Death by US drone turns villain into heroNEW YORK—In life,Hakimullah Mehsud, the leaderof the Pakistani Taliban, wasPublic Enemy No. 1: a ruthlessfigure who devoted his careerto bloodshed and mayhem,whom Pakistani pundits occa-sionally accused of being apawn of Indian, or even Ameri-can, intelligence.

But after his death, itseems, Pakistani hearts havegrown fonder and declared slain

TTP chief as Martyr, this is howhow, world media observedpost-Hakimullah situation inPakistan, according to a reportpublished by The New YorkTimes.

Since missiles fired byAmerican drones killed Mehsudin his vehicle on Friday,Pakistan’s political leaders havereacted with unusual vehe-mence. The interior minister,Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, de-

nounced the strike as sabotageof incipient government peacetalks with the Taliban. Mediacommentators fulminated aboutAmerican treachery. And theformer cricket star Imran Khan,now a politician, renewed histhreats to block NATO militarysupply lines through Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa - a province hisTehreek-e-Insaf party controls -with a parliamentary vote sched-uled for Monday.

Virtually nobody openlywelcomed the demise ofMehsud, who was responsiblefor the deaths of thousands ofPakistani civilians. To someAmerican security analysts,the furious reaction was an-other sign of the perversity andingratitude that they say havescarred Pakistan’s relationshipwith the United States.

“It’s another stab in the

Musharraf gets bail in Rashid Ghazi murder caseISLAMABAD—AdditionalDistrict and Sessions court onMonday granted bail toformer president PervezMusharraf in a case related tothe murder of Lal Masjidcleric Abdul Rasheed Ghaziin a 2007 military raid.

During the hearing the ad-ditional district and sessionsJudge Wajid Ali directed theformer president Musharraf tosubmit two bonds each worthRs 100,000 as surety for bail,his lawyer told reporters af-ter the judge announced hisverdict on the bail plea.

Speaking to the media,Musharraf’s counsel said theformer president would re-

main in the country.According to the counsel,

bail has been granted againsttwo surety bonds of Rs100,000 each.

The former president’sname will remain on the ExitControl List (ECL) and he willrequire the government’s ap-proval prior to leaving thecountry.

Earlier former presidentPervez Musharraf ’s counselmade the plea that it was man-datory under the national judi-cial policy to announce the de-cision on bail petition withinfive days, while the hearing ofthe petition has already beenadjourned seven times and

prayed that the matter shouldno more be kept in abeyanceinstead let the decision be an-nounced and added whateverbe the decision it would be ac-cepted.

The plaintiff ’s lawyer,Asad advocate said that thematter should be deferred un-til the decision announced.

Earlier on Friday, the courthad reserved its decision in thecase following arguments pre-sented by both sides.

The ruling by theIslamabad district court meansMusharraf is on bail in all thecases brought against himsince his return to Pakistanfrom self-imposed exile, in-

cluding one relating to the as-sassination of former PrimeM i n i s t e rB e n a z i rBhutto.

M u s h a r r a fwas arrestedon Oct 10,five weeks af-ter Ghazi’sson HaroonRasheed reg-istered them u r d e rcharge againsthim withAabpara po-lice. His arrest had come justa day after he was given bail

in the last of three major casesagainst him dating back to his

1999-2008 rule.The former president re-

turned to Pakistan in March torun in the May general elec-tion, vowing to “save” thecountry from economic col-lapse and militancy.

But he was barred fromcontesting the election, wonconvincingly by Prime Min-ister Nawaz Sharif the man heousted from power in 1999and was hit with a series ofcriminal cases dating back tohis rule.

It is pertinent to mentionhere that the police has al-ready declared him innocentin the murder of Lal Masjidcleric Ghazi AbdulRasheed.—INP

BAHAWALPUR: Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharifexchanging views in happy mood as they witness exercises Azm-e-Nau conducted by Pakistan Army at Tamaywali inKhairpur Tehsil on Monday.—Online photo

No peace thru senselessuse of force: Nawaz

Pakistan’s military strategy based on credibleminimum deterrence Expresses resolve to bring

bloodshed, violence to an endBAHAWALPUR—Prime Minis-ter Mian Nawaz Sharif has saidthat Pakistan’s military strategyis based on credible minimumdeterrence and highest state ofpreparedness.

He was speaking at the con-cluding ceremony of militaryexercises of Pakistan ArmyAzm-e-Nau at KhairpurTameywali near Bahawalpur onMonday.

The Prime Minister said ourdemocratic system‚ economicpotential‚ vibrant population‚national unity and professionalarmed forces provide strategicstability to the south Asian re-gion.

He said it has to be under-

stood that economic develop-ment is closely linked to peaceand security‚ as stable economicenvironment facilitates growthand development.

The Prime Minister saidduring his recent visit abroad‚he made it very clear that Paki-stan does not want financial aidbut intends to maintain foreignrelations on the basis of bilater-alism while‚ at the same time‚safeguarding its political‚ eco-nomic and national sovereignty.

Mian Nawaz Sharif saidPakistan also made its positionclear that drone strikes consti-tute violation of its sovereigntyand violation of internationalhumanitarian laws besides being

counter-productive to our effortsfor bringing peace and stabilityto Pakistan and the region.

The Prime Minister said hisGovernment is firmly resolvedto bringing the cycle of blood-shed and violence to an end;however‚ this can neither bedone overnight nor can it bedone by unleashing senselessforce against our citizens with-out first making every effort tobring miscreants and confusedelements of the society back tothe mainstream.

He said we have to ensurethat the political parties‚ militaryand civil society are on the samepage so as to create an enabling

Karzai: Timingof Mehsud’s

killingunsuitable

KABUL—Afghan PresidentHamid Karzai has criticised the“unsuitable” timing of the USkilling of Pakistani Talibanleader Hakimullah Mehsud andexpressed hope it will not derailregional peace efforts.

Karzai told a visiting USCongress delegation that the at-tack “took place at an unsuitabletime but he hoped as a result thepeace process is not harmed,”said his office in a statement re-leased late Sunday.

Karzai has been seeking toopen peace talks with the Af-ghan Taliban to end 12 years ofwar, but the militants have re-fused to negotiate with thepresident s appointees, dismiss-ing him as a puppet of Wash-ington.

The Pakistan governmenthas also been exploring peacemoves with the Tehreek-e-Taliban, who are separate butlinked to the Afghan group.

Karzai, who recently re-turned from talks with PakistaniPrime Minister Nawaz Sharif inLondon, said fraught relationsbetween Kabul and Islamabadhad improved.—NNI

Kerry phonesNawazOBSERVER REPORT

ISLAMABAD—US ForeignSecretary, John Kerrytelephoned Prime MinisterNawaz Sharif and discussedwith him the US drone attacksin Pakistan. Kerry told thatHakimullah Mehsud was athreat to both US and Pakistan.

The Prime Ministerinformed the US ForeignSecretary about the reserva-tions of Pakistan on theseattacks. Nawaz told that thekilling of TTP Chief in arecent drone attack hasseriously affected the re-borntrust in Pak-US ties.

He stated, “we wereheading towards the end ofterrorism here and theGovernment was forming a

Today’s issue of PakistanObserver carries one PageSpecial Report on ‘BahriaUniversity’ on Page 11.

Continued on Page 7

DeadHakimullah’sphoto released

PESHAWAR—irst picture ofslain TTP chief HakimullahMehsud was released on socialmedia on Mon-day.

T a l i b a nsources con-firmed it wasMehsud pic-ture taken afterhe was killedin US drone at-tack in NorthWaziristan on last Friday.

Taliban sources said body ofMehsud was badly damaged indrone strike but his face diddamaged in deadly attack.—Online

KP Assembly unanimousresolution to stop Nato suppliesCountry’s leadership to be taken into confidence

TARIQ SAEED

PESHAWAR—As the KhyberPukhtunkhwa assembly adoptsa unanimous resolution to blocNATO supplies route in theprovince, the KP governmentMonday gave two week dead-line for halting drone attacks onPakistani territory failing whichthe NATA supplies would be

blocked en-route KhyberPukhtunkhwa.

However, it said the deci-sion would be taken within theambit of the constitution andtaking the political leadership ofthe country into confidence.

The KP minister for infor-mation Shah Farman Khantabled a resolution in the houseseeking to immediately cut the

NATO supply line through routein KP in the wake of Americandrone attack in the Pakistanitribal belt with particular refer-ence to killing of TTP chiefHakimullah Mehsud that ul-timately sabotaged the govern-ment- Taliban dialogues and thepeace process. The resolutionwas adopted unanimously call-

Continued on Page 7

SC rejects pleafor delay inlocal govtelections

ISLAMABAD—The SupremeCourt of Pakistan has rejectedplea of Election Commission ofPakistan for extension in date oflocal government elections dueto non preparation of ballot pa-pers and non availability mag-netic ink.

Hearing the case Monday‚Chief Justice IftikharMohammad Chaudhry saidPunjab‚ Balochistan and Sindhhave made preparations for theconduct of local bodies elec-tions.

The Election CommissionContinued on Page 7

AC gives NAB10 days tosubmit challanagainst TauqirISLAMABAD—The account-ability court on Mondayordered national accountabilitybureau (NAB) to submit finalchallan of former Ograchairman Tauqir Sadiq within10 days in Orga corruptioncase.

Accountability courtIslamabad judge MuhammadBashir was hearing the Ogracorruption case, during whichthe main accused of the caseTauqir Sadiq appeared beforethe court.

Additional deputyprosecutor general of the NABChaudhry Raiz told the courtthat final challan could not beprepared because investigationofficers were engaged inanother case relating to RentalPower Project. He pleaded thecourt to give further 10 daysfor filing the challan of the

Continued on Page 7

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Taking part inthe National Assembly’s debateover emerging situation in theaftermath of Pakistani Talibanchief Hakimullah Mehsud’skilling, Imran Khan Mondaythreatened to cut the Nato sup-ply lines in KP after November20 upon assessing thegovernment’s reaction on theissue.

Imran: Nato supplies tobe blocked after Nov 20Peace talks won’t move forward until

Taliban appoint new chief: NisarTehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan

leader Mehsud, along with atleast four other militants, waskilled when a US drone tar-geted his car in the NorthWaziristan tribal area of Paki-stan near the Afghan border onFriday evening.

The session of the lowerhouse of Parliament, whichcommenced after a delay oftwo-and-a-half hour, was re-

Continued on Page 7

Peace dialogue to be takenforward: Cabinet

Pak has right to take decisions in own interest: PMISLAMABAD—The FederalCabinet on Monday decided tohonour the decisions taken bythe All Parties Conference andcarry forward the peace dialoguewithout letting this process de-railed.

“Pakistan has the right totake its decisions on its own ac-cording to its interests”, PrimeMinister Muhammad NawazSharif said while addressing aspecial meeting of the federalcabinet here.

“If cooperation could not beextended to the process of elimi-nating the menace of terrorism,then at least it should not havebeen damaged,” Nawaz said.ThePrime Minister said the continu-ation of an unfortunate and con-demnable practice of the droneattacks manifested that Pakistan’sview point for the permanentelimination of terrorism and theestablishment of durable peacewas not understood.

The recent APC depicted

that the entire political and mili-tary leadership as well as themasses, media and civil society

wanted to resolve the issue ofterrorism through serious and

Continued on Page 7

Continued on Page 7

Nato chief urges Pak to keepAfghan transit lines open

BRUSSELS—Nato chief AndersFogh Rasmussen urged Pakistanon Monday to keep open supplylines to Nato forces in Afghani-stan despite anger over a USdrone strike that killed the Pa-kistani Taliban leader.

Pakistan said on Sunday itwould review its relationship withthe United States after PakistaniTaliban leader HakimullahMehsud was killed two days ear-lier in North Waziristan, near theAfghan border.

“I feel confident that the Pa-kistani authorities will maintainopen supply routes and transit

routes because it is in Pakistan’sown interest to contribute posi-tively to stability and security inthe region,” Rasmussen told anews conference.

Pakistan is the main route tosupply US troops in landlockedAfghanistan with everythingfrom food and drinking water tofuel. Any closure could be a se-rious disruption as US and otherWestern forces prepare to with-draw most of their troops fromAfghanistan by the end of nextyear.

Rasmussen declined to

Continued on Page 7

Continued on Page 7

Awais Muzaffarresigns as LocalGovt MinisterOBSERVER REPORT

KARACHI—Awais Muzffar,Sindh LocalGovernmentMinister andfoster-brother ofPPP co-chairmanAsif AliZardari, hasresignedfrom his post, said aspokesman for the ChiefMiinister House here on lateMonday night.

The spokesman said thatMuzaffar had sent hisresignation to Chief MinisterQaim Ali Shah.

Ashura on Nov 15K A R A C H I —Muhar ramulHaram moon was not sightedMonday and the first ofMuharram will be observed onWednesday.

This was announced byChairman Ruet-e-Hilal Com-mittee Mufti Munibur Rehmanin Karachi on Monday. Youm-e-Ashura (10th Muharram) willbe observed on Friday, 15th ofthis month.—Online

Continued on Page 7

RIYADH—Saudi authorities be-gan Monday a clampdown onillegal immigrants after the endof an amnesty that gaveoverstayers and workers a graceperiod to leave or legalise theirstatus.

Police patrols will besearching for illegally-stayingforeigners and those who helpthem, interior ministry spokes-man General Mansur al-Turkisaid late Sunday.

Saudi Arabia begins clampdownon illegal foreigners

Violators will be arrested,penalised and deported, he said.

Nearly a million Pakistanis,Indians, Bangladeshis, Filipi-nos, Nepalis and Yemenis,among others, have taken ad-vantage of the three-month am-nesty – announced on April 3and then extended for fourmonths – and left the country.Another roughly four million

Asthma patientson rise as

weather gets coldPESHAWAR—With the ad-vent of winters patients suf-fering from Asthma and chestrelated diseases are on riseand severe asthmatic attackswere likely in the comingdays.

Talking to mediamen hereMonday spokesman ofHealth Department KhyberPakhtunkhwa Prof DrMukhtar Zaman said thatpatients suffering fromAsthma were likely to havesevere attacks due to fallingtemperature in KhyberPakhtunkhwa and northernareas of the province.

He said that asthma couldattack people of any age groupand was not restricted to child-hood or old age. However, hewent to add that cold weatherand environmental pollutionhave multiplied the number ofpatients suffering from asthmaand other chest and respira-tory diseases. Dr Mukhtar ad-vised people to keep them-selves warm and consult theirdoctors to avoid unnecessaryproblems.—APP

Woman involved inmurder of husbandarrested along withtwo accomplices

FAISALABAD—The policearrested a woman involved inmurder of her husband alongwith two accomplices here onMonday.

According to police, alady hailing from Aamir Townof Faisalabad killed her hus-band along with two accom-plices few days ago. Themurderer staged drama of herhusband’s death upon resis-tance during robbery at-tempt.

The police on suspiciontook the wife of deceasedinto custody who during in-terrogation admitted crimeand also named her two ac-complices who were later ar-rested by police.

Meanwhile a cracker at-tack on a petrol pump left atleast five people injured here.Police said unidentified attack-ers hurled a cracker at a gasstation, located in Chalkryarea, inflicting minor injuriesupon five persons.—INP

BASHIR AHMAD RAHMANI

HAFIZABAD—A bank man-ager of Alipur Chatha andhis family, passengers of awagon and a local beveragedealer were deprived of goldornaments and cash worthRs. 1.4 million at gunpointat three different places lastnight.

According to policesource, Rana Wasim AhmadCredit Manager of MuslimCommercial Bank AlipurChattha resident of MadinaColony Hafizabadalongwith his family mem-bers was on way to Lahoreto attend a marriage cer-emony on his car and whenhe reached near KhanjarBanjar on Khanqah DogranMotorway Interchange

Road, four armed bandits in-tercepted him and snatchedaway 13 tolas gold orna-ments, cash amount of Rs.13,000/- and cell phones atgun points.

Khurram Hussain, Abidand others were on way toSukheke from Kassessay onwagon No. 5242 and whenthey reached near AtlaGhulam Bridge armed dacoitsintercepted the vehicle andsnatched away Rs. 3,50,000/- from Khurram Hussain andothers. Unknown burglarsbroken into the Yamaha andCoco Cola Agency owned byShafqat Hussain Tarar onGujranwala Road here lastnight and made away withRs. 4,25,000/- cash afterbreaking open the iron safe.The police are investigating

but have so far failed to ar-rest any of the bandits.

******Two women were killed on-

the-spot while four others in-cluding two women were seri-ously injured when a recklesslydriven car hit two bikes onJalalpur-Kassessay Roadabout 25 kms from here Mon-day afternoon. The injuredwere shifted to the DHQ Hos-pital Hafizabad by Rescue-1122where condition of one of themis causing concerned. Accord-ing to Rescue-1122 source,Mansib Ali gunman of formerFederal Minister Liaqat AbbasBhatti and his relationMuhammad Javed Bhattialongwith their family memberswere on way to Hafizabad ontwo motorcycles. Whey theyreached near Bhopa Chadran

village a speeding car comingfrom opposite direction hit theirbikes as a result of whichMansib Ali’s daughter AnsaRani and her mother Safia Bibidied on-the-spot while MansibAli, Muhammad Javed, Nailaand another seriously injured.

******The Motorway police

have today arrested a notori-ous drug peddler of Sargodhaand have seized 740 bottlesof illicit liquor from his pos-session near Kot Sarwar In-terchange. According toMotorway police, accusedShahzaib was on way toSargodha on Car No. LZE-3383 and when he reachednear Kot Sarwar Interchangethe vehicle overturned due toreckless speed. After the mis-hap the accused attempted to

ran away on foot. Duringsearch the police have recov-ered 740 bottles of illicit liquorfrom the vehicle.

******Kissan Board Hafizabad

has called upon the govern-ment to formulate wheatpolicy and announce theprocurement price of wheatin consultation with thegenuine representatives ofgrowers. Addressing PressConference Aman UllahChatha President KissanBoard Hafizabad has regret-ted that the government hadpurchased wheat at Rs.1200/- per 40 kgs last yearwhereas the consumerswere supplied wheat flour atRs. 1650/- per 40 kgs whichis quite injustice towards thecultivators and consumers.

Entry test top 10postion holders

HY D E R A B A D—The au-thorities of Sindh Univer-sity (SU) Jamshoro Mon-day announced the namesof candidates who securedtop ten positions in the pre-entry test , conducted bythe University for admis-sions to 54 disciplines ofBachelor DegreeProgramme on Sunday. Ac-cording to a Universi tyspokesman, MasoomaBatool , daughter ofGhulam Nabi Memonclinched first place by se-curing 327 marks out of to-tal 400 marks.

The other nine candi-dates who secured higherplaces included AbdulRazzaq, son of GhulamMurtaza, Asif Ali, son ofMuhammad Akbar, ShahbazKhan, son of Abdul SattarNarai, Muhammad Shahbaz,son of Ali Bux, Abdul Aziz,son of Moula Bux, Rida,daughter of Aslam,Maahrukh, daughter ofPervez, Waqar Ali, son ofZulfiqar Ali and MuhammadIlyas, son of FaqirMuhammad Mirjat.—APP

ISLAMABAD—The Anti Nar-cotics Force Monday appre-hended 148 addicts and re-covered 1.4 kg heroin, 4.5 kghashish and 21 wine bottlesin continuation of operation“Umeed-e-Nau” at Karachi.According to details, ANFKarachi conducted Clean-UpOperations at Gulshan-e-Iqbal and detained 10 DrugAddicts.

In another clean-up op-eration at Baluch Colony,ANF detained 8 Drug Ad-dicts. Addiction sites dis-mantled and temporaryshelters destroyed. ANFhas sought cooperation ofLocal Police and influentialof area to keep the addic-tion sites free from re-emer-gence. Moreover, repeatedsurveillance is being en-sured to keep up sanitiza-tion of area.

ANF Karachi conducteda joint operation with SindhRangers at Khamiso Goth,New Karachi. The span andcomplexity of area requiredemployment of large numberof manpower, which re-mained committed for 8-10hours. As a result of this op-eration 0.5 Kg of fine qualityBrown Heroin, 4.5 Kgs Hash-

ish, 21 bottles of wine havebeen recovered and 130 DrugAddicts detained. Accordingto detained addicts, ongoingoperation, has forced the nar-cotics suppliers to evict thearea, hence shortage ofdrugs is being faced.

ANF Airport Team atPeshawar arrested a passen-ger Riaz Baig s/o Hakim Baigresident of KhazanchiAhatha, Peshawar Cantt andrecovered 900 Gms of Heroin,tactfully concealed in hisshoes. He was to travel byQatar Airways Flight No QR-609, to China via Doha. Casehas been registered at ANFPolice Station and further in-vestigations are underprogress.

Since start of operation atKarachi “Umeed e Nau”, anupdate of ANF achievementsincludes arrest / detention of760 persons, recoveries of5.08 Kgs of Heroin, 542.3 Kgsof Charas, 27.5 Tons PoppyStraw, 80 Gm Cocaine, 1751Estacy Tablets, 746 GmEstacy Powder and 21 Winebottles. ANF has acceleratedits efforts to curb the drugmenace countrywide in gen-eral and Karachi in particu-lar.—APP

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Performance ofthe officers in Sindh was be-ing closely watchedthrough various means ofcommunication includingpress and media regularly.Government was giving toppriority to the maintenanceof law and order, improvingthe standard of health, edu-cational services to thepeople and protection oflives and properties of thepeople. Sindh Chief Minis-ter Syed Qaim Ali Shah saidthis during his surprise visitto the Sindh secretariatMonday.

He was accompaniedby Special Assistants tothe CM Rashid Rabbanand Waqar Mehdi, princi-

pal Secretary to CMNaveed Kamran Baloch,Secretary on Universitiesand Boards Dr Riaz Memon,Additional Secretary Ad-ministration Saeed Shaikhand other officers of secre-tariat.

On the occasion he di-rected the officers for main-taining of punctuality, dis-cipline, cleanliness and toensure the conducive atmo-sphere and efficient deliv-eries to the masses.

He directed the officersfor early disposal of publicwelfare oriented summariesand his directives to resolvethe grievances of the peopleso that people be benefitedaccordingly.

He said that he wouldalso pay surprise visit of the

offices specially, those be-longing to law and order, (Po-lice Stations) education(schools) and health (hospi-tals) sector to ensure effi-cient delivering of the ser-vices to the people andadded that those who foundabsent, irregular or defaulterwould be taken to task.

The CM also directedthe officers to expeditepeace of the developmentworks and not to compro-mise on its standard forwhich as many as 215 bil-lion were being spent dur-ing the current financialyear 2013-14. He said thathe would also under takesurprise visits of ongoingdevelopment schemes ofany sector at any place inthe province. Those, who

found negligence in theirperformance or in irregulari-ties would be taken to task.Teams of monitoring andevaluation P&D deptt hadalready been dispatched tomonitor the pace and qual-ity of developments worksin Sindh.

He said that variousmega development projectsof infrastructure, educationand health sector either hadbeen completed or had beentaken into hand and manysuch prosperous projectsspecially in the energy, ag-riculture and mass transi-tion sectors either inprogress in pipeline. He saidthat by completion of allthese projects, Sindh wouldbe converted into a prosper-ous province of Pakistan.

The CM also asked thecommissioners and deputycommissioners to play theirrole in maintaining atten-dance & discipline in theirrespective districts, divi-sions and also to monitorongoing developmentworks in consultation withpublic representatives ofthe area.\

He further directed theofficers to be pro-active ac-cessible and resolved thegrievance of poor people. Itwas the main motto of thePakistan People’s party Par-liamentarian to serve thepeople without discrimina-tion and that It was becauseof services of PPPP thatpeople of Sindh alwaysstood with PPPP in difficulttimes.

Qaim warns officials to perform well

KARACHI: Sindh Cheif Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah visiting CM Secretariat SpecialAssistant Waqar Mehdi, Rashid Rabbani, Principal Secretary Naveed Kamran Balochare also seen in the picture.—PO photo by Sultan Chaki

ANF apprehends 148suspects, recovers

1.4 kg heroin

Wagon passengers deprived of gold ornaments, Rs 14 lakh

STAFF REPORTER

PESHAWAR—Ambassador ofthe Republic of Turkey toPakistan, S. Babur Girgincalled on the KhyberPakhtunkhwa Chief MinisterPervez Khattak at his officehere on Monday and dis-cussed with him matters re-lating to mutual cooperationin housing, solid waste man-agement and municipal ser-vices, skills development,hydel power generation andother sectors.

Additional Chief Secre-tary Khalid Pervez, HonoraryConsul General of TurkeySaleem Saifullah Khan andother concerned authoritieswere also present on the oc-casion.

Talking to the Turk am-bassador, the Chief Minis-

ter invited the Turk inves-tors to invest in the sectorsin the province and assuredthem of all type of facilitiesand guarantees in this re-gard.

He said that the provin-cial government intended tostart a mass transit systemincluding shuttle train andmodern bus service be-tween Peshawar andHayatabad so that the rushof traffic could be minimizedin the city as well as cheapand quick facilities of trans-port could be provided tothe people.

Pervez Khattak main-tained that the provincialgovernment was working onsetting up a new city at anysuitable place along eitherside of Peshawar IslamabadMotorway and the inves-

tors of Turkey and all thefriendly countries were hereencouraged and invited toinvest in the same.

On this occasion Tur-key offered to set up a vil-lage consist ing of 91houses for the low paidearning people of the prov-ince to which the ChiefMinister consented and di-rected the ACS to coordi-nate with the Turkish au-thori t ies to make furtherprogress in this regard.

He while also welcomingoffer of Turk govt of coop-eration in technical trainingsaid we want our youth to bewell equipped with educationand skills so that they couldeasily find jobs both in landand abroad. Gifts were alsoexchanged on thisoccasion.

Turkey to set up villagefor low paid employeesAmbassador Babur Girgin calls on Khattak

Low grade officialsworking on

upper posts in KPSTAFF REPORTER

PESHAWAR—Despite claimsof eliminating corruption fromprovincial institutions andmaking posting on merit, sev-eral officials of low gradeshave been appointed athigher posts in various dis-tricts of KhyberPakhtunkhwa. According todetails, the appointments ofofficials having low grade atposts of upper grade weremade by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led KP govern-ment.

In 19 districts of KP grade18 officials were serving asdeputy commission while indistricts including Peshawar,Kohistan, Mansehra, Swatand Karak, grade 19 officialshave been appointed asdeputy commissioner. Com-missioner Mardan despitehaving grade 19 was servingon a post of grade 20.

Ten officials of grade 18 areappointed as additional secre-taries, the post of next grade.The citizens have criticized theprovincial government for mak-ing appointments against themerit. They were of the viewthat corruption could not beeliminated, neither provincialinstitution can progress ifchoiced people were awardedupper grade posts.

TANK: Local residents blocked Bannu-Dikhan Sough Waziristan road during a demonstration against excessiveelectricity loadshedding.

QUETTA: Balochistan Urban Planning and Development Minister, Abbul Rahim Ziratwaaddressing a seminar organized by Balochistan Forum of environment and Al-InsafWelfare Society Pakistan.

HYDERABAD: Hindu girls busy in her religious ritual during Dewali Festival.

Zafarul Haq appeals Opposition to end boycottISLAMABAD—Leader of the House inSenate Raja Zafarul Haq on Mondayappealed to the Opposition to end boy-cott of the proceeding so that the Up-per House could work with mutual con-sensus and understanding. Speakingon the floor of the House, he said thatalthough the Upper House was in theorder yet he would request the honor-able members of Opposition to endboycott. He also requested the Presid-

ing Officer Rafiq Rajwan to once again send members ofthe committee to Opposition in order to convince them toend its ongoing boycott. He said it was our desire to runthe House in the best manner according to the rules andregulations. The leader of the House said the proceed-ings of the house would go as already decided in theBusiness Advisory Committee. He requested the Oppo-sition to end its boycott and participate in the proceed-ings to discuss security and economic situation of thecountry, visit of Prime Minister to the United States anddrone attack in North Waziristan having national and in-ternational implications. He said Interior MinisterChaudhry Nisar had said that these figures were pro-vided by the provincial government and request was al-ready made to recheck the figures.—APP

New democratic dispensation in BalochistanStaff Reporter

ISLAMABAD—Speaker Balochistan As-sembly, Mir Jan Muhammad Jamalistated that survival of Pakistan is di-rectly attached with the survival ofBalochistan province. Addressing to aseminar here marking anniversary ofSheikh Asad Rehman, who struggled forrights of Balochistan in 1970s. The titleof the seminar was “New democraticdispensation in Balochistan: challengesand opportunities.” Jamali stated that

trade must be enhanced with Afghanistan and Iran like thegovernment has been busy in boosting trade ties withIndia. “Nawaz Sharif is a patriot leader of the country andunderstands nationalism very well, so government shouldwork for the rights of Balochistan. It is my utmost desirethat current provincial government of Balochistan wouldsucceed in solving issues of Baloch people,” he said. Ad-dressing the seminar, Senator Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo saidthat the provincial government has decided to give awardto Sheikh Asad Rehman on his struggle for the rights ofBaloch people. “Some 22000 houses were devastated in aresult of earth quake in Awaran and the victims need reliefin this situation,” he said. Bizenjo stated that provincialgovernment has increased education budget from 4% to24 %, health budget from 3% to 16% and developmentbudget has also been given a boost up. “Pakistan needssecularism to avoid religious extremism and rights must begiven to the neglected entities of the society,” he said.Executive Director Sungi Development Foundation, SajidMansoor Qaisrani said that Asad Rehman tendered manysacrifices for the betterment of society and democraticnorms. “Current political maturity in the country is due tothe struggle of people like Rehman,” he stated.

No option except dialogue with TalibanMULTAN—Former Prime Minister andPPP leader Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani saidthat there was no option except holdingdialogue with the Taliban as the countrycould not afford war. Talking to journal-ists at local airport, Gilani said dialoguewas the only way forward. He recalledthe PPP regime had focused on three Ds- dialogue, development and deterrence.Replying to a question, Gilani said thePPP had mandated the government to

hold dialogue with the Taliban and it depend upon it how itinitiated the process. To a query about suspension of Natosupplies, Gilani maintained his government had suspendedNato supplies for seven months protested strongly afterthe Salala incident and got vacated Shamsi airbase, sus-pended Nato supplies and did not participate in the Bonnconference. He said the PPP government had opposed droneattacks as it thought they were counterproductive andagainst the sovereignty of the country. To another questionabout opposition’s silence over high prices in the country,Gilani remarked the parliament was the best forum to raisethe issue. He, however, added the PPP would continue tofight for public rights. Gilani also expressed reservationsthat three provinces were holding local government elec-tions on party basis but Punjab was conducting them onnon-party basis and also termed it pre-poll rigging.—APP

Steps to provide quality education: AtifPESHAWAR—The Khyber PakhtunkhwaMinister for Elementary and SecondaryEducation, Muhammad Atif Khan saidon Monday the government has initi-ated concrete steps to provide qualityeducation by removing all flaws in thesystem and to encourage the manage-ment of private educational institutions.Chairing a meeting of Board of Gover-nors of Peshawar Public School, theminister formally approved a committee

to review the problems of Peshawar Public School anddirected to submit the report on the matter. Atif Khan askedthe concerned authorities of Elementary and SecondaryEducation to depute a Grade-20 Principal in the said schoolon temporary basis. He took notice of police interferencein affairs of Peshawar Public School and said that entry ofirrelevant people should not be allowed in educational in-stitutions. He highlighted the need of holding regular meet-ing of Board of Governors of the school with an objectiveto resolve all related issues.—APP

MULTAN—The police havefinalized security plan forMuharram as 8,000 police of-ficials and volunteers will bedeputed for 1,663 Majalisand 488 mourning proces-sions. According to a pressrelease issued here on Mon-day, a total of 1,663 Majalisincluding 441 of A categoryand 1222 of B categorywould be organized in thecity while 488 mourning pro-cessions in which 105 of Acategory and 383 of B cat-egory would be taken outduring Muharram.

As many as 8000 policeofficials and volunteerswould be deputed duringMuharram including SSP,DSPs, 59 inspectors, 178 sub

inspectors, 288 assistant subinspectors, 405 head con-stables, 3187 constables,1508 officials of special force,855 volunteers, 417 officialsof elite force and 108 ladyconstables. A total of 51 re-serves comprising 1024 po-lice officials and two inspec-tors would also remain alertand they would be deployedat different points if needed.Police officials in civil clotheswould be deputed duringMuharram, said release.

City Police Officer (CPO)Sultan Ahmed Chaudhry hasdirected the police officials todisplay their official cardsduring duty. He directed thepolice officials to performduty on high alert position

and remain present on dutytill the conclusion of proces-sions.

Peshawar: Security planhave been finalised by thedistrict administration forpeaceful observance ofMuharram according towhich police, elite force andFrontier Constabulary wouldguard processions andimambargahs to avert anyuntoward incidents. As perthe security plan, special fo-cus would be given on pro-tection of Imambargahs andmourning processionswhereas sensitive places andprocessions routes would bechecked through snifferdogs while medical ambu-lance and bomb disposal

6 booked for graftSARGODHA—Anti Corrup-tion Establishment (ACE) onMonday registered a caseagainst EXN, project direc-tor, engineer and others forembezzling millions of rupeesin the construction of a medi-cal college water supply.

According to a handout,the ACE circle officer in hisinvestigation report to Direc-tor ACE Babar Aman Babarsaid that in the constructionof a 9km water supply pipe-line at Medical College,Faisalabad Road, the contrac-tor used extremely defectivematerial.

The contractor suc-ceeded in drawing the sev-enth and last bill worth Rs 5.6million in collusion withproject director AbdaulGhani, Malik Ahmad Yar,EXN, Muhammad Awais, sub-engineer, and resident engi-neer Omar Farooq of Univer-sity of Sargodha withoutcompletion of work.—APP

MPA nephewfiring creates

panic in a collegeGUJRANWALA—Amid uproarover Valima party of speakerof provincial assembly AghaDurani’s nephew at SindhAssembly garden, rulingPML-N also faced similarcritizism in Punjab due to‘nephew’of a law maker. Thenephew of a Pakistan Mus-lim League Nawaz member ofprovincial assembly createdhoax in a college as he madeaerial firing outside the cam-pus building. MPA QaiserSindhu’s nephew Asad hada scuffle with a group of stu-dents of the said college andthe incident has been linkedwith that fight.—Online

ISLAMABAD—Local hospi-tals and clinics are seeing anincrease in number of pa-tients suffering from dis-eases related to dry weather,which is expected to con-tinue, as met office has pre-dicted dry weather in mostparts of the country. How-ever, isolated rain-thunder-storm is expected in Quetta,Zhob, Kalat, Malakand divi-sions and Gilgit-Baltistanduring next 24 hours.

Most patients, especiallychildren, have contracted vi-ral diseases like influenza,bronchitis, typhoid, nasal al-lergy, asthma, soar throat,chest infection, phenomena,dry cough and scabies. Ac-cording to medical experts,“The prevailing dry weatheris contributing to transmis-sion of viral infections. Weare seeing a lot of cases ofinfections”.

Experts observed that thenumber of people experienc-ing influenza-like symptoms,including temperature higherthan 100 degrees Fahrenheit,cough, sore throat, bodyaches or headache was in-creasing day by day. A pe-diatrician at a private hospi-tal said dry cold weather wascausing the spread of viraland bacterial diseases. How-ever, according to Met office,a fresh westerly wave is ex-pected to affect western andupper parts of the countryfrom Tuesday and likely to

persist during next threedays.

Scattered rain-thunder-storm with snowfall over thehills are expected i n northeastBalochistan (Quetta, Zhob,Kalat divisions), KP(Malakand, Peshawar, Kohat,Bannu, D.I.Khan divisions),upper Punjab (Sargodha,R a w a l p i n d i / I s l a m a b a d ,Gujranwala divisions) andGilgit-Baltistan. Weather re-mained dry in most parts ofthe country during last 24

hours. While, coldest placesduring last 24 hrs were Skardu-05C, Astore 04C, Hunza 01Cand hottest places during last24 hrs were Turbat 37,Lasbella, Chhor & Mithi 36C.

The Meteorological De-partment here Monday fore-cast isolated rain with thun-derstorm in Malakand divi-sion and Gilgit Baltistan dur-ing next 24 hours that wouldbring mercury level down.According to Met Officehere, a fresh westerly waveis expected to affect westernand upper parts of the coun-try from Tuesday and islikely to persist during nextthree days.—APP

squad would accompanywith processions, a spokes-man of District Administra-tion told APP on Monday.

The IGP KP have directedDistrict Police Officers toadopt three-layer security fil-ter points before allowinganyone to enter Imambargahand processions. “Any per-son wants to enter the pro-cessions or Imam bargahswould be searched to avoidany untoward incident dur-ing Muharram,” he main-tained, adding women police-men would also be deployedfor security purpose.

Police would be assistedby Frontier Reserve Police,Frontier Corps, Frontier Con-stabulary.—APP

PESHAWAR—As many as eightpersons killed and ten anotherinjured when a container over-turned near Ali Masjid on Pak-Afghan Road in KhyberAgency on Monday, politicaladministration said.

According to details, acontainer overturned onmain Pak-Afghan Road trap-ping various vehicles. As aresult, eight persons killedand ten another injured. Theactivities are underway torestart traffic on the roadwhile injured were rushed tonearby hospital.

Meanwhile three peoplewere killed and another seri-ously injured in a shootoutat a vehicle at Shah Kas indistrict Jamrod of KhyberAgency. Political sourcesclaim the car was on routefrom Jamrod to Shah Kas andcame under fire at Jamal Khel.The persons who lost their

I S L A M A B A D — S o m estretches of Indus Highway(N-55) from Kohat to LakkiMarwat are in bad conditionand NHA was taking all pos-sible measures to maintainthe highyway. An official ofthe NHA said Monday oneper cent of Kohat-LakkiMarwat section of N-55 wasin good condition,39 pc infair condition,39 pc in poorcondition and 17 pc in verypoor condition.

He said after G.T. Road(N-5), Indus Highway (N-55)was the second most impor-tant north-south arterywhich reduced distance be-tween Karachi-Peshawar byaround 400 km as comparedto N-5.He said now NHA is

now converting this roadinto a dual carriageway. Hesaid work on Sehwan-Ratodero section whichforms an integral part of theNational Trade Corridor,commenced in Dec-2010 at acost of Rs 14 billion.

He said that the condi-tion of existing road wasunsatisfactory particularlyfor freight traffic and thevolume of traffic necessi-tated provision of a dualcarriageway. He said thatthe project envisages anadditional 2-lane (7.3 m) car-riageway with shoulders (1-3 m) on either side. Projectwill enhance road safety,efficiency and reduce ve-hicle operating cost. On

completion of this project,the existing road would berehabilitated.

To a question he said thatvarious sections of IndusHighway were damaged dur-ing flood 2010. The immedi-ate restoration works werecarried out to open the roadfor traffic. Rehabilitation andreconstruction works are be-ing executed time to time sub-ject to finalization of procure-ment and availability offunds.

The Indus Highway, alsoknown as N-55, a 1,264 kmlong four-lane highway thatruns along the Indus Riverin Pakistan connectingKarachi with Peshawar viaD.G.Khan.—APP

NHA taking steps torehabilitate stretches of N-55

8,000 cops to perform duty during Muharram in Multan

Eight killed, teninjured at Jamrud

lives belonged to the samefamily said the sources.

The entire region wassurrounded by the law en-forcement agencies and asearch operation com-menced soon after the inci-dent. Fear and panic spreadamongst the inhabitants as aresult of immense firing.

A woman was killed andfive others injured in collisionbetween two vehicles here onMonday. According to police,the accident took place inBasiakhel area of Bannuwhere an over speeding pas-senger coach collided head-on with a tractor trolley.

As a result of accident awoman died on the spot whilefive others sustained injurieswho were rushed to localhospital for treatment. Thepolice took both vehiclesinto custody and started theinvestigation.—APP HYDERABAD: Activists of Young Doctors Association Sindh sit on hunger strike calling for resolution of their demands.

Dry weather increasesinfectious diseases

PESHAWAR: City police stand high alert in front of Imambargah, Gulbahar, for upcom-ing Muharramul Harram on Monday.

CHINIOT: People standing on the rear side of a moving van at Jhang road which maycause some mishap and needs attention of authorities.

FAISALABAD—A notoriousproclaimed offender waskilled in exchange of fire withpolice here on Monday. Armsand motorcycle was recov-ered from the possession ofthe criminal killed in encoun-ter. According to details, threerobbers snatched cash, mo-bile phone and motorcyclefrom a citizen identified asHafiz Attique ur Rehman atRahmey Shahgarrh Road andfled away.

Upon getting the infor-mation heavy contingent ofpolice headed by SHOSaddar approached the loot-ers in Chak 403-GB ofTandlianwala. Seeing thepolicy party the robbersstraight fire at them but thecops remained unhurt.

In retaliatory fire notori-ous criminal and proclaimed

PO killed in exchange offire with police

offender MuhammadHussain alias Jabbru waskilled while his two cohortsmanaged to escape. The po-lice recovered snatched mo-torcycle, cash, mobile phoneand official SMG rifle fromthe possession of the crimi-nal killed in fire exchange.

Meanwhile four personsincluding District Police Of-fice (DPO) Lasbela were seri-ously injured when their ve-hicle overturned here onMonday. According to de-tails, DPO Lasbela AhmedNawaz Cheema was headingtowards Hub from Uthalwhen the vehicle ion whichthey were travelling turnedturtle near Hub. As a result ofaccident four people presentin the vehicle including NawazCheema and three cops sus-tained serious wounds.—INP

DC ordersregistration ofarms license

MANSOOR PIRZADA

GHOTKI—Deputy Commis-sioner Ghotki, Fareed AhmedJunejo has announced sched-ule and established a specialcell for the registration ofArms License throughout thedistrict. The residents of dis-trict Ghotki were informed thatthey must register their Li-cense at Deputy Commis-sioner Complex MirpurMathelo. The residents ofGhotki are directed to get theirLicense registered from 5 No-vember to 15 November,Taluka Mirpu Mathelo 18 No-vember to 28 November,Taluka Khangarh 29 Novem-ber to 6 December, TalukaDaharki 9 December to 18December and Taluka Ubauro19 December to 30 December.

QUETTA—Baloch Nation-alist party, National Partyhas announced to contestlocal bodies elections to beconducted in Balochistan inupcoming month of Decem-ber. Addressing a pressconference along with Pro-vincial Health Minister MirRahmat Baloch, Mir JanMuhammad Buledi andother party leaders, NP se-nior leader, Mir HasilBezinjo said that their partyhad decided to contest lo-cal government elections inBalochistan.

Respecting the SupremeCourt orders, heBalochistan government hasagreed to conduct local bod-ies” elections in the provinceon December 07" he said,adding therefore, the NP haddecided to contest LG polls.He, however, said that

NP announcescontesting LG polls

present circumstances werenot suitable for holding ofLG elections in Balochistan,as saying that people of coldareas of the province usedto migrate to hot areas dur-ing winter season while lawand order situation was notsatisfied in some areas be-sides Awaran district wasdevastated by powerfulearthquake.

He said that theBalochistan governmenthad stance that March 2014would be suitable time forconducting of LG polls. He,however, said that respect-ing the Apex Court’s orders,the provincial governmentagreed to conduct LG elec-tions in December 2013. Heinstructed the party activistto kick off the preparationsfor contesting thesepolls.—APP

Beware ofoperation mongers

against TalibanAS Government leaders are expressing optimism about holding of

peace talks with TTP even after killing of its leader HakimullahMehsud in a drone strike by the United States, signals from the

other side are dismissive as TTP spokesmen are ruling out possibility ofdialogue. By doing so, the TTP is, knowingly or unknowingly, advancingthe objective of the United States and its agents who wanted to scuttle thepeace moves and create conditions for use of force against the bannedorganization.

The anger of the TTP is understandable but its reaction is whatoperation mongers wanted it to give and there is need on both sides tobeware of these elements and forces. That conspiracies were being hatchedagainst peace process became evident immediately after announcementof the APC decision on the issue when Armed Forces’ personnel weretargeted and suicide attacks carried out in Peshawar. At that time too,reports indicated that these were carried out by those who wanted to spoilthe atmosphere for talks but the wiser course was adopted by theGovernment, as it kept its cool and instead of getting provoked continuedto pursue its efforts for establishing contacts with the TTP. Disappointedby the firm stance and policy of the Government, which had backing ofthe political leadership as well as the Armed Forces, the conspiratorseliminated Hakimullah Mehsud on the eve of formal initiation of the peaceprocess with the clear objective of disrupting the process and it appearstheir scheme of things is succeeding as TTP is falling in their trap byissuing negative statements and vowing to avenge killing of its leader. IfTTP persists with its present stance then there are apprehensions that therewould be pressure on the Government to go for operation, which wouldbe highly unfortunate. We believe there is need for tolerance and maturityon both sides and the peace process should be taken forward in the spiritof foiling designs of enemy and bringing bloodshed to an end.

US’s unacceptabledrone explanation

WHILE political leaders and people at large are up in arms againstthe US drone strike that killed banned TTP Chief Hakimullah

Mehsud sabotaging the peace process, the United States has come outwith an unacceptable explanation that the process of talks with Talibanwas an internal matter of Pakistan. The State department convenientlyforgot that drone strikes constituted violation of sovereignty, humanitar-ian laws and are attack on Pakistan.

Pakistan has been raising its concern over the drone strikes with theUS Administration and at the United Nations. The Prime Minister duringhis recent visit to the US had raised the issue with President Obama and itwas expected that the US which claims that the two countries share stra-tegic interest in ending extremist violence, would agree to Pakistan’s viewpoint. Instead of backing Pakistan, the drone strike killed the peace pro-cess as the banned organisation has opted out of talks. The death of Talibancommander is feared to spark a severe backlash, with the terrorists carry-ing out suicide attacks across country. There is tremendous pressure onthe Government that it should get out of the war on terror and stop allsorts of cooperation including stoppage of NATO supplies. Pakistan hadinvested months of work in initiating peace talks with TTP but the dronestrike killed the prospects of peace. Politically the drone attack resultingin the death of Mehsud has become an anti American rallying cry in Paki-stan and there is an across the board consensus that the US does not wantpeace in Pakistan and was using the country for its own objectives. In factGovernments and people around the world have started worrying abouthow the US uses its power, in particular its military power in interna-tional affairs. There remains a widespread perception that the U.S. actsunilaterally and does not consider the interests of other countries. In thegiven situation while Pakistan government would certainly review itspolicy towards the US, it would be advisable for those at the Capitol Hillto give serious consideration to the concerns of friendly countries whererating of American policies is declining significantly.

OIC should do morefor Myanmar MuslimsTHE Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has decided to send a

fact-finding mission to Myanmar to take stock of the human rightssituation there. The mission is likely to visit Myanmar in mid-Novemberto have a field assessment of the situation of the minority RohingyaMuslims, who are reeling under oppression by the majority Buddhistcommunity.

The fate and success of the mission depends on full access andcooperation by the Burmese authorities but still one hopes the outcomewill somehow contribute towards easing plight of the Rohingya, whoare facing worst kinds of atrocities at the hands of Rakhine Buddhistmajority for the last one and a half year. In fact, the OIC, being custodianof the causes of the Muslims, should have acted much earlier butregrettably it seems the organization is working in a bureaucratic style.There are seemingly endless waves of threats, violence and torture ofRohingya Muslims who are being considered unwanted and unrecognisedin state where they were born and lived. The Rohingyas are the weakestminority in Asia. They have been deprived of their citizenship rights,have no right to education, health care or employment and are not allowedto own land. The attitude of the Myanmar Government is highlydiscriminative, reminiscent of apartheid in South Africa or segregationin the southern USA. Apart from killings, rape, torture, hunger,massacres, it is also an issue of identity for Rohingyas and therefore,mere fact-finding mission would not suffice. OIC should coordinatewith other organizations and rights groups to raise voice for politicaland economic rights of Rohingyas so that their miseries come to an end.

Violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty

A cynic is a manwho knows the priceof everything andthe value of nothing.

Insultingdroneattack

THE CIA made a grave mistake by using a drone to killthe leader of the Pakistani

Taliban, Hakimullah Mehsud, justas attempts to hold peace talks be-tween the militants and the Paki-stani government began last week.The Pakistani government was out-spoken in its anger, and InteriorMinister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khansummed up government anger atthe wrecking of the possible peacetalks when he said: “This is not justthe killing of one person, it is thedeath of all peace efforts”.

No one should supportHakimullah’s violent and terroristagenda, and any criticism of thedrone attack should not be inter-preted as support for the PakistaniTaliban who have done untold dam-age to Pakistan. Their backwardand negative mission has succeededin destablising the country to a dan-gerous level, and the failure of thePakistani forces to defeat the Paki-stani Taliban has been a major prob-lem for the government. Nonethe-less, the American drone attacks onTaliban and others remain a signifi-cant problem. The lack of legal andmilitary control over these ongo-ing attacks is doing more politicaldamage than the short term gainsof the assassinations that they suc-ceed in delivering. It is wrong thatAmerican forces can operate theirown independent operations fromthe comfort of the air bases wherethey are sequestered, and rangewidely over Pakistan and Afghani-stan, delivering death and destruc-tion as they wish. This latest attackwas carried out in disregard for thepolitical realities in Pakistan as theenfeebled government seeks tomake its peace with the PakistaniTaliban. Either Americans manningthe drones were ignorant of talks,or they were deliberately trying towreck them. Neither possibility isremotely acceptable between twostates who both say they are allies.

It is clear that the Americanmilitary has its own priorities, anddoes not share them with their al-lies in Islamabad. The drone attacksare a gross infringement of Paki-stani sovereignty, which are par-ticularly insulting just days afterPakistan’s Prime Minister NawazSharif has come back from meet-ing the Americans in Washington.— Gulf News

*****

Re-engagingMiddle East

JOHN Kerry’s whirlwind tourof the Middle East and NorthAfrica is without a specific

agenda. But he will have much onhis plate as he is debriefed in theArab capitals on the simmeringground realities. The fact that theSyrian civil war is unchecked andmany of the states impacted by theupheavals of the Arab Spring arefar from having settled down cre-ates lots of tough talking points forthe Vietnam veteran. The UnitedStates’ role in the region, especiallywith reference to its bias towardsIsrael, will also be a strong pointof discord in Saudi Arabia, Jordanand Egypt. He is also likely to visitAlgeria, Morocco and the UnitedArab Emirates. It is not knownwhether he will travel to Turkey buthis stopovers in Jerusalem and TelAviv will be of utmost importance.

Kerry will also have a toughtime in Riyadh as he tries to ex-plain to the Saudis why Washing-ton backtracked from its earlierpolicy of going for strikes againstDamascus. It remains to be seenwhether America’s top diplomat isable to allay Saudi Arabia’s reser-vations on America’s inconsistentapproach towards the Muslimworld and persuade it to accept aseat at the UN Security Councilearly next year. Last but not theleast, Kerry will have to mendfences with Cairo. The somersaultthat the US took vis-a-vis its rela-tions with Egypt since the eruptionof Arab Spring and the ouster ofHosni Mubarak has strained rela-tions with the North African repub-lic. What is needed from Kerry is aclear-cut approach. It’s high timehe does away with the sense of am-biguity in US relations with its stra-tegic partners in the Middle East.— Khaleej Times

MEDIA WATCH

THE debate is raging in themedia after the recent droneattack that killed head of the

TTP Hakimullah Mehsud, and im-pression is being conveyed by somepoliticos and analysts that the TTPwas ready for holding talks with thegovernment. But this is not true.Whether Hakimullah Mehsud wasevil incarnate or someone willingto accept the writ of the state is notthe point here. It is imperative thatboth the US and the TTP should becondemned in the strongest pos-sible terms for their crimes and vileactivities, and neither the US northe TTP should be allowed totrample Pakistan’s sovereignty.

Pakistan government, all politi-cal parties, religious parties, and infact the entire nation have con-demned the recent drone attack thatkilled head of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). On thewhole drones’ attacks have beencounter-productive for one thatPakistan’s sovereignty is violatedand secondly when Pakistan lookshelpless, this emboldens the mili-tants, as it gives an impression ofweakness of the government as wellas armed forces. International com-munity starts believing that Paki-stan government and its armedforces are not capable of control-ling the menace of terrorism.

In keeping with desire and as-pirations of the people, Pakistan’s

political; military and in-telligence leaderships areon the same page so faras non-acceptance ofdrone strikes is con-cerned. Whether talkingto the TTP is a good ideaor not is not the issuehere. There is a littleroom for discussion with

a terrorist organization that haskilled thousands of Pakistani citizensand espouses a violent and sectar-ian ideology. People of Pakistanhave suffered at the hands of terror-ists, and they want that the govern-ment should be deal with an ironhand. However, if the governmentcould bring peace through negotia-tions, it was worth trying. At thesame time, for it to be effective, thedecisions about the ‘when’ and‘how’ of such a crackdown must betaken by the government of Paki-stan in close consultation with thesecurity establishment. It can’t beleft to the whims of a other coun-tries albeit a super power. It is truethat the government has been slug-gish and inept at devising a com-prehensive counter-terrorismpolicy. It has so far appeared to haveespoused expectations of US aid forovercoming economic crisis, whichproved a hoax in the past.

For months it seemed in a stateof paralysis. And when it finallymoved, it convened yet another AllParties Conference to garner for it-self the crutches of national consen-sus and a license for talks. Even af-ter that, there was more talk abouttalks rather than any real movementin that direction. Pakistan is facinga dilemma. If the government doesnot take stern action against militantsthat pose a threat to the US andNATO forces in Afghanistan, the

latter tend to violate of Pakistan’ssovereignty. On the other hand, if theTTP leadership does not showcaseits intent to hold talks to bring peacein the country, or the governmentprocrastinates due to one reason oranother, the militants get breathingspace to reorganize. After beingdecimated in Swat and Malakand,Pakistani Taliban reorganized andcame back with full force. Anyhow,Hakimullah Mehsud was reportedlyat his headquarters in NorthWaziristan to attend a gathering of25 Taliban leaders to discuss thegovernment’s offer of talks. FederalInterior Minister Chaudhry NisarAli Khan termed the US dronestrike that killed the TTP com-mander as an attempt to sabotagethe government’s plan to hold talkswith the TTP.

The fact remained that the TTPhad issued a list of preconditions in-cluding the release of all its membersheld in Pakistani jails and the with-drawal of troops from the tribal ar-eas along the Afghan border, wherethe militants have hideouts. On Fri-day, before the drone attack that killedHakimullah Mehsud, TTP spokes-man had reiterated these demands andsaid the government must fulfill themto prove they are serious about talks.As the TTP militants continued theirattacks on military and civilians, yetsome political and religious partieshave been pressurizing the govern-ment that it should enter into dialoguewith the militants. The TTP’s spokes-man is on record having said that theTTP never made an offer for talks.The TTP seems to be changinggoalposts, and also try to create con-fusion by denying its involvement inone incident while owning the other.However, All Parties Conference hadpassed a resolution that dialogue with

Desert Nightingale leaves us

LEGENDS in a land are notborn every day, they come,they live among us, they cre-

ate a presence in a forte, they re-main uncontroversial in their field,quietly and steadily make theirmark and one day leave us for theirfinal abode. Such legends demandnothing but love of their people.Sensitive by nature, these legendsnever hurt anyone, in fact they liveand become an honor for theirpeople & country of birth. Theymake history peacefully, theyspread harmony among people andwhen they leave they create a greatvoid which can never be filled ever.Such was our singing Nightingaleof the Desert Reshma jee, she con-quered hearts, and she spread hu-manity, all in such a subtle way thatit can be described as a non-paral-lel work of human art in diplomacy.

Throat Cancer takes away thelegend Reshma jee; Renowned Pa-kistani folk singer, a maestro ofFolk Genre, who died in LahoreSunday morning after a long suf-fering, battling it. She was diag-nosed with throat cancer in the1980s, in later years her health de-teriorated, which was realized bythen President Pervez Musharraf tocome to her aid, giving her one mil-lion Rupees to help pay off a bankloan, as well as putting her on a se-cured assistance of 10,000 rupeesper month. He also helped her se-cure a plot of land for herself, a se-curity she much needed but that didnot go through due to the change ingovernment. Her health deterio-rated to such an extent that she washospitalised in Lahore, Pakistan inDoctors Hospital on 6th April 2013.

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—Oscar WildeBritish dramatist

the militants was the first option tobring peace to the country. Despitethat overture, Major GeneralSanaullah Niazi, Lt. Col. Tauseefand soldier Irfan were killed in aroadside bomb attack in Upper Dirdistrict after they were returningfrom visiting forward posts alongthe Afghan border. Tehrik-e-TalibanPakistan had claimed the responsi-bility for the attack.

Some political and religiousfigures often justify militants’ vileactivities on grounds patently spu-rious. It is now for the civilian andmilitary leadership to think out astrategy, which indeed they shouldhave done long time ago, but ap-parently have not done so far. Ex-tremism has indeed become the big-gest internal threat to the country;rather it has turned into a dreadfulthreat to its very existence. The per-petrators of terrorism are layingclaims to religious motivation, al-beit very dubiously. The way theydestroyed schools, shrines and at-tacked mosques and worshippersknocks the bottom of their pretenseof being practicing Muslims. Thesophisticated weaponry militantspossess and use; the fighting exper-tise they display and unlimitedfunds they have go to prove thatthey are not religiously motivatedbut the proxies of certain alien pow-ers. Unfortunately, our past andpresent governments have beenhesitant to name the countries thatsupport the militants. As statedabove, the government has beenprocrastinating in holding talks ei-ther due to its ineptness or strategyof the TTP to gain time and to re-organize. The government shouldstart telling the truth.—The writer is Lahore-basedsenior journalist.

The Caretaker Government at thetime paid all her medical expenses.Reshma jee fell into a Coma onOctober 2013 and breathed her laston 3rd November 2013. Her loss: Atremendous one! For everyone whoever heard her voice singing, andfamily. May she rest inPeace….ameen

Born in village Loha, TehsilRatangarh district Churu nearBikaner in India’sRajasthan state to aBanjara familyaround 1947,her fa-ther Haji Mushtaqwas a camel andhorse trader fromMalashi. She be-longed to a tribewhich had con-verted to Islam. Hertribe migrated toKarachi shortly af-ter the Partition ofIndia, when shewas just one monthold. She did not re-ceive any formaleducation and spentmuch of her child-hood singing at themazars (shrines) ofthe mystic saints ofSindh.

When she wastwelve years old,she was spotted singing at ShahbaazQalandar’s shrine by a televisionand radio producer, who arrangedfor her to make a recording of “LaalMeri” on Pakistan radio. She be-came an instant hit and since thatday, Reshma jee had been one of themost popular folk singers of Paki-stan, appearing on television in the1960s, recording songs for both thePakistani and Indian film industry,and performing at home and abroad.Some of her famous numbers are

“Dama Dam Mast Kalandar”, “HaiO Rabba nahion lagda dil mera”,“Sun charkhe di mithi mithi cookmahiya meinu yaad aunda”, “Weymain chori chori”, “Ankhiyan norehen de ankhyan de kol kol”.

The last was used by Raj Kapoorin Bobby, “Ankhyon ko rehne deankhyon ke aas pass”, sung by Lata.Her fame had crossed the border,thanks to pirated tapes. She was able

to perform live inIndia much later,during the 1980swhen India and Pa-kistan allowed ex-change of artists.Subhash Ghai usedher voice to greateffect in the filmHero, which fea-tured one of hermost famoussongs, “LambiJudai”.

During her ca-reer as a profes-sional singer thatwas welcome bothin India, Pakistanand abroad, she wasinvited by IndianPrime MinisterMrs. Indira Gandhito meet. Rehma jeeloved going tomazars, where sev-

eral of her pirs (holy men) reside. Shehad been visiting Pir MushtaqHussain, Pir Shafqat Hussain inOkara for the last twenty-five years.She also often visited the mazar ofShahbaz Qallander. She once said inan interview, “I was born in a familyof saudagars in Rajasthan in a smallsettlement called Bikaner. I don’tknow the year I was born but I wastold that I was brought to Pakistanwhen I was a few months old in 1947.My family would take camels from

Bikaner and sell them in other ar-eas, and bring back goats and cowsfrom elsewhere to sell at home. Ibelong to a huge clan of gypsies. Wewere forever travelling around.Though a lot of us have now settledand taken up permanent residencesin Lahore and Karachi, whenever wefeel restless we pack our bags andmove on.”

In October 2002, Reshma per-formed at the Brunei Gallery inLondon to a packed fall of Paki-stani expatriates her daughterKhadija and Umayr also performedthere along with her. In 2004, sherecorded “Ashkan Di Gali VichMukaam De Gaya”, which wasused in the Bollywood film WohTera Naam Tha, and was also a hitrecord in India. In January 2006,she was one of the passengers onthe inaugural Lahore-Amritsar bus,the first such service linking bothparts of the Punjab since 1947. Thebus had 26 passengers in total ofwhich 15 were Pakistani officials,and Reshma jee had booked sevenseats for herself and her family.

Her last residence was in thearea of Icchra in Lahore Pakistan.She was a strict vegetarian, and pre-ferred having simple food. For herservices to the field of Music, Gov-ernment of Pakistan awarded herSitara-e-Imtiaz, the third highesthonor and civilian award in theState of Pakistan. It recognizes in-dividuals who have made an “es-pecially meritorious contribution tothe security or national interests ofPakistan, world peace, cultural orother significant public endeavors.Reshma jee was awarded severalother national awards and she dis-tinctly holds the prestigious ‘Leg-ends of Pakistan’ award given bythe President of Pakistan.—The writer is Lahore-basedfreelance columnist.

Mohammad JamilEmail: mjamil1938@hotmail.com

News & ViewsNews & ViewsNews & ViewsNews & ViewsNews & Views

Ayesha Zee KhanEmail:ayeshazeekhan@live.com

Such legendsdemand nothingbut love of their

people. Sensitive bynature, these

legends never hurtanyone, in fact theylive and become an

honor for theirpeople & country of

birth. They makehistory peacefully,

they spreadharmony amongpeople and whenthey leave they

create a great voidwhich can never be

filled ever.

Voice of the PeopleMurder ofTTP leader

MUHAMMAD RIZWAN AFTAB

Leader of TTP HakeemullahMehsud was killed by the US droneattack, On 31st October - the daybefore when the Government wason its way to open formal peace dia-logue with Taliban. The InteriorMinister revealed that the strike justcame hour before a JUI(F) lead del-egation was supposed to travel andcommence peace talks withTaliban. US demand that they arebiggest well wisher of Pakistan butafter this attack US has shown thatthey are not the well wisher of Pa-kistan and they don’t want peacein our country; US has in fact sabo-taged the peace in region.

Chaudhry Nisar concludes inhis statement that it is not like anattack on an individual, it is an at-tack on our peace efforts. As a Pa-kistani, I request my Governmentand higher authorities that theyshould launch an effective concernwith US ambassador and register aclear protest against US dronestrike and also our Prime Ministershould demand to stop drone at-tacks immediately. Hence it may beconcluded that US is not a friendor well wisher of Pakistan, theydon’t want peace in this region.—Karachi

Lal Masjid: Makingterrorists heroes

ALYA ALVI MEHR

WE all know what happened at LalMasjid. But a very sinister effort isbeing made to distort the truth andto mislead the people. It is, there-fore, necessary to remind people ofthe truth. People forget and the me-dia finds it convenient to brain-wash. Many of us are eyewitnessto the Lal Masjid episode. Here isan eyewitness account by NadeemAbbas, a resident living in G-6/3sector near the mosque. An elegantJamia mosque, with a low ironfencing, became an armed fortresswith high walls and pickets occu-pied by well-armed and trainedmilitants and criminals from out-side and where nobody could go forprayers.

A beautiful Government-owned children’s library was ille-gally occupied to construct theJamia Hafsa with basement and gunpickets. All was done with a sinis-ter plan. I also had the personal dis-pleasure of meeting Abdul Aziz andhis brother Abdul Rashid on sev-eral occasions who worked for myuncle in UNESCO in his office.This transformation from a simplemosque to a terrorists’ hub tookplace in a period of two-and-a-halfyears with the patronage and con-nivance of rogue elements andsympathizers in the Government,administration, the politicians andthe CDA.

The people and residents aroundwere fed up with their activities,harassment, insecurity and theirways. They had been complainingfor more than a year before the op-eration was conducted. The localICT administration, with the police,launched four campaigns in this pe-riod to get possession of thechildren’s library, demolished ille-gal structures and the fortified wallbut to no avail. In the last one theywere beaten up, gunfire was ex-changed and a few Government of-ficials from the local administrationwere taken hostage as well.

After that, the incidents ofneighborhood witch-hunt, beatingand kidnapping of the residents inthe Lal Quarter area started. Thepeople came out on the streets andmedia started a campaign about theGovernment’s inefficiency and in-action against this ‘state withinstate’. Several attempts were madefor talks by various people but allfailed. It was beyond the capacityof local police and the administra-tion. The civil administration for-mally requested for the help of theArmed Forces. This lasted a monthbefore the operation was under-taken and the place surrounded andsealed. In the operation on thefourth day, almost all children fromJamia Hafsa were evacuated inwhich Abdul Aziz was captured try-ing to get away with his family in aburka (veil). Everybody is a wit-ness to it.

No children were massacred asclaimed and the final gun battle wasbetween the armed militants andthe security forces. The place wasfinally cleared and the rest is his-tory. Later Malik Riaz rebuilt thedestroyed buildings and renovatedthe mosque, and the people of thearea took a sigh of relief. Thepeople once again started prayingin the mosque. Interestingly, themedia, which was pressurizing theGovernment to take action, prais-ing it for doing it afterwards, tooka U-turn and started criticizing the

Reshman ‘broke silence of desert’MARYA MUFTY

Legendary folk singer Reshman passed away on Sunday. “Hai ORabba nahion lagda dil mera” has gone on “Lambi Judai”.

Farzana Versey rightly commented while tweeting on her death “shebroke the silence of the desert. A voice so wounded, her pain becamethe song”. Not only is it true in literal terms, but it actually hap-pened; her throat cancer was the proof. She was the most popularfolk singer of Pakistan. She was from Rajasthan’s Banjara family.Though her family migrated to Karachi shortly after the Partitionbut her voice fetched the listeners back to the deserts in Rajasthanand even the banjaras. No Director or Producer making tele-dramaon desert life missed background voice of Reshman. She got therecognition and awards too, yet the Government did not do what itcould do in a befitting manner. But this has happened with alllegendaries in Pakistan. May Allah rest her soul in eternal peace.—Lahore

How US got Taliban target No 1

FOR years, Hakimullah Mehsud,the long-haired leader of the Pakistan Taliban, took all possible

precautions. He seldom spent morethan more than six hours in any onespot, shuttling between a string of safehouses through Pakistan’s lawlesstribal region. But as negotiations withthe Pakistan government loomed, itseems one of the world’s most wantedmen made a fatal mistake - he relaxed,assuming that upcoming peace talksmeant he was safe, and lingered athis new house.

It was just long enough for oneof the US drones that constantly lin-ger above the tribal region’s moun-tainous skyline to find its mark -fir-ing two missiles into Mehsud’s 4x4as it pulled inside the gate of his homeon Friday. “He was at a meeting at anearby mosque to discuss the nego-tiations,” a Pakistani security sourcebriefed on the killing told The Sun-day Telegraph. “He was killed as hegot back to his house, probably justas he was getting out of his car, in-side the walls of the compound.”

But while it may have proved amoment of quiet triumph for theCIA’s controversial droneprogramme, reaction this weekendwas rather different in Pakistan.Government summoned the US am-bassador, Richard Olson, to lodge aformal protest over the attack, whichit said it would wreck peace talksinitiated by Pakistan’s new PMNawaz Sharif.

But the official rhetoric did notstop speculation that the Pakistani

Government may have given the op-eration its blessing all along, and pos-sibly even fed the US the intelligenceas to Mehsud’s whereabouts. Mehsuddied less than a month after givingan interview to the BBC in which hehad said he was prepared to enterpeace talks with Pakistan if the USstopped its use of drones. But manyanalysts saw his overtures as littlemore than posturing, describing himas an implacable hardliner who wasa hindrance rather than a help to anyfuture negotiations. Pakistan and theUS may have had good reason forwanting him dead.

Meanwhile, details pieced to-gether from a range of militantsources and locals in Danda DarpaKhel, the village where Mehsud wasliving, gave an insight into how hehad met his end. A cluster of mud-brick homes, the village lies just out-side the town of Miranshah, the capi-tal of the North Waziristan region onthe Afghan border. While the Paki-stani military has a base and airstripwithin light machine gun range of thevillage, effectively its writ does notrun in the area.

Visitors said Mehsud’s house wasbuilt in a simple style, the sort of thingbefitting an ascetic Islamist leader. Ithas four rooms and a spacious guestwing, suitable for entertaining visit-ing commanders or mullahs. “Hemoved every night,” said a business-man from the region, speaking oncondition of anonymity for fear ofTaliban retribution. “But at the sametime, everyone knew which one washis house. It’s not the sort of placewhere that sort of thing stays secret.”

The village and the surroundingarea are controlled by the Pakistani

Views From Abroad

Taliban, who run it as part of theirown mini-state, where arms are freelytraded, and sharia law is dispatchedin brutal fashion. Western hostagesare occasionally kept in safe houseshere, beyond the reach of the authori-ties. The Pakistani Government does,however, maintain a spy network inthe region, and it is thought that oneof their agents may have provided thevital tip as to Mehsud’s whereabouts.While it could have come from a CIAasset, the agency’s networks havebeen badly depleted in recent yearsas the Pakistani Government be-comes increasingly uneasy about be-ing seen to co-operate with the US.

Whoever provided the informa-tion, it would then most likely havebeen passed to an operations roomthousands of miles away in the west-ern US state of Nevada, from whereAmerica carries out its drone strikesby remote control. In an air condi-tioned room filled with banks of com-puter screens, a US operative wouldhave stared at satellite images ofWaziristan relayed by an armed MQ-1 Predator drone flying at up to25,000 feet.

The Predator possesses an all-seeing sensor ball composed of threecameras with laser targeting and ra-dar sensors. A continuous flow of im-ages is fed through a satellite link tothe team running the operation to con-firm the target is in sight. AsMehsud’s convoy pulled away froma mosque where the Taliban leader’slocation had been confirmed, the im-ages on the screen would have beenso sharp that the operator could hadread the cars’ number plates. Whilethe Predator circled at lowest speed -around 80mph - the order “missile off

Rob Crilly

DISCLAIMER

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

the rail” would have been given, andtwo Hellfire missiles despatched.

Either way, though, Mehsud’sdeath is vindication for the ruthlesscost-benefit analysis of the CIA,which measures success in livestaken versus lives saved. “This is aserious blow to the PakistaniTaliban which may spark internalfractures in the movement,” saidBruce Riedel, a former CIA officerand adviser to the Obama adminis-tration who helped develop thedrone campaign.

Pakistan has always condemnedthe strikes, complaining that they area breach of sovereignty. However, aseries of leaks suggest the govern-ment and military has long givenconsent to the missile attacks andhave even asked for specific targetsto be hit. The latest strike may wellhave even been part of an Islamabad-approved strategy to bomb the Pa-kistani Taliban to the negotiatingtable, according to Shaukat Qadir, aretired army officer who now worksas a military analyst. “HakimullahMehsud was an impediment topeace talks,” said Shaukat Qadir aretired military officer who nowworks as an analyst. “Whatever thegovernment says now, this will helppush the Pakistan Taliban towardsnegotiations.”

Meanwhile, the Taliban has leftno doubt that in the short term, therewill be more violence. “Every dropof Hakimullah’s blood will turn intoa suicide bomber,” said Azam Tariq,a Pakistani Taliban spokesman.“America and their friends shouldn’tbe happy because we will take re-venge for our martyr’s blood.”— Courtesy: The Telegraph

NSA scandal draws global outrage

EDWARD Snowden and GlennGreenwald are blamed formuch of the uproar coming out

of the disclosures of secretive Ameri-can spying networks, yet, both aretaken seriously by the global com-munity and appear to have earnedmoral and intellectual credibility asresponsible citizens of the globalmankind. President Obama and oth-ers need to work hard to earn respect,not claim it. In the 21st centuryknowledge-based rational culture ofglobal thinking and relationshipsmost nations have one image, oneface to be recognized with in inter-national affairs, but America hasmany and conflicting ones unknownto the informed global community.

Its policies and practices havegenerated worldwide reactionscoupled with resentment and interwo-ven emotions of fear and hatred. Itsmost reliable allies and ethnicallytrusted friends are questioning its sin-cerity and intents of collaborative re-lationships. America’s individualis-tic absolute rulers and politicians arenot deterred but appear out of touchto defend their conspired onslaughton friendly European and other na-tions by ongoing illegal spying net-works conducted by NSA, NationalSecurity Agency under scrutiny.

Top-notch American politiciansare hiding behind shadowy trail of ir-rational opinions and fake threats ofpost 9/11 security and global terror-ism as if these were the real stakesfor the American political lifelines.Opinions are individuals, not the factsof politics, and unfolding facts of thespying scandals appear convincing toall rational observers. Across the po-litical Pandora box, nobody seems toknow where the problem lies, be itthe President of the US or the activi-ties of the embittered NSA claimingto be protecting the security of theUS and its people. There are mul-tiple willing suspicion of the un-known, at least in images to respond

to the global calls for change and ac-countability of these nasty adventuresof intrigues and wickedness againstits own loyal and committed friends.

The known facts disclosed byformer NSA worker Edward Snowdenand reputable international reporterGlen Greenwald (Guardian, London)clearly warrant an open dialogue as towhy the US and its national intelli-gence agencies are engaged in suchdirty work which were the hallmarkof the former East German Staci andRussian KGB. In all of the Westernliberal democracies, intelligence appa-ratus hold most secretive powers toconduct business and unchallengeableinfluential hub to manage the officialpolicies and practices. To ordinaryAmerican folks, it overshadows theknowledge-based societal claim andimage that America is a free nation andthat American political identity is de-fined by its deep historical roots offreedom, liberty and justice. IsAmerica really a free nation? Sincewhen the human slavery ended to besubservient to the ruling Masters? Theinstitutionalized system of institutionsand governance seem to have outlivedits scope and usefulness. It is becom-ing increasingly questionable if historyis any more a logical reference pointfor work of contemporary Americanpoliticians.

Overwhelmed with their materi-alistic wealth and political power,American leaders seem to be tooproud to acknowledge of any wrong-doings against themselves and theirbest friends. History speaks loud andclear, often nations and leaders ob-sessed with power and belligerencyagainst others end up in self-annihi-lation by their own designs. Today,America is operating from a positionof weakness, not strength because ofthe warmongering of its military-in-dustrial complex. American policymakers appear to have lost the senseof rational thinking in internationalscene and appear indifferent to theirfollies and oversight against friendsexcept in passing remarks, escapingsketchy irrational overtures and po-litical jokes on the screen. But theprevalent known facts of tangible se-

cretive and planned violations of themutual trust and bonds of globalfriendship do warrant rethinking andgrievances to be heard openly in acourt of public opinions and account-ability. After the recent shutdown ofthe US Government, Americanmasses seem outraged as to why theNSA should conduct spying onfriends and allies. Even PresidentObama failed to offer any rationalanswer or intellectual security to theconcerned citizens. Angela Merkel,the German Chancellor is no strangerto the American people, and she isnot a terrorist either if this is the ab-surd rationale apologetic minds havecome out to console the informed citi-zens of the advanced American po-litical culture.

The ongoing revelations by Ed-ward Snowden have created a cultureof anti-American feelings and emo-tional outburst to challenge theAmerican superpower stance. TheUS agencies are alleged to have spiednot just on Chancellor Merkel and herpersonal life, French President, UNChief, Spain, Mexican leaders but onmillions of North American people,on visible racial and ethnic minori-ties, citizens of France, Brazil, Spain,Mexico and so on. Despite all of this,American masses fear and hate theirpoliticians, not the people of other na-tions. During the Shutdown of theGovernment, according to one of theCNN polls, 86% American disap-prove the working of the Congress.Undeniably, all politics and politi-cians are presumptuous, individual-istic and follow egoistic agenda ofself-centered thoughts and actions. Inelection campaigns, they hire edu-cated and intelligent consultants toadvise them on how to win the elec-tions but not run the governance, ifthey are successful. Once on the realpolitical stage, they are dumb, absurdand heavily opinionated without anyrational support to think intelligentlyand to do the right things for the in-terests of the people who electedthem. Professor P.L Thomas (FurmanUniversity, South Carolina) speaksout loud and clear (“Obama’s FailedHope and Change: “Forget the Poli-

ticians. They are Irrelevant.” SpeakOut: 9/04/2013):

Forget the politicians. They areirrelevant. The politicians are putthere to give you the idea that youhave freedom of choice. You don’t.You have no choice! You have own-ers! They own you. They own every-thing. They own all the importantland. They own and control the cor-porations. They’ve long since bought,and paid for the Senate, the Congress,the state houses, the city halls, theygot the judges in their back pocketsand they own all the big media com-panies, so they control just about allof the news and information you getto hear….They want more for them-selves and less for everybody else, butI’ll tell you what they don’t want:They don’t want a population of citi-zens capable of critical thinking. Theydon’t want well informed, well edu-cated people capable of critical think-ing. They’re not interested in that.That doesn’t help them. That’s againsttheir interests.

Is it possible for PresidentObama and General KeithAlexander, Chief of the NSA tocome out clean to the global com-munity and apologize for their se-cretive misdeeds and evil-monger-ing against their own friends and theglobal community? Would Presi-dent Obama demonstrate courageand conviction that America hasdone wrong and will not repeat thefollies against others? If the leadersof a powerful country like the USare not flexible and intelligentenough to realize the attributes of the21st century effective leadership andbe able to know and manage theirstrengths and weaknesses and makea Navigational Change when factsof life warrant an immediateChange, how could they be able todeal with the futuristic global chal-lenges given a morally, intellectuallyand politically stranded America,disconnected with the rest of the in-formed and civilized world?—The writer specialises in globalsecurity, peace and conflict resolu-tion and is author of several publi-cations.

THOUGH I live at least fivekilometres from the railwaystation and tracks, still on a

clear day, since my house is on ahill, I hear the trains.

I listened to them this morningand then I heard the dreadful sound:A death knell! One long whistle andtwo short blasts! Again, one longand two short!

I knew what grim tidings thosehoot’s brought. Someone, whilecrossing the railway tracks had beenhit by the train and now lay maimed,

mangled and most probably dead.And as soon as those at the stationhear the distressing sound, two help-ers get up wearily and walk casuallyto the blood stained rusted stretcherthat lies near the station masters of-fice, pick it up, and trundle wearilydown the tracks in search of what-ever is left of the iron monsters ruth-less devouring appetite.

I agree it is not the loveliest ofsubjects to write on, but there is anurgency in me to pen these thoughtsespecially after a well known socialworker was run over by a train sometime ago.

A well to do lady, she was thewife of a retired naval officer, whodecided to help a poor friend in thesuburbs by opening a beauty parlourfor her. Every morning as she left for

her destination, her husband calledout, “goodbye dear and don’t crossthe tracks!” She didn’t, till one fate-ful day, and a wonderful woman wastragically butchered. One long andtwo short. I hear and think of wife, oflittle ones waiting for father to returnand then the knock on door or chill-ing telephone call.

“Your husband, madam is dead”I interviewed engine driver once, andsaw genuine anguish in weatherbeaten eyes as he told me that one ofhis most helpless moments is whenhe sees someone on line in front andknows he cannot do a thing.

“Sometimes,” he said. “They areso shaken on seeing the sudden ap-pearance of the train that they standpetrified and stare at my engine. I feellike crying out in fury and frustration.

The death knell..!“Why? Why did you have to usethe tracks?” How often walkingalong the railway platform I seestained sheet covering the body ofvictim. He or she, beloved to thoseat home, now lies unknown andunclaimed. Sometimes the sheet isnot long enough and legs stick out,“See!” they cry, sometimes not inunison, “We tried to save time, butcouldn’t save ourselves..!”

Not a nice piece to write and agruesome one I am sure to read, butsomeday, when you are faced withdecision of crossing those seductiverailway lines, stop in your tracksand use bridge instead and if yourlife is saved because of this piece,then I have not penned these linesin vain..!—Email:bobsbanter@gmail.com

Mahboob A Khwaja Email: kmaboob@yahoo.com

government. How strange. Apartfrom being an eyewitness as I livedthere at that time and it was happen-ing in front of me, I also personallyknew the DC, Chief Commissionerand the IG police to get actual up-dates. Our area was under curfew forthree weeks. The military action wasmore than justified and they werecareful to ensure minimum loss ofhuman life. They did a commend-able job. It is mockery of justice tocharge the then President and theArmy Chief for death of a rebel anda terrorist. Are the memories so shortthat people, including our judiciary,have forgotten the atmosphere offear and terror in Islamabad createdby the armed terrorists clustered upin Lal Masjid.

Our soldiers and Army officerswere martyred by the terrorists in theLal Masjid. Who should be chargedwith martyring our soldiers and of-ficers? The Army should have de-manded trial of Abdul Aziz for thedeath of Army personnel. Are thelives of our military personnelcheaper than those of the extremistswho were responsible for killing ofjawans and officers? Besides PervezMusharraf’s trial, the trial of themosque terrorists must also be heldand the people of the area must bemade party.—Rawalpindi

Smiling PakistanAROOJ SHABBIR

Yesterday, when I woke up, I sawthe bright sun light come through mywindow. It felt good. I took showerand took my breakfast. Normally Itake bus to university but on that dayI was already late so I took a taxi.When I reached university, and askthe taxi driver for fare, he chargedme only Rs 5. First I thought, hemust be joking with me but when Iasked him twice and he replied withthe same answer, I asked him, whyyou charged me only Rs 5? He re-plied! Time has changed. Now ev-erybody can travel around 15 kilometers in just Rs 5. I was so shockedbut happy to hear that. When I en-tered into my class. I was again as-tonished to see and hear that, our oneof class fellow who normally be-haves so rudely, was saying sorry toone of the girl she fought with yes-terday and meet her like a youngersister. I realized, everything is quitechanged today. Everybody was smil-ing and so dedicate towards work. Iwas so happy to see that. After that,during lunch time when we friendsordered one large pizza and a coke,the delivery boy charged Rs 20. Ithought that, he might be at somemistake or giving me some otherperson’s bill. I told him that, I or-dered one large pizza and a coke;give me the bill of that. He told methat, it is your bill Rs 20. I askedhim, is there any promotional saleon your items for today? He replied!No sir! Time has changed. Now ev-erybody can eat one time meal forjust Rs 20. I was again shocked buthappy to hear that.

I went for a walk in a garden inthe evening where I saw childrenplaying with their parents, peoplefrom different sects talking andlaughing with each other. Everybodywas so happy and enjoying their life.I did not understand of why peopleare so happy, so I asked a watch man,what’s happening, how people areshowing so much love and care toeach other and why they are sohappy? He answered me! Time haschanged. Now everyone love andcare about others. Children’s payrespect to their elders and eldersloved their juniors. I was againshocked but happy to hear that.

I went back to home. On myway I saw a café, I decided to take acup of tea. I choose to sit in the cor-ner of the upper portion of the café,from where I was able to see thewhole view of the city. At that mo-ment I thought how things havechanged in one day. I ordered tea,and waiter came with a smile and acup of tea in his hand, I looked athim and next moment waiter slippedand the whole cup of hot tea was onme. I shouted with pain and sud-denly realized that I was dreamingand found myself in a dhabaa wherepoor and middle class peoples sit andeat, and when I asked for the bill

from the owner of the dhabaa. Hecharged me Rs 25 for a single cupof tea. I told him, I only take a singlecup of tea and this is a dhabaa not afive star hotel. He replied me that,Time has changed. Now you onlydrink a glass of water in 15 Rs. I wasagain shocked but this time, I wasnot happy. A Pakistan, where noth-ing is changed but only the big facesin politics have changed.

I saw the dream and believe, thiscould happen one day. I want to seethis change in my life. So I decidedto step forward and take a part inpolitics for change, a change forgood. What you want to do, that’syour decision but make sure that, ifwe could not take this initial step,then nobody can change our future.Think about that!—Rawalpindi

Sabotaging thepeace processMALIK ATIF MAHMOOD

Head of TTP got killed in a droneattack. American drone attacks haveclaimed the lives of TTP heads inthe past on some very critical mo-ments of history of relations betweenTTP and Government of Pakistan.PML-N government had evolved anational consensus over holdingtalks with Taliban to restore peacein the country. The peace process,though in clandestine, was movingforward, both sides were in a pro-cess to create s sort of space to ac-commodate each other’s demands.Drone attacks have always been athorny issue in the Pak US relations.There are conflicting reports ondrone attacks. Some internationalhuman rights organizations haveopenly termed such attacks as ille-gal and inhuman. Government’sstance on drone attacks is extremelyconfusing. High officials on the onehand call upon Americans to stop theattacks and on the other hand pro-vide statistical evidence that theseattacks are actually serving the in-terests of Pakistan.

The situation is so perplexingthat it has divided public opinion inthe country. Americans have repeat-edly stated that the attacks actuallyare carried out with the approval ofPakistani authorities. Sanctimo-niousness of Pakistani authorities isa major hurdle in finding a perma-nent solution to the problem. Thefact was recently admitted by thePrime Minister in his recent visit tothe US in which he loudly admittedinternal problems as major issue ofPakistan. Internally stable countriesusually perform better on foreignpolicy front. The attack has also in-dicated that there might be a levelof misunderstanding between thepolitical government and establish-ment. Pakistan’s reliance on exter-nal resources is yet another reasonthat it cannot take a strong stance inrelations with US.

Post Hakimullah scenario couldbe marred by violence like in thepast. People of Pakistan are payingvery heavy price for this clash ofinterests between warring parties.Heavy loses in terms of life andproperties have extensively dam-aged the fabric of Pakistani society.It is hard to predict the future of talksbetween Government of Pakistanand Taliban but one thing is clear thatthere is lot more to it than what ac-tually meets our eyes. Pakistan hassuffered very heavily in the last de-cade owing to unclear foreign policy,now is the time that the show mustbe run by the elected representativesof the people and should drive Paki-stan out of this quagmire. The taskis hard but not harder than the re-solve of Pakistani nation.—Melbourne, Australia

SAMER ABBOUD

A political agreementthat initiates somesort of transition pro-

cess is one of the few waysout of the Syrian impasse ar-gues Samer Abboud.

As the Syrian conflict ap-proaches its third year, thereare no signs that the violenceand humanitarian catastropheare abating. In fact, the oppo-site is true. All indications arethat the loss of life and thenumber of displaced are in-creasing rapidly.

This is, no doubt, largelyattributable to the increase inviolence brought about bythe proliferation and spread ofarmed groups, as well as thecumulative socio-economic

effects of conflict that are driv-ing families and communitiesinto even further despair. Thebattlefield dynamics are suchthat both the regime and rebelforces are becoming more en-trenched and committed to mili-tary conflict, despite the obvi-ous fact that “victory” by anyside, if one can call it that, isunlikely to come about anytimesoon. There is very little thatanyone can agree on in regardsto Syria and the trajectory ofthe conflict, except, perhaps,that the situation has reacheda stalemate.

The dynamics driving thisstalemate are complex. Thecontinued fragmentation of theopposition is certainly a con-tributing factor. To now - or everfor that matter - speak of a Syr-

ian opposition in the singularis not only misguiding, it is sim-ply untrue. The inability of theopposition to affect politicalchange has paralleled the spec-tacular rise of new groups thatare wholly outside of the op-position framework, and whohave only contributed to fur-thering the violence through-out the country.

Today, a substantial por-tion of that violence is increas-ingly occurring between rebelgroups in what amounts to turfwars. As fragmentation andrebel in-fighting comes tocharacterise anti-regime forces,the regime itself has shown re-markable strategic adaptabilityand has benefitted tremen-dously from the consistent po-litical, military, and economic

support of its key allies. But theregime’s resilience and controlis illusory and its ability to gov-ern in the political or proceduralsense is completely lost. Un-der such conditions, a politicalagreement that initiates somesort of transition process is oneof the few ways out of the Syr-ian impasse. It is also, one ofthe more unlikely possibilitiesunder these conditions.

One area of agreement be-tween parties to the Syrian con-flict is that a political solution ispreferred over a military one toend the conflict. Most every-one agrees that a political pro-cess is needed. But, it is herethat the agreements end. Deepdivisions that exist around theparameters of negotiations, notto mention the rejection of the

Geneva process by groups onthe ground, have seeminglytorpedoed the process beforeit even began.

Overlooked by the focuson resolving these issues arethe more pedestrian goals ofthose committed to theGeneva process to simply getthe interested parties to sit to-gether in a room. From thisperspective, deciding whogets to negotiate over what isless important then simplygetting people across a tablefrom one another. So far, therehas been very little successin doing so, and there is noth-ing to suggest that this willchange in the near future. Themain opposition group, theSyrian Opposition Coalition(SOC), will not attend unless

the end goal of the process isa transitional government,and many groups within Syriahave altogether rejected thepotential of the Geneva pro-cess. Meanwhile, regime offi-cials have rejected any pre-conditions for talks. The stale-mate continues. It seems thatthe interested parties are notactually interested in givingpeace a chance. Nor are theyinterested in even getting intoa room together.

The current state of theGeneva process is giving wara chance to solve the conflict.This is not to suggest that warwill eventually lead to peace,nor is to suggest, as othershave, that this is a desirableevolution of the Syrian crisis.Rather, this is the logical out-

Can the Geneva-II process end the Syrian impasse?

Polio: New frontopens for Syrians

ON top of all the human misery inflicted upon thepeople of Syria by civil war, now comes the poliovirus. The disease, which can lead to irreversible pa-

ralysis and death and mostly strikes children 5 and younger,can be spread in situations with poor hygiene and sanita-tion. The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed10 cases of wild poliovirus in samples taken from Deir Al-Zour province in northeastern Syria.

This is the scourge of war. Most of the polio cases arechildren 2 or younger, born and infected in the years inwhich Syria has been ravaged by violent conflict. The esti-mated polio immunization rate in Syria was 91 percent in2010, but it fell to only 68 percent in 2012. The outbreak is asign of what happens when health care systems collapse.Most ominous, about half a million Syrian children havenot been immunized.

Vaccination is the most critical tool in the battle againstpolio, and a large-scale effort is being mounted to reach theunvaccinated children.

Still, the World Health Organization has warned thatthe risk of further spread in the region is high, given thewar, tides of refugees fleeing battle zones and big gaps inimmunity. Efforts are being intensified to immunize childrenin Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Turkey, Israel and Egypt.

Elsewhere, impressive progress has been made in fight-ing polio. At the start of this year, the disease was endemicin only Pakistan, Nigeria and Afghanistan. Cases in thesethree countries are down 40 percent compared to last year,and southern Afghanistan has been free of it for a year.

A major concern is North Waziristan, where vaccina-tors have been unable to reach children for more than ayear, and where cases are on the rise. A severe outbreak inSomalia and one in Kenya have been tied to Nigeria. Poliohas been stopped before in regions of conflict, and there isstill hope that the disease can be eradicated. Earlier thisyear, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, an umbrellagroup, unveiled a promising strategy to reach zero cases infive years.

Last year, the world saw only 223 polio cases, the low-est level in history. This year, the total is 322 and rising.Until genetic analysis is complete, it won’t be possible topinpoint the origin of the Syrian poliovirus, but there arefears that it spread from Pakistan. The challenge for Syrianow is to carry out vaccinations amid the shooting.

It is absolutely essential for front-line health workers to haveaccess to the endangered populations. The Syrian Arab RedCrescent must be able to work without hindrance. The UnitedNations and Syria’s neighbors ought to demand that all sidesgovernment forces and the opposition guarantee that volun-teers immunizing children do not become targets or victims.Roadblocks can stop fighters, but they will not stop poliovirus,which threatens all in its path, the children of rebel fighters andarmy generals alike.

—Courtesy Arabnews

come of a process that is fail-ing miserably. There are novisible silver linings in such ascenario and there are no rea-sons to believe that this willchange, as long as the mainparties, particularly the regimeand its allies, remain en-trenched in their various po-sitions towards the negotia-tions. It is precisely these po-sitions that continue to fore-close the possibility of evenkick-starting the Geneva pro-cess.

And so it seems that theonly hope for the Geneva pro-cess, at this point, is to get themain parties into the negotiat-ing room. While this may be thebest hope, the repeated failureof Brahimi to do so after somany formal delays is quite re-

vealing of the lack of commit-ment the parties have to theprocess and in confronting themore substantive elements ofany political negotiations.

In the foreseeable future,the status quo in Syria will re-main, despite it showing nosigns of moving the conflicttowards any political solution.The failure of the Geneva pro-cess is merely creating the con-ditions for the continuation ofthe conflict to the detriment ofmillions of Syrians. How anymultilateral peace process cantake off under the current cir-cumstances is not entirely clear.What is clear, however, is thatgiving war a chance to solvethe conflict will not actually doso.

—Courtesy Aljazeera

The first defeat ofEgypt’s new regime

ABDULRAHMAN AL-RASHED

THE case of Bassem Youssef, host of the satirical showal-Bernameg, is one battle for Egypt’s civil and military rulers. Suspending the show caused more harm than

did Muslim Brotherhood’s protests, which have continued sinceJuly following their ouster from governance. The army and thegovernment insist they have nothing to do with suspendingthe show, which they say is an issue between the concernedtelevision station and the show host, but no one believes thisstory.

It’s not easy for any ruler to accept criticism. For sure, criti-cism is not always constructive. Sometimes it may hurt feelingsand incite audiences. But this is the price you pay for being civiland the result of modern technology. A government’s onlychoice is to accept this and respond to it with similar means.Egypt is not Syria or Iran. It cannot block the Internet and pre-vent people from shouting and mocking. Egypt is the only placein the world where people recorded details of their lives forthousands of years. Silencing 80 million people in Egypt is notas easy as silencing 300,000 citizens in Qatar. It is a totally im-possible mission in Egypt. Egypt’s government does not havethe money to calm down people. Its prisons aren’t large enoughto fill with millions of complaining people.

The Brotherhood’s current acts of intimidation in Sinai andtheir protests at al-Azhar have not weakened the value of thearmy or the interim government. The Americans’ warning state-ments and visits have not succeeded at shaking the Egyptians’confidence in the new government. However, this popularitywill weaken if they are to continue restraining the media if gov-ernment services deteriorate. In this case the army will be aban-doned by its allies and the image of the Muslim Brotherhoodwill be polished. Youssef’s act of ridiculing the army and thegovernment did not harm the situation as much as suspendingthe show, al-Bernameg, did. The suspension has worried othermedia figures about the suppression they could face.

Egyptian rulers must co-exist and act positively andwisely with the media. This is because there is no sup-pressive means capable of silencing them. When lateAmerican President Gerald Ford was mocked by carica-turists, instead of silencing them, he joined in with someself-mockery. He placed an illustration in one room of theWhite House saying: “Gerald Ford can’t walk and chewgum at the same time,” following an incident in which hefell while leaving Air Force One.

Many in Egypt hope that the army rulers will lead the coun-try out of this dangerous tunnel it’s passing through. Theyhope Egypt’s authorities will act as Spain’s Francisco Francodid in the 20th century and hand over power to a democraticsystem. They hope Egypt’s rulers will act as the military did inTurkey. The only difference is that Egypt’s army came to powerwith a wave of massive popularity and did not snatch power inthe dark.

—Courtesy Alarabiya

CAIRO—Arab states for-mally endorsed proposedpeace talks to end the Syriancivil war that have been de-layed by disputes betweenworld powers and divisionsamong the opposition.

A final communiqué afteran emergency meeting ofArab League foreign minis-ters on Sunday called on theopposition swiftly to form adelegation under the leader-ship of the mainstream Syr-ian National Coalition, to at-tend the “Geneva 2” talks.

The Arab League’s posi-tion indicated Gulf rivalsQatar and Saudi Arabia - whohave backed different rebelgroups fighting PresidentBashar al-Assad - had puttheir differences aside to urgeopposition chief AhmadJarba to head to Geneva.

But even with regionaldiplomatic weight thrownbehind the talks, it is unclearwhen they will go ahead andwhat they can achieve. Themainly exiled political oppo-

Arab League backs Syria peacetalks, urges opposition to go

sition has limited clout overrebel fighters on the ground,who include al Qaeda-linkedbrigades.

The Geneva talks aremeant to bring Syria’s war-ring sides to the negotiatingtable, but many disputes stillremain including the issue ofwhether Iran, Assad’s big-gest regional supporter,should attend.

Jarba, who is backed byIran’s foe Saudi Arabia, toldArab foreign ministers theopposition coalition wouldnot attend if Iran was there.He also said there had to bea clear time frame for Assadto leave power, and calledfor more weapons to be de-livered to rebels fightingAssad .

The growing influence ofradical Islamist fighters anddivisions among rebel forceshave made Western powersreluctant to intervene di-rectly in a conflict that haskilled more than 100,000people and driven millions

from their homes.World powers are di-

vided over Iran’s participa-tion in the talks. Tehran,which backs Assad’s regime,has said it is ready to comeand international envoyLakhdar Brahimi says theUnited Nations would preferIran to attend.

Saudi Arabia, the UnitedStates’ main Arab ally, op-poses any role for Tehranand is angry over what it seesas a weak U.S. commitmentto removing Assad, espe-cially in the past two monthssince Obama abandoned athreat to launch strikes.

After more than twoyears of calling for Assad’sdownfall but taking little ac-tion, Obama threatened inAugust to punish Syria forwhat he said was govern-ment blame for chemicalweapons attacks that killedmore than 1,000 people. Buthe quickly called off armedaction, accepting instead aRussian proposal that

Assad give up Syria’s poi-son gas stocks.

A senior State Depart-ment official, speaking aheadof a visit by U.S. Secretary ofState John Kerry to Riyadh,said the top U.S. diplomatwould make clear to the Sau-dis that Iran would not bewelcome to attend the Syriapeace talks unless it en-dorsed a past agreement thatwould see Assad give uppower.

Kerry met Saudi foreignminister Prince Saud al-Faisalon Monday and was due tomeet King Abdullah.

Syria’s Foreign Ministryreiterated on Sunday that itmust be up to Syrians alone“to choose their leadershipand political future withoutpolitical interference”.

Accusing Kerry of tryingto derail the talks, it said in astatement he “must realizethat the success of theGeneva conference dependson the will of the Syria peoplethemselves”.—Reuters

NAIROBI—A Kenyan courtcharged four Somali men onMonday with terrorist of-fences for helping al Qaeda-linked militants carry out anattack on a shopping mall inNairobi that killed 67 people.

Few details haveemerged so far about the howthe September attack wasmasterminded or how gun-men held off Kenyan secu-rity forces for four days in theWestgate mall. The assaultwas claimed by the SomaliIslamist group al Shabaab.

U.S., British, Israeli andother experts joined Kenyaninvestigators at the site ofthe attack, which struck at theheart of east Africa’s biggesteconomy. The West seesKenya as vital to the regionalfight against militant Islam.

All the men who ap-peared in court on Mondaywere formally charged with“commission of a terroristact” under Kenya’s anti-ter-

Kenya charges fourmen aiding shopping

mall attackersrorism laws. Other accusa-tions ranged from providingsupport and shelter to thegunmen to using false docu-ments.

The suspects all pleadednot guilty at the hearing. Themen were named asMohamed Ahmed Abdi,Liban Abdullah Omar andHussein Hassan, while afourth was identified as AdanMohamed Ibrahim, althoughhe was listed as using otheraliases.

Last month, Kenyanamed four gunmen who tookpart in the assault. AlShabaab said it acted be-cause of Kenya’s refusal towithdraw its troops from So-malia where they are part of aAfrican peacekeeping forcebattling the militants.

The court is expected toset a formal date for the startof trial on November 11. Themen were remanded in cus-tody until then.— Reuters

LOS ANGELES—The gun-man charged in the deadlyshooting at Los Angeles In-ternational Airport laybloodied and handcuffed onthe floor of Terminal 3 afterbeing gunned down by po-lice, but he replied to criticalquestions that helped au-thorities lock down thescene.

Paul Ciancia, 23, washauled away moments lateron a stretcher and laterheavily sedated for medicalreasons, but not before hetold investigators he hadacted alone when he openedfire in the terminal, a law en-forcement official who hasbeen briefed on the investi-gation told The AssociatedPress on Sunday.

Ciancia, an unemployedmotorcycle mechanic whorecently moved to Los An-geles from the small, blue-collar town of Pennsville,N.J., also told police a friendhad dropped him at LAX onFriday just moments before

Gunman told police, heacted alone in Lax shooting

he shot a Transportation Se-curity Administration officerat point-blank range andwounded three otherpeople, including two moreTSA workers.

Officials do not believethat the friend knew of theshooter’s plans. Ciancia ar-rived at the airport in a blackHyundai and was not a tick-eted passenger.

Ciancia was under 24-hour armed guard at the hos-pital Sunday after being shotfour times, the official said.He was sedated for medicalreasons, the official said,adding that one gunshot tothe mouth blew a molar outof his jaw.

Ciancia is facing chargesof murder of a federal officerand committing violence atan international airport. Thecharges could qualify himfor the death penalty. Itwasn’t immediately clearwhen he would make a firstcourt appearance given hismedical condition.—AP

MOSCOW—Thousands ofRussian nationalists ralliedacross the country on Na-tional Unity Day, in a sign ofthe growing strength of far-right political forces galva-nized by an anti-immigrantagenda.

Hard-line nationalistshave adopted the holiday,which commemorates the lib-eration of Moscow from Pol-ish invaders in 1612, as anoccasion to hold annual“Russian Marches”.

This year’s rallies werelarger and more numerousthan in previous years, in aheadache for Russian au-thorities who worry that ris-ing ethnic tensions pose athreat to public order.

At the largest rally,around 8,000 people as-sembled in an working-classneighborhood on the out-skirts of Moscow, police said.Organizers’ requests to holdthe rally closer to the citycenter have repeatedly beendenied.

“Moscow has only justwoken up, and Russianshave only just started to rec-ognize their identity,” saidAlexander Belov, a national-ist leader and an organizer ofthe march. “With every dayRussian nationalists are gain-ing more and more supportacross the country.”

Police said they detainedaround 30 marchers for wear-ing masks or forbidden Nazi

symbols, and for other minorpublic order offences. Noserious disturbances werereported. Smaller demonstra-tions, attracting hundreds ordozens of participants, wereheld in towns and citiesacross Russia.

Although nationalist or-ganizations attract the activesupport of only a small mi-nority of Russians, they tapinto widespread public con-cerns over immigration anddisenchantment among Rus-sian youths.

Many ordinary Russiansare deeply hostile to immi-grants from the largely Mus-lim regions of Central Asiaand the Caucasus, blamingthem for problems such as

Thousands of Russian nationalistsrally in anti-immigrant protests

LONDON—British officialshave voiced concern over theescape of a terror suspect whovanished after switching intowomen’s clothes at a westLondon mosque.

The Metropolitan Policesay it’s still trying to findMohammed AhmedMohamed, 27, one of aboutnine people subject to a restric-

UK police lose track ofSomali-born terror suspect

tive form of government sur-veillance when he disappearedon Friday.

Authorities say securitycamera footage showed theSomali-born suspect slippingaway from the mosque in aniqab, an all-encompassinggarment worn by conservativeMuslim women. Mohamedwas being tracked under the

government’s Terrorism Pre-vention and InvestigationMeasures, a stringent form ofsurveillance imposed onpeople suspected of terror ties.

It’s not exactly clear howhe managed to escape theprogram’s GPS tagging. U.K.opposition politician YvetteCooper called the incident “ex-tremely serious.”—AP

MONITORING REPORT

Israel is planning to divide AlAqsa Mosque to providespace for Jews to pray there.Israeli parliament “is set todiscuss” a bill for the divi-sion of Jerusalem”s Al AqsaMosque separating portionsfor Muslim and Jewishprayers, a Middle East newsoutlet says.

“If this happens, then itwould a fatal blow to thecause of Palestine. The timechosen for this malicious actof division of the holiest ofMuslim Mosque is bound toplay havoc with the senti-ments of Muslims the worldover, concerned commenta-tors told Pakistan Observerhere. “The Israelis want toexpel the Muslims from Al-Aqsa Mosque to build theirTemple Mount,” Mufti ofJerusalem MohamedHussein is reported to havetold media a Turkish mediaoutlet.

The bill in the Israeli par-liament has been tabled byIsraeli Deputy Minister forReligious Affairs Eli BenDahan, which would “allo-cate time slots and specificlocations in which Jews topray in the Aqsa Mosquecompound”.

Nasser al-Rayes, a legal

Israel set to divideAl-Aqsa Mosque

researcher for human rightsgroup Al-Haq, is reported tohave said the bill was part ofongoing efforts by Israel totighten its control over theoccupied city of Al-Quds(Jerusalem).

Palestinian AuthorityForeign Minister Riad al-Malki has appealed to theMuslim world to save theAqsa Mosque and the holycity from “Judaization” byIsrael.

Addressing an emer-gency meeting of Arab for-eign ministers on Sunday, al-Malki accused the self-pro-claimed Jewish state of seek-ing to establish control overthe famed Aqsa Mosque.

Israel occupied Al-Qudsin the 1967 Middle East War.This unfortunate war hastaken the lives of many inno-cent civilians and causedhuge lose of financial andpolitical situation of Arabworld, Israel in that war waswell supported by Westernworld whereas Arab worldwas totally neglected andthat consequently broughtinfinite calamities to innocentArabians. Although Israellater declared the city to beits “united” capital, the inter-national community includ-ing the United Nations hasnever recognized the move.

Congo fightingintensifies, Shells

land in UgandaKAMPALA—Fighting be-tween Congolese forcesand M23 rebels intensified,forcing thousands moreCongolese to seek refuge inUganda, said Uganda’s mili-tary and humanitarian work-ers.

Uganda deployed moretroops and tanks near theborder town once con-trolled by the rebels, Ugan-dan army spokesman Lt.Col. Paddy Ankunda saidMonday. He said they were“very concerned” after pro-jectiles fired from Congolanded on Ugandan terri-tory.

At least five peoplehave been wounded inUganda in the past weeksince Congolese forces in-tensified their assault onthe rebels, Ankunda said.Congolese governmenttroops on Wednesday re-took Bunagana town, M23’slast stronghold, but some ofthe rebels are believed to behiding in the surroundingbush .

“We have raised this issuewith the Congolese govern-ment,” Ankunda said, talkingabout projectiles fired fromCongo. “We are very con-cerned about this because thisis not the first time.”to attackthe rebels.—AP

Members of the Rendile tribe and the Turkana tribe dance before a hybrid eclipse in Sibiloi national Park in Turkana.

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COURT NOTICE

In the Court of Mr.Muhammad Saleem Sb,

Judge Banking Court, III -12-B Allah Shafi Chowk

Pul Bararan Road Multan.Camp Court Sahiwal

Suit No.355/2013HBL Bank Malka Hans Tehsil& Distt, Pakpattan Sharif —PlaintiffVersus (1) Ali Sher S/O MuhammadAmir R/O Chak No-70-D P/OChak No-73/5-7 Tehsil & DisttPakpattan (2) Abdul WaheedKhan S/O Dhufai Tehsil Distt,Pakpattan —DefendantProclamation U/S 9 (5) Fi-nancial Institution Recoveryof Finances Ordinance 46 of2001WHEREAS the aforesaidplaintiff has instituted a suitagainst you and others for re-covery of Rs-353274/-alongwith mark up/interest andcosts etc claimed to be payableby you Proclamation u/s 9(5)Ordinance 46 of 2001 to theabove is hereby issued requir-ing you to make within 30 daysof this proclamation, an appli-cation for leave to defend thesuit. Taken notice that on yourfailure to file such applicationwithin time specified above theBanking Court shall pass a de-cree as prayed for in the plaint.Next date for further proceed-ings, in the case has been fixedon 22.11.2013. at Sahiwal

Given under my hand andthe seal of the court, this 20th

day of September, 2013Seal of the Court Judge

Banking Court III Multan

COURT NOTICE

In the Court of Mr.Muhammad Saleem Sb,

Judge Banking Court, III -12-B Allah Shafi Chowk

Pul Bararan Road Multan.Camp Court Sahiwal

Suit No.356/2013H.B.L Bank Malka Hans Tehsil& Distt, Pakpattan Sharif —PlaintiffVersus Qudrat ullah S/O HussainKhan R/O Khan Street AliAmeer Colony Sahiwal RoadPakpattan Sharif —DefendantProclamation U/S 9 (5) Fi-nancial Institution Recoveryof Finances Ordinance 46 of2001WHEREAS the aforesaidplaintiff has instituted a suitagainst you and others for re-covery of Rs-349884/-alongwith mark up/interest andcosts etc claimed to be payableby you Proclamation u/s 9(5)Ordinance 46 of 2001 to theabove is hereby issued requir-ing you to make within 30 daysof this proclamation, an appli-cation for leave to defend thesuit. Taken notice that on yourfailure to file such applicationwithin time specified above theBanking Court shall pass a de-cree as prayed for in the plaint.Next date for further proceed-ings, in the case has been fixedon 22.11.2013. at Sahiwal

Given under my hand andthe seal of the court, this 20th

day of September, 2013Seal of the Court Judge

Banking Court III Multan

COURT NOTICE

In the Court of Mr.Muhammad Saleem Sb,

Judge Banking Court, III -12-B Allah Shafi Chowk

Pul Bararan Road Multan.

Suit No.366/2013Summit Bank Limited —PlaintiffVersus Abdul Razzaq Bhutta S/OMalik Allah Baksh Bhutta R/O H, NO-3 ST,-1 BhuttaColony Near Sultan Flour MillVehari Road Multan —Defen-dantProclamation U/S 9 (5) Fi-nancial Institution Recoveryof Finances Ordinance 46 of2001WHEREAS the aforesaidplaintiff has instituted a suitagainst you and others for re-covery of Rs-873867/13-alongwith mark up/interest andcosts etc claimed to be payableby you Proclamation u/s 9(5)Ordinance 46 of 2001 to theabove is hereby issued requir-ing you to make within 30 daysof this proclamation, an appli-cation for leave to defend thesuit. Taken notice that on yourfailure to file such applicationwithin time specified above theBanking Court shall pass a de-cree as prayed for in the plaint.Next date for further proceed-ings, in the case has been fixedon 12.11.2013. at Sahiwal

Given under my hand andthe seal of the court, this 25th

day of September, 2013Seal of the Court JudgeBanking Court III Multan

COURT NOTICE

In the Court of Mr.Muhammad Saleem Sb,

Judge Banking Court, III -12-B Allah Shafi Chowk

Pul Bararan Road Multan.

Suit No.323/2013NBP Bank Katcha Khuh Tehsil& Distt, Khanewal —PlaintiffVersus (1) M/S Chaudhry Traders G.TRoad Vehari More KatchaKhuh Tehsil and Distt,Khanewal through ManagerProp, Chaudhry MuhammadRasheed (2) Nasir Saqlain ShahS/O Munawar Hussain Shah R/O Chak No-38/10-R JhangirAbad Tehsil & Distt,Khanewal. (3) MuhammadTariq S/O Zaheer Hussain ShahR/O Chak No-38/10-R Tehsil& Distt, Khanewal (4)Chaudhry MuhammadRasheed S/O Atta MuhammadR/O Sunny House Near CivilHospital Katcha Khuh Tehsil &Distt Khanewal —DefendantProclamation U/S 9 (5) Fi-nancial Institution Recoveryof Finances Ordinance 46 of2001WHEREAS the aforesaidplaintiff has instituted a suitagainst you and others for re-covery of Rs-477604/-alongwith mark up/interest andcosts etc claimed to be payableby you Proclamation u/s 9(5)Ordinance 46 of 2001 to theabove is hereby issued requir-ing you to make within 30 daysof this proclamation, an appli-cation for leave to defend thesuit. Taken notice that on yourfailure to file such applicationwithin time specified above theBanking Court shall pass a de-cree as prayed for in the plaint.Next date for further proceed-ings, in the case has been fixedon 28.11.2013.

Given under my hand andthe seal of the court, this 30th

day of August, 2013Seal of the Court JudgeBanking Court III Multan

COURT NOTICE

In the Court of MazharHussain Chuadhray, Judge

Banking Court-I, 60-B,Abdali Road Multan

Suit No.347/2013NBP Main Branch MainchannuDisst, Khanewal —PlaintiffVersus(1) Karamatullah Khan AliesAziz Waris Khan S/OMuhammad Liaqatullah khanR/O Kot Barkat Ali Khan P/OJarahi Tehsil Mainchannu DisttKhanewal Presently R/O H-NO-555 Faisal Town Lahore(2) Muhammad Amir S/OGhulam Muhammad R/OMouza Jarahi P/O Same TehsilMainchannu Distt, Khanewal(3) Muhammad Rafique S/OMuhammad Boota R/O KotBarkat Ali khan P/O JarahiTehsil Mainchannu Distt,Khanewal —DefendantProclamation U/S 9 (5) Fi-nancial Institution Recoveryof Finances Ordinance 46 of2001WHEREAS the aforesaidplaintiff has instituted a suitagainst you and others for re-covery of Rs-4628696/-alongwith mark up/interest andcosts etc claimed to be payableby you. Proclamation u/s 9(5)Ordinance 46 of 2001 to theabove is hereby issued requir-ing you to make within 30 daysof this proclamation, an appli-cation for leave to defend thesuit.

Taken notice that on yourfailure to file such applicationwithin time specified above theBanking Court shall pass a de-cree as prayed for in the plaint.Next date for further proceed-ings, in the case has been fixedon 05.11.2013.

Given under my hand andthe seal of the court, this 17th

day of September, 2013Seal of the Court

Judge Banking Court IMultan

back,” said Bill Roggio, whosewebsite, the Long War Journal,monitors drone strikes. “Eventhose of us who watch Pakistanclosely don’t know where theystand anymore. It’s such adouble game.”

To many Pakistanis, though,it is the United States that isdouble-dealing, and sentimentslike Roggio’s exemplify typicalAmerican arrogance. ShireenMazari, a senior official inKhan’s party, has urged the Pa-kistani military to shoot downdrones.

But if the equivocation overMehsud’s death seems to be justanother manifestation of thecankerous relationship betweenthe two countries, albeit a par-ticularly troubling one, it isrooted in a complex mix of psy-chology and politics that may becentral to the way Pakistanis seetheir arch allies, the Americans.

Partly, it is a product ofPakistan’s failure to counter astubborn insurgency. After yearsof Taliban-induced humiliationsand bloodshed, and of heavyAmerican pressure to step upmilitary action against theTaliban, Pakistan’s political andsecurity establishments still agreethat starting peace talks with theTaliban is the best course.

Such talks may have hadslim chances of success - previ-ous negotiations quickly foun-dered - but Mehsud’s death ap-pears to have thoroughly de-railed them, at least for now.

Beyond that, analysts say,Pakistanis have a consistent, ifrelatively recent, history of root-ing for people the West hasdeemed villains, and against

Death by US droneFrom Page 1

people the West has praised.Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani

woman who is serving an 86-year jail sentence in New Yorkfor trying to kill Americans inAfghanistan, is a virtual nationalhero, popularly known as the“daughter of the nation.”

On the other side, MalalaYousafzai, the teenage educationactivist who was shot in the headby the Taliban last year, makingher an icon around the world,has been demonized in Pakistan,where she is regularly called aCIA agent or a pawn of the West.

These adversarial reactionsstem in part from Pakistanis’perception of their country’s his-tory with the United States. Intheir view, it is a long story oftreachery, abandonment anddouble-crossing: The UnitedStates, many Pakistanis believe,used Pakistan during the ColdWar, dropped it in the 1990s andhas spent much of its time sincetrying to steal the army’s nucleararsenal. Then came the CIAdrones.

In recent years, that resent-ment has been bolstered by agrowing sense of impotenceamong Pakistanis: Thecountry’s own security forcesfailed to find or capture Osamabin Laden, for instance, and italso took an American drone tokill the previous Taliban leader,Baitullah Mehsud, in August2009.

“In a sense, this has nothingto do with Malala or AafiaSiddiqui or Hakimullah,” saidAdil Najam, a professor of in-ternational relations at BostonUniversity who is Pakistani.“These people are just charac-ters in a larger relationship that

has become so poisonous.”The problem, some analysts

say, is that hostility toward theUnited States may be cloudingPakistanis’ ability to discerntheir own best interests. In theconflagration over HakimullahMehsud’s death, Najam said, thegovernment has failed to distin-guish between opposition todrone strikes and to the removalof a homicidal, militant enemy.

“It’s very destructive that wecan’t untangle these two things,”he said. “The reaction has be-come absolutely absurd.”

Analysts say this reactionalso holds lessons for the Obamaadministration, showing thatdrone strikes, for all their anti-septic appeal, will alwaysstruggle for legitimacy becausethe covert program operates inthe shadows of international law- no matter how big the target ittakes out.

For now, the ball is inKhan’s court. If his party voteson Monday to block Americansupplies bound for Afghanistan,it will make life difficult forPrime Minister Nawaz Sharif,who opposes closing the supplylines but has nonetheless vowedto press ahead with Talibanpeace talks.

It is concern for the fate ofthose talks that has been givenas justification for the most ve-hement criticism of the killingof Mehsud. But amid all the en-thusiasm for negotiations, Paki-stani politicians have yet to pub-licly address the first hurdle:deciding what the governmentwould be willing to concede tothe Taliban, given that themovement’s central aim is tooverthrow the state itself.—Online

of Pakistan had submitted a re-quest in the Supreme Court ofPakistan which sought fourmonths time to conduct LocalGovernment elections in thefour provinces.

The ECP took the stance thatthe exercise of delimitation ofconstituencies was yet to takeplace and despite the arrange-ments made by the provinces afour-month period was requiredto conduct the local governmentpolls.

The Supreme Court had ear-lier directed the ECP to followthe schedules presented by theSindh, Punjab and Balochistanprovincial governments to holdlocal government polls.

A reply filed on behalf of theECP had listed features likecompletion of delimitation pro-cess, necessary changes in lawsand election rules, door-to-doorverification by the ECP, prepa-ration of fresh electoral rolls byNadra and provinces, procure-ment of election materials by thecommission and printing of bal-lot papers by the Printing Cor-poration of Pakistan and the Se-curity Printing Corporation.

Furthermore, ECP was ofthe opinion that these measureswould take at least four monthsto complete.—NNI

SC rejects pleaFrom Page 1

case.During the hearing the ac-

cused Tauqir Sadiq informed thecourt that despite the passage oftwo years, the NAB did not pro-vide him copy of record of thecase on which basis he was be-ing held up.

He said the NAB misguidedthe court by proclaiming himwanted offender when he wasunder custody of the Nab inDubai.

The court ordered the NABto present report on applicationsubmitted by Tauqir Sadiqagainst investigation officer andadjourned the hearing till No-vember 18.—INP

AC gives NAB10 days to

submit challanagainst Tauqir

From Page 1

environment necessary to tacklethis menace. It was to this endthat in an extraordinary expres-sion of national unity and cohe-sion‚ the APC underlined theimperative need of giving peacea chance. He said unity amongall stakeholders including politi-cal parties‚ armed forces‚ execu-tive‚ judiciary‚ parliament andmedia is very much required inthese difficult times. He said noone wants any further bloodshed.

The Prime Minister said ourarmed forces have contributedto making the defence of thecountry impregnable.

Mian Nawaz Sharif said to-day Pakistan is faced with seri-ous challenges both within thecountry and at international

No peaceFrom Page 1

level. He said national securityparadigm of Pakistan evolveswithin the context of its geogra-phy‚ history and culture and de-termines the contours of nationaland military response.

He said there were timeswhen national security policieswere determined through tele-phone calls from abroad. He saidthe democratically elected Gov-ernment decided to make thisnation a nuclear power and in-digenously manufacture JF-17Thunder aircraft and Al-Khalidand Al-Zarrar tanks.

The Prime Minister laudedthe professionalism of the Armyin the exercises and said thisshows that our security is in safehands.—INP

served for the debate, settingaside the routine agenda items.

Imran Khan’s party rules therestive Khyber Pakhtunkhwaprovince, one of the two routes theNato supplies move in and out ofAfghanistan.

He warned the US to stopbombing Pakistani land throughits unmanned planes’ campaignand vowed to block the Nato sup-plies after Nov 20, “if governmentfail to pursue America to enddrone strikes.”

The cricket legend-turnedpolitician, who is a strong oppo-nent of US drone strikes in tribalareas of Pakistan, urged politicalleaders to unite on the matter. Hesaid the drone attack before ini-tiation of peace talks was a proofthat the US did not want peace inthe country.

Despite all political differ-ences, Khan said he was ready toreconcile with Jamiat Ulema-i-Is-lam-F chief Maulana FazlurRehman.Earlier, Interior MinisterChaudhry Nisar Ali Khan updatedthe house members of thegovernment’s efforts to hold peacetalks with the Taliban militantsand hurdles being created in do-ing so.

He again termed the US droneattack, that killed the TTP leaderon Friday, “a conspiracy to derailpeace process.”

Imran: Nato suppliesFrom Page 1

“Drone attacks are earning abad name for a nuclear power.United States is not caring forPakistan’s protest and if peace pro-cess sabotages due to UnitedStates then onus will not be on thegovernment, the armed forces andTaliban.” The minister, however,vowed to continue with efforts forholding peace talks with Taliban.“This would only be possible af-ter the militant outfit chooses anew chief,” he added.

“Situation is more gruesomethan the point from where we hadinitiated peace efforts in Septem-ber this year,” he said.

“But, we need to have con-sensus and proceed as success ofdialogue will be success of allstakeholders,” he called upon po-litical leadership of the country.

meaningful dialogue, he said,adding, the whole internationalcommunity also wanted theelimination of bloodshed.

The Prime Minister said Pa-kistan has paid the highest priceof terrorism, renderingunmatchable sacrifices. “We arefully alive to the severity of theissue, but we should be let to ad-dress our problems according toour own strategy”, he main-tained.—APP

Peace dialogueFrom Page 1

broad-based strategy, whichwas sabotaged.”

He informed John Kerrythat he has enormous publicpressure, demanding him to takea bold stance on drone attacksand to abandon the NATO sup-ply line.

The Prime Minister elabo-rated that the understandingachieved during his visit to theUS has been terribly hit.

John Kerry said that Pak-US relations were getting af-fected due to HakimullahMehsud, US considers Pakistanits key ally and the cooperationbetween both the states willcontinue.

have legalised their situation byfinding employers to sponsorthem, a must to reside in mostGulf monarchies.

Foreigners desperate towork in the country were will-ing to pay for sponsorship, andsponsoring expatriates has be-come a lucrative business forsome Saudis.

But under the new rules,workers can be employedonly by their own sponsors,banning the practice of work-ing independently or for non-sponsors.

Saudi Arabia, the world’slargest oil exporter, is seen as agoldmine for millions of peoplefrom Asia and elsewhere in theArab world, who find work ascommon labourers, drivers, por-ters and house maids.

Expatriates account for one-third, or around nine million, ofthe country’s 27-million-popu-lation.—AFP

Kerry phonesNawazFrom Page 1

Saudi ArabiaFrom Page 1

ing the Federal government tocut the NATO’s supply line toPakistan.

In the meanwhile the Pro-vincial PTI led government is-sued two week deadline to haltthe drone attacks followingwhich it would not allow anyvehicle taking supplies to NATOforces in Afghani-stan throughroute in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa.

Chief Minister KhyberPukhtunkhwa Pervez Khattakafter chairing a meeting of theprovincial cabinet said the cabi-net has endorsed the decision inthis regard.

“The cabinet decided to givetwo weeks to federal govern-ment for stopping the drone at-tacks in tribal areas, otherwisethe provincial governmentwould block the NATO supplyroutes passing through the prov-ince”, said Pervez Khattak.

During a debate over drone

KP AssemblyFrom Page 1

attacks and NATO supplies inthe provincial cabinet meeting,the chief minister said thatpeople would come out to pressfor blocking NATO supply linesmeant for US-led forces busy inAfghanistan.

He further told the meetingthat his government would adopta way within the Constitutionalambit to block NATO suppliesadding that he would take op-position into confidence aboutblocking of the NATO suppliesso that a national consensuscould be developed over the is-sue.

The KhyberPukhtunkhwa assembly thougha unanimously adopted resolu-tion, also asked the federal gov-ernment to ensure the resump-tion of dialogue process with theTaliban militants so that a last-ing peace could be ensured in theregion.

comment on the drone strike thatkilled Mehsud but appeared tolend support to US actions, say-ing “terrorism constitutes athreat to the whole region”.

He said he believed the Pa-kistani authorities, including thegovernment and the military,realised it was in Islamabad’s in-terest to ensure peace and sta-bility in Afghanistan.

“The security of Afghani-stan and Pakistan is inter-linked.There can’t be security in theone country without security inthe other,” he said.—Reuters

Nato chief urgesPak to keep

Afghan transitlines open

From Page 1

US, NATOFrom Back Page

territory it has lost in the 12years since the U.S.-led inva-sion.

“Our efforts to date haveenabled Afghans to assume thelead, take the fight to the enemy,and secure the population,”Marine Gen Joseph Dunford, thetop US and coalition com-mander in Afghanistan, said inhis fall update to the troops. “Butour progress is not yet sustain-able.”

Holding territory came at ahigh price. Coalition officialssay Afghan forces were at onepoint losing 100 men a week,mostly from roadside bombs.—INP

NATIONAL BRIE

TEHRAN—Iranian Oil Minis-ter Bijan Namdar Zanganehasked Pakistan on Sunday tobuild its own section of natu-ral gas pipeline.

“Big volume of gas isready for delivery near thePakistan border,” Zanganehwas quoted as saying bySHANA website affiliated toIran’s Oil Ministry.

Pakistan should build itsown section of the pipeline,he said, adding that “In casePakistan takes action to con-struct the pipeline on its soil,the project will be com-pleted” and Iran’s gas willflow into the neighboringcountry.

On Oct. 30, Zanganehsaid Iran was not hopefulabout exporting its naturalgas to the neighboring stateof Pakistan “because theconditions set by the Paki-stani government has madeexport of Iranian gas to Paki-stan unlikely.”

By his remarks, the Ira-nian oil minister was alludingto the earlier reports whichsaid that Iran’s southeasternneighbor had asked the Is-lamic republic to finance onthe gas pipeline to be builton Pakistan soil.

The reports said Pakistanhad asked Iran for financingof 2 billion U.S. dollars to

construct 780-km gas pipe-line on its soil.

On Thursday, PakistanMinister for Petroleum andNatural Resources, ShahidKhaqan Abbasi, said hiscountry insists on imple-menting the deal with the Is-lamic republic so that it couldimport natural gas to hiscountry. In March, Iran’sformer president MahmoudAhmadinejad and his Paki-stani counterpart Asif AliZardari inaugurated the 7.5-billion- dollar project in Iran’ssoutheastern city ofChabahar which was sup-posed to link Iran’s gas pipe-line to that of Pakistan. —INP

Iran asks Pakistan to buildown section of gas pipeline

Flour pricesshoot upQUETTA—The citizens haveexpressed grave concernsover sharp increase in flourprices in Quetta on Monday.According to marketsources, flour prices in retailmarket has been increased byRs 2/kg. After recent in-crease, retail market flourprice has reached Rs 45/kgwhile price of 20kg bagclimbed to Rs 900 with an in-crease of Rs 40. The citizensare extremely worried oversurge in flour prices. Theyhave demanded the pricecontrol committee and pro-vincial authorities concernedto take notice and restore theold prices. When contactedby INP, some of the retailerswere of the view that flourmills and dealers have in-creased the flour prices andthey can’t sell the flour at oldprices after purchasing athigher rate. —INP

EC restrained fromhearing petitionLAHORE—Lahore HighCourt (LHC) has restrainedElection Tribunal (EC) fromhearing the petition filed byPakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI)chairman Imran Khan againstNational Assembly (NA)speaker Sardar Ayyaz Sadiq.LHC has also sought replyfrom PTI chairman ImranKhan and EC on November,15 in this case. . As per mediareports. PTI chairman ImranKhan had filed petition seek-ing disqualification of NAspeaker Ayyaz Sadiq whowas elected as member Na-tional Assembly from NA-122 Lahore. The petition wasto be heard on Monday butthe LHC restrained EC fromhearing it on the objectionraised by Sardar AyyazSadiq.—Online

LHC complaintcell performanceLAHORE—The Lahore HighCourt complaint cell helpedfast-track disposal of 80 no-tices of different incidents.Police reports under Section173 Cr.P.C. in cases havebeen submitted in trial courtsconcerned and regular legalproceedings initiated to en-sure dispensation of justiceat every cost. The complaintcell took notice of 173 newsitems published in newspa-pers till November 31, 2013.It took action on the admin-istrative side against newsreports of electronic and printmedia of shocking humanright violations.— APP

Altaf criticisescalling Mehsud

a martyrSTAFF REPORTER

KARACHI .—The Founderand Leader of MuttahidaQuami Movement (MQM)Altaf Hussain strongly con-demned JI leader MunawwarHassan for calling the TTPchief Hakimullah Mehsud amartyr, who was killed in adrone attack. He said that astatement issued by JI chiefMunawwar Hassan declar-ing Mehsud was carried byprint and electronic media.

He said that everyone inPakistan knew that theTaliban had killed over seventhousand officers and men ofarmed forces and police andslaughtered over forty thou-sand innocent persons.

OBSERVER REPORT

ISLAMABAD—Speaking ondifferent points of order inthe Senate‚ leaders of thedifferent political partiesstrongly condemned the re-cent drone attacks in whichTehrik-e-Taliban Pakistanleaders were killed.

They said the drone at-tacks are a conspiracy tosabotage the dialogue pro-cess with Taliban.

They called upon thegovernment to revive rela-tions with the United Statesand raise the issue at theUnited Nations. Majority ofthe Senators said that an AllParties Conference shouldbe convened to take a deci-sion on the issue of NATOsupply.

Those who spoke on theoccasion include MaulanaAbdul Ghafoor Haidri‚Abbas Khan Afridi‚ HafizHamdullah and Syed Zafar

Ali Shah.Leader of the House in theSenate‚ Raja Zafarul Haq to-day again appealed the Op-position members to partici-pate in the proceedings.

He said a number of is-sues including the security‚economic and law and ordersituation in the country andPrime Minister ’s visit toUnited States need to be dis-cussed in the House.

He said the recent droneattacks also have nationaland international implica-tions and the House mustdiscuss these in detail.

The chair asked the com-mittee members to meet theopposition members and per-suade them to take part in theHouse proceedings.

At the outset of the pro-ceedings‚ Mukhtiar AhmadDhamrah pointed out thequorum but after the count-ing the House was found inorder.

Senate for taking dronestrikes issue to UN

KABUL—The Taliban failedto capture any ground fromAfghan security forces fight-ing for the first time withoutforeign firepower this fight-ing season, U.S. officials say,but the insurgents killedscores of soldiers, police andcivilians in their campaign toweaken the government.

American and NATO of-ficials say the fledgling armyand police aren’t ready towage a sustained war againsta determined insurgency.

Coming just 13 monthsbefore most foreign forces areto withdraw, the mixed resultsreported by U.S. military offi-cials underline the unresolvedquestion of whether some ofthose forces should stay.

The assessment adds ur-gency to the need for the U.S.and Afghanistan to sign amuch-delayed security agree-ment that will allow a residualforeign force to stay on afterthe Dec. 31, 2014 withdrawaldeadline. The U.S. says the

one issue still to be decided iswhich courts, U.S. or Afghan,will prosecute crimes commit-ted by American forces sta-tioned here. Washington isexpected to keep about 10,000troops in Afghanistan after2014, provided the securityagreement is signed and in-cludes immunity from pros-ecution by Afghan courts.

NATO allies would provideabout 5,000 troops, but only ifan American presence re-mains. Billions of dollars in

funds for Afghan forces anddevelopment also would bejeopardized if no deal isreached.

The 350,000-strong Af-ghan National SecurityForces, made up mostly of thearmy and police, assumed re-sponsibility for security inJune, freeing the foreignforces to focus on training.In so doing, it took the leadagainst an insurgency thathad promised to recapture

Readiness of Afghan troops

US, NATO submit officials mixed reports

JE D D A H—OIC SecretaryGeneral Prof. EkmeleddinIhsan Oglu reaffirmed, oncemore, full support of the OICfor and solidarity with thepeople of Jammu and Kash-mir.

He was speaking in afunction held here in OICSecretariat to commemoratethe Kashmir Black Day. Re-ferring violence perpetratedby the Indian forces againstKashmiri people, the Secre-tary General called on Indiaonce more to end its humanrights violations in the area.

He congratulated Con-sulate General of Pakistan onarranging a photo exhibitionhighlighting continuouslydeteriorating the political andhuman rights situation in theoccupied Jammu and Kash-mir.

He said that a OIC delega-

OIC observes Kashmir Black DaySolidarity with Kashmiris expressed

tion will be soon visiting Pa-kistan and Azad Kashmir toassess the current situationand hoped that one day In-

dian government would alsoallow OIC fact finding mis-sion to visit Indian OccupiedKashmir.—PR

China hopesstability to beestablished inPakistan soon

BEIJING—China hopes sta-bility in Pakistan is restoredas early as possible, a ChineseForeign Ministry spokesmansaid on Monday.

Spokesman Hong Leimade the remarks at theministry’s daily press briefingwhen asked if China regardsthe drone strike by UnitedStates that killed the PakistaniTaliban Chief HakimullahMehsud as damaging toPakistan’s sovereignty.

Hong said China hasnoted the report and believesthat Pakistan’s sovereigntyand territorial integrity shouldbe respected.

Operations in Pakistanshould follow the charter ofthe United Nations and the in-ternational law of armed con-flict, he added. “We sincerelyhope Pakistan restores stabil-ity and achieves develop-ment as early as possible,”Hong said, adding that Chinasupports Pakistan in imple-menting an antiterror strategyaccording to its own nationalconditions—Online

BAHAWALPUR: Army soldiers taking part in exercises called Azm-e-Nau at Tehsil Khairpur on Monday. Inset: Aview of Integrated Maneuver Fire Power Exercise by a PAF jet fighter.

Kayani laudsRangers, police

for restoringpeace in Karachi

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Army Chief Gen-eral Ashfaq Pervez Kayani haslauded the efforts of Rangersand police in bringing backpeace in Karachi, said a state-ment issued by Sindh Rang-ers on Monday.

The statement came afterhis visit to Headquarters Paki-stan Rangers Sindh on Mon-day, where he was received byDG Rangers Sindh, Maj-GenRizwan Akhtar and introducedto sector commanders and se-nior staff officers.

Gen Kayani was given adetailed briefing on the opera-tional and administrative as-pects of Pakistan RangersSindh with special reference tothe current operation againstcriminals and anti-social ele-ments in Karachi.

KP announcesholiday on

Ist MuharramSTAFF REPORTER

PESHAWAR—The Chief Min-ister of KhyberPakhtunkhwa, PervezKhattak, has announcedpublic holiday on firstMuharram 1435 Hijra.

Following to this an-nouncement, there will bepublic holiday every first dayof Islamic calendar. The pro-vincial cabinet has also sec-onded the decision that wasofficially notified later.

KARACHI—Speaker of SindhAssembly Aga Siraj Durraniclaimed that he did nothingwrong by making weddingarrangements within the pre-mises of Sindh Assembly.

Extravagant arrange-ments were made for thefeast inside the Sindh As-sembly and a large numberof guests.

Talking to media Mon-day morning, he claimedSpeaker had several powers,a book of which would behanded over to media soon.

Aga Siraj Durranithanked media for giving‘free publicity’ to the wed-ding ceremony, adding thata non-issue was being made

an issue.It is worth mention-ing here that a legal ban hasbeen imposed by the provin-cial assembly on more thanone dish in marriage parties,but the ban was violated bylawmakers themselves.

The law also bars hold-ing of private parties insidethe public buildings, butnone cared for any law whilearranging private weddingfeast of the Speaker ’snephew in Sindh Assembly.

Meanwhile, MPA SattarRajpar said he was not in-vited to attend the cer-emony, yet, such eventsshould not take place in theAssembly premises headded.—Online

Durrani defends weddingin Assembly building

IRFAN ALIGI

KARACHI—Lawmakers fromopposition benches duringthe session of Sindh provin-cial assembly on Sunday de-bated deteriorated law andorder situation in Hyderabad.However, the law makersfrom treasury benches attrib-uted the deterioration of thelaw and order to the era oflate military dictator Zia UlHaq.

MQM lawmakers includ-ing Heer Ismail Sohu,Sumeeta Afzal Syed andNaila Muneer had tabled anadjournment motion, whichattracted lawmakers formPakistan Muslim LeagueFunctional (PMLF), Pakistan

Opposition concerned on worstlaw, order situation in Sindh

Muslim League-Nawaz(PMLN) and PakistanTehreek-e Insaf (PTI) law-makers to speak on the mat-ter. The lawmakers demandedof the Sindh provincial gov-ernment to take stern actionagainst the perpetrators sothat the peace and tranquil-ity in the city should be es-tablished.

Naila Muneer said streetcrimes and terrorism had es-calated in Hyderabad while acommon citizen was on themercy of the criminals, Thesituation would never becontrolled unless the crimi-nals were arrested and takento task. Naheed Begum saidthe law and order situationin Hyderabad was being de-

teriorated purposely and nolocation in Hyderabad wassafe from criminals.

PMLF lawmaker NusratSahar Abbasi said that esca-lated crime rate had grippedHyderabad after Karachi.Street crimes rate was highand the criminals were usingexplosives. The law and or-der situation was fully dete-riorated from Karachi toKashmore and bodieswrapped in gunny bags werebecoming rampant. The Citi-zens Police Liaison Commit-tee Chief had admitted thatpolice stations were handedto corrupt officer that offeredbribe while Minister were car-rying weapons without li-cense.

CJP chairs fullcourt session ofSupreme Court

ISLAMABAD—A Full Courtwas held on Monday in theSupreme Court of Pakistan,Islamabad under the chair-manship of Chief Justice ofPakistan Justice IftikharMuhammad Chaudhry.

Addressing the partici-pants, the Chief Justice saidthe purpose of the meetingis to take stock of the perfor-mance of the Supreme Courtin terms of dispensation ofjustice and disposal of casesfor redressal of grievances ofthe litigants.

The Chief Justice of Pa-kistan appreciated the effortsof Mr. Justice Saqib Nisar fororganizing one day work-shop on “Prisoners Vulner-ability-Lacking Awareness”in a successful manner andappreciated the same.—NNI

RIYADH—Pakistani Ambas-sador to Saudi ArabiaMuhammad Naeem Khan saidthat Pakistanis are one of thelargest beneficiaries of thisamnesty/grace period sokindly & graciously grantedby the Custodian of the TwoHoly Mosques - KingAbdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud.

He was speaking withSaudi Gazette and shared sta-tistics about the number ofPakistanis who have been ableto document and regularizethemselves and hence are ableto legalize their status in theKingdom.

According to him 396,152of Pakistanis have been ableto change their sponsorshipand 333,780 of his compatri-ots have been able to changetheir profession. “This

Pakistanis one of largestbeneficiaries of amnesty: Envoy

means a total of 729,932 Pa-kistanis have been able todocument and regularizetheir status”, AmbassadorKhan informed.

He also informed thatthese figures that he hasshared have been providedto the Embassy by the SaudiMinistry of Labor.

Ambassador Khan addedthat these figures are as of10th of October-2013 and bythe end of the amnesty/graceperiod deadline of 3rd No-vember-2013 these figuresare expected to rise.

In this connection he alsomentioned that these figuresdo not include those Paki-stanis who entered the King-dom on Umrah, Hajj & VisitVisas before July 2008 andwere later able to regularizethemselves.—OnlineContinued on Page 7

Private couriercompany lootedKARACHI—Robbers looted2.2 million rupees from acourier company here onMonday. Four robbers en-tered into a company’s office,at Mobile Market, Saddar, andlooted the money. Robbersheld the company’s staff hos-tage at gunpoint before gettingaway with cash.—Online

A SINGLE dose rather than the recommended three of a vaccine against thesexually transmitted disease HPV may

be enough to ward off cervical cancer, re-searchers said Monday. The findings may leadto simpler delivery and lower costs, possiblyincreasing the number ofyoung people who get vac-cinated, said the report in thejournal Cancer PreventionResearch.

The HPV vaccine is rec-ommended for girls and boysbefore they become sexuallyactive, but US research from2012 showed that only onethird of US female teens andfewer than seven percent ofUS boys got the recom-mended three doses.“ O u rfindings suggest promise forsimplified vaccine adminis-tration schedules that mightbe cheaper, simpler, andmore likely to be imple-mented around the world,”said Mahboobeh Safaeian, aninvestigator in the Division of Cancer Epide-miology and Genetics at the National CancerInstitute in Maryland.

The study focused on a population ofnearly 7,500 women aged 18-25 in CostaRica. Although all were supposed to get therecommended three doses of the HPV vac-cine at different times, about 20 percent ofparticipants did not. So researchers analyzedblood samples from a group of 78 who gotone dose, compared to groups of 120 to 192that received two or three doses as planned.

They found that all the women in all threegroups had antibodies against virulent strainsof HPV, known as 16 and 18. These antibod-

ies persisted in their blood for up to fouryears, which is about as long as researchershave expected the vaccine to be effective.

The levels of antibodies also appearedstable over time, even though they wereslightly lower in the single dose group, sug-

gesting “these are lasting re-sponses,” said the study. Thevaccine used in the study wasCervarix, made by the Britishpharmaceutical giantGlaxoSmithKline.

“GSK is continuing toreview findings from this trialand is committed to ensuringregulatory authorities and pub-lic health officials have accessto this information,” a companyspokesman told AFP. Study au-thors said antibody responsesafter a single dose have not beenevaluated for Gardasil, thequadrivalent HPV vaccinemade by Merck that is morewidely used in the United Statesand many other countries.Moreresearch is needed before any

formal changes can be decided, but Safaeiansaid the findings could have far-reaching im-pact in low income nations. “Vaccination withtwo doses, or even one dose, could simplifythe logistics and reduce the cost of vaccina-tion, which could be especially important inthe developing world, where more than 85 per-cent of cervical cancers occur, and where cer-vical cancer is one of the most common causesof cancer-related deaths,” she said.HPV cancause oral, anal, and cervical cancer. Accord-ing to the World Health Organization, cervicalcancer is the second most common cancer inwomen worldwide, and causes 500,000 newcases and 250,000 deaths each year.

One dose of HPV vaccinemay prevent cervical cancer

Artists presenting stage play “What Women Want” produced and directed by Qurat-ul-Ain at Islamabad Club Auditorium.—PO photo by Sultan Bashir

Students posing for a group photo during funfair at Government Khadija Umer College forWomen Tench Bhatta.

ISLAMABAD—A colourfulevening of Deewali- a hindu fes-tival of lights was celebratedwith zest and zeal by Hinducommunity here at PakistanNational Council of the Arts(PNCA) on Monday.

The event was organizedby ministry of religious affairsand interfaith harmony to per-form religious rituals by Hinduminority living in Pakistan toensure equal rights for minori-ties and express national har-mony.

The premises of PNCA,which were decorated with“Diyas” (clay oil lamps) whilea colorful “Rangoli” - a tradi-tional decorative folk art of In-dia was created. The decorativedesigns of ‘Rangoli’ made onfloor with vibrant colored pow-ders welcomed the guests in-cluding members of Hindu com-munity and participants of otherreligions. Diwali or Deepavali,is a religious festival celebratedbetween mid-October and mid-November for different reasons.

Hindu community celebratesDewali with zest, zeal

DG, PNCA Mohammad Bilal,community and religious leaders,dignitaries attended the event thatincluded exchange of greetings ina traditional way and worship ofgoddess Lakshmi, Lord Ganesha,Ma Kali, Lord Chitragupta andGovardhan Parvat. AdditionalSecertary Skindar Ismael Khanfrom ministry of religious affairsand interfaith harmony in his wel-come address congratulated theHindu community and said,” Maythis festival of lights dispel dark-ness and gloom and bring joy,happiness and prosperity to ourcountry and its people,” andstressed for gaining knowledgeand education for prosperity.While Minister for state said, thegovernment congratulated and as-sured their full cooperation forequal rights for all minority com-munities on behalf of the govern-ment as per Quaid’s principlesand according to the constitutionof country.

He said it was a festival inwhich all communities could re-joice in amity and friendship and

celebrate the solidarity of thenation. “I also wish to reiterateour commitment to respect anduphold the minorities’ right ac-cording to the teaching of ourreligion and last prophetMohammad (P.B.U.H), whopledged on several occasion tosafeguard the rights of all mi-norities till the Day of Judg-ment,” he added.

Pandit Ashok, who cameespecially from Bannu (Kohat)to oofer paratana (prayer), inhis prayers specially thankedthe government to organize thisevent on officail level. RameshKumar gave the Deewali mes-sage, whereas a speech was de-livered by Pandit Chenoy Lalabout the event oragnized andBhajang (traditional and reli-gious song) was presented byRajab came from Karachi.

However, the beautiful per-formance of Khattak Taranaand Arti (religious songs withdances) given by the PNCA’sperformers mesmerized theviewers.—APPA view of traffic jam at GT road in Rawalpindi.

For Hindus, Diwali is one of themost important festivals of theyear and is celebrated in families.For Jains, Diwali marks the at-tainment of moksha or nirvana byMahavira in 527 BC.

The name “Diwali” is a con-traction of “Deepavali” whichtranslates into “row of lamps”.Diwali involves the lighting ofsmall clay lamps filled with oilto signify the triumph of goodover evil.

These lamps are kept on dur-ing the night and one’s house iscleaned, both done in order tomake the goddess Lakshmi feelwelcome. Firecrackers are burstin order to drive away evil spir-its. During Diwali, all the cel-ebrants wear new clothes andshare sweets and snacks withfamily members and friends.

Participants from all over thecountry including State ministerof religious affairs and interfaithharmony, Peer MohammadHammedullah Hasnaat Shah,Additional Secertary from theministry, Skindar Ismael Khan ,

RAWALPINDI—An Artworkexhibition of 11 artists fromKhushab organized byRawalpindi Arts Councilkicked off here on Monday.

Member National Assem-bly Ch Jaffar Iqbal flanked byToshikazu Isomura Counselorand Head of Public Affairssection Japan Embassy,Naheed Manzoor, ResidentDirector RAC Waqar Ahmedand Sajjad Hyder inauguratedthe exhibition.

The art work consistingmore than 150 pieces featur-ing calligraphy, landscape andtruck art of Manazir AhmedKhan, Noor Hussain, Bashir

Artwork exhibition of 11artists kicks off at RAC

Haider, Tariq Mehmood,Hafiz Ahmed Shahzad MaherRasheed, Tahir Bilal ,Muhammad Hafeez, SikandarHyat was included in the ex-hibition. The work of two lateart is ts Bilal Ummi andHasnain Anjum was also dis-played to pay homage.

Addressing at inauguralceremony, Member NationalAssembly Ch Jaffar Iqbal ap-preciated the work of artistsof remote areas of Punjab. Hesaid that art is not a legacy toanyone but it is a God gifted.Ch Jaffar Iqbal said that creditgoes to Rawalpindi ArtsCouncil which collected such

artists of high caliber.Toshikazu, Councilor Ja-

pan Embassy, said that he ispleased to know that there areartists from rural areas whoare introducing the culturaland becoming recognition fortheir areas. He said that skillsof the artists can be judged bywatching such a beautiful artpieces by all the artists.

Naheed Manzoor said thatit is good practice by RAC tostarts cultural exchange pro-grams and providing platformto the artists. The exhibitionwill go display till 9th No-vember 2013.—INP (Pictureon Page 10).

New EgyptianFaculty members

arrive at IIUISTAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—A group of sevenEgyptian teachers from Al-Azhar University (Egypt), whohave been recently inducted atFaculty of Arabic of Interna-tional Islamic UniversityIslamabad (IIUI), arrived at uni-versity on Monday and called onPresident IIUI Dr. AhmedYousif Al-Draiweesh.

President IIUI welcomedthe Egyptian faculty membersand apprised them about the vi-sion and objectives of the uni-versity. He hoped that inductionof highly qualified faculty wouldfurther raise the teaching stan-dards of Faculty of Arabic.

He stressed the need for en-hancing culture of research andteaching among Muslims whileterming it a vital solution ofUmma’s challenges. Dean Fac-ulty of Arabic Dr. Bashir Ahmedwas also present in the meeting.

Later, Egyptian teachersalso called on Director General(AF&P) Gulzar Ahmed Khwaja.

Meanwhile, Gulzar AhmedKhwaja has assumed his respon-sibilities as Director General(Administration, Finance &Planning) of the InternationalIslamic University, Islamabad(IIUI) while he will also act asSecretary, Board of Governors.

Gulzar Ahmed Khwaja hadworked as DG AF&P few yearsback while he had also servedas Director (Academics) at IIUI.

Rector IIUI, Dr. MasoomYasinzai and President IIUI Dr.Ahmed Yousif Al-Draiweeshhave welcomed the appointmentof Gulzar Ahmed Khwaja andtermed it as a positive step foruniversity progress. Facultymembers, officers, staff mem-bers and students have also wel-comed the appointment ofGulzar Ahmed Khwaja as DG(AF&P) of the university.

ISLAMABAD—Chairman Capi-tal Development Authority(CDA) Nadeem Hassan Asif onMonday said that clean water ispre-requisite for good health andit is duty of the authority to pro-vide clean drinking water to resi-dents of Islamabad.

Chairman chaired a highlevel meeting regarding waterfiltration plants in Islamabadhere at CDA headquarters. Mem-ber (Engineering) SanaullahAman, Director General (WaterManagement) and concerned of-ficers also attended the meeting.All possible efforts will be madefor this purpose and no laxitywill be tolerated in this regard,the Chairman said.

The meeting was informedthat CDA has installed 38 waterfiltration plants in the city out ofwhich 34 filtration plants areproperly functional. Four non-functioning filtration plants in-clude filtration plant installed atFruit and Vegetable market I-11/4 ,H-9 Bazaar, I-9/4 and G-6/2

Provision of clean drinkingwater top priority: Nadeem

which will soon be made opera-tional after required repair andmaintenance.

The Chairman CDA di-rected the completion of repairand maintenance work within aweek. The meeting was also in-formed that CDA has outsourced the operation and main-tenance of these water filtrationplants including change of fil-ters and other components, wa-ter testing and presence of op-erators to contractors after com-pleting all procedural formali-ties.

The Chairman during themeeting directed to formulateStandard Operating Procedures(SOPs) for availability andquality assurance of water atevery filtration plant.

The SOP along with achecklist should be prominentlydisplayed on every filtrationplant while the operator at everyplant should maintain a bookhaving complete record andschedule for change of filters, the

Chairman further directed.The Chairman also directed

that fortnightly water testing bythird party i-e PCRWR or NIHfor quality assurance should alsobe made mandatory. For ensur-ing quality water supply toIslamabad residents throughCDA installed water plants, thechairman further directed thatdaily visit by sub-engineer to fil-tration plants should be madecompulsory.

The report of visit shouldbe submitted directly toChairman’s office daily. To fur-ther strengthen the monitoringmechanism, the chairman di-rected that the concerned Assis-tant Director should visit the fil-tration plants on alternate dayswhile twice a week visit by theconcerned Deputy Directorshould also be made mandatory.

The Director should visit thewater filtration plants once aweek while the DG should en-sure his fortnightly visit, thechairman further directed.—APP

AAUR organizesseminar on kitchen

gardeningISLAMABAD—Pir Mehr AliShah Arid Agriculture Univer-sity Rawalpindi (PMAS-AAUR) in collaboration withPunjab Directorate of Agricul-ture Information organized aseminar on “Kitchen Garden-ing” here on Monday to promotethe growing of fresh vegetablesand fruits at economical ratethrough kitchen gardening.

On the occasion, PMAS-AAUR Vice Chancellor, Prof.Dr Rai Niaz Ahmad, MemberProvincial Assembly PunjabEngineer Qamar-U-zman, Di-rector Punjab Agriculture Infor-mation Muhammad RafiqAkhtar, Project Director Fruitand Vegetable Muhammad Asif,faculty members and large num-ber of students were alsopresent.—APP

MYC meeting forpeace on Nov 7

ISLAMABAD—Mili YakjehatiCouncil has called an importantmeeting to promote the peaceand harmony in the country af-ter the assassination of TalibanAmir Hakimullah Mehsud.

Newly elected president ofMYC, Sahibzada Abu-ul-KhairZubair will chair the meeting inKarachi today. All religious partiesin MYC will attend the meeting.The meeting has been called to pro-mote the peace in country duringthe holy month of Muharram andto set the strategy for upcomingsituation of the country.

The issue of assassination ofTehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan leaderHakimullah Mehsud and role ofreligious parties for peace in coun-try would be also discussed inmeeting. Second meeting of MYCwill be held in Lahore on Novem-ber 7, in which decisions taken inthe meeting of Karachi will beapproved.—Online

ISLAMABAD—World ScienceDay for Peace andDevelopment (WSDPD) willbe observed on November 10to create awareness of thebenefits of science worldwide.

The United Nations Educa-tional, Scientific and Cultural

World Science Day on Nov 10Organization (UNESCO)works with people, govern-ment agencies and organiza-tions to promote the WSDPDeach year.

On the occasion, events areorganized to highlight importantrole of science in peace and de-

velopment. In Pakistan, celebration of

World Science Day for Peaceand Development (WSDPD) onNovember 10 each year has be-come a regular programme ofPakistan Science Foundation(PSF).—APP

Chief Justice of Pakistan Mr. Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry presiding over theFull Court Meeting in Supreme Court.

Counsellor Japanese Embassy Toshikazo taking interest in the art pieces displayed during an exhibition at Rawalpindi Arts Council.

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Brothers in Islam establishregular prayers and charity

Chief Traffic Officer, Rawalpindi, Syed Ishtiaq Hussain Shah distributing awarenesspamphlets among the motorists.

Minister of State for Religious Affairs and Inter-Faith Hormony, Pir Muhammad Aminul Hasnat Shah addressing the Ulema and Mashaikh Conference.

20 outlawsarrested

RAWALPINDI—Rawalpindipolice arrested 20 out-laws including threedrunkards and recovered1345 grams charras, 13bottles of liquor, fourpistols 30 bore with 17rounds and oneKalashnikov with 16rounds from the posses-sion of arrested accused.

According toRawalpindi police spokes-man, Saddar Baroni policeheld Hamayoun Nazir forhaving 1000 grams charras.Bunni police rounded upShakeel on recovery ofeight bott les of l iquor.Kalar Syedan police nettedHafeez for carrying five li-quor bottles.

City police appre-hended Adeel , Javed andUsman who were allegedlyunder the influence of al-cohol.

Meanwhile, TamoorNawaz, Haris, Imran Sajid,Allah Ditta and Akram weresent behind the bars forpossessing i l legal weap-ons .

Other accused were ar-rested for having char-ras.—APP

RAWALPINDI—City PoliceOfficer (CPO) RawalpindiBilal Siddique Kamyanathat Anti-Car Lifting Cell(ACLC) of Rawalpindi Po-lice has recovered 50 sto-len vehicles worth millionsof rupees. Addressing apress conference here onMonday, he said that aftertaking over charge as CPORawalpindi he took seriousnotice of vehicles theftcases and gave special taskin this regard to authoritiesconcerned.

A special team, headedby Assistant Superinten-dent Police (ASP) Capt.Zeeshan Haider, InspectorAzam Butt, Head ConstableMuhammad Zafar and oth-ers was constituted to con-trol vehicles theft cases andto recover stolen vehicles.The team made day andnight efforts and recovered50 vehicles which were sto-len from different cities dur-ing last two months. Manyrecovered vehicles werefound tempered, he added.The vehicles includingAXB-421, MS-290, VC-943,LOX-404, LXJ-1895 and

Rawalpindi policerecover 50 stolen vehicles

others were handed over tothe owners. The CPO told,42 car lifters were nettedduring two months. He in-formed ACLC had im-pounded a number of ve-hicles during ongoing spe-cial drive in Rawalpindi. TheCPO appreciated the perfor-mance of ACLC and di-rected them to further im-prove their performanceand enhance the vigilanceto eliminate the car jackingactivities. He said, specialACLC squads were de-ployed at entry and exitpoints of the city to controlvehicles theft cases and torecover stolen vehicles. Anumber of important pointsof the town are being cov-ered by plainclothes policepersonnel, he added. BilalSiddique Kamyana said,solid steps taken by ACLChave reduced the vehicletheft cases significantly. Hesaid, Rawalpindi police isalso running an anti autotheft campaign aimed atcontrolling the vehiclestheft cases.

All the Station HouseOfficers (SHOs) of

Rawalpindi district were in-structed to take steps andlaunch anti auto theft cam-paign and aware masses onprotecting their vehiclesagainst theft. SHOs of thedistrict were directed to usemaximum available re-sources to control auto-theft cases, he said adding,pamphlets are being distrib-uted among public particu-larly motorists in this re-gard.

The motorists havebeen advised to use clutchbar system for the securityof vehicles which are avail-able at Rescue 15. Besides,tracker system and antiauto theft switch can alsobe installed in this regard.

Installing a mechanicaldevice that locks to thesteering wheel is better forthe protection of vehicles,he said adding, it is alsobetter to install more alarmdevices or locks to help de-lay a thief.

Other tips included park-ing of vehicles in publicparking lots and never leav-ing valuables inside the ve-hicle, he added.—APP

ISLAMABAD—The PlanningCommission of Pakistan hasso far released Rs.98.215 bil-lion under its Public SectorDevelopment Programme(PSDP) for various projectsagainst the total allocations ofRs.540 billion for the fiscalyear 2013-14.

According to latest dataof Planning Commission ofPakistan, out of these alloca-tions, Rs.19863 million havebeen released for variousprojects of Pakistan EnergyCommission, out of its totalallocations of Rs.52300 millionearmarked under PSDP forFY2013-14.

Similarly, a sum of Rs.9753.422 million has been re-leased to National HighwayAuthority out of total alloca-tion of Rs. 63038.619 millionfor the current fiscal year.

Out of the total funds ofRs.25,739.199 million allo-cated for the National HealthService Regulations and Co-ordination Division for thecurrent year, the Planningcommission released

Rs.98.215b released fordevelopment projects

Rs.10469.269 million so far.The Commission also re-

leased Rs.111,29.870 millionfor Railway Division out of itstotal allocations ofRs.30,964.894 million whereasRs.160 million have been re-leased for National food Se-curity and Research Divisionout of its total allocations ofRs.750 million for the year.

Rs. 3698 million havebeen released for Higher Edu-cation Commission out of itstotal allocation of Rs.18490million for the year 2013-14whereas out of total alloca-tions of Rs. 2363.974 millionearmarked for Law, Justiceand Parliamentary Affairs Di-vision, Rs.489.401 millionhave been released so far.

According to the data,the commission released Rs.13,096.957 million for WAPDA(Power) out of its total alloca-tions of Rs 51543.425 millionwhere as Rs.6069.273 millionhave been provided toWAPDA (Water Sector) outof its total allocations ofRs.57840.211 million.

Rs.2562.419 million havebeen released for EarthquakeReconstruction and Rehabili-tation Authority (ERRA) outof its total allocations ofRs.10000 million for the cur-rent year.

The commission also re-leased Rs.614.993 million forcabinet division, Rs.17.263 forClimate Change Division andRs.158.200 million for Com-merce Division.

In addition, Rs. 89.763have been released for Edu-cation and Training Division,Rs.2075.797 for Finance Divi-sion, Rs.160.954 million forIndustries Division, 1197.812for Interior Division andRs.34.347 for Narcotics Con-trol Division.

The Commission, releasedRs.20 million for Petroleum andNatural Resources Division,Rs.103.996 for Planning and De-velopment Division, Rs.413.347million for Science and Tech-nology Research Division,Rs.77.864 for SUPARCO andRs.63 million for Textile Indus-try Division.—Online

RAWALPINDI—Tout mafiain the district courtsRawalpindi has been addingto the miseries of the al-ready troubled litigants inthe courts.

The touts keep wander-ing in the district courtspremises and mint moneyfrom the visitors by offer-ing all kind of help and as-sistance needed in thecourts. They charge Rs500to 700 to appear before acourt as a witness for any-

Tout mafia in courtsadding to litigants’ woes

one.According to reports

the touts allegedly havelinks in all the major law re-lated departments and of-fices of the city includingreaders, registrars and com-missioner offices.

A tout, in the districtcourt told INP, he offers hisservices to the litigants ingetting bails on personalguarantee and was earninglivelihood for his family.

He said that he was

numberdar in his village butwas facing financial hard-ships, thus was forced to dothis job. He receives 10 per-cent of the bail assurancebond, he added.

A litigant in the courtpremises said that the toutswere taking the advantageof the ignorance of the visi-tors. Many touts are justthere to mint money fromthe troubled complainantsand respondents in oneway or the other.—INP

Bus stands sansfacilities trouble

transporters,passengers

RAWALPINDI—The trans-porters and passengers havenot been provided facilitiesat bus stops in the city de-spite the fact that the TMARawal Town had auctionedstands four months ago.

The contractor has notmade any arrangements forpotable water, sitting areaand toilets on the bus standsof inter and intra-city trans-ports.

The TMA Rawal Townauctioned the bus stand forthe vehicles playing onroutes including Raja Bazaarto Bari Imam shrine, Raja Ba-zaar to Morgah and Rawat forRs 4 million and those ofSuzukis for Rs2.2 million. Butthe contractors have not pro-vided facilities for the trans-porters and passengers onthese stands.

The transports express-ing concern over the lack ofarrangements at the standsand demanded of the TMAhigher officials to direct thecontractors to provide thenecessary facilities.—INP

CBA opposesOGDCL

privatizationISLAMABAD—CBA of stateowned OGDCL held a protestin front of the office of thecompany on Monday againstits privatization and warnedthat they would not allow iteven at the cost of their lives.

Addressing the protestCBA President Hakeem Khanwarned that the OGDCLworkers would shut theirfields if the government wentahead with the privatizationof the corporation.

He said Minister for Plan-ning and DevelopmentAhsan Iqbal opposed theprivatization of OGDCLwhen the PPP governmentannounced plans to do so in2008. He questioned as towhy this Minister is nowkeeping mum over the plan.

Hakeem Khan said theOGDCL earned a profit of Rs173 billion last year whichwould go up to Rs 300 billionnext year when three newlydiscovered fields would bebrought on production line.He said there were vested in-terests behind the plan for theprivatization of this profit mak-ing national institutions whichis earning billions of rupees forthe government.—INP

Six suspectsincluding five

women arrestedISLAMABAD—Police onMonday arrested six sus-pected persons includingfive women near former presi-dent Pervez Musharraf ’sfarmhouse located at ChackShahzad.

According to policesources, police stopped avehicle at police check postset up near farmhouse offormer President PervezMusharraf but the driver at-tempted to escape from thescene. However, policeseized the vehicle and ar-rested all of them.

Police said that the sixsuspects including fivewomen and a man were iden-tified as Nebha Ashraf,Roubi Shujja, Sonia Hussain,Sonia Babar, Anum Khalidand Muhammad Imran. Theywere shifted to ShahzadTown police station for inter-rogation.—INP

ISLAMABAD—Allama IqbalOpen University (AIOU) hasarranged a walk about Den-gue awareness and its pre-ventive measures today(Tuesday) at 10:00 a.m. at itsmain campus.

The Vice-Chancellor,Prof. Dr. Nazir Ahmed Sangiwill lead the anti dengue walkwhich will start from the firstblock and would end at the

AIOU dengue awareness walk todayfront of Academic Complex.

All Deans, Registrar,Academicians, Officers, em-ployees of the Universityand students of the FederalPrimary School at the maincampus of University willparticipate in the anti den-gue walk.

Banners and placardsabout preventive measuresof dengue virus would also

be used in the walk. Speechesabout preventive measureswill be delivered and pam-phlets would also be distrib-uted among all the partici-pants.

In addition, Project Direc-torate has launched specialplan of anti dengue virus fu-migation spray inside andoutside all the buildings andgreen places. INP

QAU convocationtoday

ISLAMABAD—The 6th Con-vocation of Quaid-e-AzamUniversity (QAU) Islamabadwill be held at the Conven-tion Center today (Tuesday).

President MamnoonHussain will be the chiefguest at the Convocation andwould award the degrees andmedals among graduates.

The students who havepassed their PhD Examinationduring the period from Janu-ary 2012 to December 2012,while M. Phil. and M. Sc. Dur-ing the session 2010 (Spring,Autumn semesters), 2011(Autumn) and 2012 (Spring)will be conferred degrees.

The spokesman said thatPresident Gold Medals andthe Chancellor Medalswould also be given to thestudents who stood first oftheir respected sessions inthe convocation.—Online

IJP road to bedualised

ISLAMABAD—Capital Devel-opment Authority (CDA) hasdecided to expand the I.J.Principal Road to dual line tocontrol the heavy traffic onboth sides of the Road.

As per CDA officials es-timated cost of new projectwill be Rs 20 million, while atfirst phase of project mainte-nance work of road will becompleted.

Dual lines will be con-structed on both sides ofroad to facilitate the heavytraffic.—Online

ISLAMABAD—Accountabil-ity Court (AC) has directedNational Accountability Bu-reau (NAB) to present thechallan in respect of OGRAcorruption case till Novem-ber, 18.

OGRA corruption cases challanAC Judge Muhammad

Bashir took up OGRA corrup-tion case for hearing Mon-day. Prime accused formerchairman OGRA Tauqir Sadiqwas produced in the court.Additional Deputy Prosecu-

tor General (ADPG) NABChaudhry Riaz told the courtfinal challan in respect of thiscase has not been approvedso far. He prayed to the courtto give 10 days more for pre-senting the challan.—Online

Anti-denguedrive launchedISLAMABAD—A vigorousanti-dengue drive has beenlaunched in Islamabad on thedirections of the DeputyCommissioner, Islamabad,Amer Ali Ahmed.

In this regard, 10 teamsheaded by the AssistantCommissioners and Magis-trates spent a busy day in thefield on Monday and fumi-gation and anti-mosquitospray was carried out at 63places in the union councilsof Bhara Kau, Tarlai, Sihala,Rawat and Shah Allah Ditta.

In charge, Dengue con-trol cell Dr. MuhammadNajeeb Durrani told thatlarvacidal spray was alsoconducted at 525 placesidentified during the visits ofteams and 26 open garbagedumps were removed anddisposed of according tosolid waste disposal rules.

Tyres were found kept atopen places in 24 tyre shopswhich were removed fromopen places and placed insidethe shops and covered prop-erly. Tyre shops owners weredirected to keep tyres cov-ered properly inside the shopsand ensure compliance ofSection 144 relating to pre-ventive measures againstdengue at their shops.—APP

RCB acquires 10vehicles on rent

RAWALPINDI—RawalpindiCantonment Board (RCB)has acquired more 10 ve-hicles on rent for dumpingsolid waste.

Chief Executive Officer(CEO) Rana Manzoor AhmadKhan has directed AdditionalCEO, Shakil Anwar Jappa tomake early arrangements fordisposal of solid waste nomatter how much funds arerequired in this regard.

CEO (RCB) has taken thisstep to protect the citizensagainst the diseases beingcaused by the solid waste.

Residents of Chak BaliKhan road have protestedagainst throwing garbage bycantt board sanitation staffin open fields saying thispractice has led to spreadepidemics in the area.

They have demanded ofCEO (RCB) and other au-thorities to visit the area ontheir own and direct the sani-tation staff to dump the gar-bage instead of throwing itin open.—Online

RTA to installCCTV cameras

in cityRAWALPINDI—Regional Traf-fic Police (RTA) has plannedto install the CCTV cameras ondifferent spots of city and can-tonment in regard to decreaseand control the crime rate.

The project will be madeand controlled by City TrafficPolice (CTP), and it will becompleted with the consulta-tion of City Police Officer(CPO). Details said that workon feasibility report of thisproject has been initiated,while it will be launched toprevent the crimes in the cityand to resolve the problemsof traffic.Sources said that,Rawalpindi Chamber of Com-merce (RCC) and Trade Unionwould provide the funds forthis project.—Online

IT is one of the leastknown genocides inmodern history. It was

carried out with such a pre-cision that it is difficult tofind its traces, except in thememories of the survivors,and the tales of horror theypassed on to their next gen-erations. Around 500,000Muslims were killed withmilitary precision. It wassuch an operation that lan-guage lacks words to ex-press this offence of demo-lition of human being.

Though the targeted kill-ing had already started inJammu around mid July1947, the operation got a fil-lip immediately after a flee-ing Maharaja Hari Singh andhis wife reached Jammu on26 October 1947. An

organised carnage was or-chestrated to kill Muslims,wherever found or spotted inJammu.

British daily The LondonTimes quoting its special cor-respondent in India statedthat the Maharaja, under hisown supervision, got assas-sinated 2,37,000 Muslims, us-ing military forces in theJammu area. The editor ofStatesman, Ian Stephen, in hisbook Horned Moon writesthat till the end of autumn1947, more than 200,000 Mus-lims were murdered in one go.Horace Alexander wrote in theSpectator (16 January 1948)that the killings had “the tacitconsent of State authority”and put the figure at 2,00,000.

The Hindu Dogra ruler’smain aim was to change the

demographic composition ofthe region by eliminating theMuslim population. Such wasthe intensity of carnage thatin Jammu province about 123villages were ‘completely de-populated’. Kathua district‘lost’ almost fifty per cent ofits Muslim population. Thou-sands of Gujars were massa-cred in mohalla Ramnagar. Vil-lage Raipur, within Jammucantonment area was com-pletely burnt down. TheDogra State troops were at theforefront of attacks on Mus-lims. The State authoritieswere also issuing arms notonly to local volunteer orga-nizations such as the RSS, butalso to those in surroundingEast Punjab districts such asGurdaspur.

The State administration

had not only demobilised alarge number of Muslim sol-diers serving in the state army,but Muslim police officers hadalso been sent home. In theJammu city, the Muslim mili-tary were disarmed and theJammu cantonment MuslimBrigadier replaced by a HinduDogra officer. Muslims seek-ing refuge in police stationsand Deputy Commissioners’offices were openly handedover to RSS beasts by theDogra officers themselves.

Meanwhile, Maharaja ofPatiala was not only supply-ing weapons but also a Bri-gade of Patiala State troopswere operating in Jammu andKashmir, without whose helpand assistance, the objectivecould not have been achievedwith such precision. The

Times of London reportedthe events in Jammu withsuch a front page headlines:“Elimination of Muslims fromJammu”, and pointed outthat Maharaja Hari Singh was“in person commanding allthe forces” which were eth-nically cleansing the Mus-lims.

That there was a designto change the demographicsis evidenced by another well-reported incident. Prime Min-ister of Jammu and Kashmir,Mehr Chand Mahajan, uponarrival in Jammu told a del-egation of Hindus, which methim in the Palace, that nowwhen the power was beingtransferred to the people theyshould better demand parity.When one of the delegationmembers wanted to know

Genocide of Muslims, Jammu 1947how that was possible,Mahajan, pointing to theRamnagar natural reservebelow, where Muslimcorpses were still lying said,“the population ratio too canchange” like that (“Elimina-tion of Muslims from Jammu”II, The Times, London, 10August 1948, page 5. See alsoVed Bhasin’s interview toKashmir Life).

Both documentary andoral sources suggest that thecrime committed on the Mus-lims was nothing less thanan organized holocaust.Sheikh MohammedAbdullah, who was ap-pointed “Chief EmergencyAdministrator” on 30 Octo-ber 1947 could not preventthe carnage. He writes in hisautobiography Atish-e-

Chinar (page 312) that the car-nage got impetus after the ar-rival of Union Home MinsterSardar Patel, Union DefenceMinster Baldev Singh alongwith the Maharaja of Patiala,a person known for his anti-Muslim bias, in Jammu. Thetrio met various Hindu orga-nizations and delegations, af-ter which the massacre at-tained a great momentum.Hindu fanatics, aided andabetted by governmentforces, started burning downvillage after village inhabitedby Muslims. Women wereraped at will. Weapons weredistributed freely to maraud-ers from the Kachi Chawnihouse of Pandith Prem NathDogra and motivated byBalraj Madhok.

On 6 November surviving

Muslims were told to as-semble in an open ground,to be sent to Pakistan, herdedin trucks like cattle and killedmercilessly with machine gunfire between the Digiana andSamba belt. Women wereabducted and raped. Eventhe daughter of the legend-ary Chaudhary GhulamAbbas was not spared.Many women preferred deaththan falling prey to the cruelbeasts who wouldn’t tire call-ing themselves as secularpeople.

On the ground, the kill-ing operations were orga-nized, directed and super-vised by Maharani Tara Deviin league with her debauchGuru Sat Dev and the gover-nor of Jammu, Chet RamChopra.—KMS

ISLAMABAD—As part of itsmartyrdom-week activities,the Jammu and KashmirPeoples’ Movement (JKPM)organised a get together ofthe survivors whose parentsor grandparents were butch-ered during the ethnic cleans-ing of Muslims by Maharajaforces at the behest of Indiain the first week of Novem-ber in 1947.

Additionally, seven sur-vivors who participated inthe interaction on the invita-tion of JKPM narratedheartrending accounts of

1947 Jammu massacre survivorsrecollect bitter memories: JKPM

how their parents and grand-parents were massacred inthe supervision ofMaharaja’s wife MaharaniTara Devi.

Seven survivors fromUdhumpur, Reasi andUstaad Mohalla participatedin the special meet organisedin the memory of JammuMartyrs.

Master Abdul RashidMalik, a retired teacher fromReasi burst into tears whilenarrating how eleven per-sons of their seventeen-member family were butch-

ered ruthlessly.The 76-year-old Rashid

Ahmed recollected that afterfleeing from Srinagar andreaching Jammu, Maharajahad dispatched a specialsquad along with the mem-bers of the Hindu fanatics toeliminate their family.

Similar recollections weremade by 72 years old Ch. RajMuhammad of Udumpurewho is settled in Jammu now.

He said seven persons oftheir eleven-member familywere butchered byMaharaja’s military at

Nagrota. Five more peoplewho narrated the emotionalaccounts of the tragedy suf-fered by their gamilies includ-ing Abdul Majeed Khan,Sikander Khan, DilMuhammad, Noor Ali andRoshan Din.

The senior vice chairmanof the JKPM while speakingon the occasion said theHindu Fanatics who werehand in glove with theMaharja’s forces had takenrevenge from the JammuMuslims for supporting theMuslim Conference.—APP

SRINAGAR—At a time whenthe Kashmiri society wit-nesses surge in some of theunconventional crimes,prominent religious scholarsand literates of Kashmir haveresolved to stand up togetheragainst social evils and reli-gious hatred in the valley.

Speaking at a seminarorganized by the Forum forPromotion of Educationand Literature, Srinagar inassociation with IndianCouncil for Cultural Re-search (ICCR) to highlightteachings of Sufis andsaints, Mufti Azam Jammuand Kashmir, Mufti Bashirud Din said, “Kashmirneeds uplift through theteachings by the saints tomake it free from socialevils,” he said.

Mufti appealed peopleto impart religious andmoral education to their chil-dren. “There should beschools where besidesworldly education the chil-dren are given religious and

Unity must to fight religioushatred: Ulema

moral education,” he said.Religious scholar and

teacher, Prof Abdul RehmanWar said, “Unity is need ofan hour. We should thinkbeyond sectarian divide tospread love and harmony,”he said.

In his address, Patron,Himayat-ul-Islam, MaulanaShowkat Hussain Keng saidthat people should form anda joint strategy to spreadthe teachings of Saints.

“Valley is a abode ofsaints so we should taketheir mission forward to em-power our society. Theseteachings provide properguidance to us and dissuadeus from fighting with eachother,” he said.

Besides others knownliterary figure Prof RehmanRahi, writer and broadcasterFarooq Nazki, Vice-Chan-cellor Central University ofKashmir Prof Abdul WahidQureshi, MLA Zadibal PirAfaq Ahmad and RegionalDirector ICCR, Ayaz Rasool

Nazki also spoke on the oc-casion.

Earlier, in his introduc-tory speech, President ofthe Forum for promotion ofEducation and LiteratureBashir Ahmad Shakir andanchor Javaid Ahmad ap-prised the participantsabout the aims and objec-tives of the seminar.

They said the people ofJammu and Kashmir are go-ing through a difficultphase for many years.“This forum tries to sensi-tize them about the religiousand cultural values whichare the legacy of our ances-tors,” Shakir told the gath-ering.

They also highlightedthe role of a religiousscholar and saint KhwajaHabibullah Nowshehri (RA)

Besides others, vicepresident of the Forum AltafAhmad Zargar, GeneralSecretar Ali Muhammad Sofiwere also present among theorganizers.—NNI

Kashmir dispute has becomegreat challenge to world: Waza

SRINAGAR—APHC leaderand Chairman of Jammu andKashmir Peoples League,Mukhtar Ahmad Waza hassaid that the Kashmir disputehas become a great challengeto the world community, par-ticularly the United Nations.

Mukhtar Ahmad Wazaaddressing a public meetingat Tral urged UN Secretary

General Ban Ki-moon to takepractical steps for settlementof the decades old dispute toensure peace in the SouthAsian region.

He maintained that Kash-mir was an internationally-recognized political dispute,which should not be ignoredby the World Body.

The JKPL also expressed

solidarity with the renownedjournalist of the occupied ter-ritory, Bashir Ahmad Basharover his step-mother’s death.

Meanwhile, Tehreek-e-Hurriyet Jammu and Kashmirin a statement denounced theharassment of the son of aTeH leader, Ghulam HassanButt of Chadora by Indianpolice.—KMS

JAMMU—Observing that“misgovernance” and “trustdeficit” are the main reasonsof growing alienation amongpeople, patron of PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP)Mufti Muhammad Sayeedhas said that five yearachievement of NationalConference led governmentis a big zero because this dis-pensation has failed on allfronts.

“Encouraging corrup-tion, supporting nepotismand abusing state appara-tus to deprive people oftheir democratic rights areonly noticeable achieve-ments of the present dis-pensation”, Mufti said andregretted that present re-gime has miserably failed tocarry forward the processof peace and reconciliationwhich was initiated by theprevious PDP-Congressgovernment in the state.

Addressing a publicmeeting Mufti said, “Withjust 16 MLAs in its kitty, PDP

had changed political dis-course of the state and alsorestored dignity and honourof the people by pursuingthe pro-peace agenda.

The process of reconcili-ation is still incomplete be-cause the present regimeduring the last five years hasfailed to connect itself withthe common masses”, hesaid and added that alien-ation among people havebeen increasing with everypassing day due to widen-ing of the gap between thecommoners and rulingelites.

“What to say of furtherconsolidating the reconcilia-tory and peace initiativesmade by the previous PDP ledgovernment, this coalition re-gime has even reversed by thewhole process through itsmis-goverance, mis-deedsand oppressive means”, hesaid while mentioning towardsprevailing sense of insecurityamong people and conditionson the borders.—NNI

Regime failed to carrypeace agenda: Mufti

Kashmir is aninternational

disputeSRINAGAR—The Chairper-son of Jammu and KashmirMass Movement (JKMM),Farida Behenji has said thatKashmir is an internationaldispute and its peaceful settle-ment is essential for ensuringpermanent peace in SouthAsia.Farida.

In a statement, the JKMMchief said that India had de-prived the Kashmiri masses ofall their fundamental rightsand was subjecting them tothe worst kind of state terror-ism.

She said that the peopleof Kashmir were struggling forsecuring their right to self-determination but New Delhi,instead of accepting theground reality, was trying todefame their movement.

Farida Behenji made itclear that India could not pre-vent the Hurriyet leaders fromtheir mission by imposingcurbs and restrictions on theirmovement and political activi-ties.—NNI

SRINAGAR—With over300,000 migratory birds al-ready thronging this famousKashmir bird reserve, offi-cials say they are expectingthe highest number of avianvisitors this winter.“The arrival of migratorybirds has begun in large num-bers,” Muhammad MaqboolBaba, Wetland Warden(Kashmir) has said.

“We have around300,000 migratory birds in thereserve this time. This is arecord so far as first migra-tory arrivals are concerned.We expect to host over onemillion migratory birds in thevarious bird reserves of theValley this winter whichwould be the highest evernumber,” Baba added.

The warden said migra-tory birds have arrived hereearly and in such large num-

Record number of migratorybirds keep Kashmir tryst

bers because their winterhomes are well maintained.

“We have maintainedoptimum levels of water inHokersar this year by plug-ging leakages and the like,”the warden said.

The Hokersar reserve,spread over 7.6 sq km, is situ-ated 20 km from city centreLal Chowk on the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road.

The other prominenetbird reserves of the Valley areShallabugh, Mirgund andHygam. In addition to this,migratory birds also spendthe winter months in over 120other small and big waterbodies including the WullarLake and the Dal Lake.

Migratory birds come toKashmir each winter fromRussia (Siberia), China, thePhilippines and Turkey andsome countries of Eastern

Europe.“We have around 25,000

greylag geese, over 100,000mallards, nearly 150,000 teals,over 50,000 shovellers, pin-tails, gadwalls, wigeons,coots and purple moorhensin the reserve time and witheach passing day, more birdsare arriving,” Baba toldIANS.

Some rare species, in-cluding brahmani ducks,have been spotted in the re-serve this time.

“Their numbers are defi-nitely less, but we have seenthem arrive in comparativelybetter numbers”, the wardenclaimed.

Encouraged by these ar-rivals, the warden said he isalso expecting some otherrare bird species like tuftedducks and cotton teals to re-turn.—NNI

New Delhidivided politicalmainstream to

weaken Kashmirivoice: NC

SRINAGAR—Accusing NewDelhi of fragmenting the po-litical mainstream in Jammuand Kashmir, a senior Na-tional Conference leader saidthat Kashmir’s voice has beenmade ‘meek and fragile’ un-der a ‘well knit plan’.

Ali Mohammad Sagar,who is a Minister forPanchayat Raj, said under theNew Delhi’s plan the centralgovernment disrespectedNC’s autonomy proposal anda resolution adopted on theissue.

Sagar said that his partyhas no other option but tocontinue to pursue restora-tion of Autonomy as a politi-cal roadmap for the resolutionof Kashmir issue. He said:“See, Delhi cannot not affordfreedom for Kashmir nor it canallow Kashmir’s merger withPakistan. The only solutionlies in restoration of Au-tonomy. And we will again goto people with the same po-litical roadmap.”

Asked about Delhi’s re-luctance to revocation ofArmed Forces Special Pow-ers Act (AFSPA) from certainareas in Kashmir on experi-mental basis, Sagar said: “Wehave no other option but tofollow our agenda whetherthey (Delhi) agree with us ornot. Delhi has made ourvoices weak by fragmentingus. Just to remind you thatMufti Mohammad Sayeedhad thrice urged formerprime minister Atal BehariVajpayee that Delhi shouldno lay all its eggs in one bas-ket. Then they (Delhi) cre-ated PDP. This is how theystarted hatching conspira-cies to break and fragmentus,” the minister for rural de-velopment said.

When asked why Jammuand Kashmir government wasnot able to prevail on uniongovernment’s decision tohang Mohammad Afzal Guruwhen other states like Punjaband Tamil Nadu prevailed tosave killers of Rajiv Gandhi,Sagar said: “Omar had takenup Guru’s issue with homeminister but it could not ma-terialize due to certain un-known reasons. I have toldyou that they (Delhi) havedeliberately and under a plandevalued our voice,” headded.

On the issue of achieve-ments of National Conferenceled government since it tookreins in Jammu and Kashmirin 2009, Sagar said that gov-ernment ushered in a new eraof peace, prosperity and de-velopment. “We were able torestore peace in Kashmir. De-velopment touched newheights as we constructed amajor and historic road net-work in the state.—NNI

JammuMartyrs’ Day

tomorrowSRINAGAR—Kashmiris on bothsides of the Line of Control andworld over will observe JammuMartyrs’ Day on Wednesdayto reaffirm the resolve to con-tinue their liberation struggle tillthey achieve their inalienableright to self-determination.

During the first week ofNovember in 1947, hundreds ofthousands of Kashmiris werekilled by the forces of Maha-raja Hari Singh, Indian armyand Hindu extremists in differ-ent parts of Jammu region whilethey were migrating to Paki-stan.

Senior APHC leader,Shabbir Ahmad Shah, in a state-ment issued in Srinagar, saidthat the people of Kashmirwould not allow the fanaticHindu forces to repeat the his-tory of November 1947 massa-cre. He said that the sacrificesrendered by the Muslims ofJammu region in the ongoingliberation struggle would al-ways be remembered.

Senior APHC leader, AghaSyed Hassan Al-Moosvi Al-Safvi, in a media interview inSrinagar, demanded that thepeople of Kashmir should begiven their right to self-deter-mination for ensuring lastingpeace in the South Asian re-gion. Another APHC leader,Mukhtar Ahmad Waza ad-dressing a public meeting at Tralurged the UN Secretary Gen-eral, Ban Ki-moon, to take prac-tical steps for settlement of thedecades-old dispute as per as-pirations of the Kashmiripeople.

The puppet authorities inan affidavit filed in the HighCourt of occupied Kashmir ad-mitted that over one thousandpersons were arrested duringprotest demonstrations in theKashmir Valley till October, thisyear.—KMS

Puppet regimeadmits arrest of1010 this year

ISLAMABAD—The puppetauthorities have admittedthat over one thousand per-sons were arrested duringprotest demonstrations inthe Kashmir Valley till Octo-ber this year.

Eighty three civilianswere injured during protestsagainst the hanging of

Mohammad Afzal Guru,killings in Sopore, Bandipore,Gool-Ramban and Gagran inShopian from January to Oc-tober, this year.

This was revealed by theauthorities before the HighCourt in a supplementary af-fidavit filed last month todrive home its argument insupport of pepper and pelletguns use against protestersin the Valley.—APP

India shouldfocus on Kashmirsettlement: Omar

SRINAGAR—Puppet ChiefMinister Omar Abdullah hasasked India to resolve theKashmir dispute instead of‘concentrating on develop-mental work alone’.

Addressing a public gath-ering in Bandipora, OmarAbdullah said, “I will con-tinue to carry forward thedevelopment agenda withfull spirit, but to mitigate dif-ficulties of people, wouldcontinue seek resolution ofall political issues in an ami-cable manner.”

He described resolutionof all political issues as “theneed of hour” while callingfor the need to keep channelsof dialogue open.—KMS

APHC leaders Zafar Akbar Butt, Javed Ahmad Mir and Syed Bashir Andrabi lead ananti-India protest demonstration at Khimber in Gandarbal.

MUZAFFARABAD: Transport mafia has made traffic police hapless and continue to putthousands of lives in danger.

MUZAFFARABAD: AJK Information Minister Syed Bazil Naqvi talking to immigrants’delegation

“If it ain’t broke,break it (or someoneelse will break it for

you).”—Tom Peters

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Federal Minis-ter for Petroleum and NaturalResources, Shahid KhaqanAbbasi on Saturday said CNGsector has remained an impor-tant stakeholder in the nationaldevelopment which cannot beignored under any set of cir-cumstances. Government willleave no stone unturned topromote the Rs 450 billion CNGsector which is providing jobsto millions, helping reduce oilimport bill, keeping environ-ment clean, and contributingbillions in taxes while servingthe poor, he said.

Speaking to a conferencetitled, My Fuel CNG 2013,organised by the All PakistanCNG Association(APCNGA), Shahid KhaqanAbbasi lauded to move of

APCNGA to help governmentin realising LNG import planswhich will subside energy cri-sis.

The federal minister saidthat LNG is the best possiblesolution to the energy crisisin the short-term while the Ira-nian gas is the cheapest one.He said that no country in theworld can undermine the im-portance of the CNG, addingthat we are trying to add twobillion cubic feet of the gas inthe system within two years.

Abbasi noted that de-mand on natural gas has beenrising while the production isnot enough to satisfy all thesectors consuming gas. Insuch a difficult situation, thesupport lent by APCNGA ishighly praiseworthy, he ob-served. He said that APCNGAis an efficient and effective

body which has transformedPakistan into world’s No. 1CNG consuming countrywhere half of the vehicle popu-lation has been converted onenvironmentally friendly andeconomical fuel.

The minister reiteratedthat government will not dis-criminate against any sector orallow closure of any venture.He said that nation has beenpaying price of the inaction ofthe former governments whichhas paved way for the crisiswhile different privateorganisations, NGOs andlong-drawn-out legal disputeshave also played their role.Those who delayed powerprojects as well as importantdecisions have damage thenational economy and theyare criminals but there is nolaw to try them, he lamented.

CNG sector partner innational development

AMANULLAH KHAN

KA R A C H I—HBL haspartnered with Idara-e-Taleem-O-Aagahi (ITA), acivil society organization,to participate in ChildrenLiterature Festivals (CLF) allover Pakistan. With thispartnership, HBL willlaunch its Financial LiteracyProgramme, through whichit aims to educate childrenfrom all strata of society onbasic financial concepts ina fun and interesting way.To mark the launch, a cer-emony was presided overby Mr. Nauman K. Dar,President and CEO HBL and

Mrs Baela Raza Jamil, Di-rector Programs, Idara-e-Taleem-O-Aagahi. Alsopresent on the occasionwere Ms. Sima Kamil, Head– Branch Banking, HBL andMs Raheela Baqai, Market-ing Director, Oxford Univer-sity Press along with othermembers of both organiza-tions.

The partnership be-tween HBL and ITA willcover three basic objec-tives: explain the impor-tance of savings to chil-dren, educate privilegedand under privilegedequally and inculcate thehabit of early savings

among children. Keeping inmind the large number ofPakistan’s unbanked popu-lation, CLF programs willcater to both genders, of allage groups, from differentsections of society.

Speaking on the occa-sion, Mrs Baela Raza said,“Pakistan’s literacy rate isvery low and numeracy evenlower. We are very pleasedthat HBL has become ournew partner to engage chil-dren in financial education,as it will help build boththese ratios. Pakistan has abeautiful and historic litera-ture which the new genera-tion needs to know about.”

HBL joins hands withIdara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—The IslamicFinancial Services Board(IFSB) and the Asian De-velopment Bank (ADB)will today host a Confer-ence on Islamic Financefor Asia: Development,Prospects and InclusiveGrowth. The conferenceaims to create greaterawareness of the oppor-tunities brought about by

Islamic finance to the Asianregion and will explore is-sues related to further de-veloping the Islamic finan-cial services industry, itscurrent state of progressand challenges, while alsoseeking to create greater op-portunities for interactionand cooperation among themembers of IFSB and ADB.

The Conference will ex-amine the experiences of se-lected Asian countries in Is-

lamic finance, with a focuson the regulatory require-ments and other pre-condi-tions needed to establishand sustain the industry’sorderly development. It willalso identify the benefits ofIslamic finance. The ses-sions and discussions willdraw upon the perspectivesof market opportunities andchallenges, global and na-tional regulatory require-ments, and facilitation of

cross-border investmentflows.

Among the issues to bediscussed at theroundtable are the legal andregulatory issues for Islamicfinance post-crisis and therole of governments andprivate sectors in undertak-ing initiatives for Islamic fi-nance. ADB and the IFSBare also jointly implement-ing a regional technical as-sistance to help improve

access to Islamic finance inAfghanistan, Bangladesh,Indonesia and Pakistan,with a $750,000 technical as-sistance (TA) grant, ap-proved by ADB in October2012.

The TA grant will beused, amongst others, todevelop an e-module plat-form to build capacities onprudential standards devel-oped by IFSB. The TA grantis funded by the Govern-

ment of Luxembourg’s Fi-nancial Sector Develop-ment Partnership Fund andthe Republic of Korea e-Asia and Knowledge Part-nership Fund, both to beadministered by ADB.

The IFSB is an interna-tional standard-setting or-ganization that promotesand enhances the sound-ness and stability of the Is-lamic financial services in-dustry by issuing global

prudential standards andguiding principles for theindustry, broadly defined toinclude banking, capitalmarkets and insurance sec-tors.

The IFSB also conductsresearch and coordinatesinitiatives on industry-re-lated issues, as well as or-ganizes roundtables, semi-nars and conferences forregulators and industrystakeholders. Towards this

end, the IFSB worksclosely with relevant inter-national, regional and na-tional organizations, re-search/educational institu-tions and market players.

The members of theIFSB comprise regulatoryand supervisory authori-ties, international inter-governmental organiza-tions and market players,professional firms and in-dustry associations.

IFSB-ADB conference on Islamic Finance for Asia

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—General Man-ager of Turkish AirlinesKarachi Mr.Huseyin Cepnivisited the Federation of Pa-kistan Chambers of Com-merce &Industry and havinga meeting with acting ViceChairman Mr.Gulzar Firoz andother businessmen from Pa-kistan and Turkey.

They discussed duringthe meeting that Pakistanand Turkey are brother coun-tries, having strong businessrelationship and day by daybusiness relations are in-

creasing which is a good signfor both brother countries.Business volume is also in-creasing between Pakistanand Turkey.

Mr. Huseyin Cepni up-dated them regarding Turk-ish Airlines Flights Opera-tion in Karachi that TurkishAirlines is operating fromKarachi for more than 32years and now Turkish Air-lines is going to operate dailyflight from Karachi toIstanbul effective from 23thDec 2013 and will connectKarachi via Istanbul to 250destinations of the world on

daily basis.Turkish Airlines is also

going to start direct flightoperation from Lahore toIstanbul effective from 28thNov 2013, three flight in aweek. We are thankful to theGovernment of Pakistan andCivil Aviation Authority forkind approval for furtherFlight operations from Paki-stan. Mr. Huseyin Cepni alsopresented the Turkish tradi-tional Art work plate to Mr.Gulzar Firoz acting Vice Chair-man of The Federation ofPakistan Chambers of Com-merce & Industry.

Pakistan, Turkey businessvolume increasing

Acting Vice Chairman FPCCI Mr Gulzar Firoz presenting shield to General Managerof Turkish Airlines Karachi Mr.Huseyin Cepni.

Minister of State for Housing and Works Barrister Usman Ibrahim chairing a meeting on Low-Income HousingScheme.

PIA on way toaccomplish task ofbringing back Hajis

AMANULLAH KHAN

KARACHI—PIA on the 17thDay of its Post Hajj Opera-tion carried more than 38,000Hajjis from Saudi Arabia toPakistan through 116 PostHajj and Regular scheduledflights with on time depar-tures.

PIA has carried 4,832Hajjis to Karachi through11 Post Hajj flights, 4,854Hajjis though 10 flights toLahore, 5,676 Hajj isthrough 12 f l ights toIslamabad, 8,204 Hajj isthrough 25 f l ights toPeshawar, 3,943 Hajj isthrough 12 f l ights toQuetta and 5,002 Hajj isthrough 10 Post Hajj flightsto Multan.

The Post Hajj Opera-tion which commenced on19th October 2013 will con-clude on 19th November2013. PIA will bring backover 67,000 Hajj istoPakistan. PIA spokesmanconcluded.

LSE down by53.77 points

LAHORE—Bearish trendprevailed in the LahoreStock Exchange on Mondayas it shed 53.77 points, fol-lowing the LSE-25 indexopened with 4262.84 andclosed at 4209.07 points.

The market’s overal lsituation also did not cor-respond to an upward trendas it remained at 1.725 mil-lion shares to close againstthe previous turnover of1.802 million shares, show-ing a downward sl ide of76,600 shares.

Out of the total 84 ac-tive scrips, only two movedup, 55 remined equal with27 shed values.

National Bank of Paki-stan and Wateen TelecomLimited were major gainer ofthe day by recording in-crease in their per share valueby Rs 0.64 and Rs 0.01 respec-tively.

Engro Corporation Lim-ited, D.G.Khan Cement Com-pany and Engro Foods Lim-ited lost their share value byRs 5.03, Rs 2.55 and Rs 2.05respectively.

The volume leader ofthe day included Fauji Ce-ment Company Limited with346,500 shares, Lafarge Pa-kistan Cement with 282,500shares and Karachi ElectricSupply Company with225,000 shares.—APP

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Islamic Bank-ing in Pakistan has wit-nessed significant growthduring the last decade andnow constitutes over 10percent of the country’sbanking system with an as-set base of over Rs. 900 bil-lion and a network of morethan 1100 branches. Giventhe interest of all stakehold-ers and the high-level of fi-nancial exclusion in thecountry, it is believed thatthis expansionary trend islikely to continue and theindustry is well set todouble its market share by2020. These views were ex-pressed by Ahmed AliSiddiqui (Head of ProductDevelopment & Shari’ah

Compliance (PDSC), MeezanBank) and Mr. Farhan ul HaqUsmani (VP, PDSC, MeezanBank Limited) while address-ing the career developmentand awareness workshop onIslamic Banking & Finance atBank’s regional training cen-tre in Karachi.

Meezan Bank, Pakistan’sfirst and largest Islamic Bank,conducted a career develop-ment and awareness work-shop on Islamic Banking &Finance to provide guidanceto the participants about ca-reer possibilities and pros-pects in Islamic Banking andFinance.

The industry profession-als shared the currentprogress of Islamic Bankingfrom both local and interna-tional perspectives and the

tremendous career opportu-nities available for trainedIslamic Finance profession-als. The turnout was over-whelming and it provided agreat opportunity for theparticipants to understandthe Industry.

The enormous growthin the Islamic finance indus-try is providing great careeropportunities to trained in-dividuals. The significanceof Islamic Finance and theneed to shift from conven-tional to Islamic financingwas even recognized at theWorld Economic Forum2013, where the BritishPrime Minister, DavidCameron announced thatBritain will be the first non-Muslim economy to issueIslamic Bonds (Sukuks).

Islamic banking size grows 10pc

STAFF REPORTER

I S L A M A B A D — M a t t h i a sBichsel, Projects and Tech-nology Director of RoyalDutch Shell Plc met with Elec-trical and Mechanical Engi-neering students at the Na-tional University of Sciences& Technology (NUST) onMonday. They spoke aboutShell’s global focus on tech-nological innovation in itsoperations and developingintegrated energy solutions.

Mr Bichsel highlighted anumber of exciting newprojects that Shell is workingon around the world and inthe South Asian region,where thousands of engi-neers and scientists are work-ing on front-end design andproduct development and onthe delivery of high-end ad-

vanced technical studies. Inhis address, he added thatShell sees “universities as ourfriends. Not only do they pro-vide a rich source of recruits,but they are also a wonder-ful source of research andinnovative ideas – some ofwhich are important to manyof the things we do at Shell.”

“Additionally, Shellendeavours to create learn-ing opportunities particularlyfor young bright minds likethose at the university, andthe Shell Eco-marathon isone such event that doesthis. I’m very pleased to seethe wonderful fuel-efficientvehicles teams here at NUSThave worked so hard tobuild,” he said.

At the event, Major Gen-eral Obaid bin Zakria said,“the opportunities for our

students to meet with andhear about global technologi-cal and engineering projectsand opportunities is a crucialpart of encouraging them tothink creatively not onlyabout their careers, but alsoto think seriously about howthey can apply their knowl-edge and the education theyhave to help solve practicalchallenges facing Pakistanand the world.”

Over 150 students fromelectrical, mechanical andmechatronic engineeringdisciplines at tended theaddress by Mr Bichsel, af-ter which he and membersof the faculty at NUSTviewed various ongoingprojects students are work-ing on, including ShellEco-marathon vehicles forthe 2014 competition.

Shell highlights youth’s contributionto innovation, technology

Khamis acting PIAFChairmanLAHORE—PakistanIndustrial and TradersAssociations Front (PIAF)Senior Vice ChairmanKhamis Saeed Butt will beacting chairman of PIAF inthe absence of ChairmanMalik Tahir Javed, who ison a 30-day foreignbusiness visit. Accordingto PIAF Secretariat hereMonday, Khamis SaeedButt, who is also a leader ofAll Pakistan Paper Mer-chants Association(APPMA), has a vastexperience as he hasalready worked as actingchairman during hisprevious tenure with thePIAF. During his visit,Malik Tahir Javed willparticipate in exhibitions,visit chambers of commerceand industry and meet withhis counterparts.—APP

SBP mops upRs29,700m in OMOKARACHI, Nov 4 (APP):State Bank of Pakistan(SBP) on Monday moppedup Rs 29,700 million in itsopen market operation(OMO) in Government ofPakistan Market TreasuryBills under repo sale. Thebids offered for four-dayrepo sale were of the sameamount.The rate of return is8 percent, said a SBPstatement here.

Liaison stressed amongagri research institutesStaff ReporterLAHORE —Agricultureexperts have stresseddeveloping effective liaisonamong Punjab agricultureresearch institutes andinternational agricultureresearch institutes toimprove research. Expertsexpressed these viewswhile talking reporters.Different communicationmethods should be used tomake farmers timely awareabout results of differentresearches and informationof latest agriculturetechnology, they added.They said that per acreproduction of untraditionalcrops like pulses, veg-etables, fruits and othersshould be increased on apermanent basis along withtraditional crops of cotton,wheat, sugarcane, rice andmaize.

Cotton production downStaff CorrespondentMULTAN—Cotton producedecreased in nine districtsout of 21 cotton producingdistricts of the country, thePakistan Cotton GinnersAssociation said. Accord-ing to a PCGA pressrelease, the decrease from4.62 to 37.30 per cent wasnoticed by November 1. Amajor decrease in cottonproduction was observed inKasur district. Increase incotton production from 4.67to 125.59 per cent was alsorecorded in 12 districts.District Sangharr of Sindhremained at top by produc-ing 1,288,383 cotton bales.

Stock brokers looking at the digital screen during the descending trend in KSE.

Gold Tezab 45,857.00Silver Tezabi 720.57

Gold Tezabi (24-Ct)45,860.00Gold 22 Ct 41,930.00SilverTezabi 770.00Silver Thobi 710.00

USA 106.60 106.40

UK 169.75 169.43

Euro 143.73 143.46

Canada 102.31 102.12

Switzerland 116.78 116.56

Australia 101.09 100.90

Sweden 16.30 16.26

Japan 1.0796 1.0776

Norway 17.86 17.83

Singapore 85.76 85.60

Denmark 19.27 19.23

Saudi Arabia 28.42 28.37

Hong Kong 13.75 13.73

Kuwait 376.38 375.67

Malaysia 33.55 33.49

Newzealand 88.03 87.87

Qatar 29.29 29.23

UAE 29.02 28.97

KR. WON 0.1004 0.1002

Thailand 3.408 3.402

Delay in wheatprice decision can

result in crisisSTAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Announce-ment of new support priceof wheat which, if delayed,may cause a crisis as farm-ers will not increase thesowing area if its supportprice is not increased intime. The sources saidthat at this time if the sup-port price was not in-creased as an incentive forthe farmers, the wheat-cultivation area might de-crease that ultimatelywould create the food cri-sis in the country and thegovernment would haveto import around a milliontons wheat to meet thedemand.

Wheat support priceis generally announcedbefore the start of its sow-ing season. It is to encour-age them for the excessivesowing of the commodity.When the country faceda serious wheat crisis inthe start of the PPP rule,the same strategy wasadopted by the then rul-ers and the wheat crisisended after one year.

The country is againheading towards a seriouswheat crisis. Last year thewheat sowing area de-creased up to 7 percent,resulting in the import of300,000 tons of wheat fromRussia at the rate of Rs1,400 per 40 kilogramwhereas the support pricewas Rs 1,200 per 40kg thatwas offered to the farmersin the start of the season.

The sources said thatthis year if the wheat pro-duction did not achievethe target of 26 milliontons, there would be nochoice for the governmentbut to import at least 1 mil-lion tons of wheat at ahigher price.

Farmers’ representa-tive organisations saythe price should be setat Rs 1,500 per 40kg oth-erwise the country wouldnot be able to producesufficient wheat. Theyare of the view that dueto a big increase in theinput costs, the farmersdo not find any profit inwheat by selling it at theprice of Rs 1,200 per 40kg. Presently, the com-modity is being sold atthe rate of Rs 1,350 per40 kg in the open market,but farmers are not ben-eficiaries of that price asthey have already soldtheir commodity at theprice of Rs 1,200 per40kg, the rate offered bythe government as thesupport price last year.

If the governmentdoes not increase the sup-port price this year, the ratewill rise even then, but thefarmers in that case willnot be able to benefit fromit while traders will havethe opportunity to exploitthe growers. On the otherside, the governmentwould also suffer in termsof foreign exchange lossthat it will have to spendon the import of wheat.

Khalid Chaudhry, SVP, ICCI presenting bouquet to Antinio Garcia, head of Spanishbusiness delegation.

President Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry Sohail bin Rashid speakingduring a press conference.

Zahid Ullah Shinwari, President Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chamber of Commerce and Industry is presenting shield toSadik Babur Girgin, Turkish Ambassador.

AMANULLAH KHAN

KARACHI—With a mission toimprove and protect the livesof Pakistanis, Unilever Paki-stan launched Pureit, a uniquehome based water purificationdevice that uses Unilever pro-prietary technology to providesafe and clean water withoutthe use of electricity or gas.The Pureit Excella device wasunveiled by Ehsan MalikChairman and CEO, UnileverPakistan Limited (UPL),Fariyha Subhani Director Mar-keting Foods, UPL and Dr TariqMehmood Mian, Director, As-sociation of Family Physiciansof Pakistan at the event whichwas well attended by seniorrepresentatives of various pri-vate and non-profit sector or-ganizations.

According to EhsanMalik, “15.9 Million people in

Pakistan currently don’t haveaccess to safe drinking water.Therefore we have decided tolaunch Pureit, a top of the linepurification solution and theworld’s largest selling waterpurifier, based on our commit-ment to making sustainable liv-ing commonplace and to im-prove the lives of Pakistanis.”

Pureit meets rigorous inter-national criteria of the Environ-mental Protection Agency(EPA), USA, for removal ofharmful virus and bacteria. Itis certified by the LondonSchool of Hygiene and Tropi-cal Medicine, the ScottishParasite Diagnostic Labora-tory, and is also endorsed lo-cally by the Association ofFamily Physicians of Pakistan.Pureit has been specially de-signed to give complete pro-tection from germs, bacteriaand virus through its 5 purifi-

cation steps and a remarkable“Programmed Germ Kill Tech-nology” to provide odorlessnatural tasting water for as lowas Rs 1 per liter.

Dr. Tariq shared, “Lastyear, infectious water bornediseases accounted for 60%infant deaths with diarrhea be-ing the leading cause. As aneffective preventive measureagainst such diseases, we rec-ommend Pureit for its ad-vanced purification systemand hassle free process andare pleased to partner withUnilever in the mission to savePakistani lives.”

This newest innovationfurthers Unilever’s vision todouble the size of the businesswhilst reducing its environ-mental footprint and increas-ing its positive social impactas outlined in the UnileverSustainable Living Plan.

Uniliver endeavours to fightagainst water borne diseases

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Minister forNational Food Security andResearch (NFS&R), SikandarHayat Khan Bosan on Mon-day stressed the need to up-date traditional and in-effi-cient irrigation methods toefficiently use water and in-crease agriculture productiv-ity in the country. While ad-dressing the scientists, engi-neers, technologists and ex-tension experts on the occa-sion of inaugural session oftwo day international work-shop on “Watershed Reha-bilitation and Irrigation Im-provement in Pakistan”, hesaid that water is critical in-put for sustained agriculturalproductivity, economic de-velopment and environmen-tal protection.

The government hasthus focused on agriculturalgrowth by introducing

farmer friendly policies, en-hancing farm profitability andensuring competitiveness invarious food crops, headded.

The Government aims atproviding food at affordableprices which is a pre-requi-site for fighting malnutrition.The event was organized byPakistan Agricultural Re-search Council (PARC) incollaboration with ICARDA,USDA and other national or-ganizations.

The minister said that thegap between water demandand supply is increasing dayby day as based on currentpopulation growth rate, it isestimated that there wouldbe about 50% shortage ofwater by 2025. Despite theincreasing gap between de-mand and supply of water theover all irrigation efficiencyin the country is less than 40percent he added.

Sikandar Bosan saidavailability of water in thewake of growing populationand urbanization has be-come one of the largest con-straints in the developmentof the country to meet itsagricultural, domestic as wellas industrial requirements.He appreciate the UnitedStated Department of Agri-culture (USDA) sponsoredproject on watershed reha-bilitation and irrigation im-provement in Pakistan to becompleted in three years witha total cost of US$ 2.83 mil-lion.

Chairman PARC DrIftikhar Ahmad said the ef-forts of agricultural scientistsand experts under thisprogramme will help Paki-stani farmers to improve theirirrigation efficiency, crop pro-ductivity and farm income,reduce soil erosion and costof production.

In-efficient irrigationsystem be upgraded: Bosan

ISE-10 indexwitnessed

bearish trendI S L A M A B A D —IslamabadStock Exchange witnessedbearish trend here on Mon-day as the ISE-10 index wasdown by 80.56 points andclosed at 4,252.04 points. Atotal of 231,500 shares weretraded, which were down by273,200 shares when it com-pared with previous day’strading of 504,700 shares.

Out of 134 companies,share prices of 30 companiesrecorded increase whileshare prices of 104 compa-nies registered decreasewhere as no company re-mained stable in today’s trad-ing. The share price of Si-emens Pakistan Engineeringincreased by Rs.46.67 pershare while the share pricesof Snofi Aventis Pakistandecreased by Rs. 22.50 pershare.

Lafarge Pakistan Cement,Lotte Chemicals and FaujiCement remained the toptrading companies inMonday’s trading with163,500, 35,500 and 25,500shares respectively.—APP

Demand forharnessing FATA’s

rich natural resourcesSTAFF REPORTER

PESHAWAR—The Fata Demo-cratic Movement has calledfor tapping huge mineral andother natural resources po-tential in the country’s tribalregion. “Tribesmen are leftat the mercy of terrorism anddraconian Frontier CrimeRegulatory (FCR) laws, asthe Constitution is yet to beextended to Fata,” said theFata Democratic MovementSpokesman Gul Nawaz Khanin a statement.

He blamed the politicaladministration, politicians,and other relevant stake-holders for the miseries oftribesmen. “No representa-tion has been given in theprovincial assemblies to Fata,and the tribal region is beingignored in local bodies’ elec-tions,” he added, terming itinjustice with the people ofFata. Nawaz said that educa-tion and health infrastructurehad been badly damaged bymilitants’ attacks. Despite thealarming situation, the mediahad been restricted fromhighlighting the issues oftribesmen, he added.

“A large number of inno-cent people are being arrestedunder the Collective Respon-sibility Act without citing anyreasons and charges,” he said.He also alleged that the for-eign development funds forFata were also being misusedby non-governmentalorganisations and local ad-ministration in tribal agencies.

STAFF REPORTER

I S L A M A B A D —IslamabadChamber of Commerce & In-dustry (ICCI) has called uponthe government to urgentlypromulgate a balanced rentcontrol act in the federal capi-tal through an ordinance asthe absence of such a law inIslamabad is creating prob-lems for tenants includingtraders and giving rise to rentdisputes. Addressing a meet-ing of traders, KhalidChaudhry, Senior Vice Presi-dent, Islamabad Chamber ofCommerce & Industry saidthat ICCI has since long been

demanding for the promulga-tion of a new rent law inIslamabad to facilitate thetenants and landlords as theexisting law is totally skewedin favor of landlords due towhich the tenant traders al-ways feel insecure.

He said ICCI in consulta-tion with stakeholders hadprepared a consensus draftof a new rent law, which islying in a Standing Commit-tee of National Assembly fordebate sing long. The formerLaw Minister Dr. Babar Awanhad made some efforts for itsenactment, but after that thewhole process seems to have

been dumped again.He said during elections

campaign, all parties hadmade promulgation of a newrent control act in Islamabadas part of their manifestoes,but now the MNAs of bothpolitical have adopted com-plete silence on this importantmatter, which is creating con-cerns in stakeholders. KhalidChaudhry stressed for urgentpromulgation of new rent con-trol act in Islamabad throughan ordinance and appealedfor putting in abeyance thepresent cases in courts forexpulsion of traders till thepromulgation of new law.

ICCI for promulgation of rentcontrol act through ordinance

STAFF REPORTER

MULTAN—President MangoGrowers Association Maj (R)Tariq Khan has said that morethan 8000 ton mango was ex-ported to Europe and otherwestern countries this yearthrough the platform ofmango growers association.Addressing the annual gen-eral body meeting of mangogrowers association here onMonday, he said the exportof mango could be madedouble in the next season bystarting cargo flight opera-tion from Multan Interna-tional Airport.

He suggested to make“Supply China project” afarmers friendly project bymaking changes in its PC-1in order to facilitate the local

farmers. He claimed that itsfirst time in the country’s his-tory that an ample quantityof mango has been exporteddirectly from South Punjabwhich would help to makestrong the economic positionof mango growers and thecountry as well.

Tariq expressed that farm-ers were facing difficulties asthere is no department of ag-ricultural marketing on pro-vincial and federal level. Hedemanded the governmentto arrange marketing of agri-cultural products in westerncountries alongwith latestinfrastructure. On the occa-sion, Barrister Waseem KhanBadozai, Muzaffar HayyatKhakwani, Nassar Ullah andothers also attended themeeting.

8,000 tons mangoexported from Punjab

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—The U.S.Agency for International De-velopment (USAID) has dedi-cated $33.9 million to continuethe Training for PakistanProject, which is being imple-mented by World Learning.The project is designed to of-fer education opportunities tomore than 6,000 Pakistani pro-fessionals over the next fouryears. The Project will supportPakistan’s development pri-orities in the key sectors ofenergy, economic growth,agriculture, health, and edu-cation by making these ca-pacity building opportunitiesavailable locally, regionally, orinternationally for Pakistaniprofessionals and decision-makers.

This project stems out ofUnited States’ commitment todeepen its people-to-people

engagement with Pakistanspecially focused in the En-hanced Partnership with Pa-kistan Act. This program isone of the many examples ofthe U.S. long-term commit-ment to advance a shared vi-sion that ensures a stable,secure, and prosperous Paki-stan. The USAID Training forPakistan Project will providea full range of training servicesincluding needs assess-ments, training program de-sign and implementation, par-ticipant recruitment and selec-tion, technical assistance, andmonitoring and evaluation.

“This partnership withUSAID will allow WorldLearning to empower Paki-stani individuals and organi-zations to become more en-gaged stakeholders in theircountry’s development,”World Learning President andCEO Donald Steinberg said.

$33.9m to extend USAIDtraining for Pak project

STAFF REPORTER

P E S H A W A R — K h y b e rPakhtunkhwa Governor, En-gineer Shaukatullah whileappreciating the role andcontribution of WomenChamber of Commerce andIndustry (WCCI) in promot-ing economic activities hassaid that it indeed has beenaccruing positive effects to-wards its soft image buildingas well. Talking to a represen-tative delegation of the Cham-ber which called on him un-der the leadership of its Presi-dent, Tasneem Zahir Shah atGovernor’s House here onMonday, the Governor

stated that keeping in viewthe visible improvement inlaw and order situation ascompared to past, the possi-bilities for bringing furtherimprovement in economyalso very much exist.

Such a situation, he added,will indeed be of great help forthe chamber too in furtherspreading its role and servicesto encourageentrepreneurships on part of itsmembers. Talking on variouspoints, the Governor appreci-ated holding of fashion showsand conduct of skill develop-ment training programmes un-der the aegis of the chamberand assured its office bearers

KP Governor appreciates WCCIrole in economic activities

every possible support on partof the government in further ce-menting its role and contribu-tion in this respect.

Earlier, the newly electedoffice bearers of the chamberwho also included members ofits executive committee wereintroduced to the Governor andhe congratulated them on theirsuccess. The delegation wasalso comprised of MussarratKhalid, Saadia Aurangzeb,Iqbal Bano, Nadra Saboohi,Saira Jabein, Rukhsana Na-dir, Lazeeza Arbab, AsmatAra Khattak, Shehla Naz,Zahida Parveen, ShaguftaBashir, Naseem Riaz andRukhsana Rajput.

MCCI, PCGA forjoining hands to

resolve businessmenproblems

STAFF REPORTER

MULTAN—South Punjab is anagricultural region and MultanChamber of Commerce and In-dustry (MCCI) is trying to re-solve agricultural and farmersissues alike. President MCCI,Khawaja Muhammad Usmanremarked during a meeting withVice Chairman Cotton GinnersAssociation (PCGA), SheikhAsim Saeed who called on himat his office on Monday.

President MCCI added thatchamber’s committee on agri-culture was playing its role inthis regard. He stressed theneed for joining hands of MCCIand PCGA to voice their prob-lems of businessmen, tradersand ginners to the power corri-dors. Vice Chairman PCGA en-sured president MCCI to workin close coordination for the so-lution of problems. SecretaryGeneral MCCI, Khurram Javid,also attended the meeting.

PQ shippingactivity

KARACHI—Shipping activityremained at the Port where aship carrying chemical wasberthed at Multi Purpose Ter-minal on Sunday. Meanwhilefour more ships carrying con-tainers, furnace oil and sun-flower seeds also arrived atouter anchorage of Port Qasimduring last 24 hours.

Berth occupance was 35%at the port on Monday wherea total four ships namelySonga Winds, Visha Vikas,Cardinal and Chem BulkBarcelona are currently occu-pying berths to load/offloadwheat and urea respectivelyduring last 24 hours. A cargovolume of 11411 tonnes im-ports was handled at the Portduring last 24 hours.—APP

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—The govtshould make strenuous ef-forts to discourage thesmuggled and counterfeitingcigarettes in the domesticmarket. According to existinglaws, the mandatory pictorialand textual health warningin Urdu and English as wellas printing of underage salewarning and retail price oneach pack is mandatory forcigarettes packs. Smuggledcigarettes, however, do notcomply with any of thesemandatory requirements. Inaddition to that due to non-payment of duties and taxes,the national exchequer suf-

fers huge losses. Health ex-perts said that smuggled ciga-rettes, available in the mar-ket are fully violating theregulatory restrictions.

According toEuromonitor International, aglobal research agency, thePakistan government haslost Rs. 80 billion in last fiveyears due to illicit trade incigarettes and is expected tolose another Rs. 100 billionin the next five years. Thepenalties for the sale ofsmuggled cigarettes in-cluded confiscation of suchcigarettes, fine up to Rs.50,000, recovery equal to 500per cent of unpaid taxes andthe imprisonment up to five

years. However, uptil nowthe markets are flooded withsmuggled cigarette brands,especially in the absence oflaw enforcement. Under-standing the severity of theissue, the Federal Board ofRevenue (FBR) has comedown hard on the illicit ciga-rette traders and the HomeMinistry Punjab has also di-rected action against thismenace. A strict action hasbeen ordered againstsmuggled cigarettes includ-ing the Korean brand, whichare being sold openly in thedomestic market in open vio-lation of applicable laws. Ac-cording to official sources, inorder to control the sale of

smuggled cigarettes acrossthe province, the Home Min-ister Punjab has written a let-ter to Inspector General ofPolice Punjab, in this regard.

The letter also makesnote of the advertisementsissued by Federal Board ofRevenue (FBR) recently inthis regard, warning the re-tailers and wholesalersagainst sale of smuggledcigarettes, while calling forrelevant action by field for-mations of police force.

The FBR through a seriesof publicly issued warnings,over the last few months, hasstressed the need to curb thesmuggled cigarette trade es-pecially the pine brand.

Call to discourage sale of smuggled cigarettes

LAHORE: Players of PTCL Faisalabad with trophy of PTCL Family Gala 2013 cricket tournament at WAPDA Complex.

PESHAWAR—Internationalgolfer M. Rehman clinched thetrophy of the 46th KhyberPakhtunkhwa Amateur NationalRanking Golf Championshipwith his gross score one over par217 over 54 holes played at 6666-yards PAF Golf Course here.

Rehman added a classic 75,three over par to his overnightrounds of 70,72, by making a to-tal of 217 over 54-holes Cham-pionship.

Rehman carded 36, par atfront nine and 39, three over parat back nine. He scored 3 bird-ies and missed a stroke at holeno 2, 7, 8 and 17. He also madedouble bogy at hole no 12 par 5

where his second short landingin the sandy bunker.

A zero handicap golferRehman, the leader of the firsttwo days have clear lead of threestrokes, he maintained till theend. “I hit double bogy at holeno. 12 where my second shortwas landing at sandy bunker andthank God I made a 10 feet putwhich somehow gave good re-covering,” Rehman told APP. “Itis good of winning the Champi-onship. It is a moral boosting forme before appearing in Thailandin the Namora Cup for the teamChampionship,” he added.

Zulfiqar Ali of Multan GolfClub, got second position with

his gross score 220, four over par,as he added 74 to his overnightrounds 73, 73. Making only onebirdie at hole no 17, Zulfiqarcarded 38 at front nine and 36 parat back nine by missing a singlestroke at 2, 3 and 18 holes.

Ghazanfar Mehmoodslipped to third after remainingsecond in the first and secondday round of 71 and 73.Ghazandar Mehmood made twobirdies at hole no. 11 and 17 be-sides making a double bogy athole no 18, par four. He alsomissed a stroke at 6, 7, 13 and15 by hitting 38, two over par atfront nine and 39, three over par,at back nine. In the Net category

for the 100-year Boltan CupTaimur Naseer with his net scorethree under par won the trophy,followed by Idrees Nisar Tinkowith his Net score one over par217 remained at second andAshiq Hussain with the samescore got third position.

In the Ladies Pakistan’s topranking player from RawalpindiGolf Club Tahira Nazir won thetitle, followed by Dr. Soni Waliof PAF Golf Club while in theHCP 10-18 gross Mubarik Zaibgot first position, followed byFahad Zafar and Bilal Bali whilein the Net category UmarKhanzada got first position, fol-lowed by Sqn Ldr Fazle Kahliqand Kabir Khan.

In the Senior Amateur 55-years Col. ® Saud Khan, who isgoing to Vietnam with NationalSenior Team, with his gross score161 won the title, followed byBrig Sarfaraz with 165 score andAbdul Haq with gross 172 tookthird position while in the NetSyed Shahadat Hussain won thetitle, followed by Zahir Shah andDr. Shakar Shah. In the VetgeransAmateur over 70-years Col.Saifullah Khan took the trophy,followed by Dr. Wilayat Saeed.

In the Boys Under-18 grossAbdullah with his gross score 55got the winner trophy, followedby Arbab Nadir got Net trophyand in the Boys Under-15 grossRaja Rafi got first position, fol-lowed by Hashim Abbasi whilein the Net category MobeenAhmad took first position, fol-lowed by Obaid Khan.

At the end, the chief guestAir Vice Marshal Arshad Malik,Air Officer Commanding,Northern Air Command was thechief guest on this occasion whogave away trophies and utilityprizes. A total of 150 golfersfrom all across the country tookpart.—APP

Rehman clinches KP AmateurNational Ranking Golf C’ship

PESHAWAR: AVM Arshad Malik giving away gross Challenge Cup to Pakistan No 1 MRehman after winning the KP Golf Championship at PAF Golf Club.

KARACHI—The football teamof Kalakot won the Lyari Inter-Mohallah Brotherhood FootballTournament defeating its rivalChakiwara team in the finalmatch by two goals.

Kalakot team’s Abid Balochwas declared the best player ofthe tournament for scoring themaximum number of goals dur-ing the matches played on theoccasion.

Gulzar Firoz, Vice Presidentof Pakistan Chamber of Com-merce and Industry, chief guestof the prize distribution cer-emony held Sunday eveningpresented trophy and a cashaward of Rs 40,000 to the win-ning team.

Best player of the tourna-ment Abid Baloch was given acash prize of Rs 10,000.

The chief guest said therewas no dearth of talent in Lyariand the football players of thearea needed a good coach whocould help them groom andqualify for international tourna-ments.

Gulzar Firoz urged the multinational companies and banks toevolve a mechanism and ensureregular support for promotion ofsports activities in the metropo-lis as well as other cities.

“Banks making hefty prof-its if spend even one percent ofthese for sports activities canbring about major improvementin sports related activities,” hesaid.

Commissioner Karachi onthe occasion said efforts are be-ing to get evacuated all occupiedand encroached sports grounds

as well as parks in the city.He said the Lyari Inter-

Mohallah Brotherhood Tourna-ment organised by commis-sioner office in collaborationwith National Bank of Pakistanwas an effort by the governmentto bring about people close toone another and restore theirconfidence.

The prize distribution cer-emony was also attended byPresident, Sindh Hockey Asso-ciation, Gulfaraz Ahmad Khan,Director, Local Government,Rubina Asif, Assistant Commis-sioner - City, Maqsood HussainGhumro, Assistant Commis-sioner - Garden, Hasham Zafar,Sports Consultant, GhulamHaider Khan, President, DistrictFootball Association, GulabBaloch and others.—APP

Kalakot wins Lyari Inter-MohallahBrotherhood Football Tournament

LAHORE—Election Commis-sioner, Pakistan Cricket Board,Justice retd Munir A Sheikh hassaid that the electoral college totake part in the elections of theChairman, PCB is not yet com-pleted and apex courts directionwill be sought in this regard.

“We will be informing thecourt (divisional bench of theIslamabad High Court) that theelections of a number of regionalcricket bodies have not yet beentaken place and that is why theelectoral college is not yet com-pleted and election process cantbe started,” he was talking to themedia here on Monday atGadaffi stadium. He said he hasbeen assigned the task to carry

out the security of the electoralcollege of PCB which comprisesthe regional and districts bodiesand most the these bodies havenot yet conducted their respec-tive elections and that is whythey can not be a part of the elec-toral college to take part in theelections.

“But it was the direction ofthe court that no one should bedeprived from taking part in theelections and we will be inform-ing the court that the electoralcollege is not yet complete andwe will start working after get-ting a direction from the courton this issue,” he asserted.

He said during the scrutinyof the electoral college the divi-

sional bench of the IslamabadHigh Court has announced itsdecision on a intra-court appealon the stopping the Chairmanfrom working and suspension ofinterim committee and he hashalted the secrutiny process.

“I have decided to stopworking on the election processof the PCB Chairman till the tileI receive the detailed judgmentof the court on this issue,” hesaid.

Justice retd Munir said hewill not be drawing a sum of Rs2.5 million as fee to officiate asthe election commissioner of thePCB as he does not want anymoney from government exche-quer.—APP

Electoral college not yet completedfor election of PCB Chairman

OKARA: Former Provincial Minister Ashraf Sohna presenting trophy to winners of An-nual Asad Ali Khan cricket tournament.

DIR LOWER: Army’s Operational Commander Maidan Col Umar Hayat Laleka awarding trophy to captain ofwinning team.

Corruptionmars progress

of Pakistancricket: Imran

KARACHI—Former skipperImran Khan has alleged that cor-ruption has marred the progressof Pakistan cricket despite pres-ence of abundance of talentacross the country.

He called for democraticelection in Pakistan CricketBoard (PCB) to end what he al-leged was the political patronage.

Imran Khan, who led to Pa-kistan in triumph in 1992 WorldCup in Melbourne, said countrypossess great cricket talent but thecorrupt structures had preventedthe realization of this potential.

He demanded that the PCBChairman should be electedrather than appointed.

He said that he fails to un-derstand “why we cannot have ademocratically elected chairmanof PCB as happens elsewhere inthe world,”. He stressed the needto immediately have an electedchairman for PCB.

“Until the cricketing struc-tures in Pakistan are set right andare made immune to politicalpatronage, all our talent will goto waste,” he cautioned.

PCB is currently withoutChairman after Najam Sethi wasset aside by Islamabad HighCourt and appointed Justice(Retd) Munir A. Sheikh to holdthe elections of the board by thethird week of this month.—APP

Eagles beatTextile Tigersby 6 wickets

LAHORE—Golden Eaglesscored a six wicket win overTextile Tigers in a match of the4th Amar Cables T-20 VeteransCricket Championship at ShahFaisal Cricket Ground here onMonday.

Brief scores, Textile Tigersbatted first scored 161/9 in 20Overs. Tahir Irshad 40, RizwanNisar 31, Karamat Ali 29 andJavaid Hafeez 21 were theirmain scorer. Golden EaglesBowling Tajamul Chaudhary 3/31, Asif Mehmood 2/12,Tanzeem Hussain 2/19, ImranShah 1/21 and MuhammadHafeez 1/38 Wickets.

In reply Golden Eagles an-swered with 162/4 in 13.4 overs.Man of the match, MuhammadShahbaz contributed solid un-beaten 81 followed byMuhammad Hafeez 31 andShahid Hassan 13. —APP

Nasir knockedout of squash’s

top 50SPORTS REPORTER

KARACHI—Bannu-based NasirIqbal slumped seven places ininternational rankings publishedby the Professional Squash As-sociation for the month of No-vember. Pakistan’s top ranked19-year-old Nasir was the onlyplayer to have qualified for theWorld Squash Championship inManchester but was conqueredin the very first round by Egyp-tian Karim Darwish, seededfifth.

The player was ranked 48thlast month and now has fallento 55th position. His slumpmeans there is no Pakistani leftnow in the top-50.

KARACHI—Holders Khan Re-search Laboratories (KRL)trounced Chaman’s Afghan FC3-0 while Muslim FC heldformer champions WAPDA toa goalless draw in the PakistanPremier Football League hereat the KPT Stadium. In theother game of the day, Navydefeated former championsArmy 1-0.

Defending champions KRL,who had defeated WAPDA 3-1in their opener the other day fol-lowing their splendid second-place finish at the Asian Foot-ball Confederation (AFC)President’s Cup in KualaLumpur last month, dominatedthe game throughout.

Afghan FC, who have beenweakened by the defection ofsome of their key players to thenewly promoted Pak AfghanClearing Agency (PACA) failedto impress. They rarely pro-duced any opportunity in theentire clash.

KRL, winners of 2009, 2011and 2012 editions, got onto thescore-sheet when MehmoodKhan’s drive in the 17th minutefrom right flank went into the netafter kissing the right pole.

In the 33rd minute interna-tional Saddam Hussain doubledtheir lead with a fine header.

The tall midfielder hit his sec-ond in the 73rd minute in thesame way to gift his side a com-fortable victory that took themto six points.

“I had told my boys to scorethree goals and they did it,”KRL coach Tariq Lutfi told‘The News’ after the match.“The win is sufficient at thisstage as we are to go a longway. We are trying to bring intorhythm some of our out-of-form boys,” said Tariq.

Afghan FC skipper JadeedKhan Pathan said KRL were afar better team. “You knowmost of KRL players play forthe national team,” said Jadeed.

But he admitted that theyshould have played a bit aggres-sively. “We were on the defen-sive in the start and after con-ceding two goals we came un-der pressure. I feel that weshould have played a bit aggres-sively,” said Jadeed.

The loss left Afghan FC at15 points from 12 appearances.

Pakistan’s Bahraini coachMohamed Shamlan also wit-nessed the game. In the inter-val he was garlanded and intro-duced to the players of bothsides. “I am thankful to allpresent here for the honour theyextedned to me,” said Shamlan.

A flurry of missed chancesdenied Muslim FC a chance tobeat four-time former champi-ons WAPDA as the high volt-age game ended in a draw.

In the culminating mo-ments Abdul Wasih missed aone-to-one chance beforeAmanuddin dropped a gloriousopportunity when he could notcleanly tap the ball from the leftcordon.

Just before whistleMohammad Ahmed failed toconvert an easy chance forWAPDA.

“WAPDA narrowly es-caped defeat,” Muslim FCcoach Dawood Khan said.

In the end, MohamedShamlan went to Dawood Khanand appreciated his team’ssplendid effort. Muslim FCmoved to 22 points from 12meetings.

WAPDA coach Tanvir saidthat his team needed some timeto settle down. “Most of our keyplayers are facing fitness prob-lems and it will take us a fewmore days to catch rhythm,”said Tanvir. Here at the KorangiBaloch Football Ground inSharafi Goth, Naveed Ahmadstruck in the sixth minute toguide Navy to a 1-0 victory overArmy.—Agencies

Experienced KRLtrounce Afghan FC

Foxy winsSwiss Bridgeteam event

KARACHI—Foxy clinched theweek-end Karachi Bridge Asso-ciation (KBA) week-end BridgeTournament at Aslam Hall, KBAannounced on Monday.

Foxy started with a crushingspeed right from the word go andmaintained their winning spree.Foxy first outpaced Rizwan18.28 Victory Points (VPs) outof possible 20 and then defeatedMasood-IV in the second round11.85 VPs.

In the third encounter theydefeated another hopeful Deuces,who are in great form these days.But they went fighting. In thefourth and final segment Abediescame in to offer some resistance,but failed to prevent them formaking fourth straight win andreturn home undefeated.

for their Week-end Bridgeprogrammes. First a pair and thena Team Swiss Movement. Eigh-teen pairs contested the Pair and8 teams lined up for the TeamTournament.

A. K. Bhurgri paired withYasser Usmani and got excellentsupport from their regular pair ofF.A. Naeem and KhalidZaki.Foxy won the one-dayerhaving scored 60.88 VPs to theircredit.

Deuces and Masood-IV fin-ished second and third respec-tively having 60.42 and 60.19VPs to their credit. Both teamswon two matches and lost two.

In the pair event, FaisalAhsan and Tabrez Javed had thebetter of other 17 pairs. —APP

KARACHI—Pakistan’s proposedlimited overs tour of South Af-rica in November have beenscrapped due to the PCB’s ongo-ing legal issues that has preventedthem from making a commitmentto the tour.

The short series was plannedduring a two-week window inNovember after the two sideswrap up their current bilateralseries in the UAE on November15.

“Pakistan will suffer a lossof rupees 180 million due to can-cellation of the tour,” ex-Chair-man of PCB Najam Sethi, told a

private Television Channel Sun-day night.

He said as there was no PCBChairman at helms of affairs atthe moment, the contracts of se-lection committee, Pakistan’sbowling coach MuhammadAkram and 89 contractual em-ployees which expired on Octo-ber 31 could not be extended.The PCB currently has no boardchairman or any kind of bodyrunning its affairs, after theIslamabad High Court suspendedchairman Najam Sethi and thefive-member Interim Manage-ment Committee (IMC) on

Thursday, until at least after theweekend. According to reports,Cricket South Africa (CSA) hadrequested the PCB to confirm thetour at least two weeks prior toits commencement, in order tosort out the logistics.However,the PCB finds itself unable tosanction the tour, since its topdecision-making officials are sus-pended for an indefinite period.

Najam Sethi said that CSAhad offered the PCB US $1.5million to host them.

“CSA had offered us to playa short series in South Africa.—APP

Pakistan’s proposed shorttrip to SA cancelled

BIPIN DANI

OBSERVER

CORRESPONDENT

MUMBAI—Former West In-dian captain Brian Lara islikely to witness SachinTendulkar’s 199th Test matchfrom Eden Gardens, accordingto two CAB officials, SujanMukherjee and Subir Ganguly.

“Brian Lara has confirmedhis arrival for the Kolkata Test(Nov. 6-10). Even ShaneWarne has been invited. Ourpresident (JagmohanDalmiya) has been speaking toseveral former players andextending the invitations to

Brian Lara to witness end ofmaster-blaster’s Test career

them”, they said. Lara may alsoremain present during master-blaster ’s farewell Test inMumbai. There are a few bat-ting records which SachinTendulkar has not broken in hisexcellent 24-year-long career.The batting legend has notscored triple hundred in Tests.

It is to be seen what interac-tion between the two greats wouldbe...Lara has triple and quadruplehundreds under his belt.

England umpires: The twoon-field umpires from Englandwill officiate in SachinTendulkar’s last two Testmatches. Nigel Llong and Rich-ard Kettleborough will be his-

tory to Sachin’s last two Testmatches in India.

Zimbabwe’s AndyPycoroft (referee) and Llong,who were also officiating asmatch-officials in the recentlyconcluded ODI series againstAustralia are to continue forboth the Tests. Vineet Kulkurniwill be the third umpire.

Toss coin: The 11-gm.gold coin specially made forthe toss ceremony in Kolkatawill be handed over to master-blaster. However, the anothergold coin, prepared for theMumbai Test will be retainedby the host-Mumbai CricketAssociation.

PARIS: Djokovic holds his trophy after winning men’s singles final match against Ferrer at the Paris Masters men’ssingles tennis tournament.

PARIS—Novak Djokovic beatdefending champion DavidFerrer of Spain 7-5 7-5 to win theParis Masters and keep alive hishopes of reclaiming the worldnumber one spot by the end ofthe year.

The Serb recovered from abreak down in both sets to snatchhis third consecutive title, and the40th of his career, following vic-tories in Beijing and at the Shang-hai Masters last month.

“I knew that coming into thematch I was going to have towork for my points,” Djokovictold a news conference.

“He was not going to give metoo many free points. He wasgoing to run for every ball. He’sa great competitor, one of themost respected guys on tour be-cause he works hard and he’svery humble and he’s a very niceperson.”

It is the first time Djokovic,the 2009 Paris Masters cham-pion, has won back-to-back Mas-ters Series events since his suc-

cessive triumphs in Rome,Madrid and Montreal in 2011.

“Summer was up and down,and now again I’m playing at avery high level and have lots ofconfidence in myself, in mygame,” said Djokovic, who hadnot won a title since the MonteCarlo Masters in April prior tohis success in Beijing.

He could still overthrowworld number one Rafa Nadal ifhe wins next week’s ATP WorldTour Finals in London and theDavis Cup final with Serbia, whohost Czech Republic in Belgradelater this month.

Nadal will ensure he staystop of the rankings if he wins atleast two matches in London.

Ferrer, who collected his firstMasters Series crown last year inParis, became the fifth defend-ing champion to reach the finalat the indoor event and fail to re-tain the title.

The world number threeserved for both sets, only to comeup against Djokovic’s famous

fighting spirit. “It was very physi-cal, trust me,” Djokovic said.“But in the last few games of bothsets, it was mental in the end, justtrying to show your opponent thatyou’re there, that you want to at-tack, that you want to take youropportunities.”

Ferrer began aggressively,upsetting the Serb with the samecross-court forehands that helpedhim unsettle compatriot Nadal intheir semi-final.

He broke Djokovic’s serve inthe fifth game by winning an ex-hausting rally with a subtle back-hand dropshot.

Yet his opponent found theresources to strike back.Djokovic made Ferrer movearound the court more and morebefore levelling at 5-5 and thensnatching the first set.

It was the same scenario inthe second set, with Ferrer tak-ing an early lead but proving un-able to hold on to his serve in thetenth game as Djokovic attackedthe net to shorten the points.

The Serb prevailed and ex-tended Ferrer’s losing-streak infinals. The world number threehas been beaten in his last three,in Stockholm, Valencia and Paris,and has a 2-7 record in finals thisseason.

“He has done a great match.He managed to break the rhythm.You have to play the perfectmatch to beat Novak,” Ferrer tolda news conference.

“I played maybe better thanyesterday, and I lost. With Nole,if I don’t take the chance, it’simpossible to beat him.”

Both players will be in ac-tion on Tuesday at the ATP WorldTour finals in London, whereDjokovic will face Swiss RogerFederer and Ferrer will take oncompatriot Nadal, their defeatedsemi-final opponents in Paris.

“It has been a great year, it’s100 percent positive. I will nowfocus on my final tournament ofthe year and fight to stay third,while others fight for the num-ber one,” Ferrer said.—Agencies

Djokovic grinds downFerrer to take Paris title

CAGLIARI, (Italy): Italycruised to a fourth Fed Cup titlewhen Sara Errani gave the hostsan unassailable 3-0 lead with acomprehensive 6-1, 6-1 victoryover Russian Alisa Kleybanova.

Roberta Vinci and worldnumber seven Errani had givenItaly, the champions in 2006,2009 and 2010, a 2-0 lead onSaturday with victories overAlexandra Panova and IrinaKhromachava respectively.

Italy’s Fed Cup captain

Corrado Barazzuti thanked hissquad for their contribution tothe victory but stressed that hisplayers were the “true stars”.

Kleybanova represented thedepleted Russian team’s lastchance to rescue their bid aheadof the final singles and conclud-

ing doubles rubbers later Sunday.However despite showing

glimpses of promise, notably apowerful serve which at timesErrani struggled to return, the 24-year-old Russian was outclassedby the more experienced Italian.

Errani, 26, had the CagliariTennis Club in jubilant mood af-ter racing to a 6-1 victory in thefirst set and although Kleybanovarallied in the second to take thethird game on serve, Errani wasnever under threat.

The Italian brokeKleybanova to take a 4-1 leadwhen the Russian sent a wild re-turn into the tramlines. And af-ter reinforcing her advantage inthe next game the Italian fin-ished in style, breakingKleybanova’s serve when the

Russian fumbled a return at thenet in the seventh and final gameto secure the win.

Vinci was due to meetKhromacheva in the finalsingles rubber however givenItaly’s win it was not played.

The dead doubles rubberwas to be played Sunday be-tween Flavia Pennetta and KarinKnapp of Italy and MargaritaGasparyan and Khromachava.

Four-time champions Rus-sia went into the final missing

the injured Maria Sharapovawhile fellow top-30 playersMaria Kirilenko, Elena Vesninaand Anastasia Pavlyuchenkovaopted instead to chase points andprize money at the WTA Tour-nament of Champions inSofia.—AFP

Italy cruise to fourthFed Cup

CAGLIARI: Italy’s Sara Errani celebrates with teammates after defeating Russia’s AlisaKleybanova during their International Tennis Federation Fed Cup final match.

DUBAI: Nasir Jamshed and Hashim Amla have a chat dur-ing a nets session on Monday.

DUBAI—The short-arm jabsthrough the leg side, the flow-ing, away-from-the-body drivesthrough the covers and the tightdefensive push back to bowlerhave all gone.

Despite the bulk, NasirJamshed looks quite frail at thecrease now. One can almosthear the little man inside hishead instructing him to swingwhile the body reacts more cau-tiously, almost unsure of whatto do until the ball eventuallyhits the bat.

Jamshed looked like an al-most certain fixture at the topfor Pakistan in ODIs when hepinned India almost single-handedly in December last year.There was relief at the prospectof finally landing an opener whowas self-assured, could play hisstrokes and hang in for a grindas well if needed. Yet, in his last10 innings, the lefty has scoreda mere 223 runs, all of whichhave come from a bat which hasseemingly been in conflict withthe man’s natural instinct.

“He has all the shots in thebook, he can be aggressive andbe more watchful. We are veryexcited about him,” Misbah-ul-Haq had said of the 23-year-oldbatsman at the start of the year.According to some in the Paki-stan cricket circles, though, it hasbeen captain Misbah’s dressing-down of Jamshed during thisyear’s Champions Trophy thathas forced the opener into hisuncertain state.

Former Australia captain IanChappell put it aptly after watch-ing the Pakistani batsman play

Jamshed must be affordeda little bit of patience

last year: “Nasir Jamshed has gota lot of skill - he plays propercricket shots and is very strongon the leg side - but he strikesme as someone who bats how heexpects other people expect himto bat. He needs to work out howhe wants to bat.””

It is clear to everyone thatJamshed can bat. What mattersnow is that the management andcaptain realise that it will taketime and a little bit of backingfrom them for the batsman to getback into his stride. For now, asformer players call for thebatsman’s axing andMohammad Hafeez’s promotionback up the order, it remains tobe seen whether Jamshed will be

afforded a little bit of patience.Dashing all-rounder

Shahid Afridi on Sundayshowed confidence Pakistan canpull off a one-day series windespite the return of HashimAmla and Dale Steyn in theSouth African squad for the lastthree matches.

Afridi starred with 3-26 toadd to his 20-ball 26 in Pakistan’scomprehensive 66-run win in thesecond day-night international inDubai on Friday which levelledthe five-match series at 1-1.

Pakistan spurned a goldenopportunity to win the first matchin Sharjah on Wednesday, goingdown by one run from a winningposition.—Agencies

SHANGHAI—Dustin Johnsonalready holds the distinction ofhaving won PGA Tour events onSaturday, Sunday, Monday andTuesday.

His latest title left himequally confused, though unde-niably thrilled.

With an incredible surge onthe back nine of Sheshan Inter-national, Johnson played a five-hole stretch in 5-under par topull away from Ian Poulter andGraeme McDowell and win theHSBC Champions on Sunday.His 6-under 66 gave him thetournament record (24-under264), a three-shot win overPoulter and his first World GolfChampionship.

He’s just not sure where itfits in his timeline.

Johnson won the Tourna-ment of Champions at Kapaluain January, and because theHSBC Champions is his lastofficial tournament of the year,the 29-year-old American canclaim to have started and ended2013 with wins.

However, it also the secondstraight season that Johnson won

the first tournament he played -even though it’s the same year.The PGA Tour has gone to awraparound season for the firsttime, and while 2013-14 begana month ago, this was the first

one he played.‘’It’s been a long year, so

getting off this year with a winis definitely huge,’’ he said. ‘’Iwon the first event of the yearand I struggled a little bit

through the end. But I’ve beenputting in a lot of work the lastmonth or two, and it definitelyfeels really good to get a win andget off to a good start this year.’’

Much easier to figure outwas his golf.

Johnson started the finalround with a three-shot lead,which was gone by the time hereached the third tee. He three-putted for bogey at No. 1.Poulter birdied the opening twoholes, and McDowell did himone better by opening with threestraight birdies. They weretied at 17-under, and therewasn’t a lot of separation the restof the way.

All three of them madebirdie on the par-5 14th in threedifferent ways - a two-putt from40 feet by Poulter, the shortesthitter of the group; a 40-foot puttby McDowell that slammed intothe back of the cup; and a 20-foot putt by Johnson, who fig-ured the hole had seen enoughbirdies already from that group.

‘’That was a big putt,’’ hesaid. Poulter fell out of the leadwith a bogey on the 15th from a

bunker. McDowell lost hopewhen he twice missed birdieputts inside 15 feet. But this tour-nament was won. Johnson com-pleted his big run by pitching infor eagle from just short of the16th green, and then hitting 5-iron to 8 feet for birdie on the17th.

‘’It’s the biggest win I’vehad in my career so far,’’ he said.‘’Those guys put a lot of pres-sure on me. I’m really proud ofthe way I handled myself.’’

It was tense and it was fun.There wasn’t a lot of talkingamong them over the final twohours, yet the golf was at such ahigh standard that it was obvi-ous all three players relishedhaving a chance to capture thisWorld Golf Championship.

‘’A little disappointed not toput my hands back on the tro-phy,’’ said Poulter, who won theHSBC Champions last year atMission Hills. ‘’But 15 birdiesand an eagle at the weekend issome pretty good golf. Dustinfinished the job. It was good golfand it was good fun to play inthat group.’’—Agencies

A big win for Johnson, a boost for challengers

SHANGHAI: Dustin Johnson of the United States holds hischampion trophy during the award ceremony of the HSBCChampions golf tournament at the Sheshan InternationalGolf Club.

Bailey readyfor Asheschallenge

SYDNEY—One-day specialistGeorge Bailey said Monday hefeels ready to step up and play apart in the Test side as Australiaattempt to wrest back the Ashesfrom England.

Australia’s one-day captainplans to make another pitch forthe Test number six batting spotin Tasmania’s Sheffield Shieldgame with Queensland inBrisbane starting on Wednesday.

Bailey, 31, has receivedstrong support to win a place inthe middle order for the seriesopener at the Gabba starting onNovember 21 and has been ear-marked by chief selector JohnInverarity as an Ashes contender.

Asked if he felt ready to playTest cricket, Bailey, who has justreturned from a prolific one-dayseries in India, said: “I feel like Iam. I feel I am playing as goodcricket as I ever have and I amstill continuing to try and get bet-ter. “I am at an age where youknow you are only going to getone crack at it. So you do it ex-actly the way you want to do itand I think there are some posi-tives in that too.”

Bailey has at times struggledto fulfil his undoubted poten-tial—he averaged just over 18 in14 Shield innings last season—but said he has learned to blockout the knockers.

Former Australia captain IanChappell said in a weekendnewspaper column that Bailey’sbatting technique was not wor-thy of a Test spot despite his glutof ODI runs.

“When you get to my age it’smaking small changes just tomake sure you are as sharp as youcan be, more mentally than any-thing else,” Bailey said.

“What I have got out of thelast couple of series is a lot ofconfidence in the way I play, notworrying too much about exter-nal factors. —APP

Capello keento stay on asRussia coach

MOSCOW—Russia managerFabio Capello has said he willdiscuss the details of a new con-tract on Tuesday with Russiansports minister Vitaly Mutko.

“I was flattered by the fans’desire to see me at the helm untilthe 2018 World Cup. But I thinkwe shouldn’t make plans tooearly because it’s a very longterm,” Capello told the dailySport Express.

“Currently I want to focus onmy team’s immediate problems.”

The much-travelled, 67-year-old Italian coach said thatnevertheless he fully intended tostay on in Russia until 2018 al-though the finer details of a newdeal needed to be looked at.

“Money is not the key ques-tion. That is just one of the pointsof discussion,” he said.

“There are plenty of pointsthat we shall discuss because it’sa long-term contract. I’d like tostay in Russia if we manage towork out a joint point of view.”

Capello also said that Rus-sia will play friendly matcheswith Serbia and South Korea inthe United Arab Emirates onNovember 15 and 19 respec-tively.

“There had been plans toplay Argentina and Brazil in theUnited States, but I decidedagainst this idea because theflights to the USA and back aretoo long.” “I also took into con-sideration the plans of the clubsthat are playing in the RussianPremiership and the ChampionsLeague.”

“The finals in Brazil will alsobe very important in our prepa-rations for the 2018 World Cup,which Russia will host.”

The former England man-ager said that he would decide thelocation of his team’s trainingbase for next summer’s WorldCup after the draw is made inBrazil on December 6.—APP

A single dose rather than the recommended three of a vaccine against thesexually transmitted disease HPV may

be enough to ward off cervical cancer, re-searchers said Monday. The findings may leadto simpler delivery andlower costs, possibly in-creasing the number ofyoung people who get vac-cinated, said the report in thejournal Cancer PreventionResearch.

The HPV vaccine is rec-ommended for girls andboys before they becomesexually active, but US re-search from 2012 showedthat only one third of USfemale teens and fewer thanseven percent of US boysgot the recommended threedoses. “Our findings sug-gest promise for simplifiedvaccine administrationschedules that might becheaper, simpler, and morelikely to be implemented around the world,”said Mahboobeh Safaeian, an investigator inthe Division of Cancer Epidemiology andGenetics at the National Cancer Institute inMaryland.

The study focused on a population ofnearly 7,500 women aged 18-25 in CostaRica. Although all were supposed to get therecommended three doses of the HPV vac-cine at different times, about 20 percent ofparticipants did not. So researchers analyzedblood samples from a group of 78 who gotone dose, compared to groups of 120 to 192that received two or three doses as planned.

They found that all the women in all three

groups had antibodies against virulent strainsof HPV, known as 16 and 18. These anti-bodies persisted in their blood for up to fouryears, which is about as long as researchershave expected the vaccine to be effective.

The levels of antibodiesalso appeared stable over time,even though they were slightlylower in the single dose group,suggesting “these are lastingresponses,” said the study. Thevaccine used in the study wasCervarix, made by the Britishpharmaceutical giantGlaxoSmithKline.

“GSK is continuing toreview findings from this trialand is committed to ensuringregulatory authorities andpublic health officials haveaccess to this information,” acompany spokesman toldAFP. Study authors said anti-body responses after a singledose have not been evaluatedfor Gardasil, the quadrivalent

HPV vaccine made by Merck that is morewidely used in the United States and manyother countries.

More research is needed before any for-mal changes can be decided, but Safaeiansaid the findings could have far-reachingimpact in low income nations. “Vaccinationwith two doses, or even one dose, could sim-plify the logistics and reduce the cost of vac-cination, which could be especially impor-tant in the developing world, where morethan 85 percent of cervical cancers occur,and where cervical cancer is one of the mostcommon causes of cancer-related deaths,”she said.

One dose of HPV vaccinemay prevent cervical cancer

KARACHI: IGP Sindh Shahid Baloch talking to family members of Shuhada Sindh po-lice at a simple ceremony held to offer tributes to Shaheed police personnel.—PO photo bySultan Chaki

Annual DayFunction of DHA

College heldSTAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—The purpose ofeducation was to produce dy-namic and versatile individuals,who could contribute for thebetterment of society. There wasa need for inculcating disciplineand punctuality in students,which was essential for successin life.

Muhammad Imran KhanChisti, Controller of Examina-tions Board of IntermediateEducation Karachi, who was thechief guest of Annual Day Func-tion of Defence Authority SKBZCollege said this. Annual DayFunction of Defence AuthoritySKBZ College was held at theCollege’s lush green ground.

The students dressed incolourful attires presented asplendid programme which in-cluded an impressive marchpast, a spectacular mass PT dis-play and taekwondo martial arttechniques by the young stu-dents. The chief guest com-mended the students for their re-markable performance both inacademic and co-curricular ac-tivities at all levels.

Chishti urged the students toconcentrate on their studies andalso to actively participate in co-curricular activities so essentialfor development of a healthy andversatile personality.

He said that teachers werethe backbone of any educationalsystem and an important pillarof the society.

KARACHI: Speaker of Sindh Assembly Agha Siraj Durrani presiding over the provincial assembly session.

IRFAN ALIGI

KARACHI—Sindh assemblyhad Monday passed the SindhGorakh Hills Development Au-thority SGHDA (Amendment)Bill-2013 with slight changesthat would hold the elected mem-ber national assembly of the con-stituency as chairman of the saidauthority.

On the passage of the saidBill, Muttahida Qaumi Move-ment lawmaker said that makingof an MNA as the chairman ofthe authority would create prob-lems as the MNA would not beanswerable to the Sindh assem-bly. It is pertinent to mention that

SA passes SGHDA(Amendment) Bill-2013

the said Bill was tabled in theSindh assembly on Friday, Nov1, 2013 and the acting Speakerhad deferred it till Monday(Yesterday).

The had proposed appoint-ment of an MNA as the chair-man of the said Authority andSindh Local Government Min-ister (Presently Syed OwaisMuzaffar) and a member of pro-vincial assembly to be ap-pointed by the Sindh Chief Min-ister would function as mem-bers. Additional Chief Secretary(Development) would also be inthe said authority.

Conversely, Sindh Ministerfor Culture and Tourism would

be the vice-chairman of the saidauthority while Sindh local Gov-ernment Minister, a person as tobe proposed by Sindh ChiefMinister, Sindh Secretary Cul-ture, Director General of the saidauthority, managing directorSindh tourism development cor-poration, deputy Commissionerdistrict Dadu, director survey,establishment and land record,Sindh, project director of thesaid authority and additionalChief Secretary (development)would function as members.

The opposition bench in theassembly had opposed the ap-pointment of an MNA as thechairman of the said authority.

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—The electricity beingproduced in Sindh was transferredto the National Grid but its tariffissue was yet to be resolved andhence the Sindh provincial govern-ment would raise this issues at thehighest level. On the other hand,WAPDA had in 2008 shut theSukkur Thermal Power Station as

Sindh Govt to raise tariff issueof electricity at highest level

the gas supply to that power plantwas not available. A citizen, DrMoin Ud Din Shaikh had alreadyfiled a petition in Sindh HighCourt Sukkur bench for resump-tion of gas supply to the powerstation.

Dr Sikandar Meendhru, SindhMinister for Parliamentary Affairs,told this to the House duringMonday’s session in response to a

question. The Minister further ap-prised the House that the Sindhprovincial assembly had with thecollaboration of the AlternativeEnergy Board initiated work on 29wind power projects in districtThatta for 1952 megawatts of elec-tricity. In the same context, theFauji Fertilizers and Zorlo EnergyPakistan had already completedtheir wind power projects.

Doctor among sixkilled in Karachi

KARACHI—A man identified asDr Naseem was killed when uni-dentified gunmen on a motorcyclefired at him. According to reportsDr Naseem was traveling to hisclinic when the unknown gunmenopened firing, killing him on thespot. Police said the incident isprobably an instance of target kill-ing, adding that they cannot besure at this stage of the investiga-tion. Chhipa ambulances trans-ported the doctor’s body to JinnahHospital shortly after the incident.

This is the second instance ofalleged target killing today. Ear-lier in the day, Dr Sher Ali wasreportedly targeted in Karachi’sManghopir. Five other peoplelost their lives across the city onMonday as law enforcementagencies continued with their tar-geted actions.—INP

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Private Schools’Management Association(PSMA) had been successful inits decades long struggle for pro-visioning of electricity to private

PSMA to pay non-commercial tariffschools in Karachi on the basisof residential tariff. The privateschools had been paying the elec-tricity bills according to commer-cial tariff. The PSMA had startedits struggle in 1989 and after un-tiring pursuit of their demands,

the former federal Minister forEducation Zubailda Jalal had ina meeting held in Quetta in May2002 approved residential tarifffor the private schools acrossPakistan but the decision was notimplemented in Karachi.

A single dose rather than the recommended three of a vaccine against thesexually transmitted disease HPV may be

enough to ward off cervical cancer, researcherssaid Monday. The findings may lead to simplerdelivery and lower costs, pos-sibly increasing the number ofyoung people who get vacci-nated, said the report in thejournal Cancer Prevention Re-search.

The HPV vaccine is rec-ommended for girls and boysbefore they become sexuallyactive, but US research from2012 showed that only onethird of US female teens andfewer than seven percent of USboys got the recommendedthree doses. “Our findingssuggest promise for simplifiedvaccine administration sched-ules that might be cheaper, sim-pler, and more likely to beimplemented around theworld,” said MahboobehSafaeian, an investigator in theDivision of Cancer Epidemiology and Geneticsat the National Cancer Institute in Maryland.

The study focused on a population of nearly7,500 women aged 18-25 in Costa Rica. Althoughall were supposed to get the recommended threedoses of the HPV vaccine at different times, about20 percent of participants did not. So researchersanalyzed blood samples from a group of 78 whogot one dose, compared to groups of 120 to 192that received two or three doses as planned. Theyfound that all the women in all three groups hadantibodies against virulent strains of HPV, knownas 16 and 18. These antibodies persisted in theirblood for up to four years, which is about as long

as researchers have expected the vaccine to beeffective. The levels of antibodies also appearedstable over time, even though they were slightlylower in the single dose group, suggesting“these are lasting responses,” said the study.

The vaccine used in the studywas Cervarix, made by the Brit-ish pharmaceutical giantGlaxoSmithKline.

“GSK is continuing toreview findings from this trialand is committed to ensuringregulatory authorities and pub-lic health officials have access tothis information,” a companyspokesman told AFP. Study au-thors said antibody responsesafter a single dose have not beenevaluated for Gardasil, thequadrivalent HPV vaccine madeby Merck that is more widelyused in the United States andmany other countries.

More research is neededbefore any formal changes canbe decided, but Safaeian said thefindings could have far-reaching

impact in low income nations. “Vaccinationwith two doses, or even one dose, could sim-plify the logistics and reduce the cost of vacci-nation, which could be especially important inthe developing world, where more than 85 per-cent of cervical cancers occur, and where cer-vical cancer is one of the most common causesof cancer-related deaths,” she said.

HPV can cause oral, anal, and cervicalcancer. According to the World Health Orga-nization, cervical cancer is the second mostcommon cancer in women worldwide, andcauses 500,000 new cases and 250,000 deathseach year.

One dose of HPV vaccinemay prevent cervical cancer

LAHORE—The Lahore HighCourt Monday stayed an elec-tion tribunal from proceeding onPTI leader Imran Khan’s peti-tion for a vote recount in NA-122.

Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan passedthe order on a petition filed bySardar Ayaz Sadiq, SpeakerNational Assembly, against anorder of the election tribunal.

The court also issued noticesto Imran Khan and other respon-

LHC bars election tribunal fromproceeding on Imran’s plea

dents for November 15.Earlier,the petitioner’s

counsel submitted that the peti-tioner was elected as MemberNational Assembly from NA-122 in general elections2013.However,PTI leader ImranKhan, a rival candidate,filed anelection petition under Section52 of the People’s Representa-tion Act 1976 before an electiontribunal and impleaded othercontesting candidates besides

the petitioner. He submittedthat the petitioner filed a replyin the matter and also objectedthrough an application that nolist of witnesses was annexedwith the petition and witnesses’affidavits had not been sworn inaccording to the law.

He said that the tribunal in-stead of calling a reply framedissues and refused to decidequestions raised, through an or-der.—APP

SALIM AHMED

LAHORE—The 3rd Asia PacificConference on PsychosocialRehabilitation & 8th Interna-tional Psychiatric Conferencewas concluded here Mondaywith a firm resolve that all outefforts will be made for address-ing sufferings of those facingmental disorder.

The participants of the con-ference discussed recent ad-vances in rehabilitation, biologi-cal & social psychiatry. Theyalso shared their experiences vis-à-vis latest trends in the treat-ment of psychiatric patients.

The moot was organised byWorld Association for Psycho-social Rehabilitation (WAPR)Pakistan chapter, Pakistan Psy-chiatric Research Centre(PPRC), Fountain House,Lahore and Psychiatry Depart-ment SIMS Lahore, Pakistan.

The participants of the mootstressed the need for more col-laboration between mentalhealth professionals of devel-oped and developing countries

All efforts to addresssufferings of mental patients3rd Asia Pacific Conference on Psychosocial

Rehabilitation concludesthrough sharing latest researchand meaningful discussionsthrough use of latest IT facili-ties.

Prof Dr Afzal Javed saidthat the new millennium haswitnessed many advances in theunderstanding and managementof psychiatric disorders. Thebenefits of these advances havenot reached many in the Asianregion. As many countries inAsia are still struggling to meetthe necessities of daily life fortheir people, mental health isconsidered a luxury.

Nevertheless, mental needscannot be ignored as there canbe no health with mental health.Concerted collaborative effortsare needed to achieve the cher-ished goal of providing mentalhealth care to all in the near fu-ture, he added.

He further said that the needto provide rehabilitation andcare for people going throughemotional distress is also cru-cial in improving the mentalhealth in our stressful societies.This need is increasing as our

societies become more devel-oped, sophisticated and com-petitive. Other challenges thatwe are facing are the rapid so-cial changes that have come withour rapid economic growth inthe Asia Pacific region, ProfAfzal said.

According to him, mentalhealth issues are growing at analarming rate in the world espe-cially the third world countriessuch as Pakistan. The increasein stressful environment in ev-ery aspect of life is adding fuelto the fire. Psychosocial Reha-bilitation in Psychiatry is a ne-glected subject in the develop-ing countries. With the chang-ing trends in Psychiatric treat-ment and management, this as-pect is vital in getting our pa-tients back in the communitylife.

Moreover, Prof Dr HelenKillapsy conducted a WorkshopOn “Rehabilitation of Mentallyill People” at the FountainHouse. She apprised the partici-pants of the workshop about re-habilitation process.

LAHORE: Ambassador of Japan Hiroshi Inomata meeting the students during his visit to Government Technology College Railway Road.

LAHORE: Supporters of Awami Workers Party protesting in favour of their demands out-side Assembly.

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—Lahore Tax Bar As-sociation (LTBA) on Mondaydemanded of the Federal FinanceMinister and Chairman FederalBoard of Revenue to removecomplexities in the PRAL sys-tem (Pakistan Revenue Automa-tion (Pvt.) Ltd) as it is creatingmultiple problems for tax pay-ers. The demand was raised at ameeting of Lahore Tax Bar As-sociation held here.

The meeting was presidedover by the President (LTBA)Qari Habibur Rehman Zuberiand also attended by SecretaryLTBA Ali Ahsan Rana, ZahidPervaiz, Tufail Asghar, Khurram

LTBA seeks removal ofcomplexities in PRAL system

Shahbaz, Zulfiqar Ahmad andAnis Anjum among others. TheLTBA President said that thegovernment would not be ableto meet revenue target for theyear if the PRAL system wasnot made tax payer friendly andthe lacunae in it were not re-moved immediately.

The house on the occasionadopted a resolution calling forimmediate changes in the PRALsystem that has put the tax pay-ers in great troubles. The Housealso expressed its dismay overthe non-functioning of the sys-tem in the recent past. TheHouse also called for improve-ment in the Chief Revenue Of-fice (CRO) Islamabad to enable

it to help expansion in the taxnet instead of creating unduehurdles.

The House also demandedof the FBR to grant permissionfor submission of Wealth State-ment as Short Document besidesallowing submission of manualtax returns as there are a largenumber of businessmen who areunable to use online system. TheLTBA President said that theAssociation had already for-warded a number of complaintsto the concerned authorities butto no avail. He said that the Chairman FBRshould take stock of the wholesituation to ensure smooth fil-ing of tax returns.

Recipients of Dean’s and Rector’s Merit Awards Fall 2013 snapped with Rector UMT DrHasan Sohaib Murad at the University campus.

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—University of Man-agement and Technology (UMT),Lahore, held Dean’s and Rector’sMerit certificates distributionceremony for students of Fall2013 at its campus, on Monday,Nov 4, 2013. Rector UMT, DrHasan Sohaib Murad awardedcertificates and souvenirs to stu-dents who had demonstrated ex-ceptional academic performanceduring Fall 2013. Badges werealso provided to students withimage of eagle on them, repre-senting Allama MuhammadIqbal’s Shaheen (Eagle).

Dr. Hasan Sohaib Muradtook this opportunity to congratu-late and encourage the students,and urge them to excel more intheir studies. He said that all stu-dents present today have shownthat they are different from thecrowd and have the potential toreach great heights. A total of 225students from different schools ofUMT qualified for Dean’s and

225 students awarded with Dean’s and Rector’s Merit certificatesRector’s Merit certificates. About182 students received Dean’sMerit certificates while 43 excep-

tional students were presentedwith Rector’s Merit certificates.The graceful ceremony was at-

tended by Imran Zahid, Control-ler of Examinations, and otherhigh ranking officials of UMT.

Mother and ChildHealth Week starts

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—Punjab Minister forHealth Khalil Tahir Sindhu hassaid that, without resolving thehealth problems of women andchildren, a healthy society can-not be established.

He said that immunizationand balanced diet is equally im-portant to maintain health ofchildren and pregnant womenand for this purpose, Mother andChild Health Week is being ob-served in Punjab to createawareness among the massesregarding this important issue.

He stated this while inaugu-rating provincial launching ofMother and Child Health(MCH) Week at GovernmentNawaz Sharif Hospital, YakkiGate, here today.

Provincial CoordinatorLady Health Workers’Programme Dr. Javed Umar,UNICEF representative Dr.Tahir Manzoor, UNFPA repre-sentative Dr. Jamil Chaudhary,MS of the hospital Dr. ShafqatAli and other senior doctorswere attended the ceremony.

The Minister Health, afterinauguration, briefed the mediarepresentatives regarding MCHweek and said that due to anti-dengue activities, the staff hasbeen posted for indoor denguesurveillance and the MCH weekhas been postponed in Lahore,Rawalpindi, Kasur, NankanaSahib and Sheikhupura districtstill November 10.

He further said that the pur-pose of observing MCH weekis to create awareness among thepeople to concentrate reiteratethe attention of the masses to-wards the health related prob-lems of pregnant women, infantsand children to minimize thematernal and child mortality ratewhich is presently very high inPakistan.

PU awardsPhD degrees

LAHORE—Punjab UniversityMonday awarded PhD degreesto five scholars who had fulfilledall the requirements.

The scholars who receivedPh.D degress included LiaqatSohail Meer S/o Bashir AhmedMeer in the subject of Punjabiafter approval of his thesis en-titled “Kashmir Which PunjabiShairy Adab (Mudh Toun 2008Tikar)”, Muhammad Ihsan S/oMuhammad Amin in the subjectof Islamic Studies after approvalof his thesis entitled “JadeedParliament Ki Islami Shura-IatKe Usoolon Par Ta’Ameer-O-Tashkeel (Aik Tahqeeqi Ja,iza)”,Muhammad Nazir S/o SultanAhmad in the subject of Persianafter approval of his thesis en-titled “Editing of Zad UlMuttaqin By Abdul HaqMuhaddis Dehlavi”, AbdelHafiz Adam Dahab S/o AdamDahab in the subject of Molecu-lar Biology after approval of histhesis entitled “AssociationMapping For Drought StressTolerance In Cotton(Gossypium Hirsutum L.)” andAhmad Bilal S/o MuhammadYasin in the subject of Educa-tion after approval of his thesisentitled “Differential Effects ofContent Based And PedagogicalTraining On Teachers’ Profes-sional Development”.—INP

LAHORE—Capital City PoliceOfficer (CCPO) ChaudharyMuhammad Shafiq has orderedthe SSP Investigation Lahore toinitiate stern action against thenegligence of officials regardingcases of fraud and land grabbing.CCPO issued directions to the SSPInvestigation after taking notice of

CCPO orders action onfraud, land grabbing cases

an application by MuhammadSaleem, an employee of Sui Gasdepartment against delaying tac-tics by the investigation officersof Nawab Town police station ina case of forgery into propertydocuments. The applicant,Muhammad Saleem, stated in hisapplication that local courts had

cancelled bails of the accused inhis case while the challans of theinvestigation were not submittedin court for final judgment due tothe malafide intention of investi-gating officer. The CCPO directedthe SSP Investigation to personallylook into the matter and ensureredressal of the grievances.—APP

Law, order toppriority of

govt: ShahbazLAHORE—Chief MinisterPunjab Mian Shahbaz Sharif hassaid that maintenance of law andorder is top priority of the gov-ernment. He was talking tomembers National and Provin-cial Assemblies in Lahore onMonday. The Chief Ministersaid that the government is tak-ing revolutionary steps for thewelfare and betterment of thepeople.

Shahbaz Sharif said thatdrone attacks are against thecountry’s sovereignty. TheMNAs and MPAs informed theChief Minister about the ongo-ing development projects andproblems in their respective con-stituencies.—Online