been done in this re-gard,” he said.

According to a recent notification issued byOGRA, the price of petrol has been increasedby Rs 5.37 per litre, High Octane Blended Com-ponent (HOBC) by Rs 6.29, kerosene oil by Rs2.59, High Speed Diesel (HSD) by Rs 4.64 andthe price per litre of Light Diesel Oil (LDO) hasbeen increased by up to Rs 3.43, with immedi-ate effect.

After the massive increase announced bythe authorities, the new price of petrol hasbeen fixed at Rs 94.91, HOBC Rs 118.20, HSDRs 103 46, LDO Rs 90.21, while the keroseneoil will be sold at Rs 126.11 per litre.

On the other hand, the commuters have al-leged that the taxi drivers were taking advan-tage of the increase in petroleum prices andincreased did not increase the fares accordingto the percentage of increase in petroleumprices. “We know that the government has in-creased petroleum prices and the three-daygas load-shedding also continues but why dothe taxi drivers demand higher fares duringthe remaining days of week,” said Yasir Ali, acommuter.

He said that the taxi drivers were not in-curring losses as they adjusted their loss byovercharging the commuters. “Instead of un-derstanding our situation, the cab drivers areasking for Rs 500 from Bhara Khu to Islam-abad,” describes, Abdul Majeed, who travelsto Islamabad everyday.

The local administration has also not putany check on the fares adjusted by the taxidrivers and the rates charged by different cabslack uniformity. At one taxi stand, if a taxidriver asks for Rs 150 for a particular dis-tance, another will demand Rs 100 for thesame distance.

Increased petroleum prices and CNG load sheddinghave forced most of cabbies to quit their business



Islamabadafridi new unODc goodwillambassador


Pakistan cricket star Shahid Afridi hasbeen appointed as UNODC GoodwillNational Ambassador in recognition ofhis outstanding sporting record. Afridiis a talented all rounder who has beencaptain of the Pakistan national teamfrom 2009 to 2011 including ODI, T20and one day matches. He became anovernight sensation in 1996 when, as a16-year-old, he made history by scoringthe fastest one-day international hun-dred (ODI) in his very first innings.“Boom-boom” Afridi as he his affection-ately known to his legions of fans goeshell for leather, scoring fast instead ofcontenting himself with preserving hiswicket. Afridi will promote healthy liv-ing though sports, and positive valuesand attitudes during visits to schoolsand colleges. In 2012, he will witnessthe impact of UNODC work in Pakistanand highlight the need to curb drug useand associated crime. He is expected to take part in a range ofactivities - youth cricket tournament,International Day against Drug Abuse(26 June), increased ethics in sports andgender-responsive services for drugusers and promotion of awareness ofdrug and HIV/AIDS issues.

ntS, cito BV sign mou for quality education


National Testing Service Pakistan (NTS),and Cito BV, the largest educational meas-urement organisation of Europe, havesigned a Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) for the promotion of quality educa-tion in Pakistan by cooperating in testingand assessment, and students’ monitoringsystem. A two-member delegation com-prising Dr Haroon Rashid, Director NTS,and Rana Riaz Saeed, Senior ManagerNTS, visited Cito office in Netherlands todiscuss the matters of mutual interestswith the Cito team including Marten Ro-orda (CEO), Dr Henk Moelands, DirectorCito International, Prof Dr Theo Eggen,Senior Psychometrician and DiederikSchonau, Senior Consultant. Through this MOU, it was agreed that NTSwill benefit from Psychometric Center ofCito and initiate students’ monitoring sys-tem in Pakistan with the cooperation ofCito International. Both the organisations would work jointlyto collaborate and cooperate for the ad-vancement of standardised educational as-sessment and measurement to producemarket competitive human resource. Theywill establish an Institute of EducationalTesting and Assessment in Pakistan for im-proving education system and share rele-vant expertise in a spirit of internationalcooperation with the possibilities of futurecollaboration on educational projects. NTS and Cito will conduct and promotejoint research on education and educa-tional standards critical to repositioning ofPakistan in the emerging liberalised andglobalised environment. They will also or-ganise joint conferences, seminars andtraining workshops/programmes for fac-ulty members and students and other insti-tutions and cooperate for development ofacademic and research activities and ex-change of researchers, exchanging pub-lished academic materials and otherinformation. NTS and Cito have also agreed that the ac-ademic delegates of both the organisationsshall visit each other for mutual learning,orientation, gaining experience, initiateprofessional development programmes inthe areas of testing and assessment, ex-change information for test items develop-ment and Standard Operating Procedures(SOPs) for test item development, opera-tion methodology and marketing strategy.Both the organisations will also strive tomutual accreditation/recognition to eachother’s test modules. It may be mentionedthat Cito and NTS are member organisa-tions of the International Association ofEducational Assessments (IAEA).

ISLAMABADMAHTAB BASHIR

THE officials of Lok Virsa andPakistan Monument on a rainyFriday gave a warm welcometo a Swati girl, Malala

Yousufzai, when she arrived to visit themuseums located at Shakarparian hills.

The child prodigy, Yousufzai, now13, rose to fame for recognition of herservices for the promotion of educationamong girls in Swat, when Taliban forcescontinued to blow educational institu-tions in the war-ridden area, particu-larly, girls’ schools.

Yousufzai, who championed thecause of the people of her region andvoiced their afflictions and side by side,the atrocities of the Taliban during their

suffocating regime by writing a diary forthe BBC under a pseudonym, was nomi-nated for the prestigious InternationalChildren Peace Award. Thus she be-comes the first-ever Pakistani girl to benominated for the award.

On her arrival to Heritage Museumof Lok Virsa, Yousufzai was received bythe senior officials of Lok Virsa andbriefed about the salient features of thetangible and intangible heritage withspecial reference to the functioning ofLok Virsa as a specialised national insti-tution charged with the mandate for col-lection, documentation, preservationand dissemination of Pakistan’s culturalheritage.

She was taken around various cre-ative displays at the first ethnologicalmuseum of Pakistan, popularly known

as Heritage Museum, portraying livingfolk culture and lifestyles of the peoplerepresenting each and every corner ofthe country, including the remotestparts. She took keen interest in the mu-seum displays, specially the woodencarved doors and pillars collected fromthe beautiful Swat Valley.

In her remarks, Malala Yousufzai ap-preciated the contribution of Lok Virsain promoting and preserving the richcultural heritage of Pakistan in a magnif-icent way. She was presented a set of LokVirsa audio-visual productions andbooks on behalf of Lok Virsa ExecutiveDirector Khalid Javaid as token of hervisit to Lok Virsa.

Later, Yousufzai also visited Pak-istan Monument Museum which is ded-icated to those who sacrificed their today

for a better tomorrow. The museum de-picts history, struggle for freedom, emer-gence and development of Pakistanthrough three-dimensional dioramic dis-plays.

She also took keen interest in variousgalleries of the museum that presentskey achievements of the country after in-dependence, particularly in the field ofculture, tourism, education, defence,communication, science and technology,sports, industries, women developmentand other important and diverse sectorsof national life. She was very pleased tosee glimpses of meritorious services ren-dered by the founder of Pakistan, Qauid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, nationalpoet and philosopher Allama Iqbal and anumber of other national heroes andfreedom fighters.

ISLAMABAD: Capital Administration and Development Division Secretary Imtiaz Inayat Elahi addresses a gathering at a free medical camp. staff photo

ISLAMABADSALMAN ABBAS

The Capital Development Authority(CDA) on Friday revised and updated thePC-1 of the controversial Light EmittingDiode (LED) project which included thereplacement of 65,000 old conventionalstreet lights with LED lights.

The revised plan has been submittedto the planning commission for furtherprocessing and approval.

This was stated in a written reply sub-mitted to the Senate by the Cabinet Divi-sion Minister Incharge. He informed thatthe present version of the PC-1 of Rs 8 bil-lion LED project was retracted and theCDA had submitted the upgraded versionof PC-1 to the Central Development Work-ing Party (CDWP). The CDWP also di-rected the Cabinet Division and the CDAto make a detailed presentation to thePlanning Commission deputy chairmanafter seeking confirmation of funds fromthe Asian Development Bank (ADP). Italso advised the CDA to invite the ADB tothe presentation. The reply was given inresponse to Senator Hafiz Rashid Ahmad’question about the LED lights installation.

Under the project, the old conven-tional street lights would be replaced withLED’s and ADB will provide the soft loanto the civic body to execute the project.The CDA officials say the project wouldhelp them save million of rupees in theform of utility bills. Concerns were raised

by some CDA stakeholders about the ap-pointment of former member engineerIbrar Shah as engineering team memberfor the LED project. The fact, that he wasan electrical engineer and not suitable forthe post of member engineering, made theproject controversial.

Transparency International (TI), Pub-lic Procurement Regulatory Authority(PPRA) and Senate Standing Committeeon Cabinet Division also expressed con-cerns over the LED project tenderingprocess. Even the Senate Standing Com-mittee on Cabinet Chairman Shahid Bugtitermed the project a ‘scam in the making’.TI also questioned CDA about the proj-ect’s tendering while PPRA also sought areport from the CDA on a same issue. Ahigh level CDA committee of the CDA de-clared that the project not financially ben-eficial.

However, the CDA chairman Fark-hand Iqbal was not ready to acknowledgeany of the anomalies or losses in regard tothe project. In a recent news conferencethe chairman said that installing LEDLights would save 52 percent of the CDA’senergy requirements, which will reduce8.32 MW load on national grid. CDA be-lieved the project was important and fi-nancially viable but has not awarded anycontract for purchasing LED lights.

He said the CDA was managing65000 conventional street lights whichadded a load of 16 MW on the nationalgrid and incurred an annual expense of

over Rs 1.2 billion. The National EnergyConservation Center approached the CDAto replace the conventional public lightingsystem with LED lighting in order to saveenergy consumption. US EMBASSy OffIcIALS vISITIPO: The US Embassy economic sectionofficial Robert Ewing, Economic Coun-selor Sunil Ravi and other economic offi-cers visited the Intellectual PropertyOrganisation of Pakistan (IPO) headquar-ter on Friday.They called on IPO-Pakistan DirectorGeneral Sajjad Ahmed Bhutta.

Matters pertaining to mutual interest,including cooperation for IP rights, en-forcement, training and capacity buildingwere discussed. It was suggested that jointefforts be made to explore different av-enues to benefit from each other’s experi-ences.

Bhutta informed the gathering aboutthe achievements of the IPO and statedthat a number of initiatives had beentaken to make the general public awareabout the services and importance of IPrights. He appreciated the US officials’in-terest in the promotion of IP rights andstressed the need for extending trainingfacilities in this regard.

The US officials said the gaps could befilled by encouraging need based trainingfacilities in different areas. They said pro-posals in this connection would be exam-ined and suitable steps be taken to resolvethe issues confronted to remove the bot-tlenecks in efficient IP management.

PaF awards ceremony

ISLAMABAAD: The Annual Chief ofthe Air Staff Award Ceremony of airforce schools and colleges was held atAftab Auditorium of Fazaia Inter Col-lege, Islamabad, on Thursday. Air ChiefMarshal Rao Qamar Suleman was thechief guest on the occasion. The chiefguest awarded merit certificates, cashprizes, medals and trophies to students,headmistresses and principals in recog-nition of their outstanding perform-ance. Speaking on the occasion, AirChief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman ex-pressed his satisfaction over the stepstaken by the training branch to im-prove the quality of education atFazaia institutions. He appreciatedthe high standards and congenial en-vironment of Fazaia institutions. Thechief guest lauded the efforts made byFazaia faculty by iterating that in thewhole scheme of education, a teacherplayed a pivotal role. The award cere-mony was followed by a colourful tal-ent show presented by students fromvarious Fazaia colleges. The talentshow depicted tolerance, unity andfraternity. STAFF REPORT

Malala Yousufzai visits Lok Virsa, Pakistan Monument

CDa revises controversial plan


KAshMir dAy CeLeBrAtioNs


Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: A cyclist uses an umbrella to protect himself from rain. staff photo

children mesmerise audience with their performances

ISLAMABAADMAHTAB BASHIR

The students of several educational institu-tions enthralled audience on Friday, whenthey expressed their solidarity with the peo-ple of Kashmir through their wonderful per-formances at the Pakistan National Councilof Arts (PNCA) auditorium.

The colourful programme was a part ofthe five-day celebrations to mark the ‘Kash-mir Day’ (February 5), organised by thePNCA in association with the ministry ofKashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan andAzad Jammu and Kashmir Council.

The students of over 15 schools and col-leges participated to expose the atrocities ofIndian armed forces against the Kashmiristo snub their right of self-determination. Thestudents demonstrated several colourfulprogrammes, including tableau, folk songs,dance, stage play, along with the display ofKasmiri architecture and crafts. Puppetshows were also performed at the occasionto highlight the plight of Kashmiris and raisethe issue of human rights violation.

The Kashmir Solidarity Day is observedon February 5 each year, since 1990 in Pak-

istan, as a day of protest against the Indianoccupation of a part of Kashmir. It is a na-tional holiday in Pakistan. Pakistan consid-ers Kashmir as the core issue between Indiaand Pakistan, leading to three wars and al-location of a major portion of their annualbudgets to defence expenditure. The schoolsand colleges that participated in the eventincluded FG Girls School G-9/2, FG Com-prehensive School F-6/1, FG Girls College F-7/4, Jinnah Preparatory School,Rawalpindi, Divisional Public School, RootsSchool, Ali Trust School and Rising School.

Talking to Pakistan Today, PNCA MediaDirector Waqar Hanif said that the PNCA, incollaboration with the Ministry of KashmirAffairs and Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammuand Kashmir Council, has organised the five-day event to express solidarity with the peo-ple of Kashmir. “People living in Kashmirshould not think that they are alone,” he said.He said that main event in this regard wouldbe held on February 4 (today), where theartists from across the country, includingRukhsana Murtaza, Bano Rehmat, Sher Ali,Sehar, Basit Iftikhar and others, would paytribute to the martyrs of Kashmir and ex-press solidarity with the Kashmiris.


PRESIDENT National Youth As-sembly (NYA) Hanan Ali Abbasihas represented Pakistan in aninternational conference of youth

hosted by the government of Iran, and sug-gested solutions to the troubles faced by theMuslim Ummah. Abbasi also urged thelaunching of world-wide Islamic channelfor portraying better image of the Muslimsalong with well-developed social mediasites, and also suggested formation of Gen-eral Assembly of Muslim youth, declarationof joint strategy against terrorism and rela-tion with influential countries, creation ofinternational Muslim youth think-tank,and founding of a ‘Muslim World Bank’.The suggestions were thoroughly discussed

in his research paper that he formally pre-sented to Secretary General of the confer-ence, Ali Akbar Velayati, who is also aformer foreign minister of Iran.

Iranian President Mohmud Ahmedine-jad delivered the opening speech and saidtoday’s participants were the future ofworld. He urged the need for educationalsupremacy by using technology, and saidthey had to play a role to build peace andjustice all over the world. He also observedthat Islamic Revolution led by ImamKhomeini, the great revivalist of Islamicmovements, provided depth to Islamicthought. More than 1200 young peoplefrom 73 countries participated in the con-ference. The prominent leaders, speakers,ministers, ambassadors, and members ofthe parliament from Islamic world madetheir presence in the conference.

The Pakistani delegates Hanan AliAbbasi and Mustafa Haider Syed were ho-noured to occupy reserved places, whereselected members, ambassadors and rep-resentatives of the Muslim world duringmeeting with Supreme Leader of Iran -Ayatollah Ali Khamenei- would seat. ThePakistani delegates also received specialtraditional gifts from the Supreme Leaderof Iran. Abbasi met delegations of variouscountries - Canada, India, KSA, UK,Egypt, Jordan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Mal-dives and Malaysia. He exchanged viewsof mutual interest and delineated all ac-tivities and projects about the NationalYouth Assembly.

All the participants of conferencewere also taken to the provinces of Mash-had and Isfahan, and Qum city of Iranduring a week-long stay, where they were

briefed about the historical significance ofthe places.

Talking to Pakistan Today, PresidentNational Youth Assembly said: “I reallyfelt privileged after addressing this event- World Assembly of Islamic Awakening -which is playing tremendous role to con-verge young leaders under a platform tostudy the grave problems faced by futureof the world”.

While addressing the commission ofIndian and Pakistani delegates, Abbasisaid: “The extremism and intolerance hasdeteriorated the image and repute of Is-lamic world which must unite and incul-cate the culture of tolerance.

He stressed the Muslims to focus onscientific and technical education whichwas essential for development andprogress in modern times.

NYA for launching Islamic channel

Fresh spell of rain to continue until monday

ISLAMABAADSTAFF REPORT

The fresh spell of rain that started fromFriday will continue till Monday in Islam-abad/Rawalpindi and upper areas of thecountry. According to Pakistan Meteorol-ogy Department (PMD), the current spellof rain will continue during the next 72hours and heavy snow fall is expected inKashmir, Gilgit, and Northern Areas whileareas in Southern Punjab will receive lightrain. The official said the spell of rainstarted from Friday in Balochistan, espe-cially in the Northern Areas of theprovince, including Quetta, Ziarat andPasheen. He said Punjab, KhyberPakhtunkhwa, and many areas of Balochis-tan will receive light rain during the next24 hours. Met Office informed that a freshwesterly wave, presently giving rains overwestern Iran, is heading towards Pakistanthat would grip western parts of the coun-try on Friday. Under the influence of thisweather pattern, scattered rains withsnowfall over the hills are expected overBalochistan, Punjab and KhyberPakhtunkhwa from Saturday to Monday. This weather system is likely to produceheavy snowfall over the hills of Galliyat andMurree during the coming weekend.A cold wave is expected to grip most partsof the country during the weekend, andcold weather is likely to prevail in thecountry during the next week.The barani areas of the country are likely toreceive good rainfall during the period thatwould be useful for the standing crops.Met office further informed that 2-3 spellsof rain/snowfall are expected during themonth of February. “Current spell of rain isvery beneficial for the wheat crops in aridagriculture areas of Punjab, KPK andBalochistan,” the official predicted.

aisam visits roots School ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s top tennisplayer, Aisam-ul-Haq, accompanied byAqeel Khan, national champion in ten-nis, and coach Rashid Malik, visitedRoots School System (RSS) at Roots In-ternational University College, G-8Flagship Campus, on Friday.RSS Executive Director Walid Mushtaqreceived the visiting guests. Aisam-ul-haq, during his meeting with Walid, un-derlined the importance of physicaleducation in student life shared hisviews as to how the educational institutecould promote tennis and work towardschannelling young talent towards thisgame. Walid Mushtaq promised to pro-vide full cooperation to the player in hisefforts to boost the game. STAFF REPORT

g Present tableaus, Kashmiri folk songs, dances and puppet shows to highlight Indian brutalities in Held Kashmir


Editor’s mail 11Saturday, 4 February, 2012

Questions for cm PunjabWhile Chief Minister Punjab Mian

Shahbaz Sharif deserves praise for pin-pointing the cause of criminal negligenceof a pharmaceutical company responsi-ble for manufacture of contaminatedspurious drugs with a deadly mixture re-sulting in deaths of over 120 poor, heneeds to explain his misuse of discre-tionary powers.

State funds and grants for medicalshould only be given to those who cannotafford it such as the poor, orphans, wid-ows and pensioners, instead of givingthem to politically important personswith assets(declared and undeclared)running into several crores of rupees.

It seems that abuse of state funds byelected executive, be he the PM or presi-dent, and the paid bureaucracy has be-come a norm by federal government,provincial governments, khaki elite andstate owned corporations. How can CMPunjab justify allocation of over Rs1.2million to a vocal MPA, who never tiresof claiming to represent the poor, but hasdone nothing except play politics duringthe past four years, while thousands ofthose misplaced by floods in Sindh live inconditions fit not even for animals tosurvive?

ANEELA CHANDIOSukkur

What national integrityMore than 100 people have lost their

lives due to the distribution of fake medi-cines in Punjab Institute of Cardiologywhile religious extremism is at its peak.Hafiz Saeed, the leader of a banned out-fit, is rallying in various cities of Punjabalong with other banned outfits such asSipah-e-Sahaba and minorities are beingthreatened by these outfits to stop prac-ticing openly in cities such asRawalpindi. Jamaat-ud-Dawa has deco-rated the city with banners and postersand is inviting citizens to strike againstreligious places of Ahmadis in SatelliteTown, Rawalpindi.

In major cities like Lahore, most ofthe auto-rickshaws are advertising hate-campaigns against India sponsored byJuD. All Punjab government can do isthat they can ban concerts to cope withgrowing extremism and radicalism inPunjab.

Recently, three Shia lawyers werekilled in Karachi after three members ofSipah-e-Sahaba were killed. In Quetta,they are killing people upon sectariandifferences on regular basis. Point isthough our agencies know everything asthey claim, they can track HusainHaqqani’s and Mansoor Ijaz’s memos,they can yell as loud as they can on sha-hadat of soldiers by America by calling itan “attack on sovereignty and nationalintegrity” but what about these innocentpeople?

It’s ironic when no one speaks onrapidly growing hold of banned outfits.For which purpose they are being used?Pakistan Army is operating bravely intribal areas against extremists and mis-creants, but what about extremist mis-creants who are active in major cities ofPunjab?

SYED FOAAD HASSANLahore

mFnisation!Most recently, our government

granted Most Favoured Nation (MFN)status to our neighbouring countryIndia. But to visit our “most favoured”neighbour, Indian government wantsan applicant of Pakistani origin to pro-vide following documents:

1) Sponsorship certificate from yourrelative in India attested by not lessthan a police commissioner. 2) Copy ofelectricity bill of your relative in India.3) Copy of telephone bill of your rela-tive in India. 4) Copy of PAN Card (Per-manent Account Number used forvoting purpose) of your relative inIndia. 5) Applicant’s character certifi-cate issued from area police station. 6)Applicant’s salary/bank statement. 7)Applicant’s letter of employment in caseof employee of private organisation. 8)If applicant is housewife/child, a writ-ten statement that she/he is dependenton husband/father’s income. 9) Appli-cant’s monthly salary should be PKR25,000. 10) Applicants passport shouldhave 8-month’s validity. 11) Visaprocess takes 8 to 16 weeks (2 to 4months). 12) Visa fee PKR 722 (couriercharges PKR 707 + Visa fee PKR 15only).

If we start from point no 5, we allknow how difficult it is to get a charac-ter certificate from area police in Pak-istan. For point no 6, what if theapplicant is self-employed and does nothave a bank account? Same applies forpoint no 7. What if the applicant’ssalary is less than PKR 25,000? Lastbut not the least, visa fee is PKR 15 andcourier charges are PKR 707!

In other words, Pakistani nationalshaving relatives in India should noteven dream of visiting their loved onesin the ‘most favoured nation’. India isthe largest democracy of the world butwhat is compelling it to discourage Pak-istani nationals from visiting India isanybody’s guess?

M RAFIQUE ZAKARIAKarachi

Beating cancerToday is world cancer day and my

eyes are filled with tears as I rememberthe day my one and only child Hadeedwas diagnosed with a type of kidneycancer. It was the worst day of ourlives. Living in Renala Khurd, a smalltown in Okara it was very difficult forus to come to Lahore for treatment aswe also did not have any means.

Then someone told us of ShaukatKhanum Cancer Hospital and we cameto Lahore winding up our small busi-ness in Renala Khurd and took a job inLahore.

I can only thank Allah and afterthat Shaukat Khanum hospital. Due toits help, both financial and medial, myson Hadeed finally was able to beatcancer. It is a great hospital and mayAllah provide Imran Khan with morestrength to help the poor and the needywho cannot afford the expensive cancertreatment.

Today Hadeed studies in Class Iand is hale and hearty and wants to be-come a doctor just like the doctors whotreated him with so much love and af-fection.

SAJIDA LODHIRenala Khurd, Okara

Keep healthy with antioxidantsAntioxidants are substances or nutri-

ents in our food which can prevent orslow the oxidative damage to our body.Millions of chemical reactions take placein our body and oxygen is needed tocarry these reactions.

The body cells use oxygen and natu-rally produce free radicals which cancause cell damage. Antioxidants act as"free radical scavengers" and hence pre-vent and repair damage done by thesefree radicals. These free radicals are alsointroduced in to the body through vari-ous external sources like unhygienicfoods, unhealthy living style, smoke, al-coholic beverages, exposure to the sun,pollution and stress.

Such free radicals, produced with inthe body attack living cells, especiallyDNA, fat and protein, weaken the im-munological functions and accelerate theaging process. In human and animal bod-ies, nature has provided protection fromthese oxidants by producing antioxidantsenzymes like superoxide dismutase; neu-tralizes supercharged oxygen molecules,which can damage cells. It is also added

in cosmetics, catalase; splits hydrogenperoxide to yield oxygen and water, andglutathione; plays a role in nutrient me-tabolism, regulation of cellular eventsand binds with different toxins to changetheir form to enable them to leave thebody as waste.

Infertility is a worldwide problemand approximately 10-20 percent of cou-ples within reproductive age group areinfertile. It is estimated that globally 60-80 million couples suffer from infertilityevery year.

In the recent years, oxidative stresshas become the focus of interest as a po-tential cause of male infertility. Underphysiological conditions, spermatozoaproduce small amount of free radicals,which are needed for capacitation (thephysiological changes in spermatozoa topenetrate and fertilize an egg), acrosomereaction (Reaction on cap like structureof the sperm head that drills the ovumsurface for sperm penetration before fer-tilisation) and fertility.

However, excessive amount of thesefree radicals produced by leukocytes, im-

mature or dead spermatozoa can causedamage to the normal spermatozoa andreported to be 30-80 percent in thesemen of infertile men.

As Animal reproductive physiology iscomparable to human, scientists preferto work on animals as disease or physiol-ogy model of human beings. In livestock,semen cryopreservation is an importantprocedure to disseminate good qualitysemen to perform artificial insemination.

During semen collection, processing,freezing and thawing, spermatozoa un-dergo various oxidative and osmoticstresses and produce free radicals, whichultimately affect sperm characteristicsand fertility potential.

We conducted a series of experi-ments using buffalo bull model for im-proving semen characteristics, by addingtrehalose as antioxidant in lactose eggyolk semen extender at 0.0, 30.0, 50.0and 70.0 milli moles (mM). It was con-cluded that the rate of sperm motility,acrosomal integrity and plasma mem-brane integrity were higher by addingtrehalose at 70.0 mM while, sperm via-

bility and lipid peroxidation were higherat 50.0 mM.

Different vegetables and fruits areequipped with the ability to minimize theharmful effect of oxidants, which causeaging process or death.

These include: berries (blueberries,blackberries, raspberries, strawberriesand cranberries), beans (small red beansand kidney, pinto and black beans),fruits (many apple varieties (with peel),avocados, cherries, green and red pears,fresh or dried plums, pineapple, kiwi, or-anges etc), vegetables (artichokes,spinach, red cabbage, red and white po-tatoes (with peel), sweet potatoes,tomato, carrots and broccoli), beverages(green tea, coffee and many fruit juicessuch as pomegranate), nuts (walnuts,pistachios, pecans, hazelnuts and al-monds), herbs (ground cloves, cinna-mon, ginger, dried oregano leaf andturmeric powder), grains (oat-basedproducts and those derived from othergrain sources).

DR DAWAR HAMEED MUGHALUVAS, Lahore

Without any direction The most daunting challenge faced by the country is

how it can move forward and regain its prestige in theworld, how to build the confidence of the foreign investorsto invest in Pakistan in the projects that can help to exploremore oil and gas reserves and produce power.

The demand of natural gas and electricity is going to in-crease at least by 10 percent every year. Therefore, a hugeinvestment is required to make available natural gas tomeet the domestic, commercial and industrial demand.How can we settle the circular debt that has brought theelectricity production down? People have to live withoutelectricity for 12-18 hours a day.

How can we eradicate the menace of terrorism and sec-tarianism which are shaking the very foundation of thecountry?

The periodic strains in civil-military and civil-judiciaryrelationship have increased the suffering of the ordinarypeople, and diverted the attention from vital issue faced bythe country. Unfortunately, our military and our politicians

have been at loggerheads with each other since the firstmartial law was imposed in 1958.

Neither the political nor the army leadership has suc-ceeded in evolving common goals and ideology that couldunite the people. A desperate urge for change is therefore inthe air. Can and how it will be brought about is anybody’sguess?

The clear and present threat to our nation is the confu-sion that prevails. We neither own a capitalist nor a social-ist nor an Islamic economic system.

Our political leaders cry hoarse shouting slogans infavour of democracy but none of them implement the samewithin their own political parties.

Our nation’s destiny is in the hands of those who areonly interested in self-glorification and in making money byusing their positions of authority. How long the country cansurvive without any direction?

S T HUSSAINLahore

Send your letters to: Letters to Editor, Pakistan Today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan. Fax: +92-42-36298302. E-mail: [email protected]. Letters should be addressed to Pakistan Today exclusively.

One was surprised to read an Ameri-can scholar’s article in a leading Englishdaily. For a while I asked myself, is he anAmerican? An American today is syn-onym with an enemy, thanks to theirbeing the superpower, all in all, the mer-chants of death, the contractors of de-struction, the harbingers of troubleeverywhere. I had the impression that allAmericans are out against Pakistan,thanks to their media that is purposefullyplaying the role of instigator.

Brian Cloughley, the Americanscholar and South Asian expert, wrote acolumn “Blaming Pakistan” some weeksback, saying: “Let’s get this straight, onceand for all: if the United States of Amer-ica had not invaded Afghanistan 10 yearsago, Pakistan would not have been sub-jected to the appalling violence that hasplagued the country ever since.

It seems to have been forgotten thatthe invasion drove hundreds of viciousbarbarians across the border into Pak-

istan where they motivated like-mindedfanatics to help wreck the country. Theiraim is to establish a regional regime offundamentalist bigotry, supposedly inthe name of religion.”

He said: “The crassness of Washing-ton in blaming Pakistan for having suf-fered 38,000 of its own citizens killed interrorist attacks is mind-boggling. Thereis frenzied expostulation about militantsentering Afghanistan from Pakistan andcreating havoc – which they undoubtedlydo – but rarely a word about what hap-pens in reverse.” Kudos for Mr BrianCloughley for objective evaluation ofground realities, by calling a spade aspade and giving credit where it was due.There are like Brian, many others in theUSA who raised and keep raising voicesagainst the intransigence meted out tothe people of Pakistan.

For example, HDS Greenway in hisBoston Globe article said, “One can onlywatch in horror as relations between the

US and Pakistan continue to deteriorate,for there will be no chaos-free exit fromAfghanistan without Pakistan. Is the mil-itary-intelligence complex striving tokeep the US involved in Afghanistanlonger than it might otherwise be, andgetting into heedless and unnecessaryconfrontations with Pakistan?”

Gareth Porter, another American,commented that the Nato attack was abig loss for the US war policy. “The cross-border attack on Pakistan border postshas had exactly the opposite effect.

It has united Pakistanis, both mili-tary and civilian, behind a much morenationalistic policy towards the US mili-tary role in both Afghanistan and in Pak-istan. It has provoked Pakistangovernment to threaten to stop Nato sup-plies from crossing into Afghanistan per-manently, order the US to vacate itsdrone base at Shamsi within 15 days, andboycott the international Bonn confer-ence on Afghanistan in protest.”

But the question is: does the Ameri-can administration lend an ear to them?It is unfortunate that Obama has notheeded to the candid advice of his oldcolleague of Harvard days and a sea-soned political analyst Prof William whotried to approach Obama through hisopen letter to him last year. All the samefor historical record, all such sane voices,do have a role to play.

Mr Cloughley’s warning, he gave inhis another write-up for the Counter-punch, to Washington makes sense whenhe says that “at the moment Islamabad isdesperate to find some means of register-ing the country’s contempt and loathingfor the United States, and there are veryfew options available to it. But it couldreflect on what Washington’s retaliationwould have been if a Pakistani aircrafthad gone on a yippee shoot and killed 24American soldiers inside Afghanistan.”

F Z KHANIslamabad

an american defending Pakistan?


Comment12Saturday, 4 February, 2012

Arif NizamiEditor

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

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

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

From 18 to 10

all grown-up now?

All portfolios are, ultimately, the chief minister’sportfolios. This has to be said slowly, soothingly, likeone would to a child.The Punjab chief minister has ten portfolios unto

himself. This is after he let go of eight of them the other day.No other political party in Pakistan would sustain the tensionthat comes from a provincial chief having eighteen ministries.But not the PML(N).

Legislators make it to the house after a torturouslydifficult electoral process. A party ticket does make thingseasier, yes, but few and far between are members of the housethat make it there only by hanging on to the coat-tails of apopular party. A berth in the house is preceded by doing therounds in the constituencies, wearing a skin as thick as theone only a politician can have, making a number of judgmentcalls about local rivalries and maintaining a constant contactthroughout one’s tenure if one is a returning candidate. By nottrusting any of these individuals with a ministry, the chiefminister is shortchanging not just them but the institution ofhis party.

The public and the media quickly brought up the healthportfolio (which he still retains) in the aftermath of thespurious drugs crisis. While it is true that the sad episode stillmight have occurred even if there had been a full-time healthminister in the Punjab, the likelihood of a dedicated ministerhaving more time to think about restructuring drug inspectionprotocols would have been greater.

It is the bureaucracy that is running the Punjab thesedays. The babus lord over the politicians. The correct way totreat the bureaucracy is a two-pronged policy of unhingingthem from their colonial pretensions but respecting them asservants of the state should be. The Punjab government isdoing the exact opposite: it has empowered the bureaucracymore than it ever should be and yet the chief minister isknown for his summary executions and inexplicably furiousfits towards them.

As the League struggles to place itself in its new, anti-establishment avatar, it would do the party good to realisethat life isn’t beautiful anymore. Things can fall apart,politically, if it doesn’t play ball. Makhdoom Javed Hashmiwill be a mere first if the party doesn’t treat its electedmembers right.

And as an afterthought - because that is what it is in ourrepublic - it would lead to some good governance as well.

Out of sight, out of hand?

rein them in

What was once spoken only in whispers orexpressed in innuendos is now being discussedopenly in the courts and the national media. Thesecurity agencies which were created to give the

citizens a sense of protection and to secure the country againstits foreign enemies have turned on their own citizens. What ishighly dangerous is that they consider themselves above law.

The case of 11 persons who were abducted from the jailafter the High Court had set them free is the latest of the typeto reach the Supreme Court. For a long time, the agenciesflatly denied the men were in their custody. Pressure from theSC finally forced them to admit that the abducted personswere under arrest and were to be tried by a military court.Then suddenly four of the abductees were found dead, theiremaciated bodies bearing signs of torture.

In Balochistan, the situation is even worse. Hundreds offorced disappearances led to the setting up of a commission toprobe into the matter. Soon after, dead bodies of those takenaway started appearing along the roads and highways.

Those who accuse the agencies have often been dubbed asforeign agents and traitors. The accusation now comes fromthe leader of the opposition Ch Nisar Ali Khan whose familyhas served in the army generation after generation. Callingupon the COAS to rein in the agencies he said, “This is anational army, not mafia… Gen Kayani must stop such thingswhich tarnish the army’s image.”

While one waits to see how the COAS responds, one isforced to ask the parliamentarians what they have themselvesdone during the last four years besides helplessly complainingabout “a state within a state”. What was needed was to clearlyspell out the scope and limitations of the ISI, MI and IB in theform of a binding charter. While the government andopposition made commendable joint moves like the 18thAmendment and an NFC Award, they singularly failed tofulfill their duty to the people to rein in the agencies. What hasbeen treated as a non-event in Balochistan and elsewhere hasweakened the federation. Unless the needed legislation isundertaken, the democratic system would remain in jeopardy.

Courage under fire

The ubiquitous Pakistani intelli-gence apparatus, particularlythe Inter-Services Intelligenceagency, is under fire, bothfrom within the country and

from our erstwhile western allies. Theleader of the opposition in the NationalAssembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, whileappealing to the prime minister and theCOAS to rein in the intelligence agencies,has gone to the extent of saying that Gen-eral Kayani is the chief of an army and nota mafia.

One can discount the perennial fulmi-nations of Nisar against the army as a per-sonal agenda. But even the PML(N) bossNawaz Sharif is not particularly enam-oured with the role of the army in civilianmatters. He has not forgotten the humili-ation he had to face from his handpickedarmy chief Pervez Musharraf in 1999 andthe manner in which he was betrayed bythe then army chief General WaheedKakar when he was prime minister in1993.

The rank and file of thePML(N) openly accuses theestablishment – a euphe-mism generally used in Pak-istan for the ISI-militarycombine – of launchingImran Khan. Sharif, himselfa one time protégé of GeneralZia-ul-Haq and being a Pun-jabi politician, was long con-sidered by the army as itsnatural ally.

By virtue of betraying hisown, now he is consideredunreliable and untrustwor-thy. His practically walkingaway from the memo case inthe Supreme Court after be-coming the main petitioner isa case in point.

The counsel for the ISIadmitting before theSupreme Court that four outof 11 prisoners picked up bythe intelligence agency in2009 had died in custody hasonly confirmed what is gen-erally assumed to be trueabout the strong arm tacticsemployed by the agency inthe line of duty.

The findings of the com-mission headed by aSupreme Court judge to

probe the murder of journalist SaleemShehzad have remained inconclusive. Fin-gers were being pointed at the ISI, whichof course has denied any involvement.However, in the absence of a smoking gunor failure by any agency to find the realculprits, a miasma of doubt still remainsabout the ISI’s role in it.

The past year has not been good forthe ISI. Raymond Davis, the rogue US op-erative, being caught red-handed in La-hore in January last year was bad enough.But the worst was Osama bin Laden beingdiscovered living a stone’s throw awayfrom the Pakistan Military Academy(PMA) Kakul for at least five years.

The fact that the Pakistani nationlearnt about the sordid affair once the se-cret US military mission had safely de-camped with bin Laden’s dead body left alot of egg on our premier intelligenceagency’s face. The US defense secretaryLeon Panetta’s recent allegations thatsomeone in authority in Pakistan knewabout bin Laden’s presence does not helpmatters.

Largely perceived as a security lapse,the attack on PNS Mehran was anotherfailure on the part of our intelligence ap-paratus. Having links with both the IlyasKashmiri group and the ISI, SaleemShahzad’s murder was also linked to theincident.

The latest in the series of accusationsagainst the ISI is a damning secret Natoreport made available to the BBC that al-leges that the agency was actively assistingthe Taliban militants against the US-ledforeign troops in Afghanistan. The leakedreport ostensibly based on thousands ofinterrogations also states that Pakistanknows the locations of senior Talibanleaders.

Foreign minister Hina Khar has pre-dictably dismissed the report as “old winein an even older bottle”. But the fact re-mains that the West has drank this oldwine for long now.

The foreign office spokesman reactingto the report has also given the textbookresponse that Pakistan is committed tonon-interference in Afghanistan. No onewho is in the know of things considersthese claims credible. Why don't we sim-ply state the truth that we have legitimateinterests in Afghanistan that necessitateour links to the Taliban?

In this backdrop, it is not surprising atall that the ISI has a serious image prob-

lem. That these perceptions are based onlies spread by Indian propaganda and themisguided liberal elite could have a kernelof truth. But perceptions if not removedover time become the reality.

Unfortunately, a makeover for the ISIis inextricably linked to the question ofcivilian control over the armed forces andparticularly the intelligence apparatus inPakistan. General Kayani has shown re-markable restraint and patience in dealingwith Memogate that brought relations be-tween the civilian government and themilitary to an all time low.

In the end analysis, better sense pre-vailed. All the stakeholders perhaps re-alised that a confrontational path wastantamount to mutually assured destruc-tion. Those clamouring for a military-backed caretaker government “to sort outthe mess” were told that such a dispensa-tion will simply not work.

It would be instructive to know whatis happening in our region. Although theBangladesh military has an unsavory rep-utation of conducting coups d’etat, a re-cent attempt by a group of Bengali officersto usher an anti-India dispensation wasthwarted by the military itself. Similarly,the Indian army chief came under severecriticism for going to the Supreme Courton an innocuous matter of trying to get hisdate of birth corrected.

Times have changed to the extent thatTurkey which had the role of the militaryenshrined in its constitution saw its for-mer military chief and his cohorts put be-hind bars for attempting a coup. All thishas been made possible by a gradualistapproach coupled with better and consis-tent performance by civilian governments.

The leader of the opposition in the Na-tional Assembly in his usual hard-linestyle has used harsh language against thearmy and its intelligence apparatus. Buthe has a valid point. Some kind of civilianoversight over the ISI is in order. Perhaps,a parliamentary committee specifically forthe purpose of overlooking the agency’srole is the need of the hour.

The prime minister’s denial that theDG ISI is seeking another extension or isbeing given one ‘to improve matters withthe army’ is welcome news. Such exten-sions in service, unless mitigating circum-stances are strong, are alwayscounterproductive.

The writer is Editor, Pakistan Today

Civilian oversight needed

whiteLIESBy ess aich

For feedback, comments, suggestions and, most importantly, tips, contact us at [email protected]

Prime Minister Gilani, we under-stand, is going that extra mile,literally, to show that he is tight-

ening his belt in these days of eco-nomic hardship. For instance, hedrove in his Land Cruiser to theSupreme Court recently, never mindthe helicopters that hovered abovethrough out the journey.

Encouraged by public response,the PM decided to show another formof extreme austerity on his recent tripto Davos to attend the World Eco-nomic Forum. We hear that he specif-ically asked for a small aircraft, achallenger G-4 to be exact, to trans-port him to Davos. And so we had thisTV footage of our man cutting downon costs in sympathy with the com-mon man. However, what the cameradid not catch was the change of planes that took place on theway. Apparently there was a stop over in Istanbul where theChallenger was discarded and the PM added on a bit of gloss bycontinuing his journey in a bigger aircraft chartered for the pur-pose.

Smart idea, but it seems you cannot please all the people allthe time. At Davos, a member of the Davos club broke with tra-dition and instead of throwing a lunch in honour of the PM,chose as his guest of honour another delegate from Pakistan,Imran Khan, who incidentally had come on a commercial flight.

By Arif Nizami

We hear that a beauty parlour in La-hore’s commercial thicket, M M

Alam Road, is attracting a lot of interestbut for reasons other than the pursuit ofbeauty. Apparently this place, which atanytime can be seen treating a dozensnow men who turn out to be ladies get-ting a full body bleach, belongs to thefamily of a very important person . Thisone happens to be of Pakistani origin butof US citizenship, chooses to live in a tax

free haven (is it Monte Carlo?) in Europewhile being a lobbyist in Washington forPakistan. There can only be one personwith so many makeovers, Mansoor Ijaz,of course.

* * * * * * * * *

Now M M Alam Road may not beMonte Carlo but it markets high end

labels and attracts the most extravagantshopaholics.

Recently, the owner of a store that

stocks designer bags and shoes revealedthat a woman on a dowry shopping spreespent Rs 47 lakhs in this store and wasthankful that the price tags were “lessthan in London.” An expensive way to getsmart but another jewellery store in thesame vicinity put up a diamond necklacewith a one crore rupees price tag and ac-tually had women fighting over it as in afire sale. Talk about hard times in Pak-istan.


Comment 13Saturday, 4 February, 2012

Anyone looking for con-spiracies lurking any-where around should

call Shahbaz Sharif. He willreach the spot, expand hisnostrils and sniff right, left,back and forth and, rest as-sured, he will locate the con-spiracy even if it lies hidden inthe bowels of the of the earth,the darkest depths of the seaor anywhere near the ozonelayer.

Recently, Shahbaz hasmade two award winning dis-coveries. Don’t blame me, hesays, for hundreds of deathsduring the dengue epidemic inPunjab and the subsequentmore than five score mortali-ties caused by the contami-nated Isotab. Both healthdisasters were in fact the out-come of a deep conspiracyagainst Punjab and its hardworking chief minister.

His opponents might re-ject the claim on grounds ofhis inability to produce proofs.What is the need for proofs, hecan say? Effroze Chemical In-dustries which produced thedeadly Isotab is situated inKarachi, the capital of Sindh.Isn’t this a sufficient clue tothe riddle? Can anyone in hissenses doubt that Zardari isbehind the deaths of all theseheart patients?

His tormentors might ac-cuse him of fanning parochial-ism and promotingmisunderstanding betweenthe provinces. But Shahbazdoesn’t care. He is convincedof there being a conspiracyand he has the courage of con-viction which forces him tospeak out the truth.

I have enemies, he con-tends. The bravery of a man inPunjab is measured by thenumber of enemies he has. Asif Zardari, Gilani, Latif Khosa

were not enough, theChaudhrys of Gujrat havejoined the battle with theirtokas and kulharis to makemincemeat of him. “Those inIslamabad needed dead bod-ies in Lahore,” he is reportedto have told NNI as quoted bythe daily Express Lahore.

Suddenly, it has dawnedupon Shahbaz that the denguedisaster which is widely un-derstood to be the outcome ofhis neglect to give proper timeto the health ministry was infact another conspiracyhatched against Punjab andits Khadim-e-Aala by wilyZardari.

According to SANA News,Shahbaz said that “a most im-portant person in Islamabadwas involved in spreadingdengue in Lahore. The pa-trons of the (Punjab Assem-bly’s) opposition leaderssitting in Islamabad wantedlarge scale destruction in Pun-jab so that people may dragShahbaz Sharif on thestreets.”

On Wednesday, Shahbazsent home ten top doctors andofficials from Lahore’s JinnahHospital. The charge was thatthey had failed to make use ofthousands of costly injections.We should be ready to hearone day that this was in fact anAmerican conspiracy as theinjections were produced byan American firm.

The conspiracy theorymight satisfy some of the diehard PML(N) fans. It cannot,however, stop the recurrenceof the type of humantragedies that have alreadytaken toll of hundreds of livesin Punjab. Whatever hap-pened was the direct outcomeof Mian Shahbaz Sharif’s ex-ceptionally shoddy manage-ment of the health ministry.With Shahbaz wearing 18ministerial crowns on hishead, he has little time to pre-pare a comprehensive healthpolicy for the most populousprovince of the country. TheHealth Ministry has been leftat the mercy of to visionlessofficials.

Anyone can easily buymedicines that can only besold on a doctor’s prescrip-tion. Most pharmaceutical

store owners lack the qualifi-cations required under thelaw. Spurious drugs and out-dated medicines continue tobe sold all over the province.Unsuspecting patients fromrural areas are at the mercy ofmedical stores owners whoact as self appointed doctors.

There is no machinery fortaking preventive measures toblock the spread of epidemics.The chemicals needed to de-stroy the dengue mosquitoeswere not available when peo-ple started falling ill. Emer-gency imports were made onlyafter the number of deathsreached alarming propor-tions. Had the chemicals beenacquired on time and sprayedweeks before, the diseasewould not have gone out ofcontrol. There was no one topay total attention to thehealth ministry.

The provincial health de-partment requires a full timeminister. What it has got isShahbaz Sharif who has cho-sen to look after 17 other min-istries also. Only after hisnegligence has caused scoresof deaths does Shahbaz springinto action. In almost a kneejerk reaction, he looks for ascapegoat, say a doctor, an ad-ministrator or a drug pro-ducer. Without holdingproper enquiry, the person issuspended, transferred, dis-missed or arrested. In mostcases, he is rehabilitated whenthe doctors go on strike or thecourts declare him to be inno-cent.

What was discovered onWednesday at Jinnah Hospi-tal was just a tip of the icebergwhich has accumulated overyears of neglect by the healthministry. It was found that1,900 Omniscan injections,each costing the public ex-chequer Rs 1,735, stored in thehospital had expired in April2011. This led to the suspen-sion of 10 senior doctors andadministrators. Nobodyknows how many injections ofthe type are being sold all overthe province to unsuspectingpatients.

The writer is a formeracademic and a politicalanalyst.

The inevitable has happened. The prime min-ister has been cited for contempt by theSupreme Court and summoned on February

13 to frame charges and initiate proceedings. Whatare the possible options that the prime minister hastill the day he appears in court to escape the humil-iation and what is the fallout that the PPP govern-ment may have to contend with in the comingweeks?

On the legal side, the choices are limited. Nowthat the prime minister has been indicted, he hastwo possible options. One, he writes the letter tothe Swiss authorities and leaves himself at themercy of the apex court which, understandably,and as would be a norm in such matters, forgivesthe transgression and lets him walk away. Second,he holds his ground thus allowing the court toframe the contempt charges and initiate the pro-ceedings that may pave the way for his ultimate re-moval from the coveted office. As a temporaryrespite, the prime minister could move a review pe-tition before the apex court – an option that, iftaken, may result in delaying the inevitable, butwould not avert it.

The plea taken by the prime minister before theapex court that he had not written the letter to theSwiss authorities because he believed that the pres-ident had constitutional immunity established adifficult situation for the government attorney as,thereafter, the defence of the accused was irretriev-ably linked with proving the presidential immunity.

Aitzaz Ahsan was found hedging theprospect as, if rejected, that wouldhave opened the Pandora’s Box. So, hewas left with asking the court to givethe prime minister the benefit of doubtas he had acted in accordance with theadvice given to him in conformity withthe rules of business.

On the face of it, and true to theavowed proclamations, there appear tobe few prospects of the governmentagreeing to write the dreaded letter.But, a final decision may depend onthe extent and level of support that thePPP leadership may be able to garnerfrom its political allies, most notablyPML(Q) and MQM. If they remainfirm in their support, the prime minis-ter may opt for the ‘martyrdom’ optionand try to cash the dividends at thenext elections. But, if the allies arefound wavering in their supportagainst the judiciary, the government’soptions may be further reduced to theinevitability of early elections.

But, there is another possible sce-nario. If the government were to en-hance its belligerence against thejudiciary to a level that may imperil theprospect of peaceful co-existence ofthe state institutions, it may forcesome form of intervention. We have aprecedence of that kind in our recenthistory. When faced with a situation

that may have led to a bloody conflict between thePPP government and those leading the long marchfor an independent judiciary, the army intervenedquietly forcing the government to restore thejudges. This intervention may be voluntary as wasthe case during the judiciary-restoration move-ment, or it could be called upon by the apex courtby invoking article 190 of the constitution whichstates that “all executive and judicial authoritiesthroughout Pakistan shall act in aid of the SupremeCourt”.

For the PPP and its government, it has alwaysbeen a choice between defending its controversialco-chairperson and the prospect of survivalthrough attaining an acceptable level of gover-nance. The ordeal of defending the president en-tailed compromising all norms of governance asthe huge baggage of cases and an unworthy repu-tation that he carried to the presidency would bemortally difficult to live with. The NRO did help thePPP-led concoction to ascend the throne, but withan independent judiciary in the saddle, the notori-ous deal with the dictator did not stand a chance.It was doomed as, indeed, it was when declaredvoid ab initio by the apex court. That was a goodtwo years ago. Instead of chartering a post-NROcourse, the PPP launched a vicious onslaughtagainst the judiciary. Its leaders of all hues sub-jected the apex court to utter ridicule and its adju-dications were consigned to the bin as a matter ofroutine. Ultimately, even the court’s apparently in-exhaustible patience waned and the prime ministerwas put in the dock.

The prime minister has vowed to appear beforethe court again. Like last time, he would try to ex-ploit the occasion for scoring political points sayingthat the PPP respected the judiciary. But, respectfor the judiciary would not be proved by appearingbefore it in indictment. It would be by implement-ing its decisions which the PPP is unwilling to doand is looking increasingly eager to go down fight-ing. There is no shame in its provocations. Its de-fence repertoire has been replete with hoarseshouts of conspiracies being hatched. In the memocase which now smells of another putrid compro-mise, the COAS and the DG-ISI were accused of‘unconstitutional’ moves and of running a statewithin a state. When things became too hot to han-dle, the prime minister retracted his statement,thus giving his government another breather. Withthis judgement, and barring another NRO whichthe incumbent mafia would degenerate to any levelto securing, the corrupt edifice may finally begin totumble, leaving behind an unmanageable amountof rubble to contend with.

Through a spate of misadventures, the statehas been weakened, its institutions ruined and anenvironment of rampant corruption holds thecountry hostage. Whichever way to the future, thepath is strewn with pitfalls and salvation comesladen with the prospect of immense pain.

The writer is a political analyst and a memberof the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. He can bereached at [email protected]

Whichever way to the future, the path is strewn with pitfallsNo, CM saab, the smell of mismanagement

the smell of conspiracies? another brick in place

Candid CornerBy Raoof Hasan

By Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad


NEWS DESK

The cast of the film ‘Lon-don Paris New York’ hitthe town recently to pro-mote their new film and tolet their hair down aftermonths of hard work. Theteam was in Delhi andspent the evening dancingand interacting with Del-hiites. Lead actors AliZafar and Aditi Rao Hy-dari, were

spotted along with pro-ducers Goldie Behl andShrishti Arya, and AnuMenon, the director of thefilm, at the filmi do.Goldie said, “Ali is amulti-talented person,and we are lucky to havehim not just as an actor inthe movie, but also be-cause he gave somemelodious compo-sitions for it.”And as if to vali-

date this point, Ali thensang some songs from themovie along with Aditi.Ali, who composed musicfor a film for the first timesays it was tough to com-pose for "London, ParisNew York". “It was tough.I used to write and com-pose for my albums, butthis was a film and thesongs were written andcomposed according tothe situation, derived andgiven to you by the direc-tor and writer,” said Ali.He says he got full creativefreedom to explore his

work. “I didn’t have toremake any songs.Whatever I sent theproducers and di-

rector, they liked it.”The actor made his

Bollywood debut inthe critically ac-

claimed‘ T e r eB i nLaden’.

Kat, Bebo are like

chalk and cheese: Imran KhanMuMBAI: Imran Khan has workedwith both Katrina Kaif (‘mere BrotherKi Dulhan’) and Kareena Kapoor (‘ekmein aur ekk tu’). He insists they arelike chalk and cheese. about thedifferences between the leadingladies, Imran says, “Katrina is aworkaholic. She's always obsessedwith her work. On sets, she strives tobe a perfectionist and will keep goingat a thing unless she achieves it andis satisfied with the result.” Kareenais quite the opposite he says. “Bebois the most chilled out person on set.She doesn't believe much inrehearsing and is totally instinctive.Kareena just switches into whatevercharacter she's playing once thecamera is on. Her ability to give anamazing shot in just one take alwaysamazes me.” AGENCIES

14 Saturday, 4 February, 2012

SOCIETY

Riteish, Genelia tie the knot

LOS ANGELES AGENCIES

IF your coffers areas well-stacked asSimon Cowell's,you might as wellreach for the

stars. Rumour has it thatthe ‘x Factor’ proprietorhas offered Beyonce an as-tounding $500 million tojoin the show as a judge.Nothing is confirmed andthe number feels too highto be believed, but Medi-aTakeout claims theirsource is well-placedwithin Cowell's camp. Forhis part, reality TV'sGrinch-in-chief is said tobe desperate to breathenew fire into the show. Assoon as news of this week’s‘Factor’ shake-up broke,the Twitterverse explodedin a smattering of ru-

mours. Over the past fewdays, Beyonce, PerezHilton and Mariah Careyhave risen to the top of therumour crop. Fox’s firingof Paula Abdul is particu-larly interesting, given thatsources are whisperingthat the long-time ‘Idol’and ‘Factor’ judge was re-moved for being too easyon contestants. Given thatHilton has made his new

career out of being niceand neither Beyonce norMariah Carey are knownas particularly acerbic per-sonalities. All of this is, ofcourse, without mention ofthe fact that Beyonce andJay-Z are new parents.While Jay-Z may be con-tent releasing songs aboutdaughter Blue Ivy Carter,Beyonce hasn't given anyindication that she's eitherwilling or ready to take onsuch a high profile gig. Re-gardless, it's abundantlyclear that the show is goingthrough a major, make-or-break reset. The pressureis on for Cowell, whowalked away from ‘Ameri-can Idol’ and bet his Amer-ican TV career on ‘The xFactor,’ poaching Abduland effectively cripplingthe nation's most populartelevision show.

MuMBAI: Whether it's SrK slapping Shirish Kunder, or gauri Khangiving Priyanka chopra the cold shoulder or even Salman Khan andHrithik roshan taking digs at each other, seems like there are nopermanent friendships in Bollywood. While SrK-Shirish patch up,here's a look at other ugly fights:SRK'S AND SHIRISH KuNDER: talk of the town SrK's slap acrossShirish Kunder's face at Sanjay Dutt's party sent the media into afrenzy. While eventually, news of a patch-up did the rounds, Shirishclaimed that the two had never been better friends.GAuRI KHAN AND PRIYANKA CHOPRA: Of late, there has beenmuch talk of gauri Khan blatantly ignoring Priyanka choprafollowing rumours of Pc's affair with Shah rukh Khan.HRITHIK AND SALMAN: they seem to have finally called truce afterSalman took digs at Hrithik's film ‘guzaarish’. eventually, Hrithikdeclared it was his fault.PRIYANKA CHOPRA AND KAREENA KAPOOR: their rivalry hasbeen no secret as the two have publicly taken digs at each other onKaran Johar's chat show. However, the two have been spottedhugging each other in front of the cameras ever since.SALMAN-SHAH RuKH: now here is a true love-hate relationship.Both of them stay in the news for their numerous fights andpatch-ups.SRK AND FARAH KHAN: at one time, they were best buddies withhuge hits like ‘main Hoon na’ and ‘Om Shanti Om’ in their kitty andSrK even gifting a car to her but then things fell apart. However,now the two have patched-up after slapgate episode.AISHWARYA AND MADHuR BHANDARKAR: While aishwarya wastouted as the ‘Heroine’ in madhur Bhandarkar's film, the actor's‘sudden’ pregnancy announcement shocked the director and createdthe rift between the two. Finally, the role went to Kareena Kapoor.VIVEK OBEROI'S AND SALMAN KHAN: Vivek’s relationship withSalman Khan's ex aishwarya rai never went down too wellwith the latter and Vivek apparently received threats about thesame. although Vivek has apologised to Salman, the ‘Dabangg’Khan still ignores him. AGENCIES

Faryal, Zulfi Ansari and Fariha

ali Zafar found it difficult to compose music for Lpny

Can Simon Cowell

afford Beyonce?

Kiran Aman, Aamna Isani, Frieha Altaf

Maheen, Myra, Nasreen and Saima

Imrana, Fiza Ahmed Baweja and Frieha

Fight Club:Bollywood’smosttalkedaboutfights

MuMBAI: lovebirds riteishDeshmukh and genelia D'Souzahave finally tied the knot. riteishtweeted his wedding picture witha caption-‘mr and mrs Deshmukh’-Saw the last sunset as abachelor.” Deshmukh, 33 andgenelia, 24 entered wedlock afterdating each other for eight years.the couple, who have been datingsince their debut flick together,‘tujhe meri Kasam’ in 2003, aretied the knot at the grand Hyattin mumbai. the ceremony wasattended by industry people suchas ajay Devgn, abhishekBachchan and his mother Jaya,asin, akshay Kumar, Sajid Khan,Shahid Kapoor, Suniel Shetty,maria goretti, Jackky Bhagnaniamong others. tina and anilambani were also at the event.One of Bollywood’s mostanticipated wedding was a star-studded event. the sangeet washosted by filmmaker Karan Joharfor the couple and the pre-wedding rituals took place at boththe actor’s residence. AGENCIES

KARACHI: The Cinnabon launch was attended by celebrities and socialites.

Aliya Rafi, Frieha and Riffat Haji

Mr & Mrs Yasser with Ayesha Omer and Mister Bon Mohsin Feroz

Mr.Gheewala and Frieha Altaf

Parin Avari, Ali Soorti, Shahmeer &

Ishaq with friends at Cinnabon Launch

Afroz Bawani with Aadil Bawany

Pinky & Navaid

Koni

Aamra with Rafay

Humayoun

Sadia Nawabi

Kiran Haroon

Nazneen Tariq


LOS ANGELES REuTERS

‘AMERICAN IDOL’ judgesSteven Tyler and JenniferLopez will be harder oncontestants this year, andveteran Randy Jackson

said he's retiring his ‘in it to win it’ catch-phrase. Jackson said on Thursday thatTyler and Lopez were feeling more comfort-able in their roles on the No. 1-rated U.S.TV singing contest this second time around.The trio were often criticised last year forbeing too soft on contestants, in contrast tothe barbed comments from former ‘Idol’judge Simon Cowell. “Maybe they arebeing just a little more stern. Not tougher,stern. They are a little more comfortablewith it,” Jackson told reporters on aconference call. “I think you will seesome change in that, in them. Itmay surprise you.” Jackson, whoalong with host Ryan Seacrest isthe only original member of the‘Idol’ show, now in its 11th season,said he was also making changeshimself. “I might not be sayingthis year ‘in it to win it!’ I thinkthat one has been retired, man. It'sso last season,” Jackson said. ‘Idol’

audiences have fallen off this year in whatJackson called a crowded market with ‘Thex Factor’ and ‘The Voice’. But Jackson saidnext week's Hollywood round would haveplenty of drama. “There was a lot of faint-ing. This Hollywood week was the toughestwe have ever had on the kids. The talentthis year is a little bit different. It wasacross the board - the singer-songwriter, ajazzy person, a church kid. Really, peoplewho had it all down. This time I saw a lotmore kids stand up for almostevery other per-former,” he said.

15

LOS ANGELES: Shortly beforeDemi moore split with ashtonKutcher, her previous husbandBruce Willis went to her houseto ask her to get help for herworsening health, a source tellsPeOPle in this week's coverstory. “He was worried abouther and wanted her to getbetter,” says the source. “manyof her friends did the samething, but she just wouldn'tlisten.” Willis, 56, is the fatherof their three daughters, two ofwhom-rumer, 23, and tallulah,18-are now staying with himwhile moore, 49, seekstreatment. (Scout, 20, is awayat college). moore had beenespecially close to rumer sincethe marriage collapse. “It's hardfor ru right now to see hermom in this situation,” anothersource says. Kutcher,meanwhile, stopped by moore’slos angeles house Wednesday,according to X17 Online. after atrip to Brazil, he is back in l.a.working on ‘two and a Halfmen’. AGENCIES

Bruce Willis urged Demi Moore

to seek help

Madonna’s guarantee: ‘no wardrobe malfunction’

songs by Elton,Whitney,Celineamong most depressing

LOS ANGELES ABC

In their careers, Elton John, WhitneyHouston and Celine Dion have given usmany feel-good tunes, but some of theirbiggest hits rank high in a new poll ofthe most depressing songs of all time.According to the UK paper TheTelegraph, the British survey wasconducted by theatrical producer DavidKing, in order to discover more aboutwhat he described as “the power ofmusic.” Topping the list was R.E.M.’s‘Everybody Hurts’, followed by Elton’s‘Candle in the Wind.’ We assume thevoters were referring to the 1997 versionof the song, which was a tribute to thelate Princess Diana. Coming in atnumber 3 was the tearjerker ‘The LivingYears’ by Mike and the Mechanics,followed by Whitney’s ‘I Will AlwaysLove You’ at number 4. Celine’s ‘MyHeart Will Go On’ is number 7 on theranking. Other songs which made thelist of depressing tunes include ‘NothingCompares 2 U,’ ‘Without You,’ ‘All ByMyself,’ ‘Yesterday,’ ‘My Way,’ ‘TheSound of Silence,’ ‘Eleanor Rigby’ andTerry Jacks’ one-hit-wonder deathbeddirge ‘Seasons in the Sun.’

Bruce Springsteen toplay Grammy Awards

LOS ANGELES CBS

Bruce Springsteen and the E StreetBand have been added to bill of the54th annual Grammy Awards. Theperformance comes just weeks beforethe release of the new Springsteenalbum, ‘Wrecking Ball,’ on March 6.Other Grammy performers includeKaty Perry, Adele, Glen Campbell, PaulMcCartney, Jason Aldean, KellyClarkson, Coldplay and Rihanna, FooFighters, Bruno Mars, Nicki Minaj andTaylor Swift. The presenter list keepsgrowing too, with Jack Black, Fergieand Ringo Starr added to the roster.

Man dies playingvideo games

TAIPEIAFP

A Taiwanese man died while playingvideo games at an Internet cafe asdozens of other patrons carried on forhours afterwards apparently unawarethat they were sitting near a corpse. The23-year-old checked in at the cafe inNew Taipei city on Tuesday night andwas found dead but still sitting rigidlyon a chair with his hands stretched outthe following night by a waitress. Hisbody had apparently been sitting therefor up to nine hours without any of the30 other people in the cafe noticing. Aninitial police investigation found hemight have died of a cardiac arrest.

The greatest tricksthe devil ever playedIn literature the devil is often depictedas a trickster and these are the greatesttricks the devil has ever played.1. Ke$ha2. ‘The Real Housewives of OrangeCounty’ (Though the devil would likethe record to show that he had nothingto do with any of the other versions.Those are on us.)3. Turning Denzel Washington, star of‘Malcolm x,’ into Denzel Washington,star of ‘Unstoppable.’4. Convincing the world that hisgreatest trick was convincing the worldhe didn’t exist. You're welcome for thefalse sense of security.5. Closing the birthing wing of LenoxHill Hospital and blaming it onBeyoncé and Jay-Z.6. Creating Caller ID to ruin prankcalls for everyone.7. Convincing a man named WillardMitt Romney that he should go by Mittinstead of Will.

‘Idol’ judges toughen up, Jackson nixes ‘in it to win it’

NEWS DESK

Having introduced the Inter-national Fashion AcademyPakistan (IFAP) in November2011, Model and EntrepreneurMehreen Syed along with herteam announced the com-mencement of the first batch ofclasses at IFAP from 30 Janu-ary 2012. A multi-di-mensional academyand indeed among thefirst of its kind in Pak-istan, IFAP wants toestablish a platformthat allows the nextgeneration of fashionindustry profession-als, specifically stylists, mod-els, makeup artists andphotographers, to study theirfield. IFAP will be providingcomprehensive training andresource programmes for theirfirst batch of students withinthe Grooming Academy, theMake-Up Academy and The

Modeling Academy. IFAP’sfirst batch will be taught by in-structors including; ShahzadRaza as the Head of Facultyand Hassan Sheheryar Yasin(HSY) as the Head of VisitingFaculty, Nickie and Nina, Mo-hammad Mehdi, Iffat Umer,Hamza Tarar, Sabina Pasha,Nael Ahmad, Emmad Irfani,

Shammal Qureshi,Redah Misbah,Asmaa Mumtaz, YasirNisar, Ali xeeshan,Isma Majeed, Dr Ha-roon Nabi, Dr Azmat,Dr Saqib Mehmoodand Uzma Baig. Onemonth courses will be

offered in runway coaching,health and wellness, acting es-sentials, hair and skin care andspeech enhancement. IFAP isproud to have the world’s lead-ing beauty brand L’Oréal Parisas the exclusive Make-Up part-ner for IFAP’s Make-Up Acad-emy for 2012.

Ifap launches classes for fashion industry hopefuls

INDIANAPOLISAFP

Superstar singer Madonnapromised no wardrobe mal-functions for her Super Bowl46 half-time show, saying shehas never worked so hard onpreparing for a performance.The self-styled ‘Ma-terial Girl’ prom-ised she would nothave a half-timeclothing mishapsuch as the one thattook place at the2004 Super Bowl inHouston and ex-posed Janet Jack-son's chest to aglobal television audience.“Great attention has been paidto my wardrobe,” Madonnasaid. “There will be nowardrobe malfunctions.” Shewill sing three classic songsand a new tune, likely the song‘Gimme All Your Love’ be-

tween halves of Sunday'sSuper Bowl game. “In 25 yearsof performing, I've neverworked so hard or been so de-tail-oriented or freaked out asI have getting the schedule to-gether for the Super Bowl,”Madonna said. And she plans aproduction that, while colour-

ful and elaborate,will be familyfriendly as well.The 53-year-oldadded: “I'm so ex-cited to be here. I'mreally nervous. Thisis a Midwesterngirl’s dream to per-form at the SuperBowl half-time.”

Madonna was keeping detailsquiet about any possible gueststars on the elaborate show,which is directed by her long-time collaborator Jamie Kingin a partnership with Cirquedu Soleil. “I don't want to blowthe surprise,” Madonna said.

MuMBAI: She is surely riding high on a recentsuccess wave. After back-to-back hits like‘Don 2’ and ‘Agneepath’, Priyanka Chopra hasadded another feather to her cap. She hasbecome the first Bollywood actor to besigned up with CAA (Creative Artists Agency).CAA is a prominent entertainment and sportsagency headquartered in Los Angeles. Theirclient list includes names like GeorgeClooney, Meryl Streep, Brad Pitt, SandraBullock, Julia Roberts, Will Smith, and ReeseWitherspoon. CAA is also considered to beextremely choosy in picking their talents. “Inthe past, several Bollywood stars haveapproached them, but they turned them downpolitely. Right now, Priyanka is gainingpopularity in LA due to the big-ticket albumdeal she has signed with universal,” says amember of her entourage. When contacted,Priyanka-busy shooting for ‘Krrish 3’ inHyderabad-confirms: “Yes, I have a completelynew team working for me in Los Angeles.Let’s see how things go.” Her debut albumwith the international label is due to releaselater this year. Of late, Priyanka has beenreceiving accolades for her performance in‘Agneepath’. “I knew that the film will beappreciated but, the kind of response we havegot — especially the words of praise for me-has been amazing,” says Priyanka, who wantsto focus on her work in India. “Besides Krrish3, I am also going to wrap up parts of ‘Barfi!’”says the actor. She has just wrapped up theshoot of ‘Teri Meri Kahaani’, which also starsShahid Kapoor. AGENCIES

PriyankaChopra

riding high

Farida Zaidi, Sidra Nasir,

Samina Shoaib,Farheen

and Murtazain

Ayesha Omer with

Sanober, Angel and Zara

Saima, Maham and Koni

Atiya with Noor,

Alizeh and Silah Saigol



16 Foreign News

TEHRANAFP

Iran has its “own threats” to re-spond to any military attack orsanctions against its oil exports,supreme leader Ayatollah AliKhamenei said on Friday.

“In response to threats ofoil embargo and war, we haveour own threats which will beimplemented at the right time,if necessary,” he said in a tele-vised speech as he led tradi-tional Friday prayers inTehran. His comments cameamid heightened speculation

that Israel — with or withoutUS help — was contemplatingair strikes against Iranian nu-clear facilities. The West hasalso ramped up sanctionsaimed at severely curbingIran’s vital oil exports.Khamenei, who spoke as partof events marking the anniver-sary of his country’s 1979 Is-lamic revolution, focused onwarnings by archfoe theUnited States that it wasmulling “all options” — includ-ing war — to undercut Iran’snuclear programme.

“They have threatened that

all ‘options are on the table’...Threats of war are detrimentalto the United States, and carry-ing out a war would be 10 timesmore detrimental for that coun-try,” he said. Khamenei alsorounded on Israel. “The Zionistregime is a cancerous tumourthat must be cut out, and Godwilling it will be,” he said. Theleader said Iranian interventionhad already delivered two mili-tary victories against Israel: in2006, when the Hezbollah mili-tia in Lebanon linked to Iransurvived a 33-day Israeli on-slaught; and in 2009 when

Hamas in the Palestinian terri-tories faced Israeli action.“From now on we will support

any group that will fight theZionist regime,” he said, reiter-ating an oft-made line.

WASHINGTONAFP

THE United States is"cautiously optimistic"Russia will support adraft UN SecurityCouncil resolution

condemning Syria'scrackdown, a senior StateDepartment official saidFriday.

US Secretary of StateHillar Clinton, who washeading to an internationalsecurity conference inMunich, planned to speak byphone with Russian ForeignMinister Sergei Lavrov aboutit later in the day Friday amida US push for passage of theresolution, the official said.

"We're cautiouslyoptimistic," the official, whospoke on condition ofanonymity, said aboutwinning Russia's support.

The latest draft does notexplicitly call on Syrian

President Bashar al-Assad to stepdown or mention an arms embargoor sanctions, though it "fullysupports" an Arab League plan tofacilitate a democratic transition.

"From our perspective, thismeets the objective of supporting thedemands of the Syrian people andthe Arab League... providing apeaceful Syrian-led political pathforward," a senior State Departmentofficial said Friday.

"This is the kind of resolution theentire council should support andthe secretary and Ambassador SusanRice are working the phones,working the halls to get a strong votein the coming hours and days," saidthe official."

The official said Clinton wasgoing to talk with Lavrov "thismorning" to push for Russia'ssupport.

The latest attempt at consensusemerged amid an impasse in the UNSecurity Council, with Russialeading the opposition to a tougherdraft resolution authored byWestern powers and the Arab

League.The new draft "fully supports"

the January 22 Arab League requestthat Assad transfer power to adeputy and a government of nationalunity within two months but doesnot call on him to step down,according to a copy obtained by AFP.

Instead, it calls for a "Syrian-ledpolitical transition to a democratic,plural political system... includingthrough commencing a seriouspolitical dialogue between theSyrian government and the wholespectrum of the Syrian oppositionunder the League of Arab States'auspices, in accordance with thetimetable set out by the League ofArab States."

Like previous versions, the draft"condemns all violence, irrespectiveof where it comes from."

It was not clear whether the newdraft had addressed Moscow'sconcerns, and Russian AmbassadorVitaly Churkin said the decision tosend the draft back to governments"does not prejudge in any way"whether it would be approved or not.

new clashes

between protesters,

police in cairoCAIRO

AFP

Fresh clashes erupted between protestersand police in the Egyptian capital onFriday as anger mounted over football-related clashes that have left 74 peopledead, an AFP correspondent reported.Riot police fired tear gas atdemonstrators, who hurled rocks back,near the headquarters of the interiorministry, after a night of confrontationsthat left hundreds injured. The interiorministry said the injury toll sinceThursday had reached 1,482 while onepro-democracy group, the Coalition ofMaspero Youth, said one of its membershad lost an eye during the clashes.Masked protesters cut through barbedwire and lit fires on Mansur Street whichleads to the interior ministry, as rocksflew overhead in all directions.

russian Islamistchief orders haltto civilian attacks

MOSCOWAFP

The leader of Russia’s Islamist rebelsordered a halt to attacks on civilians, sayingmass opposition protests showed the publicno longer supported Vladimir Putin,according to a video posted Friday. DokuUmarov, whose Caucasus Emirate groupclaimed atrocities including a deadlyMoscow airport bombing in 2011 and ametro attack in 2010, said from now onlysecurity objects and officials would betargeted. “I order all special groups that arecarrying out or plan to carry out specialoperations in Russia to put a halt to theseoperations that could hurt the peacefulpopulation,” Doku Umarov said in a videoaddress posted on the rebel mouthpiecekavkazcenter.com. “Today’s events in Russiahave shown us that Russia’s peacefulpopulation does not support Putin’s Chekistregime and are hostages of a regime that isfighting against Islam in the Caucasus.”

Jordan charges ex-mP with anti-regime incitement

AMMANAFP

Jordanian military prosecutors on Fridaycharged an outspoken former MP withincitement against the regime and callingfor a revolt, a judicial official said. “Statesecurity court prosecutors charged AhmadAbbadi with inciting the public to opposethe regime and urging a revolt during aprotest for military retirees last month,”the official told AFP. “Three retired officershave filed an official complaint againstAbbadi, after he publicly said the revoltstarts with the retirees.” Abbadi, acontroversial MP who served in parliamentfrom 1989 to 1993 and from 1997 to 2001,faces 15 years in prison if convicted.

china coal mineexplosion kills 11

BEIJINGAFP

A gas explosion in a southwest China coalmine Friday killed 11 workers and injured sixothers, state press said in the latest accident tohit the nation’s dangerous mining industry.One worker remained missing after theexplosion ripped through the Diaoyutai coalmine in Sichuan province Friday afternoon,xinhua news agency reported. The cause ofthe accident was under investigation. Calls tothe local government’s work safetyadministration, which oversees mining, wentunanswered late Friday. The injured workerswere being treated in a local hospital as rescuework continued into the night, xinhua said.

Iran will respond to any oil, military threats: Khamenei

CAIRO: Egyptian protesters run for cover during clashes with security forces near the Interior Ministry in downtown Cairo on Friday. afp

US ‘cautiously optimistic’on Syria resolution support

British minister quits

to fight charges

in speeding rowLONDON

AFP

British Energy Secretary Chris Huhneresigned on Friday after being told he willface criminal charges over allegations thathe dodged a speeding penalty, but vowedto prove his innocence. Director of PublicProsecutions Keir Starmer announcedthat Huhne and his ex-wife, Vicky Pryce,will be charged with perverting the courseof justice over the alleged incident in2003 and will appear in court onFebruary 16. Less than an hour later theLiberal Democrat lawmaker, who played akey role in UN climate change talks inSouth Africa in December, said he wasresigning as secretary of state for energyand climate change to fight the case. “TheCrown Prosecution Service’s decisiontoday is deeply regrettable,” Huhne toldreporters outside his London flat. “I’minnocent of these charges and I intend tofight this in the courts, and I’m confidenta jury will agree. “So as to avoid anydistraction to either my official duties ormy trial defence, I am standing down.”Huhne is a senior member of the LiberalDemocrat party, which shares power inPrime Minister David Cameron’sConservative-led coalition, and becomesthe third minister to quit since thegovernment took power in May 2010.


Foreign News 17Saturday, 4 February, 2012

JERUSALEMAFP

UN Secretary General BanKi-moon said time isrunning out for asettlement but he is notgiving up, after Israeli and

Palestinian leaders rejected a return todirect negotiations.

“Basically I am not disappointed, itis expected”, Ban said late Thursday atthe end of a three day trip to Jordan,Israel and the Palestinian territorieswhere he got little joy from politicalleaders and shoes hurled at him byprotesters in Gaza. “This is not an easy

process. As I have very seriously engagedin dialogue with both parties, I believethat they will very seriously consider”future choices, Ban told reporterstravelling with him. At his final publicappearance, the Herzliya securityconference near Tel Aviv, Ban toldIsraeli politicians, officials andacademics that concessions are needed.“I have spoken frankly today because Ibelieve that time is running out,” he toldthem. The UN chief urged Israel’s PrimeMinister Benjamin Netanyahu to make“goodwill gestures” to bring thePalestinians back to direct negotiations,frozen since September 2010. He saidthis could include freezing new Israeli

settlements in the Palestinian territories.Netanyahu bluntly reaffirmed at

their joint media conference that therecan be no conditions for talks. Banpraised efforts by Jordan’s KingAbdullah II to organise preliminary talksbetween the two sides this month. Thereis little sign of progress however. Banurged Palestinian president MahmudAbbas at a meeting in Ramallah toreturn to negotiations. Sources saidAbbas told Ban he could renew acampaign to secure Palestinianmembership of UN agencies iffrustration over the peace deadlock isextended. That promises new fundingworries for the UN leader as the United

States cut millions after the Palestinianswere given membership of UNESCO.

Much may now depend on a packageof measures that Tony Blair, envoy of thediplomatic Quartet on the Middle East —the United States, European Union,Russia and United Nations — puts to thetwo sides. Sources close to the Quartetsaid the measures would involve mainly“boosting the economy” of thePalestinian territories, especially theWest Bank. Some media reports sayIsrael’s offer to the package is unlikely totempt Abbas. Ban said the formerBritish prime minister is “working hard”on the package but refused to givedetails. “There are still some elements

which may have to be addressed,” hetold reporters. The Quartet has anambitious target of reaching a point wherea Palestinian state can be ready for creationby the end of the year. According to Ban,20 years of Israeli-Palestinian talks sincethe Madrid accords “delivered two decadesof delay, mistrust and missedopportunities.” He warned that the ArabSpring uprisings had brought new pressurefor the Israeli and Palestinian leaders. Hisparting message was that they must take “ahard look” at the way they deal withnegotiations: either “business as usual asthey have been doing during the last sevendecades” or “adapt to the changingsituation and seize this moment.”

Time running out for Israel, Palestinians: Ban

un court rules

against Italy in nazi

war claims rowTHE HAGUE

AFP

The UN’s highest court ordered ItalyFriday to annul all compensation claimsagainst Germany for Nazi war crimes,saying Rome breached internationallaws when its courts allowed the claimsto be made. The Italian republic“violated its obligations to respect theimmunity which Germany enjoys underinternational law by allowing civilclaims based on violations committedby the German Reich between 1943 and1945,” ICJ judge Hisashi Owada told apublic hearing. “The Italian republicmust, by enacting appropriatelegislation, or by... other methods,ensure the decisions of its courtsinfringing the immunity whichGermany enjoys under internationallaw cease to have effect.” The twoEuropean Union members have beenlocked in a legal battle since December2008, when Germany filed anapplication before the ICJ after anavalanche of lawsuits by Italianrelatives and widows for abuses byAdolf Hitler’s Third Reich. The casessought compensation for deportationsof Italians and other acts by Germantroops in Italy after Rome quit the Axisand joined the Allies in September1943. Berlin said that by permittingclaims for abuses that occurred betweenSeptember 1943 and May 1945, Italy“failed to respect the jurisdictionalimmunity” that modern-day Germanyenjoys under international law.

China has nointention to ‘buyeurope’: Wen

BEIJINGAFP

China’s Premier Wen Jiabao said Fridaythe Asian giant had neither the ability northe intention to “buy Europe”, amidconcerns over growing Chinese investmentin debt-stricken eurozone economies.China is “willing to cooperate with Europeto fight the current crisis. Some people saythis means China wants to buy Europe”,Wen told a German-China business forumin the southern city of Guangzhou. “This aconcern and doesn’t fit reality. Chinadoesn’t have this intention and doesn’thave this ability.” German ChancellorAngela Merkel, in China for a three-dayvisit to boost her host’s confidence inEurope, also attended the forum along withexecutives from the energy, chemicals,engineering, banking and electronicssectors. There are growing concerns inEurope that a recent wave of investment byChinese companies and government-backed funds will give Beijing too muchinfluence over struggling Europeaneconomies. China has so far made no firmcommitment to provide financialassistance, although Wen said Thursday itwas considering getting more involved inbailout funds through the InternationalMonetary Fund. At the forum Wen alsotouched on the politically sensitive topic ofrare earths — 17 elements crucial in themanufacturing of many high-tech products— amid accusations China unfairly restrictsexports of the valuable minerals. China —the world’s largest producer of rare earths— “has no discrimination when it comes toforeign companies”, Wen told the forum.

syria protestersdefy crackdownto mark massacre

DAMASCUSAFP

Thousands of protesters in towns acrossSyria defied a brutal governmentcrackdown on Friday to commemoratethe notorious 1982 massacre in the city ofHama that killed tens of thousands. InHama’s central neighbourhood of Junubal-Malaab, security forces opened fire ondemonstrators, killing at least one andwounding three others, said the SyrianObservatory for Human Rights. Protestersemerged from Friday prayers in the portcity of Latakia despite a menacingpresence of forces who fired gunshots todisperse the crowds, the Observatory said,adding a similar demonstration was heldin Yabrod, Damascus province. Underthe slogan “Hama, forgive us,” regimeopponents called for demonstrators todress in black and to march in honour ofthe estimated 10,000 to 40,000 peoplewho died in the massacre ordered by thefather of President Bashar al-Assad. TheSyrian Observatory said six people werekilled on Friday, including two childrenwho died in an explosion near a culturalcentre in Kfartakharim in northwesternIdlib region.

BEIT LAHIA: A Palestinian boy eats a lollipop as others inspect the damage in a house, which Palestinian sources say was hit in an Israeli airstrike on Friday. afp

KUWAIT CITYAFP

Kuwait’s Islamist-led opposition haswon a landslide majority in Kuwait’ssnap polls by securing 34 seats in the50-member parliament, with womenand liberals the big losers, resultsshowed Friday.

Sunni Islamists, includingSalafists, took 23 seats compared withjust nine in the dissolved parliament,while liberals claimed only two placesagainst five previously, according theofficial results. And no women wereelected, with the four female MPs of theprevious parliament all losing theirseats. Voters punished pro-governmentMPs during Thursday’s parliamentaryelection, reducing them to a small mi-nority, the results showed.

Only two of 13 former MPs who thepublic prosecutor questioned over cor-ruption charges were re-elected, and therest either lost or did not contest the poll.Following the announcement of the re-sults, hundreds of opposition supportersgathered at the campaign tents of candi-dates they backed to celebrate the out-come. Speaking after his victory, newopposition MP Obaid al-Wasmi warnedall “corruption files will be opened,” in-cluding claims that hundreds of millionsof public funds were stolen. “I tell the de-cision-makers that the Kuwait of tomor-row will not be the same as of the Kuwait

of yesterday,” said the outspoken inde-pendent opposition figure. “The law willbe applied to all, and those who do notwant the law to be applied to themshould leave Kuwait,” the professor oflaw told cheering supporters. The SunniIslamists consist of Salafists and theMuslim Brotherhood, both of which wonall four seats they contested comparedwith two and one, respectively, in the oldparliament. Independent Islamists whorepresent tribes garnered nine seats.

Overall, the opposition scoredstrongly in the two tribal-dominatedconstituencies, winning 18 of the 20available seats. Kuwait is divided into

five electoral districts, with each electing10 lawmakers. The nationalist PopularAction Bloc, headed by veteran opposi-tion MP Ahmad al-Saadun, boosted itsstrength to five members from four withseveral supporters. Saadun is expectedto become speaker of the new parlia-ment. Opposition candidates contestedthe election on the platform of fightingcorruption, calling for fundamental po-litical reforms and implementing proj-ects. Ahead of the results, Islamist MPWaleed al-Tabtabai had said the opposi-tion plans to submit a series of reformistbills, especially to fight corruption andreform the election law.

Islamists sweep Kuwait pollsas women lose out


resuMPtioN of series With PAKistAN

Page 21


Serena confidentof a good year

DUBAIASHER BuTT

THE flurry of wickets, 16 tobe precise, on the openingday of the third and finalTest between Pakistan andEngland has left the game

wide open with slight edge for visitorshere at the Dubai Stadium on Friday. Itwas the day of referrals, rejections andacceptance with the bowlers playing ahara-kiri. First Pakistan crumbled toEngland’s quality seam bowling andlater the visitors put up another poorshow. At stumps, the had a led by fiveruns with four wickets in hand.

England was expected to give a muchbetter show after Pakistan crawled to 99runs but they caved in to 104. Majority ofthe 16 dismissals was LBWs.

Umar Gul’s early strike provided achance for Pakistan to bounce back in thegame and later Abdur Rehman with histhree wickets made a point that Pakistanwill not let it slip that easily.

Andrew Strauss is holding the fortefor England at 43 with James Andersonat the other end while the other highestfor England was Keven Pietersen (32),one of Rehman’s victims. Eoin Morganand Matt Prior were the other wickets hegrabbed. But before that Saeed Ajmal hadIan Bell for just five.

Making full use of the wee sessionbreeze, England bowlers Stuart Broadand Anderson exerted early blows to thePakistan top order after captain MisbahulHaq opted to bat. The first lemon breaksaw five of the Pakistan’s recognised bats-men back to the pavilion while remainingfive followed suit at 99 in 44 overs shortlyafter after lunch break.

Broad, who was quite brilliant in thewhole of the series, prominently teasedthe Pakistan batsmen with the seamwhile in the later stages Monty Panesarfound enough spin that left six of the Pak-istan batsmen trapped leg before.

For Pakistan everything went wrong,first the decision to bat first on conditionssuitable for swing and later the review de-

cisions. Both the Pakistan reviews were de-nied while the reviews demanded by An-drew Strauss decreased his options.

The frequency with which the Pak-istan wickets tumbled, there was a feelingthat it won’t even cross its lowest total of53 that it recorded at Sharjah againstAustralia in 2002. But the pair of AsadShafiq and Saeed Ajmal closed the post-lunch session at 53 for seven. Panesarstruck right after the break sending pack-ing Saeed Ajmal for 12.

Shafiq, however, frustrated the Eng-land attack with his careful 45 runs in-nings taking Pakistan total to 85 for nine.England, in danger of a 3-0 whitewash,dashed Misbah’s dream of achieving thelandmark and after the batting crashed,no one was even talking about thatdream. Pakistan, one for one in the firstover, were eight for two in the sixth over,and then 18 for three in the eighth.

Anderson gave the first blow, send-ing Taufeeq Umar back for a five-ballduck and later he bowled Umar Gul toclose the hosts innings at 99. This was

his third wicket of the day as also hadprized scalp of Misbah. England couldclaim their second wicket only two ballslater with Broad finding MohammadHafeez's edge in his first over only forAndrew Strauss to grab a sharp head-high catch at slip. Broad then got AzharAli after DRS review overturned Simon

Taufel's initial not-out verdict of caughtbehind by Matt Prior. Younus Khanwent caught-behind. Even Misbah couldnot manage the form and his request ofreview was also turned down. Pakistanentered the final Test with just onechange bringing in Aizaz Cheema inplace of struggling Junaid Khan.

Pakistan back after batting collapse

PAKISTAN, 1st innings:

Mohammad Hafeez lbw b Broad 13

Taufiq umar lbw b Anderson 0

Azhar Ali c Prior b Broad 1

Younis Khan c Prior b Broad 4

Misbah-ul Haq lbw b Anderson 1

Asad Shafiq lbw b Panesar 45

Adnan Akmal lbw b Broad 6

Abdul Rehman c Pietersen b Swann 1

Saeed Ajmal lbw b Panesar 12

umar Gul b Anderson 13

Aizaz Cheema not out 0

EXTRAS: (lb3) 3

TOTAL: 99

Fall of wickets: 1-1 (umar), 2-8 (Ali), 3-18 (Younis), 4-21

(Hafeez), 5-21 (Misbah), 6-39 (Adnan), 7-44 (Rehman), 8-78

(Ajmal), 9-85 (Shafiq).

BOWLING: Anderson 14.1-3-35-3, Broad 16-5-36-4, Panesar 13-

4-25-2, Swann 1-1-0-1

Overs: 44.1

ENGLAND, 1st innings:

A. Strauss not out 41

A. Cook c Adnan b Gul 1

J. Trott lbw b Gul 2

K. Pietersen lbw b Rehman 32

I. Bell st Adnan b Ajmal 5

E. Morgan lbw b Rehman 10

M. Prior b Rehman 6

J. Anderson not out 3

EXTRAS: (b1, lb3) 4

TOTAL: (for six wickets) 104

Fall of wickets: 1-5 (Cook), 2-7 (Trott), 3-64 (Pietersen), 4-75

(Bell), 5-88 (Morgan), 6-98 (Prior).

BOWLING: Gul 7-1-28-2, Cheema 4-0-9-0, Ajmal 17-5-40-1,

Rehman 15-4-23-3

Overs: 43

Toss: Pakistan

umpires: Simon Taufel (AuS) and Steve Davis (AuS)

TV umpire: Shahvir Tarapore (IND)

Match referee: Jeff Crowe (IND).

SCOREBOARD

DuBAI: umar gul celebrateswith his teammates after hedismissed alastair cook. (topc) england’s Stuart Broad (r)delivers a ball, (Bottom c)england’s captain andrewStrauss plays a shot. (right)asad Shafiq plays a shot. afp

DUBAISTAFF REPORT

Chairman PCB Zara Ashraf said Fridaythat Indian cricket board is reluctant toplay Pakistan due to their poor runagainst Australia and the simultaneousrise of Pakistan against England.

Talking to Pakistan Today here atthe Dubai Stadium, the PCB chairmansaid that he believes India does notwant to be at the receiving end aftersudden rise of Misbah’s men.

“We have proposed series at home,which is our first priority, on neutralvenue and even in India but they are re-luctant to play Pakistan. We have evenproposed a tri-series at a neutral venuebut they are not showing interest,” hemaintained.

On the motion tabled by Pakistanfor the appointment of Bangladesh forvice presidency, Zaka said that Indiaand England even proposed a chairmanand president for the ICC and thatamendment in the constitution is beingreferred to the ICC law experts and willbe discussed in the next meeting.

He further stated that ICC wantscricket to return to Pakistan and hasextended its complete support. But the

unfortunate Sri Lanka team attack in-cident has left everything onto bettersecurity conditions.

“Even the Bangladesh securityteam is due here by February 15 to takeup briefing from the Interior Ministryand Pakistan govt is ready to give whatit takes to,” he added.

On new coach, he said that he hasnothing against Mohsin and wants thebest available chief coach for the team.“Our main target is to get to the top,win the World Cup and for that wewant the best in the business and pre-pare the team with proper profession-alism,” he maintained.

DUBAISTAFF REPORT

Former Pakistan captain Waqar Younis hasasked the International Cricket Council to re-consider the five-year ban on Moham-mad Amir. The ICC banned Amirfor five-years for his involvementin spot-fixing during the last Pak-istan and England series in Au-gust 2010. A London court puthim behind bars for correctivesentence for six month and hewas released from the prison ongood behaviour. But the ICC five-year ban still remains to be recon-sidered. “Every law has someroom for good behavior andthe ICC can find sympa-thy for this young pace.The five year banmeans that he wouldbe allowed to returnto cricket in 2015 butby then his careerwould be over. For afast bowler it’s diffi-cult to stay fit whilestaying away from thegame and he has not

been even allowed to play club cricket,” saidwaqar. "We must have sympathy with him be-cause he is so young. His talent will not onlybe missed by me but also by the Pakistanteam," he added. Younis was the coach whenAmir bowled that infamous intentional no-ball

at Lord's which sparked the fixing probe,and even asked the paceman about itduring the lunch interval. He was foundto be involved in spot-fixing along withcaptain Salman Butt and MohammadAsif. They were also found guilty ofconspiring and cheating and are serv-ing their sentences in a jail in London.

Butt was jailed for two and a halfyears and Asif one and

half years. “There isalways a second

chance and hemust have learnthis lessons,” headded. "EvenImran Khan,former Pak-istan captain,praised his tal-ent. It meansthere is some-

thing special inthis guy,” he added.

Waqar asks ICC toreconsider ban on amirIndia reluctant after hammering Down Under


Sports 19Saturday, 4 February, 2012

DUBAISTAFF REPORT

PAKISTAN has proposed that the England andWales Cricket Board hosts a one-day tri-series in-volving Pakistan and India next year, during therecent ICC executive board meeting held inDubai. A board official said during the ICC meet-

ing, Ashraf had held informal talks with heads of the otherboards, including England and India and proposed that Eng-land can host a tri-series next year involving Pakistan and India.

"Ashraf's contention is that the series would be a success inEngland due to the presence of the big Pakistani and Indianpopulation in the United Kingdom and Europe and secondly itwould also pave the way for proper restoration of bilateral tiesbetween Pakistan and India soon," the source added.

During the meeting, the President of the South Africancricket board also made an offer to host an ODI seriesbetween Pakistan and Australia. "The SouthAfrican cricket head assured his Pakistanicounterpart that Pakistan would incur lessexpenses compared to if it decided to or-ganize the series at some other neutralvenue including UAE," one board of-ficial said. He said while the PCBwas keen to get internationalteams to start touring Pakistanagain but was aware of the factthat it might be forced to play theone-day series against Australiaonce again at a neutral venue."Since it would be the month offasting and the weather will be hotduring July-August in the UAE thatis why Pakistan is looking at other al-ternate neutral venues as well," he said.

Pakistan has been forced to play allits "home" series at neutral venues sinceMarch, 2009 when militants attacked the SriLankan team in Lahore killing six Pakistani police-men and a van driver and wounding some of the visiting play-ers. Dubai and Abu Dhabi since 2009 have become virtualhome grounds for Pakistan which is currently also playing its"home" series against England at these two venues.

The PCB chief said he had assured his South Africancounterpart that he would get back to them after consultinghis board members regarding the proposal. "South Africa isa viable neutral venue for us because of many factors but onceI get back to Pakistan we will discuss this proposal furtherand see how it goes. We also have to consult the Australiansabout this," he added. One source said that since the WorldT20 Cup would also be held in September in Sri Lanka, thePakistan and Australian boards are looking at increasing thenumber of T20 matches in the coming series which presentlyincludes five one-day internationals and a two T20 matches.South Africa has in the past hosted an edition of the IndianPremier League with success.

PcB cHAIRMAn WAnTS AMIR BAck AfTERSERvIng BAn: Pakistan cricket chief Zaka Ashraf Fri-day backed the return of spot-fixing convict MohammadAmir after he serves his five-year ban, saying he was a tal-ented fast bowler who had been "trapped". "I want to seeAmir back but only after considering the legality of thecase and only after he serves the ban," Pakistan CricketBoard chairman Zaka Ashraf told reporters here. Amir, 19,was released from a British prison on Wednesday afterserving half of his six-month sentence for his part in thescandal during the Lord's Test between Pakistan and Eng-land in August 2010. His teammates Salman Butt and Mo-hammad Asif are still in jail serving 30-month and12-month sentences respectively handed down by a Britishcourt in November last year.

"Definitely we will rehabilitate Amir through an educa-tion programme, he is a young Pakistani, he committed a

mistake and it was a case of huge talent lost and oncehe serves the ban then he could come into the

team," said Ashraf. Ashraf claimed Amirand the other two players had been

"trapped". "Whatever has happenedwe are sad about that, not only me

but also most of the Pakistani peo-ple are sad for this young boywho, with the other players, weretrapped by the Majeed broth-ers," said Ashraf of players'sagent Mazhar Majeed and hisbrother Azhar. The PakistanCricket Board will conduct a re-

habilitation programme for tal-ented teenage bowler

Mohammad Amir under the anti-corruption code, an official said on

Friday. Amir, 19, was released from aBritish prison on Wednesday after serv-

ing half of his six-month sentence for hispart in a spot-fixing scandal during the Lord's

Test between Pakistan and England in August 2010.His teammates, Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif are stillin jail serving 30-month and 12-month sentences respec-tively handed down by a UK court in November last year.

All three were found guilty of corruption and receivingillegal money. The International Cricket Council (ICC) alsobanned the trio for violating players' code of conduct, withAmir receiving the minimum five year punishment.

"Further Amir has to agree to such additional reason-able and proportionate monitoring procedures and require-ments as the ACSU may reasonably consider necessary.""PCB and ICC are on the same page in this matter and arealready in contact over the official anti-corruption educa-tion session," Rizvi added.

Since the spot-fixing scandal, the PCB has introducedstricter clauses in players' contracts in a bid to clamp downon malpractice in the game, and it has established its ownanti-corruption unit.

Pakistan proposesEngland tri-series

DUNEDINAFP

New Zealand defeated Zimbabweby 90 runs in the first one-day in-ternational at Dunedin Friday aspoor batting by the tourists un-dermined a creditable bowling ef-fort. Zimbabwe, reeling from ahumiliating innings-and-301-rundefeat in a one-off Test in Napierlast week, were set an achievabletarget of 249 after winning thetoss and sending New Zealand into bat on a seaming wicket.

But the hard work by Zim-babwe paceman ShingiMasakadza, who took four for 46,was undone by a weak battingdisplay in which captain BrendanTaylor's 58 off 68 balls was thesole bright spot. New Zealandopener Martin Guptill produceda man-of-the-match display inscoring 70 to anchor the homeside's innings, while promisingall-rounder Rob Nicol took fourwickets for 19 in his fourth one-day international.

"We just weren't good enoughtoday," Taylor said. "We'll goback to the drawing board withthe batting and a few areas withthe ball, but we we just outplayedby a better side."

New Zealand were far fromconvincing as Zimbabwe took twowickets in the opening two oversand were eventually bowled outin the 48th over. KaneWilliamson (35), Nathan McCul-

lum (30) and Andrew Ellis (33)all made starts but could not digin on a green-tinged pitch that of-fered plenty of movement. Gup-till was the only batman whomanaged to break the shacklesand his 88-run partnership withWilliamson proved crucial insteadying the New Zealand in-nings.

He brought up a half centuryoff 44 balls, including sevenfours, but fell when a lapse inconcentration saw him cleanbowled by Elton Chigumbura.

Chigumbura struck againfour overs later, enticing debu-tant Tom Latham into an at-

tempted cover drive which edgedto wicketkeeper Tatenda Taibu.

Unlike the Napier Test, Zim-babwe maintained the pressureand were rewarded when a divingDean Brownlie was run out for 19after Regis Chakabva hit thestumps from side-on with a sharppiece of fielding, leaving thehosts on 166-6.

Masakadza claimed anotherthree scalps as the hosts' finalfour wickets fell for 25 runs, withAndrew Ellis (33) playing ontohis stumps, Nathan McCullumclean bowled and Tim Southee(3) out lbw.

Zimbabwe suffered a horrorstart to be 15-3 in the sixth over,with openers Stuart Matsikenyeri(1) and Hamilton Masakadza (7)both out cheaply.

Taylor, who described theTest loss as "a big smack in theface", gave Zimbabwe some hopein the middle order, forging part-nerships of 52 and 30 withTatenda Taibu and MalcolmWaller.

He eventually fell trying tolift the run rate against a miserlyNew Zealand attack, smashing asix off Nicol but offering AndrewEllis an easy catch at long-offwhen he went for another in thenext ball. Taylor's departure ef-fectively ended Zimbabwe's re-sistance, with only tailender RayPrice's 26, the second highestscore of the innings, adding somerespectability to the final result.

DuneDIn: zimbabwe's Brendan taylor plays a shot in the firstone day international match against new zealand. afp

Zimbabwe crash to another defeat against NZ

NEW zEALAND R. Nicol c Taylor b Meth 0M. Guptill b Chigumbura 70B. McCullum lbw b Jarvis 3K. Williamson c & b S. Masakadza 35T. Latham c Taibu b Chigumbura 24D. Browlie run out 19N. McCullum b S. Masakadza 30A. Ellis b S. Masakadza 33D. Bracewell not out 8K. Mills b Jarvis 7T. Southee lbw S. Masakadza 3EXTRAS: (lb 7, w 9) 16TOTAL: (all out, 48.3 overs) 248Fall of wickets: 1-1 (Nicol), 2-4 (B. McCullum), 3-92(Williamson), 4-130 (Guptill), 5-147 (Latham), 6-166(Brownlie), 7-223 (Ellis), 8-230 (N.McCullum), 9-241(Mills), 10-248 (Southee)BOWLING: Meth 7-0-48-1, Jarvis 9-1-41-2,S.Masakadza 9.3-0-46-4, Chigumbura 10-0-46-2,Price 10-1-47-0, H. Masakadza 3-0-13-0Match situation: zimbabwe need 249 runs to winToss: zimbabweumpires: Chris Gaffany (NzL) Enamul Haque (BAN)Match referee: David Boon (AuS)Third umpire: Rod Tucker (AuS)

SCOREBOARD

Ilyas hintschanges for IDI,t20 series

DUBAISTAFF REPORT

Chief selector Mohammad Ilyas hashinted at a few changes in the team in theupcoming ODI and T20 series.Talking to Pakistan Today, the formerTest cricketer said that there will be justone team for both the versions of thegame and it will most likely be an-nounced on February 6. “We had a detailed discussion on thecomposition of the team with the captain,manager and the coach and the final line-up will be announced after consultationswith the other members of the selectioncommittee,” he added.He further said that although the finalapproval will be given by PCB chairmanZaka Ashraf, yet the feedback of the teammanagement and the whole of the selec-tion committee was necessary.Talking about the third test, he said thatthe strong wind in the morning sessionturned things against Pakistan.“I believe the match is still open and thePakistan team has the potential to bounceback. It’s still an open match. It’s just thefirst day and there are still four days to goso you can’t say anything with authority.The only thing I can say is that Pakistanwill surprise everyone with their talent.”

Icc praisesPcB for rise ofafghanistan cricket

DUBAISTAFF REPORT

Tim Anderson, ICC Global DevelopmentManager, sees great success with regardsto the development of the Afghanistancricket with the support of the PakistanCricket Board. Talking to journalists hereat the Dubai Stadium, Tim said that thePCB has done great things by arrangingthe development of the Afghan cricketersand with that support they would be ableto stake claim to top honours in the asso-ciate members’ T20 competition startingnext week at Sharjah. He further said thatthe ICC is developing cricket culture incountries where cricket is not the firstpriority game. “The countries with strongexpatriates are of great help in develop-ing the game there and even in Ireland,where facilities are of not that level, havenow competed at international level. “Weare having tight control over funding inthe associate countries and getting backinformation so that the funds are notused in inappropriate places,” he main-tained. He further stated that UAE,Nepal, Scotland and more surprisinglyPapua New Guinea are some of the rap-idly upcoming cricket nations. Tim saidthat the ICC takes UAS and China in thesame breath. “UAS has the cricket culturebut China does not have such culture buthave definite potential. And cricket inmulti-sports events like Olympics orCommonwealth Games is a good thing tohappen while Test playing nations are al-ready very helpful in the development ofthe game in associate countries.

gaston stars formaster Paints

LAHORESTAFF REPORT

Gaston Moore struck seven times intheir match for Master Paints to rattleGuard Rice harmless in the Caanchi &Lugari Polo Cup 2012 here at the LahorePolo Club ground on Friday. With thissuperlative performance of Moore, Mas-ters got eight goals to six and a half mar-gin win over fighting Guard rice. SaqibKhan Khakwani scored the eighth goal ofthe winners while Taimur Ali Malik,Ahmed Ali Tiwana and Raja TenurNadeem fought valiantly for Guards get-ting two goals each. The umpires for thematch were Simon Mclaren Tosh &Omar Asjad Malhi and referee Vieri.

Harbhajan losingout for too muchfocus on t20

LAHORESTAFF REPORT

‘Too much focus on Twenty20’ is harmingHarbhajan Singh's international cricket ca-reer but the out-of-favour Indian off-spin-ner needs to be supported instead of beingcold shouldered, said former Pakistan spin-ner Saqlain Mushtaq. Harbhajan, whocame a cropper in the tour of England, wasdropped from the team for the ongoingtour of Australia. Saqlain, also an off-spin-ner, said any player can be off-colour for awhile but his overall performance shouldbe kept in mind before deciding on his ca-reer. "I think at the moment, the main issuefor him is too much focus on Twenty20cricket and secondly after all he is a humanbeing - he can't do well all of the time andyou will have your ups and downs and weshould accept that," Saqlain said. "But, Ithink the media was after him when he wasin England, but if you look at the pitchesand conditions, they were more suitable forthe fast bowlers. Graeme Swann was noteven bowling that much, he was bowling 4-5 overs in one innings! All the fast bowlerswere taking wickets. From India, ZaheerKhan got injured and Ishant Sharma wasnot bowling that well," he added. Saqlainsaid the Indian team failed as a unit in Eng-land but Harbhajan was singled out forcriticism which affected his morale. "I thinkbefore that series, Harbhajan was having abit of bad form, but they kept blaming him,that was wrong I think. This added morepressure on Harbhajan," Saqlain said. "Thecritics were not talking about the fastbowlers or the batsmen. The batsmen werenot performing well, but they were blamingHarbhajan Singh and put him under pres-sure. After that, they dropped him," hepointed out. Saqlain said Harbhajan is aproven match-winner and should be givenanother chance. "I think if you see thewhole scenario of the last series and beforethat, I think the Indian cricket officialswere not treating Harbhajan properly,they didn't treat him well," he said. "Ithink they should trust in him and he'sdone a lot for that country. Not just in onegame, but he's played for years and yearsin all forms of cricket, T20, ODI, Testcricket and has been phenomenal. "I thinkthey should call him again and shouldback him. I think he has a lot of cricket leftin him and they should give him support.He'll perform well and bring results forthe country, they should just back him andbring him back into the squad," he added.


Sports20Saturday, 4 February, 2012

ONE needs to look at the league table twice,thrice or maybe more times – depending onone’s degree of disbelief – to fully grasp the

fact that Manchester United find themselves levelon points with Manchester City at the top of thepile. Sir Alex Ferguson’s side has barely touchedsecond gear since an action packed start to the sea-son; and despite flaunting an amalgamation of mid-dle of the road and run of the mill performances,here they are separated only by goal difference fromthe apex of the EPL table. And while United havebeen busy dealing with a tough run of fixtures, Cityare trying their best to ensure that they make liferelatively easy for their archenemy.

After City’s 1-0 defeat at Goodison Park RobertoMancini admitted to underestimating the Evertonside, as the league leaders suffered an inopportunesetback in the title race. Taking teams lightly at thiscrucial stage doesn’t fall within any proximity of thehallmark of champions; on the contrary, it falls inthe hub of that vicious circle that we call compla-cency. With merely 15 games to go, City need to beat their ruthless best and ensure that having beenthe frontrunners for almost the entirety of the sea-son, the wheels don’t come off at the business endof the run-in. Nevertheless, while it may be tooearly to tout Manchester City as frittering awaytheir chance of a first league title since the Battle ofUruk, what is clear is that fact that the signs of Cityfeeling the heat of being favourites for the title havebeen growing over the past month or so.

Another facet that makes it almost impossibleto fully comprehend the two rivals being level onpoints is the prodigious disparity between the re-spective injury lists. Losing out on Nemanja Vidicfor the entire season would have been too strong ablow for many sides; especially considering the rel-ative inexperience at the back. But Sir Alex’s troopshave rallied on and have clung on to the coattails oftheir neighbours. And with the unparalleled ‘been

there, done that’ feature spread out all over thesquad, the management and most notably at themanagerial helm, United are stealthily creeping in-side City’s collective nerves.

Manchester City, therefore, need a strongshowing and the desired result against Fulhamtoday, to make sure that United realise that the‘noisy neighbours’ have substance in their clam-ours this year round. Succumbing to the pressureat this critical juncture when United face a barrageof tricky fixtures is the last thing Mancini’s menneed and hence they must take care of their ownmatters clinically and if matters go according to theform book, they could find themselves some pointsclear of United come March.

CHELSEA VS MAN uTD

As things stand Chelsea find themselves 12points behind the two Manchester sides, with 15games to go. Mathematically a title tilt is still wellwithin the realm of possibility, but that would needa three pronged catastrophe, with the top two sidesand Spurs self detonating in unison. More realisti-

cally though, a top four finish is what Chelsea arevying for , and a win against United on Sundaywould go a long way in fulfilling whatever goals thatAndre Villas-Boas has set for this campaign.Chelsea will be without Ashley Cole, who is sus-pended for the game, while John Terry and FrankLampard are doubts with knee and calf injuries re-spectively; but the duo is likely to feature in thegame. There is good news on the injury front forUnited as well, with Wayne Rooney, Nani and Ash-ley Young all likely to make a return for the match;however Phil Jones has been ruled out.

While Chelsea have only lost one of their last 11matches, they have drawn five of the last eightgames. And draws against the likes of Wigan, Nor-wich and Swansea have hindered Chelsea’s quest ofweaving together a lucrative run. A United side,dumped out of all cup competitions, and hence re-juvenated knowing that the league is all they haveto play for – barring a poor man’s European Cup –will be a tough nut to crack for Chelsea; especiallyconsidering the fact that United have had Chelsea’snumber over the last year or so. Chelsea need to be

solid at the back – an anomaly for the Blues thisseason – and need to start scoring goals as well –Chelsea have scored more than one goal in a gameonly once since their momentous 2-1 triumph overCity in December. Chelsea need to be at their Agame on both ends of the field to get the better ofUnited on Sunday.

For United, the spotlight will once again be ontheir revitalised midfield following the return of PaulScholes; who, along with Michael Carrick has beenone of major reasons why United have kept their titlechallenge alive. Plus there is that young prodigyPogba as well; and one feels that a trio of Scholes,Carrick and Pogba might just be the perfect midfieldblend for Sir Alex – for the time being anyway.

LIVERPOOL VS SPuRS

Liverpool would be out for vengeance in theMonday night visit of Tottenham Hotspur, afterthey were given a good old 4-0 battering early on inthe season at White Hart Lane. Confidence is highat Anfield, with cup triumphs over the two Man-chester sides, and the Carling Cup final later on thismonth. However, it’s a top four finish that would beat the top of the priority list, and Dalglish’s sideshould look to translate their awe-inspiring cupform in the league as well. With Suarez back afterhis eight game ban, and Steven Gerrard well restedto be unleashed, Liverpool are undoubtedly thefavourites ahead of the game.

Spurs meanwhile, are ostensibly failing to ear-mark their goal for the season. A top four finish wasthe target for this season, but like so often stressedin this space, being only five points off the leagueleaders, Spurs can give the title a real go; especiallyconsidering the fact that neither of the ‘trail blazers’is exactly blazing an intimidating trail. United arehave tough fixtures coming up – including a trip toTottenham – while City look like melting under thepressure cooker; maybe Spurs could swoop in aspoil the party for the neighbourhood animosity?They’d need to start off with a win at Anfield as theseason draws towards a dramatic closure.

Between the devil and the sky blue seathe title race heats up as united take on chelsea and Spurs visit anfield

KUNWAR KHULDUNE SHAHID

EPL CRYSTAL BALL

MELBOURNEAFP

INDIA revived their Aus-tralian tour with a con-vincing eight-wicket winover the home side in thesecond Twenty20 inter-

national at the Melbourne CricketGround on Friday. The touristsdazzled in the field with four runouts to restrict Australia to 131 off19.4 overs before reaching the tar-get at 135 for two with two balls tospare before 62,275 fans.

It was the Indians' first victoryon their tour of Australia after los-ing the opening T20 game by 31runs in Sydney on Wednesday and

receiving a 4-0 thrashing in theTest series. Australia were scuttledby a India's brilliant fielding, thepick of which came from man-of-the-match Ravindra Jadeja whoclaimed two run outs.

It was a shambolic Australianperformance with the bat and in thefield as the youthful Indian side fi-nally revealed the hunger missingfor so much of the lopsided Test se-ries. Gautam Gambhir topscoredwith an unbeaten 56 off 60 ballswith skipper M.S. Dhoni not out 21off 18 balls after promoting himselfto number four in the batting order."The fielding was exceptional. Bestfielding side, I've seen. It will behard to beat this effort," Dhoni said.

"We are a side that relies a lot on agood start, not about the runs, agood, calm start is what we look for."Overall it was a good effort by thebowlers and equally by the top threebatsmen." The Indians were alwaysin control of the run chase, but ten-sions mounted in the final over asthe Australians ringed the fieldaround Gambhir before he piercedthe circle for the winning runs withtwo balls to spare. India only lost thewickets of Virender Sehwag for 23off 16 balls and Virat Kohli 31 off 24.The impressive victory was just themomentum switch that Indianeeded ahead of Sunday's openingmatch in the tri one-day seriesagainst Australia at the MCG.

Inter-schoolregatta begins

KARACHISTAFF REPORT

National Bank of Pakistan has sponsoredthe Karachi Boat Club Inter-school Re-gatta being organized at the Karachi BoatClub. Around 200 plus students (aged 11to 18 years old) from 16 private and pub-lic schools in Karachi are participating inthis rowing contest. This event has beenorganized by the committee of volunteersconsisting of school representatives andcivil society in association with the club.The organisers of the event praised theefforts of NBP in promoting this sportand thanked NBP for promoting and sup-porting activities. NBP being nation’sBank has been serving the nation for last63 years passionately through innovativeservices and products.

Pakistan to takepart in 7s rugby

LAHORESTAFF REPORT

The Pakistan 7s national team has beeninvited to take part in the HSBC AsianRugby 7s Series in Bangkok, Thailand. The tournament is organized by the Asianrugby football union under the auspices ofthe IRB, informed by Sec Gen PakistanRugby union Arif Saeed. He added furtherthe Thailand Leg is part of HSBC AsianSevens Series that formally kicked off lastyear this is Asian rugby’s newest elitecompetition, the HSBC Asian Sevens Se-ries, features four tournaments in Shang-hai, Borneo, Thailand and India. HSBC’stitle sponsorship of the Asian Sevens Se-ries runs from 2011 to 2013 with the num-ber of ranking tournaments rising fromtwo this year to three in 2012 and four by2013. Arif Saeed explained 7s rugby issimilar to the T20 of cricket. Last year’sinclusion of Rugby 7s in the OlympicGames in 2016 has played a part in thisspread of the game. The other teams tak-ing part in the tournament are HongKong, Japan, UAE, Laos, Pakistan andPhilippines have a lot more experience inrugby than Pakistan. But it is going to givethe Pakistani boys some great experience.

India finally endslosing streak

AuSTRALIA:

D. Warner c Gambhir b Kumar 8

A. Finch run out (Jadeja) 36

S. Marsh c Dhoni b Kumar 0

D. Hussey c and b Jadeja 24

G. Bailey run out (Jadeja) 3

M. Wade run out (Rohit Sharma) 32

M. Marsh stpd Dhoni b Rahul Sharma 13

B. Lee not out 6

C. McKay c Dhoni b Vinay Kumar 0

B. Hogg lbw b Rahul Sharma 4

X. Doherty run out (Raina) 1

EXTRAS: (w4) 4

TOTAL: (all out; 19.4 overs) 131

Fall of wickets: 1-19 (Warner), 2-20 (S. Marsh),

3-49 (Finch), 4-54 (Bailey), 5-93 (Hussey), 6-119

(M. Marsh), 7-121 (Wade), 8-121 (McKay), 9-130

(Hogg), 10-131 (Doherty)

BOWLING: Kumar 3-0-21-2 (1w), Vinay Kumar

4-0-25-1 (1w), Kohli 1-0-7-0, Jadeja 3-0-16-1

(1w), Rahul Sharma 3.4-0-29-2, Raina 1-0-10-0,

Ashwin 4-0-23-0 (1w)

INDIA:

G. Gambhir not out 56

V. Sehwag c S. Marsh b Hogg 23

V. Kohli c Wade b M. Marsh 31

M.S. Dhoni not out 21

EXTRAS: (w4) 4

TOTAL: (2 wickets for: 19.4 overs) 135

Fall of wickets: 1-43 (Sehwag), 2-97 (Kohli)

BOWLING: Lee 4-0-24-0 (1w), McKay 3.4-0-25-

0 (1w), Doherty 3-0-29-0 (1w), Hogg 3-0-19-1,

M. Marsh 4-0-30-1 (1w), Hussey 2-0-8-0

India won by 8 wickets

Series: 1-1

Man-of-the-match: Ravindra Jadeja (IND)

Toss: Australia

Crowd: 62,275

umpires: Bruce Oxenford (AuS), Simon Fry (AuS)

TV umpire: Paul Reiffel (AuS)

Match referee: Andy Pycroft (zIM)

SCOREBOARD

melBOurne: gautam gambhir of India (l) plays a shot as Brett lee (r) ofaustralia runs in during their t20 International series cricket match. reuters


Sports 21Saturday, 4 February, 2012

watCh it Live

STAR SPORTS Arsenal VBlackburn Rovers 11:00AM

ESPNEPL Arsenal VBlackburn Rovers06:25 PM

DUBAI: England’s Kevin

Pietersen (walking at

bottom) throws his bat

in the air after being

dismissed during the

third cricket test match

against Pakistan at the

Dubai International

cricket stadium. reuters

WORCESTER AGENCIES

The former and maybe future queen ofher sport is about to play the newest worldNo. 1 in a high-stakes match that coulddetermine the future of US women’s teamtennis. And it’s no big deal. SerenaWilliams, the career prize-money leaderamong female athletes (in all sports),rolled into town this week in advance ofthe weekend’s Fed Cup matches at theDCU Center against Belarus and worldNo. 1 Victoria Azarenka. “I played a lot ofNo. 1’s,’’ Williams said at a news confer-ence. “It doesn’t change anything.’’

Despite her confidence, the 13-timeGrand Slam champion and undefeated FedCup competitor is limping into the best-of-five series after a meek and thoroughly un-

characteristic loss to unseeded EkaterinaMakarova, 6-2, 6-3, in the fourth round ofthe Australian Open. On the other hand,Azarenka, who likely will be Williams’s

opponent in reverse singles Sunday, soarsinto this World Group II first-roundmatch as the Australian champion. At 30,Serena Williams, like sister and Fed Cupteammate Venus, 31, is at a critical junc-tion of her long career. Her participationin this Fed Cup is critical - indeed, re-quired - for joining the US Olympic teamfor the Summer Games in London. Andthe United States has to beat Belarus toavoid relegation to zonal play. SerenaWilliams has also battled persistent in-juries, most recently a badly sprainedankle that caused her to withdraw fromthe Australian Open tuneup, the BrisbaneInternational, in early January.

Before that, she was struck in February2011 by a life-threatening blood clot in herlung, a complication from cutting her foot.Williams said that although the ankle isn’t

fully healed, she is ready for Azarenka andthe Belarusians. While US captain MaryJoe Fernandez won’t announce the finallineup until today, Williams, as the US No.1, will likely face off first against the BelarusNo. 2, Anastasia Yakimova, ranked 61st inthe world. “The ankle is better,’’ saidWilliams. “Every day it’s feeling better. It’snot 100 percent. But it’s better than it waslast week and two weeks ago. It just needstime to heal.’’ Williams wasn’t happy abouther early exit from Australia, where she haswon five titles, but it gave her extra time torecover before the Fed Cup.

“It was good to take a few days off be-cause it was such an acute injury,’’ shesaid. “I trained a little bit. I’ve been doingmore than I would have done with an in-jury like this because I knew I had FedCup coming up.’’

good bowlingmaking battingdifficult: mohsin

DUBAIAFP

Pakistan coach Mohsin Khan said goodbowling from both England and Pak-istan throughout the series was makingbatting difficult, as 16 wickets tumbledon the opening day of the third andfinal Test here Friday. England, playingto salvage their world number one-ranked team's pride, were 104-6 afterthey wrecked Pakistan to 99 all out onan extraordinary day for bowlers on aseemingly batting-friendly Dubai Sta-dium pitch. Stuart Broad (4-36) andJames Anderson (3-35) shared thespoils for England before AbdulRehman (3-23), Umar Gul (2-28) andSaeed Ajmal (1-40) hit back for Pak-istan, who won the toss and batted.Khan praised bowling from both sides."The pitch was good, no doubt. Weknow the ball swings early in the morn-ing but we planned to put up a goodtotal and put England under pressure,so credit to them as they bowled well,"said Khan. Khan said Pakistan foughtback well. "After being dismissed for 99we were in a difficult position, it wasvery disappointing, but the manner inwhich we have fought back by taking sixwickets, making sure that we will fightfor the result to come in our favor," saidKhan, a former opening batsman. Khansaid it will be crucial to keep England'slead, which was of five runs at close,down. "Obviously we don't want Eng-land to get a big lead, we want to getthem out as soon as possible and thenbat sensibly in the second innings," saidKhan, appointed on an interim basis.

PSB to organiseexhibition matches


The Pakistan Sports Board is holdingtwo exhibition matches of hockey andfootball at Pakistan Sports Complex, Is-lamabad, in connection with KashmirSolidarity Day on February 5. The local teams will participate in boththe matches at 1400 hours. Hockeymatch will be played between Islam-abad Color and Islamabad White atNaseer Bunda Hockey Ground whereasFootball match will be contested. HumaClub Vs Mehran Club at Jinnah Sta-dium, Pakistan Sports Complex, Islam-abad. The prize distribution ceremonyof both the matches will be held at Jin-nah Stadium at 1600 hours. Mr. ZakirHussain Syed, Former Director GeneralPSB will be the chief guest.

serena confident of a good year

LAHORESTAFF REPORT

The Pakistan Football Federa-tion (PFF) will organise NationalU-14 Football Championship atJinnah Football Stadium, Islam-abad, from February 4 to 14 inwhich 16 teams are taking part.

“One team from eachprovince, region and eight teamsof Aid 27 coaches will take part,”this was announced by Lt. Col.(retd) Ahmed Yar Khan Lodhi TI(M) in a press conference at Jin-nah Football Stadium, Islam-abad. On February 4, Punjabwill take part taking on Aid-27Quetta Zone at the Ground # 1,

Outer Jinnah Football Stadium,Islamabad, while FATA face Aid-27 Karachi Zone A of Group A at1300 Hours PST at Ground # 2,Outer Jinnah Football Stadium,Islamabad. Sindh will faceFSD/SAG Zone at Ground # 2,Outer Jinnah Football Stadiumand Peshawar will compete withAJK Region at Ground # 1,Outer Jinnah Stadium of GroupD at 1500 hours PST.

The 16 teams taking part inthe marathon event, to go on tillFebruary 14 comprising Faisal-abad Zone, Lahore Zone,Karachi Zone A, Karachi ZoneB, Quetta Zone, Chaman Zone,Peshawar Zone, Noshehra Zone.

The provinces teams are Pun-jab, Balochistan, Sindh andKhyber PK and regions teamsare Islamabad, Gilgit Baltistan,AJK and FATA.

It is pertinent to mentionthat focus of this championshipis to select/prepare the NationalU-14 football team for AFC U-14Football Festival which will beheld in April in Jinnah StadiumIslamabad. The prize money ofthe first position is Rs. 50,000/-,Rs. 30,000/- for runner-up andRs. 20, 000/- for third position,best player of the Festival5,000/-, highest scorer of thechampion ship 5,000/-, Bestgoal Keeper 5,000.

mOScOW: russia's maria Sharapovaattends a draw prior to a Federationcup tennis quarterfinal match. afp

National U-14 C’ship from today

mOntPellIer: France's gael monfils hits a return to his Finnish opponentJarkko nieminen during their quarter final tennis match as part ofmontpellier's atP series tournament. afp


KIEVAFP

TE M P E R A -TURES plungedto new lows inEurope where aweek-long cold

snap has now claimed morethan 220 lives and forecast-ers warned that the bigfreeze would tighten its gripat the weekend.

In the southwest CzechRepublic, the mercurydropped as low as minus38.1 degrees Celsiusovernight and even Rome re-ceived a rare dusting ofsnow. In the last seven days,a total of 222 people havedied from the cold weather,according to an AFP tally.

Ukraine’s EmergenciesMinistry raised the death tollsubstantially from a previous63 to 101, of whom 64 died onthe streets. Almost 1,600 peo-ple have requested medicalattention for frostbite and hy-pothermia and thousandshave flocked to temporaryshelters that have been set upacross the country for peopleto find warmth and food.

The ferocious tempera-

tures killed eight more peopleover the last 24 hours inPoland, bringing the deathtoll to 37 since the deep freezebegan a week ago, police said.Temperatures plunged tominus 35 Celsius in someareas of Poland, while in Bul-garia parts of the RiverDanube have frozen over, se-verely hindering navigation.Elsewhere in Bulgaria, an-other six people were founddead from the cold, bringingthe overall tally to 16 in thelast week, according to localmedia. No official figureshave been released. Most ofthe dead in the EuropeanUnion’s poorest country werevillagers found frozen todeath on the side of the roador in their unheated homes,the reports said.

In neighbouring Roma-nia two more people died,bringing the overall toll to 24,and hundreds of schools re-mained closed. Forecasterswarned of heavy snowfall forthe weekend. Up to five cen-timetres of snow fell in somedistricts of Rome and ancientmonuments like the Colos-seum were closed to visitorsfor fear of damage to the

structure. Three people havedied in Italy due to the ex-treme weather in recent days,including a homeless manfound in the centre of Milanon Thursday.

Estonia and France an-nounced their first casualtiesof the freeze, with a manfound frozen to death on astreet in Talinn and an 82-year-old man suffering fromAlzheimer’s dying of hy-pothermia in the easternFrench village of Lembergafter wandering out of hishome in pyjamas. Swathes ofBritain were bracing forsnow after temperaturesplunged to minus 11 degreesCelsius overnight in Che-sham, southeast England,with authorities warning thatthe cold could catch peopleoff-guard after a warmer-than-normal winter so far.The French, who havecranked up their heating sys-tems were on Monday ex-pected to break an all timepower consumption recordset in 2010, with consumersbeing asked in some regionsto turn off appliances for atleast four hours per day toavoid blackouts.

Published by Arif Nizami for Nawa Media Corporation (Pvt) Ltd at Plot # 7, Al-Baber Centre, F/8 Markaz, Islamabad. Editor: Arif Nizami, Executive Editor: Sarmad Bashir, Resident Editor: Rana Qaisar

Saturday, 4 February, 2012 22Big freeze tightens gripin Europe, kills 222

Pakistan fails to send team to probe Mumbai attacksPakistan has failed to send a team of officials to India to investigate the November 2008Mumbai (Bombay) attacks, according to a BBC report on Friday. Islamabad told Delhi thatthe judicial commission would not be able to come as planned, an Indian Home Ministryofficial told BBC. The team was due to arrive in Mumbai on Thursday. Its members were dueto meet Indian officials and doctors involved in the investigation. Officials said no reason hadbeen given for the cancellation of the visit. Pakistan had agreed last year to send a judicialteam to India during home secretary-level talks between the two countries. MonItorIng DesK

2013 datelineonly a possibility:White HouseWASHIngTOn: The ObamaAdministration officials onThursday had a tough timeexplaining the announcementof Defence Secretary LeonPanetta to end the Afghancombat mission by mid-2013.The officials asserted it wasonly a possibility and there wasno change in its -determinedLisbon policy, according towhich security transition hadto complete by 2014. “This iswithin the context of thealready-stated policy oftransferring security lead to theAfghans by 2014,” the WhiteHouse Press Secretary, JayCarney, tried his best to explainPanetta’s remarks to the pressa day earlier. “How thattransition takes place is whatSecretary Panetta will bediscussing and is discussingwith defence ministers inBrussels, and that conversationwill continue right up throughMay, when President Obamahosts his fellow NATO heads ofstate in Chicago,” Carney saidin response to a question. “Weall remain, from PresidentObama all the way down,committed to the Lisbonagreement, that our goal is tocomplete this transition toAfghan lead by the end of2014,” the State Departmentspokesperson, Victoria Nuland,told reporters. agenCIes


E-paper PakistanToday 4thFebuary, 2012

Documents

Transcript of E-paper PakistanToday 4thFebuary, 2012