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Pakistani Taliban reject dialogue with govtMullah Fazlullah new TTP chief

TARIQ SAEED

PESHAWAR—The PakistaniTaliban have rejected dialoguewith the Pakistan governmentfollowing the appointment ofMullah Fazlullah as chief ofTehrke-e-Taliban Pakistan.

According to a foreignnews agency, Taliban spokes-man Shahidullah Shahid said

there would beno more talksas MullahFazlullah isagainst nego-tiations withthe Pakistanigovernment.

Contraryto all thespeculations and guess works,

the Taliban Shoora (Supremedecision making body) onThursday appointed self-stilledcleric and chief of Swat TalibanMullah Fazlullah alias MullahRadio as new Ameer of the de-funct Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan(TTP). Sheikh Khalid Haqqanifrom Swabi has been named asthe deputy Chief of the militant’sorganization.

The new TTP chief carriesRupees fifty million headmoney by the government ofPakistan and is the son-in lawdefunct Tehreek-e-Nifaaz-e-Sharia-e-Mohammadi (TNSM)chief Maulana SoofiMohammad who is undergoingimprisonment in Peshawar jailthese days. Mullah Fazlullah

US trashing gear left in AfghanistanKANDAHAR—The withdraw-ing U.S. military is destroyingmost of the equipment it is leav-ing behind in Afghanistan after13 years of war, selling thescrap for millions of dollars tothose willing to buy it.

The policy stands in starkcontrast to the Americans’ with-drawal from Iraq, when theydonated or sold still-usableitems worth about $100 million.

The equipment is beingtrashed, U.S. officials say, be-cause of fears that anything leftbehind in Afghanistan could fallinto the hands of insurgents andused to make bombs. Leavingit behind also saves the U.S. bil-lions of dollars in transportationcosts.

Afghans are angry at thepolicy, arguing that even furni-ture and appliances that couldimprove their lives is beingturned into useless junk.

“They use everythingwhile they are here, and thenthey give it to us after break-ing it,” said MohammedQasim, a junk dealer in thevolatile southern province ofKandahar. He gestured towardthe large yellow frame of agutted generator, saying itwould have been more usefulin somebody’s home, giventhe lack of electricity in thearea.

The twisted mounds ofmetal, steel and industrial rub-ber scattered over a vast fieldhad once been armored ve-hicles, trucks and huge blastwalls that protected troopsfrom suicide bombers. Giantblack treads were pulled fromtanks. Even air conditioners,exercise machines and officeequipment were crushed andstuffed into multicolored ship-Continued on Page 7

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Afghans loading pieces of a destroyed US military armoured vehicle into their vehicle at ajunk yard in Kandahar, Afghanistan.—File photo

NA resolution seeksmore time for LG pollsLawmakers call for dialogue with TalibanSTAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—The NationalAssembly Thursday unani-mously adopted a resolutionseeking to delay local bodies(LB) elections saying that therecently announced schedule bythe Election Commission of thelocal bodies elections is practi-cally difficult to deliver free andfair elections.

The resolution moved byShah Mahmood Qureshi said itis practically difficult to holdfree and fair local bodies elec-tions under the dates announcedby the Election Commission ofPakistan (ECP).

The resolution said the ECPmust ensure proper proceduresto ensure free and transparentlocal government elections.Printing of ballot papers as de-fined by the law can only be car-ried out by the Printing Press ofPakistan which has shown itsinability to print the ballot pa-

pers in the provided time frame.It said the printing of ballot

papers by any private printingpress will not be acceptable asit will make the entire election

process questionable. The sov-ereign political will of thisHouse should prevail in a demo-cratic process.

The resolution sought appro-priate time period to deliver localbodies elections. The resolutionduly signed by different politicalleaders has been forwarded to theElection Commission.

Rising on a point of order‚Leader of the Opposition SyedKhurshid Ahmad Shah said theywill not accept printing of ballotpapers from private press for thelocal bodies elections. This‚ hesaid‚ will raise question mark onthe credibility of the ElectionCommission. He said holding lo-cal bodies elections is a politicalissue and it should be handledpolitically.

Shah Mahmood Qureshi saidthe schedule given by the Elec-tion Commission for Local Bod-ies elections is not implementableas the provinces have to undergo

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Loadshedding case

SC calls for undoing ad-hocismISLAMABAD—Chief Justice ofPakistan (CJP) IftikharMuhammad Chaudhry has re-marked if the courts have to doall the jobs then what works areleft to be done by the govern-ment.

He further remarked “ Wegave orders that chairman beappointed of the entities fromPIA to PTA. This adhocism willcome to end when. The entirecountry is being run throughacting chairmen. Adhoc systembe undone. There is no room for

PM for necessary steps toovercome energy shortfall

Recurrence of circular debt be stoppedSTAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Prime MinisterMuhammad Nawaz Sharif onThursday directed the authori-ties to take all necessary stepsfor overcoming the energy cri-sis being faced by the country.

He said this while chairinga high level meeting to reviewthe energy situation here at thePrime Minister House.Themeeting was also attended byMinister for Finance,

Muhammad Ishaq Dar, Minis-ter for Information, PervaizRashid, Minister for Water andPower, Khawaja MuhammadAsif, Minister of State forPrivatization, Eng. KhurrumDastgir and Minister of State forWater and Power, Abid Sher Ali.

The Prime Minister wasbriefed that through implemen-tation of an effective monitor-ing and checking system, linelosses have been reduced.

He was informed that

speedy work is in progress onprojects initiated by the Minis-try of Water and Power to in-crease production and ensureefficiency in the transmissionsystem.

The Prime Minister directedthat necessary steps must betaken so that the issue of circu-lar debt does not arise again.

The Prime Minister was in-formed that LNG import fromnext year would help in reduc-

appointment of acting chairmanin PTA system.

Justice Jawwad S Khawajaremarked “ all the mattersshould be run as per law as lawis supreme in the country. CJPgave these remarks while pre-siding over a 3-member benchof Supreme Court (SC) duringthe course of hearing of loadshedding case here Thursday.

Opening his arguments,Azhar Siddique advocate saidcompanies are not providingquality service. NEPRA is not

monitoring them in proper way.No specific procedure of loadshedding is adopted.

CJP remarked “ you shouldknow about your powers whena machine is not functioningproperly. A better to far betterway is pursued in a welfare state.A note be worked out and pre-sented in respect of bill whichis served to consumer.

Azhar Siddique said KES isgenerating electricity throughthe mode of gas and is selling it

3 anti-terrorordinances

presented in NAISLAMABAD—Three anti-terrorordinances were presented in theNational Assembly on Thursdayas Intelligence agencies warnedof possible terror attacks duringMuharram whereas the govern-ment said it had prepared a fool-proof security plan to tackle thethreat.

Federal Minister for Scienceand Technology Zahid Hamidpresented the Anti-Terrorism(Amendment) Ordinance, 2013the Anti-Terrorism (Amend-ment) Ordinance, 2013, (No 8of 2013) and the Protection ofPakistan Ordinance, 2013, (No9 of 2013) in the lower house ofparliament for consideration andapproval.

Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiqreferred the ordinances to therelevant committee and asked itto deliberate the amendmentsand to present its report in theHouse for approval.

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Tajik presidentreelected inlandslide victoryDUSHANBE—Tajikistan’selectoral commission onThursday announced alandslide victory for thecountry’s incumbent presidentin a vote criticized byinternationalobservers.

PresidentEmomaliRakhmon won83.6 percentof the vote,commissionspokesmanAdumanonDodayev told The AssociatedPress.

International monitorsfrom the Organization forSecurity and Cooperation inEurope criticized the vote,saying that state media hadbeen dominated by coverageof Rakhmon’s campaign andthat registration requirementswere designed to limitcompetition.

Nukes for S Arabia

FO: BBC story‘speculative,mischievousand baseless’LONDON—Saudi Arabia hasinvested in Pakistani nuclearweapons projects, and believesit could obtain atomic bombsat will, Mark Urban, Diplo-matic and defence editor forBBC said in Newsnightprgoramme in a detailed reporton Wednesday.

The report said while thekingdom’s quest has often beenset in the context of counteringIran’s atomic programme, it isnow possible that the Saudismight be able to deploy suchdevices more quickly than theIslamic republic.

Earlier this year, a senior

LHC ordersPunjab LGelections onparty basis

LAHORE—The Lahore HighCourt has ruled that Punjab’slocal government elections beheld on party basis as opposedto what the provincial gov-ernment had originally envis-aged.

The ruling issued on peti-tions seeking LG elections onparty basis further stated thatSections 14 and 18 of theContinued on Page 7

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ECP, parties meetingon LB polls cancelled

Dar doubts about printing of ballots in 20-25 days;Khurshid rejects printing by private printers

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—The ElectionCommission of Pakistan (ECP)has cancelled a meeting withrepresentatives of political par-ties to hold consultations overthe local bodies’ elections.

The ECP had originallycalled for the meeting on Friday.

The commission said the meet-ing had been canceled after aresolution seeking a delay in lo-cal bodies’ elections was ap-proved in the National Assem-bly.

Earlier, after visiting theECP, Finance Minister IshaqDar said the printing of ballotpapers was not possible within

20-25 days. He added that theECP was experienced andshould resolve the matter on itsown.

According to Dar, if thegovernment was involved in theprocess of printing ballot papersit would cast doubt on the trans-parency of the elections.

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STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Prime MinisterMuhammad Nawaz Sharif onThursday said that Pakistan at-tached special importance to itsrelations with the United ArabEmirates.

The Prime Minister wastalking to Sheikh Abdullah BinZayed Al Nahyan, Foreign Min-ister of the United Arab Emir-

PM: Pak attaches specialimportance to UAE ties

Joint Trade Council to be set upates, who called on him here.

Also present during themeeting were Ishaq Dar, Minis-

ter for Finance, Sartaj Aziz,Adviser to Prime Minister onNational Security and ForeignAffairs and Tariq Fatemi, Spe-cial Assistant to the Prime Min-

Continued on Page 7

Iran nuclearplan ‘backed’

by 6 worldpowers

GENEVA—Iran’s plan to capsome of the country’s atomicactivities in exchange for selec-tive relief from crippling eco-nomic sanctions has been ac-cepted by six world powers, thechief Iranian nuclear negotiatorsaid Thursday.

The upbeat comments fromAbbas Araghchi, reported byIranian state TV, suggest that

negotiators in Geneva are mov-ing from broad discussions overa nuclear deal to specific stepslimiting Tehran’s ability to makeatomic weapons. In return, Iranwould start getting relief fromsanctions that have hit itseconomy hard.

“Today, they clearly saidthat they accept the proposed

Continued on Page 7

Picture on Back Page

Opp continuesprotest session

ISLAMABAD—After failed talkswith the government, Oppositionin the Senate continued the pro-test session outside the ParliamentHouse for the second consecutiveday Thursday (today) against whatthey called “wrong facts and fig-ures” on causalities in missilestrikes.

The Opposition claims thatgovernment provided wrong datato the upper house last week aboutdeaths in missile strikes and ter-rorism-related incidents.

Continued on Page 7

Earlier story on Page 6

OBSERVER REPORT

RAWALPINDI—Chief of theArmy Staff (COAS), GeneralAshfaq Parvez Kayani onThursday gave away prizesto cadets for distinguishedperformance in academics,sports and co-curricular ac-tivities at Military CollegeMurree (MCM).

While addressing aschief guest on Annual Par-ents’ Day ceremony, he ap-preciated the college tohave made its mark amongleading educational insti-tut ions of the countrywithin a short period of fiveyears by consistently pro-ducing excellent academicresults.

Besides providing qual-ity education and person-ality grooming, the collegealongside other two mili-tary colleges in Jhelum andSui is one of the feeder in-st i tut ions for PakistanArmy. He advised the cadetsto make best use of the facili-ties and environment made

available to them and spareno effort to become most val-ued part of the society.

He noted it with greatsatisfaction that with a near60pc induction rate in thearmed forces, MCM waswell upto its mission, saidan ISPR press release.

Welcome address wasdelivered by the CollegePrefect followed by the Col-lege Annual Report by theCommandant.

The ceremony also in-cluded inauguration of col-lege auditorium by the chiefguest . MCM is one of thesymbols of the Army’s com-mitment to contribute in na-tional development throughnumerous projects in the edu-cation sector.

Earlier, on his arrival,Chief of the Army Staff wasreceived in the college byLieutenant General RaheelSharif , Inspector GeneralTraining and Evaluationand Brigadier AbdulHayee, CommandantMCM.—APP

Kayani advises cadets to become most valued part of society

P E S H A W A R — K h y b e rPakhtunkhwa Minister for Fi-nance Sirajul Haq on Thurs-day said that the governmentwas handing over the fundsto concerned representativesof local bodies to ensure theresolution of public problemsaccording to their wishes.Addressing a delegation ofBannu, he said that handingover the funds to local gov-ernment representativeswould help eliminating cor-ruption from the society.

He said that old system ofWorks and Services was un-der transformation and ser-vices of consultants would behired for the purpose. Theminister also assured the del-egation resolution of theirproblems on priority basis.Earlier, Khyber PakhtunkhwaChief Minister Pervez Khattakhas called upon the PTI work-ers to shun their petty differ-ences and prepared them-selves for the coming LG elec-tions , adding they belong toa party that was working forthe great cause of reformingthe social sectors and bring-ing about pleasant changesin the socio-economic life of

Govt to solve people’sproblems thru LB reps

the masses.He was talking to a 30-

member delegation of PTI LakkiMarwat that called on him atCM Sectt Peshawar. The del-egation was led by Zarin Zia,MPA and Chairperson DDACLakki Marwat while ProvincialHealth Minister and ProvincialGeneral Secretary PTI ShaukatYousafzai and Minister Infor-mation Shah Farman Khanwere also present on this oc-casion. Members of the del-egation apprised the ChiefMinister of the problems anddifficulties faced by the peopleof their respective areas.

Pervez Khattak said thatPTI workers had to endeavorfor realizing the vision of PartyChief Imran Khan and thus tosupport the provincial govt tocomplete the agenda ofchange. He hoped that withactive support of the workersand masses, the present govtwould succeed in changingthe system and cherishing thelong standing dream of re-forming the service deliverysystem in the province.

He said that the provin-cial government has adoptedthe policy of non interference

in any department with thecondition of showing perfor-mance while those officialsnot coming to the expecta-tions of the public and failedto deliver, would be punishedaccordingly. He said that lionshare of the provincial re-sources and powers werebeing devolved to local govtbodies and hence therewould be abundant funds fordevelopment schemes in ev-ery village, town and city inall over the province.

Similarly, he said thattimely and quality completionof developmental schemeswould also be ensured in fu-ture. He said that the LG sys-tem introduced by the presentPTI led coalition govt wouldbring about revolution in theprovince that would be exem-plary for all the country. Heexpressed the confidence thatPTI workers would field cleanpeople in the LG elections towin and serve the masses inbefitting manner. Similarly,they would not support anywrong but would work for jus-tice done to all that was thegoal of PTI to achieve, he con-cluded.—APP

SHER GONDAL

MANDI BAHAUDDIN—DCOImtiaz Ahmed Niazi has saidthat teachers are nation build-ers. They play major role innation building and future ofcoming generations.

This mission can only beaccomplished if they dis-charge their responsibilitieswith honesty, dedication andpatriotic spirit. If the builderof nation speaks lie and showfalse performance through is-suing bogus certificates thenwhat lesson the coming gen-erations would learn, he askedthe participants.

The DCO was chairingan education committeemeeting to review perfor-mance of teaching staff.DEO Education BabarMukhtar, District Monitor-ing Officer (DMO) Ahmed

Teachers playmajor role in

nation buildingRaza, DO Education WomenRifhat Riaz, DO EducationMuhammad Raees, DDOsand AEOs Education at-tended the meeting. DMO,in his briefing told that dur-ing his inspection tour hefound four schools closedduring working hours. Pres-ence of teachers in theschools was found 90.6%.

Percentage of adminis-trators who inspected vari-ous schools remained 96%.According to the report ofAdministrators, 28 teach-ers were found absent and43 teachers were on duty.

DCO directed EDO Edu-cation to serve show causenotice to teachers who wereabsent during inspection ofthe schools by administra-tors, and take punitive ac-tion against them if they failto justify their absence.

ISLAMABAD—The three-daySilk Route Festival -2013 hasgiven a new hope to localyouth of Gilgit-Baltistan inattracting foreign and na-tional tourists to get a tasteof unique landscape, pro-mote values of peace and sta-bility, regional cooperationand gender equity throughsports and cultural activities.

The event provided thema unique opportunity for show-ing their art, culture and tradi-tional heritage to boost tour-ism, trade and cultural ex-change of their area along withits scenic beauty and land-scapes to the delegates fromSilk Route member countriesincluding China, Uzbekistanand Indonesia, Ukraine, NorthKorea, South Korea,Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Syria,Egypt, Japan after 13 years.

The concluded festival,

Silk Route Festival to revive tourismnamed after the ancient SilkRoute, which formed the firstbridge between the East andWest and was a source of tradebetween the ancient empiresof China, India, Persia andRome, the event is aimed atreviving tourism in the region.G-B Governor Pir Karam AliShah, who inaugurated theevent at the Karakoram Inter-national University (KIU). “G-B has much to offer to the restof the world and its potentialcan be utilized by making in-vestments in the region,” saidthe governor. He also spokeof G-B’s history, calling it amelting pot of influences fromKashmir, Central Asia andChina where five ethnicgroups speak five different lan-guages with 36 dialects.

He termed the festival asnot merely the exchange oftrade but an event based on

glorious past of cultural andtraditional exchange. “Tour-ists and traders have linkedup the living style of SilkRoute member countriesthrough this festival and G-Bis serving as a gateway to theroutes of SRF,” he added.Ukraine ambassador,Volodymyr Lakomov becamethe first official from his coun-try to visit Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B), After five of his Ukraniancompatriots were brutallymurdered alongside five othertrekkers at Nanga Parbat.

The unprecedentedNanga Parbat tragedy in Juneresulted in the death of 10 for-eign mountaineers and onelocal guide. The incident wasa serious setback to theregion’s tourism industry; for-eign travellers left the countryin droves and travel adviso-ries were issued.—APP

SALAHUDDIN HAIDER

A German professor andauthor Dr JurgenWasim Frambagen

has described sufi music asa “gift to thew e s t e r nworld. Speak-ing before aselect gather-ing at theGoethe Insti-tute hereWe d n e s d a ynight, thatbiggest contribution of thesufi music is to maintain har-mony and keeping alive theculture of sharing in the sub-continent.

Quoting from his book

Nocturnal music in theLand of the Sufis—UnheardPakistan, he traced downhis own history as to he de-veloped interest in an art,which remained very impor-tant here. Starting at ayoung age, he listened toIndian classical and folkmusic.

He realized that while inthe sub-continent sufi mu-sic is lauded by the audi-ence, in his own country,audiences are perhaps in-different, mainly becausethey are unable to under-stand its intricacies, de-spite the fact that it washelp to spiritualism.

It was in Lahore that hemixed with musicians and

connoisseurs to under-stand the subject.

Music is such a vastsubject that it took time tounderstand. He tuned hisears to their symphonies,contents, and rhythm etc.

Each and every class ofmusic had its own history,influenced by the localizedculture and tradition.

A musician AkmalQadri’s raga, and the showat Maharajah Khattak’shouse in Lahore some twodecades ago, he was influ-enced by Ustad Hamid AliKhan.

Unfortunately now, thedebate whether music washaram in Islamic society,and now that suicide at-

tacks had vitiated the at-mosphere, attempt shouldbe made to accommodatedifferences and celebratecultural diversity. Once heheard flute and felt thatraga on the bamboo in-strument could awakenemotions, both masculineand feminine among lis-teners.

Dr Frembgen alsotouched on his experi-ences at the Shah AbdulLatif where a number ofpeople sang his poetry.Sufi poetry is still beingdescribed as at the heartof Islam. Dhamal was oneinstance was moved byand had mentioned in hisbook.

German professor talks of sufi music

ISLAMABAD—In the wake ofcontinuing confrontation be-tween opposition membersand the government,Mehmood Khan Achakzai,head of the Balochistan-basedand government-alliedPakhtunkhwa Milli AwamiParty, met with oppositionsenators on Thursday and re-quested them to end their boy-cott of Senate sessions overan Oct 30 controversial replysubmitted by Interior MinisterChaudhry Nisar Ali Khan.

Opposition senators,mainly belonging to PakistanPeoples Party (PPP), havebeen protesting against whatthey call ‘arrogance’ shownby Chaudhry Nisar after alleg-edly providing wrong data tothe house on Oct 30 aboutdeaths in terrorism-related in-cidents. The NationalAssembly’s debate on the situ-ation arising from last Friday’skilling of Taliban commanderHakimullah Mehsud was in-terrupted on November 6when Leader of the Opposi-tion in the National AssemblyKhursheed Ahmed Shah roseto point to a disquieting de-

Achakzai requests oppositionto end Senate sessions boycott

velopment happening in theSenate when “Pakistan is fac-ing a crisis” and demandedthat either Chaudhry Nisarwithdraw his allegedly wrong

reply to a senator’s questionrather than make it an issue ofego or the prime minister in-tervene personally to settlethe matter.

After the interior minister,who counter-charged the op-position of making it a matterof ego, refused to withdrawhis reply, arguing that theKhyber Pakhtunkhwa gov-ernment had rechecked thefigures of casualties from ter-

ANF seizes40 kg heroin

ISLAMABAD—Anti NarcoticsForce (ANF) Thursdayseized 40 kilogram heroinfrom Peshawar and arresetedtwo persons. According todetails, ANF Peshawar on aninformation seized a carsuzuki and recovered 40 kgsheroin, said a press releaseissued here. Drugs werepacked in mislabeled 50 pack-ets and were being carried toHaji Camp Lari Adda for load-ing in Bus destined forKarachi.

Two persons namelySharif Khan resident of Swatand Tamheed-ulla ofcharsadda have been arrestedat the spot. ANF Rawalpindiconducted a raid in sector F-11/2 and arrested 3 foreignersand recovered 5 capsules ofcocaine weighing 110 gramsand 15 capsules of heroinweighing 206 gms.

Case under CNS Act hasbeen registered against thearrested persons namelyNwambu r/o Naigeria, BillySmith r/o Naigeria and EvagoRui r/o Mozzambique. ANFRawalpindi also carried outoperation near BurhanMotorway Interchange andrecovered 66 Kgs of Charas.It was packed in 55 packets of1200 Gms each and concealedin secret cavities of jeep. Oneperson namely Faqeer Gul r/oMardan has been arrested andjeep seized.He was travellingfrom Peshawar to Hyderabadand finally on clearance ofroute to Karachi.

ANF Karachi carried out2 cleanup operations at oldSabzi Mandi Area andMauch Goth, detained 16addicts and recovered 4packs hashish and used sy-ringes. The addiction siteshave been sanitized and ad-dicts sent to ANF Drug Treat-ment Centre at Liary.—APP

WWF-Maldivesto work for

conservation ofmarine resources

PE S H AWA R —WWF-Paki-stan in collaboration withWWF’s Smart Fishing Initia-tive (SFI) will make efforts toprovide sustainable manage-ment of tuna in the IndianOcean during the next threeyears. They signed a Memo-randum of Understandingwith the Ministry of Fisher-ies and Agriculture (MoFA),Government of Maldives,through its Marine ResearchCentre (MRC) to supportMaldives to make joint ef-forts in this regard.

The purpose of this agree-ment is to mutually extend tech-nical and institutional supportfor the development and con-servation of Maldivesâ•™marine resources. It will focuson the development of sus-tainable management prac-tices for skipjack and yellowfin tuna in the Maldives, saida press release issued here onThursday. The MoU also aimsto build and strengthen thecollaboration between both or-ganizations, and to share sci-entific expertise. Both partieswill also develop and partici-pate in Fisheries ImprovementProjects (FIP) and address glo-bal issues such as climatechange and its effect on fish-eries.

MRC has agreed to pro-vide facilities for the collectionof information about oceano-graphic parameters throughuse of scientific equipmentavailable with it and access toavailable data.

It will also assist in re-search on fisheries resourcesand help to implement rightsbased management (RBM)system for better marine re-source management. WWFwill provide technical expertisefor capacity building and train-ing exercises in areas includ-ing fish stock assessment,aquaculture practices, educa-tion and awareness and otherrelated scientific studies. In ad-dition to this the organizationwill provide advocacy andvoice the opinions of IndianOcean Coastal States forsound management and con-servation of tuna and tuna likespecies.—APP

MURREE: Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, Chief of the Army Staff with the students of the Military College Murree atannual Parents’ Day.

rorist attacks from June on-wards and found them cor-rect, and there being no signof a prime ministerial interven-tion, Speaker Sardar AyazSadiq had ended the discus-sion by referring the issue tosenior house member,Achakzai, for what he called“out-of-court settlement”.

Achakzai met with Leaderof Opposition in the SenateChaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan andprominent Senators RazaRabbani and Kamil Ali Aghaon Thursday. During themeeting, he urged the oppo-sition senators to end theirboycott of Senate sessions.Separately, a meeting of allthe coalition parties in thefederal government was heldin the Senate, led by Leaderof the House Raja ZafarulHaq. The meeting was alsoattended by Chaudhry Nisar.

During the meeting, themembers discussed what theopposition alleged“unparliamentary behaviour”of the interior minister whichhad prompted oppositionmembers to boycott Senatesessions.—INP

Ministry to increasescholarships for

minorities’ studentsISLAMABAD—Ministry ofReligious Affairs has decidedto enhance educationalscholarships for students ofminorities across the coun-try. It has also extended thescope of awarding scholar-ships even to students ofprivate educational institu-tions, which would be dis-tributed through minorityparliamentarians.

The decisions were takenduring a meeting by a delega-tion of 14 members of minorityparliamentarians led by FederalMinister for Ports and ShippingKamran Michael with Ministerfor Religious Affairs and Inter-faith Harmony. The meetingdiscussed various issues per-taining to minorities communitythroughout the country. Themeeting decided that the devel-opment funds for minorities’parliamentarians would beequally distributed amongthem.

Funds for scholarshipswill also be distributed equallyamong the minority parliamen-tarians who would recommendscholarships for students oftheir constituency out of hisallocated funds.—APP

HYDERABAD: House job doctors shout slogans against non-payment of their stipend intheir hunger strike camp at civil hospital.

CHINIOT: A view of 100-year old Railway Bridge whose fences were recently painted bythe District Government but road still needs repair.

Efforts for protection of basic rightsPESHAWR—The Khyber PakhtunkhwaGovenror, Enigneer Shaukatullah hereThursday chaired a high level meetingheld to review the pace of progress onongoing efforts for protection of basicrights and resolve the grievances ofFATA people. The meeting was at-tended by Chairman and members ofFATA tribunal besides concerned au-thorities. The meeting was convened asa follow up action to implement the re-

cently issued directives of the Governor in this regard.The Governor was informed that arrangements to conducttraining for the existing officers in FCR would be madeshortly and two Tehsildars and one Assistant PoliticalAgent from each tribal agency would be called for a shortcourse. The Governor was informed that Levy’s jawanshaving desired level of qualification and experience wouldbe sent for training in forensic techniques for enablingthem to conduct investigation of cases on scientific lines.As far as posting of dedicated APA judicial is concerned,the meeting decided to initiate process for creation of apost of APA judicial in each agency. Meanwhile, it is re-ported that the tribal maliks and elders hailing fromMullagori sub tehsil area Jamrud Khyber Agency havedemanded of the governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and ad-ditional chief secretary (ACS)FATA to transfer the alleg-edly corrupt officers of Refugee Affected and Hosting Areas(RAHA) programme forthwith, otherwise a protest wouldbe staged in front of FATA secretariat and governor housePeshawar. The aggrieved maliks Yousaf Shah Mullagoriand Gul Mohammad of Mullagori of Jamrud tehsil ex-pressed their views in a press conference held in JamrudPress Club the other day.We first welcomed the RAHAprojects, however, when heard about the officers.—APP

Minister for resolving chronic issuesISLAMABAD—Minister for State andFrontier Regions (SAFRON) Lt Gen (r)Abdul Qadir Baloch Thursday urged allpolitical parties and the nation to forgeunity for resolving chronic issues beingconfronted by the country. Speaking inthe National Assembly, he said load shed-ding in the country has decreased by 50per cent due to effective measures takenby the government. He said that peoplefacing several challenges and PML-N

government has prioritized ending energy crisis from thecountry. He said that achieving peace in the country is topmost priority of the government as without improvingeconomy peace is not possible. The resolution of sectarian-ism, extremism and Balochistan issue are must for ensuringa prosperous Pakistan, he added. He said that governmentwants to resolve all the issues through dialogue. He saidthe Government had convened All Parties Conference (APC)for taking into confidence the whole nation, adding thatgovernment was sincere. It will not take any pressure fromany quarter, he added. He said the Prime Minister will nottake any dictation negating the interests of country. He saidTaliban should understand that Pakistan has nothing to doin the killing of Hakeemullah Mehsood. The previous gov-ernment had also announced headmoney on him, the parlia-ment of that time had not objected on it, he added. He saidthe Government wants to hold negotiations to achieve last-ing peace. Negotiations with Taliban must not be derailed,he added. He urged the opposition not to create problemsby delivering emotional speeches. He said the blockade ofNATO supply will not create any difference as the NATOforces have enough stocks with them.—APP

Govt to maintain peacePESHAWAR—Senior Provincial Minis-ter for Irrigation and Energy SikandarHayat Sherpao said Thursday thatKhyber Pakthunkhwa government iscommitted to maintaining peace in theprovince. He said the government isresponsible for protecting lives andproperties of masses and it is utilizingall available resources to curb terror-ism, extremism and the crime rate. Pre-siding over a meeting held here to re-

view law and order in Charsaddha, he said police forcehas an important role to play, adding that performanceof Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police is laudeable in maintain-ing law and order. The Minister said that measures needto be taken to address the deprivation of masses and toimprove their standard of lives. Earlier, the minister wasbriefed about overall all and order situation in the dis-trict and measures taken by district administration andpolice force to curb crimes and drug peddling. The min-ister was also apprised regarding measures against en-croachment, polio, outbreak of dengue. Sikandar ex-pressed satisfaction over performance of district policeand asked them to further improve it. He advised gov-ernment officials to work honestly so that the peoplemay see the change that was committed by the provin-cial led government during election camapign. The meet-ing was attended by Members Provincial AssemblyArshad Khan, Khalid Khan, Sultan Khan, Deputy Com-missioner Charsaddha Tahir Zafar Abbasi, district po-lice officer Charsaddha Shafiullha Khan, Assistant Com-missioner Zafarul Islam, DSPs and other governmentofficials.—APP

Promotion of tolerance, peaceMULTAN—Provincial Ministers AsifSaeed Manais and Ch Abdul WaheedAraein said Thursday the Punjab gov-ernment had completed security ar-rangements to maintain peace inMuharram. They urged Ulema to playtheir role for promoting tolerance andbrotherhood during Muharram. Provin-cial Miniser Saeed Manais directed theadministration to follow timings and ob-serve routes of processions. Provincial

Minister Ch Waheed said “Islam is a religion of peace andevery one should play ones role to establish peace.” Mean-while, religious scholars, license holders, mourners andpeople from different walks of life will participate in a walkon Friday to persuade people play their active role forpeaceful observance of Muharram. Islahi Bazm-e-Mhdi,Tanzeem License holders and Young Pakistanis Organiza-tion (YPO), is organizing the walk. The walk will begin fromthe residence of Malik Naseem Labar and would concludeat Daulat gate. City Police Officer (CPO), Sultan AhmadChaudhary has said that 100 video cameras were installedat various places of the city to monitor the Muharram pro-cessions. While talking to APP here on Thursday, CPOsaid that all security arrangements had been finalised forMuharram-ul-Harram and added that checking of the par-ticipants of Muharram processions would be done at fourplaces,whereas 600 metal detectors and 64 walkthroughgates would also be used for this purpose. CPO SultanAhmad urged the ulema to cooperate with police to ensurelaw & order control during Muharram-ul-Harram. He saidthat 105 out of 488 Muharram processions were declaredsensitive,while 344 out of 1266 Majalis-aza were declaredsensitive. City Police Officer Multan, Sultan AhmedChaudhry urged the ulema to cooperate with police tomaintain law and order situation during Muharram.—APP

GUL HAMAAD FAROOQI

CHITRAL—The peoplehave demented of the au-thorities to open Kalash Val-ley road otherwise they willcame on roads. Addressinga press conference residentsof Kalash valley comprisingof both Muslim and Kalashminority elite members ofTanzeemi Tahreeki Amal saidthat Kalash valley has inter-national importance by vir-tue of its unique culture.They said that a large num-ber of tourists including for-eigners visit Kalash valleybut due to damaged roadtheir number is decreasing

Opening of Lawari Tunnel,Kalash valley road demanded

day by day.They said that deadline of

5th November has extendedby 75 hours until 9th Novem-ber and warned that if the gov-ernment failed to blacktop thisroad and not handed over 15kilometers Shekhanandehroad to Communication andWorks (C &W) department,they will continue their protestand will come on roads.

They demanded from chiefminister KPK for opening ofkalash road, blacktopping andwidening Bumborat road andhanding over Shekhanandehroad to C &W so as to boosttourism at Kalash valley andgive relief to its residences.

Abdul Majeed Qureshi, RafiAdvocate, Nabaig Kalash ad-vocate, Zahid Alam and otherspoke to the press conference.

Meanwhile, former pro-vincial minister and districtpresident of PakistanPeople’s Party Saleem Khanand other PPP leaders in-cluding Burhan Shah advo-cate, Zahir Shah have urgedthe federal government forearly opening of Lawari tun-nel for traffic. Addressing apress conference former pro-vincial minister said that mainroad of Chitral has beenblocked for all type of ve-hicular traffic at Lawari topdue to heavy snowfall.

PESHAWAR—Female stu-dents belonging to differentcolleges of Abbottabad andManshera district partici-pated in the two-day trek-king and cleanliness drive ofDunga Gali-Ayubia pipelineand Lalazar Trek. The YouthTourism Programme wassponsored and organisedby Tourism CorporationKhyber Pakhtunkhwa in as-sociation with District YouthAdvisory Board, said a pressrelease issued here onThursday. Earlier otherevents have been held un-der its umbrella e.g. Jashan eChitral, Training Campaignand Clean Up Malam Jabba,Students field trip toJahanabad Buddha, Excur-sion trip to Attock Khurd,

Girl students participate intrekking, cleanliness drive

Lake Saif ul Muluk Clean upand Trek to Miran Jani Top.

The girls began their trekon first day of Dunga Gali-Ayubia Pipeline track. Theywere provided raincoats andsticks to pick the garbage byAdventure Foundationswhile gloves were given byWWF in Galliyat. They wereaccompanied by the GeneralManager Events and TouristInformation Center (TICs)Muhammed Ali Syed, theirrespective teachers and me-dia personnel. They were di-vided into groups and werebriefed by Shabeeha,Mehreen and Waseem ofWWF who had accompaniedthem on the track and weregiving them valuable knowl-edge about the different wild-

life, plants and flora in thearea.

One of the studentsAyesha from Comsats Uni-versity while speaking to themedia said, “this is not onlya great opportunity to learnabout our nature and differ-ent tourism potential in theprovince but also to meetgirls of different institutesand many friendship bondshave been developed to-day”. The second dayprogramme consisted of theLalazar trek from Dunga Galito Nathia Gali. They begantheir journey with a lightdrizzle wearing the yellowand orange raincoats, withsticks in their hands, wear-ing gloves and carrying gar-bage bags.—APP

Fumigation failsto control

dengue feverHYDERABAD—The eruptionof dengue remained uncon-trolled in Hyderabad district,despite fumigation as 475more cases were reportedfrom Hyderabad, Latifabadand Qasimabad Talukas ofthe district from Nov 1 to 5,of them one has breathed hislast. Dr Ahmed Haider, theFocal Person on Dengue inHyderabad district informedAPP on Thursday that thecity area was the worst hitwhere 347 cases of Denguewere reported.

Besides, 96 patients ofDengue were brought fromLatifabad and 10 fromQasimabad, he said and addedin the limitations of HyderabadCantonment Board, 19 casesof Dengue were reportedwhile the Hyderabad rural is asafer Taluka from where onlythree cases were reported.

Out of 475 Dengue affectedpatients brought in hospitals,he informed that one has losthis life, 298 were admitted andafter required medical treat-ment, 291 patients have beendischarged while seven pa-tients remained admitted in thehospitals and getting treat-ment.—APP

ISLAMABAD—Pakistan Me-teorological Department(PMD) on Wednesday fore-cast more rain with lightsnowfall at isolated placesover the hills of Gallayat,Malakand division and Gilgit-Baltistan. An official of theMet Office told APP that thewestern disturbance affect-ing central and upper partsof the country is likely to per-sist for next 24-36 hours,which will cause scatteredrain-thunderstorm is ex-pected in Islamabad/Rawalpindi, Gujranwala,Lahore, Sargodha, Sahiwal,Malakand, Hazara, Peshawar,Kohat, Bannu, divisions,Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan,while isolated rain-thunder-storm in NortheastBalochistan (Quetta, Zhob,Kalat divisions), D.I. Khanand Multan divisions.

Meanwhile, the Met Of-fice has advised people toremain careful due to the riskof land sliding along majorroads in Murree caused byprolonged rainfall and block-

Rain, snowfall overhills likely

ade of link roads due to heavysnowfall. The official said therain spell will cast positiveimpact on crops especially inthe rain-fed areas wherecrops were under moisturestress due to prolonged dryweather conditions. TheKarachi Met Office on Thurs-day forecast partly cloudy

weather with hazy morning inthe metropolis during thenext 24 hours. It said that themaximum and minimum tem-perature will remain in therange between 31 and 33, 17and 19, degree Celsius, re-spectively.

The weather report saidthat rain, thunderstorm islikely to occur at isolatedplaces in Zhob division ofBalochistan.—APP

STAFF REPORTER

PESHAWAR—The govern-ment of KhyberPakhtunkhwa has an-nounced a poverty reduc-tion and employment gen-eration “Khud KafalatScheme” to overcome themassive unemployment inthe province. Chief MinisterKhyber Pakhtunkhwa for-mally launched the schemein a ceremony held here atCM Secretariat Peshawar onThursday wherein a Memo-randum of Understanding(MoU) was signed betweenthe Bank of Khyber and Pro-vincial Industry & TechnicalEducation department.

Acting Managing Direc-tor, BoK, Imran Samad andSecretary IndustryMohammad Sajid Jadoonsigned the MoU in the pres-ence of the Chief MinisterKhyber Pakhtunkhwa PervezKhattak. Provincial MinistersShah Farman and BakhtBedar Khan, other high upsof the BoK and Industry de-partment were also presenton the occasion.

The CM said that fundsof Rs. 2 billion have been al-located for the scheme togive soft loans to skilledyouth. Under the MoU BoKwill carry out the financialaspects of the scheme interms of funds management;

loan disbursement and recov-ery in close collaborationwith the Provincial govern-ment.

The Chief Ministertermed the scheme as revo-lutionary step of the indus-tries & Technical Educationdepartment which will con-tribute to the socio-eco-nomic development, incomeand employment generationof the province adding thatthe scheme will help a greatdeal to overcome the issueof unemployment and pov-erty in the province by pro-viding self employment op-portunities to the skilled ,educated and jobless youngpeople.

On this occasion, the CMwas told that under thescheme mark up free microloans will be given to the eli-gible persons which in-cluded unemployed youth,small traders, female entre-preneurs, new entrants hav-ing skill but not having suf-ficient finances to start theirbusiness, artisans, skilledworkers and low income en-trepreneurs.

The size of loan underthe scheme ranges fromRs.50,000/- to Rs.200,000and permanent residents ofKhyber Pakhtunkhwa hold-ing valid computerized na-tional identity card and hav-ing age limit of 18 to 50 years

can apply for loan.Applicants who have al-

ready availed wasila-e-Haqfacility through Benazir In-come Support Program orany other such scheme,loaner or defaulters fromany Bank or any other insti-tution, employees of gov-ernment/semi-governmentor autonomous bodies andregular students are not eli-gible for loans under thescheme. The maximum ten-ure of repaying the loan willbe three years. The schemewill initially be offered forthree year which the govern-ment may extend to the per-manent feature of the pro-vincial economy.

KP launches Khud Kafalat scheme to end unemployment Applications soughtfor Khawaja

Moin-ud-Din UrsISLAMABAD—Ministry ofReligious Affairs and Inter-faith Harmony has askedthe intending pilgrims tosubmit their applications forparticipating in Urs ofHazrat Khawaja Moin- ud-Din Chishti (RA).

The last date for sub-mission of applications isNovember 18 and a non-re-fundable Bank Draft of Rs.1000 is also required withthe application, said a newsrelease issued here onThursday. The Urs celebra-tions will be held from May1, 2014 in Ajmair Shareef, In-dia.—APP

QUETTA: A large number of addicts were arrested as ANFcarried out a massive clean-up operation against drugsmugglers and paddlers at Habib Nullah.

HYDERABAD: Police officials checking people at Qadamgah Mola Ali to avoid any untoward incident during Muharramul Harram.

BAHAWALPUR: A policeman showing suspects allegedly involved in kidnapping forransom.

Let there be total banon luxury imports

IN an encouraging and welcome development, the data released byPakistan Bureau of Statistics indicates that the food group imports inthe country during the first three months of the current financial year

dropped by 11.91 percent as compared to same period last year. Theitems whose imports showed declining trend include milk cream and milkfood for infants, dry fruit and nuts, and edible oil.

Pakistan is an agricultural country and there is no reason it shouldimport food products but unfortunately we have concentrated neither ontapping the full potential nor increasing the yield by way of adoption ofmodern techniques and technologies. As per report of the InternationalFarm Comparison Network (IFCN), despite below 2,000 litres per ani-mal yield in the country as compared to 9,000 litres per animal per annumin Europe, Pakistan is the fifth largest milk producing country in the worldwith 35.6 billion litres (natural contents) of milk per year. There wouldbe no need to import milk or milk products if right policies are pursued todevelop corporate dairy farming; milk processing and value added dairyand meat products. Similarly, the country has been constantly and chroni-cally deficient in its production as about 70% of the domestic require-ments are met through imports. The area under cultivation of oilseeds hasremained almost stagnant with some negligible variations for some cropsand there are big gaps between potential yield and national average yieldof various oilseed crops. About 70% of the yield potential has not yetbeen achieved in sunflower, 77% in rapeseed-mustard, 85% in ground-nut, 65% in sesame and 74% in linseed. Similar is the case with regard tothe other crops including wheat, rice and pulses in which we have still notbeen able to match the average world yield. While there is seen a declinein imports of food items, it is worrying that overall imports during thefirst quarter have showed 12.15% increase. Import of oil and machineryis a necessity but one fails to understand why the successive governmentshave given a blank cheque for import of luxury items. Every new modelof luxury cars finds its way onto the Pakistani roads just within months ofits role out, import of mobile phones has reached alarming proportions,and markets are flooded with unnecessary imported items. Pakistan isfacing financial crisis and it would be in the fitness of things if there is atotal ban on import of luxury goods to save our precious foreign exchange.

Musharraf showedcourage and it paid

FORMER President Pervez Musharraf has been bailed out in all thefour cases and now he is free to move about or even go abroad if his

name is removed from the Exit Control List (ECL). Investigations againsthim are reportedly underway in treason case but the trend shows he wouldfinally be exonerated of this charge as well.

Both friends and foes of the former President wondered when, trueto his bold and commando image, Musharraf decided to return to Paki-stan to participate in the electoral process. Some even thought he was afool indulging in self-infliction and their apprehensions came true whenhe was humiliated, maltreated and entangled in many cases. He wasdetained in his house, which was declared as sub-jail and made to ap-pear before this and that court. At times, it seemed that Musharraf could,some day, be awarded the severest punishment by courts because of thegravity of the charges in different cases. But Musharraf showed cour-age and determination as he reportedly declined offers to leave the coun-try and his decision to face the cases has ultimately started paying. Heis now a free man after a cumbersome judicial process and he is now ina position to speak with his head up. As Musharraf is privy to manydevelopments at home and abroad, we expect him to continue to stay inthe country and carve out a role for him. He has, no doubt, leadershipqualities and can help a lot in extricating the nation from the deep senseof despondency and uncertainty.

NA goes forsaner course

IN the midst of divergent views on drone attacks, Lawmakers in theNational Assembly have suggested to the Government the wiser course

of dialogue with the United States for halt of these attacks as they amountto disregard of Pakistan’s dignity and sovereignty. Though there has beenstrong opposition to the drone attacks that cause collateral damage, butthe opposition and resentment against them increased dramatically afterthe murder of the banned TTP chief Hakimullah Mehsud in attack by anunmanned aircraft.

This does not mean that people had any sympathies for the TTP leaderbecause vast majority of Pakistanis are against acts of terrorism andstrongly condemn the suicide and bomb blasts carried out in differentparts of the country by the militants. The reason of their anger is that themurder of Mehsud has also killed the peace process that the Governmenthad initiated with the TTP to bring an end to acts of terrorism. Severalpolitical leaders including the ruling PTI in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa havebeen demanding and threatening to block the NATO supply route to forceUS to reconsider its attacks. But in our view the National Assembly isperfectly right in suggesting to hold talks with the United States byemphasising that the drone attacks are proving counter productive andthe dialogue is the only way forward to deal with this issue. It can beargued by some that in the past as well Pakistan had been demanding anend to such attacks but to no success. We believe that if Pakistan contin-ues to persist with its stance on drones and it is backed by elected repre-sentatives, human rights organisations and other countries from the fo-rum of the United Nations, the United States would have to give it aserious consideration. Therefore, the saner course as suggested by themembers of the Parliament would be to accelerate the diplomatic effortson all fronts including despatch of Parliamentary delegation to the US tolobby with members of important committees of Senate and House ofRepresentatives for an end to drone strikes.

India’s three growth-killer ministries

There’s one law forthe rich and anotherfor the poor.

Greeningour gas

emissions

THE country’s greenhousegas emissions have beendropping significantly. Get

excited. But not too excited. TheEnvironmental Protection Agency(EPA) reported last month that thegreenhouse gas output from powerplants, the nation’s biggest emitters,dropped by an astounding 10percent between 2010 and 2012.Last year alone, greenhouse emis-sions over the whole economy de-clined by 4.5 percent. In a separatereport, the Energy Information Ad-ministration (EIA) noted that therecent progress on emissions cameeven as the economy and the popu-lation grew. The country has beenusing less energy to produce morewealth and, in the process, is pro-ducing fewer emissions.

Though they are separateanalyses, both reports pointstrongly to the same conclusions.A primary driver of the emissionsdip has been a widespread switchfrom the burning of coal to theburning of natural gas to produceelectricity. When combusted,natural gas releases about half thecarbon dioxide as does coal. Theincreasing use of novel drillingtechniques — commonly known asfracking — has opened up vast gasplays for production in places suchas Pennsylvania and Texas. Thathas driven domestic natural gasprices down and made switchingaway from burning coal aneconomical choice for utilities. TheEIA also noted that the increaseduse of renewable sources ofelectricity, especially wind,contributed to the country’sdecreasing carbon intensitybetween 2007 and 2012. And thefact that Americans have beendriving less and buying more fuel-efficient cars has reduced theburning of carbon-heavy gasoline.

If Congress would finally getthe right policies in place, one couldimagine a future in which the riseof US-produced natural gas cutsemissions in the short term beforegiving way to technologies thatproduce fewer emissions in thelong term. That, though, wouldrequire both the sort ofcommitment to addressing climatechange that lawmakers have so farfailed to demonstrate and awillingness to pass well-designedlaws that the political systemusually can’t muster, even in goodtimes. So the good news comeswith some serious caveats.Fracking requires smart regulationto, among other things, ensure thatobtaining and transporting naturalgas doesn’t produce too manygreenhouse gas emissions.

And burning natural gas stillproduces a significant amount ofcarbon dioxide, so it isn’t a fuel onwhich the country can rely foreverif the nation is to seriously tackleglobal warming. The government,then, cannot simply sit back andwatch. In the absence ofcongressional action, the EPAshould continue its efforts to placereasonable regulations on frackingand to limit coal burning under theClean Air Act. And the publicshould pressure Congress toestablish a more coherent long-termplan to move the economy offcarbon-dioxide-producing fuels.— The Washington Post

*****

Road safety

WHEN an internationalexpert speaks highly ofthe roads in the UAE and

of its legislations on road safety, itis a matter of pride. But it alsomeans that much needs to be doneto implement these rules and theonus for this lies not only with thegovernment but also on road users.

Dr Etienne Krug, Director ofWorld Health Organisation’sDepartment of Violence and InjuryPrevention and Disability, said theUAE has the potential to be the topcountry in the world in road safetyby 2020. But he added that to dothis, the police needs to enforce thelaw and the people need to know.The UAE has enacted legislationsat different periods of time toensure that the roads are safe formotorists, whether they be limitson speed, the use of seatbelts oreven the seating of children in thecar. But this does not mean thatroad users should stop beingcareful. In fact, they must makeevery effort to follow the rulesrather than wait to be caughtbreaking them. — Gulf News

MEDIA WATCH

MANMOHAN Singh admires Europe and the US,so commentators and me-

dia outlets there repay the compli-ment by claiming that he was theoriginator of the 1992-94 economicreforms which to an extent energizedthe Indian economy. The truth is thatManmohan’s only contribution wasto relentlessly push for easier entryof foreign companies into India,rather than seek to ensure that do-mestic companies were enabled tocompete better abroad.

As Union Finance Minister, hepresided over such giveaways as a$12 b billion gift to Moscow in theshape of the rupee-rouble pact. Be-cause of this unwise and one-sideddecision, India became the onlycountry in the world to repay loanstaken from the USSR at an exchangerate several multiples higher thanthat prevailing at the time. The talkin Delhi was that it was the BillClinton administration in Washing-ton that was instrumental in gettingIndia to accept such an expensivepolicy, because Clinton wanted tofunnel financial help to the newlycreated Russan Federation. Only, hewanted the largesse to come from adesperately poor country, India,rather than from his own. The $12billion gift to Moscow did not re-sult in any benefits for India, as

Boris Yeltsin ignored theformer close friend of theerstwhile USSR and refusedto make any concessions onsale of defense equipment.

China has emerged, to-gether with South Korea andJapan, as a powerful com-petitor to the dominance ofcompanies from countriesforming part of the NATO

bloc. Luckily for all of them, theSonia-Manmohan duo has ensuredthat Indian companies now pose nothreat to MNCs based in Europe,China or the US. This has been donethrough multiple agencies. The Re-serve Bank of India has been care-fully headed only by those known tofavour foreign interests. The presentGovernor, Raghuram Rajan, is aGreen Card holder who pines for theday when he will return home to theUniversity of Chicago, or perhapsbecome the first “non-American” tohead the World Bank. Although tech-nically not a US citizen, Rajan canbe expected to do all that is neces-sary to safeguard and advance USinterests in the World Bank, therebyenabling Washington to claim that itgave up the US monopoly over thetop post in the Bank, even while con-tinuing to get all the benefits of sucha monopoly.

Rajan has twice in his brief ten-ure since coming to office hiked upinterest rates, thereby further crip-pling industry in India and handicap-ping them from facing foreign com-petition. A company headquartered inthe US or the EU - or indeed in Ja-pan, South Korea or China - gets fi-nance at a rate that is far below the15 percent paid by an Indian com-petitor. The new RBI Governor is fol-lowing in the footsteps of his two im-

mediate predecessors by boosting in-terest rates and thereby ensuring thatbanks in India become loaded withno-performing assets, thereby crip-pling them from competing with for-eign banks. Incidentally, RaghuramRajan has laid out welcome mat forforeign banks. Of course, only thosefrom NATO bloc will be welcome.

Those from the GCC or from Af-rica or South America are not part ofthe small group of countries favoredby Rajan and his bosses, ManmohanSingh and Sonia Gandhi. The Re-serve Bank of India has sliced awaya least 2% from the rate of growth ofthe Indian economy .Another minis-try that has fulfilled the same purpose( of crippling Indian companies intheir battle to win markets dominatedby foreign companies) is the Minis-try of Home Affairs. According to theMHA, investment coming from theGCC or East Asia (especially China)is suspect. Clearance for such projectstakes months to arrive, if they everdo. In the meantime, if investors inthese locations send their funds toLondon, New York or Frankfurt fromwhere they get rerouted to India viathe Muritius tax haven. Once themoney gets rerouted through NATO-bloc entities (who claim a hefty com-mission for the service), the Minis-try of Home Affairs withdraws itsobjections and permits the invest-ment. It is as though capital from theGCC or from East Asia needs to getpurified by getting routed through theNATO bloc in order to be deemedsuitable for investment in India. In-terestingly, executives of theseNATO-bloc financial entities havefree access to the highest levels ofpolicy-making in India.

The other ministry that haschopped off 2% from the rate of

Army’s renewed resolve!

MILITARY exercises aresimulated operations conducted under realistic sce-

narios to validate fresh concepts,strategy and weapon systems. Paki-stan Army, operating in an environ-ment of tension, conflict and hostileneighbourhood is constrained to con-ceive and review war plans to meetvarious contingencies, hone theskills of its personnel and test theirmettle to face the myriad challenges.

The Pakistan army has con-ducted numerous military exercisessince its independence, to meet vari-ous threats. Notable among them is“Zarb-e-Momin” of 1989 which hadwar-gamed’, field tested and vali-dated the then fresh concept of an“offensive-defence” strategy; a se-quel to Indian Army Chief GeneralSunderjee’s highly ambitious “Op-eration Brasstacks”.

“Azm-e-Nau” (fresh resolve) isa series of exercises, launched in2009 and evolved to envisage thewhole range of threats facing Paki-stan, including the terror attacks bynon-state actors and Indian Army’sCold Start Doctrine. Anti-terror op-erations added a new dimension toPakistan Army’s arsenal of combatmechanism, compelling the defenceplanners to evolve fresh tactics andstrategy to battle the faceless enemy,that dons suicide jackets, mingleswith the population, targetsmosques, hospitals and educationcenters, maiming and killingwomen, children and the elderly.This new dimension to the threat wasfar removed from the set piecebattles; the Army has been conven-tionally planning and participating

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— Proverb

growth of the Indian economy is theMinistry of Environment. This min-istry has made it hell for companiesto invest in India, an obstructioniststance that has gone on since Sonia-Manmohan team came to power in

2004. Of course, none of suchobstructive tactics have actually im-proved the environment in India,which continues to he heavily pol-luted. The Ministry believes thatthose who are desperately poormust remain desperately poor, aview also held by the many foreign-funded NGOs who are given VIPtreatment in Delhi. These NGOsoperate in effect on behalf of for-eign competitors, by preventingIndian companies from gaining ac-cess to minerals and to other requi-sites of manufacturing. The conse-quence has been a rise in both pol-lution and unemployment.

Together, the RBI, the Ministryof Home Affairs and the Ministryof Environment reduce the rate ofgrowth in India by a total of 6% an-nually. They ensure that the peopleof this country remain poor and de-prived, even as NGOs from coun-tries such as Canada (where percapita consumption of energy ishuge but which lectures poor coun-tries on conservation) are staffed byexpatriates who seldom venture farfrom their luxurious residences.With such agencies ostensibly look-ing after their welfare ,the people ofIndia have no need of foes. Their so-called protectors are doing the jobof destruction of their future moreeffectively that any outside foe can.—The writer is Vice-Chair,Manipal Advanced ResearchGroup, UNESCO Peace Chair &Professor of Geopolitics, ManipalUniversity, Haryana State, India.

in. It goes to its credit that de-spite having limited experiencein this new dimension of war,anti-terror operations beingfought by the Pakistan Armythrough its blood, sweat andguts find few parallels in ei-

ther modern or ancient warfare.India’s Pakistan-specific “Cold

Start Doctrine” is a different cup ofcake. Handicapped by its lethargicdeployment, when India wanted tostrike Pakistan in the aftermath of theDecember 13, 2001 attack on its par-liament, holding its westernneighbour responsible for the assault,Pakistan’s rapid counter-mobilizationforced a stalemate. Taking a leaf fromGerman General Heinz Guderian’s“Blitzkrieg”, India envisages thatkeeping holding forces ready for in-stant operations; it will be able tostrike a telling blow on Pakistanthrough conventional weapons, forc-ing it to capitulate even beforenuclear weapons can be launched.Indian Armed Forces have conductedscores of military exercises tooperationalize “Cold Start”, and arenow indulging in intimidation andjingoistic threats, evident from theirrecent across LOC misadventures.

The previous major exercise ofthe Azm-e-Nau series was its third,played out in 2010, dovetailed withPAF’s Exercise “High Mark-2010”,where joint operations, as envisagedby Pakistan’s defence planners wereput to test. A unique attribute of theexercise has been optimizing thetechnological developments and ad-vancement in intelligence gathering,surveillance and reconnaissancecommunication and revolutionizingmodern warfare, making early warn-ing an essential feature ofpostmodern operational concepts.All these aspects were not only op-timally leveraged in the field exer-cise, but heavily relied upon andtested to the core. The integrated

maneuver and fire power demonstra-tion on November 4, 2013, at theArmy Firing Range of KhairpurTamewali, northwest of Bahawalpurin the Cholistan Desert was the cul-mination of the Azm-e-Nau-4 and aconclusion of the series. It was a vi-sual and graphic manifestation of thenew concepts evolved and physicaldemonstration of countering the ColdStart Strategy. In the elaborate dis-play, witnessed by the Prime Minis-ter, Members of the Parliament, Ser-vices Chiefs, Defence Attachés ac-credited to Islamabad and the media,an operational milieu was simulatedand created to provide a realistic pre-sentation of the military prowess. Itwas heartening to witness the offen-sive as well as defensive capabilitiesof the Pakistan Army operating insynergy with the air power based onPakistan Air Force and Army’s airarm demonstrating their precision,lethality and annihilating capabilitiesto achieve the desired effects.

The Prime Minister, in hisspeech, while congratulating the rankand file of Pakistan Army for theirdedication, hard work, sacrifices andprofessionalism, expressed hisgovernment’s resolve to end thebloodshed and violence (through ter-ror attacks) by bringing the politicalparties, military, and civil society onthe same page.

Mian Nawaz Sharif also reiteratedthat Pakistan Army has always stoodby the people of Pakistan in thick andthin. Be it natural calamities like floodsand earthquakes, maintaining law &order, imparting training to our law en-forcement agencies, Army has alwayscome in aid of the civilian government.This passion of being in the forefrontis something that we as a nation arevery proud of.

On the heels of the culminationof Azm-e-Nau, Pakistan on success-fully test-fired a short range surface-to-surface missile Hatf IX (NASR).

The test was conducted with suc-cessive launches of four salvo mis-siles from a state-of-the-art multitube launcher.

“NASR, with a range of 60 kilo-meters and in-flight maneuver capa-bility is a quick response system, withshoot and scoot attributes. Accord-ing to the ISPR, it contributes to thefull spectrum deterrence againstthreats in view of evolving scenarios.The army chief along with seniordefence and military officials, scien-tists and engineers witnessed the test.General Kayani, according to thestatement, congratulated the scientistsand engineers on this “outstandingachievement, which consolidatesPakistan’s deterrence capability.”

Azm-e-Nau is perhaps theswansong of General Kayani, whohas enhanced the professional capa-bilities of Pakistan Army throughrigorous training, motivation andpersonal example. He is certainlyleaving the Army in a far bettershape in terms of proficiency, skilland professional acumen than he hadreceived it from his predecessor.Having withdrawn the Army fromits deployment in civilian organiza-tions and curtailing its involvementin the political melee, has paid richdividends.

It is befitting that Pakistan’smilitary strategy is now based oncredible minimum deterrence,which was visibly demonstratedduring the integrated fire power dis-play. Pakistan Army’s leadership cantake pride in the fact that this fight-ing force, despite all the sacrifices,trials and tribulations, is now in thehighest state of preparedness encom-passing optimized set of militarycapabilities, which remain its cor-nerstone and amply showcase itsrenewed resolve to meet the chal-lenges head-on.—The writer is retired PAF GroupCaptain and a TV talk show host.

M D NalapatEmail: mgnalapat@gmail.com

GeopoliticalGeopoliticalGeopoliticalGeopoliticalGeopoliticalnotes from Indianotes from Indianotes from Indianotes from Indianotes from India

Sultan M HaliEmail: sm_hali@yahoo.com

Voice of the People

Conservingbiodiversity

SYEDA QURAT-UL-AIN

A ‘Game Reserve’ is an area wherehunting and shooting of wild ani-mals is not allowed, except under aspecial permit which specifies themaximum number of animals orbirds that may be killed or captured,the area and duration for which suchpermit is valid. The objectives of theestablishment of a Game Reserve isto protect flora and fauna for sus-tainable use. Indigenous wildlife inits natural habitat makes for an idealsituation as this helps in providingan environment where growth cantake place at a natural rate. In theseGame Reserve areas, a person canenter or reside, cultivate any land,damage or destroy any vegetation,hunt, kill or capture any wild ani-mal, introduce any exotic species ofanimal or plant, introduce any do-mestic animal or allow it to stray.

The Game Reserves, includinglocation, habitat type and majorwildlife species, in Haripur District,are: 1. Bagra 2560—Grey partridge,Black Partridge, Fox, Hare; 2.Kalinjar 2000—Chukar partridge,See-see partridge, Grey partridge,Hare; 3. Mang 4350—Black par-tridge, Grey partridge, Chukar par-tridge, See-see partridge; 4. PindHashim Khan 3150—Black par-tridge, Grey partridge, Chukar par-tridge, See-see partridge, Hare; 5.Rakh Sardaran 4200—Grey par-tridge, Black partridge, Hare, Jackal.

Pakistan has 1,027 species ofamphibians, birds, mammals andreptiles, of which 3.5 per cent areendemic and 5.5 per cent are threat-ened. Unfortunately, Pakistan alsohas one of the highest rates of de-forestation in the world. Pakistan hasrich wildlife but because of illegalhunting it is destroying. There are96 designated Game Reserves inPakistan where hunting and shoot-ing of wild animals is regulated un-der permits. The number of shootsallowed in reserves varies, and isdetermined by the Provincial gov-ernments. In KPK, wild Game Re-serves are being managed by KPKWildlife Department.—Via email

Inter-castemarriagesSADAF FAROOQ

“Beta! We respect your choice butit is to be mentioned that you willhave to marry a person of our ownchoice or from our own caste; oth-erwise it will be problematic for youand us to face people talking on ourfaces”.

This is the statement every girlhears on refusing the family-pre-sented proposal for the sake of herown choice or love. The Inter-castemarriage system has always broughtproblems and fuss for both the girland the boy, most particularly to girlsand her family. And most of the timegirl has to suffer a lot in this case.So many girls in South Asian regiondo not get married just because ofthis caste system as their familiesdo not find a proper match for theirgirls within their caste and some-times they keep girls to wait for solong. I have known few of my rela-tives and friends’ aunts and cousinswho did not get married just becauseof this caste or bradari culture of ourregions. And if they are to be mar-ried, they are compelled to marry aperson who even is not establishedenough to feed a girl properly. Thisis all just happened to save thehounour of a family / tribe or toavoid people who question them fornot marrying their girl inside theirown caste.

In all this fuss only girl and boysuffer who most of the time sacrificetheir life just to save the family frombeing getting dishonored(as it is said).Most of the time, girl being a vulner-able subject is mistreated and com-pelled to put her all dreams or aimsaside and bow down to the wishes ofher family in order to save her andothers from violence and conflicts (ashappened in different rural areas).

Hakeemullah, the martyr!COL RIAZ JAFRI (RETD)

The other day I met a Parachinari who was visibly pleased at the killing of Hakeemullah Mehsud.On my asking him the reason for his jubilation, he looked deep into my eyes with a poignant gaze

and said, “If you had seen the video showing how these Kafirs slaughtered my kith and kins, recitingAllah-ho-Akbar while cutting their throats and then taking their heads away to play football withthem in the dusty grounds, you would have also shown the same sentiments today on his killing”.Then he reminded me of how they had strung the headless bodies of about a dozen FC men from thestreet poles in Matni bazaar near Peshawar and taken away their heads as Jihad trophies with them!He didn’t have to tell me of their calling Pakistan a ‘Kafir State’ and declaring Jihad against it and itsArmed Forces, attacking the GHQ, Mehran and Kamra bases, Police Training Centre Lahore, sensi-tive offices of the agencies all over Pakistan, breaking jails, bombing of mosques, Imam Bargahs,Churches, Commercial markets and Bazaars, killing thousands of innocent people. And yet MaulanaFazlur Rehman and Munawar Hasan call him (them) Shaheed? I hope they know who is a ‘Shaheed’— according to Quran, he is the one who lays down his life for Allah and not the one who takes thelives of the innocent ones!! Maulana seems to have gone crazy when he says that even a dog killed bythe USA is a ‘Shaheed’ to him. Come on Maulana Sahib, we expect much better from you. Had acommon man or a non-Muslim uttered this expression, he would have been termed as a heretic andmight have been booked under the Blasphemy Law for making mockery of the Quranic edicts.—Rawalpindi

The answer on Iran — Yes

AFTER years of fruitless negotiations, the United Statesmay soon face an unfamiliar

problem in its long confrontation withIran: Are we willing to take yes foran answer? Negotiators are scheduledto meet again in Geneva this week totry to move toward an agreement thatwould put reliable limits on Iran’snuclear program — limits strongenough to reassure other countriesthat the mullahs cannot build anuclear weapon. Officials on bothsides say they are still a long wayfrom a deal, but they also describethe talks as an important moment ofopportunity. Iran’s new president,Hassan Rouhani, wants a deal to liftthe international sanctions that arecrippling his country’s economy,something he promised to try toachieve during his election campaignlast spring.

The challenge, of course, is thatIran wants minimal limits on its free-dom but maximum relief from eco-nomic sanctions. The United Statesand its allies want the opposite com-bination, a deal that would dismantlemuch of Iran’s nuclear program be-

fore most sanctions are lifted. And thetwo sides will have to cut their dealin the face of intense mistrust andpolitical sniping on both sides. Onlylast week, Iranian hard-liners stagedtheir annual “Death to America” rallyoutside the long-shuttered US Em-bassy in Tehran, and Iran’s supremeleader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, feltcompelled to defend his negotiatorsagainst charges that they are givingtoo much away.

One positive sign: Both sideshave agreed on a structure for thetalks. In a first phase, between nowand the end of the year, they’ll try toreach an interim agreement thatwould freeze Iran’s nuclear programin exchange for what US officialshave described as modest relief fromsanctions. As described by US nego-tiator Wendy Sherman, the ideawould be to “put time on the clock… so we have time to negotiate acomprehensive agreement.” An im-portant part of the interim deal, shetold an Israeli television interviewer,would be that any sanctions relief be“limited, temporary [and] reversible.”Under one proposal being discussed,Iran would get access to some of thebillions of dollars in oil earnings thatthe sanctions have effectively frozenin bank accounts around the world —

Views From Abroad

but the regulations that froze the as-sets would remain in place, and themoney could be turned on and off likea spigot, depending on Iran’sbehaviour.

That’s phase one. Phase twowould be another round of negotia-tions to reach a final deal — one that,in US eyes, would include limits onIran’s nuclear program so strenuousthat no other country, including Is-rael, would worry about Iraniannuclear weapons again. To Westernnuclear experts, such an agreementwould have to cover a daunting listof issues. It would need to eliminateIran’s stockpile of highly enricheduranium, either by shipping it out ofthe country or by reducing it to a lessdangerous form. It would need tolimit Iran’s ability to enrich nuclearfuel by reducing the number of cen-trifuges in the country. It would needto stop the new Arak nuclear reactorfrom producing plutonium. And itwould need to impose intrusive in-ternational monitoring to ensure thatthe agreement was kept.

But to get such a deal, the UnitedStates and its allies would almostsurely have to relax one long-stand-ing demand: that Iran end all nuclearenrichment. From Iran’s standpoint,that is a deal-breaker, warned Rob-

Doyle McManus

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

Perfection of moral virtuesNOBLE qualities of mind and

character enjoy a place of crucial importance in the struc-

ture of Islamic teaching. Moral evo-lution and uplift was one of the mainobjects for which the Holy Prophet(PBUH) was raised up. The HolyProphet (PBUH) himself has said “Ihave been sent down by God to teachmoral virtues and to evolve them tohighest perfection.”

Good manners are the firstmark of good breeding and reflectdirectly on a person’s upbringing.According to most scholars, one ofthe reasons that Islam spread in theregion of South-East Asia, to placeslike Indonesia and Malaysia wasthe fact that Muslim traders ap-peared to have excellent manners.There was no Jihad in Indonesia.We must also remember that theconverse applies and that bad man-ners reflect badly on Islam.”

One of the most important as-pects of a Muslim’s life is for himto have a high standard of morals.Since the beginning of Islam, theHoly Prophet (PBUH) was mainlyconcerned with teaching and disci-plining Muslims to have the bestmanners and the best personal char-acteristics. His personal life and be-havior were reflective of his teach-

ings, which were reveled to him byAllah. In the Holy Qur’an, in suratAl-Qalam, Allah describes the HolyProphet (PBUH)saying what canbe translated as,“And verily, you(O Muhammad)are on an exaltedstandard of char-acter.” (Verse 4).The Holy Prophet(PBUH) highstandard of man-ners made him amodel for all Mus-lims to follow. TheHoly Prophet(PBUH) used toemphasize howimportant goodmanners are forMuslims. For example, ImamsBukhari and Muslim reported thatthe prophet mentioned that “The bestof you is the best among you in con-duct.” No other ethical system canmatch up with Islam’s ethical sys-tem. Only Allah (S.W.T.) Al-Hakeem, with His great wisdom,could have made sucha system that teaches humans howto deal with every aspect of theirlives. This is because Islam is not a

man made system it is the deen ofAllah, He made it complete and in-tegrated. Only Allah with His great

knowledge that isinfinite. No manhas, can or willever come up witha system that is soperfect. If you wanta successful andhappy life, thenjust apply Islam toit, and you willhave wonderful re-sults. Islam is abeautiful religion,full of wisdom andharmony. If thiswonderful religionis followed prop-erly then a typicalMuslim would

only be a great example to follow.Narrated ‘Abdullah bin ‘Amr “TheProphet never used bad languageneither a ‘Fahish nor a Mutafahish.He used to say ‘The best amongstyou are those who have the bestmanners and character.’ (Translationof Sahih Bukhari, Virtues and Mer-its of the Prophet (peace be uponhim) and his Companions, Volume4, Book 56, Number 759)”. Al-Tirmidhi narrated Allah’s Messen-

CRACKERS, drums, andnoise! That’s all I have beenhearing for the past few days:

Says the Supreme Court as theypassed the Noise Pollution Rule2000, a loudspeaker or a public ad-dress system shall not be used be-tween 10 pm and 6 am. It is the rightof a baby to enjoy a peaceful nightssleep. It is the right of a senior citi-zen towards a peaceful atmosphere.It is the right of a student to concen-

trate on his or her studies. Say thepeople: It is our right to create noise.The people want blaring music tillmidnight. To hell with the baby’s sleep,or the peace that the old are entitledto. To hell with the student who burnsthe midnight oil, (anyway we hardlyburnt any). To hell with what the Su-preme Court says. The people wantnoise, let them have it!

Nobody is greater than the law.But even governments to appease re-ligious sentiments try to find loop-holes or blatantly misuse the law:“Don’t arrest anyone who createsnoise!” they tell their police. When agovernment starts fiddling with thevery judgements passed by learnedjudges. When a government laughs

at the judiciary and dares it to act, thenit we who have to act fast.

The only hope we have left in thiscountry is the helpline of the law, andmore than the borders of our countrythis law needs protection, for when thelaw is broken by governments than thevery borders of our own self will beleft vulnerable for all and sundry todefile and violate. We walk tall in thisworld as a democracy, but in a democ-racy it is not just the will of the peoplethat is mighty. It is justice, and that iswhy more powerful than any mandateor government. More powerful thanpopulist thinking that can be swayedby whims and fancies, is the law.

And the Supreme Court has thelast word. Strong is the law but yet so

Noise, noise and noise..!fragile. All it requires is a sleepingpeople, a ‘so what, let it be’ attitudeand the citadel which is the court willcome crashing down. Stand up to-day and fight, armed not with ba-tons and sticks, not with guns andknives but with decrees and edictsand rules and regulations, to see thatwhen a government violates or mis-uses the law it should be penalized,punished and pummeled back intoshape! It is the right of a baby to en-joy a peaceful nights sleep. It is theright of a senior citizen towards apeaceful atmosphere. It is the rightof a student to concentrate on his orher studies. It is also our right tohave some peace and quiet..!—Email:bobsbanter@gmail.com

After marrying she will have to suffera never ending journey of compro-mises with her future husband and in-laws. In addition, it snatches her fu-ture plans which she once made toachieve her goals with a person ofsame thinking and attitude.

My question is, does the girl haveno right to make her choice or opin-ion, does a girl has no right to marrya person of her own choice? Isn’t shea human, a free human being? Whenwill we think her as mere a girl, afree girl who has her dreams, herchoices and aims in life? She is al-ways occupied with different rela-tions or taken as someone’s daugh-ter, sister, wife, mother when comesto decision making. Why does not oursociety let her to make decision ofher life? I do respect those parentsand family members who take deci-sions of their own choices to maketheir girl’s life a better life. But havewe ever thought how she tackles thisdecision if she doesn’t want to marrya person of not her choice. The mat-ter of fact is that we all have forgot-ten thinking about girls’ choices andopinions in every matter of life. Inmarriage cases, it becomes the mat-ter of life and death for family espe-cially for male head of the householdto marry a girl out of their respectedCaste or Baradari.

It seems so cruel to chain aperson’s mind with your own uselessdesires and honorable customs andtraditions without considering her /his choice and opinion. I condemn theact of restricting someone from in-ter-caste marriage just because ofthose stupid customs and traditionsas it spoils the mental growth of bothgirl and boy. They are made to livewith compromises for the caste pride.Relations should be maintained withlove and care not with compromises.There is a need to consider this issueat societal level in order to save thelives of young people from the nega-tive impacts of caste system. Themind set is required to be changedbecause I think mental understand-ing between two people is the mostsignificant pre-requisite for healthyand successful married life. Our el-ders should take couple’s consentbefore marrying them to avoid longterm cost and consequences.—Via email

Whither justiceand equality

HASHIM ABRO

Pakistan has become synonymouswith calamities, violence, conflicts,overpopulation, economic collapse,energy crisis, extreme inequality,poor governance, mal-administration,organized crime, corruption, environ-mental degradation etc. Is there anyone to put this countryon the path towards peace, progress,safety and security? Remember: Toachieve all these it is essential to have“justice and equality” in the country.—Islamabad

Peace throughnon-violence

LUBNA HAMEED

As is evident from the media reports,our government is trying to convey amessage of hope to the people of Pa-kistan, though no on-ground changeis yet visible, in terms of the famousrhetorical ‘change’ that both partieshad been harping about in the pre-election days. The killing of Hakim-ullah Mehsud and the ongoing de-bate shows clearly the fixatedmindsets of both the people and themedia. The killing is being termedas a part of a conspiracy to damageprocess of peace talks. This maybetrue but is it something that shouldlet us define our fate? If both part-ners are ready to negotiation thenthere is nothing on the face of theEarth that can stop it from changingthe course of action for itself and thenation. Only, we have to gear up theefforts. It may take a trifle longer thanwe had planned, but if we have de-cided then it must happen.

The government seems bent onthe point that negotiations are theonly solution. A state that is being

ert Einhorn, a State Departmentnuclear negotiator during theClinton and Obama administra-tions. “Rouhani and his negotiatingteam have … indicated a willing-ness to accept constraints on a do-mestic enrichment programme, butnever a willingness to give it up al-together,” he said. “The hard-linerswould pounce on any deal thatcould be portrayed as a humiliat-ing surrender.”

On Capitol Hill, too, the hard-liners are waiting to pounce. Foryears, the U.S. position has beenthat Iran must end its enrichmentprogram, and pro-Israel organiza-tions say that should still be thegoal. And Congress is still discuss-ing tougher sanctions, a moveObama administration officials saywould backfire by causing the ne-gotiations to collapse (and poten-tially cause international sanctionsto unravel too). Congress shouldback off. In recent history, momentsof opportunity between Iran and theUS have been rare. This oneshouldn’t go to waste. A nucleardeal with Iran, if one can be struck,will deserve tough scrutiny. But wehave to be willing to take yes foran answer.— Courtesy: Los Angeles Times

welcomed by the nation which hashad enough of fighting and has seenenough of its innocent people andsoldiers being killed in cold blood.According to Nawaz Sharif the gov-ernment will not let the peace pro-cess to derail. In this backdrop thebest response would be to move to-gether to make peace possible basedupon the government’s stance thatclaims that “Pakistan has taken thepath of non-violence to deal withterrorism”—Rawalpindi

Sabotagingpeace talks

SARWAT AMIN RATTANI

‘Pakistan is treading on a very fineline between peace and total annihi-lation. And to resolve conflicts andensure peace, the Government’s steptowards peace talks has really beenappreciative. But so far the peacetalks have been subjected to sabotagewhich has resulted in further unrestin the country and both parties. Be-fore even the peace talk could start,the drone attack by USA killed thePakistani Taliban leader HakimullahMehsud.

USA has been strictly against theidea of peace talks and so has con-tinuously tried to sabotage it. The re-cent drone attack was just one of theways to do it. Just because Pakistandoes not follow their ideology andhas restored to peace talks insteadof blood shedding does not giveUSA any right to interfere directlyin such manner. Since Pakistan hasthe same aim as USA, that is to en-sure peace and stability in the region,the peace talks should be given achance. The Taliban community it-self has agreed to cooperate and ifthese matters can be resolved with-out bloodshed and restoring to vio-lence, then it would be in everyone’sfavour. If USA continues to sabo-tage the talks and does not stop droneattacks then it is the duty of interna-tional community and UN to inter-fere as the incidence of these attacksitself speaks against peace and ba-sic human right’.—Karachi

Lesson from IranASHFAQ SHARIF

RECENTLY Nawaz Sharif visitedthe United States and urged PresidentObama to stop drone strikes in Paki-stan. Did his request yield a positiveresult? Iran captured a US dronewhich entered Iran for spying. Later,no US drone dared enter Iran again.Pakistan and Iran both are Muslimstates, but one can see the difference.Why does not the UN take notice ofUS drone strikes in Pakistan. Aredrone strikes being carried out ac-cording to UN policy?—Karachi

Talibanand peace

SHERAZ BUTT

WE all are aware of the Taliban’sagenda. Bombing is their business,imposing Sharia at gunpoint is theirculture and terrorism is their motto.To prevent them from committingthese brutal acts is like closing theirso-called trade and then what are wesupposed to negotiate on? Our finan-cial crisis would not allow us to feedthem monthly or yearly. So, is thereanything else to offer them in returnfor peace?—Faisalabad

ger (peace be upon him) said “Thebest loved by me and the nearest tome on the seats on the Day of Res-urrection are those who have thebest manners and conduct amongstyou, who are intimate, are on goodterms with others and are humble,and the most hated by me and whowill be on the furthest seats fromme are those who are talkative andarrogant.” Love of Allah is the ba-sis of worship that should be di-rected to Him alone. Any other loveshould be for His sake too.

Muslims should also love one an-other and wish the best for one an-other. Allah’s Messenger (peace beupon him) said “One will not be atrue believer unless he loves for hisbrother what he loves for himself.”(Bukhari, Muslim, Nasa’i, Ahmedand Ibn Majah). Imam Malik andImam Ahmed narrated Allah’s Mes-senger (peace be upon him) said “Al-lah said My love is due to those wholove one another for My sake.” It isobvious that one of ways of advanc-ing noble Holy aims of Islam in anIslamic society is correct behaviour.The Holy Prophet (PBUH), address-ing the sons of Abdul Muttalib saysYou can never gather people aroundyou with your wealth, so treat themwith a smiling face.

Sikhs’ petition: Test case for UNHCR

IT is an open secret that when Indian Prime Minister Indra Gandhiwas killed by his Sikh bodyguards

on 31 October 1984, thousands of in-nocent Sikhs were murdered in vari-ous parts of India but the Indian statedid not punish the real culprits of thisgenocide till today. So on 31 Octo-ber 2013 more than 10 lakhs Sikhsfrom all over the world filed a peti-tion in Geneva-based United NationsHuman Rights Council UNHCRagainst those killings.

Sikh groups led by the US-basedSikhs for Justice (SFJ) have peti-tioned UNHCR seeking specificallyan international investigation into theNovember 1984 riots as well as theCouncil’s recognition of the killingsas ‘genocide’ under Article 2 of theU.N. Convention on Genocide. Thepetition was followed by a ‘JusticeMarch’ by hundreds of Sikhs fromEurope, Canada and the US. The pe-tition stresses that successive govern-ments in India have deliberately mis-

led the world community into believ-ing that the 1984 killings were ‘riots’confined to Delhi, when “there isample evidence to the contrary”.

The petition provides “new evi-dence” aimed at proving that contraryto prevalent belief, the killings ofSikhs had spread to 18 States and 100cities beyond Delhi. This includes,among other things, official govern-ment records that state that 35,000Sikhs claimed damages for death andinjury, out of which 20,000 claims arefrom Sikhs who were attacked out-side Delhi.

Further, the Sikh groups haveprovided new evidence of the exist-ence of mass graves of 65 Sikhs inHondh Chillar village of Haryana,discovered in February 2011, a masscremation site at Pataudi in Haryana,and ruins of Sikh houses andgurudwaras in Gurgaon and WestBengal. The petition states, “As aplanned cover-up, remains of all suchsites were cleaned and rebuilt to purgetraces of the attacks. The debris andhuman remains at the newly discov-ered genocidal sites throughout Indiaas well as the official records of theIndian government are the most spe-

cific irrefutable and convincing evi-dence that killing of Sikhs in Novem-ber 1984 was ‘genocide’. The newevidence justifies new investigation.”

Stating that Sikhs have ex-hausted all avenues in seeking jus-tice and redress in India, the Sikhorganizations have detailed the 29-year saga of 10 commissions of en-quiry into the killings that led no-where, the relief given by courts tothe accused Congress leaders, andthe manner in which the Congressparty has promoted and given themtickets despite the charges they face.

Describing the commissions ofenquiry as “eyewash to offset the de-mands for justice and accountability,”the petition says that a cursory lookat the reports and recommendationsof the commissions shows that theyare a “hoax played through the façadeof investigation into the November1984 killings” and were aimed at cov-ering up the extent and scale of vio-lence against the Sikhs.

Naming the former MPs, SajjanKumar and Jagdish Tytler, UnionMinister Kamal Nath, Arjun Singh,HKL Bhagat and Amitabh Bacchan,among others, the petition says the

government has “thwarted all at-tempts by the victims to get justiceby cover-ups, destroying evidenceand providing immunity to Congressleaders, by threatening witnesses andvictims. The victims have no re-course but to approach theUNHRC.” Speaking to The Hindufrom Geneva, Gurpatwant SinghPannun, the legal adviser of the SFJ,said: “We are overwhelmed at thesupport that this petition has got fromSikhs across the world. We hope tohave a hearing before the U.N. sub-committee on Human Rights, topresent evidence and witnessesabout the extensive use of govern-ment machinery in violence againstSikhs during November 1984.”

Initiated last year, the petitionwas also supported by the AkalTakht, the supreme temporal bodyfor Sikhs, which issued an appeal toSikhs to gather signatures and makeit a success. Camps were held in thefive Sikh takhts and at severalGurudwaras along with awarenesscampaigns across social media tocollect signatures.—The writer is freelancecolumnist.

The Spirit Of Islam

Atif Noor KhanEmail:atifnoot007@gmail.com

Asghar Ali ShadEmail:shad_asghar@yahoo.com

DR. ABDULAZIZ SAGER

THE happiness andexcitement weregenuine and war-

ranted when BarackObama won the US presi-dential election in Novem-ber 2008. The eight yearsof his predecessor GeorgeW. Bush represented forthe Kingdom of SaudiArabia and other parts ofthe Arab world, the pin-nacle of US irrationalityand misguided politicaldecisions.

The US policy underBush was characterized byan unwarranted use offorce and unprovoked ag-gressiveness, especiallyafter the US invasion of

Iraq. As a result, SaudiArabia and other Arab al-lies lost trust in PresidentBush’s policy. The regionwas eager and impatient tosee the day of his departurefrom office. When Obamaassumed office in January2009, he started out on theright path with promises,which were aimed at cor-recting the mistakes of thepast and restoring credibil-ity in US policy. In the King-dom, there was the expec-tation of a rational policycoupled with a more justi-fied and legitimate use ofUS military power.

However, with Obamanow well into his secondterm in office, it can only bestated that those expecta-

tions have been left unful-filled. Instead of a more bal-anced US approach thatcombines the elements ofUS political and militarypower, it appears that theObama administration haschosen to adopt the otherextreme position as that ofthe Bush presidency. Theresult as seen from Riyadhis a “Paper Tiger President”in the White House.

Syria has been the mostclear-cut example in this re-gard. Saudi Arabia did notask President Obama topunish the Syrian regimeover its use of chemicalweapons in the ongoingcivil war. It was assumedthat such a punishmentwould be a natural product

of US policy and an integralpart of its firm stand;adopted by all previous USadministrations, against theuse of weapons of mass de-struction. It was taken forgranted that the US wouldreact without hesitationagainst such a heinouscrime. Initially, Obama didnot disappoint by declaringhis “red lines” on the useof chemical weapons by theAssad regime and brandingsuch an act as a “gamechanger.”

The flagrant use ofchemical weapons by theSyrian regime on Aug. 21, kill-ing hundreds of innocent ci-vilians in the opposition-con-trolled areas around Dam-ascus, subsequently was the

first crucial test of PresidentObama’s resolve and of over-all US credibility. Unfortu-nately, the US reaction was ahuge disappointment. In-stead of taking a decisivestand that underlined the se-riousness of the crime andmaking it clear that the ac-tions by the Syrian regimewould not be tolerated, theObama administration wa-vered and quickly backed outon its considerations of amilitary response. What is atstake here is not only the fu-ture of the Syrian regime, andthe potential devastatingconsequences a continuedSyrian civil war has for theMiddle East as a whole butalso the role of the US in afuture Mideast. With its de-

cision to erase the red linesthat it itself had announced,the US has affected its ownmoral standings and left hugequestions marks about itsability and willingness touphold international orderand enforce respect for inter-national law.

While it remains the casethat US is the only countryin the world that can projectpower effectively anywhereand anytime, the Obamaadministration’s hands-offapproach hasmade USpolicy look like a set ofmeaningless and emptypromises. Moreover, USSecretary of State JohnKerry’s public praise ofBashar Assad for his coop-eration with the OPCW in-

US, Saudi relations enter crucial phase

Will Drones targetSyria next?

JOYCE KARAM

WITH no political end in sight to the conflict in Syria,and no desire in Washington or the United Nations to get involved in a serious intervention,

drone attacks might make their way into the Syrian skies tocombat the rise of al-Qaeda in the heart of the Middle East.It’s a prospect that comes with many challenges but couldbecome a reality given the regional woes and the U.S. policylimitations in addressing the conflict.

Back in March, the Los Angeles Times reported thatthe CIA has stepped up its secret contingency planning onSyria and is “collecting intelligence on extremists for thefirst time for possible lethal drone strikes.” The effort in-cludes detailed files on militant leaders with “both lethaland nonlethal options” if U.S. President Barack Obama de-cides to take action.

Since the contingency planning for drone attacks has beendrafted, the situation in Syria has continuously deteriorated.The state infrastructure is weakened, and extremists groupsaffiliated with al-Qaeda are on the rise especially in the north,and in the border areas with Iraq and Jordan. According toU.S. officials, the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL)- astrong off shoot of al-Qaeda- is now a “transnational threatnetwork,” with a sister group in Syria (ISIS) and its leader AbuBakr al-Baghdadi operating out of Syria.

The group has been able to take control of areas cap-tured by the rebels in Syria such as Raqqa and Azzaz, and isestablishing training camps and facilities in both Syria andIraq, according to U.S. officials. It is more lethal than thelocal al-Nusra Front in terms of attracting foreign fighters,outside funding and fighting the moderate opposition. ISISsees in the continued death and killing in Syria a new toolfor recruitment, and an opportunity to launch a new basefor al-Qaeda.

Al-Qaeda’s rise in Syria is a regional security threat,and has been the topic of discussion in meetings betweenthe Obama administration and regional leaders. It was onthe table last week when Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki visited Washington, and before that in bilateral meet-ings between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and hisJordanian, Qatari, Saudi and Turkish counterparts.

In hindsight, al-Qaeda’s surge in Syria might have beenprevented if the international community had acted earlyon through vigorous diplomacy or U.N. action to stop thebloodshed. Almost three years into the conflict, however,and with an estimate of 120,000 dead and almost 8.5 milliondisplaced internally and outside the country, the windowfor a political solution has narrowed and the sectarian divi-sions and radicalization are grim reminders of the intensityof the war and Syria’s uncertain future.

—Courtesy Alarabiya

spectors, has added insultto injury as its brushes asidethe seriousness of the crimewhile the daily massacrescontinue unabated. One di-rect product of the weak USpolicy in the region is thesudden and recent increaseof Russian influence and rolein the Middle East. Sooneror later, the US will come toregret this as Russia’s newlydiscovered strength willsurely not be confined to theSyrian crisis but will be usedto compete with the US onall other major fronts in theMiddle East. Moreover, theregion has also observed theObama administrationgradually walking away fromthe two-state solution onPalestine, bending too far

and too fast to restore rela-tions with Iran, and renew-ing support for the sectar-ian government in Iraq.Taken together, this doesnot bode well for the futuresecurity and stability of theMiddle East. In this context,it needs to be clearly under-stood that for the Saudi de-cision-making circles, thealliance with the US mightbe irreplaceable, but cer-tainly not indispensable.The differences are not ir-reconcilable yet, but con-sidering the direction inwhich the Obama adminis-tration is moving, one can-not be very optimisticabout the future of US-Saudi relations.

—Courtesy Arabnews

Horse riders perform with guns to celebrate the 38th anniversary of the now famous Green March near the city of Fes,Morocco.

GENEVA—A fresh round oftalks between Iran andworld powers kicked offwith a push for Tehran tofreeze its disputed nuclearprogramme in exchange forsome relief from sanctions.

Officials have said thata long-awaited deal on curb-ing Iran’s nuclear ambitionsmay be finally within reach,after years of fruitless talkswere given fresh momentumby the election of Iran’s newPresident Hassan Rouhani,seen as a moderate.

In their second meetingin Geneva in less than amonth, negotiators from theUnited States and five otherglobal powers sat downwith Iranian officials for two

Iran nuclear talks kick offamid guarded hopes

days of talks aimed at ham-mering out an agreement.

The talks began shortlyafter 1000 GMT and werechaired by CatherineAshton, the EU diplomaticchief who heads the so-called P5+1 group of Brit-ain, China, France, Russia,the United States and Ger-many.

Ashton started the daywith a private meeting withIranian Foreign MinisterMohammad Javad Zarif towork out how talks wouldproceed.

Both sides have said re-cent talks have been themost productive in yearsbut admit that reaching adeal will not be easy, with

Zarif saying this week’s ne-gotiations were expected tobe “very difficult”.

“We have entered a de-tailed phase that is still dif-ficult and precise,” Zarifsaid on his Facebook page.

Zarif had sounded anoptimistic note earlier thisweek however, saying hebelieved it would be “pos-sible” to reach an agree-ment.

The meeting is the sec-ond since Rouhani took of-fice in August pledging toresolve the nuclear disputeand lift sanctions by engag-ing with world powers.

Iran is anxious for relieffrom crippling economicsanctions that have cut oil

revenues in half, caused thevalue of the rial to plungeand pushed inflation above40 percent.

The West is also keen toseize a rare opportunity tobuild bridges with Iran af-ter decades of hostility,opening the door to engag-ing with Tehran on otherissues like the conflict inSyria, where Iran hasbacked President Bashar al-Assad against the anti-re-gime insurgents.

Last month’s talks inGeneva held in English forthe first time saw Iran re-portedly outline a two-stage process that wouldresolve the dispute withina year.—AFP

YAOUNDE—Nigeria said itneeded help from Cameroonto police their shared borderas it seeks to win a drawn-out battle to crush BokoHaram Islamist militants, aNigerian official said.

President GoodluckJonathan’s military crack-down announced in Mayhas driven Boko Haramfighters back into Nigeria’snorth towards the borderwith Niger and into the re-mote hills borderingCameroon to the east.

But Boko Haram fightershave proved resilient. At least70 civilians have been killedin attacks on villages inNigeria’s northeastern Bornostate in recent days. BokoHaram has killed thousands

Nigeria: Cameroon’s helpto fight Boko Haram

during four years of rebellion.The 1,700 km (1,060 mile)

border between Nigeria andCameroon stretches from theAtlantic coast to Lake Chad.

“We really need the col-laboration and support ofCameroon to completely putto silence the Boko HaramIslamist sect,” General J.B.Samuel, head of the Nigeriandelegation for the Cameroon-Nigeria trans-border securitycommittee, told reporters onWednesday at a meeting ofthe committee.

A Cameroonian officialfor the region said that hiscountry had already takenprecautionary measures tostrengthen security along theNigerian border, without pro-viding details.—Reuters

KAMPALA—Uganda is hold-ing the military commander ofCongo’s defeated M23 rebelmovement after he surren-dered, a Ugandan officer said,allaying fears that it could stilltake up arms again.

Sultani Makenga’s where-abouts had been unclearsince Tuesday’s declarationby the M23 that it was endingits 20-month-old insurgencyin eastern Democratic Repub-lic of Congo, worrying somethat he could be hiding withplans to regroup.

His surrender will be seenas a major achievement for theCongolese army, with thebacking of a U.N. force, as itstrives to restore calm in a re-gion racked by war for twodecades.

But analysts have warnedagainst too much optimismfor a sustained peace in theeast of the vast nation, wherethe M23 was only one of sev-eral armed groups in the min-eral-rich region.

“I can confirm to you he(Makenga) is with us,” thesenior Ugandan officer, who

Congo rebel commanderheld in Uganda

asked not to be named, toldReuters.

“He surrendered to usyesterday (Wednesday) andwe’re holding him somewhereand some other commandersof his,” he said, adding thegroup of rebels would be heldat an undisclosed locationuntil a peace agreement wassigned.

The Congolese govern-ment had no immediate com-ment.

The M23 group declaredan end to its military cam-paign and said it would seekpolitical talks after Congolesetroops routed them from theirhide-outs with the support ofa U.N. force of African troopswith a mandate to intervene.

“We have roughly about1,500 M23 combatants whosurrendered to us. We havedisarmed all of them and we’rein the process of document-ing and categorising all theirweapons,” said CaptainRonald Kakurungu, armyspokesperson for Uganda’sWestern region.

That number of 1,500 is

higher than most previousestimates of the strength ofthe M23, which experts hadgenerally believed to havedwindled in recent months toa few hundred.

But political analysts saidthe defeat of the M23 did notmean that a return of order inCongo’s east was assured.

“Just because you thinkyou’ve beaten back the M23rabble rousers in the east, doyou really think it can becomea stable country? I don’t thinkso,” said Martyn Davies, chiefexecutive of theJohannesburg-based FrontierAdvisory.

“This time next year, you’llbe looking at an ‘M24’,” saidDavies, whose firm adviseson Africa and other emergingmarkets.

The M23, which U.N. ex-perts and Western powershad said was backed byRwanda, initially launched itscampaign when it said apeace deal with another Tutsi-led group had not beenhonoured by the Congolesegovernment.—Reuters

Maldives movesup runoff vote toavoid deadlock

MALE—Maldives officialshave moved up a possible presi-dential election runoff for thisSunday, one day after the firstround of voting in a bid to avoida potential constitutional crisis.

Maldives failed to hold apresidential election in two at-tempts since September and itmust have an elected presidentby Nov. 11, when the currentpresidential term ends. If noclear winner emerges Saturday,and a runoff originally plannedfor Nov. 16, the country couldface a political deadlock.

The Maldives SupremeCourt annulled a Sept. 7 votesaying the voters’ register wasflawed. Police stopped a sec-ond attempt because the can-didates did not approve theregister.—AP

MANILA—Authorities in thePhilippines grounded air andsea transport on Thursdayand urged fishing boats to re-turn to port, as an approach-ing super typhoon, the mostpowerful storm on earth thisyear, gathered speed.

Typhoon Haiyan is ex-pected to make landfall earlyon Friday between the centralislands of Samar and Leyte.

With center winds of 215kph (133 mph) and gusts ofup to 250 kph, the storm, ratedas category five, the most se-vere, was moving west-north-west at 33 kph in the PacificOcean.

President Benigno Aquinoappealed to citizens to evacu-ate danger zones. “I am callingfor community teamwork andcooperation,” he said on na-tional television and radio.

Aquino said 100 coastalareas face the threat of stormsurges, bringing waves higherthan 5 m to 6 m, and orderedaction by local officials to limitdamage and loss of lives.

Thousands of residentswere moved from coastlines,river banks, and mountainslopes to safer spots, whilemilitary transport vehicleswere put on standby.

Strong winds and heavyrain buffeted areas in the pathof the storm, as the stateweather bureau raised alertlevels in more than 20 parts ofthe central Philippines.

The coast guard sus-pended ferry operations, or-dered a halt to fishing andwarned deep-sea fishingboats to seek shelter or returnto port. Carrier Cebu Pacificannounced the suspension ofmore than 100 local flights.

Hospitals were put onalert, with schools and some

Philippines braces for supertyphoon, the year’s strongest

offices shut and power andcommunication lines turned offfor safety.

Officials used bullhorns tourge residents of coastal andupland villages to move tosafer areas, as trees weretrimmed and boats dragged toshore.

The state weather bureauraised storm alert to level 4 onthe coconut-growing islandsof Samar and Leyte. Officialsin 12 more central provincesalso began stockpiling food,water and relief supplies.

An estimated 10 millionpeople face disruption fromtyphoon Haiyan, say interna-tional relief agencies that arestepping up operations totackle the storm.

“The humanitarian impactof Haiyan threatens to be co-lossal, not only in areas di-rectly in its path, but also fornearby islands such as Bohol,”said Patrick Fuller of the Inter-national Federation of Redcross and Red Crescent Soci-eties.

Particularly vulnerable, headded, were thousands ofpeople living in makeshift shel-ters on Bohol after a magni-tude 7.2 earthquake last monththat killed more than 200people and displaced thou-sands.

An average of 20 ty-phoons hit the Philippines ev-ery year. In 2011, typhoonWashi killed 1,200 people, dis-placed 300,000 and destroyedmore than 10,000 homes.

In September, another cat-egory-five storm, typhoonUsagi, with central winds of205 kph and gusts of up to 240kph, battered the northern is-land of Batanes before caus-ing damage in southernChina.—Reuters

STOCKHOLM—Turkey isnot providing shelter or back-ing to al Qaeda-linkedgroups in Syria and will con-tinue to exclude them from itsbroader support for the Syr-ian opposition, TurkishPrime Minister TayyipErdogan said.

Turkey has long champi-oned more robust backing forSyria’s fractious armed oppo-sition, but the rise of alQaeda-linked groups amongtheir ranks has left it open toaccusations that it is lendingsupport to radical Islamists.

“It is out of the questionthat groups like al Nusra andal Qaeda can take shelter inour country,” Erdogan told anews conference inStockholm during an officialvisit.

“On the contrary, anysuch structures would besubject to the same fight wecarry out against separatist

terrorist groups. We havetaken the necessary stepsagainst them and we will con-tinue to do so,” he said.

Al Qaeda-linked groupssuch as Jabhat al-Nusra andthe Islamic State of Iraq andthe Levant (ISIL) have cap-tured territory in parts ofnorthern Syria near the bor-der in recent months.

Turkey has maintained anopen-door policy through-out the two-and-a-half-yearconflict, providing a lifelineto rebel-held areas by allow-ing humanitarian aid in, giv-ing refugees a route out andletting the rebel Free SyrianArmy organize on its soil.

“Who we recognizeamong the Syrian rebels is aknown fact. We are in con-tact with the Free SyrianArmy ... and we are also intouch with the (opposition)Syrian National Coalition,”Erdogan said.—Reuters

No Turkish support for alQaeda in Syria: Erdogan

Libya’s teachers on strikeover worsening economy

TRIPOLI—A Libyan officialsays a three-day teachers’strike to protest worseningeconomy and demand a payincrease has shut down 95percent of the schools in thecapital, Tripoli, and else-where in the country.

The education ministry

official says the strike is ex-pected to end on Thursday.He provided no details onwhether the teachers’ de-mands had been met. The of-ficial spoke on condition ofanonymity because he was notauthorized to speak to media.

The ministry spokes-

man, Samer Gernaz, saysLibya’s more than half a mil-lion teachers are among thelowest-paid state employees.

Earlier this week, strikingteachers in the western cityof Zawiya briefly blocked anoil refinery to make their de-mands heard.—AP

Six Tanzanians diein land clashes

ARUSHA—Six people werekilled and eight otherswounded in days of clashesbetween farmers and herdersin central Tanzania, police said.

“It started when a group offarmers took some cows, claim-ing that they had destroyedtheir crops,” local police chiefFaustine Shilogile said, from thecentral Morogoro region. “Theherders came to take their cattleback by force and clashes brokeout... six people were killed.”Conflicts between farmers andherders are common in Tanza-nia, notably in the region ofMorogoro, where the land isparticularly fertile.

Police had since restoredcalm to the area, Shilogileadded.—AFP

Turkey, Europe and theSyrian crisis: Edging

towards a new consensusNATHALIE TOCCI

Syria risks becoming “Afghanistan on the shores of the Medi-terranean”, warned Turkish President Abdullah Gül candidly.The president’s remarks echo a growing Turkish realisation thatmilitant Islamist groups, far from being the unpalatable but nec-essary bulwark against the al-Assad regime, risks transformingTurkey into a Mediterranean Pakistan. With such realisationcomes the prospect of a new international consensus on Syria.

At the onset of the Syrian conflict, Turkey, Europe and theUnited States were all on the same side. They first attempted tonudge Bashar al-Assad to reform. But by the summer of 2011,the three parties concluded that this was a lost cause. The morethe spiral of violence spun out of control, the more they, and theArab Gulf countries, converged on their support for the Syrianopposition.

But as the war deepened, the allies parted ways in two fun-damental respects. First, Turkey increasingly converged withthe Arab Gulf countries - and in particular Qatar - in backing theBrotherhood component of the Syrian opposition. Over time,Turkish intelligence also started turning a blind eye - and attimes actively backing - the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra front andother militant Islamist groups.

The militant Islamist opposition was not Turkey’s partner ofchoice. But blinded by the perceived imperative of ousting theSyrian regime, Turkey allowed the safe passage of such groupsinto Syria, and facilitated their organisation and helped to armthem.

Alarm bells in the US and the European Union began ring-ing. Few were persuaded about the Saudi Arabia-promoted dis-tinction between “good” and “bad” militant Islamist groupsIslamist groups. Echoes of Afghanistan rang loud in their ears.

Second, Turkey became increasingly adamant about a moremuscular international action in Syria. Turkey had long calledfor more direct military involvement in support of the Syrianopposition. It appealed for a humanitarian corridor, it supportedthe arming of the rebels, and it repeatedly called for a no-flyzone. When on August 21, a chemical bombardment killed hun-dreds in Eastern Ghouta, Turkey was quick to jump on theinterventionist bandwagon.

The EU took a different line. With the sole exception ofFrance, no member state openly backed the idea of an attackwithout a UN Security Council resolution. Even the UK movedto the sidelines after David Cameron’s government was embar-rassingly defeated in the Commons. President Barack Obamatook one step forward by calling for an attack, and two stepsbackward by abdicating his leadership to Congress. As it be-came increasingly clear that an endorsement of Congress wasnot forthcoming, both Europeans and Americans sighed in re-lief when Russia pulled a rabbit out of the hat - which PresidentAssad readily caught - proposing a plan to place Syria’s chemi-cal weapons under international supervision. The plan, and itsimplementation to date, have shelved the prospects of an inter-vention. Turkey was left seething.

—Courtesy Aljazeera

delimitation of constituencies.Sharing the concerns of the

opposition members on the elec-tion schedule of Local Bodies‚Minister for Railways KhawajaSaad Rafiq said that relaxation intime should be given for the hold-ing of free‚ fair and transparentlocal bodies elections in the fourprovinces‚ capital territory andcantonment areas.

He said all the provinces wantto hold local bodies elections fortransparent devolution of powerat the grass roots level as per theconstitutional requirement but theElection Commission is currentlynot prepared to hold the elections.He said the Supreme Court shouldconsider the concerns of theelected representatives on theelection schedule keeping in viewthe ground realities.

About local bodies electionsin cantonment areas‚ the ministersaid a draft law has been preparedfor the conduct of elections in can-tonment areas.

Earlier during debate in theNational Assembly‚ the membersfrom the treasury and oppositionbenches said the governmentshould move ahead with the dia-logue process with Taliban for

NA resolution seeks more time for LG pollsFrom Page 1

bringing peace and stability in thecountry.

Speaking on the recent droneattack in North WaziristanAgency‚ they also called upon theTaliban to renounce violence andbloodshed.

Initiating the debate in theNational Assembly QariMuhammad Yusuf strongly criti-cized the US’s regional policy say-ing it has never fulfilled commit-ments made to Pakistan. He saidcertain elements want to create agulf between the people and thegovernment and we should standunited to foil these designs. Hesaid peace can be restored in theregion provided the US stops in-terfering in the internal matters ofPakistan and Afghanistan.

Ayaz Soomro said the gov-ernment should hold dialoguewith the Taliban on the basis ofprinciples and under the constitu-tional ambit. He said the waragainst terrorism was imposed onus and collective efforts are re-quired to bring peace and stabil-ity in the country.

Minister for States and Fron-tier Regions Abdul Qadir Baloch

ping containers piled on top ofeach other in the junkyard.

In the last year, the U.S. hasturned equipment and vehiclesinto 387 million pounds (176million kilograms) of scrap thatit sold to Afghans for $46.5 mil-lion, according to MimiSchirmacher, a spokeswomanfor the military’s Defense Logis-tics Agency in Virginia.

The scrapped material wastoo worn out to repair or notworth the expense of carrying itback to the U.S., officials said.

Not everything in Afghani-stan was destroyed. Coalitionforces have handed over $71million in equipment intact tothe Afghans, said Col. JaneCrichton, a public affairs officerfor U.S. forces in Afghanistan.She said $64 million of thatcame from the U.S.

US trashingFrom Page 1

said the government wants ameaningful dialogue with Talibanfor peace in the country. He saidour preferable option is dialogueand not the use of force and it waspart of this policy that we took onboard the entire nation for talkswith the Taliban. He made it clearthat the government has nothingto do with the drone attacks intribal areas.

The minister rejected the im-pression that the government de-layed the dialogue process sayinga lot of homework was requiredbefore the initiation of this pro-cess.

The minister said the govern-ment was sincere for the talks butthe drone hit North Waziristanwhen the government delegationwas about to take off for the dia-logue. He said the present govern-ment will not accept any foreigndictation which is against the na-tional interests.

Ijazul Haq said the govern-ment should convene another allparties’ conference to take con-sensus decision about NATOsupplies. He said we should takedecisions keeping in view ournational interests‚ honour anddignity.

ing gas load-shedding in thecountry.

He was informed that pricesfor LNG imports are being ne-gotiated in a transparent mannerand efforts are being made tomake cheaper LNG available forlocal consumers.

The meeting was also at-tended by Secretary Petroleum,Abid Saeed, Secretary Waterand Power, Saifullah Chatthaand other senior officials.

ister. During the meeting, viewson bilateral and regional matterswere exchanged.

The Prime Minister reaf-firmed the importance Pakistanattached to brotherly relationswith the UAE. On the bilateralplane, the Prime Minister high-lighted the excellent relationsbetween Pakistan and UAE,marked by growing trade as wellas close cooperation in the mul-tilateral fora.

The Prime Minister said thatthe UAE hosts a large Pakistanicommunity, which is makingpositive contribution to the de-velopment of UAE and is send-ing remittances supportingPakistan’s economy as well.

Foreign Minister SheikhAbdullah reiterated the commit-

PM for necessarysteps to overcomeenergy shortfall

From Page 1

Prior to the NA session, Fed-eral Interior Minister ChaudhryNisar Ali Khan told media per-sons that intelligence agencieshad received information regard-ing plans of terrorist activitiesduring Muharram and added thatthe government had prepared afoolproof security plan coveringall possible angels.

Under the Anti-terrorism(Amendment) Ordinance, 2013,shoot-on-site powers were givento civil armed forces for main-tenance of peace in the countrywhile providing them a ‘veryshort’ time for investigation.

Electronic evidences wouldbe acceptable whereas the judges,public prosecutors and witnesseswould be given protection ac-cording the proposed law.—INP

3 Anti-terrorordinances

From Page 1

PM: Pak attaches specialFrom Page 1

ment of the UAE Governmentto further strengthen the ties be-tween the two governments andpeoples.

Meanwhile, Pakistan andthe United Arab Emirates agreedto enhance bilateral economiccooperation and decided to es-tablish Joint Trade Council topromote trade between the twocountries.

Addressing a joint newsconference along with UAEForeign Minister SheikhAbdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyanafter 11th session of the JointMinisterial Commission here onThursday, Advisor on ForeignAffairs and National SecuritySartaj Aziz said the two sideshave to enhance their bilateraltrade and investment.

was earlier reported killed alongwith three Taliban commandersin shoot out with the AfghanTalibanin in October 10 2013,but later the news proved incor-rect.

“Mullah Fazlullah has beenappointed as the new head ofTehreek-e-Taliban Pakistanunanimously” announced TTPchief spokesman ShahidullahShahid who claimed that MullahFazlullah, who had gone intohiding inside Afghanistan, wasalso present in the Shoora meet-ing.

The position of TTP chiefhad fallen vacant after the kill-ing of Hakimullah Mehsudalong with another five com-manders in missile attack by theAmerican drones in NorthWaziristan agency on Friday lastthus causing a serious blow tothe peace efforts as both Talibanand Pakistani government werevery close to sitting on negotia-tion table to ensure lasting peacein the region.

Since then the TalibanShoora had been holding itsmarathon sessions at undis-closed location somewhere inWaziristan agencies to finalizethe name of TTP new head. TheTaliban shoora or the supremecouncil reportedly consists of 25

Pakistani Taliban reject dialogueFrom Page 1

Lawmakers from Awami Na-tional Party (ANP), PakistanPeoples Party (PPP), BalochistanNational Party (BNP) PakistanMuslim League-Q (Quaid-e-Azam) and other opposition par-ties attended the protest session onthe road and delivered fieryspeeches against Interior Minis-ter Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan.

Senator Ahmed Hasanchaired the meeting. PPP’s RazaRabbani blamed the federal gov-ernment for its ‘double standards’over various important securitymatters, including peace talks withTaliban, and demanded that thefacts be made public.

Rabbani said that if talks withthe Taliban commence “all acts ofterrorism should stop.” He addedthat if any agreement is reachedduring the course of these talks,that agreement should then be rati-fied by the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa

Punjab Local Government Act2013 were in violation of theConstitution of Pakistan.

The petitions making thecase for party-based local gov-ernment polls were filed by Pa-kistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf, PakistanPeople’s Party, Pakistan MuslimLeague–Q and others. A benchof the LHC, headed by ChiefJustice Umar Ata Bandial, hadbeen holding day-to-day hearingof the petitions and had reservedits ruling on the matter on Fri-day.

The petitioners were of theview that non-party polls wouldweaken the foundation of politi-cal parties in the province,which would be in the nationalinterest. Petitioners had also ar-gued that the local governmentsystem was the foundation of alldemocratic principles and thestructure of democracy wasbased on this foundation.

The Punjab governmenthad, however, stated that thenature of LG institutions wasnot legislative but administra-tive, therefore, party-based elec-tions could not be held. It hadfurther said that the Constitutionallowed party-based polls forlegislative institutions only.

Opp continues protest sessionFrom Page 1

LHC ordersFrom Page 1

members having representationfrom all factions of Taliban.

There were five names un-der the consideration for the suc-cessor of Hakimullah Mehsudwho was the third TTP Chiefkilled by the American CIA op-erated drones. They includedTTP deputy chief and leader ofSouth Waziristan agency TalibanKhan Said alias Sajna, SwatTaliban chief Mullah Fazlullah,Sheikh Khalid Haqqani fromSwabi, Hafiz Saeed, the head ofTaliban Aurakzai Agency andUmar Khalid Khurasani who isheading the Mohmand agencychapter of Taliban.

However till the announce-ment of the new Taliban chief,Khan Said alias Sajna topped thelist of the aspirants followed byMullah Fazlullah who eventu-ally managed to earn confidenceof all the shoora members astheir new head.

Mullah Fazlullah, it may bementioned, used to address thepeople of Swat and his follow-ers through FM radio in Swat onregular basis and was nicknamed Mullah Radio. The self-stilled cleric, who appeared oc-casionally in the public riding ona horse wearing a turban with asword hanging besides him, was

also known for distributingHeaven visas among the Talibanmilitants including the suicidebombers.

He had also claimed the re-sponsibility of brutal killing ofGOC Swat Major General SanaUllah and his staff officer lieu-tenant Colonel Tauseef in a roadside explosion in Dir Upper nearPak-Afghan border on Septem-ber 15 and Taliban had releaseda video showing Fazlullahclaiming the responsibility forthe attack on Major GeneralSanaullah’s car in Upper Dir andexpressing great happiness over“meeting the target”.

The government of Paki-stan had announced headmoney for Mullah Fazlullahalias Mullah Radio before 2009military operation in Swat andin June 2009 the amount wasraised to Rupees fifty millionfollowing which MullahFazlullah reportedly moved toNooristan province of Afghani-stan where he is residing tilldate.

It was also reported thathardliner Mullah Fazlullah hadformed his own group of Talibanmilitants in Swat after develop-ing differences with the centralleadership of Taliban over policymatters.

(K-P) Assembly and the Parlia-ment. “The government needs toemphasise a regional approach forresolving the current situationwhich is essentially regional innature; a solution enjoying thesupport of all regional countrieswill be sustainable,” he said, quot-ing recommendation 13 of theconsensus passed at the conclu-sion of the joint sitting of Parlia-ment on October 22, 2008.

He added that the governmentneeds to implement clause four ofthe same consensus, which reads“Pakistan’s territory shall not beused for any kind of attacks andall foreign fighters, if found on our

soil, shall be expelled.” Rabbanivowed to issue a ‘working paper’on what he called government’sfailure. ANP’s Shahi Syed saidPrime Minister Nawaz Sharifcould not find competent teammembers to run the affairs of De-fence and Foreign ministries;therefore he has kept both the port-folios by himself.

Senator Saifullah Magsi said“there is no government writ in19 districts of Balochistan”, add-ing that people in earthquake-hitAwaran district have refused toaccept the government aid. Theprotest session was adjourned tillFriday morning.—Online

Leader of the opposition inthe National Assembly SyedKhurshid Shah has opposed lo-cal government elections, say-ing that preparation of ballotpapers from private printingpress is unacceptable. Address-ing the National AssemblyThursday, Khurshid Shah saidthis process will raise questionmark on the credibility of theElection Commission.

He said holding local bod-ies elections is a political issueand it should be handled politi-cally. Khurshid said the sched-ule given by the Election Com-mission for Local Bodies elec-tions is not implementable as theprovinces have to undergo de-limitation of constituencies.

Shah Mahmood Qureshialso backed the oppositionleader, saying that schedulegiven by the Election Commis-sion for local bodies elections isnot implementable as the prov-inces have to undergo delimita-tion of constituencies.

Sharing the concerns of theopposition members on theelection schedule of local bod-ies‚ Minister for RailwaysKhawaja Saad Rafiq said thatrelaxation in time should begiven for the holding of free‚fair and transparent local bod-ies elections in the four prov-inces‚ capital territory and can-tonment areas.

He said all the provinceswant to hold local bodies elec-tions for transparent devolutionof power at the grass roots levelas per the constitutional require-ment but the Election Commis-sion is currently not prepared tohold the elections.

He said the Supreme Courtshould consider the concerns ofthe elected representatives onthe election schedule keeping inview the ground realities.

ECP, partiesmeeting

From Page 1

“While quiet and peaceful,this was an election without areal choice,” said GerdanaComic, Special Coordinator forthe OSCE mission, said in anews conference in Dushanbe.The government has drawn criti-cism for its crackdown on dis-sent and its tight grip on themedia.

The president’s closest rivalonly took 5 percent of the vote.His more vocal critics wereousted from the race on techni-cal grounds. Rights activistOinihol Bobonazarova was de-nied registration after the elec-toral commission claimed shehad failed to gather enough sig-natures to run.

Remaining opposition can-didates waged lackluster cam-paigns and voiced little criticismafter the official results werereleased.

“There were some insignifi-cant flaws and shortcomings,but nothing that could have trulyinfluenced the results,” saidOlimdzhon Boboyev of the Eco-nomic Reform Party, who polledat 3.9 percent.—AP

Tajik presidentFrom Page 1

Nationalintegration

From Back Page

philosopher, Sufi, poet and re-former and we should be grate-ful to our national heroes—Quaid-i-Azam and Allama Iqbalfor their struggle in carving outthis great Muslim country inSouth Asia.

A scholar of Iqbaliyat andeminent educationist Dr AyubSabir said if we understand andapply the concept of “MilliYakjehti” or the “Oneness ofUmmah” on ourselves we cannever be enslaved by others.Through this unique concept Iqbaladvises us to rely on our own re-sources. Pakistan is the realizationof Iqbal’s dream therefore itshould take pride in the uniquesense of brotherhood with otherIslamic countries. In the pastcountries were enslaved by the useof force today, the Capitalist pow-ers are using other tools like grantof aids and bilateral agreements.A nation that relies on aid and doesnot focus trade ultimately turnsinto a parasite country. Iqbal hasalways condemned Feudalismand Capitalism.

Dr Ziaul Haq Yousafzai, Pro-fessor of Iqbaliyat at Numl saidIqbal never believed in national-ism rather he believed in human-ism. For Iqbal Islam is not for oneparticular age or place it is a uni-versal code of life. Unfortunately,other Islamic countries knowmore about Iqbal than Pakistaniswho claim him to their nationalpoet. For Iqbal love for countryis good thing but it should notblind one’s sense of judgement.It is therefore, he repeatedly ad-vocates this concept of “MilliYakjehti” in his MasterpieceJaved Nama and also in Bang-e-Dara.

Egyptian scholar and Asso-ciate Professor Dept of Philoso-phy, Shariah and Aqeeda at In-ternational Islamic University,Dr Nabil Fouly through his in-terpreter and student Ubaidullahsaid he accepted the post ofteacher at the University only todiscover another Iqbal and an-other Jinnah in the new genera-tion. He said Iqbal’s concept ofTauheed is behind his theory ofMilli Yakjehti. This is a conceptthat keeps our spirits high andbinds us in brotherhood withpeople of other countries.

Former Vice Chancellor ofFJWU, Dr Ameena Nasir saidIqbal draws his vision of MilliYakjehti from Quran. In orderto understand Iqbal we need tounderstand his love for Quran.

As an encouragement, ZahidMalik gave Rs. 1000 to studentAmmara from Government El-ementary College of Teachingfor her soul-touching Qirrat onthe occasion.

Ultimate target of enemyFrom Back Page

despondency and a sense ofhopelessness are being createdin the country so that people maylose faith in the capacity of theGovernment to run the affairs ofthe State,” he warned.

Mr. Malik said that time wasnot far off when internationalmedia will show manipulatedsatellite pictures of some allegedterrorists having come some-what closer to nuclear establish-ment of Pakistan justifying de-mand for “temporarily” transfer-ring of the nuclear assets to theIAEA.

However, he said Pakistanination and almost all the politi-cal parties had displayed re-markable maturity and in spiteof its being not so satisfied withthe performance of the Govern-ment were at its back for thegreater good of the State of Pa-kistan.

Mr. Malik said that Pakistanwas in a state of undeclared warbut expressed the view that Pa-kistan had all the capacity to facedaunting challenges.

The Chairman NPC alsoexplained to the audience how

the Council and its Chapters allover were endeavouring todeepen the faith of the people inthe State of Pakistan. “NPC be-lieves in the Omnipotent Allah,finality of the ProphetMohammad (PBUH) and gloryof Pakistan,” he said amidstthunderous applause.

Mr. Malik advised that Pa-kistan should in no way launchany Army operation anywherein Pakistan because that wouldamount to further spreading theArmy and consequential back-lash.

at higher rates. Electricity isgoing out from national grid.People are ready to providemoney to end load sheddingCJP remarked “ old plants bearthe burden for production ofelectricity .

Azhar Siddique said theelectricity which is being pur-chased at the rate of Rs 9 per unitis being sold out to the consum-ers at the rate of Rs 18 per unit.Azhar Siddique said federalgovernment appoints chairmanof NEPRA while all the fourmembers are appointed at thebehest of provinces. KhawajaNaeem is acting chairman atpresent.

CJP remarked the wholecountry is being run throughacting chairman,. Adhoc systemshould be abolished. There is noroom for acting chairman inPTA case.

Justice Jawwad S Khawajaremarked “ the matter of actingchairman is involved in PEMRAand now an acing chairman isworking in NEPRA as well. Thisthing will not work as rules andregulations provide no room forit. How he will do major deci-sions who does not know he willstay there or otherwise on hispost in future. NEPRA chairmanis also acting chairman. AzharSiddique said Sargham is relative

SC calls for undoing ad-hocismFrom Page 1

of Asif Khawaja and he has ap-peared in Nandi Pur case too.

The court stopped AzharSiddique to talk more on thismatter. CJP remarked “ pleasego, work out a chart on what hasbeen done in NEPRA from 1997todate and give it to us. The courthas not to do all the jobs. Suchmatters should not remain in thecourt. If the courts have to do allthe works then what works areleft to be done by the govern-ment. We ordered for appoint-ing the chairman of PIA to PTA.When will this adhocism cometo end?

CJP remarked “ culture oflike and dislike should come toend so that people may get ben-efit and government may earngood name. Attorney General(AG) said that 1500 to 2000 ap-plications were received whichwere put into electronic basketand they were short listed. Thencommission has to short list themand later interview are taken.

CJP remarked “we hadtalked of bringing transparency.We had asked for the appoint-ment of transparent people sothat nepotism could come toend. The court did not do wrongthing. We wanted competentmen. Senior people are sittingoutside while the juniors whoaligned government were pro-

moted. Full expectations can notbe made from the adhoc personas he continues to revolve roundlike a pendulum. AG said it isthe domain of commission toregularize them.

CJP remarked “ As the courthas given the order,it should beimplemented now. JusticeJawwad remarked “ the traditionof nepotism should now come toend in this country. Difficultieswill come on the way in the be-ginning too.

AG said certain mistakes willtake place in the beginning butthe government should be al-lowed to work. Azhar Siddiquesaid “ if board of directors comeon merit in DISCOs then thematters will improve. There aredifficulties for the governmenthere to move towards good gov-ernance.

CJP remarked “ all the insti-tutions here are good and lawsare good too but it would havebeen better if they had been bet-ter in implementation of orders.

Azhar Siddique said “ losshas swelled with the abolitionof WAPDA. CJP remarked “you should convince the gov-ernment. What difficulties arebeing faced in running the gov-ernment. Democracy is in placein the country. They are violat-ing companies’ ordinancetoo.—Online

framework by Iran,” Araghchisaid. Though he described thenegotiations as “very difficult,”he said he expected agreementon details by Friday, the lastscheduled round of the currenttalks.

International negotiators,representing the United States,Russia, China, Britain, Franceand Germany, declined to com-ment on Araghchi’s statement.In Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Min-ister Benjamin Netanyahuwarned against striking a partialdeal “that eases the pressure onIran for concessions that are notconcessions at all.”—AP

FO: BBC storyFrom Page 1

Nato decision maker told me(Mark Urban) that he had seenintelligence reporting thatnuclear weapons made in Paki-stan on behalf of Saudi Arabiaare now sitting ready for deliv-ery.

Last month Amos Yadlin, aformer head of Israeli militaryintelligence, told a conference inSweden that if Iran got thebomb, “the Saudis will not waitone month. They already paidfor the bomb, they will go to

Pakistan and bring what theyneed to bring.”

“I do think that the Saudisbelieve that they have some un-derstanding with Pakistan that,in extremis, they would haveclaim to acquire nuclear weap-ons from Pakistan.”

The story of Saudi Arabia’sproject - including the acquisi-tion of missiles capable of de-livering nuclear warheads overlong ranges - goes back de-cades.—INP

IranFrom Page 1

CNG stations closedfor two daysKARACHI—Steps have beentaken to streamline the FoodDepartment on modern lines andcleanse it of the ‘menace of cor-ruption’. The results of some ofthe measures have started com-ing to the fore, informed theSindh Food Minister JamMehtab Hussain Dahar whilepresiding over a meeting in hisoffice here on Thursday. Hestated that tender has been re-floated to ‘prevent corruption inthe auction of the damagedwheat’. The Minister said thatthe auction rate was determinedas Rs two per kg whereas in there-floated tender this rate hasbeen quoted as Rs 12 per kg. Hefurther stated that any corruptionwould not be tolerated in theDepartment. —APP

OBSERVER REPORT

PESHAWAR—Chief ministerKhyber Pakhtunkhwa PervezKhattak has announced lifting ofban from government jobs in allpublic sector institutions.

The halting of transfer andposting mechanism in educationdepartment will be legislated af-ter choices gathered from teach-ers for their native towns. Thishe revealed while talking to a del-egation of MPAs and elite of Dis-trict Swabi led by ProvincialMinister for ST&IT ShahramKhan Tarakai that called on himat CM Secretariat Peshawar onThursday.

The delegation kept theChief Minister abreast of theproblems relating to districtSwabi including Tobacco Board,

Ban on govt jobs in KP removedLabour Board and Karnal SherKhan Board, dualization ofSwabi-Mardan Road, Construc-tion of Karnal Sher Khan inter-change, setting a GPO, enhanc-ing agriculture seeds and avail-ability of wheat and link road ofM-45, suspension bridge at mainSwabi Mardan road, funds forTMA Swabi and Rajar Tehsilsand electrification and extensionof gas to certain localities in thedistrict.

The Chief Minister re-sponded that his governmentwould not play to the galleryrather it would resolve the longstanding problems of the people.He said that decision making forthe developmental strategywould be through elected repre-sentatives who better knewproblems of the locals.

However he made clear thatthere would be no political in-terference and there would be nodeviation from merit and the laiddown criteria in all govt depart-ments.

He assured efficient utiliza-tion of funds for developmentalschemes in all sectors so thatpeople could see a realisticchange around themselves.

He referred to the agriculturesector and termed it the mainstayof the national economy. “Ourprovince is a food deficient prov-ince”, the CM acknowledged andsaid his government would ac-tively work on increasing theseed production, crops multipli-cation and bringing maximumareas under cultivation in orderto track the province towardsfood autarky.

ISLAMABAD—Interior MinisterChaudhary Nisar Ali KhanThursday informed the Senatethat around 9,000 criminals hadbeen arrested so far in ongoingtargeted operation in Karachi.Replying to a question duringQuestion Hour, the Minister as-sured the House that sole objec-tive of the operation was to re-store peace in Karachi and wouldnot be used as a tool against anypolitical party or group. He saidthe the operation was launchedafter evolving consensus of allpolitical parties.

He said law enforcementagencies were vigorously chas-ing those criminal element whohad fled to other parts of thecountry and abroad. Some suchabsconders were arrested fromMurree, Lahore and InteriorSindh and other parts of the coun-try, he added.

The Minister said that someof the arrested criminals hadshown their affiliation with po-litical parties, however, none ofthe political party contacted theauthorities.

He appreciated support of allpolitical parties for the operation,specially Muttahida QaumiMovement (MQM) adding somegenuine complaints of MQM

Nisar: Targeted operation aimedat restoring peace in Karachi

would be addressed in a meetingbetween the government andMQM delegation in few days.

Replying to a question ofAbdul Ghafoor Haideri, the Min-ister said that recent surge in thetarget killing was aimed at start-ing sectarian violence in Karachi,ahead of holy month ofMuharrmul Haram.

He said writ of the govern-ment had already been restoredin entire city and added plan hadalready been prepared to elimi-nate any existing no-go-areas inthis port city. In response to aPoint of Order by Zafar Ali Shah,the Interior Minister said, hecame across many ups anddowns and had to face criticismbut he remained on the course.

He said he worked hard dayand night for the success of talkswith the sole aim to bring peacein the country and end the 13-year old war. He said “It was thebreakthrough that a delegationwas ready for Waziristan to meetTaliban leadership when the USdrone strike killed HakimullahMahsud.”

He said he was facing diffi-culties in initiating the dialogueprocess in North Waziristan as 37recognized groups were activeunder umbrella of Taliban but

seemed they did not follow thediscipline. Similarly, total num-ber of such groups was 50 to 70with 14 to 16 among them active,having 100 to 150 activists each,he added. Nisar Ali Khan alsomentioned attacks on GeneralNiazi, Church, Qissa KhawaniBazaar and on the bus of publicdepartment.

“But, we continued effortsand sent a message that until thekilling of innocent people con-tinues, dialogue process cannotgenerate the desired results. Thenthere was a respite and proceed-ings started.”

He also appreciated the sup-port and cooperation of theArmed Forces by ‘going extramiles and putting in extra efforts’for the success of the peace pro-cess. Nisar said, the successachieved so far was a result ofthe cooperation and consultationby all political parties in the coun-try. “I have been briefing the lead-ers and sought guidance fromthem occasionally. All of themextended full cooperation as theyhad done at APC.”

Minister said, he had alsoconveyed a clear message to theUS ambassador by saying, “theUS will have to take this govern-ment seriously.—APP

DAMASCUS—Syrian troopsbacked by Lebanese Hezbollahfighters and other pro-regime mi-litiamen retook a major rebel en-clave south of Damascus onThursday, severing a key opposi-tion supply line.

The recapture, reported by amonitoring group and state tele-vision, was part of a broader armycampaign that has seen a string oftowns in the area fall into regimehands.

In France, meanwhile, For-eign Minister Laurent Fabius saidthere was “fairly recent” proof thatfour French journalists kidnappedin Syria are alive.

And in The Hague, theOrganisation for the Prohibitionof Chemical Weapons (OPCW)said inspectors had verified all butone of Syria’s 23 declared chemi-cal weapons sites.

Syria army retakes townnear Damascus from rebels

The regime’s recapture ofSbeineh, a key rebel strongholdsouth of Damascus, comes ninedays into campaign aimed at cut-ting off one of the main rebel sup-ply lines into southern Damascus,according to the Syrian Observa-tory for Human Rights.

Closer to the capital, govern-ment troops have besieged a num-ber of rebel-held suburbs formonths, and UN officials haveexpressed concern over reports oftrapped civilians and severe mal-nutrition. “Sbeineh was one of themost important rebel positions onDamascus’s outskirts,” the Brit-ain-based group’s director RamiAbdel Rahman told AFP.

“Rebels in southern Dam-ascus have now had practically alltheir supply routes cut off,” hesaid. State television also reportedthe takeover.

Suspects confessto involvementObserver ReportP E S H A W A R — K h y b e rPakhtunkhwa Inspector GeneralPolice Nasir Khan Durrani onThursday said that two suspectsinvolved in Qissa Khawani Ba-zaar had been arrested. He saidthat both the Afghan nationalswere also involved in several actsof terrorism in Afghanistan andhad confessed to their involve-ment in the Qissa Khawanideadly bombings. The IGP de-clared Kohat, Peshawar, Hangu,and Dera Ismael Khan as sensi-tive areas keeping in viewMuharram. He said that securityarrangements including measuresto detect Improvised ExplosiveDevices have been finalized.

Opp to support govtto shoot down USdrones: Rehman

ISLAMABAD—Former interiorminister Senator Rehman Malikon Thursday said that the oppo-sition would extend full supportto the government if it decidedto shoot down US drones.

Talking to media personsoutside the Parliament House,he said the former dictator presi-dent Pervez Musharraf got jus-tice from the courts, but BenazirBhutto was still waiting for jus-tice.

Rehman Malik said that thegovernment should end the on-going deadlock and confronta-tion between opposition andtreasury in Senate and the PrimeMinister Nawaz Sharif shouldresolve the issue.

He said that during May 11elections campaign, leadersfrom PTI and PML-N were rais-ing slogans to shoot down theUS drones after coming intopower but now why the govern-ment was feeling hesitant in thisregard. The senator said that ifthe government decided to shootdown the drones, all oppositionparties including the PPP wouldsupport and appreciate it.

Rehman Malik said the USdrone attacks would not stop ifthe government stopped Natosupplies because NATO sup-plies remained suspended in thepast but the drone attacks re-mained continued in the Paki-stani territory.—INP

National seminar on ‘Iqbal Aur Milli Yakjehti’

National integration, unity of Ummah are fundamentals of Iqbal’s doctrineDogmatism, despondency have no place in Pakistani society

LIAQAT TOOR/ZUBAIR QURESHI

ISLAMABAD—National cohe-sion, integration and unity ofUmmah are genesis of Na-tional Poet Allama MuhammadIqbal who wanted MuslimUmmah to unite at one plat-form for safeguarding teach-ings of Islam and rights ofMuslims.

This was gist of speechesof intellectuals and education-ists at a national seminar on‘Iqbal Aur Milli Yakjehti’organised by Nazriya PakistanCouncil (Trust) Islamabad atAiwan-e-Quaid here on Thurs-day evening. This seminar waspart of month-longprogrammes of NPC on na-tional poet.

The seminar presided overNPC Chairman Zahid Malikwas attended by a large num-ber of people from differentsegments of society including

politicians, intellectuals, educa-tionists, businessmen, retired

civil servants and diplomats anda large number students.

Sardar Attiuque AhmedKhan, former Prime Minister of

Azad Kashmir said there is noplace of despondency in Paki-stani society as people of Paki-stan have resilience and deter-mination to take along theircountry to new frontiers of de-velopment and stability.

Despite heavy odds, Pakistanishave been successfully savedtheir country during the lastsixty six years and they have in-ner strength and divine supportto take it along safely on the pathof progress and prosperity in

future also.Allama Iqbal is Pakistan’s

brilliant symbol in other coun-tries. There is strong need tospread his message among thenew generation. Iqbal was a

ISLAMABAD: Host Chairman Nazriya Pakistan Council and Editor-in-Chief PakistanObserver Zahid Malik addressing a national seminar on ‘Iqbal Aur Milli Yakjehti’ orga-nized by NPC at Aiwan-e-Quaid. Dr. Muhammad Tufail, Dr. Najeeb Kholimisri, Dr. AminaNasir, chief guest former PM AJK Sardar Attique Ahmad Khan, Dr. Zia-ul-Haq and Dr.Ayub Sabir are also sitting on the stage.—PO photo by Sultan Bashir

LIAQAT TOOR

ISLAMABAD—Mr. Zahid Malik,Editor-in-Chief, Pakistan Ob-server has said that multifari-ous attempts are being made bythe enemy to project the imageof Pakistan as a failed Statewhose nuclear assets, if fallenin the hands of terrorists, could

Ultimate target of enemy isPak nuclear assets: Zahid MalikPakistan has capacity to face all challenges

Continued on Page 7

pose danger to the world peace.Mr. Malik, who is also

Chairman of the Nazriya Paki-stan Council (Trust) said this inhis presidential address at theNPC-organized national semi-nar “Iqbal Aur Milli Yakjehti”at Aiwan-i-Quaid. He said thatPakistan’s nuclear programmewas never digested by the en-

emy and therefore a situationwas being created that mightultimately justify a demandby the “civilized world” todismantle Pakistan’s nuclearassets as they have recentlydismantled chemical weap-ons in Syria. “With the helpof media a state of extremeContinued on Page 7

Adviser to the Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sarjat Aziz andForeign Minister of UAE, Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan signing minutes of the11th Session of Pakistan-UAE Joint Ministerial Commission in Islamabad.

No weaponswere stolenfrom Port:

Customs claimSTAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Pakistan Customs(Appriasment Collectorate East) in a statement said it is clarifiedthat the news published on frontpage of a leading Urdu daily onNov 7, 2013 regarding disappear-ance of weapons from contain-ers lying at KPT is incorrect andmisleading .

The statement, said that Con-signments of arms and ammuni-tion imported in 1992 are keptunder safe custody of KPT in thestrong room which is not acces-sible to anyone except authorizedpersons of Karachi Port Trust(KPT) only. No consignment ofarms and ammunition has beenput in any container lying at KPT.

It said that those consign-ments of arms and ammunitioncannot be auctioned as per Rule58(3)(i) of SRO 450(I)/2001dated 5.6.2001 of Federal Gov-ernment.

Abducted Pakistanichild recovered from

AfghanistanPESHAWAR—A child kidnappedfrom Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP)for a ransom of Rs. 50 million,was recovered from Afghanistanon Thursday.

Police officials say thatAwais, a minor kid, was abductedfrom Dalazak Road of Peshawar.

The kidnappers had de-manded a hefty ransom amount-ing Rs. 50 million.

Later, he was shifted toneighbouring country, Afghanistan,but was located through using lat-est tracking technology. —INP

Woman throwsthree daughtersin BRB Canal

LAHORE—A mentally retardedwoman threw her three daugh-ters into canal here on Thursday.Bodies of the two girl were re-covered while search for the lastone was underway.

According to rescuesources, a woman named Raziahailing from Koti Pir nearBaidian area of Lahore who ismentally abnormal took herthree daughters aged under fiveyears to BRB Canal and threwthem into the deep water.

The locals found bodies oftwo girls.

The divers and rescue person-nel were searching for the last girl.The police upon getting the infor-mation reached there and took themother into custody.—INP

MQM delegationmeets Sindh PPPleadersKARACHI—A Muttahida QaumiMovement delegation visitedChief Minister House on Thurs-day to discuss issues related tolocal government elections.Sources said that the MQM del-egation comprising Dr SagheerAhmed, Kanwar Naveed Jamiland Adil Siddiqui exchangedviews on how to hold peacefulelection in the province with aPakistan People’s Party delega-tion consisting of InformationMinister Sharjeel Memon, SeniorMinister Nisar Khuhro and LawMinister Sikandar Menhdero.The sources said that the MQMdelegation paid the visit on theinvitation of Sindh Chief Minis-ter Qaim Ali Shah.

Dengue drive tocontinue: MujtabaStaff ReporterLAHORE—Minister Excise &Taxation and Finance PunjabMujtaba Shujaur Rehman said onThursday that the government ismaking efforts to eradicate den-gue larva and it is a continues vari-ous parts of province. “Free treat-ment facilities are being providedto the dengue patients in publicsector hospitals and provincialministers and elected representa-tives are monitoring these medi-cal treatment facilities,” he added.He expressed these views whilevisiting dengue patient’s wards atMayo Hospital here Thursday.

ANKARA—A senior officialsays Turkish authorities havesearched a truck close to theborder with Syria and seized1,200 rocket heads.

Gov. Huseyin Avni Cos saidThursday the weapons were dis-covered in Adana, 200 kilome-ters (125 miles) from the Turk-ish-Syrian border, by officialswho stopped and searched thetruck as part of an anti-drugsmuggling effort.

Cos said an investigation

Turkey seizes 1,200warheads near Syria border

had been launched but said theweapons were believed to be“going to some organizations orstates” outside of Turkey. He didnot name them.

Turkey, which shares a 910-kilometer border with Syria, isa major hub for rebels fightingagainst Syrian President BasharAssad’s regime. The UN saysSyria’s three-year civil war haskilled at least 100,000 peopleand forced millions of Syriansfrom their homes.—AP

ELECTRONIC cigarette users followedover a year reduced or quit using tobaccocigarettes in large numbers and were less

prone to resume smoking, at least in the shortterm. Experts continue to debate whether ornot “e-cigs” are smoking-ces-sation tools or just leisureproducts. The electronic va-porizers use cartridges of liq-uid nicotine to deliver a fla-vored nicotine-laced vaporwithout the byproducts ofburning tobacco in traditionalcigarettes.

“Our results may not begeneralizable to all vapers,”Jean-Francois Etter said, us-ing the slang for vaporizerusers. “We had a majority ofex-smokers at baselinewhereas in the general popu-lation, most vapers are currentsmokers,” he told ReutersHealth.

Etter led the study at theInstitute of Social and Pre-ventive Medicine at the University of Genevain Switzerland. The results were published inAddictive Behaviors. A few small studies havefound that e-cigarettes seemed to help smok-ers quit using tobacco or at least to smoke fewertraditional cigarettes. But there have been nolong-term studies of how people actually usee-cigarettes, so experts are still unsure.

The researchers posted a questionnaire ona French stop-smoking website and asked sitesselling e-cigs to link to the questionnaire. Most“vapers” buy their e-cigs online. The e-cig us-ers recruited answered a baseline questionnaire,another one a month later and a third one yearlater. Questions covered e-cigarette use, to-

bacco use and the date of quitting tobacco, ifone applied.

Of more than 1000 original recruits, 367responded to all three surveys. For those whohad quit smoking already and were using e-

cigarettes instead, six percenthad relapsed to tobacco afterone month. That number wasstable after one year.

Of those who weresmoking and using e-cigaretteswhen the study began, 22 per-cent had quit smoking tobaccoafter a month and 46 percenthad quit after a year. Thatgroup averaged 11.3 tobaccocigarettes daily at the begin-ning of the study and six ciga-rettes per day after one month.This was just an exploratorystudy and will need confirma-tion from follow-up studies,Etter said. “This suggests thate-cigs may help them quit, butour results need to be inter-preted with caution, because of

the dropout rate at follow-up and the fact thatour sample is not representative of all vapers,”he said.

In the short-term, e-cigs appear not tocarry any health risks of their own, he said.But researchers still don’t know the long-termhealth effects of inhaling the common sol-vent glycol and food flavoring over manyyears. E-cigarettes don’t need to be 100 per-cent safe, he said, they only need to be sig-nificantly safer than tobacco cigarettes be-cause they are primarily used by cigarettesmokers. Of the three studies that have in-vestigated e-cig users, none of the dailyvapers were non-smokers.

More evidence e-cigs mayhelp in quitting tobacco

Federal Capital received more light rain on Thursday.

LIAQAT TOOR

PAKISTAN and Algeria areknown to each other sincelong as heroic struggle

waged by Algerians against co-lonial rulers was supported andabetted by Pakistan whole-heartedly. The long strugglewith tremendous sacrifices inmen is a golden history of hu-man being. The Algerians andall freedom loving people in theworld celebrate this liberationday to remind all those usurpersand suppressive forces to get alesson from the glorious struggleand its result.

As usual, Dr. AhmedBenflis, Algerian Ambassador toPakistan was in the forefront tostage a big show to celebrate59th anniversary of Ist Novem-ber 1954, day of Glorious Revo-lution on Tuesday evening in alocal hotel inviting people fromdifferent segments of Pakistanisociety to share happiest mo-ments of his country.

Politicians, parliamentar-ians, diplomats stationed inIslamabad, retired generals anddiplomats, businessmen,mediamen and friends of Alge-ria thronged the hall of the hotelfor colourful celebrations.

Ghulam Mutaza Jatio, Min-ister for Production joined the

show as a Chief Guest represent-ing Pakistan Government. Min-ister Abdul Qadir Baluch alsoparticipated in the gala which

gained momentum whenGhulam Mutaza Jatio, Dr.Ahmed Benflis and other guestsperformed the ceremonies of

playing of national anthems andcutting of cake amidst applauseby the participants. The guestswere welcomed and treated with

warm hospitality. Pakistanidishes and Algerian delicacies,particularly traditional deserts ofAlgeria attracted the guests withtheir peculiar aroma.

The guests were shown so-cial and economic life andstruggle of Algerian peoplethrough two screens installed inthe hall. The cozy atmosphereof the hall provided an opportu-nity the guests to recall historyof Algerian struggle and othercurrent topics. In his speech onthe occasion, Dr.Ahmed Benflissaid we are cel-ebrating our lib-eration day, butwe will never forget to pay hom-age to our dear Heroes; thePeople of Algeria who took uparms against the savage, bar-baric, cruel French colonial rulewhich continued for 132 years.During this long struggle, theAlgerian paid heavy price of oneand a half millions of shuhada,leaving thousands of peoplehomeless, poor and illiterate.

But the vigilant people ofAlgeria supported the Nationalliberation Army to initiate sevenyears of armed struggle againstthe French colonialists, thatforced them to leave the countrygiving the Algerian the sigh ofrelief from the atrocities of the

Algerian National Day

Algerian heroic struggle is golden chapter in historyPakistan extended full support to it; Both states developing multi-dimensional relations: Dr.

Ahmed Benflis; Celebrations mark with enthusiasm and brotherly sentiments

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Industries & Production Ghulam Murtaza Jatoi, Am-bassador of Algeria Dr. Ahmed Benflis, Federal Minister for SAFRON Abdul Qadir Baloch,Ambassador of Argentine Rodolfo Martin Saravia, Ambassador of UAE Eisa Abdullah AlBasha Al-Nuaimi, Ambassador of Bahrain Mohamed Ebrahim Mohamed and CEO of Rootsand Herbs (Pvt) Limited Omar Zahid Malik cutting the cake on the occasion of 59th Anni-versary of Launching of armed struggle for restoration of national independence of Alge-ria.—PO photo by Sultan Bashir

French colonial rule and ulti-mately Algerian got longawaited independence on 5thJuly 1962, he said. Today, theAlgerian citizens fully enjoytheir independence in a demo-cratic system. We feel proud tomention that Pakistan is amongthe first few countries whichsupported the Algerian struggleand recognized the first provi-sional Government of Algeriaon 19th September 1958.

We have signed many bi-lateral agree-ments in themutual benefitof our two coun-tries and

peoples. We support each otherat different forums. We are onthe road of developing furthereconomic relations particu-larly in the field of construc-tion. Negotiations betweenboth countries are underway tohelp Pakistan in energy sectorlike LNG etc…

We welcome the strongdemocratic system in Pakistanby the newly elected leader-ship headed by the Prime Min-ister Mohammed NawazSharif and his government andI wish them best of luck intheir noble mission to serve forthe betterment of their people,the Ambassador concluded.

An attractive view of flowers flourishing and blooming in front of Prime Minister House.

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Prime MinisterMuhammad Nawaz Sharif onThursday said that government wasgiving priority to solving the hous-ing problem in the country by en-suring affordable and cost-effectivehousing units to the ordinary citi-zens. He said that allocation of Rs.3.5 billion in 2013-14 had been al-located in the federal budgetinitially.The Prime Minister ex-pressed these views while chairinga high-level meeting on low-in-

come housing schemes at thePrime Minister’s House.

The Prime Minister empha-sized that the objective was to pro-vide subsidized financing to first-time house owners and the com-mittee recommended that the Par-ticipating Financial Institutions(PFIs), which are Banks andHBFCL, would give financingfrom PKR 1.5 million to PKR 5million to the eligible people. Thecommittee apprised the PrimeMinister that eligibility criteria forthe housing scheme included first-

time house owner for self occu-pancy, regular cash flows and be-ing in line with SBP PrudentialRegulations on Housing Financeand credit policy of ParticipatingFinancial Institutions (PFIs).

The Prime Minister was fur-ther apprised that under the pro-posed policy, there would be a 25%- 40% growth in available housingunits over the coming five years.

Minister for FinanceMuhammad Ishaq Dar, Ministerfor Information Senator PervezRashid, Minister of State for

Affordable housing unitsfor common people: PM

Housing & Works UsmanIbrahim, Special Assistant to thePrime Minister Dr. MussadaqMalik, Member Cabinet Com-mittee on Energy Shaukat FayyazA Tarin and senior officials of thePrime Minister’s Office, Minis-try of Finance and Housing &Works also attended the meeting.

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Chairman SenateSyed Nayyer Hussain Bokhari, ,said that Pakistan strongly believesin peaceful coexistence with all theneighbors and is committed to pro-mote regional peace and security

through dialogue. While talkingto the Japanese AmbassadorHiroshi INOMATA here at Parlia-ment House, Bokhari observedthat Pakistan has offered tremen-dous sacrifices in war against ter-rorism and global communitymust recognize efforts being made

to eliminate the menace of terror-ism. We are fighting for globalpeace and security, the Chairmanremarked. The Japanese envoyagreed with the views of ChairmanSenate. He said that there is hugescope for mutual cooperation andincreasing trade relations.

Pakistan believes inpeaceful coexistence

Policemen awardedfor outstandingperformanceCITY REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—As an encourage-ment for those policemen accom-plishing their duties in a respon-sible manner, IGP IslamabadSikandar Hayat awarded 12 po-licemen as an acknowledgementof their outstanding performance.

Those who were given cashprizes and certificates includedASP (City) Yasir Afridi, Inspec-tor Ghulam Murtaza (Traffic Di-vision), Inspector Aman Ullah(Special Branch), Sub-InspectorShafique Ahmed (Logistic Di-vision), Sub-InspectorMuhammad Akmal (ATS), ASIFareed Khan (Special Branch),ASI Khalid Niazi (OperationDivision), Head ConstableMuhammad Akhtar, ConstableJameel Ahmed (Security Divi-sion), Lady Constable SameenaKhalid (Traffic Division), ASIMuhammad Akram Ranjha andConstable Hammad Khan. IGPIslamabad Sikandar Hayat saidencouragement for policemenshowing good performancewould be ensured and account-ability system to be made moreeffective to monitor perfor-mance of the police officials.

Federal Minister for Ports and Shipping Senator, Kamran Michael, addressing a cer-emony in connection with Dewali celebrations.

Dr Jamil Ahmad speaking during a memorial reference held for DG Emeritus National Centre for Physics Prof Dr Riazuddin at NCP auditoriumIslamabad to pay homage to the deceased’s contribution to sciences and Physics.

05:40

01:30

04:00

07:00

Zohr

Brothers in Islam establishregular prayers and charity

Head of Comsats Institute of Information Technology, International Office Dr Arshad SaleemMalik speaks during a press conference.—PO photo by Sultan Bashir

Director Khana Farhang Iran Muhammad Akbar Akbari, Allama Syed Charaghul-DinPir Izhar Bukhari, Mufti Abdul Shakoor Farooqi and others sitting during Shahadat-e-Imam Hussain (AS) conference at Rawalpindi Press Club.

November 19

TALENT carnival for stu-dents, organised by thestudent Affairs Forum, atthe Rawalpindi Arts Coun-cil, Cultural Complex,Shamsabad, Rawalpindi.

ISLAMABAD—Under an un-announced drive, IslamabadTraffic Police (ITP) is con-tinuing to give shocks to themotorists and transportersby unexpectedly challaningthe vehicles if the front seatpassenger was found with-out wearing the safety belt.Drivers of some private carstold INP that they were notaware of the program of thecapital police when they werestopped on Shifa HospitalRoad and other places by thecops.

On expressing their lackof info about the decision ofpolice, the sergeants toldthem that it was not theirfault. A number of taxi driv-ers also protested over the

misbehavior and the challanby the cops.

One of the drivers of acar said when he ques-tioned about the challan, hewas threatened to impoundthe vehicle and even takethe driver to the police sta-tion.

On further query, thisagency was told that somedrivers were taken to the po-lice stations and their ve-hicles were impounded.

In the past, when thecapital police made it man-datory for the drivers to wearthe safety belt, the driverswere issued warning noticesfirst for a couple of days butwere not challaned. Therewas also lengthy campaign

to create awareness amongthe people about the deci-sion. Surprisingly the capi-tal police made no effort tolaunch awareness campaignamong the people throughprint or electronic media orby displaying hoardings atimportant road crossings.People have requested theInspector General PoliceIslamabad to take notice ofthis highhandedness on thepart of the traffic policewhich was considered as arole model in the beginningbut were now losing its cred-ibility and respect amongthe people who say that thetraffic police uses unknownauthority to challan atwill.—APP

Capital traffic policefree to challan at will

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—3-day interna-tional conference on “Plants,People and Climate” concludedhere today with resolve to sup-port programmes and projectsidentified by experts for meet-ing the challenges of climatechange through applications ofscience and technology. Paki-stan is facing severe climatechanges and has been ranked3rd in the list of most vulner-able countries to climatechange.

A recent report from WorldBank has warned Pakistan ofthe existence of five major risksrelated to climate change in-

cluding rise in sea level, glacialretreats, floods, higher averagetemperature and higher fre-quency of droughts.

Federal Minister for Sci-ence and Technology, ZahidHamid on the occasion,said thedeveloping countries are theleast responsible for climatechange contributing only 10percent of annual global carbondioxide emissions but they arethe ones which are the mostvulnerable to the environmen-tal, social and economic impactsof climate change.

He stated that Pakistan be-ing a developing country is ina similar situation. It has theleast contribution to global

warming and is ranked at 135thposition in carbon dioxide emis-sions. The Minister for Scienceand Technology ensured theparticipants that the govern-ment will take all necessarysteps to implement the mea-sures which will be suggestedby the experts during the con-ference.

Secretary Ministry of Sci-ence and Technology KamranAli Qureshi in his address,stated that the annual rate ofdeforestation in Pakistanranges from 4-6 percent whilecarbon dioxide emissions areincreasing annually at the rateof 8-10 percent which is analarming trend.

Int’l conference on ‘plants,people and climate’

14 schools getnotice for lackof cleanliness

STAFF REPORTER

RAWA L P I N D I —ExecutiveDistrict Officer(EDO) Educa-tion Qazi Zahoor ul HaqThursday issued notices toheads of 14 governmentschools over lack of cleanli-ness arrangements as denguethreat is looming in the cityand had taken several lives.

Talking to APP, he saidthat no leniency would beshown and strict actionwould be taken against thosewho fail in keeping the edu-cational institutions clean.The EDO inspected schoolsand found three boys highschools, four girls highschools, two governmentboys elementary schools anda government girls elemen-tary school and two boys andgirls primary schools litteredand likely to breed denguelarva.

The official suspendedtwo Physical Training In-structors (PTI’s) of Govern-ment girls high schoolKhabayan-e-Sir Syed andGovernment girls schoolNew Katarian includingIncharge of Govt Girls highschool F-block SatteliteTown.—APP

Anwar Baigappointed

BISP chairmanSTAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Prime Minis-ter Nawaz Sharif on Thurs-day appointed former PPPSenator Anwar Baig as newchairman of Benazir IncomeSupport Program(BISP).

PM spokesman said thatPM approved appointmentof Anwar Baig as chairmanof BISP.

Former senator AnwarBaigh is a former PPP leaderwho after developing differ-ences with the party leader-ship joined the PML-N. Thepost was vacant since thegeneral elections in May,2013.

Sources said that afterassuming the post of chair-man, Anwar Baigh would di-rect to investigate alleged ir-regularities and corruptionduring the tenure of formerchairperson of BISP and PPPleader Farzana Raja.

Mobile services tobe suspended in

some areasRAWALPINDI—The mobileand wireless services will bekept suspended during reli-gious processions and onYoum-e-Ashur in differentareas of Rawalpindi.

According to reports, theprovincial and federal gov-ernments had sought sug-gestions from the Law En-forcement Agencies aboutthe suspension of mobile andwireless services during theholy month of Muharram-ul-Haram.

On the recommendationsof the LEAs, the communi-cation from those towers willbe blocked where big proces-sions will be taken out.—INP

Housing schemefor govt employees

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Federal Gov-ernment Employees HousingFoundation (FGEHF) hasproposed a housing schemein sector F-14 to facilitate thelow-income federal govern-ment employees and barmembers.

Details said, foundationhas also planned to build theflats for government employ-ees in sector I-12 and I-16.

Sources said, Capital De-velopment Authority (CDA)has signaled positive for theapproval of scheme and willalso issue the No ObjectionCertificate (NOC) in this re-gard soon. Housing founda-tion has also pleaded to CDAto allocate the sector F-14only for government employ-ees and bar members.

Committees fordengue elimination

constitutedCITY REPORTER

RAWALPINDI—District Ad-ministration (Distt Admin)has constituted the ClusterManagement Committeescomprising public represen-tatives to take immediate ac-tion against dengue. Detailssaid, following the orders ofprovincial government, com-mittees have been consti-tuted to launch immediateaction of Anti Dengue Emer-gency Campus, establishedin Rawal town which is mosteffected area of dengue vi-rus.

As per circular issued byDistrict Coordinating Officer(DCO), Pervez Khan hasbeen nominated for the campNo 1 union councils 5,6 and7.

Zed-un-Nisa, TehseenFarooq and Dr. Jamal Nasirhave been appointed onunion councils No 8,9 and 10respectively. Malik ShkeelAwan, Malik Ghulam Razaand Umer Farooq have beennominated on union councilsof 11, 12 and 13.

Similarly remaining 3union councils have beenalso given under the super-vision other public represen-tatives. All public represen-tatives will be responsible toescalate anti dengue cam-paign in their in their respec-tive union council.

Police arrest eightoutlaws, recover

drugs, armsRAWALPINDI—Rawalpindipolice on Thursday arrestedeight outlaws and recovereddrugs, weapons, liquor ofbottles from their posses-sion. According to policespokesman, Waris Khan po-lice arrested Owais Khan andrecovered 650 gram charasfrom his possession whileSadiqabad police arrestedShabir Ahmed and recovered200 gram heroin from him.

The same police nabbedAshfaq and recovered 800gram heroin from his posses-sion. In a crackdown,Sadiqabad police arrestedTahir Jaffari and recovered 300bottles of liquor. Naseerabadpolice arrested Noor Elahi andrecovered a repeater with 12round from his possession.Cantt police arrested UsmanKhan and recovered a mobilephone from his pocket. Policeregistered separate casesagainst all of them and startedinvestigation.—APP

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Girls studentsand their parents havevoiced strong protestagainst the appointment ofmale teachers in Girls Col-leges of Islamabad.

Process of Appointmentof male teachers has againbeen started under the direc-tives of Dr Shahnaz A Riaz ofFederal Directorate of Educa-tion (FDE) in Girls colleges

at federal capital.Sources said that FDE

has issued orders for ap-pointment of professor ofzoology Salim Ullah in GirlsCollege G-10/4 Islamabad.He is presently working asprofessor of zoology inIslamabad Model PostGraduate College H-8 andhas been appointed ontemporary basis in place ofprofessor Nahid Kausarwho is going to be retried

soon from Girls College G-10/4 .

Earlier FDE had issuedorders for appointment of 3male professors fromIslamabad Model PostGraduate College H-8Islamabad including NadimGhalib of Psychology,Shamoon , professor ofArabic and Iqrar Habib ofBotany department in GirlsCollege F-7/2 Islamabad ontemporary basis.

Appointment of maleteachers in Girls’ Colleges

Prof. Riazuddin’sservices eulogized

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Dr. IshfaqAhmad, Chairman Board ofGovernors NCP said that thedeath of Prof. Riazuddin is anirreparable loss for the scien-tific community of Pakistan. Hesaid that the late Prof. Riazuddinplayed a pivotal role in estab-lishment of National Centre forPhysics (NCP). He was speak-ing at a memorial reference or-ganized by NCP in the memoryof late Prof. Riazuddin, DirectorGeneral Emeritus of NCP.

At the occasion DG NCP,Dr. Hamid Saleem in his open-ing remarks said that thevacuum created by the deathof Prof. Riazuddin cannot befilled till decades. His untiringcontributions and efforts forthe establishment of NCP can-not be forgotten. . He devotedhis day and night to flourishthis centre. His globally recog-nized scientific work and devo-tion brought international fameto NCP. The memorial referencewas attended by a large num-ber of scientists from differentR & D organizations like Paki-stan Atomic Energy Commis-sion, NUST, GIKI, QAU andother notables of the scientificcommunity including students.

Chairmen of StandingCommittees elected

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Chairmen of Na-tional Standing Committees ofHousing & Constructions(H&C) and National Food Se-curity have been elected inNational Assembly (NA). De-tails said, Members NationalAssembly (MNA) Haji AkramAnsari has been elected aschairman standing committeefor (H&C) while MNA MalikShakir Bashir as Standing Com-mittee chairman of NationalFood Security. In the meetingof standing committee for H&C,member APNIC IqbalMohammad Ali proposed thename of Haji Akram Ansari asthe chairman, while NawabMazhar Ali endorsed the can-didate and after that memberselected him.

While in the meeting ofstanding Committee for FoodSecurity PTI member ShahMehmood Qureshi proposedthe name of Malik ShakirBashir as the committee chair-man and member PPP AbdulSattar endorsed it. Separatesessions were held for theelection of both candidatesunder the chair of special sec-retary Syed Munawar Abbas.

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—The Interna-tional Islamic UniversityIslamabad (IIUI) and Na-tional University of ModernLanguages (NUML) havesigned an MoU of mutualcooperation in the field ofacademic and advance re-search under which both in-stitutions would launch edu-cational projects to learn fromexperiences of each other.

Both the institutionshave agreed to set up a road

map of mutual cooperation ina month back meeting of theirheads, under which theaforesaid MoU was signedhere at IIUI on the occasionof the visit of a eight-mem-ber delegation from NUMLheaded by its Rector Maj.Gen(R) Masood Hassan,which was warmly welcomedby President IIUI Dr. AhmedYousif Al Draiweesh, Direc-tor General (AF&P) GulzarAhmed Khwaja and Deansand Directors of the univer-sity.

Speaking in the MoU sign-ing ceremony, Maj. Gen(R)Masood Hassan said wewould have to learn from theexperiences of the developednations, we should confessthat we did not give enoughto our youth, now; it’s thetime to do something con-structive and useful for them,let’s be together. “NUMLwants extended cooperationwith all Islamic countries be-cause strengthening our edu-cational side would be a solu-tion to our problems “he said.

IIUI, NUML signMoU on cooperation

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Pakistan To-bacco Company (PTC)launched Thursday a book“Fields of Fortunes” here,which consists of narrationof 10 successful tobaccofarmers. Minister of State forCommerce and Privatization,Engineer Khurrum Dastgirwas the chief guest on theoccasion.

While addressing thebook launching ceremony,

PTC launches book‘Fields of Fortunes’

Khurrum Dastgir said thatfarmers are asset of the coun-try and they should be givenrecognition in response totheir hard work.

He said that the countryis passing through differentcrisis like energy, terrorismand water but despite allthese challenges, the coun-try has high potential to de-velop.

Director of PTC, ShahManzoor said on the occasionthat Fields of Fortune is a nar-

ration of 10 dedicated and spir-ited tobacco farmers from allover the country who withtheir unflinching resolve andfirm conviction not only turnedtheir personal dreams into re-alities, but also continue to bebeacons of hope for the com-munities around them. He saidPakistan is the 7th largest to-bacco producer in the worldwhich is producing over 100million kilogram annually outof which 10 million of tobaccois being exported abroad.

GIORGIANA VIOLANTE

THIS is the first time inweeks I have had access to the internet. I

have not been allowed to re-ceive or send text messagesfor three months. Just like allKashmiris my telephone hasbeen barred from such con-tact. The local news chan-nels have been banned. In-dia controls everythinghere. And then kills it. Thesituation is horrific. Overthese months of food ra-tioning and persistent cur-few whereby all is closedand the streets totally de-serted in utter silence, sud-denly a protest arises andthen spreads throughoutthe whole city in a surge of

frustrated and famished riot-ers shouting ‘AZADI AZADIAZADI’ (free-dom) until itdissipates suddenly into acacophony of gunshots andclouds of teargas.

I observe all this going onat a safe remove of only onemetre by a big thick brick wallinterrupted by the MevlanaRumi gate to Kashmir Univer-sity, where I am residing. I seethrough the iron bars hordesupon hordes of protestersbeing shot at ran-domly, andI stand there repellently inca-pable of doing anything. Anendless cycle of silence andviolence. The Indian armyown total control and freedomto shoot at will, to shoot tokill, anyone whom theychoose to. Last week a seven-

year-old child was beaten todeath. You cannot acciden-tally beat a seven-year-old todeath. It is not like a bulletthat goes astray. I cannot seehow a stone thrown by aseven-year-old child can dosufficient damage to any manto war-rant his being beatento death. Children in this partof the world are tiny. A seven-year-old is the size of a three-year-old westerner. So whatkind of person beats a tinychild to death when his stonethrow must carry so little forcethat it barely deserves ashrug? This is such a com-mon occurrence here.

The other day I left theuniversity grounds to visit aprofessor only one minuteaway. True there is curfew but

his house is in a private roadattached to the university soI thought I would risk it. WhenI returned a roofless sumovehicle full of ten Indian armythugs laughing and shoutingcame charging through thestreet waving their batons andguns. They headed for an oldman and tried to hit him andthen they knocked a four-year-old boy off his tricy-cle.For fun. He was only 50centimetres outside hishouse’s garden so that hardlycounts as disobeying the cur-few and yet they charged athim on purpose. Theyknocked him off the tricycleand then headed for me,which as a western woman Idid not expect.

I am living here within the

deserted universitygrounds, alone with the se-curity guards and a few ran-dom professors and clerks.The university was evacu-ated three months ago whenthe troubles commencedand the students andschool children all over thevalley have experienced, asthey always do, a great voidin their education.

The Indian army gundown eleven-year-old girlsbanging on the doors of phar-macists when it is clear thattheir disobedience of the cur-few is purely out of despera-tion. How can a full grownman gun down and kill aneleven-year-old girl bangingon a phar-macy door in anempty street? A woman

India’s brutalities have turned Kashmir into a living hellkneeling on the pavementcovering her face with herhands had her hands beatento a pulp and they had to beamputated. Two weeks ago,on a Friday, I heard the usualimpassioned pleads for free-dom hailing from HazratbalMosque, which is just out-side the univer-sity. For anhour the calls of ‘Azadi’ es-calated and escalated untilsuddenly I heard a spray ofgunshots. The shots contin-ued sporadically over thenext hour. I later found outthat the mosque was raidedby the army and people werebeaten severely. Some died,of course.

The Indian army have theright and the freedom to be-have like this, invading

places of worship sim-ply be-cause of impassioned calls forfreedom by a people who arebeing totally crushed andobliter-ated. This sort of thinghappens every day. Totalabuse of power by the occu-pying forces. But the peopleof Kashmir have no right toretaliate. Nor the freedom toeven leave their homes. I can-not bear my complete and ut-ter uselessness in this situa-tion. As a rich westerner evenI cannot get food. The otherday myself and seven boysshared two carrots betweenus and a handful of rice.

So how can theseKashmiris be managing whenthey have not been able toopen their businesses forthree months? How can they

even have the money to af-ford food, even if there WASfood to be had from some-where? You risk your life inorder to get food. How canyou get food without leav-ing home? Yesterday ayoung boy working as a clerkin the university showed mehis mauled arms and the gashin his thigh. His arms wereblack and purple withcrusted blood from last week.His legs were ob-scene.Flesh made hell.

‘I went to get medicine’he said, ‘and the army caughtme’. I smiled and said, ‘Ohyou people are always get-ting caught on the way to getmedicine. Rubbish it wasmedicine. You went to getbiscuits.’

JAPAN: Former Prime Minister of AJK barrister Sultan Mehmood Choudhry meeting with Japanese Parliamentar-ian Atsushi Oshima.

MUZAFFARABAD: AJK Inspector General Jails briefing minister Jails, Jaan HussainSargala about jails matters.

ISLAMABAD—Chairman ofAll Parties Hurriyet Confer-ence Mirwaiz Umar Farooqhas said that said that elec-tion is a non-issue for theKashmiris and their focus ison the resolution of the Kash-mir dispute.

Addressing the seminar“Jammu Martyrs-Torch Bear-ers of Freedom,” at partyheadquarters in Srinagar,without naming puppet ChiefMinister Omar Abdullah,Mirwaiz said some people tryto befool people and issue

Concern at plight of Kashmiri political detainees

India, Pakistan should addressKashmir as core issue: Mirwaiz

contradictory statement onthe Kashmir dispute.

“Kashmir is an issue andboth Pakistan and India shouldcreate a congenial atmosphereto resolve this long-pendingissue,” he said, urging thecountries to include Kashmiripeople in the dialogue pro-cess. “Both India and Paki-stan should understand thatKashmir is the core issue be-tween them. It is high time forthem to resolve this core is-sue and maintain amicablerelationship,” he said.

“Those days are over whenissues were settled throughwars,” added.

Terming 2014 as a crucialyear, Mirwaiz said, “We wanta solution to the Kashmir is-sue. We want a solution thattakes into account the viewsand aspirations of the peopleof Jammu and Kashmir. Thetime has come for India andPakistan to make a new be-ginning and formulate a wayto resolve the crisis in Kash-mir in a friendly and amicablemanner, keeping in mind the

wishes and hopes of thepeople.”

The Mirwaiz saidKashmiris have a long his-tory of fighting withMughals,Pathans, Dogras,Sikhs and now Indian impe-rialists for their rights.

The seminar was con-vened by APHC Chairmanand was attended by digni-taries from all the walks of life.He noted that peace wouldnever return to the region tillKashmir issue is not perma-nently resolved.—APP

BRUSSELS—A week-longprogramme on Kashmirwould be organised by Inter-national Council for HumanDevelopment (ICHD) andKashmir Council EU at Euro-pean Parliament building herefrom Monday (Nov 11).

The programme ‘Kash-mir EU Week’ would con-tain a seminar, video cast-ing of a documentary anda photos and handicraft ex-hibition on Kashmir.

Member EU parliamentSajjad Karim would be hostof the programme which isbeing organised by Inter-national Council for Hu-man Development (ICHD)with the collaboration ofother organisations includ-ing Kashmir Council EUand World Kashmir

‘Kashmir-EU Week’ tobe held at EU parliament

Diaspora Alliance at the EUparliament.

Chairman of the Coun-cil Ali Raza Syed who is co-ordinator of theprogramme said, creatingawareness about the largescale human rights viola-tions in Indian Held Kash-mir (IHK) is main objectiveof the programme.

A number of intellectu-als, experts and parliamen-tarians would at tend theopening ceremony of theprogramme. ChairmanKashmir Council EU Chair-man said that the people ofKashmir have offeredmatchless sacrifices for theresolution of Kashmir dis-pute and the use of bruteforce and arrests cannotstop them from continuing

the struggle to achieve theinalienable right to self-de-termination. He said “weare struggling to find outthe ways of peace andprosperi ty in the SouthAsia because peace is nec-essary for the social devel-opment of people of the re-gion.”

He said, “we appeal tointernational communityspecially EU to play theireffective role for peacefulresolution of Kashmir dis-pute, so that the issue tobe settled according to thewishes of the Kashmiris.”He said, Kashmiris are apeaceful nation and all theindependence nations andstates should help inpeaceful settlement of theKashmir dispute.—APP

MIRPUR—An integrated se-curity plan has been chalkedout by AJK police to main-tain peace and security dur-ing the sanctified month ofMuharram Ul Haram acrossAzad Jammu & Kashmir.

This was stated by In-spector General of Police(IGP) AJK Malik KhudaBuksh Awan while talking toa news conference.

The plan involve deploy-ment of additional policeforce and the para-military

Foolproof security plan devised toensure peace during Ashura: IGP

Rangers, Scouts and volun-teers in all major cities andtowns besides entry and exitpoints of AJK facing theneighboring Punjab and theKPK provinces.

He said that SOP (Stan-dard Operating Procedure)for ensuring the security ofthe sensitive key installa-tions across AJK has alsobeen devised.

Ahead of the forthcomingsanctified day of Ashura, the10th of Muharaam ul Haraam,

security has been intensifiedacross AJK to frustrate anyimpending attempt of subver-sion and terrorism, the AJKPolice chief added.

Awan said that 3500 po-lice personnel and Rangerswill be posted at over 80 ImamBargahs across AJK to main-tain peace and order duringthe scheduled 1181 number ofMajalisv to mark the sancti-fied month from 1st day to the10th of Muharram ul Haramthe Youm-e-Ashur.—APP

BERLIN—Pakistan’s Am-bassador to GermanyAbdul Basit on Thursdayurged the internationalcommunity, especially theWestern world to extendtheir moral and diplomaticsupport to the just causeof Kashmiri people andhelp resolve the long out-standing issue on theagenda of the United Na-t ions.

He was addressing thepart icipants of a seminarorganized in Berlin by theGerman Prussian Societyto highlight the humanrights violations in the In-dian-held Kashmir.

“We are living in an ageof democracy and freedombut around 13 mill ionKashmiris are still deprivedof their basic right to self-

Seminar in Berlin highlights HRviolations in Indian held Kashmir

determination and are be-ing subjected to tyrannyand brutal acts of humanrights violat ions by theoccupied forces”, the Am-bassador remarked.

Dr. Gunther Knobe, aveteran journalist and anexpert on Asia said the in-fluential countries shouldlook at the pl ight of thepeople of Jammu and Kash-mir beyond their economicinterests and help both In-dia and Pakistan in resolv-ing the dispute in the largerinterest of the world peaceand regional stability.

He said it was unfortu-nate that the UnitedNation’s Security Councilcould not implement i tsfirst ever resolution on thiskind of confl ict whereinboth the parties i .e India

and Pakistan agreed to fa-ci l i tate the holding of aPlebiscite.

The President of thePrussian Society, Mr VolkerTschapke in his welcomespeech thanked the partici-pants and said that grosshuman rights violations inthe Indian-held Kashmirneeded to be highlighted atevery available forum tillthe sanity prevails andpeople of Kashmir get theirbasic right of self determi-nation.

A documentary high-lighting the human rightsviolat ions by the IndianForces and struggle ofKashmiri people for theirfundamental right of self-determination was alsoscreened on this occa-sion.—APP

MIRPUR—Various parts ofAzad Jammu Kashmir in-cluding Mirpur Thursdayreceived first moderate toheavy rain of the winter be-sides the snow fall at theupper reaches of the liber-ated territory.

According to Met officeforcast weather turned pleas-ant instantly as various partsof Mirpur includingMuzaffarabad, Kotli,Bhimbher, Rawalakot andother areas.

The rainfall chilled theweather while people wentinto the heavy clothingfirst ever since the winterseason started.

As the Met Departmenthas predicted the rainfall inplains and snowfall at topmountainous areas of the

AJK receives first winterrain & snowfall

AJK during next 24 hours.It was also reported from In-dian Held Kashmir that fa-mous health and ski-resortof Gulmarg received freshsnowfall today even as theminimum temperature inother parts of the KashmirValley remained several de-grees above the freezingpoint.Gulmarg received afresh snowfall this morning.

The resort registered aminimum temperature of mi-nus 0.7 degrees Celsius ascompared to the previousnight’s 1.2 degrees Celsius,a MeT Department officialsaid.

The south Kashmirtourist and health resort ofPahalgam recorded a tem-perature of 2.8 degrees Cel-sius and received a rainfall

of 11.6 mm, the official said.The mercury in

Srinagar settled at a tem-perature of 6.7 degrees Cel-sius, over three notchesabove the normal duringthis part of the season, hesaid, adding the summercapital of the state receiveda rainfall of 3.1 mm.

The official said rain alsolashed other parts of the Val-ley following which the mer-cury remained several de-grees above the freezingpoint. Kargil, in Ladakh re-gion, was the coldest re-corded place with a minimumtemperature of minus 2.0 de-grees Celsius, while the mer-cury settled at a low of mi-nus 1.5 degrees Celsius inthe nearby Leh town, hesaid.—APP

Prominent Saudilaunches group to

help victims ofKashmir violenceISLAMABAD—Abdullah AliSabiq, a prominent Saudi ac-tivist and researcher, has an-nounced the launch ofMakkah’s Sons, an organiza-tion established in solidaritywith the Kashmiri people andtheir cause.

The announcement wasmade in Jeddah during a semi-nar held at the residence ofPakistan’s Consul GeneralAftab Khokher in commemo-ration of Kashmir Black Day,Arab News reportd Wednes-day.

Addressing attendees,Sabiq said, “We are aware ofthe brutal crimes committedin Held Kashmir and the po-litical developments takingplace therein.”

The activist explainedthat the organization wouldseek to provide humanitarianassistance to victims of vio-lence in Held Kashmir.

The function was at-tended by a number of digni-taries, Farah Sadiya, aKashmiri youth representa-tive, and GhulamMuhammad Safi, a represen-tative of Kashmiri people, aswell as members of theKashmiri and Pakistani com-munities in Jeddah.

Khokher said that the aimof the gathering is to updatethe people on the current situ-ation and enhance under-standing and knowledge ofthe issue.

“On the occasion ofKashmir Black Day, we callon the international commu-nity to paly active role to endthe violations and resolvethe Jammu and Kashmir dis-pute in accordance with UNSecurity Resolutions and theaspirations of the Kashmiripeople,” he said.

Safi highlighted theplight of Kashmiri people,indicating that they havebeen victims of the interna-tional community’s negli-gence.

Safi explained the threedimensions involved in theKashmiri issue, categorizingthem as human rights viola-tions, tensions between twostates and ignorance regard-ing the self-determination ofKashmiri people.

Farah Sadiya, an actressand television anchor atPTV and representative ofKashmiri youth, discussedthe traumatic turn of eventsin Held Kashmir, pointingout that more than 100,000Kashmiris have been killedto date and 121,978 ar-rested.—APP

Kashmir hasnever been part of

India: JKLF-RISLAMABAD—Chairman ofJammu and Kashmir Libera-tion Front-R (JKLF-R),Farooq Ahmad Dar, con-demning the recent state-ment of puppet Chief Minis-ter, Omar Abdullah has saidthat Kashmir has never beenpart of India.

Farooq Ahmad Dar in astatement issued in Srinagarsaid that the contradictorystatements of Omar Abdullahwere proof of his instabilityof thoughts and perceptions.

“Recently during a pub-lic rally in Gandarbal, he(Omar) had said that thearmed struggle in Kashmirwas a movement for a politi-cal resolution of Kashmir dis-pute, he added.—APP

Solidarity marchheld in AJK

KOTLI—Hundreds of peopletook out a march in Azad Kash-mir to memorise 1947 martyrsof Jammu and to express soli-darity with the victims of In-dian firing along the Line ofControl in AJK.

One hundred and fiftykilometre long march washeld from Khoi Ratta in Kotlito Hajeera in Poonch along-side the Line of Control. Themarch was led by Jammu andKashmir Liberation FrontAJK chapter leader, RafiqAhmad.

On the occasion, the par-ticipants called upon the inter-national community to impressupon India to grant the peopleof Kashmir their inalienableright to self-determination.

They expressed seriousconcern over the stepped-upIndian state terrorism in oc-cupied Kashmir and unpro-voked firing on Line of Con-trol by Indian forces and saidthat India through use ofbrute tactics would not beable to suppress theKashmiris’ just struggle forfreedom.—KMS

Shabbir: Religious harmonygood omen for Kashmir cause

SRINAGAR—Terming the cor-dial harmony between twomajor sects of Muslims Shiaand Sunni in the territory as agood omen for the freedommovement, senior APHCleader and Chairman Demo-cratic Freedom Party (DFP)Shabbir Ahmad Shah has ex-pressed hope that both the

communities will honour eachother’s sentiments in this sa-cred month of Muharram-ul-Haraam.

Shabbir Ahmad Shah in astatement issued in Srinagarurged the both communities tojointly register protest againstthe tyranny and oppression ofIndia in the territory.

He said when theKashmiris will rise against theoccupation rulers, united andas a single force the freedomwill start knocking at their door.He said that the ban on 8-10thMuharram processions wasaimed at preventing unity ofMuslims against the tyrant andforcible rule.—KMS

2 CRPF menkilled in

AwantiporaPULWAMA—Two Indian Cen-tral Reserve Police Force(CRPF) personnel were killedon Thursday evening whil-ing patrolling at Jawbara areaof Awantipora in this SouthKashmir’s district ofPulwama.

A senior police officialwhile talking to sources saidthat gunmen at around 5:25p.m Thursday eveningopened heavy fire uponCRPF’s patrolling party of130 bn near Victor Force armycamp at Jobrara area ofAwanipora.—Agencies

RAWALPINDI: AJK Minister for Food Javed Budhanvi expressing his views in the ofoffice Islamic Relief.

Remember that anybuzzword, no matterhow clever or attrac-tive, must eventually

run through thatunpredictable filterknown as people. A

management conceptis meaningless withouta shrewd understand-

ing of people.

— Mark H McCormack

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—With the en-ergy crisis that is severely af-fecting the country, EngroCorporation subsidiaryElengy Terminal PakistanLimited (ETPL) has bid forthe fast track LNG contractto import up to 3MTPA ofLNG or 400MMSCFD ofRLNG (Natural Gas) for thenext fifteen years.

Over the last 7 years,Engro’s investments in Paki-stan have exceeded the USD1.8 Billion mark with theCompany continuing to makestrategic investments in sec-tors that can help avert thelooming energy crisis. TheLNG issue – one of the mostcontroversial issues in

Engro offers most competitive price to import LNG on fast track basisPakistan’s energy space - hasbeen delayed several times,much to the detriment of theprogress of the country, wherethe energy deficit has increasedalarmingly, consequently limit-ing economic growth and powersupply to the nation. Gas short-age is estimated to be between1.5bcfd to 2bcfd and two tendersfor LNG import - that couldhave helped the aggravating en-ergy sector - have already beenscrapped this year.

Unfortunately, there is in-correct and misleading informa-tion in certain sections of themedia with regards to the bid-ding process and the award ofthe tender. As a background,ISGS had issued a tender onAugust 15 for the developmentof LNG Import Infrastructure on

a fast track basis. On October14, only two bidders had sub-mitted their techno-commercialproposal in a single stage twoenvelope process, which sawETPL gaining a technical scoreabove the threshold limit as pervetting of their technical pro-posal by a third party interna-tional consultant, QED (It ispertinent to mention that QEDin previous LNG rounds was ap-proved by our competitors whocited no objection.) The otherbidder PGPL (Pakistan GasPortLimited) has been disqualifiedas their technical proposal didnot meet the requirements of theRFP.

Subsequently, the price pro-posal of the technically qualifiedbidder was opened on Wednes-day in Islamabad, which in this

case is only ETPL. After its dis-qualification, PGPL, is now is-suing complaints against QED,although they had approved ofthem previously.

The ETPL tolling price forimporting LNG is less than$0.70 (usd) per mmbtu which isan extremely low price relativeto international benchmarks,and much lower than the thesubmitted price of US$2.5 permmbtu by TIP and PGPL con-sultant Mr. Munawer Baseer. InIndonesia tolling price is $1.8per mmbtu for handling LNG ata floating terminal and $1.2 permmbtu for a land terminal. Av-erage tolling price (based on2010) in North America was $0.73 per mmbtu, $0.87 in China,$0.81 in Europe, $0.89 in SouthKorea and Japan and $ 0.72 in

the Middle East. This cross sec-tion analysis shows that ETPL’sprice is extremely competitiveand reflects ETPL’s focus onensuring affordable LNG to thenation.

It is important to empha-size, that EPTL’s bid is fullycompliant with the RFP. In thepress, incorrect information hasbeen shared by vested interestswith certain sections of themedia, highlighting that ChinaHarbour Engineering Co. Ltd.(CHEC) was blacklisted byWorld Bank. This, however, isnot true and the objection is notrelevant. The company in focus- China Harbour EngineeringCo. Ltd. (CHEC) – has neverbeen blacklisted by WorldBank. Infact one of its sistercompanies, China Road and

Bridge Corporation, was de-barred by World Bank for “roadand bridge contracts” for theduration of January 2009 toJanuary 2017 (Refer to WorldBank website) but not CHEC.In the LNG project, CHEC isassociated with ETPL as anEPC contractor only to partici-pate in the Fast Track LNGproject at Port Qasim, which isa marine terminal and does notfall in the category of “road andbridge” contracts. Moreover, itis pertinent to mention that theSection 33 of ISGS LSA high-lighted in media refers to com-panies that are the bidderswhilst CHEC is not the bidderin this case but rather a jointventure partner or part of theconsortium of ETPL. TheWorld Bank sanction is there-

fore not applicable in this casenor is the project financed byWorld Bank. It is also impor-tant to note that, CHEC made aJoint Venture with PakistanGasPort Limited (PGPL) toparticipate in the tender of In-tegrated LNG Terminal projectand again qualified without anyobjection

Furthermore it is importantto highlight that Engro takeshealth, safety and environmentas an important core value in allour business transactions. Ac-cusations have been made thatETPL’s site is not conducive toimporting LNG. However, aquantitative risk assessment wasconducted by Lloyd’s RegisterUK which reviewed hazardidentification, navigationalsimulations and dispersion mod-

eling in 2011. It has not onlyapproved the site in terms ofLNG operations and safety, butcites certain operational advan-tages of it. Moreover ETPL iscommitted to comply to allsafety regulations in PQA andhave agreed to third party ven-dor assessment.

Lastly, Engro Corpora-tion will vehemently defendits position from false accu-sations from third parties andcompetitors who aim to ma-lign our reputation and cre-ate confusion in the publicdomain. As a Pakistani mul-tinational our commitment istowards making Pakistan anenergy sufficient country byreligiously following thehighest international ethicalpractices.

WFP contributes kits to PASSCOto cover 58,000 tonnes wheat

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—The United NationsWorld Food Programme (WFP)has provided 165 High DensityPolyethylene Stack Packages(known as Gunji kits) worthPKR 14.7 million and enablingstorage of 58,000 metric tons ofwheat to Pakistan AgriculturalStorage and Services Corpora-tion (PASSCO) in a joint effortto reduce post-harvest losses.Previously, WFP supplied 500kits along with 10 wheat clean-ing/grading machines toPASSCO in 2012.

During a ceremony orga-nized at PASSCO headquartersin Lahore today, WFP Represen-tative and Country Director,Lola Castro, handed over thesekits to the Acting Managing Di-rector, Lt. Col. (Retd.)Muhammad Younis. WFPPunjab’s Chief of ProvincialOffice, Shahzada Rashid, andsenior PASSCO General Man-agers and officials were alsopresent on the occasion.

According to recent nationalstudies, post-harvest losses inPakistan are estimated at 10 to15 percent. About 78 percent ofwheat is stacked in the open andthe organization has started togradually improve its storagecapacity in order to protect thewheat.

“The contribution of kitsover the past two years is partof WFP’s co-investment withthe Government of Pakistan inachieving enhanced and effec-tive storage of wheat in order toreduce post-harvest losses dueto spoilage and infestation andto obtain improved shelf-life andquality of stored wheat. Thisinitiative has the added benefitof improving food security inPakistan by increasing theamount and quality of wheatavailable for consumption by thepopulation” said Lola Castro.

“The kits provided by WFPwill enhance protection of wheatstacked in areas where PASSCOdoes not have any concretegodowns. Since tarpaulins we

used to cover the grain with areno longer resistant to climaticconditions, these Gunji kitscome in very useful and will lastfor at least two years. We arevery pleased to acknowledge thesupport provided by WFP whichwill enable PASSCO to furtherimprove its wheat storage capac-ity and the quality of wheat”,said Lt. Col. Retd. MuhammadYounis, Managing Director,PASSCO.

WFP works in close col-laboration with the Governmentof Pakistan and aligns its strate-gies with national priorities ad-dressing food security and nu-trition in the country. WFP’sprogramme of work aiming toassist 8.3 million people be-tween 2013 and 2015 at a totalcost of US$535 million seeks,amongst others, to improve eco-nomic opportunities and pro-mote social inclusion in FATA,boost community resilience indisaster-prone areas, and ad-dress nutrition and education inthe country.

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid KhaqanAbbasi in a meeting with Ambassador of Netherlands, Marcel de Vink.

WASHINGTON: Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Prof Ahsan Iqbal addressing the Council onPakistan Relations.

AMANULLAH KHAN

KARACHI—The leaders ofTrade and Industry have rejectedthe revival of Octroi Cess bydescribing it as a sort of extor-tion from the already over bur-dened business community.

President of the KarachiChamber of Commerce and In-dustry (KCCI), A. AbdullahZaki warned the governmentthat any consideration to reviveOctroi will be opposed/agitatedby the Business & IndustrialCommunity and all the seg-ments of the society as it willopen the gates of corruption andcreate hindrances in the smoothflow of goods all over the coun-try raising cost of doing businessand will hurt the economy.

Referring to a news itemappearing in a section of presstitled ‘Government consideringrevival of Octroi to support Lo-cal Bodies’, A. Abdullah Zakisaid that the business commu-nity has already been raisingvoice against high cost of doingbusiness and this imposition ofOctroi will have a devastatingimpact on every industrialist ofthe country.

Trade, industry rejects revivalof Octroi Cess to support LBs

According to the report, thefederal government is consider-ing a proposal to revive the Oc-troi duty with a view to boostrevenue of the local bodieswhich are facing financialcrunch due to its abolition. Inthis regard, the Ministry of Fi-nance has prepared a proposalto evaluate the revival of ‘Oc-troi/Zilla Tax’ to help local bod-ies and municipalities in gettingsufficient funds for overcomingtheir expenses.

Terming it yet another‘Bhatta’ by the government,Abdullah pointed out that thiswill only promote corruption inthe country and the governmentwill hardly be able to earn 10percent of the envisaged revenuethrough this Octroi whereas theremaining 90 percent will endup in the pockets of corrupt of-ficers.

Commenting ongovernment’s excuse of utiliz-ing these funds to support Lo-cal Bodies, President KCCIsaid that the business commu-nity is already paying heavytaxes and Karachi city solelycontributes a massive chunk ofmore than 68 percent to the na-

tional exchequer yet the gov-ernment was unable to ensurefunds for local bodies and it isreally shocking to note that con-sideration is being given to re-vive Octroi, which means thatthe government wants to goback to stone age taxes system.

President KCCI urged allmembers of the business com-munity and various trade asso-ciations across Pakistan to joinhand against this unjust Octroiwhich will intensify the hard-ships of all businesses regard-less of their sizes.

Abdullah warned that thegovernment must not reviveOctroi, otherwise the BusinessCommunity will not tolerate andhave no option but to protest andagitate in whatever form pos-sible.

The Octroi charges underconsideration are levy of Octroibased on the value, weight andlength of imports by road (mu-nicipal Octroi posts) and by sea(docks wharves). It is pertinentto mention here that Octroi/Zillatax was abolished by the lastPML-N government in late 90sand was replaced by federalgrants to the local bodies.

AMANULLAH KHAN

KARACHI—Indus motor Com-pany and Pakistan InnovationFoundation (PIF) have joinedhand to launch national innova-tion grand challenge aimed atmotivating every one having anyidea in build up socio economicuplift of the country.

In fact such kind of innova-tive endeavors to motivatepeople to do something for thecountry is the need of the timeand the credit certainly goes tothe private sector for taking theinitiative,

While introducing thecompletition Saad Amanullah,chairman of PIF who is also theCEO OF GILLETTE Pakistansaid that a year long open invi-tation competition aimed at en-couraging Pakistani innovators,youth, students, professionals,entrepreneurs and citizens to in-novate to solve Pakistan devel-opment challenge in four mainareas including agriculture, en-ergy, sanitation and manufactur-ing.

The award is worthRs1000,000 for the best innova-

National innovationgrand challenge

tion and will be judged by a jurybased on specific criteria. thechallenge invites creative mindsfrom all over Pakistan to comeup with unique and innovativeideas in two critical domains. thefirst challenge is to develop areplicable scalable and market-able product for process thatenhances productivity, reducesenergy consumption or reducesindustrial waste by at least 33percent.

The second challenge is todevelop an innovative product,services or tool that comple-ments or enhances the utility ofmanufactured products and hasa compelling market potentialand cost performance profile forrapid commercialisation in Pa-kistan. Others who also spokeon the occasion include faisalMuneeb Khan senior generalmanager hr IMC, and DR. AtharOsama founder chief executivePakistan Innovation Foundation.

This program is sponsoredby indus motors and the pif isendeavouring to motivate corpo-rate sector to come out and sup-port such program for the causeof the country.

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—The Competi-tion Commission of Pakistan(CCP) has concluded an enquiryand issued a show cause noticeto Shangrila (Pvt.) Limited forindulging into alleged deceptivemarketing practices by makinga claim of being ‘No. 1 tomatoketchup in Pakistan’.

CCP received a complaintfrom National Foods Limitedalleging that Shangrila has re-cently launched a marketingcampaign through print and out-door advertising media allacross Pakistan for ‘ShangrilaKetchup’ and claimed that theirketchup is ‘No 1 in Pakistan’.

It was also alleged in thecomplaint that the claim ofShangrila is prominently dis-played on all of its advertise-ments and lacks a reasonablebasis, related to character, suit-ability for use, or quality ofgoods in violation of Section 10of the Competition Act, and theMarketing campaign is capableof harming the business interestof National Foods.

CCP’s Office of Fair Trade(OFT) has initiated an enquiryagainst the claim made byShangrila and concluded that the

CCP initiates actionagainst food firm

overall net impression of themarketing campaign/advertise-ment is that ‘Shangrilla isPakistan’s No. 1 TomatoKetchup’, whereas the actualmarket share of National Foodswas higher than Shangrila. Na-tional foods holds a major sharein the Total Urban Pakistan inthe category of Ketchup. It hasa market volume share of 49.2and value share of 50.8 whereasShangrila ketchup has the mar-ket volume share of 20.7 andvalue share of 20.1 at the timeof marketing campaign.

It was also noted thatShangrila has made Brand ofthe Year Award the basis to au-thenticate its claim of beingNo.1 in Pakistan. However,upon enquiry, Brands Founda-tion has clarified that theiraward never empower the re-ceiver to make a claim of be-ing No.1 in Pakistan.

The CCP enquiry con-cluded that the claim ofShangrilla not only lacks a rea-sonable basis regarding char-acter, suitability for use, orquality of goods but is alsocapable of harming the busi-ness interest of National Foodsin violation of Section 10 ofthe Competition Act.

NBP counter setup in E&Tbuilding

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—A specialcounter of the National Bank ofPakistan (NBP) has been set upin the building of Excise andTaxation office here to providenecessary banking facilities tothe citizens under one roof.

Earlier, the motorists andtransporters had to go to NBPbranches away from the E&Toffice to submit fees for vehicleregistration, transfer, numberplate fee and token tax.

The residents have appreci-ated this step of the E&T depart-ment and the NBP terming itpeople friendly.

Oil sales up6.67pc on

yearly basisSTAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Domestic con-sumption of oil and petroleumproducts clocked in at 1.6 mil-lion tonnes in October 2013,representing 6.67 percent yearlyincrease against 1.5 milliontonnes in the same month of2012.

On monthly basis, overalloil demand declined by 3.0 per-cent given a shorter workingmonth due to festive holidays.Meanwhile, in four months offiscal year 2013-14 (FY14) pe-troleum products sales went upby 10 percent on yearly basis to7.1 million tonnes as comparedto 6.6 million tonnes in the cor-responding period of FY13.

The growth in demand wasled by 18 percent yearly higherfurnace oil (FO) offtake on theback of higher power generationand 5.0 percent higher motorgasoline (Mogas) sales amidhigher Compressed Natural Gas(CNG) stations closures due togas load shedding.

The same more than offsetthe 4.0 percent yearly decline inhigh speed diesel (HSD) de-mand. Overall demand declinedby 3.0 percent on monthly basis(led by 6 percent monthly dropin HSD sales) owing to festiveholidays in October 2013.

Pakistan State Oil (PSO)and Attock Petroleum Limited(APL) shared the spoils in Oc-tober 2013 sales print, withvolumetric sales growth up foreach by 11 percent on yearlybasis.

On monthly basis, sales forPSO and APL declined by 1.0

Continued on Page 14

Wapda gets17,000 acres for

Bhasha DamSTAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—The Pakistan Waterand Power Development Au-thority (WAPDA) ChairmanSyed Raghib Abbas Shah todayvisited Diamer Basha DamProject. He was accompaniedby the senior officers ofWAPDA and the project authori-ties.

Speaking on the occasion,the Chairman said that be-cause of the keen interesttaken by the Prime Ministerof Pakistan and the concertedefforts put in by the Ministryof Water and Power andWAPDA, about 17000 acresstate-owned land has beentransferred by the Govern-ment of Gilgit-Baltistan toWAPDA for Diamer BashaDam Project.

Terming it a significant de-velopment for implementationof the project, he thanked theMinistry of Kashmir Affairsand Gilgit-Baltistan (KAGB)as well as the Government ofGilgit-Baltistan for transfer-ring the state-owned land toWAPDA.

Pakistan is adelight for

foreign investorsSINGAPORE—In an extraordi-nary fast transforming global en-vironment, Pakistan being thelast major untapped market, is adelight for foreign investors. Thiswas stated by Syed Hasan Javed,High Commissioner for Pakistanin Singapore. He was addressinga Seminar on “Construction Op-portunities and Doing Businessin Pakistan”, jointly organized byBuilding and Construction Au-thority (BCA) of Singapore andPakistan High Commission hereon 07 November 2013. The eventwas attended by CEOs and rep-resentatives of at least eightycompanies, Real Estate develop-ers, Engineering, Logistics andInfrastructure firms fromSingapore, China, Pakistan andother countries.

Syed Hasan Javed stated thatas the world’s 6th largest populatedcountry, a growing middle class,talent pool, natural resource en-dowments, tourism landscape,maritime wealth, geographic loca-tion advantage, English languageskills, legal system, social capitaland soft power values of resilience,Pakistan is the best blessed andplaced country for the future. Pa-kistan has several Mega projectsin Infrastructures and Logistics inpipeline.

Fishing industry to bepromoted at int’l levelStaff ReporterRAWALPINDI—The Ministerfor Ports and ShippingSenator Kamran Michael hassaid that fishing industrywould be promted tointernational level as there isgreat scope for itsflourishment. The ministersaid, “we have various kindsof fish which differ in tasteand variety world over “adding it would bring bigrevenue as well. Talking tomediamen at a function heldhere late Wednesday evening,he said Netherlands hasshown interest in developingGwadar fish harbour, he saidan agreement would be signedwith Netherlands fordeveloping the fisheriessector. He highlighted theprojects his ministry isworking on including theMOU to be signed with SriLanka. He said that PML-Ngovernment is taking boldsteps for the promotion oftrade. He said the governmentwas planning to expand theexisting shipping fleet toenhance the economy. He saidthat traders would beprovided a conduciveenvironment to promote theirbusiness and this would createvast job opportunities. Healso announced to upgrade theexisting Marine Academy inKarachi into a full-fledgeduniversity to provide worldstandard training to officersand new entrants, besidesattracting foreign students aswell.

Shipping activityat PQKARACHI—Three shipscarrying containers, diesel oiland edible oil were berthed atQasim International Contain-ers Terminal, FOTCOTerminal and Liquid CargoTerminal on Wednesday.Meanwhile three more shipscarrying containers, gencargo and chemical alsoarrived at outer anchorage ofPort Qasim during last 24hours. Berth occupancy was45% at the port on Thursdaywhere total five ships namelyCGM Bellini, Visha Vikas,Cardinal, Al Soor II andMalhari are currentlyoccupying berths to load/offload containers, wheat,urea, diesel oil and edible oilrespectively during last 24hours. A cargo volume of94375 tonnes comprising82720 tonnes imports and11655 tonnes exportinclusive of containerizedcargo carried in 900 contain-ers (TEUs) was handled atthe port during last 24hours.—APP

Gold Tezab 47142.00Silver Tezabi 788.75

Gold Tezabi (24-Ct) 45430.00Gold 22 Ct 41540.00SilverTezabi 770.00Silver Thobi 710.00

USA 107.20 107.00

UK 172.43 172.10

EURO 144.95 144.67

Canada 102.86 102.67

Switzerland 117.63 117.41

Australia 101.58 101.39

Sweden 16.50 16.47

Japan 1.0872 1.0852

Norway 18.00 17.97

Singapore 86.34 86.18

Denmark 19.43 19.40

Omani Riyal 250.00 249.00

Saudi Arabia 28.58 28.53

Hong Kong 13.83 13.80

Kuwait 378.60 377.89

Malaysia 33.72 33.65

Newzeland 89.61 89.45

Qatar 28.44 29.39

UAE 29.19 29.13

KR WON 0.1011 0.1009

Thailand 3.428 3.422

Tomato becomesa luxury

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Tomato pricesin the wholesale and retailmarkets of the country in-cluding Karachi surged be-yond the buying power of 90percent of the consumers.

Regarded as one of theessential kitchen items ofdaily use, its rates had surgedto the level of Rs 150 to Rs160 per kilogramme (kg)with the start of this week butduring the last few days im-proved supply from Sindhinterior would help to bringdown its rates to Rs 110 toRs 120 per kg at retail levelwhile wholesale rates at Rs85 to Rs 90 per kg. Duringlast 15 days the commoditywas available in retail at Rs40-50/kg.

However despite declinein its price, the prevailingprices are still beyond thebuying capacity of large seg-ment of the population.

Some 15 days back,wholesale price of tomatowas ranging between Rs 20-25 per kg, which rose to Rs40-50 per kg last week buton Monday the wholesaleprice was ranging betweenRs 100-120 per kg depend-ing on the quality.

Retailers are fleecingconsumers by charginghigher prices for normalquality and size tomato asmany of them are demand-ing far higher rates comparedto wholesale rates.

Chairman FalahiAnjuman Wholesale Veg-etable Market Super High-way Haji Shahjehan termedsuspension in supply of to-mato from India last week asone of the main reasons.

He hoped tomato fromnew Sindh crop would startreaching the market verysoon and currently produc-tion of Badin was findingway into the market.

He said improved sup-plies from Sindh crop wouldcause drop in prices spellingimmense relief to consumersin the process.

Shahjehan said over 300trucks carrying Indian to-mato were also waiting at theWagah Border and their re-lease would normalise therates.

Unless government donot ensure establishment oflarge storage facilities forperishable vegetables inKarachi for catering to therequirement of huge popula-tion, their shortage in theevent of any religious festi-val or non-availability oftransport facilities wouldcontinue pushing rates of allkinds of vegetables and fruitsto sky high position posingserious financial hardship toconsumers.

In the wake of surgingrates of tomato, its demandhas nose-dived in the retailand wholesale markets asclaimed by traders.

Owing to inflated ratesof tomato, very few custom-ers are daring to make itspurchase as the overall saleat the retail level has plungedto more than 60 percent atmost of the retail outlets,claimed a retailer at EmpressMarket.

KARACHI—Follow-ing were the bullionrates in major citiesyesterday.

KARACHI:

MULTAN:

Currency Selling Buying

Bullion Rates

RS PER 10 GRAMS

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—A steel sectordelegation of local industrial-ists led by Shaban Khalid,President, Islamabad Chamberof Commerce & Industry(ICCI) called on Ms. RanaSeerat, Chief Commissioner,Large Taxpayers Unit, FBRand asked for withdrawal of 4percent withholding tax onsteel industry’s local purchaseas it is badly hurting their pro-duction activities.

The delegation also ap-prised her of the different is-sues being faced by the steelindustrialists and requested forremedial measures to facilitatethe growth of steel industry.

Many local steel industri-alists including Mr. KhalidJaved, Mr. Nasir Khan, Mian

ICCI calls for withdrawal of 4pcwithholding tax on steel industry

Aslam Farid, Sheikh Javed,Mr. Ammad Naveed and Mr.Umer Rafique were in the del-egation.

Shaban Khalid said thatsteel melting furnaces contrib-ute almost 80 percent to the to-tal steel production in thecountry, but withholding taxon local purchase and highelectricity tariffs are makingthem uncompetitive due towhich these furnaces couldinch towards collapse. Thetaxation policies should facili-tate the steel industry insteadof creating more hurdles in itsgrowth.

He said steel industry isalso facing some problems insales tax adjustment due toelectricity bills and FBRshould make this processeasier for them. He said suffi-

cient time is not given to sub-mit response of tax notices andFBR should address such con-cerns of taxpayers.

Ms. Rana Seerat, ChiefCommissioner, LTU, FBR as-sured the delegation membersthat issue of 4 percent with-holding tax on local purchaseswill be taken up with MemberIR, FBR. She said FBR iscommitted to develop a fair taxsystem based on the principalsof equality and justice.

She appreciated the contri-bution of industrialists for im-proving the local economy andsaid that FBR will look into thesales tax adjustment issue to re-move the concerns of taxpay-ers. She said the current Chair-man FBR is determined tobring further improvement inFBR to facilitate the taxpayers.

AMANULLAH KHAN

KARACHI—Mobilink Founda-tion and its Torchbearers (em-ployee volunteers) have initiateda collection drive for non-fooditems as the second phase of re-lief operations for Awaraan,Baluchistan.

The onset of winter has cre-ated an urgent need for warmclothing, blankets and temporaryshelter for families who have losttheir homes and livelihoods in thedisaster. In late October,

Mobilink Foundation enterssecond phase of earthquake relief

Mobilink Foundation had sentone consignment of waterproofmaterial to Awaraan. MobilinkTorchbearers (employee volun-teers) have now set up reliefcamps at Mobilink offices acrossPakistan, that are collectingclothing, bed sheets, blankets,kitchen utensils, curtains andfloor mats. Mobilink Foundationhas also made arrangements withthe Pakistan Army to ensure thatthe collected material is trans-ported and distributed in the af-fected regions.

Omar Manzur, Head of Cor-porate Communications,Mobilink highlighted, “The situ-ation in Baluchistan is gravewith the lack of shelter and ba-sic necessities being a seriouscause for concern. MobilinkFoundation and its Torchbearerscontinue to work together toensure we can help our fellowPakistanis in their time of need.”

Mobilink Foundation wasthe first from the corporate sec-tor to mobilize relief for earth-quake affectees.

ISLAMABAD: Subhan Khalid, President ICCI presenting bouquet to Ms Rana Seerat, ChiefCommissioner, Large Taxpayers Unit, FBR.

AMANULLAH KHAN

KARACHI—Karachi Waterand Sewerage Board (KWSB)will provide 0.5 million gal-lons water per day from a des-ignated hydrant to the indus-tr ies in Tannery Zone,Korangi in order to providesome rel ief to the waterstarved leather industry.

This was decided in ameeting with the ManagingDirector KWSB, QutubuddinShaikh with the Chairman Pa-kistan Tanners Association(PTA) SZ, Fawad Jawed, VicePresident FPCCI, GulzarFiroz and other office bearers.

The KWSB chief on in-struction by the Commis-sioner Karachi , ShoibSiddiqui called on the PTAChairman the other day saidthat the export-orientedleather industry to be suppliedwater through tankers from a

Water to leather industrythrough tankers

KWSB hydrant located inKorangi Industrial Area to thetune of 0.5 mgd so that thewheel of the tanners shouldkeep running during this highseason. He was apprised bythe Fawad that KWSB hadlaid a 32 inches pipeline fromits water trunk main to theSector 7-A for supply of threemgd water and the work hasbeen completed with the spe-cial fund of Rs44.5 millionallocated and released by theGovernor Sindh, Dr IshratulEbad Khan to the KWSB butwater is yet to be released intothe pipelines.

The MD KWSB ex-pressed his unawareness overreal the situation and said thathe did not know about thepipeline has already been in-stalled but not connected tothe WTM. He assured to lookinto the matter and arrange-ments would be done to re-

lease quota of water allocatedto the leather industry. He saidthat approval from Chief Min-ister for the project of R/Oplants is awaited as theywould be installed near MalirRiver in order to provide theremaining two mgd quota ofwater to the Sector 7-A.

The Chairman PTA FawadJawed said that despite highseason for the tannery indus-try in which bilk of hides andskins collected during EidulAzha are lying with the hun-dreds of factories, there is nowater available for their pro-cessing. He informed that theonly source of water to the tan-neries was from the hydrantsin the area which have beenclosed down during an opera-tion. Gulzar Firoz expressedhis dismay over the non-re-lease of water into the newlylaid pipeline despite the clearcut orders from the high ups.

Additional IG Sindh Ghulam Haidar Jamali receiving shield from FPCCI officials.

ISLAMABAD: Amir Pasha Head of PR and CSR Ufone had-ing over the cheque to Munzar Ata, member Board of Trust-ees Air Cdre Rizwanullah Khan Shaheed Memorial Trust.

Dr James A Tebbe (Rector) signing the contract with Faiq Sadiq Group Head HBL forproviding Smart Banking Services to FCC.

FCC, HBL inkcontract for

Smart BankingServices

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—HBL, Pakistan’s largest bank has entered intoa Cash Management and SalaryAccount relationship with theForman Christian College . Aceremony marking this eventwas held at FCC on Friday 1stof November 2013. The partici-pants included Dr. James ATebbe, Rector Forman ChristianCollege , Mr. Andrew John,Chief Fiscal Officer FormanChristian College , Mr. FaiqSadiq Head - Payment ServicesHBL along with other membersof the HBL Team.

Speaking on the occasion,Dr. Tebbe expressed his grati-tude to HBL for visiting the FCCand offering financial solutionswhich would bring enhancedefficiencies in institutional cashflows and add banking conve-nience for employees and stu-dents.

Mr. Faiq Sadiq said “Edu-cational institutions are the keyto our country’s future and in-vestment in this sector is es-sential and should remain a topsocial responsibility for everyPakistani. Providing bankingservices and bringing financialefficiencies for FCC employ-ees at an institutional level isa matter of great pride forHBL. Our recent alliance withFCC is a stepping stone towardcementing our existing work-ing relationship.”

PIA introduces fourthflight to Toronto

AMANULLAH KHAN

KARACHI—PIA has introducedan additional direct flight fromPakistan to Toronto. The airlineis now offering four flights aweek to Toronto.

The new fourth additionalflight PK 797 operated byBoeing777 LR took off fromKarachi via Lahore for Torontoon Thursday morning. The Pas-sengers of the flight were seenoff by PIA officials at Karachiand Lahore airports.

Managing Director PIA,Muhammad Junaid Yunus whilesharing his views on the addi-tional flight frequency toToronto said that the airline isplanning to increase frequencyof its existing flights on profit-able routes and introduce newdestinations based on passen-gers demand and commercial

viability.He said that PIA is also in-

creasing frequency of its flightoperation to Kuala Lumpur com-mencing from 26th November2013. The airline will have fourflight frequencies in a week toKuala Lumpur from Pakistan.MD PIA said that with the induc-tion of newer aircraft in PIA fleet,the airline will be in a better po-sition to offer additional destina-tions and more flight frequencies.

A large number of Paki-stanis living in Toronto andother cities of Canada can nowavail the fourth direct flight fre-quency with convenient timings.

PIA now offers four directflights a week for the sector Pa-kistan-Toronto-Pakistan fromKarachi, Lahore and Islamabadevery Sunday, Tuesday, Thurs-day and Friday with convenienttimings.

ASHRAF ANSARI

ISLAMABAD—Visiting DanishMinister for development Coop-eration Christian Frills Bachsays; his country was ready tohelp Pakistan in boosting itspower generation capacitythrough non-conventionalmeans based on emerging tech-nology.

Addressing Pakistani busi-ness persons and CEOs of theDanish companies at the resi-dence of Ambassador JesperMoller Sorensen, he recalledthat Prime Minister MohammadNawaz Sharif and his Danishcounter recently discussed theenergy crises in New Yorkwhere they were attending theannual session of the UN Gen-

Denmark ready to helpPakistan in energy sector

Vast scope of bilateral cooperal Assembly.

The Danish Minister saidthe prime minister of his coun-try offered Denmark’s coopera-tion to Pakistan for projects togenerate power through wind-mills and solar gadgets.

Bach said Pakistan has pro-found potential to install wind-mills and solar gadgets to meetlocal demand, especially in thefar-flung and scattered popula-tions.

He said, Pakistan is a landof opportunities and marvelouspotential in both material andhuman resource terms. He wasconfident that more Danishcompanies would come to Pa-kistan to invest and do business.He was happy to note that eco-nomic cooperation was increas-

ing between the two countriesand the Danish business personsfelt quite comfortable doingbusiness in Pakistan.

The Danish minister said thepresent Pakistan government isconscious of the imperatives ofsocio-economic developmentthat relate to infrastructure andsocial sector. He believed thatPakistan was rightly focusing onbringing improvements in edu-cation and health sectors. Hesaid Pakistan also sharesDenmark’s belief that humanrights must be upheld to pro-mote democracy and good gov-ernance.

Christian Frills Bach saidDenmark has come to know thereal potential and spirit of Paki-stan from about 25,000 Paki-

stanis settled in Denmark. Thehave proved that Pakistan is aland of talented, good inten-tioned and hardworking people.

MDs and CEOs of Danishcompanies doing business inPakistan told Pakistan Observerthat business environment herewas quite conducive. That iswhy more Danish companieswould like to come here.

Ambassador Jesper MollerSorensen hosted reception forthe visiting Danish minister andhis delegation at his residence.A large number of Pakistanibusiness persons attended it. Theambassador said the visit by theDanish minister would help instrengthening of friendly rela-tions between Pakistan and Den-mark.

LDI operatorfound involvedin grey traffic

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—The PakistanTelecommunication Authority(PTA) and Federal InvestigationAgency (FIA) jointly conducteda successful raid on one of itsLong Distance and International(LDI) operators, Wise Commu-nication, located in SatelliteTown Rawalpindi after confirm-ing its involvement in illegalinternational call termination inaddition to the authorised ar-rangement of InternationalClearing House (ICH).

This activity was carried outafter thorough investigation andanalysing the traffic pattern ter-minated on various other opera-tors by the said licensee. A clearirregularity was observed duringthe investigation which mainlyconsisted of adding local num-bers instead of internationalnumbers.

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—The Lahore StockExchange Limited, after dueconsideration of facts and cir-cumstances and in exercise ofthe powers vested in it underSection 9(4) of the Securities& Exchange Ordinance, 1969and Listing Regulations of theExchange, has decided todelist Taxila EngineeringLtd., from the Ready BoardQuotation of the Exchangew.e.f., November 11, 2013.

After the delist ing ofTaxila Engineering Limitedfrom the Lahore Stock Ex-change (LSE), the number oflisted companies will remainas 436. Trading in the sharesof the Company has alreadybeen suspended w.e.f., August16, 2010 on the order ofSECP. Joint official liquida-tors for the Company were ap-pointed vide winding-up Or-der of the Peshawar HighCourt received from SECPthrough letter No. EMD/233/431/2002-173.

It may be noted that TaxilaEngineering Limited was

LSE delists TaxilaEngineering

listed at LSE in the year 1988and its total paid up capital isRs. 42.500 million. The Com-pany is under violation ofList ing Regulat ions No.30(1)(b)(c)(e)(g) of the Ex-change i.e. non-holding ofAGM, had gone into liquida-tion though Court Order, non-payment of annual listing feeand non induction of ordinaryshares of the Company intoCDS of the Central Deposi-tory Company of PakistanLtd.

Managing Director andChief Executive Officer ofLahore Stock Exchange Mr.Aftab Ahmed Chaudhry high-lighted the steps taken by theLSE contributing to build amechanism that has producedmore transparency in the trad-ing of the shares as well as tosecure the investment of theinvestors.

Lahore Stock Exchange isa fully electronic and com-pletely automated stock ex-change of Pakistan that is theonly domestic exchange tohave more than one tradingfloors in the region.

STAFF REPORT

ISLAMABAD—Agriculturalproduction can be increased byimproving soil fertility in Paki-stan through demonstration anddissemination of best manage-ment practices (BMPs) for farm-ers, said Pakistan AgriculturalResearch Council (PARC)Chairman Dr Iftikhar Ahmadwhile presiding over inauguralsession of Workshop on SoilFertility.

Best practices can improveagri production

By focusing on rapid researchand development activities of ag-riculture in the areas of Balochistan,Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) andFATA we can meet domestic foodrequirement and alleviate povertyin the country. Agriculture expertsacquaint the farmers about the useof new technology to increase theirper acre production as well as toaddress the food security issues.Food security is an issue of bothnational and global importance.

PARC in collaboration with

International Centre for Agricul-tural Research in the Areas(ICARDA) and the UnitedStates Department of Agricul-ture (USDA) and the provincialresearch and development insti-tutions is going to formulate asubject project with the objec-tives like, demonstrate and testresearch and extension plots inPakistan BMPs concerning thecapacity to maintain or build soilorganic matter (SOM) and toimprove soil health.

Spot ratefurther eases

STAFF REPORTER

KA R A C H I—Slow buyingspirit, grade issue and suffi-cient backlog of produce byleading buyers pushed spotrate down by Rs 100 permaund to Rs 6,350 per maund,traders at the Karachi CottonAssociation (KCA) said.

The KCA revised the spotrate downward in order to pro-vide support to weak stakehold-ers of raw grade to ward offminimal price level, said floorbrokers.

During the trading session,mills in Sindh and Punjab sta-tions made cautious deals forall grades as grade issueslowed down buying whilesellers offered all grades of linton slightly lower rates ataround Rs 6,250 per maund toRs 6,275 per maund in orderto capitalise maximum returnson their proceeds, floor bro-kers said.

Buyers remained cautiousin making any big deal asthey only made deals accord-ing to their immediate needof lint on back of grade issueand in anticipation of furtherdecline in spot rate, theyadded.

Spinners in Sindh andPunjab stations purchased allgrades on competitive prices ataround Rs 6,500 per maund toRs 6,750 per maund while gen-eral buyers made deals for allgrades in Punjab and Sindh sta-tions at around Rs 6,125 permaund to Rs 6,225 per maund,traders said.

Traders in Karachi and othermajor markets in Sindh focusedon fine grades in particular onback of shrinking stocks thatcaused slower pace of buyingbesides production of thesegrades was also on a slowerpace.

percent and 2.0 percent, respec-tively. Zafar maintained hisyearly 5.0 percent higher oilsales forecast of 20.6 milliontonnes for FY14. He flagged thatpotential upward revision inmarketing margins on white oilproducts, if announced, is likelyto provide earnings upside forthe sector, he added.

However recent media reportssuggest that the plan to revise mar-gins has hit some snags owing tooil and marketing companies(OMCs) inability to provide therelevant data to the agency (PIDE)awarded the study to review mar-gins, said the analyst.

In the four month of FY14period, industry sales of FO in-creased by 13 percent to 3.3million tonnes, HSD sales wereup by 4.0 percent and motorspirit (MS) consumption jumpedby 18 percent on yearly basiswhen compared to the petroleumsales data of four months periodof FY13.

Oil salesFrom Page 13

Textile exportsall set to boost

STAFF REPORT

KARACHI—The EuropeanUnion’s International TradeCommittee has reportedly ap-proved the list of countries ap-plying for the EU GSP Plus sta-tus including Pakistan. Analystssaid the GSP Plus status for Pa-kistan will result in an increasein textile exports particularly inthe higher value-added segmentof the textile chain whereby fab-rics, readymade garments andmade-ups will receive duty-freeaccess to the EU market.

However, growth in totaltextiles exports under the GSPPlus scheme is capped at 14.5percent per annum. Althoughthis may limit sector-widegrowth in EU export revenuesto 14.5 percent from base-caseestimates, individual companiesthat manage to increase theirproportional share in exports tothe EU should emerge as rela-tive winners.

LARKANA: Chairman of BISE Larkana Prof Daoud Memon giving away trophy to captain of Larkana cricket teamduring prize distribution ceremony of All Pakistan Inter-Board Girls Cricket Championship-2013 played at PCBGround organized by Larkana Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education.

TOKYO: Players struggling to hold on ball between Pakistan, India match during Asian Hockey Champions Trophy.

K

Abbasnominated

Chairman DavisCup Committee

ISLAMABAD—Patron Paki-stan Tennis Federation (PTF)Senator Syed Dilawar Abbashas been nominated as theChairman of Davis Cup Se-lection Committee on the re-quest of the PTF presidentSyed Kaleem Imam.

Dilawar Abbas will act asChairman Davis Cup Selec-tion Committee in the ab-sence of Kh. Saeed Hai whohad to leave for Dubai forsome personal engagement.

Pakistan will play itsDavis Cup tie from February14 to 16, 2014 against Viet-nam. For the selection of thePakistan Davis Cup team thetrials are being held here atPakistan Sports ComplexTennis Courts. And the trailswill continue till November12.

The other members of theDavis Cup Selection Commit-tee include MumtazYousaf,Nadir Mumtaz,Mushaf Kishal Zia, ArifQureshi, Khalil Chughtai andShahzad Alvi.

Top 6 national rankedplayers are invited along with4 wild card players one eachfrom four Provinces, whereasAisam-ul-Haq Qureshi andAqeel Khan are exemptedfrom the trails.—APP

ISLAMABAD—Former TestCricketer Sarfraz NawazThursday while expressingresentment over the nationalteam’s dismal performance inthe third ODI against SouthAfrica said our batsmenshould seek batting classesfrom Wahab Riaz and SohailTanvir.

The Proteas beat Paki-stan by 68 runs in the thirdODI exposing the weak andlow in confidence batting-line of the national side con-sistently failing to achievethe targets.

There were two blowersin the top three batting per-formances by the team withWahab Raiz being the topscorer with 33 runs on 47balls and Sohail Tanvir scor-ing 31 runs on 38 balls.

Ahmed Shahzad was theonly batsman who lookedpromising and scored 32runs on 24 balls, but threw

Batsmen should takeclasses from Wahab,

Sohail: Sarfrazhis wicket away to an out-swinging delivery of DyleStyne.

Talking to APP, SarfrazNawaz said our batsmenwould never learn from theirmistakes no matter how hardyou train them.

“In an era when crickethas become so fast, espe-cially after the advent ofTwenty-20 format whereachieving 280 to 300 runs tar-get is easy, it seems the Paki-stani batsmen are still follow-ing the old fashioned defen-sive mind set,” he added.

He said handling pres-sure is another thing that theplayers are still to masterwhich is evident from the factthat a comparative total isposted by the national bats-men while batting first ascompared to chasing.

Sarfraz further said theteam selection for the thirdODI was also not up to the

mark. “Abdur Rehman andSohaib Maqsood shouldhave been included in thesquad,” he said adding thathe had high hopes forMuhammad Hafeez that hewould perform better asopener rather than on num-ber 3.

“But Hafeez disappointedme as scoring only 15 runson 31 balls is not enough,”he added.

Sarfraz said he was happyto see former wicket-keeperMoin Khan handling thecricket team affairs as a man-ager but after the team’s dis-missal performance in thethird ODI, his expectationswith Moin were shattered.

However the experts feelthat lack of temperament andconfidence together withpoor short selection are someof the major reasons of thepoor batting show of the na-tional side.—APP

Hasan Bachaelected unopposed

PresidentSwabi DHA

PESHAWAR—Hassan BachaThursday elected unopposedas President District HockeyAssociation Swabi in a elec-tion and scrutiny conductedby Chairman PHF ElectionCommittee Olympian AkhlaqAhmad at Karnal Sher KhanShaheed Ground, Swabi.

Olympian Akhlaq Ahmadalong with Munawar Khanconducted the clubs scrutinybefore holding the electionsin which office-bearers of theclubs took part.

The house in its electioncommittee presided over theAkhlaq Ahamd Olympianelected Hassan Bacha asPresident, Niaz Muhammad asGeneral Secretary and SyedBakhat Shah as finance Secre-tary. Shaheen Khan andNaseem Ul Haq elected as jointsecretaries respectively. Allthe affiliated clubs took part inthe election held in a condu-cive environment.—APP

Ismail excellsin 13th All

Pakistan KarateChampionship

P E S H AWA R — P r o m i s i n gMuhammad Ismail excelled bywinning gold medal in 59kgweight category during therecently concluded 13th All-Pakistan Karate Champion-ship held at Bahawalpur.

President Pakistan KarateFederation MuhammadJehangir and Chief RefereeNasim Qurashi graced the oc-casion as chief guest and gaveaway medals to the winners.

This was stated by Secre-tary Khyber PakhtunkhwaKarate Association SarfarazKhan while talking to APP hereon Thursday.

He said Muhammad Ismailgot gold medal in the 50kgweight category. He said ear-lier, Muhammad Ismail alsodefeated Pakistan Army play-ers in the same weight in the22nd National Karate Champi-onship and got gold medal forKhyber Pakhtunkhwa.

National team coach andformer SAF Games gold med-alist Khalid Noor also laudedthe performance ofMuhammad Ismail for winninggold medal.—APP

Katcha Khoh boxerswin championship

KHANEWAL—Pugilists from arural area Katcha Khoh, Chak23/10-R, won the inter-clubboxing championship by grab-bing seven top positions leav-ing boxers from urbanKhanewal and Jehanian be-hind, sports officials saidThursday.

Ghazi boxing club ofKatcha Khoh won the cham-pionship, Khanewal boxingclub was declared runner upwhile Jahanian boxing clubstood third in the contest or-ganized by district sports de-partment in cooperation withdistrict boxing association.

Katcha Khoh boxersAhmad Shahzad (45kg), FaisalKhan (49kg), Farhan Raza(52kg), Allah Rakha (60kg),Shahbaz Waseem (64kg), Azhar(69kg), and Mubashir (73kg)clinched top positions in theirrespective weight categories.

Two boxers from

Khanewal, including FarooqJaved Kamboh (91kg), andRizwan Amir (91kg plus)clinched top position in theirrespective categories while aJahanian boxer Aftab won topposition in 81kg category.

Humayun Khan, presidentpetroleum association, divi-sional president boxing asso-ciation Multan Zar DaadKhan, district general secre-tary Pervaiz Paracha and sportsofficials distributed prizesamong the winners. Mean-while, gymnasts from all overthe district will participate inthe gymnastic competition tobe held on Nov 9, Iqbal Day.

The contest is being orga-nized by Khanewal gymnasticclub in collaboration with dis-trict sports department atKhanewal stadium in line withobservance of 136th Iqbal Dayto be observed all over thecountry on Nov 9.—APP

LAHORE—National Deafcricket championship will beplayed here from December1 with a record number of six-teen teams taking part in thetournament.

“It is for the first time inthe history of deaf cricket inPakistan that as many as six-teen teams drawn from allparts of the country will beshowcasing their talent in thepremier activity”, said IrfanMiraj, Secretary, PakistanDeaf Cricket Association andmanager, Zaheer ud dinBabar,while talking to APPhere on Thursday. They saidall sixteen matches will beplayed at different groundsof the city and various sub-committees have beenformed to review the ar-rangements.

The contesting teamshave been placed in eightgroups and each team willplay three matches in its re-

National deaf cricketchampionship from Dec 1

spective group on leaguebasis. “We are striving forthe cause of deaf cricket inPakistan and the participa-tion of numerous teamsstrongly endorses our viewsthat deaf cricket is on the fasttrack of progress in the coun-try”,.

“Under our game devel-opment programme we areengaging deaf cricketers incompetitive cricket activities,they said.

Through such efforts wehave been able to widen thebase of our cricket for crick-eters with impaired hearing.”They said they were organiz-ing the championship fromtheir own resources,addingthat so far neither the Paki-stan Cricket Board nor anybusiness house has re-sponded to the requests forshouldering the burden ofthis regular annual activity.

The formation of the

Groups is: (Group A), Lahore,Multan, Khairpur ,Hafizabad. (B) Muzaffargarh,Gujranwala, Rahim yar KhanJehlum. (Group C), Sialkot,Okara, Narowal, Sargodha.(Group D), Bahawalpur,Jacobabad, Dadu,Sukkur,(Group E),Rawalpindi, Quetta,Shikarpur, Faisalabad.(GroupF), Gujrat, Peshawar,Larkana, Sahiwal. (Group G),Islamabad, Haripur,Hyderabad, Khanewal,(Group H), Karachi,Sheikhupura , Dera IsmailKhan and Kohat.

Islamabad is the defend-ing champion and closecompetition is expected fromthe contestants. The Asso-ciation officials expressedtheir gratitude to variouscricket clubs for lending sup-port by organizing matchesat their grounds. The final willbe played on Dec 7.—APP

TOKYO—Pakistan beat In-dia 5-4 in the Asian HockeyChampions Trophy onThursday at Kakamigahara,Japan to reach the final of theevent.

In a thrilling match thescores were level at 2-2 athalf-time but Pakistan man-aged to score 3 more in thesecond half where as Indiacould mange just 2.

This keenly contestedmatch was Pakistan’spenultimate league matchand the green shirts will playtheir last league matchagainst Japan on Friday.

Pakistan has won all itsleague matches so far.Meanwhile, former Olym-pian Shahnaz Sheikh laudedthe national team for beat-ing arch-rivals India by 5-4in the Asian ChampionsTrophy and said it seems noteam can stop the green-shirts now from winning thetitle.

Asian Hockey Champions Trophy

Pakistan beat rival IndiaFor Pakistan, Abdul

Haseem Khan (2nd minute),Mohammad Imran (35thminute), Mohammad Rizwan(36th and 44th minute) andMohammad Rizwan Junior(53rd minute) were the goal-getters while India scoredthrough Gurjinder Singh(24th minute), Amit Rohidas(30th minute), ManpreetSingh (40th minute) andMalak Singh (49th minute).

Talking to APP ShahnazSheikh said India had put 13juniors players in their Cham-pions Trophy squad in orderto give them exposure aheadof next month’s FIH JuniorWorld Cup.

“Pakistan has played tre-mendously well in the eventbut it is the time that weshould also include maximumnumber of youngsters in theteam to give them exposurefor the Junior World Cup tobe held in India this year,”he added.

Shahnaz said Pakistanwas the best team in the eventas all other participatingteams were ranked below thegreen-shirts.

“Malaysia is ranked 13th,India 11th, Japan 16th, China18th, Oman 36th while Paki-stan is on top of all at 8th,”he added.

Former Olympian furthersaid winning the event wouldprove good for Pakistan as ithad been long since thegreen-shirts had won anymega tournament.

Speaking about HockeyIndia’s (HI) decision of notincluding any Pakistani play-ers in the second edition ofthe Hockey India League(HIL) to be held in January-February next year, Shahnazsaid we should organize ourown country’s league as inthis way all our national anddomestic players will get achance to improve theirskills.—APP

Pakistan battinglacking capacity,fighting qualities:

Shoaib AkhtarKARACHI—Pakistan team’sbatting is badly lacking capac-ity, courage and fighting quali-ties to win matches after los-ing the toss.

“They are lacking confi-dence, self-belief, courage andclue to handle the situationunder pressure,” former testexpress fast bowler ShoaibAkhtar said in his commentsWednesday night afterPakistan’s 66-run loss to SouthAfrica in third ODI.

“We failed to understandwhats going in the team afterthey loss the toss.They are notperforming while chasing,” hecommented.

He said he was deeply dis-appointed with the battingperformances of Umar Aminand Muhammad Hafeez.

“After such a consistentfailures these batsmen must sitout, and face the music,” heremarked.

Shoaib Akhtar called uponthe captain Misbah to showguts, courage and attackingmindset.

“Misbah should assert hiscomplete authority and takesome bold decision to put theteam on the right path,” he said.

He also expressed his dis-appointment the way ShahidAfridi lost his wicket and theway he batted in hurry despitehuge number of his disposal.

“Apart from being takingwickets, Hafeez and Afridishould be contributed with thebat,” Shoaib Akhtar said.

“Pakistani batting lookedin extreme pressure after theyloses Misbah’s wicket,” headded. “I feel depressed to seePakistan crumble after a prom-ising start by Ahmed Shahzadand Hafeez,” he said.

“When they will learn tochase the total.This leave a bigquestion mark on future ofPakistan cricket,” he pointedout.—APP

Rafique toface Haroon in

KP JuniorSnooker final

PESHAWAR—Top seededand promising RafiqueAhmad will clash againstHaroon Khan in the final ofthe Khyber PakhtunkhwaJunior Snooker Champion-ship being played here atGreen Snooker Club onThursday.

President KhyberPakhtunkhwa Snooker andBilliard Association ZulfiqarButt was the chief guest onthis occasion. Secretary Gen-eral Aamir Sabir Advocate,Organizing SecretaryAlliuddin and large numberof game spectators were alsopresent and witnessed thesemi-finals matches.

In the first semi-finalRafique Ahmad, the top seedof the Championship, de-feated his strong rival andseeded second ZeeshanKhan in the four framesbattle, the score was 60-44,72-23, 55-62, and 81-12.Zeeshan got the third set ina closely contest but Rafiquestaged a strong comeback byrecording 70 points break inthe last frame which he wonby 81-12.

In the second semi-finalHaroon Khan beat KashifKhan by 4-1. The score was60-22, 70-20, 80-30, 17-73, 85-14. The final will be playedon November 10.

Talking to APP, ZulfiqarButt disclosed that the Cham-pionship is being played onthree different venues.

He said players fromPeshawar, Hazara and AzadJammu and Kashmir alongwith players from other dis-tricts are taking part.

The aim and objective ofthe event is to short-listplayer for the forthcomingNational Junior SnookerChampionship to be playedin January next year atLahore. He said among all 48junior players eight topwould be short-listed to rep-resent the players. He saidKhyber Pakhtunkhwa SeniorSnooker Championship willcommence from Nov 25 inwhich eight players would beshort-listed to for the Na-tional Senior Championship.

He said this time a motor-cycle will be given to the win-ner.—APP

HARIPUR: The final of District Schools Basketball Cham-pionship in progress.

Lahore winPCB NationalU-19 womencricket title

LAHORE—Lahore region wonthe PCB National U19, T20women cricket title defeatingIslamabad region by 66 runsin the final at Lahore Countryclub Muridke on Thursday.

Lahore taking first use ofthe strip, posted 119 and theirmain contributors were NimraImran (35), Kainaat Hafeez(33) and Freeha Mehmood(23). Anoshay Malik andGhazala Amir took one wicketeach from Islamabad.

Islamabad were shot outat 53 in 20 overs and FazilaIkhlaq (21) was their only topscorer as remaining playersfell cheaply . Nimra Imran,Kanwal Francis, KainaatHafeez and Waheeda Akhtartook 2 wickets apiece.—APP

ISLAMABAD—Imran Nazirslammed a career-best 189 toguide Zarai Taraqiati BankLimited (ZTBL) to their sec-ond successive win whenthey demolished Sui North-ern Gas Pipelines Limited(SNGPL) by 109 runs in theirsecond round match of thePresident’s Cup One-day2013-14 at the NationalGround here.

The 31-year-old Imran,who has played 79 One-dayInternationals, banged 26fours and nine sixes in his fi-ery 83-ball feat to enableZTBL to post a huge total of367 all out in 41.2 overs.

Haris Sohail made 58 off43 balls, which was studdedwith nine boundaries.

Azhar Ali got 5-66 whileAsad Ali captured 3-67.

SNGPL were then bowled

Imran Nazir hits brisk ton asZTBL demolish SNGPL

out for 258 in 36 overs. Skip-per Azhar Ali also excelledwith the bat, hitting 106 off76 balls, that contained 11fours and two sixes.

Left-arm young spinnerZafar Gohar picked 5-56 andImran Nazir claimed 2-38.

Meanwhile, skipperKhurram Manzoor led fromthe front with a glorious 128not out to guide Port QasimAuthority (PQA) to an eight-wicket victory over PakistanTelevision (PTV) at theGaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

Port Qasim Authorityachieved the 232-run target in35.3 overs after losing just twowickets. Khurram banged 18fours and two sixes in hissplendid knock. He put on 144runs for the opening standwith Shahzaib Hasan, whowas run out after scoring a

quick-fire 44-ball 66 with eightfours and three sixes. Afterbeing invited to bat, PTV wererestricted to 231-8 in the stipu-lated 45 overs.

Left-handed openerImran Ali scored 103 off 126balls, hitting 11 fours. AfterPTV lost their three wicketsfor just 35, 30-year-old Imranand Mohammad Sami (70)rescued them by adding 163runs for the fourth wicket.Sami smashed seven foursand a six in his 88-ball knock.

Test pacer MohammadSami (2-45) and Kamran Younis(2-30) were prominent bowlersfor PQA. Khan ResearchLaboratories (KRL) recordedtheir second successive vic-tory when they overwhelmedState Bank of Pakistan (SBP)by 64 runs at the KRL Groundin Rawalpindi.—APP

BIPIN DANI

OBSERVER

CORRESPONDENT

DUBAI—Harsha Bhogle,the well-known TV com-mentator has been invitedby the Supreme Court ap-pointee IPL probe commit-tee to furnish his views onfixing, it is learnt here.

According to thesources, the life-bannedcricketers, S. Sreesanth andAnkeet Chavan have alsobeen asked to appear be-fore the committee which isagain scheduled to meetduring Mumbai Test nextweek.

‘We have invitedHarsha Bhogle who has

IPL probe committee invites HarshaBhogle for his views on spot-fixing

been a popular cricket com-mentator to give his feed-back on the subject. We haveso many other respectedpeople in mind who can helpus to reveal the truth and ac-cordingly they will be re-quested to be available’, thesource close to the commit-tee said.

The 53-year-old HarshaBhogle has been covering allIndian Premier League sea-sons since 2009 and is an ex-pert cricket analyst on TV. Healso runs a sport-based com-munication consultancycalled Prosearch.

The probe Committee willnext meet in Mumbai on the15th, 16th and 17th of No-vember 2013 when it intends

to interact with Mr.Sundaraman, CEO IPL, Mr.Chirayu Amin, Mr. HarshaBhogle, Mr. Ankit Chavan,Mr. S. Sreesanth, Mr.Harmeet Singh, Mr. RajKundra and Mr. VindooDara Singh.

‘We are planning tomeet these people duringSachin Tendulkar’s farewellTest and those busy dur-ing match, will be asked tobe available after the day’splay@, the source added.The BCCI president N.Srinivasan’s son-in-law,Gurunath Mayepan themain accused in the betting,is not invited yet but willsurely be asked to deposebefore the committee.Barcelona’s Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring his second goal during the Champions League group H soccer

match between FC Barcelona and AC Milan, at the Camp Nou Stadium.

MOSCOW: A Russian rocket soared into the cosmos Thursday carrying the Sochi Olympic torch and three astro-nauts to the International Space Station.

ABU DHABI—Pakistan cap-tain Misbah-ul-Haq called onhis top order to play theirpart to prevent South Africaclinching the one-day seriesafter the fourth match on Fri-day.

Pakistan trail 2-1 afterSouth Africa secured a com-manding 68-run win in thethird match in Abu Dhabi onWednesday.

Chasing a challenging260-run target, Pakistan weredismissed for 191 with leg-spinner Imran Tahir taking 4-53.

Pakistan’s top orderflopped again and only a 61-run partnership for theeighth wicket betweenWahab Riaz (33) and SohailTanvir (31) gave the totalsome respectability.

The batsmen failed tochase 184 during their one-run defeat in the first matchin Sharjah and struggled toput 209 on the board in their66-run victory in the second

I don’t have an answer, Misbahsays as Pakistan slip again

fixture in Dubai.“It’s the same old story. I

think we need to think aboutour batting if we want to savethe series,” said Misbah af-ter Wednesday’s match.

“Our batsmen get startsbut are not able to convertthem into big scores, and weall have to think that 20s and30s are not going to winmatches for us.”

Pakistan have played sixone-day series against SouthAfrica but never won one.

Misbah said he could notexplain the consistent bat-ting failures.

“I think we got a goodstart and then there was noexcuse, we should have wonthe match,” he said of the 50-run start by Ahmed Shehzad(32) and Mohammad Hafeez(15).

Pakistan then lost fivewickets in the space of 31runs, slumping to 116-7 from86-2.

“I don’t have an answer

and as professionals whenwe get set we must take itfurther,” said Misbah.

He praised Tahir, whoconceded 18 runs in his firsttwo overs but went on to dis-miss Misbah, Umar Akmal(seven) and Asad Shafiq(11).

“When wickets were fall-ing it was good for him andhe kept attacking and hegives them an attacking op-tion,” said Misbah of Tahir,who was born and broughtup in Pakistan before emi-grating to South Africa.

South Africa’s captainwas also full of praise for theleg-spinner.

“Imran is a world-classbowler,” said AB De Villiers.

“For me, the main thingis that he brings a lot of in-tensity to the whole unit andobviously he also has a hellof a lot of skill in all the for-mats that he plays in.”

Tahir took eight wicketsin the second Test to help

South Africa level the pre-ceding two-match series 1-1.

“He brought that inten-sity into the team tonight andthe whole team was lifted,and it’s great to have himback in the green and goldagain,” said De Villiers.

He praised the team ef-fort, especially the half-cen-turies from Faf du Plessis andJean-Paul Duminy.

“I thought we did the ba-sics well, still we could havegot to 280, but still all in allthe batsmen did well, andthat’s what we were talkingabout leading up to thematch and a few guys put uptheir hands including Faf,” hesaid. “I am very happy forhim under pressure and thattells a lot about his characterand also JP.”

Friday’s game is in AbuDhabi and the fifth and finalmatch takes place in Sharjahon Monday, before twoTwenty20s in Dubai on No-vember 13 and 15.— AFP

KOLKATA—In his first Test,Rohit Sharma walked in at theearly exit of Sachin Tendulkar,playing his penultimate and199th Test. Two overs later, 82for 4 became 83 for 5, withoffspinner Shane Shillingfordon a roll. Rohit, who five daysago made a double-century inan ODI against Australia, buck-led down to become the 14thIndian to make a century onTest debut. He put on 73 firstwith his captain MS Dhoni, butit was his association with RAshwin that transformed thegame completely. India endedthe day with a lead of 120, theunbroken seventh-wicketstand worth 198, and No. 8Ashwin eight short of his sec-ond Test hundred.

This was a different ver-sion of Rohit from what hasbeen on display over 108 ODIs.There were no cute strokes,there was no hitting his wayout of pressure, there wasplenty of leaving outside off.

India vs West Indies, 1st Test

Rohit debut ton,Ashwin fifty lift India

This was sensible batting, re-specting the demands of thesituation India had landed inagainst Shillingford. Ashwin,who came in at 156 for 6,matched his specialist battingpartner on every count, be itsolidity, strokeplay or el-egance. The partnership vis-ibly deflated West Indies, whowould have rightfully eyed asizeable lead in the morning.

Rohit took 13 deliveries toget his first runs in Test cricket,and they came via a pull to thelong-leg boundary off a 145 kphshort ball from fellow debutantSheldon Cottrell. As he grew inconfidence, there wereglimpses of the touch he pos-sesses. A back-foot driveagainst the pace of Tino Best,a cover drive against the turnof Shillingford. But what stoodout was his back-foot defenceagainst the spinners. The pre-ceding India batsman hadfound dealing with spin tough,but Rohit had time to adjust.

Shillingford’s doosra, whichhad claimed Tendulkar and MVijay, was dealt with calmly fromdeep in the crease.—AFP

W Indies 1st innings: 234India 1st innings:S Dhawan b Shillingford 23M Vijay st Ramdinb Shillingford ................. 26Pujara b Cottrell ............. 17Tendulkar lbwb Shillingford ................. 10V Kohli b Shillingford ..... 3Sharma not out ............ 127Dhoni c Ramdin b Best 42R Ashwin not out .......... 92Extras: (b4, lb8, w1, nb1)14Total: (6 wickets) ......... 354Fall of wickets 1-42, 2-57, 3-79, 4-82, 5-83, 6-156Bowling: ........... O-M-R-WTL Best ............... 14-0-53-1SS Cottrell .......... 15-3-53-1S Shillingford ... 41-8-130-4V Permaul ........... 20-1-54-0DJG Sammy ........ 12-1-52-0

CHENNAI—In a nation wherecricket is a religion and retir-ing superstar SachinTendulkar its resident deity,reigning world chess cham-pion Viswanathan Anandholds his own as one ofIndia’s finest sportsmen.

Anand, 43, who opens thedefence of his fifth worldcrown against Norwegianchallenger Magnus Carlsen athome in Chennai on Saturday,has dominated the chessscene in India and abroad foralmost two decades.

Anand’s longevity and per-severance has often been com-pared with that of Tendulkar,the world’s batting record-holder who ends a brilliant 24-year career later this month.“There’s certainly a case to bemade for Anand being the great-est sportsperson India has everproduced,” The Hindu news-paper said. “He is as much anational treasure as Tendulkar.”

Anand showed remark-able promise at an early agebut, unlike many others whogive up after their first major

Chess ace Anand to startdefence of World Crown

challenge, he persevered andwon until there was no oneelse left to beat.

The soft-spoken familyman, who lives in Spain withwife Aruna and three-year-oldson Akhil, is far removed fromhis temperamental predeces-sors like Bobby Fischer, BorisSpassky, Anatoly Karpovand Garry Kasparov.

While Kasparov has be-come a fierce critic of RussianPresident Vladimir Putin,Anand is more at home mus-ing about subjects such ashis pride in India’s spaceprogramme and his love ofBarcelona football club.“There is no feeling betterthan representing your coun-try,” he wrote on his Twitteraccount last week in the build-up to the match againstCarlsen. “If there is anyoneclose to perfection in chess,it is him,” said Indian grand-master Surya ShekharGanguly. “He is also one ofthe nicest human beings toknow, a humble man despitehis enormous achievements.”

Anand’s game is built onbelligerent attack that catchesopponents off-guard, but hisunflustered approach ensuresthat he has the right defencein place when the going getstough.

Born in a small town in thesouthern tip of India, Anandbecame an international mas-ter at 15, was crowned Indianchampion at 16, won theworld junior title at 17 andbecame the country’s firstgrandmaster at 18.

The Indian government,taking note of the youngman’s rapid rise, conferred onhim the country’s fourth high-est civilian award, the PadmaShri, a few months short ofhis 19th birthday.

It is significant that whenIndia’s highest sportinghonour — the Rajiv GandhiKhel Ratna — was introducedin 1992, Anand was its firstrecipient ahead of suchcricket luminaries asTendulkar, Sunil Gavaskarand Kapil Dev.—AFP

ChampionsLeague: Barca

and Atletico sailinto last 16

LONDON—Barcelona andAtletico Madrid led a Span-ish Armada into the Champi-ons League last 16 with homewins and in-form AaronRamsey steadied Arsenal’sboat with a battling winagainst rocky BorussiaDortmund.

Barca met seven-timeswinners AC Milan at the NouCamp but the stock of the fal-tering Italians has fallen somuch that even an averagedisplay from the hosts sealeda 3-1 success in Group H,Lionel Messi scoring a pen-alty and a cheeky third.

La Liga rivals Atletico puton a better display in their 4-0cruise past Group G whippingboys Austria Vienna to glideinto the knockout stages af-ter four wins from four withtwo matches to spare.

Miranda grabbedAtletico’s opener after 11 min-utes before Raul Garcia roseathletically to head home thesecond, with Filipe Luis mak-ing it three for this term’s po-tential surprise packages onhalftime.

Diego Costa missed apenalty but added a fourthgoal on 82 minutes as DiegoSimeone’s men made sure oftop spot and equalled theirbiggest Champions Leaguewin in reaching the knockoutstages for the first time since2008/09.

“We knew it was very im-portant to win today becauseof the result between Zenitand Porto. The team was greattoday and we deserved toreach the round of 16,” theforward told reporters.

Zenit St Petersburgstayed as favourites to takesecond place and qualify af-ter Hulk scored the equaliserbut also missed a spot kick ina 1-1 home draw with hisformer side Porto.—AFP

Russia launchesrocket carryingthree astronauts

and Olympic torchBAIKONUR—Russia onThursday launched a rocketcarrying Russian, Japaneseand US astronauts and anOlympic torch for the 2014Winter Games in Sochi fromits Baikonur cosmodrome inKazakhstan, the missioncontrol said.

The Soyuz-FG rocket andSoyuz-TMA capsule, embla-zoned with the symbols ofthe Sochi Games and theOlympic rings, blasted off forthe International Space Sta-tion (ISS) on time at 8:14 am(0414 GMT), it said.

“The Soyuz FG rocket andthe Soyuz-TMA capsulelaunched successfully fromBaikonur cosmodrome at 8:14am Moscow time,” the Rus-sian space agency said in astatement.

The rocket decoratedwith the mainly blue Olym-pic logo and the words Sochi2014 blasted off into a clearskies from the Kazakh steppe.

NASA astronaut RickMastracchio earlier climbedthe steps into the capsulecarrying the Olympic torch,along with his fellow passen-gers, Russia’s Mikhail Tyurinand Japan’s Koichi Wakata.

The astronauts will nowtake the six-hour trip to theISS, where they will join sixincumbent crew.—AFP

KOLKATA: Sachin Tendulkar was trapped lbw for 10 during India vs West Indies 1st Test.

Oslo to bid for2022 Winter

OlympicsOSLO—The Norwegian capi-tal Oslo will bid to host the2022 Winter Olympics, theOslo2022 committee saidThursday.

“We will confirm our in-tention to be a candidate forhosting the games before theNovember 14 deadline,”Ingunn Olsen, a spokes-woman for the committeetold AFP a week ahead of theclosing date for applications.

Already considered oneof the favourites to host —not least due to the successof the 1994 Winter Olympicsin Lillehammer — the bid wonthe support of more than halfof the city’s population (55,1percent) in a recent referen-dum. Oslo faces tough com-petition from a long list of de-clared or expected candi-dates including Beijing, theGerman city of Munich,Almaty in Kazakhstan, Lvivin Ukraine and a joint bid fromKrakow in Poland andneighbouring Slovakia.

According to Norwegianmedia reports, the newlyelected centre-right Ministerfor Culture, ThorhildWidvey, supports Oslo’sbid.

The host town is ex-pected to be announced onJuly 31, 2015.

The 2014 Winter Gamestake place in Sochi, Russiaand the 2018 event inPyeongchang, South Ko-rea.—AFP

ELECTRONIC cigarette users followedover a year reduced or quit using tobaccocigarettes in large numbers and were less

prone to resume smoking, at least in the shortterm. Experts continue to debate whether or not“e-cigs” are smoking-cessation tools or just lei-sure products. The electronicvaporizers use cartridges ofliquid nicotine to deliver a fla-vored nicotine-laced vaporwithout the byproducts ofburning tobacco in traditionalcigarettes.

“Our results may not begeneralizable to all vapers,”Jean-Francois Etter said, us-ing the slang for vaporizerusers. “We had a majority ofex-smokers at baselinewhereas in the general popu-lation, most vapers are currentsmokers,” he told ReutersHealth.

Etter led the study at theInstitute of Social and Preven-tive Medicine at the Univer-sity of Geneva in Switzerland.The results were published in Addictive Behav-iors. A few small studies have found that e-ciga-rettes seemed to help smokers quit using tobaccoor at least to smoke fewer traditional cigarettes.But there have been no long-term studies of howpeople actually use e-cigarettes, so experts arestill unsure.

The researchers posted a questionnaire ona French stop-smoking website and asked sitesselling e-cigs to link to the questionnaire. Most“vapers” buy their e-cigs online.

The e-cig users recruited answered abaseline questionnaire, another one a month laterand a third one year later. Questions covered e-cigarette use, tobacco use and the date of quit-

ting tobacco, if one applied. Of more than 1000original recruits, 367 responded to all threesurveys. For those who had quit smoking al-ready and were using e-cigarettes instead, sixpercent had relapsed to tobacco after onemonth. That number was stable after one year.

Of those who weresmoking and using e-cigaretteswhen the study began, 22 per-cent had quit smoking tobaccoafter a month and 46 percenthad quit after a year. That groupaveraged 11.3 tobacco ciga-rettes daily at the beginning ofthe study and six cigarettes perday after one month.

This was just an explor-atory study and will need con-firmation from follow-up stud-ies, Etter said. “This suggeststhat e-cigs may help them quit,but our results need to be inter-preted with caution, because ofthe dropout rate at follow-upand the fact that our sample isnot representative of allvapers,” he said. In the short-

term, e-cigs appear not to carry any health risksof their own, he said. But researchers still don’tknow the long-term health effects of inhalingthe common solvent glycol and food flavor-ing over many years. E-cigarettes don’t needto be 100 percent safe, he said, they only needto be significantly safer than tobacco cigarettesbecause they are primarily used by cigarettesmokers. Of the three studies that have inves-tigated e-cig users, none of the daily vaperswere non-smokers.

Even though the evidence is still thin,Etter believes smokers should use e-ciga-rettes as quit-smoking aids, and doctorsshould recommend them.

More evidence e-cigs mayhelp in quitting tobacco

Rangers and Police joint flag march regarding Muharram-ul-Haram at Shah Faisal Colony.—PO photo Sultan Chaki

People gather outside a building, which caught fire near Tibet Centre in Saddar.

Empress Market Saddar wears a deserted look during rally of Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jamaaton martyrdom day of Hazrat Umar (RA).

IRFAN ALIGI

KARACHI—On the question ofholding the local governmentelections in Sindh province onNov 27, all the stakeholders inthe province especially the pro-vincial government itself is in astate of dilemma as the SindhChief Minister okayed the fixeddate for holding of the LG pollswhile the next to the provincialexecutive in Sindh cabinet,Sindh senior minister NisarAhmed Khuhru had called forextension in the fixed schedulefor the LG polls.

Sindh information ministerexpressed his premonitions fora situation that would invite con-frontation at the public levelwhile Pakistan Muslim League-

Functional Sindh General Sec-retary Imtiaz Ahmed Shaikh alsoadded his voice to that of Khuhruand called for extension of thefixed date for LG polls.

On the other hand, SindhCM Syed Qaim Ali Shah Thurs-day said that the Sindh provin-cial government was ready tohold the LG polls as per the di-rectives of the Supreme Court ofPakistan.

He expressed these views ina meeting he had preside Thurs-day, which pertained to discus-sions about the pros and cons ofthe coming LG polls in the prov-ince.

Khuhro, Memon, SindhMinister for Parliamentary af-fairs Dr Sikandar Mendhro, Ad-visor to the CM Syed Murad Ali

Shah, Sindh Chief SecretaryChaudhry Muhammad Aijaz,Sindh Secretary LG Ali AhmedLund, Advocate General SindhKhalid Javed attended.

In order to prevent form be-ing alleged of committing theContempt to Court, the meetinghad decided that the LG pollsshould be held on the given dateby the SCP and in that regard, thechief executive of the province,the CM directed that officers con-cerned to remain in contact withthe election commission and up-date them about all information,preparations and also completethe process within due course oftime.

The CM was also convincedby the premonitions as were be-ing expressed by the cabinet min-

ister had also expressed the pau-city of required time for hold-ing the LG polls in the province,had ordered for cancellation ofweekly holidays of Saturdayand Sunday from now onwardtill the LG polls preparationsand holding of the LG polls.

He asked the officers con-cerned to meet the requirementswithin the given time andenuusre that the LG polls wouldbe held on time.

However, Sindh informa-tion Minister Sharjeel EnamMemon had said that due toholding of the LG polls on Nov27, there would a chaotic situa-tion in the province and te en-tire process of the LG pollswould la big question mark be-hind.

Sindh Govt in dilemma over LG polls schedule

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Sindh governmenthad Thursday withdrawn the or-der for sacking 12900 employeesof local government departments,the Karachi Metropolitan Corpo-ration and District MunicipalCorp[orations (DMC).

Earlier, a large number ofemployees of the KMC andDMCs had staged a protest dem-onstration at the KMCAdministrator’s office located in

the Civic Centre againstgovernment’s decision of sack-ing them.

In this regard, Sindh Infor-mation Minister Sharjeel EnamMemon had said that the deci-sion for sacking 12900 employ-ees of the KMC and DMCs hadbeen withdrawn because the Pa-kistan People’s Party parliamen-tarian-led government wouldcontinue to providing jobs to thepeople and would not take anydecision that would lead to their

economic genocide. It is perti-nent to mention that the Sindhlocal government department haddespatched a summary to theSindh Chief Minister seeking hisapproval for sacking those em-ployees that were inducted in vio-lation to rules and regulations.However, the Minister claimedthat the CM had rejected thesummary while the fact was thatorders for retrenchment of 12900employees was already issuesand withdrawn.

Govt withdraws orderssacking 12,900 workers

SHC seeksrecord of

Marri’s degreeSTAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Sindh High Court(SHC) while expressing discon-tentment over the Higher Educa-tion Commission of Pakistan(HECP) for failing to present thedetails of verification of a degreeof member national assemblyShazia Ata Marri.

Shazia was elected as theMNA in by-elections 2013 andher bachelor degree was chal-lenged in the SHC upon whichthe SHC had asked the HECPand the University of Karachi tosubmit the relevant record thatcould either verify the degree orprove it was fake. However, theHECP had not yet complied tothe orders of the SCP.

The petitioner AttaMuhammad Chandio hadclaimed in his petition he hadfiled in the SCH that the MNAShazia Mari had miscued a de-gree issued in name of anotherShazia that lived in Karachi.

Hearing ofPolice Chief

case adjournedSTAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Sindh High Court(SHC) had adjourned the hear-ing on the case pertaining to ap-pointment of additional Inspec-tor general of police, Sindh as theKarachi police Chief.

Six deputy IGs had ap-proached the SHC against hisappointment through a petition inwhich they had claimed thatHayat was too junior to be ap-pointed as the ADIG/Karachipolice Chief and that his promo-tion was also in contrast to or-ders of the Supreme Court ofPakistan regarding out of turnpromotions. The petitioners hadprayed to the SHC to pass an or-der for the revocation of Hayat’sappointment as the ADIG/Karachi police Chief.

LG pollspreparations

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—The provincial elec-tion commission (Sindh) hadasked the Sindh provincial gov-ernment to extend list of 196000government employees, whichwould be deployed at polling sta-tions for election duty.

The LG polls in the provincewould be held for more than 1600union councils and 9 union com-mittees while Pakistan Armytroopers would be deployed onall sensitive polling stations. TheLG Polls would be held for15000 seats in 28 districts and thevoters lists that were used in Gen-eral Elections in 29013 would beutelised. The Security PrintingPress had been held on alert andwould commence printing of10.1 million ballet papers imme-diately after it would receivedorders for the same.

Progress onDHA city project

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—A group of Offic-ers visited the site of DHA’s up-coming residential cum com-mercial project ‘DHA CityKarachi’ (DCK) on Super High-way. DCK area is abuzz withintensive development activitiesas one can see excavators, grad-ers, bulldozers and tractorsworking all around.

A large number of contrac-tors including FWO and NLChave already mobilized in thearea and more than 3000 com-mitted work force is engaged inthe ongoing development ac-tivities.

Project Director DCK, BrigMuhammad Rafique said thatDCK is being developed in ac-cordance with a versatile devel-opment strategy. He added thatprojects of Immediate ActionPlan including DCK BoundaryWall, Watch Towers, CentralEntrance Gate, DCK Directorate,Visitors’ Centre, DCK CentralFacility Building and Staff Ac-commodation are near comple-tion while the sector develop-ment works under the Short TermDevelopment Plan have alreadybeen initiated to make DCK a liv-able entity by 2015-16. The workon the construction of road net-work in the area is being under-taken on priority.

KARACHI—The British DeputyHigh Commissioner in Karachi,John Tucknott, called on SindhGovernor, Dr Ishrat-ul-EbadKhan, at the Governor Househere on Thursday.

Talking on the occasion, theGovernor said that Karachi is theeconomic and commercial hub ofthe country.

He said that this very citygenerates more than 60 per centof the country’s revenue for thepast several decades.

Dr. Ishrat said that even if thesituation in Karachi becomesbad, the commercial activity inthe city is not affected.

He pointed out that all thepolitical parties for the first time

are unanimous that lasting peacein the province and in Karachi isa guarantee for the developmentin the country and that the fed-eral government has provided re-sources for the restoration ofpeaceful conditions in the prov-ince of Sindh and the city ofKarachi at the earliest.

The Governor said that as thesecurity situation improves in theprovince the confidence of thepeople is also being restored.

He stated that the govern-ment is determined for restora-tion of peaceful conditions in theprovince on a permanent basis.

Dr. Ishrat- ul- Ebad Khanpointed out that the foreign in-vestors have set eyes for invest-

ment in the province especiallyin Karachi.

He was of the view that therising property prices and upbeatstock exchange indicate improve-ment in the situation in the prov-ince of Sindh and in the city ofKarachi.

John Tucknott said thatthose British companies thatcame to Karachi in the previousyears have earned heavy profitin a shorter span of time and thatis why others are also indicat-ing the desire for investment inKarachi.

He praised the recent stepsof the government and added thatthese have enhanced the confi-dence of the investors.—APP

All parties unanimous forlasting peace: Ebad

Hearing of objections ondelimitations

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Karachi Commis-sioner Shoaib Ahmed Siddiquihas said that hearing of 200 ob-jections raised on delimitationspertaining to 3 districts of Karachidivision including Malir, Centraland South , have been completedin peaceful manner and that pro-cess will be completed on Nov 9.

He said that representativesof Pakistan People’s Party Par-liamentarian, Muttahida Qaumi

Movement, Jamaat-e Islami,Pakistan Muslim League andother political parties attendedthe process and showed greatpassion during the objectionsprocess.

The Commissioner said thatdecisions on delimitation are be-ing taken on merit, as per rulesand in best interest of public andadded that final report would besent to government aftercompletion of this process onNov 9. He said that hearing of

objections pertaining to districtWest will be held on Friday, Nov8 at 10 am whereas hearing per-taining to district East will beheld on the same day in theevening at 4 pm.

He said that government isensuring that all the complainant/appellant be satisfied regardingtheir objections.

He appreciated the spirit ofrepresentatives of political partiesand other complainant sayingthat their attitude was exemplary.

KARACHI—Sindh Chief Minis-ter, Syed Qaim Ali Shah, has saidthat the Sindh Government isready to hold local bodies elec-tions as per directives of the Su-preme Court.

This he said while presidingover a meeting regarding prepa-rations for local bodies elections,held at CM House here on Thurs-day.

Provincial ministers, NisarAhmed Khuhro, Sharjeel EnamMemon, Dr Sikandar Mendhro,Advisor to CM Syed Murad Ali

Shah, Sindh Chief Secretary,Ejaz Chaudhry, Secretary LocalGovernment Ali Ahmed Lund,Advocate General Sindh KhalidJaved and other officers attendedthe meeting.

Addressing the meeting theChief Minister directed the of-ficers concerned to remain incontact with the Election Com-mission and update themselvesabout all information/ prepara-tion and also complete the pro-cess within due course of time.The Chief Minister while

realising that the time was short,has cancelled the leave of Satur-day and Sunday next and directedthe officers and officials con-cerned to remain on their job andcomplete the same within time.

The Chief Minister also di-rected the officers that difficul-ties, if any, due to short time beresolved with mutual under-standing with the Election Com-mission and ensure that all theprerequisite and other require-ments of the election are com-plete.—APP

Govt ready to hold LocalBodies elections: Qaim

ELECTRONIC cigarette users followedover a year reduced or quit using tobaccocigarettes in large numbers and were less

prone to resume smoking, at least in the shortterm. Experts continue to debate whether or not“e-cigs” are smoking-cessation tools or just lei-sure products. The electronicvaporizers use cartridges ofliquid nicotine to deliver a fla-vored nicotine-laced vaporwithout the byproducts ofburning tobacco in traditionalcigarettes.

“Our results may not begeneralizable to all vapers,”Jean-Francois Etter said, usingthe slang for vaporizer users.“We had a majority of ex-smokers at baseline whereas inthe general population, mostvapers are current smokers,”he told Reuters Health.

Etter led the study at theInstitute of Social and Preven-tive Medicine at the Univer-sity of Geneva in Switzerland.The results were published inAddictive Behaviors.

A few small studies have found that e-ciga-rettes seemed to help smokers quit using tobaccoor at least to smoke fewer traditional cigarettes.But there have been no long-term studies of howpeople actually use e-cigarettes, so experts arestill unsure.

The researchers posted a questionnaire on aFrench stop-smoking website and asked sitesselling e-cigs to link to the questionnaire. Most“vapers” buy their e-cigs online.

The e-cig users recruited answered abaseline questionnaire, another one a month laterand a third one year later. Questions covered e-cigarette use, tobacco use and the date of quit-

ting tobacco, if one applied. Of more than 1000original recruits, 367 responded to all threesurveys. For those who had quit smoking al-ready and were using e-cigarettes instead, sixpercent had relapsed to tobacco after onemonth. That number was stable after one year.

Of those who weresmoking and using e-cigaretteswhen the study began, 22 per-cent had quit smoking tobaccoafter a month and 46 percenthad quit after a year. That groupaveraged 11.3 tobacco ciga-rettes daily at the beginning ofthe study and six cigarettes perday after one month.

This was just an explor-atory study and will need con-firmation from follow-up stud-ies, Etter said. “This suggeststhat e-cigs may help them quit,but our results need to be inter-preted with caution, because ofthe dropout rate at follow-upand the fact that our sample isnot representative of all vapers,”he said. In the short-term, e-cigsappear not to carry any health

risks of their own, he said. But researchers stilldon’t know the long-term health effects of in-haling the common solvent glycol and foodflavoring over many years. E-cigarettes don’tneed to be 100 percent safe, he said, they onlyneed to be significantly safer than tobacco ciga-rettes because they are primarily used by ciga-rette smokers. Of the three studies that haveinvestigated e-cig users, none of the dailyvapers were non-smokers.

Even though the evidence is still thin,Etter believes smokers should use e-cigarettesas quit-smoking aids, and doctors should rec-ommend them.

More evidence e-cigs mayhelp in quitting tobacco

Documents of five hundred megawatt Solar Power Project agreement are being exchanged between representatives of the Punjab Govt and CanadianSolar Company. Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif is also present.

Provincial Minister for Excise and Taxation Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman is inquiring after thehealth of a dengue patient in Mayo Hospital.

Citizens are waiting in a queue for their turn to get National Identity Cards from a mobilevan of NADRA.

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—An agreement wassigned between Punjab govern-ment and Canadian Solar Com-pany for investment in solar en-ergy project, here Thursday. Un-der the agreement, CanadianSolar Company will set up a 500-megawatt solar project at Quaid-i-Azam Solar Park.

In the first phase, a 200-megawatt plant would be set upwithin a year while a 300 mega-watt project would be completedduring next two years. CanadianSolar Company would investabout 1.75 billion dollars in the500 megawatt solar project whilePunjab government would pro-vide free of cost land.

Punjab Chief MinisterMuhammad Shahbaz Sharif, Pro-vincial Energy Minister Ch. SherAli Khan, Additional Chief Sec-retary, Secretary Energy JehanzebKhan, Senior Vice President Glo-bal Head of Utility Solar Projectof the Canadian Solar CompanyCharles Bai and other senior of-

ficials of the company werepresent at the signing ceremony.Talking to media-men on the oc-casion, Chief Minister ShahbazSharif welcomed the agreementbetween Punjab and solar com-pany of Canada for cooperationin energy sector. The Canadiancompany will make total invest-ment in 500 megawatt solar en-ergy plant.

The Chief Minister said thatthe agreement of cooperationbetween Canadian Companyand Punjab is a step forward. Hesaid that Pakistan is relying onthermal power for electricityproduction and a sum of Rs.10billion dollars is being spentannually on import of fuelwhich a poor country like Paki-stan cannot afford. He stressedthe need for setting up low-costenergy projects so that electric-ity could be provided to thepeople at cheaper rates.

He said that Punjab govern-ment is making rapid progressin this direction and low-costpower generation projects are

being established in the prov-ince. He said that prices of solarpower plants are decreasing inthe world, therefore, Punjabgovernment is giving priority tosolar energy projects.

He said that work is beingcarried out expeditiously onQuaid-e-Azam Solar Park inCholistan area of South Punjaband provision of infrastructureis being given top priority.Shahbaz Sharif said that QuaidAzam Solar Park will achievegreat importance in the regionand help in overcoming theshortage of electricity.

He said that Punjab govern-ment is also working speedily on1000 megawatt solar powerproject and initially 100 mega-watt power project will start pro-duction within a few months.The Chief Minister said that dur-ing recent visit to China he vis-ited various solar plants and ob-served that neither a heavyworkforce is required for thepurpose nor there is any expen-diture on gas or fuel.

Provincial Govt,Canadian Company signsolar energy agreement

Dengue drive tocontinue: Mujtaba

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—Minister Excise &Taxation and Finance PunjabMujtaba Shujaur Rehman said onThursday that the government ismaking efforts to eradicate den-gue larva and it is a continuesvarious parts of province.

“Free treatment facilities arebeing provided to the denguepatients in public sector hospitalsand provincial ministers andelected representatives are moni-toring these medical treatmentfacilities,” he added. He ex-pressed these views while visit-ing dengue patient’s wards atMayo Hospital here Thursday.

The minister enquired afterthe health of patients and aboutthe diagnostic as well as treat-ment procedure from them.

Meanwhile, visiting variousplaces at Shadbagh, MujtabaShuja-ur-Rehman appealed toshopkeepers and residents thatwater should not be stagnant atstreets and route and directed thetown administration to sent sprayteams so that to eliminate den-gue mosquito.

Pir Hasnaat callson ShahbazOBSERVER REPORT

LAHORE—Federal Minister PirAminul Hasnaat and assemblymembers from various districtscalled on Punjab Chief MinisterMuhammad Shahbaz Sharif, heretoday and apprised him of prob-lems of their respective areas.

They included Nasir IqbalBosal, Aamir Inayat Shahani,Qaiser Sindhu, MaulanaMuhammad Rehmatullah andMalik Mohammad Ali Khokhar.

DG Rangersmeets Governor

LAHORE—Punjab GovernorCh Muhammad Sarwar met withDirector General RangersPunjab Major General KhanTahir Khan at the Governor’sHouse here on Thursday.

Several matters, includingLaw and order, in the provincewere discussed in the meeting.

The governor stressed uponall-out efforts to ensure protec-tion of lives and properties ofpeople.—APP

BA, BScadmission dates

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—Punjab UniversityController Examinations has ex-tended the last date for submis-sion of Admission forms of BA/BSc Annual Examination, 2014with single fee up to 13-11-2013while forms can be submittedwith double fee till 25-11- 2013.

SALIM AHMED

LAHORE—An InternationalLabour Conference will be heldin Lahore in mid of March nextyear under Punjab Labour &Human Resource Department incollaboration with InternationalLabour Organization (ILO).

Delegates from all over theworld including South AsianCountries, SAARC Chamber ofCommerce, representatives ofintentional labour and employeeorganizations, labour experts,NGOs will participate in this in-ternational event.

This was disclosed by Pro-vincial Minister for Labour &

Human Resources Raja AshfaqSarwar while presiding a meetingto review the arrangements to con-duct this conference.

Members Provincial Assem-bly Saira Iftikhar, Hina PervaizButt, Secretary Labour Capt.Retd. Muhammad Yousaf, Com-missioner Social Security FarhanAziz Khawaja, Vice Commis-sioner PESSI, Director LabourHeadquarter Hasnaat Javed andother officers of concerned depart-ments attended the meeting.

While reviewing the arrange-ments, the Provincial Ministersaid that the purpose behind thisinternational conference is toshare the experiences of South

Asian and other countries regard-ing problems of labour commu-nity, to promote the global wel-fare-oriented efforts for better-ment of labour class, and also todiscuss the initiatives being takenby all the stakeholders regardingensuring international labourstandards in this region.

The Provincial Minister saidthat a separate secretariat wouldbe set up by this department tomake the event successful andconcrete efforts are required byall the departments for achievingcooperation of Federal LabourMinistry, SAARC Chamber ofCommerce, ILO and other donoragencies in this regard.

International LabourConference in mid March

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—Punjab Chief Minis-ter Muhammad Shahbaz Sharifhas said that all out resources arebeing utilized for dealing withdengue problem and the con-cerned departments are fullymobilized.

He said that due to collectiveefforts of the government, electedrepresentatives, government de-partments and the masses, thesituation has considerably im-proved.

The Chief Minister said thathad the anti-dengue plan evolvedduring previous years be fullyimplemented, dengue would not

have been surfaced. He said thatdengue mosquito had been elimi-nated from the province in 2011and it will again be defeated.

He said that elected represen-tatives should personally distrib-ute pamphlets promoting aware-ness about preventive measuresagainst dengue mosquito amongthe people and besides their ownconstituencies, also visit otherareas to review the steps takenfor curbing this menace.

He was presiding over ahigh-level meeting to reviewdengue situation and the mea-sures taken for eradication of thismenace, here today. ProvincialMinisters Rana Sanaullah Khan,

Khalil Tahir Sindhu, Bilal Yasin,Mujtaba Shuja ur Rehman,Members National and Provin-cial Assemblies Chief Secretary,Secretaries of concerned depart-ments, experts, heads of devel-opment agencies and officials ofconcerned departments werepresent.

Addressing the meeting, theChief Minister directed that anti-dengue regulations be fullyimplemented and stern action betaken against hotels, marriagehalls and other institutions fail-ing to comply these laws.

He said that cleanliness ofbus stands, graveyards and otherpublic places be ensured.

All efforts underway toeradicate dengue

UHS ResearchBoard’smeetingMUZAFFAR ALI

LAHORE—The 83rd meeting ofAdvanced Studies and ResearchBoard of the University ofHealth Sciences (UHS) was heldhere on Thursday with ViceChancellor Maj Gen (R) ProfMuhammad Aslam in the chair

The board considered thethesis reports of Dr. JunaidSarfraz Khan for Ph.D. (Medi-cal Education), Mr. Sajjad Ullahfor Ph.D. (Human Genetics &Molecular Biology), Dr. SadiaWazir Khan for M.Phil(Anatomy), Dr. Neelam Raheelfor M.Phil (Community Medi-cine), Dr. Nadia Iftikhar forM.Phil (Oral Pathology), Dr.Gulmina Saeed Orakzai forM.Phil (Oral Pathology), Dr.Uzma Ather for M.Phil (Physi-ology), Dr. Abdul Ghaffar Khanfor M.Phil (Physiology), Dr.Abdul Waheed for M.S.(Anaesthesiology), Dr.Muhammad Irfan Yousaf forM.S. (Neurosurgery), Dr. ZafarIqbal for M.S. (Orthopaedics)and Dr. Sidrah Saleem for Ph.D.(Microbiology).

Nutritionawareness

camp at UVASSTAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—The University ofVeterinary and Animal SciencesLahore’s Department of FoodScience & Human Nutrition or-ganized a one-day NutritionAwareness Camp for free of costNutritional Assessment & Di-etary Counselling for the univer-sity employees and students.

The main areas of activityincluded Body Mass Index(BMI), Energy Requirements,Ideal Body Weight, Body Com-position, Balance Dietary Re-gime, Healthy Eating Practicesand Dietary Counselling accord-ing to individual requirements.

The camp was aimed to cre-ate awareness about nutritionand role of balanced diet inhealth management.

LAHORE—The Lahore HighCourt on Thursday took noticeof a press report regarding pa-thetic condition of the judicialrecord rooms of Gujrat andMandi Bahauddin districts.

Member Inspection TeamHabib Ullah Amir has directedthe districts and sessions judgesconcerned to report in three days.

According to a news item,over a century-old judicialrecord room of Gujrat is in ashambles and in dire need of ur-gent attention of the judicial as

well as the authorities con-cerned as litigants have to suf-fer a lot in search of their de-cades-old record of judgments.

Officials of the RevenueDepartment are responsible fortaking care of the judicialrecord of Gujrat and MandiBahauddin districts lying in therecord room set up in 1868 bythe British rulers in a buildingknown as the Gole Adalat(round court) on the premisesof the then district courts out-side the Gujrat DPO office.

The record room is con-sisted of six big halls and threerooms where courts from bothGujrat and Mandi Bahauddindistricts would send files of thedecided cases, but after gettingthe status of a district a sepa-rate judicial record room wasestablished in MandiBahauddin in 1994.

Therefore, files of the casesdecided by the judiciary as wellas revenue courts had continuedto be dumped in Gujrat’s judicialrecord room till 1994.—APP

LHC takes notice ofdilapidated record rooms