Poor performance ofbureaucracy: Politicians too areresponsible................................................A way out for MQM and Altaftoo................................................ECC’s timely, far reachingdecisions

See Page 04

IRFAN ALIGI/AAMIR MAJEED

KARACHI—Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) andMuttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) wouldshortly ink an agreement for forming a coali-tion Sindh government under the 60-40 percentpower sharing formula. For this purpose, boththe parties have consented to constitute sepa-rate Core Committees, which would soon startholding negotiations and finalise the deed whichwas recently initiated by PPP Co-chairman AsifAli Zardari, who had called MQM Chief AltafHussain in London over phone.

The accord was the outcome of a three-hour-long meeting between senior PPP leader

Rehman Malik and MQM supremo AltafHussain in London.

The PPP Core Committee would be headedby Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah.Sindh Senior Minister for Education NisarAhmed Khuhro, Sindh Minister for Local Gov-ernment, Archives and Information SharjeelMemon and Sindh Minister for ParliamentaryAffairs Dr Sikandar Meendhro would serve asmembers.

The MQM Core Committee would beheaded by Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui whileDr Farooque Sattar, Syed Sardar Ahmed andKunawr Naveed Jameel would be the members.

MQM to rejoinSindh Govt

Senate elections to be contested jointlyAltaf apologises over tirade against LEAs

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STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Opposition in National Assem-bly (NA) has boycotted the house proceedingsas a mark of protest against increase in GeneralSales Tax (GST) by government on furnace oiland other commodities announcing protest willcontinue unless GST is withdrawn.

Opposition leader Sued Khurshid Shah al-leged rulers had made the country slave to IMFand financial institutions. “We played our rolefor ensuring the supremacy of the parliament inearlier. Now tell us what reply should we giveto the nation. Mini budget has broken the backof people. All the segments of society includingfarming community and labor class are highlydisturbed.

He said the taxes are being imposed on the

orders of IMF. He said this kind of decisionsare not made in Europe and America, addingthat if the petroleum prices are decreased newtaxes are imposed to collect revenue.

He said Supreme Court of Pakistan shouldalso take notice of increase in tax on petroleumproducts. While talking to media persons outsidethe Parliament House along with members ofother opposition parties after staging walk outfrom National Assembly session Khurshid Shahsaid the opposition parties in National Assemblyraised the objection on one point in Assemblyproceedings. He said government has imposed5% GST twice on petroleum products and onMonday during the ECC meeting 5% regulatoryduty was imposed on furnace oil. He said regula-tory duty was also imposed on 284 items.

Increase in POL GST

Opposition stages walk outKhurshid Shah threatens road protests

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AAP broomsweeps Delhi;BJP wins only3 seatsNEW DELHI—The AamAadmi Party (AAP) jugger-naut steamrolled its oppo-nents as it scored an over-whelming victory in the Delhiassembly polls on Tuesday,handing the BJP its firstelectoral defeat since PrimeMinister Narendra Modi ledthe party to power in lastyear’s general election.

The AAP won 67 seats inthe 70-member House, goingfar beyond the most optimis-tic exit polls and its ownwildest expectations, whilethe BJP was left bruised in adistant second place with justthree seats. The Congress,reeling from a string ofdefeats since it was routed inthe Lok Sabha polls, drew anignominious blank.

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SARWAR AWAN

ISLAMABAD—Prime MinisterNawaz Sharif on Tuesday saidthat Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower project should be com-pleted within the giventimeframe adding that no slack-

Asif warns of looming water crisis

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MUZAFFAR ALI

LAHORE—Minister for Wa-ter and Power Khawaja AsifTuesday said that power cri-sis would be over in the next2-3 years, but Pakistan willface water crisis as nobodyhad paid attention to it in thepast.

While talking to the par-ticipants of the ceremony ar-ranged to observe the foun-dation day of Wapda inLahore, the minister stressed

that the authorities have failedto pay heed to this alarming is-sue. “As citizens of Pakistan,we are in a habit of wastingelectricity, gas and water,” Asifsaid.

The minister said the gov-ernment is taking all possiblemeasures to end the currentelectricity crisis, adding it willbe tackled in the next two tothree years. He said that watershortage was imminent and ef-forts needed to resolve this.

The federal minister said

that land for construction ofthe Diamer-Bhasha dam isbeing acquired on the samerate, as land in Islamabad. Hefurther said that future gen-erations will benefit fromelectricity generated throughdams.

Khawaja Asif urged thenation to play its roles in sav-ing the electricity and statedthat the government is not re-ducing the price of electric-ity due to already reduced oil

KABUL—China has promised to help build ahydroelectric power plant in Afghan border re-gion, as well as road and rail links to Pakistan,in the latest sign it is taking a more active rolein Afghanistan.

The assistance will include an unspecifiedamount of financing, an Afghan foreign minis-try spokesman, Sirajul Haq Siraj, said on Tues-day, a day after senior Afghan, Chinese and Pa-kistani diplomats met in Kabul.

China expands role inAfghanistan, Pakistan

“China agreed to support relevant initiativesfor projects including the Kunar hydropowerplant and strengthening road and rail connec-tions between Afghanistan and Pakistan,” Chi-nese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman HuaChunying told a daily news briefing in Beijing.

The planned 1,500 megawatt dam on theKunar River, was previously supported only byPakistan, which could buy some of the electric-

No delay to be brooked inpower projects completion: PM

ness on anyone’s part will betolerated. He directed the min-istries concerned to take stepsfor meeting funds requirementto ensure timely completion ofthis Project.

The Prime Minister waschairing 8th meeting of the

Cabinet Committee on Energyhere which reviewed progresson the implementation of deci-sions taken in previous sevenmeetings.

Prime Minister NawazSharif also said that the people

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STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Interior Minis-ter Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khanon Tuesday directed SecretaryInterior Shahid Khan to coor-dinate with the Ministry of For-eign Affairs to reconcile a ‘na-

Banned organisations list tomatch UN blacklist: Nisar

tional list’ of proscribedorganisations as per the black-list of the United Nations.

Nisar gave the directive ina meeting held here to reviewprogress on the National ActionPlan for countering militancyand extremism. The meeting

was attended by Secretary In-terior, National CoordinatorNACTA, DG-FIA, Chief Com-missioner ICT and IGIslamabad.

An official of the Interior

Ch Sarwarjoins PTI

ISLAMABAD—Former governorof Punjab Chaudhry Sarwar hasannounced to join PakistanTehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI).

Speaking at a ceremony or-ganized by PTI in IslamabadTuesday, Chaudhry Sarwar saidhe is proud to be a member of

PTI. Elaborating the reason be-hind joining PTI, he said Imranis a man of high values.

“Imran Khan is my leader,who has been struggling for thebetterment of Pakistan from last20 years”, he added. , “I amproud to have joined the PTI.”“Positions and protocols arepointless if you can’t servepeople,” he added. Sarwar statedthat 5% of the population hastaken 95% of the nation as hos-tage. He expressed those desig-nations which are unable to re-solve the problems of the nation

Picture on Back Page

Chinese FM visit

Bilateralrelationship tobe consolidated

‘Year of FriendlyExchanges’ to be launched

LIAQAT TOOR

ISLAMABAD—Leading an 8-member delegation, the ForeignMinister of the People’s Repub-lic of China, Mr. Wang Yi, willhold meetings with Pakistanileadership to consolidate all as-pects of bilateral relationship dur-ing his two-day visit to Pakistancommencing on Thursday.

Pakistan attaches great im-portance to its comprehensivestrategic partnership withChina. Such high-level visitsare a regular feature of thetime-tested and unshakeablebonds of friendship betweenthe governments and peoples ofPakistan and China.

During the visit, ForeignMinister Wang Yi would holddelegation-level talks with Mr.Sartaj Aziz, Adviser to thePrime Minister on NationalSecurity and Foreign Affairs.

Chinese Foreign Ministerwill also call on the Presidentand the Prime Minister.

Pakistan and China wouldreview and further consolidateall aspects of the bilateral rela-tionship, with a special focuson political, strategic and eco-nomic cooperation. The visitwould also afford an opportu-nity to both sides to have a freeand frank exchange of views onregional and global develop-ments of mutual interest.

During the visit, the Minis-try of Foreign Affairs and theChinese Embassy in Islamabadwould also co-host the Launch-ing Ceremony of Pakistan-China‘Year of Friendly Exchanges.’

Foreign Ministryprocesses SaudiassistanceSTAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—The Ministryof Foreign Affairs processoffers of economic assistanceand project-based assistanceby Saudi Arabia in consulta-tion with the relevantdepartments and agencies ofthe government.

The spokespersonresponding to a questionregarding the statementissued by the Embassy of theKingdom of Saudi Arabia onfinancial assistance, said theKingdom of Saudi Arabia has

Continued on Page 7

PESHAWAR: Children of TDPs of Bara sit on winterised package by Pakistan Red Crescent Society.

LOWER DIR: Doctors of Army Medical Corps examining patients in a free medicalcamp at Shal Kandee Munda Jandool.

HYDERABAD: A resident of Seeri lies on road during a protest against local police.

IRFAN ALIGI

K A R A C H I — M u t t a h i d aQaumi Movement (MQM)Parliamentary Leader inSindh Assembly (SA) SyedSardar Ahmed and DeputyParliamentary LeaderKhawaja Izhar Ul Hassansaid the government did notwant MQM should raise thevoice of concern in the SAover people’s grievances.Therefore, the Speaker SAhad postponed the secondconsecutive session of theSA over the pretext of thequorum.

However, the MQM hadsubmitted a resolution in con-demnation of remarks and useof filthy language by the Pa-kistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chair-man Imran Khan, which heused not only against theMQM Chief Altaf Hussainbut almost against all leadingpoliticians and heads of po-litical parties. Imran Khan hadpioneered the use of deroga-tory language in politics.

They were talking to thenewsmen after the SpeakerSA had adjourned the ses-sion over less than the re-quired quorum. MQM law-makers had flanked them.

MQM irked bypostponement of SA

session on quorum issueAhmed on the occasion

said the Speaker had whileviolating the clause 5, sub-clause 1 of the Rules ad-journed the session within 5minutes over the lame pretextof quorum. As per the Rules,the Speaker was bound toring the warning bells with agap of 5 minutes and if thequorum was still not in scene,then the session could bepostponed for next date.

The MQM lawmakerswere inside the SA premisesbut since the distance wasthere from new building, noneof the lawmakers heard thewarning bells and as soon asthe MQM lawmakers enteredthe House, the Speaker hadannoyingly postponed thesession.

He said it was the duty ofthe government to completethe quorum but it seemed asif the government was in hasteto complete the 100 sessionslimit rather than focusing onresolution of problems of thepeople.

He said the MQMwanted to table a resolutionin the SA on the private mem-bers day but was disap-pointed with thegovernment’s attitude.

ISLAMABAD—The six days International Train-ing Course on Disaster Management Risk(DMR) for the Afghan disaster managerskicked off here on Tuesday. The trainingcourse is being organized by the NationalDisaster Management Authority (NDMA) incollaboration with Japan International Coop-eration Agency (JICA).

The objective of the program is to de-velop necessary skills of officials from neigh-boring country Afghanistan with regard toDRR mainstreaming in disaster preparedness,response, mitigation and media managementfor saving lives and properties of people fromnatural human-induced disasters.

Addressing the inaugural ceremony,Chairman NDMA, Major General AsgharNawaz extended warm welcome to the Af-ghan participants on their arrival in Pakistanand hoped that the training course wouldhelp to establish a common understandingamong disaster and development practitio-ners of ANDMA to improve collaboration

NDMA starts Afghanofficials training course

among various disciplines and integrate riskreduction consideration in developmentplans and decision.

He assured ANDMA of full support forenhancing their capacities for timely responsetoward disasters.

He also appreciated JICA for its collabo-ration to organize this training course thatwould help the participants to understandthe importance of DM. The inaugural ceremony of training coursewas also attended by Ambassador of Japanto Pakistan Hiroshi Inomata, Deputy Direc-tor of South Asia Division 2 JICA, MemberDRR, NDMA Ahmed Kamal and other offi-cials from Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

This is pertinent to mention here that Pa-kistan and Kazakhstan being co-leads devel-oped an implementation plan for CBM on Di-saster Management to serve as a platform fordeveloping and implementing practical co-operation through activities and programs inthe field of disaster management.—APP

District admnretrieve 806 acre

forests landRAJANPUR—The districtadministration has launcheda grand operation employ-ing heavy machineryagainst land grabbers andretrieved 806 acre land offorest department.

The grand operationwas being executed by jointteams of police, revenue,forest departments and dis-trict administration. Theteams are equipped withtractors and other heavymachinery eyeing retrievalof another 9355 acre pre-cious forest land from ille-gal occupants.

Forty nine (49) out-houses of illegal occupantshave so far been demolishedand tube wells uprooted.DCO Ghazi Amanullah saidthat even an inch of stateland would be retrieved fromthe land grabbers as it wasthe property of the countryand the nation.

Forty two forest de-partment officials andheavy contingents of po-lice were part of the jointteams engaged in retriev-ing state land and revenuedepartment officials werethere to identify the stateland with arrangements todemarcate it.—APP

OUR CORRESPONDENT

LANDIKOTAL—A woman among five per-sons killed and 18 injured when a speedypassenger coach plunged into a deep ditchnear Torkham Zaman Saparee area ofLandikotal here on Tuesday. The dead andwounded persons included children andwomen are from Afghanistan, official andlocal sources said.

The sources said that a flying coachbearing registration number 6160 was onethe way from Peshawar to Torkham. Thesources said that while negotiating a dan-gerous curve the vehicle went out of driver

5 killed, 18 injured in accidentcontrol and fell into a ravine near ZamanSapary area of Antidotal. Some 17 personsmost of them were children injured.

Soon after the incident happened theKhasdar force personnel reached the siteand rescued the injured and killed personsfrom the vehicle and shifted them to Agencyheadquarter hospital for medico legal for-malities.

The injured persons, most of them werefrom Afghanistan identified as Sher Alam,Sumaira, Feroza, Muhammad, Shahidullah,Rizwan, Tahir, Shakir(driver) ,SiddiqRahman, Zohaib, Husna , Wahida, Saima,Muhmmad and Dyar Gul.

30 universities consortium, NBF sign MoUISLAMABAD—Inter-University Consor-tium for Promotion of Social Sciences,Arts and Humanities (IUCPSS) , an alli-ance of 30 leading universities of Paki-stan, and National Book Foundation(NBF) signed Memorandum of Under-standing (MOU) to promote book read-ing culture and social sciences in highereducation sector of the country.

The MOU was signed by ChairmanIUCPSS and Vice Chancellor Universityof Hairpur, Dr. Nasser Ali Khan andSecretary NBF Mr. Aftab AhmedSoomro at Abdul Wali Khan Univer-sity Mardan. The event was attended

by more than 30 vice chancellors, aca-demicians and representatives of civilsociety.

According to the MOU, both theorganization agreed to extend coopera-tion with one another to undertake col-laborative efforts through organizingjoint programs and activities.

It was also agreed that NBF in part-nership with member universities wouldestablish “NBF University bookshops” where special discount (50 per-cent on NBF publications, 15 percenton text books and 10 percent to 33 per-cent on general books) would be of-

fered to the students.In addition, under “Readers Club

Scheme” a special quota of memberswould be allocated to each of the uni-versity.

NBF would avail the existing facili-ties of printing at the university cam-puses and would facilitate in publica-tion of research and curriculum workof the university faculty of the inter uni-versity member institutions.

It was also decided that NBF BookAmbassador Muhammad Murtaza Noorwould act as facilitator among NBF andIUCPSS member universities.—APP

LAHORE—Pakistan UlemaCouncil will observe ProtestDay against terrorism, ex-tremism and sectarian tor-ture on February 13.

This was stated by PUCcentral chairman HafizTahir Mehmood Ashrafi ina meeting with a delegationof Tahafuz e Madaras eDinya (TMD) here onTuesday.

He said that Madarasand Masajid were cooper-ating with the governmenton National Action Planeven they had some reser-vation on it, adding thoseelements would be failedwho were doing politics onmadaras and masajid.

Ashrafi was of the view

that some forces wanted touse madaras and masajid fortheir own political cause butthese institutions wouldcontinue serving the nation.

He said that leadershipand students of religiousschools were cooperatingwith the government andPak Army for elimination ofextremism and terrorismfrom the country and thiscooperation would remaincontinue.

He urged the govern-ment to adopt means of dia-logues with responsibles ofmadaras including TahafuzMadaras e Dinya andWafaqul Masajid for all is-sues including registrationof these madaras.—APP

PUC to observe protestday against terrorism

KHANPUR—The terrorists would betaken to task as the incumbent gov-ernment has devised strict policies toeliminate the terrorism from the coun-try. This was stated by Member Na-tional Assembly (MNA) Sheikh Fiazud Din while talking to media, social,political activists including notablesof area here on Tuesday.

The government, he said has for-mulated foolproof security arrange-ments for the public and privateschools and zero tolerance would beobserved against any negligence ofresponsible. Meanwhile, District Co-ordination Officer (DCO) Sargodh,Saqib Manaan has directed the admin-istration of all schools and colleges toensure foolproof security arrange-ments. Presiding over a meeting onTuesday, the DCO said that schoolsand colleges’ administration wouldnot be allowed to collect extra dueson account of security charges andstrict action would be taken againstthem if they found charging extra feefor security measures.

He directed the policemen and au-

KP police round up 239 suspects in ongoing operation against criminals

Govt practices policiesto eliminate terror: Fiaz

dit committee to monitor the schoolson daily basis.

He also announced full coopera-tion to the educational institutes forprovision of security.Peshawar: The Khyber PakhtunkhwaPolice in the ongoing search and strikeoperation through out the provinceagainst criminals and anti-social ele-ments has rounded up 189 suspectsand recovered huge quantity of armsand ammunition.

According to details, police in theoperation conducted in different partsof the province recovered 40 arms andammunition of different kind and 340rounds of different bore. During theoperation 737 houses and 260 hotelswere checked and 06 cases were reg-istered against the violators.

In snap checking on 130 checkpoints, 322 suspects were held andrecovered 11 arms of different kind and201 cartridges.

During action against illegal Af-ghans a total of 61 persons were de-tained on violation and 31 cases wereregistered against them. Similarly 3

persons were arrested against mis-used of loudspeaker and 4 loudspeak-ers were seized and 3 cases were reg-istered against the violators.

Security inspections of 1136 edu-cational institutions were also carriedout and various institutions were ad-vised to further beef up security ar-rangements.Hangu: Police authorities have ar-rested 50 suspects in a search opera-tion started in the wake of threat toHangu Police Training College(HPTC) by a banned outfit. DistrictPolice Officer (DPO) Anwar SaeedKundi told media persons here onTuesday that the search operationlaunched in areas of Gulbagh, LakhtaiBandi, Qazi Pump, Umarabad, IbrahimZai and Shahoon areas and 50 sus-pects have been apprehended.

Police told that during last twoweeks, 70 criminals were arrested ow-ing to their complicity in crimes of se-rious nature. Police also recovered 23Kalashnikovs, 35 pistols, eight deto-nators, 11 rifles and 18 Kg hashish fromthe hideouts of arrested.—APP

Italy continuesheritage

preserving supportWAH CANTT—Head of theItalian Archaeological Mis-sion in Pakistan Dr LucaMaria Olivieri has said thatItaly will continue its sup-port for excavations, preser-vation and restoration ofancient sites in Pakistan.

While talking to news-men here on Tuesday, DrLuca resolved to equip thelocal archaeologists withprovision of training andmaterial for proper excava-tion and preservation of thelocal ancient sites.

He said that Italian ar-chaeologists are committedto Swat Museum, since itsfirst concept and building inyear 1958 was a joint Italian-Pakistani venture. Italian ar-chaeologists were terriblyconcerned about the fate ofthe Museum during the in-surgency, especially afterthe tragic blast that occurredin February 2009, he added.

Swat Museum is part ofa context where we havespent almost 60 years of re-search and fieldwork.

He added that this is thereason why we decided tocontribute to the new Mu-seum.

The people of Swat haveaccepted them warmly andoften call Dr Luca Olivieri “anItalian Pathan” to expresstheir love and gratitude tohim. In addition to excava-tion sites, the ItalianMission’s supported the es-tablishment of Swat Mu-seum in 1963, its reconstruc-tion in 2013.

Almost six decades ofclose collaboration betweenscholars from Italy and Paki-stan has resulted in the exca-vation of numerous Buddhistmonuments in Swat.—APP

Shah pays SALUfor purchase of

date palm tissue plants

SUKKUR—The OppositionLeader in the National Assem-bly (NA), Syed KhursheedAhmed Shah handed over acheque of Rs 300,000 to ShahAbdul Latif University(SALU), Khairpur on accountof purchase of tissue plantsof Date Palm, produced byDate Palm Research Institute(DPRI) through tissue cultureof various varieties.

It may be mentioned herethat Syed Khursheed Shahpurchased the Date Palms forhis personal farmhouse, saida SALU Press release here onTuesday.

The SALU has taken aninitiative to commercialise theDate Palm Tissue by selling itto progressive growers of thearea to encourage them togrow new varieties of DatePalms and maintain a liaisonwith the farmers.—APP

GCUF producesanother PhD

scholarFAISALABAD—Bilal Hussainhas successfully completedhis PhD in the subject of Zo-ology under the supervisor ofDr. Tayyaba Sultana, Associ-ate Professor, Department ofZoology, Wildlife and Fisher-ies of the Government CollegeUniversity of Faisalabad(GCUF).

He has worked on theproject titled “Dna Fragmen-tation as A Biomarker of Fresh-water Pollution and Fish MeatQuality”. During his PhD de-fense, Bilal Hussain reportedacute level of pollution in theRiver Chenab and stated thatall water quality parametersand heavy metal (Cd, Cu, Mn,Zn, Pb, Cr, Sb and Hg) werefound to be far higher in con-centration than the permis-sible limits of WHO. He alsoreported the reduced qualityof fish meat production alongwith significant DNA damagein Catla catla, Labeo rohita andCirrhinus mrigala.

His study highlighted thesignificance of a set ofbiomarkers to identify the ef-fects of anthropogenic pollu-tion that have a potentialgenotoxic effects.—APP

Training projectfor FATA mastertrainers launched

PESHAWAR—Aik Hunar AikNagar (AHAN) in collabora-tion with FATA DevelopmentAuthority (FDA) haslaunched the second phaseof its Training of Trainers(TOT) project aimed at capac-ity building of Master train-ers of FDA.

The six months longproject will provide opportu-nity to master trainers work-ing at 72 skill centers of FATAto get advanced training inFood Preservation, MarbleMosaic and Candlemaking,â•• informed SayedZahid Ali Shah, Regional Co-ordinator AHAN KPK.

These master trainers whoare in charge of Skill Develop-ment Centers in FATA and FRregions will pass on the skillto trainees after completingtheir training in these threedisciplines. Presently, he said,FDA has shared list of train-ers who will benefit from theproject with AHAN and ses-sion is soon going to start inHayatabad (Peshawar). Earlierin the first phase of TOT, skilltraining was imparted byAHAN to FATA trainers inembroidery skill, Zahid added.

Our projects are not aimedonly to develop the skills ofthe trainees but also to helpthem develop sustainable link-ages with business forum andlarge business houses.

It is for this reason that thetrainees in the first phase weregiven exposure visits to vari-ous markets of Rawalpindiand Islamabad and to LokVirsa. The exposure visit fur-ther polished their skills of link-age development and pro-vided them an insight on mar-ket demand, he continued.

Both AHAN and FDA arejointly striving hard to under-take various development ini-tiatives in FATA and FR re-gions by taking the people onboard. After completion oftraining sessions, quality mar-ketable products will be col-lected for display at exhibitionto be arranged at the end ofthe project.

It merits a mention herethat AHAN has beenlaunched by government ofPakistan through SMEDA asa replica of efforts in Thai-land to develop rural non-farm enterprise through theâ•œone village oneproductâ•• program.—APP

ISLAMABAD: Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sardar Mehtab Ahmad Khan shakinghands with Permanent Secretary for Department for International Development UK,Mr Mark Lowcock at KP House.

PESHAWAR: Police personnel presenting arrested smuggler and seized weapons before media.

PESHAWAR: Special persons hold a demonstration in support of their demands.

BASHIR AHMAD RAHMANI

HAFIZABAD—The KalekePolice alongwith veterinarydoctor Ali Ahmar raidedKaleke Mandi and seized50-kg meat of dead chickenand arrested vendor SheikhGulfam and registered a caseaccordingly.

On a tip off, the veteri-nary doctor Ali Ahmar andthe police raided KalekeMandi and arrested theshopkeeper Sheikh Gulfamwhile his brother Jamshaidmanaged his good escape.

According to the citi-zens the accused used to

50kg deadchiken meat seized

sell the meat of dead chickenand today he was going tosupply 50-kg dead meat ofpoultry in village Lakhi Shah.

The district police andlaw enforcement agencieslaunched crackdownagainst defunct religiousparties and have arrested 6activists and have sentthem to jail. They are: RanaJamshaid Tabassum R/oDhegranwalai, GhulamSafdar, Muhammad AshrafR/o Madhora Kalan,Waheed Anwar R/o ChakChatha, Talib Hussain PindiBhattian and Parvaiz AhmadKishan Garrh.

NAB nabs ex-postmaster formillions of rupees

embezzlementPESHAWAR—NAB has ar-rested Abdul Sattar Khan Ex-Post Master, Sardheri BazarPost Office, Charsadda alleg-edly involved in embezzle-ment/ misappropriation ofGovt funds and caused mil-lions of rupees loss to Gov-ernment exchequer. Furtherinvestigations from the ac-cused person may unearthmore embezzlement.

As per details, the ac-cused Abdul Sattar Khan, Ex-Post Master by misusing hisauthority embezzled Govtmoney amounting to millionsof rupees. An amount of ap-proximately Rs. 2 million wasrecovered by the Postal De-partment. However, the ac-cused failed to deposit theremaining amount. Accord-ingly, the case was referredto NAB for further inquiryand recovery.

Taking cognizance of thecase, NAB (KP) started in-quiry and established thatmillions of rupees in Govern-ment funds were misappro-priated by the accused. Theaccused will be producedbefore the AccountabilityCourt for obtaining hisphysical remand into NAB(KP) custody.—INP

MUZAFFARGARH—Threeunits of Muzaffargarh ther-mal power station have beenclosed due to non-supply offurnace oil bringing downthe power generation from1550MW to only 570 MW.

Sources said due to sig-nificant reduction in thesupply of furnace oil, thegeneration capacity of the

thermal power had been af-fected.

The authorities wereforced to close down three-generation units. A spokes-man for PEPCO said that thecompany would be pro-vided the required quantityof oil in the next ten days tofacilitate the operation ofclosed units.—INP

Thermal power unitsclosed over non-supply

of furnace oil

LAHORE—Provincial Minis-ter for Education and SportsRana Mashhood AhmedKhan Tuesday said thatPunjab government will es-tablish e-Library Complex atthe Sports Board Punjab,Lahore.

In the first phase of theproject, mobile e-libraries willalso be also set up at a bigground of 13 districts of theprovince including Lahore,Faisalabad, Multan,Bahawalpur, Sargodha,Sahiwal, Toba Tek Singh andGujrat under public- privatepartnership, he said this whilepresiding over a meeting hereon. Chairman Punjab Curricu-lum & Textbook Board Lt.Gen. (R) Muhammad AkramKhan, Secretary Archives andLibraries Punjab OryaMaqbool Jan, Director Gen-eral Libraries Dr. NaseerAhmed Babar, Director Gen-eral Sports Punjab UsmanAnwar, senior officers of ITUniversity, COMSATS,

Punjab University, SchoolEducation Department, LocalGovernment and GC Univer-sity were present in the meet-ing.

Rana Mashhood Ahmedsaid that mobile e libraries willbe set up in old buses andnegotiations for getting thesebuses from Lahore TransportCompany are in final stages.Sports Board Punjab will giveshape of mobile libraries tothese buses after necessaryrenovation and the facility ofe-library in big grounds of 13districts will be provided from3pm to 7pm in various areasof every city, he said.

He said that Wi-Fi internetfacility will be available roundthe clock to common citizensin those cities where gymna-sium of Sports Board Punjabalready exist. Similarly, IT li-braries of schools and col-leges and libraries of localgovernment departments willbe given status of e- library,he said.—APP

Punjab govt to setupe-library complex

PESHAWAR—Chief Minister KPKPervez Khattak Tuesday visited of-fices of Police Assistance Lines(PAL) and Dispute ResolutionCouncil (DRC) and get briefing fromthe IGP on the setting up of PALand DRC meant to address prob-lems of the ordinary citizens pertain-ing to police department and reso-lution of petty nature disputes.

The IGP briefed the Chief Min-ister that the decision to launch PALwas taken keeping in mind thetroubles and difficulties faced byordinary citizens pertaining to theireveryday matters relating to policedepartment.

The project aims to redress thegeneral public’s grievance aboutthe presumed reluctance and hesi-tation of local police station staff

with regards to everyday minor is-sues like lost items reporting, char-acter verification etc. It is meant tofacilitate public to resolve issuewithout going to Police Station.

During visit of the office of DRC,the IGP briefed him about its objec-tives saying that it was establishedto provide a forum for amicable reso-lution of petty disputes that turnout into long standing enmities be-tween families.

The Chief Minister said that theforemost principle of his govern-ment was providing justice to thepeople at the gross root level andhoped that this initiative would pro-vide door step and immediate jus-tice to the aggrieved.

Similarly he said this would notonly build confidence in the masses

towards the Police but also wouldput an end to the Thana Culture.He desired for publicizing DRCs atMohallah and mosques level sothat maximum people could be in-formed of its utility and their pettyproblems solved amicably.

Pervez Khattak said that mak-ing police force independent andautonomous body was infact thefirst step to provide protection oflife, property and honor to the un-rest stricken people of KhyberPakhtunkhwa.

He said that complaints aboutsaluting the rich and beating thepoor at police stations would thenbecome stories of the past.

He said every innocent wouldbe given respect and criminal wouldbe dealt with iron hand by police

onward. He said the establishmentand strengthening of new sectionsand training schools in police de-partment including investigation,intelligence and combat would notonly improve the professional ca-pability of police force but wouldhelp in redressing problems of themasses in general. Later PervezKhattak also visited district jailNowshera and met its inmates toapprise himself of their problems.

Speaker KP Assembly Haji AsadQaider, Minister for Excise & Taxa-tion Mian Jamshedudin Kakakhel,MPA of the area Muhammad IdreesKhattak, Chairman and judge ofDRC Raj Muhammad Khattak andmembers of DRC, the IGP NasirKhan Durrani were present on theoccasion.—APP

PAL, DRC to address problems ofcitizens relating to police: Khattak

JI for strict actionagainst Baldiatown accused

MULTAN—Vice AmeerJamat-e-Islami PunjabChaudhry Uzair Lateef hasdemanded the governmentto take stern action againsttarget killers in Karachi asthousands of people hadbeen fallen victim to targetkilling. In a statement issuedhere on Tuesday, he said thatnotorious outlaw RizwanQureshi had revealed manyfacts. On his lead, the gov-ernment should proceed fur-ther.

He also demanded thegovernment to bring the tar-get killers before the media.He said that tragedy of Baldiatown was a conspiracyagainst businessmen.—APP

Reinstatement ofsocial mobilizers

orderedP E S H A W A R — K h y b e rPakhtunkhwa Minister for Fi-nance, Muzaffar Said Advo-cate Tuesday ordered prepa-ration of summary for rein-statement of terminated malemobilizers of Population Wel-fare Department for the ap-proval of Chief Ministerwithin three days.

He issued these direc-tives while chairing a highlevel meeting convened todiscuss means and ways forreinstatement of terminatedmale mobilizers of PopulationDepartment.

The meeting besides oth-ers was attended by DirectorGeneral Population WelfareDepartment and officials Fi-nance Department. The termi-nated male mobilizers ap-prised the minister of theirproblems and demanded im-mediate remedial steps.

They informed that ser-vices of mobilizers werehanded over to province byfederal government after 18thConstitutional Amendmentand their reinstatementwould not burden financialposition of the province.

Speaking on the occa-sion, Muzaffar Said Advocatelauded male mobilizers for ren-dering services despite dete-riorated law and order situa-tion in the province.—APP

Rana urges PTI,MQM to avoid

blame gameISLAMABAD—Minister forDefence Production RanaTanveer Hussain, Tuesdayurged Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and MutahiddaQuami Movement (MQM) toavoid blame game againsteach other.

Talking to media personsout side the ParliamentHouse, the minister said bothparties should not use abu-sive language against eachother and focus on redressalof masses’ issues.

Rana Tanveer said theBaldia Town was a regrettableincident in the history of thecountry, adding that if anyparty was being criticized onthe incident they should bet-ter face it with patience.

The minister said the per-sons who were involved inthe incident should bebrought to justice after inves-tigations.—APP

Nominationscalled for

Senate electionPESHAWAR—Provincial Elec-tion Commissioner, MusharratKhan who is the ReturningOfficer for senate election forKhyber Pakhtunkhwa issuedpublic notice inviting nomina-tions from candidates hereTuesday.

According to the Provin-cial Election Commission, thenominations would be filed onFebruary 12-13 and will bescrutinized on Feb 16 and 17and appeals against their ac-ceptance or rejection may befiled on February 20-21 will bedisposed of by ECP on Febru-ary 23 and 24 respectively.

February 25 will be thelast date for withdrawal ofcandidatures and final list ofthe candidates will be pub-lished the same day. Pollingwill be held in the assemblybuilding on Khyber Road onMarch 3 from 9 am to 4pm with-out any break. PTI is likely toget representation in the up-per house for the first timefrom Khyber Pukhtunkhwaand Jamaat-i-Islami will getrepresentation after a gap ofaround six years.—APP

Anti-polio drivefrom Feb 16

SARGODHA—Anti-polio driveis set to begin from February16 during which as many as562,154 children under fiveyears age would be adminis-tered polio drops.A meeting chaired by DCOSaqib Manaan on Tuesdaywas apprised that all the ar-rangements have been final-ized in this regard.

The meeting was briefedthat 1,140 mobile teams,191fixed and 77 other teamswould carry out the task invarious areas,including allbus stands and railway plat-forms.

Almost 160 teams wouldadminister the vaccine to chil-dren at union councillevel,while a medical officerwould also be present at eachUC. Some 262 persons de-puted as Area Inchargewould also monitor the cam-paign.—APP

PESHAWAR—Raiding teams of the PeshawarElectric Supply Company (PESCO) appre-hended several accused of power theftthrough direct hooks and sent them to jail.

The PESCO raiding teams, on the direc-tives of Chief Executive PESCO Syed HassanFazil, expedited campaign against illegal useof electricity besides recovery of dues in theprovince and arrested several power thievesred handed. Sub Division Officer (SDO)Chamkani sub-division Peshawar SajidBahadar along with Pesco police removedhundred of direct hooks and distribution trans-formers due to non-payment of about rupees4.8million pending dues.

In another action, one span conductor in

Mera Surizai and 633 direct hooks were re-moved. Similarly SDO University Town-1 subdivision Zakria Khan with collaboration ofPesco police rounded 12 persons red handedin Board Bazaar on charges of using directhooks and case was registered against them.

The arrested accused identified areMarwat Khan s/o Mirza Khan, Mujib ShahS/o Pir Abdur Rehman, Syed Ali S/o JafarGul, Darwesh Khan S/o Warid Khan,Shafiullah S/o Shakir Ullah, Surat Khan S/oMuhammad Amin, Hamid Agha S/o AsifRehman, Ajmal Khan S/o MuhammadHussain, Baryali S/o Abdul Latif, Abdul BasirS/o Siraj, Saeed Anwar S/o Noran and SajjadS/o Liaqat Ali.—APP

PESCO arrests severalpower theft accused

PESHAWAR—The Public Accounts Com-mittee (PAC) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP)Assembly Tuesday ordered recovery ofRs 479,000 spent on purchase of medicinesfor Mufti Mehmood Memorial Hospitalduring financial year 2007-08, from officialsconcerned for not maintaining record.

The committee, which met here withShaukat Ali Yousafzai in the chair, issuedthe directive with compliance report whilereviewing audit paras regarding differenthospitals during financial year 2011-12.

Shaukat Yousafzai said during his stintas Minister for Health a fund of Rs 1 bil-lion was distributed among different hos-pitals for purchase of medicines for the

PAC for recovery of fundsspent on medicine buy

poor and destitute patients.He observed several complaints had

been received regarding misuse of the fundand directed the Secretary Health to holdan inquiry in this regard. The meeting alsoreviewed matters relating to the AyubMedical Complex (AMC) Abbottabad andBannu Medical College (BMC) Bannu.

Members of KP Assembly includingSyed Jaffar Shah, Arbab Akbar Hayat, andMehmood Khan Bhatni, Additional Sec-retary Assembly Amjad Ali, SecretaryHealth Mushtaq Khan, Director GeneralHealth Dr Pervez Kamal, besides officialsof Audit, Law and other relevant depart-ments attended the meeting.—APP

Tree plantationcampaign kicks offPESHAWAR—The conven-tional spring tree plantationcampaign was formally kickedoff in Khyber Pakhtunkhwawherein 18.071 million sap-lings of different specieswould be sown with an assis-tance of various stakeholdersand departments to offset theeffects of global warming andclimatic change.

“As many as 15.990 mil-lion saplings of fit plants areavailable with Forest Depart-ment while remaining 2.081million plants would be pur-chased from the market tomeet the set target of plant-ing 18.071 million saplingsduring spring season in KP,”officials sources in ForestDepartment told APP onTuesday.

The province has beendivided into three major circlesincluding Central SouthernRegion-Peshawar, NorthernForests Region-II andMalakand Forest Region-IIISwat wherein 3.347 million,9.741 million and 4.983 millionsaplings would be sown re-spectively.—APP

ISLAMABAD—The Met Of-fice on Tuesday forecastmainly cold and dry weatherin most parts of the countryduring next 24 hours.

According to synopticsituation, continental air stillprevailed over most parts ofthe country. In last 24hours, weather remainedcold and dry in most partsof the country.

The lowest minimumtemperature recorded at:Parachinar -9øC, Astore -8øC, Kalam - 7øC, Hunza -5øC, Kallat, Gupis andSkardu -4øC, Dir and Gilgit -3øC, Drosh and Rawalakot -2øC, and Malamjabba andQuetta -1øC. The local Met

office has forecast cold anddry weather with chances of

mist in the morning for thecity and its suburbs duringthe next 24 hours.

On Tuesday, maximumand minimum temperatureswere recorded as 24.8 de-gree celsius and 7.3 degreescelsius, respectively.

The humidity was re-corded 86 per cent at 8 am and29 per cent at 5 pm.—APP

Cold, dry weather to continue

Poor performance ofbureaucracy: Politicians

too are responsiblePRIME Minister Nawaz Sharif has taken the much-needed initiative

for reforms in bureaucracy. Chairing a meeting Monday, the PrimeMinister rightly expressed concern over bureaucracy’s incompetence

and inefficiency in regard to service delivery.While one fully agrees with the Prime Minister that various officers, even

those at the senior level are lacking in competence and initiative, which ishampering service delivery to the public, but we may point out that the suc-cessive governments are responsible for demoralizing this vital institution ofthe state. It is a known fact that as and when a new government takes over, itmakes large scale reshuffle and brings at key positions its blue eyed officersand even most competent officers are sidelined because they had either beenat top positions in the previous governments or were not ready to acceptillegal orders of the Ministers. Many more are made OSDs as a punishmentwhen they try to assert on following rules and regulations and point out thewrong decisions of the rulers. In the first instance, we would recommend thatthis much cursed and maligned position of OSD should be done away by thefirst stroke of the pen by the committee that has been asked to submit a reportwithin four months. It is a tragedy that civil servants who are jewels of Paki-stani society and their performances were recognised in other countries in1960s and early 1970s were made redundant because they asserted theirpositions in the interest of the country. In our view there are hosts of otherfactors but on top of those is mishandling of bureaucracy by political lead-ership and the culture of considering civil servants as personal servants.Induction of non-professionals at key positions at inflated salaries and privi-leges and ignoring the senior bureaucrats forced them not to take any initia-tive and just follow the dictates of the ruling politicians. That is why thecountry is facing multiple problems today like the shortage of energy. Alsocompetent people prefer to join the private sector or proceed abroad forhigher salaries, that leads to brain drain in civil services. It is encouragingthat the Prime Minister has taken notice of the shortcomings in the systemand took the decision to reform the civil service structure including thesalary structure and accountability mechanism. Therefore, the initiative ofNawaz Sharif is laudable and the essence of it should be to provide anenabling atmosphere to bureaucracy to perform and we are confident that itwould deliver to the public according to his expectations.

A way out forMQM and Altaf too

PTI Chief Imran Khan in his usual fiery language has made certainremarks against Altaf Hussain and MQM and his tone and tenor as well as

body language indicated that the issue could take a dangerous course in thedays ahead. In defence of Altaf Hussain, MQM leaders made it clear that theywould not spare anybody who talks nonsense against their leader and levelledcharges against Imran Khan including the time worn out and hackneyed caseof Sita White.

The exchange of charges and counter charges would do no good to thecountry and its people. The issue of burning of people and the report of JITon Baldia Town factory is before the Sindh High Court and it should be leftto the judiciary to decide whether the report was correct or not. Imran Khanshould see to it that the focus of the nation does not shift from eliminationof terrorism and economic recovery to heating up the political atmosphere.More than that we would urge the MQM that at this point of time it shouldadopt a more mature and convincing strategy to defend the charges levelledagainst it in the JIT and by Imran Khan. Perhaps the best way would be todistance itself not only from the extortionists who may be in other partiestoo. It is understood that such anti social elements are not just in Karachibut also in other cities and they use the names of political parties to escapefrom the clutches of the law and security agencies. Now that Pakistan istaking a new turn and fighting the terrorists, extortionists and incidents ofkidnapping for ransom, Altaf Hussain having a big political stature shouldplay a significant role and the way out is not to counter charges but insteadcondemnation of criminals of all sorts as people do not approve anyoneassociated with criminals. We would say why Altaf Hussain, who has al-ready suffered a lot, should continue to suffer more for others.

ECC’s timely, farreaching decisions

THE ECC at its meeting the other day took some key decisions that aretimely and would have far reaching impact on the economy of the coun-

try. The announcement of the Textile Policy 2014-19 was long awaited anddemand of the textile sector to give a boost to the sector with incentives forvalue addition.

The Textile Policy worth Rs 64.15 billion envisages Pakistan as a leadingvalue added textile exporting country. The Finance Division will provide Rs40.6 billion whereas the rest Rs 23.5 billion will be financed through Plan-ning Commission and Textile development Fund. Textile industry is the mostimportant manufacturing sector and has the complete production chain withinherent potential for value addition at all stages of processing. It deservedurgent attention of govt and textile sector leaders were demanding the newpolicy since long. It is encouraging that maximum emphasis has been laid onvalue addition from one billion dollars to two billion dollars per million bales,facilitated investment of additional $ 5 billion in machinery and technology,improvement in fibre mix in favour of non cotton and strengthening of clus-ters. The formation of a joint committee comprising Ministries of TextileIndustry, Petroleum and Natural Resources and Water and Power would en-sure that the sector gets the priority in availability of energy so that the wheelof industry continues rolling. The ECC also took some other key decisionsthat should be appreciated by the stakeholders, like withdrawal of 5% salestax on cotton oil seed cake. The decision for higher rates of withholding taxesfor importers and service providers who are not filers of Income Tax Returnswould encourage return filing and documentation in economy. We hope thatthe implementation of the decisions of ECC would enhance industrial pro-duction and generation of more resources in the long-term.

Modi: A reappraisal

Militancy inAfghanistan

DRONE strikes in Afghanistan or Pakistan are now afootnote development. It

gathers little media frenzy unlessthe target is of immense impor-tance or the collateral damage istoo high. But a target-precisiondrone attack on an Afghan com-mander raised many eyebrows asthat reflected coordinated intelli-gence gathering as well as thestate-of-art execution of surgicalstrike in the restive Helmand prov-ince. That is so because it substan-tiated the resolve of Kabul and thecoalition forces not to allow roomfor sympathisers of Daesh to takeroots in Afghanistan.

Mullah Abdul Rauf, a formerTaliban leader, who recently sworeallegiance to Daesh, was in theprocess of recruiting his followersto further the nefarious aims andobjectives of the militia in South-west Asia. His exit will go a longway in not only buoying such in-telligence gathering but also inexterminating high-profile crimi-nals at the outset. Washington incollaboration with Kabul andIslamabad should expedite suchacts, and move relentlessly againstterrorists who had taken refuge inthe southern belt of Afghanistanand in the restive tribal zones ofPakistan. Bringing to book Talibancommanders, including Fazlullah,who had masterminded thePeshawar school massacre and arescot-free in Afghanistan, is a must.Similarly, it’s high time the noto-rious Haqqani group, the reclusiveTaliban leader Mullah Umar andcommanders of Afghan-Talibanand Al Qaeda are nabbed and ex-terminated so that the region couldsee genuine peace. Going afterthem in hot pursuit is inevitable.The pendulum of terror that hasswung from Talibanisation to AlQaeda influence should not go theDaesh way. — Khaleej Times

*****

Minskmeeting vitalfor Europe

A WHITE House meeting between US President BarackObama and German Chan-

cellor Angela Merkel the other dayfocused on the increased tensionsin Ukraine and the hope for find-ing a negotiated settlement to the10-month crisis there. Adding ten-sion to the crisis are musings fromthe US that it might be willing toprovide lethal support to the non-lethal materials it already suppliedto the government of PresidentPetro Poroshenko.

The recent levels of violencethat have seen targets in Donetskand surrounding areas come underincreased shelling comes againstthe backdrop of a ceasefire agree-ment that is in tatters. Thatceasefire deal was negotiated in theBelarussian capital of Minsk inSeptember between Ukraine andRussia. Subsequent attempts be-tween the two have failed, with themost recent scheduled negotiationsession in Minsk called off. Cur-rent tensions are the worst betweenEast and West since the end of theCold War and there are growingconcerns that the conflict couldfester into a full-blown war — thefirst in northern Europe since theend of the Second World War. Thatprospect has hawks in Washingtonmusing publicly that it is time toarm the Ukrainian government tostand up against what they see asexpansionist and meddling policiesof Russian President VladimirPutin. Putin, who denies armingthe pro-Russian separatists but hassent relief to Donetsk, Lughanskand Slovyansk, believes that it isMoscow’s duty to defend the eth-nic Russians in eastern Ukrainefrom Kiev’s persecution. If thereis a chance to turn back the dialand racket down the violence, itwill come in a four-way meetingbetween Merkel, Poroshenko,Putin and French PresidentFrancois Hollande set for tomor-row. The stakes are high and it isgoing to require concessionsaround the table to stop an all-outcombat. — Gulf News

MEDIA WATCH

AAM Admi Party (CommonMan’s Party) has won a landslide victory. In run up to

these elections, this Party had re-leased its humble manifesto on Janu-ary 31, 2015. Salient points were:to devolve power directly to thepeople; use its moral and politicalauthority to push for full statehoodfor Delhi; keep its promise of reduc-ing electricity bills by half and com-prehensively solve Delhi’s electric-ity problem in long run; conduct acomprehensive performance audit;give consumers right to choose be-tween electricity providers; providewater as a right and access to cleandrinking water to all of Delhi at anaffordable price; ensure free lifelinewater of up to 20 kilolitres (20,000litres) to every household per month.These issues gravitated the peopletoward this party. Following thefootsteps of Kashmiris, people ofDelhi flocked the polling booths onFebruary 07, to register their anti-Modi sentiment.

Factors contributing to Modi’svictory have been several. Theunstinted support given to him byIndia’s corporate; the fanatical zealof the RSS; the false projection ofthe ‘Gujarat model of development’;the polarization of society along re-ligious lines; and discrediting of theCongress government through thecampaigns launched by the likes ofAnna Hazare. Now gradually thecabinet system of governance is giv-ing way to one man’s autocraticways, with secretaries of Govern-ment departments reporting directlyto Modi. Losers are the weaker sec-tions of Indian society. The ‘labour

Obama reminds India of pluralistic ethos

PRIME Minister NareandraModi must be regretting thathe invited President Barrack

Obama for the Republic Day. Thelatter made no secret of demolish-ing the Bhartiya Janata Party’s ‘gharwapsi’ slogan and the otherprogrammes related to Hindutvaideology. He reminded India of itscommitment to religious freedom,consecrated in the constitution. Amore charitable explanation can bethat Modi wanted his BhartiyaJanata Party (BJP) to know what thedemocratic world thought about itsnew zeal for a Hindu Rashtra. What-ever the case, the BJP has got sucha rebuke that it will be difficult forthe party to show its face in thedemocratic world.

President Obama reminded theIndian nation that it can succeed solong as it is not splintered along re-ligious lines and allowed people tofreely “profess, practice and propa-gate” religion. Whether the BJP hasliked his frank statement or not, thenation as a whole is happy that tallleader like Obama has reminded thecountry of its pluralistic ethos. SomeBJP leaders are upset because theyhave been hinting at building theRam temple at the site where thedemolished Babri Masjid stood.

The visit of President Obamahas some other fallout regardingIndia’s status in the internationalaffairs. Probably, realizing this onePakistani television channel tele-phoned me to sum up the outcomeof Obama’s visit. I said in reply: Atilt towards America to the chagrinof China. Let me explain. Even dur-

One of the worstthings about lifeis not how nastythe nasty peopleare. You know thatalready. It is hownasty the nicepeople can be.

ing the cold war when NewDelhi was leading the non-alignment movement, its def-erence to Moscow was appar-ent. Since India provided astable and reliable channel tothe Soviet Union, Washington

would take New Delhi’s tilt in itsstride. Today, Moscow is neitherstrong nor commands support fromwhat was the then eastern Europe.True, President Vladimir Putin hasput a strong foot forward. But he isconscious of his limitations.Ukraine’s standard of revolt is oneexample. America’s support to it isopen and public. So much so, a ques-tion to President Obama at his pressconference at Delhi brought hisstrong support to Ukraine without anyifs or buts.

Prime Minister Modi, a post-coldwar leader, is conscious of America’smilitary and economic prowess, com-pared to weak Russia’s. He is alsopragmatic enough to bring that in con-sideration when looking ahead. Hehas cautiously moved towardsAmerica knowing well which side ofthe bread is buttered. It may soon befollowed by proximity with Austra-lia and Japan. These two countries arealready on the American side. Wash-ington seems to have no doubt in itsthinking that its real adversary isBeijing. America cannot find a bet-ter partner than a larger and economi-cally burgeoning India. That is thereason why Beijing has reacted ad-versely to President Obama’s visitand has warned India not to be takenin by America’s overtures. New Delhiis sensitive to China’s sensitivities.Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj her-self to Beijing to assure it that India’sfriendship with America is not at theexpense of China.

Beijing is not naive about the pos-sible dangers. It understands that In-

dia is the only power in the regionwhich can challenge China. True, its1962 victory against India is a headywine which still intoxicates Beijing.But it also knows that New Delhi hascome a long way since. It realizes thatNew Delhi is militarily stronger andmore resourceful than it was in 1962.

Then the non-aligned status of In-dia was a bone of contention withAmerica. Still it responded toJawaharlal Nehru’s request for weap-ons and air umbrella. It is anotherthing that Beijing announced a uni-lateral ceasefire after making pulp ofIndia’s military strength and defeat-ing it decisively. President Obama’svisit is a guarantee that India wouldnot be alone if ever such a situationdevelops again. It can feel secure af-ter his visit. New Delhi tried its bestto wean America away from Pakistan.Prime Minister Modi reportedlytalked more than once to PresidentObama, but he could only get sup-port for action against terrorists.There is a separate para to urgeIslamabad to bring the perpetratorsof 26/11 carnage to justice.

In Washington’s scheme ofthings, Pakistan’s support is essen-tial in the war against terrorists. Inprinciple there cannot be any differ-ence on this point. Yet the reality isthat Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, urg-ing jihad against us, is openlypreaching hatred against India. Pa-kistan Railways ran a special trainto facilitate travel of his supportersto attend his rally. On top of it all,there is no serious interest in pursu-ing the 26/11 attack on Mumbaiwhere some 200 people were killed.Judge after judge has been trans-ferred. There are hearings all overagain. Pakistan is afraid of theTaliban inside and outside the coun-try in proceeding with the case,much less taking action against the

reforms’ brought in by this govern-ment will do away with whateverlittle protective clauses are there forthem. Land acquisition by industrial-ists is being made easy at cost of thosewho own the lands. Other social wel-fare schemes for poor are under threatof being done away with too.

After having invested substantialpolitical capital in these two elections,falling short of success would be quitea setback for Modi. ConcurrentlyWashington has asked India to im-prove ties with neighbours, StateDepartment has describes the US tieswith Islamabad and Delhi as vital;and New York Time has slammedModi over his silence on religiousintolerance. May be Modi need apause for self-reflection. As regardsregional matters, Pakistan has repeat-edly stated that it seeks improved tieswith India. However, Indianleadership’s aggressive language–with quite deliberate intent— has inmany ways sabotaged these efforts.Modi’s reluctance to move in direc-tion of peace places region in danger.

In the global context Modi’sChanakyan mannerism duringObama’s recent visit to India wasquite telling. He went out of his wayto raise Obama to god’s status. It isinteresting to contrast it with SaudiKing’s behaviour; when AmericanPresident reached to condole the pass-ing-away of King Abdullah with thenew monarch, King Suleiman left hisguest(s) unattended when the call toprayer was made. Despite Modi’sbeneath dignity behavior, nothing eyepopping happened at the end of sum-mit; mostly previously stalled mat-ters were re-railed. Obama restatedhis 2010 articulation about Americanbacking for India’s permanent seat atthe UN Security Council. However,at the end of his visit Obama re-minded India to care about others, of

another religion, race or a region, orof another people, because withoutsuch harmony and inclusivity; Indiacould barter all its advantages if itcontinues to be blinded by ambitionto establish, racial, ethnic, religiousor regional exclusivity.

One area of Indo-US converginginterests relates to China’s contain-ment in the Asia-Pacific region andthe Indian Ocean. During Xi Jinping’svisit to India on September 2014,Modi hyped a benign border incidentto humble the guest. Modi’s messageto Xi (translated from the Hindi), was,“Even such small incidents can im-pact the biggest of relationships justas a little toothache can paralyze theentire body.” This was indeed a mu-sic to American ears. No wondersIndia was mentioned in Obama dis-patches as a global partner and wasinvited to play role in global geopoli-tics; especially in the South China Seaand in the Indian Ocean. Beijingdownplayed the significance ofObama’s trip to New Delhi, but hassurely noted that the joint statementsreleased after Modi’s visit to Wash-ington (shortly after receiving Xi inIndia) as well as after Obama’s trip,referenced maritime activities byChina’s Navy. China has not likedAmerican pampering of India for ananti-China role.

While he pours tea for Obama,Modi pushes Pakistan to conform tothe demands of new India in leavingout Kashmir from the internationalagenda, or punish the Mumbai trialsuspects before a dialogue can begranted to Pakistan. He generatessporadic pressures on Pakistanthrough frequent ceasefire violations.Jammu and Kashmir is an issue ofright to self-determination of theKashmiri people, enshrined in numer-ous UN resolutions. India continuesto usurp this right with impunity, in

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perpetrators. President Obama’sstatement that they should bebrought to book makes little sensewhen he has done nothing to en-sure some action. It is obvious thathe does not go beyond a point lesthe should embarrass Pakistan. Yet,America is the only country whichcan force Pakistan deliver. Pakistandenied that Jammat-ud-Dawa hasbeen banned. Only its back accounthas been frozen. Washingtonshould exert more pressure. I wishPresident Obama were to use hisgood offices to arrange a meetingbetween India and Pakistan. How-ever divergent their viewpoints are,the two countries might find a wayto have trade and tourism. Once thetwo countries meet, they may findother avenues for cooperation. Withtrust deficit on the one hand, andno contact with each other on theother, the gulf between two isbound to grow further.

President Obama’s offer to fi-nance solar energy production mayprod New Delhi to go for this typeof power in a big way. AlreadyRajasthan has some plants. Theirexpansion or installation of newones can produce so much powerthat it can be transmitted across theborder. Pakistan is presently shortof power. Washington can pursuePresident Obama’s suggestion andensure that India share the additionalproduction. There may be other eco-nomic avenues which, if followed,can increase India’s earning. Hispersonal interest in such projectswill not only ensure their earlycompletion but also impress on NewDelhi that the economic sinews arethe best ties that can bind India andPakistan together.—The writer is a veteran Indianjournalist, syndicated columnist,human rights activist and author.

Anthony Powell—British novelist

violation of the UN Security Coun-cil Resolutions and the UN Char-ter. Unlike India, Pakistan’s posi-tion on the Jammu and Kashmirdispute is based on internationalhumanitarian law, UN SecurityCouncil resolutions and under-pinned by moral and political prin-ciples. The reality is that India withits illusions of grandeur, is obsessedwith aggrandizement.

The intimidation of religiousminorities has been stepped up.Christmas Day was declared as‘Good Governance Day’ in a moveto undermine this festival. Attackson churches and mosques havebeen taking place frequently. Thestatements that we are Hindus andthis is a Hindu State have becomemore and more assertive, and Modimaintains a purposeful silence, be-cause all this is an integral part ofthe agenda of the BJP and its par-ent organization, the RSS. With theBJP now having a simple major-ity, their agenda unfolds in an un-inhibited manner. Modi’s electoralcampaign had overtones and under-currents of anti-China and anti-Pa-kistan rhetoric. On domestic sidehis articulations pointed towardsHindutva. There was a hope thatafter the elections he would mel-low and get down with the busi-ness of statecraft as a prudentleader. So far it has not happened;and flimsy electoral slogans havegone to his head. There is no like-lihood that he would replicate ABVajpayee. He has not been able tooutgrow his Tea-boy and ChiefMinster shoes. While Pakistanshould hope for the better, it is timethat Modi be taken on his face valueand reciprocated accordingly; ittakes two to tango.—The writer is consultant to IPRIon Policy and Strategic Response.

Email:kuldipnayar09@gmail.com

Kuldip Nayar

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Voice of the People

Converging on anational stance

AMNA MALIK

THE war that began as the US waron terror needs to be termed as ourown where the terrorists are target-ing our own people, our children andour soldiers. Thus, the Pakistani waron terror ought to be taken up as anindigenous and significant issue.There is also a dire requirement ofbuilding a national integratedthought that may provide a profoundfeeling of hope among the masses.Watching both the military and ci-vilian leaders being involved on theissue of eradication of terrorismfrom the Pakistani soil is a site thatcan serve as glue for the people. Justlike squabbling parents that havefound harmony between each otherhave a positive effect on their chil-dren, the PM taking an interest inthe affairs of the military endeavoursprovides hope and gives an impres-sion that the elected government hasfinally taken control of the state. Itnot only boosts the morale of themilitary personnel, the soldiers whoare fighting, training, exercising andperforming on multiple fronts, butalso passes a significant messageacross the globe that the civiliangovernment has finally found itsfoot and is ready to put it down bothliterally and figuratively.

It must be noted that the previ-ous government had always dealtwith the militants from a weakenedposition, thus demanding less fromthem and offering more in return.Many captured militants had beenreleased by them in the vain hopeof bringing peace. Instead of docu-menting and making the clauses ofthe deals public, it was kept secret.Whether there was a strategy de-vised to make sure the principles ofthe deal were adhered to by bothparties- especially the militants- re-mains a mystery. It would not beentirely wrong to assume that thisadministrative incompetence andindifference had been instrumentalin allowing free rein and space tothe militants to gain strength andvigor to resume their activities. Thecurrent regimes change in capitalpunishment plans has brought abouta change on this front where its se-rious-mindedness cannot bedoubted. The hanging of key terror-ists is a step that would have posi-tive impacts upon the war againstterrorism. This time round not onlythe foot-soldiers, but the masterminds should be taken to task fortheir evil deeds.—Islamabad

Of powerfulmafias

SALAR LATEEF

This is said to be the state of disap-pointment for the people of thiscountry that people of Pakistan areleft helpless amidst Mafias; whilethe rulers of this country cannot takeaction against those culprits. Paki-stan and its inhabitants are badlycordoned off by various mafias andit has become too difficult for com-mon man of this country to evensurvive freely, which is said to behis basic right to lead a peaceful life.

Petrol Pump mafia sells petrolat the price, decided by themselves,despite of decrease in petroleumprice by government level. On theother hand, transport mafia seemsmore powerful than the governmentas they have not yet revised fares inaccordance with decrease in price ofpetroleum products. Similarly, trad-ers’ mafia does not allow govern-ment to impose rate lists, designedby government but they sell stuff onextortionate rates and yet, the gov-ernment seems de-activated regard-

Breaking the silenceMARRIA QIBTIA, SIKANDAR NAGRA

Since the last sixty-six years, Kashmir is embroiled in a cyclical tragic crisis. It stands as a woundedregion, a region that has bled and still bleeds. A region that is scarred and disfigured. While Kashmir

burns in its quest for independence, while Kashmiris suffer untold miseries at the hands of the Indianforces, the international community stands as a silent spectator. Silence is not merely staying quite overan issue of social relevance, it has several layers to it. The chief one involves inactive participation inresolving issues of grave concern, where a little active participation can reap tremendous benefits. Si-lence is what defines the attitude of the international community. It does nothing more than the con-demnation of the wrongs being done against the Kashmiris, thus establishing condemnation as a potentsynonym for apathy coupled with helplessness. The apathy displayed by the international communitycompels me to contrast it with the sensibility displayed by the international community in the latenineteenth century in response to the atrocities committed by Belgian King Leopald the Second, infa-mously called the Butcher of Congo, when Congo was a colony of Belgium. His governance of Congo fortwenty three years saw the genocide of the Congolese with around ten million Congolese losing theirlives .The worst violations of human rights in Congo by Leopald raised a lot of hue and cry in theinternational community and even in his own country Belgium. The power of the international commu-nity can be estimated from the fact that Leopald was forced to handover the control of the Congo to theBelgian Parliament which put an end to the repressive policies against the Congolese. Such was thepotency of the international community back in those days. If the international community timelyawakens from its apathetic slumber, if it views the grievances of Kashmiris as their own ones, we mightbe able to resolve the long withstanding Kashmir issue. For how long will the Paradise on Earth presenta grisly image of the Valley of Death? For how long will our Kashmiri brethren bear the brunt of Indianatrocities? For how long will our Kashmiri mothers, sisters and daughters be susceptible to physicalabuses? For how long will our Kashmiri children get penalized for chanting slogans in support ofPakistan? It is time that we show them that we are not the hollow men. We are not the living dead. Wedo feel their agonizing pain. It is time that we realize that actions do speak louder than words so that weare in a position to transform our inflated sympathies into practical steps to enable our Kashmiri fel-lows to rise from the ashes, to carve an idyllic future for themselves.—Lahore

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View From Abroad

Revenge won’t bring peace

SINCE the horrific burning of aJordanian pilot by the IslamicState, the news has been full of

talk of revenge. “I demand none ofthem amongst us be kept alive,” saidthe pilot’s grieving father,Safi al-Kaseasbeh. “I demand the revenge begreater than executing prisoners.” AJordanian army spokesman, Col.Mamdouh al-Ameri,promised: “Ourpunishment and revenge will be ashuge as the loss of the Jordanians.” Apolitician in Jordan, Mohammed al-Rousan, said, “Let’s kill their chil-dren! Let’s kill their women!”

President Obama used more mea-sured language in promising that theIslamic State will be “degraded andultimately defeated.” The desire for

revenge is understandable, but it willnot bring peace to the Middle East.Violence is a cycle deeply rooted inhuman nature, and revenge killingshave kept this wheel turning for thou-sands of years. The maxim “an eyefor an eye” is actually an attempt tobreak the cycle by declaring that youcan only take an eye from a personwho has taken your eye — you can-not kill their women and children.

Jesus taught his disciples to “loveyour enemies” (Matthew 5:44).Abraham Lincoln advised that thebest way to destroy an enemy is toturn him into a friend. MahatmaGandhi said, “An eye for an eyemakes the whole world blind.” Andfor the past 50 years, Islamic scholarFethullah Gulen has led a movementfocused on interfaith dialogue, com-munity service, economic develop-ment, relief efforts and education in

over 150 countries. All of these lead-ers know that revenge will never suc-ceed in breaking the cycle of violence.

Not that military action is inap-propriate. The Islamic State shouldcertainly be degraded and defeated.But the hearts and minds of peoplein the Middle East will be won onlyby turning them into friends. Progressis made in a variety of small but sig-nificant ways. The US StateDepartment’s TechWomen initiativebrings young female technology pro-fessionals from the Middle East toSilicon Valley, and then sends themhome to improve their communities.After participating in the program,civil engineer Mona Karam returnedto Cairo to help create an eco-friendlybusiness culture.

A non-profit called Bridges ofUnderstanding arrangesvideoconferences between high

Is Bangladesh heading for anarchy?

FOR the past month Bangladesh,a country of nearly 160millionpeople has been witnessing po-

litical turmoil. The opposition leader,Khaleda Zia, has been confined to aparty office in the capital, Dhaka. HerBangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)has been staging a nationwide block-ade of roads, railways and water-ways. Nearly 50 people have beenkilled and more than 10,000 opposi-tion activists arrested in past onemonth. BNP leaders are mostly in jail,in exile or in hiding and face crimi-nal charges that will probably barthem from running in the next elec-tion. The government has temporarilycut the electricity supply and internetcables to Mrs Zia’s redoubt.

For the past several years,Bangladesh has been marred by anoutbreak of political crises, with fre-quent strikes, attacks and blockadespreventing businesses from func-tioning normally and hurting ordi-nary citizens’ ability to go abouttheir lives. The latest episode of po-litical volatility dented Bangladesh’seconomy. Bangladesh’s neighbours

particularly China and India are un-able and perhaps unwilling tomeddle in the political deadlock. Theopposition accuses the governmentof trying to create a one-party statewhile government while SheikhHasina has accused opposition oftrying to trigger ‘anarchy’, thereforeordered security agencies to huntdown the protesters. The govern-ment has charged opposition leaderwith prompting firebombing a busresulting in more intensified politi-cal crisis.

The current political crisis hascome out of nowhere. The January05, 2015 was a one-year anniversaryof the disputed elections, and the bar-ricade against Khalida Zia and therefusal to allow the BNP to hold apublic meeting were provocations bythe government. These events can-not really be seen as a culminationof a political movement. The big-gest motivation for the BNP, this isnot just a fight for a set of politicaldemands but a fight for its very ex-istence. It has been the BNP’s viewfor some months that the AwamiLeague had a clear strategy of seek-ing to destroy the party, and that ithad to act very soon to avoid this.India and the West distrust Mrs Zia,seeing her as both willing to allow

China a greater role in the country,and as being soft on Islamist extrem-ism. The question arises that whatwould be the outcome of this politi-cal turmoil?

Whenever conflicts inBangladesh like this emerge ques-tions always are raised aboutwhether the army will intervene ornot, which of course it did in Janu-ary 2007. And right now, unless thegovernment can ’succeed’ in quell-ing disturbances, there appears littlehope that the current conflict can becompletely brought to an end with-out third party intervention, whichof course is the army. However,many scholars believe that army willnot intervene due to various reasons.Firstly, it has been well looked afterby the government buying hardware,and providing it contracts.

The status quo is good for it, sowhy make a change? Secondly, thegeneral assumption is that the armywould only consider intervening if thelevel of violence exceeded a particu-larly high level, a level that is sig-nificantly higher than that of January2007, and far worse than the situa-tion is now. Thirdly, the army will beaware that its reputation was some-what tarnished by its time ’in power’in 2007-9, which will make it par-

Henry G Brinton

ticularly reluctant to intervene andtherefore would almost certainlyrequire significant sections of thepublic calling publicly, with ralliesin the streets, for the army to takenotice. Fourthly, any army interven-tion would almost certainly requirea green signal from the internationalcommunity particularly from theUS, and this would not be asstraightforward to obtain as Janu-ary 2007, when by some accountsthe UN actually sought army inter-vention and which now many viewas a mistake.

The ruling and opposition par-ties are required to resolve the po-litical differences and prevent vio-lence but currently neither the rul-ing party nor the opposition is re-ally moving in that direction. TheAwami League government is cer-tainly not going to concede to theBNP’s demands, and so theopposition’s only hope is army in-tervention, which might explainwhy the party has little trouble withviolence on the streets, as this is arequired precursor. People shouldbe allowed to carry out peacefuldemonstrations and political pro-tests without threat of violence.—The writer is research officerIPRI, Islamabad.

school students in the US and theMiddle East. The divide betweenAmericans and Arabs is bridged bya focus on commonalities. InDubai, five dialogues have beenheld between Muslims and Chris-tians since 2005.

The Muslim-Christian Dia-logue began when 120 studentsgathered in a lecture hall to discussreligious differences, and in 2013over 700 came together to discussthe question, “How can we find for-giveness from a holy God?” Hun-dreds more participated by livestream from at least eight differentcountries. None of these is a quicksolution, but they are the best hopefor establishing relationships thatcan break the cycle of violence. Thewriter is the pastor of Fairfax, Vir-ginia Presbyterian Church.— Courtesy: USA Today

Get your foot off the brake..!

MANY years ago whenmost cars on our Indianroads were small, I

bought myself a huge car. It wasenormously long and when Ipassed a showroom with a glasswindow, marvelled to see thelength of it.

“But it’s a slow car!” cried myenvious friends. “Its not!” I wouldreply revving up powerful engineand frightening everyone with itsmonstrous roar. One summer Itook the family for a holiday to anearby hill station and the next dayvery early in the morning decidedto take my wife for a drive. We

drove with windows down enjoyingthe pleasant mountain air and maybeit was that agreeable whiff whichmade me turn good- naturedly to herand ask, “You want to drive?”

“It’s too big!” she said settlingherself farther down in her seat andsmiling. “It’s got the same gear sys-tem as your little car!” I said, a littleirritably. “But isn’t as fast!” she saidcondescendingly. “Drive and see!” Igrunted as I stopped the car, put handbrakes on and walked over to the pas-senger seat while she climbed intomine. I watched as she put car in gearand then gazed puzzled as shestrained to get it going. “Press theaccelerator!”

I screamed. “What?” she askedabove the roar of a full throttled en-gine. “Press the accelerator!” Ishouted again. “I am!” she said and

slowly I felt the car move. It chuggedalong like steam engine on steepmountain climb and early morningstrollers walked besides the car en-couraging my wife on, thinking shewas a beginner, which only made hermore mad.

“It’s a slow car Bob!” she saidangrily, “a very, very slow car!” “Itisn’t,” I said, but not very loud thistime as I watched my wife struggleto attain speed, “Maybe,” I thoughtto myself, “I had more muscle in mycalves than most others and that’swhy no difficulty with speed!” I gin-gerly felt my legs but hardly felt anymuscle there.

“Wait!” I shouted suddenly,“You’ve forgotten to release thehandbrake!” We’ve not stoppedlaughing over that eventful drive andremember how the car leaped forward

like a wild horse; cutting into themountain slope. I remember thestartled looks of bystanders as witha roar of delight the huge machinehurtled past them. “What a car!”said my wife, “How I drove into thewind, free and unfettered! “As soonas you got the brakes off!” Ilaughed.

And so it is with life: Eventhough you may want to move for-ward in your life, you may have onefoot on the brake. In order to be free,you must learn how to let go. Re-lease the hurt. Release the fear.Refuse to entertain your old pain.The energy it takes to hang onto thepast is holding you back from a newlife. What is it you would let go offtoday?” Yes dear friends; ‘Get yourfoot off the brake and zooom..!—Email:bobsbanter@gmail.com

ing the subject issue. The land mafiahas no limits and bounds and is be-yond the control of the authorities asthe governor Punjab ChoudhryMuhammd Sarwar has recently re-signed from his post due to illegal actsby land mafia. This seems as if it isthe misfortune of the Pakistanis tolead their life under the exploitationof these mafias as the key represen-tative of government has bowed hishead down before these anacondas,which is proof that the governmentis unable to take action against thesemafias.—Via email

ReadingNikahnama

SIDRA TALHA

Reading of Nikahnama (marriagecontract/certificate) before solemniz-ing the marriage is often regardedunnecessary and unimportant in oursociety. Even modern day educatedbrides are too busy in wedding shop-ping, attending gym classes, hav-ing beauty parlour appointments,making dowry arrangements andother hefty pre-wedding chores, thatthey don’t bother to glance overdocument, addressing marital rightsand obligations.

Nikahnama entails clauses thatdeal with matters like right of divorce,maintenance allowance for wife, po-lygamy, payment of mehr and otherissues that not only provide financialsecurity to women but also avoid fu-ture conflicts. Therefore, I request allthe girls who are going to tie the wed-ding knot to thoroughly examine theirNikahnama so that they have betterunderstanding of the sacred deal theyare going to seal.—Karachi

Fleecing joblessTAUQEER AHMAD

Our leaders proudly proclaim youthas the prosper future of our nation.Whenever they get a chance to speakon any special occasion, they oftenquote advising statement to exert fullattention on education with determi-nation, honesty and patriotic aims,so that we may combat internationalliteracy ratio and be at an equal pacewith wise and developed nations.Few common questions immedi-ately bump into my mind wheneverI hear such speeches, whether thereexist any system that motivate ouryoungsters to education in real senseand then deliver the reward at par totheir struggle.

Do these politicians know howdoes an educated man feels when hisstruggle, devotion and trust on edu-cation are trampled over by the hos-tage like employment system. If ourpoliticians despite knowing theground realities of our obsolete edu-cation standard and worst spoilt em-ployment system still expect DrAbdul salaam, Albert Einstein andShakespeare to be from our younggeneration, great salute to their de-lusion, we shall reap tomorrow whatwe are sowing today and that is noth-ing other than frustrations and de-spair. There is much to criticizeabout our education system but thisissue has long been discussed at sev-eral forums. The newer thing is theemployment or recruitment systemthat is needed to be seriously pon-dered upon at this moment of em-ployment crisis.

The trust and motivation towardeducation is deadly impossible untilthe security of dignified employmenton merit is ensured in real terms. Ihave long been noticing few thingsin our employment system that haveceased the adjustment of new gradu-ates and pushed the economy into amess. The concerned authoritieshave never taken the matter on deskto take a pro-active stance and pave

corrective strategies to eradicate theincongruity in private and public or-ganizations and the regulatory port-folios. Under the shelter ofgovernment’s negligence both pri-vate and public organizations areplaying with the fate of young gradu-ates seeking employment.

The stingy game is played bycrippling the legitimate authority con-ferred to the administration of theseorganizations, which is mostlytermed as recruitment or hiring. Onthe name of application processingfees and other dues such organiza-tions collect a huge sum of moneyeven greater than the evaluation pro-cedures and interviewing arrange-ments. In some cases organizationsuses lucrative tricks to attract maxi-mum candidates like hiding thenumber of positions, over stating theremuneration etc. The hiring adver-tisement largely focuses on the col-lection of fee it seems as they in-tended to business not recruiting. Afinancially estranged graduate whohad suffered for college or univer-sity dues might have thought he hasleft the crises behind, but as he headsto the employment market and bid-ding over the position, he feels theeducation he was told as investmentis nothing worth.

After stifle reality he sees, hiswreckage expectation forces him tostruggle for a job lower than the levelhe deserves and deliver nothing to thenation. I want to ask the readers aquestion whether a labourer wouldstruggle for the whole day if he knowshe would not be paid at the end. If alabourer won’t, never would a stu-dent with determination, devotionand optimistic vision. Our system isproducing rancorous and avenger inthe shape of devoted strugglers whowell deserve but never gets. And theseyoungsters would seek the revengefrom the nation by not compensatingaccording to their talent. I requestFederal and Provincial ombudsmento take strict notice of unnecessaryprocessing fees, fraudulent trick andbidding system in private and publicorganization. The government sectororganizations should be directed toformulate proper mechanism to ad-vertise and recruit.— Peshawar

Food poisoningHUMERA KHAN

Food poisoning is a life threateningand fatal disease. It has many causes;it may be due to contaminated food,pesticides, viral or bacterial infec-tions. In Pakistan, the ratio of foodpoisoning cases is increasing day byday. A recent case of food poison-ing was reported in Karachi in whicha girl died apparently due to eatingcontaminated burgers from a fastfood outlet.

In 2014, many cases of food poi-soning were reported from Karachiand in one case at least a dozenpeople were left unconscious in thehospital after they consumed unhy-gienic food during the wee hours ofthe day. Insects, mould, mouse drop-pings, filthy kitchens and stomachpains - these are what you do notwant to eat, but unfortunately, all thisrubbish manages to make its way inour food items and thus become thebeginning of the end.—Via email

Extremism in interior Sindh

THE recent deadly suicide attack on the Masjid-o-Imambargah in Shikarpur,

claimed over 60 lives, plungingSindh in utter shock and grief. Thecatastrophic explosion has explodedShikarpur in particular and the inte-rior Sindh in general, into nationaldiscourse. In the Pre-Partition pe-riod, Shikarpur was known as theParis of Sindh for its socio-cultural,economic and educational richness.In 1930, there were about 70 gradu-ates in Shikarpur alone; whereas,there were only 7 graduates in therest of Sindh. The C&S College andthe Civil Hospital are the monumen-tal testimony to religious toleranceand progressive spirit of its popula-tion in the past.

Communal and sectarian har-mony was the hallmark of Shikarpur.The iconic Sindhi language poetsSami and Sheikh Ayaz were the sonsof the Shikarpuri soil. Besides, RamJethmalani, India’s former UnionLaw Minister and highest paid law-yer is originally from Shikarpur.Soon after the Partition, the city be-gan to lose cultural and economic

vitality and vigour partly dueto the migration of progres-sive and entrepreneurialHindu population and partlydue to mismanagement of dis-trict administration and localruling elite.

In stark contrast to its illustri-ous past, Shikarpur of today standsas no more than shadow of its past.Worse still, the city famous for itsmouth-watering pickles, has begunto earn notoriety for being not onlya transit route for terrorist but alsoa breeding ground for extremismand sectarianism in the interiorSindh. The imambargah bombinghas shattered the soft image ofSindh as the land of Sufis synony-mous with love and peace. The in-cident has proven the prevalence ofthe cancer of religious extremismin the interior of Sindh that largelyescaped the death and destructioninflicted upon the rest of Pakistan,by terrorists.

The abduction and forced con-versions of Hindu girls and the re-cent attack on the Shia congrega-tion suggest spread of the virus ofextremist and sectarian mind-setmanifesting itself into acts of vio-lence. The imambargah carnage hasexposed the complacency and in-competence of the provincial anddistrict authorities. The Friday at-tack is not any first of its kind in

Shikarpur district. The earlier inci-dents include arson attack on NATOcontainers (2010), the killing ofGhaadi Nashin Sain Hajjan Shah(2013), and a suicide attack on a lo-cal politician (2013).

Regrettably, the previous terror-ist attacks failed to awaken the pro-vincial government and district ad-ministration from slumber. The dis-trict has been on the hit list of ter-rorists because of its geographicallocation in addition to other factors.The district is located at confluenceof Sindh, Baluchistan and Punjab.The location makes it a natural tran-sit route and stopover destination forterrorists. Hundreds of students fromPunjab and KPK have relocatedthemselves to religious seminariesin Sindh that has witnessed rapidproliferation of madrassas andradicalisation of society, over the lastcouple of years under the nose ofPPP government. According to min-istry of religious affairs, Sindh has7,118 registered madrassas and1,406 unregistered madrassas.

Arguably, extremism and terror-ism are also the poisonous productsof bad governance from Karachi toKashmore in Sindh which has beenreduced to the cesspool of corrup-tion, nepotism and favouritism. Theruling party is concerned only withits government at the cost of gover-nance. It is an open secret that in

Chief Minster Sindh is no morethan a rubber stamp. A vast major-ity of the people of the provincethat is the largest producer of en-ergy (oil and gas) is condemned tolive below poverty line. abject pov-erty, pervasive illiteracy, rampantunemployment ,proliferation ofmadrassas, arrival of terrorist ele-ments from neighbouring prov-inces ,are the lethal factors thathave transformed the land of Sufisinto the fertile soil for the growthof sectarian and militant monsters.

The imambargah bombingwould turn out to be the tip of iceberg if the provincial governmentfailed to take adequate curative andpreventive measures to root out theroot causes of the radicalisation andextremism in Sindh. The mix ofshort-term and long-term measureslike ensuring good governance,poverty alleviation, elimination ofilliteracy, employment generation,de-politicisation of Sindh police,establishment of a dedicated pro-vincial counter-insurgency force,registration of madrassas, interpro-vincial intelligence sharing, vigi-lance at provincial entry points anddistrict-level emergency responsemechanism, can go a long way instemming the rising tide of sectari-anism and terrorism in Sindh.—The writer is a freelancecolumnist.

Khurram MinhasEmail: khurram.minhas89@yahoo.com

mahar.munawar@hotmail.com

Mahar Munawar

Britain joins US air strikes on ISIS-Iraq & Syria.

SIMOND DE GALBERT

ABSENT an agreement in July, the temptation to preserve and continue the P5+1negotiating framework in place will be

great. But there will be policy costs and con-sequences to maintain the status quo that maynot be in the West’s interests, specifically ifthe impact of sanctions decreases over time oralternatively if Iran does not continue to re-strain its nuclear development throughout thenegotiating period. Italics

Negotiations surrounding Iran’s nuclearprogram have been substantive over the pastyear, and some progress has been achieved. Itlogically justified two negotiating extensions.Whether Iran will be willing to make the nec-essary choices to bring its positions closer tothose of the P5+1 (the United States, Russia,China, the United Kingdom, France, plus Ger-many) to reach an acceptable outcome remainsuncertain, 15 months after the Joint Plan ofAction (JPoA) was agreed in Geneva in No-vember 2013. But, should Tehran choose tomaintain its negotiating posture that it will re-tain a dual-capable nuclear program, the P5+1will be unable to accommodate Iran’s position.

With the clock ticking, negotiations shouldbe allowed to continue until June 30, 2015, whensuspended sanctions are aimed to be reimposedautomatically. The imposition of U.S. sanctionsbefore July would not make a significant differ-ence to Iran’s positions in such a short amount oftime if Tehran sees additional U.S. sanctions asan isolated initiative by the U.S. Congress andnot backed by the U.S. administration or, moresignificantly, by EU countries. Additional U.S.sanctions would also run the risk of alienating

Iran Negotiations: The Policy Consequences of Timethe Europeans, at the same moment that Wash-ington is coordinating potential additional sanc-tions on Russia. Finally, new sanctions wouldundermine the P5+1 narrative, according to whichthey are doing everything they can to find an ac-ceptable deal for both parties and could be usedas an excuse by regime hardliners to end the ne-gotiating process by blaming the United States.

Absent an agreement in July, the most logi-cal temptation on all sides will be to preservea status quo that appears preferable to the sta-tus quo ante, mostly because the JPoA createda balanced, efficient, and (so far) well-imple-mented agreement. But this sensible diagnosisis based on two assumptions: first, that con-tinuation of the status quo will be in U.S. andEuropean interests; second, that there is no al-ternative to the status quo other than a com-plete breakdown of the negotiations, increasedtensions, and a collapse of the sanctions re-gime. Both assumptions must be tested to avoidartificially restricted Western policy options inJuly, or worse, be forced to accept an agree-ment at any cost based on the principle thatthere would be no other valid escape from theongoing negotiation.

Will the status quo continue to be in thebest interest of the West? Not necessarily, ifthe negotiations are used by Iran to make on-going technological progress a fait accompli.While the JPoA constrained several parts ofIran’s program, the research and developmentactivities centered on advanced centrifuges iscontinuing. The mastering of the second gen-eration IR-2m machine, and further progresson next generation IR-6s or even the IR-8 ma-chines, would enable Iran to shorten consider-ably the number of machines that would be

needed to produce highly enriched uranium andtherefore the size of the production facility ina “sneak-out” scenario (i.e., a break-out con-ducted in a covert facility). Importantly, sixmonths ago, Iran seemingly decided that it willno longer cooperate with the InternationalAtomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on its sus-pected nuclear militarization activities until anagreement is reached with the P5+1 on a com-prehensive agreement. The IAEA stated inNovember 2011 that “there are indications thatsome activities relevant to the development ofa nuclear explosive device may still be ongo-ing.” Little information has since been providedby Iran to dismiss those concerns shared bythe international community.

In the 2004–2005 time period, while nego-tiating with the Europeans, Iran continued toaccumulate hexafluoride natural uranium to pre-pare for enrichment activities. Iran could bedoing the same thing today, overtly with researchand development or covertly with militarizationactivities. There will be a point when it will nolonger be in Iran’s interest to remain in the frame-work of the JPoA, because it’s unlikely that Iranwill want to perpetuate the current status quoover time if it is able to overcome technical con-straints that it faced in November 2013.

Thus far, the JPoA hasn’t significantly alteredthe amount of pressure that Iran faces under theexisting sanctions, which led Iran to the negotiat-ing table in the first place. But sanctions mustremain a work-in-progress to be efficient andWestern sanctions have not adapted over time toTeheran’s tactic of circumvention and to sanc-tions “fatigue” by the sanctioning countries. ManyEU designations are currently out-of-date as newfront companies have been created by Iran to cir-

cumvent the existing designations. Meanwhile,the injection of billions of dollars into the Iranianeconomy every six months will continue to helpTehran adjust to a sanction–status quo environ-ment more efficiently, even if Iran’s economy willnot fully recover without a complete removal ofsanctions that only a comprehensive agreementcan bring. Low global oil prices should not beseen as having a significant impact on Iran’s cur-rent diplomatic posture, considering that Tehrancannot repatriate its oil revenues mostly held inAsia by U.S. sanctions. In this instance, the sta-tus quo works against the West.

What should happen if the negotiationsfail in June? The United States and Europeshould reverse those dynamics in July, either bylooking at new coordinated sanctions or alter-natively at increased constraints on Iran’s pro-gram. First, the transatlantic members of theP5+1 should work together to craft a new pack-age of coordinated sanctions, as they have donein the past when negotiations were unable toadvance satisfactorily to their objectives. Rus-sia and China would not necessarily support thisoutcome, but they would not break the P5+1format as both countries share the objective ofpreventing a nuclear Iran through diplomacy,and sanctions are a tool of those diplomatic ef-forts. Increased economic pressure could createmore flexibility in Iran’s negotiating posture inorder to reach a comprehensive agreement at alater stage. More Western policy measures couldalso be focused on making Iran’s involvementin regional conflicts a much more costly policy.

—Courtesy: CSIS[Simond de Galbert is a visiting fellow with theEurope Program at the Center for Strategic andInternational Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C.]

MICHAEL J. TOTTEN

SENATOR Ted Cruz thinks the United States should armUkraine so it can beat Russian-backed separatists in theeast. As much as we’d love to help plucky Ukraine resist

the giant bear to the north—and we have a solid precedent underour belts—it’s a terrible idea.

Backing the Mujahideen against the Soviet Union during itsoccupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s worked smashingly well.Moscow learned the hard way that it could no longer projectenough hard power to shield its vassal states from local upris-ings and everything fell apart almost instantly.

Afghanistan was hardly the only country in the Soviet spheredisgruntled with communist rule. Eastern Europeans never ac-quiesced to it in the first place. They had it imposed on them bythe victorious Stalin atop the ashes of the Nazi regime. The Hun-garian Revolution in 1956, which began as a seemingly harm-less student revolt, brought down the local Russian puppet state.Moscow panicked, deployed thousands of soldiers and tanks,and reimposed the brutal old order. It did the same during thePrague Spring in 1968.

But after the debacle in Afghanistan, Russia lacked the re-sources and will to repeat it. Nothing could hold back the risingtide of mass discontent in Europe, and barely six months laterthe Berlin Wall fell. But Ukraine isn’t Afghanistan, and it is notHungary. It’s where Russian civilization was born, as the medi-eval state Kievan Rus in the 10th century. For Russians, losingKiev to Ukraine after the fall of the Soviet Union was a bit likeJews losing Jerusalem. Their toleration of a sovereign Ukraineafter the collapse of the Soviet system was always conditionalon Kiev taking orders from Moscow. As soon as that ended withthe removal of President Viktor Yanukovych last year, so did itsindependence.

Russia will no sooner surrender to American-backed forcesin Ukraine than we would surrender to a Russian-backed insur-gency in Vermont. The situation is hardly analogous—unlikeVermont, Ukraine is a country—but from Vladimir Putin’s pointof view it’s precisely analogous.

This is all about NATO expansion which scares the daylightsout of the Russians. It shouldn’t, but it does, and it’s not hard tounderstand why. Just ask yourself how the British would feel ifthe USSR won the Cold War and the Warsaw Pact expanded toParis and Brussels. London would feel like it’s “next.” Londonwould have cause to feel like it’s “next.” That’s exactly how itlooked from Moscow’s point of view when former vassals likeLithuania and Estonia joined up with Germany and France—and the United States. It’s a paranoid analysis, but Russia hasalways been paranoid. “I believe the Russians are mobilizingright now for a war that they think is going to happen in five orsix years,” said US Army Commander in Europe Lt. Gen.Frederick “Ben” Hodges. “Not that they’re going to start a warin five or six years, but I think they are anticipating that thingsare going to happen, and that they will be in a war of some sort,of some scale, with somebody within the next five or six years.”

The solution from Russia’s point of view—as always—is toeither control or destabilize as many “buffer” states as it can.Any of its smaller neighbors that get a little too uppity will findthemselves undermined from within or outright invaded, and inthe modern era they’re likely to find scraps of territory “annexed”by Moscow to indefinitely prevent them from joining NATO.No one in NATO wants to admit a nation as a new member statethat has a disputed territory conflict with Russia. It’s dangerous.That’s ultimately what Russia’s invasion of Georgia in 2008 wasabout, and it’s the main reason Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimeapeninsula last year.

—Courtesy: WA

No Proxy WarAgainst Russia

GAGANJIT SINGH CHANDOK

A new United Nations human rights report seeking toanalyse the problem of attacks against girls trying to access education found that schools in at least 70 different

countries were attacked in the five years between 2009 and 2014,with many attacks specifically targeting girls, parents and teach-ers advocating for gender equality in education.

“Attacks against girls accessing education persist and, alarm-ingly, appear in some countries to be occurring with increasingregularity,” the background paper notes. “The educational rightsof girls and women are often targeted due to the fact that theyrepresent a challenge to existing gender and age-based systemsof oppression.”

The background paper, which will be presented to the Com-mittee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women(CEDAW) to contribute to the development of its general rec-ommendation on access to education, and which will also bepublished in advance of the 2015 High-level Review of SecurityCouncil resolution 1325, points to significant progress made to-wards guaranteeing education for all in many countries, whilenoting that girls still face barriers to full enjoyment of rights to,within and through education.

The report notes several recent cases of attacks against girlsaccessing education, which have highlighted the fragility of achieve-ments in increasing accessibility, availability, adaptability, accept-ability and quality of education for all. Among the examples are themurder in December 2014 of more than 100 children in a PakistaniTaliban attack at an army school in Peshawar, the abduction of nearly300 schoolgirls in April 2014 by the Boko Haram movement innortheast Nigeria and the 2012 shooting of education activist MalalaYousafzai by members of the Taliban in Pakistan.

It also points to several incidents of poisoning and acid at-tacks against schoolgirls in Afghanistan between 2012 and 2014,the reported forced removal of girls from schools in Somalia tobecome ‘wives’ of Al-Shabaab fighters in 2010, and the abduc-tion and rape of girls at a Christian school in India in July 2013.

Attacks on girls’ education take several forms and in someinstances are not explicitly motivated by the desire to deny girlsan education but reflect, instead, the violence experienced bygirls and women in all areas of their public and private lives, thereport notes. “Attacks involving sexual violence against teach-ers and girls in educational facilities or during the journey to orfrom them have been reported in the Democratic Republic of theCongo, El Salvador, Haiti, Indonesia, Iraq, Mali, Myanmar, thePhilippines and Syria,” the paper notes. Attacks of all varietieshave a ripple effect, impacting the lives of girls and communi-ties who are directly concerned, but also sending a signal to otherparents and guardians that schools are not safe places for girls.

When girls are removed from education because of secu-rity fears and concerns about their subsequent marriageabil-ity, additional human rights violations may occur, like childand forced marriage, domestic violence, early pregnancy,exposure to other harmful practices, trafficking and sexualand labour exploitation. Among the paper’s conclusions andrecommendations, it calls for measures to address the social,cultural, political, economic and security context within whichviolations occur, emphasising the need to improve the avail-ability, accessibility, adaptability and acceptability of educa-tion for girls, while simultaneously launching programmes totackle discriminatory cultural and social attitudes and prac-tices. Noting that transformation of unequal power structuresbased on gender and age is a lengthy and difficult process,the report also calls for the involvement of boys and men inthe process of change.

—Courtesy: UN Report

UN report: Increasing‘regularity’ of attacks

on girl students

WASHINGTON—Critics continue to blast U.S.President Barack Obama for what they bill as adismissal of the global terror threat and a lackof strategy to fight violent Islamist radicalsworldwide.The criticisms come not only from Republicansand right leaning pundits, but also from somein Obama’s own party and even former admin-istration members at a time when Islamist radi-cals are on the march around the world.

In the latest in a string of negative critiquesaimed at the White House, former Obama ad-ministration Defense Intelligence Agency direc-tor Michael Flynn contended the White House’sstrategy is “clearly not working.” In an inter-view on Fox News Sunday, Flynn took issuewith the administration’s refusal to link terrorgroups with radical Islam, instead just referringto them as “extremists” in what many criticsdecry as political correctness on steroids. “Youcan’t defeat an enemy that you don’t admit ex-ists,” Flynn said.

“I think that we have to ... recognize is that

Obama’s anti-terror strategydraws massive fire

it is not working,” he said of the White House’soverall plan to combat terrorism, adding that theU.S. needs a broader strategy that recognizesthe U.S. is facing not only a threat from IslamicState (IS) but also a similar threat worldwide.Indeed, the rise in terror was spotlighted by therecent massacre of a dozen journalists in Franceby Islamist gunmen; terror group Boko Haram’soverrunning of several towns in Nigeria; andthe IS burning alive of a Jordanian air pilot.

Nile Gardiner, director of the MargaretThatcher Center for Freedom at the HeritageFoundation, echoed many critics. “Obama is notthinking in terms of fighting a global war, andso what we have coming from the Obama ad-ministration is a confusing patchwork ... as op-posed to a coherent overall strategy,” Gardinertold Xinhua. Some have also charged the presi-dent with having a weak foreign policy teamthat lacks a serious global strategic thinker.

“There’s an absence of a coherent big pic-ture strategy and a long-term view with regardto U.S. foreign policy,” Gardiner said. Critics

argue Obama has been lukewarm on the terrorthreat since the 2011 killing of al-Qaida’s mas-termind Osama bin Laden, contending the presi-dent simply declared victory and moved on.

That, they argued, was underscored inObama’s recent one-hour State of the UnionAddress, in which he devoted just a few min-utes to the rising terror threat. The president wasalso blasted for not appearing at last month’santi-terror rally in Paris that drew a million sup-porters and over 40 heads of state. Republicansalso lambasted the president’s national securityagenda, released on Friday, pointing out that thedocument contains no major changes despite therapid rise of terror groups.

In a speech detailing the plan, U.S. NationalSecurity Adviser Susan Rice told an audienceat the Washington-based Brookings Institutionthat America’s resources and influence are notinfinite, adding that the U.S. must “resist theover-reach that comes when we make decisionsbased upon fear.” Meanwhile, critics last weektook issue with some unusual statements from

the president, which seemed to equate the Is-lamist terror threat with events in the MiddleAges involving France and other European na-tions, hundreds of years before the world knewNorth American existed.

“Lest we get on our high horse and thinkthis is unique to some other place, rememberthat during the Crusades and the Inquisition,people committed terrible deeds in the name ofChrist,” he said Thursday at the National PrayerBreakfast.

Many observers and media were baffled bythe comment, although some said Obamawanted to underscore that the U.S., despite itsbombing campaign against IS, is not at war withIslam as a whole. Obama on Thursday describedIS in harsh terms, as a “brutal, vicious deathcult” that undertakes “unspeakable acts of bar-barism,” striking a hard tone against the group.At the same time, the U.S.-led coalition in re-cent weeks pushed the terror group out of Syr-ian city Kobani. Still, IS remains a formidablefoe, experts said.—Xinhua

CANBERRA—Australia’s For-eign Minister Julie Bishop hastold Prime Minister Tony Abbottthat significant changes need tobe implemented if he is to re-gain the support of aggrievedbackbenchers and cabinet mem-bers. Bishop hinted that one ofthose changes should involvethe prime minister’s chief ofstaff, Peta Credlin, who has be-come a lightning rod for muchof the criticism of Abbott’s firstterm in office. Talking to localmedia on Tuesday morning,Bishop said although Abbotthad acknowledged the concernsof his Liberal Party members,39 of whom voted for a leader-ship spill on Monday (in a 100-member party room), now wasthe time for action to be taken.

“The prime minister mustrespond to their concerns ifthey are valid concerns,” shesaid on ABC. “I’m not goingto give the prime minister ad-vice on how to run his office,and I certainly don’t expectadvice from him on how to runmine, but we both heed theviews of the party room. “I amconfident the prime ministerwill take them into account. “On Credlin’s continuing role as

BEIJING—China-Lithuaniarelations are back on track af-ter Lithuania withdrew supportof the Tibet independencemovement, Foreign MinistrySpokesperson Hua Chunyingsaid here Tuesday.

China-Lithuania relationshit rock bottom after LithuanianPresident Dalia Grybauskaitemet with the Dalai Lama in Sep-tember, 2013. Chinese PremierLi Keqiang met with LithuanianPrime Minister AlgirdasButkevicius last December onthe sidelines of the third meet-ing between the heads of gov-ernment of China and Central-and East-Europe countries inSerbia.

The Lithuanian side statedthat it placed great importanceon developing friendly and co-operative relations with China.

China, Lithuania toadvance relations

Lithuania made it clear that itrespected China’s sovereigntyand territorial integrity and ad-hered to the one-China policy.Hua said the Lithuanian siderecognized that Tibet was partof China and made it clear thatit would never support anyseparatist forces or activitiesthat advocated Tibet indepen-dence or harmed the integrityof China’s territories.

“The Lithuanian side hassaid it would properly handlesensitive issues of this kind inthe future,” Hua said. “Chinaholds a positive view on theabove mentioned stance ofLithuania,” Hua said. She saidthe two sides agreed to advancerelations on the basis of mutualrespect, equality and respect ofeach other’s core interests andmajor concerns.—Xinhua

Aussie FM warnsPM of backbench

Abbott’s chief of staff, andtrusted advisor, Bishop stoppedshort of saying the prime min-ister should replace Credlin butsaid the concerns from his ownMPs about her level of controlneeded to be heeded.

“Peta Credlin is a verypowerful figure in the sensethat she’s strong, she has a lotof opinions and she is veryprotective of the prime minis-ter,” Bishop told ABC Radio.“I think people have beenfrank and blunt in their the as-sessment of the primeminister’s office and the primeminister is a smart man he willtake those issues into ac-count.” Earlier on Tuesday,Opposition Leader BillShorten ramped up the pres-sure on the prime ministerwhen he addressed the LaborParty caucus. Shorten wascritical of the government’smanagement of its first termin power and derided the no-tion that the Liberal govern-ment should have a “freshstart” under a rebrandedAbbott. “Governments losewhen they break their prom-ises,” he said. “It is simple, theLiberals told lies.—Xinhua

DAMASCUS—Syrian President Bashar al-Assadsaid third parties including Iraq were convey-ing information to Damascus about the U.S.-led campaign of air strikes against the IslamicState militant group in Syria. In an interviewwith the BBC broadcast on Tuesday, Assad saidthere was no direct cooperation with the UnitedStates, whose air force has been bombing Is-lamic State in Syria since September as part ofa strategy aimed at rolling back the group.

Islamic State has seized wide areas of Syriaand Iraq, declaring them part of a cross-border“caliphate”. But the United States has said Assadcannot be a partner in the campaign against thegroup, describing him as part of the problem. TheSyrian government is waging its own, separatecampaign against Islamic State, including air strikesin areas that have also been struck by the U.S.-ledalliance. It has been widely assumed the Syrianand U.S. armies have conveyed information aboutthe movements of jets using the same air space.

Asked if there was indirect cooperation,Assad said: “That’s true, through third parties,more than one party, Iraq and other countries,sometimes they convey a message, a generalmessage, but there is nothing tactical.” Assadsaid the Syrian government had known about

Syria gets info on US ledair strikes via Iraq

the U.S.-led campaign before it started but didnot have details. The United States said in Sep-tember it had informed the Syrian ambassadorto the United Nations before the first strikes.

Asked if there was ongoing dialogue viathird parties, Assad said: “There is no dialogue.There is, let’s say, information, but not dia-logue.” Iraqi officials say they have also passedinformation to the Shi’ite Islamist governmentin Iran about the U.S.-led campaign against Is-lamic State. Iran is an important ally of Assad.

The United States took a strong position againstAssad after the uprising against his rule erupted in2011, saying he should leave power, and has fun-neled support including limited amounts of militaryaid to some armed opposition groups. U.S. officialssay they have not relented in their goal of Assadleaving power but, as has been the case for months,they see no policy likely to achieve this at an ac-ceptable cost, and their priority has switched to fight-ing Islamic State. As a result, for months theyhave tacitly lived with Assad staying in powerand made no bones that their focus is to combatthe group rather than push Syria’s president frompower. The Syrian government has sought toconsolidate control over the main urban centersin the western portion of the country.—Reuters

Chinesepremier vowsto devolutionto limit graft

BEIJING—The Chinese govern-ment will devolve some powersto lower levels in order to reducescope for officials bargaining forbenefits, Chinese Premier LiKeqiang said, putting forward re-quirements for anti-corruptionwork in 2015. Li made the re-marks during the third meeting onclean governance, which focusedon strictly managing public assetsand limiting misuse of power asChina’s campaign against corrup-tion continues. The pre-approvalprocess of investment projectswill be significantly slashed thisyear, while all examinations fornon-administrative permissionwill be canceled, the premier said.He also urged the government toclean intermediary service sec-tors, breaking monopolies andstrengthening regulation so as toeradicate the “grey zone” of ad-ministrative examinations andapprovals.—Xinhua

Senator Abdul RehmanMalik and Sindh Governor DrIshrat Ul Ebad Khan wouldserve as coordinators on behalfof PPP and MQM respectively.The agreement would be ap-proved by Asif Zardari andAltaf Hussain.

PPP had agreed that MQMwould be consulted on all gov-ernmental and administrativeactions and initiatives and meritwould be the sole criterion forjobs in public sector in urbannomenclature especially in lo-cal government department anddevelopment funds would bereleased on time.

Sindh government wouldtake full initiatives for investi-gations in extra-judicial mur-ders of workers of MQM andcomplaints would be ad-dressed. Both the parties wouldtake steps to make the targetedoperation a success so as tocarry it to its logical end. Sindhgovernment would make com-pensations to the aggrievedfamilies of workers of MQMkilled extra-judicially.

MQM would be taken onboard for policies and decisionsregarding law and order in themetropolis.

After approved of theagreement, MQM would keep2 portfolios, 2 advisors and 1coordinator. MQM wouldlikely keep Local Government,Planning and Development,Health, Commerce and Indus-try, Labour and Religious Af-fairs portfolios.

Muttahida Qaumi Move-ment (MQM) chief AltafHussain on Tuesday apolo-gized for using harsh wordsagainst the law enforcement

MQM to rejoin Sindh GovtFrom Page 1

responsible for delay in powerprojects must gear up to faceconsequences.

The Prime Minister saidthat government has prioritizedprovision of electricity to thepeople at affordable rates andsteps are being taken to mini-mize load shedding in leastpossible time.

The Prime Minister saidthat departments concernedshould make sure that deadlinesin power generation are met intime and those responsible forcausing undue delay should beprepared for accountability.

WAPDA Chairman ZafarMehmood gave a presentation

No delay to be brookedFrom Page 1

on Neelum-Jhelum powerproject which after completionwill produce more electricitythan mangla. He informed thataround 70% of the project hasbeen completed.

The Prime Minster wasalso informed that current elec-tricity bill collection was 75 percent in the month of January2015 while overall collectionincluding outstanding amountin this month was 98 per cent.

Secretary Water and Powerbriefed the committee that the

ministry has worked hard to con-trol the growth of circular debtwhich currently stands as Rs. 254billion while payables to IPPshave been brought down toaround Rs. 144.5 billion.He saidthat the department has takennecessary steps to limit losses.

Federal Minister for Fi-nance, Muhammad Ishaq Dar;Federal Minister for Waterand Power KhawajaMuhammad Asif; FederalMinister for PetroleumShahid Khaqan Abbasi; Fed-

eral Minster for Planning &Development Ahsan Iqbal;Federal Minster for RailwaysKhawaja Saad Rafique; ChiefMinister of PunjabMuhammad Shahbaz Sharif;Minister of State for Petro-leum Jam Kamal; Minister ofState for Water and PowerAbid Sher Ali; SAPM on Na-tional Security Sartaj Azizand SAPM on Foreign AffairsTariq Fatemi attended themeeting along with seniorgovernment officials.

agencies. “I had used harshwords against some law en-forcement officials during myspeeches in the last few days,which might have hurt senti-ments of the law enforcementauthorities, I apologise for allthis,” the MQM chief said in astatement issued from London.“I have always respected thenational institutions,” he added.

Meanwhile, MuttahidaQuami Movement held a rallyin Karachi to express solidar-ity with party chief AltafHussain and protest statementsmade against him by PakistanTehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chair-man Imran Khan.

The major show of MQMpower was organized atKarachi. The party held a pro-test rally in the city. The rallywhich was started from MQMheadquarters Nine-Zero passedthrough Liaqatabad No. 10,Hasan Square, National Sta-dium, Karsaz, Shahrah-e-Faisal, Nursery and ended atShahrah-e-Quaideen.

A large number of childrenand women also participated inthe rally. The MQM support-ers were holding banners andplacards inscribed with pro-Altaf Hussain and anit-ImranKhan slogans. Protest rally ofMQM caused massive trafficjam in the city and the vehicu-lar traffic was diverted to otherarteries.

Strict security measureswere taken to avoid any un-pleasant incident during therally. Some of the roads of thecity facing the protest rallywere also blocked by placingcontainers.

MQM workers also pro-tested against statements madeby Imran Khan against AltafHussain in major cities of thecountry. In Islamabad the pro-test was held outside the Na-tional Press Club, while inLahore MQM workers inPunjab protested outside theLahore Press Club.

MQM workers in Lahorechanted slogans against ImranKhan and expressed their soli-darity with Altaf Hussain.Member MQM ExecutiveCommittee Bisma Sukhera saidher party had supported theoperation against terroristswhile Imran Khan wanted theoperation to be a failure.

A protest by MQM work-ers was also held outside thepress club in Multan. Protest-ers were carrying placards sup-porting Altaf Hussain.

Asif warnsFrom Page 1

prices. “Government is in con-tinuous effort to produce elec-tricity using coal and gas incoming four years”, he re-vealed.

The minister stated thatIndian government is violatingthe Sindh Water Treaty,whereas government is enthu-siastic in raising the issue atvarious forums

Asif said that the govern-ment is focusing on energyprojects which will enablemore electricity generation.The projects will be completedwithin the next two to threeyears, he added.

Ch Sarwarjoins PTI

From Page 1

are of no use. In my 40 years ofpolitical experience I haveseen that united parties winelections, divided partieslose,” said Sarwar, addingthat Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insafhas potential because of itsunity.

He further said that theparty’s task is not easy andthat it has immense work tocarry out, including changingthe status quo. “We want tocreate a Pakistan where thereis education and where themasses can get the justicethey deserve.” He also saidthat the party’s aim is not tograb the post of prime minis-ter, but to bring better oppor-tunities for the people of Pa-kistan. “Imran and I agree onmost things whether it begood governance, end of cor-ruption or opportunities foroverseas Pakistan,” he said.

“The struggle is not togain premiership but to fightthe status quo,” Sarwar said.Chaudhry Sarwar said fol-lowing his resignation everysingle person advised him tojoin PTI because of havingsame motives. “Whoevertalks about change, elimina-tion of corruption and justiceis labeled as supporter ofPTI”, said Sarwar. Speakingabout issues being faced bythe country, Sarwar said badgovernance is core reason be-hind the corruption and anar-chy in the country. Formergovernor praised nation ofPakistan by saying “I havevisited many countries in theworld but never seen a bravenation like that Pakistan.” —Online

Foreign MinistryFrom Page 1

been making importantcontribution to Pakistan’seconomic development.

However, funding byprivate individuals andorganizations to privateentities through informalchannels, regardless of thesource and country, are beingbrought under tighter scrutinyin the National Action Planagainst terrorism, to choke offany possibility of financingfor terrorists and terroristorganizations, the Spokesper-son said.

He said it is matter of concern for parliamentand parliamentarians to bring mini budgets andimpose new taxes by government. He said thetaxes are being imposed on the orders of IMF.He said this kind of decisions are not made inEurope and America, adding that if the petroleumprices are decreased new taxes are imposed tocollect revenue. He said it is the stance of oppo-sition that the budget is prepared only one timebut mini budgets end the importance of parlia-ment. He said the opposition would continue pro-test against the matter on daily basis.

He said that the government will collect Rs150 billion through increase of these taxes. Hesaid the government had fixed 2800 billion tar-get of collection of tax in previous budget. Shahsaid the government is trying to hide its failuresby imposing taxes on masses. Shah said the wholeopposition had become united to save the dignityof the parliament. He said the parliament is thecentre of hopes of masses. He claimed the gov-ernment is violating the sanctity of parliamentwhile imposing taxes through executive powers.He said the circumstances of the country have

become worse due to dictatorial rule of 40 years.He said the parliament is the only hope for

resolution of problems of people. Khurshid Shahasked Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif torestore the sanctity of parliament, adding that ifnay harm would be done to parliament the PML-N would be biggest looser because Nawaz Sharifhas become in power on the slogan of strength-ening parliament and resolution of masses prob-lems. He said the government should strengthenparliament and heed carefully on the advice ofopposition, adding today is not the era to topplegovernments through conspiracies or with thehelp of any third force.

He said Pakistan is a state and it would bestrengthened when the parliament will bestrengthened. He said the treasury members alsowant to boycott the proceedings but they arebound to follow discipline. He said the opposi-tion has get rid of protest like ‘go Musharraf go’,adding that the opposition raises its voice in par-liament and outside the parliament, adding that ifall doors of protest were closed then there wouldbe no way instead of coming on roads.

Opposition stages walk outFrom Page 1

Banned organisations listFrom Page 1

Ministry told media that theministry had already includedthe Haqqani Network and JuDin the list of proscribed outfitsbut the government was reluc-tant to formally make an an-nouncement in this regard.

The official said that thenumber of proscribed outfits inPakistan has reached 72 and in-cludes 12 banned organisations,the number of which will in-crease in the next few weeks.

“The government has alsodecided to monitor the activitiesof the banned outfits leadershipand to restrict their movementwithin the country,” the officialadded.

According to the official,the minister also directed the

Interior Ministry and NationalCounter Terrorism Authority tofine-tune the procedure of pro-scription to ensure that suchorganisations do not reemergewith new names and nomencla-tures. “The national coordina-tor of Nacta informed the par-ticipants of the meeting that theauthority has prepared a draft ofnational counter terrorism nar-rative which will be finalisedsoon after its approval by theprime minister,” the officialadded.

Secretary Interior ShahidKhan told the participants ofthe meeting that a bill aimed tomake illegal mobile SIMs acognisable offence has beentabled in the National Assem-

bly while the process is under-way to enable PTA to block anyunwanted activity relating toextremism and militancy onsocial media.

The secretary also in-formed that provinces havebeen requested to identify newcamps and requisite infrastruc-ture to develop a comprehen-sive plan for the relocation andrepatriation of Afghan refu-gees.

The interior minister hasalso directed for placing a ro-bust communication system atall important places in the fed-eral capital, that would enableQuick Response Force to meetany emergent situation in theshortest possible time.

China expandsrole in

Afghanistan,Pakistan

From Page 1

ity it generates.In 2013, Pakistan said it

would also build a motorwayconnecting the Pakistani cityof Peshawar to Kabul, aswell as a railway line fromChaman, on the Pakistaniside of Afghanistan’s south-eastern border to the south-ern Afghan city of Kandahar.

China’s involvementcould speed up work on theseprojects, though major Chi-nese investments including alarge copper mine and rail-way link near Kabul havebeen put on hold partly be-cause of militant violence.Siraj said the amount of Chi-nese financing for the damand other projects would bedecided in later trilateralmeetings.

At the meeting, the dip-lomats also discussed waysto bring Taliban militants tothe negotiating table, follow-ing a Chinese proposal latelast year for a “peace andreconciliation” forum.

“The three sides resolvedto make concerted efforts inmaintaining peace and stabil-ity in Afghanistan,” Pakistansaid in a statement.

China has growing inter-ests in Afghanistan, whichoffers a possible route to thesea from China’s landlockedwest.—Reuters

AAP broom sweeps DelhiFrom Page 1

Belying the perception that its support base was limited tothe lower class, Aam Aadmi Party made inroads into the upperclass vote, which has traditionally gone with BJP.

While BJP, which had won 31 seats in the last Assemblyelections, managed only three seats — Mustafabad, VishwasNagar and Rohini — Congress returned a zero in Delhi.

New Delhi, RK Puram, Greater Kailash, Malviya Nagar— considered to be among the posh localities of Delhi, areamong the constituencies where AAP registered a thumpingvictory.

AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, who bagged 57,213 votes,won the prestigious New Delhi seat by trouncing his BJP rivalNupur Sharma by 31,583 votes.

Manish Sisodia, Somnath Bharti, Gopal Rai, Rakhi Birla,Saurabh Bhardwaj and all other prominent AAP leadersemerged victorious.

Sisodia handed a defeat to former AAP member VinodKumar Binny, who was this time fighting on a BJP ticket, by28,761 votes in the Patparganj seat in east Delhi while Bhartiwon the Malviya Nagar seat by 15,897 votes, defeating BJPcandidate Nandini Sharma.

It was a crushing defeat for the heavyweights includingchief ministerial candidate Kiran Bedi of BJP.

BJP’s “trump card”,former IPS officer Bedi, who was anointed as the party’s facejust three weeks ahead of the polls, lost from Krishna Nagar,considered to be a “safe” seat. Bedi lost to Aam Aadmi Party’sSK Bagga. The Krishna Nagar constituency has been a strong-hold of BJP with Harsh Vardhan winning it five times in thepast.

Senior BJP leader Jagdish Mukhi, who had won fromwest Delhi’s Janakpuri constituency for a record five times,lost to AAP’s Rajesh Rishi, who he had defeated in the 2013poll. Rishi won by a huge margin of 25,580 votes.

Ram Vir Singh Bidhuri, former Delhi NCP president whowas contesting from Badarpur area, lost to AAP’s NarayanDutt Sharma by a record margin of 47,583 votes. Bidhurihad emerged victorious from the constituency in 1993, 2003and 2013 assembly elections.

The party had also fielded at least 10 municipal coun-cillors including a current mayor and three former mayorsfrom the BJP-led corporations.—Agencies

Einstein’s workbasis for newdiscoveries

Muzaffar Ali

LAHORE—Punjab UniversityVice Chancellor Prof DrMujahid Kamran has said thatthe research work and theo-ries of Einstein paved way fornew discoveries and inven-tions for understanding theuniverse.

He was addressing an in-ternational conference on“Relativistic Astrophysics” tocelebrate 100 years ofEinstein’s Theory of GeneralRelativity organized by De-partment of Mathematics incollaboration with PakistanAcademy of Sciences, AbdusSalam International Centrefor Theoretical Physics, Inter-national Mathematical Unionand Pak Land Bulders.

Britain‘reservesright’ to armUkraineLONDON —Britain reserves the rightto arm Ukraine and willnot allow the Ukrainianarmy to collapse, ForeignSecretary PhilipHammond told parliamenton Tuesday. “It’s anational decision for eachcountry in the NATOalliance to decidewhether to supply lethalaid to Ukraine,” he said ina statement to MPs. “TheUK is not planning to doso but we reserve theright to keep this positionunder review,” he said.Hammond said Russiahad “aggravated theeffects of its initialincursion” by providingmilitary support to “prox-ies” fighting in war-torneastern Ukraine. —AFP

HamasbacksQatarminister’s‘courage’DOHA —A Qatar-basedsenior Hamas leader onMonday praised the Gulfstate’s “courageous”foreign minister, Khalidal-Attiyah, after anapparent spat withIsrael’s intelligenceminister Yuval Steinitz ata German securityconference. In a state-ment, Izzat al-Rishq, amember of Hamas’spolitical bureau in Doha,backed Qatar’s foreignminister for his “strong,courageous statementsand response to the liesof the ‘Zionists’, and hisdefence of Hamas and theresistance during theMunich security confer-ence”.—AFP

ISLAMABAD—Federal Minister for Planningand Development Chaudhry Ahsan Iqbal ad-dressing a press conference along with JUI-F Amir Maulana Fazlur Rehman and FederalMinister for Housing and Works AkramKhan Durrani has rejected all rumors regard-ing any change in route of Pakistan-Chinaeconomic corridor. He said the enemies ofPakistan are afraid of progress of the coun-try.

He said the project will be implementedgradually. He said efforts are being made tomake the project disputed. On the occasionMaulana Fazlur Rehman said he assures thatno change in the route of the Pak-China Eco-nomic Corridor would be brought and allconspiracies against the project would befoiled and it would be completed. He said allthe rumours regarding the change of routeare baseless. Ahsan Iqbal said the prime min-ister has directed to complete the LawariTunnel project in two years.

He said the implementation on N-85 andM-8 projects would be made to connect theGawadar through land route with country.He said the National Highway Authoritybriefed Maulana Fazal about the route of

No route change for Pak-ChinaEconomic Corridor: Ahsan

Fazl says all conspiracies against the project would be foiledPak-China Economic Corridor. He said thatproject would last effects on the trade ofregion in many upcoming years. He saidmultiple routes are included in project. Hesaid three roots will be available for connec-tivity with China. He said fourth alternativeroute would connect the whole Pakistan aslong run planning. He said the chairman NHAare going to start work on this project. Hesaid the government wants to benefit allprovinces from this project.

He said that the enemies of Pakistan aretrying to crease misunderstandings over theproject so that this project could not com-plete. He said there are forces who do notaccepting the importance of Pakistan in theregion.

He said it would be great excess withPakistan if Pak-China Economic Corridorproject is made disputed. He said that it isagreement between leadership of Pakistanand China to complete this project and makePakistan a prosperous country. Ahsan Iqbalsaid if any party or leader has reservationsregarding the project then Planning Com-mission is ready to meet him and take himinto confidence.

STAFF REPORTER

QUETTA—At least 15 militants belong-ing to the outlawed Balochistan Libera-tion Front and a Frontier Corps officialwere killed Tuesday morning in agunbattle in Basima area of Kharan dis-trict.

Security forces had launched a searchoperation in Khori village area of Basimaarea when a group of armed men hidinginside a bunker suddenly started firing atthe security personnel.“As result of thefiring, a security official was killed and

15 militants, one FC mankilled in Kharan clash

three others wounded,” FC spokespersontold media.

In retaliatory firing, FC killed at least15 militants belonging to the banned BLF,the spokesman added. Security forcesalso recovered a huge cache of arms andammunition from the site including 24 rifleswith bullets, an SMG with ammunitionand other weapons from the militants.

Just a day ago, the paramilitary FChad arrested four people suspected ofhaving links with a banned organisationduring search operations in Zhob dis-trict of Balochistan.

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—PAF is operationally readyto take on whatever challenge comes ourway and the ongoing operation Zarb-e-Azbis the live example of our operational readi-ness, said the Air Chief whileaddressing the PAF AnnualSafety Review for the year-2014 at Air Headquarters, Islamabad.

The review was presided over by AirChief Marshal Tahir Rafique Butt, Chief ofthe Air Staff, Pakistan Air Force and wasattended by Principal Staff Officers, Re-gional Commanders and the supervisorsfrom the field.

Addressing the audience the AirChief further said, “We have moved for-ward by leaps and bounds in terms of flight

LAHORE: Chief Minister Punjab Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif examining raw iron and brass found from Chiniot-Rajowa.

AMANULLAH KHAN

KA R A C H I—KSE-100lost yet another 137points on the back of ongoing mud slinging be-tween PTI and MQMcausing a panic like situ-ation among the inves-tors.

Although the corpo-rate sector has shownstellar growth while otherpositive indicators espe-cially drop in interest ratemust have added spark to

KSE-100 loses 137 pointsPolitical noise affects trading activity

trading activity yet it isquite unfortunate the po-litical noise proved

counter productive tootherwise growing market.Even a good textile policy

which allowed duty freeimport of required textileaccessories did not makeany impact for the timebeing.Monday’s marketwas 265 million shareswhile Pak Electron wasthe top volume leaderwith over 30 millionshares traded in thisstock, Jahangir Siddiqi& Co and Maple Leaf Ce-ment were the secondand third volume lead-ers with 25 and 18 mil-lion shares.

ISLAMABAD: Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Imran Khan honouring formerPunjab Governor Ch Muhammad Sarwar on the occasion he announced to join PTI.Party Vice President Shah Mahmood Qureshi was also present.

IS hostageKayla’sdeathconfirmedWASHINGTON—Kayla Jean Mueller, a26-year-old Americanwoman held by IslamicState militants, has beenconfirmed dead, herparents and the Obamaadministration saidTuesday. The WhiteHouse said that Mueller’sfamily received a privatemessage from her captorsover the weekend and theinformation contained inthat communication wasauthenticated by the U.S.intelligence community. Itwas not immediately clearhow and when Muellerdied. “We are heartbrokento share that we’vereceived confirmation thatKayla Jean Mueller, haslost her life,” Carl andMarsha Mueller said in astatement. ”—AP

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Muttahida Qaumi Movementchief Altaf Hussain on Tuesday apologizedto Shireen Mazari for statements he hadearlier made about the senior PakistanTehreek-e-Insaf leader.

“Shireen Mazari, I apologize to you. Iam sorry,” said Altaf Hussain in an apol-ogy to Mazari during a live television in-terview. “I also seek forgiveness from alldecent women present in PTI rallies,” hesaid.

The MQM chief was earlier criticizedfor making what PTI leaders described asderogatory statements against the PTI se-nior leader. Responding toHussain’s apology, Mazari said theMQM’s Rabita Committee should also

I am sorry, Altaftells Shireen Mazari

No PTI protest after MQM chief’s apologyapologize for its statements. Mazari saidthe PTI welcomes the apology by theMQM chief. Islam also teaches us to for-give those who apologize, she said.

PTI leader Imran Ismail earlier saidthere was no personal war between theMQM and PTI.

“Its a good thing that he [Altaf] hasapologized. But what will become of thestatements made by the Rabita Committeetoday?” he said. Ismail urged the RabitaCommittee to also apologize for its state-ments.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insafon Tuesday took back the call for demon-stration against Muttahida Qaumi Move-ment after MQM chief Altaf Hussainapologized for using foul language for thewomen supporters of PTI.

Balochistanforwards 54

cases for trialin mily courts

STAFF REPORTER

QUETTA—Balochistan Inte-rior Secretary on Tuesdaysaid 54 cases have been for-warded to Interior Ministryfor hearing in the militarycourts.

According to a state-ment issued here, InteriorSecretary BalochistanAkbar Hussain Durrani saidthe Interior Ministry will for-ward the cases to militarycourts for hearing after car-rying out scrutiny.

He said that the PrimeMinister Nawaz Sharif willvisit Quetta next week andwill also attend a meeting ofapex committee.

Boko Haram abducts 30 in Cameroon, Nigeria

YAOUNDE, Cameroon—Nigeria’s Boko Haram Islamicextremists have abductedabout 30 people includingeight Cameroonian girls andkilled seven hostages in twobus hijackings in Cameroonand Nigeria, Cameroon resi-dents and a Nigerian intelli-gence officer said Tuesday.

Boko Haram, who kid-napped nearly 300 schoolgirlsin Nigeria last year in an inci-dent that ignited internationaloutrage, have taken eightCameroonian girls hostage,said Chetima Ahmidou, theprincipal of a school in thearea. The girls range in agefrom 11 to 14 and come fromthe town of Koza, he said.

The bus attack took placeSunday about 11 miles (18 ki-lometers) from Cameroon’s

border with Nigeria. Sevenother hostages were slain andtheir bodies scattered near theborder, said Ahmidou, whosebrother was the bus driverand was among those killed.

Also Sunday, across theborder in Nigeria, the Islamicextremists held up a bus inAkada-Banga village of Bamadistrict and made off withabout 20 people, includingwomen and children, accord-ing to a security officer whospoke on condition of ano-nymity because he is not au-thorized to give informationto reporters.

Boko Haram has fought a5-year insurgency against theNigerian government,launching scores of attacksthat left 10,000 people deadlast year alone. —AP

PAF ready to take on everychallenge: Air Chief

safety and our operational preparednessis a manifestation of comprehensive safetyculture which translates into preservationof valuable assets. We in PAF take pridein quality training which has been the hall-mark of Pakistan Air Force ever since its

inception”.The Air Chief also

lauded the efforts put in bythe commanders and supervisors in thefield.

Operational activities of PAF are ex-amined in the Annual Safety Review. Theforum is also used to carry out an in depthstudy of the standards of flight andground safety in PAF.PAF Base Shahbazwas awarded the coveted Rahim Khan In-ter Base Flight Safety Trophy for overallbest performance during the last year.

Picture on Page 9

Mineral resourcesexploration toensure bright

future: ShahbazSALIM AHMED

LAHORE—A delegation ofChinese company Metal-lurgical Corporation ofChina working on explora-tion and certification ofmineral resources projectat Chiniot-Rajwa metPunjab Chief MinisterMuhammad ShahbazSharif, here on Tuesday.

Matters regardingprogress on the projectwere discussed in the meet-ing. The Chief Minister ex-pressed his satisfactionover the pace of progresson the project and saidthat exploration of mineralresources at Chiniot-Rajwa is of vital importanceand this project is of revo-lutionary significance forthe economy of the coun-try especially Punjab.

He said that Pakistan isrich in mineral wealthwhich can be utilized forstrengthening of nationaleconomy and achievingthe goal of progress andprosperity. He said that ex-ploration of mineral re-sources can ensure abright future for the com-ing generations and theseresources are of no lessimportance for Pakistanthan oil and gas. He saidthat Punjab governmenthas worked on this projectexpeditiously. ShahbazSharif said that PakistanMuslim League-N govern-ment led by Prime Minis-ter Muhammad Nawa\zSharif is making all out ef-forts for utilizing naturalresources.

He said that there arevast resources of iron oreat Chiniot-Rajwa and theprogress on this project sofar is highly satisfactory.

BMI (body mass index), which is basedon the height and weight of a person, isan inaccurate measure of body fat con-

tent and does not take into account musclemass, bone density, overall body composition,and racial and sex differ-ences, say researchers fromthe Perelman School ofMedicine, University ofPennsylvania. Every fewmonths the same commentis made by experts “BMI isflawed”. The news hits theheadlines, everybodyagrees, and then all goesquiet for a while.

You are of normalweight if your BMI is be-tween 18.5 and 25, over-weight if it is between 25and 30. Anybody with aBMI of 30 or more is obese.Mitchell Lazar, MD, PhD,Professor of Medicine andGenetics and Director ofthe Institute of Diabetes,Obesity, and Metabolism,and Rexford Ahima, MD, PhD, Professor ofMedicine and Director of the Obesity Unit inthe Institute for Diabetes, Obesity and Me-tabolism, discuss the challenges health pro-fessionals face when studying the mortalityrisks and health of obese people in the jour-nal Science1.

We all know that obesity increases the riskof developing heart diseases, type 2 diabetes,cancer, sleep apnea and other diseases andconditions. However, according to recentstudies, obesity may also protect against deathfrom all causes, as well as death due to stroke,heart failure and diabetes. In the Science ar-ticle - “The Health Risk of Obesity - Better

Metrics Imperative”2 - the authors refer tothe pros-and-cons of obesity as the “obe-sity-mortality paradox”. A paradox thatgenerates a great deal of controversy.

“There is an urgent need for accurate,practical and affordable toolsto measure fat and skeletalmuscle, and biomarkers thatcan better predict the risks ofdiseases and mortality. Ad-vances to improve the mea-surement of obesity and re-lated factors will help deter-mine the optimal weight for anindividual, taking into accountfactors such as age, sex, genet-ics, fitness, pre-existing dis-eases, as well novel bloodmarkers and metabolic param-eters altered by obesity.”

People with a BMI of 30or more, i.e. obese individuals,have a significantly higher riskof eventually becoming dia-betic, developing cancer, car-diovascular diseases, osteoar-thritis, and liver and gallblad-

der diseases.However, a number of studies have

demonstrated that some obese individualshave lower cardiovascular risk and an im-proved metabolic profile, while a subset of“normal-BMI” people are metabolicallyunhealthy and have increased mortality risk.A team of researchers at the University ofVirginia, Charlottesville, found better post-surgical short-term survival rates amongobese people than patients of normalweight3. Patients with a BMI of 23.1 or lesswere more than twice as likely to die within30 days of surgery than those with a BMIof 35.3 or more.

Why BMI is inaccurateand misleading

RAZA UR REHMAN

ISLAMABAD—A two-day In-ternational Seminar on “Cross-roads Asia: Dynamics of Peaceand Progress” commencedTuesday at National DefenceUniversity. Maj Gen NoelKhokhar welcomed the partici-pants and Chief Guest and out-lined the purpose, scope andprocess of the seminar. Sena-tor Mohammad Ishaq Dar,Minister for Finance, Revenue,Economic Affairs, Statisticsand Privatization graced the oc-casion as the Honourable ChiefGuest. A large number of aca-demics and intellectuals fromPakistan and abroad are attend-ing the Seminar.

Mr Ishaq Dar welcomedthe participants and appreciatedNDU’s initiative to organizeand map-out this mega event,refocusing on issues that impactpeace and progress in the com-mon habitat and enable us tobrainstorm on how best we canhope to build structures ofpeace and security, and trans-regional connectivity, that mayhold the promise of sustainableeconomic growth and our dueshare in the Asian dawn.

He highlighted thegeostrategic location of Paki-stan and said that it has exposedPakistan to conflict-prong situ-ations in our neighbourhood,which has massively impactedon our socio-economic fabricand progress as part of a largerfraternity of nations. He furtheradded that concurrently it is ourgeopolitical disposition thatshould promise us a greater re-sponsibility and a role to un-ravel the conflict-pronged situ-

International Seminar

Building structure for peace, securitystressed for economic growth

Federal Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar and President NDU Lt General Javed Iqbal with the participants of InternationalSeminar “Crossroads Asia: Dynamics of Peace & Progress” organized by Institute for Strategic Studies; Research andAnalysis (ISSRA) NDU.—PO photo by Sultan Bashir

ations and to do our part in erecting sus-tainable structures for peace and economicgrowth in a trans-regional setting.

The President NDU Lieutenant Gen-eral Javed Iqbal HI(M) welcomed theparticipants and emphasized the impor-tance of discussion on system-widechanges already taking place and theirimpact on process at the crossroads Asia.He mentioned the significance of

Pakistan’s geo-strategic disposition andits economic potential in the trans-re-gional setting.

In the address he stated that the worldis witnessing the advent of ‘Asian Cen-tury’ and its likely impact at the cross-roads of regions: Central Asia, West Asiaand South Asia. He further added that un-derstandably, the promise of a new erafor Asia is indeed not limited to Asia-Pa-

cific. He stressed that at this juncture, itis pertinent to ask ourselves as to how theAsian Century could dawn without a vis-ible progress in peace and progress in theregion to which we belong. He stated thatno doubt we are at the threshold of achange that should auger well for build-ing trans-regional structures of peace andfor uncapping the economic potential andconnectivity for growth.

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—RCI Millennium Cam-pus I-9/3, Islamabad hosted the first-ever Millennium Turk Fest 2015 hereon Tuesday February 10, 2015. Am-bassador of the Republic of Turkeyto Pakistan His Excellency Babur S.Girgin graced the occasion as a ChiefGuest withthe representatives fromtheleading Turkish UniversitiesSuleymanSah University, IPEK Uni-versity, Zirve University, AntalyaUniversity, Meliksah University,Gediz University and Mevlana Uni-versity at Roots Millennium CampusI-9/3, Islamabad.

Principal Millennium Campus I-9/3, Mrs. Ayesha Ansar welcomed theAmbassador and distinguished guestsfrom Turkey and highlighted the im-portance of organizing Turk Fest forcollege students.

Representatives from the TurkishUniversities interacted with the stu-

Turkish Ambassador, representatives of Turkish Universities attend Millennium Turk Festdents throughout the day and dis-cussed higher education opportuni-ties, subjects and facilities offeredthere.

H.E. Babur Girgin highly appre-ciated this initiative by Roots Millen-nium Schools as it would result in fur-ther promoting the deep rooted cul-tural, social, religious and educationalties between the two countries.

Chief Executive Roots MillenniumSchools and National Career Counse-lor Chaudhry Faisal Mushtaq TIthanked the esteemed guests for ren-dering their continuous support andcommitment to empower the youththrough education, collaboration andpartnership that reflects the enduringsupport by the Turkish government.

The fest celebrated the strongfriendship and promotion of bilateraleducation between our colleges in Pa-kistan and universities in Turkey toendorsing cultural, religious and geo-political links between the two coun-

tries.RCI Millennium Campus has

played a vital role in promoting di-versity, social change, innovation incurriculum and content, entrepreneur-ship, career counseling, global out-reach, beyond the border collabora-tions.

Roots Millennium Schools havealways been nurturing academic ex-cellence for more than a quarter of acentury now. Millennium Turk Fest isthe next step for providing studentswith an international platform to getfirst hands information about the lead-ing Turkish Universities from theirown representatives.

Organized by the highly moti-vated Millennials, the vision behindthis Fest was to focus on furtheringthe mutual goal of bilateral educa-tion between the two countries andto encourage excellence in academ-ics, entrepreneurship and youth lead-ership. Turkish Ambassador Babur Girgin speaking at Millennium Turk Fest 2015 at RCI Millennium Campus I-9/3.

ISLAMABAD—In a rare interac-tion among members ofacademia, parliamentarians, civilsociety, diplomats and students,Speaker National AssemblySardar Ayaz Sadiq stressed theneed to promote a culture of re-search for strengthening demo-cratic values in the country.

He was addressing the inau-

NA Speaker urges academia to helppromote research culture in parliament

Speaker NA Sardar Ayaz Sadiq unveiling the plaque marking the launching of Parliamen-tary Studies Degree Programme in Public Private Sector Universities at PIPS.

guration ceremony of the launchof course on Parliamentary Stud-ies here at Pakistan Institute forParliamentary Services.

The course module hadearlier been endorsed by lead-ing universities in Pakistan.

The formal launch was at-

tended by Vice Chancellors,pro Chancellors and heads ofdepartments of as many astwenty five universities from

all across Pakistan. The Vice Chancellors, pro

Chancellors and rectors of uni-versities had in consultationwith Higher Education Com-mission endorsed the course andshowed resolve to introduce di-ploma, certificates and degreeprograms in the discipline.

The Speaker National As-sembly said that Pakistan wasenvisaged to be a federal, par-liamentary democracy but itshistory is “ a deviation from thischosen path and that the coun-try lacks institutions to train theyouth to become qualified par-liamentary workforce in orderto advance the ideals of goodlegislation, adequate oversightand genuine representation”.

The gathering was also ad-dressed by MarriyamAurangzeb MNA who laudedthe efforts of the Speaker as cus-todian of the House. While ex-plaining the background of in-troducing such a discipline, sheasserted that the country lackstrained legislative draftsmenwhich is why there are alwayslacunas in the laws.—APP

Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafique Butt, Chief of the Air Stff, Pakistan Air Force awardingRahim Khan Inter-Base Flight Safety Trophy to Air Commodore Haseeb Paracha, BaseCommander PAF Annual Safety Review at Air Headquarters on Tuesday.

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—A delegation of National Ac-countability Bureau (NAB) met with the Inspec-tor General, National Highways & MotorwayPolice, Muhammad Saleem Bhatti, today.

The delegation said that the plague ofcorruption is spreading like cancer in our so-ciety. While appreciating the role of NH&MPas a corruption free department, the delega-tion apprised that NAB is committed to elimi-nate corruption and corrupt practices by en-hancing integrity and promoting transparency.

NAB invited Motorway Police to joinhands in its anti-corruption drive in the coun-

Plague of corruption isspreading like cancer

try. The Inspector General, NH&MP, assuredthe delegation of the support and cooperationof Motorway Police to eliminate corruptionfrom the country.

Both the departments agreed that a cam-paign against corrupt practices would belaunched. It was decided to display bannershaving anti-corruption slogans at variouspoints on Motorways for public awareness.Similarly pamphlets, hand bills and leaflets,bearing anti-corruption messages would bedistributed at all toll plazas. It was furtheragreed that seminars would be held in differ-ent cities of the country to create awarenessamong the masses.

06:25 01:3004:00

07:15

Zohr

Asr

Isha

Fajar

Meghrab at Sunset

Brothers in Islamestablish regularprayers & charity

February 23Literary conference

TO observe 33rd Death Anni-versary of great revolutionaryPoet Hazrat JoshMalihabadi,Josh Adabi Foun-dation will organize incollibration with Sukhanwarand Rawalpindi Arts Council,Josh National Literary Confer-ence on 23rd February ,Mon-day at 3.00 pm at RawalpindiArts Council, Cultural Com-plex, Shamsabad ,MurreeRoad ,Rawalpindi. FederalMinister for Information andBroadcasting, SenatorPervaiz Rashid will presidethe occasion.

MIAN ARSHAD

ISLAMABAD—Senate Standing Committeeon Defence, will launch “Post-ConferenceBook” on the “Islamabad Trilateral Dia-logue: China-Afghanistan-Pakistan”, on to-morrow Thursday here.

The ceremony will be held in collabora-tion with the Pakistan-China Institute andKonrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), under thechairmanship of Senator MushahidHussain Sayed.

According to available information,Deputy Secretary General and Head of Eu-ropean & International Cooperation ofKonrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) will bethe guest of honor, while SenatorMushahid Hussain Sayed, in his address,

Book on Trilateral Dialogueto be launched tomorrow

will also underline the need of Joint Trilat-eral Youth Summer Camps and Annual Tri-lateral Media Conference to promotepeople-to-people contacts between thethree neighbors.

“This post conference book, which is thefollow up of two-day Trilateral Dialogue ofChina, Afghanistan and Pakistan held lastyear in October, provides a collective ap-proach toward countering challenges of se-curity and stability in three neighbors andalso suggests boosting of mutual coopera-tion; enhancing cultural, academic and so-cial contacts to bring better understandingand improve trust level between three coun-tries; as China, Afghanistan and Pakistanshare borders and can also share the brightfuture too,” said Senator Mushahid Hussain.

RAZA UR REHMAN

ISLAMABAD—Inter University Con-sortium for Promotion of Social Sci-ences, Arts and Humanities (IUCPSS), an alliance of 30 leading universitiesof Pakistan, and National Book Foun-dation (NBF) have signed Memoran-dum of Understanding (MOU) to pro-mote book reading culture and socialsciences in higher education sector ofthe country.

The MOU was signed by ChairmanIUCPSS & Vice Chancellor Universityof Hairpur Dr. Nasser Ali Khan andSecretary NBF Mr. Aftab AhmedSoomro at Abdul Wali Khan Univer-sity Mardan. The event was attendedby more than 30 vice chancellors, aca-demicians and representatives of civilsociety.

According to the MOU, both theorganization agreed to extend coop-eration with one another to undertakecollaborative efforts through organiz-ing joint programs and activities. Itwas also agreed that NBF in partner-ship with member universities wouldestablish “NBF University bookshops” where special discount (50%on NBF publications, 15% on textbooks and 10% to 33% on generalbooks) would be offered to the stu-dents. In addition, under “ReadersClub Scheme” a special quota of mem-

30 Universities Consortium signsMoU to promote book reading culture

bers would be allocated to each of theuniversity.

NBF wouldavail the existingfacilities of printingat the universitycampuses andwould facilitate inpublication of re-search and curricu-lum work of theuniversity facultyof the inter univer-sity member insti-tutions. It was alsodecided that NBFBook AmbassadorM u h a m m a dMurtaza Noorwould act as facili-tator among NBFand IUCPSS mem-ber universities.Terming the MOUmilestone, NBFManaging DirectorProf. Dr. Inam ulHaq Javeid saidthat under NBF slo-gan “Books atyour door step”,NBF would con-tinue to facilitateuniversity stu-dents and faculty.

Through this MOU, the studentswould not only be able to get dis-

counted books in their own universitybut their reading habits would also be

enhanced. He appreciated the effortsof the Inter University Consortium for

revival of social sci-ences, arts and humani-ties in Pakistan and as-sured his cooperation inthis regard. ChairmanIUCPSS, Dr. Nasser AliKhan said the singedMOU would be greatlyhelpful for the memberinstitutions of the con-sortium and both the na-tional organizationswould undertake specialprograms.

The MOU singeduniversities included:Quaid-i-Azam UniversityIslamabad, Federal UrduUniversity Karachi, Uni-versity of the Peshawar,Peshawar, Abdul WaliKhan University Mardan,Shah Abdul Latif Univer-sity Khairpur, COMSATSInstitute of InformationTechnology Islamabad,Institute of ManagementSciences Peshawar, Uni-versity of Swat, Univer-sity of Malakand, Univer-sity of Hairpur. Universityof Turbat, Baluchistan,BZU Multan and others.

Chairman Inter University Consortium for Promotion of Social Sciences & Vice Chancellor University of HaripurDr Nasser Ali Khan and Secretary NBF Mr Aftab Ahmed Soomro are signing the MoU.

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Speakers stress uponthe role of research-based evidenceto action beyond 2015 in order tobuild better policies and practices re-lated to maternal and newborn healthin Pakistan.

Research and Advocacy Fund forMaternal and Newborn Health (RAF)organised a 2-day conference to sharetheir learnings from more than sixyears of successful projects in Paki-stan, and give profile to issues todetermine the way forward beyond2015. The conference facilitated de-bates and discussions leading to callfor action to support sustainable de-velopment goals beyond 2015.

The Guest of Honour, Ministerfor Planning, Development and Re-forms, Ahsan Iqbal emphasised onthe importance of research funded byRAF and applauded its role in improv-ing MNH in Pakistan, he said “It isindeed a great challenge for us as a

Experts emphasise improvingmaternal and child health

nation that Pakistan is among thosecountries that has the worst socialindicators. Moreover, social sectorshave been under invested in Pakistanand have not achieved the allocationthat they deserve. The governmentof Pakistan is committed and we havetaken major initiatives to make invest-ments in the social sector. By 2025,we will see Pakistan among the topeconomies of the world.”

John Payne, Regional BusinessDirector British Council, JudithHerbertson, Deputy Head of OfficeDFID Pakistan, Peter Coventry, Headof Aid DFAT, Dr Susheela Singh, VicePresident for Research GuttmacherInstitute, Dr Zulfiqar Bhutta, RobertHarding Inaugural Chair Global ChildHealth The Hospital for Sick Children,and Sarah Hall, Programme ManagerRAF also addressed the audience,stressing the respective commitmentsof their organisations to improvingPakistan’s health outcomes.

Sharing her views Deputy Head

of Office DFID, Judith Herbertson,said, “It was to tackle some of the un-acceptable health figures pertainingto women and children health that theRAF was set up. The RAF is verymuch seen at the outset to improvematernal and new born health and us-ing advocacy and research to pushfor policy change.”

Speaking at the Conference, Pe-ter Coventry, Australia Head of Aidreaffirmed Australia Aid’s commitmentto Pakistan and said, “The Austra-lian Government is strongly commit-ted to improving Maternal, Neo-na-tal and Child Health in Pakistan. Wefirmly believe that improving policyand enabling environment is the keyto encourage sustainable change. Iwould like to take this opportunity tocommend the effort of RAF team andencourage the Government, develop-ment partners and civil society tomake use of the rich evidence madeavailable by this excellent endeav-our.”

ISLAMABAD—Mother ofDr. Tariq Hassan, Presi-dent Pakistan AgriculturalResearch Council Scien-tists Association (PARSA)and Chief of PARC agro-tech company, PATCO,passed away here onTuesday afternoon.

Nimaz-e-Jinazah ofthe deceased would beoffered on Wednesday,11 February at 10:00 a.mat the Masjid of NationalAgricultural ResearchCentre (NARC), ParkRoad, Chak ShahzadIslamabad. Contact Num-ber:03335155661.

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—The Pakistan SustainableTransport Project, Tuesday, organized a po-litical dialogue here to reaffirm the need forsustainable transport systems in the coun-try and to discuss the stance of prominentpolitical parties of the country on the issueof mass transit systems.

The panel for the dialogue included poli-ticians and subject experts that added tohighlighting the issues and opportunities ofsustainable transport in Pakistan. The ob-jective of the event was to secure a commit-ment from political parties towards raisingawareness of and supporting the develop-ment of mass transit systems that are safe,clean and comfortable for the citizens.

Shireen Mazari representing PTIstressed that the mindset that public trans-port in Pakistan, seen as a means of trans-portation only for the lower classes, shouldchange. “Public transport should be for allclasses of society so all can ride safely andcomfortably”.

Marvi Memon speaking on behalf ofPML-N focused attention on Vision 2025 andaccentuated the importance of the Pak-Chinacorridor that would link markets. “The Vi-sion 2025 would hold citizens together fornational uplift and progress and allow for

Speakers stress need forsustainable transport system

maximum seamless connectivity,” she said.Syeda Shehla Raza, Deputy Speaker

from the PPP highlighted road safety andthe need for establishing a driver trainingand safety centers to promote responsiblebehavior on the road. Col. (R) Syed TahirHussain Mashhadi of MQM said that “di-visions among classes and people disap-pear when all sit in the same bus”.

Mian Imran Masood representing PML-Q stated that “successful transport systemsthat used to operate in Pakistan, such asthe Faisalabad Urban Transport System(FUTS) had fallen prey to corruption andvictimization at the hands of various enti-ties and ended up in closure”.

Shahi Syed from ANP said “Pakistan isplagued by terrorism and corruption andthat humanity and the value of life need tobe a national priority” and that the problemof transportation was not the problem ofone man; rather the entire country sufferedas a whole on a daily basis”.

Naeem ur Rehman representingJamaat-e-Islami provided a background ofpublic transport in Karachi. He informedthe audience that in 60s and 70s Karachiused to have a very good public transportsystem with almost 60%t of the vehiclesbelonging to public transport and only20% individual cars.

STAFF REPORTER

IS L A M A B A D—An orientation ses-sion for the newly enrolled studentsof management sciences at Interna-tional Islamic University Islamabad(IIUI) was held at female campus ofthe university.

The orientation session was pre-sided over by Rector IIUI Dr.Masoom Yasnzai, Director FemaleCampus Dr. Samina Yasmin Malik,Chairperson and Faculty of Man-agement Sciences (FMS) SyedaShabana Kirmani and staff membersof FMS.

Students urged to promoteinter-provincial harmony

Speaking on the occasion, Dr.Masoom Yazinzai urged the studentsto promote inter-provincial harmonyadding that IIUI is a unique educa-tional institution place where stu-dents from various countries andprovinces of Pakistan acquire qual-ity education integrated with teach-ings of Islam.

He stressed on the students toremain focused on studies and havefull devotion to knowledge addingthat it would help to build their brightfuture.

Dr. Samin Malik said that educa-tion paves the way for success of

nations and IIUI under a dynamicleadership providing quality educa-tion to the daughters of Ummah. Sheassured that all possible facilitieswould be provided to the students.

Syeda Shabana, in her addresssaid that the students would beequipped with the best professionalskills at FMS and co-curricular andextracurricular activities at the fac-ulty would help students to polishtheir abilities and skills.

Earlier, students were given a pre-sentation regarding registration pro-cess and other relevant steps of en-rollment.

Specialsquads for

implementationof transport faresIS L A M A B A D —IslamabadTraffic police has set up spe-cial squads for implementa-tion of new public transportfares in federal capital. Sepa-rate squads have been es-tablished in all the fourzones of Islamabad and DSPof the respective zone hasbeen appointed incharge ofthe squad.

The citizens can registertheir complaints about over-charging of the fares atIslamabad Traffic PoliceHelp Line 1915 and phoneNo 051-9263182-85 and theycan register their complaintsin writing with the concernedDSP and SP traffic and SSPtraffic police.

The squads will addressthe complaints of citizens onthe spot. Traffic police issetting up special barricadesto make the implementationof new fares campaign a suc-cess.

SSP traffic has held ameeting with the owners ofpublic transport in this re-gard.—Online

Member of National Assembly Tariq Chaudhry and Chairman CDA Maroof Afzal being briefed by President TradersUnion Aabpara Market Malik Zaheer Ahmad during their visit to the market.—PO photo by Sultan Bashir

ANP Leader Haji Adeel and Country Director Oxfam-Pakistan Arif Jabbar Khan with the participants of RegionalConference: “Education and Human Security Framework in Afghanistan and Pakistan” organized by SAPP at a localhotel.—PO photo

PROF MUHAMMAD ASLAM

HATS off to the Hon’ble High Court forwaking the Government up from theirslumber on the private coaching centres.

Although, the administration was aware of whatwas happening in these centres, the officers wouldturn a blind eye to the lack of facilities in thesecentres, especially, because their own kith are ad-mitted in these centres (and, very often, free ofcost),. This resulted in the mushroom growth ofsuch centres in the valley; a Srinagar outskirt hasbecame a hub of registered and un-registered cen-tres. Although some eave-teasing and criminalincidents did stir the administration at times, noneof these centres faced any action until the Courtintervened and directed the civil administrationto look into their infrastructure and the facilitiesthey provided to students.

The first task before the administration wasto find out how many of these centres were regis-tered. As it turned out, although 125 centres hadformed their association, there were many that hadnot registered themselves. Naturally, under direc-tives from the Court, the Government closed downsome centres and those that were allowed to work

Concern,Corruption, Conspiracyhad to comply with the directives of the Court interms of (a) the number of students admitted ineach class, (b) separate coaching timing for boysand girls, (c) loo and drinking water facilities and(d) heating/cooling facilities. Most of the coach-ing centres failed on this count.

It was found that most of centres admitted stu-dents beyond their capacity. At the hub of coach-ing centres, it was found that in some rooms, stu-dents were huddled up like cattle. However, theassociation of these coaching centres demonstrateda good sense and realised that this time it was apro-active Court that meant business and not anyofficial whose palm they could grease for keep-ing his/her eyes shut. Before that the associationhad shown some resistance by closing down thecentres for some days, it eventually fell in lineand accepted to provide better coaching and com-fort to students. The Hon’ble Court will have tomonitor the success of its directives regularly, oth-erwise the state Government will go back intoslumber. The Court will have also to ensure thatregularising of these centres doesn’t lead to cor-ruption that’ll subvert the noble cause for whichthe Court intervened.

Kashmir is the most corrupt place. Here, very

often, good schemes get flopped because of thecorrupt executing agencies. We know that the bestefforts of the Hon’ble Court in restoring the lostglory of the Dal Lake got thwarted because of theinefficient LAWDA and the incompetent Govern-ment. In the same manner, this new initiative ofthe Court can become a source of corruption tothose civil and police officers within whose juris-diction these coaching centres fall. The Courtmight have to, one the one hand, get regular up-dates on the compliance of its directives, and, onthe other hand, it will have to monitor that thosepolice and civil officers who have been assignedthe job of inspecting and monitoring these insti-tutes do not turn this noble initiative into a sourceof corruption. As is usual in Kashmir, the policeofficers can coerce them to grease their palms sothat they submit ‘good’ reports to the Court. Someconcerned voices have started coming in in thisbehalf which can easily subvert the objectives ofregulating the functioning of these coaching cen-tres. Unless the Hon’ble Court puts some effec-tive mechanism in place, the State officials willgo into regression and hoodwink the Court aboutthe actual happenings in these centres. There couldoccur nexus between the owners of these centres

and the investigating officers in the same way asthere was between the BEd colleges and the StateGovernment when mushroom growth of thesecolleges took place. Once this nexus was brokenby the University by making these colleges re-sponsive and responsible, they crumbled and to-day these colleges are virtually closed.

Some people have started blaming the lo-cal government for creating chaos and confu-sion deliberately so that students from Kash-mir go outside for coaching. According to them,coaching centres in Jammu are also admittinghuge numbers of students and these centres arealso lacking in the facilities that the Kashmircentres are accused of. However, it is allegedthat the Jammu centres are facing no such re-prisals from the authorities. The conspiracytheory cannot be rubbished also because, in caseof BEd colleges, the State Government did fol-low a discriminatory approach in Kashmir. Also,Kashmir cable operations continue to be dis-criminated against whereas Jammu operatorsenjoy official patronage.

Although it can’t be denied that, for some,coaching centres have become commerciallyvery profitable, especially those who own them

and also teach there, there are some that run onpercentage basis, say 70% of the lecture fee goesto the tutor and 30% to the owner(s) who has/have to meet the day to day expenses and alsomanage the centres. An outskirt coaching areain Srinagar has become a big boon for localswho have turned their houses into guest housesand/or hostels that feed on students from coach-ing centres there. It is a fact also that some cen-tres are housed in good buildings and have rela-tively better facilities.

It is therefore important that admission toall the centres is regulated through a commit-tee that allows each centre to admit studentsbased on its physical condition. None of themshould be allowed to admit students beyondtheir capacity. Providing different timings togirls and boys is a must as it will keep many acriminal activities at bay. The conspiracy theoryneeds to be looked into so that students are notforced to seek admission outside the valleywhere they pay heavily. We can’t close coach-ing centres because they are a good alternativeto the deteriorated formal education system inthe State.

—Courtesy: Greater Kashmir

SRINAGAR—Hundreds of angry protesters clashed with Indianauthorities on Tuesday at the funeral of a young man killed dur-ing a demonstration in disputed Kashmir. Separatists called for adaylong strike in the tense Himalayan territory.

Shouting “Go India, Go back!” and “We want freedom,” thefuneral protesters hurled stones at law enforcement officials whilemarching toward a highway near the village of Palhalan whereFarooq Ahmed Bhat was being buried. Police fired tear gas whileparamilitary troops tried to block the march. There were no imme-diate reports of injuries.

Officials said Bhat, a student, was killed when governmentforces fired to stop stone-throwing protesters in Palhalan, north ofthe main city of Srinagar, during a day of protests Monday acrossthe region to mark the two-year anniversary of a former rebel’ssecret hanging in New Delhi. Local residents said, however, thatBhat was standing near his home and was not part of the anti-Indiaprotest.

Shops and businesses were shuttered Tuesday in Srinagar,where authorities clamped a curfew in old quarters and law en-forcement officials patrolled deserted streets. More than 100 anti-India activists remained in custody, after being detained over theweekend as part of efforts to control Monday’s planned protests.University exams were canceled for Tuesday and Wednesday.

Kashmiris were incensed in 2013 when Mohammed Afzal

Protesters clash with Indian forcesGuru was hanged in secret in a New Delhi jail. Many in themostly Muslim territory believe Guru was not given a fair trial

on charges of involvement in a2001 attack on Parliament thatkilled 14 people, including fivegunmen. uru had fought earlierwith rebels in an armed uprisingthat began in 1989 and resultedin an estimated 68,000 people be-ing killed, both in the uprisingand ensuing Indian crackdown.Anti-India separatists have longdemanded either independenceor a merger with neighboring Pa-kistan.

India and Pakistaneach administer a portion of

Kashmir. Both claim the region in its entirety. Separatistshave called for another strike on Wednesday to mark the1984 hanging of pro-independence leader MohammedMaqbool Butt, who was executed for killing an intelligenceofficer. The separatists want the remains of both Guru andButt, now buried at the New Delhi jail, to be returned to theregion for burial.—KD

COLOMBO—A seminar titled “Kashmir Dis-pute in the Regional Perspective” was held inColombo, last evening, to express support forthe Kashmiri people on the occasion of Kash-mir Solidarity Day.

The event was attended by a large number ofparticipants including diplomats, members ofacademia, dignitaries, Pakistani community basedin Sri Lanka and a large contingent of media per-sonnel. Prominent scholars including Mr. Jamal-ud-Din Chairman Kashmir Study Group, Ms. RamlaWahab from Lakshman Kadirgamer Institute forInternational Relations and Strategic Studies, Se-nior analyst Mr. Ameen Izzadeen, expressed theirviews and participated in the panel discussion.

The speeches delivered by the eminentspeakers underline that lasting peace in the worldespecially in the South Asian Region cannot beguaranteed unless Kashmir Issue is resolved inaccordance with the wishes of Kashmiri people

Sri Lankans expresssolidarity with Kashmiris

and the United Nations resolutions of 1948 and1949.

The High Commissioner of Pakistan Maj.Gen. (R) Qasim Qureshi while speaking on theoccasion, highlighted the significance of Kash-mir issue and said that it was the main stum-bling block in making SAARC an effective en-tity. He noted that Kashmir issue is more rel-evant today, as it involves the principle of selfdetermination and human rights of the Kashmiripeople. The International Community is far moreconscious of these principles today, than it wasat any time in the past.

He explained that the purpose of this semi-nar was not to vilify any party to the dispute, butto draw attention towards the miseries of theKashmiri people and to appeal to the internationalcommunity to take cognizance of the urgency ofresolving the Kashmir dispute in accordance withthe aspirations of Kashmiri people.—KW

SRINAGAR—In occupied Kashmir, com-plete strike will be observed, tomorrow,to mark the anniversary of the hanging ofmartyred liberation leader, MuhammadMaqbool B1utt and press for the return ofhis mortal remains.

Call for the strike has been given bythe All Parties Hurriyet Conference Chair-man, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Syed AliGilani, Muhammad Yasin Malik andShabbir Ahmed Shah. MuhammadMaqbool Butt was sent to the gallows onthe 11th February in 1984 and was buriedin the premises of the jail.

Meanwhile, shutdown marked by cur-few and other restrictions was observed,today, to protest against the killing of a

Martyrdom anniversary ofMaqbool Butt today

Kashmiri youth by Indian troops inPalhallan area of Baramulla district, yes-terday. The Hurriyet leaders in their sepa-rate statements strongly denounced thekilling of the youth. They said that Indiantroops and police personnel had been tar-geting youth to suppress the Kashmiris’ongoing movement for right to self-deter-mination.

On the other hand, thousands ofpeople participated in the funeralprayers of the martyred youth inPalhalan, today. The participants raisedhigh-pitched slogans like “Go India, goback” and “We want freedom”. Clashesbroke out between protesters and Indianpolice on the occasion. The puppet au-

thorities had deployed troops and po-lice personnel in strength in the area toprevent protests.

The authorities arrested seniorHurriyet leader, Shabbir Ahmad Shahalong with dozens of Hurriyet activiststo prevent him from leading a protestdemonstration at Lal Chowk in Srinagaragainst the killing of the youth.

Hurriyet leaders Muhammad YasinMalik, Shoukat Bakhshi, MuhammadYousuf Naqash and Mukhtar AhmadWaza remained behind the bars, while,Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai, NayeemAhmad Khan and Ayaz Akbar contin-ued to remain under house detention,today.—KMS

SRINAGAR—In occupied Kashmir, the authori-ties imposed curfew in Srinagar, Sopore,Palhalan and other areas of the Valley, today, toprevent people from staging demonstrationsagainst the killing of a youth by Indian troops inPalhalan. The restrictions have been imposedfollowing a call for protest strike given byHurriyet leaders and organizations against thekilling of the youth during a siege and searchoperation by the troops in Palhalan area ofBaramulla district, yesterday.

Three youth were injured in the troops’ fir-ing. “We have decided to impose restrictions in

Curfew, curbs imposed inSrinagar, other areas

Srinagar areas, today,” said Deputy Commis-sioner Srinagar, in a media interview.

He said that the curfew would remain im-posed in areas falling under Police Stationsof Rainawari , Khanyar, Nowhatta,Mahrajganj, SafaKadal and Maisuma. Re-strictions have also been imposed in Palhalanand Sopore areas. The martyred youth wasidentified as Farooq Ahmad Butt while theinjured youth were identified as RiyazAhmad Butt and Ashiq Ahmad Sheikh. BothRiyaz and Ashiq were being treated at aSrinagar hospital.—KMS

SRINAGAR—Sternly condemning the use of in-discriminate force by government forces againstpeaceful protesters which resulted in killing ofyouth and injuring three others in Palhallan,Pattan, APHC Chairman, Mirwaiz Dr. MolviMuhammad Umar Farooq, said that the draco-nian powers vested with the government troopswere giving them license to kill Kashmiris atwill.

On the martyrdom anniversary of ShaheedMohammad Afzal Guru, APHC Chairman saidthat the government forces once again resortedto bloodshed of innocent Kashmiris, arrest andhouse arrest of pro-freedom leaders and work-ers, imposed curfew, and conducted raids. Hesaid such tyrannical acts have once again ex-posed the hollow slogans of democracy and theso called democratic process in Kashmir.

Draconian powers being usedagainst Kashmiris: Mirwaiz

APHC chairman paid rich tributes to FarooqAhmad Bhat, who was martyred by the Indiantroops in Palhalan. He also prayed for the speedyrecovery of the injured youth. He said sacrificesof the martyrs were priceless asset lying withthe Kashmiri nation and their mission would betaken forward till it reaches its goal.

Mirwaiz said that the commitment ofKashmiris towards freedom struggle was exem-plary and no power in the world can break theirresolve by use of repressive and dictatorial poli-cies and acts.APHC Chairman said the time has come thatIndian leadership should realize the historicaland ground realities in Kashmir, adding, theyshould take meaningful steps to resolve theKashmir dispute according to the wishes andaspirations of Kashmiris.—FB

ISLAMABAD—The Chairman of Jammu andKashmir People’s Freedom League (JKPFL),Muhammad Farooq Rehmani, has stronglycondemned killing of a youth by Indian troopsat Palhalan in Pattan area of Baramulla. Theyouth, Farooq Ahmad Butt, when the troopsopened fire on the demonstrators, who weredemanding the dead body of Kashmiri youth,Muhammad Afzal Guru, who was hanged andburied in New Delhi’s Tihar jail on February9, 2013. Muhammad Farooq Rehmani in a

NEW DELHI—In remarks that could fuel a contro-versy, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor Tuesday saidParliament attack convict Afzal Guru’s hanging wasboth “wrong and “badly handled”.

“I think the hanging was both wrong & badlyhandled. Family should have been warned, given alast meeting & body returned,” Tharoor said onTwitter responding to a remark on the issue. Guruwas hanged on February 9, 2013 inside Tihar Jail. A

Guru’s hanging wrong: Tharoorcontroversy had erupted soon after Guru’s hangingover the purported communication from the Gov-ernment of India (goI) to his family which allegedthat they had come to know about his execution fromTV channels and Jammu and Kashmir government.While GoI had then claimed that it sent a communi-cation through speedpost, the family had raised ques-tions as to whether there was a serious effort to in-form the family.—RK

India must be censured forwanton killings in IOK

statement issued in Srinagar said that target-ing of a peaceful demonstration by the Indiantroops and police was a brutal and shamefulact for which and other such thousands ofcrimes the International Court of Justice shouldbring India to justice and the world body shouldimpress upon India to withdraw its troops fromthe disputed region without any further delay.“India is committing crimes against humanityfor the last several decades without being cen-sured by the UN,’ he deplored.—KMS

COLOMOBO: Participants of seminar in connection with ‘Kashmir Solidarity Day’ here on Tuesday.

MUZAFFARABAD: Presidential Adviser Raja Sajid meeting Additional. Inspector Gerneral Police Sardar Faheem Abbasi on Tuesday.

Kashmir govtformation

within nextthree days:BJP,SR I N A G A R —KNS Pub-lished in Headlines As thedeadlock continues over thegovernment formation inJammu and Kashmir, theBharatiya Janata party Tues-day claimed that the saffronparty along with the PeoplesDemocratic Party will formthe new government withinnext three days.

“Both BJP and PDP lead-ers have reached into theagreement over the govern-ment formation and I can tellyou that the formal an-nouncement to form the gov-ernment will be in next threedays, BJP’s State GeneralSecretary (Organizations)Asok Koul said over phone.

Sources said that in this re-gard some of the top BJP lead-ers including the National Gen-eral Secretary Ram Madhav,MP and in-charge J&K affairsAvinash Rai Khanna, are arriv-ing in Jammu and Kashmir innext two days.The developmentcame at a time when Dheli pollresults have come out and theAaam Aadmi party (AAP) hasswiped the Delhi elections bywinning 67 seats. Koul furtherwhile commenting on the resultsof Delhi polls said that the BJPcongratulates the AAP over theirwin.—KD

Presidentvisits Nadra

officeALI RAZA NAQVI

RAWA L A K O T—PresidentSardar Muhammad Yaqub Khanhas advised the officials ofNADRA to discharge their du-ties with the spirit of serving thepublic. He said this while talk-ing to citizens of Rawalakot af-ter his surprise visit to NADRAoffice thereon Tuesday. The citi-zens expressed their thanks tothe President for his efforts ofsetting up NADRA office.

The biggest hurdleis rejection. Any

business you start,be ready for it. The

difference be-tween successful

people and unsuc-cessful people is

the successfulpeople do all thethings the unsuc-

cessful peopledon’t want to do.

When 10 doors areslammed in yourface, go to door

number 11 enthusi-astically, with a

smile on your face.

—John Paul DeJoria

ISLAMABAD: Chief Executive Officer Etisalat Pakistan, Abdul Rahim Al-Nooryanicalled on the Minister for IT & Telecom Mrs. Anusha Rahman.

ISLAMABAD: Chairman, Board of Investment, Dr. Miftah Ismail meeting with a del-egation of Novartis Pharma (Pakistan) Limited.

MIAN ARSHAD

ISLAMABAD—Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Tues-day, said that Pakistan had undergone a remark-able economic recovery over a short period of timewhich was widely acknowledged by independentanalysts, particularly international financial insti-tutions. Even though the Government of PrimeMinister Nawaz Sharif inherited a broken economy,it was not deterred by the challenges it faced. TheGovernment ever since assuming responsibilitiesembarked upon a process of deep-rooted eco-nomic reforms, such as tax measures and adjust-ment in administered prices, without which mean-ingful hope for economic revival was not possible,he added.

While addressing the International Seminar:“Crossroads Asia: Dynamics of Peace andProgress” organized by the National Defence Uni-versity here, Dar said the government desired toachieve growth of around 7% as it was necessaryto address poverty incidence and unemploymentwhile improving socio-economic indicators, includ-

Independent analysts, financial institutionsacknowledge Pak economic recovery: Dar

ing health and education. “We are also working toimprove the energy mix to avoid the need for tariffincreases and to attract foreign direct investment”,the Minister added.

Giving a brief account of future roadmap hesaid we foresee GDP to grow gradually to around7%; inflation to remain in single digits i.e lessthan 8%; fiscal deficit to be brought down to4%; foreign exchange reserves growing to US$20 billion; investment-to-GDP ratio brought to22% and similarly view at industrial sector togrow by 8%. The Minister also envisaged spend-ing around 4% of GDP on education and health,with key social indicators equal or better thanregional countries.

Ishaq Dar said Pakistan was actively promot-ing a number of projects that would enhance re-gional connectivity and joint exploitation of re-gional resources. CASA-1000 project costingnearly US$ 1 billion will originate in Kyrgyz Re-public and pass through Tajikistan and Afghani-stan and terminate in Pakistan, providing us 1000MW of energy. The Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-

Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project, he saidwould supply natural gas from Turkmenistan toAfghanistan, Pakistan and India. Thirdly, he men-tioned Central Asia Regional Economic Coopera-tion (CAREC) a partnership of 10 countries includ-ing Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, KyrgyzRepublic, Mongolia, Pakistan, China, Tajikistan,Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. CAREC Ministers,he said have recently approved a US$ 23 billionAction Plan for undertaking regional connectivityprojects in the priority areas in member countries,the Minister said.

Ishaq Dar said that an economically strong,democratic Pakistan would not only defeat extrem-ism at home but would contribute immensely tothe stability of the region. It will also be an engineof growth for the regional economies with its stra-tegic location to sea and contiguity to vast landmass of South Asia that connects efficiently tothe Eurasian land mass as well, he said.

The Minister remarked that today, we have abroader quest for peace and progress at ‘Cross-road Asia’ that comes into sharper focus as the

global environs experience an erosion of uni-po-lar order and ‘Rise of the Rest’ viz-a-viz the West.The upcoming phase 2015-2025, he said shouldbe revealing in terms of system-wide changes andtheir trans-regional impact.

This phenomenon is critically important forPakistan in view of its geopolitical disposition atthe intersection of three regions: South Asia, Cen-tral Asia and West Asia. Ishaq Dar in his addressemphasized the resolution of Kashmir in line withthe aspirations of the Kashmiri people. A resolu-tion of Kashmir dispute in keeping with thepeople’s right to self-determination is directly re-lated to any significant progress in India-Pakistannormalization process, Dar observed. He also ex-pressed Pakistan’s desire for realization of peacein Afghanistan. Similarly, he said resolution ofPalestine issue was important for peace in theMiddle East. The Minister lauded the NationalDefence University for organizing this major eventof critical importance enabling prominent schol-ars to deliberate on challenges and opportunitiesin the way of economic development.

Al-Habib APNAcurrent accountoffers free life

insuranceSTAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Bank Al-HabibAPNA Current Account ca-ters to individuals & profes-sionals looking for a per-sonal account to fulfill alltheir modern-day bankingneeds with convenience anda host of free facilities in-cluding Free Life Insurance,ATM Card, Online Banking,SMS Alerts, Pay Orders(upto 3 per month), E-State-ment, and Internet Bankingwith no minimum balancerequirement.

At present, Bank Al-Habib has a network of 462branches & sub-branchesin 138 cities including off-shore branches in Bahrain,Malaysia & Seychelles.The bank also has Repre-sentative Offices in Dubai,Turkey & China.

Experts suggestOkra sowing

before March endMULTAN—Agriculture ex-perts have advised the farm-ers to cultivate Okra veg-etable from mid February toMarch end. In a release is-sued by media liaison unitof Punjab agriculture de-partment, experts said thatOkra or lady finger is usu-ally cultivated twice ayear—first in June-July andthen in Feb-Mar. The cropcultivated in Feb-Mar givesproduction from April toSeptember.

Farmers should selectfertile land having PH valueranging from 6.5 to 7.8 withbetter water drainage ar-rangement for enhancedproduction. Seeds havinggood germination strengthshould be sown at the rateof 10-12 kilogram per acreand ‘Sabz Pari’ seed varietyis recommended by the ag-riculture department, the re-lease said.—APP

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—The Cabinet Committee onPrivatization (CCOP), Tuesday, approved thetransaction structure proposal for Habib BankLimited (HBL) transaction (Sale of govern-ment of Pakistan (GoP) shares in HBL) CCOPmet here with Finance Minister Ishaq Dar inthe chair and had detailed deliberations onthe proposed transaction structure for divest-ment of GoP shares in HBL and the NationalPower Construction Company (NPCC).

With the consensus of the house, theFinance Minister gave instructions for fur-ther discussions on NPCC proposal at theCCOP meeting on coming Friday. Federal

CCOP approves GoPshares in HBL sale

Ministers for Information, Pervaiz Rashid,Commerce, Khurram Dastgir, Planning &Development, Ahsan Iqbal and Minister ofState for Textile Industry, Abbas Khan Afridiand senior officials from Ministry of Fi-nance, SECP, Privatization Commission,SBP, Planning & Development and otherdeptts/organizations attended the meeting.

Chairman Privatization Commissionbriefed the meeting about the proposedmechanism for divestment of GoP shares inHBL and NPCC. The Finance Minister ob-served that all out efforts should be made forsecuring best price for HBL shares as it was aprime financial institution of the country hav-ing significant international standing.

STAFF REPORTER

ISLAMABAD—Pakistan TelecommunicationCompany Limited (PTCL), the largest ICT ser-vices provider in Pakistan, today announcedits annual results for the year 2014, riding onthe back of its growing fixed and wirelessbroadband business. Of the total 2014 revenuesof Rs. 81.5 billion earned by PTCL, the broad-band revenues significantly increased by 34%.The Company’s profitability remained stablein spite of extraordinary expenses on accountof a successfully completed voluntary separa-tion scheme as well as losses due to fire andfloods. PTCL’s group revenues for the yearstood at Rs. 129.9 billion.

The financial results for the year ended

PTCL declares 2014 financialresults with 25pc cash dividend

31st December, 2014 were announced at theCompany’s Board of Directors (BoD) meetingheld on Tuesday in Islamabad. PTCL cashflows remain healthy and stable due to theconsistent growth in the subscriber base andstrong market position. The Board of Direc-tors has declared 25% final cash dividend in-clusive of 10% interim dividend. Mr. WalidIrshaid, President & CEO PTCL commented,“PTCL’s revenue growth during the past yearis a strong indicator of our dynamic corporatedirection as well as our customers’ continuedsatisfaction and trust of our shareholders. ““PTCL is in a strong position to lead thetelecom industry towards a brighter future,our broadband and corporate services port-folio performed exceptionally well in 2014.

ISLAMABAD—Chairman Board of Invest-ment, Miftha Ismail here Tuesday assuredfull support of BoI to pharmaceutical in-dustry for providing low priced medicineto the masses. A delegation of M/s. NovartisPharma (Pakistan) Limited called on Chair-man BOI and discussed developments,which effect overall investment climate inthe country.

The delegation informed that M/sNovartis is a world leader in the researchand development of products to protect andimprove health and well-being. The companyhas core businesses in pharmaceutical, vac-cines, consumer health, generics, eye careand animal health. The Group is present inPakistan through Novartis Pakistan Limitedand is ranked as third largest multinational

BoI assures support for pharma industrycompany in pharmaceutical sector and in-cluded in top 100 taxpayers of Pakistan.

The meeting was also informed that thecompany has employees over 1500 associ-ates in Pakistan with overall investmentgrown to Rs. 6 billion in the field of patientaccess programs. The Chairman, Board ofInvestment, also highlighted the invest-ment policy and informed the delegationthat the Board of Investment is mandatedto promote Foreign Direct Investment andprovide facilitation to foreign as well as lo-cal investors and provide one window fa-cilitation. Dr. Miftah, appreciated the del-egation in making investment in all sectorof the economy including pharmaceuticaland assured support of BoI as and whenneeded.—APP

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—A high-level delegation of AjmanFree Zone, UAE would visit Karachi from 17thto 20th February to share the business op-portunities with Pakistani investors. Pakistanicompanies are already taking full advantageof business potential in Middle East regionas a big number of Pakistani companies is reg-istered with Ajman Free Zone, UAE. To fur-ther accelerate mutual cooperation on busi-ness front and to attract Pakistani investments,Ajman Free Zone, UAE delegation will be ad-dressing an investors’ seminar and press con-ference in Karachi on 18th and 19th Februaryrespectively. This high profile visit to theKarachi will be to initiate and build a long andlucrative means of economic cooperation be-tween Pakistan and UAE.

Ajman Free Zone is offering all the nec-essary facilities to ensure sure that the Paki-stani investors will be furnished with the bestservices and products. These products andservices are aimed at enabling investments

Ajman Free Zone delegation to fetch biz opportunities with Pak investorsfrom all sectors, trade, services, IT, manufac-turing. In his statement Mahmood AlHashemi, Director General of Ajman FreeZone Authority said that, “Pakistan is animportant market for Ajman Free Zone andthe investment from the country has beengrowing over the last few years. Ajmanserves as an opportunistic destination forPakistani business due to close proximity toPakistan, a strong connectivity with ampleflights between the two countries. We areconfident of offering investors from Pakistanall assistance required in setting up and en-suring thriving operations as their successreflects our”.

Mahmood Al Hashemi said that, “AjmanFree Zone is deemed as one of the fastestgrowing free zones in the region. It will keepup the effort to continue this growth as thecoming era will witness more concentrationon the customers and services offered tothem.” He further explained that the mostimportant characteristics of investing inAjman Free Zone, is the flexibility of trans-

actions and ease with which procedures areexecuted with business licenses issued in24 hours. This is in light of the new strate-gic plan of AFZA. In additional, Ajman FreeZone offers advantages such as 100% for-eign ownership and repatriation of capitaland profits, no personal income-tax, lowlabour cost, the only downtown free zonein UAE, diverse range of licenses for trad-ing, services and industrial activities, com-petitive lease facility and an array of facili-ties ranging from Smart Office, Land andWarehouse.

He further said that, “With so many freezones operating in the regions, Ajman FreeZone is the first to offer flexible payment fa-cilities to its clients of up to twelve install-ments. This will promote entrepreneurship asthe entry level cost of doing business is re-duced giving an opportunity to young entre-preneurs and supporting mid level operatingbusinesses”. Smart office is a unique serviceoffering by Ajman free zone that enables bud-ding entrepreneurs and startup companies to

venture in to new business with low set upcosts thus providing easy entry in to busi-ness environment. With the provision of easypay scheme through installment plans Ajmanfree zone is enabling small and medium scalebusinesses to enter markets with low invest-ments.

Smart Warehousing is another innova-tive product from Ajman Free Zone and thefirst to be offered in the UAE where the stor-age units start at a 100 sq.m. “This is one-of-a kind proposition in the UAE and theregion. Smart Warehouses have been de-signed in a flexible, modular and scalablemanner. Clients requiring small spaces havethe option of renting units starting from a100 sq.m and companies that need biggerspaces can combine multiple units. Insteadof investing in large warehouse space in theinitial stages of a business, investors nowhave an option to take small spaces andexpand it in a modular manner according totheir business growth. SMART WAREHOUSE received overwhelming response

with phase 1,2&3 and now we are embark-ing on Phase 4 of Smart Warehouse, addedthe General Manager.

Ajman Free Zone (AFZ), established in1988, was granted autonomous status un-der the decree no. 3 of 1966 issued by H.H.Sheikh Humaid Bin Rashid Al Nuaimi, Rulerof Ajman. Ajman Free Zone Authority hasbeen named as the sole regulatory agencyfor Free Zone in the Emirate. Situated at thefoot of the Arabian Gulf, the Ajman FreeZone is widely regarded as the ideal depotfor the supply of goods and services forboth domestic and regional markets aroundUAE. The inexpensive energy and the ab-sence of bureaucratic complications, coupledwith the availability of numerous infrastruc-ture facilities, have attracted many investorsto base their operations in Ajman. Ajman FreeZone recently celebrated 25 years of busi-ness excellence, encouraging industries andentrepreneurs; and looks forward to furtherstrengthening ties with Pakistan and itsstrong business community.

LSE down by 21.53pointsLAHORE—Lahore StockExchange here Tuesdaywitnessed bearish trendby loosing 21.53 points,as the LSE Index-25opened with 6194.40points and closed at6172.87 points. Themarket’s overall situa-tion, however, corre-sponded to an upwardtrend as it remained at1.799 million shares toclose against previousturnover of 1.021 millionshares, showing anupward move of 777,600shares. While, out of thetotal 93 active scrips 13moved up, 29 shedvalues and 51 remainedequal. The Major Gainersof the day were MariPetroleum CompanyLimited, Pak ElektronLimited and Maple LeafCement Factory byrecording increase intheir per share value byRs 12.27, Rs 2.37 and Rs1.11 respectively.—APP

Port Qasimshipping activityKARACHI—Three shipscarrying containers,G.Cargo and chemical aberthed at QasimInternational ContainersTerminal, multi PurposeTerminal and EngroVopak Terminal respec-tively. Meanwhile threemore ships carryingcontainers and chemicalsalso arrived at outeranchorage of Port Qasimduring last 24 hours.Berth occupancy wasonly 65% at the port onMonday where sevenships namely SafmarineNgam, Fareast Harmony,Han Zai, Yong Tong 1,West Halmen, AS Oliviaand Aretis are currentlyoccupying berths toload/offload containers,live stock cow, chemicaliron ore and edible oilrespectively during last24 hours. A cargovolume of 79147 tonnescomprising 49322 tonnesimports and 29825tonnes exports inclusiveof containerized cargocarried in 1689 contain-ers (TEUs) were handledat the port during last 24hours.—APP

AMANULLAH KHAN

KARACHI—With an increase of 14.6 percentin the first seven months the home remittancesof overseas workers likely to hit all time high$20 billion for the first time during current fi-nancial year 2014-15. It seems that the grow-ing trend in home remittances of the overseasworkers if kept on moving upward may ac-cede to the export earnings of the countrywhich are at present not more than $28 bil-lion. Pakistani workers remitted $10,358.81million in first seven months (July to January)of FY15, showing an impressive growth of14.6 percent compared with $9,038.4 millionreceived during the same period of FY14.

During January 2015, the inflow of worker’s

Remittances likely to touch new stridesremittances amounted to $1,377.14 million,which is 13% lower than December 2014 and10% higher than January 2014. The countrywise details for the month of January 2015shows that inflows from Saudi Arabia, UAE,USA, UK, GCC countries (including Bahrain,Kuwait, Qatar and Oman) and EU countriesamounted to $452.81 million, $246.79 million,$186.15 million, $169.44 million, $160.44 millionand $65.45 million respectively compared withthe inflow of $393.27 million, $214.21million,$193.09m, $169.67m, $151.09m and $34.65 mil-lion respectively in January 2014. Remittancesreceived from Norway, Switzerland, Australia,Canada, Japan and other countries during Janu-ary 2015 amounted to $96.06 million togetheras against $90m received in January 2014.

Lamudi raises$18m to growin Asia, Latin

America OBSERVER REPORT

LAHORE—To expand itsoperations in the emergingmarkets, the leading real-estate network - Lamudihas raised 16 million Euros(USD 18 million) for newinvestments, provided byAsia Pacific InternetGroup, Holtzbrinck Ven-tures and TengelmannVentures. This will helpLamudi expand its opera-tions in Asia and LatinAmerica, whereby its op-erations in Pakistan willalso get tremendous ben-efits through this funding.Lamudi received the multi-million dollar investmentafter merging its busi-nesses in the two regions,to form one companycalled Lamudi Global.

Lamudi.pk’s CountryDirector in Pakistan - SaadArshed, said: “Since thecreation of Lamudi’s Foun-dation, our primary goalhas been to build the big-gest real estate platform inPakistan. The needs andinsights of house-huntersin the country should notbe undermined; as with thegrowing usage of internetand launch of 3G & 4G ser-vices, they are engagingmore deeply, with theonline sources of informa-tion and evaluations, toadopt the same methodsthat are already common-place in developed marketslike Europe and USA.”

He further added that;“It is for this reason thatwe believe our product hasresonated so strongly withproperty-seekers acrossPakistan. This significantinjection of funds is a greatvote of confidence inLamudi.pk’s businessmodel and speaks vol-umes about the boomingreal estate sector in the re-gion and the demand thatexists here for online prop-erty search. We will use theinvestment to improve ourproduct on both desktopand mobile, while quicklyadapting to the changingtrends of the consumers.”

In April, Lamudi re-ceived five million Euros(USD seven million) in fundsfrom Tengelmann Venturesand other undisclosed in-vestors, to boost its Asianoperations. The company isnow the leading propertyplatform in Pakistan withmore than 130,000 activeproperty listings. Lamudi.pkhas also signed more than1000 real estate agenciesacross Pakistan and hasopened 8 offices in major cit-ies, all over the country.

Other milestones, whichthe property websiteachieved, are the launch ofboth Android and iOS appsduring 2014, to meet thegrowing demand for mobileproperty search in theemerging markets. In its firstyear in operation, Lamudi.pklaunched a range of inno-vative projects such as: par-ticipating in several Expo’s,conducting “Real EstateAgents Empowerment Pro-grams”, launching its ownproperty magazine by thename of “Lamudi Now” andan in-depth research reporton the future of real estatein the emerging markets.Launched by the Germaninternet platform - RocketInternet in October 2013,Lamudi is a global propertyportal operating exclusivelyin the emerging markets.

Currency Selling Buying

USA 101.00 100.80

UK 153.96 153.66

Euro 114.51 114.28

Canada 81.07 80.91

Switzerland 109.41 109.19

Australia 79.05 78.90

Sweden 12.09 12.07

Japan 0.8525 0.8508

Norway 13.30 13.28

Singapore 74.67 74.52

Denmark 15.38 15.35

Saudi Arabia 26.92 26.87

Hong Kong 13.03 13.00

Kuwait 341.92 341.24

Malaysia 28.21 28.15

Newzealand 75.06 74.91

Qatar 27.74 27.68

UAE 27.50 27.44

Kr Won 0.0926 0.0924

Thailand 3.098 3.092

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—President of the Federation ofPakistan Chambers of Commerce & Indus-try (FPCCI) said that textile industry is themost important manufacturing sector ofPakistan and has the longest productionchain, with inherent potential for value ad-dition at each stage of processing, fromcotton to ginning, spinning, fabric, pro-cessing, made-ups and garments. He fur-ther said that Textile products have main-tained an average share of about 60% innational exports.

He further said that spinning is the firstprocess in the chain that adds value to cot-ton by converting raw material (ginned cot-ton) into a finished product (cotton yarn).Spinning is the foundation process and allthe subsequent value additions, that isweaving, knitting, processing, garmentsand made-ups, depend upon the initial pro-cess of the spinning of yarn. Therefore, anyvariation in quality of yarn spinning directlyaffects the entire value chain.

FPCCI urges to strengthenspinning industry of Pakistan

Mian Adrees further said that any dam-age to the spinning industry in Pakistanwill be transformed ultimately to cottongrowers which will lead to poverty in un-derdeveloped rural areas of Panjab andSindh provinces. To save cotton growersfrom losses we will have to save our spin-ning industry. It is noteworthy that becauseof subsidies and other facilities to its cot-ton growers in India the spinners are in theposition to dump their production in Paki-stani market, he added.

The President FPCCI suggested thatgovernment should take all measures to savethe value addition chain and strengthen theSpinning industry of Pakistan so that it cancompete in the global market. It is notablethat more than 35% spindles in Pakistan arenot being fully utilized. The Spinners havemade their heavy investments but due toshortage of energy, law and order situationand many other crises they cannot utilizetheir installed capacity, while import cottonyarn from India will not be required if capac-ity is fully utilized, he added.

KARACHI: Chairman of Synthetic Products Enterprises Limited, Almas Hyder ring-ing the bell at trading hall of Karachi Stock Exchange.—PO photo

KARACHI: President FPCCI Mian Muahmmad Adrees presenting crest to Nawab AyazJogezai, Balochistan Agriculture Minister during his visit to FPCCI. Abdul RahimJanoo, Senior Vice President FPCCI, Muhammad Ikram Rajput, Vice President FPCCIand Malik Sohail along with others also seen in the picture.—PO Photo

SHAKEEL A. MALIK

IN a country confronted with daunting socio-economic challenges wrought by years of badgovernance, Pakistan’s richest persons are sel-

dom questioned for not giving back enough toachieve social and development goals. Critiquedoccasionally for tax evasion, majority of the bil-lionaires cutting across wealthy politicians, landedaristocracy, industrialists and corporate execu-tives, are seen to be aloof from the surroundingdeteriorating socio-economic conditions.

The business community in Pakistan tends toshare burden of the government in the post-crisisrelief phases following natural disasters but is reluc-tant to volunteer for larger humanitarian programsand development initiatives which are thought to beexclusive domain of the civil society and the govern-ment. Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy claims thatcorporate philanthropy has increased eighteen foldover the past eight years. But the growth is too inad-equate to make visible impact on country’s develop-ment. It is no surprise that civil society and PakistaniDiaspora receive appreciation for keeping the coun-try afloat as the most well-to-do rarely receive suchrecognition. There is, however, one striking excep-tion. Malik Riaz Hussain, founding chairman of BahriaTown has gone several steps ahead of corporate re-sponsibility and even entrepreneurial philanthropy.The real estate icon continues to donate billions ofRupees to the people and the government throughmega financial packages in the wake of natural calami-

Are Pakistan’s corporate tycoons the core hope?ties and national emergencies, in addition to gener-ously investing in major development and charitableprojects. Compared to Bill Gates, Riaz’s stature as so-cial welfare activist is said to have overtaken his rank-ing as the leading construction personality.

For years Riaz has been urging his counterpartsheading big business holdings to contribute somepercentage of their assets to national development.Terming businessmen as the development leaders in

any country includingthe United States,Malik Riaz claims thepossibility of eradicat-ing poverty and evenpaying off Pakistan’shuge external debtthrough collective fi-nancial support by twoto three hundred rich-est individuals in thecountry. His imploringhas not though re-ceived perceptive earsin the moneyed club. In2007 in a letter ad-

dressed to the richest people, Malik Riaz observedthat if American tycoons like Bill Gates and WarrenBuffett could spend eighty and eighty seven per centof their wealth for the welfare of the people our busi-nessmen can also pay out five to ten percent of theirwealth for the people. “This would resolve half of ourproblems bringing about a dramatic change for the

better within five to ten years”, Malik Riaz said. Eightyears later when people have lost trust in foreign de-velopment assistance and borrowings, there is greaterneed for the richest persons to work independentlyor in collaboration with the government and civil so-ciety to address emergencies of education, health andunemployment.

The concept of giving back by leading business-men has come under spotlight in the developed andemerging economies as organizations including Brit-ain-based international agency Oxfam question theimpact of creation of wealth for a few on the millionsof underprivileged around the world. In India the bil-lionaires give back significant part of their wealth tothe society. Corporate leaders including MukeshAmbani, Lakshmi Mittal, Dilip Shanghvi, Azim Premji,and Pallonji Shapoorji Mistry, owning nearly half oftheir country’s wealth, spend a large chunk of theirearnings to support projects in education, health,environment, social welfare and community develop-ment, to name few.

Pakistan’s elite entrepreneurs have yet to note thecritical linkage of development and security. The per-ilous law and order situation arising mainly from eco-nomic inequalities have not so far directly hit the busi-ness stakes of the business magnates. Riaz believesthat it is not morally appropriate to live in islands ofprosperity ignoring oceans of poverty around. Hemaintains that investment in social developmentwould guarantee peaceful survival of all citizens in-cluding businessmen as poverty would lead to chaosand instability. Malik Riaz, who rose from a modest

position of small time construction contractor, believesthat “The love and respect does not come with for-tune and political power, but by serving the human-ity”. His commitment to financially help the govern-ment, communities, professional groups and individu-als is predicated on a vision in which welfare of thepeople takes precedence over any other consider-ation. The country for Bahria Town chief is like a homeand mother, instead of a venue for doing businessand earning profit. The smart cities of Bahria Town, asmicrocosm of prosperity, display how the countrycould be developed if other businessmen follow Riaz.His approach blending business and humanism isbased on the premise that the more prosperous youare, the more you are under social obligation to en-sure greatest good of the greatest number.

Having pledged many years back giving backseventy five percent of his wealth to the country andits people, Malik Riaz recently launched string of de-velopment projects in Sindh Province. These ven-tures include state-of-art universities, medical collegesand metro bus system in Karachi and other cities.Amid attempts by terrorists to halt country’s progress,Riaz’s campaign to build high standard academic andhealth centers has made him what many see as “theman of the hour”. “I cannot sleep comfortably whenpeople of my country are without food and shelter”,Riaz writes in his blog. It remains to be seen for howlong country’s most eminent benefactor treads onthis mission alone.

—The contributor is an Islamabad-based freelance writer. Email: shakeelmahota@yahoo.co.uk.

SALIM AHMED

LAHORE—Appreciating the government for announcingincentive-laden Textile Policy, the Poultry Industry hasalso called for tax free import of poultry machinery andloans on same lines as announced for textile machinery.The former Chairman of the poultry Association AbdulBasit said that Pakistan’s poultry sector has a huge poten-tial to get major chunk out of three trillion dollar HalalFood Trade provided this sector is patronized and sup-ported the way the government has done for increasingtextile exports. He disclosed that poultry exports couldexceed textile exports if the industry is prudently facili-tated by the government.

The former Poultry Chief said that the textile industrycannot prosper until and unless it has strong backing ofthe Agriculture sector which provides all the raw materialfor this important exporting sector of the country. He saidthat Pakistan is the only country in the world that has thelargest irrigated Basin and according to some international

Poultry industry seeks tax-freeimport of machinery, loans

reports, Indus Basin has the capacity and potential to ful-fill food grain needs of the entire world. Abdul Basit saidthat there was a dire need of value addition and Process-ing to increase the exports of food items and to achievethe target Poultry is the only sector. It is the only industrythat could be grown to desired levels. It could be exportedto the whole world after due processing and packaging.

He said that it is a matter of concern the entire Muslimworld utlises Halal products with uncertainty because theycannot say for sure that if they are using the real halalfood or not. But Pakistan is that the only country fromwhere all the products are considered Halal. He said thatPakistani food products do not need any kind of certifica-tion as Pakistan produces only halal and nothing else.

Abdul Basit said that the government should immedi-ately announce loans at two per cent mark up for the poul-try industry to enable it to produce Export surplus. In thepoultry export, processing is capital-intensive step andbecause of high rate of interest its prices go up and makesPakistani poultry uncompetitive at global market place.

STAFF REPORTER

MURREE—Participants of 7th All PakistanChamber of Commerce Presidents has saidwe have Finance minister but he is not avail-able to take care the issues of business com-munity, there is not doubt on his credibilitybut he must have time for us. Presidents from42 Chambers of the country including Fed-eration of Pakistan Chambers Of Commerce& Industry (FPCCI), Karachi Chamber, LahoreChamber, Faisalabad Chamber, Sialkot Cham-ber, Quetta Chamber, KPK Chamber and oth-ers attended the conference.

President Rawalpindi Chamber of Com-merce and Industry Syed Asad Mashadi hassaid since Finance Minster is over occupiedin Government and Political Affairs we de-mand an appropriate person to act as FinanceMinister be appointed on immediate basiswho may give maximum attention to the fi-nancial and tax matters of the country.

While announcing the declaration Presi-dent RCCI Syed Asad Mashadi said firstagenda is government should make commit-tee comprised of Public Private Sector repre-sentatives to work out the impediments in thedraft of proposed APTTA, Implementation ofrevised APTTA till December 2015, The Minis-try of Commerce should pass on the exporttargets to the Pakistani Missions working inCentral Asian Countries and there should be aJoint Committee comprised of Private Sectorrepresentatives who may set the yearly tar-gets for these missions, Government of Paki-stan should allocate resources to constructroads and railway links to Afghanistan, AnFTA/ PTA should be signed with Afghanistan

RCCI organizes all-Pakistanchambers presidents’ conference

and Central Asian States by December 2015,Ministry of Commerce may see the feasibilityof establishing Warehouses and bonded car-rier facilities for Central Asian Countries andStates, Freight subsidy to be given to the ex-porters for CARs, Dry ports should be con-structed at the border areas with Afghanistan,Iran and India by the end of 2016.

Talking about the Tax Reforms PresidentRCCI said that tax policy of Pakistan should bebased on equitable, fair and progressive taxa-tion principles with an objective of broaden-ing the direct tax base by developing a mecha-nism in which tax payers are motivated to paytax, they are valued and see their role in eco-nomic growth and poverty reduction. Issuanceof SROs is largely seen as ways and means forrewarding (most of the time) individuals and/or a group for monetary benefits, which largelyare at the expense to the national exchequer. Itwould be just to empower the nationally electedparliament of Pakistan by vesting in them thepower of issuance of SROs on rational andlogical bases. In this regard as a first step, thepro rich exemptions should be analyzed andresultantly coming up with a list of prioritizedexemptions that needs to be done away withand subsequent development of strategy forgradual abolishment of all other SROs.

He said Chambers fully support an ideaof fairer taxation policy in Pakistan. We be-lieve that it will be a powerful mechanism toeliminate poverty, hence recommend reduc-ing undue burden of indirect taxation on low/middle income groups and using the addi-tional revenues generated through directprogressive taxation on essential public ser-vices such as universal education and health.

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—Mughal Steel, one of the lead-ing composite steel manufacturing con-cerns of Pakistan, has got the approval ofthe Securities and Exchange Commissionof Pakistan (SECP) for the issuance of 27.35million shares to the general public andthereby become a listed company at thePakistani Stock Exchanges. The book build-ing is scheduled on 16th Feb, 2015. It hasbeen decided that the representatives onthe three stock exchanges will be deputedat the bid collection centers. The book-building portion of the offer comprise of 75percent of the offering (i.e. 9.75 million or-dinary shares) offering to institutional in-vestors and high net worth individualsthrough book-building, whereas the remain-ing 25 percent of the offer (3.25 millionshares) will be offered to the general public

Mughal Steel gets approvalfor issuance of 27.35m shares

at a strike price determined during the bookbuilding process.

Mughal Iron and Steel Industry Limitedhas been in the industry for over 50 years,and is the largest manufacturer of longrolled iron and steel products in Pakistan.Over the years, the Company has emergedto be recognized as the most innovative,efficient and diversified steel manufactur-ers of Pakistan. Throughout its history, theCompany has continued to prioritize invest-ment in cutting edge technology to ensurea very high quality product range. MughalSteel is one of the rare steel industry manu-facturers of the country with its own gas-fired captive power plant of 9.3MW, whichprovides a third of the power requirementsof the Company. Furthermore, the Companyhas also invested heavily in its own coalgasification plant to produce syngas as asubstitute to natural gas.

PIEDMC winsInternational

CSR 2015 AwardMUZAFFAR ALI

LAHORE—The Punjab In-dustrial Estates Development& Management Company(PIEDMC) has won 7th Inter-national Corporate Social Re-sponsibility (CSR) 2015Award. The PIEDMC repre-sentative received the awardat a ceremony organized byNational Forum for Environ-ment and Health (NFEH). Theobjectives of the event wereto recognize and realize theimportance of CSR activitieswhich contributing a lot forwell-being of country’s de-serving people.

The Chief Executive Of-ficer (CEO) PIEDMC General(Retd) Javed Iqbal said thatPIEDMC is the largest de-velopment and managementcompany of industrial es-tates in Punjab. ChairmanPIEDMC S M Tanveer, un-der the leadership of ChiefMinister Punjab ShahbazSharif has always encour-aged activities relating tocorporate social responsi-bility, he added.

He said the passion andcommitment of dedicatedworkforce of PIEDMC hasestablished its credibility inevery sphere of its activitiesand has enabled to earn thegoodwill of stakeholders.

President Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry Syed Asad Mashadi addressingpress conference after All Pakistan Chambers Presidents’ Conference at Bhurban, Murree.

TUSDECconcludes training

programmeSTAFF REPORTER

L A H O R E — Te c h n o l o g yUpgradation and Skill Devel-opment Company (TUSDEC)has successfully concludedthe Training of Trainers(TOT) programme in twotrades “Know About Busi-ness” (KAB) & “ComputerApplications and OfficeProfessional”(CAO) withtrainers from the district ofSwat, Lower Dir, Upper Dir,Jacobabad, Kashmore,Shikarpur and Muzaffarabad.

The ToT sessions wereexecuted under a three-yearproject financed by the Del-egation of European Unionto Pakistan for SupportingTVET sector in Pakistan.TUSDEC in affiance withACTED (Agency for Tech-nical Cooperation and De-velopment) and PMN (Paki-stan Microfinance Network).

Players of NBP and Customs hockey teams struggling to get hold on the ball during 5th Customs Quaid-e-Azam GoldCup Hockey Tournament.

LAHORE: Senator Mrs Farah Aqil, Chairperson Senate Standing Committee Inter-Provincial Coordination visiting the National Cricket Academy.

I

Cholistan jeeprally from

Feb 13 to 15BAHAWALPUR—Registra-tion of vehicles and driversfor 10th Cholistan JeepRally has been completedand the event is scheduledto be held from February 13to 15.

According to the orga-nizing committee, for the firsttime stock category hasbeen introduced for femaledrivers.

The 240 kilometerslengthy route of the rallyhas also been finalizedwhich includes 14 check-points.

A cultural show will alsobe held at the opening cer-emony of the rally in whichCholistani culture will beportrayed.

People from across thecountry and abroad are ex-pected to witness the big-gest Motorsports event ofPakistan.—APP

ICC to take toughstance on playersbehaviour at WCISLAMABAD—The ICCCricket World Cup 2015would be a big challenge forthe bowlers, especiallythose from the sub-continInternational Cricket Coun-cil chief executive DaveRichardson says suspen-sions and harsher fineswould form part of a crack-down on players whobreach the code of conductduring the World Cup.

Richardson said all play-ers have been warned aftera dozen or more instancesof behaviour in recentmonths that was “not agood example to youngfans.”

While, he didn’t specifyteams or individuals, therehave been some heated ex-changes between playersfrom Australia, India andEngland in recentsummers,tvnz.co.nz re-ported.

Richardson says,“We’re not expecting toomuch trouble-hopefullythose who tend to get a littlebit too excited on occasionswill keep their calm.”

Match referees havebeen instructed to issueharsher fines at the WorldCup, which starts Saturday,and Richardson said repeatoffenders could be sus-pended.—APP

More SportsAcademies incapital soon

ISLAMABAD—Pakistan Dis-abled Sports Association andIslamabad Sports Welfare As-sociation on Tuesday joinedhands to initiate collaborativeefforts for establishing sportsacademies in the federal capi-tal for the young players.

This was pledged byChairman Pakistan DisabledSports Association, SheikhAbdul Waheed and PresidentIslamabad Sports Welfare As-sociation Syed SharafatHussain Bukhari during a meet-ing.

Both the heads said thatthey would establish sportsacademies in the federal capi-tal to promote healthy activi-ties among youth, protectingthem from social ills.

Syed Sharafat HussainBukhari said in the first phase,they would work on establish-ing academies for Football,Volleyball, Hockey and Bad-minton.

He termed the collabora-tion extended by Pakistan Dis-abled Sports Association forpromotion of sports culture isa good omen and would givea platform to the youngstersto test their potential and bringlaurels for the country.—APP

Mr and Junior MrPakistan Bodybuildingcontests on March 15

PESHAWAR—Mr. and Junior Mr. Pakistan Bodybuildingcontests would be held from March 15 under the aegis ofKhyber Pakhtunkhwa Bodybuilding Federation here atQayyum Sports Complex.

This was stated by Adviser to the Chief Minister onSports Khyber Pakhtunkhwa while addressing a press con-ference at Media Center. Secretary Pakistan BodybuildingFederation Tariq Pervez, Director Sports Training and GamesTariq Mehmood, Director Development Arshad Hussain,members of the KP Sports Writers Association were alsopresent. He said all the expenses would bear the Directorateof Sports Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

He also offered all the association to bring their nationalevent in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Directorate of SportsKhyber Pakhtunkhwa would provide all out support to theassociation as far as financial support is concerned.

It is certainly good opportunity for the youth of KhyberPakhtunkhwa to learn good things from the skills of theprominent musclemen of the country to be competing in theprestigious event, Amjad Afridi added.

Tariq Pervez, who is also a qualified international judgeand represented Pakistan in Thailand recently, said thankedAmjad Afridi for taking interest in hold the event. He saidduring his meeting with the President of the Pakistan Body-building Federation (PBF) Naveed Akram Cheema, AmjadAfridi expressed willingness to hold the event in KP for theforth times.

A total of 200 plus musclemen from 12 different uniteslike Wapda, Railways, HEC, Islamabad, FATA, Gilgit-Baltistan, Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and host KP in sixcategories for Mr. Junior Pakistan comprising 55kg, 60kg,65kg, 70kg, 75kg, and above 75kg besides 10 categories forMr. Pakistan including 55kg, 60kg, 65kg, 70kg, 75kg, 80kg,85kg, 90kg, 95kg and above 95kg would compete.—APP

PESHAWAR—Seeded Talha bin Asif off to aflying start on the opening day of the Na-tional Junior Tennis Championship, whchgot under way here at Peshawar GrassyCourts of Peshawar Garrison Club in twodifferent age groups categories Under-14and Under-18 on Tuesday.

Chief Executive North West GeneralHospital Tariq Jabbar Khan was the chiefguest on this occasion who formally inau-gurated the Championship. Former SportsMinister Syed Aqil Shah, President KhyberPakhtunkhwa Tennis Association Dr. Tahir,Organizing Secretary Umar Ayaz and largenumber of spectators were also present andwitnessed the matches. More than 100 play-ers from all across the country vie for thetop honor in Boys Under-14 and Under-18categories.

Speaking on this occasion, Dr. Tahir,who is also Vice President of the PakistanTennis Federation, thanked the participantsfor taking part in the event. He said GirlsUnder-18 event has been cancelled due tono entry.

He said, the Championship is carryinga prize money of Rs. 0.1 million. He said allthe players have been accommodation be-sides Rs, 700 per day as dialing allowance.He thanked Chief Executive North WestGeneral Hospital Dr. Tariq Jabbar Khan forsponsoring the event. He also appreciatedthe management of the Peshawar Garrison

PTF announcesgirls team for

Junior Fed CupISLAMABAD—Pakistan Ten-nis Federation (PTF) hasannounced a three-membergirls team to represent thecountry in the upcomingpre-qualifying round com-petition of Junior Fed Cup,scheduled to be held atKuching, Malaysia fromMarch 2.

According to a spokes-man of PTF, the players hadbe selected after a two- daytrials held at PTF ComplexIslamabad.

The finally selectedteam comprises MahinAftab, Hania Naveed andAlina Aftab. Mahboob A.Khan will accompany theteam as coach/non-playingcaptain.—APP

Girls InterCollege Tug-of-War C’shipPESHAWAR—Board of Inter-mediate and SecondaryEducation Peshawar Inter-College Girls Tug-of-WarChampionship will be com-mencing from February 12,2015 here at BISE premises.

This was stated by Di-rector Sports BISE ManzarKhan while talking to APPhere on Tuesday. He saidthe Championship will beorganized in a befittingmanner with the support ofKhyber Pakhtunkhwa Tug-of-War Association. Hesaid all the affiliated col-leges with BISE Peshawarwould participate in theevent.—APP

Talha off to flying start inNational Junior Tennis C’ship

Club for providing lush green and excellentprepared grassy courts.

In his brief chat with players Dr. TariqJabbar termed the events very vital forshowing soft image of the province in therest of world. He also urged upon the gov-ernment to extend a helping hands towardthe promotion of healthy activities. He saidyouth are the future builders of the nationand involving them in healthy activitieswould lead to a prosperous and healthysociety.

In the opening matches of the Under-18 categories Talha bin Asif recorded vic-tory against Muhammad Waqar at 6-4, 6-4,Barkat Ullah beat Khalil Afridi by 6-2 and 6-3, Shoaib Khan beat Amir Khan by 6-1 and6-2, Abdul Jabbar beat Kashif Khan by 6-2and 6-2, Shan Mehmood beat Shan Umarby 6-1 and 6-2, Sheharyar beat Junaid Afridiby 6-3 and 6-1, Huzafa Rehman beat SaqibUmar by 6-1 and 7-5 (6-6), Hamza bin Asifbeat Yasir Khan by 6-2 and 6-1, Talha Saqibbeat Junaid Khan by 6-2 and 6-2 while AsadKhan beat Azhar Iftikhar by 6-4 and 6-2 andmoved to next round.

In the U-14 pre-quarter-finals ShoaibKhan of KP beat Arsaland Khan 6-2, 6-1,Saqib Umar beat Azhar Iftikhar, Houd Azharof Karachi beat Aqib Khan by 6-0, 6-1,Waleed Anwar beat Khalid by 6-0, 6-3,Kashan Umar beat Meekail 6-2, 6-2,Abdullah beat Obid Ullah 6-2, 6-1.—APP

SPORTS REPORTER

LA H O R E—Pakistan InternationalAirlines and National Bank of Paki-stan have moved into the semifinalsconvincingly defeating their oppo-nents in the ongoing 5thCustomsQuaid-e-Azam Gold Cup HockeyTournament at the Customs Preven-tive Service Club and Sports Com-plex here on Tuesday. PIA bulldozedRailways 10-1 and NBP knockeddown Customs 6-2. Railways andCustoms, however, have also movedinto the semifinals by virtue of theirtwo wins in the Tournament.

In the opening match Railwayslooked a worn-out outfit against starstudded PIA. They hardly posed anythreat to PIA throughout the matchand the only goal that the winnerconceded was the result of theircomplacency. Their captain Zeeshangot a pass from Mohammed Rizwanin the 52nd minute of the match and

PIA, NBP reach Gold CupHockey semifinals

neatly netted the lone goal for histeam. They, however, lost twochances in the 43rd minute whenthey failed to convert any of the twoback to back penalty corners.

Captain and Kashif Ali onceagain led PIA from the front andcompleted his second hat- trick inthe Tournament. Comprising Zubair,Ammad Shakeel Butt, Amir Shahzadand Azfar Yaqoob the airliners dem-onstrated excellent coordination intheir passes and positioning them-selves from the start. Kashif com-pleted his hat-trick scoring five goalsin the 5th on a penalty corner andfour field goals in the 15th, 45th,50thand 55h minutes respectively.Zubair (10th), Azfar Yaqoob (22nd),Ammad (35th) and Nohaiz Malik(47th) scored one field goal each.Kamran Shareef and Muneer super-vised the match. The PHF SecretaryGeneral Rana Mujahid Ali was thechief guest of the match.

NBP easily defeated Customs,the hosts, in the last match of theday. They showed their immediatedominance scoring a goal in the 6thminute through Mubashar Ali on apenalty corner. Arslan Qadir scoredtwo field goals in the 20th and 38thminutes respectively. Syed KashifShah converted a penalty corner inthe 18thminute. While DilberHussain (28th) and Atiq Arshad(40th) minutes scored a field goaleach.

Customs played their naturalgame throughout against their muchsuperior opponents. Without anyfear of defeat they tried hard to makeinroads into bankers’ area but badlyfaltered in their finishing. Their mo-ments of relief came in the 40th and48th minutes respectively when theircaptain Haseem Khan scored twofield goals. Hanifuddin andMohammed Arshad supervised thematch.

KARACHI—Pakistan’s former captain andcurrent chief selector Moin Khan believesIndia have lost a bit of that edge and Misbah-

ul-Haq’s mencould wellbreak theWorld Cupjinx againstthe men inblue this timearound.

Pakis tanhave lost toIndia in all thefive WorldCup outings -in 1992, 1996,1999, 2003and the 2011semifinal.

“If I lookat the World

Cup history I think this time we have our bestchance to avenge our defeats,” Moin said inan interview with a local news channel.

Indian team has lost abit of shine: Moin

“This Indian team is not what it used tobe and our players will try their best to defeatthem this time,” Moin said.

Moin, who took part in two of the fiveWorld Cup matches, playing a vital role in the1992 World Cup win, said India’s poor run inAustralia would spur Pakistan on.

“But when these two teams one can berest assured the past or recent results will notmatter,” he added.

Moin admitted that the team would missoff-spinner Saeed Ajmal in the World Cup.

“Obviously he has been a pillar of strengthfor us in the last few years but I think he tooka wise decision to not insist on playing theWorld Cup after his bowling action wascleared. There is a lot of cricket after the tour-nament and he should be ready for that.”

“After modifying his bowling action it isdifficult to judge right now how well Ajmal isbowling,” he said.

Pakistan take on India in Adelaide on Sun-day before taking on the West Indies, Zimba-bwe, United Arab Emirates, South Africa andIreland in Group B.—APP

DOHA: The trophy winning sailing team of Pakistan after receiving prizes at QatarInternational Sailing Regatta ‘Sail of Gulf 2015’.

ISLAMABAD—The 2015 Qatar InternationalSailing Regatta “Sail the Gulf 2015” heldfrom February 3 to 7 at Doha, Qatar con-cluded on winning laurels for Pakistan.

A total of eight races were conductedin the Sailing Regatta with participation ofteams from all leading nations.

The sailing teams comprising PakistanNavy personnel competed in three differ-ent categories of the event i.e, 470 Class,Laser Radial Class and Laser StandardClass.

In 470 class category, the Pakistaniteam; comprising of CommanderMuhammad Akram Tariq and KhalidHussain of Pakistan Navy, demonstrated

Pakistan Sailing team win‘Sail the Gulf 2015’ Regatta

splendid performance and secured top po-sition leaving behind arch rival India.

In Laser Radial Class, Pakistan Navy’sPetty Officer Najeebullah Khan securedthird place for Pakistan out of 13 competi-tors.

The winners were awarded with tro-phies in a colorful closing ceremony heldat Doha, said a press release issued hereby Pak Navy.

Admiral Muhammad Zakaullah, Chief ofthe Naval Staff and Patron-in-Chief PakistanSailing Federation praised the efforts of Pa-kistani teams on winning the InternationalSailing competition and raising the green flagamongst comity of nations.—APP

FATA martialart players toparticipate inworld c’ship

NASIB SHAH SHINWARI

LANDIKOTAL—Announc-ing martial art events andchampionships schedule inLandikotal this year, FarhadShinwari, the chairman ofFATA full contact karate as-sociation said that like theprevious years their organi-zation was planning to ar-range numerous karate tour-naments and events inLandikotal. Farhad Shinwarisaid that a martial art train-ing camp would be orga-nized next Sunday where allkarate players from KhyberAgency would participateadding that the karate play-ers would be taught modernand international karaterules and techniques.Farhad Shinwari said that inMarch all Khyber Agencykarate championship wouldbe organized and on the eveof 14th of august,Azadi(independence) karatecup would be held inLandikotal.

“Trials of martial art play-ers would be taken to ensurethe participation of FATAkarate players in internationalkarate tournament this Octo-ber in Japan”. Shinwari saidadding that the players ofFATA full contact karate havealso been represented Paki-stan in Japan,Malaysia andThailand in recent past andhave earned good name forPakistan and FATA.

Explaining when theyhave been engaged and play-ing this healthy sport,Farhad Shinwari said thatfrom last 20 years FATA fullcontact karate associationhad engaged the younggeneration of KhyberAgency in this healthy gameto avoid them from drugs andother negative activitiesharming their health

Noor Aslam Shinwari ,theinternational martial artfighter and karate coach, resi-dent of Landikotal, said theyregularly perform Karatepractice at a fitness and mar-tial art club in Landikotal ba-zaar where a large number ofkarate players and otherpeople come for exercise andbody fitness on daily basis.Noor Aslam Shinwari saidthat due to lack of facilitiesand funds they have hurdlesto continue this healthygame in the area and de-manded the authorities tocooperate them that theycould provide full facilities tokarate players.

Bipin DaniOBSERVER CORRESPONDENT

MUMBAI—Jackson Warne, the son of theformer Australian legendary leg-spinnerShane Warne, is not intending to pursuehis career in cricket.

Last week, the 15-year-old boy, Jack-son, playing for the Brighton GrammarSchool in Melbourne, took a hat-trick toemulate his famous father’s Test feat.

Speaking exclusively from his Schoolon Tuesday, he says, “No, I have alwaysplayed tennis at school as my summersport which I enjoy. I only played cricketthis season “just to give it a go”. Nextsummer I am going back to tennis”.

“I was surprised. I didn’t expect that Iwas going to get it (hat-trick)”, he added.

“My parents were very supportivesaying things like ‘good job’. My dadsaid to me : “Good job: that’s only yourfourth game!”

I like to do sport and physical educa-tion – and recess spending times with mymates”, he further added.

Jackson, in Year 10 at Brighton Gram-mar School in Melbourne, says he is an‘average’ academic and at 15 he has no

Hat-trick was a fluke,says Shane Warne’s sonJackson Warne to play tennis next summer

idea what career direction he will follow.“Jackson has been enrolled at our

School since he was a three year old inour Early Learning Centre.

Despite having a globally famous fa-ther Jackson has always simply been justone of the boys – indeed a delightfulyoung man”, Ms. Natalie van Wetering,the Director of Marketing and Commu-nity Relations, said exclusveily over tele-phone from Melbourne.

“Shane (Warne) has been around theSchool in the same ways most of our fa-thers do – watching sports, attending fa-ther son activities, parent nights and soon.

He has been too busy and travellingaway too much to be able to help withcricket coaching but has always beengenerous support the school as a guestspeaker or providing signed balls or batsfor fundraising events”, she furtheradded.“What Shane has done in his private backgarden to pass on the skills of his spinbowling to his son is unknown to us butlike most Aussies I am sure many a gameof backyard cricket has been played withJackson and his friends!!”, she signed off.

ISLAMABAD—Sri Lankan legendMuttiah Muralidaran said that spin-ners will find the going difficult asthey will not get much assistance fromAustralian and New Zealand pitchesin the ICC World Cup 2015, startingFebruary 14.

In a column for the InternationalCricket Council (ICC) website onTuesday the former off-spinnerwrote,”My experience of both coun-tries is that, although both are verydifferent, neither will offer very muchassistance to spinners, especially inmatches where, in 100 overs, you areunlikely to see much deterioration inthe pitches.

There will be bounce in Australia,which is always the spinner’s friend,but not much purchase off rock-hardsurfaces”.

The 42-year-old added that itdoes not, however, mean that spin-ners cannot prosper in such condi-tions but it will be hard work for themtrying to vary the pace and flight intheir attempt to beat the batsmen.

However, the Sri Lankan took theexample of Pakistan’s leg-spinnerMushtaq Ahmed, who in the 1992edition when the World Cup was lastheld in the Antipodes, was one of thehighest wicket takers.

Muralitharan expects toughWorld Cup for spinners

“That is not to say that spinnerscannot prosper. I took 58 one-daywickets in Australia, a mark I onlybettered in my home country and inthe United Arab Emirates, but I alsoknow it can be hard work and you

need to find other ways of gettingbatsmen out beyond beating themwith turn off the pitch.”

“Pakistan’s Mushtaq Ahmed fin-ished second in the list of wicket tak-ers with 16 victims in 1992, the last

time the tournament took place inAustralia and New Zealand. But atthe same time, he was the only slowbowler to reach double figures andthat illustrates the difficulties I amsure will be similar this time around,”he wrote.

Muralidaran further added thatthe larger grounds in Australia willgive spinners more chance of pick-ing up wickets but at the same timesaid that with only four fielders out-side the 30 yards circle they cannotafford to err in length.

“The larger grounds in Australiawill, at least, give spinners the chanceto flight the ball, safe in the knowl-edge it will require something morethan a mis-hit to clear the boundary,but the use of two new balls will tendto cause the ball to skid on rather thanspin.

“And while the restriction broughtin a couple of years ago, with onlyfour fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle except in the powerplays,will help spinners build pressure if abatting side is losing wickets, it alsomeans there is nowhere to hide if aslow bowler comes on with the bats-men already on top.”

“Good spinners will adjust, copeand even prosper,” he added.—APP

ISLAMABAD—As Pakistan prepares to facearch-rivals India for the sixth-time WorldCup encounter on February 15, star all-rounder Shahid Afridi hoped that theGreenshirts would put an end to their los-

ing trail.“The team is not disheartened by their

poor record against India in the WorldCup,” Afridi was reported as saying.

“There is always a first time. I know itis a crunch game and fans from all over theworld are coming to see it.

“We have the confidence and the abil-ity to surprise any team on any given day.But, both the teams know how to handlepressure. On our part, we plan to treat it asjust another game,” said Afridi.

The 34-year-old all-rounder believedthat both teams would be desperate to kickoff their World Cup campaign with a winand “take the momentum and confidenceto the rest of the tournament”.

Afridi also expressed hope for Indiaand Pakistan to play each other other than

Pakistan may just surpriseIndia on Sunday: Afridi

the World Cup.The all-rounder is closing in on a

unique double of 8,000 runs and 400 ODIwickets and seemed confident to lead thespin department in the absence of sea-soned Saeed Ajmal and Mohammad Hafeez.

Shahid Afridi has already announcedhis retirement from ODIs after the WorldCup and wanted to end his career on ahigh note. “We want to emulate the effortsof the 1992 World Cup winning team,” hesaid.

The flamboyant Afridi agreed that re-peating the 1992 World Cup heroics wasnot an easy task as most players areplagued with injuries.

“The 1992 team was a combination ofseniors and youngsters. This team has gotsome talented youngsters as well and we’reexpecting a lot from them,” Afridi said.It is pertinent to mention that an ordinarynew ball attack and poor execution of deathbowling are the major problems for India head-ing into the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup.

These factors are enough to convinceformer Australia opener Matthew Haydenthat India will not win the World Cup.

Hayden said India’s bowling will putimmense pressure on the batsmen. “Mostof the teams have a pace battery workingfor them.”

“India’s new ball options are very or-dinary and Stuart Binny is not the rightbowler to start with. If the wicket is green,like in New Zealand, he can be asked toopen the bowling”, he said.

“I think Umesh Yadav is an option. Thiskind of bowling will put immense pressureon the batsmen. Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni,Suresh Raina and Shikhar Dhawan will allbe needed to bat out of their skins. Thiskind of situation does not help the team,”Cricbuzz reported.

When asked that India won the 2013Champions Trophy with a similar bowlingattack, Hayden said those were differentconditions. “In Australia, you need a spear-head.”—APP

India innings:Sharma b Nabi ........... 150Dhawan b HamidHassan ........................... 4Kohli b Dawlat Zadran . 5Raina run out ............... 75Rahane not out ............ 88Dhoni b ShapoorZadran .......................... 10Jadeja not out .............. 11Extras: (lb 7, w 13, nb 1)21Total: (5 wickets) ....... 364Fall of wickets: 1-7, 2-16, 3-174, 4-269, 5-322Bowling: ......... O-M-R-WHamid .................. 8-1-49-1Dawlat ................. 8-0-66-1Shapoor .............. 8-0-58-1Mirwais ............... 6-0-29-0Nabi ..................... 9-0-62-1Aftab ................... 4-0-40-0Samiullah ............ 3-0-26-0Javed ................... 4-0-27-0

Afghanistan innings:Javed b Yadav ............. 17Usman b Jadeja ........... 44Nawroz b Sharma ........ 60Asghar b Sharma ........ 20Najibullah b Ashwin ..... 4Samiullah run out ........ 17M Nabi b Jadeja ............ 1Afsar Zazai not out ..... 24Mirwais b Raina ............ 2Nasir Jamal not out ....... 2Extras: (lb 13, w 6, nb 1)20Total: (8 wickets) ....... 211Fall of wickets: 1-30, 2-93, 3-153, 4-158, 5-160, 6-169, 7-199, 8-206Bowling: ......... O-M-R-WYadav .................. 9-0-35-1Shami .................. 9-0-39-0Sharma ................ 9-1-40-2RA Jadeja ......... 10-2-38-2Ashwin ............. 10-1-37-1Raina ..................... 3-0-9-1

ADELAIDE—Opener Rohit Sharmasmashed 150 in India’s 153-run rompagainst Afghanistan in their finalWorld Cup warm-up match on Tues-day, helping the holders registertheir first win in Australia since theylanded in November.

Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane (88 notout) and Suresh Raina (75) mademerry against Afghanistan’s limitedbowling resources to propel Indiato 364-5 at the Adelaide Oval.

The two-time world championsthen restricted Afghanistan to 211-8 to finally taste victory before theybegin their title defence againstarch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday.

In an otherwise frustrating Aus-tralian summer, India lost the four-test series to Australia, could notwin a single match in the subse-quent tri-series also involving En-gland, and were spanked by theWorld Cup hosts in their first warm-

Sharma hits century in timely win for Indiaup match on Sunday.

Opting to bat first, India lostquick two wickets before Sharmaand Raina (75) added 158 runs inthe next 25 overs.

Worryingly for them, however,opener Shikhar Dhawan’s lack offootwork once again led to his dis-missal while battingmainstay Virat Kohliand captainMahendra SinghDhoni also could notspend enough time inthe middle.

Sharma, the onlycricketer to hit two200-plus ODI scores,appeared to have re-covered fully from ahamstring injury ashe hit seven sixes and12 boundaries in his122-ball knock.

Contraryto expecta-tions, Sharmadid not retireafter his cen-tury to allowother teammates somebatting prac-tice.

In apitchside in-terview afterthe Indian in-nings, Rainasaid his team

would try to restrict Afghanistan tounder 250 which they did but theirinability to bowl out the minnowsonce against proved their bowlinglimitations.

Nawroz Mangal (60) and UsmanGhani (44) shone with the bat forAfghanistan who begin their World

Cup campaign against Bangladeshon Feb. 18.

India lacked sharpness in thefield with Mohammad Shami andAmbati Rayudu dropping regula-tion catches. In contrast, Dhawanand Umesh Yadav collaborated totake a spectacular catch to removeGhani.

Dhawan ran back from shortmidwicket to take a tumbling catchbut the ball popped out of his handsand he juggled with it before flick-ing it into the hands of Yadav, whohad rushed from long-on to catchthe skier before halting to avoid a

collision.At Sydney’s Olympic Park,

meanwhile, Scotland clinched animpressive 179-run win over Ireland,the strongest of the Associate na-tions who stunned England andBangladesh at the 2011 World Cup.

Matt Machan made 103 for the

Scots with skipper PrestonMommsen (56) and RichieBerrington (52) also in the runs.

In reply, Ireland skipper WilliamPorterfield (23) and Paul Stirling (37)put on 57 for the first wicket inside12 overs. But medium pace bowlerAlasdair Evans then dis-missedboth openers as well as Ed Joyceand Niall O’Brien to finish with 4-17off five overs. Ireland lost nine wick-ets for just 60 runs with only GaryWilson (15) managing to joinPorterfield and Stirling in double fig-ures. The Irish side were all out by the27th over.—AFP

Indian players celebrate the fall of a wicket.

Pakistan faceEngland inWorld Cupwarm-up

ADELAIDE—Pakistan willface England today in theirsecond warm-up match forthe World Cup. Pakistanwon their first matchagainst Bangladesh by

three wickets on Monday.The match against En-

gland will be Pakistan’s lastwarm-up game and an op-portunity to finalise the lineup for the team’s World Cupopener against India onFebruary 15.—AFP

DG Pakistan Maritime Security Agency Rear Admiral Ather Mukhtar briefs media persons about the attempt to smuggle large quantity of liquorrecovered during anti-smuggling operation in open sea.

Akira Ouchi, the Consul General of Japan and Sadia Rashid, the President of Hamdardsigned the Grant Contract at the Japan Information and Culture Centre of the ConsulateGeneral of Japan for the provision of 10 vehicles to Hamdard Foundation.—PO photo

BMI (body mass index), which is basedon the height and weight of a person, isan inaccurate measure of body fat con-

tent and does not take into account musclemass, bone density, overall body composition,and racial and sex differences,say researchers from thePerelman School of Medicine,University of Pennsylvania.Every few months the samecomment is made by experts“BMI is flawed”. The newshits the headlines, everybodyagrees, and then all goes quietfor a while.

You are of normal weightif your BMI is between 18.5and 25, overweight if it is be-tween 25 and 30. Anybodywith a BMI of 30 or more isobese. Mitchell Lazar, MD,PhD, Professor of Medicineand Genetics and Director ofthe Institute of Diabetes, Obe-sity, and Metabolism, andRexford Ahima, MD, PhD,Professor of Medicine and Director of theObesity Unit in the Institute for Diabetes, Obe-sity and Metabolism, discuss the challengeshealth professionals face when studying themortality risks and health of obese people inthe journal Science1.

We all know that obesity increases the riskof developing heart diseases, type 2 diabetes,cancer, sleep apnea and other diseases and con-ditions. However, according to recent studies,obesity may also protect against death fromall causes, as well as death due to stroke, heartfailure and diabetes. In the Science article -“The Health Risk of Obesity - Better MetricsImperative”2 - the authors refer to the pros-

Why BMI is inaccurateand misleading

and-cons of obesity as the “obesity-mortalityparadox”. A paradox that generates a great dealof controversy.

“There is an urgent need for accurate, prac-tical and affordable tools to measure fat and

skeletal muscle, andbiomarkers that can better pre-dict the risks of diseases andmortality. Advances to im-prove the measurement ofobesity and related factorswill help determine the opti-mal weight for an individual,taking into account factorssuch as age, sex, genetics, fit-ness, pre-existing diseases, aswell novel blood markers andmetabolic parameters alteredby obesity.”

People with a BMI of 30or more, i.e. obese individu-als, have a significantly higherrisk of eventually becomingdiabetic, developing cancer,cardiovascular diseases, os-teoarthritis, and liver and gall-

bladder diseases.However, a number of studies have

demonstrated that some obese individualshave lower cardiovascular risk and an im-proved metabolic profile, while a subset of“normal-BMI” people are metabolicallyunhealthy and have increased mortalityrisk. A team of researchers at the Univer-sity of Virginia, Charlottesville, found bet-ter post-surgical short-term survival ratesamong obese people than patients of nor-mal weight3. Patients with a BMI of 23.1or less were more than twice as likely todie within 30 days of surgery than thosewith a BMI of 35.3 or more.

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Sindh Minister for Karachi Abadi andSpatial Development Javed Ahmed Nagori has saidthat after targeted operation terrorists are targetingour innocent people in Karachi. “Sindh Government

Targeted operation to continue tillelimination of last terrorist: Javed Nagori

would continue targeted operation in Karachi till theelimination of last terrorist”, the Provincial Ministeradded.

He said this after attending the funeral of PPPworker Ehsan Danish who was shot dead in a tar-geted attack in Gulshan-i-Iqbal on Monday. He fur-

ther said that the Ehsan Danish was brave worker ofPPP and he has given many sacrifices for the democ-racy.

He further stated that the murderers of EhsanDanish would be arrested soon and his family wouldget justice.

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) mem-bers national assembly (MNA) Ejaz Jakhrani,Faqeer Sher Muhammad Balalani and ShahjehanBalouch while condemning the PMLN federal gov-ernment for levying heavy taxes on the masses torecover the budget deficit said it was a daylightrobbery on people’s money.

They said the PMLN federal Government had

PPP MNAs condemn PML-NFed Govt on levy of heavy taxes

STAFF REPORTER

KARACHI—Government of Japan extended agrant of approximately Rs.7.3 million to HamdardFoundation for “The Project for Expanding andStrengthening Hamdard Free Mobile Dispensa-ries” under its Grant Assistance for GrassrootsHuman Security Projects (GGP) scheme.

The grant contract was signed on February 10,2015 at the Japan Information and Culture Centreof the Consulate-General of Japan in Karachi, be-tween Mr. Akira Ouchi, Consul General of Japanin Karachi and Ms. Sadia Rashid, President ofHamdard Foundation. Mr. Yosuke Yamada, the rep-resentative of Pak Suzuki Motor Company Lim-ited was also present at the occasion.

The grant covers the cost of 10 vehicles along

Japan provides Rs7.3m forHamdard free mobile dispensaries

with equipment for the mobile dispensaries inKarachi. Six of the ten vehicles will replace theold ones and four will be used in new areas. Theycurrently serve more than 40,000 people inKarachi. And with the implementation of thisproject an additional number of more than 10,000people are expected to benefit every month. Inaddition to the grant, Pak Suzuki Motor Com-pany Limited will provide after-sales service war-ranty for two additional years. This project is thefirst case of public-private partnership betweenthe Consulate-General of Japan in Karachi andPak Suzuki Motor Company Limited.

At the signing ceremony Mr. Ouchi sin-cerely hoped that the implementation of thisproject would improve healthcare services formany more people in Karachi.

IT GIVES me great pleasure to conveymy sincere greetings and best wishesto fellow Iranians and all well-wishers

of Iran in Pakistan on this happy occasionof Iran’s 36th National Day.

As evident from the world history, Iranhas been the cradle of the most ancient worldcivilization. Here the first monarchical rulewas established 4000 years ago in 330 BCafter migration of the Aryans to Iran.

Due to its geographical position andstrong cultural foundations, Iran has al-ways played a positive, useful and deci-sive role in political, economic and cul-tural developments as well as peace andstability of the region and the world.

In the history of Iran which is full of upsand downs, 11 February 1979 carries a greatimportance. This day the Iranian nation whichhas always been on the forefront in formingcivilizations and cultures achieved what willbe remembered in the Iranian and world his-

36th anniversary of Islamic Revolution of Iran

Message of Mehdi Sobhani, ConsulGeneral of Islamic Republic of Iran

tory forever. This day they dethroned the big-gest despotic ruler of the region and estab-lished the holy Islamicrepublic system in thecountry.

Running the na-tional affairs on theprinciples of freedom,sovereignty, self-de-termination, equityand justice and reli-gious teachings in anexemplary way is oneof the important char-acteristics of the Is-lamic revolution.

Social structurewas founded on theglorious teachings of Islam. As a result,people became closer to their religion andIslamic rule established itself in all spheresof life replacing modernistic ideology.

As a blessing of the Islamic revolu-tion, religious and religiosity revived

across the world and relationshipbetween religions and sectsstrengthened. On the other hand,the Islamic Republic of Iranemerged as the biggest flag-bearer of the Islamic unity whichis paving way for unity and soli-darity in the Muslim world.

Today, the Islamic Republicof Iran has entered 37th year ofits establishment after passingthrough various crises andhurdles over all these years. De-spite all difficulties, today Iranas a regional power and an im-portant international player has

earned a name for itself at the global levelthrough making remarkable progress

Continued on Page-7

KARACHI—Sindh High Court on Tuesday ordered for the Baldiafactory fire trail to be completed within 1 year. The factory ownerhad put forward an appeal for the trial to be completed before oneyear, however his request was turned down by the judges. Judgesfurther observed that it was up to the trial court to scrutinise the JIT

Baldia factory fire trial within a year: SHCreport. The factory owner had also requested to become a respon-dent in the case following the release of the release of the JIT report.Reports have also disclosed that there is a case of illegal arms againstthe suspect Rizwan Qureshi who had disclosed alleged involve-ment of the MQM in the incident during interrogation.—Online

once again ignored the Parliament to seek consent ofall political parties especially the PPP on levying ofnew taxes on the masses. The PMLN federal govern-ment knew the PPP would not allow the PMLN fed-eral government to impose heavy taxes on the massesat the behest of International Monetary Fund (IMF)and hence the taxes for recovery of around 20 billionwere imposed secretly.

They said it was now candid clear that the PMLNfederal government had mortgaged the people of Pa-

kistan to the IMF and next many generations wouldcontinue to pay debt to the IMF but still they wouldnot rid of the IMF’s claws. The PMLN had de-ceived the people and insulted the sanctity of theballot and made false promises to the masses dur-ing electoral canvassing. In fact the PMLN hadcome into power with the public mandate to pleasethe IMF, not the people. They said the PMLN fed-eral government should now understand the PPPwould not be silent over this tyranny.

Chairperson Senate Standing Committee on Inter-provincial Coordination, Ms Farha Aqil presiding over a meeting at Qaddafi Stadium on Tuesday.

Paramedical staff of Mayo Hospital protesting in favour their demands at Mall Road.

PU VC Dr Mujahid Kamran addressing the inaugural session of 5-day International Conference on ‘Relativistic Astro-physics’ to celebrate 100 years of Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity at Al-Raazi Hall.

BMI (body mass index), which is basedon the height and weight of a person, isan inaccurate measure of body fat con-

tent and does not take into account musclemass, bone density, overall body composition,and racial and sex differences,say researchers from thePerelman School of Medicine,University of Pennsylvania.Every few months the samecomment is made by experts“BMI is flawed”. The newshits the headlines, everybodyagrees, and then all goes quietfor a while.

You are of normal weightif your BMI is between 18.5and 25, overweight if it is be-tween 25 and 30. Anybodywith a BMI of 30 or more isobese. Mitchell Lazar, MD,PhD, Professor of Medicineand Genetics and Director ofthe Institute of Diabetes, Obe-sity, and Metabolism, andRexford Ahima, MD, PhD,Professor of Medicine and Director of theObesity Unit in the Institute for Diabetes, Obe-sity and Metabolism, discuss the challengeshealth professionals face when studying themortality risks and health of obese people inthe journal Science1.

We all know that obesity increases the riskof developing heart diseases, type 2 diabetes,cancer, sleep apnea and other diseases and con-ditions. However, according to recent studies,obesity may also protect against death fromall causes, as well as death due to stroke, heartfailure and diabetes. In the Science article -“The Health Risk of Obesity - Better MetricsImperative”2 - the authors refer to the pros-

Why BMI is inaccurateand misleading

and-cons of obesity as the “obesity-mortalityparadox”. A paradox that generates a great dealof controversy.

“There is an urgent need for accurate, prac-tical and affordable tools to measure fat and

skeletal muscle, andbiomarkers that can better pre-dict the risks of diseases andmortality. Advances to im-prove the measurement ofobesity and related factorswill help determine the opti-mal weight for an individual,taking into account factorssuch as age, sex, genetics, fit-ness, pre-existing diseases, aswell novel blood markers andmetabolic parameters alteredby obesity.”

People with a BMI of 30or more, i.e. obese individu-als, have a significantly higherrisk of eventually becomingdiabetic, developing cancer,cardiovascular diseases, os-teoarthritis, and liver and gall-

bladder diseases.However, a number of studies have

demonstrated that some obese individualshave lower cardiovascular risk and an im-proved metabolic profile, while a subset of“normal-BMI” people are metabolicallyunhealthy and have increased mortalityrisk. A team of researchers at the Univer-sity of Virginia, Charlottesville, found bet-ter post-surgical short-term survival ratesamong obese people than patients of nor-mal weight3. Patients with a BMI of 23.1or less were more than twice as likely todie within 30 days of surgery than thosewith a BMI of 35.3 or more.

Muzaffar Ali

LAHORE—Punjab University ViceChancellor Prof Dr Mujahid Kamranhas said that the research work andtheories of Einstein paved way for newdiscoveries and inventions for under-standing the universe.

He was addressing an internationalconference on “Relativistic Astrophys-ics” to celebrate 100 years ofEinstein’s Theory of General Relativ-ity organized by Department of Math-ematics in collaboration with PakistanAcademy of Sciences, Abdus SalamInternational Centre for TheoreticalPhysics, International MathematicalUnion and Pak Land Bulders. Chair-man Department of Mathematics ProfDr Muhammad Sharif, Founder of

Einstein’s work basis fornew discoveries: PU VC

Relativity Group in Pakistan Prof DrAsghar Qadir and researchers from vari-ous parts of the world and country werepresent on the occasion.

Addressing the ceremony, DrKamran said that Einstein had a fasci-nating personality and his services in thefield of science would be rememberedforever. He said that PU students wouldbenefit from international researchersand the participants would share theirexperiences with each other.

Dr Muhammad Sharif said the con-ference was devoted to celebrate cente-nary of Einstein’s theory of general rela-tivity which he developed in November1915 and was considered as a great sci-entific development in fundamental un-derstanding of space, time and matter.He said that Einstein’s view on Quran

was that Quran is not a book of alge-bra or geometry but it is a collectionof rules which guides human beingsto the right way, the way which great-est philosophers are unable to declineit. He said that within Pakistani com-munity, talent had not been a problembut the key issue had been nurturingand projecting the same so that the tal-ent develops and flourishes to makean international impact.

He said that the conference was in-tended to be broad, covering the widerange of research areas in general rela-tivity and gravitation, alternative theo-ries of gravity, relativistic astrophys-ics and cosmology. He also gave a de-tailed briefing on the academic activi-ties and achievements of the depart-ment.

SALIM AHMED

LAHORE—Provincial Minister for Agricul-ture Dr. Farrukh Javed has said that Mini-Dams and drip Irrigation are lifeline for agri-culture in Potohar region.

He said that this region will be the hub ofolive and grapes orchards in the times to come.He said that natural climate and environmentis really supportive for these commodities andfarmers are earning huge profits in the region.

He said that through the increase in ourown production we can save 3 billion dollarsthat are spent on the import of edible oilyearly.

He said that agriculture department is pro-viding up to 60 percent subsidy to farmers ininstalling drip irrigation system in the region.

Sweat & healthy revolutionknocking at door of Potohar

He said that government is planning toconstruct 5000 mini-dams in the region and itwill prove to be a green revolution in the re-gion.

While talking to a delegation of farmers,Dr. Farrukh Javed stressed upon the need toadopt latest techniques of drip irrigation andmini-dams especially in potohar region.

He said that this region will attain newheights in agriculture sector through govern-ment initiative of drip-irrigation and mini-dams. Farmers that are adopting new tech-niques and are investing in grapes and oliveorchards will attain huge benefits.

He told the delegation that governmenthas devoted 89 million rupees for the devel-opment of farmers and agriculture in potoharregion.

SALIM AHMED

LAHORE—Punjab Chief Minister MuhammadShahbaz Sharif has said that elimination of ter-rorism and extremism is the voice of the wholenation and people are still grieved at Peshawartragedy.

Decisive war is being foughtagainst enemies of peace: Shahbaz

While talking to office-bearers of PakistanMuslim League-N Tuesday, Shahbaz said that ter-rorism, extremism and sectarianism are the mainhurdles in the way of national progress and de-velopment.

He said that strict decisions have been takenfor the implementation of National Action Plan

against terrorism and necessary amendments havebeen made in some laws for making sentencesmore stringent.

He said that a decisive war is being foughtagainst the enemies of peace and progress of thecountry. He expressed the confidence that Paki-stani nation will win the war against terrorism.

SALIM AHMED

LAHORE—A Chinese trade delega-tion of the Jiangsu Chamber of Com-merce and Industry headed by Mr.Wang Guogui, Ms. Jiang Li and Mr.Zhou Jisheng, Education Director ofHuawen College-International visitedKids Galaxy School with a purposeto initiate Chinese language classes atthe primary level of education.

The visit was facilitated by Pak-China Joint Chamber of Commerceand Industry. Students and teachers

Chinese trade delegationvisits Kids Galaxy School

warmly welcomed the delegates with afriendly gesture while children per-formed on a thematic song on Pak-ChinaFriendship. The delegates appreciatedthe children effort and presented somesouvenirs especially bought from China.

Chinese delegates held a short inter-active session with the kids in which theytaught children some Chinese wordssuch as Ni How, “How are You”, ShangWu Hao, “Good Morning”, Xia Wu Hao,“Good afternoon”, Wan Shang Hao,Good evening. Children enjoyed learn-ing and pronouncing them.

Later on the delegates discussedwith Ms. Ayesha Salahuddin , princi-pal of Kids Galaxy School the prospectsof introducing Chinese Curriculum atthe primary level of education. Ms.Jiang Li said that China can send lan-guage trainers and experts to Pakistanischools.

She added that according to Re-search, Children are good to learn andpick new languages because the brain ismore open to new sounds and patternsin pre-adolescence. She said that a ben-efit of child-oriented language classes is

that they tend to allow more play.Songs and chants are commonplacein children’s lessons, along with physi-cal activities whereas Adult classestend to be more analytical and con-ceptual, which could actually hamperthe process of learning.

Ms. Ayesha Shahid appreciatedthe proposal and said that she willextent all possible cooperation in thisregard and it would definitely paveway for more children learning Chi-nese Language and bridging the com-munication gap.

STAFF REPORTER

LAHORE—Provincial Minister for Excise& Taxation Law and Finance MujtabaShuja-ur-Rehman has said that Punjabgovernment distributed solar lamps amongthe 2 lakh students last year with a cost ofRs. 2.5 billion under Ujala Programme sothat load shedding could not disrupt theirstudy. He said that during current fiscalyear laptops and solar lamps are being dis-tributed among the students on merit un-der a transparent system. He said that ter-rorism and unemployment can be wipedout through promotion of quality educa-tion.

He said that there is a need to utilizenational resources equitably for setting upof a peaceful society and economic pros-perity of the masses whereas problems likecorruption, safarish and unemployment

Rs. 2.40 billion for non-formal basiceducation to 20 lakh illiterate persons

can be controlled through good governanceand transparency. He said that Punjab gov-ernment considers education as a tool todevelopment and a record funds have beenprovided for school and higher education.He said that Rs. 2.40 billion has been pro-vided for non formal basic education to20 lakh illiterate persons.

Addressing the delegations of youth,Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman said that due topractical measures of Punjab Chief Min-ister, the enrollment of students in gov-ernment schools had been enhanced to11.273 million. He said that Head of DFIDRichard Montgomery has maintained thattextbooks have been provided in schoolsfor the first time before the start of newacademic session which is a splendidachievement of Punjab government and anexample of good governance.

He said that British educationist Sir

Michael Barber while lauding the effortsof Punjab government, said that the atten-dance of teachers in schools has consider-ably improved due to implementation ofthe reforms programme being jointlyimplemented by Punjab government andDFID and the rate of attendance of teach-ers in schools of the Punjab has reachedup to the level of the British schools.

Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman that Punjabgovernment has recruited 140000 educa-tors last tenure and more educators willbe recruited within few months to accom-plish the target of 100% literacy rate inthe province. He commended the visionof Mian Shahbaz Sharif for launching freedistribution schemes of laptops and solarlamps to appreciate the brilliant students.This will also help to reduce the dropoutrate in the schools of far flung areas of theprovince.