Govt’s welcome relief................................................Turks opt for progressall around................................................Significant visit of RoKPremier

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ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif meeting Shinsuke J Sugiyama, Deputy Foreign Ministerof Japan who called on him at PM House on Tuesday.

THE Khyber Pukhtunkhwa cabinetthat saw drastic changes a fewdays back, is likely to be reshuffled

again in the back drop of new develop-ments amid reports of formation of aforward block in the ruling PakistanTehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI).

The provincial cabinet led by thePervez Khattak of PTI, was reshuffled afew days back not only to accommo-date new faces and elevate some cabi-net members to the senior positions butalso owing to a reason that the Chair-

KP cabinet likely to see another reshuffleChanges imminent to fill senior minister slot and avert cracks in PTI ranks

man of the Pakistan Tehreek -e-Insaaf(PTI) Imran Khan, whose party is lead-ing a coalition government in KhyberPukhtunkhwa, appeared to be unsatis-fied with the performance of the pro-vincial government with particular ref-erence to the mismanagement. Thenewly inducted and elevated ministerswere administered oath of their officesby the Governor KP EngineerShaukatullah on Tuesday.

While a number of new faces wereinducted in the cabinet comprisingthree coalition partners, the leading PTI,Jamat-e-Islami and Awami JamhooriIttehad (AJI), the AJI head and provin-

cial Agriculture minister Sharaam KhanTarakai was made the senior minister asfive advisors were also made full-fledgeministers. Likewise the portfolios ofsome ministers, prominent among whomis Health Minister and former provin-cial president of PTI Shaukat Yousafzai,were also changed.

However, what is necessitating yetanother reshuffle in the KP cabinet ismainly the election of senior ministerKP Siraj ul Haq of Jamaat-e-Islami tothe coveted slot of JI Ameer as well thereports of many PTI MPAs feeling ag-grieved over the recent reshuffle. Sirajul Haq, who is also charge d affairs of

the all-important Finance minister, hasin an unprecedented move defeated theincumbent JI chief Munawwar Hassanas well as the party secretary generalLiaqat Baloch.

As per the party norms, Siraj ul Haqis required to step down from the se-nior ministerial slot shortly in order totake charge of Jamaat -e- Islami andspend all his energies and potentialson the affairs of the party that has areputation of a well –organized and dis-ciplined political set up of the country.

The reported formation of a forwardblock in the PTI ranks is being attrib-uted the second reason for future shake

up in the provincial cabinet. Around adozen MPAs of the PTI, reports said, areannoyed being ignored in the recent re-shuffle and mowing towards the forma-tion of a forward block though apparentlythey would not admit.

“We are not making a forward blockin the party but have made PTI HumKhayaal in order to save our party andensure the fulfillments of PTI’s promisesmade with the people of this province”.The PTI MPA from PK 3 Peshawar JavedNasim told news men. He along with an-other PTI parliamentarian Qurban Ali isreported to be leading a group of ten to

SituationerTariq Saeed

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LIAQAT TOOR

ISLAMABAD—After putting ball in the gov-ernment court by the Special Court hear-ing treason case against former presidentPervez Musharraf, the Government iscaught in Catch-22 situation on remov-ing his name from Exit Control List (ECL).

A split was seen in the meeting of keyleaders of PML-N presided by Prime Min-ister Nawaz Sharif in PM House on Tues-day as hawks vehemently opposed histravel abroad without any conviction bythe court.

The meeting attended by DefenceMinister Khawja Asif, Ch. Nisar Ali Khan,Pervez Rashid, Mehtab Abbasi, Ahsaniqbal and others debated on different as-pects of the issue including some strongsignals from friendly Arab countries and

Govt in Catch-22situation on

Musharraf issuePML-N splits on allowing him to go abroadStakeholders in touch to wriggle out of dilemma

Musharraf’s travel abroad is imminentPakistan’s powerful stakeholders whichare trying to offset negative impact of thetreason case on the forces.

After the morning meeting, Chief ofArmy Staff General Raheel Sharif and ISIChief Lt.Gen. Zaheerul Islam were in PMHouse with the PM to discuss the issuewhich has been divided the nation.

Sources in knowledge of such devel-opments said the government is findingitself in a very difficult situation as sig-nals it has been receiving from friendlycountries and stakeholders are irresist-ible.

Sources further said his travel abroadhas become imminent on account of Spe-cial Court’s decision, humanitarian ap-peals to let Musharraf see his ailingmother in UAE and also his own treat-ment abroad. ISLAMABAD—Prime Minister Mian

Muhammad Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday saideconomic stability and implementation ofPakistan’s development agenda is essen-tial for the success which in turn is vital forregional peace and security. Prime MinisterMian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif met Japa-nese Deputy Foreign Minister Mr. ShinsukeJ. Sugiyama, who called on him at the PrimeMinister house.

The meeting was also attended byHiroshi Inomata Japanese Ambassador toPakistan and Mr. Tariq Fatimi Special As-sistant to the Prime Minister. The PrimeMinister while talking to the JapaneseDeputy Foreign Minister said that Eco-nomic Development is the top priority ofthe present government. Nawaz Sharif ap-preciated Japan’s assistance in a numberof projects focusing on Pakistan’s socio-economic needs in various social, educa-

Economic stability necessaryfor peace, security: PM

tional and health sectors.The Prime Minister said that Japan is a

valuable friend and development partnerand its investments would be most crucialespecially in energy sector and infrastruc-ture development. He said that we lookforward to greater level of cooperation be-tween the two countries, particularly, in theareas of trade, investment, development,security, energy, institution building andcapacity building. Japanese technologicalassistance in gasification of Thar coal whichwill be of immense benefit to overcome theenergy deficiency in Pakistan, The PrimeMinister added.

Nawaz Sharif expressed satisfactionover the fact that bilateral trade betweenthe two countries is witnessing upward tra-jectory. However, there is vast potential onboth sides which I believe must be utilizedfor mutual benefit, he added.—NNI

WASHINGTON—Water-boarding andother harsh interrogation techniquesprovided no key evidence in the huntfor Osama bin Laden, a new senatereport into the use of torture by theCIA in the years after the September11 attacks is expected to claim.

If confirmed, the finding in the6,200-page senate report will directlychallenge assertion by former mem-bers of the George W. Bush adminis-tration that the CIA’s so-called en-hanced interrogation techniques werean essential tool in prosecuting thewar on terror.

Congressional aides familiar withthe still-secret report told the Associ-ated Press that a review of some 6 mil-lion classified documents had led themto conclude there was no benefit de-rived from treatment that the UnitedNations and rights groups say

Torture didn’t lead to Osama binLaden: US Senate report

amounted to torture.The US senate’s powerful intelli-

gence committee is due to hold a voteon Thursday on whether to release a400-page summary of the report, set-ting in motion a de-classification pro-cess that could takeseveral months be-fore documents aremade public.

The findings ofthe report have al-ready caused a bitterand public rift between DianneFeinstein, the Committee’s democratchair, and the CIA whom she hasopenly accused of trying to frustratethe publication of the report since itsfindings were approved in December2012.

Most fundamental among its find-

ings is expected to be that the treat-ment meted out to Al Qa eda suspectsin sites such as Bagram Airbase inAfghanistan, the Guantanamo Baydetention centre and black jailsaround the world did not ultimatelyyield critical intelligence.

The successful assassination ofbin Laden was seized on by formerBush administration figures and topCIA officials as vindication of the en-hanced interrogation techniques theyauthorised after the Sept. 11, 2001, at-tacks.

That narrative was strengthenedin the popular imagination by KathrynBigelow’s controversial film Zero DarkThirty, a dramatic reconstruction ofhow bin Laden’s whereabouts werepieced together that was accused bycivil rights groups of wrongly depict-

Continued on Page 7

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—The treasury bench of theNational Assembly on Tuesday opposed aresolution demanding to lift the ban onYouTube while another resolution seekingimprovements in the curriculum and the dis-ciplinary processes of religious seminarieswas passed in the House.

Both resolutions were tabled by Paki-stan Peoples Party (PPP) MNAs from theopposition.

MNA Shazia Marri, submitted the reso-lution seeking to lift the ban imposed onYouTube. Ms Marri was of the view thatYouTube was accessible through proxywebsites and there was no point in main-taining the ban.

The resolution was opposed by thetreasury members of the House whilespeaker of the National Assembly, SardarAyaz Sadiq, delayed the matter.

While submitting the resolution relat-

NA resolution urges govt toregulate education in seminaries

Treasury bench opposes removal of ban on YouTubeing to seminaries, PPP MNA Nafisa Shahsaid a majority of the madrassahs were play-ing a constructive role but many were alsoengaged in promoting sectarianism and ex-tremism.

She added that science should also betaught as a subject in religious schools.

Federal Minister for Religious AffairsSardar Mohammad Yousuf pointed out thatthere were 8,000 seminaries teaching sci-ence as a subject and added that consulta-tions were underway over the formation ofregulatory authority for religious schools.

Another opposition member from theMuttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM),Kishwar Zehra, expressed dissatisfactionover the explanation given by Federal Fi-nance Minister Ishaq Dar over the grant-ing of $1.5bn by a ‘friendly’ country.

Moreover, Awami Muslim League(AML) president Sheikh Rasheed Ahmedstaged a walk-out protesting lack of quo-rum in the House.

Cops among19 killed inAfghan clashesKABUL—Three AfghanLocal Police (ALP)members and 15 militantshave been killed and 15others wounded inoffensives in differentprovinces of the country,officials said on Tuesday.Shafiq Nang, the Ghaznigovernor’s spokesman,said three ALP personnelwere killed when aroadside bomb hit theirvehicle in the Rabat area ofDeh Yak district. An ALPcommander was among thedead, locals said. Sevenpolicemen were injured in abomb blast in Samanganprovince.

Maj. Gen. MohammadAkram Behzad, the policechief, said the incidentoccurred last evening inJudara area northeast ofAibak, the provincialcapital. In another incidentin Maidan Wardak, eightfighters were killed andthree others woundedduring a search operationand clashes betweensecurity forces andTaliban. AttaullahKhogyani, the governor’sspokesmen, said theincidents took place inNirkh and Chak districts.Two Afghan National

Windiesdestroy Pak tomake WorldT20 semisDHAKA–Defending champi-ons West Indies chargedinto the World Twenty20

semi-finals with aspectacular 84-runwin over Pakistan in akey Super-10 match inDhaka on Tuesday.

The West Indies re-covered from a top-

order meltdown to post 166-6 after electing to take firststrike, before three wicketseach by spin twins SamuelBadree and Sunil Narineskittled Pakistan for 82 in17.5 overs. The West Indies,who finished second be-hind unbeaten India ingroup two, will clash withgroup one champions SriLanka in the first semi-finalin Dhaka on Thursday.

India, who won all theirfour league matches, meetSouth Africa at the samevenue on Friday. The finalwill take place in Dhaka onSunday. It was the first timePakistan, finalists in the in-augural World T20 in 2007and champions in 2009,failed to reach the knock-out rounds in the five edi-

Continued on Page 7

Zardari callsNawaz Sharif

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Former presi-dent and Pakistan People’sParty leader Asif Ali Zardarihas contacted Prime Minis-ter Nawaz Sharif throughtelephone.

Sources said on Tues-day that the former presi-dent discussed with thepresident issues relating toPervez Musharraf case andpolitical situation prevailingin the country.

BRUSSELS—Nato on Tues-day said it could not con-firm the withdrawal of Rus-sian troops from near theflashpoint Ukrainian borderas Russia heaped evenmore pressure on a teeter-ing Ukraine economy with apainful gas price hike.

Foreign ministers fromthe western alliance gath-ered in Brussels to try andforge a response to Russia’sannexation of Crimea lastmonth, amid tentative signsof a calming in the worst

Nato sees no Russian troopspullout from Ukraine border

East-West standoff sincethe Cold War.

Ukraine’s parliament metone of Moscow’s key de-mands by voting unani-mously to disarm all self-de-fence groups that sprang upacross the country during its

political crisis that firsterupted over a ditched EUalliance in late November.

But tensions still re-mained high over two weeks

after Moscow formally an-nexed Crimea and Nato Sec-retary General Anders FoghRasmussen warned hecould not confirm that Rus-sia had pulled away from theUkrainian border, as an-nounced by the Kremlin.

“This is not what wehave seen,” Rasmussen saidas Nato ministers gatheredfor two days of talks, includ-ing US Secretary of StateJohn Kerry, who flew in be-tween shuttle diplomacy

US takes noposition on

Musharraf issueW A S H I N G T O N — T h eUnited States say that thetrial of former PresidentRtd General PervezMusharraf is an issue to beresolved in accordancewith Pakistan’s constitu-tion and laws.

Answering a questionat a briefing here, State de-partment deputy spokes-person Marie Harf said“we don’t take any posi-tion on legal proceedingsinvolving former PresidentMusharraf”.—INP

ISLAMABAD—The NationalAssembly’s standing com-mittee for interior has ap-proved the Amended Na-tional Security Act Bill bymajority, while it was alsojointly opposed by PPP,PTI, MQM, JI and JUI (F).

The in-camera sessionof the committee, convenedby Rana Shamim on Tues-day also witnessed spatsbetween PML-N’s TehminaDaultana and MQM’s par-

NA standing body approvesNational Security Act Bill

liamentarians. over oppos-ing the bill.

PML-N’s, TehminaDaultana’s statementagainst MQM’s oppositionof any National Security Billwas by MQM on groundsthat any such Security billwas always used againstMQM: since the bill ratherempowered abductions ofcitizens at will , rather thanproviding any security for

Continued on Page 7

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Picture on Back Page

5 ministerssworn in KP

CabinetPESHAWA R—Five minis-ters of KhyberPakhtunkhwa Cabinettook their oath. The oathwas administered by KPGovernor EngineerShaukat Ali.

The new five ministersin the cabinet are QalanderLodhi, Mushtaq Ghani,Ziaullah Afridi, Ikramullah

Continued on Page 7

TTP expectedto extendceasefireSTAFF REPORTER

PESHAWAR—The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)Shura will deliberate overthe ceasefire and dialogueprocess in its next meeting.

According to sourcesthe TTP Shura is expectedto announce an extensionin the ceasefire.

Sources add thatdespite reservations theTaliban remain committed

Continued on Page 7

OPERATIONAL AIR BASE: Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafique Butt, Chief of the Air Staff, Pakistan Air Forceinteracting with the airmen during his inspection visit.

ISLAMABAD—Air Chief Mar-shal Tahir Rafique Butt, Chiefof the Air Staff, Pakistan AirForce visited an OperationalAir Base of Northern AirCommand, Pakistan Air Forcetoday. Upon his arrival at theBase, Air Chief Marshal TahirRafique Butt, Chief of The AirStaff, Pakistan Air Force waspresented with Guard ofHonour by a smartly turnedout contingent. The visit wasundertaken with the purposeto assess the operational as-sets and facilities at the vari-ous Squadrons and installa-tions of the Base.

While interacting withthe airmen, the Air Chief ap-preciated their level of moti-vation and dedication towardsservice. The Air Chief reiter-ated that we must remain fo-cused and make concertedefforts as a team to keep thePakistan Air Force in highstate of operational readiness.The Air Chief further empha-sized that Allah Almighty re-wards those, here and in thehereafter, who sincerely strivefor the betterment and gloryof their motherland. Earlier, onhis arrival at the Base, the AirChief was received by Air ViceMarshal Arshad Malik , AirOfficer Commanding, NorthernAir Command and Base Com-mander.

Air Chief visits Operational Air Base

Tahir hails Airmen motivation towards servicesIRFAN ALIGI

KARACHI—Majority of infants that had ex-pired in their first quarter of a year after birthdue to acquiring chest-related health disor-ders such as pneumonia. The major causeof acquiring infectious disease was owingto performing the process of childbirth athome under supervision of untrained andeclectic midwives, which led to deaths ofapproximately 87 percent of infants. . An-other major cause after these flaws was thatthe concept of family planning in Tharparkarwas absolutely missing and mothers hadgiven birth to 5 to 15 children in a family,which also created acute dilapidated stateof mothers and they faced a weaker immunesystem and nutritional defects.

Around 55 percent of Tharparkar re-mained void of basic health facilities, whichwere being provided for the first time bySindh government and the network of com-munity midwife, lady health workers andlady health visitors was being expanded.Screening of pregnant and children belowthe age of 2 was also being initiated and on

Home childbirth by untrained midwivesmajor cause of infants’ death in Thar

completion of the screening process, pro-visioning of diet with complete nutritionwould be ensured.

Sindh Secretary for health Iqbal Durranistated this in a press briefing at the KarachiPress Club on the occasion of his visit tothe Karachi Press Club dispensary Tues-day. He was flanked by Special secretaryfor health Dr Mansoor Abbas and DirectorHealth Dr Zafar Ejaz Ahmed.

The Secretary said that the birth rate inTharparkar was higher than other areas andit was found that 5 to 15 children were in afamily despite extreme level poverty andlack of nutritious diet for the mothers andinfants and children, which was a directthreat to infants’ lives.

A close study conducted on 103 chil-dren revealed that the infants and childrenthat died in Tharparkar were between 1 to30 days of age and they were born to thehands of untrained midwives without re-quired antiseptic measures, which led toacquiring the infectious diseases amongthe newborn. They could even face deathsif brought at hospitals, said Durrani.

PCP greetsAPNS new

office bearersSTAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Press Councilof Pakistan (PCP) congratu-lates the newly elected of-fice bearers of the All Paki-stan Newspaper Society(APNS).

The Council particularlyfelicitate the newly electedPresident of APNS HameedHaroon as President, JamilAther as Senior Vice Presi-dent, Umer Majid Shami asVice President, Sarmad Ali asSecretary General, SyedMuhammad Munir Jilani asjoint Secretary and WaseemAhmed as Finance Secre-tary and other office bear-ers.

The council is hopefulthat newly elected officebearers of APNS will standby Press Council of Pakistanin promoting ethical stan-dards in the functioning offree press in Pakistan andrelationship between mediaand the people would befurther deepened especiallyin context of protectingpeople’s right to know.

PCP looks forward toprofessional input of APNSoffice bearers as their elec-tion to important positionsreflects trust and confi-dence reposed in their lead-ership and journalistic acu-men.

Polio eradication beincluded in agenda for

talks with TalibanISLAMABAD—The issue of polio eradication should be in-cluded in the agenda of ongoing talks with Tehrik-i-TalibanPakistan (TTP), said former interior minister Aftab AhmedKhan Sherpao on Tuesday.

All and sundry should join hands against polio, hesaid while speaking on a motion moved by Shazia Mari inthe National Assembly to discuss steps for elimination ofthe deadly disease.

Sherpao said the health ministry officials should beheld responsible for detection of each case of polio.

Dr Azra Fazl Pechhu condemned the killings of polioworkers and urged Ulema to support administering poliovaccine to children. The condition of polio eradication mustbe included in agenda for dialogue with Taliban, she added.

She expressed concern over surfacing of 96 polio casesin the country this year.

Ms Shazia Mari, mover of the motion, said the govern-ment must take adequate steps for eradicating the menaceof polio. She regretted that polio existed in only three coun-tries, including Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria.

She said in last six months, 96 cases of polio had beendetected in the country.

Abdul Rahim Mandokhel said preventive measuresmust be taken to protect the children from contagious dis-eases. Ejaz Jakhrani said polio could be eradicated withdedication and will.

Rajab Ali Khan Baloch condemned the killing of a vol-unteer polio worker in Bannu last day. He urged the pro-vincial government to protect polio workers.—APP

IS L A M A B A D—The Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) hasconducted a total of nineoperations at Punjab, KPKand Sindh and appre-hended 12 persons and

seized two vehicles and re-covered a huge quantity ofdrugs from their posses-sion.

According to a pressrelease ANF has recovered

3 KGs Opium, 5.4 KGsHeroin, 11.800 KGs Hash-ish and 160 Heroin filledCapsules . Most of thedrugs were destinedabroad.—APP

ANF apprehends 12 persons, recovers drugs

KARACHI—If you visit Shah LatifTown, one of the neighbourhoods ofBin Qasim Town you might feel thatyou have entered another state as theresidents of the town challengingwrit of the government are enjoyingpublic utilities without payment ofmonthly bills.

During a brief visit of the town, itwas seen that electric wires and rub-ber pipes of gas, supplying electric-ity and gas, were hanging on woodenpoles. At some places of the area theresidents took under ground connec-tions of gas and electricity. Not onlythis, the residents of the town havetaken under ground water connec-tions illegally.

The owners of oil tankers havemade a stop in the town and if youvisit the town then you will see alarge number of oil tankers parkedeverywhere. Illegal and open connec-tions of gas and electricity can be-come reason of any untoward inci-dent in presence of oil tankers.

The residents of the town haveclaimed that they have applied forconnection to the authorities con-cerned but they are not willing to in-

clude themselves in their network. Onthe other hand, the management ofpublic utilities has claimed that theyvisited the town several times alongwith law enforcement agencies to re-move illegal connection but the arearesidents again got connection bypuncturing supply lines.

“We have conducted operationin Shah Latif Town several times toremove illegal gas connection but thearea residents again got connectionby puncturing our supply lines,” SuiSouthern Gas Company (SSGC)spokesman Innayatullah Ismailclaimed.

“A few months back, welaunched a crackdown in the townalong with police to remove illegalconnection, but as we reached in thearea then some unidentified restoredaerial firing,” the SSGC spokesmansaid, adding that “As the unidenti-fied armed men started aerial firing,the police fled away from the spot byleaving us alone in the town.”

“The former government has in-troduced a law and fixed penalties toavoid theft of gas and after this law,we have conducted raids in almost

all parts of the city and penalized thedefaulter and those involved in theftof gas,” the spokesman maintained.

“Not only Shah Latif Town, thereare many other areas in the metropo-lis where residents are enjoying freegas supply but we cannot dare to visitthese areas due to fear of attack,” headded.

“We have conducted raids inShah Latif Town and removed illegalconnections but the area residentsagain reconnected through our sup-ply lines,” K Electric spokesman AdilMurtaza claimed.

“Our team visited the town andoffered the area residents to get con-nected with our system legally butthey did not pay attention to our pro-posals,” Murtaza said, adding that“Some representatives of Shah LatifTown visited our business center andhave shown their willingness to getconnection but they do not returnback for connection again.”

“Some people of the town haveapplied for connection and we haveissued temporary connection as perload and they are paying monthlybills,” he claimed.

Loss to national exchequer

Shah Latif Town residents usespublic utilities for free

MUZAFFAR ALI

LAHORE—The Hindu community inPakistan has demanded the govern-ment to ensure religious freedom,respect for worship places, protec-t ion of l ives and propert ies andgrant them their constitutional fun-damental rights.

A fifty member delegation of Pa-kistani Hindu community membersdemanded this while celebrat ingtheir religious festival “Holi” whichSouth Asia Partnership-Pakistan(SAP-PK) organized here at its of-f ice on Tuesday. The delegationmembers comprising males and fe-males were hailing from differentdistricts of the Punjab.

Expressing their concerns theysaid that among the major problemsthey were facing despite being thecitizens of Pakistan since birth werethe registrat ion of marriages be-cause no family laws were availablefor them. They said that it was de-plorable that despite their eldersstruggled for establishing Pakistan,but they are not even regarded asthird grade citizens. They are dis-criminated in every field includingeducation.

They said that nothing about

Hindu community demands minorities rights

Increase inhealth, education

budget soughtPESHAWAR—Participants of a seminar Tuesday called forincreasing the overall education and health budgets ofdistrict Swabi and enhancing the level of public participa-tion in budget making and oversight of expenditure.

The seminar organized by Centre for Governance andPublic Accountability (CGPA) in Swabi uncovered the find-ings of three research studies it had carried out in Swabi,Mardan and Peshawar District.

The organizers of the seminar recommended active in-volvement of community, civil society, parents while final-izing budget proposal.

The seminar criticized discrepancy between allocationof budget for male and female education. In the educationbudget of district Swabi, Mardan and Peshawar, which isa specifically gender sensitive budgeting, sector, alloca-tion for female education is continually substantially lessthan what is allocated for male education.

The participants observed that the previous year’shealth budget was brought forward with an incrementalincrease and no consideration was made about the needsof different health facilities.

It was suggested that community health mobilizationbe encouraged at village and union council level so thatthe poor and remote area get better access to health facili-ties.

Moreover, the budget should be so designed that itensures quality health services at BHUs and RHCs at Dis-trict level.

The seminar was attended by a large number of CivilSociety Organizations, District Education Officers, ADOEducation, DMS Bacha Khan Medical Complex and DMSDistrict Head Quarter Hospital.—APP

KP taking stepsfor promotion of

educationISLAMABAD—The KhyberPakhtunkhwa Governmentis taking concrete stepsfor uplift of education sec-tor in the province. Ac-cording to Radio Pakistanquoting official sourcessaid that the governmenthas decided to establish atotal of 100 primaryschools with at least oneschool in each provincialassembly consti tuency.Two new primary schoolswil l be constructed inChitral.

Under the plan, up-gradation of 50 primaryschools to middle level and50 middle schools to highschool status has alsobeen approved. Thesources said that the pro-vincial government hasalso planned constructionof boundary walls and pro-vision of clean drinkingwater to the students be-sides setting up 10 officesof the education depart-ment in the entire prov-ince.—APP

EMIS establishedin FATA TB

Control ProgrammePESHAWAR—The launchingceremony of Establishment ofElectronic Management Infor-mation System (EMIS) washeld in the office of TB Con-trol Programme FATA. Direc-tor Health Services, FATASecretariat, Dr. Pervez KamalKhan chaired the function.

Dr Sartaj Khan,Programme Manager TBControl Programme FATAhighlighted the main featuresof this latest information tech-nology system.

After implementation ofsystem the entry and diag-nostic record of TB patientsin FATA will be computerizedand the data generated will beutilized for the informed deci-sion making by stakeholdersabout the control of TB dis-ease at FATA and Nationallevel in future as per strategicplan 2015-20.

Besides, Dr. Fazal-e-Mula, Dr. Ikhtiar Ali, Dr.Qasim Abbas, Dr. SahibzadaHayat, Dr. Sanam Gul andWaqas Abdullah, ProjectDirector FATA Basic HealthProgramme also attendedthe function.—APP

Hindu community and their religionwas included in syllabus of schoolsdespite the fact that among rel i-gious minority groups in PakistanHindus were the largest. Their chil-dren also get education fromschools but nothing about inter-faith harmony was taught in thoseschools to all children.

Kanwal Kishor from Rahim YarKhan said that what the founder ofPakistan has said in his speechesabout the rights and status of mi-norities was never honored or givenrespect particularly in case of Hin-dus. He said that their representa-tives in assemblies should not beselected by political parties ratherthey should be elected so that they(Hindus) could held them respon-sible in case their issues are not re-solved.

He said that in Punjab there areeight reserved seats for minoritiesin the provincial Assembly and outof them only one seat was reservedfor Hindus despite the fact thatHindu population was the major re-ligious minority group in Punjab.

Pandit Channa Lal fromRawalpindi district said that in caseany Hindu child up to the age of 12years dies then he or she is buried

but unfortunately there is no grave-yard where this burial could bedone. He demanded that burialplace should be allocated besidesallocating residential plots andhouses to them (Hindus).

He said that there was no respectfor their places of worship and itcould be gauged from this realitythat a temple in Saidpur Vil lage(Islamabad) was changed into a ho-tel by the authori t ies concerned.Another temple at Rawal Lake(Rawalpindi) was taken from themby a government department whichafterwards was decorated with thepicks of political leaders and otherpersonalities and was made a visit-ing place.

Members of the Punjab Assem-bly Sadia Sohail Rana and Dr Anisaalso took part in the event and as-sured that they would highlight theissues of Hindu community on thefloor of the Assembly. Meanwhile,Naeema Malik and Hameed Gondalfrom SAP-PK facilitated this discus-sion and the event. They also as-sured that SAP-PK would provideall i ts possible support to Hinducommunity in Pakistan.

Met Office predictsmore rains this week

ISLAMABAD—Metrological Department has predicted twospells of spring rain over the upper parts of the countryduring the current week.

Met-Office reported that a weather system, presentlylocated over Iran, is heading towards Pakistan and is likelyto approach Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and upper parts of thecountry on Wednesday.

Under the influence of this weather system scatteredrain-thunderstorm is expected in upper KP (Malakand,Hazara, Peshawar, Mardan, Kohat & Bannu divisions),Islamabad, upper Punjab(Rawalpindi, Gujranwala,Sargodha & Lahore divisions),Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistanon Wednesday.

Another weather system islikely to approach northernparts of Balochistan on Friday and is likely to grip upper partsof the country on Saturday producing scattered rain/thunder-storm in northern Balochistan (Quetta, Zhob & Kalat divisionson Friday (evening/night)/Saturday), and in KhyberPakhtunkhwa, Upper Punjab, Islamabad, Kashmir & Gilgit-Baltistan on Saturday and Sunday. Rain-fed areas of wheatgrowing in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab are likely to re-ceive good rain during the weekend; however weather willremain dry in southern Punjab and Sindh during the period.Rain will be accompanied by windstorm/hailstorm at isolatedplaces in Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Peshawar and Kohat divi-sions during the weekend.—INP

ISLAMABAD—The National Assembly wasinformed Tuesday that National HighwayAuthority has conducted survey and ap-proved route for construction of Lahore-Karachi Motorway. Responding to a callattention notice, Minister of State for Par-liamentary Affairs Shaikh Aftab Ahmad toldthe House that the approved route is themost suitable and will prove to be costeffective.

He said this motorway project is partof Prime Minister’s vision to improve com-munication infrastructure in the country.The House which transacted members pri-vate business, passed a resolution urgingthe government to take steps to improveand regulate Madrassah education.

Speaking on the resolution, Ministerfor Religious Affairs SardarMuhammad.Yusuf said the government isholding consultations with Ittehad-e-Tanzeemate Madaris to bring reforms inreligious seminaries. He said over eightthousand seminaries are already provid-ing contemporary education and the gov-ernment is ready to facilitate other semi-naries to introduce contemporary subjectsin their curricula.

Fazlullah sendingweapons from

Afghanistan intoPakistan

ISLAMABAD—Former inte-rior minister SenatorRehman Malik said on Tues-day that the TTP chiefMullah Fazlullah was send-ing weapons from Afghani-stan into Pakistan whichwas causing increasing ter-ror incidents in the country.Talking to media personsoutside the ParliamentHouse, Rehman Malik said

there was no differencebetween the TTP andLashkar-e-Jhangvi. He saidthe PPP was siding with thePakistan government in-stead of the Taliban forpeace in the country, add-ing that declaring the PPPand MQM responsible forfailure of the talks was notright.—INP

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhawa Governor Shaukatullah taking oath of new KP ministers at Governor House.Chief Minister Pervez Khattak is also present.

QUETTA: A metropolitan department truck on his back after anti-encroachmentoperation.

KASHMORE: A large number of JUI-F supporters attending the Islam Zindabad andTahfuze Deeni Madaris Rally.

He said that negotiations are beingheld with the stakeholders to establish aRegulatory Authority for seminaries.

The House also adopted a resolutionurging the government to impose immedi-ate ban on telecasting of immoralprogrammes on private and public TVchannels. Speaking on a motion, Parlia-mentary Secretary for Finance RanaMuhammad Afzal Khan said that everyyear an amount is allocated for grant ofHouse Building Advance to the govern-ment employees. He said this loan is givento the employees on the basis of their se-niority and length of service. He said ev-ery effort will be made to enhance this al-location in the next budget.

He said five hundred thousand low-cost houses will be constructed by theFederal Government as part of the PML-N’s election manifesto. He said similarschemes are also being executed by theprovincial governments in which govern-ment employees will get preference.

Earlier, the members called upon thegovernment to increase the amount ofhouse building advance for the govern-ment employees.—INP

NHA approves constructionof Lahore-Karachi Motorway

Hashoo FoundationCommemorates

1,700 ScholarshipsSTAFF REPORTER

I S L A M A B A D — H a s h o oFoundation, Pakistanhosted its First Alumni GetTogether at Marriott Hotel,Islamabad. The Foundationcelebrated a decade of suc-cessfully assisting deserv-ing youth through HashooFoundation Scholarships.The prestigious event rec-ognized the challenges andachievements of HashooFoundation’s Alumni, dur-ing their education andwithin their respectivefields.

The Alumni Get Togetherwas graced by numeroussenior dignitaries from allwalks of life including thePatron in Chief, ChairmanHashoo Group Mr.Sadruddin Hashwani. TheGet Together involved inspi-rational speeches from ben-eficiaries of the ScholarshipProgram, cultural dances andmusical performances.

The Patron in Chief,Chairman Hashoo GroupMr. Sadruddin Hashwanipresented awards to thehigh achieving alumni of theScholarship Program. In hisaddress, he emphasized thatIslam is the faith of sharingand he encouraged all ca-pable individuals to use theirresources to alleviate pov-erty. Mr. SadruddinHashwani reaffirmed hiscommitment to help ensurethe financial sustainabilityof Hashoo Foundation, sothat it can continue to ex-pand its reach and impact inraising the quality of life ofmarginalized groups of so-ciety for generations tocome. He acknowledged thevisionary leadership of Ms.Sarah Hashwani, Chairper-son Hashoo Foundationand expressed his gratitudetowards all the individualsand partners for their con-tinued contribution andsupport.

Chairperson HashooFoundation, Ms. SarahHashwani said it was anemotional occasion for heras she had interacted withso many of the alumni on apersonal basis and under-stood how far each indi-vidual had come in their jour-ney. She was proud to an-nounce that Hashoo Foun-dation has provided 1,700scholarships to date.

9 Inspectorspromoted as DSPS A R G O D H A — I n s p e c t o rGeneral police Punjab KhanBaig has promoted nine po-lice Inspectors of the districtas Deputy Superintendentof Police (DSP).

Police spokesman saidon Tuesday that according tonotification nine Inspectorsincluding Mehr NasirMehmood, Muhammad Tahir,Malik Usman, Azhar Yaqoob,Raza Ullah Khan, FarrukhSuhail, Rana Anwar, SaeedUllah Khan Niazi and MalikShahid Nazir have been pro-moted as Deputy Superinten-dent of Police.—APP

Governortakes oathSTAFF REPORTER

PESHAWAR—The KhyberPukhtunkhwa Governor,Engineer Shaukatullah ad-ministered oath to the newlyinducted five members ofthe provincial cabinet at aceremony held atGovernor’s House,Peshawar on Tuesday. Pro-vincial Chief Minister,

Mr. Pervez Khattak, wasalso seated at the dais.Amongst the newly inductedmembers, were Mr. MushtaqAhmad Ghani, Mr. QalandarAli Khan Lodhi, Mian.Jamshaid-ud-Din Kakakhel,Mr. Ikaramullah KhanGandapur and Mr. ZiaulhahAfridi. The ceremony wasalso attended by provincialministers, senior governmentofficials and relatives andwell wishers of the newly in-ducted members of the pro-vincial cabinet. # In themeanwhile. the KhyberPakhtunkhwa Governor, En-gineer Shaukatullah adminis-tered oath of the office ofChairman, KhyberPakhtunkhwa Public ServiceCommission to Mr. AttaullahKhan at a ceremony held atGovernor’s House, Peshawaron Tuesday.

Govt’s welcome reliefAS the economy has started showing signs of improvement, the Gov

ernment is appreciably taking steps to ensure that the benefits trickledown to the masses, who have been passing through a period of

agony because of hard-pressed economic conditions. On Monday, the Gov-ernment decided to slash down prices of POL products in view of apprecia-tion of rupee vis-a-vis dollar. And in a related development, Prime MinisterNawaz Sharif wrote a letter to the Chief Minister urging them to see to itthat reduced import costs due to depreciation of dollar should be reflectedin market prices.

This is, perhaps, for the first time that a Government was thinking interms of forcing the traders to behave following noticeable depreciationof dollar. In fair markets, businessmen themselves adjust the prices withrise and fall in the cost of input but in Pakistan unscrupulous elementspocket the difference themselves and do not pass on the benefit to the endconsumer. Prices of almost every item with imported component rosesharply during the last nine months on the pretext of appreciation of dol-lar and hike in prices of oil in the international market. Now that therupee is strengthening and POL prices are also coming down it is duty oftraders to make downward adjustment in prices. The Government hasnecessary mechanism in place to ensure compliance by traders and whatis required is commitment and will to do that. We hope that apart fromreduction in prices of goods, it would also be ensured that transport faresare also brought down in a commensurate way. In fact, with increasedavailability of gas for public transport, their profit margin has increasedfurther and this should also be reflected in the new fare chart. The Gov-ernments will have to act quickly; otherwise the anticipated relief wouldbe eaten up by budget-related price-hike. It is good that the Governmenthas started feeling for miseries of the people but this should not be theend of it. People also legitimately expect that the Government wouldannounce more relief for them in the coming budget.

Turks opt forprogress all around

SOON after his victory in local elections, buoyant Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged to his nation to make concerted ef-

forts to build a stronger democracy, an oblique reference to allegation thatthe victory could spur autocratic tendencies. The decisive victory of hisJustice and Development Party in Sunday’s polls has immense significanceas it comes in the wake of intensive propaganda campaign launched bysome forces to undermine political and economic stability of the country byrocking the system that has delivered to the Turkish people in an unparal-leled manner.

The victory of the ruling AK Party, which got more votes in the latestlocal elections as compared to the previous one, is reflection of confidenceof Turkish people in the policies and leadership qualities of Prime MinisterErdogan, who has not only strengthened Islamic identity of Turkey but alsotaken the country to new heights in the socio-economic development. Hehad projected the election as a referendum on his rule and the Turkish peopleshowed sagacity and majority by voting for continuity. It is because of thisthat the commentators point out that Erdogan has led his party to six con-secutive victories in parliamentary and local elections as well as two con-stitutional referendums. Earlier this month, he became the longest serv-ing Prime Minister in the country’s history. It is rightly said that Erdoganbroadened the tax base and in return is spending the money wisely toraise income and standard of living of his people. Apart from economicpolicies, moves by AK Party to strengthen democracy and loosen mili-tary and civilian bureaucratic shackles, focus onto the needs of the con-servative sections of the society, initiation of talks with Kurds for thesake of sustainable peace, electoral reforms and a prudent foreign policywith focus on supporting Islamic causes, have also paid back and thereare expectations that Erdogan would also win if he decides to contest nextPresidential election. We are glad that people of Turkey are demonstratingtraits of a model and mature nation by rejecting fissiparous tendencies andvoting for unity, progress, and advancement.

Significant visitof RoK Premier

THE visit to Pakistan by Prime Minister of Republic of Korea Jung Hong-Won next week is manifestation of expanding bilateral relationship and

business friendly environment in Pakistan. Relations between Pakistan andROK are exemplary as the two countries are cooperating in a host of areasof infrastructure and industrial development and this visit will give newdimensions to expanding relationship.

A strong delegation of Korean entrepreneurs will accompany the PrimeMinister to interact with Pakistani business community and one expectsthat they will enter into agreements for boosting trade relations and invest-ment in hitherto unexplored areas in Pakistan. Pakistan attaches great im-portance to its relations with South Korea and is keen to further strengthenrelations in different fields. In fact there is enormous untapped potential fortrade that needs to be explored. Pakistan-Korea cooperation would not onlypromote friendly ties but will also benefit the economy of both countries.RoK has emerged as one of the most vibrant economy, a manufacturingpowerhouse and a hub of imports and exports. In a region of fast growth,since the 1960s, Korea has increased its per capita GDP more quickly thanany of its neighbours. While Pakistan can benefit from the technologicaladvancement of the friendly country, it can also export agricultural prod-ucts and skilled manpower to meet its manpower requirements. RoK hasplayed a key role in undertaking some of the important projects includingthe Lahore-Islamabad Motorway and the commuters remember this con-tribution in good words when they travel on it. Also the Koreans are fullyfamiliar with the working environment in Pakistan and they would notfeel any problem by doing business here. Regular exchange of visits be-tween the two countries speak of understanding between them on impor-tant regional and international issues. Earlier in January, a Parliamentarydelegation of South Korea led by Speaker of the National Assembly KangChang Hee visited Pakistan and exchanged views on matters of mutualinterest and bilateral significance. In our view the visit of Prime MinisterJung Hong-Won will be a milestone and open new vistas of all roundcooperation to the mutual advantage of the two countries.

Negating TTP’s version

Indictment& beyond

PAKISTAN’S former militaryruler General PervezMusharraf stood rock solid as

charges of treason were read out incourt against him. His unshakenreply was ‘Not guilty’. This calmdefiance is something that the judi-ciary and civilian forces trying topin him down may not be able toshake. While addressing the threejudges hearing the case, he de-fended himself in a way that willnot only create public sympathy forhim but at the same time will alsoprevent the prosecutors from tak-ing an extreme step for fear ofantagonising the powerful army.The general said, “I am being calleda traitor, I have been chief of armystaff for nine years and I have servedthis army for 45 years. I have foughttwo wars and it is ‘treason’?” Hisresolute conclusion was: “I preferdeath to surrender.”

It is quite unfortunate that theex-army chief had to face chargesin a case that many believe couldhave been shelved at an early stage.But now that the die has been cast,this high-profile case will causemany things to unravel and skel-etons to rattle in the corridors ofpower. The defence is likely to givea tough time to the judiciary and thepremature civilian set-up. Thearmy’s keeping mum is a good thingfor any crossing of swords wouldlead to a volatile situation. Every-one is now agog to hear whatMusharraf has to say as he declareswhy, how and with whom on boardhe decided to sack the judges of thesuperior court when he imposedemergency on November 3, 2007.This politically surcharged hearingcould raise questions that the civil-military establishment may not beable to answer at ease and theprosecution’s case may be weak-ened. Musharraf has already saidthat he executed his powers as thearmy chief and the civilian court isincompetent to try and question himon the subject. With his indictment,which political pundits think couldhave been avoided, a Pandora’s boxhas been opened. The fact thatMusharraf never tried to leave thecountry voluntarily and made it apoint to face the court makes hiscase strong. Now the million-dol-lar question is, what next? How willthe law react if Musharraf makesrevelations which could implicatemany others and broaden the scopeof inquiry to include several big-wigs? It’s a risk and for now Paki-stan will have to wait and watch.— Khaleej Times

*****

Vote withoutany fear

THE people of Afghanistanface a difficult choice thisweekend when they vote for

a new president who will take con-trol of the deeply troubled countryas the Nato-ISAF forces leave.Even going out to vote will take alot of courage as the Taliban is us-ing violence to frighten voters intostaying away and discredit any re-sult. The in-coming president willneed to nurture the gains that civilsociety has made over the past 10years and defeat the security chal-lenge from the Taliban.

The main contenders for thishuge task are Ashraf Ghani, whomay appeal to the internationalcommunity given his experience inthe World Bank, but is more of anunknown quantity in Afghanistan;the veteran opposition leaderAbdullah Abdullah who ran a closesecond to Hamid Karzai the lasttime but suffers from the electoralhandicap of not being a fullPashtun; and Zalmay Rasoul, whohas the dubious distinction of hav-ing the backing of out-going Presi-dent Karzai, who would love tocontinue pulling the strings afterleaving office. In addition, theTaliban and its more extreme alliesare trying hard to wreck the elec-tions. They would benefit hugelyfrom a weak president with an in-complete mandate, which wouldgive their bizarre alternative morecredibility. This is why terroristshave attacked soft targets, killingmore than 21 people in recentweeks, as well as several offices ofthe Election Commission. Thepeople of Afghanistan need toshow yet again that they will standup to such threats by going out tovote in this election, so as to givetheir new president mandate hewill need to guide their countryforward to a more prosperous fu-ture. — Gulf News

MEDIA WATCH

THE report published lately inThe New York Times has senttremulous tocsin in Pakistan

disturbing many a policy maker inthe realm. The Pakistani militaryalong with the ones at political of-fices rebuts the report written by thedexterous hands of Carlotta Gall. Percontra, the report really amused me,and I dare to take it positively. Iftaken positively, it can save us froma bigger menace we in Pakistan havebeen fighting with since 2007.

The report, that got space in TheNew York Times on the 19th day ofmarch, negates the version ofTehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan whichhave been attacking Pakistan armyand its security apparatus on thepremise that the Pakistan army is astooge to the American army, andthe former has always served thelatter’s interest in the region precipi-tating severe blows to the cause ofjihad in Afghanistan. Moreover, theragtag and bobtail groups in Paki-stan under the umbrella of TTPclaim vociferously that Pakistanarmy’s unfair assistance to Pentagonis the cause of the spill of blood ofcommon men in Afghanistan. So,such an army that became part ofthe gory scheme of America in Af-ghanistan must be a target.

But the report conversely saysthat Pakistan’s military’s top agencyISI has always played to give dentsto the US and western interests inthe region. The writer Carlotta Gall

wonders with a tinge of ire:“They (the US) are standing bya military (Pakistan army) thatprotects, aids and abets peoplewho are going against the U.S.and Western mission in Af-ghanistan, in Syria, every-

where.” Temper frays when one cudsover the query: what logic then re-mains to attack Pakistan army whenit has been playing ambidextrouslywith US evermore hitting the US in-terests in region and elsewhere?

Now, the fact is that the TTP tryto portray their outfit as under theleadership of Mullah Omer’s AfghanTaliban. They also regard MullahOmer as their Emir. Associatingthemselves with Afghan Taliban’sideological efforts in Afghanistan, theTTP try to draw the required moraland political legitimacy. But the re-port says that Mullah Omer is pro-tected by Pakistan’s agency. On onehand, TTP eulogize the attacks ex-ecuted by Afghan Taliban on the USinterests in Afghanistan, and the Af-ghan government almost every timepoints fingers at Pakistan for back-ing Afghan Taliban for such on-slaughts; but on the other hand, they(TTP) criticize Pakistan army forbeing cause of support for US mis-sion in Afghanistan. The picture looksopaque — what to believe and whatnot? Both America and TTP castigatePakistan for helping each other’s foes;heaven knows who is whose foe?

It may be a mere coincidence thatanother report on the 19th of thismarch was written in HindustanTimes by Vikram Sood, the formersecretary of RAW. This report, too,contains the same kinds of allegationsagainst Pakistan. I daresay wheneversuch reports are published, TTP must

step forward to negate their versionsin the strongest words, because thecontentions in such reports may bluntthe basis of their jihad against a Mus-lim state. But they cannot.

The fact of the matter is that allthe arguments propounded by theTTP to attack the state of Pakistanare bogus and baseless. The realityof TTP transpires when we try to dis-cover the hands which control, fi-nance and provide logistics to TTPso as to debilitate Pakistan’s securityapparatus. Of late, Lateef Mehsud,the deputy of Hakeemulla Mehsud,was nabbed in Afghanistan enjoyingitinerary with the officials of NationalDirectorate of Security (NDS),Afghanistan’s intelligence agency.The story was leaked by The NewYork Times. The report unfolds thatAimal Faizi, the spokesman for thePresident Karzai said that LateefMehsud was part of an NDS project,and had been in contact with the offi-cials for a long period of time. Someofficials divulged that “the ultimateplan was to take revenge on the Pa-kistani military”. This stratagem ofusing TTP as proxy from across theclears the clouds of opacity as to theongoing war initiated by TTP againstPakistan especially Pakistan army.

Another eye-opening reality isthat the TTP have been against allthose jihadi groups in Pakistan whichdeem jihad obligatory only in Af-ghanistan. They (TTP) present weirdlogic for waging the war against thestate of Pakistan. Pakistan is the allyof the US war in Afghanistan, so theally or friend will not be spared, butthe real enemy would not be touchedupon leaving aside the sole incidentof ‘Camp Chapman attack’. Theyhave always been at odds with North

Bangladesh: Public & concocted history

WIDE gap betweenBangladesh’s rulingAwami League’s Paki-

stan perception and the public sen-timent is quite interesting. AL car-ries a pathological legacy of trump-ing up anti-Pakistan frenzy for po-litical expediency. When in govern-ment, it employs the entire State ap-paratus toward this end. Though re-cent lunatic orders banning localfans from carrying the flags of for-eign countries in the stadiums dur-ing the ongoing World T20 Cham-pionship came from the BangladeshCricket Board, these, apparently,had the concurrence of the highestpolitical authority. The trigger anddriver was the enthusiastic supportshown to Pakistani team byBangladeshi fans during its matchesagainst India and Australia as wellas during the recent Asia Cupmatches. It is amply clear thatpeople of Bangladesh don’t endorsethe sitting government’s attitude to-wards Pakistan. It reminds one ofan earlier event when Pakistan wonthe thrilling final of the 2012 AsiaCup, also played in Bangladesh.Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinastormed out of the stadium withoutapplauding the winning team or giv-ing away the winner’s trophy. Simi-lar childish attitude seems to be ondisplay these days.

Being the founding party ofBangladesh, AL made a negativestart by throwing up fictional fig-ures about war atrocities. Instead ofgiving a healing touch to its people,many a times, AL deliberately re-versed the near healing process byre-scratching the fading memories.This strategy helps the AL in twoways: justifies its policy of appease-ment towards India; and provides it

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Sunday Magazine

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Ph: 2852027-8, Ext: 116Email: magazinesocialdiary@hotmail.com —Proverb

Waziristan’s Hafiz Gul Bahadur,South’s Maulvi Nazir and HaqqaniNetwork, reason being these fac-tions believe in armed struggle in Af-ghanistan in contrast to the TTP’sefforts to decimate state of Pakistan.

Even there exist dichotomy be-tween TTP’s inflexible approach andthe one adopted by Afghan Talibanon many fronts. The willful ap-proach of TTP to malign Pakistanabout certain issues like anti-poliodrive and female education is not inconsonance with that of AfghanTaliban. In 2009, some 400 privateschools in Swat enrolling 40,000girls were forced to close by thePakistani Taliban. But contrarily,Afghan Taliban during these yearshave not adopted such a harsh ap-proach. This is the war of ideologi-cal propaganda. Some may havebeen carried away. The things canbe simple when we delve deep tocome out with the reality that thehostile foreign forces have taken fullcontrol of the handful of people whoare hell-bent to have their jihad onlyon Pakistan.

There is a strong need to developa counter-narrative to the baselessand groundless ideology exploitedby the TTP to corrupt the brains andinfuse in them the hatred againstPakistan. Media men, anchors, in-tellectuals and above all religiousscholars must come forward andprovide a counter-argument – howcan jihad be waged against a Mus-lim state which does not debar itscitizens from performing the basicobligations of Islam: prayer(Namaz), fasting (Roza), pilgrimage(Haj) and Zakat?—The writer is a freelancecolumnist.

a handle over public sentiment,which it tries to exploit as politicalexpediency, on as required basis. ALconveniently ignores the atrocitiescommitted by ethnic Bengalis againstnon-Bengalis that lead to military op-eration on March 26, 1971; thoughheaps of literature is available on thiscount. Right from beginning, therehas been a very powerful counter nar-rative to atrocities’ related official fig-ures; interestingly it emerged fromwithin Bangladesh as much as frominternational community.

Latest step to malign Pakistan isan upcoming play in the UK beingenacted by Komola Collective, aLondon-based theatre. Play is basedon the AL version of atrocities com-mitted by Pakistani troops during1971 war. Theme of the play has al-ready been refuted by independentanalysts including those fromBengalis and Hindu communities.The play, which will premiere inLondon on April 9, is called“Birangona” — meaning “BraveWoman” or “War Heroine”. Percep-tion has it that this activity is beingheavily funded by Bangladesh andIndia. The so called InternationalCrimes Tribunal (ICT) was set upin 2009. By 2012, nine leaders ofJamaat-e-Islami, and two of theBangladesh National Party, hadbeen indicted and convicted. TheFour-Party Alliance, including theBNP and Jamaat-e-Islami, has sev-eral alleged war criminals amongtheir top-ranking politicians. Inter-national community has persis-tently voiced concerns that these tri-als are neither transparent nor im-partial. Human Rights Watch, whichinitially supported the establishmentof the tribunal, has severely con-demned it for issues of fairness andtransparency, as well as reportedharassment of lawyers and witnessesrepresenting the accused.

In December 2012, the Econo-mist published contents of leaked

communications between the thenchief justice of the tribunal,Mohammed Nizamul Huq, andAhmed Ziauddin, a Bangladeshi at-torney in Brussels. After this, Huqresigned from the tribunal. He hadbeen revealed to have had “prohib-ited contact” with the “prosecution,government officials, and an exter-nal adviser.” According to the WallStreet Journal (WSJ), the e-mails andSkype calls showed that Ziauddinwas playing an important part in theproceedings, although he had no le-gal standing. The WSJ also said thatthe communications suggested thatthe Bangladeshi government was try-ing to secure a quick verdict, as Huqreferred to pressure from a govern-ment official.

Human Rights Watch and de-fence lawyers, acting for GhulamAzam and Delawar Hossain Sayeedi,requested retrials for the two becauseof the controversy during their trials.Brad Adams of Human Rights Watchexpressed concern that because ofchanges among all the judges in thecourse of the trial, none of the threejudges in Sayeedi’s case would haveheard the entirety of the testimony be-fore reaching a verdict. On 28 Feb-ruary 2013, Delwar Hossain Sayeedi,the deputy of Jamaat, was foundguilty and sentenced to death byhanging. His defence lawyer had ear-lier complained that a witness whowas supposed to testify for him wasabducted from the gates of the court-house on November 5, 2012, report-edly by police, and has not been heardfrom since. In May 2013, Bali wasfound in an Indian prison, and he al-leged state abduction and that offi-cials had told him that both he andSayeedi would be killed.

General elections of Bangladeshheld on January 5, present an inter-esting case study. The vote’s credibil-ity had been undermined even beforethe polling day, as 153 Awami League(AL) members or its allies were de-

What must be,must be.

clared elected unopposed to a househaving 300 elected members. SinceOctober 2013, around 180 peoplehave died in electoral violence. Atleast 26 people were killed on thepolling day. The entire process wascompromised due to boycott byKhalida Zia’s Bangladesh Nation-alist Party (BNP) and 20 other op-position parties. In a country that hasexperienced nearly 20 coups, peopleare questioning the legitimacy of thenew legislature and pondering overthe likelihood of another coup. Fol-lowing madness as strategy, theBangladesh ruling party is targetingthose Bangladeshis, who wereagainst the dismemberment of Pa-kistan. After targeting the Jamaat-e-Islami, and sentencing its leadersto death, Jamaat-e-Islami is now tostand trial, as an entity. In her Feb-ruary 4, 2014 address to theBangladesh parliament, SheikhHasina declared that fresh investi-gations would be launched to ascer-tain whether Begum Khaleda Zia’sBangladesh Nationalist Party wasinvolved in smuggling 10 truckloadsof arms with the help of ISI.

Under these circumstances,Hasina Sheikh is unnecessarilyopening new fronts. Under the pre-vailing circumstances, prudence isbest course of action. Bangladeshmust look inwards. No one stoppedBangladesh from bringing the al-leged perpetrators of rapes and mur-ders during the 1971 war to justicefor 42 long years. The reason whythe AL chose to do it now is becauseTeesta Water sharing and the Indo-Bangladeshi land boundary agree-ments are yet to come to fruition.Hasina faces accusations that she hasnot been reciprocated by India. Bestway to come out of the accountabil-ity net for her failed pro-India for-eign policy is to create an anti-Paki-stan hype.—The writer is Consultant Policyand Strategic Response IPRI.

M Tahir IqbalEmail: tahir_iqbal87@hotmail.com

Iqbal KhanEmail:tweets@wonderous101

Voice of the People

Rich man toysMALIK SHAYAAN AFZAL

The PM has launched theRawalpindi-Islamabad metro busproject, which will be completedwithin a year at the cost of Rs44 bil-lion. The project will cater to about150,000 commuters.

Similar projects are envisagedfor Multan and other major cities.The new Islamabad Airport projecthas also been given a target date forits completion by the PM. The in-terest of the PM and his brother, theCM of Punjab, in building suchprojects is certainly praiseworthy.They are great builders like theMughals. But the trouble is that theirpriorities are a little lopsided fromthe viewpoint of balanced economicgrowth. Should not security, law andorder, energy, education, health,education and poverty alleviation beour top priorities at this stage?

Going for these mega projectsis like a poor child buying toys hesees a rich man’s child playing with,using all his meagre resources andin the process staying uneducated,unsheltered, insecure, hungry andweak. Perhaps our rulers also feelthat investing resources on health,education, poverty alleviation andeducation etc. is a long-term processand will show results after a fewyears when they might not be inpower while they want to showquick results.—Islamabad

Load-sheddingin Karachi

TAMOOR SULAIMAN KAZI

This is with reference to un-equalload-shedding schedule of K-Elec-tric going on in different areas ofKarachi. The worst load-sheddingwas carried in Gulshan-e-Maymar,specially sector Z-6. During thisperiod un-scheduled load-sheddingwas carried out for upto 7 hoursduring the day time. My childrenannual examination was being heldhow we are manage our kids studyduring long spell of load-shedding?

When you complain with K-Electric and ask why the long un-schedule load-shedding they simplysay due to so many villages nearGulshan-e-Maymar using illegallight of k-electric. Recently IBC(Gadap), Gulshan-e-Maymar, officewas shifted to new premises atMadaras Society KDA Scheme #33,it is far away and very difficult toinhabitants of Gulshan-e-Maymar toreach this place. Request to Karachi-Electric to shift this office anotherconvenient place. Now residents ofGulshan-e-Maymar, Karachi, re-quest Honourable Chief Justice ofSupreme Court of Pakistan, to takesuo motu action against K-Electricfor discriminative load-sheddingformula. And draw the kind atten-tion of Prime Minister of Pakistan,Federal Minister for Water & Power,Federal State Minister for Water andPower, and Federal Secretary, forWater & Power, to look into thematter personally and resolve genu-ine grievance of inhabitant ofGulsahn-e-Maymar, Karachi.—Karachi

KU at nightSHAEMA SAHER

University Of Karachi is one of thebest universities in South Asia. Dueto increasing number of people will-ing to study there, evening programswere introduced. It was a good causewhich is worth appreciating. But thepolicymakers have neglected theidea to facilitate evening studentswho pay 90 percent more fees as

Public transport in PakistanUMAIR IQBAL

This paper highlights the core problems of the continuing failures of Pakistani cities to develop andmanage their public transport systems in such a way as to provide a high level of mobility, equity

and environmental sustainability. A draft National Transport Policy was published in 1991, by theNational Transport Research Centre (NTRC), which suggested the adoption of a bus-based publictransport system as compared to rail-based mass transit system, as the preferred urban transport modelin the metropolitan cities of Pakistan (Government of Pakistan, NTRC 1991). This approach may havebeen adopted due to the lack of finances available from the World Bank to implement a rail based masstransit system. However, at the same time, heavy and light rail based public transport was proposed forLahore by the technical and financial assistance of JICA and TEPA 1992. The NTRC transport policyalso proposed that government responsibility should be limited to low-income groups by providing asufficient number of subsidised public transport services (Government of Pakistan, NTRC 1991). Itwas argued that the introduction of low quality public transport in urban areas would convey a nega-tive image of government-owned transportation, ultimately discouraging the efforts towards promot-ing public transport. This policy also proposed that the government should encourage the privatesector to provide efficient and high quality public transport services for the middle class. Severalsteps were proposed to encourage the involvement of the private sector, including soft loans frombanks, a reduction in custom duty and tax incentives for the importation of vehicle spare parts.Concluding the purpose of this paper, It is crystal clear that Pakistan’s public transport is really in acrisis and harmful situation, whatever the reasons are behind it but it is a big question mark for thegovernment. In Pakistan, several steps have been taken to manage the public transport in a goodmanner but no serious efforts have ever been made for proper implementation of the plans. Nowa-days, we see ‘Qinquis’ on big scale as public transport in even big cities of Pakistan. According toAutomotive engineers, it has been stated that Qinqui is improper form of vehicle and they must befully ignored as they can be the cause of serious accidents. Moreover, the buses we have in our trans-portation are in really in poor and dilapidated condition causing deadly pollution. This ignorance ofconcerned authorities of Pakistan’s public transport has demolished the view and the look of Pakistan.There should be a proper system of transport for public in Pakistan with a proper management. I hopeconcerned authorities will take necessary action in this regard.—Via email

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Email:editorial@pakobserver.net

THE articles, columns andletters are published on thesepages in good faith. However,the contents of these writingsmay not necessarily match theviews of the newspaper.

—Editor

Lacunas in tax system

THE reported Rs.9 billionfraud in sales tax refundmanifests lacunas in our tax

system. It is also tantamount to cre-ate hurdles to new taxation policythat emphasizes on eradication ofmaladministration and corruption.Tax collection target has been re-duced by whopping Rs.130 billion,despite un-satisfactory 9% Tax-GDP ratio. Under the new taxationpolicy, tax-GDP ratio percentagewill be enhanced to 13% and 15%by 2018. Currently, in India, tax-GDP ratio is 16%. Central govern-ment contributes 10% while statesshare is 6%. Budgetary target fortax collection was set Rs.2,475 bil-lion but revised downward toRs.2,345 billion. Another Rs.45billion shortfall in tax collection isbeing predicted. Downward revi-sion of tax collection targets is thevisible fallout of fraudulent prac-tices in tax machinery.

The broad theme of presentgovernment taxation policy thataims to facilitate the tax payers fo-cuses on (i) taxing those who arenot paying any tax, (ii) enhancingefficiency of the tax machinery, (iii)removing anomalies and distortionsin the tax system, (iv) simplifyingthe tax procedures, (v) broadeningof the tax base, (vi) rationalizationof tax rates and exemptions, (vii)encouraging corporatization anddocumentation, and (viii) tax pay-ers facilitation. According to Fi-nance Minister 17.7% growth in taxcollection is noted in the CurrentFinancial Year. An amount ofRs.1.348 trillion taxes are collectedagainst Rs.1.145 trillion in the cor-responding period of last year.

Revelation of rampant settle-ment of refund against fake in-voices is an unwarranted skeletonin the taxation cupboard. Introduc-

Never give up..!

Gulf widens between Qatar & its neighbours

US President Barack Obamavisited Saudi Arabia at a critical moment for the country.

Its recent decision to withdraw itsambassador from Qatar has revealedthe gravity of the crisis in the GulfCooperation Council (GCC), com-posed of Saudia Arabia’s most im-mediate neighbours. Gulf politics isshifting toward a new balance in thewake of the Saudi-United ArabEmirates rapprochement and recentattempt to isolate Qatar. UAE andBahrain have joined Saudi Arabia indowngrading relations with Qatar.This is an unusual move, consider-ing Persian Gulf states’ tradition oftreating political disagreements as afamily matter, to be handled behindthe scenes. Oman is keeping its dis-tance from situation, while Kuwaithas attempted to mediate betweenSaudi Arabia and Qatar.

Several factors are drivingSaudi Arabia’s moves againstQatar, which include a ban prohib-iting Saudi intellectuals from con-tributing to Qatari newspapers.There is Qatar’s support for theMuslim Brotherhood (in Egypt andelsewhere); the speeches by the Is-lamic theologian Yusuf al-Qardawiand the broadcasting policy ofQatar-funded Al Jazeera since theArab Spring; and the credencegiven to the view that Qatar is host-ing Western institutions with theintent of orchestrating a coup inSaudia Arabia. That view reflectsthe Saudis’ tough stance against theMuslim Brotherhood, which they

have declared a terrorist organiza-tion. The Saudis perceive theBrotherhood’s influence in Arabcountries, particularly the Gulfstates, as a serious threat to theirinternal stability and survival.

The voluntary abdication byQatar’s Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa AlThani in June 2013, and his replace-ment as Emir by his son SheikTamim bin Hamad Al Thani, failedto satisfy Saudi expectations ofchange in Qatari foreign policy. Andnow the Saudis have made it clearthat they have reached the limits oftheir patience. But Saudi Arabia’sattitude toward Qatar may generatesome difficulties for its own policy.There is considerable transnationalmovement of goods and services,and billions of dollars of cross-bor-der investment, across the Gulf —economic activity that would be en-dangered by the GCC’s further dis-integration. The Muslim Brother-hood is not a violent organization,and it has not engaged in illegal ac-tivities in the Gulf countries. OtherGCC states, eager to avoid escalat-ing political tensions in their owncountries, are unlikely to declare ita terrorist organization.

Even Saudi Arabia’s special re-lationship with Jordan will not pushits government to adopt such a dec-laration. For the time being, harshpolicies toward the Muslim Broth-erhood are likely to be confined toEgypt and Saudi Arabia. The prob-lem for the Saudis is that simply“correcting” the Qatari positioncannot change the political trajec-tory within the region — particu-larly in Syria and Egypt. Moreover,the Saudis’ imposition of their pre-

Views From Abroad

ferred policies on the GCC, to-gether with the possibility of sanc-tions on Qatar, risks jeopardizingall that the GCC (which already hasfallen into political decline in thewake of the Arab Spring) hasachieved past 33 years.

Although Qatar’s rulers areconcerned about the Saudis’ grow-ing antipathy toward them, theyhave shown no indications of sub-mitting to Saudi demands that theychange course. Given the impact onregional geopolitics of the recent in-terim nuclear deal between Iran andthe West, Saudi Arabia’s alienationof its neighbours is all the more haz-ardous. Making matters worse, it isclear that disagreements within theGCC can no longer be resolved be-hind closed doors, and that mem-ber states are unable to air thempublicly without risking a diplo-matic rupture.

Across the region, minoritiesare feeling more empowered andcitizens are making ever-strongerdemands for better government.There is a burgeoning desire for afuture that dispenses with tradi-tional policies based on fear andanger. In this context, Saudi policyseems to be stuck in the past, andthe Saudis have chosen to adopt astrategy of self-help in order to iso-late itself from problems outsideits borders, though it continues toregard itself as the region’s powerbroker. The sudden rapprochementbetween Saudi Arabia and theUAE resulted not from the attrac-tiveness of Saudi policy, but fromtheir rulers’ shared perception thatthere is a dearth of political op-tions. It would, of course, be wiser

to address the real problems fac-ing GCC governments, whichrange from embittered minoritiesto economies that are unable tocreate enough jobs for youngpeople. But resolving these issueswould require an inclusive and ac-commodating approach, both do-mestically and regionally, andSaudi Arabia, in particular, is notprepared to take that route. Thegulf impasse will exacerbate thealready-fragile situation in theMiddle East. Regional politicalrealities, transnational interactionand the common search for a bet-ter future should, eventually, pre-vail over policies geared for re-pression, discipline and order.

The GCC should be accustomedto conflicting perspectives on re-gional design and differing degreesof cooperation across regional ac-tors, and it should draw on these dif-ferences as a source of strength.This crisis may create an opportu-nity to rethink and recalibrate GCCstrategies, based on a more realisticview of regional interdependence,common security, and shared deci-sion-making. A new mentality inGCC governance could result in thecreation of mechanisms of construc-tive engagement in the region, whilemaintaining cooperation with inter-national actors. Clearly this policywould be more constructive thanSaudi Arabia’s desire for a lone-wolf role that merely results in adeadlock within and around the gulf.The writer is global fellow at theWoodrow Wilson Centre and profes-sor of international relations atSabanci University.— Courtesy: The Japan Times

Bulent Aras

tion of the electronic monitoringthrough video links tax stamps andlabels electronic tracking was toensure transparency, automatic anderror free way for tax payment. Thepractice of fake invoices causesmonthly losses of Rs.20 billion. Tonip this fraudulent mechanism inthe bud, experts suggest that fixingthe ratio between input (raw mate-rial) and output (finished products)could be a pragmatic approach toplug the cushion for claiming un-due refunds. The economy is show-ing positive indicators. The StateBank of Pakistan has kept 10% In-terest rate status quo in its latestMonetary Policy announced on 15March in view of serious chal-lenges. In a statement, the Bank hasjustified that “reliance on one-offinflows and foreign loans may pro-vide short-term stability, but shareof private financial flows need toincrease consistently to achievelong-term stability”.

To bring more and more fellowcountrymen into the tax net is highon agenda. The amnesty scheme an-nounced on 1st January and ex-tended up to 30 April, 2014 is amanifestation to put the wheezingeconomy on an even keel. The Fi-nance Minister has claimed turnedaround by the key economic indi-cators stating that “almost every in-dicator from GDP to inflation, ag-riculture to industry, from importsto exports from remittances to for-eign inflows from exchange ratestability to interest rate, fiscal defi-cit to revenues and from reservesto public debt shows improve-ment”. Mismanagement, non-implementation of economic plans,corruption, lowest tax-GDP ratio,security problem including visibleeffects of terrorism are some of theaccomplished reasons of Pakistan’slow pace development and discour-aging tax culture. Reportedly, Fed-eral government -Provinces differ-ences over the tax collection on thebasis of origin or destination has

been resolved through an MoU. InIndia tax on services is collected bythe central government while in Pa-kistan it’s the other way round.

Good governance is the primafacie to have higher tax revenueand more progressive tax regimes.In Pakistan, around 60% taxes lev-ied in the form of indirect taxeslike sales tax, customs duty, fed-eral excise duty. While 97% shareof direct tax is only income tax.Consequently, Pakistan has to con-trol the crisis like situation causedby liquidity constraints, unsatis-factory security situation, rampantcorruption and under utilization ofnatural and human resources.

Pakistan’s chequered politicalhistory is an amalgam of civil-military rules. Political instabilityhas promoted trust deficit, dentedthe confidence and equity matter.This scenario has greatly influ-enced our taxpaying culture.Smuggling through porous borderwith Afghanistan and use of cul-prits and criminals by terroristsalso downgraded economic up-ward journey. Courtesy the Afghanwar and fallout of Afghan Refu-gees spreading tentacles on thesocial fabrics are visible.

The International MonetaryFund (IMF) in its latest recommen-dations has warned against in-equalities fallout on economicgrowth. The Fund that has pledgedUS$6.6 billion as part of ExtendedFund Facility for Pakistan subjectto (a) reduction in budget deficit,(b) ensuring economic growth and(c) bringing 100,000 people intotax net has recommended (i) tax-ing property taxes, (ii) taxing therich more than others, (iii) raisingthe eligibility age for governmentservant. The Fund left the solutionto the individual countries as tohow reduce income disparity.However, the government can usethe tax and spending policies toreduce inequalities, according tothe Fund. Pernicious effects of eco-

A DOCTOR friend droppedin, he appeared sad andbeaten. A patient who had

been operated upon in his hospi-tal had gone into coma for no faultof his or his staff and now he washounded by the media, police andeven members of the local com-munity, to which the lady be-longed. To top it all, his fatherwho had been living with him,suddenly had a heart attack andpassed away a week ago.

“Bob,” he said, “how muchcan a man take? I feel like quit-ting, my life, my practice, every-thing!” Both my wife and I felt

sad that night for a man who seemedto be on the receiving end of suchfate. And then next morning I cameacross a wonderful piece, which setmy mind right and which I decidedto send to my friend:

One day I decided to quit...I quitmy job, my relationship, my spiri-tuality... I wanted to quit my life. Iwent to the woods to have one lasttalk with God. “God, I said. “Canyou give me one good reason not toquit?” His answer surprised me.“Look around,” He said. “Do yousee the fern and the bamboo?” “Yes,”I replied.

”When I planted the fern and thebamboo seeds, I took very good careof them. I gave them light. I gavethem water. The fern quickly grewfrom the earth. Its brilliant greencovered the floor. Yet nothing camefrom the bamboo seed. But I did notquit on the bamboo.” “ In the sec-

ond year the Fern grew more vibrantand plentiful. And again, nothingcame from the bamboo seed. But Idid not quit on the bamboo.” “In yearthree there was still nothing from thebamboo seed. But I would not quit.In year four, again, there was noth-ing from bamboo seed. I would notquit.” He said.

“Then in the fifth year a tinysprout emerged from the earth.Compared to the fern it was seem-ingly small and insignificant...Butjust 6 months later the bamboo roseto over 100 feet tall!” “ It had spentthe five years growing roots. Thoseroots made it strong and gave it whatit needed to survive. I would not giveany of my creations a challenge itcould not handle.” He said to me,“Did you know, my child, that allthis time you have been struggling,you have actually been growingroots?” “I would not quit on the

bamboo. I will never quit on you.Don’t compare yourself to others.”He said. “The bamboo had a dif-ferent purpose than the fern. Yetthey both make the forest beauti-ful. Your time will come,” Godsaid to me. “You will rise high!”“How high should I rise?” I asked.“How high will the bamboo rise?”He asked in return. ”As high as itcan,” I said ”Yes,” said God, “Giveme glory by rising as high as youcan..!”

And that my dear friend iswhat your struggle is all about;roots digging deeper and deeperinto soil, past rock and hardground, past other stubborn roots,till when deep, firm and strong yougrow taller than the other treesaround. Don’t ever, ever give up,‘cause you’ll soon stand tall likethe bamboo..!—Email:bobsbanter@gmail.com

nomic inequality are a fait accom-pli. Experts believe that amongstothers balancing the tax-spendingratio is an appropriate instrumentto ensure smooth economicgrowth and satisfactory Gini Co-efficient also known as Gini In-dex or Gini Ratio (income distri-bution of a nation’s residents) sta-tus. It can also be helpful to fa-cilitate social justice as largewealth gap is prone to growth de-pression. Government’s medium-term economic roadmap aims toraise the GDP growth gradually toaround 6 to 7 percent and tax-GDPratio to 13%. Taxing the rich toreduce the poor’s’ burden meansto ensure social equity. No one candeny that income disparity is thetension fueling recipe.

Unqualified support to strongbut judicious economy and goodtaxation system is the litmus testof statesmanship qualities. World-wide tension and concern is in-dicative of this stark disparity. Togain the confidence of the peoplethrough good economic turn-around and robust tax culture is thedaunting challenge. Pakistanstands at 44th position in theworld’s economies which can bebrought downward through equi-table taxation system, in time ex-ecution of economic policy includ-ing completion of developmentprojects. Lukewarm response toP.M’s tax amnesty scheme is in-dicative of taxpayers’ non-seriousapproach. According to MemberFBR (Inland Revenue Policy) thatout of 3.5 million National TaxNumber holders, only one millionhave filed tax returns in 2012-13.Good governance means goodtaxation mechanism both horizon-tally and vertically. It is a panaceato gain the trust of tax payers.Uneven tax distribution boostsmalpractices that in turn plummetsthe national revenue.—The writer is Islamabad-basedfreelance columnist.

Fazal HakeemEmail:ddsaarc22@yahoo.com

compared to morning student. Thebiggest issue is the transport systemin university. There is no transport forevening student except the Nipashuttle which is almost impossible tocatch because its timings are not fixedand in spite of being scheduled it de-nies to operate at last moment. stu-dents end up going on autos whichcharge too much at night.

The other big issue is the light-ning system in the night. At nightthere are no street lights workingwhich is the worst part. Mobilesnatching is common due to this prob-lem. Moreover there are no extra-cur-ricular activities for evening student.There should be internal transportsystem as departments are very farfrom main gate. The lightning sys-tem should be improved. As eveningstudents are also part of university sothese issues must be solved in orderto facilitate them.—Karachi

Remedy tonational issues

FATIMA ISLAM

Pakistan geographically located inone of the most strategically politi-cal and geographical locations in theworld. Even though having abundantnatural resources and a very fertileland, Pakistan is amidst a lot of prob-lems and challenges right now. Theseinclude the reeling economy, erupt-ing population, internal threats, a con-stant war threat by our worst enemyon the Eastern border, energy crisisetc. However, there is one thingwhich is keeping this nation alive andsanguine is the ‘hope’. The power ofhope is keeping the people of Paki-stan to move on among all these hur-ricanes. However here, I will not ad-dress any of the politically related is-sues, rather would focus to the chal-lenges whose solution can change thewhole political face of the country.The youth of Pakistan will have toplay their role in order to combat thechallenges that our country is cur-rently facing. Each and everyone willhave to stand up and play his/her role.The first armament that we need tohave to start this mission is to getproper education, especially in thefield of Science and Technology inorder to cope with the modern worldof technology.

The first two major challengesthat must be addressed, are, a highratio of illiteracy in country which isinterlinked with the other big chal-lenge and needs the foremost atten-tion - the alarmingly increasing popu-lation. People not only need to getformally educated but also be briefedand convinced on having a small fam-ily so that each member of familyenjoys all the basic necessities of lifeplus a good education and thus cancontribute to the literacy and devel-opment of the country. For this thereare many campaigns and awarenessprogrammes run by our local NGOsand Government organizations inaddition to the help provided byWorld Health Organization. Still thatis not proving to be sufficient andneeds more focus and disciplinedcampaigns pursued with a rigor, forceand with an honest determination.

Another major challenge thatPakistan is facing is the energy cri-sis. Pakistan is facing an electricityshortfall of around 6,000 MW accord-ing to the Government resources andit is exceeding this figure. The rea-son, why our country is facing thiselectricity shortfall is that we are pro-ducing most of the electricity usinghydropower. Since our major damshave reached their age and are notworking to their full capacity andbecause of the lack of new dam ow-ing to a lot of political reasons ,weare bound to go foe expensive modesof power generation, i.e. through im-

ported oil or coal, and that too optedthrough big corrupt deals. Underthese circumstances, we need to con-sider alternative resources for energy,like bio-based energy sources, solarpower, coal powered electricity plantsand wind resources.

Especially, the idea of produc-ing electricity from solar powerholds the most need of attention andinvestment as Pakistan geographi-cally enjoys an average of 12 hoursof day light. Currently governmentof Pakistan is considering its optionas they have just installed a 1.8-megawatt (MW) solar power plantfunded by the Chinese in the Parlia-ment house in Islamabad which willsave them around $1 million in theirannual utility bills. Now it’s the timefor the government to introduce andimplement new and innovativeideas, and our immensely talentedyouth have to understand their re-sponsibilities and play their due rolefor redeeming this nation from thecurrent grave situation.—Via email

Deterioratinglegal systemZULQARNAIN SEWAG

Jarod Kintz a famous writer oncesaid “politicians are like warts on thebody of society. And the only thingsworse than warts, are lawyers andlobbyists”. The profession of a law-yer has always been important in thehistory. It is basically the advocateof truthfulness and the oppressed.But it is no more now. What apathythat a lawyer is making the rightfalse and false the right. Scufflesamong lawyers, policemen and thepoor are daily news. Lawyers evendo not hesitate to humiliate thehonourable judges.

Blackmailing, deceiving andterrorising have replaced honesty,integrity and co-operation attachedwith this profession. A case that canbe decided in a week is lingered onfor decades. Father files a case andit runs for generations. People diewaiting for justice. Justice delayedis justice denied and it is most ofthe time due to the inefficiency,money grabbing and delaying tac-tics by the advocates of law. Thatis why; a famous professor of law,Mrs. Nancy Levit was forced to saythat lawyers are merchants of mis-ery. There are lawyers of integrityas well but most of the professionis full of black sheep.

Founder of Pakistan too was alawyer but the stuff we see all aroundis really substandard. Every univer-sity whether government or private,having capacity or not, is offering laweducation. Most of the affiliated col-leges are selling law degrees. It is soeasy that even student do not need toattend classes. Result is obvious inthe form of social disorder. Govern-ment must take firms steps to coverthe loopholes in this regard. Bar coun-cils should play fair while grantinglicences to the law graduates. A ra-tional and common man orientedethical order must be devised so thatno case could be delayed and no com-mon man or the judge be beaten inthe hands of lawyers.—Jhang

BEIJING: Chinese relatives of passengers onboard the missing Malaysia Airlines plane, flight MH370, shout in protest as they march towards theMalaysia embassy.

NADER MOUSAVIZADEH

SURPRISE is the least forgivable sin of statecraft. Yet nothing has so characterized the Ukraine crisis as the West’scontinuing surprise at Russia’s behavior.

The past 30 days have provided almost daily reminders ofthe deep disconnect between Western expectations of what state-craft would — and ought to — look like in the 21st century,and the reality of how the Kremlin seeks to assert its interestsin the world.

From the outset of this crisis, the West consistently under-estimated the strategic significance of Ukraine, and Crimea, toRussia. The West also assumed that the threat, and subsequentreality, of economic sanctions would alter Russian PresidentVladimir Putin’s strategic calculus. One month later, Russiahas irreversibly annexed a region of Ukraine and left the Westdivided and floundering in its response.

That Putin may have won a short-term victory at the costof a long-term defeat by setting every European country on apath to energy independence from Russia should be small com-fort to the United States and European leaders meeting in Brus-sels this week.

If this were merely a matter of misreading the moves andmotivations of a declining great power whose economic vul-nerabilities are as severe as they are structural, the annexationof Crimea could be considered a mere geopolitical nuisance.At its root, however, this failure is rooted in a dangerous vanityabout the West’s inevitable dominance — and an illusion abouta global acceptance of its norms and forms of economic andpolitical governance.

To believe, therefore, that the remedy is a question of bet-ter intelligence or information about the decision-making dy-namic in the Kremlin is to focus on symptoms rather than causes.It is also to assume that Putin, or even Russia, are exceptions to

SIMFEROPOL: Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev speaks to schoolchildren dur-ing his visit to Crimea.

LINDA S HEARD

THE pro-Europe protesters in Kiev succeeded in dislodging a president for which they’ve paid an unexpected price.The Crimean Peninsula is lost to them, perhaps forever;

the majority of their military personnel based there have defectedto Russia — and there may be a lot worse to come. It’s an un-comfortable truth that people’s power, however well intentioned,is more often than not destructive. It’s primarily driven by theemotions of people unable to grasp the big picture. The Kievcrowds may have initially got what they wanted, but will theywant what they get?

The West’s corporate media paints an optimistic picture ofUkraine’s potential future, provided “bad guy” Putin doesn’tdecide to invade parts of the Russian-speaking west. But even ifhe sticks to his side of the border — as he has pledged to doprovided ethnic Russians aren’t victimized — all in the gardenis far from rosy.

Firstly, Ukraine’s population is divided. On Saturday, pro-Russian demonstrators turned out in the eastern city of Donetskdemanding regional autonomy while expressing their intentionto boycott elections. Several of those interviewed said “the fas-cists” running Kiev don’t represent them; one said that she didn’tview Russian troops as invaders but rather protectors. It’s a similarstory in Kharkiv, close to the Russian border, where there areregular clashes between pro-Europe and pro-Russian protesters.

USA Today quotes a city council representative bemoaningthe impact the enmity between Kiev and Moscow is having.“Right now, most Kharkiv factories are only working two days aweek. Russians aren’t ordering because they don’t want to coop-erate with the enemy. But the EU wants to turn us into a bananarepublic.” A few stray bullets fired by Ukrainian riot police thatkill or injure ethnic Russians could be an invitation to Putin’stanks.

President Obama has dismissed Moscow’s assertion that eth-nic Russians are threatened. Yet a video that’s gone viral showmasked Ukrainian vigilantes running after Russian “thugs” inthe city of Dnepropetrovsk before holding a knife to the throatof one of their victims and punching another in the face.

Secondly, not all Kiev residents are cheering-on the actinggovernment. A police raid on right-wing militants in Rovno re-sulting in the death of their leader Aleksandr Muzychko, a promi-nent anti-government figure in the Maidan, has infuriated theright-wing sector that accuses the interior minister of orchestrat-ing a planned assassination. Thousands demanding his resigna-tion have since obstructed the entrance to the Rada (parliament)in an attempt to block lawmakers from rubber-stamping the IMF’sausterity measures.

Thirdly, it’s worth noting that life-changing decisions affect-ing ordinary citizens for decades hence have been hurriedly putinto effect by an unelected president, prime minister and Cabi-net with little authority to speak for anyone. Presidential elec-tions are slated for May 25 but so far candidates look distinctlyunpromising. Now that the populist former boxer Vitaly Klitschkohas withdrawn from the race, Ukraine is left with just two: Thecurrent favorite Petro Poroshenko, a billionaire dubbed “theChocolate King” and the controversial golden-haired icon of theOrange Revolution Yulia Tymoshenko, a former prime ministerwho was convicted and jailed for abuses of power.

—Courtesy: Arab News

Ukraine’s not outof the woods

JONATHAN POWER

PRESIDENT Vladimir Putin’s speech to both houses of theRussian parliament last week got bad notices. AnneApplebaum, the experienced Russian-watcher, wrote in her

column in the Washington Post that it was “an imperial rant” andwent on to say that “Nato should moves its forces from Ger-many to the alliance’s eastern borders”. Most Western govern-ments also gave their own misleading interpretations of Putin’sspeech.

In this column I’m not going to defend Putin up and downthe hill. I profoundly reject the way the absorption of Crimeainto Russia was carried out. One can’t mount a referendum onan issue as important as this with two weeks’ notice — the Scotshave been discussing their planned referendum, set for later thisyear, for years.

Moreover, this referendum only had two questions: whetherthe voters wanted to go back to Russia or whether they wantedincreased autonomy. It didn’t ask if voters wanted to remain partof Ukraine.

Then there is the agreement signed in 1994 when Ukraine’slarge nuclear weapon armoury was sent to Russia. In it Russiaagreed to recognise Ukrainian boundaries. That was a fair andhonourable deal.

As for the question whether Russia had beefed up the num-ber of its armed forces in Crimea, it clearly did although it waswithin the range set by the treaty establishing the Russian navalbase. One should note too, as Putin said, no fatal shot was firedduring the time leading up to the referendum. Nevertheless,Crimeans were clearly intimidated by the presence on the streetof large numbers of Russian soldiers.

In the early 2000s, after negotiations with the Ukrainian gov-ernment, Russia was unambiguous about the extent of Ukrai-nian sovereignty. As Putin said in his speech, “everyone had aclear understanding that by agreeing to delimitate the border weadmitted de facto and de jure that Crimea was Ukrainian terri-tory, thereby closing the issue”. But he has simply dropped thiscommitment.

Those are five good reasons for rejecting Putin’s way of han-dling Crimea. Now for the rest of his inadequately reportedspeech:

First, he was as outspoken as anyone in the West in his cri-tique of the politics of Ukraine: “I would like to reiterate that Iunderstand those who came out on Maidan, [Kiev’s square], withpeaceful slogans against corruption, inefficient state managementand poverty.”

But then he went on to denounce the element in the protest-ers who “resorted to terror” — “nationalists, neo-Nazis,Russophobes and anti-Semites”.

Many in the West have played down the role of the extrem-ists. But not everyone. In one detailed essay on its website earlyin March the BBC reported that in the events that led to thetoppling of President Viktor Yanukovych, the far right minorityat “key points of the demonstrations played an outsized....role.....At times they appeared to be the driving force behind thedemonstrations.” I would add that by unleashing violence at theend these far rightists brought the government’s fall to a head.The promise of Yanukovych to arrange early elections, made toGerman, French, Polish and Russia negotiators, was overridden.Most of the rest of the demonstrators and the West simply wentalong with the mob.

The BBC went on to say that the political party, Svoboda, towhich the far right demonstrators belong, now has six positionsin the new government, including deputy prime minister, gen-eral prosecutor and the minister of defence.

Putin then went on to make a powerful case for the malignrole played by Western governments. He reminded his audienceof how the West itself had broken international law. The West,he said, “lied to us many times”. In particular, over the questionof the decision by Nato to expand its reach right up to Russia’sborders, despite an explicit promise not to, made by the US toSoviet president Mikhail Gorbachev. Moreover, as Putin said,“We have already heard declarations from Kiev about Ukrainejoining Nato”. The West is “constantly trying to sweep us into acorner”.

—Courtesy: Khaleej Times

Putin’s rejoinderto West

View Compass RSS feedan otherwise coalescing global environment — when they aremore likely canaries in the coal mine of a fundamentally frag-menting geopolitical landscape.

The West consistently misjudged Putin’s economic painthreshold because we assume a global convergence to its po-litical norm threshold. The Russian leader, and many other lead-ers around the world, have neither the personal motivation northe domestic constituency to sustain such a choice.

A real — as opposed to idealized — map of the new geo-political world would shine the light on capitals as diverse asTokyo, Brasilia, Riyadh, Delhi, Beijing, Ankara and Bangkokand reveal an emerging archipelago of diverging politics, eco-nomics and ideals of governance. With such a map — howeverunwelcome and unfamiliar it may appear — decisions drivenby historic grievances, nationalist rivalries, unrequited respect,elite interests and a deep desire to chart a course independentof the dominant Western narrative will seem rather less sur-prising.

Davos was set alight earlier this year by the offhand com-parison offered by the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abebetween the origins of World War One and today’s tensionsbetween his country and China. What should have garnered asmuch attention was Abe’s absolute, and almost casual, defenseof his visit to the Yasukuni shrine — which honors Japanesesacrifices in World War Two and serves as a searing reminderto the Chinese of Japan’s reluctance to acknowledge its recordof aggression and atrocities in those years. A Western audienceobsessed with its own centenary memorials had little to sug-gest by way of a 21st dialogue between Asia’s two giants march-ing to an increasingly nationalist drum.

Turkey’s once-heralded example of democratic politics ina modernizing, economically successful Muslim country strad-dling the borders between Europe and Asia is coming undonein a struggle at once personal and structural.

At one level, what might be considered a case of severePutinism seems to have struck Prime Minister Recep TayyipErdogan — who, despite winning successive elections, appearsdetermined to destroy his own legitimacy through a series ofpower-grabs. On another level, however — and one that may,again, surprise the West — there are indications that Erdogan’sAK Party may well snatch victory from the jaws of defeat be-cause it is convincing more and more Turks that the only thingworse than its own overreach is a takeover by the state by theshadowy Gulenist movement.

Throughout the Middle East, a counter-revolution to theArab Spring, led by the region’s monarchies and military gov-ernments, is taking hold, from the Gulf to Egypt. Beneath thesurface of a struggle for democracy among the region’s youth,a more fundamental decision has been taken by the West’s al-lies to destroy the Muslim Brotherhood at all costs.

To these leaders, the Brotherhood poses the true existentialchallenge to their future hold on power — far more than Iran,or Israel, or even the Sunni-Shi’ite divisions. Western voiceswarning about the danger of extinguishing a place for legiti-mate politics in these societies — and the risk of creating amonster of extremism far greater through unrelenting repres-sion — is falling on deaf ears.

Further east, India’s impending elections are likely to bringto power a leader in Narendra Modi whose core appeal —whatever protestations to Western visitors — is a nationalistand often chauvinist Hindu interpretation of his country’s iden-tity at home and purpose abroad. In Brazil, meanwhile, an in-creasingly embattled government led by Dilma Rousseff hadto resort in September to cancelling a state visit to the UnitedStates — after revelations that the National Security Agencyhad monitored her personal communications — in pursuit ofdomestic support rooted in resentments of U.S. overreach.

—Courtesy Reuters

RAMADI, Iraq—An Iraqi spe-cial forces patrol moves on footpast ruined homes on the out-skirts of Ramadi, a city west ofBaghdad where al-Qaida-in-spired militants have held offthe military for three months.As they head down an alley-way, shots from snipers ringout, followed by grenadeblasts. The troops take shelterbehind walls and Humvees andreturn fire. No one is woundedand the operation continues.

A short while later the unitis clearing a house. They blowopen the outer gate with acharge and a bomb expert goesinside. He pronounces thebuilding safe to enter and callson the rest of the soldiers tosearch it. Moments later a hugeexplosion collapses the build-ing, shakes the ground andsends dust billowing in the air.

The house was booby-trapped. Four soldiers are killedand 10 are wounded.

“God curse Daesh,” one jun-ior officer swore, using the Ara-bic acronym for the Islamic State

Iraqi army battles militantsin deadly Anbar siege

of Iraq and the Levant, the al-Qaida spin-off group leading themilitants. Soldiers nearby saidthey could hear the militants taunt-ing them through loudspeakers:“Our slain are in Heaven, whileyour slain are in Hell.”

This grueling urban war-fare in the Ramadi suburb ofal-Bakir, witnessed by an As-sociated Press reporter onThursday, is part of a deadlystandoff pitting governmentforces and allied tribal militiasagainst the Islamic State andallied militants in Anbar prov-ince, the heartland of Iraq’sSunni minority. The militantshold part of the provincial capi-tal of Ramadi and nearly all ofthe nearby city of Fallujah.

It’s the biggest challenge yetto the Shiite-led government ofPrime Minister Nouri Al-Malikiand has dragged on far longer thanofficials had expected, costing thelives of scores of Iraqi soldiers. Itis likely to disrupt voting in elec-tions scheduled for the end ofApril, shaking the credibility ofthe government.—AP

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia—It may mean littleto investigators that the last words air trafficcontrollers heard from the lost jetliner were“Good night, Malaysian three-seven-zero,”rather than “All right, good night.” But to Ma-laysian officials whose credibility has been ques-tioned almost from the beginning, it means agreat deal.

“This sort of mistake hits at the heart of trustin their communications. If Malaysia is chang-ing what the pilot said, people start thinking,‘What are they going to change next?” saidHamish McLean, an expert in risk and crisiscommunication at Griffith University inBrisbane, Australia.

“Information is in a crisis is absolutely criti-cal. When we are dealing with such a smallamount of information its needs to be handledvery carefully,” he said.

Authorities have been forced on the defen-sive by the criticism, the most forceful of whichhas come from a group of Chinese relatives whoaccuse them of lying about — or even involve-ment in — the plane’s disappearance. In partresponding to domestic political criticism, de-fense minister Hishammuddin Hussein has takento retweeting supportive comments on Twitter.He has twice in recent days proclaimed that “his-tory would judge us well” over the handling ofthe crisis.

The government’s opponents disagree. Oppo-sition leader Lim Kit Siang said the correction setoff a “medley of shame, sadness and anger” and

Malaysian credibility injet hunt challenged again

strengthened the case for creating an opposition-led parliamentary committee to investigate thegovernment’s performance in the search. The com-munications skills of any government or airlinewould have been severely tested by the search forthe Boeing 777-200 and its 239 passengers andcrew. So far not a scrap of debris has been found.

“There has been very little to tell and a lotof unanswered questions,” said AndrewHerdman, director-general of the Association ofAsia Pacific Airlines. “There is frustration onthe lack of new information, frustration overprogress with investigations and the search. Thatfrustration is being channeled to the Malaysianauthorities but I think it’s a bit premature to usethat to reflect adversely on how they are doing.”

Still, the government’s handling of informa-tion has at times fed perceptions that it was hold-ing back. From the first day of the search, crewswere looking far to the west of the plane’s lastpoint of contact with air-traffic controllers, butit took about a week for officials to explain thatradar had detected the plane in the area.

“There are some things that I can tell youand some things that I can’t,” Malaysia’s civilaviation chief said cryptically in the early daysof the search.

“That was a terrible, terrible response,” saidLyall Mercer, the principal of Australian-basedMercer PR, a public relations company. “It saysto the families that ‘we know things that we arenot going to share’ and that ‘something else ismore important than you’.”—AP

Kerry returningto Mideast

today to pushpeace talks

BRUSSELS—U.S. Secretary ofState John Kerry will return tothe Middle East on Wednesdayto continue his push to salvageIsraeli-Palestinian peace talks.

The State Department saysKerry will visit Israel and thePalestinian territories, meetingwith Palestinian PresidentMahmoud Abbas (mahk-MOOD’ ah-BAHS’) in theWest Bank town of Ramallah.

Kerry met with IsraeliPrime Minister BenjaminNetanyahu (neh-ten-YAH’-hoo) this week in Jerusalem.After seeing Abbas, he willtravel to Algeria and Morocco.

An official close to theMideast peace talks has said adeal is emerging to extend thetroubled peace negotiations. Itcould include the U.S. releaseof convicted spy Jonathan Pol-lard, an American Jew whospied for Israel, in exchange forIsrael’s release of 400 Palestin-ian prisoners, according to theofficial, who spoke on condi-tion of anonymity because hewas not authorized to discussthe deal with the media on therecord.—AP

Syrian armyretakes key

post in LatakiaDAMASCUS—Syrian troopsrecaptured on Monday a keyposition in coastal Latakiaprovince, a regime bastion,state television said, as rebelspress a campaign in the region.

“Syrian army units havefull control of Observatory 45in the north of Latakia provinceand are continuing to pursueterrorist groups,” the statebroadcaster said, quoting themilitary.

Observatory 45 is a strate-gic hilltop that overlooks sev-eral areas inhabited by resi-dents from the Alawi commu-nity, the religious sect to whichPresident Bashar al-Assad be-longs.

State television reportedlive from near the site andbroadcast pictures of dead bod-ies it said were “terrorists,”many of them foreigners.

Last week, the rebelsseized the position as part of anoffensive launched on March21 in Latakia province, whichhad been relatively untouchedby the widespread violenceelsewhere in the country.

Rebel forces, includingjihadists from the Al Qaeda-af-filiated Al-Nusra Front, havealso captured the Armeniantown of Kasab and the nearbyKasab border crossing with Tur-key, as well as the village ofSamra, giving them access tothe Mediterranean for the firsttime. More than 300 people onboth sides have been killed sincethe rebels launched their offen-sive, said the Syrian Observa-tory for Human Rights.

“The army has managed toinstall multiple rocket-launch-ers on Observatory 45, butfighting in continuing in thevicinity of the hillside,” said themonitoring group.

After a series of rebellosses in Damascus province,the opposition has shifted itsfocus to Latakia, where thearmy and pro-regime militiashave rallied to defend the area.

On Monday, oppositionforces fired Grad rockets at theBassel al-Assad airport for thefirst time.—AP

WASHINGTON—The nine-year US visa ban on NarendraModi will automatically belifted and he would enjoy dip-lomatic immunity if he be-comes the prime minister, anIndian quoting US Congres-sional report said on Tuesday.“Modi is widely considered tobe one of the front-runners asprime ministerial candidate ofhis Bharatiya Janata Party.

If Narendra Modi were tobecome Prime Minister of In-dia, he would automatically beeligible for an A-1 (diplomatic)visa as head of state, regardlessof the purpose of his visit,” theCongressional Research Ser-vice (CRS) said in its commu-nication to US lawmakers. In2005, the US had denied visato Modi in the wake of the 2002Gujarat riots in which thou-sands Muslims were killed in

Modi to enjoy diplomaticimmunity if becomes PM: US

supervision of Modi govern-ment and has since not revokedits decision.

The seven-page report‘Visa Policy: the case ofNarendra Modi’ was preparedby the CRS - an independentand bipartisan wing of the USCongress - at the request ofseveral lawmakers who havebeen opposed to a US visa toModi. The views and reportsof the CRS are meant to keepthe lawmakers informed and isnon-binding either on the Con-gress or the US Government.“On the other hand, theGujarat high court continuesto criticize chief minister Modifor his ‘inaction and negli-gence’ during the violence,”the report said. The report saidModi as the Prime Ministerwould enjoy diplomatic im-munity.—Online

Army (ANA) soldiers werealso wounded in theclashes.

In eastern Laghman prov-ince, seven insurgents werekilled and two others injuredduring a search operation inAlingar district. Sarhadi Zwak,the governor’s spokesman,confirmed the incident andsaid one civilian was alsokilled and another injuredduring the operations.—INP

Cops amongFrom Page 1

Torture didn’t lead to Osamabin Laden: US Senate report

From Page 1

14 likeminded disgruntled MPAs who feel un-happy over the recent reshuffle in the cabinet.He has also resigned from the house standingcommittee a couple of days back to record hisprotest.

Though Javed Nasim and associates are notadmitting in their personal capacity their anguishover the reshuffle in the cabinet or being ignored,a meeting of the disgruntled MPAs was held inthe residence of MPA Jehandad Khan where theyhave appointed MPA Qurban Ali as the focal per-son for the group and tasked him to hold meetingwith the party chief Imran Khan and apprised himof their serious concern over the recent reshufflein the cabinet wherein they were ignored. They

KP cabinet likely to see another reshuffleFrom Page 1

5 ministerssworn in KP

From Page 1

citizens.Tehmina Daultana re-

acted angrily to MQM’sreservations citing equalsufferings by PML-N, whileother members intervenedtimely to ward of any esca-lation of the conflict.

JUI (F)’s opposition ofthe bill stemmed from reser-vations about governmentnot taking Maulana Fazlinto confidence; while PTI’sArif Alvi had reservationsover numerous sections ofthe bill, promising manyamendments, at the time ofdebating the bill in parlia-ment.

Arif Alvi was critical ofArmed Forces being givenright of arresting citizens,who were subject to civilarrests only. He was alsocritical of the section ac-cording to which govern-ment had right to relocate the

ing torture as effective.Among the key points

of contention in the reportwas the treatment of KhalidSheikh Mohammed, the manaccused of mastermindingthe September 11 attackswho was waterboarded 183times.

Intelligence officialshave cited that Mohammedhad confirmed that he knewan important al-Qaida cou-rier with the nom de guerreAbu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti whohelped lead CIA investiga-tors to the compound inAbbottabad where binLaden was killed.

However the Senate re-port concludes such infor-mation wasn t critical andwas obtained not whenMohammed was being wa-ter-boarded, but under stan-dard interrogation monthslater, the unnamed aides toldthe Associated Press.

The CIA also haspointed to the value of in-formation provided by se-nior al-Qaida operative AbuFaraj al-Libi, who was cap-tured in 2005 and held at asecret prison run by theagency.

In previous accounts,U.S. officials have describedhow al-Libi made up a namefor a trusted courier and de-nied knowing al-Kuwaiti. Al-Libi was so adamant andunbelievable in his denialthat the CIA took it as con-firmation he and Mohammedwere protecting the courier.

The Senate report con-cludes evidence gatheredfrom al-Libi wasn t signifi-cant either, aides said.

Essentially, they argue,Mohammed, al-Libi and oth-ers subjected to harsh treat-ment confirmed only whatinvestigators already knewabout the courier. And whenthey denied the courier’ssignificance or providedmisleading information, in-vestigators would only haveconsidered that significantif they already presumed thecourier’s importance.

The aides did not ad-dress information providedby yet another al-Qaida op-erative: Hassan Ghul, cap-tured in Iraq in 2004. Intelli-gence officials have de-scribed Ghul as the truelinchpin of the bin Laden

investigation after he iden-tified al-Kuwaiti as a criticalcourier.

In a 2012 news release,Ms Feinstein, the head ofthe Senate IntelligenceCommittee, and Sen. CarlLevin, both Democrats, ac-knowledged an unidentifiedthird detainee had providedrelevant information on thecourier.

But they said he did sothe day before he was sub-jected to harsh CIA interro-gation. This information willbe detailed in the Intelli-gence committee’s report,the senators said at the time.

In any case, it still tookthe CIA years to learn al-Kuwaiti’s real identity: SheikhAbu Ahmed, a Pakistani manborn in Kuwait. How the U.S.learned of Ahmed’s name isstill unclear.

Without providing fulldetails, aides said the Sen-ate report illustrates the im-portance of the NationalSecurity Agency’s effortsoverseas.

At that point, U.S. intel-ligence was able to followAhmed to bin Laden’s hide-out.—AP

NA standing body approvesFrom Page 1

case from regular courts to‘special courts’.

Talking to media thestate minister for interior,Baleegh-ur-Rehman saidthat a few amendments hadbeen introduced after a con-sensus with opposition, inorder to enhance the bill.

Replying to a questionhe also quoted the Article10, according to which ev-ery citizen had been pro-vided full security andsafety; assuring that no leg-islation contrary to Consti-tution would be carried out.

He also brushed outfears of abduction of citi-zens and relocation of anycases to anti-terrorism andspecial courts, without anyprofound logical reasons;while he was also critical ofopposition to bill withoutcomprehending it, properly.—Online

LAHORE–A brand new ver-sion of BBC Sairbeen – apopular radio programmeproduced and shot in Lon-don – broadcast live onTuesday on a private tele-vision channel besidesavailable online with thesame name. The Sairbeenprogramme shows BBCUrdu service’s commitmentto providing audiences inPakistan with credible newsbringing professionalism tothe screens.

As more and morepeople switch on their tele-vision sets, they can restassured that Sairbeen willremain a constant in theirlives with a brand new lookand feel. Despite a plethoraof 24-hour news channels,

also decided to work out their future course ofaction in a couple of days.

Likewise, hundreds of supporters of JavedNasim MPA held a demonstration in front ofPeshawar Press Club on Monday out rightly re-jecting the recent changes in the cabinet andcalling for immediate inclusion of Javed Nasimin the provincial cabinet. They said, that theinclusion of MPA in the cabinet would not onlyensure representation of PK 3 Peshawar in theset up but Javed Nasim deserved to be includedin the cabinet as he had defeated Awami Na-tional Party stalwart Haroon Bilore in the hubof ANP.

Insiders told this scribe there was also seri-

ous concern in the KP set up of PTI as numberof districts remained unrepresented in the cabi-net while on the other Noshehra that is the con-stituency of Chief Minister Pervez Khattak, hasmany ministers including Mr. Khattak himself.

Though keeping the principled stance ofParty chief Imran Khan in mind, it is assumedthat he is not going to succumb to the blackmailings by certain law makers of the party. Thepolitical observers believe that filling the slot ofthe senior minister and accommodating a coupleof disgruntled MPAs in order to avert cracks inthe party ranks or for that matter nip the evil inthe bud, yet another reshuffle in the KP cabinethas become imminent.

BBC Sairbeen comesto TV, social screens

there remains a gap for non-sensationalised, crediblenews sources.

“The feedback we get isvery clear – there is a de-mand for Sairbeen on TV, forits breadth of coverage,connecting the local withthe global, and for its inde-pendent, balanced and dis-tinctive approach to anystory,” said Aamer AhmedKhan, editor of the BBCUrdu. “In this volatile envi-ronment, we are committedto helping our viewers un-derstand the world and howthe world sees Pakistan,” hesaid.

In addition to news andcurrent affairs, the showalso covers arts, technology,travel and social media.—PR

stops in the Middle East.Ukraine and the United

States have accused Russiaof massing thousands oftroops near the border andhave expressed concern thatMoscow intends to seizesoutheastern parts ofUkraine that are home tolarge populations of ethnicRussians, following theCrimea takeover.

German Chancellor An-gela Merkel’s office saidRussian President VladimirPutin had personally in-formed her of the troop pull-back in a telephone conver-sation and on Tuesday saidshe had “no reason” todoubt his word.

Ukraine also reportedMonday that Russiantroops were leaving the sen-sitive area adding it ap-peared to coincide with a

Nato sees no Russian troops pulloutFrom Page 1

phone call that Putin hadunexpectedly placed to USPresident Barack Obama onFriday.

With the assurancesfrom Moscow, Nato seemedto be stepping back from afloated idea to reinforce thealliance’s military presencein countries bordering Rus-sia, preferring for now togive more time to talks.

“I think everybodyrealises that the best wayforward is a political and dip-lomatic dialogue,”Rasmussen said, though headded NATO was “very de-termined to provide effec-tive defence and protectionof our allies”.

One counter-measureapparently off the table fornow is the idea to set uppermanent military bases inNato countries bordering

with Russia.The move would be

highly controversial forMoscow, reversing an infor-mal agreement made whenNato expanded east to in-clude former Warsaw Pactcountries that were eager tobreak away from years ofSoviet domination.

But Dutch foreign min-ister Frank Timmermans saidthat for now “we don’t needNato troops at the borderwith Russia,” adding therewas “no need for suddenmoves”.

The cautious line couldcome as a disappointment toeastern Nato members, suchas the Baltic nations andPoland — who were ex-pected to argue for atougher stance against Rus-sia at the meeting.

Poland “would welcomeany forces” on its territory,Foreign Minister RadoslawSikorski said.

Ahead of the Nato talks,Germany’s foreign ministersaid that he saw no quicksolution to the crisis, nor thelikelihood of Ukraine joiningNato.

“We can’t promise we’llbe in a position to resolvethis conflict in the shortterm,” Frank-WalterSteinmeier said.

Ukraine is not a Natomember but it did form a “dis-tinctive partnership” with theAlliance in 1997 and has beenstaging joint exercises with itsstate members ever since.

Parliament in Kiev on

Tuesday approved a newseries of joint military exer-cises with the alliance thatwould put US troops in di-rect proximity with Russianforces in the annexedCrimea peninsula. “This is agood opportunity to de-velop our armed forces,”acting Defence MinisterMykhailo Koval said.

The exercises wouldpartly occupy a 25-day spanbetween July and Octoberbased around two Odessaports and “along the watersof the Black Sea”.

Meeting a key demandposed by Russia, Ukraine’sparliament Tuesday alsovoted to disarm all self-de-fence groups that had sprungup across the country duringits political crisis. The movecame after a member of theradical Ukrainian nationalistgroup Pravy Sektor openedfire in central Kiev late Mon-day, injuring three.Gazprom pressuresUkraine: The crisis is at anespecially critical juncture inKiev as Ukrainian politiciansjockey for position ahead ofMay 25 presidential elec-tions after the fall of presi-dent Viktor Yanukovych.

And with Moscow ableto use gas as a lever,Gazprom chief executiveAlexei Miller said Ukrainewill now pay $385.5 dollarsper 1,000 cubic metres ofgas from the previous cutrate of $268.5.

“The discount will nolonger apply,” he said in a

to the dialogue process.The TTP have ex-

pressed their reservationsover the treatment of theirmembers in Sindh.

TTP expectedFrom Page 1

tions of the tournament.The West Indies

slumped to 81-5 before skip-per Darren Sammy andDwayne Bravo led a dra-matic rescue act by adding71 for the sixth wicket offjust 32 balls.

Bravo smashed foursixes and two fours in a 26-ball 46, while Sammy re-mained unbeaten on 42 off20 balls that contained fivefours and two sixes.

The West Indies plun-dered 71 runs in the last fourovers, taking 21 runs in the18th bowled by seamer UmarGul and 24 in the 19th by off-spinner Saeed Ajmal.

Pakistan never recov-ered after Ahmed Shehzad,who scored a century in theprevious match againstBangladesh, was leg-beforeto Krishmar Santokie off the

statement. “This is due tothe inability of the Ukrai-nian side to pay for debtsfrom 2013 and realise fullpayments for current deliv-eries.”—AP

Windies destroy PakFrom Page 1

first ball of the innings.Badree removed Kamran

Akmal in the second over,Umar Akmal in the fourth andShoaib Malik in the sixth toleave Pakistan tottering at 13-4. Skipper MohammadHafeez (19) and SohaibMaqsood (18) fell in succes-sive overs to make it 42-6,before Narine removedShahid Afridi and SohailTanvir in four balls to has-ten the end.

Earlier, the West Indieslost both openers by thefourth over, with ChrisGayle stumped off Hafeez forfive and Dwayne Smithcaught behind off Tanvir foreight. Lendl Simmons andMarlon Samuel add 39 forthe third wicket when bothbatsmen fell in the 11th overto reduce the West Indiesto 67 for four.—AFP

Gandapur and Jamshed.Senior officials also par-ticipated in the oath takingceremony.—Online

Published by: Zahid Malik, Printed by Gauhar Zahid Malik,33-Queens Road, Lahore at Barex Printers.

Pak-China border atKhanjrab Pass opensIS L A M A B A D—Pak-Chinaborder at Khanjrab Pass wasopened for trade and visits onTuesday. According to thestanding protocol signed be-tween the two countries, theborder opens on 1st of Apriland closes on 30th Novem-ber every year.—Online

Road mishap claimssix livesHAFIZABAD—At least sixpeople were killed and adozen other wounded inroad mishap in Hafizabad dis-trict of upper Punjab, offi-cials said on Tuesday. Ac-cording to local police, theaccident took place atMadharyanwala Bypass inHafizabad where a collisionbetween a truck and a busleft six people dead on thespot on Tuesday afternoon.12 others were injured in thecollision. The injured weretaken to Hafizabad DistrictHQs Hospital for medical as-sistance; Medics said add-ing that three wounded werein critical condition.—Online

LHC reinstates 250doctorsLAHORE—Lahore HighCourt has reinstated 250doctors suspended byPunjab government. LHCjudge, Justice KhalidMehmood, took up the pe-tition for hearing, filed bydoctors, praying that theirsuspension was illegal. Thedoctors prayed that theywere suspended after refus-ing to sign affidavit whichsought them not to get train-ing abroad during their joband could not marry foreignlady.—Online

NAB (KP) arrestsmotor cars dealerPESHAWAR—NAB (KP)Tuesday arrested SalimatKhan Orakzai, Motor CarsDealer who defrauded dozenof people by giving them in-centive to provide them BrandNew Vehicles significantlybelow the market price andembezzled Rs. 195.00 Million.The accused Salimat KhanOrakzai was doing business inthe name of Al-Faisal Motorsat Kohat, Fathi Jang with HeadOffice at Islamabad.—INP

ATLANTA — The Roman CatholicArchbishop of Atlanta apologizedMonday for building a $2.2 millionmansion for himself, a decision criti-cized by local Catholics who cited theexample of austerity set by the newpope.

Archbishop Wilton Gregory re-cently moved into a nearly 6,400-square-foot (595-square-meter) resi-dence. Its construction was madepossible by a large donation from theestate of Joseph Mitchell, nephew ofMargaret Mitchell, author of “GoneWith The Wind,” the Civil War epicthat made his family wealthy. WhenMitchell died in 2011, he left an estateworth more than $15 million to the arch-diocese on the condition it be used

Atlanta archbishop apologizes over $2.2m mansion

TOKYO—Japan on Tuesday to ease its self-imposed arms export ban for the first time inalmost 50 years. In the past all military saleshave effectively been banned, althoughthere has been technology transfer to theUS. The new conditions would allow Japanto jointly develop arms with allies and giveits defence industry access to new marketsand technology.

The move is likely to be viewed withsuspicion in China, which has accused Ja-pan of increasing militarism. Japan adopteda pacifist constitution after World War Twowhich prohibits going to war except in casesof self-defence. It has for decades observedthe “three principles” of not exporting armsto countries that are communist, subject toUN arms embargos and involved or likelyto be involved in international conflicts.These principles were adopted in 1967 andlater evolved into a full self-imposed ban.But Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe iskeen to bolster national security and alsonormalise some of the restrictions Japanplaced on itself after World War Two. Un-der the policy, the restrictions on exports tocountries involved in conflicts or subjectto UN embargos would remain.

Exports will be allowed in cases wherethey contributed to global peace and served

Japan to relaxarms export ban

Japan’s security interests, Kyodo newsagency reported.

Japan would impose strict screening onexports and would be transparent about theprocess, it said. Japan would also not allowits exports to be sold on to third parties.“Under the new principles, we have madethe procedure for transfer of defence equip-ment more transparent,” said Chief CabinetSecretary Yoshihide Suga. “That will con-tribute to peace and international co-opera-tion from the standpoint of proactive paci-fism.” “And we will participate in joint de-velopment and production of defenceequipment,” he added.

Earlier this year, China warned againstthe move. “Against the backdrop of an in-tensifying swing to the right for Japanesepolitics, the intention behind and effect ofmassively loosening restrictions on theexport of weapons really worries people,”Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswomanHua Chunying said in February. Late lastyear, Japan’s cabinet approved a new na-tional security strategy and increased de-fence spending in a move widely seenas aimed at China. Over the next fiveyears, Japan will buy hardware includ-ing drones, stealth aircraft and amphibi-ous vehicles.—Online

YANGON—The UN agency tasked with fa-cilitating Myanmar´s first census in decadeson Tuesday said it was “deeply concerned”over a government decision to bar Muslimsfrom identifying as Rohingya, warning itcould stoke tensions.

Myanmar had said it would conduct therare survey in accordance with internationalstandards and “explicitly agreed” to allowpeople to be able to choose their ownethnicity, the United Nations PopulationFund (UNFPA) said in a statement.

The agreement was dropped on the eveof the census, which began Sunday andruns to April 10, when Myanmar announcedthat “Rohingya” would not be accepted bycensus takers.

The move followed fresh unrest in west-ern Rakhine State where Buddhist national-ists have campaigned vociferously againstthe inclusion of the term, fearing it couldherald political rights for the stateless Mus-lim Rohingya.

“UNFPA is deeply concerned about this

UN deeply concerned Myanmar´s Rohingya census ban

departure from international census stan-dards, human rights principles and agreedprocedures,” the agency said.

“We are concerned that this couldheighten tensions in Rakhine State, whichhas a history of communal violence, as wellas undermining the credibility of censusdata collected.

“In the sprawling camps near theRakhine capital of Sittwe, where 140,000people made homeless by sectarian fight-ing two years ago live, there were signsTuesday census takers were not collect-ing any data on people identifying asRohingya — the vast majority of the dis-placed.

An AFP journalist said teams flankedby police and soldiers would ask for aperson´s ethnicity and would walk away ifthe householder replied “Rohingya”.

The census is the first since 1983 forthe country following years of junta rule,and is meant to fill gaping deficits in infor-mation that mean even the country´s popu-lation is a broad estimate.—AFP

for “general religious and charitablepurposes.” Gregory said that he hasreceived criticism over the spendingin letters, emails and telephone mes-sages. “I am disappointed that, whilemy advisors (sic) and I were able tojustify this project fiscally, logisticallyand practically, I personally failed toproject the cost in terms of my ownintegrity and pastoral credibility withthe people of God of north and cen-tral Georgia,” Gregory said in a col-umn posted on the website of thearchdiocesan newspaper, The Geor-gia Bulletin. “I failed to consider theimpact on the families throughout theArchdiocese who, though strugglingto pay their mortgages, utilities, tu-ition and other bills, faithfully re-

spond year after year to my pleasto assist with funding our ministriesand services,” he added.

The Catholic leader said he willdiscuss the situation with severaldiocesan councils, including a spe-cial meeting of its finance council.If church representatives want thebishop to sell the home, Gregorysaid he will do so and move else-where.

The purchase of the sprawlinghome was part of a real estate dealmade possible by money from Jo-seph Mitchell’s estate.

In his will, Mitchell requestedthat primary consideration be givento the Cathedral of Christ The King,where he worshipped. —AP

BRUSSELS—NATO Ministers from 28 countries meeting for the first time since Russia’s military occupation andannexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region.

LAHORE: A view of fire erupted in a multi- story commercial plaza near Kalma Chowk.

OUR CORRESPONDENT

HYDERABAD—A number of residents ofvarious localities of Tando Allahyar city andactivists of religious parties took to thestreets against alleged desecration of theHoly Quran and attacked the home-cum-worship place of a man belonging to theAhmedi community for his involvement inthe alleged sacrilege.

The charged crowd rushed to TahirAhmed’s place and went on the rampage inthe worship place on the ground floor. Hetook refuge on the upper floor, where hisfamily lived, and the crowd did not pursuehim there.

A heavy contingent of police and Rang-ers arrived at the spot and detained MrAhmed while protesters threw stones at thesuspect and injured him.

According to sources, 12-year-oldSalman was coming from a seminary inMansoor Colony, Tando Allahyar city, whenhe was intercepted by two men riding amotorbike and snatched the Quran from himand beat him up.

Salman crying went back home and told

Ahmedi man arrested for‘desecrating’ Quran amid rampage

his family and others that Mr Ahmed andan unknown man riding a motorbike hadroughed him up and snatched the Quranand desecrated it.

Then a big charged crowd gathered andchanted slogans against the suspect andreached his home in Mansoor Colony.Salman lives in the neighbourhood of thesuspect. The crowd went on the rampageon the ground floor of the house, said tobe a small worship place.

A heavy contingent of police and Rang-ers arrived there and arrested Tahir Ahmedand took him to the A-Section police sta-tion of Tando Allahyar, where the crowdthrew stones at the suspect and demandedregistration of a case against the suspect.

An FIR (68/2014) was registered on acomplaint of Qari Mohammad AyubSiddique, Salman’s paternal uncle, underSections 295-b, 337-A-1 and F-1 againstthe two suspects at the A-Section policestation.

The protesters burnt tyres and resortedto firing in the air, forcing traders to shuttheir businesses. Tando Allahyar wastense till late in the night.

Karachi tense afterMQM worker,

sympathizer bodiesrecovered

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Tension en-gulfed parts of the city af-ter recovery of twoMuttaheda Qaumi Move-ment (MQM) workers deadbodies from Gaghar Phattak,District Thatta on Tuesday.

Dead bodies of MQMworker and party sympa-thizer were recovered fromnear Gaghar Phatta DistrictThatta. The dead bodieswere identified as ofSanaullah, 35, son ofHabibullah and MansoorAhmed. Sanaullah was ac-tive worker of MQM Unit109 Shah Faisal Sector whileMansoor Ahmed was saidto be sympathizer of theparty.

Both of them were resi-dents of Landhi and hadbeen kidnapped by uniden-tified armed men from thetown few days back. Thedead bodies were taken tohospital for postmortem.The autopsy report of bothhas confirmed that theywere tortured brutally andlater shot dead. The deadbodies were handed over toheirs for burial.

Some unidentified armedmen took to streets and re-stored aerial firing in differ-ent parts of the metropolisvery after news regardingrecovery of two MQM work-ers dead bodies received.The unidentified forciblyclosed shops and petrolpumps situated at MainSharae Faisal.

SALIM AHMED

LAHORE—The fire which erupted in amulti-storey commercial plaza near KalmaChowk here on Tuesday was successfullydoused by fire fighting teams and alltrapped persons were safely rescued.

Rescue teams swiftly rushed to thescene of the incident and rescued severalpersons including women who weretrapped inside the building.

Around seven fire tenders and Res-

cue 1122 teams took part in the operationto extinguish the fire.

Lahore DCO, Dr. Ahmad Javed on in-formation also arrived at the location ofthe fire and supervised rescue work.

Some offices at the plaza were de-stroyed in the wake of the fire, however,no loss of life occurred due to deft han-dling of the situation by fire fighting teams.

Punjab Chief Minister, Shahbaz Shariftaking notice of the incident has soughtreport from the concerned authorities.

Lahore plaza fire doused,CM takes notice

WASHINGTON—The State Departmentplans to spend $400,000 in taxpayer dol-lars to purchase a camel statue for thenew American embassy in Islamabad.

The sculpture by artist JohnBaldessari depicts a fiberglass camelstaring into the eye of an oversizedneedle in play on a passage from theNew Testament about the difficulty thewealthy have in entering heaven,BuzzFeed reported. According to a pro-curement document, the 500-pound, fi-berglass, aluminum, stainless-steel,acrylic and painted “Camel Contemplat-ing a Needle” will be displayed at thenew embassy compound in Islamabad,which is estimated to be fully completedby 2016.

“This artist’s product is uniquelyqualified,” the document says.

“Public art which will be presented

US to spend $400,000 for camelstatue for embassy in Pakistan

in the new embassy should reflect the val-ues of a predominantly Islamist country.”

State Department press spokes-woman Christine Foushee told BuzzFeedthe proposed purchase is part of thedepartment’s “Office of Art in Embassies”program, which oversees art purchasesfor new construction projects at embas-sies and consulates. Steven Beyer ofBeyer Projects, the dealer for the project,told the publication the $400,000 price tag“is actually a very reduced price for thissculpture,” adding that the firm was“quite surprised” with the StateDepartment’s request.

The department came under scrutinyin December after commissioning a $1 mil-lion sculpture to be installed at new build-ing at the American embassy in London in2017. The purchase was defended as a“good use” of the agency’s resources.—INP

A smoker’s coronary artery diseaseis likely to be as advanced as thatof a non-smoker who is 10 years older

when both show up at the hospital with a heartattack, according to a new study. Researcherslooked at nearly 14,000 pa-tients hospitalized withblockages in arteries sup-plying the heart muscle andfound smokers were morelikely than nonsmokers todie within a year.

Despite their beingyounger, and otherwisehealthier, the smokers’heart arteries were in a con-dition similar to those ofnonsmokers 10 years older.“We saw smokers present-ing the disease at age 55 andnonsmokers presenting thesame disease at 65,” saidDr. Alexandra Lansky, a re-searcher on the study.

Smoking can cause blood clots, whichoften get lodged in the rigid and narrow ar-teries that have already been clogged by thebuildup of cholesterol and fat deposits, ac-cording to Lansky and her colleagues. Al-though the fat buildup and stiffening of theartery walls, known as atherosclerosis, be-comes more likely with age for everyone,the clots caused by smoking worsen theblockages. That makes smokers more likelyto have a heart attack at a younger age, butless likely to have the other conditions,known as comorbidities, that go along with

aging, such as diabetes and high bloodpressure. “Smoking accelerates the mani-festation of coronary disease but in theabsence of these comorbidities,” Lanskytold Reuters Health.

Past research has iden-tified a “smoker’s paradox” -because smokers are younger,with fewer other health prob-lems, when they had a heart at-tack, they were more likely torecover it. Or so it seemed.“We wanted to look at longer-term effects of smoking ratherjust the short term effect,”Lansky said.

The researchers ana-lyzed medical records for13,819 patients, almost 4,000of them smokers, hospitalizedwith chest pain or a heart at-tack caused by a blocked coro-nary artery. The study team or-ganized the data to match the

smokers and nonsmokers by age, weight,comorbidities and other risk factors.

When compared to nonsmokers withsimilar overall health, the smokers were tenyears younger, on average, and more likelyto have already been treated with bloodthinners - suggesting they had already ex-perienced problems with blood flow. Im-aging of the coronary artery showed thesmokers’ had atherosclerosis comparable tothe nonsmokers ten years their senior, theresearchers report in the journal JACC: Car-diovascular Interventions.

Smokers may show heart diseasemuch younger than nonsmokers

Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan Shinsuke Sugiyama called on Chief of ArmyStaff General Raheel Sharif at General Headquarters.

Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Ahsan Iqbal speaking at awards ceremony organised by Institute of Architects of Pakistan.

ISLAMABAD—Students en-thralled the audience by scin-tillating performance duringinter-university Singing Com-petition, organized here todayby Preston University.

The referenced competi-tion that was divided into twocategories, male and female,was held at the university as partof ‘Spring Splash 2014’.

The universities whichtook part in the female categoryof the competition were PunjabUniversity, Lahore, Arid Agri-culture University, Rawalpindi,Quaid-e-Azam University,Islamabad, Fatima JinnahWomen University,Rawalpindi, Institute of SpaceTechnology, Islamabad andPreston University Islamabad.

In the male category, theparticipating universities were:Arid Agriculture University,Rawalpindi, Institute of SpaceTechnology, Islamabad,PunjabUniversity, Lahore, BahriaUniversity, Islamabad, RiphaUniversity,Islamabad, FederalUrdu University, Islamabadand PrestonUniversity,Islamabad.

The students of the partici-pating universities enthralled

the jubilant audience comprisingstudents, staff and faculty ofPreston University and otherguests by their remarkable sing-ing talent.

The brilliant performances

of the participating students leftthe chief guest of occasion, emi-nent singer Saira Naseem and the

judges totally awestruck. In thefemale category of the competi-tion, Jasmeen of Quaid-e-AzamUniversity, Islamabad outclassedher counterparts from other uni-versities with her brilliant perfor-

mance to win the first prize. The second prize was

grabbed by Mehrun Nisa of

Punjab University, Lahore. Thirdprize in the competition wasawarded to Nosheen Qayyum ofPreston University, Islamabad.

In male category of thesinging competition, Shiraz

Ahmed of Bahria University,Islamabad over- shadowed hiscounterparts from other partici-

pating universities through hisoutstanding performance. Hewas adjudged the best singerby the judges and awardedfirst prize. Second prize in themale category of the competi-tion was grabbed by Haseeb-ul-Hassan of Punjab Univer-sity, Lahore. M. Zahid Abbasiof Arid Agriculture University,Rawalpindi won the 3rd prize.

In her brief remarks on oc-casion, chief guest Ms SairaNaseem, singer of national emi-nence, profoundly eulogized thesinging prowess of the studentsof the participating universities.

The judges of the compe-tition also appreciated the sing-ing skills of the competing stu-dents. With a little more groom-ing they could even performbetter, the judges maintained.

The Chancellor PrestonUniversity, Dr Abdul Basit saidthat the performance of the par-ticipating students was excel-lent. He fully agreed with thechief guest Ms. Saira and thejudges that if these studentswere groomed a little more theycould do extremely well in thisfield and earn laurels for theirrespective institutions and forthe country. —APP

Sudents enthrall audience by scintillating performance

Chancellor Preston University Dr Abdul Basit and Eminent Singer Saira Naseem givingaward to the position holders of Inter University Singing Competition at Preston Univer-sity.—PO photo Sultan Bashir

Japanese deputyFM, Army Chief

discuss bilateral ties

RAWALPINDI—Shinsuke Sugiyama, DeputyMinister for Foreign Affairs Japan and Chiefof Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharifon Tuesday discussed matters related to bilat-eral interests. The between Deputy Ministerfor Foreign Affairs Japan and General RaheelSharif was held at General Headquarters(GHQ) here.—Online

ISLAMABAD—Iraq Ambassador in PakistanDr Rushdi Alani Tuesday met with Ministerfor Religious Affairs and Interfaith HarmonySardar Muhammad Yousaf and agreed to es-tablish Pak-Arab Cultural Centre in the fed-eral capital for promoting Arabic language.

Talking to the Minister, he said the initialtalks with various Arab countries have alreadybeen held regarding the establishment of thecentre.

The ambassador also offered impartingArabic language to Pakistani students in theinstitutions of Iraqi Auqaf department. He alsooffered to explore investment opportunitiesavailable in vacant land of Iraqi Auqaf depart-ment in his country.Recalling the initial daysof Pakistan, he said Iraq was the first country,

who had established its embassy in Pakistanin 1947.

Minister for Religious Affairs and Inter-faith Harmony Sardar Muhammad Yousaf saidthe historic relations between the two coun-tries were being strengthened further.

Pakistanis were always anxious and loveto visit the sacred places of Iraq.

The Muslim Ummah was enduring thechronic problems of poverty and ignorance.Both should join hands to overcome the com-mon issues. The minister pointed out thathe was trying to develop a consensus in thecountry by holding frequent meetings withUlema and holding conferences so that peaceand tranquillity could be ensured in the coun-try.—APP

Iraq offers to establishPak-Arab Cultural Centre

ISLAMABAD—Islamabad Traffic Police (ITP)on Tuesday arranged a workshop for studentsof Grafton College to acquaint them about roadsafety tips and better awareness about trafficrules.

A large number of students attended theworkshop where education team of ITP spokeabout community policing techniques and ef-forts of the force in ensuring safe road envi-ronment in the city.They were informed as howspecial measures are being taken to curb vari-ous traffic violations in the city and also in-formed about traffic rules and regulations.

The educational teams of ITP visit variousorganizations as this exercise is helpful in pro-viding a disciplined traffic system to the

masses. Education team briefed the participantson the history of the force, targets given to ITPand its achievements, safety measures whilewalking along the road, road crossing code,causes of accidents and how to protect one-self, defensive driving and its requirements,practice to prevent risky situations on road,planning for a long journey, positioning vehicleor lane discipline, right of way on junctionsand road markings, safe overtaking, traffic signboards and traffic light signals and perils ofusing mobile phone while driving.

SP (Traffic) Ilyas Hashmi addressed theconcluding ceremony and said that ITP willcontinue efforts for safe road environment inthe city.—APP

ITP arranges workshopon road safety

ISLAMABAD—Federal Inspector ofDrugs on Tuesday seized stocks of allthose products of two pharmaceuticalcompanies which they were selling onprices more than the prices fixed by thefederal government.

According to official sources, on thedirection of Minister of State for NationalHealth Services, Regulations and Coor-dination, Saira Afzal Tarar, Federal In-spector raided the warehouses of twoIslamabad based pharmaceutical compa-nies namely M/s Wislon’s Pharmaceuti-cals, Islamabad and M/s Scottmann Phar-maceuticals, Islamabad.

During the inspection, the companieswere found overcharging the prices of fewdrugs. Further legal action will be takenunder the Drugs Act, 1976 and rulesframed there under, they added.

Earlier, on the directives of the PrimeMinister, Minister for \ National HealthServices, Regulations and CoordinationSaira Afzal Tarar took strict notice of re-ports of unilateral and illegal price hikeby certain pharmaceutical companies.

The minister, in an emergency meet-ing here, directed that stern action betaken against violators of thegovernment’s pricing regime.”There will

be zero tolerance against those deceivingthe government and hurting public inter-est,” she warned. She said a three-mem-ber committee headed by Chief Execu-tive Officer of Drug Regulatory Author-ity of Pakistan (DRAP), has been consti-tuted to monitor the market and report anyviolation of the pricing regime.

“Strict action under the law will betaken against companies found violatingthe law and overpricing”, she said.

The minister said some companiesafter resorting to illegal price hike soughtrestraining orders from the court to avoidaction by DRAP. —APP

Pharmaceutical companies’stocks seized

Focus on urban planning throughmodern architectural trends

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Federal Minister forPlanning, Development and ReformsAhsan Iqbal on Tuesday said that thegovernment was committed to focus onurban planning to save national identity,history and cultural heritage throughmodern architectural trends.

Addressing at the Mehdi Ali MirzaAward Ceremony organized by Instituteof Architect Pakistan (IAP) here, Ahsansaid that Pakistan was the fastest urban-ized country which requires modernbuilding infrastructure with the use ofmodern technology for the facility of thepeople. The Minister said every greatarchitect have vision to change the mindof people through its practical vision and

build new towns and infrastructure of themodern buildings.

Ahsan Iqbal said the government isfully focussed on modernizing the coun-tries infrastructure and build small greencities in different region of the country.

He said that Pakistan has huge hu-man resources potential gifted with tal-ented, passionate and skilled youth tobrought overall change in society.

He added that the government iscommitted to give employment and busi-ness opportunity to the youth for devel-opment and prosperity of the nation.

The Minister said “founder of Pa-kistan, Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad AliJinnah was architect of our freedom, whogave us vision to change our life in bet-ter way”. He said that countries like

China, Malaysia, South Korea designedtheir decades long vision and gave thempractical shape for the development andprosperity. He added that the govern-ment has started work on vision 2025 tofocus on major things including energy,infrastructure and education.

Ahsan Iqbal said the governmenthas undertaken many projects to expandenergy resources for bringing economicstability in the country.

The government will also includeinstitutional reforms and improvementin security with the aim to ensure sus-tainable development, he added.

The Minister said that political sta-bility and continuity of the democraticsystem is necessary to achieve the de-velopment targets of the country.

Debris ofbuilding not

removedsince one yearISLAMABAD—The CapitalDevelopment Authority (CDA)has failed to remove construc-tion waste material debris infront of the buildings situatedat Zero Point, including Infor-mation Service Academy (ISA)and others despite passage of ayear.

Almost one year ago, theCDA’s Sanitation Directoratereplaced sanitation pipes of theISA and others offices, but leftthe construction waste materialon the site, creating trouble forthe residents of the area.

According to an ISA offi-cial, many attempts had beenmade to approach the CDAChairman to resolve the issue,but in vain.—APP

05:50 01:3005:00

08:00

Zohr

Asr

Isha

Fajar

Meghrab at Sunset

Brothers in Islamestablish regularprayers & charity

Heavy machinery is being used for metro bus project on Benazir Bhutto Road.

April 2

INTERNATIONAL HazratFatima Zahra Conference willbe arranged on 2nd April 2:30p.m Pearl Continental HotelRawalpindi. Prominent ulmasand mashaikh from the sectswill participate in the confer-ence. Theme of the conferencewill be “Hazrat Fatima rilemodel for the woken folk onglobal level”.

*****

MINISTER of State for Parlia-mentary Affairs Sheikh AftabAhmed will host and SpeakerNational Assembly SardarAyaz Sadiq will be the chiefguest on the occasion of annualfestival to be held at DistrictCouncil Stadium, DistrictAttock at 11 am.

April 3

INAUGURATION Ceremony ofJamia Masjid Abubakar Siddiquewill be held on Thursday, 3rdApril at Multi Gardens, Sector B-17, Block B Markaz by Multi Pro-fessionals Cooperative HousingSociety.

*****

LAST date for submission ofadmission forms with late feecharges from Matric to Masterlevel programmes of theAllama Iqbal Open Universityfor the Semester Spring, 2014is April 3. This was announcedby Director Admissions, AIOUSyed Zia-ul-Hasnain.

RCB to placenew trashtrolleys

CITY REPORTER

RAWALPINDI—RawalpindiCantonment Board (RCB) inits effort to provide better sani-tary environment to the resi-dents would place 150 newtrash trolleys at garbage collec-tion points in different locali-ties of the cantonment.

Newly appointed Cantt Ex-ecutive Officer (CEO) FaheemZafar Khan took this initiativeon complaints regarding brim-ming and insufficient trash trol-leys by the area residents,sources in RCB told APP hereTuesday.

Accordingly, they said, atender has been floated to ac-quire specific yellow colourtrolleys, having five-feetheight, eight feet length andfour feet width, in a transpar-ent manner.

They said these trolleyswould be placed in differentparts of the cannt area fromwhere RCB vehicles wouldlift the solid waste on regularbasis.

35th deathanniversary of

ZABSTAFF REPORTER

RAWALPINDI—All the ar-rangements have been com-pleted to observe 35th deathanniversary of former PrimeMinister and founder of Paki-stan Peoples Party (PPP),Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto atJinnah Park (Old jail) here onFriday (April 4).

Talking to APP, MemberCentral Executive Committee,Qazi Sultan Mehmood said thatQuran Khawani will be held at10 a.m. and ‘Dua’ will be of-fered at 1.pm.

The local leadership willattend the ceremony and high-light the achievements ofShaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhuttowho struggled hard for the de-mocracy in the country and sac-rificed his life for the people ofPakistan.

Later, Bhutto lungar willalso be distributed on the oc-casion.

CITY REPORTER

RAWALPINDI—Chief TrafficOfficer (CTO) RawalpindiShoaib Khurram on Tuesdayurged the citizens to use Air-port Road, Peshawar Road toreach Islamabad during con-struction period of Metro BusProject.

Addressing a press confer-ence here at Traffic Headquar-ters he said great efforts werebeing made by the traffic po-

lice to regulate traffic onMurree Road but without thecooperation of the citizens,traffic load on city roads in-cluding Benazir Bhutto Roadcannot be controlled.

The CTO said besides en-hanced number of traffic war-dens, the officials who wereperforming duties in trafficheadquarters, were also de-ployed on Murree Road andother roads.

He said a comprehensive

traffic plan had been devised,but the cooperation of citizenswas necessary to avoid a traf-fic mess, mainly on the Murreeroad.

He advised the motorists touse Airport Road through KaralChowk, and Peshawar Roadthrough IJP Road and GolraMor, to reach Islamabad.

The citizens can come tothe city area through RawalRoad, Saidpur Road and IJPRoad, during the construction

of Metro Bus project, he added.He informed that CTP in

coordination with depart-ments concerned will conductoperations against encroach-ers aimed at clearing cityroads for the smooth flow oftraffic to provide relief to themotorists.

The encroachers have beenwarned that in future caseswould be registered against theviolators of the rules and no onewould be spared. CTP is tak-

ing action against encroachersand conducting special opera-tions for the removal of en-croachments from city roadsaimed at resolving traffic prob-lems of the city, he said.

The city traffic police havealso prepared a plan to keepthe traffic moving as much aspossible while the elevatedroad will be constructed forthe bus service, on the busyMurree road.

The building work on the

project would be completedwithin a fixed timeframe.

All necessary arrange-ments, regarding the flow ofthe traffic, have been madeand are aimed at facilitatingthe citizens, mainly motorists,he said.

In order to mitigate the suf-ferings of the general public,and to avoid a mess of trafficon the Murree road, alternativeroutes have been provided tothe traffic, to minimise the load

on the busiest road of the city.He informed that a demand

of 522 traffic wardens has alsobeen sent to the authorities con-cerned as out total 1150strength of City Traffic Police,as many as 730 traffic wardensand officers are performingduties on city roads.

He said that 12,000 ve-hicles per hour use MurreeRoad during peak hours andall-out efforts being made toregulate the traffic load.

Metro Bus Project

Citizens urged to use Airport,Peshawar roads to reach Islamabad

Head UNICEF’s polio programme, Peter Crowly meeting with PTI Chairman Imran Khan.

Women buying school bags from a stall in connection with the start of new educational year.

RAWALPINDI—Punjab government is follow-ing a comprehensive policy to promote qual-ity education, increase literacy rate and pro-vide missing facilities in public sector schoolsacross the province, said Member ProvincialAssembly (MPA) and Parliamentary Secre-tary for Youth Affairs, Sports, Archeology andTourism Chaudhry Sarfraz Afzal here Tues-day.

Addressing a prize distribution ceremonyamong position holders of the GovernmentBoys High School Ghareebabad, he said all-out efforts are being made to impart qualityeducation to the younger generation, makingthem useful citizens so that they play theirrole in national development and prosperity.

He said record funds have been allocatedto achieve the task, adding that free text booksare being provided to students from class oneto ten, while more than 45,000 IT labs havealso been set up in public sector institutions.

He said special attention is being givento develop teachers’ skills and achieve higheducational standards so that the younger gen-eration could face challenges of the contem-porary world.

A plan, he said, is also being worked outto set up examination centers in all govern-ment schools to facilitate students visitingother centers for annual exams. Sarfraz Afzalalso distributed shields among position hold-ing students of the school.—APP

Comprehensive policybeing followed to promote

quality education

STAFF REPORTER

RAWALPINDI—Punjab Government failed tocomplete Degree Colleges in Dhoke SyedanRawalpindi after 7 years.

Civil society to hold a demonstration tourge the Punjab Government to start theclasses in both degree colleges of DhokeSyedan, Rawalpindi. Syed Kausar Abbas, Pro-gram Manager of Centre for Peace and De-velopment Initiatives, (CPDI) while address-ing the media said that despite conductingnumber of protests, meetings and writing let-ters to the government, government of Punjabfailed to start classes in both degree collegesof Dhoke Syedan.

He said that the project of two Govern-ment Degree Colleges Dhoke Syedan chowkRawalpindi was started in 2007 by Chief Min-ister Pervez Elahi and Muhammad BasharatRaja Ex-Law Minister but the Governmentof Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz are notable to start the classes in both the collegesfrom last seven years.

Kausar Abbas said that RS 42 millionwere spent on these buildings in the financialyears 2007-8 and 2008-9 but later on the PML-N government in Punjab stopped funds forthese colleges due to political reasons.

He said that these colleges are located at

the boundary of two National Assembly Con-stituencies NA-52 and NA-54. The constitu-ency belongs to the elected representativesChaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and Malik AbrarAhmad. Both the elected representatives havebeen approached by the constituent’s numberof times during the last six years but they al-ways make fake commitments.

Kausar Abbas said that after taking oathMember National Assembly Malik AbrarAhmad committed in a public forum orga-nized by CPDI that the colleges will be startedby September 2013 but they have not startedworking on these colleges yet.

He further told that these are the only col-leges of NA-52 and NA-54 and the studentsdo not have the opportunity to get access tohigher education in their area. The studentshave to travel long distance to Rawalpindi cityor Islamabad to get education. Kausar Abbastold that if classes will not be started in Au-gust 2014 then a sit-in and grand protest willbe organized to get the attention of PunjabGovernment.

We have started corner meetings with theactivists and political workers to involve themin massive campaign for completion of thesecolleges. The natives of Dhoke Syedan Col-leges urged the Government of Punjab to im-mediately complete buildings of both colleges.

Govt failed to complete2 colleges in seven years

CITY REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Fake appointments scandalhas been unearthed in Capital DevelopmentAuthority (CDA).

A group of fraudsters among CDA em-ployees is said to have extorted million ofrupees from the innocent people in return forfake offer for appointment while CDA chair-man has ordered inquiry into the scam. OneKasahghar Riaz is stated to be behind thewhole scandal who is Naib Qasid in CDA butposes himself to be a senior officer.

Through one fake offer for appoint-ment he recruited 10 persons. Ubaid ur

Rehman, Shaukat Hussain and MuhammadRizwan have been recruited Baildar,Tauqir Abbasi pump operator, Zahir ulHassan sub assistant, Zulqarnai sub engi-neer Hamid Hassan Naib Qasid, ZeeshanHaider and Wasif Ali volve man andMuhammad Sarwar as Naib Qasid. Thisappointment letter was issued on October,12, 2013 under the signatures of HRO,Fida Muhammad Aftab.

Sources said that the accused stole awaycheque book from CDA treasury and he hasalso prepared fake service books and issuedto the employees enrolled by him under fakeappointment letter.

Fake appointmentsunearthed in CDA

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Pakistan Council forScience and Technology (PCST) hasconferred Research Productivity Awardin category-D to Principal ScientificOfficer (PSO) of Pakistan AgriculturalResearch Council (PARC), Dr.Muhammad Ramzan Khan for the year2013-14.

Dr Ramzan Khan is the only scien-

tists from PARC to achieve this honourfor this year on the basis of his researchcontribution in Molecular Biotechnol-ogy / Genomics during 2012.

The PCST confers the Research Pro-ductivity Award (RPA) every year toproductive scientists of the country withan aim to encourage them for their valu-able contribution in serving the nationin various fields.

The award is conferred to scientists

working in public or private sector uni-versities, Science and Technology aswell as Research and Development or-ganizations in addition to Ministries andDivisions engaged in basic and appliedresearch.

The evaluation is done on the basisof the criteria which has been developedand approved by a high level committeeconstituted by the Ministry of Scienceand Technology (MoST).

PARC scientist gets ResearchProductivity Award

RAWALPINDI—Construction project of 6 newPolice Stations in the populated areas of thecity has become victim of red tapism.

Police had planned to build new PoliceStations for controlling the crimes and forpeace. IG Punjab has sent the whole paper workof this project along with his letter to Homedepartment but still no action has been takendespite passage of 5 months.

Under the project in the area of New town

Police Station Pindora Police Station, exter-nal area of Murree Police Station New Murree,in the populated area Sadiqabad Police Sta-tion Shaqrial Police Station, for the biggestPolice Station of Tehsil Gujar Khan SadarGujar Khan Police Station, for Air Port PoliceStation Chaklala Police Station and for themost important area of External Saddar PoliceStation Chakri Police Station were to be con-structed.—Online

Construction of sixPolice Stations delayed

RAWALPINDI—Punjab government has or-dered grand operation against unregisteredschools operating in the province includingRawalpindi.

On the directions of CM Punjab ShahbazSharif Secretary Education Punjab has sent acircular to all EDO’s to take action againstunregistered schools. The unregistered educa-

tional institutes would be sealed and legal ac-tion would be taken against their owners andadministration.

It has also been ordered to check thoseschools whose registration have expired andto probe as to why they have not applied forre-registration and delay in registration wouldcost RS 100 per day.—Online

Operation against unregistered schools

HAJEERA: Shops remained closed due to strike called by Anjuman-e-Tajraan.

I S L A M A B A D — H u r r i y e tleaders commenting on thecommutation of death sen-tence of 1993 Delhi blastsconvict to life imprisonmenthave said that the judge-ment vindicates that NewDelhi was in a hurry tohang Muhammad AfzalGuru for being a KashmiriMuslim.

The Indian SupremeCourt in its verdict com-muted the death sentence ofDevenderpal Singh Bhullarto life imprisonment on thegrounds of inordinate delayin deciding his mercy peti-tion, KMS reported.

“This is a clear doublestandard. This has exposedthe system and the tallclaims of justice and fairplay. The reality is that twoyard sticks are beingadopted when a Kashmirand that too a Muslim isconcerned,” said the All Par-ties Hurriyet ConferenceChairman, Mirwaiz UmarFarooq.

The Mirwaiz added thatearlier the death sentence ofthe assassins of RajivGandhi was commuted intolife imprisonment and now

Double standards inIndia’s judicial system

exposed: APHC1993 convict DevenderpalSingh Bhullar had been sen-tenced for life imprisonment.“This can be asked as whyAfzal Guru was hanged,then.”

The Chairman Jammuand Kashmir LiberationFront (JKLF), MuhammadYasin Malik said the doublestandards have exposedbias in the system againstthe people of Kashmir.

“Even the court judg-ment stated that there wasno direct involvement ofGuru in parliament attack butto satisfy the collective con-science of India, he washanged mercilessly atTihar.”

The forum led by theveteran Hurriyet leader,Syed Ali Gilani remarked thatthe stand of the Hurriyethad been vindicated by theSupreme Court itself.

“We have been sayingtime and again that peopleof Kashmir cannot expectjustice from the system-now that has been provedand world must know howmuch we are being tor-mented at large,”Syed AliGilani added.—APP

Resolution of Kashmir, water disputewith India vital for durable peace

ISLAMABAD—President Centre forPakistan and Gulf Studies (CPGS)Senator Seher Kamran has stressed theneed of a pro-active diplomatic ap-proach to resolve Kashmir and waterdisputes with for durable regionalpeace and trust worthy relations be-tween the two countries.

She stated this while speaking at aseminar entitled “Pakistan-India rela-tions: Challenges and Prospects heldhere at CPGS on Tuesday.

Senator Seher said that no coun-try can survive without peace but inthe aspiration of peace, compromis-ing national interests would damagecountry’s long standing resolve onthe issue of Kashmir.

Stressing effective use of diplo-macy, President CPGS termed it unfor-tunate that country’s diplomacy get-ting weaker and no powerful voiceheard against Indian brutal humanrights violations in Kashmir.

All Pro-Indiaparties dangerous

for Kashmircause: Forum

ISLAMABAD—The forum ledby the veteran Hurriyetleader, Syed Ali Gilani stat-ing that pro-India partieswere using the Kashmir dis-pute as an election card, hassaid that these parties areequally dangerous for theKashmir cause.

The General Secretary ofthe forum, Ghulam NabiSumji in a statement issuedin Srinagar said, “In realitythey are least botheredabout the miseries and diffi-culties of the Kashmiripeople,” KMS reported.

“The Kashmiris havesacrificed everything for thesacred cause and to protectthese sacrifices we have toboycott the elections,” headded.—APP

SRINAGAR—United Jehad Councilchief Syed Salahudin has confirmedthat ‘Shohada Brigade, the militantoutfit responsible for Kathua twin at-tack is the brain child of HizbulMujahideen and this organization willcontinue to strike in different parts ofJammu region. In an interview withSrinagar based news agency CNS,Salahudin said that different youthfrom Jammu region including Kishtwar,Ramban, Rajouri, Poonch, Banihal andother parts are joining their newly es-tablished militant outfit ‘Shohada Bri-gade’ and it will continue to target se-curity establishments in Jammu region.

He said that the outfit was formedsoon after the Gool incident in whichinnocent Muslim youth were butch-ered by Indian Security personnel.“We are capable of striking anywherein India and we believe that armedstruggle is inevitable in the presentcontext of Kashmir Freedom struggle.India has never responded to thepeaceful movement that Kashmiripeople launched from time to time andit is our firm belief that Gun is the onlyway to dislodge Indian Army from thestate of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said

Shohada Brigade brain childof HM: Salahudin

adding Shohada Brigade is expandingits base in Rajouri, Poonch andBanihal.

He maintained that with regard toKashmir issue, there is no differencebetween National Democratic Alliance(NDA) and United Progressive Alli-ance (UPA). “Whether it is Congressor BJP, Janta Dal or CPI(M), all partiespursue same policy with regard toKashmir.

To expect any positive results fromNDA government or from NarendaraModi will be disastrous. We must un-derstand that all the Indian parties areanti-Kashmir particularly NarendraModi who is the killer of innocentMuslims,” he said. Syed Salahudinclaimed that Kashmir issue was neverdiscussed in any Indo-Pak ministeriallevel talks. “I am telling you with au-thority that Kashmir was never thesubject during any Ministerial leveltalks between India and Pakistan asIndia always showed half-hearted will-ingness to discuss this vital issue andinstead discussed the issues relatedto Siachen and Sir Creek,” he said add-ing that Pakistan continued to holddialogue with India with a hope that it

will one day agree to talk on Kashmirissue.

“These are talks only for the pur-pose of talks or to just keep the stake-holders engaged. It has brought noresult in the past nor will it do so inthe future. During the past six de-cades, hundreds of such exerciseshave been undertaken. But what is theresult? The issue has to be resolvedin a realistic way. India and Pakistanboth have to agree that Kashmiris arethe principle party to the dispute. Tillthey carry on bilateral dialogue, therewill be no result just like it has hap-pened in the past.

There will be no breakthrough,”he said adding that Mirwaiz UmarFarooq after various interactions andphoto sessions with Indian leader-ship himself admitted that it is mean-ingless to hold dialogue with theGovernment of India. Salahuddin ad-vised the Government of Pakistannot to repeat the mistake of puttingKashmir on the back burner and tryto foster friendship with New Delhithrough trade, cultural exchangesand tourism.—NNI

SRINAGAR—The Jammu and KashmirLiberation Front (JKLF) ChairmanMohammad Yasin Malik has appealedthe people to boycott the Lok Sabhaelections. He was addressing a seriesof public meetings in Kulgam. Earlier,he paid rich tributes to Ishfaq MajidWani, Shabir Ahmad Sidiqui and oth-ers on their death anniversaries atMartyrs Graveyard here.

The Jammu and Kashmir Libera-tion Front has paid glowing tributesto its former militant commanderAshfaq Majid Wani, who died fight-ing Indian troops on this day in 1990,in the old city of Kashmir’s capitalSrinagar. JKLF chairman, and Wani’scomrade, Mohammad Yasin Malik leda prayer meeting at the MartyrsGraved Yard in Old City where a largenumber of people were present on theoccasion, a party press release said.After the prayer meeting, Malik alongwith other leaders started his journeytowards Kulgam in South Kashmirwhere a public meet was scheduled inconnection with the death anniversa-ries ‘of these great martyrs’, the re-lease said.

Ashfaq changed 5000-year-oldhistory of Kashmir: Malik

JKLF chairman was stopped byhundreds of people in Bichroo espe-cially youth and women folk who af-ter coming to know about his move-ment had come out of their houses inlarge numbers to welcome him, it read.“A procession started from Bichrooin which youth, elders, children andwomen of the area participated withgreat enthusiasm,” it read further.“This procession walked along withMalik through Tarigaam, Boosu andother villages to Bogam where itturned into a public meet.

While speaking to the people onthe occasion, Malik said: “Ashfaq wasa great leader who strived for the free-dom of our nation and sacrificed hisblood to nourish the freedomstruggle.” He said that Ashfaq was ‘aborn leader and the days and years ofhis life from September 5, 1966, toMarch 30, 1990, are a shining evidenceof his greatness’.

The former militant commander,who announced truce in 1994, said:Ashfaq’s gallant leadership in 1988gave courage to hundreds of youngmen to stand up for the cause of free-

dom and independence of motherland.“Ashfaq led a people’s revolution in1990 and changed the 5000-year-oldhistory of Kashmir,” he remarked. “Itwas his leadership that united a na-tion which was tagged as coward andinactive for the just cause of freedomand history bears a witness that thou-sands of young people followedAshfaq in this struggle,” he said.

“Ashfaq always prioritized othersbut when it came to sacrifices he ledfrom the front and sacrificed his lifefor the cause of freedom,” Maliknoted. He said Ashfaq was a practic-ing follower of Quran, a brave com-mander, a wise political leader, a re-fined diplomat, a fiery speaker, a re-spected student and a great athlete.“Above all he was an inspiring per-sonality who had courage to call aspade a spade and look into the eyesof tyrant and fight with firmness,” hesaid. Malik, who took over the reinsof the JKLF after Ashfaq died, said‘he was a true picture of great prede-cessors and true follower of father ofnation Mohammad Maqbool Butt’.—NNI

Indian troopsmartyr 8

kashmirisin March

ISLAMABAD—Indian troopsin their unabated acts ofstate terrorism martyred 8Kashmiris including ayoung boy in the last monthof March in occupied Kash-mir.

According to KashmirMedia Service, 185 personswere injured when Indiantroops and police personnelresorted to brute forceagainst peaceful protesters.As many as 185 civilianswere arrested in the month.

The troops also de-stroyed several residentialhouses and disgracedtwelve women during theperiod.—APP

NEELUM: Students of Punjab University Lahore enjoying the weather at Neelum valley recreational spots.

Speaking on the occasion defenceanalyst, Lt. Gen. (R) Talat Masood, HI(M) said that internal strength will de-termine the external face of the countrybut Pakistan’s weak internal situationalways undermine its foreign policy.

Participants of round table ex-pressed that though India’s secularface disfigured due to its atrocities andbrutal human rights violations inJammu and Kashmir but in terms ofPakistan, this Indian defeat was notmuch taken advantage at diplomaticfronts.

Ghulam Mohammad Safi, a re-nowned scholar and Kashmiri leadercautioned that unresolved Kashmirissue is a persistent threat to the sta-bility of South Asia and war could ig-nite anytime between India and Paki-stan.

Irshad Mehmood said that after avoilent years of freedom struggle,Kahsmiris not only returned to non-

violent movement but also developedtheir own Kashmiri narrative but Indiahas given no space to this peacefultransition and as a result youth againjoining armed struggle.

Other participants included Lt. Gen.(R) Agha Muhammad Umer Farooq HI(M), Dr. Tahir Amin (QAU), FarooqRahmani, Nasir Hafeez TI (M) (NDU),Shamsa Nawaz (ISSI), Heba Al-Adawy(IRS), Dr Mavara Inayat (QAU),Dr. Adil Sultan, Bilal Akram Shah, GhaniJafar (CPGS) stressed that confidencebuilding measures (CBM’s), compos-ite dialogue process and trade ties arenecessary between Pakistan and Indiafor a meaningful solution of Kashmirissue. Conference emphasized upongetting rid of internal weaknesses, stopdefensive attitude towards Kashmir is-sue, through effective diplomacy ex-ploit Indian human rights abuses inKashmir while go for trade but not atthe cost of national interests.—INP

SRINAGAR—Kashmir haswitnessed a huge decreasein participation of people inthe Lok Sabha elections fol-lowing the 1987 Assemblypolls that were allegedlyrigged, official data has sug-gested. From a high of 68percent in 1984 LS polls, thevoter turnout stood at 31percent during the last elec-tion in 2009.

In 1984, the voter turn-out was 68 percent in Kash-mir. During these elections,all major political forces inKashmir stood behind theNational Conference fol-lowing toppling of theFarooq Abdullah-led gov-ernment by GhulamMuhammad Shah. InBaramulla constituency,the voter turnout was 61.09percent while as it was73.51 and 70.08 percent forSrinagar and Baramulla par-liamentary segments re-spectively. Riding on ‘sym-pathy wave’, all three seatsin Kashmir were bagged bythe National Conferencecandidates—Saifuddin Soz(Baramulla), Abdur RashidKabuli (Srinagar) and AkbarJahan Begum(Anantnag)—with a hugemargin. In Jammu,Udhampur and Ladakh seg-ments, the voter turnoutwas four percent less thanKashmir. The 1989 LSpolls—the first electionconducted after the ‘rig-ging’ of 1987 Assemblypolls—witnessed the low-est-ever voter turnout. Ac-cording to official figures,the polling stood at mar-ginal 5 percent in Srinagarand Islamabad (Anantnag)segments. Saifuddin Soz(who was then with NC) andPL Handoo (NC) wereelected from Baramulla andIslamabad seats respec-tively. In Srinagar, the situ-ation was such that no one,except the NC candidateMuhammad Shafi Bhat, hadfiled the nomination. Bhatwas ‘declared elected un-

Decline in voters turnoutin Kashmir after ‘rigged

election of 1987’opposed’. Even inUdhampur LS segmentwhich includes Chenab Val-ley, the voting percentagestood at minimal 39.45 per-cent.

In Ladakh and Jammu,the polling continued to behigh. The 10th Lok Sabhaelections couldn’t be held inthe State due to volatilesituation. The 1996 LS elec-tions were marred by wide-spread reports of threats,intimidation and coercion.Even as the authorities main-tained 43 percent pollingtook place, the claims re-mained questionable giventhe situation prevailing inKashmir at that time.

Though National Con-ference boycotted the polls,their space was filled by gov-ernment-gunmen who con-tested the elections as inde-pendent candidates. GhulamRasool Kar (Congress) andGhulam Muhammad (Con-gress) were elected fromBaramulla and Srinagar seatsrespectively. Surprisingly,Janta Dal candidateMuhammad Maqbool Darwon from south Kashmir’sIslamabad seat. InUdhampur segment– where40 candidates were contest-ing– 53. 29 percent voter turn-out was recorded. In neigh-boring Jammu, 48.18 percentpolling was recorded with 30candidates in fray. In 1998,when Omar Abdullah (NC)and Mufti MuhammadSayeed (Congress) wereelected from Srinagar andIslamabad (Anantnag) seatsrespectively, the officialclaims put the polling at 33percent on three LS seats ofKashmir—the figure con-tested by separatists. Ac-cording to the Election Com-mission of India, the pollingwas 30.06 percent and 28.15in Srinagar and Islamabadsegments.

In Baramulla, SaifuddinSoz of NC won and the seg-ment recorded 41 percentpolling.—NNI

Bhullar decisionreopens Kashmir’swounds: MehboobaSRINAGAR—Reacting to theSupreme Court decisionabout 1993 Delhi bomb blastcase convict, DavinderpalSingh Bhullar the PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP) presi-dent, Mehbooba Mufti hassaid it is another example ofdouble-standards displayedvis-à-vis Kashmir and withevery such development aslike the latest by the ApexCourt or its earlier verdict onconvicts who have been ondeath row the wounds ofKashmiris are re-opened.

Addressing various road-side meetings in Tral segmentof Anantanag constituency,Mehbooba said such dis-criminatory approach aboutKashmir needs to be re-sponded forcefully to preventtheir repetition in future andthat will call for an united andstrong response at politicallevel and through democraticinstitutions. She said the Na-tional Conference, whichshould have represented thesentiments of the people ofthe state, unfortunately, col-laborated in the hanging ofMohammad Afzal Guroo inthe most inhuman manner byeven denying him a last cus-tomary meeting with his fam-ily.—NNI

Geelani mustidentify black

sheep: JKLF-RSRINAGAR—Reacting tothe recent statement ofHuriyat Conference (G)chairman Syed Ali Geelanithat several religious andpro-freedom parties have a‘nexus’ with the mainstreamparties here, Jammu andKashmir Liberation Front(JKLF)-R, a constituent ofnewly formed Huriyat Con-ference Jammu Kashmir(HCJK) has stated thatGeelani in 2008 was cau-tioned by his own menabout the presence of‘black-sheep’ is his amal-gam, but the senior sepa-ratist undermined the issue.

The chief of JKLF-R,Farooq Ahmad Dar aliasBitta Karate while speakingat the martyrs’ graveyard onthe anniversary of slainJKLF Chief Ashfaq MajeedWani- remarked that thestatement of the seniorseparatist leader Syed AliGeelani that has appeared inseveral dailies must be ana-lyzed thoroughly. “I haveread the statement-Geelanihas stated that that somepro-freedom parties haveclose contacts with the pro-India parties- first of allGeelani should reveal theirnames so that truth couldcome to fore,” saidFarooq.—NNI

Happiness doesnot come from

doing easy workbut from the after-

glow of satisfactionthat comes after

the achievement ofa difficult task that

demanded ourbest.

—Theodore Isaac Rubin

SALIM AHMED

LA H O R E—Governor Punjab Chaudhry MuhammadSarwar Tuesday make a pledge to take up businesscommunity taxation-related issues with Prime MinisterNawaz Sharif. The Governor was talking to a 10-mem-ber Lahore Chamber delegation led by LCCI PresidentEngineer Sohail Lashari and comprising Senior VicePresident Mian Tariq Misbah, Vice President KashifAnwar, former Presidents Sheikh Muhammad Asif,Mian Anjum Nisar, Shahid Hassan Sheikh, ExecutiveCommittee Members Muhammad Haroon Arrora,Maqsood Ahmad Butt, Chairman OIC Standing Com-mittee Husnain Reza Mirza and Co-Chairman MahmoodGhaznavi.

The Governor agreed with the LCCI President En-gineer Sohail Lashari that tax procedures should besimplified, untaxed sectors be taxed while there mustbe a comprehensive strategy to deal with under-in-voicing and high rate of taxes. The Governor said that

Governor assures businessmen to take up tax issues with PMhe understands that the implementation of LCCI taxa-tion proposals would give much needed rise in Tax-to-GDP in the country that is lowest in the region and anumber of international donors were calling for in-crease in this ratio.

He said that he would soon have a meeting with thePrime Minister Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif to ap-prise him of the challenges hitting hard the economy.He said that there were no two opinions that all incomesshould be taxed so that the economy could get requiredpace at its earliest. Appreciating the LCCI initiative tohold three-day second OIC Ambassadors and TradeConference scheduled for April 11 to 13 in Lahore, theGovernor said that the Punjab government would ex-tend every possible help for the success of this megaevent.

Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar said the Punjab gov-ernment believes that the OIC Ambassadors and TradeConference would give new boost to business amongMuslim countries that have a huge potential in various

sectors of the economy. The Governor said that as soonas the LCCI finalises its recommendations for smoothflow of goods among the OIC members, the governmentwould make all out efforts to implement those sugges-tions.

On the occasion, the LCCI President gave a de-tailed briefing to the Governor Punjab on the OIC Am-bassadors and Trade Conference and thanked himfor playing role for the success of the event. He saidthat the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industrywas not only putting in its relentless efforts for thepromotion of regional trade but was also working outa strategy to promote trade among all 57 Muslim coun-tries.

Engineer Sohail Lashari said that it was not the Am-bassadors of the OIC countries that had already giventheir consent to attend the conference but a large numberof businessmen and sector specific experts from thesecountries were also taking part in this mega event thatwould be first of its kind in Lahore. He said that there

would be two sessions of B-2-B meetings among the par-ticipants.

The LCCI President said that the LCCI was also invit-ing the businessmen and the heads of all leading banksto the conference, as there were countries where Paki-stani businessmen were facing banking issues. Talkingabout taxation issues, the LCCI President said that theremust be frequent meetings between the LCCI and theFBR authorities, as any further delay in resolution of theseissues would hit hard the government’s plans to reviveeconomic activities.

He also urged the Governor Punjab to play his role forbringing the untaxed sectors including the Agriculturesector into the tax net as the size of gray economy wasballooning with every passing day. The LCCI presidentalso shared his idea of Public-Private Dialogue with theGovernor and said that the spadework had already beendone to this regard and a complete working paper and itsimplementation strategy would be presented to the Chiefminister soon.

Knitwear exportsincrease to $ 2.03bISLAMABAD—Theincentives announced infirst ever Textiles Policyhas resulted in boost toknitwear exports thathave reached US $ 2.03billion from US $ 1.73billion. Ministry of TextileIndustry adoptedmeasures to facilitate thesector to enhance exportswhile under the Policy(2009-14), various shortto medium term schemeswere notified includingSRO of duty free importof textiles machinery byFederal Board of Rev-enue (FBR). UnderTextiles Policy initiativesRs. 28.75 billion havebeen disbursed by StateBank of Pakistan (SBP)till date. The Ministry onTuesday announced thatthere are 973 knitwearexporting units registeredwith Pakistan HosieryManufacturers Associa-tion. These include 392 inKarachi, 159 in Lahore,275 in Faisalabad and 147in Sialkot. Meanwhile,Pakistan HosieryAssociation said theirmembership has de-creased since 2005.However, the totalnumbers of new textilecompanies registeredwith Securities andExchange Commission ofPakistan (SECP) were 485against 265 companies thatwere dissolved during2008 to 2012. Importantlysince 2005, the knitwearexports have increasedfrom $ 1.73 billion to $ 2.03billion.—APP

Shipping activity atPort QasimKARACHI—Two shipscarrying containers andchemical were berthed atQasim InternationalContainers Terminal andVopak Terminal respec-tively. Meanwhile, twomore ships carryingcontainers also arrived atouter anchorage of PortQasim during last 24hours. Berth occupancywas 45 percent at the porton Tuesday where fiveships namely SafmarineNgami, Valerie, AlMahbooba, Autaurusand Argent Aster arecurrently occupyingberths to load/offloadcontainers, cement,chemical and edible oilrespectively during last24 hours. A cargo volumeof 43422 tonnes compris-ing 28577 tonnes importsand 14845 tonnes exportsinclusive of containerizedcargo carried in 1246containers (TEUs) werehandled at the Port duringlast 24 hours.—APP

ISLAMABAD—The foreign exchange reserves of the coun-try have crossed the threshold of US $ 10 billion on 31stMarch 2014.The total liquid reserves stood at US $ 10.072billion. The net reserves with State Bank of Pakistan areUS $ 5.365 billion and the net reserves with the Banksstood at US $4.706 billion.

The Finance Minister, Senator Ishaq Dar said that af-ter repayment of power sector circular debt up to Rs. 500billion in 45 days and strengthening of the value of Paki-stan Rupee, the government of PML (N) has fulfilled yetanother commitment with the nation of shoring up of theFE reserves to a comfortable level of US $ 10 billion by theend of March 2014. Ishaq Dar said that a solid foundationfor economic uplift of the country has been laid down andbuilding of the foreign exchange reserves will bring in sta-bility and strength in the economy. He said that Pakistanhas an encouraging macro-economic framework and thiswill lead to enhanced confidence in Pakistan by foreigninvestors, international community and institutions in en-ergy and infrastructure projects.—INP

Foreign Exchangereserves cross $10b

ISLAMABAD: A delegation of Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI) ledby acting President Khalid Chaudhary, presenting flower bouquet to chairman SenateSyed Nayyar Hussain Bokhari.

ISLAMABAD—Prime Minister NawazSharif has said that Pakistan has pro-vided friendly environment for the for-eign investors and country’s economyis full of opportunities in energy andinfrastructure sectors. The Prime Min-ister was talking to delegations ofTurkish companies STFA and TAVwho called on him Tuesday at PMHouse.

The Prime Minister said thatPakistan’s economic policies havebegun to show positive results andas a result the foreign investors arekeen to harvest benefi ts of pro-gressing economy. Many foreign in-vestors have shown interest in in-

Govt providing friendly environmentto foreign investors: PM

vestment in different sectors ofeconomy, PM added. He said thatyour keen interest and desire forinvestment in Pakistan is a strongmanifestation of Pakistan Turkishfriendship.

The CEOs of Turkish companiestold that their companies have exper-tise in management and expansion ofairports and expressed their interestin investment in this sector in Paki-stan. The Prime Minister said thatwe are initiating a transparent processfor the management of the Airportsand all the international companieswould be invited to compete. He toldthat keeping in view the demands of

the customers, we want to developour airports on international stan-dards. He also recalled his meetingwith the CEOs of the companies inIstanbul and said that we had veryfruitful discussions in Istanbul inFebruary.

The meeting was attended byMehmet Ali Neyzi, CEO STFA, Mr. RizaArsan Vice Chairman Pakistan TurkeyBusiness Council, Mr. Bulent OzuturkInvestment Coordinator TAV, Kh.Muhammad Asif Minister for Defence,Mr. Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif, CMPunjab, Mr. Tarq Fatimi and SpecialAssistant to PM, Captain ® ShujaatAzim Special Assistant to PM.—INP

PESHAWAR: Federal Minister for Commerce, Engr Khurram Dastagir addressing apress conference at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KPCCI).

ADB forecasts 3.4% GDP growth in Pak

LAHORE—SAARC International exhibitionis a giant leap towards economic stability asit would not only accelerate trade and eco-nomic activities but also pave way for muchneeded foreign direct investment in the coun-try. In a press statement issued here on Tues-day, Chairman Pakistan Industrial & TradersAssociations Front (PIAF) & member of In-ternational Exhibitions Organizing Commit-tee Malik Tahir Javed said that fairs and ex-hibitions play a vital role in promotion ofeconomic activities and also highlight thesoft image of the respective country.

He urged upon the business commu-nity to avail this opportunity in all possiblemanners. He said that the LCCI SAARCInternational Exhibition in collaborationwith Labour Department of Punjab fromApril 25th to 27th would be a golden op-portunity for the business community ofPunjab to show its full strength as a large

PIAF chief hails SAARC exhibitionto uphold economic activities

number of foreigners and local dignitarieswere expected to be the part of this megaevent. Malik Tahir Javed said that SAARCInternational Exhibition would highlight thesoft image of the country that was badlytarnished by the groundless policies of theprevious regime.

He said that this mega event was themost opportune time to bring to the lime-light the potential of this part of the SouthAsia. He said that since a large number offoreigners were also taking part in this megaevent, therefore, business communityshould also concentrate towards business-to-business meetings on the sidelines ofthe exhibition. Malik Tahir Javed also paidrich tributes to the Prime Minister MianNawaz Sharif, Federal Finance MinisterIshaq Dar and Chief Minister Punjab MianShahbaz Sharif for their untiring efforts tobring economy back on rail.—NNI

ISLAMABAD—Asian Development Bank has forecastedmoderate GDP growth of 3.4 percent in Pakistan duringthe year 2014 as the government’s reforms and stabiliza-tion efforts took effect. The Bank in its recent Asian De-velopment Outlook 2014 (ADO) report said that due toreforms and stabilization introduced by the government,Pakistan’s economy is showing signs of recovery in 2014.

However, it said that macroeconomic and security chal-lenges continue to weigh on which need to be addressedto maintain the current momentum. The Asian Develop-ment Outlook 2014 (ADO,) which was released on Tues-day further said that although growth in South Asia isinching up, it remained the slowest growing sub-regionwith GDP expanding by 4.8 percent in 2013, compares tothe GDP growth rate of 6.5 percent experienced by CentralAsia during the same period.

The report said that continued energy sector subsi-dies, growing losses incurred by state-owned enterprisesand high expenditures for national security are some ofthe factors testing Pakistan’s financial discipline in recentyears. The ADO notes that structural reforms to broadenPakistan’s revenue-base through better tax administrationand eliminating exemptions are critical for fiscalsustainability and the reallocation of resources to pro-mote investment and economic growth. C u r r e n t l y,over 90 percent of provincial revenues are transfers offederal shared taxes, it added. As provinces have assumeda greater share of federal resources and spending respon-

sibilities through devolution, their fiscal performance hasbecome even more important in relation to the nationalfiscal outcome, the report said. It said that large scale manu-facturing sector, which grew with a stronger rate of 6.7percent during the first 6 months of FY 2014 presents asilver lining.

The Asian Development Outlook 2014 further said thatthe exports from the country also picked up and are ex-pected to grow further in the remainder of the fiscal year.Rising level of worker remittances and the reserves heldby the State Bank of Pakistan reflecting the steady foreigninflows are other positive signs on the horizon of eco-nomic recovery, it added.

The report said that inflation remains in single digitsbut it required to further bring down for the welfare of thepeople in the country. Speaking on the occasion, ADB’sCountry Director for Pakistan, Werner E. Liepach said thatlike other countries in the region, Pakistan needs to safe-guard the poor from adverse effects of fiscal adjustmentsand other negative shocks. To this end, he said that thedirect cash transfer to poor families through social protec-tion programs provides vital help in shielding the vulner-able groups.

He said that about US$ 500-600 million inflows fromADB are expected for Pakistan by the end of this fiscalyear for different projects of social sector development.He said that these inflows are expected to reach US$ 900million to 1 billion during next 2-3 years.—APP

ISLAMABAD—Pakistan Post Foundation(PPF) would develop low cost housingschemes in Lahore, Karachi and Peshawarfor postal employees. This was conveyedby Managing Director PPF Ejaz AhmedMinhas to the Senate Standing Committeeon Communications and Postal Services ina meeting recently held at Parliament House.

He said that PPF would work with rec-ognized, reputed and developed housingsocieties in these cities to obtain peaceof land for its own housing schemes. Hesaid that PPF would join hands with part-ners to launch its own remittance servicesthrough countrywide postal network. EjazMinhas said that the focus would be bothon international and local remittances as

PPF to develop low costhousing schemes

it aims to inject competition in the exist-ing remittance market by attracting newpartners such as money gram and expressetc.

PPF would build partnership with localfirms to extend local remittances to the re-tail level. He also briefed the committeeabout the commercial projects of the foun-dation including Printing press, furnitureworkshop, mail motor service, textile sec-tion, bus service, info tech, Post Founda-tion Shield Security services and housingschemes. He said that the strategic plan2013-16 revolves around delivering specificand measurable results including organiza-tional, resource generation and welfare ini-tiatives.—APP

APCNGAcommends govtfor CNG supplythroughout week

ISLAMABAD—All PakistanCNG Association (APCNGA)on Tuesday hailed the gov-ernment for availability ofcompressed natural gas(CNG) seven days a weekand termed it a people-friendly decision. GhiyasParacha, Chairman SupremeCouncil APCNGA, said, “Weare thankful to Prime Minis-ter Muhammad Nawaz Sharifand Petroleum MinisterShahid Khaqan Abbasi foropening of all CNG stationsin Punjab, includingIslamabad, throughout aweek after three years.—APP

CPI-basedinflation up

0.96% in MarchISLAMABAD—The country’sConsumer Price Index (CPI)based inflation rate for themonth of March increasedby 0.96 percent, as comparedto the last month. On yearon year basis, the inflationduring March 2014 increasedby 8.53 percent as comparedto the same month of lastyear, while the average infla-tion rate during first ninemonths of current fiscal yearincreased by 8.64 percentover same period of last year.

Addressing a press brief-ing here Tuesday, ArifMehmood Cheema, MemberPrice, Trade and NationalAccount, Pakistan Bureau ofStatistics (PBS), said theWholesale Price Index (WPI)and Sensitive Prices Index(SPI) in March increased by0.34 percent and 2.15 percentwhen compared to February,2014. The food items thatwitnessed increase in theprices during March 2014over February 2014 includedtomatoes (53.32%), potatoes(39.17%), eggs (15.29%),fresh fruits (9.28%), pulsemoong (6.31%), chicken(6.11%), sugar (4.21%), fish(2.79%), pulse masoor(2.44%), betel leaves andnuts (1.53%), pulse mash(1.29%), vegetable ghee(1.22%0, wheat (1.16%), con-diments (1.06%) and wheatflour (1.03%).—APP

ISLAMABAD—A delegation of IslamabadChamber of Commerce & Industry led byKhalid Chaudhry, Senior Vice Presidentcalled on Syed Nayyar Hussain Bukhari,Chairman Senate and apprised him of vari-ous issues being faced by the business com-munity. Addressing the delegation, SyedNayyar Hussain Bukhari said that domicileholder of Islamabad is not provided job inany province, but residents of all provincesare employed in the federal government. Hesaid residents of Islamabad should be givenpreference in federal jobs up to Grade-15.He said rent control act is a long standing

Senate Chairman assures newrent law in Islamabad

demand of the federal capital, but no gov-ernment made any serious effort to addressthis issue. He assured that bill of new rentlaw will soon be presented in the Senate forits enactment to pave way for cordial rela-tions between the landlords and the tenants.

Speaking at the occasion, KhalidChaudhry, Senior Vice President, IslamabadChamber of Commerce & Industry apprisedthe Chairman Senate of the various prob-lems of trade and industry. He said business-men are playing crucial role in improving thelocal economy, but are facing many issuesin running business activities.—Online

Farooq Afzalnominated asFPCCI-PRBC

chairmanK A R A C H I — Z a k a r i aUsman, President FPCCIhas nominated MuhammadFarooq Afzal of ITN groupof companies as Chairmanof Pakistan Russia BusinessCouncil (PRBC) of FPCCI forthe 2014 term. He advisedthe Council to promote andincrease Pakistan’s tradecollaboration in joint ven-ture and investment oppor-tunities and possibilities oftrade delegation exchange.After nomination as Chair-man, Farooq Afzal said thatconsumer goods market inRussia consists of 2.23 tril-lion dollars and if a properstrategy is adopted then Pa-kistan can surge its con-sumer goods export to Rus-sia up to one billion dollarswithin a year. In order topromote bilateral trade thePRBC is planning to orga-nize single country exhibi-tion of Russian Companiesin Karachi “Russian Expo2014”, scheduled on 10-11June 2014.—PR

FTO clarifiesnews item

ISLAMABAD—Federal TaxOmbudsman (FTO) here onTuesday categorically de-nied a news item appearedin a section of press underthe heading “Textile IronCompanies using FTO Of-fice to break tax queue”. Astatement issued by theFTO said that the observa-tion that Advisers in theRegional Office Lahore,routinely summon Com-missioners Inland Revenueduring Complaint Proceed-ings and pressurize them toissue refunds of tax toComplainants, “WhetherLawful or Not” is false andis categorically denied.

The fact is that neitherCommissioners nor Addi-tional Commissioners areasked to appear before theAdvisers unless special cir-cumstances require theirpersonal appearance to ren-der explanation on specificpoints in particular casesthrough lawful exercise ofpowers conferred upon theFTO and delegated to theAdvisors. It said that in nota single case, has any Ad-viser issued instructionsunilaterally to FBR officersfor issuance of tax refunds.Any correspondence be-tween the Regional Officeand FBR officials in the con-text of tax refunds is, invari-ably, directly related toimplementation of the rec-ommendations made by theFederal Tax Ombudsmanwhen disposing of com-plaints. The Advisers areduty bound to get all the rec-ommendations approved bythe FTO, fully implementedwithin the time frame stipu-lated in the order/statute. Inthe cases referred to in thenews item namely (i)C.No.80/2013 M/s. BlackGold Industry, (ii) C.No.1123/2013 M/s. Irfan Textile Mills(iii) C.No.337/2013 M/s.Siddique Iron Industry (Pvt)Ltd. and (iv) C.No.1399/2013M/s. US Demin Mills (Pvt)Ltd. The FBR/Inland Rev-enue Department neitherfiled Review Petitions be-fore the FTO nor pre-ferred Representationsbefore the President ofPakistan against the rec-ommendations issued bythe FTO.—APP

Currency Selling Buying

USA 98.00 97.80

UK 163.33 163.00

Euro 135.00 134.73

Canada 88.66 88.48

Switzerland 110.77 110.55

Australia 90.82 90.63

Sweden 15.16 15.13

Japan 0.9488 0.9468

Norway 16.38 16.34

Singapore 77.85 77.69

Denmark 18.08 18.04

Saudi Arabia 26.13 26.08

Hong Kong 12.63 12.61

Kuwait 347.93 347.22

Malaysia 30.05 29.99

Newzealand 85.02 84.85

Qatar 26.68 26.56

UAE 26.68 26.63

KR. WON 0.0925 0.0923

Thailand 3.025 3.019NBP, PSO

sign strategicagreement

KARACHI—National Bankof Pakistan (NBP) and Paki-stan State Oil (PSO) signeda strategic agreement,through which NBP will beusing PSO fuel cards to pro-cure fuel for the generatorsbeing used across the en-tire NBP network includingits head office, 30 regionaloffices and approximately1,300 branches nationwide.This agreement is the resultof a joint initiative of Mr.Zubair Ahmed, SEVP/GroupChief, LSS&EG-NBP and Mr.Arif Nasib, General ManagerMarketing Services-PSO.

The agreement wassigned by Mr. Malik AmirSultan, SVP/Wing Head,NBP and Mr. Rustom. H.Mavalvala, Deputy GeneralManager, Cards Division,PSO. Through this agree-ment, PSO, Pakistan’s lead-ing Oil Marketing Company(OMC) and NBP, one of thecountry’s largest commer-cial banks have partnered toestablish a transparent andcost effective process of fuelconsumption for NBP andcentralize the payment pro-cess utilizing the PSO CardsFuel Management solution.This will result in cost effi-ciency and hassle-free pay-ment processing.—PR

Oil prices dipon hopes of

Ukraine crisiseasing

SINGAPORE—Oil pricesdipped in Asian trade Tues-day as reports of a partialwithdrawal of Russiantroops along the Ukrainianborder raised hopes of aneasing in the worst East -West standoff since theCold War. New York’s WestTexas Intermediate (WTI)for May delivery dropped24 cents to $101.34 a barrelin mid-morning Asian tradeand Brent North Sea crudefor May shed 13 cents to$107.63.

The Ukrainian defenceministry’s general staffspokesman OleksiyDmytrashkivskiy told AFPMonday Russian forceshave been “gradually with-drawing” from its border. TheUnited States said it wouldwelcome any Russian moveto pull its forces back, but didnot confirm reports thatMoscow had begun to doso. Kenny Kan, market ana-lyst at CMC Markets inSingapore, said the reportedtroop withdrawal by theKremlin had eased concernsabout a full-fledged militaryconflict between Russia andUkraine, which would causeoil prices to soar immediately.

“The tapering of the geo-political tensions may have...reduced the risk premium thathas previously been peggedto the oil prices,” Kan toldAFP. Russia provides about aquarter of Europe’s natural gassupplies, with about 80 per-cent of those exports travel-ling through pipelines inUkraine. Russian troops aremassed on the borders of east-ern Ukraine, sparking fearsabout Moscow’s plans afterits takeover of the Crimeanpeninsula last month.

Investors meanwhile arealso digesting the latestChinese manufacturing datareleased on Tuesday. Theofficial purchasing manag-ers’ index (PMI) was 50.3 inMarch, the National Bureauof Statistics said in a state-ment, up from 50.2 in Febru-ary, which was an eight-month low.—AFP

KARACHI: Zubair Ahmed, SEVP/Group Chief, LSS&EG, Tariq Jamali, SEVP/Group Chief,C&RBG, Shahzad A Shami, EVP/Group Chief, Compliance Group, Aamir Sattar, EVP/Finan-cial Control Division and Saad Salman Dar, Vice President of NBP and Arif Nasib, GeneralManager Marketing Services, Zulfiqar Ali Jaffri, Senior General Manager, Iftikhar Amanat,Manager Cards Sales from PSO are present at the signing ceremony along other officials.

MARDAN: Siraj-ul-Haq Senior Minister for Finance Khyber Pakhtunkhwa inaugu-rating the Bank of Khyber (BoK) Raast Islamic Banking Brance at Khawaja GunjBazzar Mardan. Imran Samad Managing Director BoK is also present on the occasion.

KARACHI: Stockbrokers are trading during ascending trend at Karachi Stock Ex-change.

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Huawei technologies is to launch two newhandsets in first week of April in Pakistan. The AscendG730 and Ascend Y530 will be available at Huawei’s retailsoutlets across the country. The new, simple and stylishphones will be available from the first week of April thisyear. The phones are packed with latest technologies withcreative yet attractive styles competing to the best avail-able in market.

The Ascend G730 has a 5.5-inch display with Quad-core 1.3 GHz processor along with jellybean 4.2 and5MP front and 0.3MP camera. While five points multitouch control and loaded with 30 plus themes, it has2300 mAh battery and dual SIM supported. AscendG730 phone is ideal for communicating freely and ca-tering the sophisticated class. Huawei Ascend Y530is a lightweight and compact Dual-SIM smartphonerunning on latest Android 4.3 OS 5MP front and 0.3MPrear.

Performance of this handset speaks for itself, it hassimple friendly UI clearly catering to a sophisticated class,and this phone comes in four classic colors- grey, blackyellow and black. Furthermore, quite an impressive amountof 4 GB Storage is provided, which you can expand laterby adding an extra microSD card. Huawei Ascend G730and Ascend Y530 have all the necessary components toprovide easy communication and enjoying innovation atits best. Lot more is expected from the company in comingtimes, as they are known to deliver the best.

ISLAMABAD—Federal Minister for Planning, Developmentand Reforms Ahsan Iqbal on Tuesday said that the gov-ernment was committed to focus on urban planing to savenational identity, history and cultural heritage throughmodern architectural trends. Addressing at the Mehdi AliMirza Award Ceremony organized by Institute of Archi-tect Pakistan (IAP) here, Ahsan said that Pakistan was thefastest urbanized country which requires modern buildinginfrastructure with the use of modern technology for thefacility of the people.

The Minister said every great architect have visionto change the mind of people through its practical vi-sion and build new towns and infrastructure of themodern buildings. Ahsan Iqbal said the government isfully focussed on modernizing the countries infrastruc-ture and build small green cities in different region ofthe country.

He said that Pakistan has huge human resources po-tential gifted with talented, passionate and skilled youthto brought overall change in society. He added that the

Ahsan focuses on urban planningthrough modern architectural trends

government is committed to give employment and busi-ness opportunity to the youth for development and pros-perity of the nation. The Minister said “founder of Paki-stan, Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah was architectof our freedom, who gave us vision to change our life inbetter way”.

He said that countries like China, Malaysia, South Koreadesigned their decades long vision and gave them practi-cal shape for the development and prosperity. He addedthat the government has started work on vision 2025 tofocus on major things including energy, infrastructure andeducation. Ahsan Iqbal said the government has under-taken many projects to expand energy resources for bring-ing economic stability in the country.

The government will also include institutional reformsand improvement in security with the aim to ensure sus-tainable development, he added. The Minister said thatpolitical stability and continuity of the democratic systemis necessary to achieve the development targets of thecountry.—APP

PCCA, WTL signagreement for free WI-FI services at airports

KARACHI—Pakistan CivilAviation Authority has madean agreement with M/sWateen Telecom Limited un-der which the company willestablish an State of the ArtWiFi / Hotspot Zone in alllounges Arrival / Departure,International / Domestic, Brief-ing / Check-in areas & Con-course Hall at Jinnah Int’l Air-port, Karachi, Allama IqbalInt’l Airport, Lahore, BenazirBhutto Int’l Airport,Islamabad, Bacha Khan Int’lAirport, Peshawar, Quetta,Multan and Faisalabad Inter-national Airports.

Pakistan Civil AviationAuthority is committed toprovide all the facilities ofinternational standards toits valued passengers usingPCAA airports and this freeWiFi / Hotspot facility is anaddition to the already avail-able facilities at PCAA air-ports which has alreadybeen activated at the aboveairports with effect from 1stApril, 2014.—PR

SALIM AHMED

LAHORE—The Punjab government on Tues-day has approved seven developmentschemes with an estimated cost of Rs3954.909 million. These schemes were ap-proved in the 37th meeting of Provincial De-velopment working Party of current fiscalyear 2013-14 presided over by the PunjabPlanning and Development Board Chairman,Muhammad Irfan Elahi, says P&D Spokes-man. Provincial Secretary P&D Arif AnwarBaloch, all members of the Planning & De-velopment Board, Provincial Secretariesconcerned and other senior representativesof the relevant Provincial Departments alsoattended the meeting.

According to Spokesman P&D, the ap-proved development schemes included:Feasibility Study Regarding Developmentof Strategic and Bankable Investment Pro-posal for Wildlife Park Bansra Gali Murree(PC-II) at the cost of Rs. 11.520 Million,

KARACHI: The 4th Karachi Advertising Festival held at Mohammad Ali Jinnah University.Karan Jawaid presents appreciation award to Ateequr Rehman (Advisor, Karachi Chamberof Commerce and Industry) accompanied by Kaukab Iqbal and Abudl Wahab Khan.

A delegation of business community presenting bouquet to Munawar Mughal, VP FPCCI.

Huawei launches newsmartphone

Feasibility Study Regarding Developmentof Strategic and Bankable Investment Pro-posal for Lal Suhanra National Park,Bahawalpur and Zoo Safari, Lahore. (PC-II)at the cost of Rs. 18.220 Million, CapacityBuilding of Emergency Service in Punjab(Revenue) at the cost of Rs. 664.942 Mil-lion, Urban Extension Water Supply & Sew-erage Scheme Nankana Sahib DistrictNankana Sahib (Revised) at the cost of Rs.254.634 Million, Lahore Ring Road (Pack-age-3B) Underpass near Shadbagh Pump-ing Station at Jhuggian Jodha on Ring RoadLahore. (Revised) at the cost of Rs. 334.701Million, Construction of Underpass alongCanal at Abdullahpur Chowk, DistrictFaisalabad (Revised) at the cost of Rs.1267.910 Million, Remodeling of Canal BankRoad Between Dharampura Underpass toThoker Niaz Baig Lahore (Widening / Im-provement of Portion from Mall Road Un-derpass to Doctor’s Hospital UnderpassPhase-I) at the cost of Rs. 1402.982 Million.

Punjab govt allocates Rs 3954mfor development schemes

LAHORE—Muslim Commercial Bank (MCB)and MasterCard on Tuesday announced theircollaboration to provide Internet Gateway ser-vices to businesses in Pakistan. The launchof this new service follows the signing of anagreement between Mr. Imran Maqbool, Presi-dent and CEO of MCB Bank Ltd, and Mr.Michael Miebach, President, Middle-East &Africa Region, MasterCard, at a ceremony,which was held at MCB House, Lahore.

“The new Gateway will make it veryeasy for business owners to take their busi-nesses online and accept card paymentsonline,” said Mr Imran Maqbool. “This willenable them to provide convenience to theircustomers, increase outreach and easilyscale up their operations.” “With over 30million internet users, businesses in Paki-stan have a huge opportunity to tap into

MCB announcescollaboration with MiGS

the e-commerce market. Along with present-ing a number of advantages to the con-sumer – including speed and convenience,e-commerce has a multitude of benefits forbusiness owners. The MasterCard InternetGateway Services (MiGS) is a reliable andsecure e-commerce platform that will helpbusinesses access millions of new consum-ers that use the internet and also allow themto tap into new markets,” said Miebach.

MCB boasts one of the largest merchantacquiring networks in Pakistan and is a lead-ing player in the digital payments space.MasterCard is a major global player in digi-tal payment technology. Through this col-laboration, the two companies will play apioneering role in the imminent e- commerceand digital payments revolution in Paki-stan.—PR

KARACHI—Following the directive of PTAfor greater need of security, Zong CM Pakshows commitment to deploy maximum num-ber of Biometric Verification Systems (BVS)in Pakistan Karachi – 31st Biometric Verifi-cation System (BVS) at their customer ser-vice centers, Zong continues to show itscommitment towards national security by ex-panding its BVS network throughout Paki-stan. Taking active steps towards this com-mitment, Zong is initially expanding its BVSnetwork throughout Karachi andBaluchistan. These endeavors are set tomake a substantial contribution towards

Zong expands BVS acrossKarachi & Baluchistan

eliminating unregistered SIMs from Pakistaneventually by adhering to the directives ofPakistan Telecommunications Authority(PTA) and the government of Pakistan.

In the latter half of last year, Zong be-came the first telecom operator in Pakistanto introduce BVS in Pakistan in compliancewith PTA directives. The high quality veri-fication system introduced requires eachcitizen to approach one of their Retailer,Franchisee or Customer Service Centers ofZong and provide their fingerprints for au-thentication against CNIC data held withNADRA.—PR

KARACHI: Players of KP and Sindh Women Hockey teams in action during National Women Hockey Championship 2014 at Hockey Club.

WAH CANTT: Players alongwith President Basketball Federation Mr. MuhammadAsif at opening ceremony of 53rd National Basketball Championship being held atPOF Sports Complex.

LAHORE: Cyclists practicing during rehearsal for National Cycling Championshiporganised by Pakistan Cycling Federation.

SPORTS REPORTER

WAH CANTT—Opening ceremonyof 53rd National BasketballChampionship held at POFSports Complex.

President Basketball Federa-tion Mr. Muhammad Asif was thechief guest of the opening cer-emony.

12 prominent teams of thecountry including PakistanArmy, Pakistan Railway, Paki-stan Navy, POF, WAPDA,Higher Education Commission,Islamabad, KPK, Punjab, Sindh,Baluchistan and Pakistan AirForce are participating in this

Basketball Championship beginschampionship.

Chief Guest Mr. MuhammadAsif declared by saying the cham-pionship open. The opening matchwas played between Pakistan Rail-way and POF.

Earlier, President POF SportsControl Board Mr. MuhammadAfzal in his welcoming remarkssaid that all sports grounds of WahCantt. are crowded with the play-ers which the symbol of a healthysociety.

He hoped that the player par-ticipating in this championshipwill observe the best disciplineduring the course of the champi-onship.

LAHORE—Five foreign teams namely In-dia, Afghanistan, Nepal, Tunisia and Iraqhave confirmed their participation in theBaseball Tournament of the Punjab Inter-national Sports Festival (PISF).

The grand baseball event is likely to beplayed in the second week of this month.The members of National Baseball team areflexing their muscles at the training campunderway here at the University of CentralPunjab (UCP).

The Pakistan Federation Baseball (PFB)coaches are conducting morning andevening training sessions daily to maketheir players fully prepared for the toughInternational contests.

All the sports federations and associa-tions have paced up their preparations forthe Punjab International sports Festival.Pakistan Rugby Union (PRU) has alreadyannounced its preliminary squad for the up-coming notable event.

Foreign teams confirmparticipation in baseball event

PFB Secretary Syed Khawar Shah hasexpressed his determination to repeat theAsia Cup performance in the upcomingcompetition by leading the country to an-other glory. “Pakistan players are in goodspirits and are quite confident of offeringtheir best possible performance in the megaevent,” he asserted.

“We will not take the contest with anyteam lightly, and that’s why we are prepar-ing our players under the supervision ofhighly-qualified coaches in two sessionsdaily,” he added.

Praising the effort of the Punjab In-ternational sports Festival, Khawar Shahsaid: “It’s a very useful development onpart of the Sports Board Punjab (SBP) andit will also play a great role in polishingthe skills of Pakistan Baseball Playersbesides providing a chance to Pakistansports fans to watch International sportsactivity.”—APP

PESHAWA R—International golfersShabbir Iqbal, M. Munir and localtalent Taimur Khan will vie for thetop honor in the forthcoming Na-tional RMI Open Golf Championshipto be commencing from April 4 hereat 6666-yard PAF Golf Course.

This was stated by SecretaryKhyber Pakhtunkhwa Golf Associa-tion and senior golfer Col. ShahadatHussain while talking to the mediamen here on Tuesday. He said thatthe RMI Golf Open Championship iscarrying a prize money of Rs. 0.8 mil-lion and a 1300cc car will be awardedfor those make a hole-in-one.

Col. Shahadat Hussain paid trib-ute to President KhyberPakhtunkhwa Golf Association Lt.Gen Khalid Rabbani, Corps Comman-dant Peshawar and Vice PresidentBrig. Zakir Hussain, Station Com-mander Peshawar for their efforts inmaster minding the Championship. Itwas the new induction of the eventin the Pakistan Golf Federation cal-endar besides Swat Open Golf Cham-

National RMI Open Golf C’shipto start from April 4

pionship to be organized in Augustin Swat. He said the KhyberPakhtunkhwa Open Golf Champion-ship will be organized this time inPeppers Golf Course, Abbottabad inJune this year, followed by 2nd edi-tion of the Swat Open Golf Champi-onship in August this year.

He said President Gold Medalistsand international professional golf-ers comprising Shabbir Iqbal, M.Munir and national team playerTaimur Naseer, Tariq Mehmood,Shahid Javed Khan, GhazanfarMehmood, Col Saud Khan, ZahirShah, Naeem Naseer, etc and topamateur would compete in the 54-hole Championship. He said topwomen golfers including Tahir Nazir,Dr. Darida Naseer and Dr. Soni Waliwill also vie for the top honor.

He said the top amateur and pro-fessional will compete from 0-9 HCPbesides competitions in 10-18Handicap, and subsidiary matchesin the following categories compris-ing Boys Under-18 and Under-15,

Ladies, Senior Amateur, VeteransAmateur and Senior Professionals.

The Championship, he said, willbe governed by the rules of Royalsand Ancient Golf Club of St.Andrews and local rules. He said thistime a putting competitions for thekids, ladies and journalist will be or-ganized in order to attract them to-ward the golf.

He also lauded the efforts ofChief Executive Rehman Medical In-stitute (RMI) Shafiqur Rehman forsupporting golfing event whereintop amateur and professional golf-ers coming to the City for exhibitingtheir skills in the Championship.

He said the stroke of the playover 54-holes, cut for professionalafter 36-holes. Top 30 and ties willmake the cut and prize money sharedamongs all professional playing inthe last round as per establishedwhile the cut for amateur at discre-tion of match committee headed byformer national team skipperMehmood Aziz.—APP

PESHAWAR—International Olympic Com-mittee (IOC) President Thomas Bach hasspoken strongly about the vital impor-tance of National Olympic Committee au-tonomy in order to ensure a level playingfield in international sport.

Speaking during the Association ofNational Olympic Committees (ANOC)Executive Council meeting, Bach claimedthe IOC are always watching the globalsituation in order to ensure absolute in-dependence everywhere in the world.

“In international sport and in particu-lar the Olympic Movement you need au-tonomy because if you cannot apply thesame rules for everyone worldwide thereis no international sport anymore,” hesaid.

“That is why we are establishing ruleswhich every NOC which wants to be partof the Olympic Movement has to agreeto. “We are always respecting nationallaws but what has to be ensured is thefunctioning of sport, and for this to hap-pen we have established the rules.”

Bach strongly denied suggestionsthere is inequality with how much leewaythe IOC give larger and smaller NOC’s ashe insisted that exactly “the same stan-dards apply to everyone”.

He explained this by citing the exampleof Kuwait and India, two countries whichhave each fallen foul of rules regarding

Autonomy of ANOC vitalfor future of Olympic

Movement: Bachautonomy in recent years. Kuwait wassuspended from the IOC in January 2010because of alleged political interferenceby the Government, and athletes com-peted at the inaugural Summer YouthOlympics that year independently underthe Olympic Flag before the situation wasresolved ahead of London 2012.

India, meanwhile, were suspended lastyear for similar Government interference,as well as corruption allegations withinthe Indian Olympic Association (IOA).The Indian team initially competed at theWinter Olympic Games in Sochi as inde-pendent athletes before a special Cer-emony was held in the Olympic Villagemidway through the Games to mark theirreturn following the election of WorldSquash Federation (WSF) President NRamachandran as IOA head in an IOC-approved election.

“With regards to Kuwait, they werein a good position so we could lift thesuspension of the KOC because theproblems were resolved,” said Bach.“But we had felt we needed to take ac-tion in Kuwait and in India we felt wehad to take action due to the interfer-ence by law into the composition of theNOC as well as issues with the gover-nance. “There is no difference in our ap-proach between considering these NOCsand others.”—APP

PESHAWAR—First Khyber PakhtunkhwaAthletic Academy in the history of theGames kicked on here at Tartan Track ofthe Qayyum Sports Complex on Tues-day with 151 athletic aspirants turnedup .

The athletes from different agegroups like 8-16 are initially enrolled withthe Academy which was formally inau-gurated by Honorary Council General ofTajikistan and Chairman PTI Sports andCulture Forum Engr. Saeed Mehmoodhere in a colourful opening ceremony.

Director Development KhyberPakhtunkhwa Sports Board ArshadHussain, Assistant Director Sports AmirZahir Shah, International athletic coachJaffar Hussain, coaches Zafraz Khan,Aamir Iqbal, Rehman Ullah, Ijaz Ahmad,players and officials were also present.

Speaking on this occasion, Engr.Saeed Mehmood lauded the efforts ofthe Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sports Boardfor launching the Athletic Academy.

He also appreciated Bahre Karam,Secretary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa AthleticAssociation, Arshad Hussain, DirectorSports BISE and national athlete ManzarKhan, Chairman Department of PhysicalEducation Farooq Hussain of Abdul

KP Athletic Academyinaugurated

Wali Khan University, and former KPSports Minister Mehmood Khan whoextended all out support for the estab-lishment of the Athletic Academy. Heexpressed the hope that association of151 upcoming athletes including a goodnumber of female would come up at na-tional and international levels.

Engr. Saeed Mehmood also an-nounced playing uniform for the acad-emy players and urged upon the coachesto work dedication and commitment asfar as coaching and training to theyoung players are concerned.

He said the athletes of KhyberPakhtunkhwa had achieved name andfame in the past. He said athletes likeIqbal Shinwari, Zafar Iqbal, Bahre Karam,Habib Afridi , Irfan Ullah Marwat,Muhammad Shah, Manzar Khan, SaminJan, and Asif Khan have achieved greatname and fame internationally.

Later on, he formally inaugurated theAthletic Academy and distributed play-ing kits among the players. Coach JaffarShah said that initially they have en-rolled 151 athletes including female fromall across the province. A 100m sprintrace was also organized on this occa-sion.—APP

Okara beatLahore inNational

veteran cricketLAHORE—Okara scored afine 94 runs win over LahoreTigers in a match of the 16thNational Senior Cricket Cuphere at Shah Faisal CricketGround.

Brief scores, Okara Se-nior batted first 288/5 in 30-overs. Amir Tauseef 80,Ashraf Ali 36, AsifMehmood 28, MuhammadHafeez 17, Shahid Ahsan 57Runs not out and RaoNadeem 48-Runs notoutwere their main scorers.

Lahore Tigers bowling,Muhammad Jamil 1/36, ZahidJavaid 1/47, Shabbir Khan 1/50 and Ismail ur Rehman 1/56 wickets. In reply LahoreTigers were all out at 194 in29.5 overs and their mainscorers were Zahid Javaid 57,Saif Azam 41, Shabbir Khan27 and Shahzad Umer 21Runs Not out.

Okara Senior bowling,Farzand Ali 2/27, Rao Nadeem2/32, Amir Tauseef 2/36 andMuhammad Hafeez 1/23 wick-ets, Muhammad Asif andQaiser Waheed were the um-pires and Abdul Hameed wasthe scorer.—APP

Kabadditournament

todayFAISALABAD—The annualWAPDA inter-unit kabadditournament (Asian style) willbegin at FESCO footballground from today (April 02).

The FESCO, LECSO,MEPCO and GEPCO teamswill participate in the eventwhich will continue till April 4.

All arrangements havebeen finalized to hold theevent in a befitting manner,said tournament organizingsecretary MujahidChattha.—APP

SindhBasketball

trialson April 6

KARACHI—Trials to selectSindh Basketball squad forKashmir Cup will be held atArambagh Floodlight courton April 6 at 7 pm, SindhBasketball Association(SBBA) announced onTuesday.

All the interested play-ers are advised to report toSBBA Secretary Abdul Nasirat the venue before appear-ing in the trials.

All Pakistan KashmirCup Basketball Tournamentwill be held in Lahore fromApril 20 to 26 in which topdepartmental and provincialteams take part.—APP

Nanjing 2014 readyto open its doors to

the world’s bestyoung athletes

PESHAWAR—Visitors from allover the world flocked toNanjing, China, this week forfinal updates on the 2nd YouthOlympic Games (YOG) takingplace this summer.

One hundred and fourYoung Ambassadors, 197Chefs de Mission represent-ing the 204 National OlympicCommittees (NOC) taking partin the games, and the IOC Co-ordination Commission “on itsfifth and final visit” all deemedNanjing ready to welcome theworld’s best young athletes.

IOC member and Chair-man of the Coordination Com-mission Alexander Popovsaid, “There is a real buzz herein Nanjing that the YouthOlympic Games are comingsoon. The team here is so pas-sionate about creating the ul-timate experience not only forthe athletes, but also foryoung people from acrossChina and overseas. The lo-cal organizing committee andChinese Olympic Committeehave done an excellent job andwe congratulate them on theirprogress so far.”

With 137 days to go untilthe Opening Ceremony, theNanjing Organizing Commit-tee (NYOGOC) gave an im-pressive overview to the NOCand IOC visitors of their finalpreparations and world-classsports facilities all of which areclose to completion.—APP

Punjab Youth Festival

Bipin DaniOBSERVER CORRESPONDENT

MUMBAI—Former India captain AjitWadekar turned 73 today. He has no re-grets on being born on All Fools Day,but admits he is being fooled by manyon this day.

Speaking exclusively over his wifeRekha’s mobile from daughter Kashmira’shouse on the eve of April 1, he said, “nospecific plan has been decided for thecelebrations. Every year my family mem-bers throw some surprise party and it maynot be exception this year also”.

Wadekar has played few internationalmatches on this day but most he remem-bers is the Test match against West Indiesin 1971.

“I can never forget the incident whenGary Sobers brought a cake on the fieldof play on this day in 1971. Just beforethe Toss in the Barbados Test, Sobers

‘Will never forget Sobers’ gesture onmy April 1 birthday: Ajit Wadekar

asked me to cut the cake”.“It was a pleasant surprise from the

opposite team captain and I shall neverforget this gesture. We had won the tossbut the Test was drawn”, the no. 3 bats-man further added.

When contacted in Barbados, GarySobers was delighted when informed himabout Wadekar’s birthday. “Oh, yes, yes,I remember it. It was nice of him to re-member this incident after so many year.I don’t have fond memories of this Testbut certainly remember that I arranged acake for his on this day. I rate him veryhigh and convey my best wishes to him”.

India’s other batsman (opener) MuraliVijay gas completed 29 years to-day onAll Fools Day.

England’s David Gower, India-bornEngland’s Vikram Solanki and NewZealand’s Stephen Fleming are few of theother international cricketers also bornon this day.

MIRPUR—Australia completed theirWorld Twenty20 campaign with aseven-wicket victory againstBangladesh in Mirpur. Both teams

w e r ea l -r e a d yo u th a v -i n gl o s tt h e i rf i r s tt h r e egamesa n dw e r e

trying to avoid finishing bottom ofGroup Two.

Shakib Al Hasan hit five fours andthree sixes in his 66 off 52 balls, put-ting on 112 with Mushfiqur Rahim,who added 47, as Bangladesh made153-5.

Opener Aaron Finch blastedseven fours and four sixes in 71 from45 balls as Australia won with 15 ballsremaining.

Bangladesh, who had won onlyonce in 25 previous meetings withAustralia across all formats, lost bothopeners inside four overs.Shakib told a local newspaperBangladesh should not play homematches for two years because of thehigh level of expectation placed ontheir players but he appeared to thriveon the pressure, smashing DougBollinger and Shane Watson for leg-side sixes and reaching his fourth T20half century from 40 balls.

Although Mushfiqur was caughtby Glenn Maxwell at deep mid-wicketin the 17th over and Shakib was su-perbly taken by the same fielder div-ing forward in a similar position inthe next, the Tigers recorded theirhighest total in the four group games.

However, Finch and opening part-ner David Warner were rarely threat-ened by a Tigers bowling unit domi-nated by spin.

On 41 Finch appeared to edge into

Australia breeze toconsolation win

the gloves of Mushfiqur up at thestumps but was given not out, thefeisty Bangladesh captain confront-ing Warner to express his views.

There was added delight there-fore for the spirited Tigers whenWarner was bowled for 48 attempt-ing an ungainly heave.

The powerful Finch, whose fiftyspanned 35 balls, was brilliantlycaught low by Nasir Hossain runningin from deep cover with 19 runs re-quired, but victory had long sincebeen a certainty.

Debutant seamer Taskin Ahmed,18, bowled Maxwell with aninswinging full toss but Australiaskipper George Bailey ended thematch in style with a six over long-off.

It remains to be seen whetherBailey will continue as the specialistT20 captain, having guided Austra-lia through two tournament cam-paigns for diminishing returns. Heended Australia’s tournament with ahollow-feeling six as Finch andWarner swung lustily but intelli-gently, but looked nonplussed attimes in the field as Bangladeshwriggled to ahigher total thana more ruthlessand balancedAustralian com-bination mighthave conceded.

Equally glumwere BradHodge and BradHogg, the twomost venerablemembers ofA u s t r a l i a ’ ssquad, left outfor the finalmatch and un-likely to figure infuture assign-ments. BothHodge andHogg might havebeen utilised dif-

ferently in the team, something thatShane Warne certainly felt preferable,suggesting on commentary that theformer could have been used at No. 3throughout.

Shakib Al Hasan and MushfiqurRahim had prospered through themiddle overs against a fairly mono-tone collection of medium pace andabove, while Glenn Maxwell’s spinwas not in the class of that in thearmoury of Hogg and JamesMuirhead, also left out of this match,or numerous others sitting at home,including the Test spinner NathanLyon.

The omission of both specialistspin bowlers chosen for the tourna-ment seemed a kind of concessionthat Australia’s slow bowling planshad been awry, with the use of fiveseamers a rare curiosity in a tourna-ment where all the most accomplishedteams have relied on quality exhibi-tions of flight, dip and turn. MitchellStarc looked underdone, as he hasappeared all tournament, while DougBollinger huffed and puffed to littleeffect.—AFP

Bangladesh innings:Tamim b Coulter-Nile ...... 5Anamul b Coulter-Nile ... 0Shakib b Bollinger ......... 66Mushfiqur b Watson .... 47Mahmudullah not out .... 6Nasir Hossain b Starc ... 14Extras: (b 2, lb 4, w 7, nb 2) ............................... 15Total: (5 wickets) ......... 153Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-12, 3-124, 4-133, 5-153Bowling: ........... O-M-R-WMA Starc .............. 4-0-25-1Coulter-Nile .......... 3-0-17-2Bollinger ............... 4-0-31-1Watson ................. 4-0-25-1GJ Maxwell ........... 3-0-32-0Christian ............... 2-0-17-0

Australia innings:AJ Finch b Al-AminHossain .......................... 71Warner b Al-Amin ......... 48White not out ................ 18Maxwell b Taskin Ahmed5GJ Bailey not out ........... 11Extras: (lb 3, w 2) ............. 5Total: (3 wickets; 17.3overs) ............................ 158Fall of wickets: 1-98, 2-135,3-147Bowling: ........... O-M-R-WSohag Gazi ........... 4-0-35-0Al-Amin ............. 3.3-0-30-2Shakib ................... 3-0-36-0Taskin Ahmed ...... 4-0-24-1Razzak ................... 2-0-16-0Mominul Haque .. 1-0-14-0

MIRPUR: avid Warner slogs during his 48, Bangladesh v Australia, World T20, Group 2.

LOS ANGELES—Rafael Nadal says he stillhas work to do on his game as he gets set tolaunch his claycourt season, which the Span-iard hopes culminates with his ninth FrenchOpen title. World No. 1 Nadal lost in straightsets in the final of the Miami Masters tourna-ment on Sunday to second seed NovakDjokovic.

Djokovic cruised to a 6-3, 6-3 win as heeasily dismantled Nadal, who has been ham-pered by a back injury that wrecked his Aus-tralian Open bid earlier this year.

Thirteen-time Grand Slam winner Nadalsaid, despite the loss, which dropped him to0-4 in Miami finals, he feels good about hav-ing made it to the final.“It is great that I am inthe top of the race arriving to the claycourtseason,” Nadal said. “But now we start onclay and I need to be 100 per cent.

“I need to work hard and try to be in bet-ter shape for clay.”

Miami is one of just threeATP Tour Masters 1000events that Nadal has failedto win.

“To be able to play in thefinal here is a lot of points,”Nadal said. “I had a few goodmatches so that gives me con-fidence to start a very impor-tant part of the season forme.”

Asked on Sunday if hisback is still bothering him,Nadal said: “No. I am fine.Thank you very much.”

Nadal’s success on clayhas earned him the nickname“King of Clay”. By winninglast year’s French Open, Nadalbecame the first player to wina single Grand Slam tourna-ment eight times.

Djokovic said on Sundayhe ranks victories over Nadalto be his most satisfying.

“He is definitely the big-gest rivalry I have in my ten-nis career,” said Djokovic.

The two met in last year’sfinal of the Monte Carlo Mas-ters, which is the biggest earlyevent of the clay swing.Djokovic won in straight sets6-2, 7-6 (7/1). After Monte Carlo, the playershit the clay the last few weeks of April and all

Rafael Nadal aims to find hisfeet before clay swing

of May in cities such as Barcelona; Oeiras,Portugal; Munich, Madrid and Rome.

Like Nadal, 17-time Grand Slam title win-ner Roger Federer is looking forward to feel-ing the clay under his feet.

The Swiss veteran said one of the bestthings about the clay swing is there is lessdistance to travel from tournament to tourna-ment in Europe.

“I like the changes of continents and sur-faces,” said world No. 4 Federer. “The nextfive, six months are going to be quite easytravelling-wise for us.

Federer lost to Japan’s Kei Nishikori inthe Miami quarter-finals and to Djokovic inthe final at Indian Wells, California.

“The beginning of the year is tough whenwe go to Australia, and then the west coastand all of that; Dubai, as well,” he said.

“The clay is something I have always ac-tually enjoyed throughout my career. It’s what

I grew up playing on. It’s where I played mostof my tennis in my career.”—AFP

PALMA DE MALLORCA (SPAIN): Bryony Shaw from the British Sailing Team sailsher RSX during day one of the ISAF Sailing World Cup.

Motor racing:Williams F1team sells

hybrid powerunit to GKN

LONDON—Williams GrandPrix Holdings, parent of theFormula One team, has solda hybrid power unit that hasapplications in mass trans-port to British engineeringfirm GKN, the two compa-nies announced on Tues-day.

GKN said it was paying8 million pounds ($13.34 mil-lion) with further paymentsbased on future sales andlicences over the next 10years. Although relativelysmall in financial terms, thedeal illustrates the spin-offvalue of technologies cre-ated for grand prix racing.

Williams Hybrid Power,which has developed fly-wheel systems for use intrams and buses and hasalso supplied the energystorage system for Audi’sLe Mans-winning sportscar,posted a loss of 1 millionpounds after tax in 2013.

The technology was de-veloped for the 2009 Will-iams Formula One car andthe company felt that it nowneeded to be expanded toreap the full benefit.

“GKN have the re-sources and expertise tofully realise the enormouspotential of the motorsportproven flywheel technol-ogy, primarily within a vari-ety of public transport ap-plications,” said WilliamsGroup CEO MikeO’Driscoll.—APP

Asian Gamesorganisers askIOC to help

bring NKoreato Incheon

SEOUL—South Koreanorganisers of this year’sAsian Games in Incheonhave asked the InternationalOlympic Committee (IOC)for help in getting NorthKorea to take part in themulti-sports event.

The news comes amidheightened tension on theKorean peninsula after theNorth fired more than 100artillery rounds into SouthKorean waters as part of adrill on Monday, promptingthe South to fire back.

Asian Games organiserssaid in a statement that KimYoung-soo, president of theorganising committee, hadmade the request to IOCPresident Thomas Bach at ameeting in Kuwait on Mon-day. Bach responded bysaying that the IOC woulddo all it could to help theSouth Korean organisers.He also said he would at-tend the Sept. 19 to Oct. 4Asian Games.—APP

CARLSBAD—Anna Nordqvist rallied towin the Kia Class ic by one shot a tAviara Golf Club in Carlsbad, C.A., andcapture her second win in four starts inher last four LGPA starts.

The Swedish 27-year-old player wastwo strokes behind leaders Cristie Kerrand Lizette Salas when she entered theround, and f in ished wi th her secondstraight 5-under 67 for a one stroke vic-tory over American player Salas.

Projected to rise from being seated16th to ninth in the world, Nordqvistfinished with a 13-under par total 275and earned $255,000. Salas birdied the18th for a 70.

“I’m very excited. I still can’t believeit,” Nordqvist said.

“I was a couple of shots back goinginto today, but this morning I told my-self to give i t a shot and I ended upmaking quite of bit of birdies out there.I’m very excited to have two wins thisseason,” she continued.

Nordqvist won the LPGA Thailand

Anna Nordqvist ClaimsVictory at LPGA Kia Classic

in February, beat ing out number-oneseated Park In-Bee, and previously wonthe LPGA Championship and LPGATour Championship in 2009.

Nordqvist had contemplated givingup golf after poor performances in 2013.She changed equipment and s tar tedworking with instructor Jorje Parada inthe off-season.

Nordqvis t wi l l now head in to thefirst major tournament of the year, theKraft Nabisco Championship at RanchoMirage, California, next week, withtwo wins under her belt thus far thisyear.

“I really love the majors,” Nordqvistsaid.

“It’s a tougher set up on course andI feel more pressure, more spotlight onthe tournament and I like that. I like thetest and it seems like it is going to bepretty windy next week which will makeit tougher. I’m very happy with the wayI’m playing and can’t wait to tee it up,”she cont inued.—AFP

Brazil haltswork on

World Cupstadium

SAO PAULO—The Braziliangovernment halted work ontwo temporary tribunes forSao Paulo’s World Cup sta-dium after the death of an-other construction worker,media reports said.

A new inspection of theCorinthians club stadium tobe used for the World Cupopening match betweenBrazil and Croatia on June12 was to be carried outTuesday.

The worker died Satur-day after an eight metre (26feet) fall. Three workershave now been killed dur-ing the Sao Paulo construc-tion and seven in World Cupwork across Brazil. Accord-ing to press reports, the manwho died Saturday may nothave been wearing safetyequipment. His employershave denied this.

The regional labour de-partment ordered construc-tion work halted on the twotemporary tribunes until thecompany carrying out thework installs safety nets.Meanwhile, Inter Milan letthree points slip from theirgrasp in their quest for Euro-pean competition next seasonon Monday as they allowedrelegation-threatened Livornoto come from 2-0 down to draw2-2 in their Serie A clash.

Colombian FredyGuarin’s terrible backpassfive minutes from time let inLivorno’s Swiss-NigerianInnocent Emeghara to levelat 2-2 which leaves Livornostill in the relegation placesbut only a point off fourthfrom bottom Bologna.

Inter remain in fifth placebut only three points aheadof Atalanta, who are in sev-enth which is not goodenough for competing inEurope next term.

Inter had taken a firm holdon the match by the time half-time came as BrazilianHernanes scored his first goalfor them since he joined fromLazio while their freescoringArgentinian Rodrigo Palacionetted his 14th of the cam-paign in time added on of thefirst-half.—AFP

A smoker’s coronary artery diseaseis likely to be as advanced as thatof a non-smoker who is 10 years

older when both show up at the hospi-tal with a heart attack, according to anew study. Researchers looked at nearly14,000 patients hospi-talized with blockagesin arteries supplying theheart muscle and foundsmokers were morelikely than nonsmokersto die within a year.

Despite their beingyounger, and otherwisehealthier, the smokers’heart arteries were in acondition similar tothose of nonsmokers 10years older. “We sawsmokers presenting thedisease at age 55 andnonsmokers presentingthe same disease at 65,”said Dr. AlexandraLansky, a researcher onthe study.

Smoking can cause blood clots,which often get lodged in the rigid andnarrow arteries that have already beenclogged by the buildup of cholesteroland fat deposits, according to Lanskyand her colleagues.

Although the fat buildup and stiff-ening of the artery walls, known as ath-erosclerosis, becomes more likely withage for everyone, the clots caused bysmoking worsen the blockages.

That makes smokers more likely tohave a heart attack at a younger age,but less likely to have the other condi-tions, known as comorbidities, that go

along with aging, such as diabetes andhigh blood pressure. “Smoking accel-erates the manifestation of coronarydisease but in the absence of thesecomorbidities,” Lansky told ReutersHealth.

Past research hasidentified a “smoker’s para-dox” - because smokers areyounger, with fewer otherhealth problems, when theyhad a heart attack, theywere more likely to recoverit. Or so it seemed. “Wewanted to look at longer-term effects of smokingrather just the short termeffect,” Lansky said.

The researchers ana-lyzed medical records for13,819 patients, almost4,000 of them smokers, hos-pitalized with chest pain ora heart attack caused by ablocked coronary artery.The study team organizedthe data to match the smok-

ers and nonsmokers by age, weight,comorbidities and other risk factors.

When compared to nonsmokerswith similar overall health, the smokerswere ten years younger, on average,and more likely to have already beentreated with blood thinners - suggest-ing they had already experienced prob-lems with blood flow.

Imaging of the coronary arteryshowed the smokers’ had atheroscle-rosis comparable to the nonsmokersten years their senior, the researchersreport in the journal JACC: Cardiovas-cular Interventions.

Smokers may show heart diseasemuch younger than nonsmokers

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Sindh High Court (SHC) had di-rected Sindh government to present detailsabout No Go Areas and closure of lanes andalleys in Karachi. The higher court had passedthese directive while hearing petition filed byRana Faizul Hassan on the subject as was citedin above lines. The hearing was conducted by a2-member bench headed by Chief justice, Jus-tice Maqbool Baqar and Justice Farooq ChannaTuesday.

The petitioner had apprised the SHC aboutclosure of streets, lanes and alleys up to 90 per-cent with barriers despite a ban was imposed bythe Supreme Court of Pakistan while according

SHC asks government to submitdetails on closure of streets

to the Article 6 of the Constitution of Pakistan,no citizen could close any street or lane withbarriers or other whatsoever means of impedi-ments and hence the closure of streets and laneswith barriers was a direct violation of the con-stitution of Pakistan.

The petitioner had also apprised the HigherCourt about non-implementation of laws for theprevention of graffiti and the menace of graffitiwas still being carried out in full swing in thecity due to which the aesthetic beauty of thecity was being tarnished.

The Higher Court had through the Advo-cate General of Sindh asked Sindh governmentto tender their response in the Higher Court onnext hearing of the petition.

Meanwhile, the Higher Court had in a sepa-rate hearing of a petition by the same petitioneragainst sale of notorious Gutka, Manpuri andsynthetically coloured and flavoured beetle-nutin Karachi asked Sindh government, Sindh Fooddepartment to present details about measurestaken for curbing the menace of these notori-ous chewable products on Apr 22.

The petitioner had apprised the Higher Courtthat sale of these notorious and hazardous chew-able products was a violation of Food Ordi-nances of 1965 and 1990 and prayed that theHigher Court should pass an order to registeran FIR against station house officer of the areaconcerned where these hazardous productswere being freely sold out to consumers.

IRFAN ALIGI

KARACHI—Karachi MetropolitanCorporation (KMC) Vehicle depart-ment had stopped release of fuel cou-pons to officers of defunct KarachiDevelopment Authority (KDA),which was being treated as one ofvarious wings of the KMC.

According to details, Vehicle De-partment Additional Director Junaidhad verbally informed 48 officers ofKDA that the KMC Administratorhad directed to stop release ofmonthly fuel coupons to them. How-ever, Engineering Department KDAWing Director Admin Shamsher andadditional director Alam got petrolthis month of March and engineer-ing department KDA Wing Alamwere allowed to receive fuel couponsfor 250 litre of petrol, which is an av-erage quota of each officer for 30days.

Further, an amount of Rs 5000 forconveyance allowance was also de-ducted from salary of the affected of-

KMC stops fuel facility of KDA officers

ficers, which could only be deductedafter fuel coupons were released.

Sources privy to this scam dis-closed that fuel coupons for 250 litresper officer were stopped verballywhile the KMC Administrator wasunaware of that development as thestoppage of fuel coupons was a vio-lation of services rules as it was ap-proved by Sindh government.

Sources claimed that fuel facilitymight be restored in April but themoney for fuel expenses for Marchwould be embezzled through produc-tion of fake fuel bills, which wouldcome to millions. While talking to Pa-kistan Observer, KMC Human Re-source Management Senior DirectorShoaib Waqar said that payments onbehalf of fuel expenses was not re-ceived at the KMC’s end due to whichfuel allocations of 250 litre per officerwas stopped.

While talking to Pakistan Ob-server KMC Vehicle Department Ad-ditional director Junaid said that thebudget section of KDA had failed to

transfer amounts for fuel expensesto KMC’s accounts due to whichKDA officers’ monthly fuel alloca-tions were stopped. As soon as theamounts would be received inKMC’s accounts, the fuel facilitywould be restored.

On asking as why a few were stillallowed to get the 250 litre petrol whileothers were refused, he said that afew were obliged and nothing was inwritten whether fuel facility shouldbe continued or not.

Even the fuel allocations werealso on verbal understanding andthere was no written order by anyauthority, which meant that the fuelexpenditures accrued so far were allunder verbal understanding.

Sources also claimed that a scamwas already being investigated byauthorities concerned for embezzle-ment of huge sum of money beingdrawn from treasury to fuel the deadand out of order machinery parkedinside the machine pool near MewaShah Graveyard.

Motorists facing hardships due to concrete blocks put on MA Jinnah Road due to security threats to Mazar-e-Quaid.

Abdullah Hussain Haroon announcing his new political party ‘Karachi Awami Ittehad’at his residence. —PO Photo by Sultan Chaki

Customers buying new textbooks and notebooks for children in Urdu Bazaar as new year of Schools begins.

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—In-charge Registrar ofthe Protection against Harassment ofWomen at Workplace Cell of Provin-cial Ombudsman Hina Zaib said thatpeople’s response had greatly beenattained regarding lodging of com-plaints against harassment to womenat places of works and prompt reso-lution of the grievances at the com-plaint cells in 9 districts of the prov-ince of Sindh including Hyderabad,

Centers operational againstharassment of working women

Nausheroferoze, Khairpur Miras,Thatta and Umerkot while further cen-tres in Larkana, Shikarpur, Sukkur andSanghar would shortly be established.

She said that complaints were be-ing received at the established cen-tres, which were resolved in a monthtime and in this regard, 25 of 30 com-plaints had so far been resolved.

She urged upon private institu-tions to constitute a 3-member com-mittee with one female member andalso display the committee members’

names and contact details on noticeboards.

She said that the law pertaining toharassment to the working women waspromulgated in 2010 and all the com-plaints regarding harassment would bedealt with in accordance to that law.

Under the procedures, the accusedwould be asked to submit his statementin his defence in written form after whichonward procedures would be appliedto sort out the complaint and requiredonward legal action.

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—The police have foiled a robberybid in Future Colony and arrested two rob-bers in injured condition after an encounteron Tuesday. A police constable and a guardof private bank also sustained bullet woundsduring the encounter.

As per reports, five armed robbers triedto enter a private bank branch in FutureColony in jurisdiction of Sharafi Goth police

Bank robbery bid foiledstation. Sub Inspector Ishaq son of Abdullahwhen stopped one of them for checking, theyopened firing on police.

The policeman who already got injury inone of his hand in an encounter in the pastretaliated and opened fire on criminals. Aftera brief encounter, two robbers were arrestedin injured condition while the sub inspectorand a bank guard Anwar Saeed son ofNaimatullah also received bullet wounds inexchange of fire.

A smoker’s coronary artery diseaseis likely to be as advanced as thatof a non-smoker who is 10 years

older when both show up at the hospitalwith a heart attack, according to a newstudy. Researchers looked at nearly14,000 patients hospital-ized with blockages inarteries supplying theheart muscle and foundsmokers were more likelythan nonsmokers to diewithin a year.

Despite their beingyounger, and otherwisehealthier, the smokers’heart arteries were in acondition similar tothose of nonsmokers 10years older. “We sawsmokers presenting thedisease at age 55 andnonsmokers presentingthe same disease at 65,”said Dr. AlexandraLansky, a researcher onthe study.

Smoking can cause blood clots, whichoften get lodged in the rigid and narrowarteries that have already been cloggedby the buildup of cholesterol and fat de-posits, according to Lansky and her col-leagues. Although the fat buildup andstiffening of the artery walls, known asatherosclerosis, becomes more likelywith age for everyone, the clots causedby smoking worsen the blockages.

That makes smokers more likely tohave a heart attack at a younger age, butless likely to have the other conditions,known as comorbidities, that go along

with aging, such as diabetes and highblood pressure. “Smoking acceleratesthe manifestation of coronary diseasebut in the absence of thesecomorbidities,” Lansky told ReutersHealth.

Past research hasidentified a “smoker’s para-dox” - because smokers areyounger, with fewer otherhealth problems, when theyhad a heart attack, they weremore likely to recover it. Orso it seemed. “We wantedto look at longer-term effectsof smoking rather just theshort term effect,” Lanskysaid.

The researchers ana-lyzed medical records for13,819 patients, almost 4,000of them smokers, hospital-ized with chest pain or aheart attack caused by ablocked coronary artery.The study team organizedthe data to match the smok-

ers and nonsmokers by age, weight,comorbidities and other risk factors.

When compared to nonsmokers withsimilar overall health, the smokers wereten years younger, on average, and morelikely to have already been treated withblood thinners - suggesting they hadalready experienced problems withblood flow. Imaging of the coronary ar-tery showed the smokers’ had athero-sclerosis comparable to the nonsmok-ers ten years their senior, the research-ers report in the journal JACC: Cardio-vascular Interventions.

Smokers may show heart diseasemuch younger than nonsmokers

LAHORE—Advisor to Chief Minis-ter Punjab on Health KhawajaSalman Raffique has said thatcommunity participation isessential for eradication ofdengue. Talking tomediamen at the end of den-gue awareness walk fromPost Graduate MedicalInstitute(PGMU), BirdwoodRoad to Shadman Chowkhere, he said people couldprotect themselves from den-gue mosquito by keepingtheir houses clean and dryand eliminating breedinggrounds of dengue.

The awareness walk wasorganized by Post GraduateMedical Institute andAmiruddin Medical College.Khawaja Salman said as perdirections of the Chief Min-ister Punjab MuhammadShahbaz Sharif, measures fordengue control had beenstarted in Punjab from 15thFebruary and Dengue sur-veillance, larvae-ciding and

Public participation essential for dengue eradication

case response had been started insensitive districts.

He said in addition togovernment’s arrangements for den-

Advisor to Chief Minister for Health Khawaj Salman Rafique leading an awarenesswalk against dengue.

gue control, enthusiasticparticipation of public indengue control measureswas essential adding “Ifpeople do not remove thehot spots of denguebreeding from inside thehouses and keep the sur-roundings clean and dry,dengue would not be fullycontrolled.”

On this occasion, Prin-cipal Prof.

Anjam Habib Vohrasaid preventive measureswere the only solution ofdengue and urged young-sters to come forward forcreating awarenessagainst the diseases.

At the end of the walk,Khawaja Salman Raffique,Prof Anjam Habib Vohraand other participants dis-tributed pamphlets amongthe citizens at ShadmanChowk for disseminatinginformation regarding pre-ventive measures againstdengue.—APP

CITY REPORTER

LAHORE—Punjab Chief Minister MuhammadShahbaz Sharif, while immediately acting uponthe letter written by Prime Minister MuhammadNawaz Sharif to the provincial chief ministers, hasdirected administration and concerned depart-ments to take effective measures to bring downtransport fares and prices of essential items.

He said that Pakistan Muslim League-N gov-ernment is determined to provide maximum reliefto the masses and it would be ensured that ben-efits of stability in the value of rupee and reduc-tion in petroleum prices should reach the com-mon man.

The Chief Minister said that Punjab govern-ment is already implementing a comprehensiveprogramme for raising the living standard of the

CM takes action

Issues orders for bringingdown fares and prices

people and sincere efforts are being made for thewelfare of low-income people.

He directed concerned departments and ad-ministrations to harmonize transport fares andprices of essential articles with the recent decreasein petroleum prices so as to provide relief to themasses.

He directed that price control committees setup at Tehsil, town and district levels be fully mo-bilized while teams of special magistrates shouldbe constituted for ensuring sale of daily use itemsat the fixed rate.

Shahbaz Sharif said that the interest of peoplewould be fully protected and no one would beallowed to exploit the citizens. He said that lawwould immediately come into action against theelements involved in profiteering. The Chief Min-ister directed concerned departments to take solid

measures for reducing transport fares and pricesof essential items and submit him a reports.

He said that provision of quality daily useitems to the masses would be ensured and therole of elected representatives as well as adminis-tration is of vital importance for this purpose. Hesaid that people have high expectations fromPML-N government and it will be fulfilled at anycost. He said that the elements involved in over-charging deserve no leniency and immediate ac-tion should be taken against them.

He said that economic situation is improvingdue to solid measures taken by PML-N govern-ment. He said that every step of the governmentis directed towards betterment of the people. Hesaid that those showing good performance in theentire process of price control mechanism wouldbe encouraged.

SALIM AHMED

LAHORE—The fire which erupted in amulti-storey commercial plaza near KalmaChowk here on Tuesday was successfullydoused by fire fighting teams and alltrapped persons were safely rescued.

Rescue teams swiftly rushed to thescene of the incident and rescued severalpersons including women who weretrapped inside the building.

Around seven fire tenders and Res-

cue 1122 teams took part in the operationto extinguish the fire.

Lahore DCO, Dr. Ahmad Javed on in-formation also arrived at the location ofthe fire and supervised rescue work.

Some offices at the plaza were de-stroyed in the wake of the fire, however,no loss of life occurred due to deft han-dling of the situation by fire fighting teams.

Punjab Chief Minister, Shahbaz Shariftaking notice of the incident has soughtreport from the concerned authorities.

Lahore plaza fire doused,CM takes notice

An illuminated view of canal decorated with colourful lights and different replicas in Provincial Capital.

Fire fighters trying to control the fire which erupted in a multi-storey commercialPlaza near Kalama Chowk.

SALIM AHMED

LAHORE—Minister for Food andChairman Price Control Cabinet Com-mittee Bilal Yasin has said that itemsof daily use have been made easilyavailable in the markets, as a result ofeffective strategy and concrete stepstaken by the government throughoutthe province.

The Minister was presiding over ahigh level meeting held at civil secre-

Daily use items madeeasily available

tariat, here Tuesday, during whichSecretaries Agriculture, Food, Indus-tries and Health, besides DG PunjabFood Authority were also present.

During the meeting, a detailedreview was taken over government’ssteps taken with regard to controllinginflation and ensuring availability ofitems of everyday use to the people.

The Provincial Minister directedDCOs to visit Sunday bazaars andSahulat shops in the afternoons, in-

stead of in the mornings, so that con-tinuous monitoring of prices in Sahulatbazaars and Sunday bazaars can beensured.

He said that the prices of ev-eryday items should be reviewed inthe afternoon, but no compromiseshould be made on food quality. BilalYasin said that security staff has beendeputed to eliminate the extortionmafia, besides taking strong legal ac-tion against them.

Spray campaignagainst dengue

MUZAFFAR ALI

LAHORE—Punjab Univer-sity Health Center with thecollaboration of office ofResident Officer-II hasstarted spray of insecticidesfor prevention of denguefever. Spray teams consist-ing of 5 to 10 members willcarry out the insecticidespray in different parts ofboth campuses includinghostels on daily basis.

Punjab University ChiefMedical Officer Dr NaumanAhmad said posters andleaflets were also being dis-tributed amongst the uni-versity population regard-ing information and preven-tion about dengue fever andto ensure cleanliness of thevarsity premises. He saidthis process of insecticidespray would continue tillboth the campuses and hos-tels were completelysprayed.

He said a team of theDengue Research Grouphas also started visiting theareas around hostel sites tocollect water samples for lar-vae of Dengue mosquito.

CITY REPORTER

LAHORE—Punjab Education Foundation(PEF) has announced the result of pre-qual-ity assurance test of private schools intend-ing of academic partnership with the PunjabEducation Foundation under expansionphase- 8 of its Foundation Assisted School(FAS) program.

MUZAFFAR ALI

LAHORE—Lahore High Court (LHC) Com-plaint Cell on Tuesday took notice of a pressreport on administrative side that a womansought recovery of her 12-year-old daughterwho was married to a 30-year-old man underthe direction of a panchayat.

The Cell has directed the District & Ses-sions Judge, Faisalabad to look into the mat-ter and submit a detailed report regardingsteps taken by police along with his own com-ments within a week. According to details, a

LHC takes notice of vani girlseven-member jury held at Chak Bagu Da Koh,Tandlianwala, had reportedly taken up theissue of Azhar’s love marriage with Mafia Bibiof the same village. It decided to “vani”Naziran Bibi (12), a sister of Azhar to Ramzan(30) of the same locality to ‘compensate’ theaggrieved party for the ‘dishonor’. Accord-ingly, the nikkah of the minor girl was solem-nized with Ramzan. Rani Bibi, mother of thevictim, told reporters that since the forcedNikah, she had been kept by the ‘abductors’at an undisclosed location and she was notbeing allowed to meet her parents.

PEF announces resultA total of 1458 private schools of differ-

ent districts took part in it.After the physical inspection, these

schools will be offered partnership underFAS program to provide free education tothe most- deserving students up to matriclevel. Punjab Education Foundation willprovide free text books as well as monthlyfee of students to schools management.